[Peter Eddington] Let me get into the sermon here and bring you the subject that I have, because at this time of the year many in our society focus on the wise men involved in the story of Jesus' birth.  You see the nativity scenes around and the wise men. You should come up with three, right?  But the bible doesn't say there were only three.  While it is well known that the month of December was not the time of Jesus' birth, and despite the celebrations surrounding the unbiblical observance of Christmas everywhere around us last week, let's not discount the story of the wise men who searched for the Christ.  In the new King James version of the bible, the words wise and wisdom are used 412 times.  It's a well discussed subject, especially in the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the book of Job. 

Have you given wisdom much thought lately?  Of course the opposite  of wisdom is foolishness.  Elbert Hubbard author of "A Message to Garcia," you may have read that, wrote that every man is a fool for at least 5 minutes every day.  Wisdom consists in not exceeding the limit. 

You'll recall in the book of James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach.  Ask and it will be given to him.  So we can do something we're told to pray for and it's the wisdom from above, the wisdom from God that we are to pray for.

In the sermon today, let's look at several aspects related to being wise, because just like the men of Jesus' day, those with wisdom will seek out the truth, will look for God, will seek Him.  Many of us think we're wise, but in Shakespeare though in his comedy, "As You Like It" wrote, "The fool doth  think he's wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool."  So it's important that we seek the wisdom that comes from above, the wisdom that comes from God.  So the title of today's message is

"Wise Men Will Seek Him."  I'll divide the sermon into four main sections for those of you who like to take notes. 

The first one is "The Wise Man and Jesus." Let's turn to Matthew chapter 2.  We'll read the first portion there.  Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.  This is the story of the wise men.  Verse 2:  Saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  Verse 3:  When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. (Herod was concerned  about a competitor in ruling the area, right?)  Verse 7:  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. Verse 8:  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said: "Go and search diligently for the young Child and when you have found Him, bring word to me that I may come and worship Him also."  Verse 9:  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them.  (So they followed this light.) Till it came and stood over where the young Child was. Verse 10:  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. Verse 11:  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshiped Him.  (Of course only God is to be worshiped, they knew this was the Son of God.)  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him; gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Verse 12:  Then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

So there's the story of the wise men at the time of Jesus birth.  It's probably around the time of August or September, something like that, certainly not in December.   

Back in ancient Babylon the king used Wise Men of Science or Magi as they have been called, to give him advice.  They were generally knowledgeable in matters of Astronomy, Science, Calendars, Medicine and in the Archeology Bible in the section Magi says they were likely from Persia or Southern Arabia which lay east of the holy land.  It seems probable from other research and study that they came from Parthia, from the Parthian empire. Parthia was a great empire east of the Euphrates river dibley called the distant east. 

This empire conquered the land east of the Euphrates area and had Babylon at its capital.  Babylon figures quite a bit in the biblical narrative, both in history and prophecy.  That along with the its capital included the areas of Persia and Bactria.  So the Parthians  ruled the whole area, they were the empire of the east.  So it seems like the wise men may have come from there.  The Parthians ruled the power around 250 B.C. and then around the southern shores of the Caspian sea and that was the very land into which the house of Israel was taken captive by the Syrians.  So you go back to the 700 hundreds B.C. and realize that's where the Israelites had been taken into captivity.  The Parthian empire and surrounding areas included the exiles from the lost ten tribes, many who remain in the land of their captivity where some did start to migrate out of there in about the 200's A.D.  They had to migrate back across Europe in the 200's A.D.  But it seems that these wise men may have claimed Abraham as their father.  If so, they would have had a particular interest in the prophesied King of the Jews.  Perhaps they were familiar with the ancient prophesies that spoke of the time when you read in Numbers chapter 24,verse 17, I'll read it to you, a prophecy of the time when: "A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel."  A prophecy of the birth  of Jesus Christ.  So when the wise men saw the star, they rejoiced and throughout the bible a star can symbolize an angel.  Some say it was not a real star in the sky, but a real star cannot come down and rest over the head of somebody, you know bring you up, it would be gigantic.  It was most likely an angel and you'll see in places like Job 38 and the first chapter of Revelation a star being symbolized as an angel, by an angel.  The most probable explanation is that an angel shining in glory led the Magi to the precise spot where Jesus Christ was living.  It could have been the very house where He was born.  Maybe a relative of Joseph.  When they came into the house they saw the child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshiped Him, this was the Son of God.  When they opened their treasures they presented to Him those gifts.  Those gifts were the most expensive of their day befitting the birth of a King.  This is a story today, I want you to notice that men of wisdom travelled from afar to see the Christ  They sought out the future ruler of the world.  They worshiped Him.  They fell to their knees in advance.

Do we appreciate the fact that because of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, we are free to approach God's throne of grace at any time?  Do we too seek Him?  Do we make it our daily journey to seek God and His mercy because wise men and wise women will seek Him?  In our world today, society generally does not seek God.  The rising popularity of atheism, new age religion, worship of our planet amongst other beliefs, has pushed that country away from the belief in the God of the bible.  In fact, the latest push is to say that the bible is nothing but a giant mythical work, a myth like you would find with Thor, or the Greek gods, Zeus and then you've got the bible too, another myth, that's how many people see the bible now.  That idea is gaining a lot of popularity.  However, true science and those exercising wisdom must come to terms with God's existence.  You may have seen an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last week.  It was making the rounds on social media quite a bit.  Let me quote some excerpts from it.  It's by Eric Mataxis in the Wall Street Journal from December 25th and it's titled "Science increasingly makes the case for God."  It goes back to l966 and in the article it says: "In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking, "Is God Dead?"  Many of you actually may remember that from 1966 with pretty radical for its time, to ask the question, "Is God Dead?"  Continuing with the quote: "Many have accepted the cultural narrative that He's obsolete, that as science progresses, there is less need for a God to explain the universe, that it turns out that the rumors of God's death were premature.  More amazing is that the relatively recent case for His existence comes from a surprising place, science itself."  And it says: "Here's the story.  The same year Time features the now same headline, the Astronomer, Carl Sagan announced there were two important criteria for a planet to support life.  One, the right kind of star and a planet the right distance from that star."  So they said: "If those are the two criteria, the right kind of star and a planet the right distance, it must be millions and millions of planets like ours in the universe that could have life, right?"  It says:  "Any two criteria that you need."  So continuing, " What happened?"  As our knowledge of the universe increased it became clear that there are far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed.  His two perimeters grew to ten, then twenty and then fifty.  As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets in the universe that could support life hits zero and then kept going.  In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one.  Probability said that even we shouldn't be here."  Then continuing further down in the article:  "Today there are more than two hundred known perimeters necessary for a planet to support life.  Every single one of which must be perfectly met or the whole thing falls apart.  The odds against life in the universe are simply astonishing."  Then the article says: "Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing.  What can account for it?  Can every one of those many perimeters have been perfect by accident?  At what point is it fair to admit that science could suggest that we cannot be the result of random forces, it's too improbable.  Doesn't assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith then believing that a life-sustaining earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to coming to be."

This reminds me of the account in Romans chapter 1.  Because when we and when science truly looks at the evidence, we reach a point where  the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen. Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.  So Carl Sagan originally said there are two things needed to have a planet to support life, now it's up to two hundred.  I bet you that it keeps growing.  Two hundred is not the limit either.  It's absolutely beyond probability that all this happened by accident or by chance to support life.  Remember the story of the wise men seeking Jesus, because after all Jesus was the Creator of the universe, He created all that we see and that cannot be denied any longer. 

Number two:  The Wise Men and Belshazzar.  Let's look at an example of wisdom verses foolishness. It's in Daniel chapter 5. An example of a man not seeking the wisdom of God.  Of a man who believes in his own power and might, of a man who shows his contempt for the people of God and abused even the holy vessels from the temple of God.  Let's read the story of a foolish king vs. the wise man.  I'm going to read most of this narrative here.  Follow along with me as we see the point here.  I can talk about wisdom and seeking God.

Daniel 5:1 Belshazzar the king (He was the king of Babylon and of course the wise men from the East who came to see the Christ were from that same general area, right?  The Parthian empire which had its capital of Babylon, it's kind of related to the story a little bit.) made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.

Verse 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.  (So here in this big feast he asked for the holy vessels from the temple in Jerusalem be brought to him that Nebuchadnezzar had taken years ago.) Verse 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.  (Of course in the old days only the Levites, the priesthood could drink from this cup.)  Verse 4: They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.  Verse 5: In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. (It would kind of freak you out, wouldn't it?  Something just out of writing on the wall here, not just the words, I'd like to see a hand doing it.)  Verse 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.  Verse 7: The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers.  And 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. (You notice the fate here)  Verse 8: Now all the king's wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Verse 9: Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished. (He was looking pretty worried now.  Here was the great king, suddenly quaking in his boots.) Verse 10: Then the queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall.  And the queen spoke saying: "O king, live forever!

(Like, long live the king!  You have to be careful when you're the queen and you came before the king's presence that he didn't cut your head off if you didn't approach him properly.) Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. Verse 11: There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. (What! How could anybody worry about the God's of silver and gold?) And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, 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. (Now, although most translations called Nebuchadnezzar his father here, Nebuchadleckies (?)  grandfather, but the aromatic termused actually means ancestor.  Your ancestor, Nebuchadnezzar but Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar's grandfather.

But if I can recall Abraham our father, right?  It doesn't mean he is our father, but he's a distance father.  Verse 12:  Inasmuch as an excellent spirit (Daniel had an excellent spirit) knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king later named Belshazzar, now let Daniel be called and he will give the interpretation." Verse 13:  Then Daniel was brought in before the king, and 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?"  (Now of course this was the Daniel that ended up working for Nebuchadnezzar and there are varying interpretations of agreement of Daniel's age at this time.  This would have been about 539 B.C. when this all happened. So 500 years before the birth of Christ right now, but Daniel was probably at least 80 years old by now.  He had been through three different kings of Babylon now and he's probably in semi-retirement, maybe in full retirement now, because he wasn't present with the other wise men.  He wasn't part of the team anymore, he was getting elderly.  The king didn't even remember his name or his previous accomplishments under Nebuchadnezzar's reign.  The queen had to tell him about Daniel.)  Verse 16:  "And I have heard of you, that 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."  Verse 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. (Interestingly Daniel was not impressed by Belshazzar's offering him great gifts. He said I don't need a gold chain around my neck, thank you very much. Daniel had to be quite high up in the kingdom already and no doubt was in some kind of comfortable retirement as well.)  Verse 18:  "O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor."  (So the question is why did the God of Israel give Nebuchadnezzar such power and glory.  Verse 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.  (He had this great power from the Almighty God.) Verse 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. Verse 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 the grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven,  (Basically he turned into an animal.) till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men and appoints over it whomever He chooses.  (Then Nebuchadnezzar then had former glory restored to himwhen he humbled himself and stopped saying it was because of him that he was so great. He had to give the glory to God.) Verse 22:  But you his son (Or his grandson) Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart although you knew all this. (End of the story his grandfather would have gotten around.  Belshazzar you should have known this and you have not humbled your heart.)  Verse 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. (These are holy vessels Belshazzar, you shouldn't be doing this.)  And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, (Not the God of heaven) the gods of 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. Verse 24: Then the fingers of the hand were sent from him and this writing was written. (So this writing on the wall Belshazzar is from the Creator God of heaven.)  Verse 25:  And this is the inscription that was written:  MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.  Verse 26:  "This is the interpretation of each word.  MENE: God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Verse 27: TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Verse 28:  PERES: Your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Verse 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. Verse 30:  That very night, Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans was slain. Verse 31:  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being sixty-two years old.  (So that very night, Belshazzar died as prophesied.)        

What's the warning for us today?  Don't ignore the wisdom that comes from above.  I like that one part of verse 23 because God holds our breath in His hand.  Watch out for any handwriting that may be on the walls of your life.  A warning or admonishment from God, not to think of yourself more highly than you ought.  A warning or admonishment from God to repent of some sin.  Watch out for the handwriting on the wall in your life.  James 3, verse 17 is a good passage to turn to right now.

James 3:17  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

That's the wisdom that we ought to pray for, it comes from above that has the fruits of God's spirit and mercy.

Frank Herbert, best known for the science fiction novel Dune.  You may remember that the Dune science fiction series had five sequels to the book.  But he wrote in God Emperor of Dune, why is it that foolishness repeats itself with such monotonous precision?  That's a good question. The answer for fully repeating itself often lies in our refusal to see the handwriting on the walls, to see the warning signs ahead in our life.  Because of many years of hostility to the God of Israel, Belshazzar was eventually slain as we just read.  That's the ultimate outcome for all who completely reject the Creator of the universe and take upon themselves what God calls foolishness.  At some point in time, all will come to worship Father and Son or else have the fate of Belshazzar.  All will come to worship the Father and Son, worship Him as the Magi did because wisdom will prevail.  At the end of time foolishness will not prevail, wisdom will prevail.  

I'd like to relate to your modern day story of a man who rejected God in the face of his parents and forsook all that was good. It's someone you've probably heard of, but you may not have heard the rest of the story.  I'd like to quote some excerpts from a story that released just last week.  It was on December 31st, just three days ago.  The last day of December, 2014.  It in an article written by Michael Chapman on CNS news.  You can read this on CNS news.com.  The article is entitled "Alice Cooper, Christian."  Then the subtitle is "The World Belongs to Satan."  Let me quote some parts for you.  It says: Alice Cooper the shock rock mega star stops his hard partying ways and returns to his bible Christian roots in the late 1980's.  Alice Cooper, born Vincent Damon Furnier, shot to mega stardom in the 1970's and early 1980's.  The notorious reached the monic(?) make up and costumes in macabre theatrics on stage.  I remember as a teen-ager in the 1970's and listened to Alice Cooper songs.  It was pretty crazy stuff.  Going on in the article:  "In an interview posted on U-Tube about his Christian roots, this prodigal son's waywardness in the 1970's and early 1980's and his reversion to bible based Christianities life today, Cooper explained that despite all the wealth and fame he attained early on, there was a huge emptiness in his life."  Now here's the part you may not have heard. " I grew up in a Christian house said Cooper.  My dad was a pastor, he was an Evangelist for 25 years and I used to go and do missionary work with him with the Apaches in Arizona.  My grandfather was a pastor for 75 years.  I grew up in a Christian home.  My wife' father is a Baptist pastor.  So we were like pk's, (preachers kids) so we married each other.  So I always referred to myself as the real prodigal son because I went out and the Lord let me do everything said Cooper or maybe He didn't let me, but allowed it and just started reeling me back in.  You know, you've seen enough, let me bring you back to where you belong."  But here's the part I want to get you to listen to.  Cooper says: "When you get out there and realize you've had every car, every house and all that, you realize that's not the answer he said.  There's a bit nothing out there at the end of that.  So materialism doesn't mean anything.  A lot of people say that there's a big god-size hole in your heart and when that's filled, you're really satisfied.  That's where I am right now." Cooper then explained that his return to Christianity occurred when he tried and eventually quit drinking alcohol in the mid l980's.  He said: "I stopped drinking and I started going back to church.  I was throwing up blood every morning, I was a really bad alcoholic.  He's also addicted to cocaine as well.  He continued: "And then when I stopped drinking, I started going back to church with my wife.  There was this pastor in Phoenix and he was talking to me every Sunday.  Of course he wasn't, but he was just nailing me.  Every week he'd end up getting me exhausted.  I'd come out of there and I didn't want to go back.  It was like torture but I always came back. I finally realized I had to go one side or the other said Cooper.  I had to make a decision for one side or the other because I was so convicted."  He says, "God chipping away your life all the time to try to make you more like Him."  So it encourages me to see someone return like the prodigal son to a Christian belief system.  This article equates with some of the wisdom we find in the book of Ecclesiastes, a book written by the wisest man who ever lived.  You'll recall in Ecclesiastes 12, the very end of the book.  Let me read it to you.

Ecclesiastes 12: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Verse 14:  For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good or whether it is evil.

So when I think of Vincent Damon Furrnier, or as he changed his name to Alice Cooper, I think when the timing is right, when God opens his mind to the full truth of His great plan of salvation, that Mr. Furnier will truly appreciate what God is offering.  Ultimately there can be no denying God.  Without God, you can have all the wealth in the world and yet realize that that is not it, it's pointless.

So consider the story of the wise men and Belshazzar.  Consider any handwriting that may be on the wall of your life, any warnings God is giving you.

Number Three:  Wise men of the end time.  How wise will we be?  The wise men of old set a course for us to consider. It's interesting that Jesus always came to His followers with one message.  He said to His disciples and those who were gathered around, He said: "Follow Me."  I guess you could say "Seek Me."  "Follow Me."  We read about that in Matthew 4, John 21 and other places.  Let's look at the wisdom or lack thereof of men and women in the end time. 

Matthew 25, these are prophetic parables and in many respects this parable about wisdom is written to the church, written to those who should know better, written to those who have the truth.

Matthew 25:1  Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Verse 2:  Now five of them were wise and five were foolish.  Verse 3:  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them.  Verse 4:  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  Verse 5:   But while the bridegroom (Of course the bridegroom represents Jesus Christ returning.) was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  Verse 6:  And at midnight a cry was heard: "Behold the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him!  Verse 7:  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  Verse 8:  And the foolish said to the wise, give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out.  Verse 9:  But the wise answered saying, "No lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves."  Verse 10:  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding and the door was shut.  Verse 11:  Afterwards the other virgins came also saying, Lord, Lord, open to us!  Verse 12:  But he answered and said "Assuredly I say to you, I do not know you. Verse 13:  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.    

Now here's a question for us.  Are we using wisdom every day filled with the Spirit of God?  Is your lamp filled with oil because as the parable shows, you can't just fill it up at the last minute when you think Christ is returning.You have to keep it filled all the time. 

An insightful paragraph was written by Charles Dickens in his book "A Tale of Two Cities."  He captures quite well the state of our society.  Here's what Charles Dickens said: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  But the age of wisdom, but it was the age of foolishness. It was an

epoch of belief.  It was an epoch of incredibility.  It was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.  It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. We had everything before us. We had nothing before us.  We're all going directly to heaven.  We're all going directly the other way.  The best of times, the worst of times.  Foolishness vs. wisdom."

A moment ago we looked at the story of Daniel and Belshazzar.  For the end time, the book of Revelation describes the duality, the prophetic fulfillment of Daniel's story.  Turn to Revelation 19 if you want to read the story of the end time and Babylon, the end time beast as its known.  The beast king of Revelation will follow the same foolish pride and arrogance of Belshazzar.  His final act is to fight and defeat Jesus Christ when Jesus Christ returns. 

Revelation 19:19  And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against Him (Against Christ) who sat on the horse and against His army.  Verse 20:  Then the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image.  These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.

So that is shall we say, the death of the end time king of Babylon.  Belshazzar failed the test and so will the beast at the end time.  The question is, how will you and I do on the test?  Will we use the wisdom of this world or the wisdom from above?  Who will be the wise men at the end time?  Who will have their lamps trimmed and filled with oil?  Who will be wise, who will be foolish?  The wise must be us!  The wise must be those who are the people of God.  We should be aware that we can understand the hand writing on the wall.  Daniel showed how this is done.  We quote from  Daniel 2:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets.

If you want to know the secrets, if you want to know the future, if you want to understand God's plan of salvation, it can only come from God.  He is the one who reveals secrets.  He is the one who gave Daniel the understanding of those prophecies and the hand writing on the wall.  But to simply acknowledge this, just to have this knowledge is not the total answer.  For us to understand God's great plan of salvation, humility must be a top priority. The apostle Paul explains this, telling us the wisdom of God is a mystery, hidden to the world at large, understood only by those whom God chooses to reveal it.

Turn to 1 Corinthians 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God  (This is not the wisdom of the world) in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, Verse 8:  which      

none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Verse 9:  But as it is written:  "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  Verse 10:  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God.

We must allow the great God above to teach us His great plan.  It is the God in heaven who reveals these secrets.  Human beings can learn from God, if they humble themselves before His mighty hand.  Remember Daniel 5, verse 22, we read earlier about Belshazzar.  Daniel said to Belshazzar, "But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this." 

We are coming to a time in history when governments and religions will combine and make pronouncements of peace and safety throughout the world.  But that peace will disappear in a moment when the beast and false prophet begin to exercise their military might.  Many will perish.  That's prophesied in Matthew 24.  But the person who truly knows God, has his lamp filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit, who seeks the wisdom from above, and is a wise end time Christian seeking Him will understand His handwriting on the prophetic wall and be assured of eternal life.  As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes: " Fear God and keep His commandments for this is man's all."  Wise men and women in the end time will seek Him so that's the third point.  Don't be like one of the foolish virgins, just be like one of the wise virgins that is an end time parable.

Point Four.  All wise men seek Him, of course all women too.  Ultimately if you are not seeking God, if you are not looking for your Creator, you are not wise, because it is God who reveals secrets.  It is God who gives us the wisdom and the understanding of the mystery of salvation.

I'd like to quote again from the December 25th Wall Street Journal article that was called, "Science increasing makes the case for God"  by Eric Matsis.  That was the story that talked about the Time magazine cover, "Is God Dead?"  Here's how the article ends.  Now I've got a couple more excerpts here.  Eric Matsis says: "But there's more." He's talking about the two hundred things needed to support life.  He says: "But there's more."  The fine tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine tuning required for the universe to exist at all.  So not only do you have the perimeters needed to have the planet support life so we don't all die from radiation poisoning or something, he says, for the universe to exist at all, for example Astrophysicist's now know that the values of the four fundamental forces, gravity, electromagnet force and the strong and weak nuclear forces.  These forces will determine less than one million to the second after the big bang, or we could say less than one million to the second after creation.  Alter any one value and the universe could not exist.  For instance, if the ratio between a nuclear strong forces and the electromagnet force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest fraction.  But even one party in one hundred thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, thousand, then no stars could have ever formed at all." He says:  "Feel free to gulp."  "Multiply that single perimeter, just one by all the other necessary conditions and the odds against the universe existing is so hot, stuffingly astronomical, that the notion that it all just happened defies common sense. "  So the more you understand about science, the more you realize  that there has to be a Creator.  Fred Hoyle, the Astronomer who coined the term, "Big Bang" said that his atheism was greatly shaken at these developments.  He later wrote that a common sense interpretation of the facts suggest that a super intellect has monkeyed with physics as well as with chemistry and biology.  The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming that to put this conclusion almost beyond question.  Theoretical Physicist, Paul Davies has said that "The appearance of design is overwhelming."  Oxford Professor  Dr. John Lenox has said "The more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator gains incredibility as the best explanation of why we are here.  The greatest miracle of all time continues the article was that any core second is the universe.  It is the miracle of all miracles, one that in electability points with the combined brightness of every star to something or someone beyond itself.  So, those of this earth who are truly wise will continue to seek Him, just like the wise men at the time of Jesus' birth.  The wise men and women of today will acknowledge God's existence and follow Him, not deny it.  They will seek Him.  God does not forget.  What He has promised, He will bring to pass.  Look at Revelations 16 again at the very time of the end, mighty Babylon and the beast power will come to an end.  Let's tie this together with what happened to Belshazzar.

Revelation 16: 17  Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven from the throne, saying: "It is done!"  (This is the end of all the trumpet plagues, right? Or the end of all the seals.)  Verse 18:  And there were noises and thundering and lightning; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Verse 19:  Now the great city (talking about Babylon) was divided into three parts and the cities of the nations fell.  And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. 

It's a fascinating parallel to see God use the same language that characterized ancient Babylon's destruction.  Belshazzar drank wine fromholy vessels that were dedicated to God alone.  That was his undoing. 

In the final days of mankind's rule, the beast, the false prophet and modern Babylon will drink of the wine of God's wrath which is somewhat ironic.  God doesn't forget what mankind has done and in particular what Babylon has done.  God gives us a choice.  He give all men and women  a choice.  All wise men will seek Him and not defy Him.  Humanity can either follow the proud way of king Belshazzar, avoid humbling one's self before Almighty God and remain blinded to the handwriting on the wall, or we can be like Daniel who possessed an excellent spirit. 

Notice  1 Corinthians 1, chapter 2 because God has promised and given that same excellent spirit that Daniel had to Jesus Christ's disciples, those who obey Him.  That's the promise of Acts, chapter 5, verse 32, being given the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is that excellent spirit that Daniel had which not only revealed to us the glory of and the honor due to Jesus Christ, but it leads us to an understanding of God's complete truth. 

1 Corinthians 2:10  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, yes the deep things of God. Verse 11:  For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Verse 12:  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. Verse 13:  These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

So whatever road you and I might choose, one thing is absolutely certain.  The hand writing is still on the wall.  We must keep our lamp filled because all wise men and women still seek Him. 

There's a California author who writes Christian fiction novels named Jeb Spreademanan.  She wrote this in her book, "The Secret of the Heart."  It's very well put.  It's kind of poetic.  She says:  "To deny the existence of God would be to close your eyes to the beauty around you.  To close your ears to the symphony of nature.  To close your nostrils to the scents wafting in the breeze.  To close your mouth to the delicacies of nourishment.  To close your hands to the feel of luxury.  To close your mind to the ability to think and to close your heart to the only love that can penetrate the depths of the soul.  For in Him, all things consist.  In Him we live and move and have our being and without Him we cannot help but be fools."  It's quite a quote.  Without Him we cannot help but be fools.  That's the message of scripture, the message of Belshazzar.  That's the message of those who will be wise in God's sight. 

So please remember the four main points of today's message.  Number 1, the Wise Men & Jesus.  We too must continually seek Him.  Number 2, the Wise Man and Belshazzar.  Watch for any handwriting on the wall of your life.  Number 3, Wise Men of the end time. Keep your lamps filled with the Holy Spirit.  Number 4,  All Wise Men seek Him, because without Him we cannot help but be fools. 

C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, "Mere Christianity" this:  Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence.  On the contrary He told us to be not only harmless as doves but also as wise as serpents.  He wants a child's heart, but a grown up's head.  He wants us to be simple, single minded, affectionate and teachable as good children are.  He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job and first class fighting trim.  Yes, God choose the weak of the world to be called to do His work today.  But we are intended to grow and strengthen in that calling.  We are not to remain weak, we are meant to be strong in Jesus Christ.  How do we do that?  We follow the example of the wise.  Seek God because wise men will seek Him.  Don't be counted as a fool.  Seek wisdom and like the wise men of Jesus time, seek Him.