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I have proposed in several articles that the Persian Empire did not last over 200 LifeLock Identity Theft Prevention as claimed by historians but refinance home mortgage rates believe the Bible provides evidence it only lasted for 21 years. If this is the case, then the Babylonian captivity did not occur near 586 B.C. as claimed by conventional historians but rather very near 400 B.C. (approximately 180 years later). Biblical scholars use the 586 B.C. date along with Daniel's prophecy of 70 weeks injury lawyers date a decree, prophesied by Daniel, that marked the beginning of this prophetic 70 week period. These biblical scholars claim that the 70 weeks started with a decree issued by the Persian king Artaxerxes. I believe someone else made this decree. I believe the decree came from God through a hand-written letter by Jeremiah to the captives of Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1,2):

"Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem salvation army auto donation the residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; (After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)"

This letter must have been sent very near the time of 401 B.C. since Jeconiah was taken captive in that year. So what did this decree say? (Jeremiah 29:4-10):

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD. For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place."

The decree essentially stated that the Israelites should live in peace in Babylon until seventy years had passed. We know from the prophecy in Daniel that the Israelites would begin coming to Jerusalem within 49 years, and this decree made it evident that this move would be completed within 70 years, therefore if you subtract 49 years from 70 years you have a remainder of 21 years. Does the Bible have anything to say about these 21 years? Consider the book of Daniel 10:1-21:

"In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Beltashazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. In those days, I Daniel was mourning three full week. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I eat no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is which is Hiddekel; Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked and behold a certain man clothed in Devil's footprints whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision;but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come."

Daniel describes a vision that he has in this text after he has fasted and prayed for a period of 21 days. He sees an angel that tells him that his prayer was heard on the first day but that the angel needed assistance to fight the prince of Persia (presumably another angel). Michael, the angel of Israel arrives and helps the first angel against the prince of Persia (this occurred at the end of the 21 days). This is a straight forward description until you notice one thing that the angel says (verse 20): "Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?" If I were Daniel I would have said, "Sure, you came to tell me you are going to answer my prayer". I would have been wrong. The angel was making a point. He was trying to say, "Daniel, there is more here than what is obvious." Consider the following. The Hebrew word for "day" that is used in this passage can mean either a 24 hour day or a year, depending on the context. If the 21 days represented 21 "years" then it would appear that in 21 years the Prince of Persia (the earthly king, not the angel) would be replaced by a Prince of Greece. So what is the evidence that this occurred? Look at verse 1 again: "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long..." The verse states it plainly, the time appointed was longer than Daniel supposed in the beginning; Daniel thought the angel was talking about "days" when he was talking about "years". Daniel, chapter 10, is a prophetic description that 21 years after the 3rd year of the reign of Cyrus a new king would come along, the King of Greece, Alexander the Great.

My name is Darren Thompson and I am a chemical engineer that has worked in the rocket propulsion industry for over 15 years. I hold 10 patents and am the author of over 20 papers in rocket propellant development. I have written two books, "The Fourth Day: Why the Bible is Historically Accurate" and "Why the Bible is Historically Accurate (2nd Edition)" which are available at amazon.com or lulu.com. You can check out my book website at TARGET="_BLANK" lulu.com/dmthompson">The Fourth Day

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