The Fatal Feast: Belshazzar’s Sacrilege and the Writing on the Wall
The story of King Belshazzar in Daniel chapter 5 is a dramatic and terrifying account of divine judgment, illustrating the immediate consequences of national arrogance and the deliberate profanation of consecrated things. It stands as a climactic warning about the fate of those who defy the Lord’s absolute sovereignty.
1. The Feast and the Profanity (Daniel 5:1-4)
The incident took place in Babylon during a great feast held by King Belshazzar, the son (or grandson) and co-regent of Nebuchadnezzar. In an act of unparalleled hubris and sacrilege, the king commanded that the sacred vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought forth:
“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. 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. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.”
— Daniel 5:2-4 (KJV)
The act was not merely one of careless use; it was a defiant, deliberate profanation. The vessels were consecrated to the worship of the one true God (YHWH). Using them to drink wine while simultaneously praising pagan gods was the ultimate blasphemy—an attempt to elevate the idols of Babylon above the God of Israel.
2. The Judgment: The Handwriting on the Wall (Daniel 5:5-9)
The blasphemy brought an instantaneous and terrifying response. In the middle of the drunken revelry, an otherworldly manifestation appeared:
“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. 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.”
— Daniel 5:5-6 (KJV)
Belshazzar’s reaction was not one of repentance, but paralyzing terror. His mind was thrown into immediate confusion and his body into collapse—a physical manifestation of God’s immediate judgment upon his pride. The sight and the mysterious inscription rendered all of his court “wise men” utterly incapable of providing an interpretation.
3. The Interpretation and the End (Daniel 5:25-30)
Daniel, brought in as a last resort, first condemned the King, reminding him that he had failed to humble himself despite knowing the fate of his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar: “But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven…” (Daniel 5:23, KJV).
Daniel then interpreted the mysterious words on the wall:
| Inscription (Aramaic) | Meaning (KJV) |
| MENE | God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. |
| TEKEL | Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. |
| PERES (Upharsin) | Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. |
Export to Sheets
The verdict was total and immediate: his authority had reached its final numbered day, he was found bankrupt of righteousness, and his sovereignty was already forfeited to his enemies. This divine judgment—the Prophetic Hotspot—was fulfilled within hours:
“In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom…”
— Daniel 5:30-31 (KJV)
The Babylonian empire fell suddenly and completely, directly fulfilling the prophecy delivered by the mysterious hand.
The Return Question: Reckoning with Consecration
The Lord’s Return will be a time when the final, global power system will face a swift, absolute, and terminal judgment (Daniel 2, 7, Revelation 18). How does the terrifying fate of King Belshazzar—who was immediately judged for profaning the consecrated vessels of God—serve as a critical warning that all who are engaged in acts of deliberate blasphemy and sacrilege against the things of God (whether physical or spiritual) will face a rapid and final reckoning at the end of the age?
The narrative of Belshazzar provides a sharp answer to The Return Question. It establishes that disrespecting God’s holiness and using the instruments of truth and consecration for profane purposes carries an immediate and final penalty. The coming judgment will not tolerate the mixing of the sacred with the profane. Those awaiting TheLordsReturn.com must ensure that their own lives, as vessels of the Holy Spirit, are held sacred and never used to praise the transient “gods” of this fallen world.