¤¤
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Two, one.
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Liftoff, we have a liftoff.
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Doug Batchelor:
Time, what is it?
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All that is, and all that
was, and all that is to be lies
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within this
dimension that we know as time.
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Of course, time is made
up of three distinct parts,
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the past, the future, and
then each of us experiences life
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on a brief, razor thin
slice of it called the present.
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An ever-sliding moment
between two seeming eternities
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from the far
reaches of the distant past
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to the horizon of a
neverending, mysterious future.
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As far as we know, mankind is
limited to moving only forward
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through time, never backwards,
but what if it were possible
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for a person to escape the
bonds of time, to stop it in its
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tracks, and maybe even
move around within time at will?
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What would you do?
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Where would you go?
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Would you travel to the distant
past to view the building
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of the pyramids?
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Maybe witness
firsthand the birth of Jesus.
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Or perhaps even go back in time
to prevent the assassination
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of Abraham Lincoln.
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Then on the other hand,
what would you do if you could
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transport yourself into
the future, to go forward
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to any moment in time
and to discover in advance
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the outcome of every
decision you can make, to step
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out of the dimension of time
and space and have a good look
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around?
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Who wouldn't want to do that?
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What would you do
with that kind of power?
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Is this just a wild fantasy?
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Well, maybe not completely.
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In the early 20th century,
Albert Einstein introduced
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to the world the
theory of special relativity.
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When it was later tested
and proven to be true, it
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revolutionized our
understanding of time and space.
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Einstein discovered
time can actually be slowed
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down or accelerated depending
on how fast you move relative
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to something else.
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For example, an astronaut
inside a spaceship flying away
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from the earth at near the speed
of light would age more slowly
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than a twin brother
who remained on the earth.
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By the time our space traveller
returned, his earthbound twin
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would have aged many years
by comparison to the time he
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aged while in space.
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The returning astronaut would
feel as though he had traveled
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to the future.
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But what if there was a
powerful being who is unbound
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by the constraints of time,
a being with absolute power
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over time and space, and one
who knows the future even better
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than you know your own past?
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Impossible?
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Well, what if I could prove it.
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I can with this book, the Bible.
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Within its pages are more than
2,000 distinct and verifiable
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predictions.
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If I were to tell you that
over 1,800 of these prophecies
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have already come true, would
you be interested in knowing
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more?
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Now, I want to be clear,
the Bible is not an almanac
00:04:26.39\00:04:29.20
revealing who will win
the next world series or a way
00:04:29.23\00:04:32.13
to find those
lucky lotto numbers,
00:04:32.17\00:04:35.54
but it does answer
the really important
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questions about our
future and about your future.
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And while you might already know
the Bible is a book brimming
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with prophecy, are you aware how
accurate those predictions have
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turned out to be?
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Well, strap on your seatbelts,
friend, you're about to
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find out.
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male announcer: He removes
kings and sets up kings, for his
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dominion is an
everlasting dominion.
00:05:05.10\00:05:10.54
"Kingdoms in Time."
00:05:10.57\00:05:19.68
Doug Batchelor:
"In the beginning."
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See, the Bible
does talk about time.
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Let's begin with
maybe a little background.
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The Bible is actually a book
comprised of 66 books written
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by about 40 different authors
in three languages on three
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continents over a
period of about 1,500 years.
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Its writers came
from all walks of life.
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They were shepherds, kings,
priests, rulers, and fishermen,
00:05:42.90\00:05:46.91
each with a unique personality.
00:05:46.94\00:05:49.58
They also wrote from
many different situations.
00:05:49.61\00:05:52.55
Some were in
prisons, others in palaces.
00:05:52.58\00:05:55.45
Some lived in caves, others
were captives in foreign lands.
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Yet the Bible fits
together into one cohesive story
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with a clear beginning, a
constant theme, and logical
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ending, all while
surrounding a central character.
00:06:08.53\00:06:12.73
Perhaps this is why the Bible
is the bestselling book of all
00:06:12.77\00:06:16.64
time, with over 5 billion
copies sold and distributed.
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With that, let's take a
look at our first prophesy.
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The Gospel book of Matthew
records that in AD 30, Jesus
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predicted the destruction
of Jerusalem in great detail 40
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years before it took place.
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He pointed to the
immense polished marble stones
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and columns and he stunned
the disciples by saying--
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male: "Assuredly, I say to
you, not one stone shall be
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left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down."
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Michael Hasel: When Jesus made
the prediction that there would
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be not one stone left
upon the other of the temple,
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you can just imagine how
the Jews of that time would
00:07:03.75\00:07:06.35
have felt.
00:07:06.39\00:07:07.72
This was a building project that
had been going on for almost
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100 years.
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Johnathan Roth: Jerusalem
is where the presence of God,
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the shekinah of
God, was, in the temple.
00:07:17.37\00:07:20.54
God was there, literally there.
00:07:21.40\00:07:23.67
Doug Batchelor: The disciples
were astonished by this
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prediction because the
temple was the crown jewel
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of the nation.
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It was constructed with tons
of massive and precious stones.
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One foundation stone you can
still see today is 41 feet long
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by 15 feet deep and it weighs
more than 500 metric tons.
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That's more than 100 elephants.
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But Jesus's prophecy came true.
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According to the
renowned historian Josephus,
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during the conquest of
Jerusalem, when the Roman
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soldiers set fire to the
temple, the extreme heat melted
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the abundant gold that
adorned the place of worship.
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This caused the
precious liquefied metal to seep
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into the cracks of
the foundation stones.
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After the battle, the Roman
soldiers came and toppled every
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single stone in
order to recover the gold.
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male announcer: "This generation
will by no means pass away till
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all these things take place."
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Doug Batchelor: Amazingly,
there's another biblical
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prophesy concerning the Jewish
struggle with Rome that actually
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predates the time of Jesus.
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male announcer: "The Lord
will bring a nation against you
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from far away, from the
ends of the earth like an eagle
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swooping down, a nation
whose language you will not
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understand, a fierce-looking
nation without respect
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for the old or pity for
the young, they will lay
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siege to all the
cities throughout your land
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until the high fortified walls
in which you trust fall down."
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Doug Batchelor: And
indeed, the Romans did swoop
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down on Jerusalem and
they lay siege to the city.
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In harmony with Moses's
prophesy, the Roman flags bore
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the image of eagles in
flight blazing in the sun.
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Today, all that's left of
the original temple complex
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is the outer structure that
is known as the Wailing Wall.
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Martin Klingbeil: Interestingly,
if you walk nowadays
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from the Wailing Wall
down south, there is a road
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there that is
full of toppled stones.
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You have these huge layers
of just broken stones on top
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of each other that were
thrown over and pushed over.
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Michael Hasel: Today, there's
no historical doubt at all that
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this was destroyed by
the Romans, that it was
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destroyed in AD 70, that
this culminated in that century,
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and that this was the
end of a temple in Jerusalem.
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And that to me speaks to
the validity of a prophecy
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given decades earlier by
a person who knew that that
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was going to happen.
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male announcer: "Zion will be
plowed like a field, Jerusalem
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will become a heap of
rubble, the temple hill a mound
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overgrown with thickets."
00:10:03.53\00:10:06.77
Doug Batchelor: The Jewish
people and the nation of Israel
00:10:06.80\00:10:09.14
have a mind-boggling history.
00:10:09.17\00:10:11.51
No other nation on earth has
been so widely and frequently
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displaced, surviving
multiple genocide attempts.
00:10:15.44\00:10:19.11
These resilient people
have made one amazing come back
00:10:19.15\00:10:22.35
after another, going on
to reclaim their homeland
00:10:22.38\00:10:25.59
and to thrive again.
00:10:25.62\00:10:27.79
Johnathan Roth: One thing that's
remarkable is after the Romans
00:10:27.82\00:10:30.73
forbid them being there,
after Christians forbid them
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being there, after Muslims,
Jews have always returned
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to Jerusalem.
00:10:36.00\00:10:37.93
Long before the state of Israel,
at least by the 1870s, probably
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as early as the 1860s or
1850s, the Jews were a majority
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population in
Jerusalem under the Ottomans.
00:10:45.84\00:10:50.08
Why?
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Because that's
where they wanted to go.
00:10:51.45\00:10:53.42
male announcer: "Thus sayeth
the Lord God: 'Behold, I will
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take the children of Israel
from among the heathen, whither
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they be gone, and will gather
them on every side, and bring
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them into their own land;
and I will make them one nation
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in the land, upon the
mountains of Israel."'
00:11:07.60\00:11:10.57
Doug Batchelor: In May 1948, the
Jewish State was re-established
00:11:10.60\00:11:15.74
as an independent nation.
00:11:15.77\00:11:17.07
And today, this comparatively
small country has grown
00:11:17.11\00:11:20.18
into a globally recognized
nuclear power that leads
00:11:20.21\00:11:23.75
the world in
innovation and technology.
00:11:23.78\00:11:27.25
Jeremiah 25 contains another
astounding prophecy regarding
00:11:27.28\00:11:31.79
the destruction of Jerusalem
and its miraculous restoration.
00:11:31.82\00:11:36.46
male announcer: "And this whole
land shall be a desolation,
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and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king
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of Babylon seventy years."
00:11:42.40\00:11:45.03
Doug Batchelor: Six hundred
years before the time of Christ,
00:11:45.07\00:11:48.27
it was foretold that due
to the nation's disobedience,
00:11:48.30\00:11:51.51
Jerusalem would be conquered,
the Jewish temple destroyed,
00:11:51.54\00:11:55.08
and the people would be carried
off as captives in Babylon
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for 70 years.
00:11:58.15\00:11:59.91
This happened BC 607,
when Nebuchadnezzar, the king
00:11:59.95\00:12:03.85
of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem.
00:12:03.89\00:12:07.12
Johnathan Roth: The
king of the Jews, priesthood,
00:12:07.16\00:12:09.56
and the nobles were taken
from Jerusalem, from Judea,
00:12:09.59\00:12:13.09
to Babylon.
00:12:13.13\00:12:14.46
We know they were there.
00:12:14.46\00:12:15.76
And in a way, this is where
modern Judaism begins because
00:12:15.80\00:12:19.57
they worshiped God in
Babylonia, not in Jerusalem.
00:12:19.60\00:12:25.61
Michael Hasel: The Babylonian
chronicles are a set of tablets,
00:12:25.64\00:12:28.68
and one particular tablet that
is now at the British Museum
00:12:28.71\00:12:32.41
in London, the 597 campaign
by Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned
00:12:32.45\00:12:37.19
by name.
00:12:37.22\00:12:38.55
And his conquering of Jerusalem
and Judea is also recounted
00:12:38.59\00:12:42.66
in that particular chronicle.
00:12:42.69\00:12:44.96
Doug Batchelor: The prophecy
goes on to say that they would
00:12:44.99\00:12:47.50
return and rebuild
the city and the temple.
00:12:47.50\00:12:50.23
Right on schedule, after 70
years of captivity, in BC 537,
00:12:50.27\00:12:55.64
the Persian King Cyrus conquered
Babylon, and in the first year
00:12:55.67\00:12:59.51
of his reign, he issued a decree
allowing the Jewish people
00:12:59.54\00:13:03.08
to return to Jerusalem
and to rebuild the city.
00:13:03.11\00:13:06.55
Johnathan Roth: When King Cyrus
the Persian becomes king, he
00:13:06.58\00:13:10.05
issues a decree, allowing
the nobles and the Jewish people
00:13:10.09\00:13:14.59
who are in Babylonia to return
and to rebuild the temple.
00:13:14.62\00:13:18.83
male announcer: "All
the kingdoms of the earth
00:13:18.86\00:13:20.53
the Lord God of
Heaven has given me.
00:13:20.56\00:13:23.03
And he has commanded me to build
him a house at Jerusalem which
00:13:23.06\00:13:26.53
is in Judah.
00:13:26.57\00:13:27.87
Who is among you
as all his people?
00:13:27.90\00:13:30.24
May his God be with him, and let
him go up to Jerusalem which is
00:13:30.27\00:13:34.24
in Judah, and build the house
of the Lord God of Israel (He Is
00:13:34.28\00:13:38.25
God), which is in Jerusalem."
00:13:38.28\00:13:40.92
Doug Batchelor:
In fact, catch this.
00:13:40.95\00:13:43.15
In 1879, archaeologists
unearthed the Cyrus Cylinder,
00:13:43.18\00:13:48.79
which contains a Persian king's
policy to repatriate conquered
00:13:48.82\00:13:52.96
peoples like the Jews.
00:13:52.99\00:13:55.93
Michael Hasel: The Cyrus
Cylinder is one of the most
00:13:55.96\00:13:57.63
amazing
discoveries made in Babylon.
00:13:57.67\00:13:59.73
It recounts Cyrus,
who comes into the city.
00:13:59.77\00:14:03.14
He is welcomed by the people.
00:14:03.17\00:14:04.71
He's regarded as a kind of
savior, if you will, which is
00:14:04.74\00:14:08.44
ironic given that he
just conquered Babylon.
00:14:08.48\00:14:11.58
Ezra gives us a very strong
indication in the Bible that
00:14:11.61\00:14:15.15
this was the time that
the people were allowed to go
00:14:15.18\00:14:17.25
back to Jerusalem to rebuild
and to reestablish themselves
00:14:17.29\00:14:21.12
in the land, just as Jeremiah
had predicted would happen
00:14:21.16\00:14:24.26
after 70 years of captivity.
00:14:24.29\00:14:26.66
Doug Batchelor: Friends, we
are about to delve into the most
00:14:26.70\00:14:29.76
magnificent and undisputable
Bible prophecy that proves
00:14:29.80\00:14:33.77
the validity of
Bible inspiration.
00:14:33.80\00:14:36.60
In ten amazing verses containing
only 340 words, this prophecy
00:14:36.64\00:14:41.91
outlines the rise and
fall of empires all the way
00:14:41.94\00:14:45.08
from the time of ancient Babylon
through to the second coming
00:14:45.11\00:14:48.15
of Christ.
00:14:48.18\00:14:51.29
One night about 2,500 years ago,
the powerful Babylonian King
00:14:51.32\00:14:56.62
Nebuchadnezzar fell asleep while
contemplating the vast glory
00:14:56.66\00:15:00.30
of his kingdom.
00:15:00.33\00:15:01.83
As his grand architect of
one of the world's most powerful
00:15:01.86\00:15:05.00
empires drifted off
into a restless sleep, he
00:15:05.03\00:15:08.70
wondered what the
future held for his kingdom.
00:15:08.74\00:15:16.01
God took this opportunity to
reveal to him through a vivid
00:15:16.04\00:15:19.15
dream not only the ultimate fate
of his nation, but also the rise
00:15:19.18\00:15:24.62
and the fall world
empires from his day all the way
00:15:24.65\00:15:28.12
to the end of earth's history.
00:15:28.16\00:15:32.56
In this amazing prophetic dream
found in Daniel chapter 2, God
00:15:32.59\00:15:36.87
showed Nebuchadnezzar a colossal
statue with a head of gold,
00:15:36.90\00:15:41.30
the chest of silver,
thighs and belly of bronze, legs
00:15:41.34\00:15:45.41
of iron, and the feet and toes
mixed partly of clay and iron.
00:15:45.44\00:15:50.38
Then suddenly, a huge
stone plunged from the heavens
00:15:50.41\00:15:54.12
and smashed the idol,
pulverizing it into dust.
00:15:54.15\00:15:57.22
And the stone, it grows
into a gigantic mountain that
00:16:04.63\00:16:08.00
fills the earth.
00:16:08.03\00:16:10.70
Nebuchadnezzar knew this was no
ordinary dream, so the troubled
00:16:10.73\00:16:15.24
king called for his wisest
counselors to come and relate
00:16:15.27\00:16:18.54
to him the dream
and explain its meaning.
00:16:18.57\00:16:21.81
They of course were powerless
to tell the king his dream,
00:16:21.84\00:16:24.85
but then God gave the same dream
and its interpretation to a Jew
00:16:24.88\00:16:29.68
stationed in Babylon, a
young man by the name of Daniel.
00:16:29.72\00:16:33.49
He went before the king
and presented the precise
00:16:33.52\00:16:36.02
details of the dream, and
then gave the interpretation.
00:16:36.06\00:16:39.26
In doing this, the Bible prophet
divulged the next two millennia
00:16:46.43\00:16:50.71
of world empires that
would impact God's people.
00:16:50.74\00:16:53.88
And so far, all of this has
transpired just as predicted.
00:16:53.91\00:16:59.05
Daniel told the King that
the head of gold represented
00:16:59.08\00:17:01.98
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom.
00:17:02.02\00:17:04.25
Babylon, which ruled the world
from 612 to 539 BC, was one
00:17:04.29\00:17:09.16
of the wealthiest and most
powerful empires of antiquity,
00:17:09.19\00:17:13.16
one that could aptly be
described as the head of gold.
00:17:13.19\00:17:17.87
Michael Hasel: Babylon
was probably one of the most
00:17:17.90\00:17:19.40
sophisticated, most opulent
cities ever built up to that
00:17:19.43\00:17:22.94
point in history, and
Nebuchadnezzar, who was
00:17:22.97\00:17:25.41
the longest reigning king
in Babylonian history, really
00:17:25.44\00:17:28.48
rebuilt the city as a
showcase to the entire world.
00:17:28.51\00:17:31.88
David Trim: Most cities of
the ancient world were really
00:17:31.91\00:17:34.78
wold villages.
00:17:34.82\00:17:36.42
Even Jerusalem in King David's
time was really rather small,
00:17:36.45\00:17:40.86
but Babylon was a city
even by modern standards.
00:17:40.89\00:17:44.26
Michael Hasel: The
city of Nineveh, the capital
00:17:44.29\00:17:45.83
of the Assyrians, was a
city of about 2.9 square miles.
00:17:45.86\00:17:49.96
Rome was a city of
about 1 square mile.
00:17:50.00\00:17:52.97
You have Athens, which of course
was a philosophical capitol, if
00:17:53.00\00:17:57.47
you will, with,
0.8 square miles.
00:17:57.51\00:17:59.87
And then you have Babylon with
4 square miles, so that's four
00:17:59.91\00:18:04.08
times the size of Rome.
00:18:04.11\00:18:05.51
And what we have really in this
amazing city is some of the most
00:18:05.55\00:18:10.02
incredible architecture.
00:18:10.05\00:18:11.35
We have the city surrounded
by eight gates, each named
00:18:11.39\00:18:14.49
after a particular deity.
00:18:14.52\00:18:16.02
The most famous of course is
the Ishtar gate, which is now
00:18:16.06\00:18:18.66
in the Vorderasiatisches
Museum in Berlin.
00:18:18.69\00:18:21.76
The Euphrates River
flowed through the city.
00:18:21.80\00:18:24.63
You also had walls
surrounding the city.
00:18:24.67\00:18:27.44
These were double walls.
00:18:27.47\00:18:30.07
The outer wall, 22 feet thick.
00:18:30.11\00:18:32.14
The inner wall, 12 feet thick.
00:18:32.17\00:18:34.18
So, you had just a great
polytheistic society, a great
00:18:34.21\00:18:39.68
civilization that was
bent on conquering the world,
00:18:39.71\00:18:43.32
and Nebuchadnezzar was
really the power and the force
00:18:43.35\00:18:46.42
behind that.
00:18:46.45\00:18:47.92
Doug Batchelor: Daniel explained
to the King that Babylon would
00:18:47.96\00:18:50.83
eventually fall as a world
power and be replaced by another
00:18:50.86\00:18:54.30
kingdom, one that's represented
by the chest and the arms
00:18:54.36\00:18:58.10
of silver.
00:18:58.13\00:19:00.20
Led by King Cyrus in 539
BC, the Medo-Persian Empire
00:19:00.24\00:19:05.24
conquered Babylon in a
brilliant military maneuver.
00:19:05.27\00:19:09.08
In one night, the immense city
was conquered with its walls
00:19:09.11\00:19:12.81
and gates still intact.
00:19:12.85\00:19:15.25
Even more incredibly,
the specifics of this victory
00:19:15.28\00:19:18.65
were all foretold in
prophecy over 150 years earlier.
00:19:18.69\00:19:24.83
Michael Hasel: Heroditus
tells us the story actually.
00:19:24.86\00:19:27.23
He tells us that, after his
horse drowned, Cyrus got furious
00:19:27.23\00:19:31.10
with the river itself and
decided to take that river.
00:19:31.13\00:19:34.24
And he had his soldiers dig
540 channels to divert the river
00:19:34.27\00:19:38.34
and to destroy the
river from its flow.
00:19:38.37\00:19:40.84
And in doing that, he actually
accomplished something that
00:19:40.88\00:19:44.55
would help him conquer
the city of Babylon itself.
00:19:44.58\00:19:47.45
Alan Parker: And when the river
was diverted, they were able
00:19:47.48\00:19:49.45
to march in underneath the city
walls, because the river gates
00:19:49.48\00:19:53.92
had been left open.
00:19:53.96\00:19:55.69
Doug Batchelor: They
entered the city, overthrowing
00:19:55.72\00:19:57.99
the world's mightiest nation.
00:19:58.03\00:20:00.40
Alan Parker: And
that's what the army did.
00:20:00.43\00:20:01.70
They marched in.
00:20:01.73\00:20:03.06
They were able to open the
top gates and totally conquered
00:20:03.10\00:20:05.97
Babylon, which was
unthinkable at that time.
00:20:06.00\00:20:09.74
But that's what the prophecy
had said would happen and that's
00:20:09.77\00:20:12.34
exactly what happened.
00:20:12.37\00:20:14.51
male announcer: "Thus says
the Lord to his anointed: 'To
00:20:14.54\00:20:16.88
Cyrus, whose right hand I
have held, to subdue nations
00:20:16.91\00:20:20.82
before him and loose the armor
of kings, to open before him
00:20:20.85\00:20:25.19
the double doors so that
the gates will not be shut.
00:20:25.22\00:20:28.66
That you may know that I
the Lord, who call you by your
00:20:28.69\00:20:31.99
name, am the God of Israel."'
00:20:32.03\00:20:35.00
Alan Parker: One hundred
and fifty years in advance,
00:20:35.03\00:20:37.00
Cyrus had been named.
00:20:37.03\00:20:39.00
Here is the Prophet
Isaiah looking ahead, and by, we
00:20:39.03\00:20:42.40
believe, divine inspiration,
naming the very person who would
00:20:42.44\00:20:46.44
come in and conquer
Babylon according to prophecy.
00:20:46.47\00:20:49.78
Michael Hasel: In Isaiah
chapter 44, we have this amazing
00:20:49.81\00:20:52.31
prophecy where it says
to the rivers, "Be dry."
00:20:52.35\00:20:55.35
"I will dry up your
river," says the Lord.
00:20:55.38\00:20:57.32
"And to Cyrus, my anointed,
my shepherd, he's the one that's
00:20:57.35\00:21:00.79
going to accomplish this."
00:21:00.82\00:21:02.06
So in this text which dates 150
years before the event, you have
00:21:02.09\00:21:06.80
already Isaiah predicting
the very means by which Cyrus
00:21:06.83\00:21:11.67
would take the city of Babylon,
which is quite incredible when
00:21:11.70\00:21:14.14
you think about
biblical prophecy.
00:21:14.17\00:21:16.84
male announcer: "Who says
of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd,
00:21:16.87\00:21:19.67
and he shall perform all my
pleasure,' saying to Jerusalem,
00:21:19.71\00:21:23.68
'You shall be built,'
and to the temple, 'Your
00:21:23.71\00:21:26.68
foundation shall be laid.'"
00:21:26.72\00:21:29.55
David Trim: The
Persians, they worship one god.
00:21:29.58\00:21:32.82
They are monotheists.
00:21:32.85\00:21:34.76
They have that in common
with the Jews and there may well
00:21:34.79\00:21:37.13
be a spark of sympathy there.
00:21:37.16\00:21:39.46
Michael Hasel: With Cyrus
and his conquering of Babylon,
00:21:39.49\00:21:41.80
it ushers in the Medo-Persian
Empire period, which lasts
00:21:41.83\00:21:45.27
from 539 all
the way down to 331.
00:21:45.30\00:21:49.47
Alan Parker: When Medo-Persia
came, it was almost as if there
00:21:49.50\00:21:52.54
was a shift.
00:21:52.57\00:21:53.88
They moved from gold to silver.
00:21:53.91\00:21:56.11
Silver became
the common currency.
00:21:56.14\00:21:58.58
And while you'd had silver
before in Babylon, they didn't
00:21:58.61\00:22:00.95
have much use for it
because they had so much gold.
00:22:00.98\00:22:03.75
And silver became the currency
that they used for trading
00:22:03.79\00:22:06.39
with other nations, and that
became almost the standard way
00:22:06.42\00:22:09.69
of referring to Medo-Persia,
was the Silver Empire.
00:22:09.72\00:22:13.80
male announcer: "After
thee shall arise another third
00:22:13.83\00:22:16.53
kingdom of brass, which shall
bear rule over all the earth."
00:22:16.56\00:22:22.60
Doug Batchelor: All Bible
scholars agree that the brass
00:22:22.64\00:22:25.21
kingdom in the
image symbolizes Greece.
00:22:25.24\00:22:28.21
They came into power when
Alexander the Great conquered
00:22:28.24\00:22:31.28
the Persians at the
Battle of Arvella and 331 BC.
00:22:31.31\00:22:37.75
David Trim: Alexander the Great
is often described as Greek,
00:22:37.79\00:22:40.56
and strictly
speaking that was true.
00:22:40.59\00:22:42.42
Michael Hasel: He had
been trained under Aristotle.
00:22:42.46\00:22:44.86
He was a very
charismatic young ruler.
00:22:44.89\00:22:48.20
His father, Philip II of
Mastodon, had been killed,
00:22:48.23\00:22:52.03
and Alexander assumed power.
00:22:52.07\00:22:54.60
And he immediately began
to dream about fulfilling his
00:22:54.64\00:22:58.37
father's goals, and that was
to conquer the Persian Empire.
00:22:58.41\00:23:02.28
David Trim: Alexander the great
becomes king when he's only 18,
00:23:02.31\00:23:05.18
but he's military prodigy.
00:23:05.21\00:23:07.28
Indeed, even today,
Alexander the Great is a byword
00:23:07.32\00:23:09.72
for military genius
and military conquest.
00:23:09.75\00:23:12.15
Alan Parker: He would come
up to a city and they would say,
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.89
"Why should we
surrender to you?"
00:23:14.92\00:23:16.86
And one of the stories is
that there was a city right
00:23:16.89\00:23:19.96
on the edge of a cliff and
he told his men, "I want you
00:23:20.00\00:23:22.66
to start marching off the cliff
to your death in the sea below,"
00:23:22.70\00:23:26.23
and the men obediently
started marching off the cliff.
00:23:26.27\00:23:29.10
And Alexander the Great said,
"If my men are this willing
00:23:29.14\00:23:31.94
to be obedient to me, there
is no way we cannot conquer your
00:23:31.97\00:23:35.64
city."
00:23:35.68\00:23:36.98
And that particular
city just surrendered.
00:23:37.01\00:23:39.61
Michael Hasel: He was able
to accomplish in a very short
00:23:39.65\00:23:41.85
time what some people
are not able to accomplish
00:23:41.88\00:23:44.12
in a lifetime.
00:23:44.15\00:23:45.49
And in a series of campaigns,
after he was crowned King
00:23:45.52\00:23:48.89
of Egypt, he continued
heading to the east and he began
00:23:48.92\00:23:53.13
to encounter the
Persian King, Darius III.
00:23:53.16\00:23:57.53
David Trim: And Alexander
doesn't pursue Darius, who flees
00:23:57.57\00:24:00.24
back east towards his heartland.
00:24:00.27\00:24:02.84
Alexander turned south because
he wants to occupy the coastal
00:24:02.87\00:24:06.94
lands, what would be
Palestine, and then Egypt.
00:24:06.98\00:24:11.51
But to move forward,
he has to conquer Tyre.
00:24:11.55\00:24:14.62
male announcer: '"They
shall destroy the walls of Tyre
00:24:14.65\00:24:16.95
and break down her towers.
00:24:16.99\00:24:19.02
I will also scrape her
dust from her and make her
00:24:19.05\00:24:21.99
like the top of a rock.
00:24:22.02\00:24:23.86
It shall be a place for
spreading nets in the midst
00:24:23.89\00:24:26.46
of the sea, for I have
spoken,' says the Lord God."
00:24:26.49\00:24:30.53
Doug Batchelor: For
over a millennium, beginning
00:24:30.57\00:24:32.33
in 1,500 BC, the Phoenicians
were the undisputed naval power
00:24:32.37\00:24:36.87
of the ancient world.
00:24:36.91\00:24:38.54
They created and controlled
a vast array of trade ports
00:24:38.57\00:24:42.34
throughout the
Mediterranean Sea.
00:24:42.38\00:24:45.35
David Trim: And in fact,
the Phoenicians are so known as
00:24:45.38\00:24:47.55
experts that they are
brought into the Red Sea ports.
00:24:47.58\00:24:51.92
The Bible describes how Solomon
gets mariners from the King
00:24:51.95\00:24:55.39
of Tyre to take his
fleets down the Red Sea.
00:24:55.42\00:25:00.46
Doug Batchelor: In 597 BC,
the Prophet Ezekiel predicted
00:25:00.50\00:25:04.93
that every building in the
city of Tyre would be toppled
00:25:04.97\00:25:08.27
by an invading army.
00:25:08.30\00:25:09.84
In fact, every stone
would be thrown into the sea.
00:25:09.87\00:25:15.68
Michael Hasel: Tyre was
an amazing city during this
00:25:15.71\00:25:17.51
time.
00:25:17.55\00:25:18.85
It was one of the largest
trade cities of that period.
00:25:18.88\00:25:21.98
Alan Parker: And here was this
prophecy saying that the city
00:25:22.02\00:25:24.09
would fall.
00:25:24.12\00:25:25.45
Even Alexander the Great it
seemed couldn't make it fall.
00:25:25.49\00:25:27.92
He sieged it for seven months,
but then he came up with a plan.
00:25:27.96\00:25:32.29
David Trim: So Alexander says,
"Right, if they're out to sea,
00:25:32.33\00:25:36.06
I'll just have to
take the land to them."
00:25:36.10\00:25:38.43
Alan Parker: And he used
the blocks of the old city,
00:25:38.47\00:25:41.44
the big stones, threw
them into the sea, and built
00:25:41.47\00:25:44.34
a causeway to be able to
overcome the walls of the new
00:25:44.37\00:25:48.14
city where the island was.
00:25:48.18\00:25:50.01
David Trim: And so, then
he can bring his army to bear.
00:25:50.05\00:25:52.75
Tyre is stormed,
utterly destroyed.
00:25:52.78\00:25:56.25
Alan Parker: That was an exact
fulfillment of prophecy because
00:25:56.28\00:25:59.09
prophecy had said that
those stones would be cast
00:25:59.12\00:26:02.12
into the sea and become a place
where fishing nets were cast
00:26:02.16\00:26:05.29
over.
00:26:05.33\00:26:06.63
That's exactly what happened.
00:26:06.66\00:26:09.33
Doug Batchelor: Keep in mind,
the idea that the Greeks would
00:26:09.36\00:26:11.87
rule the world was a
very bold prediction.
00:26:11.90\00:26:15.20
Remember that at the time that
Daniel's prophecy was given,
00:26:15.24\00:26:19.01
Greece was just a collection
of warring tribes with very
00:26:19.04\00:26:21.98
little world influence.
00:26:22.01\00:26:24.31
Greece remained in power
'til about 168 BC, when it was
00:26:24.35\00:26:28.75
conquered by the next world
power waiting in the wings.
00:26:28.78\00:26:33.99
male announcer: "The fourth
kingdom shall be as strong as
00:26:34.02\00:26:36.02
iron, inasmuch as iron
breaks in pieces and shatters
00:26:36.06\00:26:39.59
everything; and like iron that
crushes, that kingdom will break
00:26:39.63\00:26:43.67
in pieces and
crush all the others."
00:26:43.70\00:26:46.90
Doug Batchelor:
Who followed Greece?
00:26:46.94\00:26:49.27
It's an undisputable
fact of history that the iron
00:26:49.30\00:26:51.97
monarchy of Rome conquered
them and enjoyed supremacy
00:26:52.01\00:26:55.18
for the next 600 years.
00:26:55.21\00:26:58.78
Johnathan Roth: Once iron
is introduced, the fundamental
00:26:58.81\00:27:01.52
effect and especially military
effect is that the price
00:27:01.55\00:27:04.62
of weapons goes
down considerably.
00:27:04.65\00:27:07.32
So, the price of making an
iron arrowhead, or an iron spear
00:27:07.36\00:27:12.06
point, or an iron helmet is
much less than that of bronze,
00:27:12.09\00:27:16.73
and mainly reason is
that bronze contains tin.
00:27:16.77\00:27:20.37
And tin can only be obtained
in two places in the ancient
00:27:20.40\00:27:23.37
world, Afghanistan, or what's
today Afghanistan, and what's
00:27:23.41\00:27:26.47
today Cornwall in England.
00:27:26.51\00:27:28.24
And trading it made it
very expensive, so the Iron Age
00:27:28.28\00:27:31.81
lowered the price of war,
which meant armies got bigger.
00:27:31.85\00:27:36.52
Alan Parker: Rome was violent.
00:27:36.55\00:27:38.62
They were ruthless.
00:27:38.65\00:27:39.99
They were determined to conquer
everywhere they went and they
00:27:40.02\00:27:42.09
were like iron,
crushing everything in its way.
00:27:42.12\00:27:46.66
male announcer:
"Kingdoms in Time."
00:27:46.70\00:27:48.63
See what happens next and
why you can trust the Bible
00:27:48.66\00:27:52.50
with your life.
00:27:52.53\00:27:54.04
Get your copy today.
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