Humbled Throne, Haunted Feast

Prayer Conference

I sent the church an email yesterday about praying for God to lead us as a church.

In two weeks we’ll have a visioning summit where we will have a Holy Spirit led brainstorming session. It’s important that a church family prayerfully consider God’s plans for them on a regular basis. Understanding why God has this church here in this part of His mission field, at this time in earth’s history is important for focusing our attention and guiding our decisions.

But we can only know the future if we seek the guidance of the Heaven. And so, I’m inviting you to pray. From the youngest to the oldest of us, I would like you to pray for God to lead our church family. Please pray each day, from now through the visioning summit.

Next Sabbath we will have a prayer conference with pastor Kevin Wilfley. He’s got amazing stories and practical guidance on prayer. I hope you’ll come and take advantage of the opportunity next week to learn to pray better, and then come the following week.

sheikh

Introduction

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has a lot in common with our friend Nebuchadnezzar that we’ve been reading about in the book of Daniel. He isn’t a king, but he is the ruler of Dubai, and the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates. Like Nebuchadnezzar, his leadership has made possible some amazing building projects. As the Emir of Dubai, he envisions a future where they are not reliant on income from oil exports. And so he has been doing a lot of building. He isn’t actually building anything himself, just to be clear. He didn’t even create the designs, but he did provide the money, and the vision that made it all possible.

One of the ways he wants to make his nation prosper is to bring in tourism income. The problem is, Dubai and the UAE aren’t really resort locations.

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They’re hot, and very sandy. But, they are on a peninsula between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. So, why not put all that sand to good use and make some islands to build resorts on?

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In a partnership with private investors and the state government, they are developing hundreds of properties to make Dubai a vacation Mecca for the millionaires and billionaires of the world.

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You also may be familiar with the Burj Khalifa.

It’s the tallest building in the world at just over 1/2 a mile high—2,716 feet! You could put 3 Eiffel towers on top of each other inside this building.

With an elevator that can travel 10 meters per second, you can jump in at ground level and be at the observation deck 124 floors later in just over a minute.

The building is so tall that you can see the top of it from 60 miles away. And the higher you go up in the air, the more problems you get from the wind.

To overcome the wind, the building rises to the sky in several separate stalks, which top out unevenly around the central spire. This design deflects the wind around the structure and prevents it from forming organized whirlpools of air current, or vortices, that would rock the tower from side to side and could even damage the building. Even with this strategic design, the 206-story Burj Khalifa will still sway slowly back and forth by about 6 feet at the very top.

play video of UEA flight attendant

Which could have been somewhat disconcerting for this flight attendant who agreed to pose for this commercial with Emirates Airlines!

Everything Sheikh Mohammed does is designed to impress you and draw you in to leisure and prosperity.

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Which brings us back to Daniel’s Story.

The Builder

Nebuchadnezzar took Babylon from a respected nation, to a world empire. He conquered formidable nations like Assyria, Egypt and Tyre. But unlike the Assyrians who glorified their battles, Nebuchadnezzar didn’t spend much energy recording his victories. He spent 13 years besieging a city in Tyre, but no records of the siege have been found in Babylon. We only know about it from other sources.

Instead, Nebuchadnezzar recorded building projects and focused on making a unified empire. He’s the king who educates the elite from conquered nations and integrates them into his own government. His government allowed, even encouraged, conquered nations to continue their local governments and religious practices. He was a generous emperor, and a fair and just king. ...Mostly.

The dream

Early on in his story we hear about a dream he had. Fresh off a winning streak on the battle field, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream from God where he was told he didn’t succeed all by himself. In fact, God had set him on the Babylonian throne to accomplish a heavenly purpose. He may have been a fantastic king, but it was God who made possible all his wisdom, power and wealth.

At the end of that heavenly encounter, Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself and praised God:

Daniel 2:47 ESV

The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

A little more nation building, a few more battles won, a few more buildings erected, and Nebuchadnezzar forgot about the God of gods who made him king.

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At the beginning of an edict Nebuchadnezzar wrote:

“Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the exalted prince, the favorite of Marduk, the lofty patesi (a priest king of Sumeria), the beloved of Nabu, the judge, the possessor of wisdom…the wise, the pious…the first-born son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I.” (Harper, Robert Francis. “Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (604-561 B.C.).” The Biblical World 14.1 (1899): 3-12. Web.)

fiery furnace

In his pride he set up an image for all the leaders of his empire to bow and worship him. But when three young men refused, and he had them thrown into the furnace for their disobedience, he saw the Son of God walking in the fire with those unharmed, faithful men. He was again reminded that he sat on his throne at the pleasure of the God of heaven, and he humbled himself and praised God.

Daniel 3:28–29 ESV

“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. …for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

You would think that this king would learn a lesson, but it would take much more than that to cut the selfish pride out of his heart.

Humbled Throne

Daniel 4 records the account in the kings own words. This chapter, according to the text, is written by Nebuchadnezzar himself. He says,

Daniel 4:4–5 ESV

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid…

“At ease and prospering.” Nebuchadnezzar was living at the very tippy top of wealth and luxury. He ruled over the world and lived in thBabylon, the city of gold.

hanging gardens

Nebuchadnezzar’s queen was longing for her home back in Persia where there were snow covered mountains and green valley oasis and delightful royal gardens. So, Nebuchadnezzar built her a man-made mountain with greenery flowing over the sides right there in the city of Babylon. To this day his “hanging gardens” are known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

But his successes, his leisure, and his prosperity destroyed his humility. In God’s wisdom and grace he gave the king another dream, and it alarmed Nebuchadnezzar.

So he called in the wise men and astrologer and magicians, but they couldn’t decipher the dream to his satisfaction. No one could explain mysteries like Daniel, so he called for Daniel and told him the dream:

Daniel 4:13–17 NLT

“ ‘Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted, “Cut down the tree and lop off its branches! Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit! Chase the wild animals from its shade and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field. For seven periods of time, let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a human. …so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses— even to the lowliest of people.”

Daniel took a moment. He knew the meaning immediately, but it troubled him, and he turned away from the king to hide his emotion.

The king respected Daniel enough to wait, but he wanted to assure him that it was OK to say whatever it was that the dream meant. He called him by his Babylonian name:

Daniel 4:19 NLT

.’..Belteshazzar, don’t be alarmed by the dream and what it means.’ “Belteshazzar replied, ‘I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!

And then he explained the terrible meaning of the dream.

In verses 22-25 he said that the great tree represented Nebuchadnezzar. He had grown strong and great and his greatness reached to the ends of the earth.

When the Messenger said to cut down the tree but leave its stump and roots and let the dew of heaven drench it for 7 times, that meant that God was going to drive Nebuchadnezzar from human society and he would eat grass like a cow and sleep outside, getting wet with the dew from heaven for seven years.

Daniel 4:25 NLT

…until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.

It was a sobering meaning, and the heart of the king responded with a smidge of humility, for a short time. But as we all experience, a word from the Lord is quickly forgotten unless we keep it close to our hearts. Nebuchadnezzar let the business of ruling and building get in the way, and before long his pride had welled up in him again.

Standing on the veranda of his palace, gazing out over the beautiful city he said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30) As the question trailed off, a voice came from heaven saying,

Daniel 4:31–32 NLT

“O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.”

At that very moment Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity left him. He was no longer wise—he wasn’t even coherent. He was no longer a mighty conquerer—he was afraid and nervous. He no longer lived in luxury and prosperity—he slept under the stars and ate grass and dirt like an animal.

Some people would suggest that outside the Bible there is no evidence that Nebuchadnezzar had any lapse in his reign. And why would there be? A nation embarrassed by their king would not readily share that with the world. They would shelter him and hide him away. If another king had killed him and taken his place there would have been a record, but what we have instead is silence.

In fact, that’s one of the best evidences for the truth of Daniel’s account. From 582 to 575 B.C., we have no records of acts or royal decrees made by Nebuchadnezzar. This is unusual in a time when decrees and royal acts were carefully recorded and cataloged. (https://www.againstdoubt.com/seven-years-a-madman/)

It is highly plausible that Daniel, the regent under the king, ran the country and preserved the throne for Nebuchadnezzar until the 7-year period passed.

Daniel 4:34–35 NLT

“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’

Daniel 4:37 NLT

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

Transition

Nebuchadnezzar was filled with pride and arrogance. He felt that he didn’t need God. The King of kings saw his heart and knew that for all the bluster, Nebuchadnezzar had a tender heart deep inside. So he brought discipline and trial and difficulty so that Nebuchadnezzar would realize his need. And HE DID! He humbled himself and recognized his dependence on the Creator God.

Let’s jump forward to Daniel chapter 5 where another ruler of Babylon faced a similar issue of pride and arrogance, but his heart was was not like Nebuchadnezzar’s and God’s response was very different.

Haunted Feast

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The story in Daniel 5 begins with a lavish feast hosted by king Belshazzar.

Belshazzar was the crown prince and co-regent of the Babylonian empire under his father, Nabonidus. Piecing together the historical record we believe that Nabonitus married Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter, Nitocris, making Belshazzar the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. After Nebuchadnezzar died, his son, Evil-Merodach, took the throne, but his reign was short. His son took the throne after him but he only ruled for 9 months before Nabonidus and Belshazzar organized a coup and killed him, taking his throne.

Nabonidus eventually decided he liked the life of leisure and took a several years long vacation to an oasis in the Arabian desert called Tayma. Through political maneuvering Belshazzar was left as the de facto regent in Babylon wielding the power of a king to command armies, grant land leases, receive cultic offerings and oaths from noblemen.

He was never given the title of king, and there were a few state ceremonies that he wasn’t allowed to preside over, but for all intents and purposes, he was king. And as the ruler, he could throw a party if he wanted, and that’s exactly what we find at the beginning of Daniel 5.

While throwing this party, Belshazzar decided to do something that was not only prideful, but blasphemous to the God of heaven. He commanded that the bowls and cups from the Israelite temple be brought to him. These were the instruments that were dedicated to the worship of the God who brought Israel out of Egypt and who claimed to be the King of kings. The God who Nebuchadnezzar had recognized as the King of heaven.

Notice verse 4

Daniel 5:4 ESV

They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

It’s worth noting that God had promised that Israel would be in captivity in Babylon for 70 years (See Jeremiah 25:11-12 and Jeremiah 29:10). They were captured in 605 BC, so when Belshazzar was throwing this feast in 539 BC, they were really close to the end of that 70 year period. It’s almost as if Belshazzar is looking up into heaven and saying, “You are not God. You cannot save your people. My gods are all powerful and almighty and you are nothing!”

Nebuchadnezzar had a pride problem, but when he came face to face with God he recognized Him as the King of heaven and bowed the knee. Belshazzar knew all the history of Nebuchadnezzar and all the stories about Daniel and his friends. So, when he raised his glass filled with alcohol and praised his gods of wood and metal and stone, he was openly defying God. This was an act of rebellion. A high-handed sin. God said that this kind of public, deliberate rebellion against God would be dealt with severely:

Numbers 15:30 ESV

But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people.

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Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and began to write on the walls of the king’s palace in front of the ruler. The Bible records that the color left Belshazzar’s face, his knees knocked together, he collapsed to the floor and he became very alarmed.

When his counselors couldn’t make heads or tails of the message the hand had left on the wall he became even more concerned and promised wealth and riches and the highest position he could grant in the kingdom to anyone who could interpret the message.

The queen mother, likely referring to Nitocris, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, heard about what was happening and came to offer a suggestion. What if Daniel was called? He could interpret visions and had divine wisdom.

When Daniel came into the room the king specifically asked him, “are you one of the exiles brought from Judah by my predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar?” (Dan 5:13). He was asking if Daniel knew the God whose holy relics he had disturbed, and who apparently had put this message on his wall.

Daniel would have been in his early 80’s and probably not directly involved with the government at that time. But Nitocris would have known him well, and its even possible that Belshazzar was named after Daniel who’s Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. This suggests that Belshazzar knew exactly what he was doing when he took the religious instruments from storage and mocked the God of heaven. There is no doubt, he was committing “high handed” rebellion.

Daniel studied the writing for a moment and then he reminded Belshazzar that “the most high God” had given his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar greatest and glroy, but when his heart was lifted up, he took him off his thrown until he knew that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of men.

Daniel 5:22–23 NLT

“You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!

He then read the writing and interpreted it:

handwriting

Mene, Mene — meaning counted or numbered. God had numbered the days of Belshazzar’s reign and had brought it to an end.

Tekel — meaning weighed. God had weighed Belshazzar in his divine balance and found that he did not measure up.

Parsin — meaning divided. God would now cut off Belshazzar’s reign and give his territory to the Medes and the Persians.

That very night, Belshazzar, the Babylonian ruler, was killed and the Medes and Persians took the kingdom.

The High Handed Anti-Christ

days of those kings

The stories of Daniel help us understand how we should relate at this time in earths history. The time the Bible calls, “in the days of those kings.” We live in the time of the divided nations of western Europe, the feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic image. It is in our time of history that God promises that He will set up His own kingdom and put down all the nations of men. The next thing on the horizon of history is the coming of Jesus.

Daniel’s stories help us understand what we will face and how we should face it.

In the books of 2 Thessalonians and Revelation we find a character who will defy the God of heaven in a similar way to Belshazzar. The Bible calls him the “Man of Sin” in 2 Thessalonians 2. Notice the similarities to Belshazzar:

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 NKJV

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Not only will he take the emblems of God’s worship and defy God with them, he will sit in God’s temple and claim that he is God. Interestingly, Paul tells the Thessalonians that “this lawlessness is already at work, secretly, and will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.” (verse 7) Which suggests that the powers and mechanisms of the end time “Man of sin” or “man of lawlessness” as the New Living Translation calls him, were already beginning to take shape in the time of Paul a little less than 2,000 years ago.

In verse 9 we find that this “man of sin” will do the work of Satan, but he will do it in a way that is designed to deceive—counterfeiting the work of the Holy Spirit by working signs and miracles.

Many Christians today believe that this “man of sin” or “antichrist” will be an atheistic power or a pagan, satanic leader. They put him in direct opposition to God as though he is the opposite and completely against everything that God stands for—the anti… Christ.

But the prefix “anti” in Greek doesn’t just mean against, it also means “in the place of,” and what we find in this description of the antichrist is that it will stand in God’s place, in God’s temple, using God’s implements of worship, with deception and counterfeits.

Let’s pretend that you were in the Babylonian court when Belshazzar was throwing his feast and called for the cups from the Jewish temple to be brought. You could have argued that Belshazzar was including the God of the Jews in his worship. Christians have done this sort of justification for hundreds of years—bringing in pagan practices into the church and calling them godly.

Belshazzar’s blasphemous combination of the worship of God and idolatry is alive and well today.

In 2 Thessalonians Paul predicted the rise of a power that would deceive through counterfeiting. It would look like the church, it was even forming in the church in Paul’s day. But instead of being motivated by God, it would be ruled by Satan and it would lead people to worship the gods of this world while thinking they were lifting their glass to Jesus.

We’ll explore this man of lawlessness, this anti-christ, as we look into the apocalyptic prophecies of Daniel in future messages.

Today, I just wanted you to realize that the coming crisis will not be between the Christian church and atheism. It’s not conservatives against the radical left. It’s not pagan spiritualism against the Bible. It’s going to be Christianity following the doctrines of men fighting against those who worship Jesus in spirit and truth.

I believe that Satan is prepping a whole crowd of Christians to become so lifted up with pride that they will raise their arms with the emblems of God’s of heaven while praising man-made gods in his place. It is the facade of Christianity that makes this deception so powerful.

Conclusion

Jesus implied that conflict is inevitable in the life of a true Christian. He said this to his disciples:

Matthew 10:16 ESV

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

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Daniel had wisdom—he wasn’t in that hall with Belshazzar’s false worship. But Jesus also calls us to be harmless as doves. Most people are not in Belshazzar’s situation. They might be in Nebuchadnezzar’s though.

Daniel lived in a difficult time. It is Daniel’s Babylon that goes all the way back to the self-worship of Nimrod and tower of Babel. Daniel’s Babylon wasn’t a good place. And yet, Daniel lived a godly life while serving a prideful king. Partly as a result of Daniel’s witness, that prideful king surrendered his heart to God.

If Jesus calls us to be an influence like Daniel then He also promises that the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say. (see Luke 12:11-12)

Maybe you are a little like Nebuchadnezzar—a proud but changeable heart. The chief question today is this, “What will you do when God next catches your attention or gives you some loving discipline?” I hope you’ll be like Nebuchadnezzar and bow down in worship.

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Next time we’re going to be exploring one of the most recognized stories in the Bible: Daniel in the Lion’s den. I hope you’ll join me as we continue to study how God has called us to live in the last days through Daniel’s Story.

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Will you stand with me and commit to follow Jesus in this closing song?