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6) At that time, in those days
Whereas we may have wondered at how relevant Zechariah was in speaking of the sons of Greece existing in the time of Messiah's coming, now we may wonder who in the world isn't, by cultural inheritance, a son of Greece!
Zechariah wrote,
Zec 9:13 For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim;
and I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece,
and will make you like the sword of a mighty man.
Joel also speaks of the Grecians, Yavanim or Hellenists, existing at the time when, firstly, Judah is delivered from captivity, and then Jerusalem.
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon (Lebanon), and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians (Yavanim), that ye might remove them far from their border. (Joel 3:1-6)
Those of Lebanon and Palestine, Joel says, will sell the Jews and the children of Jerusalem to the Grecians or Hellenists. The term is not Yavan but Yavanim or those of , or pertaining to, Yavin. By contrast Isaiah speaks of Yavan as a nation.
For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Yavan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. (Isaiah 66:18-20)
At the time when Yahweh Elohim will set a 'sign', just as the word Zion means, in the world, then those who escape of the nations will go amongst other places, to the nation of Yavan, or Greece. The same messengers will, in a reverse of what the Yavanim (the Hellenists) did, bring the Jews to Jerusalem.
The amazing thing to note is that once the Western world was divided into many ideologies, but in only the last few years the West is divided into a much simpler division: pro-Zion vs anti-Zion.
This is due to the revival of a call to partition the Holy Land (which was done once in 1947), and now also there are calls to divide Jerusalem, the place of the sign (Zion), of the habitation of Yahweh Elohim.
The pro-Zion are in the minority. They are characterised by having a literal understanding of the Bible, a respect for the sovereignty of the God of Israel, and believe the Jews' possession of the land of Israel is the God-given 'sign' of Zion. They see any division of the Land as an opposition to God, and know the prophecy that speaks of the fate of those who do divide the land. The sons of Zion are born, or come to exist because of the Sign.
The Anti-Zion are characterised by a respect for human reason (inherited directly from the philosophers of Classical Greece), elevation of the human form and superficial beauty to the level of idolatry, a love of divergent philosophy and utter lack of respect for the text of the Bible, or the commands of the God of Israel. They desire to impose their human ideas, including a liberal secular democracy, (and idolatry) on all the world. They see no reason not to divine the Holy Land and Zion, as they don't value the word of God. These are the sons of Greece, (Hellen,Yaven). In Hebrew Yaven means effervescing 'mire'. The sons of Yaven are those who are out of the effervescing watery mire of the earth, born from earthy human thinking.
This call to divide Jerusalem, and the divide over Zion, is due to the agitation of another group in the Middle East, who are by descent more related to the Jews. Though they despise the sons of Greece, they have some inheritance from the Hellenistic culture. They hold in esteem the book of the bitter words of one man. This group want to remove Zion as a sign to legitimise their leader's words.
It is interesting to note that Zechariah says Yahweh will have to 'stir up' the dormant, accepting, sons of Zion against the dominant sons of Greece. It took idolatry in the temple for the Maccabees to stand up against the Hellenists, and unite and cast the Hellenists out. But there is a greater zealot coming,
Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. (Psalm 69:6-9)
When Yeshua came to Jerusalem he cast out the money changers from the temple in his zeal for the house, or habitation of God. This habitation is called Zion. But the first time Yeshua came to Zion he did not bring peace, rather he brought conflict and war (Matthew 10:34). When the sons of Zion have been stirred up and made free by Messiah, at that time shall the daughters of Zion rejoice, as Messiah will bring salvation and speak peace to the nations.
Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zec 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the nations:
and his dominion will be from sea to sea,and from the River to the ends of the earth.
A short printable articleDivisive Zion: Sons of Hellenists, sons of Zion
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