Zechariah's Prophecy About Judas

Clue Words:

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I will give you the PICTURE CLUES before we start:

PICTURE CLUE #1:

 

What is the name of the boy on the left? Clue #1: D ________________ He is the person who knew today’s prophecy.  He knew it a LONG time before it happened.  God told him about it.

What do you see INSIDE the dryer? Our second clue is cl__________,

 

Clue #2: 

Clue #3:

Do you know what these dice are for? We use them to find out who is the WINNER of a game, right? Well, in the Bible they “cast lots,’ which is about the same as using dice.  So, they cast lots to see who the winner would be.  I wonder WHAT he would win?????

 

ARE YOU READY WITH YOUR CLUES?   Well, do you remember the person in Clue #1?  Can you count how many hundred years he lived, before Jesus was born?  Let’s make the green D be David.  Let’s make the blue J be Jesus.  About how many hundred years before Jesus did David live?

 

____/____/____/____/____/___D_/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____/____J/

Did you count around 9 or 10?  If you did, you were right?

That’s a long time before, don’t you think?  How do you suppose David knew about these things that would happen to Jesus one thousand years before?

Do you, Liam, know what you will be wearing on December 2, this year?  Do you know what time you will get up, that day?  Do you know how you will feel?  Who is the only One who knows?

 

Today’s prophecy is a little sad.   It’s about a game, and you might think that it would be fun, because games are usually fun, aren’t they? 

But, again, it is about the time when Jesus died on the Cross. The soldiers were very unkind to Him and even took away his clothing.  Not only did the soldiers take His clothing, but they decided that it was going to belong to them, from now on.  It was hardtop decide who to give it to, because, if it was a big piece of clothing, it wouldn’t be very useful to tear it into pieces.  For example, if someone took your winter coat and ripped it into four pieces, would it be a very good winter coat, after that?  No, it would not.

So, they decided that, when it was a BIG piece of clothing, they would “cast lots” for it – that’s about the same as “throwing dice.”  Then, if they got a winner, the winner could have the whole piece of clothing.

That happened when the Lord Jesus died.  David, however, knew about it one thousand years before, and wrote it down in one of the songs that he wrote.  Here is what David wrote down:

New International Version (©1984) They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

 

                                                                                                                       God knew all along what would happen. 

 

But the chief priests and the soldiers didn’t know that God knew that, and that He was in control.  They thought that they had been so very clever to crucify Jesus, but God knew the day and the hour, and he knew how Judas would get paid in silver, and how all of that would happen.

And, after it did happen, four men wrote about it: they said it in four different ways, but, somehow, they are all the same:

So, that sad day was written about by five men:  first of all, there was King David, who knew about it one thousand years before; then there was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  They all told the same thing, so that we would know that it was true.   This is one of the sad, sad things that happened that day at Calvary, when Jesus came to take away our sins. So, that is why we stop, sometimes, to remember all about it, and to thank Him for His great sacrifice, and for dying in our place on Calvary, for putting up with all the shame and meanness that people did, and for bearing our sins in His body. One of the last things He said to His disciples was, “Remember Me.”  We can do a little of that when we think about His death and the many things that happened there.  And remembering the story, as well, about how they took His clothing and played a game to find out who would get it.  They did not know that God knew that before they ever did it, and even told it to David.

Matthew 27:35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.   Mark 15:24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. Luke 23:34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. John 19:24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. New International Version ©1984 by

S

So, that sad day was written about by five men:  first of all, there was King David, who knew about it one thousand years before; then there was Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  They all told the same thing, so that we would know that it was true.   This is one of the sad, sad things that happened that day at Calvary, when Jesus came to take away our sins. So, that is why we stop, sometimes, to remember all about it, and to thank Him for His great sacrifice, and for dying in our place on Calvary, for putting up with all the shame and meanness that people did, and for bearing our sins in His body. One of the last things He said to His disciples was, “Remember Me.”  We can do a little of that when we think about His death and the many things that happened there.  And remembering the story, as well, about how they took His clothing and played a game to find out who would get it.  They did not know that God knew that before they ever did it, and even told it to David.

Matthew 27:35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.   Mark 15:24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. Luke 23:34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. John 19:24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did. New International Version ©1984 by

S

Object?                                                                                    

Roman Coin

How Many?

Quite a Few of Them -- Remember How Many?

 Count Them!

Whose story?  Here are some hints:

One Artist's Idea

Another Artist's Idea

Yes.  It was the story of Judas.  Who are the other people depicted in the picture?  Why are they paying him?  And how much are they paying him?

When do we first know about this, in the Bible?  Old Testament [that's the part of the Bible before Jesus was born], or the New Testament [that's the part of the Bible after Jesus was born]?  The most obvious answer would seem to be "New Testament," but, actually, God told someone about it in Old Testament days, long before Jesus was born.

Do you know who the person was that God told?  His name starts with a "Z."  Yes, it was Zechariah.

Let's check how long before Jesus was born!  You know how we count backwards from around the time that Jesus was born to see the Old Testament days.  There will be a Z over the time when Zechariah the prophet was born, and an  LJ over the time that the Lord Jesus was born.  Try to count the years between.  You don't have to be exact, because this is not a very precise timeline, with measurements and all.  About how many hundreds of years happened before Jesus was born?

                                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                       Z                                                                                     LJ 
900______ 800______700______600______500_______400______300______200______100____4

Zechariah was making his prophecies from around 520 B.C.  The Lord Jesus was born somewhere around 4 to 6 B.C.  If the man who had figured the years had gotten it correctly, it would have been 0 B.C., but, he did not get it quite correctly, so it is a bit before.  He was pretty close, though, right?

So, you have about 500  years before Jesus' birth that Zechariah wrote down that there would be thirty pieces of silver that would be paid.  Very, very, very old people live until 100.  But, that's only one-fifth of the time between Zechariah and the Lord Jesus.

That's not ALL that God told Zechariah, either.  He told Zechariah several other important details about

what would happen.  Here are some clues:

This clue is about an action, so, forget about the objects in this picture, and focus on the ACTION.  What is the person doing?  Can you think of a word that describes it?  Click on the links, and answer the questions:

What will this person do with the ball?

What did Judas DO with those coins after he'd had them a while?  He tried to give them back to the priests, but would they take them back?  No.  So, what did he do with the coins?

Throwing Down the Coins

He didn't want them any more.  He had betrayed Someone innocent.  But, the priests didn't want to put them into the Temple money, either.  That is because those coins had bought the DEATH of someone.  They were the price of what?

Blood.  That's right -- blood.  Whose blood?  Jesus' blood.

The priests thought about what they could buy with that blood money.  They decided to buy something that could be made into a graveyard for strangers that would die in Jerusalem -- people who didn't have a graveyard of their own there.  They decided on buying a f_________.  The clue is below:

Most farmers have one of these

Yes.  We're talking about a field.  The field probably didn't look exactly like the one in our picture, because it was in a dryer land than ours.  But, you get the idea.  They could buy this field, and then they could bury people in it.

Do you know that God also told Zechariah about this field?  Yes, He did.  And, about how many years before Jesus' birth did God tell Zechariah about this field?  Yes, about five hundred years!

But, God not only told Zechariah about the priests buying a field.  God even told Zechariah who the person would be that owned the field before the priests bought it.  God did not tell Zechariah the name of the person.  God told Zechariah, instead, what that person would be doing for a living -- what his job would be.  Let's guess what kind of job this person had:

What is this person making?

This person is making a pot, right?  What do we call a person who makes pots?  Yes, a potter!

So, God even told Zechariah, 500 or so years before, that the field for that graveyard would be one that they would buy from a potter.

So, we begin to notice that God not only knows the future, but He knows it in detail.  So, next Tuesday at four o'clock is hard, maybe, for you to predict, but God already knows exactly what you will be wearing, what you will be thinking, where you will be, and everything about you.

Let's look at what Zechariah wrote about the betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah:

Zechariah 11:12-13

New International Version (NIV)

¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.
¹³ And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

 
Thirty pieces of silver, interestingly, was the price you would pay to someone if your bull had gored their slave/servant.  It is interesting because the Lord Jesus was pierced for us, and, also, because He came as a Servant, and was shown by Isaiah to be the "Suffering Servant."

What do we learn from this lesson?  Here are some possibilities, but think of some on your own, first of all:

1. God knows everything in detail in the future.
2. People may hatch up very wicked plans, but God knows all about them, even before those wicked people even think of those plans, or carry them out.  So, He is in control at all times.  He does not cause the people to do those evil things, but He allows them to do so.  Why do you suppose God allowed people to crucify the Lord Jesus?

Basically, we are on one side or the other, when it comes to the Lord Jesus.  He died for us, and either we can stand with those who don't care, or with those who crucified Him, or we can realize that He willingly allowed Himself to be put to death, for our sake.

If we realize that He died for us, then, have we accepted His great gift of salvation.  Have we thanked Him for dying for us, for us poor, lost sinners?

What is you answer, today?

  

 

Links to Bible Story Coloring Pages

Here are some links to Bible story coloring pages. I haven't searched each picture, and some may be totally unsuitable for your needs.  Probably, you will find some that you need at one site, and some at another -- that is what I have found.  These are a great help if one is making a Bible timeline for younger children, since text-intensive timelines are 'work' for them, at first, whereas, a familiar picture brings the story to mind, immediately.

Check out the post, below, on Hard Copy Timeline.

Timelines really help differentiate between 'long ago,' 'long, long ago,' and 'long, long, long ago,' as it were.   Prophecies about the Christ/Messiah are more meaningful to children when they realize that these prophecies were not given just a day or so before the event!

Of course, coloring pages are always useful as a class culminating activity that reinforces the story.

NOW, TO THE LINKS!!!!

Christian (Bible) Coloring Pages

Kid Explorers Coloring Pages

This link has numerous Bible story illustrations, but it also has material suitable for home schooling with a Biblical emphasis.  If you are looking for an illustraton of an animal mentioned in a Bible story, it may be here!

Bible Story Print

This site has printables for TELLING a Bible story, as well as for reflecting on it.

Free Bible Coloring Pages

Here is another link:

A Kid's Heart

And another:

Ministry to Children

And, yet another:

Papa Jan

And how about:

Funny Coloring 

And, finally:

Bible Preschool Coloring Pages

There are many more, no doubt, but, hopefully, a few moments have been saved!  Enjoy!

Creation Coloring Pages -- I think there is also a Creation Time Line on this page.

English/Spanish Sunday School Lesson Collection

Noted a Sunday School lesson resource page on the Web. It comes in two versions, one English, the other Spanish. It is called the San Felipe Collection. The links are as follows:

Sunday School lessons

Lecciones

David and the late  Evelyn Jones, missionaries to Chile from the Vancouver, B.C., area, and Miss Margaret Ronald, a missionary from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, were the producers of this site.

230 Languages -- and Counting: Gospel Audio Resources

Are you seeking gospel or Christian life audio resources in a language foreign to you?  There is a huge choice of languags available at Trans World Radio.  It used to be that the many gospel broadcasts of this organization were available mainly on short-wave radio.  Now, however,these many broadcasts are available, as well, on the Internet.

Check out their information, and sample a few of their broadcasts, at the following link:

Trans-World Radio


Click on their map and enjoy seeing some of the places where their broadcasts have influence.

HELP! for the Cross-Cultural Missionary, or for the Stressed-Out or Depressed

Hi, Folks:

We've all heard of Trans World Radio, I think, which carries Christian programs, among others, to many languages of the world, including very gospel ones in Spanish, et cetera.

Well, in the old days, I guess this was a short wave radio matter, but, of course, all that sort of thing is now available on Internet.

It used to be the way people could access the gospel in places where gospel preaching was not permitted.

HOWEVER, how does this touch you?

I went to that website, and noticed that there is also a section called MEMBER-CARE, probably originally designed for the missions people working for Trans World.

It has medical doctors, etc., talking about health issues, home issues, such as "missionary kid" issues, mental health issues that might assail Christian workers in a foreign culture, marriage issues -- and probably this sort of thing is a good adjunct backup to a textbook, if needed,for those teaching a marriage class, depression, et cetera, et cetera.  So, anyway, I thought it was a bit unique and am passing on the link to those who might find it helpful, or who might have friends, particularly those in cross-cultural ministry situations, who might.  Lots of people have general help when it comes to health and fmaily and so on, but, missionaries and cross-cultural workers may have particular ones, or may live in a culture where confidentiality is not the medical norm, eh?

Also think it may have some good stuff there that would be helpful to those who arecounseling OTHERS.

It's to be found at:   

Member Care Section of Trans World Radio

Enjoy! Pass on!

What Comes After Bible Story Books: Case in Point -- Joseph Narrative?

Perhaps you have a child, or even a class, that has had Bible story books read to them, or has even read Bible story books.  Let us imagine that this child, or class, is not quite at the level of reading the Bible well and understanding it, alone.  Or, perhaps that can be done, but a little 'help' would go a long way.

Am thinking that the following might be a good choice for this age.  The dramatized Geneva Bible -- I listened to the many chapters about Joseph and thought it was well done -- is all in the actual words of Scripture, but has different voices for different speakers, has real to if it is all as well-done as the Joseph narratives, gives a model for how one might read the Bible, not as dead words on a pate, but as a very living story of very living people.

It is less interpretive than the Bible story books, but easier to grasp than the plain reading.  SO, I really think it is a good intermediary step. 

What do you think?  It can be sampled, in large doses, at the following link:

Story of Joseph audio

You may find similar materials at the Five Talents audio site on the Internet.

POLISH LANGUAGE: Gospel of John: audio & musical

Want to hear the Gospel According to St. John in Polish?  Go to the link, below:

Polish language: Gospel of John: audio/music

Polish Language Evangelical Resources

Here is a link to a Polish evangelical website:

Polish Evangelical Website

There are news articles there, as well as The Gospel According to St. John, as mentioned on another post.

HINDI Bible Resources: Gospel Audios, Et Cetera

The link given below is one that leads to a pretty interesting resource page called "Dusty Sandals," which includes the Gospels, the part of the Holy Bible giving us the narratives about Jesus' life, read in poetic form.    So, if you are interested in audio resources in Hindi, click below:

Dusty Sandals

Gospel According to Mark -- A Shakepearian Rendition

Shakespearian-like rendition of the Gospel of Mark is a good introduction for those who have never read this Bible book. On YouTube, the remaining chapters may also be found. Those who are in Bible studies of The Gospel According to Mark, such as, for example, "Christianity Explored," may find that this is one additional voiced reading that can provide an introduction, review, or a present to take home at the end of the series.

Searching for a Scripture Text

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Hungarian Online Bibles & Awadhi Online Bible (Pavithar Bible {New India Bible Version})

Bible Gateway has made a new announcement!  For some time, only the New Testament had been available in the Hungarian Easy-to-Read Version.  Now, the Old Testament is available in that version, as well.
Hungarian Easy-to-Read Version: Complete Bible

Another complete Bible translation in Hungarian is now available, also, at Bible Gateway.  It is the Hungarian New Translation, which attempts to balance formal translation with dynamic equivalence, and is in the translation stream that began with the Vizsoly Bible of 1590.

The Hungarian New Translation


Another language is also now available on Bible Gateway.  It is  the Pavithar Bible (New India Bible Version), in Awadhi, a language of North India.  You can access it, in PDF form, at the link below:

Awadhi Bible in PDF

Arabic Language Bible Resources: Online Audio-Bible

The page below will advise you about various Arabic language resources, including AUDIO-resources for listening to portions of the Arabic Bible on-line, some PDF resources for reading a recent Bible translation in Arabic.

Those who are more comfortable utilizing older translations that are familiar to them may find newer translations helpful when trying to think of a phrase that explains a text -- in other words, such readers would use the more modern translation when paraphrasing in their teaching.

The link is below:


Arabic Language Bible Resources

How do Jewishness and Jesus Connect???? Free E-Book

Ariel Ministries has just posted a very amazing offer.  The book, "Jesus Was a Jew," cited by former Prime Minister of the U.K., as one of his ten top favourite books read, is now available at the Ariel website in PDF download.  The exciting part is that this download of 93 pages is absolutely FREE!

If you think this is nothing, well, I know for a fact that I,  and, probably, others, as well, paid ten dollars or such som time ago!  And, by the way, I considered it money spent well!

Here is the descriptive page, and you will find the download link at the bottom:

Jesus Was a Jew

Online Bible in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Marathi and Other Bible Translations

Of course, there were ways for people to get Hindi, Tamil, et cetera, Bibles, before.  However, the process was sometimes complicated, or involved downloading scripts to one's computer, and so on.  Now, Bible Gateway, which has many Bibles in multiple versions available -- sometimes, as well, in audio form or even in dramatic form -- has put twelve new translations on its site.   They are, by the way, in Easy-to-Read renderings.  The link is below:


Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Cherokee, Marathi, Tamil, and Other Bible Translations

Zechariah's Messianic Prophecies: Part 1: Zechariah 9:9

This was a lesson plan, of a sort, that I carried out, recently -- it is just an outline, so you might want to adapt ideas from it to your own needs: I made this lesson plan as an adaptation of the "Messianic Prophecies for Children" curriculum mentioned earlier on this blog.  This is for Lesson Five: "The Triumphal Entry of Messiah."


Part One:

Concept  A:  REJOICE

Today, I'm going to get YOU, the student, to guess what our lesson is about.  First of all, though, let's find out whether this is a happy prophecy, or a sad one.  [Show pictures such as those on Google's "rejoice" image page, preferably without captions that actually say "rejoice," and kids get the idea that the children and adults on this page are extremely happy about something.  So, we build up the idea of being elated, joyful, about something, of "rejoicing."  In today's verse in the Bible, someone is being told to "Rejoice" about something.  Do you think that this will be a happy, or a sad event?  [most would say, "happy."]

Pictures one might use are, for example, Boy, Elated,  or, as well,  Girl, Rejoicing, and, maybe, something like Kids Dancing With Joy.
bus
From looking at these, an others, we gather the prophecy is going to be something that will make people extremely happy and joyful.  So, this is a key word for today: "Rejoice."


Interlude:  Introduce ZECHARIAH the prophet, and tell the class when he lived.  Find him on a Biblical TimeLine and a student may decide he is four hundred or so years before the time of the Nativity in Bethlehem.   So, we know that Zechariah is telling people about the events of the life of Jesus, the Messiah, a very long time before the coming of Messiah/Christ. 

Question:  Did Zechariah ever actually meet the Lord Jesus during his [Zechariah's] lifetime?  [No].  So, how did Zechariah know about those events?  Who told Zechariah? [God] This is a good topic for discussion at the end of this lesson.

Concept B:  KING

Let's guess who or what kind of person is the subject of this prophecy.  [Show pictures such as the ones at these links, that depict various rulers that have been "kings" or "pharoahs" or "kaisers" or "tsars" or other such authorities -- this is NOT a political lesson, it should be emphasized, so use ones that are merely generic to the students you teach, not ones that will bring emotions that conflict with the basic message of the lesson, or that will lead them down another path completely. 
If you wish to avoid using pictures of ACTUAL monarchs, items such as gold crowns, sceptres, robes, beautiful thrones, etc., could be used in their place.  My students do not have experience with problematic monarchs, and it is all somewhat neutral, where I am, so I use photos of actual monarchs and also depictions of pharoahs and the like, such as:A Pharaoh, a Caesar, a Tsar, a Kaiser.

If using symbols, such matters as clip art crowns, sceptre and the like, can be utilized, or, perhaps more realistically, real regalia, such as that of real monarchs, might be shown, such as real crown, could be used.

By this time, students would guess that the news that people are being told to rejoice about has to do with some kind of a KING.

Concept C:  MANNER OF TRANSPORTATION

I'm glad you have guessed "king" for our second lesson concept.  Now let's see if you can guess the next concept.  I shall give you some clues, by showing you two or three pictures.  Let's see what you come up with:

[Show the following, or something of that nature]:  a bus, a car, a train, a plane, etc., etc.].   Usually, the student will by then guess that it has to do with transportation.

Concept D:  WHAT KINDS OF TRANSPORATION MIGHT A KING UTILIZE?

Thinking of kings, pharoahs, caesars, emperors, ancient and modern, we could imagine a good number of types of transportation. 

1. Chariots
2. Rickshaws
3. Sedan Chairs
4. Carriages
5. Limousines
6. Horses
7. Royal Trains
8. Yachts

and so on.

Show pictures of as many of these as possible, particularly emphasizing the grandeur of it all.

Sum up, so far:

• We have a command to rejoice. 
• It's about a king, and
• It has something to do with this king's transportation.

Concept D:  POMP and CIRCUMSTANCE, sometimes leading to, or related to,  pride and vainglory

Show photos illustrating pride, not the kind of 'pride' that is mere satisfaction in a job well done, or the kind of remark made by a father to a son, "I'm proud of you for doing your best," but, rather, the kind of pride that makes oneself better than another -- that may sneer at others who have been given less by way of ability or goods or even, opportunity, e.g.:

Pride

This kind of pride makes one feel better than others, and may view or treatt others as "losers," and oneself as a "winner," or as a "better sort of person."

Pride can have very bad results.  It can make people feel entitled to

• rob other people,
• view other people's concerns as irrelevant
• treat other people discourteously
• view other people as an inferior race, class of humans. 

Some of the monarchs of this world have been kind and good, and helpful and sharing.  Others, however, have been cruel, and even selfish. 

THOUGHT QUESTIONS: 

Do you think that the Israelite people enjoyed living under the Pharaoh around the time that Moses was born, when that ruler ordered their baby boys thrown in the Nile?

Do you think that they enjoyed seeing the Babylonian king's soldiers arrive in Jerusalem and tear down its walls, and melt down the gold in their beautiful Temple?  Did they enjoy being taken away from their land?

Most kings look wonderful on parade days, and it is fun to look at their jewels and crowns and sceptres.  Would it be all fun if they happened to be your enemy?

A DIFFERENCE

The king that Zechariah is talking about is one that will be very different from other earthly kings.  And one of the ways that we immediately see this difference is the way in which He comes into town.

One of the worst things that we see about pride, is that people, such as the Pharoah in the story of Moses, even consider themselves to be above God.  "Who is the Lord, that I should obey Him?" said Pharaoh to Moses.  He was saying, "I'm bigger than God."

CONCEPT E:  HUMBLE:  Show the picture of a young donkey, such as  this one.

This king, says Zechariah, will not be coming into town in a chariot.  He will not be accompanied by soldiers with lances.  He will not even come in on a beautiful horse.  He will not ride in a golden coach or on a royal train or in a limousine.  He could do much better than that, of course -- our earthly jewels were, after all, made by HIm -- but Heaven has much more than that

Even when we have relatively humble kings on earth, however, we do not usually get to meet them.  They might wave at us when we are in a crowd, but they are not our friends and they do not come to our place for dinner. 

However, the king that Zechariah was writing about is one who is willing to  come into each of our houses, and into each of our lives.

CONCEPT F:  JUST

Show the picture of a SCALE that is evenly balanced, something like this one.

Many kings are unjust -- that is, they are unfair.  They are kind to some people, and cruel to others.  The king that Zechariah is talking about is a JUST king -- he does not play favourites.  He is not unkind.  He is not cruel.

CONCEPT G:  SALVATION

This king will come to save us.  He also came to save the Jewish people from their enemies.  Some people recognized this -- for a while, anyway -- and that is why they sang "Hosannah."  Do you know what "Hosannah" means?  It means "Save us now." 
However, at the time that Jesus  came, the leaders of the nation did not accept Him and they persauded the people to also not accept Him to say "Away with Him," so His kingly offer was withdrawn from that generation of Israelites.  Of course, a good many individual people accepted Him.  But, not the nation.  So, they did not crown Him king, except in a mocking way -- what kind of crown did they give Him, then?  [crown of thorns]
So, He will come again, and when Israel, the whole nation, does accept Him, He will rule the whole world and save them from their enemies.  He will rule the whole world in righteousness, which means that nothing bad will win or get passed over.  His rules will be fair and His judgments will be fair and just.

THE VERSE:  I pointed out that the terms "daughter of Zion," and "daughter of Jerusalem" were ways of referring to the Jewish people.  Different kings had ruled over them -- foreign rulers such as the Pharaohs and the Kings of Babylon and Persia, and even some of their own kings of both good and bad quality.  This king, however, would be different, and the differences are mentioned in the verse.  My class is a Gentile class, but we know that Jesus is not only the Jewish king, but also, the Saviour of the world, to those who believe in Him, and we partake of the goodness of the vine, so it is just as important to us to know the Jewish Messiah.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem.  Behold, your king is coming to you,. He is just and having salvation.  Lowly and riding upon a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Children's Tracts in Many Languages

Here is a site that specializes in tracts written in many languages.  Some of these are designed for children.  There are single-language tracts, as well as triple-language tracts.   I have not read the tracts, so, it may be necessary to be selective.  They look colorful and attractive.  The link is below:

Kids' Gospel Tracts

"Two Roads and Two Destinies" chart in in Many Languages

This is a helpful link in digital form, in many languages:

http://monctongospelhall.com/main/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=5



At the same site are Prophecy Charts in well over sixty languages, at the following link:

http://monctongospelhall.com/main/modules/tinycontent/index.php?id=6

John 3:16 Many Languages Wall Text Examples

On a previous post, called John 3:16, I referred you to a site called Every Tongue.  I also gave you examples from that site of John 3:16 written in many languages, sometimes in a foreign script. 

Above, I am showing you examples of how this text can be printed on to stationery with borders, and can end up looking quite good in terms of use as a wall text, or, perhaps, as a place mat, if suitably and safelylaminated.  The Christmas-looking example on which the Portuguese text has been placed is one that might lend itself to placemat use.  I have put one example here of borders that you might generate yourself from Microsoft Word or from other such programs.  The Punjabi example has a border that was produced from Microsoft Word, for example.  I hope that many people will attempt to make gifts or posters of this nature to produce in sensitive manner. 

"Hard Copy" TimeLine

As I began to think about formulating some kind of timeline for looking at Biblical prophecies and demonstrating that they were quite distant in time from the event prophesied, I really did not stop to think about making an electronic version.  I was looking at various types of paper that might accommodate the making of a timeline.

Then came the Easter Conference, which was a Bible conference hosting some hundreds of people at which meals were served.  The conference was held in a secondary school, with the messages being given in the auditorium, and meals served between these meetings in the cafeteria.  This latter room had many table in it, and to facilitiate the process, white plastic sheeting had been bought to cover the tables for the various meals.  The tables could thus be easily wiped down, and, as well, there would be no damage to the wood beneath through staining and the like.  These sheets also gave a nice look to the worn cafeteria tables, worn down by generations of students dining at them.

When the conference ended, there was the Big Clean-Up.  We wondered where we should put the sheets, etc., etc.  We were told not to wipe them down, since they were to be "thrown out."  Well, my heart went pit-a-pat, and I thought,a t once, that there would have to be a good use for such relatively unused and serviceable plastic,  oh, oh, INCLUDING a possible use for, guess what? a TimeLine.

I asked if it would be all right to take one or two away, and it was.  Other people were also collecting sheets that would otherwise be disposed of.   Away we went with our treasures.

The point made by all of this is that plastic sheeting, roughly of the type one might utilize as a shower curtain, is a very durable material with which to make a timeline -- especially a pictorial one, which might be done with permanent markers.

My second point is that one wonderful source for the pictures one might use is the "Free Bible Story Coloring Pages" offered by many websites.  The Tower of Babel pictured here is one such example.

Of course, it is not possible to throw the plastic sheet into your printer -- at least, not if it is like  mine, but what you can do is make a black and white copy of such a drawing, tape ti to the back of your plastic at the appropriate place, then trace it, using, say, a glass table with a light beneath it.  I did not have such a table, but used a glass sheet and did a fair bit of acrobatics before getting the job done!

Did find that the BIG permanent markers were rather messy and difficult to use.  In addition, when one would try to color, afterwards, the black of the markers tended to mess up the coloring.  I found, eventually, that an ULTRA-SHARP marker was ideal for the outline, and did not "run" when the colors were added. 

One caution:  you will likely have to utilize somewhat unusual colors for filling in the pictures, some of the time, at least.  The problem seems to be that permament markers, unlike highlighters, tend to come mostly in the darker range of colors.  You may get yellow, but most colors are not that light.

Still, given the fact that most illustrations are mere artists' conceptions, the pictures and their coloring will mainly serve to remind the child -- and the teacher, I'm finding -- of the location of an event in timehey were somewhere there at the border..

I did not try, in many cases, to put the pictures exactly in their time sequence in a century, because the logistics wee such that it was a matter of getting them to fit.  I DID try, however, to make sure they were in the right century.  

Below, you will find an example of a free coloring page I found on the Web in relation to the Tower of Babel.  I ended up coloring it light blue, if you please, because I had no grey or tan or really light brown or such.  I did find that the chart looked extremely much better if colored than if not, however.

Naomi/Ruth

Jezebel/Ahab



Joseph/Some brothers



Miriam

Pharaoh

Apologies!

Sorry -- I had to update the Micah post, since the link was faulty.  Should be fine, now!

Micah -- Quiz on Micah 5:2

This PowerPoint is MANUALLY-OPERATED, which means YOU have control of the speed!

It is a quiz about Micah 5:2, the prophecy about the coming Messiah that tells of the place, Bethlehem, of the fact that Messiah/Christ will be one who is "from everlasting," , that He will rule, and so on.

The person taking this short quiz must select the answer and click on a bell beside the choice selected.  If the answer is correct, there will be applause.  If not, there will be a clanging bell.

So, enable the sound on your computer.   If you have no sound, there is a list of correct answers at the end.  Enjoy!

The link is at

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/piknikpiknik-1512102-quiz-micah-39-clues/



Timelines

How do you distinguish, in the mind of, say, a primary-level Sunday School student, the past that is very long ago from the past that is merely long ago.

Of course, you can always use the words, e.g.:  long ago [New Testament], long, long ago [the Exile in Babylon, maybe?], long, long ago [time of King David?], long, long, long ago [time of Abraham], and on it goes.  Each of these terms, however, sound about the same, and do not stay in memory except as a kind of mish-mash in which "long ago" means everything before one's father or grandfather, eh?

A timeline can help quite a bit, I believe.   At one point, we were talking about a story from the time in Babylon, as I recall.  A visiting student asked, "Would Elijah have been alive at that time?"   That was a good and interested question.

While a timeline for Primary students may not be one geared to technicalities -- just kind of knowing where the major stories fit as to century seems quite sufficient --  just being able to separate events easily as to before and after takes hardly any effort at all.

And, if you are talking about prophecy, it becomes fairly obvious that words spoken to Abraham about the One who would be a blessing to every family on earth were spoken at a HUGE distance in time.  It becomes obvious, also, that hints/clues/prophecies about the Messiah were given throughout the centuries and millenia, from the time of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden.  It is difficult to put this into words when children's abstract reasoning abilities and quantification skills are still developing, but the graphic timeline can facilitate this.

THAT'S A LOT OF WORK, right?  To a degree, but, really, I just took a look at the timeline in the front pages of my husband's NIV Study Bible -- any other such source would do nicely, I'm sure -- a took SS stories that are mentioned there, and sought free coloring book pictures on the Web that would bring such stories to mind.

So, yes, over on the left there is the Tower of Babel, very far removed from, say, Samson under the pillars, and still farther removed from Jeremiah in the well.  Pretty easy to note that all of these events did not occur on the same day!  I'm sure the students don't think they did, but, having said that, they wouldn't have an easy way to separate them beyond that.  It would all be "olden days," right?

On another post, I would like to put links to Web sources for Bible coloring pages, which give graphics for such a chart.

On this post, I just want to suggest the TimeLine as a valuable tool.

Reflecting on Gifts/Grace

Here is the link to a PowerPoint presentation about GRACE -- God's grace.  It is rather lengthy, but it does reflect on at least one facet of the reason that some things, especially God's gift of salvation -- come as a gift, "not of works, lest any man should boast."

The PowerPoint can be found at"

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/piknikpiknik-99467-so-special-birthdays-automatic-spirituality-finalwhat-spiritual-inspirational-ppt-powerpoint/