Featured Zechariah - Christ centred prophecy

Bearing in mind that the same Hebrew word goyim is used for nations & Gentiles, we can start with the promises to Abram:

Gen. 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Zec. 2:11 And many nations H1471 shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
Isa. 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, H1471 and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa. 49:6 And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, H1471 that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.​

Your statement is strictly correct, in that plural the nations (goyim) refers to the gentile nations. (goyim goyim), whereas the singular refers to Israel or a specific nation. [Please don't correct my Hebrew tenses - I'm using Strong for the word search but do not know Hebrew.]

For this study, notice Zec. 2:

11 And many nations H1471 shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.​

In God's sight the believing nations become my people though I do not think whole nations are referred to, but believers out of the nations. And of course, we will not be attacking Jerusalem - heavenly or earthly, spiritual or carnal. As God's people, citizens of heavenly Jerusalem, we suffer attacks from the nations,

 

The prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi have a particular relevance as they are after the return from exile. Also the circumstances of their prophecies are recorded in Ezra and Nehemiah.

We've had lots of discussions in the past year, so it will be instructive to continue.

 

When we read Zec. 4 we immediately relate it to John's visions in Revelation.

 

My next thoughts/study will consider the question -
Is Jerusalem (Zion) in the prophecy always the physical city, or is there prophecy concerning the heavenly, spiritual Jerusalem?

 

Time to resume, as the big question of Zec. 14 was raised in another thread. We'll try to get there!

 

Sorry - didn't finish (start) that post - I had an urgent call to help my granddaughters plant sunflower & strawberry seeds.

Zechariah in Zec. 3 prophesied concerning Joshua & the priesthood as symbolic of Christ Jesus - see #32
and note -

6 The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: “If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.

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.
​

Christ Jesus did indeed "walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements" and at Calvary did indeed "remove the sin of this land in a single day."

Zec. 4 concerns Zerubbabel, so needs to be read alongside Haggai. Again we need to note the words concerning Joshua equally apply to Zerubbabel -

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.​

Zerubbabel was in the Davidic line & was probably hoping to become king. (See Mat. 1) We need to remember that the human kings of Israel were requested in rejection of the divine kingship. (1 Sam. 8) God went along with them, with Saul, then David as a man after God's heart. The line became corrupt & human kings ceased with Jeconiah & Zedekiah. Note the prophecy of Jeremiah -

22:24 ‘As surely as I live,’ declares the Lord, ‘even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear – Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.​

Compare that with Haggai's word to Zerubbabel

Haggai 2:23 ‘“On that day,” declares the Lord Almighty, “I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,” declares the Lord, “and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the Lord Almighty.’​

Again we need to remember the word to high priest Joshua -

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.​

So in this chapter concerning Zerubbabel, we are to see Christ.

 

Zerubbabel & Joshua, encouraged by Haggai & Zechariah & Ezra (?) are rebuilding the temple & Jerusalem to be ready for Messiah, as prophesied also by Gabriel to Daniel.

9:25 ‘Know and understand this: from the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven “sevens”, and sixty-two “sevens”. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.​

I'm not writing a commentary to compete with Matthew Henry. I suggest we need to see that in all the adversity they are facing, & the visible inferiority of the temple they are building, Z & J are working in the power of the Holy Spirit and will succeed -

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 2 olives trees, "anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth" are his servants, Zerubbabel & Joshua, symbolic of Christ who as King & Priest would indeed be "anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.’"

 

Zec. 5 - the "flying scroll" is an open scroll flying as a banner for all to see.
It condemns sin against the 2 aspects of the Law, on one side sin against neighbour, & on the other, sin against God.
Sinners will be banished & their house utterly destroyed.
The living Word of God came to his Father's house twice, & cast out the traders.
After the second occasion he declared -

Luke 19:45 When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. 46 ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘“My house will be a house of prayer”; but you have made it “a den of robbers”.

Mat. 23:38 Look, your house is left to you desolate......
24:1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’​

Then we see the basket of iniquity -

Zec. 5:6 I asked, ‘What is it?’
He replied, ‘It is a basket.’ And he added, ‘This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land.’​

and again, a final removal to Babylon.

How many warnings did the earlier prophets give to Israel & Judah before invasion & captivity? How many restorations after judges & prophets called them to repentance?

As Bob Dylan wrote, "When will they ever learn?"

God had wonderfully preserved the nation through 2 generations of captivity ("double for all her sins," as Isaiah wrote.) Now they are living with the glorious promise that they are building the temple for Messiah to come. What an encouragement for faithful living!

Yet we can read their attitude to the LORD in the prophecies of Haggai & Malachi.

 

In Zec. 6, as Zec 1 & Rev. 6 we see a vision of coloured horses.

Zechariah sees them as angelic patrols, surveying the earth (distinct from the land of Israel) - particularly concerned with nations surrounding Israel & involved in the destruction.

John sees them as horsemen actively involved in warfare against the earth - or land, unspecified. We'll come to that.

It is likely that Zec's vision is about the time of the crisis seen in Esther, & in Jer. 30:5-7 The angelic watchers are involved in the deliverance of the Jews.

 

It is reasonable to understand the horsemen on the coloured horses & chariots as God's messengers. In Zechariah the situation required the people & the city to be restored & preserved ready for the Messiah to come & fulfill OC prophecy. The people needed all the encouragement & exhortation the prophets could give.

In Revelation 6, Messiah, the Lion-Lamb, has come & gained the victory. The next stage of the outworking of God's plan is being revealed in this heavenly vision. John's situation is suffering persecution, along with his "companions in tribulation." Jerusalem & its temple stand, & Judaean believers in Christ have been persecuted to death, & many have left the country. What is God doing? It what way are suffering believers, sharing in Christ's victory? Their situation is hardly as described in chapter 5 -

Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
Rev 5:10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”​

So Jesus opens the seals. The first 4 concerned horsemen on coloured horses. The first may be an angel or Christ himself, compare Rev. 19 & the 3 "Nike" references - 5:5 & 6:2. Victorious, conquering Christ, Lion-Lamb. The others inflict various troubles on "the earth" (Gk - "ge" which is variously translated) -

The simple question is - in the context, does the vision concern the planet earth or the land of Israel? The scale of destruction - 1/4 of the earth is consistent with the land of Israel rather than the whole planet. A helpful cross reference is Eze. 14 -

21 “For thus says the Lord GOD: How much more when I send upon Jerusalem my four disastrous acts of judgment, sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast!
22 But behold, some survivors will be left in it, sons and daughters who will be brought out; behold, when they come out to you, and you see their ways and their deeds, you will be consoled for the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, for all that I have brought upon it.
23 They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord GOD.”
​

Rev. 6 is announcing the AD 70 judgment on Israel, & the deliverance of the faithful. And in Rev. 7, the blast of the angels of the four winds, the 4 horsemen (?) is held back while the Jewish believers in the land/earth are sealed & protected. The perfect number indicates the deliverance of the elect Jews. The unbelieving Jews are disqualified as children of Abraham by their rejection of the Messiah. Note Rev. 3:9 "Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie...."

True Jews believe their Messiah. Unbelievers claiming to be Jews are not Jews, nor children of Abraham. There could never again be a divine tribulation inflicted on Jews. The destruction brought the tribulation & the ethnic chosen people to an end. (1 Thes. 2:14-16) Of course believing Jews/Israelites/Abraham's children continue as the redeemed people of God, aka the Church, but according to the promise to Abraham, all nations are included.

 

Still in Zec. 6 we see a crown being prepared for High Priest Joshua. The priesthood & kingly crown on one man. Saul was deposed for usurping the office of priest, while Uzziah was struck with leprosy for offering incense.

Only Melchizedek held the dual office until Jesus offered himself as sacrifice & rose to take his royal throne - a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

Further Joshua is given the Messianic name "the Branch." We have a wonderful prophecy of Jesus Christ himself - King & GH Priest - building the temple & including those far away in the building.

Remember Zec. 2 -

11 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.​

and Zec. 3 -

8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.
9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.​

And the Hebrew name translated Joshua is the name we know & love as Jesus.

 

I'm inserting this here from another thread. I'll consider it when we get to Zec. 9.

 

Zec. 7 & 8 ask & answer a question about fasting -

2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, ‘Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?’​

In other words, "we are fasting to gain merit with the LORD & it isn't working. May as well eat & drink."

Isaiah dealt with a similar question and gave the same answer -

58:3 ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
and oppress all your workers.
.....​

Obviously they have forgotten over the past hundred years - and the 70 years of exile that resulted from their disregard of practical holiness & justice -

Zec. 7:8 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.”​

There is a vital difference between the carnal practice of religion & the true spiritual practice of God-centred faith. The result was the Babylonian invasion, destruction of the temple - the focus of worship - and two generations of captivity.

They - and we - must learn the lessons from history & not continue in the ways that bring judgment.

 

Recap -

As we have considered related passages in Revelation, we can see the olive trees in Rev. 11. The description indicate they are like Moses & Elijah - the Law & the Prophets - and they are witnessing during the 3 1/2 years before the destruction.

Are they men or do they represent the Law & Prophets that the Jews were relying on?

What did Jesus say? The alluusion is to Luke 16

27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”​

 

Zech. 8 is a chapter of blessings for the faithful - read & enjoy! Jesus described the children playing in the streets, comparing them with the leaders resistant to his teaching. It seems too that during that time there was relative peace & Jesus certainly welcomed children. The chapter is reminiscent of Isaiah 11-12 and the NH&NE. They would indeed enjoy in measure the blessings described, until the rejection of the Gospel by the Jewish leaders brought suffering to the people.

The chapter concludes the discussion of fasting with the blessing of true fasting -

‘The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.’​

The focus of Jerusalem as the city of God & the place of blessing for peoples & nations is again expressed in terms that are more extensive that coming to the physical city. Gospel blessings focused on Christ & the heavenly city are in view.

 

We can learn from the OT judgments, but to try to make 2,500 year old detailed prophecies concerning specific nations apply to a political situation today is not a valid interpretation.

The present nation that calls itself "Israel" is living in total rejection of the precepts of a restored & godly Israel, & there is no Scripture reason under the New Covenant to recognise Israel as fulfilling prophecy.

Remember Zec. 7 & 8

7:8 Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘Execute true justice,
Show mercy and compassion
Everyone to his brother.
10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless,
The alien or the poor.
Let none of you plan evil in his heart
Against his brother.’

8:7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts:
‘Behold, I will save My people from the land of the east
And from the land of the west;
8 I will bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.’​

The Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ is for all nations, centred on Christ, not ethnic Israel.

 

Zech. 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.

This verse begins a new line of prophecy in Zechariah - direct prophecies with a literal fulfilment in the ministry of our Lord beginning with his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

However, when the prophecies are read in context, interpretation is needed apart from the specific verses.
e.g.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem;
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be ‘from sea to sea,
And from the River to the ends of the earth.’

Would Messiah, King Jesus, cut off the defensive weapons from all Israel? Ephraim & Jerusalem indicate the reunited nation. I suggest the verse means that the Gospel of peace will be the means of bringing peace to to the Israelites of both Judea & the dispersion, & to the nations all around the earth. Genesis 12:3 being fulfilled by the Gospel.

So when we read on we should look for a Gospel related (spiritual) fulfilment rather than a literal fulfilment. The literal events are clear enough where they are quoted in the Gospels & should guide us in our understanding & interpretation of the associated verses.