April 13, 2025

The Cyrus Cylinder

The Cyrus Cylinder

Before we begin our exegetical study of Isaiah 42, we travel back to 1879 and discuss the significance of the Cyrus Cylinder.

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Before we begin our exegetical study of Isaiah 42, we travel back to 1879 and discuss the significance of the Cyrus Cylinder.

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Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

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the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone.

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I have right in front of me my Bible. It's

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open to Isaiah chapter forty two. I mean, it's right

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there right. All I need to do is pick up

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Isaiah chapter forty two, pick up my Bible and start reading.

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Behold my servant, whom I uphold mine elect, and whom

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my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.

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He shall bring forth judgment to the gentiles.

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All I need to do is start reading it.

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Explain to you that the first section and our observational

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outline is Isaiah forty two to one through four, and

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then we start working through it, and we've established a

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new interpretive way.

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Of looking at Isaiah forty two.

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We spent two weeks on Isaiah forty two t to

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kind of explain that we're gonna interpret it in a

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way that goes against everyone else. So all I need

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to do is begin our exegetical work on Isaiah forty

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two one through four and then maybe finish that in

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the first hour, and then the second hour go to

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Isaiah forty two, five through nine.

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That that's all I need to do.

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It's right here in front of me. But ladies and gentlemen,

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I cannot do that. I cannot because before we launch

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into our exegetical study of Isaiah forty two, we have

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to take a brief but essential detour. Not back to Babylon,

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not even really to Persia in a certain way.

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No, no, no, no.

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What we have to do before we can do anything

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else is we have to go back to the year

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eighteen seventy nine, the year eighteen seventy nine. Now, what

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happened in eighteen seventy nine that would have anything to

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do with Isaiah forty two, Isaiah forty forty one, forty two,

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forty three, forty four, forty five, anywhere have anything to

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do with Isaiah forty through fifty five.

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What what happened?

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But we're gonna go back to eighteen seventy nine because

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we have to. I don't think we even have an option.

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Because it was the year eighteen seventy nine, in the

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ruins of ancient Babylon that a small clay cylinder, inscribed

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in cuneiform and broken in pieces was unearthed. Right, it

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was a clay cylinder. All kinds of pieces they dig

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it up. It would later be called the cyrus cylinder.

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What at first seemed like a simple archaeological artifact turned

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out to be a direct historical record of the very

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events Isaiah had prophesied centuries earlier.

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I don't think it's an exaggeration, at least I don't.

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Think it's an exaggeration. You may think it's an exaggeration

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to say that this cylinder, the cyrus cylinder, stands as

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one of the most important non biblical confirmation of the

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world Isaiah envisioned in chapters forty through fifty five. I

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don't think that's an exaggeration to say that. Some may

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say that you can always have skeptics and people will

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debate its significance.

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But look, I.

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Don't know if you can really truly appreciate Isaiah forty

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through fifty five without understanding the cyrus cylinder. I think

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every I don't think, I think you have to talk

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about it. And I think right here, at the beginning

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of Isaiah forty two, I think it's the perfect time

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to study the cyrus cylinder. I don't think there's a

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better time to really introduce this and start really digging

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into what it was, what it is, it's significance, how

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it compares in contrasts with Isaiah forty through fifty five.

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I think there's a lot we need to do with it.

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At least I believe that because and if you just

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think about where we have been in our study over

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the past two Sundays, we have been teaching, explaining, and

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defending our new interpretive understanding of Isaiah forty two. All right,

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Sarah came up with the basic idea. I took and

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ran with it. I gave it to artificial intelligence. I

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let artificial intelligence do all that it wanted to do

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with it. And I think we have really found a

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way to understand Isaiah forty two. I think in a

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way that's far better than well, anybody else is going

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to present it, because I think everyone else handles Isaiah

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forty through fifty five already in questionable ways, and I

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think everyone ignores what's really going on in Isaiah chapter

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forty two. So since we've been doing all of that,

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since this entire interpretation goes against the grain of almost

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ninety nine percent of Christian teaching, and that's not an exaggeration. Literally,

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our new interpretation of Isaiah forty two goes against everyone.

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No one agrees with it other than artificial intelligence, and

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even artificial intelligence has a hard time because it's kind

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of like, well, you do know, you know that nobody

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agrees with you.

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Hey, you do know that nobody agrees with you.

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Hey, hey, you realize that, you know, you get fired

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in any church, and even trying to teach this, you

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do know that everyone would reject this. I know, but

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I still think it's the best and at least I

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think it has the best way of understanding Isaiah forty

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two that makes any sense from a historical perspective. At

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least I think so, because we have argued for some reason.

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If someone doesn't know, we have argued really over two

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weeks that the servant introduced in Isaiah forty two to one.

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Let me read it again, Isaiah forty two to one.

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Behold my servant, whom I uphold mine elect, and whom

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my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.

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He shall bring forth judgment to the gentiles. You go

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to any church, any church, you listen to any sermon.

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If the pastor reads that, before he can even finish

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reading it, he'll cut himself off.

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And say this is Jesus.

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This is Jesus, This is Jesus, and we have rejected

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that idea, and we are like, no, this is Cyrus.

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And I just even say that I need some dramatic music.

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I need some dramatic music because it yeah, it's like

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you've we just committed some horrible crime. But we have

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argued that the servant introduced in Isaiah forty two to

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one is not some generic symbolic figure. We have not

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even We have argued that it's not a sudden leap

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ahead to Jesus with no historical fulfillment in Isaiah's day.

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We have maintained that this servant is Cyrus, the same

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figure we believe was introduced in Isaiah forty one and

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then repeatedly named and described throughout chapters forty four and

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forty five. So we believe he's introduced in forty one,

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which then would make perfect sense. If he's introduced in

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forty one, then it would make perfect sense that he's

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still being possibly spoken of in forty two. And we

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know he's named in forty four and forty five, So

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I like it would be weird that Cyrus is kind

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of discussed and all of a sudden in forty two.

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Forget Cyrus, forget the historical context, Let's jump to Jesus.

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No no, no, no no no no no no.

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I think Cyrus makes a lot of sense here, even

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though it's controversial. At least that's my that's how I

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feel about it. So what so because of this, then

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I think this Cyrus cylinder becomes extremely important, because not

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only have we said clearly that this one that I

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think this is important. Not only have we said the

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servant Isaiah forty two to one is Cyrus. If you

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go later on into the chapter all right forty two nineteen,

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who is blind but my servant? We've also argued that

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not only is the servant in forty two one through

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four Cyrus, but the servant mentioned in forty two nineteen

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is also Cyrus. So we have said clearly that this

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is there is one servant, not two, a singular, continuous thread,

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not a disjointed leap.

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Cyrus is the immediate.

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Historical servant of Yahweh or God or the Lord. However

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you want to state him or describe him, or you

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which name, it doesn't matter. It's he is the one

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servant of God. He is the one God. He is

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the I think we should state it this way, not

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only because I think it's very important. And in this

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entire section we've tried to describe God Yahweh Jehovah. However,

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we would like to use it as the one true

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God and compared and contrast him against all the Babylonian idols.

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He's the one true God, and this one true God

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is chose Cyrus. He chose Cyrus. He's the one God chose.

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He's the one God anointed. He is the one God

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used despite him being ignorant of God, despite him being

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blind blind in a spiritual sense, not a physical sense.

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But despite this ignorance, he was chosen, anointed, and used

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by God to set Judah free and fulfill the Covenant promises.

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I believe the prophetic picture then is cohesive.

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It's not fragmented.

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It's not like here's a little bit of Judah, here's

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a little bit about Oh, it's about Jesus.

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Oh, it's about us.

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Oh, it's about the Church. No, it's cohesive, it's not fragmented.

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It's about those in Babylonian captivity. God is going to

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deliver them, and how is he going to deliver them?

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In a very unexpected way. He's not going to do

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it in some supernatural way as far as plagues, the

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earth opening up, parting the Red Sea. No, he raises

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up a pagan king, a pagan servant, and that pagan

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is Cyrus.

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And I think, and well, then.

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If all of that is true, if all of that

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is true, which I believe it is true, then guess

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what what was written in the Cyrus cylinder. We have

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Cyrus's own words, we have his own policies. This becomes

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then an invaluable historical parallel. Then we have oh wait

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a minute, Not only do we have our interpretation, which everyone,

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most of Christianity is going to reject, and most churches

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would laugh ass out the building. Well they can laugh,

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they can reject it. Not only do I believe we

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have textual evidence, right, it only makes sense textually we

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have historical evidence. We now have archaeological evidence that we

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can use to go you laugh. I think we're onto something.

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I think we're onto something very, very very important here.

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So because this cylinder, the Cyrus cylinder, it's going to

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allow us to see how the world understood Cyrus at.

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The time when all of this was happening.

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And we can compare it to how God Jahweh speaks

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of him and Isaiah. It gives us a chance to

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measure propaganda against prophecy and history against revelation.

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So before we can.

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Even you know, pick up all of our exegetical tools,

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before we can pick up all the things we need

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to do to do proper exegesus and proper hermeneuticts, Before

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we can even do that, then.

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I and when we do, we will walk, of course,

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as we've.

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Done in chapter forty forty one, we're gonna walk line

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by line through forty two.

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But before we can do that.

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I think we're gonna have to take time today to

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compare what the Cyrus cylinder says about Cyrus's identity, his mission,

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and his divine calling, and then we're gonna compare that

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with what Isaiah forty through fifty five says about the

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same man, his anointing, his ignorance, and his role in

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God's covenant. So, in some ways, I don't think this

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is a history lesson. I think it's a chance to

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see how scripture is confirmed, how prophecy is grounded, and

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how our interpretation I think is proven. It's defended it's

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justified because and we have to kind of really doubled

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down in our justification and defense of our interpretation, because

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I'm telling you it's going to be rejected by everyone.

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Just look up sermons on Isaiah forty two. Just look

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them up and over and over and over. It's almost

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immediately they read.

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It Jesus, this is Jesus, This is Jesus is they.

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Don't even entertain the possibility. Now. I'm not saying that

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there's not one out there, but in all the ones

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I've listened to, this is the same approach over and

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over and over. So I think we need to travel

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back to eighteen seventy nine and then all the way

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back to Babylon, and then we need to try to

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see how Clay, Kingship, and coven it all come together.

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Now, I know.

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Some of you are thinking right now, some of you

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are already probably contemplating, Wait, do I really want to

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listen to this? I mean, I mean we're just live streaming.

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I can turn this off. I mean, do I really

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want to hear an? How we're about some archaeological discovery

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in the eighteen hundreds to rich some clay thing that

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was broken into pieces do I care. I hope, and

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before we dig in, let me try to at least justify.

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What we're going to be doing in the entire reason.

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We're going to do this, all right, because I believe

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an entire session, an entire hour, maybe even we could

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possibly even do two hours on the Cyris cylinder. I

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believe at this point and our study of Isaiah forty

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through fifty five, I think it is not only beneficial.

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I think it's strategic. I think there's a it makes

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perfect sense because what I hope to do is in

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the study of the Cyrus cylinder. I think, and this

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is true, this is for all of us. We need

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to deepen our historical understanding, but we really need to

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deepen the historical foundation for our interpretation of Isaiah forty two.

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I mean, we're making a rite. I don't think people

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understand how radical a claim we're making by saying, Hey,

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Isaiah forty two, that's not two different servants, that's one

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servant and that's Cyrus.

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I now we're ignored.

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We're not denying the possibility and the and the how

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Jesus is referenced in regards to Isaiah forty two in

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the New testament. We're not denying that, right, but we're

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saying this is Cyrus and its immediate historical context, and

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that seems somewhat controversial. So therefore we need to deepen

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our historical foundation for this interpretation, right because I think

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this because not only because this goes against all philological consensus,

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then we I think we have to then try to

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build this case. So if we take the time to

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show the external historical confirmation of Cyrus's role, I think

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this strengthens our case. I think it validates our interpretive direction,

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and I think it shows that our view is not speculation,

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it's not abstract. I think it will demonstrate that it's

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rooted and verifiable history. Like we're going to show that

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our interpretation is rooted in verifiable history. So then no

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one can Anyone can argue all they want. They can really,

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they can be quoting this commentary or this commentary or

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this commentary, and we'll like, well, you quote a commentary,

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will reference verifiable history, So you pick which one wins.

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Because a commentary is just someone's opinion on what they think.

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The scriptures say. Verifiable history is verifiable history. So I

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think that's the reason we're going to do this. I

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think it will deepen the historical foundation. I hope this

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is going to prepare us all to now read Isaiah

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forty two to fifty.

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Five with actual knowledge, with actual information.

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So many people when they read Isaiah forty through fifty

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five clearly that I don't know what they're doing. They're

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reading it in some weird way. I think this will

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help us all be better prepared to read Isaiah forty

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two through fifty five with I think some information and

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some knowledge, because as we move into Isaiah forty two

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from an exogetical perspective, where you know, I think, at

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least from our interpretation, we're going to repeatedly see references

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to Cyrus's role as liberator. We're going to see this

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over and over, and we're going to see this not

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only in chapter forty two. We're going to see it

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in chapter forty four, and we're going to see it

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in chapter forty five.

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So as we move through forty two through.

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Forty five exogetically, we're going to see these references to

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Cyrus over and over.

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We need to have some kind of.

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We need to have some information and understanding so that

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we can read these correctly. I believe the cylinder, the

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Cyrus cylinder, gives us language and categories that mirror Isaiah

296
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very closely, the liberation of exiles, the restoration of temples,

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divine commissioning. I think if we've already seen the cyrus

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cylinder and its claims, then we'll recognize kind of how

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its echoes and its contrast.

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And the Biblical text. I think that's a good.

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Way to place put it, or to understand it.

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Right.

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If we understand the cylinder and its claims, then we're

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going to recognize, Oh, there it is. There's the cyrus

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cylinder right there in Isaiah forty two.

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Wait.

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Wait, there's cyrus cylinder in forty four. Wait, there's the

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cyrus cylinder in fifty five. Wait, there's the cyrus cylinder

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in Ezra chapter one. Wait, there's the cyrus cylinder. The

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more we know the Cyrus cylinder, then we can hear

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its echoes. We can we can pick up oh.

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There it is. There, it is right there.

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And you can do that unless you take the time

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to study the Cyrus cylinder. So I'm going to try

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to help us. I'm going to do my best to

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try to help us interpret the text. Historically and contextually,

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rather than abstractly or devotionally. We've got to interpret Isaiah

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forty two through forty five. In fact, I mean we've

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been trying to do it since chapter forty. We have

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to interpret it historically, contextually. We've got to stop this abstract,

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allegorical devotional nonsense that churches are constantly using. This is

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not a devotional text. It's not an allegorical text. It's

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not a parable it's no, it's historic history. It has

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textual context. I think another thing we can do by

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studying the Cyrus Cylinder. I think it can expose the

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contrast between God's word and political power. Isaiah forty two

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to eight says, I am the lad Lord. That is

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my name and my glory I will not give to another.

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The Cyrus cylinder glorifies Cyrus and Marduk. Isaiah forty through

330
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forty five glorifies Yahweh, the Lord alone, even while using Cyrus.

331
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And this contrast is interesting from a historical perspective.

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You read the.

333
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Cyrus Cylinder and it's like Cyrus, all glory to Cyrus

334
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and Marduk, the chief god of Babylon. They're the ones glorified.

335
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You read Isaiah forty through fifty five. It's still Cyrus.

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It's not Marduk, it's Yahweh, it's the Lord, and it's God.

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Cyrus is there, but God is the one who gets

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the glory. God is the one who gets the praise.

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So it's an interesting contrast there. And I shows this

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contrast between God's word and political power. I think an

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entire look at this will let us contrast imperial propaganda

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with prophecy, because there's no way to get around the

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cirrus solid the cirrus, the Cyrus cylinder, if I can

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speak correctly, it is it's propaganda. There's a lot of propaganda,

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the Cyrus cylinder. There's no way to get around that.

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I think we're gonna be able to see how God

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uses human rulers without sharing his glory because Cyrus is

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still a pagan and since if we understand Isaiah forty

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two correctly, he's blind. And hopefully this will help us

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have better discern it and how we read history versus

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scripture and this, and I think this is a major

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theological theme in the second half of Isaiah. This history

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history over and over and over. Right, I think another

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thing we can this will hopefully help us to. It

355
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should give us confidence that scripture actually engages with real history.

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Scripture is not detached from real history. It engages it

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because I think for many Christians, when it comes to

358
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the Bible prophecy, it can feel somewhat distant, it can

359
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feel mystical. But I think by showing the cyrus cylinder,

360
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we can ground prophecy in real time and space. It

361
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may be prophecy, but it's grounded in real time, real space,

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it's real, real life. I think we can demonstrate that

363
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Isaiah's words were fulfilled through actual events and people, that hey,

364
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this prophecy is fulfilled through real people, real places once again,

365
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which takes away and destroys the allegorical approach. And I

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think it encourages maybe us to see God's sovereignty and

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the ordinary, not just the miraculous.

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And I've tried to.

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Make that point throughout this that God uses ordinary means

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throughout Isaiah forty through fifty five. And it's hard for

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us sometimes to see God in the ordinary. We only

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want to see God in the miraculous. But God can

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be just as active in the ordinary, even though we

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don't perceive it, and we don't see it, because all

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we see is the ordinary. And I think in some

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ways now there's going to be some laughter here probably.

377
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I think right here, right, I mean, I got Isaiah

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forty two right here.

379
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Right here in front of me. All I got to

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do is read it.

381
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I think it kind of slows everything down, maybe just

382
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at the right time. I mean, we just built a

383
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new interpretive lens, a new interpretive paradigm for Isaiah forty two.

384
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So before we rush into.

385
00:23:46.880 --> 00:23:50.880
A verse by verse exegesis of Isaiah forty two, we

386
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need a historical anchor that kind of stabilizes this shift.

387
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We just took a major turn. I don't think anybody

388
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realized that we're going through Isaiah forty one. We get

389
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to forty two, and all of a sudden, we like

390
00:24:02.920 --> 00:24:06.119
yank the steering wheel, go through a fence, and we're

391
00:24:06.119 --> 00:24:08.799
off the road somewhere. We've got to then, now anchor

392
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:13.759
this back to history. I think it gives us an

393
00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:19.480
opportunity to absorb and kind of solidify what we've already learned,

394
00:24:20.160 --> 00:24:22.160
and it I think it's going to prepare us for

395
00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.799
what's coming. I think it will make the upcoming exegetical

396
00:24:25.839 --> 00:24:30.079
work more meaningful because now we'll be watching the text

397
00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:32.880
and the world of Cyrus interact at the same time.

398
00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:35.559
We'll see the text and we'll see it interact with

399
00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:42.680
the world of Cyrus in real history. So I think

400
00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:47.559
a full session, a full study here will confirm our

401
00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:51.240
interpretive approach. I think it's going to strengthen our biblical

402
00:24:51.240 --> 00:24:54.319
and historical literacy. I think it's going to equip us

403
00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:57.440
to see scriptures interaction with history. And then I think

404
00:24:57.480 --> 00:25:00.000
it's going to actually have us ready to actually study

405
00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:04.079
forty two through forty five and a deeper way, can

406
00:25:04.119 --> 00:25:09.440
we dare say, a more accurate way. So I don't

407
00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:12.279
think this is a too much of a detour. I

408
00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.759
think this is an essential part of reading Isaiah the

409
00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:21.000
way the original audience would have experienced it, with Cyrus

410
00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:24.640
at the center. There's no way to get around that.

411
00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:27.880
The original audience, Cyrus would have been the center, and

412
00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:31.119
the modern audience we want to put Jesus as the center,

413
00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:33.440
or the church at the center, or you and I

414
00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:37.079
at the center, and that is incorrect. We can't put

415
00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:39.119
things at the center of the text. It's not the

416
00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:43.559
center of the text. Cyrus is the center. If you

417
00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:48.440
don't see Cyrus you're blind and you're missing the entire point.

418
00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:50.880
You've been blinded by sermons. You've been And that's what

419
00:25:50.960 --> 00:25:54.480
I say all the time. Sermons are the enemy to hermoneutics.

420
00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:59.559
Sermons are the enemy to textual understanding. Devotional materials are

421
00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:06.799
the enemy. Cyrus is the center not only of the

422
00:26:06.839 --> 00:26:10.519
political reality and the historical reality. I think he's the

423
00:26:10.519 --> 00:26:20.640
center of the divine prophecy. So let's start trying to

424
00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:28.039
take this apart a little bit. When was the Cyrus

425
00:26:28.079 --> 00:26:30.319
cylinder discovered?

426
00:26:30.880 --> 00:26:32.039
When was it discovered?

427
00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:40.200
The year is eighteen seventy nine, eighteen seventy nine. Now

428
00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:43.680
there's some things we don't know. We don't seem to

429
00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.720
know the season or the month, which is a little frustrating. Right,

430
00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:49.359
we have no as far as I can tell, we

431
00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:53.440
have no recorded or confer nothing is confirmed in any

432
00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:55.839
official documentation, which is kind of weird.

433
00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.359
This significant discovery.

434
00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:59.759
You think you would have someone writing something in a

435
00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:02.680
leernal going it was on this month or this day.

436
00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:06.559
Maybe there's some information out there, but but initially I

437
00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:07.480
have not found that.

438
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:10.920
We do know that it was.

439
00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:14.359
The expedition was conducted by an Assyrian archaeologist working for

440
00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:18.480
the British Museum. We do know that we know the

441
00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:23.400
location ruins. The location was the ruins of Babylon near

442
00:27:23.559 --> 00:27:28.119
a site of the s Gila I think that's the

443
00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:33.160
way you say it, Gla Temples, Gila E s A

444
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.880
g I l a s Gila Temple, which is a

445
00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:45.799
temple dedicated to, drum roll please, Marduk, the chief god

446
00:27:45.920 --> 00:27:49.960
basically of Babylon. So they're they're, they're, they're they're looking

447
00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:52.640
through the ruins of Babylon. They're at this site of

448
00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:57.799
this temple, Theseguila Temple, it's say, temple dedicated to Marduk,

449
00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:04.119
and they're in modern day Iraq. So while the year

450
00:28:04.119 --> 00:28:09.279
in location seems to be very well known, the day hour,

451
00:28:09.799 --> 00:28:13.920
even the weather or environmental details doesn't seem to be

452
00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:15.799
formally recorded. It's like, no one's like it was a

453
00:28:15.839 --> 00:28:22.000
dusty day, it was hot, nothing like that. Now, there's

454
00:28:22.039 --> 00:28:25.559
some things we can probably reasonably infer right, So since

455
00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:29.839
we don't have we have kind of no direct observation records,

456
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.319
we can probably reasonably assume some general conditions. We know

457
00:28:34.480 --> 00:28:37.079
the cylinder most likely it was buried in the robble

458
00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.720
of ancient Babylon because we know that that's where they

459
00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:43.079
were looking through. We know that that's a city that

460
00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:45.680
had been in ruins for over two millennia by the

461
00:28:45.799 --> 00:28:49.680
nineteenth century, so it's already been in ruins for that long.

462
00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:55.680
Excavations were happening, and the Mesopotamian desert climate so likely

463
00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:59.400
it was hot, dry, dusty. Obviously, I don't think they

464
00:28:59.400 --> 00:29:02.240
were looking at Soho was probably during the daytime hours,

465
00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:05.839
most likely because it gets very hot there. They were

466
00:29:05.880 --> 00:29:10.519
probably doing the excavations during the morning. They were using

467
00:29:10.559 --> 00:29:14.759
obviously picks, shovels, and minimal protective gear which would have

468
00:29:14.799 --> 00:29:19.359
been standard for nineteenth century digs. And the cylinder itself

469
00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:24.480
was discovered in broken pieces and partially embedded in soil

470
00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:27.440
or debris, so there it could have been very easily,

471
00:29:27.759 --> 00:29:30.200
you know, someone who obviously wasn't paying attention.

472
00:29:30.279 --> 00:29:32.119
Probably it could have been overlooked.

473
00:29:32.200 --> 00:29:36.640
It's just pieces, it's embedded in soil, it's embedded in debris,

474
00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:42.759
and I think this all adds to the power of

475
00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:45.200
the story in a lot of ways. You have a

476
00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:51.119
small clay cylinder buried under layers of basically empire rubble.

477
00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:54.200
You've got the Empire of Babylon, you've got the rubbles

478
00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:57.119
of the remains of it, just the rubble of it,

479
00:29:57.759 --> 00:30:01.799
and then and you got sen of decay. And yet

480
00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:07.920
here we have this little small clay cylinder. It's recovered

481
00:30:07.920 --> 00:30:17.039
by hand, it's broken into pieces, and yet it seems

482
00:30:17.039 --> 00:30:21.039
to confirm with clarity what Isaiah had ridden over two

483
00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:25.279
thousand and five hundred years earlier. So we may not

484
00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:26.720
know if it was morning, we may not know if

485
00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:29.799
it was dusk, but we know it was a moment

486
00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:34.759
when history ultimately collides with prophecy, because we have a

487
00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:40.039
pagan king's boastful inscription, echoing, echoing what the prophet Isaiah

488
00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:42.759
had already declared under divine inspiration.

489
00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:46.680
Because in the cylinder.

490
00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:48.599
It is a pagan's boast, I mean, is it is

491
00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:50.279
a pagan king boasting.

492
00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:53.079
There's no way to get around that. We see, I

493
00:30:53.079 --> 00:30:54.599
think you can see. We see a little bit of

494
00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:56.599
pride and a little bit of arrogance.

495
00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.359
So there's a little bit just kind of painting the

496
00:31:05.400 --> 00:31:09.240
picture for you. Now, if we want the origin of

497
00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:15.839
the cylinder itself, it's somewhere between five thirty nine to

498
00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:19.119
five thirty PC, five thirty nine to five thirty BC.

499
00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:26.480
All right, The material was baked clay and inscribed with

500
00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:30.799
Akkadian cuneiform script.

501
00:31:31.559 --> 00:31:33.000
Right, so it's baked clay.

502
00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:36.359
It's put together somewhere around five thirty nine to five

503
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:42.440
thirty BC. It's bake clay, Akkadian cuneiform script. It's commissioned

504
00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:49.839
by Cyrus, the Great King of Persia. The text appears

505
00:31:49.839 --> 00:31:53.519
to have been engraved shortly after Cyrus conquered Babylon and

506
00:31:53.640 --> 00:31:57.000
five thirty nine BC, marking the beginning of the Persian

507
00:31:57.079 --> 00:32:04.200
rule over Mesopotamia. So Cyrus, that's engraved right after he

508
00:32:04.279 --> 00:32:08.839
conquers Babylon. This puts this right there in the middle

509
00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:10.480
of Isaiah forty through fifty five.

510
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:13.359
I mean this really, this is all it all.

511
00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:16.000
Comes together in very real way, Like you can't just

512
00:32:16.039 --> 00:32:19.839
deny this. I mean, it's right there during this time period,

513
00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:23.759
and it's it's commissioned.

514
00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:25.839
By Cyrus himself. He wants this commission.

515
00:32:25.960 --> 00:32:28.880
He wants this to be remembered, he wants this to

516
00:32:28.920 --> 00:32:33.799
be preserved. He wants everyone to know exactly what happened.

517
00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:39.880
So there's a little bit about the ori. So he

518
00:32:39.960 --> 00:32:42.359
kind of got an overview. We've kind of painted the picture.

519
00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:46.319
We have the origin. Okay, again, it's discovered in eighteen

520
00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:50.720
seventy nine. Right, we've got kind of who commissioned it.

521
00:32:51.000 --> 00:32:54.400
We got the dating of the original, the original five

522
00:32:55.240 --> 00:32:58.200
in somewhere between five thirty nine and five thirty BC.

523
00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:02.200
Now a little bit more about the historical context. Cyrus

524
00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:07.400
had just overthrown the Babylonian king, right, and his name

525
00:33:07.440 --> 00:33:11.240
is spelled in a b O n i d u

526
00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:17.720
s Noba no nuttis, Noba nuttus. I think is how

527
00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:22.240
you say it, Noba nutus, But in a b O

528
00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:28.039
n i d u s. And so Cyrus has overthrown

529
00:33:28.079 --> 00:33:31.759
that king. He's established his Persian control over the region.

530
00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:37.279
The Babylonian Empire had had previously conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem,

531
00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:39.720
and taken its people into exile. We see that in

532
00:33:39.759 --> 00:33:43.799
Isaiah thirty nine. Babylon had done all of that Cyrus.

533
00:33:44.359 --> 00:33:48.319
Cyrus's rise changed the political order and directly affected the

534
00:33:48.400 --> 00:33:52.519
Jewish exiles. He later issued a decree allowing them to

535
00:33:52.519 --> 00:33:55.200
return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. We see this

536
00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:59.720
in Ezra chapter one, Isaiah forty four, Isaiah forty five.

537
00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:05.480
So again Cyrus is central here to all of this. Right,

538
00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:10.599
So again the Babylonian king in a bo n I

539
00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:16.280
d us nobody, no nuttics, no nuttics.

540
00:34:16.360 --> 00:34:20.760
I think it's how you say it, all right. I

541
00:34:20.760 --> 00:34:21.480
think we have that.

542
00:34:21.960 --> 00:34:23.480
When I can't see people, I don't know if people

543
00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:25.199
are writing it down, don't know if they need me

544
00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:30.079
to repeat anything. Right. So, and we already know that

545
00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:33.599
Cyrus changes everything because of what Babylon had done. Now

546
00:34:33.800 --> 00:34:39.039
the content of the cylinder. The cylinder contains a royal

547
00:34:39.239 --> 00:34:43.719
inscription that presents Cyrus really in four ways, all right.

548
00:34:43.760 --> 00:34:47.199
So the cylinder contains a royal inscription that presents Cyrus

549
00:34:47.239 --> 00:34:52.719
in four ways. Number one chosen by Marduk. He's chosen

550
00:34:52.840 --> 00:35:00.159
by this chief Babylonian God to restore order. Hey, I

551
00:35:00.159 --> 00:35:03.599
mean it's almost like, hey, Babylon, that's your God, your

552
00:35:03.679 --> 00:35:08.960
chief God. Your chief God chose me. He chose me.

553
00:35:09.719 --> 00:35:15.360
I've been chosen by your God. So this offers a religious,

554
00:35:17.039 --> 00:35:22.480
divine justification for his actions. Number two, he's presented as

555
00:35:22.519 --> 00:35:27.119
a liberator of the people oppressed under Babylonian rule. You've

556
00:35:27.119 --> 00:35:30.400
been oppressed by your rulers. I'm your liberator.

557
00:35:30.440 --> 00:35:30.960
I'm here.

558
00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:36.639
I've been chosen by your God to liberate you. He

559
00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:41.760
is presented as a ruler who respected the religious traditions

560
00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:45.960
of conquered peoples. He has seen in the cylinder as

561
00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:50.000
he always respects the religious traditions of the people. He was.

562
00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:53.920
He wants to restore their temples or their deities, their gods,

563
00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:58.360
their idols. He always wants to He always handles things.

564
00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:01.840
And can we say a general way, a gracious way,

565
00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:11.079
a gentle way. He is a king who repatriated and

566
00:36:11.400 --> 00:36:16.519
any displaced people, he restored their temples in sanctuary. So

567
00:36:16.719 --> 00:36:20.039
he has seen as chosen by Marduk. He's seen as

568
00:36:20.079 --> 00:36:23.599
a liberator. He has seen as a religious leader who

569
00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:27.320
respected religious traditions of conquered people. And he has seen

570
00:36:27.360 --> 00:36:30.079
as a king who repatriated displaced people.

571
00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:34.320
He let them go back to their land. So he's chosen.

572
00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:35.719
He's a liberator.

573
00:36:36.039 --> 00:36:39.519
He's a ruler who respects people's religious traditions.

574
00:36:39.719 --> 00:36:40.719
And he's a king.

575
00:36:40.719 --> 00:36:44.199
Who allows people to go back, displace people to go back.

576
00:36:45.239 --> 00:36:48.320
That's how he's put how he has described in the

577
00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:51.559
Cyrus Cylinder. Does that not sound a lot like Isaiah

578
00:36:51.599 --> 00:37:02.360
forty through fifty five. Some of the key themes divine favor.

579
00:37:02.480 --> 00:37:05.119
This is a key theme in the Cyrus Cylinder. Cyrus

580
00:37:05.159 --> 00:37:09.599
credits Marduk with his victory, claiming the God sought claiming

581
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:13.400
the God sought a just ruler and chose him.

582
00:37:13.880 --> 00:37:15.559
So this is a key theme.

583
00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:19.559
Cyrus is like, hey, Marduk, he's the one who gives

584
00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:21.039
me victory, and he was.

585
00:37:21.280 --> 00:37:24.519
He was seeking out a just ruler. He was seeking

586
00:37:24.519 --> 00:37:27.360
out a good ruler, and he chose me.

587
00:37:27.960 --> 00:37:31.480
Again, I'm telling you, Cyrus is very much gets the

588
00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:34.840
glory in the Cyrus Cylinder. He gets the glory. And

589
00:37:34.840 --> 00:37:37.679
that's why some would refer to it as propaganda. It's

590
00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:41.239
very like a politician and putting out his press release.

591
00:37:41.480 --> 00:37:44.880
All right, hey guys, and I'm your liberator.

592
00:37:45.519 --> 00:37:46.840
I'm the one to restore you.

593
00:37:46.880 --> 00:37:49.599
And why am I here because your God chose me.

594
00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:52.159
He was looking all around for someone who was just,

595
00:37:52.480 --> 00:37:58.800
and he chose me Cyrus. Another theme in the Cyrus

596
00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:03.320
Cylinder is the legitimacy. The text presents Cyrus as the

597
00:38:03.480 --> 00:38:07.400
rightful heir to Babylon, not a foreign invader. He is

598
00:38:07.519 --> 00:38:10.559
not described as a foreign invader, but he's the right,

599
00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:14.719
rightful heir to Babylon. As like this, it's his right,

600
00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:17.840
He's the one who should be here. He's not seen

601
00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:23.519
as a foreign invader. Religious tolerance. Cyrus boasts that he

602
00:38:23.599 --> 00:38:26.599
return images of gods to their native temples and allow

603
00:38:26.719 --> 00:38:29.320
displaced people to return to their homelands. This is a

604
00:38:29.360 --> 00:38:32.320
common theme or a theme in the Cyrus Cylinder, that

605
00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:38.440
he has religious tolerance, peace and order. He condemns the

606
00:38:38.480 --> 00:38:44.000
Babylonian king as being impious and boastful, contrasting his own

607
00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:49.880
just and humble rule, which can be somewhat kind of funny. Hey,

608
00:38:50.119 --> 00:38:54.800
Babylonian King, you were arrogant, you were boastful, you were

609
00:38:55.039 --> 00:38:56.000
you were all these things.

610
00:38:56.039 --> 00:38:57.719
But look at me. I am humble.

611
00:38:57.760 --> 00:38:59.679
But if you got to tell everyone how humble you are,

612
00:39:00.079 --> 00:39:05.119
is that really humility? But he is seen as in

613
00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:07.800
the cylinder as being just, and he is kind of

614
00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:11.519
described as being humble. Now you could argue, well, he's

615
00:39:11.519 --> 00:39:14.559
the one who commissioned its production, so of course he's

616
00:39:14.559 --> 00:39:16.320
going to be seen as the hero in the story.

617
00:39:16.360 --> 00:39:20.440
But it is interesting he's described in a sense as

618
00:39:20.480 --> 00:39:25.119
being humble and just, especially.

619
00:39:24.800 --> 00:39:28.760
When you read Isaiah forty through fifty five. All Right,

620
00:39:29.320 --> 00:39:29.880
some of the.

621
00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:34.199
Paraphrase from translation of notable lines, things like Marduk the

622
00:39:34.239 --> 00:39:37.320
Great Lord took Cyrus by the hand and called him

623
00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:40.639
by name to rule the world. Ww does that not

624
00:39:40.800 --> 00:39:45.519
sound really interesting? Mardok, the Great Lord took Cyrus by

625
00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:48.920
the hand and called him by name to rule the world.

626
00:39:51.400 --> 00:39:52.480
Isaiah forty two to one.

627
00:39:52.559 --> 00:39:55.880
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my elect and whom

628
00:39:55.920 --> 00:39:58.480
my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.

629
00:39:58.719 --> 00:40:04.719
He shall bring forth judgment to the gentiles. It sounds at.

630
00:40:04.599 --> 00:40:06.440
Times, it sounds eerie eery.

631
00:40:06.519 --> 00:40:09.360
It's like, whoa, now, now we could get into all

632
00:40:09.440 --> 00:40:12.199
kinds of I won't get into all the biblical critics

633
00:40:12.239 --> 00:40:14.559
would say here, but yeah, we won't.

634
00:40:14.599 --> 00:40:14.920
We won't.

635
00:40:14.960 --> 00:40:17.079
We won't get into all of that, right because then

636
00:40:17.079 --> 00:40:19.599
we could get into higher criticism and texts. Okay, we

637
00:40:19.639 --> 00:40:21.760
won't get into all of that, But that sounds very

638
00:40:21.800 --> 00:40:23.159
similar to Isaiah forty two.

639
00:40:23.480 --> 00:40:23.840
Another.

640
00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:26.880
I returned the sanctuaries of the gods to their original

641
00:40:26.880 --> 00:40:30.159
places and let them dwell there forever I gather all

642
00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:33.079
their people and return them to their dwellings. Those are

643
00:40:33.119 --> 00:40:37.360
some some possible lines and paraphrases from the translation of

644
00:40:37.400 --> 00:40:42.519
the Cyrus cylinder. Now the significance of the cylinder, the cylinder,

645
00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:47.440
we'll start with the historical significance. The cylinder provides non

646
00:40:47.599 --> 00:40:54.760
biblical confirmation of Cyrus's policy of repatriation, which matches the

647
00:40:54.800 --> 00:41:00.320
account and Ezra one and Second Chronicles thirty six. So

648
00:41:00.360 --> 00:41:03.400
we have non biblical confirmation of exactly what we read

649
00:41:03.400 --> 00:41:09.519
in Ezra and Second Chronicles, this repatriation of people back

650
00:41:09.559 --> 00:41:15.360
to their lands. The historical significance also is that it

651
00:41:15.400 --> 00:41:20.119
reflects imperial ideology, showing how Cyrus justified his rule through

652
00:41:20.159 --> 00:41:27.920
diplomacy and tolerance. He did not rely on brute conquests alone.

653
00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:30.559
He didn't really rely on being a brute or or

654
00:41:30.760 --> 00:41:34.599
just conquering people in a violent way. He typically tried

655
00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:39.800
to rule through diplomacy and tolerance, radically different approach, which

656
00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:43.840
again sounds like things you'll read in Isaiah forty through

657
00:41:43.840 --> 00:41:49.559
fifty five about well Cyrus. Now that's the historical significance.

658
00:41:49.599 --> 00:41:53.800
How about the biblical relevance. While the cylinder doesn't mention

659
00:41:53.880 --> 00:41:57.719
the Jews specifically and aligns with the biblical betrayal of

660
00:41:57.840 --> 00:42:02.000
Cyrus as and note that that's in it. Well, we

661
00:42:02.039 --> 00:42:05.840
could get into again, we can get into all the criticisms.

662
00:42:06.239 --> 00:42:09.360
Just remember, for whatever you point to, there's always criticisms

663
00:42:09.400 --> 00:42:14.159
and debates amongst biblical skeptics. But okay, the bottom line

664
00:42:14.199 --> 00:42:18.719
is it aligns. This is the biblical relevance. It aligns

665
00:42:18.719 --> 00:42:21.559
with the biblical betrayal of Cyrus. It very much aligns

666
00:42:21.559 --> 00:42:24.280
with it. For example, God's anointed Isaiah forty five to one,

667
00:42:24.599 --> 00:42:27.119
the one who would rebuild Jerusalem and the temple Isaiah

668
00:42:27.199 --> 00:42:30.679
forty four, a deliverer who does not know God, Isaiah

669
00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:33.400
forty five, and a lot of that aligns perfectly with

670
00:42:33.519 --> 00:42:37.400
Isaiah forty two, which once again backs up the interpretation

671
00:42:37.519 --> 00:42:44.000
that we've offered. So there's the historical significance, there's biblical relevance.

672
00:42:44.079 --> 00:42:49.559
What about the philological implications. Well, it confirms the plausibility

673
00:42:49.719 --> 00:42:53.119
of Isaiah's prophecy, God using a pagan king to fulfill

674
00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:57.079
his promises to Israel. And it shows the ordinary political

675
00:42:57.119 --> 00:43:02.760
means through which God accomplished extraordinary covenantal fulfillment. So God

676
00:43:02.880 --> 00:43:11.559
uses ordinary political means to accomplish extraordinary covenantal fulfillment. And

677
00:43:11.599 --> 00:43:14.400
I think this is a major theme and how we're

678
00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:17.559
going to interpret Isaiah forty through fifty five. We've made

679
00:43:17.559 --> 00:43:21.079
this a major theme. God uses the ordinary to ultimately

680
00:43:21.119 --> 00:43:26.599
accomplish the extraordinary, but it's gonna look like the ordinary.

681
00:43:26.679 --> 00:43:29.960
Just this king, this king takes over this area.

682
00:43:30.119 --> 00:43:32.519
Okay, well that's what kings do all the time in

683
00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:33.519
that period of time.

684
00:43:33.719 --> 00:43:35.480
So it's nothing.

685
00:43:35.519 --> 00:43:38.599
It doesn't extreme, it doesn't seem extraordinary, but it turns

686
00:43:38.639 --> 00:43:42.480
out to be extraordinary because God is using a pagan

687
00:43:42.800 --> 00:43:44.199
to accomplish his purpose.

688
00:43:44.519 --> 00:43:47.159
To what's a seam is an ordinary means.

689
00:43:51.239 --> 00:43:54.119
So if we kind of just break this down, all right,

690
00:43:54.280 --> 00:43:57.519
some of the details again, five point thirty nine to

691
00:43:57.559 --> 00:44:00.000
five thirty BC is when it's put together.

692
00:44:00.599 --> 00:44:01.760
It's a Kadian.

693
00:44:01.440 --> 00:44:05.480
Cuneiform is the language. It's discovered in Babylon in eighteen

694
00:44:05.559 --> 00:44:09.719
seventy nine. The one who commissioned the putting together of

695
00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:12.840
the cylinder is Cyrus the Great. The purpose is to

696
00:44:13.000 --> 00:44:16.480
justify Persian rule and portray Cyrus as a liberator. So

697
00:44:16.519 --> 00:44:20.119
it does have political propaganda on it. I don't want

698
00:44:20.119 --> 00:44:22.519
to deny that, okay, I don't want it to say like, no,

699
00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:28.440
it's pure political propaganda. It's pure political propaganda. Cyrus is

700
00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:33.320
trying to make himself out to be, you know, wonderful.

701
00:44:34.000 --> 00:44:36.199
So just make sure we understand that.

702
00:44:37.199 --> 00:44:41.599
Its content is Basically, it's going to point out and

703
00:44:42.360 --> 00:44:45.760
the divine selection by Marduk to return of exiles and

704
00:44:45.800 --> 00:44:46.960
the restoration of temples.

705
00:44:47.480 --> 00:44:49.519
I mean, that's a good way to describe it.

706
00:44:49.519 --> 00:44:52.039
It's going to focus on, Hey, I was divinely selected

707
00:44:52.039 --> 00:44:55.920
by Marduk, I'm going to return the exiles and I'm

708
00:44:55.920 --> 00:45:00.440
going to restore temples. Right. And I believe it mirrors

709
00:45:00.480 --> 00:45:05.119
the decree in Ezrah one and aligns with Isaiah. I

710
00:45:05.159 --> 00:45:07.599
believe Isaiah forty through fifty five. I think it aligns

711
00:45:07.639 --> 00:45:11.679
with the entire section. So the Cyrus Cylinder is not

712
00:45:11.800 --> 00:45:17.519
just an archaeological artifact. It's a historical bridge between the

713
00:45:17.519 --> 00:45:22.400
biblical world and the Persian Empire. It reinforces that God

714
00:45:22.519 --> 00:45:26.280
uses real political events and pagan leaders to fulfill his

715
00:45:26.400 --> 00:45:31.519
covenantal promise to Israel to Judah.

716
00:45:31.880 --> 00:45:32.760
And we see this.

717
00:45:32.760 --> 00:45:35.400
In Isaiah forty forty one, forty two, forty three, all

718
00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:42.119
the way to forty five. Now, let's try, hopefully we

719
00:45:42.159 --> 00:45:46.960
can get this done. Let's try to compare and contrast

720
00:45:47.800 --> 00:45:52.559
the Cyrus Cylinder with Isaiah forty through fifty five. Let's

721
00:45:52.599 --> 00:45:54.719
try to compare in contrast. I don't know if we're

722
00:45:54.719 --> 00:45:57.199
going to get through this because it I may just

723
00:45:57.239 --> 00:46:00.400
have to give you the references without actually looking them up,

724
00:46:00.840 --> 00:46:02.880
but I want you to write down the references and

725
00:46:02.960 --> 00:46:06.599
consider this. All right, So we're gonna take the Cyrus cylinder,

726
00:46:08.079 --> 00:46:11.280
and it's perspective. If we take the Cyrus cylinder, its

727
00:46:11.360 --> 00:46:16.760
perspective is Persian imperial propaganda. Or we could say the

728
00:46:16.840 --> 00:46:23.119
Cyrus cylinder is Persian political propaganda. Sarus speaks as the

729
00:46:23.159 --> 00:46:27.920
liberating king chosen by Marduk. So already we see a

730
00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:32.000
contrast here. That's how that's how the Cyrus cylinder works. However,

731
00:46:32.239 --> 00:46:34.880
if we compare and contrast it to Isaiah forty through

732
00:46:34.880 --> 00:46:41.840
fifty five, it's prophetic literature. It's not Persian political propaganda.

733
00:46:42.360 --> 00:46:49.039
It's prophetic literature. Cyrus is portrayed as God's instrument, the

734
00:46:49.079 --> 00:46:53.599
God of the Bible, Jahweh, the Lord right. He is

735
00:46:53.719 --> 00:46:57.840
God's instrument. He's not Marduk's instrument. He is God's instrument,

736
00:46:59.280 --> 00:47:02.679
and he's the instrum meant for Israel's redemption, even though

737
00:47:02.719 --> 00:47:05.480
he doesn't know Yahweh, even though he doesn't know the

738
00:47:05.559 --> 00:47:10.159
true God. And I think this contrast is super interesting

739
00:47:10.199 --> 00:47:11.079
because as we've gone.

740
00:47:10.960 --> 00:47:12.519
Through Isaiah forty through fifty five.

741
00:47:12.760 --> 00:47:15.639
God has made it very clear over and over and

742
00:47:15.719 --> 00:47:19.880
over that the gods of Babylon are useless and worthless.

743
00:47:20.039 --> 00:47:22.880
He is the true God, that he's not going to

744
00:47:22.920 --> 00:47:24.679
share his glory with anybody else.

745
00:47:24.840 --> 00:47:28.599
That is real. That's emphasized countless times.

746
00:47:29.000 --> 00:47:32.199
Well I know it has to be emphasized countless times

747
00:47:32.360 --> 00:47:36.679
because God he's literally going to mention Cyrus, who's walking

748
00:47:36.679 --> 00:47:39.960
around claiming that he was chosen by one of the

749
00:47:40.079 --> 00:47:43.360
chief Babylonian god and God's like, no, no, no, no, no, no,

750
00:47:43.360 --> 00:47:46.760
no no. Those gods are nothing. They're not choosing anything.

751
00:47:47.039 --> 00:47:48.920
You got to nail them down to keep them from

752
00:47:48.920 --> 00:47:52.880
falling over. They're not doing anything. I'm the creator, I'm

753
00:47:52.920 --> 00:47:57.280
the God. I'm the one doing this, not Marduk. So,

754
00:47:57.559 --> 00:48:01.760
as we've said, this battle between God and the Babylonian

755
00:48:03.239 --> 00:48:09.239
idols really plays out between God and Cyrus's claim that

756
00:48:09.280 --> 00:48:12.679
he was chosen by one of those Babylonian gods, and

757
00:48:12.719 --> 00:48:15.159
God is making it very clear no, no, no, no, no,

758
00:48:15.320 --> 00:48:17.880
he wasn't chosen by Marduk, and which could be a

759
00:48:17.920 --> 00:48:21.480
great temptation to those in Babylonian captivity. Remember we said

760
00:48:21.519 --> 00:48:26.559
the idolatry could be a major temptation to Israel, to Judah. Well,

761
00:48:26.599 --> 00:48:28.960
we could be like, wait a minute, Cyrus is saying

762
00:48:29.000 --> 00:48:30.400
he was chosen by that God.

763
00:48:30.639 --> 00:48:32.280
Maybe that's the god we should follow.

764
00:48:32.480 --> 00:48:35.360
Maybe we need to bring Marduk and that idolatry back

765
00:48:35.400 --> 00:48:38.440
to wherever we when we go back to Jerusalem, because

766
00:48:39.679 --> 00:48:42.519
this is the god who chose our liberator. And God's like, no, no, no, no,

767
00:48:42.519 --> 00:48:44.920
no no no, I chose your liberator.

768
00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:47.639
I'm the one controlling it, not Marduk.

769
00:48:47.960 --> 00:48:50.199
You can see now when you read Isaiah forty through

770
00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:52.719
fifty five, and you see this because at times it

771
00:48:52.760 --> 00:48:55.400
seems weird. You're like, why is God spending so much

772
00:48:55.440 --> 00:49:00.639
time battling the Babylonian idols? Well, what we understand it

773
00:49:00.800 --> 00:49:03.719
first because of the great temptation. But now when we

774
00:49:03.800 --> 00:49:07.360
consider the Cyrus cylinder that's going to have this propaganda

775
00:49:07.480 --> 00:49:09.360
end it that he was chosen by one of those

776
00:49:09.360 --> 00:49:13.679
Babylonian idols, you can see now why there's great attention

777
00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:18.559
given to combating that. So that's kind of an overview,

778
00:49:18.920 --> 00:49:21.960
all right, So let's go through. Now we're going to

779
00:49:22.159 --> 00:49:25.039
try to compare and contrast in greater detail, let's look

780
00:49:25.039 --> 00:49:30.559
at Cyrus's identity and divine commission. In the Cyrus Cylinder,

781
00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:34.119
Cyrus is chosen by Marduk, the chief god of Babylon.

782
00:49:34.719 --> 00:49:39.760
Marduk is said to have been angered by the Babylonian

783
00:49:39.880 --> 00:49:43.599
king's impiety and thus search the world for a just ruler,

784
00:49:43.639 --> 00:49:47.280
finding Cyrus. So the way it's described as the Babylonian

785
00:49:47.400 --> 00:49:52.039
king was impious, he was he was garbage, he was trash.

786
00:49:52.360 --> 00:49:55.599
Right to use my language, right, And so he searched,

787
00:49:55.639 --> 00:49:56.920
and he's like, who can I find?

788
00:49:57.480 --> 00:50:02.760
Who's just? Who's bias? Oh? There he is.

789
00:50:02.880 --> 00:50:07.639
It's Cyrus. I'm gonna choose him to liberate. Not in

790
00:50:07.639 --> 00:50:11.400
this case, it's not about liberating the Jews. They're not

791
00:50:11.440 --> 00:50:13.840
even mentioned. They're not even a part of the story.

792
00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:24.159
It's about liberating the Babylonians from this worthless leader. Cyrus

793
00:50:24.239 --> 00:50:33.599
is presented as divinely appointed and favored. Now, if we

794
00:50:33.639 --> 00:50:37.039
go to Isaiah forty through fifty five, especially chapters forty

795
00:50:37.079 --> 00:50:40.960
one through forty five and forty eight. In this section

796
00:50:41.199 --> 00:50:45.719
of Isaiah again, just anywhere between forty and through fifty five,

797
00:50:46.239 --> 00:50:51.440
Cyrus is called named and anointed by Yahweh Isaiah forty

798
00:50:51.480 --> 00:50:54.320
five four through five. I have called you by your name,

799
00:50:54.880 --> 00:50:58.119
though you do not know me. Isaiah forty five four

800
00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:01.559
through five. I will go before you and level the

801
00:51:01.639 --> 00:51:04.519
exalted places Isaiah forty five to two.

802
00:51:04.960 --> 00:51:08.840
He is my shepherd. He should fulfill all of my purposes.

803
00:51:09.239 --> 00:51:13.400
Isaiah forty five twenty eight and Isaiah forty two one

804
00:51:13.440 --> 00:51:17.000
through four. If this is Cyrus, which we claim, he

805
00:51:17.119 --> 00:51:21.280
is God's servant, he is upheld and chosen, given spirit

806
00:51:21.639 --> 00:51:30.360
empowered authority to bring justice in an imperial and political sense. Now,

807
00:51:30.360 --> 00:51:32.639
if you look at the Cyrus cylinder and you look

808
00:51:32.639 --> 00:51:35.400
at Isaiah forty through fifty five, if you don't see

809
00:51:35.480 --> 00:51:38.480
Cyrus and Isaiah forty through fifty five, it's because you

810
00:51:38.599 --> 00:51:42.760
have been blinded and you've been deceived by the very

811
00:51:43.400 --> 00:51:45.960
Christians who claim to be teaching you the Bible.

812
00:51:50.960 --> 00:51:52.639
So what do they have?

813
00:51:52.800 --> 00:51:55.880
Similar Both betray Cyrus as an agent of divine will.

814
00:51:56.000 --> 00:52:00.360
Both the cylinder and Isaiah betrays Cyrus as an agent

815
00:52:00.360 --> 00:52:04.079
of divine will. The cylinder, it's Marduk. Isaiah, it's the

816
00:52:04.119 --> 00:52:08.679
true God, It's Shahweh. The difference the cylinder promotes Cyrus's greatness.

817
00:52:09.760 --> 00:52:12.760
Isaiah insists God alone deserves glory. So so what do

818
00:52:12.800 --> 00:52:16.199
they have in common? They're both seen, they both betray

819
00:52:16.320 --> 00:52:18.480
Cyrus as an agent of divine will. What do they

820
00:52:18.480 --> 00:52:21.800
have different? The cylinder promotes cyrus greatness. Look at how

821
00:52:21.840 --> 00:52:24.679
great he is, look at how wonderfully he is. Everyone

822
00:52:24.719 --> 00:52:29.199
look at Cyrus. Isaiah says, no, no, no, no, no, no no.

823
00:52:29.440 --> 00:52:31.880
God alone deserves the glory, and he's not going to

824
00:52:31.920 --> 00:52:34.599
give his glory to another. He's not giving it to Marduk.

825
00:52:34.760 --> 00:52:40.519
He's not giving it to Cyrus. Similarity, both acknowledge Cyrus's

826
00:52:40.559 --> 00:52:46.239
impact across nations. Right, the Cylinder and Isaiah seems to

827
00:52:46.280 --> 00:52:49.639
imply that Cyrus is going to impact more than just Judah,

828
00:52:49.880 --> 00:52:51.320
more than just Babylon.

829
00:52:51.519 --> 00:52:53.320
He's impacting the nations.

830
00:52:55.800 --> 00:53:00.159
Isaiah frames it as God's redemptive plan for Israel and

831
00:53:00.280 --> 00:53:07.559
the world. The cylinder emphasizes Cyrus's benevolence and his legitimacy.

832
00:53:08.480 --> 00:53:12.159
So Isaiah is going to frame it, Hey, look, this

833
00:53:12.199 --> 00:53:15.559
is God's redemptive plan for Israel and the entire world.

834
00:53:16.079 --> 00:53:20.039
And then the cylinder is like, Cyrus is so benevolent,

835
00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:25.239
his rule is legitimate. Again, it's political propaganda. It straight

836
00:53:25.280 --> 00:53:28.360
up political propaganda. You've got to be able to see that.

837
00:53:31.239 --> 00:53:31.559
All right.

838
00:53:31.679 --> 00:53:34.320
Now let's consider the role in restoring the Jewish people.

839
00:53:35.599 --> 00:53:38.440
Now this is important. The Sirius cylinder does not mention

840
00:53:38.599 --> 00:53:42.519
Judah Jerusalem by name. It speaks generally of returning gods

841
00:53:42.519 --> 00:53:46.119
and peoples to their original cities, which indicates Cyrus didn't

842
00:53:46.199 --> 00:53:48.079
just do this once. He did this multiple times for

843
00:53:48.159 --> 00:53:53.760
multiple peoples. Isaiah forty through fifty five specifically names Jerusalem

844
00:53:53.880 --> 00:53:56.559
and the Temple, and God declares he is fulfilling his

845
00:53:56.639 --> 00:53:58.679
promise to Jacob to Israel.

846
00:53:59.440 --> 00:54:00.480
The rest area is.

847
00:54:00.400 --> 00:54:05.960
Covenental, rooted in God's mercy, not imperial generosity. So in Isaiah,

848
00:54:05.960 --> 00:54:09.039
it's not like, well, hey, this is happening because Cyrus

849
00:54:09.079 --> 00:54:12.960
has such is so generous and so benevolent. No, no, no,

850
00:54:13.039 --> 00:54:20.159
that's happening because God. This is covenantal promise. So if

851
00:54:20.199 --> 00:54:24.440
we break this down a little bit more, all right,

852
00:54:25.239 --> 00:54:30.400
the divine source, all right, and the Cyrus cylinder, the

853
00:54:30.400 --> 00:54:34.199
divine sources Marduk in Isaiah forty through.

854
00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:36.400
Fifty five, it's Shahweh.

855
00:54:36.639 --> 00:54:41.480
The purpose in the Cyris cylinder the legitimacy of rule,

856
00:54:41.760 --> 00:54:45.000
the benevolence. Its purpose is to show that Cyrus is

857
00:54:45.119 --> 00:54:50.119
legitimate and that his rule is legitimate, and that he's benevolent.

858
00:54:51.000 --> 00:54:53.599
In Isaiah forty through fifty five, the purpose is to

859
00:54:53.639 --> 00:54:56.239
show the fulfillment of covenant, of the covenant that God

860
00:54:56.280 --> 00:55:01.599
had made with Israel, and it's to show God's glory.

861
00:55:02.000 --> 00:55:06.079
The religious tone in the Cyrus Cylinder it's polytheistic and

862
00:55:06.119 --> 00:55:07.159
it's tolerant.

863
00:55:08.320 --> 00:55:12.119
And Isaiah it's monotheistic and exclusive.

864
00:55:14.159 --> 00:55:16.400
When it comes to the knowledge of God, and the

865
00:55:16.440 --> 00:55:21.800
Cyrus Cylinder it's devoted to Marduk and Isaiah forty through

866
00:55:21.800 --> 00:55:26.760
fifty five. You get the only way that when it

867
00:55:26.760 --> 00:55:29.559
comes to the knowledge of God, Cyrus hasn't He doesn't

868
00:55:29.639 --> 00:55:32.639
know Y'allwegh. He doesn't know him. He's blind, he doesn't

869
00:55:32.679 --> 00:55:36.960
know him. He knows Marduk, he doesn't know the true God.

870
00:55:37.079 --> 00:55:40.119
So the religion the knowledge of God in the cylinder,

871
00:55:40.840 --> 00:55:45.280
it's the knowledge is about Marduk and Isaiah. Cyrus doesn't

872
00:55:45.280 --> 00:55:48.320
have a clue, he doesn't know what's going on. The

873
00:55:48.440 --> 00:55:52.079
role with exiles and the cylinder, he returns them to

874
00:55:52.119 --> 00:55:56.039
their home, and Isaiah forty he liberates them as God's servant.

875
00:55:56.119 --> 00:55:58.719
He's not just returning them to go home because he's nice.

876
00:55:58.800 --> 00:56:04.679
He's literally doing this because Cyrus is the servant of Yahweh.

877
00:56:04.719 --> 00:56:09.559
The style and the cylinder, it's royal propaganda.

878
00:56:09.920 --> 00:56:16.239
In Isaiah, it's supposed to be prophetic revelation. The theme.

879
00:56:16.480 --> 00:56:20.000
When it comes to the servant identity and Cyrus cylinder,

880
00:56:20.119 --> 00:56:23.599
this idea of the servant and Cyrus being a servant,

881
00:56:23.880 --> 00:56:27.840
it's not used in the cylinder, of course not. Cyrus

882
00:56:27.920 --> 00:56:32.400
is not the servant. He's the benevolent liberator, he's the king,

883
00:56:32.559 --> 00:56:38.400
he's the humble ruler. But in Isaiah it is he's

884
00:56:38.440 --> 00:56:42.480
explicitly referred to as a servant, the servant of God,

885
00:56:43.360 --> 00:56:48.320
the servant of Yahweh. When it comes to eschatology and

886
00:56:48.360 --> 00:56:52.280
the Cyrus cylinder, there isn't any eschatology. It's not that's

887
00:56:52.320 --> 00:56:56.519
not even in mind here and Isaiah. The eschatology is

888
00:56:56.559 --> 00:57:00.440
embedded in it because because not only is Cyrus, they're

889
00:57:00.719 --> 00:57:05.360
doing this historical thing that ultimately points in some ways

890
00:57:05.400 --> 00:57:08.000
to Christ. Because the New Testament writers are going to

891
00:57:08.119 --> 00:57:11.679
use some of this two point directly to Christ. So

892
00:57:11.719 --> 00:57:14.360
it has a connection to eschatology.

893
00:57:15.480 --> 00:57:17.159
So what is the conclusion.

894
00:57:18.159 --> 00:57:21.679
The Cyrus cylinder in Isaiah forty through fifty five describe

895
00:57:21.760 --> 00:57:27.599
the same historical events, but from opposite philological angles. The

896
00:57:27.639 --> 00:57:32.840
Cyrus cylinder is imperial propaganda grounded in Persian Babylonian religious tradition.

897
00:57:33.519 --> 00:57:37.320
Isaiah forty through fifty five, including Isaiah forty two, presents

898
00:57:37.400 --> 00:57:41.239
Cyrus as an unwinning agent of Yahweh, raised up not

899
00:57:41.360 --> 00:57:45.320
to glorify himself, but to fulfill God's purpose for Israel.

900
00:57:50.000 --> 00:57:58.880
If Isaiah forty two refers to Cyrus, the cylinder confirms.

901
00:57:59.320 --> 00:58:00.559
What he did.

902
00:58:01.920 --> 00:58:11.440
Isaiah explains why he did it. Isaiah explains who empowered

903
00:58:11.519 --> 00:58:17.639
him and how his role fits into redemptive history, ultimately

904
00:58:17.679 --> 00:58:24.000
pointing beyond Cyrus to a greater servant that was still

905
00:58:24.079 --> 00:58:32.119
to come and that ultimately will be Christ. So if

906
00:58:32.159 --> 00:58:35.760
we're right about Isaiah forty two, which I believe this

907
00:58:35.960 --> 00:58:40.559
history one percent confirms, then everything in Isaiah forty two

908
00:58:40.639 --> 00:58:44.280
fits perfectly with the Cyrus cylinder. Everything in Isaiah forty

909
00:58:44.320 --> 00:58:47.320
forty four and forty five fits perfectly with the Cyrus cylinder.

910
00:58:47.440 --> 00:58:50.719
Everything in Isaiah forty one fits perfectly with the Cyrus cylinder.

911
00:58:50.760 --> 00:58:54.079
In fact, it adds even more to why there's such

912
00:58:54.119 --> 00:58:58.320
an emphasis on Hey the gods, these false gods, these

913
00:58:58.320 --> 00:59:01.280
are idols, they're nothing, they're usually don't my glory is

914
00:59:01.280 --> 00:59:03.400
not going to be given to them, because there's literally,

915
00:59:03.519 --> 00:59:06.679
in a sense, a battle on who is going to

916
00:59:06.719 --> 00:59:11.000
get the credit. Not because Cyrus himself gives the credit

917
00:59:11.480 --> 00:59:12.679
to Marduk.

918
00:59:12.920 --> 00:59:13.079
Right.

919
00:59:13.239 --> 00:59:16.320
He basically says, I was chosen to do Marduk, chose

920
00:59:16.400 --> 00:59:20.480
me mart So this Babylonian god is getting the glory.

921
00:59:20.679 --> 00:59:22.360
So God has to come along go no no, no,

922
00:59:22.360 --> 00:59:23.440
no no no no no no no.

923
00:59:23.480 --> 00:59:26.599
It's not a Babylonian god who gets the glory. I

924
00:59:26.639 --> 00:59:29.400
get the glory because I chose you, Cyrus.

925
00:59:30.440 --> 00:59:34.079
I chose him. I'm using him. He is my servant.

926
00:59:34.119 --> 00:59:38.800
So Israel, don't focus on don't give Cyrus the glory. Hey, Israel, Judah,

927
00:59:39.079 --> 00:59:43.519
don't give Marduk the glory. I get the glory. I'm

928
00:59:43.519 --> 00:59:46.599
the one behind this. I'm the one controlling this. So

929
00:59:46.679 --> 00:59:49.199
you need to find your hope, your peace, your comfort

930
00:59:49.280 --> 00:59:52.039
in me because this is all me fulfilling the.

931
00:59:52.000 --> 00:59:53.599
Covenant that I made with you.

932
00:59:56.400 --> 01:00:03.320
And that's the Cyrus cylinder. I hope that it really

933
01:00:04.079 --> 01:00:07.960
captures everything about it in significance. I mean, we could

934
01:00:07.960 --> 01:00:10.719
probably spend another hour going through this, but I wanted

935
01:00:10.719 --> 01:00:13.559
to just try to wrap this up in one session,

936
01:00:13.639 --> 01:00:19.760
in one episode, in one hour, whatever, the one Sunday

937
01:00:19.760 --> 01:00:20.679
school class.

938
01:00:20.360 --> 01:00:22.119
Whatever we're referring to this as.

939
01:00:22.480 --> 01:00:25.119
I wanted to go through that as fast as I could,

940
01:00:25.199 --> 01:00:27.679
but hopefully covering this now, if you're trying to take notes,

941
01:00:27.719 --> 01:00:29.440
I know a lot of that was probably hard. I

942
01:00:29.519 --> 01:00:32.039
tried to break it down, try to do the comparison

943
01:00:32.239 --> 01:00:35.000
and the contrast. I tried to give you all the

944
01:00:35.000 --> 01:00:37.199
basic information about it.

945
01:00:37.960 --> 01:00:39.000
I tried to give you.

946
01:00:40.599 --> 01:00:43.880
The name of the temple it was located, where they

947
01:00:44.039 --> 01:00:46.960
discovered it nearby, which again happened to just be the

948
01:00:46.960 --> 01:00:51.320
temple of Marduk, and that interesting, Okay. We talked about

949
01:00:51.360 --> 01:00:54.679
the king of Babylon that was referenced. We talked about

950
01:00:54.719 --> 01:01:00.800
the dating, the language, what it was made out of,

951
01:01:01.280 --> 01:01:05.679
how it was discovered in pieces, it's significance, Why we

952
01:01:05.719 --> 01:01:09.079
took the time. I went into a lengthy explanation to

953
01:01:09.199 --> 01:01:12.159
why we just spent that time doing that, because I

954
01:01:12.199 --> 01:01:14.679
want you to see, because now, in some ways I

955
01:01:15.239 --> 01:01:17.280
could have done that at the end and said, hey,

956
01:01:17.280 --> 01:01:18.960
here's the reason we just did that, but I wanted

957
01:01:18.960 --> 01:01:21.239
you to see going in that we are doing this

958
01:01:21.280 --> 01:01:25.039
for a very very specific purpose, so that you can

959
01:01:25.039 --> 01:01:28.679
actually understand Isaiah forty through fifty five better than anybody

960
01:01:28.760 --> 01:01:31.679
else can, because, with all due respect, nobody else is

961
01:01:31.679 --> 01:01:33.280
going to spend the time on Cyrus.

962
01:01:34.079 --> 01:01:36.599
They're so quick. Not only are they so quick to.

963
01:01:36.639 --> 01:01:40.440
Kick out Judah and insert Us, they kick out Cyrus

964
01:01:40.440 --> 01:01:44.559
to bring in Jesus. Now see, from a Christian perspective,

965
01:01:44.599 --> 01:01:46.840
a church answer, you'd be like, well, of course we

966
01:01:46.840 --> 01:01:48.480
should kick out Cyrus and bring in.

967
01:01:48.519 --> 01:01:55.760
Jesus, know when that's not what the text is about.

968
01:01:57.280 --> 01:01:59.639
All right, there we go.

969
01:02:00.920 --> 01:02:05.920
Now we're ready for Isaiah forty two, forty three, forty four,

970
01:02:05.960 --> 01:02:07.880
forty five, forty six, forty seven, forty eight, forty nine

971
01:02:07.880 --> 01:02:09.039
to fifty Oh you get the idea.

972
01:02:09.199 --> 01:02:11.039
We're now ready for the rest.

973
01:02:11.119 --> 01:02:13.760
Now, if we need to take any other detours later on,

974
01:02:13.920 --> 01:02:16.960
we will take those detours. We have every it's perfectly

975
01:02:17.000 --> 01:02:21.320
okay to take those detours. But there is the Cyrus cylinder.

976
01:02:23.679 --> 01:02:27.480
So now you understand we have justification for our interpretation

977
01:02:27.519 --> 01:02:30.480
of Isaiah forty two. And now you understand why I

978
01:02:30.559 --> 01:02:35.400
have constantly been mentioning Cyrus, even when AI argued with me.

979
01:02:36.000 --> 01:02:39.719
I kept saying, Cyrus, Cyrus, Cyrus, cyrus, even when every

980
01:02:39.760 --> 01:02:42.960
commentary disagreed with me, Cyrus, sorry, even when every sermon

981
01:02:43.000 --> 01:02:46.159
disagreed with me, Cyrus cyrus. Why because we literally have

982
01:02:46.400 --> 01:02:50.519
history to back it up. So you can choose the

983
01:02:50.599 --> 01:02:56.440
church answer, follow all the commentaries, follow all the sermons,

984
01:02:57.360 --> 01:03:01.719
and miss what the text is actually about, or you

985
01:03:01.760 --> 01:03:06.320
can remember this thing that was found in pieces put

986
01:03:06.360 --> 01:03:10.400
together and they're like whoa, and not anyone who reads

987
01:03:10.400 --> 01:03:14.079
Isaiah forty through fifty five throws in an extra whoa,

988
01:03:14.119 --> 01:03:16.079
a lot of extra woes like whoa, whoa, whoa?

989
01:03:16.119 --> 01:03:17.800
Whoa whoa? This is.

990
01:03:19.559 --> 01:03:23.480
It sounds the same in so many ways, so similar

991
01:03:23.800 --> 01:03:27.880
yet so different, only because one is giving the credit

992
01:03:27.920 --> 01:03:32.039
to a false god. And that makes perfect sense now,

993
01:03:32.960 --> 01:03:36.760
because Isaiah forty through fifty five takes these weird detours

994
01:03:37.280 --> 01:03:39.440
to make this argument against these false gods, and at

995
01:03:39.480 --> 01:03:41.760
times it seems so out of place, but it makes

996
01:03:41.760 --> 01:03:46.840
perfect sense, all right. Thanks for listening, God bless