The Fall of Babylon

The Proud Shall Be Brought Low

Deep behind the walls of ancient Babylon, a grand feast of revelry carried into the night.

The party’s host was none other than King Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and reigning monarch of the city. Into his banquet hall the king welcomed a thousand lords who, joined by his wives and concubines, wined and dined with him.

While Belshazzar regaled his nobles, an enemy army—led by Cyrus the Great of Persia—was encamped outside the city.

The Babylonians were well aware of the siege, as their king had been bested in battle by Cyrus several months earlier before retreating behind the city’s walls, where those within felt safe and secure, even as the Persians maintained their forces nearby. Reported to be 75-feet thick and 300-feet high by Herodotus, the walls of Babylon were massive by all accounts and deemed impregnable by their defenders. The city’s food supply—which could outlast a siege for decades—further bolstered the king’s confidence in the invincibility of his capital.

As the wine flowed, Belshazzar was beaming. And, with festive hubris, he decided more was needed for such an auspicious occasion. His order: Bring the gold and silver vessels ransacked from the Temple of Jerusalem so that his party might drink from them. With his command granted, the king and his celebrants raised their fill of spirits and praised their gods.

Then came the unexpected. Against a candle-lit wall of the banquet house, a mysterious hand appeared which wrote a cryptic message onto the plaster: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.”

Frightened by the observance, Belshazzar called for his astrologers and soothsayers, offering the third place in the kingdom to anyone who could tell him the meaning of the ominous inscription.

An aging Daniel—the Jewish exile who had interpreted two of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams and once had high standing at court—was summoned amidst the confusion. Dismissing the king’s offer of reward, he leveled the boom against Belshazzar.

Daniel’s rebuke was couched in a retrospective of King Nebuchadnezzar, who upon gaining great power as head of the Babylonian Empire, was humbled by God due to his pride, eating grass like an animal for seven years. Nebuchadnezzar then returned to his senses, acknowledging “that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses” (Daniel 5:21).

Having established this backdrop, Daniel declared:

But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. (Daniel 5:21-22)

Daniel then interpreted the freshly written words on the wall:

MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

The prophecy’s fulfillment came swiftly, as the armies of Cyrus entered Babylon that very night and slew the king. They gained entry by diverting the Euphrates River which flowed through the city, creating a weak point which was easily exploited.

In an unexpected moment, this city with towering walls fell to Cyrus the Great. The Empire of Babylon, and the reign of Belshazzar, were no more.

The Bigger Picture: God’s Plan for Three Nations

Cyrus’s rise and Babylon’s fall had been foretold long before this memorable night. Both were pawns in the hands of God used to accomplish His purpose as Ruler of the Nations.

He who raises up and puts down kingdoms had ordained that the Babylonians would serve as a rod of judgment against Judah (Habakkuk 1:5-11). This nation of God’s people, with its capital at Jerusalem, had provoked His wrath because of their wickedness (II Kings 23:26-27), and the curses of His law were to be meted out against them (II Chronicles 34:24-25). This resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispossession of the Jews by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar (II Kings 25:1-21).

Yet this empire of the proud would face its own day of reckoning as Jeremiah prophesied: “‘Behold, I am against you, O most haughty one!’ says the Lord GOD of hosts; ‘For your day has come, the time that I will punish you’” (Jeremiah 50:31).

The axe would fall against Babylon, and Cyrus the Great would wield it. In the days before Judah’s demise, the prophet Isaiah wrote of Cyrus by name (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1), describing him as a bird of prey who would carry out God’s plan as the Author of history:

Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. (Isaiah 46:9-11)

Beyond his role as Babylon’s conqueror, Cyrus would be used by Jehovah for another central purpose. As an instrument of hope, the Persian ruler would shepherd God’s people, declaring that the Temple of Jerusalem should be rebuilt and the cities of Judah be reinhabited (Isaiah 44:26-27; Ezra 1). An official edict reads in part:

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. (Ezra 1:2)

In a grand turnabout, the gold and silver vessels, in which Belshazzar had enjoyed wine during his night of boastful revelry, were returned to Jerusalem by order of Babylon’s new lord (Ezra 1:7-11).

Conclusion

The message from this sweep of ancient history is clear: God will not be mocked. He who rules the nations will have His way in the army of men.

Let both small and great bow before Almighty God. Let us all, with humble and contrite hearts, attest the truth heralded by His faithful messenger: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”(Revelation 11:15).