Bible Studies

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Read the writing on the wall! For some unknown reason, this phrase has been entering my mind lately--completely unbidden and utterly persistent. The other night, I turned to the Book of Daniel and read Chapter 5 repeatedly--I must have read the events of the last night of the Neo-Babylonian Empire fifty times. I could not shake the feeling that there was something that I was supposed to “get”. While I by no means understand all of it, I believe that a piece of the End-Time puzzle has fallen into place for me. I will paraphrase the events related in Daniel 5 below.

According to most historians, the year was 539 B.C.E. and Belshazzar, the Crown Prince of Babylon, was having a feast (party as it were) for a thousand of his lords. Basically, Belshazzar was a young irreverent prince and was getting “tanked up”. Nebuchadnezzar had taken the vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem years before and now Belshazzar brought them out and all at the party drank wine from the vessels and praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. At that time, Belshazzar saw the “fingers of a man’s hand” writing something on a wall. Eventually, Daniel would be brought in to interpret the writing. That writing and Daniel’s interpretation is related in Daniel 5:25-28.

Daniel 5:25-28 (KJV)

25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

The first thing that should be noted is that the terms written on the wall were all Aramaic weights and currencies. They are…

1) MENE--Mina
2) TEKEL--Shekel
3) PERES--Half-Mina

However, this event in Biblical history becomes even more interesting when one converts the values of the above terms into GERAHS, another weight measurement equal to a bean or what we today would probably refer to as a “grain of wheat”. When converting to GERAHS, we end up with the following…

1) Mina--1,000
2) Mina--1,000
3) Shekel--20
4) Peres--500

The total expressed in GERAHS is 2,520. Many students of Biblical prophecy will recognize that it is the same number of days (2,520) as are contained in a 7-year period at 360 days each! When one divides the total, we get the recognizable 3 ½ days/years theme so often found in Daniel and Revelation. Daniel also sees fit to mention the 7-year period in which Nebuchadnezzar was “driven from the sons of men” and lived like a wild beast in the fields. That is, Nebbie was insane for seven years! This is mentioned in Daniel 5! But what are we to make of the fact that the term MENE is mentioned twice? This is where it gets good!

Isaiah 21:9 (KJV)

9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground.

Revelation 14:8 (KJV)

8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.

Revelation 18:2-3 (KJV)

2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication…

What we see is that Babylon will fall twice! She fell literally in 539 B.C.E. and she (the symbolic Babylon) will fall again in the future! The writing on the wall that Daniel interpreted outlines the time-frame of the Tribulation. Daniel interpreted writing that served as dual prophecy (and there may indeed be other layers to this prophecy that are waiting to be uncovered)! You see, in Daniel 5:25 we are informed that Babylon will “be numbered and brought to an end” twice. In Revelation 18:6 we are informed that Babylon will receive “double according to her works”. When the last Babylon is fallen, the marriage of the Lamb will come. Blessed are the attendees!

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