Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Crazy Theophanies | 3 examples in the Hebrew Bible

Crazy Theophanies | 3 examples in the Hebrew Bible

Last updated on: November 16, 2021 at 1:02 pm by Rev. Jared V. Ingle

Crazy Theophanies | 3 examples in the Hebrew Bible 2021-11-16T13:02:30-05:00 Rev. Jared V. Ingle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

About the title Crazy Theophanies… I truly mean no disrespect. This is a very interesting topic. It is an attention-getter for people who may not otherwise look. Perhaps in a way Theophanies are attention-getters which stand on their own for us as well in the Old Testament.

video setup (9 min 25 sec)

We’re talking about the book of Daniel. Specifically we’re talking about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who have the names King Nebuchadnezzar gives them in Babylon.

Crazy Theophanies

He throws them in the fire because they fail to worship a statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, they choose to always worship their God. So they fail to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. So he throws them in the fire to burn them up, basically to snuff them out.

The story goes, for those of you who have read and studied the story, or who may have heard it when you were younger, Nebuchadnezzar all of a sudden says something like:

Wait, I see another in the fire… (Daniel 3.25)

And this other one is what we are talking about. Who was the other one?

purpose

This is something like a commissioned project. I was asked about all of this information by a person who has served in church his whole life, although he’s only a millennial. He has had a seat at the table as a deacon, and holds a career in public service.

At his church, one of the groups is going through a study on this topic, and has been for weeks. I’m honored to offer a little insight in times like this.

About the title Crazy Theophanies… I truly mean no disrespect. This is a very interesting topic. It is an attention-getter for people who may not otherwise look. Perhaps in a way Theophanies are attention-getters which stand on their own for us as well in the Old Testament.

method

I am basically sharing some hotly contested Scripture. As stated more than once, you will hear multiple opinions on these Passages in the Hebrew Bible.

I will just pass along to you what one of my seminary professors once told the class after a session where we all seemed to be debating endlessly. “Sometimes the best professors will raise more questions than they answer….”

I am straying from my preaching/teaching style. In some ways, I’m really just flowing with some Scriptural highlights in mind. This is not even a method I use for storytelling in a formal setting. Nonetheless, the audience of one (so to speak) was grateful for what I shared with him.

further study | Theophanies

Try looking up Theophany, or specifically a Christophany. Theophany would be an appearance of a deity, or of our God. A Christophany is an appearance of Christ, but generally referring to a post-resurrection appearance.

In Christian Theology, Theophanies generally (not all the time) refer to an appearance of Christ in the Hebrew Bible. There are many Passages like this one to chose from.

further research… sometimes songs tell the story far better

Another in The Fire, Hillsong United CLICK HERE

And I leave you with one of my favorite ways this story plays out. The reason why is because it may not have been all about the Theophany. It could have been about the resolve of three Hebrew young men who knew they were going to stand for the truth, no matter the consequences. Daniel 3.16-18

Who has ever captured their resolve better than Russ Taff?

Not Gonna Bow, Russ Taff CLICK HERE

Previous Post

November 15, 2021

the performance of Joel's article on divorce

Next Post

November 22, 2021 Ecclesiastes, pt. 12 | the futility of chasing wealth

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Communion Cruz Ingle Crystal Ingle Early Church Engaging Culture Ethics & Society Family Formation History In Dialogue Jared & Crystal Kingdom of God Majority World Church Mateo Ingle Messenger College Mission Narrative Pentecostal Church of God Prayer Shepherding The Sermon The Writings Theology Theology & Psychology Traverse City Uncategorized Vernell Ingle Word Study

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 May 2017 March 2017 March 2014 February 2013 January 2013 October 2012 July 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 August 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Judas" mean in Greek?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Deceiver Betrayer Praise Strong