King Cyrus allowed people to follow their own cultural and religious beliefs. He released all the people who had been captured over the many years across the Middle East and Asia to return to their own homes if they chose to go. He returned to them the sacred idols, vessels, etc. that were taken as spoils from their temples.
Cyrus the Great
Persian Empire [ushistory.org]
The second link has a pretty good map of the Persian Empire under Cyrus and later Darius 1.
The Bible documents one of these groups of people as being the people of Judah.
Actually.... it is pretty encouraging that somebody could well be Pagan / Agnostic / Atheist and still be led by the right hand by G-d!
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."
I have a challenge for all the Atheists or Agnostics or Pagans here.........
literally raise your right hand in the air.........
pray and ask the Creator of the Universe to begin to lead you by the right hand and show you where you are wrong about serious things...........
The name Cyrus was given by Isaiah more than a century before ancient King Cyrus came along and accomplished so much for the Creator..... but all of us can learn a lot from this......
More information on how the prophecy of Cyrus could be relevant to 2019 in post #1:
Do you believe a massive Holy Spirit tsunami is coming?
