The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
We now move to the year 426 BC and Daniel is eighty-seven years old.
The grandson of king Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, whose name means Prince of Bel, is now ruling the kingdom.
He is the third and final ruler of the kingdom of Babylon.
Let's see what he is up to.
Daniel 5:1
Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Even this great banquet hall where this feast and drunken bash took place has been found and excavated. It is 60 feet wide and 172 feet long with the walls decorated with painted stucco designs.
Read Dr. Bullinger's marginal notes in the Companion Bible where he even gives a reference for you to check out the discovery.
IF you don't have a Companion Bible you can
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Companion Bible free at: http://www.companionbiblecondensed.com/
When you open site click unto and download one book at
a time unto your disk or hard drive.
and
the appendix at: http://www.markfoster.net/rn/companion_bible_appendices.pdf
This is important because when you see that secular history and archaeology align with Father's Word, it strengthens your faith in knowing that His Word is most assuredly true and accurate.
In fact, it is the standard by which all other history must align for the events written therein did happen, even though the higher critics would like to have you believe otherwise in many cases.
So each time a new discovery is made that confirms that which is written in the Word of God, it makes the higher critic look more foolish than he or she already is.
[2] Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzarhad taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
It is just like we would say "our father Abraham" which means our ancestral father not our immediate father.
The same applies to the word "son" which could and often does mean grandson, great grandson, etc.
Once again, if you have a Companion Bible which we highly recommend, the marginal notes will give you more details concerning Nebuchadnezzar and his son and his grandson who were prophesied to succeed him and rule Babylon.
In fact, let's go to Jeremiah and document that prophecy.
Jeremiah 27:6-7
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
God gave them to him!
[7] And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
And now not only the king and his lords are gathered but also all the king's wives and his concubines were all invited to come in and drink wine from the vessels of the house of the Lord!
What a mockery and disregard for the One who gives them the very breath they breath.
See that you are not one who attends his feast but rather one who flees from the land of Judea as per Christ's instructions and remains a spiritual virgin unto the coming of the true Bridegroom.
Live Link to- Endure til the end
Daniel 5:3
Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
What blasphemy!
[4] They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
You will also find if you count the "gods" in verse four
there are "6" of them.
[5] In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Our Father definitely has a way of getting one's attention whether he or she is drunk or not... either physically or spiritually!
And let us not overlook what has happened here because this is given as a picture, a type, a graphic ensample to those us in these last days upon whom the ends of the world are come (1 Cor. 10:11).
God did NOT pass judgment upon Belshazzar without "the handwriting on the wall" being placed right before his very eyes!
The fact that neither he nor his great idolatrous religious leaders could read or understand what was written before their very eyes convicts them and gives witness to their ignorance and disregard for the Most High!
[6] Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
[7] The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Remember, Jesus Christ himself told us that if we want to know what is happening concerning the abomination of desolation, the king of Babylon of these last days, then go read what the prophet Daniel has to say.
He did NOT say go read men's works or listen to soothsayers or follow the empty traditions of religionists (even if they call themselves Christian) which contain no foundation in the Word of God.
Your Father God is the one who reveals secrets and gives us of the hidden manna.
Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the only one worthy and the only one who has prevailed and is able to unlock the seals and reveal knowledge and understanding to you (Rev. 4:5).
[8] Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.
Here it is... the handwriting is "written" on the wall, visible for the king and all the religious community to see and they cannot read it, meaning they have no clue what it means.
Isn't that just typical of the religious community?
They are so steeped in idolatry that they cannot read and understand God's Word when it is visibly placed right before their eyes.
They can zip-a-dee doo-dah around the altar and contort their faces and look and sound real religious and holy, but when it comes to wisdom and understanding the written Word of God, they are as drunken sots.
Some things just never change and the religious leaders of today are no different in their lack of wisdom and understanding of God's Word.
These few verses below from Isaiah 29 tell us how it is.
Isaiah 29:9
Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
Remember Daniel and his companions did not drink the spiritually intoxicating wine served by servants of the king of Babylon.
The "ate" only pulse, pure food from the Word of God, and "drank" only the living water of His Word.
Hey, the king of Babylon's wine will cause you to stagger and fall asleep... spiritually speaking.
[10] For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
In other words, they are not given eyes to "see" which means to "understand" the things that are written because they do not seek understanding and wisdom.
They are too busy with their traditions and church doctrines, etc., which blind them to the point that they cannot even "see" the simplicity of "men walking as trees"!
[11] And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
You can go to all the colleges and seminaries you want and obtain man's PhD's and ThD's and DD's and DVD's (just threw that in to see if you're awake) and collect more alphabet soup to go behind your name than will fit on your impressive silver and gold embossed business card, but if you have not gone to the schoolmaster and studied the law and prophets and sought through the Holy Spirit to rightly divide the Word of truth, then the book remains as sealed to you just as much as it does to the uneducated... only you look much more foolish.
[12] And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
[13] Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Therefore, all they know of the love of God is what they have been taught by the "precepts of men" which are the vain and empty traditions of men.
They do not KNOW Jesus Christ because they do not know the Written Word of God.
So, Almighty God will do a marvellous work among them and He WILL get their attention!
You can count on it!
Yes, Almighty God shall do a marvellous work among this people and He will use the king of Babylon, Satan, to play a big part in it![14] Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
You "see", Daniel can explain "the handwriting on the wall" and we will soon see him do just that!
Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, the last king of Babylon, is having a big drunken bash in his banquet house and he has gone and taken the golden and silver vessels which his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, turning this into a religious orgy, almost like a wedding feast in that the king has included not only his princes, but his wives and his concubines, that they might ALL drink wine from the sacred vessels.
You know, wine is what you take communion with and in this case they are drinking from the gold and silver vessels of the temple, but they are praising the "6" gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone.
You see, they were all in a drunken stupor, symbolic of spiritual drunkenness which is idolatry, drinking wine, as if taking communion, from the sacred vessels of God.
You got the picture?
And while they were partying up and playing follow the leader, Belshazzar, the prince of Bel, all of a sudden there came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote and he became terrified and his loins were loosed and knees knocked.
Our Father has a way of getting a person's attention whether he is sober or not!
And when you mess with His precious vessels you can count on Him taking action and the fact that you are going to pay the price.
Hey, God made it plain and visible to all, but no one could read and interpret the writing until Daniel was brought forth.
So let's return to Daniel and pick it up in verse nine where the king has gone through the entire religious community and not one of them could interpret the handwriting on the wall.
Then did old Belshazzar's countenance really take a turn for the worse as everyone was completely dumbfounded yet he knew something ominous was on the horizon, or rather written on the wall.
Daniel 5:9
Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.
[10] Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
[11] There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father (grandfather) light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father (grandfather), the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
[12] Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
You "see", it is God through His prophets and servants who gives us knowledge, and understanding, and interprets dreams, and explains seemingly difficult sentences, and dissolves all doubts and guesswork concerning the abominable desolator, Satan, who comes in these last days and throws his big drunken feast for his princes, his wives, his concubines, and whomsoever will drink of his wine and eat of his meat.
At least the queen mother had the wisdom to know that if you what to know what's happening and why... then consult the prophets of God, like Daniel, who speak the Word of God.
Man and his religions, even most of today's so-called Christian churches, apart from God's Word are and always have been clueless.
It is that simple.
[13] Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
And here it is only two generations since the days of king Nebuchadnezzar and the current king of Babylon, who will claim in the next verse to have heard of Daniel, but had no regard for the prophet of God.
He was too busy seeking the wisdom and counsel of soothsayers and magicians and the religious sect of the Chaldeans, the kenites, than to have regard for a true man of God.
Nevertheless because of the words of the queen mother, Daniel who had the "excellent spirit in him" was brought out of retirement to face the last king of Babylon and give unto him God's final words, His judgment.
Note: "Jewry" in verse 13 should read "Judea".
[14] I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
Remember, nothing of what Daniel was able to see or interpret was because of his own wisdom but rather of God to whom he was always careful to give the credit even and especially before the king of Babylon.
[15] And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:
It was written before their very eyes but they had no excellent spirit in them and therefore they were unable to read and interpret the Word of God.
How then does one come to know and understand the handwriting on the wall?
Go get Daniel! or
today, his book,
[16] And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Of course Daniel wasn't interested in being clothed with "scarlet", which is bright red, but would rather keep his clean white linen garments... if you know what I mean.
Besides, Daniel knew that the king would be killed and unable to fulfill his promises.
Take heed and be very careful when the Satan, king of Babylon of our day, comes and offers you the glory and riches of this world, even as he tempted Jesus Christ with those things in Matthew chapter four!
The question is, "Do you have a price and if so, how much will you take for your soul?"
[17] Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Besides, servants of God do not seek vain glory nor self gain for giving instruction in and teaching the words of God.
[18] O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father (grandfather) a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
Remember God let it be known through the prophet Jeremiah that both Nebuchadnezzar's son and his son's son would also rule.
Jeremiah 27:6
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.[7] And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
God's Word is true and it is sure to come to pass exactly as it is written.
Many of these things such as the banquet hall of Belshazzar and the rulership of Nebuchadnezzar's son and his son's son, can be found documented in the pages of secular history, giving us another witness and adding to our faith in knowing with certitude that our Father's Word is true beyond doubt.
You "see", faith is not to be confused with hope!
Faith is defined in Hebrews chapter 11 as "substance" which is what is under you (sub) that you stand upon.
If what you stand upon is the rich knowledge and wisdom of your Father's Word, then your faith is "Rock" solid.
If what you stand upon is the traditions of men then you are on real shaky ground and your unfounded faith will not sustain you when the rains descend and floods come and the winds blow (Mat. 7:26-27).
Daniel 5:19
And for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
[20] But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
Never forget that which is written... Matthew 23:12 "And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
Satan exalted himself in the first earth age.
His heart was lifted up, and so our Father cast him to the ground.
You can read of it in Ezekiel 28:
Ezekiel 28:15
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. [16] By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. [17]Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
[21] And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appointeth over it whomsoever He will.
[22] And thou his son (grandson), O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
Yet he did not take heed nor fill himself with knowledge as did his grandfather, Nebo-chadnezzar had.
"Nebo" means "god of learning".
Instead, there's an idolatrous party going on here in the great banquet hall where they are eating and drinking and making merry and worshipping the gods of gold and silver, etc!
You "see", he has "lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven" and you now know from the Word of God (Mat. 23:12) what ALWAYS follows that!
[23] But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Again, he knew what had happened to his grandfather king Nebuchadnezzar and therefore he was without excuse.
Certainly Daniel knew from the rich knowledge and wisdom and by seeing that which had already come to pass, i.e. the 7 years of Nebuchadnezzar, that one who exalts himself or herself shall be abased... especially one who is profane and trashes His Holy name by using His vessels to drink out of and give praise and glory to other gods.
So here we see a type of the king of Babylon who shall come and have a great feast of eating and drinking with his princes and his wives and his concubines.
And when you see that come to pass... then remember the handwriting is on the wall and appointed time of the end is close at hand.
[24] Then was the part of the hand sent from Him; and this writing was written.
The handwriting is on the wall.
Do you have eyes to see and ears
to hear what it says?
Jesus Christ said He has foretold us all things (Mark 13:23), therefore it is written and it shall come to pass exactly as it is written.
And that which was written upon the wall in the king's palace was God's judgment upon Belshazzar, O Prince of Bel!
And God's servant is giving it to him straight on.
The rulers of the nations who drink of wine of fornication in these last days and mock God, better beware... for GOD IS JUDGE... and He is soon coming to the valley of Jehoshaphat with His saints to execute justice in all the world (Joel 3).
MENE, MENE = NUMBERED, NUMBERED - "mene" is Chaldean = "numbered [yea] ended"+[25] And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
TEKEL = , Chald. for shekel, WEIGHED IN THE BALANCE
UPHARSIN = AND DIVIDED or BROKEN - Chald. upharsin, the "u" = and, paras (or peres) = to break.
[26] This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
Your kingdom is now history... it's over... finis!
Notice that MENE is repeated twice for emphasis.
It is like we say today "his days are numbered"!
Now notice how this judgment was determined!
[27] TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
God placed him on the scales and he came up a few ounces (of brains) short.
Recall the words that Daniel spoke to Belshazzar documenting that he was without excuse for he did not lack the knowledge of what happened to his grandfather and knew that vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem belong to God.
Therefore because of the evidence produced and verified in verse 23, he is found wanting (deficient) and the sentence was decreed that his kingdom should be taken from him and he shall end up slain, as in he will perish.
The fact is, God is completely fair and He weighs all of us in the balances!
Do you know what those balances are that we are weighed against?
It is His Word.
How do you measure up?
Stay in your Father's Word and do not be found "wanting" (deficient)!
[28] PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
[29] Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
The problem is that man, even the most powerful ruler on earth, does not have the power to bring his words to pass for his proclamations of what he or she is going to do are as tinkling brass because just like that... their number can be up and they are out of here leaving their empty words unfilled behind them.
However, our Father is eternal and He has the power to bring His Words to pass exactly as they are written and HE DOES!
One of the great lessons we have learned to this point is that He is in complete control and He uses whomsoever He will to fulfill His purpose and bring to pass His wondrous plan.
And all He does, He does for the benefit of His children because He loves them very much... yes, even we sinners... for He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall enter into eternal life (Jn. 3:16).
[30] In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
We are not told by what means or by whose hand Belshazzar was slain, but we do know from the Chaldean word used here that it was a violent death.
The word "Darius" is actually what is called an appellative, which is simply a title like king or ruler.[31] And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
This Darius was Astyages, the father of Cyrus who according to Herodotus was about forty years old in 426 BC.
It was Cyrus, one of only three men in the Word of God who were named before they were born, who gave the decree for the exiles to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Well, there you have it, the great 5th chapter of the
Book of Daniel
from where we get the expression,
We saw a great ensample God's judgment placed upon a king who lifted himself up against the God of heaven and took the precious vessels from our Father's house and led his princes and his wives and his concubines to a feast in a great banquet hall to become spiritually intoxicated by drinking wine from the vessels of the house of God while worshipping the gods of gold and silver and brass and iron and wood and stone.
Hey, his kingdom was taken from him and would not be restored to him for he was slain according to the Word of God.
Jesus said, "the book of Daniel was where one could go read and gain understanding"
Jesus Christ told us in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 when He sat upon the Mount of Olives and gave His disciples the seven seals concerning the knowledge and the events that would transpire during the final generation of the fig tree, that the book of Daniel was where one could go read and gain understanding concerning the abomination of desolation, that abominable desolator (antichrist) who would come stand in the holy place claiming to be God.