Greetings! In our last post, we started a two-part series on the topic of the “Greek Connection.” The Greek Connection is when the prophets Daniel and Zechariah placed the ancient Grecian Empire back to back with the end time kingdom of Antichrist. In the first post, we studied all the times when the prophet Daniel placed these two kingdoms back to back of each other. In this post, we’re going to see how the prophet Zechariah placed these two empires back to back. Ready? Then let’s not delay another minute!

The Greek Connection

Second in a Two-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

The Sons of Zion and the Sons of Greece Meet in Battle

Now we come to another significant end time prophetic word that also involves the Greek connection. Zechariah chapter nine is a prophetically unique chapter. Like Daniel, Zechariah placed the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great back to back with the end time empire of Antichrist. The chapter begins with Zechariah prophesying the battle plan of Alexander the Great, how he would conquer the Persian Empire. The first eight verses contain the exact battle plan Alexander the Great used to topple the Persian king.

In the years 334–333 BC, Alexander fought two battles in northwestern Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) against the Persian King Darius and won both battles. After Darius’ defeat in the second battle, the Persian king barely escaped with his life. With just the shirt on his back, Darius fled back to Susa, the capital of Persia (present-day Iran). It would take Darius a significant amount of time to raise another army to fight Alexander.

In the meanwhile, Alexander decided to change his war strategy. He realized his navy was too small and would never be able to defeat Darius on the sea, so he changed his war strategy from a sea campaign to a land-based campaign. To succeed, he had to first get control of all the ports along the Mediterranean coast to prevent the flow of supplies to the Persian army. In the first seven verses of Zechariah chapter nine, Zechariah prophesied Alexander’s war strategy of capturing all the port cities along the coast.³

Then in verse nine, the subject changed. Zechariah then prophesied the First and Second Coming of the Lord. Verse nine prophesied the First Coming of the Lord: “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.” Zechariah prophesied Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem riding on a donkey right before He would die on the cross.

Then in verse 10, Zechariah prophesied Jesus’ Second Coming, when He would reign over the nations: “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 unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.” This verse foretells of the time when Messiah would return and restore peace to the earth. When it says, “I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off,” it’s referring to when Israel will no longer be at war, no longer having to defend herself from her enemies. The last part of that verse that says He will speak peace to the heathen and his dominion will be from sea to sea refers to when Jesus rules the kingdom of men during His millennial reign over the nations of the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jesus will begin His reign as King of Kings after He puts down Antichrist in the battle of Armageddon.

Let’s talk about the last verses in Zechariah chapter nine that tell us about Jesus’ battle with Antichrist. There is one unusually worded verse I want to focus on: “When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man” (v. 13).

Bible scholars agree this verse refers to the end time battle between Israel and Antichrist. The confusion comes from the phrase “thy sons, O Greece.” In the end time battle with Antichrist, Zechariah prophesied saying the battle will be between “the sons of Zion” and the “sons of Greece.” Huh? If you didn’t know about the Greek connection, you would think this says Antichrist will come from Greece. However, the phrase “sons of Greece” is a reference to the area that was once occupied by the Grecian Seleucid Empire and not the actual present-day nation of Greece. Thus we see that like Daniel, Zechariah also placed the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great back to back with the end time kingdom of Antichrist.

Apollyon Will Influence Antichrist in the Same Way He Influenced Antiochus

The fallen angel Apollyon, also known as the “prince of Grecia” in the book of Daniel, influenced the king Antiochus Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire. At some point, Apollyon was imprisoned in the bottomless pit (before the Roman Empire ruled over Israel). When Apollyon is let out of the bottomless pit, he will influence the Antichrist figure in the same way he influenced Antiochus. Antichrist will begin to mirror the attitude and behavior of the Grecian King Antiochus Epiphanes—the very last king we read about in Daniel chapter 11. It’s not a coincidence that both Antiochus Epiphanes and Antichrist are kings of the same area of the world that was once ruled by the Grecian Seleucid Empire.

These two kings—Antiochus Epiphanes and Antichrist—are mirror images of each other. Antichrist will display the exact kind of hostility toward the Jewish people as did Antiochus. We can get a glimpse into the character of Antiochus by the name he chose for himself: Epiphanes. It means “God comes” or “the manifestation of God.” This speaks volumes about his elevated ego.

Antiochus Epiphanes has an infamous place in history for being known as the first ruler that tried to wipe out an entire culture. He tried to force the Jewish people to abandon their religion and their culture. He tried to force upon them Greek gods and Greek culture. Forcing Greek culture on the Jewish people included the building of a Greek gymnasium in Jerusalem where Jewish boys were coerced into participating in the games in the “Greek way,” which meant playing naked. What is worse is that the games started with a ceremony that included making sacrifices to Greek gods. (1^st Maccabees 1)

At the command of Antiochus, all Jewish worship was forbidden. Circumcision became outlawed. In fact, any and all observance of Jewish holy days was outlawed. Possession of the Holy Scriptures was forbidden. Everything that was Judaic was forbidden or destroyed and replaced with everything Greek. (1^st Maccabees 1)

Antiochus defiled the temple by sacrificing a pig on the sacred altar. He poured a mixture of boiled pig’s flesh and its blood throughout the temple. Antiochus built statues of the Greek god Zeus with its face having the likeness of Antiochus himself. He then erected one of the statues in the holy of holies. Antiochus declared himself to be god and decreed that all citizens had to present themselves four times a year to pay respect to him as the senior god of the Seleucids. Failure to obey these new decrees was immediately punished with either torture, death, or both. As a result, thousands fled Jerusalem to live in the countryside. (1^st Maccabees 1)

This forced conversion to Greek culture resulted in the Maccabean Revolt, where the Jewish people rose up and threw off their Greek overlords. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recorded in his book, “The Wars of the Jews” that the temple remained desolate for three- and one-half years, after which the Jews gained control of Jerusalem!⁴

The future end time Antichrist will display these same characteristics. He will invade and occupy Jerusalem. Half the citizens will escape Jerusalem and flee into the wilderness. He will try to obliterate the Jewish people, their culture, and their faith. Like Antiochus, an image of him will be created and everyone will be forced to worship it under the threat of death. This persecution of the Jewish people will continue for three- and one-half years. Like Antiochus, Antichrist will enter the temple and declare himself to be god. At the end of the three- and one-half years, the Messiah will come and rescue His people from the clutches of Antichrist.

A Shift of Power in the Unseen Realm

A shift of powers in the unseen realm allowed the ancient Grecian Seleucid Empire to rise in power in the seen realm. The prince of Persia in the unseen realm was deposed to make way for the prince of Greece to take his place. The same will be true for the future Antichrist kingdom. A shift of power will take place when Apollyon, the prince of Greece, will be let out of the bottomless pit. This Greek principality in the unseen realm will be why Antichrist will behave in the same manner as Antiochus Epiphanes.

The Grecian Seleucid Empire of Antiochus Epiphanes and the end time Antichrist kingdom complete a full circle; it is a circle that begins and ends in the same place. That is why we saw Daniel and Zechariah place the Grecian Empire of Alexander the Great back to back, back to back, back to back with the end time kingdom of Antichrist.

Greece is the answer to the riddle about the beast in Revelation 17:8: “The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition….” The beast “that was, and is not, and yet is” is Apollyon, the prince of Greece. He used to be in power during the Grecian Seleucid Empire. At some point during that time, he was thrown into the bottomless pit. That resulted in him not being in power during the time of the Roman Empire. And when he is let out of the bottomless pit, he will be in power again. He is the beast “that was, and is not, and yet is.”

What’s ahead?

In the next series, we’ll be studying Revelation chapter 18. Chapter 18 is what I refer to as the Lord’s “indictment” against Jerusalem. The way this indictment is laid out is both interesting and enlightening. It’s a clear insight into God’s view of Jerusalem’s sin and why it is so offensive to Him. You could say chapter 18 is a presentation of God’s legal case against Jerusalem.

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