Daniel 5:29, commentary and pictures

Belshazzar kept his promised reward by having Daniel dressed in scarlet, hung with a chain of gold, and publicly proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom. That honor was bestowed in the very hour of feasting and revelry when judgment had just been pronounced against the king and Babylon was about to fall. It marks the end of Babylon and the literal fulfillment of divine prophecy upon rulers who in prosperity regarded themselves as independent of God, forgot Him, and credited human achievement with their glory. That night brought Belshazzar's evil works to their full measure, until in presumption and defiance he crossed the limit of divine forbearance, was no longer to be shielded by God, and his kingdom was to pass into other hands. As the fall came in an hour of feasting and reveling, so it will be at the end of the world, when only those prepared like wise virgins with oil in their vessels will be ready to meet the Bridegroom.

Feast Setting and Honor

Daniel 5:29 belongs to Belshazzar's idolatrous, sacrilegious feast with his thousand lords and princes, where wine, music, dancing, feasting and blasphemy accompanied the profaning of vessels consecrated to Jehovah by holy consecration. Those vessels were taken for drinking and for praise to the gods of gold and silver, while flames of idolatrous sacrifice rose in insult to heaven. Belshazzar ruled as an absolute monarch whose will was law, with everything to flatter pride and indulge passion, yet he was void of self-control, hasty and violent in temper, gracious to flatterers and cruel as the grave to opposers. He was molded as wax by flattery and ferocious as a tiger when provoked, self-indulgent, a glutton and drunkard, corrupt at heart and swayed by the basest passions, and wine beclouded reason so that he forgot God and dishonored Him until reason was gone and nothing was held sacred.

In the midst of the feast an unseen witness was present, with a messenger from heaven watching every movement and making a history to testify to the close of time. A bloodless hand over against the wall traced mysterious characters unintelligible to the king, filling king and courtiers with terror as doom was pronounced by the servant of the Most High. Although the revelers had forgotten God, God had not forgotten them, but weighed his motives, character, life and soul in the balances of His sanctuary and pronounced him wanting. That record will stand when the books of heaven are opened.

After Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall, Belshazzar commanded that he be clothed with scarlet, have a chain of gold put about his neck, and be proclaimed the third ruler in the kingdom, and so fulfilled his promised reward. That public honor to Daniel was given despite the judgment just announced against Belshazzar and Babylon, even as the kingdom was about to fall during feasting and revelry. Daniel stood in Babylon as a statesman in a most critical and trying position, faithfully doing the civil work assigned to him while plainly refusing any work that would militate against God. By that course he was brought through providence into reasoning relation with the king to present God's light foretold in the prophecies against Babylon and other kingdoms and to exalt Jehovah as more powerful than earthly kings, holding that faithful witness until Babylon fell in an hour of feasting and revelry.

Judgment and Last-Day Warning

Daniel 5:29 marks the end of Babylon and shows the literal fulfillment of divine prophecy in the history of nations. Babylon was at last shattered and broken and passed away because in prosperity its rulers regarded themselves as independent of God, forgot God, and reckoned without God. They ascribed the glory of their kingdom to human achievement and followed human judgment as though it were sufficient. Despite the honor and high office given to Daniel as third ruler, the kingdom passed away, showing that honoring God's servant did not avert its fall.

That night's performance in the palace brought the figures of Belshazzar's evil works to their full measure. He continued in presumption and defiance amid feasting and forgetfulness of God until he crossed the limit of divine forbearance and judgment came. He was no longer to be protected and shielded by God, and the restraining power was no longer to ward off evil from him. He was to fall, his body was to be slain, and his kingdom was to pass into other hands. Daniel told him that this coming calamity resulted from disregarding heaven-sent light, for he had failed to learn from the light given to Nebuchadnezzar and so lost the benefits he could have received by obeying it, teaching that neglecting and failing to practice God's instruction brings judgment.

As the fall of Babylon came at an hour of feasting and reveling, so it will be at the end of the world. In this time of peculiar momentous importance students of God's Word in the last days must work away from the customs and appointments of the world's great counselors. They must not take the position that the Lord delays His coming and that all things remain as they were from the beginning of creation. Only the wise virgins prepared with oil in their vessels with their lamps will go forth to meet the Bridegroom.

The profaning touch laid upon soulless vessels shows the greater guilt of laying a slanderous touch upon the characters of those whom Christ purchased by His blood. God is a witness of deeds of calumny and falsehood against the servants of Christ. The hand that wrote upon Belshazzar's wall keeps faithful record of every act of injustice or oppression committed against God's people. The feast shows idol worship of the most degrading kind, where powers solemnly dedicated to God's sacred service are turned to minister to lust. Praise, affection and adoration belonging alone to God are centered upon sinful human beings and earthly things. Those living in the last days who repeat Belshazzar's feast and worship in man-and-woman worship are far more guilty than Belshazzar.