Who Was Darius the Mede? 

Man, the production value on your videos is always right where it needs to be. You don't over-do it with unnecessary visuals, you don't under-inform with them either. The custom goofy music brings a fun element into the video with little effort demanded of the viewer. Your videos are sick man, keep it up.

What a guy- this is just about as close to perfect as it can get. Information transmission is hard, but you do it right

Yeah it's funny as an ex-atheist who reviewed all the problems I thought the Bible had after encountering God, I spent the whole video thinking exactly what you said at the end. Jericho, Pilate's office, lots of seeming inconsistencies made much of by skeptics have been proven in favour of the Biblical narrative as more evidence is uncovered, while none has gone against it. That trend is impossibly unlikely if the authors weren't reporting in good faith.

I have always found Daniel to be a companion book to John's Revelations. I found understanding Revelations a lot easier after reading Daniel. Both books are more prewriting history. Together they give God's arc of history. So, if nonbelievers scoff because of lack of archeological evidence, they are missing the point of the book. It is to give calm and confidence to the faithful that these things are going to happen, but God is in control. Still hoping you do a video on Modern Day Eucharistic Miracles. Love you Matt.

I like the Air Bud theory at the end. I checked the rules and nothing says a dog can’t be in power over Babylon

I especially appreciated your conclusion at the end. The fact that a biblical figure cannot be found in surviving records outside the Bible does not mean he didn't exist. Coincidentally, I am currently reading through Daniel at evening prayer, having completed Ezekiel several days ago. So this came at the right time. Thanks.

Love the channel. Love the vibe. There aren't a lot of people that I connect with but your topps Brother. If this was a class..... I'd pull up a chair, oh wait, I kinda did. Thanks! Can't wait for the next one. May The LORD bless you and yours! JESUS is King!

Daniel called him "Darius the Mede" while the others referred to him as King Darius. I believe Daniel was making a point here. If we remember the dream of Nebuchadnezzar about the statue whose head was of gold, arms of silver, etc. we realize Daniel is referring to the divided kingdom that would defeat Babylon. Cyrus is mentioned by name as the Persian king who would allow the Jews to go home and rebuild the Temple, but Daniel does not refer to Darius as a king, but as a Mede.

I absolutely love this kind of stuff. Looking forward to more historical deep dives in the future!

Great insight. I’m reading Daniel right now. ❤

I believe that Darius the Mede is Darius the Mede. There are so many people who have perished as unknowns but used mightily by God. If this man is only recorded in this one instance for the sake of OUR faith thousands of years later then this is consistent with the God I know. I think this man would be honored by this ONE significant mention in history.

Why do I like the TMBH channel ,simply coz I always learn something new . Today i learnt about the "Daniel Double chiasm" .

Great work as usual Matt! I always especially appreciate your videos on the historical topics. You do a great job breaking down theories and reasonings in an approachable way but your research and study shows! Thanks!! P.S. I love Jeff’s work, I’ve definitely had “who was Darius the Mede” stuck in my head since I watched this yesterday.

King Cyrus the Persian and King Darius the Mede are mentioned simultaneously as well as the law of the Medes and the law of the Persians, so it seems Darius is a King of the Medes put in place by his alliance with King Cyrus of Persia. Not an uncommon thing in history. Two different kingdoms, with Persia possibly as the head kingdom in the alliance.

I'm so glad Jeff is contributing to the videos now too!

This is awesome, I love these deep dives into history. Keep it up!

Thankyou Matt. I'm so blown away by your knowledge & program.

These historical videos are fantastic! I feel like I remember you mentioning something about the Sea Peoples in passing once (maybe in an old NDQ) and I've been dying to hear more about that if you are ever running low on historical video ideas.

Thank you so much Matt! Me and some friends are from church are doing a Bible study in Daniel right now. Great resource!

Really fun! I read a biography of Cyrus when I was much younger and God kept me much in the book of Daniel, Nehemiah, and Ezra. Always fascinating, the prophesies and realizations under our holy God. Thanks, this was great❤

I remember reading a few years ago that there was a thought that Darius the Mede was actually either the Father-in-Law or Brother-in-Law of Cyrus and if I remember correctly, the evidence for this had to do with the ambush and killing of Cyrus by the Medes and that those who led him to his death were related to him through one of his wives. What's interesting is that these were two different studies that came together to put forward this idea. I do remember that the murder of Cyrus (death by ambush) was a discussion in one of my history classes years ago and then years later I came across this hypothesis concerning Darius the Mede that actually used that incident that had started the debate in my history class. WIll try to find it, I know it's around here somewhere because I had asked my pastor what he thought.

Thanks for gettin’ nerdy with us, Matt!

YES!! I have been searching into this for A YEAR! Oh man! I’m so grateful for this video. I’m still 2 minutes in, but I’m looking forward to what you say. I kinda concluded that “Darius the Mede” was most likely a governor under Cyrus, who came to claim the conquest of his campaign a year/two years later ..but idk, ima listen to what you say 🙌🏾 *EDIT:* Thank you for this episode. It was amazing 🙌🏾 From my own searching, everything you said is accurate. I kinda surmised that “Darius the Mede” was “Gobryas”(maybe a mede name) who was also nicknamed “Cyraxes”(more persian). My issue with this is that I didn’t find a lot of stuff on “Cyraxes” that didn’t contradict each other or “Gobryas” in someway (i admit, i was biased to gobryas). Also the Medes probably assimilated into the Persian upper class; they didn’t have as many conquests as the Persians, they were a smaller and already “less significant” group than the Persians. Maybe they disappeared into the Persians. One thing seems sure - there is an abundance of people to fill this “Darius the Mede”-sized hole, even though it doesn’t much matter who exactly he was as long as he was. Thank you soo much!! I love episodes like this. Man, I love your content! Hope all is well for you and I am onboard for seeing better communication amongst the Church at large (even if complete unification doesn’t occur) *PS:* Is there a video on identifying Joseph or Moses’ pharaohs coming down the line? 👀

New TMB upload. The world rejoices🥺

Just got done listening to Hardcore History talk about this period (from several years ago) and I wondered what Matt's thoughts would be. Wow! Thanks for reading my mind, Mr. Whitman!

I llllike it! Nice show/format. Great attitude!

Really interesting interpretations here. Persia was at one point a region within the Median Empire, which Cyrus overthrew when the Achaemenids (the Persian Empire) was formed. As you've said they were ethnically and linguistically related, and given the Achaemenid policy of Satrapies (sub-kings that ruled a region of the empire with the Shahanshah's blessing), it's quite possible for this "Mede" to have been an administrator or satrap within that system.

MATT, YOU ARE AWESOME!

Dude that little intro song was very funny. You made my day.

Ha ha ha, that final image. My husband started watching this, and he was listening to the music and said, "I don't think that's a real song," and I thought to myself with a superior thought, "Ahhhh, he doesn't know there is custom made music for the episodes," and enjoyed my superior knowledge rather than sharing it and being a nice wife. Great video, thoroughly enjoyed the research and the ideas as per usual.

This was fascinating! Thanks, man! Definitely going to look into these for more info.

I would love to see a list of historical/archeological arguments against the Bible and our now found to be true, as well as questions not yet answered?

Awesome video! Thank you for all the time you invest in this. But also, we are still waiting for another Ironwood Rhino episode!

Great video, thought provoking and fair... But the best parts were the musical intros to each section.... Epic 😍

Here's a potential solution that ties in to #4. We don't know all the satraps, governors or kings of the regions in the area at the time. Darius the mede could've been like a cousin of Cyrus or uncle(like claimed by Josephus) that was trusted enough by Cyrus to rule Babylon but no threat politically to attempt a coup. The reason we don't know him from external sources is because they're usually incomplete and sometimes they disagree with one another(See 'secret histories' vs 'wars of Justinian' and those are written by the same guy).

The bit with the Lion Pit operator was priceless! 🤣 I mean how can we have a society without a Lion Pit!! Right?? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I really really love these teachings. Very engaging 🙏🏾 I agree with the last theory

As always, the intro music is perfect

Love the bumper music! 🎤🎸

The audio segments are incredible. The video is incredibly thought provoking, but the music gives a certain 90’s punk curiosity that ought to be included with every bible in order to remind everyone that this is a journey, and sanctification is a relevant word because none of us are finished products so far

Hey Matt, thank you so much for all the content you put out, I listen to your podcast every day! One thing that I think would be really beneficial is a second podcast where your episodes are condensed into hour long episode. This would help people who are trying to catch up to present day by removing the intro/outro music and the summaries. I would love to help you out with a project like this for free. Hit me up if you would like to try out a sample episode.

I personally find the forgotten person theory the most compelling. There are a lot of times in history where records are lost either through negligence or intentional destruction. If Darius the Persian was worried about rebellions based on historical genealogy it would make sense for him to order the destruction of those records.

Thank you sir

People didn't think the Hittites existed, now they are one of the most known about cultures of the ancient world.

Love the history around the Bible stuff.

Really awesome video! I love the history dives. Thanks Matt. #ndq #tmbhpodcast

Hi from Pennsylvania. Love your videos

I agree with you Matt. Wait for the truth to come to the surface. Time will tell. The bible IS the truth. I don't need to understand every word of why this or that was written in this or that style in order to know that what is written is fact. It's funny how to those who wish to believe, no proof is required, whereas, to those who doubt, no proof is sufficeient. I really enjoyed this video Matt. I have never heard the book of Daniel spoken of like that before, and I found it rivetting. Sadly I am a simple soul and much of what you said went over my head, but that which I understood was enlightening and fascinating. Now I am going to watch the video again. I have subbed to the channel. Thank you for posting this video. God bless you and yours.

Cyaxares II is definitely my preferred theory for Darius the Mede. However, there is enough evidence for a medo-persian civil war shortly before the war with Lydia that I find it fairly probable that there was some sort of falling out between Cyrus and Artaxerxes, and that this would result in a war where Darius would choose the side of Cyrus, against his father, possibly because there was a dispute between Darius and a potential second heir of Artaxerxes that was lost to history because he died in the war. Essentially, Cyrus & Darius vs. Artaxerxes and the heir apparent of the medes.

I particularly hold to Cyaxerxes II after reading Dr. Stephen Anderson's thesis of DTS (Dallas Theological School)

I was just reading Daniel and I noticed the transition was to this Darius. I read a few more lines and paused. I said to myself, this isn't a Babylonian name. So I said, did a Persian take over? Had to investigate, because I really didn't know for sure if he was a Mede. Excellent video. 💥✌️🫡

That is definitely food for thought. I have often been impressed by the Bible's ability to prove itself ever-increasingly reliable in light of progressive archaeological discoveries. Love your approach to history. Have you thought of doing an analysis of Antigonus II Mattathias? I find it difficult to tell if it's important historical background to the illegitimacy of the Herodian dynasty or whether it's just a part of the Maccabean era, when God's will became too ambiguous to discern in the progress of the history of ancient Israel.

Loved the video and the OST 🙂

The point is always more important than the detail. The point is always harder to undertstand if detail is your goal. Its like seeing the trees instead of the forest.

I like the way you do your videos with good academic content combined with faith and a down-home style of narration. I am inclined to support the Gobryas theory. He was was a general and satrap governor for the Babylonians prior to employment by Cyrus. Babylon fell in a single night. That miracle of God is much easier to explain if the former Babylonian general had an insiders understanding of how the defenses were set up. Gobryas would have been important enough to deserve a mention, even if by another name.

Thank you. I enjoyed your analysis.

I ran over this most recently guest-teaching a Sunday School class (one of Lifeway's ss books last quarter combined Daniel and Ezekiel), and after poking around my resources at the house in several places I decided the textual evidence adds up best for Darius being an economic supervisor over a large region of the still-developing Medo-Persian empire. He's impressed by Daniel (there's an extra part of Daniel bridging the arrival of Darius whom Daniel takes on a tour, and the lion's den, which isn't regarded as canonical by most branches of Christianity, which has some chronological problems, too, but which sets up the socio-political situation in more detail), makes Daniel at first one of the 120ish economic managers of the area, then one of the top three; but Darius himself is the temporary administrator of the area including Babylon and its dependencies -- a military governor in charge of transitioning the region into Persian governance. Since he did his job well and wasn't otherwise important, keeping his head down like a good functionary who definitely IS NOT trying to secede his area in rebellion against Cyrus (who was currently shifting into rulership himself through inheritance from his Dad), he's only mentioned by Daniel in ancient sources.

It was called the Medo Persian empire. And the great statue/image prophecy says the head is Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, and the following kingdom is the upperbody with 2 arms. 2 arms due to the fact Medo Persian empire had Cyrus as the greater king and Darius as a lower status king. The animal prophecy also says the following kingdom is liken to a bear, which is raised up on one side, meaning two kingdoms but one of the kings have greater power than the other. That would be Cyrus... So the prophecy is very consistent. Even more remarkable about Daniel is the 70. Weeks prophecy, how it ties together with Jesus coming. After the decree of Antaxerxes. Read the book The Coming Prince by fmr Scotland Yard chief Sir Robert Anderson. Amazing knowledge. ✅✅👍

Thank you God for your word.

Thank you for taking the time to break this down! PS AirBud ?!? 😂

Totaly agree with the wait-and-see approach. There is a massive trend of new discoveries proving the Bible accurate time and time again. Take for example the lead curse tablet recently discovered and announced that now offers proof the Israelites were in the land of Cannan when the Bible says, were worshipping Yahweh at the time, had a written language and the curse tablet was located where the Bible says the curses were proclaimed.

Also I remember a time when King David was problematic, there was no independent verification of him, until the sands shifted and Egypt had written documentation about a Pharaoh that slayed a king from the house of David. Yep. Waiting for the sands to shift sounds good to me

Man, I want a bookshelf tour xD

Great study!

Hi Matt. I propose, for ourselves and our future generations, that you absolutely MUST start writing a commentary of the scriptures; you articulate and package your thoughts on the bible (and its constituent parts) so well that it just makes so much sense, even if someone doesn't fully land where you land in your conclusions. I'm sitting here watching your video, and I'm honestly thinking of my kids and future grandkids, and wondering if they will be able to have someone like you who can help them work out the scriptures for themselves in a reasonable way (rather than have their guide to the scriptures being some roommate in college).

Lord of Spirits podcast is a really cool biblical/historical/spiritual beings podcast that talks about Daniel and Revelation in a few episodes which i found absolutely fascinating. The one on Apocalypse talks about them I think. Anyway, it's two Orthodox priests discussing all these cool things, and Fr. Stephen knows like 3 or four ancient languages and everything (it seems) about the historical context of a lot of scripture that is not often talked about. I think you may like it, though they are a bit mean (good-spiritedly) sometimes towards other denominations. take it in good faith though, and it's a really good podcast overall!

Dude showing off that redemption card.... We used to play redemption for family game night.

Powerful!

Glad you cleared that up about the " 62 yr. old dude" Thanks😉

Thanks Matt! I really enjoy your videos. It seems to me that James Ussuer had information about this in his Annals of the World. He quoted Xenophon and was solid on the Cyaxarus II being the solution. If I remember correctly Ussuer claimed Darius was Cyrus's father-in-law.

Deep cuts up in here with the Redemption trading card game picture of Darius. NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRD

Big fan of the cyraxes II theory

I always thought Darius the Mede wasn’t a universal ruler but more just a ruler of the city Daniel was in, sort of like a governor I suppose.

I love this song

Cool music!

It could also be a name for a ruler that was used by a particular culture, but not by another. Or, it could be a replacement name. Perhaps some of the people that did follow under this leader would be upset about the content of a book being written about him, so the name was just changed to another name. There are lots of reasons why this may not add up logically. It is fun to think about though. Very well done.

Fascinating topic Matt. I will stick with Darius the Mede

Was the character pictures from Civilisation?

Love the Civ leaders👍

It’s easy to work out ! When old dead dudes are telling a yarn the specifics get distorted over time .

Meanwhile, there's a pretty cool story about Cyrus, in purportedly his autobiography (not sure if that doc is lost now, much less how legit it is, but it's cited by other ancient authors including some Church Fathers, where I found it), where he's touring Babylon as a diplomatic scouting operation before coming back to conquer it, and he runs across a stele or pillar memorializing Nebuchadnezzar's declaration about God Most High turning him temporarily into a beast of the field to cure his hubris; Cyrus thinks he isn't reading the inscription correctly so has his host and guide translate it for him. Cyrus is very impressed with Neb for memorializing such a humiliating incident.

Great video. Thank you for presenting this. I did a deep study of Daniel and I concluded that Darius the Mede was probably the Persian or Hebrew name for Cyaxares II, the last King of the Medes. In Daniel 10:1,2 it states that it was the 3rd year of Cyrus and Daniel had been in mourning for 3 weeks. My question was "what happened to Darius the Mede?" and I wonder if that was who Daniel was mourning for which would explain the use of Cyrus as ruler. It's speculative, but think it has merit. Thoughts?

I would like to hear the whole song. 😄

Just curious, would anyone other than the Supreme ruler be able to write The law according to the Medes and Persians? Was that authority given to subordinates? Since that's what Darius did he obviously had that authority...

As a variation on you last suggestion: is it possible that leaders who came after him expunged his name from history? It happened to at least one Egyptian Pharaoh. Could the same thing have happened in Persia?

Darius is to come. When the hand writes on the wall in the endtimes.

On the topic of different people going by different names according to their jobs and/or their shifts in location: Daniel himself is a super-famous example. Not only his three friends, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego" have different names depending on their context, but Daniel himself was named Belshazzar by Nebuchadnezzar (whose original name only kind of sounded like that, by the way) -- except since that would be a pagan name honoring Bel/Baal, there's a pun with an extra 't' sound, Beltshazzar. So Neb's grandson Belshazzar calls upon Bel(t)shazzar to interpret the writing on the wall! -- a very different name from "Daniel". (Who himself shared a near-name Dan'el, with a famous wise man in Syro-Phoenicia around this time.)

Wait, Daniel was in circulation before the Maccabean revolt? I had always heard it was written around that time and I would love to learn more about that if you have any links! Love the video!

Very good. Thanks. That’s what I was looking for. Bible critics are too quick to say this is an error. It’s all based on the fact they don’t believe in prophecy. They should take into account the fact they are 2500 years later and we probably don’t have all the information contemporaries did.

**WARNING - CONCLUSIVE ANSWER BELOW** Excellent channel Matt, I just stumbled upon it recently. I'd just like to affirm one of the scholars suspicions. Darius was is indeed a ruler of a region (Chaldea) under the Persian Empire. Daniel himself says in Chapter 9:1 that Darius was MADE king of the Chaldeans (which is the former territory of Babylon) which implies it did not happen on his own authority. He was made ruler by Cyrus. Also, Daniel 6:1 says; It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the WHOLE kingdom" (Babylon). Daniel is pretty clear when he establishes that these princes were set over the whole kingdom (Chaldea), not some or part of it. This is synonymous with the Nabonidus Chronicle (almost word for word). The Hebrew, I can tell you assuredly that "וּבְמַלְכ֖וּת" from Daniel 6:28, which is "and in the reign (of)", "(u) וּ" being the conjunction "and" is meant to join two things. This is why "in the reign (of)" was used twice. This definitively confirms their are two distinct reigns which were joined together. This means that Darius ruled as king of the Chaldean area and Cyrus ruled as the overall "supreme" king over the entire Persian Empire (which now included Babylon). Their reigns were concurrent but not equal (one was a supreme reign). We know Darius was a different person to Cyrus. We know it would have been someone who was very close to Cyrus and would have someone who joined Cyrus after he (Cyrus) conquered the Median Empire. That person would have also been a commander of the Median section of the Medo-Persian Army. This person was "given" power by Cyrus as it's evident that the person "receive" the kingdom (Daniel 5:31). Given this, I'm almost certainly sure that Gubaru (former name) is 'Darius the Mede' and must have had his name changed upon successfully conquering Babylon and receiving the kingdom. The evidence by scholars even corroborates that Gubaru was in his late 50's or early 60's which aligns with Daniel's words that 'Darius the Mede' was 62 (Daniel 5:31). The ancient tablets also say that Gubaru installed governors all throughout the kingdom which also align with Daniels words (Daniel 6:1). Lastly, notice that Daniel says that Darius is *"OF THE LINAGE OF the Medians"*. Notice, Daniel is not saying that Darius came directly from Mādāya, but that his ethnicity is of the Medes. This implies that Darius was from somewhere else of that area but his ethnicity was of the Medes. Very smart wording if you asked me ;) As to why he changed his name? It's quite clear - Even though Gubaru was previously governor of Gutium, Daniel makes it clear that he was of the lineage of the Medes and thus the Mede's adopt a 'throne name' when they acquire a position of ruler status. I hope this answers everyone's questions.

Check out Behistun, Iran at Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran, established by Darius the Great (r. 522-486 BC).

Could it be like a Saul-Paul analogy with name? (May be agreeable with #2?) I like #5 too.

I live in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 which is one of the home countries that make up the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is a tiny "self governing" nation of 3 million. I bet no one outside of the UK has heard of Rhodri Morgan. He was the First Minister of Wales at the time of devolution. History won't know who he is, because to the World, London and the Queen and Boris Johnson or current British Prime Minister are the seat of Power. I bet most people heard of Tony Blair. Who was ruling at the time of Devolution. So I get it why some tiny guy like Darius the Meade can dissappear from history.

What if Darius was an appointed by the conquering Persians after the fall of Babylon? And they keep regional officers in their positions as opposed to replacing them. As well as the three overseers that included Daniel?

1) Most historical documents of the early antiquity empires, prior to Rome and Greece, are incredibly sketchy at best. Especially considering that, if anyone knows anything about the Assyrians in Biblical History, they're quite literally a footnote. Their biggest contribution is their being YHWH's judgement on the Northern Kingdom (Israel) after nearly 700 years of open rebellion, refusal to repent and turn to YHWH, and waging war against the Prophets and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). The bits we do have, are an incredible treasure of a find. Like the "Holy Grail" of historical documentation. 2) Darius the Mede may very well be a sub-commander or second in command under Cyrus the Persian. Which may be an immense contribution as to why he's not noted in contemporary, secular history like that of Cyrus. More so, being that it is governorship (under Cyrus), and his age, it may be that Babylonia, and the Empire that once resided in that land, was a gift for honorable servitude, friendship, and excellence of command, upon successful conquest. Darius the Mede may be an unsung "Mighty Man" to Cyrus the Persian, like Uriah the Hittite was to King David of Israel. Or as David, son of Jesse, was to King Saul. 3) History has a bad habit of overshadowing a lot of the lower leadership in favor of the Big Wigs. And it even shows with that of WW2 as a GREAT example of how history can get watered down for ease of palatable consumption. Everyone knows General Dwight D. Eisenhower, McArthur, Patton, Bradley and Montgomery. But hardly anyone knows of Lieutenant General Taylor of the 101st Airborne Division, or that of Brigadier General MacAuliffe, 101st Airborne Division Artillery (DivArty), who had his 15 minutes of fame in the Defense of Bastogne 16th-26th December 1944. Or General Gavin of the 82nd Airborne Division. Even people like 1st Lieutenant Audie Murphy, the most decorated American Soldier in US history, is overshadowed by men who commanded in their tens of thousands, whereas Murphy led platoons and companies of men into war at the sharpest point of the spear. So, in three ways, there's a good reason why Darius the Mede may not be a well-known historical figure: A) Insufficient discovery of historical documentation/artifacts due to the procession of time (as time tends to make it harder to figure the truth and fiction of history) B) He's not a King, but a Mighty Man and Governor by merit and reward for service, under the sovereign that was Cyrus the Persian. C) What history we might discover about him will have him in footnote pages and side notaries of who he was and his importance to the grand schemes under Cyrus the Persian, who will be the "Big Wig" attracting the historical attention.

Loved this. (Not sure why Air Bud showed up in the closing credits🤔😂)

Perhaps Darius the Mede was the choice alcoholic drink of the time. On a serious note, the passage about Daniel thriving "under Darius and Cyrus", it is possible in linguistics to say the same thing twice, -especially common in Hebrew. In fact, the end of the Hatikvah (Israeli National Anthem) there is a line, "Our hope is not dead, it is two thousand years old: to be a people free in Zion and Jerusalem." We know that Zion and Jerusalem are just two separate names for the same city, but this passage says they want to be free in "Zion and Jerusalem." This is not them saying they want to be free in both cities, but one city given two names. So Daniel thriving "under Darius and Cyrus" could be the same thing. P.S. I have not done any deep study on the historicity of Daniel and am not making an argument for the Cyrus the Great. That was just something I noticed in the video.

Nice! Using Civilization 6 for the leader pics 🤣

Very interesting. I've been looking into the emptiness. That is why I can't find anything. And historians don't remember anybody with the name King Nebuchadnezzar.

Hi Matt. You don't know me, and so you'll be happy to know I know that well enough to not be alarming if I seem too familiar. I'm just a once time fan of the No Dumb Questions podcast. Nothing about the podcast made me not be a listener anymore, I just changed and started doing other things. Destin and you were good role models for me during the time I listened to podcasts so much you'd think I was trying to make up for lost time because I maybe grew up socially retarded or something? But then discovered I was an Einstein of learning the truth that if you just love others the world becomes a better place? I don't know. I'm just spit balling here. Anyway, I'm writing because I just wanted to say thank you for being one of the great many people that had a positive impact on my life. When I started listening to the show due to learning of it when it was newly announced on Smarter Every Day, I didn't know I'd suddenly find myself one day so thankful to have such a Herculean Christlike figure imprinted onto my heart while I look upon my old life from the vantage point of a new man who wished hard enough to have a better heart, so hard in fact that it simply became so. But here we are. My father, whom I love very much, used to be a pastor for the WELLS synod. Yes, saying synod is redundant. He wasn't a pastor for many years before he realized it wasn't his calling in life. He wasn't pulled by any desire for some other particular kind of profession, he just didn't think this one was for him. He has remained extremely devout his entire life. I have not. And yet his fatherly love for me has never waned. I'm lucky enough right now to be young enough and lucky enough where both my parents are alive and love me. I'm all but guaranteed at least a goodly number of years more of their lives to be better at loving them back everyday. But I know it's a mistake to take that kind of thinking for granted. So I don't. What's that got to do with you, you must be wondering. Surely, if there is a truth in this world, it's the knowledge that Matthew Whitaker is sitting there right now asking the question, "Yeah, but what's in it for me?" Hold your horses, retired pastor (you're never tried they won't let you); we're getting there. The reason why I think the way I do which you are seeing carefully constructed in the form of basically a letter is because my life was filled with good examples of how to be the right kind of love in this world. You are one of those examples. The wisdom that somehow got itself into your brain because the Universe looked at you and said, "Yup. This is one we can trust with our secrets. Fill him in on what he needs to know, boys." worked in the way it was intended. Because now that idea is taking hold in me. I didn't know it was possible to be PhD in patience and understanding and kindness and love, but there you are: living proof. Finding that that was true was a shock to me as I listened to you perform amazing mental feats of navigating conversations in which challenging issues were raised, made challenging for the heated debate they tend to cause, and yet somehow finding a way to say the thing that is "love thine enemies" and actually make it really really really compelling... I plum didn't even know that was theoretically impossible. I had no idea I could be using my intellect in this way. I'm very, shall we say, gifted. More special than gifted, if we're being honest, but that's neither here nor there. But I'm aiming for the Moon when I say I'm going to become the best me I can be and only put greatness inside me that, by it, I am made greater still in accordance with how great I make others. And so I know I am incredibly lucky to have been able to find an example such as you to add to that holy host in my heart made up of the best of us. Made so by their acceptance of the truth: the better angels of our nature are what make the human project possible, or even desirable. Knowledge was our gift, not our punishment. Knowing more means you can, in theory, know more about how to love. Forever and ever. You learned that and showed everyone the truth you found. And everyone saw it. Everyone. Even me. An atheist. A puny speck of consciousness in a Cosmos of God knows what who dared to believe itself capable of knowing it at least didn't know everything. It really is possible to be a light that shines so brightly that there just is no place for darkness to live any longer. You are that light. And it made this little light to shine just a bit brighter in the hope of something more. Something better. Thank you. I know this kind of appreciation for a person I've never met can be taken as a weird thing. It isn't, but if there is a flaw, it's in its being too wordy a thank you. And maybe too pleased with thinking it cleverly written. I hope one day there is a culture that defines its own greatness by how good they are at finding the most clever ways to celebrate the ones they love. I may be an atheist, but I still know even someone like me can be saved. I don't need the Bible to tell me that Christ is real. There's a whole world full of men and women that are Him walking among us everyday: Olympians in Agape love. It's just chance that you were the one who happened across my conscious awareness. Far from belittling its worth, it means that Giants such as you are so commonplace amongst us you can rightly say you've simply won. If even someone like me would say I don't just feel grateful for the fact that people like you have won but that I would fight (with love, not violence) to make sure it never becomes not true in the future, then you know this change of peace on Earth coming to all mankind is inevitable. If slow. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being one of the great many who showed me the way. I won't make this weird by saying the word love in a too familiar way, so I'll say it in a way I know you'll understand is the kind of "personal" you're wanting more of in the world: I love that your mom knew what she was doing. And I love that you know that. God bless you, stranger and friend. Friend to love and trust itself.