November 28- A Message Of Doom

November 28, 2011

Scripture Reading:
Daniel 5:1-31; 2 Peter 2:1-22;
Psalm 119:113-128; Proverbs 28:19-20

Alas, regardless of their doom, the little victims play! 
No sense have they of ills to come, nor care beyond today. 
~Thomas Gray

Daniel 5:1-31

Scripture reveals that God does not always pursue an individual. Some people, it would seem, are doomed. Today we meet Belshazzar.  He is the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and is now the co-regent with his father of the Babylonian Empire.  Nebuchadnezzar passed away and the kingdom is now in the hands of this prideful and arrogant man. As the story begins, Belshazzar is holding a great feast with a thousand nobles of his kingdom.  A great opportunity for drinking, Belshazzar has ordered that the gold and silver cups/vessels that were taken from Jerusalem and God's Temple be brought out to be used at this banquet. These Temple cups are used by the men and women at the party to make toasts to the idol gods of Babylon that are made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

As they are toasting, a finger appears and writes on the wall of the banquet hall near a lampstand.  This allows people to see the strange words in the light. People go pale with fear. The king is so shaken that his knees knock with fear and his legs give way beneath him.  He calls for the local astrologers, magicians, and fortune-tellers to be brought in to interpret the words.  They are unable to make sense of them.

Belshazzar's mother informs him of Daniel, a man who has the spirit of the holy gods inside of himself.  Daniel is called to the banquet hall to read the words. Belshazzar tells him that if he is able to interpret the words, he will make him the third highest ruler. This is because Belshazzar is in the second position under his father. Daniel recounts for Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar, his grandfather, learned the lesson that the Most High God rules the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over these kingdoms.  Nebuchadnezzar had been humbled, but Belshazzar did not learn from the example of his grandfather.  Belshazzar is prideful and worships idols.  He has not honored God, who controls his destiny!  The words on the wall are MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN and they mean the following:

• Mene- means numbered. God has numbered the days of his reign and is bringing it to an end.
• Tekel- means weighed. Belshazzar has been weighed and found wanting.  He has failed God's test.
• Parin- means divided. His kingdom will be divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

Daniel is honored by Belshazzar, put in a purple robe, and made the third highest ruler in the land.

That night, Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom.  This all happened in the year 539 B.C. Belshazzar was not pursued by God, he was doomed by God.

Do you recognize that God controls everything?

2 Peter 2:1-22

Today, Peter guides us and warns us about false teachers in the Church. This is where apostasy gets the fuel for its fire. The first warning is that false teachers are ultimately greedy and all about money. Do they always reach for your purse? They just might be false teachers. Peter warns that false teachers are doomed to destruction.

He explains that angels have fallen and been doomed. The people on the earth during the flood were doomed. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were doomed. And false teachers are going to be doomed. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have caused others. He compares them to Balaam, the Old Testament character who prophesied for money's sake. His donkey had to stop him from his wickedness. Peter says the the wicked are doomed to the blackest darkness.

People are slaves to whatever controls them and Peter says that these false teachers are controlled by sin. They are like dogs that return to their vomit and pigs that return to mud. 

These are strong words designed to keep believers from listening to false teachers. 

Are you able to discern false teachers because you know your Bible so well?

Psalm 119:113-128

The psalmist wants evil-minded people to get out of his life.  Peter would be pleased.

Proverbs 28:19-20

People who try to get rich quick tend to get in trouble. The false teachers that Peter warns against want to get rich off of preaching and teaching.

What did you notice today?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton