This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. Let's take our Bibles and turn to Daniel chapter 5. Looks like I'm going to get a free dinner. Daniel chapter 5. Beginning in verse 1, this is the word of our God, Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken out of the temple, which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple of the house of God, which was in Jerusalem. And the king and his nobles, his wives and concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, his hip joints went slack, his knees began knocking together. The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans, the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple, have a necklace of gold around his neck and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom. Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed. His face grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed. The queen entered the banquet hall. Because of the words of the king and his nobles, the queen spoke and said, O king, live forever. Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods. And in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father, the king. appointed him the chief of the magicians, conjures, Caldeans and diviners. This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king had named Balthasar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, Are you that Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, whom my father, the king brought from Judah? Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you. Just now the wise men and conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me. But they could not declare the interpretation of the message. But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now, if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you'll have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, keep your gifts for yourself, give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the inscription to the king and make known the interpretation to him. O king, the most high God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar, your father. Because of the grandeur which he bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, men of every language feared and trembled before him. Whomever he wished he killed and whomever he spared alive, whoever he wished he spared alive and whoever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne. and glory was taken from him. He was also driven away from mankind. His heart was made like that of the beasts. His dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind, and that he sets over it whomever he wishes. Yet you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all of this. But you've exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and they've brought the vessels of his house before you. And you and your nobles, your wives, your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you've praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear, or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life, breath, and all your ways, you have not glorified. And the hand was sent from him, and this inscription was written out. This is the inscription that was written out. This is the interpretation of the message. God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. You've been weighed on the scales and found deficient. Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave orders, they clothed Daniel purple, put a necklace of gold around his neck, issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom. That same night, Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of 62. This is the word of the Lord. As we dive into Daniel chapter 5, there's been a lot of time that's actually passed from Daniel 4 to Daniel 5. Daniel does not give us a strict chronology, and he jumps right from this great passage of chapter 4 to actually years later now. So as we get into Daniel chapter 5, Nebuchadnezzar has already been dead, probably for about two decades, a little bit more, and Daniel is an aged man at this time. He's no longer the young teenager that we saw in the earlier chapters. He is an old man, and actually has somewhat been put on the shelf, but God has His ways of getting His servants off the shelf and back into the limelight. There's an interesting thing right away that we notice in Daniel chapter 5, and that is this man who's identified as the king, Belshazzar. Let me just read something to you. This is amazing to me. Until recently, Belshazzar was thought to be one of those errors in the Bible's understanding of history that led many to doubt its accuracy. In fact, one of the criticisms about Daniel was the mention of Belshazzar, and there is, in the Greek era that follows the Medo-Persian era, there was a tremendous amount of information about the Babylonian Empire and no mention of Belshazzar. And so, what happened is that critical scholars saw it as something that was made up after the fact. Let me go on and continue to read. However, after the discovery and decipherment of cuneiform tablets began in the 19th century, we began to learn more and more about the period in question. As a result, Belshazzar emerged from the shadows as a definite historical character. Today, we have abundant textual witness to the fact that he was the son of Nabonidus. More than that, Belshazzar was co-regent and actually in charge of Babylon during his father's 10-year absence from the capital city, thus explaining the reference to him as the king. And so, once again, the critics are wrong and the Bible is right. How surprising is that? So we're introduced to this fellow by the name of Belshazzar. There is a little bit of ambiguity as to who he was other than the son of Nabonidus. We do know that he ends up being the final ruler of Babylon, but there are a number of times in Daniel chapter five where Belshazzar is identified as Nebuchadnezzar's son or Nebuchadnezzar is identified as his father. I would remind us that in the Old Testament, son-father language is not always talking about direct descent and just one generation. In fact, the Old Testament employs father-son language for grandfathers or even ancestors that go back further than that, or even predecessors. And so Nabonidus, who is Belshazzar's father, was in the city of Tima, which is in modern-day Saudi Arabia, because he had actually made some very unpopular policies in the capital city. The unpopular policy that he made was he actually changed gods. His favorite god was the sun god, Sin. And, of course, the Babylonians' favorite god was Marduk, or Bel. And so, as Nabonidus makes this move to have his favorite god be the god that's not the Babylonians' favorite god, He makes a very, very unpopular decision, passes some very unpopular legislation, and then goes off on vacation to Camp David. I mean, Tima. Now, so you've got Nebonidus. So then the question is, who's Nebonidus? Nebonidus probably ended up marrying Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, who ends up being Belshazzar's mother. In an interesting text in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 26 6 and 7 says now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon my servant and I've given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him all the nation shall serve notice this him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes then many nations and great kings will make him their servant and so we see that Belshazzar is actually Nebuchadnezzar's grandson. The passage opens up very abruptly. There's no background given whatsoever, and all we see is this great drinking feast that was hosted by Belshazzar. Now, most people think that this great feast was actually just an arrogant party thrown by an ignorant ruler who had a false sense of security. In all likelihood, I think something else is at play. It could be that Belshazzar actually throws a feast out of desperation to try to secure the God's protection since Cyrus, the Medo-Persian king, was actually right at the gates. He'd already taken Tima and overthrown Nabonidus. And so it could be that in his own pagan way, he's throwing this great feast to try to secure the protection of the gods, or it could have been, and maybe a little bit of both, that Belshazzar's trying to rally the support, if you will, the blind support of the officials, the nobles, and not actually knowing that Cyrus was right at the gates. What's interesting is that both Herodotus and Xenophon, ancient historians, both report that Babylon was taken during a great feast and celebration in the middle of the night. So here's this grand party going on, and then in verses 2 to 4, we see Belshazzar's blasphemy. What he does is he calls for the vessels that his grandfather had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, and notice how Daniel actually repeats that part. He wants everybody to understand that these vessels that were taken actually were vessels that were used for holy purposes in God's temple in Jerusalem. And so he calls for those vessels to be brought, and with a demonstration of pomp and show, Belshazzar is actually trying to do something, and that is, he's trying to show that he has even more moxie than his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, who was supposedly the most awesome king of Babylon. He's trying to boost the morale among the leaders of the troops with a brashness. It's a faulty boast in a sense. Bring in the vessels from the temple that my grandfather took, and we're gonna actually take those vessels, blaspheme the God of Israel in a display of the supremacy of our own gods. And so here is this blasphemous, arrogant, Brash, second-rate king. Slapping God right in the face. Sinclair Ferguson says, Belshazzar's heart was a factory of rebellion against God. Now he cast off restraint and he showed it. He did not sin in ignorance, but with full knowledge. Proverbs 18, 12, before destruction, the heart of man is haughty. And so, in the midst of this incredible, blasphemous, arrogant display of his own wicked heart, as they are drinking out of the sacred vessels, a hand appears and begins to write on the plaster wall. It says, opposite the lampstand. Now, I can't prove this, but I actually think the lampstand may well be the lampstand taken from the sacred furniture from the tabernacle itself. And so as so, in other words, it's the lampstand from the tabernacle that's illuminating the writing on the wall. And the hand begins to write. And Belshazzar has a traumatic psychosomatic response. Now, for those of you who are a little weak in the stomach, you might wanna just silently put your fingers in your ears and hum la la la, but this is what happens. The king's face grew pale. He was flushed. His thoughts alarmed him. And then the new American standard with all of the elegance of a euphemism says, and his hip joints went slack. That is not the expression. I don't know what slack hip joints are anyway, but what the text actually says is that his loins went loose. For those of you that aren't catching on, he became incontinent because of fear. For those of you who still haven't caught on, he lost control of bodily functions. For those of you who still haven't caught on, Belshazzar had a little accident. I'm assuming it was embarrassing. And his knees began knocking together. So he's terrified. He sees the writing on the wall. He sees this hand. And there's something about it that's fairly obvious. This is divine intervention. God's doing something, and I should be scared. And so what he does is he calls together the guild of spiritual advisors who have been a bust to this point in the book, right? They're not able to do anything. But he calls them in anyway, and he offers them this great reward. And notice, twice in chapter 5, he offers them to be third in the kingdom. Before the understanding of who Belshazzar actually was, it was puzzling to scholars why third in the kingdom, but the reality is that if Nabonidus is the first ruler and Belshazzar is co-regent, then whoever gets put right under Belshazzar ends up being third. Andrew Steinem says the historical accuracy of this statement, as recorded by Daniel the author, is another indication that this is an eyewitness account. And so they bring in all of the conjurers, the magicians, the new age gurus and so forth. And they not only could not read the inscription, but they obviously couldn't make it known. And so once again, the professionals fail. Now, the question that commentators ask is why? were the gurus unable to actually read it and make an interpretation since it seems from Daniel's description it's written in Aramaic and everybody there would have been able to read Aramaic. The answer probably lies in the fact that the three words that are used were written all together without breaks in the words. And as many scholars have pointed out, if these three words are all scrunched together with no breaks, then actually there are a number of different possibilities of where the breaks go. So it could have been that there was a vast amount of disagreement among the professionals. They are stumped by it. And so as they're stumped, they're unable to give bell shouts are any helpful information other than we don't know. And as a result of that bell shouts are goes from terrified to petrified. And his nobles then join in. Verse 10, something happens that is quite unexpected, and that is the queen comes in. Now, there are a number of things about this that should be striking to us. First of all, she's not at the drunken party. She comes in after the fact. In all likelihood, the woman that's mentioned in verse 10 is the queen mother, who may well have been Nebuchadnezzar's daughter and Belshazzar's mother. Some suggest the possibility that it was even Belshazzar's grandmother and Nebuchadnezzar's wife. It's difficult to be absolutely certain, but in all likelihood, probably Belshazzar's mother. And as she walks in, there is, in a sense, a dignity with her appearance and with her counsel, and there's also a tone of disapproval as she begins to address this haughty king. Notice, she says, middle of verse 10, O King, live forever. That's the traditional respectful address. Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods. There is somebody in your kingdom, Belshazzar, who actually has the ability to tell you exactly what is up on the wall. Notice this, in the days of your father, speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, illumination, insight, wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father, the king, In other words, she is underscoring the fact, listen, Belshazzar, you should know this. Is it not one of the traits of the young to only listen to their peers and to disregard their elders and those who have gone before them? Reminds us of Rehoboam after Solomon dies. The older man that had served with Solomon come to Rehoboam and they give him the council because the people are telling him, please lighten the load on us and we'll serve you gladly. And the, and the, the, the elders come to Rehoboam and they say, you need to actually listen to what the people are saying. They will serve you with gladness. If you just show them some love and some respect. And so Rehoboam says, yeah, I hear you. And then he goes to the really wise people in the kingdom, the ones that he grew up with, the ones that he played baseball with, the ones that were no smarter than he was. And he said, what do you guys say? Well, of course, they're young men. What are they going to say? You tell them that my pinkies bigger than my father's loins. And he whipped you with whips, but I'm going to whip you with scorpion tails. Get back to work. And of course, whose advice is Rehoboam follow? And he follows his peers. Gigantic mistake. Here's Belshazzar. And part of the indictment is you want to know better. You want to know better. There was a man who distinguished himself. Daniel is then described in the most glowing of terms. And the queen mother says, your, your father actually appointed him as chief over all of these Yahoo's that don't know anything. And there's a reason why he was appointed and given the place. That's because he had an extraordinary spirit and he was gifted in these things. I love this part. And Daniel is his name. All those years later, nobody forgot his Hebrew name. Out of courtesy to Nebuchadnezzar, they have to throw in, whom your father gave the name Belteshazzar. But Daniel is his name. Daniel had made an impact on Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, the queen, and he had distinguished himself as a man of God. And the queen was confident that it was this man who could actually interpret the writing on the wall. Can one of the deacons turn the air on? It seems hot in here to me. Is it warm? Okay. Okay, yes. Those that said yes, you guys are right. Those who said no, you're wrong. So, that was one of the simplest decisions we've had to make all day. That last line of verse 12, let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation. Notice, she doesn't even call him Belteshazzar at this point. Just bring Daniel in. And he will tell you exactly what that means. And so, verse 13, Daniel's brought in before the king, and notice what happens here. Belshazzar is attempting to humble Daniel, right? There are a couple of things. They're fairly subtle on first reading, but he reminds him, first of all, you're in exile. No matter what my grandfather made you, at the end of the day, you're still in exile from Judah. In other words, you're still just barely above a slave. And so keep that in mind. And remember that your glory days were in the days of my father. In other words, you're an old man. You're washed up. You're an exile and you're an old man. And now, you know, I've got all these wise people before me and everybody tells me that you actually can do what none of these people can do. And there is this condescending attitude that Belshazzar has at verse 14. I have heard that you're able to do this and verse 16, if you are able to do this. His confidence is nowhere near the Queen Mother's confidence, and he does acknowledge very clearly the impotence of his own wise men, but then he says, we'll give you the reward just like we offered to everybody else. But Belshazzar's arrogance is absolutely unrestrained. Now, this is pretty remarkable for a guy who's just soiled himself, grew pale, knees knocking together. He is still a condescending, insolent, arrogant, second-rate ruler. Verse 17, Daniel answered and said before the king, keep your gifts for yourself. It's like blockbuster stock anyway. It's not gonna be worth anything and let's see about three hours from now. What's actually missing? There's no, oh king, live forever. It's just keep your junk to yourself. And so Daniel replies and Daniel gives no respectful address. He says, keep the gifts, keep the status. It's all gonna be absolutely worth nothing anyway. And yes, I can read that. But notice, before Daniel actually reads it, he gives Belshazzar a little history lesson. Belshazzar wants to know what that says so bad. He just, he can't wait to find out what that inscription means. I mean, you know, it's kind of scary, but maybe, maybe, maybe some God's trying to tell me that we're going to win a smashing victory against the Medo Persian empire. So come on, Daniel, what do you got for me? And Daniel says, okay. The most high God, that's the one that's above you. Granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar, your father. The greatness of your grandfather's kingdom was simply bestowed upon him by the God of heaven. The most high God who is actually the ruler of all of the earth. And Belshazzar, let me remind you of something else. Not only has the God of heaven granted to your grandfather his glory and majesty, but I would also remind you that he had what seemed to him to be absolute power, absolute sovereignty. Whoever he wanted to die, died. Whoever he wanted to spare, was spared. Whoever he wanted to elevate, was elevated. Whoever he wanted to exile, was exiled. I mean, this guy had all of the power, but I will tell you, fundamental problem with your grandfather. Remember, he's talking to the king. The fundamental problem with Nebuchadnezzar is that his heart was actually lifted up and he became proud and arrogant. What doesn't he need to say at this point? You are worse than him. Your arrogance, your pride is beyond Nebuchadnezzar. And so let me tell you what God did to your grandfather, just in case you forgot. I imagine every year at Christmas when the Babylonians would gather together, they would talk about, hey, you remember that time, that period where Nebuchadnezzar was out eating grass? I mean, this had become a part of Babylonian folklore. This had become part of their history. And so Daniel says, you need to understand something. There is a God in heaven, and you know what he did to your grandfather because of his pride and his arrogance? He deposed him from his throne, sent him out to live with the wild beasts. He ate grass like an animal, and God absolutely, thoroughly humbled him. Notice this last part of verse 21. He was given grass to eat like cattle and his body was drenched like with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the most high is ruler over the realm of mankind and that he sets over it whomever he wishes. In other words, listen. Belshazzar, God did to your grandfather in his arrogance and pride what he richly deserved. And he did it until he recognized that it is God who alone is God and king and ruler over everything. And he actually learned that lesson. He acknowledged the most high. That his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, that his dominion goes from generation to generation, that he is the ruler over the kings of the earth, that he grants to sovereignty, whomever he wills, and he takes it from whomever he wills. And he's able to humble those who walk in pride. And then Daniel says, verse 22, the indictment. Yet you. His son, Belshazzar. have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. I would remind you once again, the picture in the book of Daniel of that young man standing with boldness before the king, most powerful man on the planet, is absolutely stirring. But it's no less stirring than that 80-year-old man who's standing there, all old and aged and wrinkled and gray, who stands there before this young, arrogant, second-rate ruler and basically tells him, listen, you should have known these things. You saw it. You heard it told. You should have learned the lesson that God so powerfully, dramatically taught your grandfather. But instead, you are actually insulting the very God and treating the very God with contempt who has done this to your grandfather. The magnitude of your arrogance and your insolence is absolutely off the charts. The God who did that to your grandfather is the God that you're mocking. It's the God that you're holding in contempt. It's the God that you're treating with disdain and disrespect as you gather his vessels from what your grandfather took. And you're fooling with these false gods. And they can't save you because they can't see, they can't hear, they can't do anything. The utter folly. You're raising God's sacred vessels, saying to the God of stone, to the God of wood, to the God of gold, to the God of silver. And what you don't realize is that you are actually treating with contempt the very God in whose hand holds your very life and breath. Daniel makes it abundantly clear. You should have known better. You idolater, you blasphemer, you should have known better. And now what do you do? You're calling on gods who are not gods. Because you knew better, you should have been glorifying the God that your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar bowed the knee to. By the way, this week I'm 75, 25 on Nebuchadnezzar's conversion. I wonder what Belshazzar was thinking. We don't see. Daniel didn't just go straight to business. He just goes straight to what he was called in to do. Here's an indictment, conviction. He's brought him up on charges of cosmic treason, boldly, without apology. I wonder what Belshazzar was thinking. He gets to business and he says, this is what the hand that wrote, this is what it, this is what it says. Verse 25, he repeats the first one twice. The name and they tackle Farson. The three words, Manet, tackle and Farson actually are three words that have to do with weights. What Daniel does is he takes those three words that have to do with weights, and we'll explain that in a second, and then he gives a dual interpretation of what each of those weights represent. He identifies, as it were, the play on words that make up the interpretation. Mineh, which is a mina, which is a weight of money, he says it's been counted and it's been paid out. He repeats it twice, counted, counted, paid out, paid out. Tekel, which is an Aramaic term from the word for shekel, weighed out and found light. The last one, what he does, is the reason the word is different, peres, from ufarsin, is because he goes to the singular form from the plural form, but he does it for a reason. Peres is half a mina. It's broken in two. It's a play on words, by the way, because the word actually sounds like Persian. And so notice what the interpretation is. God has numbered your kingdom and he's put an end to it. You've been weighed on the scales, you've been found light. You've been found deficient. Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and the Persians. And there Belshazzar stands, and he does not say, can I get a second opinion on this? One of the conjurers liked to give a commentary on whether they think Daniel's right or not. Daniel's integrity and spiritual power is a testimony to Belshazzar and Belshazzar is absolutely convinced he doesn't ask for a second opinion. And at that point, the party was over. Belshazzar says. Bring in the robe. Bring in the golden necklace. Bring in the scribes so we can make the decree that Daniel's now third in the kingdom. And there, the agent Daniel, like I said, probably 80 years old at this time, stands there, the stoic old wise man and prophet, probably looked with disdain as they hung the golden necklace around his neck and looked with disdain as they hung the purple garments around him and shook his head in disgust when they pronounced that he was third ruler over an absolutely worthless, bankrupt, near-destroyed kingdom. Daniel 5 concludes with two verses. No grand explanations. You might put it this way. It ends in a Joe Friday manner. Just the facts. That night, verse 30, Belshazzar was slain. That very night. And in fact, as I mentioned earlier, Herodotus and Xenophon both mentioned the fact that he was, in fact, killed the very night during a feast. And so that night he heard, he saw the inscription, he heard the word, and that night he died. There was no three days later. There was no week later. There was no a month later. There was no a year later. There was no seven periods for which for him to ponder over what Daniel had said. It was that very night. Reminds us of the rich fool in Luke chapter 12 who thought, I got to store up all my riches. I've got plenty. I've got enough to eat, drink and be married for years and years to come. And God says, you fool this very night, your soul is going to be required of you. Proverbs 6.15, therefore his calamity will come suddenly, instantly he will be broken. There will be no healing. Proverbs 29.1, a man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy. That was Belshazzar. Let me just put this in your mind for a second. It looks like, comparing Daniel 1-4 to Daniel 5, that Nebuchadnezzar got a lot more chances than Belshazzar got. It looks like from the first four chapters that, that, that, that Nebuchadnezzar actually had a lot more direct dealing with the living God and God did him good. Belshazzar has this inscription and then verse 31 just says a new King came on the scene. He was 62 years old. His name was Darius to me, by the way. 150 years before this event, Isaiah says, thus says the Lord to Cyrus, his anointed, whom I've taken by the hand to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings, to open doors before him so that no gates will be shut." King Cyrus would become the ruler. Next week, we'll look at who Darius is and whether Darius is actually Cyrus or not. But 150 years before the event, God actually told his people, There would be a ruler named Cyrus who would govern. And it would be Cyrus, by the way, who would issue the decree that would allow the Jews to return to their homeland and to rebuild the wall in the temple. The story of Belshazzar should get our attention. It should get our attention for a very simple reason. He didn't get the same kind of opportunities that Nebuchadnezzar received. He didn't get as many chances as Nebuchadnezzar had received. Which, by the way, underscores this very simple reality that every single one of us needs to come to grips with, and that is the God of heaven owes none of us anything. He shows mercy on whom he shows mercy. He hardens whom he hardens. He did not treat Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar in equal ways. But what he did do, is that he gave Belshazzar an example and a testimony by Nebuchadnezzar, his grandfather, all of his life. Listen carefully. Belshazzar may not have had the kind of opportunities, the same kind of opportunities that Nebuchadnezzar had, the same kind of direct dealings, but what Belshazzar had were the words of his grandfather, the testimony of his grandfather, the example of his grandfather. Who no doubt told him about Daniel's God. And who no doubt told him about Daniel's God's dealings with him and how he came to acknowledge that he alone is the sovereign over all things. And here's what else we need to come to grips with. Nebuchadnezzar's words and testimony to Belshazzar were enough. They were enough. Enough to save him and enough to condemn him. It was enough. At some point, maybe it was this very night, Belshazzar had crossed the line. He had heard and he had seen. Daniel said, you should have known these things. And at some point, like I said, maybe it was even that night of that grand drunken feast, Belshazzar crossed a line. And once he crossed that line, it cost him his life and it cost him his soul. Make no mistake about it. In Daniel chapter five, there is not a single solitary hint that Belshazzar somehow turned to God like there is for Nebuchadnezzar at the end of chapter four. Why should this catch our attention? It's actually quite simple when you think about it. There are people in this little room right here, and you've heard the words and you've heard the testimonies. Maybe you've actually been raised in a Christian home. Maybe you're a young person, maybe you're a full grown adult, but you were raised in a Christian home. You were taught the scriptures. You had Christian parents who gave you an example. And the fact is, is that what God has shown you and what God has taught you is enough. It is enough for you to be a follower of Christ. It is enough for you to have dedicated your life to him, to serve him. It is enough for you to know the living God through his son. It's enough. It's also enough to condemn you. God is not obligated to tell you one more thing. He is not obligated to give you one more example. He's not obligated to give you one more day. He's not even obligated to give you until tonight. He's not even obligated to give you until the end of the service. But blessed be the name of the Lord who is kind and is loving. Kindness is astonishing, and it is his kindness that leads us to repentance. And the fact that you've heard so many times and you're still here. And the fact that you get to hear once again today is a sign of his kindness. But don't despise the kindness of the Lord. You never know, young person, when you actually end up crossing that line over which there is no return. You have to acknowledge God put me in a Christian home. God put me in a home where the Bible was read. God put me in a home where we went to church and heard the Bible preached. God put me in a home where my parents loved Christ. And it's enough. It is enough for you to know Him and to live for Him. And listen carefully, listen carefully. Proverbs chapter one, this is wisdom, and she's shouting in the street. She says, how long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers, how long will you delight yourselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you because I called you and you refused. I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention. You neglected all my counsel, did not want my reproof. I will laugh at your calamity and I will mock when your dread comes. Do you really want to trifle with the God of heaven? Do you really want to take for granted what he has said to you and what he's done for you? The fact is you never know. When your soul will be required of you and you will be called to give an account and to much who has been given much will be required. You don't know where that line is. Today is the day of salvation. Turn to Christ now before it's too late. Turn to Christ now. Don't even wait for the end of the sermon. Even now cry out to him and he will be a faithful and merciful high priest who will save you. Maybe, maybe you're not a young person. Maybe you're an old person and you've trifled with God your entire life. And you read this and you hear this priest and you realize I've trifled with God. I have actually treated God lightly. I have given lip service, but I've always done my own thing. Listen up, older person. Even tonight, your soul could be required of you. You may not get three score in 10 and if due to strength, another 10. I would remind all of us that even in our own recent history, just in this area, there have been people who have waked up in the morning and gone to do the things that they would have normally done, gone to a breakfast or gone to an air show, and they didn't come home. None of them didn't plan to not come home. It's just the way things happen in God's world. He governs it and you never know when your last day is. So why in the world trifle with God? Young person, do not tell yourself. For some reason, I think that this is what Belshazzar thought. You know what? I listen to what grandpa's saying, but I'm going to be king someday. And so maybe, you know, maybe when I get older and have my fun, because I mean, how much fun can you have being, you know, a ruler in Babylon? When I'm older, then I will finally turn to God. And then when the day came, he didn't have a heart to turn to God. Young person, do you know what happens when you delay? Every day that you delay to repent and turn to Christ makes it all the harder. You think that you've got life in front of you and you want to live. First of all, you don't know how much life you have in front of you. And secondly, you're just counting on the fact that you're going to have a heart for God. Do you realize that in your sin and perpetual rebellion and unbelief, you could be hardening yourself irreparably beyond the point of faith and repentance? And so Belshazzar stands as a monument in holy scripture that says, listen, God doesn't owe you anything. Whatever he's given to you at this point in life is, is pure grace. And it is enough for you to know him. It's enough for you to turn to him. It's enough for you to follow him. And you never know when you're going to be called to give an account. Do not think that you can just continue living however you please. And then at some point you're just going to turn because it's not going to happen. And so what are you going to do? What are you going to do? There are people in this room who probably lived like Belshazzar and God got their attention by his grace. They bowed the knee to King Jesus and God washed away all of their sins and now they are glad loyal followers of King Jesus and would have it no other way. And I will also tell you young people that there are plenty of adults in this room who will testify to you. I wasted my young years. I wasted my youth. I It was pure dissipation. It was just nothing to me. And as a result, I would give anything to have those years back to serve God with my best years. You will never regret turning to God early. You will never regret turning to God at a young age. You're not missing anything. The devil doesn't have anything to offer you except the fleeting pleasures of sin and an eternity in hell. So why listen to him? Listen to God. Listen to his word that says, if you call upon the name of the Lord, you won't be disappointed. If you call upon the name of the Lord, you will be saved. And so what are you going to do? You can walk out those doors today in one of two conditions. You can walk out of those doors and you can say, you know what? I heard that. I'll think about it. I've got time. Today might be your writing on the wall. And there are others who will say, Lord, I hear you. I hear you clearly. And I trust Christ. I hope that you hear him and that you turn to him. and that you find that there is more in Christ than anything this world has to offer. Let's pray. Father, we believe that you're the God who saves. We pray that you'd be mighty to save today. We pray that you would open blind eyes and enliven dead hearts and grant the precious gifts of repentance and faith. And we pray that you would do it today in a glorious way. May the Lord Jesus look on the travail of his soul and be satisfied. May there be rejoicing in heaven over sinners who repent. Amen.