From around 610BC, Nebuchadnezzar began the invasion and destruction of the ancient kingdom of Judah. What had begun as a theocracy moved through various stages of its sometimes glorious history until finally, after over eight centuries of living in their promised land Zedekiah, the last mon…
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Ezekiel – Man of Vision, Son of Man
If he were alive today, he would likely be called an eccentric genius. He was a Bible student and a wise priest—sought out for advice even by those who would be his enemies. He was a memorable mime, and only a talented artist could recall and write down…
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Ezekiel – Man of Vision, Son of Man
Ezekiel was a man of vision. God showed him the future so clearly that at times he must have felt that he was actually living it. The first vision was perhaps the most stunning of all. Its noise was like a giant storm engulfing the world. It was full of i…
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Jeremiah: The Reluctant Firebrand (Part 1)
[table id=BabylonianCaptivityTheEcclesiaInExile4_1 /]Imagine, for a moment, a Jerusalem Bible Class in around 610BC. Maybe it’s even a special weekend. The room is very full and some of the people in it will be world famous in the next …
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Jeremiah: The Reluctant Firebrand (Part 2)
Jeremiah wrote the longest book of prophecy in the Bible, full of more biographical insights than any other. To summarise it is to do it an injustice, but here it is anyway.
The prophet’s early messages to the people were condemnations and ca…
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What’s in a name?
Plenty in Daniel’s case:
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone!
Dare to have a purpose firm!
Dare to make it known.
[table id=DanielTheManwithanExcellentSpirit_1 /]When the cream of Judah’s youth were taken captive to Babylon in 607BC, they were to be t…
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Daniel the elder statesman
Years later in Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, the king, at the zenith of his power, had another disturbing dream. After summoning the other wise men of the empire, the king finally sent for Daniel and requested his interpretation. The implications of the dream we…
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634BC
Born
0 yrs
605BC
Defeats Pharaoh at CarchemishAscends throne of BabylonBesieges Jerusalem first timeJehoiakim becomes his ‘puppet king’Daniel taken captive
29
604BC
Dream of image in Daniel 2
30
603BC?
Image of gold in Daniel 3Fiery furnace
31
597BC
Besi…
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Nebuchadnezzar visited Judah again six years later and took more captives, including Ezekiel. He set up Zedekiah as another puppet king, but he foolishly turned to Egypt and the king of Babylon finally lost patience. In the 19th year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem after a two-year …
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Ezra: A Ready Scribe (Part 1)
589BC?
Born
0 yrs
588BC
Seraiah, his father, dies
1
585BC
Jerusalem destroyed
Taken captive to Babylon
4
570BC
Death of Ezekiel
19
539BC
Decree of Cyrus
First return under Zerubbabel
50
533BC?
Death of Daniel
…
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