(
Another study on Cyrus is found in Isaiah
under Bible Exposition.)
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CYRUS THE
GREAT
.. in Bible Prophecy !!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Whilst
the greatness of King Cyrus has been rightly applauded by historians world
over, yet few have referred to the remarkable prediction, given a century prior
to his birth, concerning his conquest of Babylon,
....
It was on March 27th. 538 Cyrus was enthroned at Babylon. Or, to be
more specific, his son was there acting as his representative. Cyrus was absent
on another military expedition.
But the mighty
Chaldean Empire was no more and all its dominions and treasures now belonged to
him.
Persia had
been victorious and this new King was about to alter the political structure
of the ancient world. (Hart. p.456)
Moral and ethical values such as had been little known in previous times
would now be instituted. At the First Persian Cultural Festival held in Sydney,
Australia, in 1994, one speaker told of how Cyrus is best remembered for his
unprecedented tolerance and magnanimous attitude towards those he
defeated. And that is true.
Yet another historian adds his testimony. Cyrus the
Great achieves highest rank among all world leaders throughout human history
and he goes on to list nearly a dozen reasons why this is so. (Marvasti )
Arthur Carr M.A. writes Cyrus is a unique character
in the history of the world. Against him no word of reproach is placed on
record in any writing, sacred or profane.
Well he deserves the title:- Cyrus the great !
.
..
Chapter 1
. THE
SEIGE OF BABYLON
It was about 590 B.C. that Princess Mandane gave birth
to this extraordinary child. She belonged
to the tribe of Media, her husband was Persian. Of that we can be
sure. But because of his future greatness,
legends concerning the childhood of Cyrus flourished in future generations.
Was it true the King of Media sought to kill this new-born child after dreaming that
Cyrus would one day replace him upon the throne ? According to Herodotus, (b.
490 c.) a palace steward named Harpagus was sent to slay the infant. But Cyrus
had been handed over to a shepherd and his wife who protected him and raised
him as their own. (p. 85-88)
What we do know is that on reaching manhood
Cyrus united the Medes and the Persians,
conquered the Lydians in Asia Minor and then turned his sights on
Babylon, capital of the Chaldean Empire,
the richest prize of all. (Hart p. 451)
By 538 B.C. the Medo-Persian
armies had surrounded this Golden City. (Isaiah 14:4)
Massive walls, 50 feet high
, seemed impregnable. Not only could they not be scaled nor breached, neither
could his men tunnel underneath, set as they were 35 feet below ground level.
All along this huge defensive wall stood watchtowers at a distance of about 100
yards from each other. The circuit of the fortifications was just under ten
miles. (Welland. 155)
Besides which there was the
moat surrounding the city with brick walls on each side.
The city itself was divided
by the mighty Euphrates River which flowed
under great iron gates and then southward to the Persian Gulf.
.
It was a German
archaeologist, Robert Koldewey, and his team of over 200 labourers, from 1899 to 1917, who excavated this buried
city. For something like 2000 years its very site had been buried beneath the
desert sands. But the glory that had
been Babylon was about to be revealed once more to amaze the world.
ROBERT KOLDEWEY
The famous Ishtar Gate, now reconstructed and displayed in the
Berlin Museum, has made all the
panegyrics about the size and splendour of ancient Babylon credible. (Wellard
p. 166) Of all the gates leading into
the city this one is by far the most
famous. About forty feet high, it was a blaze with colour. Nearly six-hundred
blue enamelled bricks depicting yellow and brown mythical animals were inlaid
into its decorative pattern. (Millard p. 137) Through this imposing gate the
captives of the various nations had been led.
They would find themselves on the Processional Way, so-called because
here the idol-gods would be carried by the black-robed chanting priests on their way to the Temple of Marduk. This road was half a mile long paved with
three-feet square white limestone slabs, red and white stones on each side and
flanked by moulded lions.
..
RUINS OF ISHTAR GATE
.
Within this city one would
gaze upon the famed Hanging Gardens, a wonder of the ancient world. There was another Temple that boasted a great sitting figure of Bel, all of gold
on a golden throne supported on a base of gold with a golden table standing
beside it. Herodotus adds that twenty-two tons of gold were used just in this
temple alone. (p.114) Clay tablets and artefacts, as well as the writings of
ancient historians, have confirmed the boast of King Nebuchadnezzar, Is not this the great Babylon that I have
built ? (Daniel 4:29-30)
But for over a year the armies of Cyrus had laid siege to this
capital of the Chaldean Empire. His men were becoming restless. Was there any
hope of ever conquering this vast, invincible city
?
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Chapter 2
A REMARKABLE PROPHECY
Not everybody accepts the
Bible as the inspired Word of God these days. And when a prophecy such as the
one we are about to encounter crops up, there is a mad flurry among the critics
to explain it away. After all, if this really is a prophecy
a
prophecy that was fulfilled in minute detail some 150 years later
it means
the Bible is to be taken seriously.
Maybe it is not a volume of
myths and guess-work after all !
Here is the prophecy
.
Isaiah 44: verses
24-28.
24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he
that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that
stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and
maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge
foolish;
26 That confirmeth the word of his servant, and
performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt
be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise
up the decayed places thereof:
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry
up thy rivers:
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd,
and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be
built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
In this passage Cyrus is
mentioned by name. ( verse 28)
But Isaiah , the prophet who
penned these words, died about one hundred years before Cyrus was born !!
The opening verse of the
Book that bears his name tells us that Isaiah lived through the reign of four
kings of Judah
Isaiah 1:1 The
vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem
in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Both history and archaeology join forces to
confirm the date of King Hezekiah ; 686 B.C being the end of his reign. Which
means Isaiah died about then, or shortly after.
Lets
say between 690 B.C. to 680 B.C.
But Cyrus was not born until about 590
B.C. And his conquest of Babylon
(which, we will see, Isaiah also foretold) did not take place until Cyrus was
nearly fifty years of age!
690-680 B.C. 590.B.C. 539 B.C.
>__Isaiah d.__________________ Cyrus
b._______ Babylon conquered ____>
More than that, Isaiah details how Cyrus will enable his army to
enter the city and achieve the
conquest. Note the following remarkable comparison between the secular
historian and the inspired prophet.
Herodotus tells how the
siege had dragged on and Cyrus was beginning to despair of success. (p. 118)
The suggestion was made to him that he station part of his army where the
Euphrates entered the city
and another part where it flows out
and then
divert the river into a nearby lake. This is done which reduced the depth of
the water flowing through the city. It became fordable
now deep enough to
reach about the middle of a mans thigh. The Medo-Persian army waded in
. but
on each side of the Euphrates within the city were high brick walls.
However, a festival was
going on, guards were in a drunken stupor
and the gates into the city
were left unlocked!
Had the Babylonians learnt
what Cyrus was doing or had seen it for themselves in time, they could have let
the Persians enter and then, by shutting all the gates which led to the
waterside and manning the walls on either side of the river, they could have
caught them in a trap and wiped them out. ( Herodotus p. 118)
A shower of arrows from the
top of the riverside walls would have spelt defeat for the Persian army. But the gates had been left open.
Babylon fell that night. And Cyrus made a decree that those Jews
who had been exiled there since Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Judah and
destroyed their Temple of Solomon might
now return to their homeland.
The Cyrus Cylinder, discovered
by Hormuzd Rassam , in 1879, confirms the Bible account. In line with his
policy of religious and social tolerance
he issued a decree in 538 B.C.
ordaining the restoration of the Babylonian captives to return to their
homelands. This cylinder may be seen in the British Museum.
.
CYRUS CYLINDER
.
..
Now we turn to the Biblical
prophet
.
Isaiah 44: 24 Thus
saith the LORD, thy redeemer,
that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be
inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up
the decayed places thereof:
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry
up thy rivers:
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and
shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;
and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Jerusalem
desolate for
fifty years since the Babylonian horde had destroyed the temple and the city
and taken the majority of Jews into captivity
will rise again. Thats what
Isaiah had foretold. And thus it came
to pass.
The Lord had said He would
use a man named Cyrus
he it was who would perform the Lords pleasure in
setting the Jews free and sending them back to their land to rebuild Jerusalem
and their Temple. ( vs. 28)
One can imagine the
encouragement such writing brought to those exiles.
Isaiah, of course, had died a century or so previous. But his
inspired prophecy was written. And the Jews during the days of the
Babylonian captivity read it and copied it and shared it and looked for the day
when Cyrus would set them free.
And did that verse 27 allude
to the diverting of the River Euphrates that enabled the conquest of Babylon to
take place?
But there was more in
Isaiahs prophecy that must have thrilled those readers.
Isaiah 45: 1 Thus
saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to
subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before
him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
Cyrus did
subdue nations, and the night Babylon fell we read how Belshazzar ,
vice-regent in place of his absent father , saw the finger of a
disembodied hand writing on the wall
and the joints of his loins were loosed.
(Daniel 5:5-6) And the gates leading into the city were not shut !
Isaiah 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the
crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in
sunder the bars of iron:
No obstacle stood in the way of the armies of
Cyrus. We read of Babylons one hundred gates of brass,
whose hinges and frames were of the same metal. ( Herodotus, quoted in Barnes.
p.145)
Isaiah 45: 3 And I will give thee the treasures of
darkness, and hidden riches of secret places,
Again it is the ancient historian who
supplies a commentary, albeit unknowingly, on this verse. He tells of the vast subterranean
storehouses of Babylon filled with immense riches. I will give several indications
of the wealth and resources of Babylon
he writes, and the paragraphs that
follow defy description. Gold and
silver in abundance!! ( Herodotus p. 118-119)
And why was it the Lord called you,
Cyrus, by name, to be the
deliverer of His people ?
..
Isaiah 45 : 3 that thou mayest
know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of
Israel.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine
elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me.
5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is
no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
So did Cyrus acknowledge that the God of
Israel had chosen him to accomplish this task ?
We
do not know. Certainly the graciousness of his conduct and his high ethical
standards makes one wonder if such was the case.
However,
not only Cyrus but all who read this amazing prophecy should be
convinced that there is a God who knows the end from the beginning
Isaiah 45: 4 I have even
called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me
6 That
they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none
beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
.
Chapter 3
THE CRITICS
ATTACK
How can one evade the fact
that Isaiah wrote this prophecy some one hundred years before Cyrus was born ?
Easily! says the
critic. They simply deny that Isaiah
wrote it! Rather, they so say, it was written by an unknown Jew who lived in the days when Cyrus was laying siege to
Babylon.
This self-appointed prophet
saw the Persian army surrounding the city and thought to himself ,
With a bit of luck , Cyrus will get us out of this mess
and
there and then he wrote Isaiah , chapters 40 55 !
The critics refer to him as
Deutro-Isaiah. Or Second Isaiah. But
they deny it is the same Isaiah who wrote chapters 1-39.
For example , George
Stimpson in his Book about the Bible writes , Isaiah lived in the
eighth century B.C. and obviously could not have composed those parts of the
book referring to later events
. The remainder of the book written about 546
B.C. in the time of Cyrus is ascribed to an unknown prophet
( p. 184)
A. Parmilee, describes Second Isaiah as The Greatest of
the Hebrews. Who this outstanding spiritual genius was, we do not know
Nearly all scholars are
agreed that chapters 40-55 of Isaiah belong to this unknown prophet
just as
the Persian King Cyrus is about to take over the whole Babylonian empire
states Oesterly and Robertson .( The Book of the Acts of God . p.174)
William Neil in his One
Volume Bible Commentary talks of Isaiahs great disciple whose prophecies
are collected in chapters 40 55. ( p. 252)
And so it goes.
Those who reject the
inspiration of the Bible and deny that God is able to foretell future events
dismiss the prophecy concerning Cyrus as no more than guesswork on the part of
some unknown disciple who already knew of Cyrus and was hoping that Persian King would lead his army to victory.
Is there an answer to their
claims ?
Yes !!
There are a number of reasons
good reasons
for accepting the writer of this
prophecy as the Isaiah who lived a century earlier.
The Answer from History .
An interesting reference is found in Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus. This Jewish historian quotes these verses we have just been
considering and adds , This was known to Cyrus by his reading the book which
Isaiah the prophet left behind him of his prophecies
He adds , This was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and
forty years before
..
Accordingly, when Cyrus read this and admired the Divine power an earnest
desire and ambition seized upon him to fulfil what was so written
(Book X1.
Ch1/2)
The Jewish people reject the idea of any Deutro-Isaiah.
JOSEPHUS
..
The Answer from Logic.
The critics speak
unanimously that their
Deutro-Isaiah was the greatest
of all the prophets. It is curious, therefore, that the name of this spiritual
giant should have been lost. The Jews did not forget the name of Obadiah in
spite of the fact he only gave us twenty one verses. Or Habakkuk with his three
chapters
or Zephaniah with the same.
Yet here is the greatest of the
prophets writing 18 chapters
and he is unknown.
Moreover, much of what
Obadiah penned is also found in Jeremiah 49
but the Jews did not tack
Obadiahs one chapter on to Jeremiahs writings. Yet we are asked to believe
that 18 chapters were added on to Isaiahs writings and mistakenly accepted by
the Jews as his work.
..
The Answer from Archaeology.
In 1948 the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Among them was a
complete scroll of the Book of Isaiah, 1000 years older than any previous Old
Testament manuscript. Dr. Clifford Wilson, one time Director of the Australian
Institute of Archaeology, states, The fact of no break between chapters 39 and
40 is not conclusive to single authorship
but it certainly did not bolster
the argument as to dual authorship! (p. 157)
.
The Argument from Context !
The very context of this
prophecy is of vital importance. A constant theme runs through chapters 40 to
48. And it is this
the God of Israel is the only God! Moreover, the
so-called gods of the heathen are dead, dumb idols.
And the proof that our God
is the true God, says the prophet, is the fact that He can foretell future
events !
Isaiah 41:21-23
21 Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth
your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
22 Let them bring them ( the idols of so-called
gods) forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things,
what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or
declare us things for to come. 23 Shew the things
that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods:
In the appendix references are given throughout these chapters where the God of
Israel, through His servant Isaiah, flings out His challenge to the gods of the
heathen. Let them predict future
events if they can.
If this is the writing of
a so-called Deutro-Isaiah who is not making an inspired prophecy but
simply guessing the outcome of the Persian siege
it is all a blatant lie.
The writer of these chapters
, 40 to 48, is telling us that our God
knows the end from the beginning. He is telling us that God knew
150 years
before it took place !
that a man named Cyrus would deliver the Jews from
their captivity in Babylon. But the
critics deny this and in so doing attack the inspiration of Scripture and the
omniscience of God.
.
The Argument from the New
Testament.
For the Christian, the
supreme argument that the same Isaiah wrote the whole book which bears his name ( and not two or three
different Isaiahs scattered over the
centuries !) we turn to the testimony of
the New Testament. In John 12
the apostle quotes Isaiah
53 ( which the critics claim is the
work of Deutro-Isaiah ) and then he adds
Isaiah said again ( John 12: 39)
and he quotes Isaiah 6. But the critics say this was written by the first Isaiah. John says the same Isaiah wrote both chapter 6 and 53!
There are some good
Bible-believing Christians who say, It doesnt matter whether there was one
Isaiah or half a dozen. But if Isaiah did not write the whole book that bears
his name, it is surely an attack on the inspiration of the New Testament. If
John is wrong when he says the same Isaiah wrote both chapters 6 and 53
why
trust him when he speaks of other matters? Was he inspired
or mistaken? Is
his Gospel reliable
or not ?
There is no good reason to
doubt that Isaiah preached and wrote the first 39 chapters of his book as a
young man and the closing chapters , from 40 onward, would have been written in
his old age.
..
HOMEWARD BOUND !
So many of the Jews packed their bags , some 50,000 of
them, and began the long journey back to the land they loved. There they would
face opposition and discouragement.
But the Temple would be
built. The nation would re-established. And they would look forward to the
coming of their Messiah.
Some Christians have noted an interesting parallel between the
career of Cyrus and the One who came claiming to be the Messiah
Jesus of
Nazareth. ( John 4: 25-26)
* His Coming. The coming of Cyrus was foretold by the
prophet Isaiah a century before his
birth.
Likewise, the same prophet
foretold the coming of the Messiah
and how he would be born of a virgin.
(Isaiah 7:14)
* His Titles
Note the two titles given to Cyrus in Isaiah 44:28 he is My shepherd and Isaiah 45:1 He is My anointed.
Shepherd, of course, is one
of the titles Jesus took upon Himself.
I am the Good Shepherd, he said. ( John 10:11,14)
Even more interesting is the
title , Anointed. For this is the Hebrew word, Messiah ! ( From the Greek language of the New Testament it
is translated Christ. ) The Anointed One ! In the Old Testament priests and
Kings were anointed with oil when set apart for their chosen task.
In the New Testament the
Messiah ( or Christ) was set apart by God to be the King and Priest in one
person. And Jesus of Nazareth claimed
to be the Messiah. Christians
believe he was.
* His Childhood. Whilst one cannot be sure of the historical
accuracy of Herodotus at this point , he does say the the infant Cyrus was under sentence of death by the king and that
he was subsequently raised as a shepherd. The New Testament speaks of Herod the
Great seeking the death of the infant, Jesus.
* His Character Against Cyrus, wrote the Reverend Arthur
Carr,no word of reproach is placed on record in any writing sacred or
profane.( p.xi) He Xenophon, the
Greek historian who wrote the Cyropaedia as saying that Cyrus had a beautiful
boyhood marked by unselfishness and a hearty desire to please others
a winning
influence and love at every stage of his career. (p. 22)
Wellard claims that Cyrus
was one of the most attractive figures in the ancient orient. ( p.295)
One is reminded of the
question asked by Jesus as He clashed with the religious authorities of His day
, which of you convinceth ( accuses ) Me of sin? ( John 8:46 )
He was the sinless One. (1 Peter 2:22)
* His Mission Cyrus was raised up to set His people
free from bondage in Babylon.
And the New Testament makes
it abundantly clear that the Lord Jesus came to set His people free from
spiritual bondage
the bondage of sin.
By His death on the cross He made it possible for sinful man to be
reconciled to their God.
* His Victory. Cyrus conquered Babylon ! And by His death
and subsequent resurrection the Lord Jesus became the mighty conqueror over sin
and death. Even Satan is already a
conquered foe although his final defeat awaits the Last Day.
* His Decree Cyrus issued a decree permitting the Jews
to return to Jerusalem. And some 50 000
made that long journey to the promised
land led by a descendant of King David. About two million opted to remain in
the new-born Persian empire.
The Lord Jesus, Davids
Greater Son, has issued a decree, so to speak , offering to lead those who
yield to Him as Saviour and Lord, to the Heavenly Jerusalem.
But, alas, there are many who refuse to follow Him, even today.
* His Tomb. The tomb of Cyrus may still be seen. It is
empty now. Grave robbers have stripped it of its contents.
And I am reminded that the
tomb where Jesus of Nazareth was laid is also empty. On the Third day He arose,
appeared to disciples and friends, ascended into Heaven and has promised, one
Day, to come again.
TOMB OF CYRUS
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APPENDIX
Nine chapters are devoted to
this one major theme , that our God knows what the future holds !
And the challenge to the
idol worshippers is for them to predict future events
so it may be proven
that their gods are real.
Isaiah 40:18-20,28.
18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness
will ye compare unto him?
19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the
goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no
oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning
workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the
everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not,
neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
.
Isaiah 42:8-9
8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will
I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and
new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.
..
Isaiah 43: 9-12
9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let
the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former
things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or
let them hear, and say, It is truth.
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my
servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand
that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after
me.
11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is
no saviour.
Isaiah 44:6-8
6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his
redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me
there is no God.
7 And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it,
and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the
things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.
8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told
thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a
God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.
9 They that make a graven image are all of them
vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own
witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.
10 Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image
that is profitable for nothing?
.
Isaiah 45: 20-22
20 Assemble
yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations:
they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray
unto a god that cannot save.
21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take
counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it
from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just
God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of
the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.
Isaiah 46:6-10
6 They lavish gold out of the bag, and weigh silver
in the balance, and hire a goldsmith; and he maketh it a god: they fall down,
yea, they worship.
7 They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him,
and set him in his place, and he standeth; from his place shall he not remove:
yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer, nor save him out of his
trouble.
8 Remember this, and shew yourselves men: bring it
again to mind, O ye transgressors.
9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God,
and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from
ancient times the things that are not yet done,
Isaiah 48: 3-5
3 I have declared the former things from the
beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them
suddenly, and they came to pass.
4 Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy
neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;
5 I have even from the beginning declared it to
thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine
idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded
them.
..
If there is one lesson that
comes out of all these chapters , it is this.:- The one true God can predict
the future. And in the midst of these nine chapters He does just that. He tells
us that Cyrus will conquer Babylon and set the captives free.
Isaiah 44: 24-28.
24 Thus saith the LORD,
26 That
confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers;
that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah,
Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
27 That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry
up thy rivers:
28 That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and
shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built;
and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
If Isaiah did not write this
but some unknown Jew 150 years later is the author, then it is no inspired
prophecy and the whole nine chapters are a lie.
D.P.