ZECHARIAH FOR TODAY
Chapters 8 - 9
CHAPTER 8
Promise concerning Restoration
The word of the Lord came to Zech saying:
"I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous
for her with great fury. I am RETURNED unto Zion, and I will
DWELL in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a
city of TRUTH; and the mountain (government) of the Lord of
hosts, the HOLY mountain (government).
There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets
of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for
multitude of days (margin). And the streets of the city shall be
full of boys and girls playing in the streets" (verses 1-5)
God is not now dwelling in Zion or anywhere in Jerusalem.
The people of Jerusalem are mainly SECULAR - mainly not
religious. Jerusalem can hardly be called a city of TRUTH, or the
mountain government of the Lord of hosts. The streets can hardly
be said to be safe for the very old or for children playing in
them. The words portray in them a time of rest and peace and
safety, which Jerusalem does not have at this time.
As we shall see the context is a restoration of Judah and
Israel to a time under the government of God, when the Lord will
indeed literally dwell in Zion/Jerusalem as all the prophets
foretell.
"Thus says the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from
the east country and from the west country. And I will bring
them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they
shall be my people, and I will be their God, in TRUTH and in
RIGHTEOUSNESS" (verses 7-8).
Can it be said the people of Jerusalem are truly people that
belong to God in their ways of life? Can the Lord really say He
is their God in TRUTH and in RIGHTEOUSNESS? Jesus said, "Thy
(God's) word is TRUTH." Are the people of Jerusalem trying to
live by every word of God, in all that they do. Righteousness is
defined as "All thy commandments are righteousness (Ps.119:172).
I do not think very much of either has taken hold in any serious
deep way in the people of Jerusalem.
In the next verses God encourages. He says the weak hands
should be strong, as they hear the words of the prophet, which
were before and which are again. There was little comfort and
peace before in all the afflictions, but now the Lord is going to
reverse that state of affairs, and the former days of
tribulation, even the Great Tribulation of the last days of this
age are coming to an end. The seed that is left of Judah and
Israel:
"Shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the
ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their
dew; and I will cause the REMNANT of this people to possess all
these things.
And it shall come to pass as you were a curse among the heathen,
O house of Judah and house of israel (notice both are still
separate at this time, scattered in the land of their enemies);
so will I SAVE you, and you shall be a blessing: FEAR NOT, but
let your hands be strong" (verses 9-13).
I think there is much fear in so many ways in the lands of
Israel and Judah today. The day is yet to come when there will be
no fear of any kind.
The Lord of hosts had decided to punish then when their
father went astray, and He did not change His mind. So again He
has thought to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah
there will be no fear (verses 14-15).
I'm very sure there is much fear in the land of Judah today.
This is an end time prophecy to come about when God in the form
of Christ Jesus is dwelling in their very midst. And what will
the people do in those days, we are told:
"These are the things that you shall do; Speak you every man the
TRUTH to his neighbor; execute the judgment of TRUTH and PEACE in
your gates: And let none of you imagine EVIL in your hearts
against his neighbor; and love no FALSE OATH: for all these are
things that I hate, says the Lord" (verses 16-17).
Is every man speaking TRUTH to everyone, in any nation on
earth today? No! I guess not. Is there any people, any nation,
that is executing judgment of truth and peace in their land? No!
There is no nation with God's judgment of truth and peace. And so
it is with verse 17.
All nations on earth today are FAR from fulfilling what we
have just read about in those two verses.
The Fasts
The fasts here spoken about are HISTORIC days of ancient
Judah, much like say, the 4th of July is to the USA.
The fourth month fast is 2 Kings 25:3,4 - the taking of
Jerusalem; the fifth month fast is 2 Kings 25:8,9 - in memory of
the ruin of the Temple; the seventh month fast is 2 Kings 25:22-
25 - For the murder of Gedaliah (Jer.41:1-3); the fast of the
tenth month is 2 Kings 25:1; Jer.52:4; Ezek.24:1-2 - in
commemoration of the seige of Jerusalem which began on the tenth
day of the tenth month.
These fasts will become joyful. As Adam Clarke's Bible
Commentary says "You shall find all your evils so completely
redressed, that these mournful fasts shall be turned into joyful
feasts."
So the Jews of Judah are to LOVE TRUTH and PEACE. There is
certainly not much loving of the truth (Jesus said God's word was
truth - John 17:17) and peace in their land today. But the day
comes when all this prophecy will be fully competed.
Nations to Seek God
There is no way that verses 20-23 have been fulfilled in
their completeness. Yes, a few Gentiles in the first century A.D.
and during the days of the Apostles, did come to Jerusalem to
worship the God of Israel. But CITIES of people going to another
city and saying, "Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord, and
to seek the Lord of hosts: and I will go also" can hardly be said
was taking place in the days of the apostles.
So likewise, "many people and STRONG nations shall come to
seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord"
can not be said to have EVER taken place as yet, but one day the
reality of this will happen when the Kingdom of God is
established on earth under Jesus Christ.
Has there EVER been the fulfilment of verse 23? Ten people
to every Jew, taking hold of the garment of the Jew and saying,
"We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you."
This in its magnitude HAS NEVER HAPPENED YET! People from
here and there have never in such large numbers been seeking out
the Jew and saying they would go with them for they have heard
God is among them. But when Jesus the Messiah comes to DWELL with
Judah and live in the city of Jerusalem in the 1,000 year age to
come, then this prophecy will take place, for it will be the time
when the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea beds.
CHAPTER 9
Judgment on Surrounding Nations
This had it MAIN fulfilment in the days of Zechariah, BUT it
will have a fulfilment in type during the last 42 months of this
age. The original land where these cities stood will be the
possession of ALL THE TRIBES of Israel (verse 1), when the eyes
of mankind, like those of all Israel, will be TOWARDS the Lord!
All the eyes of all Israel have never been towards the Lord. As
the apostle Paul said in Romans 9 through 11, it is only a few in
Israel who are called to grace, the rest are still spiritually
blinded.
We have seen there will come in type an end time TYRUS -
strong with gold and silver - a trading power over the seas. This
will be the end time 7th resurrection of the Holy Roman Empire in
Europe. Rich in physical wealth and Strong in the might of
battle. But it will be cast down to the earth and be devoured by
the fire of battle.
We have seen the pride of the Philistines - the Palestinians
today - shall be cut off - the blood from his mouth shall stop,
the abominations of their words shall stop. They will be punished
as will other nations. Those left of them will be CONVERTED to
the God of Israel, and will be noble as a governor in Judah.
It is the time of the beginning of the 1,000 year age. Not
all nations will immediately fall into line with the God of
Israel. We have seen how some nations at the start of the new
age, will not even fully understand that God literally dwells in
Jerusalem, and may want to harm or invade the Holy Land, for they
will hear about how fruitful it is. So, because of this, God
says:
"I will guard my Temple and protect it from invading armies. I am
closely watching their movements. No foreign oppressor will ever
again overrun my people's land" (verse 1-8).
Such words as the last few sentences have never been
fulfilled as yet, for history shows that the Roman Empire DID
invade, conquer and DID finally destroy the Temple of God in
Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
In the age to come, when the Ezekiel Temple is built, this
prophecy will take full effect, and it will indeed be so, that no
invading army (i.e. Ezekiel 38,39) will ever again overrun the
Holy Land, now fully belonging to ALL TRIBES of Israel.
Restoration under the humble King
Verse 9 had its fulfilment in Jesus, at His first coming to
earth as a flesh and blood man. It is the somewhat famous, Jesus
riding the donkey and the people praising the Lord. It was
fulfilled in Luke 19:38. That verse 9 was fulfilled, BUT verse 10
is YET FOR THE FUTURE!
"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 to the ends of the earth."
Verse 10 is for the coming end time, when nations will not
lift up sword against nations and they will not learn war any
more (Isaiah 11:9). It is the time when weapons of war will be
destroyed. As the New Living Translation puts it: "Your King will
bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to
sea and from the Euphrates river to the ends of the earth."
God will be faithful to His covenant, sealed with blood, and
will set free His Israel people who will be prisoners of death in
waterless dungeons. God says, "Come back to the place of safety,
all you prisoners, for there is yet hope! I promise this very day
that I will repay you two mercies for each of your woes! Judah is
my bow, and Israel is my arrow! Jerusalem (Heb."Zion") is my
sword, and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks
(Heb. "sons of Javan").
It is the time that God will fight for His people Israel and
Judah. The men of the East (Javan) may come (as in Ezekiel 38,39)
to invade the land of Israel, but God will be the battle axe to
defeat them. He says through Zech:
"The Lord will appear above his people; his arrows will fly like
lightning! The Sovereign Lord will sound the TRUMPET; he will go
out against his enemies like a whirlwind from the southern
desert. The Lord Almighty will protect his people, and they will
subdue their enemies with sling stones. They will shout in battle
as though drunk with wine, shedding the blood of their enemies.
They will be filled with blood like a bowl, drenched with blood
like the corners of the altar" (the New Living Translation,
verses 11-15).
Yes, we have seen, that when the Messiah comes in power and
glory, to free His people Israel and Judah, they will fight their
enemies in that day, as the Holy Land and Jerusalem are liberated
from the hands of the Gentile armies. God will fight, with His
angels and resurrected saints in the great battle of Armageddon
over and around Jerusalem; but the physical Israelites will fight
their enemies also. This we shall see again in the last chapters
of Zechariah.
"When that day arrives, the Lord their God will rescue his
people, just as a shepherd rescues his sheep. They will sparkle
in his hand like a jewels in a crown. How wonderful and beautiful
they will be! The young men and women will thrive on the
abundance of grain and new wine" (The New Living Translation,
verses 16,17).
It is the time and day of the coming of the Messiah to
establish the Kingdom of God on earth. He will free and rescue
the people of Israel and Judah from captivity, restore them to
the Holy Land, where they will blossom and bloom and shine as
jewels in His crown. The Lord and Israel will fight their
enemies, it will be the battle of all battles, and of course the
Lord and Israel will win the day. God will then be the only
protector that Israel will have, as they settle down to live in
un-walled towns and with no war machines of any kind. The Eternal
God, in the person of Jesus Christ, will be Israel's only
protection from any nation who may desire to invade the Holy
Land. Eventually all nations will come under the rulership of
Christ. All swords will be beaten into plowshares, implements of
farming. Nations will learn war no more. There will be world-wide
peace, joy, prosperity, as indeed the knowledge of God covers the
earth as the waters cover the sea beds.
THE WORLD WILL BE AT ONE WITH GOD!
FINALLY THE DAY OF ATONEMENT FEAST WILL BE FULFILLED!
THE NATIONS WILL HAVE GONE THROUGH SOME AFFLICTION INDEED.
AS THE FEAST OF ATONEMENT IS A FEAST OF FASTING AFFLICTION, BUT
ALSO JOY IN WHAT THE FEAST SYMBOLIZES, SO IT WILL COME TO PASS,
FOR A SHORT WHILE AFFLICTION ON THE EARTH, BUT AFTER THE JOYFUL
FRUITS OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND SALVATION ON THE KINGDOM OF GOD
ON EARTH!
...................
To be continued
Entered on this Website on the day of Atonement 2008
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