Podcasts about persian king

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

How Vashti Triggered Her Husband's Core-Wound; How Esther Used It to Save a World - Weekly Women's Class: This class was presented on Tuesday, 4 Adar, 5785, March 4, 2025, Parshas Tetzaveh, at Bais Medrash Ohr Chaim in Monsey, NY. The lecture explores the first chapter of the Book of Esther. Why did Vashti trigger such anger in the Persian King? Why does the order of her title keep changing, as well as the musical notes relating to her? We also learn to observe the genius of Queen Esther, who brilliantly played Haman's ego against Achashverosh's paranoia. The lesson we learn about the courage of Esther and the power to look inward at our deepest triggers and core-wounds, and how when darkness is exposed it loses its power.View Source Sheets: https://portal.theyeshiva.net/api/source-sheets/9608

Paul is described as God's “chosen vessel” [Acts 9 v.15] but that does not mean he was lavished with favours by God like a father does toward his favourite son, such as Jacob did with Joseph and his coat of many colours [Gen 37 v.3-4].  Paul recalls, as he is giving his account before King Agrippa, what Jesus said to him on the road to Damascus, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads” [Acts 26 v.14] What does that mean? References to goads are common in Greek and Roman writings. If the oxen are going where the ploughman does not want them to go, there is a goad they kick against.  Jesus knew Paul had a troubled conscience. He knew that a battle had been going on in his mind and he was kicking against an inner conscience every time he persecuted Christians, part of his mind knew he was doing wrong. Do you get that feeling sometimes?  I am sure that all those who are striving to serve Jesus as their Lord experience this at times.  Some might see it as terrible that God should allow Paul to be arrested and stopped from further preaching and be on trial. [Acts Chs.22-26]  But it gives him opportunity to challenge (or rather God through him) both the Jewish and Roman leaders.  Notice how Paul made Felix uneasy when “he reasoned about righteousness and self control and the coming judgment” the text says Felix became “alarmed” [Acts 24:25].  Do we get alarmed at times? In the OT we are reading Ezra: but this book is not written by Ezra, it is really a continuation of 2nd Chronicles. Ezra 1, should really be 2 Chron. 27. In tomorrow's chapter, Chapter 7,  Ezra, a scribe [v.6] first comes on the scene, he is just one of a number of those returning from exile, but he stands out!  Why?   In v.10 we read, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.”  Note the 3 things he had set his heart to do.  He impressed the Persian King and the King gives a message to others about him. [v.21-26] Ezra's reaction and appreciation is shown in v.27-28 “Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king …. I took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me … “   Ezra too, was a chosen vessel.  

One of the most famous and recognisable Persian kings of antiquity, Darius the Great was an Achaemenid superstar, ruling the Achaemenid Persian Empire some 2,500 years ago. His tale is preserved in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus; Darius' story stretches from India to Ukraine and the Great Steppe.Reverend Professor Lloyd LLewellyn-Jones joins Tristan Hughes to discuss the rise, reign and fall of one of the most extraordinary Persian kings; Darius I, ‘Darius the Great'.Presented by Tristan Hughes. Edited by Max Carrey and produced by Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original TV documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Sign up HERE for 50% off your first 3 months using code ‘ANCIENTS'. https://historyhit.com/subscriptionYou can take part in our listener survey here.

Cyrus Cylinder: A Comparative Approach This lecture is part of my series on Iranian history delivered at the Zoroastrian Cultural Center in California during the summer of 2019. Notes to this Episode: The Cyrus Cylinder is a barrel-shaped baked clay tablet, approximately 10 inches long, engraved in Babylonia in 539 BC. Discovered in the ruins of Babylon in present-day Iraq, the cylinder is inscribed in Akkadian Babylonian cuneiform, detailing Cyrus the Great's (601-530 BC) conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. Originally intended as a foundation deposit rather than for exhibition, it is not visually striking but serves as a significant document of statecraft. The cylinder reflects a long Mesopotamian tradition, dating as early as the third millennium BC, where monarchs began their reigns with declarations of reforms. The cylinder was found in March 1879. The great debate on the trustworthiness of Hebrew scriptures arose with the 1917 Balfour Declaration, 40 years after its discovery. There were two notable exhibitions in Tehran, one in 1971 and another in 2010, held under different circumstances. Cyrus claims: As a Persian King, I was called by Marduk, the Babylonian deity, to help the Babylonians, echoing narratives in the Old Testament. Marduk is neither a Persian nor an Iranian god, and the Akkadian language in which the cylinder is inscribed is not Iranian. If Cyrus intended to leave a legacy for Iranians, he would have had it written in Elamite, Old Persian, or at least Aramaic, the lingua franca of the Persian Empire. A modern analogy might be Napoleon's arrival in Egypt in 1798, or John F. Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech in West Berlin on June 26, 1963, widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the Cold War. Cyrus and his genealogy, his deeds as evidence of legitimacy, ensured 200 years of stability until disrupted by Alexander. The Cyrus Cylinder is captivating due to Cyrus's unique strategy compared to other monarchs: - Ruler-faith constitution or ruler being hostile to religion. - Clemency, benevolence, generosity, and justice. - Multilingual, multiethnic, multireligious cosmopolitanism, or ‘multiculturalism'. The text is written in Babylonian Akkadian, not Persian, conveying the message: I am Babylonian; I appreciate your cultural, religious, and linguistic legacy. This stance contrasts with the Old Testament's Isaiah passage. Cyrus maintained an equidistance from religion, akin to a constitutional principle observed in India. While not akin to modern democracy, it was considered fair, as evidenced by even Iran's arch-enemies, the Greeks, who remembered him as a just and righteous king in Xenophon's *Cyropaedia*. Cyrus's exceptionalism is highlighted in the *Expedition of Cyrus* and *Cyropaedia*.

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

NEHEMIAH Lesson 2, Chapter 1 We began our study of Nehemiah last week by means of a brief introduction to the book and reading Chapter 1. The introduction focused on explaining the regional political realities at the time of Nehemiah because only with this information and context can we understand why the Persian King was […] The post Lesson 2 – Nehemiah Chapter 1 appeared first on Torah Class.

This week hundreds of thousands around the world joined together for a special hour of prayer for the hostages still held in Gaza. The special day of prayer, was organized to fall on the day of Esther’s feast — which she held to out Haman’s wicked plan to the Persian King. Now on this Purim, we find the State of Israel in a position not unlike that which they have experienced many times throughout history. 

In this program we'll take a look at the illustrious life of the great Persian King of Kings, Darius I, also known as Darius the Great.  Regarded by many as the most powerful ruler of the Achaemenid Dynasty of ancient Iran, Darius I is also amongst its most controversial.  We'll dive deeper into the life of great king, the contentious debate about his rise to power, and ultimately examine the words of Darius himself about his these and other aspects of his life and beliefs. Contents:00:00  Introduction and Historical Context03:37  Early Life of Darius05:14  Rise to Power as told in the Behistun Inscription16:55  Lineage and Family of Darius18:10  Rebellions and Troubles of 522 BC 20:43  Architect of an Empire: Satrapies, Reforms, Roads and Canals25:19  Darius the Builder: Susa and Persepolis 33:50  Expansion of the Achaemenid Empire35:25  The Ionian Revolt37:17  Invasion of Greece and the Battle of Marathon43:21  Thank You and PatronsSpecial thanks to Farya Faraji for the music: "Achaemenes""Shirin and Khosrow""The Riding Angaros""Memory of Cyrus""Spantodhata's Warning""The Apadana's Shadow""Battle of Cunaxa""Hyrcanian Lullaby""Immortals""Apranik's Charge""March of Achaemenes"Check out more of his work that spans across many countries, cultures and time periods: https://www.youtube.com/@faryafarajiFollow History with Cy:YouTube ChannelInstagramFacebookTwitterWebsite Support the show

While listening to the proclamation of Cyrus, a Persian King, we see an example of God's steady faithfulness to his people. Listen in to hear more.

 On this weeks war council we are running out of names for when Ali wins Manager MIA!  we talk the current state of new's the Sermon of Jonathan happens for Mario and we talk the pickems! 

Reviewers use all sorts of adjectives to describe inspirational fiction author Tessa Afshar's work. Words like whimsical, intriguing, romantic, prophetic, faith-filled, daunting, grace-filled, dangerous, redeeming, heart-pumping, heart-stirring, sad and joyful - all at once. That's Tessa. Hi, I'm your host, Julie Wheeler. And on this week's show, historical fiction author Tessa Afshar talks about her latest release, The Persian King, set in Babylon in the sixth century BC. And she shares something of her remarkable life; at 14 years of age, speaking no English, moving from the Middle East to a British boarding school, and then becoming a Christian in her early twenties and completing a Masters in Divinity at Yale. Best-selling romance author Debbie Macomber says of her work: “No one brings the Bible to life like Tessa Afshar.” Our Giveaway this week Our Giveaway this week is Mystery with Romance, a group of best-selling authors once again joining together to offer a great range of books for you to choose from and download for FREE including  Sadie's Vow, Book #1 in my latest trilogy Home At Last. DOWNLOAD MYSTERY WITH ROMANCE EBOOKS https://books.bookfunnel.com/freebookspg13mysteryromance/tm6fhkvpt0 And remember – if you enjoy the show. Leave us a review so others will find us too. Word of mouth is the best way for others to discover the show and great books they will love to read. Links for things mentioned in this episode Song from Psalm 137 By The Waters of Babylon Boney M:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FgDles4xq8 And Don Mclean:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcBy_b7z_dU Herodotus: Greek historian and biographer; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herodotus Philippians 2: 10 - 11  Every knee shall bow https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%202%3A10-11&version=NIV The Medes: https://www.britannica.com/place/Media-ancient-region-Iran The Persians: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/persian-empire/ Women Who Risk by Tom and Joann Doyle:  https://www.amazon.com/Women-Who-Risk-Secret-Agents/dp/0785233466 The re-telling of Ruth: In The Field Of Grace – Tessa Afshar:  https://www.amazon.com/Field-Grace-Tessa-Afshar/dp/0802410979 The Peasant King: https://tessaafshar.com/books/the-peasant-king/ The Hidden Prince: https://tessaafshar.com/books/the-hidden-prince/ Where to find Tessa Afshar online Website: www.tessaafshar.com Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTessaAfshar Instagram: @tessaafashar Introducing historical fiction author Tessa Afshar Jenny Wheeler: But now here's Tessa. Hello there, Tessa, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us. Tessa Afshar - Fiction in Ancient and Biblical times Tessa Afshar: Jenny, it's an honor to be with you. I'm really looking forward to our time together and I hope that my New Zealand friends will enjoy our conversation, and everybody else around the world who's listening to this podcast. Jenny Wheeler: That's lovely. So you know folk in New Zealand, do you? Tessa Afshar: I don't, it's just one of those gorgeous countries I've always wanted to visit. I've heard so many amazing things about people from New Zealand and what I've seen on TV of your gorgeous country makes me want to come and hang out. Jenny Wheeler: You'd certainly be known here to New Zealand readers because your fiction that you write, the inspirational fiction, both biblically and historically based, is described as “seriously good inspirational fiction.” Tell us about your latest book, which is The Peasant King. That's the one we're going to be discussing today. It is a biblically based story and it goes right back to Babylon in the 6th century BC. A famous period, even to non-believers, that's a famous period in history. Tell us about the background for that book. Babylon and Biblical prophecy Tessa Afshar: Yes, absolutely. I'd be delighted to.

On this weeks war council we discuss the fall of a Empire, then we run all the news from the trade deadline.  Then we discuss the week 8 battles and recap and finish with the week 9 pick em

October 24, 2023Today's Reading: Isaiah 45:1-7Daily Lectionary: Deuteronomy 5:22-6:9, Matthew 9:1-17“This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of…”. (Isaiah 45:1)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever seen God work in someone that you totally never expected?  Maybe the person was a nominal Christian or maybe they were the furthest thing from a Christian.  It can catch us off guard at times with how God can use evil people for His will to be done.   In the events leading up to our Old Testament text today from Isaiah. Israel found themselves in exile from God.  Another way of putting it is that they were “divorced” from God.  However, God was still at work for their benefit.  When Israel was sent into exile, God used both the Babylons and the Persians to do His will for the children of God.  Today we hear of the Persian King named Cyrus.  Cyrus is not an Israelite, he never will be one of them.  He is a pagan ruler who knows nothing about the remarkable history between Israel and God.  However the God of Israel will use Cyrus for the deliverance of Israel.  In the reading today, notice that in working with good or evil, God is the active agent in this story, no one else. Read the text again and you will see almost every sentence begins with “I”, the “I” being God.  “I will go before you,” “I have grasped,” “I will give,” “I call you,” “I name you,” “I equip you,” "I form” and “I make.”  They are all there.  And why does God take action through this man named Cyrus; for the sake of his servant, Israel, His chosen people.  All of God's actions are done for the sake of his people who he has not forgotten.  God could have raised one of Israel's own up to do what needed to be done, but instead he chose an outsider.  By the way, notice in verse 1 what Isaiah says of Cyrus. Cyrus is the “anointed one”. The word in Hebrew for “anointed one” means “Christ” in Greek. Not something you might have expected.  God's work is in unusual and surprising ways.  Simply look at the cross and see the dead Son of God bringing the Life of the World to you. In our sins we are divorced from God. However Jesus' unending love for you, His bride, placed him on the cross. He became the exiled one so that we could be brought back into the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father and the inheritance prepared for you in the life of the world to come.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Almighty God, in Your mercy guide the course of this world so that Your Church may joyfully serve You in godly peace and quietness; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen- Pastor Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock. AR..Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.Study Christ's words on the cross to see how you can show more Christlike grace in your life. Perfect for group or individual study, each chapter has a Q&A at the end, and the back of the book includes a leader guide. Available now from Concordia Publishing House.

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Surf safely. We recommend Surfshark

Surf safely. We recommend Surfshark

Surf safely. We recommend Surfshark

Surf safely. We recommend Surfshark

When we think about the wars between the Persians and the Greeks, our perspective is quite explicitly that of the Greeks. But how did the Persians view these conflicts, and what were they after? Professor John Hyland explains his fascinating research on how the Persians understood war and their war with the Greeks.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 podcast The Pursuit of Dadliness! It's all about “Dad Culture,” and Patrick will interview some fascinating guests about everything from tall wooden ships to smoked meats to comfortable sneakers to history, sports, culture, and politics. https://bit.ly/PWtPoDListen 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.

The Book of Ezra provides the reading content for the first reading of the mass of today, Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time. We are told that King Darius took off from the documents of King Cyrus to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. It is amazing how much earth, stone and mortar went into the reconstruction. We should check also how we construct the temple that is our bodies for the Blessed Trinity to dwell in. How much effort do we exert to accomplish this? How much resources are we willing to employ to improve in our formation and training in Christian Living?

Dad and the kids talk about Nehemiah (also not a bullfrog) this time, who was a cupbearer for the Persian King and how God used him to help bring the Israelites back to their land.

Likkutei Sichos Devarim: This is an in depth text based class on The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Siyum on MasechAvodah Zara presented by the Rebbe 19 Kislev, 5731, 1970. Published in Likkutei Sichos Vol. 19Devarim The class was presented by Rabbi YY Jacobson in Evergreen Estates in the Catskill Mountains, NY.

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

Things you'll learn in this episode of Our Prophet:- Why didn't the Prophet topple all his adversaries?- What was Prophet's only condition for rulers?- Prophet's prediction of Islam's far and wide expansion- How Prophet collaborated with the rulers of his time to establish justice- Why did the Prophet show respect to Non-Muslim rulers?- Prophet's letter to the Persian King and the Caesar of RomeTo watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/8c-0DKlsOx4Help us create the most comprehensive biography of the Prophet of Islam. Dedicate episodes in the memory of your loved ones by visiting https://thaqlain.org/ourprophet#ProphetMuhammad #PropheticBiography #OurProphetSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/our-prophet/donations

Today on Highkey Obsessed Thomas delves into all things the Battle of Issus. He gives a brief introduction to Darius III of Persia, talks about the lead up to Alexander's first engagement with the Persian King, the battle itself, and its aftermath. Next time, the Sieges of Tyre and Gaza.All this and more on an action packed episode of Highkey Obsessed!If you dig what you're hearing be sure to give us a rating and review wherever you get your podcasts.We welcome feedback on Instagram @highkeyobsessedpodcast and Twitter @HighkeyOPodcast.Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our coverage of Israel's “Day of Disruption.” Protests and riots break out across the nation in response to another positive vote on Supreme Court Reforms; Americans mourn 27-year-old Elan Ganeles who was murdered near the Dead Sea while on holiday & an ancient pottery shard found in Israel reveals evidence of an ancient Persian King. Purim gift boxes/ Mishloach Manot: https://www.hasodstore.com/shop?category=PurimGiftBoxes Social Media links, Newsletter sign-up &, Support the show $ here: https://linktr.ee/israeldailynews Music: Hatikva; Ariella Zeitlin https://www.violinlikethat.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/israeldailynews/support

Esther 01Queen Vashti Deposed (v 1-22)**********Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.  Used with permission.BIBLICA, THE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY, provides God's Word to people through Bible translation & Bible publishing, and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God's Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Support the show

Ezra 06The Decree of Darius (v 1-12)Completion and Dedication of the Temple (v 13-18)The Passover (v 19-22)**********Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.  Used with permission.BIBLICA, THE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY, provides God's Word to people through Bible translation & Bible publishing, and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God's Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Support the show

Did you know that God not only longs to reveal His purpose for your life, but even more importantly, He longs to reveal His NATURE to you! That He is a good Father who loves you and know best what you need in any given moment. This week, Frank shares from a recent message entitled "Hidden Treasure" on the way in which God revealed Himself to the Persian King, Cyrus, in Isaiah 45. It's a fascinating story worth revisiting and we hope you'll be encouraged and challenged by who the Lord wants to be in your life! For more information about this podcast and other great content, visit Purity For Life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/puregold/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/puregold/support

We get googly-eyed over the Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and discuss: Writing and Directing, crafting the edit in the script; Humor and drama, making tough subjects palatable for everyone; and other such stuff and things and stuff. A Persian King called his sages and asked them for one quote that would be accurate […] The post Ep 212: “Everything Everywhere All At Once” appeared first on The Pestle.

How would our modern day to day life would be like, in a world without sugar?I'm very pleased to have Neil Buttery on the podcast today, the food historian and author of “A dark history of sugar”, who's book is out now and traces the origins of all the above, sugar's production and consumption especially during its darkest parts between the 16th and 19th century.  Once, it was called Indian Salt. Or white salt. The Chinese lay claim to be the first to make it; among their many inventions.It seems the art of making it though, came from India. Sugar cane is a giant grass that once was native to the island of New Guinea. This is the history of sugar, and sugar cane, the plant Saccharum officinarum which today is found growing in many places around the world, but crucially used in so many of our foods that it certainly makes it ubiquitous …Darius the Persian King is said to have discovered in India a reed that gives honey without the aid of bees. And brought it home with him. A spice -as it was considered in the ancient world- more expensive than any other, and used for medicinal primarily purposes. Dioscorides, a Greek contemporary of Augustus, remarks that: ‘There is a kind of solid honey called saccharon, which is found in the reeds of India and Arabia the fortunate. It resembles salt in consistency, and crunches in the mouth.' Sweet foods are very rare in nature indeed. And exactly why before the age of sugar, honey was the no1 sweetener in the world, eaten and used by people all over.Energy giving, it was the only sweetener available in a pure and natural state. We describe people as sweet when they're nice, polite and so on.Clearly sweetness is something we desire, something we need, something we revered as sacred since our deep ancient past. Honey and sugar have religious connotations too.But we also need high energy for our development. As a species our need for sweet and sugar led us to develop ingenious ways to make things sweeter. From the development of sophisticated apiculture to agriculture and breeding selectively fruit bearing plants that have more sugar. But how did sugar as we know today come to the forefront of our lives? And how it created and was shaped by the transantlantic slave trade, colonialism and exploitation of humans and nature? If you want more archaeogastronomical content, and the extra bits from our conversation with Neil, please subscribe to the Patreon page here:https://www.patreon.com/thedeliciouslegacyYou can buy Neil Buttery's "A Dark History of Sugar" book in every good bookshop.Music by Pavlos Kapralos.If you want to get your hands on some delicious Greek products go to Maltby and Greek website and use the code "delicious" at the checkout to get a lovely 15% discount!Enjoy!The Delicious LegacySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-delicious-legacy. If you love to time-travel through food and history why not join us at https://plus.acast.com/s/the-delicious-legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Devotional: Mordecai: The unofficial gate keeper saves the life of the Persian King. What did he do?

Thanks for listening!

Tap to Vote: Alex explains why the Echidna is one of the most fascinating creatures around. Mike tells the horrible tale of a coronation celebration turned deadly. Pat reveals how a Persian King's mother ended up assassinating the Queen. Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @factoffpod Email: thefactoffpodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

King of the World: The Life of Cyrus the Great by Matt Waters is a new biography of the first Persian King of Kings from Oxford University Press. I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced PDF copy to review. In short, it's an excellent introduction to both the life of Cyrus and Achaemenid Studies as a field. Almost all shortcomings are more the product of the subject rather than the biographer. For more, give it a listen. Order King of the World from Amazon Listen on Audible Download for Kindle Intelligent Speech Conference 2022! Buy tickets with promo code Persia Merch On Sale Now! Go to HistoryOfPersia.LaunchCart.store Sign Up For The History Buffs at TheHistoryBuffs.com/HistoryOfPersia Patreon | Support Page | STORE Twitter | Facebook | Instagram --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/history-of-perisa/support

Synopsis A few years back, when RCA records issued a boxed set of 100 favorite Boston Pops recordings made by Arthur Fiedler, they included Handel's celebrated “Largo.” Over a hundred years earlier, the Theodore Thomas Orchestra had established this melody as a favorite with 19th century American audiences. Back then, Handel was best-known for his sacred oratorios, and his “Largo” acquired a kind of honorary “halo” by association. Also, the Italian text for the melody began “Ombra mai fui,” and since “ombra” meant shade, many music lovers probably assumed it had something to do with the dear departed shade or spirit of a loved one – hence its melancholic solemnity. In fact, this melody originated in a decidedly secular, downright whimsical context: as the opening aria of an opera by Handel that premiered in London on today's date in 1738. The opera was entitled “Xerxes,” and dealt with the real-life Persian King who invaded ancient Greece. In the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, Xerxes is depicted as an all-powerful despot, whose every whim became law. As evidence of the irrational effect of absolute power, Herodotus tells of Xerxes' fondness for a certain plane tree that he ordered decorated with gold ornaments and put under perpetual military guard as a sign of royal favor. In Handel's opera, the famous “Largo” is actually Xerxes's dreamy song to this famous tree – and the “shade” referred to is the sort to be found under its gold-bedecked branches. Music Played in Today's Program George Frederic Handel (1685-1759) — Largo, from Xerxes (Boston Pops; Arthur Fiedler, cond.) BMG 62698

In the third century, Rome faced a reinvigorated Persia, led by the Sasanian dynasty. In 260 AD, the Roman Emperor Valerian was defeated and captured. Allegedly, the Persian King used him as a footstool to mount his horse before flaying him and displaying his skin in his palace. How did the Sasanians triumph over the Romans? Find out in this episode.

Download Ezra 3-8 We are in the Nation Stream reading from the New American Standard Bible. 7streamsmethod.com | @7StreamsMethod | @serenatravis | #7Streams | Donate Commentary by Dr. Drake Travis Lord, our faith needs to be built, sometimes rebuilt. We can learn from Ezra today.  Don't let us weep for what was [once upon a time] "back when".  We want to build the Kingdom with you today.  Amen. 3 - Seven months after returning to Israel and Jerusalem, everyone joined in and the Hebrews got the altar built. They offered sacrifices continually. It was worship, yes, it was also for fear of the non Hebrew people who had migrated in while the Jews were away.  The work plans went through at a feverish pitch. Offerings were gathered and provided for the specialized workers who were getting things done.  Zerubbabel, the deceased King Jehoiachin's grandson, had been appointed Governor of Judah,  and was at the center of all this.  13 months after being home, the work on the foundation of the Temple started.  It progressed uninterrupted until it was laid in place.  The pageantry was full scale and the rejoicing was exuberant. The young had never known such a thing. The old, however, wept as they recalled Solomon's Temple from 900 B.C.  Emotions were in overdrive! It was a beautiful day. 4 - The squatters in Judah, who were not Hebrews, wanted the Temple to not be built.  First they infiltrated and feigned it to be teamwork hoping to "build" on the Temple together. Zerubbabel smelled their duplicity and refused to let them in on it.  Then the hagglers discouraged the work.  Then they wrote devious documents and worked out the translation and got the King of Persia to come stop the Temple construction.  He did so by force.  The work was stopped for 15 years! Shameful isn't it?  Folks, holidays are coming and there will be exacting folks with the same contrarian attitudes who aren't thankful, who don't want to see Baby Jesus or "Merry Christmas" signs. Don't yield.  You celebrate our Savior !  Never succumb to those who want a de-Christianized world. Because once they get it, they still despise God and you for loving Him.  Live your faith.  Everyone loses when you don't, especially you. 5 - The next Persian King, Darius I, came to power and he changed the decree back and the Temple project resumed after 15 years in silence and chagrin. Haggai and Zechariah were there to encourage the process. [We read Haggai last month and are reading Zechariah now in the "Exile Stream".]  Then adversaries came from "beyond the river" (this is the Tigris/Euphrates, not the Jordan) and questioned Zerubbabel as to who gave clearance for the Jews to rebuild their Temple.  A quest; a team goes back to Darius to find if their work was cleared by the former king.  This is a set back again. However, they are being slightly more civil about it.  Doesn't make the delay anymore enjoyable. 6 - Darius then does agree to confirm that Cyrus did indeed decree that the Hebrews were allowed to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.  Once they find Cyrus document and confirm that the Jews are in the right, and realize that those who are being agitational to the Jews while trying to appear hyper-vigilant, Darius makes his decision. He (likely bothered at the unnecessary setback) takes funds from the Persian treasury and put up the cash to pay for the rest of the Temple to be built. And orders anyone else who stops progress to be executed.  Amazing how a set back turns out to be a very fortunate development for the Jews rebuilding their Temple!  It's done in 1/2 dozen years and the dedication ceremony is wondrous.  Soon thereafter the Passover is celebrated and there is joy in Jerusalem!  It is 515 B.C.  It's another one of those, y'wish you could be there seasons. [It's important to know that there is almost a 60 year interval between the end of chapter 6 and the start of chapter 7.] 7 - Ezra finally makes the trek to Jerusalem in 458 B.C. [Most of ch's 7 and 8 are prep for this event.]  Artaxerxes I is king. He happens to be Queen Esther's stepson.  He also is favorable to the Jews.  He realizes there is blessing in blessing them and he does.  Ezra is being sent back to teach the law of God, to bring beautiful items to adorn the Temple, and to oversee the services that are to take place in the Temple.   The opening of Ezra 7 makes it abundantly clear who Ezra is, who he is related to, that fact that he is very adept in the Law, and that God was upon him.  He's the man for this historical job.  Artaxerxes is so taken with this whole development that he sees to it that Ezra is stocked to the hilt for this journey and assignment.  Ezra returns to Jerusalem with items for service, for the Temple and wealth that required a squadron of men to haul it all, plus staff to provide for all else that is needed. 8 - The extensive list of those who went back to Jerusalem with Ezra is itemized.  It's almost a subtle hint to all of us: learn the scriptures - really learn then - and you will simply have all that you need.  Ezra makes particular effort that there are enough Levitical priests for the journey. He takes steps to make sure they are spiritually prepared for this epochal trip.  The items for the Temple are given to each apportioned man to transport to the Temple with all reverence.  They arrive from the 900 mile trek after roughly four months in transit.  The items are delivered in the house of God.  The process is declared to be unopposed on all fronts.  Halelujah.

Daily Lectionary: 2 Chronicles 36:1-23; Colossians 4:1-18 That the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia. (2 Chronicles 36:22) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Jerusalem is no more. God had tried to get through to His people. "But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against His people" (verse 16). God knew that the only thing that would work was to bring the Chaldean King and his army to Jerusalem for war and destroy it in 586 BC. When other kingdoms suffered a defeat like this, they were gone. Game over. However, God still had plans for His people. He promised that the Savior of all nations would be born from this nation. And so, by grace, He raised this nation from death back to life again after their Babylonian captivity, just as He promised in Jeremiah 29:10: "I will fulfill to you My promise and bring you back to this place." The prophecy from Isaiah 45:1-7 about this time is very amazing. Not only does the Lord name Cyrus specifically as the restorer of His people over a century before the Persian King was born, He also refers to Cyrus as being God's anointed, despite the fact that the man was a foreign pagan. Remember, God commanded His priests to anoint prophets, priests, and kings. And there are also the prophesies of the Anointed One, which in Greek is Christos, or Christ. Just as 2 Chronicles 36:22 reports to us, God fulfilled His promises in Isaiah 45 to give military success and political power to King Cyrus for the sake of God's chosen people Israel--and for your sake! As God says prophetically to Cyrus in Isaiah 45:5-6, "I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other." For among those who returned to the Promised Land with the help of Cyrus were ancestors of Jesus, to whom all authority in heaven and on earth has been given. While guiding world history, Christ directed the servants of His Church to go out into all the world and find you, teaching you to know Him as the only God, so that by the forgiveness of your sins, you could live in His kingdom in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ. Amen. Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Duane Bamsch

Children's Message: God Is Not A Persian King (Nehemiah 2:1-8) by Incarnation Tallahassee

We turn the page into the book of Nehemiah today in our sermon series "Rubble Restoration: Rebuilding God's Way." Nehemiah was an important official (the cupbearer) serving the Persian King when he heard that the rebuilding efforts in Jerusalem weren't going all that well. In particular, the city wall and the city gates had not yet been rebuilt after lying in rubble for the last 150 years. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to lead the wall-rebuilding effort. In this sermon, Pastor Aaron opens up the Scriptures to us by starting with Nehemiah and expanding to other places to see which kind of walls are purposeful in the Kingdom of God.

Last week, the market value of bitcoin reached above $1T. By comparison, the market value of privately held gold is $2.7T. Where does bitcoin fit in the history of the eagle, Alexander Hamilton, the Civil War, Karl Marx, the Dutch, the Mongols, a Persian King and "cross of gold"? Our podcast this week peels the history behind the bitcoin news - America's money and... its gold!

Cohosts Taz and Sam continue their bible study in Ezra, as the returned exiles find the future of their temple construction in the hands of the Persian King, Darius. Bible Translation: Christian Standard Bible (csbible.com) Discovery Bible Study Method (www.dbsguide.org)

We all need strong walls around our lives, our families, our church, and our country. In the ancient days, a city without walls was weak and easily defeated. A city needed a strong foundation and walls of fortification.Wherever God is building, Satan is battling. Nehemiah had a vision for rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem which is why he met with intense opposition. Understand the tactics of the opposition…1)  Division. (Chapter 5:1-9) Nehemiah encountered opposition from within. Sin and oppression had created division and an unjust system that could have destroyed the rebuilding vision.“Divide and conquer” is the age-old military strategy most employed by the enemy. Jesus said, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.”2)  Deception. (Chapter 6:1-4) Nehemiah’s enemies attempted to lure him out from behind the city walls under the banner of “peace” to the plains of Ono about twenty miles north of Jerusalem. In reality, it was a trick designed to assassinate him, and Nehemiah saw through the deception.Nehemiah 6:1-4, Now it happened when Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.Satan’s methodology is always to distortreality. The key to our victory is to always walk in truth and not by lies.3)  Distraction. (Chapter 6:5-7) Nehemiah’s enemies threatened him with a vicious and deadly rumor campaign. They threatened to frame Nehemiah as leading an insurrection against the Persian King who had sent him.Nehemiah 6:5-7, Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.Distraction can become destruction to a godly vision. When the enemy cannot stop you, he will seek to simply distract you. But Nehemiah would not be distracted from the vision! (See 6:8)4)  Intimidation. (Chapter 6:8-11) When the enemy could not stop the vision through division, deception, or distraction, they resorted to intimidation. The enemy paid someone to go and tell Nehemiah they were going to kill him!Nehemiah 6:8-11, Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.” For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.” Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. Afterward I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Colossians 3:1-4, If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.You will live a fearless life when you lay down your life, and you know your life is hidden in Christ. (See Colossians 3:1-4)

Audio Transcript:This media has been made available by Mosaic Boston Church. If you'd like to check out more resources, learn about Mosaic Boston and our neighborhood churches, or donate to this ministry, please visit mosaicboston.com.We'd love to connect with you. We do that through the connection card, either the physical connection card or the one that you can get online or in the app. With that said, would you pray with me over the preaching of God's Holy word? Lord, we come to you with humble and grateful hearts for the fact that you, the God of the universe did not reject us when we rebelled against you. Instead, you chose to pour out your love upon us. You chose to extend mercy to us and grace. Lord, we take a moment now to repent of the fact that we take your love for granted, we take your acceptance for granted, we take a relationship with you for granted. Lord, we repent of the fact that often we are bored in our relationship with you. We are apathetic toward you. I pray today, Lord, send a fire of affection, a fire of zeal into our hearts today. With that fire, burn off the draws of indifference and apathy and stir our hearts to love you like never before. Deepen our relationship with you.Deepen our understanding of what it means to be a child of God adopted into your family through the sacrifice of our older brother, Jesus Christ. Who came and did absolutely everything that was required by your law, and then died on a cross bearing the weight of our sin, bearing the wrath that we deserve for our law breaking. Holy spirit, come now into this place, come now and fill our hearts. Continue to lead us, continue to guide us, continue to fill us. We thank you for the Holy scriptures. I pray that you take these words that you have given us, help us understand them, and I pray that they go deeper than the mind and into the heart and transform the will. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. We're starting a new sermon series today through the book of Malachi which is at the very center of scripture, so to speak. In that, this book is at the end of the Old Testament, and it's right before the New Testament. We are going to spend four weeks in the book of Malachi covering the four chapters.That's going to lead us immediately into the beginning of Matthew. We'll cover Malachi chapters, one, two, three, and four. Then that leads us into advent with Matthew chapter one and two. The title of the sermon today is eternal love. I'm praying the Lord helps us understand his love for us. If you haven't heard, this is a big week in the United States. If you haven't heard, the election is this week. This election has been called the most important, the most monumental, the most consequential election of our lifetime, maybe. Today I want to talk about election, but a more important, more consequential, more monumental election. Today I want to talk about God's sovereign election of people, of us, of believers before the foundation of the world. I want to talk about his love that's a divine love, a sovereign love, an eternal love, a particular love and an electing love. The word Malachi, Malachi of the prophet, Malachi just means my messenger.God has a message for his people. It's the final message given to the people of God, the people of Israel before 400 years of silence before John the Baptizer comes as the prophet preceding, preparing the way for Christ. It's the final instructions. The context is that Israel has been brought back from Babylon. They've been in the promised land for about 100, 120 years. They've rebuilt the temple during the years of Ezra. Nehemiah has come in and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. As they're rebuilding, they're getting back to worshiping God, to the religious rituals. They're getting back to what it meant to have a relationship with God. On the outside, everything looks great. But on the inside, there's corruption and God sends Malachi to the people of God with the question, how are you doing spiritually? How are you doing deep inside? How's your relationship with the Lord? Their very first answer is, we're fine. We're doing well. Then Malachi in a very systematic way unfolds where they have fallen short of worshiping God, giving Him the worship that He deserves. Malachi is bringing to them a message that's hard.It's hard to hear. God, through Malachi, is confronting their apathy, their indifference to God. They're going through the motions, but their heart is far from God. God speaks through Malachi. 47 to 55 verses are God speaking directly to the people of God. God's goal is to wake them up from this indifference, apathy, numbness, desensitization that they're feeling toward God and get them to a place where they reposition their lives to live lives that God delights to bless. What's fascinating about the book of Malachi is it ends with a warning. The last word of the book is destruction or curse. It's the only of the prophetic books that ends in such a manner. It ends this way because before us is a choice, is a decision. Do we want a blessing or do we want a curse? The instructions are given here to live lives that God loves to bless, lives honorable to God. Today we're in Malachi Chapter 1. We'll cover the whole chapter. Would you look at the text with me, Malachi Chapter 1?The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. "I have loved you." Says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" Declares the Lord, "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I've hated. I've laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert." If Edom says, "We are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins." The Lord of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down and they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever. Your own eyes shall see this and you shall say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my fear?" Says the Lord of hosts to you, priests who despise my name. But you say, "How have we despised your name?" By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, "How have we polluted you?" By saying that the Lord's table may be despised."When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? When you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor, will he accept you or show you favor?" Says the Lord of hosts. "Now entreat the favor of God that He may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will He show favor to any of you?" Says the Lord of hosts. "That there were one among you who would shut the doors that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain. I have no pleasure in you." Says the Lord of hosts "and I will not accept an offering from your hand. For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations and in every place, incense will be offered to my name and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations." Says the Lord of hosts. But you profane it. When you say that the Lord's table is polluted and it's fruit, that is, it's food may be despised.But you say, "What a weariness this is?" You snort at it, says the Lord, the Lord of hosts. "You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering? Shall I accept that from your hand?" Says the Lord. "Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock and vows it and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King ..." says the Lord of hosts, "and my name will be feared among the nations." This the reading of God's Holy inherent and infallible, authoritative word. May you write these eternal truths upon our hearts. Two points to frame our time together. First, we'll talk about the spiritual diagnosis as given by Malachi, which is apathy. Then the spiritual medicine, which is election. First, the spiritual diagnosis, apathy. Malachi 1:1 says, the oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. The word oracle here means burden.It means something that God has given to him, it's heavy on his shoulders. He's bringing it and not because he wants to, but because he has to. Jeremiah talks about a word that God puts into his bones that's like a fire in his bones, not to be trifled with, not to be changed, not to be disregarded or played with. Half the verses and the texts have something to say along the lines of, thus says the Lord or says the Lord or says the Lord almighty. It's not just the word about God, it's the word from God. A word to instill in us trepidation before the holiness of God, the judgment of God, the eternal condemnation of God. It's a burden to be delivered to whom? This is fascinating. It's not just the pagans, it's not to people who don't know anything about God or the word of God or things of God. It's people who love God. It's people who are raised in the faith. People who knew about the faith, the Old Testament covenant. They knew this from infancy. Because they've known it from infancy, they have grown indifferent to it.When God started a relationship with the people of Israel, it's a relationship that he compared to marriage. It's a covenant relationship. He chose to pour out his love on Israel. Now it's grown tepid. It's grown lukewarm. There's a passion leak that happened along the way. It's become a functional relationship. Almost like a functional marriage where you stay together just because of the kids or you stay together because you've been together for so long. It's a functional relationship with the Lord. God comes to them, and the very first thing that He says is, "I love you." Their response is a lukewarm, "Well, how do we know that he loves us?" The reason why he starts there is because they've lost the fire of love toward God. They've grown apathetic toward God. Spiritual apathy is something that every single believer, every single Christian needs to watch out for. But it's so sinister because it's hard to watch out for it. It doesn't come out of nowhere. It creeps in and we grow apathetic by degree. It's like the parable about the frog. How do you boil a frog alive?You throw it into cool water and then just warm up the water, warm up the water until it boils. That's how apathy works in our heart. No one starts off in a relationship with apathy. No one starts out with a relationship with God apathetically. It sneaks in. Sneaks in perhaps because we had expectations that were not met by God. "God, why did you allow this to happen?" That's what happened in Israel. They came back. The temple was rebuilt, but it was just a shadow of itself. Only 100,000 Jewish believers returned when they were a nation of millions. They come back and they said, "Does God really love us? It seems like the nations around us are prospering more than we do." It's hard to spot spiritual apathy in us, but the telltale sign of spiritual apathy is self-justification. I feel this. This is my reality. This is my experience, and I am right to feel this. If my relationship with God is not more passionate, then it's not on me. It's actually on Him.If God wants me to feel different about Him, He should've given me a lot in life, given me a different hand to play. God should have given me the things that I thought He would give me. Then I'd feel better about Him. That's what we see in this text. God comes to them. God wants to show them how apathetic they are to Him, and their reaction was self-justification. Meaning, we have a reason to feel this. Nine times in the scriptures, God is attempting to have a conversation with them. We see the phrase, but you say. Malachi 1:2, "I have loved you ..." says the Lord, "but you say ..." But the people of Israel, this is their response. "How have you loved us." Assumption, you haven't loved us. You haven't showing your love to us. Malachi 1:6B, priests who despise my name. But you say, "How have we despised your name?" God's saying, "You're hating." "How have we hated you?" Malachi 1:7, "By offering polluted food upon my altar." But you say, "How have we polluted you?"Malachi 1:13, but you say, "What a weariness this is? You snort at it." Says the Lord of hosts. God says, "I want a relationship with you. I want to bless you." They said, "But it's so boring to follow you. What a weariness it is." Malachi 2:13-14, He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. But you say, "Why does He not?" They're blame shifting. God is saying, "You're bringing offerings that's your leftovers, your second best to the Lord." They said, "But that's on God. That's God's fault that He isn't accepting what we're bringing Him." The same thing that Cain did. Malachi 2:17, You have wearied the Lord with your words, but you say, "How have we wearied him?" Malachi 3:7, "Return to me and I will return to you." Says the Lord of hosts. But you say, "How shall we return?" Malachi 3:8, will man rob God? You are robbing me. But you say, "How have we robbed you?" Malachi 3:13, "Your words have been hard against me." Says the Lord. But you say, "How have we spoken against you?"God is saying, "You've offended me." "How have we offended you Lord?" It's a hard-hearted reaction to God. Instead of repenting, they are self-justifying. The worst part, isn't just the indifference, it's the response to the person. How great is the person's God and God's love in which is an incredible love. Malachi 1:2, God comes. The very first words on the lips of God in this book are, "I have loved you." In Hebrew, it's not just, "I have loved you in the past." But, "I have loved you with such a great love and I continue to love you despite everything." Their response to that is shocking. But you say, "How have you loved us?" The response is, "We don't feel loved God. It's your fault that we don't feel loved." "I love you." But we don't feel loved. You're not doing enough to show us that you love us. What would warrant such a response? Part of it is, they're so focused on their situation. There is financial, political, relationship turmoil in their lives. God comes to them and says, "I love you."They say, "That's nice, but what have you done for me lately? What about my bills? What about my relationships? What about our health? What about my housing? My prospects, my past, present and future." You can tell from their responses, they're dead inside. They're callous. They're numb toward God. The word apathetic comes from the Greek apatheia, which means no feeling. They don't feel anything toward God. There's a dryness. There's a stupor. There's a senselessness. There's a boredom. That's what Malachi 1:13, their response is, "What a weariness this is? God, we're bored with religion. We're bored of the things of God. We're bored with the word of God. We're bored with God." If you're a parent and if you have kids, you've had this and it happens all the time. My kids come to me and are like, "Dad, I'm bored. I am so ..." Especially over quarantine it's like, "I am so bored. There's nothing to do. There's nothing to wear. There's no place to go. There's nothing to eat." Nothing to eat, always that comes after mom makes soup. They look at it and they say, "There's nothing to eat."Which is the biggest slap in the face to a parent. It's like ... My response is, "You should be lucky you're here. You're welcome. I have gifted you with existence. You're bored and partially because you're not doing anything. Go wash the dishes. Vacuum the car. Go do something." That's part of it. But the other, then you start to analyze what's going on in their heart. What's going on in their heart is, they think that you exist for them, that you, parent, exist to entertain them. They're at the center of the universe. "Mom, dad do everything that I demand. I am bored." That's what Israel is doing. I'm bored with you, God. You're not doing enough to meet our needs, to meet our demands. Now you see that really the core issue of this boredom, of this apathy, of this indifference is pride. That God, you exist for us and you're not doing enough for us. Why do they say that? Because they're focused on their circumstances. So focused on their situation, their financial situation, their health situation, their relational situation.Whenever we get too focused on our situation, too focused on ourselves, no matter how wonderful you are, no matter how wonderful your situation is, no matter how much you accomplish, no matter how prosperous your life, you will always get to a point where you get bored with you. If you're focused on you, you will always get bored with you because you are not enough to satisfy you. We have infinite souls, we have eternal souls and we need something greater than ourselves to live for. We need a greater purpose than ourselves to live for. When we're stuck on focusing on the day-to-day, the situation, and we lose sight of God's purpose for our life, God's plans for our life, we can't be bored. If God had so loved Israel, they're asking, "Why aren't we the blessed nation that we were supposed to be, that we were? We have no army to protect ourselves. We're still under the Persian King. Why is life so difficult?" Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.This indifference then leads to very raw, very dead, very dry religion. A religion that has no heart in it. They bring God their leftovers. They're hedging their bets when it comes to God. That's Malachi 1:6 and 7. God says, "A son honors his father and a servant his master. If then I'm a father, where's my honor? If I'm a master, where is my fear?" Says the Lord of hosts. "Priests who despise my name." But you say, "How have we despised your name?" By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, "How have we polluted you?" By saying that the Lord's table may be despised. It starts with, God speaks to the people of God, "You're indifferent to me. How have we loved you?" Then God turns His attention to speaking to the clergy, to the priest, to the pastors. He's saying, "You have not taught the people well. You haven't taught about fearing God and honoring God and worshiping God because He's worthy of worship." They step back and they say, "How have we hated you? We haven't hated you. We haven't despised you."Then Malachi explains, this is how. Verses eight and nine, when you offer blind animals and sacrifice, is that not evil? When you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? "Present that to your governor, will he accept you or show you favor?" Says the Lord of hosts. "Now entreat the favor of God that He may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will He show favor to any of you?" Says the Lord of hosts. He said, "This is how you have hated me. This is how you've despised me, how you've defamed my name. You've given me leftovers. Try bringing the offerings that you bring me to your governor, to the politicians who are in charge of you. Let's see if they accept that offer." What he's talking about is the sacrificial system that God had instated in Israel. This is how you worship God, by bringing Him your best. God said, through the law, that the people, if they wanted to worship God, they had to bring their first fruits. They had to bring their firstborn of the flock and the most excellent of one's property.God wanted to show that true love always had to do a sacrifice and obedience. This is a real test of faith. They brought animals from their flock, the best animals. The best animals were the best breeding stock. By bringing God your best on an annual basis, you know that you are diminishing your breeding stock. The animals that are coming now from your secondary best are not going to be as good as the animals that came from your first best. It was really a test of faith. I'm going to bring God my best, the best stock, knowing that my obedience of God is going to put me in a place of blessing and prosperity that is diametrically opposed to the world's path to prosperity. Now, God is speaking to priests here because priests got to a point where they said, "We see lethargy in the people. We see indifference in the people. We can't demand absolute obedience from the people because the people will stop showing up. If we demand the absolute best from the people, the people will stop offering anything.We're going to lower the barrier of obedience and tell people, you know what, it's all going to go up in smoke anyway. Let's just be good stewards. You don't have to bring your best, bring your secondary best. Bring the blind animals or the maimed animals or the blemished animals. The ones that you can't sell at the market. At least bring something." They realized that the spiritual temperature of the people was so low that if they demand the best, then they get nothing. They're more worried about themselves and they're more worried about offending people and losing potential income from the church than anything else. God goes to them and says, "You're so worried about offending people that you forgot that you are offending me. I demand the best." That's what God is saying. Mediocrity, I reject that. Half-hearted worship, I reject that. Begrudging worship, I reject that. How does this apply to us today? I have pastor friends in the city, whenever we meet with one another for mutual edification. One of the things that we always talk about, and especially now during the pandemic, is how's attendance at church?How are the numbers at church, et cetera, et cetera? As a minister of the gospel, I've been in the ministry for 11 plus years now. I've read all the church growth books and I know what we can do to grow the church. I know it. There's things that you can do, levers that you can pull to get people in the door. There's things that if numbers were all that mattered, if getting people in the door is all that mattered, there's things that I would do and there's things that I would not do. One of the first things that I would not do, first of all, I would stop preaching about spiritual indifference and apathy. I wouldn't talk about that. I wouldn't talk about sin. I wouldn't talk about obedience. I wouldn't talk about giving God your absolute best. I wouldn't talk about the holiness of God, the judgment of God, the condemnation of God. I wouldn't talk about eternal hell. I wouldn't talk about God's damnation, God's wrath. I wouldn't talk about any of that. I would just talk about God who exists to love you and bless you and protect you.God who is like an enhancement. God who like fairy dust God or Santa Claus God. He just wants to make your life better. Come to Him. He loves you. He loves you the way you are. You can keep living the way you are. Just show up on Sundays. Give God your lip service. Give God a tip and just go and enjoy life the way you want to live it. By the way, a lot of churches do this. What they say is, "Well, we don't want to offend anybody. We want to make a relationship with God more palatable. We want to lower the entry, the on-ramp. We want just to make people's lives better. That's why we preach keys and techniques, and this is five, six, seven steps, 11 steps of how you can live a blessed life. God says, "I'd rather you just ... Instead of making it less off-putting, instead of making it more palatable, instead of making the faith accessible, instead of accommodating people, I'd rather you just close up shop. I'd rather no worship than mediocre worship."That's what he says in verse 10. "That there were one among you who would shut the doors. I'd rather someone show up and just close up the church, close up the temple that you might not kindle fire in my altar in vain. I have no pleasure in you." Says the Lord of hosts, "and I will not accept an offering from your hand." He said, "Priests, you've made the faith about the people. You've removed God. By doing so, you've dishonored God." This is why God writes this word to them. He says, "Look, unless you change, there will be an absence of the presence of God." Lukewarm is not better than nothing. Mediocre worship is not better than nothing. God doesn't want that. What does God say? How do we rekindle our hearts, rekindle our affections for God? This is point two, the spiritual medicine to our apathy is God's sovereign election. The solution to our spiritual apathy is deepening our understanding of God's love for us. That God is sovereign in choosing people to salvation before the foundation of the world, just because He chooses so.He chooses people not based on anything they had done, not based on anything that they will do, but just because that's His sovereign choice. One thing I will mention here in the very beginning, is we're not reading Calvin. A lot of people say, "This is Calvinism. That's one person's interpretation" We're not reading Calvin here. We're reading the scriptures. We're going to read some scriptures from St. Paul. We're going to read scriptures from Jesus Christ. It's in the scripture. It's everywhere in the scripture that God's sovereign election of salvation is taught throughout the scripture. That's number one. Number two, I grew up in a church that did not teach election. It did not teach predestination when it comes to salvation. I only heard about this for the first ... I actually heard about this for the first time in my early 20s, as I started studying scripture, as I started studying theology. I went back to my dad, who was an elder at the church I grew up in, and I asked him like, "Hey, why wasn't this ever taught?"He said, "We didn't really want to offend people. We didn't think it was that useful." It's like theology for people who want to deepen their knowledge of the scripture. But there's a reason why God talks about it. He talks about it often. He talks about not just for people who want to study this with their brains, but He talks about this in a way that's very helpful to our daily walk with the Lord. Then I realized that the people who did teach, the churches that did teach election predestination are churches that preached scripture. By scripture, I mean not just topical sermons where we're going to preach whatever we want on any given day. It's churches that preached books of the Bible. Verse by verse, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter so that you can't skip the things that are not as palatable to people. That's it. Then I started studying the church history. In church history, I realized that the world's greatest minds, the world's greatest Christian minds all believe this. They didn't believe, they loved the doctrines of election predestination.Augusta and Aquinas, the magisterial reformers, Luther. How was your Reformation Day yesterday? We celebrated Reformation Day or Reformation Day anyone? You dressed up your kids as Luther, as Calvin, as Zwingli and got them some candy. Yesterday was Reformation Day. 1517, October 31st Martin Luther goes and he takes 95 Theses and nails it to the door of the church in Wittenberg to reform the Catholic Church. You've got Luther, you've got Calvin, you've got Knox, you've got Zwingli, you've got Bucer, you've got Bullinger. Those who later then sought to bring the reformation to the Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Blaise Pascal, one of the greatest minds in the history of the world. Then the Puritans, John Owen, John Bunyan. The great awakening was led by Whitfield, Jonathan Edwards, John Newton, Richard Cecil Augustus Toplady.The greatest missionaries Livingstone, Carey, Martyn, Morrison, Patton, William Burns. The greatest preachers Spurgeon and Martin Lloyd Jones. They loved the doctrines of grace, of sovereign grace. Because to understand sovereign grace is to begin to understand the depth of God's love for us. That's why when God talks about, "I've loved you." They say, "How have you loved us?" This is Malachi 1:2-3, He then brings in the doctrine of election. "I've loved you." Says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us? Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" Declares the Lord. "Yet I've loved Jacob, but Esau I hated." "I love you." "How have you loved us?" "Let me tell you about Jacob and Esau. One guy, I love. The other guy, I hated." What's going on here? Then he goes into the two nations that descended from these two brothers. Now, Jacob and Esau, they weren't just brothers, they were twin brothers. It wasn't like Isaac and Ishmael where God chose Isaac and not Ishmael.They're brothers from different mothers. Here, it's two brothers, they're twins, same mother. Malachi 1:3-4, I've laid waste to his hill country and left his heritage to jackals or the desert. If Edom says, "We are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins." The Lord of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down and they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever." Edom started with Esau and was an enemy of Israel always. They were never an ally of Israel. At no point in Israel's history were they friendly? As Israel was weakened in 7th century BC, Edom encroached and the people of God were asking, "Why are the Edomites taking over?" Et cetera, et cetera. There were enemies. As God is answering, "Why do I love you? Let me show you how much I loved you. I chose you."He's not just talking about nations. He's talking about Edomites as well. One of the things to know about the love, hate language here. God, isn't using this language in terms of human psychology. There's not a vindictive spirit. There's not a personal animosity. It's language in terms of the covenant. The covenant is, like a marriage covenant, there's a choice. In Deuteronomy actually 23:7, God told Israel, "You shall not abhor an Edomite for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were a sojourner in his land." The language of love and hate is a language of choosing. Love is a choice. Within this general election of nations is a specific relationship that begins with individuals. God chose Abraham. "I'm going to bless you." Then from Abraham's children, Isaac and Ishmael, God chose Isaac over Ishmael. Then Isaac's sons, Jacob and Esau, God chose the younger, Jacob. God determined that the people of Israel would descend from Jacob, not from Esau.He loved them in a special way, in a particular way. A love that did not extend to Esau and to the Edomites. Why? Because there was something good in Jacob. There was something good in Israel. God actually emphasized. No, He chose Israel because they were the least ... Deuteronomy 7:6-8, for you are a people Holy to the Lord your God, the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It's not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord has set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of the people. But it is because the Lord loves you. He's keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of Israel, from the hand of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. "Why did I choose you?" God is saying. "Because I love you." That's it. This is kind of ...It's hard for us to understand because when someone loves me or loves you, you're usually like, "Yeah, because there's ... Good choice. You have great taste. I'm glad you love me." It's because there's something loving in us, of course. God is saying, "No, there was nothing lovely in you. The only reason why I chose you is because I chose you. The only reason why I chose you is because I love you." God did not base his choice in anything He foresaw in either Jacob or Esau. Rather God did it because God did it. In Romans 9:11-13, St. Paul expositive this text from Malachi. He says this, "Though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad in order that God's purpose of election might continue. Not because of works, but because of Him who calls." She was told, their mother, "The older shall serve the younger as it is written Jacob, I loved, but Esau I hated." Some people try to dodge the implications of this doctrine by saying, "Well, God chose Israel to serve him, not to save them." But Romans 9 clearly isn't just talking about nations.It's talking about individuals and salvation, personal salvation. Now why does Malachi begin with the doctrine of election? He begins with the doctrine of election to deepen our understanding of the vastness of the love of God for us. He says, "Your hearts are indifferent. The reason why they're indifferent is because do you do not understand God's love for you." God loves you so much that before the foundation of the world, before you were born, before you had done anything, your name was already written on His heart, graven on His hands. He, before anything was created, had chosen to love you, to pour out His mercy on you. The reason why it's given us to us here is to get us to this place of utter humility. Why am I a Christian? Because I believed, because I repented, because I studied, because I was faithful, because I read the apologizes, because I read the scripture? No. The reason why you're a believer and the only difference between you and an unbeliever is the sovereign choice. The sovereign grace of God. He chose to love you.That right there, I remember the first time I understood this in my early 20s, I realized I did not know God. I didn't know the love of God. I didn't know the greatness of God. The vastness of God. This is what it means that Jesus loves me? Yes. This is what it means that God poured out his grace on you? Yes. Not just that He forgives you of your sin, but because from the foundation of the world, He chose to save you. You have been saved, you are saved, you always will be saved. It has nothing to do with us, it has nothing to do with earning with good works. Actually Esau was probably the better guy. If you look at just their morality, Esau wasn't a deceiver like Jacob. Esau did get angry that Jacob stole his blessing, but then he got over it. He forgave. Both men were sinners, but God chose Jacob instead of Esau. At this point, the objection is, but that's not fair. The first thing that St. Paul deals with in Romans 9 is, well, what's your definition of fairness?Who decides what fairness is? Then in Romans 9:14-18, he deals a little more with that. Shall we say then is there injustice on God's part? Is it unfair? Is God not fair? By no means, for He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy on. I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. Then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose I've raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Then He has mercy on whomever He wills and He hardens whomever He wills. It's not fair. Then St. Paul says, "Well, what's not fair? Is it your mercy?" No. Whose mercy is it? It's God's mercy. Who gets to do ... Does God get to do with His mercy whatever God chooses? Yes, of course. Does God get to be God? Yes, of course. Was God unjust when He condemned Satan and all of the demons when they rebelled against Him? Was God unjust? No, of course not.He was absolutely just in condemning them. Was God not just when He did not provide a way for them to be reconciled with Him? No. They rebelled. They got judgment. God is glorified in judging as much as He is in giving mercy. The question isn't, why doesn't God save everybody? The question is, why does God save anybody at all? Why does anybody get any mercy whatsoever? God would have been perfectly just in condemning the entire human race. He doesn't owe anybody mercy. This is what God is telling the people of Israel, as He's telling us, we should be absolutely shocked, minds blown by the fact that God chooses to extend mercy to us. In Romans 9:19-24, St. Paul continues with the argument and he says, "You will say to me then, why does He still find fault? For who can resist his will? But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and the other for dishonorable use?What if God, desiring to show His wrath and make known His power has endured with such patience vessels of wrath, prepared for destruction? In order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory. Even us whom He has called not from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles. How can God hold anybody accountable if He chooses some and He doesn't choose others? That's really the question that he's asking. A very logical question. St. Paul's answers, God gets to be God. God is God. He is who He is. He decides what He wants to do with His mercy. It's not just a matter of standing. It's a matter of submitting. Here's how this applies to our ... If we're indifferent toward God's love, if we're numb inside, if there's a coldness toward God, we as believers need to ask the question, where would we be if it were not for the grace of God? Where would we be without the mercy of God if He didn't pour out His love on us? God is sovereign.He gets glory for judging people as much as He gets glory for saving people. That's why Malachi 1:5 after he says this, goes through the doctrine of election. He says, "Your own eyes shall see this and you shall say, great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel." The reason why he starts off with this in a context of their coldness in terms of worship, as he says, "Now is your worship commensurate? Is your response to God's love commensurate to the greatness and vastness of His love? How can we bring our second best to God, our leftovers to God?" How can we give Him the leftovers of our time, of our resource, of our money, of our energy? How can we be disobedient to God like this? He loved us with such a great love. Why isn't our response commensurate? That's why 1st Peter 2:9 and 10 says, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation of people for His own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of the darkness into His marvelous light.Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. He says, "God's called you up. He's given you a purpose. He's given you a job to proclaim His glory and to extend His mercy to others." That's why it makes absolutely zero sense to be bored with God because He's such an amazing God. What a glorious God. He's called the God of hosts eight times, the Lord of armies. He commands all the armies, all the galaxies of the universe and this God chose us. Number one, what this should do to our hearts as Christians, it should melt our hearts with humility what a great God this is. Number two, it should comfort us. That no matter what happens in our lives, we are safe. We are saved. We are with Him. Then it should take our gaze off of our circumstances. When we see God's plan of salvation, it puts everything else into perspective. Then we should ask, okay, the people of God in the Old Testament, how does the Old Testament end?It ends with their sacrifices not being enough. It leads us to ask the question, Lord, well, what is enough? What can we offer you that is enough to reconcile us with you? The answer is, there's nothing. There's nothing that we can do. There's nothing that we can offer to finally be reconciled with God. It leads us to this place of hopelessness unless we see the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, Jesus Christ is shown up in the offering system that the people of God would bring offerings to God for a temporary absolution of their sins. Which is a sign of a need for a greater sacrifice, which is Christ. In the book of Malachi, the people would bring their secondary best. Jesus Christ comes and He gives Himself. His very best, God the father gives His son to die on the cross for our sins. In Malachi, God says, "Jacob, I loved. Esau, I hated." On the cross, Jesus Christ takes our curse upon Himself. In a sense, God the father says, "Yon, I loved. Jesus, I hated."Jesus Christ took our curse upon Himself. Why? Because that's how much He loved us. That was planned before the foundation of the world. That's how great God's love is for us. How much greater should our response be to His sacrifice? God, didn't give His leftovers. He gave His absolute best. If this God, this great, gracious God is for us, then who can be against us? Salvation is a free gift. We can't earn it. We can't do anything to pay for it. We can only accept it freely. But once you accept this gift, God demands everything that we have in response. Finally, before we turn to communion, what if I'm not elect? If you're not a Christian, you got to be asking that question. What if I'm not elect? I would tell you exactly what Jesus Christ says. Jesus Christ is talking about God's election, God choosing some and God not choosing others. In that same breath, He gives an invitation, come on to me.This is Matthew 11:25-30. At that time, Jesus declared, I thank you, father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my father, and no one knows the son except the Father. And no one knows the Father except the son, and anyone to whom the son chooses to reveal Him. God, thank you that you opened the eyes of some and you closed the eyes of others. In that same breath, what does He say? He issues one of the greatest invitations in all of human history and says, come on to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart. You will find a rest through your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.Come onto Jesus. Come repent of your sins. Believe in Him. As you do, accept the mercy and grace that He's willing to extend to everybody. That said, we're going to transition to Holy communion. Holy communion is given to us as a sign of remembrance to remember Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross. For whom is Holy communion? It's for anyone who's repentant of their sins. It's for those who repent of their sins. If you are not a Christian, then we ask that you refrain from this part of the service. Or if you are a Christian living in unrepentant sin, we ask that you refrain. Unless you repent, and if you repent right now before Christ asking for forgiveness, asking for mercy and grace, you're welcome to partake. I'm going to pray over the bread and the cup. The way we celebrate communion at Mosaic, is we take the cup, we take the little plastic off. You take the bread in one hand, you take the other little plastic off. You take the cup. As you do that, I'll pray for our time.Heavenly Father, we thank you for the grace that you extend to us. A grace that began before the foundation of the world, before you created anything. You knew that we would rebel and you knew that you loved us so much that you would provide a way for our salvation through the sacrifice of your son, Jesus Christ. Jesus, we thank you that you, the perfect lamb of God, the unblemished lamb of God, were sacrificed. We thank you that you bore the wrath of God that we deserve for our law breaking. That you absorbed that curse in order to extend to us a blessing. Lord, we pray that you bless our time in communion now. We repent of our sin, of our apathy, of our indifference. I pray that you continue to deepen our understanding of your love. As we do, to respond with a commensurate love. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

David Ord is joined by Cornelius Lysaght, David Johnston and Ben Linfoot to look back on Enable, Persian King and Dream Of Dreams and ahead to a wonderful weekend of racing.

Racing Post’s Maddy Playle is joined by Keith Melrose, Lee Mottershead and Paddy Power’s Paul Binfield for a look back at the weekend’s action, including Enable's win in the September Stakes and Persian King's Group 1 success at Longchamp, beating Pinatubo into second. The panel added an international flavour this week to further discuss the Arc, which looks set to be the highlight of the flat season and also look back on the Kentucky Derby, which was won by Bob Baffert's Authentic. Looking ahead, the team also discussed this weekend's racing, which looks set to be a cracker with the St Leger and Irish Champions Weekend all to look forward to

What can we possibly learn (that is applicable today) from a 2,500-year-old letter written by a Persian Governor to the Persian King regarding the rebuilding of Jerusalem? Let's find out.--Pastor Kevin

THE TEMPLE AND THE WORD  This is the continuing story of God’s people under Zerubbabel returning home to rebuild the temple that was broken down. This story also includes the later arrival of Ezra upon the scene, returning with up to two thousand more exiles, to be part of the rebuilding, but not of the temple his time, but of the rebuilding of God’s Word into the peoples’ hearts.There are parallels in this story of Israel experiencing a reset of their place as God’s people in the Earth, and the Church today experiencing a reset as a witness for God in the Earth. Their world had come to a standstill just as the world we live in today is in crisis and has also come to a standstill. However there is no standing still in God’s purpose to rebuild and restore his people and to take them forward into his purposes.   God moved the hearts of secular world rulers (Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes moved history for Zerubbabel and Ezra and later Nehemiah) to allow, even encourage and help, the Jewish people to return home. He used these unlikely allies to fulfill His promises of restoration for His people. Proverbs 21:1 – “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”   It was not only in the kings but in the officers, and the mostly indifferent bureaucracy where God moved men’s’ hearts for His purpose.This is also a time for us to encounter unlikely sources of blessing. This is the wonder of God really working all things together for the good of those who are called by His name. These are times for a new kind of expectation of the unexpected. These are times to acknowledge God’s sovereignty and mercy. Zerubbabel had now laid the foundation of the temple. But there was no temple and there was no real city, and there were no walls – and that meant they were open to enemy attack, and they had to learn how to deal with that. Stories of the glory of Solomon's temple began to breed discouragement that they could never rebuild this temple as glorious as that one. It was now time to rebuild the temple, and the prophets Zechariah and Haggai encouraged Zerubbabel to get on with the work. It took many years to complete the building because there was the continual harassment of the enemies, and as yet there were no walls. It is God’s heart to see his people dwelling together in unity where his presence resides with them and within their hearts. This is God’s home, his temple made up of people, called ‘living stones’. The prophet Haggai speaks firmly and soberly to the people about their priorities. They had been preoccupied with giving more meaning to their own personal affairs instead of the will of God as being central for the meaning of their individual and corporate lives. God’s life matters. Here’s what Haggai says; Haggai 1: 7  Consider your ways says the Lord. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? Declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. That rebuke then becomes an encouragement to them that he desires to be with them and will be glorified in them, and that means that their lives will express His life among them in an even greater way than he has in their past history ‘The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former’. He wanted them to identify as His people, His Nation and not scattered in a foreign land with a foreign culture. They were coming home- their home and His home.The following Scripture is a powerful encouragement for them then and for us now – It tells them that all nations will be shaken but they will be provided for…Haggai 2:1 Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’ Haggai encourages Zerubbabel that God is with him in this work, just as The Holy Spirit is telling is that he is with us in this critical time – His Spirt is in our midst .God is bringing his people back into a rebuilding of their unity based upon the unity of the faith. The unity of the faith is simply the expression of the life of Christ being lived out individually and corporately wherever we are and whatever the cultural or traditional background we have. There is a picture of the relational unity among us in the picture of the stones being cut to shpe for the temple.The stones in the temple had to be shaped. The stabilising wall was made of stones that were cut out and shaped at the rock quarry and brought into place to fit together without any mortar in between, sometimes rubbing the rough edges off each other – just like us in managing our own relationships with each other. God has to do a lot of work upon us, taking us out of one huge rock structure as big as a mountain and fitting us together, so we come out of our rock Christ, and get shaped by the Holy Spirit to take our place next to each other in Christ. That is what God is preparing us for in these days.    He then says ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts’ so that the treasures of all nations shall come in. That is his message to all the world - that He is the possessor of the Heavens and the Earth, not the nations ruled by dictators who covet the wealth of other nations to wield more corrupt power in their oppression of millions upon millions of people. God is preparing a people who will express his  justice and mercy and blessing.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            As I said before - Haggai Tells Zerubbabel that He will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and that He will shake all nations. So all of this work of rebuilding his people together to contain and to express his presence is being done in the midst of upheaval all over the world, and that is our experience at this very time. There is a special grace upon this coming together of a living temple. There is a grace for us to be in supportive prayer for one another and the healing of relationships. The Scripture said  He will fill this house with greater glory, the expression of the life of Jesus within.  And now it is time for the rebuilding of the Word After a few years Ezra leads the second of three waves of returning exiles. Even though the temple was being restored and God was with his people it was time for them to be challenged by the Word that would bring personal growth to their lives, because by the time Ezra arrived, the people had again fallen into sin and allowed the values of the godless culture around them (not just the one back in Babylon) to influence their values and corrupt their consciences. Ezra preached God’s word and the people repented. There were close to two thousand people who went up from Babylon to Jerusalem for this mission. This next phase in the rebuilding of God’s people coming home was the inner rebuilding of their faith and faithfulness through his Word. This also speaks to us today, to live more deeply but simply in His Word to us. Paul told Timothy to study to sow himself approved, confident that he was correctly dissecting the Word of God (2 Timothy2.15) Ezra 7:6 -10 Ezra was skilled in the Law of Moses that the Lord, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, and he succeeded for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel. Ezra received favour from the Persian King’s officers and counsellors so that people of influence were willing to make a way for him to do what God has said, and God also put others who had a heart for God’s Word to be part of Ezra’s vision to see the Word of God renewed in peoples’ hearts. They were described as men of insight and faithfulness and discretion. Again we see God working on the hearts of those who do not know him, for His word to make its way to wherever God sends it  and to do its work and not return empty. Ezra 7:28 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king's mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. In Ezra’s words, he declared his faith in God’s protection over him and all that accompanied him. Ezra 8:22 For I was embarrassed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king that the hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who abandon him.” So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. And the gracious hand of our God protected us and saved us from enemies and bandits along the way. So we arrived safely in Jerusalem, where we rested for three days. So this was a different kind of building that Ezra was asked by God to do. This was a time of the revival of the power of God’s word coming alive in the hearts of His people. This was a time of divine protection from the enemy, and it will be the same for us as we fight a good warfare.This is a time for us to join ourselves in prayer for all who believe and trust in God, that he will revive the hearts of the humble, and the spirits of those who have been oppressed. pray first that he will revive our hearts with the grace and faith to be the Ezras who make way for God’s Word to flourish in His House, His Home. His temple of living stones – to declare His Word to our world.  

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah were all under the Persian Kings- about 500 BC ~Christ. Ezra was an Aaronite scribe. Jewish tradition says he led a council who compiled the Old Testament. *Zerubbabel, of the royal Davidic line of Messiah, brings the 1st wave of 42,000 Jewish returnees to rebuild the temple. *Ezra brings the 2nd wave of 1,800 returnees to revive the spiritual temple worship. This laid the foundation for the synagogue. *Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the Persian King, the most trusted man in the empire, brings the 3rd wave to rebuild Jerusalem's walls in 52 days. We see God's providence and favor working behind the scenes. How the men of God face oppositions time after time. God allows that. This is different from the theology we see now. Many religious leaders tell you that when you serve God everything will be well. I hope and pray this truth helps you understand this and see that beautiful God who is still on the throne. May God bless you!

Foundry's Summer Guest Series starts with a guest sermon from Reverend Kimberly Scott For Such A Time As This-I. It is indeed and privilege and honour that I stand before you today…For Such a time as time…A few months ago, I could imagined I’d preaching for you today Foundry…The Day following my Ordination as an Elder in Full Connection of the Desert Southwest Conference….Had some one told 10 years ago that would be standing in a virtual pulpit/ anyone virtual pulpit today I wouldn’t have believed…Preaching, teaching and being a leader CHURCH in the was never on my bucket list church….But God, has been up to something for such a time as this….A time in which so much of our lives have been put on hold due to COVID 19 PANDEMIC ….A time in which LGBTQIA folks in the UMC are faced with the reality that their promise land has seemingly disappeared over the horizon, and in now out of site…AT a time such as this that our history, our past has seeming become our new or a renewed reality……. I know this your PRIDE SUNDAY, but it would be socially irresponsible to NOT You see I understand that there are some of you, who you assumed you’d lived through worst season of racial tension, discrimination, injustice and inequality in this country…I recognize that some of lived through the Jim Crow era, the Civil Rights, Woman’s Lib and Gay and Lesbian Right Movement…AND there is at least one, generation of persons gathered here today who truly grew up believing they lived in a color blind society…Some of us thought systemic racism and homophobia was dead in this country with the election of Barack Obama, AND then there’s unfortunate reality that some gathered here today have seen the CHURCH at war with itself all your life due issues of colonialism, racism, sexism and homophobia….In other words, some of us have been waiting for TRANSFORMATION to come in in our streets, in the church and our world for way too long… We are sick and tired of being sick of creating new hash tags… So what is our call as faithful followers of a Jesus Christ who died so that all might be set FREE?What is our call as those who claim to serve a Jesus who died to set the oppressed free and so that through his Body humanity might live into the reality of the REALIZED Kin-dom of God?....I don’t have all of the answers but today text situates us in life of Esther to aid us finding our way forward…For Such A Time as thisII. The text: For Such a time as thisAlthough most of us have heard or are familiar with the famous quote for such a time as this, from the book of Esther.. Due to the fact that Esther rarely makes the lectionary many don’t know the full or context that makes that statement so profound. So let us start with who Esther is… She is a young Jewish woman, orphaned due the death of her parents. Fortunately, she is adopted by her cousin Mordecai. Mordecai serves as a courier within the Kings royal court…At this time in Bible History the Jews, God’s chosen people, are in exile. Jerusalem was conquered, its people taken in chains into Babylonian captivity. So the Jews of the diaspora have, settled and made their homes in Susa, and they are living as a recognized religious minority in the heart of the powerful Persian empire….Thus living on the margins… Thus, as an orphan and a Jewish female, Esther is a nobody among nobodies in this minority community. With her true identity kept secret, Esther first appears in the story as one of the young virgins brought into the king's harem, by her cousin Mordecai to be a possible replacements for Vashti, the banished wife of the Persian King.After a year living in the harem being trained, Esther pleases the king and is eventually crowned queen. Remember All this takes place while Esther keeps her Jewish identity thus her relation to Mordecia secret (Esth 2:10, 20). Meanwhile Mordecai he has won favor by serving the king faithfully and even preventing an assassination attempt. Somehow Mordecai’s Jewish heritage becomes known to an enemy by the of Haman. Haman is also a favored member of the King’s royal court. Yet, he is jealous of Mordecai and his standing with the king. Mordecai get into a power struggle with a Haman Mordecai refuses to bow before Haman, and this so infuriates Haman. Haman decides not only to put Mordecai to death, but also to slaughter his entire people. And he secures the king's permission to do this. Our text today in Esther 4 picks up right after Mordecai has learned of Haman's plot and he is distraught. In this distraught state, weeping, and dressed in sackcloth and ashes he shows up at the palace gate wanting to inform Esther of what’s taken place. After going back and forth with a messenger, Eventually Mordecai reveals Haman’s plot to exterminate all the, Jews…And pleads for Esther to beg for the Kings mercy to spare her people’s lives As was read in our text…When Esther first learns of Haman's plot and the threat to her people, her reaction is one of reluctance, helplessness and hopelessness. She tells Mordecai she could not approach the king without being summoned, and she could possibly face death, and besides the king has not summoned for me in thirty days, implying that she has fallen out of favor. Yet, Mordecai's is persistent and send on one last plea: “Esther, ‘Do not imagine that you in the king’s palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?’” Esther 4:13-14 (NASB) III. What is this story about…Well right away we learn that the leaders of the Persian empire/ Haman, had an agenda… A racist agenda to exterminate all the Jews. We might now a little bit in this country about racist agenda to exterminate a group of people… We know a little bit AS Methodist about homophobic agenda to exterminate queer people from the church…. So we should be able to place ourselves inside this story… FOUNDRY….I need you to place yourself inside this story….FOUNDRY….I need you to place yourself inside this story…. Foundry…ESTHER…Esther you are facing the genocide of yourself your people…You are being given a difficult task….. 1. To choose action or to choose to be SILENT when your people needed her the most.2.Esther you’ve got to choose rather to confront your husband/spouse, the King, the power be, risking death simply by entering a room without being asked or to do nothing and continue to live a plus life as the Queen Esther. 3. Esther you can choose to plead with your husband/spouse the king, to stop this ethnic cleansing or to do nothing. 4. Esther you can save yourself and your people or you can do nothing. So secondly this is narrative about choice and free will?God always give use Choices right……Since the beginning…. Now..When we reflect on Esther’s life, who she was, where she had come from and then read 13-15 it can easily come across as Mordecai scolded her focus self-preservation In others words we might take it as MORDECAI calling her out for being selfish..…But listen….Let’s read the text again… Do not think that because you are in the King’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. More than any other thing the word that sticks out to me…Is the phrase…For if you remain SILENT time this….For if you remain silent this time HERE Mordecai catches ESTHER’s attention by clueing her in to the bigger picture…the broader context of who she is.. He essentially say her, although it feels LIKE you have arrived- You have not made it to your promise land because your in the King’s palace living a lavish life DON”T forget …You are still a JEW..….Mordecia is saying…Esther your LIFE is not simply about YOU…But about us……You did not make it to this PALACE: for yourself or by yourself or because of yourself..So, don’t to comfortable yet…WE-a collective WE are not arrived at your promise land..If you remain silent at this time and focus on yourself…Eventually relief will come to our people by you and your family will die…. In speaking these words to Esther…Mordecai draws her away from the needs of self and self-preservation to a sense of connectivism and into to the UNBUTU spirit.. I am BECAUSE you are…You are BECAUSE I amHe reminds her she had been CHOSEN for this TIME to set ASIDE her own interests, goals and desire to let go of her own ambitions, and face their common foe full-on.And how does Esther reply…him.​ With that message Esther is inspired….No she is compelled to take control…To act quickly in this crisis to save her people in the midst of the threat of death… She is obediently, faithful.. she is a team player….Eshter goes on to be the savior of her people….She was indeed call for Such a time as this…. She was called to risk her life and her legacy with no guarantees of a positive outcome. Just on faith and Goodwill… That’s the “for such a time as this” Mordecai challenged Esther to accept.And that’s the “for such a time as this” God also sets before you and me… So what do we learn from Esther?So what is Esther teaching here?First, this is call to not be SILENT when a CRISIS arise amongst our people..When we see harm being done..When injustice in present…In our world…In our churches… Over the last week, we’ve all heard the stories about people all over the world reacting with protest, riots and marches due to the George Floyd case….AND to BE quite I honest I really wrestled with my own response the first few days because quite frankly I was scared… I was scared about being hurt, arrested, being in the wrong place at the wrong time….Pause…And then across the screen flashed on a protestors sign….Silence = Violence…. Silence = Compliance… …Riots are the voice of the unheard….. And then the kicker…In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of FRIEND…I instantly felt convicted like I should be doing something…I took it as my call to stop sitting on the sidelines and to become a part of the solution….So wrapped up in Esther’s is a call, is Esther teaching us to use our voice to…To give encourage us …To give us courage AND The power to speak FREEDOM for the captive…For the oppressed…-Freedom is the call to a protect LIFE of via the ACT of love, TO SPEAK words of FREEDOM is to BRING ALL TO A PLACE OF wholeness and abundance… ---The call to speak of freedom and speak freedom into EXISTENCE for others , challenges evil, destructiveness, oppression, violence, decay, and defeats death….. AND this INDEED Good news! So-How do we speak of freedom in a world suffering? - We must be A voices for the voiceless…To speak NEW truth to power..Because next in our text, There ESTHER’s story models for us how to live OUT OUR CALL AND to put the community and God’s Kin-Dom building work ahead of our self-seeking ambition..Imagine that…God has given each of us a job/careers, resources, education and influence…. God has opened doors and given each of us opportunities for God’s Kin-Dom purposes. God didn’t create us to just sit back and live a lavish life not focused on the world around us. The more resources and privilege we have the more WE have that belongS to God… As Luke 12:48 teaches to whom much is given much is required…BECAUSE God placed us where we ARE today to literally be apart of building UP a NEW WORLD… PAUSEI had the privilege of attending the Iliff School of Theology at time when the late Dr. Vincent Harding was there…Dr. Harding assisted in the writing of many of Martin Luther King Jr. speeches….IN his experience walking beside and working with KING he was inspired to write a song sung to the tune of we are climbing Jacobs ladder, titled…We Are Building Up A New World….That is the song I lead in with today before the prayer…VINCENT HARDING charged us at Iliff to take seriously our responsibility at Building Up A New World…To take seriously our Kind-Dom building responsibility…THUS…Today we are in the midst of KinDom battle…The enemy would love to have it’s way by distracting us and having us be continue to be inwardly focused on the all things that matter to us…But God didn’t build us that way…GOD BUILT us to BE IN COMMUNITY….Esther could have easily continued to live the lavish LIFE in the King’s palace and let whatever happen to her people just happen…But she would have most certainly have missed her Kin-Dom Calling and an entire nation would have been lost…Instead an entire nation was grateful for how Esther responded to Mordecai’s REQUEST. Their lives were spared. How many lives matter to you? Who’s lives truly manner to you… How have you shown it…. I answered my call to ministry at a time I was mad at God the church for all the harm I had a experienced and openly queer lay person who faithfully served the church….But God said kin stop whining and crying about how horrible the church has been to you and God and be a part of changes the church, because are not the only one who has been harmed or being harmed by the church…..And that’s how convinced me of my first for such a time as this moment…. To leave behind, my church, my family and my career…You see as school counselor for 10 in las Vegas, NV I had witness LGBTQIA youth being harmed by due to the LDS, BAPTIST, CHURCH OF GOD upbringing to name a few.I saw countless numbers of students in and out of treatment center, some end up runaways and others victims of suicide….I know It is no mistake that the first Sermon God laid on my heart, An Untimely Commissioning to Speak, Just Might Save the Life of Nation or A People…With that sermon based on Moses calls story ..God was calling me new life of work….To save I believe a generation of LGBTQIA young people of Faith…….FOUNDRY it’s not just by chance that less than a year AGO today I met your PASTOR and we would do some really HARD, UGLY, GRIMEY work together in our fight LGBTIA liberation in the UMC…..It is not just by chance that the day after my ordination God has placed me an An openly QUEER/MARRIED, African American in before and placed it in my spirit to preach to proclaim For Such A Time as this because to the TIME IS Now….The time is NOW…My life, my ministry has been filled with taking risk… Foundry you are being called to LIVE as IF your loved ones lives are AT RISK..You are being CALLED to live as if you loved lives are at risk… As if those nearest and dearest to you are the ones facing extermination …Extermination from the church because they are LGBTQIA…. As if those who are nearest and dearest to you are the one being fed the crumbs from the table of a crumbling church… You are being CALLED to live as if you loved lives are at risk… As if those nearest and dearest to you are facing or EXECUTION in the street because of the color of their skin.. So many black and brown lives could spared in the world today if today if we’d ALL choose to step up to service, to speak out against racism and police brutality And to fight for legislative and policy changes even if it involves sacrifice, of our money time, gift and talents…So many QUEER and TRANSPERSONS lives and MINISTRY could be speared more of us would choose to step up the mic and SPEAK out, Us their resources and political influence to find a way FORWARD to CREATE the church that JESUS died to build…Finally…. Esther is teaching us here that our call to act is on God’s watch…God’s time not ours…Esther got the call for Mordecai and responded urgently.. Was the call timely? NO…In fact, it didn’t make human sense to Esther I’m sure.She was sure she had finally arrived.. She was sure she had finally become SOMEBODY..Of high stature esteem and respect………Yet Esther was obedient to the call… She used her privilege ..She sacrifice herself for the sake of others…For the sake of her people…How many times have received a call to be apart of something that would have caused you to make a sacrifice and you said…Oh no, not this at moment, this is terrible timing?….Or perhaps this is not my time… OR I’ve done all that I can do…I’ll leave it to the next generation to figure out……We are just prolonging our collective suffering….We are prolonging the the Kin-Dom reality the God so desperately wants us to experience…We are prolonging bringing an end to SUFFERING, INJUSTICE and OPPRESSION..… We have been called to be the ones to free the oppressed recover sight to the blind..… AND to bring about love, peace, and justice today for the transformation of the WORLD today in the hear now… Who are WE waiting ON to do our work for us? Let us not delay the Kingdom building any longer…. We have been called….For such a time as this. Because the time is now…… Let us pray….….We stand in awe of your timing, yet we have gathered together today embracing it… Because as the song goes, all we have is now; To be faithful, To be holy And to shine lighting up the darkness.. For Such a time as this we were placed upon the earthto hear the voice of God And do God will will… For such a time as this we stand in awe Oh God for how you’ve readied us for your service , for how you commission us for your service at your pace. … Oh God although the mystery of your timing seems to evade us, God in your timeliness and in your way you brought us here together from places near and fear, through many dangers seen and unseen, from many different life experiences, paths, cultures and social location and united as the Body. Yet, we must also confess oh God we have left much undone…We have not adequality to proclaimed good news to the poor. We have not adequately proclaimed liberty to the captives and allowed the blind to see, We have not adequality free oppressed, Continue to equip us in YOUR of work of Kin-DOM building… Help us oh God continue to build your kingdom of justice, peace fueled the passionate love of you oh God, self and neighbor. Empower us to see through your eye the inequalities of the world and in holy frustration be the change we want to see in our world. Let us no longer allow for injustices and evils that that rob so many of their future. Eternal God And above all, fill us with your Spirit and your Holy boldness…. That we might look to hours, days, and years ahead with hope, determination for such a time as this, because the TIME is NOW! https://foundryumc.org/

Rabbi Kivelevitz and Rabbi Worch argue if the Orthodox world is doing enough to show solidarity with the African American community in general and in particular in response to the brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.Rabbi Worch invokes historical precedent from the time of Achashveeirosh where the Jewish advisors to the Persian King demurred from offering advice on Vashti's fate,to justify caution in speaking out.He advocates for quiet social support to the underprivileged without fanfare.Rabbi Kivelevitz believes that the social realities and interconnection of today's world demand a quick positively worded response from all the major Orthodox organizations,and silence on that front reveals not only a moral lacking,it could reverberate in the future with reprisals directed against the frum veldt.The discussion ranges from emphasizing the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.in the Yeshiva schools,to eliminating predatory real estate practices,and working harder in establishing relationships to African American religious leaders,despite past unfair treatment.Kivelevitz reiterates that we must accept that a double standard is in place for our community to exemplify the best character traits and work harder at recognizing the common histories of persecution Jews and Blacks have faced.The pair speak about educating our citizens from the youngest ages of the Tzelem Elokim,and the particular evils of slavery whose residual hatred still flares through Western society.Please leave us a review or email us at ravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. This podcast is powered by JewishPodcasts.org. Start your own podcast today and share your content with the world. Click jewishpodcasts.fm/signup to get started.

Rabbi Kivelevitz and Rabbi Worch argue if the Orthodox world is doing enough to show solidarity with the African American community in general and in particular in response to the brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.Rabbi Worch invokes historical precedent from the time of Achashveeirosh where the Jewish advisors to the Persian King demurred from offering advice on Vashti's fate,to justify caution in speaking out.He advocates for quiet social support to the underprivileged without fanfare.Rabbi Kivelevitz believes that the social realities and interconnection of today's world demand a quick positively worded response from all the major Orthodox organizations,and silence on that front reveals not only a moral lacking,it could reverberate in the future with reprisals directed against the frum veldt.The discussion ranges from emphasizing the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.in the Yeshiva schools,to eliminating predatory real estate practices,and working harder in establishing relationships to African American religious leaders,despite past unfair treatment.Kivelevitz reiterates that we must accept that a double standard is in place for our community to exemplify the best character traits and work harder at recognizing the common histories of persecution Jews and Blacks have faced.The pair speak about educating our citizens from the youngest ages of the Tzelem Elokim,and the particular evils of slavery whose residual hatred still flares through Western society.Please leave us a review or email us at ravkiv@gmail.comFor more information on this podcast visityeshivaofnewark.jewishpodcasts.org See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

After three generations have passed and Israel has been in exile for 70 years, the Persian King, Cyrus, overthrew the King of Babylon and encouraged all foreigners living there to return to their homelands. So, in 537 B. C. about 50,000 exiles returned to their homeland to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra. But the opposition of the local people caused fear and discouraged the Israelites from completing their work. After the foundation and altar were built, the temple remained untouched for sixteen years while the people built their own fine homes. God sent His prophet Haggai to call the people back to their primary task. The unfinished work revealed their growing spiritual apathy

After three generations have passed and Israel has been in exile for 70 years, the Persian King, Cyrus, overthrew the King of Babylon and encouraged all foreigners living there to return to their homelands. So, in 537 B. C. about 50,000 exiles returned to their homeland to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra. But the opposition of the local people caused fear and discouraged the Israelites from completing their work. After the foundation and altar were built, the temple remained untouched for sixteen years while the people built their own fine homes. God sent His prophet Haggai to call the people back to their primary task. The unfinished work revealed their growing spiritual apathy

Good news! Today's episode has no discussion of dung or thighs, or anything at all untoward. Bad news! Today's topic - Eschatology/The End Times/The Last Days might just be more controversial! Our focus passage today is Matthew 24, and I consider this to be the longest and clearest teaching in the Bible on eschatology and the return of Jesus. Most people want to begin with Revelation when discussing the last days, but Revelation is tricky and difficult for a variety of reasons. Don't get me wrong - Revelation is one of my favorite books, and I love it, but it is anything but crystal clear and basic. Matthew 24, on the other hand, is quite a bit more clear, even though there is still great debate about many aspects of the chapter. Probably the most important debate concerns timing. Is Jesus talking about a far distant future in Matthew 24, or is He discussing something that will happen in the lifespan of His disciples? We will also be reading Genesis 25, which tells us about Abraham's second wife, and also the birth of his grandchildren Jacob and Esau. Acts 24 has Paul standing trial before governor Felix, proclaiming his belief in the resurrection of the dead. And that gets us to Esther - a brand new book, which means we have finished our second book together, and we have begun a tradition on this podcast that when we finish a book, we summarize it, so here is a summary of Nehemiah: Chronologically, the book of Nehemiah is the last historical book of the Old Testament - though Esther occurs in most Bibles after Nehemiah, the events of Esther happened prior to the events of Nehemiah (Somewhere roughly in the neighborhood of the timeline of Ezra 6-7.) Nehemiah was a contemporary of the prophet Malachi, the titular character of the last book of the Old Testament. Nehemiah, a descendant of Jewish people, was the cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, the Persian King. Upon hearing about distressing conditions in his homeland, Nehemiah appeals to the king for permission to come back, which is granted. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, and finds the city defenseless and under scrutiny by several nearby enemies and critics. Nehemiah organizes both the rebuilding and defense of Jerusalem, and also reinstates the biblical festival of booths/tabernacles, which is a joyful celebration. Nehemiah was a mighty man of prayer (see Nehemiah 1 and 9) and was uncompromising in his call to holiness, physically attacking some Jewish men who disobeyed God's laws. Nehemiah successfully completed the walls around Jerusalem and enabled that city and its people to begin to reclaim their identity and some measurement of prosperity. Shoutouts today to Michelle Haffner, from Florida who left an encouraging comment on Biblereadingpodcast.com and also Bible Scholar Og Keep, who had an interesting observation on yesterday's pod about Abraham's servant, "An interesting point about this mission… if this trusted servant were Eleazar of Damascus (Genesis 15) then seeking a wife for Abraham's son is an action against self-interest. It shows that his love for Abraham exceeded his own ambitions. " We also have some reader feedback. This is from Mr. Tubberville in Auburn, Alabama. "Dear sir: We object to the use of the word 'titular' yesterday in your podcast when talking about Nehemiah. Surely a better (and more understandable) word could have been chosen?!" Well, Tommy, you make a great point! I think "eponymous" would have been a much better choice. My apologies. And now, let's read Matthew 24 together! In discussing Matthew 24, let me draw your attention to one very frustrating aspect of this chapter. The disciple's question was so imprecise, that it has left many scholars confused and debating for hundreds of years. “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) With hindsight, we can see that these are two totally different questions. Question #1 asks when the temple will be destroyed. We now know that 70 AD is the historical answer. Question #2 is the more significant one for us: What is the sign of the return of Jesus and the end of the age? I am way of over-simplifying, but there are 5 main viewpoints that attempt to answer this question, and dozens of sub-viewpoints that fall under these. (The graphic below only captures 4 of those viewpoints.) Christian Millennial Views (Somewhat incomplete) Here is a summary of the Five Major Viewpoints on the Return of Jesus and the End Times: 1. Historic Premillennialism/Post-Tribulational Premillennialism. This view believes that Jesus will return to the earth prior to the "Millennial Reign," or "Millennium," (a 1000 year reign of Jesus on the earth in the Heavenly City called 'New Jerusalem') and AFTER a 7 year period of great wrath, judgment, trouble and punishment called 'The Great Tribulation." Some historic premillennialists believe in a rapture, which is a 'catching up' of God's people into the air with a returning Jesus. In this view, the New Testament church is the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. 2. Dispensational Premillennialism. (I.E. The 'Left Behind' View) This view believes that Jesus will return to earth before a time of trouble known as 'The Great Tribulation.' He will rapture (or catch up) His church - all faithful believers living and dead, and then return with them to Heaven. After seven years of wrath, tribulation and judgment, Jesus will return again with His people and reign for 1000 years from His holy city on earth, along with all of the saints who left with Him, and perhaps some who have been saved during the seven year Great Tribulation. This view is called premillenial as it places the return of Christ before the thousand year millennium and it is called dispensational because it is founded in the beliefs of dispensationalism. (Google that for more details) The key belief here is that this view believes that Jesus will spare the church from God's wrath and tribulation by rapturing them from the earth BEFORE the Great Tribulation. This viewpoint sees the Second Coming happening in TWO stages - a first Second Coming FOR the church, and a second Second Coming WITH the church. In this view, Israel and the church are two distinct entities, and God has two distinct redemption plans for them. 3. The Postmillennial view usually does not view the 'millennium' as being a literal thousand year period, but more of an extended lengthy period of time. In this view, Jesus reigns on the earth (spiritually, from Heaven) and His followers increase His influence all across the globe. The good news of Jesus goes forth, and the Kingdom of Jesus and His fame gradually grows on earth, until such a time as Jesus returns and immediately initiates the judgment of the wicked and the eternal state. This view is called 'postmillennial,' because Jesus returns after the millennium, which is not a 1000 year literal reign of Jesus on the earth, but an increase of His influence on earth that culminates in His return. 4. Amillennialism or nunc-millennialism holds that the Kingdom of God on earth began with the resurrection of Jesus, and that Jesus now reigns at the right hand of the Father over the church. This viewpoint does not see the millennial reign as being a literal, thousand year reign in the future, but more of a spiritual and somewhat symbolic reign of Jesus that is happening NOW (nunc means 'now') Most amillennialists believe that Jesus will physically return at the end of this church-age (or now-millennium) and inaugurate the eternal state. The amillennial view sees the victory of Jesus and the establishment of His Kingdom as a two-stage event. Stage 1 was begun in the first century with the resurrection of Jesus and the establishment of His church on Pentecost. Stage two will be when Jesus physically returns. The between state is living in the 'already, but not yet' victory of Jesus spiritually by faith, which will soon become a present and tangible victory of Jesus that will be apprehended by sight. 5. Preterist (partial-preterist) The preterist viewpoint believes that some events foretold by the Bible have already happened (partial-preterism) or ALL events foretold by the Bible, including the return of Jesus, have already happened (full preterism.) The full preterist view holds that the return of Jesus, the final judgment, and all things prophesied in the New Testament were fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. It is rare to find an evangelical scholar who is a full preterist, but many are partial preterists, holding that the destruction of the temple in 70 AD fulfilled some major parts of prophetic Scripture, but that the Final Judgment and full Return of Jesus has not happened yet. So - are you dizzy yet? I imagine some will be surprised at the number of views of the last days that people have! Please know that many will believe that I have over-simplified things, and left significant viewpoints out, which is likely true. Consider this - the church has long been unclear about when the second coming of Jesus would occur, and for good reason! When Jesus was here, He told His disciples that ONLY HIS FATHER knew the time and date of His Second coming - not even Jesus knew! Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son —except the Father alone. Matthew 24:36 I am going to make the assumption that the Father did not reveal those dates to the other writers of Scripture either, which means that any attempt to find the exact date of the return of Jesus in the Scripture is absolutely silly. You might be thinking - well, the Word of God was written by people under the influence of the Holy Spirit - and you are exactly right! But, going on what Jesus said - the Holy Spirit did NOT know the time and date of Jesus' return either - ONLY THE FATHER. I note here with some amusement that even in the 100s AD, there was quite a bit of difference of opinion among Godly Christians as to the time and date of the return of Jesus, as evidenced by the dialog between Christian Justin Martyr and Trypho the Jew: "I and many others are of this opinion [premillennialism], and [believe] that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise." Justin Martyr - Dialog with Trypho the Jew, 160 A.D. Lifeway research in 2016 did a survey of 1000 Protestant American pastors to ask them what views of the end-times they held to, and the results were interesting. Links to the full study (and screenshots) can be found at our website, but here is a taste of what was discovered: http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pastor-Views-on-the-End-Times-January-2016.pdf Source: http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pastor-Views-on-the-End-Times-January-2016.pdf PRIMARY REASON I BELIEVE THE POST TRIBULATION VIEWPOINT: 1. Matthew 24: 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 2. Mark 13: Mark 13:24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 3. Luke 21: 25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (I don't see TWO second comings in those passages - one before the rapture and one after the rapture)  As we go through the Bible, we will get to other passages - some of which are used by Pretribulation people as foundational, some by partial preterists, some by amillennialists and some by historic premillinnialists like myself. WHEN Jesus returns is NOT the important thing, despite the fact that all of us focus on it and debate the timing the most. If it was important for us to know precisely, I suppose we would know. The WHEN is not important though. What is the key, most important thing about the teaching of the last days? The answer is readiness. Here is a short summation of the entire last day's teaching of Jesus in this passage: Matthew 24:44 - TWENTY WORDS.  44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Regardless of your view, the command is: BE READY!!  Whether you are Amillenial, Pre-Trib or Post Trib, or even Preterist. Ultimately, it doesn't matter a huge amount...IF YOU ARE TRULY READY!!  What does that look like?  A. Luke 12: 35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Whew! That was a long episode. Two long ones in a row. I plan on making up for it with two SHORT episodes in a row. Stay tuned to see if it is possible to hold to that plan. The problem with the Bible is that it is just so deep and interesting that there is always something fascinating to explore!

Good news! Today's episode has no discussion of dung or thighs, or anything at all untoward. Bad news! Today's topic - Eschatology/The End Times/The Last Days might just be more controversial! Our focus passage today is Matthew 24, and I consider this to be the longest and clearest teaching in the Bible on eschatology and the return of Jesus. Most people want to begin with Revelation when discussing the last days, but Revelation is tricky and difficult for a variety of reasons. Don't get me wrong - Revelation is one of my favorite books, and I love it, but it is anything but crystal clear and basic. Matthew 24, on the other hand, is quite a bit more clear, even though there is still great debate about many aspects of the chapter. Probably the most important debate concerns timing. Is Jesus talking about a far distant future in Matthew 24, or is He discussing something that will happen in the lifespan of His disciples? We will also be reading Genesis 25, which tells us about Abraham's second wife, and also the birth of his grandchildren Jacob and Esau. Acts 24 has Paul standing trial before governor Felix, proclaiming his belief in the resurrection of the dead. And that gets us to Esther - a brand new book, which means we have finished our second book together, and we have begun a tradition on this podcast that when we finish a book, we summarize it, so here is a summary of Nehemiah: Chronologically, the book of Nehemiah is the last historical book of the Old Testament - though Esther occurs in most Bibles after Nehemiah, the events of Esther happened prior to the events of Nehemiah (Somewhere roughly in the neighborhood of the timeline of Ezra 6-7.) Nehemiah was a contemporary of the prophet Malachi, the titular character of the last book of the Old Testament. Nehemiah, a descendant of Jewish people, was the cup-bearer to King Artaxerxes, the Persian King. Upon hearing about distressing conditions in his homeland, Nehemiah appeals to the king for permission to come back, which is granted. Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, and finds the city defenseless and under scrutiny by several nearby enemies and critics. Nehemiah organizes both the rebuilding and defense of Jerusalem, and also reinstates the biblical festival of booths/tabernacles, which is a joyful celebration. Nehemiah was a mighty man of prayer (see Nehemiah 1 and 9) and was uncompromising in his call to holiness, physically attacking some Jewish men who disobeyed God's laws. Nehemiah successfully completed the walls around Jerusalem and enabled that city and its people to begin to reclaim their identity and some measurement of prosperity. Shoutouts today to Michelle Haffner, from Florida who left an encouraging comment on Biblereadingpodcast.com and also Bible Scholar Og Keep, who had an interesting observation on yesterday's pod about Abraham's servant, "An interesting point about this mission… if this trusted servant were Eleazar of Damascus (Genesis 15) then seeking a wife for Abraham's son is an action against self-interest. It shows that his love for Abraham exceeded his own ambitions. " We also have some reader feedback. This is from Mr. Tubberville in Auburn, Alabama. "Dear sir: We object to the use of the word 'titular' yesterday in your podcast when talking about Nehemiah. Surely a better (and more understandable) word could have been chosen?!" Well, Tommy, you make a great point! I think "eponymous" would have been a much better choice. My apologies. And now, let's read Matthew 24 together! In discussing Matthew 24, let me draw your attention to one very frustrating aspect of this chapter. The disciple's question was so imprecise, that it has left many scholars confused and debating for hundreds of years. “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3) With hindsight, we can see that these are two totally different questions. Question #1 asks when the temple will be destroyed. We now know that 70 AD is the historical answer. Question #2 is the more significant one for us: What is the sign of the return of Jesus and the end of the age? I am way of over-simplifying, but there are 5 main viewpoints that attempt to answer this question, and dozens of sub-viewpoints that fall under these. (The graphic below only captures 4 of those viewpoints.) Christian Millennial Views (Somewhat incomplete) Here is a summary of the Five Major Viewpoints on the Return of Jesus and the End Times: 1. Historic Premillennialism/Post-Tribulational Premillennialism. This view believes that Jesus will return to the earth prior to the "Millennial Reign," or "Millennium," (a 1000 year reign of Jesus on the earth in the Heavenly City called 'New Jerusalem') and AFTER a 7 year period of great wrath, judgment, trouble and punishment called 'The Great Tribulation." Some historic premillennialists believe in a rapture, which is a 'catching up' of God's people into the air with a returning Jesus. In this view, the New Testament church is the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. 2. Dispensational Premillennialism. (I.E. The 'Left Behind' View) This view believes that Jesus will return to earth before a time of trouble known as 'The Great Tribulation.' He will rapture (or catch up) His church - all faithful believers living and dead, and then return with them to Heaven. After seven years of wrath, tribulation and judgment, Jesus will return again with His people and reign for 1000 years from His holy city on earth, along with all of the saints who left with Him, and perhaps some who have been saved during the seven year Great Tribulation. This view is called premillenial as it places the return of Christ before the thousand year millennium and it is called dispensational because it is founded in the beliefs of dispensationalism. (Google that for more details) The key belief here is that this view believes that Jesus will spare the church from God's wrath and tribulation by rapturing them from the earth BEFORE the Great Tribulation. This viewpoint sees the Second Coming happening in TWO stages - a first Second Coming FOR the church, and a second Second Coming WITH the church. In this view, Israel and the church are two distinct entities, and God has two distinct redemption plans for them. 3. The Postmillennial view usually does not view the 'millennium' as being a literal thousand year period, but more of an extended lengthy period of time. In this view, Jesus reigns on the earth (spiritually, from Heaven) and His followers increase His influence all across the globe. The good news of Jesus goes forth, and the Kingdom of Jesus and His fame gradually grows on earth, until such a time as Jesus returns and immediately initiates the judgment of the wicked and the eternal state. This view is called 'postmillennial,' because Jesus returns after the millennium, which is not a 1000 year literal reign of Jesus on the earth, but an increase of His influence on earth that culminates in His return. 4. Amillennialism or nunc-millennialism holds that the Kingdom of God on earth began with the resurrection of Jesus, and that Jesus now reigns at the right hand of the Father over the church. This viewpoint does not see the millennial reign as being a literal, thousand year reign in the future, but more of a spiritual and somewhat symbolic reign of Jesus that is happening NOW (nunc means 'now') Most amillennialists believe that Jesus will physically return at the end of this church-age (or now-millennium) and inaugurate the eternal state. The amillennial view sees the victory of Jesus and the establishment of His Kingdom as a two-stage event. Stage 1 was begun in the first century with the resurrection of Jesus and the establishment of His church on Pentecost. Stage two will be when Jesus physically returns. The between state is living in the 'already, but not yet' victory of Jesus spiritually by faith, which will soon become a present and tangible victory of Jesus that will be apprehended by sight. 5. Preterist (partial-preterist) The preterist viewpoint believes that some events foretold by the Bible have already happened (partial-preterism) or ALL events foretold by the Bible, including the return of Jesus, have already happened (full preterism.) The full preterist view holds that the return of Jesus, the final judgment, and all things prophesied in the New Testament were fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. It is rare to find an evangelical scholar who is a full preterist, but many are partial preterists, holding that the destruction of the temple in 70 AD fulfilled some major parts of prophetic Scripture, but that the Final Judgment and full Return of Jesus has not happened yet. So - are you dizzy yet? I imagine some will be surprised at the number of views of the last days that people have! Please know that many will believe that I have over-simplified things, and left significant viewpoints out, which is likely true. Consider this - the church has long been unclear about when the second coming of Jesus would occur, and for good reason! When Jesus was here, He told His disciples that ONLY HIS FATHER knew the time and date of His Second coming - not even Jesus knew! Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son —except the Father alone. Matthew 24:36 I am going to make the assumption that the Father did not reveal those dates to the other writers of Scripture either, which means that any attempt to find the exact date of the return of Jesus in the Scripture is absolutely silly. You might be thinking - well, the Word of God was written by people under the influence of the Holy Spirit - and you are exactly right! But, going on what Jesus said - the Holy Spirit did NOT know the time and date of Jesus' return either - ONLY THE FATHER. I note here with some amusement that even in the 100s AD, there was quite a bit of difference of opinion among Godly Christians as to the time and date of the return of Jesus, as evidenced by the dialog between Christian Justin Martyr and Trypho the Jew: "I and many others are of this opinion [premillennialism], and [believe] that such will take place, as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I signified to you that many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and are true Christians, think otherwise." Justin Martyr - Dialog with Trypho the Jew, 160 A.D. Lifeway research in 2016 did a survey of 1000 Protestant American pastors to ask them what views of the end-times they held to, and the results were interesting. Links to the full study (and screenshots) can be found at our website, but here is a taste of what was discovered: http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pastor-Views-on-the-End-Times-January-2016.pdf Source: http://lifewayresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Pastor-Views-on-the-End-Times-January-2016.pdf PRIMARY REASON I BELIEVE THE POST TRIBULATION VIEWPOINT: 1. Matthew 24: 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 2. Mark 13: Mark 13:24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 3. Luke 21: 25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (I don't see TWO second comings in those passages - one before the rapture and one after the rapture)  As we go through the Bible, we will get to other passages - some of which are used by Pretribulation people as foundational, some by partial preterists, some by amillennialists and some by historic premillinnialists like myself. WHEN Jesus returns is NOT the important thing, despite the fact that all of us focus on it and debate the timing the most. If it was important for us to know precisely, I suppose we would know. The WHEN is not important though. What is the key, most important thing about the teaching of the last days? The answer is readiness. Here is a short summation of the entire last day's teaching of Jesus in this passage: Matthew 24:44 - TWENTY WORDS.  44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Regardless of your view, the command is: BE READY!!  Whether you are Amillenial, Pre-Trib or Post Trib, or even Preterist. Ultimately, it doesn't matter a huge amount...IF YOU ARE TRULY READY!!  What does that look like?  A. Luke 12: 35 “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” Whew! That was a long episode. Two long ones in a row. I plan on making up for it with two SHORT episodes in a row. Stay tuned to see if it is possible to hold to that plan. The problem with the Bible is that it is just so deep and interesting that there is always something fascinating to explore!

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

“I WAS ASHAMED TO ASK Nov 12 Today’s reading in Ezra [Ch. 8] does not look at first very interesting with all its detail about those returning from captivity in Babylon. It appears that Ezra himself wrote this chapter and the next. He led a company of Levites who were returning to Jerusalem and they had with them a great quantity of gold and silver, as detailed in ch. 7; this was the what Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from the Temple about 100 years before. The Persian King is motivated to send it back to the Temple that had now been reconstructed. It is just possible that this King was the son of Queen Esther of whom we are going to read in a couple of weeks’ time. Ahasuerus is mentioned ch. 4 v.6 and Daniel refers to a king of this name in his ch.9 v.1: a connection would explain the action of this king Artaxerxes (see ch. 7 v.21) These Levites are carrying a cargo of enormous value, the 20 gold bowls [v.27] alone contained 250 ounces of gold! What a target for robbers what a challenge of faith for Ezra and his fellow Levites.. Ezra proclaims a fast [v.21] before they set out “that we might humble ourselves”. He then said, “For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, ‘The hand of our God is for good on all those who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all those who forsake him’.” Scripture shows that sometimes God leads us through the valleys for our ‘long term’ good – that we grow and gain the full assurance of faith: these are times of testing to teach us to even more earnestly commit our lives to God. If we are ‘soldiers for Christ’ there are journeys to be undertaken and tests to be endured; we will read examples of such in Paul’s letters from tomorrow as we have just finished reading in Acts. As we grow spiritually stronger we must not be ashamed of professing our faith. When Ezra reaches Jerusalem he says, “The hand of our God was on us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambushes by the way.” [v.31] As we complete the journey of our own lives may we say the same – or when it is evident that our Lord is returning and the ‘virgins’ are going forth with their lamps and are seeing “the power of his wrath … against all those who forsake him” [v.22]

Series: Priority OneMisplaced PrioritiesHaggai 1 We have a tendency to crowd God outof our lives. All of us have enough time and money to serve God, but probably not enough to serve God and live the life that we want. Haggai’s message: Don’t invert your priorities, God must be first! the prophet Haggai was a prophet 500years before Jesus. His ministry is found in 38 versesand spans only 4 months. contextJudah, was taken captiveby the Babylonians. They dismantled the government, deporteda large number of people, destroyed the temple, and left the city in ruins.While Judah was in slavery, their captors were defeated by the Persian King, Cyrus. He believed his subjects would be loyal if they maintained their own language,religion, and land. So, Cyrussent some Jews back and told them to rebuild the temple. For 16 years,the project remained incomplete. Haggai’s prophecy focused on finishing the temple. Haggai 1 People often have plenty of time for themselves, but little time for God. When God’s people fail to prioritize Him, He allows suffering. Real life change starts in the heartand is a result of the working of God. Today’s Takeaways Humanity does not flourishapart from God. Everyone should take an honest inventoryof their priorities. A relationship with Jesus is to be Priority 1.

This week we look at a man named Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a man burdened by the broken walls (and people) of Jerusalem. As a cup-bearer for the Persian King, it was not simple task to simply leave to rebuild the city. His brokenness led to prayer, which led to boldness. Listen as we see how he prayed and as we ask ourselves what it means to us.

We begin our journey into the book of Esther. We look at this Persian King. We get a look at the marginalization of Christians. We think about ways in which we might be tempted to enter the world of Xerxes badly and one true way we might be able to enter seeing Jesus as The True King.

"The holy Martyrs Manuel, Sabel, and Ishmael, Persians by race and brethren according to the flesh, were sent by the Persian King as ambassadors to Julian the Apostate to negotiate a peace treaty. While with him at a place near Chalcedon, they refused to join him in offering sacrifice to his idols. Scorning the immunity universally accorded ambassadors, he had them slain in the year 362. This was a cause of the war with Persia in which Julian perished miserably the following year." (Great Horologion)

Maddy Playle, Robbie Wilders, Tom Park and Paddy Power's Paul Binfield look back on both days at Epsom including Anthony Van Dyck winning the Derby and Anapurna winning the Oaks. Plus, a look ahead to the racing this weekend and best bets for this week. On the show: - Aidan O'Brien's Anthony Van Dyck swooped late in the day to take the Derby at Epsom in impressive style, beating a tightly bunched quartet shortly behind him. The team assess the race. - All eyes were on the Frankel fillies in the Epsom Oaks and it was John Gosden's Anapurna, ridden to perfection by Frankie Dettori, who took the prize on Friday. - Elsewhere on the card at Epsom, regular postcaster Nick Watts would have enjoyed his tip Ornate winning the Dash at a huge price: the team have their say on all of the action. - The Epsom Derby wasn't the only one this weekend with French equivalent the Qipco Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly being won by Sottsass, beating the hot favourite Persian King. - Plus, tipping from midweek racing including the action at Leopardstown with the Glencairn Stakes & the King George V Cup on Thursday and the Ballyogan Stakes at The Curragh on Friday. All prices can be found at Paddy Power: https://bit.ly/2RQ6Nv0 --- Producer: @MrRobertLee45 --- Subscribe on YouTube: bit.ly/2l9x35T Website: www.racingpost.com Twitter: twitter.com/RacingPost & twitter.com/RacingPostTV Facebook: www.facebook.com/racingpost Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2vq457o SoundCloud: @racingpost

Cyrus the Great has finally completed his conquests in our narrative. I break down the Cyrus Cylinder, the official record of what he did next, one section at a time. In this episode, I shamelessly take advantage of current events and link Persian history to both Easter and Game of Thrones. Listen and explorer official Persian propaganda, an expanding royal family, the historic and religious legacy of Cyrus, and all the titles of the Persian King. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/history-of-perisa/support

In the 5th century BCE the Persian Empire stretched from Asia and the Middle East, as far as Africa and Europe. But the Persian King, Xerxes, sought to expand the empire, launching his armies into Greece by land and by sea. Among the commanders of the Persian fleet was Artemisia: Queen of Caria and ruthless naval strategist. Her courage at the Battle of Artemisium set her apart, and her wily recklessness at the Battle of Salamis cemented her place in history, as well as in Xerxes' esteem. But the historicity of her life is elusive, leading some to fill in the gaps with clichéd tropes. Take your place to witness an epic clash of civilisations, as we consider Artemisia's place in the fray alongside Hollywood's representation of this fascinating figure.If you want to support Deviant Women, follow us on: PatreonTwitter @DeviantWomenFacebook @deviantwomenpodcastInstagram @deviantwomenpodcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

At the turn of the millennium, a mummy was found in Karachi, Pakistan. It was being sold on the black market, and appeared to be the daughter of Xerxes - the Persian King of Kings. However, when scientists began to conduct tests to determine the validity of the mummy, they discovered a wide-ranging mystery that endures to this day...

Morning Worship Service, God Mocks the Power of the Persian King   Esther 1  –  (read by G Feyter)

Morning Worship Service, God Mocks the Power of the Persian King   Esther 1  –  (read by G Feyter)

The city of God was in ruins. The people of God were in ruins. It was a time of desperation and humiliation for Israel. But that all changed when the tragic news reached the ears of one man serving as an exile in a Persian King's court. That news would wreck his heart and compel his feet into action. And through this one man, God would launch a redemptive kingdom effort to rebuild His city and restore His people. This is the book of Nehemiah.

William Garrett's ROOM TONE interview with Ilan Averbuch. A sculptor of international acclaim, Averbuch talks about his path to art, isolation and impatience as a creative force, how the landscape around you creates your artistic pallet, and how a Persian King from 600 BC connects to a modern day Los Angeles public art competition.

Old Adirondack bear traps are treacherous. So are the traps the Evil One sets against us when we spend personal time with God daily and then live openly for Him in the marketplace. Turn back to Daniel 6 which records the famous “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” story, and pick it up at verse 11. Daniel’s enemies have set their trap against Daniel. They have caught him in the act of disobeying the command to worship only the Persian King. It’s time to deliver their prey to death.

Old Adirondack bear traps are treacherous. So are the traps the Evil One sets against us when we spend personal time with God daily and then live openly for Him in the marketplace. Turn back to Daniel 6 which records the famous “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” story, and pick it up at verse 11. Daniel’s enemies have set their trap against Daniel. They have caught him in the act of disobeying the command to worship only the Persian King. It’s time to deliver their prey to death.

Old Adirondack bear traps are treacherous. So are the traps the Evil One sets against us when we spend personal time with God daily and then live openly for Him in the marketplace. Turn back to Daniel 6 which records the famous “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” story, and pick it up at verse 11. Daniel’s enemies have set their trap against Daniel. They have caught him in the act of disobeying the command to worship only the Persian King. It’s time to deliver their prey to death.

I. The Man the King Delights to Honor This morning, we're going to continue our series in Daniel by looking at Daniel Chapter 10. And one of the delights of just preaching through a book is you come to chapters that ordinarily you probably wouldn't preach on. But in Daniel Chapter 10, there's some amazing things. The closer you study, the more you see, and I think it's going to be well worth our time. The story is told of a Persian King, who lived a long time ago, who wished to honor a man, who had saved his life. He clothed him in one of his royal robes and had him sit on his best Royal horse, adorned with the Royal Crest on the horse's head and he was led through the streets of the city with one of the noble Princes of the King, holding the bridle of the horse and walking before him proclaiming "This is what is done for the man the King delights to honor." Now this of course is from Esther. And it was Mordecai who was honored in this way but it got me to thinking, it got me to thinking about who the King delights to honor. In doing that, there's a two-fold strategy. One of them is a reward for the man who had saved the King's life, but the other is a motivation for everyone standing by the road watching as that person is led by, isn't it? Doesn't that create inside you a desire to be one of those honored and esteemed by the King? I would think so. In a kingdom, the esteem of the King is more precious than gold, more costly than Rubies. In a kingdom, the esteem of the King is more valuable than the praise of any other citizen. In a kingdom, the esteem of the King promises good things for the future. Position, wealth and honor and other ways. The esteem of the King means everything. Brothers and sisters in Christ, you live in a kingdom. The kingdom of God. And therefore the esteem of the King should mean more to you than anything in this world. Are you living now, day by day for the esteem of your King? Does His esteem of you mean more to you than anything else? More to you than the esteem of the world? More to you even than your own self-esteem? What the King thinks about you is more important than anything else? Our world has many ways to show its esteem, doesn't it? Perhaps a Nobel Prize winner, makes it on the cover of Time magazine. Skilled athlete holds high the Champions Trophy and photographers gather around and take pictures, who knows what, periodical or what newspaper that photo is going to be in. Famous actor is interviewed on The Today Show about his recent movie. Maybe a politician, chosen by millions to be the head of his state. An author listed for 20 weeks on the New York Times Best-Seller list. There's lots of ways that the world just pours it's esteem down on those it seeks to honor. Perhaps a mother is chosen to be Parent Of The Year by the PTA or the student chosen to be Student of the Year by the school. Even a bumper sticker saying "My student is a high honor student at such and such Elementary School." That's ways that the world shows its esteem. There's nothing wrong with all of these things. A good name is more precious than rubies, it's valuable, but all I want you to do is lift your eyes above the esteem of the world to the esteem of your King. The esteem of God Himself. Christians should not therefore ultimately be living for this kind of esteem but rather for what God thinks about you. And in order to do that, you have to have a spiritual view of the world, don't you? You have to have a sense that there's an invisible spiritual realm around us at all times that there's a King in that invisible world and that what He thinks, matters. And the beauty about Daniel 10 is that both of these issues, the esteem of the King and the surrounding spiritual world, are paramount. They're both very clear. We're going to see in this chapter, as we look at it, a glimpse into the invisible spiritual realm that you won't find anywhere else in the Scripture. Of a spiritual struggle going on in the heavenly realms, and of hierarchies of angels and demons that wrestle it out all the time. The only way we would know about these things is if the scripture tells us, and thankfully scripture has told us. Today, I want to set before you the esteem of the King, and as a part of that or larger than that, the invisible spiritual world in which that King lives. II. Chapter Overview Now what we're going to do is we're going to go through the chapter briefly and I'm just going to give you an overview and then we're going to spend time talking about this issue of the spiritual world, the invisible spiritual world that surrounds us at all times, and then we're going to zero in on what kind of person is esteemed by God. I'm going to bring out certain principles from Scripture, so that you can measure yourself against them, and see in reference to the esteem of the King, are you esteemed by the King? Now the context here is laid out in verses 1-3. Look with me, if you will. It says in the third year of Cyrus, King of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel who was called Belteshazzar, its message was true and it concerned a great war, the understanding of the message came to him in a vision. Verse 2. "At that time I Daniel mourned for three weeks, I ate no choice food. No meat or wine touched my lips and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over." So it's a third-year of Cyrus, King of Persia. We've understood the sequence of empires from the Book of Daniel, first with the Babylonian Empire with King Nebuchadnezzar, and it's ruled for about 70 years and at the end of that time, Medo-Persia came in, Darius the Mede, the local King, I believe over Babylon, but Cyrus the Great, the great King over the Medo-Persian Empire. This is pretty much the end of Daniel's life, in the Book of Daniel. This is the extent that we have, we don't know that he goes much beyond this third year of Cyrus. So Daniel's an old man at this point, maybe in his 80s perhaps even his 90s, we don't really know. And yet here he is so active, spiritually, kneeling, praying fervently, fasting and seeking the presence of God, the face of God. I think this sets a challenge before all of us to understand that we never retire from spiritual service, do we? Right to the very end of our lives we are to be faithful, active in the service of God and that's what Daniel was. It says again, look at it, Verse 2. "At that time I Daniel mourned for three weeks, I ate no choice food, no meat or wine touched my lips and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over." This is a kind of a limited fast. He wasn't completely fasting for the three weeks but rather held himself back from luxury items. So that he might concentrate fully on the issues at hand. Now, what were those issues? What caused him to fast in this way? What caused him to dedicate himself in prayer? Well, it was a vision that he had. And that vision I believe, extends right to the end of the book. It's a vision in Chapter 11 of armies traveling over the surface of the Promised Land, an incredible detailed chapter we're going to get into next week God willing, of the trampling of the Promised land. Armies going one side to the other. And then on to the very end of time, the end of history, the general resurrection of the dead in chapter 12 and the final judgment. All of these visions given to Daniel at the end of his life, God wasn't through with Daniel yet, He still had work for him to do, and so He gave him this vision. And it began in verse 4-9, with a vision of a man. Now, we believe that this was an angelic figure. Look with me at verse 4. "On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, I looked up, and there before me was a man dressed in linen with a belt of the finest gold around his waist, his body was like crystallite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze and his voice like the sound of a multitude." So he has a vision of a man but it really is an angel, it's got to be an angelic being. He used the word "man", for Gabriel earlier, the man standing by the Euphrates river, when he had the vision of Alexander the Great, you remember from Chapter 8. So this is definitely an angelic figure, he's an angel. Some commentators believe this may be a pre-incarnate vision of Christ but I don't think so because as you read through, it seems that this is the same one who's speaking to Daniel and who later on in the chapter expresses his need for help as he wrestled with the Prince of Persia. Now, Jesus doesn't need any help, does He? He's the Son of God, but angels might need some help. And so I think that this is an angelic figure. Now, as Daniel is looking at this vision, he's got some men with him, there's an entourage with him, and verse 70 describes what happened. "I Daniel was the only one who saw the vision. The men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them, that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone gazing at this great vision, I had no strength left and my face turned deathly-pale and I was helpless. Then I heard him speaking and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground." So here's Daniel with an entourage of men and they are overwhelmed with terror but they can't see anything. Now how can that be? There's just a spiritual presence there, and they can feel it concerning the terror in their minds, but they can't see anything. And this is very much similar to what happened with Saul of Tarsus, you remember? On the road to Damascus, he fell to the ground and he had a vision of the resurrected Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, in full glory, but the men with him couldn't see anything and they couldn't understand the words that were being spoken. This was a selective revelation to Saul of Tarsus, and so also a selective revelation here to Daniel. So the men are running and hiding. Let me tell you something, God has ways of making us afraid. And this is just an angel, this is just an angel. But these were men around Daniel and they're running and looking for a place to hide. Daniel himself overwhelmed by the vision, he's weakened, he's on his face on the ground before this angelic being. And so the theme of weakness and strengthening becomes major in the rest of the chapter. Look at verse 10-19. "A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said, 'Daniel, you who are highly esteemed consider carefully the words I'm about to speak to you and stand up for I've now been sent to you.' And when He said this to me, I stood up trembling. And then, he continued 'Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. And I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael, one of the chief Princes came to help me because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now, I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.' While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless, then one who looked like a man touched my lips and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me 'I am overcome with anguish because of this vision my Lord. And I am helpless. How can I your servant talk with you, my Lord, my strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.' Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. 'Do not be afraid O man, highly esteemed' he said. 'Peace, be strong now, be strong.' And while he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, 'Speak my Lord, since you have given me strength.'" So we see the weakness of Daniel physically, he's overwhelmed physically. He can't get off the ground, he's on his face, actually like in a deep sleep and he's speechless and he's weakened, his human frailty cannot stand the sight of this angelic being. How can we see the face of God and live? Think about that. This is just an angel, not even a ruler angel mind you, just an angel. How can we see the face of God and live? Remember what God said to Moses? "No one can see My face and live," flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Daniel in his human frailty, could not have stood seeing a full vision, even of the angelic glory, but this was a glorious vision, wasn't it? The brilliance and the brightness shining and Daniel was overwhelmed. And what was the purpose of this visitation? Look in verse 20. Why did the angel come? He says, "So he said 'Do you know why I've come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia, and when I go, the Prince of Greece will come. But first, I will tell you what is written in the book of truth. No one supports me against them except Michael, your Prince. And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.'" The point of this whole mission is to give Daniel, of course, the vision of the glory of this angelic being, to show the power and the strength, and also to give an insight into spiritual warfare and struggle, but all the more that he might have insight into the future of his own people. There was a vision given to him about his own people. Look at verse 14, we've already read it but look at it again. "Now, I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future. For the vision concerns a time yet to come." So there's a vision about the future of Israel. And it's not in this chapter, we'll get to it over the next number of weeks. Chapter 11 and 12. But it's a vision about the future of Israel. And he's come to give him this vision, but he did it in glory, didn't he? He did it with a shining radiance and quite a display, he was making an impression on Daniel. And there was warfare in the heavens and there will be warfare on the Earth. That's the message, all of chapter 11, one battle after another, in the promised land, and chapter 12 concluding with the tribulations of the people of God, right up to the end of the world. So that's an overview of chapter 10. It's a vision of an angel who came to give Daniel a message. A vision of the future, we'll look at the vision over the next several weeks. III. A Glimpse Into the Spiritual World But what's left here is a sense of the impression of the surrounding spiritual world, in which we live. A glimpse into that spiritual world. Now, all of us sitting in here feel on our bodies at this present time about 15 pounds per square inch of air. Do you feel it? No? Well, you're used to it, aren't you? But when you get in an airplane and you take off and you start ascending 10,000 feet, 20,000 feet, 30,000 feet, do you feel something then? Well, sometimes. The cabin pressure is stabilizing and your ears start to pop, why? Because you're used to a certain pressure, and when you get up higher and there's not as much pressure around it, you feel it. And you say "Why in the world are you talk... And why would you think we'd be interested in this?" Well, this is what you survive in all the time, this is the air that surrounds you, and Jesus Himself, likened the spiritual world, to wind didn't he? He said in John 3. "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born by the spirit." Now, you might not think much about the power of air, but it's very powerful. Do you remember the Hurricane Andrew down in Florida, a number of years ago, looked like a nuclear bomb had hit certain parts of Florida? Trees flattened, buildings destroyed. The one thing that I remember about that was a school bus upside down on a two-story building, on the second story of a building. A school bus. Now, I've never thought of school buses being very aerodynamic. They don't fly very well. But this wind just came and picked this bus up and turned it upside down and set it down on top of the building, 25 feet in the air. That's power, and that's the way it is with the spiritual realm around us, incredible power and we don't feel it, we don't know it's there, unless there's certain changes that God permits, then we'll start to feel it. But we have around us right now angelic beings. Did you know that? And we also have around us demonic beings. Did you know that? And the Bible wants us to know about them. The Bible wants us to be aware of the spiritual realm around us. There was a time when Elisha, the prophet was going to be captured by a Gentile King and he sent his army to capture him, you know the story. And Elisha is there with his servant and the servant gets up in the morning and comes out and he sees the army of the Arameans, and he's terrified and he calls the prophet, the prophet comes out and the servant is terrified and thinks they're going to be hauled off to Aramea. Elisha just looks and he's totally as ease. Don't worry about them at all. But how can you be so cool? What's going on? We're surrounded by an army. Well, there's more on our side than there are on their side. We're going to win this battle. What are you talking about? And then, what did Elisha do? He prayed. "O Lord, open his eyes." Will you join with me right now in prayer. Heavenly Father, I pray that you would open our eyes to the spiritual realm, that we might see what you want us to see, that we might realize what there is around us and that we might act accordingly. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. O Lord open his eyes, and then the Lord did open the servant's eyes and he looked and saw the hills, full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. They were there all along, but Elisha couldn't see them. They were in the spiritual realm. Well, what is this spiritual realm? What does the Scripture teach us about the spiritual realm? First of all, the Scripture teaches us that it was here first, it was here before all this stuff that we're so accustomed to, the physical world. How do we know that? Well Hebrews 11:3 tells us, "By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God's word so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." There was a time when none of this stuff was here and God spoke a spiritual word, because God is Spirit, He spoke and everything that is around us, all the stuff, the wood you're sitting on and the walls and the glass and the clothes and the people and all of that were created. There was a time they didn't exist, but the spiritual world has always existed. It was here first. And it will be here last, it will be here last. When all of this stuff is gone, the spiritual world will still be here. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary. But what is unseen is eternal." You are living physically in a temporary world. But the eternal world, the spiritual world is eternal. And that spiritual world can only be perceived by faith. If you don't have faith, you won't see it. If God doesn't reveal it to you through His Word, you won't perceive it. Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things what not seen." You can't see the spiritual realm except by faith, and that spiritual realm is full of spiritual beings, not just God but spiritual beings. There are good spiritual beings, and there are evil spiritual beings. They weren't created evil, but they have become evil. Good spiritual being Cherubim, Seraphim living creatures in the Book of Revelation, so strange they defy description. When you read about those living creatures do you feel a little weird? What are they? Well, God created them. There are things up there, you don't know about. And God made them. And so also, there are evil spiritual beings around us at all times. Satan and rulers, and authorities, and powers in the heavenly realms it says, they're all there. And then finally, the spiritual world is the home of God, Himself. John 4:24, Jesus said "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." There's a spiritual realm, and that's where His throne is. You want to be esteemed by God, you have to believe that He's there. And that He rules and that He approves or disapproves of everything, everything either meets with His approval or disapproval. The key is the surrounding spiritual realm and God is there. Along with that comes the sense of spiritual warfare. It's not just that there is a spiritual world, but the spiritual world is at conflict with itself. There's a war going on. Look at verse 12 and 13, in our chapter here. "Then he continued. 'Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.'" Never think that a delay in an answer to prayer means God hasn't heard your prayer, He heard it as soon as you uttered it, as soon as the prayer went up, God heard it. Okay, but then He sent, He dispatched an angel with a message for him and that angel took 21 days to get there. Now, think about yourself, would you have lasted the 21 days, waiting and waiting for God to answer? Daniel was a man of faith. He kept praying and praying, until he got his answer. But look what it says in verse 13, very interesting. "The Prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me 21 days." Now, who in the world is this? The Prince of the Persian kingdom. Well, it could be just a human king, but do you really think so? You've already seen the vision of the angel, he's terrified. And every time an angel appears in scripture what do they need to say? "Fear not", right? Every time. You remember the Roman centurion, the Roman centurions, the Roman guards around Jesus' tomb and the angel comes down from heaven. His appearance is like lightning, he rolls back the stone. We're going to talk about that in a couple of weeks. Resurrection day. And then the angel's, his appearance is like lightning, his clothes as white as snow, just like this one. And what are those mighty Roman soldiers doing at that moment? Trembling with fear and on the ground like dead men. These world-conquering Roman soldiers, they can't handle even the appearance. He didn't even say anything mean to them. He just appeared, and moved the stone, He didn't even say anything to them, they're dealt with, they're paralyzed on the ground. Do you think any human Prince could restrain this angel 21 days? No way. Well, who's got that much power? Well, maybe an evil angel does. And there's a wrestling going on in the spiritual realm, and for 21 days they wrestled and he needed help, didn't he? And he needed help from Michael, and Michael comes and helps him. And the two of them overcome. And finally, this angel can come to Daniel. And then he says in verse 20, look at it with me. "Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia." It's kind of like he's on furlough from the battle, World War I, he's been given a three-day pass to Paris and now he's going to go back to the front lines and begin to fight again. And that's what it is, a little furlough from the spiritual warfare to come and give a message to Daniel and then he's going to go back and fight the prince of Persia again. And this fight goes on and on and on. The angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary 500 years later. They never die. And so they're struggling and they're fighting generation after generation the struggle goes on. "Soon, I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go the prince of Greece will come." Who is this? Well, another perhaps demonic being in charge of the Greek Empire that soon to come. But first I must tell you what is written in the book of truth. No one supports them, supports me against them except Michael, your priest, your Prince. And then verse 1, Chapter 11, it says, "And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him." So there's a warfare going on in the Heavenly realms. This is reflected in Revelation 12:7-9, this is the original pre-historic battle Revelation 12:7-9, "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray, he was hurled to the Earth and his angels with him." So there's a warfare going on, and there's mighty warrior angels in heaven. Have you ever been to one of those Christian book stores with the little books and smelly things? You know what I'm talking about? Little smelly, frilly pink things with lace and things like that. And there are may be about 20 books in the back, if you look hard you can find them. And in the back, you go to the back and you'll see angels there, like Precious Moments angels. I'm not trying to put any... You may like Precious Moments angels and there may be beings like that in the spiritual realms, but this is not a sissy angel, okay? This is a warrior angel, alright? A warrior angel, this is not a Precious Moments angel. This is a warrior angel and he's there to fight. I could say more about artistic angels at this point, but I won't. I'm just going to move on, alright? Just going to move on. You do research on angels and see if they line up. That's up to you what you want to do. But this is a powerful warrior angel and he's there with body like crystallite, it's like crystal, and his face like lightning, and his eyes like flaming torches, and his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice sounding like a multitude. What an angel. What a powerful being. And he is stood off for 21 days by a counterpart. Does that scare you? Whoa, what is going on in the heavenly realms? What is going on? And then, there are these ruler angels, of which this angel is not one, apparently. Michael is called one of the chief princes. Verse 13, "Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help." We've got the term archangel, and the Greek Archon means ruler. Ruler angel. So we've got this archangel coming to help. And the two of them together can overcome this demonic being, whoever it is. There are mighty demonic powers and forces in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:10 and following says, "Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Well, there it is. Scripture is consistent about this. And there are rulers and there are authorities and there are powers. There's a hierarchy, I believe, on both sides. I think Satan has a kingdom the way that God has a kingdom, but nowhere near as powerful. We're not one of these good-evil struggle things, not at all. Satan's a created being and God can pull the plug on him any time he chooses, just hasn't chosen yet. But Jesus Himself spoke of His kingdom, remember? He says in Matthew 12:26, "If Satan drives out Satan, how then can his, kingdom stand?" Colossians 1:13 says, "We have been rescued from the dominion of darkness." So there's a kingdom and there's an order and structure to that kingdom. Now, this text brings up the idea of territorial spirits. I don't want to get into that very much. The idea is that demons are assigned certain places in geography, et cetera, like the Prince of Persia, Prince of Greece and all that. I find some of that a little overly speculative. All I know is what I'm reading here, but there's a whole vocabulary and even a whole prayer strategy now, in reference to territorial spirits. I would advise you to be careful about some of those things. Pray as the scripture instructs. But Ephesians 6 says we must put on our spiritual armor because there's spiritual warfare going on around us. Now, what are our weapons? Well, we've got defensive weapons, the whole armor of God. You can read about that in Ephesians 6. We've got offensive weapons. And what are they? Well, there are two. We have the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And we have all prayer. Pray in the spirit with all, at all occasions with all kinds of prayers and petitions. Those are our offensive weapons. And Daniel is on his face, taking advantage of his prayer weapon. And the beauty of it is, that we, all of us, are involved in that struggle, are we not? We are all of us in the warfare. We were rescued from the dominion of darkness and brought into the kingdom of the Son He loves. And then, what does He do? He trains us, prepares us and send us back to the evil kingdom to rescue people out of that kingdom. "I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." We're going to go over those gates with our spiritual armor and we're going to rescue the perishing. That's a whole struggle here. We have a spiritual struggle and is Satan going to give up his kingdom easily? Don't you believe it. That's the struggle, the spiritual warfare. Now, let me ask you a question. Just imagine with me for a minute. We talked about 15 psi on your skin and the feeling you have as you go up 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 feet in a 747. Well, let's talk about some spiritual fluctuation. Suppose just for a minute that God decided to remove from you, for 24 hours, every single demonic influence. Everyone. There would be no attacks on your body, no temptations, no pulls on you in any way, no satanic accusations or insinuations, nothing gets through that day. Nothing. How would you feel? Would it be like heaven on earth? You'd never had a day like that. But you don't know it, because you've never experienced it. Alright let's turn it around. Let's say, God withdraws all His angelic protection and Satan can just have his way with you for 24 hours. Well, we saw that in the Book of Job, what happened there. He had almost nothing left, ravages at that point. Ravages on his possessions, ravages on his family, ravages on his body. That's what Satan would do to you and his kingdom, if God permitted it. This is the reality of the spiritual realm, and it's here and it's real, and if you don't believe it, you don't have faith. Faith teaches us about these things. IV. Who Does God Highly Esteem? Now, in the middle of that is a being, God, who created it all, and He either approves or disapproves of everything in that realm. And it is He who either esteems or does not esteem you and the things you do. You see how it fits? And it is said of Daniel, three times, that he is a man highly esteemed. Daniel 9:23, last week, we saw it, "As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed." Daniel 10:11, "He said, Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I'm about to speak to you and stand up for I have now been sent to you." Daniel 10:19, "Do not be afraid. Oh man, highly esteemed, he said." The Hebrew word implies preciousness. He is precious and desirable to God. Highly esteemed. Now, when I hear the word esteem what do you think of these days? Self-esteem. Isn't that the first thing that pops in your mind? Where did that come from? Concern over self-esteem? Well, I don't know, but I think it may have come from Abraham Maslow. Abraham Maslow was a psychiatrist who came up with a whole hierarchy of values from the physical, all the way up to the highest what he called Self-Actualization. He wrote about all this stuff and said basically, the healthiest person is totally integrated as a self and self-actualized. All the answers are in one self. Esteem, just a step below that. I think that the educational system in the US bought into this, and they said, "Therefore we want to churn out a series of students that have above all else self-esteem." Can I show you something higher? God esteem is higher. It's more important what God thinks about you, even than what you think about yourself. Now, you can say "Well how do we know what God esteems and what He does not?" Well He told us in scripture. It says in Ephesians 5:10 that we should find out what pleases the Lord. It says in Micah 6:8, "He has shown you O man, what is good. And what does the Lord requires of you?" He has told us. We just need to read the scripture. If you guess at it, you'll get it wrong, but if you read the scripture, you'll find out. And I've listed out 10 things here in scripture in which God says, "I honor these things, these are the things I esteem." Number one: Honor God exalting Him above all else, 1 Samuel 2:30. "Those who honor me, I will honor," He says "But those who despise me will be disdained." Also, God esteems those who tremble at His word. Isaiah 66:2. "This is the one I esteem. He was humble and contrite and who trembles at My word." Along with that being humble and contrite are those number three, who are broken-hearted over sin, leading to humility. Psalm 51:17 says, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart you will not despise O God." Number four, God esteems those who love Him, trust Him, and call on Him in a day of trouble. Even for salvation. Psalm 91:14 and following, "'because he loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him. I will protect him for he acknowledges my name, he will call upon me and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him, and I will honor him, I will satisfy him with long life, and with salvation.'" "I will honor him." Number five, knowledge of God, to know God. "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom," it says in Jeremiah 9, "Or the strong man, boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts, boast about this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth for in these I delight." God delights in knowledge about Himself, in us. He also delights in obedience, heartfelt obedience, 1 Samuel 15:22, "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" You want God to esteem you, then obey what He says. Do the things that He's commanded you to do. Number seven, God esteems those who have compassion on the poor. James 1:27, "Religion that our God and Father accepts as pure and faultless is this, to look after orphans and widows in their distress." God also esteems those who keep themselves from being polluted by the world, James 1:27 says. Pure in heart, not polluted by worldly things. And number nine, God esteems those who do good works persistently by faith, not for salvation, we've learned that, but just as an outflow of a righteous life, Romans 2:7 and 10, "To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, He will give eternal life. There will be glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good." God will honor that person. And number ten, just this one alone, John 12:26, Jesus said this, "My father will honor the one who serves me." Ah, didn't that bring goosebumps? My father will honor the one who serves me. V. Application Now, let's not get a big head here folks. We're not going to get honored because we're so wonderful. It's just the mercy and the grace of God. But these are 10 things. Do these things line up with your life? Read them. And then go back to Daniel and see how each one of them, each one of them are found in Daniel's life. I'm not going to go through them right now but look through and you'll find evidence of each of these 10 things in Daniel's life. This is the man, and this is the woman that God highly esteems. Well, what should we say in response to this? Number one. I want you to understand that there is a spiritual world around us, at all times. You can't be naive about this anymore. I've told you, very plainly and it's in the Scriptures, it's here, it's real. And we have responsibilities to protect ourselves and our families. To put on our spiritual armor, to pray in the Spirit, to be aware of what Satan is doing, to be aware, not unaware of his schemes it says. 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith because you know that your brothers through out the world are undergoing the same kinds of struggles." I love to talk to Christians who say, and I believe it's true, all of us, we have a personal Savior in Jesus, don't we? We have a personal Savior. You also have a personal enemy. Don't underestimate him, don't underestimate him, be ready for him. Read Ephesians 6. Read it this afternoon and put on the full armor of God, be ready. And secondly, live for God's praise, live for the esteem of God, go over these 10 things that I've shown you that God has told us he esteems in us, and then don't say "Well I'm going to go out and try to do it on my own." Jesus said, "Apart from me, you can do what?" Nothing. Be a spiritual beggar and take each one and say "God work this in me, work this in me each one O God", pray over it. Take the list and pray. I've given you the scripture references, go home, pray over these 10 things. And don't do it for a day or a week or a month, do it until you see them in you and do it all the more. This is what God esteems, and this is what He will be seeing and looking for in you on Judgment Day. The final word here is this, there is no human being, no one, who can stand before God on his or her own merits. It doesn't matter how much you see these 10 things in your life, understand you have no hope on Judgment Day, if you're not clothed with the king's robe. Remember how we began? "This is the one I esteem..." And he puts his own robe on the guy and rides him through the city. So it is with justification. By faith in Christ alone, you will be saved. And so who is the one that God truly esteems? One person, Jesus Christ, that's who he esteems. At His baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration, both, a voice came from heaven saying, "This is my Son whom I love, with Him I am well pleased." If you find yourself in Christ on judgment day, you will be well pleasing to God too. Come to Christ today if you don't know him, give yourself to Him. You can't stand before God on your own, but you can stand in Christ righteousness. Won't you join with me in prayer?