¤¤¤
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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?
00:00:48.38\00:00:51.18
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.
00:02:50.87\00:02:55.07
When it was later tested
and proven to be true, it
00:02:55.10\00:02:57.94
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.
00:04:04.87\00:04:07.18
I can with this book, the Bible.
00:04:07.21\00:04:11.01
Within its pages are more than
2,000 distinct and verifiable
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predictions.
00:04:15.65\00:04:17.59
If I were to tell you that
over 1,800 of these prophecies
00:04:17.62\00:04:21.22
have already come true, would
you be interested in knowing
00:04:21.26\00:04:24.59
more?
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Now, I want to be clear,
the Bible is not an almanac
00:04:25.96\00:04:28.76
revealing who will win
the next world series or a way
00:04:28.80\00:04:31.70
to find those
lucky lotto numbers,
00:04:31.73\00:04:35.10
but it does answer
the really important
00:04:35.14\00:04:38.01
questions about our
future and about your future.
00:04:38.04\00:04:42.38
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
00:04:45.85\00:04:49.72
turned out to be?
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Well, strap on your seatbelts,
friend, you're about to
00:04:51.62\00:04:55.19
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.
00:05:04.67\00:05:10.11
"Kingdoms in Time."
00:05:10.14\00:05:19.25
Doug Batchelor:
"In the beginning."
00:05:19.28\00:05:21.28
See, the Bible
does talk about time.
00:05:21.32\00:05:24.45
Let's begin with
maybe a little background.
00:05:24.49\00:05:28.02
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.
00:05:36.23\00:05:40.14
Its writers came
from all walks of life.
00:05:40.17\00:05:42.44
They were shepherds, kings,
priests, rulers, and fishermen,
00:05:42.47\00:05:46.47
each with a unique personality.
00:05:46.51\00:05:49.14
They also wrote from
many different situations.
00:05:49.18\00:05:52.11
Some were in
prisons, others in palaces.
00:05:52.15\00:05:55.02
Some lived in caves, others
were captives in foreign lands.
00:05:55.05\00:06:00.46
Yet the Bible fits
together into one cohesive story
00:06:00.49\00:06:04.19
with a clear beginning, a
constant theme, and logical
00:06:04.23\00:06:08.06
ending, all while
surrounding a central character.
00:06:08.10\00:06:12.30
Perhaps this is why the Bible
is the bestselling book of all
00:06:12.33\00:06:16.20
time, with over 5 billion
copies sold and distributed.
00:06:16.24\00:06:21.11
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.
00:06:42.26\00:06:44.67
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
00:06:51.31\00:06:54.68
left here upon another,
that shall not be thrown down."
00:06:54.71\00:06:58.11
Michael Hasel: When Jesus made
the prediction that there would
00:06:59.25\00:07:01.02
be not one stone left
upon the other of the temple,
00:07:01.05\00:07:03.28
you can just imagine how
the Jews of that time would
00:07:03.32\00:07:05.92
have felt.
00:07:05.95\00:07:07.29
This was a building project that
had been going on for almost
00:07:07.32\00:07:10.63
100 years.
00:07:10.66\00:07:12.06
Johnathan Roth: Jerusalem
is where the presence of God,
00:07:12.09\00:07:16.90
the shekinah of
God, was, in the temple.
00:07:16.93\00:07:20.10
God was there, literally there.
00:07:20.97\00:07:23.24
Doug Batchelor: The disciples
were astonished by this
00:07:23.27\00:07:25.31
prediction because the
temple was the crown jewel
00:07:25.34\00:07:28.28
of the nation.
00:07:28.31\00:07:29.61
It was constructed with tons
of massive and precious stones.
00:07:29.64\00:07:33.42
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.
00:07:38.52\00:07:43.99
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,
00:07:50.47\00:07:53.50
during the conquest of
Jerusalem, when the Roman
00:07:53.54\00:07:56.20
soldiers set fire to the
temple, the extreme heat melted
00:07:56.24\00:08:00.18
the abundant gold that
adorned the place of worship.
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This caused the
precious liquefied metal to seep
00:08:03.88\00:08:06.61
into the cracks of
the foundation stones.
00:08:06.65\00:08:09.85
After the battle, the Roman
soldiers came and toppled every
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single stone in
order to recover the gold.
00:08:13.79\00:08:16.73
male announcer: "This generation
will by no means pass away till
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all these things take place."
00:08:20.30\00:08:22.60
Doug Batchelor: Amazingly,
there's another biblical
00:08:22.63\00:08:24.93
prophesy concerning the Jewish
struggle with Rome that actually
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predates the time of Jesus.
00:08:28.50\00:08:30.87
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
00:08:36.54\00:08:39.68
understand, a fierce-looking
nation without respect
00:08:39.71\00:08:43.12
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
00:08:54.13\00:08:56.46
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.
00:09:02.80\00:09:08.28
Today, all that's left of
the original temple complex
00:09:08.31\00:09:12.51
is the outer structure that
is known as the Wailing Wall.
00:09:12.55\00:09:17.32
Martin Klingbeil: Interestingly,
if you walk nowadays
00:09:17.35\00:09:19.72
from the Wailing Wall
down south, there is a road
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there that is
full of toppled stones.
00:09:23.06\00:09:25.63
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.
00:09:29.73\00:09:32.63
Michael Hasel: Today, there's
no historical doubt at all that
00:09:32.67\00:09:36.30
this was destroyed by
the Romans, that it was
00:09:36.34\00:09:38.74
destroyed in AD 70, that
this culminated in that century,
00:09:38.77\00:09:43.21
and that this was the
end of a temple in Jerusalem.
00:09:43.24\00:09:47.62
And that to me speaks to
the validity of a prophecy
00:09:47.65\00:09:51.69
given decades earlier by
a person who knew that that
00:09:51.72\00:09:55.09
was going to happen.
00:09:55.12\00:09:56.96
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."
00:10:03.10\00:10:06.33
Doug Batchelor: The Jewish
people and the nation of Israel
00:10:06.37\00:10:08.70
have a mind-boggling history.
00:10:08.74\00:10:11.07
No other nation on earth has
been so widely and frequently
00:10:11.11\00:10:14.98
displaced, surviving
multiple genocide attempts.
00:10:15.01\00:10:18.68
These resilient people
have made one amazing come back
00:10:18.71\00:10:21.92
after another, going on
to reclaim their homeland
00:10:21.95\00:10:25.15
and to thrive again.
00:10:25.19\00:10:27.36
Johnathan Roth: One thing that's
remarkable is after the Romans
00:10:27.39\00:10:30.29
forbid them being there,
after Christians forbid them
00:10:30.33\00:10:32.39
being there, after Muslims,
Jews have always returned
00:10:32.43\00:10:35.53
to Jerusalem.
00:10:35.56\00:10:37.50
Long before the state of Israel,
at least by the 1870s, probably
00:10:37.53\00:10:42.00
as early as the 1860s or
1850s, the Jews were a majority
00:10:42.04\00:10:45.37
population in
Jerusalem under the Ottomans.
00:10:45.41\00:10:49.64
Why?
00:10:49.68\00:10:50.98
Because that's
where they wanted to go.
00:10:51.01\00:10:52.98
male announcer: "Thus sayeth
the Lord God: 'Behold, I will
00:10:53.01\00:10:56.12
take the children of Israel
from among the heathen, whither
00:10:56.15\00:10:59.39
they be gone, and will gather
them on every side, and bring
00:10:59.42\00:11:03.22
them into their own land;
and I will make them one nation
00:11:03.26\00:11:07.13
in the land, upon the
mountains of Israel."'
00:11:07.13\00:11:10.13
Doug Batchelor: In May 1948, the
Jewish State was re-established
00:11:10.17\00:11:15.30
as an independent nation.
00:11:15.34\00:11:16.64
And today, this comparatively
small country has grown
00:11:16.67\00:11:19.74
into a globally recognized
nuclear power that leads
00:11:19.77\00:11:23.31
the world in
innovation and technology.
00:11:23.35\00:11:26.82
Jeremiah 25 contains another
astounding prophecy regarding
00:11:26.85\00:11:31.35
the destruction of Jerusalem
and its miraculous restoration.
00:11:31.39\00:11:36.02
male announcer: "And this whole
land shall be a desolation,
00:11:36.06\00:11:38.46
and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king
00:11:38.49\00:11:41.93
of Babylon seventy years."
00:11:41.96\00:11:44.60
Doug Batchelor: Six hundred
years before the time of Christ,
00:11:44.63\00:11:47.84
it was foretold that due
to the nation's disobedience,
00:11:47.87\00:11:51.07
Jerusalem would be conquered,
the Jewish temple destroyed,
00:11:51.11\00:11:54.64
and the people would be carried
off as captives in Babylon
00:11:54.68\00:11:57.68
for 70 years.
00:11:57.71\00:11:59.48
This happened BC 607,
when Nebuchadnezzar, the king
00:11:59.51\00:12:03.42
of Babylon, conquered Jerusalem.
00:12:03.45\00:12:06.69
Johnathan Roth: The
king of the Jews, priesthood,
00:12:06.72\00:12:09.12
and the nobles were taken
from Jerusalem, from Judea,
00:12:09.16\00:12:12.66
to Babylon.
00:12:12.69\00:12:14.00
We know they were there.
00:12:14.03\00:12:15.33
And in a way, this is where
modern Judaism begins because
00:12:15.36\00:12:19.13
they worshiped God in
Babylonia, not in Jerusalem.
00:12:19.17\00:12:25.17
Michael Hasel: The Babylonian
chronicles are a set of tablets,
00:12:25.21\00:12:28.24
and one particular tablet that
is now at the British Museum
00:12:28.28\00:12:31.98
in London, the 597 campaign
by Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned
00:12:32.01\00:12:36.75
by name.
00:12:36.79\00:12:38.12
And his conquering of Jerusalem
and Judea is also recounted
00:12:38.15\00:12:42.22
in that particular chronicle.
00:12:42.26\00:12:44.53
Doug Batchelor: The prophecy
goes on to say that they would
00:12:44.56\00:12:47.03
return and rebuild
the city and the temple.
00:12:47.10\00:12:49.80
Right on schedule, after 70
years of captivity, in BC 537,
00:12:49.83\00:12:55.20
the Persian King Cyrus conquered
Babylon, and in the first year
00:12:55.24\00:12:59.07
of his reign, he issued a decree
allowing the Jewish people
00:12:59.11\00:13:02.64
to return to Jerusalem
and to rebuild the city.
00:13:02.68\00:13:06.11
Johnathan Roth: When King Cyrus
the Persian becomes king, he
00:13:06.15\00:13:09.62
issues a decree, allowing
the nobles and the Jewish people
00:13:09.65\00:13:14.16
who are in Babylonia to return
and to rebuild the temple.
00:13:14.19\00:13:18.39
male announcer: "All
the kingdoms of the earth
00:13:18.43\00:13:20.10
the Lord God of
Heaven has given me.
00:13:20.13\00:13:22.60
And he has commanded me to build
him a house at Jerusalem which
00:13:22.63\00:13:26.10
is in Judah.
00:13:26.13\00:13:27.44
Who is among you
as all his people?
00:13:27.47\00:13:29.80
May his God be with him, and let
him go up to Jerusalem which is
00:13:29.84\00:13:33.81
in Judah, and build the house
of the Lord God of Israel (He Is
00:13:33.84\00:13:37.81
God), which is in Jerusalem."
00:13:37.85\00:13:40.48
Doug Batchelor:
In fact, catch this.
00:13:40.52\00:13:42.72
In 1879, archaeologists
unearthed the Cyrus Cylinder,
00:13:42.75\00:13:48.36
which contains a Persian king's
policy to repatriate conquered
00:13:48.39\00:13:52.53
peoples like the Jews.
00:13:52.56\00:13:55.50
Michael Hasel: The Cyrus
Cylinder is one of the most
00:13:55.53\00:13:57.20
amazing
discoveries made in Babylon.
00:13:57.23\00:13:59.30
It recounts Cyrus,
who comes into the city.
00:13:59.33\00:14:02.70
He is welcomed by the people.
00:14:02.74\00:14:04.27
He's regarded as a kind of
savior, if you will, which is
00:14:04.31\00:14:08.01
ironic given that he
just conquered Babylon.
00:14:08.04\00:14:11.15
Ezra gives us a very strong
indication in the Bible that
00:14:11.18\00:14:14.72
this was the time that
the people were allowed to go
00:14:14.75\00:14:16.82
back to Jerusalem to rebuild
and to reestablish themselves
00:14:16.85\00:14:20.69
in the land, just as Jeremiah
had predicted would happen
00:14:20.72\00:14:23.83
after 70 years of captivity.
00:14:23.86\00:14:26.23
Doug Batchelor: Friends, we
are about to delve into the most
00:14:26.26\00:14:29.33
magnificent and undisputable
Bible prophecy that proves
00:14:29.36\00:14:33.34
the validity of
Bible inspiration.
00:14:33.37\00:14:36.17
In ten amazing verses containing
only 340 words, this prophecy
00:14:36.20\00:14:41.48
outlines the rise and
fall of empires all the way
00:14:41.51\00:14:44.65
from the time of ancient Babylon
through to the second coming
00:14:44.68\00:14:47.72
of Christ.
00:14:47.75\00:14:50.85
One night about 2,500 years ago,
the powerful Babylonian King
00:14:50.89\00:14:56.19
Nebuchadnezzar fell asleep while
contemplating the vast glory
00:14:56.22\00:14:59.79
of his kingdom.
00:14:59.83\00:15:01.40
As his grand architect of
one of the world's most powerful
00:15:01.43\00:15:04.57
empires drifted off
into a restless sleep, he
00:15:04.60\00:15:08.27
wondered what the
future held for his kingdom.
00:15:08.30\00:15:15.58
God took this opportunity to
reveal to him through a vivid
00:15:15.61\00:15:18.71
dream not only the ultimate fate
of his nation, but also the rise
00:15:18.75\00:15:24.19
and the fall world
empires from his day all the way
00:15:24.22\00:15:27.69
to the end of earth's history.
00:15:27.72\00:15:32.13
In this amazing prophetic dream
found in Daniel chapter 2, God
00:15:32.16\00:15:36.43
showed Nebuchadnezzar a colossal
statue with a head of gold,
00:15:36.46\00:15:40.87
the chest of silver,
thighs and belly of bronze, legs
00:15:40.90\00:15:44.97
of iron, and the feet and toes
mixed partly of clay and iron.
00:15:45.01\00:15:49.94
Then suddenly, a huge
stone plunged from the heavens
00:15:49.98\00:15:53.68
and smashed the idol,
pulverizing it into dust.
00:15:53.72\00:15:56.79
And the stone, it grows
into a gigantic mountain that
00:16:04.19\00:16:07.60
fills the earth.
00:16:07.60\00:16:10.27
Nebuchadnezzar knew this was no
ordinary dream, so the troubled
00:16:10.30\00:16:14.80
king called for his wisest
counselors to come and relate
00:16:14.84\00:16:18.11
to him the dream
and explain its meaning.
00:16:18.14\00:16:21.38
They of course were powerless
to tell the king his dream,
00:16:21.41\00:16:24.41
but then God gave the same dream
and its interpretation to a Jew
00:16:24.45\00:16:29.25
stationed in Babylon, a
young man by the name of Daniel.
00:16:29.28\00:16:33.05
He went before the king
and presented the precise
00:16:33.09\00:16:35.59
details of the dream, and
then gave the interpretation.
00:16:35.62\00:16:38.83
In doing this, the Bible prophet
divulged the next two millennia
00:16:46.00\00:16:50.27
of world empires that
would impact God's people.
00:16:50.31\00:16:53.44
And so far, all of this has
transpired just as predicted.
00:16:53.48\00:16:58.61
Daniel told the King that
the head of gold represented
00:16:58.65\00:17:01.55
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom.
00:17:01.58\00:17:03.82
Babylon, which ruled the world
from 612 to 539 BC, was one
00:17:03.85\00:17:08.72
of the wealthiest and most
powerful empires of antiquity,
00:17:08.76\00:17:12.73
one that could aptly be
described as the head of gold.
00:17:12.76\00:17:17.43
Michael Hasel: Babylon
was probably one of the most
00:17:17.47\00:17:18.97
sophisticated, most opulent
cities ever built up to that
00:17:19.00\00:17:22.50
point in history, and
Nebuchadnezzar, who was
00:17:22.54\00:17:24.97
the longest reigning king
in Babylonian history, really
00:17:25.01\00:17:28.04
rebuilt the city as a
showcase to the entire world.
00:17:28.08\00:17:31.45
David Trim: Most cities of
the ancient world were really
00:17:31.48\00:17:34.35
wold villages.
00:17:34.38\00:17:35.98
Even Jerusalem in King David's
time was really rather small,
00:17:36.02\00:17:40.42
but Babylon was a city
even by modern standards.
00:17:40.46\00:17:43.83
Michael Hasel: The
city of Nineveh, the capital
00:17:43.86\00:17:45.39
of the Assyrians, was a
city of about 2.9 square miles.
00:17:45.43\00:17:49.53
Rome was a city of
about 1 square mile.
00:17:49.56\00:17:52.53
You have Athens, which of course
was a philosophical capitol, if
00:17:52.57\00:17:57.04
you will, with,
0.8 square miles.
00:17:57.07\00:17:59.44
And then you have Babylon with
4 square miles, so that's four
00:17:59.47\00:18:03.65
times the size of Rome.
00:18:03.68\00:18:05.08
And what we have really in this
amazing city is some of the most
00:18:05.11\00:18:09.58
incredible architecture.
00:18:09.62\00:18:10.92
We have the city surrounded
by eight gates, each named
00:18:10.95\00:18:14.06
after a particular deity.
00:18:14.09\00:18:15.59
The most famous of course is
the Ishtar gate, which is now
00:18:15.62\00:18:18.23
in the Vorderasiatisches
Museum in Berlin.
00:18:18.26\00:18:21.33
The Euphrates River
flowed through the city.
00:18:21.36\00:18:24.20
You also had walls
surrounding the city.
00:18:24.23\00:18:27.00
These were double walls.
00:18:27.04\00:18:29.64
The outer wall, 22 feet thick.
00:18:29.67\00:18:31.71
The inner wall, 12 feet thick.
00:18:31.74\00:18:33.74
So, you had just a great
polytheistic society, a great
00:18:33.78\00:18:39.25
civilization that was
bent on conquering the world,
00:18:39.28\00:18:42.88
and Nebuchadnezzar was
really the power and the force
00:18:42.92\00:18:45.99
behind that.
00:18:46.02\00:18:47.49
Doug Batchelor: Daniel explained
to the King that Babylon would
00:18:47.52\00:18:50.39
eventually fall as a world
power and be replaced by another
00:18:50.43\00:18:53.90
kingdom, one that's represented
by the chest and the arms
00:18:53.93\00:18:57.67
of silver.
00:18:57.70\00:18:59.70
Led by King Cyrus in 539
BC, the Medo-Persian Empire
00:18:59.73\00:19:04.81
conquered Babylon in a
brilliant military maneuver.
00:19:04.84\00:19:08.64
In one night, the immense city
was conquered with its walls
00:19:08.68\00:19:12.38
and gates still intact.
00:19:12.41\00:19:14.82
Even more incredibly,
the specifics of this victory
00:19:14.85\00:19:18.22
were all foretold in
prophecy over 150 years earlier.
00:19:18.25\00:19:24.39
Michael Hasel: Heroditus
tells us the story actually.
00:19:24.43\00:19:26.80
He tells us that, after his
horse drowned, Cyrus got furious
00:19:26.83\00:19:30.67
with the river itself and
decided to take that river.
00:19:30.70\00:19:33.80
And he had his soldiers dig
540 channels to divert the river
00:19:33.84\00:19:37.91
and to destroy the
river from its flow.
00:19:37.94\00:19:40.41
And in doing that, he actually
accomplished something that
00:19:40.44\00:19:44.11
would help him conquer
the city of Babylon itself.
00:19:44.15\00:19:47.02
Alan Parker: And when the river
was diverted, they were able
00:19:47.05\00:19:49.02
to march in underneath the city
walls, because the river gates
00:19:49.05\00:19:53.49
had been left open.
00:19:53.52\00:19:55.26
Doug Batchelor: They
entered the city, overthrowing
00:19:55.29\00:19:57.56
the world's mightiest nation.
00:19:57.59\00:19:59.96
Alan Parker: And
that's what the army did.
00:20:00.00\00:20:01.26
They marched in.
00:20:01.30\00:20:02.63
They were able to open the
top gates and totally conquered
00:20:02.66\00:20:05.53
Babylon, which was
unthinkable at that time.
00:20:05.57\00:20:09.30
But that's what the prophecy
had said would happen and that's
00:20:09.34\00:20:11.91
exactly what happened.
00:20:11.94\00:20:14.08
male announcer: "Thus says
the Lord to his anointed: 'To
00:20:14.11\00:20:16.44
Cyrus, whose right hand I
have held, to subdue nations
00:20:16.48\00:20:20.38
before him and loose the armor
of kings, to open before him
00:20:20.42\00:20:24.75
the double doors so that
the gates will not be shut.
00:20:24.79\00:20:28.22
That you may know that I
the Lord, who call you by your
00:20:28.26\00:20:31.56
name, am the God of Israel."'
00:20:31.59\00:20:34.56
Alan Parker: One hundred
and fifty years in advance,
00:20:34.60\00:20:36.56
Cyrus had been named.
00:20:36.60\00:20:38.57
Here is the Prophet
Isaiah looking ahead, and by, we
00:20:38.60\00:20:41.97
believe, divine inspiration,
naming the very person who would
00:20:42.00\00:20:46.01
come in and conquer
Babylon according to prophecy.
00:20:46.04\00:20:49.34
Michael Hasel: In Isaiah
chapter 44, we have this amazing
00:20:49.38\00:20:51.88
prophecy where it says
to the rivers, "Be dry."
00:20:51.91\00:20:54.92
"I will dry up your
river," says the Lord.
00:20:54.95\00:20:56.89
"And to Cyrus, my anointed,
my shepherd, he's the one that's
00:20:56.92\00:21:00.36
going to accomplish this."
00:21:00.39\00:21:01.62
So in this text which dates 150
years before the event, you have
00:21:01.66\00:21:06.36
already Isaiah predicting
the very means by which Cyrus
00:21:06.39\00:21:11.23
would take the city of Babylon,
which is quite incredible when
00:21:11.27\00:21:13.70
you think about
biblical prophecy.
00:21:13.74\00:21:16.40
male announcer: "Who says
of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd,
00:21:16.44\00:21:19.24
and he shall perform all my
pleasure,' saying to Jerusalem,
00:21:19.27\00:21:23.24
'You shall be built,'
and to the temple, 'Your
00:21:23.28\00:21:26.25
foundation shall be laid.'"
00:21:26.28\00:21:29.12
David Trim: The
Persians, they worship one god.
00:21:29.15\00:21:32.39
They are monotheists.
00:21:32.42\00:21:34.32
They have that in common
with the Jews and there may well
00:21:34.36\00:21:36.69
be a spark of sympathy there.
00:21:36.73\00:21:39.03
Michael Hasel: With Cyrus
and his conquering of Babylon,
00:21:39.06\00:21:41.36
it ushers in the Medo-Persian
Empire period, which lasts
00:21:41.40\00:21:44.83
from 539 all
the way down to 331.
00:21:44.87\00:21:49.04
Alan Parker: When Medo-Persia
came, it was almost as if there
00:21:49.07\00:21:52.11
was a shift.
00:21:52.14\00:21:53.44
They moved from gold to silver.
00:21:53.48\00:21:55.68
Silver became
the common currency.
00:21:55.71\00:21:58.15
And while you'd had silver
before in Babylon, they didn't
00:21:58.18\00:22:00.52
have much use for it
because they had so much gold.
00:22:00.55\00:22:03.32
And silver became the currency
that they used for trading
00:22:03.35\00:22:05.95
with other nations, and that
became almost the standard way
00:22:05.99\00:22:09.26
of referring to Medo-Persia,
was the Silver Empire.
00:22:09.29\00:22:13.36
male announcer: "After
thee shall arise another third
00:22:13.40\00:22:16.10
kingdom of brass, which shall
bear rule over all the earth."
00:22:16.13\00:22:22.17
Doug Batchelor: All Bible
scholars agree that the brass
00:22:22.20\00:22:24.77
kingdom in the
image symbolizes Greece.
00:22:24.81\00:22:27.78
They came into power when
Alexander the Great conquered
00:22:27.81\00:22:30.85
the Persians at the
Battle of Arvella and 331 BC.
00:22:30.88\00:22:37.32
David Trim: Alexander the Great
is often described as Greek,
00:22:37.35\00:22:40.12
and strictly
speaking that was true.
00:22:40.16\00:22:41.99
Michael Hasel: He had
been trained under Aristotle.
00:22:42.02\00:22:44.43
He was a very
charismatic young ruler.
00:22:44.46\00:22:47.76
His father, Philip II of
Mastodon, had been killed,
00:22:47.83\00:22:51.60
and Alexander assumed power.
00:22:51.63\00:22:54.17
And he immediately began
to dream about fulfilling his
00:22:54.20\00:22:57.94
father's goals, and that was
to conquer the Persian Empire.
00:22:57.97\00:23:01.84
David Trim: Alexander the great
becomes king when he's only 18,
00:23:01.88\00:23:04.75
but he's military prodigy.
00:23:04.78\00:23:06.85
Indeed, even today,
Alexander the Great is a byword
00:23:06.88\00:23:09.28
for military genius
and military conquest.
00:23:09.32\00:23:11.72
Alan Parker: He would come
up to a city and they would say,
00:23:11.75\00:23:14.46
"Why should we
surrender to you?"
00:23:14.49\00:23:16.42
And one of the stories is
that there was a city right
00:23:16.46\00:23:19.53
on the edge of a cliff and
he told his men, "I want you
00:23:19.56\00:23:22.23
to start marching off the cliff
to your death in the sea below,"
00:23:22.26\00:23:25.80
and the men obediently
started marching off the cliff.
00:23:25.83\00:23:28.67
And Alexander the Great said,
"If my men are this willing
00:23:28.70\00:23:31.51
to be obedient to me, there
is no way we cannot conquer your
00:23:31.54\00:23:35.21
city."
00:23:35.24\00:23:36.54
And that particular
city just surrendered.
00:23:36.58\00:23:39.18
Michael Hasel: He was able
to accomplish in a very short
00:23:39.21\00:23:41.42
time what some people
are not able to accomplish
00:23:41.45\00:23:43.69
in a lifetime.
00:23:43.72\00:23:45.05
And in a series of campaigns,
after he was crowned King
00:23:45.09\00:23:48.46
of Egypt, he continued
heading to the east and he began
00:23:48.49\00:23:52.69
to encounter the
Persian King, Darius III.
00:23:52.73\00:23:57.10
David Trim: And Alexander
doesn't pursue Darius, who flees
00:23:57.13\00:23:59.73
back east towards his heartland.
00:23:59.77\00:24:02.40
Alexander turned south because
he wants to occupy the coastal
00:24:02.44\00:24:06.51
lands, what would be
Palestine, and then Egypt.
00:24:06.54\00:24:11.08
But to move forward,
he has to conquer Tyre.
00:24:11.11\00:24:14.18
male announcer: '"They
shall destroy the walls of Tyre
00:24:14.22\00:24:16.52
and break down her towers.
00:24:16.55\00:24:18.59
I will also scrape her
dust from her and make her
00:24:18.62\00:24:21.56
like the top of a rock.
00:24:21.59\00:24:23.43
It shall be a place for
spreading nets in the midst
00:24:23.46\00:24:26.03
of the sea, for I have
spoken,' says the Lord God."
00:24:26.06\00:24:30.10
Doug Batchelor: For
over a millennium, beginning
00:24:30.13\00:24:31.90
in 1,500 BC, the Phoenicians
were the undisputed naval power
00:24:31.93\00:24:36.44
of the ancient world.
00:24:36.47\00:24:38.11
They created and controlled
a vast array of trade ports
00:24:38.14\00:24:41.91
throughout the
Mediterranean Sea.
00:24:41.94\00:24:44.91
David Trim: And in fact,
the Phoenicians are so known as
00:24:44.95\00:24:47.12
experts that they are
brought into the Red Sea ports.
00:24:47.15\00:24:51.49
The Bible describes how Solomon
gets mariners from the King
00:24:51.52\00:24:54.96
of Tyre to take his
fleets down the Red Sea.
00:24:54.99\00:24:59.96
Doug Batchelor: In 597 BC,
the Prophet Ezekiel predicted
00:25:00.06\00:25:04.50
that every building in the
city of Tyre would be toppled
00:25:04.53\00:25:07.84
by an invading army.
00:25:07.87\00:25:09.40
In fact, every stone
would be thrown into the sea.
00:25:09.44\00:25:15.24
Michael Hasel: Tyre was
an amazing city during this
00:25:15.28\00:25:17.08
time.
00:25:17.11\00:25:18.41
It was one of the largest
trade cities of that period.
00:25:18.45\00:25:21.55
Alan Parker: And here was this
prophecy saying that the city
00:25:21.58\00:25:23.65
would fall.
00:25:23.69\00:25:25.02
Even Alexander the Great it
seemed couldn't make it fall.
00:25:25.05\00:25:27.49
He sieged it for seven months,
but then he came up with a plan.
00:25:27.52\00:25:31.86
David Trim: So Alexander says,
"Right, if they're out to sea,
00:25:31.89\00:25:35.63
I'll just have to
take the land to them."
00:25:35.66\00:25:38.00
Alan Parker: And he used
the blocks of the old city,
00:25:38.03\00:25:41.00
the big stones, threw
them into the sea, and built
00:25:41.04\00:25:43.91
a causeway to be able to
overcome the walls of the new
00:25:43.94\00:25:47.71
city where the island was.
00:25:47.74\00:25:49.58
David Trim: And so, then
he can bring his army to bear.
00:25:49.61\00:25:52.31
Tyre is stormed,
utterly destroyed.
00:25:52.35\00:25:55.82
Alan Parker: That was an exact
fulfillment of prophecy because
00:25:55.85\00:25:58.65
prophecy had said that
those stones would be cast
00:25:58.69\00:26:01.69
into the sea and become a place
where fishing nets were cast
00:26:01.72\00:26:04.86
over.
00:26:04.89\00:26:06.19
That's exactly what happened.
00:26:06.23\00:26:08.90
Doug Batchelor: Keep in mind,
the idea that the Greeks would
00:26:08.93\00:26:11.43
rule the world was a
very bold prediction.
00:26:11.47\00:26:14.77
Remember that at the time that
Daniel's prophecy was given,
00:26:14.80\00:26:18.57
Greece was just a collection
of warring tribes with very
00:26:18.61\00:26:21.54
little world influence.
00:26:21.58\00:26:23.88
Greece remained in power
'til about 168 BC, when it was
00:26:23.91\00:26:28.32
conquered by the next world
power waiting in the wings.
00:26:28.35\00:26:33.56
male announcer: "The fourth
kingdom shall be as strong as
00:26:33.59\00:26:35.59
iron, inasmuch as iron
breaks in pieces and shatters
00:26:35.62\00:26:39.16
everything; and like iron that
crushes, that kingdom will break
00:26:39.19\00:26:43.23
in pieces and
crush all the others."
00:26:43.26\00:26:46.47
Doug Batchelor:
Who followed Greece?
00:26:46.50\00:26:48.84
It's an undisputable
fact of history that the iron
00:26:48.87\00:26:51.54
monarchy of Rome conquered
them and enjoyed supremacy
00:26:51.57\00:26:54.74
for the next 600 years.
00:26:54.78\00:26:58.35
Johnathan Roth: Once iron
is introduced, the fundamental
00:26:58.38\00:27:01.08
effect and especially military
effect is that the price
00:27:01.12\00:27:04.19
of weapons goes
down considerably.
00:27:04.22\00:27:06.89
So, the price of making an
iron arrowhead, or an iron spear
00:27:06.92\00:27:11.63
point, or an iron helmet is
much less than that of bronze,
00:27:11.66\00:27:16.30
and mainly reason is
that bronze contains tin.
00:27:16.33\00:27:19.93
And tin can only be obtained
in two places in the ancient
00:27:19.97\00:27:22.94
world, Afghanistan, or what's
today Afghanistan, and what's
00:27:22.97\00:27:26.04
today Cornwall in England.
00:27:26.07\00:27:27.81
And trading it made it
very expensive, so the Iron Age
00:27:27.84\00:27:31.38
lowered the price of war,
which meant armies got bigger.
00:27:31.41\00:27:36.08
Alan Parker: Rome was violent.
00:27:36.12\00:27:38.19
They were ruthless.
00:27:38.22\00:27:39.55
They were determined to conquer
everywhere they went and they
00:27:39.59\00:27:41.66
were like iron,
crushing everything in its way.
00:27:41.69\00:27:46.23
male announcer:
"Kingdoms in Time."
00:27:46.26\00:27:48.20
See what happens next and
why you can trust the Bible
00:27:48.23\00:27:52.07
with your life.
00:27:52.10\00:27:53.60
Get your copy today.
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