In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He [Jesus Christ -Yeshua]
was in the beginning with God.
EZRA
The Book of Ezra is the tenth of the twelve books of
history. It
begins where the Second Book of Chronicles ends. Cyrus the Great of
Persia issued the first decree in 538 BC allowing the captives of
Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. While Zerubbabel
led in the restoration of the temple, Ezra was a priest who led in
restoring the remnant of Judah to their spiritual obligations.
The first group of captives from Judah was taken to Babylon in 605
BC during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the 70 years of
captivity, which was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah, temple
restoration began in 536 BC. Construction temporarily ceased during
the reign of Cyrus’s son, Cambyses, from 530-521 BC.
Temple reconstruction resumed in 520 BC when King Darius I issued a
second decree reconfirming the initial decree of Cyrus. The temple was
finally completed in 516 BC. The return of Judah’s remnant was
completed in 457 BC when King Artaxerxes I, during his seventh year
of reign, allowed Ezra and anyone remaining to return to Jerusalem.
Jeremiah had prophesized the return of a remnant of Judah to
Jerusalem during the time of Persian rule. Other prophets of his time
were prophesying God’s final gathering of the people of
Israel to their
land much later in the future, a time we are witnessing today. The
Seventieth Week of Daniel describes the seven-year
tribulation period,
which will begin after the gathering is complete at the end of this age. Jesus Christ, the Messiah will return the second time to
redeem a remnant of Israel.
Ezra 1-6: The first return to Jerusalem led by Zerubbabel;
reconstruction of the temple
Ezra 7-8: The second return to Jerusalem led by Ezra
Ezra 9-10: Ezra’s restoration of Judah’s spiritual responsibility