| |
|
May 8 - Evening
"Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet,
a descendant of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel,
who was over them.
Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jozadak set to work to rebuild the house of God
in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were
with them, supporting them.
At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates,
and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked,
'Who authorized you to rebuild this temple
and to finish it?'
They also asked,
'What are the names of those who are
constructing this building?'
But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received."
- Ezra 5:1-5 |
 |
|
| 520 BC, Work on the Temple Resumes with the Prophecy of Haggai and Zechariah |
|
|
According to Ezra 4:1-5 and 4:24 the work on the Temple came to a stop when the Samaritans living to the north of Jerusalem use fear, intimidation, bribery and local politics to stop the work of building the Temple on the Temple Mount in 536 BC only a few months after the Jews arrival home and their building the altar and beginning to lay the foundation of the Temple on Mount Moriah. Ezra writes about this opposition from the Samaritans in 536 BC like this:
“Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia….Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius (520 BC) king of Persia.” (Ezra 4:1-5, 24)
But, in 520 BC, or, "the second year of the reign of Darius," two prophets arose and began to call and encourage the people to return to building the Temple sixteen years after construction had been stopped by the Samaritan's opposition.
First, on August 29, 520 the word of the Lord came to Haggai. The book of Haggai begins:
"In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest:
"This is what the Lord Almighty says:
'These people say, "The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house." ' "
Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: 'Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?' "
Then, about two months later in October of 520 BC the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, who then in a series of visions encourages the Jews to proceed into the future confident that God's favor had returned to them. (Zechariah 1)
| 536 |
- An angel comes to Daniel after he fasts for 3 weeks.
- Daniel receives his final revelation in Daniel 10, 11 and 12.
- Chapter 11 will cover the history from the time of Cyrus (536 BC) up through the Macabbean Revolt against Antiochus Epiphanies (168 BC). The prophecy then continues with the rise of the anti-Christ. (Dn.11:36)
- Zerubbabel goes to rebuild the temple.
- The altar is built (Sept/Oct) and the foundation for the temple is laid.
- Samaritans begin to oppose the Jew’s efforts to rebuild the temple.
(Ezra 4:1-5)
|
Daniel 10,11,12
Ezra 3
Zerubbabel
Altar Rebuilt
Ezra 4:1-5
Jews Opposed |
| 534 |
- Cyrus gives his son Cambyses the task of preparing for anexpedition against Egypt which will finally be unleashed in 525 BC.
|
Cambyses |
| 530 |
- At the New Years festival on March 26, Cyrus appoints his son, Cambyses, as his co-regent and successor. Cambyses is given title “King of Babylon” and Cyrus maintains the title “King of Kings.”
|
|
| 529 |
- Cyrus dies on the battle field versus nomadic barbarians.
- Cyrus is buried in Pasargadae one of the five capital cities.
(Babylon, Ecbatana, Persepolis, Pasargadae and Susa)
- Cyrus had built an enormous empire with roads, postal system and legal codes.
- Cambyses secures the throne by murdering his brother Smerdis.
|
|
| 525 |
- Cambyses totally defeats Egypt in the eastern delta of the
Nile and captures Memphis.
- Cambyses desires to capture the Oasis of Ammon further west in the desert and to march on to Carthage but his 50,000 troops perished in the desert and the Phoenician ships refused to land ships carrying Persian soldiers to attack the Phoenician colony of Carthage
|
Cambyses Defeats Egypt |
| 522 |
- Gaumata, a pseudo-Smerdis, claims the throne back in Babylo
- Cambyses disappears from history near Mount Carmel on his return to Babylon.
|
|
| 521 |
- Darius Hystaspes executes Gaumata and takes the throne of the Persian empire.
- Darius Hystaspes searches the royal archives in Babylon and finds that Cyrus had ordered the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Opposition stops.
- Within two years Darius Hystaspes stabilizes the empire
|
Darius Hystaspes |
| 520 |
- The two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, minister in Jerusalem.
- August 29, the word of the Lord comes to Haggai and the
book of Haggai begins.
- October 17, Haggai 2:1-9 the word of the Lord is a message
for Zerrubabel, the governor, Joshua, the high priest, and the
remnant of people.
- Oct/Nov Zechariah records his first message from the Lord in
Zechariah 1:1-6.
- Darius Hystaspes searches the royal archives in Babylon
and finds that Cyrus had ordered the rebuilding of the temple
in Jerusalem. Opposition stops.
- Rebuilding of the temple resumes after opposition had
stopped it 16 years earlier. (Ezra 5-6)
- December 18, 520 BC, Haggai prophecies blessings on the
remnant. (Hag. 2:10-23)
|
Haggai
Zechariah
Haggai 1:1-15
Haggai 2:1-9
Zechariah 1:1-6
Ezra 5-6
Haggai 2:10-23 |
|
|
 |
“What a pity that so hard on the heels of Christ come the Christians." - Annie Dillard
|
 |
When Persian King Artaxerxes sent his cup-bearer Nehemiah back to Jerusalem he gave him a set time to be gone. Artaxerxes provided Nehemiah with supplies, letters granting privileges and access to materials to build Jerusalem’s walls. Nehemiah was also given lumber to build himself a house. When Nehemiah left Susa he was given an armed escort with soldiers and chariots for the
1,000 mile trip. |
|
| |
 |
|
 |
Pleroo (Gr) – Fulfill (Eng) – the verb pleroo means to “fulfill” and “complete.”
Pleroo is used to refer to:
|
|
“The Bible is the only volume ever produced by man, or a group of men, in which is to be found a large body of prophecies relating to individual nations, to Israel, to all the peoples of the earth, to certain cities, and to the coming of One who was to be the Messiah. The ancient world had many different devices for determining the future, known as divination, but not in the entire gamut of Greek and Latin literature, even though they use the words prophet and prophecy, can we find any real specific prophecy of a great historic event to come in the distant future, nor any prophecy of a Savior to arise in the human race….Mohammedanism cannot point to any prophecies of the coming of Mohammed uttered hundreds of years before his birth.”
– Wilbur Smith |
| |
|
|
 |
|
 |
Have I let obstacles stop me?
Have difficulties or opposition provided me an excuse to quit?
I will look past the obstacles and the opposition to God's call and realize that
along the path that the Lord has called me to run God has also provided guidance, strength and
the miraculous provisions I need to complete the course. |
|
"I, wisdom,...Counsel and sound judgment are mine;
I have insight, I have power.
By me kings reign
and rulers issue decrees that are just;
by me princes govern,
and nobles—all who
rule on earth."
- Proverbs 8:14-16 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Organization of you house and home management |
Discernment |
President’s administration |
Denmark |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| Reps & Sets is a daily Bible devotional for Christians from Generation Word Bible Teaching used each morning and evening. |
| |
|
