Which king gave Nehemiah the command to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall?
Artaxerxes, described here as the next Syrian king in line, issued the command that allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall. That decree is tied to Daniel’s prophecy of 490 years, with 483 years fulfilled before Christ was crucified.
Les explains that after Ezra built the temple, another Syrian king, the next one in line, Artaxerxes, gave commandment to Nehemiah to come back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall, because a city would not last long without the protection of a wall. Nehemiah and some who came back with him then began to rebuild the wall. Les connects this command to Daniel’s prophecy: from the date of that command to go back and rebuild the walls of the city, there would be 490 years of God’s timetable prophetically fulfilled in the nation of Israel. History and dating show that from that decree until Christ was crucified was not 490 years but 483 years, meaning the final seven years were still future. Bible scholars realized those seven years, the Tribulation, belonged to Daniel’s 490-year prophecy and had not yet been accomplished.