God’s Providence in Artaxerxes I Longimaus’ Decree

I’d like to say I’m glad I left the KJV-only movement. Sadly, the KJV tends to lack sub-headings which makes it difficult to do some pausing. I decided to use the NIV with its sub-headings to focus on topics. This time, the lesson is on Artaxerxes I Longimanus’ decree, a decree given by providence. The first permission was by Cyrus the Great. Now, it was given by Darius the Great. Now, we have another one namely Artaxerxes I Longimanus, son of Xerxes. I might have to reread Providence is Enough by Pastor Mel Caparros of Living Word Christian Church when I study Esther. This letter was written sometime after the events in Esther. Some believe that Esther was the mother of Artaxerxes I Longimanus. If so, this Artaxerxes I Longimanus may have become a believer in Yahweh. I can’t be certain enough though.

Isaiah 53 Fulfilled in the Lord Jesus’ Penal Substitution

It’s easy for me to mention Isaiah 7:14 on Christmas. There’s the statement “This the season, this the reason!” The picture has a wreath on one side and a crown of thorns on the other. One way for me to keep calm during the worldliness of Christmas is to think that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son. The purpose of Jesus’ birth was so He could also die for sin. Isaiah 7:14 prophecies the virgin birth. Isaiah 53 highlights the suffering of Christ, prophesied, 700 years (most likely an estimate) before Jesus was born. Isaiah prophesied not only the birth but also the redemptive death of Jesus. Psalm 22 also has David seeing the crucifixion of Jesus. David was in a very bad situation and he saw that the greater David would suffer even worse.