by Harold Camping
Family Stations Inc.

to them. Even when Jonah preached as a lone prophet to a great city of more than 120,000 people, their knowledge of Bible truth would have been minuscule.

God had warned Israel, for example, in I Kings 14:15:

For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.

The groves spoken of in this verse identify with the worship of false gods. Because Israel did not listen to those warnings of God, they were totally destroyed by the Assyrian nation in the year 709 B.C. We read in II Kings 17:14, 18:

Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

The same situation prevails in the world in our day. On the one hand, there are all the local congregations that have been taught from the Bible for many years. Presently, they are being warned that God’s wrath is upon them because they are not nearly as faithful to the Bible as they should be. Their members are trusting in their denomination, or their pastor, or their creedal confessions, or their water baptism, or their church membership as the guarantee of their salvation. But they are not trusting the Bible as the ultimate authority. The proof of this is the fact that they are not repenting of wrong doctrines they hold. Nor are they obeying God’s command to leave the churches. Because God has come to the local churches as the Judge of all the earth to prepare those who are not true believers to stand before the Judgment Throne, the genuine believers must get out of the local churches. (See The End of the Church Age and After and Wheat and Tares, available free of charge from Family Radio.)

In spite of the ready availability of the Bible, most of those in the churches and in the world will remain in rebellion against God. Like Matthew 24:37-38 declares:  

Unsaved Mankind is Desperately Wicked

We do not normally realize that any individual who is not saved is tremendously wicked. But the Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

In Matthew 15:19, the Bible adds:

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

We read these verses and know that they are true. However, there have always been people who, though they pay no attention to the Bible, do live decent moral lives. Think, for example, of a mother’s love for her children. Surely we cannot detect terrible wickedness in the lives of such kindly, loving, generous, law-abiding individuals. Nevertheless, the Bible is true in all that it teaches. But how can the indictment of these verses be correct?

God Restrains Wickedness in the Lives of the Unsaved

When we search the Bible for an answer to this puzzle, we find at least two answers. The first answer is that God restrains sin in the lives of people (Psalm 76:10). God gives us an example of this in Genesis Chapter 20. There we read of a heathen king named Abimelech who had an opportunity to sin with Sarah, the wife of Abraham. However, he did not commit this sin. God explained in Genesis 20:6 why Abimelech did not commit this sin:

I also withheld thee from sinning against me; therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.

The lesson we learn from this is that God restrains mankind from being as sinful as they are by nature. Obviously, since the heart of man is as wicked as God declares it is, mankind would soon completely destroy themselves if God allowed all mankind to live as wickedly as they are by nature.

increasingly, the general public is accepting it as a lifestyle that is not necessarily sinful at all.

But God is not fooled. He declares three times in these verses, Romans 1:24-28, that He has given people up to this sin. This explains why it is multiplying so rapidly and why people are blindly accepting it as a non-sin.

The ominous fact is that when God removes His restraint on sin on a worldwide basis, as is evidenced by this homosexual issue today, it means that Judgment Day must be close. Even as God has removed Himself from the local congregations so that they can easily increasingly rebel against the Law of God, so, too, God is removing Himself from restraining sin in the lives of the unsaved of the world. We can only conclude that God is preparing the whole world for His return at which time each and every unsaved person must stand for judgment.

Truly, we can thank God that at this same perilous time in the earth’s history, God is still saving people.

But now we should return to our journey down the timeline of history as we continue to witness the unfolding of God’s magnificent salvation plan.

709 B.C. The End of the Ten Tribes

Traveling down the Biblical highway of time has brought us to 709 B.C. In the year 709 B.C., disaster struck the ten tribes of Israel, whose capital was Samaria. Because of Israel’s constant rebellion against God, after 222 years of existence as a nation, they were completely destroyed by the nation of Assyria (II Kings Chapter 17).

Virtually every theologian, Bible student, or archaeologist interested in the rise and fall of nations will immediately offer 722 B.C. as the year when Israel was conquered. In so doing, most will be unwittingly acknowledging their lack of trust in the Bible. To conclude that Israel’s end came in the year 722 B.C. requires a complete denial of the truthfulness and accuracy of the Bible. This is so because the Bible gives very clear information regarding the year of the end of Israel. The Bible teaches very plainly that in the year 709 B.C., Israel came to its end.

First, we need to learn about an event that threatened the security of Israel’s neighbor to the south, Judah. In II Kings 18:13 we read:  

Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.

The massive assault of Sennacherib king of Assyria against the Kingdom of Judah, which is described in this verse, ended with the complete destruction of the army of Sennacherib. In one night, his army of 185,000 men was destroyed. We read in II Kings 19:34-36:

For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

If we would carefully lay out the Biblical Calendar of the kings of Judah and Israel, we would discover that the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah was the year 701 B.C. (See The Perfect Harmony of the Numbers of the Hebrew Kings which can be obtained free of charge from Family Radio.)

It is also true that archaeologists, based on the archaeological record, conclude that this assault by Sennacherib on the nation of Judah occurred in the year 701 B.C. For example, Merrill F. Unger states in his book Archaeology and the Old Testament:

The Assyrian king in 701 B.C. launched his great western campaign to punish Hezekiah and other recalcitrants and bring them back under the Assyrian yoke. This important undertaking is not only graphically described in the Bible but is also recorded in the annals of Sennacherib which were recorded on clay cylinders or prisms. The final edition of these annals is found on the so-called Taylor prism of the British Museum. . . . The account of Sennacherib’s western campaign recorded in the Taylor Prism is the same as that described in II Kings 18:13 - 19:37, II Chronicles 32:1-12, and Isaiah Chapters 36 and 37. A great deal of light is shed on the Biblical narrative by the monuments and there are numerous striking points of agreement, proving that the campaign of 701 B.C. is the one described in the Bible.
The destruction of Sennacherib’s army, which was besieging Jerusalem, by divine intervention (II Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36) offers an adequate reason why the king never returned to the region of Palestine. Sennacherib’s own records, moreover, give ample evidence that he never took Jerusalem.” ¹

Thus, there is complete agreement between the archaeological record and the Biblical record that the events recorded in II Kings 18:13 occurred in the year 701 B.C. Therefore, it should be very obvious that if II Kings 18:13 indicates that this assault on Jerusalem by Sennacherib occurred in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, then Hezekiah’s first year should be fourteen years earlier, in the year 715 B.C.

Moreover, II Kings 18:9 clearly states:

And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.

If the first year of King Hezekiah was 715 B.C., then the fourth year would have been the year 711 B.C. And since in the Bible verse given above, we are instructed that the fourth year of Hezekiah coincided with the seventh year of Hoshea king of Israel, then it is clear that in the year 711 B.C., the nation of Israel had not yet been destroyed by the Assyrians. Moreover, it is also clear from this verse that at that time Shalmaneser was king of Assyria.

The next verse, II Kings 18:10, continues:

And at the end of three years they took it: even in the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken.

The phrase “the end of three years” indicates the assault on Samaria, which was the capital of Israel, began early in the fourth year of Hezekiah and ended in the sixth year. The sixth year would have been the year 709 B.C. Thus, we can know from the Biblical information that, without question, Israel was conquered by the Assyrians in the year 709 B.C.

But the archaeologists offer their conclusions based on their findings in the archaeological record. Based on an historical inscription written about 200 years later, they conclude that Shalmaneser was king of Assyria during the period 727 B.C. to 722 B.C. Based on inscriptions found in the ruins of ancient Khorsebad, they have concluded that a king named Sargon II, who may have been the son or brother of Shalmeneser, conquered Samaria in the year 722 B.C. They have arrived at this conclusion because Sargon II claimed to have conquered Babylon in his thirteenth year as king, and the archaeological information shows that Babylon was conquered by the Assyrians in the year 709 B.C. Thus, if 709 B.C. was Sargon’s thirteenth year, then his first year was 722  

B.C. Thus, if Samaria was conquered by Sargon in his first year, it must have been the year 722 B.C. in which Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians. Of course, this conclusion is altogether incorrect because it disagrees entirely with the Biblical account which we know is impeccably accurate.

It is easy to understand how the very faulty archaeological record is what it is. The archaeological record shows that Sargon, who is called Sargon II by the archaeologists, was a very vain king. Extensive inscriptions about his exploits and power have been found. On the other hand, very little has been found in the archaeological record concerning Shalmaneser who ruled before him. Only the Bible tells us that Shalmaneser was still king as late as the year 711 B.C.

It is true that there is an implication in the Bible that Sargon was involved in the final end of Samaria. We read in II Kings 18:10, in which the end of Samaria is described, “they took it.” The pronoun “they” could refer to both King Shalmaneser and to King Sargon who likely had been reigning as coregents. Moreover, the next verse does not name Shalmaneser. The verse simply says, “And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel . . . ” (II Kings 18:11).

When we take into account the archaeological record, but recognize the superb accuracy of the Biblical account, we can fairly accurately reconstruct this period of history. Shalmaneser began to reign over Assyria in the year 727 B.C. Five years later, in the year 722 B.C., Sargon became co-regent with him. Thus, 722 B.C. became the first year of Sargon ruling as king.

Early in the year 711 B.C., Shalmaneser began his assault on Samaria which lasted three years and ended in the year 709 B.C. Very close to the final end of this assault, Shalmaneser died, perhaps killed in battle. In all likelihood, God used the plural pronoun “they” in II Kings 18:10 to indicate that both Shalmaneser and Sargon were involved in the final days of the overthrow of Samaria.

With the death of Shalmaneser in 709 B.C., Sargon became the sole ruler. It was also in this year that Sargon conquered Babylon. While this year 709 B.C. in one sense was his thirteenth year, inasmuch as it appears that he became co-regent with Salmaneser in the year 722 B.C., in another sense, Sargon himself spoke of 709 B.C. as his first year. It was in this year that he became the sole ruler of the kingdom of Assyria.

Because of Sargon’s extreme vanity, he probably destroyed many of the inscriptions relating to Shalmaneser’s reign. Thus, Sargon’s greatness would be substantially enhanced. The historian who 200 years later examined the available records from Shalmaneser’s reign would conclude that Shalmaneser reigned only five years.  

The Bible continues to detail their sins and then declares how God had warned them. II Kings 17:13 declares:

Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

However, Israel did not listen to the prophets of God. They continued in all of their sins. Finally, God declares in II Kings 17:18:

Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

Thus, in the year 709 B.C., Israel, which for 222 years had been an external representation of the kingdom of God, ceased to be a nation.

The spotlight of the Gospel will now be pointing at the remaining nation, Judah. This will bring us to the year 609 B.C., the next important milestone in the unfolding drama of God’s salvation program.  

609 B.C. Disaster Comes to Judah

In the year 709 B.C., a king reigned over Judah who was one of the most God-fearing kings who ever ruled over Judah. His name was Hezekiah, and the Bible has many wonderful things to say about him. During the reign of Hezekiah (715 B.C. - 686 B.C.), Judah experienced great blessings from God.

Unfortunately, however, Hezekiah was followed on the throne by his son Manasseh. Manasseh reigned a long time (697 B.C. - 642 B.C.). During the first eleven years, while a young man, he reigned as co-regent with his father. When his father, Hezekiah, died, he continued to reign for an additional forty-four years. But he proved to be an exceedingly wicked ruler. The consequences of his evil rule were catastrophic for the nation of Judah. We read in II Kings 21:11-14:

Because Manasseh king of Judah hath done these abominations, and hath done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, which were before him, and hath made Judah also to sin with his idols: therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of mine inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies.

Would God punish Judah in such terrible fashion? Indeed, God never gives idle warnings. God is fully capable of bringing to pass any prediction He makes (Numbers 23:19; Daniel 4:34-35).

But then it looked like the horrendous prediction of doom upon Judah would not happen. Manasseh died, and his son Amon, who was also wicked like his father, reigned for two years and was killed by his servants. The eight-yearold son of Amon, a child named Josiah, became king. Josiah proved to be the most obedient, God-fearing king who ever sat on the throne of Israel or Judah.

The Bible declares in II Kings 23:25:  

prior to when those twenty monarchs ruled. They began when Saul became the first king. He ruled over the undivided kingdom – over all Israel – as did King David and as did King Solomon who followed. Upon Solomon’s death, two of these tribes became the nation of Judah, and ten of the tribes became the nation of Israel. Therefore, in a real sense, the nation of Israel, which consisted of the ten tribes, had a total of 23 (20 + 3) monarchs rule over them. Likewise, in a real sense, the nation of Judah, which consisted of the two tribes, had 23 (20 + 3) monarchs rule over them. Thus, both nations were tied into the number 23 which signifies judgment. And significantly, both nations ended under the judgment of God. (Chapter 8 of this book will give us a detailed study of the numbers in the Bible.)

Moreover, the nation of Israel existed as an independent nation from 931 B.C. until 709 B.C. when they were destroyed by the nation of Assyria. 931 - 709 = 222 years that they existed as a nation. Significantly, the number 222 is the product of 3 x 2 x 37. As Chapter 8 of this book shows, the number 3 signifies God’s purpose, the number 2 identifies with those who are caretakers of the Bible, and the number 37 signifies God’s judgment. Thus, we see hidden within the 222 years of the history of Israel that it was God’s purpose (the number 3) that eventually those who were made caretakers of the Bible (the number 2) would come into judgment (the number 37).

Likewise, the nation of Judah was an independent nation from 931 B.C. until 609 B.C. (931 - 609 = 322 years). The number 322 breaks down into 2 x 7 x 23. We will see in Chapter 8 of this study that the number 7 signifies perfect completeness. Thus we see hidden within the 322 years of the history of Judah that God’s people (the number 2) would perfectly completely (the number 7) eventually come under God’s judgment (the number 23).

Later we will learn that the duration of the Church Age extended from A.D. 33 to A.D. 1988 (1,988 - 33 = 1,955 years). The number 1,955 breaks down into 5 x 17 x 23. In Chapter 8 of this book, we learn that the number 5 signifies God’s salvation or judgment, and the number 17 signifies Heaven. Therefore, we will learn that during the Church Age, which lasted 1,955 years, God’s salvation program (the number 5) brought people to Heaven (the number 17), but the Church Age would end in judgment (the number 23).  

the isles of the sea. And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed.

In these verses, God specifically indicates that much information about Mordecai’s greatness in the Media-Persian Kingdom were written in the legal records of the Media-Persian Empire.

Yet the archaeological record says absolutely nothing about any of the individuals named in the Book of Esther. Not one word identifying with the individuals named in the Book of Esther has been found by archaeologists. In all likelihood, if and when the followers of Haman came again into power after King Ahasuerus died, they promptly expunged from the kingdom records all references to the events recorded in the Book of Esther. Thus, a very distorted report of the events that occurred during the reign of that king remains in the secular record. This has made it impossible for the historians and the theologians who trusted the archaeologists to come to truth.

This in turn serves to indicate the great importance of the fact that everything recorded in the Bible can be implicitly trusted. How wonderful it is that every word in the Hebrew language from which we obtain our English translation is absolutely true and trustworthy. It is exquisitely accurate because it was written by God. However, even when we implicitly trust every word in the Bible as being infallibly true, it does not mean that we then can quickly come to truth. For example, when we read the Biblical Books Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther, it appears that God designed these accounts in such a way that it would not be at all easy to discover the true facts regarding the Media-Persian kings and especially the identity of Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther. Of course, God wrote the Bible in such a way that it also is a test to discover which Bible readers trust the archaeologists’ conclusions more than the Bible’s. Unfortunately, when we read Bible commentaries on this subject, it appears that all too frequently the archaeologists’ conclusions are the accepted conclusions.

To illustrate the complexity of the Bible account, we might look at Ezra 6:14:

And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the com  

mandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

This verse apparently is speaking of three different kings, one named Cyrus, one named Darius, and one named Artaxerxes. However, please note, the word “commandment” is singular, indicating one commandment was given - not three. Moreover the word “king” is singular, indicating one king - not three. Therefore, it would have been more accurate to translate this verse “. . . according to the commandment of Cyrus, even Darius, even Artaxerxes king of Persia.” It is parallel to Daniel 6:28 which we will learn should have been translated: “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, even in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” The citation of Ezra 6:14 thus gives us information not found in the secular records, namely, that Cyrus was known by the name Darius as well as by the name or title Artaxerxes.

Returning to the year 539 B.C., the Bible records that, many years earlier, Israel had ceased to exist as a viable nation in their own homeland. We have learned that in the year 709 B.C., exactly 170 years prior to 539 B.C., the ten tribes with their capital in Samaria had been destroyed by the Assyrians. Precisely seventy years earlier than 539 B.C., in the year 609 B.C., Judah had begun to be subjugated by enemies. For a brief time it was Egypt (II Kings 23:29-35), and then it was Babylon (II Kings Chapters 24 and 25), that obtained complete mastery over them. In the year 587 B.C., Jerusalem was conquered and the temple was destroyed. Almost all of the people who were not killed went into Babylonian captivity. Thus Israel had ceased to be a nation in her own homeland.

Meanwhile, God was raising up a king in the heathen empire of the Medes and Persians to bring into action God’s plan to permit Israel to return to their land. This was anticipated by a citation written about 200 years earlier and recorded in Isaiah 44:28. There we read:

That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

In preparation for the fulfillment of this prophecy, King Cyrus, in the year 559 B.C., began ruling as a Persian king over a Persian tribe that was a servant of the much larger Median kingdom. However, early in his rule, Cyrus conquered the Median Kingdom. Thus, he became ruler of the huge Media-Persian empire that God raised up to fulfill His prophecy of using Cyrus to free the people of Israel from Babylonian bondage and allow them to return to Jerusalem.  

chaeological record. Because of a mistrust on their part of the accuracy of the Biblical record in general, the archaeologists and the theologians who have attempted to reconcile the archaeological record with the Biblical have come to some very incorrect conclusions. For example, they have concluded that, for a year or two, King Cyrus had an assistant named King Darius who ruled beginning in 539 B.C. They have also concluded that Xerxes I who ruled during the years 485-465 B.C. was the King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther.

Fact is, as we noted earlier, God, when writing the Bible, seems to have written about the Media-Persian kings in such a way that anyone who mistrusted any word of the Bible would never be able to determine the true identity of King Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. Even as we read these books of the Bible which contain the names of many of these Media-Persian kings, we may find great difficulty in knowing which of the kings identify with a particular Biblical citation.

We declare, however, that every word of the Bible in the Hebrew language is absolutely trustworthy. Thus, the Bible is the absolute authority out of which a proper understanding of the archaeological record is to be developed. We will now proceed to follow this principle as we set forth the true historical record of the period from 539 B.C. to 391 B.C.

We will begin by naming the Media-Persian Kings that reigned during this period of time. We will then integrate the Biblical record into the archaeological record so that we will have a more complete account. There were nine kings that ruled during this period of time. The dates of their reigns, according to the archaeological record, appear to be accurate and are not in anyway contrary to any Biblical information. Remember, however, that the archaeological record shows King Cyrus beginning to reign in the year 559 B.C., whereas the Bible tells us his first year would have been twenty years later, in the year 539 B.C. Please recall that this was because it was in 539 B.C. that he conquered Babylon and thus became the ruler of the greatest world empire that had ever previously existed. The nine kings and the lengths of their reigns² that we will examine as follows.

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.

This same name or title is given him in Daniel 11:1:

Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes is the name or title given to him in Daniel 9:1:

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.

This verse assures us that, even though Cyrus reigned as a Persian king when he first ascended the throne in 559 B.C., in actuality, by birth, he was a Mede. It also assures us that the name or title “Ahasuerus” was already being used by the father of king Cyrus.

Earlier we noted that the most puzzling citation concerning the identity of Cyrus is in Ezra 6:14 where we read . . .“according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” Here God is telling us that Cyrus also carried the name or title of both Darius and Artaxerxes. Remember we took note of the fact that in this verse the words “commandment” and “king” are singular, that is, there is only one commandment and one king in view. Thus, this should have been translated, . . . “according to the commandment of Cyrus, even Darius, even Artaxerxes, king of Persia.”

The archaeological record shows that he was also named Hystespes. It further reveals that his father’s name was Cambyses. Since the Bible tells us in Daniel 9:1 that his father’s name was Ahasuerus, we can know that Ahasuerus was a title. The archaeological record also shows us that his grandfather’s name was Cyrus and that it also was Astyages. Thus, we may conclude that Cyrus was a title like the names Artaxerxes and Darius were titles.

When we attempt to harmonize the above, we can conclude that the given name of Cyrus was Hystespes. He was a Mede by birth, son of a king named Cambyses who carried the title Ahasuerus. Cyrus reigned as a Persian king. He was recognized as King Darius the Mede and as King Cyrus the Persian. He was also called Artaxerxes. As indicated above, in all likelihood the  

names Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes were titles. In similar manner, for example, the Egyptian kings were called “Pharaoh.” The ruler of Rome was called “Caesar.” The chief official of the United States is called “President.” We can speculate that it was possibly very wise for Hystespes to use the title Darius the Mede when speaking to Median subjects over which he ruled and possibly to use the title Cyrus the Persian when addressing subjects who were Persian.

In Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1, he is named Cyrus. In II Chronicles 36:22-23, he is called Cyrus King of Persia. In the Book of Daniel, every citation concerned with the Media-Persian king speaks of Cyrus even though he is also called Darius the Median, or King Darius, or Darius the son of Ahasuerus. Cyrus is not named in the Books of Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, or Zechariah.

It was king Cyrus who conquered Babylon in the year 539 B.C., killing Belshazzar the king of Babylon, but, according to the archaeological record, he took the city with virtually no loss of life (Daniel 5:30-31). He immediately decreed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. He also provided great financial help to them (Ezra Chapter1).

King Cyrus, according to the archaeological record, was killed in battle in the year 529 B.C. His son Cambyses, who apparently was named after Cyrus’ father (who also was called by the name Cambyses and the title Ahasuerus) became king.

Cambyses

Cambyses, the son of the Cyrus named in the Biblical record, was called Artaxerxes and Ahasuerus. In the archaeological record, he was called Cambyses. We read about King Cambyses in the Bible in connection with the attempts of the enemies of Israel to stop the work of temple building. During his reign, the enemies of the Jews were able to stop the building of the temple by obtaining a stop order from King Cambyses. We read in Ezra 4:4-7:

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, and hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. And in the days of Artaxerxes wrote Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their companions, unto Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the writing of the letter was writ  

Esther, or Daniel. The Bible clearly shows that it was during his reign in the year 515 B.C. that the work of rebuilding the temple was finished.

Xerxes I

King Darius I was followed on the Media-Persian throne by his son who, according to the archaeological record, was called Xerxes I. Xerxes I reigned from 485 B.C. to 465 B.C. He is the king who is commonly understood to be King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther. This is a strange and unwarranted conclusion because there is no clear archaeological or Biblical evidence to support this conclusion. On the other hand, we will learn that the archaeological as well as the Biblical evidence shows us that King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther had to be Artaxerxes II who began to rule in the year 404 B.C.

Artaxerxes I

King Xerxes I was followed by his son King Artaxerxes I who ruled from 465 B.C. to 424 B.C. The archaeologists also speak of him as Artaxerxes I Longimanus. There is considerable archaeological evidence that agrees with the Biblical record that identifies this king as the king who in 445 B.C. sent Nehemiah to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. We read in Nehemiah 2:1, 5:

And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.

He is also the king spoken of in Ezra 7:1,6-7 as having given orders to the priest Ezra to reestablish the Law of God in Jerusalem.

Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah, this Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him. And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the sing  

history. This could also have seriously limited the ability of ancient historians to produce a true historical account of that period of history.

Because no written records have been found mentioning names such as Haman, Esther, or Mordecai, as we noted earlier in our study, archaeologists and theologians have speculated that King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther was actually Xerxes I. Their basis for this conclusion is given, for example, in a Bible dictionary where we read:

Ahasuerus, Hebrew ‘achashwerosh’ representing the Persian ‘Khshayarsha,’ which in Greek became ‘Xerxes.’ King of Persia, mentioned in the Book of Esther. There seems little doubt that he is to be identified with the well-known Xerxes, who reigned from 485 B.C. to 465 B.C. The main support for this identification is to be found in the linguistic equivalence of the names noted above. In addition, a close similarity has been noted between the character of Xerxes and the character of the king of the Persians portrayed in the Book of Esther. ³

We can learn from the Bible that this idea that the Persian spelling of the word “Xerxes” being similar to the Hebrew spelling of the word “Ahasuerus” is altogether without justification. In analyzing this reason for concluding that Xerxes I was the Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther, we should remember that nowhere in the Bible is the name or title “Xerxes” to be found.

However, even though there is no suggestion of any kind of a King Xerxes, there is a word in the Bible that gives us the Hebrew spelling of the word “Xerxes.” This is because the word “Artaxerxes” which is found several places in the Bible is formed of two parts – Arta and Xerxes. The Hebrew spelling is “Arta chshasta.” This allows us to know that the Hebrew spelling of the word “Xerxes,”when transliterated to our English, is “chshasta.”

Thus, we can compare the transliteration of the Persian word for “Xerxes” with the Hebrew spelling of the words “Xerxes” and “Ahasuerus.” We immediately see the following:

The similarity between the first five letters of the Persian and Hebrew spellings of the word Xerxes can readily be seen. But please note, the

spelling of the Persian word for Xerxes is not similar to the Hebrew word for Ahasuerus.

In actuality, the name “Ahasuerus” in all likelihood was a title like “Pharaoh” or “Caesar.” This is strongly suggested by taking note of two other words found in the Bible. As we learned, the Hebrew word “Ahasuerus” is transliterated in our alphabet as “achashwerosh.” A very similar word, “achashdarpan” is translated as “prince” (Daniel 6:1-7). Additionally the word “achashdarpenin” is translated as “lieutenants” in Esther 3:12, 8:9, and 9:3.

It is easy to see the similarity of these three words.

Given this clue, what could be another name for Ahasuerus? The Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, translates the word “Ahasuerus” as Artaxerxes. Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived about the time of Christ, also emphasizes that Ahasuerus was Artaxerxes. Of course, we cannot trust the Septuagint and Josephus as we do the Bible. Their conclusions, however, do reflect the common opinion of about 2,000 years ago.

Their conclusions also agree with the testimony of the Bible which speaks of another Media-Persian king being called both Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes. Remember we read in Ezra 4:6, 11:

And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto him, even unto Artaxerxes the king; Thy servants the men on this side the river, and at such a time.

The context shows that Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes are names for the same king. This particular king was Cambyses who reigned from 529 B.C.-522 B.C.

Another fact that should be noted is the contradictory conclusions of archaeologists and historians as they interpret the secular records of Artaxerxes II and that of his son Artaxerxes III. Curiously, the historical, archaeological  

record shows the reign of Artaxerxes II was that of an ineffectual feeble ruler. On the other hand, his son Artaxerxes III, who reigned after the death of his father in 358 B.C., seems to have saved the kingdom. We read:

Artaxerxes III, who, though he shed rivers of blood and all but exterminated his whole family, was successful in uniting once more the empire, which under the feeble sway of his father had been threatened with dissolution. ⁴

On the other hand, in somewhat contradictory fashion, it is reported:

When the long reign of Artaxerxes II came to a close in the autumn of 358 B.C. the authority of the empire had been restored almost everywhere. ⁵

The above citations truly suggest that the authority and power of Artaxerxes II was worldwide to the end of his life. However, the cruel character of his son Artaxexes III suggests a ruler who would go to any extreme to get full credit to himself. Therefore, the obliteration of the record of the name and activity of the Jew, Mordecai, who became second-in-command, could be expected. Moreover, we can surely expect that the wicked Haman, who at one time had great authority under the rule of King Ahasuerus, must have had friends and fellow party members who would reassert their authority once the king died. If they were aligned with Artaxerxes III, they too, would have had great reason to remove all references to the Jew, Mordecai, ruling as second-in-command to King Ahasuerus (Artaxerxes II).

In the archaeological record, there has been found a very helpful piece of evidence that ties Artaxerxes II to the Book of Esther. It was discovered when the ruins of the ancient city of Shushan were excavated many years ago. The throne room, called the “Apandana,” was also excavated. A report concerning this excavation reads as follows:

The Apandana was the king’s throne room, or great Hypo-Hall, which covered nearly an acre of ground. It was supported by thirty-six noble columns – six rows of six each – with capitals carved in the form of bulls kneeling back to back, and by long cedar of Lebanon beams spanning the great distance between the massive columns. Here came the king when he “sat on the throne of his kingdom,” and here were held his banquets and state social events such as the prolonged banquet described in the first chapter of the Book of Esther. The

5 Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 2, 1959, page 448.  

floor of the throne room was “a pavement of red, and blue and white and black marble,” just as it had been described in the Book of Esther. ⁶

Please note the reference to the red, blue, white, and black pavement which matches the language of Esther 1:6: “. . . upon a pavement of red, and blue, and white, and black, marble.”

Of great significance was an inscription that was written in three languages on four of the column pedestals of this throne room. This inscription declares:

Says Artaxerxes, the great King, the King of Kings, the King of all the countries upon the earth, the son of King Darius, the son of King Artaxerxes, the son of King Xerxes, the son of King Darius, the son of King Darius Hystespes. My ancestor Darius built this Apandana (throne room of the palace) in former times. In the time of Artaxerxes, my grandfather, it was burnt by fire. I have restored it.⁷

This inscription was placed there by a King Artaxerxes who can only be Artaxerxes II who reigned from 404 B.C. to 358 B.C.

Please note the similarity of some of the statements in this inscription to the Biblical account. The above inscription states:

. . . the great King, the King of Kings, the King of all the countries upon the earth.

The Bible states in Esther 1:1:

. . . this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even to Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces.

The number 127 is used in another place in the Bible to illustrate that which is worldwide. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, is the only woman in the entire Bible whose life span is given. She died at the age of 127 (Genesis 23:1). Profoundly, Sarah is a picture of all the true believers that exist throughout time throughout the world. We read in Galatians 4:27-28, 31:

7 op. cit., page 166.  

For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

These verses teach that Sarah, the mother of Isaac, symbolically was the mother of every true believer. Therefore, we may understand that her life span of 127 years encompasses the entire number of all true believers who will be saved throughout the history of the world. Therefore, we may likewise conclude that spiritually the 127 provinces ruled over by Ahasuerus represent the whole world, with Ahasuerus himself representing God who rules the whole world. Therefore, the inscription Artaxerxes II wrote on the column pedestals in which he speaks of being “King of all the countries upon the earth” is amazing in its similarity to the Biblical message that his kingdom included 127 provinces. The inscription further states:

In the time of Artaxerxes, my grandfather, it was burnt with fire . . . I restored it.

We know that the Artaxerxes named in this citation was Artaxerxes I who was the grandfather of Artaxerxes II.

We read in Esther 1:3-4:

In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him: when he shewed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honour of his excellent majesty many days, even an hundred and fourscore days.

Surely the language of Esther 1:3-4 could identify with a lavish “open house” lasting 180 days in which Artaxerxes II is displaying the beautiful restored palace that had been partially destroyed by fire during the reign of his grandfather, Artaxerxes I, who reigned from 465 B.C. to 424 B.C. And now, Artaxerxes II has restored it.

We are truly seeing a great deal of circumstantial evidence which shows that King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther can only be Artaxerxes II who reigned from 404 B.C. to 358 B.C. At the same time, because of the magnificent accuracy of the Bible, our understanding of the archaeological record is greatly enhanced.  

spiritually married to God (Jeremiah 3:14), but who was replaced by the New Testament true believers who become the bride of Christ (Isaiah 54:1-3; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-8). In this historical parable, Esther therefore represents:

1. The New Testament true believers who are married to Christ.
2. Christ Himself as the head of the true believers.

year of King Ahasuerus (Artaxerxes II) is the year 391 B.C., we know it is in that year that the last insertion was made into the Bible. There is no indication anywhere in the Bible of an insertion being made at a date later than 391 B.C. The occasion for this inclusion was particularly significant even as the year 391 B.C. proves to be particularly significant.

The occasion was the death of Haman and his ten sons together with more than 75,000 enemies of Israel. As we noted earlier, this is actually a historical parable pointing to the final end of Satan and the wicked of the world who have been plotting the overthrow of Christ and His kingdom. Haman clearly is a picture or type representing Satan. His ten sons surely represent the rule of Satan during the Great Tribulation. We are distinctly reminded of Revelation 20:7-8:

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

This end time language thus focuses the Book of Esther upon the end of the world when Christ will return.

The Book of Esther also focuses on Jesus coming as Savior, as Christ was typified by Esther. Remember, she was willing to give her life in her desire to save the lives of her people, Israel (Esther 4:16). Thus, the Book of Esther focuses in a very unique way upon both the first coming of Jesus as Savior and upon His second coming as Judge of all of the earth.

Curiously, the year 391 B.C. also appears to anticipate the two awesome events of Jesus’ literal appearance on this earth. We will learn that it was in the Jubilee Year of 7 B.C. that Christ appeared as a baby in a manger. It is in all likelihood that, in A.D. 2011, He will appear in the clouds as He comes at the end of this world’s existence.

It is curious and even amazing that in the year 391 B.C., when God’s Word of the Old Testament was finally completed, the year 391 B.C. itself was anticipating Christ’s coming as the perfect fulfilment of the Word of God. The time duration from 391 B.C. to 7 B.C. when Jesus was born equals 384 years. When we break the number 384 down to find any spiritual meaning, we find it breaks down to 3 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 384. Please note the number 3 which spiritually signifies God’s divine purpose. Please note the number 2 which spiritually signifies the caretakers of the Gospel. Jesus is the quintessential caretaker because He is the very essence of the Gospel. Please note that  

there are 7 “2s.” The number 7 spiritually signifies that which is perfect or that which is a perfect fulfillment. The 7 “2s” thus signify that the coming of Jesus as the Savior is the perfect fulfillment of God’s intentions for the Gospel.

But Christ, the essence of the Gospel, is coming at the end of the world to complete the Gospel in every aspect. We are learning in this study that could be A.D. 2011. Amazingly, the year 391 B.C. anticipates A.D. 2011 in a most remarkable way.

Because there is no year zero, we must subtract one year, giving a total of 2,401 years. To discover the spiritual significance, if any exists, in the number 2,401, we must break it down to its fundamental numbers. Amazingly, the number 2,401 breaks down into:

The number 7 points to perfect fulfillment. The 4 “7s” focus our attention on the number 4 or upon the number 2 x 2. The number 4 spiritually signifies the extreme end, thus giving us the idea that, at the time the Word of God ended in the Old Testament era in the year 391 B.C., God is pointing us to its perfect completion (number 7) in the extreme end of time (number 4) which may be A.D. 2011.

It might be noted that there was one other time tied to the year 391 B.C. which stands out in relationship to the coming of the Lord Jesus. Jesus grew up in the village of Nazareth and was known by His friends as a carpenter. That is, for many years, there was no public evidence that He was the Messiah.

But later in this study, we will learn that, when He was almost thirtyfive years of age, He officially began His work as the Messiah. We will learn that it was in September of A.D. 29 that John the Baptist announced “. . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). On the same day, God announced from Heaven “. . . This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). From the day of these enormously important announcements, Jesus became fully engaged in His work as the Messiah. He was born into this world in 7 B.C. His appearance to the world as the Messiah was in A.D. 29.

Again, we are fascinated by the relationship of A.D. 29 to the year 391 B.C., the year the last insertion was made into the Old Testament.  

Adding 29 to 391 gives a sum of 420 inclusive years. The number 420 breaks down into the significant numbers 10 (completeness) x 7 (perfect fullness) x 3 (God’s purpose) x 2 (caretakers of the Gospel). Just as the numbers 3, 2, and 7 are featured by the year of the birth of Christ as it relates to the year 391 B.C., so the same numbers are featured as Christ officially began His work as the Messiah.

Of course, all of this may be coincidental. However, as we learn that God does use numbers and number patterns to illustrate spiritual truth, we should not be surprised if these number patterns are assisting in focusing our eyes on the possibility that A.D. 2011 may be the last year of this world’s existence. Fact is, from time to time, we have indicated that there could be important spiritual significance to certain time intervals that have occurred as God has unfolded His salvation plan. Therefore, before we continue down the highway of time, we should address the subject of God’s use of numbers in the Bible. This we will do as we continue our study.