Information Related to "God, Science and the Bible (3/08)"
| Audio/Video |
Tomb of biblical King Cyrus may be lost forever
The sixth-century-B.C. Persian emperor Cyrus II, known to history as Cyrus the Great, is one of the most intriguing figures mentioned in the Bible. Recognized as a remarkably enlightened ruler for his era, he also played a key role in the fulfillment of a major Bible prophecy.
His story begins about a century before his birth when God inspired the prophet Isaiah to write: "Thus says the Lord . . . , who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."'
"Thus says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut . . . I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the Lord, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel" (Isaiah 44:24,28; 45:1-3, emphasis added).
The kingdom of Judah fell to Babylonian invaders about a century later, in 586 B.C. Jerusalem was razed to the ground; its walls and its magnificent temple, constructed by King Solomon, were utterly demolished. Most of the citizens of Jerusalem and Judah were taken captive to Babylon. Yet God did not forget His promise to eventually bring His people back to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 29:10-14).
Ironically, just about the time Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians, Cyrus was born to parents who were members of the royal families of the Medes and Persians. In 558 B.C. he became a Persian king, and by 548 he ruled all of Persia and Media.
In 539 B.C. Cyrus conquered Babylon. In doing so, he fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy that God would "open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut." This was a remarkably accurate reference to the way Cyrus was able to overthrow the seemingly impregnable city of Babylon.
The Euphrates River flowed into Babylon through massive gates. Cyrus had his troops divert the river by removing ancient dikes that kept it in its course (referred to in Isaiah 44:27). He also managed to get a spy into the city, who had the inner gates along the river unlocked. Then, under cover of darkness, the king's forces waded into the city under the gates though the now-drained riverbed. Before sunrise, the great city of Babylon was conquered-and all according to prophecy.
Cyrus incorporated Babylon into his growing empire. In a time when conquerors were routinely merciless with their captives, Cyrus, in contrast, was known as a benevolent ruler who offered considerable freedom to the peoples previously conquered by the Babylonians.
Ezra 1 records the decree issued by Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple. This set the stage for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple foretold by Isaiah about a century and a half earlier, long before they had even been attacked and destroyed. The entire story is described in the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Sadly, the foresight and tolerance shown by Cyrus hasn't extended to the successors of his kingdom, the rulers of modern-day Iran. Reports out of Iran have accused the ruling religious authorities of embarking on a campaign to sever the Iranian people from their pre-Islamic past, similar to the campaign waged by the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
The sites of Persepolis, ancient capital of the Persian Empire, and Pasargad, location of the tomb of Cyrus, are soon to be submerged behind a new dam. Whether or not this is a deliberate attempt to eradicate evidence of the past, it will certainly serve that end-and the ruling religious authorities seem all too content to stand by as these priceless sites disappear forever.
Although little is left of the city of Pasargad, Cyrus' tomb is largely intact and has been partially restored in previous years. A group of Iranian scholars has founded the Pasargad Heritage Foundation to draw attention to the issue and seek United Nations protection for the site.
Nehemiah's Wall Discovered?
"So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God," wrote Nehemiah, a fifth-century-B.C. governor of Judea, as recorded in Nehemiah 6:15-16.
Until now, few remains from Nehemiah's time in Jerusalem (444-432 B.C.) have been uncovered. But now, Eilat Mazar, a Hebrew University archaeologist digging in the city, believes she has identified remnants of that famous wall that protected Jerusalem after the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity.
While the wall had been uncovered earlier, archaeologists had assumed it dated to the Hasmonean Period (141-37 B.C.), well after Nehemiah's time. But in stabilizing a tower that was part of the wall to prevent its collapse, excavators found immediately under it pottery and arrowheads dating to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and pottery and a seal impression dating to the Persian Period (6th to 5th centuries B.C.).
No later remains were found, which indicates that the tower and wall dated to the time of Nehemiah's building of defensive walls around the city as described in the biblical book that bears his name. Judah at that time was a province of the Persian Empire, which is why archaeological remains from this time are referred to as being from the Persian Period.
"This find opens a new chapter in the history of Jerusalem," Dr. Mazar said. "Until now, we have never had such an archaeological wealth of finds from Nehemiah's period" ("Nehemiah's Wall Uncovered," The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 28, 2007).
The Bible records that Nehemiah, cupbearer to the Persian king Artaxerxes, received permission from the king to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by the Babylonians a century and a half earlier. He also repopulated Jerusalem and restored it as the capital of Judea. It was a bustling city by the time Jesus Christ arrived some four centuries later.
The tower in question lies at the back of the walls of a large stone structure that Dr. Mazar unearthed in 2005 and tentatively identified as the palace of King David (see "" The Good News, September-October 2005). This indicates that the structure must have been built first and supports her claim that the site was King David's palace. While conclusions are still preliminary, these finds appear to further strengthen the historical accuracy of the biblical accounts.
| © 1995-2022 United
Church of God, an International Association Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@gnmagazine.org. Send inquiries regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster@gnmagazine.org. |
|
Related Information:
Table of Contents that includes "God, Science and the Bible (3/08)"
Other Articles by Mario Seiglie
Other Articles by Tom Robinson
Other Articles by Scott Ashley
Origin of article "God, Science and the Bible (3/08)"
Keywords: King Cyrus Nehemiah's wall
Archaeology: