0:00:06.000,0:00:08.099
DO YOU KNOW ME?

0:00:08.099,0:00:13.032
I AM IRAN. I AM PERSIA.

0:00:13.032,0:00:15.032
WE ARE AN ANCIENT PEOPLE.

0:00:18.367,0:00:20.766
WE'RE NOT ARABS, AS MANY THINK.

0:00:24.632,0:00:28.299
FOR CENTURIES IRAN WAS KNOWN AS PERSIA.

0:00:28.300,0:00:31.966
WE BECAME THE LARGEST EMPIRE THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN.

0:00:33.700,0:00:36.533
BUT PART OF OUR STORY IS OFTEN FORGOTTEN.

0:00:45.633,0:00:50.432
SOME OF OUR GREATNESS HAS FADED FROM MEMORY.

0:00:50.432,0:00:58.933
YET, THE PROPHETS AND WRITERS OF THE BIBLE, LIKE DANIEL, ISAIAH, AND EZRA, REMEMBER OUR STORY.

0:00:58.933,0:01:05.799
AND WHAT'S SURPRISING IS THAT THE HEBREW BIBLE SPEAKS OF PERSIA AS CHOSEN BY GOD,

0:01:05.799,0:01:09.667
CHOSEN FOR THE GOOD AND FOR THE BLESSING OF ALL PEOPLE.

0:01:22.900,0:01:29.767
WOVEN TOGETHER IN THE HEBREW BIBLE ARE PROPHECIES, PEOPLE AND EVENTS DESCRIBING PERSIAN KINGS,

0:01:29.766,0:01:36.199
EPIC BATTLES, AND ROYAL DECREES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, AND STILL DO.

0:01:40.400,0:01:43.734
WHAT MAY SURPRISE MANY TODAY ABOUT PERSIAN HISTORY...

0:01:43.733,0:01:48.399
IS THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE BECAME ONE OF THE FAVORED PEOPLE GROUPS OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

0:01:50.566,0:01:54.299
AND PERHAPS MOST SURPRISING OF ALL IS HOW THE HEBREW BIBLE...

0:01:54.299,0:01:58.632
DESCRIBES IN INTRICATE DETAIL HOW BOTH PERSIA AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE...

0:01:58.632,0:02:02.733
HELPED TO FULFILL AN ASTONISHING PROMISE GOD MADE TO ABRAHAM.

0:02:32.233,0:02:36.533
ACCORDING TO THE HEBREW BIBLE, FOR THE PROMISE TO ABRAHAM TO BE FULFILLED,

0:02:36.532,0:02:41.265
BOTH PERSIAN AND JEWISH HISTORIES HAD TO INTERSECT. AND THEY DID.

0:02:43.032,0:02:45.632
JOHN LEE: ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE...

0:02:45.633,0:02:48.100
IS ITS LINKS WITH OTHER CULTURES.

0:02:48.099,0:02:51.400
IN PARTICULAR, WE KNOW THAT THE HISTORIES OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE...

0:02:51.400,0:02:58.099
AND OF THE BIBLE ARE DEEPLY INTERLINKED. WE CAN SEE EVENTS, PEOPLE, AND PLACES...

0:02:58.099,0:03:03.233
THAT APPEAR BOTH IN OUR SOURCES FOR ANCIENT PERSIA AND IN THE BIBLE.

0:03:03.233,0:03:08.400
EDWIN YAMAUCHI: I HAVE TAUGHT ANCIENT HISTORY, INCLUDING PERSIAN HISTORY,

0:03:08.400,0:03:13.266
FOR MANY YEARS, AND I BROUGHT ALL OF THESE ARCHAEOLOGICAL,

0:03:13.265,0:03:16.667
BIBLICAL, AND CLASSICAL SOURCES TOGETHER...

0:03:16.667,0:03:21.233
TO PRESENT A NARRATIVE OF THE ANCIENT PERSIANS...

0:03:21.233,0:03:26.165
AND THEIR INTERACTION BOTH WITH THE GREEKS AND WITH THE HEBREWS.

0:03:26.165,0:03:29.133
LEE: THE PERSIAN EMPIRE WAS CERTAINLY THE LARGEST EMPIRE...

0:03:29.133,0:03:32.834
THAT THE WORLD HAD EVER SEEN IN A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE.

0:03:32.834,0:03:36.066
BEFORE THE TIME OF PERSIA, NO ONE ELSE HAD MANAGED TO BRING TOGETHER...

0:03:36.066,0:03:39.900
LANDS FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN TO THE BLACK SEA,

0:03:39.900,0:03:43.165
ALL THE WAY TO THE INDUS RIVER VALLEY, INTO A SINGLE POLITICAL UNIT.

0:03:44.800,0:03:48.367
NARRATOR: PERSIA'S EMPIRE INCLUDED NOT ONLY THE COUNTRY OF IRAN TODAY,

0:03:48.366,0:03:52.899
BUT IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, PAKISTAN,

0:03:52.900,0:03:58.133
TURKEY, SYRIA, JORDAN,

0:03:58.133,0:04:01.567
ISRAEL, EGYPT, AND MANY MORE.

0:04:09.332,0:04:13.966
THE CITY OF PERSEPOLIS BECAME THE GREATEST CITY IN THE PERSIAN EMPIRE.

0:04:15.800,0:04:18.033
PERSEPOLIS IS AN AMAZING SITE.

0:04:18.033,0:04:22.600
IT INCLUDES A COMPLEX OF PALACES, AUDIENCE HALLS,

0:04:22.600,0:04:27.200
FORTIFICATIONS, AND OTHER BUILDINGS ALL BUILT ON A HUGE PLATFORM...

0:04:27.199,0:04:33.332
FOUR TIMES AS LARGE AS THE ACROPOLIS, CARVED ON THE LOWER SLOPES OF A MOUNTAIN.

0:04:33.333,0:04:40.066
THE APADANA, OR THE AUDIENCE HALL, IS THE MOST REMARKABLE BUILDING, PERHAPS, OF ALL.

0:04:40.065,0:04:44.099
IT'S BEEN ESTIMATED THAT AN AUDIENCE OF 10,000 PEOPLE...

0:04:44.100,0:04:47.000
FROM ALL OVER THE EMPIRE COULD HAVE COME THERE.

0:04:49.432,0:04:56.199
AND IN THE STAIRCASES THERE ARE REMARKABLE SCULPTURES, ORIGINALLY PAINTED, NO DOUBT,

0:04:56.199,0:05:01.500
OF DELEGATIONS FROM 23 NATIONS BRINGING GIFTS TO THE PERSIAN KING.

0:05:03.966,0:05:08.699
LEE: PERSEPOLIS IS A PLACE WHERE MANY DIFFERENT HISTORIES COME TOGETHER.

0:05:08.699,0:05:11.366
THE BIBLE IS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT SOURCE...

0:05:11.367,0:05:17.633
FOR UNDERSTANDING THE PERSIAN EMPIRE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ONE PARTICULAR PEOPLE WITHIN...

0:05:17.632,0:05:21.466
WITHIN THAT EMPIRE, AND WHILE IT'S NOT A HISTORICAL SOURCE...

0:05:21.466,0:05:23.800
IN THE SENSE THAT WE WOULD THINK OF HISTORIES,

0:05:23.800,0:05:26.934
IT CERTAINLY PRESERVES A GREAT DEAL OF HISTORICAL INFORMATION,

0:05:26.934,0:05:29.200
AND A... A VERY IMPORTANT PERSPECTIVE,

0:05:29.199,0:05:32.199
AND FOR THAT REASON IT'S AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE FOR STUDYING...

0:05:32.199,0:05:35.866
THE PERSIAN EMPIRE AND ITS RELATIONS WITH THE JEWISH PEOPLE.

0:05:42.399,0:05:48.065
NARRATOR: THE BIBLE CONTAINS 240 REFERENCES RELATED TO IRAN OR PERSIA.

0:05:48.065,0:05:54.599
THE NAME PERSIA AND PERSIANS ARE FOUND 33 TIMES IN SIX BOOKS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE.

0:05:54.600,0:05:59.100
CYRUS, PERSIA'S FIRST KING, IS NAMED 19 TIMES.

0:05:59.100,0:06:04.000
PERSIA'S KING DARIUS IS LISTED 15 TIMES.

0:06:04.000,0:06:10.533
PERSIA'S KING AHASUERUS, ALSO CALLED XERXES, IS FOUND 12 TIMES.

0:06:10.533,0:06:15.233
PERSIA'S KING ARTAXERXES IS LISTED 13 TIMES.

0:06:15.233,0:06:20.033
OTHER PERSIAN PEOPLE AND PLACES ARE FOUND ANOTHER 148 TIMES.

0:06:21.699,0:06:26.000
MOST PEOPLE, INCLUDING MOST IRANIANS, ARE NOT AWARE OF THE FACT...

0:06:26.000,0:06:29.966
THAT THE HISTORY OF IRAN AND THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLE...

0:06:29.966,0:06:34.233
INTERSECT AT PROFOUND LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES.

0:06:36.600,0:06:40.567
NARRATOR: AND IT WOULD TAKE OVER 1,000 YEARS BEFORE GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM...

0:06:40.567,0:06:42.800
WOULD INTERSECT PERSIAN HISTORY.

0:06:56.399,0:07:02.199
WHILE LIVING IN JERUSALEM, THE PROPHET ISAIAH GAVE AN UNUSUAL PROPHECY,

0:07:02.199,0:07:07.666
A PROPHECY THAT SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED THE NAME CYRUS, PERSIA'S FIRST KING,

0:07:07.666,0:07:09.933
MANY YEARS BEFORE HE WAS BORN.

0:07:12.033,0:07:17.300
NOW, ISAIAH LIVED ABOUT 700 BC, AND CYRUS DOES NOT COME ONTO THE SCENE UNTIL,

0:07:17.300,0:07:20.633
ROUGHLY SPEAKING, 150 YEARS LATER.

0:07:20.632,0:07:26.432
ISAIAH THE PROPHET, REMARKABLY, PREDICTED THAT THE LORD WOULD USE...

0:07:26.432,0:07:29.099
A FUTURE KING OF THE PERSIANS NAMED CYRUS,

0:07:29.100,0:07:32.700
KOORUSH, WHOM HE CALLS "THE ANOINTED ONE."

0:07:54.000,0:07:58.333
TREMPER LONGMAN III: THIS PHRASE "ANOINTED ONE" IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

0:07:58.333,0:08:04.300
IT MEANS "MESSIAH" AND IS TYPICALLY CONNECTED TO KINGS.

0:08:04.300,0:08:11.533
WHEN ISAIAH CALLS CYRUS THE MESSIAH, THERE'S NO RITUAL BEHIND IT.

0:08:11.533,0:08:16.467
A FLASK OF OIL WASN'T POURED OVER HIS HEAD. BUT IT'S A METAPHORICAL USE,

0:08:16.466,0:08:23.567
MEANING THAT THIS IS A PERSON WHOM GOD IS GOING TO USE FOR A SPECIAL PURPOSE IN HIS PLAN.

0:08:23.567,0:08:26.333
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IN THE SCRIPTURES...

0:08:26.333,0:08:31.734
WHERE A NON-ISRAELITE IS CALLED THE MESSIAH OF GOD, THE ANOINTED OF GOD.

0:08:31.733,0:08:37.399
IN ISAIAH CYRUS IS CALLED THE MESSIAH, BUT ALSO THE SHEPHERD.

0:08:37.399,0:08:47.399
NOW, SHEPHERD IS ACTUALLY A VERY FREQUENTLY USED IMAGE THROUGHOUT THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST FOR KINGS.

0:08:58.500,0:09:02.366
AND GOD CALLS CYRUS HIS SHEPHERD FOR A REASON.

0:09:02.366,0:09:06.099
THE SHEPHERD RESPONSIBILITY IS JUST TO WATCH, TO FEED,

0:09:06.100,0:09:10.300
TO TAKE CARE, TO NURTURE, TO LEAD, AND THAT'S WHAT CYRUS DID.

0:09:10.299,0:09:16.000
CYRUS DID THAT IN LINE WITH GOD'S PLANNING, THAT GOD WANTED TO KEEP THAT PROMISE.

0:09:16.000,0:09:20.000
LONGMAN: ISAIAH CONSIDERS CYRUS SOMEONE...

0:09:20.000,0:09:26.332
WHO IS CHOSEN TO GUIDE AND TO LEAD THE PEOPLES OF THE WORLD,

0:09:26.332,0:09:30.299
AND, SPECIFICALLY, EVEN HIS OWN PEOPLE, THE JEWS.

0:09:32.200,0:09:36.133
NARRATOR: AND NO ONE COULD HAVE IMAGINED HOW KING CYRUS WOULD HELP TO FULFILL...

0:09:36.133,0:09:41.233
THE 1,000-YEAR-OLD PROMISE TO ABRAHAM, TO BECOME A BLESSING TO THE WORLD.

0:09:43.899,0:09:48.066
TODAY IN IRAN THE TOMB OF CYRUS STILL STANDS AS A MARKER IN HISTORY.

0:09:49.866,0:09:53.332
THE OUTSTANDING MONUMENT AT PASARGADAE, WHICH IS STILL QUITE INTACT,

0:09:53.332,0:10:00.733
IS THE TOMB OF CYRUS HIMSELF, MADE OUT OF WHITE LIMESTONE THAT EXTENDS ABOUT 35 FEET IN HEIGHT.

0:10:02.500,0:10:07.033
NARRATOR: WHEN CYRUS BECAME THE KING OF PERSIA, BABYLON WAS THE DOMINANT WORLD POWER.

0:10:07.033,0:10:11.033
BABYLON'S CAPITAL WAS LOCATED IN WHAT IS, TODAY, MODERN IRAQ.

0:10:13.667,0:10:17.767
EARLY IN THE 500S BC THE RULING DYNASTY OF BABYLON...

0:10:17.767,0:10:22.233
HAD CONQUERED THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND DEPORTED THEM BACK TO THE CITY OF BABYLON,

0:10:22.232,0:10:27.466
AND THAT'S WHERE THEY WERE, IN EXILE, WHEN CYRUS CAME TO BABYLON IN 539 BC.

0:10:36.633,0:10:39.800
NARRATOR: ACCORDING TO THE HEBREW BIBLE THERE WERE SPIRITUAL REASONS...

0:10:39.799,0:10:43.032
WHY THE JEWISH DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM WERE DEPORTED TO BABYLON.

0:10:44.866,0:10:49.899
ABRAHAM'S DESCENDANTS, ISRAEL, WAS CALLED TO BE A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS.

0:10:49.899,0:10:53.933
THAT IS, THEY WERE TO LOVE GOD IN SUCH A WAY...

0:10:53.933,0:10:59.132
AND OBEY HIM THAT GOD WOULD SHOWER HIS BLESSINGS UPON THEM.

0:10:59.133,0:11:07.500
AND THEN THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WOULD SEE THIS AND BE ATTRACTED TO THIS GOD.

0:11:07.500,0:11:14.633
AND IN THIS WAY, IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, GOD'S PEOPLE WERE TO REACH THE NATIONS.

0:11:14.633,0:11:23.867
BUT OF COURSE, THE STORY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IS UNFORTUNATELY TOO MUCH OF...

0:11:23.866,0:11:27.033
GOD'S PEOPLE NOT ACTING IN THE WAY THAT THEY SHOULD...

0:11:27.033,0:11:33.633
AND BECOMING AN OBSTACLE TO PEOPLE BEING DRAWN TO THE TRUE GOD.

0:12:33.299,0:12:36.332
NEBUCHADNEZZAR WAS THE GREATEST OF THE NEO-BABYLONIAN KINGS.

0:12:36.332,0:12:42.199
HE BEGAN RULING IN 605 BC. ACCORDING TO THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL,

0:12:42.200,0:12:45.734
NEBUCHADNEZZAR ATTACKED JERUSALEM IN HIS FIRST YEAR.

0:12:45.734,0:12:49.200
WE DON'T HAVE ANY DIRECT CONFIRMATION OF THAT ATTACK,

0:12:49.200,0:12:53.867
BUT WE DO HAVE CONFIRMATION OF HIS SECOND ATTACK IN 597 BC,

0:12:53.866,0:12:59.232
AND OF HIS THIRD ATTACK IN 587 OR 586 BC,

0:12:59.232,0:13:02.899
DURING WHICH HE DESTROYED THE TEMPLE OF SOLOMON.

0:13:02.899,0:13:09.966
WELL, DANIEL AND HIS FELLOW COMRADES WERE AMONG THOSE WHO WERE DEPORTED BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR.

0:13:11.933,0:13:17.000
NARRATOR: THE PROPHET DANIEL WAS ONLY A TEENAGER WHEN HE WAS EXILED TO BABYLON.

0:13:17.000,0:13:21.600
DANIEL MAY HAVE WONDERED WHAT WOULD NOW HAPPEN TO GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM...

0:13:21.600,0:13:24.899
TO BLESS THE WORLD THROUGH HIS PEOPLE.

0:13:24.899,0:13:32.132
COVERING HUNDREDS OF MILES, THE DEPORTATION WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE JEWISH PEOPLE ABOUT FIVE MONTHS.

0:13:32.133,0:13:37.834
THEY TRAVELED NORTH ON THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE ROUTE, PAST THE CITY OF DAMASCUS,

0:13:37.833,0:13:40.466
AND AROUND THE TOP OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT,

0:13:40.466,0:13:45.000
THEN INTO THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES RIVER BASIN IN THE DIRECTION OF BABYLON.

0:14:07.667,0:14:10.567
AFTER ALMOST 70 YEARS OF EXILE IN BABYLON,

0:14:10.567,0:14:14.265
THE ELDERLY PROPHET DANIEL READ WORDS FROM THE PROPHET JEREMIAH...

0:14:14.265,0:14:17.132
THAT CAUSED DANIEL TO THINK AGAIN ABOUT JERUSALEM.

0:14:31.332,0:14:34.833
JEREMIAH'S PROPHECY ABOUT JERUSALEM GAVE DANIEL HOPE.

0:15:02.200,0:15:04.567
SO DANIEL BEGAN TO PRAY.

0:15:45.399,0:15:49.366
BUT HOW? HOW WOULD A RETURN HOME BE POSSIBLE...

0:15:49.366,0:15:53.232
UNDER THE MIGHTY GRIP OF THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE?

0:15:53.232,0:15:55.899
ACCORDING TO THE HEBREW BIBLE, KING CYRUS,

0:15:55.899,0:15:59.766
CALLED THE ANOINTED AND THE MESSIAH OF GOD, WOULD CHANGE EVERYTHING.

0:16:01.667,0:16:03.966
CYRUS WAS A REMARKABLE MILITARY CONQUEROR.

0:16:03.966,0:16:07.165
STARTING FROM A VERY SMALL KINGDOM IN WHAT IS TODAY SOUTHERN IRAN,

0:16:07.166,0:16:12.166
HE RAPIDLY EXPANDED AS FAR WEST AS WHAT IS TODAY TURKEY, OUT INTO CENTRAL ASIA,

0:16:12.166,0:16:16.500
AND PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, INTO MESOPOTAMIA, WHERE HE CAPTURED BABYLON,

0:16:16.500,0:16:21.299
MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY IN THE WORLD AT THAT TIME, IN 539 BC.

0:16:29.866,0:16:33.666
NARRATOR: AFTER CONQUERING BABYLON, CYRUS ISSUED A DECREE,

0:16:33.667,0:16:37.233
A DECREE THAT COMPLETELY CHANGED THE WAY KINGS RULE CONQUERED PEOPLES.

0:16:39.432,0:16:41.933
AND THAT FOREIGN POLICY WOULD BEGIN TO OPEN THE WAY...

0:16:41.933,0:16:45.466
FOR GOD'S PROMISE OF BLESSING TO THE WORLD TO BE FULFILLED.

0:16:47.366,0:16:49.466
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TEXTUAL FINDS...

0:16:49.466,0:16:54.633
IN ALL OF ANCIENT ARCHAEOLOGY WAS THE CYRUS CYLINDER.

0:16:54.633,0:16:57.867
THE CYRUS CYLINDER IS A FOOTBALL-SIZED CLAY OBJECT...

0:16:57.866,0:17:01.366
THAT WAS FOUND IN BABYLON IN THE 1870S,

0:17:01.366,0:17:05.633
AND IT RECORDS A DECREE ISSUED BY CYRUS OF PERSIA...

0:17:05.633,0:17:10.667
UPON HIS TAKING THE CITY OF BABYLON IN 539... 538 BC.

0:17:10.666,0:17:13.899
THIS IS A BARREL-SHAPED CLAY CYLINDER,

0:17:13.900,0:17:17.432
WRITTEN IN AKKADIAN, THAT IS, IN THE ANCIENT SEMITIC LANGUAGE,

0:17:17.432,0:17:21.333
THAT WAS DISCOVERED BY A MAN CALLED HORMUZD RASSAM,

0:17:21.333,0:17:24.967
WHO WORKED FOR THE BRITISH MUSEUM, IN THE CITY OF BABYLON.

0:17:24.967,0:17:30.567
AND WE KNOW THAT THE PERSIANS, ESPECIALLY UNDER CYRUS,

0:17:30.567,0:17:37.467
ALLOWED CAPTIVES TO GO BACK. AND THIS PROCLAIMS A DIFFERENT POLICY FROM THAT...

0:17:37.467,0:17:41.867
PURSUED BY THE ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS BEFORE,

0:17:41.866,0:17:50.633
WHO HAD TRANSPORTED POPULATIONS FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER BUT DID NOT ALLOW THEM TO RETURN.

0:17:50.633,0:17:55.165
SO THE CYRUS CYLINDER IS A VERY IMPORTANT DOCUMENT BECAUSE IT SHOWS US HOW THE PERSIANS...

0:17:55.165,0:17:59.700
ARE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY APPEAL TO LOCAL CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS...

0:17:59.700,0:18:04.767
IN ORDER TO GAIN SUPPORT FOR AND ALLEGIANCE TO THEIR RULE.

0:18:04.767,0:18:11.165
CYRUS WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL IN USING A... A TRADITIONAL FORMAT, THIS KIND OF INSCRIPTION,

0:18:11.165,0:18:13.532
TO PROCLAIM THAT HE RESPECTED THE GODS OF BABYLON,

0:18:13.532,0:18:17.432
THAT HE WOULD ALLOW PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN EXILED OR DEPORTED TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES,

0:18:17.432,0:18:21.767
AND THAT HE WOULD RESTORE GODS BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL PLACES.

0:18:21.767,0:18:27.734
CYRUS WAS THE FIRST KING IN HISTORY THAT ALLOWED THE PEOPLE THAT HE HAD CONQUERED...

0:18:27.733,0:18:32.066
TO WORSHIP GOD IN THE WAYS THAT THEY WANTED TO.

0:18:32.066,0:18:34.700
LEE: TODAY YOU CAN VISIT THE UNITED NATIONS BUILDING IN NEW YORK...

0:18:34.700,0:18:37.333
AND SEE A COPY OF THE CYRUS CYLINDER,

0:18:37.333,0:18:41.100
WHICH IS ACTUALLY A REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM TODAY.

0:18:41.099,0:18:46.632
IN THE BIBLE, IT TALKS ABOUT HOW CYRUS GIVES PERMISSION...

0:18:46.633,0:18:54.299
FOR THE JEWS TO RETURN TO JERUSALEM AND COMMISSIONS THEM TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE.

0:18:54.299,0:18:58.834
AND THIS IS AN AMAZING AND IMPORTANT THING AND PART OF GOD'S PLAN.

0:19:51.599,0:19:56.899
REV. MANSOUR KHAJEHPOUR: THE FACT THAT GOD USES IRAN AND PERSIA...

0:19:56.900,0:20:01.500
BASICALLY TO TAKE CARE OF THE CAPTIVES OF ISRAEL,

0:20:01.500,0:20:06.834
NOT JUST TO BLESS A NATION, BUT TO MAKE THAT NATION A BLESSING TO ALL NATIONS,

0:20:06.834,0:20:10.000
ALL PEOPLE ON EARTH, IS A GREAT FACT TO BE REMEMBERED.

0:20:10.000,0:20:12.432
EVEN TODAY IN THE 21ST CENTURY,

0:20:12.432,0:20:16.099
IT'S REPORTED THAT 70 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF THE WORLD...

0:20:16.099,0:20:20.966
LIVE IN COUNTRIES WHERE THEY DO NOT HAVE FREEDOM OF RELIGION OR FREEDOM OF WORSHIP.

0:20:20.967,0:20:27.066
BUT IN CYRUS, THE GREAT PERSIAN KING, WE ENCOUNTER A VERY OPEN-MINDED, TOLERANT KING,

0:20:27.066,0:20:32.967
WHO ALLOWED THE PEOPLE THAT HE HAD CONQUERED TO WORSHIP GOD IN THE WAYS THAT THEY WANTED.

0:20:32.967,0:20:38.367
SO CYRUS ACTUALLY IS A... IS... IS A KING WHO INSTALLED FREEDOM OF RELIGION,

0:20:38.366,0:20:43.099
AND FREEDOM OF WORSHIP. THIS IS... WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 2,500 YEARS AGO.

0:20:53.032,0:20:57.567
NARRATOR: THE PROPHET ISAIAH NOT ONLY WROTE ABOUT CYRUS AS A MESSIAH OF GOD,

0:20:57.567,0:21:01.967
BUT ALSO ABOUT A FUTURE MESSIAH WHO WOULD BE MORE THAN JUST A MAN.

0:21:21.032,0:21:24.899
AND THE PASSAGE TALKS ABOUT HOW HIS KINGDOM WILL BE AN ETERNAL KINGDOM.

0:21:24.900,0:21:29.533
AND IT JUST DAWNED ON ME THAT THIS SON WHO IS TO COME, THIS CHILD WHO IS TO BE BORN,

0:21:29.532,0:21:33.599
WHO, ACCORDING TO ISAIAH 7:14, WILL BE BORN OF A VIRGIN,

0:21:33.599,0:21:36.099
AND HE WILL BE CALLED IMMANUEL, GOD WITH US,

0:21:36.099,0:21:39.733
THIS SON IS NOT JUST ONE PROPHET IN THE LONG LINE OF PROPHETS.

0:21:39.733,0:21:44.666
THIS SON IS GOING TO BE MIGHTY GOD, AND HE WILL ESTABLISH AN ETERNAL KINGDOM.

0:21:44.666,0:21:49.065
GOD USED THAT KING CYRUS AND THE EVENTS AROUND HIM,

0:21:49.066,0:21:56.266
AND THE FUTURE KINGS IN THE LAND OF PERSIA TO FULFILL HIS ABSOLUTE PROMISE...

0:21:56.266,0:22:02.033
THAT THERE WILL BE THE MESSIAH, CHRIST, THE MESSIAH TO COME ON EARTH,

0:22:02.032,0:22:04.599
AND BEING BASICALLY THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD.

0:22:18.599,0:22:21.632
NARRATOR: AND IT WAS JESUS WHO DESCRIBED HIS PURPOSE FOR LIVING.

0:22:32.066,0:22:36.133
AND IT WAS ALSO ISAIAH THE PROPHET WHO SPOKE OF A SERVANT OF GOD...

0:22:36.133,0:22:38.700
WHO WOULD SUFFER AND DIE FOR ALL PEOPLE.

0:23:10.133,0:23:12.432
THAT MESSAGE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ABRAHAM,

0:23:12.432,0:23:19.799
PRESERVED THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY BY INTERVENTION OF DIFFERENT NATIONS, INCLUDING THE PERSIANS,

0:23:19.799,0:23:26.066
FULFILLED IN THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST IN THE BOSOM OF THE ISRAELITE FAMILY,

0:23:26.066,0:23:31.366
PREPARED THE ROAD AND THEIR HEARTS AND MELTED MANY HEARTS THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY,

0:23:31.366,0:23:34.834
AND NOW OF THAT NATION, THE PERSIAN NATIONS AND THE ARABS,

0:23:34.834,0:23:39.100
AND THE ELAMITES AND THE TURKS AND THE CHINESE AND ALL NATIONS...

0:23:39.099,0:23:43.132
ARE BLESSED TODAY. THE MESSAGE IS SIMPLE.

0:23:43.133,0:23:48.866
THAT PROMISE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ABRAHAM IS FOR EVERY TRIBE, EVERY NATION.

0:23:56.200,0:24:01.700
A FEW WEEKS AFTER THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS THE MESSIAH,

0:24:01.700,0:24:04.767
AS HIS DISCIPLES WERE GATHERED IN JERUSALEM,

0:24:04.767,0:24:09.366
THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD FELL ON THEM.

0:24:09.366,0:24:13.666
THE SPIRIT OF GOD BIRTHED THE CHURCH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT TIMES.

0:24:13.666,0:24:17.265
THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT PEOPLE HAD COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD...

0:24:17.266,0:24:20.734
TO CELEBRATE THE JEWISH FEAST IN JERUSALEM.

0:24:20.733,0:24:24.699
BUT MANY PEOPLE MIGHT NOT REALIZE THAT THE FIRST THREE PEOPLE GROUPS...

0:24:24.700,0:24:29.700
THAT ARE MENTIONED IN ACTS CHAPTER 2 VERSE 9: PARTHIANS, MEDES, AND ELAMITES,

0:24:29.700,0:24:35.299
ARE PEOPLE GROUPS FROM IRAN. IRANIAN PEOPLE WERE PRESENT IN JERUSALEM,

0:24:35.299,0:24:38.966
WHETHER THEY WERE JEWS WHO HAD LIVED IN THE PERSIAN EMPIRE...

0:24:38.967,0:24:42.667
SINCE THE TIME OF THE EXILE OR THE GOD-FEARING PEOPLE,

0:24:42.666,0:24:45.132
IRANIANS THAT HAD COME TO FAITH IN THE TRUE GOD...

0:24:45.133,0:24:47.866
BECAUSE OF THEIR CONTACTS WITH THE JEWISH COMMUNITY.

0:24:47.866,0:24:51.767
NEVERTHELESS, IRANIAN PEOPLE WERE THERE IN JERUSALEM.

0:24:51.767,0:24:54.600
IRANIANS WERE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

0:24:54.599,0:24:57.933
AND WE BELIEVE THAT WHEN IRANIANS WENT BACK TO THEIR HOME COUNTRIES,

0:24:57.933,0:25:03.466
THEY TOOK THE MESSAGE OF THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS THE MESSIAH TO THEIR OWN PEOPLE.

0:25:03.467,0:25:07.066
WE LOOK AT CHURCH HISTORY HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER.

0:25:07.066,0:25:10.366
THE IRANIANS TOOK THE GOSPEL, THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS,

0:25:10.366,0:25:12.799
TO CHINA THROUGH THE SILK ROAD.

0:25:12.799,0:25:17.966
IN FACT, THE CHINESE PEOPLE CALLED CHRISTIANITY THE PERSIAN RELIGION,

0:25:17.967,0:25:23.834
BECAUSE THEY HAD HEARD THE GOSPEL FROM PERSIAN CHRISTIANS, PERSIAN FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.

0:25:23.834,0:25:29.299
SO I AM VERY PROUD, I FEEL VERY HONORED AS AN IRANIAN FOLLOWER OF JESUS...

0:25:29.299,0:25:33.799
THAT GOD HAS USED THE PEOPLE OF IRAN IN A SIGNIFICANT WAY...

0:25:33.799,0:25:37.165
TO BRING HOPE AND HEALING TO THE NATIONS.

0:25:40.866,0:25:46.633
I THINK A PERSIAN RUG CAN BE A BEAUTIFUL SYMBOL OF HOW GOD IS AT WORK IN HISTORY,

0:25:46.633,0:25:49.100
HOW GOD IS AT WORK IN OUR LIVES.

0:25:49.099,0:25:52.933
WHEN YOU LOOK AT A RUG, ONE SIDE OF IT CAN LOOK VERY ROUGH.

0:25:52.933,0:25:58.332
THE KNOTS, THE THREADS, THE... THE BACK SIDE OF A RUG MIGHT NOT LOOK VERY BEAUTIFUL.

0:25:58.333,0:26:02.233
BUT YOU HAVE FAITH THAT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RUG,

0:26:02.232,0:26:08.466
THERE IS A GLORIOUS, BEAUTIFUL PATTERN RICH WITH DIFFERENT COLORS AND TEXTURES.

0:26:08.467,0:26:12.300
I BELIEVE THAT'S HOW WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW GOD IS AT WORK IN THE WORLD.

0:26:12.299,0:26:16.933
IT MIGHT LOOK VERY MESSY FROM OUR SIDE OF HISTORY RIGHT NOW,

0:26:16.933,0:26:22.899
BUT WE HAVE FAITH THAT THIS GOD WHO... WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO BLESS THE NATIONS,

0:26:22.900,0:26:28.066
THIS GOD WHOSE PURPOSE IS TO ESTABLISH THE SHALOM, THE PEACE,

0:26:28.066,0:26:34.232
THE KINGDOM OF JESUS, THAT HE IS ACTUALLY MAKING A BEAUTIFUL STORY.

0:26:34.232,0:26:37.866
ONE DAY THE PATTERNS WILL MAKE SENSE.

0:26:37.866,0:26:42.432
ONE DAY WE WILL SEE THE GLORY OF GOD'S WORK IN OUR LIFE...

0:26:42.432,0:26:46.200
JUST THE WAY WE SEE AND ENJOY THE GLORY OF A PERSIAN RUG.