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I skipped chapter 7 yesterday.   Honestly, I was exhausted…the visions took 2 days to research and I was seeing things!  But chapter 7 is a great little chapter!

“Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

Ouch!  That was a kick in the shins to God.  Worship had become a ritualistic burden.    I am going to plead the 5th amendment on this so I do not incriminate myself!  What did the Lord say?

⁸ And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: ⁹ “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. ¹⁰ Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

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Chapter 8-  This chapter has many layers to it.  In short, it is written to encourage those that are rebuilding the temple.  To give them a view of what is to come for their labor.  You will read several times that people will gather and fill Jerusalem again.  This will not be in their time,  but there will be moments in history that Jewish people will again fill the nation.  A few weeks ago I talked about looking “back” on key events in History like how God used Palestine (Israel) for refugees during WWII when the cold war ended and the people were released from the Soviet Union, or my personal favorite when President Truman took part in declaring Israel a state.

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Chapter 9

Back in Ezekiel 25-32 the captives were given a message of hope.  They were told of the destruction of the foreign nations.  Now another prophet gives the same message.  The remnant that returns did not come back to a Peaceful time, so this is encouraging to them that God will still fulfill his plan. Many of these have been fulfilled when Alexander the Great becomes the next powerful nation.

So keep building the Temple….

⁸ But I will encamp at my temple
    to guard it against marauding forces.
Never again will an oppressor overrun my people,
    for now, I am keeping watch.

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Verse 9- Now for the good part!  The prophecy of the Messiah!  A king enters a town in 2 ways:

1. On a donkey– This means that the King comes in a time of Peace or to bring Peace
2. On a Horse– This is a military King- come to fight a war

If you have read Revelation 19, you might picture this:

BUT in Zechariah the scripture says:

⁹ Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
    Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
    righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 

Matthew 21:

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

He was coming to be the sacrificial lamb to bring Peace to Earth.

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^{Zechariah 9:11} As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
    I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
¹² Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope;
    even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

The covenant in the Old Testament was sealed with the blood of a sacrifice.  God’s covenant remains faithful with the blood of the Messiah!

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Verse 14-17- Split screen prophecy.  The Lord will win future battles for them (verse 13 noted Greece) and this will happen during the Silent years between the OT and NT, BUT we can also see that this is referring to the Final Battle when Jesus returns in End times.

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CHAPTER 10– A reminder of the old days when the people relied on idols to bring rain: It is the Lord that Provides.  The leaders in the past have led them astray like lost sheep but one is coming:

“My anger burns against the shepherds,
    and I will punish the leaders;
for the Lord Almighty will care
    for his flock, the people of Judah,
    and make them like a proud horse in battle.
⁴ From Judah will come the cornerstone,
    from him the tent peg,
from him the battle bow,
    from him every ruler.

In verse 6 The house of Judah (the south) and the House of Joseph (the north) will reunite!  (Yes, we know this!) Those scattered in the captivity WILL eventually be brought to Israel.  We see the beginning of that in Ezra and it is still happening today.  It will be eventually fulfilled in the End times when they are all gathered!

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Chapter 11-The Shepherds.  Again, the Lord is talking about the leaders that lead the sheep ashtray (still happens today)-so be careful who you take your advice from.   He will discipline the shepherd and the flock.  He takes staffs:

The Lord will remove his hand of protection from them.  He will not give them favor and they will split into 2 nations: Judah and Israel and again when the Romans become the nation of Power.

¹⁰ Then I took my staff called Favor and broke it, revoking the covenant I had made with all the nations. ¹¹ It was revoked on that day, and so the oppressed of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord.

¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

In Exodus 21:32, Thirty pieces of silver were the price of a slave’s death.  It was an insulting amount: a life was worth 30 pieces of silver?  The “three shepherds” might be a  reference to the three religious offices during Jesus’ day that worked to condemn Jesus: the elders, the scribes, and the chief priests in Matthew 16.

¹² I told them, “If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it.” So they paid me thirty pieces of silver.

¹³ And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the handsome price at which they valued me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter at the house of the Lord.

I know this post is too long but you MUST see the fulfillment of this:

Matthew 27:

27 Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. ² So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸ That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, ¹⁰ and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me

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Jesus was crucified for 30 pieces of silver. 

The price to set a slave free. 

YOU.

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Chapter 12- Take note to the phrase ON THAT DAY.  We are talking about the FINAL Day.  The Lord will keep His Covenant with His people.

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Zechariah 12:⁷ “The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.

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¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.

⁷ “Awake, sword, against my shepherd,
    against the man who is close to me!”
    declares the Lord Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep will be scattered,
    and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
⁸ In the whole land,” declares the Lord,
    “two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
    yet one-third will be left in it.
⁹ This third I will put into the fire;
    I will refine them like silver
    and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
    and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
    and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”

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Does anybody want to call in sick for work today and take Chapter 14 verse by verse??  The End of the Bible (almost the End) will occur on the Mount of Olives.  How do I know?

⁴ On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

We have read about this setting in the days of David and Solomon, and a vision of the Glory departing the Temple heading towards the mountains.   What else happens there??

• Jesus went there to visit Lazarus, Mary, and Martha
• Many miracles took place
• The Triumphal Entry came from that direction (Bethany)
• The Olivet Discourse
• After the Last Supper Jesus went to Mount Olives: Garden of Gethsemane.  This is where Jesus prayed the last time, Judas brought the soldiers, High Priest, and Pharisees to arrest Jesus
• Post Resurrection Jesus led his disciples to talk to them.

The Best one is:

¹¹ “Men of Galilee,”⁽ they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back⁽ in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

STANDING ON THE VERY MOUNTAIN HE WILL DEFEAT SATAN!

 

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7 short chapters.  (But CRAZY)

Chapter 1- Loved the into! paraphrased  “Listen, I warned your mom and dad, and look what happened to them…you want that captivity to happen to you?  No? Then don’t do what they did!  

There are 3 major points to the Intro:

1. Their forefathers failed to respond to God’s word (which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and an exile)
2. God never changes
3. Don’t make the same mistake they did-‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.

If you read the overview (sorry it was late last night, long day) or watched the video from last night, feel free to write out the chiastic…as for me…nah, I’m good.  (But it is a cool way to study God’s word.  There are lots of them).  Let’s begin.

Vision 1:

¹¹ And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”…. (The myrtle tree is a fragrant, decorative shrub that sometimes reaches the size of a tree, it was used in connection with the Feast of Tabernacles)

¹⁶ “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

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(Vision 2 and 3 are external hindrances….vision 6 and 7 are internal hindrances)-Chiastic help.

Vision 2- The 4 Horns.  I DON’T KNOW.  It could be 4 future world powers or it could be the 4 we read in Daniel.  God loves to keep the mystery of His word. (I think it is the statue or the Greek empires?, but maybe I am wrong…thoughts?)

“These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”

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Vision 3.   Not sure what this looked like: The measuring line.  When you see a surveyor on the side of the road, you know construction is coming because the population is increasing.

³ While the angel who was speaking to me was leaving, another angel came to meet him ⁴ and said to him: “Run, tell that young man, ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of people and animals in it. ⁵ And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’

We know the prophecies by now…the surrounding nations, especially Babylon,  will be destroyed…RUN to Jerusalem!  (But many don’t 😢)

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Vision 4-

Joshua represents Israel.  His cleansing symbolizes the future cleansing of His people.  Satan standing at his side is “the accuser or the adversary”. Satan will do anything to keep us from fellowship with God.    The Lord himself rebukes Satan:

1. He reminds Satan that God has chosen Israel and His plan will not be derailed.
2. The burning stick refers to Israel’s deliverance from Babylon and their restoration.

Man cannot remove their own sin (the dirty garment)- The Lord clothes us with righteousness.

Wait…it gets better!!

⁸ “‘Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. ⁹ See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyes on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

¹⁰ “‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

We know the Branch term from Isaiah and Jeremiah!  Jesus is the “Branch” or the “shoot from the root”.

The stone is the “Cornerstone” (7-meaning complete or Holy Spirit) with the inscription “Lord Almighty!”  Did you know there are 55 scriptures referencing Jesus to the foundation or the cornerstone?  A cornerstone is the first block laid in construction.  It must be perfect because the structure is held and measured from the cornerstone.

1 Peter 2:6-For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Back to Zechariah-¹⁰ “‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Are the Gentiles the neighbor invited in?  (I think so) 🥰

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Vision 5:-Just when I thought the visions were weird enough…they are about to get trippy.  You have two olive trees, that send olive oil into a bowl that funnel down some pipes into a lampstand.  You can’t make this stuff up!

Just like in the tabernacle, the Lampstand represents the Light of the World.  However, in the tabernacle, the priest kept the candles burning.  Now the Lord gives a vision of this contraption of the light being provided continually through supernatural means.

This vision is a word of ENCOURAGEMENT.  They are being asked to rebuild a temple!  I can barely handle my simple life, could you imagine the task in front of them!    Verse 6 says it ALL:

⁶ So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.

The Holy Spirit is the Power source!   This task can only be complete with God’s power not by human strength,

¹¹ Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”

¹² Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?”

¹³ He replied, “Do you not know what these are?”

“No, my lord,” I said.

¹⁴ So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”

The Kingship and the Priesthood (both a foreshadowing of the Messiah to come).  By the way, the irony is that this week a good friend of mine asked me an unrelated question that is so relevant now!  “How is Jesus from the line of David if The Virgin Mary isn’t from the tribe of Judah”? And why is her tribe line significant?  Can you figure it out? 🧐

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Vision 6- The flying scroll (a very large one)- it is seeking unrepentant sin.

⁴ The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name.

Judgment will come on those who sin against their neighbor (example: thieves) as well as,  those who sin against God (swears falsely by the Lord)

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Vision 7: Many times things in the Bible were personified.  Wisdom for example was a woman (Ha, I will not make a joke).  This time: Sin is personified.

The sin is held in the Basket and two messengers of the Lord take the basket out of the Land and over to Babylon.

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Vision 8- Go back and look at vision 1- The horse was bringing back a message of Peace.  Now the horses are going out in Judgement.  Have you ever heard of the 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse!  Can you believe in 3 months we will be at Revelation!!

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The crowning of Joshua-(Joshua means The Lord is Salvation)

¹² Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

The harmony of bringing both Priest and King together represents Jesus.

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I am going to stop there.  That was exhausting!