Zechariah
Chapter
9
{In
Zechariah Chapter 9 we have the glorious future of Israel after the
fifth cycle of discipline, after the first administration of it and
after the second administration of it. The first one started in 586
BC and terminated in 516 BC, the seventy years of the Babylonian
captivity. Zechariah is writing in 520 BC and he is going to tell
about the glorious things that will happen to the Jews after they
come back from the fifth cycle of discipline, and these glorious
things are based upon learning Bible doctrine and using it. That will
last until the death of Alexander the Great. But there is also a
second period. In 70 AD the Jews go out again under the fifth cycle
of discipline and that goes all the way to the 2nd Advent. Then there
is going to be the Millennium, the glorious age. And there is a sort
of an historical parallel between the Jews of the first
administration of the fifth cycle of discipline and the absolute
perfect environment which comes to them at the end of the second
administration of the fifth cycle of discipline. So we have again the
dual fulfillment of prophecy in Zechariah Chapter 9 and in that
period we are going to see prosperity to Israel - which now, of
course, is historical but it wasn't when Zechariah wrote - and,
again, prosperity to Israel under the Millennium.}
{Verses
1-8: God Raised Up Alexander the Great to Crush Anti-Semitism in His Day}
{Verses
1: Judgement of the Syrian Cities}
1~~The
'crushing weight {of Judgment}' {massa'}
of
the Word/'doctrinal communication' {dabar} of Jehovah/God
in
the land of Hadrach
{anti-Semitic Northern Syria - the Syria of Today},
and
Damascus
{referring to the even more anti-Semitic Southern Syria}
{will
be} its {the crushing weight of judgment's} resting place;
for
Jehovah/God's eyes
are
upon man and the tribes of Israel
{explanation of why Hadrach and Damascus will be whipped out -
the "tribes of Israel" refers back to the fact that God
keeps His
word - any anti-Semitism is prohibited by Him always}.
{Note: Syria was divided into two or three states. The northern state was the land of Hadrach (they call it Syria now), and the southern state was Damascus. It was wiped out by Alexander the Great right after the battle of Isis.}
{Verses
2-4: The Judgement of the Phoenician Cities}
2~~And
Hamath which borders thereon
{another anti-Semitic smaller state next to Syria}.
Tyrus,
and Zidon/Sidon,
though
it be very prosperous
{chakam - normally means 'wise' but here is not so much knowledge
as it is prosperous in wealth and 'iron technology'}.
{Note: Zidon/Sidon is on the land and is vulnerable despite mountains around it. But, half a mile offshore is an island called Tyre. This island has two sets of walls one hundred and fifty feet high going completely around it. It owned a navy of 350 ships, the largest and strongest navy in the world at the time. Alexander took Zidon/Sidon and then faced the problem of the island state of Tyre.}
3~~And
Tyrus/Tyre did build herself a strong hold
{considered to be the impregnable city of the ancient world},
and
heaped up silver as the dust
{so wealthy the streets were said to be 'lined in gold'},
and
fine gold as the mire of the streets
{idiom meaning they are fantastically wealthy
see also Ezekiel 26:8 and following also}.
4~~Behold
the 'Adonay/Lord will cast her out,
and
he will smite her power in the sea
and
she shall be devoured with fire.
{Note: Alexander the Great built a half mile 'mole' out to the island to defeat the Tyre fortifications. It was quite a costly and hardly believable project. After he captured the city, he burned it to the ground. The prophecy was written in 518 BC and literally fulfilled in 332 BC.}
{Note: Next in verses 5-7 is the judgment of the Greeks for Anti-Semitism. The Philistines are Greeks. Notice that there are four city states left to the Philistines at the time of fulfillment. In 332 BC we have Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod. One is missing: the hometown of Goliath - Gath. Gath was destroyed by king Aziah.}
5~~Ashkelon
shall see it {the fall of Tyre} and fear
{when Alexander arrived at Ashkelon they threw open the gates
and surrendered. So Alexander simply put an administration in
there and left them alone}.
Gaza
also shall see it {destruction of Tyre}
and
'writhe with extreme/maximum pain'
{this was fulfilled when Batis a young Greek and the king of Gaza,
refused to surrender to Alexander the Great. When he saw what
had been happening in Tyre he refortified his city and hired some
mercenaries plus his own Greek troops. And they manned the
walls so well that Alexander couldn't get anywhere. Batis admired
the Persians and he was very loyal to Darius. He wouldn't
surrender and it took Alexander quite awhile but he sent his
engineers to the wall and finally built a ramp up the wall.
Eventually they went over the wall into the city and by this time
they were so angry with the resistance that this was one of the
few times that Alexander showed no quarter/mercy}
and
Ekron, for her expectation {of deliverance}, shall be ashamed
{instead of deliverance, the people of Ekron were enslaved};
and
the king shall perish from Gaza
{when Alexander finally caught King Batis he was so angry by this
time that he had a hole cut in each one of his feet. A rope was
put through the holes and alive he was dragged through the
streets of the city until he was dead. So nearly 200 years before,
Zechariah by God the Holy Spirit says: "Gaza shall writhe in pain"
and "the king shall perish"}
and
Ashkelon shall not be inhabited
{Why? Because eventually Alexander eventually took the people
out of there and gave them a new home. He didn't want the
Philistines in that area any longer}.
6~~And
a bastard/'group of foreign people' {mamzer}
shall
dwell in Ashdod
{referring to Alexander's men he left to dwell and control the
Ashdod area},
and
I will cut off the pride of the Philistines
{these famous Greek people were wiped out except for believers -
see verse 7}.
{Note: This actually means a group of foreign people. Alexander wanted to keep one of the four cities for a fortification and to always keep the door open to Egypt, so he took the people of Ashdod and moved them out of there and he put in some of his own troops.}
7~~And
I will take away his blood out of his mouth
and
his abominations from between his teeth
{the Philistines as Greeks offered human sacrifice}.
But
he who remains, even he,
shall
turn to our 'Elohiym/Godhead
{idiom meaning the survivors became believers},
and
he {the surviving Philistines}
shall
be like a governor in Judah
{referring to Zerubbabel a strong bible centered believers},
and
Ekron as a Jebusite
{When David conquered Jerusalem the Jebusites were there
and they were tough and rugged - only David and his tough
army could conquer them - on top of Zion -the only Jebusites
who survived with believers}.
8~~And
I {God} will encamp about my house {Jerusalem}
because
of the army {Alexander's army},
because
of him who passes by {on his way to Egypt},
and
because of him who returns
{Alexander returned by Jerusalem on his way to conquer Darius}
and
no oppressor shall pass through them any more
{until the death of Alexander anyone who was hostile to the Jews
Alexander wiped out all anti-Semitics}
for
now have I seen with my eyes
{dual fulfillment again - Zechariah's day and at the 2nd Advent}.
{Note: Alexander the Great could easily have destroyed Jerusalem. But in a 'vision' he saw what he believed was the God of the Jews. He came to Jerusalem, spared the city, and even asked Jews to volunteer to go with him and administer new cities he founded all the way to India. In this way, the Jews were spread all over the area - and the Word went with them.}
{Prophecy
of the 1st Advent of Christ - The Cross}
9~~'Rejoice
greatly'/
'Have
inner happiness on a maximum basis' {giyl m@`od},
O
'virgin daughter' {bath} of Zion;
shout
{ruwa`},
O
'virgin daughter' of Jerusalem:
behold,
your King comes unto you
{on Palm Sunday}.
He
is righteous {tsaddiyq - here 'absolute perfect righteousness'},
and
having salvation {yasha`}
{His work on the cross is the means of salvation}.
Humbly/Lowly
{meaning with great humility - Jesus was oriented perfectly to the
plan of the Father}, and riding upon an ass . . . even upon a colt -
the foal of an ass {fulfilled on 'Palm Sunday'}.
{Note: 'Bath' means 'virgin daughter' here in contrast to the woman of the book of Hosea. In other words, this was written in 518, two years away from 516 when the 5th cycle of discipline was over. And when the 5th cycle is over the Jew is again a 'virgin daughter' in contrast to the 'wicked wife' of Hosea. So when they come out of the 5th cycle in 516 they have an order: Rejoice greatly, have maximum inner happiness. Maximum inner happiness depends on Bible doctrine and from 516 to 232 BC they will have this. Then they will start to neglect this and will start to have trouble.}
{Note: 'Your King' is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant. He is David's greater son. The coming has to do with His 1st Advent, but specifically now it has to do with Palm Sunday.}
{Prophecy
of the 2nd Advent of Christ - The Crown}
10~~And
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
{armored forces of the King of the North},
and
the horse from Jerusalem,
and
the battle bow shall be broken/'cut off'
{enemy is now destroyed}
and
He shall speak peace
{idiom meaning He will maintain the peace}
unto
the nations/gentiles/heathen
{World Peace - the battle is over and there will be no war anymore
this is the prophecy of the beginning of the Millennium}
and
His dominion shall be from sea even to sea
{restoration of Israel from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea},
and
from the river
{from the Nile to the Euphrates Rivers}
even
to the ends of the earth
{idiom meaning over the entire earth}.
{Note: At the 2nd Advent, the forces that come against Jerusalem will be destroyed, as detailed in Zechariah 14 and in Revelation. In the Millennium, the battle bow will be broken because Jesus Christ will break it and there will be no more weapons and because the Lord Jesus Christ will personally rule the earth.}
11~~As
for you also,
by
the blood of your covenant
I
have delivered/'sent forth'
your
prisoners out of the pit
wherein
is no water.
{Note: This is the prophecy of Antiochus Epiphanies (Antiochus the Magnificent - Jews later changed to E-pim-anies (sp) - Antiochus the mad man) who controlled Judea. He sacrificed 10,000 Jewish boys in the temple and then thousands of pigs on December 25, 167BC. That act lead to the Maccabeen revolt. The Maccabeens were believers. Their motivation to fight against hopeless odds was Bible doctrine. The whole Maccabeen revolt was based upon the inspiration of the Word of God - Old Testament scriptures. (Their victory in 164 BC was celebrated in the 'feasts of lights' - Hanukkah.) So the blood of the covenant refers to Codex number two of the Mosaic law which deals with the cross.}
{Note: RBT says the prisoners were those who were enslaved in the time of the Maccabeen revolt. The prisoners also will be the Jews later on who will be bottled up in Jerusalem in the Tribulation.}
{Jews
Return to the Land}
12~~Return
you to the strong hold
{referring to the fortresses in Palestine},
you
prisoners of hope
{Jews of the Babylonian Captivity and the Tribulation}
even
today do I declare that
I
{God} will render double unto you.
{Note: Double means, first of all, spiritual blessing (bible doctrine in your soul means spiritual blessing) and, secondly, economic prosperity to the nation. Blessed as individuals and as a nation.}
{After
323 BC Jews Declined Because of Leaving Doctrine}
13~~When
I have 'formed a weapon out of Judah for Me'
{Idiom: literally 'bent Judah for me' - Judah resisted Antiochus
Epiphanies, and this means to bend like a bow - the
Maccabeens were the weapon},
filled
the bow with Ephraim
{Ephraim is mentioned because many of the Jews of the Northern
Kingdom had come south for Bible doctrine before the Northern
Kingdom went out in 721 BC},
and
raised up your sons, O Zion
{referring to the Maccabeens being raised up in revolt},
against
your sons, O Greece
{Antiochus Epiphanies was a Greek descendant from Seleucus,
the Greek general of Alexander the Great. The army of the Syrian
empire was mostly a Greek army},
and
made you as the sword of a hero/'mighty man'.
{Note: So this section is the prophecy of the Maccabeen revolt. The Maccabeen revolt, resulting in the freedom of the Jews in that day, leads to another prophecy of the Tribulation wars leading to the 2nd Advent - as this goes on in verses 14-16.}
14~~And
Jehovah/God shall be seen over them,
and
His arrow shall go forth as the lightning
{the bolt of lighting refers to God's protection of the believer}.
and
'Adonay/Lord Y@hovih/God
shall
blow the trumpet {a battle trumpet},
and
shall go with whirlwinds of the south wind
{this was a destructive wind like a tornado - hit hard and run
hit hard and run again}.
15~~
Jehovah/God of the armies/hosts
shall
cause them to be defended
and
they shall devour,
and
subdue with sling stones;
and
they shall be victorious
{idiom: literally 'drink' referring to the idiom 'drinking the blood of
the enemy'}
and
make a noise as through wine {idiom for a victory shout};
and
they shall be filled like bowls,
and
as the corners of the altar
{idiom for slaughter of the enemy - these bowls caught the blood
of animals sacrificed on the altar}.
16~~And
Jehovah/God their 'Elohiym/Godhead
shall
deliver/save them in that day
as
a flock of His people
for
they shall be as the stones of a crown
{regenerate
Jews},
lifted
up as an ensign upon His land
{an ensign at this time was a standard used to raise troops. A
standard was taken to a village and volunteers would come to the
standard and join up - idiom meaning believers are motivated to
fight when necessary to protect freedom}.
17~~For
how great is His grace,
and
how great is His beauty!
{Grace and beauty refer to the perfect environment of the
Millennium}
Corn
{prosperity} shall make the young men cheerful,
and
new wine the maids
{two idioms for prosperity in two areas - economy and social life}.
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