From ancient Persia to Hitler�s Germany to modern Iran, Purim reminds us of God�s love for & protection of the Jewish people from those who seek to �annihilate� them.
Israel and the Jewish people face many threats these days -- from a nuclear Iran, from terrorist rocket fire out of Gaza, from Syrian chemical weapons, and from rising anti-Semitism and a global movement to isolate and delegitimize Israel, especially pernicious in Europe, to name just a few.
Sometimes Jews wonder, "Why are we the Chosen People? How has that worked out well for us? The Pharoah chose us. Hitler chose us. Stalin chose us. The ayatollahs chose us. Choose someone else, Lord, please!" It's a sad but understandable sentiment.
As we see current threats -- and as we remember the horrors of the Holocaust and the Nazi regime's determination to annihilate all the Jews of Europe -- we need to remember that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has never forgotten or forsaken the people He sovereignly chosen. We have, all too often, forgotten Him. But He has never forgotten us.
Indeed, that is why His Word commanded us to celebrate Purim, which takes place this weekend.
Purim is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the remarkable story of how the God of Israel used two faithful believers � Esther and Mordechai � and a movement of prayer and fasting to rescue the Jewish people from an evil Persian regime determine to annihilate them.
Remember: the evil Persian leader Haman literally used the language of annihilation all those years ago. As we read in Esther 3:13, "Letters were sent by couriers to all the king's provinces to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day...."
The Bible tells believers throughout the ages to celebrate this important holiday. This weekend, I will be teaching at a Baptist church in Tampa about the Jewish holiday of Purim, and why it is so important, and how from ancient Persia to Hitler's Germany to modern Iran, Purim reminds us of God's faithful love for and sovereign protection of the Jewish people from those who seek to destroy them.
May the Lord bless you, and all of Israel, and all of the Persian people this Purim season.
Let�s consider today why Jews celebrate the festival of Purim (which falls on March 7-8 this year). Let me remind you what is Purim. This is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the remarkable story of how the Lord used two faithful believers - Mordechai and Esther (the Jewish Queen)- and other believers in the God of Israel to pray and fast about salvation of the Jewish people from an evil Persian regime which determined to annihilate them. Their prayers and fasting moved the Lord to intervene to save the Jewish people from a Persian tyrant in ages past- God saved the Jewish people though they still had to fight the Persian enemy. The Bible tells believers throughout the ages to celebrate this important holiday. Why do we celebrate this day of salvation of the Jewish people? Because one more time we have a chance to praise the God of Israel that He is the Redeemer of the Jewish people�.We are also to thank Him that He also saved so many Persian people who turned to the Living God at the end of the story (many people miss this part). We are commanded to celebrate this festive reminder of God�s watch-care over the people of Israel! The Lord encourages us to give food and other gifts to the poor. As we read in Esther 9:20-22, "Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, obliging them to celebrate the fourteenth day of the month Adar, and the fifteenth day of the same month, annually, because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and it was a month which was turned for them from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor."
But what happened that Jews rid themselves of their Persian enemies?
Let me give you below a summary of this story which you can read in the book of Esther (the Holy Torah).
The Purim story took place in Persia. Although King Cyrus had decreed earlier that the Jews could return to their homeland from the Babylonian captivity, some had chosen not to return. Rather than face the hardships of pioneer life, they had opted for the comfort and seeming security of their Persian homes.In the Holy Torah (Genesis 12:3), God promised Abraham and Jews, �And I will bless them that bless you, and curse them that curses you��
Haman, grand vizier, sealed his own doom when he challenged the promise of the Almighty by trying to destroy the Jews. God judged Haman's life forfeit and thus God curses all those who dare to curse the Jews, the apple of His eye (the Torah).That promise of God to Abraham was not meant only for Bible times. It still holds true. In our own generation, another man came who dared to think he could annihilate the Jewish people. In October 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made a speech at the "World Without Zionism" conference in which he agreed with Ayatollah Khomeini's statement that Israel "must be wiped off the map." Let me remind you words of Ahmadinejad. Here are a couple of those quotes:"We will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future thanks to the endeavors of all Palestinian and Lebanese fighters."
"[Israel] has reached the end of its function and will soon disappear off the geographical domain."
If Ahmadinejad does intend to wipe Israel off the map, his plan will fail for a few reasons. And we will consider them today.
Muslims are those who worry that Israel will be destroyed. Islam says that all Jews will be killed. But Islam is just one of the millions of the false religions of this world!!!! Islam was created by the evil demons/jinns/the fallen angels that�s why all evil predictions of Islam will NEVER be fulfilled!!! Why? This cannot happen, for those who work for the deliverance of the Jewish people will not be defeated. Instead, through belief in God's promise of preservation, they will be blessed:� Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.�
Psalm 121:4-7
Psalm 121
God the Help of Those Who Seek Him
A Song of Ascents.
I will lift up my eyes to the hills--
From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
Yesterday one of Muslims quoted me this Psalm saying that God does not slumber nor sleep. And it make me happy that today He knows what the God of Israel says to him and all of us. But he and you all should note to whom God addressed these words!!! � Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper�
God said these words about Israel!!!
God is the Keeper of Israel.
His name in the Holy Torah is the Shield of Israel.
He is Defense of Israel.
He keeps Israel.
But why?
God's promises are sure. He promised to Abraham to bless him and his descendants Jews/Israel!!!! The God of Israel continues to protect and preserve our people against all odds, so that the world may know that He is real and that He keeps His word. Because He chose a group of people from the pagan nations to reveal them His Nature LOVE and His Son- the Savior of the world. God said that He loved Israel with an everlasting love. Moreover, God said that His Jewish people are HOLY and He Himself dwells among them! Wonderful! The HOLY God dwells among the HOLY Jewish people and commands you to be HOLY too!!! So, the story of Purim begins when Persian King Ahasuerus commands his wife, Queen Vashti, to appear before him and his male guests at a party. She refuses and as a result King Ahasuerus decides to find another queen. His search begins with a royal beauty pageant. The most beautiful young women in the kingdom are brought before the king, and Esther, a young Jewish girl, is selected to be the new queen. Esther is portrayed as an orphan belonging to the tribe of Benjamin. She lives with her cousin Mordechai as a member of the Jewish exiles in Persia. At her cousin's behest, Esther conceals her Jewish identity from the king. Not long after Esther becomes queen, Mordechai offends the grand vizier, Haman, by refusing to bow down to him. Haman decides to punish not only Mordechai but all Jews for this slight. He informs King Ahasuerus that the Jews do not obey the king's laws and that it would be in the kingdom's best interest to get rid of them. He asks for permission to destroy them, which the king grants. Haman then orders the king's officials to kill all the Jews - "young and old, women and children" - on the 13th day of the month of Adar (Esther 3:13). When Mordechai learns of the plot he tears his clothes and sits in sackcloth and ash at the entrance to the city. When Esther learns of this, she orders one of her servants to find out what is troubling her cousin. The servant returns to Esther with a copy of the edict and instructions from Mordechai that she should beg the king for mercy on behalf of her people. Mordechai urges her to take action, saying that perhaps she became queen so that she could save her people. Esther decides to fast before taking action and requests that her fellow Jews fast along with her. After fasting for three days Esther puts on her finest clothes and appears before the king. He is pleased to see her and asks what she desires. She replies that she would like the king and Haman to join her at a banquet. Haman is delighted to hear this but is still so upset with Mordechai that he can't stop thinking about it. His wife and friends tell him to impale Mordechai on a pole if it will make him feel better. Haman loves this idea and immediately has the pole set up. However, that night the king decides to honor Mordechai because earlier in the story Mordecai had uncovered a plot against the king. He commands Haman to put the king's own robe on Mordecai and to take him around the city on the king's horse while proclaiming, "This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor!" (Esther 6:11). Haman reluctantly obeys and soon afterward goes to Esther's banquet. At the banquet King Ahasuerus asks his wife again, what does she desire? She answers: "If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, grant me my life�this is my petition. And spare my people�this is my request. For I and my people have been sold to be destroyed, killed and annihilated." (Esther 7:3). The king is outraged that anyone would dare threaten his queen and when he asks who has done such a thing Esther declares that Haman is to blame. One of Esther's servants then tells the king that Haman had erected a pole/gallows upon which he planned to hang on Mordechai. King Ahasuerus commands that Haman instead be hang on. He then takes his signet ring from Haman and gives it to Mordechai. Mordechai is also given Haman's estate and the king gives Esther the power to overturn Haman's orders.Esther issues an edict giving Jews in every city the right to assemble and protect themselves against anyone who may try to harm them. When the appointed day arrives, the Jews defend themselves against their attackers, killing and destroying them. Mordecai declares that the victory be remembered every year. The celebration is called Purim because Haman cast the "pur" (the lot) against the Jews, yet failed to destroy them.
Let�s read the end of this story:
Esther 9
The Jews Destroy Their Tormentors
9 Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time came for the king�s command and his decree to be executed. On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered those who hated them. 2 The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. 3 And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king�s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king�s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. 5 Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them.6 And in Shushan the citadel the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 Also Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vajezatha� 10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews�they killed; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.11 On that day the number of those who were killed in Shushan the citadel was brought to the king. 12 And the king said to Queen Esther, �The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men in Shushan the citadel, and the ten sons of Haman. What have they done in the rest of the king�s provinces? Now what is your petition? It shall be granted to you. Or what is your further request? It shall be done.�13 Then Esther said, �If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do again tomorrow according to today�s decree, and let Haman�s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.�
14 So the king commanded this to be done; the decree was issued in Shushan, and they hanged Haman�s ten sons.
15 And the Jews who were in Shushan gathered together again on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar and killed three hundred men at Shushan; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.16 The remainder of the Jews in the king�s provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder. 17 This was on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar. And on the fourteenth of the month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness.The Feast of Purim18 But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day, as well as on the fourteenth; and on the fifteenth of the month they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in the unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another.20 And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, 21 to establish among them that they should celebrate yearly the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar, 22 as the days on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month which was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor. 23 So the Jews accepted the custom which they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them, 24 because Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to annihilate them, and had cast Pur (that is, the lot), to consume them and destroy them; 25 but when Esther came before the king, he commanded by letter that this wicked plot which Haman had devised against the Jews should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.26 So they called these days Purim, after the name Pur. Therefore, because of all the words of this letter, what they had seen concerning this matter, and what had happened to them, 27 the Jews established and imposed it upon themselves and their descendants and all who would join them, that without fail they should celebrate these two days every year, according to the written instructions and according to the prescribed time, 28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them should not perish among their descendants.29 Then Queen Esther, the daughter of Abihail, with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter about Purim. 30 And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews, to the one hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, 31 to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had prescribed for them, and as they had decreed for themselves and their descendants concerning matters of their fasting and lamenting. 32 So the decree of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim, and it was written in the book.
Esther 10
Mordecai�s Advancement
1 And King Ahasuerus imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. 2 Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.
Brothers, in our history all previous efforts to "wipe out" the Jewish people have failed. We all know what happened to Pharaoh and his Egyptian army when they tried to pursue the Israelites across the Red Sea. Hitler killed himself when he realized the war was lost. Just do not forget why a Jew named Mordechai refused to bow down to Haman. The God of Israel commanded to bow down only before the God of Israel and not before any people or stone Kaaba!!! That�s why to pray in the direction of the stone Kaaba is also an abomination for us the same way like for God! But of course not direction determines if God hears our prayers or not, but the Faith in the Son of God and His Father!
There are some reasons why Ahmadinejad and the Muslim world will fail to annihilate Israel: God's promises in the Hebrew Scriptures to Jewish people.
"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse"
(Genesis 12:3)
Here's another tremendous promise:
This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar�the LORD Almighty is his name: �Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,� declares the LORD, �will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.� Jeremiah 31:35-36
The prophet Ezekiel predicted that God would restore the Jewish people to the Land: "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land" Ezekiel 37:21
And in 1948, Israel once again became a nation!
Attacks on Israel will continue. But God will preserve His people.
God said:
"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,
"Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles."
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
"I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain."
I will proclaim the LORD's decree:
He said to me, "You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." Psalm 2:1-8
Who is this anointed Messiah?
Jesus.
He is the Son of God.
And He is God Himself equal to His Father.
The Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel describes a dictator called Gog (often associated with Russian political leader) who will form a military coalition with Iran, Sudan, Libya, Middle Eastern countries and Turkey in �the last days� (Ezekiel 38:16).
Could this be a reference to modern day events in the Middle East?
It is better to say, what we see in the Middle East, it is just a beginning of the future events described in the Holy Bible.
Zech 14:2-4 God will gather all the Muslim nations, i.e. He will allow them to gather together to fight against Jerusalem. The city Jerusalem will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city. Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He has fought in times past. On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west. Half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south.
Who is this God who will fight against nations and who will put His feet in Jerusalem?
He is the King Jesus- the Son of God.
Rev 16:12-17 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River, and it dried up so that the kings from the east could march their armies toward the west without hindrance. And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty. �Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.� And the demonic spirits gathered all the rulers and their armies to a place with the Hebrew name Armageddon. Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, �It is finished!�
The Return of Jesus to His planet earth created by Him will be during this Muslim War which will occur in the midst of worldwide catastrophes. At such time He will come as the Conqueror- the King,
�On his robe at his thigh was written this title:
King of all kings and Lord of all lords.�
�Behold, I am coming as a thief.
Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments,
lest he walk naked and they see his shame.�
Rev 16:15
What is the garment we all should have?
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Isaiah 64:6
I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
Job 29:14
I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10
The Son of God tells you:
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness;
and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Revelation 3:18
God imputed us the righteousness of His Son through our FAITH in Him. Because on the cross Jesus took the sin of the world. He suffered and died for every sins you have ever committed. Repent of your sins. Confess them to God in a prayer. And abandon your sins. Then God will write your name in the Book of Life and will call you "His son" adopted by Him, His Inheritance.
Dear friends,
now we are children of God,
and what we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when he (Jesus) appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins.
So, you do not understand that the Bible teaches that a Jew is a Jew by faith and not by race/ethnicity? You actually think that race has something to do with it, right?
So, you don't grasp that not all of Israel (after the flesh) was Israel ( after the promise)?
You do not comprehend that a "Jew" is not a Jew outwardly, but inwardly -- that circumcision is of the heart not the flesh?
So, basically you believe that God is still concerned with protecting a totally apostate people on a small plot of land over in the Middle East? :laugh:
Did you miss the part where the Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple torn down in 70a.d.? Do you think that God was "protecting" the ethnic Jews during the Roman Jewish war? If so, why warn the elect (True Israel) to flee to the mountains before the great destruction of Jerusalem?
Where do you get such ridiculous beliefs?
Please, please leave your cult and repent of your disbelief. Bow your knee and worship the God of the Bible. Kiss the Son lest you perish.
"Please, please leave your cult and repent of your disbelief. Bow your knee and worship the God of the Bible. Kiss the Son lest you perish."
My response: :ROFL: I am a Christian and you even know what is my Church. It is NOT a cult. I worship the God Jesus.
"So, you do not understand that the Bible teaches that a Jew is a Jew by faith and not by race/ethnicity? You actually think that race has something to do with it, right?"
My response: No, I believe that all believers in God Jesus are Jews by faith like we-Jews- by race. God said that He loved Jews with EVERLASTING Love and we are the HOLY nation and He chose us among other nations. So, I belong to the HOLY nation, brother.
"So, you don't grasp that not all of Israel (after the flesh) was Israel ( after the promise)?"
My response: As I said, my God Jesus makes you gentiles to be a part of His "Israel" too.
"You do not comprehend that a "Jew" is not a Jew outwardly, but inwardly -- that circumcision is of the heart not the flesh?"
My response: Right, let's consider what is circumcision in another post. We are Jews circumcised outwardly and inwardly as our God COMMANDED us.
"So, basically you believe that God is still concerned with protecting a totally apostate people on a small plot of land over in the Middle East?"
My response: Oh this is MY HOLY Land and my HOLY God Jesus is going to RETURN there to His homeland too.... soon to PROTECT my people during the Third World War.
:yay:
Did you miss the part where the Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple torn down in 70a.d.? Do you think that God was "protecting" the ethnic Jews during the Roman Jewish war? If so, why warn the elect (True Israel) to flee to the mountains before the great destruction of Jerusalem?
Did you miss the part where the Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple torn down in 70a.d.? Do you think that God was "protecting" the ethnic Jews during the Roman Jewish war? If so, why warn the elect (True Israel) to flee to the mountains before the great destruction of Jerusalem?
My RESPONSE: God said that the Temple will be rebuilt soon. God punished Jews and He spread us to all countries to make you believers too.
Do you know HOW MANY prophecies He uttered saying HOW He is going to gather us back in Israel before the coming war?
Your response: God said that the Temple will be rebuilt soon. ?
Oh yeah, really? :ROFL: Did he tell you this personally?? :laugh:
So, you have NO understanding that the OLD covenant temple was a shadow? the fulfillment of which was in Jesus Christ?
You do not comprehend that the destruction of the OLD temple in Jerusalem was the completion of the Old covenant? You do not comprehend that we live under a NEW covenant?
What do you think Jesus was teaching when he said he would build another temple without hands?
Are you waiting for a return of animal sacrifices, too? :laugh:
Please leave your cult, repent, and follow the God of the Bible.
"God, punish this woman for her heresies and destructive teaching if she does NOT want to obey the Creator of the universe Jesus and for false teaching as You are going to punish all false prophets and false teachers."
