Zechariah 9: A Preterist Commentary

 

The First Second Coming

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Fulfilled! Zechariah 9: A Preterist Commentary: Summary and Highlights

In the beginning of this chapter, the prophet correctly predicts the fate of Israel’s neighbors during Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Persian Empire in the fourth century B.C.  Then in Zechariah 9:9, the prophet describes Judah Maccabees as a type of the future Messiah.  Then in vs. 13-17 Zechariah foresees the future victory of the Jews during the Maccabean Wars of the second century B.C.  This war has elements that are reminiscent of events during Israel’s war with Rome at the time of the end.

The following may seem unbelievable.  However, all information is taken from unbiased historical records, cited and easily verifiable.

The First Second Coming

 

⁹Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!  Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!  See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

A Full Preterist View and Commentary of Zechariah 9:9: The Triumphal Entry . . .

Though fulfilled typologically in Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21, Zechariah 9:9 was initially fulfilled when the Jewish people celebrated with palm branches the restoration and reconsecration of the Temple by Judas Maccabees during the Maccabean Wars of the second century B.C.  The fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 is recorded in 2 Maccabees 10.  During this celebration in which Judas Maccabees retook Jerusalem and restored and reconsecrated the Temple after it had been defiled by the Greeks, the people of Jerusalem were said to have waved palm branches in celebration much like they had done with Christ in Matthew 21.  Thus Zechariah 9:9 is similar to the prophecy of the virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14 which was initially fulfilled in the birth of the prophetess’s son in Isaiah 8:3.  However, this prophecy like Zechariah 9:9 also typologically points to the virgin birth of Christ in Matthew 1:18-25 (see How could Zech 12 be about the Maccabean Wars if Zech 9:9 and 12:10 are about Jesus?).

¹⁰I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken.  He will proclaim peace to the nations. 

A Full Preterist View and Commentary of Zechariah 9:10: Zechariah 9:10 is fulfilled in 2 Maccabees 9.

What is meant by the chariots and war-horses being taken away and the battle bow being broken in v. 10?  This is an expression of peace as implied in the latter half of v. 10: “He will proclaim peace to the nations.” The peace predicted in v. 10 is fulfilled in 2 Maccabees 9 in the events that led up to Judas’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the reconsecration of the Temple predicted in previous verse, Zechariah 9:9. In 2 Maccabees 9:4 Antiochus Epiphanies orders his charioteer to head toward Jerusalem saying, “When I get there I will make Jerusalem a cemetery of Jews.”¹  But Antiochus Epiphanies was immediately struck with pain and his flesh began to rot. Fearing that he had been stricken by the God of Israel 2 Maacebees 9:13-17 says that Antiochus Epiphanies repented of his murderous intentions, promised to return all the plunder of the Temple, converted to Judaism and pronounced Jerusalem free.  This peace predicted in Zechariah 9:10 is fulfilled in 2 Maccabees 9:13-17. In fact, it was this peace predicted in Zechariah 9:10 and fulfilled in 2 Maccabees 9 that led to the reconsecration of the Temple under Judas Maccabees predicted in the previous verse, Zechariah 9:9. Unfortunately, this peace did not last forever.  Not long thereafter this peace between Jew and Greek was broken as is predicted just three verses later in Zechariah 9:13: “I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim.  I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.”   Fulfilling Zechariah 9:13 the war between the Jews and Greeks did, in fact, resume soon after.

His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. 

The rule of the Hasmonean Dynasty extended from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean.  The river connecting the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee to the north is the Jordan River.  Judea also spanned from the Jordan to the Mediterranean.  Thus Hasmoneans quite literally ruled “from [the Dead S]ea to [the Mediterranean S]ea and from the [Jordan] River to the ends of the earth.” See In the Bible “Earth” Signifies the Specific Land Addressed While “Sea” Symbolizes Foreign Nations. Though Judas did not live to see lasting peace, the Hasmoneans did eventually succeed in acquiring independence from Greek rule.

As the Prince of Peace, Jesus ultimately typifies this expectation by preaching peace between Jew and Gentile so that all may be one in Him (Ephesians 2:14-17; Luke 1:79, 2:14; John 14:27, 16:33; Acts 10:36; Galatians 5:22), a peace that would extend to heaven where Jesus resumed His reign at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection (Luke 19:38).

In alignment with His teaching of peace between Jew and Gentile, Jesus discouraged His followers from engaging in war with Rome.  In Mark 12:13-17 when asked whether the Israelites should pay taxes to Caesar, Jesus’ response was affirmative: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. . . .”   This simple response implies that as Messiah, Jesus would not lead a rebellion against Caesar contrary to the expectations of many of his Jewish contemporaries.  Furthermore, in Matthew 26:51, Jesus rebukes Peter with the words, “[A]ll who draw the sword will die by the sword.”  The focus of this statement points to the outcome of the Jewish war with Rome.  The outcome of this insurrection is widely regarded as the one of the most tragic events in Biblical history.  Israel lost the war, and the death toll was catastrophic.  Ignoring Jesus’ predictions about the coming war, those who had taken up the sword had died by the Roman sword.

The “A.D. 70 Doctrine” View, Interpretation, Exposition and Commentary of Zechariah 9:10: The Sword of the Prince of Peace . . .

That being said, the sword expected to kill those who draw the sword in this verse does not necessarily point entirely to a literal sword.  The sword in this verse also represents the Word of God, a word that warned of the coming war (Hebrews 4:12).  This warning is recorded in detail in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.  In Luke 21:20-21, Jesus warned His disciples, “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city.”  Notice that Jesus does not instruct His followers to take up a sword and join in rebellion, instead He instructs His audience to flee.²

¹¹As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.  ¹²Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

“Hyper Preterism” and Zechariah 9:11: The Waterless Pit is Sheol, the Realm of the Dead.

Verse 12 says, “Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope.”  This poetic declaration is a cryptic allusion to the resurrection of the dead.  The fortress in this verse, I believe, ultimately points to heaven.   According to v. 11, the Messianic figure is said to free the prisoners from the waterless pit.  The waterless pit in v. 11 is the grave or Sheol, the realm of the dead.  These verses are also ultimately fulfilled in Christ during the resurrection at the last trumpet.

Preterism Explained and Interpreted, A Commentary of Zechariah 9:11: Judas Maccabees is a Man “Symbolic of Things to Come.”

However, I believe these verses are initially fulfilled in a more mundane sense in the Hasmonean Dynasty.  The Maccabean family of whom Judas, the man who restored the Temple and led the Maccabean revolt from 167–160 B.C., was the most famous and notable figure formed the Hasmonean Dynasty which ruled Israel from 164 B.C. to 63 B.C.  In Zechariah 3:8, Joshua and his associates are said to be “men symbolic of things to come.”  In the same way that Joshua and his associates are “men symbolic of things to come,” I believe Judas Maccabees, like Joshua and King David, is also a prophetic symbol of the Messiah in the above verses.

¹³I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim.  I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword. 

Doré, Gustave. Judas Maccabeus before the Army of Nicanor (1 Macc. 7:26-32). Doré’s English Bible. Paris.

A Covenant Eschatology Interpretation and Commentary of Zechariah 9:13: The Peaces pronounced by Antiochus Epiphanies was soon broken and the War between Jew and Greek soon Resumed.

As stated above, v. 13 predicts that the peace between Jew and Greek prophesied in v. 10 would not last forever. Almost as quickly as v. 10 transitions to v. 13, the peace between Jew and Greek pronounced by Antiochus Epiphanies at his death bed was broken and the war between the Jews and Greeks resumed as is clearly expressed in Zechariah 9:13: “I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim.  I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.”   During the remainder of this war, the Jews under the leadership of the Maccabees successfully fought-off their Greek oppressors against what seemed to be impossible odds.

Though often typologically and distilling pointing to Christ above we saw how vs. 9-12 seem to proximally point to Judas Maccabees, the leader of the Jewish rebellion against the Greeks.  Verse 13 is no exception. In keeping with this theme is the cryptic statement: “I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephriam.”  In this prediction is an implicit message suggesting that Judah would lead the rest of Israel, i.e. Ephriam, against the Greeks.  In this statement we also see an implicit reference to Judas Maccabees, the leader of the Jewish rebellion against the Greeks, as the name Judas is Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Judah. In other words, Judah and Judas are the same name in the same way that Pedro and Peter or Ava and Eve are the same names.

¹⁴Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightening.  The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, ¹⁵and the LORD Almighty will shield them.  They will destroy and overcome with slingstones.  They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.  ¹⁶The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people.  They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.  ¹⁷How attractive and beautiful they will be!  Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

A Preterist Interpretation, Exposition and Commentary of Zechariah 9:14: The War in the Sky during the Maccabean Wars fulfills v. 14: “The LORD will appear over Them; His Arrow will flash like Lightening . . . .  He will march in the Storms of the South”

In fulfillment of v. 14, the author of 2 Maccabees records a heavenly specter said to have appeared over the sky of Jerusalem at the start of the Jewish revolt against Greece:

And it happened that, for almost forty days, there appeared over all the city golden-clad cavalry charging through the air, in companies fully armed with lances and drawn swords—troops of cavalry drawn up, attacks and counterattacks made on this side and on that, brandishing of shields, massing of spears, hurling of missiles, the flash of golden trappings, and armor of all kinds (2 Maccabees 5:2-3).

It is hard not to see the similarities between 2 Maccabees 5:2-3 quoted above and the words of Zechariah in v. 14: “[T]he Lord will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightening.  The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south. . . .”

Zechariah 9:14 A Preterist Commentary: Zechariah 9:14 is also an Allusion to God coming on the Clouds of Heaven in the Glory Cloud.

Zechariah 9:14 reads, “Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightening.  The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south[.]”  This verse is a direct allusion to the coming of God on the clouds of heaven in the Glory Cloud.  What is the Glory Cloud?  The Glory Cloud is well illustrated in Psalm 18:7-14:

The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. . . .  He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet.  He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.   He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—the dark rain clouds of the sky.  Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded.  He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy, with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

In Psalm 18:7-14, one can see that a thunderstorm accompanies the presence of the Lord on the clouds like that mentioned in Zechariah 9:14: ““Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightening.  The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south[.]”.  This tempest or thunderstorm explains the storm clouds, lightning, wind, rain and thunder also mentioned at the coming of the Lord in Psalm 18:7-14 as well as the lightning and storms mentioned in Zechariah 9:14.  According to Psalm 18:9 and 11, these “dark rain clouds of the sky” mask the brightness of God’s presence.  And as a result, God is not actually SEEN at that time.  (Though in truth, God is only visible to people in visions).  The expression coming on the clouds of heaven as it is used in the Old Testament also often connotes the coming of the Lord at the head of an army (Joel 2:10-11).  This army is the Israelite rebels whom God aids during the Maccabean Wars.

In the next chapter, Zechariah continues to describe what seems to be the Maccabean Wars.  Then in v. 9 to the end of the chapter, the prophet records the return of the Jews from exile throughout the Assyrian and Babylonian Empire.  Zechariah’s end time predictions once again resume I believe typologically in Zechariah 11.

 

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Interested in THE PRETERIST VIEW OF ESCHATOLOGY, or are you a PRETERIST struggling with a prophecy or verse?  It DID happen just like the Bible says!  If you liked this essay, see PRETERIST BIBLE COMMENTARY for a detailed explanation of the FULFILLMENT OF ALL MAJOR END TIME PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE. The more unbelievable the prophecy, the more amazing and miraculous the fulfillment!

Also see Historical Evidence that Jesus was LITERALLY SEEN in the Clouds in the First Century. For an explanation of how the end of the age and its fulfillment during the Jewish War mirror Genesis 1-3; how the Bible teaches that the resurrection of the dead is a resurrection of heavenly bodies to heaven, not a resurrection of perfected earthly bodies; and how the resurrection is a mirror opposite of the fall see How the Jewish War and Resurrection to Heaven Mirror Genesis and the Fall; and How Preterism fixes the Age of the Earth Problem and unravels the Mysteries in Genesis.

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1. NRSV.
2. However, to those who denied his teachings, Jesus “did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  This sword, again representing the Word of God, is both literal and figurative.  This sword represents Jesus’ warning of a future war that would tear families apart and leave adulterous Israel a desolate wasteland.  See Matthew 10:34.