“Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.” (Daniel 5:24-31)
Notice in particular verse twenty-seven: “Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
Belshazzar and his kingdom had been weighed in the balances and come up short. Now it was time to pay the fiddler. God took his kingdom from him and gave it to Darius the Mede.
Jesus told a parable in Luke 12:16-34 of a rich man who decided to build bigger barns for his possessions, with no thought of tomorrow. Notice in particular verses 20-21:
“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Both Belshazzar and the rich man in this parable placed their trust in themselves and their possessions. Neither gave no thought of tomorrow, and for them, their tomorrows had run out. Most people today are doing the same thing.
Years of training are expended in our lives to communicate with each other, to learn a trade, to enjoy a hobby, but how much interest is devoted in our lives to meet God?
Two groups of people will meet God. They are: (1) all those who are not His and (2) all those who are. In other words, all will meet God, either for judgment or as a member of God’s family without judgment.
How much time in our lives does it take to be one of His? As long as it takes to put our faith, our belief, our trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Seconds? A moment? There is no need to spend years trying to gain an entrance into the family of God. Why? All the work has already been done by Jesus, and He finished the job nearly 2,000 years ago on a Roman cross. There is nothing else for us to do, but put our trust in Him and ask Him to save us. When we cross that milestone, we are His.
What about group one above (those who are not His)? How much time needs to be spent in their lives to remain apart from God? All they want. What action needs to be taken to avoid being adopted into the family of God? None.
So there you have it. To become a child of God only takes a moment in our life in which we call upon Him to save us by His grace and through His Son Jesus. From that point on, the rest of our life is spent in growing in our relationship with Jesus. If you don’t want God in your life, all it takes on your part is no action at all. Just do nothing.
Belshazzar and the rich man chose to do nothing. Then one day they both were “weighed in the balances and found wanting.” They left this world as “not one of His,” but with judgment hanging heavily over their heads. The next stop for them was hell to await the final judgment at the end of the Millennium. And there they wait.
To the contrary, the Philippian jailer that asked Paul and Silas in Acts 16:30 “what must I do to be saved?” is in Heaven today. Jesus took all his judgment. There is no judgment he will ever face. The same is true with the thief on the cross (Luke 23:32-43). In the short time it took for him to believe in Jesus who hung beside him on the cross next to his, he became a child of God. He is in Heaven today with Jesus.
When Belshazzar and the rich man are weighed in the balances, Jesus will not be there for them. They chose their way instead of God’s way, and are found wanting.
When the Philippian jailer and the thief on the cross are weighed in the balances, they are not found wanting, because Jesus took their place.
The fashion statement today is to say that there are many ways to God. Jesus said there is one way.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
Now the question is: Are you going to choose to spend eternity with Belshazzar and the rich man or the Philippian jailer and the thief on the cross?
Jesus has given us Himself. For those who come to Him, He has taken our place on the scales of judgment. He is coming again, soon. I believe very soon. Time is running out. Night is falling upon this world. The Church age will soon end.
As I previously stated, this dispensation is quickly coming to a close. The Church will soon be removed from this earth and transferred to Heaven, and then all those who are left behind will suffer under the most dreadful time period the earth has ever seen.
The scales of justice are about to tip. Do you want to avoid the judgment coming upon this world? You may, if you will.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)
One final thought. It is my opinion that our country has been “weighed in the balances and found wanting.” Judgment is on the way, and it could be very soon. We, as a nation, have turned our back on God’s Son, and He will not stand for it. He is longsuffering, but have we crossed the line? I believe we have. As individuals though, we can still fall on our face before Him in repentance.
In part two I will continue with Weighed In The Balances from a national viewpoint.
Grant Phillips