CHAPTER 5

(538 B.C.)

BELSHAZZARS FEAST

¹Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. (Timewise, this Chapter follows Chapter 8. Daniel did this possibly because he wanted the prophetical sections to be uninterrupted. Belshazzar and the companions of his orgy drank wine out of the Sacred Vessels of the Temple of God.)

²Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the Golden and Silver Vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. (The contempt shown by this man was double: A. To use these Sacred Vessels at all; and, B. To use them as a sacrifice to heathen gods.)

³Then they brought the Golden Vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. (The bringing of the Golden Vessels was by design. Inasmuch as Bel had given them the victory over the Judeans, or so they thought, this would afford an occasion for praising Bel, who surely would give them the victory over the Medes and the Persians, or so they thought!)

⁴They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. (These gods which they praised were more than likely the gods of the nations which they had conquered. Therefore, they insulted Jehovah and praised these monstrosities.)

THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

⁵In the same hour came forth fingers of a mans hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the kings palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. (This is the same hand which inscribed the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone, and which wrote on the ground concerning a poor, accused woman [Jn. 8:6, 8].)

⁶Then the kings countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. (And his knees smote one against another, shows him now to be dead sober, but stricken with fear.)

⁷The 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. (Third ruler in the kingdom, means that Belshazzar was only the second ruler in the kingdom, with Nabonidus, his father, being first.)

⁸Then came in all the kings wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. (These Astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers will do him no more good than they had done his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. Whosoever shall read this writing, seems to prove that the language was not Chaldee or even Hebrew. There is no indication as to what language it was!)

⁹Then was king Belshazzar greatly trou bled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied. (The word astonied refers to tremendous fear, resulting in uncontrolled trembling of the body, with possibly even the loss of bodily functions.)

THE QUEENS ADVICE

¹⁰Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spoke and said, O king, live for ever: let not your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance be changed (it seems that the Queen was not present during the revelry, but only came into the banquet house upon hearing of this strange phenomenon):

¹¹There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the King Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers (this signifies that the Queen, Belshazzars mother, knew Daniel; however, it seems that Belshazzar did not know him, only having heard of him. At this time, Daniel was probably between seventy and eighty years old);

¹²Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. (Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, proves that she possibly had spent considerable time being taught by Daniel, and had been greatly impressed by the Christlike Spirit radiating from him. She had no faith in the astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers, but she had faith in Daniel!)

BELSHAZZAR CALLS FOR DANIEL

¹³Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said unto Daniel, Are you that Daniel, which are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? (Then was Daniel brought in, shows the king, true to fallen mans unchanging action, seeking help from God as a last resource, and not as the first. But even then the great big pompous fool condescendingly says, I have even heard of you [Vs. 14]. Furthermore, he does not add that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, as the Queen Mother had said, but rather that the spirit of the gods is in you.)

¹⁴I have even heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in you. (And yet, he had never consulted him!)

¹⁵And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing (no, they would not show the interpretation of the thing, and neither can the modern prognosticators! Actually, the handwriting on the wall is presently obvious and apparent in all the world, but few now, as then, can show the interpretation of the thing):

¹⁶And I have heard of you, that you can make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if you can read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, you shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. (It is sad, but the modern Church, as Belshazzar, is promising the same thing.)

DANIEL REBUKES THE KING

¹⁷Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

¹⁸O you king, The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:

¹⁹And for the majesty that He gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. (Daniel emphatically states that the might, majesty, splendor, glory, and greatness of the Babylonian Empire were all because of The Most High God, and not these foolish idols.)

²⁰But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him (Daniel is telling this king that his grandfathers pride caused him to be deposed from his kingly throne and, likewise, the same is about to happen to Belshazzar. However, Nebuchadnezzar repented and was restored, whereas his grandson showed no inclination whatsoever toward Repentance and, therefore, was not restored):

²¹And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that The Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appoints over it whomsoever He will. (Daniel, with words of burning power, thrust the Sword of the Spirit into the kings heart and conscience.)

²²And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this (due to the peculiarity of the Chaldee, the phrase, his son, is literally his grandson);

²³But have lifted up yourself against the Lord of Heaven; and they have brought the Vessels of His House before you, and you, and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine in them; and you have praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in Whose Hand your breath is, and Whose are all your ways, have you not glorified (all the sins of Belshazzar and his lords and ladies could be summed up in the last line of this Verse, concerning the Lord of Glory, of Whom it was said, have you not glorified):

²⁴Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. (It seems that the fingers of a hand were still on the wall, poised in mid-air, which would have been a fearful sight. And this writing was written, signifies such that cannot be changed! It is from Jehovah, therefore, unalterable.)

²⁵And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHAR-SIN. (The repetition of the word MENE announced the immediateness of the doom.)

DANIEL INTERPRETS THE WRITING ON THE WALL

²⁶This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. (Actually, the word MENE being repeated twice means numbered, numbered; the repetition was for the sake of emphasis and to declare, as stated, the immediate fulfillment, which did occur!)

²⁷TEKEL; You are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. (The word TEKEL means weighed.)

²⁸PERES; Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. (There is no contradiction in the Scripture. The word UPHAR-SIN or PHARSIN is the plural of PERES, meaning division. So it means that the great Babylonian Empire will be split up and given to the Medes and Persians.

The Septuagint says, Numbered is the time of your kingdom; ceases your kingdom; cut short and ended has been your kingdom; to the Medes and the Persians has it been given.)

²⁹Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. (Even though Belshazzar did treat Daniel with kindness and respect, there is no evidence that he repented, even in the face of impending doom.)

THE WRITING FULFILLED

³⁰In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. (In that night, refers to the very night of the drunken feast and the handwriting on the wall.)

³¹And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old (62 years old).