December
30th Zechariah
12
Second burden
2nd
Coming of Christ
1:
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which
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 trembling unto all the people
round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and
against Jerusalem. 3:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all
people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces,
though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4:
In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with
astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes
upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people
with blindness. 5:
And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants
of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. 6:
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire
among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall
devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left:
and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in
Jerusalem. 7:
The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of
the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do
not magnify themselves against Judah. 8:
In that day shall the LORD 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 the LORD 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 supplications: and they shall
look upon 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 firstborn. 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; 13:
The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the
family of Shimei 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. 2:
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD 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. 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 the LORD: 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 hath prophesied; neither
shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: 5:
But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught
me to keep cattle from my youth. 6:
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands?
Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of
my friends. 7:
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my
fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep
shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8:
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two
parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left
therein. 9:
And I will bring the third part through 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, The LORD is my God.
Zechariah 14
1:
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in
the midst of thee. 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. 3:
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as
when he fought in the day of battle. 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 cleave
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. 5:
And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of
the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye
fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah:
and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. 6:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be
clear, nor dark: 7:
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day,
nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall
be light. 8:
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from
Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them
toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. 9:
And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall
there be one LORD, and his name one. 10:
All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of
Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place,
from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the
corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's
winepresses. 11:
And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter
destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12:
And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the
people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume
away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume
away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their
mouth. 13:
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the
LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the
hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of
his neighbour. 14:
And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the
heathen 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 these tents,
as this plague. 16:
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the
nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to
year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of
tabernacles. 17:
And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of
the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even
upon them shall be no rain. 18:
And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no
rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the
heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19:
This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all
nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 20:
In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS
UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD's house shall be like the
bowl's before the altar. 21:
Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the
LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of
them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the
Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
In the last three
chapters of Zechariah the prophet records no less outstanding
prophesies that previously. The prophesies regarding his first coming
are understood to be literal and specific. The prophesies regarding
his second coming are also to be understood to be literal and
specific. It will be noted however that some prophesies are little
understood until the time of their fulfilment. These prophesies
regarding Christ’s second coming are given against the background
of a God who stretched out the starry heavens and who made the
foundations of the earth. He is the one who gave every man a spirit.
The Lord says l will make Jerusalem the source of fear to all the
nations around her. All those who come against Jerusalem will be
totally destroyed. The people of Jerusalem will find their strength
in the Lord their God. The Lord himself will defend the children of
Israel. And even the weak will be as mighty as David. In the day when
all the nations will rise against Israel the Lord will give a spirit
of grace and prayer to them and they will see Christ as the one who
they crucified. And they will mourn like the mourning of the loss of
an only child. They will have great bereavement like that of a
firstborn. All and every Israelite will mourn. There will be a
general and great revival beginning with great fear and trembling and
sorrow before God. On that day there will be a fountain opened to the
house of David and to all who live in Jerusalem. It will be a
fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. All Idols will cease forever
in Israel. There will never again be spiritual adultery before the
Lord. None will allow a false prophet to live in the land. Two thirds
of the land will perish but the third will come through as through
fire. They will be refined like silver and gold. They will call on
the name of the Lord their God and he will hear them. And then there
is this beautiful exchange – The Lord will say, You are my people.
And they will reply, The Lord Jehovah is my God. Next Zechariah turns
his focus on the day of the LORD. This is the great battle when all
nations will gather against Jerusalem. Christ said of this time, You
will be hated of all nations because of me. There will be battle,
looting and rape and the people will be taken in servitude but the
Lord will stand on the mountain of Olives (Where the Garden of
Gethsemane was) And the mountain will divide causing a canyon lying
east west. Men will flee and there will be no night or day. And
living waters will flow out of Jerusalem half to the Dead Sea and
half to the Mediterranean Sea. In that day the LORD will be king over
the whole earth. The central part of Israel will be raised up the
highest mountain in the earth and those who fought against Jerusalem
will perish where they stand, including all their beasts. Those who
do not die will every year go to Jerusalem to worship the King the
Lord of Hosts. Those who refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the
Lord will have no rain the following year. They will go to celebrate
the Feast of Tabernacles. It seems that Egypt will initially refuse
to celebrate Tabernacles yet afterwards they will go. These
prophesies are not only remarkable they are amazingly detailed.
Zechariah says that the horses will have bells the inscription
HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD. This will also be written on pots too in the
house of the LORD. In fact every pot in all Israel will carry this
inscription. There will never again be a Canaanite in the house of
the LORD of hosts. There are some that mock at prophecy, yet we know
that the 30 pieces of silver came to true exactly as foretold and so
it will be with the inscriptions on the bells and pots - HOLINESS
UNTO THE LORD.
- How would we know that the prophesies about the second coming of Christ are to be taken literally?
- What do we learn about the second coming in this passage?
- What expression is used by the prophet which characterises the Millennial kingdom?
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