THE MIGHTY HAS FALLEN by Hal Lindsey

December 6, 2006Hal LindseyThe Bible predicted the destinies of Four Great world Empires. Daniel particularly focused on them. He predicted the fall of mighty Babylon and witnessed it take place.The city of Babylon was considered one of the great wonders of the ancient world. The Babylonians considered it impregnable – and with good reason.The Greek historian, Herodotus, wrote that its outer walls were 300 feet high. It had many towers for archers that were even taller. It was wide enough at the top for four-horse chariots to ride around it. It was approximately 54 miles in total length. It had an inner wall that was almost equally strong with a mote between the walls.The Euphrates River ran through the center of the city. Great bronze gates were suspended into the River to prevent an army from going underneath to enter the city. With such an endless water supply and the food that could be produced within the city, it was considered impregnable to any siege.Yet, with all of its mighty defenses, Babylon fell in one night. It happened at the height of a great feast at which the King Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar, was celebrating Babylon’s invincibility over the Medes and the Persians, who had surrounded the city. He made the big mistake of committing the final insult to Israel’s God. He used the golden goblets taken from Jerusalem’s Temple to toast the gods of Babylon.Unknown to the King, the Medes and Persians had been working for weeks to divert the flow of the Euphrates River using a series of dams. That very day the amazing engineering feat was completed.The overconfident Babylonians did not notice after nightfall that the river’s waters were receding. It was at that time that God caused a hand to appear and write on the wall of the great banquet hall these words: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.Terrified, the King sent for the court astrologers to decipher the words. None could do it.Then the Queen mother was summoned. She told the King about Nebuchadnezzar’s faith in a Jewish prophet and His God. She assured him that Daniel, whom his father made a member the court astrologers, could decipher the message.Daniel rejected the Kings offer of ruling over a third of the Empire if he could decipher the message, and why it was sent.Daniel began by rebuking the King for not following the example of his father, who believed in the God of Israel.He rehearsed how God blessed him and his kingdom because of his faith. He said, “You have not humbled yourself as your father did before the LORD of heaven.” “You have used the sacred implements of His Temple to drink wine and honor your false gods.”“So here is the message the hand sent from GOD has written.”“MENE” – “GOD HAS NUMBERED YOUR KINGDOM AND PUT AN END TO IT”“TEKEL” – “YOU HAVE BEEN MEASURED ON GOD’S SCALES & FOUND WANTING.”“PERES” (past tense of verb upharsin) – “Divided” “Your Kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.”“That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain.” (Daniel 5:30 NAS)You see, the very moments that Daniel was finishing giving God’s indictment to the king, the Median & Persian armies were storming under the bronze bars into the city via the dried up river.America, you were founded by your fathers – most of whom believed in Jesus as LORD.You have been blessed and protected as few countries in history because of this.Now you have turned against the God who has blessed you.You have barred God’s Word from all public places of learning.You have driven any mention of the Son of God from the public square. Even symbols of Him are no longer tolerated.You have murdered millions of your unborn children on the alter of lust.You have made what God calls an abomination socially acceptable – homosexuality.Therefore your enemies are plotting your destruction on every side – and most of your people are not even aware of the danger they are in.God says, “MENE” The Days of your nation have been numbered“TEKEL” You have been weighed on God’s scales and found wanting.“PERES” Your nation is about to be destroyed.I only have one word of HOPE. Even evil Nineveh was spared when the people repented. May America repent before it is too late.Great Babylon was once greater than we are – but go look at what is left now. It is a heap of rubble, hardly known by the world today. God raises nations and destroys them as He wills.