Psalm 119:9-16
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against thee.
Blessed art thou, O Lord:
teach me thy statutes.
With my lips have I declared
all the judgments of thy mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies,
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate in thy precepts,
and have respect unto thy ways.
I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
The word of the Lord is truth; Jn 17:17. It is a light for my path, Ps 119:105. It is righteous and true and by it all things were made, Psalm 33:4-6. It is in the mouth of his prophets, (first verse of most books).
It is the word which we preach;
1 Pet 1:25
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The word of the Lord manifests itself as the law of the Lord and many similar things are said of it. Contained in his word are his commandments, they have not changed.
Jesus said: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." Jn 15:10-11
This echoes the Father in Ex 20:6; Lev 26:3; Dt 5:10, 29; 1 Kings 3:14.
We have been given the Word of the Lord as a written testament as well as a sacrifice for all men, for Jesus was the Word, he was in the beginning and every things was made by him, (Jn 1:1; Jn 1:1) this word of salvation is sent to give life, to place the written word not only in front of our eyes, but in our hearts.
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." Heb 8:10-11
Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Be blessed and keep his commandments!
Jn 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Open the eyes!
...the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Acts 26:17b-18
This is Jesus' declaration to Paul of what he was called to do. He was sent to the Gentiles with specific tasks:
To open their eyes...
Eph 3:8-9
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
To turn them from darkness to light...
1 Pet 2:8
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
And from the power of Satan to God...
1 Jn 3:8
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Col 1:13
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
That they may receive forgiveness of sins...
Col 1:14
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Eph 1:7
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
And inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Jesus...
Acts 20:32
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Eph 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Acts 26:22-23
Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
This is Jesus' declaration to Paul of what he was called to do. He was sent to the Gentiles with specific tasks:
To open their eyes...
Eph 3:8-9
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
To turn them from darkness to light...
1 Pet 2:8
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
And from the power of Satan to God...
1 Jn 3:8
He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Col 1:13
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
That they may receive forgiveness of sins...
Col 1:14
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Eph 1:7
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
And inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in Jesus...
Acts 20:32
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Eph 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Acts 26:22-23
Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Chronology Part II the 70 weeks in Daniel
"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" Daniel 9:25-27
This passage is also mentioned by Jesus in Mark 13:14 "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee..." thus marking this as a key passage in our understanding of the end times. We are not concerned with the final week here, its time is to be yet fulfilled, but with the first 7 and 62 weeks which have historically happened.
The beginning of this time is the command to restore and to build Jerusalem, fulfilled in Cyrus' command after he became ruler of Babylon. This year we showed in part I is 539BC.
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" Ezra 1:1-2
What follows has been confused in many ways, trying to fit each piece of Persian/Median history, statements from Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah as well as the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, together has left some wondering how these disparate witnesses can be reconciled. Some confusion occurs because of the kingly names being reused, particularly Darius and Artaxerxes.
We will begin with the kings of the Achaemenid line in Persia: These dates are generally accepted throughout the academic community, and unlike many Egyptian dates are felt to be certain.
Cyrus 559-530 BC; Contemporary with Darius the Mede, Dan 5:30; Dan 9; Dan 10:1at this time
Cambyses 530-522 BC
Darius I 522-486 BC
Xerxes 486-465 BC (Ahasuerus)
Artaxerxes 465-424 BC
Darius II 424-405 BC
Artaxerxes II 404-358 BC
Artaxerxes III 358-338 BC
Arses 338-336 BC
Darius codomannus 336-332 BC (defeated by Alexander the Great)
When we read in Ezra about the trouble caused by the people of the land we see the same order of the first five kings,
"Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote..." Ezra 4:4-7
We know that the name Ahasuerus is often associated with the name Xerxes, and if Cambyses is covered in the term from Cyrus to Darius than all of the first five kings are covered in this section. At the end of chapter 4, Artaxerxes writes back to cease the restoration and verse 24 tells us this ceased unto the second year of Darius, obviously speaking of Darius II. His second year would be 422 BC, 117 years from the 539 BC command from Cyrus to rebuild.
In Ezra 5:1 we hear the call begin, "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied..." It is at this time that we enter the time of these prophets, Nehemiah and Joshua son of Jozedek.
So looking back at the prophecy of Daniel we see 7 weeks, 62 weeks, troublous times, and a final week determined upon Israel. If we split this up we get a 49 year period, a 434 year period and what would seem to be a third period which I believe is clearly in-between the first two.
The first 7 weeks, or 49 years is from 539 BC to 490 BC. This extends from the command to restore Jerusalem by Cyrus into most of the reign of Darius I, matching with the Cyrus to Darius in Ezra 4 noted above.
Next we want to determine when the 62 weeks, or 434 years, begins. We have an advantage in that we know when it ends; when Messiah is cut off. We know that Jesus was crucified in 30 AD. 434 years before this is 404 BC, exactly at the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes II.
If this is correct, than the interregnum covers from c490 to c404 BC, or 86 years, covering the reigns of Xerxes (Ahasuerus), Artaxerxes I and Darius II. These are the exact kings mentioned in Ezra as being involved in the letter writings back and forth when the enemies of Israel are determined to make the Jews stop their rebuilding projects. During the reign of Darius II, the Jews, with the help of Nehemiah and Haggai and Zechariah begin again to rebuild and eventually a search is made by Darius II to find the original decree of Cyrus. (Ezra 5:17-6:13)
Nehemiah 2:1 states that He left for Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, one we would take to be Artaxerxes I and therefore the year 445 BC. He continued for 12 years unto 433 BC Neh 5:14; 13:6) It is during this time that he begins to sanctify Israel to seek the Lord.
Haggai 1:1; Zech 1:1; are in the second year of Darius...; being Darius II, and nearing the end of the troublous times. Zech 7:1 is in the fourth year of Darius.
It is interesting to note that Zechariah mentions another period of 70 years in Zech 7:5, this is the 4th year of Darius being 420 BC, or 70 years after the date of 490 BC we get for the end of the first 7 weeks (49 years). He is speaking near the end of the interregnum, encouraging the people to seek the Lord and get on with the job (Also see Zech 1:12), but the beginning of this period is when the first work ceased. It is quite instructive to see that the people were near the end, they had come at the command of Cyrus, been encouraged by Nehemiah in the midst of the troublous times to rebuild the wall, had gotten Darius to find the decree of Cyrus and now years later were nearing the end of rebuilding the temple. This was not a light thing because it solidified the place of Israel as a nation again. Here we read the prophecies of Zechariah 7-14 and Malachi in the context of coming into the fulness of what God had planned for them and the ultimate judgment of God on them and all the nations round about. Malachi particularly echoes Zech 7:5. The people are losing heart, growing weary, but the prophets come to correct and to instruct that they might not weary even though it had been generations since the command to rebuild.
Finally the job is finished and the worship of God re-instituted:
"And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king" Ezra 6:14-15
This is 418 BC, the sixth year of Darius II.
"Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra..." Ezra 7:1 This would be Artaxerxes II. Here we have the beginning of the period of 62 weeks unto the Messiah. The wall is rebuilt, the temple in operation and the Jews dwelling again in their homeland.
What have we learned? The Bible speaks of many kings of the Persian empire and gets everyone in proper order and helps us to understand what is happening around the command of God. Not a single statement fails to fit exactly into this construct.
Below is a graphic representation of the timeline which incorporates all these things:
There is a problematic individual; Darius the Mede. He is mentioned as king of Babylon by Daniel when it is first conquered by the Medo-Persian empire, and he is the one who famously had Daniel thrown into a den of lions. I believe that he is the Median General who first took Babylon for Cyrus, and he only reigned for 1 year in Babylon before he died; this fits perfectly with the book of Daniel which mentions no further years of Kingship for him. The General is known as Agabu and is known to have lived only a short time after the conquering of Babylon, fitting with the only mention of him in Daniel. The following is a very good monograph on the subject which I recommend reading if you are interested in Darius the Mede. http://www.auss.info/auss_publication_file.php?pub_id=654
Some have said that Darius the Mede was Astyages the Father-in-law of Cyrus, I have not seen clear evidence for this in the contradictory accounts which exist, but either way, he was not Cyrus himself, but a king under the Great King, and as the Bible makes clear, a short-lived ruler of Babylon.
The next difficult persons are Mordecai, Esther and the Ahasuerus who marries Esther. (Ahasuerus is believed to be a title by some, but as a name it is linked to Xerxes, beginning his reign in 486 BC). According to the book of Esther, 2:5, Mordecai's Grandfather Kish went into captivity with Jeconiah (Jehoiachin). This is important, for the common idea that Mordecai went captive with Jehoiachin is untenable chronologically as he would be about 125 years old at this time. Mordecai appears in Shushan, a different city from Babylon, a city of the Medes and palace of Xerxes, remember that the Medes were allies of Babylon and must have shared in the captives taken from Jerusalem. In addition we know that Ahasuerus ruled from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces (Esther 1:1), an extent which did not happen until after Cyrus and a division which has not yet been identified. Therefore I conclude Esther is a wife of Xerxes. (Alternatively she could be a wife of his son Artaxerxes I)
"Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away" Esther 2:5-6
Lastly is Joiakim son of Joshua son of Josedech. Joshua is a key player throughout the interregnum period and his son Joiakim takes over from him according to Nehemiah 12:26. Joshua seems to be High Priest during much of this troublous times, and is mentioned in what appears to be early returnees with Zerubabel and appears up to 70 years later in Zechariah but passes the priesthood to his son Joiakim at what was likely a very old age.
So much more to say, the story is great, Covering over 200 years of time and more than anything else teaching us to trust in God. To hear the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah in the context of exactly what was occurring and the tremendous opposition that they faced speaks to faithfulness and determination to seek the kingdom of God (Here represented in the temple in Jerusalem) above your own life. They were fought against, in peril, and yet persevered to trust God to see it through.
This passage is also mentioned by Jesus in Mark 13:14 "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee..." thus marking this as a key passage in our understanding of the end times. We are not concerned with the final week here, its time is to be yet fulfilled, but with the first 7 and 62 weeks which have historically happened.
The beginning of this time is the command to restore and to build Jerusalem, fulfilled in Cyrus' command after he became ruler of Babylon. This year we showed in part I is 539BC.
"Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah" Ezra 1:1-2
What follows has been confused in many ways, trying to fit each piece of Persian/Median history, statements from Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah as well as the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, together has left some wondering how these disparate witnesses can be reconciled. Some confusion occurs because of the kingly names being reused, particularly Darius and Artaxerxes.
We will begin with the kings of the Achaemenid line in Persia: These dates are generally accepted throughout the academic community, and unlike many Egyptian dates are felt to be certain.
Cyrus 559-530 BC; Contemporary with Darius the Mede, Dan 5:30; Dan 9; Dan 10:1at this time
Cambyses 530-522 BC
Darius I 522-486 BC
Xerxes 486-465 BC (Ahasuerus)
Artaxerxes 465-424 BC
Darius II 424-405 BC
Artaxerxes II 404-358 BC
Artaxerxes III 358-338 BC
Arses 338-336 BC
Darius codomannus 336-332 BC (defeated by Alexander the Great)
When we read in Ezra about the trouble caused by the people of the land we see the same order of the first five kings,
"Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote..." Ezra 4:4-7
We know that the name Ahasuerus is often associated with the name Xerxes, and if Cambyses is covered in the term from Cyrus to Darius than all of the first five kings are covered in this section. At the end of chapter 4, Artaxerxes writes back to cease the restoration and verse 24 tells us this ceased unto the second year of Darius, obviously speaking of Darius II. His second year would be 422 BC, 117 years from the 539 BC command from Cyrus to rebuild.
In Ezra 5:1 we hear the call begin, "Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied..." It is at this time that we enter the time of these prophets, Nehemiah and Joshua son of Jozedek.
So looking back at the prophecy of Daniel we see 7 weeks, 62 weeks, troublous times, and a final week determined upon Israel. If we split this up we get a 49 year period, a 434 year period and what would seem to be a third period which I believe is clearly in-between the first two.
The first 7 weeks, or 49 years is from 539 BC to 490 BC. This extends from the command to restore Jerusalem by Cyrus into most of the reign of Darius I, matching with the Cyrus to Darius in Ezra 4 noted above.
Next we want to determine when the 62 weeks, or 434 years, begins. We have an advantage in that we know when it ends; when Messiah is cut off. We know that Jesus was crucified in 30 AD. 434 years before this is 404 BC, exactly at the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes II.
If this is correct, than the interregnum covers from c490 to c404 BC, or 86 years, covering the reigns of Xerxes (Ahasuerus), Artaxerxes I and Darius II. These are the exact kings mentioned in Ezra as being involved in the letter writings back and forth when the enemies of Israel are determined to make the Jews stop their rebuilding projects. During the reign of Darius II, the Jews, with the help of Nehemiah and Haggai and Zechariah begin again to rebuild and eventually a search is made by Darius II to find the original decree of Cyrus. (Ezra 5:17-6:13)
Nehemiah 2:1 states that He left for Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, one we would take to be Artaxerxes I and therefore the year 445 BC. He continued for 12 years unto 433 BC Neh 5:14; 13:6) It is during this time that he begins to sanctify Israel to seek the Lord.
Haggai 1:1; Zech 1:1; are in the second year of Darius...; being Darius II, and nearing the end of the troublous times. Zech 7:1 is in the fourth year of Darius.
It is interesting to note that Zechariah mentions another period of 70 years in Zech 7:5, this is the 4th year of Darius being 420 BC, or 70 years after the date of 490 BC we get for the end of the first 7 weeks (49 years). He is speaking near the end of the interregnum, encouraging the people to seek the Lord and get on with the job (Also see Zech 1:12), but the beginning of this period is when the first work ceased. It is quite instructive to see that the people were near the end, they had come at the command of Cyrus, been encouraged by Nehemiah in the midst of the troublous times to rebuild the wall, had gotten Darius to find the decree of Cyrus and now years later were nearing the end of rebuilding the temple. This was not a light thing because it solidified the place of Israel as a nation again. Here we read the prophecies of Zechariah 7-14 and Malachi in the context of coming into the fulness of what God had planned for them and the ultimate judgment of God on them and all the nations round about. Malachi particularly echoes Zech 7:5. The people are losing heart, growing weary, but the prophets come to correct and to instruct that they might not weary even though it had been generations since the command to rebuild.
Finally the job is finished and the worship of God re-instituted:
"And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king" Ezra 6:14-15
This is 418 BC, the sixth year of Darius II.
"Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra..." Ezra 7:1 This would be Artaxerxes II. Here we have the beginning of the period of 62 weeks unto the Messiah. The wall is rebuilt, the temple in operation and the Jews dwelling again in their homeland.
What have we learned? The Bible speaks of many kings of the Persian empire and gets everyone in proper order and helps us to understand what is happening around the command of God. Not a single statement fails to fit exactly into this construct.
Below is a graphic representation of the timeline which incorporates all these things:
|
Daniel’s 70 weeks |
Judah |
Egypt |
Babylon |
Media |
Persia |
70 weeks of Daniel |
Notes |
High Priest |
Greece |
|
? AD |
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Final Week |
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?????? |
1948 return |
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Church Age |
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30 AD |
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Messiah (Jesus) crucified |
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4 BC |
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404 BC-30 AD |
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100 BC |
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200 BC |
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300 BC |
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Ptolemy |
Seleucus |
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Cassander |
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310 BC |
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332 BC |
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Darius III (Artashatta/Codomannus) 336-332 BC |
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Battle of Guagamela 331 BC |
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Alexander conquers Persia 332 |
|
340 BC |
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Artaxerxes IV (Arses) 338-336 BC |
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350 BC |
|
reconquers Egypt 343 BC |
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Artaxerxes III (Ochus) 358 BC-338 BC |
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360 BC |
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Artaxerxes II |
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370 BC |
32nd year Neh 5:14; 13:6 |
|
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Artaxerxes II |
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380 BC |
20th yr of Artaxerxes Neh 2:1 |
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Artaxerxes II |
Walls rebuilt in troublous times |
|
The Levites in the days of Eliashib- to the reign of Darius the Persian |
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390 BC |
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Artaxerxes II |
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And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada (Neh 12:10) |
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400 BC |
|
Amyertaus |
Battle of Cunaxa 401 BC |
|
Artaxerxes II 404BC-358 BC |
62 weeks or 434 years |
Ezra 7:1; during the reign of Artaxerxes comes Ezra the priest 7th year of Artaxerxes |
Joiakim son of Joshua |
The 10,000 and Xenophon (Anabasis) |
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405 BC |
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Darius II |
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410 BC |
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Darius II |
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415 BC |
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Darius II |
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Finished Temple (House of God) in 6th year of Darius; Ezra 6:15 |
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420 BC |
Zech 1:1,7 2nd yr of Darius (Ezra 5:1); Haggai 1:1; 2:10 |
|
Zech 1:12 is KEY |
Edict of Cyrus rediscovered in Ecbatana of the Medes |
Darius II 424 BC-405 BC |
Ezra 6:15 6th year of Darius finished house |
Wall still broken down Neh 8 Ezra & Nehemiah (Zech 1:12 2nd year of Darius (Lo these 70 years; 490-420) Zech 7 4th year) Zech 7:5, Edict of Cyrus rediscovered; Ezra 5; Ezra 6&7 work continues |
Ezra 3:2 build the altar |
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425 BC |
Zerubabel |
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Artaxerxes |
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Joshua son of Jozadek |
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430 BC |
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Artaxerxes |
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Alternate Esther? (Josephus) |
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435 BC |
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Artaxerxes |
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440 BC |
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Artaxerxes |
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445 BC |
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Artaxerxes |
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450 BC |
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Artaxerxes |
? 86 yr interregnum |
KEY Ezra 4:24 work ceased unto 2nd year of Darius |
Ezra 7:1 7th year of Artaxerxes |
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455 BC |
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Artaxerxes (Longimannus) |
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Ezra 4:7 |
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460 BC |
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Inaros Revolts in Egypt |
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Artaxerxes 465 BC-424 BC |
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465 BC |
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Xerxes |
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470 BC |
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Xerxes |
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Esther; Ahasuerus over 127 provinces |
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475 BC |
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Xerxes |
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480 BC |
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Xerxes |
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Battles of Thermopylae, Salamis and Platea |
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485 BC |
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Xerxes 486 BC-465 BC |
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Ezra 4:6 Xerxes = Ahasueras |
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Daniel 11:2; stirs up Greece |
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490 BC |
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Darius I |
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Battle of Marathon vs Greece |
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495 BC |
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Darius I |
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500 BC |
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Darius I |
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505 BC |
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Darius I |
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510 BC |
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Darius I |
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founds Persepolis (Paarsa) |
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515 BC |
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Darius I |
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Darius conquers in civil war |
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520 BC |
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Darius I 522 BC-486 BC |
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Darius the usurper, called king of kings |
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525 BC |
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Cambyses |
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530 BC |
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Cambyses 530 BC-522 BC |
7 weeks or 49 years, 539-490 BC |
Opposition all the days of Cyrus until Darius and into the days of Ahasueras Ezra 4 |
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535 BC |
Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah |
Daniel 9; 1st year Darius the Mede |
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Darius the Mede rules Babylon short time to 538 |
Cyrus |
Daniel 9:25-27 |
Ezra 1:1 Cyrus’ command freeing Jews to return |
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539 BC |
Ezra 1:1 |
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Belteshazzar regent/Babylon |
Darius the Mede |
Cyrus (First year as king of Babylon) |
609 BC-539 BC |
Cyrus conq Babylon 539 BC |
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540 BC |
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545 BC |
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Nabonidus |
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Cyrus |
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550 BC |
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Nabonidus |
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Cyrus 550 BC-530 BC |
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Cyrus deposes Astyages 550 BC |
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555 BC |
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Nabonidus 555-539 BC (after 2 others) |
Astyages |
Achaemenids |
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Cyrus marries Astyages daughter |
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560 BC |
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Others |
Astyages |
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565 BC |
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Nebuchadnezzer 605-562 BC |
Astyages |
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570 BC |
Zedekiah 597-586 BC |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Astyages |
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70 years of Jeremiah 25 and 29 |
Israel served Babylon until released by Cyrus |
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575 BC |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Astyages |
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580 BC |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Astyages |
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585 BC |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Astyages 585-549 BC Median |
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590 BC |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Cyaxares |
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595 BC |
Jehoiachin |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Cyaxares |
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600 BC |
Jehoiakim |
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Nebuchadnezzer |
Cyaxares |
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Second captivity 2 Kings 24:1-10 598/7 BC 2Chr 36 Jer 52 Esther 2:1 |
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605 BC |
Jehoahaz |
Battle of Carchemish 605 BC |
Nebuchadnezzer 605-562 BC |
Cyaxares |
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First captivity 605 BC (Dan 1:1) Mordecai’ ancestor (Esther 2:6) captivity 597 with Jehoiachin |
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610 BC |
Josiah |
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Nabopolasser 626 BC-605 BC |
Cyaxares |
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609 BC-539 BC |
2 Kings 23:26-27 after Josiah Jehovah turns Judah over. Pharaoh Necho deposes Jehoahaz |
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625 BC |
Josiah 640-609 BC |
Pharaoh Necho |
Nabopolasser 626 BC-605 BC |
Cyaxares 624-585 BC Median |
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Isa 44:27-45:1 Isaiah prophecies of Cyrus |
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There is a problematic individual; Darius the Mede. He is mentioned as king of Babylon by Daniel when it is first conquered by the Medo-Persian empire, and he is the one who famously had Daniel thrown into a den of lions. I believe that he is the Median General who first took Babylon for Cyrus, and he only reigned for 1 year in Babylon before he died; this fits perfectly with the book of Daniel which mentions no further years of Kingship for him. The General is known as Agabu and is known to have lived only a short time after the conquering of Babylon, fitting with the only mention of him in Daniel. The following is a very good monograph on the subject which I recommend reading if you are interested in Darius the Mede. http://www.auss.info/auss_publication_file.php?pub_id=654
Some have said that Darius the Mede was Astyages the Father-in-law of Cyrus, I have not seen clear evidence for this in the contradictory accounts which exist, but either way, he was not Cyrus himself, but a king under the Great King, and as the Bible makes clear, a short-lived ruler of Babylon.
The next difficult persons are Mordecai, Esther and the Ahasuerus who marries Esther. (Ahasuerus is believed to be a title by some, but as a name it is linked to Xerxes, beginning his reign in 486 BC). According to the book of Esther, 2:5, Mordecai's Grandfather Kish went into captivity with Jeconiah (Jehoiachin). This is important, for the common idea that Mordecai went captive with Jehoiachin is untenable chronologically as he would be about 125 years old at this time. Mordecai appears in Shushan, a different city from Babylon, a city of the Medes and palace of Xerxes, remember that the Medes were allies of Babylon and must have shared in the captives taken from Jerusalem. In addition we know that Ahasuerus ruled from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces (Esther 1:1), an extent which did not happen until after Cyrus and a division which has not yet been identified. Therefore I conclude Esther is a wife of Xerxes. (Alternatively she could be a wife of his son Artaxerxes I)
"Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away" Esther 2:5-6
Lastly is Joiakim son of Joshua son of Josedech. Joshua is a key player throughout the interregnum period and his son Joiakim takes over from him according to Nehemiah 12:26. Joshua seems to be High Priest during much of this troublous times, and is mentioned in what appears to be early returnees with Zerubabel and appears up to 70 years later in Zechariah but passes the priesthood to his son Joiakim at what was likely a very old age.
So much more to say, the story is great, Covering over 200 years of time and more than anything else teaching us to trust in God. To hear the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah in the context of exactly what was occurring and the tremendous opposition that they faced speaks to faithfulness and determination to seek the kingdom of God (Here represented in the temple in Jerusalem) above your own life. They were fought against, in peril, and yet persevered to trust God to see it through.
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