In the politics of Daniel 5, the Medes and the Persians have joined forces to overcome Babylon. From secular sources, it appears that the armies of Darius the Mede were closing in as King Belshazzar gave his party. There certainly was a battle of kingdoms happening. But more than the earthly, political kingdom battle, there was a spiritual battle happening. Belshazzar seems to shake his fist at the true God by using temple chalices to praise his own idols.
Daniel pointed out that He should have realized who the true God was from the stories of his ancestor, King Nebuchadnezzar. But Belshazzar was unteachable. In Daniel 5 Daniel tells the king: 23But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! 24 So God has sent this hand to write this message. 25 “This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is what these words mean:
Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.
27 Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.
28 Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonianking, was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.[1]
Belshazzar lost his political kingdom, but God did give him time to reconsider which spiritual kingdom he wanted to be part of. The Bible doesn’t say how the king received this tough message. He had been fearful when the writing on the wall appeared and desperate enough to call for God’s prophet Daniel. Did he realize that the true God really did hold his life in his hand? Scripture doesn’t say, but we can see that God did give him a few hours to repent.
Today, the battle of kingdoms continues. Of course, the political battles are constantly in the news. But what spiritual kingdom do you belong to? The enemy would blind you to the possibility that you can belong to God’s kingdom. No matter what you have done, if you repent and are willing to submit to Jesus as Lord, you can be part of His kingdom forever.
To hear more of the story of Daniel, listen here: https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/series/daniel-a-man-of-character/writing-on-the-wall
[1] Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.