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December 9 - Daniel 5 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Tuesday, it's the 9th of
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  December and clever you tapping on play and saying come on Sean,
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  it's time. Let us read the next chapter of
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  this awesome book of Daniel. Let's find out what he's going
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  to get up to in these royal halls as he interacts with these
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  kings, these emperors. And today we move on to the next
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  emperor, and we get to hear what God is doing with this
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  incredible gift that he's given Daniel of interpreting these
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  dreams and visions. And this one is particularly
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  special to me because I remember having this audio cassette as a
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  kid telling the story, and I would listen to it again and
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  again and again with these vivid images in my mind as I lay in my
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  hammock in the garden. There you go.
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  But here we are in 2025, and we continue to read these stories
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  because they hold the truth, the truth of a God who is mighty and
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  more powerful than any Kingdom. And that you will see as the
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  theme replaying again and again and again that this is God's
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  world. The rule is that may think that
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  they're running the show. All their power and authority is
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  a gift to them. And that plays out through all
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  these stories and then plays out through the visions that we will
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  begin this week and read next week as well.
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  So let's continue the story. Holy Spirit, open our hearts so
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  that we see you robed in splendour and glory as we read
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  these stories. Alright friends, let's read
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  together Daniel chapter 5. Many years later, King
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  Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1000 of his nobles and he
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  drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking
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  the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver
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  cups that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from
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  the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them
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  with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
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  So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the House
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  of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives
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  and his concubines drank from them.
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  While they drank from them, they praised their idols made of
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  gold, silver, bronze, ironwood and stone.
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  Suddenly they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the
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  plaster of wall in the King's palace near the lampstand.
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  The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned
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  pale with fright, his knees knocked together in fear, and
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  his legs gave way beneath him. The king shouted for his
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  enchanters, astrologers and fortune tellers to be brought
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  before him. He said to these wise men of
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  Babylon, whoever can read this writing and tell me what it
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  means, We'll be dressed in purple robes of royal honour,
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  and we'll have a gold chain placed around his neck.
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  He will become the third highest ruler in the Kingdom.
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  But when all the King's wise men had come in, none of them could
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  read the writing or tell them what it meant.
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  So the king grew even more alarmed, and his face turned
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  pale. His nobles, too, were shaken.
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  But when the Queen Mother heard what was happening, she hurried
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  to the banquet hall. She said to Belshazzar, Long
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  live the king. Don't be so pale and frightened.
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  There is a man in your Kingdom who has within him the spirit of
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  the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar's reign,
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  this man was found to have insight, understanding and
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  wisdom like that of the gods. Your predecessor, the king.
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  Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief
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  over all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and
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  fortune tellers of Babylon. This man Daniel, whom the king
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  named Beltejazar, has exceptional ability and is
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  filled with divine knowledge and understanding.
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  He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult
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  problems. Call for Daniel and he will tell
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  you what the writing means. Sir Daniel was brought in before
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  the king. The king asked him, Are you
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  Daniel, one of the Exiles brought from Judah by my
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  predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar?
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  I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you,
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  and that you are filled with insight, understanding and
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  wisdom. My wise men and enchanters have
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  tried to read the words on the wall and tell me their meaning,
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  but they cannot do it. I am told that you give
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  interpretations and solve difficult problems.
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  If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will
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  be clothed in purple robes of royal honour and you will have a
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  gold chain placed around your neck.
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  You will become the third highest ruler in the Kingdom,
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  Daniel answered the king. Keep your gifts or give them to
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  someone else. But I will tell you what the
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  writing means. Your Majesty, the Most High God
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  gave sovereignty, majesty, glory and honour to your predecessor
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  Nebuchadnezzar. He made him so great that people
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  of all races and nations and languages trembled before him in
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  fear. He killed those he wanted to
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  kill and spared those he wanted to spare.
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  He honoured those he wanted to honour and disgraced those he
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  wanted to disgrace. But when his heart and mind were
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  puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal
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  throne and stripped of his glory.
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  He was driven from human society.
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  He was given the mind of a wild animal, and he lived among the
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  wild donkeys. He ate grass like a cow and he
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  was drenched with the dew of heaven until he learned that the
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  Most High God rules over the kingdoms of the world and
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  appoints anyone he desires to rule over them.
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  You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all
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  this. Yet you have not humbled
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  yourself, for you have proudly defied the Lord of Heaven and
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  have had these cups from his temple brought before you.
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  You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been
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  drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold,
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  bronze, ironwood and stone. Gods that neither see nor hear
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  nor know anything at all. But you have not honoured the
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  God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny.
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  So God has sent this hand to write this message.
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  This is the message that was written.
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  Menne, Menne, tekkel and passin. This is what these words mean.
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  Menne means numbered. God has numbered the days of
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  your reign and has brought it to an end.
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  Tekkel means weighed. You have been weighed on the
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  balance and have not measured up.
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  Passin means divided. Your Kingdom has been divided
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  and given to the Medes and Persians.
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  Then, at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was dressed in purple
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  robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was
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  proclaimed the third highest ruler in the Kingdom.
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  That very night, Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed and
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  Darius the Mede took over the Kingdom at the age of 62.
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  Are You are the most amazing God.
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  You are the most amazing ruling king.
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  All the creation is your Kingdom, and you do not rule
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  with an iron fist, but you rule with absolute authority and
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  sovereignty, but with grace and with love.
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  And to make sure that we understand this message you have
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  given us, Jesus, who came so that we can understand who you
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  are and what your character is like and what your plans are for
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  us. And your plans are that we could
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  be your children, your cherished ones, and live with you forever
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  and ever in your loving embrace. So we love you back and we love
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  your Kingdom and we love your ways, and we love what you have
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  planned for us. And we say yes, yes, come, Lord
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  Jesus, come and be our King today, every day of our lives
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  and to the very end of this age and every age.
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  We are your children. You're grateful, honoured and
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  loved children. And we pray all of this in your
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  name, Jesus, Amen.