Divine Graffiti: The End of an Empire B

The wisdom of the world is foolishness. No answers are going to come from them, not take all of the brain trust of the love America, or anyplace else, and they can work themselves in a frazzle and not to give the right answer. The thing is, Anaximander understand not the things of God and God is sovereign, setting one's teeth on edge. The 11th hour, beating swords into plowshares to name a few. And in Daniel chapter 5 we encounter King Belshazzar who saw the original handwriting on the wall and the disaster it foretold. John MacArthur shows us what we should learn from this divine graffiti as he continues his study on the rise and fall of world powers. If you're able, turn in your Bible to the book of Daniel and here's John MacArthur. As we come in Daniel chapter 5. These 31 amazing and marvelous insightful verses we see the end of an empire. We see the movement from the head of gold is the image in chapter 2 indicated to the breast and the arms of silver, which indicate the Medo Persians and followed the Babylonians. This great transition takes place at the close of this, the fifth chapter, I want to look at the chapter into perspectives. First, the account and then the application firstly account just a historical record, and then its application and on the account.

We tried to break it down so you can see the flow of the text. First is the scene in verses 1 to 4. Secondly, the sign verse five. So the scene in the sign.

Thirdly, the shortcoming verse seven where is he going to go to get some help. What you going to do the king cried aloud and scream at the top of his voice bringing the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayer of this bunch is still around folks that were useless. The first two times they were called on in the book of Daniel, but what else can he do because the brain trust and the king spoke and said to the wise men of Babel and whosoever shall read this writing and show me its interpretation shall be clothed with scarlet have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the tree will hear the thunder ruler in the kingdom. Why the third ruler because Nava nine us was a first. Belshazzar was the coregent and this guy was going to stand with them. Even the de facto Nava Knight us was already eliminated. It still had to be acknowledge that he was king. I will give him the throne equal to us in a good old thing around his neck, and scarlet are better translated purple and so he gives in the biggest incentive "with scarlet means a royal robe is offering them Royal rank, a chain of gold. That was the highest thing you could give to somebody because it was the most valuable commodity, and to give a chain of gold was the highest honor to become the tree room. Beer was to be equal. Nava and I disemboweled chest, I mean the guy is offering the whole shot verse eight. Then came in all the king's Wiseman and believed that they couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together there either.

They couldn't read the writing in the first place. They couldn't even read it because I why I don't know why. Some will say, because God has his own way of curbing letters. I don't know that maybe.

Maybe those days he incurred them so nobody could read or maybe they were just blinded by it all. Or maybe they were so drunk they couldn't see them I don't even read them and if they could read and they certainly could make known to the king the interpretation and then was King Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him and his lords were perplexed. Apparently he was getting a little bit relief in the colors returning to his face when he saw him come in. He was going feel little better, but when they came up zero he went right back to being ashen white again and frankly folks, it's getting rather ridiculous. Same old song and dance right this whole pile of people keep marching in every time is a crisis in March out without an answer. Wisdom of the world is foolishness. No answers are going to come from them, not take all of the brain trust of the love America, or anyplace else, and they can work themselves in a frazzle or not to give the right answer to things because the natural man understand not the things of God and God is the sovereign who rules history and you can interpret from a humanistic perspective, by the way, the word perplexed at the end of verse nine means there was excited movement was so much confusion.

They were all just jumping and hopping and moving around because whatever was going on the wall was still going on. We still are seeing the sign the shortcoming in the summons first and now the Queen by the way, this is a most likely reference to Belshazzar's mother, the Queen Mother, the Dowager Queen because the wives and the concubines were already in on the origin and because the wife of the King would never have done this, it had to be somebody very stately, who just moved in on the scene and and by virtue of dignity or whatever had the right.

The Queen Mother scholars universally accept the fact that this is the Queen Mother, the mother of Bill Chesser by reason of the words of the kings and the Lord's came into the banquet house and the queen spoke and said oh king live forever amenities out-of-the-way.

Let not thy thoughts troubled leave nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy God your debt before who said that Nebuchadnezzar did 23 years before least was 30 years before.

If you go before the time of his insanity.

Nebuchadnezzar knew this man.

Daniel Nebuchadnezzar told them that that's one reason why we believe this woman was a widow or a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar because she remembered the very phrase it. Nebuchadnezzar said there is a man in whom is the spirit of the holy God. Because the gods of Babylon were not holy.

They were just as violent sinful as men and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him whom the king Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, the king, I say, my father made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and soothsayers. In other words, the king, and she repeats your father I say your father apparently to emphasize the point that he is related to Nebuchadnezzar strongly emphasized, but he was so impressed with this Daniel that he made in the chief of the magicians, the chief of the scholars. The Wiseman for as much as an excellent spirit and knowledge and understanding interpreting of dreams and revealing of hard sentences or riddles, and dissolving of doubts were found in the same Daniel whom the king named Bell dishes are now let Daniel be called and he will show the interpretation there is the summons in pops this old queen, in the midst of all this excitement and perplexity and chaos.

He says there's a man in whom is the spirit of the holy God statement right out of Daniel 489 and 18 statement made by Nebuchadnezzar. In him is light, that means enlightenment. Understanding that means insight wisdom he can apply what you know he is the master of the magicians.

He has an excellent spirit in knowledge and understanding. In other words, uses every possible noun and descriptive adjective. The tell them that this is the most intelligent, gifted, capable man in all of the real you can interpret dreams verse 12 sent he can solve riddles.

That's what it means revealing hard sentences and he can answer, nodding problems, dissolve doubts, get him, get him. Verse 13 then was Daniel brought in before the king of folks. Let me just say this again it always thrills me that the guy is never hanging around the rest of those people. He never fall with any of he just waits his moment.

I mean, he stood alone when he was a teenager he stood alone when he was a mature man, and now that he is an octogenarian in his 80s, he'll still stand alone.

Never compromise and he walks in an old man. Daniel enters the scene and we know Psalms about to happen.

Now the king was afraid but he had to know what the writing on the wall meant verse 13 again the king spoke and said to Daniel. This shows you that he knew it. Are you that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah on the king. My father brought out of jury. I have even heard of the but the spirit of the God of the God or the gods is in the and the light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in the I know about you, Daniel. You know what's interesting. Apparently after Nebuchadnezzar died, Daniel faded away because he had to ask who he was. He had the rank of a prime minister and yet Belshazzar paid little or no attention to him didn't even only what now. I called them out of oblivion again. It's is are you the one who was brought of the children of the captivity of Judah by my father, the one who has all of this knowledge, the spirit of the God is in the is this the one verse 15 and now the wisemen, the astrologers have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known in the media interpretation of it, but they couldn't show the interpretation of the thing and I have heard of the that thou canst make interpretations and dissolve doubts.

Now, if thou canst read the writing and make known to me the interpretation of it, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet and have a chain of gold about thy neck and shall be 1/3 ruler in the kingdom at Daniel is not intimidated by this whole deal and nor is he interested in being 1/3 ruler in the kingdom. I mean who wants to be 1/3 ruler in the kingdom.

It's got a few hours to last the higher up you go in the rank, the more likely to get killed. He wasn't intimidated by any of these monarchs when he was a teenager and he wasn't about to be intimidated by them in his 80s so the scene to sign the shortcoming the summons and then we find what's the heart of the matter. The sermon, and this is great. The sermon verse 17 then Daniel answered and said unto the king, and he doesn't say long live the king. The king is not going to live long. He said unto him, let your gifts be to your self.

Keep your own stuff or give it to somebody else on the character and the courage Daniel. I want your crummy stuff. What a tremendous need there is for men of the same fearless courage in our day. You know people in our day are seeking with all our might to get somebody rich and powerful and famous lift them up and give them things and Daniel could care less about the holding he was filled with holy zeal, had no interest in gifts or rewards you could be bought yet integrity try to find a man like that in our society try to find a man like that in the politics of our society. A mentor can't be bought man with absolute integrity has no interest in gifts and rewards. That's Daniel.

He says keep it all read the writing on the under the king and I'll make known to him the interpretation. But first I got a few other things to say.

Like all good preachers. He can't give his message so he gets his introduction out of the way. Verse 18 oh thou King, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar, thy father, a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor and for the majesty that he gave him all people, nations and languages trembled in fear before he was great as a monarch, whom he what he slew and whom he what he kept alive, and whom you would please set up and whom he will be put down and salute dictator and what his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride he was deposed from his kingly throne.

And they took his glory from it and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, the words he thought like an animal. In fact, he had lycanthropy he thought he was an animal and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed them with grass like oxen and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointed over it soever he will that man needed to learn who really ran things wasn't him. God humbled, God humbled Nebuchadnezzar and used his God-given authority and great authority was given to him.

He had used it to pervert justice. He had use it to kill.

He'd use it to become proud and so God struck him down turned him into an animalistic human who thought that he was a piece IIa grass and that lasted for seven years of that man's life until he learned that it is the most high, that rules in the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomsoever he will now from that he indicts belches on three counts number one verse 22 and thou, his son will belch as her past not humbled design heart, though thou knowest what all this indictment number one you sinned against knowledge you knew you knew you're not ignorant, you can't claim I'm just an ignorant pagan what all I know you have sinned against light.

Your sin is not a sin of ignorance. You knew what happened to Nebuchadnezzar, you knew that he ascribed all things ultimately to the God of heaven. You knew that God broke him and God was demanding to be worshiped and against that knowledge you sin you know all the facts of Nebuchadnezzar, you failed to heed you did not humble your heart therefore your sin is flagrant rebellion against knowledge, serious sin people and I'm telling you the same is coming from the heart of God to any soul who sits under the gospel of Jesus Christ today and refuses Christ.

That is a flagrant sin of rebelling against knowledge, the severest of sins. How much greater punishment shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the son of God and counted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing. In other words, how much greater punishment for the one who knows and tramples on that knowledge sinned against light grace pronounced horrible judgment. In Matthew 11 on the cities you remember in Galilee and he said I pronounce this judgment on you, it shall be worse for you than Sodom and Gomorrah because you refused to heed the word in the work that I did in your midst. Second, indictment verse 23 without is lifted up by self against the Lord of heaven and they have brought the vessels of this house before the end thou thy Lord thy wives and I concubines of drunk wine from them, and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold and bronze and iron wooden stone, which see not, nor hear nor know and the God in whose hand, thy breath is and whose are all thy ways past thou not glorified second indictment you've blasphemed God and worshiped idols you sinned against light and it isn't just the sin of rejection.

It is a willful blasphemy bad enough to sin against light, but against light, to blaspheme and then thirdly indictment at the end of the verse idolatry sin against knowledge, blasphemy and idolatry in all this and it's a progression is meant first. You knew the truth and you turn from then you blasphemed the God of that truth. And then you turn and worship false gods and he indicts verse 24 then was the part of the hand sent from him in this writing was written when God saw you belch as her when he saw you sin against light blaspheme his name, express idolatry, then God sent the fingers and God wrote it's because of your sin and the sins of your people so the scene in the sign of the shortcoming the summons a sermon. The solution the solution verse 25 and he solves the mystery of what was written and this is the writing that was written many many tickle your farcical.

That's what the hand wrote so they could all see Aramaic is the language three words with the first one repeated many but see what it means. Verse 26 this is the interpretation of the thing. Many God has numbered thy kingdom and finished it made a means numbered one in the vernacular may name it. Your numbers up your numbers up. God numbers all kingdoms says you are finished and he says it twice your numbers up your numbers up. Many, many tickle verse 27.weighed in the balance is an art found wanting. Ortega literally means to be waited to be found to light. In those days when they weighed things they would put whatever the standard of weight was on one side of the scale. On the other whatever the commodity was and had to balance God standard is over here you come up to light, you'll make it. You'll meet the standard, and so you been weighed in God's balance and you are found to light to lighten your morality to light in your spiritual virtue to light in your moral value you don't balance off with God standard you come short. Finally, the word you Farson or Perez Farson Farson really and Paris basically the same root word just two different forms of it means the kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. The word the root word simply means to divide numbered numbered two light divided that's the message. Some of it is simply this bill shatters kingdom is going to be destroyed. Why because it is lacking in moral and spiritual value. It does not meet God standard. The encompassing army will absorb it into their larger dominion. The Medes and the Persians will be divided into the Medes and the Persians to elements. The prophecy then written over the head of that king were all could see in the drunken orgy that was going on said this is the end Bill Shatzer.

This is the end and you know something Daniel bless his heart, standing there are zeroing in on that king and I'm sure he said it so that Hall literally rang with his words while he was saying that you know is going around.

As the historian tells us this Medes and the Persians outside the city in the night in which Bill Shatzer had his feast and by the way, the night is marked for all history.

The 16th day of Tishri, 539 BC in October around the 11th, the 12th of that year by our months.

That night the Medes and the Persians build a dam on the Euphrates. It flowed out of the wall of the city. They diverted all of that water coming into the Euphrates except a little shallow portion. They diverted into a swamp land, and when the water began to fall in the midst of the banquet. It came down to be about to the needs of the waste of the soldiers marched underneath the wall on that shallow river bed went into the inside and the whole Medo Persian army descended on that city and one fell swoop. What happened verse 29. The SQL then commanded Bill Shatzer and they close. Daniel was scarlet, they put a chain of gold on his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the trio environ the kingdom and he could care less, but that's not all happen like a shot that night was Bill Shatzer, the king of the Chaldeans, what sleep in Darius the Mead took the kingdom was all came to a fasting babbling is fallen, is fallen, this is grace to you with John MacArthur. John is pastor of Grace Community Church and he's also Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary our current series is titled the rise and fall of world powers. John this scene with the writing on the wall. Obviously that was terrifying for Belshazzar and the Babylonians and everyone.

It was there and what you're going to talk about tomorrow would be scary for a lot of people listening because you're going to draw comparisons between the fall of Babylon in the direction where our culture is headed today, and yet there is something very encouraging when we look to the future and see everything Scripture reveals about it that one of the most interesting parts of the book of Revelation is word John has this vision and he sees a little book in the little book is likely the title deed to the earth that the Lord is going to take back and he in the vision he eats the little book and it's both sweet and bitter and it's sweet because God is vindicated. Christ is vindicated, Christ is exalted and that's the sweetness of it. The bitterness of it is the devastating judgment and death and eternal punishment that comes so whenever you're dealing with eschatology you're dealing with the combination of the terror of the Lord, on the one hand to the unknown, converted, and on the other hand, the hope of the believer so you couldn't get to more extreme responses out of any single event than the return of Christ because everybody ends up either in eternal bliss or eternal punishment, eternal heaven or eternal hell. On the one hand, the rejoicing over the vindication of Christ in his exaltation and his people with him and on the other hand, the crushing realization that the people that you know and love who don't know Christ are going into eternal judgment. So I think when Paul said knowing the terror of the Lord we persuade men to the Corinthians. I think if you don't talk about that the terror of the Lord, you, you don't have that motivation and preachers don't preach about the terror of the Lord, so that what you trying to motivate people to do you do evangelism gets reduced to Jesus to make you happy you fix your marriage. Jesus will make you a better person, Jesus, to give you hope and joy. But wait a minute. Where is the terror in all of that. Where is the terror that says to the sinner you're headed for eternal hell. This is not about how happy your life is here. There's no guarantee of that. This is about where you spend eternity. So the fact that that is not a part of regular preaching is a sinful omission. Massively sinful omission. If that's not being preached in the church than the church is an unfaithful church no matter what else they're doing now again is rinsing almost every day this and a lot of other things are touched on in the little booklet a jet tour through revelation free to anyone who asks. Just contact us today friend. There is no need to feel intimidated by the book of Revelation and don't ever assume that it just can't be understood. John's booklet will show you what the last book of the Bible is all about to get your copy, contact us today our number 855 grace and our website TTY.org again the booklet to ask for a jet tour through revelation. It's yours with our compliments. Request your copy when you call 855 grace or go to TTY.also, whether you're a long-time believer or a new Christian, you have a passion for God's word and you want to know what it teaches only about the end times about any subject. I've encouraged you to order the MacArthur study Bible. It has the full text of Scripture and 25,000 footnotes from John MacArthur that will help you understand every passage. The study Bible comes in a variety of bindings hardcover, whether soft even premium goatskin and is also available in various translations. We have the new American Standard version, the English standard version and the new King James version, as well as several non-English edition to order the MacArthur study Bible, call 855 grace or log on to TTY.org now for John MacArthur on Phil Johnson encouraging you to be here tomorrow when John looks at the proper response to Daniel's prophecies about rise and fall of powers. It's another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth was at a time on grace