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Take your Bible, if you will, and look with me at the book of Zechariah. Zechariah's the next to the last book in the Old Testament. We're beginning a wonderful study in this marvelous book of prophecy, and I know the Lord is going to richly reward us as we continue to pursue the truth that is here. We began our message last week and I really had only plans for this to be one message, and it got split into two, so we'll just give you the remainder of it tonight.
We've entitled it "The Divine Plan for Jerusalem" and it deals with Zechariah 1:7 through 17, 1:7 through 17, "The Divine Plan for Jerusalem." I think it's most exciting and interesting that in the day in which we live, Jerusalem has again become the focal point in human history, in many, many ways. The topic of the news and our eyes are focused upon that little country in the Middle East, and that one particular, beautiful city of Jerusalem. And this is not an accident. This is as God had planned it in history and in prophecy, and we're beginning to see the fulfillment. From the beginning of God's dealing with His people, Israel, that nation has had a very unique place in God's plan. God chose Israel, purely out of His own sovereign love. It wasn't anything that they were, they weren't any better, any more intelligent, any more holy, any more anything really. It's simply that God sovereignly chose them, and Deuteronomy 10:14, "Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens belong to the Lord thy God, the earth also, with all that there in is." Everything belongs to Him. "Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers, to love them and He chose their seed after them, even you above all people as it is this day." There in the book of Deuteronomy, it says He did it because He delighted to do it in His love. He chose to set His love upon that particular nation.
Now many people throughout the church age have asked the question why? Why did God choose Israel, and why did He not choose another nation? Well, as I said last time, there's no way to determine why He chose them and not another nation, but there is a way to determine why He chose them. And that is because He had to have a nation. He had to have a people. You say, "For what intention, for what reason?" Let me give you several.
God needed a nation of people in the world, in order no.1, to proclaim the existence of the true God. There had to be somebody in human society who would declare the truth about God. And do you remember that Israel was told, "The Lord our God is one God." In Deuteronomy 6:4, and God said, "Talk about that when you lie down and when you rise up and when you stand and when you walk and when you sit. So talk about it all the time, and teach it to your children and to their children. Let it be known to the world that you proclaim the one true God." And so God needed a nation to do that. In Isaiah 43:21, God said, "This people have I chosen for myself. They will show forth my praise." The chosen people to declare the true God.
Secondly, He needed a nation through whom He could reveal the Messiah. In Genesis chapter 12, verse 3, God said to Abram, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." And it was truth. Through the loins of Abraham came the Messiah. That's what Jesus meant in John 4:22 when He said, "Salvation is of the Jews." He didn't mean salvation is for the Jews. He meant that the one who is the savior came through the seed of Israel. So God needed a nation to proclaim His existence and to reveal His Messiah.
Thirdly, God needed a nation to be a priest among men. You know that a priest is one who speaks to God on the behalf of men, who intercedes for men, and who, on occasion, will speak to men about God. He is an intermediary, and God needed a nation to be the intermediary between men and Himself. In Exodus 19:5 and 6, it says that "Israel was a kingdom of priests." The world could come to Israel and be introduced to God. That was God's plan, although, well, it didn't always work out like that. They were to represent God and the world. They were to be His priests.
Fourthly, God chose Israel to transmit and preserve Scripture. God needed a people who would be a depository in which He could place the Word of God where it would be protected, where it would be cared for, where it would be preserved. And that's again, in Deuteronomy chapter 4 and chapter 6, why God says, "What I have commanded you, obey it, keep it, maintain it, preserve it, because it is essential to the life of all the earth." So God needed a nation to proclaim His existence, to reveal His Messiah, to be His priest in the world, to preserve and transmit Scripture.
And then fifthly, and I think this is important, God needed a nation that could show that world that He was a faithful God. The one thing that God did not want the world to do was to lose their trust in Him, or that God did not want to lose His credibility in the face of the world. God did not want a bad reputation of being a God that you couldn't trust. He might say something and not carry it through. And so God had a nation, the nation Israel, and everything that God ever said to that nation, He brought to pass. When He said "Do this and I'll bless," they did it and He blessed. When He said "Do that and I won't," they did it and He didn't. And it's always been that way.
In Romans chapter 11, the apostle Paul essentially is saying that, in Romans 11, just suggesting to you verse 26-29, "And so all Israel shall be saved as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's sake." God determined to love them, God determined to elect them, God determined to save them, and God will do just that at the second coming of the Messiah. Israel stands for all time as proof that God is a covenant keeping God. He always keeps His promise, and the world needs only to look at the history of Israel to see that that is proven.
Sixthly, I think the reason God needed a nation was to show man His grace in dealing with sin. God wanted to show the world that He was gracious and there's no better proof of it than to see how He blessed Israel in spite of Israel's sin. No better way to prove it than to see that if Israel was simply obedient to carry out the acts of repentance and confession that were known as the sacrifices, God would forgive their sin no matter how heinous and how awful it was. The whole system of Levitical offerings was to show one that, and that was that God was gracious and God was forgiving and as Micah said, "Who is a pardoning God like thee? Whoever forgives iniquity and passes by transgression the way that you do? Whoever removes sin as far as you? As far as the east is from the west, and forgets it?" And so, a nation was needed to show His grace.
And seventh, a nation was needed to show God's anger in dealing with unrepentance. God wanted the world to see how He dealt with sin and unrepentance, and willful sin, and Israel is a perfect illustration of that. You look at their history, and whenever there was unrepentant sin, whenever there was unconfessed sin, whenever there was prolonged and protracted evil, without any conscience about it, there was war and there was death, and there was plague, and there was judgment.
And so God chose a nation for all of these reasons, that that nation might demonstrate to the world the messages that God wanted the world to hear and to see. And Israel then was that nation. And they have become to the world really the platform from which God speaks.
This last point I want to mention in some detail for a minute. God chose Israel in order to show the world His reaction against an unrepentant heart. Back in Leviticus 26:14 God said to them, "If you will not hearken to me and will not do all these commandments, and if you shall despise my statues, if your soul abhor my ordinances, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, I will also do this unto you. I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, the burning fever that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart. You shall sow your seed in vain for your enemy shall eat it." That means your enemies will kill your children. "I will set my face against you, you will be slain before your enemies, and they that hate you shall reign over you and you shall flee when nobody is pursuing you. And if you will not for all of that hearken to me, I will punish you seven times more than that for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power." That's pretty clear language. God says, "You're going to be judged." In verse 32, "I will even bring you into the land which is desolation. Your enemies who dwell therein will be astonished at you. I will scatter you among the nations. I will draw out a sword after you and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste." You know something? That happened in Israel's history, and it's happened again and again, recurrently in their history, whenever they have been unrepentant, whenever they have been denying sin, whenever they have failed to bow to a holy God, they have found that that has come to pass again and again and again, even in modern times.
In Deuteronomy again, the same thing indicated in chapter 28 and verse 37. It says, "And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, a byword among all nations to which the Lord shall lead thee." In other words, there might even be a proverb like this: "He's as homeless as an Israelite. He's as chastened as an Israelite, because you will be the very byword for chastening, the very byword for homelessness, for wandering." In verse 64 of Deuteronomy 28, says "And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from one end of the earth to the other, and there thou shalt serve other gods which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone, and among these nations shalt thy find no rest, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest, but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart and failing eyes, and sorrow of mind and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee and thou shalt fear day and night and thou shalt have no assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say 'Would God it were evening' and at evening thou shalt say 'Would God it were morning,' for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see." God says, "It's going to be awful, it's going to be terrible, it's going to be fearful, when you're scattered among the nations because of your sin and your failure to repent and turn to me."
It is precisely at that juncture in the life of Israel that we enter the book of Zechariah. This nation had been in sin, and they had not repented of that sin. They had failed to acknowledge that sin to God. And as a result God said, "You're going to get scattered again." And they did and they were taken captive into Babylon and that Babylonian captivity, as we saw last time, lasted for a period of 70 years. Look in your Bible at 2Chronicles chapter 36, that's the last chapter in the book, 2 Chronicles chapter 36, verse 14, and here's the historical setting for what had happened in the Babylonian captivity. And by the way, the principle of judgment upon sin has not changed at all. God still reacts violently against sin. But notice 2 Chronicles 36:14, "Moreover all of the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the nations and polluted the house of the Lord which He had hallowed in Jerusalem." Now it's gotten pretty debauched at this point in the history of Israel. They have polluted everything possible. Verse 15, "And the Lord God of their Fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place." He sent messengers because He cared and the messengers were the prophets and God sent them in love but verse 16 says, "They mocked the messengers of God. They despised His words, misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people till there was no remedy. Therefore He brought upon them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of the sanctuary and had no compassion upon young men or maiden, old men or him that stooped for age. He gave all into his hand, and all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the King and of the Princes. All these he brought to Babylon. And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels." Pretty sad to see that great, magnificent temple into shambles. And those who had escaped form the sword, those who happened to live through the terrible siege, and the terrible killing that occurred, He carried away to Babylon. And you notice the "He" in all of these verses is God really. It's God doing it, using the Babylonians as His agents.
Well, they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the King of Persia. The King of the Chaldeans, of course, is the primary "he," but behind the scenes it's God. Why? To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. For as long as she lay desolate, she kept Sabbath to fulfill three score and seven years. 70 years, the land would be desolate, they would be carried away into captivity. And God was chastening their unrepentant hearts.
Then after 70 years, you remember what happened, God said "That's enough. That's enough chastening." And then verse 22 picks up the story from there. 2 Chronicles 36:22, "In the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, the word of the Lord spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished." You remember Jeremiah 29:10 prophesied that it would only be 70 years. So in order to fulfill that prophecy, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and putting it in writing saying, "Thus saith Cyrus, Kind of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, God of heaven, given me. He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people, the Lord is God be with him, and let him go up." And there was the decree of Cyrus that sent the people who wanted to go back to the land.
As we come to Zechariah, they have come back. Now you can turn to Zechariah. They have returned to the land. They've been there now for quite a few years. They've had a difficult time getting the building going because they've been hassled and harassed by their enemies. And they are rather indefensible since there isn't any wall to their city. It's very difficult, and so they have kind of lapsed into invalids and lethargy. And it's at that point that God raises up two prophets. The first one was Haggai, and Haggai stirred them to start the work. Two months later came Zechariah, and Zechariah comforted them and encouraged them to keep the work going. And Zechariah's message was this: "Keep it up folks; God's on your side. Keep it up folks; God is going to bless you. God's got great plans for you. You can be confident in God. You can believe in God. He's going to take care of you." And he just kept comforting them and comforting them and comforting them. And he was a catalyst to keep them moving in the building.
Now, in his prophecy, the major theme of the first six chapters is the comfort that God wants to give to Israel. And it comes in a series of eight visions. Zechariah, like many prophets in the Old Testament, received visions from God that are interpreted into messages and the messages are all messages meant to comfort the people. They've been hassled for 70 years in captivity, they've been hassled since they got back to their land, things aren't like they should be, it's a very difficult time, and they are sort of under the weight of it, and so here comes this tremendous encouragement.
Now we're looking at the first of these eight visions, designed to comfort Israel as they prepare and endeavor to rebuild their city. And the first one that we looked at is the one that is in verses 7-17. Let's remind ourselves of the vision by looking at verse 8 again. The picture seen, and I think this is as far as we got last time, the picture scene: "I saw by night and behold a man riding a red horse, and he sat among the myrtle trees that were in the hollow and behind him were red horses, sorrel and white." Now, Zechariah sees this vision. Now, let me remind you of what it is that he sees. The man riding the red horse was whom? Christ, known also in the Old Testament by what title? The angel of the Lord. Riding a red horse is a symbol of what? War and battle. So he's mounted for battle. Behind him were other riders on red horses and white horses and some that were mixed reddish and white, sorrel. The white we see in prophecy has to do with victory or triumph. So there is a war coming and the idea is there will be blood but there will be victory.
And as the angel of the Lord and all these hosts behind him, we called it the God Squad last time. All the angelic hosts that are assigned to this particular thing, they are all in a hollow. And we suggested that it most likely would be where the valley of Kidron and the valley of Henum on the south part of Jerusalem meet together. It's the lowest place. It's the hollow, the glen if you will, the bottom as the old authorized might say. And it shows them in this place, amidst a whole group of myrtle trees. And we said that the myrtle trees represented whom? The Jews, Israel. And here is Israel in a low place, in a despairing place, outside their city, not really possessing their kingdom and wondering why they haven't, and all of the sudden Zechariah says, "You may be outside wanting to possess, and you may want to restore that beautiful city and that marvelous worship and all that God has given you in the past, and you may be wondering why you're in the valley, in the hollow, but look again because right in the midst of you is a rider on a red horse who's about to start a war, and it's going to be a victory for you, and He's going to reinstate you in the place of God's divine blessing."
So it's a fantastic picture. They are outside Jerusalem, they are waiting to take the city, they are waiting to move in. It's a picture of God's humiliated people, and their angelic defender, protector, who is ready to lead the battle and win the victory, and rebuild the city. What a tremendously comforting picture this must have been to that group of patriots that had come back to reestablish their land. Chastened for a time, but about to see the end of all chastening, as the angel of the Lord was ready to do some conquering. And so that's the picture seen.
Second point: we're gonna see five facets now. The perplexity solved...the perplexity solved. Now, Zechariah sees a thing like that and naturally it arouses his curiosity. So in verse 9, "Then said I, oh my Lord, what are these." Not who are these. I think he probably knew who was represented. But he was saying, "What is the significance of this? And the angel who talked with me said to me, 'I'll show you what the significance is'." Now, here we meet "the angel who talked with me." After a lot of thinking and reading this, I'm convinced that "the angel that talked with me" is not the same as the angel of the Lord. He's different. He's another angel. Let's call him "Interpreter Angel" okay? Because that's his function. He's a special angel, and his job is to explain things to Zechariah. So Zechariah's having this vision while he's awake, not asleep. He's given a sixth sense, as it were, to perceive things that are beyond the human vision and insight. And in order to understand them, God sends along an interpreter angel who helps him to get things clear. This angel is mentioned 11 times in the book so he's important. "What are these? And the angel that talked with me said 'I'll show thee what these are.'" This says the angel is gonna help him to understand.
Now verse 10, somehow this interpreter angel directs his attention to the rider on the horse, and he says in verse 10, "And the man that stood among the myrtle trees," and who is that? That's the rider on the horse. "Answered and said, 'These are they,'" and he's looking out at the troops behind him, "'these are they that the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.'" So he looks back and he sees the riders on the red, the white, and the sorrel horses, and he says, "These are the ones that God has sent to walk to and fro through the earth." This is God's reconnaissance crew. This is the divine patrol, if you will. The word occurs in a military sense. The word "walk to and fro through the earth" is used in a military sense, with the idea of reconnoitering or the idea of patrolling, ascertaining the state of the enemy. And so God has His squad, His patrol, moving through the earth, just to get the up to date information on what's going on among the enemy.
You know Satan does the same thing. In the book of Job, you don't need to turn to it, it says in 1:7, "And the Lord said unto Satan, 'Where are you coming from?' And Satan answered the Lord, 'From going to and fro in the earth and walking up and down in it.'" He does the same thing. He's on a patrol, and he's got his patrol. Chapter 2, verse 2, He says again, "Where'd you come from?" and he says, "From going to and from in the earth and walking up and down in it." Satan's all over the place, checking everything out, and so is God with His heavenly host. And that's part of why the warfare between the angels and the demons goes on all over the place.
God is on patrol, all over the earth. The squadron of the Lord has been sent out on a world mission and they've come back to report to the angel of the Lord, like the Persian monarchs. This is very fitting in this time, because the Persian monarchs used messengers on swift horses to keep them informed on everything going on in their empire. And so the Lord knew everything about the earth because His angels were moving around it, in this vision. And they give the report, verse 11. Here's our report, they're reporting in now to the commander in chief, the angel of the Lord, none other than Christ, and they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees, and they said, here's their report, "We have walked to and fro through the earth and behold, all the earth sitteth still and is at rest. We've checked it all out, and everybody's at rest."
Now, I just want to give you footnotes. Verse 11 calls the rider, for the first time, the angel of the Lord. And the angel of the Lord is none other than Jesus Christ, none other than the second person of the Trinity. But every Jew knew the angel of the Lord was his protector and defender. Every Jew who knew anything about his Old Testament, every Jew who knew anything about the history of his people, knew that there was one special angel, one super angel, who was set for the defense of Israel, and it was the angel of the Lord. What is so wonderful is that the angel of the Lord had not appeared for 200 years in the history of Israel. And now all of the sudden the angel of the Lord is back, and all the while of those 200 years while Israel was in wretchedness, and Israel was in sinfulness, their protector and advocate and defender was not around. But when their chastening was done and repentance had taken place, He was back, ready to defend His people. Great lesson, and can you imagine how excited those people got when they heard Zechariah describe his vision as incorporating the angel of the Lord and they must have whispered to each other, "But He hasn't been around for 200 years and now He's back." Victory is imminent. What a joyous vision.
There's a great truth here people. The Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of the Lord, is our defender and protector, isn't He? Isn't He the one who takes up our cause? Isn't He the one in Romans 8 who says, "Who shall lay any charge to God's elect?" Isn't He the one who says He has justified us? Isn't He the defender and the protector and the advocate? Yes He is, but I'll tell you something. He will not make Himself known in that fashion, when we are living in a state of unrepentant, unconfessed sin. In a sense, we forfeit His protection, don't we? And He turns us over to the consequence of our sinfulness. And the moment we repentant and the moment we confess, He's back, to defend.
And now He's back among His repentant people to take up their cause and He always will take up the cause of the people who are rightly related to Him, always. And here's their report, "Everything is still in the earth." Say, "Well that sounds terrific." What does the word mean when it says "The earth sits still and is at rest?" The term literally means "relaxed, peaceful, tranquil, free from war." Now this is generally speaking. There were some little squirmishes going on, we know, in the second year of Darius, but they were pretty well squelched. And the Persians had managed to pull off pretty much what amounted to a world wide peace in their world. Shaqat, the verb that is used there, is used repeatedly in the book of Judges, to express the peaceful interims enjoyed by the land of Israel. So it means "a time of political peace." And the conditions that the angels did report is known to have existed in general in the second year of Darius. They had accomplished a peace. There were a whole slew of rebellions that had been put down, a just a little flickering of some of them left by the second year of Darius. So the angelic report is really accurate. The world was pretty much at peace.
But that word also means something else. It is a word that is used, and this is where you really have to dig a little bit to find out what they're saying. When it says "The earth is at rest," that word is used several times in the Old Testament to refer to selfish inactivity...selfish inactivity. Such is its use in the case of Moab, in Jeremiah 48:11. Such is its use in the case of the city of Samaria, the country of Samaria, in Ezekiel chapter 16 verse 49. In both of those Scriptures, the term means not a positive thing, but a negative. It means these people, Moab, and these people, Samaria, are selfishly indifferent to the plight of somebody that has a need. It's like the little plaque that says "If you can be peaceful in this situation, you just don't understand the situation." In other words, some people's peace isn't' really peace, it's indifference, right? It's indifference. If you're in a society plagued by poverty and pain, and you're totally blissful, that's not really peace, that's indifference. And that is the way Shaqatis used in Jeremiah 48:11, Ezekiel 16:49.
Incidentally this is a peace that isn't long to last. It is a peace that is doomed. In fact, Haggai, the other prophet of this time, said in Haggai 2:7, "'I will shake the nations and the desire of all nations and I'll fill this house with glory' saith the Lord of Hosts." And over in verse 21, He says essentially the same thing, "I'll overthrow the throne of kingdoms, I'll destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, I'll overthrow the chariots and the people who ride them, and the horses and the riders, etc., etc.," And Haggai kept saying, "There's coming a day when these so called peaceful nations aren't going to be at peace anymore, when God begins to shake the nations."
So the nations were at peace, but it was the peace of indifference. It was the peace of smugness. Here is the question, a question that's really in the mind of the Jews, the myrtle trees and the hollow, is this: "Why do the unrighteous prosper? And why is all the world at peace and so indifferent while we suffer humiliation and we are the people of God?" So you see the contrast of the earth's indifferent peace makes the state of Israel all the more distressing.
And when you look at verse 15, "I'm very much displeased with the nations that are at ease," that proves the point. It isn't the kind of ease that honors God. It isn't the right kind of peace, it's the wrong kind of peace. It's the peace of injustice, the peace of inhumanity, the peace of indifference that characterizes, I'm afraid, many of our lives much of the time. You see, the Jews had never assumed that they could have the financial wherewithal to build the whole city themselves. They were counting very strongly on loans from the Persian government. Read that, it's indicated in Ezra 6:4. They were counting on some wealth made available to them by other nations, to help them to rebuild. But Persian wealth had been distributed in other ways and they weren't interested. And the rest of the world powers were concerned with their own interests and they were unlikely to even bother with this insignificant group of patriots.
So all was well in the world for everybody but Israel. Isn't that amazingly like today? They do it on their own, don't they? Pretty much. Little aid from here and there, mostly America, a few other countries. But they have a kind of an independence. They kind of do it on their own. They're not too prosperous yet, and I'm not too sure that the angel of the Lord isn't in the valley again, among the myrtle trees, and about to set up His kingdom this time. The rest that they had been promised by God when they came back from the Babylonian captivity hadn't come to pass yet. They couldn't rest in that defenseless state. They were still under the yoke of Gentile power. Darius was their king and he was a Gentile. They were constantly hassled by the enemy nations and the building. They were defenseless because they had no walls, no army. The promise of God for the shaking of the nations hadn't happened. Their peaceful security was unrealized and they were shaking in that hollow, in that glen, waiting for God to do something.
And so when the angelic squadron came back and said, "The world is at peace," that just made them feel worse. Why should the pagan world rest and the covenant people of God be in unrest? Is God gonna make things right? Is God gonna balance the scale for His people?
So the picture seen, the perplexity solved, thirdly the plea stated. Watch who takes up the defense, this is beautiful. Who speaks? Verse 12: "Then the angel of the Lord answered and said," - listen, who is always before the Father pleading the cause of His people? Who? Who is the faithful high priest? Christ. There He is. "Oh Lord of Armies", what hosts means. He's calling on the troops now. "Oh Lord of Armies, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which thou has had indignation these 70 years. How long?" And here is a fantastic scene. Here is Christ the intercessor. Here is Christ the advocate, Christ the defender, Christ the protector, Christ taking up the cause of His people. Isn't it exciting? It's exciting for me to know that when I get myself into a problem and the Lord has to chasten me and the chastening goes on a little while, that the great protector, defender, who knows all things and knows the plan and the mind of God, can cry out on the behalf of McArthur, "How long are you gonna keep your mercy from him?" He takes my case, intercessory prayer, the plea stated. "How long?"
Now the reason He asks this isn't because He's ignorant. He's simply crying out to reveal Himself as the defender of His people, and it is the cry of expectation. It is the cry of sympathy, not the cry of doubt. It isn't the cry of questioning. It isn't begging. It isn't doubting. It is believing, expectation, couple with sympathy. And so the intercession is made on the basis of God's promise. And the angel is praying in conformity to the will of God on the behalf of the people. So the picture is seen, the perplexity is solved as the interpreter helps him to see the picture better, the plea is stated.
Fourthly, the punishment is set...the punishment is set. I like this, verse 13, "And the Lord," what's the next word? "Answered." You see, the second person of the Trinity always knows when it's the right time to ask the first person of the Trinity, so that when the second person asks, the first person answers, because it's time. And look at the response, "And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me," and now again it's coming through interpreter angel, "He answered," listen, "with good words," - and what - "comforting words." Draw a little line under those, "good words and comforting words." That is the essence of the whole book. It's a book about good words and comforting words. The key to the book.
But specifically the good words and the comforting words come from verses 14-17 and what they say is God will keep His promise about His city. Look at verse 14, "So the angel that talked with me said to me," interpreter angel again, "'Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies,'" I love this, "'I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.'" Now this interpreter angel says to Zechariah, he says, "Zech, this is no private message, fellow. Yell." That's why cry means. "Yell, Thus saith the Lord of armies, I am jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with a great jealousy. This is a message everybody is to hear, to be proclaimed to all the people, that they all may be comforted, that they all may be encouraged. And what is it? God is jealous for Jerusalem and Zion with a great jealousy. God is on your side and He's had it up to here."
The Hebrew root for jealousy is kina. It means "zeal, fury, jealousy" and it is a two sided word. Zeal means love and hatred together. I think we've explained it this way: I love my wife, I love my children so much that I hate anything that hurts them. And God loves His people so much that He hates anything that hurts His people. And so it's that mixture that becomes zeal. The actual word kinain the Hebrew comes from an Arabic word, and the Arabic word means "to turn intensely red or black," depending on what color it is, with dye. To make something black or dark red with dye is the root word. And by derivation, it is drawing its attention to the color of the face that is produced when somebody becomes furious. God is really getting upset. The Greek equivalent is zalaoand it means "to boil." God is boiling. Intense zeal. Listen, God has a special place in His heart for Jerusalem. He has a special place in His heart for the people, and that isn't changing. In 2 Chronicles 6:6, I love this, God says, "But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there." Did you know that? And some day yet again in the future His name will be there, won't it? And His Son will be there, reigning in the Kingdom. He says, "I have chosen Jerusalem, and the gifts and calling of God says, 'All are without repentance.'" That city is still His city. I can't help but think of that every time I go there. It just takes my breath away to realize this is God's city. In Isaiah 31, verse 5, "As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem, defending also, He will deliver it and passing over He will preserve it." God's gonna take care of His town. It's His.
So God is jealous. I think it's significant that God is spoken of as being jealous at the giving of the covenant law in Exodus 20. As soon as God established a relationship with His people through His covenant, the possibility of Him being jealous came into existence. God's jealousy is a measure of His love for His people. God loves Israel. That's right. God loves the land, God loves the city, God loves the people, still, specially, uniquely, in His plan. And that isn't gonna change. There is yet a future and a fulfillment to God's love for that people. In Hosea chapter 11 and verse 7, "And my people are bent to backsliding from me," that's true. Just imagine how many centuries of unrequited love God has endured at the hands of the Jewish people. "My people are bent to backsliding though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt Him. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? How shall I deliver thee Israel? Mine heart is turned within me. My compassions are kindled together. I will not execute the fiercest of mine anger. I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man, the Holy One in the midst of thee, and I will not enter into the city." In other words, God says, "I can't do it. I can't ultimately destroy those people. I love them." God's got plans for the city. He can't be indifferent. And so He says, "I'm jealous for my people. And I'm going to act in judgment on those who have offended them." You remember back in Genesis 12, when God first gave the covenant to Abram, and He said, "Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed, and whoever curses Israel will be cursed." Remember that? And God never breaks His covenant, never, ever, ever. He promised to preserve His people. He promised if they repented He would give them the land. And here in the time that we're looking at in Zechariah, they had repented and God was going to fulfill His promise and give them the land. It's gonna come. And in order to do that, He's going to have to destroy the nations around them because they have been antagonists and vengeful toward His people.
So His jealousy turns to anger in verse 15, "I am very much displeased with the nations that are at ease, for I was but a little displeased with Israel," that's the idea, "but they helped forward the affliction." Well what is he saying? He says, "I am angry with a great anger." That's the literal Hebrew. "With the nations." What nations? The ones He was talking about, Edom, Assyria, Babylon particularly who had offended His people. Because they are at ease. In eight places in the Old Testament, that phrase "at ease" is used in a derogatory way and it sometimes even means arrogance. Psalm 121:4 uses it to speak of pride. They are proud and indifferent and unfeeling and careless and carnal. And you know what happens? God says, "I was a little displeased and I wanted the nations to chasten them a little bit, but you have pushed it all out of shape," at the end of verse 15. "You helped forward the affliction. You went too far." You see the nations kind of reveled in Israel's suffering. They delighted in it, they prolonged it, they intensified it. They were back in the land, the 70 years was over. God's prophets had said it, "It was for 70 years and no more, and then you are to assist Israel, but you have prolonged the agony and because of that, I am much displeased with you and you sit in your smug indifference against Israel."
You see the nations didn't grasp that God's intention was to punish for a moment, and then show great compassion. That's always the word. So the punishment of the nations is set. It's gonna come. And it came. They rebuilt their city. They rebuilt their walls. And there's yet even a future coming as well. So we see the picture seen, the perplexity solved, the plea stated, the punishment set, and last, the promise secured.
Can you imagine how encouraged those Jews are after they've heard this first message from Zechariah? It's gonna get exciting folks. We're gonna see a victory. Long suffered by God's people are going to be compensated, don't you ever think anything else. They will be compensated. God will bring justice on the behalf of His people.
I love Isaiah 40, verse 1, don't you? "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Cry to her that her warfare is accomplished, her iniquity is pardoned, for she's received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. But that's enough," God's saying, "Comfort her now." And the nations had not done that. They had not, so God was angry.
And He says, "Alright, the promise is gonna be secured," verse 16. "Therefore thus saith the Lord, 'I am returned to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it,' saith the Lord of hosts. A line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet saying 'Thus saith the Lord of hosts, my cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad. And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem.'" And that's the end of the first vision. The promise is secure.
Four things there, did you see them? No. 1, return. Verse 16, "I am returned to Jerusalem with mercy or tender affection, or love, bowels," literally, "deep feelings of emotion. I'm back and I'm ready to occupy my temple again." This is God saying, "I have returned to my city." And you can just feel Jews getting excited. God's back, the temple's going to go up, the shkina's gonna come back, no more ichibod, the glory is departed. Return.
Second word that I see here is restoration. Verse 16, right in the middle, "My house shall be built in it." You want to know something? Four years after that prophecy, the temple was finished. It was done, four years later, and God occupied it.
And then I see reconstruction, a third word. "And a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem." What does it mean a line shall be stretched forth on Jerusalem? They're gonna lay out the city to rebuild it. God says, "I am going to return, temple worship is going to be restored, the city is gonna be reconstructed" and do you realize that 80 years later, Nehemiah finished the wall and the thing was done?
And verse 17 says, "That my cities, through prosperity, shall be spread abroad." The place is gonna gush with prosperity, overflowing. And they rebuild it, and they had some wonderful years of prosperity.
And the last word I see is reassurance. The end of 17, "And the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and so yet choose Jerusalem." Comfort's coming. What a wonderful message for the troubled little remnant. God's gonna keep His promise to His people, no matter what the world is doing, no matter how indifferent they are, no matter how it looks. What a great hope.
Beloved it's a great hope for us, I think, from two angles. God is still dealing with Israel. God's gonna deal with His people. He's going to comfort Israel in the future, gonna bring His Messiah and redeem them. But I see this same characteristic of God in relation to the church, don't you? Isn't it great to know that Christ is in the midst of His church? In many ways, we're in the valley in the world, aren't we? We don't reign in this world, Satan does. We're the outcasts. We're the ones in the hollow outside the kingdoms of the world looking in. We're the ones that the world looks down on. We're the ones who exist in a kind of humiliation, but right in the midst of us is the living Christ. And He's saying, "It won't be long until we're gonna ride in and take over this world, and I'm gonna reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords."
Zechariah's vision came true in the total of 80 years, all of it. But we can't leave it there, because this prophecy has double character. The prophet was also looking at the Kingdom of Messiah to come many years in the future. The rebuilding under Zerrubabel and the temple and Nehemiah of the wall and the city were very temporary and very short lived, and the temple and the wall went down again. But there's a future yet and there's gonna be another temple, and Ezekiel describes it as the millennial temple. Read Ezekiel 40-48. And God is gonna be in it, and Jesus Christ is gonna be on the throne and the people are gonna be gathered into the millennial Kingdom, and we're gonna reign with Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the land is gonna flourish and all of the marvelous things described by the prophets for the Kingdom are going to come to pass. The future of Jerusalem is secured in the promise of God. He will rebuild His house, He will restore His Kingdom, He will reign upon it's throne, and you and I, along with the redeemed people of Israel will come to Jesus Christ and the tribulation who look on Him whom they pierced and mourned for Him as an only son, so gather together at the feet of the King and reign with Him forever and ever. That's the future.
I'll tell you something people. When I begin to see what's going on in Israel today, I can get excited about that, can't you? God begins to lay the ground work, to build His city, to build His Kingdom. The temples have been destroyed again and again in Israel. There isn't any one there. There's no temple. But in the great tribulation, Israel again will be in the hollow. Humility, degraded, outside Jerusalem. But then comes the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and establishes the new reign on earth. The Kingdom is restored, God reigns, the temple's rebuilt, the city is built, the cities are prosperous, Zion is comforted, the nations are punished. And we go into His wonderful Kingdom.
Well, I hope you can put this all together. There's history here that already happened. There's prophecy here that's yet to happen. Both of those are related specifically to Israel. In addition to that, there is the overall character of Jesus Christ that is manifest and He is in His character, manifests toward His church, the very same spirit, the same attitude and the same power that He manifest toward Israel. So the sum of all of this is that it's a tremendous, profound word for all of us. And we glory and rejoice in it. Keep your eyes on Israel. The myrtle bushes are in the hollow, and I think the rider on the red horse is there with them. And He may be pleading to God to take back the land and judge the nations, very soon. Isn't it interesting that it will probably be at a time when the world is at peace. And isn't that characteristic of the first three and a half years of the tribulation? But they're back in their land, the scene is set, and what a scene it is.
Well, let's pray. This is just the introduction. We're going to go over this tremendous future Kingdom of Israel again and again in detail so you'll understand that we spoke perhaps in generalities tonight, but in the days to come as we look at the rest of the visions and the rest of the book, it's going to become crystal clear what's happening.
Father thank you tonight for our fellowship, for the tremendous truth of your word and its power. Most of all, Father as we look at the Old Testament, we see not so much the character of Israel, but the character of God, your power, your righteous wrath in dealing with sin, your grace to forgive, your gentle chastening that is only for a time and then restores, your undying, unending love for your people, your unfailing promises, your sure word, your great victorious conquering power, your supreme sovereignty over history, it's all there. Thank you Father for showing it to us and thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, the angel of the Lord, the rider on the red horse, the savior, the conqueror, the defender, the protector, the advocate of His people, not only of Israel but of the church which He loves and purchased with His own blood. Thank you that that Lord Jesus Christ is available to us by faith when we receive Him and that which He has done on our behalf. Thank you Father for the tremendous, just consuming, reality that you are on our side and the history is going to end up for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ to be absolute blessing and bliss forever. Thank you for making that available to us.
While our heads are still bowed, just a closing thought or two. If you're here tonight and you have never committed yourself to Christ, history is not gonna have a good ending for you. History's going somewhere. God is fulfilling history in the nation Israel right now, and preparing things for His Kingdom. All the signs are there. He could come any moment for His church and then begin the things that prelude to the setting up of the Kingdom. And the question is, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ, so that you'll be a part of that? At the end of the book of Revelation, after everything has been said that could be said about the future, it's all been laid out, the Bible says this, "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come' and let him that heareth say 'Come,' and let him that is of thirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." When it's all said and done, the message of God to you is "Come to me," and Jesus said, "Him that cometh to me, I will under no condition, turn away."
History's going somewhere. Are you a part of that wonderful plan that God has? You can be if right now you just open your heart to Christ, a simple prayer silently in your heart, acknowledging that you are a sinner and you need the Lord Jesus Christ, and you desire that He come into your life and save you and make you a part of this plan. That simple prayer will be enough to activate the power of God on your behalf. And you can be a new creation in Christ. If you pray that prayer, I hope you do if you don't know Him. There's a transformation like none that will ever occur in the rest of your eternity and it will take place tonight.
Father I thank you for the time that we've shared in the word and the good time that we've shared with Paul Ducort and the people that sang, and just a great fellowship all day today. Bless to our hearts your truth, and Father we just pray that no one would leave who hasn't settled in their own heart the matter of destiny, that it might all be resolved in Christ and we might be able to say with John, having heard that Jesus said, "Behold I come quickly, even so, come Lord Jesus." We will praise you in the name of our Lord, Amen.
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Difference between revisions of "Eclipse DemoCamps November 2010/Krakow"
m (→Who Is Attending)
(→Who Is Attending)
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#Lukasz Dobrzanski, Hurra Communications
#Lukasz Dobrzanski, Hurra Communications
#Krzysztof Michalski, Oracle Polska
#Krzysztof Michalski, Oracle Polska
See [http://wiki.eclipse.org/Eclipse_DemoCamps_Helios_2010/Krakow the page] of the previous EDC event.
See [http://wiki.eclipse.org/Eclipse_DemoCamps_Helios_2010/Krakow the page] of the previous EDC event.
Revision as of 10:17, 5 November 2010
The event will take place either in Baraka Club (1st floor) map or in IBM Krakow Conference Center (ground floor) map. We will update the page by the end of this week. Stay tuned.
Date and Time
November 20, 2010
11:00 - 15:00
- Szymon Brandys, IBM, Eclipse committer Eclipse Platform Workspace Team wiki page
- Tomasz Zarna, IBM, Eclipse committer Eclipse Platform Workspace Team wiki page
If you would like to present at the DemoCamp, please feel free to add your name and topic to the list.
- Szymon Brandys, IBM, Evolution of Eclipse
- Tomasz Zarna, IBM, Eclipse 3.7 Tips and tricks (working title)
- Małgorzata Janczarska, IBM, Building J2EE application on top of Eclipse
- Pawel Pogorzelski, IBM Java Bytecode Instrumentation
Who Is Attending
If you plan on attending please add your name to the list below or register here. We'd like to see as many people show up as possible.
If you have any trouble with the wiki, just send an email to Szymon.Brandys at pl.ibm dot com.
- Szymon Brandys, IBM
- Dominik Chmaj, BOFHnet
- Tomasz Zarna, IBM
- Malgorzata Janczarka, IBM
- Pawel Pogorzelski, IBM
- Lukasz Dobrzanski, Hurra Communications
- Krzysztof Michalski, Oracle Polska
See the page of the previous EDC event.


text:
On the occasion of the lunar eclipse that occurs on 28 August 2007, we produce a short survey of some records of lunar and solar eclipses reported on in Muslim heritage, drawn from various sources, including astronomical texts of professional historians as well as the books of history, chronicles and annals.
28 August 2007 Lunar Eclipse
A total eclipse of the Moon occurs during the early morning of Tuesday, August 28, 2007. From start to finish, this eclipse lasts about three hours and thirty-three minutes. The event is widely visible from the United States and Canada as well as South America, the Pacific Ocean, western Asia and Australia.
An eclipse of the Moon can only take place at Full Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of Earth's shadow. The shadow is actually composed of two cone-shaped parts, one nested inside the other. The outer shadow or penumbra is a zone where Earth blocks some (but not all) of the Sun's rays. In contrast, the inner shadow or umbra is a region where the Earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the Moon. If only part of the Moon passes through the umbra, a partial eclipse is seen. However, if the entire Moon passes through the umbral shadow, then a total eclipse of the Moon occurs [1].
Figure 1: Image of March 2007 lunar eclipse showing details of the lunar surface such as the huge ray system emanating from the large impact crater Tycho on the the southern hemisphere of the Moon. (Source). See an animation of this eclipse here.
Observations of eclipses in Islamic astronomy
A total eclipse is a spectacular sight. It is worth to see it at least once in one's life, in order to witness this breathtaking natural phenomena as it occurs in the heavens. The wonder felt by humans for eclipses is well recorded in world history. This is why their echoes were transmitted from generation to generation and written down in scientific and popular texts. Muslim scholars of the past recorded dozens of eclipses of the Moon and the Sun, in different parts of the Muslim world, from the North of India until the Andalus, and during a period which covered the whole temporal extent of Islamic civilisation until the 19th century. These eclipses were reported in different literary genres, from scientific treatises of professional astronomers to the accounts and narratives of chroniclers and historians, who reported on the important events they witnessed or about which they had written records. For illustration, we take selected case studies from the works of two famous astronomers, al-Biruni and Ibn Yunus.
Figure 2: Path of the Moon through Earth's umbral and penumbral shadows during the Total Lunar Eclipse of Aug. 28, 2007 (Pacific Daylight Time: Mid-Eclipse 03:37 am). Adapted from here.
Abu al-Rayhan al-Biruni (d. 1048), the famous scientist who excelled in mathematical and applied astronomy, did not fail naturally to observe eclipses and to study them. He said in his Kitab Tahdid nihayat al-amakin li-tashih masafat al-masakin (The Determination of the Coordinates of Positions for the Correction of Distances between Cities) [2] concerning the observation of eclipses:
"The faculty of sight cannot resist it [the Sun's rays], which can inflict a painful injury. If one continues to look at it, one's sight becomes dazzled and dimmed, so it is preferable to look at its image in water and avoid a direct look at it, because the intensity of its rays is thereby reduced… Indeed such observations of solar eclipses in my youth have weakened my eyesight [3]."
In Afghanistan, he observed and described the solar eclipse on April 8, 1019, and the lunar eclipse on September 17, 1019, in detail, and gave the exact latitudes of the stars during the lunar eclipse [4].
On the solar eclipse which he observed at Lamghan, a valley surrounded by mountains between the towns of Qandahar and Kabul, he wrote:
"At sunrise we saw that approximately one-third of the sun was eclipsed and that the eclipse was waning."
He observed the lunar eclipse at Ghazna and gave precise details of the exact altitude of various well-known stars at the moment of first contact [5].
One of the greatest astronomers of medieval Islam, Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Yunus (950-1009), remained completely unknown to European astronomers of the Renaissance. Working in Cairo a century after al-Battani, Ibn Yunus wrote a major astronomical handbook called Al-Zîj al-Hakimî al-kabîr (Th Great Hakimi astronomical table) which he dedicated to Caliph al-Hakim. Unlike other Arabic astronomers, he prefaced his Zij with a series of more than 100 observations, mostly of eclipses and planetary conjunctions. Although Ibn Yunus' handbook was widely used in Islam, and his timekeeping tables survived in use in Cairo into the 19th century, his work only became known in the West less than 200 years ago.
Ibn Yunus describes 40 planetary conjunctions accurately and 30 lunar eclipses which were used by the American astronomer Simon Newcomb in his lunar theory [6]. He described an eclipse of the moon that he observed in these terms:
"This lunar eclipse was on 10 Shawwal 370 H [22 April 981 CE]. We gathered to observe this eclipse at al-Qarafa, in the Mosque of Ibn Nasr al-Maghribi. We perceived first contact when the altitude of the moon was approximately 210. About a quarter of the lunar diameter was eclipsed, and re-emergence occurred about a quarter of an hour before sunrise [7]."
Ibn Yunus reports on another eclipse, the solar eclipse of 11 November 923 CE:
"(This) solar eclipse was calculated and observed by Abu al-Hassan Ali ibn Amajur, who used the al-Zij al-Arabi of Habash… We as a group observed and clearly distinguished it… We observed this eclipse at several sites on the Tarmah (an elevated platform on the outside of the building)… According to calculation from the conjunction tables in the Habash Zij the middle was at 0;31 h (i.e. 31 min) and its clearance at 0;44 hours (i.e. 44 min), calculation being in advance of observation [8]."
Ibn Yunus' Hakemite Tables compiled around 1005 contained records of the eclipses of 993 CE (solar), 1001 CE (lunar), 1002 CE (lunar), and 1004 CE (solar).
Some reports of eclipses in Islamic history
Medieval Islamic chroniclers recorded a number of detailed and often vivid descriptions of eclipses. Usually the exact date of occurrence is given (on the Hijri lunar calendar). Their reports of such astronomical events show the importance they devoted to them. Moreover, their accounts offer nowadays a good ground for multifaceted historical analysis. One of the uses in which their reports are used is to verify astronomical calculations of eclipses of the past, but also to decide about the dates of the historical events related to these eclipses or other astronomical phenomena. For instance, the eclipses and the apparitions of comets mentioned by the Moroccan historian Ibn abi Zar' (14th ventury), who reports in his history astronomical events recorded in the tradition of the Islamic West. His narratives of the eclipses allow the historians to correct some erroneous dates that we find in his text, given the important differences existing between its different manuscript sources [9].
A graphic narrative of the total solar eclipse of 20 June 1061 CE was recorded by the Baghdad annalist Abu-al-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzi (508-597 H), who wrote approximately a century after the event, in his Al-Muntadham fi tarikh al-muluk wa-'l-umam (in 10 volumes):
"(453 H.) On Wednesday, when two nights remained to the completion of (the month of) Jumada al-Ula, two hours after daybreak, the Sun was eclipsed totally. There was darkness and the birds fell whilst flying. The astrologers claimed that one-sixth of the Sun should have remained [uneclipsed] but nothing of it did so. The Sun reappeared after four hours and a fraction. The eclipse was not in the whole of the Sun in places other than Baghdad and its provinces."
The historian of astronomy F. R. Stephenson comments here that the date provided by Ibn al-Jawzi "is exactly correct [10]."
Three independent accounts report on the eclipse of 11 April 1176 CE. The historian Ibn al-Athir, who was 16 years old at that time, described the event as follows in his al-Kamil fi al-tawarikh:
"In this year (571 H) the Sun was eclipsed totally and the Earth was in darkness so that it was like a dark night and the stars appeared. That was the forenoon of Friday the 29th of Ramadan at Jazirat Ibn 'Umar [now Cizre, in Turkey], when I was young and in the company of my arithmetic teacher. When I saw it I was very much afraid; I held on to him and my heart was strengthened. My teacher was learned about the stars and told me: 'now, you will see that all of this will go away', and it went quickly."
Michael the Syrian (also known as Michael the Great or Michael Syrus) [11] (d. 1199 CE) was an Assyrian patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church from 1166 to 1199. He is best known as the author of a large Chronicle, which he composed in Syriac, where he refers to the total solar eclipse that he observed at Antioch on 11 April 1176 in those terms:
"In this year 1487 (Seleucid era), on New Sunday, the 11th of the month of Nisan [April], at daybreak, at the end of Office, that is, after the reading of the Gospel, the Sun was totally obscured; night fell and the stars appeared; the Moon itself was seen in the vicinity of the Sun. This was a sad and terrifying sight, which caused many people to lament with weeping; the sheep, oxen and horses crowded together in terror. The darkness lasted for two hours; afterwards the light returned. Fifteen days after, in this month of Nisan at the decline of Monday, at dusk, there was an eclipse of the Moon in the part of the sky where the eclipse of the Sun had taken place."
On his part, 'Imad Al-Din al-Asfahani al-Katib (1125-1200 CE), secretary of state and official chronicler during Salah al-Din al-Ayubi's reign, in his chronicle of the crossing of the Orontes River, near Hamah (in present-day Syria) by Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi and his army, refers to the solar eclipse of 11 April 1176 when he says:
"The Sun was eclipsed and it became dark in the daytime. People were frightened and stars appeared [12]."
The date of the eclipse is given correctly apart from the weekday (actually Sunday) and is equivalent to 11th April 1176. Calculation shows that the whole of the Sun would have been obscured over a wide region over the Middle East, beginning in the region of Cizre in Turkey. Farther south, totality was also witnessed by Salah al-Din and his army while crossing the Orontes River near Hamah. The chronicler 'Imad al-Din, who was with Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi at the time, dates the event one year too early (570 H), but the only large eclipse visible in this region for several years occurred in 1176 CE.
In our quest for the records of eclipses, an important source is the monumental Tarikh al-Rusul wa'l muluk (The History of Prophets and Kings) [13] by Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (838-923), one of the earliest, most prominent and famous Muslim historians and exegetes of the Qur'an. Indeed, in his History, al-Tabari reports several eclipses observed in early Islamic history. A solar one occurred on 28 Dhu 'l-Hajja 203 H / 25 June 819 CE. Upon examination it turned out that there was indeed a solar eclipse in the morning of 26 June 819. Hence the slight error results from an inaccuracy in determining the beginning of the Lunar month. Al-Tabari mentioned also another solar eclipse that happened in 29 Muharram 269 H / 17 August 882 CE. The same eclipse is referred to by Ibn al-Jawzi on the same date.
Ibn al-Jawzi, in a famous report quoted often in the modern historiography, reports that there was a solar eclipse in the morning of Wednesday 28 Jumâda I 453 / 19 June 1060. Indeed a total solar eclipse happened exactly at this date, but on 20 June 1060 CE (29 Jumada I, 453 H). Another eclipse reported by Ibn al-Jawzi was the one of Tuesday 28 Rabî II, 570 H / 25 November 1174 CE; but in the astronomy records an eclipse occurred on the morning of Tuesday 26 November 1174 CE (29 Rabi II, 570 H). Concerning the eclipse of 29 Rabî 1 574 H / 13 September 1178 CE, Ibn al-Jawzi and al-Tabari agree on its date, and their account is supported by astronomy records [14].
Later on and more to the West, the Moroccan historian of the 19th century, Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Nasiri (1835-1897), records in his Al-Istiqsâ' li-akhbâr duwal al-maghrib al-aqsâ, a general history of Morocco and the Islamic west from the Islamic conquest to the end of the 19th century, that there had occurred a solar eclipse on Wednesday 29 Shawwâl 229 H / 19 June 912 CE. This is true, exactly like other eclipses that he recorded until the 18th century [15].
Plenty of other records of lunar and solar eclipses and many other outstanding astronomical events exist in Muslim heritage that would repay investigation, such as the recent study of the observation in 1006 in many regions of the Muslim world of the blast of a new Supernova. Historians began just recently to pay serious attention to all the benefits they can draw from such records. It would be extremely interesting to collect all these records and to classify them. Such a task has just begun. It is being undertaken by scholars from the Muslim and Arab world and by their colleagues in the West, as the resources quoted in this article show clearly [16].
Hoskin, Michael & Gingerich, Owen, "Islamic Astronomy." The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy, Michael Hoskin (editor). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Gingerich, Owen, "Islamic astronomy", Scientific American, vol. 254, No. 4, April 1986, pp. 68-75. Online here.
Islamic astronomy, in Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia; online here.
Rashed, Roshdi (editor), Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science. Edited by Roshdi Rashed with the collaboration of Régis Morelon. 3 vols., vol. 1: Astronomy - Theoretical and Applied. London/New York: Routledge, 1996.
Rius, Mónica, "Eclipses y cometas en el Rawd al-qirtas", in Al-Qantara (Revista de la Escula de Estudios Arabes, Madrid-Granada; ISSN 0211-3589), vol. 19 (1998), N° 1, pp. 3-17. Published in English version as: "Eclipses and comets in the Rawdh al-Qirtas of Ibn Abi Zar?." In: Science and Technology in the Islamic World. Actes du XXe Congrès International d'Histoire des Sciences (Liège, 20-26 Juillet 1997), vol. 21. Turnhout (Be.): Brepols, 2002, pp. 143-154.
Said, S.S. & Stephenson, F.R., "Solar and Lunar Eclipse Measurements by Medieval Muslim Astronomers. I: Background." Annals of Science vol. 53 (1996): pp. 259-273.
Said, S.S. & Stephenson, F.R., "Solar and Lunar Eclipse Measurements by Medieval Muslim Astronomers. II: Observations." Journal for the History of Astronomy vol. 27 (1996): pp. 259-273.
Tâ'î, al-, Muhammad Bâsil, "Tahqîq hawâdith kusûf al-shams fî al-târîkh al-islâmî" (in Arabic) [Examination of events of solar eclipses in Islamic history], Abhâth al-Yarmûk (Arbid, Jordan), vol. 22, N° 2, June 2006. Online here.
End Notes
[1] For more information on 28 August 2007 eclipse and on lunar eclipses in general, see the following websites: NASA Eclipse Home Page here and Lunar Eclipses for Beginners (2000) by Fred Espenak here.
[2] Translated by Jamil Ali, Beirut: The American University of Beirut, 1967.
[3] Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation by F. Richard Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 463.
[4] A. Zahoor: "Abu Raihan Muhammad al-Biruni (973-1048 C.E.)", here.
[5] "Abu Arrayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni", here.
[6] S. Newcomb, Researches on the Motion of the Moon, Washington D. C., 1878.
[7] A. P. Caussin de Perceval, "Le livre de la grande table Hakémite", Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque nationale 7 (1804), 16-240; J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson, "Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Yunus", here.
[8] Quoted in Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation by F Richard Stephenson, Cambridge University Press, 1997, page 459. Apropos of Habash al-Hasib, Ahmad ibn 'Abdallah al-Marwazi (d. between 864 and 874), on the occasion of the solar eclipse observed in 829, he produces the first instance of a determination of time by an altitude (in this case, of the sun), a method which was generally adopted by Muslim astronomers. He seems to have introduced the notion of "shadow" umbra (versa), equivalent to our tangent, and he compiled a table of such shadow which seems to be the earliest of its kind.
[9] Mónica Rius, "Eclipses y cometas en el Rawd al-qirtas (Eclipses and comets in the Rawd al-qirtas)", in Al-Qantara, vol. 19 (1998), N°1, pp. 3-17.
[11] See his biography in Wikipedia, here.
[12] See Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, Conquête de la Syrie et de la Palestine par Salâh ed-dîn, edited by Carlo Landberg, Brill, 1888. The source for these quotations is: F. Richard Stephenson, Historical Eclipses and Earth's Rotation, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 394, 459; "Eclipse Quotations - Part II", compiled by David Le Conte, online here.
[13] Al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari, vols. 1 to 39, various translators, New York: State University of New York Press, 4700 pp., Paperback. This book, which covers the history of Islam down to 915 CE, is qualified by professional historians as "the most important universal history produced in the world of Islam".
[14] For the sources and the bibliographical data on all those reports, see S. Said and F. R. Stephenson, "Solar and Lunar Eclipse Measurements by Medieval Muslim Astronomers. I: Background." Annals of Science vol. 53 (1996): pp. 259-273; idem, "Solar and Lunar Eclipse Measurements by Medieval Muslim Astronomers. II: Observations." Journal for the History of Astronomy vol. 27 (1996): pp. 259-273.
[15] See al-Nasiri, Kitab Al-Istiqsa li–akhbar duwwal al-Maghrib al-aqsa, 9 vol. (vol. 9 index); new annotated edition by M. Hajji, B. Boutaleb & A. Tawfiq. Casablanca, Dar al-kitab, 1997.
[16] Muhammad Bâsil al-Tâ'î, "Tahqîq hawâdith kusûf al-shams fî al-târîkh al-islâmî" (in Arabic) [Examination of events of solar eclipses in Islamic history], Abhâth al-Yarmûk (Arbid, Jordan), vol. 22, N° 2, June 2006. Online here.
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(13 Days - Departs Daily on a Private Basis)
Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls, Santiago, Valparaiso, Torres del Paine
This tour is an excellent introduction to the highlights of Argentina and Chile.
Begin in vibrant Buenos Aires, Argentina. With your own private guide and driver, visit the city's most evocative neighborhoods filled with elegant architecture, historic attractions, excellent museums and other highlights. Also enjoy time to take advantage of the exciting contemporary art and design scene, world-class restaurants and great shopping. Browse lively markets. Wander the cobbled backstreets, and enjoy a tango performance at an intimate, upscale dinner theater. One day, take a private excursion to an estancia in the pampas to learn about gaucho culture and experience the traditional estancia lifestyle. Alternatively, take a private excursion to Tigre and the Parana River Delta to enjoy a relaxing private cruise on the canals of this "rural Venice," passing gardens and upscale vacation houses.
Next, visit Iguazu Falls, one of the most spectacular natural attractions in the world. With your private guide, explore hundreds of waterfalls streaming over high cliffs, travel through the jungle on an open train as butterflies flit about, and cruise up the Iguazu River for an unforgettable experience of the force of Iguazu Falls from below.
Continue to Santiago, Chile, one of our favorite cities in South America with its breathtaking location framed by the Andes mountains. The city offers wonderful museums, colorful colonial architecture, appealing day trips, and delicious food and wine. Tour the city's highlights with your own private guide who will provide an insider's perspective on the city's most recommended attractions, neighborhoods and activities, including La Chascona (Pablo Neruda's house), the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, our favorite neighborhoods filled with beautiful colonial architecture and well-preserved residences formerly occupied by Santiago's aristocracy, bustling markets and exclusive shops, and much more. One day, take an excursion to Valparaiso, one of the most unique cities in South America and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Explore the steep, labyrinthine streets of the most interesting and colorful cerros (hills), visit one of Valparaiso's notable museums, and perhaps take one of the many funicular elevators that the city is famous for. If desired, also enjoy wine tasting at a top winery in the Casablanca Valley, one of Chile's leading wine-growing regions.
Conclude in Torres del Paine National Park, one of the most spectacular national parks in South America. Best known for the iconic sharp summits of the Paine mountain range, the park is a wonderland of mountains, green forest, roaring rivers, sapphire lakes and vivid blue glaciers. Choose from a number of daily excursions according to your interests, such as introductory, moderate or advanced trekking, wildlife viewing and bird watching, photography safaris, boating, trail walking, visiting Patagonian ranches, gourmet BBQs and picnics near glaciers, and horseback riding through the forest of the Blue Lake area. Conclude the tour with a flight to Santiago to connect with your onward flight.
Throughout the tour, sightseeing is very flexible and tailored to your interests, and accommodation is at the best luxury hotels in each destination. Touring is flexible and can be customized to incorporate special interests such as art, tango, polo, Jewish history, family activities, adventure, gastronomy and more.
|Itinerary Overview


text: Use the Avalon Passion cruise schedule calendar below to find a Avalon Passion Cruise sailing by destination or departure port. View Cruises by: Destination | Departure Port Search All Cruises ‹ prev month next month › AreaAllJun2019Jul2019Aug2019Sep2019Oct2019Nov2019Dec2019Jan2020Feb2020Mar2020Apr2020May2020Jun2020Jul2020 viewviewviewviewviewviewviewviewviewviewviewviewviewview European Inland Waterwaysviewviewviewviewviewviewviewview Prices represent the lowest available price for a given sailing date, area, and/or month. All prices USD. OCG Class River Cruise Avalon Passion Year Built2016Year Last Refurbished-Capacity164 passengersDecks4


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Discover the archaeology
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When Mrs. Rogers leaves Amelia Bedelia alone in the house on her first day of work, anything can happen. And it does! With a list of what is to be done before her, Amelia Bedelia sets about her duties. And no one could possibly accuse her of not...
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text: Vermont State Police are investigating a burglary reported at the Lincoln General Store at 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 1. The culprit(s) first tried to get into the business through a rear door, but ultimately gained access through a window, according to the store owner. Once inside, the thieves stole an unspecified amount of cash and cigarettes, according to police. Anyone with information on the crime should contact Vermont State Police at 388-4919. Information can also be submitted online at www.vtips.info, or text "CRIMES" (274637) to Keyword: VTIPS.


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The Kings and the New York Rangers might make a change in their defense corps for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, to be played Saturday at Staples Center.
Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said Friday that defenseman Robyn Regehr "will probably play" in Game 2, but Sutter did not specify whose spot Regehr would take. Best guess is Matt Greene, who has been a healthy scratch in six games and is averaging 13 minutes and 51 seconds of ice time during the playoffs, the lowest among the eight defensemen Sutter has deployed.
Regehr hasn't played since May 3, when he sustained a knee injury during the opener of the Kings' second-round series against the Ducks. Neither he nor Greene is a speedster, but Greene has sometimes struggled against swift opponents. However, Greene was outstanding in the Kings' Western Conference clincher against Chicago, contributing six hits, one block and two assists while compiling a plus-3 defensive rating. He played 16:48 and was plus-2 in Game 1 of the Final, a 3-2 overtime victory by the Kings.
Defenseman John Moore is expected to rejoin the Rangers' lineup after serving a two-game, league-imposed suspension for a hit to the head of Montreal's Dale Weise during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals.
"My adrenaline is going to be pumping if I get a chance to come back," Moore said. "You can't try to do too much. It's a team game. There are five other guys on the ice. You've got to play your game."
Coach Alain Vigneault maintained his policy of not discussing lineup changes but said, "You watched practice today, so. . ."
Raphael Diaz, who played 10:15 in Game 1, is likely to sit if Moore plays.
To err is Human…
Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, whose turnover set up Justin Williams' winning goal Wednesday in Game 1, said he processed and moved past the gaffe a day later. But he was reminded of it Friday, when reporters swarmed him after the Rangers practiced at Staples Center.
"It was gone until this morning — until right now — but obviously as a player there's no worse feeling than that, to make a play that costs your team," Girardi said. "Obviously stewed a little on it [Thursday], but we've got to get a move-on, and we've got a huge opportunity to make it 1-1 and get it back to our building."
Cherry pick: Kings
Don Cherry, the colorful "Hockey Night in Canada" TV commentator, said he thinks the Kings will defeat the Rangers in six games.
"They were asleep for the first two periods [Wednesday], but that's only natural when you come off a hard-fought series. I think Sutter went in and gave them a slap, that's why it was 20-3 in the third," Cherry said of the Kings' edge in shots late in Game 1. "They won't fall asleep again."
Cherry said he's "never seen anything" like the Kings' resilience, which has included three rallies from two-goal deficits in the past seven games — after coming back from a 3-0 series hole versus San Jose in the first round — and a 7-0 mark in elimination games this postseason. He noted that Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick went over to the team's bench and patted players on the back to encourage them when the Kings were down, 2-0.
"I saw that and said, 'You watch, they're gonna come back,'" said Cherry, who made his pro debut as a player in 1951 and as a broadcaster in the early 1980s. "They come back every time."
He also said he favors the Kings partially because "they have nine guys from Ontario, from where I come . . . they're just too good."
Vigneault said Rangers backup goalie Cam Talbot remains day-to-day because of an undisclosed injury. . . . NBC play-by-play announcer Mike Emrick, who missed Game 1 because of a death in his family, is expected to return for Game 2. The telecast will include a profile of Williams and his career Game 7 exploits.


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Encyclopedia of Buddhism: A-L
Robert E. Buswell
Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson/Gale, 2004 - Buddhism - 981 pages
Review: "Buddhism is one [of] the world's major religions with influences reaching far beyond its origins in East Asia, yet it is surprising that it has taken so long for a comprehensive reference source on this religion to appear. Macmillan's work covers not only the familiar topics found in many existing titles on Buddhism but delves deeper. Some 250 experts have crafted scholarly yet accessible articles on nearly 500 topics ranging from rituals and practices to art and Western influence."--"Reference that rocks," American Libraries, May 2005.
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