In the last
episode, we talked about the
00:00:01.98\00:00:04.16
Assyrian empire,
which terrorizes the
00:00:04.19\00:00:07.01
surrounding nation
with it's cruelties for 300
00:00:07.04\00:00:10.25
years. Its last two
kings even invaded Egypt.
00:00:10.28\00:00:14.47
But, the Assyrians
were eventually conquered
00:00:15.06\00:00:17.56
by the Babylonians.
Well, David has visited
00:00:17.59\00:00:20.86
Babylon many times
and in fact, even slept
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among stitch ruins.
And today he will be
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telling us about the story
of the Golden City of Babylon.
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Well, Babylon certainly
was a magnificent city,
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Isaiah called its the
City of Gold, and gold
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was just about as
plentiful as the dust of
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Babylonians today.
Nebuchadnezzar, of the
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great king of the
Neo-Babylonian Empire,
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was a marvelous conqueror.
And he was an obsessed
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builder. He just
built palace after place,
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temple after temple in
all Babylon. And a visit
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to Babylon today, even
now it's lying in ruins
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gives you some idea of
what a magnificent city it was.
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We entered by the Ishtar
Gate. Ishtar, of course was the
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Babylonian fertility
Goodness. And this Ishtar gate
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was dedicated to her.
On the wall of this gate
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you can see the
Sirrush as they called them.
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They are composite
creatures and these
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were molding bricks.
In the building museum
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professor Koldewey,
who excavated Babylon
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has reassembled part
of this gate. It was might
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of glazed bricks,
beautiful blue glaze
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colors and it must be
an impressive sight to walk
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through this gateway into
the great procession street.
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And here the King
and his captives were
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brought as they
returned from the military
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campaigns. And here
is the very procession
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street along which
the captives were dragged.
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At the end of the
procession street there
00:02:30.80\00:02:32.31
is still standing there
a pillar. With the matter
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of fact that's its
use by the stocks today to
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build in this upon top
of it. But, this was one
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of the mighty pillars
of Babylon. Not far away
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is, has been reconstruction
of the temple to Nimach,
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one of the Babylonian deities.
And this has being rebuilt
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as it was in the days
of ancient Babylon just
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one of the many
temples that had been
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erected by King Nebuchadnezzar.
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And then there was
the palace throne room or
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you can see today is just
the floor of this throne room,
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and of course, the great
hanging gardens of Babylon,
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one of the seven
wonders of the world.
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Do you know what
hanging gardens are?
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It doesn't mean now
it dangling by rope or
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something like that.
It's simply means that these
00:03:20.45\00:03:23.01
gardens were built
upon suspended diverted
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water course. And
Koldewey, the great Excavator,
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German excavator of
Babylon found what he
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can consider to
be the foundation of
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this hanging
garden. And the conduits
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through which the
water came and that would
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drawn up onto the
garden. Do you know why he had
00:03:39.49\00:03:42.00
this hanging
garden? Let me tell, you see
00:03:42.03\00:03:44.98
when Nebuchadnezzar
and his father conquered
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the city of Nineveh
in Assyrian in 612 BC.
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The whole campaign was
sealed by the marriage of
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Nebuchadnezzar to
the daughter of Cyaxares,
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the Median King.
Her name was Amytis,
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as she came from
the Highlands of median
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up there near Hamadan up
to 200 meters above sea level.
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It was pretty cooled,
beautiful garden up there.
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And so when Nebuchadnezzar
princess was moved down the
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Babylon to live in
the sweltering heat there,
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like a good husband he
decided to try and make
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her feel at home. And
so he built these beautiful
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hanging gardens one of the
seven wonders of the world,
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just to make his wife
happy. Isn't that malice?
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And so we have the
hanging gardens of Babylon.
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And then there were
the great residential areas
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and the palace of
Nebuchadnezzar or it
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must have been a
tremendous city and
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you can walk all around
the ruins of Babylon today.
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And get some idea
of what an enormous and
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magnificent city it
was do you know it was ten
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miles that's about 16
kilometers in circumference.
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Therefore, those
days that was a huge city.
00:05:02.11\00:05:04.68
What you think that
Jericho city, on the 350
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meters long by 150 meters wide.
00:05:07.47\00:05:09.72
And here it was Babylon 16
kilometers in circumference,
00:05:09.75\00:05:13.73
a huge doubled
wall. You can see the
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foundation of the
wall lay today. And so this
00:05:15.99\00:05:19.78
doubled wall was right
around Babylon to protector.
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And Nebuchadnezzar
thought that he was
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building a city
that would last for all
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eternity, and starting a dynasty
00:05:27.21\00:05:29.98
that would never
die. And how disappoint
00:05:30.01\00:05:32.79
that he would be
weaken after die and
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see what's happened to
his beautiful city of Babylon.
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Well, Babylon
started off a long time ago.
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You know, I believe it's
the oldest city in the world.
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And we found the
reference to its origins
00:05:46.26\00:05:48.76
in Genesis chapter
11; If you heard of the
00:05:48.79\00:05:52.18
tower of Bible, well
we told here that as the
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people travel
down from Mount Ararat
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along the river
Euphrates they came to
00:06:00.42\00:06:02.75
this place called
Babel or Babylon. And they
00:06:02.78\00:06:06.50
said, one to another,
come let us make bricks,
00:06:06.53\00:06:09.05
and bake them
thoroughly and they had
00:06:09.08\00:06:12.17
brick for stone and
they had asphalt for mortar,
00:06:12.20\00:06:16.18
you know, that's
historically very accurate,
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because there are
lots of temple towers all
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like call them
Ziggurats in Mesopotamia or what
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we called Iraq
today. And do you know what
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they've made up
bricks that have been burnt
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very, very thoroughly.
They are so toughed you
00:06:31.47\00:06:34.40
drop them on the
ground or smash them
00:06:34.43\00:06:36.70
against each other.
You can hardly break them
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open. And another thing
is by struck together with
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asphalt just exactly as
the Bible builders built
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their tower of Babylon.
Now when was this tower?
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Well for long time, a
place called Berossus Nimrod,
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was regarded as the
traditional tower of Bible.
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But, this was only
because of it was tallest
00:06:58.75\00:07:00.77
standing
ziggurats in Mesopotamia.
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And so the early Christians
and for that matter the early
00:07:03.90\00:07:07.44
Jews thought that Berossus
Nimrod was the tower of Bible.
00:07:07.47\00:07:10.90
It is a temple tower. It is
a ziggurat and it goes up in
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stages. And it was very
high. Right upon top later
00:07:13.92\00:07:17.28
on Nebuchadnezzar built a
tower that is not the tower.
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What you are looking at
is the great huge man made
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mountain of bricks. And
that is Berossus Nimrod.
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But, however, the tower
of Bible or the Babylonian
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tower was not here. It was
naturally in Babylon itself.
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And just because it can't
be seen there today people
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think well let can't
be it. But, you see when
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Alexandra, the great
came to Babylon he decided to
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make that his headquarters,
the capital city of his Great
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Empire. And he saw this
temple tower on Ziggurat,
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which is become into a
state of disrepair and so
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told his engineers,
get busy and rebuild this.
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They said, well they can't
do anything to patch this thing
00:08:02.23\00:08:04.61
up. There is only one thing
to do and that is remove the
00:08:04.64\00:08:07.26
whole thing, brick part
break and then lets rebuilt it
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from the foundation
up. So, he said, go ahead
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and do that. And so they
removed this Ziggurat and
00:08:13.22\00:08:18.10
put it over nearby place
but before like its start
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rebuilding it, Alexander
died while he was just a
00:08:22.11\00:08:25.79
young man, only 32 years of age.
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And so it never got
rebuilt. But, Professor Koldewey
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excavated the foundation
of it. You can see them their
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today. What's under the
water is the first stage and
00:08:35.77\00:08:40.25
this must have been
the huge temple tower.
00:08:40.28\00:08:43.50
And so the early Bible builders
00:08:44.40\00:08:46.66
were the first city
builders. And they built this
00:08:46.69\00:08:50.93
great city of Babylon,
which you know the story,
00:08:50.96\00:08:53.10
how their languages were
confused. They all spoke one
00:08:53.41\00:08:56.36
language. Naturally being all
descedant from Noah, but their
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language was miraculously
confused and by started
00:08:59.72\00:09:03.72
speaking different
languages they couldn't
00:09:03.75\00:09:05.30
understand each other.
And so like gave up and
00:09:05.33\00:09:08.16
I just went up in different
directions according to their
00:09:08.19\00:09:10.33
language groups. And so
Babylon virtually fell into
00:09:10.36\00:09:14.53
disrepair and it was left
for the greatest Assyrian empire
00:09:14.56\00:09:18.57
to take over and for fifteen
hundred years, the Assyrian
00:09:18.60\00:09:22.56
dominated the Middle
East and Babylon was just the
00:09:22.59\00:09:26.19
second right city. In
the year 701 BC, the Assyrian
00:09:26.22\00:09:32.95
kings
Sennacherib invaded Israel.
00:09:32.98\00:09:36.12
And surrounded
Jerusalem, and he posed
00:09:36.68\00:09:40.53
a very serious threat to
it. I tell you everyone there
00:09:40.56\00:09:43.10
was scared to death.
You fall into the hands of
00:09:43.13\00:09:45.45
the Assyrians and you
face the risk of being
00:09:45.48\00:09:48.17
impaled or skinned
alive, and so king Hezekiah
00:09:48.20\00:09:52.54
and his courtiers and
the people were terrified?
00:09:52.57\00:09:55.40
But, they were in Jerusalem
at this time, their Prophet
00:09:56.19\00:10:00.20
Isaiah, and Isaiah might have
00:10:00.61\00:10:03.39
very interesting
prophecy. You will find here in
00:10:03.42\00:10:06.37
Isaiah, chapter 13 and in
Verse 19, strange to say the
00:10:06.40\00:10:11.77
prophecy verse not about
Assyria but about Babylon.
00:10:11.80\00:10:16.02
You see Isaiah was
looking down the centuries.
00:10:16.05\00:10:20.50
And looking at
something that was
00:10:20.53\00:10:22.36
to happen a lot lighter.
It says here, "And Babylon,
00:10:22.39\00:10:25.85
the glory of kingdoms,
the beauty of the Chaldeans'
00:10:25.88\00:10:28.48
pride, Will be as when
God overthrew Sodom and
00:10:28.51\00:10:31.76
Gomorrah." It will never
be inhabited, Nor will it be
00:10:31.79\00:10:36.07
settled from generation
to generation; Nor will the
00:10:36.10\00:10:39.85
Arabian pitch stench
there, Nor will the shepherds
00:10:39.88\00:10:42.57
make their sheepfolds there.
Now that's a remarkable thing.
00:10:42.60\00:10:47.21
Remember this was 701
BC when Sennacherib was
00:10:47.51\00:10:51.02
besieging Jerusalem. And
here we have this prophecy
00:10:51.30\00:10:55.25
by Isaiah who is living at
the time, saying Babylon is
00:10:55.28\00:10:59.24
going to be destroyed.
Wonder it's only a few
00:10:59.27\00:11:02.59
years later, 689 BC
when Sennacherib decided to
00:11:02.62\00:11:07.56
destroy Babylon. He
completely rise it to the
00:11:07.59\00:11:11.81
ground. In fact, even
flooded the river Euphrates is
00:11:11.84\00:11:16.13
into it and might be just
a big swamp. And I supposed
00:11:16.16\00:11:19.45
people living back
there thought, they know how,
00:11:19.48\00:11:21.80
just what the prophet
said. He said, it was going
00:11:21.83\00:11:24.14
to be destroyed. But,
Babylon might come back.
00:11:24.17\00:11:27.60
Under
Sennacherib son Esarhaddon,
00:11:28.64\00:11:32.11
Babylon was rebuilt.
You see it was futile act
00:11:32.14\00:11:35.29
to destroy it. And
so Esarhaddon, rebuilt
00:11:35.32\00:11:38.61
Babylon and it once
more became a great city.
00:11:38.64\00:11:42.70
The fonder of the
Neo-Babylonian Empire or new
00:11:44.32\00:11:48.09
Babylonian Empire
was King Nabopolassar.
00:11:48.12\00:11:51.39
He came to this
throne in the 626 BC and
00:11:52.15\00:11:55.82
immediately set up that,
establishing an independent
00:11:55.85\00:11:58.82
kingdom. Of course,
Assyrians didn't like this but
00:11:58.85\00:12:01.73
Nabopolassar marched an army
and started out on the march.
00:12:01.76\00:12:05.91
It took him a long time but
finally in the 614 BC, he felt
00:12:05.94\00:12:12.57
strong enough to
match on Assur was the great
00:12:12.60\00:12:16.10
religious city of the
Assyria. And Nabopolassar
00:12:16.13\00:12:19.56
conquered that city. In
the year 614 BC, then next
00:12:19.92\00:12:24.65
move, of course,
was the mighty Nineveh.
00:12:24.68\00:12:27.61
And to attack this city
he formed an alliance with
00:12:28.40\00:12:31.95
Cyaxares, king of
the Medes and together by
00:12:31.98\00:12:37.58
launched an attack in the
year 612 BC on the city of
00:12:37.61\00:12:41.52
Nineveh. That was
successful, conquered it
00:12:41.55\00:12:44.72
and destroyed it,
burnt it down to the ground.
00:12:45.17\00:12:47.68
And the last king of
the Assyria died with his
00:12:48.05\00:12:51.42
harem in the flames.
And so Nabopolassar, became
00:12:51.45\00:12:55.72
the master of the
Middle East. Now there were few
00:12:55.75\00:12:59.44
aims to be tight up and
so he had to march against
00:12:59.47\00:13:05.31
some reminisce of
the Assyrian army and it
00:13:05.34\00:13:08.00
wasn't until the years
605 BC that ultimately he had
00:13:08.03\00:13:12.99
undisputed ruled over
fall of what was once Assyria.
00:13:13.02\00:13:17.44
Then in the battle of
Carchemish, he defeated
00:13:18.03\00:13:20.71
not only the reminisce of
the Assyrian army but also
00:13:20.74\00:13:24.75
the Babylonians who
had come to try and put up
00:13:24.78\00:13:27.54
some resistance with him
and so he became master of
00:13:27.57\00:13:30.83
Middle East. It was
also in the year 605 BC that
00:13:30.86\00:13:34.84
Nabopolassar, died.
Now his son Nebuchadnezzar
00:13:34.87\00:13:40.32
was incharge of the
military operations at that time
00:13:40.92\00:13:45.59
against Jerusalem and when
he heard that his father had
00:13:46.36\00:13:49.73
died in Babylon,
Nebuchadnezzar hastily
00:13:49.76\00:13:52.72
rode back over the Assyrian
desert to claim the throne,
00:13:52.75\00:13:56.47
and so Nebuchadnezzar
mounted the throne in the
00:13:56.50\00:13:59.09
year 605 BC and began a
very prosperous ruler for 43
00:13:59.12\00:14:04.35
years. And so began the
great Neo-Babylonia Empire.
00:14:04.38\00:14:10.52
Well, Nebuchadnezzar was
a brilliant military leader.
00:14:11.54\00:14:14.49
He was a good
politician too. And he was a
00:14:14.52\00:14:17.41
compulsive builder. It
was his ambition to built a
00:14:17.44\00:14:21.16
Babylon that would
never be conquered, never be
00:14:21.19\00:14:23.58
destroyed. He wanted to
establish a dynasty that
00:14:23.61\00:14:26.92
would never end and no
doubt he spent a lot of time
00:14:26.95\00:14:30.67
thinking about the future,
worrying about whether he
00:14:30.70\00:14:31.67
would succeed in his
great ambition. Well, one night
00:14:34.08\00:14:38.80
he went to sleep and he
had a dream. Now the Babylon
00:14:39.25\00:14:43.22
is attached a lot
of important to drains.
00:14:43.25\00:14:45.41
And in the morning when
waken up he knew that he
00:14:45.44\00:14:48.77
had had a dream and an
important one. And so he
00:14:48.80\00:14:52.20
called his wise man,
his astrologist and the
00:14:52.23\00:14:55.50
magicians. And said, now
listen you fellows, I have
00:14:55.53\00:14:58.79
had a dream and I
can't remember what it was.
00:14:58.82\00:15:02.41
So, I want you to tell
me what I dreamed and the
00:15:02.90\00:15:05.87
interpretation. Well,
of course the wise men
00:15:05.90\00:15:09.67
were bitter at the loss.
They said look you tell us
00:15:09.70\00:15:12.28
the dream and we will
tell you the interpretation.
00:15:12.31\00:15:14.94
They could always thing up good
00:15:14.97\00:15:16.67
interpretation you know.
But the king said, I can't
00:15:16.70\00:15:20.35
remember the dream. If
you tell me what the dream is
00:15:20.38\00:15:23.35
I will be sure that
you will you know the right
00:15:23.38\00:15:25.61
interpretation. But,
they said, there is no man or
00:15:25.64\00:15:29.18
God who can do
a thing like that.
00:15:29.21\00:15:30.89
Well, Nebuchadnezzar,
got pretty angry with them
00:15:32.22\00:15:34.37
and drove them out and
decreed the role of wise
00:15:34.40\00:15:36.64
men were put today.
Well, at this time, Daniel, the
00:15:36.67\00:15:41.38
man from the, young man
from Judah was in Babylon,
00:15:42.14\00:15:46.59
the prophet. And he was
included in these people at
00:15:46.62\00:15:50.93
what would to be put to
death and when he got the
00:15:50.96\00:15:53.41
bad news he said,
well, what it's all about?
00:15:53.44\00:15:55.75
And when he heard he
suddenly looked let me
00:15:56.09\00:15:58.57
going to the king and talked
to him. And we will see if
00:15:58.60\00:16:02.65
God can reveal this
thing. So, he went into king
00:16:02.68\00:16:05.87
Nebuchadnezzar and the
King was only too glad to
00:16:05.90\00:16:08.28
give him a little time to
work it out. And that night,
00:16:08.31\00:16:11.25
I guess, they did a
lot of praying. You know,
00:16:11.28\00:16:14.23
and during the night God
revealed to Daniel what the
00:16:14.99\00:16:18.43
dream was. The next
morning he went into the
00:16:18.46\00:16:21.62
king and the king said,
Can you tell me what I've
00:16:21.65\00:16:24.67
dreamt last night? Daniel
said, not I but there is in
00:16:24.70\00:16:28.23
God in heaven who can
tell the king what he dream.
00:16:28.26\00:16:31.08
He said, you are king
dreamed that you saw a
00:16:31.93\00:16:35.87
great image. Now this
little image what I've here.
00:16:35.90\00:16:40.49
It is just a not a idea of
what it just like, and it's a
00:16:40.52\00:16:43.84
very small one. What the
king must have seen was a
00:16:43.87\00:16:46.75
very big, very
impressive awesome image.
00:16:47.19\00:16:50.66
And Daniel, we don't
describe it. He said, the
00:16:52.01\00:16:54.69
head was of Gold. The
arms and the breast were of
00:16:54.72\00:16:58.14
silver. The belly and
the thighs were of brass.
00:16:58.17\00:17:01.55
The legs were of iron,
and the feet were part of iron
00:17:02.33\00:17:06.06
and part of clay. He
said, you kept watching it until
00:17:06.50\00:17:10.79
you saw a stone taken
from the mountain without hands
00:17:10.82\00:17:14.65
and it came crashing down
on their feet of this image.
00:17:15.06\00:17:17.94
Grounded to powder and
the same with all the other
00:17:18.22\00:17:21.09
metals, they are all
ground to powder and I guess as
00:17:21.51\00:17:25.26
Nebuchadnezzar,
leaned forward intently
00:17:25.29\00:17:27.99
listening, he
recognized what he had dreamed.
00:17:28.02\00:17:31.47
He had dreams are like
that; you do something to break
00:17:31.50\00:17:33.98
them and you remember
now Daniel said, I will tell
00:17:34.01\00:17:38.42
you the interpretation of
this dream. Daniel said you
00:17:38.45\00:17:43.58
Nebuchadnezzar,
represented by this head of
00:17:43.61\00:17:46.58
Gold, but your kingdom
is going to be followed by
00:17:46.61\00:17:49.17
kingdom of silver and then
thee third kingdom of brass.
00:17:49.20\00:17:52.18
And then of fourth
kingdom represented by the
00:17:52.59\00:17:54.64
legs of iron and finally
the kingdom is going to be
00:17:54.67\00:17:57.59
divided symbolized by the
clay and iron. Kings Cyrus
00:17:57.62\00:18:01.74
left the record of his
Babylon in the year 539 BC.
00:18:01.77\00:18:06.60
It is known as the Cyrus
cylinder. It has cuneiform
00:18:06.63\00:18:12.03
script on it and it tells
of his conquest of Babylon.
00:18:12.06\00:18:16.72
Let me read the translation
of the portion of this
00:18:17.49\00:18:20.73
cylinder, shall I? He says
here I am Cyrus, king of the
00:18:20.76\00:18:26.57
world, great king,
legitimate king of Babylon,
00:18:26.60\00:18:29.15
king of Sumer and Akkad,
king of the four rims of the
00:18:29.37\00:18:31.85
earth, son of king
Cambyses, great king,
00:18:31.88\00:18:34.31
king of Ansan. I think
you got the idea. Haven't you?
00:18:34.54\00:18:37.40
He is letting us to know
what a good fella he was.
00:18:37.43\00:18:39.53
Now he says this all the
kings of the entire world
00:18:40.04\00:18:43.29
from the Upper to the
lower Sea, brought their heavy
00:18:43.32\00:18:46.75
tributes and kissed my feet.
I returned to sacred cities
00:18:46.78\00:18:51.94
on the other side of the
Tirgris, the sanctuaries of
00:18:51.97\00:18:55.09
which have been
ruins for a long time.
00:18:55.12\00:18:57.05
I will so gathered
only former inhabitants and
00:18:57.71\00:19:00.16
returned them to the
habitations. Now that of
00:19:00.19\00:19:03.13
course is just exactly
what the Biblical record says in
00:19:03.16\00:19:06.30
the book of Ezra, how
Cyrus might have decreed
00:19:06.33\00:19:09.32
that all the Jews could
return to their home city
00:19:09.35\00:19:12.45
and rebuilt Jerusalem.
So one hand we have the
00:19:12.83\00:19:16.40
Biblical record. On
the other hand, we have the
00:19:16.43\00:19:18.68
Cyrus Cylinder by both tells us
00:19:18.71\00:19:20.69
exactly the same story.
In the year 530 BC, Cyrus,
00:19:20.72\00:19:27.77
the great died. And
was replace by his son
00:19:27.80\00:19:31.12
Cambyses. He didn't last
very long. And then he was
00:19:31.31\00:19:35.36
replaced by what is
known false Smerdis and
00:19:35.39\00:19:38.27
following that came Darius,
the great or Darius the first.
00:19:38.30\00:19:42.14
Darius decided to record
the throne that he grasped
00:19:43.02\00:19:48.59
on the wall of the Behistun
rock at place called Bisitun
00:19:49.15\00:19:53.47
in Persia And they are on
the side of the wall in the
00:19:53.80\00:19:57.72
cuneiform script in three
different languages so that
00:19:57.75\00:20:00.89
everyone would get the
message. Darius left the
00:20:00.92\00:20:04.11
record of his sent to the
throne. It was king Darius
00:20:04.14\00:20:08.20
who decided to built an
essentially Persian city
00:20:08.23\00:20:11.86
called Persepolis, literally
meaning city of Persia.
00:20:12.24\00:20:15.80
And this is sometime
referred toward the pearl of
00:20:16.47\00:20:19.26
Middle East Ruins, even
today it's a magnificent
00:20:19.29\00:20:22.18
ruins and it must have
been a tremendous city in
00:20:22.21\00:20:24.38
its high day. Darius was
followed by his son Xerxes,
00:20:24.41\00:20:29.61
referred to in the Bible
as Ahasuerus. You know, the
00:20:29.95\00:20:32.56
King who married the
beautiful queen Esther,
00:20:32.59\00:20:34.65
and Xerxes invaded Greece.
It was a tremendous campaign.
00:20:35.26\00:20:39.84
Millions of people involved
in it. And he met bravely
00:20:39.87\00:20:44.28
Leonidas at the pass and
it was there Thermopylae,
00:20:44.31\00:20:49.62
that he murdered or
killed Leonidas and moved down
00:20:50.27\00:20:54.88
into Athens and there
he burnt the Acropolis.
00:20:54.91\00:20:59.64
The Greeks never forgot this.
And so it was when Alexander,
00:20:59.86\00:21:03.91
the Great came on to the
scene, he first of all marched
00:21:03.94\00:21:07.57
eastwards, conquered
the Persian army, and then
00:21:07.60\00:21:13.02
finally occupied Persepolis.
And in retaliation, he burnt
00:21:13.05\00:21:17.52
and destroyed Persepolis.
And so you have the three
00:21:17.55\00:21:22.48
great empires that
followed Babylon. Babylon was
00:21:22.51\00:21:26.04
followed by Persia.
Persia was followed by Greece or
00:21:26.07\00:21:30.89
Macedonia actually, and
then ultimately came the
00:21:30.92\00:21:34.37
great Roman Empire. Rome
symbolized by the legs of
00:21:34.40\00:21:38.94
iron. The iron monarchy
of Rome, overwhelmed the
00:21:38.97\00:21:42.69
Middle East, and so it
was that Rome became the
00:21:42.72\00:21:46.15
mistress. Not only at
the Middle East but of Europe
00:21:46.18\00:21:49.03
too, and for hundreds
of years, Rome ruled the
00:21:49.06\00:21:53.63
world that none ruled.
The great Caesars and their
00:21:53.66\00:21:59.12
followers became the
masters of culture and
00:21:59.45\00:22:04.02
politics and war. And
so the arms of the Republic
00:22:04.05\00:22:08.01
sometimes vanquished in
battle. Always victorious in
00:22:08.04\00:22:11.68
war marched across
Europe and established the
00:22:11.71\00:22:14.90
great Roman Empire. But,
even Rome was not the last
00:22:14.93\00:22:18.87
forever. Remember the
legs of iron were followed by
00:22:18.90\00:22:23.65
the feet of clay.
What is meant by that?
00:22:23.68\00:22:26.43
Daniel 2, Verse 41 says,
"Where as you saw the feet
00:22:27.90\00:22:33.26
and toes, partly of potter's
clay and partly of iron, the
00:22:33.29\00:22:37.63
kingdom shall be divided."
That same to be a divine to
00:22:37.66\00:22:41.56
decreed that Europe would
never again be united under
00:22:41.59\00:22:45.66
a single rule and hasn't
that happened. People have
00:22:45.69\00:22:48.71
tried to unite it, you
know, the Holy Roman Empire
00:22:48.74\00:22:51.80
and then there were
other would be conquerors who
00:22:52.38\00:22:57.50
tried to bind it
together, Shahlamian and then
00:22:57.53\00:23:02.18
came Napoleon Bonaparte,
who tried to unit Europe
00:23:02.21\00:23:07.87
completely together. And
then there were lighter ones,
00:23:07.90\00:23:10.92
I mean, there was
Kaiser Wilhelm, in 1914-18 War.
00:23:10.95\00:23:14.61
and then it was
Hitler in the 1939 war.
00:23:14.90\00:23:18.54
Verse 43 says, As you
saw iron mixed with ceramic
00:23:19.24\00:23:24.40
clay, they will mingle
with the seed of men; but they
00:23:24.43\00:23:28.55
will not adhere to one
another, just as iron does
00:23:28.58\00:23:31.61
not mix with clay. Now
this expression mingle with the
00:23:31.64\00:23:35.28
seed of men is referring
to marriage. In the marriage
00:23:35.31\00:23:38.68
we are standing outside
Buckingham palace and on
00:23:39.44\00:23:42.80
my right over here is a
status of Queen Victoria.
00:23:42.83\00:23:46.50
You know, in the late 19
century queen Victoria got
00:23:47.09\00:23:50.83
the idea of marrying
her family of to crown heads
00:23:50.86\00:23:55.70
of Europe. The idea being
if they own married to one
00:23:55.73\00:23:58.94
another they would not
fight with one another,
00:23:58.97\00:24:00.96
but of course it didn't
work. It didn't unit Europe
00:24:00.99\00:24:04.38
anymore than any
others scheme hast.
00:24:04.58\00:24:06.77
You know this text is
actually the text that first
00:24:07.39\00:24:10.17
interested may in
the Bible. It was in the
00:24:10.20\00:24:13.26
early days of the war and
I was in the Australian army
00:24:13.29\00:24:17.06
as an officer in the
artillery. And I attained a
00:24:17.09\00:24:20.64
lecture. I didn't realize
that was a religious lecture,
00:24:20.67\00:24:23.44
but the title of the lecture
was Seven words that spell
00:24:23.97\00:24:28.28
Hitler's Do. Well, at
the time Hitler was doing
00:24:28.31\00:24:31.10
pretty well. And as an
officer in the army I knew
00:24:31.13\00:24:34.19
very well that the
commandos especially
00:24:34.22\00:24:36.07
Britain itself was not really
prepared the face upto him.
00:24:36.10\00:24:39.23
And I was a bit anxious,
but I went along this I've
00:24:39.84\00:24:42.98
never heard anything like
it. He was this lecture saying
00:24:43.01\00:24:46.63
that Hitler would not
succeed because this first
00:24:46.66\00:24:49.65
hit it would all never
be united again. It says the
00:24:49.68\00:24:54.00
kingdom shall be divided.
But, of course, he was right.
00:24:54.03\00:24:58.11
The Bible was right.
Hitler didn't succeed and let me
00:24:58.37\00:25:02.25
tell you that
neither communism nor the
00:25:02.28\00:25:04.24
common - or anything
else is ever going to
00:25:04.27\00:25:07.09
succeed in uniting
the nations of Europe
00:25:07.12\00:25:10.87
successfully together. Now
it says, in the days of these
00:25:10.90\00:25:16.11
kings Verse 44; "The
'God of heaven' will set up a
00:25:16.14\00:25:19.30
'kingdom' which will
never be destroyed. This for
00:25:19.33\00:25:22.98
symbolized by the stone
cut out of the mountain without
00:25:23.01\00:25:25.85
hands that smashed
the image on its feet and
00:25:25.88\00:25:28.69
ground the whole thing
to pieces in other words
00:25:28.72\00:25:30.78
ground up only the
kingdom of this world.
00:25:30.81\00:25:33.39
They end of the world at
the second coming of Jesus
00:25:33.84\00:25:36.52
Christ is here depicted.
We are told here in Matthew
00:25:36.55\00:25:41.38
chapter 21 and in Verse 44;
Jesus Christ prefers to this.
00:25:41.41\00:25:47.20
He says, "And whosoever
falls on this stone will
00:25:47.78\00:25:50.72
be broken; but on
whomever it falls, it will
00:25:50.75\00:25:54.34
grind him to powder."
Well, which do you want?
00:25:54.37\00:25:58.03
Obviously you don't to
be ground to powder, do you?
00:25:58.06\00:26:00.97
It's better to fall on
this rock. What is happening?
00:26:01.36\00:26:04.60
In Psalm 51 and in Verse
17; it says, "The sacrifices
00:26:05.44\00:26:11.35
of God are a broken
spirit: a broken and a contrite
00:26:11.38\00:26:15.75
heart, O God, these you
will not despise." Have you done
00:26:15.78\00:26:20.61
something wrong? Have
you sinned against God or
00:26:20.64\00:26:23.99
have you done something it
gives your guilty conscious
00:26:24.68\00:26:27.01
then just come to Jesus
Christ and follow his faith
00:26:27.75\00:26:31.52
and say, Lord I am sorry.
And Jesus Christ is promise
00:26:31.55\00:26:35.17
to take your sins and he
has paid the praise for them.
00:26:35.20\00:26:39.17
And so you can have
forgiveness by coming to
00:26:39.57\00:26:43.07
the stone that is refer
to here. And the broken in
00:26:43.10\00:26:47.04
heart be sorry for your
sins. But, the end of the world
00:26:47.07\00:26:50.99
according to this prophecy
will surely come justice
00:26:51.02\00:26:54.51
surely as the other kingdom
have come and gone just as
00:26:54.54\00:26:59.08
surely the other aspect of
the prophecy have all being
00:26:59.11\00:27:02.19
fulfilled. So, will
this. We better be ready.
00:27:02.22\00:27:05.97
Like many people lies
to laugh at the idea of the
00:27:06.84\00:27:09.67
world coming to end, but I
don't anymore. I think with
00:27:09.70\00:27:13.83
all the frightening
things that happening around us
00:27:13.86\00:27:16.35
we aspect that this world
can't go on the way it is.
00:27:16.81\00:27:20.16
In our next program we visit
that famous old Italian city
00:27:21.27\00:27:24.96
of Pompeii, which in 79
AD came to a disasters end.
00:27:24.99\00:27:29.67
I think there might be a
00:27:30.61\00:27:31.58
message in that for us today.
00:27:31.59\00:27:33.12