Daniel 5:1-31 New King James Version
Belshazzar’s Feast
1 Belshazzar, the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.
2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his [a]father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 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.
6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
7 The king cried [b]aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.
9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were [c]astonished.
10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change.
11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your [d]father,
light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your [e]father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and [f]explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
The Writing on the Wall Explained
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel [g]who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my [h]father the king brought from Judah?
14 I have heard of you, that the [i]Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
15 Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing.
16 And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and [j]explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your [k]father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor.
19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys.
They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he [l]knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.
23 And you have [m]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of [n]His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them.
And 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 in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
24 Then the [o]fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN
26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”[s]
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Belshazzar’s Fall
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
The Babylonians were cruel, to say the least. In 2 Kings 25:25, the word tells of the fall of the walls of Jerusalem, the city of David; the temple was destroyed;
king Zedekiah watched as his son was murdered in front of him; then he put out his eyes; then he was taken to Babylon.
The Temple of Marduk, called the Esagila, When it was excavated in the early 1900s, they discovered numerous inscriptions about the rebuilding of the temple. Nebuchadnezzar, who called himself the “fosterer of Esagila,” claimed, “My heart impels me to build Esagila,” which he described as “the chamber of Majesty.
This description takes on interesting significance in light of the biblical account of Nebuchadnezzar taking the vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem and bringing them to the “house of his god” and placing them in the “treasury of his god” (Daniel 1:2).
Can you imagine the children of Israel walking past this temple, knowing the vessels of the house of God were in that house?
The Babylonians were polytheistic, having many gods; Israel was monolithic, having one God, the only God.
When you will not live for Jesus, your God is found among the many Gods. Jesus will be the Lord of your life, or you will have no part with him.
Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
The people of God, the nation of Israel, would suffer fate decided by their own walk with God. If they walked with God, he allowed them to flourish, and he protected them.
Isaiah 43:3–4 (NKJV)
3 For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored,
And I have loved you; Therefore, I will give men for you, And people for your life.
Why was Jeremiah called the weeping prophet?
Jeremiah wept over his nation’s self-destructive rebellion against God and cried out to the Lord.
Matthew 23:37–38
Jesus laments over Jerusalem.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under herwings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate;
When you come to Jerusalem, you can’t escape hearing references to the First Temple and the Second Temple, which refer to historical time periods when two different massive temples were dedicated to God.
This very site is now where the home of Al Aqsa Mosque is located. Both temples were destroyed, and only a remnant is the outer western wall of the Second Temple courtyard, where people flock from all over the world to pray (known as the Wailing Wall, the Kotel, or the Western Wall).
If Israel gives up land for peace, they have to give up east Jerusalem.
They gave up the temple mount; the destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque would trigger a holy war with the Muslim Nations.
To me, it would signal to God that we are coming back to you, God, and we will worship only you, God.
Ezekiel 40-44 (summary)
Ezekiel is shown visions of a temple with many precise measurements. He is given the dimensions of rooms, courts, gates, the thickness of walls, the size of the altar, etc.
The exact floor plan does not concern us here. Overall, the temple area is 500 cubits square (Ezekiel 42:15-20).
The cubit used is specifically stated to be a “long cubit,” namely a regular cubit and a handbreadth (Ezekiel 40:5), or 20″-24″ inches. So the whole temple area is given as between 833 and 1,000 feet square.
Daniel 9:27 (summary)
The Antichrist will stop Jewish sacrifices and offerings, and then commit the Abomination of Desolation in the temple of God.
Zechariah 6:12-15 (summary)
The man whose name is “the Branch” will build the temple of the Lord, and will sit and rule on his throne.
He will sit on the throne both as priest and as king, and bring peace between the two offices.
And those who are far off will come and help to build the temple of the Lord.
Revelation 11:1-2 (summary)
Rise and measure the temple of God, but not the outer temple court because it will be trampled under foot by the nations for 42 months.
Importance of the Jewish Temple
The rebuilding of the Jewish temple is very closely linked both to the restoration of Israel and the Messianic Era.
The rebuilding of the temple is important because it is the place from which the Messiah (Jesus) will rule the earth as the seat of his kingdom.
The rebuilding of the temple also signifies that the enemies of Israel have been conquered and their presence removed from the land.
God is a covenant keeping God, even when we break our covenant God can’t break his. God said to Israel when the death angel came to Egypt, when I see the blood of the lamb I will pass over you.
The blood was God’s signet ring, and the blood of Jesus will give your soul a protection from destruction that lays ahead of us.