The return to the land of Israel was an event which really broadened the world of the Israelites. When Jews began forming a Diaspora, it clarified the concept that God was not just a local deity, but rather the God of the universe. Babylon, in particular, appears as a true cosmopolis until the time when Revelation was written.

As previously stated, the Persians, unlike the Babylonians, allowed a moderate amount of home rule, which was eventually exploited to build a second temple around 522BC, after prodding by Haggai and Zechariah. This second temple was much smaller than the temple built by Solomon, and those who had seen the first temple were struck by the difference between the two.

Zechariah and Haggai prophesy that Zerubbabel will see the completion of the temple, and for that, he is part of the earthly lineage of the Christ. While the people set about funding the rebuilding of their own homes, they do not do all they can to fund the rebuilding of the temple. God, through Haggai, chastises the people for not funding the process and afflicts the land with a drought as punishment. The rebuilding of the temple takes seven years, and then 50 years after that, Nehemiah, the governor arrives in the land. Ezra proclaims the law to the people, and for the Jews, this triumphant echo of Moses forms the end of the historical books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

The Persians under Xerxes invade Greece, and have some success until Greece expels them. It is during this period that the Book of Esther takes place, a book that has great significance when considering the tensions between the many cultures in the Middle East at the time. After Xerxes, the Persia is ruled by Artaxerxes and Artaxerxes II (among others).

From a more religious perspective, after the return to Israel, Malachi rails against the dullness he sees in the religion as people were practicing it. This should not be surprising, since every generation needs to be evangelized, lest the people fall into a civic religion. It is during this period that the Book of Esther takes place, a book that has great significance when considering the tensions between the many cultures in the Middle East at the time. The prophets and writers of this time period, including Jesus son of Sirach, should remind us that we must refresh our faith today with the same vigor that was demanded by the prophets.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

The Jewish canon ends the Hebrew Scriptures after the return from the Babylonian Exile. While the canon continues for Christians, there is not much Scripture for the 500 years between the return from Babylon and the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. There are many events that occurred in this time, and placing them into a context is important.

The return from exile was did not result in all the Jews returning, nor did they return to a land empty of their kinsmen. Many Jews remained in Babylon, which would remain there for many years after, even compiling the authoritative Babylonian Talmud there. Many lower-class people were allowed to stay in Israel when they were taken into exile, and the influx of that many people posed problems for them. After the conquest of the northern tribes, foreigners came into that land and promoted a form of worship that would become the Samaritans.

The temple had been destroyed, and the rebuilt temple was only a shadow of its original glory. After its completion, Ezra gathered the Jews and read them the Law, which chastened them and convinced them to return to the worship of the true God.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

This was recorded at the 2009 Rochester Chesterton Society Conference.

It is very easy to allow ourselves to experience wonder on a purely intellectual basis, which misses the point, since wonder is too powerful to be experienced merely through the intellect.

We should wonder at some of the amazing things written in the Scriptures and at what they should mean to us: if we are created in God's image, how wondrous must that be!

There is also a hierarchy of wonders. While we can and should regard the things God has created and holy artifacts with wonder, these things are only temporary and we must regard the eternal with a greater wonder, and nothing can be as wondrous of the mystery of the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We are commanded to wonder at these things, in part by the Shema Yisrael (Deut 6), which instructs us all to love God with all our heart, soul and might and think on this always and to teach this to our children.

This was recorded at the 2009 Rochester Chesterton Society Conference.

As we grow older, we lose our grasp on a sense of wonder in the world. Wonder is modulated by time and repetition, but there are three cases unaffected by time: youth, art and eternity, and it is by studying these three cases where we may reawaken our sense of wonder.

GK Chesterton, CS Lewis and others have commented on how wonder works in our lives. CS Lewis, for example, writes that angels cannot truly grasp the wonder in such simple acts as breathing, since they lack a corporeal form. There are many things for men to wonder at in the world, if we would only take the time.

St. Irenaeus Ministries was invited to be a guest on the Life on the Rock program on EWTN on September 4, 2008. This is a recording of that portion of the program.

St. Irenaeus Ministries is a Rochester, NY based apostolate promoting orthodox Catholic faith named after St. Irenaeus, an early Christian bishop and writer only two generations removed from the time Christ walked the earth who spoke out against heresies. We discuss our activities, with special focus on the practical implications of evangelization, such as conversion. Special attention must also be paid to promoting renewal, and strategies for promoting renewal and a real, living, active faith include paraclesis (the act of walking beside) and challenging men and women through ministries such as Bible study, discipleship counsel, fellowship, and religious teaching, which are discussed thoroughly.

It is the duty of all Christians to bring the message of Christ to the world, not just through programs, but by bringing the message out of the pews and shining forth Christ to everyone we meet, personally and one-on-one. Christ's message is a radical one and requires a radical commitment to His message, and we need brethren to encourage us.

You can also watch this interview on YouTube.

To purchase a copy of this episode of Life on the Rock on DVD, visit the EWTN religious Catalogue.

In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus tells us that there will be wars and rumors of wars that many will wrongly think to be the coming of the end. This suggests that the end will be many years from the time of the Discourse, and thus it is appropriate to focus our attention on how the Apocalyptic impacts our lives today.

We should look to this present time not as a time of delay or a time of anticipation, but as a time when God is making the preparations for the time to come. We must not see this as a time to relax, but it is also unwise to look for numerology or hints to the time of the end. This present time is one where troubles happen, and some of these troubles may have to do with God's plan for the end times, but many will not. God has graciously given us this time so that we may repent, but we should be living it as though the end times are imminent.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

The early Church viewed the apocalyptic writings as vital to the faith. Early Christians saw the end times as imminent, though not necessarily coming soon, as suggested by the exhortation to preach the Gospel to all the nations. In the same way, faulty wiring might pose an imminent danger, but it might not actually cause a catastrophe for many years.

We also look in-depth at the circumstances surrounding the Olivet Discourse and some prophecies in Daniel.

Every generation should see itself as standing on the precipice of the end times, an end which God has delayed through His mercy so that we may have time to repent. We must keep our attention on the end and keep Heaven as our goal.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

Continuing the discussion of Christian Apocalyptic literature, we read excerpts from Daniel, who prophesies the coming of the Christ, the pseudepigraphal Enoch, which expands on the Sons of God mentioned in the book of Genesis.

The Olivet Discourse is another example, where Jesus expounds on the last days, as a capstone to a series of questions He was asked.

Like the early Church, we do not know when the End Times will come, but we must assume that the end may be coming at any time, and we must look for the signs that it is coming.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com

This is a direct continuation of the series on 2 Peter and Jude.

Apocalyptic literature refers to writings that reveal the hidden things of God. It is a new term, not one that apocalyptic writers applied to themselves, and there is some debate as to which works are apocalyptic and which are merely prophetic. It is found in canonical and extra-canonical writings of both the Old and New Testaments, mainly after the Babylonian Exile, usually in times of persecution, especially the time from 200BC to 200AD, and deals with the end times (eschatology).

Apocalyptic visions are dramatic and often wild and highly symbolic, and often mediated through an angel. There is no definitive list of apocalyptic literature, but commonly cited as examples are Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, Revelation, 2 Thessalonians, The Olivet Discourse (found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke), as well as the extra-canonical books of 1 and 2 Enoch, Jubilees, Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, 4 Esdras, 2 Baruch, The Testament of Abraham, and the Apocalypse of Abraham. The extra-canonical books are called pseudepigrapha (or falsely ascribed writings) to distinguish them from the deuterocanonical books sometimes called apocrypha by Protestants.

Apocalyptic eschatology differs from prophetic eschatology in a few ways, but one difference is that some see prophetic eschatology as more personal and more naturalistic, while apocalyptic eschatology is more obviously supernatural and deals with God breaking into history in cataclysmic ways coming from above. Others would note that even in prophetic eschatology, it is God's will which the prophecy follows. Apocalypse is often less well-accepted into the mainstream than other prophecy, but none of these criteria should be viewed as absolute; there is much room for dispute.

Some believe these apocalyptic writings were composed in part to give an answer to why the pious were continuing to be persecuted and the end of prophecy. This is probably true of the pseudepigraphal works, though it must be clear that apocalyptic prophecy is given by God, and not brought down by man. There was a rise in apocalyptic writing in the 19th century in an attempt to understand why some Christian sects were becoming more liberal.

The closing theme is Gerard Satamian's Chansons Sans Paroles Op. 2 Pastorale, from the album Dry Fig Trees. www.magnatune.com