False Messiah John of Gischala drank from the vessels of the Temple on the eve of Jerusalem’s fall to the Romans just like Belshazzar did on the eve of Babylon’s fall to the Medo-Persians.
False Messiah John of Gischala
𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗵𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿, 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗵 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀.
The Zealots and John of Gischala
“These Galileans had advanced this 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻, and made him very potent, who made them suitable requital from the authority he had obtained by their means; for he permitted them to do all things that any of them desired to do, while their inclination to plunder was insatiable, as was their zeal in searching the houses of the rich; and for the murdering of the men, and abusing of the women, it was sport to them. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵; 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗮𝘄𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝘂𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗹-𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀; 𝗻𝗮𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀; 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗸𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻…
6. 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻, when he could no longer plunder the people, he betook himself to sacrilege, … whereas 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻, 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗝𝗲𝘄, 𝘀𝗲𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲; 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗶𝗹, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘁-𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝗼, 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 [𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺] 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺. And here I cannot but speak my mind, and what the concern I am under dictates to me, and it is this: I suppose, that had the Romans made any longer delay in coming against these villains, that the city would either have been swallowed up by the ground opening upon them, or been overflowed by water, or else been destroyed by such thunder as the country of Sodom perished by, for it had brought forth a 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 of men much more atheistical than were those that suffered such punishments; for by their madness it was that all the people came to be destroyed.”
Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar
Daniel 5
Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 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. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 In the same hour 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. 6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father — your father the king — made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. 12 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.”
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. 16 And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. 21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 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. 24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of each word. Mene: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 Peres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
NKJV