Podcasts about neo babylonian

Augusta talks about the new excavations at Nippur. What are the goals of the new work, and how does she manage the long history of excavations at the site? What are the long term plans for the site? She reveals the first results, including news about the city walls, a huge Neo-Babylonian villa, and a Parthian cemetery. She reflects on how the archaeological situation has changed since she was a student. And she discusses plans for sharing the results of the work.3:13 why Nippur?5:26 project goals8:11 working around previous excavations12:09 first results15:39 a Neo-Babylonian villa19:40 searching for Ur III22:18 Kassite Nippur24:06 the dig team27:14 Neo-Babylonian graves29:18 challenges35:19 long term plans39:11 publicationMusic by Ruba HillawiWebsite: http://wedgepod.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgwEmail: wedgepod@gmail.comPatreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

Pastor John Bornschein and Dr. Steve Ford teach from Daniel 1 and discuss the rise of the Neo-Babylonian empire. Support the showProduced by Calvary Fellowship Fountain Valley church. Learn more at www.CalvaryFountain.com

Welcome to Day 2386 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – The Abandoned Child and the Basket Case – I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2386 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2386 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Today is the fourth lesson in our segment, Theology Thursday. Utilizing excerpts from a book titled: I Dare You Not To Bore Me With The Bible written by Hebrew Bible scholar and professor the late Dr. Michael S Heiser, we will invest a couple of years going through the entire Bible, exploring short Biblical lessons that you may not have received in Bible classes or Church. The Bible is a wonderful book. Its pages reveal the epic story of God's redemption of humankind and the long, bitter conflict against evil. Yet it's also a book that seems strange to us. While God's Word was written for us, it wasn't written to us. Today, our lesson is The Abandoned Child and the Basket Case. In modern stories, people destined for greatness rarely start as privileged. They are dropped off at the doorstep of an orphanage or abandoned in the rain. This literary motif goes back to ancient stories, where writers use the abandoned child theme to identify a character that rises from obscurity to privileged hero status. It's a motif found in the biblical account of Moses' birth. But is that really the whole story? Moses' story begins when Pharaoh feels threatened by the growing Hebrew population in Egypt and commands that all Hebrew male infants be killed (Exod 1:16-22). Moses' mother hides her newborn son for three months and then devises a risky but calculated plan: She sets him adrift on the Nile in a small basket made of bulrushes, waterproofed with bitumen and pitch (2:1- 3). Moses' older sister, Miriam, watches as the basket floats to where the daughter of Pharaoh bathes. God uses these circumstances to bring Moses under the protection of Egypt's ruler (2:4-10). Ancient literature outside the Bible attests to several stories in which a child, perceived as a threat by an enemy, is abandoned and later spared by divine intervention or otherworldly circumstances. Roughly 30 stories like this survive in ancient Mesopotamia, Canaan, Greece, Egypt, Rome, and India literature. The Mesopotamian work known as the Sargon Birth Legend offers the most striking parallels to the biblical story. It relates the birth story of Sargon the Great, an Akkadian emperor who ruled several Sumerian city-states around 2000 BC, centuries before the time of Moses. The infant boy is born into great peril: His mother is a high priestess, and he is illegitimate. Consequently, his mother sets him adrift in a reed basket on a river. The boy is rescued and raised by a gardener named Akki in the town of Kish. He becomes a humble gardener in Akki's service until the goddess Ishtar takes an interest in him, setting him on the path to kingship. Some assume that the biblical story of Moses' birth was based on the Sargon Birth Legend, but this is unlikely. Although ancient Sumerian accounts of Sargon the Great date back to his lifetime, the legendary account of his birth is known from only four fragmentary tablets—three from the Neo-Assyrian period (934-605 bc) and one from the Neo-Babylonian

And the Lord Gave Daniel 1:1-21 by William Klock We like to say that actions often speak louder than words.  When things are hard, it's one thing for someone to promise they'll be there for you, but it's something else entirely when they actually are.  And we know from experience, some people are all talk.  They say they'll be there, but they may or may not show up.  But we all know people who say they'll be there and we know from our past experience with them that we really can count on them being there.  Some people just prove themselves to be imminently dependable.  When it comes to God, we should know that he is imminently more dependable than even the most imminently dependable human being, but sometimes we doubt—especially when the dark seems so utterly overwhelming.  Israel was no different in that way.  God had spoken.  They had his word through the Law and the Prophets, but still, some day it was just so hard not to doubt.  Think of those awful days for Second Century Judah that we read about last week in 1 Maccabees.  Pagans defiled the Lord's temple.  Pagans were killing Jews for obeying the Lord's law.  A lot of Jews were giving in and apostatising.  Their children were being enticed into a pagan way of life.  The faithful cried out to the Lord with pleas like that of Psalm 68, “Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered!”  They prayed and prayed.  They were faithful and they watched as their friends and family were murdered for their faithfulness.  Where was God?  Did he really care for his people?  And so the author of Daniel looked back to the last time this happened, to the days of the Babylonian exile.  The purpose of Daniel was to remind the people of the Lord's past faithfulness.  It was an exhortation to stand firm in faith, trusting in the Lord.  And so he begins in Daniel 1 and writes: In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.   In the third year of King Jehoiakim of Judah.  Assuming that number isn't being used symbolically—which it might—these opening events of Daniel took place in 605 or 604 BC.  Jehoiakim was put on the throne as a puppet king of the Egyptians, but when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt, Jehoiakim a puppet of the Babylonians.  Jehoiakim was an evil king.  The rabbis described him as a godless tyrant who engaged in incest and murder.  Through the Prophet Jeremiah, the Lord repeated rebuked him and warned him of coming judgement.  And here we see the beginnings of it.  What's described here in Daniel 1 sounds very much like the siege that Nebuchadnezzar laid against Jerusalem in 598 BC—which would mean we need to do more work to sort out the date given—but it's possible that the Babylonians began applying some of this sort of pressure earlier—a warning, letting Jehoiakim and his people know who was in control.  So Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of the Neo-Babylonian emperors, came to Jerusalem and showed the city and the people who was boss.  He took sacred vessels from the temple.  The text isn't specific, but it implies that these were vessels and tools associated with the altar and with sacrifices.  The point wasn't their monetary value.  The point was that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to demonstrate the defeat of the God of Israel.  Taking the city showed the people that they were now the subjects of the Babylonian king, but taking the consecrated vessels of the Lord from his temple showed that Israel's God was now subject to the gods of Babylon. And along with those temple vessels, Nebuchadnezzar took with him a group of young men—the first of the exiles—so that they could be taught the ways of the Babylonians.  They were hostages. Nebuchadnezzar probably expected some of them to be sent back to serve a Babylonian administration in Jerusalem once they'd been convinced of Babylon's superiority.  But, I think, taking these men from the royal and noble families, more than anything else, was meant to show the rulers of Judah that Nebuchadnezzar was now sovereign over them.  Even their children belonged to him and to his gods. But notice that little note slipped into verse 2.  You might even have missed it.  Verse 1 tells us that Nebuchadnezzar came and laid siege to Jerusalem, but verse 2 tells us that it was the Lord who gave him King Jehoiakim and the temple vessels.  The Lord not only allowed this, he orchestrated it.  The Lord is the one who is sovereign, not Nebuchadnezzar…not Antiochus Epiphanes…not Ceasar…not Charles III or Justin Trudeau…the Lord, the God of Israel is sovereign over kings and nations—and, maybe most important, over his own people.  And in those few words in verse 2, we're reminded of the Lord's faithfulness—not just to rescue his people as he promised, not just to prosper his people as he promised, but also to discipline them when they were unfaithful, just as he promised he would.  And there's something else that might slip by us.  In the biblical literature most closely related to Daniel, it's usually “God gave”.  In fact, we'll see that later on.  But here it's “the Lord gave”.  This is not merely the God of Israel, but the God who is Lord over all—over every nation and over every king, even mighty Nebuchadnezzar. Brothers and Sisters, whatever is happening today, remember that God is sovereign and in control.  That someone living through the terrors of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes would point his people back to Daniel to remind them that the Lord is in control, ought to cause us to do the same sort of thing: to look back not only to the history of God and his dealings with his people, but to do that while hearing his words and his promises to them through the prophets.  Why would God allow Christendom to fall after two-thousand years?  Why is God allowing the church in the West to wither and die?  I think we need to look back to the story of God and his people.  In Israel he established an earthly kingdom to represent his rule in the world, to witness his light in the midst of the darkness.  He didn't expect perfection, but he did expect faithfulness.  And when Israel refused to be faithful, the Lord disciplined her—as a witness to the nations.  He preferred to be known through his blessing, but if that wasn't going to work out, his sovereign holiness would be shown through cursing and, eventually, through his restoration of his people in fulfilment of his promises. Christendom, I think, has befallen much the same fate.  The gospel went out and it conquered an empire.  Christendom was born and, a lot like Israel, it represented Jesus' rule on earth—prefiguring that day when the gospel and the church have finally accomplished their mission to usher in God's new creation.  Christendom wasn't perfect—not by any means—but it did represent a people and nations that lived the gospel—people who were faithful.  And the dramatic transformation that took place in the conversion of those pagan empires and nations into Christendom are profound witness to the power of the gospel—a witness I think we're often unaware of, because we now live in a world transformed by that gospel.  But as the centuries passed, our gospel light began to waver and dim.  The gospel had once put an end to slavery in the Roman world, but then slavery was restored—to our shame.  Christian kings began to colonise and exploit less developed peoples.  And, yes, the Lord used those efforts to carry the gospel to new corners of the world and often to judge wicked peoples, but then those Christian kings plundered those nations and mistreated their people.  Wars broke out and Christian nation rose up against Christian nation.  I don't think it should be any surprise that the Church in Europe began its rapid decline and godless philosophies and secularism quickly replaced it in the years following World War I—a war in which ostensibly Christian countries brutally fought each other for regional hegemony.  In the years after that war, Karl Barth wrote that his seminary student had lost the ability to smile.  The gospel light was all but stamped out.  The joy of Jesus was all but gone.  In the century since, Europe has become almost entirely secular.  And now here, across the Atlantic, the trend marches on.  And it shouldn't be any surprise.  As a people we worship the gods of money and self, of materialism and sex and all of that.  We murder our children before they're even born.  We here in North America were once Christian nations, but—as with Israel in the Old Testament—the Lord will not allow a wicked nation to represent him.  Discipline will come to both the nation and its church and I think that's precisely what we're seeing.  But how often do we hear Christians acknowledge that it is the Lord who has given us into the hands of our enemies? If there's something we can learn from Daniel—and from the bigger biblical story—it's to recognise how the Lord works and, more importantly, that he is at work.  Brothers and Sisters, the Lord was as present with his people in Babylon as he had been in Jerusalem.  And while it's a terrible thought to think that we might be living under the disciplining hand of the Lord, we can take comfort in knowing that we are, nevertheless, in his hand.  Let us pray that we will learn the lessons he wants us to learn and that he will restore his blessings. Now, let's continue with Daniel 1, picking up at verse 5 with those young men exiled to Babylon. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.  (Daniel 1:5-7) Again, it looks like Nebuchadnezzar has won.  These four men's Hebrew names all reflected their faith in the God of Israel.  Daniel means “God is my judge”, Azariah “Yah is my help”, Hananiah “Yah has been gracious”, and Mishael “Who is what God is”.  They are all renamed.  It's not clear exactly what all four of their new names mean, but they're all intended to express that these four young men now belong to the gods of Babylon.  And the King of Babylon will now take care of them.  They will eat from his table as they're trained in the superior wisdom of Babylon.  But, the story goes on: Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.  (Daniel 1:8-16) Why did Daniel and his friends reject the rich food of the king?  Our first guess might be that they insisted on keeping the dietary laws of the torah, but they refused the king's wine and wine wasn't part of those dietary laws.  We might guess that it was because the king's food was first offered to idols, but the vegetables they ate would have been offered to idols like everything else.  Or maybe it was because to eat from the king's table meant making a public display of accepting his lordship over them.  I don't think it was any of these things.  First, this was temporary.  Daniel didn't have any problem eating rich foods later in life.  And, second, they did this in private.  No one but the four of them and the steward knew about this arrangement.  I think the context of the story gives us the reason.  Nebuchadnezzar had taken them to Babylon; had renamed them, effectively submitting them to his gods; and he'd engaged them in this rigorous programme of reeducation for service to his court.  As I read this I remember learning about the Janissaries when I studied Islamic Civ.  The Janissaries were the elite corps of Ottoman troops, serving the sultan's own household.  They were known for their discipline and, above all, for their loyalty to the sultan.  The creepy thing about the Janissaries was that the corps was made up entirely of men who had been stolen as young boys from the Christian families of the Ottoman Empire, a tax on those who refused to convert.  These Christian boys were converted to Islam to serve the sultan.  It sent a message: “You can refuse Islam, but at any time we can take your children and make them ours.”  I felt queasy the first time I read about that.  I think there's more than a little of that same idea going on here—and in our present culture, too. Maybe there was some doubt of the God of Israel in the minds of these four.  They knew the scriptures.  They knew the promises of God and they knew his faithfulness.  But here they were in Babylon, given the names of pagan gods, forced to learn the ways of Babylonian wisdom, and fed from this foreign king's table.  I think we can forgive them for having faith, but still wanting some kind of confirmation.  If they were going to be the elite of the Babylonian court, would it be because of Nebuchadnezzar or because of the Lord.  And so they worked out a deal with the steward in charge of their food.  The chief eunuch wasn't going to cooperate.  He was part of the programme, after all, but the steward—well, he could have all that food for himself.  And these four young men would know that if they prospered despite a meagre diet of vegetables and water, that the Lord was truly with them.  Nebuchadnezzar had no idea what had happened, but this was not for his benefit.  This was for the four young men, that they would know with absolute certainty that their God was with them in Babylon. Continuing with the text at verse 17 we see what happened. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.   There it is again: “God gave”.  Just as he gave over Jehoiakim and Jerusalem, and his own sacred vessels from the temple into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, he gave to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  When they stood before the king on exam day, they had ten times the wisdom and understanding, not just of the other young men in this programme, but of the experienced magicians and enchanters of the court. And then that final note that anticipates the whole book of Daniel.  “Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.”  That's sixty-six years.  The Lord would be with Daniel and the Lord would preserve Daniel and he would outlast and outlive Nebuchadnezzar and all of his successors.  He would see the fall of the kings of Babylon and their conquest by the Persians.  This last statement makes the point that kings and kingdoms rise and fall, but the Lord is sovereign over all. In closing I want us to think about these statements that it was God who gave.  First, that he gave his people over to Nebuchadnezzar in discipline.  We've looked at what that means.  But here we see God giving to these four faithful young men wisdom that they might persevere in faithfulness in those difficult times.  They were thoroughly steeped in the wisdom of Babylon, but it was wisdom the Lord gave them by which they persevered and that gave them favour in the eyes of the pagans.  What are we to do in the midst of trials?  What are we to do in a world in which the Lord has sovereignly allowed Christendom to collapse and his church to dwindle and fall into disfavour?  Brothers and Sisters, ask the Lord for wisdom.  Learn from the world, but listen to the Lord and pursue his wisdom.  That's not an easy thing to do.  Torah, the law, that was black and white.  Do this and don't do that.  Wisdom is harder.  Wisdom is knowing what to do in situations where things the answer may not be a matter of black and white.  Wisdom is knowing where to draw the line in those times when there's no law to make it obvious.  Sometimes walking in wisdom is to walk a tightrope.  The church today is struggling to walk that rope.  Some Christians fall off one side into Progressivism or Wokeness or whatever you want to call it.  Other Christians fall off to the other side into and culture waring or Christian nationalism.  Some of us capitulate to our Babylonian conquerors, taking the path of least resistance, and end up in apostasy.  Others of us fail to recognise that the Babylonians are the agents of the Lord's discipline and instead of listening for the Lord's rebuke, instead of listening to hear what he would have us learn, we go to war with Babylon—a fight we cannot and will not win until we've first learned the lesson the Lord is teaching us.  What we need instead is the godly wisdom to remain faithful in our exile, while allowing the Lord to do a work of repentance and reform in the heart of his church. Again, it's not easy.  I guess you could say that's why it's called “wisdom” and why the scriptures call us so earnestly to seek after it.  Wisdom doesn't fall in your lap.  The great sages of Israel tell us that the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord—again, to pursue him, to pursue his plans, to pursue his ways, to pursue holiness and to cast off all worldliness.  And to pursue the Lord, Brothers and Sisters, that means to steep ourselves in his word, in the very place where he reveals himself and his ways, where he speaks to us.  If you are not steeped in his word, you have no hope of obtaining godly wisdom.  But to pursue the Lord also means to speak to him.  Pray!  When was the last time you prayed for wisdom?  Let God speak to you through his word and then speak to him and while you're speaking to him, while you're worshipping him, ask for wisdom.  This is what we see of Daniel and his friends.  They were steeped in the law and the prophets, in the psalms and in the story of their people.  And they prayed.  And they worshipped the Lord.  Second, we need the fellowship of the church.  You can't pursue the Lord on your own; you need his people.  Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, none of them went into this alone.  They stood firm and in doing so they stood together.  They strengthened and exhorted each other.  So should we.  We need not only the support of fellow believers in order to stand firm, but in the pursuit of godly wisdom, we need the witness and discernment of the Church—of all those who have gone before us and of those who stand with us today. Brothers and Sisters, it's hard.  I fully expect things will get harder.  And yet you and I have something far greater than Daniel and his friends had or that those faithful Jews living under Antiochus Epiphanes had.  They had the promises of the Lord to their people.  They had his promises in the Exodus and in Deuteronomy.  They had his exhortations and his promises and his warnings given through the prophets.  They had his words.  And they knew their story.  They could look back to the Exodus—and they did every year at Passover—and they were reminded of the Lord's faithfulness.  Those men and women living in the days of Antiochus could look back to the faithfulness of God to Daniel and know that he would be just as faithful to them.  But Friends, consider that you and I not only look back on all of that, but we also look back to Jesus.  When we come to his Table, when we eat the bread and drink the wine, we participate in the events of that greater exodus by which the Lord fulfilled his promises to Israel.  We can look back to the cross and see the love and the grace and the mercy and the faithfulness of the Lord on display as it had never been before.  The Lord of glory humbled himself to become one of us and to shed his blood on a cross for our sake, to shed his blood that we might live with him and know his new creation.  And, too, he has poured out his own Spirit on us and made us his temple.  Brothers and Sisters, in Jesus and the Spirit we have the sure and certain assurance that God is with us, that we are in his hands, and that he will see us through the valley of the shadow of death to know green pastures and still waters.  He will see us through, as the Psalmist sang, for his name's sake—for he has not only given us his promise, but he has sealed that promise with his own name, with his own reputation, and with his own blood.  In response, Brothers and Sisters, let us be faithful—faithful stewards of his word, faithful stewards of his gospel, and let us pray for and seek his wisdom that we might fear him and walk as a gospel people—light in the darkness. Let's pray: Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities and our trials; and in all our dangers and necessities stretch out your right hand to help and defend us; give us humility to know your chastisement; and pour out your wisdom on us that we might discern your will and walk in your way; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

At the Rencontre in Leiden this summer, the IAA awarded its annual prizes celebrating the excellence of early career scholars. There were prizes for the best dissertation, best first article, and a research subsidy. I tracked down the prize winners to ask them about their work.  2:17 Clélia Paladre2:57 thesis on Iranian glyptic4:38 the Proto-Elamite phenomenon6:14 working at the Louvre7:31 Tomoki Kitazumi8:29 translating in the Hittite empire11:45 interpreters in the ancient Near East13:56 German-Japanese interpreters colloquium 16:26 George Heath-Whyte17:02 Neo-Babylonian patterns of life21:05 naming practises project23:31 Annarita Bonfanti24:50 Urartian bowls projectMusic by Ruba HillawiWebsite: http://wedgepod.orgYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSM7ZlAAgOXv4fbTDRyrWgwEmail: wedgepod@gmail.comTwitter: @wedge_podPatreon: http://Patreon.com/WedgePod

Welcome to the Jew and Gentile Podcast.   Text the Jew and Gentile your comments, questions, concerns (OY!), and news at: 424-444-1948   MUG-ON-A-MUG With your gift of $10 or more to FOI Equip, you to can have your very own Mug-on-a-Mug. Your generous donation helps to expand the important work of teaching the Bible from a Jewish perspective while raising up new FOI volunteers and representatives serving Jewish communities all around the world. Visit gofoi.org/mug to make your gift today and receive your own Jew and Gentile Podcast Mug-on-a-Mug. Oy, look at Steve's punim!   From the Scriptures:   Daniel 5 The Most High God By:  Renald Showers https://store.foi.org/purchase/the-most-high-god   FOI Equip Classes:   A Thanksgiving from Leviticus TEACHER: CHRIS KATULKA NOVEMBER 16 Foiequip.org    Thanksgiving is a time to gather around the table with loved ones to show our gratitude and thankfulness to God. It's more than lots of turkey and stuffing–the day to give thanks has its roots planted deeply in American history when the Mayflower Pilgrims shared a feast with the Native American Wampanoag people in 1621. But was that really the first Thanksgiving meal? Join Chris Katulka as he takes you to the Biblical thanksgiving feast from the book of Leviticus, a thanksgiving meal eaten thousands of years before the Pilgrims stepped foot on Plymouth Rock. To Give visit: gofoi.org/foiequip   Get a free one-year trial subscription to Israel My Glory https://israelmyglory.org/subscribe/ Get Involved with Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry https://www.foi.org/outreach   Chris Katulka's book: Israel Always foi.org/israelalways   Steve Herzig's book: Jewish Culture & Customs https://store.foi.org/purchase/jewish-culture-customs From the news surrounding Israel and the Jewish People:   Senior Hamas leader says hostages will be freed if Israel stops striking Hamas targets https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-770027   Israel demands UN chief resign after he says Hamas attacks ‘did not occur in vacuum' https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-livid-after-un-chief-says-hamas-attacks-did-not-occur-in-vacuum/   Antisemites cannot be granted German citizenship under new law - minister https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-770095 Yiddish Word(s) of the Day Luftmensch - head in the clouds Unglaublich - Unbelievable

Despite controlling a huge swathe of the Near East for the better part of a century, the Neo-Babylonian Empire is nearly forgotten today, aside from one key act: the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the people of the kingdom of Judah.Patrick's book is now available! Get The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World in hardcopy, ebook, or audiobook (read by Patrick) here: https://bit.ly/PWverge. And check out Patrick's new review podcast of the TV series Rome: https://bit.ly/PWromeListen to new episodes 1 week early, to exclusive seasons 1 and 2, and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/tidesofhistorySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Please be aware the stories, theories, re-enactments and language in this podcast are of an adult nature and can be considered disturbing, frightening and in some cases even offensive.  Listener Discretion is therefore advised.  Welcome heathens welcome to the world of the weird and unexplained.  I'm your host, Nicole Delacroix and together, we will be investigating stories about the things that go bump in the night, frighteningly imagined creatures, supernatural beings and even some unsolved mysteries but I promise all sorts of weirdness.  So, sit back, grab your favorite drink, and prepare to be transported to today's dark Enigma....  And on today's Dark enigma well, we have an interesting listener suggestion, so let's get on with it!  With that said, we will still be playing our drinking game and as you know, the drinking game is only for those of us that are at home and have nowhere else to go tonight.  The choice of libation, as always my darlings, is yours, so choose your poison accordingly… Alright, now for the game part how about every time I say King that will be a single shot and every time I say Babylon, that will be a double shot.  Now that the business end is out of the way we can jump headfirst into today's dark enigma… so grab your best clay tablet and your abacus and we dive into today's offering of That Wild and Crazy Guy – The Last King of Babylon – digging into the reign of Mesopotamia's most eccentric ruler. Nabonidus was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, reigning from 556-539 BC. He took the throne after the assassination of the boy-king Labashi-Marduk, who was murdered in a conspiracy only nine months after his inauguration. It is not known whether Nabonidus played a role in his death, but he was chosen as the new king soon after.  During many years of his kingship, Nabonidus was absent at the Arabian oasis of Tayma. The reasons for his long absence remain a matter of controversy, with theories ranging from illness, to madness, to an interest in religious archaeology. The fall of an empire in antiquity was usually the result of complex, interconnected factors that lay beyond the scope of any one person's control. Nonetheless, traumatized contemporaries and later historians alike have often laid the fault at the feet of a single individual. The enigmatic Neo-Babylonian king Nabonidus seemed destined for just such a fate after the Persian armies of Cyrus the Great marched through Babylon's gates in October 539 B.C. 

For complete show notes, links and complete description, visit www.HagmannReport.comThe Hagmann Report is brought to you by EMP Shield - www.EMPshield.com/hagmannUse Promo Code HAGMANN for $50 OFF!IMPORTANT LINKS:DONATE: (www.HagmannReport.com/donate)HAGMANN COFFEE & MORE: (www.HagmannStore.com)The Hagmann Report provides news and information based on a combination of exclusive investigative work, proprietary sources, contacts, qualified guests, open-source material. The Hagmann Report will never be encumbered by political correctness or held hostage to an agenda of revisionist history.Join Doug Hagmann, host of the Hagmann Report, Weekdays @ 3 PM ET.ON THE GO? SUBSCRIBE TO HAGMANN'S PODCASTiTunes: (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hagmann-report/id631558915?uo=4)Spotify: (https://open.spotify.com/show/376mkckQHCPYTJssQN794g)iHeart: (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-hagmann-report-30926499/)Spreaker: (https://www.spreaker.com/show/hagmann-report)Email: studio@hagmannreport.comFOLLOW HAGMANN AT:Parler: https://parler.com/DouglasHagmannGab: https://gab.com/DougHagmannGettr: https://gettr.com/user/doughagmannTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DougHagmann

For complete show notes, links and complete description, visit www.HagmannReport.comThe Hagmann Report is brought to you by EMP Shield - www.EMPshield.com/hagmannUse Promo Code HAGMANN for $50 OFF!IMPORTANT LINKS:DONATE: (www.HagmannReport.com/donate)HAGMANN COFFEE & MORE: (www.HagmannStore.com)The Hagmann Report provides news and information based on a combination of exclusive investigative work, proprietary sources, contacts, qualified guests, open-source material. The Hagmann Report will never be encumbered by political correctness or held hostage to an agenda of revisionist history.Join Doug Hagmann, host of the Hagmann Report, Weekdays @ 3 PM ET.ON THE GO? SUBSCRIBE TO HAGMANN'S PODCASTiTunes: (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hagmann-report/id631558915?uo=4)Spotify: (https://open.spotify.com/show/376mkckQHCPYTJssQN794g)iHeart: (https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-hagmann-report-30926499/)Spreaker: (https://www.spreaker.com/show/hagmann-report)Email: studio@hagmannreport.comFOLLOW HAGMANN AT:Parler: https://parler.com/DouglasHagmannGab: https://gab.com/DougHagmannGettr: https://gettr.com/user/doughagmannTruth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DougHagmann

Episode: In part 2 of this series, Kyle and Chris discuss additional historical and archaeological aspects associated with the origin stories of Jesus as seen in Matthew and Luke. They discuss the archaeological background and traditions associated with the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. They also explain a number of other historical background elements connected with Matthew's use of the Old Testament focusing – in particular – on the impact of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian conquests of Israel and Judah in prophetic literature and how that context still matters for how one reads the origin narrative of Jesus in Matthew. (This is a re-broadcast of a previously published episode) Relevant Articles The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7* STEPHEN C. CARLSON Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer. Give: Help support OnScript's Biblical World HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us! Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

After being captured by Klaw's soldiers, Johnny and Valeria meet a member of the Neo-Babylonian resistance. On a secret rescue mission, Doom makes right a bargain gone wrong and discovers the exact location of a coveted item.Marvel's Wastelanders: Doom is the fifth installment in the “Marvel's Wastelanders” audio epic. Starring Dylan Baker as Doctor Doom and featuring performances by Danny Burstein (Hulk), Keith David (Kingpin), John Hawkes (Klaw), Kristen Johnston (She-Hulk), Elijah Jones (Johnny), Rebecca Naomi Jones (Valeria), Hamish Linklater (Sandman), Nadine Malouf (Cora), Steven Rishard (Guard), David Shih (Prisoner). Directed by Jade King Carroll. Original sound design and music by Mark Henry Phillips. Story by Mark Waid. Written by James Kim. Learn more at marvel.com/wastelanders.

What are we to make of the Temple envisioned by Ezekiel? How can we better understand Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48? One way, suggests Tova Ganzel, is by examining evidence from Babylonian sources. She argues that Neo-Babylonian temples provide a meaningful backdrop against which many unique features of Ezekiel's vision should be interpreted. Tune in as we speak with Tova Ganzel about her recent book, Ezekiel's Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context (de Gruyter, 2021). Tova Ganzel is a Senior Lecturer at the Multidisciplinary Department of Jewish Studies and is the Head of Cramim - the Jewish Studies Honors Program - at Bar-Ilan University. Her work is mainly on the Hebrew Bible in the context of the larger ancient Near Eastern world. Her recent research focuses on prophetic literature, ancient Near Eastern temples and second temple texts, the Jewish reception of biblical criticism from the eighteenth century to the present and on women as Halakhic Professionals. Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus(Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus(IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

What are we to make of the Temple envisioned by Ezekiel? How can we better understand Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48? One way, suggests Tova Ganzel, is by examining evidence from Babylonian sources. She argues that Neo-Babylonian temples provide a meaningful backdrop against which many unique features of Ezekiel's vision should be interpreted. Tune in as we speak with Tova Ganzel about her recent book, Ezekiel's Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context (de Gruyter, 2021). Tova Ganzel is a Senior Lecturer at the Multidisciplinary Department of Jewish Studies and is the Head of Cramim - the Jewish Studies Honors Program - at Bar-Ilan University. Her work is mainly on the Hebrew Bible in the context of the larger ancient Near Eastern world. Her recent research focuses on prophetic literature, ancient Near Eastern temples and second temple texts, the Jewish reception of biblical criticism from the eighteenth century to the present and on women as Halakhic Professionals. Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus(Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus(IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

What are we to make of the Temple envisioned by Ezekiel? How can we better understand Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48? One way, suggests Tova Ganzel, is by examining evidence from Babylonian sources. She argues that Neo-Babylonian temples provide a meaningful backdrop against which many unique features of Ezekiel's vision should be interpreted. Tune in as we speak with Tova Ganzel about her recent book, Ezekiel's Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context (de Gruyter, 2021). Tova Ganzel is a Senior Lecturer at the Multidisciplinary Department of Jewish Studies and is the Head of Cramim - the Jewish Studies Honors Program - at Bar-Ilan University. Her work is mainly on the Hebrew Bible in the context of the larger ancient Near Eastern world. Her recent research focuses on prophetic literature, ancient Near Eastern temples and second temple texts, the Jewish reception of biblical criticism from the eighteenth century to the present and on women as Halakhic Professionals. Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus(Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus(IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

What are we to make of the Temple envisioned by Ezekiel? How can we better understand Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48? One way, suggests Tova Ganzel, is by examining evidence from Babylonian sources. She argues that Neo-Babylonian temples provide a meaningful backdrop against which many unique features of Ezekiel's vision should be interpreted. Tune in as we speak with Tova Ganzel about her recent book, Ezekiel's Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context (de Gruyter, 2021). Tova Ganzel is a Senior Lecturer at the Multidisciplinary Department of Jewish Studies and is the Head of Cramim - the Jewish Studies Honors Program - at Bar-Ilan University. Her work is mainly on the Hebrew Bible in the context of the larger ancient Near Eastern world. Her recent research focuses on prophetic literature, ancient Near Eastern temples and second temple texts, the Jewish reception of biblical criticism from the eighteenth century to the present and on women as Halakhic Professionals. Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus(Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus(IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are we to make of the Temple envisioned by Ezekiel? How can we better understand Ezekiel, chapters 40 through 48? One way, suggests Tova Ganzel, is by examining evidence from Babylonian sources. She argues that Neo-Babylonian temples provide a meaningful backdrop against which many unique features of Ezekiel's vision should be interpreted. Tune in as we speak with Tova Ganzel about her recent book, Ezekiel's Visionary Temple in Babylonian Context (de Gruyter, 2021). Tova Ganzel is a Senior Lecturer at the Multidisciplinary Department of Jewish Studies and is the Head of Cramim - the Jewish Studies Honors Program - at Bar-Ilan University. Her work is mainly on the Hebrew Bible in the context of the larger ancient Near Eastern world. Her recent research focuses on prophetic literature, ancient Near Eastern temples and second temple texts, the Jewish reception of biblical criticism from the eighteenth century to the present and on women as Halakhic Professionals. Michael Morales is Professor of Biblical Studies at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and the author of The Tabernacle Pre-Figured: Cosmic Mountain Ideology in Genesis and Exodus(Peeters, 2012), Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of Leviticus(IVP Academic, 2015), and Exodus Old and New: A Biblical Theology of Redemption (IVP Academic, 2020). He can be reached at mmorales@gpts.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biblical-studies

Uhhhhh. Join us this week for a truly impenetrable viewing experience from one of America's most actively racist creators. We promise this episode is 10000x more fun than the movie. The person most confused by the film this week was: the men at the marriage market.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nanna-Suen, also known under various other names, was the moon god of the Mesopotamians, and he was one of the few gods that ruled over multiple ancient civilizations such as the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. Despite the rise of the moon cult in Ur during the third dynasty, which was founded by Naram Sin, Nanna was still popular throughout the history of Mesopotamia. He is the Mesopotamian god of the moon and wisdom. He is one of the oldest gods in the Mesopotamian pantheon and is first mentioned at the very dawn of writing in the region c. 3500 BCE.The widespread popularity of Nanna's name can be attributed to the numerous prayers and hymns that were sung about him. In addition, his name was frequently used in personal names throughout Mesopotamia. Despite Nanna's popularity, the attempt by the Neo-Babylonian king, who was known as Nabonidus, to place him at the head of the pantheon failed.Read the full article at https://mythlok.com/nanna-suen/

Today I explore the speed at which the Neo Babylonian empire came to its end. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brooknomsworld/message

In come the Chaldeans, namely Nebuchadnezzar Gods vessel for judgment upon the nations. The level of violence and brutality was turned up considerably under Neo Babylonian rule, which was more than likely unexpected by the worlds inhabitants. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/brooknomsworld/message

Episode: In part 2 of this series, Kyle and Chris discuss additional historical and archaeological aspects associated with the origin stories of Jesus as seen in Matthew and Luke. They discuss the archaeological background and traditions associated with the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. They also explain a number of other historical background elements connected with Matthew's use of the Old Testament focusing – in particular – on the impact of the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian conquests of Israel and Judah in prophetic literature and how that context still matters for how one reads the origin narrative of Jesus in Matthew.  Relevant Articles The Accommodations of Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem: Κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7* STEPHEN C. CARLSON Hosts: Chris McKinny and Kyle Keimer. Give: Help support OnScript's Biblical World HERE. Thanks to all of you who have supported us! Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay   

This week we take a look at who the Elamites were at home, or at least how they were up in heavens. The Elamites gods are a tough subject to get deep into, but today we take a look at who the Elamites worshipped, the gods both native and foreign that shaped the moral and cultural life of Elam. This is a guest episode of the Oldest Stories hiatus, brought to you by the fantastic Trevor Culley of the History of Persia podcast, over at https://historyofpersiapodcast.com/ . Trevor's show is in a lot of ways the sequel to the Oldest Stories, picking up with the tale of the Persian empire right around the fall of the Neo-Babylonian one in 539BCE. Over in his own feed, he has done a fantastic job of bringing the history of that empire to life, both in the narratives of kings and conquests and in the leisurely walks through the internal shape, cultures, and lifestyles of the Persian Empire. I am a fan of this show, and I think you will be, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oldeststories/message

Elam did not occupy Sumer after conquering Ur and imprisoning King Ibbi-Sin. Instead, the Kings of Shimashki consolidated power in Elamite territory and carried on relationships with the independent cities of Mesopotamia. This began to change when King Ebarti II appointed his son, Shilhahah, to a new high office in command of Susa: The Sukkalmah. Shilhaha's descendents went on to take over Elam completely. They moved their capital to Anshan, created a new system of local governors, and took Elam to new heights. With control over trade to Bactria, India, and the Persian Gulf, the Sukkalmahs rose to new heights. They formed alliances with the powers of Mesopotamia and Syria to expand their territory, and stabbed those allies in the back to expand even further. They were regarded far and wide as the most powerful kings west of Egypt, right up to the point that King Siwe-Palar-Huppak made an enemy out of Hammurabi. This is a guest episode of the Oldest Stories hiatus, brought to you by the fantastic Trevor Culley of the History of Persia podcast, over at https://historyofpersiapodcast.com/ . Trevor's show is in a lot of ways the sequel to the Oldest Stories, picking up with the tale of the Persian empire right around the fall of the Neo-Babylonian one in 539BCE. Over in his own feed, he has done a fantastic job of bringing the history of that empire to life, both in the narratives of kings and conquests and in the leisurely walks through the internal shape, cultures, and lifestyles of the Persian Empire. I am a fan of this show, and I think you will be, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oldeststories/message

In the last years of the Akkadian Empire, Elam managed to seize its independence. The first fully independent King of Elam was Puzur-Inshushinak, who went on to rule Elam's first real empire. He ruled from the Dasht-e Lut and the Persian Gulf to the Zagros Mountains and the Euphrates, taking advantage of the chaotic politics of Gutian Mesopotamia. Near the end of his life, Puzur-Inshushinak met his match in the form of Ur-Namma and the Third Dynasty of Ur, who pushed him back out of Mesopotamia, conquered Susa, and brought an end to the power of Awan in Elam. In its place, Shimashki rose up as the new power in the Elamite highlands which was able to invade and conquer Ur when the third dynasty went into decline, brining an end to another Mesopotamian empire. This is a guest episode of the Oldest Stories hiatus, brought to you by the fantastic Trevor Culley of the History of Persia podcast, over at https://historyofpersiapodcast.com/ . Trevor's show is in a lot of ways the sequel to the Oldest Stories, picking up with the tale of the Persian empire right around the fall of the Neo-Babylonian one in 539BCE. Over in his own feed, he has done a fantastic job of bringing the history of that empire to life, both in the narratives of kings and conquests and in the leisurely walks through the internal shape, cultures, and lifestyles of the Persian Empire. I am a fan of this show, and I think you will be, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oldeststories/message

The Sumerians did not develop writing and urbanization in a vacuum. To their east, the land of Elam developed both at almost the exact same time. From the start of written history, the great cities and kingdoms of Elam were power players in Near Eastern politics. The premier Elamite cities of Anshan and Susa appear in the earliest Mesopotamian myths, and before Sumerian history fully bridged the gap between legend and fact, there were already stories of both sides invading and ruling one another. However, it was really at the time of Sargon of Akkad that Elam emerged as a full-fledged historical entity ruled from the city of Awan, and it was the end of the Akkadian Empire that opened the door for Elam to become a power in its own right. This is the first guest episode of the Oldest Stories hiatus, brought to you by the fantastic Trevor Culley of the History of Persia podcast, over at https://historyofpersiapodcast.com/ . Trevor's show is in a lot of ways the sequel to the Oldest Stories, picking up with the tale of the Persian empire right around the fall of the Neo-Babylonian one in 539BCE. Over in his own feed, he has done a fantastic job of bringing the history of that empire to life, both in the narratives of kings and conquests and in the leisurely walks through the internal shape, cultures, and lifestyles of the Persian Empire. I am a fan of this show, and I think you will be, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oldeststories/message

Daniel: Daniel 1:21-Daniel's Life Spanned The Entire Period Of The Neo-Babylonian Empire And The Early Years Of The Persian Empire-Lesson # 24

(MORE INFO can be found at mageatm.com) Title: Intro to the Detailed Empirical History and Timeline of Magick Quick Notes: Last season we discussed what is magick and yet, there wasn't enough to really describe all that is magick in form, function, and purpose here in present history. It is a lot of information just to note and categorize details, events, and other contributions to practices that the average mage might include in their own practices. With that, we have taken a considerable amount of time to research the verifiable facts of magick... from antiquity to the present. In this podcast, Rohanna discusses the major categories, contributors, and influences that have collectively brought magick to where it is today. As we kick off Season TWO we are ultimately attempting to create a sense of stability around the base of many modern practices. Major sections, such as Neo-Babylonian influences thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia, to ancient Egypt, and then modern influences to present are being presented en masse with this recording. Please, take your time, and allow us together to begin to create a clear timeline of magick and witchcraft. **Transcriptions and scripts will auto-update to the blog. Additionally, see additional reference links above and below! Pre-Requisite Suggestion: If you missed the introduction to magick or witchcraft, please check those out before or in conjunction with dissecting this recording. Some suggested topics for the blog and podcast to review first include: Blogs: What is Magick? Brief Introduction to Hermeticism and the 7 Hermetic Principles Podcast Episodes Intro to: Ancient Sumerian Religion The Origins of Hermeticism Greek Philosophy: About Correspondences and Concepts ATTN Hydrophant Students!!! Please include questions or develop the timeline dates on our classroom links! Finally, got something to say? Here's your chance to be heard! Record a brief message to respond, inquire, or simply say your piece! We strongly encourage anyone to discuss, dissect, and disseminate! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mageatm/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/mageatm/support

The Mystery and the Grace of Hope Lectionary Date: April 4, 2021 [Resurrection of the Lord, Year B] What?! Preach the First Reading on Easter Sunday?! Stay with us here: you’ll find that this ancient prophetic word is incredibly relevant to our present moment and to the hopeful message of Easter. Our guest this week is Dr. Joel Kemp, Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Emory’s Candler School of Theology. Dr. Kemp is an expert in the latter prophets. But he also has an incredibly broad range of interests—in part because biblical scholarship is a third career for him. He worked as an attorney and a minister prior to his current work, and carries those interests into his scholarship. His latest book is just out: Ezekiel, Law, and Judahite Identity (Mohr Siebeck, 2020). It investigates how the book of Ezekiel uses legal elements to advocate for the reconfiguration of a Judahite identity under Neo-Babylonian dominance.

The History Suite is embarking on a new series called “People and Places,” exploring peoples of the world & their histories. This episode's guest is Rev. Dr. Paul Elliott, Assoc. Prof. of Theology at CUI. With Rev. Dr. Elliott as our tour-guide, he takes us to the streets of ancient Babylon and points out the sights and sounds of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, including the Hanging Gardens, Ziggurats, beer, religion, money, & politics.

Dr. Sandy Richter is LEGIT!! In this fascinating conversation, Sandy helps us understand the alleged "marry your rapist" law in Deuteronomy 22:28, which has been mistranslated as you'll see. She also walks us through the "marry your conquered enemy's wife" allowance in Deuteronomy 21. These texts have troubled me for YEARS and have raised questions in my own mind about whether the Old Testament dehumanizes women. Actually, it does the opposite. When you understand it in its own cultural context, you'll see that the Bible actually humanizes women much, much more than we realize.Sandy's awesome book ("The Epic of Eden") that I referenced can be found hereSandra Richter is the Robert H. Gundry Chair of Biblical Studies at Westmont College. Richter earned her PhD from Harvard University’s Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Department and her MA in Theological Studies from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She has taught at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY, Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS and Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL. Due to her passion for the "real space and time" of the biblical text, she has spent many of those years directing an Israel Studies program focused on historical geography and field archaeology.Richter is best known in the Academy for her work on the “name theology” of the Deuteronomistic History and a socio-historical assessment of the economic backdrop of the Book of Deuteronomy (The Deuteronomistic History and the Name Theology: lešakken šemo šam in the Bible and the ANE [BZAW 318, 2002]; “The Place of the Name in Deuteronomy” [VT 57, 2007], “Placing the Name, Pushing the Paradigm: A Decade with the Deuteronomistic Name Formula” in Deuteronomy in the Pentateuch, Hexateuch, and the Deuteronomistic History [FAT 56; Mohr Siebeck, 2012]; “The Question of Provenance and the Economics of Deuteronomy”" JSOT [2017]; “What’s Money Got to Do With It? Economics and the Question of the Provenance of Deuteronomy in the Neo-Babylonian and Persian Periods” in Paradigm Change in Pentateuchal Research [BZAR 22, 2019]). She has a commentary forthcoming with Eerdmans on The Book of Deuteronomy.In the Church, Richter is best known for her work, The Epic of Eden: A Christian Entry into the Old Testament (IVP 2008) and a number of DVD curriculums stemming from the project (Zondervan and Seedbed). She has just published Stewards of Eden: What the Scripture has to Say about Environmentalism and Why It Matters (IVP, 2020).Support PrestonSupport Preston by going to patreon.comVenmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1Connect with PrestonTwitter | @PrestonSprinkleInstagram | @preston.sprinkleYoutube | Preston SprinkleCheck out his website prestonsprinkle.comIf you enjoy the podcast, be sure to leave a review.

September 23, 2018 AM, Daniel 5:12-31.We began reading in Leviticus. Then we studied the latter portion of chapter 5, noting Belshazzar's blasphemous, idolatrous disrespect of God. Daniel then reads and interprets the message and shows Belshazzar that he has not followed the example of his grandfather, who was humbled under the mighty hand of God. Instead, Belshazzar died that very night as the Medo-Persian empire took over the city of Babylon and the entire Neo-Babylonian empire.

September 16, 2018 AM, Daniel 5:1-11.After reading Genesis 50, we tied up a few loose ends in chapter 4, and then began our study of Daniel 5 up to about verse 11. A great deal of background information occupied our time as we tried to understand the sequence of Neo-Babylonian kings and some of the liberal criticism of Daniel's prophecy.

September 2, 2018 AM, Daniel 4:1-18.Scripture reading was in Psalm 95 and Genesis 48. Then we studied the first half of chapter 4 of Daniel. We learned about the troubling dream of King Nebuchadnezzar and some about his arrogance as second king of the Neo-Babylonian empire. We will see more of both the next time. We reminded ourselves that God sets in place kings and all in authority according to His pleasure, and we are not in a place to question him.

Wk 1 we are to pray, "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Wk 2 Most will not accept the kingdom. Like the good soil, we have to be receptive and obedient God's word. Wk 3 This is a time of God's grace and patience, but it will come to an end with a time of separation of those who do not follow Christ. Wk 4 The Kingdom of heaven is destined to advance. Matthew 13:31-32 the parable of the mustard seed The mustard seed is like a tiny speck- the smallest seed a farmer would plant. But it would grow to be the largest plant in the garden, growing to 10 or 15 ft high. Matthew 13:33-35 the parable of the yeast Usually yeast is portrayed as representing sin in the Scriptures because of the way it decomposes the dough and a small amount permeates throughout. But it is used here to show that the kingdom of God starts small, but grows to affect the whole world. This was not the first time that God's kingdom was prophesied to advance from small and insignificant to huge growth. In the Neo-Babylonian empire, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. He was so upset with it that he called his wisest advisors to interpret it, but he wanted to be sure that the interpretation was true, so he told them to tell him his dream first and then to give the interpretation - or he would have them killed. Daniel was a Jew, a captive from Judah. He prayed and God revealed Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the interpretation. Daniel 2:31-35 The meaning of the dream is a vision of five earthly kingdoms that would rule their world. [show picture] Head of gold - the Babylonians Chest of silver - the Medes and Persians The waist and thighs of bronze - the Greeks The legs of iron - the Romans The feet of iron and clay - a restored Roman Empire in the end times that will be crushed by God's Kingdom The stone not cut by human hands is the kingdom of God. It started small but crushed the statue - the kingdoms of men - and grew to the size of a mountain. Two points of application: 1) God's kingdom is destined to advance. We feel like we're the underdogs, like we're in retreat as our society walks further away from God. But God loves to start with something small and insignificant so that he can show that it grew and advanced by His power. Slaves in Egypt escaped a powerful nation - and plundered them - why? Because God fought for them. David was a boy when he came to a battle where warriors were afraid to face Goliath and he said, this man defies the God of Israel, I will fight him. Why? Because God fought for him. "Jesus grew up in a backwards province of a conquered people to poor parents; He taught for three years in neighboring villages, and occasionally at Jerusalem; His followers were mostly the poor and uneducated; then he fell into the hands of his enemies, and died the shameful death of the cross; That is how kingdom of God began - but it would advance to world-wide influence. Ultimately, the kingdom of will outlast all earthly kingdoms, all philosophies, all societies, all religions. Are we defeated? No, God's kingdom is destined to advance - God will work to advance his kingdom. 2) The kingdom of God advances around us as we let it advance within us. You want your kids to follow Jesus? You follow Jesus everyday, more and more. Your coworkers need the kingdom of God in their lives? You take hold of the kingdom. Matthew 11:13 The Kingdom of Heaven advances into this world with conflict. There are forces of evil which oppose God’s word and His work. But God’s Kingdom is also coming with power and many people are being freed from the power of Satan as they take hold of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Introduction We are aware from scripture that we have a personal enemy who seeks our very lives. His name is the devil or Satan, that ancient dragon. It says in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But the scripture reveals that we have an impersonal enemy as well, one that surrounds us at every moment and threatens our souls as well. In 1 John, Chapter 2:15-16, it is called “the world.” “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.” The world and its desires pass away. A man who does the will of God stands forever. We’re surrounded by the world, and by that, John means, I think, the world’s system. Not the created world that God made and all of its beauty, but the world system, that alluring, powerful, enticing, wicked culture that attacks our very souls and seeks our eternal destruction. The world is made up of living, breathing people whose minds are controlled by the flesh and by the spirit of the power of the air, Satan. These people, as they live out their convictions, as they live out their world views, they craft a world around us that is enticing and luring us away from the things of God, away from Christ. Some of them have political and military ambitions to rule and dominate, perhaps a non-Christian politician running for office, or an Al-Qaeda terrorist masterminding the next terrorist attack somewhere in the world, or the publisher of a pornographic magazine, or an actress willing to do anything in a movie to further her career. It could be a marketing consultant urging a bolder approach to marketing clothing to teens in malls, or a financial expert writing a column on how you can be far richer than you ever dreamed if you just follow his approach of investments, or a motivational speaker telling spellbound audiences ten irrefutable laws for success the way he defines it. And a hundred, even a thousand other enticements are pulling you away from Christ. That’s the world. It’s a seething culture of unbelief, pulsating with the lusts that John mentions: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, pride of flesh. It is vicious. It is relentless. It is alluring and enticing. It is a cold-hearted enemy to your soul. It would have you. It would pull you away from Christ. It has a symbolic name in the Bible, and that name is Babylon. Now I know that Babylon was a city in ancient Mesopotamia on the Euphrates River. From it arose a mighty empire that, for a time, dominated the world. From that empire came an army that conquered Jerusalem, tore down its walls and burned the temple of God. I’m aware of all that. It was the enemy of the people of God at that time, Babylon. Isaiah 13 clearly predicts the fall of that literal city of Babylon to the Medes in 536 BC. That’s predicted here in this chapter. But Isaiah 13 uses language that soars far above that one event in history. It speaks of God’s wrath poured out on all nations to the point where you can’t even see the celestial beings anymore. The sun, the moon, and the stars are darkened. It’s language that goes right to the end of time. Isaiah 13 speaks of God’s relentless wrath poured out on Babylon, the enemy of His people. It’s fulfilled again and again and again and again in history, not just in one date, one time, 536 BC, but again and again, because from the smoldering ashes of one destroyed Babylon rises the next Babylon. Like a wicked phoenix, from the ashes up it comes to defy God and to attack God’s people. It happens again and again, and God is always against it. He controls that rise. He fights against it and throws it back down. And then the next Babylon comes along. So it is. And not until the end of the world will the final Babylon, the spirit of Babylon, and Babylon itself be crushed forever. In Revelation 17, it depicts Babylon as a harlot riding on a beast with seven heads and ten horns. So you have pleasure plus power. That equals the world to me. That’s what it is. There’s going to be a final form of Babylon, and it will be crushed forever by the glory of the second coming of Christ. No more Babylon, friends. No more world the way John means in 1 John 2. We’ll be free forever and we will live in a pure world where Jesus will reign. There’ll be no enticements away from God, only powerful inducements to worship and to love Him forever. God is going to crush Babylon. That’s exactly what He’s talking about in this very serious and sober chapter. It’s not an easy chapter to read. It’s not pleasant. Yet it is joyful for us as the people of God to know that our enemy is God’s enemy too and that He will rise up and crush it someday God’s Sovereign Rule Over the Nations: Isaiah 13-23 One Central Theme, Many Smaller Oracles As we enter a new section of Isaiah’s prophecies, Isaiah 13-23, these are oracles against the nations, about eleven chapters or so of oracles against the nations, one after the other. Isaiah in these chapters (really throughout the whole book) portrays a God who sits on His throne and rules over the events of history 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He is working all the time to bring about His plan. It says, right in this oracle section, in Isaiah 14:26-27, “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” God is in charge. That is a powerfully vital message for our time, when we’re barraged by a constant stream of news stories that can discourage you as a Christian and beat you down. Reading CNN, looking at CNN, or going to websites can be discouraging. You’re looking at Fox News or one thing after another, a constant stream of stories that gives you the sense that the world is spinning out of control. Well, it isn’t. The message of the oracles in these eleven chapters is that our God reigns. And the message of this first one is that God is against Babylon in any of its forms. He will destroy it in the end. So, we see God’s sovereign rule over the nations. We begin with this oracle against Babylon. We’re going to go from that to oracles against the Philistines in Chapter 14 and against Moab in Chapters 15 and 16. We’re going to look at oracles against Syria and Ephraim in Chapters 17 and 18, Egypt in Chapters 19 and 20, and back to Babylon again in Chapter 21. Edom and Arabia are also in Chapter 21, and finally Tyre is in Chapter 23. These are oracles against the nations. In all of this, God’s going to give clear messages to His people. That’s us and them. The message is, first of all, do not trust in the strength or be allured or enticed by the strength of the nations and the peoples you see around you. Do not put your trust in them. Do not make alliances with them. Don’t put your hope in them. They are just nations. They are as a drop in the bucket, and they will be swept away in the end. The insight here again and again is that that there’s no righteous nation on Earth as we understand a political entity. God’s wrath is against all of them, every one of them. He says very plainly in Isaiah 34:2, “The Lord is angry with all the nations; his wrath is upon all their armies.” That’s something good for us to consider, isn’t it? He’s against them all. Friends, our citizenship is in Heaven. That’s the message of the oracles of these nations. Also, do not question God’s justice when, for a short period of time, a godless people seem to be dominant and ascendant. He’s seen it before. We will see it again and again. God reigns even then. He is not unjust and God cannot be mocked. Judgment Day, the Day of the Lord, mentioned here, will come to them. So for us, as a people of God, trust in Him. Fear God and keep His commandments. Walk in His ways. Pray for the advance of His kingdom. That’s what I get out of the oracles of the nations. That’s a general introduction to the new section of Isaiah that we’re coming to. Isaiah’s Far-reaching Vision Let’s look specifically here at Isaiah’s far-reaching vision when he talks about Babylon. Look at verse 1, an oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw. Many modern scholars seriously question whether Isaiah wrote these chapters. I love it and I don’t; I hate it. But I read it and I wonder how they come up with these things. What they say is that, at the time that Isaiah wrote, 725 BC, Babylon was really nothing. It was just a minor city with some people around it (the Chaldeans) and they were under the boot of the Assyrians like everybody else. So, it’s like Isaiah made a mistake prophesying against Babylon. They were nothing. It was Assyria that was the threat. Well, he’s dealt with Assyria and we’ve seen all that. But now he’s turning to Babylon. It’s no mistake friends. And it wasn’t written after the fact, friends. Not at all. It was written in 725 BC or thereabouts. Babylon and the Medes that are mentioned in this chapter are actually small allies, chafing under the Assyrian yoke. Isaiah is predicting the fall of Babylon to the Medes. Look at verse 17, the Medes are specifically mentioned. He names the people that are going to topple Babylon before either one of them are powerful enough to do anything about it. That would happen one hundred and eighty-nine years after this oracle was given, almost two hundred years later. Can God do that? Can He make that kind of a specific prophecy that far in advance? We Christians, we know the truth. He actually can look seven and a half centuries ahead and talk about Jesus who died as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him; nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by man. A man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” “We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him [on Jesus] the iniquity of us all.” (Is 53:2-3;6) Can Isaiah look into the future and see that kind of detail? Absolutely he can! Can he see that Jesus would be buried in a rich man’s tomb and then raised? He can see all that. He can see whatever God shows him, for God knows the future. God’s Sovereign Plan the Central Theme of History He says in Isaiah 42:9, “See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” This is the power of God. He knows the future. He doesn’t just know the future, He decrees the future and He declares the future! This is what God does. This is the plan determined for the whole world, and God is making it happen. So Isaiah has a far-reaching vision to look ahead one hundred and eighty-nine years from when he was living to the fall of an empire at a city that wasn’t even powerful in his day. He can do that. Babylon’s Symbolic Role in Redemptive History Babylon the Ancient Leader in Human Rebellion Babylon has a symbolic role in redemptive history. Anyone who’s read through the Bible has bumped into Babylon again and again. It’s not just one time. The key question as we look at Isaiah 13 is “If Babylon isn’t even the issue at this point, if the real threat is in Assyria, then why does God give such a prominent place to the prediction of the fall of Babylon?” That’s a good question. Babylon was the ancient leader in human rebellion among the nations. The nations derived their origin from the time when, in Babel, a tower was being built: the Tower of Babel in defiance of the command of God. God came down and confused the languages and that was the beginning of the nations. Babel became Babylon. It’s the same location. That’s where it was. That’s the origination of that national rebellion against God. Babylon the Leader in Human Empire-Building Babylon was also what we call the Neo-Babylonian empire. In the time under Nebuchadnezzar it was a leader in world empire-building. There had never been an empire like it. The cultural level of Babylon was much higher than that of Assyria. It mentions the nobles in our text here. We’ll talk more about that. But Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements were astounding in building Babylon to its level of human glory. We’ve got the famed Hanging Gardens of Babylon and all of the structures there. It’s just a magnificent place. Furthermore, the city of Babylon was mighty and powerful. It seemed invincible: 14 miles square, huge outer walls, which Herodotus tells us were 87 feet thick and 350 feet high. That’s a 35 story building! There were 100 great bronze gates in the walls and a limitless water supply, so they believed. Crops were able to be grown within the walls. You can’t conquer this city. You don’t have an army big enough to go fourteen miles on a side all the around to shut it up tight like a cork. You can’t do it. Even if you could, they could outlast you. They’ve got crops inside. They’ve got farmers. They’ve got water. They’ll just laugh at you, 350 feet above you. You’re not going to be throwing anything over the wall and you’re not going to burrow through it. There’s no way it could fall, so they believed. Babylon was the arrogant symbol of opposition to almighty God. Babylon the Symbol of Human Opposition to God In the New Testament, Peter makes a not-so-obscure reference to Babylon. At the end of his epistle 1 Peter 5, he says this, “She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.” Church tradition tells us he wrote that from Rome. Why does he call Rome, Babylon? I told you, out of the ashes rises the phoenix of another world-conquering, God-hating empire. And that was Rome in Peter’s day. Even after Rome falls, there’s another one, another Babylon that keeps coming. It’s going to keep right on going until the end. Revelation will pick up on this Babylon theme, as we’ll talk about later in the message. But in Revelation 17, as I’ve already mentioned, and in 18, Babylon is there when Jesus returns. And He destroys it. God Summons an Army Against Babylon God’s Activity Central But here in Isaiah 13 we’re focusing on the first empire, the Babylonian empire and the city of Babylon. One hundred and eighty-nine years before it happens, the prophet Isaiah is predicting its fall. By the way, this is one of the most predicted events in history. It’s predicted here in Isaiah 13. It’s predicted in Isaiah 21. It’s predicted for five chapters towards the end of Jeremiah very specifically. It’s predicted in Habakkuk Chapter 2 very plainly. The details are astounding. I already preached through this. It’s recorded for us in Daniel Chapter 5 on the night of Belshazzar’s feast when the writing appears on the wall and Babylon falls to the Medes. It’s not a minor event in redemptive history. It’s a major one. God is summoning an army against Babylon, and, in this chapter, God’s activity is central. Seven times in this chapter God speaks about what He’s going to do against Babylon. He’s taking it very personally. He’s acting very directly. Look at verse 3, “I have commanded my holy ones; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath – those who rejoice in my triumph.” It’s very personal for God. Verses 11-13 say, “I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore, I will make the heavens tremble.” Verse 17 even more specifically says, “See, I will stir up against them the Medes.” God raises up the Medes against Babylon. This is very personal for God. He is active and involved. Verses 6 and 9 call it the Day of the Lord. This is the Lord’s day, the day of judgment on the nations. God is acting directly to bring about judgment for His own glory. This is not some random swirling of events in human history that had no purpose, no meaning to it at all, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. No, this is God, essential actor in history, bringing down judgment on a people who will not acknowledge His name or live through His glory. So God summons an army. That’s how He is going to do it. An Army Summoned from the Nations Verses 2-4 say, “Raise a banner on a bare hilltop, shout to them; beckon to them to enter the gates of the nobles. I have commanded my holy ones; I have summoned my warriors to carry out my wrath – those who rejoice in my triumph. Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The Lord Almighty is mustering an army for war.” God is mustering an army and they’re going to come and destroy Babylon. In ancient times, before radio communication, armies used colorful banners up on bare hilltops to signal across distances. Or they would use signal fires. The nations are massing together. They are organizing to come against the mighty Babylon. Again, it’s no accident. The Lord is mustering this army for war and they’re going to enter, it says, “the gates of the nobles.” These are the Chaldeans. These are the refined Babylonians who exported their Babylonian culture all over their empire. They’re the nobles, the blue bloods, cultured and arrogant. They’re going to be destroyed, all of them. And God calls this personal army to do His will. They are His warriors. He even calls them “my holy ones.” Strange, isn’t it? Holy in this case means set apart for a purpose and for a job that God’s calling them to do. Later on in Isaiah’s prophecy, He’s going to call Cyrus the Great of Persia “my anointed one.” In Greek, it’s the Christ, the Messiah. Now we know that he’s not the Christ, but he’s anointed for a task. So it says in Isaiah 45:4, “For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of great honor, though you do not acknowledge me.” Cyrus doesn’t know Yahweh. He doesn’t know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he’s doing Yahweh’s will, even though he doesn’t acknowledge Him. We’ve already learned that in Isaiah, haven’t we? God raises up instruments to do His will, whether they acknowledge Him or not. The Day of the Lord So this army that’s coming, these Medes and these Persians that are coming to destroy Babylon, they’re doing God’s will. This is the day of the Lord. Look at verses 5 and 6, “They come from far away lands, from the ends of the heavens – the Lord and the weapons of his wrath to destroy the whole country. Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty.” The invasion of this international coalition of armies against Babylon is not an accidental occurrence. God has brought it. There may be human factors, but it is the Lord, spiritually, riding at the head of the army. It cannot be defeated and the reaction will be nothing less than terror. Look at verses 7-9, “Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man’s heart will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the Day of the Lord is coming – a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger – to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.” There will be a future Day of the Lord. It is described in many places in the New Testament. That Day of the Lord will be like this one only a thousand times worse, a thousand times more intense. In history God just does the same things again and again, like dress rehearsals, and says, “As I did in Sodom and Gomorrah,” or “as I did in Babylon,” or “as what happened with the Romans.” It’s going to happen again at the end, getting us ready for the Day of the Lord. Thus, Isaiah uses extreme language to describe the fall of Babylon, He goes beyond the mere invasion of the city that night, the killing of the Babylonian king and the officials, and the taking over of the city by the Medes and the Persians. He goes much further than that. Look at verses 10 and 13. It’s language that soars above that current event. It says, “The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.” “Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.” This is language that is speaking of the end of the world. It’s going to happen again. Babylon will be crushed again, and, at that point, the stars and the sun and the moon aren’t merely going to be darkened, they’re going to be removed. The stars will fall to the earth, it says in the Book of Revelation, as figs from a tree. God is going to clear everything away, and there will be a new heaven and new earth, the home of righteousness. The Invaders Named Astonishing Accuracy In verse 17, Isaiah names the invaders very specifically. This is God saying, “See what I can do? Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. I know history before it even happens. I can tell you who’s going to destroy Babylon. It’s going to be the Medes.” Look at verse 17, “See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold.” This is astonishing accuracy. As I mentioned, at the time Isaiah wrote, the Medes were no major player on the world scene. Like the Babylonians, they were conquered people under the yoke of the Assyrians. Who were the Medes? They were people living in what is now central Iran, east of Mesopotamia. They inhabited the Zagros Mountains and the high plateaus east of that mountain range. That’s where they came from. As early as 836 BC, the Assyrians referred to them as a threat, as enemies. In 612 BC, they joined together with the Babylonians in helping to crush what was left of the dying Assyrian empire. Assyria’s time was over and the Medes and Babylonians came together and went up the Fertile Crescent and crushed Nineveh. It’s predicted. Assyria is done, finished for good, and the Medes and Babylonians kind of joined together in doing that. But the Babylonians took over under Nebuchadnezzar. They were stronger at that point, and the Medes were subjugated. They were crushed under the Babylonian empire. Single-Minded Weapons of Wrath God declares in advance that once Babylon’s time has passed, the Medes will rise up and it’ll be their turn. They’re going to crush Babylon. Look at them, they’re a single-minded weapon of wrath. Verse 17-18, “See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with compassion on children.” First of all, they can’t be bought off. You can’t send out a box of silver and gold and they go home, back to where they came from. They’re going to get it all. They don’t want one box. They want everything you have, Babylonians. They’re not going to be bought off that way. They’re ready to exact vengeance. They’re filled with wrath. They’re filled with rage. And they’re going to kill everyone. There’s a mercilessness here. Even the infants and the children, they’re not spared. Desolation Decreed… Then Fulfilled (vs 19-22) The Reason for Judgment: Pride The desolation that is decreed and then fulfilled in verses 19 through 22 comes as an act of judgment by God. Why does the judgment come? Well, the central reason is always the same; it’s pride. It’s the arrogance of the Babylonians. He’s going to crush them because of their pride. Look at verse 19, “Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians’ pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah.” Isaiah 2 has already displayed how much God hates human arrogance, pride, and boasting. Anything that goes up, anything that gets lofty in defiance of God, He wants to throw down. And in due time, He will. Here, Babylon is called “the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians pride.” It was for this very reason, as you remember, that Nebuchadnezzar was struck with insanity for seven years. Do you remember the King of Babylon? The Babylonian emperor is walking on the roof of his palace and feeling pretty good about his life and his achievements. “Is this not the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” He’d already been warned about this kind of thing a year before by Daniel. Even while the words are coming out of his mouth, an angel speaks and decrees. And God strikes. In that same day, he is driven away from people and goes out and starts eating grass like cattle for seven years. He’s like that until God grants him repentance and enables his sanity to come back to him. He lifts up his eyes toward heaven and he praises the Most High. He learns his lesson. He is able to be humble. The Horror of the Judgment Well, Nebuchadnezzar learned it, but Babylon didn’t. Babylon didn’t learn it. Babylon is an enemy of God. It will fight against God forever. So if he won’t be that way, he’ll be replaced, and another king will come along who’ll rule Babylon. He’s going to get soft. And look at the horror of the judgment in verses 14 through 16, “Like a hunted gazelle, like a sheep without a shepherd, each will return to his own people, each will flee to his native land. Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their house will be looted and their wives ravished.” Destruction, this is what the next Babylon does to the last Babylon. It’s what they do. Unfolding Judgment: Babylon Becomes Desolate Gradually They’re going to get judged when Alexander the Great comes. Then he is going to get judged. And the Greeks are going to get judged when the Romans come. And on and on it goes, one Babylon after another, bringing this kind of destruction. Look at the judgment, the desolation that’s predicted. Look at verses 20 through 22, speaking of Babylon, “She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there. But desert creatures will lie there, jackals will fill her houses; there, owls will dwell, and there, the wild goats will leap about. Hyenas will howl in her stronghold; jackals in her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.” Desolation has been decreed for Babylon. No one will live there ever again. It will be leveled and it will never be rebuilt. Now obviously, if you take that literally, then how do you end up with Babylon all the way at the end of the world in Revelations 17? Well, the city itself on the Euphrates River is crushed and it has not been rebuilt. According to this, it never will be. But the spirit of Babylon lives on and it keeps floating from place to place, landing, coagulating in a human empire, and then the next Babylon rises. The last one will be that of the Antichrist, as he organizes the whole world in rebellion against God. So, Babylon continues to live even while this city will never be rebuilt. This decree was fulfilled in stages. It didn’t happen all at once. Cyrus the Persian invades. In 538 BC he comes in and takes the whole empire except the city of Babylon. Darius the Mede (he’s got to be a Mede, of course) comes with the Medes to Babylon itself, and they get in. Jeremiah predicted very plainly, “I will make her officials, her leaders drunk and they will lie down and sleep and never wake up.” This couldn’t be plainer. He also says in Jeremiah, “I will dry up her streams.” What ends up happening is the Medes dried up the Euphrates River by diverting it with a canal. They crawl under the walls. They are very vulnerable to archers, if anybody’s on the wall watching. But nobody is watching, because they are all drunk in their beds because of Belshazzar’s feast. So the Medes come in. They open up the gates, and they run through the palace. They kill Belshazzar. They kill all of the Babylonian officials. But they didn’t kill Daniel, the third highest ruler in the Babylonian kingdom. Because that was Daniel. Remember the purple robe and the gold chain? I don’t think he was wearing it that night. It wouldn’t have been a good idea. But God then sovereignly raised Daniel up to be the third highest ruler in the Persian kingdom as well! Only God could do something like that. Everybody else, though, dies, a direct fulfillment. But the gates and the walls still stood. It was useful. Why destroy it? It was there for a while until another Darius, some time later, actually pulled the walls down and destroyed it. Then Alexander the Great comes along. By this time, it’s little more than a pile of rubble. He decides he wants to rebuild it and make it the center of his empire. The problem is, in Babylon, he drank too much wine and died of alcohol poisoning. His grandiose plans never came to anything. God will not have that city rebuilt. It got worse and worse. By 309 BC, Antigonus the First of Macedonia leveled Babylon. By 275, Antiochus the First took away all the remaining civilian population, deporting them to other cities. Nobody’s even living there in 275 BC. A Greek writer named Pausanias, geographer of the Roman period, said there’s literally nothing where there used to be Babylon. That’s during the Roman period. It happened in stages. In the last century before Christ, an ancient geographer, Strabo, wrote, “the great city of Babylon has become a wilderness.” I don’t think he’s saying, “Oh, I read Isaiah 13.” He is just saying what it is. It’s a wilderness. God made it that way. The Roman Emperor Trajan, eager to visit the famous Babylon, was disappointed when he arrived at the site. There was nothing to see. There’s nothing there. No Arab will pitch his tent there. No shepherd will shepherd his flock there. There’s nothing there. In the present era, in 1811, an archeologist found it. From the end of the 1800s into the 1900s, there were major digs going on. Then Saddam Hussein took power. He wanted to make it the center of his kingdom. Well, two Gulf Wars took care of him! He’s not in power there. There won’t be any new Babylon on the site of the old Babylon, at least not under Saddam Hussein. Much to the chagrin of the archaeologists that are there, US troops are digging and using sand and rubble from the site to fill sandbags. I think they’re fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 13. They’re not that concerned about archaeology or any of those sorts of things. They’ve got to fill up sandbags because there are threats against them. They don’t want to get blown up. As a Biblical scholar, I look at that and say, “Amen.” Fill it up! Fill up those sandbags with ancient Babylon. Final Judgment: Overthrown Like Sodom and Gomorrah Now, of course, I appreciate archaeology and all that sort of stuff. But it’s happened whether you like it or not. If you’re an archaeologist who weeps over that kind of thing, it doesn’t matter. It has happened. It is going to be hard to get it back. Those guys go on hands and knees with toothbrushes, that kind of thing. These soldiers are in there with shovels, filling up bags. It’s God’s judgment, I tell you, on ancient Babylon. He means to keep it down. In the final judgment, however, Babylon is going to be overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah. That’s what it says. It’s like Sodom and Gomorrah, but different. Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown by fire and brimstone coming down from heaven. Judgment coming down from above so it’s clear that God is doing it. No question about it. So it will be at the end of the world. Babylon’s Final Fall Language Goes Beyond the Fall of One Nation When Jesus comes back in Revelation, chapters 17 and 18 describe Babylon’s final fall. Isaiah 13:9-11 says, “See, the Day of the Lord is coming – a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger – to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.” That’s the end of the world. God is going to judge it. Read about it in the Book of Revelation. In Revelation 17 it talks about when Babylon the great, mystery Babylon, is thrown down like a millstone. And Revelation 18 says that Babylon was destroyed by the sovereign power of God. I was reading an article recently in which some professors were worrying, greatly worrying, terribly worrying, about over-population. Over-population is going to get us, folks. Did you know that? The estimation is that by the year 2050, it will take, these professors say, the resources of four planet Earths to handle the 9 billion people there will be at that time. I don’t think over-population’s going to get us. Look at verse 12, “I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.” The judgment of God is going to get “us,” if “us” is unrepentant rebels who love Babylon. That’s what is going to get “us.” Don’t fear over-population. Fear God. The judgment of God is coming on Babylon, and friends, we live in Babylon. We live in the city of destruction. I don’t just mean we Americans. I’m saying, we who live here on Earth, we live in Babylon. Christ Saves Us From Babylon God’s judgment is coming. It’s going to come once more. God sent His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to rescue us from it, that we might not have to suffer its curses and plagues. So God says, “Come out from her and be separate.” Speaking of Babylon later in the Book of Isaiah, “Come out and do not share her plagues and her judgments.” Well, come out where? Recently, I was reading through Wayne Grudem’s “Systematic Theology” and he was talking about the attributes of God and God’s omnipresence. Where are you going to flee from the wrath of God? Where are you going to go? There’s nowhere you can hide. One theologian said there is nowhere to flee from God enraged but to God reconciled. There’s nowhere you can flee from God enraged but to God reconciled. And the only place you can find reconciliation with God is at the cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross. He shed His blood, under the wrath of God, that we might have a refuge place from the judgment that’s coming on Babylon, that we might have a place to come and be separate and pure and to be protected and to not suffer from the plagues. It says in Galatians 1:3-4, “The Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age.” Application Come to Christ And so, what application? Flee to Christ. Flee to Him. I don’t know your spiritual situation. Do you know your spiritual situation? Have you fled to Christ? Are you standing under the shadow of the cross, having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus? Are you ready to face the wrath to come? Have you fled to Jesus? He is the only refuge there is and you don’t need to just flee there once. Friends, we still live in Babylon. It’s still alluring; it’s still enticing; it’s still pulling on us. We’re not done being saved. Flee there every day. Flee there many times a day. Come again and again to the cross of Christ when you’re being polluted by the world. It could be you’re sitting here this morning, Sunday morning, and your conscience is defiled. You know you’re a Christian. There’s no doubt in your mind that you’re a Christian. But you have done things and you have compromised with Babylon in some way. You have been polluted. Flee to Christ again. He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Pray that He might purify us. Understand God’s Sovereign Control Over the Nations Understand the control of God over the flow of human history. It doesn’t matter how many Babylons rise from the ashes of the last Babylon. God is in charge of all of it and He will crush it all at the end. There will be smaller Days of the Lord and then one final Day of the Lord. Call on God to Fulfill His Purposes Finally, call on God to fulfill His good purposes. Say, “Do it, Lord! Crush Babylon. Rescue your people out from her and crush her. Establish Your kingdom. May Your kingdom come and may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We come now to a time of celebration of the Lord’s Supper. This is a time in which we are able to look back at what I’ve just mentioned, Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf. We’re able to look around in this present time at our own hearts to know whether we’re in the faith, to know whether our consciences are defiled. We can confess our sin and get ready. We should not take this in a manner unworthy of the Lord. Thus, we come under His discipline. We take it very seriously. But remember, it’s for sinners. It’s not for the pure and holy. Jesus said, “I didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners.” So, if you have come to personal faith in Christ and you’ve testified to that by water baptism, you’re free to come and take from this table. We also look ahead to a time when the Lord will be finished with all of this unpleasantness, with all of the judgment, and He will usher in the new heavens and new earth. Close with me in prayer.