1. A Handwritten Message from The Book of Daniel, Chapter 5
“...Now is the day of Salvation” 2 Corinthians - Chapter 6:2

2. מנא מנא תקל ופרסין MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

3. Daniel - Chapter 5 1:31
1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.
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 princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

4. 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 thereof.
9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were perplexed.
10 Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:
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, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.
13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?
14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.

5. 15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing:
16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slay; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
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: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with th e dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

6. 22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, 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:
24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; was written.
25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old (62).

7. Context
King Belshazzar ruled Babylon - as the most powerful man alive - from BC
The history is recorded on cylinders and clay tablets, available to see today, in museums.

8. His Father was called King Nabonidus
By Jona lendering (Own work), CC BY 3.0,

9. His great grandfather King Nebuchadnezzar.
By User Hedning on sv.wikipedia - Anton Nyström, Allmän kulturhistoria eller det mänskliga lifvet i dess utveckling, bd 2 (1901), Public Domain,

10. He had a daughter called Vashti … who went on to marry the future Persian King Xerxes I (Ahasuerus); you can read about her story in the Book of Esther.
Belshazzar ruled as regent in the absence of his father (who was exiled in 550 BC), but he ruled with all authority as King.
The Queen mentioned in verse 10 is the Queen Mother - she was not originally at the feast; his wives and concubines were already present).
As per previous Babylonian Kings, Belshazzar is a polytheist - he worshiped multiple gods.

11. (the exception being Nebuchadnezzar, who finally humbled himself before the LORD having spent 7 years living like a wild donkey…)
By William Blake - 1. Blake Archive (Originally uploaded to en:Wikipedia (log) November 2008 by Ceoil (talk) and April 2009 by Petropoxy (Lithoderm Proxy) (talk).)2. Tate Britain, Public Domain,

12. By all accounts Belshazzar is a playboy - partying hard and drinking with his wives, concubines and lords, with (for us) unimaginable great wealth and immense power. -> He was however rotten inside, with a poverty stricken soul.
He ruled the vast Chaldean Empire: its capital, Babylon situated between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers about 50 miles south of modern day Baghdad.
By ܥܝܪܐܩ - Own work, Public Domain,

13. The Greek historian Herodotus specifically praised the walls which he said were 90 kilometres (56 miles) long, 24 metres (80 feet) thick, and 97 metres (320 feet) high --> However Belshazzar was unable to rule his heart
He was a King who commanded fear from his subjects; all bowed down before him > Yet, he had no fear of the LORD.
Belshazzar lived among the wisest men of the day. --> Yet, he was a man who ruled in ignorance of the most important things in life.
Belshazzar made great feast while their mortal enemies, the Medes and Persian armies were encamped outside the city --> Belshazzar placed his faith and safety of the empire in works of human hands and false gods

14. What’s happening in this Passage?
In his drunkenness, Belshazzar is attempting to show the superiority of his gods by ridiculing the God of the Hebrews. He treated the one true God as if He were nothing, blaspheming the name of the LORD and with the instruments of the temple - toasting to their gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone…
Enter the hand of GOD, the writing on the wall!!

15. Belshazzar must have seen many men stand in fear, trembling before him
Belshazzar must have seen many men stand in fear, trembling before him. Now it was his turn to tremble. His knees are knocking, his face is pale. He is sweating and panic is setting in.
His “wise men” cannot help. The Queen (Mother) enters and recommends Daniel.
Now Belshazzar had the opportunity to know all about God. His grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, had been converted and Belshazzar knew about that. (“I have heard of thee”, v. 14, 16 – Belshazzar knew about Danie tool; he also knew about the Lord; he knew what God had done for his grandfather - and as with many today, was willfully blind to these things, v. 22.
2 Cor. 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
John 12:40
He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
Romans 10:3
For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

16. Daniel first refuses to sell-out for reward
Belshazzar offers the 3rd position in the empire (after himself and exiled father Nabonidus) - robed in scarlet (purple) and given a gold chain.
Daniel says NO
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
>>> You see, Daniel knew what was coming - he has been reading Jeremiah:

17. Jeremiah - Chapter 51 54:60
54 A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
55 Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
56 Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompenses shall surely requite.
57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
58 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59 ...
60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.

18. And so, Daniel explains the interpretation of the writing to Belshazzar:
26 ...MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
The words are Aramaic and refer to coinage and weights. There is even a word-play on PERES and Persians. Only Daniel is able to interpret the meaning.
Note - The various weights given—a mənê or sixty shekels, another shekel, and two half-shekels—add up to 62, which was the age of Darius the Mede, indicating that God's will is being worked out (thanks Wikipedia).
Your life has been weighed, evaluated and judged. You are found out-of-balance, falling short and thus, will be divided. Terminated.

19. How Does Belshazzar React?
Quiz Time!
Does he:
Repents - weeps, sackcloth and ashes in his head, Nineveh style
Freaks-out - shouts a lot and has Daniel executed.
Carries on - makes Daniel 3rd in the kingdom...and returns to his party
Answer is C - unfortunately in this story, Belshazzar REJECTS his final command to repentance.
Answer needs CLICK to appear

20. Enter Darius the Median
Unknown to Belshazzar, While he parties, Darius DIVERTS the RIVER Euphrates. With the waters gone, his army marches unhindered into Babylon almost without a fight.
Belshazzar is killed in the scuffles that follow in the early hours of the morning.
By light, the Persian Empire controls Babylon, Belshazzar is dead, and Daniel is made PRESIDENT (Dan 6:2).

21. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Death stalks us from conception to birth and during our life.
We do not know when our end will be.
It will almost certainly be unexpected.
Understand that our lives are weighed by God and placed in the balances, ready for judgement.

22. REPENT today, for “...now is the day of Salvation” 2 COR 6:2
What about YOU. How are you living your life? What will happen when it ends?
John 3: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
The only escape and way to our Father is to have FAITH in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our ADVOCATE in Heaven.
REPENT today, for “...now is the day of Salvation” 2 COR 6:2