America, Is the Handwriting on the Wall | Billy Graham Classic Sermon

from our archives the Billy Graham

classics now today I want you to turn

with me to the fifth chapter of the Book

of Daniel The Book of Daniel the fifth

chapter of the Book of Daniel I suppose

more than any other book in the Bible

this book predicts the future unless

it’s the Book of Revelation and when you

read the book of Revelation always read

the book of Daniel The Book of Daniel in

one hand The Book of Revelation in the

other and then in front of you the daily

newspaper and they all tie in because

Daniel is a book of Prophecy but the

thing that I want to talk about Daniel

today is an incident that happened in

his life that I think Bears on what we

see happening today in our

world and in this chapter that we’re

turning to I won’t take time to read it

to you I’ll tell it to you it’s the

story of Daniel already in Babylon he’

been carried to Babylon from Jerusalem

Jerusalem had come under the Judgment of

God as Jeremiah had predicted all the

judgments that Jeremiah predicted all

the judgments that the prophets

predicted have all come true are there

yet to come

true this is God’s word it is an

infallible word and in many places in

the scripture the Bible predicts that

future day of judgment and that future

period of judgment that is to come upon

the

world well Jerusalem had been judged as

Jeremiah had predicted he said unless

Jerusalem repents of their sins they

will be judged and judgment came and

among those that were carried captive

Away by

Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon 1500 miles

away was Young Daniel and his friends

they were just in their teenss and they

were carried over to

Babylon and Daniel had been one of the

young men that had been chosen

especially by Nebuchadnezzar to be taken

to Babylon and trained in his court and

trained in all the Arts and Sciences of

the Babylonians now when this chapter

opens Nebuchadnezzar is

dead Daniel had been a friend and a

prophet and a prime minister for

Nebuchadnezzar the great king

but now he’s in more or less been

forgotten because a young man is now on

the throne by the name of Bel Shazer who

was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar the

great

king now Babylon at that time was the

greatest Empire in the world it was the

most powerful nation in the world it was

the richest nation in the

world and the Bible pictures Bel shazar

the king as

Young Rich powerful but at the same time

egotistical

self-centered and the Bible teaches that

God hates

pride and Jesus was to say years later

in Matthew 23 and whosoever shall exalt

himself shall be

abased if you try to tell how great you

are and leave God out or if you act as

though you can solve your own problems

and arrange your own life without the

help of God God says I’m going to bring

you

down and then he was a man that was very

Carefree he was a Playboy he loved ease

and he loved pleasure and the Bible says

woe to them that are it is we in America

are it is in comparison to the rest of

the world and so

belazza had just won some military

victories and his father who was a great

General was out on the Frontiers leading

them from Victory to Victory and so he

decided that he wanted to celebrate and

he decided to have a great feast and it

would be the greatest Feast that Babylon

had ever seen Babylon with all of its

glamour Babylon with all of its

wealth Babylon with all that it had he

said we’ll have the greatest feast in

the history of the world so he ordered

the finest dances the finest wines the

best foods and he sent an invitation to

a thousand of his Lords and Ladies

throughout the Empire to come and in

their Jew chariots they came

and that evening as they were feasting

and dancing and

whining in the lwh Hanging Gardens that

Nebuchadnezzar had built for his Midian

wife one of the seven wonders of the

world belshazzar became

intoxicated there he was king of an

Empire master of a banquet the center of

all attention dancing the night

away but the Bible says be not

deceived God is Not mocked for

whatsoever a man sewe it that shall he

also reap Bel shaza watch

out judgment is coming you’re going too

far there’s a point Beyond which the

patience of God will not go there’s a

line

drawn among nations and among

individuals and in families and in

communities

job said they that plow iniquity and sow

wickedness reap the same keep on plowing

your iniquity keep on sowing your

wickedness you’re going to someday reap

it Hosea said for they have swn to the

wind and they shall reap a whirlwind

Jeremiah said they’ve swn wheat but they

shall reap

thorns and so in the middle of this

banquet Bel Chaz is dancing with a

beautiful sexy young

girl and all of a sudden everyone is

quiet you can hear a pin drop his face

turns white the Bible says he begins to

tremble because over on the wall an

armless

hand starts

writing and everyone sat there trembling

wondering what this was what strange

thing this

was and Bel chaza tried to read it he

couldn’t read the

message so he said let’s call the

astrologers and the sers and the calans

let’s call The Magicians let’s call all

the people that can read this type of

thing and they came

in they couldn’t read it Bel shaza was

even more

afraid the writing was getting lighter

all the time and more brilliant people

were

frightened and his mother heard about it

and his mother incidentally was not at

the party but she came

in and she said Son what is this I hear

about a strange writing and he pointed

over to the wall she said I know a man

that can read that writing his name is

Daniel he’s a great prophet he helped

your grandfather interpret

dreams he was prime minister under your

grandfather he’s been living in sort of

semi-retirement perhaps you don’t know

him Daniel was not at the party but they

sent for him and he came in and Bel

chaza said

Daniel you see that

writing if you’ll read that writing I’ll

make you the third ruler in the

Empire I’ll put a gold chain of

authority around your neck and I’ll put

royal robes on you and you’ll be a

member of the royal family next to me

Daniel looked at the writing and he

recognized it immediately that was his

father’s

handwriting that was God the father’s

handwriting and he had studied God and

lived with God all these years and he

knew that that was God’s

writing he said Bel chaza I can read the

writing but keep your gifts I don’t want

them give your gifts to somebody

else you see Bel chazar O King you have

lifted yourself up against the Lord of

Heaven and they have brought the vessels

of God’s holy house before thee and you

and your Lords and your wives and your

concubines have drunk wine in them and

God is

offended and thou Hast praised the gods

of gold and silver and brass and iron

and wood and stone that see not and hear

not and know not and the god in whose

hand thy breath is and whose are all thy

ways thou Hast not

glorified yes Bel chaza I’ll read

it God had given Bel shaza everything he

had even the ability to laugh his food

his drink his power his riches

everything had come from God but he

hadn’t thanked the Lord for

it Daniel said all right here’s the

writing

meanie meanie tle you

faren this is the

interpretation

meaning God has numbered your kingdom

and finished

it Bel chaza you’re

finished your last day has been spent on

this

Earth tle You have been weighed in the

balances of God and found

wanting Paris thy kingdom is divided and

given to the mes and the Persians and

while they were in the banquet

unknown unknown to the

Babylonians the great ra Euphrates River

was being changed in its course and the

MEO Persian army slipped

under on the dry River bed and that

night Babylon fell to the Ms and the

Persians belshazzar was

killed Daniel

remained and became prime minister in

the next

Empire both Empires respected him for

his wisdom and his faith and his

purpose and his

godliness is God

writing on the wall of

America tonight the word many also re

means

remembered God

remembers God remembers our

sins God sees our

pornography he sees our obscene films

and he sees these new films that are

coming out making fun of Jesus

Christ he sees our lying and our

cheating and our

corruption that goes all the way through

our

society he sees it all and the scripture

says be sure your sin will find you

out but he remembers something else

too it’s not too

late God remembers to

forget when any group of people Any

Nation will repent of their sins and

turn to the

Lord he’ll forgive their sins and heal

the land that’s the promise of the Lord

secondly he says Thou Art weighed in the

balances and found warning

the scripture says Thou D weigh the

paths of the just the Lord says by the

Lord actions a away all the ways of a

man are clear in his own eyes but the

Lord weth the

spirit the nation the world tonight is

being weighed you are being weighed in

the balances of God our sins are great

in the eyes of the Lord and we are being

weighed in his balances and many

thinking leaders believe that the hand

writing is already on the wall and the

judgment is already beginning to take

place but God weighs us as individuals

what’s he going to weigh Us by what’s on

the other side of the scales you see

here’s the scales here’s you and here’s

what God weighs You

by first he’ll weigh You by The Ten

Commandments how do you stand up with

the Ten Commandments Thou shalt have no

other gods before me Thou shalt not take

the name of the Lord thy God in vain

Thou shalt not commit adultery Thou

shalt not steal Thou shalt not lie Thou

shalt not

murder all of these are taken in the Ten

Commandments and the Bible says if we

offend in one point we are guilty of

all if you’ve broken one commandment one

time in your life it’s the same as

breaking all of them well you say well

of course I’ve broken at least one or

two of

them well then you’re guilty of all and

that’s the reason the Bible says we’re

all

guilty that’s the reason Jesus said you

that are without sin pick up the first

stone and throw it at this woman taken

in adultery none of these religious

leaders could do it because we all have

sin all have sinned and come short of

the glory of God and all are under the

Judgment of

God then not only are we going to be

weighed by The Ten Commandments but

we’re going to be weighed by the law of

Love Matthew 22 Jesus said Thou shalt

love the Lord thy God with all thy heart

and with all thy soul and with all thy

mind this is the first and great

commandment and the second is like unto

it Thou shalt love thy neighbor as

thyself on these two Commandments said

Jesus hang all the law and all the

teaching of the prophets it’s all summed

up in

love

do you love the Lord your God with all

your heart with all your mind with all

your

soul and do you love your neighbor now

your neighbor means anybody that’s in

need Jesus taught that in the parable of

the Good

Samaritan anyone who’s in need you love

that neighbor as much as you love

yourself that’s what Jesus said

we’re going to be weighed by that

law thirdly we’re going to be weighed by

the person of Jesus Christ the Bible

says in Psalm 89 for who in the heaven

can be compared unto the Lord who among

the sons of the mighty can be likened

unto the Lord Isaiah said to whom will

be likened me and make me evil are equal

and compare me that they should be like

me God says be ye holy hly for so I am

Holy if you don’t now Jesus Christ was

the only righteous and the only holy man

that ever lived we call some people in

India holy men but Jesus was the only

truly holy man of history and if we

don’t live like Jesus and live as good

as Jesus

is then we come short of God’s

requirement and God’s expectation will

you say Billy who in the world can live

like Jesus

nobody that’s the reason you all have to

say I’m a

sinner God is going to weigh Us by

Christ he’s going to weigh Us by The Ten

Commandments he’s going to weigh Us by

the law of love but he’s also going to

weigh you by your

Works those sins of omission that you

weren’t even conscious

of in Matthew 25 Jesus reminds us for I

was a hungered and you gave me no meat

I was thirsty you didn’t give me

anything to drink I was a stranger and

you didn’t take me in I was naked and

you didn’t clothe me I was sick and in

prison and you never came and visited

me but the people will say Lord where we

where did we see you naked and sick and

imprison and

thirsty then he answered them this

way in as

much as you did it not to one of the

least of these you did it not to

me now that strikes every person in this

Arena and we come short and then Jesus

pronounce judgment he said those that

are guilty of the sin of omission and

these shall go away into Everlasting

punishment but the righteous un life

eternal you say well Billy I’m sort of

div

at How can any of us weigh up we

can’t Jesus said in Revelation 3 I know

your works that you’re neither hot nor

cold I would that you were hot or cold

so then because you’re lukewarm I’m

going to spew you out of my mouth he

said listen there going to be a lot of

people that are going to miss Heaven

that you think are going to be there

and then fifthly he’s going to weigh Us

by our

opportunities by our

opportunities to whom much is given much

shall be required he said think of

Living in

America with all of its

advantages a church on almost every

corner a Bible in almost every hotel

room millions of Bibles available

the gospel by radio and

television think of living

here he’s going to judge us by the

opportunities we had think of the

Christian literature that’s available at

bookstores and we don’t take advantage

of

it to whom much is given much is

required you say well Billy even on that

score

I I can’t make

it no

but the glory of this whole thing is

that there is a gospel and the gospel is

good news to people like you who are

sitting there saying well I’m

guilty the good news is that God sent

his son Jesus Christ to the

Cross to die for

you and God took those sins of yours and

those failures of yours and laid them on

Christ he became sin for

us now he said the just and the

righteous are going to get to heaven how

am I going to get a justness and a

righteousness of my own when I don’t

have

any I’m a

sinner I don’t weigh enough to get to

heaven but on the

cross Christ provided a justness for me

he

provided a righteousness for for me that

I didn’t

have and I am acceptable tonight by God

not because I’ve been good or because

I’ve read the Bible or because I’ve

preached to crowds of people I’m

acceptable because of

Christ I am accepted into the Beloved

because of

him and that’s your

privilege at this

moment you can appropriate what Christ

did on the cross to you right now and

you can leave here weighing enough to

get to heaven weighing enough to have

your sins forgiven weighing enough to

live a new life Thou Art weighed in the

balances of God and found warning are

you found

warning the last word here is eup Farson

divided thy kingdom is divided God said

Belz I’m taking your kingdom away from

you you’re

finished judgment is come it’s too late

late is God going to say that to you

judgment has come it’s too late I know

people that know that and accept that

and believe that and just go on merrily

dancing their way to hair they’re like

the mouse that’s been caught in the Trap

that’s still nibbling at the cheese

after being

caught you’re still nibbling at the

devil’s

bait and you’re already dead

as far as eternity is

concerned I believe this Crusade has

been

held at the right

time and in the Providence of God at the

right moment in the history of many of

your

lives people have prayed for

you people have

worked people have given to make this

possible and now this is your moment

with God to receive him into your heart

to make

sure that you weigh enough no I won’t be

it the

Judgment there is therefore now no

judgment to them that are in Christ

Jesus I won’t see you

there the Judgment that I deserved was

taken by Jesus Christ at the cross and I

accepted what he did even though it

looked foolish and looked a little bit

ridiculous for me to come forward that

night and say yes to Jesus Christ in

front of all those people I did

it and I’m going to ask you in just a

moment to get up out of your seat and

come forward and stand in front of this

platform and say by coming I want Christ

in my heart and after you’ve

come I’m going to say a word to you and

have a prayer with you and give you some

literature and you can go back and join

your friends but don’t you let this

afternoon pass until you’ve said yes to

Jesus Christ because you see you you may

never have another Moment Like This this

may be the last moment that you’ll ever

have and now is the moment you get up

and come with hundreds of people that

have come this past week even thousands

you come and join them and say today I

want Christ to forgive my sins I want to

know I’m going to heaven I want to weigh

enough when I have to be weighed in the

great scales of God at the great

judgment if you come from that top

Gallery up there it’ll take you a couple

minutes to come so come right now

quickly from everywhere hundreds of you

God is speaking to you you may be in the

choir you may be an usher whoever you

are you get up and come we’re going to

wait as hundreds are responding to Mr

Graham’s invitation to make a public

commitment to Jesus Christ you can make

that same commitment right where you are

just pick up the phone and call the

number you see on your screen special

friends are waiting to talk with you and

pray with you about this most important

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decision

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as you can see on television hundreds of

people are coming here in St Louis to

make their commitment to Jesus Christ

they want to be sure that their sins are

forgiven they want to know that they

weigh enough in the scales of

God no I don’t believe it’s too late for

America to turn to God I believe we

could have healing in our

country I believe we could turn to God

and find a whole new

atmosphere if we did turn to him but

that can also happen in your life as an

individual and it can happen in your

home and it h can happen in your block

and in your community in your apartment

in wherever you

are but it must start with somebody it

could start with you if you will say yes

to Jesus Christ right

now I hope you make that commitment God

help you to make it and be sure and go

to a church next Sunday good evening and

God bless

you if you just prayed that prayer with

my father or if you have any questions

about a relationship with Jesus Christ I

just call that number that is on the

screen there’ll be someone there to talk

with you pray with you and answer those

questions and

remember God loves

you if you would like to commit your

life to Jesus Christ please call us

right now toll-free at 1 18

77772

4559 that’s

877772

4559 or you can write to us at Billy

Graham 1 Billy Graham Parkway Department

C Charlotte North Carolina

28201 or you can contact us on the web

247 at peacei good.tv we’ll get the same

helps to you that we give to everyone

who responds at the invitation on behalf

of Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham

Evangelistic Association thank you for

watching and thank you for your

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