Series: Biblical Cities- Babylon [#10]
BABYLON- THE WRITING ON THE WALL
Psalm 137:1
Introduction:
We are continuing in our study of Babylon. The city is the 2nd on the list of most mentions. Babylon is mentioned 286 times in the Bible. It means “the gate of god(s). Over the last few weeks, we have looked at Babylon during the time of Daniel. The Book of Daniel gives a picture of how things were in Babylon.
Psalm 137:1
Have you ever heard the statement, “You can see the writing on the wall”? It is a statement warning of coming doom and problems. This statement originates from the 5th chapter of Daniel.
As we come to Daniel 5, we are introduced to King Nebuchadnezzar’s son, King Belshazzar. King Belshazzar was hosting a banquet for 1000 of his nobles and he had the best cups and utensils brought out. In fact, the gold and silver goblets were those in which were taken from the Temple in Jerusalem when it was destroyed. While everyone was drinking and praising different gods, a finger appeared and began to write a message on the wall.
For obvious reasons, the king was very frightened and called all of the magicians and wise men in to tell him what the message said and what it meant. In fact, whoever could do this would become the 3rd highest ruler in the kingdom. This tactic previously used by his father did not work; but the queen told her husband not to worry because there was a very wise man within the kingdom that his father had used many times that could explain all of this.
With this information, the king called Daniel in. Once Daniel arrived, he told the king he was not interested in the rewards for doing this; but would read the writing on the wall and explain it to him.
Daniel 5:18-22
We can see the writing on the wall because…
1. We haven’t learned from the past.
The past mistakes and accomplishments of people we know, people we have heard about, and our own mistakes and accomplishments have no value except for learning from. Making mistakes is human, not learning from them and changing them is stupid.
Daniel 5:23
We can see the writing on the wall because…
2. We abuse that which belongs to God.
God blesses us as a church with a building, equipment, etc…; but we begin to think it is ours and we can do what we want to do. It’s not ours, it belongs to God and if we abuse it; He can take it from us. When we with-hold our tithes, our giving of time, our ministry (not just within these 4 walls), etc… from God we are not doing with what He has given to us properly; and we are in danger of losing it. This goes for our church, for our homes, and for our Nation. By the way, the U.S. better start seeing the writing on the wall because we are on the verge of God’s annihilation of our Nation. Have you noticed the Stock Market changes this week?
Daniel 5:24-31
We can see the writing on the wall because…
3. We won’t change.
You never see the king repenting and changing his behavior. You never see the king pleading with Daniel for this not to happen. The king took the information and did nothing with it. He stayed with his plan of promoting the person that gave him the information that he wanted and going on with life. As long as we continue to be o.k. with business as usual within our families, our church, and our community we will fall.
Conclusion:
I don’t know what to say to people anymore except that we are getting ready to face the judgment of God within our churches, families, and community in a way that we have never experienced before if we don’t change now!
The king died and the great Babylonian Kingdom died with him. Are we going to die as a church? Are we going to die as a Nation? I don’t want either of those to happen.
