The tenth and eleventh verses show clearly that the prophecy is yet to be fulfilled and can be only fulfilled in the coming of the Son of Man in His glory. One of the reasons why modern Judaism rejects Jesus of Nazareth, and does not believe Him to be the promised Redeemer, is in this prophecy. Rabbi F. De Sola Mendes, of New York, brings in a little book, “A Hebrew’s Reply to the Missionaries,” the following argument: “We reject Jesus of Nazareth as our Messiah on account of His deeds. He says of Himself: ‘Think not that I am come to send peace on the earth; I came not to send peace but a sword,’ etc. But we find that our prophets ascribe to the true Messiah quite different actions.” Zechariah says (ix: 10), He shall speak peace to the nations. Jesus says He came to send the sword on the earth; whereas, Isaiah says of the true Messianic time, “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.”
Of course the Jew is right in expecting the literal fulfillment of this prophecy, and it will be fulfilled when He comes again and the restoration of all things will follow, as spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets.
When He appears again, in like manner as He went into heaven, that is not for His saints but with His saints, there will be peace for Ephraim and for Jerusalem, and the kingdom is then restored to Israel, that is, to the house of Judah and the house of Israel. The chariot, the horse, and the battlebow will be cut off.
Not alone will He bring peace to the covenant people but to the nations. He will speak peace. “And He shall stand, and shall feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah His God, and they shall abide; for now shall He be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be our peace” (Micah v: 4, 5). There will be abundance of peace (Ps. lxxii: 7). His dominion will be from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth.
The prisoners of hope to be released, by the blood of the covenant, from the pit wherein there is no water, is the nation whose captivity is now ended. How strange that people should take a passage like this and interpret it as meaning the restitution of the wicked and the ungodly from the pit. There is nothing taught in the Word like that which some people term a larger hope. The restitution (restoration) of all things is not left to the fanciful interpretation of the human mind, but is clearly defined by the Word itself, as spoken by the prophets. In the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel xxxvii, Israel’s complaint is, Our hope is lost. But when He is manifested, who is indeed the Hope of Israel, the prisoners (the captives), will be released and cleansed. Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears. . . . “There is hope for thy latter end, saith the Lord, and thy children shall come again to their own border” (Jer. xxxi: 17). The exhortation to return to the stronghold follows. Israel will then sing, “He brought me up out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings” (Ps. xl: 2). Double will be rendered unto them, as promised, “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Is. xl: 2). “For your shame ye shall have double, and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion; therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them” (Is. lxi: 7).
And now we come to the third section of this chapter. The scene changes once more. The chapter commences with scenes of war, strife, battles and overthrow, and it ends with scenes of war and words of cheer for Zion. In the middle stands the King and His advent, the kingdom of peace, which He will establish.
Alexander’s successor, Antiochus Epiphanes, and Zion’s successful resistance, is undoubtedly the first fulfillment of the third section. The Prophet Daniel speaks likewise of this terrible man of sin, Antiochus Epiphanes (chap. viii). Not like Alexander, passing by Jerusalem, he invaded the land of Judah, and endeavored to force the idolatry of Greece upon the Jews. Entering Jerusalem, he slew 40,000 of the inhabitants, and a larger number were sold as slaves. He then entered the temple, seized the rich treasures stored there, and commanded a big swine to be sacrificed upon the altar of burnt-offering, and with the blood the sacred place was defiled. A bitter struggle commenced, for Antiochus tried to exterminate the Jews and their religion as well. Every observance of the Jewish religion was forbidden, the Sabbath had to be profaned, and unclean food had to be eaten. Idols were set up in the temple. Instead of the Jewish feasts, the feasts of idols, with all their shocking abominations and immoralities, were introduced, and the Jews were forced to join in them. Thousands suffered martyrdom. But all at once a few people stood up against the abominations, the Maccabeans, and in a struggle lasting about twenty-five years, they fought successfully against the enemies. Miraculous victories were achieved, and thousands and tens of thousands of the idolators slain, and Jerusalem and the land freed from the abomination.
This terrible visitation of the land and the wonderful victory of the Maccabeans is foretold by the prophet in the closing verses of the ninth chapter. We will quote the passage:
“I bend for me Judah and fill the bow with Ephraim,
And I will stir up thy sons, Zion, against thy sons, Greece,