Second advent library

enusfs axcorm countsUWhat commandment PThe decree given by Cbe the decree meantis our next question to answer(see Ezra i. l-ll) cannoty thxemangel, for the four followingreasons:-lst. Cyrus was the first king of Persia, and of courtscannot be the fifth king, as we have already shown.2d reason. The decree of Cyrus was two years beforethe angel gave his last instruction to Daniel, andhe would not have spoken of it as being futru'e, if it hadléready passed: "There shall yet stan up threekings,"c3d reason.Cyrus's decree was not given to buildJerusalem, but " the house of God which was at Jerusale'm;"neither were the walls built in troublous times,under the decree by C4th reason. This decree by Cyruswasgiven 536years before the birth of Christ, or 5(5) years before hisdeath. Therefore no rules of interpretation given inthe Scriptures could possibly show how those thingswereaccomplished in seventy weeks, which Gabrielhas shown, in our text and context, were determined tobe done. This, then, cannot be the commandment, andharmonize with either Bible or facts.Again: the decree `ven by Darius, Ezra vi. l-14,cannot be the commanrlllirent to which the angel alluded,for the same reasons we have shown that Cyrus's decreecould not be the one; for this wasonlya renewal of theformer, and this decree was issued 552 years beforeChr1st's death.The next decree or command of any king of PersiaWe find in the seventh ear of Artaxerxes (Longima-111lB») SeeEzr'avii. 6-Qi In this decree we find thelast command of any king of Persia to restore the captayaJews. We learn that, in this decree, the king funmshed them with money and means to beautify andadorn the temple which had been built by Da.rius's ordere number of years before. We find that the interdict,Ezra iv. 21, in which the Jews were commanded not tobuild Jerusalem, is now removed by its own limitation"until mother commandment be given from me." This4°