Hallelujah (Aleluya) And He shall reign forever and forever

Handel composed the Hallelujah Chorus (Handel’s Messiah) in a mere 24 days. “I have seen the face of God!” He proclaimed with tears streaming down his face.  The lyrics are taken from the New Testament: Revelation 19:6, 19:16, 11:15. For 200 years whenever this chorus is performed the audience stands. This is a tradition started from King George II in honor of the King of kings, the Messiah.

Hallelujah chorus  by George Friedrich Haandel
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
(For the lord God omnipotent reigneth)
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
For the lord God omnipotent reigneth
(Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah)
Hallelujah
The kingdom of this world;
is become
the kingdom of our Lord,
and of His Christ
and of His Christ
And He shall reign for ever and ever
And he shall reign forever and ever
And he shall reign forever and ever
And he shall reign forever and ever
King of kings forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
and lord of lords forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
King of kings forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
and lord of lords forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
King of kings forever and ever hallelujah hallelujah
and lord of lords
King of kings and lord of lords
And he shall reign
And he shall reign
And he shall reign
He shall reign
And he shall reign forever and ever
King of kings forever and ever
and lord of lords hallelujah hallelujah
And he shall reign forever and ever
King of kings and lord of lords
King of kings and lord of lords
And he shall reign forever and ever
Forever and ever and ever and ever
(King of kings and lord of lords)
Hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah
Hallelujah
Read more: Handel George Frideric – 44. Chorus: Hallelujah! Lyrics | MetroLyrics

three kings of Persia (2)

Darius I, the Great, was the third king after Cyrus II, the Great, and reigned in Persia for the period 522-486BC. During his entire reign, the governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and his companions, the Persians who were in the region beyond the River, were against the re-building of the Temple of God in Jerusalem. They bribed agents to work against the them and to frustrate their plans.

In 520BC the governor’s letter of complaint went to his superior, the satrap who had charge of Babylon and the country west of the Euphrates, no records of the decree of Cyrus II instructing the re-building were found among the archives kept at Babylon. However, a further search found the memorandum at Ecbatana, where Cyrus had resided. Darius I confirmed this decree and ordered his officials to help the Jews.

Darius I reorganized the satrapies. His system of military commanders, introduction of coinage, legal and postal systems lasted as long as the empire of Persia. These facilities and the autonomy allowed to the subject people contributed to the stability of the empire. Under such a system the small community of Jews in Judah (only 42,360 people returned to Judah in response to the Persian king’s decree) was sustained. Jewish officers were appointed to govern them.

We can see how God had preserved the people of Israel in history. Indeed, during the entire period of re-building of the Temple and later the wall, the enemies of the Jews were harassing and threatening them. But God had raised powerful foreign kings to grant the people of God justice, favor and protection. All these fulfilled the promises of God spoken through the prophets of God long before they actually happened.

Indeed, by granting favor to the people of Israel, the Persian kings too continued to sustain their power and considerable prosperity. The Persian Empire which was established by Cyrus the Great lasted from 559BC to 651AD (interrupted by Moslem conquest). The main religion of ancient Persia was Zoroastrianism, but after the seventh century, it was replaced by Islam.

three kings of Persia (1)

We read how three Persian kings (559-424BC) appeared in Jewish history. Who are they and what did the Bible say about them. Most importantly how did these kings treat the Jewish people and their God? We shall read them in three short blogs.

The Indo-European Persians were nomadic pastoralists from S Russia, probably entered the Iranian plateau late in the 2nd millennium BC. The Achaemenes was claimed as founder of the dynasty by later kings. The three kings we mention here were his descendants.

All Scriptures are quoted from the Bible New King James Version (NKJV).
1.Cyrus II, the Great. (=Darius the Mede?) 559-530BC. 2 Ch.36:22-23; Ezr.1:1-4,7-8;5:13-17;6:3; Is.44:28;45:1; Dn.1:21;5:30;6:28;10:1
2.Darius I, the Great. 522-486BC. Erz.4:5;5:6-7;6:1; Hg.1:1; Zc.1:1
3.Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) 465-424BC. Ezr.7:1,21-26; Ne.2:1-8

CYRUS II
Cyrus II defeated Babylon in 539BC. He gave back the Jews the precious vessels looted from the Temple of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. More important, he gave royal authorization for the rebuilding of the Temple to any Jew who wished to return to Judah. (Ezr.1:1-4) He appointed a Jewish prince, Sheshbazzar, as governor. (Ezr.5:14)

Cyrus fulfilled the prophecies of Jeremiah 29:10 of the return of the Jews to Jerusalem after seventy years of exile, and Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1 of Cyrus being raised to carry out God’s purpose.

Jeremiah 29:10 For thus says the Lord, “After seventy years re completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good words toward you, and cause you to return to this place.”

Isaiah 44:28 Who says of Cyrus, He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”

2 Ch.36:22-23 That the above prophecies be fulfilled in the first year of Cyrus’ reign, the Lord stirred Cyrus’ spirit and he made proclamation to allow the Jews to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple of the God of Israel. Cyrus confirmed this in writing, “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!”
Isaiah 45:1-7 God described Cyrus as His anointed, and promised, “To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron…I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me…that there is none beside Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other…”

Indeed, Cyrus II was the grandson of Cyrus I and he rebelled against his Median overload, killed him and took over his capital in 550Bc, and defeated the seemingly all powerful invincible Babylon in 539BC. He conquered other kingdoms too. Daniel prospered during his reign.

Cyrus recognized and gave honor to the God of Israel. This was written in his decree about God’s favor for him to conquer other kingdoms on earth. He also expressed his obedience to God’s command for him to build the temple of God in Jerusalem. (2 Ch.36:22-23; Ezr.1:1-4,7-8;5:13-17;6:3)

“All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.”

Ezra 6:3-5 recorded the decree of King Cyrus II authorizing the re-building of the Temple of God at Jerusalem. it specified the foundations, the building materials of stones and timber, the payment from the king’s treasure, and the return to Jerusalem all the gold and silver articles which the former Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar had plundered from the Temple and brought to Babylon, “to be restored and taken back to the temple in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God.”

King Cyrus II was the most powerful ruler then but he acknowledged another who was more powerful than him. He acknowledged and honored the God of Israel. It is interesting to note he knew God wanted him to re-build the temple. Unlike other foreign conquerors he decided to adopt a new system of government. He allowed freedom of worship and local government autonomy through appointing Jewish citizens to be officials. His successors continued his policy which fitted into God’s plan for Israel. By aligning with God’s plan King Cyrus II prospered and his kingdom became strong and powerful just as God had promised through the prophet Isaiah.

July 30, 2016.
(To be continued)

a tale of two cities: a choice

This is the time to mourn. The church must wake up and mourn. I am talking to the church as a whole on earth, not just America, China, Europe, Africa, Asia, Third world or first world. I am calling out to both the traditional evangelical and the Spirit-filled and Bible believing-all who believe the reality and truthfulness of the words of God both Old and New Testament, from Genesis to revelation. This is the time to wake up from narrowness and exclusiveness. Just look at Jesus. The example He set while on earth! Look at the apostles, Peter’s call to the Gentile’s home, Paul’s call to the world of demons (idolatry-infested world), and all the apostles and disciples of the first church who were scattered all over the world before Christianity. No, I am not talking about missionaries going now to the foreign worlds. I am talking about your own home ground your own nation wherever you are if you can read English and this blog. Wake up and stop one thing before you go out and evangelize. Stop your physical mind’s prejudices. Look at Jesus. What He did not do and what He did. Be led by the Holy Spirit as you read.

My spirit urged me to summarize what Jesus did not do:
1. He did not ask a man of other faith to kill anyone (regardless what they believed in or their lifestyle was)in the name of God.
2. He did not condemn anyone except the religious hypocrites who stopped people from coming to Jesus and believing in the Good News Jesus brought to all mankind.
3. Even so, Jesus did not kill or send anyone to kill the hypocrites.
4. He did not condone anyone judging another.
5. He did not agree to using physical force (violence) to resolve injustice within a nation.

A summary of what Jesus did:
1. Jesus came to save sinners and healed the sick.
2. Jesus put forgiveness as number one consideration, even for His enemies.
3. Jesus associated/socialized with sinners.
4. Jesus showed love and compassions.
5. Jesus gave life.

By agreeing with the thieves who came in to steal, kill and destroy lives, the church becomes accomplice to murder. Don’t you ever realize that in the spiritual realm the territorial spirits fight among themselves? Their number one ruler does his own harvest of souls by pitching his subordinates one against another.

You may ask, when the time is so bleak and you need to choose between two imperfect candidates for your national number one, whom should you choose? Didn’t the Bible show you the history of Israel, in the bleakest time when they were besieged by the strongest enemies and their own weakest kings ever? What did God ask prophet Jeremiah do? Jeremiah became the national number one traitor because he gave his countrymen an oracle that they were to choose the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar instead of choosing the Egyptian king Necho II. There was no other option. God told them to choose Nebuchadnezzar. Did Nebuchadnezzar do a good job in finishing off the other enemies of God? He did. On the other hand, Necho II failed in his attempted conquests.

The Israelites refused to listen to the divine oracle and thus suffered defeat and were still taken to Babylon for a season to be cleansed, healed, to recuperate and restore their spiritual strength just as prophesied. These deportations are dated to 597 BC for the first, with others dated at 587/586 BC, and 582/581 BC respectively. After the fall of Babylon to the Persian king Cyrus the Great in 539 BC, exiled Judeans were permitted to return to Jerusalem and Judah of Israel. The temple of Jerusalem and the walls were re-built. Worship of the true God resumed.

This is a record of the history of God. When Christians read God’s history and look at what Jesus did to demonstrate how things in this world are done, we will know what to choose and who to vote for. We shall always align with the plan of God even in the bleakest time in our own history. Look at Jesus and look at the two choices, which do you think is more like Nebuchadnezzar? Who do you think will bring your nation out of its weakling’s position? Who is the strong man? Who will be given the might to defeat the many foes inside and outside? Was Nebuchadnezzar a godly man? Not at the beginning. But in the book of Daniel he finally encountered the reality of the God of Israel, our God. And Nebuchadnezzar turned over a new leaf.

Jesus demonstrated this equally seemingly unusual choice by choosing the chief tax collector, the ungodly rich man Zacchaeus in the land of Israel as his host for a dinner party. The Son of God Himself gave this honor and privilege to a person disliked and even hated by many fellow Jews. In today’s term, a most un-Christian person. What happened after he encountered Jesus? He was transformed and saved. He did lots of good deeds to his fellow countrymen.

Summary: Look at the divine records.