POPULARITY
In Episode #60, we dive into one of the most brutal and decisive phases of World War II. What made the Battle of Stalingrad a nightmare for Hitler? How did the desert warfare in North Africa shape the fate of the war? And what was Operation Torch—and why was it a game-changer? From the fierce house-to-house fighting on the Eastern Front to Rommel's tactical genius in the sands of Libya, and the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, this episode unravels the battles that marked the beginning of the end for the Axis powers.Reference Material:The Second World War by John Keegan - https://www.amazon.com/Second-World-W...Hitler's Table Talk by Heinrich Heim - https://www.amazon.com/dp/191564514X?...The Second World War by Antony Beevor - https://a.co/d/buiOkUXInferno: The World at War by Max Hastings - https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-World-...The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts - https://a.co/d/eiI4n3ZWorld War II: The Definitive Visual History by DK & Smithsonian Institution - https://a.co/d/eUNHC1xThe Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RF19SJD?...The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X4R6GQ?...Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler - https://a.co/d/iSX2XkrThe Raj at War: A People's History of India's Second World War by Dr. Yasmin Khan - https://a.co/d/4dtZEC5The Second World War by Martin Gilbert - https://a.co/d/cdYTb7rThe World at War Documentary - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/ Dan Carlin Hardcore History - https://www.dancarlin.com/hardcore-history-series/Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes and is based on historical research and open-source materials. It is not intended to glorify war or promote any political agenda.Keywords: ਸਟਾਲਿਨਗ੍ਰਾਦ ਦੀ ਲੜਾਈ, ਰੂਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਜੰਗ, ਉੱਤਰ ਅਫਰੀਕਾ ਯੁੱਧ, ਰੋਮਮਲ, ਡੇਜ਼ਰਟ ਫੌਕਸ, ਓਪਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਟੌਰਚ, ਅਫਰੀਕਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਲੈਂਡਿੰਗ, ਭਾਰਤੀ ਫੌਜੀ WW2, ਦੂਜੀ ਵਿਸ਼ਵ ਜੰਗ ਦੇ ਮੋੜ, ਐਲਾਈਡ ਹਮਲੇ, ਨਾਜੀ ਜਰਮਨੀ, ਰੂਸ ਜੰਗ 1942, ਸਟਾਲਿਨ, ਹਿਟਲਰ ਦੀ ਨਾਕਾਮੀ, Punjabi podcast WW2, ਇਤਿਹਾਸਕ ਪੋਡਕਾਸਟ, ਸਿੱਖ ਸੂਬੇਦਾਰ, Punjabi history podcast, WW2 turning points, Operation Torch Explained, Battle of Stalingrad podcast, North Africa WW2, Indian troops in Africa, #WW2History #Stalingrad #OperationTorch #Rommel #NorthAfricaWWII #IndianSoldiersWW2 #WWIIPodcast #PunjabiHistory #DesertFox #ThoughtProvoking #BestPunjabiPodcast #SecondWorldWar
In this episode #59, What really happened when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor? Why did Hitler launch Operation Typhoon toward Moscow ? Why was Mussolini fighting in Libya? In this episode, we uncover gripping stories from World War II: war dogs on the front lines, brave Indian soldiers in distant lands, and forgotten operations that shaped history. From the burning deserts of Africa to frozen Russian winters—this war was global, brutal, and full of surprises.Reference Material:The Second World War by John Keegan - https://www.amazon.com/Second-World-W...Hitler's Table Talk by Heinrich Heim - https://www.amazon.com/dp/191564514X?...The Second World War by Antony Beevor - https://a.co/d/buiOkUXInferno: The World at War by Max Hastings - https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-World-...The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts - https://a.co/d/eiI4n3ZWorld War II: The Definitive Visual History by DK & Smithsonian Institution - https://a.co/d/eUNHC1xThe Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RF19SJD?...The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X4R6GQ?...Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler - https://a.co/d/iSX2XkrThe Raj at War: A People's History of India's Second World War by Dr. Yasmin Khan - https://a.co/d/4dtZEC5The Second World War by Martin Gilbert - https://a.co/d/cdYTb7rThe World at War Documentary - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. It aims to provide historical insights based on research and analysis. The content is not intended to promote any political ideology or agenda. Keywords : ਦੂਜੀ ਵਿਸ਼ਵ ਜੰਗ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ, ਬੈਟਲ ਆਫ ਬ੍ਰਿਟੇਨ, ਬਲਿੱਟਜ਼, ਓਪਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਸੀ ਲਾਇਨ, ਹਿਟਲਰ ਦੇ ਹਮਲੇ, ਓਪਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਬਾਰਬਰੋਸਾ, ਨਾਜੀ ਜਰਮਨੀ ਅਤੇ ਸੋਵੀਅਤ ਯੂਨੀਅਨ, ਹਿਟਲਰ ਦੀ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡੀ ਨਾਕਾਮੀ, ਬ੍ਰਿਟੇਨ ਵਿੱਚ ਬਲਿੱਟਜ਼, ਦੂਜੀ ਵਿਸ਼ਵ ਜੰਗ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੋੜ, ਰੂਸ ਤੇ ਸੈਨਾ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ, ਵੱਡੀ ਜੰਗ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ, ਹਿਟਲਰ ਦੀ ਗਲਤੀ, ਰੂਸ ਵਿੱਚ ਜੰਗ 1941, ਇਤਿਹਾਸਕ ਪੋਡਕਾਸਟ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, ਜੰਗ ਅਤੇ ਇਤਿਹਾਸ, ਓਪਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਬਾਰਬਰੋਸਾ ਦੀ ਵਿਸਥਾਰ, ਜੰਗ ਦੀ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡੀ ਸੈਨਾ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ, ਹਿਟਲਰ ਦੀ ਰੂਸ ਉੱਤੇ ਹਮਲਾ, Barbarossa invasion of Russia, Hitler's failed invasion of Britain, WWII podcasts, History podcasts on World War 2, Operation Barbarossa documentary, ਦੂਸਰਾ ਵਿਸ਼ਵ ਯੁੱਧ , #WW2Stories #OperationTyphoon #PearlHarborAttack #MussoliniInLibya #IndianSoldiersWW2 #WarDogs #WWIIHistory #SecondWorldWar #ਜੰਗਕਹਾਣੀਆਂ #ਦੂਜੀਜੰਗ #ਭਾਰਤੀਸੂਰਮੇ #ਮੁਸੋਲੀਨੀ #ਪੇਰਲਹਾਰਬਰ #ਆਪਰੇਸ਼ਨਟਾਈਫੂਨ #ਜੰਗੀਕੁੱਤੇ#ThoughtProvoking #PunjabiDiscussions #UniquePerspectives #ExpandYourHorizons #bestpunjabipodcast #punjabivlog #punjab #educational #ww2 #worldwar2 #education #ਦੂਸਰਾਵਿਸ਼ਵਯੁੱਧ
In this episode #58, In this explosive episode, we unpack a crucial chapter of WWII history. Britain fights for survival in the skies during the Battle of Britain, civilians endure the terror of the Blitz, and Hitler's planned invasion—Operation Sea Lion—crumbles. But the real storm is yet to come. We end with the most ambitious and catastrophic military gamble of the war: Operation Barbarossa (Largest Military Operation)—the massive Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union that would change everything. A campaign so bold, brutal, and bloody, it shattered Hitler's momentum and redrew the fate of the world.Reference Material:The Second World War by John Keegan - https://www.amazon.com/Second-World-War-John-Keegan/dp/0143035738Hitler's Table Talk by Heinrich Heim - https://www.amazon.com/dp/191564514X?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_ZSR5EFNA2XDKRGJFM9JTThe Second World War by Antony Beevor - https://a.co/d/buiOkUXInferno: The World at War by Max Hastings - https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-World-at-War-1939-1945/dp/0307475530The Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts - https://a.co/d/eiI4n3ZWorld War II: The Definitive Visual History by DK & Smithsonian Institution - https://a.co/d/eUNHC1xThe Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RF19SJD?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_F2YKBC10QNPEK1KH8ZA9The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X4R6GQ?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_342S2V7392AXWTF40D59Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler - https://a.co/d/iSX2XkrThe World at War Documentary - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/
Episode 57: The Storm Unleashed - In 1939-1940, World War II escalated as Germany invaded Poland, triggering the conflict. Soon after, Russia entered Finland, and Germany turned its sights on Scandinavia and France. This episode unpacks the fall of France, the dramatic Dunkirk evacuation, and how Britain stood on the brink—preparing for the battle to come.Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only. It aims to provide historical insights based on research and analysis. The content is not intended to promote any political ideology or agenda. Reference Material:The Second World War by John Keegan - https://www.amazon.com/Second-World-War-John-Keegan/dp/0143035738The Second World War by Antony Beevor - https://a.co/d/buiOkUXInferno: The World at War by Max Hastings - https://www.amazon.com/Inferno-World-at-War-1939-1945/dp/0307475530Hitler's Table Talk by Heinrich Heim - https://www.amazon.com/dp/191564514X?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_ZSR5EFNA2XDKRGJFM9JTThe Storm of War: A New History of the Second World War by Andrew Roberts - https://a.co/d/eiI4n3ZThe Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy by Adam Tooze - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08RF19SJD?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_F2YKBC10QNPEK1KH8ZA9The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany by William L. Shirer - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X4R6GQ?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_342S2V7392AXWTF40D59Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich by Norman Ohler - https://a.co/d/iSX2XkrThe World at War Documentary - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071075/
This week's challenge: watch Hitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial (Netflix, 2024)Recorded Wednesday, Jan 29, 2025.LinksHitler and the Nazis: Evil on Trial | Netflix Official SiteHitler's Circle of Evil | NetflixThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich - WikipediaConspiracy (2001 film) - Wikipedia"Conspiracy" (2001) streaming: where to watch movie online?Hitler a book by Professor of Modern History Ian Kershaw - Bookshop.org USThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich a book by William L. Shirer and Ron Rosenbaum - Bookshop.org USThe Rest is History 295: The Rise of the Nazis - YouTubeThe Rest is History Politics US: January 6th | Inside the Fall of Trump's First Term (Part 1) - YouTubeWannsee Conference - WikipediaLoudermilk on Vocal FryBlondi - Wikipedia
Nghe trọn nội dung sách nói Sự Trỗi Dậy Và Suy Tàn Của Đế Chế Thứ Ba trên ứng dụng Voiz FM: https://voiz.vn/play/4193/ Ngay trong năm đầu tiên phát hành - 1960, "Sự Trỗi Dậy Và Suy Tàn Của Đế Chế Thứ Ba" đã bán được tới 1 triệu bản tại Mỹ và được tái bản hơn 20 lần. Cuốn sách là bản tường thuật hết sức chi tiết về nước Đức, dưới sự cai trị của Adolf Hitler và Đảng Quốc xã. Tác giả đã nghiên cứu kĩ lưỡng về sự ra đời của Đế chế thứ ba ở Đức, con đường dẫn đến quyền lực tuyệt đối của Đảng Quốc xã, diễn biến của Chiến tranh thế giới lần thứ hai và sự thất bại của Phát xít Đức. Nguồn tài liệu của cuốn sách bao gồm lời khai của các nhà lãnh đạo Đảng Quốc xã, nhật kí của các quan chức, cùng hàng loạt các quân lệnh và thư mật. "Sự Trỗi Dậy Và Suy Tàn Của Đế Chế Thứ Ba" là một trong những công trình nghiên cứu lịch sử quan trọng nhất, nói về một trong những giai đoạn u ám nhất của lịch sử loài người. Tại ứng dụng sách nói Voiz FM, sách nói Sự Trỗi Dậy Và Suy Tàn Của Đế Chế Thứ Ba được đầu tư chất lượng âm thanh và thu âm chuyên nghiệp, tốt nhất để mang lại trải nghiệm nghe tuyệt vời cho bạn. --- Về Voiz FM: Voiz FM là ứng dụng sách nói podcast ra mắt thị trường công nghệ từ năm 2019. Với gần 2000 tựa sách độc quyền, Voiz FM hiện đang là nền tảng sách nói podcast bản quyền hàng đầu Việt Nam. Bạn có thể trải nghiệm miễn phí đa dạng nội dung tại Voiz FM từ sách nói, podcast đến truyện nói, sách tóm tắt và nội dung dành cho thiếu nhi. --- Voiz FM website: https://voiz.vn/ Theo dõi Facebook Voiz FM: https://www.facebook.com/VoizFM Tham khảo thêm các bài viết review, tổng hợp, gợi ý sách để lựa chọn sách nói dễ dàng hơn tại trang Blog Voiz FM: http://blog.voiz.vn/ --- Cảm ơn bạn đã ủng hộ Voiz FM. Nếu bạn yêu thích sách nói Sự Trỗi Dậy Và Suy Tàn Của Đế Chế Thứ Ba và các nội dung sách nói podcast khác, hãy đăng ký kênh để nhận thông báo về những nội dung mới nhất của Voiz FM channel nhé. Ngoài ra, bạn có thể nghe BẢN FULL ĐỘC QUYỀN hàng chục ngàn nội dung Chất lượng cao khác tại ứng dụng Voiz FM. Tải ứng dụng Voiz FM: voiz.vn/download #voizfm #sáchnói #podcast #sáchnóiSựTrỗiDậyVàSuyTànCủaĐếChếThứBa #WilliamLShirer
0:00 -- Intro.1:26-- About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel.2:13 -- Start of interview.3:47 -- Ker's "origin story." 7:41 -- His history with the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham).9:42 -- About his book “Selling to China. Stories of Success, Failure and Constant Change.” (2023). "We felt that it was important to remind people why we're doing this in the first place, you know, what's good about our relationship with China. We wanted bring the commercial issues back into the conversation."13:31 -- On the current idea of “uncoupling” or “de-risking” the US economy from China."I think it is good to talk about 'de-risking' rather than 'decoupling'." "I don't think a complete decoupling is realistic and it's certainly not in the interest of either side. But I think the de-risking term is helpful, in the sense that it aims at communicating the intent. {The intent] here is not to punish China or isolate China or decouple from China, but it is to protect our interests, whether they're military interests or strategic economic interests."16:46 -- On whether the US policies and sanctions towards China are effective."The narrative is that the export controls and sanctions and de-risking coming out of Washington DC is simply pushing China to be more self-sufficient." "This has to be seen as a temporary measure, that gives us time to resolve the actual conflicts that exist."21:21 -- On the US responding with its own industrial policy to catch up with China (e.g. in batteries and EVs). "We've got to be careful not to slip into outright protectionism and allow this to change who we are as a country and how we've been successful as an economy." "[I]f we get into a situation where we are indeed trying to limit China's economic rise, and literally keep China economically contained, that is a dangerous path, and it's a bad narrative, because it inevitably leads to conflict.""I'm basically conservative when it comes to economic issues and fiscal policy, but I have actually been saying for quite a long time that the US needs to get over its aversion to industrial policy and put some planning in place."30:38 -- On China's private sector."[B]eijing actually kept a remarkably light hand [in the development of the internet industry]. I give the Beijing policymakers full credit there for knowing that they needed to stay out of the way and let that happen." "Now we've seen the pendulum swing back the other way." "Jack Ma was going around visiting countries and he would almost be treated like a head of state. I think Jack Ma must have, because his company is publicly listed in New York, he might have confused himself with a Western CEO. He's not. China is China and the West is the West, especially in the tech sector. So yeah, he's been disciplined as have some other tech leaders."36:21 -- On the fate of TikTok in the US.40:38 -- On the recent APEC meeting in SF, and his take on Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping meetings. "I put it in the category of huge success that the meeting happened, that Xi Jinping actually showed up." "It's critical that Xi and Biden meet face-to-face because of the Chinese political system, it is so concentrated at the top."46:09 -- On the risks of a military conflict between the U.S. and China over Taiwan. "We should not underestimate [China's] willingness to take the island and take it by force. I think at some point you have to just take them at their word. If you listen to the domestic media and domestic speeches that Xi and others make in China, it's quite clear that they're highly motivated to take the island and willing to." "[But] I don't think it's imminent, mostly because of the difficulty of taking the island and of the probability of success on the Chinese side.""I think the probability of an accidental conflict [is] high. And until the agreement of the last week or so, the ability to de-escalate and de-conflict, low." "In other words, without that military-to-military hotline, there would be no way for it to de-escalate."50:35 -- How should boards think about de-risking its China exposure."They should be thinking about what are the hard assets that they have, both in mainland China and in Taiwan? What I'm hearing boards do is that some of them are converting their businesses to more asset light. So, in other words, converting a wholly owned subsidiary to maybe selling off some of the shares to make that into a minority investment or a full asset light model might be literally selling factories and hard assets and then maybe licensing them back or something like that to where they wouldn't have to literally write them off the way many companies had to do in Russia when that took place, and you saw large companies writing off literally billions of dollars of assets off their balance sheets because they could no longer have access to them.""Again, I don't think that we are on the brink here, but it would be wise to have plans in place in the case of, especially in accidental conflict."52:27 -- Books that have greatly influenced his life: Free to Choose by Milton Friedman (1980)All books by James Clavell. [*we cover here his thoughts on Hong Kong]No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin (1994) ("great companion book to The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer (1960)57:24 -- His mentors: Robert "Bob" Theleen (a local San Franciscan, former VC and Chairman of AmCham Shanghai)Bob Chang (his boss at the Boston Consulting Group in SF)RT Peng (another boss he worked with in Taiwan)58:36 -- Quotes that he thinks of often or lives her life by: "Don't ever let what you can't do stop you from what you can do." by John Wooden.1:00:20 -- An unusual habit or absurd thing that he loves: his daughter.1:01:21 -- The living person he most admires: Arnold Schwarzenegger.Kerr Gibbs is an EIR at the University of San Francisco. Prior, Ker served as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and worked in various roles giving him broad exposure to US-China relations and business issues facing American companies operating in Asia.__This podcast is sponsored by the American College of Governance Counsel.__ You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License You can follow Evan on social media at:Twitter: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__You can join as a Patron of the Boardroom Governance Podcast at:Patreon: patreon.com/BoardroomGovernancePod__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License
Chapter 1 What's The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" is a historical non-fiction book written by William L. Shirer. It was first published in 1960 and provides a detailed account of the history of Germany from the rise of the Nazi Party to Adolf Hitler's dictatorship, and ultimately, the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Shirer, an American journalist and war correspondent, draws upon his personal observations, interviews, and extensive research to chronicle the events, policies, and ideologies that led to the downfall of the Third Reich. The book is considered a significant work in understanding the history of Nazi Germany and remains a widely read and referenced resource on the subject.Chapter 2 Why is The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich Worth Read"The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich" by William L. Shirer is worth reading for several reasons:1. Comprehensive and well-researched: Shirer, as a journalist and historian, meticulously researched and documented the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany. The book provides an in-depth account of the political, social, and military events during this era.2. Insider perspective: Shirer was a witness to several key events in Nazi Germany as a foreign correspondent, which adds a personal touch to his narrative. His experiences provide readers with a unique insight into the inner workings of the Nazi regime.3. Historical importance: This book is widely regarded as one of the most comprehensive and authoritative works on Nazi Germany. It has been given high praise for its depth of research, analysis, and interpretation, making it a foundational text for understanding this significant period in history.4. Analysis of Hitler's personality and ideology: Shirer delves into Hitler's character, motivations, and the ideological foundations of the Third Reich. By examining Hitler's rise to power and the factors that facilitated it, readers gain a better understanding of the dangers of totalitarianism and the consequences of unchecked leadership.5. Lessons from the past: "The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich" serves as a cautionary tale by highlighting the consequences of unchecked nationalism, propaganda, and fascist ideologies. It reminds readers of the importance of upholding democratic values and being vigilant against the potential rise of similar ideologies in the future.Overall, Shirer's "The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich" is considered a seminal work on Nazi Germany, providing readers with a comprehensive and well-researched account of one of the most significant and troubling periods in modern history.Chapter 3 The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich Summary"The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William L. Shirer is a comprehensive historical account of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime in Germany from its beginnings in the early 1930s to its ultimate defeat in 1945.In the book, Shirer explores the factors that led to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party, including Germany's political and economic instability following World War I, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Great Depression. He delves into Hitler's early life and his rise to power through propaganda, manipulation, and intimidation.Shirer discusses the Nazi consolidation of power, including the persecution of political opponents, the dismantling of democratic institutions, and the establishment of a totalitarian state. He describes Hitler's aggressive foreign policies, such as the remilitarization of the Rhineland, the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, and the start of World War II with the invasion of Poland.Throughout the book, Shirer provides a detailed account of the...
On a Note of Triumph, originally broadcast May 8, 1945, and rebroadcast on May 13, 1945. Norman Corwin's exceptional script, narrated to perfection by Martin Gabel, with an exceptional musical score by Bernard Hermann and conducted by Lud Gluskin. The cast includes William L. Shirer, Ludwig Donath, Peter Witt, Johnny Bond, Peggy Rae, Joan Lorring, Elliott Lewis, Merton Kopkin, Lucille Meredith, Raymond Lawrence, Alec Harford, George Sorel, Dick Nelson, Bob Bruce, Joseph Worthy, Lurene Tuttle, Regina Wallace, June Foray, Pat McGeehan, Harry Bartell, James Nusser, Fred Esler, Norbert Muller, Ramsay Hill, and Irene Tedrow.Visit my web page - http://www.classicradio.streamWe receive no revenue from YouTube. If you enjoy our shows, listen via the links on our web page or if you're so inclined, Buy me a coffee! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/wyattcoxelAHeard on almost 100 radio stations from coast to coast. Classic Radio Theater features great radio programs that warmed the hearts of millions for the better part of the 20th century. Host Wyatt Cox brings the best of radio classics back to life with both the passion of a long-time (as in more than half a century) fan and the heart of a forty-year newsman. But more than just “playing the hits”, Wyatt supplements the first hour of each day's show with historical information on the day and date in history including audio that takes you back to World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, LBJ. It's a true slice of life from not just radio's past, but America's past.Wyatt produces 21 hours a week of freshly minted Classic Radio Theater presentations each week, and each day's broadcast is timely and entertaining!#ClassicRadio #OldTimeRadio #Drama #WorldWar2 #OnANoteOfTriumph #NormanCorwin #MartinGabel
Dr. Sheri Fink is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and the author of the New York Times bestselling nonfiction book Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital about the horrible choices that doctors had to make as Hurricane Katrina decimated New Orleans. Dr. Fink reflects of the challenges of managing one's ups and downs during difficult times such as the coronavirus pandemic and the Age of Trump, the importance of coping mechanisms such as gallows humor, and how doctors and other people who are confronted with life and death as part of their jobs navigate that world. She also shares how social capital, various forms of inequality, and human failings more generally contribute to how doctors and other caregivers decide the value of a human life as seen during the extreme crisis that was Hurricane Katrina as well as on a more routine day-to-day basis as well. Chauncey DeVega continues to highlight how the mainstream American news media is refusing to consistently explain to the American people the realities of the existential threat to their safety, security, and future represented by the MAGAites, the Republican neofascists and the larger White right. To that point, Chauncey offers a close reading of Trump's vile speech in Youngstown, Ohio and how it mirrors the themes and warnings contained in the landmark book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer. There is also an “Easter egg” at the end of this episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. WHERE CAN YOU FIND ME? On Twitter: https://twitter.com/chaunceydevega On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chauncey.devega My email: chaunceydevega@gmail.com HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT THE CHAUNCEY DEVEGA SHOW? Via Paypal at ChaunceyDeVega.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thechaunceydevegashow
In this episode we hear from writer Mary McNeil, who discusses her new biography Century's Witness - which examines the life and career of Wallace Carroll, an American journalist and contemporary of William L. Shirer and Edward Murrow. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/explaininghistory.
Steve Wick author "Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood and the Cotton Club Murder" Steve Wick was born in Camden, N.J., in 1951 and grew up in nearby Haddonfield. He has been a journalist at Newsday on Long Island for more than 30 years. He has shared in two of Newsday's Pulitzer Prizes for Local Reporting and has won numerous other journalism awards. He has published three non-fiction books: Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood and the Cotton Club Murder; Heaven and Earth: The Last Farmers of the North Fork; and The Long Night: William L. Shirer and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. He lives on eastern Long Island. Steve Wick author Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood and the Cotton Club Murder In 1983, Roy Radin, would-be impresario, joined forces with fading movie producer Robert Evans and Elaine "Laney" Jacobs, a woman with the burning ambition to use the millions she had made by drug dealing to buy her way into the movie industry. Together they planned to finance the movie Cotton Club. When Radin's body was found miles away from Los Angeles, the police had few clues and eventually had to put the investigation on hold. At the request of Radin's mother, New York Newsday's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Steve Wick, began looking into Radin's last weeks and soon unearthed the sordid connection between deal making and drug dealing that set all Hollywood on its ear. Bad Company is both a fascinating and strangely repellent look at the darker side of the entertainment industry, as well as a striking portrait of the people who control the drug culture in this country http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Wick/e/B000AR8AGO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1 7 years ago #"bad, #and, #club, #company:, #cotton, #cotton club, #drugs, #ed, #evans, #hollywood, #murder", #opperman, #repoort, #robert, #roy radin, #steve wick, #the, #true crime
Steve Wick author "Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood and the Cotton Club Murder"Steve Wick was born in Camden, N.J., in 1951 and grew up in nearby Haddonfield. He has been a journalist at Newsday on Long Island for more than 30 years. He has shared in two of Newsday's Pulitzer Prizes for Local Reporting and has won numerous other journalism awards. He has published three non-fiction books: Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood and the Cotton Club Murder; Heaven and Earth: The Last Farmers of the North Fork; and The Long Night: William L. Shirer and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. He lives on eastern Long Island.Steve Wick author Bad Company: Drugs, Hollywood and the Cotton Club MurderIn 1983, Roy Radin, would-be impresario, joined forces with fading movie producer Robert Evans and Elaine "Laney" Jacobs, a woman with the burning ambition to use the millions she had made by drug dealing to buy her way into the movie industry. Together they planned to finance the movie Cotton Club. When Radin's body was found miles away from Los Angeles, the police had few clues and eventually had to put the investigation on hold. At the request of Radin's mother, New York Newsday's Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Steve Wick, began looking into Radin's last weeks and soon unearthed the sordid connection between deal making and drug dealing that set all Hollywood on its ear. Bad Company is both a fascinating and strangely repellent look at the darker side of the entertainment industry, as well as a striking portrait of the people who control the drug culture in this countryhttp://www.amazon.com/Steve-Wick/e/B000AR8AGO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_17 years ago #"bad, #and, #club, #company:, #cotton, #cotton club, #drugs, #ed, #evans, #hollywood, #murder", #opperman, #repoort, #robert, #roy radin, #steve wick, #the, #true crime
Sarah Sundin's latest book, When Twilight Breaks, released this past Tuesday, February 2, 2021. This novel portrays Nazi Germany before WWII, and I absolutely loved it! Sarah Sundin enjoys writing about the adventure and romance of the World War II era. She is the bestselling author of historical novels, including When Twilight Breaks and the Sunrise at Normandy series. Her book The Sky Above Us received the 2020 Carol Award, The Sea Before Us received the 2019 Reader’s Choice Award from Faith, Hope, and Love, and both When Tides Turn and Through Waters Deep were named to Booklist’s “101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years.” A mother of three adult children, Sarah lives in California and enjoys speaking for church, community, and writers’ groups. Purchase When Twilight Breaks from Bookshop.org (affiliate). Purchase When Twilight Breaks from Amazon (affiliate). Visit Sarah's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and website. Also Mentioned: William L. Shirer's book Berlin Diary (affiliate) Mount Hermon Writers Conference Author Lauraine Snelling Author Lee Roddy Be sure to visit Alison’s Instagram, Facebook, and website. Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!
Today we are going on the road with an old acquaintance and Yellow Van veteran: musician and filmmaker Jim Kroft, one of my greatest friends and record-holder in consecutive days spent in Fonsi with me.His documentary film “A Conversation With America” is available for free on YouTube right now. It was filmed 4 years ago in the three months leading up to the election. He travelled all across the United States, looking to understand the growing political divide by searching out conversations with the wide range of people that constitute US society. Jim has created an unbiased, colorful kaleidoscope that sets the stage for all Americans - excluding noone and, therefore, overcoming the pitfalls of our societal echo chambers. The film reminds us of the tone that so many of our conversations lack these days: the cadence of mutual respect and inclusivity. "A Conversation With America" is therefore an inspirational film, one of a kind, that I can't recommend enough. So what better time to hear his conclusion after four years of Trump, his expectations for the Biden administration and his hopes for the near US future? SHOW NOTESJim's Homepage"A Conversation With America", Jim KroftGet Jim's song "Love In The Face Of Fear" Jim on YouTubeGerrymanderingJames Baldwin"The Fire Next Time", James Baldwin, 1963"I Am Not Your Negro", Raoul Peck, 2017 on NetflixAmanda Gorman's Inaugural PoemAmanda Gorman's HomepageJames LovelockThe Weimar RepublicHitler's Rise To PowerKurt von Schleicher, last chancellor of the Weimar RepublicFranz von Papen, vice chancellor under HitlerThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer, 1960Carl Gustav Jung on YouTubeCarl Gustav Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalystMind The BumpSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/yellowvan)
We take a look at the seminal work on Nazi Germany, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer.
Our 1st history podcast of life BBC - Before Brian Carlberg. We talk after 8th May or VE Day in the UK. But what actually happened in the lead up? Where was the war fought and won/lost. How does it compare to 8th May in 1992? Brian tells all... Indicative reading: Rise & Fall of the Third Reich by William L. Shirer and Barbarossa by David Glantz. Glitch by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Artist: http://audionautix.com/
The one with the epic 1,147 page dive into a dark part of human history... Click here for a video version: https://youtu.be/Ca4Eiq-HjOc There are no spoilers in this review. Support https://www.paypal.me/SierraKiloBravo Follow YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/sierrakilobravo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sierra.kilo.bravo BitChute: https://www.bitchute.com/sierrakilobravo Podcast: https://anchor.fm/sierrakilobravo Blog: https://sierrakilobravo.wordpress.com
Christianity has had a 1900+ year bad history with (rabbinic) Judaism, with devastating consequences for the lives of Jews and theological bankruptcy for Christians. We hone in on the problem within our own tradition by looking at Luther's contorted and confusing attitude to Jews—from being the first person in about 1000 years to propose toleration and speak well of them, to his famously horrific suggestions to drive them out, steal their books, and burn their synagogues. Yet Luther proves to be not unique but representative in his anti-Judaism, so we also address wider concerns such as the not-always-tenable difference between anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism, and to what extent the roots of Christian anti-Judaism lie in our Scripture, Old and New Testament alike. Romans chs. 9–11 guide us through this mare's nest of issues. Notes: 1. David Nirenberg, Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition 2. The chief texts of Luther relevant to his Janus-like relationship with the Jews are: “That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew” (1523; Luther’s Works vol. 45), “Against the Sabbatarians” (1539; Luther’s Works vol. 47), and “On the Jews and Their Lies” (1543; Luther’s Works vol. 47) 3. The book that popularly made the case in America for the direct lineage between Hitler and Luther was William L. Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Uwe Siemon-Netto wrote a rebuttal to this claim in his The Fabricated Luther: Refuting Nazi Connections and Other Modern Myths. 4. My choice for the best place to examine this issue is in Thomas Kaufmann’s Luther’s Jews: A Journey into Anti-Semitism. Here's a review I wrote of it. 5. See Dad’s review of the excellent book by Peter Ochs, Another Reformation: Postliberal Christianity and the Jews in The Journal of Scriptural Reasoning 13/2 (2014) and in his book Beloved Community the “Excursus: on Jewish perplexity as a principle internal to Christology” on pp. 416–428. Also, check out his book Before Auschwitz, which analyzes various Christian theological positions regarding Jews and Judaism and how they were able to resist Nazi ideology or, conversely, fell right in step with it. 6. A few things I’ve written dealing with these issues: “Still Reckoning with Luther” in The Christian Century; commentary on Mark 12:28–34 for Working Preacher; my chapter “Tradition: A Lutheran Perspective” in the collection The Idea of Tradition in the Late Modern World; and a chapter in my ebook Luther, Thrice, available by signing up for the Theology & a Recipe newsletter on my website. More about us at sarahhinlickywilson.com and paulhinlicky.com!
Former CBS news correspondent and "Murrow Boy" William L. Shirer recounts his experience at work on the day Germany surrendered in May of 1945.
When it comes to history, context is everything. Thankfully, we are blessed with great historical resources, including the German background. In this episode, I talk to Travis Dow, the host of the History of Germany podcast (and many more). We discuss some of what was happening in Germany between the wars, including attitudes toward communism and Judaism (make sure to listen to his episode on antisemitism). I’m always amazed at how much knowledge Travis has over such a wide span of German history. I would encourage you to check out Travis at his website and start listening to his podcast. My recommendation for this episode is William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Since its publication in 1960, William L. Shirer's monumental study of Hitler's German empire has been widely acclaimed as the defi
It’s the twelve (eleventh?) annual iFanboy All-Media Year End Round-Up! Conor Kilpatrick, Josh Flanagan, and Mike Romo discuss some of what they enjoyed in media in 2017. Movies, television, podcasts, books, music, games, and comics–it’s all here! Running Time: 03:10:00 Movies: 00:01:31 – Darkest Hour 00:06:17 – Dunkirk 00:13:38 – Blade of the Immortal 00:17:19 – Wonder Woman 00:21:17 – Cars 3 00:25:54 – Blade Runner 2049 00:35:26 – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 00:38:18 – T2 Trainspotting 00:42:52 – Get Out 00:48:49 – Lucky 00:50:57 – The Big Sick 00:56:48 – Wheelman 01:01:43 – Lady Bird 01:04:15 – The Founder 01:07:46 – Bad Genius Television: 01:12:11 – This Is Us 01:13:59 – Halt and Catch Fire 01:20:23 – The Orville 01:25:45 – Big Little Lies 01:29:10 – The Vietnam War 01:32:34 – Five Came Back 01:36:03 – Riverdale 01:37:06 – The Handmaid’s Tale 01:41:28 – Star Trek: Discovery 01:47:21 – The Good Place 01:49:07 – The Deuce 01:52:06 – Genius 01:56:03 – Letterkenny 01:58:48 – Master of None 02:01:28 – The Flash Games: 02:05:41 – Carcassonne 02:06:38 – Uncharted 4 / Uncharted: The Lost legacy 02:09:05 – Coup 02:10:12 – Destiny 2 02:12:24 – Assassin’s Creed Syndicate 02:14:15 – The Last of Us Remastered 02:16:30 – Heroes of the Storm 02:17:07 – Clash of Clans 02:17:26 – The Hamilton Ticket Lottery Music: 02:18:11 – Ted Leo 02:20:24 – The Descendents 02:21:54 – Matthew Sweet 02:24:05 – Coachella 02:26:09 – Willie Nelson’s 4th of July Picnic 02:28:58 – Bob Mould 02:31:00 – Silversun Pickups 02:32:53 – LCD Soundsytem Books: 02:34:20 – “The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.: A Novel” by Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland 02:35:45 – “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William L. Shirer 02:37:27 – “The Three-Body Problem” by Cixin Liu and Ken Liu 02:39:18 – “The Force: A Novel” by Don Winslow 02:40:07 – “See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody” by Bob Mould 02:40:54 – “Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner” by Paul M. Sammon 02:42:23 – The Last Policeman Trilogy by Ben H. Winters 02:43:29 – “The Civil War: A Narrative” by Shelby Foote 02:44:30 – “Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince” by Mark A. Vieira 02:45:54 – “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War” by Mark Harris 02:47:15 – “Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography” by Rob Lowe Podcasts: 02:49:14 – “The Business” with Kim Masters 02:50:16 – “Revisionist History” with Malcolm Gladwell 02:51:52 – “How I Built This” with Guy Raz 02:52:52 – “You Must Remember This” with Karina Longworth 02:53:52 – “The Trap Set” with Joe Wong 02:55:42 – “Pod Save America” with Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Daniel Pfeiffer 02:56:51 – “Damn Fine Podcast” with Tom Merritt and Ron Richards 02:57:28 – “That Pedal Show” with Daniel Steinhardt and Mick Taylor 02:58:50 – “Core: A Heroes of the Storm Podcast” with Scott Johnson, Jon Jagger, and Beau Schwartz Comics: 02:59:55 – Black Hammer 03:00:35 – Black Bolt 03:01:10 – Aquaman 03:02:07 – The Flintstones 03:02:49 – The Defenders 03:03:25 – Mister Miracle 03:04:18 – Motor Girl 03:04:44 – Irons Man 03:05:47 – Batman 03:06:18 – The Old Guard 03:06:55 – Slots Brought To You By: iFanboy Patrons – Become one today for as little as $3/month! Or make a one time donation of any amount! iFanboy T-Shirts and Merch – Show your iFanboy pride with a t-shirt or other great merchandise on Threadless! Music: “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” Weezer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introduction In December of 1923, one of the most dedicated Satanists and occultists in Germany lay dying. His name was Dietrich Eckhardt, and he was the head of the secret Thule Society, known to inner circle members as the Satanic Brotherhood of Death Society. Eckhardt had studied black magic and eastern mystic techniques. He felt that it was his calling from Satan to prepare an antichrist who would rule the world. As he lay there dying, he revealed plainly to those that were standing around him that his 34-year-old apprentice, Adolf Hitler, was that man. Eckhardt said this, “Follow Hitler! He will dance, but it is I who have called the tune! I have initiated him into the ‘Secret Doctrine,’ opened his centers of vision, and given him the means to communicate with the Powers. Do not mourn for me: for I shall have influenced history more than any other German.” That’s eerie, isn’t it? But I think that Hitler had been prepared long before he met Eckhardt for that moment. This testimony comes from a childhood friend of his when he was a fifteen-year-old youth. He was with a friend, August Kubizek, and suddenly he grabbed Kubizek’s hands with incredible force. A look came over his face that Kubizek had never seen before. His eyes turned feverish and he began to speak in a voice that was loud and hoarse and raucous. Kubizek felt that some strange being had seized control of his friend Adolf and was inhabiting his body. Hitler began to speak eloquently about a mandate to rule Germany and lead her back to her rightful glory. From that point until Eckhardt’s pronouncement, Hitler immersed himself in occultic studies, all kinds of black magic practices. The political party that he would eventually lead, The National Socialists, the Nazis, was to become more than merely a political party or government. It was to become a religion. Now, the Greek word “antichrist” doesn’t literally mean “against Christ,” although that is the effect. It means “in the place of Christ, taking his place.” Hitler would offer himself as a messiah to the German nation. The soaring oratory of his frenzied speech-making was the key to his demonic power. It would seize him and drive him to volcanic heights. It was really scary to listen to him speak, eyewitnesses said. Hitler said privately to his closest followers, “I’m going to become a religious figure. Soon, I will be the great chief of the Tartars. Already, Arabs and Moroccans are mingling my name with their prayers.” The whole nation was sucked under his demonic spell. Hitler did become a god for millions. In one of the Nuremburg rallies, a giant photo of Hitler was captioned with the words “in the beginning was the Word.” One of his followers, Alfred Rosenberg, said, “Let it happen as it will and as it must. But I believe in Adolf Hitler. Above his head, hovers a star.” Hitler’s hold over people and over the German nation, I think, was supernatural and it was demonic. It is not easy to prove the central thesis of my message here, that the kings of Babylon, one generation after another, have been effectively influenced by Satan to accomplish his ends. How do you prove that from the pages of history? There’s all kinds of skepticism about that, but just think about the effect that this man had over people. I think about his spellbinding effect. William L Shirer, who was a CBS correspondent, went to those Nuremberg rallies. He said that the people looked on Hitler as if he were their Messiah. People would swoon under his influence. It was hypnotic. I think it was demonic. Historian George Bruce concluded that Hitler had mediumistic powers that linked him with satanic forces, which spoke through him and gave him specialized information. I believe that, however great was the influence of this man and however dark and evil his deeds in history, they were a mere dress rehearsal for the final act in this great drama, when the future antichrist comes and rules the world. It will be the culmination of every tyrannical throne there has ever been on earth. The final form of Babylon the Great, that has ruled the world in various forms and in every era for thousands of years. Behind each of those tyrannical thrones has been the power of Satan himself. But as we mentioned last week, and this is the glory of this passage, above those evil thrones, above Satan and his throne, is the King of all Kings. Isaiah 14 speaks of the casting down of the king of Babylon, the throwing down of this powerful force. This is what verse 12 says, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn!” This is the theme of Isaiah 14:12-15: the past, present, and future defeat of the King of Babylon, of Satan himself, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Two weeks ago, we looked at Isaiah 13, the fall of Babylon, and we saw that it referred not just to the destruction of that one city, the city of Babylon, by the Medes. It did refer to that, but also to the wicked form of government, the tyranny that is woven into Babylon itself, and into the wicked human governments that will rise up from the ashes of each tyranny until its time comes to be destroyed and the next tyranny rises. It’s Babylon and Babylon and Babylon to the end of time. That was Isaiah 13. Last week, we looked at the human kings of all of these Babylons, the kings of Babylon, the rulers who are going to take up these thrones. We focused on the human side. We looked at Isaiah 14:1-23. We saw that it referred to human tyrants who use their thrones to crush and oppose the people of God. But this week we’re going to zero in on verses 12-15. We’re going to look at the spiritual force of evil in the heavenly realms at work in those who are disobedient. At work, specifically, in the kings of Babylon, to do the will of Satan. We’re going to talk about the fall of Satan. The key verse is verse 12, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” The King James Version famously gives this translation of verse 12, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” We hear that famous title “Lucifer” there. Because the language of these verses seems excessive to refer merely to the ambitions of a human king, I take a double meaning here. Isaiah 14, then, does speak of the human King of Babylon and how he is cast down, but it also speaks of the invisible force of evil behind the throne, which is also cast down by Almighty God. Satan, I believe, is the original rebel whose pride and ambition is spoken of here in Isaiah 14. He introduced evil into a pristine, a holy universe. He sought to better his standing in heaven, his heavenly position, to raise his throne above that of all the others. He sought even to challenge God Himself, to receive worship as God. He was cast down to the earth. He decided to try to subvert God’s plan for the earth by recruiting man, the kings of the earth, to join him in his rebellion. He was successful in that recruitment. He recruited the human race to join him in rebellion, and that’s been the story of history since that time. I believe it is no coincidence that the clearest indications in the Old Testament, the clearest descriptions of the fall of Satan, of what led him to fall into rebellion are both given in prophetic passages that talk about human kings. I find that fascinating. Isaiah 14 talks about the King of Babylon. Put your finger here, on Isaiah 14, and go over to Ezekiel 28. We’re going to look at it later, but I’ve learned as a preacher, give people time to find the text. We’ll come to it later on, but it’s Ezekiel 28. There, we have the King of Tyre. Tyre was an influential trading city in northern Palestine which used its widespread influence as a port city and a center of commerce to spread corruption, luxury, and pleasure throughout the world. In Isaiah 14, you have the King of Babylon. Babylon represents military power, conquest, and tyranny, crushing power. That’s Babylon. Then in Ezekiel 28, you have the King of Tyre. That represents commerce, trade, money, pleasure, and luxury. Those two together make up the world as the enemy of God. Military crushing power, the King of Babylon. Luxury, trade, and all the stuff, the commerce of the world, that’s the King of Tyre. Actually, there are many Christian commentators, conservative Christian commentators, who believe in the inspirational authority of the Bible, who will not touch this theme that I’m preaching on today. They wouldn’t preach this sermon. They say, “Satan isn’t in Isaiah 14. He’s not in Ezekiel 28.” Calvin was among them. He hated that kind of speculation. But I don’t find it speculative. I actually think it makes perfect sense. Isn’t this what Satan does? Doesn’t he hide behind things? Isn’t he the ruler of the kingdom of the air? Isn’t it always hard to see what he’s doing? Do you find the word “Satan” in Genesis 3? Or when Even was tempted, and then Adam, to join the rebellion against God? Do you find the word “Satan” there, or “Devil?” No, you don’t. You find a talking snake. Is Satan there? Oh, he’s there. It’s not until Revelation 12 that you find that he’s called the ancient serpent who led the whole world astray. I think he’s hiding behind Isaiah 14. He’s hiding behind Ezekiel 28. But he is there. Therefore, I do believe that God is speaking of his fall in the fall of the King of Babylon. Satan, if he wants to rule the world, must do it through human beings. He must influence human authority figures, rulers, and government figures. He must influence them in order to achieve his ends. And I believe this is the story of the world, the story of Satan, his influence and his fall. May I say more joyously, his many falls? For the Lord did not ordain just one fall for Satan. He has ordained many. Satan’s Past Defeat Satan’s Original Creation: Perfect in Beauty and Holiness That’s what we’re going to talk about today. So let’s start with Satan’s past defeat as we see it in the words of Isaiah 14. Isaiah 14 speaks of a fall from heaven. In verse 12, it says, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” This passage speaks of glory and beauty like that of a morning star. The Hebrew here is “heylal, ben shachar,” literally “shining one, son of the dawn.” Indications show that it refers to Venus, seen to be a star by those that stand on the earth. It’s a planet, but it never reaches its zenith before the sun rises and the glory of the sun eclipses or covers that of Venus. So it’s a competing star that doesn’t seem to win against the glory of the sun. The Greek translation of the Hebrew expression was “heosphoros” which also means Venus. When Jerome, in the fifth century, translated this into Latin for the Western church, he chose the Latin name for the planet Venus, and that was Lucifer, or “light bearer.” Thus, Isaiah 14 speaks of a glorious, beautiful being like a star. The angels were created before the world began. God created spiritual beings and they watched God create the universe. They celebrated what God was doing. They enjoyed it, and they were worshipping God for the glories of his creation. You get this in God’s speech to Job. In Job 38:4-7, you see how God speaks to Job out of a whirlwind, and sets him straight. Some of the most fascinating therapy you’ll ever find in counseling is how God set Job straight, by basically giving him a tongue-lashing for a couple of chapters until he is the happiest he’s ever been in his whole life, still in the middle of his misery. But God has spoken to him, of His own greatness, and he is satisfied. He gets the stuff back. He gets things back, but that just doesn’t matter. He has God, and that’s enough for him. God speaks this way right at the beginning, “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely, you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone – while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” The angels are watching God as He lays the foundations of the earth and they’re celebrating. They’re worshipping God for what He’s done. He calls them morning stars, plural. Isaiah 14 speaks of the morning star that’s fallen. I believe he was an angel, then, a fallen angel. Isaiah 14 also speaks of power and influence. You see the word “throne” there. Look at it. Verse 13 says, “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.” He's got a position of authority, of power. He’s got a throne. We’re going to find out that it just wasn’t enough for him. He wasn’t content with what God had assigned to him. No more details are given in Isaiah about that, but I think Ezekiel 28 give us more background information. So again, keep your finger on Isaiah 14, because that’s our focal point today, but go over to Ezekiel 28 and look at verses 12-15. It says, “You were the model of perfection.” He’s speaking of the king of Tyre here. “You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and emerald, chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created.” The phrases here are quite striking. “Model of perfection,” literally, the Hebrew gives us “sealed in perfect proportions.” “Full of wisdom,” that’s speaking of intellectual, mental ability, and moral judgment. “Perfect in beauty” uses the kind of language that we would understand in terms of precious stones, but just absolute radiance and beauty, a created being. This is very important: it says it three times there in Ezekiel 28: verse 13 “on the day you were created,” verse 14, “so I ordained you,” verse 15, “from the day you were created.” It very much emphasized that this cherub, this angel, was a created being. Since Satan is a created being, created by God, God is infinitely more powerful than he is. We do not believe in dualism, in a dualistic universe, in which God and Satan battle it out, good and evil, light versus dark, yin versus yang, or whatever you want to do with that whole dualism thing. On roughly equal terms, that is absolutely untrue. I said it before, I can say it again: All power that Satan has is borrowed from God. It’s God’s power. He can take it back anytime He chooses. He can unplug Satan anytime He chooses. You’re all thinking, “Today would be good. It’d be good today.” But let’s let God be wise. God has ordained many falls for Satan. He’s got this worked out. His ways are better than ours. So we’ll let God do it in His own time, but we need to understand that they’re not equal, not at all. Satan is a created being. Look at the location. In Ezekiel, he was in Eden, the garden of God. That places him there as God is crafting that beautiful garden where he would put Adam and Eve, making it a perfect place for man to live. The angels were watching God make it, celebrating its creation. It also speaks of the holy mountain of God, walking among the fiery stones. Satan seemed to have access to God Himself, and to walking among other glorious beings. He was given a position of authority. He was anointed, it says. He was a guardian cherub, standing watch to protect. It speaks of his purity, his holiness. He was blameless in his ways from the day he was created. That’s what Ezekiel 28 tells us of this being before the fall. In summary, Satan is a created being, gloriously beautiful, powerful, established in a position of great authority, with access to God Himself on the holy mountain, blameless in holiness, walking in the truth. Jesus says in John 8:44 that he did not abide or remain in the truth. He started in the truth, and turned away from it. Satan’s Unsolvable Mystery: “Wickedness Was Found in You” Now we come to the great unsolvable mystery of the universe. The unsolvable mystery of theology. I do not have an answer to this question: what is the origin of evil? I have no answer. All I have are these verses. How could evil crop up in a perfectly good universe? I do not know. All I know is Ezekiel 28:15 says, “you were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.” That’s it. It just comes up. Where, how, I cannot understand. I just know it’s happened, and it has covered the universe like a poxy plague ever since. It is a wicked, evil thing. It’s spreading. It continues to grow, and the Lord in His grace through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is dealing with this, the only force that CAN deal with it. That’s the grace of God through Christ. But there it is, it just crops up in the heart of Satan. Ezekiel describes more of Satan’s early thoughts in Ezekiel 28:17, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.” Satan’s Pride and Ambition: Five “I wills” He was apparently corrupted by pride. He was impressed with his own beauty, impressed with his own power. He liked himself in a bad way. It’s fine to be appreciative about what God has put in you. Give God the glory. I’m fearfully and wonderfully made. That’s fine, but don’t take it too far. He was corrupted by pride in his own beauty. Go back to Isaiah 14. We’ll spend the rest of our time there. We’re done with Ezekiel. From there, Isaiah takes up the account of Satan’s pride in five “I wills.” Isaiah 14:13-14 says, “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned in the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” So when he says, “I will ascend to heaven,” it is an upward mobility, an ambition, stemming from pride. Satan had been set perfectly where God wanted him. He was in the right place, but it wasn’t enough for Satan. He wanted more. He wanted to be higher than all the other angels. He wanted to rule over them. He wanted to sit enthroned in the mount of assembly. Basically, he wanted to take God’s place and be worshipped as God. That’s what he wanted. He wanted to be God. And so he was thrown down. He was defeated. The fullest biblical account of this defeat, in my opinion, is in Revelation 12. Don’t take the time to turn there, but in Revelation 12:7-9, it says, “and there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” So, it seems, reading from the Book of Revelation, that Satan was able to successfully recruit about a third of the angels up there, because it says that the tail of the Dragon swept a third of the stars and flung them to the earth. We don’t know how many angels there were. Daniel mentions 100 million. That’s a lot of angels. We have no idea how many he flung to the earth. But we believe these are fallen angels, what we call demons, spiritual beings that are part of his kingdom. They joined in his rebellion and he was thrown to the earth. Isaiah 14:15 says, “but you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” Ezekiel 28:16-17 says, “Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings.” Jesus said in Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” The Warning to the Earth With this comes a warning to the earth. Heaven’s happy, but watch out Earth! Revelation 12:12, “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” So God clearly ordained that Satan’s upward mobility, his pride, his self-love, his self-worship, and his soaring ambition would be judged. Satan was cast down from his heavenly position. But God has ordained not just one fall for Satan, but that Satan will keep falling, and keep falling, and keep falling, forever, in different ways. And that he would ultimately end up suffering eternally in a hell designed for him and for the angels who joined him in rebellion. For Jesus says, in the passage about the sheep and the goats, speaking to those who joined Satan in his rebellion, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Mt 25:41) That’s the ultimate end and the ultimate fall of Satan. When Satan was cast down to the earth, he began the present phase of his fall, the modern earthly phase of his fall, by recruiting the king and queen of the earth, Adam and Eve, to join him in his rebellion. Satan’s Present Defeat Recruiting Man to Rebellion That recruitment is written about in Genesis 3. This is what is says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’’ ‘You will not surely die’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” Does that sound familiar? Does that sound like the very thing that led Satan astray, that ambition to be like God, to take God’s place? Just like the King of Babylon passage. Just like the King of Tyre passage. Satan isn’t mentioned here at all. He’s hiding behind the snake, making it talk. But it’s Satan. He is luring the human race into rebellion on the very same theme. “You will be like God, you get to take God’s place.” Remember the five wills: “I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain, I will ascend above the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High.” He wanted to be like God. Now, he sells it to the human race. This corrupting influence, through Adam, has ruled in the hearts of all people ever since. I think especially clearly in the hearts of those ambitious empire-builders, those kings of Babylon who sit on human thrones and extend their tyranny over the surface of the earth and expect to be worshipped, or you die. They are very Satan-like, they’re very demon-like in this, the kings of Babylon. God begins His defeat of Satan, His earthly defeat of Satan, by severing the alliance between Satan and the human race. He severs it right there in what’s called the first gospel promise. In Genesis 3:15, God says to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” That is a clear prophecy of the coming of Christ, the seed of the woman. There will be a lineage of believing people, the elect, who will not suffer Satan’s torment, who will not be thrown to hell but actually will be redeemed by the seed of woman, by Christ. God predicts the coming dragon slayer, Jesus Christ. The Power Behind Every Evil Throne That’s not the end of Satan, of course. Satan then begins his active, invisible, spiritual influence over human beings as history unfolds from there. He is the power behind every evil throne. Listen to what’s said about him in the New Testament. Remember when he’s tempting Jesus in the desert, and he brings him to a high place, a mountain? In Luke 4:5, it says, “The devil led him to a high place and showed him in an instant [Oh, what did he show him!] all the kingdoms of the world.” He’s an expert in kingdoms. He knows which ones are powerful, which ones are not so powerful, all of these different regimes. He shows them all to Christ. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you will worship me, it will all be yours.” (Luke 4:6-7). He hasn’t changed, has he? I’ve said before, this is the most arrogant statement ever made by a created being. Saying directly to the Son of God, “Get down and worship me, and I’ll give you the earth.” It’s a debate who gave it to Satan. I think Adam gave it to him. I think the sons of Adam continue to give it to him by giving him influence. He has this influence over the kingdoms of the earth. How then does he rule? Well, he rules silently, quietly behind the scenes. Ephesians 2:1-2 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air.” Now, just ponder that phrase, “the ruler of the kingdom of the air,” the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. “All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” (Eph 2:3) He is the ruler of an invisible spiritual kingdom having influence over the disobedient. What does that mean? Well, I believe every single political leader on the face of the earth is either indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God or under the influence of Satan to accomplish Satan’s purposes. I do not say they’re all demon-possessed. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that he’s running the show. I’m just saying he’s influencing. I’m saying he’s whispering in ears. I’m saying he’s orchestrating. He is playing chess, and he is doing what he will do. I am talking about presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, emperors, members of congress, and lower level officials. If they’re not filled with the Holy Spirit they are part of the problem, part of what Satan is doing in the world. He is the wicked king of kings, and that includes whatever nation is most powerful on the face of the earth at that given time. The King of Babylon, in Isaiah 14, was an actual man at one point who had a name: Nebuchadnezzar, or evil Merodach, or Belshazzar. Then it would be Cyrus the Great, Darius the Mede. Or it would be Alexander the Great, the Macedonian. Whoever it is that’s running it, but if he’s not filled with the Holy Spirit of God, he’s under the influence of Satan. In Revelation 18 it seems that Babylon represents all of these human kingdoms of the world that stand in opposition to God. Therefore, the true final king of Babylon will be the antichrist, and he will be in collusion with Satan. Daniel gives us a glimpse into this whole invisible spiritual world. Daniel was the Prime Minister of the greatest empire on the face of the earth, Persia. At the time, in the Middle Persian Empire, he was the Prime Minister. He was a godly man, seeking the face of God every day in prayer. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God and asking God, praying towards Jerusalem, that God would restore Jerusalem and restore the temple. He was praying in that way. So God dispatches a glorious angel to answer him and tell him what’s going to happen. This glorious angel, when he finally arrives, is so incredible and powerful and glorious that the men that are with Daniel faint almost dead away from fear. They’re in terror. Daniel himself is in terror. This is a powerful being. I preached on this in Daniel 10. I said he is no sissy angel. Okay, he’s no weak angel. He’s a powerful angel, glorious and mighty. He’s a warrior. But he tells us this in Daniel 10:13, “The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.” For twenty-one days, this powerful warrior angel couldn’t get to Daniel because the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted him. “Then Michael, one of the chief princes [I believe an archangel] came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.” This is not just hinting. This is directly saying that there is this being called the Prince of Persia. Persia, the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, this Prince of Persia, resisted this angelic being and the angel couldn’t get past. I’m telling you, no flesh and blood could have stopped that angel. I don’t know that the Prince of Persia was Satan. It would be even more terrifying if it wasn’t, if he was just one of Satan’s lieutenants. We don’t know. I just know he’s a spiritual force of evil in the heavenly realms, and it took two mighty angels to get the one past. The archangel Michael came down. At the end of the encounter, he says, “I want you to know where I’m going. This is what I’m about to do.” Daniel 10:20, he said, “Soon I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia, and when I go, the Prince of Greece will come.” That’s the next world-conquering empire. The Prince of Greece is going to come with his satanic being as well. It’s just the rise and fall of empires. It’s the rise and fall of the world. Behind the scenes, there are these pulsating satanic forces and there’s a fight, a warfare, going on in the spiritual realm all the time. I find it fascinating that God allows those angels to battle it out on more or less equal terms. Whenever He wants to influence things, He can win. But He lets this first angel and Michael fight it out until the message can get through after twenty-one days. Fascinating. Paul the apostle, in Ephesians 6, uses governmental language to refer to Satan’s organized kingdom. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Friends, this is going on all the time around us. Rulers, authorities, powers. It’s happening. The Destruction of the Earth: Laying Low the Nations. In this way, Satan destroys the earth. Isaiah 14:12 says, “You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations.” He lays low the nations by influencing rulers to do the wicked things they do. Christ Destroys Satan By Humbly Dying And so God sent His Son, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to destroy the work of Satan. He sent His Son into the world, the one who had been predicted back in Genesis 3:15. Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the devil. Satan fell because of his upward ambition. He wanted to go up, up, up. And all of the demons fell for the same reason, their upward ambition. They wanted to go up, up, up. Human beings joined in that. They wanted to be like God, the upward mobility. So it says in 1 John 3:8, “the Son of God appears to destroy the devil’s work.” How does He do it? Philippians 2, speaking of Christ, says that he, being in very nature God, did not think it robbery, didn’t try to steal something that wasn’t His. Who does that sound like? Satan. Did not think it robbery to be considered equal with God but made Himself nothing. Taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. This is the downward descent of humility in Christ. It led to our salvation. As the hymn put it, “He left His Father’s throne above so free, so infinite, His grace. Emptied Himself of all but love and bled for Adam’s helpless race.” That’s what Jesus did. Christ, in dying on the cross, destroyed Satan and his kingdom, and freed those who, all their lives, were held in slavery by their fear of death. We, the helpless ones. We, the powerless ones. We, the evil ones, the wicked ones, who joined in Satan’s rebellion. He has freed us up by His blood. By His shed blood on the cross. You may still be in bondage. You may still be in Satan’s kingdom as you come here today. It says at one time we were living under the influence of Satan. The gospel has the power to rescue you. As though God Himself were making His appeal through me right now, be reconciled to God. Come to faith in Christ. The blood of Christ is shed, enough to destroy all the works of the devil. Flee to Christ. Christ Plunders His Kingdom… for Two Thousand Years Repent of your sins and of your rebellion. Throw down your weapons of rebellion. Throw down your lusts and your selfish ambitions and your anger and all. Throw it down and come to Christ. He will forgive you of all of your sins. For Christ has been plundering Satan’s kingdom for two thousand years. I told you, it wasn’t just one defeat He wanted. He wanted two thousand years of defeat. So He sends out seventy-two disciples and they have power to drive out demons and they come back celebrating. “Oh lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And remember what He said. I already quoted it. “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” But don’t rejoice that the demons are subject in His name. Rejoice that your names are written in Heaven. Oh, what a joy that is! Satan’s Future Defeat One Final “King of Babylon:” the Antichrist Jesus has been plundering Satan’s kingdom, but there’s a future defeat left to come. The antichrist is coming and the final King of Babylon will come. He’s introduced in Revelation 13 with the dragon, Satan. He’s standing in front of the shore, and there’s this pulsating wave of turmoil. I think it represents the nations, and up out of the nations comes this beast, this dreadful beast. Revelations 13:1 says, “And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.” Satan Finally Gets Worshipped by the World The ultimate aim of both the dragon and the beast is to be worshipped. They want to be worshipped. It says in Revelations 13:4, “Men worshipped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshipped the beast and asked, ‘who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?’” I find this a bit humorous. I don’t know why. There’s just something funny about the fact that even then, the dragon has to get his worship through a human being first. So they’re going to worship the antichrist, and then they’re going to ultimately worship the power behind the throne. He yearns for your worship. He yearns for the worship of human beings and of other angels, and so the final act of human history is this final King of Babylon, this antichrist imbued, infused with the supernatural wonder-working power of the devil. He’ll be able to do miracles. He’s going to captivate all the non-elect people on the face of the earth. They will receive his mark, and they will fall down and worship this human being. And they’ll worship the satanic power behind it. If they don’t, they’re going to be executed. They’re going to be killed. That is the crushing power of Babylon to the final degree. And then the final blasphemy, in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, speaking of the antichrist, says “he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” He’s going to receive worship at the end. Christ Returns and Destroys Them Both Christ is going to return and destroy them both. He’s going to come back and destroy them both. No more King of Babylon, either human or satanic. They will be gone forever. It says in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, “the lawless one [the antichrist] will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.” Revelation 19 pictures this one riding on a horse. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords fights that final battle of Armageddon, and he destroys the army that’s arrayed against Him. The beast is captured, and he’s thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, Revelation 19:20. Satan is chained up for a thousand years. At the end, he leads one final rebellion, and then he is also thrown into the lake of fire, along with the grave and death itself. The victory is complete. He’s thrown into the eternal fire that was prepared for him and for his angels from that original fall. Then come the final celebration. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we’re going to spend eternity celebrating this victory. Final Celebration: Liberty Forever for God’s People!! For eternity, we’re going to give thanks to God who liberated us from a force too great for us. We’re never going to have to deal with them again. Never again will we feel the influence of Satan’s temptations. Never again will we be pulled away from Christ by them. Never again will we have to suffer under the lash of worldly tyrants who are operating under his influence. Never again. Then at last, we will bow down and worship the true King of Kings in freedom forever. Application Come to Christ Now, what application can we take from this? Well, I’ve already given you the central one: flee to Christ. If you’re still in rebellion against God, there is forgiveness. Today could be for you the day of salvation, freedom forever from that tyranny that Satan has set up. Flee to Christ. Trust in Him. If you don’t know Jesus as your personal savior, come and talk to me after the service. There’s going to be people in the parlor that can talk to you about your personal walk with Christ. Don’t leave this place without trusting in Him. Understand the Satanic Influence over the Politics of This World and Do Not Trust Too Much in Human Leaders, or Fear Them Too Much But secondly, understand Satan’s influence over world governments, history, and politics. Understand it. I’m not saying we can always see what he’s doing. Just know he’s there. He is the ruler of the kingdom of the air. As I was driving to church this week, I saw a decal on someone’s rear windshield, and it had an artistic rendition of a candidate for President. Below it was the single word, “hope.” I thought, “Oh no, no.” How can we put our hope in some politician? How can we put our hope in government and government programs and all of that? How can we put our hope in man who fails in every generation? Don’t put your hope in man. Don’t put your hope in a political party or political process. Put your hope in Christ. Put your hope in God. That troubled me, as you can tell. Seek Godly Ambitions … Not Satanic Ones Also, understand this, and I mentioned this last week, but this is where the rubber hits the road with me. You know what led Satan to fall? Discontent with what God had given him. He just wasn’t satisfied with the boundary lines. God has put boundary lines around each of you, and around me too. Inside those boundary lines are some rich blessings, and outside those boundary lines, there’s stuff that isn’t ours. It belongs to somebody else, and you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, you shall not covet your neighbor’s goods, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. You shall not covet a position that isn’t even yours. Be happy and content with what God has given you. Be content with it. It says in Psalm 16, “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance.” Can you say that, brothers and sisters? Are you satisfied with what God has given you in this world? Are you satisfied with what He’s promised to give you in the next? Is it enough for you? If so, then you’re free to serve others. Therefore, thirdly, let your ambitions be holy ambitions. It’s good to be ambitious. There’s nothing wrong with ambition, but let me tell you what to be ambitious for. How about this? “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Mt 5:6) Be ambitious to be as righteous and holy as Jesus. Or this one, Romans 15:20, where Paul says, “It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.” I am ambitious to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Be ambitious for that. Or here’s a simple daily ambition, 2 Corinthians 5:9, “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” I have my ambition to be perfectly pleasing to Jesus for the rest of today, in all my works. Those are good ambitions. Have those. Anticipate Shouting for Joy When Satan is Thrown Down Forever Finally, anticipate the day when you’ll be free from this beast, from this tyranny forever. Celebrate it ahead of time. This is a taunt song, it’s meant to celebrate our fallen foe. We will not lament him. We will not miss him. We’ll be glad when he is gone. Look forward to that day. Close with me in prayer.
Introduction: Earned Never Given vs Given Never Earned We're looking this morning at Romans 10:9-10, two of the greatest verses and the clearest verses on the issue of saving faith. When we were on vacation, my family and I had the joy and delight of being in Arlington National Cemetery and seeing the Marine Color Guard, their precision drill team do their silent drill. And really was a remarkable thing to watch these Marines in their dress uniforms, doing all of these drills without any commands, the result of literally countless hours of practice, they're imbued with the spirit of dignity, knowing that they were in a legacy of one drill team after another, and that they were carrying the banner for the Marine Corps. And so they were standing in a line and they would do these things up and down the line and the timing was just perfect, precise, and you'd hear the kind of clattering. It was almost like a domino effect up and down the line, and we were all truly impressed while being truly hot too. It was very hot in DC over there, but we really enjoyed watching this. After it was over, the Marines got on the specially designed bus which had a huge recruiting ad on the side for the Marines. And what it was, was a huge Marine sword, a shiny sword, held by a white glove, a hand with a white glove and the beautiful sleeve of a Marine dress uniform. You didn't see the man, but you saw this sleeve and the white glove and the shiny sword. And above it where the words, huge words, simple message, "Earned, never given." Earned, never given. And I went up to a Marine after is over, who had one of those swords that was earned and never given, and I asked, "What does that slogan mean? Earned, never given?" He said, "Well, this sword is given to non-commission officers after they go through certain training, and they go through intense trials and all kinds of different things, and once they reach that level, then the sword is awarded. It's never given to anybody who hasn't gone through those tests and those trials. That's what it means, earned, never given." And I found myself grateful for men that are willing to go through those trials and we're defended by Marines who are willing to be that precise, and to go through that kind of training. But it got me thinking about the Gospel, and I was delighted, and am delighted to be able to preach to you a Gospel that is given, never earned. That God in His wisdom is willing to give us eternal life. Actually, we must not seek to earn it, it's a Gospel that is most definitely given, and never earned. It says in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death." That's what we earn. If we want what we earn, what we earn is death. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus." Isn't that wonderful? Given, and never earned. And you know why? Because God wants it guaranteed, and if it's earned, we will not get it. It says in another place in Romans very plainly. "What does the scripture say? 'Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.' Now, when a man works, his wages are not credited him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work, but trusts God, his faith is credited to him as righteousness." And so it's just a simple gift from a God who justifies the wicked, the scripture says. And then in our passage, it says very plainly, Romans 10:8-10. "What does it say?" Namely the Word of faith. "What does it say? 'The word is near you, it is in your mouth and in your heart.' That is the Word of faith that we are proclaiming. That if you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with the heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with the mouth that you confess and are saved." The beautiful simplicity of saving faith. Saved from what? Well, saved from what we truly deserve, saved from what we have earned, saved from the wages of sin, which is eternal death, condemnation, Hell. We will be saved from that simply by believing in Christ. Now the context here of Romans 10:9-10, Paul is dealing in Romans nine through 11, with the issue of why it is that the Jews, God's chosen people, His special people, were it seems so universally rejecting saving message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Why were they rejecting? Romans 9, we saw, is the answer from the top down, the heavenly perspective, they were rejecting because of the sovereignty of God, the sovereign plan of God. And we saw all of that in all of its deep mysteries. But as we go on to Romans 10, we see it more from the human point of view. The Apostle Paul says that the Jews were too zealous to establish their own righteousness rather than to take God's free gift of righteousness. They wanted a salvation that was earned, never given. They wanted to be able to say, "I achieved this through my own efforts." Look at verse 3 of the same chapter here, Romans 10:3. It says, "Since they, the Jews, did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness." Do you see that? And so, they were zealous to establish their own righteousness, and therefore they were in no market to receive the free gift of righteousness through faith in Christ. Now, for two weeks, we're going to look at Romans 10:9-10. Basically it's a three point sermon in two weeks, so that gets a little complicated, I know. And it's even worse because all three of them begin with C, and you think you'd preach them all in one morning. But it's a three part sermon, a three point sermon in two weeks. II. The Content of Saving Faith This week, we're going to see the content of saving faith. The content, the mental aspect, what it is we must believe. Next week we're going to see the character of saving faith, that it is a heart matter, a matter of the heart. And we're going to see the confirmation of saving faith, namely what flows out into your life because of this saving faith. So the content, the character, confirmation of saving faith. Let's look first at this issue, the content of saving faith. And just that thought itself is radical in this day and age, at least to many. Faith must have a content. There are some things we are believing, and by believing those things we are saved. Faith must have a content. And what that means is that faith alone itself is not enough to save your soul. Just having faith does not save anybody. Friends, there are a few American Christians that can match the faith and fanatical devotion of extremist Muslims who are willing both to kill and be killed for their faith. Few of us can match that level of commitment. Few American Christians can match the faith of a Buddhist monk who sits motionless for hours conquering all of his internal drive, so that he can achieve some kind of enlightenment through meditation. Few of us can achieve that level of belief and commitment. Faith itself doesn't save anybody. Faith is the human capacity to trust, to venture forth on unseen realities, and put your whole life on the line for those realities. We have that capacity to trust. But saving faith itself is a gift from God, He gives it directly to the soul. And faith itself must have an object. I was reading some time ago, I love reading about history, and William L. Shirer, who wrote one of the authoritative histories of the Third Reich, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, was talking about... He was a CBS correspondent in Nazi Germany, in the years that lead up 1930s, that led up to World War II. And he was there at the Nuremberg Rally, the Nazi rally, in September of 1934. And he was astonished by the rabid fanaticism he saw among the German populace for this man Adolf Hitler. And this is what he wrote that night, the night of September in 1934. He says, "About 10 o'clock tonight, I got caught in a mob of 10,000 hysterics who jammed the moat in front of Hitler's hotel shouting, 'We want our Führer.' I was a little shocked at the faces, especially those of the women, when Hitler finally appeared on the balcony for a moment. They reminded me of the crazed expressions I saw once in the back country of Louisiana, on the faces of some holy rollers who were about to hit the trail. They looked up at him as if he were a Messiah. Their face is transformed in something positively inhuman. If he had remained in sight for more than a few moments, I think that many of the women would have swooned from excitement." My friends, faith itself doesn't save. No, it is faith in Christ that saves. It's faith that Jesus is Lord, that God raised Him from the dead that we're talking about this morning, that's what we're discussing. There is a faith that justifies, and God has revealed what that is. Now, behind this is a concept, like I said, that is surprising to some, or at least rejected or opposed by some. And that is that there is such a thing as absolute truth. Even in the religious and spiritual realm, there is such a thing as truth, there is such a thing as content. The Insanity of Post-Modern Relativistic Truth Now, post-modern man is relativistic. We tend to deny, or post-modern man denies this concept that there are absolute truths. We teach that... We are taught that truth is subjective, that there actually can be something, get this, that's ultimately true for me, but not ultimately true for you. How can that be? Doesn't that cause you want to scratch your head? How can it be that God raised Jesus from the dead for me, but He didn't raise Him from the dead for you? And I don't mean in sense that the person doesn't believe it, but I'm saying that it happened at all. But that's the way it is, we're in this relativistic kind of postmodern phase now, where we question all of these truths. Ravi Zacharias was writing about this, and he talked about it in a kind of a homely sort of way, talking about an umpire calling balls and strikes. He said a pre-modern umpire would have said something like this, "I call them what they are." A modern umpire would say, "I call them as I see them." A post-modern umpire says, "Ain't nothing 'till I call them." In other words, that truth and reality is in here, and I kind of created by what I claim and what I say I believe. Do you see how self-centered that is? Do you see how weird it is? I think what we need is some of the earlier Disney where they said, I think, in Lady and the Tramp where the Siamese cats are saying, "We are Siamese if you please, we are Siamese, what, if you don't please." Amen. Okay. I don't know how far that's going to get you in life, but think about it, alright? We are Siamese if you please, we're Siamese if you don't please. We just are Siamese. And if you don't please, it's your problem, okay, because it is what I am. And now we're living in a post-modern era, in which we deny this idea of content and absolute truth. I don't really know how you can live that way, I don't think you can, I just think it's a mental fad. I don't think it's going to last long. The Absolute Truth of the Gospel Romans 10:9-10 shows that there are absolute truths, that truths like this are not relative. Now, our culture is going to call us arrogant, as though we're preaching ourselves as saviors. Our culture is going to call us narrow minded because we refuse to celebrate other people's version of spiritual truth. Our culture will cause bigoted because we reject out of hand anything that opposes these truths as having come from the devil. Christians these days seem intimidated by these things, that we're going to be seen to be arrogant and narrow minded and bigoted. And they are intimidating. And so we tend to be humble about these truths. GK Chesterton saw this a while ago, saying that humility is becoming misplaced. It no longer pertains to self opinion, where it ought to be, rather it now pertains to truth, where it ought not to be. A Christian should not apologize that the Grand Canyon is magnificent. Neither should they be embarrassed to declare that that is a beautiful sunset. And why then should we be embarrassed to declare that Jesus is Lord, and that God raised Him from the dead? That is the truth, and it's a truth that saves. And if we believe these things, we will have eternal life. This says another thing to me, and that is that truth precedes and rules over religious experience. I was taught when I was in a college fellowship, I was being trained in evangelism, and very grateful for the evangelistic training that I received in college, I loved it and grateful for it, but one of the things they told me at the time, they said, "You need to focus on your personal testimony." Why is that? "Well, because your personal testimony can't be argued against, it can't be refuted." Well, that may be true, but it could also be called irrelevant. It might be called irrelevant. For example, a Buddhist could say that their meditation, the Zen meditation, has brought them to new heights of self-understanding, and a new sense of peace has flooded into their souls, and so much order and meaning has come to their lives now because of Zen Buddhism. Tom Cruise and others will tell you what's, gladly tell you what Scientology is doing for them. What a weird cult that is, but he's glad to tell you of his experiences with Scientology. Hindus in India, some of them say they have reached experiences, levels of experience where they feel that they are out of the body. But what is the truth behind all of these things? And how would we respond to secular psychologists who have put them all in one bag, and even do studies that put electrodes on the head and find out what's happening in your brain waves when you're having these religious experiences, and dismiss it all biochemically and psychologically? Behind all of this, there needs to be some objective truth. And the difference between the Judeo-Christian tradition, and our Christian faith and the others, is it's based on historical events, realities, and facts, that God raised Christ from the dead. God the Father Raised Jesus Christ From the Dead In 1 Corinthians 15:17 it says, "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins." In other words, that historical fact did not happen, your faith is worthless. That's not a post-modern thought, friends. That says there is something that's absolutely true, and that is that the tomb is empty. Now, what is the content that Paul says we must believe? Well, look again at verse nine and 10. It says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." The content, friends, focuses squarely and totally on the person of Jesus Christ, that's our content, He is our content. We're believing things about Jesus. Christianity is so totally identified with this person, Jesus of Nazareth, whom we call Jesus Christ, more so than any other religion that there has ever been. Buddhism probably could continue without if there had never been a Gautama, the original enlightened one. He laid down some spiritual principles that would still stand, and I think the same is true of Mohammed in Islam. But Christianity disappears if there's no Jesus of Nazareth, it's totally focused on Him, who He was, what He said and did. The Doctrine of the Incarnation and Full Deity of Christ And what specific doctrines do we have in mind? Well, first the doctrine of the incarnation, the full deity of Christ. 'Jesus is Lord' is a statement in which we are declaring that Jesus, this man was actually God in the flesh, we're believing that He was God, we're worshipping Him as our Lord and our God. Now, Jesus of Nazareth was a real man, He was really born, He really lived, He really died, He had a body, He had a face, hands, feet, He ate, He slept, He walked, He spoke, and prayed. He breathed, and wept, and He bled, just like any man. Now, Jesus of Nazareth is the politically correct term to use to refer to that individual. If you read Time magazine or News Week and they're referring, they're going to generally try to refer to Jesus of Nazareth, not to Jesus Christ, because Christ is the title Messiah, and they don't believe that. So we'll just say, "This man, Jesus of Nazareth." I'm saying, "Okay fine, Jesus of Nazareth, He's Lord, He is God, He took on a human body, He walked on this Earth, and He died for my sins." That's what we're claiming, we're claiming that this man, Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, is God. Now, this title 'Lord', it meant deity, it meant God, no question about it. In the Old Testament, the central name for God is a name that we strive to pronounce perhaps as Yahweh. Perhaps others use the phrase or the word Jehovah. It's four letters, and it appears over 6,000 times in the Hebrew Bible, JHVH, or YHVH, something like that. And we pronounce it Yahweh or perhaps Jehovah. Now, because of the Ten Commandment's clear prohibition against taking the name of the Lord in vain, what the Jewish scribes did is, they wrote the vowels for the Hebrew word Adonai, which means Lord, a lower title, and whenever they would come to the four letter word for 'Lord', which is usually in all caps, all capital letters in your English Bibles, whenever they would come to that, they would pronounce 'Adonai', My Lord, that's what they're saying. When the Greek Jews wanted to translate the Hebrew Bible into Greek, Septuagint, they used the word that Paul uses here, 'Kyrios', Lord, every time, 6,156 times. This word is used to refer to God, Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and therefore, to a Greek speaking Jew. The word kyrios meant God, Lord, He is the Lord. What we are saying is that Jesus of Nazareth this man is God, that's what 'Jesus is Lord' means. It's a confession. It is the central confession, of the Christian religion. In my opinion John Chapter 20 is the utter pinnacle of John's magnificent gospel. John 20:26-31. Jesus is presenting himself after his crucifixion presenting himself alive in the body to his apostles. Of course, you know that Thomas wasn't there the first time and said, I don't believe it, as a matter of fact, if I don't see him with my own eyes, if I don't get a chance to put my finger in his wounds and touch the mark on his side, I'll never believe it. And so Jesus appears a week later, and here's how the account goes. "A week later, His disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you and then He said to Thomas, "Put your finger here see my hands reach out your hand and put it into my side stop doubting. And believe, Thomas said to him, [the central confession of Christianity] 'My Lord and My God.'" That's what we're saying here in Romans 10:9. We are making Thomas's confession that Jesus is 'my Lord and my God.' Remember what Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are they, who have not seen, and yet, have believed." And then John goes on to finish that chapter. "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His name." This is what you must believe to have your sins forgiven. "My Lord and my God," applied to Jesus of Nazareth. John also put it at the very beginning of his gospel, in John 1:1 and 14 "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God." "And the word became flesh and made His dwelling among us…" He was fully man, and fully God, God in the flesh, come down to Earth. He is the one that we worship he is no mere man and this doctrine is taught, again and again, you had read earlier for you Colossians chapter one, verse 15, following this is what it says, "For by Him, all things were created, things in heaven and earth, visible, and invisible whether thrones or powers, or rulers, or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything, he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him." That's what we're saying all the fullness of God dwells in this man, Jesus, Jesus is Lord. Or it says in Hebrews 1:3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word, and after He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in Heaven." This is the one that we worship now when we say 'Jesus is Lord,' we're also giving a statement of absolute sovereignty. He is the Lord, He rules over heaven and earth, He is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty Jesus said it this way, in Matthew 28:18. "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me" for Christian that's good news, isn't it? All authority in heaven and earth is Christs. He rules on a throne. Or it says in Ephesians 1:21-23, "far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and the every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come and God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way." That is the absolute exalted sovereignty of Jesus, that's who we worship, or again in Philippians 2:9 through 11, after Jesus willingly died on the cross, it says that "God exalted him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that 'Jesus Christ is Lord' to the glory of God the Father." this is the central confession of the Christian faith Jesus is Lord. But let me make it very personal for you, if you're a believer in Christ, what you are saying is Jesus is My Lord. He is my sovereign, He is my God, he's My savior, my ruler. You're making Thomas's confession 'My Lord and my God,' that's why it's the pinnacle of John's gospel, 'My Lord and my God.' I don't understand, what happened some time ago, when Somebody told us that we could separate Jesus as Savior from Jesus as Lord. Where do you get that? I mean, isn't Jesus is Lord kind of right here in Romans 10:9, I would think you would need to believe that Jesus is Lord in order to be saved because it says so and they say, "Oh that's Lordship of salvation no it's just salvation in the name of the Lord." There's no difference between Jesus as savior and Jesus as Lord. You can't have Him as Savior and not as your Lord. And so what's going to happen is the true Christian is saying Jesus is my Lord in every area of my life. I think it's what Jesus was commanding us to do inviting us to do when He said, "Come to me. All you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest, Take My yoke Upon you And learn from me For I am gentle and humble in heart. And you will receive rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." What is his yoke? It's His kingly authority, the Gospel of Matthew is all about the kingdom of Christ and what it's about, is that you are going to take that stiff neck of yours and I'm going to take that stiff neck of mine, and I'm going to put it under a yoke of authority, and I'm going to find freedom at last from the yoke of sin that I'd been laboring under all that time because his yoke is easier than sins yoke and his burden is lighter than the burden of eternal condemnation. And so that's what I'm saying, when I say Jesus is Lord, what I think it means is, I'm going to say Jesus is Lord of my private thought life, Jesus is Lord of my dreams, my aspirations and my ambitions, Jesus is Lord of my time, my minutes and my hours and my years, he is Lord of my money. What I save what I spend on myself, what I spent on others. What I spend on my family what I give away for the Lord's service, he is Lord of all of my money. He's Lord of my sex life, He's Lord of my marriage, he's Lord of my parenting, He's Lord of the books I choose to read and those I refuse to rea. He's lord of the movies I watch, and those are refused to watch. He's Lord of all of that area of my life, He's Lord of everything He is Lord, so therefore, His commandments, rule my life when He commands me to do something I must obey when he says You should go as a missionary, I must go when he says, "Take this Job or not that one." He is Lord. He rules over everything in my life, he is my King, my ruler, my sovereign, He is my God and a Christian is delighted about that a Christian is joyful about that. Glad to have a wise and powerful sovereign to tell him or her what to do. The Bodily Resurrection of Christ And we are glad to submit because he's the king, he is the Lord. That's one thing you must believe, You must also believe that God physically raised Him from the dead, you must believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Doctrinal content is essential Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. That's what we believe and friends, not merely that the spirit of Jesus imbues us all And we all just kind of enjoy the spirit of the resurrection. Kind of like the spirit of Christmas What is that? What is the spirit of Christmas? It just kind of kicks in right around the day after Thanksgiving, when all the sales begin and then the spirit of Christmas and we just breathe it in. That is not what we're saying. We're saying that there was a time in history when we could have stood after Jesus had been crucified and touched and heard him say to us flesh or a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see. I have... That's what we're saying. He was physically bodily raised from the dead. You know what that means. Death holds no ultimate fear for me anymore. Only thing that I fear is the process like you. But the ultimate results, I do not fear and the fear of the process reduces as I go on and grow in my Christian faith. The tomb is empty. We've already sung about it this morning. Isn't that glorious? We're not waiting for death, we're waiting for glory, Christ is risen from the dead, and so therefore we have to believe these things. We confess with our mouth Jesus is Lord, and we believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead. And if so, we will be saved. What does that mean? It means the full record of all of our transgressions and sins, all of them for our whole life will be washed away through the blood of Christ, we will fear no condemnation we will not spend eternity getting what we deserve we'll spend eternity receiving what we did not deserve by grace. That's what it means, we will be saved. So what does that mean? It means that content is essential to evangelism. If you're going to do evangelism, you need to... You need to preach this content, you need to communicate it, content therefore is essential to save in faith. Now, Paul is going to say it openly Look down at verses 13-15. We'll say it more fully God willing, if we get to preach on that as we plan to. But look at verses 13-15 it says there "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then can they call on the one they have not believed in, and listen to this. And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?" You know what that means? You've got to have content in order to have faith, content precedes faith, You see what I'm saying? How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard, and how can they hear without someone preaching to them, communicating that content and how can they preach, unless they are sent as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Friends? We must bring good news to people who haven't heard it. We must bring good news, and that good news has content. We must tell them that there is a God who created Heaven and earth, that, that God who created heaven and Earth has laws by which He expects us to live and he has the right to give us those laws and that we have sinned and have broken those laws, the Ten Commandments, the two great commandments, we've broken them. And that we deserve eternal condemnation for having broken those laws. But that God in his grace and mercy, sent His only begotten Son Jesus into this world to take on a human body, to live a genuine human life. He did miracles, signs, and wonders, he walked on water, He fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fish, he raised the dead, and then he was arrested falsely accused of blasphemy, he was nailed to the cross, his blood was shed as an atoning sacrifice for my sin and for yours, and he died, he literally died and on the third day, God raised Him from the dead, He ascended to Heaven, and at present sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. That's what we have to tell them. We have to tell them that content or they cannot be saved and as they listen to that content, what's going to happen is Romans 10:17, "Consequently faith comes from hearing the message of Christ." And so as they're listening to the message what happens inside their heart faith and God justifies they hear this content, and they say, "I believe that. I believe it." And God sees what's in their heart with their heart, they believe, and they are justified, Through faith. Now, there are two direct consequences of all this first. If our faith has content, the content must be proclaimed. Are you active and involved in proclaiming this content? Have you shared these truths with anybody in the last six months? Well, speaking positively and encouragingly. Why don't you begin why don't you start, why don't you begin sharing this week, why don't you ask God to give you an opportunity to talk to somebody about this content? I'm not saying don't share your testimony, go ahead if it gets you into talking about the content, but talk about this content of saving faith with somebody this week. This content must be proclaimed. Secondly, friends, this content must be protected. It is under attack and it will be ever increasingly. So in our interesting country, our pluralistic country in which we live, they will attack this content they already have. When I was living in Massachusetts I drove by almost every day, during one phase of my life, past Lexington and Concord where the Revolutionary War began, in April 19th, 1775 after the Minute Men the local militia, had been forewarned, not by Paul Revere sadly, for all the great poetry that was written, he never made it, but other folks did make it out and say The British are coming. And so they were ready, at dawn for 1000 British regulars who were coming. Now just a handful of militia, they were standing there. And Captain John Parker, who was commanding Lexington militia said this, "Stand your ground If they mean to have a war let it begin here." Now, let me say to you that if the rights of colonials under the British Empire are worth standing and fighting for and protecting how much more these Gospel truths. Now don't misunderstand me. We don't fight with a musket in our hands or with any weapon physically our weaponry is spiritual. It says in 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5. We defend it spiritually, we defend arguments, we challenge thoughts. So I worked for 10 years as an engineer and I know the kind of discussions that happen and people are more and more drinking in this relativistic way of thinking, challenge it. Think of interesting and clever things to say that get them to say, "Can I really live like that?" I don't live like that. There must be some truths that we all believe and work with It challenge them. This content must be proclaimed but it must also be protected, and so we need to defend these truths from attack. II. Applications Now, what applications can we take from this? Obviously, those two proclaim... Proclaim it and protect it. Let me just speak to you, as folks that I don't know all of you, I don't know everything that's going on in your heart. Can I urge you to test yourself and see if you're in the faith. Are you saved? Have you been saved according to my text? Do you believe that Jesus is Lord, Can you confess it, can you say Jesus is my Lord in truth do you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, do you believe? Have you felt the weight of your sin, do you know that you need a Savior, and if you... Are you willing to come to Christ and find in Him all the salvation, all the favor, you need. So I'm speaking to those that perhaps have never testified that Jesus is your Lord, Are You saved? Have you trusted in Christ? And for those of you that have here in, in the simple text, find your assurance it's not complicated, it really just comes down to this, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." But we're gonna talk next week about how your confession, needs to line up with reality. You're going to be confessing not just with your lips but with your life, and I'll end with this Challenging word from Christ, in which Jesus said in Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say." Close with me in prayer.