This chapter is the story of the fall of Babylon. These events took place on the evening of October 11, 539 BC.
Background to the Fall of Babylon
At the time this story took place, almost seventy years had passed since Daniel and his companions had been taken captive to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had since passed away, in 562 BC. There followed several years of political turmoil and intrigue, as rival factions struggled for the throne. Three different kings briefly reigned during this time, but two were dethroned and a third was assassinated. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law, Nabonidus, was placed on the throne. He reigned for several years before turning the throne and the command of the army over to his eldest son, Belshazzar, in 553 BC. Although Belshazzar was the acting king, he continued to share the throne with his father, Nabonidus, who pursued other interests. The name Belshazzar means “Bel protects the king.” Obviously, Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion and subsequent appeals to serve the true God had had no effect on his posterity.
Belshazzar was only 15 years of age when he took the throne. (SOP 1) His story was one of luxury and pampered pride. He was indulgent toward those who ministered to his pride and vanity, but if at any moment they crossed his will he became at once a cruel tyrant. Such was the ruler of the greatest nation on earth.
God had been able to teach Nebuchadnezzar the lessons he needed to learn, but the subsequent rulers of Babylon all failed to learn from his experience. Nearly a century before, God warned of the consequences of their persistent rebellion through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 50:1-3, 22-31; 51:11-14). And now, the last night of Babylon had finally come.
Verse 1
This feast made by King Belshazzar was actually a grand propaganda banquet, to show his defiance of the true God.
Two years before, Belshazzar had gotten into a skirmish with Cyrus, the Persian general, and had been defeated. He had retreated into Babylon with his army, where the king and people felt safe. Outside the city’s massive double walls, the Medo-Persian armies settled down for a long siege, which would last for two years.
The city sat astride the river Euphrates, with the waters of the river running under its outer walls and through the midst of the city. Within the city, smaller walls ran along both sides of the river, with double gates of bronze. The king had ordered all gates closed and the army was put on full alert. Everyone was confident that the stores of food and water would last for twenty years, and were not unduly concerned.
The citizens of Babylon were all aware that the God of heaven had predicted Babylon’s downfall. Nebuchadnezzar was in a sense the “father” of his country, and the story of his dream of a great image was a part of Babylonian history. They knew that Babylon had been represented by the image’s head of gold, and that it would someday be replaced by another kingdom of silver. But they didn’t want to believe it, any more than Nebuchadnezzar did when he built his own image entirely of gold. God described their attitude in a prophecy of Isaiah predicting Babylon’s downfall (Isaiah 47:1-11).
Scouts kept bringing in reports that the enemy was making an excavation to the west of the city. They planned to divert the Euphrates into it by erecting a temporary dam across the river. The army engineers hoped to lower the water level enough to allow commandos to wade under the city walls. The raiders, whom Cyrus stationed at each end of the river as it entered and left the city, planned to storm the openings in the single walls along its banks and take the city from the inside.
In a prophecy given nearly two hundred years before, God had named Cyrus, the Persian general, by name (more than a hundred years before he was born!) and predicted that he would conquer Babylon by “drying up” the river Euphrates (Isaiah 44:24-28; 45:1-6). Belshazzar may well have been aware of this prediction. The prophet Jeremiah later confirmed Isaiah’s prediction (Jeremiah 50:38), and sent a personal message to King Darius the Mede who was now outside the city with Cyrus and the Medo-Persian armies (Jeremiah 51:28-32).
Belshazzar probably could see the enemy’s headquarters outside the city. The arrogant young king, however, chose to ignore the messages given by God and refused to submit to Him. To show his defiance and prove to the people that he was in control, Belshazzar decided to make a display of his grandeur and self-confidence by proclaiming a great feast. His arrogance was similar to his grandfather’s at the time he built the golden image.
The Cyrus Cylinder records that Babylon fell on the feast of Tammuz. This occurred on the 14th, or full moon of the month Tammuz, which was named in his honor. This Babylonian deity was also known as Adonis, the god of physical prowess. He was believed to have married Ishtar, or Venus, the goddess of love and wine. During his annual festival men and women entered into an unrestrained celebration of this deified couple. As the evening progressed, all joined in shouting praises to their gods (see Daniel 5:4) while indulging their wine and toasting each other in abandoned frenzy.
As the festivities began on this evening, Belshazzar’s “lords” are first noted as being in attendance (verse 1). This was customary, because such feasts were exclusively male. The ladies generally enjoyed their own festivities in a separate location. But after the liquor flowed freely, the women were sometimes called to join the men (Esther 1:1-12). King Belshazzar himself led out in drinking the wine at this feast, thereby showing his unconcern for the armies stationed outside the city. (SOP 2)
Verse 2
As the wine benumbed his brain, he recklessly and blasphemously called for the sacred vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought, that the revelers might drink the wine from them. This gesture signaled his disdain for the God of heaven. The proceedings were clearly orchestrated to show his disregard of God’s warnings of the overthrow of Babylon by the Medes and Persians. His plan was to extol the glory of Bel-Marduk and Tammuz and Venus, and the continuity of Babylon!
As the party progressed according to plan, the guards stationed at the inner gates apparently failed to notice that the level of the river was steadily lowering. Like their commander-in-chief, they were becoming more and more inebriated. Meanwhile, in the courts of heaven, the decree went forth that Babylon had reached the limit of her probation (Jeremiah 50:27; 51:57).
Verse 3
The sacred vessels, consecrated to the worship of the true God, were brought to the feasting hall, and all joined in drinking from them. Notice that at the time this took place, the ladies had joined the men.
Verse 4
As the revelry continued, and the participants became more and more intoxicated, they all joined in praising their pagan deities.
Meanwhile, the Medo-Persian army continued to deflect the flow of the river as the Euphrates continued to drop to the level needed by the commandos. The soldiers must have tingled in anticipation of an easy entry through the river gates and looked forward to a quick victory. History tells us that they bribed secret guides, two Babylonian defectors, who guided them into the city.
Verse 5
At the height of their blasphemous revelry, the eyes of all were suddenly attracted to the wall of the banqueting hall. On that wall was depicted the exploits of the king, his heroic deeds in hunt and war. Now all watched as across its surface a Hand began to trace fiery words of terrifying import. In the hush that followed, the guests were frozen in terror. With knocking knees they stared in fascination as the Finger of a bloodless hand wrote four mysterious words in a script of light.
This message was so important that heaven did not convey it using a dream, a prophet, or an angel. God the Spirit Himself wrote this message of doom on the plastered wall for all to see (compare Luke 11:20 with Matthew 12:28).
Verse 6
Belshazzar was awed and silenced by this divine intervention. Shorn of his strength and humbled as a child, he realized that he was at the mercy of One greater than himself. He had been making sport of sacred things, but now his conscience was awakened. He sensed the Presence of the Holy Watcher that his grandfather had seen in dream. In a flash his wicked life passed before him in all its guilt. The banqueting hall was filled with terrified revelers, but Belshazzar was the most terrified of them all.
Verse 7
Belshazzar hastily summoned his wise men to interpret the writing on the wall. For the third and final time, a new generation of Babylonian wise men were called to interpret a message from the God of heaven. The king offered as a reward some trinkets and the position of third in command.
Verse 8
The efforts of the wise men were fruitless. Completely unable to read these words from another world or explain their meaning, they stood shaking in terror along with the rest. God had long before described this scene through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 47:12, 13).
Verse 9
Belshazzar was shattered. All was in utter confusion as fear stalked the hall, clutching at every heart.
Verses 10 - 12
Word soon reached the queen mother about what had taken place in the banquet hall. This woman was quite elderly, being the widow of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar’s grandmother. (SOP 3) It was for her that Nebuchadnezzar had built the famous hanging gardens of Babylon, because she missed the mountains in her Median homeland. Upon learning about what was transpiring, she had remembered Daniel, who more than fifty years before had made known to her husband his dream of the great image and its interpretation. Now she hastened to the banqueting hall.
First giving her grandson words of encouragement, the queen mother told Belshazzar about Daniel and urged him to call the now-retired head over the wise men of Babylon. She reminded the king that Daniel was imbued with the Spirit of the holy God and could be trusted to explain the terrifying words and their meaning. It is interesting that she referred to Daniel by his Hebrew name. Could it be that she had been converted along with her husband, Nebuchadnezzar?
Note: Nebuchadnezzar is called Belshazzar’s “father” in verse 11 and elsewhere, but he was actually the king’s grandfather. This is because it was customary in biblical times to make no distinction between a father and grandfather. (See Matthew 9:27, 1:17 for an example.)
Verses 13, 14
Daniel, now in his 80’s, was soon escorted into the midst of the now sobered carousers. Before the gawking company he stood in quiet dignity, a faithful servant of the Most High. It was required of one brought before the king to utter the salutation, “O king, live forever.” Even the queen mother did so in verse 10. But Daniel stood silently before the king, waiting for him to speak.
Bracing himself to show his royal authority, Belshazzar asked Daniel if he was one of the Jews his grandfather had taken captive from Judah. He then betrayed that he already knew the answer with the comment, “I have heard of you.”
This was nothing more than an attempt to humiliate this elderly statesman with an ethnic slur, by reminding him that some 70 years before, he had been dragged from Palestine as a Jewish prisoner of war to become a slave in Babylon. But he failed to mention that much of the time Daniel had been the leading statesman of the empire, acting as Nebuchadnezzar’s chief counselor.
This young man had been raised in the palace, and certainly knew the history of Babylon, including the key role played by Daniel for many years. He also chose to overlook Daniel’s help in preserving the throne during Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years of madness, a factor that made possible his own reign.
Verses 15, 16
After explaining to Daniel that the wise men had been unable to interpret the words on the wall, Belshazzar then repeated his insulting comment, “I have heard of you.” He also repeated his offer of a suit of clothes, a golden necklace, and position of third ruler (after Nabonidus and himself) if he could interpret the words.
Verse 17
Belshazzar’s offer revealed a naïve cheekiness that Daniel didn’t allow to pass unnoticed. In perfect control, and skipping the usual greeting required of a courtier, he told the king that he could keep his gifts. But he agreed to read the writing and give him the interpretation.
Verses 18 – 21
In the presence of the entire assembly, Daniel then brought the king’s attention to important events that he had learned in school, facts which the king already knew. He reminded him that it was the God of heaven who had granted Nebuchadnezzar the authority to rule Babylon. When he developed a swelled head, it was God who temporarily deposed him. At the end of his seven years of insanity, his grandfather had acknowledged that God “rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever he chooses,” and had become a worshipper of the true God
Verses 22 - 24
Daniel then came directly to the point. “You his [grand]son have not humbled your heart, although YOU KNEW ALL THIS.”
Belshazzar’s love of amusement and self-glorification had effaced the lessons that he should have taken to heart. He had committed sins similar to those that had brought judgment to Nebuchadnezzar. With open eyes he had chosen to defy God’s law and disdain His authority. He had blasphemously desecrated the sacred vessels of the temple by using them in this drunken orgy. The evening’s activities were the pinnacle of his rebellion against what he knew to be true. His arrogant conduct had ended his own probation and that of the Babylonian Empire, and brought the handwriting on the wall.
Verses 25 – 28
Without further comment, Daniel read the mysterious words and explained their meaning.
Mene, mene (numbered, numbered) – Mene meant that God had tallied and added up the crimes of Belshazzar and his people. The word was repeated to stress the finality and accuracy of the divine decision.
Tekel (weighed) – Tekel testified that God had “weighed” their character and conduct in His scales of eternal justice and found them lacking.
Upharsin, or Peres (divided, Persians) – This word has a double meaning, proclaiming that the kingdom was to be divided and handed over to the Persians.
Verse 29
After listening to this verdict and the reasons for it, the drunken king and his courtiers accepted them without a word. No one in that vast company fell on their knees to beg forgiveness. They had brushed aside the appeals of the Spirit so many times that they were indifferent, unable to repent.
The inept monarch showed that he had not really listened. Acting as though no danger really existed, he had Daniel dressed in fancy clothes with a golden chain around the neck. He then showed that he did not really believe a word about the eminent doom of Babylon by proclaiming Daniel as the third ruler.
By this time the Euphrates had already become shallow enough for the Medo-Persian armies to wade under the city walls and storm the inner gates. They had found the gates open and the guards drunk at their posts, and Babylon fell with little struggle. As predicted by the prophet Jeremiah, word soon reached the king that his city was taken, and he was so overcome by the news that he could not respond (Jeremiah 50:43). (SOP 4)
Verses 30, 31
Daniel ended the story with the chilling statement that on that very night King Belshazzar was slain, and the kingdom passed to Darius, king of the Medo-Persians.
The End-Time Dimension of Daniel 5
The story of the fall of Babylon is an illustration of the fall of spiritual Babylon in the last days. The book of Revelation identifies spiritual Babylon as apostate Christianity, who has joined with the political powers to force the world to accept her false teachings in opposition to God’s law. Let’s look at several parallels between ancient Babylon and her end-time counterpart, spiritual Babylon.
1. King Belshazzar rejected God’s word concerning the fall of Babylon. In deliberate defiance of God, he led the people to drink Babylon’s wine and praise their false gods. Spiritual Babylon will also reject God’s word concerning her fall (Revelation 18:7), and in defiance of God will cause the world to drink the wine of her false teachings (Revelation 14:8).
2. Babylon desecrated the sacred vessels of the temple by drinking her wine from them. This blasphemous act resulted in the close of her probation and the handwriting on the wall pronouncing her doom. In the last days, spiritual Babylon will desecrate God’s sacred law by imposing her wine (a false day of worship) upon the world (Revelation 13:16, 17). This act will result in the close of her probation and the message pronouncing her doom (Revelation 18:1-3, 5-8).
3. When the mysterious writing appeared on the wall, the king immediately called the wise men of Babylon to interpret the writing. Because the occult was their source of knowledge, Babylon was under the control of Satan. In the last days, spiritual Babylon will be involved in spiritualism (a form of the occult) and under the control of Satan (Revelation 16:14; 18:2).
4. Babylon sat on the waters of the Euphrates River. These waters were dried up to make a way for the conquering armies to enter the city. In the same way, spiritual Babylon sits on many waters (Revelation 17:1, 5). These waters, representing the peoples of the world who support her (Revelation 17:15), will also be dried up to prepare the way for God’s conquering army (Revelation 16:12).
5. The result of Babylon’s judgment was eternal. Centuries before the fall of Babylon, God had declared that she would never again be rebuilt (Isaiah 13:19-22). The result of spiritual Babylon’s judgment will also be eternal. God has declared that after her destruction she will never again reappear (Revelation 18:21).
6. Cyrus, the Persian general that conquered Babylon, was also the deliverer of God’s people. As such, he was a type of Christ. Notice the following parallels between Cyrus and Christ.
a. Before he was born, Cyrus was appointed by God to free God’s captive people and to conquer their oppressors.
b. Cyrus’ name means “the sun,” and God raised him up in righteousness (Isaiah 45:13).
c. Cyrus was called “My shepherd” by God (Isaiah 44:28).
d. Cyrus came from a “far country” (Isaiah 46:11) and was God’s anointed (Isaiah 45:1). (Note: The word “anointed” in Hebrew means Messiah.)
e. Cyrus delivered God’s captive people and prepared a way for them to return to their homeland to build the city, temple and walls (Isaiah 45:13, 44:26, 28).
f. Cyrus was acclaimed as deliverer even by the populace of Babylon. Daniel shared with Cyrus the prophecies of Isaiah concerning himself. (SOP 5)
Spirit of Prophecy Quotations
1 “Admitted to a share in kingly authority at fifteen years of age, Belshazzar gloried in his power, and lifted up his heart against the God of heaven. He despised the One who is above all rulers, the General of all the armies of heaven.” – The Youth’s Instructor, May 19, 1898.
2 “On this occasion there was music and dancing and wine-drinking. The profane orgies of royal mirth were attended by men of genius and education. Decorated women with their enchantments, were among the revelers.
“Exalted by wine and blinded by delusion, the king himself took the lead in the riotous blasphemy. Reason no longer controlled him; his lower impulses and passions were in the ascendency. His kingdom was strong and apparently invincible, and he would show that he thought nothing too sacred for his hands to handle and profane. To show his contempt for sacred things, he desecrated the holy vessels taken from the temple of the Lord at its destruction.” – The Youth’s Instructor, May 19, 1898.
3 “There was in the palace a woman who was wiser than them all,--the queen of Belshazzar's grandfather. In this emergency she addressed the king in language that sent a ray of light into the darkness.” – The Youth’s Instructor, May 26, 1898.
4 “While still in the festal hall, surrounded by those whose doom has been sealed, the king is informed by a messenger that "his city is taken" by the enemy against whose devices he had felt so secure; "that the passages are stopped, . . . and the men of war are affrighted." Verses 31, 32. Even while he and his nobles were drinking from the sacred vessels of Jehovah, and praising their gods of silver and of gold, the Medes and the Persians, having turned the Euphrates out of its channel, were marching into the heart of the unguarded city. The army of Cyrus now stood under the walls of the palace; the city was filled with the soldiers of the enemy, "as with caterpillars" (verse 14); and their triumphant shouts could be heard above the despairing cries of the astonished revelers.” – Prophets and Kings, page 531.
5 “As the king [Cyrus] saw the words foretelling, more than a hundred years before his birth, the manner in which Babylon should be taken; as he read the message addressed to him by the Ruler of the universe [Isaiah 45:5, 6, 4, 13 quoted], his heart was profoundly moved, and he determined to fulfill his divinely appointed mission.” – Prophets and Kings, page 557.
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