We want to say welcome, shalom and welcome to everyone. Welcome to, the Bible classes of the Holy Scriptures and Israel. We are thankful for the opportunity to be under the sound of God's word. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

And so we are going to read today, beloved friends and dear brothers and sisters, from the prophecy of Zechariah. We have arrived to Zechariah chapter nine. Hopefully you have your Bibles available and open to the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Zechariah. but let's pray together first so we can commit to the meeting to our Lord. Abba, our Father, we just want to thank you for our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. We ask that you will bless your word and bless the study of the prophecy that Zechariah wrote so many years ago. We pray and we ask it in the name of Yeshua HaMashiach. Amen. Amen. So I'm going to read, beloved friends and dear brothers and sisters, these seventeen verses that are found in Zechariah chapter nine. And so I'm reading, The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach and Damascus shall be the rest thereof, when the eyes of men as of all the tribes of Israel shall be towards the Lord.

And Hamat also shall border Hereby Tyre and Sidon, though it be very wise, and Tyre did build herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea, and she shall be devoured by fire.

Ashkelon shall see it, and fear. Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Acorn for her expectation shall be ashamed, and the king shall perish from Gaza and Ashkelon, shall not be inhabited. And the bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistine, and I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abomination from between his teeth. But he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and a corn as the Jebusite. Verse 8. And I will encamp around mine house because of the enemy, because of him that passeth by, because of him that returneth, and no oppressor shall pass through them any more. For now have I seen with mine eyes. Verse 9. 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 fall of an ass.

And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace, this is shalom, unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even to the end of the earth. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of their pit, wherein is no water. Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope. Even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee, when I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with the fime, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy son, O Greece, and made thee as a sword of a mighty man.

And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning, and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwind of the south. The Lord of hosts shall defend them, and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones, and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine, and they shall be filled with bowls, and as the corner of the altar. Verses sixteen and seventeen, And the Lord their God shall save them in that day, as the flock of his people, for they shall be as the stones of crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty, corn shall make the young man cheerful, and new wine the maids. And I will stop here with these, seventeen verses of, chapter nine. beloved brothers and sisters, here we are, we are now, enter into another section of our study of the book of, Zechariah.

to remind you that up to now, we have learned from the study of the prophecy that Zechariah, who was called by the Lord to, as, post captivity, a prophet, to minister to the Jewish people that returned from Babel after being there for seventy years. Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi were those that ministered to these returned remnant, all these years from the time of their return up to the time when there was no, message from the Lord at about 400, 450 BC, and there was a silence for about 450 years until John the Baptizer declared the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah in the New Covenant, the New Testament. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of this world. And so Zechariah was ministering to his Jewish brethren from about 520 BC onward. He ministered for some 40 years or so to these, Jewish remnant that return.

By the time that we have arrived to Zechariah chapter 9, we have arrived to the next section in the study of the prophecy of Zechariah. To remind you, the first section is chapter one until the end of chapter six, where we have the eight visions that Zechariah received from the Lord concerning his plan and purpose for his earthly people, the people of Israel. Now we have come now to this, after covering chapter seven and chapter eight, which there were the question concerning fasting that was asked by the people of Israel, and the Lord gave them an answer, now we've arrived to the final section. This is a long section from chapter nine, verse one, to chapter fourteen and verse twenty-one. We have the two burdens.

The burdens that Zechariah has, that the Lord has towards the plan and the purpose that he has for his earthly people, the people of Israel. These two burdens are divided here, very interesting, it's chapter 9 verse 1 to the end of chapter 11 is burden number 1, and the second burden is from chapter 12 verse 1 to the end of chapter 14. So we have entered, beloved brothers and sisters, to the portion that deals with the burden of the Lord concerning the dealing with his own people Israel, which carries us all the way to the future day, to the Messianic kingdom, to the time of the second coming of the Messiah, and the rule and reign of the King Mashiach in the future. Day.

Now before we are going to go into these verses, I just wanted to read for you one more time the verse that we often read in Luke chapter 21 and verses 20, 23 and 24. Let me just read these verses, because when the Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, was here on earth before he died, before he was buried and rose again, before the Spirit of God came to form the body of Christ, the body of Messiah, Yeshua said, Jesus the Messiah said, spoke to the nation, to the people of Israel, and he said, notice in verse 23, I'll read verse 22, but these shall be the days of vengeance.

And he says that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Verse 23, But woe unto them that are with a child, and to them that give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land, and the wrath upon his people. And then he continue, and he says in this next verse, verse 24, And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and they shall be led away captive into all the nation, and Jerusalem, listen to this verse, the second half of verse 24, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until, and underline this statement, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. This is a very interesting expression, the times of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. We always must distinguish between these two expression.

In Luke 21 verse 24 we have the expression the times of the Gentiles. And in Romans chapter 11 we have the expression the fullness of the Gentiles. These are two complete different expression the times of the Gentiles and the fullness of the Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles begin when Nebuchadnezzar took our Jewish people, destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC. That's when the times of the Gentiles begin and it continues on including the times of the church age all the way to the last days including the tribulation period and the times of the Gentiles will end at the second coming of the Mashiach Yeshua at the end of the tribulation.

The expression, the fullness of the Gentiles from Romans chapter 11, verse 25 and 26, it has to do with the full numbers of Gentiles that come to know the Lord Yeshua Jesus the Messiah during this age of the church. Then when the last Gentiles come in, then the fullness of the Gentiles become in, the church will be taken out of here, the rapture, and the times of the Gentiles will continue until the end of the tribulation period when Israel will accept Yeshua the Messiah and they will say, Baruch haba b'shem Adonai, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And the reason that I'm reading this to us or sharing this with you now, it is because of the context of the chapter that we find ourselves now in Zechariah chapter 9 to Zechariah chapter 14. Now, Zechariah do not receive any more visions. It happened in the first six chapters.

Now, Zechariah do not deal with the question of fasting. It's happened in chapter 7 and chapter 8. But in this portion, from chapter 9 verse 1 to the end of chapter 14, we have these two burdens. And the two burdens that the Lord has in connection with the enemies of Israel and his purpose of the restoration of Israel.

And the first burden is found in chapter 9, chapter 10, and chapter 11. You notice how this, ninth chapter began in verse 1, the burden. Of the word of the Lord in the land of, and he got, he began to give you the names of the land. The word for burden come from the Hebrew word massa. Massa, it's a, it's a heavy load that you carry on your shoulder. You know, in the, in the military, in the army, when you have a, a, a, a load that you carry, you call it a burden. You carry a load, and you carry this with you. But here is the burden of the Lord in relationship to the, to the enemies of Israel during the times of the Gentiles. And he has a burden because he want to share with, through Zechariah, with the remnant, the Jewish people that return back to the land. Now after the 70 years of captivity, now they are back in the land, the temple have been rebuilt.

And he has a burden to tell them what will take place during the times of the Gentiles. Now, remember, beloved brothers and sisters, that the times of the Gentiles, during the time of the Gentiles is there will be four kingdom that will take over one after the other during the times of the Gentiles. It began with the Babylonian, Nebuchadnezzar. It will continue with the Persian, Cyrus. We continue with the Grecian, Alexander the Great. And it will conclude with the revived Roman Empire and the Antichrist and the last days. So, it began with the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and the Romans, when the Lord Jesus the Messiah was crucified on a Roman cross, the Roman Empire was taking over, the one that was in rule over this world.

And then, There is still the future day where the revived Roman Empire will rise, and the Antichrist will take his place, and he will ultimately will, make a covenant with our people Israel in the future day, and he will trick them, and they will, assume that he is for them, and ultimately, of course, he will claim to be God, he will stand in the temple, desiring the Jewish people to worship him, and then, the second half of the tribulation, the Jews will be, will flee, will be protected by the Lord, and ultimately the Messiah will come, and we will read about it at the end of the book of Zechariah, at the second coming of the Mashiach, Yeshua.

So the Lord has a burden, and it is interesting because we find ourselves here In this, chapter nine, these, it's not an easy portion to understand, because if you notice, that the, the, the, the Lord has a burden against, notice that, against Hadrach and Damascus, this is Syria in verse one, and then he has a burden against Hamat, Tyre, Sidon, this is Lebanon, present-day Lebanon, and then a little bit later on in verse five and six and seven, at five and six, he has a burden against the Philistines. You have Ashkelon, you have Gaza, you have Akon, and you have Ashdod.

So what we really learn here, we really receive an, a, a, a message from the Lord through the Charia that the Lord sees everything. You know, in the situation that we find ourselves in the world today, When we, when we see the chaos that's going on in this world, and we assume, perhaps, a time that the Lord doesn't seize anything, He doesn't care, nothing seems to change, things get worse and worse and worse, and yet, beloved brothers and sisters, we learn from these verses that the Lord sees everything. He knows the beginning from the end, the end from the beginning. He's a sovereign God. He sees all things. Nothing is hidden from the one with whom we have to do.

The Lord Yeshua Jesus, the Messiah, God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, the Triune God, knows everything that is going on in the world in which we live in today. And that's why we need to always cast our cares upon Him, because He cares for His own people. For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And God says about Israel, I have loved you with an everlasting love. About the church, the assembly, we read, for the Messiah loved the assembly and gave Himself for the assembly. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. In fact, even Paul, Shaul said, the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. So you notice again, as we are moving along here, it's not easy to explain this, but I want you just to see it, because in verses one and two a, we have judgment that are pronounced by the Lord, first of all, upon, upon the, upon Syria and the regions of Syria.

And you notice this, we, this is a time in which, the rise of the Grecian Empire will take place. A man by the name of Alexander the Great will rise to power, young man, and he is, notice what we read, in verse one it says that the burden of the word of the Lord is the land of Hadrach and Damascus, you know that Damascus is the capital city of Syria.

And then it said, it shall be the rest thereof when the eyes of men as of all the tribe of Israel shall be towards the Lord. Now, the text itself in the Hebrew text, it is not read like that. It's not that the eyes of men as of all the tribe of Israel shall be towards the Lord. The Hebrew word says that the Lord has an eye as a man and he sees what's going on here in this world.

The eyes of the Lord is going to and fro, and he see what is going on here in this world. Just like you and I can see around us, the Lord can see everything that is going on here in this world. And so in verse one, the, the burden in relationship to the coming judgment upon Hadrach, this is the region of Syria, Damascus, shall be the rest of when God sees, as God sees as men and, and he and the tribe, the people will look towards him. And verse two says, And Hamat also shall border thereby. So in verses one and two a, there is a prediction of the judgment that will come against the regions of Syria, Damascus and the region there. Then in verse two b, To verse four, we have the judgment against Phoenicia, which is present-day Lebanon, Tyre and Sidon, Tzor and Sidon in Hebrew. Let me read that.

Verse two B, Tyre and Sidon, though it be very wise, and Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver, and the dust, and the fine gold, and the mire of the streets. Behold, the Lord, listen to this, behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea, and she shall be devoured with fire. Although Tyre have built for herself a stronghold, although Tyre heaped for herself silver, although Tyre has fine gold, And, and yet the Lord sees that, and the Lord will ultimately destroy, the Tyre and Sidon and Damascus. Those were the immediate enemies of Israel that were opposing the people of Israel in those days, when, Zechariah was now about 490 BC, some time passed by, or, or, or so, and then by that time the Lord is promising to judge the nations around Israel in the north.

Then you notice now, from verses five onwards to verse seven, here is the judgment that will come upon the Philistines, Philistia. And you notice how interesting, because the Lord is mentioning the names of the city of the Philistine. We read in verse five, Ashkelon, Shelsit, and Phil. Gaza, you know, we read about Gaza, present day Gaza, Gaza, Gaza also shall see it and be very sorrowful, and a groan for her expectation shall be ashamed, and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.

Verse six tells us, and the bastards or the illegitimate people that are there shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. You notice that, beloved brothers and sisters? God will judge the enemies of Israel. Well, to the north you have Damascus, to the north you have Tyre and Sidon, this is Syria and Lebanon. Now to the south you have the Philistines, which is Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod.

Now if you just for a moment turn with me to Joshua, to the book of Joshua, to chapter 13, you will notice that Joshua in chapter 13 mentioned the five kings of the Philistines. They had five cities, five kings, or five lords, and in Joshua chapter 13 and verse 3 it says, for Shichor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite, five lords of the Philistines, Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Gat. And Ashkelon, Gat, and Ekron. There are five cities of the, or five lords of the cities of the Philistines in our chapter, in Zechariah chapter 9, it's mentioned only four of them, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Ashdod, and apparently, the only one that is not mentioned is Gat, apparently by that time Gat was taken over by Israel, and therefore there are only four cities of the Philistines are mentioned here. Now, Remember, beloved brothers and sisters, that's why I read about the times of the Gentiles, because what happened here, that these, these, he's speaking about something that will happen a little bit later, about maybe a hundred years later.

If Zechariah receiving that revelation at about 500 BC, he's speaking about a time when Alexander the Great will rise to power. The only time that he's mentioned the word Greece here is in verse 13. Notice verse 13, O Zion, thy sons, O Zion, against the sons, thy sons, O Greece. You notice Greece is mentioned? Because there is a prediction here by the Lord. About events that will take place in the immediate future of Israel from the frame point of time when Zechariah was, was prophesying to the Jewish remnant that came back from the, from captivity. So God is giving to Israel through Zechariah information concerning events that will take place in the early, in the immediate future days concerning the rise of a king by the name of Alexander the Great, who will be used by God to take over the Middle Persian Empire and the Grecian Empire will continue on from there on.

And just to remind you that about, 165 BC, a few years later, After Alexander the Great died, his four generals took over the Grecian empire, and then out of them rose a wicked man by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes. Who is the one that desecrated the temple in the city of Jerusalem, and he will ultimately, he was ultimately defeated, and the Feast of Hanukkah was introduced by the Jewish people when they rededicated the temple in Jerusalem after the desecration of the Grecian Syrian Empire. So you can see that the Lord sees everything as man, he knows everything that is going on here in this world, and he giving information to the people of Judah through Zechariah concerning the immediate future that is yet ahead of them, but he's going beyond to the far future that is the Messianic kingdom as well.

So Verses one, two, six, we have the defeat of Syria, Phoenicia, and Philistia that is predicted here by the, by the Lord through Zechariah to the nation of Israel. Notice what he says in verse seven now, the judgment of Philistia, because apparently they were offering sacrifices to idols. So in verse seven, he says, I will take away his blood out of his mouth and his abomination from between his teeth. They were offering sacrifices to idols, feeding on these sacrifices, and that become an abomination to the Lord. From between his deeds and he that remaineth, even he shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and a corn as the Jebusites. So the he that he's speaking here, beloved brothers and sisters, here he's speaking about what will take place in a time when eventually Philistia will be taken over by Alexander the Great at about 332 BC.

Now before we move along, I want just to read a little bit something about Alexander the Great that I have before me, so bear with me. I'm just going to read a few lines here concerning Alexander the Great. Alexander the Third of Macedonia, known as Alexander the Great, Was born on the 21st of July, 356 BC. He died on the 10th of June at about 323 BC. So what he was predicting here, the Lord through Zechariah, would take place at about 332 BC. Alexander will be the one who will take over the Medo-Persian Empire. At the age of 32 or 33, Alexander died.

Now I'm just going down, and I'm not going to read everything that I have before me, but I want to say another portion to read here. In about 332 BC, Alexander conquered Syria. Then easily he conquered the land of Phoenicia, that is Tyre and Sidon. Then he tells he had some hard time against Tyre. That's what we read here, that Tyre had a stronghold, and it was not easy, but eventually he took over Tyre as well. Now listen to this. In verse, as I continue on, now Alexander set his sight on Jerusalem. Now that he took over Syria and the surrounding area, he took over Phoenicia, that is Tyre and Sidon. He took over the, the, Akron, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ashdod, the Philistia. Now he has his eyes towards the city of Yerushalayim. Again, this is history. This is what we have in the Jewish history concerning the events that took place in the history of the Jewish people.

So what happened here, after he took over Tyre, Alexander was determined also now to go towards the city of Jerusalem. Alexander's policy regarding the citizens of Tyre is a prime example of his ruthless, he was a ruthless, king. So now Alexander had his eyes on Jerusalem, and the high priest of, Yaduah, of Judah, his name was Yaduah. Yaduah refused Alexander earlier, when Alexander demand for him provision to help him against the Persian, Yaduah did not help him. So now Alexander was now intent to come to Jerusalem and take Jerusalem over. The terror of Yaduah and all Jerusalem, because they had so much fear because Alexander was coming now, so the Yaduah and the priests of Israel, they began to pray to God and to sacrifice and ask God to help them.

So the Lord told them not to worry, but to get dressed in all their, to get dressed appropriately, and then notice to open the gates of Jerusalem and to go to the, to the, to greet Alexander when Alexander will arrive. They did just that. In all their white linen, the purple robes, and the golden, headdress, the priests gathered behind the high priest, and Yaduah himself, he's the one that led them to come to meet Alexander. They threw open the gates of the city, they went to meet Alexander. He was stunned by this greeting. And Alexander, came down, and he, he came down before Yaduah, and the Jews couldn't believe their eyes, because he bowed before the high priest.

Again, this is Jewish history. And then we read, when they asked him about it, Alexander replied, he said, I didn't pay homage unto Yaduah, but to the God who made him the high priest. Then Alexander went up to the temple, and he made sacrifices to the Lord, the God of Israel, sparing the city of Jerusalem. At the temple, Alexander told them the reason for his actions.

So what happened, beloved brothers and sisters, Jewish history tell us that God did spare the city of Jerusalem When he gave this instruction to the high priest, Yaduah, who was so concerned with what Alexander the Great was going to do. And now go back to the scripture, to the Zechariah chapter nine, and you notice what the Lord is saying. Remember that when he was speaking to Zechariah, when he giving him this burden, it was sometime around 490 BC.

He was speaking about something that will take place much later when Alexander the Great was born, and he, he became the next king, the Grecian empire, and took over the Medo-Persian. That's what we read in the word of God. So now we find out that the Lord was predicting things that will take place in the immediate future.

So in verse eight, Jehovah now also make a promise that he will watch over the temple in the city of Jerusalem. And so we read in verse eight, listen to this, and I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passes by, and because of him that returneth, and other because of Alexander the Great, God made a promise that he will encamp around the temple in the city of Jerusalem and will watch over it and will not allow Alexander to do to the temple in the city of Jerusalem what he had done to Damascus, to Hadrak, to Tyre, to Sidon, to Ashkelon, to Gaza, to Akron, and to Ashdod, and to the Philistines. He, the Lord, will spare Jerusalem from the one that is returning, and no oppressor shall pass through them anymore, for now have I seen with mine eyes. Now you notice it's very interesting, because we are learning some history here that is not easy to grasp, but historically that's what took place.

And remember, we read about the times of the Gentiles, in Hebrew it's called Eitot HaGoyim. And according to the book of Daniel, we know very well that the times of the Gentiles will begin with the Babylonian, the Medo-Persians, the Grecians, and the Romans. When we look at the image of Daniel chapter 2, When Nebuchadnezzar had this dream, Daniel had shown, explained to Nebuchadnezzar that the head of gold is Babel.

The thigh, the chest and the hand is middle Persia. The thighs and the lower part of the image is the Grecian. And the legs, the two sides of the leg represent the Roman Empire. And the feet and the toes represent the revived Roman Empire in the future day. So what we have here, beloved brothers and sisters, it is fascinating. You and I can only, how do you say, read the text. We don't grasp it perhaps, but history matching the word of the Lord as it was given to Zechariah. Now in verse 8, we really have here in verse 8.

The Lord is watching over his house, he's encamping around his house, this is the temple, and the first part of verse 8 applied to the immediate future, while the second part of verse 8 takes us to the far future. How do we know it? Because it says in verse 8a, I will encamp about my house, this is Beit HaMikdash, the temple, because of the army of him, this is Alexander the Great that passes by, because of him that returning, so God will watch over.

But then in verse 8b it says, and no oppressors shall pass through them anymore. Now that cannot apply To, the times of Alexander, 332 BCY, because the temple was destroyed. The oppressors came. The Jews were scattered. In fact, since, 70 AD, the Romans came, they destroyed, they oppressed the Jewish people. They have, dis, destroyed the temple, burned the temple, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, killed over one million Jewish people, carried thousands of them to be slaves, and that took place already. So the second half of verse 8 takes us all the way to the Messianic kingdom, where there shall be no more, no oppressor shall pass through them anymore. That takes us to the Messianic kingdom, for now have I seen with mine eyes. So verse 8b is yet to be fulfilled in the future, in the future Messianic kingdom, where the temple will be rebuilt. If you go back to Isaiah for a moment, in Isaiah chapter 60, we read, beloved brothers and sisters, there we read in verse 18, Violence shall no more be heard in the land, wasting no destruction within thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise.

The future glorious days of the Messianic kingdom, no more violence, no more wasting, no more destruction, but the walls of Jerusalem shall be called salvation, Yeshua, and thy gates will be called, shall be praised. In other words, the Lord himself will be the wall around the city of Yerushalayim. He will protect his people, the people of Israel. In Ezekiel chapter 28, we read, beloved brothers and sisters, concerning the future, where there will be no longer any oppressors that will come to the land.

Ezekiel 28 and verse 24, and there shall be no more a pricking, a briar unto the house of Israel. Nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about them that despise them, and they should know that I am the Lord God. There is a future day which is so touching the heart, in which the Lord will bring to an end all the sorrows and the sufferings of the nation of Israel in the context here, but of all the world, when the Messiah will come in the future day to restore the nation of Israel and to bless this world when he will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. So the first eight verses, beloved brothers and sisters, of this ninth chapter is that Yehovah will judge the nations surrounding Israel in the immediate future, but also in the far future. And He will bring about, eventually, He will bring about a time that there will be no more sorrows, no more anything that will harm the Lord's people and nation of Israel in the future day, in the future day.

But now we are moving to verse nine. For verse nine and verse ten, we have the promise of Israel's promised king, Messiah, to come. You see, in the first eight verses, He was speaking about another king. And that king was not Israel's king, he was the king of the Grecians. This was the one that is called Alexander Mokedon, Alexander the Great. But in verses 9 and 10, Zechariah receives from the Lord this beautiful portion of scripture that we often read it, and we read of it in the New Testament, in the New Covenant, in the Brit HaChadashah, concerning the first coming of the Messiah, first of all. So notice what we read. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion.

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, notice thy king, not the king of the Grecians, but your king, the king of Israel, the king of the Jews is going to come. He's speaking about The promise Messiah that will come, notice thy king, there is a king that is coming. The king of Israel, the king of Zion, the king of Yerushalayim, the king of the Jews. He will come, but notice what it says, he come unto thee, but how does he come? He is riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the fall of an ass. He is coming in humility. He is coming at his first coming to you, daughter of Zion, Bat Zion, Bat Yerushalayim. He is coming to you at his first coming. So in verse nine, we have the coming of the Mashiach at his first coming. I will read a verse or two from the New Testament in a moment.

But then continue in verse ten, notice. There is really not a break between verse nine and verse ten as you read the text, but there is a break when it's come to the timings because verse nine applies to the first coming of the Messiah, while verse ten applies and speak of the second coming of the Messiah. Notice what we read. I'm reading verse nine and verse ten together. 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 notice that, and he continue, and I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. And the battle bow shall be cut off, and he, this is the king of verse nine, the Messiah of verse nine, he shall speak shalom, peace unto the heathen, and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even unto the end of the earth. Now this is so interesting, and it's so beautiful, and that's why many have a lot of, many of our own Jewish people have a problem with this portion of Scripture. That's why in, in, in the vast majority of our people of Israel do not recognize the two comings of the Messiah. And that's why some believe that he's speaking here about two Messiahs. Mashiach ben Yosef is a suffering Messiah riding on a donkey. And Mashiach Ben David, verse 10, is having dominion from sea to sea and from river to the end of the earth.

Not recognizing that there's only one Messiah who is coming twice. There are not two Messiahs, but there's one Messiah. Mashiach Echad. And that Messiah must come first of all in his, in his lowliness. He must come into this world, he must come to this world in order to fulfill what God has said through the prophets of Israel, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and she shall call his name Immanuel, God with us. And that according to the prophet Isaiah and according to the book of Psalm, he will come to suffer.

He's coming riding on a donkey, not on a horse. He's coming in humility, not in victory, in a sense of in power. He's coming to pay for the sin of this world. He's not coming to judge the world. It is yet coming in the future day. And so the, you see how from verse nine, there's a shift from the king of the Grecian to the king of the Jews. From the king of the empire of Greece, Alexander the Great, to the king of Israel, the king of kings and lord of lord, Melech Hamlechim, Ve'adon HaAdonim. And so there's a promise. But now, beloved brothers and sisters, think with me for a moment. When Zechariah received that prophecy from the Lord, He was speaking, the Lord is giving him information concerning the immediate future.

At about 332, about Alexander the Great, and we have just, read concerning Alexander the Great that he was born at, 356, and that he died at about 336. He lived very young, he died at a very young age, at about 32 or 33 years old, and he died because he was drunk, and he died because he was drinking, and, and he, suddenly died at a very young age. But he died, he didn't come to give himself, he didn't come in humility, he came with pride and arrogance, and he was one of those that, that, that began the, the, the Grecian Empire. But now, Israel is to rejoice. You see, they were fearful from the first king, the Grecian king, but they are to be rejoicing because a little bit later on, at about, five or six BC, another three hundred and thirty or four hundred years, three hundred and something years, the Mashiach will come.

Your king will come, daughter of Zion. Your king will come, daughter of Jerusalem. He is coming, but notice when he is coming, he is just, the Hebrew word is tzaddik. He having salvation, nosha. And he is lowly, and he is really humble. He is anin, Hebrew the word is ani. He is poor. You remember what Yeshua said of himself? Foxes have holes, and the birds of the earth have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He came down from heaven, according to the book of Philippians, in humility, and you remember what the Apostle Shaul Paul said concerning the coming of the Messiah at his first coming. He says, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. And he took upon himself the form of a servant, and he was made in the likeness of man, and being found in the fashion of the man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, and that's the death of the cross.

While Alexander died because he was drunk, Yeshua the Messiah died for your sins and mine. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh. And he's just, and having salvation. He came to provide salvation, beloved brothers and sisters. He's lowly, and he's riding upon an ass and upon a colt of the fall of an ass. You know, the colt is really a donkey that is not yet broken. You can't sit on him. But when the Mashiach came, he control, everything was controlled by him. Everything was controlled by him. Turn with me to the Gospel of Matthew in fulfillment of this prophecy that Zechariah predicted at about 490 BC concerning the first coming of the Messiah in Zechariah 9 and verse 9. In Matthew chapter 21 we read, listen to this, how beautiful to see the fulfillment of this in the Brit HaChadashah, in the New Covenant. Matthew 21 and verse 1 we read, And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and they were come to Bethpage, unto the Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with hair, loose them, and bring them unto me.

And if any man say unto you, Ye shall say, The Lord has a need of them, and straightway he will send them. In verse four we read, All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, this is the prophet Zechariah, chapter nine, and verse nine, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Yeshua commanded them. And they brought the ass and the colt, and they put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garment in the way, others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And a multitude that, that went before, and that followed, crying, saying, Hosanna, Hosanna to Ben David, Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest, save us, save us, Hosanna, save please, save now.

And when he was coming to Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And a multitude said, This is Jesus, this is Yeshua, the prophet of Nazareth, of Galil, of the Galil of Galilee. In other words, beloved brothers and sisters, this prophetic message that Zechariah received from the Lord to give the daughter of Zion, the daughter of Yerushalayim, the promise that now there is a day when your king will come.

Not the king of the Babylonian, not the king of the Medo-Persian, not the king of the Grecians, not the Caesars and the kings of the Romans, but the king of the Jews, the king of Zion, the king of Yerushalayim. But when he will come, beloved brothers and sisters, he will come with humility. He will come riding on a donkey, and he will come lowly in order to provide salvation for the nation of Israel and for the nations of the world. Behold your King, we read in the Gospel of John. Turn with me for a moment to the Gospel of John.

In John chapter 18, we do read, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 33 onward, John chapter 18 and verse 33, we read, Then, notice there, Then Pilate answered, entered into the judgment hall again, and he called Yeshua, and he said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, he says to him, he says, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did other tell thee of me? Pilate said unto him, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me, what hast thou done?

And Yeshua answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews? But now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate answered and said unto him, Are you a king then? Yeshua answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born. You remember Matthew 2, where is he that was born the king of the Jews? For this, he said, to this end was I born. And for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth, and that everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Amazing, beloved brothers and sisters. What a passage we read. And he came to die for the sin of this world. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold thy king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation. He is lowly. He is riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the fall of an ass. And beloved brothers and sisters, between verse nine and the next verse ten, although we read it immediately one after the other, there is at least, at least some two thousand years between verse nine and verse ten.

And that place us here in this present day age of the ekklesia, the assembly which will come to an end, when the church will be taken out of here, and the Messiah will come at his second coming, at the end of the seven year tribulation, to rule as King of Kings and as Lord of Lords. I just want to read just another verse, if you go back to the Gospel of John once again.

And in John chapter, again, in chapter 18, it says in verse 39, But ye, he said, notice that he says in, in chapter 39 and verse, I mean, chapter 18, verse 38 and 39, he says, Do you will ye therefore that I will release unto you the King of the Jews? You notice that, beloved brothers and sisters? Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?

Notice chapter 19, turn to chapter 19, in verse, verse, three. And they said, Hail, King of the Jews. This is the Romans when he, when he's, they put upon the Lord Yeshua the Messiah the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and they smote him, but they mocked him, they, in mockery, they called him Melech HaYehudim, the King of the Jews. Notice a little bit further on in verse, 14 onwards of chapter 19, it does say that, in verse 15, And they cried away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate says unto them, Shall I crucify your king?

You see, again and again, notice in verse 19, Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross that it, and it was written, Yeshua from Nazareth, the King of the Jews, Melech HaYehudim. He was indeed, beloved brothers and sisters, the King of the Jews, but at his first coming, he was rejected, despised, he suffered, and he died for the sin of this world. But he is coming again.

He is coming again, and when he will come again at his second coming, we will read it in our next meeting together, from verse 10 onward, he will rule in righteousness. He will be recognized, by all, and his dominion will be from sea to sea and from river to river, even unto the end of the earth. We will look into it in our next meeting together, because the time is flying, and we just, pass our time, beloved brothers and sisters. How wonderful to know that God sees everything. He knows everything that is going on. He knows the beginning from the end, and the end from the beginning. Nothing is hidden from him with whom we have to do.

And here, through the prophet Zechariah, we are receiving information concerning the coming of the Messiah, but prior to the coming of the Messiah, about Alexander the Great. And what he will do when he, the king of Grish, the king of Grisha, the king of Greece, what he will do, he will defeat Hadrach, Damascus, Tyre, Sidon, Ashkenon, Asa, Ekron, Ashdod, the Philistine, he will ultimately destroy them and he will come to the city of Yerushalayim, the Lord will preserve Jerusalem because the Lord says in verse eight, he says, I will encamp around my house because of the army and because of him that passes by God protected the temple in Yerushalayim and the city from Alexander.

Who didn't destroy in his time, and how wonderful to know that there is a prediction, additional prediction of the king of Zion, the daughter of Zion and daughter of Jerusalem, their king is coming, and that is the coming of our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, who came in humility to give his life a ransom for many. He died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose for our justification, and he's coming again.

And until that time of his coming again, God love you, God loves the world, and he want us to believe, to trust him, to accept him as our Lord and our Messiah and our Savior today, today already, and whoever will believe on him will not perish, but have everlasting Like, praise God for the promises that we have in our Lord Jesus, Yeshua HaMashiach.

And so our God and our Father, we thank you so much for your love and care for us. Bless your word to us. Thank you for the promise that we have in your word, and indeed, you have sent him, the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of the world. Bless your word to us all. Encourage our hearts today. We are looking forward for the coming of the Lord to take his people to be with him. We give you thanks and praise, for we ask it in Yeshua, in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. My dear friend, God bless you. Until the next time, we say to you, Shalom, Shalom. Bye-bye.