And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into ... a burning fiery furnace. No other nation but the Jews would feel this edict oppressive; because it did not prevent them worshipping their own gods besides. It was evidently aimed at the Jews by those jealous of their high position in the king's court, who therefore induced him to pass an edict as to all recusants, representing such refusal of homage as an act of treason to Nebuchadnezzar, as civil and religious "head" of the empire. So the edict under Darius (Daniel 6:1-28) was aimed against the Jews by those jealous of Daniel's influence. The literal image of Nebuchadnezzar is a typical prophecy of "the image of the beast," connected with mystical Babylon, in Revelation 13:14. The second mystical beast there causeth the earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship the first beast, and that as many as would not should be killed (Revelation 13:12; Revelation 13:15).
Furnace - a common mode of punishment in Babylon (Jeremiah 29:22). It is not necessary to suppose that the furnace was made for the occasion. Compare 2 Samuel 12:31; David made the people of Rabbah of Ammon "pass through the brick-kiln." Any furnace for common purposes in the vicinity of Dura would serve. Chardin, in his travels (1671 AD - 1677 AD), mentions that in Persia, to terrify those who took advantage of scarcity to sell provisions at exorbitant prices, the cooks were roasted over a slow fire, and the bakers cast into a burning oven.