The orgy--tongues loosed with
wine--blasphemy, desecration.The
handwriting on the wall--terrorized, paralyzing with fear.How quickly the scene changed!The great day of His wrath is coming.Who shall be able to stand?
I.The
Words on the Wall.
1.Why
were they unable to read them?
(1)Some
say, in ancient, mysterious hieroglyphics.
(2)Some
say, in ancient Hebrew chronicles; but Hebrew written square block letters of
Aramaic alphabet.
(3)Some
say, the divine truth from heaven was always unintelligible to the wise of this
world.Luminous to those whom the Holy
Spirit had taught (1 Corinthians 2:6-14, "But God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of
God.Now we have received, not the
spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the
things that are freely given to us of God").
2.The
actual wonder almost certainly was written in old Hebrew:
(1)MENE,
MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN
(2)Samekh
Resh Pe
II."Finished".
1.An
appointed measure, a settled limit to everything.
(1)Life--Hebrews
9:27 "appointed unto men once to die."
--Psalms 90:9, 10 & 12
"teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto
wisdom."
(2)Kingdom--Daniel
2:31-34 "the successive empires."
(3)Heaven
and earth--Matthew 24-35.
Numbers in God's creation; mystery
of numbers provided everywhere.
(1)Substance
and matter -- constituted by numbers arranged of a few elementary particles
according to numerical proportions creates the endless variety of substances,
atoms, molecules.
(2)Sound--numeric
vibrations are numerically different.
(3)Sight--color
wave lengths are all different.
(4)Astronomy--in
settled numerical radius--distance, mass, movement, Pluto known before the
telescope could see it.
(5)In
the first two chapters of Revelations, I preached two sermons just on numbers.
3.Comfort
for God's People.
(1)In
Matthew 10:30, every hair on our head is numbered.
(2)The
pagan:blind, inexorable, pitiless,
unbending faces unmoved by human sorrow.We think we live in a world of "kismet" and fate; there is no
such thing as fate.But to the
Christian, God sees, loves, and cares; it is not just blind chance.
III.Weighed
and Wanting.
1.God
weighs all men.How do we measure up?
(1)Religious
rituals--baptized, confirmed, catechized, consecrated, absolved; wear black on
Friday and white on Sunday; fast when others feast; meet every undeviated
requirement.Exact, punctilious, but
pay our debt to God in requirements and rituals.God says, "thou shall love with all thy heart" and we
say, “we have performed.”
(2)Sincerity--Acts
26:9, Saul, I verily thought, verily contrary added to heresy.Sincere morality, philosophers yet unwashed
in the blood.
(3)They
are weighed and found wanting who are not born again, sin and state, fallen
natures, who mind earthly things; carnal minded.
2.Kingdoms,
Nations.
(1)our
sinews, our Christian people.
(2)our
battlement and principality.
(3)guiding
genius.
(4)tide
mind of God.
3.Churches.
(1)Revelations
2, Ephesians 2:5, Ephesus concluded; must have the spirit of Christians.
(2)thou
hath left thou first love.
(3)architect
can build a glorious edifice, but Christ alone can make it a church.
(4)contractor
can erect a royal palace, only the King can make it a royal palace.
(5)Orator
thrills a crowd, but the Spirit alone can save.
IV.Divided.
1.Inevitable
judgment.
Men put away such thoughts, attempt
to hide behind frivolity, amusement, worldly work goals.But somebody, somewhere is in agonizing,
piercing pain.
2.Here.
While banqueting is going on,
conspirators noiselessly gathered toward the palace.The signal was given, some opened the gates.Some seized the royal palace and there was
slaughter.To Darius under Cyrus,
describing in capture, Babylon not as Herodotus, Euphrates tried, but by a
certain silent signal.Cyrus fought the
city without a battle.Fell, defeated
to him.The golden kingdom ends, and
furiously debased.In Psalms 9:17
"the widow ...hell...all the nations..."
