August 12, 2025 • 28 mins
The handwriting is on the wall—few phrases have entered our cultural vocabulary with such force. In this riveting exploration of Daniel chapter 5, we witness the dramatic final hours of the Babylonian Empire as God's judgment arrives in spectacular fashion.
Picture the scene: King Belshazzar hosts an extravagant feast for a thousand nobles, attempting to boost morale in a city under siege. Behind Babylon's massive 350-foot walls, the king believes himself untouchable despite the Medo-Persian army surrounding them. In an act of shocking blasphemy, Belshazzar orders the sacred vessels from Jerusalem's temple to be brought out for his guests to drink from while praising their pagan gods.
Then it happens—ghostly fingers appear, writing mysterious words on the palace wall. The mighty king crumbles, his knees knocking together in terror as none of his wise men can interpret the message. Enter Daniel, now 84 years old, who had been sidelined despite his legendary wisdom. With remarkable courage, Daniel refuses the king's rewards and delivers a stinging rebuke, reminding Belshazzar how Nebuchadnezzar's pride led to his humiliation years earlier.
The interpretation is devastating: "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN"—God has numbered Babylon's days, found Belshazzar wanting, and will divide his kingdom among the Medes and Persians. That very night, as Cyrus's army diverts the Euphrates and marches through the lowered river gates, Babylon falls and Belshazzar is killed, fulfilling prophecies spoken by Isaiah and Jeremiah centuries before.
This ancient account speaks powerfully to our modern hearts. No fortress can protect those who mock God. No earthly power stands forever. And the One who holds our very breath in His hands deserves our reverence and honor. What writing might appear on your wall today?
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Thank you once again forjoining me for the Mysteries of
God's Word.
Today we are in Daniel, chapter5, where we will learn about
the handwriting on the wall inthe last day of Babylon, as the
(00:25):
Medo-Persia Empire infiltrates,conquers and takes over the
region.
Beginning at verse 1, kingBelshazzar made a great feast
for a thousand of his lords anddrank wine in front of the
(00:47):
thousand.
Belshazzar, when he had tastedthe wine, commanded that the
vessels of gold and silver thatNebuchadnezzar, his father, had
taken out of the temple inJerusalem be brought, and that
the king and his lords, hiswives, his concubines might
(01:09):
drink from them.
Then they brought in the goldenvessels that had been taken out
of the temple of the house ofGod in Jerusalem, and the kings
and his lords, his wives and hisconcubines drank from them.
There's quite a bit to take inhere in verses 1 through 3, so
(01:31):
let's start with verse 1.
Who's King Belshazzar?
Chapter 5 begins immediately bynaming a different king other
than King Nebuchadnezzar, who wehave been studying in the
previous chapters.
At the time of this narrative,nebuchadnezzar has now been dead
(01:52):
24 years and Babylon has gonethrough three other short-lived
and wicked kings prior toBelshazzar.
Belshazzar has now beenreigning for 17 years himself,
and Belshazzar is actually moreof a co-regent than a king.
His father, nabodinas, is therightful king.
(02:15):
However, nabodinas left thekingdom very early in his reign
because he was on a quest torebuild a temple of his god,
seir, and then he remained inthe Arabian desert for health
reasons.
So he left his son, belshazzar,in Babylon as reigning king.
(02:37):
And now we find King Belshazzarinviting 1,000 lords who ruled
in this great and massive cityof Babylon to feast with him.
And the feast was an arrogantand foolish ploy to try and
strengthen the failing morale ofthe city and ruling class.
(03:00):
Less than one year earlier, thearmy of Babylon had experienced
a crushing defeat right outsidethe city gates to the hands of
Cyrus of Persia.
After losing the battle, theyretreated into the mighty city
fortress of Babylon with its350-foot walls, believing they
(03:22):
could easily outlast the siegeof Cyrus because they had over
20 years of provisions stored upin the city and they had a
great river flowing rightthrough the middle.
However, cyrus was determinedand he remained outside the city
walls with his army, and hebegan to dig a trench around the
great, mighty Babylon,believing if he couldn't go over
(03:46):
or through the walls he wouldsomehow have to go under.
And at the point of ournarrative, as we are picking up
here in verse 1 through 3, ithad been many months where the
entire Medo-Persian army wasoutside of the city digging
(04:08):
tirelessly a vast trench aroundthe city.
And that, combined with thedefeat of their great army, has
the city very nervous.
So Belshazzar believes thatthis great feast with 1,000 of
his lords, is going to help withthe failing morale and keep him
(04:28):
in power.
In my research I found a veryinteresting note.
Recent excavations byarchaeologists in ancient
Babylon have actually found alarge hall right in the palace
55 feet wide by 165 feet longwith plaster could have easily
(04:50):
accommodated 1,000 nobles.
So at this great feast,belshazzar drinks wine in front
of all of these nobles to showthem that, in spite of their
recent defeat, they can allrelax and celebrate in this
mighty walled fortress ofBabylon.
Little did they know that weeksearlier Cyrus had realized how
(05:15):
he would be able to lower thewater level to the city, water
gates and the river that flowedthrough the city.
He was planning to dig moretrenches from the river that
flowed through the city.
He was planning to dig moretrenches from the river to a
nearby lake and also digtrenches to this vast trench
around the city, lowering thewater level.
Then we read in verse 2 thatafter tasting the wine in front
(05:38):
of these lords, king Belshazzarordered his servants to bring
out the vessels of gold andsilver that Nebuchadnezzar had
captured from Solomon's temple,the first temple in Jerusalem,
so that all of them might drinkfrom them.
This arrogant display fromBelshazzar shows his contempt
(06:01):
for the mighty power of the onetrue God.
Picking up in verse 4, it readsthey drank wine and they
praised the gods of gold andsilver, bronze, iron, wood and
stone.
Immediately, the fingers of ahuman hand appeared and wrote on
(06:24):
the plaster of the wall of theking's palace, opposed to the
lampstand, and the king saw thehand as it wrote.
Then the king's color changedand his thoughts alarmed him.
His limbs gave way and hisknees knocked together gave way
(06:44):
and his knees knocked together.
In verses 4-6, we read that asthey drank out of these vessels
from the Lord's temple, theybegan to praise their pagan gods
.
Doing this is particularly ahostile act of blasphemy towards
the god of Daniel and towardsthe God that Nebuchadnezzar
(07:06):
worshipped in the last year ofhis life and gave a decree that
all flesh must worship the Lord,god in heaven.
Belshazzar, out of his ownpagan ideals and beliefs, was
appealing to his pagan gods,ideals and beliefs, was
(07:28):
appealing to his pagan gods,somehow believing that they were
going to deliver him from theseprophecies that the Lord God
had made on Babylon.
That Babylon would indeed bedestroyed.
And the moment they began topraise their pagan gods, fingers
attached to a human hand beganfloating in mid-air next to the
(07:49):
wall and it appeared directlyacross the room from the
lampstand so that everyone inthe room could see.
This hand was directly in thelight of that lampstand and,
furthermore, it was directly inline of sight of the king.
We are told the king saw itwhile the hand was writing.
(08:12):
Belshazzar became so terrifiedwhen he saw this hand that his
body reacted violently in aflight or fight mechanism.
The blood was taken from hisskin, it moved to his vital
organs, his adrenaline kicked in, but he could do nothing.
So he lost control over hisextremities.
(08:34):
He fell to the ground and hebegan to shake, with his knees
knocking together, picking up inverse 7.
The king called loudly to bringin the enchanters, the
Chaldeans and the astrologers,picking up in verse 7.
Then all the king's wise mencame in, but they could not read
(09:12):
the writing or make known tothe king the interpretation.
Then King Belshazzar wasgreatly alarmed and his color
changed and his lords wereperplexed.
Here in verses 7 through 9, wesee that in this panic attack
that the king had, he yells forhis enchanters, the wise men of
(09:35):
Babylon, the Chaldeans and theastrologers.
And all of these so-called wisemen that the king is calling
for are dark arts dealers.
The word for enchanter issometimes translated charmer,
because enchanters use a form ofdemonic seduction and
convincing lies to manipulatepeople.
(09:56):
And the word for astrologerhere, quite frankly, is a little
bit confusing.
It actually refers to men thatuse the dark arts to gain
knowledge from the supernaturalworld, such as mediums or
fortune tellers.
The Chaldeans in this contextare the soothsayers that have
been schooled under thetraditions of the Chaldeans.
(10:22):
So when these dark arts dealerscome and arrive on the scene,
king Belshazzar tells them thatif they can read this writing,
if they can decipher what thismeans for him, he'll reward them
with great gifts.
He will include jewelry andclothing fit for a king.
But most notably, he willreward the man who can do this
(10:47):
with a position of great powerto be third ruler in the kingdom
.
So why does Belshazzar saythird ruler and not second ruler
?
Well, we've already touched onthat a little bit earlier.
It's because the best possibleposition that could be offered
in the kingdom is third ruler.
(11:07):
As I mentioned earlier,belshazzar was second in charge
because his father, kingNabodinus, was actually first in
charge, even though KingNabodinus was not in the kingdom
he was in the Arabian desert.
Nevertheless, these two kingsreigned together.
(11:28):
So being the third ruler in thekingdom would indeed be just
under the kings of Babylon.
So after all of these pagansoothsayers and dark art workers
came in, they examined what thefinger had written on the wall
and with all of their collectiveknowledge, they could not read
(11:51):
what was written, nor could theygive any kind of interpretation
for what it could mean.
And when King Belshazzar heardthat the men that he had placed
his trust in could notunderstand this writing, he
became so afraid that once again, he went into a panic attack
and the blood fled from his face.
Belshazzar is now realizingthat what he feared the most is
(12:17):
the truth.
The God of heaven, whoseprophets had prophesied
Babylon's downfall for ages andwhom Belshazzar has outright
rejected and now mocked in frontof 1,000 lords, is in fact the
one true God and he has writtena message on Belshazzar's wall.
(12:39):
So these 1,000 lords of Babylonare confused when they see
Belshazzar's reaction, becausethey don't understand how
committed these two kings,nabodinas and Belshazzar, have
been to these pagan and demonicgods.
They have completely rejectedthe creator of heaven and earth
(13:03):
and have completely committedthemselves to the worship of
created things such as gold andsilver, picking up in verse 10.
The queen, because of the wordsof the king and his lords, came
into the banquet hall and thequeen declared O king, live
forever.
Let not your thoughts alarm youor your color change.
(13:27):
There is a man in your kingdomin whom is the spirit of the
holy gods In the days of yourfather.
Light and understanding andwisdom, like the wisdom of the
gods, were found in him.
And King Nebuchadnezzar, yourfather, your father, the king
made him chief of the magicians,enchanters, chaldeans and
(13:52):
astrologers because an excellentspirit, knowledge and
understanding to interpretdreams, explain riddles and
solve problems were found inDaniel, whom the king named
Belteshazzar.
Now let Daniel be called, andhe will show the interpretation
(14:13):
here.
In verses 10 through 12, we'retold that the queen comes into
the banquet hall because sheheard these words of the kings
and the lords.
Now, just for someclarification, this was not the
wife of Belshazzar, as his wivesand his concubines were already
at the banquet hall.
(14:33):
We learned that back in verse 2.
Rather, this was likely eitherthe wife of Nabodinas, who he
was co-ruling with, or it was apast queen, perhaps the queen's
mother, or it was a past queen,perhaps the queen's mother.
The fact that this queen hadlearned what was going on in the
banquet hall tells us thatsomeone had reported to her what
(14:54):
was happening and how the kingwas in a desperate situation.
So the queen comes in and bothhonors the king and helps him.
Through this, she begins tomake a very long-winded speech
about Daniel in front of these1,000 lords, describing Daniel's
gift of wisdom, his discernmentand how he was able to help
(15:17):
Nebuchadnezzar in times justlike this.
Now, certainly King Belshazzarknew about Daniel.
In fact, daniel had become sofamous in all of the land that
even people in foreign nationsknew of Daniel's wisdom.
They would even use Daniel'sname in common sayings, saying
(15:37):
things of each other.
Like, you are as wise as Daniel, but King Belshazzar had very
likely ruled Daniel out in hismind years ago because of his
rejection of Daniel's God.
The queen's speech here to theking was surely to help him
(15:58):
reconsider his position and tocall for Daniel's help.
Now, picking up in verse 13,.
Then Daniel was brought inbefore the king.
The king answered and said toDaniel you are that, daniel, one
of the exiles of Judah whom theking, my father, brought from
Judah.
I have heard of you that thespirit of the gods is in you and
(16:21):
that light and understandingand excellent wisdom are found
in you.
Now these wise men, theenchanters, have been brought in
before me to read this writingand made known to me its
interpretation, but they couldnot show the interpretation of
the matter.
But I have heard that you cangive interpretations and solve
(16:43):
problems.
Now, if you can read thewriting and make known to me its
interpretation, you shall beclothed with purple and have a
chain of gold put around yourneck and shall be the third
ruler in the kingdom.
Here in verses 13 through 16,after the king of Babylon, king
(17:07):
Belshazzar had literally beenbrought to his knees, shaking in
his boots and the queen hadcome in and publicly given him
the only possible option left tohave this strange phenomenon,
an unknown language addressed.
The king finally has Danielbrought in and the king
(17:29):
addresses Daniel with a littlebit of sarcasm.
He says you're that, daniel,whom my father brought from
Judah?
Now Daniel, at this point, is avery old man.
He's 84 years old and he hadlived in captivity at this point
for 69 years, had lived incaptivity at this point for 69
(17:52):
years.
It won't be until one yearlater when Cyrus, whom the
scripture names by name, wouldgive a famous edict and proclaim
that all the Jews in hiskingdom could return to their
own country, ending the 70 yearsof captivity.
There's no doubt that the kinghad heard of Daniel and as he
describes Daniel here, hepublicly declares that Daniel
(18:14):
has the spirit of the gods inhim, trying to link Daniel to
his pluralistic understanding ofmany gods.
Clearly, king Belshazzar doesnot want to give credit where
credit is due, to the one trueGod of Daniel.
Then Belshazzar explains thesituation to Daniel, letting him
(18:35):
know that he's tried everything, he's tried everyone else and
no one else is able to decipherthis writing on the wall.
Nobody else can interpret whatit says, and he's hoping that
Daniel, with his famed wisdom,would be able to do so.
And then Belshazzar promisesDaniel all of the gifts that he
(18:59):
had promised all of the otherwise men, including being named
third in power of all of Babylon, if he could only discern and
interpret this message on thewall, picking up in verse 17,.
And then Daniel answered andsaid before the king Let your
(19:19):
gifts be for yourself and giveyour rewards to another.
Nevertheless, I will read thewriting to the king and make
known to him the interpretation.
O king, the Most High God gaveNebuchadnezzar, your father,
kingship and greatness and gloryand majesty.
And because of the greatnessthat he gave him, all peoples,
(19:43):
nations and languages trembledand feared before him.
Whom he would he killed andwhom he would he kept alive.
Whom he would he raised up andwhom he would he kept alive.
Whom he would he raised up andwhom he would he humbled.
But when his heart was liftedup and his spirit was hardened
(20:04):
so that he dealt proudly, he wasbrought down from his kingly
throne and his glory was takenfrom him.
He was driven from among thechildren of mankind and his mind
was made like that of a beastand his dwelling was with the
wild donkeys.
He was fed grass like an ox andhis body was made wet with the
(20:27):
dew of heaven, until he knewthat the Most High God rules the
kingdom of mankind and sets itover whom he will.
And you, his son Belshazzar,have not humbled your heart,
though you knew all this, butyou have lifted yourself up
(20:50):
against the Lord of heaven, andthe vessels of his house have
been brought in before you, andyou and your lords and your
wives and your concubines havedrunk wine from them, and you
have praised the gods of silverand gold, of bronze, iron, wood
and stone, which do not see,hear or know, but the God in
(21:14):
whose hand is your breath and inwhose are all your ways you
have not honored.
In verses 17 through 23, whichis really the first two-thirds
of Daniel's reply, is a rebukefrom Daniel to Belshazzar.
(21:35):
Daniel tells the king you cankeep your gifts and you can keep
your rewards, but I will tellyou what the writing on the wall
is.
And then Daniel makes it clearthat he does not have the spirit
of the gods in him, but he is aservant of the Most High God,
and Daniel begins to give gloryto God, most high God, and
(21:59):
Daniel begins to give glory toGod.
Daniel describes how the mosthigh God gave Nebuchadnezzar
power and greatness so that allthe people of the earth were
subject to him and came underhim in his kingdom.
Daniel continues to describethat when King Nebuchadnezzar
had accomplished so much that hebecame arrogant, he hardened
his spirit against the word ofGod and the warnings of God.
(22:20):
And so the Lord God humbled him, making him like a beast, and
Nebuchadnezzar, for years, hadto dwell with the wild donkeys,
eating grass like an ox.
He was covered with the dewfrom heaven, driven away from
all of mankind.
He was covered with the dewfrom heaven, driven away from
all of mankind, until he knewthat the Most High God rules
(22:45):
over all things, including thekingdom of Babylon, his throne
and his very life.
Daniel then confronts Belshazzarwith the truth that he's known
that for years, but yet he'sfailed to humble himself before
the Lord.
In fact, to the contrary, thisking has arrogantly taken the
(23:08):
very vessels from the house ofthe Lord, the God of heaven and
earth, and used them toblaspheme his name by drinking
out of them, by praising pagangods of gold and silver.
And finally, daniel boldlytells the king that the God, the
very God who gives him hisbreath and his life, he has
(23:29):
rejected and he has failed tohonor.
Picking up in verse 24, danielcontinues Then, from his
presence, the hand was sent andthis is the writing that was
inscribed Mean mean, tekel andparson.
This is the interpretation ofthe matter.
(23:50):
Mean God has numbered the daysof your kingdom and brought it
to an end.
Decal that you have beenweighed in the balances and
found wanting Person.
Your kingdom is divided andgiven to the Medes and Persians.
(24:12):
In verses 24-28, danielinterprets the writing on the
wall.
He tells King Belshazzar thatit was from the presence of the
Most High God that this hand andthis message was sent.
This is a message to the kingfrom the one true God, the God
Most High.
The double use of the word mean, translated by Daniel, is that
(24:37):
the king's days are numbered andthe kingdom of Belshazzar is
about to come to an end.
Tekel is interpreted to meanthat King Belshazzar has been
weighed by God and he has beenfound wanting, and the word
parson or pers means that thekingdom has been divided up and
(25:00):
given into the hands of theMedes and the Persians Verse 29.
Then Belshazzar gave the commandand Daniel was clothed with
purple, a chain of gold was putaround his neck and a
proclamation was made about himthat he should be the third
ruler in the kingdom.
That very night, belshazzar,the Chaldean king, was killed
(25:25):
and Darius the Mede received thekingdom, being about 62 years
old.
In our last three verses fortoday, we see that Belshazzar
gave a command in an attempt totry and keep his name good in
front of these lords and in ahope that perhaps Daniel was
wrong.
Belshazzar publicly rewardsDaniel with all the gifts he'd
(25:49):
promised.
But that very night, that samenight that King Belshazzar had
this great feast, that the handhad written on the wall and that
Daniel had prophesied about thefall of Babylon to the Medes
and the Persians, in front ofthese 1,000 lords, king
(26:10):
Belshazzar was killed.
History tells us that theMedo-Persian army, led by Cyrus,
marched through the city watergates, which was about 400 yards
wide, and they took the city.
So colossal was the city ofBabylon that when the army of
(26:38):
Cyrus came in through thattunnel and Jeremiah, the prophet
had said in Jeremiah 51-31,when he said other to tell the
(27:00):
king of Babylon, his city istaken from every side.
That night, the Babylonianempire was transferred to the
Medes and the Persians, just asGod's prophets had foretold for
over 200 years, beginning withIsaiah.
Some scripture references tothose prophecies are Isaiah 13,
1-14, isaiah 21, 1-17, isaiah 43, 1-28, isaiah 46, 1-13,
(27:26):
habakkuk 2, 1-20, jeremiah 25,1-38, jeremiah 50, 1-51, and
then what we just read here inDaniel 5, 28.
Thank you for joining me thisweek for Daniel chapter 5.
And I hope you join me again.
(27:46):
God bless you this week.
Grace and peace to you from God, our Father and our
Lord and Savior, jesus Christ.
Thank you once again forjoining me for the Mysteries of
God's Word.
Today we are in Daniel, chapter5, where we will learn about
the handwriting on the wall inthe last day of Babylon, as the
(00:25):
Medo-Persia Empire infiltrates,conquers and takes over the
region.
Beginning at verse 1, kingBelshazzar made a great feast
for a thousand of his lords anddrank wine in front of the
(00:47):
thousand.
Belshazzar, when he had tastedthe wine, commanded that the
vessels of gold and silver thatNebuchadnezzar, his father, had
taken out of the temple inJerusalem be brought, and that
the king and his lords, hiswives, his concubines might
(01:09):
drink from them.
Then they brought in the goldenvessels that had been taken out
of the temple of the house ofGod in Jerusalem, and the kings
and his lords, his wives and hisconcubines drank from them.
There's quite a bit to take inhere in verses 1 through 3, so
(01:31):
let's start with verse 1.
Who's King Belshazzar?
Chapter 5 begins immediately bynaming a different king other
than King Nebuchadnezzar, who wehave been studying in the
previous chapters.
At the time of this narrative,nebuchadnezzar has now been dead
(01:52):
24 years and Babylon has gonethrough three other short-lived
and wicked kings prior toBelshazzar.
Belshazzar has now beenreigning for 17 years himself,
and Belshazzar is actually moreof a co-regent than a king.
His father, nabodinas, is therightful king.
(02:15):
However, nabodinas left thekingdom very early in his reign
because he was on a quest torebuild a temple of his god,
seir, and then he remained inthe Arabian desert for health
reasons.
So he left his son, belshazzar,in Babylon as reigning king.
(02:37):
And now we find King Belshazzarinviting 1,000 lords who ruled
in this great and massive cityof Babylon to feast with him.
And the feast was an arrogantand foolish ploy to try and
strengthen the failing morale ofthe city and ruling class.
(03:00):
Less than one year earlier, thearmy of Babylon had experienced
a crushing defeat right outsidethe city gates to the hands of
Cyrus of Persia.
After losing the battle, theyretreated into the mighty city
fortress of Babylon with its350-foot walls, believing they
(03:22):
could easily outlast the siegeof Cyrus because they had over
20 years of provisions stored upin the city and they had a
great river flowing rightthrough the middle.
However, cyrus was determinedand he remained outside the city
walls with his army, and hebegan to dig a trench around the
great, mighty Babylon,believing if he couldn't go over
(03:46):
or through the walls he wouldsomehow have to go under.
And at the point of ournarrative, as we are picking up
here in verse 1 through 3, ithad been many months where the
entire Medo-Persian army wasoutside of the city digging
(04:08):
tirelessly a vast trench aroundthe city.
And that, combined with thedefeat of their great army, has
the city very nervous.
So Belshazzar believes thatthis great feast with 1,000 of
his lords, is going to help withthe failing morale and keep him
(04:28):
in power.
In my research I found a veryinteresting note.
Recent excavations byarchaeologists in ancient
Babylon have actually found alarge hall right in the palace
55 feet wide by 165 feet longwith plaster could have easily
(04:50):
accommodated 1,000 nobles.
So at this great feast,belshazzar drinks wine in front
of all of these nobles to showthem that, in spite of their
recent defeat, they can allrelax and celebrate in this
mighty walled fortress ofBabylon.
Little did they know that weeksearlier Cyrus had realized how
(05:15):
he would be able to lower thewater level to the city, water
gates and the river that flowedthrough the city.
He was planning to dig moretrenches from the river that
flowed through the city.
He was planning to dig moretrenches from the river to a
nearby lake and also digtrenches to this vast trench
around the city, lowering thewater level.
Then we read in verse 2 thatafter tasting the wine in front
(05:38):
of these lords, king Belshazzarordered his servants to bring
out the vessels of gold andsilver that Nebuchadnezzar had
captured from Solomon's temple,the first temple in Jerusalem,
so that all of them might drinkfrom them.
This arrogant display fromBelshazzar shows his contempt
(06:01):
for the mighty power of the onetrue God.
Picking up in verse 4, it readsthey drank wine and they
praised the gods of gold andsilver, bronze, iron, wood and
stone.
Immediately, the fingers of ahuman hand appeared and wrote on
(06:24):
the plaster of the wall of theking's palace, opposed to the
lampstand, and the king saw thehand as it wrote.
Then the king's color changedand his thoughts alarmed him.
His limbs gave way and hisknees knocked together gave way
(06:44):
and his knees knocked together.
In verses 4-6, we read that asthey drank out of these vessels
from the Lord's temple, theybegan to praise their pagan gods
.
Doing this is particularly ahostile act of blasphemy towards
the god of Daniel and towardsthe God that Nebuchadnezzar
(07:06):
worshipped in the last year ofhis life and gave a decree that
all flesh must worship the Lord,god in heaven.
Belshazzar, out of his ownpagan ideals and beliefs, was
appealing to his pagan gods,ideals and beliefs, was
(07:28):
appealing to his pagan gods,somehow believing that they were
going to deliver him from theseprophecies that the Lord God
had made on Babylon.
That Babylon would indeed bedestroyed.
And the moment they began topraise their pagan gods, fingers
attached to a human hand beganfloating in mid-air next to the
(07:49):
wall and it appeared directlyacross the room from the
lampstand so that everyone inthe room could see.
This hand was directly in thelight of that lampstand and,
furthermore, it was directly inline of sight of the king.
We are told the king saw itwhile the hand was writing.
(08:12):
Belshazzar became so terrifiedwhen he saw this hand that his
body reacted violently in aflight or fight mechanism.
The blood was taken from hisskin, it moved to his vital
organs, his adrenaline kicked in, but he could do nothing.
So he lost control over hisextremities.
(08:34):
He fell to the ground and hebegan to shake, with his knees
knocking together, picking up inverse 7.
The king called loudly to bringin the enchanters, the
Chaldeans and the astrologers,picking up in verse 7.
Then all the king's wise mencame in, but they could not read
(09:12):
the writing or make known tothe king the interpretation.
Then King Belshazzar wasgreatly alarmed and his color
changed and his lords wereperplexed.
Here in verses 7 through 9, wesee that in this panic attack
that the king had, he yells forhis enchanters, the wise men of
(09:35):
Babylon, the Chaldeans and theastrologers.
And all of these so-called wisemen that the king is calling
for are dark arts dealers.
The word for enchanter issometimes translated charmer,
because enchanters use a form ofdemonic seduction and
convincing lies to manipulatepeople.
(09:56):
And the word for astrologerhere, quite frankly, is a little
bit confusing.
It actually refers to men thatuse the dark arts to gain
knowledge from the supernaturalworld, such as mediums or
fortune tellers.
The Chaldeans in this contextare the soothsayers that have
been schooled under thetraditions of the Chaldeans.
(10:22):
So when these dark arts dealerscome and arrive on the scene,
king Belshazzar tells them thatif they can read this writing,
if they can decipher what thismeans for him, he'll reward them
with great gifts.
He will include jewelry andclothing fit for a king.
But most notably, he willreward the man who can do this
(10:47):
with a position of great powerto be third ruler in the kingdom
.
So why does Belshazzar saythird ruler and not second ruler
?
Well, we've already touched onthat a little bit earlier.
It's because the best possibleposition that could be offered
in the kingdom is third ruler.
(11:07):
As I mentioned earlier,belshazzar was second in charge
because his father, kingNabodinus, was actually first in
charge, even though KingNabodinus was not in the kingdom
he was in the Arabian desert.
Nevertheless, these two kingsreigned together.
(11:28):
So being the third ruler in thekingdom would indeed be just
under the kings of Babylon.
So after all of these pagansoothsayers and dark art workers
came in, they examined what thefinger had written on the wall
and with all of their collectiveknowledge, they could not read
(11:51):
what was written, nor could theygive any kind of interpretation
for what it could mean.
And when King Belshazzar heardthat the men that he had placed
his trust in could notunderstand this writing, he
became so afraid that once again, he went into a panic attack
and the blood fled from his face.
Belshazzar is now realizingthat what he feared the most is
(12:17):
the truth.
The God of heaven, whoseprophets had prophesied
Babylon's downfall for ages andwhom Belshazzar has outright
rejected and now mocked in frontof 1,000 lords, is in fact the
one true God and he has writtena message on Belshazzar's wall.
(12:39):
So these 1,000 lords of Babylonare confused when they see
Belshazzar's reaction, becausethey don't understand how
committed these two kings,nabodinas and Belshazzar, have
been to these pagan and demonicgods.
They have completely rejectedthe creator of heaven and earth
(13:03):
and have completely committedthemselves to the worship of
created things such as gold andsilver, picking up in verse 10.
The queen, because of the wordsof the king and his lords, came
into the banquet hall and thequeen declared O king, live
forever.
Let not your thoughts alarm youor your color change.
(13:27):
There is a man in your kingdomin whom is the spirit of the
holy gods In the days of yourfather.
Light and understanding andwisdom, like the wisdom of the
gods, were found in him.
And King Nebuchadnezzar, yourfather, your father, the king
made him chief of the magicians,enchanters, chaldeans and
(13:52):
astrologers because an excellentspirit, knowledge and
understanding to interpretdreams, explain riddles and
solve problems were found inDaniel, whom the king named
Belteshazzar.
Now let Daniel be called, andhe will show the interpretation
(14:13):
here.
In verses 10 through 12, we'retold that the queen comes into
the banquet hall because sheheard these words of the kings
and the lords.
Now, just for someclarification, this was not the
wife of Belshazzar, as his wivesand his concubines were already
at the banquet hall.
(14:33):
We learned that back in verse 2.
Rather, this was likely eitherthe wife of Nabodinas, who he
was co-ruling with, or it was apast queen, perhaps the queen's
mother, or it was a past queen,perhaps the queen's mother.
The fact that this queen hadlearned what was going on in the
banquet hall tells us thatsomeone had reported to her what
(14:54):
was happening and how the kingwas in a desperate situation.
So the queen comes in and bothhonors the king and helps him.
Through this, she begins tomake a very long-winded speech
about Daniel in front of these1,000 lords, describing Daniel's
gift of wisdom, his discernmentand how he was able to help
(15:17):
Nebuchadnezzar in times justlike this.
Now, certainly King Belshazzarknew about Daniel.
In fact, daniel had become sofamous in all of the land that
even people in foreign nationsknew of Daniel's wisdom.
They would even use Daniel'sname in common sayings, saying
(15:37):
things of each other.
Like, you are as wise as Daniel, but King Belshazzar had very
likely ruled Daniel out in hismind years ago because of his
rejection of Daniel's God.
The queen's speech here to theking was surely to help him
(15:58):
reconsider his position and tocall for Daniel's help.
Now, picking up in verse 13,.
Then Daniel was brought inbefore the king.
The king answered and said toDaniel you are that, daniel, one
of the exiles of Judah whom theking, my father, brought from
Judah.
I have heard of you that thespirit of the gods is in you and
(16:21):
that light and understandingand excellent wisdom are found
in you.
Now these wise men, theenchanters, have been brought in
before me to read this writingand made known to me its
interpretation, but they couldnot show the interpretation of
the matter.
But I have heard that you cangive interpretations and solve
(16:43):
problems.
Now, if you can read thewriting and make known to me its
interpretation, you shall beclothed with purple and have a
chain of gold put around yourneck and shall be the third
ruler in the kingdom.
Here in verses 13 through 16,after the king of Babylon, king
(17:07):
Belshazzar had literally beenbrought to his knees, shaking in
his boots and the queen hadcome in and publicly given him
the only possible option left tohave this strange phenomenon,
an unknown language addressed.
The king finally has Danielbrought in and the king
(17:29):
addresses Daniel with a littlebit of sarcasm.
He says you're that, daniel,whom my father brought from
Judah?
Now Daniel, at this point, is avery old man.
He's 84 years old and he hadlived in captivity at this point
for 69 years, had lived incaptivity at this point for 69
(17:52):
years.
It won't be until one yearlater when Cyrus, whom the
scripture names by name, wouldgive a famous edict and proclaim
that all the Jews in hiskingdom could return to their
own country, ending the 70 yearsof captivity.
There's no doubt that the kinghad heard of Daniel and as he
describes Daniel here, hepublicly declares that Daniel
(18:14):
has the spirit of the gods inhim, trying to link Daniel to
his pluralistic understanding ofmany gods.
Clearly, king Belshazzar doesnot want to give credit where
credit is due, to the one trueGod of Daniel.
Then Belshazzar explains thesituation to Daniel, letting him
(18:35):
know that he's tried everything, he's tried everyone else and
no one else is able to decipherthis writing on the wall.
Nobody else can interpret whatit says, and he's hoping that
Daniel, with his famed wisdom,would be able to do so.
And then Belshazzar promisesDaniel all of the gifts that he
(18:59):
had promised all of the otherwise men, including being named
third in power of all of Babylon, if he could only discern and
interpret this message on thewall, picking up in verse 17,.
And then Daniel answered andsaid before the king Let your
(19:19):
gifts be for yourself and giveyour rewards to another.
Nevertheless, I will read thewriting to the king and make
known to him the interpretation.
O king, the Most High God gaveNebuchadnezzar, your father,
kingship and greatness and gloryand majesty.
And because of the greatnessthat he gave him, all peoples,
(19:43):
nations and languages trembledand feared before him.
Whom he would he killed andwhom he would he kept alive.
Whom he would he raised up andwhom he would he kept alive.
Whom he would he raised up andwhom he would he humbled.
But when his heart was liftedup and his spirit was hardened
(20:04):
so that he dealt proudly, he wasbrought down from his kingly
throne and his glory was takenfrom him.
He was driven from among thechildren of mankind and his mind
was made like that of a beastand his dwelling was with the
wild donkeys.
He was fed grass like an ox andhis body was made wet with the
(20:27):
dew of heaven, until he knewthat the Most High God rules the
kingdom of mankind and sets itover whom he will.
And you, his son Belshazzar,have not humbled your heart,
though you knew all this, butyou have lifted yourself up
(20:50):
against the Lord of heaven, andthe vessels of his house have
been brought in before you, andyou and your lords and your
wives and your concubines havedrunk wine from them, and you
have praised the gods of silverand gold, of bronze, iron, wood
and stone, which do not see,hear or know, but the God in
(21:14):
whose hand is your breath and inwhose are all your ways you
have not honored.
In verses 17 through 23, whichis really the first two-thirds
of Daniel's reply, is a rebukefrom Daniel to Belshazzar.
(21:35):
Daniel tells the king you cankeep your gifts and you can keep
your rewards, but I will tellyou what the writing on the wall
is.
And then Daniel makes it clearthat he does not have the spirit
of the gods in him, but he is aservant of the Most High God,
and Daniel begins to give gloryto God, most high God, and
(21:59):
Daniel begins to give glory toGod.
Daniel describes how the mosthigh God gave Nebuchadnezzar
power and greatness so that allthe people of the earth were
subject to him and came underhim in his kingdom.
Daniel continues to describethat when King Nebuchadnezzar
had accomplished so much that hebecame arrogant, he hardened
his spirit against the word ofGod and the warnings of God.
(22:20):
And so the Lord God humbled him, making him like a beast, and
Nebuchadnezzar, for years, hadto dwell with the wild donkeys,
eating grass like an ox.
He was covered with the dewfrom heaven, driven away from
all of mankind.
He was covered with the dewfrom heaven, driven away from
all of mankind, until he knewthat the Most High God rules
(22:45):
over all things, including thekingdom of Babylon, his throne
and his very life.
Daniel then confronts Belshazzarwith the truth that he's known
that for years, but yet he'sfailed to humble himself before
the Lord.
In fact, to the contrary, thisking has arrogantly taken the
(23:08):
very vessels from the house ofthe Lord, the God of heaven and
earth, and used them toblaspheme his name by drinking
out of them, by praising pagangods of gold and silver.
And finally, daniel boldlytells the king that the God, the
very God who gives him hisbreath and his life, he has
(23:29):
rejected and he has failed tohonor.
Picking up in verse 24, danielcontinues Then, from his
presence, the hand was sent andthis is the writing that was
inscribed Mean mean, tekel andparson.
This is the interpretation ofthe matter.
(23:50):
Mean God has numbered the daysof your kingdom and brought it
to an end.
Decal that you have beenweighed in the balances and
found wanting Person.
Your kingdom is divided andgiven to the Medes and Persians.
(24:12):
In verses 24-28, danielinterprets the writing on the
wall.
He tells King Belshazzar thatit was from the presence of the
Most High God that this hand andthis message was sent.
This is a message to the kingfrom the one true God, the God
Most High.
The double use of the word mean, translated by Daniel, is that
(24:37):
the king's days are numbered andthe kingdom of Belshazzar is
about to come to an end.
Tekel is interpreted to meanthat King Belshazzar has been
weighed by God and he has beenfound wanting, and the word
parson or pers means that thekingdom has been divided up and
(25:00):
given into the hands of theMedes and the Persians Verse 29.
Then Belshazzar gave the commandand Daniel was clothed with
purple, a chain of gold was putaround his neck and a
proclamation was made about himthat he should be the third
ruler in the kingdom.
That very night, belshazzar,the Chaldean king, was killed
(25:25):
and Darius the Mede received thekingdom, being about 62 years
old.
In our last three verses fortoday, we see that Belshazzar
gave a command in an attempt totry and keep his name good in
front of these lords and in ahope that perhaps Daniel was
wrong.
Belshazzar publicly rewardsDaniel with all the gifts he'd
(25:49):
promised.
But that very night, that samenight that King Belshazzar had
this great feast, that the handhad written on the wall and that
Daniel had prophesied about thefall of Babylon to the Medes
and the Persians, in front ofthese 1,000 lords, king
(26:10):
Belshazzar was killed.
History tells us that theMedo-Persian army, led by Cyrus,
marched through the city watergates, which was about 400 yards
wide, and they took the city.
So colossal was the city ofBabylon that when the army of
(26:38):
Cyrus came in through thattunnel and Jeremiah, the prophet
had said in Jeremiah 51-31,when he said other to tell the
(27:00):
king of Babylon, his city istaken from every side.
That night, the Babylonianempire was transferred to the
Medes and the Persians, just asGod's prophets had foretold for
over 200 years, beginning withIsaiah.
Some scripture references tothose prophecies are Isaiah 13,
1-14, isaiah 21, 1-17, isaiah 43, 1-28, isaiah 46, 1-13,
(27:26):
habakkuk 2, 1-20, jeremiah 25,1-38, jeremiah 50, 1-51, and
then what we just read here inDaniel 5, 28.
Thank you for joining me thisweek for Daniel chapter 5.
And I hope you join me again.
(27:46):
God bless you this week.
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