Babylon Has Fallen
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Phil 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Intro:
DANCING PLAGUE OF 1518 - modern day France a woman began dancing and couldn't or wouldn’t stop and people would join her, dancing laughing and dying from strokes, heart failure etc. It was a dancing plague people would see it, knowing it was causing death continue in it. IDK but people often will choose FUN over LIFE. These peopled danced their way to death. This is evident of a lack of fear and belief in the judgment of God. Maybe we don’t dance our way to death but we defiantly are in a society that laughs or way to hell. We choose fun every single day over anything else and as a nation we continue to do that until the day we die.
Aaron Lewis (country singer none of know) is most known for his song Party in Hell “So let's have a party in hell, Washed up, worn out and down on my knees But the angels won't take me away The bartender only serves Brown liquor in hell And that sure sounds like heaven to me So let's have a party and tell 'em I'm home”
Our Society has made a joke of the reality of Hell. They say things like “I’ll see you in Hell” they act as if Hell is a place where they meet up with old friends. In reality as a nation and majority of the “Christian” church has denied the existence of Hell. They live like there is no hell, there is no judgement and there is no God.
Paul in reference to those who live like there is no God say 1 Cor 15:32 let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Enjoy the here and now because once we die theres nothing more.
In our culture everything is about FUN & pleasure. We avoid any sober conversation, we ignore the fact that we will be held accountable, we procrastinate on morality and cheerfully we go to hell.
Subject: Dan 5 tells the story of a king who parties his way to death. It’s an incredible passage that we need to hear.
Need:
You & I will be judged. Whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we think its fair or not, judgement is coming.
For the NON-Believer - you will be laid bare, your life of sin will testify against you, you’ll have no defense and Hell will be sentenced
For the believer - WE TOO will be judged (not by Hell for sin) BUT 2 Cor 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
God bought you at a HIGH price of sacrificing His own Son AND he will ask “What did you do with the life I gave you?”
Your high school years matter to God -
I hope tonight grabs you by the shoulders and wakes you up
Unbeliever I pray God gives you ears to hear & you would repent before it’s too late
Believer - Examine if you’re actually in the faith & if so what will you bring to God at the end of your life, what will you do in HS that lasts for eternity!
Prop: Don’t party your way to Hell
Summarize Chapter
Years have passed between ch 4 & ch 5 - Daniel is now OLD MAN DAN in his 80’s
Babylon has declined as an empire with some bad rulers and now have Belshazzar as their King - who is some kind of Grandson to our old friend Neb
At the time of this chapter outside the city walls is the ENEMY ARMY about to launch an attack
Belshazzar knows this but he isn’t in the control room he is partying
in v.1 We jump into the scene of a HUGE, DISGUSTING PARTY that Belshazzar is throwing in His banquet Hall (Immoral)
It’s almost as if he is saying “Nothing to worry about, Babylon cannot be conquered by man”
Then his drunkeness and pride lead him to the next step which was in v.2 “Bring out the golden vessels from the God of Israel's temple - saying “Not even a ‘strong’ God can defeat Me”
And as they use cups set apart for & representative of God to get DRUNK, Bel sees something
A hand writing on a wall, no body, just a hand. He becomes so scared his knees get weak and he most likely wets himself
He asks all of the wise men to come in and interpret what is written BUT of course no one can figure it out but Bel’s mom comes in and reminds him of the WISEST of the WISE Daniel. Surely he can figure this out.
LEAD IN: 3 ACTIONS you must take to prepare for judgement… Be FAITHFUL, Be WISE, Be READY
Be FAITHFUL v.13-17
Daniel has been out of the picture for a while now, 70 years have passed since chapter 1
But who do they think of in times of Crisis? Daniel - His reputation proceeds him as the wisest, insightful interpreter BECAUSE time and time again He was faithful to whatever God put in front of Him.
The king meets him in v.16 and says give me the interpretation and I’ll make you Rich and powerful but Daniel refuses BECAUSE his desire to be faithful to whats in front of Him doesn’t require anything in return.
That should be true of us who are in Christ, our reward is secured in heaven, we have an eternity of Glory headed our way we don’t need recognition or a pat on the back for simple faithfulness to God.
I really don’t like “Wanna treat parenting” - where the primary motivation for obedience is a reward, like training a dog to sit, we try to train kids that if they listen to their parents they get candy. Because then when the candy doesn’t come they quit obeying
We Shouldn’t be TREAT HUNGRY Christians, obeying God for things from God or from man because when the immediate reward doesn’t come we will stop being faithful.
So Daniel says keep your gold Ill do my thing
And when you remain faithful when its good and when its bad, by God’s grace, over time you too will be called on by others in times of need, you will gain the trust and respect of others.
Luke 16:10 ““He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much;
Then before Daniel gives the interpretation he reprimands the King for his sinful choices. v.18
Imagine the scene the party is gathered around listening, this old dude comes in and just speaks the truth to this King fearlessly, not compromising the message at all and olds nothing back.
Daniel is faithful to the charge that would later be given to you and I in 1 Pet 3:15 always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;”
Are you ready to be faithful to speak up
Judgement is coming, will you be faithful to tell others?
Be WISE - Sinning against KNOWLEDGE v.21-24
Wisdom is acting upon what you know
Belshazzar KNEW what was right and didn’t do it… unwise
Belshazzar KNEW (v.22) the story of Neb and knew the laws that were est. to honor God, He KNEW the truth and disregarded it - he did’t humble himself but exalted himself
That’s what makes this sin SO blatant. It was a stupid act to say “Those armies outside can never defeat us & No God can ever defeat us, in fact grab the best cups of the God of Isreal so we can get drunk”
Sin against knowledge incurs a worse judgement
Heb 10:29 “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?”
The more you KNOW about God and continue to restrain Him, the hotter Hell will be. If you have decided “I will NEVER repent, I will never give my life to Christ” it’d be better for you to not hear, read or study the Bible - because the more you know, the worse it will be
ILLUS: In 2012 an elementary school principle was convicted of “failure to report” He was told vividly and explicitly from an 8 year old female student about being sexually abused by a teacher. The principle DID NOTHING. No questions asked, no calls made, IN SPITE of knowing what happened and know the schools MANDATE to report. Not only did the teacher who committed the crime go to prison but the principle as well.
We’d all say that good and fair, HE DESERVES IT - so do those who know the gospel and refuse it deserve worse judgement
God has sacrificed His son, Jesus died on a cross, took the wrath we deserve, rose again, ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us & if you hear that and reject it - what do you expect God to do?
Or even worse than outright rejection of God is those who like Belshazzar using things of God to get what he wants are those WHO wear the Christian name-tag for the benefits
You claim to be a christian to make your parents happy, to be viewed as a good person, to flaunt Bible knowledge BUT that’s all christianity is a means to an end not the end in itself
Be wise, act upon what you know, in preparation for judgement
Be READY - God is the judge v. 25-31
Summarize the end
This was the moment that judgement was executed, the message proclaimed and completed that very night
The King and his friends ate and drank and danced until the gavel fell and punishment was paid
I believe God still actively judges this way today
Christmas Morning 1908 an Italian newspaper wrote an article DARING GOD to do something because they were going to have a festival celebrating their disbelief in God, filled with gross immorality - they said something along the lines of “send an earthquake to stop us”
3 days later came a 7.5 earthquake killing 84,000 people
The Captain of the titanic before departure stated that “God himself couldn’t sink this ship”
One man in defense of his use of pornography said that Jesus Christ himself would read Hustler, walked outside and was shot dead
God often in his providence uses natural means for judgment but don’t be deceived… just because his judgement is slow doesn’t mean it won’t come, it will
Phil 2:10-11 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
O would you bow your knee to Christ tonight before its too late, to be ready for death
Life is short talked to someone whos son died
If you live for yourself in this life, better live it up because this is the only heaven you’ll ever see, this is as good as it gets for those outside of christ
Believer will you take and run with this truth - be like Noah who was preparing for judgement by making an arc when the world said he was crazy, when no one listended he continually warned them of God’s wrath
People must hear about hell before heaven, they must here about destruction before salvation otherwise what are they being saved from?
Christians ARE EVANGELSIST - we should be bold, un compromising, standing at the door ready to win any and evrryone over to Christ
Jusdgement is coming and it either falls on you or it fell on Christ at the cross
Believe in the substituete Jesus Christ, surrender to him confess your sins and he is faithful and just to forgive them.