The American Wisdom Series 
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Presents 

Ezra
Chapter 4
Caution to students of God's Word - Please remember two things when using our studies: #1. Our commentary is not God's Word. It is only our interpretation or understanding of "His Word" and even though we try our best to be accurate we may or may not be correct. #2. The King James translation, or any other translation, of the original Hebrew text has some words which were given different translations at different places probably because of the interpreters preconceived ideas of what they think God meant to say. For example: According to the notes in the "Drake's Annotated Reference Bible" the Hebrew word hayah in the KJV is Trans. (became) 67 times, (becamest or came to pass) 505 times, (become) 66 times, and (come to pass) 131 times, but for some reason in Genesis 1:2 it is translated (was)! That sure changes the way a person perceives the original creation of the earth, doesn't it?  Gen. 1:2 And the earth was (became) without form, ... Having said that, let us continue with our "studies". These studies contain knowledge, we believe, you must have to fully and accurately unlock and understand the Word of God.

Revelation 2:17  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

John 16:13-14
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. [14] He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

This Bible Study was originally written by Roger Christopherson,
 published at http://www.theseason.org/ 

You can view it at the season`s web site (address above) as originally published
or here, as now edited by people at
 
The American Wisdom Series  

Without the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the truths, for all the truth of the Scriptures are revealed to us by God's Spirit.

 Now here is our revised study of:

Ezra

Chapter 4

"The Building, and the Opposition to it."

Ezra 4:1 "Now when the Adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto the Lord God of Israel;"

Ezra 4:2 "Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, "Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him since the days of Esar-haddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither."

To understand who these adversaries are, we have to go to II Kings 17:24-41. When the king of Assyria, king Esar-haddon scattered the ten tribes to the north, and moved them from their lands in the old "House of Israel", he in turn moved into that land vacated, the captive heathen people from other lands that also had been taken by war. These "Adversaries" are not of the Ten tribes of the House of Israel, but parts of the Hittites, Kenites, and so on, all mixed together by the Assyrians, for the purpose of taking away any strength that they might have through their bonding in unity of family and nation.

Editor's Note: I wonder how much better it would be today if The ancient Israelites had listened to God and "Utterly destroyed" the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded them to do when entering the "Promised Land"

Live Link to- Utterly Destroy=Exterminate

The only reason that they can say; "for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto Him"; God was so upset because of this that He allowed lions to take a toll on the people. Because of their five heathen religions that were taking over the northern part, these lions were killing people in the masses. It can be proven secularly that these events did take place, so these heathen people went to the king of Assyria [Assur] to complain about the killings.

The Assyrian king told them to get one of the Israelite priests, and they will show you what is wrong with your religion and worship, and they will tell you how to live. So the Samaritans did as the king suggested, and were engrafted into Israel, and began to worship God as the priest had ordered. However, they kept five other of these filthy heathen gods, one of them being the practice of sacrifice to Molach, which was the practice of burning their children in sacrifice.

So we see that at the time of Ezra's writing, these heathen still have their heathen God's. They now want to come in and help build the Temple of God, which is very much against God's law.

Ezra 4:3 "But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, "Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us."

The fathers of Israel did the right thing by not allowing those heathen religious types near the true house of God. However they have a sicker cancer that has been pointed out early in the reading of the genealogies of Ezra. They have those three hundred and ninety two Nethinims working right in the Temple doing the services that belong to the Levite priests. God does not like that, and that is why Jesus said 390 years later, of the scribes and Pharisees in the Temple, they sit in the seat of Moses. Then He identifies them as the Kenites, for they are of the offspring the serpent, who are responsible for the murders of all the righteous from Abel right down to the prophet Zachariah, between the porch and the altar.

These good old boys did the right thing, but they have their main problem, the cancer of these Kenite's Satanic minds sitting right in the middle of the house of God. We will see that Nehemiah had his share of them by his side also.

Ezra 4:4 "Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the People of Judah, and troubled them in building,"

This small population of the People of Judah had committed to go forth in the building of the house of God, and as they started, here comes the heathen from the areas around Jerusalem to stir up the trouble.

Ezra 4:5 "And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia."

There is not much difference today then what Zerubbabel faced at this time. In other words these Nethinims went out and hired the a pack of wicked counselors [ACLU-types], a tribe of these wicked counselors that will sell themselves to go against God's work.

Ezra 4:6 "(And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.)"

This pack of cut-throat counselors are always good at writing lies, that is what their profession is.

Ezra 4:7 "(And in the days of Artaxerxes, wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in the Syrian tongue, and interpreted in the Syrian tongue."

This letter was written in the Aramaic language, and then given to the king in the same way. This bunch of liars brought themselves together in force, to show a force of unity against Judah. There is not much difference today, for these Kenites today would join a few of themselves together, and call it a crowd.

Ezra 4:8 "Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:"

From this verse to Ezra 6:18 is written in the Syriac in the Manuscripts, which was like the French of today. "Shimshai" in the Syriac means "Sunny" or "Sunshine", if you are going to get a "good old boy Kenite scribe, with a big smile", get one with a name like "Sunny". So this mister teeth, our Kenite lawyer scribe wrote a letter to the king of the world, king Artaxerxes, and it went like this.

Ezra 4:9 "Then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions; the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Susanchites, the Dehavites, and the Elamites,"

So here is Rehum the "wonderful" chancellor, with Mr. Sunshine [Shimshai] the Kenite scribe, and now look at the rest of these half breed lawyers, it looks like some of the messes we still have today. The Dinaites were from an Persian city; the Apharsathchites were a Medo-Persian tribe; the Tarpelites were from the east of Elymais; the Apharsites were of Persian origin; The Archevites were from Babylon; the Dahavites were the Dahae of Herodotus (i. 125); and the Elamites were from a province in Persia.

This is about the most underhanded bunch of companions you could have for the task they are about to undertake. The evil they think they have to stop is the building of the House of God. It sounds like something the ACLU would undertake today, with their pack of Kenite attorneys.

Ezra 4:10 "And the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Asnapper brought over, and set in the cities of Samaria, and the rest that are on this side the river, and at such a time."

Jesus Christ referred back to this in John four, when He was confronting the Samarian woman at the well. Thanks to this "noble Asnapper", Samaria was littered with the scum of the earth, as the Asyrians moved all the scum of their empire into the area vacated by the old House of Israel [the ten tribes], as they moved the Israelites out of Samaria. This scum of the earth now are the ones that Ezra is going against, as Zerubbabel, Ezra and the Jews are trying to rebuild the Temple.

Ezra 4:11 "This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; "Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time."

These pack of lawyers are building the king up to grant them the favor of stopping the continuance of construction on the Temple. These scum are trying to convince the king that they are looking out for his interest in Jerusalem, on the other side of his kingdom.

Ezra 4:12 "Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations."

How is that for "bad press"? It sounds good, however it is a series of lies or half-truths. The foundation is just discovered, the building is not built, and the walls still are not up. Then these people are making this city of Jerusalem look like it is intact, with a political force, an army, and so forth; these old boys are just a bunch of liars. The Kenites haven't changed much in the past 2,500 years.

Ezra 4:13 "Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings."

"If" is a slip of their tongue, after they just represented it as being in-tact. Notice how they attack the king where it hurts; their tolls and the king's taxes. They hit the king in his pocket book.

Ezra 4:14 "Now because we have maintenance from the king's palace, and it was not meet for us to see the king's dishonour, therefore have we sent and certified the king;"

These boys sound like the Kenites of today, sucking of the government and milking it for what it is worth. We felt that it was our duty to inform [certify] to the king exactly what a bad bunch of people that is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:15 "That search may be made in the book of the records of thy fathers: so shalt thou find in the book of the records, and know the this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful unto kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time: for which cause was this city destroyed."

What this pack of lawyer deviates don't know is that it was God that spoke to king Cyrus, God forenamed him as His servant, and that it was at Cyrus' command. God directed and sent the Jews and with them the Kenite Nethinims back to Jerusalem. Cyrus was God's servant.

Ezra 4:16 "We certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the walls thereof set up, by this means thou shalt have no portion on this side the river."

Old "Sunshine" and the rest of his scabby companions are now guaranteeing that if the city and the Temple are completed, the king will loose taxes, and have to pay tolls, besides the control over these people. When God gives a command it will be completed, if you do it God's way. Even though these lies are going forth, we will see that God does have His ways of working.

Ezra 4:17 "Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond the river, "Peace, and at such a time."

Remember, the reason for this letter being written was the fact that the true Jews, those descendants of Judah and Benjamin, would not let the scum of the area, the Samarians help them build the Temple and take part in the worship. That is why they went to Sunny [Shimshai] the Kenite scribe. Just like there was an effort to stop the building of God's Temple in Ezra's day, today there is another Temple forming around the world, and this end times Temple is formed with the body of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The effort made today to stop that growth is on a massive scale also, and the offspring of the same people that were involved with receiving the letter, or "order of decree" from the king, are preparing the way for the world, including Christians, to receive their father [the Antichrist] as the true Messiah.

Just like God's house did go forth in due time, so also the Temple of Jesus Christ, the body of believers will continue to move toward completion. Christianity has been allowed to become foolishness in the eyes of many people today, and through the Holy Spirit, only the true body of Christ can see the truth of God's Word. Since God has been taken from the schools, and undermined in Christian families, our educational levels of America has been re-formed to adjust for the ignorance, and foolishness that is now accepted.

Our schools of higher learning are loosing their sense of wisdom and common sense, and replacing it with man's reasoning. The problem is now that the standards that set the bounds for a person's reasoning is set only by that person, and God is removed from being the standard for comparison. With God's laws and Words taken from ones mind, the only result that you can have is confusion within each mind, the family unit fragmented, and a general breakdown of law and order. Did you ever wonder why there is so much disorder in our nation today?

The youth of our generation, this final generation, are being destroyed through various means of mind set, and mind control. By attacking the youth, and destroying the family unit, these Kenite dynasties are setting out to destroy the Temple of God. Though they are somewhat successful now, what will happen will be exactly as prophesied in God's Holy Word, and the lies and deceptions will not influence the Elect of God [the Body of Christ] one bit. God's elect will continue to grow stronger as the time of the Antichrist grows near.

Ezra 4:18 "The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me."

"Plainly read" should be "plainly interpreted" before me.

Ezra 4:19 "And I commanded, and search hath been made, and it is found that this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein."

Of course the king is talking about David and Solomon. They took over the whole area from the Iraq to the Nile.

Ezra 4:20 "There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, which have ruled over all countries beyond the river; and toll, tribute, and custom, was paid unto them."

Again the reference is pointing to King David and King Solomon.

Ezra 4:21 "Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me."

As you can see King Cyrus is gone, and Artaxerxes is the King of Persia. It was Cyrus that gave the order to build that Temple and City, and this new King has totally forgotten about that order. The Jews haven't helped the progress by their laziness, and catering to the Nephinims, and now the king's decree is to stop the building of the Temple.

Ezra 4:22 "Take heed now that ye fail not to do this: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings?")

Ezra 4:23 "Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power)"

Old Kenite scribe Sunshine and his companions wasted no time in putting the king's decree into action. It was by military force [police action-judicial means] that they caused the building of the Temple to stop.

Ezra 4:24 "Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia."

It doesn't appear that it took to much force to cause them to stop, and turn their attention to their own selfish needs. Especially since about half of the people coming out of Babylon were not even of God's people [Israel] but foreigners. It is now time for them to turn to their own needs, and built their fancy houses for themselves and forget God's house. However shortly Haggai is going to speak out, and prophecy against them.

Haggai will stir them up to a point where they will willingly go back to the construction of God's house. It is a good time to review Haggai, before going to the next chapter of Ezra. This drive to get the Temple built, stirred by Haggai, is what the next chapter of Ezra is all about.

Live Link to-  Haggai

                        
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Here at the American Wisdom Series our goal is to make you think about and question the wisdom of the current:
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The Four Hidden Dynasties of the New World Order Revelation 6:1-8
"The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse"
Did you know all four are being ridden by Satan?