Podcasts about Persians

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas(ra) The Knight of Islam Session 47 The Muslim army are on their way to the capital city. On the way they met a battalion led by the former female Empress. They let a huge lion loose on the Muslims but the nephew of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas(ra) struck it down with one blow. His sword was nick named "The strong". A battle between them commenced and Haashim the nephew of Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas(ra) charged at them. The Persians retreated into a fortress. They fought for a further 2 months. A miracle accured. The Angels(as) inspired Taabi'een called Abu Mufazzir to speak words from his tongue which made the Persians tremble in fear and evacuate the City.

Commemorating Pheidippides' efforts, running from Marathon to Athens in 490BC to announce the defeat of the Persians, we toil over sport and how its transformed into a beast in it's own right. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/curious-anarchy/message

#History #AncientRome #EmperorValerianEric describes the rise and demise of Roman Emperor Valerian, from his unlikely ascent to the throne in Rome, to his campaigns in Asia Minor and his eventual capture and execution by the Persians.Enjoy this shorter form podcast - a Dad Bod History Snack!linktr.ee/dadbodhistoryinstagram.com/dadbodhistorytwitter.com/dadbodhistoryfacebook.com/dadbodhistorytiktok.com/@dadbodhistory See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Fallen is Babylon Revelation 18 by William Klock Sometimes gospel—good news—isn't what we expect.  The gospel is a multifaceted message, but the church in every age has a tendency to focus on one part of it, while deemphasising or even ignoring others.  John wrote his letter to the churches of Asia in part to get them straight on this kind of problem.  We do the same thing in our ways.  We modern, western Christians have a tendency to emphasise the personal aspects of the gospel over the corporate.  We tend to view the gospel as a primarily spiritual thing.  And we emphasise those parts of the gospel that are most likely to make people feel good, while down-playing or ignoring what might make them feel bad.  Some aspects of the gospel just confuse us—so we sort of pretend they aren't there.  Such is our passage today, which continues—and more-or-less—concludes John's vision of God's judgement on Rome. So what do we do with judgement in the Bible?  I don't think we have a problem with judgement itself—maybe we don't, but some do.  I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the Canadian prayer book, which butchered the Psalter, because its revisers back in the 1950s concluded that the imprecatory psalms have no place in Christian worship.  But it's not just the Psalmist who pleads with the Lord for the judgement of the wicked and then praises their fall.  From the Israelites joyfully singing about the victory of God over Egypt while they watched the dead bodies of Pharoah's army float on the waters to Isaiah singing “Fallen is Babylon and shattered are her gods!” to Mary's song in which she praises the Lord for throwing down the mighty from their seats, Brothers and Sisters, God's people have always and still ought to plead for his judgement on the wicked then praise his victories.  We plead for deliverance and we pray for an end to evil and for his justice to prevail.  When he answers our prayers, we shouldn't be squeamish about singing joyfully in praise that he has defeated his enemies.  But for some reason we are.  I know Friday's Supreme Court ruling in the States isn't much consolation for Canadians.  I'm not inclined to get overly enthusiastic about what it means for the US.  It's a return to Federalism on the issue of abortion and it remains to be seen what the States will do in light of it.  But it's a victory, it's a big one, it's and answer to fifty years of prayer, even if only in part.  And Christians ought to rejoice and to praise God.  But if you've done that on social media in the last few days, there's a good chance you got rebuked for it by other Christians.  Why?  Because we're squeamish about judgement and about praising God when he defeats his enemies.  But the Lord defeating his enemies and the enemies of his people is good news, it's gospel.  Back in Revelation 14 John wrote about the angel who came declaring gospel—good news—and that the good news was a proclamation of judgement and a summons to repentance: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water” (14:7).  It's an echo of the gospel St. Paul proclaimed to the men of Athens: “Turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them” (Acts 14:15).  Or, as we sing from Psalm 96 in Morning Prayer, “For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; and with righteousness to judge the world, and the peoples with his truth.”  So our passage today, Revelation 18, is timely.  Let's look at verses 1-3. After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory.  And he called out with a mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!          She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit,          a haunt for every unclean bird,          a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk          the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,          and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.”   The great prostitute John saw in Chapter 17, the woman deceptively clothed in fine garments and expensive jewelry, whose chalice of wine contained only filth and abominations—who invited the nations to join her in her fun—fun which consisted of rank idolatry, the murder of the Lord Jesus, and the persecution of his people—the great prostitute has fallen. And John's imagery, borrowed from the Old Testament prophets, gives us another lesson—some important insight into how biblical prophecy works and how we ought to read it.  I've spent quite a bit of time explaining that when John wrote of “Babylon”, he was writing about Rome.  But not everyone reads the text that way.  Others will tell you that “Babylon” was Jerusalem.  And there are others who will tell you that “Babylon” is Rome, but not historical Rome, but some Rome of the future—maybe the Roman Church or some future European empire.  I don't know if it's still a popular theory, but back in the 70s and 80s, a lot of people saw here the European Union—especially when it had only ten nations—ten horns and all of that.  Now, if we just read the text and if we read it with the big biblical narrative in mind, it's really obvious—inescapable, I think—that John was speaking of Rome in his own day.  The problem for a lot of folks is that they don't know how to read biblical prophecy and if John was talking about historic Rome, then it all looks like a failed prophecy.  Rome didn't cease to exist.  It wasn't demolished to leave a barren wasteland as the angel's song describes.  Some interpreters then turn to Jerusalem.  That is, more or less, what did happen to Jerusalem—although not in a.d. 70.  John describes the fall of Jerusalem in terms of the events that were soon to unfold, and yet things settled down quickly after the war with Rome and Jewish life returned to a kind of normal in Jerusalem, albeit with the temple gone.  It wouldn't be until after the Bar Kokhba Revolt, a little over fifty years later, that Jerusalem really would be wiped out and the Jewish people scattered.  That right there gives us a hint at how we ought to be reading things.  But, similarly, since these things didn't literally happen to Rome, others respond by pushing it all into the far future.  They try to save John's prophecy, but in doing that they undermine the clear teaching of Jesus and the apostles that judgement was soon to come.  It helps if we look at how John uses the Old Testament prophets.  Here he draws from the passage from Isaiah 21 that I read earlier: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the carved images of her gods          he has shattered to the ground.”   Babylon, in the Old Testament, embodied opposition to the Lord.  It all went back to the Tower of Babel and only got worse from there.  And Babylon wasn't satisfied to keep her idolatrous harlotries to herself.  For centuries she afflicted Israel, eventually conquering Jerusalem and taking God's people into exile.  One of the keys for understanding Revelation is to remember that the prophets—like Isaiah—had warned Israel that her conquest by pagan armies was judgement for her own adulteries.  This the historical pattern given meaning by the prophets: Israel, the Lord's bride, is rebellious and plays the harlot with foreign gods.  The Lord is patient, but she continues to be unfaithful.  So the Lord judges Israel by allowing her to be defeated by her pagan neighbours—in this case Babylon.  Judgement brings Israel to repentance—at least for a while—and the Lord vindicates her by then judging the pagan nations that had oppressed her.  That's the pattern we see in Revelation.  First the Lord uses pagan Rome to bring judgement on rebellious Jerusalem.  Through it he spares and vindicates his people.  Then he comes in judgement on Rome herself.  This is why John uses Babylon as an image of Rome.  Isaiah writes that Babylon would be a haunt of jackals and hyenas—and demons, too, in the Greek OT (Isaiah 34:13-14). Jeremiah writes: Babylon was a golden cup in the LORD'S hand,          making all the earth drunken; the nations drank of her wine;          therefore the nations went mad.  (Jeremiah 51:7) And the prophet Nahum wrote: And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,          graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings,          and peoples with her charms.  (Nahum 3:4) John also draws on Ezekiel's oracle against the city of Tyre: When your wares came from the seas,          you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise          you enriched the kings of the earth.  (Ezekiel 27:33)   So, like Babylon (and like Tyre), Rome will fall because of her idolatry, because of her wickedness, and because she has spilled the blood of Jesus and the saints.  But did Babylon fall?  If we take Isaiah and the other Old Testament prophets literally, we have the same problem we have with John.  John writes later, in verse 21, that Babylon (Rome) will “be thrown down with violence and will be found no more”—which certainly didn't happen literally.  Rome has had its problems, it would even be defeated and the city sacked by enemies, but there's a reason it's called the “Eternal City”.  And despite Jeremiah writing that Babylon would be “a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert”, “her walls…thrown down”, “overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah, no one will live there”, it was many centuries before the city of Babylon eventually declined.  Babylon was defeated, as the prophets said it would be, by the Medes, but they didn't destroy the city.  They diverted the river and sneaked into the city while its people were having a holiday.  The Medes and the Persians made Babylon their capital and it flourished for centuries.  What this shows us is that prophetic language of judgement isn't necessarily literal.  It's dramatic and over-the-top.  It often speaks of judgement in terms of de-creation: the sun ceasing to shine, stars falling from the sky, the ground itself falling apart and opening up to swallow armies and cities.  The key point of the Old Testament prophets and of John in Revelation, is that the oppressors and persecutors of the Lord's people will face his wrathful and righteous judgement in repayment for their deeds.  Nebuchadnezzar was defeated and his kingdom destroyed, leading to the restoration of Israel in Judea, even though Babylon remained under different management.  Similarly, Rome will be defeated in such a way that the Christians martyrs would be vindicated and the way paved for the triumph of the gospel over this once pagan empire.  The gods of Rome will be shattered and Caesar's claims of divinity will be exposed in the light of the gospel, which proclaims Jesus as the true son of God.  Caesar will be defeated and Jesus will reign—and the world would see the birth of “Christendom” as we called it for centuries.  Why does is it work this way?  Because even though God did not create man to govern man, but to live under his kingship, he has ordained earthly kings and governments to curb the chaos of the fall.  As St. Paul writes, governing authorities are established by God to reward those who do good and to be a terror to those who do evil.  But when that gets reversed, particularly when those authorities persecute God's people, he will bring his justice and take them down.  Nebuchadnezzar was taken down and the Medes took his place and Cyrus return the Israelites to Judea.  Good rules—or less bad ones, at any rate, will replace the wicked.  And just so with Nero and his ilk. At this point a second angel joins the first.  Look at verses 4-8. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people,          lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven,          and God has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,          and repay her double for her deeds;          mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,          so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says,          ‘I sit as a queen, I am no widow,          and mourning I shall never see.' For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,          death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire;          for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.”   In light of the coming judgement, the angel warns Jesus' people to get out—not necessarily literally, but not to have anything to do with the wickedness and the idolatry of the pagans.  This echoes the warnings to the churches at the beginning of Revelation.  The great prostitute is, again, deceptively attractive.  Her wine looks appealing and everyone else is drunk on it.  Rome and all the nations submitted to her have the appearance of wealth and security.  In contrast, those little groups of Christians were facing opposition—and it was soon to get worse—and all because they proclaimed Jesus as Lord instead of Caesar.  They were the ones willing to openly say that the emperor had no clothes—or that the harlot's chalice was full of filth—but that's not what anyone wanted to hear.  Compromise was so enticing and so easy.  A pinch of incense offered to Caesar, a meal in the temple of Aphrodite—never mind the orgy going on—and everyone would accept you.  But Israel had tried that, offering sacrifices to the Lord in his temple, but also erecting altars to Baal and Asherah.  It never works.  You cannot serve two masters.  Either Jesus is Lord or he isn't.  And Babylon is a graphic testament to what happens to those who worship false gods—and soon Rome will be, too.  So, “Come out of her my people, lest you take part in her sins,” calls the angel. Her sins are heaped high.  In other words, her judgment is overdue and coming soon.  She will be paid back.  In fact, she'll be paid back double for her deeds.  The angel echoes Jeremiah's prophecy against Babylon: Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel. (Jeremiah 50:29) Now, the long middle section of the chapter shows us the response of the nations as they stand watching Rome's fall.  They were once drunk on the prostitute's wine, but the Lord's judgement sobers them up quickly—as the one in whom they had invested everything now falls.  Look at verse 9 and following:   And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning.    John echoes Ezekiel's prophecy of Babylon's fall: The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;          you have come to a dreadful end          and shall be no more forever.'” (Ezekiel 27:36)   One of the thing that stands out here is that this isn't the end of the world.  This is a judgment that happens in history as the nations watch.  Continuing… They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, “Alas! Alas! You great city,          you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”   And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.   Slavery is what made the ancient world turn, and especially Rome and it was the sanctifying influence of the gospel that eventually brought it to an end, as with so many other things: human sacrifice, gladiatorial games, and abortion and infanticide.  Jesus spoke about being salt and light and that's just what those first Christians were and by the gospel they taught the pagans mercy and the value of life.  But in the meantime, the nations mourn.  The prostitute and her chalice are gone.  The party is over.  And the angel's imagery draws very closely on Ezekiel's prophecy of Tyre's destruction: At the sound of the cry of your pilots          the countryside shakes, and down from their ships          come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea          stand on the land and shout aloud over you          and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads          and wallow in ashes;  (Ezekiel 27:28-30) This is key, because the reason Ezekiel says that Tyre was judged was because it's king had boasted: “I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods” (Ezekiel 28:1).  Now it's Caesar's turn to be brought low for his blasphemies.  In the meantime the nations continue to mourn:   “The fruit for which your soul longed          has gone from you, and all your delicacies and your splendors          are lost to you,          never to be found again!”   The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, “Alas, alas, for the great city          that was clothed in fine linen,                          in purple and scarlet,          adorned with gold,                          with jewels, and with pearls! For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, “What city was like the great city?”   And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out, “Alas, alas, for the great city          where all who had ships at sea          grew rich by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven,          and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” (Revelation 18:9-20) The suitors of the harlot mourn, but notice that the angels calls out to God's people: “Rejoice!”  Specifically, “Rejoice over her—over fallen Rome—because God has judged her.”  And not just that, notice the angel makes the point, “God has given judgement for you against her!”  This is the vindication of the saints.  God has judged the wicked on behalf of all those saints in those little churches in Asia Minor and across the empire—the saints who were mocked, maligned, and even martyred, the saints who watched as their brothers and sisters died in the arena or were crucified and lit on fire to light Nero's garden parties.  For you God has judged the harlot.  Brothers and Sisters, the Lord hears the cries of his people.  He heard the Hebrews crying out from their bondage in Egypt.  He heard the Israelites crying out from their captivity in Babylon.  He heard his Church crying out from their persecution by Rome.  And for the Lord to hear is always for the Lord to answer.  And the natural response is for the song of praise sung by the redeemed to be even louder than the lament of those wailing over their judgement.  In Proverbs we read the truth that “when justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous” even as it is “terror to evildoers”.  Brothers and Sisters, rejoice and praise God for his triumph, even as the wicked wail and lament. Finally, now, verses 21-24.  The joyful song of the saints is contrasted with the deathly silence of the judged city. Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,          and will be found no more; and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,          will be heard in you no more, and a craftsman of any craft          will be found in you no more, and the sound of the mill          will be heard in you no more, and the light of a lamp          will shine in you no more, and the voice of bridegroom and bride          will be heard in you no more, for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,          and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,          and of all who have been slain on earth.” (Revelation 18:21-24) Jeremiah wrote: When you finish reading this book, tie a stone to it and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and say, ‘Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the disaster that I am bringing upon her, and they shall become exhausted.'”   The description of the musicians being silenced is straight from Ezekiel's oracle against Tyre: And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.  (Ezekiel 26:13) The bit about Rome deceiving the nations by her sorcery calls back to Nahum's denouncement of Nineveh: And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,          graceful and of deadly [sorceries], who betrays nations with her whorings,          and peoples with her [sorceries].  (Nahum 3:4) I don't think anyone amongst John's readers would have struggled to rejoice at these words of judgement, but the angel does drive home the point one more time in verse 20.  He reminds us that in her was the blood of the prophets and saints.  He even goes a step further, saying that the bloodguilt of all who have been slain lies with her.  Rome wasn't guilty of every murder that ever happened, but remember that behind the prostitute and behind the beast lies the dragon, the Satan.  Rome was the current embodiment, the height of human wickedness, all fed by the lies of the devil.  The devil and all the world's wickedness rose up to its full height at the cross when Jesus was put to death.  Evil, concentrated all in one place, did its worst and was dealt a death blow by God.  And, once again in Rome and with the persecution of Jesus' people it rose up again, and yet again God would strike it down.  That's the promise here.  Remember John's three themes: tribulation, perseverance, and kingdom.  The saints are not walking anywhere that Jesus has not gone before them and the Lord will vindicate them just as he vindicated Jesus.  They would know mourning, but judgement was coming.  It was a sure thing.  And not too far in the future they would have reason to rejoice as the millstone that was Caesar and Rome was cast into the sea to make way for the gospel of Jesus the Messiah. Brothers and Sisters, there's a word here for us, too.  We will know new Romes and Babylons before the Lord returns.  We will know opposition and maybe even persecution, tribulation, and martyrdom.  Persevere.  Know that Jesus is Lord.  Do not be enticed by the harlot and her chalice.  Pray for her downfall, for her downfall, as it always has been, will open the way for our proclamation of the gospel.  When that day comes—and it always does—praise the Lord for his righteousness and his faithfulness, and go forth with the good news.  For Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again. Let's pray: O Lord God, the unfailing helper and governor of those whom you bring up in your steadfast fear and love: Keep us, we pray, under the protection of your good providence and give us a continual reverence and love for your holy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), The Knight of Islam Session 43 The 4th and final day at Qadisiya. The pursuit of Rustum and his end. Jalaloos commands the remaining persian soldiers to flee. 220,000 Persians engaged at Qadisiya, 50,000 were killed. 39,000 Muslims engaged at Qadisiya, 8,500 gave their lives. The fallen commanders, Rustum, Jalaloos, Behan, not so for Harm Mazahn, he lived for another day. An analysis of the adaptive war tactics deployed by Saad (ra) and his forces, including QaQa (ra).

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), The Knight of Islam Session 42 A glimpse into the bravery of Tulayha and Amr (ra), both men equal to 2 thousand men. Amr (ra) a veteran of Yarmuk & Qadisiya. The 4th night, The Night of Blacksmiths. The clanging of swords till daybreak. The impenetrable armour of the Persians.

This Episode is all about the live frequencies. I speak on my Persians journey with love, and how to navigate through. Follow the SoleCoach now on YouTube. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/solecoach/support

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), The Knight of Islam Session 40 The Day of Agwath (Aid), the arrival of QaQa ibn Amr (ra) and reinforcements from Shaam. 'No army can be defeated with the Ranks of QaQa (ra).' QaQa (ra) the voice of 1 thousand troops. QaQa (ra) duels with the Persian Champions. Camels are dressed with bells and veils which scare the horses within enemy ranks. Al Khansa (raa) the mother of the 4 martrys. The narrative of her brother, his shoes which she relates with Umar & Ayesha (ra) Malik Abu Mihja (ra) is unchained and unleashed upon the Persians.

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), The Knight of Islam Session 37 The next emissary to be sent to Rustum, is Ribi ibn Amr (Badri) (ra). Ribi (ra) riding his undersized horse tramples upon the Persians rugs. When asked why he is here, Ribi (ra) states ... to remove you from the narrowness of the world to it's vastness and to remove the oppression of the other ways to the Justice of Islam. Rustum's frothy threat whilst providing Mugeera (ra) with parables, that of a fly and that of a fox. A fitting reply from Mugeera (ra), '...Soon you shall come to know...' The believers are outnumbered 10:1.

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas(ra) The Knight of Islam Session 35 Abdul Rahman ibn Awf(ra) sends a letter to Umair(ra) about the situation with the Persians. Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas(ra) becomes the commander of the Muslim army. Umar(ra) gives Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas(ra) priceless advice which also applies to all Muslims today.

Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas (ra), The Knight of Islam Session 34 After the farewell Hajj the sahaba are reminded about the high stature of the early sahaba and the distinguished Abu Bakr (ra). Within 2 months Khalid (ra), like a violent storm, crushed the Persians in 4 Grand Battles. Qaqa ibn Amr (ra), The Poet, orates, The Day we mounted the citadels one after the other, at Al Heera we forced them down from their thrones when they acted like cowards. Abu Bakr (ra) sends a letter to Khalid (ra), so he dashes to face the Romans in Shaam acting as commander.

Morning: Esther 1–3 Esther 1–3 (Listen) The King's Banquets 1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods1 and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. Queen Vashti's Refusal 10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown,2 in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. 13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt,3 since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.' 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will say the same to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. 19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. Esther Chosen Queen 2 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king's young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king4 be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so. 5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her. 12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women—13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. 15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown5 on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity. Mordecai Discovers a Plot 19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows.6 And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king. Haman Plots Against the Jews 3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained7 to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy8 all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents9 of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. Footnotes [1] 1:6 Or rings [2] 1:11 Or headdress [3] 1:17 Hebrew to disdain their husbands in their eyes [4] 2:4 Hebrew who is good in the eyes of the king [5] 2:17 Or headdress [6] 2:23 Or wooden beam or stake; Hebrew tree or wood. This Persian execution practice involved affixing or impaling a person on a stake or pole (compare Ezra 6:11) [7] 3:6 Hebrew disdained in his eyes [8] 3:6 Or annihilate [9] 3:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms (ESV) Evening: Acts 5:1–16 Acts 5:1–16 (Listen) Ananias and Sapphira 5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you1 sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Many Signs and Wonders Done 12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. 16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. Footnotes [1] 5:8 The Greek for you is plural here (ESV)

| Foolish Heart (Vocal Sax Mix)  | Johnny James aka Dr. J  | 2022 | I Need A Love Like Yours  | Deon Jackson  | 2022 | That's How My World Began  | The Compacts  | 2022 | On Everything  | LaToya London feat. Anthony Hamilton  | 2022 | Pretending Dear  | The Lovelles  | 1969 | See You Smile  | Myranda Dominiq  | 2022 | Tell Me Your Name  | Chaz   | 1983 | Let Me Be The One (feat. Jimmy All Good)  | Ralph James Soul  | 2022 | Baby Baby Baby Love  | The Volunteers  | 196? | Let's Take A Chance  | High Keys  | 1966 | Remember  | Rockwell Hallman  | 2022 | Give You Love  | Rockwell Hallman  | 2022 | Ambience  | Nia Sultana  | 2021 | Leather Couch  | Regal  | 2021 | Woman To Woman (feat. Ashanti)  | Keyshia Cole  | 2012 | I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much  | Bobby Womack  | 1984 | Wanna Ride (feat. Wali Ali Jr)  | Sha'leah Nikole  | 2022 | You And Me  | Penny & The Quarters  | 2011 | Ask The Lonely  | John Gary Williams  | 1973 | I Apologize  | Anita Baker  | 1991 | If I Had To Live My Life Without You  | Everette Harp  | 1992 | Hush  | Semaj Foreman  | 2021 | I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore  | Ty Hunter  | 1972 | I Am Controlled By Your Love  | Helene Smith  | 2022 | Suppress  | Dylan Sinclair  | 2022 | How Do You Say Goodbye  | The Heartbreakers  | 1968 | Before I Let You Go  | Blackstreet  | 1994 | Just A Part Of Life  | The Five Crowns  | 1971 | Here It Comes  | The Persians  | 1969 | Let's Try Again  | Surface  | 1986 | So Alone  | Men At Large  | 1992

In this classic, an old man has just one joy in life; his sparrow. He lives at home with his wife, but she has long since become a mean and spiteful person. One day she lays out some starch for the wash and the little sparrow eats it up, thinking it is a treat. For that, the old woman punishes the sparrow by cutting out its tongue and sending it on its way. The old man must find his magical friend and make things right. Can the little old man do it? Source: Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki 1908 Narrator: Dustin Steichmann Music: 楚歌 －2019年12月9日サントリーホール by Shun Kuremoto Sound effects country side soundscape with cicadas by fabiopx on Freesound.org Podcast Shoutout: Irish History Podcast My Name is Fin Dwyer, I am 39 year old historian, author and podcaster. I studied archaeology and Greek and Roman Civilisation in University College Dublin and completed a masters in archaeology in 2004. After working in archaeology for several years in the Dublin region a combination of recession and ill-health ended my aspirations to become Indiana Jones. In 2010 I created the Irish history podcast. For the first few years the show focused on medieval history. Listener Shoutout: The city of Tehran has a population of approximately 10 million in 2016. With its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Tehran is home to diverse ethnic and linguistic groups from all over the country. The present-day dominant language of Tehran is the Tehrani variety of the Persian language, and the majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians. However, before, the native language of the Tehran–Ray region was not Persian, which is linguistically Southwest Iranian and originates in Fars, but a now extinct Northwestern Iranian language. Via Wikipedia "Sparrow" by barryskeates is marked with CC BY 2.0. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/sandman-stories/message

Morning: Ezra 3–5 Ezra 3–5 (Listen) Rebuilding the Altar 3 When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the LORD, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the LORD. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia. Rebuilding the Temple 8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the LORD. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers. 10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD,   “For he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people's weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away. Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding 4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. The Letter to King Artaxerxes 7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.1 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace2 and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.” The King Orders the Work to Cease 17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?” 23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Rebuilding Begins Anew 5 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. 3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this:3 “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. Tattenai's Letter to King Darius 6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?' 10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.4 11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. 13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.' 17 Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.” Footnotes [1] 4:7 Hebrew written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic; another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language [2] 4:14 Aramaic because the salt of the palace is our salt [3] 5:4 Septuagint, Syriac; Aramaic Then we said to them, [4] 5:10 Aramaic of the men at their heads (ESV) Evening: John 20 John 20 (Listen) The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Footnotes [1] 20:7 Greek his [2] 20:16 Or Hebrew [3] 20:19 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4] 20:24 Greek Didymus (ESV)

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Full Text of ReadingsThursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 362All podcast readings are produced by the USCCB and are from the Catholic Lectionary, based on the New American Bible and approved for use in the United States _______________________________________The Saint of the day is Saint EphremPoet, teacher, orator, and defender of the faith, Ephrem is the only Syriac Christian recognized as a doctor of the Church. He took upon himself the special task of opposing the many false doctrines rampant at his time, always remaining a true and forceful defender of the Catholic Church. Born in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, he was baptized as a young man and became famous as a teacher in his native city. When the Christian emperor had to cede Nisibis to the Persians, Ephrem fled as a refugee to Edessa, along with many other Christians. He is credited with attracting great glory to the biblical school there. He was ordained a deacon but declined becoming a priest. Ephrem was said to have avoided presbyteral consecration by feigning madness! He had a prolific pen, and his writings best illumine his holiness. Although he was not a man of great scholarship, his works reflect deep insight and knowledge of the Scriptures. In writing about the mysteries of humanity's redemption, Ephrem reveals a realistic and humanly sympathetic spirit and a great devotion to the humanity of Jesus. It is said that his poetic account of the Last Judgment inspired Dante. It is surprising to read that he wrote hymns against the heretics of his day. He would take the popular songs of the heretical groups and using their melodies, compose beautiful hymns embodying orthodox doctrine. Ephrem became one of the first to introduce song into the Church's public worship as a means of instruction for the faithful. His many hymns have earned him the title “Harp of the Holy Spirit.” Ephrem preferred a simple, austere life, living in a small cave overlooking the city of Edessa. It was here that he died around 373. Reflection Many Catholics still find singing in church a problem, probably because of the rather individualistic piety that they inherited. Yet singing has been a tradition of both the Old and the New Testaments. It is an excellent way of expressing and creating a community spirit of unity as well as of joy. An ancient historian testifies that Ephrem's hymns “lent luster to the Christian assemblies.” We need some modern Ephrems—and cooperating singers—to do the same for our Christian assemblies today. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones tells Spencer Mizen why Eurocentric depictions of the “barbarous” Persians have obscured the achievements of one of the ancient world's great civilisations. (Ad) Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones is the author of Persians: The Age of The Great Kings (Wildfire, 2022). Buy it now from Amazon:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Persians-Great-Professor-Lloyd-Llewellyn-Jones/dp/1472277287/ref=asc_df_1472277287/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=535049525184&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5614143262630945554&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006715&hvtargid=pla-1410292999858&psc=1&th=1&psc=1&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Israel and Judah were exiled from the land, so that the land could observe its Sabbaths -2 Chronicles 36-15-21-.--King Zedekiah was eventually captured by Nebuchadnezzar. The last sight he had before having his eyes put out was to see his two sons slaughtered -2 Kings 25-7-. So came to an end the glorious reign of the sons of David. --Yet, the prophet Isaiah had foretold that out of this seemingly dead stump of Jesse -David's father-, a green shoot would spring forth -Isaiah 11-1-. This branch from David's chopped-down tree would rule all nations and cause them to submit to the God of Israel -Isaiah 2-1-4- 11-1-9-. Then, not only Israel, but all nations, would enjoy the great Sabbath-year Jubilee -Isaiah 61-1-4-. The Levitical Jubilee as but a dim foreshadowing of this -Leviticus 25-. --The Lord Jesus began proclaiming that great gospel Jubilee in his 30th year in the synagogue of Nazareth -Luke 4-16- 21-. At the time of his second coming, he will bring his great work to consummation, and we will live in the new Eden -Isaiah 11-, the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells -2 Peter 3-13-. --In the book of Daniel, the exile of the Jews in the Babylonian captivity and their return to the land of Judah under the Persians is the backdrop of the drama of a greater captivity and a greater deliverance. Through a series of visions, God proceeds to unfold his plan for his people. The 70 years of exile would come to an end with the fall of Babylon, but the true liberation of Israel and the restoration of the fallen house of David would take, not 70 years, but 70 times seven -Daniel 9-.

This week we're talking about the history of ice cream, from the ancient Persians to Nero, from Marco Polo to Ben and Jerry. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/secretloft/support

The Death That Opened Paradise Luke 23:26–43 Main Point of the Sermon: Jesus's death on the cross reopened paradise for all who come to him. Introduction Never in the history of the world has there been an event as significant as the one we just read about. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. It's one of the simplest summations of the Gospel. We've heard it so many times that we can grow callous to the thought. But this week I was freshly brought to my knees in worship as I rediscovered its significance for me and you today. What does it mean for us right now? What does it say about how God feels about us today? This is the question I want to try to answer. There are three sections to this text: 1) the road of grief 2) the crucifixion 3) and the promise of paradise. I want to show you that this road of grief and the crucifixion opened paradise for all who come to Jesus. But before we dive in, let's quickly be reminded of the context. Context Last week we saw Jesus tried before the Roman court and declared “innocent” before all. Yet because of the persistence of the Jewish leaders and the weak leadership of Pilate, he was punished and then sentenced to death. We know from the other Gospel accounts and from history that Pilate's punishment was a flogging by Roman soldiers, which meant he got 39 lashes. This was a gruesome punishment. The Romans used a whip called the “cat of nine tails” in which were tied pieces of stone that would bruise and tenderize the flesh, along with sharp pieces of bone and metal that would sink deeply into the flesh and cause it to tear as they pulled the whip back to strike again. It was enough to kill some of its victims. After taking such a beating, Jesus stood before his accusers exhausted and bloody, wearing a crown of thorns, as they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Picture the scene for a moment. Pause. Finally, Pilate gave Jesus over to their desires. The Way of Grief 26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. Jesus traveled the Via Dolorosa, “the way of grief”. John's Gospel says that Jesus was led out, bearing his own cross (19:17), so it seems that he carried it until he could no longer. The Roman cross is estimated to have weighed somewhere between 165-300lbs depending on whether he carried the entire cross or just the cross-beam. This heavy and rough plank of wood was laid upon Jesus's fresh wounds as he made the half-mile trek out to Golgotha, where he would be crucified. Many speculate that Jesus, being weak from his flogging and blood loss, fell several times as he made the journey. Luke's account may be proof of that. He was emotionally and physically exhausted and with his body failing, the soldiers grabbed Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry Jesus's cross. The details mentioned are significant for several reasons. Simon of Cyrene is probably mentioned by name because he would later become one of Jesus‘s followers known by many in the church. Mark 15:21 mentions that he was likely the father of two of Jesus's disciples. Luke wrote a historical account. This is proof that these things were seen and experienced by real people that at the time could have been interviewed to see if these things were so. Further, this seemingly coincidental encounter turned out to be a sign of great significance. Simon carried the cross following behind Jesus, reminding every Christian of the cross we are called to daily bear as we follow Jesus. This traumatic interruption to Simon's day was just the beginning of the rest of his life. Jesus told his disciples that following him would not be easy. It would cost them their lives (Lk 9:23). And it did. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. This was a great scene as many people followed behind Jesus mourning. A typical crucifixion might stir the people of Jerusalem to stop for a moment to notice the grievous moment, but it usually didn't draw this kind of crowd. Jesus, however, was the most loved and hated man in all of Israel. The text says that in the crowd were many women who were mourning and lamenting for Jesus. We don't know exactly who these women were but we learn from other Gospel accounts that contrary to most of his twelve disciples who had deserted him, some women, who were Jesus's closest disciples, family, and friends were near Jesus at the foot of the cross: Mary Magdalene,Mary the mother of James and Joses, the mother of the Sons of Zebedee and Jesus's mother among others (Mt 27:55-56; Jn 19:25). It's safe to assume that these were some of the women Luke is mentioning. But notice what Jesus says to them in response to their lamenting, 28 “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,' and to the hills, ‘Cover us.' 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Only a few of Jesus's words are recorded up to the point of his death, but what he says is very important. Here, Jesus is alluding to Zechariah 12:10: “when they [the inhabitants of Jerusalem] look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him…” But Jesus turns the lament away from himself towards the people. He says, weep for yourselves and your children, not me. Why? Because of the days that are coming. Jesus prophesied in Luke 19:43 of the destruction coming on Jerusalem (c.f. 21:6, 22-24): 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.” Here again, he remarks of the horrors of that day. In that day, the barren will be the one's called blessed because they don't have to watch their children suffer. It will be so brutal that the people will long for the mountains and hills crush them and put them out of their misery. In verse 31, Jesus essentially says, if you think this moment is horrific, “when the wood is green,” that is when an innocent man is allowed to be condemned to death, consider how great the evil will be “when the wood is dry,” that is, when God allows wicked Rome's wrath to be released on Jerusalem in full force. Why should they weep for themselves? Because God's wrath would soon be poured out on them because of their rejection of his son, Jesus. Tim Keller helpfully explains: Jesus is saying…”You see me going to my death, and you don't understand that you, too, are in the same boat. You don't understand that you, too, as it were, are dead men walking. You don't understand judgment hangs over you. You don't understand someday everyone will stand before the face of the throne, and if you're not ready on that day, the mountains and the hills will fall on you.”This is Jesus talking about judgment day, looking at them and saying, “Until you weep for yourselves, you can't weep for me right. Until you understand what's wrong with you, until you understand your own danger, until you understand you're under sentence and you're under condemnation and that every person is, you don't understand what I'm really about or what I'm doing. Until you weep for yourselves, you can't weep for me properly.” Even as Jesus is bleeding out, he is grieved for his people who will die in their sins. He had come for their rescue, but so many would reject God's day of salvation. Let's keep going. Verse 32 tells us another important detail: 32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. With this detail, Luke brings to mind Isaiah 53:12, which tells of the Suffering Servant, “he was numbered with the transgressors.” Luke wants us to see that Jesus's death is fulfillment of the Scriptures and God's plan of salvation. We'll see more evidence of this as we look now at the crucifixion. The Crucifixion 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull [or Golgatha, a hill shaped like a skull]there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” There they crucified him. Such a simple phrase does not do justice to the horrors of this death. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians around 300 B.C. and perfected by the Romans around the time of Christ. It is quite possibly the most painful death ever invented by man and is where we get our word excruciating from. It killed its victims through suffocation, loss of body fluids, and multiple organ failure. One scientific article explains in more detail how crucifixion killed someone: Someone nailed to a crucifix with their arms stretched out on either side could expect to live for no more than 24 hours. Seven-inch nails would be driven through the wrists so that the bones there could support the body's weight. The nail would sever the median nerve, which not only caused immense pain but would have paralyzed the victim's hands. The feet were nailed to the upright part of the crucifix, so that the knees were bent at around 45 degrees. To speed death, executioners would often break the legs of their victims to give no chance of using their thigh muscles as support. It was probably unnecessary, as their strength would not have lasted more than a few minutes even if they were unharmed. Once the legs gave out, the weight would be transferred to the arms, gradually dragging the shoulders from their sockets. The elbows and wrists would follow a few minutes later; by now, the arms would be six or seven inches longer. The victim would have no choice but to bear his weight on his chest. He would immediately have trouble breathing as the weight caused the rib cage to lift up and force him into an almost perpetual state of inhalation. Suffocation would usually follow, but the relief of death could also arrive in other ways. "The resultant lack of oxygen in the blood would cause damage to tissues and blood vessels, allowing fluid to diffuse out of the blood into tissues, including the lungs and the sac around the heart," says Ward. This would make the lungs stiffer and make breathing even more difficult, and the pressure around the heart would impair its pumping.[1] Our innocent Lord endured all this, and as he is suffering, he looks around him and says, “curse you wicked men!” No… He says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” What kind of man can be mocked and beaten and killed unjustly and yet respond with blessing and prayer for his enemies? Again, this is fulfillment of Isaiah 53:12 “He makes intercession for the transgressors. When I read this plea for forgiveness this week again for the hundredth time, I stopped in utter amazement, and could not help but shout, “Who is this man? What kind of man does that? There is truly no one like Jesus.” Again, what is your instinct when others mock you or injure you. Are we not quick to retaliate and curse them? But Jesus responds with grace immeasurable. He calls out to God the Father in this moment, pleading on his murderers behalf, “forgive them.” Don't hold this against them. They don't understand what they are doing. In pleading for their forgiveness, he is asking God to release them from the penalty they deserve for these sins. These were not empty prayers he was praying. Jesus actually had authority to provide forgiveness by virtue of his sacrifice. His sacrifice made forgiveness possible. God could forgive his enemies and not require death because Jesus was dying in the place of anyone who would repent and cling to him. Were told that “they cast lots to divide his garments.” (v. 34). This is another fulfillment of a famous Messianic Scripture, Psalm 22. Verse 18 says, “They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” They had stripped him to the point that he was either naked or barely clothed, and they played dice to see who would get his clothes, since he was about to die. Jesus hung their naked, suffering, and struggling to breathe, and the mocking continued. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers [that is the Jewish religious leaders] scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.” Both the Jewish leaders and the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus by challenging his power and authority as King, which was the charge posted above him for all to see. Their words are strikingly similar to Satan's, who challenged him at the beginning of his ministry, “If you are the Son of God, then make bread... throw yourself down” One by one they mocked him, using various Messianic titles. Verse 31 says that they offered him sour wine, which was not an act of compassion but just another slap in the face. One Bible teacher says that it may have been offered on a sponge used for personal bathroom sanitation. Either way, quenching his thirst with this cheap drink was a form of mockery and would have only prolonged his suffering. They didn't know it, as we do now, but Jesus could have hit abort at any minute. He could have hit abort when Satan offered him a way out at his temptation. He could have hit abort when many tried to take his life in his short three year ministry. He could have hit abort when he was in the garden of Gethsemane. He had the authority to come down off the cross with legions of Angels at his back and slay all of his enemies. But he didn't. He stayed. He gave his life, like he says in John 10:18, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” Jesus gave his life willingly in obedience to his Father. This was all accomplishing a divine purpose bigger than anyone could understand. They thought that his death was proof that he was not the Messiah, but it was only proving that he was. Because he stayed on the cross, he could offer salvation to all who would come to him, which is what we are about to see in the promise of paradise. The Promise of Paradise 39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Even the criminals hanging next to him begin mocking Jesus and his identity. “Save yourself, and us too while you're at it!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” These verses are unique to Luke, and I'm so glad that he recorded this event. The second criminal rebukes the first, recognizing that they are about to meet their Maker, and that they were justly receiving the death sentence. On the contrary, “this man has done nothing wrong.” We don't know what this criminal knew about Jesus, but one thing became clear to the man as he watched Jesus suffer alongside him – this man was innocent. But then the criminal turns his attention to Jesus. 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Rather than mocking his ability to save, the criminal pleas for salvation. This request is both a confession of faith that Jesus is the King who will soon enter his kingdom and a plea for mercy before his judge. This moment is a final snapshot of the sad reality that Luke has unfolded: the first will be last and last will be first. It is the poor, the sinful – like the Prodigal Son ­– who recognize their need for mercy. But it is the religious who, like the Older Brother in the Prodigal story, proudly reject Jesus. 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” What is paradise? Our Jesus says he was going there. He was about to enter his kingdom. Contrary to what some theologians have claimed, Jesus was not headed to hell for three days, but through death, he would soon enter his glory before rising again bodily three days later. This word paradise is used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to translate the Hebrew word for garden. It's referencing Heaven, the restored garden of Eden, where the righteous dwell with God. Jesus tells the dying criminal, “truly, today” you will be with me there. You can be confident that I will rescue you and bring you into paradise. In saying “today” you will be saved, Jesus was making a pronouncement as the judge of the living and the dead of the man's salvation. The crowds had put Jesus on trial and condemned him to death, but even as he breathes some of his last breaths Jesus shows us that he has the keys of paradise, he has authority to save and welcome repentant sinners into heaven through faith in him. Even while Jesus was dying a gruesome death, he was paving the way to heaven. Through his death he was inaugurating a new period of salvation.[2] This is why Jesus stayed on the cross! It was for this moment that he had come. So that anyone who hopes in him like this criminal could be confident that Jesus would welcome them into paradise. Hebrews 12:2 says, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus could have hit abort, but he endured because of the joy he would experience through all that it accomplished. Namely, needy sinners would be rescued and brought into his eternal kingdom. Jesus endured the cross with this picture in mind. He had a picture of himself seated on the throne next to the father, with each and every one of us, once clothed in rags of shame, transformed into his holy bride, clothed in robes of white and standing by his side. This is Good News! This is our Jesus! What kind of man weeps over others as he goes to his death? What kind of man says, “Father, forgive them,” to his enemies? What kind of king invites a wicked and guilty man into paradise? All made possible by his death! Who is this man? He is our king. He is matchless. And he is the perfect image of our God. Oh friends, if you want to know what God is like, if you want to know what he feels towards you right now, look at Jesus hanging on the cross. I know, we cannot comprehend why God would allow suffering in this world. We cannot comprehend why evil is done to us and to those we love. But how can we question our God's love and compassion when he steps into our suffering like this? The sin that wreaks havoc on the world, and in our souls, he bore on the cross. All of our sickness, our sorrows, all of our wounds, our pain, what has been done against us, and what we have done to others, he took it on himself. He absorbed it. Every sin, past and present, so that he could welcome us into paradise. How can we question our God‘s love, and if he has good intentions for us? How can we ever wonder if he cares? How could we ever wonder if he knows what ouor suffering is like? My desire today is that all of us here today would put our faith in this Jesus, who alone has the keys of paradise. I want you to confess again, or for the first time, that Jesus is your king and Lord. And I want you to be confident today, that if you do, you will surely be with Jesus in paradise when you die or when he comes again. How can a holy God welcome this wicked criminal into heaven? How can a holy God welcome you and I into heaven? It's certainly not because of a list of good you've done that outweighs the bad. No, it was simple faith in this Jesus, just like it was for the criminal. It's because of God's great love and mercy. Our Jesus willingly took our place, carrying every single sin to calvary on the road of grief. It was nailed to the cross and carried away to the grave forever. The power of sin and death is broken, so that God can declare you righteous in Christ and welcome you into his eternal paradise. Just remember, Jesus is not dead. Just as he promised, Jesus rose three days later, and was exalted to the right hand of God, proving that he has the power to do what he says. It was all according to the plan laid out in this book. Hallelujah! Let's pray [1] https://www.theguardian.com/science/2004/apr/08/thisweekssciencequestion [2] Pao, D. W., & Schnabel, E. J. (2007). Luke. In Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament (p. 398). Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos.

The Delian league had now been established with the majority of its members coming from regions throughout the Aegean. In its inception they had all turned to a Greek city state on the mainland, that of Athens who headed the league. In 477 BC the league would now find itself in a position to begin campaigning for the first time, they would set out under the leadership of a relative new comer to the scene of Athenian politics, Cimon.Thucydides would give us a picture of how the league would evolve over its first decade in operation, as well as highlighting how Athens's power would grow. The league would first direct itself against Persian controlled regions on the Thracian coast, aligned with the objectives it had been created under. Though, it wouldn't be only the Persians that the Delian league would focus its attentions against. Other Greeks would find themselves becoming the target of the league's activities in the Aegean. These actions would be justified for a number of reasons, from eliminating piracy in the Aegean, to protecting the common strategic security through cohesion.As the years passed new challenges within the league would arise. With very little Persian activity in the Aegean league members would have been starting to wonder if the finical costs of supporting the league were in their interests anymore. One member Naxos would act on this and attempt to leave, but this risked seeing the league fall apart. Athens would see that they would remain a member through force. This was an ominous sign of the direction the league was heading in, though the Persian threat had not disappeared just yet. Support the show

Today I sit down with historian Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to discuss his most recent work: "The Persians: Age of Kings". We talk about all your usual topics: Cyrus and Darius the Great, the Persian Wars and Xerxes, and, of course, Alexander the Great. All from the Persian perspective.Website: www.westerncivpodcast.comPatreon: www.patreon.com/westerncivpodcastPremium Subscription: www.glow.fm/westernciv

Esther 1–5 Esther 1–5 (Listen) The King's Banquets 1 Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, 2 in those days when King Ahasuerus sat on his royal throne in Susa, the citadel, 3 in the third year of his reign he gave a feast for all his officials and servants. The army of Persia and Media and the nobles and governors of the provinces were before him, 4 while he showed the riches of his royal glory and the splendor and pomp of his greatness for many days, 180 days. 5 And when these days were completed, the king gave for all the people present in Susa the citadel, both great and small, a feast lasting for seven days in the court of the garden of the king's palace. 6 There were white cotton curtains and violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods1 and marble pillars, and also couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl, and precious stones. 7 Drinks were served in golden vessels, vessels of different kinds, and the royal wine was lavished according to the bounty of the king. 8 And drinking was according to this edict: “There is no compulsion.” For the king had given orders to all the staff of his palace to do as each man desired. 9 Queen Vashti also gave a feast for the women in the palace that belonged to King Ahasuerus. Queen Vashti's Refusal 10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha and Abagtha, Zethar and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus, 11 to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown,2 in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the eunuchs. At this the king became enraged, and his anger burned within him. 13 Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for this was the king's procedure toward all who were versed in law and judgment, 14 the men next to him being Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and sat first in the kingdom): 15 “According to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of King Ahasuerus delivered by the eunuchs?” 16 Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt,3 since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.' 18 This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen's behavior will say the same to all the king's officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. 19 If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. 20 So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, all women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed. 22 He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, that every man be master in his own household and speak according to the language of his people. Esther Chosen Queen 2 After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king's young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king's eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king4 be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so. 5 Now there was a Jew in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem among the captives carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He was bringing up Hadassah, that is Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother. The young woman had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at, and when her father and her mother died, Mordecai took her as his own daughter. 8 So when the king's order and his edict were proclaimed, and when many young women were gathered in Susa the citadel in custody of Hegai, Esther also was taken into the king's palace and put in custody of Hegai, who had charge of the women. 9 And the young woman pleased him and won his favor. And he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and her portion of food, and with seven chosen young women from the king's palace, and advanced her and her young women to the best place in the harem. 10 Esther had not made known her people or kindred, for Mordecai had commanded her not to make it known. 11 And every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her. 12 Now when the turn came for each young woman to go in to King Ahasuerus, after being twelve months under the regulations for the women, since this was the regular period of their beautifying, six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and ointments for women—13 when the young woman went in to the king in this way, she was given whatever she desired to take with her from the harem to the king's palace. 14 In the evening she would go in, and in the morning she would return to the second harem in custody of Shaashgaz, the king's eunuch, who was in charge of the concubines. She would not go in to the king again, unless the king delighted in her and she was summoned by name. 15 When the turn came for Esther the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her as his own daughter, to go in to the king, she asked for nothing except what Hegai the king's eunuch, who had charge of the women, advised. Now Esther was winning favor in the eyes of all who saw her. 16 And when Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, into his royal palace, in the tenth month, which is the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign, 17 the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins, so that he set the royal crown5 on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king gave a great feast for all his officials and servants; it was Esther's feast. He also granted a remission of taxes to the provinces and gave gifts with royal generosity. Mordecai Discovers a Plot 19 Now when the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate. 20 Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him. 21 In those days, as Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, became angry and sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 22 And this came to the knowledge of Mordecai, and he told it to Queen Esther, and Esther told the king in the name of Mordecai. 23 When the affair was investigated and found to be so, the men were both hanged on the gallows.6 And it was recorded in the book of the chronicles in the presence of the king. Haman Plots Against the Jews 3 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you transgress the king's command?” 4 And when they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury. 6 But he disdained7 to lay hands on Mordecai alone. So, as they had made known to him the people of Mordecai, Haman sought to destroy8 all the Jews, the people of Mordecai, throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus. 7 In the first month, which is the month of Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur (that is, they cast lots) before Haman day after day; and they cast it month after month till the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar. 8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king's laws, so that it is not to the king's profit to tolerate them. 9 If it please the king, let it be decreed that they be destroyed, and I will pay 10,000 talents9 of silver into the hands of those who have charge of the king's business, that they may put it into the king's treasuries.” 10 So the king took his signet ring from his hand and gave it to Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. 11 And the king said to Haman, “The money is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king's scribes were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king's satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king's signet ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces with instruction to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. 14 A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation to all the peoples to be ready for that day. 15 The couriers went out hurriedly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in Susa the citadel. And the king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion. Esther Agrees to Help the Jews 4 When Mordecai learned all that had been done, Mordecai tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the midst of the city, and he cried out with a loud and bitter cry. 2 He went up to the entrance of the king's gate, for no one was allowed to enter the king's gate clothed in sackcloth. 3 And in every province, wherever the king's command and his decree reached, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting and weeping and lamenting, and many of them lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 When Esther's young women and her eunuchs came and told her, the queen was deeply distressed. She sent garments to clothe Mordecai, so that he might take off his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king's eunuchs, who had been appointed to attend her, and ordered him to go to Mordecai to learn what this was and why it was. 6 Hathach went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king's gate, 7 and Mordecai told him all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of money that Haman had promised to pay into the king's treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 Mordecai also gave him a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for their destruction,10 that he might show it to Esther and explain it to her and command her to go to the king to beg his favor and plead with him11 on behalf of her people. 9 And Hathach went and told Esther what Mordecai had said. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach and commanded him to go to Mordecai and say, 11 “All the king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that if any man or woman goes to the king inside the inner court without being called, there is but one law—to be put to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter so that he may live. But as for me, I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 12 And they told Mordecai what Esther had said. 13 Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, “Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”12 17 Mordecai then went away and did everything as Esther had ordered him. Esther Prepares a Banquet 5 On the third day Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace, in front of the king's quarters, while the king was sitting on his royal throne inside the throne room opposite the entrance to the palace. 2 And when the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she won favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. Then Esther approached and touched the tip of the scepter. 3 And the king said to her, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you, even to the half of my kingdom.” 4 And Esther said, “If it please the king,13 let the king and Haman come today to a feast that I have prepared for the king.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that we may do as Esther has asked.” So the king and Haman came to the feast that Esther had prepared. 6 And as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king said to Esther, “What is your wish? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.”14 7 Then Esther answered, “My wish and my request is: 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king15 to grant my wish and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come to the feast that I will prepare for them, and tomorrow I will do as the king has said.” Haman Plans to Hang Mordecai 9 And Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he neither rose nor trembled before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home, and he sent and brought his friends and his wife Zeresh. 11 And Haman recounted to them the splendor of his riches, the number of his sons, all the promotions with which the king had honored him, and how he had advanced him above the officials and the servants of the king. 12 Then Haman said, “Even Queen Esther let no one but me come with the king to the feast she prepared. And tomorrow also I am invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this is worth nothing to me, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.” 14 Then his wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows16 fifty cubits17 high be made, and in the morning tell the king to have Mordecai hanged upon it. Then go joyfully with the king to the feast.” This idea pleased Haman, and he had the gallows made. Footnotes [1] 1:6 Or rings [2] 1:11 Or headdress [3] 1:17 Hebrew to disdain their husbands in their eyes [4] 2:4 Hebrew who is good in the eyes of the king [5] 2:17 Or headdress [6] 2:23 Or wooden beam or stake; Hebrew tree or wood. This Persian execution practice involved affixing or impaling a person on a stake or pole (compare Ezra 6:11) [7] 3:6 Hebrew disdained in his eyes [8] 3:6 Or annihilate [9] 3:9 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [10] 4:8 Or annihilation [11] 4:8 Hebrew and seek from before his face [12] 4:16 Hebrew if I am destroyed, then I will be destroyed [13] 5:4 Hebrew If it is good to the king [14] 5:6 Or done [15] 5:8 Hebrew if it is good to the king [16] 5:14 Or wooden beam; twice in this verse (see note on 2:23) [17] 5:14 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters (ESV)

Whether you're about to head to the gym and get a new PR, or spend the night out and push yourself to talk to women, you need to get yourself pumped up and MOTIVATED. So in today's very special episode, coach Mark Sing brings back the SPARTAN KING visualization that's so powerful, you'll feel strong enough to take on an army of Persians by yourself. Apply for a FREE Consultation with Mark: https://coachmarksing.com/coaching/ Grab Mark's Free Program: "The Approach Formula": http://www.CoachMarkSing.com/The-Approach-Formula Follow Mark on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachmarksing/ Contact Mark Directly: CoachMarkSing@Gmail.com

In Daniel 9-1-3 we see the response of a godly man to current events. In 539 B.C., Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians, so Daniel consults the Bible and reads that Israel's exile was to last 70 years -Jeremiah 25-8-12- 29-10-14-. He then reads the reason for this captivity -Leviticus 26-27-35-, and discovers God's remedy in Leviticus 26-40-45.--And that is precisely what Daniel does in Daniel 9-4- he confesses his own sins and those of his people in the next verses concluding very emotionally in Daniel 9-19.--God sends the Archangel Gabriel in response -Daniel 9-20-23-.--Two years later, in the third year of the reign of Cyrus the Great, Daniel seeks God's face with prayer and fasting for three weeks -Daniel 10-1-3-. --In response God once again sends his archangel who delivers a profound message that lays out the mystery of God's foreordination, human responsibility, and the effective strategy of the wicked principalities and powers. --Daniel is told that God regards him highly -Daniel 9-23- 10-11, 19- and answered his prayers on the very first day he humbled himself and prayed -Daniel 10-11-12-, but there was diabolical opposition that kept that answer from reaching him for three whole weeks -Daniel 10-13-. --Had the Archangel not received supernatural reinforcement from Michael, Daniel's answer would not have come because Gabriel was engaged in combat with the Prince of Persia and as soon as he left Daniel, he was returning to that fight and soon would face the Prince of Greece -Daniel 10-14-11-1-.--As we reflect on the terrible events in Uvalde, here in Texas, this past week, we must draw both encouragement and the solution from Daniel's revelation.

Ezra: Fascinating ancient letters dramatize Israel's struggle with the ancient kings of the Medes and the Persians and with their neighbors. Why did God forbid the Jews from marrying their Gentile neighbors? Through Ezra the priest, God even commanded Israel to divorce their pagan wives. Contrarily, through the Apostle Paul, God commands Christians to stay married to unbelievers. Why did God issue different commands to Israel and the Body of Christ regarding divorce and marriage, what are the similarities, and what are the differences?   MP3-CD or MP3 download   BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you. Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc. Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

Ezra: Fascinating ancient letters dramatize Israel's struggle with the ancient kings of the Medes and the Persians and with their neighbors. Why did God forbid the Jews from marrying their Gentile neighbors? Through Ezra the priest, God even commanded Israel to divorce their pagan wives. Contrarily, through the Apostle Paul, God commands Christians to stay married to unbelievers. Why did God issue different commands to Israel and the Body of Christ regarding divorce and marriage, what are the similarities, and what are the differences?   MP3-CD or MP3 download   BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you. Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc. Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

Episode 28 - Arshak II. A beautiful queen, an angry Persian shah, and the Castle of Oblivion—the story of this Armenian king is so tragic, it has its own opera. With a vibrant cast of characters and many twists and turns, it starts out as a story about an Armenian king who has to keep the Romans and Persians happy and ends up as a haunting precursor for the Battle of Avarayr. But it's not all sad. What's your favorite part of Arshak's story?Leave a comment on our Facebook page. Get updates and more on www.facebook.com/podmootiun/, and don't forget to like, subscribe and leave a review.

“Persian Language Under the Ayatollahs” - Part 32 of the Roqe Media series, The Contemporary History of Iran. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 created seismic shifts in Iranian society, but what effect did it have on language? What impact did the Islamic Republic's attempts to Islamize language in Iran have on the way Persians speak? Iranian-Canadian linguist, author, and curator of Iranian cinema and Persian literature, Dr. Khatereh Sheibani, professor of Persian Studies at York University, joins Jian Ghomeshi from Toronto, to discuss how the Persian lexicon has changed since the period of the Shah, and how resistance to the current Iranian government has created a new vernacular as well.

This time, the Mughal Empire goes from ruling almost all of India to a suburb of Delhi. And they face new challenges from the always troublesome Deccan, the Persians and just about everyone else. Meanwhile the East India Company shows us capitalism at its best... i.e. asset stripping. All the while, there is much poking of eyes, strangling of mothers and pushing of elephants into crevices. Support us on Patreon at patreon.com/ctdeapod. Contact us at ctdeapod@gmail.com or at our website: ctdeapod.com and read the history games article. Follow us @CTDEApod on Twitter and Facebook and never miss another update.

“This interconnection between Greek tradition and science and mathematics, and the Babylonian traditions in astronomy and all these other very technical and very advanced sciences, this was a moment which really created the basis for science, mathematics, and so on in the Western world, and indeed, throughout the world, in later centuries and millennia.” For more than a millennium, the Persian empire was the major political and economic force in western Asia. Beginning in the sixth century BCE, three dynasties of Persian rulers created the largest and most complex nation in the world. From the monumental reliefs of the Achaemenid ceremonial capital, Persepolis, to elaborate silver platters that tell the story of David and Goliath, the art and luxury objects of this period demonstrate the Persians' political power and self-image. At the same time, much of our knowledge of ancient Iran comes from Greek and Roman writings and artworks because of the relationships and rivalries among these civilizations. The exhibition Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World showcases a wide range objects from the three cultures that shed new light on ancient Persia and tell the story of cultural exchange in this fascinating empire. In this episode, Getty Museum director Tim Potts and curators Jeffrey Spier and Sara Cole discuss their exhibition Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World and some of the key objects in the show. The exhibition is on view at the Getty Villa through August 8, 2022. For images, transcripts, and more, visit https://blogs.getty.edu/iris/podcast-art-luxury-and-power-in-ancient-iran/ or http://www.getty.edu/podcasts To learn more about the exhibition Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World, visit https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/persia/ To buy the catalogue for Persia: Ancient Iran and the Classical World, visit https://shop.getty.edu/products/persia-ancient-iran-and-the-classical-world-978-1606066805

Daniel in the Lions' Den - Daniel 6(Picture of Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand)Daniel 6 takes place in 536 B.C. The Babylonians have fallen and the Persian Empire has risen.Daniel did what he had always done. He chose to stand up and wound up in a lions' den. Proverbs 28:1, “The righteous are bold as a lion.” Daniel is now a very elderly man, but God calls on him one more time to take a stand.The lions' den is a place of darkness where we are devoured by fear, worry, and anxiety prepared by our enemy. 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”Why was Daniel as “bold as a lion” even in a den of lions?1) Daniel had the character of God.Daniel 6:1-5, It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. 4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”Daniel's godly integrity made him a threat to his enemies! They hated him for his honesty and integrity and burned with envy and jealousy. They feared Daniel. (See Proverbs 28:1)Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Media only)Because of Daniel's godly character, he never changed his “colors.” There are many “chameleon” Christians in the world today that try to “blend in” to their surroundings.”(Video of chameleon changing colors)Daniel 6:6-10, So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: “King Darius, live forever! 7 All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.2) Daniel had confidence in God. Even when he knew a law had been signed making it illegal for him to pray to his God under penalty of death, he continued to do it with his windows wide open for all to see!Daniel's courage to live for God came from his confidence in God. He was faithful to God because he was full of faith in God.When you trust in God's sovereignty, you can live with certainty in a world gone crazy. Daniel was confident in God's sovereign control over his life. He knew God's plan for him was perfect even if the cost was high. Daniel 6:11-17, Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king's decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” 13 So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 And the king, when he heard these words, was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15 Then these men approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.” 16 So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” 17 Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.3) Daniel was consecrated to God.You are consecrated to whatever you are willing to die for. You do not have a faith worth living for if you don't have a faith worth dying for. “A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith.” –Richard WurmbrandDaniel 6:18-23, Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” 23 Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.God promises a resurrection when we choose a life of consecration. The prize will be worth whatever the price.

Ezra 4–7 Ezra 4–7 (Listen) Adversaries Oppose the Rebuilding 4 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. The Letter to King Artaxerxes 7 In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.1 8 Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commander, Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their associates, the judges, the governors, the officials, the Persians, the men of Erech, the Babylonians, the men of Susa, that is, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar deported and settled in the cities of Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River. 11 (This is a copy of the letter that they sent.) “To Artaxerxes the king: Your servants, the men of the province Beyond the River, send greeting. And now 12 be it known to the king that the Jews who came up from you to us have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are finishing the walls and repairing the foundations. 13 Now be it known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and the royal revenue will be impaired. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace2 and it is not fitting for us to witness the king's dishonor, therefore we send and inform the king, 15 in order that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers. You will find in the book of the records and learn that this city is a rebellious city, hurtful to kings and provinces, and that sedition was stirred up in it from of old. That was why this city was laid waste. 16 We make known to the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls finished, you will then have no possession in the province Beyond the River.” The King Orders the Work to Cease 17 The king sent an answer: “To Rehum the commander and Shimshai the scribe and the rest of their associates who live in Samaria and in the rest of the province Beyond the River, greeting. And now 18 the letter that you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 And I made a decree, and search has been made, and it has been found that this city from of old has risen against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made in it. 20 And mighty kings have been over Jerusalem, who ruled over the whole province Beyond the River, to whom tribute, custom, and toll were paid. 21 Therefore make a decree that these men be made to cease, and that this city be not rebuilt, until a decree is made by me. 22 And take care not to be slack in this matter. Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?” 23 Then, when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum and Shimshai the scribe and their associates, they went in haste to the Jews at Jerusalem and by force and power made them cease. 24 Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped, and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Rebuilding Begins Anew 5 Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. 3 At the same time Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and their associates came to them and spoke to them thus: “Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?” 4 They also asked them this:3 “What are the names of the men who are building this building?” 5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, and they did not stop them until the report should reach Darius and then an answer be returned by letter concerning it. Tattenai's Letter to King Darius 6 This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the province Beyond the River and Shethar-bozenai and his associates, the governors who were in the province Beyond the River, sent to Darius the king. 7 They sent him a report, in which was written as follows: “To Darius the king, all peace. 8 Be it known to the king that we went to the province of Judah, to the house of the great God. It is being built with huge stones, and timber is laid in the walls. This work goes on diligently and prospers in their hands. 9 Then we asked those elders and spoke to them thus: ‘Who gave you a decree to build this house and to finish this structure?' 10 We also asked them their names, for your information, that we might write down the names of their leaders.4 11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished. 12 But because our fathers had angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia. 13 However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree that this house of God should be rebuilt. 14 And the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple that was in Jerusalem and brought into the temple of Babylon, these Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, “Take these vessels, go and put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its site.” 16 Then this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been in building, and it is not yet finished.' 17 Therefore, if it seems good to the king, let search be made in the royal archives there in Babylon, to see whether a decree was issued by Cyrus the king for the rebuilding of this house of God in Jerusalem. And let the king send us his pleasure in this matter.” The Decree of Darius 6 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in Babylonia, in the house of the archives where the documents were stored. 2 And in Ecbatana, the citadel that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found on which this was written: “A record. 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits5 and its breadth sixty cubits, 4 with three layers of great stones and one layer of timber. Let the cost be paid from the royal treasury. 5 And also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and brought back to the temple that is in Jerusalem, each to its place. You shall put them in the house of God.” 6 “Now therefore, Tattenai, governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and your6 associates the governors who are in the province Beyond the River, keep away. 7 Let the work on this house of God alone. Let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God. The cost is to be paid to these men in full and without delay from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province from Beyond the River. 9 And whatever is needed—bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests at Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, 10 that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill. 12 May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.” The Temple Finished and Dedicated 13 Then, according to the word sent by Darius the king, Tattenai, the governor of the province Beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates did with all diligence what Darius the king had ordered. 14 And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia; 15 and this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. 16 And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered at the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel 12 male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their divisions, for the service of God at Jerusalem, as it is written in the Book of Moses. Passover Celebrated 19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover. 20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves. 21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel. 22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. Ezra Sent to Teach the People 7 Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, 2 son of Shallum, son of Zadok, son of Ahitub, 3 son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of Meraioth, 4 son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, 5 son of Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief priest—6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him. 7 And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 And Ezra7 came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 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. 11 This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace.8 And now 13 I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. 14 For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, 15 and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, 16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. 19 The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury. 21 “And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, 22 up to 100 talents9 of silver, 100 cors10 of wheat, 100 baths11 of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm of the king and his sons. 24 We also notify you that it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other servants of this house of God. 25 “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach. 26 Whoever will not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation of his goods or for imprisonment.” 27 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, 28 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. Footnotes [1] 4:7 Hebrew written in Aramaic and translated in Aramaic, indicating that 4:8–6:18 is in Aramaic; another interpretation is The letter was written in the Aramaic script and set forth in the Aramaic language [2] 4:14 Aramaic because the salt of the palace is our salt [3] 5:4 Septuagint, Syriac; Aramaic Then we said to them, [4] 5:10 Aramaic of the men at their heads [5] 6:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [6] 6:6 Aramaic their [7] 7:8 Aramaic he [8] 7:12 Aramaic Perfect (probably a greeting) [9] 7:22 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms [10] 7:22 A cor was about 6 bushels or 220 liters [11] 7:22 A bath was about 6 gallons or 22 liters (ESV)

  Ezra: Fascinating ancient letters dramatize Israel's struggle with the ancient kings of the Medes and the Persians and with their neighbors. Why did God forbid the Jews from marrying their Gentile neighbors? Through Ezra the priest, God even commanded Israel to divorce their pagan wives. Contrarily, through the Apostle Paul, God commands Christians to stay married to unbelievers. Why did God issue different commands to Israel and the Body of Christ regarding divorce and marriage, what are the similarities, and what are the differences?   MP3-CD or MP3 download   BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you. Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc. Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

  Ezra: Fascinating ancient letters dramatize Israel's struggle with the ancient kings of the Medes and the Persians and with their neighbors. Why did God forbid the Jews from marrying their Gentile neighbors? Through Ezra the priest, God even commanded Israel to divorce their pagan wives. Contrarily, through the Apostle Paul, God commands Christians to stay married to unbelievers. Why did God issue different commands to Israel and the Body of Christ regarding divorce and marriage, what are the similarities, and what are the differences?   MP3-CD or MP3 download   BEL SUBSCRIPTIONS: Please consider one of our monthly subscriptions that will not only help support BEL, but they also promote better understanding of the Bible and may equip you to more effectively reach those around you. Monthly Downloads: Enjoy your monthly subscription is download form rather than on disc. Monthly Sermons: Enjoy all of Bob's sermons from the month on Sermon Video DVD, great also to watch with the family. Or, get these on Sermon Audio CDs which are standard audio Compact Discs that will play on any CD player including the one in your car. Or get them on a single Sermon MP3-CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Bible Studies: Enjoy the Scriptures with Bob's Monthly Bible Study DVDs, great too for a small group Bible study. Or get these teachings on a single Monthly Bible Study Audio MP3- CD which will play on an MP3 player, in a DVD player, or in your computer.Monthly Topical Videos: Coming to your mailbox, you'll get a Monthly Topical DVD to enjoy one of Bob's great videos specially selected to be entertaining and to teach about life from a biblical worldview.Monthly BEL TV Classics: Enjoy Bob Enyart's timeless, popular TV show delivered to your home on the Monthly BEL TV Classics DVDs with great audio and video clarity thanks to our state-of-the-art mastering from the studio-quality Sony beta tapes to DVD!Monthly Donation: For folks who just want to make sure that Bob Enyart Live stays on the air, please consider making a pledge in the form of a Monthly Donation.

On Episode 16 of the Stroke Alert Podcast, Dr. Negar Asdaghi highlights two articles from the May issue of Stroke: “Number of Affected Relatives, Age, Smoking, and Hypertension Prediction Score for Intracranial Aneurysms in Persons With a Family History for Subarachnoid Hemorrhage” and “Endovascular Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke With or Without General Anesthesia.” She also interviews Dr. Patrick Lyden on “The Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network: Rationale, Design, Feasibility, and Stage 1 Results.” Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Let's start with some questions. 1) How is it that stroke can be cured in rodents but not in humans? 2) Are we wasting time or gaining time with general anesthesia before endovascular thrombectomy? 3) My father had an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, Doctor. What is my risk of having an aneurysm, and how often should we check for one? We're back here with the Stroke Alert Podcast to tackle the toughest questions in the field because this is the best in Stroke. Stay with us. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Welcome back to the May 2022 issue of the Stroke Alert Podcast. My name is Negar Asdaghi. I'm an Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and your host for the monthly Stroke Alert Podcast. For the May 2022 issue of Stroke, we have a number of papers that I'd like to highlight. We have seven articles as part of our Focused Update on the topic of neuroimmunology and stroke, organized by our own Stroke editors, Drs. Johannes Boltze and Miguel Perez-Pinzon. We also have an interesting study by Dr. David Saadoun and colleagues from Sorbonne University in Paris, where we learn that in patients with Takayasu disease, how the delay in diagnosis, as defined by the time from symptom onset to the diagnosis being over one year, was significantly associated with development of ischemic cerebrovascular events. In the Comments and Opinions section, we have an interesting study by Dr. Goldenberg and colleagues from University of Toronto on the benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists for stroke reduction in type 2 diabetes and why should stroke neurologists be familiar with this new class of diabetic medication. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Later, in the interview section of the podcast, I have the great honor of interviewing Dr. Patrick Lyden, one of the founding fathers of thrombolytic therapy in stroke, as he walks us through the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network and what his hopes are for the future of stroke therapy. I also ask him for some advice, and he did tell us about the view from the top, as he truly stands on the shoulder of giants. But first with these two articles. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         In a landmark population-based study out of Sweden that was published in Brain in 2008, we learned that the odds of development of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage for individuals with one first-degree relative with a prior history of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage was 2.15. For individuals with two affected first-degree relatives, the odds ratio was 51. So, it's not surprising that a great deal of anxiety is caused within a family when a relative has an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, especially if that family member was young or another member of the family had the same condition before. This scenario is commonly followed by a number of inevitable questions: Should all family members of the affected individual be screened for presence of an intracranial aneurysm? If yes, how often should vascular imaging be performed, and should other aneurysmal risk factors, such as age, sex, smoking, and hypertension, be also considered in the screening decision-making? In this issue of the journal, as part of a derivation-validation study, a group of investigators, led by Dr. Charlotte Zuurbier from University Medical Center at Utrecht Brain Center in the Netherlands, studied the ability of a simple scoring system that was developed in their derivation cohort to predict the presence of an intracranial aneurysm on vascular imaging. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         They then tested the scoring model in their validation cohort. So, for their development cohort, they used data on 660 persons who were screened at the University Medical Center for presence of an intracranial aneurysm because they had two or more affected first-degree relatives with a prior history of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The median age of participants at the time of first screening was 40, and 59% were female. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         So, in this cohort, the investigators simply looked at factors that were independently associated with finding an aneurysm on vascular screening by their multivariate analysis. And they identified the following factors; the first factor was the number of affected relatives. Now, a reminder that all of these people in the cohort had at least two first-degree relatives with an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. And they found that amongst these people, those that had three or more family members with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were significantly more likely to have a positive screening test for intracranial aneurysm. The next factor was older age — the older that relative, the more likely their screening imaging was positive for an aneurysm — and the other independent factors were smoking and hypertension. So they created the NASH acronym; N for number of relatives, A for age, S for smoking, and H for hypertension. When assigning points for each of these factors, the NASH scoring system had a C statistics of 0.68 in predicting whether or not someone would have a positive test, which is an intracranial aneurysm. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         And now a reminder for our listeners that C statistics gives us the probability that a person with a certain condition, in this case, a certain NASH score, will have the outcome of interest, in this case, an aneurysm found by vascular imaging. In general, for C statistics, the closer we get to 1, the more robust is our predictive model. Values over 0.7 indicate that we have a good model, but values over 0.8 indicate a very strong model. So the NASH score, at 0.68, has a reasonably good capability in predicting who will or will not have an intracranial aneurysm if we complete the vascular imaging. But it's not a very strong model, and this should be kept in mind. Let's look at some of their numbers. In their development cohort, the probability of finding an intracranial aneurysm for a person who scored low on NASH, that is a young person who never smoked and is not hypertensive, was only 5%, whereas the probability of finding an intracranial aneurysm in a person who scored high on NASH, that is an older person in their 60s or 70s, with three or more affected relatives, who is hypertensive and a smoker, was 36%. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         So, then they tested this NASH score in their external validation cohort and found that the likelihood of identifying an aneurysm increased as expected along the range of predicted probabilities of NASH. That is, the higher the score, the more likely to find an aneurysm on screening with vascular imaging. And the C statistics in the validation cohort was slightly lower than the C statistics in the derivation cohort. So, the important lesson we learned from this study is that the risk of having an intracranial aneurysm in a person who has a first-degree family member with a prior history of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage is substantially different depending on their NASH score, and this should be taken into consideration when deciding on screening and counseling various family members of the affected patient or prioritizing who should be screened first in routine practice. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         The ideal anesthetic management during endovascular therapy is still unknown. A number of studies have compared the different anesthetic options available during thrombectomy, which include general anesthesia, or GA, conscious sedation, use of local anesthesia, and no sedation at all. The main argument for doing endovascular therapy under general anesthesia is that although this procedure will take some precious pre-thrombectomy time, it does result in strict immobility. And that is really ideal in the sense that it improves catheter navigation and interpretation of angiography, in addition to obviously providing a secure airway and, of course, avoiding the need to have to do an emergency intubation in case of procedural complications. The argument against general anesthesia is not only the issue of time but also the risk of hypotension and hemodynamic compromise, especially during induction, and the loss of very valuable neurological examination in a completely sedated patient during the procedure. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         The question is, does general anesthesia improve or worsen neurological and functional outcomes post-thrombectomy? Several smaller randomized trials have looked at this very question, mainly comparing GA to all other forms of sedation during thrombectomy, but they have yielded inconsistent findings regarding the three-month functional outcome. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Some of them showed that patients under GA ended up doing better. Some showed no difference in the overall outcomes. But overall, their pooled analysis suggested that GA might be superior to the competing counterpart, which is the conscious sedation, and associated with better functional outcome. But these centers had highly specialized anesthesia teams, and it's possible that their findings may not be generalizable to routine practice. So, in this issue of the journal, using the Swiss Stroke Registry, Dr. Benjamin Wagner from the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital in Basel and colleagues report on the outcomes of endovascularly treated patients in the Swiss Stroke Registry receiving thrombectomy for an anterior circulation stroke with or without general anesthesia. The primary outcome was disability on the modified Rankin Scale after three months. For this study, they excluded one out of the nine centers in the registry that had lots of missing data on their three-month follow-up. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         And so, from 2014 to 2017, 1,284 patients across eight stroke centers in the registry were included in this study. Sixty-six percent received thrombectomy under general anesthesia. On baseline comparison, the patients in the GA group were older, had a higher NIH Stroke Scale on admission, had worse preclinical functional status, and more likely to have presented with multi-territorial ischemic stroke. So, many reasons as to why people who underwent general anesthesia would have a worse clinical outcome in this study. So, now let's look at their primary outcome. In the unadjusted model, the three-month modified Rankin Scale was significantly worse in the GA group as compared to the non-GA group, which is obviously expected given the differences in their baseline characteristics. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         But what was surprising was that the odds of having a higher mRS score was significantly greater still in the adjusted models. They also did propensity score matching analysis, and they found that the NIH Stroke Scale after 24 hours, and the odds of dependency and death and mortality were all higher in the adjusted model in the GA group. They also looked at a number of secondary outcomes and found that door-to-puncture time was longer in the GA group. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         And also these patients were more likely to be transferred to ICU after treatment as compared to the non-GA treated counterparts. The authors point out that these real-world data are in keeping with the findings from the HERMES meta-analysis, which included over 1,700 endovascularly treated patients, and two previously published large registry data, one from Italy, which included over 4,000 endovascularly treated patients, and one from Germany, including 5,808 patients, all of them showing a worse functional outcome in endovascular therapy if the treatment was performed under general anesthesia, as compared to all other forms of sedation or no sedation at all. Again, these findings are in contrast with the reassuring results of the randomized trials on this topic, specifically in contrast to the AnStroke, SIESTA, and GOLIATH randomized trials, which compare GA to conscious sedation, showing either neutral or positive results in favor of general anesthesia pre-thrombectomy. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         So, in summary, what we learned from this real-world, observational study is that general anesthesia was associated with worse functional outcome post-endovascular thrombectomy, independent of other confounders, which means that the jury is still out on the ideal form of anesthesia for an individual patient prior to endovascular therapy, and we definitely need larger, multicenter studies on this topic. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         There are over a thousand experimental treatments that have shown benefit in prevention of neurological disability in animal models of ischemic stroke but have failed to show the same efficacy in human randomized trials. In fact, to date, reperfusion therapies, either in the form of intravenous lytic therapies or endovascular treatments, are the only successful treatments available to improve clinical outcomes in patients who suffer from ischemic stroke, and stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. How come stroke can be cured in rodents but not in humans? Are neuroprotective therapies, or as more correctly referred to, the cerebroprotective therapies, the epitome of bench-to-bedside translational research failure? And if this is true, what are the key contributors to the scientific conundrum, and how can this be averted in the future? This is the question that a remarkable group of neuroscientists, led by Dr. Patrick Lyden from University of Southern California, are hoping to answer. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         In this issue of the journal, these investigators describe the rationale, design, feasibility, and stage 1 results of their multicenter SPAN collaboration, which stands for the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network. I'm joined today by Professor Lyden himself to discuss this collaboration. Now, Professor Lyden absolutely needs no introduction to our stroke community, but as always, introductions are nice. So, here we go. Dr. Lyden is a Professor of Physiology, Neuroscience, and Neurology at Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, at USC. He has truly been a leader in the field of preclinical and clinical vascular research with over 30 years of experience in conducting studies and randomized trials, including conducting the pivotal NINDS clinical trial that led to the approval of the first treatment for acute ischemic stroke in 1996. Throughout his exemplary career, he has accumulated many accolades and is the recipient of multiple awards and honors, including the prestigious 2019 American Stroke Association William Feinberg Award for Excellence in Clinical Stroke. Good morning, Pat, it's truly an honor to welcome you to our podcast today. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Thanks, I'm glad to be here. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Well, in the era of successful reperfusion therapies, it seems that the new generation of stroke neurologists and interventionalists have their eyes, so to speak, on the clock and are interested in opening the blood vessels and opening them fast. In the age of reperfusion treatments, why do we still need to talk about the role of cerebroprotective treatments? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Well, not to sound too glib about it, but not everybody gets better after a thrombectomy. So, thrombectomy is good, it's more effective than anything else that we've tried before, but there are a remaining number of patients with a residual disability. Not only that, and from a more scientific standpoint, thrombectomy offers us the opportunity now to combine cerebroprotective therapy with known reperfusion. Remember, before, we didn't know when the artery had opened, but now we do an embolectomy, we know there's reperfusion. It gives us the opportunity to know that we're combining our treatment with reperfusion. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         So, in the paper, you discussed how hundreds of treatments have been studied and shown efficacy in reducing neurological disability in animal models of stroke, and yet failed in human studies. In your opinion, what were the top two most disappointing studies in terms of clinical failure despite pre-clinical encouraging data? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Well, the first one I mentioned was personal because it was the first one that I led, and it was a molecule called clomethiazole that I had helped establish the rationale for in my very first grant. So, it was the first trial I led, it was multinational, and, of course, I firmly believed we were going to hit a home run, and we failed. But to the field, the real watershed moment in neuroprotective therapy was the so-called SAINT II Trial. SAINT II was a study of a drug called NXY-059, and it was the first drug that purportedly had satisfied all of the so-called STAIR criteria. The STAIR criteria came out of a roundtable between academics and industry on how to best qualify drugs preclinically before going to human trials. And the idea was, if you were a 10 out of 10 on the STAIR criteria, then you should win when you come to human clinical trials. And the SAINT II Trial, which I was a co-leader, a co-investigator, on, also failed. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            And so many, many, many drugs had failed by that point. Tens of millions, if not a hundred million dollars, had been spent by industry, and SAINT II really caused the field to stop. Industry stopped investing in stroke; academic investment in stroke dried up. NIH funding became more difficult to get after SAINT II, and that really was sort of the really historical low moment in the development of treatment for stroke. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         I was a resident when SAINT II came out, and I remember that somber feeling. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            It was a sad day. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Yeah. So, in the paper, you outline a number of potential causes as to why this translational failure may have occurred. But you highlighted the absence of preclinical scientific rigor as the most responsible source. And you already alluded to this a little bit. Can you please tell us a bit more? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Absolutely. And first, of course, we have to say that the ideal clinical trial design is not available. We really don't know the absolute best way to test the drugs in human clinical trials. But leave that for another day. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            On the preclinical side, what can we say we're doing wrong? We're not sure, but one thing that has been highlighted over and over is that we don't approach preclinical characterization with as much rigor as we should. What do I mean by that? Animal models recapitulate for us some of the biology of a stroke, but not all. For example, many, many times we test a drug in a young model, an animal that's quite young, corresponding to a late teenager in human terms. Well, that's ridiculous. Stroke occurs in elderly people, and so on. So, the NIH called in a landmark conference for additional rigor, enhanced rigor. And I should mention the STAIR criteria were a first attempt at this. STAIR put out guidelines that said animals should be elderly, the animals should be randomized, et cetera, et cetera. And so that didn't happen. Although the STAIR criteria were out there, very few laboratories really committed to full rigor. And so the NIH funded the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network, SPAN, to implement every aspect that we could think of that would add the best possible scientific design, the utmost rigor. So, we implemented true blinded assessment, true randomization, complete case ascertainment where we follow every single subject in the study and account for dropouts and subjects that don't complete the treatment, and, most importantly, a proper statistical design with adequate power and very large numbers. And the hypothesis that we're testing is that additional rigor in SPAN will lead to a better positive predictive value when we think about drugs that should go forward for testing in human stroke trials. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         So, I think you already answered my next question, which was basically, why do you think SPAN is going to achieve what all others have failed to achieve? But I wanted to simplify and repeat what you mentioned. So, in simple terms, what SPAN is trying to do is to bring all preclinical research to a level of scientific rigor that was not necessarily present and make it a multicenter effort. And can you a little bit tell us about the different stages, again, of SPAN? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Well, I'm not arguing that all preclinical research needs to be done following a SPAN type of model. Where SPAN fits in is at the end of a development project. So, if you want to characterize the cellular and molecular mechanisms, you don't need to do all of this rigor that we're doing. Just study the drug in the lab and do the mechanistic studies that need to be done. If you want to do dose finding, it doesn't need to be done this way. But at the end of that, OK, first we establish the mechanism, that's the first stage. Then we establish the toxicity. Then we establish target engagement. At the end, we are looking for some evidence that the drug will have a beneficial effect on outcomes. And in previous animal models, the only outcome, generally, the most common outcome that was studied, was size of the stroke. But in humans, the FDA does not recognize stroke size as a valid outcome. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            We look at function, most often measured with the Rankin score and the NIH Stroke Scale. So, we had to create a functional outcome, and then we had to study it at multiple laboratories to make sure we could replicate the effect across multiple sites. And we chose what's called a multi-arm, multi-stage (MAMS) statistical design. All the drugs start out in the experiment at the end of the first interim analysis, which is 25% of the sample size. We cull any compounds or treatments that appear futile are removed. Any that appear effective move on. At the end of the second stage, there's more culling. There's a total of four stages, and we're about to enter stage four, by the way. That's starting next week. And in stage four, there will be, at most, two, maybe only one treatment that has appeared non-futile and possibly effective for final characterization. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         So, really interesting. I just want to highlight two important comments that you mentioned for our listeners again. So this is multi-layer, as you mentioned, multi-arm, multi-stages. It's sort of filter by filter, just ensuring that what we're seeing, the efficacy we're seeing in preclinical studies, will potentially be replicated in clinical studies. And what you mentioned that's very important is outcomes that classically is measured in animal models are infarct volume that are obviously very important but not necessarily may translate to exactly what we look at in clinical studies, which is functional outcomes, modified Rankin score and NIH Stroke Scale. So, with that, I want to then come back to the treatments that are actually being studied as part of SPAN. You have six very different agents as part of SPAN, from tocilizumab to uric acid. Why do you think these therapies will work? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Well, my job as the PI of the coordinating center is to remain completely agnostic to the treatments. So, everybody's equal, and they all come in on an equal playing field. We actually have a mechanical treatment called remote ischemic conditioning, as well, and then five drugs. And these were selected through a peer review process at NIH. And then we were informed at the coordinating center what drugs we would be studying. Five drugs and one treatment. And then, of course, the challenge to us was to somehow create a blinded, randomized situation. Now, this turned out to be a fascinating, it's more mechanical, but how do you blind when some of the drugs are given orally, some are given intraperitoneally, some are given intravenously, some are given once, some are given multiple times? So, we had to work with the manufacturers and inventors of these drugs and figure out a way to package them, and in the paper, actually, there's a photograph in the appendix that shows we had to find these bottles that were amber-colored and how to load them and lyophilize the drug. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            And it's actually pretty fascinating how we were able to get all of these different, wildly different therapies, as you say, into a paradigm where they could be tested one against another in a truly blinded, truly randomized way. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Do you think you can go on record and say which one is your favorite? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            My favorite drug's not even in SPAN. I am truly agnostic because where my heart is, is with a drug that I've been studying in my laboratory completely separately and not part of SPAN. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         All right, so we don't have a favorite. So, in a recent review article in Stroke, you commented on treatments used by ancient Persians, Greeks, and Romans to remedy the brain affected by stroke and how the future generation of physicians will look back at our current practices of stroke with the same, how you said, awe and bemusement we hold for Galen, Aristotle, and Avicenna. How do you think stroke will be treated in the year 2222? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Well, first of all, and to be serious for just one moment, 200 years from now, I worry more about the climate than about medicine. And I really believe our biggest efforts need to be spent on saving the planet. But assuming we make it that long, obviously diagnostic methods will be completely different. Using ionizing radiation to scan the body will be laughed at by physicians in the future. There'll be detection technologies that aren't even on our radar yet today. And then treatments will be cellular focused and regionally focused. We give a drug through a vein and it circulates throughout the entire body, and I'm sure physicians in the future will find a way to somehow get treatment into the part of the body that's injured, not the whole body. And then, who knows? All we can say is they will laugh at us in the same way that we laugh at Theodoric the Barber of York. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Let's move on from the future to the past. You're arguably one of the founding fathers of reperfusion therapies. You were instrumental in getting intravenous lytic therapy approved in 1996. It literally took the field 20 years for the next treatment to be approved, that's endovascular treatment. If you could go back in time and give your young self an advice on the subject of research, of course, design and execution, what advice would you give yourself? Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Don't listen to old guys. We got a lot of advice from gray-bearded folks back when we were putting together the tPA trial, and fortunately we ignored some very bad advice and did what we imagined was the right thing to do as young, headstrong up-and-comers do. The other thing is, we really believed that by publishing our science very objectively, without editorial comment, we would be listened to. And that was dead wrong. So, the data was printed in the New England Journal in a very neutral tone, and we felt people would read that data and they would start using tPA the day after the publication. And, as you say, it took 20 years for tPA to really gain widespread acceptance, thrombolytic therapy. Today, people view it as standard, but it wasn't that way at the beginning. And I would say to myself and my colleagues at that time, "Don't be afraid to promote a positive result." Yes, it has to be done with the utmost rigor, but once you have a positive result, there will be plenty of people around pretending they know more than you and telling the world why you are wrong. And it's very important to stand up for your science and stand up for your results and say, no, no, no, no, that interpretation is wrong. The data says what we said it says, and this is an effective treatment and should be used, as an example. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         What a great advice. Just be bold and say it loud and stand up for your science. Pat, it's been a pleasure interviewing you and having you on the podcast. We really look forward to watching your research. Bring, let me say it again, 2222 closer to now. Dr. Patrick Lyden:            Thank you. Glad to be here. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         Thank you. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         And this concludes our podcast for the May 2022 issue of Stroke. Please be sure to check out this month's table of contents for the full list of publications, including two articles on quality improvement in stroke and neurohospitalist—inpatient teleneurology, which comes as part of our Advances in Stroke series prepared by our section editors. And as we close our podcast today, let's take a moment and ask ourselves the same question that I asked Dr. Lyden earlier. What is the next frontier in stroke treatment? Past reperfusion therapies, we have to find ways to preserve the neurons and not just the neurons, all components of the brain. So, is the future of stroke therapy cerebroprotection? Ever since the dawn of history, humanity has lived alongside of death with the conscious apprehension that as we age, we lose the very gift of life. But unlike our ancestors, the search for immortality isn't the quest to find a fountain of youth anymore. We learned that death is inevitable, but with medicine, we can reduce illness and suffering to prolong a life worth living, one with a healthy brain. And today we're closer than ever to this modern immortality with cerebroprotection in stroke, as we stay alert with Stroke Alert. Dr. Negar Asdaghi:         This program is copyright of the American Heart Association, 2022. The opinions expressed by speakers in this podcast are their own and not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association. For more, visit AHAjournals.org.