Continue with A TOLERANT MONARCH

Cyrus then prepared for a confrontation with mighty Babylon. And from this point forward, he figured in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.  Through the prophet Isaiah, nearly two centuries earlier, Jehovah had named Cyrus as the ruler who would overthrow Babylon and liberate the Jews from bondage.  It was by virtue of this advance appointment that  the Scriptures refer to Cyrus as Jehovah's anointed one." - Isaiah 44:26-28.  

When Cyr8us came up against Babylon in 539 B.C.E., he faced a formidable task.  Surrounded by huge walls and a deep and broad moat formed by the river Euphrates, the city seemed impregnable.  Where the Euphrates ran through Babylon, a mountain like wall with huge copper gates ran along the banks of the river.  How could Cyrus possibly take Babylon? 

Over  a century earlier, Jehovah has foretold 'a devastation upon here waters" and he said that "they must be dried up." (Jeremiah 50:38) True to the prophecy, Cyrus diverted the waters of the Euphrates River a few miles north of Babylon.  Then his army sloshed down the riverbed, climbed the slope leading to the wall, and entered the city easily because the copper gates had been left open.  Like "a bird of prey" that swiftly pounces upon its victim, this ruler "from the sunrising"-from the east-captured Babylon in one night!

Next time: Conclusion of A TOLERANT MONARCH

From the book: PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999