The Cyrus Cylinder and Egypt
Egypt will not pull out of its constant crisis until there is a Bill of Rights for every faction of the nation.
[Darris McNeely] Is there a solution for the conflict we continue to see in the streets of Egypt with the recent coup that has removed President Morsi? I think there is, and it's probably from a source that people are not yet able and willing to look at with all of the conflict there between secularists, liberals, and fundamentalists in Islam. It's interesting to note that perhaps the solution could come from even the same region, but from a document that is older than the current crisis.
What Egypt needs is what every successful nation in history has needed and thrived upon, and it is a Bill of Rights. One thing that seems to be lacking in their Constitution and their government and in their whole approach to the life of every Egyptian is a Bill of Rights. A Bill of Rights is something that is probably symbolized by this particular picture right here, which is the Cyrus Cylinder that comes even from the same region of the Middle East discovered in 1879 in modern day Iran.
It is a cylinder about the size of a football. And on this cuneiform tablet is what some have called the first Bill of Rights for human beings written by Cyrus the Great in the year 539 when Cyrus conquered Babylon and decreed that the Jews and other captured peoples could return to their homeland.
This particular cylinder known at the Cyrus Cylinder , currently on tour in the United States, is what is called the first Bill of Rights. And it even deals with Bible history because it was written in 539 BC at the time of the Persian takeover of the Babylonian Empire, and it guaranteed peoples' freedom of religion and certain other fundamental human rights. And when we look at what is taking place especially in Egypt right now and the conflict there that is causing a great deal of suffering on the streets, what some are beginning to realize is a fundamental need is, again, a certain guarantee of rights regardless of one's political or religious persuasion. And that's the way to a solution in Egypt because it's been the way to a solution for any successful nation in modern history.
Ironically it's on a document that comes from the same region of the Middle East, and it also has biblical tie ins because Cyrus was a figure prophesied through the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 44:24-28 [24] Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
[25] That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;
[26] That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof:
[27] That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers:
[28] 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.
See All...; Isaiah 45:1-13 [1] Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
[2] I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
[3] And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
[4] For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.
[5] I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:
[6] That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
[7] I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
[8] Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
[9] Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
[10] Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
[11] Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
[12] I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
[13] I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.
See All...) long before he came to power, long before this was put into writing. Cyrus was an instrument in the hands of God. The ultimate Bill of Rights comes from God's law and the rights and the laws of freedom that God gives to mankind . And when the Egyptian government, or when the Egyptian people, or when any modern people finally come to realize that, they're going to be on the road to success and to freedom. And they're going to be on the road to something that is lasting and enduring all rooted in God's way and God's law.
That's BT Daily . Join us next time.
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