My goodness...that is certainly a really good spin on scripture.....but nothing close to the truth.
Again, this is taking scripture completely out of context and leaving history out of the picture.
Isaiah 44 is addressed to whom?.....
“Now listen, O Jacob my servant,
And you, O Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what Jehovah says,
Your Maker and the One who formed you,
Who has helped you from the womb:
‘Do not be afraid, my servant Jacob"
When speaking of the one who would release Israel from exile in Babylon Isaiah says....
"I am frustrating the signs of the empty talkers,
And I am the One who makes diviners act like fools;
The One confounding the wise men
And turning their knowledge into foolishness;"
The Babylonians were boasters who relied on their superior knowledge and diviners to guide their actions.
God turned their knowledge into foolishness.
"26 The One making the word of his servant come true
And completely fulfilling the predictions of his messengers;
The One saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’
And of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt,
And I will restore her ruins’;
27 The One saying to the deep waters, ‘Be evaporated,
And I will dry up all your rivers’;"
This is exactly what God said would take place. God used Cyrus to conquer Babylon and return the Jews to their homeland to restore what was laid waste....and to re-institute God's worship at his Temple.
28 The One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
And he will completely carry out all my will’;
The One saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’
And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’”
Do you know the background of these verses? Do you know why was Israel exiled to Babylon in the first place? It was because of their continuing unfaithfulness that God used Babylon (a foreign power with foreign deities) to punish his own people. For 70 years (the average lifespan of a human) they were in exile from their homeland, which by the time the exile was to conclude, Jerusalem had become a deserted wasteland. Babylon was not known for releasing its captives...ever. So God decided well in advance to use the Medo-Persian King Cyrus to conquer Babylon, just at the right time and free his people to return to their homeland. Not all exiles returned but as prophesied, a "remnant" did. They had to rebuild Jerusalem's walls and the Temple. It was God's will that it be done.
You may recall that Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a huge image that Daniel was used to interpret for him.
Babylon was pictured by the head of Gold, and the Medes and Persians under Cyrus were pictured by the breast and arms of silver. Medo-Persia in turn was conquered by Alexander the great, followed by Rome and then Britannia, who allied herself with America at the end times pictured by the feet of clay. (Daniel ch 2)
Cyrus was merely the ruler chosen by God in advance to facilitate the release of Israel from Babylonian captivity. True to this prophesy, Cyrus dried up the waters of the Euphrates River that protected Babylon, by rediverting them, and his men marched into the city through unlocked gates whilst the Babylonians and their King, Belshazzar partied. But 'the writing on the wall' told this King that his time was up. Babylon was a seemingly impenetrable city, but Cyrus was guided by God to fulfill the prophesy, 'making the words of his messengers come true'.
History attests to this fact....
."One famous cuneiform inscription found in 1879, the Cyrus Cylinder, records that after taking Babylon in 539 B.C.E., Cyrus applied his policy of returning captives to their homelands. Among those to benefit were the Jews. (Ezra 1:1-4) Many 19th-century scholars had questioned the authenticity of the decree quoted in the Bible. However, cuneiform documents from the Persian period, including the Cyrus Cylinder, provide convincing evidence that the Bible record is accurate."
Ancient Cuneiform and the Bible — Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY
Cyrus' role was fulfilled. There is nothing more said about him. His empire was conquered by Alexander the Great.
