Daniel 5

Bible study with Dr. Chuck Missler

A HAND CRASHES BELSHAZZAR'S PARTY

By Daniel 5, Nebuchadnezzar had died. Belshazzar, his grandson, is now in charge. Belshazzar is not the king. His father (Nabonidus), the king, didn't want to rule and so effectively gave Belshazzar the permission to rule in his place.

Daniel 5:1
While Belshazzar partied away, the Persian army was on the move. They had already taken over many of the small lowland villages near Babylon.

Babylon should have defended themselves, but they didn't as an expression of pride: Their city was well-known to be impregnable. They were situated on high grounds surrounded by water. They were geologically superior.

And so, instead of defending themselves, they threw a huge party consisting of a thousand lords because who can possibly overthrown such a superior city?

Daniel 5:2
The translated text calls Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar's "father." This does not mean Belshazzar's father was Nebuchadnezzar, because it's not. There is no term for "grandfather" in Aramaic. Hence, the word for "father" used here in Aramaic means "forebearer" and should be translated that way.

Belshazzar took the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Temple during his first siege to use for their party. Bad move.

Daniel 5:4-5
Not only did these lords took the sacred vessels, they desecrated them as well. These scriptures describe pagan revelry desecrating sacred vessels.

Daniel 5:5-6
As they continued to party, Belshazzar saw just a hand writing on the wall and freaked out.

KJV does a great job describing Belshazzar's reaction. "His loins were loosed" (Daniel 5:6), which is an amazing fulfillment of prophecy written in a letter to Cyrus 150 years earlier (Isaiah 45:1)! (Cyrus was the Persian who took over Babylon from Belshazzar.)

On a side, this is one of the many examples of how Biblical texts come together. There is no way one can read this and not see the hand of God throughout history!

Daniel 5:7
Belshazzar offered whoever could translate the writing on the wall the 3rd highest ruler of the kingdom. Why third? The 1st ruler was the king, Nabonidus. The 2nd ruler was Belshazzar. And thus, the 3rd ruler would be whoever could translate the writing.

Daniel 5:10
The Queen intervened and offered her suggestion: Seek Daniel. The Queen here is most likely the Queen Mother, Nebuchadnezzar's wife, who continued her presence in the palace in a place of honor. From the text, we can see that she was not a part of this party. Good for her.

Daniel 5:11-12
Queen recounted Daniel's glory during Nebuchadnezzar's reign. She also called Daniel by his Hebrew name! (This is one of the many clues that suggest both she and Nebuchadnezzar were saved, and that we shouldn't be too surprised to see them in Heaven!)

It is simply amazing to see the amount of confidence she had in Daniel! Before Daniel even did anything, she had already promised that Daniel would be able to interpret the writing! Could she have the spirit of God within her as well? What else would account for her confidence?


FALL OF BABYLON 

Daniel 5:15-16
Belshazzar explained to Daniel his predicament, that if Daniel could interpret the writing, he was willing to name Daniel as the 3rd highest ruler in the kingdom. 

Daniel 5:17
"Up yours, old king," was Misslers interpretation of Daniel's response to Belshazzar's offer. Daniel wasn't interested in the awards. He was just doing God's work.

Daniel 5:18-23
Before Daniel translated the writing, he gave a speech, starting off with Nebuchadnezzar's early days. This speech was basically a summary of Daniel 4.

Daniel then went on to admonish Belshazzar. He did not learn from Nebuchadnezzar's experiences even though he knew of the events documented in Daniel 4. Worse, he desecrated sacred vessels of God and worshiped false idols that could not see or understand. For his pride, God therefore sent him a message: "Your days are numbered. You have been weighed and found wanting. Your kingdom has been given over to the Medes and the Persians."




DANIEL DECIIPHERED THE WRITING ON THE WALL WITH ATBASH

Atbash: a type of Jewish encryption

The Handwriting on the wall is: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Peres
Mene: God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Aka, Your number is up.
Tekel: You are weighed in the balances and are found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. (Paras is the Hebrew word for Persians – Remember that Hebrews does not have vowels; they are inferred based on the context of the sentence -- so, PRS could either be Peres or Paras)




CYRUS' SUCCESS WAS PROPHESIED HUNDREDS OF YEARS BEFORE HIS BIRTH


While Belshazzar partied away, the Persians, led by Cyrus, were outside the gates and had diverted the Euphrates River, allowing the water level to drop in Babylon, giving them the chance to slip in under the gates. They took over Babylon without a battle! There were residents who didn't even know that they were under siege until three days later!

Cyrus was half-Mede, half-Persian. We see again, how history fulfills God's prophecies to the tittle!


Cyrus is seen by history (Persians, Romans, Greeks) as the epitome of a great leader: brave and daring, tolerant and magnanimous. 

Cyrus established the Medo-Persian empire. His father was a Persian; his mother was a Mede.

God's Letter to Cyrus (Isaiah 45)
God called Cyrus His "annointed" (Isaiah 45:1). This is a rare honor for a Gentile. God specifically said He would loose the loins of kings, because He knew Cyrus would know about Belshazzar's loosening of loins.

When Cyrus marched into Babylon, Daniel presented the scroll of Isaiah to Cyrus, showing him Isaiah 45. Cyrus saw the signs and understood the prophecies that have been fulfilled and thus freed the Jewish captives and returned the sacred vessels to the Jews. He also financed them to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.


MYSTERY OF BABYLON 

A statue of Cyrus in London's British Museum quotes Cyrus bragging about how he took over Babylon without a fight and allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple. The decree of Cyrus allowing Jews to return to Jerusalem is documented in Ezra 1.

Key point: Babylon was never destroyed. The empire fell, but it was never destroyed as prophesied in the following chapters:
Isaiah 13-14
Jeremiah 50-51
Revelation 17-18

The fall of Babylon is not the same as the destruction or doom of Babylon.

The Bible speaks of the destruction of Babylon, and many scholars assume that this was fulfilled when Cyrus took over Babylon. But, as we have stressed above, Cyrus did not take over Babylon by force. He never destroyed the city.

The three sets of chapters above should be read in one sitting. They all speak about the doom of Babylon, its ultimate destruction. Read those scriptures. It will become very evident that the prophecy of Babylon's doom, Babylon's destruction has not been fulfilled yet.

Today, Babylon is still inhabited. Come its doom, it will be wiped off the face of Earth, never to be inhabited again (Isaiah 13:20); it will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah (Isaiah 13:19). Clearly, this has not happened today. But, it will.

The Persians (Cyrus) assumed control of Babylon after the Babylonians. Cyrus took it over without a fight. The city continued to thrive to this day.

In 460 BC, Babylon was found still intact. Alexander the Great even made Babylon his empire's capital. He even died there. 

I know I keep repeating this, but because there is so much confusion about this, I will stress it again: The Persians did not destroy Babylon.

After Alexander the Great passed away, the Greek empire was divided among his 4 generals. Ptolemy and Seleucid became the greater of the four.

During their reign, the Seleucids created another city (Seleucia) that became more popular than Babylon, and Babylon atrophied (again, not destroyed).

In 199 AD, Babylon was found deserted, but it was still there. Not destroyed.

In the 19th century, people still lived in Babylon.

Alright. I think we've beat that horse to death: Babylon was never destroyed.

Jerusalem vs. Babylon: Compare Genesis and Revelation, and we see a tale of two cities

Jerusalem: city of God
Babylon: city of man

Babylon
- Capital of the world's first dictator (Nimrod)
- Capital of the world's last dictator (Antichrist)

Isaiah 13-14
- Key phrase: the day of the Lord. When will Babylon be destroyed? In the day of the Lord.
- None of the events documented in Isaiah 13:10-16 happened when the Persians took over Babylon in 539 BC.
- In the day of the Lord, Babylon will be completely destroyed and never be built again. Babylon will be removed from the earth.
- Isaiah 13:17 mentions that the Medes will take over Babylon. Some scholars think this must be referring to the Persians taking over Babylon in 539 BC. However, there are plenty of clues that suggest this is not the case. Who are the Medes in this passage? The Curds, who has great hostility toward Iraq. Saddam Hussein gassed them, giving them plenty of reasons to be hostile against Babylon (modern day Iraq).
- Those who march against Babylon that day will not be motivated by money (Isaiah 13:17).
- After the day of the Lord, Babylon shall never be inhabited again.

Jeremiah 50-51
- Israel is in the land when this occurs (Jeremiah 50:4).
- "Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed" (Jeremiah 50:9). This verse suggests the use of intelligent missiles. "None shall return in vein," stressed Jeremiah. These arrows will not miss! As a side note, Israel has developed missiles called "the Arrow."

In order for these Scriptures to be fulfilled, Babylon needs to come to power again. 

Revelation 17-18
- All false worship on Earth has its origin in Babel (cf. Isaiah 47). Babylon is the mother of all harlots, "drunken with the blood of saints." This is the system that murdered Christians, God's people.
- Mystery Babylon is the false religious system that has been identified with the Roman Empire to today.
- In Revelation 18 (cf. Matthew 13), the birds symbolize the demons. (Note that the parables in the Gospels share consistent use of symbolism. Birds from one parable to the next all represent the same thing: demons.)
- Babylon says she's no widow (Revelation 18:7). Why? To contrast against Israel, which has been idiomatically described as widowed and divorced (cf. Hosea).

Israel vs. Mystery Babylon: A tale of two women

Israel
- In Heaven
- Mother of man-child Jesus
- Clothed with the sun
- Identified with sun, moon, and stars (Genesis 37:38)
- Enemy is the dragon
- Hated by the world
- Sustained by the wings of heaven
- Head dress with a crown of 12 stars
- Called a widow and divorced
- Final location is Jerusalem

Mystery Babylon (Woman riding the Beast)
- Upon many waters
- Mother of harlots
- Clothed in purple scarlet
- Enemy is the 10 kings
- Caressed by the world
- Sustained by Satan
- Head dress of Mystery Babylon
- Brags "I am no widow"
- Final location is habitation of demons

Babylon is both literal and metaphorical

Zechariah 5
This is a difficult passage to understand. I do not know what to make of it. However, we see that Babylon is used in a metaphorical sense. We already know that Babylon is literal. It is 50 miles south of Baghdad.