June 26: THE CURSE OF INDIFFERENCE

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. Daniel 5:1

Jeremiah, a contemporary of Daniel, prophesied in detail about the fall of literal Babylon. As a blending of many conquered nations, Babylon became the ideal symbolic name for a blending at the end of the world of those who are conquered by false doctrines.

They will drink and stagger and go mad…all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. Also the king of Sheshach shall drink after them…Oh, how Sheshach is taken! Oh, how the praise of the whole earth is seized! How Babylon has become desolate among the nations! Jeremiah 25:16,26; 51:41 (Note: Sheshach is a code name for Babylon.)

False teachings are symbolized by fermented wine. New wine—what we call grape juice—is used metaphorically for the doctrines of Jesus (Matthew 9:17, Luke 5:39), which are “new” in the sense of being uncorrupted, unaltered, and original. In actuality, the “new wine” of Jesus is older than the corrupted teachings of the Jews of Jesus’s day. Jesus worked to reinstate the teachings of Him who says, “I am the LORD, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). New, unfermented, wine also symbolizes the blood of Jesus, shed for us. It is an abomination to serve fermented wine as representative of the blood of Jesus.

More than six decades had passed since Daniel and his three friends had been carried captive to Babylon. The arm of salvation had reached into the life of King Nebuchadnezzar, a.k.a. the most terrible [stranger] of the nations (Ezekiel 28:7). After his death and a mad scramble for the kingship, including two assassinations, Babylon was dissolving under the succession of unwise rulers.

Belshazzar the king was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. In his folly and weakness for luxury, Belshazzar’s love for pleasure was the keynote of his kingly authority. His life had been filled with opportunities to learn responsibility, gain the understanding of divine authority, and grasp the will of God. He was well-familiar with the facts of his grandfather’s ordeal of mental derangement, banishment, and subsequent miraculous restoration. And, even with the glorious testimony of his grandfather, he neglected to make use of the means that were within his reach. Instead, self-glorification eroded any God-given desire to proactively cultivate a deeper acquaintance with truth and the benefits of honoring the King of kings. Belshazzar gained nothing of which Nebuchadnezzar had gained at a tremendous cost of humiliation and untold suffering. His indifference to the need of learning the right things rendered him a true loser.

Prophecy tells us plainly that ‘divine dividers’ between good and evil will fall. But you get to decide which side you are on.

Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19