The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet 5031 KC Daniel 12-1
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.
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.
Nevertheless, Belshazzar called in all of the multi-faith
religious sects, who were the magicians, and astrologers, and the Chaldeans,
but they could not read the handwriting on the wall.
Hey, God made it plain and visible to all, but no one
could read and interpret the writing until Daniel was brought forth.
How about that?
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.
His lords were perplexed and astonished and no one
could understand what in the world all this meant.
[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:
The queen is Nitocris, a daughter-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar,
and she is the only one among the group to show forth any wisdom because
she remembered to go to Daniel, the prophet of God who had understanding
and wisdom.
[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;
Belshazzar did not regard Daniel as did his grandfather,
king Nebuchadnezzar.
[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.
That's what the excellent spirit contained in this
Book of Daniel does for it is the Word of God.
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 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 he 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 apart from
God's Word are and always has been clueless.
Do you have the wisdom to know that
if you want to know what is happening concerning the desolator, the king
of Babylon in these last days, then do likewise and consult the prophet
Daniel and he will show you the interpretation thereof, and dissolve doubts,
and those words which have been sealed up until these last days shall be
revealed unto you.
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?
Remember "Daniel" means "God is Judge" which means
that God always has the final say!
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 to have heard of Daniel, 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.
These things, light, understanding, and excellent
wisdom are found in Daniel, even the Book of Daniel, because it is the
Word of God.
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:
Hey, the handwriting was on the wall!
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!
[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.
The king of Babylon loves to use those things that
appeal to the flesh man, e.g. money, power, and ego.
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 king of Babylon
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.
Daniel already knew what the handwriting on the wall
meant.
Besides, servants of God do not seek vainglory 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:
God Almighty gave the kingdom, and majesty, and glory,
and honor to Belshazzar's grandfather, king Nebuchadnezzar His servant.
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.
The phrase "until the very time of his land come"
means until "the appointed end", which historically was when the head of
gold was replaced by the silver according to the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's
image!
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.
All this was able to be done only because He who
has ALL power in both heaven and earth allowed it to come to pass (Col
1:16-17)!
[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:
Pride was the sin of Satan
that caused him to fall and his unrepentance ultimately cost him his life...
forever.
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.
We continue now with Daniel telling Belshazzar about
his grandfather's, Nebuchadnezzar's, humbling experiences.
[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.
That was the intent of the decree placed upon king
Nebuchadnezzar, i.e. to humble him so that he would come to know with certitude
that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that He appoints
over it whomsoever He will!
[22]
And thou his son (grandson), O Belshazzar,
hast
not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
Belshazzar was without excuse because he knew the
things that happened to his grandfather king Nebuchadnezzar for Daniel
just reminded him of those things.
Yet he did not take heed nor fill himself with knowledge
as did his grandfather, Nebo-chadnezzar.
"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:
He has mocked and insulted
and lifted himself up against Almighty God,
the one who gives him every breath of air
he breathes.
[Editors Note: ...every breath of air he breaths.
Yes, you and me also, every breath!!!! Acts
17: 28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being ......]
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.
Terror has struck and the king and his lords are
all astonied about what is happening and they all saw the handwriting on
the wall... but no one could read it nor interpret it until Daniel,
the one whose name means "God is Judge", having the spirit of God within
him did unlock the words written by the Divine hand and was able to give
God's Judgment to the king of Babylon telling him that his number is up
and the drunken bash is over!
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).
[25]
And
this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
MENE, MENE = NUMBERED, NUMBERED - "mene" is Chaldean = "numbered
[yea] ended"+
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.
The "appointed time", the numbering of your days
has come to pass and your number is up, O Prince of Bel!
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.
TEKEL = WEIGHED, Chald. for shekel.
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.
UPHARSIN = AND DIVIDED or BROKEN - Chald. upharsin,
the "u" = and, paras (or peres) = to break.
This is in accordance with the first sequential division of the head of
gold.
[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 king made a proclamation promising Daniel a high
position in the kingdom of man.
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 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.
The sentence from God was carried out swiftly, without
demonstrations or man's courts ordering stays of execution.
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.
[31]
And
Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years
old.
The word "Darius" is actually what is called an appellative,
which is simply a title like king or ruler.
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 "The handwriting is on
the wall".
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.
The point is, the handwriting was on the wall but no one
knew and understood except the wise!
In our next study Daniel is going
to be confronted with some politically correct legislation that will be
passed in order to make it illegal for him to give prayer and supplication
to His Father.
This is very timely for similar
legislation is already on the books in many states right now as we near
that time when the ensamples become reality to the servants of God.
But not to worry.
Our Father is in complete control
and we not only have nothing and no one to fear, including the king of
Babylon himself, but we have the victory in Yahshua Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Live Link to- The Book of Daniel Table of ContentsIt is important that YOU Read it all!
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.
The book of Daniel is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament
and
a sister book to the Apocalypse of the New Testament,
the
book of Revelation. To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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