Through the Bible - Zechariah

Take care, Lord. We pray that Your word would produce fruit in our lives a hundredfold. As we come before You tonight, we ask in Jesus' name, amen.

How many of you read through the book of Zechariah over the last week or so? How many of you were completely confused? Well, you're not alone. Reading through the book of Zechariah, which has 14 chapters, one of the longer minor prophet books, can be quite challenging. When you read through these chapters, especially from chapter one to about the end of chapter six, you encounter different visions that Zechariah had. It appears that all these visions came in one night, as you read through the passage. You might wonder what kind of falafel he ate the night before to have such crazy visions.

God was speaking to the prophet Zechariah to encourage the people in the land of Israel. This prophet spoke at the exact same time as the prophet Haggai. As we saw last week, we studied just those two chapters of Haggai. You'll remember that Haggai began speaking to the people in about 520 BC, starting in September and giving his last word to them in December. This was right around the time that Zechariah began to speak to the children of Israel.

These were the people who were committed to the Lord, having returned from Babylon after being exiled for 70 years. At the end of those 70 years, one of the kings of the Medo-Persian Empire allowed them to go back to their land and rebuild the temple. While hundreds of thousands of people went into captivity, only about 50,000 returned. As you read through the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, you gain a broader understanding of the situation. These historical books are associated with the prophetic books we are examining, Haggai and Zechariah. The children of Israel went back to the land under the leadership of Zerubbabel.

Who was the governor, the overseer of the people, and also Joshua, the high priest? They went for a very specific task. God had called them to go and rebuild the temple. This was a call that God had given to them before they were even exiled into Babylon through the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 40 and 45, God spoke by name the king that was going to allow them to go back into the Promised Land. Their whole purpose was to rebuild the temple that had been torn down by Nebuchadnezzar, the king, during the time just before that exile into Babylon.

The children of Israel returned, a small remnant of the most committed people. When they came back, they got to work, but they were immediately discouraged in the work. They left it sitting there undone for about 18 years. After 18 years of the temple just kind of sitting there unfinished, the Lord spoke to the children of Israel by Haggai and told them they needed to get up and get to work. He also spoke to them through Zechariah, addressing primarily their spiritual condition, not just the physical condition of not building the temple. He spoke to the spiritual problem within the nation.

It's important to recognize, whether in our lives today or during the time of these prophets in the Old Testament, that a physical problem is an indication of a spiritual problem. There was a physical problem in the nation of Israel: the temple lay undone, in shambles, in ruin. The city was completely destroyed. But that was just an indication of the spiritual problem that needed to be dealt with just as much. Before you can tackle the physical problem, you have to deal with the spiritual. This is a recurring theme throughout the Scriptures, both Old Testament and New, that we must take care of the spiritual issue before we can address the physical.

We see this especially in the New Testament when we meet the scribes and the Pharisees, which we will encounter in just a few weeks. When we meet these scribes and Pharisees, we find a group of individuals who wanted to live according to the law externally. They had physical external righteousness, so much so that all the people would look at them and say those guys are truly the ones who are going to heaven. If ever someone was going to go to heaven, it would be one of the scribes and the Pharisees. As it related to external righteousness, these individuals had it down.

However, Jesus and John the Baptist, who was the first to come proclaiming this, began to show them that they were wicked in their hearts. They were like whitewashed tombs; they looked great on the outside, but they were full of dead men's bones on the inside. They had a spiritual problem that had not been addressed, even though the external looked good. The problem is that they would never enter the kingdom of heaven in that way.

Jesus says this in Matthew chapter 5, verse 20: "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." This internal problem needs to be taken care of before the external can really be reformed or changed. God changes us from the inside out. He wanted to transform this nation, this people, this remnant that had come back to Israel, back to Jerusalem. However, internally they were in shambles, and the external shambles of the nation were an indication of what was going on in their hearts.

God speaks to this people in a very powerful way, calling them back to Himself and calling them back to repentance. You might think that because they were in the promised land, they had repented. Their location was right; they were in the right place. But their hearts were still wrong, and God needed to deal with that. He speaks to them through Haggai and also through Zechariah to call them back to Himself, to call them back to repentance, to right living, and to a righteous walk.

God speaks to Zechariah through eight visions in chapters 1 through 6. These visions are very interesting, and as you read them, you might find yourself shaking your head, wondering what in the world is going on. How many of you have read through it and felt the same way? You might be asking, who are these horses, and what about the man standing in the midst of the myrtle tree, the four horns, and the four craftsmen?

It is important to note that the book of Zechariah is similar to the book of Revelation and the book of Ezekiel. When we read of these visions and the events taking place, they have a very apocalyptic focus, an end-times focus. God is speaking through these visions that He gave to Zechariah. You will see the Lord utter these words to Zechariah several times: "What is it that you see, Zechariah?" Zechariah would respond, "Lord, I see this." Then he would ask, "What are these things, Lord? I don't know what this is." The Lord would explain, "Well, this is this."

I appreciate Zechariah for that very reason. He looks at the things that God is showing him and shakes his head, just like we do, wondering what in the world is going on. Zechariah was just like us, confused and unsure of the meaning. The Lord tells him, "Just write it down, and let me explain it," which is often how God spoke to His prophets. In the book of Revelation, when John the Apostle wrote down the revelation of Jesus Christ, there were several instances where he saw things he didn't understand, and God instructed him to write the vision down. The same is true for Ezekiel and Daniel; they saw things they did not fully comprehend, but God was going to speak through them.

Now, the first thing we want to see as we read through this, starting in chapter 1, is...

The Lord speaks to Zechariah about the former problems in the nation of Israel before their exile. He discusses how they lived before they went into Babylon in verse 2 of chapter 1. The Lord has been sorely displeased with your fathers. I want you to underline that phrase, "the Lord of hosts," because it appears 46 times in the 14 chapters of Zechariah. Over and over again, God reveals Himself as the Lord of hosts or the Lord of the armies.

God says to this prophet, "I have been displeased with your fathers." He instructs Zechariah to speak to the people, saying, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, turn unto me." Here is the theme of this book: God was sorely displeased with the fathers of the nation of Israel. They had not followed the word of the former prophets, as we will see down in verse 4. Now He speaks to this people and says, "You do what? In response to that, turn unto me, saith the Lord of hosts."

Notice what God will do if they turn unto Him: "I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." Three times God refers to Himself as the Lord of hosts in these two verses. This really gives us a good outline and understanding of the theme of this book. The children of Israel in the past had disobeyed the Lord and rebelled against Him. As a result, the Lord punished them by taking them into exile in Babylon. Now, in response to that, God says, "Look, I was displeased with your fathers. Now you repent and turn unto me. If you repent and turn unto me, I will turn unto you."

This is very similar to a truth we find in the New Testament. In the book of James, chapter 4, verse 8 states, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Now, how do we draw near to God? That's an important question. If God says, "I want you to draw near to me and I'll draw near to you," we naturally want to be close to the Lord. Amen? But how do we achieve that closeness?

Notice what James goes on to say: "Draw near to the Lord, and He will draw near to you." How do we do it? "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." God provides the answer to the question of how we draw near to Him. He says, "Cleanse your hands, cleanse your hearts, and draw near to me."

God, now speaking to this group of people during the time of Zechariah, about 520 years before Jesus would come on the scene, says, "Now, if you want to know just a quick summary of what the message of the prophets was, that's it right there." Look at Zechariah 1, verse 4. That is a quick summary of what all the prophets had to say to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. They said, "Turn now away from your evil ways and away from your evil doings."

This is the reoccurring message from Isaiah to Malachi, and even beyond Malachi to the last Old Testament prophet, who was John the Baptist. Jesus tells us in the New Testament that John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets. All the prophets were until John, and their message was the same. It was a reoccurring message of repentance: "Turn away from your evil doings, away from your evil ways, and then if you do that, I will turn to you."

We must recognize that originally, God had rescued His people out of bondage in Egypt. He went down there, and they were not a good people; they were not a perfect people. Sometimes we wrongly assume that God saved the children of Israel out of Egypt because they were super special, but that's not the case. The children of Israel are no different than us. Sometimes we wrongly assume that we've been saved because of how special we are. God must have looked inside of me, Miles, and said, "Boy, he's such a good guy. I want him on my team." No, that's not the way it was.

In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 7, God speaks to His people, the children of Israel, and tells them why He chose them. He says, "I didn't choose you because you were greater than other nations. I didn't choose you because you were the best. I chose you because you were the least and because I love you." God has chosen us for no other reason than His love and His grace, and He has called us to be His people.

God saved His people out of Egypt and brought them into the promised land, not because they had done anything good. In fact, they rebelled against Him, complained against Him, and constantly hardened their hearts towards Him for all the 40 years in the wilderness. Yet, in His grace, God brings them into the promised land, a land that flowed with milk and honey.

God gave them cities that they did not build. He gave them vineyards that they did not plant. He poured out abundantly upon them. And they came into the promised land and served Him with all their hearts, didn't they? No, they didn't. God pours out His love. God pours out His grace. And what did His people do? As soon as they had the opportunity, the book of Judges said, they did evil in the sight of the Lord. They began to serve all these other false gods that were there in the land.

Here, God's people were wicked in Egypt. God saved them by His grace. They rebelled against Him and murmured against Him in the wilderness. God brought them into the promised land by His grace. They entered the promised land, rebelled against God, and God continued to pour out upon them by His grace. God is constantly pouring out His love and His grace to His people. They hardened their hearts against the Lord. So the Lord sent them prophets to speak to them. The prophet's message was always, "Turn to Me. Turn away from all your wicked ways and turn to Me."

Why? Well, Deuteronomy chapter 28 and onward tell us that if we follow the Lord, if we serve Him, there are blessings. But if we harden our hearts and rebel against Him, there are curses. The curses are listed for us, one by one, in the last few chapters of the book of Deuteronomy. When you follow the history of the children of Israel through the Old Testament, you see a people that abode under the curses of God. Why? Because of their own doings. God had blessed them. He had poured out upon them grace, mercy, and peace. Yet they hardened their hearts and rebelled against Him. As a result, they received His curses because they had departed from Him.

In His mercy, He sent prophets to them for hundreds and hundreds of years, calling them back to Himself. But what did they do? We are told in Zechariah chapter 1, "They did not hear, nor did they hearken unto Me," saith the Lord. They didn't listen. "Your fathers, where are they?" God now poses the question, "What happened to them? What happened to this rebellious people that hardened their hearts?"

And the prophets, do they live forever? Where are all these prophets that spoke to them? They are all gone, is what God basically says to these people. But His words and His statutes, which He commanded His servants, the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? They returned and said, "Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings."

So hath He dealt with us. And so God says, "Your forefathers are gone. All these prophets are gone. But My word and My commands remain. And now I'm speaking to you." God's word always becomes very practical and personal, and we need to recognize that. It's so easy to sit in a Bible study and hear the word of the Lord and think, "You know what? My sister needs to hear this." How many of you have ever been in that spot before? We're listening to a Bible study, and we think, "Oh, my father, I'm going to buy him the tape. He really needs to hear this." Or we might think, "Oh, my husband needs to hear this. I hope he's listening." Or, "My wife needs to hear this. She needs to understand." We all like to look at what God's word has to say to everybody else, but God always makes it very personal and practical.

God says, "Remember your forefathers. They rebelled against Me. They did not listen to the prophets. But what about you? I'm speaking to you personally and practically by another prophet." And God says to them, "Turn to Me and I will turn to you." So God's word always becomes personal for us.

Now we get into the kind of the weird stuff of Zechariah. Chapter 1, verse 7 starts these visions of this guy, Zechariah. Before we jump into that, I do want to make note of this because it says in Zechariah 1, verse 7, "Now, who is this guy?" We don't have a lot of information about who he is. We read about him a couple of other places in the Bible, there in the book of Ezra, specifically in chapters 5 and 6, where we see his name brought up again. He lived at the very same time as Haggai. His father's name was Berkiah, and his grandfather's name was Edo.

Now, Zechariah was a very common name among the children of Israel. As you read through 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles, you will see this name come up, referring to over 25 different individuals that lived during the Old Testament. So, Zechariah is a common name.

However, there is something very interesting we read about Zechariah in the New Testament book of Matthew, specifically in Matthew chapter 23. I want you to note what Jesus has to say about Zechariah in Matthew 23, verse 35. Remember that Matthew 23 is a passage where God is speaking rebuke to the religious leaders in His day. Jesus is speaking to the scribes and the Pharisees, saying, "You are hypocrites. You have departed from the Lord."

Notice what Jesus says of Zechariah in Matthew 23, verse 35. He indicates that Zechariah was a martyr. He was killed because of his testimony and his witness. Ultimately, it appears that after the temple was built, this prophet of the Lord was killed by the children of Israel. For some reason, we don't know why. When we get to heaven someday, we'll be able to ask the question, "What in the world happened?" This man came and spoke a great word of exhortation to the people. Ultimately, four years later, after he spoke, the temple was built. Somewhere after that point in time, they killed him right there on the temple courts. That's pretty heavy.

It would be rather hard to receive a life insurance policy for a prophet in Old Testament times. These individuals were not well-liked. In fact, oftentimes, they were persecuted for their message and killed. It's hard to believe that after the children of Israel came back from Babylon, the remnant—the committed ones, the true followers of the Lord—would kill one of their prophets shortly after returning to the promised land. This is very interesting to me. However, we do know that Jesus speaks of Zechariah the prophet and endorses him as a prophet in Matthew 23, verse 35.

God begins to speak through this man, starting with a vision in chapter 1, verse 8. He saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse, standing among the myrtle trees. Behind him were red horses, speckled and white. As you read these things, you might wonder what is going on. It's important to study the other prophetic passages of the Old Testament, as many of these ideas become clearer through that study.

Oftentimes in Scripture, the myrtle tree, which is more like a bush, is associated with the children of Israel and symbolizes their humility. This small, humbled group of children of Israel has a man standing in their midst. Eventually, we will see that he is called the Lord and the angel of the Lord. As we study through the Old Testament, this figure appears quite a bit and is worshipped in the book of Judges.

Offerings are given to Him in the book of Judges. It would appear that this is God Himself come down to earth. However, we also need to understand that no man has seen God at any time. So, how can we see God? When we get to the New Testament, we recognize that Jesus is the image of the invisible God, as Hebrews tells us. In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, as stated in the book of Colossians. When we behold Jesus, we behold the glory of God, full of grace and truth here on earth.

Sometimes, we seem to think that Jesus didn't come until 2,000 years ago when He was born of the Virgin in Bethlehem. However, there are appearances of Jesus in the Old Testament, where He comes down from heaven onto the earth, pre-incarnate, before His incarnation. How can He do that? Well, number one, He is God. He is eternal and can do whatever He wants. Jesus shows up at various times in the Scriptures.

For instance, you can see Him with Hagar in the book of Genesis. You can see Him with Abraham when He establishes the covenant in the book of Genesis. We see Him in Genesis chapter 19 when the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed, and He comes and speaks with Abraham, who worships Him there. We see Him in the story of Gideon when Gideon is told to go forth and fight with the Midianites. Gideon makes an offering to this angel of the Lord, and He receives it. Then, Gideon is fearful that he has seen the Lord God and is going to be killed.

Samson's parents see this one whose name is called Wonderful. Jacob wrestles with this angel of the Lord, who is Jesus, in Genesis chapter 32. Joshua meets the commander of the army of the Lord in Joshua chapter 5, who is also Jesus. Over and over again, we see Jesus appear in the Old Testament. Here He is once again speaking to Zechariah. He is standing in the midst of the myrtle trees, which represent Israel. From there, He dispatches four horsemen out into the world.

They are riding upon red and white speckled horses, and they go out into the world, returning with word to Him, saying, "Listen, the whole world is quiet. It's at rest." God wants to speak to His people here because the Lord is not too happy about this situation. The whole world is at rest and at ease, but His people are destroyed. The children of Israel sit like a broken-down myrtle tree, a humbled plant that is nothing. God now says that He is going to restore His people. The Lord says, down in verse 14 of chapter 1, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts."

I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great jealousy, and I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease. That was the word of the four horsemen who went out into the four corners of the world. They came back and said, "Hey, the world's at rest. The world's at ease." God responded, "I'm not too happy about this. My people, my land lies in waste, and the rest of the world lies at ease. I am sore displeased with them. For I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction."

Therefore, thus saith the Lord: "I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house shall be built." Here was the focus of God when He returns His people to the land. They sat in desolation, and God stood in the midst of His people, surrounded by myrtle trees, which are an indication of the children of Israel. The rest of the world is at ease, at rest, while God says, "My land lies in shambles. So I am returning to the land, and my house is going to be built in it," saith the Lord of hosts. A line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities, through prosperity, shall yet spread abroad. The Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem."

In this first vision, God expresses His desire for His place to be rebuilt. He is going to return to the land so that the house of the Lord would be built once again.

Now, in verse 18, we come to the second vision of Zechariah. He speaks in this vision of two sets of four: the four horns and the four craftsmen. God tells us exactly what these four horns are. They represent the nations that scattered the children of Israel across the face of the earth.

What are these horns all about? A horn, what kind of an animal has a horn that the children of Israel would recognize? The ox, right? The bull, the ox. In the scriptures, a horn is a sign of strength. Here is this sign of strength, these oxen, these bulls, representing the nations. Zechariah asks the question in verse 19, "What are these?" and he is answered, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

So, these four horns represent four nations. What four nations? When we study the book of Daniel and other passages in scripture, we remember that Nebuchadnezzar had seen an image in a dream. It had a head of gold, a chest of silver, a body of bronze, and legs of iron. From this image, Daniel tells him of these four nations.

Nations are going to come, and they will rule the world as empires. The first one, the head of gold, represented which nation? Think about it. Remember what Nebuchadnezzar built after he had this dream. He constructed an entire statue, 90 feet tall, made of gold. That head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire.

After that came the chest of silver, which represented the Medo-Persian Empire, with the two shoulders and arms. Then there was the body of brass, symbolizing the Grecian Empire. Following the Grecian Empire came the legs of iron and the toes, which were mingled with clay. This represented the Roman Empire. It is very interesting that before these nations even rose as world empires, God spoke through Daniel and foretold that these nations would come forth. They caused great problems for the children of Israel.

So, who are the four horns that scattered the children of Israel abroad over the face of the earth? It is very likely these same four nations: Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. God points out these nations that scattered His people. However, He also has another vision of craftsmen. The Lord showed me four carpenters or four craftsmen in verse 20. I asked, "What come these to do?" He spoke, saying, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head. But these craftsmen have come to fray them and cast out the horns."

In this vision, he sees these four horns, these four nations that scatter the children of Israel. Then he sees a vision of these four carpenters or craftsmen that come forth. God says these ones are going to judge the nations that scattered His people. They may be nations or they may be angelic hosts, but God is speaking through His people.

The first thing He says is, "I want to restore my city, Jerusalem." The second thing God communicates through these visions is, "I am going to judge those peoples who have scattered my people," exactly as He had promised to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. There, He told him, "You shall bless all nations, and whoever blesses you shall be blessed, but whosoever curses you shall be cursed." Therefore, these nations that scattered the children of Israel abroad upon the face of the earth will also be judged in the second vision.

The third vision he has in chapter 2 involves a man with a measuring line in his hand. We read in verse 1, "I lifted up my eyes again."

And look and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. I said unto him, "Where do you go?" He replied, "I'm going to measure Jerusalem to see what is the breadth thereof and what is the length thereof." Behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him. I said unto him, "Run, speak to this man, saying, 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitudes of men and the cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the midst of her.'"

Here, God speaks another promise through a vision. The first vision had to do with the nation of Israel being restored. The second vision concerns the nations that scattered them being judged. The third vision focuses on God being in the midst of Jerusalem and the protection for it, indicating that the city would dwell without walls.

We need to recognize that when the children of Israel, this group of people, came into the land and rebuilt the temple, not long after they rebuilt the temple, Nehemiah came to rebuild the walls. God is speaking beyond the time of Nehemiah, beyond the time when Jesus first came to the land. He is speaking of a future time when Jerusalem would dwell and be protected by God without walls because He will be a wall unto them.

In chapter 2, this vision speaks of God preparing to rebuild Jerusalem once again and to plant His people in the land. We have seen these things come to pass in our days. Since 1948, the children of Israel have dwelt in the land of Israel, and they took Jerusalem in 1967 after the Six-Day War. It is a city that dwells without walls, right? But is Jerusalem safe and filled with peace? Not yet. It will be, and the book of Zechariah speaks about this. It speaks of a coming day when the city will dwell without walls.

Right now, the city of Jerusalem is fulfilling another prophecy of Zechariah at the end of the book, where he says, "Jerusalem shall be a cup of trembling to the whole world." We are seeing that right now in our day. Jerusalem is the cup of trembling to the whole world. Everybody puts their eyes on that place. Why? The three monotheistic religions in the world focus on Jerusalem: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. That little piece of ground in the middle of Jerusalem called the Temple Mount is where all the focus is. If we can just figure out...

How to deal with that 40-acre plot of ground? Then there should be peace in the Middle East, right? Well, there won't be until the Prince of Peace returns, and we're looking forward to that day.

The first vision speaks about Israel being restored. The second vision speaks of the nations that scattered them being judged. The third vision has to do with God establishing the city of Jerusalem, and He first sends forth this angel to go and measure the city. We see this exact same wording used in Ezekiel chapters 40 and 47, where there is an angel who went forth to measure the city. What is the angel preparing when he measures the city? Well, Ezekiel chapter 40 tells us he is preparing for a third temple to be built.

You wonder, will there be a temple built in Jerusalem? Yes, there will be. The Scriptures declare it in Ezekiel chapter 40 and also in Revelation chapter 11. We see this same figure come up on the scene again, the one who goes forth to measure Jerusalem. He is seen again in Revelation chapter 21 measuring the new Jerusalem, which will be a pretty interesting study when we get there.

Now, the first vision has to do with the restoration of Jerusalem in Israel. The second vision has to do with the judgment upon their enemies. The third vision concerns the rebuilding of the city and making it a place where God's glory dwells in the middle of it.

But then he has another vision in chapter 3, which is very powerful and interesting. Let's go there real quick. Chapter 3, verse 1: "And he," speaking of the angel of the Lord, which is Jesus, "showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and who was standing at his right side? Satan was standing there to resist him."

And the Lord said unto Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, O Satan, even the Lord that has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is not this brand plucked out of the fire?"

Now he has his fourth vision, and the fourth vision that he sees is Joshua, the high priest. It's almost as if he's in a courtroom. There is Joshua at the defense seat, and now the prosecuting attorney is Satan. He stands up to point at Joshua and say, "Look at how wicked this one is."

Do we see this anywhere else in Scripture? Yes, we do. The book of Revelation reveals that Satan is the accuser of the brethren in Revelation chapter 12, verses 9 through 10. He accuses us day and night before God. Job chapters 1 and 2 reveal this as well.

Satan is constantly before God in heaven, pointing out yours and my sin. Boy, that's really a sad situation, isn't it? I mean, I don't know if any of us want to sit there in the defense seat because we have a lot of sin that he could point out, right? Well, so did Joshua the high priest.

Here is this vision of the Lord, or I'm sorry, of Joshua the high priest, and Satan is accusing him of all his sins, standing at his right hand to resist him. Who stands in defense of Joshua the high priest? The Lord said unto Satan, "The Lord rebuke you." Who is our defense attorney? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He stands in our defense, and He is the one who rebukes the enemy.

We see this idea of the rebuke of the enemy also in the book of Jude, chapter 1, verse 9. There it says that when Moses died, Michael the archangel went to take the body of Moses, and Lucifer, Satan, came against him. Here is this powerful angel, Michael, and he says, "The Lord rebuke you" to Lucifer. It's only the Lord who can rebuke, and we see throughout the Gospels that He is constantly rebuking the enemy.

So here, the Lord rebukes Satan as he comes against Joshua. This should bring great encouragement for each of us here tonight. We have a ton of sin. It would not be very easy for Satan to bring up a case against us there in heaven, but we have the greatest defense attorney you could ever find. He died on our behalf. Jesus stands and says, "The Lord rebuke you."

Notice what God says about Joshua at the end of verse 2: "This one is a brand plucked out of the fire." It's almost as if God says, "He's like a stick that was in the fire, and I pulled him out." Joshua was clothed with filthy garments; he was covered in soot and just filthy. He stood before the angel of the Lord, and the angel answered and said unto him that stood before him, "Take away the filthy garments from him."

And unto him, he said, "Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with a change of clothing or raiment." God, Jesus, stands in our defense against our enemy, the adversary, the devil. He comes against us constantly, day and night, accusing us of our sin. But Jesus stands in our defense as He did for Joshua the high priest.

After He stands in our defense, there we are, still sinful, still covered in all of our dirt and grime. And God says, "Take those dirty clothes from him. I am going to clothe him."

In Isaiah chapter 61, it speaks about the ministry of the Messiah, the ministry of Jesus. In verse 10, it says, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation and He has covered me with the robe of righteousness." Jesus is the one who clothes us with the robe of righteousness, the garment of salvation.

In the first vision, Zacharias sees the nation of Israel destroyed, but God is going to restore them. In the second vision, he sees the enemies of Israel destroyed and judged by the Lord. In the third vision, he sees God restoring and measuring the city, preparing it for a new temple to be built.

In the fourth vision, he sees how God cleanses us and makes us whole once again. He removes all of our dirt, grime, and filth, as He did with Joshua, and then He gives us new clothing. After that, He crowns him with a crown in verse 5 of chapter 3. It is pretty awesome what the Lord has done for you and me, not something that we have deserved in any way. He has come and restored our lives. Our lives were broken down like Jerusalem, but He has restored and renewed us. He has done away with our enemies, conquering them there on Calvary when He cried, "It is finished."

Furthermore, He has measured our lives and our hearts and prepared a temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He has taken away all of our filth and grime and has clothed us with righteousness.

The next vision that he has is very powerful. In chapter 4, we read, "And the angel talked with me and came again and awoke me as a man that is wakened from sleep." He said to me, "What do you see?" I said, "I looked, and behold, I saw a candlestick of gold with a bowl upon the top of it. It has seven lamps thereon and seven pipes to the seven lamps that were thereon, and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side."

I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with me, saying, "What are these, my Lord?" The angel that talked with me answered and said, "Do you not know what these be?" I said, "No, my Lord." Then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, "This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, 'Not by might...'"

Nor by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. Now, remember, God is speaking directly to His people during the time of Zechariah about what He was going to do. He was going to restore the city of Jerusalem, deal with their enemies, and rebuild the temple. God was going to cleanse them and make them whole. Here, He says to them, "I am going to plug you into the vine, and I am going to pour out my Spirit upon you."

He was specifically speaking to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judea, the one who was there to rebuild the temple. Zerubbabel was looking at this big mountain of rubble; the entire city was filled with trash, and all had been broken down. He was just scratching his head, going, "I don't know how I can possibly deal with this." God reassured him, saying, "It's not by your might, it's not by your power, but it's by my Spirit."

God was speaking specifically to His people then, but He is speaking to you and me here tonight as well. Our lives were broken down like Jerusalem. He restores, deals with our enemies, and clothes us in righteousness. He is the one who comes and pours out His Spirit upon us. In Acts chapter 1, He said to His disciples just before He ascended into heaven, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth."

Not long after that, the apostles were sitting in the upper room with all the disciples when the Holy Spirit came upon them and baptized them. Now, God speaks this very same word to you and me that He spoke to Zerubbabel all those years ago: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord."

When we look at our own lives, or at the nation in front of us, or the world and all the chaos and decay around us, we may feel there is no possible way we can fix this or do anything about it. Have you ever felt like that? But God says, "It's not by your might."

The word "might" in the Hebrew language speaks of our collective strength. Everything that you and I could do when we come together, arm to arm, pressing forward in battle—listen, that's not going to win anything, is it? It's not by our collective might.

Then He says, "Not by your power." The word "power" in the original language speaks of individual strength. You may think, "Well, we might not be able to do it collectively as a group, but I can maybe get it done on my own." No, there is no way that you can get it done on your own. It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.

Who are you, O great mountain? God speaks to the mountain of all the rubble.

There in the city of Jerusalem, He says, "Who are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, 'Grace, grace unto it.'" Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it, and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you."

God says, "You are going to accomplish the work that I've set before you because it's not by your might or your power; it's by my Spirit." The first vision he saw was Jerusalem laid in waste, but it is going to be restored. Then he sees the enemies of the Lord destroyed, God preparing to build the temple, and the cleansing of the priest, Joshua the high priest. Now he sees this golden lampstand and the olive tree giving oil to it.

The next thing he sees in chapter 5 is quite interesting. Then I turned, lifted up my eyes, and looked, and behold, a flying roll. This isn't speaking of a great big cinnamon roll or anything like that; it's a flying scroll that he sees. A scroll was what they would write upon during those days. He said unto me, "What do you see?" I answered and said, "I see a flying scroll. The length thereof is 20 cubits, and the breadth thereof is 10 cubits." So it's about 30 feet by 15 feet, this great big scroll flying through the air. It's all opened up, and it has writing on both sides of it.

On one side were written these curses that go forth towards those that steal, and on the other side were written the curses that go forth towards those that swear. This scroll going forth represents the law of the Lord and the curses that will come upon those who cause unrighteousness and wickedness. God speaks a curse to them through this vision.

In the next vision, down in verses 5 through 11, he sees a very interesting thing: a basket called an ephah, which was a basket they would use to measure grain. Inside this great basket is a woman, and over the top of it is a lead disc. You might wonder what this is all about. The lead disc was something they would use in measuring when you would take a scale to measure out the grain and figure out how much it was. The basket, an ephah, was also used to measure wheat or barley.

He is speaking to their merchandise and their commerce. However, this woman is a picture of wickedness; she represents idolatry. The Lord says, "Here’s all your merchandise; here’s your commerce."

And here's all your idolatry. The Lord takes their idolatry and puts it into this basket, covers it over with a lead weight, and sends it to the land of Shinar. What is Shinar? Well, it's Babylon. Basically, what God is saying through this passage in chapter 5, in the first several verses, is that He is speaking to the way they stole things and the way they swore on things. God says He is judging that through His law, which He gave to them, this great big scroll, 15 feet by 30 feet.

After that, He says, "I'm taking all of your merchants, I'm taking all of your commerce and all of your idolatry, and I'm packing it up and shipping it off to Babylon to deal with it, to take care of it." God is essentially speaking about how He has judged their sin in chapter 5 through these other two visions. The first vision had to do with the children of Israel being restored. The second vision had to do with their enemies being destroyed. The third vision focused on God preparing the city of Jerusalem for a great temple, with Him dwelling in the midst of it and being their protection. The fourth vision concerned the cleansing of the high priest, Joshua. The next vision dealt with the pouring out of the Holy Spirit through Zerubbabel.

However, the last two visions that we've read about in chapter 5 deal with God's judgment upon sin through His law, the first one, and also the way He will deal with idolatry and materialism, how He shipped it off to Babylon. In chapter 6, we encounter yet another vision, the last vision spoken to Zechariah. It bears a lot of resemblance to chapter 6 of Revelation. In chapter 6 of Zechariah, he says, "I turned and I lifted up my eyes and I looked, and behold, there came four chariots out from between the two mountains, the mountains that were the mountains of brass."

Now, brass in Scripture is the metal that indicates judgment. That's right. Here, God is sending forth judgment and punishment from Jerusalem. The two mountains are very likely Mount Zion and, east of Mount Zion, is what? Jesus ascended into heaven from it—the Mount of Olives. So, you have the Mount of Olives and Mount Zion, and in the middle is the Kidron Valley. God is sending out from these mountains of brass, and He is going to send out these four chariots. We read about them in verse 2. The first chariot had red horses, the second chariot had black horses, the third chariot had white horses, and the fourth chariot...

Had pale or gristled horses. Where have you seen this before? The four horsemen of the apocalypse. Revelation chapter 6 starts talking about them in verse 2. Now we're seeing the very same wording that is used by John in the book of Revelation as God sends forth from Jerusalem judgment into all the world, and He is going to judge the earth. This very last vision that He has has to do with judgment and punishment going out into the whole world.

God is showing us the whole picture of what He is going to do from the time of Zechariah until now and even beyond. First, He restores the children of Israel in the land of Israel. Then He deals with their enemies. We are still in that time period where God is dealing with their enemies. It is going to come to an end at that great Armageddon period of time. He is also going to reestablish a temple at the end of days. Revelation chapter 21 speaks of it, and God is going to dwell in the midst of His people. There will be no need for a temple or a tabernacle because God will be there. He will protect them, and then He cleanses all.

There is going to come a time just before we enter into what is called the Millennial Kingdom where He will cleanse all, and then we see that great picture of the Holy Spirit that has been poured out. God's judgment upon sin is going to come, His judgment upon Babylon, which is going to come as we see in the end of Revelation. We see that in Revelation chapter 19 and then that judgment upon the whole world. These are basically what all these visions are speaking about as you go through the first six chapters of the book of Zechariah.

I know it's a lot to take in. I encourage you to study it a little bit on your own. Read through these things slowly, prayerfully, and carefully, and pick them apart with the Word of God. There are a lot of other great commentaries that you can go through about this.

At the end of chapter 6, there is a very interesting thing where Joshua, the high priest, is crowned. If you know anything about the Old Testament and God's law, there were three positions in the nation that were never to be held by one person: the prophet, the priest, and the king. No one person could hold any of these offices simultaneously because that is only Jesus Christ who is able to hold these offices as prophet, priest, and king. When we read the end of the book of Revelation, we see that He comes as prophet, priest, and king. That is who Jesus is. But here we see Joshua crowned.

He's the high priest, and he's crowned. Your little buzzers should start to go off. Wait a minute, this doesn't seem to make any sense. But as you read through this, God is speaking about something that is yet to come. He uses this as an example.

In verse 12 of chapter 6, it says, "And speak unto him saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying, Behold, the man whose name is what? The branch. And he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory. He shall sit upon, sit and rule upon his throne. He shall be a priest upon his throne." That stands out as, wait a minute, priests aren't supposed to be on thrones. But he's speaking about who? Who's the branch? Jesus. We read about him in the book of Isaiah as well. He's the branch out of Jesse, the root of Jesse.

So here comes this branch that will be the priest upon the throne, and the council of peace shall be between them both. God says that they're to put a crown upon Joshua, but this is just looking forward to Jesus when he will one day come and rule in righteousness at the end.

In chapter 7, we read about a question regarding fasting among the children of Israel. They came and asked, "Should we fast this month and this month?" God responds with a question in verses 4 through 8, saying, "Well, you weren't fasting unto me in the days of old; you just fasted for yourselves." He rebukes their hypocrisy in chapter 7, verses 4 through 7, and then calls them to repent of their disobedience in chapter 7, verses 8 through 14.

After they have repented, we read of this great, glorious time of the restoration of Israel in chapter 8. It's a very powerful passage as you finish out the book of Zechariah because you see some very interesting things. He first comes at the first coming, meek and lowly, riding upon a donkey. The scriptures reveal this in Zechariah chapters 8 and 9.

So Jesus, at his first coming, comes riding upon the donkey but is rejected by his people. We read this very interesting passage in Zechariah chapter 11, where he is rejected for 30 pieces of silver. Judas was the one who came and took counsel among the people and said to them, "What will you give me if I bring him unto you?"

Verse 12 states, "I said unto them, if you think good, give me a price; and if not, forbear." So they weighed out for my price thirty pieces of silver. The Lord said unto me, "Cast it unto the potter at a goodly price that I was prized at them." I took the thirty pieces of silver and cast them unto the potter in the house of the Lord.

When you read the Gospels, as we will in just a few weeks, you will see how this is fulfilled in Judas. Jesus, at His first coming, is not received by the people. He comes meek and lowly, riding upon a donkey, but He is rejected. Even one who was close to Him, a close friend, turns Him over to the chief priests for thirty pieces of silver.

It is very interesting that Exodus chapter 21 tells us that thirty pieces of silver was the price used to be paid to someone for a dead slave. If you had a slave and I had a bull, and my bull gored your slave and killed your slave, I would have to pay you thirty pieces of silver. So, how much did Judas prize Jesus at? Just the price of a dead slave.

Here is the prophecy in Zechariah chapter 11 regarding the time when Jesus would come at His first coming and be rejected by His people. Zechariah chapter 12 goes on to speak about the burden of the Lord. We see two burdens spoken of in chapters 9 through 14, but the second burden comes in chapter 12 when Israel will be delivered one day.

There is coming a time, after they have rejected the Messiah—which happened 2,000 years ago—when they will receive their Messiah. Zechariah tells us they will look upon Him whom they have pierced and will ask Him, "Where did you receive these wounds in your hands?" He will say to them, "I received them in the house of my friends."

Today, the children of Israel, in large part, the Jews, have rejected Jesus as their Messiah, even though He is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one of God. They want nothing to do with Him. However, the book of Revelation shows that there is coming a day when 144,000 of the men of Israel will look on Him, as Zechariah 12 says, whom they have pierced. They will ask Him, "Where did you get these wounds?" He will respond, "I got them from you in the house of my friends." Talk about being cut to the heart!

There is coming this great day when He will deliver the children of Israel yet once again. Zechariah chapter 14 speaks of that great day when the Messiah will return.

Will rule and reign once again. Behold, the day of the Lord comes, and the spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against the nations as when He fought in the day of battle. His feet shall stand in that day. The words "in that day" are used over and over again in some of the prophetic passages that look forward to the great and terrible day of the Lord. His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives. This is when Jesus returns, His second coming. His feet are going to touch down on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east side.

The Mount of Olives shall cleave; it shall be broken in half in the midst of it, therefore toward the east and toward the west. A great crack is going to go through it from east to west, and the mountain is going to be broken in two. Half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south. This is going to be an awesome day, and we will be returning with the Lord when this happens. He will stand upon the Mount of Olives, and the Mount of Olives will be broken in half; part of it will go to the north and part of it will go to the south.

It's very interesting because geologists tell us that one of the biggest faults runs right in the middle of the Mount of Olives. Someday, that thing is going to split in two when Jesus comes and touches down. You shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Ezel. You shall flee like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Him, just as Jude speaks of, just as we saw in the book of Joel.

This day is yet to come, and it shall come to pass that in that day the light shall not be clear nor dark, but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night. It shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. In that day, living water shall go forth from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea. In the summer and in the winter shall it be, and the Lord shall be king over the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord.

We're looking forward to that day. The book of Zechariah gives us the whole scope of what was going to come to pass. He says, "Remember what happened with your fathers of old."

They rebelled against me; they departed from me. So, you turn to me, and I will return to you. We want to make sure that we do turn to the Lord because it's the only place where we shall find refuge in that day. If we have turned to the Lord by faith, the Scriptures make it very clear that we will return with Him when He comes.

Zechariah, although he has all kinds of very interesting pictures and visions, speaks of an overview of history in advance. That is what prophecy is; it shows us what is going to come to pass before it comes to pass. God proves Himself to be God by doing this, because what other God is there that can tell you the end from the beginning? Amen.

Next week, we will finish the Old Testament. Actually, not next week, because we are not going to be here, but the following week, we will finish the Old Testament with the book of Malachi. So, make sure you are here. If you look at your Bibles, we have gone pretty far through the Scriptures, and then we will get into the New Testament.

Let's stand and pray. Lord, I know that we have run through this book tonight and covered it so quickly. I pray that you would take these things that we have looked into and considered, and cause us to dig deep into your Word. Lord, I ask that you would plant in the hearts of every one of my brothers and sisters here a desire to search your Word, to be Bereans, to see if these things be so, and to rightly divide your Word of truth.

Lord, that we would be workmen and workwomen not ashamed, because we have done that work of sitting at your feet, studying your Word. God, your Word says that those who are asleep and those who have grown lukewarm, when you come, will be taken like a thief in the night. But, Lord, we are not of those who have fallen asleep. Help us to be watchful, to know what is going on around us, to be circumspect, as the book of Ephesians says, understanding what your will is and that the times are short.

So, God, I pray that you would give us a hunger and a thirst for your Word and for righteousness, and help us to dig deep and understand these things. Just as you told the prophet Daniel when you said to seal up the book of the vision, because in the last days knowledge would increase and we would understand these things. Well, Lord, we are living in the last days, and I thank you that you, by your Spirit, have given us understanding. Help us, Lord, to walk in righteousness.

We thank You that You've clothed us with the robe of righteousness. We don't stand because of how good we are or how great we've been in walking in Your Word, Lord, but we stand because You've given us the power and the strength to do so. Tonight, You have rebuked the enemy on our behalf, and we thank You for that. We praise You in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless You. Thank You.