Divine Graffiti: The End of an Empire
Daniel 5:1-31
Tonight we have the privilege of going to the fifth chapter of Daniel, Daniel 5, in our continuing study of this amazing prophet, Daniel, one of the great Hebrew prophets of old. A man whose record of the history of his time is without equal. And by the way, for many years critics attempted to discredit the prophesy of Daniel, to say that it wasn't true, that his history was ill formed and unfounded. Some of the characters that he referred to were just not real but false. Some of the interpretations he gave to the dreams and the visions were those of his own whims.
But after years and years of criticism, archaeology in the last hundred years, the last 50 years, and even later has uncovered evidence, upon evidence, upon evidence that Daniel's prophecy is absolutely accurate. And there have been no contradictions at all found. In fact, from the Babylonian record at the time of Daniel, we have no less than 10,000 fragments to indicate to us the truthfulness of this tremendous prophesy. It is the Word of God and therefore it is true and will become verified by history. And that is, in fact, exactly what has happened.
So when you read Daniel 5, you are reading an eyewitness account of the fall of the Babylonian Empire by one who was a prime minister of that very empire itself. And even though he was a prime minister in a pagan culture, in a pagan society, in a palace of Babylonian monarchs, he never compromised his faith in the true God. And thus, every time he appears on the scene, we find him somehow unrelated to everybody else that's there. He always makes a grand entrance alone, never with the magicians, and soothsayers, and Chaldeans who come to give their human wisdom. And so he is set apart as God's man and the record he has given us is wonderfully true.
As we come to Daniel 5, these 31 amazing and marvelous, insightful verses, we see the end of an empire. In fact, the end of the most glorious empire of the times of the gentiles, the great Babylonian empire. We see the movement from the head of gold as the image in chapter 2 indicated, to the breast and the arms of silver, which indicate the Medo-Persians who followed the Babylonians. This great transition takes place at the close of this, the fifth chapter.
As we begin our study, let me remind you of a verse in Ezekiel 18:20. It says this. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The soul that sinneth, it shall die." And this chapter is a vivid commentary on that verse. Sin brings death. In the life of an individual and in the life of a nation and an empire.
The Babylonian Empire was once the glorious head of gold. The crown of the times of the gentiles. But it had gradually deteriorated. It had gradually entered a state of debauchery, a state of degeneration. Until the hour of its doom is finally pronounced suddenly and totally and the Medo-Persian army sweeps in. And it is the end of a great and historic era.
This chapter becomes for us a powerful look at what causes the end of an empire. What causes something as great and magnificent, as wealthy and as far reaching, as militarily mighty as the Babylonian Empire to fall? And I believe the message of the chapter speaks directly to us today in 1980 in the United States of America. There's not much to get excited about in America unless you're big on hockey. I'm glad for the victory. But it's amazing to me to see the almost desperate need for something to revel about in the midst of a dying society. If we can't withstand Russia's onslaughts in the Middle East, at least we can slam more pucks into a net than they can.
The first scene in the chapter is an orgy. It is filled with desecration, blasphemy, evil acts. The history would describe for us, but I would not assault your brain with such a description. In the midst of the orgy is the awesome intervention of God who pronounces doom on the whole empire. And in a few hours, that doom comes. And I believe that all civilization follows the very same pattern. It rises to its heights. At its height, it is filled with pride. In the midst of its pride, and self-indulgence, and materialism it begins to descend into degeneration, and debauchery, and evil. And as it descends, it comes closer and closer to its destruction.
In Psalm 19:7, it says, "The wicked shall be turned to hell and all the nations that forget God." The doom of a nation is spelled when it forgets God. So the empire fell. In one night, the end came. And Daniel gives us the record.
Now I want you to look at the chapter in two perspectives. First the account and then the application. First the account, just the historical record, and then its application. And under the account, we've tried to break it down so you can see the flow of the text. First is the scene in verses 1-4. Let's look there.
Verse 1, "Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast to 1,000 of his lords." Stop there. Immediately you're introduced to a name. Belshazzar. This name sets the scene. Who is he? Where did he come from? When did he live? When did he rule? Why did he call this feast? What's going on here?
For years and years, the critic says Daniel is wrong because there is no Belshazzar. There is no historical record of such a man. You can read books in the library today that say that Daniel was wrong because there is no Belshazzar. Until something was found which archaeologists call the Nabonidus cylinder. And it is a record of Belshazzar, just as Daniel said.
He was young, 36 years old about. He was decadent. He was dissolute. He was idolatrous. He was immoral. He was impious. He was unworthy. But he was the ruler who sat in the seat of royalty in Babylon the night it fell.
Now what do we know about him? Piecing together all that we know from archeology, it's not too difficult to come up with a picture. So we can set the scene a little bit. Stick with me and we'll get right to the scene.
Seventy years have passed since Daniel 1. Seventy years since Daniel and his friends were taken captive. Daniel isn't a teenager anymore. He's in his 80s. 23 years have happened since chapter 4 ended. The great breaking of Nebuchadnezzar and his recognition of the true God. So a lot has happened.