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"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6 |
Medo Persia in Bible Prophecy
History tells us that the kingdom which overcame Babylon was the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. Led by Cyrus in 539 B.C., the Medo-Persian empire conquered Babylon and reduced it to ruins. The Medes and Persians were the ruling world power from 539-331 B.C. During their reign, all taxes had to be paid in silver. The biblical explanation follows:
Medo Persian Map
Nabonidus (556 - 539 BC) was the last real monarch of the Babylonian empire. He spent much of his reign away from Babylon, having established his dwelling in Tema (in northern Arabia). During this time, he left his son, Belshazzar, to manage the affairs at home. Meanwhile, Cyrus, in the north, was becoming more powerful. He conquered the Medes in 549 BC, and defeated Croesus, king of the Lydians, just three years later.
Cyrus was destined to fulfill the purpose of God foretold through the prophet Isaiah with the words: "'Thus says the Lord to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held - To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings... That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name Am the God of Israel... I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.'" (Isaiah 45:1,3,4) There is a God who intervenes in the affairs of men, and His sovereign purpose will be fulfilled on earth. Such is the case with Cyrus.
Cyrus crossed the Tigris river southwest of Arbela, and marched on Babylon. At this time, Belshazzar entertained a thousand of his lords and their ladies in the banquet hall of his palace (Daniel chapter 5). This was irreverent and blasphemous to say the least. Because, "while he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them... and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone." God chose, through Cyrus, to eld Belshazzar's life and his reign on this night. His 'cup of iniquity' was full and this doomed the Babylonian empire.
In the very hour of their blasphemous revelry using the sacred vessels, "the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote." Terrified, the king summoned the wise men of Babylon, "the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers" into his presence, urging them to read and interpret the message on the wall. The "wise men" were baffled, unable to make any sense or meaning out of the inscription. "Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished (perplexed)." Hearing of the consternation caused by the strange writing on the wall, the queen "came to the banquet hall. And the queen spoke saying... There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God... Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation."
Daniel continues: "'And this is the inscription that was written: ' MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN .''" Far from being some unidentifiable heavenly language, this is an Aramaic expression being literally translated: numbered, numbered, weighed and divided. These three words are the verbal form of the nouns: minah, shekel, and peres, and all three can be construed to denote some form of monetary exchange at that time. The word pharsin is the plural form of peres, and the letter u prefixed to pharsin simply meant, and.
A shekel was a certain weight of silver. So then, the shekel was a unit of weight and not a coin; and many stone weights inscribed with a symbol in appearance like a tied bag of silver pieces, have been found in archælogical digs in the Mesopotamian region. This common weight was undoubtedly the shekel, and weighed in at approximately 11.5 grams in today's metric system of measuring weight.
At the time, a minah was equal to 50 shekels, and a shekel could be divided into a half shekel known as a bekah . When official coins began to be minted, the terms shekel and minah were retained in the nomenclature of the monetary system; becoming the names by which two particular denominations were known. And so Daniel, interpreted the writing "' 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.'" It's interesting that Daniel, in giving this explanation, changed the last word to peres, the singular form of the word, giving it a direct connection with the Persians who were even now peering over the walls of the city.
Cyrus diverted the waters of the Euphrates river into a lake, and the soldiers were able to enter the city wading in little more than knee deep water. Once inside the city, the Persians entered the inhabited section of the city through the gates along the river which had carelessly been left open and unguarded by the unsuspecting Babylonians. Cyrus was not cruel. He did not torture anyone or ransack the city. However, on that very night, Belshazzar was killed. So ended the Babylonian era, and the Medo-Persian empire was established. Cyrus himself entered the city on October 29, 539 BC.
We don't know if Cyrus ever acknowledged the God of Israel as the only true God. Archeology reveals to us that he worshipped the god Marduk. His policy of toleration helped fulfill the Lord's purpose in ending the 70 year captivity (Jeremiah 29:10; 30:3). Cyrus "made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, '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 1:1,2; 6:1-4) Thus the way was opened that the Jews might return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
Persia was known for its treasures of silver. Just as silver is inferior to gold in value, the next kingdom, Medo-Persia, was inferior to Babylon in wealth. Xerxes, the best known Persian king, inherited hoards of silver from his father, Darius Hystapses. Reportedly, all taxes were required to be paid in silver.
Remembering that there are several sections to this study, go to the menu at the top of this page and click on Prophecy > Introduction > Greece..
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