"The promise, “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it,” was literally fulfilled. Verse 9 . “The elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar [the twelfth month], which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.” Ezra 6:14, 15 . PK 596.1"
"The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you."
EGW directly quotes Zechariah 4:9 and Ezra 6:14-15 to support her point about the completion of the temple.
"Shortly afterward the restored temple was dedicated. “The children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;” and “upon the fourteenth day of the first month” they “kept the Passover.” Verses 16, 17, 19 . PK 596.2"
"And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,"
EGW directly quotes Ezra 6:16 to describe the dedication of the restored temple.
"The second temple did not equal the first in magnificence, nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple. There was no manifestation of supernatural power to mark its dedication. No cloud of glory was seen to fill the newly erected sanctuary. No fire from heaven descended to consume the sacrifice upon its altar. The Shekinah no longer abode between the cherubim in the most holy place; the ark, the mercy seat, and the tables of testimony were not found there. No sign from heaven made known to the inquiring priest the will of Jehovah. PK 596.3"
"Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly."
While Hebrews 9:4-5 describes the contents of the ark in the first temple, EGW contrasts the second temple by noting the absence of these items and the lack of divine manifestations. The connection is thematic, highlighting the diminished glory of the second temple compared to the first.