From His Heart

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One day God will say, turn out the lights, the party's over. Really? For me, here's Pastor Jeff Shreve.

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This is the death of a nation and the death of a proud king. So what does God want to teach us today through the fall of Babylon? What was written on the wall? Four words. Mene, mini tekel, upharsin, you say? What does that mean? It means turn out the lights, the party's over. That's exactly, exactly what God said to Babylon and its king, co-regent, King Belshazzar.

See, because what happened here, this is so important. What happened here can happen to an individual, it can happen to a nation, it can happen to America. He can heal every scar from his heart.

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Walking in pride will lead you and me down the pathway to disaster. No one is bulletproof. God doesn't take the issue of pride lightly, and he's going to deal with it as he deems necessary.

Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, we have a thought-provoking and frankly challenging message about how God deals with those who cling to their pride and what we should do to avoid the discipline that is sure to come.

Today's lesson is entitled "Turn Out the Lights, the Party's Over," where we'll learn that God's grace does have its limits. Open your Bible to Daniel chapter five for this important Bible truth. Here again is Pastor Jeff.

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Now the king of Babylon, Nabonidus, goes out to fight Cyrus and the Persians, and he loses. He is taken captive. His son, Belshazzar, who is co-regent with his father, remains in Babylon. They decide to shut up the city, thinking, "Okay, we're just gonna. You're not gonna be able to get us." The city of Babylon was something to behold—15 miles square, with walls that Herodotus, the Greek historian who lived in the 400s B.C., described as being 350 feet tall and 87 feet thick. It was an impregnable city. The River Euphrates flowed through the city, and they had iron gates that closed underneath the wall. Nothing was getting in.

The Persians, the Medo-Persian armies led by Cyrus, surrounded the city of Babylon. This was the last night before Babylon would completely fall. Belshazzar, in verse 1, held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles and was drinking wine in their presence. With enemies right outside the gate, he was partying it up. When Belshazzar, in verse 2, tasted the wine, he ordered the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought in so that he and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them. They were having a big drunken party, and no doubt there was a lot of sexual immorality going on with the wives and concubines present. He said, "Hey, let's get the holy things that we took from Jerusalem and drink out of them."

In verse 3, the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, were brought in, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They thumbed their noses at God.

Suddenly, in verse 5, the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. Just a hand appeared out of nowhere. The king's face grew pale, his thoughts alarmed him, his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together. Inebriated, Belshazzar suddenly sobered up. You might want to note that this was a buzzkill moment. When that happened, everyone sobered up.

In verse 7, the king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners. He spoke to the wise men of Babylon, saying that any man who could read the inscription and explain its interpretation would be clothed in purple, have a gold necklace around his neck, and have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom. Nabonidus was the first ruler, although he was now a captive to Cyrus, and Belshazzar was second in command. He said, "You'd be third in this little triumvirate of leaders."

In verse 8, all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. The king was greatly alarmed; his face grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed. What was written on the wall? Four words: Mene, mene, tekel, upharsen. You might wonder what that means. In simple terms, it means, "Turn out the lights, the party's over." That's essentially what Daniel told them. This was the death of a nation and the death of a proud king.

So, what does God want to teach us today through the fall of Babylon? This is crucial because what happened here can happen to an individual, a nation, or even America. There are three key lessons to learn from this passage. While there are many things we could discuss, these three lessons are particularly important and serve as warnings.

The first lesson is to be careful that you don't get drunk with pride, thinking you're impregnable and that you can handle everything on your own. Don't assume that your money, resources, and intellect can protect you. Remember, all of that comes from God. Nebuchadnezzar learned this the hard way. God can flip the switch, and you can lose your mind in an instant. So, be cautious not to get drunk with pride.

The second lesson is to be careful that you don't ignore the warnings from God. When Daniel spoke to Belshazzar and recounted the history of Nebuchadnezzar, he reminded him that he already knew better. Belshazzar was blowing off the warnings from God, and eventually, judgment came. Never think that you are more righteous than God or that your standards are higher than His. When you read about how God dealt with nations, don't say, "That's just wrong; God can't do that." God can do whatever He wants. He is holy, just, and loving, and He never acts outside of His character. When you encounter situations you don't understand, don't turn away from God. Instead, trust in His holiness and righteousness.

The third lesson is to be careful that you don't miss your ultimate purpose in life. In verse 23, Daniel tells Belshazzar, "But you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of His house before you. You and your nobles, your wives, and your concubines have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear, or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life, breath, and ways you have not glorified."

Belshazzar's job, like ours, was to glorify God. That is the purpose for which we were created—to shine for His glory. Can you imagine living your whole life and missing that ultimate purpose? Isaiah 43:7 states, "All who claim me as their God will come, for I have made them for my glory." God created us for His glory, honor, and fame. First Corinthians 10:31 says, "Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Philippians 2 encourages us to do all things without grumbling or disputing, so we may prove ourselves to be children of God among a crooked and perverse generation.

Belshazzar was in God's hand; he was not protected by walls or gates but by the grace of God. He was thumbing his nose at God and failing to glorify Him. As a result, God was preparing to crush him. He was made for God's glory, yet he was not fulfilling that purpose.

You may wonder how a person glorifies God. You glorify God when you recognize your need for Him and come to Him. Nebuchadnezzar finally did this; he saw his need and approached Yahweh in brokenness, humility, repentance, and faith. That is the only way to glorify God—by acknowledging your need for Him.

Daniel then explains what was written on the wall in verse 25: "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin." You might wonder why the wise men of Babylon couldn't decipher this, especially since it was written in Aramaic. The inscription was likely written right to left and possibly vertically. Without vowels in Hebrew or Aramaic, it appeared as mn, mn, T, Q, L, P, R, s. It looked confusing, almost like an eye exam.

Daniel clarifies the meaning: "Mene" means God has numbered your kingdom and brought it to an end. He repeats it for emphasis—this is over. "Turn out the lights; the party's over. Your number is up." Belshazzar had messed with the wrong God, and now it was time for judgment.

Then he says "Tekel," meaning you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. God placed Belshazzar on His scale of righteousness, and he did not measure up. He was morally lightweight. The reality is that all of us are deficient morally before God. Without Him, we cannot balance the scales.

In our country, many believe they are good enough and that God is lucky to have them. As Adrian Rogers used to say, "The average person in America is strutting his way to hell thinking he's too good to be damned."

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And that brings up a very serious question. How bad does a person have to be in order to be in danger of eternal punishment in hell? Or to put it another way, can a person be just good enough to get to heaven? Stay with us. In just a moment, Pastor Jeff returns on From His Heart to conclude the message.

Turn out the lights. The party's over. Have you ever noticed yourself slipping into a cycle of worry, fear, or doubt about things happening in the world or in your life? Do you get bogged down in the what ifs and the might happens? In Pastor Jeff Shreve's practical and encouraging series we're completing today called "How to Live the Christian Life in an Unchristian World," we've heard how to stand in and through difficulties as we trust in God who is there for us. He wants the very best for us because he loves us so much.

This timely series is available online at fromhisheart.org. Click the listen link. It's six messages that will bless your life and give you confidence in Him and in Him alone. To get your copy on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or MP3 download, simply call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org and click the resource center link.

Now let's conclude today's last and sobering message from Pastor Jeff's Shine series and find out when God turns out the lights, because the party's over.

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Have you ever seen the movie *Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory*? Or *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*? They made it again. And they got Johnny Depp to play this creepy Willy Wonka guy. You know, he's just a creep. Gene Wilder was kind of weird, but he wasn't creepy. But anyway, in that show they have Veruca Salt. She gets in there and she wants to have a goose that lays these golden chocolate eggs. And she gets down in there and Willy Wonka had said, you know, we have an egg o meter that tests the eggs and it tells you whether it's a good egg or a bad egg. And if you land on that little scale, it'll tell if you're a good egg or a bad egg. And she landed on the scale and it went, "mer bad egg." And she went down into the place where all bad eggs go.

All of us are bad eggs. We don't believe that. We don't like to think like that. You get on God's scale and it's "eh, bad egg." Every single one of us. Jesus is the only one who can save, who can forgive, who can cleanse. You receive Christ, and all of a sudden you go from a bad egg to a good egg because you're clothed and robed in Him. The Bible says you think you can get to heaven by your good works, for all of us have become like one who is unclean. And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment. We're deficient before Him, and all of us without Jesus face eternal judgment.

It's interesting. He gives the story and the score to Belshazzar. The last word he tells them is verse 28, "Perez. Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and the Persians." Different from what was written on the wall. Because what was written on the wall was "upharsin." And people have said, well, it's "upharsin." But then he says, "peres, your kingdom has been divided." Why is that? I love what one commentator said. He said, one is future tense "upharsin" and one is past tense, "Peres." And when the writing came on the wall, the Persians were not yet into the city, but some hours have passed, and now they've already gotten in. And Daniel is so smart, he's so in tune with God that God tells him, this has already taken place. It's a done deal. So you write "Perez," which is the past tense. And that's why he says, your kingdom has been divided, and it's already given over to the Medes and Persians.

And so what does Belshazzar do? Well, he rewards Daniel for telling him what the inscription meant. You know what he should have done? He should have repented, but he didn't do it. Hey, I think even though God had said, turn out the lights, the party's over, if he had gotten down on his knees and on his face and cried out to God for mercy, God would have had mercy on him. But he didn't do it. And it says in verse 30, that same night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was slain. Hey, everybody faces eternal judgment without Him.

Do you see the similarities in this story? And in America, hey, America is drunk with wine, with drugs, with prescription drugs. America is drunk with pride. America is so involved in sexual immorality. It's all over the Internet. It's everywhere you look. It's in all the movies. There's blasphemy, people thumbing their nose up at God. Listen, when we start endorsing sexual immorality and sexual perversion, and we say, that's right, and we cheer it, and the guy stands up and says, "thus says the Lord," and we scorn him and mock Him, man, we're on thin ice with the Lord because he's the one who sets up morality. He's the one who says, this is right and this is wrong. America's willfully rejecting the warnings of God.

We have sermons, and people blow off the sermons and messages from people of God, and people blow those off. Greed and materialism was obviously the order of the day in Babylon, because what does Belshazzar say to Daniel? "Hey, you interpret this and I'll give you some gold. I'll give you this purple robe. I'll give you this position." You couldn't buy Daniel. He'd keep your stuff. I don't care about any of your stuff. But we live in a world today where it's all about money and it's all about materialism. And the heart of so many people is just eaten up with greed and materialism.

And in our country, corrupt leadership, people who tell lies. And I believe that the Lord is saying, how I long to gather you to myself like a hen would gather her chicks under her wings. But you didn't want to come to me. You didn't want my will. You didn't want my ways. You didn't want my word. So not my will, God says, but yours be done. What is it like when you stand before God and you are cast into hell? I believe the Lord says with tears in his eyes, not my will, but yours be done. I died for you. I did everything I could to get you to come to me, but you were unwilling and you said no. And there's no remedy left for you. All that's left for you is judgment and destruction.

God does not want that to happen. He does not want that to happen to any life. He does not want that to happen to this land. Christians are the ones who hold the key and we need to get right and we need to stand in the gap for this land because the handwriting is getting ready to hit the wall and God's people can make the difference.

Speaker 1

Well, this message is a great reminder that God's people can make a difference when we pray and depend on the Lord's mighty hand to accomplish his will in our cities, states, our nation, and all around the world today. You heard the message: Turn out the lights, the party's over. It was edited significantly for time, but you can find it online at fromhisheart.org.

As we close out this month, we want to thank you for listening and supporting From His Heart for over 20 years now, literally on radio, TV, and online. When you give support to us, you're helping us reach and teach the world the foundational truths from God's Word that help them grow closer to Him and, in many ways, come to Him for the first time. Together, we are making a dramatic difference in the world for the Kingdom of God.

With that gift this month to From His Heart, we'd like to say thank you by sending you Pastor Jeff's new series, "This is War: Overcoming the World, the Flesh, and the Devil," all six lessons in the format of your choice. To get yours, request it when you call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go online to fromhisheart.org.

Let's close out the month with a Bible verse that should speak to all of our hearts and all of our struggles about the assurance we have in His love for us: 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Thank you for joining us today. I'm Larry Nobles, inviting you to be back next time when Pastor Jeff will begin a new series called "The Land of the Giants." Be with us then as we again open up God's Word and share real truth, love, and hope. From His Heart.

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There is tremendous truth. There is blessing, there is hope that you always dream of. He can heal every scars of truth, real love. Reho From His Heart.

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From His Heart is the listener-supported broadcast ministry of Dr. Jeff Srie, speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world.

Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.

Find out more at fromhisheart.org.