coming, which is a part of this prophecy, really the focal point of the prophecy in Zechariah 9, verses 9 and 10, which speaks of Christ's coming, both his first and second coming. Matter of fact, it's kind of interesting to think about it, that when you look at Zechariah 9, verses 9 and 10, that we live in the middle between verse 9 and verse 10. says, "'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy King cometh unto thee. He is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.'" And we know that that prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus came the first time and made His triumphal entry as we refer to it into Jerusalem. But the prophecy doesn't end there, but in verse 10 is what the Lord will do when He comes again. And we'll look at this, that text, not tonight, but in the next message. But tonight, we're continuing in this study and looking at the preparation for the coming of the King. And last Sunday night, we spent some time thinking about the conquest of Alexander the Great. This chapter begins with a description of Greece's conquest of the Middle East under Alexander the Great, describing events that would take place about 200 years after the time of this writing, and corresponding with things that Daniel had written about. And I would just remind you of something that Warren Wiersbe said in his comments on this chapter. Why all this concern over the conquest of Alexander the Great? Well, his conquest helped prepare the world for the coming of Christ. By building Greek cities, encouraging his soldiers to marry women from conquered nations, spreading Greek culture in their Greek language, Alexander the Great unified the known world. And when the Romans took over, they found an empire all prepared for them. Greek was the language of literature. Our New Testament is written in the common Greek language of the people that day. And the combination of Greek culture and Roman government and roads and laws was just what the early church needed for the spread of the gospel. Prophecy such as this also, it doesn't verify, but it, let me use that word for lack of a better one at the moment. The inspiration and the truth of God's word. Again, the liberals want to tell us that this chapter in Zechariah couldn't have been written in the 500s BC because it's too accurate. It had to have been written after the fact. Last Sunday night the Daniel chapter 11 is one of the most amazing prophetic chapters in the Bible in the detail that it gives to us of some events that would happen in, and we're going to talk about, we're not going to look in Daniel chapter 11 except just briefly for a couple of verses, but the things that would happen really in the intertestamental period, the time between the Old and the New Testaments. The things that would happen, and there's some very detailed information about what would go on during that time, and it's just amazing the detail that you have. And again, it testifies to the truth and the integrity of the word of God, that it is indeed God's word, for only God could declare in such detail things that were going to happen and indeed did happen. And so, in the first part of this chapter, in preparing for the coming of the king, there's a description of Alexander's conquest, beginning with his battle with the Persians at Isis, and then moving down and taking Syria, and then Lebanon, and then Philistia, and then as he came to Jerusalem, he was met by the high priest, and he did not take the city of Jerusalem, he did not conquer the city of Jerusalem, and God tells us there in verse eight, the reason for that is because the Lord went and camped about his house. and this temple that they were building, God would preserve it and protect it from Alexander. He wouldn't destroy the city of Jerusalem or the temple like Nebuchadnezzar did some 100 years prior to this. But the latter half of this chapter, in the middle of that then is the king comes. But after that, there is some truth that also speaks of the preparation for his coming, another historical event that will occur And it also probably has some yet to come implications, some implications for the return of Christ when he comes again and puts down his enemies and sets up his rule on earth. And we'll just note the fact that what we're seeing here in the latter part of this chapter probably has a dual fulfillment. But you'll notice in verse 13, Greece is mentioned. is not actually mentioned in the first part of the chapter, and yet it's very clear that that's what he's referring to, Alexander's conquest. But then it talks about Israel's battle with Greece. And you know, the only time that Israel battled with Greece, it occurred about 350 years after the writing of Zechariah. And so this section begins, if you'll notice, first of all with a promise from God. In verse 12 He says, I will render double unto thee. Even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee. God promised to render to Israel a blessing that would double what she had experienced in captivity. that God was going to more than repay her for the suffering that she had endured, which was, the suffering was part of his judgment, his chasing of his people because of their idolatry and their sin, but God promised that he would double the blessing that they would receive. more than the judgment that they experienced. And in verse 11, he tells us that he had delivered them because of his covenant with him. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. You remember in the days of Joseph, when before his brother sold him into slavery, to the Amalekites that were coming along, the Ishmaelites that were coming along. They put him in a pit. You remember that story? It was a dry pit. There was no water in it. It was a cistern that normally could hold water, but it was dry. These cisterns were often used as cells for prisoners. And so God, as He's picturing the children of Israel in the Babylonian captivity, it's like they're in this pit where there's no water, like they were in a, prison cell, but God brought them forth out of that pit because of the blood of the covenant. Not because of them, but because of the promise of God. God is preserving the nation of Israel. God is going to bless the nation of Israel. God is going to fulfill all the promises that He made to Israel, not because of them, in spite of them. Because they have not been faithful, and they have rejected Christ. but they're still his people because God made promises to them through Abraham and through David, and God will fulfill those promises. And so it's because of the covenant that God made with them that he even brought them back from the Babylonian captivity. And so then in verse 12, there's a message to those because, again, there was only a remnant that came back, about 50,000 people that came back. Most of the Jewish people stayed in Babylon even after they were allowed to come back. And so there's a message to them. Turn you to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. You that are still there, come back. God's promised blessing even Even in these days, from this time until 70 AD, so what, about 600 years, there's about 600 years of blessing for the people of God, the Jewish people, from this time till they are finally annihilated, or the Romans came along and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and scattered the people, and then they were in the dispersion until more recent days. God's promising that this long period of blessing, the 70 years of captivity is over. Now there's a period of blessing. So there's hope for them. And so he says to them that are still there, come back. Stronghold, you prisoners of hope. And I'm gonna, because I'm thankful for the things that you have endured. And then he talks about what we're gonna call this, in the first part of the chapter, we talked about the conquest of Greece, and now we're gonna read about a conflict with Greece. That in this time, in these 600 years, and the events again occur about 350 years after the writing of this chapter of Zechariah, but there was going to be a battle between the children of Israel, and Greece, the Jewish people in Greece. And I noted last Sunday night that we're considering this portion of scripture at a significant time of year because this year, the Jewish festival Hanukkah began on Christmas day and ended on January the 2nd, just this past Thursday, that feast, that eight day feast ended. And the Hanukkah celebrates Israel's victory over a man, a ruler by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. And it celebrates the rededication of the temple upon the defeat of Antiochus Epiphanes. By the way, the very temple that these people are building is the one that was rededicated after the defeat of Antiochus Epiphanes. And so we see this battle with Greece. So let me just give you the historical setting for this and look a little bit more at this chapter. And then I wanna just draw some conclusions for us tonight. Following the death of Alexander the Great, his empire was divided among four of his generals. We're only concerned with two of those generals tonight because it's only two of them that affected Israel. But a man by the name of Ptolemy, a general by the name of Ptolemy, and a general by the name of Seleucus are the two that we're concerned about. Ptolemy and his successors, who were known as the Ptolemies, ruled in Egypt, and Seleucus and his successors, known as Seleucids, ruled in Syria. Now, you know enough of geography to know what's between Syria and Israel. What Daniel 11 tells us is about the interactions between the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria. Daniel tells us about the things that are gonna go on between them, the alliances that are made and the battles that are fought, and in the middle of that is Israel. For the first 100 years after Alexander died, Israel was ruled by the Ptolemies in Egypt, and they were favorable towards Israel, they allowed the Jewish people to practice Judaism. But there was a battle that took place between the Seleucids, the Syrians, and the Ptolemies, the Egyptians. And the Seleucids, that battle, a man by the name of Antiochus the Great. And he then allowed the Jews to continue to practice Judaism. But when he died, his son, Antiochus Epiphanes, came to power. and under the influence of secular Jews, Antiochus Epiphanes forbade the Jewish people from practicing Judaism, stopped the daily sacrifices, abolished the Sabbath, made it illegal to observe the Sabbath. destroyed copies of the Bible, forbid circumcision, and he set up pagan altars in Israel. And of course, it all came to a head when he set up an altar to Zeus in the temple and sacrificed pigs on that altar. And I do wanna take you back to the book of Daniel chapter 11 for just a moment and look at just a couple of verses in Daniel chapter 11 that speak of this particular thing. Again, chapter 11 is about the, the events that took place between the Syrians and the Egyptians, the Ptolemies and Seleucids throughout the time between the the Testament... BC... After a battle against the Ptolemies, the people of Egypt, and Antiochus Epiphanes and the Syrian armies, It says in verse 28, he, and this is speaking of Antiochus Epiphanes, shall return into his land with great riches and his heart shall be against the holy covenant. Let me get there. So I'm reading it out of my notes. Um, then, um, and I, I'm also, uh, let me just, let me just go ahead and read it all. I've got part of it in my notes and all of it. He shall return into his land with great riches. His heart shall be against the holy covenant. against the people of Israel. He'll do exploits and return to his own land. At the time appointed to return, come toward the south. It will not be as the former as the latter for the ships of Chittim shall come against him. Therefore, he shall be grieved and return and have indignation against the Holy Covenant. And so shall he do. He shall even return and have intelligence with them that forsake the Holy Covenant." He was influenced by and worked together with the unbelieving Jews of his day. the pagan Jews, the Jews that didn't want to worship God, didn't want to observe the covenant, the Old Testament law, not the people of God. They're Jews, but they're not following God. And so he will have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant and arms shall stand on his part and they'll pollute the sanctuary of strength, the temple, take away the daily sacrifice and place the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant, he'll corrupt by flatteries. So he's working in connection with, again, the unbelieving Jewish people of that day to take control and to bring all of the practice of Judaism to a standstill, to make it actually illegal to practice Judaism. But notice what it says at the end of this, verse 32, but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And so like this morning, you're good students and you're going to ask the question, who were the people that knew their God who were strong and did exploits? Well, that's where we come back to Zechariah chapter nine, because there was a Jew by the name of Mattathias, along with his sons, who led a revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes. The particular thing that was happening is they were in, I forget what city it was, but one of the, soldiers, rulers under Antiochus Epiphanes, was enforcing the edict that people offer sacrifices to these Greek gods. And so there's a Jew who is following that edict. The Syrian official is there watching to make sure he does what he's supposed to do. This Jew goes up to offer this sacrifice to this pagan god, and Mattathias decides it's time. We cannot put up with this sacrilege any longer. And so he kills the man, the Jew who's offering the sacrifice to the pagan god, and kills the Syrian official. And that begins the uprising, the revolt against Antiochus Epiphanes. And so he and his five sons then flee to the mountains And Mattathias died a short time later, but his son Judas, who became known as Maccabeus or Judas the hammer, Judas Maccabeus, took over the leadership of the revolt and Judas and his followers, the Maccabees, though they were outnumbered, defeated the Greeks and liberated the temple. Now, Zechariah tells us that's going to happen, and he tells us why. Notice what he says in verse 13, when I, who would be the I in verse 13, when I have bent my Judah for me and filled the bow with Ephraim, who would be the eye? God, God saying, why was Judas Maccabeus and his followers, why were they successful? God, when I have been Judah for me and filled the bow with Ephraim and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man and the Lord shall be seen over them and his arrow shall go forth as a lightning and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet and shall go with whirlwinds of the south and the Lord of hosts shall defend them and they shall devour and subdue with sling stones. And then it describes a feast of celebration. They'll drink and make a noise as through wine and be filled like bulls. And as the corners of the altars and the Lord, their God shall save them in that day is the flock of his people. And there'll be as the stones of a crown lifted up as an ensign upon his land for how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty. And corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids." God would pour out his blessing upon them. But the reason those men were successful, the Jewish people were successful, is because of the blessing of God and the enabling of God. God gave the victory. And once the battle was over, they cleansed the temple, removed the altar of Zeus, rededicated the temple to the worship of the Lord, and instituted the festival of lights or Hanukkah to celebrate the victory. I think that's what you're reading in the latter part of chapter or verse 15 when they're drinking and making noises as through wine and filled like bowls as a corner of the altar, they're celebrating their victory. According to the Talmud, and this is, we can't verify this, it's tradition, but this is the tradition upon which Hanukkah is based. When the Greeks, quote, when the Greeks entered the sanctuary, they defiled all the oils therein. You remember the golden lamp stand? I think it's the golden candlestick, but it didn't have candles like we think of candles with wax. It had bowls on top of these stems, and each bowl contained oil and a wick, and it would be lit, and the oil would have to be replenished regularly. And that oil was special oil. God gave a formula for that. We noted in previous messages, the formula for making that oil was special and could only be used in the worship of God. They would make up this oil, seal it up under the observation of the priest so it's holy oil. Well, Antiochus and his men defiled the oil. when they couldn't use it. But according to tradition, they found one cruise of oil that hadn't been defiled, and it was enough to fill the lamps and keep them lit for one night. But tradition says that a miracle occurred, and the lamps stayed lit for eight days. And as a result of that, they instituted the eight-day celebration known as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. That's why it's eight days, because the story goes that that oil lasted for eight days. It is possible. God is certainly able to do that. And he may have done that. Again, that's just passed down. It's not in the Bible. It's passed down through tradition, through history. But it may very well have occurred. And I don't have this reference, the chapter and verse in my notes, so I can't turn there. But there was a time, we read in the Gospels, that Jesus attended the Feast of Hanukkah. It wasn't one of the ones that was required for the Jewish males to attend, but there was a time that Jesus went to Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Hanukkah, that he was there. It's called the Feast of Dedication because they rededicated the temple, and Jesus was there. It was wintertime, it says, in our, you know, December, and Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Hanukkah. So, evidently, whatever actually happened Jesus, at least by his presence, gave some sanction to this feast of Hanukkah because it celebrated a victory that he had given to his people in that day. And so, again, Zechariah writes about it. 350 years before it happens, he tells us what is going to happen. And indeed it did just as the Lord had said, just as when you studied Daniel chapter 11, all the things that led up to that battle took place as well. And of course, this is all a type of the atrocities that the Antichrist will commit against Israel in the last days, that Antiochus Epiphanes is a type of the Antichrist because he's going to do a similar thing. He's going to make a covenant with Israel and for seven years and in the midst of that seven years and three and a half year period, He's going to turn against them. He's going to defile the temple and set up not an altar to Zeus, but an altar to himself. And he is going to declare that he is God and demand that not only Israel, but all the world worship him. And he will make the temple in Jerusalem his palace and set up his throne there. an image of himself there and demand that people worship him and defiling the temple just like Antiochus Epiphanes did. So it's a foreshadowing of what is going to happen. And just as God gave Israel victory over Antiochus Epiphanes and his armies, God is going to give Israel victory over the Antichrist and his armies, which will include all the armies of the world that will come together against Israel in that last day. And we read about that when we come further into the book of Zechariah, we're going to see those events being described. But God is going to empower his people in that day, and they are going to fight and fight victoriously. And so just as God was calling his people back, he had brought a remnant back to Jerusalem, back to Israel in Zechariah's day. God is going to regather the nation of Israel again, not because they deserve it, because he promised it. So what we read about in chapter in verses 11 and 12 that occurred in Zechariah's day, a very similar thing will happen in that day. Again, the Lord will bless Israel double for all of her suffering through the ages, all the things that the Jewish people have suffered in this church age, the things that they happened under Hitler and under Stalin and in in Russia and under the the czars in Russia and under In Spain, there was attacks against the Jewish people, even the Crusades. The Crusaders were coming to liberate Jerusalem and Israel from the Muslims. But along the way, they attacked the Jewish people. They hated the Jews. They called them Christ killers. And they came supposedly in the name of the Lord and slaughtered God's people. They didn't understand. But all the atrocities and children of Israel have suffered, the Jewish people suffered through the ages. God will bless them so that the blessing will seem to be double what they suffered in all these years of history. And again, God will enable Israel to defeat her enemies and the Lord will glorify them in that day. They will be the world superpower, if you will. The Lord will set up his throne in Jerusalem in the temple. and all the world will worship him and the Jewish people will be looked upon with respect and reverence and people will love them and want to be known by them and to know them instead of being against them. And all this reminds us that God's in control of history, that everything that has happened, that everything that is happening, that everything that will happen, it's all going according to God's plan. And though he didn't tell us everything, he told us many things. And even, you know, a chapter like Daniel 11 or Zechariah chapter 9 or the things that are yet to occur in later chapters in Zechariah or in Daniel, the things that are yet to happen. God has just, he's given us enough to remind us and to show us that the things that are happening are not just happenstance. That it's all happening according to his plan. and that whatever happens even in our lives, good or bad, is due to his working. And through it all, God will be glorified. You notice here in Zechariah chapter nine, you go back to verse one, and we're reminded that even as Alexander was in his conquest, God had planned all that out. God had revealed to Daniel about the Greeks being a power, and even some things about the Greek nation, And so, but you'll notice it says in the last part of verse nine, when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, will be toward the Lord, the people will be saying, you know, this is the Lord. And in verse 17, the Lord is praised. How great is his goodness and how great is his beauty. The Lord is glorified in all of this. And it's interesting, there was a, as I was looking at the news the last couple of weeks, Newsmax interviewed a Jewish rabbi named Steven Berg on Thursday, December 26th, which would have been the first day of Hanukkah. who said that faith and determination continue to empower the Jewish people today. And this is a quote from Rabbi Steven Berg. This has been an amazing holiday season for the Jewish people. referencing the story of Hanukkah and its relevance today because of the war that's going on between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. And so he references back to the days of Judas Maccabeus. The Jews were being oppressed and they fought back against the Greek empire, again I'm quoting him, which was the largest empire in the world and they won that war. Israel today is facing on seven different fronts a war and is winning and has shown Iran to be a paper tiger Burke said, low casualty rates from missile attacks are evidence of divine intervention. I think, quote, there is a realization that 2,000 years later, God is still there for us. He's very much behind us, and many Jews that were not connected have now connected strongly to the Almighty, seeing the way that he has stood up for us. God is being glorified today. Whether they yet have recognized Jesus Christ as their Messiah, they're at least acknowledging that they owe their existence not to themselves, for so many Jews are pagan. They don't believe in God. They're Jews and they practice some parts of Judaism, but they don't really believe in God. Many of them are just pagan. But he's saying that many of them now are turning to the Lord, at least acknowledging the hand of God in all this going on, in protecting them. And so even today, God is being glorified. And it's interesting that he references Hanukkah and what happened that Zechariah tells us about in chapter nine. The Lord tells us through Zechariah in Zechariah chapter nine, he's talking about that and how God is being glorified and how God will be glorified in the last days when he not only preserves Israel, but makes them the dominant nation in the world. But you know, just as the Lord promised unto Israel blessing, double blessing, for all their suffering. It reminds us of the eternal blessing that we will receive as believers and how it will far outweigh any suffering that we endure in this life. I remind you of what Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church, 2 Corinthians 4, 17 and 18. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. The things which are seen are temporal. Whatever we suffer in this life, the sufferings that we endure, they're temporary. But the things which are not seen are eternal. And the things that we endure in this life as believers, Whether it has to do particularly with our faith or any suffering that we go through as a believer is part of God's growing us up. Sometimes it may be the chasing of God to correct us, but many times it's just the process that God uses to grow us up, to mature our faith. But God promises that the things that we suffer in this life as a believer, because we are believers, that God is going to repay us double. or more, but the blessings that we will receive eternally far outweigh whatever we have to endure in this life. And we need to keep that in mind, especially when we're going through those difficult times, those troubles and trials of life, that this is not all there is, and that what's coming is better. Matter of fact, I think it's in the book of Isaiah where it talks about the fact that we won't even remember the former things. the blessings of eternity with God will be so great. We won't even want to think about this life and the things that went on this life because we're going to enjoy that so much that this will all be forgotten. It's like the mother who goes through the labor of having a child, but once the child is born, the labor is over and she rejoices in this child and forgets all the pain and suffering of the labor in the joy of the child that has been born. And so the joy that we'll experience eternally will make this just forgotten. And so we can be encouraged as we think about what God's doing and has done for the nation of Israel, that there are promises similar, not the same, but similar promises that God has made to us. And one other thought. And I'll close it. We're also encouraged through this account, through the story of Israel's battle against Greece, to stand for truth without fear or compromise, because the Lord is on our side. We're going to sing in just a moment, Victory in Jesus. And as I was studying and finalizing this message, that song came to mind, because that's what it is. Israel had victory because of the Lord. And our victory is sure because of the Lord Jesus. And so we can stand for truth. We don't we don't need to be obnoxious in our stand for truth. We need to be gracious, but we need to stand for truth and knowing that God is on our side and that ultimately the truth will win out because God will win. The battle is his and the victory is his. Well, let's stand together for prayer. Our father. We marvel tonight again at the wonders of your word. And there's so much there, especially when we get into prophecy, Lord, you have given so much information. It's placed in so many different portions of the Old Testament, especially, and we pray that you would help us. to be students of your word, to seek to know and understand things like we've talked about tonight, that we might be more strengthened in our own faith and prepared to stand for you and for truth. And also, Lord, to have a hope and an optimism for the future, because it is in your hands and your will is going to be done. And we thank you for that. We thank you for the victory that we have in Christ, the victory over hell and death. The victory over sin that we can experience every day and the victory over the temporary trials and troubles of this life with the blessings that are going to be ours eternally through Christ. And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen.