Luke 21:34–35 “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”(Luke 21:34–35, NKJV) Shalom. May the great name of our Savior Jesus be forever praised. Many of us are familiar with the words of the Lord in that verse, but we often lack understanding of the specific kind of drunkenness and gluttony being addressed — until that Day suddenly overtakes us like a snare. To understand better, let us consider a very real example in the Bible, of people who were overtaken by a unique kind of gluttony and drunkenness that led to their sudden destruction. If we read the book of Daniel chapter 5, we meet a king named Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar. As many of us know, this king had the privilege of witnessing everything that happened to his father — how he was punished by God for his pride and cruelty toward innocent people, including throwing some into fiery furnaces and executing others. Eventually, God humbled Nebuchadnezzar by driving him from his throne, forcing him to live in the wild like a beast for seven years. When he finally acknowledged that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth, he repented, and God restored his kingdom — even greater than before. Now this son, Belshazzar, had seen all this. He had every lesson already laid out for him — he didn’t need to repeat the same path. It’s similar to our generation: we’ve been given many examples from the past — like the people of Noah’s time, and the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who were destroyed because of their wickedness. But still, we ignore those examples and dismiss them as outdated stories — just as Belshazzar ignored the example of his father. He chose to disregard all that his father had gone through with God. Worse still, he did something more outrageous — an act that directly provoked God’s judgment and led to his sudden destruction. And this is where we must all take a serious lesson today. Belshazzar ordered that the holy vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem — which his father had looted but never used — be brought to his feast. These sacred items had been kept in storage, not to be used for anything because they were holy. But in his drunkenness and gluttony, Belshazzar decided it wasn’t enough to drink from his own royal cups, bottles, or utensils. He went to his father’s treasury, found the temple vessels, and used them to drink wine — not alone, but with his nobles and prostitutes. What a terrible desecration! This act symbolizes what’s happening spiritually today. As soon as Belshazzar did that, a hand appeared and wrote on the wall where the light shone the clearest. The mysterious words were: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN — words of divine judgment. As we know from the text, those words meant that his reign had come to an end. His kingdom had been weighed and found wanting, and it would be divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Shockingly, instead of repenting, Belshazzar thought it wise to promote Daniel to a high rank for interpreting the writing. Why? Because he didn’t believe judgment could fall upon him — or if it did, he thought it would be in the distant future. After all, Babylon was surrounded by massive walls, guarded by renowned warriors day and night, and considered the superpower of the world at that time. But he deceived himself. The Bible says that very night he was invaded and killed. The kingdom was seized by the Medes and Persians in an instant. You may wonder how they entered undetected. History tells us that Babylon had a great river flowing into the city. Naturally, river entrances could not be sealed like city gates. That’s where the enemy came in — the Medes diverted the river, causing the water level to drop. Through the dry riverbed, they entered the city undetected, while the guards at the gates remained unaware. The invasion was sudden and deadly. Likewise, today’s Church has become weighed down with spiritual drunkenness and gluttony. If it were only physical drunkenness, it would be one thing — but now people are using the holy things of God in defiled ways, bringing God’s wrath upon them. Today, people mix God with the world. One day they’re in church, the next day in a nightclub. One moment they sing to God, the next they entertain the devil. One day they partake in the Lord’s Table, the next they commit sexual immorality. People call themselves “saved” yet secretly drink alcohol, engage in fornication, watch pornography, take bribes, and give or receive illicit favors. This is the very drunkenness and gluttony Jesus warned about. “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”(Luke 21:34–35, NKJV) One of these days, the entire world will be caught in that trap. While people are celebrating and feeling secure, everything will change in an instant. So, dear reader, this is the time to build a personal relationship with God. This world has already been marked with the divine sentence: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. If you insist on holding on to it, it will drag you down just as it did Belshazzar. Today, repent. Obey the Gospel. Be saved. Cleanse your life. And the Lord will help you in what remains. God bless you greatly. Please share this good news with others. 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