DANIEL 5:1-31 (Belshazzar's Disastrous Party) || Ian FOX

It is the final days of the Babylonian Empire…but no-one knows this save the Lord Himself!
The armies of Cyrus the Great have defeated the kingdoms of Lydia and Media, and now has have their sights on Babylon.
While the armies of Cyrus the Great marshal outside the seemingly impregnable city of Babylon, Belshazzar, co-regent of Babylon, feasts in quiet confidence inside the palace.
Belshazzar commands that the holy vessels, taken from the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem, are brought forth to drink from in this feast of debauchery.
Such an act is an abomination to God, and proves the trigger to bring judgement on Belshazzar and all Babylon with him.
The finger of a man’s hand appears supernaturally to write on the wall of the king’s palace, the same wall where past victories that have been won are recorded. But this hand writes of the victory of Cyrus and the defeat of Babylon.
Chilled and visibly shaken, the king calls for the wise men to interpret the words, but they are at a loss.
Then the queen tells Belshazzar of a Jewish man, in whom the Spirit of the Holy God dwells, who served King Nebuchadnezzar in his day, who was gifted in explaining enigmas and interpreting dreams and solving riddles.
And so it is that Daniel is brought forth, now an old man.
With a boldness that Belshazzar had not known in his presence, Daniel speaks of the hand of the Lord working in the life of Nebuchadnezzar and how God humbled this king. Yet how Belshazzar has not humbled his heart in like manner, but had shown disdain for the Lord by abusing the holy vessels.
Daniel then interprets the words of God and lets him know, that the days of the Babylonian Empire have been numbered and have now reached their end…Belshazzar himself has been weighed and found wanting…his kingdom is divided and is now being given to the Medes and the Persians.
How did the Persians penetrate this fortress of a city?
Come back to final days of Babylon and witness an empire that falls in one night, because the God of all nations has decreed it.
The seventh sermon in a series by Ian Fox.
Message delivered on Monday 13th May 2024.