The Old Testament history of the Jewish people records a major series of events that changes the religion, how people thought, and in some ways, the course of Western Civilization. This story takes place a few hundred years before the birth of Jesus. Israel was conquered by one of the first great empires in human history: the Babylonians. Their leader, King Nebuchadnezzar, marched his armies all over the known world and made most of it his own. Israel had resisted conquest by lesser empires through God’s protection. Now, God announced that their rebellion against Him had gone too far, and He w...
