A Time to Finish the Work 2 EZRA 1:1-5 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying….

August 29, 520 BC 1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

HAGGAI 1:1-5 1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying, 2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? 5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 HAGGAI 1:7-8 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

EZRA 5:1-2 1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. 2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them. 1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 A.BLUSHING.PROPHET 24 …In the days of Ezra, when Ezra begin to weep and to call out and to rebuke the sin, you know what happened? All the elect that trusted God gathered around him. What we need today is men and women... Your preachers would preach in your churches and call sin sin and rebuke it, the real people of God would gather right up around you and stay with you

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 PROVING.HIS.WORD When I look around sometime and see these Rickys and Rickettas that we got today, and on the streets… I think, "O God." "Wait a minute," He says, "My timepiece is turning just exactly right. I've got to put you upon the same basis I did the first man. I put you on the same basis of Luther, Wesley." Because, sin wasn't known then like it is now. And we got more knowledge now than we had then, and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God raises a standard against it. And today we've got more knowledge, more understanding, so the rivers of unbelief is flowing in hard, but God raises a standard against it.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 CHURCH.AGES …It is also true that whenever a nation was able to overcome another nation, in due time the religion of the subduer became the religion of the subdued.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 Example: EZRA 9:1-3 1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. 3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 CHURCH.AGES When Israel entered into unlawful alliances with the world, and formed fellowships by marriage, the day finally came when the world took over and Babylon carried away the people of God into captivity. Now when they went into captivity they went in having a priesthood, a temple and the Word. But when they came back they had rabbis, a theological order of Pharisees, a synagogue, and the Talmud. And when Jesus came they were so corrupt that He called them of their father, the devil, and this in spite of the fact they were of Abraham according to the flesh. In this age we see the same thing happening.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 Talmud The word “Talmud” is a Hebrew word meaning “learning, instruction.” The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism and consists primarily of discussions and commentary on Jewish history, law (especially its practical application to life), customs and culture. In addition to the inspired written Hebrew scriptures, Judaism has an "Oral Torah" which is a tradition explaining what these scriptures mean and how to interpret them and apply the laws.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 Biblical verses that support a teaching are often referenced by only two or three words. The Talmud preserves a variety of views on every issue and does not always clearly identify which view is the accepted one. MATTHEW 15:5-8 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 Babylon: ISRAEL.AT.THE.RED.SEA. 39 … And out of Ham's people come Nimrod. Nimrod set up the tower of Babel, which was idol worship, the first idol worship on the earth. 40 Now, watch that Babel tower come right on down, Babel, and right on down through there and end up over here in Revelations, a Christian religious idolatry, pretending to be Christianity

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 King Josiah II KINGS 22:1-2 1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 King Josiah I KINGS 13:1 1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. 3 And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 Prophecy Fulfilled II KINGS 23: And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17 Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.

1/11/15A Time to Finish the Work 2 II KINGS 23: And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel. 20 And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem. 21 And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant. 22 Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;