Every nation, just like every man, has a last night. We don’t always know what that last night may be, but make no mistake there is a last one. Ancient Babylon is the first world empire that Daniel, the great Old Testament prophet, talked about in his great prophecies found in our Bibles in the book of Daniel. God had used Nebuchadnezzar to conquer the nation of Judah the same way He had used the nation of Assyria to conquer the northern tribes over 100 years earlier. The fall of Judah came in three waves: 605 B.C., 597 B.C., and finally, the last and final conquering was in 586 B.C. That seems to be the pattern for most countries, falling over time but historians, though some may differ, would likely pinpoint a specific time when she first fell. I have read much about the fall of Rome and how she rotted from the inside. She was dead a long time before she knew it. I wonder what type of death America will suffer. We seem to be following in the path of Rome, but who knows. I was listening to a podcast a few days ago and one of the guests was describing what the United States would look like if EMT’s were exploded in various parts of the country. If those Electro Magnetic Pulse devices wiped out our electrical grid, we would be living in pre-industrial days. No electricity. No power to run all our toys such as cars, appliances, airplanes, banking systems, etc., just to name a few. But when it was Babylon’s time to fall, it happened in one night according to Daniel 5. Sixty years earlier is when Daniel made the prophesy of Babylon’s fall. The lords and ladies of Babylon only lived to party, and now, it was payday for their transgressions. I want to share three thoughts today.

  1. The Truth can be Painful. 5:17-23. Belshazzar sees a man’s hand writing on a wall in the large room where the party has been raging for months. Some estimate as long as six months. He thinks it would be a fitting gesture to one more time mock the God of Israel by using the vessels taken by his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. The belief in those days was simply if you won a battle, your god was better than the people’s god or gods you conquered. Huge mistake on his part, but fools make bad decisions. Old man Daniel is called in and offered the third spot in the line of authority in the nation. Why three and not two? His father, Nabonidus, is still living as far as he knows, although he may have already died in Egypt. These two were co-regents. Daniel tells him to keep his stuff and proceeds to remind him how God humbled his grandfather causing him to be insane. Nebuchadnezzar lived like an animal until he repented. (I personally think Neb was saved.) What is the painful news? God has lifted himself against you (v.23). Belshazzar knew better (v.22) and yet still chose to mock God. How often have we known people that decided “I’ll do what I want regardless of what God wants” only to have things head bad quickly? May we learn this lesson well. Do right. Pride has been the downfall of millions and millions of people since Adam.
  2. The Telling of the Words. 5:24-28. The words which were written on the wall are MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. No one could understand what their meaning was. That is why Daniel is called, he knows things. Why could the wise men not read it? It was most likely written in Aramaic, which was a language they would know. One guess is that God disguised it so only Daniel could read it. Daniel was well versed in Aramaic but also, he was a Hebrew. He knew the Hebrew language. The Hebrew doesn’t have vowels and is read and written from right to left. I’ll use English but perhaps it would have looked this way if English would have been the chosen language. Could you have figured this out? Daniel was God’s man and had been for over 60 years. He would have had this method and understanding when the wisest of Babylon wouldn’t have even had the thought. Our lesson? Spend time with The Book, spend time learning at the house of God, spend time with others and ransack the Bible. Bible people make better decisions and life choices.
  3. The Termination of a Nation. 5:29-31. Daniel is made third in authority and he has that spot for less than one day. That very night (v.30) Belshazzar is killed. The Persians diverted the Euphrates River upstream and the water levels dropped. The river flowed under the walls of Babylon and with the water depth dropping, the army went under the wall and in one night Babylon was history. Darius took over first. He was a Mede. It would be a short time when the strongest ruler, Cyrus the Persian, would be the true leader of the Medes/Persians.

We have a saying often used in our circles. It goes something like “He saw the hand-writing on the wall.” That is a literary device we use to describe when things become very clear. That happened with Belshazzar. No matter how drunk he might have been during that six-month party, the night that hand began writing on the wall, he was stone-cold sober and fearful. His very knees smote together (v.6). We are all weighed in the balance in many things. First, we are weighed concerning our salvation. Without Christ we all are in need. None of us have a prayer of heaven without Jesus. Second, what about the pride? We think we are the wisest and we have our rights and everyone needs to listen to me. How about we listen to the Word of God. That is our standard of faith and practice. Third, we all will have a last day. Hebrews 9:27, “it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.” I don’t worry about missing heaven. I did what the Bible told me over 50 years ago. But I do worry that when that day arrives and I stand at the judgment seat, I’ll be found wanting because of pride, arrogance, or some petty issue that I might be called to give an accounting for. My salvation is secure because of Jesus and His work at Calvary, but my service is my focus in these days.