Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP200006S
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00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word
00:03 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:08 It says "To receive with meekness 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:11 which is able to save your souls. 00:14 And to be diligent to present yourself 00:16 approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is the Book of Daniel. 00:31 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School panel. 00:34 I'm Jill Morikone, 00:35 and we're so glad that you've taken time 00:36 from your day to join us 00:38 in our study of the Book of Daniel. 00:40 We're on lesson number six, 00:42 From Arrogance to Destruction. 00:44 Now it's interesting even the titles tell you 00:47 of last week's lesson and this week's, 00:49 that we're going to have a very different outcome 00:51 than we did last week. 00:52 Last week, of course, 00:54 we talked about From Pride to Humility, 00:55 Daniel Chapter 4 and Nebuchadnezzar 00:57 and how the judgment of God came upon him, 01:00 but he humbled his heart and was converted. 01:03 This week is King Belshazzar. 01:06 And we see he did not humbled his heart 01:09 and this night that we're going to talk about 01:11 in Daniel Chapter 5, 01:13 he's killed and the Babylonian Empire 01:15 is given over to the Medes and to the Persians, 01:19 fulfilling actually Daniel 2 Daniel 7, Bible prophecy. 01:23 I want to introduce our panel at this time. 01:25 To my left, Pastor Ryan Day, privileged to have you here. 01:28 It's good to be here. Thank you. 01:30 To your left Pastor Kenny Shelton, 01:32 always a joy to study the Word of God, together. 01:33 It's a real treat. Thank you very much. 01:36 Then, Sister Shelley Quinn, 01:37 thank you so much for your insight 01:39 into God's Word as well. 01:40 Oh, you know, I learned so much 01:42 from each one of you. 01:44 And I was just thinking we are sitting here 01:46 with several hundred pages of notes among us, 01:50 on this one little book, how exciting deep study. 01:53 Absolutely. I love that deep study. 01:55 And speaking of deep study, Pastor John, 01:57 thank you for your deep study of the Word of God 01:59 and for being here. 02:00 Praise the Lord. 02:02 I'm looking forward to this one on the fall of Babylon. 02:04 I'm chomping at the bits. Absolutely. 02:06 Well, let's go to the Lord in prayer 02:08 and then we'll jump right into it. 02:09 Ryan, would you pray for us? Absolutely. 02:12 Father in heaven, Lord, here we are, 02:13 again in another week of 3ABN Sabbath School panel. 02:16 And as those around the world and us here, 02:19 are about to open Your Word, Lord. 02:22 We certainly wouldn't do it 02:23 without Your leadership and guidance. 02:24 So we ask for Your Holy Spirit right now, 02:26 to give us the words, give us the correct expressions 02:30 and the ability to communicate this Word, 02:32 the way that You would, Lord. 02:33 So each and every one of us are edified 02:35 and brought closer to Jesus. 02:37 We praise You for this opportunity 02:38 and we thank You for Your never ending love, 02:41 grace and mercy 02:42 and we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. 02:45 I want to encourage you to go to the following website, 02:47 so you can get your own copy of the quarterly 02:50 and follow along with us. 02:51 That website is ABSG.Adventist.org, 02:56 that stands for Adult Bible Study Guide. 02:59 Adventist.org. 03:01 Or we always encourage you 03:02 to visit your local Seventh-day Adventist Church 03:05 and they would give you a quarterly 03:06 and welcome you in fellowship 03:08 and study of the Word of God together. 03:10 Want to make sure we read our memory text 03:13 as we jump into this lesson, From Arrogance to Destruction. 03:16 The memory text is not actually from Daniel Chapter 5. 03:20 It's from Daniel Chapter 2. Daniel 2:21, 03:23 "He changes the times and the seasons. 03:26 He removes kings and raises up kings. 03:29 He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those 03:32 who have understanding." 03:34 Now we want to just take a moment 03:35 and set up the time period as it were, 03:37 leading into this portion, on Sunday's lesson 03:40 we have Belshazzar's feast the beginning of it, 03:43 the first four verses which we will jump into. 03:45 But before we do that, Daniel was taken captive 03:48 and he was brought to Babylon 03:51 when he was a young man in his mid late teens, 605 BC. 03:55 This night, Daniel Chapter 5 all takes place in one night. 04:00 This night is in 539 BC, 04:04 so almost 70 years have passed 04:07 since Daniel came as a young man 04:10 and Daniel is now an older man 04:12 who has been serving in governmental capacity 04:16 for all of these years. 04:18 Now, Daniel 4, 04:20 we had the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar. 04:21 And obviously, sometime after that point, 04:24 Nebuchadnezzar passed away. 04:26 And history tells us he died in 562 BC, 04:29 so that means there's probably 23 years 04:30 from his death to Daniel Chapter 5. 04:33 So you read the Bible and you think, 04:35 oh, it's just another verse, 04:36 but we're talking years have passed 04:38 and a lot of history has taken place as it were. 04:43 Nebuchadnezzar's son took over the throne, 04:46 his name Evil. 04:49 Can you imagine naming your son that? 04:51 I just got us off a minute, Evil Merodach, 04:54 why would you name your son that 04:55 or he's also called Amel-Marduk. 04:58 He only reigned a couple of years, 05:00 and then the son-in-law 05:02 of Nebuchadnezzar reigned a couple years after that. 05:04 He died of natural causes 05:06 and then the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar took over. 05:09 He was assassinated after less than a year. 05:11 And then a gentleman by the name of Nabonidus 05:15 became king of Babylon. 05:17 He ruled for 17 years. 05:20 partway into his rulership, his son Belshazzar 05:25 became a co regent as it were with his father. 05:29 This explains why, Pastor Ryan, in Daniel Chapter 5 later, 05:32 Belshazzar offers to Daniel, he says, 05:36 I'll make you the third ruler because really technically 05:38 Belshazzar could have been the second ruler 05:40 because he's coreigning with his father. 05:43 Belshazzar is the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar 05:46 not through Nabonidus, but through his mother, 05:48 which is very fascinating. 05:50 Daniel 5 proves 05:52 the accuracy of the Word of God. 05:54 Remember in Daniel Chapter 2, the image. 05:56 Daniel had said after you, after the head of gold 05:58 after Babylon 05:59 shall arise a kingdom inferior to you. 06:01 And this prediction takes place 06:03 here in Daniel Chapter 5. 06:05 It also records Belshazzar's 06:07 open defiance of the God of heaven 06:10 and the judgment of God that came down upon him. 06:16 So let's read the first four verses here. 06:19 Verse 1, "Belshazzar the king 06:20 made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, 06:23 and drank wine 06:24 in the presence of the thousand." 06:26 Now, it's interesting, I can't even imagine a party 06:28 with a thousand people as guests 06:31 and then you have the wives in addition to that, 06:34 but they said in ancient times, 06:36 Persian monarch sometimes would dine 06:38 with as many as 15,000 people. 06:41 So by contrast, 06:42 maybe this is a small dinner engagement. 06:44 So the size might not be unusual, 06:46 but the setting most certainly is. 06:48 We know that Medo-Persians 06:49 had already been engaging in battle. 06:52 Nabonidus, had gone to fight against them, 06:56 and surrounding area had been captured 06:58 but Babylon had remained, 07:00 you could say it had not fallen, 07:02 they had not captured Babylon. 07:05 Maybe the feast was to ignore their problems 07:07 or to bolster their faith in their pagan gods, 07:10 I don't know, but they had this feast. 07:12 Verse 2, "While he tasted the wine 07:14 Belshazzar gave command 07:16 to bring the gold and silver vessels, 07:18 which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple 07:21 which had been in Jerusalem, 07:22 that the king and his lords, his wives, 07:24 his concubines might drink from them." 07:26 Verse 3, 07:28 "Then they brought the gold vessels 07:29 that had been taken 07:30 from the temple of the house of God 07:32 which had been in Jerusalem, 07:33 and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines 07:35 drank from them." 07:37 Now these vessels we know were taken 07:39 when Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Jerusalem. 07:41 They were taken 07:43 when Daniel was made a captive back in 605 BC, 07:46 but Nebuchadnezzar showed these vessels respect 07:49 in a sense because he brought them 07:51 into the house of his God. 07:53 But here Belshazzar is taking the sacred vessels 07:57 from the house 07:59 and he is defiling them by using them 08:03 in some sort of pagan drunken revelry. 08:07 Not only that, he uses these sacred vessels 08:10 that are representative of God, 08:12 and He praises his pagan gods. 08:15 We see that in verse 4, "They drink wine 08:18 and they praised the gods of gold, and silver, 08:22 bronze and iron, wood and stone. 08:25 Now, there's six gods, six mentioned, right? 08:27 Gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, stone. 08:30 Now it's interesting to me. 08:31 Have you heard those metals before, 08:33 or most of those metals before? 08:34 Gold, being the head of the image of Babylon, 08:37 silver, Medo-Persia, 08:39 the chest of silver, 08:42 bronze, the belly of bronze, 08:44 that was Greece, legs, iron Rome. 08:46 Now the only metal 08:47 that's different as it says wood, 08:49 instead of the feet being iron and clay, 08:51 and then of course the stone 08:53 and that was Christ's everlasting kingdom, 08:54 the stone that was cut out without hands. 08:56 So it's interesting to me to see that, 08:58 now in our remaining time, 09:00 we're going to do a quick comparison 09:02 between Daniel Chapter 5 09:04 which is present day Babylon, 09:07 and Revelation Chapter 17, 09:10 which is End Time Babylon. 09:14 I see seven comparisons, there might be more, 09:16 but we're just going to go over seven here 09:18 in the time we have. 09:19 The first comparison in Daniel, 09:21 Belshazzar made his subjects drunk. 09:24 We just read that, 09:26 they drank wine out of these vessels. 09:29 In Revelation, this is Revelation 17:2, 09:32 "End Time Babylon, the harlot, the prostitute, 09:36 she makes the kings of the earth drunk 09:39 with the wine of her fornication." 09:43 We know that indicates the false doctrines, 09:46 the drinking of that, the wine. 09:48 Second comparison in Daniel, " 09:50 Belshazzar induced his nobles 09:52 and his subjects to immortality." 09:56 Now in Revelation 17, End Time Babylon, 10:00 "The prostitute induced the kings 10:04 of the earth to commit 10:05 spiritual fornication with her." 10:08 We see that in Revelation 17:2, 10:10 "With whom the kings of the earth 10:12 committed fornication 10:13 and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk 10:15 with the wine of her fornication." 10:17 Now this symbolizes the union of the spiritual 10:21 and the political powers, 10:24 when they commit 10:25 that spiritual fornication as it were, 10:27 this is the kings of the earth, 10:29 the political powers with the prostitute 10:32 who represents 10:33 the apostate religious system Babylon. 10:37 Then we have comparison three, 10:38 in Daniel Belshazzar and his guests they drank, 10:42 drunk from the golden goblets. 10:46 Remember the gold vessels that were taken from, 10:50 that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. 10:53 Now in Revelation, the prostitute drinks 10:55 from the golden cup. 10:58 Verse 4, Revelation 17:4, 11:00 "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, 11:02 adorned with gold 11:03 and precious stones and pearls, 11:05 having in her hand a golden cup 11:08 full of abominations 11:10 and filthiness of her fornication." 11:12 Comparison number four. 11:14 In Daniel, judgment was pronounced 11:16 against ancient Babylon. 11:18 Now I won't read that, but we're going to see later 11:20 a hand comes on the scene 11:21 and write some words of judgment against Babylon. 11:26 Now End Time Babylon in Revelation, 11:29 judgment is pronounced against End Time Babylon. 11:33 We see that in Revelation 17:1, 11:36 "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls 11:38 came and talked with me saying, 11:40 'Come I will show you 11:41 the judgment of the great harlot 11:44 who sits on many waters.'" 11:45 Fifth comparison, in Daniel, Belshazzar dishonored God 11:50 and the worship of these pagan gods 11:52 and the worship of these false gods. 11:55 End Time Babylon 11:57 in Revelation will blaspheme God 12:00 and challenge His authority. 12:03 Revelation 17:3, 12:05 "He carried me away in the Spirit 12:07 into the wilderness, 12:08 I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beasts 12:10 which was full of names of blasphemy, 12:12 having 7 heads and 10 horns." 12:14 End Time Babylon were blaspheming God 12:18 and challenge His authority. 12:21 Comparison number six, ancient Babylon 12:23 was built over the River Euphrates, 12:26 and we're going to find out 12:27 as we journey through this story 12:29 that that's how 12:30 the Medo-Persians captured the city 12:33 was drying up of the River Euphrates. 12:37 That's a prophecy from Isaiah 44. 12:39 End Time Babylon is built 12:41 over this symbolic River Euphrates. 12:45 Final comparison, Daniel in ancient Babylon, 12:48 "Mix to the treasures of God's sanctuary 12:51 with pagan revelry." 12:52 They took these gold vessels from the sanctuary 12:56 which were pure and holy and combined them 13:00 with pagan worship. 13:02 End Time Babylon will mix paganism, 13:07 spiritualism with these false doctrines 13:11 and will mix them together. 13:13 So what comparisons we see in the Word of God. 13:16 This night is a night of judgment, 13:19 Belshazzar and the entire kingdom 13:21 of Babylon is judged. 13:23 And, Ryan, you have An Uninvited Guest. 13:25 That's right. 13:26 Monday's lesson is entitled An Uninvited Guest. 13:28 And I like the title of this. 13:31 You know, back in my heathen days, 13:33 I was a partier. 13:35 I was a professional disc jockey 13:36 for four and a half years 13:38 and so I've had my fair share of parties, 13:40 and I'm certainly not proud to say that 13:42 but nonetheless, it's my past. 13:43 And at some of these parties you would often have 13:46 what are known as party crashers. 13:48 And so as we see here, these people, Belshazzar 13:53 and his people there, they're partying it up. 13:56 Probably not like it's 1999 13:58 but they're certainly partying it up 13:59 and a party crasher shows up. 14:02 And we know that this is, of course, God. 14:04 God is showing up and He, we see that 14:06 He intervenes in this particular situation, 14:10 and the mood 14:11 of the party changes really quickly. 14:14 And so we see that as we begin reading 14:16 in Daniel 5:5-8, notice what the Bible says. 14:20 "In the same hour, the fingers of a man's hand, 14:24 appeared and wrote opposite 14:26 the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall 14:29 of the king's palace, and the king saw 14:32 the part of the hand that wrote, 14:34 then the king's countenance changed, 14:37 and his thoughts troubled him 14:38 so that the joints of his hips were loosened, 14:41 and his knees not against each other. 14:44 I promise you he wasn't doing an Elvis impression. 14:47 Certainly, certainly, I mean, I would think to myself, 14:50 if this happened to me, 14:52 I would probably be terrified too, 14:53 but nonetheless, 14:54 it continues to say in verse 7, 14:56 "The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, 14:58 the Chaldeans and the soothsayers, 15:00 the king spoke saying to the wise men of Babylon, 15:03 whoever reads this writing 15:05 and tells me its interpretation 15:07 shall be clothed with the purple, 15:09 and have a chain," excuse me 15:10 "clothed with purple 15:12 and have a chain of gold around his neck, 15:13 and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 15:17 Now all the king's wise men came, 15:20 but they could not read the writing 15:21 or make known the king, its interpretation." 15:25 And so it's interesting, we're going to draw 15:28 some comparisons to what's happened before 15:30 to what's happening now. 15:31 Because, you know, King Nebuchadnezzar 15:34 as we had been studying, you know, 15:35 he had indeed an interesting experience 15:38 with the Lord, a journey. 15:39 But this young man seems to be much more arrogant, 15:43 much, much more drowning in the paganistic practices 15:47 and theories of the day 15:49 so much that he has a complete disrespect 15:51 for that which is holy. 15:53 And as Jill brought out wonderfully, 15:55 we see that the results of this causes God to say, 15:57 that's enough. 15:59 You've crossed the line. Now I must intervene. 16:02 And I must show up and I must do 16:04 what needs to be done. 16:05 And what's interesting here, I found this quote 16:07 from Testimonies to Ministers, page 436. 16:10 And notice how she describes it. 16:11 She says, "A light, 16:13 like the lightning followed the form, 16:16 forming of each letter 16:18 and lingered there making them living characters of awful 16:21 and terrible significance to all who looked upon them." 16:25 That's an interesting description, 16:27 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN,' 16:30 their very ignorance of those letters 16:33 traced up on the wall, 16:34 standing there flashing with light, 16:37 sent terror to their sinful hearts. 16:41 Their aroused consciences interpreted 16:44 these letters to be 16:48 a denunciation against them, 16:50 suspicion, fear and alarm 16:52 took a hold of the king and princes.'" 16:55 And so as you can see, 16:57 and you kind of visually in your mind, 16:58 they're partying it up and then this hand comes out 17:00 of nowhere. 17:01 And she describes it, Ellen White, 17:03 describes it as, it lit up as lightning 17:06 that was dancing across this wall 17:08 as the letters just stuck out. 17:10 And, of course, everyone in terror looks upon 17:13 and they can't even understand what it says. 17:14 But they knew it wasn't good news. 17:17 And so it's interesting that the king's response 17:19 would be very similar to 17:21 that of Nebuchadnezzar this week 17:22 that we find in Daniel Chapter 2. 17:24 So when King Nebuchadnezzar was shook by the dream 17:28 in Daniel Chapter 2, what did he do? 17:30 He called on all of his so called wise men of Babylon. 17:35 And, of course, we see that 17:36 that is the case here, he seeks and calls all of those 17:39 who are on the payroll of the kingdom, 17:41 and he calls them in and hopes that 17:42 they can interpret it. 17:43 We'll talk about that in just a moment, 17:45 but I want to go on to talk about 17:46 the reward because he says, 17:48 if you could tell me what this means, 17:49 I'm gonna reward you, I'm gonna give you, 17:51 I'm gonna clothe you with purple, 17:53 I'm gonna put a gold chain around you 17:54 and, of course, I'm gonna give you 17:55 the third position in all of Babylon. 17:58 Now these obviously 18:00 are representative of something. 18:01 And I just want to highlight that 18:02 because I believe it's vitally important here. 18:04 So notice, purple clothing is a color worn by royalty 18:08 in ancient times, and we can see a correlation 18:11 of this in Esther 8:15. 18:13 So the Bible says in Esther 8:15, 18:16 "So Mordecai went out from the presence of the king 18:18 in royal apparel, 18:20 and blue of blue and white, 18:22 with a great crown of gold 18:24 and a garment of fine linen and purple, 18:27 and the city of Shushan, rejoiced, 18:29 and was glad." 18:30 So the color purple 18:31 is often associated with royalty. 18:34 So, hey, he's saying, look, 18:35 if you could tell me what this means, 18:36 in his terror as his knees are knocking together 18:39 and he's in this fearful state, please tell me what this means. 18:42 And look, I will, 18:43 I will give you the finest clothing 18:45 that you can possibly, again, going to the earthly, 18:47 okay, this is a heavenly situation 18:49 that's happening. 18:50 God has intervened 18:52 and instead of going to the God of heaven and saying, 18:55 you know, and pleading his case, 18:56 I'm going to turn to the elements of the earth. 18:58 I'm gonna clothe you with the finest linens. 19:00 I'm gonna put the nice gold chain 19:01 around your neck. 19:03 And, of course, we know a chain of gold, 19:04 which was a sign of high social status. 19:07 We find a reference to this in Genesis 41:42, 19:10 where the Bible says, 19:12 "Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand 19:14 and put it on Joseph's hand, 19:16 and he clothed him in garments of fine linen, 19:19 and put a gold chain around his neck." 19:21 So here, I'm gonna give you my fine linen, 19:23 I'm gonna put my nice jewelry, 19:24 which is again 19:26 a nice interesting reference to that 19:27 of the harlot in Revelations Chapter 17. 19:29 Because the harlot is seen again, 19:31 she's got the golden cup in her hand, 19:33 she's got all these precious jewels on her, 19:35 and what color is she wearing? 19:36 She's wearing purple and scarlet, 19:38 of course, and so she's full of abominations 19:40 and so notice 19:42 how the king in this very serious spiritual moment 19:46 that God is getting their attention. 19:48 All that this king can do is turn to the elements 19:51 of the earth turn to all the filthy abominations 19:54 that he's called and say, 19:55 I'm gonna reward you with these. 19:57 And it gets me to thinking, 19:58 how many times do we often think 20:00 that our reward should be 20:02 that of the filthy abominations of the world? 20:04 We spend our time sowing and wrapping 20:06 instead of pausing to realize that 20:08 Jesus Christ is trying to write a message 20:10 on our hearts and in our minds to get our attention, 20:13 sometimes we get so caught up and distracted by the themes 20:16 and things of the world that we end up looking 20:18 for the finer things in life to satisfy us, 20:21 put the gold on us, put the ornamental jewelry, 20:24 put the fine clothing, self, self, self, self, self, 20:27 which is what this king was wrapped up in very clearly. 20:30 And, of course, the third position 20:33 in all of the kingdom 20:34 which Jill mentioned very clearly, 20:36 why that would be the case because, 20:38 actually it's interesting, historically, 20:40 many people have tried to discredit 20:42 the validity of Daniel based on Daniel Chapter 5, 20:45 because nowhere in secular history 20:47 is there found a reference to Belshazzar as the king 20:50 or a ruler of Babylon. 20:51 But that was all clarified a few years later 20:54 when they unearthed 20:56 an old ancient tablet of Babylon, 20:58 which it did clarify that He was the son of Nabonidus. 21:01 Nabonidus, is that how you say it, 21:03 which again was the king of Babylon at the time. 21:06 In fact, Ellen White, confirms this in history, 21:09 for those history buffs. 21:10 The Youth's Instructor mentioned, May 19, 1898, 21:14 she says, admitted to a share in kingly authority. 21:17 So notice a share in kingly authority. 21:19 As Jill brought out, he was a coregent, 21:21 not the main king himself, but a co regent, 21:24 because his father Nabonidus, 21:25 had actually went off at this time to an oasis 21:28 to try to be cured of an illness he had. 21:31 But she says, at the age of 15 years old, 21:33 Belshazzar, gloried in his power 21:36 and lifted up his heart against the God of heaven, 21:39 which is evident 21:41 because now we're here in Daniel Chapter 5, 21:42 and we're seeing the results. 21:44 God has showed up and He's saying, 21:45 I'm not having this, right? 21:47 And, of course, in Daniel 5:8, 21:49 which is kind of the capstone of this. 21:51 It says, "Now all the king's wise men came, 21:55 but they could not read the writing." 21:57 He says, hey come on in here and try to read this writing. 21:59 I'm gonna reward you and they show up they're like, 22:02 which is actually interesting 22:03 because it was in their language. 22:05 It was in the language of the Chaldean, 22:07 so they actually could understand 22:08 the individual words, 22:10 but they couldn't make out the meaning 22:12 of what those words were communicating to them 22:15 until Daniel was to show up 22:16 and give the correct interpretation. 22:19 And I think of Isaiah 29:14, 22:22 which kind of shed some light on this, it says, 22:24 "For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, 22:28 and the understanding of their prudent men 22:30 shall be hidden." 22:32 In fact, Paul quoted this very verse. 22:34 And in response to that, 22:35 notice in 1 Corinthians 1:20-21. 22:39 This is what Paul says, 22:40 in reference to what Isaiah says 22:42 in Isaiah 29:14, 22:44 he says, "Where is the wise? 22:46 Where is the scribe? 22:48 Where is the disputer of this age? 22:50 Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 22:53 For since in the wisdom of God, 22:56 the world through wisdom did not know God, 22:59 it please God through foolishness 23:01 of the message preached to save those who believe." 23:04 And so here we are in this world, 23:06 just like at this party. 23:07 We're partying up with no care in the world. 23:09 We think we're so wise as Daniel 23:11 is going to tell us later 23:12 at the end of the Book of Daniel, 23:14 that in the last days, knowledge shall increase. 23:17 We have all this wisdom, 23:18 but God is knocking on the door of our hearts 23:20 saying, "Please open, 23:21 you're not as wise as you think. 23:23 But if you make Me, if you allow Me to come in, 23:25 and renovate and change your heart and mind," 23:27 as he wanted to do to Belshazzar, 23:30 He says, "I will make you clean, 23:32 I will make you new," 23:33 but, of course, we have to be willing, 23:35 we have to be humble. 23:36 Thank you so much Pastor Ryan, incredible job. 23:40 It's amazing to me just to see the judgment of God 23:43 descend as it were upon Babylon. 23:45 Stay with us. 23:46 We're going to take a short break. 23:48 We'll be right back. 23:54 Ever wish you could watch 23:55 a 3ABN Sabbath School Panel again, 23:57 or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:00 Well, you can by visiting 3abnsabbathschoolpanel.com. 24:05 A clean design makes it easy 24:08 to find the program you're looking for. 24:10 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guide 24:13 so you can follow along. 24:15 Sharing is easy. 24:16 Just click share and choose your favorite social media. 24:20 Share a link, save a life for eternity. 24:25 Welcome back to our study of Daniel Chapter 5. 24:28 We'll continue with Pastor Kenny on Tuesday. 24:31 Now it's a very interesting part of the lesson here, 24:33 Enter the queen, you know, Enter The Queen, 24:36 and I want to say it nicely grandma has to come 24:38 and take care of some things here. 24:40 You know, really and sometimes it takes that sometime, 24:44 you know, somebody who's got a lot of experience 24:45 and so on and so forth to come in, 24:47 and we'll see that. 24:48 But I want to just read to begin, 24:49 so that way we follow along well, 24:51 in Daniel 5:9-12 here. 24:55 It said, "Then was King Belshazzar 24:58 greatly troubled," which has been mentioned, 25:00 "his countenance was changed." 25:03 Notice this in him 25:05 "and his lords were astonished. 25:06 Now the Queen by the reason of the words of the king 25:09 and his lords came into the banquet house. 25:11 And the Queen spake and said, 25:13 'O King, live forever, 25:14 let not thy thoughts trouble thee, 25:16 nor let thy countenance be changed. 25:18 There is a man in thy kingdom 25:20 in whom is the gift of the Holy gods, 25:23 and in the days of thy Father, 25:25 light and understanding and wisdom, 25:28 like that wisdom of the gods was found in Him 25:31 whom the King Nebuchadnezzar, 25:32 thy father, the king," I say thy father, 25:37 I love the words repeated here, I'm just loving it 25:39 'cause she's trying to get a point across to him, 25:41 we'll talk about that in a minute. 25:43 Because he is afraid, right, he's shaking, he's quivering... 25:46 That's right. That's right. 25:47 It said, "I say thy father made master of the magicians, 25:50 astrologers, Chaldeans and the soothsayers, 25:52 for as much as an excellent spirit 25:54 and knowledge and understanding 25:56 in interpreting dreams 25:58 and showing the hard sentences." 26:00 So she goes on and just says, 26:02 "Let Daniel be called 26:03 and he will show the interpretation." 26:06 There I'm saying faith exercised, aren't you 26:08 right there and there? 26:09 Her knowledge of the situation 26:11 because there was not very many around, evidently, 26:13 that had this knowledge at this point in time. 26:15 So I'm like you when you brought up 26:17 there, both of you did, the scene was in fact 26:19 was one of festivity. 26:22 There was something going on, 26:23 it got a little, may I say a little bit wild. 26:25 They were drinking, when you drink, 26:26 sometimes maybe you get a little bit wild, 26:28 so the Bible called it a great feast. 26:29 So they were things 26:31 that was going on that you and I 26:32 probably wouldn't want to be around. 26:34 But the people called it a good time. 26:36 You know, they're not sure where they're at. 26:38 They're not sure what they're doing, 26:39 but they call it a good time. 26:41 And on the morning when they wake up, 26:42 they're not sure what they did. 26:44 And they're not feeling real well. 26:46 And yes, they still call it a good time. 26:48 I don't care for those kinds. 26:49 The king felt good. He felt good at his feast. 26:52 And he was, in fact, I think the custom was, 26:55 when they used to had some of these get-togethers, 26:58 that the king actually had another room 27:00 that he would eat in and drink in. 27:02 And so here, but he was feeling so good, 27:04 he wanted to be with all the people, 27:06 so he was... 27:07 It's interesting, I believe the Lord had this all arranged, 27:10 because the people needed to see his reaction 27:13 when that writing we see was up on the wall. 27:15 And so he was out there where it could be seen. 27:17 And so that would challenge them too 27:19 to make the right decisions and choices. 27:22 And so, apparently, again, 27:24 yeah, I think you mentioned that 27:25 it was in the language where, what would be the excuse 27:27 that they couldn't read it? 27:29 Right. 27:30 You know, the whole room was lit up 27:31 so everybody could see it. 27:33 When they were having a good time. 27:34 They're having a good time. 27:36 So maybe their letters weren't all out there 27:38 where they could really read it. 27:39 So there was a reason for that for sure. 27:41 No one could decipher it. 27:42 Here as I was reading, no one can decipher it. 27:45 There must have been a reason once again. 27:47 But first thing that happened once again, 27:50 this is, this has been true throughout here to begin with, 27:53 who do they call? 27:54 They called the leaders, 27:58 they called the magicians, and, you know, 28:01 soothsayers and everybody else 28:02 in to interpret here 28:04 what they should have right quick 28:06 have learned a lesson, 28:07 and called upon the God of heaven. 28:09 But no doubt, no doubt 28:11 what was happening is under divine direction here, 28:14 with the words that kingdom was to pass away, 28:16 it was brought up by Sister Jill, 28:18 right here these words were so important 28:20 because the kingdom was to pass away. 28:22 The probation was closed for the king, 28:25 it was closed for the kingdom, 28:27 and it was closed for those 28:28 who would follow after the king or the kingdom. 28:31 So probation was closed for an awful lot of folks here. 28:34 And then why, then all then would understand 28:36 what was been going on here what man and God 28:39 and their relationship, what they've been doing 28:42 against God was brought very, very clear. 28:44 This message I believe is given to the king, 28:47 just the way that heaven ordained it to be. 28:51 You know, a lot of times 28:52 but God gives you a message to give 28:53 and maybe He's impressing, you know, 28:55 sometime pastors and leaders 28:56 sometime to maybe talk to an individual 28:59 or bring a message 29:00 and sometime we don't want to do that 29:01 for fear of hurting or making the situation worse. 29:05 But if God gives us that, you know, whatever it might be, 29:09 that message, we need to give it 29:11 and I believe just exactly the way 29:12 that God said to give the message. 29:14 You know, I can bring it from an illustration 29:16 I didn't want to do many, many years ago. 29:19 I had an elder who, 29:21 his life was one and I'll just talk about it, 29:23 he's gone now. 29:25 He was a smoker. 29:26 He accepted the message, came into the church, 29:28 but he continued to do it. 29:30 And so the Lord impressed on my mind 29:32 after several years of this, he said, 29:34 I want you to go to this man. 29:36 And I want you to tell him what he's doing 29:39 and that it needs to be changed. 29:41 Well, I made some excuses. 29:42 I didn't want to quite 29:44 give the message quite like that. 29:45 Because he's not only a good friend, 29:46 but an elder of the church and so on so forth. 29:48 The Lord impressed my mind, 29:50 give it just as I give it to you, 29:51 I want you to sit down, I want you to talk to him. 29:53 You do it in love. 29:55 You do it out of concern, 29:56 but you'll say I'm impressed with this, 29:58 it's what's taking place in your life 29:59 and also put yourself out there. 30:01 And if I be wrong with that, 30:02 I will apologize to you for that. 30:05 But I'm very much impressed 30:06 and I can't get any rest until I bring it. 30:08 It was a fact. 30:09 He broke down in tears and said yes, for years I have, 30:12 and listen to this, I have been praying, 30:15 he said, for months, 30:17 that God would bring somebody and just expose me, 30:20 that was kind of interesting way, 30:22 and expose me, and then I would know that 30:24 God would be more merciful. 30:26 He would give me the grace 30:28 and the strength to gain this victory 30:29 which I have so desired and I so wanted 30:32 and now I believe it's the day 30:33 and you know what it was the day? 30:35 It was the day that God give him victory 30:36 over those things. 30:38 You know, when all else fails, 30:40 as we read these few verses here right quick, 30:42 when all else failed, calling all the wise men 30:45 and so but nothing worked. 30:46 And so finally here come the Queen, 30:49 here come the Queen. 30:51 She come in, right? 30:52 She was allowed to come in before her son 30:55 without possibly being put to death, 30:57 even his wife, right, 30:58 even the wife could not do that without permission of the king. 31:02 But she came in without fear of death. 31:04 And so she made a quite an announcement here. 31:07 Said that, you know, what do we want 31:08 to do right here is why don't you go back? 31:10 Don't you remember? 31:12 I liked it when I was reading that passage right there. 31:14 She was saying, 31:15 why don't you go back to the one 31:17 that we know that did something before? 31:20 And then, of course, 31:21 didn't want to do that at first. 31:23 Why was Daniel not called to begin with? 31:25 Why was he not? 31:27 Well, I think it had been mentioned here 31:28 because he was out of service, 31:29 isn't that right after Nebuchadnezzar passed away. 31:32 Then after several years 31:34 that he was kind of out of commission, 31:35 I guess he wasn't there in that position. 31:37 And so they didn't think about calling him 31:40 or maybe they didn't want to hear from him. 31:42 You know, it was a new generation 31:44 that was on the scene. 31:45 And sometime the new generation 31:47 doesn't want to hear 31:48 what the older folk sometime have to say, 31:50 when there's certainly, 31:51 you know, wisdom and counsel here. 31:53 And so the king's mother came in, 31:55 she knew what had happened, 31:58 you know with her husband, she knew about it 32:00 and so, she just said, 32:02 there's someone who can interpret this. 32:04 And you need to bring him in 32:06 because we need to know what's going on 32:07 because they knew, he knew, right? 32:10 He knew when this was going on, 32:12 Belshazzar that something big was about to happen. 32:16 Because it did, it was talking about, 32:17 he was... 32:19 He went to pieces, 32:20 may I use that, he went to pieces. 32:21 You said he's quivering and he's shaking. 32:23 You know, there he was, 32:24 he was before his people. 32:25 The king's not supposed to quiver 32:27 and shake and carry on. 32:28 But I think maybe he, ooh boy, 32:30 I think maybe he lost control of everything. 32:34 That happens, you know, in times of war, 32:36 and different things like that, 32:37 when you get so nervous and you're so torn up. 32:39 I just didn't want to say that, 32:41 but I think maybe lost bodily function, 32:42 so on so forth, to the point 32:44 that I'm talking about he was humiliated, 32:46 he was embarrassed and things 32:47 that the king wouldn't want it to be out, 32:49 because God was bringing him down 32:51 to where God has said he need to be. 32:53 So mom helps out here, she comes to get his attention. 32:56 Daniel 5:11, the last part, 32:58 she said again, the king, son, the king. 33:03 And he's going, Oh, oh, he's all shook up, right? 33:05 What do you mean the king? 33:07 She said thy grandfather, the king. 33:10 Listen, Son, I say, so she comes back again. 33:13 Son, the king. 33:14 I say, listen to me, I say the grandfather, 33:17 notice it, made him master, 33:19 Daniel master of all the magicians, 33:21 astrologers, and the Chaldeans and the soothsayers. 33:24 And I certainly love Daniel 5:12, 33:26 the last line, the queen said, notice it, 33:29 and I believe she said as we talked about in faith, 33:32 believing, I believe, notice this, 33:34 let Daniel be called and he will do what? 33:37 Give the interpretation. 33:39 He will give the interpretation. 33:41 So here we see what? 33:42 We see faith in operation. 33:45 She knew it, she had experienced it. 33:47 She was one of the few in the kingdom 33:49 that had this knowledge of who Daniel was 33:51 and what he did before. 33:53 And sometimes that takes that, you know, in ministry, 33:57 it takes it in churches, 33:58 it takes it that you need people with, 34:00 I say experience 34:01 but gray hair, 34:02 because they're going to be pillars 34:04 and because they have learned a lot... 34:05 That's right. 34:06 From life through, really experience 34:08 and sometimes there's been good, 34:09 there's been bad, but they get experiences. 34:12 And so it's good to gain counsel 34:13 and ask counsel and wisdom. 34:15 And when she knew this, 34:17 she wanted to bring it to her son, 34:18 because she knew something bad, I believe was about to happen. 34:21 It needs to be deciphered because 34:23 God was still sitting on His throne. 34:25 God was still working, 34:27 but He was bringing down a kingdom, 34:28 preparing for the next kingdom to come up, 34:32 because all nations and all people 34:34 are given just a certain amount of time. 34:37 That's probationary time that God gives to everybody. 34:40 And that shows us certainly from Babylon, 34:41 Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome 34:43 and it goes on down to the kingdoms. 34:44 So let's make sure you make your right choice 34:45 and your right decision 34:47 because your time may be coming, 34:48 there's writing on the wall. 34:52 Wednesday, Weighed and Found Wanting. Oh my. 34:56 So here the armies of Medo-Persia 35:02 had Babylon surrounded. 35:04 The young king is in there having, 35:06 he's partying hardy. 35:08 When the fingers of the man's hand 35:12 write this on the wall, this thought occurred to me. 35:15 When have we seen the finger of God write anything, 35:19 in Scripture before? 35:20 Ten Commandments. 35:22 The Ten Commandments. 35:23 If this is God's finger, 35:25 this is the other thing that God has written. 35:28 That's right. 35:29 I mean, that's kind of an interesting thought. 35:31 So the king and the sages certainly sensed 35:37 that there was something ominous 35:40 about this message that they... 35:42 It was a cryptic message. 35:44 They couldn't decode it. 35:47 So now forced by circumstances, 35:50 the king reluctantly calls Daniel 35:54 and you think about this, 35:57 the God that the king 36:00 was mocking was Daniel's God, 36:04 he knew that. 36:05 So let's look at verse 13. Daniel 5:13, 36:09 "Daniel was brought in before the king 36:11 and the king spoke and said to Daniel, 36:14 'Are you that Daniel, 36:15 who is one of the captives from Judah, 36:17 whom my father the king brought from Judah. 36:20 I have heard of you that the Spirit of God is in you, 36:25 and that light and understanding 36:26 excellent wisdom are found in you.' 36:30 Now, the wise men, 36:31 the astrologers have been brought 36:34 in before me, 36:35 that they should read this writing 36:37 and make known to me its interpretation, 36:39 but they cannot, 36:41 they cannot give the interpretation of the thing 36:43 and I have heard of you, twice he said that, 36:47 that you can give interpretations 36:49 and explain enigmas. 36:51 Now, if you can read the writing 36:53 and make known to me its interpretation, 36:55 you shall be clothed with purple 36:58 and have a chain of gold around your neck, 37:02 and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 37:04 And Daniel answered and said before the king, 37:07 let your gifts be for yourself, 37:11 give your rewards to another, 37:14 yet I will read the writing to the king 37:16 and make known to him the interpretation. 37:20 First of all, let's point this out. 37:22 Daniel's character, his priorities, 37:24 he's not interested in the reward. 37:26 He's wanting to be God's man still. 37:29 That's right. And you know what else? 37:33 Because he understood the message, 37:37 he knew the rewards were worthless, 37:39 because Babylon is going to be conquered 37:42 that very night. 37:43 So the rewards would be non-existent, right? 37:47 Interestingly, he did not demonstrate 37:50 the same level of respect to Belshazzar 37:53 as he had to Nebuchadnezzar. 37:56 I mean, this is kind of interesting 37:58 and I'm sure it's because he's rebuking him 38:01 because Belshazzar has taken 38:06 and defied the Lord by using these temples, 38:10 these holy vessels from the temple 38:12 in an unholy way. 38:14 He has profaned God. 38:15 So listen to verse 18, "O King, 38:17 the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, 38:20 your father, the kingdom, the majesty, glory and honor 38:24 and because of the majesty that he gave him, 38:26 all peoples nations and languages trembled 38:29 and feared before him, 38:31 whomever he wished, he executed, 38:32 whomever he wished, he kept alive. 38:36 Whomever he wished, he set up, 38:38 whomever he wished, he put down, 38:40 but when his heart was lifted up, 38:43 and his spirit was hardened in pride, 38:45 he was deposed from his kingly throne. 38:48 They took the glory from him, driven from the sons of men. 38:52 His heart was made like the beast 38:55 and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. 38:57 They fed him with grass like oxen. 39:00 And his body was wet with the dew of heaven, 39:03 till he knew that the Most High God rules 39:07 in the kingdom of men 39:08 and appoints over it whomever He chooses. 39:13 But you his son, Belshazzar, 39:17 have not humbled to your heart although 39:21 you knew all of this." 39:24 Belshazzar was old enough to know all of this. 39:28 "You have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. 39:33 They brought the vessels of this house before you, 39:35 you and your lords, your wives, 39:37 your concubines, have drunk wine from them, 39:41 and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, 39:45 bronze, iron, wood and stone, 39:47 which do not see or hear or know. 39:50 And the God who holds your breath 39:54 in his hands and owns all of your ways, 39:57 you have not glorified." 40:01 So here we have Daniel reprimanding Belshazzar for 40:06 all of his failure, his failures on several counts. 40:10 And as I said, Belshazzar knew, he was old enough 40:14 to know Nebuchadnezzar's story, 40:18 but he completely ignored it, 40:19 otherwise he would have repented 40:21 and humbled himself. 40:23 So here he is taking the vessels of God. 40:28 He is exalting himself and blaspheming God 40:32 by drinking this wine from it, 40:34 and he neglected the God 40:37 who held his breath in his hand. 40:40 He was guilty of pride, blasphemy, idolatry, 40:46 and failing to glorify God, 40:48 so for these reasons, 40:50 the writing on the wall in three Aramaic words. 40:54 Now the first word is repeated. 40:55 Let's get to that. 40:56 This is a message of judgment and doom. 40:59 "The fingers of the hand were sent from him." 41:03 They were sent from God, "this writing was written," 41:06 I'm reading verse 24. 41:08 "And this is the inscription that was written," 41:11 this is Daniel speaking, 41:12 "MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPHARSSIN." 41:18 Mene means numbered. 41:21 Now, he doubled that for the stronger emphasis, 41:27 MENE, MENE. 41:29 TEKEL means weighed or assessed. 41:33 So this is the God who weighs actions. 41:38 UPHARSSIN, okay, let's look at that. 41:41 'U' in front of the word PHARSSIN, 41:43 PHARSSIN is the plural of PHARIS, 41:47 which actually PHARIS means to be divided. 41:52 So PHARSSIN is the plural. 41:54 U in front of it just and, so he is saying 41:58 and this is the interpretation of each word. 42:01 MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and finished. 42:04 TEKEL, you've been weighed in the balances 42:08 and found wanting. 42:09 That's the worst thing that, to me, 42:11 that could be happened. 42:13 PHARIS, your kingdom has been divided 42:16 and given to the Medes and the Persians. 42:22 Babylon would be destroyed and dissolved 42:25 that very night would be taken over 42:29 by the Medo-Persian Empire. 42:34 Judgment came swiftly upon Belshazzar, 42:39 and what we need to do is learn to trust God in 42:43 cases when judgment doesn't always come swiftly. 42:46 Let me read just a few references here. 42:50 Ecclesiastes 3:17 42:54 says, Solomon writes, 42:56 "I said in my heart God shall judge the righteous 43:01 and the wicked, for there is a time 43:05 for every purpose and for every work." 43:09 Solomon again writes in Ecclesiastes 8:11, 43:14 "Because the sentence against an evil work 43:17 is not executed speedily. 43:20 Therefore, the heart of the sons of men 43:23 is fully set on them to do evil." 43:25 Sometimes people think 43:26 they're getting away with something 43:28 when they don't see it. 43:30 And then in Ecclesiastes 12:14, he says, 43:33 "God will bring 43:36 every work into judgment, 43:40 including every secret thing, whether good or evil." 43:45 You can't hide anything from God. 43:48 So I think that Paul echoes 43:53 what Solomon wrote in Romans 14:12 43:57 and here's, here's the summation of it all. 44:00 "So then each of us shall give account 44:05 of himself to God." 44:08 We don't want to be found, 44:10 weighed in the balance in wanting. 44:14 You know, salvation is not by work, 44:16 salvation is by grace alone. 44:18 But when we enter 44:19 into a covenant relationship with God, 44:22 we are to obey Him to show our covenant, 44:27 love and loyalty to Him. 44:29 And we certainly God has a standard. 44:34 God is going to judge everything 44:38 that we've done, 44:39 every work will come into judgment. 44:42 And we're all going to have to give 44:44 an account of our self before the Lord. 44:47 Amen. Amen, thank you. 44:50 You know, when we talk about Babylon, 44:51 which we have been focusing on in this particular study, 44:55 we find that there's some amazing parallels. 44:57 And I know that Jill 44:59 and all of you brought this out, 45:00 between the Babylon of Daniel's day 45:02 and the Babylon of John's day, 45:04 or the Babylon of antiquity 45:06 and the Babylon of spiritual application 45:09 in the end time. 45:11 I thought it was kind of... 45:13 I think, needless to say, useless to give someone 45:17 any kind of recognition of honor 45:20 when your kingdom just ended. 45:22 You're gonna be third in my kingdom 45:23 that's ending in 10 minutes. 45:25 You know, that's kind of what Belshazzar was, 45:28 in fact, saying, "My kingdom is coming to an end, 45:31 so therefore, 45:32 I won't need this anymore, so put it on him." 45:35 And that was an amazing thing. 45:36 We find though, what I wanna point out, 45:39 is the reasons why Babylon came to an end. 45:42 Now, we know that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream 45:46 of four worldly empires. 45:49 Later on, when we get to Daniel 7, 45:51 we're gonna see that Daniel 45:53 has a vision of these four empires. 45:56 But the real questions I'd like to list right here, 45:58 reasons for Babylon's fall. 46:00 First of all, let's go to Jeremiah 51:7. 46:05 Jeremiah 51:7. 46:08 We know that one of the things 46:09 that Belshazzar did was he poured wine 46:11 into the vessels of the Lord. 46:14 And let's see what that wine did. 46:17 Not only did it defile the vessels of the Lord, 46:20 but it had an effect to it. 46:22 Jeremiah 51:7, 46:24 "Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord's hand, 46:28 that made all the earth drunk." 46:31 Same comparison in Revelation 17 and 18. 46:35 "The nations drank her wine, 46:37 therefore, the nations are deranged." 46:40 Now let's go... 46:41 We know that the ancient Babylon 46:43 is destroyed, 46:44 but Babylon is a coalition. It's a coalition. 46:48 It's not just a religious power, 46:51 it's a satanic power, 46:53 it's a religiously corrupt power, 46:56 and it's a spiritually corrupt power. 46:59 So let's bring out a few things here. 47:02 And I get it in, you know, get to that in just a moment. 47:05 So the first reason why Babylon was destroyed 47:07 is because of the defilement. 47:09 That is still happening today. 47:11 The nations of the earth, 47:12 Babylon is described in Revelation 47:14 as the kings of the earth 47:15 have committed fornication with her. 47:17 The merchants of the earth have been made rich 47:20 through the abundance of her luxuries. 47:22 So the influence of Babylon is both social, political, 47:26 and economic. 47:27 It's also moral, 47:29 because the woman is referred to as a harlot. 47:32 So you find the entire world is being corrupted by a system 47:35 that's described by God as Babylon. 47:37 Then the Bible says, 47:38 "Her sins have reached unto heaven." 47:40 Well, that's how Babylon began. 47:41 They began building a tower that reached unto heaven. 47:45 So now her sins have reached unto heaven. 47:48 Her own works have been the precursor 47:51 to spell her demise. 47:53 The other thing that she did was unwilling to honor God. 47:57 You are weighed in the balances and found... 47:59 wanting, unwilling to honor God 48:02 and unwillingness to honor God. 48:05 Thirdly, and most importantly, Jeremiah 25:12. 48:10 The third reason why Babylon came to its end 48:13 is because God willed it. 48:15 God willed it. 48:16 Jeremiah 25:12, "'Then it will come to pass, 48:21 when seventy years are completed, 48:25 that I will punish the king of Babylon 48:28 and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, 48:31 for their iniquity' says the Lord, 48:34 'and I will make it a perpetual desolation.'" 48:37 So notice what the Lord prophesied 48:39 long before Belshazzar did this. 48:41 He said, because of the nature of that nation, 48:44 they're gonna come to an end based on their iniquity. 48:47 But not only that, 48:48 I'm gonna give them 70 years to rule over my people, 48:51 and at the end of that time, I'm gonna punish them. 48:53 I never favored Babylon. 48:55 But here's the point I got out of that. 48:57 Sometimes God uses our enemies 49:01 to lead us back to obedience 49:03 and acknowledgement of who He is. 49:05 God used Babylon's enemies. 49:08 And one of the reasons why is 49:09 because they want to live like the Babylonians. 49:12 They began to follow a lifestyle 49:14 that was synonymous 49:16 with where they live in Babylon. 49:17 So it said, if you wanna live like Babylon, 49:19 you need to live in Babylon. 49:22 Same reason why the Israelites would carted off to Egypt. 49:25 If you wanna live like Egypt, live in Egypt. 49:29 And the fourth reason, Daniel 5:26. 49:34 The reason why Babylon came to an end 49:37 is because it was prophesied. 49:41 It was prophesied. That's the major reason. 49:44 Even if Belshazzar had a party of two, 49:47 it was coming to an end. 49:49 Even if he served Kool-Aid, it was coming to an end. 49:53 Even if all they had was a half a glass of Kool-Aid 49:56 and some Snicker bars, it was coming to an end, right? 50:00 Because the Bible says, this is the interpretation, 50:03 "God has numbered your kingdom and finished it." 50:06 God gave them only 50:07 a certain period of time to reign. 50:09 And the prophetic integrity was to let us know that, yes, 50:13 Isaiah 46:9-10, the end from the beginning. 50:17 Babylon was just a first in the unfolding 50:19 of the great nations of the world. 50:21 Medo-Persia was next, Greece was next, 50:24 and Rome was next. 50:25 And Rome is still existing to this very day, 50:28 but it has its part. 50:29 But I wanna also point out the coalition of Babylon. 50:32 Let's go to Revelation Chapter 17. 50:36 Revelation Chapter 16, actually. 50:39 Revelation Chapter 16. 50:41 I did a lesson call, 50:45 the final call for the fall of Babylon. 50:50 And Revelation 16:13 brings out 50:53 a very significant element of Babylon. 50:57 Notice what it says. 50:59 Revelation 16:13, 51:04 "And I saw three unclean spirits 51:05 like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, 51:08 out of the mouth of the beast, 51:10 and out of the mouth of the false prophets." 51:12 Now to know that this is describing Babylon, 51:14 we just need to look at verse 12. 51:17 "Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl 51:20 on the great river," what? 51:21 "Euphrates." 51:23 That's the river that secured Babylon. 51:25 "And its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings 51:29 of the East might be prepared. 51:31 That was the Median army that came on to the wall, 51:35 and brought that party to an end. 51:37 Oh, that was the last song that they played that night. 51:41 But notice the comparisons, 51:43 the three components of Babylon is the dragon, 51:49 the beast, and the false prophet. 51:50 Now the dragon is described in Revelation 12:7-9 as Satan, 51:54 "That serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan." 51:56 We interpret that today anything connected 51:59 with Satan is connected 52:01 with the system of spiritualism. 52:04 All these forms of false worship, 52:09 Buddhism, Hinduism, 52:13 Silva Mind Control, Shakti Yoga, 52:15 all these spiritualistic arts are motivated 52:19 by a spiritualistic spirit, 52:21 out of the mouth of the dragon. 52:23 He speaks these things. 52:25 Also connected to that in the Christian realm, 52:27 this is odd to say that 52:28 also connected to the system of corruption spiritually 52:31 in the Christian realm is the idea 52:34 of the immortality of the soul. 52:36 There is no immortal soul. 52:38 The immortality of the soul is also a teaching that 52:41 came out of Babylon. 52:43 But there's a second component, the beast. 52:45 Now the beast, as described here, 52:47 was described earlier in Revelation. 52:50 And in latter parts of Revelation, 52:52 the woman sitting on a scarlet colored beast. 52:56 Well, who is she? 52:57 The beast has 7 heads and 10 horns, 52:59 right back to the description 53:02 given about Babylon in Daniel Chapter 7. 53:05 Then also in Revelation Chapter 12, 53:08 and in Revelation Chapter 17, 53:10 the consistency Revelation Chapter 13, 53:12 the beast rising out of the sea, 53:14 having 7 heads and 10 horns, 53:16 showing the consistency of the power of Rome. 53:20 This corrupt system that we now know as Catholicism, 53:22 not the people, 53:24 but the system itself is corrupt. 53:25 And the Bible says the dragon gave him his power, 53:28 his seat, and great authority. 53:29 So it's amazing that the dragon, 53:31 then the seat and the power that he was given to, 53:34 or he received comes from Satan himself. 53:37 So Catholicism, a corrupt system. 53:40 Babylon is a corrupt system. 53:42 Thirdly, you have the false prophets. 53:45 Now, a true prophet proclaims God's Word, 53:48 but a false prophet does not proclaim God's Word, 53:51 but a false prophet has an appearance of a prophet. 53:56 But Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:13-14, he says, 54:00 "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, 54:03 transforming themselves 54:05 into the ministers of righteousness." 54:07 So false prophet is one who does not pass the integrity 54:12 of God's Word. 54:14 I have to make this very quick. 54:15 Now the woman has on purple and red, right? 54:19 Numbers 15:37. 54:22 Blue was the color that's missing. 54:25 And blue was a symbol, 54:27 I have to say this, give me an extra second here. 54:30 "The Lord said, 54:31 'Speak to the children of Israel, 54:33 tell them to make tassels.'" 54:34 And the tassels were to be blue. 54:36 What was the purpose of the tassels 54:37 that were on the garment? 54:39 And it says, "That you may not follow 54:42 the harlot to which your own heart 54:45 and your own eyes are inclined, 54:47 that you may remember and do all My commandments." 54:50 The description of this harlot, she only has purple and red, 54:54 she's missing blue because in Babylon, 54:57 the commandments of God are not there. 54:59 Cool! That's good. 55:01 Absolutely. Thank you. So, here's the key. 55:03 If you are part of a system 55:05 where the Ten Commandments of God 55:06 are nullified or modified, 55:09 get out, because Babylon is falling. 55:11 Amen. That's right. 55:12 Amen. 55:14 Thank you so much. What an incredible study. 55:15 Who knew we could get 55:16 all of that out of Daniel Chapter 5, 55:19 and there's much more we can keep going. 55:20 But we're almost out of time. 55:22 So I wanna give each one of you 55:23 a moment to share something about the lesson. 55:24 You know, it's powerful, because in this story, 55:27 this story includes the details 55:29 of a father king going away, 55:31 and entrusting his son to take care of the kingdom. 55:36 And this son, who's in apostasy, 55:38 of course, he's encamped 55:40 by the enemy and loses the kingdom. 55:42 And I was thinking as we were going down the line, 55:44 I thought, you know, 55:45 I praise the Lord that I serve a God 55:47 who has given dominion and a kingdom to His Son 55:50 and we can trust in that Son. 55:52 So I wanna put my trust in Jesus Christ to know 55:54 that I don't have to wait for the enemy to come 55:56 and camp around me. 55:57 You put your trust in Jesus and your kingdom won't fall. 56:00 That's right. That's good. 56:01 Beautiful! 56:02 Found something from the Youth's Instructor 56:04 5-19-1898, says this, 56:06 "When God makes men fear, 56:08 they cannot hide the intensity of their terror. 56:11 Alarm seized the great men of the kingdom. 56:14 Their blasphemous disrespect for sacred things 56:17 changed in a moment. 56:18 He had found a power too strong for him." 56:22 Amen. 56:23 When you think of weight in the balances 56:26 and found wanting, 56:28 you think of those scales of justice 56:29 that we see so often. 56:31 And it just occurred to me, 56:33 you may be sitting at home thinking, 56:35 "Boy, if God would weigh me 56:37 in the balance right now, I'm gonna be found wanting." 56:41 And I just wanted to tell you 1 John 1:9, 56:44 is a promise that you can use and that is that, 56:49 if you confess your sins, 56:51 He's faithful and just to forgive you of your sins 56:53 and cleanse you of all unrighteousness. 56:56 He offered that to Nebuchadnezzar 56:58 who took him up on it. 57:00 Belshazzar wasn't so smart. That's right. 57:04 Babylon the greatest fallen, you know, 57:06 this great city that rules over the kings 57:08 of the earth has to fall. 57:11 Because there's only room for one city, 57:15 that's the holy city. 57:17 So get out of the great city and make room 57:19 for the Holy City, New Jerusalem. 57:21 Amen. Praise the Lord. 57:22 Amen. 57:23 But thank you so much Pastor John, 57:25 Shelley, Pastor Kenny, 57:26 and Pastor Ryan, for opening up the Word of God. 57:28 What an incredible, 57:29 this is using your word, what an incredible study. 57:32 I have been so blessed 57:34 by the study of the Word of God. 57:36 And I just wanna make 57:37 a special appeal to you at home. 57:38 You might, you will, at some point 57:41 or another face a night like that. 57:44 We all at some point have to make a choice. 57:47 Are we gonna follow Jesus? 57:49 Are we going to worship the beast and his image? 57:53 So make a choice, God is appealing 57:55 to your heart right now. 57:56 Make a choice to accept Him. 57:58 He will forgive you and cleanse you, 58:00 and you can be saved in His Kingdom at last. 58:03 Join us next week as we study 58:04 "From the Lion's Den to the Angels' Den." |
Revised 2021-02-08