Hello and welcome to the series
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Give Me The Bible.
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The Bible: the book that for
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thousands of years
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has brought hope, encouragement,
peace, and the message of God
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to people from
all over the world.
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This series is
dutifully entitled
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Give Me The Bible.
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The book that has
survived all kinds of battles.
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The book that has
surfaced over and over again
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as God's Word:
the Holy Scriptures.
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The only book that could
be called the Holy Scriptures.
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Translated in just about
every language of the world
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and continues to be
relevant for this age.
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And... there's a blessing
promised to those that open
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the pages of this book.
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God comes near to them
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and blesses them with
the knowledge of His Word,
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of His mind.
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The Bible... and this is
what the series is about:
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God's Word.
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And the speaker for this
series is Elder Kenneth Cox,
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an evangelist that has preached
practically all over the world.
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It is in his heart to bring
God's message to the people.
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That's why this series is
entitled Give Me The Bible
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because it is Elder Cox's desire
to lead people to the Bible
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so that they will
find there God's message.
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And we're dealing with
prophecy in this program.
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And we encourage everyone
watching all over the world
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to put whatever aside
might cast your attention
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in other
directions and pay attention
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as we study God's Word together.
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This message
comes from God's Word.
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We are dealing
with Bible prophecy.
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Medo-Persia, an empire
that came upon the scene
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of the world history
and has left its mark.
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So we encourage you to
study today in prayer...
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because it is with God's
help and through prayer that we
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can understand God's Word.
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And God's servant,
Evangelist Kenneth Cox, will
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lead us in this study that
will surely impact your lives.
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But before that, we have
the privilege of listening
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to music that will
elevate our thoughts to heaven.
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And we have Emily Felts-Jones.
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And the message in song is:
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All Hail the
Pow'r of Jesus' Name.
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All hail the
pow'r of Jesus' name!
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Let angels prostrate fall,
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Bring forth the royal diadem,
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and crown Him
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Lord of all;
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Bring forth the royal diadem,
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and crown Him
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Lord of all.
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Ye seed of Israel's chosen race,
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ye ransomed of the fall,
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Hail Him who
saves you by His grace,
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and crown Him
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Lord of all.
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Hail Him who
saves you by His grace,
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and crown Him
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Lord of all.
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O that with yonder sacred throng
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we at His feet may fall,
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Join in the everlasting song,
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and crown Him
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Lord of all.
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Join in the everlasting song,
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and crown Him
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Lord of all.
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All hail the
pow'r of Jesus' name!
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Let angels prostrate fall...
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Thank you, Emily,
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and good evening
to each one of you.
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Good evening. Very
happy to welcome you tonight.
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Also to welcome all of you
who are watching by television
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or tuning in the radio.
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We're very happy to welcome you
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tonight and we hope that you'll
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be blessed in a special way
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as we continue
to study prophecy.
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That's what this
particular series is about...
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entitled Five Have Fallen.
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Talking about Bible prophecy...
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prophecy that God has
given concerning nations
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and what would happen to
them. What the outcome would be.
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How one would rise;
another would go down.
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We're going to be
taking a look at that
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tonight as we
continue to study it.
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And we hope that you'll
be blessed in a special way
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and it'll help you get
into your Bible and study it.
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Take a look at some
of these things because
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it is absolutely amazing
how God, over and over and over,
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told exactly what was
going to happen to a nation.
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What would happen;
how it would be fulfilled;
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what would take place.
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And it took place just
exactly as God said it would,
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and you'll see
some of that tonight.
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Tonight we're talking
about the nation of Medo-Persia.
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Now, last presentation we dealt
with the nation of Babylon.
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The kingdom of
Babylon... we talked about it.
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Tonight's on Medo-Persia.
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Our next presentation after
this one will be on Greece.
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That will be the third one.
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Remember the
scripture says Five Have Fallen.
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We found out about
the fall of Babylon.
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Now tonight we're going to
take a look at Medo-Persia.
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So we hope that as
you pick up your Bible
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and read that you'll begin
to see how God has outlined it
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step by step by step.
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And these prophecies
that we are dealing with
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will take us
through these five nations,
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but it doesn't stop there.
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Our next series after
this one will continue that.
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So for this series
and the next series
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we're going to be
into Bible prophecy.
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And we hope that it will help
you in your understanding of
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God's Word in a special way.
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But tonight,
we're looking at the
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Are you enjoying Emily?
Are you enjoying her music?
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Very much so.
Appreciate her music,
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and I know that
I've been blessed by it.
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I hope that you are.
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Tonight she's going to
sing I Want To Know More.
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A minister was calling
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to people on the street:
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"Won't you come out of the cold?
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Come in and have a seat. "
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And since she had no place to go
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she wandered in and sat alone...
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hoping that
nobody else would see.
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She wasn't really listening,
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and yet somehow she heard
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a precious name
that eased her pain
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there among his words.
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And she said: "I
want to know more;
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tell me about Him.
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I want to hear His name.
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And I want to
feel the power of mercy
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touch me again and again. "
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Down at the end of Main Street
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forgotten one more time,
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lies a battered, broken soul
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someone left behind.
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A rugged man in a ragged heap
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this time hard
times played for keeps.
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So alone he's
not sure he's alive.
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But then he sees
her bending down,
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and as she spoke he heard
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a precious name
that eased his pain
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there among her words.
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And he said: "I
want to know more;
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tell me about Him
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'cause I want to hear His name.
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And I want to
feel the power of mercy
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touch me again and again. "
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Oh, the precious name of Jesus
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can lift the lowest heart
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and find the
lost, forgotten dreams
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and hide them from the dark.
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Mentions of His mercy,
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whispers of His grace,
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can only leave the longing soul
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just one thing to say.
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"Oh, I want to know more;
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tell me about Him
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'cause I want to hear His name.
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And I want to
feel the power of mercy
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touch me again and again.
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Tell me about Him
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'cause I want to hear His name.
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Yes, I want to feel the
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power of mercy
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touch me again and again. "
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Our Heavenly Father,
tonight we come to You -
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One who knows the
end from the beginning.
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One who sets up kings
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and takes them down.
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Lord, as we look at Your Word
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and look at prophecy tonight,
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help us to see and to understand
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Your greatness, Your leading,
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Your guiding... that we might
place our faith and our trust
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in what You have said and
realize that it will take place
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just as You said it would.
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Give us faith and understanding
we pray in Christ's name,
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Amen.
00:12:54.56\00:12:56.66
In Revelation the 17th
chapter there is a beast.
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A woman is riding on this beast,
00:13:06.40\00:13:09.33
and this particular
beast has seven heads.
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It says here:
00:13:13.54\00:13:14.95
Now these seven
heads on this beast...
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the scripture also tells
us that they are seven kings.
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These are seven kings.
Those seven heads on that beast
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are seven heads
of different beasts
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representing different nations.
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Just like last night
we studied about Babylon,
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and Babylon is pictured in
00:14:00.81\00:14:02.39
Daniel the 7th chapter
00:14:02.49\00:14:03.92
as a lion.
00:14:04.03\00:14:06.53
So on this beast, one of the
00:14:06.73\00:14:08.89
heads would be the head
of a lion because it would
00:14:08.99\00:14:11.48
represent Babylon.
00:14:11.58\00:14:13.28
And it says those
seven heads are seven kings
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or kingdoms if you please.
00:14:17.81\00:14:19.52
And that's what
we're looking at,
00:14:19.72\00:14:21.08
and we will be going
through that step by step
00:14:21.28\00:14:24.15
as we take... go
through this study,
00:14:24.35\00:14:26.67
particularly on
Five Have Fallen.
00:14:26.87\00:14:29.19
Now last night as we
talked about this we found that
00:14:29.39\00:14:33.64
Babylon came in...
Nebuchadnezzar did...
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came in, overthrew Judah.
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And he took the
people prisoner, captive.
00:14:40.48\00:14:44.27
Sacked the city;
destroyed the temple
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and took the
people back to Babylon.
00:14:48.99\00:14:52.61
This is the journey that they
took, and I told you last night
00:14:52.81\00:14:56.88
that this was a place -
Middle East - where you have
00:14:57.08\00:15:01.26
all these nations, and
this was what was called
00:15:01.36\00:15:04.36
The Fertile Crescent.
00:15:04.56\00:15:06.36
And if you look at the
map and you look at the green
00:15:06.56\00:15:09.63
line there, you can see
the travel that they took
00:15:09.83\00:15:14.09
going up the Jordan
River. Up to the top of it
00:15:14.29\00:15:18.53
then coming across and
coming down the Euphrates River
00:15:18.64\00:15:21.64
and bringing it down to Babylon.
00:15:21.84\00:15:24.27
That was a trip
of about 1,500 miles.
00:15:24.47\00:15:28.43
So they are taken to Babylon.
00:15:28.64\00:15:31.21
They spend 70 years in Babylon,
00:15:31.41\00:15:36.05
and last night we talked about
Nebuchadnezzar, his rule there.
00:15:36.25\00:15:40.66
We talked about
Belshazzar, his grandson.
00:15:40.87\00:15:44.11
Nabonidus, his son.
00:15:44.31\00:15:45.93
Those 70 years we
talked about last night.
00:15:46.13\00:15:48.80
I want to share a text with
you found here in the Bible.
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I don't have it on the screen,
00:15:52.27\00:15:53.71
but it's found in Jeremiah...
Jeremiah the 29th chapter,
00:15:53.91\00:15:58.30
and verse 10. Jeremiah 29:10.
00:15:58.50\00:16:02.60
I want you to
listen to what it says.
00:16:02.80\00:16:04.55
You understand that Jeremiah
lived just at the time before
00:16:04.75\00:16:09.91
the children of Israel
were carried captive to Babylon.
00:16:10.11\00:16:12.97
That's when Jeremiah lived.
00:16:13.17\00:16:14.78
This is what he said:
00:16:14.98\00:16:17.11
"For thus saith the
Lord, " I am reading verse 10,
00:16:17.31\00:16:19.93
after 70 years are
completed at Babylon.
00:16:20.13\00:16:25.65
After 70 years are
completed at Babylon
00:16:25.85\00:16:30.98
I will visit you and
perform My good word toward you
00:16:31.18\00:16:35.87
and cause you to
return to this place. "
00:16:36.07\00:16:39.10
So here you have a prophecy
00:16:39.30\00:16:41.98
by Jeremiah when he's
told the Jewish people
00:16:42.01\00:16:44.83
that they're
going to go to Babylon.
00:16:45.04\00:16:46.61
They're going to spend 70
years there and at the end of
00:16:46.81\00:16:51.50
that 70 years then He's
going to bring them back
00:16:51.70\00:16:54.86
to Jerusalem.
00:16:55.06\00:16:57.13
That's a prophecy that God gave
concerning the Jewish people.
00:16:57.33\00:17:01.95
Tonight, that's where
we're at in this study.
00:17:02.15\00:17:06.06
The 70 years has
just come to an end.
00:17:06.26\00:17:10.62
Something is about to happen.
00:17:10.82\00:17:14.34
Watch:
00:17:14.55\00:17:16.16
Isaiah 44:28. Now you
understand from your Bible
00:17:17.88\00:17:21.95
that Isaiah
lived before Jeremiah.
00:17:22.15\00:17:25.21
You understand that?
00:17:25.42\00:17:27.48
OK. Isaiah
lived before Jeremiah,
00:17:27.68\00:17:31.29
and he says this:
00:17:31.49\00:17:33.14
Now here Isaiah is
calling Cyrus by name.
00:17:36.27\00:17:41.48
Folks, this is written 150 years
00:17:41.98\00:17:46.25
before Cyrus was born.
00:17:46.35\00:17:48.67
OK? Now we're
talking about Bible prophecy.
00:17:50.00\00:17:52.53
If you have some question
in your heart and in your soul
00:17:52.73\00:17:55.78
about the
authenticity of this book
00:17:55.98\00:17:58.81
and its accuracy, you need
to take a good look at that.
00:17:59.01\00:18:01.90
150 years before Cyrus is born
00:18:02.10\00:18:05.34
God said this about him:
00:18:05.55\00:18:06.98
What did He just say
in the previous verse?
00:18:15.23\00:18:17.31
He said: "When the
70 years is completed,
00:18:17.52\00:18:20.54
then I'll bring you back. "
00:18:20.74\00:18:22.27
Watch. OK.
00:18:22.47\00:18:23.75
150 years before
Cyrus is ever born
00:18:32.78\00:18:35.81
God said what he would do.
00:18:36.01\00:18:38.10
Said: "You're going to go back.
00:18:39.14\00:18:40.31
You're going to send the people.
00:18:40.51\00:18:41.69
Foundation's going to
be laid for the temple.
00:18:41.89\00:18:44.02
They're going to
come back to Jerusalem"
00:18:44.22\00:18:45.86
just as God prophesied it would.
00:18:46.06\00:18:49.58
This was Cyrus.
00:18:49.78\00:18:51.47
Now history and
lore kind of gives you
00:18:51.67\00:18:57.62
uh... some background to
this that I think helps us see
00:18:57.82\00:19:03.17
a conflict.
00:19:04.33\00:19:06.63
A conflict of
gigantic proportions.
00:19:06.83\00:19:10.12
A conflict
between good and evil.
00:19:10.32\00:19:13.33
Because here God
has laid it out clearly
00:19:13.53\00:19:16.25
that Cyrus is going to
do this. He's prophesied it.
00:19:16.46\00:19:19.54
Well, up in Persia
there's a king... Astyages.
00:19:19.74\00:19:25.70
Astyages is the king in Persia.
00:19:25.90\00:19:29.43
He has a dream.
00:19:29.63\00:19:31.78
In the dream his
daughter, Mandane,
00:19:32.08\00:19:35.82
out of her is flowing water.
00:19:36.02\00:19:39.05
So much so in this dream
that it filled the whole city
00:19:39.25\00:19:43.86
and then filled
the whole kingdom.
00:19:44.06\00:19:45.98
Well, Astyages went to
his wise men and asked them
00:19:46.18\00:19:50.46
what does this mean?
00:19:50.66\00:19:52.09
And they said: "Oh, that means
your offspring - your grandson -
00:19:52.29\00:19:56.86
is going to take
over the kingdom. "
00:19:57.06\00:19:58.71
That's what they told
him; that's what that means.
00:19:58.91\00:20:01.53
Now back then, folks,
there wasn't a great lot of...
00:20:01.73\00:20:06.08
What should I say? love.
00:20:06.29\00:20:08.86
A great lot of emotion
connected with relatives.
00:20:09.06\00:20:13.71
And so
Astyages, the grandfather,
00:20:13.91\00:20:17.62
took the baby
grandson - which was Cyrus.
00:20:17.82\00:20:22.06
Took the grandson. Went
to his captain of his army
00:20:22.26\00:20:27.75
and said: "Take the
child out and kill him. "
00:20:27.95\00:20:30.58
Well, Harpagus - the
guard or the head of the army -
00:20:32.09\00:20:36.10
took the child out, but
he just didn't have the heart
00:20:36.30\00:20:39.45
to kill it.
00:20:39.65\00:20:41.09
So he gave it to the head
shepherd, the king's shepherd,
00:20:41.29\00:20:45.81
Mithradates, and
told Mithradates to do it.
00:20:46.01\00:20:51.75
Well it so happened
that Mithratades' wife
00:20:51.95\00:20:55.28
had just had a stillborn baby.
00:20:55.48\00:20:58.29
And so when they talked it over
00:20:58.49\00:21:00.50
they decided
they'd keep the baby
00:21:00.60\00:21:02.01
and raise it as their own son.
00:21:02.11\00:21:03.89
So they did.
00:21:04.19\00:21:05.83
They raised the child,
and when he was a child
00:21:06.03\00:21:10.28
I don't know how
old but not - you know -
00:21:10.38\00:21:12.05
maybe 7, 8, 9 years old
00:21:12.15\00:21:13.80
he and the other
children in the king's court
00:21:14.00\00:21:17.18
because he was
part of that and all,
00:21:17.39\00:21:19.43
they're playing.
And as they're playing,
00:21:19.63\00:21:23.11
the other
children ask him - Cyrus -
00:21:23.31\00:21:26.58
to play king.
00:21:26.78\00:21:29.10
They were playing this and
they said "you be our king. "
00:21:29.30\00:21:31.87
And so he said "OK. "
00:21:32.07\00:21:33.84
And while they're playing,
he gave an order to one of the
00:21:34.04\00:21:37.37
other boys to do
something, and he refused.
00:21:37.47\00:21:40.95
And Cyrus had
him severely punished
00:21:41.15\00:21:45.98
for refusing to do it...
00:21:46.18\00:21:48.97
because he didn't obey.
00:21:49.00\00:21:50.80
Severely punished enough, folks,
that it upset the boy's father.
00:21:51.00\00:21:55.12
And the boy's father
went to Astyages, the king,
00:21:55.32\00:21:59.71
and said: "You know,
what's going on here?
00:21:59.91\00:22:02.63
This other kid
punished my son so bad. "
00:22:02.73\00:22:05.28
And so Astyages, the
king, called in Cyrus.
00:22:05.38\00:22:08.90
And he asked him... he said:
00:22:09.10\00:22:11.15
"You know, what are you
doing here punishing this kid? "
00:22:11.36\00:22:13.99
And Cyrus said: "They
asked me to be king. "
00:22:14.19\00:22:16.22
And said: "I gave him
and order and he refused...
00:22:16.42\00:22:19.58
and therefore I have
every right to punish him. "
00:22:19.78\00:22:21.91
And as the king looked at him,
00:22:22.11\00:22:24.88
he could see the similarity
between himself and the boy.
00:22:25.08\00:22:29.74
And he began to recognize
that this was more than
00:22:29.94\00:22:33.85
just a coincidence.
00:22:34.05\00:22:35.41
And began to inquire
into it and found out
00:22:35.61\00:22:37.33
that this was his grandson.
00:22:37.53\00:22:39.16
And just as had been prophesied,
00:22:39.36\00:22:42.95
as Cyrus grew older
he took over the kingdom
00:22:43.15\00:22:48.43
and literally had to face
his grandfather in two wars.
00:22:48.63\00:22:53.94
But overthrew
them, and Cyrus took over
00:22:54.14\00:22:58.28
the country of the Persians.
00:22:58.48\00:23:00.70
Now, close by to
the Persians, folks,
00:23:00.90\00:23:04.63
are the Medes.
00:23:04.83\00:23:06.37
The Medes and the Persians
are so closely connected
00:23:06.57\00:23:11.19
linguistically that
they don't have any trouble
00:23:11.29\00:23:14.04
understanding each other.
00:23:14.15\00:23:15.55
And Cyrus took it upon himself,
00:23:15.75\00:23:18.48
believed that he was there
00:23:18.68\00:23:20.62
to unite the two
kingdoms together.
00:23:20.72\00:23:23.32
That's why this is called
the Medes and the Persians.
00:23:23.52\00:23:28.31
Because he felt he could
unite the two kingdoms together.
00:23:28.51\00:23:32.82
Herodotus said this concerning
the people at that time:
00:23:33.02\00:23:38.97
He's talking about Cyrus.
00:23:41.24\00:23:42.85
He was a tremendous leader.
00:23:54.80\00:23:57.47
A tremendous king
is what Cyrus was.
00:23:57.67\00:24:01.80
OK. So, taking a look
at this you're seeing now
00:24:02.00\00:24:06.18
what Medo-Persia took over.
00:24:06.29\00:24:07.96
Now you remember,
Babylon took over part of that.
00:24:08.06\00:24:12.10
But if you'll
look at it carefully,
00:24:12.30\00:24:14.03
you can see that Medo-Persia
has extended the kingdom
00:24:14.23\00:24:17.80
and taken over a
whole lot more territory.
00:24:18.00\00:24:20.88
They're ruling great parts
of Mesopotamia at this time.
00:24:21.08\00:24:26.38
All right, now
listen. Here, I marvel
00:24:26.58\00:24:30.90
at how God so
accurately tells exactly
00:24:31.10\00:24:34.50
what's going to take place.
00:24:34.60\00:24:35.81
This is in Isaiah
again... Isaiah 45 verse 1.
00:24:36.01\00:24:39.08
And it says:
00:24:39.18\00:24:40.23
Here in God's Word, 150
years before Cyrus is even born
00:24:59.12\00:25:04.71
God is telling exactly
how he is going to overthrow
00:25:04.91\00:25:08.96
the city of Babylon.
00:25:09.16\00:25:10.38
That's what's
here in this prophecy.
00:25:10.58\00:25:12.91
Line it up and saying
this is exactly how you will
00:25:13.11\00:25:15.79
overthrow the city of Babylon.
00:25:15.99\00:25:18.33
And you remember as we took
a look at the city of Babylon
00:25:18.53\00:25:21.28
Nebuchadnezzar had built
a city that he considered
00:25:21.31\00:25:25.49
and everybody else
considered impregnable.
00:25:25.59\00:25:28.32
Couldn't get inside it.
00:25:28.52\00:25:29.97
It had two rows of
walls around the city.
00:25:30.17\00:25:33.24
A mote in between.
00:25:33.44\00:25:36.37
One of those walls
was over 85 feet high.
00:25:36.57\00:25:41.50
Two chariots could race side
by side around the top of it.
00:25:41.70\00:25:45.45
It was considered something
that could not be taken.
00:25:45.65\00:25:48.54
Cyrus is taking his
army, and they've gone up
00:25:50.37\00:25:53.45
and they've met
Nebuchadnezzar's son, Nabonidus,
00:25:53.65\00:25:56.69
in battle and
have overthrown him.
00:25:56.89\00:26:00.34
Then Cyrus has sent his
captain and other people
00:26:00.74\00:26:06.72
on to take the city of Babylon.
00:26:06.93\00:26:08.91
They've gone to
take the city of Babylon.
00:26:09.11\00:26:12.75
They've surrounded the
city of Babylon, folks.
00:26:12.95\00:26:16.35
The people of Babylon
have gone up on top of the wall
00:26:16.55\00:26:22.15
and threw food to
Cyrus and laughed at him.
00:26:22.35\00:26:26.10
They had enough
food inside that city
00:26:27.49\00:26:29.87
to last them for 40 years
without ever going outside.
00:26:30.07\00:26:33.80
So it was considered...
You couldn't get in it
00:26:34.00\00:26:38.04
and the people
inside felt perfectly safe.
00:26:38.24\00:26:40.76
These people are
feeling so safe...
00:26:40.96\00:26:44.30
I mean, the city is under
siege. Do you understand that?
00:26:44.50\00:26:48.34
They've been
surrounded by a foreign army.
00:26:48.54\00:26:50.90
It's under siege, and
they're having a party.
00:26:51.11\00:26:53.92
I mean, that's
literally what's going on here.
00:26:55.18\00:26:57.50
They're having a party
while the city's under siege.
00:27:04.02\00:27:07.39
You can certainly see
they don't feel any concern
00:27:07.49\00:27:11.04
about what's taking place.
00:27:11.24\00:27:13.07
Kind of reminds me of something.
00:27:13.27\00:27:15.53
Reminds me of
something called AIG.
00:27:15.73\00:27:18.49
You know what I'm talking about?
00:27:20.15\00:27:21.90
I mean, here we are in this
and they're out having a party.
00:27:22.10\00:27:24.33
Very much. Here
they're having their party...
00:27:24.53\00:27:28.62
Cyrus has his army march
down the Euphrates River.
00:27:28.82\00:27:34.30
And at a selected spot
he had them dig canals.
00:27:34.50\00:27:38.87
And then they found
out that on this night
00:27:39.07\00:27:41.94
Belshazzar was
having this big party.
00:27:42.14\00:27:44.36
And on that night
they broke the dam or the
00:27:44.57\00:27:48.98
levee to those canals and
diverted the River Euphrates
00:27:49.18\00:27:52.78
into those
canals. And he and his men
00:27:52.98\00:27:55.72
marched up the muddy
bottom of that Euphrates River.
00:27:55.92\00:27:59.44
The guards that took
care of the two lead gates
00:28:01.15\00:28:06.90
were drunk,
00:28:07.10\00:28:08.80
and Cyrus and his men
marched inside the city.
00:28:09.00\00:28:13.51
Nobody tried to
stop them in any way.
00:28:13.72\00:28:17.22
Marched in and
took Babylon that night.
00:28:17.43\00:28:21.57
The party's going on.
Belshazzar's over drinking wine
00:28:21.77\00:28:26.28
out of the
vessels out of the temple.
00:28:26.49\00:28:28.28
They're celebrating
gods of gold and silver
00:28:28.48\00:28:31.62
and wood and stone. And it says:
00:28:31.72\00:28:34.17
Scared the daylights out of him.
00:28:54.45\00:28:56.85
That's what it did.
00:28:57.05\00:28:58.32
I mean, here this bloodless
hand writing on the wall...
00:28:58.35\00:29:01.62
and he didn't
know what it was about
00:29:01.82\00:29:04.39
till finally
they called in Daniel.
00:29:05.53\00:29:09.10
Daniel is about 90 years old.
00:29:20.18\00:29:23.49
And they call him
in and he interprets.
00:29:23.69\00:29:27.96
The hand had written on the wall
00:29:28.16\00:29:31.34
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
00:29:31.55\00:29:34.06
And he interpreted it.
00:29:34.09\00:29:36.32
This is what it said:
00:29:36.52\00:29:37.85
And that very
night Babylon fell.
00:29:56.19\00:30:00.14
I don't quite understand
what happened here, folks,
00:30:10.76\00:30:13.64
because Cyrus - as we
have just talked about -
00:30:13.84\00:30:16.24
is the one that
has done all this.
00:30:16.44\00:30:18.23
But the scripture says
that it was given to Darius.
00:30:18.43\00:30:22.06
This is... this
is Cyrus's uncle,
00:30:22.16\00:30:24.39
and I don't know if he just
did it out of kindness to him
00:30:24.59\00:30:27.59
or what... put him
in charge of Babylon.
00:30:27.80\00:30:29.70
But he didn't live
but about two years
00:30:29.90\00:30:32.13
and then Cyrus was
in control of it again.
00:30:32.34\00:30:35.20
But that's... the kingdom was
taken from them at that time.
00:30:35.40\00:30:39.14
So with that I have
given you some background,
00:30:39.34\00:30:41.79
helped you understand
what's going to take place.
00:30:41.99\00:30:44.21
Now let's take a look at the
prophecies that God has given
00:30:44.41\00:30:47.94
concerning Medo-Persia that
has just overthrown Babylon.
00:30:48.14\00:30:52.03
And as I told
you the other night,
00:30:52.23\00:30:54.34
one of the principles of
understanding Bible prophecy
00:30:54.54\00:30:58.12
is the fact that it
repeats and enlarges.
00:30:58.32\00:31:02.49
Repeats and enlarges, and
you're going to see that tonight
00:31:02.69\00:31:06.52
as we take a look at
what the scripture says about
00:31:06.72\00:31:09.73
Medo-Persia.
00:31:09.93\00:31:11.15
All right. We're
going to go to Daniel 2.
00:31:11.45\00:31:14.33
We studied some
of that last night.
00:31:14.54\00:31:16.42
Watch what it says:
00:31:16.62\00:31:17.92
So here Nebuchadnezzar
has had this dream.
00:31:57.87\00:32:00.67
Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar
what he has seen in this dream.
00:32:00.87\00:32:05.99
And he said this image was there
00:32:06.19\00:32:08.20
Now, Daniel is going
to interpret the dream.
00:32:18.81\00:32:22.47
He's going to tell
Nebuchadnezzar exactly
00:32:22.57\00:32:25.10
what he saw.
This is what he saw.
00:32:25.20\00:32:28.15
So he told Nebuchadnezzar
00:32:51.75\00:32:53.34
"Nebuchadnezzar, you
are this head of old. "
00:32:53.54\00:32:55.52
And I told you the reason for
that was because Nebuchadnezzar
00:32:55.72\00:32:59.00
ruled 40 years of the
70 that Babylon lasted.
00:32:59.21\00:33:04.50
But please notice
he's talked about Babylon.
00:33:04.70\00:33:07.81
Watch what happens next:
00:33:07.91\00:33:09.55
So he said: "After Babylon
00:33:19.53\00:33:22.20
there's going to be
another kingdom that will rise.
00:33:22.40\00:33:25.16
It will be inferior to yours. "
00:33:25.36\00:33:28.12
Just the same as
silver is inferior to gold.
00:33:28.15\00:33:33.85
So he said the next kingdom
00:33:34.05\00:33:36.17
would come on
the scene of action.
00:33:36.37\00:33:38.44
Interesting how God takes
care of all the particulars.
00:33:38.64\00:33:42.29
Puts everything together.
00:33:42.50\00:33:44.05
Because here you have
the Persians and the Medes
00:33:44.25\00:33:48.70
coming together to
form one nation: a coalition
00:33:48.90\00:33:53.98
of making one
nation. Did you notice
00:33:54.18\00:33:57.13
that the image has two arms?
00:33:57.33\00:33:59.62
Representing Persia...
Medo-Persia coming together
00:33:59.82\00:34:04.21
to form one power.
00:34:04.41\00:34:06.13
OK. Medo-Persia
00:34:06.34\00:34:10.47
overthrew Babylon in 539 BC
00:34:10.67\00:34:16.41
and she's going
to last to 331 BC.
00:34:16.61\00:34:21.01
That's the time of Medo-Persia.
00:34:21.21\00:34:23.44
So we have this
prophecy in Daniel 2
00:34:23.64\00:34:26.77
telling you exactly that there
would be a kingdom inferior
00:34:26.97\00:34:30.66
to Babylon that
was going to rise.
00:34:30.86\00:34:33.58
And it did! Just
exactly as the scripture said.
00:34:33.78\00:34:36.51
Now let's go to
Daniel the 7th chapter,
00:34:36.54\00:34:39.60
and we're going
to continue to watch.
00:34:39.70\00:34:41.58
It says:
00:34:41.68\00:34:42.70
It says this was the second
one. What was the first one?
00:34:51.82\00:34:54.87
Was the lion, OK? Babylon.
00:34:55.07\00:34:58.09
That was the lion,
so keep them straight.
00:34:58.29\00:35:00.42
This is the second
beast; it's a bear.
00:35:00.62\00:35:03.16
And it said it had
three ribs in its mouth
00:35:03.36\00:35:06.49
between its teeth
00:35:06.69\00:35:08.33
and it says that it
raised itself up on one side...
00:35:08.53\00:35:12.34
Well, I told you. The
Medes and the Persians
00:35:17.28\00:35:22.79
came together. It says the bear
raised itself up on one side.
00:35:22.99\00:35:28.76
The reason for that is
00:35:28.96\00:35:30.69
that the Persians were
stronger than the Medes.
00:35:30.89\00:35:33.80
That's why in your history books
00:35:34.00\00:35:36.12
if you go back and study that
00:35:36.32\00:35:37.60
period of time it's called the
00:35:37.70\00:35:38.96
Persian kingdom.
00:35:39.16\00:35:40.34
It's because the Persians
00:35:40.54\00:35:41.57
were stronger than the Medes.
00:35:41.67\00:35:43.41
But that's why the bear
lifted itself up on one side.
00:35:43.61\00:35:46.66
It said also that it
had three ribs in its mouth.
00:35:46.86\00:35:51.65
Medo-Persia
overthrew three countries.
00:35:51.85\00:35:55.12
If you can see them on the map
there, I underlined them in red
00:35:55.32\00:35:59.18
so that you could pick them out.
00:35:59.38\00:36:01.32
They overthrew Babylon,
00:36:01.52\00:36:03.65
they overthrew Egypt,
00:36:03.85\00:36:06.04
and they overthrew Lydia.
00:36:06.24\00:36:07.96
Those were the three countries
that Medo-Persia overthrew.
00:36:08.16\00:36:12.31
So the head of that
bear in Revelation 17...
00:36:12.51\00:36:18.43
Remember? We're talking
about a beast that has 7 heads.
00:36:18.63\00:36:21.71
One of those heads is
going to be the head of a bear.
00:36:21.91\00:36:24.80
We've got a lion for Babylon;
now the head of the bear.
00:36:25.00\00:36:29.40
So let's continue,
because God's Word continues on
00:36:29.60\00:36:32.91
talking about this
particular kingdom.
00:36:33.11\00:36:34.82
We're going to Daniel 8.
00:36:34.92\00:36:36.54
Now we've look at Daniel 2;
00:36:36.74\00:36:38.41
now we've looked at Daniel 7.
00:36:38.61\00:36:40.75
And as I told you,
it repeats and enlarges.
00:36:40.95\00:36:44.70
And that's what
we're doing here.
00:36:44.90\00:36:46.34
You have to understand what this
is talking about here, folks.
00:37:10.64\00:37:13.92
He's not in Babylon.
00:37:14.12\00:37:15.85
He's been taken in
vision to Medo-Persia
00:37:17.27\00:37:20.82
where their capitol...
this is before it even happened.
00:37:21.02\00:37:23.38
Daniel is taken in vision...
00:37:23.58\00:37:25.50
taken over to
Shushan, province of Elam.
00:37:25.70\00:37:29.34
That is way down there
right by the Persian Sea.
00:37:29.54\00:37:33.81
And that's where
he's at in vision.
00:37:34.01\00:37:36.13
OK, let's see
what he sees in vision.
00:37:36.33\00:37:38.57
OK. Two horns. The
two horns were high.
00:37:53.87\00:37:57.43
Watch this:
00:37:57.64\00:37:58.76
Exactly what happened.
00:38:07.68\00:38:09.41
You see, the Medes were there.
00:38:09.61\00:38:12.00
The Persians came on later
00:38:12.20\00:38:14.73
but they were
stronger than the Medes.
00:38:14.93\00:38:16.75
And that's the reason it says
they were higher than the others
00:38:16.95\00:38:19.52
but they came on last.
00:38:19.72\00:38:21.42
That's... God's taking
care of all the particulars
00:38:21.62\00:38:25.08
about this
kingdom... Medo-Persia.
00:38:25.28\00:38:27.77
And those are the exact...
direct directions in which
00:38:34.53\00:38:38.64
Medo-Persia went
out and conquered.
00:38:38.74\00:38:41.08
I mean, they took
all the territory there.
00:38:51.03\00:38:54.26
Nobody could withstand them.
00:38:54.46\00:38:56.45
Overthrew everything.
00:38:56.65\00:38:57.84
Cyrus...
fantastic general, folks.
00:38:58.04\00:39:00.95
Took everything
that was before him.
00:39:01.15\00:39:03.21
Now God doesn't leave
you in any doubt whatsoever
00:39:03.41\00:39:08.48
as to who this ram represents.
00:39:08.68\00:39:11.13
Daniel 8:20. So the
scripture very clearly
00:39:19.13\00:39:22.99
outlines it and
tells you that that ram
00:39:23.19\00:39:25.85
represented Medo-Persia.
No question about it.
00:39:26.05\00:39:29.56
So it became strong.
00:39:29.76\00:39:33.08
Took everything
that was before it.
00:39:33.28\00:39:35.79
God took it.
00:39:36.09\00:39:39.30
OK. Now we're
going to go to Daniel 11.
00:39:39.50\00:39:43.52
Daniel 11.
00:39:43.72\00:39:45.17
Now this is... this
we're coming on down in time.
00:39:48.92\00:39:52.92
Now this is not
Daniel talking, folks.
00:39:57.42\00:39:59.67
This is an angel that has
gone there to strengthen Darius
00:39:59.87\00:40:05.68
because there's a
conflict taking place here.
00:40:05.81\00:40:08.08
And so he's
telling Daniel about this.
00:40:08.28\00:40:10.66
OK. So there's
going to be four kings.
00:40:25.93\00:40:29.15
Said the... the fourth
one is going to be richer
00:40:29.25\00:40:31.98
than all the rest of them.
00:40:32.18\00:40:34.02
Said there would
be four more of them.
00:40:34.22\00:40:35.54
Folks, how can
you doubt God's Word?
00:40:35.74\00:40:40.67
I do not understand
how a person can read it
00:40:40.87\00:40:46.26
and God makes statements
like we have just read
00:40:46.46\00:40:50.62
and doubt the
accuracy of the scripture.
00:40:50.82\00:40:55.58
Because this is
exactly what happened.
00:40:55.79\00:40:58.03
He said: "there's
going to be four more.
00:40:58.23\00:40:59.64
The fourth one's going to be
richer than all the others. "
00:40:59.84\00:41:02.20
And when you
look at the scripture
00:41:02.40\00:41:04.47
that's exactly what happened.
00:41:04.67\00:41:06.71
Well, that's
exactly what took place.
00:41:13.68\00:41:18.11
When Darius died,
his son took over.
00:41:18.31\00:41:23.18
Cambyses took
over and began to rule.
00:41:23.38\00:41:28.00
That was the next one.
00:41:28.10\00:41:29.28
Said after him there would
be four more after that one.
00:41:29.48\00:41:32.98
Then after that one it says
00:41:33.18\00:41:35.17
there would be another one
which was one called Gaumata.
00:41:35.37\00:41:39.36
Gaumata. Uh, how
should I put this?
00:41:39.56\00:41:42.89
This was kind of a pseudo-king.
00:41:43.09\00:41:46.76
Just a fellow that came
in. He ruled there and all
00:41:46.96\00:41:49.82
but really wasn't
considered too much of a king.
00:41:50.02\00:41:54.35
But he ruled at
that period of time.
00:41:54.55\00:41:57.03
And then after him was Darius I.
00:41:57.23\00:42:01.43
Darius came on
the scene of action.
00:42:01.63\00:42:04.10
And then after
Darius we have Ahasuerus.
00:42:04.31\00:42:09.92
Does that strike any
bell with any of you?
00:42:10.12\00:42:12.45
Ahasuerus. You see,
this is taking place
00:42:12.65\00:42:16.90
during the time of Esther.
00:42:17.10\00:42:21.49
See, this is
taking place, folks,
00:42:21.69\00:42:24.15
during the time in
which there was such people as
00:42:24.35\00:42:27.15
Nehemiah, Ezra, Zerubabbel.
00:42:27.35\00:42:31.26
All those are involved
at this period of time.
00:42:31.46\00:42:34.63
They're people
in Israel and all.
00:42:34.83\00:42:38.75
This is the time
when Esther is involved.
00:42:38.95\00:42:44.00
So let's go and take a look
00:42:44.20\00:42:45.77
at what it tells us
about Esther or Ahasuerus.
00:42:45.97\00:42:48.91
It says in Esther 1 verse 2:
00:42:49.11\00:42:51.94
That's where Daniel was
in vision. You remember?
00:43:00.51\00:43:02.84
OK?
00:43:03.04\00:43:04.10
Now, you've got to... I
just showed you the territory.
00:43:12.50\00:43:17.12
I mean, it went all
the way down into Egypt.
00:43:17.32\00:43:22.18
It goes clear over to Iraq
00:43:22.38\00:43:26.92
and all through
that part of the world.
00:43:27.12\00:43:28.98
In fact, the scripture
says there were 120 provinces.
00:43:29.38\00:43:35.38
OK. Here he's invited in all...
00:43:35.58\00:43:40.03
he's invited in
all of his officers.
00:43:40.23\00:43:43.47
All of his servants, OK?
00:43:43.67\00:43:45.92
Now you've got to look at this.
00:43:54.88\00:43:56.87
When he showed the what?
00:43:59.07\00:44:01.27
Now it said the
fourth one would be what?
00:44:02.22\00:44:04.70
The fourth one would be
richer than all of them.
00:44:04.90\00:44:08.07
OK. He's there
showing them his riches...
00:44:08.27\00:44:11.17
Folks, that's
saying they had a party
00:44:22.77\00:44:24.97
for 180 days.
00:44:25.17\00:44:27.52
Invited all these people
in from all over his kingdom,
00:44:27.72\00:44:31.56
and here they have
a party for 180 days.
00:44:31.76\00:44:36.06
Showing all of his riches
00:44:36.26\00:44:39.67
just exactly as the
scripture said it would be.
00:44:39.87\00:44:43.68
Riches that he
had above them all.
00:44:43.88\00:44:47.88
He was indeed a rich
kingdom, but unfortunately,
00:44:48.08\00:44:52.54
he didn't use those
riches as he should have.
00:44:52.74\00:44:57.01
Unfortunately,
00:44:57.21\00:45:00.34
riches and money
00:45:00.64\00:45:04.16
doesn't help us.
00:45:04.46\00:45:06.36
I'm sorry, but it doesn't.
00:45:06.76\00:45:09.88
You know, Christ said
it's harder for a rich man
00:45:10.08\00:45:14.63
to get into the
kingdom of heaven
00:45:14.83\00:45:16.29
than for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle.
00:45:16.32\00:45:19.25
Riches do not help us, folks.
00:45:19.45\00:45:23.91
We... you see it all the time.
00:45:24.11\00:45:27.58
People use it,
00:45:27.79\00:45:29.09
and it's used in the wrong way.
00:45:29.29\00:45:32.59
And here he was richer than all
00:45:32.79\00:45:35.69
of the others before him.
00:45:35.89\00:45:37.04
Had tremendous power,
00:45:37.24\00:45:39.16
but used it wrongly.
00:45:39.36\00:45:42.14
Oh dear friend, I
would plead with you...
00:45:42.34\00:45:45.77
don't pray to be rich.
00:45:45.97\00:45:50.27
Don't pray to be rich.
00:45:50.47\00:45:53.21
Solomon. Solomon
couldn't handle it.
00:45:55.73\00:46:00.03
Could not handle riches.
00:46:01.39\00:46:03.41
Wisest man that ever
lived couldn't handle it.
00:46:03.61\00:46:06.91
I'll tell you:
people that have possessions
00:46:07.11\00:46:11.84
have it at the
peril of their own soul.
00:46:12.05\00:46:16.45
Just cannot... it has a
way of turning your attention
00:46:18.11\00:46:23.17
and your dependency...
primarily your dependence
00:46:23.37\00:46:26.49
will be on God and these people
think that they are the ones
00:46:26.70\00:46:30.86
that do it and they're
the ones that accomplish it.
00:46:31.06\00:46:33.14
As Nebuchadnezzar said:
"Have you seen my great kingdom?
00:46:33.34\00:46:36.46
All that I've done? "
00:46:36.66\00:46:38.13
And so people that have
riches have real, real problems.
00:46:38.33\00:46:43.92
And you and I need to
be careful in this regard.
00:46:44.12\00:46:49.32
I want to show you
what Ahasuerus did...
00:46:49.52\00:46:51.55
because this is what he did:
00:46:51.75\00:46:53.50
Wealthy.
00:47:06.17\00:47:10.20
Great power.
00:47:10.40\00:47:11.51
As the scripture said
nothing stood before them.
00:47:12.76\00:47:17.41
But over in the area of Greece
00:47:17.61\00:47:21.86
power was beginning to grow.
00:47:22.26\00:47:25.74
Beginning to get a
little stronger and all.
00:47:25.94\00:47:29.91
And so Ahasuerus went around
00:47:30.11\00:47:32.45
and he solicited these
other kingdoms to turn with him
00:47:32.65\00:47:38.46
against Greece
and to fight them.
00:47:38.66\00:47:40.91
And they did.
00:47:41.11\00:47:43.54
But unfortunately there's a
man by the name of Philip II
00:47:43.95\00:47:49.93
who is now in charge of Greece.
00:47:50.13\00:47:53.47
And things are getting stronger
and stronger and stronger.
00:47:53.67\00:47:59.29
You see, how much
better... how much better off
00:47:59.49\00:48:04.64
he would have
been to turn to God
00:48:04.84\00:48:07.68
and to have sought the Lord
00:48:07.88\00:48:11.57
and to have followed Him
rather than depending upon
00:48:11.77\00:48:14.93
his riches and trying
to gather other nations
00:48:15.03\00:48:18.67
and turn them against Greece
00:48:18.77\00:48:20.35
to turn away that
power. But he failed.
00:48:20.55\00:48:24.11
Wasn't able to accomplish it.
00:48:24.14\00:48:26.37
And you and I need to understand
that we need to be very, very
00:48:26.57\00:48:31.50
careful. Especially, folks,
00:48:31.70\00:48:34.33
and I'm just kind of talking to
you out of my heart right now,
00:48:34.53\00:48:38.71
but especially people
that live in the United States.
00:48:38.91\00:48:43.71
You have been blessed.
00:48:43.91\00:48:47.83
God has given you things.
00:48:48.03\00:48:50.70
And don't let the
things of this world
00:48:51.86\00:48:57.45
turn your
attention away from God.
00:48:57.65\00:49:01.60
Don't let that happen.
00:49:01.80\00:49:03.25
Keep your eye on the Lord.
00:49:03.45\00:49:05.87
Don't depend on money.
00:49:06.07\00:49:09.41
I mean the few things
that's happened here in the last
00:49:09.61\00:49:12.09
few months ought to
give you enough indication
00:49:12.29\00:49:15.36
to know that that's
not very good security.
00:49:15.56\00:49:17.72
You know, it can... it
can go very, very quickly
00:49:17.93\00:49:21.04
and it's gone.
00:49:21.14\00:49:22.16
You need to learn
to depend on the Lord.
00:49:22.46\00:49:25.55
And as things were rising there,
00:49:25.75\00:49:28.57
well then a young man was
coming on the scene of action
00:49:28.77\00:49:34.64
that nobody could stop.
00:49:34.84\00:49:38.36
Because the son of Philip II
00:49:38.56\00:49:42.89
was Alexander the Great.
00:49:43.09\00:49:45.43
He was rising.
00:49:45.63\00:49:49.40
Getting stronger all the time.
00:49:49.61\00:49:52.19
And exactly as scripture said
00:49:52.39\00:49:56.59
Medo-Persia was going to fall,
00:49:56.79\00:50:02.18
and it would fall to Greece
00:50:02.38\00:50:05.22
under the leadership
of Alexander the Great.
00:50:05.42\00:50:09.63
And so in our next presentation
we're going to talk about
00:50:09.83\00:50:12.27
what happened with
Greece... what took place there.
00:50:12.48\00:50:16.01
But so far, as we've
looked at Five Have Fallen,
00:50:16.21\00:50:21.11
well we've looked at Babylon,
00:50:21.31\00:50:24.07
which is the lion
- head of a lion -
00:50:24.27\00:50:27.32
and we found
that that power fell
00:50:27.52\00:50:30.65
just exactly as scripture said.
00:50:30.85\00:50:33.41
And tonight we have
looked at Medo-Persia.
00:50:33.61\00:50:38.64
And Medo-Persia fell to who?
00:50:38.84\00:50:42.16
To Babylon.
Medo-Persia fell to Babylon.
00:50:42.36\00:50:45.77
Babylon overthrew them.
00:50:45.97\00:50:47.58
And so you find the second one
coming on the scene of action.
00:50:47.79\00:50:51.62
And then you have the third one
00:50:51.82\00:50:53.85
that comes on
the scene of action
00:50:54.06\00:50:55.71
which is Greece.
00:50:55.91\00:50:57.26
And Medo-Persia fell to Greece.
00:50:57.46\00:51:00.43
So, get into that book.
00:51:00.63\00:51:02.45
Study it; look at it.
00:51:02.65\00:51:04.70
There's wonderful,
wonderful words of life
00:51:04.90\00:51:09.54
in that book for you and for me.
00:51:09.74\00:51:12.62
Sing them over again to me,
00:51:21.06\00:51:26.97
wonderful words of life.
00:51:27.17\00:51:33.16
Let me more of their beauty see,
00:51:34.08\00:51:40.05
wonderful words of life.
00:51:40.69\00:51:46.60
Words of life and beauty,
00:51:47.26\00:51:53.12
teach me faith and duty.
00:51:53.33\00:51:59.14
Beautiful words,
00:51:59.44\00:52:02.75
wonderful words,
00:52:02.95\00:52:06.17
wonderful words
00:52:06.38\00:52:10.04
of life.
00:52:10.24\00:52:15.32
Let us pray.
00:52:16.64\00:52:17.93
Heavenly Father,
00:52:18.13\00:52:21.42
as we have
looked at these nations
00:52:21.62\00:52:23.92
and how You have so clearly
00:52:24.12\00:52:27.64
outlined their
rise and their fall.
00:52:27.84\00:52:31.87
Lord may we
realize that You hold
00:52:32.08\00:52:37.80
this world in the
palm of Your hand.
00:52:38.20\00:52:41.24
May we by faith reach out
and take hold of the promises
00:52:42.65\00:52:48.51
that You have given.
That we can trust You.
00:52:48.71\00:52:52.62
That we can turn
our lives over to You.
00:52:52.82\00:52:56.23
That You will
guide and lead and direct
00:52:57.32\00:52:59.78
if we will just seek You.
00:52:59.98\00:53:03.03
Give us understanding, Lord.
00:53:03.23\00:53:05.21
As we study these
prophecies, may we sense
00:53:05.41\00:53:09.80
and may we see Your
leading and Your guiding.
00:53:09.90\00:53:13.53
May we see how You told
what was going to happen
00:53:14.71\00:53:20.68
before it ever took place
00:53:20.88\00:53:23.29
and how it happened just
exactly like You said it would.
00:53:23.49\00:53:28.68
Help us that we may
not be weak in faith
00:53:28.88\00:53:33.49
but that we will be strong
00:53:33.69\00:53:36.32
and that we'll walk
with you and follow you
00:53:36.52\00:53:38.81
all the way into
the kingdom of heaven.
00:53:39.01\00:53:42.66
For this we pray in
Christ's name, Amen.
00:53:42.86\00:53:46.84
Well, as we
continue into Bible prophecy
00:53:49.29\00:53:53.28
as I told you, our next
presentation is going to be
00:53:53.48\00:53:56.85
on Greece... the third kingdom.
00:53:57.05\00:54:00.72
And so you need to be here
00:54:00.92\00:54:02.80
as we continue to study it
00:54:02.90\00:54:04.48
and see how God designed things.
00:54:04.68\00:54:07.60
There's certain things right
now at this particular time
00:54:07.70\00:54:10.23
in history, folks,
that we're talking about
00:54:10.44\00:54:12.16
that begin to happen
that changes the course
00:54:12.36\00:54:15.62
of history for all mankind.
00:54:15.82\00:54:19.36
I'm talking about
great changes that take place
00:54:19.56\00:54:22.54
right at this
particular time that we're in
00:54:22.74\00:54:24.52
in which it switches and begins
to change the whole course
00:54:24.72\00:54:28.51
of humanity. And so you
want to be sure and be here.
00:54:28.71\00:54:32.69
Or if you're
watching by television,
00:54:32.89\00:54:34.77
or listening by radio,
00:54:34.97\00:54:36.18
don't miss it as we
continue to study this.
00:54:36.38\00:54:39.27
We're going to
bring you step by step
00:54:39.47\00:54:41.64
right on down to the present
time in which we are living.
00:54:41.85\00:54:45.04
So we hope you'll be blessed.
00:54:45.24\00:54:46.81
May God bless you;
have a good evening.
00:54:46.84\00:54:49.33
The Bible says in Matthew 13:44
00:54:51.77\00:54:55.13
Every day we pass
by ordinary places
00:55:08.53\00:55:11.08
that may be hiding
something of incredible value.
00:55:11.28\00:55:14.85
Whether buried in a field
or squirreled away in an attic,
00:55:14.88\00:55:18.76
or even an old,
fallen-down house.
00:55:18.96\00:55:21.64
But imagine for a
moment the thrill of stumbling
00:55:21.94\00:55:25.12
upon a treasure
beyond your wildest dreams.
00:55:25.32\00:55:28.75
Will you eagerly
sell everything you have
00:55:28.95\00:55:31.20
to gain something
of much greater value?
00:55:31.40\00:55:34.31
Will you be willing to
endure criticism of friends,
00:55:34.51\00:55:37.32
even family members,
in order to obtain it?
00:55:37.52\00:55:40.50
This parable speaks of the
most incredible treasure of all,
00:55:40.80\00:55:44.26
and it's hidden in God's Word.
00:55:44.46\00:55:47.06
That treasure is
Jesus Christ himself.
00:55:47.26\00:55:51.39
But sadly, even
those who claim Him
00:55:52.63\00:55:55.43
often don't recognize
this infinite treasure.
00:55:55.63\00:55:58.82
Just watch how quickly they
toss aside what the Bible says
00:55:59.02\00:56:03.20
when it becomes inconvenient.
00:56:03.40\00:56:05.99
Friends, the treasure of the
gospel are hidden in God's Word.
00:56:07.34\00:56:11.75
Many of its readers have
eyes, but they do not see.
00:56:11.95\00:56:16.18
They have ears,
but they don't hear.
00:56:16.48\00:56:19.40
They never find
its hidden treasure.
00:56:19.60\00:56:22.39
In fact, they may
read it over and over
00:56:22.59\00:56:25.59
and never see it.
00:56:25.79\00:56:27.04
Even worse, many
times they do see it
00:56:27.24\00:56:29.80
but think the price is too high.
00:56:30.00\00:56:32.75
Like the Jews of old
00:56:32.95\00:56:34.56
who rejected the Messiah
because He was not in harmony
00:56:34.76\00:56:37.71
with their ambitious desires,
00:56:37.91\00:56:40.02
many won't seek
heavenly treasure
00:56:40.22\00:56:42.15
because earthly
treasure is more alluring.
00:56:42.35\00:56:45.53
They reason that if they
could just obtain the things
00:56:45.73\00:56:48.54
which they desire
they would have peace.
00:56:48.84\00:56:51.07
Sadly, they don't realize
that they carry the disturber
00:56:51.27\00:56:55.21
of their own peace
inside their hearts.
00:56:55.41\00:56:57.95
They pass by the
One who declared:
00:56:58.15\00:57:00.31
"Peace I leave with
you. My peace I give to you.
00:57:00.61\00:57:04.52
Not as the world
gives do I give to you.
00:57:04.82\00:57:07.37
Let not your heart be troubled,
00:57:07.57\00:57:09.40
neither let it be afraid. "
00:57:09.60\00:57:11.95
The treasure of the Bible
are revealed only to those
00:57:13.45\00:57:17.02
who carefully study its pages
00:57:17.15\00:57:19.21
with a humble
and searching heart.
00:57:19.41\00:57:21.46
Our whole ministry is dedicated
to helping men and women
00:57:21.66\00:57:24.54
find the priceless
treasure hidden in the Bible.
00:57:24.74\00:57:27.98
We pray that you
will not be satisfied
00:57:28.18\00:57:30.78
with surface truths
00:57:30.98\00:57:32.74
but instead you'll want
to unearth the precious gems
00:57:32.84\00:57:36.80
that others pass by.
00:57:37.00\00:57:38.71
Dig into the Bible as a
miner digs into the earth
00:57:38.91\00:57:42.28
to find veins of
gold. Don't give up
00:57:42.38\00:57:45.05
until you have found
a relationship with God,
00:57:45.08\00:57:47.84
and then join us in spreading
the good news to the world.
00:57:48.04\00:57:52.40
Please consider what you can do
00:57:52.60\00:57:54.31
for those who still
don't know about Jesus.
00:57:54.41\00:57:56.70
As the Holy Spirit impresses,
00:57:56.90\00:57:58.53
please send your
tax-deductible gifts to:
00:57:58.73\00:58:00.62
Your gifts help bring
the Blessed Hope of salvation
00:58:14.20\00:58:16.79
to millions all
around the world.
00:58:16.99\00:58:20.07