Good Morning!
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of
his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king cried aloud to bring in
the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spoke, and said to the wise
men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof,
shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third
ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation
thereof. Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonished. (Dan 5:6-9)
Belshazzar's cup of iniquity was full… he had no more time to humble his heart before God. When his official wizards could not interpret the writing on the wall, he went ballistic! His alcohol failed him. The party was over. Rebellion against God doesn't do well at sunset.
The Lord measures time and speaks of fullness of time.
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal 4:4-5). God sent His Son to be born on earth when it was time.
When God was showing Abraham all the land He was going to give him and his descendants, He said: And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. (Gen 15:13-16). America's cup is filling up. America is going to be judged and punished as a nation like all the other nations and kingdoms that thumbed their noses at Him.
God had previously shown Nebuchadnezzar by Daniel the prophet that he and his kingdom was the head of gold but his kingdom would come to an end and be followed by an inferior kingdom of silver in the breast and arms of the beast of his dream (Dan. 2:36-45).
The prophet Jeremiah had already given God's decree: I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 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. 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. (Jer 27:5-7)
Jeremiah is very specific about how long Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom will last: through his lifetime, and through the tenure of his son (Nabonidus) and his grandson (Belshazzar). After that time, the kingdom of Babylon and the head of gold would end.
until the very time of his land come: "until the time of the destruction of his land come, also of himself;''
"…there was a time fixed for his life, and so long the nations were to serve, and did serve, him personally; and there was a time fixed for the continuance of his monarchy, in his son, and son's son; when it was to end, as it did, in Belshazzar's reign; and when the seventy years' captivity of the Jews was up:" (Gill)
and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him; and his kingdom; subdue it, and make it tributary to them. This was accomplished by the Medes and Persians, with Darius and Cyrus at the head of them, and other nations and kings, allies and auxiliaries to them, and associates with them; see Jer_25:14" (Gill).
"We have further evidence of Belshazzar from a prayer of Nabonidus to the moon god for his son which was discovered on a clay cylinder: 'My son, the offspring of my heart, might honor his godhead and not give himself to sin.' Herodotus, the Greek historian, also mentions this and confirms it" McGee). While this day of infamy and doom is going on, Belshazzar's father, Nabonidus, was away from the palace in a battle.
So, why didn't Belshazzar offer his wizards a chance to be second in the kingdom? Because Belshazzar was second in the kingdom. His father was first. This is the third time the official wizards had been herded into the palace to unravel God's message and the third time they didn't know beans about it. Three strikes and you're out so these fellows will have to find another line of work. They were quacks who made a good living telling the king what he wanted to hear. Anyway, their boss is about to…. retire.
We are going into all of this because the Book of Daniel has been attacked with a vengeance in an attempt to discredit it. Nobody can tell the future! Get rid of this troublesome book! For a long time one of the points of attack was its supposed inaccuracy about Belshazzar. He was not supposed to exist. But now it has to be admitted that he did indeed exist and the critics were wrong.
One final thought from Strauss on God's fingers. Belshazzar "saw only a few of the divine fingers, and the Bible says, 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God' (Heb 10:31. The mere sight of the fingers frightened him, but he was yet to feel the full weight of God's hand in judgment. The God of Heaven is merciful, slow to anger, and longsuffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2Peter 3:9). But there must come an end to His tolerating of the unholy and wicked deeds of any man."
The Book of Daniel is necessary to understanding the time line of human existence on Planet Earth. If God is in charge of Planet Earth then the evolutionists and the planners for a one-world government know about as much as the Babylonian wizards. The Book of Daniel is a square pill for the intelligentsia! Also, if you believe the book of Daniel, you are in the way of the clowns who want a productive and peaceful world full of love and cooperation—without God.
Memory Verse for this week:
(1Th 4:13)But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (1Th 4:13) (See 1Th 4:13-18).
A cluster of six verses on the second coming of Christ will be presented as memory verses, one verse per week. I hope you will work faithfully on each verse, each week and master the six verses as a group. Begin a new verse on Sunday evening. Go over it and all the others you have memorized, five times a day. You will treasure them the rest of your life and be able to share them again and again. "May I say my verse to you?"
To be removed from this mailing list, please click here. In the subject line type "remove." ●To subscribe to this and other Encourager mailings, click here. In the subject line, type "subscribe." Please give your name and email address. ●Please set your spam system (contact list) to accept encourager@biblewalking.com. and dan@dancarr.org. ●. Thank you for accepting our mail and passing it on.. ´Belshazzar´s Feast´ by Rembrandt. Canvas, f.163... London, National Gallery. Rembrandt's depiction of the biblical account of Belshazzar seeing "the writing on the wall"
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