Brilliant in Babylon 5
The Writing Is On the Wall
1. Partying in the Face of Death
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2. The Failure of Our Wise Men
vs. 17, “You may keep your gifts and give your rewards to someone else; I will read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him
3. The Writing On the Wall for All of Us
Mene, mene: your days are numbered;
tekel: you have been weighed on the balance and been found deficient;
parsin: your kingdom has been taken from you and divided.
verse 22 “But you, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from God’s house were brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold... which do not see or hear or understand. And you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole course of your life.
DANIEL CHARGES BELSHAZZAR
FIRST, he says, you have not worshipped God as God.
SECOND, You took the vessels that God set apart for his purposes and used them for yours.
Talents
Your resources
Sexual sin
4. The Finger of God Has Appeared to This Generation
Luke 11:20 (ESV) — 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
“I would have every man put himself into the divine scales. These scales are true to a hair--one grain of sand will tip them. On one side of the scale, I put only one commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength,” and I invite any man who… flatters himself that he has no need of mercy, no need of washing in the blood of Jesus Christ, no need of atonement—to put himself into the scales, and see whether he measures up to just this one command.
Oh, my friends, if we did but weigh ourselves against the very first commandment of the law, we would have to acknowledge ourselves as hopelessly guilty. But then as we begin to drop in the weight of the other commandments, until the whole sacred Ten are there, there is not a man under the scope of heaven who has anything less to say, but must confess that he is woefully short of the mark.” Charles Spurgeon
Final Thoughts
Sin often looks like a big party – 2 Peter 2:13-22
God expects us to learn from the mistakes of others
God judges sin – Acts 24:25; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Peter 3:7
