Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 880. Bible Study: Zechariah 2 (A vision of Future Jerusalem with Jesus Christ present)

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880. Bible Study: Zechariah 2 (A vision of Future Jerusalem with Jesus Christ present) · Faith by annm2705

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  Chapter 2 from the book of Zechariah.
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  First, let's pray. Dear Lord, thank you for this
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  day. Thank you for everyone that
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  we've interacted with or will interact with.
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  And please let us know what your will is as we live each day.
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  And when we read this chapter 2, please let the Holy Spirit give
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  us wisdom and understanding and open our hearts and minds to
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  what you have to say. We ask this in Jesus name.
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  So then it's called a man with a measuring line.
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  Then I looked up and there before me was a man with a
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  measuring line in his hand. I asked, where are you going?
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  He answered me to measure Jerusalem to find out how wide
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  and how long it is. Now this is interesting because
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  it doesn't. He doesn't say anything more.
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  He says the next part verse 3 says while the Angel who was
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  speaking to me was leaving, another Angel came to meet him
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  and said to him, run, tell the young man that young man
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  Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great
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  number of people and animals in it.
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  And I myself will be a wall of fire around it declares the Lord
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  and I will be its glory within. Come, come, flee from the land
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  of the north declares the Lord. For I have scattered you to the
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  four winds of heaven declares the Lord.
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  There's a lot in here. So first of all, it just, I
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  don't, I don't know why he, he had this vision here of this man
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  with a measuring line in his hand.
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  And Zechariah asked, where are you going?
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  And he said, I'm going to measure Jerusalem.
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  But then he never tells him anything more about Jerusalem
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  that he measured. So that's really interesting.
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  But in the Book of Revelation, John has a very similar
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  experience when he is talking with the Angel, and the Angel is
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  supposed to measure the temple area and then is told, well,
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  don't measure the outer court because that's going to be
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  turned over to the Gentiles for 42 months.
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  But then there's another part where Jerusalem's dimensions are
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  given, and this is actually the New Jerusalem, though, and this
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  will be shocking because when you hear what the New Jerusalem
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  is going to be like, this is in Revelation 2116.
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  When he measured it, he found it was square, as wide as it was
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  long. In fact, its length and width
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  and height were 1400 miles. Now I'm using the New Living
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  translation because it converts those cubit measurements so we
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  can understand in English what they're talking about.
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  S 1400 miles. That's about, if you look at a
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  map of the United States, that's roughly, just approximately
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  about half the size from east to West in the United States.
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  So this is the city of Jerusalem.
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  It's going to be about that wide, and then it's going to be
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  as tall as it is wide. I mean, it's just completely,
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  you know, it's like a cube. And this will be the the new
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  city. And then Revelation 21 gets into
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  a lot more information about it, about the new Jerusalem, but
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  that's not so much relevant to what we're talking about here.
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  The study, by the way, half says why measure Jerusalem as the
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  apostle John later did in Revelation 21, verses 15 through
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  17, Zechariah was using symbolism to describe the extent
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  of the blessings God's people would expect in the coming
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  Kingdom. Well, that is true because it
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  says to some extent Jerusalem will be a city without walls
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  because of the great number of people and animals in it.
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  That's what God's plan is to do. And this is the Angel that told
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  Zechariah that it's, it's going to be really big.
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  And then it he also says that there's going to be a wall of
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  fire around it and the Lord will be the glory within.
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  So this is going to be something different than what we have
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  today. And he's also saying, come,
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  come, flee from the land of the north.
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  Now Zechariah at the time, I guess he's in Babylon at the
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  time. So the study Bible talks about
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  this in a certain way, but I don't know.
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  I think this is just, you know, I an opinion about what it means
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  because I don't think we can say we know for sure because if
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  they're in Babylon, flee from the land of the north.
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  If unless he's this is when he's been, I don't know if he's back
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  in. I have to go back to look to see
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  when he wrote this. It was written in about, well,
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  between 5:20 and 480 BC, but I don't know if he had.
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  Zechariah had been born in Babylon and he did get to go
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  back to not back because he was never there before, but he was
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  able to go to Jerusalem. But I don't really know at what
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  point he went to Jerusalem or if at this time he was actually
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  when he got this vision. If he was where he was, he
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  couldn't have been because the Angel was leaving to measure
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  Jerusalem. So that means he was in Babylon.
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  In verse 2, it says the Angel was going to measure Jerusalem
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  to find out how wide and along it was.
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  And then he was leaving. And so another Angel came and
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  and they he was talking about the future of what Jerusalem
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  would be. So come Zion escape you who who
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  live in daughter Babylon now and then it also OK, that's the
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  verse 7. But it also says, you know, flee
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  from the land of the north and then declares the Lord for I
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  have scattered you to the four winds of heaven.
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  That was really interesting thinking about scattering you to
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  the four winds of heaven. He didn't say the four winds of
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  earth. He said the four winds of
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  heaven. So I looked at the study Bible.
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  It doesn't really address that because I think it might be hard
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  to figure out what they're talking about here.
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  I'm wondering, you know, is this where God has, you know, some
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  people may have suffered from punishment and passed on and
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  they're in the heavenly realm. Why he said the four winds of
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  heaven as opposed to the four winds of earth?
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  Because they say both of them those terms in the Bible.
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  So let's see in Revelation 18 verse 4, this is similar as the
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  Zechariah and John are very similar with the things that
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  they saw, the visions that they had.
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  So Zechariah is told by the Angel to get out of Babylon, or
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  you who live in daughter Babylon, it's like escape, get
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  out of there. And in Revelation 18 verse 4,
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  this is what John heard and saw in the vision.
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  He said. Then I heard another voice from
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  heaven say, Come out of her, my people, so that you will not
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  share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her
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  plagues. For her sins are piled up to
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  heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.
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  Give back to her as she has given.
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  Pay her back double for what she has done.
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  Pour her a double portion from her own cup.
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  Give her as much torment and grief as the glory and the
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  luxury she gave herself. In her heart.
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  She boasts, I sit enthroned as a queen.
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  I am not a widow. I will never mourn.
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  Therefore, in one day her plagues will overtake her death,
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  mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire,
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  for mighty is the Lord who judges her.
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  So Babylon is kind of a mystery. Ancient Babylon is in the modern
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  day Iraq. But there's a little bit more to
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  Babylon that comes out when you read Isaiah chapter 47, which
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  talks about the fall of Babylon. This gets into, you know, when
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  there's talking about virgin daughter Babylon, this if you
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  search daughter Babylon, you'll find these verses.
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  But this entire chapter when it talks about the fall of Babylon,
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  I, I think just to get the idea of what's in here, I want to
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  read the whole chapter, especially because chapter 2
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  from Zechariah is really short. So the podcast shouldn't be very
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  long. But the fall of Babylon, this to
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  me sounds like it is something spiritual, supernatural in the
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  heavenly realms, perhaps that there is some entity that's
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  related. And maybe you'll see as I read
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  through this. So I'm going to start reading
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  the fall of Babylon in Isaiah chapter 47.
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  Go, go down. Sit in the dust, virgin daughter
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  Babylon. Sit on the ground without a
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  throne. Queen City of the Babylonians.
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  No more will you be called tender or delicate.
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  Take millstones and grind flour. Take off your veil, Lift up your
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  skirts, bare your legs and wade through the streams.
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  Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered.
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  I will take vengeance. I will spare no one.
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  Our Redeemer, the Lord Almighty, is His name, is the Holy One of
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  Israel. Sit in silence.
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  Go Into Darkness. Queen City of the Babylonians.
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  No more will you be called Queen of the Kingdom of kingdoms.
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  I was angry with my people and and desecrated my inheritance.
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  I gave them into your hand and you showed them no mercy.
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  Even on the aged you laid a very heavy yoke.
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  You said I am forever the eternal queen, but you did not
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  consider these things or reflect on what might happen now then
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  listen you lover of pleasure, lounging in your security and
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  saying to yourself, I am and there is none besides me.
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  I will never be a widow or suffer the loss of children.
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  So that's exactly what was said in Revelation 18.
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  That's that's written in Isaiah 47, verse 8 and I'll read to you
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  again what she said in Revelation 18 verse 7.
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  Give her as much torment and grief as the luxury, glory and
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  luxury she gave herself in her heart.
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  She boasts, I sit enthroned as queen.
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  I am not a widow. I will never mourn.
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  So this is this. This is, you know, the
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  Revelation 18 is the end times. This is look what is referred to
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  as Mystery Babylon. And there's lots of speculation
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  on who Babylon is, lots of different cities.
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  It's it's described within the Bible.
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  And I guess it's good just to know what the Bible says so that
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  when we actually figure out who Babylon is, then we'll know.
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  But there are several different contenders for Babylon.
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  So OK, let's continue in Isaiah 47, verse 9 where he's talking
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  where this is the Lord talking about to Babylon 47, nine.
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  Both of these will overtake you in a moment on a single day,
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  loss of children and widowhood, They will come upon you in full
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  measure in spite of your many sorceries and all your potent
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  spells. See what I mean about this being
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  like something more supernatural.
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  And, and this is like in the Book of Revelation, it says that
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  Babylon will be destroyed in one hour and people will be shocked
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  when they see it. And they're going to see it from
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  the distant and they're going to see it burning up and they're
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  going to see it from out on the sea.
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  And this was like some place that everybody traded with.
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  Maybe it was like spiritual thing or it maybe was literal.
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  I mean items were described in the Book of Revelation of what
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  the merchandise was that was traded.
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  Going back to Isaiah 47 verse 10, you have trusted in your
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  wickedness and have said no one sees me.
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  Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to
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  yourself, I am and there is none besides me.
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  To me, you know, this, this Babylon, it kind of I mean it's
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  always talked about in a feminine way, but it seems it
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  seems spiritual and it seems like it's saying something that
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  you know, God says I am. You know, when when Moses or
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  Abraham saw the Angel or I think it was actually Jesus that was
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  in the and then there was this ram caught in a burning Bush or
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  something when he was supposed to sacrifice his son Isaac.
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  He said like, who should I tell him sent me or who is it?
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  And he said I am. I mean that was when you heard I
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  am. And I think also with Moses,
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  that was the phrase that God used when he was going to
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  deliver the people from Egypt. Tell him that I am sent you.
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  So this is the way God defines himself as I am.
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  So I think it's very interesting in Isaiah 4710 that this Babylon
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  entity describes there's herself or his self.
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  Whatever I am, there is none besides me.
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  I mean, it does talk about I will never be a widow or suffer
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  the loss of children, but it's like this androgynous kind of a
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  being that's a spiritual thing. And I've mentioned this before,
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  but some of the ancient gods, little G gods that people
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  worshipped were, you know, you could see this.
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  I mean, there's like Ishtar. I mean, the this could be
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  Ishtar. I don't know, like the ancient
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  look up her because it seems like some of this description
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  could fit her and that's spiritual.
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  And so then so then it but it is a place somewhere in the Book of
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  Revelation also. So I just think it might be
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  spiritual idolatry. And what specific land that gets
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  destroyed because of it? I don't know.
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  But it could be multiple places because everybody always thinks,
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  oh, this is, you know, describing a city.
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  Well, what if it happens to be multiple cities?
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  I mean, there is one, I guess, that the Book of Revelation
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  talks about as one specific city that people see and they're just
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  appalled when they see it destroyed.
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  So anyway, Isaiah 4711, disaster will come upon you and you will
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  know and you will not know how to conjure it away.
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  A calamity will fall upon you that you cannot ward off with a
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  ransom. A catastrophe you cannot foresee
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  will suddenly come upon you. Keep on, then, with your magic
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  spells and with your many sorceries which you have labored
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  at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed.
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  Perhaps you will cause terror. All the counsel you have
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  received has only worn you. Outlet your astrologers come
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  forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month.
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  Let them save you from what is coming upon you.
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  Surely they are like stubble. The fire will burn them up.
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  They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame.
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  These are not coals for warmth. This is not a fire to sit by.
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  That is all they are to you. These you have dealt with and it
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  and labored with since childhood.
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  All of them go on in their error.
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  There is not one that can save you.
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  So that's a pretty harsh word of what's going to happen to
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  Babylon someday. But in this book of Zechariah,
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  he's telling Zion, which is Jerusalem, escape you who live
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  in daughter Babylon. So there are some, apparently
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  some Israelites living in Babylon.
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  For this is what the Lord Almighty, now we're back in the
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  book of Zechariah. For this is what the Lord
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  Almighty says. After the Glorious One has sent
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  me against the nations that have plundered you.
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  For whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye, I will
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  surely raise my hand against them, so that their slaves will
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  plunder them. Then you will know that the Lord
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  Almighty has sent me. So this is an interesting too,
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  and it supports what was said in other scripture that we've read
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  is that you what you sow, you reap.
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  And this is true. Like God will let our free will
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  go. I mean let our free will happen.
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  He will use it, but He will use it for His purpose.
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  See, He's still sovereign. So our free will, we can decide
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  to do something and God can use that ultimately for His purpose,
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  or He can thwart it. He can, you know, 'cause it says
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  somewhere in the Bible, like, you know, that we can make the
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  plans, but it's the Lord who really decides what we do.
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  And so it really God is ultimately there, but he lets us
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  have our free will. And then he works with that, you
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  know, like he can use that to accomplish his own purpose.
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  So verse 10, it says shout and be glad, daughter Zion, for I am
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  coming and I will live among you, declares the Lord.
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  So this is Jesus I, I am coming and I will live among you,
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  declares the Lord. Many nations will be joined with
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  the Lord in that day and will become my people.
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  So even though Israel is the chosen people, there are going
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  to be many other people that come along with Israel that
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  become part of it. And I remembered reading this in
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  another verse, another book, Isaiah, and I thought this was
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  kind of interesting to add in here because it says many
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  nations will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become
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  my people. So I was reflecting on Isaiah
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  1925 and you're going to be shocked when you hear the the
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  nations that are with. So it says in Isaiah 1925, the
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  Lord Almighty will bless them, saying blessed be Egypt, my
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  people, Assyria. My handiwork and Israel my
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  inheritance. This is after all of the the
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  wrath is accomplished, but God is into restoration and he has
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  Egypt here and then Assyria. That's I guess like Turkey and
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  Syria area and I think maybe southwest part of Iraq.
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  It's kind of like that ancient land of Assyria is up in that
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  area. And then Israel, my inheritance.
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  So even though Egypt is going to I guess prior to this, Egypt
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  will be desolate for 40 years. We haven't seen that happen yet.
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  And Assyria, I have a a sense of feeling that it seems like the
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  it's a good possibility that someone from the north maybe is
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  the the lawless one. We'll have to see how that turns
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  out. But it's referenced so many
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  different times, the Assyrian. We'll just have to see what
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  happens there. So anyway, the Lord is, you
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  know, the Lord will be coming back here and will be living
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  here. I will live among you, and you
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  will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
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  The Lord will inherit Judah as His portion in the Holy Land and
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  will again choose Jerusalem, be still before the Lord all
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  mankind, because He has roused himself from His holy dwelling.
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  This is Jesus coming down from heaven, coming from His throne
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  in heaven to come back to earth. And we're going to have a new
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  heavens, a new earth. And it's just once Jesus is
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  here, it is going to be so amazing.
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  I really cannot wait because just to see what he does and to
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  actually see him in person and the restoration that he is going
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  to bring to the earth. And it's just going to be,
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  there's going to be peace finally when Jesus, but before
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  Jesus comes, there's going to be a false peace.
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  And there's going to be a false person who claims to be God who
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  people think brings peace. But that's the evil 1.
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  So first there's the evil one that comes, and then Jesus comes
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  after that. So there's a lot in store at
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  some point in our future. And everybody's wondering with
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  all this stuff happening in the Middle East, are we getting
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  closer to this time frame or how far away is it?
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  Because there's a lot of weird stuff happening these days.
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  Anyway, that's a good reason to stay in the Bible and to read
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  God's Word and know what it says so that when things do happen
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  and we're in a prophetic book, then we will, when we see these
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  things happen, we will know because Jesus himself even gave
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  a description of what would happen in those times.
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  So this is the end of chapter 2 and I hope you come back for
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  chapter 3 next time and we'll talk more about from the book of
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  Zechariah. If you're not subscribed, please
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  do so. And if you found this
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  beneficial, please share it with someone else.
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  Thank you.