Preached by Chris Broom, 7/15/2007

The entire Dawson family heeds lessons from Daniel as Theo’s mother Mary places membership

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The Writing is on the Wall - Outline

This is part four of our Daniel study series. It has been very exciting around here lately. Just two weeks, ago on July 1st, 118 people were in attendance as we celebrated our one year anniversary. We thanked God for answering our prayers and doubling our number in the first year of the work from 29 to 58 sold-out disciples. Then last week Mary joined us, and with that addition, 17 souls have now been added to our number in the past 12 weeks. On top of that, our attendance has been over 100 every Sunday for the past 6 weeks. We are truly “Blown Away” by what God has done and all the glory goes to Him.

Now to today’s lesson, the title of which is “The Writing is on the Wall.”

The phrase “the writing on the wall” has come to signify that misfortune, disaster, danger or the end is imminent. So now that you are wondering why I chose that as the title of the message … I didn’t really … Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia says the writing on the wall (or sometimes “handwriting on the wall”) originates in the Biblical book of Daniel (chapter 5 to be exact) where supernatural writing foretells the demise of the Babylonian Empire, and mirrors the historically verifiable defeat of the Babylonian Empire by Persia. That’s where we left off and so that’s the title today.

Nebuchadnezzar dies in 562 B.C. He was succeeded by his son, (Evil-Merodach), who after two years, was assassinated by Nergilissar, his brother-in-law. He in turn died four years later (556 B.C.), leaving the throne to his infant son, Labashi-Marduk, who was soon deposed by a priestly revolution and Nabonidus, a former priest under Nebuchadnezzar, was made king in 556 B.C. He was more interested in scholarly and religious pursuits so he appointed his son Belshazzar as ruler of Babylon in his place. Belshazzar therefore became co-regent in 550 B.C., and was therefore “second” in command.

Daniel 5:1
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. (Typically, the man has an official wife in addition to one or more concubines.) So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” (Remember that Belshazzar was 2nd in command.) Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

Here we see a king who appeals first to those who are unable to help - Just as Nebuchadnezzar did in Daniel 2. People often do the same thing today, especially in times of crisis. We go to the wrong place / people for help. We look to our own strength or wisdom or that of other people, when we need to turn to God first. We also need to look at the fruit of someone’s life before we decide if we want their advice about anything.

Another thing we do is ignore problems altogether. We make little effort to get to know God through his word or to get to know people who know God. But in times of sickness, trials, and death, where do they turn? To the church, of course, the time to get to know God’s people is before, not after death. For example, we don’t even like to think about death. If we are afraid of a flood, we get flood insurance. If we are afraid of fire, we get fire insurance. But if we are afraid of death, we get LIFE insurance. We don’t like to talk about it. But there is a 100% mortality rate in this room. We are all going to die. The Writing is on the Wall. What’s going to happen to us after we die is the question we need to ask, and we need to go to the right place for the answer … God and his word.

In Daniel 5:10-17, the queen comes in and says “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! She tells him of Daniel, and Daniel is brought before the king,

Daniel 5:18 “O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. “But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. This is the inscription that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. This is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.”

History tells us through Herodotus that Babylon fell as a consequence of the river Euphrates being diverted so that it was no longer a virtual moat of defense for the city. The army of the Medes and Persians swept into Babylon. There was hardly any resistance as the people slipped away quietly and handed it over to the invaders. That night Belshazzar lay a corpse in the palace. The man who appointed Daniel the third in the nation was dead six hours later. (Daniel was given a third of nothing because it was no longer his kingdom to grant office in.) Notice how quickly things change. One moment his heart is puffed up with pride and the next moment, his knees are knocking together. And all he saw was a man’s hand. What if he had seen the face of God? If just a tiny manifestation of God’s power had that effect, then what would be the effect of coming face to face with God? What about the coming Judgment? What was all his life with its drinking, feasting, its women and all its pleasures - what was that worth when it was weighed by God? Belshazzar died as he lived, without God and without hope, and though he had all the wealth men dream of, the opportunity that was given to him at the very end of his life by a long-suffering God to confess his sin and seek the mercy of God, to our knowledge, was not taken.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

How quickly the proud and boastful can fall, despite power and wealth.
(It reminds me of Jesus’ story of the rich fool in Luke 12, boasting one day, dead the next.)

Luke 21:34 “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

The bible teaches that we will all stand before God in the judgment, and we should not presume that we will receive the last minute opportunity God gave Belshazzar. Now is the opportunity … Now is the day of salvation. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

The writing on the wall challenges us all because we are forced to ask ourselves some questions that we don’t always like to ask.
“Does my life measure up?”
“Does my life count?”
“Is it a God-honoring life?”
“Is it a God-pleasing life?”

Charges brought against Belshazzar.
1. King Belshazzar sinned through disobedience and pride - not ignorance. He set himself up against the God of heaven.

Luke 14:25-33 “Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters””yes, even his own life””he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.’”

2. King Belshazzar and his guests foolishly praised the creation rather than the Creator and so did not honor the God who held him in his hand. Would we ever stoop so low and worship the gods of silver and gold? Become guilty of idolatry? We do when we make material riches our god, and when we make created things the prime focus of our time and interest.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (Jesus goes on to say, “Do not worry … seek first God’s kingdom.”)

Oh no … now the minister is talking about money … it’s time to go.
(Read from page 28 in “Set Apart” by Kent Hughes)
- There are 450 passages in the Bible dealing with wealth (2nd most talked about topic in the Bible).
- The most talked about topic in the Bible is idolatry!
- Only 8 percent of adult born again Christians tithe.
- Christians spend 7 times more on entertainment than on spiritual activities.
- Jesus talked more about money than heaven and hell combined. We need to talk about money … for all our sakes.

Romans 1:18-20 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities””his eternal power and divine nature””have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

We make excuses to God that aren’t much better than that one for why we don’t seek him with all our heart.

What if God were to use some of the excuses we use? What if God sent us a beautiful poem on flowery paper that said I really love you guys, but I’m just to busy here in heaven raising my son Jesus and I don’t have time for you guys on earth. Instead, he sent his son here to set us an example and die on a cross for us. Then he raised him from the dead. And we can’t use the excuse that we are ignorant of God. God has made himself plain to us. The proof is undeniable and we’ve talked so much about it in this series already. But the greatest proof is the resurrection itself. Jesus lived and died on a cross … that’s not disputable. The question is … did he rise again? (Logic: Lord, Liar or Lunatic / Proof of the 12 apostles lives and deaths.)

THERE’S SO MUCH PROOF OF GOD.

Isaiah 55.10-11 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

- Water cycle: 17 to 1800’s evaporation & condensation.

Isaiah 40:22 “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth…”
- 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue… Greek KHUG means Sphere … More than 1 dimensional.

2 Peter 1:20-21 “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
Bible is incredible…right and wrong. thief gets mad if you steel from him. Liar… murderer…

2nd law of thermodynamics. Disorder cannot lead to Order
Either you believe in God / Creator / Designer - or you believe you’re an accident / a freak of nature.

I don’t have enough faith to believe there is not a God. And therefore, I am without excuse.

Romans 1:21-23 “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

These were smart people. They became fools because they made up their own gods to worship. (We worship wealth, intelligence, beauty. Plastic surgeons are millionaires. We believe more in the power of these things than we do in the God who created them.)

Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Job 14:5 “Man’s days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed.”

Psalm 39:4-6 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. (The Medes and Persians would get everything.)

Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

John 12:48 “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.”

Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

1 John 5:3-5 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

There is no way to overcome the world unless you believe in Jesus Christ. Everyone draws a line somewhere. We have to be careful where we draw the line and it’s every Christian’s job to try to figure out where God draws the line. But if you believe the Bible, there is no place in heaven for the Buddhist. There’s no place in heaven for those that don’t believe in God. There’s no place for the Hindu or the Hebrew. No one is going to stand in the judgment if they do not believe in Jesus Christ. You can’t claim to believe in the bible or to be a Christian and not believe that and how can you believe that and not be urgent about saving souls. But how can so many be lost? 8 souls in all were saved when God flooded the earth. If you think you are more sympathetic or compassionate than God then we need to call 911 because we’ve got a lunatic on our hands.

Everyone who preaches the gospel looks for repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. Daniel had waited to see it in Nebuchadnezzar and then in Belshazzar. The only thing Daniel desired was that the Word of God rule in the life of Babylon; that what had happened in Nineveh under Jonah’s preaching should happen there too, that from the greatest of them to the lowest of them the court should sit down in sackcloth and ashes crying mightily to God that he would save the nation. Let’s not wait until “The Writing is on the Wall” and it is too late for us. That judgment has been passed and the sentence is final. Let’s instead go to God now while there is still time for mercy and forgiveness.

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