There are, of course, also many private and public letters preserved from this period which are found in Table Case “H” of the Babylonian Room, where they are available to the student who cares to delve into the minute evidences of those days and times.
We shall have to condense a great deal of this material, however, into the one simple statement that the Book of Daniel is historically accredited by these voluminous records! Thus there is only one possible basis whereupon criticism of Daniel may be continued today. In all kindness, but in absolute assurance, we must say that the rejection of the historicity of Daniel by our generation can be predicated only upon complete ignorance of an amazing body of historical knowledge that is available to the student. Either that, or there is a sad desire in the heart of the critic to frustrate the purpose of the Word of God even at the expense of the surrender of personal integrity. The original construction of the case against Daniel did appear formidable at first. It has turned out, however, to be a tissue of falsehood, and Daniel has emerged from the den of liars unharmed and under the continuing protection of God, even as he came forth in safety from the den of lions.
With the coming of Cyrus, the Assyrian and Babylonian dynasties ended and Persian history began. Much of this period of the Persian sway was contemporaneous with the times of the Maccabees, and is of tremendous importance and interest to the student of the history of Israel. But since that same period parallels the four hundred silent years, during which the voice of God was not heard through the prophets, and sacred revelation is awaiting the appearance of Jesus Christ, there is very little of archeological value from those years that can be useful to the establishment of our present thesis.
The exception to this would be seen in the case of the return of the people to rebuild Jerusalem, and to establish a Jewish culture, so that Jesus could be born in the land of Israel, and minister to the people of Israel, as the prophecies had foretold. The events of this return are told in the prophecies of Ezra and Nehemiah, which are abundantly substantiated by secular evidence, and have thus not been questioned or disputed by criticism to any major extent. Cyrus has left an account of this return, and the great king seemed to be vastly elated over the opportunity thus to show kindness to the people of Israel.
According to the record that is generally received, Cyrus the Great signed the decree authorizing the return of the children of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple of God, primarily because of one of those fascinating anticipations of coming events which is the peculiar field of prophecy.
It is recorded that the scribe Zerubbabel entered the presence of Cyrus and with the grandiloquent salutation of that day bowed himself and said, “Oh king live forever! Be it known unto my lord the king that our God hath named him by name in the prophecy of His sacred writings generations before the king was born.” When Cyrus expressed a desire to inquire into this wonder, there was brought into his presence the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and to him was read the forty-fifth chapter. The opening verses of this chapter contained this statement:
“Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut.
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
“And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.”
This is a significant prophecy indeed! Isaiah wrote these words about the year 712 B. C. Cyrus took over the dominion of Babylon 538 B. C. So in this ancient prophecy the conqueror is named by name some century and a half before he was born. His conquest of all nations was clearly delineated and the explanation was given that God had pre-named him for the sake of the thing that he should later do for Israel. Astounded and deeply moved by this evidence of divine favour, Cyrus wrote a notable decree which is preserved for us in these exact words:
“Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? his God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem, and whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free-will offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
With this authority, the remnant returned to start that magnificent epic of the history of Israel that climaxed with the coming of the Redeemer of whom also Isaiah had written.