Is. 48 [The Message]

Cyrus was a mysterious Persian ruler credited for helping Jews return from exile to Jerusalem 2,500 years ago to rebuild the Temple. Cyrus ruled an empire that included the ancient Near East, Southwest and Central Asia, and the Caucasus. Jewish tradition has been consistent in treating him as a pagan agent of God’s divine plan for Jews to return to the Land of Israel from their exile in Babylon (modern-day Iraq). In Isaiah, God chooses Cyrus “to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor … so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Somewhat popular among evangelical Christians is that our former president, Donald Trump, is a modern day Cyrus. Be-it there is a gap between Trump’s, ahem, personal behavior and his support for policies that advance the pro-Israel agenda.

In no way am I trying to push one political candidate over another. The parallels between Trump and Cyrus are worth noting. Just sayin’ …

(I credit Andrew Siloh-Carroll of The Times of Israel for the bulk of my information in this post.)