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Daniel Segment 5

All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Before beginning this study, I suggest you pray and ask God to guide you through this study. I also suggest that you do you own study of this material in order to ensure its accuracy.
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 Daniel 5:1 "Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand."

Belshazzar is a combination of bel, and shazzar. Bel is Baal or Marduk, the chief deity of the Babylonians. Shazzar is Chaldee for prince. It is similar to sar, tsar, czar, and caesar, all meaning prince or king. So Belshazzar means Prince of Bel. He is the son of the fourth king to rule the Babylon after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. He ruled as co-ruler of the empire at the pleasure of his father, Nabonidus.

Nebuchadnezzar was not his father, but his great-grandfather. It is common to refer to those who went before us as our forefathers. Here a grandson is described as a son. It is the same effect. Though Nebuchadnezzar was his grandfather, we are told he is Belshazzar's father, which he is, twice removed. We know from Josephus that there were four rulers after Nebuchadnezzar, Nabonidus being the fourth. Belshazzar was his son and ruled as second ruler of the empire. Nebuchadnezzar died and his son Evil-merodach (worshipper of Marduk) ruled. Jeremiah also mentions Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his son's son as rulers (Jer 27:7).

Josephus tells us about the four rulers:

Evil-merodach was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. His son Niglissar ascended the throne at Evil-merodach's death. He ruled four years, died, and his son took the kingdom for nine months. Then Belshazzar was made king. Some suggest that since the Bible and other extra-Biblical historical documents fail to mention Niglissar and Labosordacus, and that those two were usurpers and that Belshazzar was heir apparent when Evil-merodach died. Somehow they were able to usurp the throne from Belshazzar. That would explain why the Bible, history, and the Babylonian Chronology mention them. But modern archaeology shows that Nabonidus was the ruler after Labosordacus and Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and ruled as second ruler under his father.

Before the drinking was started in earnest, Belshazzar tasted the wine. Then he commanded that the sacred vessels be used for a drunken orgy, those same vessels that were consecrated to the LORD by Solomon. Not only that, but God promised that these vessels would be returned to Jerusalem after the captivity (Jer 28:3). These sacred vessels were still sacred and entrusted into the care of Babylon. When Belshazzar had his guests drink from them and get drunk, he profaned them.

Not only did they profane them by drinking out of them, they also used them to toast and praise their gods. This was an abomination. It is no wonder that God gave Babylon over to Darius at this very moment. There were many gods in Babylon, and many idols of various materials. The golden calf idols of Aaron and Jeroboam are reminiscent. The teraphim of Rachel and Leah were silver idols. Dagon, the fish god of the Philistines was a wooden idol. Asherah poles (phallic symbols of Baal) were wooden. Another phallic symbol of Baal was the obelisk, made of stone or brick. Idols have been fashioned out of every material. Buddhas are made from stone, wood, brass, and gold, iron, and stamped steel. The merchants at Ephesus made small silver images of Diana or Artemis for sale to her devotees. That was their main livelihood. That is the reason for the great uproar at Ephesus in Acts 19:23-41.

The icons (actually idols) of Roman Catholicism are made of various substances. Wood is a mainstay. But ceramic, plaster, metals, and other materials make up many of the icons of that religious system. If you do not believe that the icons are idols, then why does the leader of that system bow down to a crowned statue of Mary (the Queen of Heaven!)? There is a crowned Mary at the Vatican, just outside of St. Peter's Cathedral. I have seen a picture of the Pope bowing down to that statue. Go here for that picture: http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/sunburst.htm.

Today we even have idols of paper: securities, insurance policies, stocks and bonds, and greenbacks. We have idols made up of wood, stone, brick, copper, porcelain, iron, paper, plastic, glass, and a myriad of other materials. These are known as the church building, or our beautiful, high-priced homes that cause both mom and dad to have to work 50+ hours a week just to keep up the mortgage, leaving Junior at home alone.

God says, in Deuteronomy 5:8-9: "Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: {9} Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them:" Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. {18} For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. {19} Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." We are NOT to bow down to graven images. And what is the statue of Mary outside of St. Peter's Cathedral? A graven image. We do not have to bow down to worship. We can serve them in other ways. All we must do to serve them is to make them more important to us than God. Like our jobs, money, church buildings, houses, possessions, etc., etc. It is an abomination to God to worship and serve other than Him.

Belshazzar and his officials and guests knew this and yet the mocked God by using His consecrated vessels to commit the abomination they committed. They did it with full knowledge of what they were doing and with purpose as we are told in verse 22.

Here we have the fingers of a hand that just appear out of nowhere. They appeared by the lamp where the light was strong, so it could not have been a trick. The light was bright there and the king saw only the fingers and the palm of the hand. The Chaldee for "part of the hand" literally means the palm. There was no wrist to arm, just a hand and fingers. This was supernatural. There are those that teach that a man did this. They take the view that the only hands God has are our hands, our feet, our mouths, our eyes and so on. But this view limits God. God is supernatural and there is nothing too difficult for Him. He spoke and the world came into existence, so can He not do something as simple as making a hand appear and write on a wall?

Fear on a face is obvious as it was on Belshazzar's face. He was frightened out if his wits. He was shaking in his fright and his knees were literally rattling.

Have you ever been frightened by a movie and felt like all your joints were loose and you could not get the images out of you head? I admit that many years ago, before I became Christian, scary movies frightened me. Sometimes I would awake at night and be so filled with fright I could not sleep. I had to turn on the light, etc., like a little child, though I was a young adult. The movie, The Exorcist, frightened me so badly that I could not sleep well for several weeks. I have seen it again since I have been a Christian for many years, and it is a juvenile movie. How could I have been so frightened by it? It is simple, I was not in God's will, and I was afraid of dying. I had no belief system to which I was grounded, so all sorts of possibilities occurred to me. I was easily frightened by such things, but no more. With the Spirit inside me, such things are childish. I have, on occasion watched so-called horror movies like the one with Freddie Kruger in it. How idiotic! How many times can you show the same plot with different characters (except Kruger) and still make money at it? And how many times can a man in a goalie mask kill and be killed in movies and the public still wants more?

At any rate, Belshazzar was truly frightened. His face showed it. He was like jelly. This was true terror. Why? Because he knew what he was doing when he drank from God's vessels and toasted his gods with them. He was mocking God and he knew it. His fear was much more so because he knew that Yehovah, "the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will" (v. 21). He was tempting God and was caught in the act. That is why he was so frightened.

Belshazzar did just like Nebuchadnezzar, his grandfather. He called in all of his wise men. They could not help. The writing was in Hebrew characters and they did not understand it. The words were Chaldee but the letters were Hebrew.

The queen heard the commotion and was told about what was going on. The king's wives and concubines were at the party, but the queen, his preeminent wife, was not there at the time. She may have been in her quarters, or she may have just stepped out. But when she heard, she went directly into the banquet hall. She consoled him and then made a suggestion:

Either the king did not know of Daniel, or more likely, he did not think of Daniel. Daniel was a man known for his wisdom, and, as usual, his wisdom was credited to the Babylonian gods and not to Yehovah. The queen knew of him and made it a point to say so.

We have already learned that Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar's great grandfather and that Evil-merodach, Nebuchadnezzar's son, was Belshazzar's grandfather. Nebuchadnezzar is called Belshazzar's father. But this is a device that is common in the Bible. David is referred to as the father of Jehoram and Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 20:5, 2 Chronicles 21:12, Isaiah 38:5) and yet he was not their father or even their grandfather. He was their predecessor several generations back. But he was called their father. Jesus is called the son of David, but he was fourteen generations removed from David. In fact, anyone who was of the lineage of David was called a son of David, just as Israelites are all called sons of Abraham. As a matter of fact, all Christians are sons of Abraham (Gal 3:7). The Jews referred to Abraham as their father and themselves as Abraham's seed (John 8:39 & 33). The point is, that Nebuchadnezzar was referred to as Belshazzar's father in the same vein. He was of the lineage of Nebuchadnezzar and therefore a son of Nebuchadnezzar.

The queen described Daniel's attributes and he was brought before the king. His main attribute in view here was his ability to solve enigmas (hard sentences). The writing was truly an enigma to Belshazzar and his people. Daniel was brought to the king. This was fourteen years after Daniel's last appearance before Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel was buttered up. But as we will see, it did not affect him.

Or, "Keep your gifts you lush. I don't need them nor do I want them. But I'll interpret the words for you anyway."

Daniel patiently explained the facts of life to Belshazzar. He explained that all his father Nebuchadnezzar had, and he had much, came from God. Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon had become the ruling kingdom of the entire world. It was rich and luxurious and powerful and feared. Nebuchadnezzar had the power of riches or poverty, success or failure, and life or death over every person in the world. But all that was a gift of God to Nebuchadnezzar, His servant.

Daniel reminded Belshazzar that when Nebuchadnezzar had sought to give himself prideful credit for all the things God did for him, he was humbled and made into a wild man for seven years. When Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God and His grace, he was restored to his kingdom.

I say that Daniel reminded him of these things because he, Belshazzar, already knew all these things. Yet he never humbled his heart to acknowledge God.

As we already learned, Belshazzar put God to the test, and knew it. He did it purposely and pridefully, daring God to call him on it. Well, God did call him on it. It is written, "Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 6:16, Matthew 4:7, Luke 4:12).

Again, God sent that hand that wrote on the wall. It was supernatural.

Mene=numbered. It comes from the word mena, meaning a numbered part of a talent. There were sixty menas to a talent and 3000 shekels to a mena. Mene is repeated by God for emphasis.

Tekel=weigh. It is related to the word shekel, which is a weighed piece of silver.

Upharsin=divide or distribute. It is the same word as Peres. The Hebrew for both Upharsin and Peres is perac (6537).

Belshazzar gave him the gifts anyway. Remember that Daniel was second only to the king in Nebuchadnezzar's day. Here he is third. But this kingdom was finished that day:

That very night Darius the Median entered the city. Cyrus conquered the Babylonian Empire without bloodshed. The empire was merely given to him by its leaders, who were sympathetic to Cyrus. But Darius, Cyrus' uncle, took the city of Babylon by coup. That coup included the death of Belshazzar, the son of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who was given rule over the empire by his father.

There is considerable discussion about the names Darius and Belshazzar. Some believe the Bible to be incorrect here, an assumption I cannot accept. Darius was the person who took the city of Babylon from Belshazzar.

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