"The Manassas Illusion"
Daniel 10 (NASB)
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. 2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris,5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. 10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said to me, O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future. 15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me. 18 Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.19 He said, O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous! Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me. 20 Then he said, Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. 21 However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.
2 Kings 6 (NASB)
1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us.2 Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live. So he said, Go.3 Then one said, Please be willing to go with your servants. And he answered, I shall go.4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.6 Then the man of God said, Where did it fall? And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float.7 He said, Take it up for yourself. So he put out his hand and took it.8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.10 The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice.11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?12 One of his servants said, No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.13 So he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.14 He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do?16 So he answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.17 Then Elisha prayed and said, O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. And the LORD opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, Strike this people with blindness, I pray. So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.19 Then Elisha said to them, This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And he brought them to Samaria.20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?22 He answered, You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.24 Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.25 There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkeys head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of doves dung for five shekels of silver.26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king!27 He said, If the LORD does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?28 And the king said to her, What is the matter with you? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.29 So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, Give your son, that we may eat him; but she has hidden her son.30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes--now he was passing by on the wall--and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body.31 Then he said, May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his masters feet behind him?33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?
Mark 9 (NASB)
1 And Jesus was saying to them, Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.5 Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead.10 They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.11 They asked Him, saying, Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?12 And He said to them, Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?13 But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.14 When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.16 And He asked them, What are you discussing with them?17 And one of the crowd answered Him, Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.19 And He answered them and said, O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.21 And He asked his father, How long has this been happening to him? And he said, From childhood.22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!23 And Jesus said to him, If You can? All things are possible to him who believes.24 Immediately the boys father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief.25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, He is dead!27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.28 When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, Why could we not drive it out?29 And He said to them, This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.30 From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it.31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.33 They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, What were you discussing on the way?34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,37 Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.38 John said to Him, Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.39 But Jesus said, Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.40 For he who is not against us is for us.41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.42 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,46 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]47 If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.49 For everyone will be salted with fire.50 Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the message was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision. 2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris,5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult.7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. 10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said to me, O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future. 15 When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And behold, one who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, O my lord, as a result of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me. 18 Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.19 He said, O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous! Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me. 20 Then he said, Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. 21 However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.
2 Kings 6 (NASB)
1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us.2 Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live. So he said, Go.3 Then one said, Please be willing to go with your servants. And he answered, I shall go.4 So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.6 Then the man of God said, Where did it fall? And when he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there, and made the iron float.7 He said, Take it up for yourself. So he put out his hand and took it.8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.10 The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice.11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?12 One of his servants said, No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.13 So he said, Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.14 He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! What shall we do?16 So he answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.17 Then Elisha prayed and said, O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. And the LORD opened the servants eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, Strike this people with blindness, I pray. So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.19 Then Elisha said to them, This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And he brought them to Samaria.20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?22 He answered, You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.24 Now it came about after this, that Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army and went up and besieged Samaria.25 There was a great famine in Samaria; and behold, they besieged it, until a donkeys head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a fourth of a kab of doves dung for five shekels of silver.26 As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall a woman cried out to him, saying, Help, my lord, O king!27 He said, If the LORD does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?28 And the king said to her, What is the matter with you? And she answered, This woman said to me, Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.29 So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, Give your son, that we may eat him; but she has hidden her son.30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes--now he was passing by on the wall--and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body.31 Then he said, May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today.32 Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man from his presence; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door shut against him. Is not the sound of his masters feet behind him?33 While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him and he said, Behold, this evil is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?
Mark 9 (NASB)
1 And Jesus was saying to them, Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus.5 Peter said to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified.7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.9 As they were coming down from the mountain, He gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead.10 They seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant.11 They asked Him, saying, Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?12 And He said to them, Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of the Son of Man that He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt?13 But I say to you that Elijah has indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.14 When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.15 Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.16 And He asked them, What are you discussing with them?17 And one of the crowd answered Him, Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it.19 And He answered them and said, O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.21 And He asked his father, How long has this been happening to him? And he said, From childhood.22 It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!23 And Jesus said to him, If You can? All things are possible to him who believes.24 Immediately the boys father cried out and said, I do believe; help my unbelief.25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, He is dead!27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.28 When He came into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately, Why could we not drive it out?29 And He said to them, This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.30 From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it.31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, The Son of Man is to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.33 They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, What were you discussing on the way?34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.36 Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them,37 Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.38 John said to Him, Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.39 But Jesus said, Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.40 For he who is not against us is for us.41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.42 Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell,46 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.]47 If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell,48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.49 For everyone will be salted with fire.50 Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.