The visions in chs. 1—6 are mainly for consolation to the children of Israel, whereas the prophecies in chs. 9—14 are mainly for their encouragement. Both the consolation and the encouragement are Christ (Luke 2:25 and note Luke 2:25^2d). Chapters 9—11 speak of Christ’s lowly first coming, whereas chs. 12—14 speak of Christ’s victorious second coming.

The prophecy in vv. 1-7 concerns the destruction carried out on the nations around Judah by Alexander the Great, king of the Grecian Empire (336-323 B.C., with the influence of his four successors up to 44 B.C.), prophesied by Daniel as the abdomen and the thighs of the great human image in Dan. 2:32, as the third beast in Dan. 7:6, as the male goat in Dan. 8:5, and as a mighty king in Dan. 11:3.

In vv. 14-15 them and they refer to the Maccabees, who were to be defended by God.

Referring to December 25, 165 B.C., the day when the Maccabees cleansed the temple after defeating Antiochus Epiphanes.

This word was spoken in congratulations to the Maccabees for their victory.

I.e., Greece. This is the key to understanding vv. 11-17. The sons of Greece (Javan) are Antiochus and those with him, and the sons of Zion are the Maccabees. Thus, v. 13 prophecies that at the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, God would stir up His sons, the sons of Zion, against the sons of Greece.

The prophecy in vv. 11-17 concerns the victory of the Jewish Maccabean heroes over Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria (175-164 B.C.), the kingdom of the north, prophesied by Daniel in Dan. 8:9-14, 23-25 and Dan. 11:21-35 (see notes there). Antiochus Epiphanes was a type of the coming Antichrist.

I.e., the Euphrates.

The prophecy in this verse refers to the millennial kingdom, which will be the time of restoration (Matt. 19:28; Acts 3:21). In the millennium God will cause all warfare to cease (Isa. 2:4) and will bring in peace and His eternal kingdom (Rev. 11:15). This verse, coming immediately after the prophecy concerning Christ’s coming in v. 9, indicates that if the people of Israel had welcomed Christ in His first coming, the kingdom of the heavens would have been set up on earth, and the age of restoration would have come at that time. However, when Christ came the first time, He was welcomed only temporarily and was ultimately rejected, detested to the uttermost, and put to death by being crucified. As a result, the restoration was suspended, and a time of judgment over the children of Israel entered in (Matt. 23:37-39; 24:1-2), a time that has lasted nearly twenty centuries. Therefore, Christ needs to come a second time, this time not riding a donkey but like lightning (Matt. 24:27). Then peace and the eternal kingdom, as God’s dominion, will be on the earth from sea to sea. This is the sequence according to the spiritual significance.

The prophecy in vv. 9-10 is an insertion; v. 11 is the continuation of v. 8. The prophecy in v. 9 reveals that Christ would come in a righteous way with salvation for God’s people and that He would come as a King, but as a lowly King, a humiliated King, riding not on a majestic horse but on a donkey, even a colt of a donkey. This was fulfilled when Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem the last time (Matt. 21:1-11). At that time Christ was temporarily welcomed by the people of Israel.

The prophecy concerning the coming of Christ in this verse and the prophecy concerning the millennial kingdom in v. 10 are inserted between the first part of the chapter, concerned with Alexander the Great, and the last part, concerned with Antiochus Epiphanes. This entire book indicates that the all-inclusive Christ, who is the center and the circumference, the centrality and the universality, of God’s move to fulfill His economy on the earth, is intimately involved with human history and with the great human empires, especially the empires of Persia (chs. 1—6), and Greece and Rome (chs. 7—14).

This verse reveals that during the attack of Alexander the Great, the Lord protected Jerusalem with the temple, which was His house. Although Alexander, a mighty king, caused damage to many nations around Judah, he did not cause much damage to Judah and Jerusalem, and he did not damage the temple at all. This was a sign of the restoration that would be brought in by the coming of Christ in vv. 9-10.