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? 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. 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: 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. 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. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 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. 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: 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. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 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: Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 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. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
The Handwriting on the Wall
Beloved of the Lord.....King Belshazzar was very a proud and arrogant man. Like his father before him, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar's ego knew no bounds. Belshazzar
knew well how Nebuchadnezzar had once thrown three believers into the
fiery furnace, and how the True God of Israel had preserved them. Belshazzar also knew how the True God of Israel had given his father a special dream which Daniel interpreted. In this dream God forewarned Nebuchadnezzar that God would soon take his kingdom away. Twelve
months later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his palace, probably upon a
high porch overlooking his kingdom, and he spoke to himself saying, "Is
not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom
by the might of MY power, and for the honour of MY majesty?" Then the Bible says in Daniel 4:31, "While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee." The same hour, God smote him with insanity. He became a wild beast for months until his heart was humbled. In the end we find Nebuchadnezzar converted. He confesses, "Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."
In today's lesson history repeats itself. God gives power to Belshazzar and he now is king. God gives His Word to Belshazzar but he refuses to repent. God takes power away. What
is most striking about Belshazzar, is that he knew all these things
above his father's rise and fall and restoration, yet he was not
humbled. That is a lesson to us all and also a warning, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud." That night the proud king who haughtily praised the gods of silver and gold, was slain by an enemy.
What does all this teach us? It teaches us we need not worry about the proud and arrogant rulers of country. God knows what they are doing and God will judge all who abuse such power. He rewards the good and punishes the evil. Though
He gives all a certain time of grace, if they stubbornly abuse their
power denying the Lord that bought them, "those that walk in pride He is
able to abase." God will pluck them out of the land of the living, but God's Kingdom shall endure, world without end. Thus regarding God enemies who persecute the Church, always remember (dear believer) Psalm two. The
"kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together
against the Lord and against His anointed….[yet] He that sitteth in the
heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." MENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished
it….Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting….; Thy
kingdom is divided. The handwriting is on the wall. "Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
I. False prophets will only falsely interpret God's handwriting. Truly wise men with wisdom from above, are truly sorry in their heart for their sins, for they love the Lord their Redeemer. Yet there are also the unwise "wise men" of this world, who are not sorry, nor do they believe. Rather than searching the Scriptures, they dabble in astrology, soothsaying, and magic. In Daniel's day, as in our own, they could not interpret the handwriting on the wall. "No man can say Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." False prophets preach with a false spirit, not the Holy Spirit. They
preach man can save himself from sin by works, yet the Holy Spirit
alone teaches Christ alone has the only holy works which save. Thus when God allows these various false prophets to exist in our world today, it is for the believers a real test from God. Will
we listen to and follow these lying spirits who have dreams, visions,
or purported direct line or connection with God (as they will be sure to
tell us), or will we listen to our True Prophet alone, Jesus Christ who
says, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life."
Therefore "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." Mt. 7:15 Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits." Is
Christ crucified the sole focus of their teaching, or are they always
teaching works, works, works, and thou shalt and thou shalt not? Remember that false prophets don't come to us with a tattoo on their forehead which says "False Prophet". Instead they come in sheep's clothing, or as an angel of light. The real question is, what is their Gospel. Does their preaching and teaching agree in all points with our Holy Bible, God's infallible and inerrant Word?
For all believers washed clean in the blood of Christ, the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, IS "God's handwriting on the wall". If
a priest, minister, or pastor begins to tell us, "You need me to
understand the Scriptures" or "I will be that light which shines upon
the Bible for you", such is contrary to Scripture itself for the Scriptures must interpret the Scripture. Man is not to shine his little light upon the Scripture, rather the Light of God emanates out from the Scriptures. If you open the Bible then, imagine yourself wearing blindfolds in a dark room. When the Bible is opened, that LIGHT comes out from it, shining upon your face. THAT LIGHT is Christ who brings HIS GRACE to a fallen world saying, "I am the Light of the world. He that cometh to Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life." Hence
Second Peter one says, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy;
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a
dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
God then does not allow us to interpret the Bible any which way we want. The Word carries with it Gods own authority. Hence
we must study the Bible with the understanding this book is in itself
the objective and pure truth straight from the mouth of God. We must receive this truth just as the Holy Spirit has stated it, for every word itself is inspired. Therefore
Jesus says "Search the Scriptures" and 2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." Psalm 19:7 declares, "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple." God
wrote the Bible for the simple and common man to understand, and woe to
the dreamers who think they have some special gift of interpretation or
new revelation. In Jeremiah 14:14 the Lord says,
"The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I
commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false
vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their
heart." Likewise, "Behold, I am against
them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and
cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent
them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this
people at all, saith the LORD." Jer. 23:32 If God gave them a special dream for free, why must they write a book about it and make money off it? Can grace be bought and sold?
II. God's prophets faithfully bear witness to the True Prophet Jesus Christ. True prophets of the Lord, should simply speak God's Word faithfully, not adding to, nor subtracting from it. In all they speak and preach, Christ should rise to the forefront and the minister should disappear into the background. We are nothing but He is all. God thus commands all called ministers, "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully" and "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it
as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever
and ever." Daniel was one such prophet. He did not then shrink from his duty to warn the king of his punishment nor did he need a bribe. The truth was God had weighed Belshazzar in the scales and he fell short. In like manner ministers today must preach that we too weighed in the scales fall short and are found lacking. "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Our pride is of the flesh, as is our arrogance. The
Spirit alone can bring us and give us Christ who for our sake humbled
Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,
"that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him
in everlasting righteousness and innocence. This is more certainly true. Therefore though "the wages of sin is death", it is also true for God has promised "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Therefore "to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
What then are the final lessons we can learn from Daniel and Belshazzar? First, let us learn to number our days. We live in a Time of Grace in which God for a limited time permits sinners to live though they deserve death. While
we can rejoice that some people come to faith in the nick of time just
before death (like the thief on the cross), that is the exception - not
the rule. When Belshazzar mocked the Living God he had no idea his soul would be required of him. Such is a warning to all proud sinners who refuse to be humbled. Another lesson for today is to beware of false prophets. Not all that is preached by "prophets" is truth. The only way we can discern then what is truth and what is error is God's Holy Word. Your Bible then is God's handwriting on the wall. If
you read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest God's Word, seeking the Lord
while He may be found, His Spirit will not only strengthen your faith,
love, and hope in Christ, but He will also help you to recognize and
avoid false prophets. More important than all these lesson however, is that Jesus Christ is the True Prophet, the Living Word, our Savior. His Word is a Living Word which really gives spiritual life to all who believe! Let us then happily by faith receive this One Prophet who still brings to us through His Word, His grace and every blessing. All
His prophesies come true, and not one of His promises ever fail, but
they through the power of His divine blood give true and everlasting
life. "Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." Treasure
then dear believer, the black and white handwriting on the wall, in
your Holy Bible, and rejoice evermore He has written His name upon in
the sign of the cross upon your chest and forehead in Holy Baptism, for
these things "are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through
his name." Amen.
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