Posted on 03/17/2016 8:52:48 PM PDT by 11th_VA
Ever since Donald Trump began to surge as a candidate last year, Christians have been pointing to the book of Isaiah and comparing Trump with the ancient Persian King Cyrus. Some have even claimed that God has revealed to them that He will use Trump for the good of America just as He used Cyrus for the good of the Jewish people, even though Cyrus was a "pagan" king.
Could this be true?
Let's first look at the biblical and ancient Near Eastern evidence.
Cyrus (whose name was pronounced "ko-resh" in Hebrew) became king of Persia in 559 B.C. and conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. He is mentioned in a majestic passage in Isaiah where the Lord says of Cyrus, "'He is My shepherd, and shall perform all My desire'; and he declares to Jerusalem, 'You shall be built,' and to the temple, 'Your foundation shall be laid'" (Is. 44:28).
In other words, Cyrus would be the one who would cause Jerusalem to be rebuilt after it had been destroyed decades earlier by the Babylonians.
But there's more that Isaiah says about Cyrus as the prophecy continues into chapter 45: "Thus says the Lord to Cyrus, His anointed, whose right hand I have held—to subdue nations before him and to loosen the loins of kings, to open doors before him so that the gates will not be shut: I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and shatter the bars of iron. And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places so that you may know that I, the Lord, who calls you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake and Israel My chosen one, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me'" (Is. 45:1-4).
Notice the beginning and the end of this passage. First, Cyrus, a non-Israelite king, is called God's anointed, a term elsewhere only used for Israelite leaders. Second, Cyrus, although called by the God of Israel, doesn't actually know the God of Israel. Instead, like the vast majority of people in the ancient world, he worshipped different deities in the form of idols.
In fulfillment of this prophecy, the Scriptures record how Cyrus made this decree to the Jewish people living in Babylon, where they had been taken in exile: "The LORD [meaning Yahweh] God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has commanded me to build for Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all His people, may the LORD [Yahweh] his God be with him. Let him go up" (2 Chr. 36:23).
So a pagan king encouraged the Jewish people to return to their homeland and rebuild their temple, also helping to finance the endeavor.
But Cyrus did not only do this for the people of Israel.
This became a standard Persian policy, allowing exiles to return to their homelands and rebuild their temples as subjects of the Persian empire.
We know this from the famous Cyrus Cylinder that was discovered in 1879. There, we read that Marduk, the chief god of the Babylonian pantheon and called "the king of the gods" in the text, "took the hand of Cyrus ... and called him by his name, proclaiming him aloud for the kingship over all of everything."
We also read in the text that Cyrus restored the various idol temples in his empire, which gives further confirmation to the biblical account.
So, here, it is Marduk who is given credit for the reign of Cyrus. In the Bible, it is Yahweh, the God of Israel and the only true God, who takes the credit. Obviously, Cyrus did not know Him, just as Isaiah said.
Could Donald Trump, then, be a modern-day Cyrus? Could it be that Trump, like Cyrus, clearly does not know the Lord in a real and personal way but could still be used by God to accomplish His purposes?
As the saying goes, let God be God, meaning, it's up to Him to do what He wants to do. Only He can answer this question for sure.
Or, from a more secular perspective, only time will tell.
What's clear, though, is that God did not raise up an idol-worshipping king to rule the nation of Israel. That would have been a curse rather than a blessing.
In contrast, Christians are talking about God raising up Trump to lead America, which would be very different than Cyrus being used to help the exiles return to Jerusalem and rebuild it.
That doesn't mean, of course, that Trump could not be a Cyrus-type of figure. It simply means that the parallel breaks down when applied.
But there's another possibility to consider.
There was another ancient king named Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian leader who, decades before Cyrus became king, led his armies to destroy Jerusalem, burn down the temple and send the Jewish people into exile in 586 B.C.
He too was an idol worshipper, yet shockingly, Yahweh called him "My servant," stating plainly, "I will send and take all the families of the north, says the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land [meaning Judah] and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations" (Jer. 25:9; see also 27:6; 43:10).
So Cyrus was anointed by God to restore the Jewish people from captivity and to rebuild Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar, as a vessel of divine judgment, was called by God to send the Jewish people into exile and to destroy Jerusalem.
Two pagan kings, one raised up to bring judgment and the other raised up to bring restoration.
Is Donald Trump a Cyrus or a Nebuchadnezzar, if either?
Let God be God, and only time will tell.
But while we wait and watch and vote and act, let's not forget to pray: God, have mercy on America!
The one thing of which we are sure is that this is a very critical season in the history of our nation.
Very clever, Mr. Rove. There goes the Greek vote.
CORRECTION: Is Donald Trump a Modern-Day Miley Cyrus ?
Lol
Only 8 posts.....my first thought too
Lightning bolt hit Trump Tower Chicago night he won Illinios Primary.
Home of Hillary and latest home of Barry H.O..
What that means, I don’t know... do you???
Wow, thanks! This article is appropriate for the Jewish holiday of Purim. I’m sharing it with the “tribe.”
What’s freaky to me — a year ago Trump was the last person on my mind. He was one of these larger-than-life figures, like Steve Jobs, influential, kooky, but kind of in the background. He had about as much relevance to my life as a tropical islander.
Suddenly, I can’t stop thinking about him. I never, ever imagined he would shake up the world this way. When he threw his hat into the ring I thought it was a joke that would pass away in a few days.
Little did anyone know.
I have been here since the blue dress. I have read and learned much here. There were times I was tempted to post but other Freepers posted my thoughts.
God, is first with me. I have prayed with the prayer threads. I have wept with those who died, especially Johnny and Congressman Billybob.
All that is neither here nor there. What I want to say that that the whole Trump/Cyrus is the first thing I thought of when I heard Trumps speech in AZ.
When I heard that speech, I laughed and laughed and laughed because God is Faithful.
It’s isn’t Cruz. He is a fake, a Bush. It’s Trump.
+ however many you need to know I agree with you. Thanks for being heard. I second Heaven Help Us’s Trump nomination if it hasn’t already happened.
As I see it, Trump is here FOR A PURPOSE, just as Cantor was defeated FOR A PURPOSE.
The purpose, in both cases, is to stop the uniparty from PERMANENTLY DESTROYING America by flooding it with Third World types, and thereby putting out the light of freedom in the world.
(yea, I know, Trump defended Planned Parenthood, but then so did Cyrus)
You have to admit, in the realm of hair, no one beats Trump.
God will NOT save this country until Mothers stop KILLING THEIR CHILDREN!!
I have been saying this here for a very long time.
Thank-you...Well said!
I won’t say he’s not a Christian, because only God knows....
....but he could be a very new convert.....and needs grace and nurturing.
Give him time....I do think God has his hand upon him, and who He calls, He equips.
And yes I pray diligently forhim and his family!
And yes I pray diligently for him and his family!
Well said, Guen.
Trump gives me hope that God is not finished with us yet, in spite of the blood of over 60 million children aborted in the last 43 years.
God smoked other lands for a lot less in history.
I know.......our American Holocaust
But God has mercy on whom He has mercy......Nineveh comes to mind
Thank you.
Yes—good example.
Ninevah repented, even the king did, when Jonah preached to them.
I always liked the last verse of Jonah(4:11):
11 Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?”
120,000 small children.
I sometimes wonder if God has a hand with Trump. All these negatives attack on Trump from ALL around the world. It feels so overwhelming sometimes, that so many ppl hate Trump. If the word of evil hate you, then you must be doing something right
It sure is a "flipped over story". How many oddities can fall upon one election cycle?
Nothing is by chance.
HamanObama has constructed quite the gallows for America. If he had any clue what he were doing, he sure wouldn't have done that.
He could have chosen to love America. What is wrong with people?
I've really gotta wonder if Donald Trump has any idea what he stepped into, or stepped up for.
Crazy times. Well whatever (whoever) works!
I was watching a Trump interview with O’reily for 2011 and Trump predicted Bin Ladin was in Pakistan and that Pakistan government knew this
Although Trump, unlike Cyrus, has indeed called Yaweh his God, has worshiped him. one may question the depth of his commitment or sincerity, but he has publicly acknowledged God and Jesus, and Jesus said that he who acknowledges Him in public will not be forgotten in private.
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