Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 877. Bible Study: Esther 8 (Reversal of Events: Mordecai, a Jew, receives Haman's estate, The Jews are allowed by the King of Persia (Iran today) to protect themselves)

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877. Bible Study: Esther 8 (Reversal of Events: Mordecai, a Jew, receives Haman's estate, The Jews are allowed by the King of Persia (Iran today) to protect themselves) · Faith by annm2705

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  Chapter 8 From the book of Esther, the King's edict in
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  behalf of the Jews. That same day, King Xerxes gave
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  Queen Esther the estate of Hammond, the enemy of the Jews,
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  and Mordecai came to the presence of the king, for Esther
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  had told how he was related to her.
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  So Esther was actually Mordecai's cousin, and he had
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  taken her in because her parents died.
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  The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed
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  from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai, and Esther appointed
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  him over Haman's estate. Esther again pleaded with the
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  king, falling at his feet and weeping.
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  She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the
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  Agite, which he had devised against the Jews.
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  Then the king extended the gold scepter to Esther, and she arose
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  and stood before him. If it pleases the king, she
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  said, and if he regards me with favour and thinks it's the right
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  thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be
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  written over ruling the despatches that Haman sung of
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  Hamadatha the Agite devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all
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  the King's provinces. For how can I bear to see
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  disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see
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  destruction of my family? King Xerxes replied to Queen
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  Esther and to Mordecai the Jew. Because Haman attacked the Jews.
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  I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled
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  him on the pole he set up. Now write another decree in the
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  King's name in behalf of the Jews, as seems best for you, and
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  seal it with the King's signet ring, for no document written in
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  the King's name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.
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  I thought that was really an important statement there, that
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  the. This happened the same way in
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  the Book of Daniel as well with Nebuchadnezzar.
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  I mean, whatever edict they presented are are put into law,
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  could not be repealed. And so he's not repealing this
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  law that the Jews could get annihilated, but he's doing
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  something different and he's allowing Mordecai the Jew to
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  write it so that it can, I guess, counterbalance what was
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  happening. So at once the royal secretaries
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  were summoned on the 23rd day of the third month, the month of
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  Sivan, and that's kind of in the May or June time frame.
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  If you want to look at the Hebrew months or the the see the
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  different months and what they were named and what they relate
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  to in the Gregorian calendar, the best calendar to do that is
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  DSS calendar.org. It has the Essenes calendar, so
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  it's a great reference if you want to check that out.
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  So they wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews and to the
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  say traps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching
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  from India to Kush. I mean, this is a huge area, 127
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  provinces, and it's going all the way from India to Kush in in
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  Egypt. These orders were written in the
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  script of each province and the language of each people and also
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  to the Jews in their own script and language.
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  Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes, sealed the
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  dispatches with the King's signet ring, and sent them by
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  mounted couriers who rode fast horses especially bred for the
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  king. The King's edict granted the
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  Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves,
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  to destroy, kill and annihilate the armed men of any nationality
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  or province who might attack them and their women and
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  children, and to plunder the property of their enemies.
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  The day appointed for the Jews to do this in all the provinces
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  of King Xerxes was the 13th day of the 12th month, the month of
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  Adar, which was February or March in the I guess the Essenes
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  calendar. If you look at that, Adar
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  stretches between February and March Doesn't fit our months
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  exactly. A copy of the text of the edict
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  was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the
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  people of every nationality so that the Jews would be ready on
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  the day to avenge themselves on their enemies.
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  The couriers riding the royal horses went out, spurred on by
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  the King's command, and the edict was issued in the citadel
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  of Susa. And that's modern day Iran.
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  The I think it's Iran, or maybe it's Iraq.
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  I can't remember now. I need to look that up.
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  But I'll just say I should have looked this up first today.
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  Where is Susa today? It is in southwestern Iran.
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  That's where Susa is located. OK.
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  The triumph of the Jews. When Mordecai left the King's
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  presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a
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  large crown of gold, and a purple robe of fine linen, and
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  the city of Susa held a joyous celebration for the Jews.
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  It was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor.
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  In every province and in every city to which the edict of the
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  king came. There was joy and gladness among
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  the Jews with feasting and celebrating.
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  And many people of other nationalities became Jews
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  because fear of the Jews had seized them.
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  That's really interesting. That last statement is
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  interesting to me. And many people of other
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  nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had
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  seized them. They're seeing this triumph as
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  if you recall in the prior chapters, Haman's wife and his
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  advisors told him that, you know, if you're going against
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  the Jews, you might want to rethink that.
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  And that seems to when God is with the Jews, because he chose
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  the Israelites as what we have to remember.
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  And when God is with them, when when they have not forsaken him
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  and when they are close to him, God is there and God protects
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  them. And it's only in times where
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  they depart from God that they do not seek success.
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  But whenever God is with them, they see success.
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  So this is something that you know, and God doesn't show
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  favoritism. He did choose the Jews as his
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  elect people, his chosen people. But that doesn't mean that the
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  Jews are his favorite people. Because it's very clear in the
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  Bible that God's Kingdom is intended for all nations, but,
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  and, and the way God treats the Jews would be the same for those
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  who show love back to God. God protects.
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  He's shown that through his people.
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  And if he doesn't have favoritism, that means that the
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  way he treats the Jews is the way that he would treat anyone
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  who is repentant and turns to him and trust in him.
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  God is our protector. That goes for the Jews and for
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  all nations, everyone who turns to him.
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  And I think that's something that we all need to remember.
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  So I will read the questions and answers for chapter 8 and then
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  that'll wrap up for today. So why did Esther still have to
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  plead with the Xerxes? Esther was making her general
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  request from Chapter 7 more explicit, drawing Xerxes
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  attention back to the larger issue at hand.
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  The decree Haman had written and sealed with the King's signet
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  ring was still in effect, even though Haman was dead.
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  The immediate threat to Mordecai had been averted, but the Jews
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  were still facing annihilation. By extending his scepter, Xerxes
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  indicated his favor favorable response to her plea.
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  Why couldn't the king change his own decrees?
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  A royal decree 1 written in the King's name and sealed with his
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  ring, was irrevocable even by the king.
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  This had been done. This had been a fact of Persian
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  law for generations, and it shows.
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  Yeah, it references Daniel chapter 6, verse 12.
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  The most that could be done to counter such a decree was to
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  write another decree that would supersede the previous one,
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  which is precisely what Xerxes allowed Esther and Mordecai to
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  do. Was there time to get the new
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  orders delivered before the slaughter?
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  Yes, easily. The royal secretaries translated
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  the King's edict into the languages of every people and
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  province. Something they were organized to
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  do. They wrote the new edict on the
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  23rd day of the third month, sealed the documents and sent
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  them to 127 provinces extending from Egypt and Greece on the
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  West to India on the east. The couriers of Persia were the
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  fastest known at that time. They raced out on swift royal
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  horses, and even if they encountered such obstacles as
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  rough terrain, bad weather, and danger from bandits and
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  guerrilla forces, they would have reached the furthest
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  provinces in about 3 weeks, which was still more than eight
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  months before the decree of before the decreed date of
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  annihilation. The 13th day of the 12th month
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  that was referenced in Chapter 3.
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  Why was this date chosen For the Jews to avenge themselves and
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  their enemies? The 13th of Adar, the 12th
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  month, was the date that Haman had set for the slaughter of the
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  Jews throughout the empire. So Mordecai chose the date for
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  execution of his edict granting the Jews the right to defend
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  themselves. Haman had set the date by per
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  per the casting of the dice. But it was obvious that there
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  was a power greater than mere chance at work on behalf of the
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  Jews. The turn of events was a
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  delicious irony for the Jewish people.
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  How could a non Jew become a Jew?
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  To become a Jew meant to accept and obey the entirety of Jewish
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  ceremonial, civil and moral law and that's founded Numbers
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  chapter 15 verses 14 through 16. Some of those laws would have
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  been irrelevant while the Jews were in exile due to the lack of
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  a temple are an autonomous government.
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  However, many would still apply, including circumcision and
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  observance of holy days and dietary laws.
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  The fear of the Jews mentioned here was not the fear of Jewish
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  aggression. Since the edict only permitted
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  the Jews to protect themselves. It was more likely an odd
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  recognition that the Jews had been granted divine favor and
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  protection. That's very similar to like the
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  fear of the Lord just recognizing the power that's
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  behind God and what can happen and and and realizing like it's
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  it's not good to go against God. It doesn't go well for people
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  and people should see that in God is his intention is to
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  eliminate sin before he enters. I mean in his Kingdom there will
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  be no sin, The eventual Kingdom that will that will come to
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  earth after the 1000 years that Jesus reigns here on earth.
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  So there is some period of time that still is yet to come where
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  Jesus reigns on the earth. And it does seem like there is
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  some teaching that happens during that time and a
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  restoration, especially for the Middle East.
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  And we will, we will see what happens or how that all unfolds.
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  But we're certainly living in very interesting times.
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  And it's somewhat ironic about these dates.
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  And you have to wonder if these things are not wonder, but you
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  know, you see coincidences and you start thinking that it's not
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  just coincidences. God is behind these things.
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  And I did see something about the date that Khamenei was
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  eliminated. The Ayatollah Khamenei was
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  eliminated in Iran recently, and ironically, it's during this
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  time. But there's a different date
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  system that is used in Iran, apparently.
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  I've been seeing this on social media.
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  And the irony of it all was that the date that he was eliminated
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  was 9/11. So it was very much like what we
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  talked about in the last chapter.
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  Whereas you reap what you sow That area had targeted the
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  United States on 9/11, and now this is coming back on 9/11.
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  And is that a strange coincidence?
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  I don't think it was planned out like that.
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  It just happened to be that way. But it also, to me, shows the
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  Providence of God, like God, does not let evil continue.
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  God will stop evil and and he is behind he is in control and it's
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  not always a pleasant time of going through it.
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  But Jesus said in this world you will have trouble but trust, you
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  know, believe in me because I've overcome the world so or have
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  faith because I've overcome the world.
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  So if we put our keep our eyes are focused on Christ and his
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  promises, the promises of God and that there is tribulation in
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  this world, but just keep focused on the long range plan
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  of God because God said it will happen and it will happen.
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  And if if a person is not reconciled with God, if a person
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  feels just distant from God, now is certainly a wonderful time to
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  reconcile with God. God is very merciful and
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  forgiving. And if we have stepped away from
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  God, this would be a the perfect time to talk to God about this
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  and ask for his forgiveness. And if you are truly sincere
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  about that, that you and and repent of it, it's doesn't mean
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  just ask for forgiveness. That means stop doing whatever
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  it is that you've been doing that is offensive to God that
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  God doesn't agree with. You need to stop and you can get
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  power to overcome that from God through the Holy Spirit.
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  So if you haven't asked Jesus for the Holy Spirit, of course
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  you have to believe that Jesus died on the cross for all of us
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  and his, his death and his resurrection.
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  He is living, but he is not like in this world right now, but he
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  is in the heavenly realms right now.
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  But he will return to the world. But he is alive and he is seeing
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  all of this, the everything that's going on right now.
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  And there's an appointed time by God the Father for his son Jesus
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  to return. And it'll be a time of
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  judgement. But all of us need to be
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  prepared before Jesus returns. And that preparation is not with
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  all of our, with her money and our shelter and all of the
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  survival skills. None of that.
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  It's simply to turn away from sin, to turn back towards God,
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  reconcile the relationship with God and humble ourselves in a
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  trust in God and let God guide us.
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  Ask God for guidance, for protection, and for salvation.
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  That's what I call the GPS guidance, protection and
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  salvation. And that's the only thing that's
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  that's needed here. If we trust in God, he will
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  provide for anything that we need.
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  And it's really, I mean, there's too much going on in the world
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  to be lukewarm with your relationship with God.
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  And it needs to be strong. And we need to be able to hear
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  from God through the Holy Spirit, which we can.
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  When we have the Holy Spirit, we can hear from God.
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  I mean, Jesus even prayed before he was died on the cross, He
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  said Father, he prayed for everyone.
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  He said something to the effect of I want them to be one with us
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  as we are 1. So I believe that that is the
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  Holy Spirit, that the Holy Spirit within us is that
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  connection with the Father and the Son.
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  Throughout Jesus's time here on earth, He said that he only
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  spoke what he saw the Father doing for him.
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  That's that connection from the Holy Spirit.
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  That's that communication that we receive when we have the Holy
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  Spirit. And if people haven't told you
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  about the Holy Spirit, it's really the only way that we
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  receive the Holy Spirit is through faith.
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  And Jesus is the one. It's Jesus said that I will ask
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  the Father, and then I will give you the Holy Spirit.
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  But Jesus is the one who gives the Holy Spirit.
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  So you cannot circumvent Jesus. Anybody who tells you a
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  different way of salvation is not telling you the truth, the
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  only way. Jesus said it very clearly that
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  when he said I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one
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  comes to the Father except through me, it's only through
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  Jesus. In the book of Hebrews it says
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  that without the sacrifice, without the shedding of blood,
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  there is no forgiveness of sin. That's why Jesus had to die on
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  the cross, because he was the ultimate sacrifice.
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  He was perfect animals, and all those other sacrifices that
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  happened before were only temporary solutions.
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  But that's why Jesus, God himself, God in the flesh, had
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  to come to the earth to sacrifice himself.
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  There's no greater love than to lay one's life down for another.
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  That's exactly what Jesus did for all of us.
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  It was out of love that He gave His life so that we who accept
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  Him will be in His Kingdom forever and will receive an
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  inheritance from the Father. And there's a promise of that as
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  well. So there's all these good things
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  that God is offering for people, but people need to respond to
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  God and respond to God because time is does feel like it's
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  getting short. If you haven't subscribed to
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  this channel, I ask that you do just stay in the word because
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  faith grows by hearing the word, the word about the gospel and,
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  and everything that God's written here, I believe is, you
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  know, it increases our faith. So I try to do this every day.
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  And if you feel that this podcast was helpful in any way,
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  please share it with others because ultimately it's it's all
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  about getting more people into God's Kingdom and reconciling
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  people to God and having that establishing that relationship
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  with God. So thank you.