Kameel Majdali's Road Ahead

  INTRODUCTION TO          ZECHARIAH   A returnee from the Babylonian captivity, Zechariah teamed up with the mature prophet Haggai to encourage the Judeans to rebuild the God’s temple in Jerusalem. Its construction was halted and it took the prophets to restart it, both by word and action. Years later Zechariah continued his written prophecies focusing on Messiah Himself. To the disappointment of many, Messiah had not yet appeared. Zechariah gave insight on the conditions surrounding the coming King of kings and Lord of lords. Apart from Isaiah, no Old Testament prophetic book has more Messianic references than Zechariah. That’s why we call the Book of Zechariah ‘The Coming King.’ HEBREW NAME OF ZECHARIAH Known in the original Hebrew as zekar-yah or ‘God remembers.’ Because God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He will also remember to bless their descendants, the children of Israel. AUTHOR OF ZECHARIAH The author of Ze...

  INTRODUCTION TO HAGGAI The Book of Haggai is only 38 verses, the second shortest prophecy after Obadiah, and one of three post-exilic prophetic books, along with Zechariah and Malachi. It was probably the first time Judah had a prophetic word since the exile to Babylon decades before. Yet, within its verses are powerful promises and prophetic insights. Having looked at key features of this prophetic book, we now focus on a summary and outline. SUMMARY OF HAGGAI After 70 years of Babylonian captivity, it was time for Judah to go home and the temple to be rebuilt. This was not just a wonderful gesture but a fulfilment of prophecy (Isaiah 45:1-3; Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10-14). Daniel’s great intercession of Chapter 9 was on this very theme of the return, though he himself did not go back home but remained in exile. Haggai and Zerubbabel were part of the very first of three returns in 536 BC. The foundation of the second temple was laid. Opposition from the Samaritans and ...

  PART ONE The prophesied 70 year Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people had finally come to an end. There were three deportations of the Jews to Babylon including in the years 605, 597, and 586 BC. The Medo-Persian king Cyrus the Great gave a decree that the Jews could return to Judah and rebuild the House of the Lord in Jerusalem. A minority of Jews heeded the call. Among the returnees were an older man named Haggai and a younger man Zerubbabel. Just as there were three deportations to Babylon, so there were three returns from Babylon: Return One : Haggai and Zerubbabel (536 BC); Return Two: Ezra (457 BC); Return Three : Nehemiah (444 BC). As Cyrus encouraged, the returning Jews set about to rebuild the ruined temple of Solomon. The mere attempt of bringing back the sacred precincts stirred up furious opposition from the non-Israelite neighbours, leading to a decree to cease building. The temple languished for about 16 years while the Jews in Judah sought to recreat...

  In Part 01 , we had a survey of recent history and the meltdowns it has brought. In 2001, there was a major terrorist attack called ‘9-11.’ In 2005, Hurricane Katrina was a major natural disaster that destroyed the American city of New Orleans. In 2008, the world economy had a heart attack called the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).  Just in 2020 alone, there has been drought, bush fires (wild fires in the USA), Covid-19, lockdowns, Covid-19 fascism, economic downturn, protests and riots How do we respond when ‘the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vine?’ How can we survive and thrive in the midst of crisis? How do we go from ‘meltdown to mountaintop?’ We get our cue from Habakkuk. He teaches us to have serious, honest dialogue with the living God. We are enlightened by that transformational verse (2:4), The just shall live by his faith, ’ which spawned the Protestant Reformation. Vision, faithfully waiting for its fulfilment, drawing strength from G...