Once again God deals with an arrogant king and in the process brings down an empire, replacing it with another. Belshazzar, co-regent with his father, is the arrogant king who blasphemes God by using vessels from his Temple to drink to the gods of gold, silver, wood, and stone. Handwriting appears on the wall, and the king learns from Daniel that he's been numbered, weighed, and found wanting. That night he dies as the Medes and Persians invade Babylon and end the empire.

Belshazzar failed to learn from Nebuchadnezzar and the humiliation God brought on him for his pride. God shows again that he is in control and even controls the rise and fall of nations.