Music...
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Hello, once again we welcome you
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to our study
through the book of Daniel
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called: Daniel All Access.
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Thank you for taking
time out of your busy schedule
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to meet with us
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as we walk through this
most fascinating of books...
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it's companion book,
the book of Revelation,
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many of the things
that are begun in Daniel
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are concluded in Revelation,
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some of the questions
that are asked in Daniel
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are answered in Revelation
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and the two books go together,
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we're very, very
excited that somewhat later on
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our Pastor and
friend, John Lomacang
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will be walking us
through the book of Revelation
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but for today, we are
studying in the Book of Daniel,
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Daniel All Access
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seeking to ask the
question not only what happened
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but why it happened
and who it happened to
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and what does this
marvelous book of prophecy
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have to say to us,
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we are coming down
to the closing scenes
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of the neo-Babylonian Empire
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and you will note that
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the Lord chose to
spend a little more time
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in Babylon or with Babylon
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than He did some
of the other kingdoms
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until we come to
an interesting beast
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that speaks pompous words.
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Then, the Lord really settles in
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on that
particular power and entity
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but tonight, for
our sitting tonight,
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the title of the
message is: eNIGMa
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and we focus in
on Daniel chapter 5.
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Would you bow
your heads now with me
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as we seek the Lord in prayer.
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"Father God, we do praise you
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and thank you for the
privilege that we have
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of studying your Word.
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When we open your
Word with prayerful hearts,
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there is always a
message that comes to us
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that can inspire,
inform and encourage us
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as we walk the road
that leads to glory.
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We ask, Father, that
you give us your Spirit
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for truly we cannot understand
a word authored by the Spirit,
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unless we are
blessed by that same Spirit.
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We thank you Father for
sitting with us this day
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in Jesus' name, amen. "
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Pause.
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On February 23rd
in the year 1918,
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a German Engineer by the
name of Arthur Scherbius,
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a brilliant man...
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received a patent
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for an electrical
mechanical rotor cipher machine
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it's a lot of words...
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an electrical
mechanical rotor cipher machine
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that was later to
be called: Enigma.
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That is a picture of
one of the early models
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of the Enigma machine.
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There were
larger ones than that...
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that is a portable one
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but the Enigma machine enabled
the German High Command...
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that is... the military-grade
Enigma machines...
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it enabled the German
High Command to communicate
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with the Army, the
Navy, the Air Force,
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the other warring
units of the Third Reich
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without the Allied
forces knowing the content
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of their communication.
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It was an ingenious machine
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and early on, the
Allies put much time and effort
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in trying to decode the Enigma.
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As early as December
1932, a Polish Mathematician
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by the name of Marian
Adam Rejewski... there he is...
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he began working on a
machine to crack the Enigma code
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and that was the big
thing across Europe and America
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all of the Allied Forces were
trying to crack the Enigma Code
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so that they could understand
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what the German
High Command was doing.
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So, Rejewski invested a machine
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that he called:
The Cryptologic Bomb
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that was his
personal name for his machine
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and as the
German Enigma machines
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grew more and more complex,
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the Polish Government
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shared their work
with the French Government
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and the Polish and
French shared their work
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with the British Government
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and it was left to a
British Mathematician
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by the name of Dr.
Alan Mathison Turing
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brilliant Ph. D.
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there was actually a
movie about his work...
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Dr. Turing
worked with a small team
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of brilliant Mathematicians
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and they realized that the
key to cracking the Enigma code
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was not knowing
how to be an engineer,
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but actually, it was
a... a... a construct of math
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and so, Turing and his group
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worked to create an
electro-mechanical machine
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that was an improvement
on the Polish Crypto bomb
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and to create what was
called the Turing Computer
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which is what we call
today "a user-friendly machine"
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that completely cracked
the German Military Enigma Code
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and most scientists or
rather, historians will say
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that it was the
cracking of the Enigma Code
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that really led to the defeat of
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the German
forces in World War 2.
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Dr. Alan Turing's machine
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pause
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was the first
general-purpose computer
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it is why... he
is widely considered
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to be the father of
theoretical computer science.
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Now, this is going
way back to the 1940s.
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His machine was considered the
first general-purpose computer.
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What is so interesting about
the growth of computer science
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there is... there is actually
more computer technology today
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in one of those
little greeting cards
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that you open up
that plays the music
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that has a little
tiny computer chip in it...
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there's more computer in
that little greeting card
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that you buy in the
Pharmacy for maybe five dollars
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than all of the computer science
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that was in Dr.
Turing's first machine.
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Pause.
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Dr. Turing is also
considered the father of A I
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which is
Artificial Intelligence.
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We understand
that the word "Enigma"
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is an obscure
speech or writing...
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something hard to
understand or explain.
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That's Merriam
Webster's definition of Enigma
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and so, it is quite interesting
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that the Hebrew word for the
mysterious and unearthly writing
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that appeared on the wall
of a Babylonian Banquet Hall
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and traced by a bloodless hand,
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the New King James uses a
translation of the Hebrew word
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"Qetar"
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which means to untie a knot
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but it uses the word, "Enigma. "
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So, we're looking at the last
days of the Babylonian Empire.
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There in the midst
of a riotous party,
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a bloodless hand
wrote on the wall
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some words
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that for those who
were watching them...
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they were an enigma.
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Belshazzar was the king,
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he was just hours away
from the end of his life,
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hours away from the end
of the Babylonian Empire,
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just hours away from
the capture of the city
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and just hours away
from his earthly end.
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Pause.
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Daniel now, is
told by Belshazzar,
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"I need you to
unwrap... to decipher...
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to explain this enigma. "
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He didn't know what the
handwriting on the wall meant.
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He knew that it was important
and like Nebuchadnezzar,
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he knew that it was not good
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but he didn't know what it meant
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and so, he turns to his...
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his... confidante Daniel
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just like his father,
Nebuchadnezzar, had done
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exactly 50 years before.
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Now, Daniel was
around a long time
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and the Lord kept him as
a spokesman... a long time
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and so, now the grandson...
a full half century later,
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Daniel is again
called to deliver a message
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which this king knows,
like his grandfather knew,
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cannot be good.
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He's called to decipher
the message on the wall.
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Nebuchadnezzar was
troubled by both of his dreams.
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Belshazzar was
terrified by this writing.
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Allow me to let Ellen
White and the pen of prophecy
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set the scene.
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Let's go to that banquet hall
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on the last night of
the Babylonian Empire...
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the last night of
King Belshazzar's life.
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The last night of this fabulous
city some 2,300 years ago.
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Pause.
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It is 539 B.C.E.
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and let's look at a
couple of paragraphs
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from the book,
Prophets and Kings, page 523.
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Again, Ellen White fills
in the Biblical narrative
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and lets us know
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what is going on
behind the scenes,
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she gives us... all access.
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We read, "Little
did Belshazzar think
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that there was
a heavenly Witness
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to his idolatrous revelry... "
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you know, there's always
someone who sees and who knows.
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In the darkest of days, you
can go down to the basement,
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you can hide up in the attic,
but you cannot hide from God.
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There's always somebody
who knows that's going on.
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You think you're alone,
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you think you're
getting away with it,
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but there's always
somebody who sees and who knows.
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and so, there was a witness
to this idolatrous revelry;
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that a divine
Watcher, unrecognized,
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looked upon the
scene of profanation,
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heard the sacrilegious
mirth, beheld the idolatry. "
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You know, God is...
God is taking notes...
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God... you know... what is it?
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Galatians chapter 6 verse 7,
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"Be not deceived;
God is not mocked:
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whatsoever a man
sows, that shall he also...
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that shall he also reap. "
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God knows and God sees.
00:12:33.18\00:12:35.12
"But soon the uninvited
Guest made His presence felt.
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When the revelry
was at its height
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a bloodless hand came forth
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and traced upon
the walls of the palace
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characters that
gleamed like fire... "
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you know, they
must have been scared...
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"words which, though
unknown to the vast throng,
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were a portent of doom to
the now conscience-stricken king
00:13:02.41\00:13:10.62
and his guests. "
00:13:10.65\00:13:12.52
You got over a 1,000 people,
00:13:12.55\00:13:13.89
everybody's
drinking, everybody's partying,
00:13:13.92\00:13:16.06
and all of a sudden, on
the wall... a hand appears
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and the hand begins to write
00:13:19.83\00:13:22.53
and the hand begins to write in
words that are glowing like fire
00:13:22.56\00:13:26.97
you don't know what it means,
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you don't know what it's saying,
00:13:29.10\00:13:30.94
but you know it can't be good.
00:13:30.97\00:13:32.77
So, a minute ago,
they were partying,
00:13:32.81\00:13:37.08
now, everyone is quiet
and everyone is scared.
00:13:37.11\00:13:41.58
Pause.
00:13:41.62\00:13:43.99
"Hushed was the
boisterous mirth,
00:13:44.02\00:13:46.76
while men and women
seized with a nameless terror,
00:13:46.82\00:13:52.23
watched the hand slowly tracing
00:13:52.26\00:13:54.90
the mysterious characters. "
00:13:54.93\00:13:57.13
That would have scared me.
00:13:57.17\00:13:59.30
Pause.
00:13:59.33\00:14:01.40
"Before them passed,
as in panoramic view,
00:14:01.44\00:14:05.64
the deeds of their evil lives. "
00:14:05.67\00:14:08.78
Have mercy.
00:14:08.81\00:14:10.35
You're staring at
something on the wall,
00:14:10.41\00:14:12.38
and you're
looking at your own life
00:14:12.41\00:14:14.48
and you know those words
are not a party greeting,
00:14:14.52\00:14:19.72
there's something
really bad about to happen.
00:14:19.75\00:14:22.06
"They seemed to be arraigned
00:14:22.09\00:14:24.66
before the judgment
bar of the eternal God,
00:14:24.69\00:14:27.53
whose power
they had just denied.
00:14:27.56\00:14:30.87
Where but a few moments before
00:14:30.90\00:14:34.14
had been hilarity and
blasphemous witticism,
00:14:34.17\00:14:38.64
were pallid faces
and cries of fear. "
00:14:38.67\00:14:43.08
You see, "when
God makes men fear,
00:14:43.11\00:14:47.45
they cannot hide the
intensity of their terror. "
00:14:47.52\00:14:52.42
Amen.
00:14:52.45\00:14:53.79
The Bible says, "Be sure
your sins will find you out"
00:14:53.82\00:14:56.99
and when God
calls you into judgment,
00:14:57.03\00:15:00.10
you can't pretend to
be cool and dispassionate
00:15:00.13\00:15:03.03
because God is reading
what's going on in your heart
00:15:03.06\00:15:05.97
and God knows what's
going on in your heart
00:15:06.00\00:15:08.94
and what's worse, when
God calls you to judgment,
00:15:08.97\00:15:12.41
you know that God knows
00:15:12.44\00:15:15.08
and as she said
in that final line,
00:15:15.11\00:15:17.61
"When God makes men fear,
00:15:17.65\00:15:19.65
they cannot hide the
intensity of their terror. "
00:15:19.68\00:15:25.75
Pause.
00:15:25.82\00:15:27.76
So, Belshazzar the king
00:15:27.82\00:15:32.03
was the most terrified of all. "
00:15:32.06\00:15:35.16
And isn't it interesting
as you read this chapter,
00:15:35.20\00:15:37.53
we don't even get
introduced to Belshazzar
00:15:37.57\00:15:40.10
till the very last
24 hours of his life.
00:15:40.14\00:15:42.30
Did you notice that?
00:15:42.34\00:15:43.67
We don't get a lot of
history on Belshazzar,
00:15:43.71\00:15:46.74
we don't get a lot of
study into his mindset
00:15:46.78\00:15:49.94
like we do with Nebuchadnezzar
00:15:49.98\00:15:51.68
we kind of come upon Belshazzar
00:15:51.71\00:15:53.35
just as he's
about ready to sign off
00:15:53.38\00:15:55.32
and just about... as the
kingdom is ready to close,
00:15:55.35\00:15:59.19
that's when we
meet this last king.
00:15:59.22\00:16:02.32
So, let's retrace
now the footprints
00:16:02.36\00:16:05.43
of chapter 5 of Daniel
00:16:05.46\00:16:07.26
and begin at the end
of Belshazzar's reign.
00:16:07.30\00:16:11.57
The fact that he reigned
00:16:11.60\00:16:14.80
and the Bible has
absolutely very little...
00:16:14.84\00:16:19.81
almost nothing to say
about his life and kingship
00:16:19.87\00:16:22.98
and as I said, we
don't even meet him
00:16:23.01\00:16:25.51
till the last day of his life.
00:16:25.55\00:16:27.22
There's a
spiritual reason for that.
00:16:27.25\00:16:30.62
Why is he this
spiritual persona non grata?
00:16:30.65\00:16:34.12
You don't get a lot of
history about Belshazzar.
00:16:34.16\00:16:36.66
During the last
ten years of his reign,
00:16:36.69\00:16:40.43
he co-reigned with Nabonidus...
that's his father...
00:16:40.46\00:16:44.33
Nebuchadnezzar's son
00:16:44.37\00:16:45.80
and he was such a
historical non-entity
00:16:45.83\00:16:50.34
that most historians
outside of the Bible,
00:16:50.37\00:16:54.88
don't even mention Belshazzar.
00:16:54.91\00:16:57.41
It is Hebrew
scholars and Hebrew tradition
00:16:57.45\00:17:00.98
and Hebrew works
that point him out
00:17:01.02\00:17:03.65
but outside of that,
he's not mentioned too much
00:17:03.69\00:17:06.25
in... in historical literature.
00:17:06.29\00:17:08.69
Pause.
00:17:08.72\00:17:10.66
Some scholars didn't
even believe he existed
00:17:10.69\00:17:13.73
but his name was found
00:17:13.76\00:17:16.20
and though he is
relatively obscure,
00:17:16.23\00:17:19.17
he did reign for
a while as co-regent
00:17:19.20\00:17:22.14
with his father, Nabonidus.
00:17:22.17\00:17:25.37
Only fairly recent
discoveries in Babylonian text
00:17:25.41\00:17:30.98
mention Belshazzar
00:17:31.01\00:17:32.68
and they began to sort of
clear away the... the fog.
00:17:32.71\00:17:37.02
So, the Bible
says... he held a great feast
00:17:37.05\00:17:41.29
for 1,000 of his nobles.
00:17:41.32\00:17:43.96
This is a large party.
00:17:43.99\00:17:46.56
The Bible tells us that
this was a... a big deal.
00:17:46.59\00:17:51.57
Now, I want to go
to an Access Point.
00:17:51.60\00:17:54.04
Pause.
00:17:54.07\00:17:55.70
Why would
Belshazzar hold a feast
00:17:55.74\00:18:00.21
on the eve of his destruction?
00:18:00.28\00:18:03.55
Why would he hold a feast?
00:18:03.61\00:18:06.82
The Medo-Persian army
was outside of the gates.
00:18:06.85\00:18:11.15
You're getting
ready to be attacked,
00:18:11.19\00:18:15.06
This is no time to hold a feast.
00:18:15.09\00:18:17.63
This is the time to get serious.
00:18:17.66\00:18:21.63
So, why would he hold a feast
00:18:21.66\00:18:25.57
at this time in the
history of his country?
00:18:25.60\00:18:28.67
Well, I put some
possible reasons down
00:18:28.70\00:18:32.74
in this Access Point.
00:18:32.77\00:18:35.48
One: Let's look at
the dimensions of the wall
00:18:35.51\00:18:39.61
of Babylon,
00:18:39.68\00:18:41.02
now, I had to
check my figures on this
00:18:41.05\00:18:42.38
because this is really quite
something for an ancient city.
00:18:42.42\00:18:44.29
We find that the wall of Babylon
00:18:44.32\00:18:46.86
was 14 miles on each side.
00:18:46.89\00:18:49.19
14 miles on a side
so that's 4 times 14.
00:18:49.22\00:18:53.16
This is a large city
surrounded by a wall...
00:18:53.19\00:18:57.10
56 miles in total
00:18:57.13\00:18:59.03
so, if you wanted
to start at one corner
00:18:59.07\00:19:01.07
and walk around
the city of Babylon,
00:19:01.10\00:19:03.30
you got a 56-mile
trek in front of you.
00:19:03.34\00:19:05.47
So, it's a big city
00:19:05.51\00:19:07.78
for ancient...
ancient... ancient times.
00:19:07.81\00:19:11.48
Now, this figure I
had to check several times
00:19:11.51\00:19:14.48
and several sources
00:19:14.52\00:19:15.85
because it
seemed just unreal to me
00:19:15.88\00:19:17.45
but in all of the sources that
I checked, including Herodotus
00:19:17.49\00:19:21.72
who is a great... the
ancient Greek Scholar,
00:19:21.76\00:19:26.19
Herodotus says, the
walls were 300 feet high.
00:19:26.23\00:19:29.66
Now, I checked that
again because I said,
00:19:29.70\00:19:33.10
"Maybe there's a typo"
00:19:33.13\00:19:34.47
300 feet high
00:19:34.50\00:19:37.21
300 feet is the height
00:19:37.24\00:19:40.48
of a 30-story building.
00:19:40.51\00:19:43.65
It seems almost impossible,
so I checked it again,
00:19:43.68\00:19:47.15
and I checked it again
00:19:47.18\00:19:48.55
and I checked it again...
00:19:48.58\00:19:49.92
and almost all
of the sources agree
00:19:49.95\00:19:52.55
the walls were 300 feet high,
00:19:52.59\00:19:56.96
not 30 feet
high... not 3 feet high...
00:19:56.99\00:19:59.86
300 feet high.
00:19:59.89\00:20:02.46
That's stacking
the Statue of Liberty
00:20:02.50\00:20:04.13
on top of itself, three times.
00:20:04.17\00:20:06.37
Pause.
00:20:06.40\00:20:08.07
300 feet high...
00:20:08.10\00:20:10.91
25 feet thick...
00:20:10.94\00:20:13.07
that's 25 feet thick...
00:20:13.11\00:20:16.51
The ancient historians
say that the walls of Babylon
00:20:16.54\00:20:20.52
were thick enough for four
chariots to pass each other
00:20:20.55\00:20:24.35
in opposite directions.
00:20:24.39\00:20:26.49
That's a 25-thick wall...
00:20:26.55\00:20:28.62
25-feet thick wall...
00:20:28.66\00:20:30.63
Again, we get that from history,
00:20:30.66\00:20:35.23
Herodotus, I checked,
says they were 80-feet thick
00:20:35.26\00:20:38.83
so, the numbers
don't get smaller
00:20:38.87\00:20:40.20
they get bigger.
00:20:40.24\00:20:41.57
Suffice it to say,
"tall wall... thick wall... "
00:20:41.60\00:20:44.81
pause
00:20:44.84\00:20:47.11
some archeologist say that
the foundations of the wall
00:20:47.14\00:20:52.38
extended 35
feet into the ground.
00:20:52.41\00:20:55.65
So, you're looking at
an imposing structure,
00:20:55.68\00:20:59.72
a massive structure,
00:20:59.75\00:21:01.52
just look at the numbers...
00:21:01.56\00:21:02.89
Pause.
00:21:02.92\00:21:05.46
300 feet high...
00:21:05.49\00:21:06.90
foundation is 35
feet in the ground
00:21:06.93\00:21:10.57
I suspect... if
those numbers are true,
00:21:10.60\00:21:14.17
that Belshazzar trusted,
pretty much, in that wall.
00:21:14.20\00:21:17.67
Wouldn't you?
00:21:17.71\00:21:19.04
You got a 300-feet-high wall
00:21:19.07\00:21:21.34
35 feet... they
can't go over it...
00:21:21.38\00:21:23.71
it's 35 feet into the ground...
they can't go under it,
00:21:23.75\00:21:27.65
it's 25 feet thick,
they can't go through it,
00:21:27.68\00:21:31.29
so, he sees himself
as being fairly secure
00:21:31.35\00:21:34.92
in the boundaries of this wall
00:21:34.96\00:21:37.39
that is 56 miles
around all four sides.
00:21:37.43\00:21:41.13
Pause.
00:21:41.16\00:21:43.26
Someone had to know
that the army was outside.
00:21:43.33\00:21:47.50
Someone had to know
that they were under siege
00:21:47.54\00:21:51.67
but evidently,
00:21:51.71\00:21:53.88
Belshazzar trusted
enough in his architecture
00:21:53.91\00:21:58.15
that he didn't feel
00:21:58.18\00:22:00.15
that he was in
any particular danger.
00:22:00.18\00:22:02.02
The second reason that he
may have chosen to throw a...
00:22:02.05\00:22:07.02
a party... to have a ball...
00:22:07.06\00:22:09.22
to have a feast on
that particular night,
00:22:09.26\00:22:11.09
it may have been
for moral purposes
00:22:11.13\00:22:13.46
or morale purposes...
00:22:13.50\00:22:15.76
You know, you've
got an army outside
00:22:15.80\00:22:18.03
you're under siege,
00:22:18.07\00:22:19.57
that may be the best time to
try to encourage your troops,
00:22:19.60\00:22:22.90
to try to encourage your nobles,
00:22:22.94\00:22:24.61
to try to encourage your lords,
00:22:24.64\00:22:26.27
by throwing a party.
00:22:26.34\00:22:27.68
So, a 1,000 of
them come together,
00:22:27.71\00:22:29.94
they are secured
behind their wall,
00:22:29.98\00:22:32.41
it is an ideal time for them
00:22:32.45\00:22:35.08
because they
don't fear an attack,
00:22:35.15\00:22:37.42
your citizens, your
satraps, your nobles,
00:22:37.45\00:22:40.96
rather than to let
them get shook up...
00:22:40.99\00:22:44.49
keep them calm...
00:22:44.53\00:22:45.86
throw them a party.
00:22:45.89\00:22:47.23
Now, historians and
archaeological scholars agree
00:22:47.26\00:22:52.03
that Cyrus gained
access to the city
00:22:52.07\00:22:56.57
not by going over...
00:22:56.60\00:22:58.87
but by going under.
00:22:58.91\00:23:01.08
Pause.
00:23:01.11\00:23:03.51
The Tigris river... or
rather, Euphrates river
00:23:03.55\00:23:07.05
was diverted... sometime ago
when the Assyrians were there
00:23:07.08\00:23:13.32
they had built a
lake that had dried up
00:23:13.46\00:23:15.59
and most scholars agree
00:23:15.62\00:23:18.13
that Cyrus discovered
this engineering feat,
00:23:18.19\00:23:21.86
and simply dug a
fairly innocuous channel
00:23:21.90\00:23:25.53
to drain that water
into that pre-existing lake
00:23:25.57\00:23:28.47
and on that night,
00:23:28.50\00:23:31.04
something very,
very tragic happened.
00:23:31.07\00:23:36.78
The river was diverted
00:23:36.81\00:23:39.85
and...
00:23:39.88\00:23:42.38
what is
interesting to me is that
00:23:42.45\00:23:47.26
this... this engineering feat
00:23:47.29\00:23:51.09
wasn't a one-day feat,
00:23:51.13\00:23:53.63
wasn't a one-week feat,
00:23:53.66\00:23:56.06
that Medo-Persian army had
to be out there for a while
00:23:56.10\00:24:00.70
and somebody had to know
00:24:00.74\00:24:03.74
that that army was
out there for a while
00:24:03.77\00:24:08.28
and yet, Belshazzar
chooses to have a feast.
00:24:08.31\00:24:13.08
This cavalier
attitude in the face of danger.
00:24:13.11\00:24:17.82
His wives, his
concubines, his generals,
00:24:17.85\00:24:22.62
his lords, they're all there...
00:24:22.66\00:24:26.63
the wine is flowing...
00:24:26.66\00:24:28.36
the music is playing...
00:24:28.40\00:24:30.03
and nobody is aware of...
00:24:30.07\00:24:32.57
or cares about
what's going on outside.
00:24:32.60\00:24:36.04
So, you see the
reason, number 2,
00:24:36.07\00:24:38.37
it's a morale booster...
00:24:38.41\00:24:39.74
he's trying to keep
the troop's morale up
00:24:39.77\00:24:42.64
in the face of impending danger.
00:24:42.68\00:24:44.58
I'm in Prophets
and Kings, page 523...
00:24:44.61\00:24:48.45
look at Ellen
White's words here.
00:24:48.48\00:24:49.82
"With reason dethroned
through shameless intoxication,
00:24:49.85\00:24:55.46
and with the lower
impulses and passions
00:24:55.49\00:24:59.89
now in the ascendency
00:24:59.93\00:25:02.00
the king himself took the lead
00:25:02.06\00:25:05.43
in this riotous orgy. "
00:25:05.47\00:25:08.44
So, this is a bad time,
00:25:08.47\00:25:10.77
God is being blasphemed,
00:25:10.81\00:25:12.81
things are not going well
00:25:12.84\00:25:14.78
and they're throwing caution
to the wind... as it were,
00:25:14.81\00:25:18.61
the king himself taking the lead
00:25:18.65\00:25:21.85
in what Ellen
White calls, "an orgy"
00:25:21.88\00:25:25.09
Belshazzar is inebriated,
00:25:25.12\00:25:28.02
he is arrogant,
00:25:28.06\00:25:29.49
he sends now for
the temple vessels.
00:25:29.52\00:25:31.73
You know, it's
so interesting to me
00:25:31.76\00:25:34.00
that when people
get full of liquor,
00:25:34.03\00:25:36.23
they kind of get a false bravado
00:25:36.26\00:25:38.63
you do things under
the influence of alcohol
00:25:38.67\00:25:41.70
that you would not do otherwise,
00:25:41.74\00:25:43.27
your brain exits your skull
00:25:43.30\00:25:46.64
and you begin to think really,
dare I say, dumb thoughts
00:25:46.68\00:25:52.01
and you do dumb things.
00:25:52.05\00:25:55.12
We used to have a friend...
he was a friend of my mom's
00:25:55.15\00:26:00.76
my mother and her best
friend worked in a hospital
00:26:00.79\00:26:04.49
and her brother
was a Catholic Priest
00:26:04.56\00:26:05.99
and, bless his heart,
00:26:06.03\00:26:08.96
that was the
fellow who liked alcohol
00:26:09.00\00:26:11.93
and when he imbibed alcohol,
his personality totally changed.
00:26:12.00\00:26:18.41
The Bible is wise when it
says, "Stay away from liquor"
00:26:18.47\00:26:22.28
nothing they can do to help you,
00:26:22.31\00:26:24.21
nothing they can do to aid you
00:26:24.25\00:26:26.05
and I think there is a
spirit that comes into your...
00:26:26.08\00:26:30.12
your... your
mind... your heart...
00:26:30.15\00:26:31.95
more than the spirits
when you imbibed alcohol
00:26:31.99\00:26:36.29
and so, reason is dethroned.
00:26:36.32\00:26:39.19
They are intoxicated,
they're not thinking
00:26:39.23\00:26:43.93
and Belshazzar
says, "You know what?
00:26:43.97\00:26:46.40
Let's... let's go and get
those... those holy vessels...
00:26:46.43\00:26:51.11
those cups... those
bowls... those plates...
00:26:51.14\00:26:53.81
that my grandfather
brought from Israel. "
00:26:53.84\00:26:56.38
Now, they've got
cups and bowls and plates,
00:26:56.44\00:26:58.91
they don't need to get
God's cups and bowls and plates
00:26:58.95\00:27:01.68
but that's what... that's
what liquor will do to you,
00:27:01.75\00:27:04.45
it will... it will
separate you from reason
00:27:04.49\00:27:09.52
pause
00:27:09.56\00:27:12.56
and so, the nobles
drank from the sacred vessels
00:27:12.59\00:27:16.33
and the princess drank
from the sacred vessels
00:27:16.36\00:27:20.10
and the wives...
and the concubines
00:27:20.14\00:27:22.90
drank from the sacred vessels
00:27:22.97\00:27:24.71
and Ellen White says,
00:27:24.74\00:27:26.07
"... they drank wine
and praised the gods of gold
00:27:26.11\00:27:29.44
and silver and
brass and iron and wood,
00:27:29.48\00:27:33.38
they defamed and profaned
the word and the name of God. "
00:27:33.42\00:27:40.32
Now, you know,
Brothers and Sisters,
00:27:40.36\00:27:42.09
here's a lesson for us today.
00:27:42.12\00:27:44.66
The Bible says... God
is a patient God, amen...
00:27:44.69\00:27:49.10
that's why we're not consumed,
00:27:49.13\00:27:50.83
we ought to thank the Lord
that we serve a patient God
00:27:50.87\00:27:53.10
but you never know when God...
00:27:53.13\00:27:56.14
can I say...
has it up to here...
00:27:56.17\00:27:59.17
you know what I mean?
00:27:59.21\00:28:00.71
You never know when
God... because God will forgive
00:28:00.74\00:28:05.41
and forgive and
forgive and forgive and forgive
00:28:05.45\00:28:10.09
but the Bible says,
00:28:10.12\00:28:12.62
"My spirit will not
always strive with mankind"
00:28:12.65\00:28:16.93
and it says it very
early in the Word of God.
00:28:16.96\00:28:21.20
Pause.
00:28:21.23\00:28:24.30
God took a lot of
time with Nebuchadnezzar
00:28:24.33\00:28:26.40
and when we closed out
the scene with Nebuchadnezzar,
00:28:26.43\00:28:30.77
we discovered... that
Nebuchadnezzar was a saved man,
00:28:30.81\00:28:34.61
amen.
00:28:34.64\00:28:35.98
Yeah, Nebuchadnezzar's saved...
00:28:36.01\00:28:37.81
his name is written
in the book of Life.
00:28:37.85\00:28:39.31
When... when the
righteous come up,
00:28:39.35\00:28:41.18
Nebuchadnezzar is coming
up with the righteous, amen.
00:28:41.22\00:28:46.59
Pause.
00:28:46.62\00:28:48.32
It was a hard
battle... but the Lord got him.
00:28:48.36\00:28:50.73
That's why, I'm so glad that
00:28:50.76\00:28:53.40
we have that because my
dad fell into that category.
00:28:53.43\00:29:00.04
Hard battle...
00:29:00.07\00:29:01.40
but the Lord got him,
00:29:01.44\00:29:03.57
amen... the Lord got him
00:29:03.61\00:29:05.47
but Belshazzar, for
reasons known only to God,
00:29:05.51\00:29:12.48
the fuse is a lot shorter...
00:29:12.51\00:29:14.88
the string is a lot
shorter on Belshazzar
00:29:14.92\00:29:16.82
and I think I know why,
00:29:16.85\00:29:18.19
I'm going to show
you in just a little bit.
00:29:18.22\00:29:19.55
Suffice it to
say, long or short...
00:29:19.59\00:29:21.92
God doeth all things well, amen
00:29:21.99\00:29:24.29
and everybody
gets an opportunity
00:29:24.33\00:29:26.39
to accept Him or reject Him.
00:29:26.46\00:29:29.76
Now, Belshazzar was a bad king
00:29:29.80\00:29:33.07
and a bad person
before this night.
00:29:33.10\00:29:36.04
Pause.
00:29:36.07\00:29:37.74
If he wasn't... this
night would have never happened.
00:29:37.77\00:29:40.88
So, we get to meet him
and get to understand him
00:29:40.91\00:29:45.05
on the last night of his life
00:29:45.08\00:29:47.65
but, make no mistake,
00:29:47.68\00:29:50.95
this is a pattern in his life
00:29:50.99\00:29:53.96
and we're going to see
this in just a little bit.
00:29:53.99\00:29:55.69
This is a
pattern in... in his life
00:29:55.72\00:29:57.79
so this is the
last night of his life
00:29:57.83\00:30:00.63
and instead of
circumspect behavior,
00:30:00.70\00:30:03.47
he throws a party
00:30:03.50\00:30:04.93
and then he
wants to flaunt himself
00:30:04.97\00:30:07.44
in the face of God by
drinking out of vessels
00:30:07.50\00:30:10.71
that he had to send
for, they were not there...
00:30:10.74\00:30:13.17
he said, "Go and get them
00:30:13.24\00:30:14.58
so that we may drink from them
00:30:14.61\00:30:16.64
and defame the face of God. "
00:30:16.68\00:30:20.32
How sad... how very, very sad.
00:30:20.35\00:30:23.99
Pause.
00:30:24.02\00:30:28.16
You know, I think of this,
this reminds me of Sennacherib
00:30:28.19\00:30:30.69
some 700 years before.
00:30:30.73\00:30:32.06
Pause.
00:30:32.09\00:30:34.63
This idea that kings feel
that they can flaunt themselves
00:30:34.66\00:30:37.73
in the face of a loving God
00:30:37.80\00:30:39.87
and presume on the grace of God.
00:30:39.93\00:30:43.64
Pause.
00:30:43.71\00:30:45.64
So now, the God who
had been there all night,
00:30:45.67\00:30:50.11
chooses to introduce Himself.
00:30:50.15\00:30:54.02
God had been watching
00:30:54.08\00:30:56.22
a holy Watcher had
been watching and listening
00:30:56.28\00:30:59.15
all night long
00:30:59.22\00:31:01.09
and a bloodless hand appears
and begins to write on the wall.
00:31:01.12\00:31:08.63
What did he see?
00:31:08.66\00:31:11.17
He saw: MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN
00:31:11.23\00:31:18.24
these words were
actually written in Aramaic.
00:31:18.27\00:31:21.41
Remember, I told
the first night that...
00:31:21.44\00:31:24.55
that Daniel is this sandwich
00:31:24.58\00:31:26.88
you've got
Hebrew at the beginning,
00:31:26.92\00:31:29.55
you've got Aramaic...
veggie patty in the middle
00:31:29.58\00:31:33.59
and then you've got
Hebrew at the back end
00:31:33.62\00:31:35.29
so we're still in
the Aramaic section
00:31:35.32\00:31:37.09
and these words are in Aramaic
00:31:37.13\00:31:40.73
but Aramaic is close
enough to Babylonian,
00:31:40.76\00:31:43.87
the scholars say,
00:31:43.90\00:31:45.23
that they should have
been able to understand it
00:31:45.27\00:31:48.97
had God wanted
them to understand it.
00:31:49.00\00:31:52.14
What God was sending
to them was a riddle,
00:31:52.17\00:31:55.54
it was a riddle
00:31:55.61\00:31:57.45
and it took Daniel
to decipher the riddle.
00:31:57.48\00:32:02.78
Pause.
00:32:02.82\00:32:05.15
The words refer to
weights and measures.
00:32:05.19\00:32:10.79
Here's the
riddle, it is an Enigma.
00:32:10.83\00:32:16.60
Mina or Mene,
Mena Tekel or Shekel,
00:32:16.63\00:32:22.37
Upharsin
00:32:22.40\00:32:24.11
so, here's the riddle,
let's unpack the riddle.
00:32:24.14\00:32:26.47
Mene, Mene, Shekel or Tekel
00:32:26.51\00:32:31.28
or Mina Mina Shekel...
00:32:31.31\00:32:34.15
a Mina or a Mena is 50 Shekels
00:32:34.18\00:32:39.25
so this is a riddle
that God is giving to them.
00:32:39.32\00:32:42.42
Pause.
00:32:42.46\00:32:43.89
Mena, Mena... 50 Shekels
00:32:43.93\00:32:46.43
a "Mina" or a "Mene"
is a weight of currency
00:32:46.46\00:32:53.27
but it's also a
measure of money.
00:32:53.30\00:32:56.04
So, Mena, Mena is
currency currency weight weight
00:32:56.07\00:33:02.64
or money money cash cash
00:33:02.68\00:33:07.02
so, a Mina is a unit of
weight and a unit of currency
00:33:07.05\00:33:13.82
as is a Shekel.
00:33:13.86\00:33:15.72
A Shekel is a weight,
it's also a piece of money.
00:33:15.76\00:33:20.03
So, God is saying
something in riddle
00:33:20.10\00:33:23.06
that they would
have never understood.
00:33:23.10\00:33:26.80
God is saying,
"When it comes to weight,
00:33:26.84\00:33:30.51
you are light. "
00:33:30.57\00:33:33.31
In other words, "you
don't have enough weight
00:33:33.34\00:33:36.54
and when it comes to
money, you are short. "
00:33:36.58\00:33:39.61
Amen.
00:33:39.65\00:33:41.12
That's what God is saying,
"Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin"
00:33:41.15\00:33:46.02
Mina, Mina, Shekel, Upharsin.
00:33:46.05\00:33:49.46
So, you don't have enough money
to buy your way out of this,
00:33:49.49\00:33:54.33
and you don't have enough weight
00:33:54.36\00:33:56.60
to get your way out of this,
00:33:56.63\00:33:58.27
you are weighed in the balance
and you're coming up short.
00:33:58.33\00:34:02.90
You follow?
00:34:02.97\00:34:04.31
That's what God is saying.
00:34:04.34\00:34:05.67
Mene, Mene, Tekel...
00:34:05.71\00:34:07.58
Mina, Mina, Shekel, Upharsin.
00:34:07.61\00:34:11.05
When it comes to
currency, you are short.
00:34:11.08\00:34:14.78
Peres: is a word
that was inserted in there
00:34:14.85\00:34:18.52
that means, to pull apart...
00:34:18.55\00:34:20.86
to separate...
00:34:20.89\00:34:22.22
and Upharsin... comes
from the same root as Peres,
00:34:22.26\00:34:27.90
it means to pull apart.
00:34:27.93\00:34:30.00
So, here's the riddle.
00:34:30.03\00:34:32.00
Mena, Mena, Tekel, Upharsin
00:34:32.03\00:34:35.60
Mina, Mina,
Shekel... separated...
00:34:35.64\00:34:38.84
God was saying that
night, on that wall,
00:34:38.87\00:34:42.28
"I've weighed you,
I've looked at your kingdom,
00:34:42.31\00:34:46.58
I've looked at you
for the last ten years
00:34:46.61\00:34:50.05
and tonight, I've decided
00:34:50.09\00:34:53.49
you're a little
light in currency
00:34:53.52\00:34:56.59
and a you're
little short in weight
00:34:56.62\00:34:59.59
and the kingdom is going
to be separated from you"
00:34:59.63\00:35:04.43
and so,
Belshazzar calls Daniel in
00:35:04.50\00:35:06.74
and Daniel
delivers the bad news.
00:35:06.77\00:35:09.27
His knees are already
shaking like a little girl,
00:35:09.30\00:35:11.87
he's upset,
00:35:11.91\00:35:13.84
he knows this
news cannot be good
00:35:13.88\00:35:16.18
pause
00:35:16.21\00:35:18.18
and we're looking at
the last several hours
00:35:18.21\00:35:22.72
of this king's life
and this empire's destiny.
00:35:22.78\00:35:27.26
So now, let's...
let's take a moment
00:35:27.29\00:35:29.66
and re-chase
retrace... rather...
00:35:29.69\00:35:32.06
Belshazzar's spiritual legacy
00:35:32.09\00:35:34.60
and there is
much to be learned...
00:35:34.63\00:35:36.97
much indeed to be
learned from his... his legacy.
00:35:37.00\00:35:42.70
Let's go back to
Prophets and Kings
00:35:42.74\00:35:47.71
and I'm in page 523 and 524.
00:35:47.74\00:35:54.05
"Admitted in his youth to a
share of the kingly authority,
00:35:54.08\00:36:00.62
Belshazzar
glorified in his power
00:36:00.66\00:36:04.39
and lifted up his heart
against the God of heaven. "
00:36:04.43\00:36:08.10
Remember, he had been
ruling for ten years...
00:36:08.13\00:36:11.73
from a young man with his dad
00:36:11.77\00:36:14.87
pause
00:36:14.90\00:36:16.84
so he knew what
it was all about.
00:36:16.87\00:36:19.37
He knew what it was to rule,
00:36:19.41\00:36:21.88
he had been
doing this for a while.
00:36:21.91\00:36:24.91
"Many had been his opportunity
to know the divine will
00:36:24.95\00:36:30.82
and to understand
his responsibility
00:36:30.85\00:36:33.39
of rendering
obedience thereto. "
00:36:33.42\00:36:35.72
This is what scares me
00:36:35.76\00:36:38.09
and scares pastors...
00:36:38.13\00:36:40.40
you have people who
attend church every day
00:36:40.43\00:36:44.10
or every week...
00:36:44.13\00:36:45.47
Wednesday night
Prayer Meeting...
00:36:45.50\00:36:47.47
they're in the
presence of... in the face of...
00:36:47.50\00:36:51.11
under the power of God
00:36:51.14\00:36:53.27
and yet, in their
lives, they determine
00:36:53.31\00:36:56.98
that they don't want to fully
surrender themselves to Him,
00:36:57.01\00:36:59.71
that... that's what...
00:36:59.75\00:37:01.08
what always gave me
fright when I was pastoring
00:37:01.12\00:37:03.79
that there were people
out there sitting before me
00:37:03.82\00:37:06.52
listening to my words
00:37:06.55\00:37:07.89
and by their
actions they're saying,
00:37:07.92\00:37:10.66
"You know what God,
00:37:10.69\00:37:12.03
I'm only going to
give you this much...
00:37:12.06\00:37:13.73
I'm only going to go this far,
00:37:13.76\00:37:16.23
I'm not going to
surrender everything...
00:37:16.26\00:37:18.53
I'm going to keep
back a little for myself"
00:37:18.57\00:37:20.77
there's a pastor
sitting right there,
00:37:20.80\00:37:22.64
every minister has that fear,
00:37:22.67\00:37:24.97
"Are you going to give it?"
00:37:25.01\00:37:27.21
and as I said the
other day and I want to...
00:37:27.24\00:37:28.61
I want to touch on this again.
00:37:28.64\00:37:29.98
In your life... everybody's
got to ask the question,
00:37:30.05\00:37:33.98
"How much is Jesus worth to me?"
00:37:34.02\00:37:36.99
You got to answer that question.
00:37:37.02\00:37:39.95
Sooner or later... and if
you don't say it in your mouth,
00:37:39.99\00:37:43.49
your actions will
answer that question.
00:37:43.53\00:37:45.59
"How much is Christ worth to me?
00:37:45.63\00:37:48.10
Is he worth everything
or am I going to try...
00:37:48.13\00:37:51.10
am I going to try to
negotiate with Jesus?"
00:37:51.13\00:37:53.77
"Lord, you give me
this, you give me all...
00:37:53.80\00:37:56.40
I'll give you half"
00:37:56.44\00:37:57.77
pause
00:37:57.81\00:38:00.61
so, from early days,
Belshazzar knew who God was
00:38:00.64\00:38:06.38
and he had the
record of his grandfather
00:38:06.41\00:38:10.52
in his life.
00:38:10.55\00:38:12.59
"He had known of his
grandfather's banishment,
00:38:12.62\00:38:17.63
by the decree of God,
00:38:17.69\00:38:19.46
from the society of men;
00:38:19.49\00:38:21.23
and he was familiar with
Nebuchadnezzar's conversion
00:38:21.26\00:38:25.70
and miraculous restoration. "
00:38:25.73\00:38:27.44
He knew the story
00:38:27.47\00:38:29.37
and as I said to you
and I want to repeat...
00:38:29.40\00:38:31.41
one of the most incredible
miracles in the entire Bible...
00:38:31.47\00:38:34.81
seven years...
00:38:34.84\00:38:37.11
out eating grass like an animal,
00:38:37.15\00:38:40.25
no one to take care of
him, no one to bathe him,
00:38:40.28\00:38:43.42
no one to
destroy... uh, disturb him...
00:38:43.45\00:38:46.32
seven years...
00:38:46.35\00:38:47.92
no one comes and
takes the kingdom,
00:38:47.96\00:38:49.82
no one assassinates him,
he's in a weakened condition,
00:38:49.86\00:38:53.53
for seven years,
the miracle took place
00:38:53.56\00:38:57.10
every single day
00:38:57.13\00:38:58.67
and when he came to his senses
00:38:58.73\00:39:02.10
and God brought him back,
00:39:02.14\00:39:03.51
the kingdom was
right there as he left it.
00:39:03.54\00:39:05.87
It's one of the greatest
miracles in the entire Bible
00:39:05.91\00:39:08.41
that God would take
care of Nebuchadnezzar
00:39:08.44\00:39:11.38
for seven years
00:39:11.41\00:39:12.98
when he could not
take care of himself.
00:39:13.01\00:39:14.65
Pause.
00:39:14.68\00:39:16.62
So, Belshazzar had
that understanding.
00:39:16.65\00:39:19.02
He knew that story
00:39:19.05\00:39:20.39
and that story
should have sobered him,
00:39:20.42\00:39:23.83
that's why Ellen White says,
00:39:23.86\00:39:25.69
"If... if... your
spiritual batteries
00:39:25.73\00:39:28.26
are running a
little low, sit down and...
00:39:28.33\00:39:30.80
and muse over the closing
scenes of Christ's history
00:39:30.83\00:39:34.07
it will humble you... but
it will also encourage you. "
00:39:34.10\00:39:37.04
So, Belshazzar had that story
00:39:37.07\00:39:41.58
"but he allowed
the love of pleasure
00:39:41.61\00:39:45.35
and self-glorification
to efface the lessons
00:39:45.41\00:39:49.72
that he should
have never forgotten. "
00:39:49.75\00:39:52.45
You see, there are some
things, Ladies and Gentlemen,
00:39:52.49\00:39:54.39
in this... in this world
the Lord takes you through
00:39:54.42\00:39:56.32
you should never, ever forget,
00:39:56.36\00:39:58.03
you should never forget.
00:39:58.06\00:39:59.96
Sometimes God brings
things into your life
00:40:00.00\00:40:03.23
they are meant to stay
there as an ensign to you.
00:40:03.26\00:40:07.14
1979... I was driving
along the Grand Central Parkway
00:40:07.17\00:40:10.84
in New York City
00:40:10.87\00:40:12.87
just past Shea Stadium
where the New York Mets play
00:40:12.91\00:40:17.58
and heading
through Flushing Park
00:40:17.65\00:40:19.98
and I came across an accident...
00:40:20.02\00:40:21.95
I've told this story many times
00:40:21.98\00:40:23.85
some young people got
drunk... got into a car...
00:40:23.89\00:40:26.22
got the car up to
about 110 miles an hour...
00:40:26.25\00:40:28.66
crossed over onto
one, two, three, four
00:40:28.69\00:40:31.09
lanes of oncoming traffic
00:40:31.13\00:40:33.03
decapitated the
man in the first car,
00:40:33.06\00:40:35.46
and came in to rest on the chest
of the man in the second car,
00:40:35.53\00:40:39.30
and I got out of
my car and I walked...
00:40:39.33\00:40:41.60
and I saw that car
sitting in the chest of that man
00:40:41.67\00:40:45.47
and then I walked around the car
00:40:45.51\00:40:47.08
and there, lying on
the ground in front of me
00:40:47.11\00:40:49.94
was a human
head... lying on the ground
00:40:49.98\00:40:52.51
and I've never
forgotten that to this day,
00:40:52.58\00:40:54.52
never...
00:40:54.55\00:40:56.62
it's like... I can
see it just like that...
00:40:56.65\00:40:58.75
I've never forgotten that
00:40:58.82\00:41:00.16
and there on the
bumper sticker of that car
00:41:00.19\00:41:02.02
on the car... the
bumper of the car...
00:41:02.06\00:41:04.36
was a bumper sticker that said,
00:41:04.39\00:41:05.96
"Get it through
your head, Jesus is dead"
00:41:05.99\00:41:08.50
never forgotten it...
00:41:08.53\00:41:09.86
never...
00:41:09.90\00:41:11.23
I've never forgotten it.
00:41:11.27\00:41:12.67
It's like...
that happened in 19...
00:41:12.70\00:41:15.67
that happened
Mother's Day... 1979
00:41:15.70\00:41:18.64
and I've never forgotten that
00:41:18.67\00:41:20.81
and it has... it
has colored my ministry.
00:41:20.88\00:41:23.65
If someone can
drive an expensive Jaguar
00:41:23.68\00:41:26.41
with a bumper sticker that says,
00:41:26.45\00:41:28.35
"Get it through your
head, Jesus is dead... "
00:41:28.38\00:41:31.45
I've never forgotten that
00:41:31.49\00:41:33.25
ever...
00:41:33.29\00:41:34.62
and it has motivated me
00:41:34.66\00:41:37.96
to preach the
gospel to this very day.
00:41:37.99\00:41:40.06
Now, that man has been
dead lo these many years
00:41:40.10\00:41:43.73
and Jesus is
still very much alive.
00:41:43.77\00:41:46.40
Audience: Amen... amen.
00:41:46.43\00:41:48.34
So, there are some things
that you go through in your life
00:41:48.37\00:41:54.01
some experiences that the Lord
brings you to... and through
00:41:54.04\00:41:58.21
that you should
never, ever forget.
00:41:58.25\00:42:00.45
Never.
00:42:00.48\00:42:01.95
They ought to stay with you
00:42:01.98\00:42:03.55
and they are to motivate
you throughout your life
00:42:03.59\00:42:06.52
and so, one of
Belshazzar's mistakes was...
00:42:06.55\00:42:10.03
he forgot what
Nebuchadnezzar went through
00:42:10.06\00:42:13.50
he let that
memory slip from his mind
00:42:13.53\00:42:16.67
and Ellen White says,
00:42:16.70\00:42:18.13
"Some things should
never, ever be forgotten"
00:42:18.17\00:42:20.24
something you
ought to hold on to
00:42:20.27\00:42:22.37
so "he wasted the opportunities
graciously granted to him
00:42:22.40\00:42:29.14
and neglected to use
the means within his reach
00:42:29.18\00:42:33.01
for becoming more fully
acquainted with truth. "
00:42:33.05\00:42:36.85
You know, here's the truth,
00:42:36.89\00:42:38.99
some people are going to be lost
00:42:39.05\00:42:41.02
not because of what they did
00:42:41.09\00:42:43.02
but because of
what they failed to do.
00:42:43.06\00:42:45.56
Amen.
00:42:45.59\00:42:47.56
You got a Bible sitting on
a coffee table collecting dust
00:42:47.60\00:42:50.70
you ought to open that Book up
00:42:50.73\00:42:53.30
some people are going to be
lost not because of bad deeds,
00:42:53.34\00:42:57.74
not because they
went out and sinned
00:42:57.77\00:42:59.71
or killed somebody or murdered,
00:42:59.74\00:43:01.08
they simply
failed to grow in grace.
00:43:01.11\00:43:04.51
They simply
failed... Ellen White says,
00:43:04.55\00:43:07.88
"When we fail to make use
of God-given opportunities
00:43:07.92\00:43:12.72
for growth... growth...
00:43:12.75\00:43:14.52
heaven calls that
'treason'" Ladies and Gentlemen,
00:43:14.56\00:43:17.19
she said, "You are
committing treason"
00:43:17.23\00:43:19.93
God puts
something in front of you
00:43:20.00\00:43:22.60
that may be unpleasant to you
00:43:22.66\00:43:26.23
because He wants you to grow
00:43:26.27\00:43:29.30
and you say, "I don't want to"
00:43:29.34\00:43:32.37
that's treason...
00:43:32.41\00:43:35.21
but it is also a
failed opportunity for growth.
00:43:35.24\00:43:39.11
Go next door and do
something nice for your neighbor
00:43:39.15\00:43:43.39
well, "I don't like
them and they don't like me,
00:43:43.42\00:43:47.62
I'm not going. "
00:43:47.66\00:43:49.92
That's a failed
opportunity for growth.
00:43:49.96\00:43:53.90
Now, they lose out... because
you don't witness to them,
00:43:53.93\00:43:58.30
but you lose out... because
you neglected an opportunity
00:43:58.33\00:44:02.64
for God to help you grow
00:44:02.67\00:44:04.24
pause...
00:44:04.27\00:44:06.44
and Belshazzar
had a long history
00:44:06.47\00:44:08.91
40 years... Nebuchadnezzar
ruled that kingdom,
00:44:08.94\00:44:12.51
he knew that history
00:44:12.55\00:44:14.38
but he didn't
take advantage of it.
00:44:14.42\00:44:16.79
"That which Nebuchadnezzar
had finally gained
00:44:16.82\00:44:22.12
at the cost of untold suffering"
00:44:22.16\00:44:25.43
we went through his story
00:44:25.46\00:44:26.80
"... and humiliation,
00:44:26.83\00:44:29.26
Belshazzar passed
by with indifference. "
00:44:29.30\00:44:33.30
These things which
are written aforetime,
00:44:33.34\00:44:37.27
written for our admonition
00:44:37.31\00:44:41.24
upon whom the ends
of the earth are come...
00:44:41.28\00:44:43.95
those things that
Nebuchadnezzar went through
00:44:43.98\00:44:46.58
humiliated time
after time after time
00:44:46.61\00:44:51.49
were done for
Belshazzar's admonition
00:44:51.52\00:44:56.36
pause
00:44:56.39\00:44:58.59
he passed them by
with indifference.
00:44:58.63\00:45:00.80
You know, when I
was... when I was younger
00:45:00.86\00:45:03.10
it didn't occur to me
that old people had any wisdom
00:45:03.13\00:45:05.90
pause
00:45:05.93\00:45:09.24
"they're old...
what could they know?"
00:45:09.27\00:45:11.54
Pause.
00:45:11.57\00:45:16.98
"Old folks don't
know anything... "
00:45:17.01\00:45:19.55
but as I got into my teens,
00:45:19.61\00:45:21.25
I used to
actually actively seek out
00:45:21.28\00:45:24.25
old people to talk to
00:45:24.29\00:45:25.69
because when you're
15... an old person is 40...
00:45:25.72\00:45:29.09
now that I'm just a day
or two beyond 40... I know...
00:45:29.12\00:45:33.80
I know a little bit better
00:45:33.83\00:45:35.16
but when you're young
00:45:35.20\00:45:37.30
you don't think old
people know anything,
00:45:37.33\00:45:38.67
"my parents don't know anything"
00:45:38.70\00:45:40.04
pause
00:45:40.07\00:45:44.31
so there's wisdom there
00:45:44.34\00:45:45.67
and Belshazzar... you'll
forgive my pejorative English,
00:45:45.71\00:45:50.01
"blew it off"
00:45:50.05\00:45:51.38
and that is why I believe
00:45:51.41\00:45:53.82
that the string... the
fuse was so short on him
00:45:53.85\00:45:56.99
because he had the benefit
00:45:57.02\00:45:58.85
of all the years of
suffering and humiliation
00:45:58.89\00:46:01.76
that Nebuchadnezzar went through
00:46:01.82\00:46:03.22
and he chose not to
avail himself of it.
00:46:03.29\00:46:06.70
Pause.
00:46:06.73\00:46:09.70
He chose not to use it.
00:46:09.73\00:46:11.37
He understood what
Nebuchadnezzar went through
00:46:11.40\00:46:16.74
but the lessons
were of no value to him.
00:46:16.81\00:46:20.04
He wasted opportunities
graciously given to him
00:46:20.08\00:46:25.28
and he neglected to use
the means within his reach.
00:46:25.31\00:46:30.25
He didn't care
00:46:30.29\00:46:32.25
and a lot of people
fall into this category sadly
00:46:32.29\00:46:36.12
Belshazzar could have
known... should have known
00:46:36.19\00:46:40.00
and had every
opportunity to know
00:46:40.03\00:46:43.16
but he chose ignorance,
00:46:43.20\00:46:46.27
he was willfully ignorant
00:46:46.30\00:46:49.30
of the will... the
way... and the Word of God.
00:46:49.34\00:46:53.07
That is why...
as I said before...
00:46:53.11\00:46:55.74
I worry about those who reject
00:46:55.78\00:46:58.41
overtures of
faith by Christians.
00:46:58.45\00:47:01.02
People who live
next door to Adventists,
00:47:01.08\00:47:04.29
people who work with Adventists,
00:47:04.45\00:47:06.15
people who know Adventists...
00:47:06.19\00:47:07.86
see, we've got... we've got...
00:47:07.89\00:47:09.52
we've got a duty to share
00:47:09.56\00:47:13.40
but they've got a duty to accept
00:47:13.43\00:47:17.30
and sadly the ranks of the lost
00:47:17.33\00:47:21.17
will be filled with people who
let their opportunity pass by
00:47:21.20\00:47:28.41
pause
00:47:28.44\00:47:30.88
because they chose
to be willfully ignorant
00:47:30.91\00:47:33.68
of the Word of God.
00:47:33.72\00:47:35.05
Surrounded by the
accoutrements of Adventism,
00:47:35.08\00:47:38.19
but who choose not to...
00:47:38.22\00:47:40.86
not to accept and not to follow.
00:47:40.89\00:47:44.59
Ladies and
Gentlemen, here's the truth,
00:47:44.63\00:47:46.03
pause
00:47:46.06\00:47:49.70
there is a price to be paid
00:47:49.73\00:47:51.23
for thumbing your
nose at the grace of God.
00:47:51.27\00:47:56.81
Amen.
00:47:56.84\00:47:58.44
There is a price to be paid.
00:47:58.47\00:48:00.21
Pause.
00:48:00.24\00:48:01.98
I am so glad that we
serve a longsuffering God
00:48:02.04\00:48:08.95
because as I look at my life,
00:48:08.98\00:48:11.89
I think I've
tested Him a time or two,
00:48:11.92\00:48:13.56
in fact, I know I have
00:48:13.59\00:48:15.76
and don't look at me
with your eyes so wide...
00:48:15.79\00:48:17.29
so have you... amen
00:48:17.33\00:48:18.99
but we serve a
longsuffering God,
00:48:19.06\00:48:21.80
because I... I
can look at my life
00:48:21.83\00:48:24.33
and I can think
of more than one time
00:48:24.37\00:48:26.77
when I've made some decisions
one... relatively recently...
00:48:26.84\00:48:31.27
when I said to
myself in retrospect,
00:48:31.31\00:48:34.58
"What in the
world was I thinking?"
00:48:34.61\00:48:37.85
Amen.
00:48:37.88\00:48:40.28
Pause.
00:48:40.32\00:48:42.62
Sometimes we can make
some boneheaded decisions,
00:48:42.65\00:48:45.45
bad decisions
00:48:45.49\00:48:48.19
and they're not all...
00:48:48.22\00:48:51.53
they're not all... ones that
will keep you out of heaven,
00:48:51.56\00:48:55.03
they're just
flat, dumb decisions
00:48:55.06\00:48:58.77
pause
00:48:58.80\00:49:02.50
and you know,
God loves you still.
00:49:02.54\00:49:04.44
Amen, yeah, He does.
00:49:04.47\00:49:08.14
Even those bad decisions,
those boneheaded decisions,
00:49:08.18\00:49:12.48
when you think,
"What was I thinking?"
00:49:12.51\00:49:14.98
Pause.
00:49:15.02\00:49:20.56
But the Lord loves us still.
00:49:20.59\00:49:22.59
But the truth is,
there's a price to be paid
00:49:22.62\00:49:26.29
for neglecting the gracious
overtures of a loving God.
00:49:26.33\00:49:32.63
Every day, there are people
who are hardening their hearts
00:49:32.67\00:49:38.91
to the love of God.
00:49:38.94\00:49:40.44
That's why this
story of Belshazzar
00:49:40.48\00:49:43.14
is so very, very important
00:49:43.18\00:49:44.51
because he had ample opportunity
00:49:44.55\00:49:47.65
that's the message...
00:49:47.68\00:49:50.29
he had ample opportunity
00:49:50.35\00:49:52.79
but he hardened his heart
00:49:52.82\00:49:55.19
and he let these things
go by with indifference.
00:49:55.22\00:50:01.30
Pause.
00:50:01.36\00:50:03.33
Hebrews chapter 2, verse 3,
00:50:03.37\00:50:05.07
this is the New
Living Translation.
00:50:05.13\00:50:08.47
I picked up one of these
just a couple of years ago
00:50:08.50\00:50:10.64
and I like the way
it... it takes this.
00:50:10.67\00:50:13.17
It says, "What makes us think...
00:50:13.21\00:50:16.44
what makes us
think that we can escape
00:50:16.48\00:50:20.85
if we ignore
this great salvation"
00:50:20.88\00:50:25.19
that's a powerful statement...
00:50:25.22\00:50:28.39
"that was first
announced by the Lord Jesus... "
00:50:28.42\00:50:32.36
You can't ignore the overtures
of God and escape punishment,
00:50:32.39\00:50:37.67
He loves you with
an everlasting love,
00:50:37.70\00:50:40.54
He has promised never to
leave you nor forsake you,
00:50:40.57\00:50:43.30
he's promised to give you...
00:50:43.34\00:50:44.67
He's more willing
to give you good gifts
00:50:44.71\00:50:46.81
than earthly parents
are to their own children.
00:50:46.84\00:50:50.38
He's promised to bless you,
00:50:50.41\00:50:52.15
He's promised to
hear your prayers,
00:50:52.18\00:50:53.92
He's promised that if
you confess your sins,
00:50:53.95\00:50:57.19
He will forgive your
sins and He will cleanse you.
00:50:57.22\00:51:04.76
He's promised to give you grace.
00:51:04.79\00:51:06.83
He's promised to give you faith,
00:51:06.90\00:51:08.86
He's promised to give
you all of those things
00:51:08.90\00:51:11.40
that pertain unto salvation
00:51:11.43\00:51:13.80
and all heaven is
ready at your bidding
00:51:13.84\00:51:16.84
to assist you
00:51:16.91\00:51:18.24
so, how then, do you
think that you will escape
00:51:18.27\00:51:21.54
if you ignore that kind of love
00:51:21.58\00:51:24.48
and that kind of grace
00:51:24.51\00:51:26.25
and that kind of caring
00:51:26.28\00:51:27.98
that God gives us.
00:51:28.02\00:51:29.48
You can have the
presence and power
00:51:29.52\00:51:33.32
as long as you
want... whenever you want...
00:51:33.36\00:51:35.69
the cafeteria is never closed,
00:51:35.72\00:51:37.86
He can always be with you
and all you've got to do is ask.
00:51:37.89\00:51:41.56
You don't have to cut yourself,
00:51:41.60\00:51:43.26
you don't have to
take a trip to Mecca,
00:51:43.30\00:51:44.80
you don't have
to starve yourself,
00:51:44.83\00:51:46.17
you don't have to beat yourself,
00:51:46.23\00:51:47.57
you don't have to
flagellate yourself,
00:51:47.60\00:51:48.94
all you've got to do
is ask Him and He's there
00:51:48.97\00:51:52.84
Johnny on the spot
00:51:52.87\00:51:54.51
so how do we think we can escape
00:51:54.54\00:51:56.91
if we neglect that kind of love.
00:51:56.95\00:51:59.31
Audience: Yes... amen...
00:51:59.35\00:52:02.35
Pause.
00:52:02.38\00:52:04.75
Kind of escape...
00:52:04.79\00:52:06.12
and that is why... THAT IS WHY
00:52:06.15\00:52:11.99
Belshazzar had such little time
00:52:12.03\00:52:15.00
because all that
was available to him
00:52:15.03\00:52:19.43
was neglected
and rejected by him
00:52:19.47\00:52:23.81
and now we come down to
the last night of his life.
00:52:23.87\00:52:29.74
Pause.
00:52:29.78\00:52:34.78
And the Bible has nothing
good to say about this king
00:52:34.82\00:52:38.99
who had ruled
since he was young,
00:52:39.02\00:52:43.66
there are no commendations
00:52:43.73\00:52:46.59
there is nothing
good to be said about him
00:52:46.63\00:52:51.33
and now the clock is
running out on his life.
00:52:51.37\00:52:56.07
His life too... is an Enigma.
00:52:56.10\00:53:01.58
As much of that Enigma as
that handwriting on the wall.
00:53:01.61\00:53:10.55
Let's get back to Ecclesiastes
chapter 11... chapter 8 rather
00:53:10.59\00:53:16.29
verse 11... and I'm in the NIV.
00:53:16.32\00:53:19.39
"When the sentence for a crime
is not quickly carried out,
00:53:19.43\00:53:26.40
people's hearts are filled
with schemes to do wrong. "
00:53:26.43\00:53:32.97
Danny Shelton tells a
story... we were with him once
00:53:33.01\00:53:38.25
and I remember
Pastor Lomacang was there...
00:53:38.28\00:53:40.52
and he had
committed an infraction
00:53:40.55\00:53:44.25
I don't remember what it was
00:53:44.29\00:53:45.62
and I guess it
doesn't really matter,
00:53:45.65\00:53:46.99
but his father told him,
00:53:47.02\00:53:50.93
"When we get home,
you're going to get a spanking"
00:53:50.96\00:53:52.33
well, it was a little
worse than a spanking,
00:53:52.36\00:53:54.90
there was a term that they use,
00:53:54.93\00:53:56.26
it's a sort of rural term
and I can't remember what it was
00:53:56.30\00:54:00.24
but it means, a
pretty good beating...
00:54:00.27\00:54:01.60
and this happened on a Friday
00:54:01.64\00:54:06.17
and they were at one
of the relative's house
00:54:06.21\00:54:10.31
and so, Danny asked...
could he stay over at the house
00:54:10.35\00:54:13.68
and the fellow said,
"Yeah, just ask your dad"
00:54:13.72\00:54:17.72
and Dad said, "Sure, you
can stay over at the house"
00:54:17.75\00:54:20.46
so he stayed over
Friday night and then he said,
00:54:20.49\00:54:23.12
"Call my dad, and ask him if
I can stay over another night. "
00:54:23.16\00:54:25.99
so he stayed over Saturday night
00:54:26.03\00:54:27.36
and, of course,
Sunday you got to come home
00:54:27.40\00:54:31.07
so you can go to
school Monday morning
00:54:31.10\00:54:32.47
and I suspect he thought
00:54:32.50\00:54:34.67
the infraction of Friday
00:54:34.70\00:54:36.81
will not be
remembered by Sunday night
00:54:36.84\00:54:39.71
and when he got
home his dad said,
00:54:39.74\00:54:43.48
"Now you think
that you outfoxed me,
00:54:43.51\00:54:46.61
I'm going to give
it to you worse...
00:54:46.65\00:54:49.72
not because you did so bad
00:54:49.75\00:54:52.49
but because you
think that I'm not smart
00:54:52.52\00:54:55.86
and that my
memory is so short. "
00:54:55.89\00:54:58.23
See, the Bible says
when... when... when... when...
00:54:58.29\00:55:01.33
punishment for a crime is
not quickly taken care of,
00:55:01.36\00:55:04.37
rather than being
humble, we get haughty.
00:55:04.40\00:55:06.53
Amen...
00:55:06.57\00:55:07.90
We start thinking,
00:55:07.94\00:55:09.27
"Well God can't do
anything, he's a paper tiger"
00:55:09.30\00:55:11.04
so, that Sunday night,
00:55:11.07\00:55:13.51
our dear friend
Brother Shelton found out
00:55:13.54\00:55:16.28
that his dad was much
like the Lord in that case,
00:55:16.31\00:55:21.42
he doesn't forget...
00:55:21.45\00:55:22.88
he was weighed in the balances
00:55:22.95\00:55:25.55
and found wanting.
00:55:25.59\00:55:27.56
Pause.
00:55:27.59\00:55:29.06
But the Bible says,
00:55:29.09\00:55:30.43
"Because punishment is
not quickly carried out"
00:55:30.46\00:55:32.03
and so, for years
and years and years,
00:55:32.06\00:55:33.63
Belshazzar neglected
it, he just neglected it...
00:55:33.66\00:55:36.56
he neglected everything.
00:55:36.60\00:55:37.93
He neglected the
history, he neglected the...
00:55:37.97\00:55:40.84
the things that
God had showed him
00:55:40.87\00:55:42.70
through Nebuchadnezzar,
00:55:42.74\00:55:44.14
he just neglected it
but now judgment has come.
00:55:44.21\00:55:47.64
The Talmud says that his last
hours were not very flattering.
00:55:47.68\00:55:55.22
Then I read in my mission
an account of his last hours
00:55:55.25\00:55:59.82
that actually...
is fairly detailed
00:55:59.85\00:56:02.16
but I... I can't give to you,
00:56:02.19\00:56:03.53
first of all, it's gruesome,
it sounds like a horror show
00:56:03.56\00:56:05.63
but suffice it to
say... that very night,
00:56:05.66\00:56:10.00
while they were partying...
00:56:10.07\00:56:13.37
and this is
what's interesting...
00:56:13.40\00:56:15.20
you know, there are always
these sub-texts in the Bible...
00:56:15.24\00:56:17.44
my time is running out on me
but here's what's interesting,
00:56:17.47\00:56:19.64
Belshazzar said to Daniel,
00:56:19.67\00:56:21.94
"Tell me what these words mean,
00:56:21.98\00:56:25.65
I will make you
third in the kingdom,
00:56:25.71\00:56:28.28
behind my dad... I'm
second... you'll be third"
00:56:28.32\00:56:32.05
when he was
saying that to Daniel,
00:56:32.09\00:56:34.46
Ellen White says... the army
was already under the palace,
00:56:34.52\00:56:38.03
so the kingdom wasn't
his anymore... to even give,
00:56:38.06\00:56:41.60
he wasn't king anymore
and he didn't even know it.
00:56:41.66\00:56:44.93
Shortly thereafter,
00:56:45.00\00:56:46.94
the army broke in...
the party was ended...
00:56:47.00\00:56:50.67
the kingdom was destroyed...
00:56:50.71\00:56:52.81
and then, the Bible
closes with this last line.
00:56:52.84\00:56:59.25
It says simply
this, Daniel 5 verse 30,
00:56:59.28\00:57:05.25
"That very night,
Belshazzar was slain.
00:57:05.29\00:57:09.72
And Darius the Mede
received the kingdom,
00:57:09.76\00:57:14.16
being about
sixty-two years old. "
00:57:14.20\00:57:18.40
What an inglorious end
to the Babylonian Empire
00:57:18.43\00:57:22.67
but more importantly,
00:57:22.70\00:57:25.07
what an inglorious end to
the life of its last king.
00:57:25.11\00:57:31.71
If there is a
message from this incident,
00:57:31.75\00:57:36.95
the message is this,
"Take God at His word,
00:57:36.99\00:57:42.09
take advantage of
God-given opportunities
00:57:42.12\00:57:47.20
and where He
leads, follow Him. "
00:57:47.23\00:57:51.47
Amen.
00:57:51.50\00:57:53.37
Audience: Amen.
Pastor Murray: And Amen.
00:57:53.40\00:57:55.47