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MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN(PARSIN)
The prophecy is found in Daniel chapter 5 and the surface meaning of the
handwriting of God incident is provided in the verses Daniel 5:25-28.
Dan 5:25 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.
Most prophetic scriptures clearly portray a time dimension. This prophecy
cleverly hides its prophetic nature behind the narrative.
To fully understand this prophecy it is necessary to look at the meanings of
the words.
MENE - 'numbered' or 'mina'
Mina is a measure of money and weight
TEKEL - 'weighed' or 'shekel'
Shekel is a unit of money and weight
UPHARSIN - ie 'Parsin' (singular Peres (verse 28)),
Parsin - 'to divide (into many pieces)'
Peres - 'to divide (once)'
As can be seen the words 'mene' and 'tekel' carry meanings which indicate
monetary value. (As a result of this observation many have felt the word
'upharsin' should likewise be understood as 'half mene' or 'half shekel'.
However, in this prophecy it is not necessary to render a monetary unit
to the word 'upharsin'.)
To determine the time periods being suggested it is only necessary to
follow the instructions of the prophecy.
NUMBER 
NUMBER
WEIGH 
DIVIDE 
Number twice by weight and divide!
In other words: Number the 'mene' twice by shekel weight
and then divide into many pieces.
Conveniently a single text found in a prophetic book provides the critical
information.
Ezek 45:10 You shall have just balances, ...
:12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs;
twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels,
and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.
This verse is commonly thought to be suggesting the mina of the sanctuary
was composed of 60 shekels. However, this view fails to explain why the
verse breaks the apparent 60 shekels into twenty, twenty-five and fifteen
shekels.
There have been a number of theories which have attempted to explain the
text and different renderings have been suggested.
A more literal rendering of the later portion of this verse yields the
following.
Ezek 45:12 And the shekel twenty gerah: twenty shekels five
and twenty shekels ten and five shekel shall be
your mina.
This can provide the rendering.
Ezek 45:12 ... twenty shekels by five and
twenty shekels by ten and five,
shekel shall be your mina.
In other words: '100'(20x5) and '300'(20x15) shekel
shall be your mina!
Now, notice the New Testament presentation of the mina by weight.
1) John 19:39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night,
also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh an aloes,
about a hundred pound(mina - Strong's 3046).
2) John 12:3 Then Mary took a pound(mina - Strong's 3046) of
very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet
of Jesus, ...
:5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for
three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
[In both cases we encounter a mina weight, the first reference is
associated with the number 100 and the second with the number 300.]
GOLD - 100 SHEKELS PER MINA
The following verses suggest a mina of gold was the equivalent of
100 shekels of gold. (Note, the word 'shekels' in 2 Chr 9:16 is not
actually present in the original Hebrew.)
1 Kin 10:17 He also made three hundred shields of hammered
gold; three mina of gold went into each shield.
And the king put them in the House of the Forest
of Lebanon.
2 Chr 9:16 He also made three hundred shields of hammered
gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into
each shield. The king put them in the House of
the Forest of Lebanon.
DIFFERENT SHEKELS
Scripture indicates there are two types of shekel!
THE SHEKEL OF THE SANCTUARY
Exod 30:13,24,25,26, Lev 5:15 27:3,25, Num 3:47, 3:50,
Num 7:13,19,25,31,37,48,49,55,61,67,73,79,85,86, 18:16,
Ezek 45:12.
This shekel is repeatedly identified as being the equivalent of
20 gerahs.
Exod 30:13, Lev 27:25, Num 3:47, 18:16, 45:12.
SHEKEL OF THE MERCHANTS / KING
Gen 23:16 And Abraham listened to Ephron and Abraham weighed
out the silver for Ephron which he had named in
the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred
shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.
2 Sam 14:26 And when he cut the hair of his head - at the
end of every year he cut it because it was
heavy on him - when he cut it, he weighed
the hair of his head at two hundred shekels
according to the king's standard.
The shekel of the sanctuary was the lighter of the two types of shekel,
300 sanctuary shekels composed a mina. Only 200 of the heavier shekel of
the merchants/king were required to weigh a mina.
The relative value and weight of the two silver shekels is reflected in
these verses.
HEAVY SILVER SHEKEL
Neh 10:32 Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact
from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for
the service of the house of God.
LIGHT SILVER SHEKEL
Exod 30:13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered
shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel
of the sanctuary ...
:16 And you shall take the atonement money of the
children of Israel, and shall appoint it for
the service of the tabernacle of meeting, ...
The presence of these two different silver shekels possibly being
reflected in Ezek 45:12 by the narrative 'twenty shekels ten and five'.
20 shekels by ten = 200 shekels
20 shekels by (ten + five) = 300 shekels
[ Note: Comparing Song 8:11-12 with Isa 7:23 also
suggests 200 silver pieces equal 1 silver mina. ]
The ongoing use of the number '20' in Ezek 45:12 draws attention to the
fact that a shekel of the sanctuary, whether it be of gold or silver,
has a weight equivalent to twenty gerahs.
Ezek 45:12 The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; ...
Lev 27:25 And all your valuations shall be according
to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs
to the shekel.
TEACHING OF THE PROPHECY
With this understanding it is now possible to derive the periods of time
being prophesied by the handwriting on the wall.
NUMBER ONCE
- 100 shekels divided into gerahs(20 per shekel) = 2,000 gerahs
ie 2,000 years!
NUMBER TWICE
- 300 shekels divided into gerahs(20 per shekel) = 6,000 gerahs
ie 6,000 years!
These periods are counted backwards from the close of the age of man.
** 100 Shekels ** ** 300 Shekels **
- 6,000 yrs (20x(10+5))
| (Adam & Eve)
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- 4,000 yrs (20x10)
| (Abraham called)
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- 2,010 yrs |
| (Pentecost) |
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- 10 yrs |
(Tribulation) - 0
(Kingdom of God)
These periods of time are a predetermined warning!
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