13: World News & Prophecy - Daniel 5 and Daniel 8:15-27

[Darris McNeely] Good morning, everyone. We are going to finish up Daniel 8, then we're going to go back to Daniel 5 and continue our chronological order here through the book of Daniel and this particular class. So what I want to do is pick it up in Daniel 8:15. He's had this large vision in Chapter 7 of his own vision of the four beasts and now, in Chapter 8, a ram and a goat have come up. And we've talked about those two symbols being that of the ram being the Persian Empire, the goat being the Empire of Alexander the Great, the Greek Empire, and the divisions of that empire after the death of Alexander the Great.

Now, as we come down to verse 15, we're going to move into a bit of the interpretation, which I've already given a lot of that, but we'll kind of try to wrap it up here. It says in verse 15.

Daniel 8:15-16 "Then it happened that when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called and said, 'Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.'"

And so he sees a vision of someone there that has the appearance of a man, but then he hears a man's voice that appears to be separate from that vision that he has, but the voice is speaking to the one who appears before Daniel and is identified as Gabriel. And here is where we have then the appearance of the first of two powerful angelic beings in the book of Daniel. The second will be Michael. But Gabriel, now, comes and is to make him to understand the vision. And this is where Gabriel is introduced in the story of the Bible, where he's mentioned and takes on this persona of kind of being a messenger, a deliverer of a message from God, in this case, to Daniel, and has a very unique role.

There are only three angelic names in Scripture: Gabriel, Michael, and then Lucifer, whom we study in connection with, obviously, Satan and other topics there. Michael seems to have some role as an overseeing, powerful, protecting angel. Gabriel seems to be that of a messenger. Gabriel is mentioned in other writings outside of the Bible. Jewish writings have him standing in front of the divine throne of God in heaven, sometimes near the standard of Judah. This is in the rabbinical writings, so they're going to put him next to the standard of the tribe of Judah there in rabbinical writing. It's not anything that you would find in the Bible.

Even the Muslims regard Gabriel with a certain reverence. They say that to him was committed a copy of the Quran, which he then imparted in stages to Muhammad. In the Quran he's looked at as kind of the spirit of truth and somehow connected with the spirit of god within the Quran. And they even mention in the Quran that Gabriel will hold the scales of justice in the time of judgment. So extra-biblical writings do mention Gabriel in that way, but we now have him here bringing an interpretation and understanding to David.

Daniel 8:17 "So," in verse 17, "he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was afraid and fell on my face. But he said to me, 'Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.'"

And so the prime meaning of this vision and really, ultimately, all the visions, dreams, and interpretations that we have begun to see in Daniel, and we'll see many more once we get to Chapter 11 and 12, all have a final fulfillment at the time of the end. Now, that's important to understand. While there are typical or anti-type fulfillments in history with Nebuchadnezzar or with the kingdom of Babylon and these other kingdoms and figures that we have mentioned, Antiochus Epiphanes in this chapter, especially, the ultimate meaning is pointing us to the time of the end.

And so there's a flow in these visions, these revelations, these prophecies that are moving to a conclusion. And the rest of the Bible helps us to understand what that conclusion is with the times of trouble and trial called the Great Tribulation, culminating with the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead in Christ, other events that we'll study and take into account. But that's where our primary understanding is going to be developed. And so what we understand from history in some of these, I mentioned last time the 2,300 days, have seemed to have a primary historical fulfillment, but that also could have a type to something at the time of the end in regard to sacrifices in a rebuilt temple or structure whereby there will be particular offerings there.

Daniel 5:18-19 He says, "Now, as he was speaking with me, and I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground, but he touched me and stood me upright. And he said, 'Look, look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation,'" or time of trouble, indignation against the people of God, against the purpose of God, against the church, all of these indignations that we will read about, even against humanity in terms of the suffering that is brought about as a result of sin and other matters. But he's making that known.

Daniel 5:19 "'For at the appointed time the end shall be.'"

God knows when that is. We don't know all the details. We certainly don't know the hour and the day of Christ's return. Jesus Himself said... But there is an appointed time, in that, there are certainly appointed events, and there are some very specific days that we will see in Daniel 12 that are there to provide us a framework of understanding. But we always have to be very, very careful that we ourselves don't get too anxious, too busy, too, sometimes I think, proudful and trying to figure out all these things that are appointed at the time of the end.

Let me give you a bit of advice, at this point, and I'll repeat it at the end of Chapter 12. When it comes to the prophecies of Daniel and understanding and figuring it all out, even Daniel will be shown, and we'll see that he didn't understand it all. And God says that there are things that are sealed till the time of the end. So Daniel will end his life not having a full understanding of everything that he has been given. And that should tell us something about how we then all these years later and at our period as we can look back and we can fill in a lot more detail that Daniel could not.

Daniel didn't really see Rome other than as this huge terrible beast, the fourth beast of his vision. But he didn't know the full parameters of the Roman Empire. We do as we look back on history. So we can fill in the details, but we still are like Daniel. And here's the point, don't try to out figure Daniel. Don't try to get ahead of God, which is a trap that students of the Bible of all stripes and shapes and denominations and beliefs have tried to do. And we have made that mistake in our history in the Church of God and people still make that mistake today.

We tried to get out ahead of Daniel and figure out what Daniel didn't know and try to discern the mind of the Father down to the day on a lot of these things. And with our charts and our timelines and our efforts to put together and line everything up. I've seen it many times. I think I've seen just about every permutation that could be put together of all of this through the years and discussed it with fellow ministers in some cases. And my advice is, look, let's just leave it where Daniel was left and recognize that what it says here in verse 19, there's an appointed time, but let's leave that to God.

And in that is a measure of humility that we don't know at all, but God gives us enough to know, to watch, to understand, to discern our times, and to be ready against the events that could catch us all unawares. We'll come back to that when we get into Daniel 5 here in a few minutes.

Daniel 5:20-21 So, "The ram," he said in verse 20, "which you saw having the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia." So we've already identified that. "And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between his eyes is the first king," which is Alexander the Great, long understood by exegetes of the Bible to be these kingdoms and Alexander the first king.

Daniel 5:22 "As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power."

Pretty straightforward here. And again, the details of history bear it out. Alexander died in Babylon very young, not having yet achieved all of his ambitions. His armies revolted against him when he got to India. They wanted to go home. They were tired. They'd had over 10 years of campaigning, and they wanted to go back. And so he had to retreat, turn around, not realizing further conquests, return to Babylon where he died. And then 4 of his generals kind of fought it out for over a 20-year period until it kind of settled down from at least the biblical record of 2 of the generals that are important for us.

The map that is on the screen right now shows the broad outlines of the four kingdoms that arise out of that one nation, but not with his power. They didn't have the genius of Alexander. They were generals. They were capable generals. But they fell a bit short, quite a bit short in terms of the genius, the tenacity, the leadership, the vision that Alexander had. And they then settled down. Now, I've told you already that the only two of these that is important for us to remember is the Empire of Seleucus I in kind of the yellow or gold that you might see there, who becomes the king of the north in Daniel 11.

And then the other one is the empire down in Egypt of Ptolemy, Ptolemy I and his successors. That becomes the king of the south in Daniel 11. We'll get back into that when we get to that part of the story. So those are the two that are important in terms of the biblical story. And they are quite significant, quite interesting, quite dramatic in many, many different ways. And the stories, actually, we're given the outline of it in Daniel 11, but to dig even deeper into it is a fascinating story of what happens with this Greek Empire that then succeeds Alexander and, essentially, stays in place until the coming of Rome, the fourth beast here.

Daniel 5:23 "'In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands significant themes.'"

We've already identified this individual as the man known in history as Antiochus Epiphanes. And I might as well write his name on the board here real quick. Antiochus, which is the family name of the Antiochians. He's Antiochus, I believe he's the fourth. And he takes the name Epiphanes, which means, essentially, God manifest or the appearance of God, all right?

He was not a shy, retiring bookworm. He looked at himself as semi-divine and having visions of the godlike grandeur. And that's how we see the description here. He has fierce features. He has sinister schemes, and he did. "His power shall be mighty but not by his own power." And, ultimately, his power and the power of all of these kingdoms behind that is Lucifer, Satan, the demonic spirit realm. We'll study that even more in Chapter 10. They are the power behind. It's not his. There is an unearthly power there.

Daniel 5:24-25 "He shall destroy fearfully. He shall prosper and thrive. He shall destroy the mighty and also the holy people. Through his cunning, he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule. And he shall exalt himself in his heart." Again, if you kind of take the name, you know, kind of like God, that shows what his real heart is. "He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human means."

So this is kind of a summation and we'll see more description about Antiochus Epiphanes in Daniel 11, but he becomes a type, a forerunner. He is this horn of the eighth chapter, and he becomes a forerunner of future evils, evil men. You already studied 2 Thessalonians 2 where there is described the man of sin. And we would connect, in part, Antiochus to the man of sin. We have, in the Church, identified 2 Thessalonians 2 as a religious figure, but as that system develops at the time of the end according to Revelation 13 where we have two beasts that rise, one is a political figure, the other is a religious figure, those powers seem to be combined as they always have been in church and state and ultimately into one man that is this beast figure. And we will see from Revelation 17 and 18 that the beast will turn on the woman.

So at some point and in some way in that time of the end, one will arise supreme, and it would be the political leader who takes on...again he has the spiritual power behind him. So Antiochus becomes a forerunner of that. And what is described of him here with deceit, prospering, exalting himself, destroying many, even destroying the mighty and the holy people. We will come back to that story in Daniel 11, but Antiochus did stop the sacrifices in Jerusalem, in the temple. He forbade the people to keep the Sabbath. He forbade them to circumcise their male children, and at that point of death, he sacrificed a swine or pig on the altar, defiling the altar.

The story is also having him erecting kind of it seems a statue of himself in the holy place, therefore, even further defiling it and creating what is to be called the abomination of desolation. And Jesus speaks about that in Matthew 24:15. And so he will wage war against the Jews and that creates and sets up a major confrontation and a battle out of which the Jewish people emerge triumphant, led by the Maccabees, the priestly family that we'll talk about in Daniel 11 here. And so in verse 26.

Daniel 5:26 "The vision of the evenings and the mornings which was told is true, therefore, seal up the vision for it refers to many days in the future."

So, again, Gabriel says, "Look, a lot of this is sealed up and the vision of the evenings and the mornings, the 2,300 days, if there is an end time reference to that and fulfillment in some way, I think we'll just have to wait to see what that is, and it could very well be connected to the sacrifices, the removal of those sacrifices as they would be at that particular time, in the time of the end." This also kind of raises the question, probably some watching this later on the video and for all of us, about will there be a temple rebuilt in Jerusalem before Christ returns in the years ahead of us? We will go more into detail in that when we come to Revelation 11, but the short answer is that Scripture gives us a very strong indication that there will be a temple of some sort.

Now, that's not there today, and to getting around and doing that would have enormous geopolitical international complications and implications today in the scene. As I'm teaching this class here right now, and I hope many of you knew and know that even yesterday, Iran unleashed nearly 200 ballistic missiles against Israel in an attack, most of which were shot down. From what reports I've read to this point, there had been no significant damage or loss of death within the State of Israel. But that is a significant escalation of the tensions in the Middle East right now with that.

And I was watching the news feed even yesterday and I'm thinking these missiles coming in, what have they targeted them to hit? What if one of them hit the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount or the Dome of the Rock? Those are two holy places for Islam. And what if Iran did that? I wouldn't think they'd program their rockets to do that, but anything's possible and mistakes happen. But it seems that Israel shot down most of them with American help in yesterday's attack and that's kind of where it is at this particular time. For the Jews to build a temple of any type, any sort, or begin to do sacrifices, it will be a significant international event.

And I would say that the way things are shaping up right now with the State of Israel and their war for the last year against Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and now Iran, they've got a three-front war going on. And the State of Israel has turned the tables, and they're coming out David against Goliath right now. And they are, in a sense, they're winning. And they don't intend to lose. Benjamin Netanyahu was at the United Nations last Friday and gave a fiery speech. They, basically, said, "We're going to win. We are not going to lose." Really, they cannot afford to lose. It would mean the end of the State of Israel.

And why is that important? Well, the prophecies we're studying tell us that there has to be a Jewish presence in Israel or the Holy Land at the time of the end for the very things we're reading right now to be fulfilled, sacrifices, coming even against the remnant of the people, which would be the Jewish people, and other things that we'll study yet. And so for Israel to be turning the tables and winning right now.

My guess as a prognosticator and looking at the world events and trying to figure it all out tells me right now, I think, they will win. I think they will push back on all these fronts and come to some type of a settlement and strengthen their position in their land because there's a lot yet to happen to bring about the prophecies that we will yet study in the book of Daniel. So I could be wrong, but as I'm wont to say, "I don't think so," all right? But we'll just have to stay and figure it out and keep watching things that are taking place. We conclude in verse 27.

Daniel 5:27 "And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days."

This is quite a vision, and it, actually, impacted him physically. The anguish of kind of watching it and seeing it, an angel now coming to him, and he sees this and in his time there, I'd probably want to take a break and just relax for a little bit. It impacted him emotionally, mentally, and that can do, you know...has physical implications on whatever the cause, whatever brings that on even with us today. But he was sick for days. He just kind of retired and he recovered. "Afterward," he said, "I arose and went about the king's business."

So he took a week, two weeks off. Then he went back to work after a leave of absence. "I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it." No one understood it. Part of the pleasure and the joy of studying Daniel and Revelation is coming to the point where you admit you don't understand it all. And as much as I might, you know, try to insert a little bit of an interpretation into certain events as I just did, we've always got to, you know, take a step back, half a step back and maintain a healthy respect in regard to how God understands how it's all going to work out. He does give us the broad outline and in most cases, that should be enough. Now, that concludes Chapter 8.

We're going to fold back now, in this class, to Daniel 5. So I'd like for you to turn back there. And remember, again, we're going in a chronological order and so Daniel's still in Babylon. Babylon still exists as a power. When we come back to Daniel 5, we're about eight or nine years after the events of Chapter 8. So a bit of time has passed. And we are at the year 539 BC when we come to Chapter 5, all right? Now, that is a significant date in the biblical record because what we are going to be looking at in Daniel 5 is the fall of Babylon, all right?

So 539, and to be real specific, we know that it's actually at this time of year, it's in October of that year corresponding to our October. So it's in the fall, 539, fall of Babylon. As a city and as an empire, the city remains intact. They don't destroy the city. The Persians come in, but they do not loot it. Cyrus gives orders that the city is to be preserved. Now, there would be a loss of life including the king. But the city is preserved. It becomes then a significant city within the Persian Empire. And as I've already told you, still when Alexander the Great comes along years later, it's still there. He dies at Babylon.

And Babylon, eventually, just collapsed and was covered up by the sands, literally, the sands of time. But that's not until a number of years later. Babylon as a city has been excavated in modern times. And I've talked about some of the relics, the Ishtar Gate, and other panels that have found their way into museums in Germany and other areas as well. You can go to the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul, Turkey and see panels from the processional way, same type of panels that you see in Babylon or in Berlin from Babylon. So a lot of it has been excavated. But the city goes on for a number of years.

And so we're at 539, and we're introduced in verse 1 to Belshazzar. And this is a bit of repetition, but we'll move toward the kind of the point that I want to make on this part here today. We've already established that Belshazzar is very likely the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar is dead by this point. And Belshazzar is a co-regent under his father Nabonidus, who is the true king. And so when they put together the genealogy, they think that Belshazzar then...Nabonidus married a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. And Belshazzar then would be the grandson of him.

And you already know that the queen mother comes in after the handwriting on the wall takes place. And the queen mother is, generally, understood and more likely to be the wife of Nebuchadnezzar and, therefore, the grandmother of Belshazzar. And that's who we're dealing with at this time. Persia is threatening. Persia has come on as a major power out of a little bit further east, combined with the Median Empire, and they have begun to gobble things up. And, now, they have moved down to Babylon. I mentioned the city of Smyrna over here a few years before this event, or Sardis, the City of Sardis. Cyrus and his armies had conquered it as far west here as this point. And now they've moved down to Babylon, and they're going to cut off the head of the Babylonian Empire at this point in time.

Belshazzar makes a great feast. Literally, the kingdom is under siege. The Persians are at the gate. The phrase, the barbarians are at the gate, kind of enters the lexicon of the English language from this event. And Belshazzar's response is party on, party on.

Daniel 1:1-2 "He called a feast for 1,000 of his lords, and they drank wine in the presence of the 1,000. They tasted the wine. He gave command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple that had been in Jerusalem that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them."

And earlier in our studies of Daniel, I mentioned that these were the vessels that were brought by Nebuchadnezzar when he first captured Jerusalem from the temple. It was the only thing that he could literally bring out. There were no idols or images of God in the temple of Jerusalem. And the custom always was for a conquering king to take the main idol of a conquered people and take it back to his temple and his land to show the conquest of his god over your God, their gods. But they couldn't do that with the Jews. But instead they took vessels, goblets, saucers, bowls, platters of gold and silver.

And I showed you at the time when we first came into the book of Daniel how that Paul later refers to us as vessels of God's Spirit in a spiritual temple. And so if there's a connection to what we're reading here, it is, in a sense, to the fact that the Belshazzar shows no regard now at this dire moment for the God of Israel. And he exclusively demands the goblets and the utensils out of that temple on this, the final night, the final debauch of Babylon to denigrate those matters. Just as the people of God have been exploited, as we just read in Chapter 8, and the wars against the holy people, Satan wants to grind anything connected with God, His people, His Word, His law. He wants to grind it into the ground, into the dust, and have it blown to the winds and disappear. And that's his effort. And so this is a supreme sacrilege on the part of Belshazzar.

Daniel 5:4-7 "They drink wine," in verse 4, "and they praise the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone." And it is a large party that is going on. "In the same hour, the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. And the king's countenance changed, his thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, the soothsayers. He spoke saying to the wise men of Babylon, 'Whoever reads this writing and tells me its interpretation will be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck.'"

Chain of gold is a symbol of authority. In other words, you're going to get a raise, you're going to get promotion, if you can figure this out. That's what he's saying. And big deal at this point. Everything's collapsing. The stock is down. The shelves are empty. People have figured out, sell Babylon. They don't buy the stock of Babylon. That's where it is right now. And so promotion is meaningless, but that's all he has to offer or words.

Daniel 5:8-9 "All the king's men came, but they couldn't read the writing or make known to the king its interpretation. King Belshazzar was greatly troubled. His countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished."

And then it comes in the queen. And here's the scene that we opened really our study of Daniel with that, to me, opened...this scene is kind of the core out of the whole book. Again, this queen mother, was she the wife of Nebuchadnezzar? Likely. She comes in. She hears about all of this. She's not been in the party.

Daniel 5:10-12 "And she says, 'O king, live forever. Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor you let your countenance change. There's a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light, understanding, and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar your father, your father the king, made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. In as much as an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now, let Daniel be called. He will give the interpretation.'"

Again, what greater testimony could any of us have other than what this pagan queen said about a servant of God, Daniel, that his reputation endured through the years, stood the test of time. He was a man of light, wisdom, and understanding. And there was a different spirit about him. Let that be said about us. Let that be said about you. When it comes to the character that we display and the way we live our lives in front of the people we work with, the people at school, our neighbors, let that be the point, all right? Otherwise, something else could be said.

Daniel 5:13-14 “Daniel's called in. The king speaks to him and he says, ‘Are you this Daniel from the captives of Judah?’ And he says, ‘Yes.’ ‘I've heard of you.’”

And he goes on to repeat, essentially, what he's heard. And he tells him the wise men can't give the interpretation.

Daniel 5:16 "And if you can read it now," in verse 16, "and make it known to us, you'll be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and you'll be the third ruler in the kingdom."

Well, Daniel's answer is.

Daniel 5:17-22 "Let your gifts...keep them. I don't need them. Give your rewards to another. I will read the writing to the king, and I will make known to him the interpretation. O King, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father, a kingdom and majesty, glory, and honor. Because of that majesty, He gave him all peoples, nations, and languages. They trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed. Whomever he wished, he kept alive. Whomever he wished, he set up. And whoever he wished, he put down. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his godly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men. His heart was made like the beast and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys," all referencing back to what happened in Chapter 4.

"He was fed with grass. His body was wet until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men and appoints it over whomever He chooses. But you, his son, Belshazzar, you've not humbled your heart, although you knew all of this.” It was a matter of history. “And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know, and the God who holds your breath..."

Daniel 5:23-28 "The God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. The fingers of the hand were sent from Him and this writing was written. And this is the inscription that was written, Mene Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. And this is the interpretation of each word. Mene, God's numbered your kingdom and finished it. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

Essentially, a pronouncement of judgment, doom, and a sentence upon the king and his city that it's over. It's from this and the picture that you're looking at is a famous one from Rembrandt. I like Rembrandt. I love Rembrandt as the Dutch painter. He did a lot of paintings of biblical pictures. I've shown you a few on our weekly quizzes. And this is one he did of this very event. The turbaned man there is Belshazzar and all of his lords and ladies around him and the disembodied hand is shown with a handwriting on the wall. And I think he captures the scene quite well, especially the fear that was there. And the message that the interpretation is, essentially, what verses 26 and 27 and 28 show. God's numbered your kingdom and finished it. In other words, your days are up. You've been weighed in the balance.

And, again, that phrase enters the English lexicon, in that, you're weighed in the balance and you're found wanting your judgment. That's why when you see justice in court settings, you'll see kind of a woman representing justice, but holding the scales of justice and judgment. And you have been weighed and you're lacking. Babylon through Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent kings did not learn the lessons that Daniel testified to and humbled themselves. And this is what has happened. They continued to rule like, God later says, the gentiles do. And so your kingdom is now divided and is given to the Medes and Persians.

Daniel 5:29-30 “Well, Belshazzar gave the command. They clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain around his neck," a meaningless ceremony, "and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. And that very night, Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain."

And so the Persians came in. Herodotus, who is a Greek historian who writes later about the fall of Babylon, tells us that the Persians, actually, diverted the Euphrates River so that they could go under the gates on the river and come into the city. The way the city was built and fortified, it had the Euphrates River flowing right through it. It had massive walls, large gates that when closed made it impregnable.

But they, actually, diverted the river so that the water lowered, and then they could go under the gates that were on the water and keeping them out. And that's how they came in. And a great battle ensues. This particular picture kind of shows the tumult of Babylon, a city that is falling.

Daniel 5:31 The king is killed, "And Darius the Mede received the kingdom being about 62 years of age."

Now, this brings us to the end of Chapter 5. We're going to come back to this handwriting, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin, and I'm going to connect it with something in Daniel 4, likely in the next class or perhaps the one after that. And we'll talk a little bit more about what could be understood from these beyond the moment of judgment and fall upon Babylon as it might be telling us something about the Babylon yet to come. But we'll save that for another talk that I want to pick up Nebuchadnezzar's time of insanity that we will come back to.

I should make a quick comment about Darius the Mede. We're going to see him again in Chapter 6. And he's the one that's going to be tricked into putting Daniel into the lion's den. Who is this Darius the Mede? Historians for years have been trying to figure it out. Was it Cyrus the Great? Was it a man named Gubaru who was a general of Cyrus who was put in control of the city and kind of stayed there for two or three years? Was it someone else? In our Bible reading program, we fall on the side, in a loose way of a man, the general Gubaru, G-U-B-A-R-U. But Tom Robinson, who the editor of that Bible reading program, sent some of us something a few weeks back, further scholarship, further study of historians into who this Darius the Mede really was.

And this very long article has a compelling reason to lead him to think, and as I've read it, perhaps it's plausible as well, that yet another individual that we know from the histories of Persia named Cyaxares. Could be the one talked about here. Cyaxares II. All right. It's one of those really deep studies into the Persian history here, and scholars are divided about it, and in this latest article that was sent to us to look at, which might cause Tom Robinson to revise this particular section of the Bible reading program. Time will tell on that. It might change there. But for now, we'll just stick with the biblical name Darius the Mede, and we will look at him when we come back into Chapter 6.

Let me leave you with one final note here on the handwriting on the wall, the collapse of Babylon, and a lesson for us that I think is the bigger lesson beyond everything else. I've made known, you know, secret about my fascination with the events here in Chapter 5, what was said about Daniel. And it's a dramatic moment. A hand appears and writes these mysterious words, and then the kingdom falls and the king is killed. And this great Babylon falls, and yet this great Babylon is to rise yet again. I've looked at that and with what God says regarding, "Your days were numbered, your kingdom's finished, you've been weighed in the balance, and your kingdom will be divided," it came to an end. For us as disciples, Christians, we should look at those words and apply them to us as well, that God has numbered us.

You know, as we live our lives, we know that our lives are in God's hands. In the sermon I gave last week, I read the scripture that...actually, it was not in the sermon, it was in another eulogy that I gave a week ago at the memorial service of a good friend, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." I believe that scripture and others are telling us that God numbers our days. Another Psalm says, "Teach us to number our days." I don't think that a saint of God dies before God is ready for that to happen. And while, you know, we're not under the same condemning judgment of Babylon, God's numbered our days, our lives are in His hands. We are under time of judgment, we're being weighed in the balance.

And in that sense, I think we all live our lives in this palace of Babylon on this particular night. And the handwriting is on the wall for us to do justly, to love mercy, and to serve our God, and to live a righteous life, and to live soberly and righteously in our world, and to know that this life does matter, and we will be called into judgment for all of our things. I did refer to that in my sermon on Ecclesiastes this past week. Fear God and keep the commandments is the whole duty of man. If you were watching the news over the weekend, you know that this huge hurricane swept across the southeast part of the United States. A lot of people were killed, towns wiped out, they're still crawling out of it.

In Asheville, North Carolina, that I've been through many, many times on the interstates and spent time there, city is almost wiped off the map. The roads are just destroyed. And these waters came quickly through those mountain streams and over those roads. And people were climbing up on the mountains literally to be safe and had to be helicoptered out. Some of the ones that I followed on some of my Facebook feed shows that. And that's the world. That's the world of nature is the point. You can't prepare for that.

A hurricane, a tornado can come through and wipe out what has been built in an instant. That's the real world. That's nature that we have to contend with and understand and teach us something. That when that happens, it should be a teaching moment for us to live our lives prepared so that we're not caught unawares partying, frolicking like they did in that palace in Babylon on that night. But we are going to be awake and alert and not be caught off guard like a thief in the night when these events come or when something might happen in our own life that God allows and kind of tips our life and you say, "Oh, I'm not going to live forever. I got to deal with something really bad. I got to deal with something really serious."

We have to be ready for that and then commit our lives to God knowing that our lives are in His hand. Our days are numbered, but only numbered in His way and to His end and to His purpose. And so we live our days, in that sense, looking at a story like this from the palace of Babylon to be aware, to be alert, and to be living righteously before God. That, to me, is a huge takeaway out of Chapter 5. If we are living like Daniel was and in us is light wisdom and understanding, then we can be assured that we don't have to worry about that.