Londo said: For the sake of argument, say that the 70 years were for Jerusalem's Destruction and complete exile of Judah to Babylon. There is no way that 607 BC comes from this as a natural consequence.
Again, Jeremiah 25:12 gives events that give a definite endpoint to the 70 years, 539 BC. The 70 years would end FIRST--and NEXT the king of Babylon (Nabonidus and Belshazzar) would be called into account, along with nation of Babylon as a world power. As Daniel says to Belsharzzar, "God has numbered [the days of] your kingdom and has finished it."
Therefore, 539 BC ends the 70 years with this event and not the Jew's returning to Jerusalem. We would still have to subtract 70 years from 539 BC and derive 609 BC.
Your explanation would be correct, except for one thing. Jeremiah 29:10 "10 “For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to YOU people, and I will establish toward YOU my good word in bringing YOU back to this place.’ So when the 70 years have been fulfilled Jehovah will turn his attention to bringing back the Israelites to their homeland. This presents a problem with your 609-based chronology. If the 70 years ended in 539 BCE, then the Israelites could not have been sent back to their homeland during the first year of Cyrus. As you yourself have stated: " The first year of Cyrus would be Nissan 538 BC ". This conclusively proves that 539 cannot be the ending point for the 70 year servitude. The prophecy at Jeremiah 25:12 is specific: " “‘And it must occur that when seventy years have been fulfilled I shall call to account against the king of Babylon and against that nation,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘their error, even against the land of the Chal·de′ans, and I will make it desolate wastes to time indefinite." This did not happen at the end of the 70 years, whether it was 539 or 537. So this scripture is not referencing the fall of Babylon in 539 BCE, because at the end of the supposed 70 year period, Babylon was not made a desolate waste.
Further proof of this is found at Isaiah 13:17-20 "Here I am arousing against them the Medes, who account silver itself as nothing and who, as respects gold, take no delight in it. 18 And [their] bows will dash even young men to pieces. And the fruitage of the belly they will not pity; for sons their eye will not feel sorry. 19 And Babylon, the decoration of kingdoms, the beauty of the pride of the Chal·de′ans, must become as when God overthrew Sod′om and Go·mor′rah. 20 She will never be inhabited, nor will she reside for generation after generation. And there the Arab will not pitch his tent, and no shepherds will let [their flocks] lie down there. The Medes however, did not overthrow them as with Sodom and Gomorrah (desolation, never to be inhabited again). This would be done at a later time. Although, Jehovah did bring Persia against Babylon, this is not what the scripture at Jeremiah 25:12 is referencing.
The first year of Cyrus would be Nissan 538 BC. The next point in time says the initial returnees arrived by the seventh month, Tishri 538 BC. There is NO indication that the Proclamation of Cyrus came late in the year. There is no other year mentioned between Ezra 1:1 and 3:1, therefore the same year is assumed by Ezra. If this had been Tishri 537 BC, Ezra would have said, "In the second year of Cyrus, in the seventh month…" But he did not. By the plain reading of the text, he is referring to Tishri 538 BC.
At Ezra 1:1, reference is made to "the first year of Cyrus," not "the year Cyrus became king" (or accession year), so he was speaking of the first regnalyear of Cyrus, which cuneiform documentation places in 538/537 B.C.E. Jewish historian Josephus corroborates by referring to "the first year of the reign of Cyrus."—( see the Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, Chapter I.)
"And in the first year of Cyrus the king of Persia, that Jehovah’s word from the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah roused the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia so that he caused a cry to pass through all his realm."—Ezra 1:1 (see also 2 Chronicles 36:22).
The highlighted portion of the above-quoted verse serves as unimpeachable evidence that "Jehovah's word from the mouth of Jeremiah" had not yet been accomplished, even by the "first year of Cyrus," proving conclusively that the conquest of Babylon by Persia was not the determining factor in fulfilling Jeremiah's prophecy. Therefore, the Jewish nation continued to serve the king of Babylon until their release from captivity in 537 B.C.E., resulting in the reoccupation of the land of Judah and the end of the desolation of the land.
In cuneiform tablet called "Strassmaier, Cyrus No. 11" Cyrus’ first regnalyear is mentioned and was determined to have begun March 17-18, 538 B.C., and to have concluded March 4-5, 537 B.C. It was in this first regnalyear of Cyrus that he issued his decree to permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. (Ezra 1:1) The decree may have been made in late 538 B.C. or before March 4-5, 537 B.C.
So the 607-537 chronology fits perfectly. The 609 to 539 chronology however does not.
