Daniel 5:17-Daniel Refuses To Accept Belshazzar’s Rewards But Agrees To Read And Interpret The Mysterious Inscription

Review of Daniel 5:1-16

Daniel 5:1 King Belshazzar threw an enormous banquet for a thousand of his nobles. He even drank wine excessively directly in front of the thousand. (Author’s translation) Daniel 5:1 presents to the reader the circumstances preceding God giving Belshazzar over to the Persians. Belshazzar’s father was Nabonidus who was residing at the time in Tema. Belshazzar was the co-regent with his father. He was the great-grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel chapter five presents the account of what happened the night that Babylon fell to the Medes and the Persians in 539 B.C. Daniel 5:1 says that Belshazzar was throwing a huge banquet for a thousand of his nobles. According to ancient Near Eastern custom, Belshazzar would have sat on a raised platform at a separate table where he could be seen by his guests. It was not unusual for kings of the ancient world to hold such enormous banquets. In fact, it was typical of the later Persian kings (see Esther 1:3- 8). Oriental kings were notorious for their extravagant feasts since archaeological discoveries reveal that some Persian monarchs were known to dine daily with 15,000 guests at a meal. At Alexander the Great’s marriage 10,000 guests attended his wedding dinner. Ashurnasirpal II had a banquet for 69,754 guests at a banquet dedicating his new capital city Calah in 1879BC. Athanasius describes the food at these banquets writing that “1,000 animals are slaughtered daily for the king. These comprise horses, camels, oxen, asses, deer, and most of the smaller animals. Many birds are consumed, including Arabian ostriches, geese, and chickens.” What is unusual is that Belshazzar threw this banquet at a time of great crisis since a huge Medo-Persian invasion force had surrounded the city of Babylon. He may have held the banquet in order to boost the morale of his people. Or he might simply have not been very concerned about the invaders outside the walls of the city since it had not fallen to an invading army for 1,000 years because of its extremely strong fortifications. Furthermore, there were huge stockpiles of food that could sustain the capital for several years. This is something which an invading army would not be able to boast of since they would have to forage for food. So probably to show contempt for the Medes and Persians and his great confidence in the city’s fortifications and that the city had not fallen to an invader for a thousand years, Belshazzar threw an enormous banquet for a thousand of his nobles. During this party, the wine flowed freely and the king became intoxicated

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1 along with his guests. History confirms that a drunken party was taking place preceding the destruction of the city of Babylon. Daniel 5:2 Belshazzar issued an order while under the influence of the wine causing the gold and silver articles to be brought in which Nebuchadnezzar, his great-grandfather caused to be confiscated from the temple, which was in Jerusalem, in order that the king, his nobles as well as his wives and in addition his concubines could drink with them. (Author’s translation) When Belshazzar became intoxicated by the wine he was drinking he became very bold and did something that would be even shocking to any heathen individual, namely, he drank from the vessels that belong to a temple of a god, which happened to be the God of Israel, Yahweh. The heathen of antiquity were noted for destroying and ransacking the temples of their victims but they always erected new temples for the deities of the conquered nations or placed their sacred things in their own pantheons as Nebuchadnezzar did with the articles of gold and silver from Solomon’s temple. The gods of peoples were venerated. In fact, a man respected not only his own god but also the gods of others. Therefore, the actions of Belshazzar described here in Daniel 5:2 would be shocking to any pagan in that day. Daniel 5:3 Therefore, the gold and silver articles were brought in, which were confiscated from the temple, which was God’s house, which was in Jerusalem so that the king, his nobles as well as his wives and in addition his concubines could drink with them. (Author’s translation) Daniel 5:3 records the execution of Belshazzar’s orders to bring to the enormous banquet he was throwing for his nobles the gold and silver articles from Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem which were confiscated by Nebuchadnezzar during his first invasion of Jerusalem in 605 B.C. The purpose of this order according to Daniel 5:2 was so that the king and his nobles as well as his wives and concubines could drink their wine from them. Here in verse 3, the king’s orders is reported by Daniel in almost the exact words that were used in Belshazzar’s command in verse 2. There is one slight addition, namely the phrase “God’s house” or “house of God.” This addition serves to magnify the sin of the king. It puts into perspective clearly the tremendous sacrilege and sin Belshazzar was committing by drinking wine from these sacred articles, which were used in the worship of Yahweh. These gold and silver articles from Solomon’s temple were set apart to be used exclusively in the worship of the God of Israel. Thus, Belshazzar’s actions as well as his nobles, wives and concubines were flagrant disrespect for the God of Israel. The articles of the temple were sanctified meaning that they were to only be used when worshipping and serving God in the temple. It means that they were set apart to be used exclusively for worshipping the Lord in the temple.

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Belshazzar and his guests are guilty of blasphemy, which is the profaning or desecration of that which is used to worship Him. It is also taking in vain of the name of God, or the reviling of any of His works or deeds. It is strongly forbidden by God as dishonoring His character and reputation. Blasphemy is strongly forbidden (Exodus 20:7l; Deuteronomy 5:11; cf. Exodus 22:28; Leviticus 18:21; 19:12; 22:32; Numbers 15:30-31) and is punished by God (Leviticus 24:10-16,23; 2 Kings 19:20-37; cf. Isaiah 37:21-38). Defiling sacred things blasphemes God (Leviticus 22:1-2; Ezekiel 20:27-28; 22:26; Malachi 1:6-13). Daniel 5:4 They drank wine while they praised gods composed of gold as well as silver, bronze, iron, wood and in addition stone. (Author’s translation) Belshazzar and his guests not only showed great disrespect for the God of Israel by using the articles of gold and silver from Solomon’s temple which were to used in the worship of the God of Israel but also they praised their gods composed of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. So they were not only blaspheming the God of Israel but also committing idolatry as well. In Daniel 5:4, we have Belshazzar praising the gods he and his guests worshipped. Undoubtedly, they were praising these gods because they erroneously believed that they had protected the city of Babylon for hundred of years and would do so again since Babylon had not fallen to an invading army in a thousand years at the time when the king threw this party for his nobles. So probably to show contempt for the Medes and Persians and his great confidence in the city’s fortifications and that the city had not fallen to an invader for a thousand years, Belshazzar threw an enormous banquet for a thousand of his nobles. However, ingeniously, Cyrus’ commander Ugbaru who is referred to in the Chronicle as governor of Gutium, diverted the waters of the Euphrates to an old channel dug by a previous ruler which suddenly reduced the water level well below the river-gates. Not too long after that the Persian invaders came wading in at night and clambered up the riverbank before the guards of the city knew what happened. In Daniel 5:22, Daniel makes clear to Belshazzar that he knew full well that his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar who became a believer in the God of Israel and was humbled by Yahweh when the king refused to acknowledge His sovereignty over the king. The king knew the significance of these articles from Solomon’s temple. Yet, he totally disregards the Lord’s past dealings with his great- grandfather and instead is shaking his fist as Yahweh, for which he will pay the ultimate price, death. Therefore, this great banquet thrown by the king and the use of the articles from Yahweh’s temple in Jerusalem is Belshazzar defying the God of Israel. In effect, he is challenging Him in that the king thinks that the Medes and Persians will in no way defeat him and take Babylon since the gods he worships along with his guests are superior to the gods of the nations including Israel’s God, Yahweh.

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Daniel 5:5 During this time, the fingers of a human hand appeared while writing on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, directly in front of the lampstand so that the king observed the palm of the hand which was writing. (Author’s translation) Daniel tells the reader here in verse 5 that during the time when Belshazzar and his guests were drinking while praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone, the fingers of a human hand appeared to the king and his guests. When the fingers of this hand appeared, they were writing on the plaster of one of the walls in the banquet room of the king’s palace. The fingers express God’s power over the king and that Belshazzar’s judgment and death is imminent. The hand appeared on the wall which was directly in front of the golden lampstand which was confiscated from Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem in 605 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar and was stored by him in the treasury of the temple of Marduk in the city of Babylon. As a result of the hand writing on the wall which was lit by the golden lampstand, Belshazzar observed carefully the palm of the hand which was writing so as to determine what person or human being it was attached to. Daniel 5:6 tells us that the king’s face grew pale and became petrified when he saw that the hand was not attached to any human being. The mention of the location of the wall in which the hand was writing is important since it tells the reader that the writing appeared on a portion of the wall of the banquet room which had the most light. Daniel 5:6 Consequently the king, his countenance was changed for him. Also, his thoughts caused him to be terrified so that his hip joints gave way resulting in his knees knocking together, one against the other. (Author’s translation) In this verse, Daniel presents to the reader a four-fold description of Belshazzar as a result of the king observing a human hand which was not attached to a human body, writing on the wall of the banquet which was behind the lampstand. First of all, Daniel describes the king’s countenance as changing as a result of seeing this unattached hand writing on one of the walls of the banquet hall. This implies his face became pale as result of being stricken with fear. He then describes the king as being terrified by what he saw, which was the cause of his countenance changing. Daniel then describes the king’s hip joints giving way as a result of this fear meaning that his legs shook or his legs became weak. This implies that he was standing and that he had to sit down because he was so stricken with the supernatural appearance of this unattached hand. This in turn Daniel says resulted in the king’s knees knocking together, one against the other. Thus, the picture Daniel is drawing for us is not very complementary of Belshazzar. He is stricken with fear.

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At this point in the narrative, Belshazzar has learned what his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar learned, namely the immanency of the God of Israel. The immanency of God means that He involves Himself in and concerns Himself with and intervenes in the lives of members of the human race, both saved and unsaved. The appearance of this hand and the message it was writing for the king demonstrated to the king and everyone in the banquet hall that the God of Israel whose cups they were drinking with was intervening in the life of the king and those who were his guests. Belshazzar was going to learn that he was accountable to the God of Israel and was sovereign over the king. As was the case with Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar is also learning that the God of Israel was sovereign over him. The term “sovereignty” connotes a situation in which a person, from his innate dignity, exercises supreme power, with no areas of his province outside his jurisdiction. As applied to God, the term “sovereignty” indicates His complete power over all of creation, so that He exercises His will absolutely, without any necessary conditioning by a finite will or wills. Therefore, God, from His innate dignity, exercises supreme power over the nations of the earth, with no area of planet earth outside His jurisdiction. God’s exercises His will absolutely over the nations of the earth. Daniel 5:7 The king authoritatively shouted out an order for the purpose of causing the necromancers, astrologers as well as diviners to be brought in. He declared to the city of Babylon’s wise men, “Any person who can read aloud as well as can make known its interpretation to me will be clothed with a purple robe as well as a golden chain around his neck. Indeed, they will rule as third in the kingdom.” (Author’s translation) Daniel 5:6 presented Belshazzar’s response in terms of how he acted to the hand writing on the wall behind the lampstand in the banquet room whereas Daniel 5:7 presents to the reader his verbal response to this supernatural occurrence. His first action was to authoritatively shout out an order to bring in necromancers, astrologers and diviners so that they could read and interpret the inscription. The king then promises the wise men that he will reward them if they can meet his request. They will be clothed with purple robe as well as a golden chain would be placed around their neck as well. Both of which were marks of royalty in the ancient world. They would thus be made third ruler in the kingdom. Of course, Belshazzar was co-regent with his father Nabonidus, thus the reason for offering the wise men the position of being third ruler in the kingdom. The king’s promise to the wise men here in Daniel 5:7 reveals that he fully believed that he would continue to rule as king over Babylon and that he was not very worried about the Medes and the Persians who were attacking the city at the time. It reveals his proud arrogance, which was undoubtedly based upon the fact that Babylon had not fallen to an invading army in a thousand years. He was not

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5 very concerned about the invaders outside the walls of the city since it had not fallen to an invading army for 1,000 years because of its extremely strong fortifications. Furthermore, there were huge stockpiles of food that could sustain the capital for several years. This is something which an invading army would not be able to boast of since they would have to forage for food. Daniel 5:8 Therefore, each and every one of the king’s wise men came in but they were totally unable to read or cause the interpretation to be made known to the king. (Author’s translation) Daniel 5:8 tells the reader that Belshazzar’s wise men were totally unable to read or interpret the dream. We can understand why they couldn’t interpret but it seems strange that they could not read the inscription since it was written in Aramaic. The wise men’s difficulty in reading the writing may have been that it was written in Aramaic script without the vowels being supplied. However, if it was written in cuneiform, the vowels would have been included. Daniel does not explain the difficulty in reading the writing on the wall, but the problem apparently was not that it was a strange language but rather what the words signified prophetically. The vowels would be supplied in ordinary discourse. However, in a cryptic statement such as found with this inscription the addition of vowels is a problem. The inscription on the wall may have appeared like this, “MN’ MN’ TQL UPRSN.” The order of the letters in the Aramaic, of course, would be the reverse of this, that is, from right to left. Also, if, some unfamiliar form of these characters was used, it would indeed have required divine revelation to not only provide an interpretation for the inscription but also to read it. This helps us to understand why Belshazzar requested that someone read the inscription for him. The wise men could not interpret it since to receive the interpretation would require meeting four qualifications. First, they would have to be a believer. Secondly, they would have to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, they would have to be in fellowship with God. Lastly, God the Holy Spirit must desire to give them the interpretation. Daniel like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego met the first three qualifications. The book of Daniel does not give us any indication that any of the wise men became a believer while they were under Daniel’s authority. Although this does not mean none of them became believers in Yahweh. The Holy Spirit chose to give the interpretation to Daniel and not his three friends or any of the wise men who might have become a believer because it was His sovereign will that this would be the case. It was pleasing to the Spirit to give the interpretation to Daniel and to no one else. The inscription on the wall of Belshazzar’s banquet hall was a message from God to Belshazzar about his kingdom and his future. Thus to read and interpret it would require a person who has the capacity to receive communication from God. The Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity who gives a person the ability to

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 6 receive communication from God the Father. The Holy Spirit would give Daniel the ability to interpret the inscription to Belshazzar. This inscription was revelation from God. The purpose of this revelation was to communicate to the king the will of God for his life. Through this inscription, God the Holy Spirit was telling Belshazzar that both his kingdom and his life were coming to an end immediately. Unfortunately, the king’s response to this revelation was not one of repentance. So Daniel 5:8 tells the reader that Belshazzar’s wise men were impotent or powerless to help him. However, Daniel was able because he received revelation from God with regards to the inscription’s meaning. This reveals a spiritual principle. Namely, that one receives the power of God by receiving revelation from God the Holy Spirit. The believer not only receives wisdom from God by exercising faith in the revelation communicated by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture but also they receive the power of God. Possessing the power of God enables one to exercise the will of God and to understand and know how to exercise the will of God for one’s life is wisdom from God. The wisdom of God and the omnipotence of God and revelation from God are all interconnected. Receiving the wisdom and omnipotence of God requires receiving revelation from God. Exercising faith in the revelation from God which is found in the Bible appropriates the omnipotence of God, which in turn results in receiving wisdom from God. By appropriating the omnipotence of God by faith in the Word of God, they receive the capacity to execute the Father’s will and to please Him. This capacity to execute the Father’s will and to understand how to execute God’s will is wisdom from God. Daniel 5:9 Thus, causing the king to be extremely terrified so that his countenance was changed on him as well as causing his nobles to be perplexed. (Author’s translation) Daniel 5:9 presents to the reader two results that occurred as a result of Belshazzar’s wise men being totally unable to read or interpret the inscription which an unattached hand wrote on one of the walls in the banquet hall behind the lampstand. The first was that the king was extremely terrified. This result in turn resulted in the king’s countenance once again changing on him. The second result was that his nobles were perplexed. The fact that his wise men were totally unable to read or interpret the inscription made the inscription more ominous to Belshazzar. Coupled with the Medes and Persians outside the city walls and maybe guilt over using the sacred articles from the temple in Jerusalem, the wise men’s inability to read or interpret the inscription made this handwriting appear as a harbinger of defeat for the king and his nation. The perplexity of the king’s nobles

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 7 along with the king’s extreme terror resulted in chaos and confusion in the banquet hall. Daniel 5:10 The queen entered the banquet hall because of the king’s words as well as his nobles. The queen responded and said, “O king, live forever! Please, by no means let your thoughts cause you to be terrified so that they by no means cause your countenance to be changed!” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 5:10, the reader is introduced to a new character in the drama, namely, the queen. She was not one of Belshazzar’s wives since Daniel 5:2-3 tells us that the king’s wives were already at the banquet held in honor of the king’s nobles. Thus, the queen here in Daniel 5:10 is either Belshazzar’s mother or grandmother. The fact that the queen she was old enough to be very familiar with Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar’s relationship would suggest that she was Belshazzar’s grandmother whose name was Adad-Guppi. History tells us that she was a very influential person and the quintessential queen mother. Her description of Daniel indicates that she had contact with him in the past and was familiar with his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar. The manner in which she speaks to Belshazzar indicates she was either his mother or grandmother. She was old enough to have knowledge of the prophet Daniel but also wise enough to not be in attendance of the king’s drunken banquet for his nobles. However, the Nabonidus Chronicle seems to rule out the queen here in Daniel 5:10 as being Nabonidus’ mother and Belshazzar’s grandmother since it records that she died in the ninth year of Nabonidus’ reign (Baldwin, 122). Thus, more than likely the queen is Nabonidus’ wife and thus Belshazzar’s mother. Her name according to Herodotus was Nitocris who was the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. In the ancient courts, the queen mother often wielded considerable influence (cf. 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 11:1-3; 24:12; Jeremiah 13:18). Daniel 5:10 informs the reader that the reason why Belshazzar’s mother entered the banquet hall was because of the words of her son, the king and his nobles. She heard the commotion as a result of the unattached hand writing on one of the walls of the banquet. Undoubtedly, the servants would have informed her of the situation as well. She responds to the situation by making several statements to the king. The first two appear in Daniel 4:10 and the remaining appear in Daniel 4:11-12. Here in verse 10, she greets the king with the phrase “ O king, live forever !” This greeting is of course hyperbole since she doesn’t expect him to live forever. It simply denotes that she wishes that Belshazzar would live a long life. Of course, he was to die that very evening. Her second statement in verse 10, “ Please, by no means let your thoughts cause you to be terrified so that they by no means cause your countenance to

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 8 change! ” expresses in emphatic terms her strong desire that the king’s thoughts would by no means cause him to be terrified so that these thoughts would by no means cause his countenance to be changed. Thus, we see her comforting Belshazzar. In other words, in a polite manner, before all his guests, the queen is telling her son the king to pull himself together. Then, in verse 11-12, she tells him she has a solution. She tells the king why he should be comforted, namely, because he has a man in his kingdom who can read and interpret the inscription. His name is Daniel and she was quite familiar with him and his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar as indicated by her statements to the king in verses 11-12. Daniel 5:11 “There is a man in your kingdom who possesses God’s Holy Spirit in him. Specifically, during the days of your great-grandfather, illumination, discernment as well as wisdom in accordance with God’s wisdom were observed in him. Indeed, King Nebuchadnezzar, your great-grandfather, your great-grandfather the king, promoted him to be commander over the occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners.” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 5:11, we have Daniel recording for us the queen speaking to Belshazzar and informing him with regards to Daniel’s ability to solve the problem of the mysterious inscription on one of the walls of the banquet behind the lampstand. As we noted, in Daniel 5:10, the reader is introduced to the queen. She was not one of Belshazzar’s wives since Daniel 5:2-3 tells us that the king’s wives were already at the banquet held in honor of the king’s nobles. The queen is Belshazzar’s mother. The fact that the queen she was old enough to be very familiar with Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar’s relationship would suggest that she was Belshazzar’s grandmother whose name was Adad-Guppi. History tells us that she was a very influential person and the quintessential queen mother. Her description of Daniel indicates that she had contact with him in the past and was familiar with his relationship with Nebuchadnezzar. The manner in which she speaks to Belshazzar indicates she was either his mother or grandmother. She was old enough to have knowledge of the prophet Daniel but also wise enough to not be in attendance of the king’s drunken banquet for his nobles. However, the Nabonidus Chronicle seems to rule out the queen as being Nabonidus’ mother and Belshazzar’s grandmother since it records that she died in the ninth year of Nabonidus’ reign (Baldwin, 122). Thus, more than likely the queen is Nabonidus’ wife and thus Belshazzar’s mother. Her name according to Herodotus was Nitocris who was the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. In the ancient courts, the queen mother often wielded considerable influence (cf. 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 11:1-3; 24:12; Jeremiah 13:18). The queen presents to her son Belshazzar a three-fold description of Daniel in order that he would summon him to the banquet to solve the problem of the mysterious inscription. She says that there is a man in his kingdom who

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“possessed God’s Holy Spirit in him .” When the queen describes Daniel as such she is using Nebuchadnezzar’s language when describing Daniel to Belshazzar, which appears in Daniel 4:8-9 and 18. The queen was evidently a non-believer and thus we would not expect her to be using this expression. However, she is simply employing Nebuchadnezzar’s language to describe Daniel for her son Belshazzar. The queen explains explicitly or specifies for Belshazzar what she means by this first description of Daniel. She tells Belshazzar that during the reign of his great-grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, illumination, discernment as well as wisdom in accordance with God’s wisdom were observed in Daniel by the king and his wise men. The repetition found in the expression “ King Nebuchadnezzar, your great- grandfather, your great-grandfather the king ” emphasizes with Belshazzar how significant a person Daniel was in that his great-grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar actually promoted to be the commander over his wise men even though he was a Jewish exile. This emphasizes with Belshazzar that he should summon Daniel immediately to solve the problem with the mysterious inscription since the great Nebuchadnezzar who built Babylon into a great empire relied upon him. The queen informs Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar and his wise men observed “illumination ” in Daniel meaning that he possessed spiritual or intellectual enlightenment. She is saying that Daniel demonstrating that God’s Holy Spirit indwells him by virtue of the fact that he demonstrated spiritual and intellectual enlightenment with regards to the dreams/visions which Nebuchadnezzar received from God as recorded in Daniel chapters two and four. Daniel was able to interpret both dreams because he possessed God’s Holy Spirit in him which gave him the capacity to interpret the king’s dreams. The queen also says that Nebuchadnezzar and his wise men also observed “discernment ” in Daniel meaning he had the power of judgment and perceptive insight as demonstrated in the use of knowledge rather than knowing by experience. It denotes that Daniel had the God-given ability to interpret visions and dreams which was impossible for the average human mind. The queen mother also says that “wisdom” was observed in Daniel in the sense that he possessed a deep understanding and keen discernment as a result of possessing God’s Holy Spirit in him. Specifically, Daniel possessed the ability to know how to interpret the dreams, to solve riddles and decipher extremely difficult problems according to how the queen describes Daniel in Daniel 5:12. Belshazzar’s mother then tells him that Nebuchadnezzar and his wise men observed wisdom in Daniel “ in accordance with God’s wisdom ” meaning that that Daniel’s wisdom was in fact God’s wisdom. Only a person who possesses God’s wisdom could interpret the dreams.

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The queen then advances upon and intensifies her two previous descriptions of Daniel by saying that Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel to be the commander or chief over occult priests, necromancers and diviners who constituted the king’s wise men. So she goes from describing Daniel as possessing illumination, discernment as well as wisdom in accordance with God’s wisdom to describing him as being made the commander over the wise men by Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar has a unique problem which requires a unique person to solve it for him. The problem cannot be solved by the greatest minds and intellects of his age since it can only be solved by a person who possesses God’s wisdom. The mysterious inscription is directly from God and thus requires a man who possesses a relationship and fellowship with God and has been given the ability by God to read and interpret it. The king has a great crisis which requires a godly man with supernatural power to solve. Daniel 5:12 “Because in him, in Daniel whom the king assigned him the name Belteshazzar, was found an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, discernment interpreting dreams, explaining riddles as well as solving difficult problems. Please summon Daniel right now in order to cause the interpretation to be known.” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 5:12, we have the queen continuing to speak to Belshazzar her son in giving him advice as to how to deal with the mysterious inscription. As was the case in Daniel 5:11, the queen describes Daniel for the king. In verse 11, she doesn’t name Daniel but in verse 12, we see that she not only tells the king Daniel’s Jewish name which honors the God of Israel but also his Babylonian name, which honored Nebuchadnezzar’s god prior to his conversion. In verse 11, the queen presents to Belshazzar the reason why Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel as commander over the wise men. In this verse, she gives a five-fold description of Daniel’s abilities which he manifested during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, which caused the king to promote Daniel as the commander over the wise men. The queen informs Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar encountered through personal experience with Daniel that he had an “ extraordinary spirit ” meaning that his attitude or disposition was incomparable in the sense that it was unique among men. She also tells the king that Nebuchadnezzar encountered through personal experience with Daniel that he had superior knowledge with regards to wide range of subjects which the Babylonians did not possess. It means that these four knew things with regards to various subjects, which others in Babylon did not. The queen also informs Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar and his wise men encountered through personal experience with Daniel that he had the power of judgment and perceptive insight as demonstrated in the use of knowledge rather than knowing by experience. It denotes that Daniel had the God-given ability to interpret visions and dreams which was impossible for the average human mind.

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She tells the king that Nebuchadnezzar encountered through personal experience with Daniel that could explain riddles. He had the ability to explain riddles in the sense that he had demonstrated during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign the ability to make clear or understandable riddles implying he could make plain and intelligible a riddle. Lastly, the queen says that Nebuchadnezzar encountered through personal experience with Daniel that he manifested the ability to solve difficult problems or unravel knotty problems. So in other words, he was a great problem solver. He could solve a supernatural and obscure or hidden difficulty such as the vision/dreams Nebuchadnezzar received from God as recorded in chapters 2 and 4. The queen’s last statement to Belshazzar is an urgent request that he summon Daniel to the banquet hall in order to interpret the mysterious inscription. The fact that the queen has to describe Daniel’s abilities with the king indicates that Belshazzar was not employing Daniel as an advisor as his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had done. Daniel was no longer playing a prominent role in the Babylonian kingdom when it had come to an end. In fact, he was clearly no longer the commander over the wise men as he was under Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar died, Daniel was removed from his position. Belshazzar was not unaware or ignorant of Daniel’s abilities because Daniel’s statement to the king in verse 22 indicates that he was fully aware of Daniel’s relationship with Nebuchadnezzar. He had forgotten Daniel because he had no need for Daniel in his kingdom. No dreams had been given to Belshazzar unlike his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. Now that Belshazzar has a crisis, he needs Daniel to solve his problem of the inscription. Daniel 5:13 Consequently, Daniel was ordered to enter the king’s presence. The king asked a question and said to Daniel, “Are you Daniel, who is one of the deported people from Judah whom my great-grandfather the king ordered to be brought from Judah?” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 5:13, we have Belshazzar ordering Daniel to be brought to the banquet hall in order to read and interpret the mysterious inscription as a result of accepting his mother, the queen’s advice. The king poses a question to Daniel which is condescending and belittles Daniel, namely he asks if Daniel was one of the Jewish exiles which his great-grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon from Judah in 605 B.C. This question is further evidence that Belshazzar knew Daniel. He was not unaware or ignorant of Daniel’s abilities because Daniel’s statement to the king in verse 22 indicates that he was fully aware of Daniel’s relationship with Nebuchadnezzar. He had forgotten Daniel because he had no need for Daniel in his kingdom. No dreams had been given to Belshazzar unlike his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. Now that Belshazzar has a crisis, he needs Daniel to solve his problem of the inscription. Now, here in Daniel 5:13, Belshazzar does not begin his questioning of Daniel to confirm his identity with

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 12 the information his mother supplied for him about Daniel which is recorded in Daniel 5:11-12. Rather, he begins his questioning by first asking Daniel if he was one of the exiles from Judah, who his great-grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon. His question makes clear he knew Daniel because it was not information his mother, the queen supplied for him about Daniel. Thus, why would Belshazzar ask Daniel if he was one of the Jewish exiles and instead confirm Daniel’s identity by asking questions which correspond with the queen’s identification of Daniel? There can be no other reason than to belittle Daniel since there is no need to remind Daniel that he is a captive of the Babylonians. The information the queen provided Belshazzar would have been sufficient from which he could ask Daniel to confirm his identity. In fact, the queen’s information was flattering of Daniel and was very complimentary. None of her descriptions of Daniel were derogatory or contemptuous in any way. However, her son, the king begins his questioning of Daniel by in effect insulting him. He is condescending with Daniel and belittles him by asking this question. It was no called for. It is ludicrous on the part of the king to insult Daniel since he has called him to the banquet to solve an extraordinarily difficult problem of reading and interpreting the mysterious inscription for him. It would make much better sense to treat Daniel with great respect as his mother did. So when Belshazzar asks Daniel if he was one of the Jewish exiles brought to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, he is attempting to put Daniel in his place in the sense he is reminding Daniel that the Babylonians conquered the Jews. The king’s bravado is ridiculous. The king is saying in effect to Daniel that his people, the Babylonians are superior to his people. However, none of his people can solve the mystery of the inscription. So the king’s national pride is vain and empty. Interestingly, the question is rhetorical because he does not give Daniel a chance to answer it but instead goes immediately to asking Daniel questions which are based upon the information the queen provided him with regards to Daniel’s abilities and character. So Belshazzar first asks if Daniel is one of the Jewish exiles before going on to more complimentary questions because from his perspective, he is putting Daniel in his place. The king’s thinking, “you Daniel might be able to read and interpret this crazy inscription, but you still are only a captive?” So when Belshazzar is asking Daniel if he is one of the Jewish exiles, he is expressing his great pride and reminding Daniel that he and the Babylonian people conquered his people, the Jews. Daniel 5:14 “Likewise I heard concerning you that God’s Spirit is in you so that illumination, discernment as well as extraordinary wisdom were observed in you.” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 5:13, we saw Belshazzar begin to speak with Daniel. In this verse, he was condescending to Daniel and belittled him by asking him if he was one of the

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Jewish exiles, which he knew already that Daniel was. From the king’s perspective, this was to put Daniel in his place. Now, here in Daniel 5:14, he immediately stops being condescending and begins to relate to descriptions of Daniel, which he received from his mother the queen. This was to flatter Daniel because he desperately needs him to read and interpret the mysterious inscription. First of all, the king relates to Daniel that he heard that God’s Spirit was in him. He leaves out the word “holy” which his mother used to describe the Spirit and she was in fact passing along to Belshazzar his great-grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar’s description of Daniel. “Holy” describes the Spirit’s character and nature as set apart and morally pure in the sense that He is to be distinguished from the heathen gods in that He is the true God and they are not. Belshazzar omits this word in describing the Spirit of God because he was more than likely convicted since he was not morally pure and living in rebellion against God. Then, Belshazzar says that the result of God’s Spirit indwelling Daniel was that illumination, discernment and wisdom were observed in him and specifically observed by Nebuchadnezzar. The king uses “extraordinary” to describe Daniel’s wisdom whereas his mother the queen used this adjective to describe Daniel’s spirit. Of course, during his reign Belshazzar never utilized this extraordinary wisdom of Daniel or sought out his illumination and discernment because he was arrogant and proud. Undoubtedly his mother must have suggested using Daniel in the past since she suggests to Belshazzar they he seek out Daniel’s help to solve the mysterious inscription. Belshazzar had no need for Daniel’s abilities during his reign and neither did his father Nabonidus or Evil-Merodach because they were ungodly men who did not value spiritual abilities and neither did they have a capacity to understand and appreciate spiritual realities. The only time Belshazzar had any need for Daniel is this crisis involving the inscription. Otherwise, Daniel was no longer needed. Prior to being summoned by Belshazzar, Daniel spent many years out of the public limelight. The kings of Babylon had no use for him in direct contrast to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. He bided his time and continued to grow in his relationship with God. He waited patiently for an opportunity to serve the king of Babylon and now that moment had finally come. God would use Daniel to communicate to Belshazzar a message of judgment. It wasn’t until Belshazzar was faced with a crisis did have a need for a spiritual person. Sadly, this is true of many people in the world today in our day and age. Daniel 5:15 “Now at this time, the wise men, the necromancers were ordered to enter my presence in order that they could read aloud the inscription as well as to make known to me its interpretation. However, they

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 14 were totally unable to cause the message’s interpretation to be made known to me.” (Author’s translation) In Daniel 5:15, Belshazzar recounts for Daniel the wise men’s inability to read or interpret the mysterious inscription. The reason is that this was a personal message from the God of Israel to the king and could thus only be read and interpreted by the man of God’s choosing, who of course is Daniel. So we can understand why they couldn’t interpret the inscription but it seems strange that they could not read the inscription since it was written in Aramaic. The wise men’s difficulty in reading the writing may have been that it was written in Aramaic script without the vowels being supplied. However, if it was written in cuneiform, the vowels would have been included. Daniel does not explain the difficulty in reading the writing on the wall, but the problem apparently was not that it was a strange language but rather what the words signified prophetically. The vowels would be supplied in ordinary discourse. However, in a cryptic statement such as found with this inscription the addition of vowels is a problem. The inscription on the wall may have appeared like this, “MN’ MN’ TQL UPRSN.” The order of the letters in the Aramaic, of course, would be the reverse of this, that is, from right to left. Also, if, some unfamiliar form of these characters was used, it would indeed have required divine revelation to not only provide an interpretation for the inscription but also to read it. This helps us to understand why Belshazzar requested that someone read the inscription for him. The wise men could not interpret it since to receive the interpretation would require meeting four qualifications. First, they would have to be a believer. Secondly, they would have to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Thirdly, they would have to be in fellowship with God. Lastly, God the Holy Spirit must desire to give them the interpretation. Daniel like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego met the first three qualifications. The book of Daniel does not give us any indication that any of the wise men became a believer while they were under Daniel’s authority. Although this does not mean none of them became believers in Yahweh. The Holy Spirit chose to give the interpretation to Daniel and not his three friends or any of the wise men who might have become a believer because it was His sovereign will that this would be the case. It was pleasing to the Spirit to give the interpretation to Daniel and to no one else. The wise men do not have the wisdom of God. To have the wisdom of God means that one knows how to do things in a manner that is pleasing to God. When I say “wisdom” in this context, I mean that the wise men do not have the know how to read or interpret the inscription. They must receive this know how from God. The inscription on the wall of Belshazzar’s banquet hall was a message from God to Belshazzar about his kingdom and his future. Thus to read and interpret it

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 15 would require a person who has the capacity to receive communication from God. The Holy Spirit is the member of the Trinity who gives a person the ability to receive communication from God the Father. The Holy Spirit would give Daniel the ability to interpret the inscription to Belshazzar. This inscription was revelation from God. The purpose of this revelation was to communicate to the king the will of God for his life. Through this inscription, God the Holy Spirit was telling Belshazzar that both his kingdom and his life were coming to an end immediately. Unfortunately, the king’s response to this revelation was not one of repentance. He was unlike Nebuchadnezzar who responded to God delivering Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power by exercising faith in God which was demonstrated in his praise of God (Daniel 3:28). Belshazzar was like Nebuchadnezzar in the sense that the latter did not respond to the revelation that God gave him as recorded in chapter four. In this dream, God used an enormous tree to symbolize the king. The dream symbolized the king being deposed from power for seven years and after which he would acknowledge God’s sovereignty over him unless he repented. Nebuchadnezzar did not repent and was deposed from power but restored to power after he acknowledged God’s sovereignty over him. In Daniel 4:22, Daniel tells Belshazzar that he knew of all God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, yet he did not repent. God dealings with both Nebuchadnezzar and his great-grandson Belshazzar reveal a spiritual principle. Namely, that God reveals His will to men to either bless them or judge them. The person’s response to the revelation of His will determines whether they are blessed or judged by God. The person who exercises faith will be blessed whereas the one who does not exercise faith in this revelation will be judged. Belshazzar is an example of someone who was judged by God because of unbelief in the revelation God had given him. He did not exercise faith as demonstrated by his lack of repentance upon receiving the interpretation from Daniel. He did not humble himself before God. When God delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power, Nebuchadnezzar responded in faith by praising their God, which expressed his humility and resulted in his receiving eternal salvation. God disciplined Nebuchadnezzar as a believer by deposing him from power for seven years but at the end of the seven years, the king praised God effusively and sent a proclamation to all in his world-wide kingdom praising the God of Israel. However, Belshazzar is a different story. He did not praise God after receiving Daniel’s interpretation of the writing on the wall. He did not respond. He thus is suffering eternal condemnation. Daniel 5:16 “But I myself personally heard concerning you that you are able to provide interpretations as well as solve difficult problems. Now, if you are able to read aloud the inscription as well as cause its interpretation to be

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 16 made known to me, you will be clothed with a purple robe as well as a golden chain around your neck. Indeed, you will rule as third over the kingdom.” (Author’s translation) So here in Daniel 5:16, we have Belshazzar making the same promise to Daniel as he did to the wise men, namely he would clothed Daniel with a purple robe and a golden chain and would in fact make him third ruler in the kingdom if he could read and interpret the mysterious inscription. Before making this promise, the king recounts to Daniel what he heard about him from his mother the queen, namely that he was able to provide interpretations as well as solve difficult problems. The fact that Belshazzar relates to Daniel his mother’s description of him expresses the king’s confidence that Daniel could in fact solve his problem of the mysterious inscription. He is eagerly anticipating Daniel being able to solve the problem and Daniel does not disappoint him.

Daniel Responds to Belshazzar

Daniel 5:17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.” (NASB95) “Then Daniel answered and said before the king ” is composed of the preposition bĕ ( ) (beh), which is not translated and is followed by the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ· yin ( ) ( ed-ah´-yin ) and together they are translated “then ” and they are followed by the masculine singular pe al (Hebrew: qal) active participle form of the verb ʿǎnā(h) ( ) ( an-aw´ ), “ said ” and this is followed by the masculine singular proper noun dā·niy ·yē(ʾ)l ( ) (daw-nee-yale), “ Daniel ” and then we have the conjunction wa ( ) (waw), which is not translated and followed by the masculine singular pe al (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) active participle form of the verb ʾǎmǎr ( ) ( am-ar´ ), “ said ” and then we have the preposition qǒḏām ( ) ( kod-awm´ ), “ before ” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě·lěḵ ( ) ( meh´-lek ), “ the king .” bē ʾḏǎ·yin

The preposition b- is prefixed to the temporal adverb ʾěḏǎ· yin in order to function as a temporal coordinator and means “then” since it shows consecutive events in the narrative. Here it introduces a statement that tells the reader the next event that took place after Belshazzar promised to reward Daniel if he could read and interpret the mysterious inscription. The word introduces a statement that tells the reader that Daniel refused to accept the gifts and rewards promised by the king.

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This temporal adverb thus indicates that after Belshazzar promises to reward Daniel, he rejected the king’s offer.

ʿǎnā(h)

The verb ʿǎnā(h) means “to respond” since in context it is used with reference to Daniel’s statement, which is in response to Belshazzar promise in verse 16. The king promised Daniel that if he was able to read aloud the inscription as well as cause its interpretation to be made known to him, Daniel would be clothed with a purple robe as well as a golden chain around your neck. In fact, he would rule as third over the kingdom. Thus, this verb is describing this response to Belshazzar’s offer. The peal (Hebrew: qal) stem of the verb ʿǎnā(h) is fientive expressing an action taken by Daniel in response to Belshazzar’s offer of gifts as a reward for meeting his request. The participle form of the verb denotes simultaneous action with the verb indicating that both ʿǎnā(h) and ʾǎmǎr occurred at the same instant. wa

The conjunction wa is used to coordinate the verbs ʿǎnā(h) and ʾǎmǎr whose actions occur simultaneously.

ʾǎmǎr

The verb ʾǎmǎr means “to say” in the sense of communicating something to someone. Here it denotes Daniel “communicating” his response to Belshazzar’s offer to reward if he could read and interpret the mysterious inscription for the king. The pe al stem (Hebrew equivalent is the qal) is fientive expressing Daniel performing the action of communicating his response to Belshazzar’s offer. The participle form of the verb denotes simultaneous action with the verb ʿǎnā(h) indicating that both verbs occurred at the same instant. qǒḏām m ǎl·k ā(ʾ)

The noun mě·lěḵ means “king” and of course is used with reference to Belshazzar referring to the fact that he was governmental head of Babylon. It is the object of the preposition qǒḏām, which means “in the presence of” and denotes Daniel communicated his response to Belshazzar’s offer “in the presence of” the king.

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Daniel Refuses Belshazzar’s Gifts and Rewards

Daniel 5:17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.” (NASB95) “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else ” is composed of the feminine plural construct form of the noun mǎt·tenā(h) ( ) (mat-ten-aw´ ), “ gifts ” which is modified by the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ ( ), “ your” and then we have the preposition lĕ ( ) (leh), “to ” and its object is the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ ( ), “ yourself ” and then we have the third person feminine plural pe al (Hebrew: qal) active jussive form of the verb ḥǎwā(h) ( ) ( khav-aw´ ), “ keep ” and then we have the conjunction wa ( ) (waw), “ or ” which is followed by the feminine neb-iz-baw´ ), “ rewards” which is ) ( ב) (singular form of the noun neḇiz ·bā(h modified by the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ ( ), “your” and then we have the preposition lĕ ( ) (leh), “ to ” and its object is the masculine singular form of the adjective ʾā·ḥ ǒrān ( ) ( okh-or-awn´ ), “ someone else ” which is followed by the second person masculine singular pe al (Hebrew: ”. yeh-hab´ ), “ give ) ( ב) qal) active imperative form of the verb yehǎḇ hǎwā(h)

The verb hǎwā(h) means, “to be” in the sense of existing in a particular state. Here it denotes the gifts Belshazzar promised Daniel if he could meet his request existing in the state of being for the king himself. Idiomatically, this word means “please keep” indicating that Daniel is telling the king “please keep” your gifts for yourself. The pe al stem (Hebrew: qal) is stative expressing a state or condition. Here it is used of the gifts Belshazzar promised Daniel if he could meet his request existing in the state of being for the king himself. The jussive conjugation expresses Daniel’s strong desire and request that Belshazzar’s gifts would be for the king himself. Thus, we will translate the verb “ please, keep .” mǎt·tenā(h)

The noun mǎt·tenā(h) is in the plural and means “gifts” referring to something of great value that is given to another implying gratitude for a service rendered. Here it refers to the gifts of great value which will be given out of gratitude by

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Belshazzar to Daniel if he could read and interpret the mysterious inscription on one of the walls of the banquet hall. Daniel 5:7 and 16 reveal that these gifts were being clothed with a purple robe as well as a golden chain being placed around Daniel’s neck. These gifts constituted marks of royalty in the ancient world. The noun mǎt·tenā(h) is modified by the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ, which means “your” since it functions as a possessive personal pronoun referring of course to Belshazzar. l āḵ

The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ means “yourself” since it functions as a reflexive personal pronoun referring of course to Belshazzar. However, this time it is the object of the preposition lĕ ( ) (leh), which is marker of advantage indicating that Daniel is urgently requesting that the gifts Belshazzar promised Daniel would be “for the benefit of” the king himself. wa

This time the conjunction wa is used in a alternative sense meaning that it is used to connect alternatives. Therefore, the two alternatives are Belshazzar keeping his gifts for himself or giving them to another person in his kingdom. yehǎḇ

The verb yehǎḇ means “to give” in the sense of imparting something to someone. Here it denotes the rewards of being clothed with a purple robe and a golden chain being placed around one’s neck as a symbol of being third ruler in the Babylonian kingdom being “given” to another person. The pe al (Hebrew: qal) stem of the verb ʿǎnā(h) is fientive expressing an action. Here it denotes the action of Belshazzar’s offer of gifts as a reward for meeting his request being given to another person. The imperative mood of the verb is an imperative of request indicating that Daniel is requesting that the rewards Belshazzar promised him be given to another person other than himself. This is not an imperative of command even since Daniel is subordinate to Belshazzar. neḇiz ·bā(h)

The noun neḇiz ·bā(h) means “reward” referring to something of great value given to another as a just recompense for proper service. The emphasis with the

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 20 word is deserved compensation for service. Here it refers to the gifts of great value which will be given out of gratitude by Belshazzar to Daniel if he could read and interpret the mysterious inscription on one of the walls of the banquet hall. The noun neḇiz ·bā(h) is modified by the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ, which means “your” since it functions as a possessive personal pronoun referring of course to Belshazzar. l ʾā·ḥǒrān

The adjective ʾā·ḥ ǒrān means “another” referring to an unidentified individual person in Belshazzar’s kingdom. The word is the object of the preposition lĕ ( ) (leh), which is marker of advantage indicating that Daniel is politely requesting that the rewards Belshazzar promised Daniel would be given “for the benefit of” another person in his kingdom.

Daniel Agrees to Read and Interpret the Inscription

Daniel 5:17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.” (NASB95) “However, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him ” is composed of the conjunction berǎm ( ) ( ber- ( תב) am´ ), “ however ” which is followed by the masculine singular noun keṯāḇ (keth-awb´ ), “ the inscription ” and then we have the first person singular pe al (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb qerā(ʾ) ( ) ( ker-aw´ ), “ I will read ” which is followed by the preposition lĕ ( ) (leh), “ to ” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě·lěḵ ( ) ( meh´-lek ), “ the king ” and then we have the conjunction wa ( ) (waw), “ and ” which is followed by the first person singular haf el (Hebrew: hiphil) active imperfect form of the verb yeḏǎʿ ( ) ( yed- ah´ ), “ make known to ” which is followed by the third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) ( ) (who), “ him .” berǎm

The adversative conjunction berǎm is introducing a statement which stands in direct contrast with Daniel’s previous statement to the king that Belshazzar keep his gifts for himself, or give his rewards for another person in his kingdom. The word introduces a statement which records Daniel agreeing to read and interpret

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 21 the mysterious inscription. Therefore, the contrast is between Daniel rejecting being the third ruler in Babylon with agreeing to read and interpret the inscription. qerā(ʾ)

The verb qerā(ʾ) means “to read aloud” in the sense of audibly or verbally communicating what the writing on the wall said. Here it is used of Daniel verbally communicating to Belshazzar what the mysterious inscription said. The pe al (Hebrew: qal) stem is fientive expressing the action of Daniel reading aloud what the unattached hand wrote one of the walls of the banquet hall. The imperfect form of the verb is a desiderative imperfect expressing Daniel’s desire to read aloud to the king what the mysterious inscription said. keṯāḇ

The noun keṯāḇ means “writing” or “inscription” referring to the symbols or letters inscribed on the wall behind the lampstand in the banquet room where Belshazzar threw an enormous banquet for his nobles. l m ǎl·k ā(ʾ)

The noun mě·lěḵ means “king” is used with reference to Belshazzar signifying that he was governmental head of Babylon. Of course, he was a co-regent with his father Nabonidus. This noun is the object of the preposition lĕ, which marks the word as the indirect object of the verb qerā(ʾ) meaning that it receives the direct object of this verb, which in our context is the inscription. wa

This time the conjunction wa is adjunctive meaning that “in addition to” reading the inscription to the king, Daniel desired to make known the interpretation of this inscription to him. yeḏǎʿ

The verb yeḏǎʿ means “to inform, make known” and is used with Daniel as its subject and the interpretation of the mysterious inscription is its object. This indicates that Daniel is agreeing to “make known” to the king the interpretation of this inscription.

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The haf el (Hebrew: hiphil) stem of the verb is factitive meaning that the subject of this verb causes its direct object to enter the state described by the same verb in the qal. Here the subject is of course Daniel and the direct object is the interpretation of the inscription. Thus, this stem denotes that Daniel desired to cause the interpretation of the inscription to enter the state of being known to Belshazzar. The imperfect form of the verb is a desiderative imperfect expressing a desire of the subject. Therefore, it expresses Daniel’s desire to make known to the king the interpretation of the mysterious inscription. pešǎr

The noun pešǎr means “ interpretation ” referring to Daniel interpreting or explaining to Belshazzar the meaning of the inscription. hû( ʾ)

The third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hû( ʾ) means “him” referring Belshazzar.

Translation of Daniel 5:17

Daniel 5:17 Then Daniel responded and said in the presence of the king in the presence of the king, “Please, keep your gifts for yourself or please give your rewards for another. However, I will read aloud to the king as well as cause the interpretation to be made known to him.”

Exposition of Daniel 5:17

Daniel politely rejects Belshazzar’s offer to clothe him with a purple robe and place a golden chain around his neck which would signify that Daniel was now the third ruler in the Babylonian kingdom. The prophet tells the king he can either keep them for himself or give them to another. In other words, he is telling Belshazzar that you wear the purple robe and wear a golden chain around your neck which is signifies that you are king or give these things to another person in your kingdom. Against Daniel’s will, Belshazzar rewards him with these things anyway and makes him third ruler in the kingdom when Daniel reads and interprets the inscription for the king. Daniel agrees to read and interpret the inscription because he knows that it is a prophetic message from the God of Israel to Belshazzar. Daniel knew that God wanted him to read and interpret the inscription for the king since through this

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 23 message he could see that God was telling Belshazzar that his kingdom had ended and was being handed over to the Medes and Persians. This would fulfill the prophecy he gave to Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in Daniel chapter 2. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the Medes and the Persians would follow his kingdom as a world-wide empire. Daniel would have been told this by God the Holy Spirit in prayer that this inscription was from the Father to the king. Daniel rejects Belshazzar’s offer of gifts and promotion whereas he accepted these things from Nebuchadnezzar who made him ruler over the wise men of Babylon. The reason why he accepted rewards and the promotion of being the head of the wise men is that there was no chance of Nebuchadnezzar viewing Daniel’s motivation for interpreting his dream as an opportunity for self-advancement or self-interest. Nebuchadnezzar never promised Daniel rewards for interpreting his first dream recorded in chapter two. In fact, Daniel interpreted the dream to save his life and the lives of three friends as well as the wise men. On the other hand, Daniel does not accept from Belshazzar gifts and the promotion of being the third ruler in the kingdom since he did not want the king to consider his motivation for reading and interpreting the inscription as a lust for power and money or self- advancement. By rejecting gifts and promotion, Daniel would be telling Belshazzar that he was only doing it to please the God of Israel who is responsible for the inscription and the message for the king that it contained. There was no chance of Nebuchadnezzar viewing Daniel’s motivation for interpreting his dream as motivated by a lust for power and money or self-advancement. With Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was simply attempting to save his life and the lives of his three friends as well as the wise men who were also under the sentence of death. Though Daniel accepted gifts and promotion from Nebuchadnezzar, he did not value these things because he did not love the cosmic system of Satan. Money and power, approbation from men were not attractive to Daniel since he did not value them as much as his relationship and fellowship with God and obeying God. He presents here a great example for church age believers to follow. Money and power were not his motivation for reading and interpreting the inscription but rather he did so in obedience to God’s will.

Cosmic System of Satan

The believer has three great enemies according to the Scriptures: (1) Satan, our chief adversary, the devil: (1 Pet. 5:8-9; Eph. 6:12; John 16:11; Col. 2:15; but note 1 John 2:13-14). (2) The world, a system and arrangement of the affairs of men and government under the control of the evil one and opposed to God and His purposes for man: (John 16:33; 1 John 5:4; Eph. 2:2). (3) Indwelling Adamic sin nature or

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 24 the flesh and all its corrupting power and life-dominating patterns: (Rom. 7:15; 8:4-8, 13; Gal. 5:16-26). The intelligence apparatus of a nation plays a vital part in modern warfare. Unless, we know who our enemy is, where he is, and what he can do, we will have a difficult time defeating him. The leader of the church’s great invisible enemy is of course Satan whose name means, “adversary” because he is the enemy of God. He is also called the “ tempter ” (Mt. 4:3), the murderer (Jn. 8:44). He is compared to “ lion ” in 1 Peter 5:8, a serpent (Gen. 3:1; Rev. 12:9), an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15), the “ god of this age ” (2 Cor. 4:4). The Christian is not to be ignorant of his schemes and devices (2 Cor. 2:11). The cosmos, composed of the stellar universe (second heaven), the earth and its atmosphere (first heaven) serve as the theater of military operations for the angelic conflict pitting the kingdom of God against the kingdom of Satan which are described in Scripture as light and darkness respectively. The voluntary substitutionary spiritual death of the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union at the cross 2000 years was a great strategic victory over Satan in the angelic conflict (John 12:31; 16:8-11; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14). Our Lord’s strategic victory has paved the way for other tactical victories by church age believers. The church age believer is involved in spiritual warfare with the kingdom of darkness (Eph. 6:12-16; Phil. 1:27-30). He is described as a “soldier ” in Scripture (1 Cor. 9:7; Phil. 2:25; 2 Tim. 3-4). The church age is the intensive stage of the angelic conflict. God has provided the believer the means to fight in this intensive stage of the angelic conflict. Satan and the kingdom of darkness would easily destroy the believer if the believer were left to his own devices using his own human power. God has provided the believer the power to overcome his spiritual adversary, Satan and the kingdom of darkness through obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God (1 John 4:4). The kingdom of darkness will employ fear and intimidation tactics to get the believer to go AWOL (Absent without Official Leave) from the plan of God (Phil. 1:28; Heb. 2:15; 1 Pet. 5:1-9). Fear is a contradiction to the believer’s spiritual life, which is a lifestyle of power, love and discipline (2 Tim. 1:7). Occupation with Christ is the greatest weapon that a church age believer can employ when entering into offensive action (Col. 3:1-4; Heb. 12:2-3). The believer who is occupied with Christ is appropriating by faith his union with Christ, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the pages of Scripture. The intimidation tactics launched by the kingdom of darkness through unregenerate humanity and unfaithful believers are rendered inoperative when the believer goes on the offensive by utilizing the Word of God and appropriating by faith his union with Christ for defensive purposes. In the same way that light

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 25 overcomes darkness in the natural realm, the divine omnipotence of the Spirit and the Word overcomes Satan and his invisible army. All precedence for glorifying God the Father during the church age is derived from the dispensation of the hypostatic union since the church age is the extension of the dispensation of the hypostatic union. The believer who is obedient to the Father’s will as the humanity of Christ in hypostatic union was will achieve tactical victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness in the angelic conflict. The believer who appropriates by faith his union with Christ will experience victory in spiritual combat. The believer is to fight “from” victory and not “for” victory since Christ has already gained the victory. The soldier of Christ Jesus who achieves the objective of executing the plan of God appears as a luminary or a light in the cosmic system of Satan exposing his deceitful schemes and defeating him in his own territory (Phil. 2:15).

Location of the Enemy

The base of operations and activities of the kingdom of darkness are located in the earth’s atmosphere. The fact that they reside in the earth’s atmosphere is implied by the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:6-8 where the second day of restoration is not identified by the Lord as tov , “perfect, good.” A comparison of Scripture with this passage indicates that the reason why the Lord did not call it tov was because the kingdom of darkness, the fallen angels reside in the earth’s atmosphere. Genesis 1:1 In eternity past, God created out of nothing the heavens and the earth. However the earth became an empty desolation, and darkness was upon the surface of the raging ocean depths. 2 Now, the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 And then, God commanded, “let there be light,’ and so, there was light.” 4 And then, God observed that in essence the light was perfect, God then caused a division between the light and the darkness. 5 And then, concerning the light, God designated the name day but concerning the darkness, He designated the name night and so it was evening and so it was morning, the first day. 6 Next, God commanded, “let there be an atmosphere in the middle of the waters, and let it be a cause of division between waters from waters.” 7 Consequently, God having restored the atmosphere and thus having caused a division between the waters, which were below the atmosphere and the waters, which were above the atmosphere, thus it came to pass as previously described. 8 And then, concerning the atmosphere, God designated the name “heavens,” and so it was evening and so it was morning, the second day. (Author’s translation) In Genesis 1:3-5, Moses under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit records for us the first day of restoration where the Spirit under the direction of the pre-

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 26 incarnate Christ restored light to planet earth. Upon the restoration of light, the Lord pronounced it tov , “good.” But He does not say this after the second day of restoration, which is recorded in Genesis 1:6-8. The reason for this omission is that Satan and the fallen angels inhabit the earth’s atmosphere. Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. (NASB95) The base of operations of the fallen angels and their activities take place in the earth’s atmosphere. In the 21 st century there is a lot of misinformation regarding the nature of angels and their activities. This is to be expected since we do live in the devil’s world. He has been from the beginning and continues to deceive the entire world regarding his existence, and the nature of himself and his objectives for becoming like the Most High.

Fallen Angels

The only place where we can find the truth about the angels and concerning Satan himself is the infallible Word of God. The Bible teaches that angels are temporarily superior to mankind (Heb. 2). In terms of power and ability, the present angelic superiority to mankind is obvious in every passage of scripture in which they are described. This current angelic superiority significantly also extends to the area of longevity. While mankind is enjoying a sequential residence on earth (generation following generation), angelic kind has been experiencing a continuum of existence in heaven, even before the creation of Man. This longevity, combined with the fact that angels (though creatures like Man) are not subject to the same degree to the restraints and necessities of time and space that encumber mankind, undoubtedly contributes to their superior knowledge and wisdom as well. By its very essence, therefore, the angelic nature is superior to our present earthly human nature in terms of appearance, intellect, power, mobility and authority (2 Pet.2:11). Angels will ultimately be inferior to mankind. Angels will not always be superior to mankind. Just as our Lord’s humanity is, in resurrection, superior to angels in every way (Heb.1:4-2:18), so also we are destined to share that superiority with Him in our resurrection (1 Cor.6:3; Heb.2:5). Angels are acutely aware of and involved in human affairs. The involvement of angelic beings in human affairs is part and parcel of their role in promoting (or, in the case of the fallen angels, opposing) God's plan for human history. On a more personal level, however, angels are also apparently extremely interested in observing human behavior in general and in the playing out of God's

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 27 plan in particular (1Tim.3:16; 5:21; 1Pet.1:10-12). The observation of human behavior is particularly true in the case of the Son of Man, our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3:16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (NASB95) They were present at His birth (Lk.2:13-14), temptation (Matt.4:11), resurrection (Lk.24:4), ascension (Acts 1:10-11), and return (2 Thes.1:7), evidence which underscores angelic interest in the most crucial phase of God's plan, namely the life and work of the Messiah. By observation, angels are learning (to their joy in the case of the elect angels, to their sorrow in the case of the fallen angels) about the wisdom, the power, the grace and the mercy of God (cf. Lk.15:10; 1Cor.4:9; 11:10). Angels should neither be worshiped nor disrespected. In any discussion of angels, it is important to keep in mind both their present superiority and their eventual subordination to us. Angels are not to be disrespected (Lk.10:20; 1 Pet.2:10-12; Jude 8-10; cf. Rom.13:7), but neither angels are to be worshiped (Rev.19:10; 22:9; cf. 2 Kng.17:16; Jer.19:13; Col.2:18). This is especially important in regard to fallen angels. God counterbalances their evil efforts with the work and ministrations of His holy, elect angels. Therefore, although we are to have a healthy respect for the Adversary and his potential to oppose us (2 Cor.2:11; Eph.6:11; 1 Pet.5:8), we are not to be unduly terrified by him and his minions. While we are to have an awareness and appreciation for the positive function of the elect angels on our behalf, we are not to be inordinately fixated upon them (especially since both their persons and their work are invisible to us). In neither case should we “ go beyond what is written ” in the Bible about angels, whether through excessive fear of Satanic influence or an exorbitant fascination with the ministrations of the holy angels. The service performed by the elect-angels can be summarized as follows: (1) Worship of God (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). (2) Messengers of God (Dan. 9:22; Lk. 1:11, 26; 2:9; Rev. 1:1). (3) Soldiers in spiritual combat (Dan. 10:13f; Rev. 12:7). Angels: (1) Protect (2) Provide (3) Proclaim the Word of God (4) Execute God’s Judgments. As God’s servants who are dispatched from the throne room of heaven to execute God’s purposes, we may observe that the ministry of the elect-angels falls into several categories. In Relation to God the elect-angels perform the following services: (1) Attendants around the throne of God, and are waiting to serve Him and do His bidding (Ps. 103:20; Isa. 6:1f; Job 1:6; 2:1; Rev. 5:11; 8:1f). (2) Worshippers in

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 28 praise of Him (Isa. 6:3; Ps. 148:1-2; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:12). (3) Observers who rejoice over what the Lord does (Job 38:6-7; Luke 2:12-13; 15:10), Soldiers in battle with Satan (Rev. 12:7). (4) Instruments used by the God to execute judgments (Rev. 7:1; 8:2). In Relation to the Nations, the elect-angels and non-elect angels perform the following services: (1) Michael, the archangel, is the guardian of the nation of Israel (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; Jude 9). (2) The non-elect angels rule over the Gentile nations (Dan. 4:17; Eph. 6:11-16) and seek to influence their human leaders (Dan. 10:21; 11:1). (3) In the Tribulation the elect-angels will be the agents God uses to pour out His judgments (see Rev. 8-9 and 16). In Relation to Christ, the elect-angels perform the following services: (1) They prophesied of the birth of Christ (Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:26-28). (2) They announced his birth (Luke 2:8-15). (3) An angel warned Joseph to take Mary and the baby Jesus and flee into Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15), and an angel directed the family to return to Israel after Herod died (vv. 19-21). In relation to His suffering, the elect-angels performed the following services: (1) They ministered to the Lord after His temptation (Matt. 4:11). (2) They administered to the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:43), and Jesus said He could have called a legion of angels who stood ready to come to His defense if He so desired (Matt. 26:53). In relation to His resurrection, the elect-angels performed the following services: (1) An angel rolled away the stone from the tomb (28:1-2). (2) Angels announced His resurrection to the women on the Resurrection morning (vv. 5-6; Luke 24:5-7). (3) Angels were present at His ascension and gave instruction to the disciples (Acts 1:10-11). In relation to His coming again, the elect-angels perform the following services: (1) The voice of the archangel will be heard at the rapture of the church (1 Thess. 4:16). (2) They will accompany Him in His glorious return to earth (Matt. 25:31; 2 Thess. 1:7). (3) They will separate the wheat from the tares at Christ’s second coming (Matt. 13:39-40). In Relation to the unbeliever, the elect-angels will perform the following: (1) Angels not only announce but will inflict judgment (Gen. 19:13; Rev. 14:6-7; Acts 12:23; Rev. 16:1). (2) They will separate the righteous from the unrighteous at the 2nd Advent (Matt. 13:39-40). In Relation to the Church: Hebrews 1:14 describes ministry of the elect-angels “servant-spirits who are divinely commissioned and repeatedly dispatched for service on behalf of those who are destined to inherit salvation.” In this, however, Scripture points to a number of specific ministries: (1) The elect-angels bring answers to prayer (Acts 12:5-10). (2) They help in bringing

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 29 people to the Savior (Acts 8:26; 10:3). (3) They may encourage in times of danger (Acts 27:23-24). (4) They care for God’s people at the time of death (Luke 16:22). In Relation to the introduction of a new dispensation, angels are actively involved when God institutes a new epoch in history: (1) They Joined in Praise When the Earth Was Created (Job 38:6-7) (2) They Were Involved in the Giving of the Mosaic Law (Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2) (3) They Were Active at the First Advent of Christ (Matt. 1:20; 4:11) (4) They Were Active During the Early Years of the Church (Acts 8:26; 10:3, 7; 12:11) (5) They Will Be Involved in Events Surrounding the Second Advent of Christ (Matt. 25:31; 1 Thes. 4:1).

Enemy Territory

The believer is living in enemy territory, which is the cosmic system of Satan. Satan runs this world and deceives it. 1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (NASB95) Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (NASB95) In his temptation of Christ, Satan declared, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish” (Luke 4:5). Of course, God is sovereign and omnipotent, but in accord with God’s eternal purposes, the Bible does teach us that this present world is Satan’s domain and under his authority. Thus, the Lord frequently spoke of Satan as the ruler of this world (kosmos) (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and Paul likewise asserts the same truth (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 6:12; 1 John 5:19). The nature of Satan’s aims in the world are quickly evident in his first appearance in the Garden of Eden when he tempted the Woman to act independently of God that she might become like God knowing good and evil. He appeals to what is pleasant to the senses and desirable to gain wisdom, but always, the goal is a life that seeks to get by “without” God. Satan’s aim is to create a world system that rivals God’s kingdom but which leaves Him out. His aim is to promote a counterfeit world order. Basically, the cosmos is evil because it is independent of God. It may contain good aspects as well as overtly evil aspects, but its inherent evil lies in its being independent of God and a rival to Him. This sharp rivalry surfaces in such verses as James 1:27 where the believer is told to keep himself unstained from the world; in 4:4 where friendship with the

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 30 world is said to be hostility toward God; and in 1 John 2:16 where John declares that all that is in the world is not from the Father. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (NASB95) “World ” is the noun kosmos and is the primary word in the Greek New Testament for the world. Kosmos means “order, ornament, adornment, an orderly arrangement. Our word “cosmetics” comes from this word. In the New Testament it has three main uses: (1) The orderly arrangement of the heavens or the earth and all things in their complex order and composition as created by God, created in perfect order and subject to the laws God established to govern its operation.(Matt. 13:35; John 21:25; Acts 17:24). (2) The cosmos (Greek, kosmos ) may also refer to the world in its arrangement of the inhabitants of the earth in tribes and nations or peoples (Acts 17:26; John 3:16; 1 Cor. 4:9; 1 John 2:2; 2 Pet. 2:5). (3) But most importantly, kosmos is used of a vast system and arrangement of human affairs, earthly goods, godless governments, conflicts, riches, pleasures, culture, education, world religions, the cults and the occult dominated and negatively affected by Satan who is god of this satanic cosmos. This system is promoted by Satan, conformed to his ideals, aims, methods, and character, and stands perpetually in opposition to God the cause of Christ. This world system is used to seduce men away from God and the person of Christ. It is anti-God, anti-Christ, and anti-Bible, and very anti-humanity though it often appears as humanitarian as part of Satan’s masquerade as an angel of light. The devil's world will never be healed; the devil's system will never be successful in bringing in perfect environment apart from God. Indeed, Satan's kosmos is not at all designed to do so it is to the contrary constructed to appear to have the betterment of humanity as a prime objective, in order to further the devil's plans of enslaving and misleading as many people as possible. While masquerading as a kingdom of light, Satan's world is entirely a kingdom of darkness, and so the scriptures describe it, making abundantly clear the distinction between God's world to come and the present cosmos of evil. Satan has incorporated into his system of world rulership as many material distractions as possible. Affluence, the increase and spread of wealth, communication and technology are factors, which, from one point of view, are very beneficial to the devil's control of mankind. Fear is a major element in Satan's manipulation of humanity, and to the extent that men enjoy and rely on such things for their happiness and security, to that degree the fear of losing them produces a sort of bondage which the devil is quick to exploit (cf. Hebrews 2:14–15 for the principle).

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In order to prevent our enslavement to the delights of this world (as well as to its necessities), an area Satan knows only too well how to manipulate against us, we need to have a full and sober appreciation of what the world really is. We need to be very aware of the world's essential vanity and of the pointlessness of its distractions and diversions. We need to be able to keep the pressures and exigencies of life (as well as its pleasures and delights) in proper perspective. God is important. Knowing Him and serving Him is why we are here. Everything else is mere context. We are neither asked nor commanded to get through life without taking any joy or pleasure in worldly things and we certainly will not pass through the human experience without worldly pressure and problems (especially as Christians). But it is all these largely extraneous matters, which we must compartmentalize, and not God . We dare not put God “in a box,” giving priority to everything the world sees as important (but which from the Christian point of view is ultimately inconsequential), and neglecting the One who made us, who bought us, and whom we claim is our Master. Whenever we allow the “things” of life to grow high, and fail to tend our faith, we endanger our spiritual growth. Ironically, believers have a tendency to do better spiritually in times of severe testing than in times of prosperity (cf. Deut.8:10-20). Prosperity can be very dangerous and destructive to a believer’s spiritual growth. In these last days it is especially important for Christians to avoid a pair of assumptions, which are equally dangerous: (1) Affluence is a sign that God is blessing us, and therefore, if we are wealthy, that we must be doing just fine in our spiritual lives. (2) Result of spiritual growth and a prosperous relationship with God is material wealth (i.e., the “prosperity gospel”). In fact, the opposite effect is certainly not without precedent, that is, the spiritually mature encountering greater testing on this score (e.g., consider Job's trials, or Elijah's privation). Morbid over-emphasis on material prosperity has always been an occupational hazard of the human race in general, and, the closer we come to the end of history, the more we can expect this issue to grow as a threat to Christian spiritual growth. During this last era of the Church, the Laodicean era, there is destined to be an ever increasing tendency toward equating wealth and affluence with spiritual success (Rev.3:14-22). Untroubled lives of ease in the midst of abundance are neither the norm nor the objective of the Christian life. The closer we walk with God, the more we can expect that walk to be opposed by Satan and his angels: 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (NASB95) Another word that sometimes refers to this world system is the Greek aion , “age, period of time.” This word seems to serve as a synonym in certain contexts.

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It is used in some contexts of the age in which we live as marked by certain spiritual and moral characteristics as affected by Satan whom Paul identifies as “the god of this age.” A very interesting use occurs in Ephesians 2:2 where Paul combines both aion and kosmos , “the course (age) of the world (cosmos). This age is often contrasted in Scripture with the age to come because of the very different characteristics and conditions of the two ages (Eph. 1:21; Matt. 12:32; 13:22; 1 Tim. 6:17; Tit. 2:12- 13; Heb. 6:5). Trench defines aion : “All that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, But which constitutes a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale, all this is included in the aion , which is, as Bengel has expressed it, ‘the subtle informing spirit of the kosmos , or world of men who are living alienated and apart from God.’” The world, then, instead of remaining a beautiful expression of God’s will and creative power as seen under the conditions of its creation, has becomes the seat of an angelic conflict and the very rival and antithesis of the plan of God. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (NASB95) To achieve his aim, Satan must try to make the values of his godless system seem attractive. Thus he works to make people give top priority to self as number one and to the here and now as most important. When John wrote that all that is in the world is not of the Father he explained what he meant by “all” by three epexegetical statements that follow in 1 John 2:16. All of them emphasize self as number one. Satisfy the lusts of the flesh, Satan counsels. Try to get what the inordinate desires of the eyes make you covet and build a self-sufficient, arrogant attitude that arises from boasting about the possessions one has in life. This selfishness is, of course, the prevailing philosophy of the world, and it comes from Satan who promoted himself from the beginning. Satan also seeks to focus people’s attention on the present rather than on eternity. That is why John reminds us in verse 17 that the world passes away but the one that does the will of God abides forever. Thus Satan seeks to achieve his purposes by trying to change our priorities (self first) and our perspective (here and now more important). In reality the truth is that God is first and eternity most important.

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The Scripture sets forth a number of importance truths regarding the believer’s relation to this satanic cosmos in which we live. Though we are in the cosmic system of Satan, we are not of it (John 17:14-16). We are of a different kingdom and, as sojourners and aliens. We are to be living our lives in light of eternity. Though in the world, we are to be both unstained by the world and separated from it and its way of life while also penetrating the world as ambassadors of Christ, as those holding forth the Word of life (cf. Jam. 1:27; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; with Phil. 2:12-18; Matt. 5:14-16; 2 Cor. 5:20-21). Our trust, therefore, is not to be in the uncertain riches of this age nor in the things in which men glory (1 Tim. 6:17-19; John 5:41; 1 Thess. 2:6). We are not be friends with this world which amounts to hostility to God and His aims (Jam. 4:4); nor are we to love the world, for loving the world and its things chokes out our ability to love God (1 John 2:15-17; Matt. 6:19-24; Mark 4:18-19). Rather, we are to find our purpose, peace, significance, and joy, not as the world seeks these things, but through the Savior’s life and the eternal purpose He gives us (John 14:25-27; Phil. 2:1-5). We can enjoy the things God gives us in the world for He has given us all things freely to enjoy, but our security, significance, or basic satisfaction and contentment in life are to come from knowing, loving, trusting, and serving the Lord (1 Tim. 6:17; Phil. 4:11-13; Eccl. 2:24-26). So while we can use the things in the world, we must not abuse them as one who belongs to Satan’s cosmic system who seeks from the world what only the Lord can give (1 Cor. 7:29-35). As believers we can expect animosity from the world bridled with an attempt by the world to conform us to its ideal, ambitions or aims, and way of life (John 15:18-19; 17:14; 1 John 3:13; Rom. 12:1-2); it is God’s truth as found in the Bible that protects from the world (John 17:17); In Romans 12:2, Paul is prohibiting his readers from conforming their behavior in accordance with the standards of this present age in which Satan is the ruler of the earth and his world system dominates and controls all of humanity. Romans 12:1 Therefore, I appeal to each and every one of you spiritual brothers and sisters on the basis of the merciful acts produced by God the Father to offer your bodies as a sacrifice-alive, holy, extremely pleasing and beneficial to God the Father, which is your reasonable service. 2 Consequently, do not conform your behavior in accordance with the standards of this age. On the contrary, permit yourselves to be transformed by renovating your mind in order that each and every one of you may discern what is, as an eternal spiritual truth, God the Father’s will, that which is good as well as extremely pleasing and in addition perfect. (Author’s translation)

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“Do not conform your behavior ” is composed of the negative particle me , “not ” and the second person plural present (deponent) passive imperative form of the verb suschematizo , “ do be conform your behavior .” The verb suschematizo means “to conform to” and speaks of conforming one’s behavior according to the standards of the present age, which is Satanically inspired and dominated by Satan’s cosmic system. The verb’s meaning is negated by the negative particle me , “ not .” Together, they form a prohibition. The Roman believers are the subject of this prohibition. Paul employs me and not ouk since the latter is much stronger than the former and would indicate that his readers were conforming their behavior to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system. Thus, by employing me instead of ouk , he does not believe that his readers were conforming their behavior to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system, which ouk would indicate. Therefore, the particle me indicates that this has not taken place but is used with the verb suschematizo to prohibit Paul’s readers in the future from conforming their behavior to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system. Also, further indicating that the prohibition here in Romans 12:2 does not imply that the Roman believers were conforming their conduct to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system is that the present imperative form of the verb suschematizo with the negative particle me has the force of a general precept. It makes no comment about whether the action is going on or not. Thus, Paul’s readers were “not” presently disobeying this prohibition. Furthermore, the context of the epistle further indicates that the Roman believers were not conforming their behavior to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system. In Romans 15:14-15, Paul writes to the believers in Rome that he was convinced that they were full of goodness and filled with knowledge and able to admonish each other. Thus, his teachings in this epistle would serve as a reminder to them. Therefore, Paul is simply performing preventive maintenance by employing this prohibition in Romans 12:2. He is in effect warning the believers in Rome to not conform their conduct to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system. Thus, he is simply stating a general precept for his readers to follow in the future that would protect their fellowship with God. The majority of witnesses in the Western and Byzantine traditions read the infinitive form of the verb suschematizo (and metamorphoo ) over against the imperative of the Egyptian tradition (P 46 B* L P 104 365 1241 1739 pm). Based on this superiority of the Egyptian tradition and that the imperatives make perfect sense in the passage, we conclude that the mood of both verbs in Romans 12:2 are imperative.

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This is a “customary present imperative,” which is a command for action to be continued, action that may or may not have already been going on and is often a character building command to the effect of “make this your habit.” The voice of the verb suschematizo is uncertain. It could be passive meaning “do not be conformed” (KJV; NASB; NRSV) or it could be a direct middle meaning “do not conform yourselves” (TEV). However, the latter would be quite rare for the Greek New Testament. The former could be a “permissive passive” as the NET suggests. The NET writes, “It is very telling that being ‘conformed’ to the present world is viewed as a passive notion, for it may suggest that it happens, in part, subconsciously. At the same time, the passive could well be a ‘permissive passive,’ suggesting that there may be some consciousness of the conformity taking place. Most likely, it is a combination of both.” If the verb suschematizo is in the passive (“do not be conformed”), this would indicate that the articular dative form of the noun aion , “ to this world ” has an instrumental sense. The noun refers to the mass of attitudes, opinions, thoughts, speculations, aims, aspirations and hopes of those unregenerate individuals who are deceived by Satan’s cosmic system. If the noun is instrumental this would indicate that Paul is prohibiting his readers from being conformed “by” this present age that is deceived by the devil. If the verb is in the passive voice it indicates that the cosmic system is being portrayed as a power that is acting upon the believer. However, Moo believes that the voice is a deponent middle/passive citing Turner “who notes that Hellenistic Greek manifested a tendency to use the middle and the passive voice with an active meaning.” (Moo, Douglas J., The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Epistle to the Romans, page 755; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge, U.K., 1988) Some translations follow this point of Turner’s interpreting the voice as a deponent middle/passive meaning that though the word is in the passive or middle voice form it has an active meaning, which would render the translation of the verb “do not conform” (NIV; REB; NJB). Furthermore, the meaning of the word suschematizo is to form or mold one’s behavior in accordance with a particular pattern or set of standards, which suggests that though it has a passive/middle form, it has an active meaning. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature-Third Edition says that the word has a passive form but active meaning (Page 979). If active in meaning, this would indicate that the noun aion , “ to this world ” functions as a dative of rule specifying the rule or code a person follows or the standard of conduct to which one conforms. Therefore, the verb suschematizo has

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 36 is a deponent verb meaning that although it has a passive/middle form, it has an active meaning. This would indicate that Paul is appealing to the volition of his readers in that he does not want them to conform to the standards of this present age that is under the deception of the devil, which is similar to the apostle John’s warning in 1 John 2:15. Romans 12:2, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” “In accordance with the standards of this age ” is composed of the articular dative masculine singular form of the noun aion and the dative masculine singular form of demonstrative pronoun houtos . The noun aion means “age” referring to the particular period of human history in which the devil is the temporary ruler over planet earth. It is used in relation to the present age in which the devil is the god of this world idiomatically expressing what one might refer to as “the spirit of the age,” the philosophies and ideologies which dominate this period that are Satanically inspired. The word then refers to the spirit of this age in which the devil rules over the earth, which seeks to be independent of God and the Bible. It is an age in which people characteristically seek self-gratification regardless of the consequences or cost to self or others. This Satanic age is characteristically self-centered, self-pleasing, self-indulgent, self-concerned and indifferent to needs of others. It is also an age in which when men display concern for the needs of others, it is either because they seek to gain merit with God through their good deeds, which God rejects since these deeds are not done in His power or they are deeds that they perform to gain power over people and gain approbation from them. They are not deeds that they perform in obedience to God. The prevailing, popular thinking and culture is in continual rebellion against God and His authority and seeks to conform all the world’s inhabitants to its godless “world view.” This Satanic world view permeates the thinking of mankind, molding, corrupting and degrading and in the process affecting all culture and every institution of man. The noun aion differs from the noun kosmos , “world” in that the former speaks of a particular period of human history in which the devil and fallen angels rule this world whereas kosmos refers to the devil’s world system. The noun aion can also refer to the age in which the devil’s viewpoint prevails over men in contrast to the Messianic age and the eternal state to come whereas kosmos is the system he has in place to propagate his viewpoint of this Satanic age. The noun kosmos and is used of a vast system and arrangement of human affairs, earthly goods, godless governments, conflicts, riches, pleasures, culture,

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 37 education, world religions, the cults and the occult dominated and negatively affected by Satan who is god of this satanic cosmos. But as Trench writes, aion is “that floating mass of thoughts, opinions, maxims, speculations, hopes, impulses, aims, aspirations, at any time current in the world, which it may be impossible to seize and accurately define, but which constitute a most real and effective power, being the moral, or immoral atmosphere which at every moment of our lives we inhale, again inevitably to exhale.” (Synonyms of the New Testament, page 204) In Romans 12:2, the verb metamorphoo , “ transformed ” refers to the process performed by the Spirit in the believer who obeys the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God. It speaks of the process of producing in the believer this divine good of intrinsic quality and character or in other words, transforming the Christian into the image of Christ both inwardly and outwardly. This work of conforming the Christian into the image of Christ began the moment the Christian expressed faith alone in Christ alone. It continues after salvation in the believer who obeys the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit through the communication of the Word of God and it will be completed at the resurrection of the church. In Romans 12:2, the verb metamorphoo means “to be transformed” and refers to the process performed by the Holy Spirit in the believer who is obeying the Spirit’s voice, which is heard through the Word of God and deals with conforming the believer into the image of Christ in an experiential sense. This transformation also involves prayer both in learning and applying the Word of God. It speaks of the process of the Christian being transformed in an experiential sense into the image of Christ. The verb speaks of the process of growing to spiritual maturity and becoming like Christ in an experiential sense. In other words, it refers to the process of the Christian acquiring more Christ-like character through obedience to the Spirit who speaks to the believer in the Word of God. This verb is related to experiential sanctification and experiencing salvation, both of which of course are related to fellowship but speak of it from different perspectives. It speaks of the believer living in a manner consistent with his new position in Christ and as a regenerated child and son of God. This process of being transformed into the image of Christ through the Spirit begins inwardly in the soul and manifests itself in the believer’s words and actions. So this verb speaks of a change that begins from within the soul and expresses itself outwardly in one’s words and actions and one’s lifestyle. It refers to accomplishing in time the Father’s plan to conform the justified sinner into the image of Christ, which Paul speaks of Romans 8:29. The present imperative of the verb metamorphoo in Romans 12:2 is used of a general precept for habits that should characterize one’s attitude and behavior.

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Therefore, it denotes that the transformation of the believer’s character into the image of Christ should characterize the believer’s attitude and behavior and lifestyle. This is a “customary present imperative,” which is a character building command to the effect of “make this your habit.” The passive voice is a “divine passive.” The passive voice means that the subject receives the action of the verb from either an expressed or unexpressed agency. The subject of this command is Paul’s Christian readers in Rome and the unexpressed agency is the Holy Spirit. The passive voice of the verb metamorphoo is also a “permissive passive.” The passive voice means that the subject is being acted upon by either an expressed or unexpressed agency. The agency is the Holy Spirit who as we noted is unexpressed but is the obvious agent because Paul taught that the Holy Spirit effects the believer’s sanctification. The fact that this is a “permissive” passive implies consent on the part of the subject. Therefore, the permissive passive indicates that Paul’s Christian readers in Rome are to permit themselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, which is accomplished when the believer obeys the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God. The permissive passive voice of the verb metamorphoo emphasizes that Paul’s Christian readers in Rome must make a conscious choice to permit the Holy Spirit to reproduce the character of Christ in their lives by obeying His voice, which is heard through the teaching of the Word of God. “By renovating your mind ” is composed of the articular dative feminine singular form of the noun anakainosis , “ by the renewing ” and the articular genitive masculine singular form of the noun nous , “ mind .” The noun anakainosis means “renovation” rather than “renewal” since the former means to make new whereas as the latter to restore a former state. This renovation of the believer’s mind is accomplished by the Holy Spirit when the believer prayerfully obeys His voice, which is heard through the Word of God. It involves not only learning and obeying the Word of God but also prayer since prayer must accompany learning the Word and applying it. It takes place when the believer experiences sanctification and salvation, which constitute two different perspectives of fellowship with God. This renovation of the believer’s manner of thinking is accomplished when he prayerfully learns and obeys the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God. This in turn results in the believer’s manner of thinking being changed, which in turn results in the transformation of the believer’s character into the image of Christ or the manifestation of Christ-like character. This renovation involves learning and obeying the Word of God and prayer accompanies both learning and obeying. This renovation is related to the command in Ephesians 5:18

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 39 to be filled with the Spirit and the command in Colossians 3:16 to let the Word of Christ richly dwell in you. In Romans 12:2, the articular construction of the akaionosis emphasizes that this renovation of the believer’s manner of thinking or attitude needs no further clarification because it is well-known to the reader. It is well-known to the reader because learning and obeying the Word of God while accompanied by prayer was essential to this transformation of the believer’s character into the image of Christ. The noun functions as a dative instrumental of means indicating the means by which the action of the verb metamorphoo is accomplished. Therefore, it denotes that the transformation of the believer’s character into the image of Christ is accomplished “by means of” the renovation of the believer’s manner of thinking. The noun nous refers to the believer’s particular manner or way of thinking, their attitude, practical reasoning or intellect. The context indicates that the article preceding the noun functions as a possessive pronoun and therefore should be translated “ your .” It functions as an “objective genitive” meaning that it functions semantically as the direct object of the verbal idea implicit in the noun anakainosis , “ renovation .” This is indicated in that anakainosis , “ renovation ” can be converted into the verbal form “ renovating ” and the noun nous , “ mind ” into its direct object.

Proper Christian Conduct

So therefore, the believer is in enemy territory and is under siege from the kingdom of darkness. This world system of Satan is against the Lord Jesus Christ and His church, which is His body and future. We are not to love the world because our citizenship is heaven. Philippians 3:20 For our citizenship exists from eternity past in the realm of the heavens, out from which also we ourselves at the present time are eagerly anticipating as Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ 21 who will cause our humiliating body to be outwardly transformed to be identical in essence with His glorious body because of the power that will enable Him to marshal all things created to Himself. (Author’s translation) The citizens of the cosmic system of Satan hate the citizens of heaven. Satan and his cosmic system persecuted the Lord Jesus and have and will continue to persecute the church as well (John 15:18-25). There are many passages in the New Testament, which address the believer’s attitude and conduct to this present cosmic system of Satan (Ephesians 4:17-5:2; Philippians 1:27-30; 2:14-17).

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Galatians 6:14 But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (NASB95) Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (NASB95) James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (NASB95) The fact that we are not to love this world does not mean we are to withdraw from society and live in a monastery but rather God has separated us from the world in order that we might manifest His Son to a lost and dying world through our words and actions. God’s purpose of conforming us to the image of Christ is not accomplished by withdrawing to a monastery. We are not to conform our thinking to the world’s thinking but rather our thinking is to be conformed to Christ’s thinking (2 Corinthians 10:3-6). As He conforms us into the image of His Son, God permits us to use that which the world has devised, but we are to use it in service for the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers can and should use the world’s means of communication, such as radio, television, movies and the Internet in order to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are in the world as servants of Christ. We are here to manifest His glory and to reveal the knowledge of God. We don’t do this by conforming to the world, and not by loving the things that are in the world, but by being conformed to Jesus Christ and by loving Him with singleness of purpose, by being dedicated and devoted to Him. We are not to “sell out” to the world and play by its rules but rather we are to walk in conformity with Christ. Sooner or later, every Christian discovers that the Christian life is a battleground and not a playground that he is up against an enemy that is much more powerful and smarter than he is. So the church age believer is involved in spiritual warfare with the kingdom of darkness (Eph. 6:12-16). He is described as a “ soldier ” in Scripture (1 Cor. 9:7; Phil. 2:25; 2 Tim. 3-4). The church age is the intensive stage of the angelic conflict. The believer can glorify God in this angelic conflict by becoming an invisible hero with an invisible impact on human and angelic history.

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The believer is being conformed to the image of Christ by conforming his thoughts, words and actions to Christ by means of the Spirit will have an invisible impact in 5 categories: (1) Personal: Your own periphery. (2) National: The Pivot. (3) International: Blessing by association through a mature missionary. (4) Angelic: Witness for the Prosecution in the Rebuttal Phase of Satan’s Appeal Trial. (5) Heritage: Children of a mature believer are blessed after the believer dies. Invisible Heroes are described as the “ salt of the earth ” (Matt. 5:13). They are the “ lights of the world ” (Matt. 5:14). Invisible Heroes are like a “ city on a hill ” (Matt. 5:14). In relation to the church, the non-elect angels are warring against the church (Eph. 6:10-19). As we noted, Satan runs this world and deceives it. God has provided the believer the means to fight in this intensive stage of the angelic conflict. Satan and the kingdom of darkness would easily destroy the believer if he were left to his own devices using his own human power. The Lord has given the believer spiritual armor (Eph. 6:11, 14-17), and spiritual weapons to fight this spiritual warfare (2 Cor. 10:3-5). The same power that the humanity of Christ used to achieve the strategic victory in the angelic conflict has now been made available to the believer in the Church Age: (1) Word (2) Spirit. The battleground for this spiritual warfare is in the believer’s soul (Rom. 7:23; 2 Cor. 10:3-5; Gal. 5:17). God has provided the believer the power to overcome his spiritual adversary, Satan and the kingdom of darkness (1 John 4:4). Never before in history has so much power been made available to believers. This is because we live in the intensified stage of the angelic conflict and the church age believer is the enemy of the kingdom of darkness (John 15:18-19). There is no excuse for any believer to become a permanent casualty in this war. The believer who goes AWOL (Absent without official leave) and succumbs to fear, worry and does not take advantage of knowing that God will support him through logistical grace in times of adversity will become a spiritual casualty in this spiritual warfare. This is why we receive the following prohibitions and commands in the Scripture: Philippians 4:6 At this very moment, all of you stop continuing to be anxious about absolutely anything, but rather, concerning anything at all by means of reverential prayer in the presence of the Father and by means of petition accompanied by the giving of thanks, let your specific detailed requests be repeatedly made known in the presence of the Father. 7 And as a result the peace produced by God the Holy Spirit, which is always superior to any and every human conception, will as a dogmatic statement of fact cause your hearts to be protected and as a result your thoughts by means of the doctrine of Christ Jesus. (Author’s translation)

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1 Peter 5:6 Make it your top priority and permit yourselves to be humbled under the mighty hand of God the Father in order that He may promote you at the proper time by casting all your anxiety upon Him because as for Him He cares about you. (Author’s translation)

Ephesians 6:10-19

The apostle Paul employs a military analogy in Ephesians 6 in order to describe the believer’s defense and offense when engaging this invisible enemy. That Paul would use such an illustration is reasonable since Paul was chained to a Roman soldier when he wrote Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (NASB95) In Ephesians 6:10-17, the apostle Paul teaches the Ephesian believers how to deal with their invisible enemy. In Ephesians 6:10-17, the apostle Paul commands the Ephesian believers to put on the full armor of God and he describes it for them. Ephesians 6:14-17 lists 5 items that compose “ the full armor of God ”: (1) Ephesians 6:14a: “ Belt of truth .” (2) Ephesians 6:14b: “ Breastplate, which is (Christ’s) righteousness .” (3) Ephesians 6:15: “ Combat boots, namely, the Gospel .” (4) Ephesians 6:16: “ Shield, which is your faith .” (5) Ephesians 6:17a: “Your helmet, which is your salvation .” Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. (NASB95) “Be strong ” is the verb endunamoo , which means, “to be empowered” and refers to the dynamic spiritual power that is available to every believer who is obedient to the Word of God, which is alive and powerful. “In the Lord ” contains a figure of speech called the metonymy of the cause where the cause is put for the effect meaning that we have the Person of the Lord put here for His doctrine or word. The prepositional phrase “ in the Lord ” should be translated “by means of the (Word of) Lord” since the context is not emphasizing the “sphere” in which the believer is to be empowered but rather the “means by which” the Ephesian believers were to empower themselves against the enemy. The application of the Word of the Lord is “the means” by which the believer is to empower himself in order to achieve victory in spiritual combat with his invisible enemy. Hebrews 4:12 The Word of God is alive and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 43 spirit, and of the joints and the marrow, and is a critic of thoughts and intents of the heart. (NASB95) God’s power to overcome Satan and his angels is available to all of us as believers in the form of the Word of God. The specific doctrine in the Word of God that we as Christian soldiers need to take possession of by faith is our union and identification with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session. “Strength ” is the noun kratos , which means, “manifested power” and refers to the inherent omnipotence of God that has been “manifested” through the resurrection and session of the unique theanthropic Person of the cosmos, the Lord Jesus Christ who achieved at the Cross of Calvary the decisive victory in the angelic conflict. “Might ” is the noun ischus refers to “the possession of power to overcome” and is used in the context of a military analogy and denotes “the possession of Christ’s power to overcome” in spiritual combat Satan and the kingdom of darkness. In Ephesians 6:10 the noun ischus refers to the 100% availability of divine omnipotence that has been made available to every church age believer because of their union with the Lord Jesus Christ that provides them “the power to overcome” their invisible enemy, namely Satan and the kingdom of darkness. Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (NASB95) Putting on the full armor of God refers to appropriating by faith your union with Christ, which is equivalent to putting on the nature of Christ. This is accomplished when we appropriate (meaning take possession of) by faith meaning we agree with what the Word of God says about us, namely, that we have been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ at the Father’s right hand, far above all angelic power and authority. We are to appropriate for ourselves by faith in the Word of God, the victory that is ours through our identification and union with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and session. We fight “from” victory and not “for” victory! “Schemes ” is the noun methodeia refers Satan’s “strategies, schemes and tactics” that he employs to make war against believers and destroy them. The principle stratagem of the devil is lies and deception (Gen. 3). Satan deceives and is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44). Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (NASB95) “Rulers ” is the noun arche and refers to the highest rank of angels in the Satanic order of battle and hold positions of authority (“thrones”) in the Satanic kingdom and are subordinate to only Satan himself.

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The Lord Jesus Christ created these “rulers” (Col. 1:16) and He has defeated them through His death (Col. 2:15). “Powers ” is the Greek noun exousia , which refers to the rank of fallen angels who have been given by Satan “dominions” and are subordinate only to the arche, “rulers” and Satan himself. “World-forces ” is the noun kosmokrator , “world-ruler” and expresses the power or authority, which the fallen angels exercise over the cosmic system. These angels are subordinate directly to the exousia, “authorities” and carry out their orders and are more than likely they are behind the miracles and other satanic demonstrations of power (cf. Rev. 13:13). “Spiritual forces ” refers to the rank and file angels in Satan’s military. These rank and file angels are also known in Scripture by a variety of names such as: (1) “Demons” (Lev. 17:7; Mt. 9:34). (2) “Evil spirits” (Lk. 7:21; Acts 19:13). (3) “Unclean spirits” (Mt. 10:1; Mk. 1:27). (4) “Devils” (Jn. 6:70). “In the heavenly places ” designates the “location” of the base of operations and activities of these rank and file angels. Ephesians 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (NASB95) The evil day is not a particular point in history or judgment in history, nor is it referring to the Tribulation period. But rather from the divine perspective it is an extended period of time in human history, which began with the Fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden and extends to the 2nd Advent of Christ when Satan will be imprisoned for a thousand years. Ephesians 5:15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (NASB95) Ephesians 6:14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. (NASB95) “Having girded ” is the verb perizonnumi , which means, “to fasten a belt around yourself and buckle it.” “Truth ” is the noun aletheia , which is used in the objective sense for the Scriptures. Obeying the Word of truth is analogous to the Roman soldier fastening his belt around himself and which belt held the Roman’s soldiers armor together. “Having put on the breastplate of righteousness ” refers to appropriating by faith the imputed, positional righteousness you received at the moment of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is the believer’s righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). Ephesians 6:15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE. (NASB95)

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“Having shod ” is the verb hupodesamenoi , which is used in the middle voice and in the figurative sense meaning, “to strap on your combat boots.” “Preparation ” is the noun hetoimasia , which refers to the fact that the Gospel of peace provides a “firm foundation” for the soul of the Christian soldier. The noun eirene , “ peace ” is a genitive of product meaning peace for the believer is “produced” by the acceptance of the Gospel message to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation. In Ephesians 6:15, the foundation in the soul that the Gospel of peace provides the Christian soldier is analogous to the combat boots worn by the Roman military in combat. Ephesians 6:16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. (NASB95) “The shield of faith ” refers to a heavy shield approximately 30 inches wide and 48 inches high, large enough for a soldier to crouch behind it. It is this large, protective door-shield that the apostle Paul had in mind when he told the Ephesian believers to take up for themselves the shield of faith, which would enable them to extinguish the fiery missiles of the kingdom of darkness. When the apostle Paul used this door-shield as a figure of the shield provided by God for the soldier of Christ Jesus, he was emphasizing the fact that the believer has full and complete protection from the enemy. “Faith ” is the noun pistis , which is used in the active sense meaning “to trust, to have total and absolute confidence in God.” The shield of faith therefore, is “not” the objective body of truth, the content of the Christian faith meaning Christian doctrine, although that is the object of the believer’s faith after salvation, but rather it refers to the Christian soldier’s faith or total and absolute confidence in God’s faithfulness to His promises. Ephesians 6:17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NASB95) When Paul speaks of salvation here in Ephesians 6:17, he is speaking of salvation in the sense of a three-fold deliverance from the believer’s three great enemies, namely, sin nature, cosmic system of Satan and Satan himself (cf. Eph. 2:1-3). Salvation, like sanctification is accomplished in three stages: (1) Positional: The moment you believed in Christ you were delivered “positionally” (meaning God’s work and viewpoint of you as a believer) from real spiritual death and eternal condemnation, the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature through the death, resurrection and session of the Lord Jesus Christ. (2) Experiential: After salvation, you are delivered from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature “experientially” by appropriating by faith your union and identification with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection and session. (3) Ultimate: At the resurrection you

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 46 will be delivered “ultimately” and permanently from the devil, his cosmic system and the sin nature when you receive your resurrection body at the rapture of the church, which is imminent. If you notice, the armor is for the protection of the front of the individual and not the back and the reason for that is that God makes no provision for the believer in case of retreat! As J. Vernon McGee used to say, “A retreating Christian is certainly open season for the enemy; the enemy can get through to him.” In Ephesians 6:17, the apostle Paul issues the command to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The apostle Paul issued this command because of the eternal spiritual principle that applies even in the temporal realm: Victory or defeat is gained by the application of power and the withdrawal of the inferior force. When we apply the Word of God, which is alive and powerful, then Satan and his armies will withdraw because though powerful, their power is inferior to God’s Word. “Take ” is the second person plural aorist (deponent) middle imperative form of the verb dechomai , which is dexasthe . In Ephesians 6:17, the verb dechomai means, “to take hold of” something that is intangible and in context, that is “ the helmet of salvation ” and “ the sword of the Spirit .” The aorist imperative form of the verb dechomai in Ephesians 6:17 is a constative aorist imperative meaning that this is a solemn or categorical command, thus Paul is saying to the Ephesian believers, “I solemnly charge all of you” to take hold of the helmet of the salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. “The sword ” is the noun machaira , which refers to a “small sword” such as a dagger and is used in a figurative sense for the Word of God. The machaira was a short double-edged sword, which was developed by the Romans and enabled the Romans to dominate the world for over a thousand years. Before the machaira , swords in the ancient world were large and cumbersome. The machaira gave the Romans a distinct and decisive advantage in battle. They could make several short quick thrusts in hand-to-hand combat before the enemy could ever wield a stroke. The analogy that Paul is making here is this: Just as the enemies of Rome could not stand up to the Roman soldier’s short double-edged sword, so the kingdom of darkness can not stand up to the Christian soldier’s double-edged sword, the Word of God. The machaira of the Roman soldier was the common sword carried by infantrymen and was the principal weapon in hand-to-hand combat and was carried in a sheath or scabbard attached to their belts and was always at hand and ready for use.

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The apostle Paul employs the noun machaira (Latin gladius ) or short two-edged cut-and-thrust sword wielded by the heavily armed legionnaire rather than the rhomphaia or large Thracian broadsword since he is speaking in the context of spiritual combat, which is comparable to hand-to-hand combat in the temporal realm that the machaira was used for. The machaira revolutionized warfare in the ancient world just as the automatic rifle has. The largest and most impressive of the swords used in antiquity was the rhomphaia , the Thracian broadsword. Invented by the Thracians, the romphaia was a broadsword of considerable length-- never shorter than four feet and often up to six feet in length. This broadsword had one sharp cutting edge and was held by a double handle. It took a giant to use this thing, hence, it became the preferred weapon of the Thracians, the Gauls and the Germanic barbarians; all of whom were staunch enemies of Rome. One man would haul this out onto the battlefield and hand it over to the barbarian soldier, who would then just stand there with this huge sword and attempt to mow men down as they came at him. Because the romphaia’s rather unwieldy length and weight caught the barbarian temporarily off-balance after a stroke, precious moments were lost before he could regain his balance and combat effectiveness. It was in these moments that the soldier was vulnerable to the danger of the swift Roman machaira. As these two enemies faced off, the Romans would advance, the barbarians would begin to surge forward with these enormous weapons, and the Roman soldiers would just back up and let the broadsword go by. Then they stepped in with their machaira’s , and they carved these barbarians to pieces. With the advance of the Roman Empire and its awesome military might, the ancients began to wonder, “How will the world ever survive the machaira ?” Since Roman men averaged 5’8” and weighed usually less than 170 pounds, a six-foot sword simply would not do. So, they invented the machaira , which turned out to be the most ingenious implement of warfare in its day. The blade of this perfectly balanced weapon was usually only eighteen to twenty inches long; however, each one was matched to the man who wielded it. Its length was the distance from the soldier’s fingertips to his elbow, for this was considered to be the most natural extension. The machaira had two cutting edges instead of one, both tapered off to a sharp point. It was very flexible and its outstanding advantage was that the Roman soldier was never off-balance while engaging the enemy. It is significant that the Holy Spirit has chosen the Roman machaira as the metaphorical counterpart to the soldier of Christ Jesus’ most dangerous and effective weapon, namely, “the machaira of the Spirit.”

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The Roman soldier’s machaira could pierce the human body of his enemy but the Christian soldier’s machaira pierces the human soul. The Lord Jesus Christ employed His machaira when facing Satan in hand-to- hand combat. Three times the Lord employed Scripture to defeat Satan. The human nature of Jesus Christ in hypostatic union in His confrontation with the devil in Luke 4:1-13 illustrates the principle that victory or defeat is gained by the application of power and the withdrawal of the inferior force. Ephesians 6:17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NASB95) “The Spirit ” is the noun pneuma refers of course to God the Holy Spirit who is the divine author of Scripture. The noun pneuma in Ephesians 6:17 is a genitive of “source” meaning that the machaira , “sword” of the soldier of Christ Jesus, which is the Word of God “originates from” the Holy Spirit since He is the divine author of Scripture. The doctrine of inspiration contends that, God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human authors of Scripture, that without destroying their individuality, their literary style, their personal interests, their vocabulary, and God’s complete and connected thought towards man was recorded with perfect accuracy in the original languages of Scripture. The original languages of Scripture contain the very words of God, and therefore, bear the “authority” of divine authorship. 2 Peter 1:20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (NASB95) 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (Author’s translation) “The Word ” is the noun rhema , which refers to a specific passage of Scripture, which applies to a particular situation. The believer is to let the Word of Christ richly dwell in his soul, which permits the Holy Spirit to bring to remembrance a specific passage or concept of Scripture, which will apply to the believer’s problem or specific set of circumstances. Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (NASB95) This is further substantiated by the fact that as the Lord Jesus employed Scripture to repulse the temptations presented to Him by Satan in Luke 4 so the soldier of Christ Jesus, the Christian must utilize the Words that are inspired by the Spirit to repulse the temptations presented to Him by Satan.

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Also, it is significant that in Matthew’s account of our Lord’s encounter with Satan in Matthew 4, the Lord Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 and refers to “ every word ( rhema ) that comes from the mouth of God ” (Mt. 4:40). In Ephesians 6:18, the apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of intercessory prayer. Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. (NASB95) Prayer is an invisible weapon that God the Father has provided for the soldier of Christ Jesus, which when utilized in accordance with the will of God as revealed by the Spirit in the Word of God, enables the believer to experience spiritual victory over the kingdom of darkness in spiritual combat (Eph. 6:18). “With all prayer and petition” answers the question, “How the Ephesian believers are to pray?” “Prayer ” refers to reverential prayer in the presence of the Father meaning we are to worship the Father in prayer, which is adoring contemplation of God as He has been revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Person of Christ and in the Scriptures. Worshipping God is the act of paying honor and reverence to God and flows from love and where there is little love, there is little worship. Worship is the loving ascription of praise to God for what He is, both in Himself and in His ways and is the bowing of the soul and spirit in deep humility and reverence before Him. “Petition ” refers to making a petition or prayer for a specific need, whether spiritual or material and which is in accordance with the will of the Father. “At all times ” means that the Ephesian believers were to make it their habit to pray “at each and every opportunity.” “In the Spirit ” denotes that the Ephesian believers were to pray while in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, which is accomplished by being obedient to the voice of the Spirit, which is heard through the communication of the Word of God. “With this in view ” indicates the “goal” or “purpose” or “why” the Ephesian believers were to pray. “Be on the alert ” is the verb agrupneo , which means “to keep alert” and thus denotes the concept of watchfulness in prayer for oneself and your fellow Christian soldier. Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. (NASB95) “With all perseverance and petition ” indicates that the manner in which the Ephesian believers were to stay alert in prayer was that they were to persevere in making their specific detailed requests to the Father.

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Matthew 7:7 Ask repeatedly, and it will be given to you; seek repeatedly, and you will find; knock repeatedly, and it will be opened to you. (Author’s translation) “For all the saints ” indicates the Ephesian believers were to make it a habit to stay alert in prayer with regards to all believers since all believers are fellow soldiers and who fight for the same Sovereign, the Lord Jesus, and have the same common enemy, namely, Satan. Ephesians 6:19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. (NASB95) “The mystery of the gospel ” refers to doctrines never before revealed to Old Testament saints but were revealed to the apostles and New Testament prophets through the Holy Spirit. These doctrines involve the following: The Person of Christ is called the “mystery of godliness ” (1 Tim. 3:16). The indwelling of Christ in church age believers is a mystery not known to Old Testament saints (Col. 1:27). It was a mystery that the Gentiles would be “ fellow heirs with Christ ” (Eph. 3:4-6). The eternal union between church age believers and the Lord Jesus Christ is also described by Paul as a “ mystery ” (Eph. 5:22-33). The resurrection of the church is a mystery (1 Cor. 15:51-53). Paul taught the Roman believers that it was a mystery that there would be a partial hardening of Israel and that the Gentiles would become members of the body of Christ (Rom. 11:25).

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Daniel 5:18-Daniel Reminds Belshazzar That The Most High God Gave His Great-Grandfather Nebuchadnezzar A Great Kingdom As Well As Great Honor

Daniel Gives a Belshazzar a Reminder

Daniel 5:18 “O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father.” (NASB95) This verse is composed of the second person masculine singular form of the personal pronoun ʾǎ nt ( ) (ant), which is not translated and followed by the masculine singular form of the noun mě·lěḵ ( ) ( meh´-lek ), “ O king ” and then we have the masculine singular form of the noun ʾělāh ( ) ( el-aw´ ), “ the God ” which is followed by the masculine singular adjective ʿil·lāy ( ) ( il-lah´ee ), “Most High ” and then we have the feminine singular construct form of the noun ( ) mal-kooth), “ a kingdom ” and then we have the conjunction wa) ( כת) mǎl·ḵ ûṯ (waw), “and ” which is followed by the feminine singular construct form of the ( ) reb-oo´ ), “ grandeur ” and then we have the conjunction wa ) ( ב) noun reḇû (waw), which is not translated and followed by the masculine singular form of the noun yeqār ( ) ( yek-awr´ ), “ glory ” and then once again we have the conjunction wa ( ) (waw), “and ” which is followed by the masculine singular form of the noun hǎḏǎ r ( ) ( had-ar´ ), “ majesty ” and then we have the third person masculine ,( ´yeh-hab ) ( ב) singular pe al (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb yehǎḇ “granted ” which is followed by the preposition lĕ ( ) (leh), “ to ” and its object is ( בכ) the masculine singular form of the proper name neḇû·ḵǎḏ·ně(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr (neb-oo-kad-nets-tsar), “ Nebuchadnezzar ” and then we have the masculine ab), “ father ” which is modified by) ( ב) singular construct form of the noun ʾǎḇ the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ ( ), “ your .”

ʾǎ nt

The personal pronoun ʾǎ nt is an independent personal pronoun which means “you” referring to of course Belshazzar. It functions as a nominative absolute, which serves to highlight or focus upon one element of the main clause. It emphasizes Belshazzar was very familiar with the Most High God dealing with his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar during his reign. mě·lěḵ

The noun mě·lěḵ means “king” and of course is used with reference to Belshazzar referring to the fact that he was governmental head of Babylon. We

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 52 have the vocative use of this word since Daniel is directly addressing Belshazzar according to this title. Thus, we will translate the word “ O king .”

ʿil·lā·y ā(ʾ) ʾělā·h ā(ʾ)

The expression ʿil·lā·y ā(ʾ) ʾělā·h ā(ʾ), “the Most High God” is always used in the Old Testament by believers in the God of Israel. The noun ʾělāh appears in the singular form and means “God” in a generic sense without reference to the deity’s identity. However, Daniel is of course referring to the God of Israel and therefore the God who he worshipped. This noun is modified by the adjective ʿil·lāy, which means “Most High” which denotes the one true God with the very highest status and power. It means that Daniel is declaring to Belshazzar that the God of Israel is superior to the gods he and other pagans worshipped. With this word, Daniel is telling Belshazzar that there is only one true God in the earth, the God of Israel. yehǎḇ

The verb yehǎḇ means “to give” in the sense of imparting something to someone. Here the word is used with the Most High God as its subject. Nebuchadnezzar is the word’s indirect object. The nouns mǎl·ḵ ûṯ, reḇû, yeqār, and hǎḏǎ r are its direct objects. Therefore, it denotes that God the Father gave Nebuchadnezzar these things. The pe al (Hebrew: qal) stem of the verb is fientive expressing an action. Here it expresses an action taken by God the Father in imparting these things to Nebuchadnezzar. The perfect tense of the verb is constative describing in summary fashion of a past action taken by the Father on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar. We will translate this verb “ gave .” mǎl· ḵû· ṯā(ʾ),ûr eḇû· ṯā(ʾ)

The noun mǎl·ḵ ûṯ means “kingdom” and denotes the sphere of Nebuchadnezzar’s authority or control. It is used to designate the territorial sphere of Nebuchadnezzar, i.e. his kingdom. It refers to his political boundaries, which were determined by the extent to which he exercised his authority. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom consisted of the nations, cities, villages and farmland he controlled. The Holy Spirit through the prophet Jeremiah warned the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon that the Father had given Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty over the entire earth (Jeremiah 27:6-7, 14). The noun reḇû means “greatness” and is used to describe Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian kingdom. The word means “greatness” in the sense that

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Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom had become distinguished and eminent throughout the earth so that it stood above all the other kingdoms of the earth. The conjunction wa is used to join these two words in order to communicate one idea, which is called “hendiadys.” This figure takes place when two nouns or verbs are used to express one idea or concept and it literally means “one by means of two” and takes place when the author uses two words but only one idea is intended. The two words are of the same parts of speech, i.e., two nouns or verbs, and are always joined together by the conjunction “and” and are also always in the same case. One of the two words expresses the thing, and the other intensifies it by being changed (if a noun) into an adjective of the superlative degree, which is, by this means, made especially emphatic. Here Daniel 5:18, the noun reḇû intensifies the meaning of the noun mǎl·ḵ ûṯ. Therefore, these two words express one idea, namely that the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, yes, a great kingdom. So this figure of hendiadys emphasizes the impressiveness of this kingdom that the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar. wa

The conjunction wa is adjunctive meaning that is introducing an “additional” blessing that the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar. yq ā·r ā(ʾ) w hǎḏ·rā(h)

The noun yeqār means “honor” and denotes public recognition. The word refers to the honor in the sense of public recognition that Nebuchadnezzar received from men as a result of his power over them which was given to him by the Most High God. It means “honor” in the sense of demonstrating respect toward Nebuchadnezzar. To respect someone in our context is to esteem the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or trait or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or trait. Here it denotes the respect paid to Nebuchadnezzar by those individuals under his authority in the sense that they esteemed him because of his ability to impose his will on them because of his great military and governmental power. The noun hǎḏǎ r means “majesty” or “greatness” and is used with reference of course to Nebuchadnezzar. This word denotes the state of being preeminent over others indicating that God gave Nebuchadnezzar honor more than any other king on earth so that he was distinguished above his peers. The conjunction wa is used to join these two words in order to communicate one idea, which again is called “hendiadys.” Here Daniel 5:18, the noun hǎḏǎ r intensifies the meaning of the noun yeqār. Therefore, these two words express one

2013 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 54 idea, namely that the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar honor, yes, great honor. So this figure of hendiadys emphasizes this. neḇû·ḵǎḏ·ně(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr

The proper name neḇû·ḵǎḏ·ně(ʾ)ṣ·ṣǎr , “Nebuchadnezzar ” refers to the second ruler of the Chaldean dynasty of Babylon. It is the object of the preposition lĕ, which is marking the word as the indirect object of the verb yehǎḇ meaning that the word receives the direct object of this verb, which are the nouns mǎl·ḵ ûṯ, reḇû, yeqār and hǎḏǎ r. Therefore, it denotes that God the Father gave Nebuchadnezzar a great kingdom as well as great honor.

ʾǎḇ

The noun ʾǎḇ means “great-grandfather” which is indicated by the text of Jeremiah 27:7 and what we know from history. This indicates that Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar’s great-grandfather and Nabonidus’ grandfather. In Jeremiah 27:7, the word “son” and “grandson” are translating the Hebrew noun bēn ( ) ( bane ), which appears three times in this passage describing someone who is biologically related to Nebuchadnezzar. The text of Jeremiah 27:7 is as follows: wk āl h ǎ gô·yim ʿāḇ·ḏû ʾōṯōw w ʾěṯōw bn w ʾěṯōw b ěn bn ʿǎḏ ʿēṯ ōw ʾǎ rṣ ב ת ) bō(ʾ)g ǎmhû( ʾ); w rǎb·bîm gô·yim û g eḏō·lîm m elā·ḵîm b ōw ʿāḇ·ḏû It literally .( ת ת ת צ ב ב כ reads: “All the nations shall serve him and his son ( bēn), and his son’s ( bēn) son (bēn), i.e. grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.” This passage would indicate that Evil-Merodach was the father of Nabonidus and that Nabonidus was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar since it says that Nebuchadnezzar’s son and grandson would follow after him before the Neo- Babylonian empire would come to an end. Evil-Merodach must have been Nabonidus’ father since Jeremiah 27:7 is saying that Nebuchadnezzar’s son and then grandson would reign and during the reign of his grandson, the kingdom would come to an end. Now, Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 B.C. after ruling 43 years. When he died, he was succeeded by his son Evil-Merodach who ruled for only two years (562-560 B.C.; see 2 Kings 25:27-30; Jeremiah 52:31-34). The latter was murdered in August 560 by Neriglissar who was Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law and Evil- Merodach’s own brother-in-law. Neriglissar ruled for a short time with his reign being only four years (560-556 B.C.). This same individual is mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3, 13. When he died, he was succeeded by his young son Labashi-

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Marduk who ruled only two months, May and June of 556 B.C. He was assassinated and succeeded by Nabonidus who reigned 17 years (556-539 B.C.) and made his son Belshazzar co-regent with him. History tells us as well as Daniel chapter 5 that the Babylonian kingdom ended during the reign of Belshazzar and his father Nabonidus. It would end when Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson was on the throne who was Nabonidus as we noted. Therefore, if Nabonidus is the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar’s empire would come to an end during the reign of his grandson as Jeremiah 27:7 makes clear then Nebuchadnezzar must have been the great-grandfather of Belshazzar since Nebuchadnezzar was the grandfather of Nabonidus, Belshazzar’s father. This would thus indicate that the noun ʾǎḇ in Daniel 5:2 is describing Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzar’s great- grandfather. Further support is found in Daniel 5:11 which records Belshazzar’s mother consoling her son by telling him that there was a man in his kingdom (Daniel) whom King Nebuchadnezzar, his father, your father the king, appointed as chief of the occult priests, necromancers, astrologers and diviners. The fact that she cites Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus would further suggest that Nabonidus, Belshazzar were all related to Nebuchadnezzar. Thus, if Nabonidus was Belshazzar’s father and is identified as such by the noun ʾǎḇ in Daniel 5:11, why identify Nebuchadnezzar with the same word if he was merely Belshazzar’s predecessor? Jeremiah 27:7 indicates that this noun identifies Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzar’s great-grandfather. In Daniel 5:18, the noun ʾǎḇ is modified by the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ, which means “your” since it is functioning as a possessive pronoun. This again indicates that Belshazzar has a relationship with Nebuchadnezzar, which we have identified as being the “great-grandson” of Nebuchadnezzar.

Translation of Daniel 5:18

Daniel 5:18 “As for you, O king, the Most High God gave to Nebuchadnezzar, your great-grandfather a kingdom, yes a great kingdom as well as honor, yes, great honor.”

Exposition of Daniel 5:18

Before Daniel reads and interprets the mysterious inscription for Belshazzar, he will first rebuke the king. In Daniel 5:18-23, he gives a stern rebuke to Belshazzar for becoming arrogant before God and not humbling himself even though he was well aware of how God dealt with his great-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. In verse

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18, Daniel reminds Belshazzar that the Most High God had given his great- grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar a great kingdom as well as great honor. In verse 19, Daniel gives examples of the kind of power Nebuchadnezzar wielded during his reign. Then in verses 20-21, he reminds Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar became proud and arrogant and God deposed him from power and caused him to suffer boanthropy. When Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God was sovereign over him he was restored to power. In verse 22, Daniel reminds Belshazzar that he was well aware of this entire story about his great-grandfather being deposed from power by God for his arrogance and pride. Next, in verses 23-28, Daniel rebukes Belshazzar for his idolatry and blasphemy in drinking from the sacred articles from Solomon’s temple. He then reads and interprets the inscription for the king informing him that his reign was at an end and that the Medes and Persians were going to defeat his kingdom, bringing an end to it. In verse 18, Daniel is attributing Nebuchadnezzar’s great kingdom and honor to God. He was attributing Nebuchadnezzar’s sovereignty as directly originating from God. Daniel was reminding Belshazzar that the Most High God was sovereign over his great-grandfather. The obvious implication for Belshazzar is that God is sovereign over him too. God punished Nebuchadnezzar for his great pride and arrogance and lack of respect for God. So Belshazzar can expect to be punished severely by God for his great pride and arrogance and lack of respect for God. When addressing Belshazzar, Daniel shows him respect by addressing him as “O king.” Daniel knows that Belshazzar’s authority comes from God and thus the king should be respected. To disrespect Belshazzar would be to disrespect God who gave the king his authority. Even though Belshazzar was not worthy of respect Daniel demonstrated respect for the king because God gave the king his authority and power.

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