QUESTION
My question pertains to when the covenant started, according to Scripture, which verses do you believe are those spoken of in Daniel 9:25 (“from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” and “the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times”) – Ezra1 and Nehemiah 2?
RESPONSE
Based upon the conclusion to II Chronicles 36 and the same wording being used by God for the beginning of Ezra 1, it is evident to me that the record of Ezra 1 is the record of the fulfillment of what God had told Daniel would occur. Along with this it is also the record of the fulfillment of what God had even earlier on said to Israel through Isaiah and Jeremiah about the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple, which would take place after both had been destroyed in the first installment to the Fifth Course of Punishment. In fact, through Isaiah (and therefore long before Cyrus was even born), God had mentioned Cyrus by name as the one through whom He would give the order for the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem. (Isaiah 44-45).
Hence since both II Chronicles 36:23ff and Ezra 1:1-4 specifically mention what God spoke by “the mouth of Jeremiah,” to me this all the more identifies the record of Ezra 1 as the record of the fulfillment of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem.
Keith Blades
Enjoy the Bible Ministries
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