Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

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Ezra 1

• Cyrus as a type of Jesus.
• The release of captives as a pattern of believers being released from the captivity of sin.
• The answers were hidden in the darkness until the Light of God revealed them:
  • Isaiah 45:3
  • 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.
• The secrets of God are hidden from men until the Light of God reveals them.
• See Ezra Chapter 1 [Historical]
• See Ezra Chapter 1 [Prophetic]

End of the Babylonian Captivity

Ezra 1:1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) 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, saying,

• Note: Cyrus is a type of Jesus as the Son in the Godhead:
  
  • The meaning of Cyrus’ name:
    kôreš: ie the sun: meaning “possess thou the furnace”
    
  • Likewise, God is compared to the Sun:
    • Psalm 84:11
      For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
  • … And the possessor of the furnace:
    • Genesis 15:12
      Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.
    • Genesis 15:17
      And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.

Ezra 1:² Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God (Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm) of heaven has given me (Cyrus).

• Daniel 7:14
  Then to Him (Jesus) was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.
• Psalm 2:⁷ “I will declare the decree:
  The Lord has said to Me,
  ‘You are My Son,
  Today I have begotten You (delivered from the mother’s womb -born- and/or delivered from the grave – resurrected).
  ⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You
  The nations for Your inheritance,
  And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

And He has commanded me to build Him a house (Temple) at Jerusalem which is in Judah (in Isaiah 44:28).

• Isaiah 44:28
  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.” ’

Ezra 1:³ Who is among you of all His people? May his God (‘ĕlōhîm) be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God (Yᵊhōvâ ‘ĕlōhîm) of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem.

• Cyrus enables the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple. The New Jerusalem and temple are built by Jesus:
  
• Revelation 21:22
  The Glory of the New Jerusalem
  But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

• Another comparison can be made by the words of Jesus:
  
• John 2:19
  Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
  • We know Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled this prophecy. Jesus was crucified/destroyed, and was resurrected three days later.
    
  • However; there may be a second hidden treasure.
    The new Jerusalem appears to occur towards the end of the millennium in scripture.
    Jesus was crucified 31 AD, and, if one day is a thousand years, then the new Jerusalem with Jesus as the temple may possibly occur around 3,031 AD (three days), with the millennium beginning in 2,031? An interesting speculation. If so, could the tribulation begin in 2024? Only the future holds the answer.

Ezra 1:⁴ And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God (‘ĕlōhîm) which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 1:⁵ Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God (‘ĕlōhîm) had moved (stirred up), arose to go up and build the house of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ) which is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 1:⁶ And all those who were around them encouraged them (Lit. strengthened their hands) with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered.

Ezra 1:⁷ King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the house of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ), which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple (Lit. house) of his gods;

Ezra 1:⁸ and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.

Ezra 1:⁹ This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives,

Ezra 1:¹⁰ thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind, and one thousand other articles.

Ezra 1:¹¹ All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem.

• Some day in the future, Jesus will take His believers from the idolatry of Babylon (this world) to Jerusalem (the promised land, ie: heaven).

30 Gold Platters

1,000 Silver Platters

29 knives

30 gold basins

410 silver basins

1,000 other articles

TOTAL 5,400 articles of gold and silver

• Daniel 5:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. ² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, (PLUS) his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.