Date of the Commencement to Restore Jerusalem
There were several commands issued concerning the restoration of
Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity. Cyrus, and Darius, and
Artaxerxes Longimanus each issued such a decree. Which one answers to
the language of the prophecy as "the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem"?
[Illustration: THE JEWS MOURNING OVER THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM
"I went out by night,... and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were
broken down." Neh. 2:13.]
The decree of Artaxerxes was most comprehensive (Ezra 7), authorizing
the full restoration of the civil and religious administration of
Jerusalem and Judea. And Inspiration specifically sums up all the
decrees as completed only in that of Artaxerxes, which thus constituted
"the commandment:"
"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." Ezra 6:14.
[Illustration: REBUILDING JERUSALEM
"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.
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