54. KNOWING SOMETHING BEFORE IT HAPPENS
What if you found a document written in 1850 that foretold with accuracy the events of Sept. 2001?
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Many people like to think about the future and what will happen to them. We try to plan our future so we can have a pleasant life. We go to school or take occupational courses so we can have a good income. Young girls look through bridal magazines imagining what their own wedding will be like. But our thoughts of the future aren’t limited to our personal lives, we also think about the future of the world.
Will rising seas from global warming destroy the world? Will our cities collapse because of earthquakes? Will there be a nuclear ac- cident that destroys millions? As we have been seeing in our lessons, the only real true source about the future comes from God. In our lesson about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2, we learned that God revealed the future rise and fall of several
nations. For hundreds of years, those nations would have influence over God’s covenant people.
Daniel wrote about that prophecy more than 500 years before Christ. Yet he predicted the rise and fall of four major empires with precision. The first kingdom to fall was Babylon at the hands of the Medes and Persians. He predicted that the Greek empire would replace the Medo-Persian long after he died. Amazingly he also predicted the rise of the Roman Empire. Then, with incredible accuracy, guessing we might think another empire would rise, Daniel showed that the pagan Roman Empire would be divided. A huge empire would not take its place.
It all came to pass as Daniel had said. We saw that during the time of the various European nations the end of the world as we know it would come. God would intervene, all those nations would be swept away, and an everlasting kingdom would be set up. The world would not be destroyed by a nuclear accident. Rising seas from global warming would not drown the world. The world’s empires would be swept away by a kingdom that God would make.
Now we love to think about the future and what will happen to us, but why did God reveal the future to us through Daniel? The reason is that God wants us to be sure that He is in control. Perhaps there is another. How do you know that you can trust the Old and New Testaments? How do you know that they are a reliable testimony of God’s will? After all, there are lots of sacred writings in the world, each claiming to be the word of God. How can you tell the real from the fake?
At the bank, a man noticed the teller was using a yellow pen to mark on each of the banknotes he was receiving.
The man said to the teller, “Do you mind if I ask why you are marking the money with that pen?”
“Sure” the teller said, “If the money is fake it will not show up as yellow but some other darker color. If it is real, it will show yellow and the yellow goes away after a short time.”
“Wow, that is really interesting. Is there anything else you can do to identify if the banknote is a fake?”
“Sure. Up here where it says ‘Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası’ the letters are raised. You can feel them with your own fingers. The writing of the bill and the pictures need to be very clear and the colors must hold fast. When you study the real thing very closely, identifying a fake becomes pretty easy.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Sure. There has to be this hologram on the bill. If it is not there or if it is not shining, you can be sure that the bill is a fake.”
You can be sure the bill is a fake if it doesn’t have a hologram. Is there anything that can help us to know whether the Bible that we have in our hands is really from God and not something made up by man to deceive us? The answer is yes! It is called predictive prophecy. Daniel chapter 2 is a great example of predictive prophecy. Many people have tried in vain to show that the prophecy was written after the events actually took place. In 1948, when the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in Palestine they found a copy of Dan- iel’s writing that had been written at least 200 years before Christ. That means that we have proof that Daniel’s prophecies existed at least 650 years before the fall of the Roman Empire. That is not conjecture.
Moreover, the Bible does not have just one example of predictive prophecy. If that was so, we might consider Daniel’s prophecies a coincidence or some other trick. No, the Bible has many examples of predictive prophecy where God reveals the future through His servants the prophets. The purpose for doing this is not for God to impress us with His greatness. It is to establish in our minds that the Bible we have in our hand is not a fake. Predictive prophecy is like God’s hologram on His word. It shows us that we have the real thing.
As we saw in the last lesson, astrologers and fortunetellers cannot do what God does in His word. You can be sure that if the so-called sacred writings you are familiar with do not have many examples of predictive prophecy, you are dealing with a fake and not the real thing.
In this lesson, we will look at another predictive prophecy in the Bible. It was also written by Daniel and recorded in chapter 5. Let's start by reading verses 1-4:
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 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.
Belshazzar was king of Babylon. His father was Nabonidus and his grandfather was Nebuchadnezzar. In the waning years of the Baby- lonian Empire, Nabonidus was often leading the armies in war. Be- cause of his absence, Belshazzar was appointed co-regent of Baby- lon. Thus while Nabonidus was still alive his son was also called “king”. As we learned in the lesson on Daniel 2, the kingdom of Babylon stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers into modern day Turkey. But it was slowly diminishing in size and power.
Belshazzar’s grandfather left testimony regarding the true God. In Daniel chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar declared how he had be- come proud and that God had humbled him. After going crazy, he lived in the elds like an animal for seven years. But he eventually realized his folly, repented, and God restored him as king. We can read his testimony in Daniel chapter 4 verse 37:
37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
In spite of his grandfather’s experience and testimony, Belshazzar was so bold that he would ignore Nebuchadnezzar’s warning and test God by drinking wine from the sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem. When the Bible says that he gave the com-
mand to bring the vessels after he had “tasted the wine” it indicates that he was probably already drunk. In case you were wondering, it was common for monarchs to desecrate vessels held sacred by other religions. It was their way of showing their power or their gods’ supremacy over the conquered peoples’. Let’s see what happened next in Daniel chapter 5 verses 5-9:
5 In the same hour the ngers 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 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 astonished.
Just a few minutes before, the king was proud and arrogant against the Creator of the Universe. Perhaps he felt con dent that a con- quered people’s God couldn’t be true or powerful. But before the king learned the meaning of the writing, he was frightened. In fact the term “joints of his hips were loosened” carries the connotation that he soiled himself. Why should he be frightened? Why didn’t he think it was a message of peace and prosperity sent from the gods of the Babylonians? Because Belshazzar had a guilty conscience, that is why! He knew that what he was doing was wrong. God had not left him without a testimony in the way of righteousness. But Belshazzar had ignored all that and moved according to the dictates of a proud spirit. Let’s read on in chapter 5 verses 10-22:
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 father, light and 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. 12 "Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation." 13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 14 "I have heard of you, that the 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 writ- ing 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 explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpreta- tion, 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 interpreta- tion. 18 "O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 "And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and lan- guages 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 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.
That last sentence is critical. Belshazzar knew all about the story of his grandfather’s fall, repentance, and acknowledgment of the true God. But Belshazzar would not humble his heart. It wasn’t that Belshazzar was simply doing wrong in ignorance of the truth. He was doing wrong in de ance of the truth. Let’s see what Daniel said and what happened next in verses 23-31:
23 "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. 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 glori ed. 24 "Then the ngers 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 nished 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." 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. 30 That very night Belshaz- zar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
History shows that Cyrus, king of the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. Now that may not seem to be a particularly interesting fact of history. But let's stop and think a minute. Babylon was not just another city. It was the biggest city of its time with a circumference of more than 16 kilometers. The only city that could rival its size was Thebes, Egypt. Its walls were so wide a
horse and chariot could turn a full circle on top of them. It enclosed a large portion of the river Euphrates. Thus providing water during the longest sieges. The city walls were protected by a great system of moats and canals. Large guarded gates kept anyone from enter- ing the city by way of the river. In short, the city was impregnable. It was the richest, most protected city in its day. And in one night it fell without a single wall being destroyed. How could that happen? Do you remember our lesson entitled God’s Own Arm where the prophet Isaiah wrote a prophecy concerning this? Let’s review what we read in Isaiah chapter 44 verses 24-26:
24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; 25 Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness; 26 Who con rms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be built,' And I will raise up her waste places;
God frustrates the signs of the babblers and drives the diviners mad because their fortune telling proves to be wrong. Thus these so- called wise men are confused and their knowledge turns out to be human foolishness. But God proves the word of the His prophets by showing that their predictions come true. Let’s nish reading the prophecy of Cyrus conquering Babylon in Isaiah chapter 44 verses 27 and 28 and chapter 45 verses 1-4:
27 Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers'; 28 Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."' 1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held -- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.
Yes, a century and a half before Babylon fell there was a predictive prophecy written by Isaiah that foretold:
1. A man named Cyrus would subdue nations and kings,
2. The waters would be dried up before him,
3. The double gates would be left open before him,
4. He would give the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and to lay the foundations of the temple.
Did all that come to pass? Yes it did. When Cyrus captured Babylon, he did it in one night. The Bible says that the river would be dry and the double doors would be open. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that on the night Cyrus captured Babylon the city gates over the Euphrates River were not closed. A festival was in progress and people were permitted to cross the river as they pleased. The inhab- itants of the region also told Herodotus that the Persians diverted the course of the Euphrates so that his armies would have access to the open gates. It enabled them to avoid the intricate system of fortress walls. When the events happened it was fall and the river would have been at it lowest point. But even still, it would be a large undertaking to divert a river unless God had caused the river to be extraordinarily dry. Why were the gates open? Was there a conspiracy against the king and some traitors let the enemy in? Was it an accident because of drunken guards or simply negligence? We don't know. But we do know this.
There are lots of prophetic writings in the world like Nostradamus that can be interpreted a thousand different ways and forced to t a number of situations. But right here in God’s word is a prediction about an event that would happen a century and a half later. It even gave the name of the person who would do it! This is God’s “ho- logram” on His word. We know that the Tevrat, Zebur and Incil are God’s word because, not once, twice or with vague words that can be applied to anything, but many times the future is predicted with 100% accuracy. Fortunetellers cannot do it. Horo- scopes can’t give it. It is the infallible word of God that shows these things. Without the “hologram” of predictive prophecy, you can be sure that some so-called sacred writings are a fake. They are not the word of God. They do not stand the scrutiny of the test of predicting future historical and veri able events.
How could the fall of the largest empire in the world occur in one night without even one wall being destroyed? Isn’t that impossible? Perhaps, but when God decides to punish iniquity the impossible happens.
“Impossible” Mete said. “America is too big, too powerful for something like that to happen from outside. The CIA destroyed the World Trade Center buildings. America has all the technology to make New York impregnable.”
“But don’t you think these things could happen if God punished the U.S. for its iniquity by removing His protective hand?” asked his friend Lüt .
“I don’t think a handful of terrorists could have pulled it off. I think the U.S. bombed their own citizens to create an excuse for invading Afghanistan and Iraq."
“That is possible,” said Lüt . “But when I read history, I see that strange things can happen and huge empires can fall without a fight if God decrees it.”
Lüt is right! When God decrees the fall of nations in scripture, it will happen. Babylon is one example. As we read forward into the New Testament we will see prophecies concerning the United States. But in scripture we also read prophecies that involve all nations, though not necessarily by name. Consider this prophecy from Isaiah chapter 24 verses 1-6:
1 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mis- tress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. 3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. 5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. 6f Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.
We see that God has an everlasting covenant with all nations. If people obey His laws and keep His covenant they will be blessed. But if they do evil, His protection will be removed and their kingdoms taken from them. Could the New York event be a warning of things to come? Is God in His mercy telling people to turn from wicked- ness before worse things happen? In Job’s life, we saw how quickly Satan can destroy things if God removes His protection.
There is no prediction in scripture about the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Centers in New York. But if there had been a prediction written in the 1850’s naming the place and who would do it, we would be held in awe by the prediction. Just such a prediction is found in the Bible concerning Babylon. It happened. That is why you can trust the Tevrat, Zebur and Incil. They do what no other books do. They predict future world events with absolute accuracy. It makes you wonder what other predictions about the future are in the Bible doesn't it?
Discussion Questions
1.. Belshazzar certainly was wrong to use the sacred, golden cups from God's temple at the party. Why do you think his punishment
was greater than his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar’s who destroyed the temple itself?
2. If we can distinguish a fake banknote from a real one by studying the real one closely, how can we tell a true prophecy from a fake
one? Are you willing to commit the time necessary to do that?
3. Which would be a more important indicator to you of whether something was true or not: a substantiated predictive prophecy or
what our parents and teachers tell us? Why?
4. To many people, the fall of Babylon is just another story of one nation conquering another. But in the word of God we see that the
overthrow was the result of one nation ignoring the warnings of God. The Bible says that God has a covenant with every nation.
Does this change your perspective of what is happening in the world? Do you see God’s hand in world events?
Will rising seas from global warming destroy the world? Will our cities collapse because of earthquakes? Will there be a nuclear ac- cident that destroys millions? As we have been seeing in our lessons, the only real true source about the future comes from God. In our lesson about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2, we learned that God revealed the future rise and fall of several
nations. For hundreds of years, those nations would have influence over God’s covenant people.
Daniel wrote about that prophecy more than 500 years before Christ. Yet he predicted the rise and fall of four major empires with precision. The first kingdom to fall was Babylon at the hands of the Medes and Persians. He predicted that the Greek empire would replace the Medo-Persian long after he died. Amazingly he also predicted the rise of the Roman Empire. Then, with incredible accuracy, guessing we might think another empire would rise, Daniel showed that the pagan Roman Empire would be divided. A huge empire would not take its place.
It all came to pass as Daniel had said. We saw that during the time of the various European nations the end of the world as we know it would come. God would intervene, all those nations would be swept away, and an everlasting kingdom would be set up. The world would not be destroyed by a nuclear accident. Rising seas from global warming would not drown the world. The world’s empires would be swept away by a kingdom that God would make.
Now we love to think about the future and what will happen to us, but why did God reveal the future to us through Daniel? The reason is that God wants us to be sure that He is in control. Perhaps there is another. How do you know that you can trust the Old and New Testaments? How do you know that they are a reliable testimony of God’s will? After all, there are lots of sacred writings in the world, each claiming to be the word of God. How can you tell the real from the fake?
At the bank, a man noticed the teller was using a yellow pen to mark on each of the banknotes he was receiving.
The man said to the teller, “Do you mind if I ask why you are marking the money with that pen?”
“Sure” the teller said, “If the money is fake it will not show up as yellow but some other darker color. If it is real, it will show yellow and the yellow goes away after a short time.”
“Wow, that is really interesting. Is there anything else you can do to identify if the banknote is a fake?”
“Sure. Up here where it says ‘Türkiye Cumhuriyet Merkez Bankası’ the letters are raised. You can feel them with your own fingers. The writing of the bill and the pictures need to be very clear and the colors must hold fast. When you study the real thing very closely, identifying a fake becomes pretty easy.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Sure. There has to be this hologram on the bill. If it is not there or if it is not shining, you can be sure that the bill is a fake.”
You can be sure the bill is a fake if it doesn’t have a hologram. Is there anything that can help us to know whether the Bible that we have in our hands is really from God and not something made up by man to deceive us? The answer is yes! It is called predictive prophecy. Daniel chapter 2 is a great example of predictive prophecy. Many people have tried in vain to show that the prophecy was written after the events actually took place. In 1948, when the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered in Palestine they found a copy of Dan- iel’s writing that had been written at least 200 years before Christ. That means that we have proof that Daniel’s prophecies existed at least 650 years before the fall of the Roman Empire. That is not conjecture.
Moreover, the Bible does not have just one example of predictive prophecy. If that was so, we might consider Daniel’s prophecies a coincidence or some other trick. No, the Bible has many examples of predictive prophecy where God reveals the future through His servants the prophets. The purpose for doing this is not for God to impress us with His greatness. It is to establish in our minds that the Bible we have in our hand is not a fake. Predictive prophecy is like God’s hologram on His word. It shows us that we have the real thing.
As we saw in the last lesson, astrologers and fortunetellers cannot do what God does in His word. You can be sure that if the so-called sacred writings you are familiar with do not have many examples of predictive prophecy, you are dealing with a fake and not the real thing.
In this lesson, we will look at another predictive prophecy in the Bible. It was also written by Daniel and recorded in chapter 5. Let's start by reading verses 1-4:
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 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.
Belshazzar was king of Babylon. His father was Nabonidus and his grandfather was Nebuchadnezzar. In the waning years of the Baby- lonian Empire, Nabonidus was often leading the armies in war. Be- cause of his absence, Belshazzar was appointed co-regent of Baby- lon. Thus while Nabonidus was still alive his son was also called “king”. As we learned in the lesson on Daniel 2, the kingdom of Babylon stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf and up the Tigris and Euphrates rivers into modern day Turkey. But it was slowly diminishing in size and power.
Belshazzar’s grandfather left testimony regarding the true God. In Daniel chapter 4, King Nebuchadnezzar declared how he had be- come proud and that God had humbled him. After going crazy, he lived in the elds like an animal for seven years. But he eventually realized his folly, repented, and God restored him as king. We can read his testimony in Daniel chapter 4 verse 37:
37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
In spite of his grandfather’s experience and testimony, Belshazzar was so bold that he would ignore Nebuchadnezzar’s warning and test God by drinking wine from the sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem. When the Bible says that he gave the com-
mand to bring the vessels after he had “tasted the wine” it indicates that he was probably already drunk. In case you were wondering, it was common for monarchs to desecrate vessels held sacred by other religions. It was their way of showing their power or their gods’ supremacy over the conquered peoples’. Let’s see what happened next in Daniel chapter 5 verses 5-9:
5 In the same hour the ngers 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 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 astonished.
Just a few minutes before, the king was proud and arrogant against the Creator of the Universe. Perhaps he felt con dent that a con- quered people’s God couldn’t be true or powerful. But before the king learned the meaning of the writing, he was frightened. In fact the term “joints of his hips were loosened” carries the connotation that he soiled himself. Why should he be frightened? Why didn’t he think it was a message of peace and prosperity sent from the gods of the Babylonians? Because Belshazzar had a guilty conscience, that is why! He knew that what he was doing was wrong. God had not left him without a testimony in the way of righteousness. But Belshazzar had ignored all that and moved according to the dictates of a proud spirit. Let’s read on in chapter 5 verses 10-22:
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 father, light and 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. 12 "Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation." 13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 14 "I have heard of you, that the 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 writ- ing 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 explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpreta- tion, 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 interpreta- tion. 18 "O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 "And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and lan- guages 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 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.
That last sentence is critical. Belshazzar knew all about the story of his grandfather’s fall, repentance, and acknowledgment of the true God. But Belshazzar would not humble his heart. It wasn’t that Belshazzar was simply doing wrong in ignorance of the truth. He was doing wrong in de ance of the truth. Let’s see what Daniel said and what happened next in verses 23-31:
23 "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. 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 glori ed. 24 "Then the ngers 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 nished 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." 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. 30 That very night Belshaz- zar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
History shows that Cyrus, king of the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. Now that may not seem to be a particularly interesting fact of history. But let's stop and think a minute. Babylon was not just another city. It was the biggest city of its time with a circumference of more than 16 kilometers. The only city that could rival its size was Thebes, Egypt. Its walls were so wide a
horse and chariot could turn a full circle on top of them. It enclosed a large portion of the river Euphrates. Thus providing water during the longest sieges. The city walls were protected by a great system of moats and canals. Large guarded gates kept anyone from enter- ing the city by way of the river. In short, the city was impregnable. It was the richest, most protected city in its day. And in one night it fell without a single wall being destroyed. How could that happen? Do you remember our lesson entitled God’s Own Arm where the prophet Isaiah wrote a prophecy concerning this? Let’s review what we read in Isaiah chapter 44 verses 24-26:
24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, And He who formed you from the womb: "I am the LORD, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself; 25 Who frustrates the signs of the babblers, And drives diviners mad; Who turns wise men backward, And makes their knowledge foolishness; 26 Who con rms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; Who says to Jerusalem, 'You shall be inhabited,' To the cities of Judah, 'You shall be built,' And I will raise up her waste places;
God frustrates the signs of the babblers and drives the diviners mad because their fortune telling proves to be wrong. Thus these so- called wise men are confused and their knowledge turns out to be human foolishness. But God proves the word of the His prophets by showing that their predictions come true. Let’s nish reading the prophecy of Cyrus conquering Babylon in Isaiah chapter 44 verses 27 and 28 and chapter 45 verses 1-4:
27 Who says to the deep, 'Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers'; 28 Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," And to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."' 1 "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held -- To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut: 2 'I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. 4 For Jacob My servant's sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.
Yes, a century and a half before Babylon fell there was a predictive prophecy written by Isaiah that foretold:
1. A man named Cyrus would subdue nations and kings,
2. The waters would be dried up before him,
3. The double gates would be left open before him,
4. He would give the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and to lay the foundations of the temple.
Did all that come to pass? Yes it did. When Cyrus captured Babylon, he did it in one night. The Bible says that the river would be dry and the double doors would be open. The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that on the night Cyrus captured Babylon the city gates over the Euphrates River were not closed. A festival was in progress and people were permitted to cross the river as they pleased. The inhab- itants of the region also told Herodotus that the Persians diverted the course of the Euphrates so that his armies would have access to the open gates. It enabled them to avoid the intricate system of fortress walls. When the events happened it was fall and the river would have been at it lowest point. But even still, it would be a large undertaking to divert a river unless God had caused the river to be extraordinarily dry. Why were the gates open? Was there a conspiracy against the king and some traitors let the enemy in? Was it an accident because of drunken guards or simply negligence? We don't know. But we do know this.
There are lots of prophetic writings in the world like Nostradamus that can be interpreted a thousand different ways and forced to t a number of situations. But right here in God’s word is a prediction about an event that would happen a century and a half later. It even gave the name of the person who would do it! This is God’s “ho- logram” on His word. We know that the Tevrat, Zebur and Incil are God’s word because, not once, twice or with vague words that can be applied to anything, but many times the future is predicted with 100% accuracy. Fortunetellers cannot do it. Horo- scopes can’t give it. It is the infallible word of God that shows these things. Without the “hologram” of predictive prophecy, you can be sure that some so-called sacred writings are a fake. They are not the word of God. They do not stand the scrutiny of the test of predicting future historical and veri able events.
How could the fall of the largest empire in the world occur in one night without even one wall being destroyed? Isn’t that impossible? Perhaps, but when God decides to punish iniquity the impossible happens.
“Impossible” Mete said. “America is too big, too powerful for something like that to happen from outside. The CIA destroyed the World Trade Center buildings. America has all the technology to make New York impregnable.”
“But don’t you think these things could happen if God punished the U.S. for its iniquity by removing His protective hand?” asked his friend Lüt .
“I don’t think a handful of terrorists could have pulled it off. I think the U.S. bombed their own citizens to create an excuse for invading Afghanistan and Iraq."
“That is possible,” said Lüt . “But when I read history, I see that strange things can happen and huge empires can fall without a fight if God decrees it.”
Lüt is right! When God decrees the fall of nations in scripture, it will happen. Babylon is one example. As we read forward into the New Testament we will see prophecies concerning the United States. But in scripture we also read prophecies that involve all nations, though not necessarily by name. Consider this prophecy from Isaiah chapter 24 verses 1-6:
1 Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface and scatters abroad its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mis- tress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor, so with the debtor. 3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word. 4 The earth mourns and fades away, The world languishes and fades away; The haughty people of the earth languish. 5 The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. 6f Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, And those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, And few men are left.
We see that God has an everlasting covenant with all nations. If people obey His laws and keep His covenant they will be blessed. But if they do evil, His protection will be removed and their kingdoms taken from them. Could the New York event be a warning of things to come? Is God in His mercy telling people to turn from wicked- ness before worse things happen? In Job’s life, we saw how quickly Satan can destroy things if God removes His protection.
There is no prediction in scripture about the September 11 bombing of the World Trade Centers in New York. But if there had been a prediction written in the 1850’s naming the place and who would do it, we would be held in awe by the prediction. Just such a prediction is found in the Bible concerning Babylon. It happened. That is why you can trust the Tevrat, Zebur and Incil. They do what no other books do. They predict future world events with absolute accuracy. It makes you wonder what other predictions about the future are in the Bible doesn't it?
Discussion Questions
1.. Belshazzar certainly was wrong to use the sacred, golden cups from God's temple at the party. Why do you think his punishment
was greater than his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar’s who destroyed the temple itself?
2. If we can distinguish a fake banknote from a real one by studying the real one closely, how can we tell a true prophecy from a fake
one? Are you willing to commit the time necessary to do that?
3. Which would be a more important indicator to you of whether something was true or not: a substantiated predictive prophecy or
what our parents and teachers tell us? Why?
4. To many people, the fall of Babylon is just another story of one nation conquering another. But in the word of God we see that the
overthrow was the result of one nation ignoring the warnings of God. The Bible says that God has a covenant with every nation.
Does this change your perspective of what is happening in the world? Do you see God’s hand in world events?