“He should have seen the writing on the wall!” This expression means there was clear evidence—evidence that was ignored—of a bad or dramatic event about to happen. The connection with writing on a wall traces all the way back to the Bible. It refers to a miraculous event in the life of Daniel the prophet, an event that preceded one of the most dramatic moments in all of history: the night the Babylonian Empire was destroyed. This event is recorded not only in the Bible, but in other ancient writings as well. By putting all these sources together, we get unparalleled insight into one of the greatest turning points in history.
To understand how important and dramatic this moment was, we need to set the stage with a bit of background. This took place when the Jewish people were in exile
in Babylon, one of the lowest moments in their history. As it says in the
opening verse of Psalm 137: “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down
and wept when we remembered Zion” (Psa. 137:1). Their exile meant the end of Israel’s existence
as a kingdom, the end of their national sovereignty. It looked
very much like the final chapter in God’s special relationship with the Jewish
people.