Ezra 7:27
Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem: Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:
The verse is Ezra's blessing of the LORD God of the fathers for putting it in the heart of King Artaxerxes to beautify the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, giving royal favor, aid, and generous provisions for the temple. The king's favor and generous provisions are signs of God's mercy and providential care in moving the Persian king to act. The favorable conditions of the decree gave those who wished to return to Jerusalem the opportunity to do so. The thing God put in the king's heart was abundant provision for the return to Jerusalem of all the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in the Medo-Persian realm who were minded of their own free will to go up, giving the children of the dispersion opportunity to return to the land with which the promises to the house of Israel were linked. Those uniting with Ezra in study of God's purposes rejoiced greatly, recognizing that by the good hand of his God upon him Ezra had persuaded the king. Although the decree opened a favorable way for people to return, few chose to go, as attachment to houses, lands, ease, and comfort kept some from responding and discouraged others who might have joined them.
The verse belongs to Artaxerxes' decree in the seventh year of his reign, dated to 457 B.C., which completes one decree begun by Cyrus and continued by Darius, and its date marks the starting point of the seventy-week prophecy. The Persian king's decree in Ezra 7 contains the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem that starts the seventy weeks and the 2300 years of Daniel 8:14. The decree went forth in B.C. 457, a date capable of the clearest proof, and subtracting 457 from 2300 leaves 1843 for the close of the prophetic period, which shows how William Miller calculated that the period would end in 1843.
The 457 B.C. date starts the reckoning of the 2300 years, which were expected to terminate in 1843 with the coming of the Lord, a calculation so simple and plain that even children could understand it. Because the 457 B.C. decree was issued near the end of that year, the 2300-year period reached to the fall of 1844 rather than to the end of 1843.