Sometimes the motifs were those of late antiquity, but they were predominantly drawn from the Hebrew scriptures and include such scenes as Daniel in the lion's den; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being delivered from
the burning fiery furnace; and the story of Jonah, which ends in triumph and which the early church took as a foreshadowing of the death and resurrection of Christ.
It was not they who had borne the burden of patient endurance and sacrifice, walking, as it were, in a «
burning fiery furnace.»
The term «furnace of fire» recalls the «
burning fiery furnace» of Daniel 3 (vv 6 - 26, 8 times).
Not exact matches
For example, you could imagine the free fatty acids being
burned for energy in the «cellular powerhouse» - the mitochondria - and you could imagine the mitochondria as a
fiery furnace... «incinerating» the fat!