Purim 2025: Five Key Characters

The message, "Purim 2025: Five Key Characters" was delivered on location at 60 Bailey Ave., Manchester, NH for First Fruits Ministries Sabbath celebration on 3/15/2025.

With Purim landing on a shabbat this year, we jumped into this overview of the story of Esther. As a memorial, Purim offers not just an entertaining story to recount—one that is often abused for personal amusement—but even more so a historical miracle that has lasting prophetic and deep spiritual meaning for God’s people, both the Jews who are the heroes of the story and the Gentiles who join them in the faith. The story provides us with lessons of faithfulness, courage, and trust in God; even in a book where God’s name is not even mentioned—at least in the Masoretic version of the story. The book draws from Israel’s history as far back as the feud between Jacob and Esau, the flight of Israel in the wilderness, and King Saul’s disobedience that cost him the throne and had lasting consequences for all of God’s people. It points to the future in that it shows a day when the whole world will be united under a King who promotes God’s commandments as the law that all people ought to follow after destroying all who rebel against Him. It stands on its own as a story of God’s interaction with His people that tests their trust in Him and rewards those who choose to align with Him and His people during periods of tribulation. The story speaks to us in this way, for our allegiance to Messiah Yeshua will be tested and we will endure in the faith when we trust in Yeshua and keep the commandments of God, loving God first and then one another. If you haven’t read the book of Esther recently, I recommend giving it a read to soak up even more of its meaning than we have time to cover.

For the presentation transcript, download the PDF: https://storage2.snappages.site/ncm201u3w4/assets/files/20250315_Purim2015PDF.pdf.

Here's a link to other important resources from First Fruits Ministries mentioned in this message or related to it:
"The Story of Esther," by Pastor Daniel Joseph of Corner Fringe Ministries: (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmI6y1h4ekf7R73vxou_0hFYR1b26YSGG&si=I-Ht5pGktK0FBYbP).
"Esther, Ahasuerus, & Artaxerxes: Who was the Persian King of 127 Provinces?," by William Struse: https://www.the13thenumeration.com/Blog13/2019/10/05/esther-ahasuerus-artaxerxes-who-was-the-persian-king-of-127-provinces/
"The Seraiah Assumption and the Decree of Daniel 9:25," Associates for Biblical Research: https://biblearchaeology.org/abr-projects-main/the-daniel-9-24-27-project-2/4369-the-seraiah-assumption-and-the-decree-of-daniel-9-25

If you have any questions or comments regarding any of our videos, please contact us through our website: https://firstfruits.cc. Visit us Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. at 60 Bailey Ave., Manchester, NH.