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| 1 Bel-shazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. |
Belshazzar the king – Identified with the Nabonidus of secular history whose name appears on ancient tablets. R2497:2
The grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. R3632:3
His name has the same signification as that given to Daniel, Belteshazzar, both signifying "Favored of God." R2497:2
Under whose reign came the collapse which pride, fulness of bread and abundance of idleness always insure and hasten. D24
Made a great feast – A boast in the greatness of Babylon. R2497:5
To renew memories of their great victories of the past. R4901:6
Corresponding to the great denominational union expected soon. R2498:6; HG521:4
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| 2 Bel-shazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his fore-father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink therefrom. |
The golden – Representing the precious truths of God's Word: also, the Little Flock. R2498:6[R2498]; C96; HG521:4
And silver vessels – Representing the Great Company. R2498[R2498]. R4079:4*; HG521:4
These were profaned by drinking therefrom to the honor of Bel, the god of Babylon. R2497:5
Gold and silver: Divine and natural truths or doctrines. R1483:6
Nebuchadnezzar had taken – In the pillage of Solomon's Temple--a triumph over the Jews. R4901:6
Out of the temple – Solomon's Temple. R4901:6
Might drink therein – Typifying injuries and defilements yet to come. R2498:6
Corresponding in Mystic Babylon to a spirit of boastfulness, of pride, of intoxication with error, apparently drawn from the Divine Word. SM410:3
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Golden and silver vessels – Symbolic of the Divine (gold) promises and truth (silver) contained in the Bible. |
| 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. |
Brought the golden vessels – To renew memories of past victories over the Jews and supposedly over their God. R4901:6
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| 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of copper, of iron, of wood, and of stone. |
They drank wine – So mystic Babylon is said to make all nations drunk with the wine, doctrine, which she gives them out of the golden cup which she holds in her hand. HG521:6
Praised the gods – Drinking to Bel, the god of Babylon. R2497:5
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Drank wine – Christendom's wine of false doctrines, twisted corruptions of Bible truths. This wine of false doctrine eventually made the nations drunk. Rev. 18:3 |
| 5 In the same hour came forth the fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the lampstand upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. |
Wrote...upon...wall – In letters of fire. R4902:1
A message from Jehovah announcing the end of Belshazzar's dominion as a just punishment for his sacrilege. R3633:2
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The same hour – The hour of mystic Babylon's judgment.
The fingers of a man's hand – Symbolic of the man clothed in linen with the writer's inkhorn (Eze. 9:2-3) wrote God's message of judgment that Babylon's time was up. |
| 6 Then the king’s countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. |
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The joints of his loins were loosed – He was so scared that he soiled himself.
His knees smote one against another – This discribes the level of fear in the King of Babylon. – Luke 21:26 |
| 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spake and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. |
Scarlet and...gold – Some in mystic Babylon, having received honors and robes, are inclined to hide the message now due to Babylon. R2497:6
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| 8 Then came in all the king’s wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. |
Nor make known – Even if they had deciphered the letters and words, they had no interpretation to offer, because, from their standpoint, the true meaning would seem too far from the truth. R2497:5
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| 9 Then was king Bel-shazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed. |
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| 10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever; let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed. |
The queen – The king's mother. R2497:5, R3633:1
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| 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; |
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| 12 forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of dark sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Bel-teshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. |
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| 13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? |
Daniel – At this time about 90 years of age. R3632:3, R2497:5
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| 14 I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in thee. |
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| 15 And now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing. |
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| 16 But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. |
A chain of gold – As an insignia of rank. R2497:6
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| 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. |
Gifts be to thyself – Had Daniel accepted them he would have felt obligated to the king to such an extent that it might have warped his judgment or weakened his expression of the Lord's message. R2497:6
Rewards to another – Daniel renounced all claim to these gifts as a reward. R2497:6, R3633:2
Those who would be mouthpieces of the Lord should serve without stipulation of compensation. R2497:6
Thus many of the Lord's true servants in mystic Babylon are hindered by having received robes and honors and are inclined to hide or cover the message now due. They are bound by the chains of gold around their necks. R2497:6
The interpretation – The secret evidently lay in the manner in which the letters were arranged, the characters themselves being Chaldaic. R4902:1
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| 18 O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty: |
O thou king – The aged prophet displayed gentleness as well as fearlessness in the delivery of his message. R2498:1
God gave Nebuchadnezzar – Though his father, Nabopolassar. is recorded by history as the founder of new Babylonia, the "Times of the Gentiles" could not begin while God's typical kingdom in Israel remained--until the days of Zedekiah. R2497:1
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| 19 and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. |
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| 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: |
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| 21 and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts’, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of man, and that he setteth up over it whomsoever he will. |
Till he knew – King Belshazzar, knowing this, should have humbled himself and been reverential toward Jehovah God. R3633:2
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| 22 And thou his son, O Bel-shazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this, |
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| 23 but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heavens; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified. |
Lifted up thyself – Belshazzar boasted of his fortress and declared that the gods of Babylon were superior to all others. R3633:1
Vessels of his house – To profane them in the worship and glorification of idols. R2498:1, R3633:1
Nations which have dealt unjustly with the Jews or have persecuted spiritual Israelites have been punished. R3633:5
In whose hand – Power. R2498:1
Thy breath is – The God of all life has full power to control your course. R2498:1
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| 24 Then was the part of the hand sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. |
The part of the hand – The warning hand of divine providence. D42
Sent from him – It was recognized as being of superhuman origin. R3633:1
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| 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEQEL, U-PHARSIN. |
MENE, MENE – Mene was repeated twice, probably for the sake of emphasis--Numbered! Numbered!--the limit of the time of your dominion has expired. R2498:2
TEKEL – Short weight, lacking. R2498:2
The Babylonian kingdom had retrograded from the original type. R4902:1
Mystic Babylon falls for a similar reason. R2498:4; SM411:T, HG521:3
In this day of his presence our Lord is judging the nations and weighing them in the balance. R5989:1[R5989:6]
At that very time Cyrus' army of retribution was investing the city. R3633:3
UPHARSIN – Broken or crushed into pieces, destroyed. R2498:2; HG520:1
Similarly the hand of providence now foretells the impending doom of ecclesiasticism. D42, D76, D97; F592
A type of the fall of antitypical Babylon at the hands of the antitypical Cyrus, Christ. R4901:6
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Please see mini-study Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin. |
| 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end. |
Numbered – The days of your rule have been numbered by God. SM411:T, HG713:4
Finished it – The limit of the time of your dominion has expired. HG520:1
The spirit of the world has so fully taken possession of the ecclesiastical powers of Christendom that reformation of the systems is impossible and individuals can only escape by a prompt and timely withdrawal. D42
We should not look for light where little remains but the fading reflections of a former glory. R5993:6
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| 27 TEQEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. |
Thou art weighed – God does actually balance and weigh the conduct of people. While grace is the basis of his dealing, it is dispensed according to certain principles. R3633:4
Judgment is being laid to the line and righteousness to the plummet. (Isa. 28:17) R5989:1
In the balances – Both the heathen and the masses of Christendom take up the golden rule and the law of love wherewith to measure the doctrines, institutions, policy and general course of Christendom. D97
Found wanting – Later Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome would be given a trial. Each of these has proven its insufficiency--its inability to bring the blessings of Messiah's reign. R4902:1
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| 28 PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. |
PERES – Of which Upharsin is the plural. Nothing in the word signifies Medes and Persians, but Daniel knew the prophecy and that they were already besieging the city. R2498:2
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| 29 Then commanded Bel-shazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put the chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. |
Third ruler – After the government was transferred to the hands of Cyrus, the honored Jew, Daniel, found in a position of trust, was made an officer in the new government of Medo-Persia. R3633:3
It is to Belshazzar's credit that he so honored Daniel. R3633:3, R2498:2
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| 30 In that night Bel-shazzar the Chaldean king was slain. |
In that night – Thus did great Babylon fall suddenly--"in one hour." (Rev. 18:19) R2498:3
Soon--quickly--great Babylon will be cast as a mighty millstone into the sea. HG713:4
Slain – So far from destroying all the rulers of Babylon, including Daniel, Darius apparently spared all but the king alive, and gave Daniel a very high position in the empire. R2501:1
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| 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
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Darius the Median – It would appear that Cyrus was in some respects the chief, yet that Darius was the representative of authority in Babylon for a time, and that upon his death Cyrus became sole emperor. R2509:3
He may have been Cyrus the Mede. R3638:3
Typifying The Christ in the time of trouble in the end of the Gospel age. R2498:4; HG520:6
Took the kingdom – The River Euphrates flowed through the center of Babylon under enormous gates of brass. Cyrus diverted its waters and marched his troops under the gates into the city. R2498:2, R509:6*, R3632:6; PD51/62; SM410:3; HG520:2
As literal Babylon sat upon the literal River Euphrates, mystic Babylon is said to sit upon the waters, peoples. As the literal city was captured by the diversion of the waters, so symbolic Babylon will fall by the diversion of the symbolic Euphrates: "And the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." (Rev. 16:12) R2498:4, R510:1*; HG520:5
"Without fighting," as the tablets declare. R2498:3
So complete was the destruction of that great city that even its site was forgotten and was for a long time uncertain. D25
The wonderful prophecies which speak of the fall of Babylon (Isa. 14:22; Jer. 50 & 51) were not wholly fulfilled by Cyrus the Persian. R2498:3[R2498:5]
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