PITP #09

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berkiah, the son of Edo. The prophet sang, "The Lord has been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings. But they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?"

Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would speak to us now as we look into this passage of Scripture. I pray that you would, Lord, give us that excited expectation of your soon return. As we continue to study your word and look into these prophetic passages, I pray that you would use them, just as Paul told the church at Thessalonica, to be a comfort. Lord, comfort one another with these words.

As we see the day soon approaching when you return, even though the things leading up to your return are dark and dire, I pray that you would remind us who know you, us who are called by your name, that we will soon be with you. Your word says that we will ever be with you. Jesus, you told your disciples there in the Gospel of John to not be troubled, that we believe in God, that we're to believe also in you, and that in your Father's house are many mansions. Were it not so, you would not have told us that you go to prepare a place for us.

Lord, I thank you that you have prepared a place for us and that we will one day be with you. But until you come, I pray for this church, for this body, that we would be a bright, shining light in a dark place. That we would be, as you described in the Sermon on the Mount, the salt of the earth. There is no doubt in my mind that the days in which we are living are evil, and it's as if the earth has lost its savor. Lord, help us to be the salt of the earth, I pray. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Zechariah chapter 1. This week, Gallup, that great polling agency, came out with a report indicating that 80% of those polled are dissatisfied with the state of our nation. Additionally, 79% believe that things are getting worse, not better. Furthermore, 52% say they are struggling in this life right now here in America.

I don't think that we should live our lives according to daily tracking polls, although some seek to do so. Their opinions rise or fall based on who likes them and who doesn't. I believe we should not try to live our lives in such a way. However, it is interesting to consider the pulse of our nation right now. As we look around and see the things that are going on, we all see the news, hear the reports on the radio, or read them on the internet. Things can seem so dark and despairing as we observe the current state of our nation.

Again, it's not for us to rise and fall based on public opinion. Personally, reading through Gallup's polls today didn't make me feel any worse as I considered what's happening in our nation. Yet, many people, especially those who do not have the hope that we have, are very concerned by what they see.

I don't really care what Gallup has to say or Rasmussen, Zogby, or USA Today, but I wonder what would happen if these polling agencies were to ask God if He is pleased or displeased with the state of our nation. What would His answer be? In Zechariah chapter 1, we read a prophecy that is 2,529 years old. In verse 2 of Zechariah chapter 1, we read, "The Lord has been sore displeased with your fathers."

If the polling agencies were to ask God if He is pleased or displeased with the state of America, what would be His answer? Based on what we have looked at over the last several weeks and what the Scriptures have to say, as well as the things happening in our nation, I think we could probably say that the Lord is not exactly thrilled with how things are going here in America. This is not solely because the Dow is at a seven-year low.

Not because housing prices have plummeted. Not because many people have lost their 401(k)s. It has nothing to do with those physical, external things, but the spiritual condition in our nation, I believe, reveals that God's heart would be grieved and is grieved as He looks at what's going on.

Now, I've mentioned a number of times as we've been studying through the prophets that every physical thing that happens here on earth is a manifestation of a spiritual condition or a spiritual thing happening behind the scenes. We have looked at Deuteronomy chapter 28 and Leviticus chapter 26, which speak of the blessings of obedience and the curses of rebellion. As we look at the things that are happening in our nation, I believe that we see some of those curses coming to pass. This is not specifically because God is up in heaven pushing the smite button, trying to destroy us, but because God is up in heaven unable to bless us because of our sin.

Because of the sin of not just our nation, but those throughout the world, the Lord, I believe, removes His hand of protection, as we see throughout the Scriptures. When He does, the enemy is able to come in like a flood. Zechariah, as inspired of the Lord, says God is sorely displeased, or He was sorely displeased with your fathers, speaking in context to the children of Israel.

It's important to remember what was going on in the nation of Israel at this time. Maybe as you were turning to the book of Zechariah tonight, you noticed the books that were before and after it. The book just before Zechariah is Haggai, and the book immediately after Zechariah is Malachi. Malachi is the last of the prophets in the Old Testament. Not the last Old Testament prophet, for Jesus tells us that that position was filled by John the Baptist. But the last of the Old Testament prophets was Malachi.

Zechariah was written after the children of Israel, the nation of Judah, had been exiled in Babylon for 70 years. Maybe you remember the story. It was there, after they had a civil war and the nation had been divided, that they continued to walk away from the Lord. The northern ten tribes were destroyed about 2,800 years ago by the Assyrians, and then shortly thereafter, about 100 years later...

We see that the Babylonians came in and destroyed the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, taking them captive into Babylon. You can read about it most specifically in the prophets Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. They talk about what was going on in the nation at that time.

When we come to Zechariah, that seventy-year captivity in Babylon is over. A new king came to power there after the Persian Empire had come in and destroyed the Babylonians. This man, Darius or Xerxes, gave the children of Israel the opportunity to go back to the land of Israel. He freed them from their captivity and from their bondage, just as God had foretold a couple of hundred years before Cyrus or Darius was even born. The Lord moved in such a miraculous way. The children of Israel were allowed to return to the promised land.

We see the stories of that in Ezra and Nehemiah, where they come back into the land and try to build the city, the temple, and the walls. However, they quickly became discouraged in the work. God had to send some prophets to speak to them, to challenge them, and to wake them up. Most specifically, Haggai and Zechariah were sent. Zechariah comes and speaks to the people in Zechariah chapter 1, saying, "Listen, God was sore displeased with your fathers." The phrase "sore displeased," if you look it up in the original language, indicates that God was angry to the point of wrath—angry enough to pour out His wrath upon them. Although He did not fully pour out His wrath, as God promised the prophet Isaiah that He would not fully consume the people but would allow a remnant to return, God was indeed angry because of the idolatry, adultery, and wickedness of His own people.

As we have seen in our study of the prophets over the last nine weeks, God is not a respecter of persons, even concerning His own people, the children of Israel. They were not beyond His chastening or punishment. He punished them, but now a remnant has returned. They have come back to the promised land. However, after a number of years of working on the temple and the wall, the people have begun to grow lazy in their walks with God. Their religion has become merely a religious exercise. Once again, the very thing that caused the children of Israel to go into captivity in Babylon is resurfacing. After being back in the promised land for several years, they are returning to their religious works and departing from the Lord.

And so God sends a prophet to shake them up and to speak to them. He says, "I was sore displeased with your fathers." Therefore, after giving them this word, he gives them an exhortation. He says, "Therefore, say unto them, thus saith the Lord of hosts." That term, the Lord of hosts, is used 46 times in the 14 chapters of the book of Zechariah. The Lord of hosts. It's important for us to think about what that means.

When the children of Israel first came into the promised land, you remember that back in the book of Joshua, the first city they encountered was Jericho. Joshua walked around the city, spying it out. Obviously, he was probably concerned and worried about what they were going to do because Jericho was a great stronghold in the promised land. The children of Israel were not battle-hardened soldiers, and they didn't have the instruments of war.

As the commander and leader of the army, Joshua was surveying the city of Jericho and probably feeling a little anxious. When he came upon a man there in the plain near Jericho, dressed in full battle array, standing in armor with a sword drawn in his hand, he asked the man, "Are you for us or for our adversaries? Are you with us or against us?" I think that Joshua was hoping this man would say, "I'm with you. I'm on your side. I'll help you," because he looked like a soldier.

However, the man standing there said, "No. I'm not with you or against you." He simply stated, "No. But as the commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come." Here we are introduced to the Lord of hosts, the commander of the army of God, who I believe is Jesus Christ.

Joshua had the right response. When he saw this man standing near the city of Jericho, he fell on his face and began to worship this commander of the army of the Lord. The commander of the army of the Lord said, "Take the shoes from your feet, buddy. The place on which you're standing is holy ground." Joshua took his shoes from his feet and worshipped because he knew the one he was in the presence of was holy and awesome in power—the commander of the army of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, or in some translations, the Lord of armies.

God's armies are awesome. Jesus tells us a little bit about that army while he is in the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples. You may remember that one of his disciples, Peter, pulls the sword from his side and gets ready to start a battle. Jesus tells Peter to put that sword away. He says, "Do you not realize that I could at this moment call twelve legions of angels?" Now, that's an awful lot of angels.

The commander of the army of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies, is our God. Here, he says to his people, "I was very displeased with your parents, your fathers." If the commander of the army of the Lord came to you and said, "I was displeased with your parents," you would probably take a big gulp as he said it. The Lord speaks through the prophet Zechariah to the people, saying, "Listen, I am the Lord of hosts, and I was sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore, turn unto me, saith the Lord of hosts."

Again, a second time, he gives the title, the Lord of hosts. He says, "I was displeased with your fathers, and so I judged them. You, turn unto me, and I will turn unto you." This reminds me of a passage that we read in the New Testament book of James. If you turn to James chapter 4 momentarily, we read in verse 6 about grace. He, speaking of God, gives more grace. How many of you are thankful that God gives more grace? He gives more grace; wherefore, he says, "God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble."

Back in Zechariah chapter 1, we read that the Lord was sore displeased with the fathers of the nation of Israel. They became the enemies of God. How did they become the enemies of God? James also talks about this in James chapter 4, just a couple of verses before. In James 4, verse 4, he writes, "You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whosoever, therefore, will make himself a friend of the world will be an enemy of God."

Do you think that the scripture says in vain, "The spirit that dwells in you is zealous to envy, but he gives more grace"? Wherefore, he says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves, therefore, to God and resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Just as we read back in Zechariah chapter 1, God says to his people, "Turn to me, and I will turn to you."

This contrasts with the fathers of the nation of Israel, who rebelled against the Lord and were stiff-necked and stubborn. They made themselves enemies of God, and so they ultimately were judged by God, the Lord of hosts, the commander of the army of the Lord, when He came with judgment.

In James chapter 4, we are told that God resists the proud, and then we are instructed in verse 7 to resist the devil. God resists the proud, and therefore, we as His people ought to also resist the enemy. If we resist the enemy, he will flee from us, but if we draw near to God, He will draw near to us.

James then says, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn, weep; let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up."

I believe that these words in James chapter 4 were the very same sort of words that God was speaking to His people 2,529 years ago when Zechariah the prophet spoke to them. They were on a slippery slope, going in the same direction that their fathers had gone. They had not learned the lesson of history and were on their way to being in a place of judgment, just as their fathers had been.

But God graciously comes and speaks to them through the prophet Zechariah, saying, "Turn to me, and I will turn to you. Do not be like your fathers. Don't be like your fathers who were stiff-necked and stubborn, rebellious, and displeased God with the way they lived." Unto whom the former prophets cried, God speaks about the message that was given through the former prophets.

The former prophets cried, saying, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, turn ye now from your evil ways." You see, that's the message that God has been giving to fallen man since man fell: turn to the Lord. If you study through every single one of the Old Testament prophetic books, you will find this consistent call to repentance.

You find that this is the reoccurring message that God gives: turn to the Lord. Depart from wickedness. Turn away from all of your stubbornness. Turn to God, and He will turn to you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

This message is not just found in the Old Testament; we read the very same thing in the New Testament. John the Baptist came preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus said the very same thing, as we just saw in James chapter 4. Paul also reiterated such things and called the people to turn to God. He urged them to turn from their evil ways and their evil doings, but they did not hear or hearken unto Him, saith the Lord.

The people before this time, the fathers of the nation of Israel, hardened their hearts, stiffened their necks, and stopped their ears. They would not listen to the call that God was giving them. As a result, they found themselves abiding under His judgment. However, everyone who would turn to Him would find the grace of God.

You see, the God of the Old Testament is not different from the God of the New Testament. God in the Old Testament is a loving, gracious, and merciful God who desires that man would turn to Him. He awaits the time when man would turn, with open arms. We see the same thing in the New Testament; God is constantly calling out to man. The sad fact is that man continues, so often in rebellion, stiffening his neck, hardening his heart, and walking away from the Lord.

In verse 5, He asks, "Where are your fathers? What happened to your fathers?" Remember what happened to those who hardened their hearts; they died under the wrath and judgment of God. And do the prophets live forever? It is interesting because here we sit, 2,500 years later, still reading the word that God gave through the prophets all those years ago.

You may wonder why we are looking at this passage in Zechariah. We get the answer as we delve into verses 6 and 7. God says, "But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my 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, He has dealt with us."

Then, in verse 7, upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Shabbat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah.

The son of Berkiah, the son of Edo, the prophet, said, "I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse. He stood among the myrtle trees, and there were in the bottom, or in the valley behind him, red horses, speckled and white." Then I said, "O my Lord, what are these?" The angel that talked with me said unto me, "I will show you what these be." The man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, "These are they whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro through the earth." They answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees and said, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sits still and is at rest."

As we sit here tonight on February 18th, 2009, we read this portion of Scripture in Zechariah 1, verse 7, which says, "On the 24th day of the eleventh month, in the month of Shabbat." This is interesting because if you know the Jewish calendar, you'll realize that this is the very day. We are exactly 2,529 years from this prophecy that Zechariah received from the Lord. This is the 24th day of the month of Shabbat in the land of Israel, which follows a different calendar than we do.

We find ourselves here exactly on the anniversary of the day when God gave this vision to Zechariah as he looked at his nation, which was coming out of a time of revival. They had experienced an awakening as they were allowed to return to the land. They came with great excitement and jubilation, eager to rebuild the city, clear away the rubbish, and restore the temple once again. However, their hearts had become discouraged, and they were somewhat in despair. Instead of building God's house, they focused on building their own houses.

We read about this in the book of Haggai, where it is noted that they allowed God's house to lie in ruin while they built their paneled homes. The mention of paneled homes suggests not just one house, but that they had vacation homes as well. They were focused on themselves and backsliding from the Lord. In response, God sent someone to wake them up—Haggai and Zechariah—who said, "Listen, don't go the path that your fathers did, because it ended in ruin." But then, on the 24th day of the 11th month...

The month of Shabbat, this very day that we are here tonight, marks 2,529 years since God gave Zechariah a vision. This vision is quite interesting, and sometimes when you read through some of the prophetic passages, you might scratch your head and wonder what in the world he saw. Perhaps you've read Ezekiel, particularly in Ezekiel chapter 1, where he describes wheels within wheels and various creatures and beasts, leaving you to ponder what he actually witnessed.

In Zechariah's vision, he saw a man riding on a red horse. The red horse is intriguing because we also read about another red horse in the Book of Revelation, specifically in Revelation chapter 6, verse 4. In my own study, I don't personally believe that these are the exact same individuals riding on these red horses. However, in Revelation chapter 6, what does the red horse bring with him when he comes? Does anybody remember?

Many people would say war, but in reality, it states that he removes peace from the earth. When peace is removed, humanity tends to go its own way, which ultimately leads to war. Thus, in Revelation chapter 6, verse 4, we read about this red horse and the rider who removes peace from the earth.

Now, we encounter this red horse and the rider again in Zechariah chapter 1. Zechariah sees this man sitting on a red horse, but he is not alone. Behind him in the valley were also red horses, as well as speckled and white horses. In the midst of these horses and horsemen was the angel of the Lord. Zechariah spoke to him and asked, "Oh my Lord, what are these?" The angel that spoke with him replied, "These are they which go throughout the whole earth. They go to and fro through the earth on a watch of some sort."

The Bible reveals that Satan also goes to and fro throughout the whole earth. We read about that in the Book of Job, and Peter also mentions that he roams the earth like a lion, looking for whom he may devour. However, God also has angelic beings that traverse the whole earth, keeping watch. Here, the Lord...

Has these angelic beings on these horses. They come back to Him and they say, "We have walked to and fro through the earth, and the earth is still. It's at peace. It's at rest."

Then the angel of the Lord, in verse 12, answered and said, "Oh Lord of hosts, how long will Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these seventy years?" The Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. Prophetic words are always a comfort for the church. So He spoke good and comfortable words.

The angel that communed with me, in verse 14, said unto me, "Cry thou, saying, 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."

You see, back in verse 2, we read that God had been sore displeased with His people, the children of Israel. He had judged His people by sending them into Babylon, into captivity for seventy years. As we've talked about before, judgment always begins where? At the house of the Lord. It begins with God's own people who have drifted, fallen away, and backslidden, becoming stubborn.

So God first judged His own people, but now, here at this time, 2,529 years ago, God says to Zechariah, "I am sore displeased now with the nations that are at ease." The nations that have become lax and lazy, the nations that believe they're at peace. For I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.

You see, God had been a little displeased with them, but then they harshly treated the children of Israel. They came and devastated them and destroyed them. Now God says, "I am sore displeased, displeased to the point of wrath."

Therefore, thus saith the Lord, "I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies, and my house shall be built in it," saith the Lord of hosts, "and a line shall stretch forth upon Jerusalem."

At this time, when Zechariah was the prophet in Jerusalem, the temple had not been rebuilt. The children of Israel were back in the land, but the temple lay in ruin. As a result of that, the people thought that God was angry.

At them, that it was God's fault that the temple lay in ruin. But God says, "No, I am sore displeased, or I am angry with the heathen or the nations round about you to the point of wrath. But I’m going to bring mercy upon the land of Jerusalem, and the temple, my house, shall be built once again."

Then He says again in verse 17, "Cry yet, saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts, my cities through prosperity shall yet spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem."

I lifted up my eyes and saw, behold, four horns. I said unto the angel that talked with me, "What be these?" He answered, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." The Lord showed me four carpenters. 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 are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it."

It's an interesting thing as you read through the Scriptures because you find that God often does things more than once. Repeatedly, the Lord speaks the same word to His people, and repeatedly, the Lord is teaching them the same sort of lessons. They were expelled from their land in 586 BC by the Babylonians because of their wickedness. King Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem in August of 586 BC. It was because the people of Judah had been wicked, and the Lord cast them out of the land just as He told them He would do in Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26.

But then, in His grace and in His mercy, after 70 years in the wilderness, after 70 years there in Babylon, He brought them back. The Lord gave them grace and mercy to rebuild the temple and rebuild the city once again. However, as you read through the histories of the Jews, you find that they started to become stubborn again and turn away from the Lord. Their lives became oriented around just religious works until, again in 70 AD, when Titus, the general of Rome, came with legions from Rome.

On the exact same day in history, the ninth of the month of Av in Jewish history, God destroyed the temple once again in the year 70 AD. Over the course...

Of the next 60 years, the children of Israel were expelled from their land. Ultimately, in about 120 AD, they were forced out of the land of Israel, and the land was destroyed by the Romans. It was repopulated by the Romans until May 14th, 1948. Once again, they took the land, returning with great joy. The land that had been devastated and destroyed has been turned into a beautiful paradise in many areas. It has been replanted and has become one of the most fruitful nations in that region. In fact, it is the most fruitful nation in farming and produce.

Then, again in June of 1967, many of you know the story. They recaptured and took Jerusalem. There are people in the land of Israel once again praying for and hoping for a rebuilt temple. There will be a third temple built, just as we see here, and it will be because the Lord has allowed them to do it by His grace and by His mercy.

But notice what God says: He is sorely displeased with the nations that are at ease. Not just the nations that are at ease, but also the nations that came and divided Jerusalem. We read about those dividing powers in verse 18 when Zechariah sees a vision of these four horns, which represent animal horns. In the scriptures, animal horns often speak of the strength of the animal; the strength of the ox is found in the horn. Zechariah sees these strong nations illustrated with these four horns.

There is a lot of question among Bible teachers and commentators about who these four horns, or nations, are. Some believe that they were the same four nations that the prophet Daniel described after he saw the vision of Nebuchadnezzar. Remember, Nebuchadnezzar had this dream in which he saw a great statue with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a body of brass, and then legs of iron. Nebuchadnezzar did not understand what the image or the dream was all about, so Daniel was brought in to give the interpretation. He said, "The head of gold is you, O King Nebuchadnezzar; it is the Babylonian Empire. The chest and the arms of silver are the Medo-Persian Empire, those two allied nations. The body or stomach of brass is the Greek Empire, and the legs of iron are the Roman Empire." Some believe...

The four horns, representing the four nations that divided the people of Israel, are the same four mentioned in the Book of Daniel. Three of them have already been completely destroyed. However, the Bible declares in the Book of Revelation and in other places that the Roman Empire, in some form, will be rekindled once again in the last days. Ultimately, the Lord Himself will destroy it.

God states that these four horns are the nations that devastated and divided the land of Judah. He will send four carpenters, or workmen, as we read in verse 21, who will come and bring terror upon those four nations. We have seen this theme throughout our study in the prophets, especially in the Book of Joel. In Joel chapter 3, we are told that those who seek to divide the land of Israel will be judged by God.

Here we are once again, just as Zechariah was 2,529 years ago. The people of Israel are back in the land after captivity, just as they are today. During that time, the people of Israel were crying out to God, seeking grace and mercy to rebuild the temple. Now, 2,500 years later, they are doing the same once again. God promises that He will give them grace and mercy to rebuild the temple, but He will also bring judgment upon the heathen nations that have divided the land of Israel.

As we examine these passages of Scripture, we need to take note and recognize that God, just as He spoke to the children of Israel and the nations 2,500 years ago, is speaking to us tonight. Many throughout the world, especially the wealthiest and most powerful nations, are seeking to divide the land of Israel and are calling for a new division of that land.

Today, on February 18th, there is anticipation regarding who will be the prime minister of Israel following the elections held last week. It is very likely that Benjamin Netanyahu will be the prime minister, although there is still some uncertainty about whether or not he will take that position. Even Bibi, as he is commonly called, remains a focal point in this discussion.

There has been talk about a two-state solution, even though back in 1996 and through 1999, when he was Prime Minister, he said he would never allow a two-state solution. Now, he is warming up to the idea as the United Nations is calling for a two-state solution in the dividing of the land of Israel for the Palestinians and for the Jews. Not just the United Nations, but the European Union and our own leaders here in Washington, D.C., are looking for a two-state solution. They want to divide the land, and God has clearly said He will judge those nations that are at ease and divide the land.

We wonder why we are going through the difficulties that we are experiencing in this nation today. Why is it that so many people are dissatisfied with the state of the nation? So many multitudes of people in our nation are worried that things are getting worse and not better. I would have to agree with that; I think that things are going to get worse. They are going to become more and more difficult.

But church, let not your heart be troubled. When we read the prophetic passages of Scripture, we gain insight into what God is doing. We also see that He has an ultimate plan. He has a game plan, He is sticking to it, and He knows exactly what He is doing. He is on the throne. As we are here in this room tonight, God is on the throne.

Forty-six times, God reveals Himself in the book of Zechariah as the Lord of hosts, the Lord of the armies. One day, it is revealed that you and I, along with the body of Christ, will return with Him as a part of that army. We look forward to that day. Paul told the church at Thessalonica to comfort one another with these words. We are not to be troubled when we see these things.

Now, I don't think that we should be excited about the coming judgment that will befall all those who have rejected and been headstrong and hardened of heart towards the Lord. The Bible reveals very clearly in the book of Revelation the judgment and the wrath that will be poured out upon those who have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. We shouldn't look forward to that judgment with anticipation and expectation, but we should look forward to the coming of our Lord and the return of Christ. He promised that He would come again, and I find it interesting.

The verses we see here in Zechariah and the way that the Lord worked 2,500 years ago is exactly the same way that the Lord is working today. As I have studied through and read the major and minor prophets over the last several years and really considered these passages, one of the things I have seen is that there are repetitions. Some might call them coincidences, but I don't believe in coincidence. The Lord works in a like manner over and over again. Why? Because His message is the same, and He keeps calling out to us to come.

In Matthew chapter 11, He says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I will give you real peace. You see, this world is looking for peace, but they are never going to find peace in the halls of Washington, Bonn, New York City, or anywhere that the world has power. They will never find peace from the Oslo Accords or the division of the land. It will not come. There is only one place that peace is found, and it comes from the Prince of Peace. If you know Christ tonight, then you've experienced that peace.

Sometimes we find ourselves losing peace, don't we? We find ourselves losing sleep. But Paul gives us a good exhortation in Philippians chapter 4, where he says, "Be anxious for nothing." How many of you have found that real simple to fulfill? Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You see, you and I in the body of Christ have the opportunity to experience God's peace. If you would flip over to John chapter 16, Jesus says in John chapter 16, verse 32, "Behold, the hour comes, yea, is now come, that you shall be scattered." The hour comes and now is that you shall be scattered.

Just as we saw in the book of Zechariah, the scattering and division come at the hour when you shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. Yet, I am not alone because the Father is with me. This is contextually speaking about Jesus as He addresses His disciples just before they enter the Garden of Gethsemane. All of His disciples would be scattered. He says, "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will scatter." He reassures them that He will not be left alone because His Father is with Him.

Notice that in verse 33, He says, "These things have I spoken unto you, that you might have peace." What did He just tell His disciples? They are going to be scattered, and trials are going to come. They will face difficulty in just a few hours. But in Him, they might have peace. He promises you and me the availability or the opportunity to have peace.

Then, in the very next breath, He states, "In the world, you shall have tribulation." That is certainly not a promise that you and I would write on a little sticky note and stick on our mirror in the bathroom, reciting every single morning, "Oh, I praise the Lord for the promise that in the world I'm going to have much tribulation." But that is what the Lord said: "In the world, you shall have tribulation."

In Christ, we might have peace; it is open and available for us. However, in the world, we shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. You are going to experience difficulty and trying times. Every single one of you in this room tonight has gone through difficult times—trying times. While it may not compare to what those in the persecuted church endure, you have experienced some form of trial, difficulty, and tribulation. We all go through it, and there is a very good possibility that trial and tribulation will become much worse before we leave this world.

Yet, in Christ, we can experience or lay hold of that peace. I believe it is an exhortation for you and me to be a praying people.

As Paul told the church at Philippi, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer. We are coming into a time in history that the Bible speaks more of than any other time: the last days, the end of days before Christ returns. Being those people who are looking forward to that coming time, we need to take comfort in the Scriptures and call out to God. We come before Him and ask that the peace of God would guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus, that He would strengthen us.

You may say, "Well, I don't think I could stand. I don't think I could face that kind of difficulty or persecution." But Paul also said in Philippians chapter 4, "We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength." You see, it is God who gives us the strength in the midst of trial. He has also given us a great promise: the trial, the day of trial, will go away; it will end. He says, "Let not your heart be troubled." Even though you go through difficulty, even though you face trials and tribulation, let not your heart be troubled. Why? Because we have a God in heaven who sent His Son for us and has prepared a place for us there.

Even though I believe we are facing the very same things that Zechariah faced in his day, God will judge the nations that are at ease. I believe that America would be classified among the nations that are at ease, nations that are not only at ease but are seeking to divide the land of Israel. I know this is probably not a very politically correct message, and it is so difficult and trying. Eighty percent of the nation is fearful, and fifty-two percent think things are getting worse. Here you are given such a heavy message.

Well, it is the message that the Lord spoke 2,500 years ago by the prophet Zechariah. It is the message that He spoke 2,700 years ago by the prophet Isaiah, by the prophet Jeremiah, by Ezekiel, by Daniel, by Haggai, by Zephaniah, and by Obadiah. He has been working in the same way because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He changes not.

Even though we are 2,500 years later after the prophet Zechariah spoke these things and saw this vision, God still works and He still speaks. Many in the church think that God has become some sort of distant deity who doesn't care anymore. There are a lot of deists in the body of Christ these days, even though they don't realize it. They think that God takes no notice and that He doesn't care, but that's not the case. As God would speak through the prophet Isaiah, I believe in Isaiah chapter 11, He says, "I will never forget you because I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands."

God is alive. Even though Nietzsche said, "God is dead," Nietzsche is dead, and God is alive. He is still on the throne, and He is moving in our day. I believe He desires you and me to call out to Him and turn to Him. I am thankful as I look around this room tonight because I see a group of people that do call out to the Lord, do turn to Him, and do search the Scriptures daily, seeking to follow hard after the Lord.

However, I am sad to say that there are many in the church in America who are asleep. I believe that the Lord has given me, in some way, a message to wake people up, and I hope that we would be those who are awake. Why? Because Paul told the church at Rome in Romans chapter 13 that it is high time for you and me to wake up, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first began.

I was having a conversation a few days ago with someone, and I was discussing some of the things we have been looking at here on Wednesday nights. They asked, "What if the Lord tarries? What if He doesn't return for another hundred or hundred and fifty years, or another two hundred years?" I said, "Well, if He doesn't return for another two hundred years, then we'll just keep doing what we've always done. We'll keep pressing forward and preaching the gospel, because even if He tarries until tomorrow, our salvation will be nearer than it was today."

We are looking forward to the Lord coming. Now, I really don't think that He is going to wait, but if He does, it's because there remains much work to be done. The fact that we are still here on February 18, 2009, is because God is not done.

Not finished. If He were done, He'd blow the trumpet and say, "Come home, church; it's time for dinner." We look forward to that day, but until He does, it means the work's not done. It means that there are still people who need the grace of God. Do you know anybody who needs the grace of God? We all do. The Lord has given us the gospel.

Jesus asked His disciples in John chapter 6, after a great multitude of people left, "Will you leave also?" Peter, inspired of the Father, said, "Where else will we go? Only You have the words of eternal life." When Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave you and me that word—the message of reconciliation, the message of the gospel. He said, "Occupy until I come." We have such an awesome opportunity as the body of Christ, living in what I believe is the last century, to declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Peter, in his first letter, said, "You, church, are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, God's own peculiar people." How many of you fit that description? And why has He called us? Why has He anointed us? Why has He put His Spirit upon us? Peter says that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

How many of you were once in darkness? You should all raise your hands. I hope every one of you raises your hand. We were all once in darkness; we were all once dead in trespasses and in sins. But God, by His grace, has quickened us. By grace, we have been saved, not of works, lest anyone should boast, but because of what He did on our behalf. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might receive His righteousness—not so that we could be a bunch of holy rollers, but so that we could take the Word of God into the world and declare the gospel of truth, the gospel of your salvation.

Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

As we look around, we recognize that what happened 2,500 years ago is happening today. It is not an accident; it is not a coincidence. God is on the move. If anything, it has been my prayer over the last nine weeks that the passages we have been going through in the prophets would shake your heart with a bit of anticipation and expectation that God is alive and doing the work.

What I have seen is that this is exactly what has been happening, not because I am such a dynamic speaker, but because God's Word is alive. His Word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. God desires to do a work right here in Escondido, right in your own backyard. Perhaps your next-door neighbor doesn't know the Lord. It may be time to knock on their door to share the gospel of truth with them. Maybe it is as simple as taking one of the Bibles that are in the back and going to your neighbor's door, saying, "I just wanted to give this to you." You might find out that they are a Christian.

When was the last time you talked to your neighbor? Every one of you has coworkers, family members, friends, and people you go to school with who do not know the Lord and need His tender touch. They need to be made new creations in Christ, just as you have been. The Bible reveals in Romans chapter one that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith upon those who believe. However, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

God's wrath is going to come; He will pour out His wrath on a Christ-rejecting and sinful world. I do not know about you, but there is not a single person in this world that I would want that to happen to. I would not want the wrath of God to be poured out upon Osama bin Laden. I would hope that he would come to faith in Christ, repent, and turn to Him, spending eternity with God in heaven as well. I know that is God's desire.

For every single one of us who watched the planes fly into the towers and heard President Bush say "wanted dead or alive," the fact is that he needs Christ. Every single person needs Him.

That does not know the Lord needs the Lord before He comes, because He is coming with wrath—the same kind of wrath that He poured out on the Babylonians, and they no longer exist. The same kind of wrath that He poured out on the Assyrians, and they are gone. He poured it out on the Edomites, the Philistines, and the Perizzites. They don't exist as a physical people, but the fact is that they remain in eternal fire.

For the unbeliever, the one who does not know God, when they die, they don't just cease to exist. The Bible reveals that there is a thing called the second death, an everlasting torment. Jesus described it as a place where the worm dies not. I don't know what that means, but it is darkness. It's a horrible place that God created not for man, but for Satan and his demonic angels. However, because of man's stubbornness and refusal to repent and turn to God, there is a punishment for sin. The wrath of God will be revealed from heaven upon all unrighteousness one day.

But it's my prayer that before that day comes, we would share the gospel of truth with as many as we can. Amen. These things will come to pass. Once again, there will come a day when the children of Israel begin to build a temple. It is my hope and prayer that we are not here when that begins to happen, but if we are, look up; your redemption draws nigh. Just as they built it 2,500 years ago after it was destroyed the first time, it will be destroyed the second time in 70 AD.

When that begins to happen, just as God poured out wrath upon those nations that divided Israel 2,500 years ago, He will do it again. The children of Israel built their temple the first time, and after God poured out His wrath upon those who had divided the land, Jesus came.

To the earth the first time, and here we are 2,500 years later. The children of Israel are praying for and hoping to build the temple once again. The Lord will judge those nations that have divided the land of Israel. Jesus will come for part two. The first time He came as a lamb, and the second time He is coming as a lion. When Jesus came the first time, they were looking for a lion, and they got a lamb. When He comes a second time, they are going to be looking for a lamb, and they are going to get a lion. But He will come again, as sure as He did the first time. He will come again. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. Father, I pray that the testimony of my life and the testimony of the lives of my brothers and sisters here would never be that You are sorely displeased with us. Father, I pray that we would be those like Enoch, who are pleasing to You, as we read in Hebrews chapter 11. Before he was caught up, before he had his own rapture, he had this testimony that he was pleasing to You.

Lord, I pray that we, before we are caught up, will also have that testimony that we are pleasing to You. But without faith, it is impossible to please You, because he who comes to You must believe that You exist and that You are the rewarder of those who diligently seek You. Lord, I pray that You would work in us so that we would be a pleasing people. On the day of Christ, when we stand before You, may You say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into Your rest."

Lord, we do look forward to the day when we enter into that rest and we say, "Lord, come quickly." But God, I ask that before You come, while we are hoping for the day of Your coming, You would pour out Your Spirit. Lord, raise up men and women to be missionaries—not just to Africa, China, or the Philippines, but missionaries to Escondido, San Marcos, Valley Center, Bonsall, and Fallbrook.

And, Lord, we pray that we would be missionaries here in Southern California, reaching out to those who are poor and downcast. Help us to be those who extend hands of mercy and grace, not just with the Gospel, but also with whatever we have to give.

We ask this in Jesus' name. All God's people said, "Amen."