Cyrus the Great

"I am the Lord.... who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem, 'She shall be built,' and of 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.

Isaiah 44:24,28-45:1

I love to study history. The stories of what has happened in the past intrigue me. While history never repeats itself, there are patterns and trends that tell us much about ourselves. At first glance, Cyrus the Great, an ancient king of Persia, would seem to be a boring name from the past. But, if you have been following the events in Iran (historic Persia), you already know that this king, dead for 2,500 hundred years has been in the news of late.

Isaiah's language is outstanding. God specifically named Cyrus, calling him His shepherd and anointed, indicating the Lord handpicked Cyrus to become a world ruler who would allow the Jewish people in captivity to return to their land and rebuild their holy city --Jerusalem--and their Temple.

God's promise from the past became fact as world history unfolded. The prophet Ezra recorded Cyrus's proclamation, made in 538 B.C.in his book in chapter 1: 1-3:

1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 2 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel--he is the God who is in Jerusalem;

Today Iran's Muslim ayatollahs under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are not happy with the history of King Cyrus. In an attempt to expunge him from the annals of Persian history because of his association with the God of Israel and his decree authorizing the Jewish people to return to their land, they want to submerge his tomb via a dam now under construction. At the moment, the tomb remains largely intact in the archaeological ruin of Pasargad. For a picture of the tomb and more history see here.

World history become a lot more interesting from the perspective that the God of the universe is still in charge of it! If these prophecies were fulfilled it gives a person of faith hope that the final outcome is still under the Lord's design.