Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Bible Studies On the Book Of Zechariah.
Bible Studies On the Book Of Zechariah.
Zechariah 1
1. How did the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah differ from and complement one another?
2. What was Zechariah's emphasis?
3. What is repentance and what is its place in the individual and the church?
4. Why is it important to call people to repentance?
5. What were the comforting words that the angel brought to Zechariah?
6. Are these words in any way to be appropriated by us today?
7. What is the significance of the vision of the four horns and the four craftsmen, and how can this be relevant for us today?
8. God disciplines and judges the hard hearted. How have you seen this in your lifetime?
9. God comforts and assures His repentant people. How have you seen or
experienced this in your life time? -
Zechariah 2 The third vision.
1. This passage is about the restoration of Judah and the yet future restoration of Jerusalem. Which parts of this chapter are yet future to us? Where does this fit into God's eschatological plan?
2. What is the significance of the measuring of Jerusalem?
3. This passage reminds us of God's protecting presence (4,5). How do these scriptures remind you of God's protecting presence?
Hebrews 13 :5,6 Lct your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish--ever! No one will snatch them out orMy hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one."
John 6:37 37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I shou1d lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day.
4. Did you know you were especially loved by God? What assurances does this give? What other Bible verses remind you of this truth? What hymns?
While this is an assurance for believers it is also a reminder for the lost.
Phi 1 :28 not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is evidence of their destruction, bUl of your deliverance-and this is from God. 29 For it has been given to you on Christ's behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, 30 having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear about me.
2 Thess 1 Therefore we ourselves boast about you among God's churches-about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you endure. 5 It is a clear evidence of God's righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God's kingdom, for which you also are suffering, 6 since it is ;righteous for God to repay with affliction those ".,-ho amict you, 7 and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along , with us. This will take place]at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaver: with His powerful angels, 8 taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don't know God and on those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction, away from the Lord's presence and from His glorious strength, in that day when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed.
5. God invites those not enjoying His Presence and Protection back to Himself What part should this play in our church work today?
Zechariah 3
Zechariah 3 and 4 are about ministry. God Cleanses and Empowers His People for service.
What is Satan's main role against the believer? Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power and the kingdom
of our God and the authority of His· Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them
before our God day and night. 11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death.
Who Is Our Advocate and what has He done and what does He do?
Hebrews 9:14-16 how much more will the blood ofthe Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?
15 Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions [committed)under the first covenant.
16 Where a will exists, the death ofthe testator must be established.
1 John 2: 1,2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an • advocate with the Father-Jesus Christ the righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
Rom 4:25
What is the Answer that is given to the Accuser? Hebrews 7:23-28
What is Assurance?
There is an Announcement in 3:8-10 What does the Stone represent
1 Peter 2:7,8, For it stands in Scripture: Look! I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and valuable cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame! 7 So the honor is for you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected- this One has become the cornerstone, and 8 A stone that causes men to stumble, and a rock that trips them up. They stumble by disobeying the message; they were destined for this.
Matt 21 :42, Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?[
Romans 9:32,33 Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
Look! I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over, and a rock to trip over, yet the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame.
Dan 2:34,35 As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.
35 Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Zechariah 4 5 Comforts to Discouraged Workers
There were seven lamps, one resting on eaeh of the seven branches of the lampstand, and each lamp had seven spouts (lips). Most such earthenware lamps that archaeologists
have found had only one spout for a wick. Here the picture is of a full complement of lamps (seven) that manifested the full complement of light (seven flames from each
lamp - 49 t1ames all-together). There were also two olive trees standing one on either' side of the bowl. Human maintenance of the lamps was unnecessary since the oil flowed from the trees to the reservoir to the lamps. This important feature of the vision stresses God's singular provision of the oil (ef. v. 6). "The two olive trees represent Joshua and Zcrubbabel, whose witness in that day is the prototype of the two witnesses of Rev.
11 :3-12. Actually no human being can be the real source of the power that actuates
God's witness. It is only as Joshua, Zerubbabel, or any other human being represents Christ, the true Priest-King, that he fulfills this vision. In their fullest significance the two olive trees speak of Christ, the LORD's Priest-King (ep. Ps. 110:4)." New Scofield. God Provides Power. 2 Cor. 12:9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.
Discuss the symbolic use of oil.
Ephesians 3:20.21. Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think-according to the power that works in you- 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
God Uses Small Things 1 Corinthians 1: 20-31 Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't God made the world's wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God's wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. 26-31 Brothers, consider your calling: not many arc wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen the world's foolish things to shame the wise, and God has chosen the world's weak things 'to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen the world's insignificant and despised things-the things viewed as nothing-so He might bring to nothing the things that are viewed as something, 29 so that no one can boast in His presence. 30 But from Him you arc in Christ Jesus. who for us became wisdom from God, as well as righteousness. sanctification, and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.
God Removes Obstacles (7) Matt. 16: 18. And 1 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.
The Lord is more concerned about His work than you are.
"and tho the wrong seem oft so strong God is the Ruler yet."
God Gives Promises (9) Ezra 3:8-11; 5:16,
Ezra 6: 14-18 14 So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,
Darius. and King Artaxerxes of Persia. 15 This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Zechariah 5 Removing Wickedness The Scroll
"At this point the series of visions takes a sharp tum from that which heretofore has been comforting, to a stern warning that the Lord (Yahweh) is a holy God and cannot brook evil" " ... before the blessing of the first five visions will be actualized, there will intervene in the life of the nation a period of moral declension and apostasy. God must and will purge out all iniquity, though He has promised untold glory for the godly in Israel"
'"This whole passage is very valuable as a commentary on the nature of Christ's rule in righteousness in the millennial period as well as the severity of His dealing with sinners once the day of grace is ended and the day of wrath and judgment is ushered in with the opening of the seven sealed roll of Revelation 5:1-9, loosing the seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments that dispossess Satan, demons, and the wicked men from the earth preparatory to the advent of the King of kings and Lord of lords to establish His rule and kingdom."
The Woman
The preceding vision described the future removal of individual sinners from the land through divine judgment, and this one pictures the eventual removal of all wickedness from the future "holy land" "The woman, made visible by the lifting of the lead cover, is still, like the evil she represents, mostly hidden from sight."
"As in the preceding vision, the earth (ha'arets) designates not merely Palestine, although this is the primary reference, and the removal of godless commercialism is first and foremost from 'the land,' which will then be in reality 'the Holy Land' (Zech. 2:12); but more broadly the term points to the entire millennial earth."
'The removal of Wickedness, like the removal of Joshua's filthy garments {3:4), was an act of free grace on the part of the covenant-keeping (hasid) God." "Shinar, besides taking the theme of Babylon as antagonist back to the very beginning (Gen. 10:10), creating thereby a kind of 'historical inclusio,' lends a more trans-historical sense to the message."
At the appointed time the woman Wickedness would set atop a pedestal as an object of worship, an idol {cf. Rev. 17-18). "Thus where Judah had been exiled was a fitting place for wickedness to be worshipped, but not in the land where God had placed his name. The idolatry of Babylon must once and for all be separated from the worship of the God of Israel."
What was Babylon (Shinar) known for? Genesis 11. Revelation 17 and 18.
What is the significance of the sins that are listed in the first vision?
The removal of Wickedness to Babylon may be a picture of .. ?
Zechariah 6:1-8
This last of the eight [visions] shares so much in common with the first that the two, at least, must be viewed as book ends enveloping the whole series.
Perhaps the mountains represent the gateway to heaven from which these agents of judgment come. Another view is that they were Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives with the valley between being the Kidron Valley. A third possibility is that they are the two parts of the Mount of Olives that will split apart when Messiah returns to the earth (cf. 14:1-8). Nevertheless they are "bronze." "Always in Scripture symbolism, they [chariots and horses] stand for the power of God earthward in judgment (Jer. 46:9-10; Joel 2:3-11; Nah. 3:1-7). The vision, then, speaks of the LORD's judgments upon the Gentile nations north and south in the day of the LORD (Isa. 2:10-22; Rev. 19:11-21)."
"From first to last (cf. 1:10) the affairs of the nations are under God's direction, not man's. It is this certainty that makes prophecy possible."
Zechariah 6:9-15
"This is one of the most remarkable and precious Messianic prophecies, and there is no plainer prophetic utterance in the whole Old Testament as to the Person of the promised Redeemer, the offices He was to fill, and the mission He was to accomplish."
The Branch Is A Term For the Messiah Isa. 11:1; 53:2; Jer. 33:15; Hag.2:23; Mic. 5:2
He would build the temple of Yahweh. Zerubbabel, not Joshua, was God's choice to build the restoration temple (4:9-10), but Messiah, whom Joshua prefigured, would build the future temple for Yahweh (cf. Isa. 2:2-4; 56:6-7; Ezek. 40—43; Mic. 4:1-7; Hag. 2:6-9).
The Branch would bear the honor of royal majesty (Dan. 11:21; 1 Chron. 29:25), sit enthroned— Israel's priests never sat while ministering—, and rule on David's throne
(cf. 2 Sam. 7:16; Isa. 9:7; Luke 1:32). He would be a priest ruling as a king, and peace (Heb. shalom) would mark his dual offices.
When the Branch appeared, Gentiles from afar would come and help build the temple of Yahweh (cf. 2:11; 8:22; Isa. 2:2-4; 56:6-7; 60:1-7)
What is the temple that the Branch will build? It appears to be a literal building in Jerusalem during the Millennium where God will reside that will bring great glory to Him (cf. Ezek. 40—46). There will be no temple in the New Jerusalem in the eternal state (Rev. 21:22). Whereas the church is the temple of God (i.e., Christians corporately and local congregations of believers; 1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:5), the church is not in view here. The equality of Jewish and Gentile believers in one body (i.e., the church) was a mystery that was unknown until God revealed it later (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:11—3:11).
"Here we have the end and consummation of all the prophetic Scriptures: the crowning of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only after the dark night of world judgment and punishment is passed, that the glorious light of Christ's coronation day will follow. This is one of the sublimest passages in the Scriptures on the Person and work of the Messiah."
Zechariah 7 Traditions and Traditionalism 1st of 4 Messages
Occurs midway, 2 years, into the temple rebuilding programme.
The Law of Moses only commanded one fast day, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29-34). In addition to this day, during the exile the Jewish people instituted four more feasts to remember key dates in the tragic defeat of their nation. Here are the additional feasts:
17day/4month Mourning the capture of Jerusalem Jer 52:6-30
9/5 Burning of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple 2Kings 25:2-10
3/7 Assassination of Gedaliah and the massacre of 80 men Jer 4:1-10
10/10 Beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Jerusalem 2Kings 25:1
How long should we remember and mourn over our past? Should we do things to remember either our sin or the tragedies of the past?
"There is no need to observe the sad anniversaries of our sins and their accompanying punishment, if once we are assured of God's free forgiveness. When He forgives and restores, the need for dwelling on the bitter past is over . . Too many of us are always dwelling beside the graves of the dead past." (Meyer)
Hypocrisy in fasting is rebuked. (4-7) God's word through Zechariah rebuked the people of God for what their fasting had become - indulgent pity-parties instead of a time to genuinely seek God. Their lives were not right when they did eat and drink - that they did for themselves, not for the LORD. A few days of fasting every year could not make up for the rest of the year lived for yourselves. Zechariah wasn’t condemning traditional faster, just the notion that spirituality could be turned on and off at will.
(8-10) The conduct God desires.
(11-12) The rebellious reaction of God's people.
(13-14) God's judgment on their disobedience. Shrugging shoulder
Name some good traditions we have nationally.
Name some good traditions we have in church.
What is the danger in tradition?
Matthew 15:1-14
Form is not a problem formalism is.
Zechariah 8 The Promise of Covenant Blessings in The Millenium
Chapter 8 not only contains two major messages from the Lord (vv. 1-17, 18-23) but 10 minor messages, that make up the two major ones." Thus says the Lord" introduces each of these minor messages each of which contains a promise of future blessing for Israel. In ch. 7 Israel was to repent and live righteously after the punishment of her captivity; here in ch. 8 she is to repent and live righteously because of the promise of her future restoration. Of a total of 36 occurrences of 'YHWH of hosts' in Zechariah, 15 are in this one oracle, which shows us its impossibility without the direct intervention of the Lord.
1. What does the jealous nature of God (Ex. 20:5) mean for us today, negatively and positively?
2. One day Jerusalem would be called the City of Truth and Mount Zion the Holy Mount. Discuss the significance of this. Isaiah 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-7, Zech 14:16,21.
3. In the millennial kingdom there will be peace (Isa. 65:20-25). How should we regard world peace today?
4. Sovereignly the Lord promised to deliver His people from the distant places
in the world where He had scattered them and to bring them back to live in
Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 30:7-11; 31:7-8). Some organizations exist today to bring this about. To what extent should this be important for us today?
5. 'They will be my people, and I will be . . . their God' is covenant terminology, pertaining to intimate fellowship in a covenant relationship. How is this important for you today (Gen 17:7-8; Exod 6:7; 19:5-6; 2 Cor 6:16; Rev 21:3) ?
6. God has purposes in our afflictions and in our blessings (Zech 8:10-12). What are they?
One theological rationale for ethics, then, is awareness that God hates attitudes and actions contrary to his character. We are to love what God loves and hate what he hates.
Zechariah 9 The Coming Of The King
A. The Preparation For The King. Zech 9:8 I will set up camp at My house against an army, against those who march back and forth, and no oppressor will march against them again, for now I have seen with My own eyes.
Alexander the Great is predicted here. He destroyed Tyre Ezek 26:2 "Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, {now that} she is laid waste,'3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 'They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. Ezek 26:7 For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army.
1. But he didn’t destroy Jerusalem. What does this tell us about Prophecy?
God’s purposes? 1Peter 1:20 Ephesians 1:11 Romans 8:28
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
2. Why was Alexander the Great’s conquest necessary to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ?
B. The Presentation of the King. Zech 9:9 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.
Matt. 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38.
In the ancient Near East rulers commonly rode donkeys if they came in peace (Judg. 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; 2Sam. 16:2; 1 Kings 1:32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. 33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
But they rode horses into war.
3. How would the coming of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem in 33 AD be unlike the coming of Alexander the Great?
C. The Peace Of The King Zech 9:10 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. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
4. How will this eventuate at the Second Coming?
5. How will this eventuate practically for Israel at the Second Coming? (Zechariah 14)
6. Several passages speak of the Lord as being a refuge for His people. How do we find this working out in our own lives? Ps. 18:2; 31:3; 71:3; 91:2; 144:2; Jer. 16:19; Nah. 1:7
Zechariah 10
Like the revelation in chapter 9, this chapter also has a near and a far fulfillment, the near being the revival of Israel's power under Judas Maccabeus in the second century B.C. and the far being the return and reign of Messiah. Chapter 9 presents the victory of God's people from the positive side for the most part, showing how the true Israel shall be made strong by the Lord and shall prevail. Without abandoning this point of view, chapter 10 brings greater emphasis to bear upon the negative side of the victory, namely, how the enemies shall be brought low. Yet particular stress is at the same time laid upon the gathering of the scattered Israelites.
God blesses with rain, no one else. The people who rely on false indicators of God's will (idols, horoscopes, mediums, humanism etc) wander like shepherdless sheep and experience much needless trouble.
1. Do we sometimes rely on other things than the Lord?
The Lord will strengthen His people. The weak sheep would become as strong as horses. The battle of Armageddon is probably in view (cf. 12:1-9; 14:1-8).
2. Some figures (v.4) picture the strong, stable, victorious, and trustworthy nature of Messiah's rule. What does each figure symbolize?
3. The Lord's infantry would defeat the world's apparently superior cavalry (v.5) Why would it be a mistake to think that the Lord will win the victory single-handedly?
4. How may we experience God’s strength in desperate times?
5. God’s representative, Messiah, would pass through the sea of His people's distress and banish it, as He had done to the Red Sea when the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus (and as Jesus did when He calmed the Sea of Galilee). He would humble all Israel's enemies, of which Egypt and Assyria were only representatives. The Gentile leaders of the world, symbolized by Egypt's scepter, would no longer hold sway over Israel in the world. Messiah would also strengthen the Israelites in the Lord. They would walk all over the earth (exercise dominion over it) in His name (as His representatives and in harmony with His character).
Zechariah 11 Shepherds And Sheep
Chapters 9 and 10 present pictures of blessing and prosperity, but chapter 11 paints a scene of sin and punishment. Preceding the fulfillment of the prophecies of blessing are the apostasy of Israel and their rejection of the Good Shepherd, their Messiah, with the consequent visitation of God upon them in dire punishment."
Three shepherds are in view in this chapter: the wailing shepherds (vv. 1-3), the true
Shepherd (vv. 4-14), and the false shepherd (vv. 15-17).
Lebanon's famous cedars would perish. The cedar also became a symbol of the royal house of Judah (Ezek. 17:3-4, 12-13). Earlier Zechariah combined Lebanon and Bashan to indicate the whole land (10:10). All these trees suggest the people of the land as well as the land itself.
Zechariah, as God's representative, did away with three shepherds that had been leading his flock within the first month that he took charge of the sheep. These appear to have been real shepherds and a real month. At least Zechariah's action prefigured that of Messiah in taking over the leadership of His flock from other leaders of Israel who did not appreciate His leadership. Who these shepherds were or will be has been the subject of much debate. Some commentators identified specific kings, either Jewish or Gentile, who failed the Lord and were set aside before or during the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Others believe the three shepherds refer to three classes of leaders, probably Israel's elders, chief priests, and scribes (cf. Luke 9:22). Another view is that they represent all of Israel's unfaithful human leaders.
Devour one another. The Jews did eat one another during the siege of Jerusalem in the first century A.D., and they will evidently do so again during the Tribulation. By withholding his leadership the shepherd abandoned the people to the consequences of their rejection of him: death, and mutual destruction. He simply let things take their course.
Wailing Shepherds 1-3 Wicked Shepherds 4-6
Wounded Shepherds 7-14 Worthless Shepherds 15-17
Contrast the Shepherds with the Good Shepherd of John 10:1-4.
How do Christians reject God’s leadership?
Discuss “soulish” religion and “spiritual” religion.
What sort of covenantal relationship is there between a church and God?
How does God discipline churches?
Zechariah 12 –14 The Deliverance And Salvation of Israel
Zechariah 12 The Repentance of Judah
The repetition of "in that day" and its equivalent 19 times in these three chapters sets these events quite clearly in the eschaton (end times). ". . . we place the entire passage in the time of the Great Tribulation and more specifically in the Battle of Armageddon, when the nations of the earth will make their last frantic effort to blot Israel out of existence, only to be met by the most crushing defeat at the hands of the Lord of hosts Himself.” Feinberg
12:1. Since God created the heavens and the earth He is well able to do what?
12:2 In what ways is Jerusalem today is a cup of drunkenness?
12:3 In what ways is Israel a burden on the nations?
Israel's national conversion 12:10-14
12 :10 "It is not so much a mourning for the act committed, but for the Person involved. Compare John 19:37; Revelation 1:7."
Describe repentance.
The unusual combination "they will look to Me whom they have pierced" and "they will mourn for Him" suggests two different individuals, but the deity of the Messiah solves this problem. Yahweh Himself would suffer for the people in the person of Messiah. The suffering could be figurative (they wounded His holiness) or substitutionary (He died in place of others). Other references to this text point to a substitute suffering (e.g., John 19:37Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced.
Rev. 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Isa. 53:5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. 8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of My people’s rebellion.
The Jews will do this either just before the Messiah returns to the earth or when He returns to the earth (cf. Isa. 59:20-21 Jer. 31:31-37; Amos 9:11-15; Rom. 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
i. Muslims claim Jerusalem as their third-holiest city, but Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. In addition, "During the centuries when Jerusalem was under complete Arab control, no Arab ruler or Islamic leader ever made it the object of a religious pilgrimage - again a strange indifference toward a city which is now considered to be the third-holiest religious site in Islam after Mecca and Medina." (Dave Hunt)
ii. Jerusalem's importance to Muslims comes from the belief that in the Dome of the Rock shrine there is a rock where two significant things happened - where Abraham intended to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and where Mohammed allegedly ascended into heaven. Though this tradition is firmly in the Muslim mind, it is of recent origin. It was invented by Yasser Arafat's uncle - Haj Amin el-Husseini, who was the past Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He promoted this myth in the 1920's and 1930's to arouse Arab passions against the growing Jewish presence in Jerusalem.
iii. The verse in the Koran that describes Mohammed's trip to heaven is Surah 17:1: Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place [al-Aqsa] of Worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! The Islamic interpretation says that the Inviolable Place of Worship is Mecca, and this is accepted by all. It then says that the Far Distant Place of Worship is Jerusalem - but this has no substantiation because Jerusalem had never been a place of Islamic worship to that time, nor would it be for centuries afterward. Jerusalem isn't even mentioned by name in the Koran, so how could it be a place of worship according to the Koran? Most significantly, inside the Dome of the Rock hundreds of verses from the Koran are inscribed - and Surah 17:1 is not among them! The very passage that later supposedly justified the building of the Dome of the Rock is not even included among the hundreds of passages of the Koran inscribed in it!
iv. The Dome of the Rock was built not because of the Koran, but because the Muslim ruler Abdal-Malik wanted to gain revenue from pilgrims and worshippers, and because he wanted to prevent the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple. Islamic passion for Jerusalem is indeed like drunkenness.
v. This is exactly fulfilled in modern Jerusalem. In recent peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel was willing to concede almost everything to the Palestinians in an amazing willingness to make peace. The only thing Israel would not concede was sovereignty over Jerusalem, and the entire deal was ruined over that one point. The problem between Jews and the Arab world has boiled down to one point: Jerusalem.
vi. If Muslim passion for Jerusalem is a mystery, the Jewish claim to the city is entirely Scriptural. "The very fact that Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible makes it worthy of special attention. This unique city is the only one upon which God has bestowed His distinctive blessing and protection (Psa_132:13-14), and the only city for whose peace we are commanded to pray (Psa_122:6). God says He has chosen Jerusalem as the place where He has put His name forever (2Ch_6:6; 33:7; Psa_46:4; 48:1-8; 87:3). The new heavens and new earth will contain 'the city of my God...new Jerusalem' (Rev_3:12; 21:2). That there will be a 'heavenly Jerusalem' (Heb_12:22) but no 'heavenly' New York, Paris, London, Damascus, Cairo, etc. speaks volumes." (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call - September 2000)
"Consider how remarkable even this one prophecy is. Who could have imagined when the Old Testament was written that all the nations of the world would be involved in deciding the fate of Israel? And this involvement of all nations in dividing Israel has occurred exactly as prophesied and is still in the process of being implemented." (Dave Hunt)
"We know of a surety, because God has said it, that the Jews will be restored to their own land, and that they shall inherit the goodly country which the Lord has given unto their fathers by a covenant of salt for ever; but, better still, they shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall see in him the house of David restored to the throne of Israel." (Spurgeon)
". . . like Thomas their excruciating and inexpressibly penetrating cry of deepest contrition will be, 'My Lord and my God!' (John 20:28)."
12:11 Probably the place where King Josiah died and or where the people mourned his premature death near there, as late as the writing of Chronicles, is in view (cf. 2 Chron. 35:20- 27)
Perhaps the political and priestly families received mention because they were those chiefly responsible for Messiah's death. When these leading families mourned, all the other citizens would follow their example. The families of Nathan and Shimei may have been the most prominent families of their kind in Zechariah's day. Zerubbabel came from Nathan's line (Luke 3:23-31), and the Shimeites presumably dominated the Levitical classes in the postexilic era. "Nothing can excite to repentance like a view of the crucified Saviour."
Isa. 59:20-21 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
Jer. 31:31-37; Amos 9:11-15; Rom. 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rev. 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Zechariah 13:1-9 A Fountain Cleansing From Sin And Impurity
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.
1. Describe the relationship between the Tabernacle furnishings of the Altar and the Laver. How is this relevant to this passage? 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.
2. John 19:31 Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that [their bodies]be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with Him. 33 When they came to Jesus, they did not break His legs since they saw that He was already dead. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35 He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. 36 For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken. 37 Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced.
This passage describes a two foldness about the death of the Saviour. Two hymns describe this two foldness, one by Wesley and one by Toplady. What is the relationship between cleansing and purifying? What effect will this have on Israel? What effect does this have on the believer today?
3. Are there similarities between Isaiah 53 and this passage? What is the significance of “my fellow” in verse 7?
4. Why is it important for Jewish people to repent now?
5. Describe the importance of verse 9
Zechariah 14 The Day Of The Lord
Describe The Coming Of The Lord
Acts 1:9-12 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. Also Rev. 19:11-16,
Rev. 16:18-19And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Matt. 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Col. 3: 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
1 Thess. 3:13; To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Jude 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all..
In that day the luminaries will dwindle and there will be a reduction of light on the earth (cf. Joel 3:15-17; Amos 5:18). Other passages also predict cosmic phenomena in the Day of the Lord (Isa. 13:9-10; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Amos 5:18; Matt. 24:29-30; Rev. 6:12-14; 8:8-12; 9:1-18; 14:14-20; 16:4, 8-9). Bear in mind that this "day" is an extended period of time, not just a 12-hour or 24-hour period. Here the end of the Tribulation is in view all of which the prophets spoke of as the Day of the Lord along with the Millennium.
Describe The security of Israel 14:9-11
Probably the water will be literal, but it certainly has symbolic significance as well (cf. Ps. 46:4; Ezek. 47:1-12; John 4:10-14; 7:38; Rev. 22:1-2). The land around Jerusalem would become level whereas Jerusalem itself would be elevated (apparently due to a great earthquake. In view of the place names mentioned, this verse probably refers to the literal city and its topography.
Isa. 2:2-5
Describe The destruction of Israel's enemies 14:12-15
Describe The worship of the sovereign King 14:16-21
The remaining former enemies of Israel who would not die would bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh Isa. 60:4-14; Phil. 2:10.
Zechariah 1
1. How did the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah differ from and complement one another?
2. What was Zechariah's emphasis?
3. What is repentance and what is its place in the individual and the church?
4. Why is it important to call people to repentance?
5. What were the comforting words that the angel brought to Zechariah?
6. Are these words in any way to be appropriated by us today?
7. What is the significance of the vision of the four horns and the four craftsmen, and how can this be relevant for us today?
8. God disciplines and judges the hard hearted. How have you seen this in your lifetime?
9. God comforts and assures His repentant people. How have you seen or
experienced this in your life time? -
Zechariah 2 The third vision.
1. This passage is about the restoration of Judah and the yet future restoration of Jerusalem. Which parts of this chapter are yet future to us? Where does this fit into God's eschatological plan?
2. What is the significance of the measuring of Jerusalem?
3. This passage reminds us of God's protecting presence (4,5). How do these scriptures remind you of God's protecting presence?
Hebrews 13 :5,6 Lct your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Phil 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
John 10:27-30 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish--ever! No one will snatch them out orMy hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 The Father and I are one."
John 6:37 37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I shou1d lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day.
4. Did you know you were especially loved by God? What assurances does this give? What other Bible verses remind you of this truth? What hymns?
While this is an assurance for believers it is also a reminder for the lost.
Phi 1 :28 not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is evidence of their destruction, bUl of your deliverance-and this is from God. 29 For it has been given to you on Christ's behalf not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, 30 having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear about me.
2 Thess 1 Therefore we ourselves boast about you among God's churches-about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you endure. 5 It is a clear evidence of God's righteous judgment that you will be counted worthy of God's kingdom, for which you also are suffering, 6 since it is ;righteous for God to repay with affliction those ".,-ho amict you, 7 and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along , with us. This will take place]at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaver: with His powerful angels, 8 taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don't know God and on those who don't obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction, away from the Lord's presence and from His glorious strength, in that day when He comes to be glorified by His saints and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed.
5. God invites those not enjoying His Presence and Protection back to Himself What part should this play in our church work today?
Zechariah 3
Zechariah 3 and 4 are about ministry. God Cleanses and Empowers His People for service.
What is Satan's main role against the believer? Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power and the kingdom
of our God and the authority of His· Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them
before our God day and night. 11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death.
Who Is Our Advocate and what has He done and what does He do?
Hebrews 9:14-16 how much more will the blood ofthe Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to serve the living God?
15 Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance, because a death has taken place for redemption from the transgressions [committed)under the first covenant.
16 Where a will exists, the death ofthe testator must be established.
1 John 2: 1,2 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an • advocate with the Father-Jesus Christ the righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
Rom 4:25
What is the Answer that is given to the Accuser? Hebrews 7:23-28
What is Assurance?
There is an Announcement in 3:8-10 What does the Stone represent
1 Peter 2:7,8, For it stands in Scripture: Look! I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and valuable cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame! 7 So the honor is for you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected- this One has become the cornerstone, and 8 A stone that causes men to stumble, and a rock that trips them up. They stumble by disobeying the message; they were destined for this.
Matt 21 :42, Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This came from the Lord and is wonderful in our eyes?[
Romans 9:32,33 Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
Look! I am putting a stone in Zion to stumble over, and a rock to trip over, yet the one who believes on Him will not be put to shame.
Dan 2:34,35 As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.
35 Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Zechariah 4 5 Comforts to Discouraged Workers
There were seven lamps, one resting on eaeh of the seven branches of the lampstand, and each lamp had seven spouts (lips). Most such earthenware lamps that archaeologists
have found had only one spout for a wick. Here the picture is of a full complement of lamps (seven) that manifested the full complement of light (seven flames from each
lamp - 49 t1ames all-together). There were also two olive trees standing one on either' side of the bowl. Human maintenance of the lamps was unnecessary since the oil flowed from the trees to the reservoir to the lamps. This important feature of the vision stresses God's singular provision of the oil (ef. v. 6). "The two olive trees represent Joshua and Zcrubbabel, whose witness in that day is the prototype of the two witnesses of Rev.
11 :3-12. Actually no human being can be the real source of the power that actuates
God's witness. It is only as Joshua, Zerubbabel, or any other human being represents Christ, the true Priest-King, that he fulfills this vision. In their fullest significance the two olive trees speak of Christ, the LORD's Priest-King (ep. Ps. 110:4)." New Scofield. God Provides Power. 2 Cor. 12:9 But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may reside in me.
Discuss the symbolic use of oil.
Ephesians 3:20.21. Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think-according to the power that works in you- 21 to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
God Uses Small Things 1 Corinthians 1: 20-31 Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't God made the world's wisdom foolish? 21 For since, in God's wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. 26-31 Brothers, consider your calling: not many arc wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. 27 Instead, God has chosen the world's foolish things to shame the wise, and God has chosen the world's weak things 'to shame the strong. 28 God has chosen the world's insignificant and despised things-the things viewed as nothing-so He might bring to nothing the things that are viewed as something, 29 so that no one can boast in His presence. 30 But from Him you arc in Christ Jesus. who for us became wisdom from God, as well as righteousness. sanctification, and redemption, 31 in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.
God Removes Obstacles (7) Matt. 16: 18. And 1 also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.
The Lord is more concerned about His work than you are.
"and tho the wrong seem oft so strong God is the Ruler yet."
God Gives Promises (9) Ezra 3:8-11; 5:16,
Ezra 6: 14-18 14 So the Jewish elders continued successfully with the building under the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo. They finished the building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus,
Darius. and King Artaxerxes of Persia. 15 This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
Zechariah 5 Removing Wickedness The Scroll
"At this point the series of visions takes a sharp tum from that which heretofore has been comforting, to a stern warning that the Lord (Yahweh) is a holy God and cannot brook evil" " ... before the blessing of the first five visions will be actualized, there will intervene in the life of the nation a period of moral declension and apostasy. God must and will purge out all iniquity, though He has promised untold glory for the godly in Israel"
'"This whole passage is very valuable as a commentary on the nature of Christ's rule in righteousness in the millennial period as well as the severity of His dealing with sinners once the day of grace is ended and the day of wrath and judgment is ushered in with the opening of the seven sealed roll of Revelation 5:1-9, loosing the seals, trumpets, and bowl judgments that dispossess Satan, demons, and the wicked men from the earth preparatory to the advent of the King of kings and Lord of lords to establish His rule and kingdom."
The Woman
The preceding vision described the future removal of individual sinners from the land through divine judgment, and this one pictures the eventual removal of all wickedness from the future "holy land" "The woman, made visible by the lifting of the lead cover, is still, like the evil she represents, mostly hidden from sight."
"As in the preceding vision, the earth (ha'arets) designates not merely Palestine, although this is the primary reference, and the removal of godless commercialism is first and foremost from 'the land,' which will then be in reality 'the Holy Land' (Zech. 2:12); but more broadly the term points to the entire millennial earth."
'The removal of Wickedness, like the removal of Joshua's filthy garments {3:4), was an act of free grace on the part of the covenant-keeping (hasid) God." "Shinar, besides taking the theme of Babylon as antagonist back to the very beginning (Gen. 10:10), creating thereby a kind of 'historical inclusio,' lends a more trans-historical sense to the message."
At the appointed time the woman Wickedness would set atop a pedestal as an object of worship, an idol {cf. Rev. 17-18). "Thus where Judah had been exiled was a fitting place for wickedness to be worshipped, but not in the land where God had placed his name. The idolatry of Babylon must once and for all be separated from the worship of the God of Israel."
What was Babylon (Shinar) known for? Genesis 11. Revelation 17 and 18.
What is the significance of the sins that are listed in the first vision?
The removal of Wickedness to Babylon may be a picture of .. ?
Zechariah 6:1-8
This last of the eight [visions] shares so much in common with the first that the two, at least, must be viewed as book ends enveloping the whole series.
Perhaps the mountains represent the gateway to heaven from which these agents of judgment come. Another view is that they were Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives with the valley between being the Kidron Valley. A third possibility is that they are the two parts of the Mount of Olives that will split apart when Messiah returns to the earth (cf. 14:1-8). Nevertheless they are "bronze." "Always in Scripture symbolism, they [chariots and horses] stand for the power of God earthward in judgment (Jer. 46:9-10; Joel 2:3-11; Nah. 3:1-7). The vision, then, speaks of the LORD's judgments upon the Gentile nations north and south in the day of the LORD (Isa. 2:10-22; Rev. 19:11-21)."
"From first to last (cf. 1:10) the affairs of the nations are under God's direction, not man's. It is this certainty that makes prophecy possible."
Zechariah 6:9-15
"This is one of the most remarkable and precious Messianic prophecies, and there is no plainer prophetic utterance in the whole Old Testament as to the Person of the promised Redeemer, the offices He was to fill, and the mission He was to accomplish."
The Branch Is A Term For the Messiah Isa. 11:1; 53:2; Jer. 33:15; Hag.2:23; Mic. 5:2
He would build the temple of Yahweh. Zerubbabel, not Joshua, was God's choice to build the restoration temple (4:9-10), but Messiah, whom Joshua prefigured, would build the future temple for Yahweh (cf. Isa. 2:2-4; 56:6-7; Ezek. 40—43; Mic. 4:1-7; Hag. 2:6-9).
The Branch would bear the honor of royal majesty (Dan. 11:21; 1 Chron. 29:25), sit enthroned— Israel's priests never sat while ministering—, and rule on David's throne
(cf. 2 Sam. 7:16; Isa. 9:7; Luke 1:32). He would be a priest ruling as a king, and peace (Heb. shalom) would mark his dual offices.
When the Branch appeared, Gentiles from afar would come and help build the temple of Yahweh (cf. 2:11; 8:22; Isa. 2:2-4; 56:6-7; 60:1-7)
What is the temple that the Branch will build? It appears to be a literal building in Jerusalem during the Millennium where God will reside that will bring great glory to Him (cf. Ezek. 40—46). There will be no temple in the New Jerusalem in the eternal state (Rev. 21:22). Whereas the church is the temple of God (i.e., Christians corporately and local congregations of believers; 1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:5), the church is not in view here. The equality of Jewish and Gentile believers in one body (i.e., the church) was a mystery that was unknown until God revealed it later (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:11—3:11).
"Here we have the end and consummation of all the prophetic Scriptures: the crowning of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only after the dark night of world judgment and punishment is passed, that the glorious light of Christ's coronation day will follow. This is one of the sublimest passages in the Scriptures on the Person and work of the Messiah."
Zechariah 7 Traditions and Traditionalism 1st of 4 Messages
Occurs midway, 2 years, into the temple rebuilding programme.
The Law of Moses only commanded one fast day, on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:29-34). In addition to this day, during the exile the Jewish people instituted four more feasts to remember key dates in the tragic defeat of their nation. Here are the additional feasts:
17day/4month Mourning the capture of Jerusalem Jer 52:6-30
9/5 Burning of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's Temple 2Kings 25:2-10
3/7 Assassination of Gedaliah and the massacre of 80 men Jer 4:1-10
10/10 Beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege against Jerusalem 2Kings 25:1
How long should we remember and mourn over our past? Should we do things to remember either our sin or the tragedies of the past?
"There is no need to observe the sad anniversaries of our sins and their accompanying punishment, if once we are assured of God's free forgiveness. When He forgives and restores, the need for dwelling on the bitter past is over . . Too many of us are always dwelling beside the graves of the dead past." (Meyer)
Hypocrisy in fasting is rebuked. (4-7) God's word through Zechariah rebuked the people of God for what their fasting had become - indulgent pity-parties instead of a time to genuinely seek God. Their lives were not right when they did eat and drink - that they did for themselves, not for the LORD. A few days of fasting every year could not make up for the rest of the year lived for yourselves. Zechariah wasn’t condemning traditional faster, just the notion that spirituality could be turned on and off at will.
(8-10) The conduct God desires.
(11-12) The rebellious reaction of God's people.
(13-14) God's judgment on their disobedience. Shrugging shoulder
Name some good traditions we have nationally.
Name some good traditions we have in church.
What is the danger in tradition?
Matthew 15:1-14
Form is not a problem formalism is.
Zechariah 8 The Promise of Covenant Blessings in The Millenium
Chapter 8 not only contains two major messages from the Lord (vv. 1-17, 18-23) but 10 minor messages, that make up the two major ones." Thus says the Lord" introduces each of these minor messages each of which contains a promise of future blessing for Israel. In ch. 7 Israel was to repent and live righteously after the punishment of her captivity; here in ch. 8 she is to repent and live righteously because of the promise of her future restoration. Of a total of 36 occurrences of 'YHWH of hosts' in Zechariah, 15 are in this one oracle, which shows us its impossibility without the direct intervention of the Lord.
1. What does the jealous nature of God (Ex. 20:5) mean for us today, negatively and positively?
2. One day Jerusalem would be called the City of Truth and Mount Zion the Holy Mount. Discuss the significance of this. Isaiah 2:1-5, Micah 4:1-7, Zech 14:16,21.
3. In the millennial kingdom there will be peace (Isa. 65:20-25). How should we regard world peace today?
4. Sovereignly the Lord promised to deliver His people from the distant places
in the world where He had scattered them and to bring them back to live in
Jerusalem (cf. Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 30:7-11; 31:7-8). Some organizations exist today to bring this about. To what extent should this be important for us today?
5. 'They will be my people, and I will be . . . their God' is covenant terminology, pertaining to intimate fellowship in a covenant relationship. How is this important for you today (Gen 17:7-8; Exod 6:7; 19:5-6; 2 Cor 6:16; Rev 21:3) ?
6. God has purposes in our afflictions and in our blessings (Zech 8:10-12). What are they?
One theological rationale for ethics, then, is awareness that God hates attitudes and actions contrary to his character. We are to love what God loves and hate what he hates.
Zechariah 9 The Coming Of The King
A. The Preparation For The King. Zech 9:8 I will set up camp at My house against an army, against those who march back and forth, and no oppressor will march against them again, for now I have seen with My own eyes.
Alexander the Great is predicted here. He destroyed Tyre Ezek 26:2 "Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, {now that} she is laid waste,'3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. 4 'They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her debris from her and make her a bare rock. Ezek 26:7 For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army.
1. But he didn’t destroy Jerusalem. What does this tell us about Prophecy?
God’s purposes? 1Peter 1:20 Ephesians 1:11 Romans 8:28
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
2. Why was Alexander the Great’s conquest necessary to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ?
B. The Presentation of the King. Zech 9:9 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.
Matt. 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38.
In the ancient Near East rulers commonly rode donkeys if they came in peace (Judg. 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; 2Sam. 16:2; 1 Kings 1:32And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. 33 The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: 34 And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon.
But they rode horses into war.
3. How would the coming of the Lord Jesus into Jerusalem in 33 AD be unlike the coming of Alexander the Great?
C. The Peace Of The King Zech 9:10 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. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
4. How will this eventuate at the Second Coming?
5. How will this eventuate practically for Israel at the Second Coming? (Zechariah 14)
6. Several passages speak of the Lord as being a refuge for His people. How do we find this working out in our own lives? Ps. 18:2; 31:3; 71:3; 91:2; 144:2; Jer. 16:19; Nah. 1:7
Zechariah 10
Like the revelation in chapter 9, this chapter also has a near and a far fulfillment, the near being the revival of Israel's power under Judas Maccabeus in the second century B.C. and the far being the return and reign of Messiah. Chapter 9 presents the victory of God's people from the positive side for the most part, showing how the true Israel shall be made strong by the Lord and shall prevail. Without abandoning this point of view, chapter 10 brings greater emphasis to bear upon the negative side of the victory, namely, how the enemies shall be brought low. Yet particular stress is at the same time laid upon the gathering of the scattered Israelites.
God blesses with rain, no one else. The people who rely on false indicators of God's will (idols, horoscopes, mediums, humanism etc) wander like shepherdless sheep and experience much needless trouble.
1. Do we sometimes rely on other things than the Lord?
The Lord will strengthen His people. The weak sheep would become as strong as horses. The battle of Armageddon is probably in view (cf. 12:1-9; 14:1-8).
2. Some figures (v.4) picture the strong, stable, victorious, and trustworthy nature of Messiah's rule. What does each figure symbolize?
3. The Lord's infantry would defeat the world's apparently superior cavalry (v.5) Why would it be a mistake to think that the Lord will win the victory single-handedly?
4. How may we experience God’s strength in desperate times?
5. God’s representative, Messiah, would pass through the sea of His people's distress and banish it, as He had done to the Red Sea when the Israelites left Egypt in the Exodus (and as Jesus did when He calmed the Sea of Galilee). He would humble all Israel's enemies, of which Egypt and Assyria were only representatives. The Gentile leaders of the world, symbolized by Egypt's scepter, would no longer hold sway over Israel in the world. Messiah would also strengthen the Israelites in the Lord. They would walk all over the earth (exercise dominion over it) in His name (as His representatives and in harmony with His character).
Zechariah 11 Shepherds And Sheep
Chapters 9 and 10 present pictures of blessing and prosperity, but chapter 11 paints a scene of sin and punishment. Preceding the fulfillment of the prophecies of blessing are the apostasy of Israel and their rejection of the Good Shepherd, their Messiah, with the consequent visitation of God upon them in dire punishment."
Three shepherds are in view in this chapter: the wailing shepherds (vv. 1-3), the true
Shepherd (vv. 4-14), and the false shepherd (vv. 15-17).
Lebanon's famous cedars would perish. The cedar also became a symbol of the royal house of Judah (Ezek. 17:3-4, 12-13). Earlier Zechariah combined Lebanon and Bashan to indicate the whole land (10:10). All these trees suggest the people of the land as well as the land itself.
Zechariah, as God's representative, did away with three shepherds that had been leading his flock within the first month that he took charge of the sheep. These appear to have been real shepherds and a real month. At least Zechariah's action prefigured that of Messiah in taking over the leadership of His flock from other leaders of Israel who did not appreciate His leadership. Who these shepherds were or will be has been the subject of much debate. Some commentators identified specific kings, either Jewish or Gentile, who failed the Lord and were set aside before or during the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Others believe the three shepherds refer to three classes of leaders, probably Israel's elders, chief priests, and scribes (cf. Luke 9:22). Another view is that they represent all of Israel's unfaithful human leaders.
Devour one another. The Jews did eat one another during the siege of Jerusalem in the first century A.D., and they will evidently do so again during the Tribulation. By withholding his leadership the shepherd abandoned the people to the consequences of their rejection of him: death, and mutual destruction. He simply let things take their course.
Wailing Shepherds 1-3 Wicked Shepherds 4-6
Wounded Shepherds 7-14 Worthless Shepherds 15-17
Contrast the Shepherds with the Good Shepherd of John 10:1-4.
How do Christians reject God’s leadership?
Discuss “soulish” religion and “spiritual” religion.
What sort of covenantal relationship is there between a church and God?
How does God discipline churches?
Zechariah 12 –14 The Deliverance And Salvation of Israel
Zechariah 12 The Repentance of Judah
The repetition of "in that day" and its equivalent 19 times in these three chapters sets these events quite clearly in the eschaton (end times). ". . . we place the entire passage in the time of the Great Tribulation and more specifically in the Battle of Armageddon, when the nations of the earth will make their last frantic effort to blot Israel out of existence, only to be met by the most crushing defeat at the hands of the Lord of hosts Himself.” Feinberg
12:1. Since God created the heavens and the earth He is well able to do what?
12:2 In what ways is Jerusalem today is a cup of drunkenness?
12:3 In what ways is Israel a burden on the nations?
Israel's national conversion 12:10-14
12 :10 "It is not so much a mourning for the act committed, but for the Person involved. Compare John 19:37; Revelation 1:7."
Describe repentance.
The unusual combination "they will look to Me whom they have pierced" and "they will mourn for Him" suggests two different individuals, but the deity of the Messiah solves this problem. Yahweh Himself would suffer for the people in the person of Messiah. The suffering could be figurative (they wounded His holiness) or substitutionary (He died in place of others). Other references to this text point to a substitute suffering (e.g., John 19:37Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced.
Rev. 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Isa. 53:5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth. 8 He was taken away because of oppression and judgment; and who considered His fate? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was struck because of My people’s rebellion.
The Jews will do this either just before the Messiah returns to the earth or when He returns to the earth (cf. Isa. 59:20-21 Jer. 31:31-37; Amos 9:11-15; Rom. 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
i. Muslims claim Jerusalem as their third-holiest city, but Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. In addition, "During the centuries when Jerusalem was under complete Arab control, no Arab ruler or Islamic leader ever made it the object of a religious pilgrimage - again a strange indifference toward a city which is now considered to be the third-holiest religious site in Islam after Mecca and Medina." (Dave Hunt)
ii. Jerusalem's importance to Muslims comes from the belief that in the Dome of the Rock shrine there is a rock where two significant things happened - where Abraham intended to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and where Mohammed allegedly ascended into heaven. Though this tradition is firmly in the Muslim mind, it is of recent origin. It was invented by Yasser Arafat's uncle - Haj Amin el-Husseini, who was the past Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He promoted this myth in the 1920's and 1930's to arouse Arab passions against the growing Jewish presence in Jerusalem.
iii. The verse in the Koran that describes Mohammed's trip to heaven is Surah 17:1: Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the Inviolable Place of Worship to the Far Distant Place [al-Aqsa] of Worship the neighbourhood whereof We have blessed, that We might show him of Our tokens! The Islamic interpretation says that the Inviolable Place of Worship is Mecca, and this is accepted by all. It then says that the Far Distant Place of Worship is Jerusalem - but this has no substantiation because Jerusalem had never been a place of Islamic worship to that time, nor would it be for centuries afterward. Jerusalem isn't even mentioned by name in the Koran, so how could it be a place of worship according to the Koran? Most significantly, inside the Dome of the Rock hundreds of verses from the Koran are inscribed - and Surah 17:1 is not among them! The very passage that later supposedly justified the building of the Dome of the Rock is not even included among the hundreds of passages of the Koran inscribed in it!
iv. The Dome of the Rock was built not because of the Koran, but because the Muslim ruler Abdal-Malik wanted to gain revenue from pilgrims and worshippers, and because he wanted to prevent the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple. Islamic passion for Jerusalem is indeed like drunkenness.
v. This is exactly fulfilled in modern Jerusalem. In recent peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel was willing to concede almost everything to the Palestinians in an amazing willingness to make peace. The only thing Israel would not concede was sovereignty over Jerusalem, and the entire deal was ruined over that one point. The problem between Jews and the Arab world has boiled down to one point: Jerusalem.
vi. If Muslim passion for Jerusalem is a mystery, the Jewish claim to the city is entirely Scriptural. "The very fact that Jerusalem is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible makes it worthy of special attention. This unique city is the only one upon which God has bestowed His distinctive blessing and protection (Psa_132:13-14), and the only city for whose peace we are commanded to pray (Psa_122:6). God says He has chosen Jerusalem as the place where He has put His name forever (2Ch_6:6; 33:7; Psa_46:4; 48:1-8; 87:3). The new heavens and new earth will contain 'the city of my God...new Jerusalem' (Rev_3:12; 21:2). That there will be a 'heavenly Jerusalem' (Heb_12:22) but no 'heavenly' New York, Paris, London, Damascus, Cairo, etc. speaks volumes." (Dave Hunt, The Berean Call - September 2000)
"Consider how remarkable even this one prophecy is. Who could have imagined when the Old Testament was written that all the nations of the world would be involved in deciding the fate of Israel? And this involvement of all nations in dividing Israel has occurred exactly as prophesied and is still in the process of being implemented." (Dave Hunt)
"We know of a surety, because God has said it, that the Jews will be restored to their own land, and that they shall inherit the goodly country which the Lord has given unto their fathers by a covenant of salt for ever; but, better still, they shall be converted to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall see in him the house of David restored to the throne of Israel." (Spurgeon)
". . . like Thomas their excruciating and inexpressibly penetrating cry of deepest contrition will be, 'My Lord and my God!' (John 20:28)."
12:11 Probably the place where King Josiah died and or where the people mourned his premature death near there, as late as the writing of Chronicles, is in view (cf. 2 Chron. 35:20- 27)
Perhaps the political and priestly families received mention because they were those chiefly responsible for Messiah's death. When these leading families mourned, all the other citizens would follow their example. The families of Nathan and Shimei may have been the most prominent families of their kind in Zechariah's day. Zerubbabel came from Nathan's line (Luke 3:23-31), and the Shimeites presumably dominated the Levitical classes in the postexilic era. "Nothing can excite to repentance like a view of the crucified Saviour."
Isa. 59:20-21 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.
Jer. 31:31-37; Amos 9:11-15; Rom. 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
Rev. 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Zechariah 13:1-9 A Fountain Cleansing From Sin And Impurity
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.
1. Describe the relationship between the Tabernacle furnishings of the Altar and the Laver. How is this relevant to this passage? 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.
2. John 19:31 Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that [their bodies]be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with Him. 33 When they came to Jesus, they did not break His legs since they saw that He was already dead. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35 He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth. 36 For these things happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: Not one of His bones will be broken. 37 Also, another Scripture says: They will look at the One they pierced.
This passage describes a two foldness about the death of the Saviour. Two hymns describe this two foldness, one by Wesley and one by Toplady. What is the relationship between cleansing and purifying? What effect will this have on Israel? What effect does this have on the believer today?
3. Are there similarities between Isaiah 53 and this passage? What is the significance of “my fellow” in verse 7?
4. Why is it important for Jewish people to repent now?
5. Describe the importance of verse 9
Zechariah 14 The Day Of The Lord
Describe The Coming Of The Lord
Acts 1:9-12 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. Also Rev. 19:11-16,
Rev. 16:18-19And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.
Matt. 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Col. 3: 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
1 Thess. 3:13; To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Jude 14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15 To execute judgment upon all..
In that day the luminaries will dwindle and there will be a reduction of light on the earth (cf. Joel 3:15-17; Amos 5:18). Other passages also predict cosmic phenomena in the Day of the Lord (Isa. 13:9-10; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Amos 5:18; Matt. 24:29-30; Rev. 6:12-14; 8:8-12; 9:1-18; 14:14-20; 16:4, 8-9). Bear in mind that this "day" is an extended period of time, not just a 12-hour or 24-hour period. Here the end of the Tribulation is in view all of which the prophets spoke of as the Day of the Lord along with the Millennium.
Describe The security of Israel 14:9-11
Probably the water will be literal, but it certainly has symbolic significance as well (cf. Ps. 46:4; Ezek. 47:1-12; John 4:10-14; 7:38; Rev. 22:1-2). The land around Jerusalem would become level whereas Jerusalem itself would be elevated (apparently due to a great earthquake. In view of the place names mentioned, this verse probably refers to the literal city and its topography.
Isa. 2:2-5
Describe The destruction of Israel's enemies 14:12-15
Describe The worship of the sovereign King 14:16-21
The remaining former enemies of Israel who would not die would bow to the sovereignty of Yahweh Isa. 60:4-14; Phil. 2:10.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 5:49 PM 
