Daniel Speaks! (Dan. 5:17a)

 

Dan. 5:17a: “Let your gifts remain with you…”

 

o   These words should not be viewed as a crude, impudent, and injudicious expression of open contempt for the King—which would justly carry with it an expectation of regal fury and well-merited vengeance. We strongly resist the idea that Daniel was being “saucy” or “cheeky” in his manner and conduct.

 

Prov. 20:2: The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion; he who provokes him to anger sins against his own soul.

 

1Pet. 2:13:  Be subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority…

 

Rom. 13:7: Pay everyone whatever you owe them—taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due.

 

1Pet. 2:17: Honor all people, love the brethren, fear God, honor the king.

 

o   There are four factors that bear our consideration, with reference to Daniel’s opening comments.

 

o   First, this statement serves as a prologue for all that follows, starkly defining Daniel’s role as a forthright and incorruptible Divine messenger.

 

Daniel is, from the very onset of his discourse, establishing the fact that he is not merely a “hired gun” whose services are for rent (in stark contrast to the Babylon’s professional caste spiritual “experts”). Rather, he is a prophet of the Living God who must speak the truth.

 

The Scripture contains various negative examples of those “professionals” and “hirelings” (John 10:12-13) who, motivated by self-interest, prophesize or serve for money, such as Balaam, the son of Beor (who was outsourced to Balak, King of Moab, in Num. 22), or the young Levite Jonathan (Judges 17-18) who sold himself out to the idolatrous Micah of Ephraim for “ten shekels and a shirt”[1] (Judges 17:10), and who subsequently hired himself out to the men of Dan (Judges 18) for similar reasons.[2]

 

In contrast to such men as these are those like Abraham (who would not accept enrichment from the hand of the King of Sodom; cf., Gen. 14:21-24), Elisha (cf., 2 Kings 5:15-16, who would accept no “fee” for the cure of Naaman), Peter (who could not be “bought” by Simon Magus in Acts 8:18-20), or Paul (who could truthfully state unto the Ephesian elders “I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothes;” cf. Acts 20:33-35).

 

To be sure, the laborer is due his well-earned wages (1 Tim. 5:17-18), but we are dealing here with the question of motivation.

 

Matt. 6:24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

 

o   Second, these words must be understood in a manner that is consistent with the context that is established by Daniel’s ensuing testimony as a faithful and accurate interpreter. The grim report that Daniel will subsequently convey unto the Royal House is that Babylon’s doom is immediate in its proximity—thereby rendering Belshazzar’s promised lavish rewards both imminently and utterly worthless!  

 

o   Third, Daniel’s discomfort in accepting royal favors may also stem from the fact that he has been made aware of Belshazzar’s desecration of the sacred Temple objects (v. 23).

 

o   Fourth, Daniel utters these words in faith and trust. Well aware that he was walking the “thin line” (i.e., faithfully serving the Living God in relating and interpreting a Divine message that would most assuredly be disagreeable unto the ears of the Royal Court—and thus potentially incur the King’s wrath and violent displeasure), Daniel nonetheless places his destiny in the Hands of God, boldly serving the Lord in total obedience and leaving the consequences and results with Him.

 

o   This is an important example for believers to take note of, as all of us called upon by our Divine Master to fulfil the demands of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) within “hostile territory.”

 

o   While it is true that the Royal Honors are ultimately presented by Belshazzar and accepted by Daniel (cf., 5:29), it is essential to note that this occurs only after the message is interpreted—underlining with clarity the fact that Daniel did not exercise his prophetic gifts in a mercenary fashion. He accepts the gifts only after establishing the foundational principle and condition that the King’s offer of reward would in no wise affect the outcome of the interpretation.

 

Also, we would note the thought offered by Lange’s commentary on this matter: namely, that Daniel ultimately accepted the King’s gifts in the spirit of regarding them “as a recognition of his God.” In other words, Belshazzar’s rewards represented a public acknowledgement of the veracity of Daniel’s interpretation.

 

We would further add these significant points from Barnes with reference to the discussion: 1) Belshazzar was presenting Daniel with an honor that he did not seek, and 2) Belshazzar was, à la Don Corleone, making Daniel an offer that “he couldn’t refuse!”

 

“It may seem somewhat strange that Daniel, who here disclaimed all desire of office or reward, should so soon (Dan. 5:29) have submitted to be clothed in this manner, and to receive the insignia of office. But, it may be remarked, that when the offer was proposed to him he stated his wishes, and declared that he did not desire to be honored in that way; when he had performed the duty, however, of making known the writing, he could scarcely feel at liberty to resist a command of the king to be clothed in that manner, and to be regarded as an officer in the kingdom. His intention, in the verse before us, was modestly to decline the honors proposed, and to intimate that he was not influenced by a desire of such honors in what he would do; yet to the king’s command afterward that he should be clothed in robes of office, he could not with propriety make resistance. There is no evidence that he took these honors voluntarily, or that he would not have continued to decline them if he could have done it with propriety.”

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[1] Note the missionary Paris Reidhead’s classic 1965 sermon “Ten Shekels and a Shirt,” which can be found on Sermon Audio.com (https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=10180222445).

[2] This episode is held up as a prime example of what happens to a nation that is not under authority (Judges 18:1).

BLOODY ABORTION: Some Facts & Figures

 

BLOODY ABORTION:

Some Dark Facts & Recent Figures

by Pastor Terry L. Reese, of the Valley GBC of Armagh GBC; 5/26/23)

 

As of today, about 930,160 legally induced abortions are provided annually in the U.S. This is a 7% increase from 2017—reversing a long-term decline since the high-point of 1990 (a year that saw a record 1.6 million U.S. abortions). From 1973 (the year of Roe v. Wade) until 1981(when 29.3% of U.S. pregnancies ended in abortion), the numbers of abortions sky-rocketed—and then leveled-off at a 10-year, even-plateau. From 1990 to 2017, there was a slow, steady decline in the abortion rate amongst American women, but since 2017 the abortion rates have notably increased. Total Number of U.S. abortions since Roe v. Wade (1973-Present):

65,000,000 (65 MILLION).

 

Currently, 20.6% of all U.S. pregnancies end in abortion. The states with the highest abortion rates are New Jersey (29.2%) and New York (28.8%). In Washington DC, the rate is 49%!

 

According to Guttmacher’s (a pro-choice NGO that conducts data-research), for the first time since Roe v. Wade, a solid majority of U.S. abortions (54%) are now performed using chemical abortifacients (i.e., an “abortion pill”—a human “pesticide”). This represents a sharp increase since 2004 (9.6%), with the current trend being expected to increase.

 

61% of Americans believe that abortion should be allowed either all, or most of the time. 62% of US abortion clientele claim to have some sort of religious affiliation. The top reason they cite for having an abortion (25%) is not being “ready” to have a child; only 0.5% claim to be rape victims.

 

According to the World Health Organization, the annual number of abortions worldwide is 73 million per year (i.e., 200,000 per day, with 29% of all pregnancies on Planet Earth currently ending in abortion).

The NEW BIRTH: What it IS, and what it is NOT

 

The NEW BIRTH: What it IS and IS NOT

(Pastor Terry L. Reese; Valley GBC of Armagh, PA; 2/24/23)

 

A. What this change is NOT: it is not the work of man!

1. The New Birth is NOT procured by church ordinances. Simon Magus was water-baptized—and unregenerate! (Acts 8:13,20-23).

 

2. A good education is not regeneration. Education may serve to restrain men's lusts—but cannot change their innermost hearts. A wolf in chains is restrained from causing harm—but it is still a wolf!

 

3. Natural progress in outward maturity is not the new birth. As men progress in age and maturity, they often turn from youthful indiscretions and outwardly embrace a more discreet and respectable lifestyle. However, such self-reformation is not redemptive change nor spiritual regeneration!

 

4. Zeal & regularity in religious observance is not the new birth. One may engage in all the outward duties of religion—and yet remain utterly lost & unregenerate (Acts 26:4-5, Matt. 23:15)! 

 

5. The New Birth isn’t simply a “flash-in-the-pan” emotional “experience” that eventually fades into oblivion (Matt 13:20-21, 1John 2:19). Many persons momentarily experience the pangs of a troubled conscience—only to return to their own “vomit” (2 Pet. 2:22): cf., Pharaoh, Esau, Simon Magus, Felix, Judas, etc.

 

B. What this change IS. This change is real & profound—a man is literally transformed by God into a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17)!

 

1. Regeneration results in a change of qualities, or dispositions (Eph. 4:22-24, Gal. 5:17-24, Rom. 6:1-14).

 

2. It is a supernatural change. He who is born again is born of the Spirit (John 3:5). Man cannot effect this change (Jer. 13:23)—but the God who raises the spiritually dead can (Ezek. 36:26, John 1:13)!

 

3. It is a change into the Likeness of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18), which is God’s eternal plan for His elect (Rom. 8:29).

 

4. It is an entire & extensive change: the whole man (mind, will, soul, etc.) is regenerated (2 Cor. 5:17: “All things become new…").

 

5. It brings a new freedom from sin (John 8:34-36; Rom. 6:16-18)!

 

6. It is irreversible—it is a permanent & lasting change (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Philip. 1:6, Rom. 8:29-30).

 

7. The agent of regeneration: the Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). God appoints means that attend His Divine activity: evangelism (Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 10:13-15) and prayer (Rom. 10:1; 1Tim. 2:1).

The Terror of a King (Dan. 5:5d-7a)

 

v. 5d: “and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.”

o   Note the emphasis upon the fact that the King himself was an eyewitness—ensuring that the dreadful apparition could not be dismissed by Belshazzar as a false report born out of fancy, or perhaps an alcohol-fueled delusion arising from the bosom of the intoxicated.

 

v. 6a: “Then the king's countenance changed…”

o   The term translated “countenance” literally refers to “brightness,” or bright looks; the color drained from Belshazzar’s face as he beheld the spectral apparition.

 

o   Instantly, the King has returned to sobriety and his grand theatrical display of bravado has vanished!

 

“Behold, Reader! on what a slender thread the happiness of man hangs, when in a moment the appearance on a wall can snap it asunder!”—Robert Hawker, Poor Man’s Commentary

 

v. 6b: “and his thoughts alarmed him…”

o   Precisely WHY his mind was troubled and filled with terror by the awful apparition is not directly specified—yet we may conjecture the following…

 

·         In general, we may observe that men are terrified by an encounter with the transcendent—what Rudolf Otto (The Idea of the Holy, 1917) has described as the numinous—referring to an awe-inspiring and fear-inducing encounter with the Holy (cf., Ex. 34:30). The Holy is that which is wholly other and above, and which lies outside the normal experience of man. Biblically, the term Holy primarily refers to that which is transcendent; the popular idea of holiness as a moral purity is a secondary idea that is contained within the first. Note how sinful men reacted to an encounter with a Holy God in the Person of Christ:

Luke 5:8: And seeing [the miracle of the great catch], Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord.

Luke 8:37: And all the multitude of the neighborhood of the Gadarenes were seized with a great fear [with reference to the healing of the demoniac]. And they asked Him to depart from them. And entering into the boat, He returned.

 

·         In this specific case, Belshazzar was doubtless aware that the dreadful apparition was connected to his acts of blasphemy against the God of Israel (vv. 2-4)—the very same God that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had also offended (4:28-33), resulting in catastrophic judgment—of which Belshazzar was fully aware (vv. 18-22)! The dormant conscience was at last awakened!

v. 6c: “…so that the joints of his loins were loosed…” [KJV]

o   Loins is commonly understood to refer to that area engirdled by the belt—an area serving as the seat of a man’s strength; Belshazzar’s strength thus departed.

 

o   Belshazzar loses control of his lower extremities and is apparently either unable, or barely able, to stand.

 

o   Some commentators have also apprehended within this statement the suggestion that Belshazzar may also have lost control of his bladder, or perhaps his bowels—and thus became incontinent!

 

o   Isaiah 45:1 may contain a reference to this event in speaking of the triumphs of the Persian conqueror Cyrus the Great, who would strip rival kings—including Belshazzar—of their dignity, power, and sovereignty.

 

“Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, whom I have taken by the right hand, to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings…”

 

v. 6d: “…and his knees knocked against each other.”

o   A further expression of the king’s overwhelming fear. The great Assyrian city of Nineveh had experienced a similar terror in the day of its downfall:

 

Nahum 2:11: She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste! Hearts are melting and knees knocking! Also anguish is in the whole body and all their faces are grown pale!

 

o   How quickly passes the mirthful delight of the wicked! Solomon compares their moment of glee to a fire fueled by thorns: pointlessly, it crackles merrily with a great noise and a grand show of flame—but only for a brief moment, rapidly burning itself out and accomplishing nothing!

 

Eccl. 7:6: For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.

 

o   Henry Cowles, in his old commentary on Daniel (1867), paints a vivid picture of this scene, reminding us that the terror experienced by Belshazzar will ultimately be visited upon all sinners:

 

It is an appalling scene when a sinning mortal knows that the Great God has come to meet him in the very midst of his sins! Belshazzar might well stand aghast to find him- self thus confronted face to face with the dread Jehovah whom he is purposely insulting! He has a sense of a present Power, more than human, in that strange hand, writing unknown words on his palace-wall, and a guilty conscience helps him to forecast some fearful doom! The brightness of his countenance is gone (so the original imports); his mind is fearfully agitated; his knees smite against each other. How changed the scene from the glee of his blasphemous revelry to this paleness of cheek, convulsion of frame, remorse of conscience, and dread foreboding of doom! Many a sinner has had a like experience, and other thousands must have it!

 

Heb 10:31: It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

o   The guilt-induced terror generated by the awful specter causes the king to lose composure before the eyes of his shocked courtiers in much the same manner as Shakespeare’s Macbeth, upon encountering Banquo’s ghost (Act 3, Scene 4).

v. 7a: “The king cried aloud…

o   A further indication of the king’s lack of composure is revealed as he disregards appearances and desperately cries for his appointed “experts” in matters pertaining to the supernatural.  

 

v. 7b: “…to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers…”

 

o   The list of enumerated classes indicates that the entire college of such “experts” were subject to the royal summons, as in 2:2 & 4:4 5:11—though reference to the “magicians” (Heb., charṭôm) is absent. Some have seen some significance in this—arguing that Belshazzar was deliberately avoiding contact with Daniel, who was referred to as their president in 4:9. As Keil & Delitzsch argue, however, this suggestion is most improbable, in that v. 8 indicates that all classes of wise men were summoned upon this grave occasion (“all the king's wise men came in”).

 

o   Furthermore, by this time, the octogenarian Daniel appears to have been placed “on the shelf” by the regime, no longer actively functioning at court as the chief administrator over the company of magi (cf., vv. 11-16). It should be remembered that there had been several regime-changes subsequent to the death of Daniel’s great royal patron, King Nebuchadnezzar.

 

o   These “experts,” with remarkable consistency, had long-proven unsuccessful at such interpretive efforts in the past (Dan. 2:10-11, 4:7)—yet the king impulsively and intuitively turns to them as a source of divine wisdom. Sadly, the ungodly have a persistent pattern of preferring the smooth counsel and worldly wisdom of spiritual humbugs and imposters over the genuine knowledge and revelation that is provided by authentic and accredited messengers of God (1 Kings 22:5-8).

 

2 Tim. 4:3-4: For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

 

As with the prior courtly narratives of chapters 2 and 4, it will once again be demonstrated through the failure of the wise men that “the world by its wisdom did not know God…” (1 Cor. 1:21).

 

o   How is it, we may ask, that the king did not initially choose to reactivate the forgotten Daniel, in light of Belshazzar’s personal knowledge of the events of chapter 4 (Dan. 5:22)? Note Calvin’s comments on this passage, underlining the doctrine of the entire (or total) depravity of natural man:

 

“When God sets before him the sign of his judgment, he calls together the magi and the Chaldeans, and passes by Daniel. And what possible excuse can he have for this? We have seen, as I have said, how very prone men are to be deluded by Satan’s impostures, and the well-known proverb becomes true—The world loves to be deceived!”

 “…We see, then, how blind King Belshazzar was, since he closed his eyes to the light offered him. So in the present day almost all the world continues in blindness; it is not allowed to wander in darkness, but when light shines upon it, it closes its eyes, rejects God’s grace, and purposely desires to cast itself headlong. This conduct is far too common.” (John Calvin, Commentary on Daniel)

The wicked, in the end, are “hostile” both to the Father (Rom. 8:7) and His Anointed One (Ps. 2:2)—who is the Truth Personified (John 14:6)—and thus despise His truth and prefer the darkness (John 3:19-20; 7:7, 8:40, 45; 2 Thess. 2:10-12).

 

John 3:19-20:  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

 

v. 7c: “‘Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation…’”

o   The fact that the court’s wise men were both unable (due to their spiritual deficiencies) and unwilling to venture an interpretation (probably sensing the ominous, as in 4:7) is no great puzzle. Less clear is their apparent inability to even be able to read the text of the mysterious message. Various suggestions have been proposed as to why the message and its interpretation were indiscernible to both the king and his college of wise men (v. 8), including the following:

 

o   …While the language was Aramaic, the particular characters employed were the older, pre-Exilic form of Hebrew script (i.e., paleo-Hebrew), as opposed to today’s familiar Aramaic (“Assyrian”) square script, or block-lettering;

 

o   …The simple words themselves—common Aramaic ones—were not undiscernible—only their meaningful interpretation. Thus, the thought here would be that the wise men could not read understandingly (but note the seemingly clear and contrary testimony of v. 8, if taken at face value);

 

o   …The absence of later Masoretic vowel points and accents served to obscure the legibility of the message, which was written purely in consonant-form (“How are you this afternoon?” = “HW R Y THS FTRNN”—or perhaps even “HWRYTHSFTRNN”);

 

o   …The script was laid-out in some sort of unusual or unconventional form, order, or pattern, which contributed to its illegibility, and consequently, to the interpretive difficulty.

 

o   Ultimately, the validity of any of the above proposed solutions resists positive confirmation and absolute certainty, and should thus not serve to obscure the central point that Daniel alone—God’s accredited messenger (Dan. 2:47; 4:9, 18)—was able to understand and interpret the message due to Sovereign Divine intervention and influence.

 

The Doctrine of Total Depravity

 

The Doctrine of Total (or Pervasive) Depravity & Inability

by Pastor Terry Reese, Valley GBC of Armagh, PA; 2/5/23

 

The teaching of the 16^th century Reformers concerning the Total Depravity of Man has long been distorted, reviled, and ridiculed by humanistic and worldly thinkers as something that reflects a gloomy and misanthropic contempt for the Human Race, representing an unacceptable brand of pessimism with regard to the matter of human potential for self-reformation.  Indeed, even within the ranks of today’s popular brand of Evangelicalism, the doctrine represents a difficulty for some professing believers.

 

Despite all of this, however, TRUTH is neither a matter of personal sentiment, nor a matter of popular acclamation. Rather, Doctrinal Truth is something that is determined by its conformity to our sole Authoritative Rule of Faith—the Holy Scriptures. Despite popular disapproval, Total Depravity must be deemed not only one of the clearest teachings of the Bible, but also as a core-essential of the Faith. Without a true sense of this doctrine, not only will one’s entire

concept of Man be distorted, (leading to wide misconceptions and practical consequences with regard to every aspect of human activity—i.e., our domestic, social, scientific, economic, and political lives, etc.), but its denial will also deform our true and deeper understanding of such matters as God & His providence, sin & salvation, grace & justice, and Divine sovereign election and predestination. Indeed, the entirely gracious nature of our salvation is bound in this matter (Eph. 2:1-10).

 

What we DO NOT mean in using this terminology! Total depravity (sometimes called Pervasive Depravity or Total Inability) is not to be regarded identified with the concept of utter depravity. The Doctrine does not, for example, maintain the position that fallen Natural Man is absolutely incapable of doing any form of good whatsoever. Nor does it affirm that fallen humanity is utterly destitute of conscience or of some degree of moral sense. Nor does the Doctrine attempt to maintain that unsaved and unregenerate Men are as utterly wicked as they possibly could be (which, again, would be utter depravity, versus total depravity), or that all men are equally deficient in all areas with regard to their personal failings. 

 

WHAT DO we mean, then, in employing this term “Total Depravity?” That great Genevan, the Reformer John Calvin, who perhaps possessed the single greatest theological mind amongst the Reformers, once spoke of the Doctrine in this manner:

“All men are conceived in sin, and born the children of wrath, indisposed to all saving good, propense to evil, dead in sin, and the slaves of sin; and without the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, they neither are willing nor able to return to God, to correct their depraved nature, or to dispose themselves to the correction of it.”

 

The concept of Total Depravity thus speaks on several different levels pertaining to the corruption of man’s moral and spiritual nature as a result of Original Sin.

 

Firstly, it speaks as to the universality of the corruption of the Human Race; All of Mankind, as a total unit, is corrupted.

 

Gen. 6:5: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

 

Secondly, it speaks as to the comprehensiveness of our individual corruption. No part of the individual man has been left untainted; all of man’s faculties and all aspects of his nature—indeed, his total Being—has been corrupted and affected. This extensive depravity has permeated every aspect of man’s nature—physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional; his heart, mind, and conscience are tainted and perverted.

 

Jer. 17:9: "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?”

 

Because no part of our nature has been left untouched by sin, no action of ours can thus be deemed wholly good in God’s sight.

 

Isa. 64:6: “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

 

As Arthur C. Custance has observed the following:

“In so far as motive determines the moral character and spiritual significance of an act, every deed has something of sinfulness about it because man's will is fatally corrupted by his fallen nature. Not all motives are equally sinful, but no motive is wholly pure. Hence, from a moral and spiritual point of view, human activity is always poisoned as to its motive, to a greater or lesser extent. This fundamental impurity of motive is the reason for saying that man is totally depraved.”

 

Thirdly: the concept of Total Depravity thus also embraces the concept of total inability: Man can do nothing in-and-of himself to achieve or initiate his personal salvation. There is absolutely nothing within man that gives him any sort of salvific merit, and furthermore, Natural Man is also utterly blind and spiritually dead (as opposed to merely spiritually sick). If a man is to be saved, God must condescendingly reach down and rescue him by initiating the process through a special work of Divine Grace, thereby regenerating the man’s heart and effectually drawing him into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

 

1 Cor. 2:14: “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”

 

Eph 2:4-5: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…”

 

John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

 

Because Total Depravity is true, it follows as night follows the day that the Doctrines of Unconditional Election and Irresistible (or Efficacious) Grace are also true. Unconditional Election refers to the fact that God has unconditionally chosen a portion of the Human Race unto personal salvation in accordance with His own Sovereign plan to bring eternal glory unto Himself, and not according to any foreseen faith, merit, or ability within the Man.

 

Rom 9:16: “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”

 

Rom. 8:29-30: For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

 

Since Natural Man is spiritually dead in his sins, God must both initiate process and effectually draw the man to salvation. Note the declaration of Christ:

 

John 6:37 "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”

 

John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”

 

Thus, the principle of GRACE is completely realized in the matter of our salvation. There is nothing in which we can boast—even in our faith!

 

Eph. 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

 

A Mysterious Hand Appears!!! (Dan. 5:5)

 

v. 5a: “Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged…”

 

“Suddenly…” Note the striking parallels to Daniel 4:30-33!

 

o   Even as Nebuchadnezzar finds himself stricken by the powerful Hand of Divine Judgment for unduly assigning the credit for his great prosperity and imperial achievements—which rightfully belonged unto God—unto himself (4:30), so too is the arrogant Belshazzar judged for misascribing Babylon’s political and military triumphs unto the power its false deities and unto the genius of its royal house (5:4, 23).  

 

o   Like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar had crossed a line of no return—a spiritual Rubicon that rendered judgment inevitable!

 

o   “Suddenly…” As with Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar’s judgment was sudden and immediate!

 

4:31: "While the word was in the king's mouth…”

4:33: “Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled…”

 

The Aramaic term shâ‛âh (translated variously as “suddenly,” “in the same hour,” or “at that moment”) is employed in both 4:33 and 5:5, inviting comparison between the two accounts.

 

The immediacy of God’s response serves to clearly & unmistakably connect the act of judgment unto the offending deed, establishing a cause/effect relationship that might otherwise have been lessened in the eyes of men had there been a significant time interval. Thus, the mysterious handwriting appears immediately—as soon as the sacred vessels are dishonored by the Babylonians.

 

o   Both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar became the beneficiaries of obvious and unmistakably supernaturally-directed special revelation with regard to the matter of their judgment: Nebuchadnezzar, through the means of the audible and disembodied heavenly voice, and Belshazzar, via the strange phenomenon of the spectral hand and its message.

 

Dan. 4:31 (ISV): As the words were being spoken by the king, a voice came forth from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, this is declared to you: 'The kingdom has been taken from you!’”

 

Dan. 5:5 (ESV): Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.

“…the fingers of a man's hand emerged…”

o   A night of revelry is suddenly transformed into a night of horror! The strange and transcendent phenomenon of the disembodied portions of a human hand was deliberately designed by God to instill terror and instantly sober the profane and riotous assembly.

 

v. 5b: “and began writing opposite the lampstand…”

o   “and began writing.” The precise form or manner in which the written characters manifested themselves (e.g., engraving, dark lines, glowing light, etc.) is left unspecified—and is ultimately irrelevant. The significant fact is that the letters were conspicuous and seen by all!

 

o   “the lampstand.” While some have speculated that this may have been the sacred Menorah of the Tabernacle (Ex. 25:31-40) that was housed within King Solomon’s Temple, or perhaps the sacred Lamps constructed by Solomon (2 Chron. 4:19-22; Jer. 52:19), there can be no definite confirmation of these proposals. Others would counter that these suggestions are improbable owing to the fact that the sacred articles were brought in after the feast’s commencement as opposed to its outset, when provisions for proper lighting would have already been made.

 

o   If the sacred Menorah was in fact utilized, it would indeed be most ironic that the desecrated article would be employed as an instrument to better illuminate the message of the king’s impending doom!

 

v. 5c: “on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace…”

o   Recall that we had previously observed that modern archeological excavation has unearthed the probable site of the Great Hall within the king’s palace where this event occurred, confirming its huge dimensions (see notes on 5:1c). Archeology has also served to confirm the details supplied by Daniel concerning the application of plaster upon walls of the Royal Throne Room! Note this comment from Walvoord regarding this great hall:

 

“Midway in the long wall opposite the entrance there was a niche in front of which the king may well have been seated. Interestingly, the wall behind the niche was covered with white plaster as described by Daniel, which would make an excellent background for such a writing.”—John Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation

 

o   The illumination supplied by the lampstand and the white gypsum background provided by the wall-plaster would present the ideal conditions for the clear revelation of the Divine Message of certain doom!

 

“When the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against unrighteousness, he would have it to be well noted and noticed by all.”—John Trapp commentary on Dan. 5:5

o   The handwriting on the gypsum-coated wall (the plaster being thus constructed of ground stone) has also been viewed by some commentators (e.g., Tony Garland) as a reminder of the Ten Commandments—a standard of Divine evaluation which in like manner was written by the finger of God upon tablets of stone (Ex. 31:18), and which functions as a bill of indictment against a sinful humanity that has failed to meet its inscribed requirements. Note this function of the Law as described in Col. 2:13-14:

 

Col. 2:13-14: And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.