Cyrus
A Pagan King who was a Friend of Yahweh
Of Course, Hebrew names often have a deep prophetic meanings and calling integrated into their name.
But what about Gentile Names? Can God reach those who were not raised on the Torah (Hebrew Scriptures)?
You are about to discover the miraculous call of a gentile king … his name is Cyrus.
God, YHWH, tells us about history
Long before it happens
Check this out: 
This all happened exactly as God said it would … (remember, Isaiah wrote his prophecy between 200 and 300 years before it happened).
I promise you, the more you look into this subject, the more you will be amazed, the greater your understanding will grow, and the greater your respect for the God of all creation will become.
I believe you will come to understand, that he is the only true and Supreme Ruler over all of the nations of the Earth. It is by grace that you will receive this understanding not by any clever speaking or teaching of men.
You simply cannot lose by investing a little bit of time by digging into the Word of God for your own benefit, for your own salvation, and for the salvation of your family, community, and nation.
God will richly reward those who diligently seek him. That is the promise from heaven. But of course those who seek him must believe him, and will obey him, knowing that he is a rewarder of those who will diligently seek him.
Every Journey begins with a first step
Just like this One
If you do not believe in him now, begin your journey here: Learn to seek the name of God, and let him uncover the power of his name and the revelation of his being to you personally. You can simply begin by reading this word, the prophetic utterance of Isaiah the prophet (below). Check out its validity–using your due diligence, common sense, and personal integrity. [Pay special attention to who, what, when, where, how and why? Ask these questions diligently of the scriptures you are reading and you will harvest a host of answers and understanding.]
That would be called inductive Bible Study: Simply put, Inductive Study helps you ask appropriate questions of the Text, and then gain your answers directly from the Text. It is a simple, yet powerful way to allow the Word of God to speak to your directly, and you can be sure of your answers, because you are not shading them, but allowing them to come to your squarely from the Biblical Text itself. Of course the method is only as good as the person using it, but it becomes much harder to deceive yourself, or create a heresy, when you depend on Text for your understanding. For more information of Inductive Study: Go Here.
This is one of the boldest prophecies ever given, and remember, false prophecy, earned the death penalty. So a true prophet needed to be absolutely sure that His Word was coming from God himself and not some vain imagination.
The other hazard of being a prophet of Yahweh, is that many rulers hated Yahweh and wanted him out of their lives, and they regularly killed the Prophets who warned the kings and the people to turn back to Yahweh, and “to get rid of all your idols!” Idol worshipers hated to hear these words.
Isaiah died by being sawn in two pieces, by Manasseh, a king of Judah who worshipped idols. You can read about Manasseh’s life here: 2 Chronicles 33:1-20 (KJV) 1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: 2 But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
Manasseh had his children pass through the fire (burned alive) in the worship of Chemosh, and filled Jerusalem with murder, idolatry, witchcraft, sorcery, immorality, and the murder of much innocent blood. Apparently, Manasseh didn’t like having his life in infringed upon by the intolerant views of Isaiah’s God, and didn’t appreciate being reminded of his duty to follow the laws of God. Isaiah’s reward for proclaiming the word of the LORD to Mannesseh was to be put into a hollow tree trunk and then sawn in two. And they say the Bible is such a boring book. But that’s a whole ‘nother story. (for Isaiah’s death: ref. Hebrews 11:37, and Jewish Tradition.)
While reading the prophecy below make a note of: Who is Cyrus? What does he do? When does He do it? (When did God tell him he would do it?) How he does it? Why did he do it? And what were the final outcomes?
You will find that Cyrus was called by God to do God’s Work, that God had prepared for Cyrus to do His Work long before Cyrus ever met God, or even heard of this prophecy that was given about him–200 years before Cyrus was born. How would you have responded in the same situation?
Yahweh read Cyrus’s mail and sent him a letter through Prophet Isaiah, declaring the most significant Life events the Cyrus would do, beginning with the Capture of Babylon in one night.
Isaiah 44:24 – 45:25 (NIV)
24 “This is what the LORD says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the LORD, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself, 25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who overthrows the learning of the wise and turns it into nonsense, 26 who carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘It shall be inhabited,’ of the towns of Judah, ‘They shall be rebuilt,’ and of their ruins, ‘I will restore them,’ 27 who says to the watery deep, ‘Be dry, and I will dry up your streams,’ 28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ 1 “This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of:
1) to subdue nations before him and
2) to strip kings of their armor,
3) to open doors before him
4) so that gates will not be shut:
2 I will go before you and will:
1) level the mountains;
2) I will break down gates of bronze
3) and cut through bars of iron.
4) I will give you hidden treasures,
–riches stored in secret places,
5) so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
4 For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me. 5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, 6 so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no other.
7 I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the LORD, do all these things. 8 “You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness flourish with it; I, the LORD, have created it. 9 “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’? 10 Woe to the one who says to a father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to a mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’ 11 “This is what the LORD says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 It is I who made the earth and created mankind on it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts.
13 I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the LORD Almighty.” 14 This is what the LORD says: “The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and those tall Sabeans — they will come over to you and will be yours; they will trudge behind you, coming over to you in chains. They will bow down before you and plead with you, saying, ‘Surely God is with you, and there is no other; there is no other god. ’” 15 Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel. 16 All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together. 17 But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting.
18 For this is what the LORD says— he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited — he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.
19 I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob’s descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’
I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right.
20 “Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. 21 Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
24 They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone are deliverance and strength. ’”
All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 25 But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the LORD and will make their boast in him …
After Cyrus Conquered Babylon
Cyrus Set the Captives Free
And He financed the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Cyrus provided God and Silver, Wood and Stone,
He sent all the Articles Stolen from the Temple of God, and returned them to Jerusalem.
Why study about Cyrus?
When you personally study into who Cyrus is, and how Cyrus accomplished capturing the most Powerful Nation on Earth in One Night, during the time of Daniel, you will be utterly amazed and your respect and regard with grow just as it did for Cyrus, I promise you, if you just apply yourself to learning God’s Testimony here…
Can you imagine the USA being conquered and captured in one night by a foreign enemy?
You can read about that single night, by reading Daniel chapter 5. That will explain what is happening in the kingdom of Babylon at the Royal feast, at at the same time that Cyrus and his armies are outside the city gates.
That night could go down in history as being the greatest military conquest in the history of the world.
All good things come to him who is diligent to search them out.
Want to Learn more about Cyrus?
https://www.gotquestions.org/Medo-Persian-empire.html
“Cyrus” (a Word Study)
Occurs 23 times in 19 verses in the KJV.
Take the Time to do your own Study.
Discover the God who Chose Cyrus to Do His Will.
And he did it Just Like God said he would.
To be perfectly Honest, the Isaiah 45 prophecy, ties into a number of other monumental world class events that reset all of history in motion, and it would take a study of Jeremiah (the 70 years prophecy), Daniel (the Hand writing on the Wall, the 70 Weeks Prophecy), Ezekiel (who was a prophet with Daniel in Babylon), Esther (during that near time frame), Ezra (who executed Cyrus’s commands to rebuild Jerusalem), Nehemiah (who stepped in because there was trouble in Jerusalem), and the other two prophets that prophesied while Temple building was being hindered Zechariah & Haggai, and there were other close contemporaries. Malachi, Zephaniah, 2 Chronicles. The Torah, played a big part of All the fulfillment of the Blessings, the Curses, and the Restoration promised, after the Jewish people were disciplined in Babylon. And never again did the Jewish nation participate in Idol worship as a nation. and more to put the whole of the Big Picture together.
3x in Isaiah 44 & 45 (Written close to 200 years before Cyrus was born).
2x in 2 Chronicles. (A History of the Israelites in the during the Kings of Israel and Judah)
3x in Daniel. (Daniel knew and work with Cyrus Personally.)
15x in Ezra. (Ezra was sponsored/appointed by Cyrus to Go and Rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem.)
Here is Cyrus’ Decree:
Cyrus Permits Return
(Ezr 1:1–4 , 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 : it is repeated in both places almost word for word)
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.”
Word Study on “Cyrus”
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Also Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the house of the LORD, which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and had put them in the house of his gods;
Even those did Cyrus king of Persia bring forth by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, and numbered them unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.
They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God.
And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one, whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor;
Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.
In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits;
And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And 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.
That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.
So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
Next Study: The Name of God (4) Jeremiah