Purim, when Jesus celebrated Hindu genocide

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The other day I came across a very disturbing article in the Christian Post.  The article written by a Christian Evangelist named Paul De Vries and was basically encouraging Christians to celebrate the Old Testament holiday of Purim.  I found this article disturbing for several reasons, first because Purim celebrates a mass Persian genocide conducted by duplicitous and treasonous Israelites, and the Bible says this genocide reached India!  Second, the De Vries politicized this Purim genocide by equating the need for Christians apply the “truths” of Purim today and to not be dissuaded by political correctness.  Since the celebrated genocide of Purim took place in Persia, De Vries found it applicable to tie the need for Purim “truths” into today’s modern war against Middle East Islamism. I did some research and found that several other prominent Christian writers such as Nathan Smith are also attempting to popularize the holiday of Purim among Christians, but why are they doing this and what does this say about Christian culture in general? 

“since we Christians are fully “grafted into” God’s special relationships, it makes sense for us to celebrate Purim as well. And this year with the shocking rise of vicious genocide against Christians, much of it fostered, fueled and funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the present day Persia, Purim can have an even more heightened meaning for all of us.” – Why Should Christians Care About the Jewish Holiday Purim?, Christian Post

Applications of the Biblical truths of Esther are huge, and in many directions. We can often let what is “proper” numb us to the principles that should drive us. “Political correctness” these days too often clouds even the most obvious eternal truths. As noted African-American evangelist Tom Skinner (1942-1994), my friend for thirty years, used to say, “Do not let your being beholden to others for your opportunities blind or restrain you from your Gospel responsibilities.” By “Gospel,” evangelist Skinner always included Saving Gospel and Social Gospel. His Biblical insight is still true. – Why Should Christians Care About the Jewish Holiday Purim?, Christian Post

The growing Christian problem with Pagan holidays
First let’s discuss why Christians are evening talking about Purim, an Old Testament holiday, in the first place.  As I discussed in my post on Easter/Passover, many Christians are finding themselves in a debacle over many of their supposedly Christian holidays. Easter, like Christmas, has no basis in the Bible and is actually stolen from European Pagan culture.  The problem is that during the time of Christianization is Europe, the churches needed to break the Pagans of their old religions, but they found it hard to get the populace to give up their Pagan festivities.  To remedy this situation the church leaders simply co-opted the Pagan festival but changed the meaning, giving them some Christian significance.  The Bible never says Jesus was born on December 25th, but this was the time of Pagan winter solstice festival, and so the Church simply changed the meaning to celebrating the birth of Christ.  Easter was a festival to the Germanic fertility goddess Ostra who was accompanied by rabbits and eggs.  Christians simply changed the meaning of the festival to a remembrance of the resurrection of Christ. 
Jesus celebrated Israelite holidays, not Easter of Christmas 
However in this late age, Christians are beginning to see that these Pagan costumes are no longer needed and are perhaps even becoming a burden.  Why are Christians engaging in Pagan celebrations?  Jesus never told them to do this, and why have they only incorporated European Paganism, why not the Paganism of other continents?  What is so wrong with the original Israelite culture that Christians need to rob from other religions in order to make Christianity seem appealing?  These questions have become hot topics on Christianity as of late, however there is an ever bigger question cloud looming over the church in regards to what Jesus told his followers to celebrate and what he celebrated himself. We know from the Bible that Jesus celebrated the Israelite holiday of Passover and instructed his followers to perform rituals during this time (Luke 22), we also know for a fact that Jesus celebrated the Israelite holiday ofHannukah.  This all makes sense since Jesus was an Israelite and the self-proclaimed Messiah of the God of Israel. 
Jesus celebrated Purim
But what about Purim?  Did Jesus celebrate a holiday which commemorates treason against the Persian people and a mass genocide which reached the borders of India?  Most Biblical scholars agree that their is evidence that Jesus did celebrate Purim, and it would make sense since he did celebrate the other Israelite holidays.  In John 5 we learn of the famous story of Jesus and the bread and fishes.  This is where Jesus supposedly feeds an entire crowd of people during an Israelite festival with only a handful of bread and fish. Jesus is then admonished because he worked and performed miracles on the Sabbath, a day which is supposed to be reserved for rest in Israelite culture, regardless of the fact that this particular Sabbath also happened to be a festival date.  Bible researchers have compared the times when Jesus was supposed to have lived and the Isrealite calendars, and they can assert that the only Israelite festival  which fell on a Sabbath during this time was Purim. Of course Jesus would celebrate Purim, why not, he celebrated all the other Israelite holidays. Besides this, the Bible instructs its followers to celebrate Purim, and if Jesus celebrated it, Christians should only logically celebrate Purim as well. 

Therefore they called these days Purim, after the term Pur. Therefore, because of all that was written in this letter, and of what they had faced in this matter, and of what had happened to them, 27 the Jews firmly obligated themselves and their offspring and all who joined them, that without fail they would keep these two days according to what was written and at the time appointed every year, 28 that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, in every clan, province, and city, and that these days of Purim should never fall into disuse among the Jews, nor should the commemoration of these days cease among their descendants. – Esther 9:26-28 ESV

Purim is a feast of treason and genocide of Hindus 
 
So what is Purim and why would Christians want to even be associated with this absolutely horrific display? The Holiday of Purim celebrates the events of the Bible book of Esther.. Though Christians often try to paint this tale as simply one of “Israel’s survival” against “persecution”, they tend to become disgruntled when the events laid out in this story are analyzed from the Pagan’s perspective. When viewed through Pagan eyes, we find that the heroine from the story, Esther, was nothing more than a deceptive crypto-Israelite who was pimped to the king by her duplicitous and power hungry cousin Mordechai. Later, the treacherous cousin duo needlessly slaughter 75,000 Persians and Indians, the very people who had liberated the Israelites from captivity in Babylon and had provided them with funds for several generations to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.
The Back Story To Purim
I’d like to point out that there is debate whether or not the events of Purim ever even happened, but that is not the point of this post, I want you to think about the thinking and intentions behind this story and what they may represent to Christians today. 
It is important to note the background of this story since it shows the ungrateful and untrustable nature of the Christian Religion and its followers. The Persian king Cyrus the Great had liberated the Israelites from their captivity in Babylon in 539 BCE, he let them return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple, gave them back the possessions the Babylonians had taken from them, and provided them with additional gold and silver for their rebuilding effort. It was Persian blood that had been shed to free the Israelites, and as their reward the Israelites will shed even more blood with their own hands.
The Babylonian Captivity (596 BCE)
More than 100 years before the events that take place in the book of Esther, the Isrealites had been weakened by internal civil war and were taken captive by Babylon. All of the gold from the Israelite Temple was plundered and most of the men and women were carried off as slaves. It will be the Persians who will liberate the Israelites from their captivity and return their possession, and for this the Israelites will stab the Persians in the back, literally!

10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers; and the king of Babylon captured him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of Yahweh’s house, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Solomon king of Israel had made in Yahweh’s temple, as Yahweh had said. 14 He carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. No one remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon, with the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officers, and the chief men of the land. He carried them into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war, even them the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon.” – 2 Kings 24: 10-16, World English Bible  

Cyrus the Great liberates the Isrealites and returns them to Israel 
In 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empires conquers Babylon and allows the Israelites to return to Israel.

The first permanent change was brought about by the Persian king Cyrus. As the Deutero-Isaiah already desired and predicted after the first inroad of Cyrus into the Babylonian kingdom (545), a conquest of the city of Babylon took place (539 B.C.) after the decisive defeat of the army at Sippara.” – CAPTIVITY, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia 

Cyrus, however, permitted the Jews to return to their own land. There was no reason to detain them longer in Babylon; and if they returned to their homes, they would be in a position to defend the border-land against Egypt and the desert.” – CYRUS, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia 

The Persians financially support the Israelites
Not only does Cyrus liberate the Israelites, but he generously returns to them all of the gold the Babylonians had stolen from them and even offers them money from his own house and loans so that they can rebuild their temple, again.

“13 But in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, Cyrus the king made a decree to build this house of God. 14 The gold and silver vessels also of God’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, ‘Take these vessels, go, put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let God’s house be built in its place.’ ” – Ezra 5: 13-15 

3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning God’s house at Jerusalem, let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid; its height sixty cubits,[a] and its width sixty cubits; 4 with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house. – Ezra 6: 3-4 

“They also gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia.” –Ezra 3:7  

The Persians support Israel against the Samaritans
It was the Israelites who has been exported from the land of Israel (originally called Canaan which the Israelites had stolen from the indigenous Canaanites generations earlier), but it seems that the Babylonians had left behind the Samaritans, an offshoot religion of Israel. We know that the Israelites did indeed persecute the Samaritans just as they had persecuted the original Canaanites, destroying their religious shrines.

The next reference to the people of Samaria, regarded as the remnant of Israel, is when Josiah suppressed the high places among them (ib. xxiii. 15, 19 et seq.) and collected money to repair the house of the Lord, from “Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel” (II Chron. xxxiv. 9).” – SAMARITANS, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia  

We learn from Ezra 4: 1-24 that with the return of the Israelites to Israel and the building of their temple it would seem that the persecution of the Samaritans resumed because they start a letter writing campaign to the Persians asking them to stop the funding of the temple.  This campaign begins with Cyrus the Great, and the Samaritans continue the campaign to stop the building of the Israelite temple for many generations.  The Samaritans try to warn the Persians that if they continue to fund the Israelites that they will eventually turn on the Persians and it will fair badly for them, these warnings from the Samaritans to the Persians were indeed prophetic.  From the passage we can see that despite the Samaritans pleas and warning, the Persians continue to support the Israelites in their rebuilding efforts all the way up until the time of king Artaxerxes.

3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel, said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves together will build to Yahweh, the God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” 4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, 5 and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. 6 In the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 In the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his companions, to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was written in Syrian, and delivered in the Syrian language. 8 Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort: 9 then Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites, 10 and the rest of the nations whom the great and noble Osnappar brought over, and set in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River, and so forth, wrote. 11 This is the copy of the letter that they sent to Artaxerxes the12 Be it known to the king, that the Jews who came up from you have come to us to Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations. 13 Be it known now to the king that if this city is built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, custom, or toll, and in the end it will be hurtful to the kings. 14 Now because we eat the salt of the palace, and it is not appropriate for us to see the king’s dishonor, therefore have we sent and informed the king; 15 that search may be made in the book of the records of your fathers: so you shall find in the book of the records, and know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and provinces, and that they have moved sedition within the same of old time; for which cause was this city laid waste. 16 We inform the king that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, by this means you shall have no portion beyond the River. 17 Then the king sent an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth. 18 The letter which you sent to us has been plainly read before me. 19 I decreed, and search has been made, and it is found that this city of old time has made insurrection against kings, and that rebellion and sedition have been made therein. 20 There have been mighty kings also over Jerusalem, who have ruled over all the country beyond the River; and tribute, custom, and toll, was paid to them. 21 Make a decree now to cause these men to cease, and that this city not be built, until a decree shall be made by me. 22 Take heed that you not be slack herein: why should damage grow to the hurt of the kings? 23 Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power. 24 Then ceased the work of God’s house which is at Jerusalem; and it ceased until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. – Ezra 4: 1-24 

Persia was supporting the Israelites during the time of Esther and ruled parts of India
It is important to note that Persia does not turn on the Israelites until after the reign of king Ahasuerus (aka Xerxes).  Ahasuerus is the king of Persia during the events of Purim in the book of Esther, and under his rule the Persians are still supporting Israel.  This will only change after the Israelites slaughter 75,000 Persians.  It is Ahasuerus’ son Artaxerxes who rules after this Israelite treachery who will turn on the Israelites, and for obvious reasons! See the entries from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia on the kings Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes below, and reference the scripture from Ezra 4: 1-24 from above which shows the Persians were supporting the Israelites during the period of the book of Esther despite the complaints and warning from the Samaritans.  Also please notice that at least according to Biblical data, the Persia at this time did indeed stretch into India. And so with this background knowledge in place, the story of Esther and Purim begins.

AHASUERUS: “Persian king, identical with Xerxes (486-465 B.C.)The Book of Esther deals only with one period of his reign. It tells us that he ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces—”from India, even unto Ethiopia” (Esth. i. 1)” – AHASUERUS, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

XERXES: Son of Darius, King of Persia (485-465 B.C.). His name, which is Khshayarsha in Persian, Ikhshiyarshu (with variants) in Babylonian, and Ξέρξης in Greek, frequently occurs, in the Old Testament. It is often written with ו instead of י, as in the Masoretic text, where it is spelled  (Aḥashwerôsh) instead of  (Ayḥashyarsh), with the prothetic vowel indispensable in Semitic before initial double consonants. Xerxes is mentioned in the Book of Ezra (iv. 6) in connection with a complaint lodged against the Jews by the Samaritans (comp. Meyer, “Entstehung des Judenthums,” pp. 16 et seq.). He is the “king” of the Esther romance, and in the Book of Daniel (ix. 1) he is mentioned as the father of Darius, “of the seed of the Medes.” – XERXES, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

ARTAXERXES: “Artaxerxes was the second son of Xerxes, who was murdered in the summer of 465 by his all-powerful vizir Artaban. The murderer accused the king’s eldest son Darius of the crime, with the result that Darius was slain by his younger brother Artaxerxes, who then mounted the throne.” – ARTAXERXES, 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia 

 The Story of Esther
 
Esther Book One
World English Bible
A Great Feast
Though the Israelites were free to return to Jerusalem after the Persians liberated them from Babylon, many decided to remain in Persia. The story opens and Ahasuerus (who is supporting the restoration of Israel) is the king of Persia. In the third year of his reign, the king holds a large feast and all of the nobility attend. His wife, the queen Vashti prepares a separate feast for the women. Notice that the passage say that King Ahasuerus rules parts of India at this time.

Now in the days of Ahasuerus (this is Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia, over one hundred twenty-seven provinces), 2 in those days, when the King Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, 3 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast for all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him. 4 He displayed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even one hundred eighty days. 5 When these days were fulfilled, the king made a seven day feast for all the people who were present in Shushan the palace, both great and small, in the court of the garden of the king’s palace. 6 There were hangings of white, green, and blue material, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and marble pillars. The couches were of gold and silver, on a pavement of red, white, yellow, and black marble. 7 They gave them drinks in golden vessels of various kinds, including royal wine in abundance, according to the bounty of the king. 8 In accordance with the law, the drinking was not compulsory; for so the king had instructed all the officials of his house, that they should do according to every man’s pleasure. 9 Also Vashti the queen made a feast for the women in the royal house which belonged to King Ahasuerus

The Strong Queen Vashti Dismissed
After seven days of feasting, intoxicated with wine, king Ahasuerus calls for Vashti to come before the men so that her beauty can be shown off to the guests. Queen Vashti refuses to allow her self to be paraded about in such a manner. The obviously flawed king Ahasuerus listens to the advice of is ignoble eunuchs who tell him to dispose of Vashti and find himself a new Queen who will be more suitable. As usual, disdain for noble strength coupled with weak and corrupt leadership will open the door for the Israelites.

10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcass, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, 11 to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the royal crown, to show the people and the princes her beauty; for she was beautiful. 12 But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by the eunuchs. Therefore the king was very angry, and his anger burned in him. 13 Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for it was the king’s custom to consult those who knew law and judgment; 14 and the next to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king’s face, and sat first in the kingdom), 15 “What shall we do to the queen Vashti according to law, because she has not done the bidding of the King Ahasuerus by the eunuchs?” 16 Memucan answered before the king and the princes, “Vashti the queen has not done wrong to just the king, but also to all the princes, and to all the people who are in all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus. 17 For this deed of the queen will become known to all women, causing them to show contempt for their husbands, when it is reported, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she didn’t come.’ 18 Today, the princesses of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s deed will tell all the king’s princes. This will cause much contempt and wrath19 “If it please the king, let a royal commandment go from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be altered, that Vashti may never again come before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another who is better than she. 20 When the king’s decree which he shall make is published throughout all his kingdom (for it is great), all the wives will give their husbands honor, both great and small.” 21 This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did according to the word of Memucan: 22 for he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language, that every man should rule his own house, speaking in the language of his own people. 

Esther Book 2
World English Bible
Mordechai Pimps crypto-Israelite Esther To The King
Employed within king Ahasuerus’ court is an Israelite named Mordechai. Obviously the Israelites who have been liberated by the Persians, are being funded by them, and who have high ranking positions in the king’s court cannot complain of much prejudice against them in the Persian kingdom. Mordechai has an orphaned cousin named Esther whom he has raised as his own daughter. It should be noted here that according to the Bible, Israelites are not to marry non-Israelites (Deuteronomy 7: 3-4). Even so, Mordechai has no qualms about breaking Israelite law by ushering his cousin Esther into the harem of foreign king Ahasuerus. Most important of all, Mordechai instructs Esther not to reveal that she is related to Mordechai, or that she is secretly a Israelite. Eventually, the crypto-Israelite Esther wins the kings favor and becomes the new Queen of Persia.

1 After these things, when the wrath of King Ahasuerus was pacified, he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s servants who served him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king. 3 Let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to the citadel of Susa, to the women’s house, to the custody of Hegai the king’s eunuch, keeper of the women. Let cosmetics be given them; 4 and let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.”The thing pleased the king, and he did so. 5 There was a certain Jew in the citadel of Susa, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, 6 who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away. 7 He brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle’s daughter; for she had neither father nor mother. The maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter. 8 So, when the king’s commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together to the citadel of Susa, to the custody of Hegai, Esther was taken into the king’s house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women. 9 The maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness from him. He quickly gave her cosmetics and her portions of food, and the seven choice maidens who were to be given her out of the king’s house. He moved her and her maidens to the best place in the women’s house. 10 Esther had not made known her people nor her relatives, because Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make it known. 11 Mordecai walked every day in front of the court of the women’s house, to find out how Esther was doing, and what would become of her. 12 Each young woman’s turn came to go in to King Ahasuerus after her purification for twelve months (for so were the days of their purification accomplished, six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet fragrances and with preparations for beautifying women). 13 The young woman then came to the king like this: whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the women’s house to the king’s house. 14 In the evening she went, and on the next day she returned into the second women’s house, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch, who kept the concubines. She came in to the king no more, unless the king delighted in her, and she was called by name. 15 Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, came to go in to the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s eunuch, the keeper of the women, advised. Esther obtained favor in the sight of all those who looked at her. 16 So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus into his royal house in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. 17 The king loved Esther more than all the women, and she obtained favor and kindness in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 18 Then the king made a great feast for all his princes and his servants, even Esther’s feast; and he proclaimed a holiday in the provinces, and gave gifts according to the king’s bounty. 19 When the virgins were gathered together the second time, Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate. 20 Esther had not yet made known her relatives nor her people, as Mordecai had commanded her; for Esther obeyed Mordecai, like she did when she was brought up by him.  

Mordechai Wins The King’s Favor
Later, Mordechai overhears a plot by two of the king’s eunuchs to assassinate the king. Again corrupt officials are always a boon for the Israelites, the vector for their entrance into power in Pagan society. Mordechai tells now queen Esther who informs the king and the two eunuchs are hung. Mordechai’s good deeds are recorded in the official record books for latter retrieval.

21 In those days, while Mordecai was sitting in the king’s gate, two of the king’s eunuchs, Bigthan and Teresh, who were doorkeepers, were angry, and sought to lay hands on the King Ahasuerus.22 This thing became known to Mordecai, who informed Esther the queen; and Esther informed the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 When this matter was investigated, and it was found to be so, they were both hanged on a tree; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king’s presence

Esther 3
World English Bible
Mordechai The Hypocrite 
Soon afterward, king Ahasuerus elevates a certain Persian named Haman to a powerful position and there is a ceremony whereby all the subjects of the king’s court are to bow to Haman. Mordechai refuses to bow to Haman and when questioned as to why, he states that it is because he is an Israelite. Mordechai had no issue with breaking Israelite law when he whored his cousin Esther to the foreign king and then instructed her to keep her relation to Mordechai and her religion a secret, yet all of a sudden Mordechai is unable to bow to Haman due to his religion, even though Israelites bow to each other all the time:

Genesis 23:7 Abraham bows to the people of the land, even to the children of Heth.
Genesis 33:3-7 Jacob and Leah bow to Esau
Genesis 42:6 Joseph’s brethren bow to Joseph
1 Samuel 24:8 David bows to King Saul
1 Samuel 20:41 David bows to Jonathan
1 Samuel 25:23 Abigail bows to King David
1 Samuel 25:41 Abigail bows to King David
2 Samuel 14:33 Absalom bows to King David
2 Samuel 24:20 Araunah bows to King David
1 King 1:23 The Prophet Nathan bows to King David
1 King 1:53 Adonijah bows to Solomon
Ruth 2:10 Ruth bows to Boaz

1 After these things King Ahasuerus promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes who were with him. 2All the king’s servants who were in the king’s gate bowed down, and paid homage to Haman; for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai didn’t bow down or pay him homage. 3 Then the king’s servants, who were in the king’s gate, said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s commandment?” 4 Now it came to pass, when they spoke daily to him, and he didn’t listen to them, that they told Haman, to see whether Mordecai’s reason would stand; for he had told them that he was a Jew


Haman Plots To Kill The Israelites 
Upon hearing Mordechai’s hypocrisy, Haman becomes overly angry and vows to kill the Israelites of the empire. He approaches king Ahasuerus and complains of the Israelites and their separate laws and customs and is able to convince the king to send out proclamations to all his provinces to have the Israelites of Persia killed on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar.

5 When Haman saw that Mordecai didn’t bow down, nor pay him homage, Haman was full of wrath. 6 But he scorned the thought of laying hands on Mordecai alone, for they had made known to him Mordecai’s people. Therefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews who were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus, even Mordecai’s people. 7 In the first month, which is the month Nisan, in the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to day, and from month to month, and chose the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 8 Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom, and their laws are different than other people’s. They don’t keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not for the king’s profit to allow them to remain. 9 If it pleases the king, let it be written that they be destroyed; and I will pay ten thousand talents[a] of silver into the hands of those who are in charge of the king’s business, to bring it into the king’s treasuries.” 10 The king took his ring from his hand, and gave it to Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the Jews’ enemy. 11 The king said to Haman, “The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.” 12 Then the king’s scribes were called in on the first month, on the thirteenth day of the month; and all that Haman commanded was written to the king’s satraps, and to the governors who were over every province, and to the princes of every people, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language. It was written in the name of King Ahasuerus, and it was sealed with the king’s ring. 13 Letters were sent by couriers into all the king’s provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to plunder their possessions. 14 A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that they should be ready against that day. 15 The couriers went out in haste by the king’s commandment, and the decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city of Shushan was perplexed.

Footnotes: 

Esther 3:9 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces 

Esther 4
World English Bible
Esther Plans To Save The Israelites 
Mordechai hears of this plot to kill all the Israelitess of Persia and becomes distraught, he tears his clothes, covers himself with ash and begins wailing before the king’s gate. Esther (who is still hiding her relationship to Mordechai and her religion) sends her servants to find out what is wrong. Mordechai explains the situation and provides the documents proving the Israelites are to be killed on the thirteenth day of Adar. Upon hearing this, Esther plans to use her influence as queen to have king Ahasuerus reverse the decree.

1 Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, and wailed loudly and a bitterly. 2 He came even before the king’s gate, for no one is allowed inside the king’s gate clothed with sackcloth. 3 In every province, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes. 4 Esther’s maidens and her eunuchs came and told her this, and the queen was exceedingly grieved. She sent clothing to Mordecai, to replace his sackcloth; but he didn’t receive it. 5 Then Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs, whom he had appointed to attend her, and commanded him to go to Mordecai, to find out what this was, and why it was. 6 So Hathach went out to Mordecai, to city square which was before the king’s gate. 7 Mordecai told him of all that had happened to him, and the exact sum of the money that Haman had promised to pay to the king’s treasuries for the destruction of the Jews. 8 He also gave him the copy of the writing of the decree that was given out in Shushan to destroy them, to show it to Esther, and to declare it to her, and to urge her to go in to the king, to make supplication to him, and to make request before him, for her people

9 Hathach came and told Esther the words of Mordecai. 10 Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a message to Mordecai: 11 “All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, know, that whoever, whether man or woman, comes to the king into the inner court without being called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death, except those to whom the king might hold out the golden scepter, that he may live. I have not been called to come in to the king these thirty days.” 

12 They told to Mordecai Esther’s words. 13 Then Mordecai asked them return answer to Esther, “Don’t think to yourself that you will escape in the king’s house any more than all the Jews. 14 For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” 

15 Then Esther asked them to answer Mordecai, 16 “Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.” 17 So Mordecai went his way, and did according to all that Esther had commanded him

Esther 5
World English Bible
Esther Requests Two Banquets 
Esther goes before King Ahasuerus who offers her anything she would like. Esther requests a banquet and for the king and Haman to attend. At this banquet Esther requests that the king and Haman attend another banquet the next evening which she will prepare. Esther has still not revealed her relationship to Mordechai or the fact that she is a Israelites.

1 Now on the third day, Esther put on her royal clothing, and stood in the inner court of the king’s house, next to the king’s house. The king sat on his royal throne in the royal house, next to the entrance of the house. 2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. 3 Then the king asked her, “What would you like, queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given you even to the half of the kingdom.”4 Esther said, “If it seems good to the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet that I have prepared for him.” 5 Then the king said, “Bring Haman quickly, so that it may be done as Esther has said.” So the king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared. 6 The king said to Esther at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.”7 Then Esther answered and said, “My petition and my request is this. 8 If I have found favor in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I will prepare for them, and I will do tomorrow as the king has said.” 

Haman Plans To Have Mordecai Hung

Meanwhile, in between the first and second banquet, Haman has a gallow prepared for Mordechai where he plans to have him hung.

9 Then Haman went out that day joyful and glad of heart, but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he didn’t stand up nor move for him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai. 10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself, and went home. There, he sent and called for his friends and Zeresh his wife. 11 Haman recounted to them the glory of his riches, the multitude of his children, all the things in which the king had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the princes and servants of the king. 12 Haman also said, “Yes, Esther the queen let no man come in with the king to the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and tomorrow I am also invited by her together with the king. 13 Yet all this avails me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate.”14 Then Zeresh his wife and all his friends said to him, “Let a gallows be made fifty cubits[a] high, and in the morning speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on it. Then go in merrily with the king to the banquet.” This pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made

Footnotes: 

Esther 5:14 a cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. 

Esther 6
World English Bible
The King Saves Mordechai 
That evening, King Ahasuerus is unable to sleep and has his servant read to him from the official record books. The king is reminded that Mordechai had once saved his life by reporting a plot to have him murdered by two of his own eunuchs. The king calls Haman to his chambers and before Haman the king declares that Mordecai will not be hung but will be given a place of honor and returned to his post. Haman himself is instructed to deliver this message to Mordechai which he does. Mordechai is saved! Now all that’s left is for Esther to save the rest of the Israelites of the empire.

On that night, the king couldn’t sleep. He commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought, and they were read to the king. 2 It was found written that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who were doorkeepers, who had tried to lay hands on the King Ahasuerus. 3 The king said, “What honor and dignity has been given to Mordecai for this? ”Then the king’s servants who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 The king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had come into the outer court of the king’s house, to speak to the king about hanging Mordecai on the gallows that he had prepared for him. 5 The king’s servants said to him, “Behold,[a] Haman stands in the court.” The king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in. The king said to him, “What shall be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” Now Haman said in his heart, “Who would the king delight to honor more than myself?” 7 Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let royal clothing be brought which the king uses to wear, and the horse that the king rides on, and on the head of which a crown royal is set. 9 Let the clothing and the horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man whom the king delights to honor with them, and have him ride on horseback through the city square, and proclaim before him, ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!’” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry and take the clothing and the horse, as you have said, and do this for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Let nothing fail of all that you have spoken.” 11 Then Haman took the clothing and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and had him ride through the city square, and proclaimed before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!” 12 Mordecai came back to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried to his house, mourning and having his head covered. 13 Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him, but you will surely fall before him.” 14 While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs came, and hurried to bring Haman to the banquet that Esther had prepared

Footnotes: 

Esther 6:5 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection. 

Esther 7
World English Bible
Haman Is Killed 
The next evening, the king and Haman attend Esther’s banquet as promised. At the banquet Esther reveals she is an Israelite and begs the king to spare her people from the slaughter that Haman has devised. That very night Haman is hung from the very gallows he had prepared for Mordechai. The enemy of the Israelites, the man who singularly tried to orchestrate their demise has been killed and the rest of the Israelites are about to be saved as well, but Esther and Mordechai will take this opportunity to kill 75,000 innocent Persians.

So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. 2 The king said again to Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, “What is your petition, queen Esther? It shall be granted you. What is your request? Even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed.” 3 Then Esther the queen answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. 4For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for male and female slaves, I would have held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king’s loss.” 5 Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen, “Who is he, and where is he who dared presume in his heart to do so?” 6 Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman!” Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. 7 The king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden. Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman had fallen on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in front of me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face. 9 Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs who were with the king said, “Behold, the gallows fifty cubits[a] high, which Haman has made for Mordecai, who spoke good for the king, is standing at Haman’s house.” The king said, “Hang him on it!” 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king’s wrath pacified

Footnotes: 

Esther 7:9 a cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters. 


Esther 8

World English Bible
Israelite Treachery Reaches India
What happens next is an act of vile Israelite treachery. King Ahasuerus gives Mordechai full reign to reverse the orders to kill the Israelites. With the power to do as he pleases, Mordechai does not just cancel the orders to have the Israelitess of the empire killed, but sends out orders that the Israelites of every district in Persia are to be armed so that they can “take revenge on their enemies”. Mordechai flaunts his new power by walking around in royal robes wearing a crown, meanwhile many of the Persians of the empire fearing for their lives confess to be Israelite in order to escape the coming slaughter. Notice that Mordechai sends his orders to arm the Israelites to the borders of the Persian Empire in India.

On that day, King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, the Jews’ enemy, to Esther the queen. Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was to her. 2The king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai.Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman. 3 Esther spoke yet again before the king, and fell down at his feet, and begged him with tears to put away the mischief of Haman the Agagite, and his device that he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king held out to Esther the golden scepter. So Esther arose, and stood before the king. 5 She said, “If it pleases the king, and if I have found favor in his sight, and the thing seem right to the king, and I am pleasing in his eyes, let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I endure to see the evil that would come to my people? How can I endure to see the destruction of my relatives?” 7 Then King Ahasuerus said to Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, “See, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged on the gallows, because he laid his hand on the Jews. 8 Write also to the Jews, as it pleases you, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s ring; for the writing which is written in the king’s name, and sealed with the king’s ring, may not be reversed by any man.” 9 Then the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month Sivan, on the twenty-third day of the month; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, and to the satraps, and the governors and princes of the provinces which are from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province according to its writing, and to every people in their language, and to the Jews in their writing, and in their language. 10 He wrote in the name of King Ahasuerus, and sealed it with the king’s ring, and sent letters by courier on horseback, riding on royal horses that were bred from swift steeds. 11 In those letters, the king granted the Jews who were in every city to gather themselves together, and to defend their life, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, their little ones and women, and to plunder their possessions, 12 on one day in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar. 13 A copy of the letter, that the decree should be given out in every province, was published to all the peoples, that the Jews should be ready for that day to avenge themselves on their enemies. 14 So the couriers who rode on royal horses went out, hastened and pressed on by the king’s commandment. The decree was given out in the citadel of Susa. 15 Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad. 16 The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. 17 In every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast, and a good day. Many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen on them


Esther 9

World English Bible
75,000 Innocent Persians Murdered & The Feast Of Purim 
On the thirteenth day of Adar, the armed Israelites slaughter 75,000 Persian people who are considered to be their “enemies” and those who “hate” the Israelites, including the 10 sons of Haman. Don’t forget, it was these Persian people who had liberated the Israelites from Babylon, restored them to Israel, financially supported them for generations, allowed them to live among them in Persia, and gave them positions of great power in the court of the king… and for this they are massacred. Afterwords, Esther and Mordechai create a feast and set up a holiday for the Israelites to remember the story of the slaying of 75,000 people of the Persian empire, this festival today is known as Purim.

1 Now in the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, on the thirteenth day of the month, when the king’s commandment and his decree came near to be put in execution, on the day that the enemies of the Jews hoped to conquer them, (but it was turned out the opposite happened, that the Jews conquered those who hated them), 2 the Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the King Ahasuerus, to lay hands on those who wanted to harm them. No one could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen on all the people. 3 All the princes of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and those who did the king’s business helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen on them. 4 For Mordecai was great in the king’s house, and his fame went out throughout all the provinces; for the man Mordecai grew greater and greater. 5 The Jews struck all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and with slaughter and destruction, and did what they wanted to those who hated them. 6 In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. 7 They killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, 8 Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, 9 Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha, 10 the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jew’s enemy, but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder. 11 On that day, the number of those who were slain in the citadel of Susa was brought before the king. 12 The king said to Esther the queen, “The Jews have slain and destroyed five hundred men in the citadel of Susa, including the ten sons of Haman; what then have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces! Now what is your petition? It shall be granted you. What is your further request? It shall be done.” 13 Then Esther said, “If it pleases the king, let it be granted to the Jews who are in Shushan to do tomorrow also according to today’s decree, and let Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.” 14 The king commanded this to be done. A decree was given out in Shushan; and they hanged Haman’s ten sons. 15 The Jews who were in Shushan gathered themselves together on the fourteenth day also of the month Adar, and killed three hundred men in Shushan; but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder. 16 The other Jews who were in the king’s provinces gathered themselves together, defended their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of those who hated them; but they didn’t lay their hand on the plunder. 17 This was done on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of that month they rested and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 18 But the Jews who were in Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth and on the fourteenth days of the month; and on the fifteenth day of that month, they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness. 19 Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the unwalled towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a day of gladness and feasting, a good day, and a day of sending presents of food to one another. 20 Mordecai wrote these things, and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, both near and far, 21 to enjoin them that they should keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar yearly, 22 as the days in which the Jews had rest from their enemies, and the month which was turned to them from sorrow to gladness, and from mourning into a good day; that they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending presents of food to one another, and gifts to the needy. 23 The Jews accepted the custom that they had begun, as Mordecai had written to them; 24 because Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them, and had cast “Pur”, that is the lot, to consume them, and to destroy them; 25 but when this became known to the king, he commanded by letters that his wicked device, which he had devised against the Jews, should return on his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows. 26 Therefore they called these days “Purim”,[a] from the word “Pur.” Therefore because of all the words of this letter, and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and that which had come to them, 27 the Jews established, and imposed on themselves, and on their descendants, and on all those who joined themselves to them, so that it should not fail, that they would keep these two days according to what was written, and according to its appointed time, every year; 28 and that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city; and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor their memory perish from their offspring,[b] 29 Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority to confirm this second letter of Purim. 30 He sent letters to all the Jews, to the hundred twenty-seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth, 31 to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had decreed, and as they had imposed upon themselves and their descendants, in the matter of the fastings and their cry. 32 The commandment of Esther confirmed these matters of Purim; and it was written in the book. 

Footnotes: 

Esther 9:26 Purim is the Hebrew plural for pur, which means lot. 

Esther 9:28 or, seed 

Esther 10
World English Bible
The Israelites Rule Persia 
After the slaughter, Mordechai the Israelite becomes the most powerful man in all of Persia next to the king. This is the ending of the story of Esther and the Israelite holiday of Purim, a holiday which Jesus celebrated. The Persian people who had liberated the Israelites from captivity in Babylon and had furnished them with gold and silver to rebuild their temple, were slaughtered by a social climbing hypocritical pimp and his deceptive crypto-Israelite pawn, all because of the actions of one man, Haman, who had already been dealt with. Though Esther and Mordechai cannot be blamed for dealing with Haman, their actions afterward show the truly opportunistic, ungrateful and murderous character of the Christian Religions and its people.

1 King Ahasuerus laid a tribute on the land, and on the islands of the sea. 2 All the acts of his power and of his might, and the full account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? 3 For Mordecai the Jew was next to King Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted by the multitude of his brothers, seeking the good of his people, and speaking peace to all his descendants

WHY DID JESUS CELEBRATE PURIM?
 
Why on earth would Jesus or any Christian want to celebrate the holiday of Purim? The Persians had done nothing but liberate the Israelites from captivity, returned their lands to them, gave them gold and silver and allowed them to access high ranking positions in their royal courts. For this, the Israelites sent in one of their women, Esther, who hid her true identity as an Israelite, who hid her family connections, and through this deception married the king of Persia. Later on Esther’s uncle through his hypocritical behavior angers one man in the kings court who then plans to kill all the Israelites in the Persian empire. However, Esther is able to stop this genocide in time, but what does she do with her power? Esther and her uncle then use this opportunity to massacre 75,000 innocent Persians, and the Bible says this genocide reached India. What would be the point of mass murdering innocent people for an offense you’ve already disposed with? Why were the Persians converting to the religion of Israel in order to avoid being killed? Was this an intimidation tactic? What kind of people would find this to be an appropriate event to celebrate, and why are Christians trying to emulate Jesus and revive this festival today? Why are Christian leaders using current events in the Middle East as a spring board to revive this holiday of treason and intimidation, what are they planning?