THE RETURN OF ISRAEL FROM EXILE - PROPHECIES FULFILLED
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) God, through his faithful prophets, predicted that the people of Judah would be taken into captivity because of their sinfulness. But he also predicted that they would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city, the temple, and the nation.
1. What are the prophecies fulfilled by the return of Israel from exile?
#1) Text reference: Isaiah 44:28
@1. 28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’ (Isaiah 44:28 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. Cyrus would be used by God to guarantee the return of a remnant. Jerusalem would be rebuilt and the temple restored.
b) Approximate date
@1. 688 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 539 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. As God named Cyrus even before he was born. God knows what will happen - he is in control.
#2) Text reference: Jeremiah 25:12
@1. 12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. (Jeremiah 25:12 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. Babylon would be punished for destroying Jerusalem and exiling God's people.
b) Approximate date
@1. 605 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 539 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great. God may seem to allow evil to go unpunished, but consequences for wrongdoing are inevitable. God will punish evil.
#3) Text reference: Jeremiah 29:10
@1. 10 For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. The people would spend 70 years in Babylon, then God would bring them back to their homeland.
b) Approximate date
@1. 594 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 538 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. The 70 years of captivity passed, and God provided the opportunity for Zerubbabel to lead the first group of captives home. God's plans may allow for hardship, but his desire is for our good.
#4) Text reference: Daniel 5:17-30
@1. 17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. 21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. (Daniel 5:17-30 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. God had judged the Babylonian empire. It would be given to the Medes and the Persians, forming a new world power.
b) Approximate date
@1. 539 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 539 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. Belshazzar was killed and Babylon was conquered the same night. God's judgment is accurate and swift. God knows the point of no return in each of our lives. Until then, he allows the freedom for us to repent and seek his forgiveness.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) God, through his faithful prophets, predicted that the people of Judah would be taken into captivity because of their sinfulness. But he also predicted that they would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city, the temple, and the nation.
1. What are the prophecies fulfilled by the return of Israel from exile?
#1) Text reference: Isaiah 44:28
@1. 28 Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’ (Isaiah 44:28 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. Cyrus would be used by God to guarantee the return of a remnant. Jerusalem would be rebuilt and the temple restored.
b) Approximate date
@1. 688 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 539 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. As God named Cyrus even before he was born. God knows what will happen - he is in control.
#2) Text reference: Jeremiah 25:12
@1. 12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,’ says the Lord; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. (Jeremiah 25:12 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. Babylon would be punished for destroying Jerusalem and exiling God's people.
b) Approximate date
@1. 605 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 539 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Great. God may seem to allow evil to go unpunished, but consequences for wrongdoing are inevitable. God will punish evil.
#3) Text reference: Jeremiah 29:10
@1. 10 For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. (Jeremiah 29:10 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. The people would spend 70 years in Babylon, then God would bring them back to their homeland.
b) Approximate date
@1. 594 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 538 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. The 70 years of captivity passed, and God provided the opportunity for Zerubbabel to lead the first group of captives home. God's plans may allow for hardship, but his desire is for our good.
#4) Text reference: Daniel 5:17-30
@1. 17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. 21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. (Daniel 5:17-30 NKJV)
a) Prophecy
@1. God had judged the Babylonian empire. It would be given to the Medes and the Persians, forming a new world power.
b) Approximate date
@1. 539 B.C.
c) Fulfillment date
@1. 539 B.C.
d) Significance
@1. Belshazzar was killed and Babylon was conquered the same night. God's judgment is accurate and swift. God knows the point of no return in each of our lives. Until then, he allows the freedom for us to repent and seek his forgiveness.
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