There are two arguements I have found that contridict the WT calculation, the first involoves their biblically inspired best guess for the date of the return, and the second specifically times the fall of Jerusalrm with the fall of Babylon. I have used the reasoning put forward in the kc pp. 186-189 Appendix to Chapter 14 as a ref.
Firstly to quote the kc the WT say " Ezra reported that the 70years ran until " the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia", who issued a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland. (Ezra 1: 1-4; 2 Chronicles 36: 21-23)". If this statement is correct then they admit the 70 years concluded in the first year of Cyrus and not his second year as they claim.
The kc continues "If Cyrus' decree came late in his first regnal year, the Jews could have easily be back in their homeland by the seventh month (Tishri) as Ezra 3:1 says;". This statment is totally false, Ezra does not say this.
Ezra 1:11 states " All the utensils................Every thing Sheshbazzar brought up, along with the bringing up of the exiled people out of Babylon to Jerusalem." This clearly states that Sheshbazzar came witha group of exiles, but specifically only to Jerusalem not to there cities in Judea. Ezra then continues in 2:1-2 " And these were the sons....... each one to his own city; 2 those who came with Zerubbabel, Jeshua ........... Baanah." Chapter 2 continues to list all the exiles who where " the sons ". Sheshbazzar is not listed as the person the exile came with or that he was with this group of returnees lead by Zerubbabel. This group of exiles is not the same as the ones mentioned in Ezra 1: 11. IT is therefore this second group which is refered to in 3:1, and chapter 3 goes to date the year of this returnig group.
The date is proved in the book of Haggai 1:9 " There was a looking.......... for what reason?" is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. " By reason of my house that is waste......." This was dated to the the second year of Darius in the 6th month. There is no foundation stone here as is made clear in ch 2: 18 "......from this day and forward, from the twenty-fourth of the ninth, from the day that the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was laid;" This is also date to the 2nd year of Cyrus in 2:10. Therefore we can state that the foundation of the temple was not laided by Zerubbabel in the 2nd year of Darius.
In Ezra 3: 10 " When the builders laid the foundation of the temple......." This happens after 3:8" And in the second year of their coming to the house .....in the second month." It then follows that the " seventh month" refered to in Ezra 3:1 is the seventh month of the first year of Darius.
So as the WT falsely claim that this is the seventh month of the second year of Cyrus but it is proved that it the second of Darius. As the WT do date this as 520BCE, the 70 years now starts in 590BCE, or there is no specific date which can be determined for the first return, and therefore neither can the date of the fall of Jerusalem be determined by this route.
However the date of the fall of Jerusalem can be determined from the fall of Babylon from the bible. ( I shall argue this that will give a date of 586BCE for the fall of Jerusalem OK AnnOmally, it works if argued a more complex way for both 587 and 586.)
Firstly we all agree that babylon fell to Cyrus before the start of his first regnal year. Isa 61: 1-2 states that " The spirit of the sovereign Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to the meek ones. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to those taken captive............... 2 to proclaim the year of goodwill on the part Jehovah................mourning ones." In the Isiah Prophecy book although this prophecy mainly concerns Jesus it says that the first fulfillment of the prophecy takes place when the Jews were released from captivity in Babylon. The proclaimation of liberty is the same as the liberty proclaimed in Leviticus 25: 10 " And you must sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land to all its inhabitants. It will become a Jubilee for you must return each one to his possessions and you should return each one to his family." From Leviticus 9 this liberty was declared on the day of atonement the 10th day of the seventh month.
So not only can we say that this proclaimation of Cyrus prophecied in Isa 61 can be dated to the 10th of seventh month in the 1st year of Cyrus, but that his decree of Ezra 1:1 which includes the return of the temple utensils, has the same date. Now if find the date of the previous proclaimation and we have that date it must be 49 years before in accordance with the law of Jehovah in Leviticus.
The previous proclaimation is made by Jehovah himself, and therefore as he is can not lie, we can be certain that from this liberty to the Cyrus liberty will be 49 years. Jeremiah 34 actual gives us two proclaimations of liberty at verse 8 "The word......King Zedekiah concluded a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim to them liberty....." and then in verse 17 " Therefore this what Jehovah has said, " You yourselves have not obeyed me in keeping on proclaiming liberty each one to his brother and each one to his companion. Here I am proclaiming to you a liberty, is the utterance of Jehovah................earth." Again these two events must have taken place on the 10th of the seventh month as before.
As these events take place during the seige of Jerusalem, there is only one date this can be, between the 10th of the tenth month in the 9th year of Zedekiah to the 9th of the fourth month of the 11th year of Zedekiah namely 10th of the seventh of the 10th year of Zedekiah. Therefore from the 10/X/one of Cyrus back to 10/X/ten of Kedekian is 49 years. If the WT stick to the 538BCE date for the first of Cyrus then the tenth years of Zedekiah must be 587BCE and thus Jerusalem fell on the 9/IV/eleventh of Zedekiah which is 586BCE.
BB
