Deliverance From The Fiery Furnace of Hell



Taken from: http://publicvigil.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/our-lady-of-fatima.html

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As I was recently reading the encyclical Spe Salvi by Pope Benedict XVI, I came across a quote by the Vietnamese martyr Paul Le-Bao-Tinh about the "three children [who were freed from] the fiery furnace". I immediately thought of the three children of Fatima and how they were shown a terrifying vision of Hell by the Virgin Mary.

"We saw as it were a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now following back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me do). The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying nad repellant likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals."

But St. Paul Le-Bao-Tinh was not referring to the children of Fatima. How could he have been since he died long before they were born. He was referring to the children (or young men) of the book of Daniel who were saved by an Angel.

After the Fatima children saw the vision of souls suffering in Hell, they did all they could to try to save others from sharing the same fate by "making sacrifices for sinners" as Our Lady had instructed them. They performed the strictest penances they could come up with to try to offer their suffering in exchange for those who would otherwise be condemned.

And they were given the prayer of Fatima which we now recite after every decade of the Rosary:

"O, my Jesus. Forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven. Especially, those in most need of Thy Mercy. Amen."

There is more information about the penances of blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto here. Francisco died at age 10 and Jacinta at age 9.

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Was Sirach in the King’s
Blazing Fiery Furnace?
 

 

by

Damien F. Mackey



Was Sirach one of the three young men thrown into King Nebuchednezzar’s fiery furnace? (Daniel 3)
 

And, if so, which one of the three was he?

***

According to this article, Sirach was indeed in the fire in that most celebrated of Old Testament miraculous incidents. What I shall be proposing is that Sirach was the third mentioned (perhaps youngest) of the wise and pious trio of Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (Daniel 1:19), who (he Azariah) was apparently, however, the trio’s chief prayer leader (3:24-45). This may be because Azariah was in fact their chief priest. (To be discussed in a follow-up article).

Daniel and these three youths were given other names in captivity (1:7): “Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego”. [*]

*…. “Although one would not expect to find a record of even a fraction of the countless numbers of government officials from ancient times, W. Shea has presented a rather strong case for identifying the three Hebrews in this story with names found among more than fifty officials listed on a Babylonian text from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Shea associates Hananiah (Shadrach) with Hanunu, designated “chief of the royal merchants”;Abednego (Azariah) with Ardi-Nabu, “secretary of the crown prince (i.e., Amel-Marduk)”; and Mishael (Meshach) with Mushallim-Marduk, one of the“overseers of the slave girls.” The last identification is the most tentative, but it is plausible. Hanunu and Hananiah have a clear correspondence, and Ardi-Nabu is an exact equivalent of Abed-Nabu (i.e., Abednego)”.¹⁷

https://biblicalscholarship.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/commentary-on-daniel-3/

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The Hebrew of the Greek name ‘Sirach’ is not known, though ‘Sira’ has been suggested. I believe that it was basically the Hebrew name, Seraiah. Now there was at the time of Babylonian Captivity a Seraiah who was also Azariah (see:

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Seraiah)

and I would identify him with the young Azariah of the Book of Daniel. Hence:

Azariah (Abednego/Ardi-Nabu) = Seraiah = Sira = Sirach.

According to the Epilogue of the Book of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), the editor or compiler of the Wisdom of Sirach was“Jesus son of Eleazer son of Sirach of Jerusalem” (Sirach 50:27).

Azariah himself was of course from Jerusalem (Daniel 1:1, 3, 6).

This Jesus composed the book of his grandfather Sirach’s wisdom in the Maccabean times of pharaoh Ptolemy “Euergetes” (see PrologueSirach). From late Daniel (c. 530 BC) to Ptolemy Euergetes (c. 240 BC) is, in conventional terms, far too long (3 centuries) to have been bridged by the mere succession of (i) Sirach, his son (ii) Eleazer, and his son (iii) Jesus. But not in my revised system. [**]

**Martin Anstey discovered an 82-year discrepancy between the Bible and the Persian timeline in his 1913 work "The Romance of Bible”.

http://www.topix.com/forum/religion/jehovahs-witness/TL1ALEOSAPRR7KL5J

Sirach’s son, Eleazer, to whom Sirach addresses his wisdom (like Tobit had delivered his maxims to his son Tobias = Job), would be an excellent candidate for the Eleazer martyred during Maccabean times. Eleazar is a Jewishmartyrportrayed in 2 Maccabees 6. Verse 18 describes him as "one of the leading teachers of the law," and "of distinguished bearing."^[1] We learn from verse 24 that he was ninety at the time of his death. Under a persecution instigated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Eleazar was forced to open his mouth and eat pork, but he spat it out and submitted to flogging.^[2] He was then privately permitted to eat meat that he could pretend was pork, but he refused and was flogged to death. The narrator relates that in his death he left "a heroic example and a glorious memory," (verse 31).^[1]

Very fitting if he were the son of the heroic Azariah!

But let us now get to the FIRE!
 

Grandfather Sirach (Azariah) tells us early in the book (2:5):

“For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity”.

The fiery furnace of King Nebuchednezzar?

But more specifically, Sirach tells us in Chapter 51 (the Greek version attributes this to the grandson), a Song of Thanksgiving:

I give you thanks, O Lord and King;

I praise you as my God and Savior.

I give you thanks,

²for you have helped me and protected me.

You have rescued me from death,

from dangerous lies and slander.³ You helped me when no one else would;

Cf. Daniel 3:8 (The Golden Image):

⁸At this time some astrologers^[b] [Chaldeans] came forward and denounced the Jews. ⁹ They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! ¹⁰ Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, ¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹² But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Sirach continues:

…. in your great mercy you saved me

from the many troubles I have known:

from the glaring hatred of my enemies, [Cf. Daniel 3:¹⁹ Nebuchadnezzar’s face twisted with anger at the three men. And he ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual]. who wanted to put an end to my life;

And now to the core of the matter:

… [you saved me] ⁴ from suffocation in oppressive smoke

rising from fires that I did not light;

⁵from death itself;

from vicious slander reported to the king.

Another version has: “… from the choking fire on every side, and from the midst of fire that I had not kindled”.

Daniel 3:15-25:

[King Nebuchednezzar said] …. if you do not worship [my image], you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

It is then, in the midst of the fire, that young Azariah (our Sirach), presumably a priest, intoned his magnificent prayer to the God of his ancestors. This was followed by the combined prayer of the three young men, concluding with “… for His mercy endures forever” (v. 90).

Sirach (Hebrew version) repetitiously uses that exact same phrase, “… for His mercy endures forever” in his thanksgiving prayer (51:12), for God had delivered him (vv. 5-6):

⁵ from the deep belly of Hades,

from an unclean tongue and lying words—

⁶ the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king.

My soul drew near to death,

and my life was on the brink of Hades below.

Cf. Daniel 3:[66 or]88, where deliverance from Hades is mentioned:

Bless the Lord, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael,

sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever;

for he has rescued us from Hades and saved us from the hand of death,
and delivered us from the midst of the burning fiery furnace;

from the midst of the fire he has delivered us.

The three young men had been completely cornered, confronted by a cruel and vicious king (“an unjust king, and the most wicked in all the world”)and by his strong-arm guards (3:19-20):

“[King Nebuchednezzar] spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who werein his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast theminto the burning fiery furnace”.

Whereas the version of the fiery furnace incident in Daniel is a bit more matter of fact and triumphalistic, Sirach tells of the terrible personal struggle and feeling of isolation that the young man (Azariah) had to endure (51:7):
 

Sirach51:6 I was once brought face to face to the king. [Cf. Nebuchadnezzar’s face twisted with anger].

Sirach 51:7 enemies surrounded me everywhere.
I looked for someone to help me,
but there was no one there.

But his God was there to help and save the young man (vv. 8-12):
 

Sirach 51:8 But then, O Lord, I remembered how merciful you are
and what you had done in times past.
I remembered that you rescue those who rely on you,
that you save them from their enemies.

Sirach 51:9 Then from here on earth I prayed to you
to rescue me from death.

Sirach 51:10 I prayed, "O Lord, you are my father;
do not abandon me to my troubles
when I am helpless against arrogant enemies.

Sirach 51:11 I will always praise you
and sing hymns of thanksgiving."
You answered my prayer,

Sirach 51:12 and saved me from the threat of destruction.
And so I thank you and praise you.
O Lord, I praise you!

The Young man’s Wisdom and expertise in Mosaïc Law

The Wisdom of Daniel and his three young friends has become legendary (Daniel 1):

….

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility—⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.^b

]">[b]⁵ The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

….

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. ²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

Azariah was also apparently highly conversant with Israel’s history and with the Law:

1:3-15

Confession of sins  Azariah begins by praising God He is the God of our fathers and always just in whatever He has done His deeds and judgments are true The exile was “just” on account of the sins of all the people The people did not obey God’s commandments Nor have they done “what was good for them” Because of this, God’s actions were justified Israel has been delivered into the hands of their enemies These enemies are lawless and hateful Their king is completely unjust Yet, the people of Israel cannot complain Shame and disgrace are their lot – even for those who still worship him All are culpable Azariah prays that God will not abandon them forever or annul His covenant He pleads that God will not withdraw His mercy from them He refers to the promises made to Abraham and Isaac They were promised descendants more numerous than the stars of the sky and of the sands of the seashore He realizes Israel’s smallness of importance and knows it is a result of their sin In exile they have no king, no prophet, no leader [Technically, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah and Ezekiel were both actively prophesying, which suggests that this was written much later.] They have no temple or anyplace to make an offering

Sirach, likewise, was a seeker of wisdom from youth and a lover of the Law, who well knew the history of Israel:

Sirach 24:

Wisdom and the Law

²³ Wisdom is the Law, the Law which Moses commanded us to keep, the covenant of God Most High, the inheritance of the synagogues of Israel.^e

]">[e]²⁵ The Law overflows with Wisdom like the Pishon River, like the Tigris at fruit-picking time.²⁶ The Law brims over with understanding like the Euphrates, like the Jordan at harvest time.²⁷ It sparkles with teachings like the Nile,^f]">[f] like the Gihon at grape-picking time.

²⁸ The first human being ever created never knew Wisdom completely, and the last person on earth will be no more successful. ²⁹ The possibilities of Wisdom are vaster than the ocean; her resources are more profound than the deepest waters beneath the earth.

³⁰ As for me, I thought of myself as an irrigation canal bringing water from a river into a garden. ³¹ I only intended to water my orchard and flower beds, but the canal soon became a river, and the river became a sea. ³² And so I present you with my learning; I hold it high, so that its light can be seen everywhere, like that of the rising sun.³³ Like an inspired prophet, I pour out my teachings, so that future generations can benefit from them.³⁴ Please realize that I have not done all this hard work for myself alone, but to help anyone who wants to be wise.

In Chapters 38-39 Sirach, presumably a scribe (secretary, like Ardi-Nabu, , “secretary of the crown prince”) himself, proclaims the superiority of the office of scribe with which he is so familiar (Sirach 39):

1 [The scribes] will seek out the wisdom of all the ancestors, and they will be occupied with prophecies. 2 They will preserve the stories of famous people, and they will penetrate the subtle turns of parables.3 They will seek out the hidden meanings of proverbs, and will live with the puzzles of parables. 4 They will serve among the great and appear before rulers. They will travel in foreign lands, because they will test what's good and what's evil in people. 5 They will commit themselves to rise early, to seek the Lord who made them, and to pray to the Most High. They will open their mouth in prayer and ask forgiveness for their sins. 6 If the great Lord is willing, they will be filled with a spirit of understanding; they will pour forth words of wisdom, and they will give thanks to the Lord in prayer. 7 Their reasoning and knowledge will remain on course, and they will ponder God's mysteries. 8 They will bring to light the learning of their instruction, and they will make the laws of the Lord's covenant their boast. 9 Many will praise their understanding, and it will never be forgotten. The remembrance of them will never disappear, and their name will live for generations upon generations. 10 The nations will speak of their wisdom, and the congregation will proclaim their praise. 11 If they live a long time, they will leave behind a name greater than a thousand names, and if they find rest, it will be enough for them.

Conclusion

The brilliantly wise scribe, Sirach (Sira), was none other than Azariah (Seraiah), a child prodigy, who was tested in the fire of affliction and the furnace of hardship, so as to become like pure gold and shining forever.

“For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity”.

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For full article, see: http://bookofesther-amaic.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/was-sirach-in-kings-blazing-fiery.html

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