The Handwriting on the Wall - Part 1

Undermined Christian lady asked the more you build yourself, you have to flee. That's one of the dangers of pride helpfully illustrated in the book of Daniel today on tuning to David Jeremiah as she is the story of how things out of control applied notably them a great civilization only a woman straight from the hand of God is able to introduce his message to him voicing home. Thank you for joining us were mostly finished with the month of February.

Only courses. One of the shorter ones but we are very excited about the opportunity to have kicked off the study of the book of Daniel in the month of February. We have covered an awful lot of territory already in some very amazing events, but we have a long way to go and right now we want you to open your heart to the word of God as we began part one handwriting on the wall logically between the fourth and fifth chapter 20 to 30 years have gone by, in fact, we had a chapter almost 70 years past the events of chapter 1, when those Hebrew boys were carried away to Babylon and stood strong in behalf of their God. Daniel is almost 90 years of age, Nebuchadnezzar has died.

He has been succeeded at his death by his son.

A man by the name of evil Caradoc MER ODA CHP believe BIL – merit dock evil merit dock rain for only a couple of years and was assassinated by his brother. A man by the name of Mira Glasser. This man rain for four years and was killed in battle, and then a man from the rank-and-file of the Babylonians was put on the throne. The next ruler who rain for less than a year was a man by the name of Napa nitrous, Napa nitrous now never nitrous was the son-in-law of Nebuchadnezzar and never nitrous son was Del Chesser never nitrous and Bell shows her workload rulers all the land of Babylon. They were named simultaneously.

It is interesting that Napa nitrous does not appear in the text because he is the kind of a king who doesn't like to stay at home when he's out with the armies fighting the Medes and the Persians. In fact, by the time this event takes place. Napa nitrous Bell says his father has been captured by the Medes and Persians, and he is under their control.

So Bell says his son has been left to reign and rule by himself while Belshazzar was a young despot. He was a wicked wicked man he was like oftentimes is the case, a young man who was born into wealth and privilege, and he used it all to just shower upon himself access. He was drunk or he was a reveler he was sexually loose in history records of him, but he was a wicked awful ruler is important to note by way of introduction, that in the text. Nebuchadnezzar just called Bill Shatzer's father and the Belshazzar is referred as Nebuchadnezzar son that is confuse a lot of people as they read this and then they read history and discovered that Belshazzar was really not Nebuchadnezzar's son but his grandson. I just like to point out by way of introduction, that in the Hebrew and in the Calvi in which this was written, they had no name for grandfather nor any name for grandson and so any ancestor was referred to as a father, and therefore we find that in this text and sometimes it's really confusing. Someone came up to me and asked me how it was that Daniel seems to be so unconnected with the early events of this chapter. Where is see what all of this is going on well when Nebuchadnezzar died in Daniel was at the core of the throne and at the very center of what was going on and babbling evil merit Duke came as his son and took over the kingdom and when he was murdered by Mira Glasser with history books tell us that all of the ministers who were at the core of Nebuchadnezzar's reign were banished and put into exile and sent away from the throne and so Daniel being one of those ministers actually dropped out of sight for almost a decade. He lived in obscurity and not until the events which are later on in this chapter is.

He called back into the center of stage so those introductory comments, we come to the first nine verses and I want to give you an easy outline by which to follow the first four verses deal with the feast of Bell Shatzer and verses five through nine talk about the finger of God, the feast of Belshazzar and the finger of God. Now let's begin the feast of Belshazzar. The Scripture says that Bell says of the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and he drank wine before the thousand or three things that I want you to notice about the feast of Belshazzar. First of all, please note the sensuality of the feast, the sensuality of the feast. According to the historian Xenophon. The feast was a solemn festival among the Babylonians, to their great God Bell.

After all, Bill Shatzer got his name from back God and so it would be quite right for the king. Bell shows her to observe the feasts that honor the Babylonian God whose name was Bell archaeologist tell us that the hall in which this great feast was conducted and this carnival was held has been excavated in modern times and it was actually a great and huge hall some 60 feet wide by 172 feet long and the walls in that great Hall were decorated in stucco and all of the accomplishments of the Babylonian kingdom were next in writing on the walls of that great Hall. The sensuality of the feast of Bell Shatzer is demonstrated by the words of this text in at least two ways. First of all, the Scripture says that Belshazzar drank wine before the thousand of his lords. The phrase actually means that he was elevated above them and actually led them in drinking toasts to their pagan gods. This was totally out all the dignity of the king of that day. They never drank with their lords and with their counselors if they drank, they drank in dignity by themselves, but it this point in time, Bell Shatzer, who is such a raucous character has decided that he's going to bring all of his lords a thousand strong into this great banquet hall and it literally elevates himself above them and leads the toasts that they drink to all of their pagan gods. The second thing that we learn about the sensuality of this feast is involved in the fact that Belshazzar invited all of the women to the drunken party. Now it was a custom in that culture. Even later in the culture when the Persians took control that this was just not done. For instance in the book of Esther in the first chapter we are told that when I has you Harris who laws the king was having a drunken party but Vashti is Queen entertained the women separately. Esther chapter 1 verses one through nine. But Bell says her through all restraint or society decided to leave the toasts himself and Scripture says that he brought in all of the wives and concubines, and he drank with them and with all the men I think of two passages of Scripture that speak to this in the Old Testament one in the book of Proverbs it says it is not for kings old lamb UL is not for kings or for princes to drink strong drink last night and drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

Proverbs 30 145, or the writing of Isaiah the prophet chapter 5 verses 22 through 24. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink as fire devours the stubble and flame consume with the chaff so their roots shall be as rottenness and their blossoms shall go up as according to the record. One by one the king and his men drank themselves onto the table and took this the overtones of sensuality that are obvious by the presence of the women and what you have is nothing more nor less than a drunken orgy not unlike many of the great parties that go on in our day. Now I have to admit I've lived a sheltered life never in all of my experience.

Have I ever been anything like that nor do I ever intend to go but I want you to notice.

Secondly, under the feast of Bell Shatzer, the sacrilege of the fees the sacrilege of it. Notice in verse two, while Belshazzar tasted the wine he commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father, Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem. Belshazzar remembers that there's a place in the palace where the holy vessels of the Jews are kept. Now if you been with us through this whole study. Remember that back in the first chapter when Nebuchadnezzar came upon the city of Jerusalem and besieged it. One of the first things he did was to take hostage Daniel and his compatriots, and along with them. He took the vessels that were the holy vessels of the Jews, and he carried them away hostage to babbling for it was in the culture of that day and understanding that when you took the holy things of all foreigners God.

You demonstrated graphically that their God was incapable of defending them, and so you put their guard down and put them down so Nebuchadnezzar had carried those vessels to babbling and Belshazzar.

His grandson remembered that they were in the city and introduced drunkenness and in his involvement in the orgy of that night he decided to send someone to bring those holy vessels to the hall and to the banquet place so that he could desecrate them by drinking wine and using those vessels.

According to the Scripture to drink wine and praise the gods of gold and silver and of brass and of iron and of wood and of no someone describes what happened in graphic terms.

Shortly the slave arrived with the holy vessels at that raucous banquet room. The moment had arrived for this maggot of a man to do a God defying act, the erotic dancing suddenly stopped.

The musicians put their instruments down and the house lights were turned up Bell Shatzer took the goblet and filled it with wine from his own private wine supply and smirking with arrogance. He slopped the crimson liquid to his lips as it dribbled down his beard. He glared around with the fair I've done it look as if possessed by the devil.

He was honoring he has done it a thousand gasped.

Suddenly a chair broke out glass famously applauding the daring act. Bell Shatzer sunk down in his elegant seat. The music and the erotic dancing began again. All that last he felt like a man" Dr. Seitz in his book voices from babbling his written not only their ill-timed merriment there trampling on the customary proprieties and their drunkenness, but even there full hearty and blasphemous insult to the most high God is bailed over and cloaked up with a pretense of devotion. But this was as far as it was possible for human daring and infatuation to go. It was more than the powers of heaven could quietly endure this was the end that is the sacrilege of the feast.

Think of it with me for just a moment tried to put yourself in the back kind of setting. Think of someone someone inebriated someone drunken walking into our church and coming up to this platforming where our communion table is taking one of the little glasses in which we drink the cup and honoring the death of our Lord taking that cup and pouring out the juice and pouring into it a shot of whiskey and standing in front of this congregation and saying I drink it most of it what you have is what happened that night so any wonder that God said that's it. That's the line sacrilege of the feast now want to talk to you.

Thirdly about the stupidity of the feast, as we view the drunken orgy in Belshazzar's palace.

We are reminded of the words of an old proverb whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad prophecy and history will reveal to us what a stupid thing.

It is for Belshazzar to be celebrating 40 is literally celebrating his own funeral wake, but he doesn't know it, you know, the prophet Jeremiah almost 100 years before this event prophesied in almost exact detail every single thing that was going to happen on that night and I don't often do this. Sometimes I just generalize this but I think this is so exciting. I want you to take your Bibles and turn with me.

Everyone of these passages will do it quickly. There almost altogether. I want you to write down but Jeremiah said this is what's going to happen years before it took place.

I want you to carefully chronicle this.

And then when we come back and I tell you what happened. You'll be amazed. Jeremiah chapter 50 versus 1 to 3 in verse nine. This is what that prophecy teaches us it tells us that babbling would be conquered by a nation from the north.

Notice Jeremiah 50. The word that the Lord spake against babbling and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet declared to be among the nations and publish and set up a standard publish and conceal not say babbling is taken. Bell is confounded. Notice this mad dog is broken in pieces I knows are confounded.

Her images are broken in pieces for out of them are there, the pronation against her would show maker land desolate and none shall dwell therein. They shall remove they shall depart both man and beast notice verse nine for low I will raise and cause to come up against babbling on assembly of great nations from the North country and they shall set themselves in array against her from fence, she shall be taken there arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man none shall return in vain. Now just pause for a moment after the head of gold, which is babbling, what is the next Empire to take over who Medo Persian arrived long before this happened. Listen to the words of Jeremiah chapter 51 verses 11 and 28 make it right.

The arrows gather the shields the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the me for his devices against babbling to destroy it because it is the vengeance of the Lord. The vengeance of his temple.

Verse 28 of the same chapter prepare against her. The nations with the kings of the means the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion. Not only will it be a nation from the north, but it will be a nation associated with the Medes Medes and the Persians.

Now let's look at another one Jeremiah chapter 51 versus 53 and 58. This tells us what babbling is going to be like when she is captured. Verse 53 though babbling should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength yet from me shell spoilers come on to her saith the Lord.

We talked about the walls of Babel and how high were they and how wide were they 387 feet high 87 feet wide great fortifications of babbling notice verse 58 thus saith the Lord of hosts. The broad walls of babbling shall be utterly broken and her high gates shall be burned with fire, and the people shall labor in vain and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary. Now notice the picture prophetically is building a nation from the north associated with the Medes shall come against babbling when she is fortified within the great walls of her city.

Now chapter 50 and verse 24. Jeremiah tells us that the fall of babbling is going to be by some kind of a subterfuge some kind of a trick.

Some kind of a snare notice verse 24. I have laid a snare for the and thou art also taken all babbling and bough was not aware thou art found and also caught because thou has striven against the Lord help the prophet Jeremiah says that when babbling falls. It's going to be some sort of a trick. Some sort of a military cleverness, God is going to use to catch that city within her great fortified walls are high fortifications in her broad walls and then notice one other one verse 36 of chapter 51. This verse tells us that the fall of babbling is going to have something to do with the drying up of water. The Lotus therefore thus saith the Lord, to Babel, and behold, I will plead by causing take vengeance for the and I will dry up her seat and make her springs, dry and babbling shall become heat. Now let's just review for moment. Jeremiah the prophet said that someday babbling is going to be dealt with by God by a nation from the north associated with the Medes and they are going to come upon that city when it is greatly fortified within its huge walls and broad wall and through a trick or a snare and from something that has to do with the drying up of water, God is going to capture that city military would happen is not in the Bible, but secular history tells us what actually took place and it's a thrilling thing to see how God filled the word and how it happened.

You join us tomorrow as we finish up this month together and I hope you will do that, you know, every time I come to the end of the month and we been teaching for 30 days or whatever the number of teaching days are more like 22 I think I just am overwhelmed with joy in my heart that we have this incredible privilege to go on the radio and on television and teach the word of God. The motive for this is the knowledge that God's word changes lives. We know that because we just keep giving story after story as to how God has used his word to make a difference and to reclaim somebody from from darkness for all of you who help us do this for all of you who support us. I just want to say thank you means a lot to me to know that you believe and what were doing enough to invest resources in this ministry.

Thanks for listening. See you next time more information on the Jeremiah series. The handwriting of please visit our website David Jeremiah.org/what you will be offered to freeways to help you stay connected monthly magazine tuning points and L daily email devotional sign up today at David Jeremiah don't place right here.

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The handwriting on the wrong tuning point. Jeremiah, thanks for taking time to listen to on the non-peace and Christian faith.

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