Day 280: Zechariah 11-14

(The previous post covered an exhortation from God about the conditions of the Millennium and various time periods that would immediately occur: Alexander the Great, the Maccabean deliverance, Christ's appearance, etc.)

Zechariah 11

(Verses 1-3: the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem.)

¹ Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
² Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.
³ A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste.
⁴ Thus said Jehovah my God: Feed the flock of slaughter;

(Zechariah was told to feed the flock. Zechariah was a symbol of Christ in this verse. Christ would feed His flock.)

⁵ whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty; and they that sell them say, Blessed be Jehovah, for I am rich; and their own shepherds pity them not.
⁶ For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah; but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king; and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.

(The people would be delivered by God through Christ.)

⁷ So I fed the flock of slaughter, verily the poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.

(God fed the flock, even the very poor. "And I took unto me two staves..." symbolized Christ assuming the role of Shepherd.
Beauty - because of God's favor to the Jews.
Bands - implied the bond of brotherhood between Judah and Israel.)

⁸ And I cut off the three shepherds in one month; for my soul was weary of them, and their soul also loathed me.
⁹ Then said I, I will not feed you: that which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let them that are left eat every one the flesh of another.
¹⁰ And I took my staff Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples.

(The breaking of the Beauty stave represented the end of the Law and the beginning of individual grace: the New Covenant where the Law is written on our hearts, our current dispensation.)

¹¹ And it was broken in that day; and thus the poor of the flock that gave heed unto me knew that it was the word of Jehovah.
¹² And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my hire thirty pieces of silver.

(The thirty pieces of silver (from Judas betrayal of Christ) used to buy the potter's field was fulfilled in Matthew 27:9-10.)

¹³ And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them unto the potter, in the house of Jehovah.
¹⁴ Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
¹⁵ And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
¹⁶ For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those that are cut off, neither will seek those that are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces.

(God will raise up a shepherd who does the opposite of Christ. This will be the Antichrist.)

¹⁷ Woe to the worthless shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

(The final three chapters gave some specific details about the events of the last three and half years of the Tribulation.)




Zechariah 12
¹ The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus saith Jehovah, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him:
² behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem.
³ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.

(All nations who seek to destroy the Jews and Jerusalem with the Antichrist during the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation will be cut off.)

⁴ In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.

("In that day" referred to the Day of the Lord, which will be the physical return of Jesus at the end of the Tribulation at the battle of Armageddon. The horses and riders that will be smitten symbolized the army of the Antichrist. Here were more details concerning specific events during this Day of the Lord...)

⁵ And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts their God.
⁶ In that day will I make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and they of Jerusalem shall yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem.
⁷Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah.
⁸ In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them.
⁹ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
¹⁰ And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.

(Christ was whom they have pierced: John 19:37. This was also referenced by John in Revelation 1:7. The Spirit was promised. The spiritual Day of the Lord will be the pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. The Church with the Spirit will be removed from this earth and the previous Dispensation of the Law will have seven years (Daniel's 70th Week) to complete their dispensation (See Isaiah 61). During the Tribulation, the Spirit will only be in prophets (just like during the Dispensation of the Law). Here, the Spirit was promised to be poured out again on people who did not have the Spirit.)

¹¹ In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
¹² And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

(Nathan, not the prophet but David's son, was mentioned. Luke 3 showed the lineage of Christ to Mary goes through Nathan.)

¹³ the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;
¹⁴ all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.




Zechariah 13
¹ In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

(This fountain of life will be opened and exist throughout the Millennium, which will be the 7th dispensation and immediately follows the end of the Tribulation.)

² And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

(The idols of the land will be cut off.)

³ And it shall come to pass that, when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of Jehovah; and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
⁴ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he prophesieth; neither shall they wear a hairy mantle to deceive:
⁵ but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth.
⁶ And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds between thine arms? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

(Verses 7-9: Christ's death and the trial of a third part. Christ's death has occurred, while the trial of a third part is yet still to be fulfilled under the Antichrist.)

⁷ Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones.

(This verse was fulfilled and referenced in Mark 14:27.)

⁸ And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
⁹ And I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.

(These verses stated the purpose of the Tribulation was to refine Israel like a precious metal. Remember, precious metals were refined by fire.)




Zechariah 14
¹ Behold, a day of Jehovah cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

(This was the physical "Day of the Lord" that will occur at Armageddon. A spoil was referenced...)

² For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

(All the nations of the world will be gathered together at the battle of Armageddon. The spoil was the city, houses, and women.)

³ Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

(God Himself will fight against these nations.)

⁴ And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

(The second physical coming of Christ. Christ will physically place his foot on the mount of Olives and it will split into a great valley.)

⁵ And ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with thee.

(God shall come with all the holy ones. Believers on earth will be raptured on this last day of the Tribulation and join with the believers in heaven to accompany God at this battle of Armageddon. These previous five verses were referenced by John in Revelation 1:7.)

⁶ And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall not be light; the bright ones shall withdraw themselves:
⁷ but it shall be one day which is known unto Jehovah; not day, and not night; but it shall come to pass, that at evening time there shall be light.

(This battle would take place in one day. It would be neither day or night during the battle. At the end of the battle, there would be light during evening time.)

⁸ And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

(The eastern sea was the Dead Sea. The western sea was the Mediterranean Sea. Notice, during the Millennium, the seasons will be maintained: there will still be a summer and a winter.)

⁹ And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one.

(Christ will be King over all the earth during His Millennial Reign.)

¹⁰ All the land shall be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she shall be lifted up, and shall dwell in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel unto the king's wine-presses.

(A change in the terrain would occur. There would be a great plain with Jerusalem raised up: anything from a hill to a mount.)

¹¹ And men shall dwell therein, and there shall be no more curse; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely.

(During the Millennium, Jerusalem will be restored and there will be a time of peace.)

¹² And this shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

(Zechariah's vision returned to the Day of the Lord. Notice, the flesh will consume away so quickly, their bones will still be standing. This sounds an awful lot like a nuclear bomb. This verse would have seemed physically inconceivable one hundred years ago.)

¹³ And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

(The armies at Armageddon will be destroyed by God.)

¹⁴ And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
¹⁵ And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as that plague.

(Notice, all the animals will be consumed away, however the precious metals and garments will withstand this plague and be gathered by God's people.)

¹⁶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

(The Feast of Tabernacles will be reestablished.)

¹⁷ And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.
¹⁸ And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither shall it be upon them; there shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
¹⁹ This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

(Judgment will come against the disobedient nations during the Millennium.)

²⁰ In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLY UNTO JEHOVAH; and the pots in Jehovah's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
²¹ Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy unto Jehovah of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and boil therein: and in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah of hosts.

(Physical items were referenced: bells, pots, bowls, etc. The time period being described here had to be a physical time on earth prior to the Final Judgment. This book ended with an explanation of the complete holiness of this Kingdom.)

(The Book of Zechariah was the eleventh of the twelve books that made up the minor prophet section of the Old Testament. Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai. The Book of Zechariah encouraged the Israelites concerning both the immediate restoration of Israel and the future restoration during the Millennium.)

Day 281