Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / December 18 - Daniel 11

Transcript

December 18 - Daniel 11 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, it's the 18th of
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  December. And thank you for tapping on
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  play. Thanks for inviting me into the
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  busyness of your day because this is an important reading.
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  I don't know about you, but I have had periods of my life
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  where there has been prolonged challenge and suffering.
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  And in times like that, we call that to God, right?
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  And we just wonder why the suffering doesn't end.
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  And Daniel Chapter 11 really zooms in on that experience.
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  And we're going to hear about ruler after ruler after ruler.
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  And it's going to sound a little bit repetitive and cyclical as
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  rulers continue to oppress and people continue to be oppressed.
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  And it's not going to shy away from the challenge of oppression
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  or the suffering caused by that, but instead, it's going to shine
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  a light on the way that people are refined and faith continues
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  through the suffering. And so it is a call, a call out
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  to you and to me, that when we go through these hard times,
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  just stand firm in our faith because suffering and challenge
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  really does draw out our faith and allow it to mature.
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  And so that is the journey that we're going to be taking on
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  today as we read together Daniel Chapter 11.
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  I've been standing beside Michael to support and
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  strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the
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  Mead. Now then, I will reveal the
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  truth to you. Three more Persian kings will
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  reign, to be succeeded by 4th. Far richer than the others, he
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  will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the
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  Kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king will rise to
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  power, who will rule with great authority and accomplish
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  everything he sets out to do. But at the height of his power,
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  his Kingdom will be broken apart and divided into 4 parts.
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  It will not be ruled by the King's descendants, nor will the
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  Kingdom hold the authority it once had.
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  For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
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  The King of the South will increase in power, but one of
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  his own officials will become more powerful than he and will
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  rule his Kingdom with great strength.
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  Some years later, an alliance will be formed between the King
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  of the North and the King of the South.
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  The daughter of the King of the South will be given in marriage
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  to the King of the North to secure the alliance, but she
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  will lose her influence over him and so will her father.
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  She will be abandoned along with her supporters, but when one of
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  her relatives becomes King of the South, he will raise an army
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  and enter the fortress of the King of the North and defeat
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  him. When he returns to Egypt, he
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  will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless
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  articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward, he
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  will leave the king of the North alone.
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  Later, the King of the North will invade the realm of the
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  King of the South, but will soon return to his own land.
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  However, the sons of the King of the North will assemble a mighty
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  army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as
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  far as the enemy's fortress. Then, in a rage, the King of the
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  South will rally against the vast forces assembled by the
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  King of the North and will defeat them.
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  After the enemy army is swept away, the King of the South will
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  be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his
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  enemies, but his success will be short lived.
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  A few years later the King of the North will return with a
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  fully equipped army far greater than before.
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  At that time there will be a general uprising against the
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  King of the South. Violent men among your own
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  people will join them in fulfilment of this vision, but
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  they will not succeed. Then the King of the North will
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  come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it.
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  The best troops of the South will not be able to stand in the
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  face of the onslaught. The King of the North will March
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  onward unopposed. None will be able to stop him.
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  He will pause in the glorious land of Israel, intent on
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  destroying it. He will make plans to come with
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  the might of his entire Kingdom and will form an alliance with
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  the King of the South. He will give him a daughter in
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  marriage in order to overthrow the Kingdom from within.
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  But his plan will fail. After this he will turn his
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  attention to the coastland and conquer many cities.
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  But a commander from another land will put an end to his
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  insolence and cause him to retreat in shame.
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  He will take refuge in his own fortress, but will stumble and
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  fall and be seen no more. His successor will send out a
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  tax collector to maintain the royal splendour, but after a
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  very brief reign he will die, though not from anger or in
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  battle. The next to come to power will
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  be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession.
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  He will slip in when least expected and take over the
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  Kingdom by flattery and intrigue before him.
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  Great armies will be swept away, including a covenant Prince with
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  deceitful promises. He will make various alliances.
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  He will become strong despite having only a handful of
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  followers. Without warning, he will enter
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  the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among
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  his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich, something
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  his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of
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  strongholds, but this will last only for a short while.
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  Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against
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  the King of the South. The King of the South will go to
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  battle with the mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be
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  plots against him. His own household will cause his
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  downfall, his army will be swept away, and many will be killed,
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  seeking nothing but each other's harm.
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  These kings will plot against each other at the conference
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  table, attempting to deceive each other, but it will make no
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  difference, for an end will come at the appointed time.
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  The King of the North will then return home with great riches.
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  On the way, he will set himself against the people of the Holy
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  Covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.
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  Then at the appointed time, he will once again invade the
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  South, but this time the result will be different, for warships
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  from western coastlands will scare him off and he will
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  withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger
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  against the people of the Holy Covenant and reward those who
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  forsake the Covenant. His army will take over the
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  temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the
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  daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes
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  desecration. He will flatter and win over
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  those who have violated the covenant, but the people who
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  know their God will be strong and will resist him.
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  Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these
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  teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be gaoled
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  and robbed. During these persecutions little
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  help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere,
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  and some of the wise will fall victim to persecution.
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  In this way they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until
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  the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.
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  The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to
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  be greater than every God, even blaspheming the God of gods.
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  He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed,
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  for what has been determined will surely take place.
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  He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for
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  the God loved by women, or for any other God, for he will boast
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  that he is greater than them all.
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  Instead of these he will worship the God of fortresses, a God his
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  ancestors never knew, and lavish on him gold, silver, precious
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  stones, and expensive gifts. Claiming this foreign God's
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  help, he will attack the strongest fortresses.
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  He will honour those who submit him, appointing them to
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  positions of authority and dividing the land among them as
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  their reward. Then at the time of the end, the
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  king of the South will attack the king of the North.
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  The king of the North will storm out with Chariots, charioteers,
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  and a vast Navy. He will invade various lands and
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  sweep through them like a flood. He will enter the glorious land
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  of Israel, and many nations will fall.
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  But Moab, Edom and the best part of Amon will escape.
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  He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape.
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  He will gain control over the gold, silver and treasuries of
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  Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians will be his servants.
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  But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he
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  will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many.
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  He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the
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  sea and will pitch his royal tents.
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  But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out and no one
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  will help him. Our Lord, what a dire chapter of
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  these kings battling backwards and forwards and backwards and
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  forwards and backwards and forwards in the cycle of
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  unending violence and causing so much suffering to their nations
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  and the nations around them. And thankfully, Lord, for most
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  of us, that is not our reality. But we still have our share of
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  suffering and we still have our share of tricky situations that
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  just feel like they're not going to end and all these pressures
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  on us that just get us down. But Lord, even though it seems
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  hopeless in this reading, we know sneak peek to come that you
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  will reign victorious. And then no matter what we have
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  to face today, your love and what Jesus has won for us on the
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  cross is far greater than any challenge will face.
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  So we live in that hope that you offer.
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  Even when there is all that challenge and negativity around
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  us. We hold on to you, Jesus.
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  We hold on to your hope. And we know that through these
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  challenges, you will develop us and strengthen us and refine our
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  faith in you using whatever circumstances the world delivers
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  to us to your glory. So we just lift you up, our
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  mighty, wonderful, kind, and loving and all powerful God.
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  And pray all of this in the saving name of your Son Jesus.
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  Amen.