May 7, 2026

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:15]Ecbatana circa 30 AD in the heart of the Paththean Empire. It is the second full moon since the Passover.

[00:00:24]Casper the Margi has assembled his acolytes, expecting news from the west.

[00:00:34]Outside the desert wind whispered against stone.

[00:00:39]How many of you know that we are not merely priests and we are not defined by Persia alone?

[00:00:48]You have been told the story but not its meaning. You have heard that we followed a star, that we brought gifts to a child in the land of Judea, and we honored him as a king. But do you understand that in that moment we fulfilled our God-given purpose?

[00:01:11]We are magi, servants of the most high, whom we call Ahura Mazda, the wise lord, and others call the king of heaven. But long before our time, there was another servant. A man who was taken from his homeland as a slave.

[00:01:30]Yet he was so favored by God that he ascended to positions of great influence.

[00:01:37]>> Was it Daniel?

[00:01:39]>> Yes, Daniel of the Hebrews. He stood before kings in Babylon, and they trembled at his words. He served under the Mes and they trusted his wisdom.

[00:01:54]Under the Persians, he rose still higher. Empires changed, but Daniel remained.

[00:02:03]>> And why was that?

[00:02:05]>> Because truth doesn't bow to empire.

[00:02:08]>> Truth doesn't bow. What?

[00:02:11]>> Daniel spoke with certainty of things unseen.

[00:02:15]He interpreted dreams no man could understand.

[00:02:19]And the things he foretold came to pass.

[00:02:24]Daniel gave us a measure of time. He told us when the redeemer would come. 70 weeks. He said a decree would go forth to rebuild Jerusalem. From that moment the count would begin, not symbolism.

[00:02:42]Every week was seven years. ending in our generation.

[00:02:47]>> He just went around making predictions and they believed him.

[00:02:51]>> Not everyone. Some were jealous of his influence.

[00:02:56]They once threw this man into a den of lions.

[00:03:00]Lions raised with a taste for human flesh.

[00:03:05]But Daniel enjoyed a comfortable night in their presence. Daniel did not need to prove anything.

[00:03:14]Because of Daniel's predictions, when Artex Xerxes ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem, our ancestors began the countdown.

[00:03:26]Years turned to decades, decades to generations.

[00:03:31]And then when we expected it, >> the star, yes, it did not behave as other stars.

[00:03:40]It moved as though guided, as though it knew its destination.

[00:03:48]Belshazar, Melor, and I were sent to Judea toward the star. And when we arrived at Bethlehem, it stopped moving.

[00:04:00]>> It waited.

[00:04:02]>> Absolutely, it did wait.

[00:04:04]>> They say that you stood before Herod.

[00:04:07]Herod, the king of Judea.

[00:04:10]But his power came from Rome, a jackal who feared his own shadow. He welcomed us with words, but his eyes betrayed him.

[00:04:24]He wanted us to find the child and tell him where to look. But we could sense his intentions.

[00:04:32]>> Why didn't you trust him?

[00:04:34]>> You forget. We were advisers to the court. We were quite familiar with the ways of kings. We saw enough to leave and never return.

[00:04:46]And we found out later that we had been right about Herod. Why were you even there? We are Persians. We followed the teachings of our fathers. Why were you observing the mythology of Israel?

[00:05:02]Do you think that truth only belongs to your people? Do you think we have always been Persian?

[00:05:10]What is Persian? Before Persia, it was the Mes who ruled this land, the Babylonians before them. And the Assyrians were before them. And did you know the Israelites were brought here too? Planted among us like seeds. Seeds germinate. They sprout, adapt.

[00:05:32]Within a few generations, they are no longer foreign. Centuries have passed and all of those people are who we are now. So, whose God is our God?

[00:05:47]As you know, our sacred traditions speak of one who is to come, a restorer, a bringer of righteousness. Do you mean the Shiaosi Yant?

[00:05:59]>> Yes.

[00:06:01]And the Hebrews speak of a Messiah. What if they are not different? Both of them are to be born of a virgin. Both are coming to restore truth at the end of the age. Daniel was not Persian. Yet he became our teacher.

[00:06:22]Even the Greek historian Heroditus, an outsider, recorded that our order was shaped by foreign wisdom.

[00:06:30]>> I had not considered this.

[00:06:36]Please excuse me for a moment.

[00:06:38]>> Huh? What's going on?

[00:06:49]Everybody please listen. I have some serious news. As we had calculated, the king we blessed in Judea more than 30 years ago has been executed by the Romans exactly as Daniel's prophecy foretold.

[00:07:07]The 69th week of years since the order came to rebuild Jerusalem.

[00:07:12]>> Really? How did this happen?

[00:07:15]Even though humans have committed the act, this sacrifice was ordained by God.

[00:07:22]You can read this for yourselves in Daniel's scrolls. He knew the Messiah would be cut off for our sake. And that is why we brought him myrr for his funeral. His death is the beginning of the redeemer's era where Messiah's fire never dies.

[00:07:42]You don't have to believe what I'm saying. Just watch and see what happens next.

[00:07:49]Daniel foretold that after the king was cut off, there would be war and that their city and their sanctuary would be destroyed.

[00:08:00]Soon people from all over the world will be in Jerusalem for Shàuot or Pentecost to celebrate God giving the Torah. We must send a delegation to observe. But my time is over. It is up to you to observe the signs and decide for yourselves if their god and our god are the same.