Zechariah chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. In these first six verses, we see God's call to the returning remnant who came back from Babylonian captivity to turn to Him. And His promise was to turn to them. He reminded them of the like command He had given to their fathers. and to the prophets before their captivity. Then he asked them, they knew their fathers, they knew about the prophets. He asked them, your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? Showed them the folly of hardening their heart against God. In verses 7 through 11 of this first chapter, we see the first of 10 visions that are in the book of Zechariah. This first vision is a rider of a red horse. These horses that are described were sent by the Lord and brought back a report that the whole earth is at peace and at rest. They gave no reports of war or any other great happenings. And we note that the heathen powers that had moved against Israel and Judah were at this point in time at peace. Then verses 12 through 17 tell us of God's displeasure with the heathen that were at ease. It shows that they had moved against Israel and now they seemed self-satisfied. Of course, that indignation towards Judah and Jerusalem came as a consequence of God's pronouncement, the time of the Babylonian captivity, which lasted 70 long years. It was a token of God's divine displeasure with them. And it began from the taking of Jerusalem, and the destruction of the temple under Zedekiah to the rebuilding of the temple under Darius, in whose second year Zachariah now prophesied of all which had taken place and should. Connected to this, the Lord had said, I'm returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a lion shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. The Lord said he would yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Which state must look forward? not at this time, but forward to the second coming of Christ when he would fulfill those promises. In verses 18 and 19 of the first chapter is the second vision of the 10, and it speaks about the four horns or powers which scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. These horns, notice the past tense, have scattered, means it was a completed action at that point. And then the message that we preach from chapter one, we showed that this was undoubtedly Shalmaneser, who was king of Assyria, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and Necho, the king of Egypt. Now some of these men were dead, but the successors still live, and the Lord brings this up again to his people. In verses 20 and 21 is the third vision, and it talks about four carpenters. And it said in verse 21, that these carpenters are come to fray the horns that have scattered Judah and cast out the horns of the Gentile. which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. So the Lord brought forth these horns or powers that had scattered his people, and now some men that he calls carpenters are come to fray them, and they will be judged. Chapter two. In verses one through three, we see the fourth vision. Zechariah looked and he saw a man with a measuring line in his hand. And the question is asked him, whether goest thou? And he replied to Zechariah, to measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof and the length thereof. And this is a fulfillment, of course, of the Lord's words in chapter one, verse 16. In both verses four through 13 of chapter two, describes Jerusalem as it shall be in the kingdom age. That is the millennial age. These verses seem to summarize the tenor of the whole passage. Let's read verses four and five of chapter two. And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, for the multitude of men and cattle therein. For I saith the Lord, will be under her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. The Lord is talking about dwelling in the midst as the glory of that land, being a wall of fire around his people, and that they would be dwelling safely And this, as you know, is exactly what we saw when we studied Ezekiel and we came to the 38th and 39th chapter, when Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, was drawn down upon the mountains of Israel. As he saw, they dwelt without walls and they dwelt safely. So this looks ahead to the millennium. Then look at verses 10 through 12. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion. For lo, I come and will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day. and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto thee, and the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again." The old preacher said, I don't know whether there's gonna be a New York, I don't know if Moscow is going to last another 100 years, but there will always be a Jerusalem. And this looks forward to it in this book of Zachariah. I think I said this when we began to study the book. It starts with the remnants return to their land and it ends with Israel in their land, and Jerusalem as the chief nation, and the Lord Jesus Christ as a king over all the earth in the 14th chapter. In chapter 3, verses 1 through 7, we see the fifth of the 10 visions. The subject is Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing as a right hand to resist him. The Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuketh thee, O Satan. Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuketh thee. Is not this a bran plucked out of the fire? The Lord had returned with great mercy over Jerusalem, and this is a rebuke against Satan and all his attacks against God's people. What God has chosen, no created being can oppose. Jerusalem is described in this verse as a bran plucked out of the fire. We see Joshua clothed in filthy garments. stood before the angel. He doesn't have his clean priestly robes, but he wears filthy garments. He's seen as filthy before the Lord, which in a manner of speaking is what our own personal righteousnesses are compared to. The very best that we have to offer is a stitch in the nostrils of God. It's the way we all appear in our natural state. The very best that we have is this filthy rag in his sight. Now the angel of the Lord before whom he stood in the filthy garments, began to those that stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him. Two things then happen, and it kind of speaks of a double work of divine grace that's wrought in you and I as believers. First, his filthy garments are taken from him, verse four. And second, he's clothed anew. Not only has the shame of his filthiness been removed, and the shame of his nakedness covered. He's covered with clean linen, not his own, but that which is given to him that represents the Lord, our righteousness. That's where you and I stand. And we read, I said, let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head and clothed him with garments. He not only has his filthiness taken away, he's furnished with grace sufficient for himself. and is restored to the honor of the priesthood. The crown of the priesthood, the miter, is put upon him. Now that he looks clean, he doesn't need more than that. He looks great. Let him be dressed up in all the garments of the high priest. We consider this, we understand. that Joshua stands for the priesthood of Israel that has been in the muck and mire, so to speak. Then in verse six and seven of the third chapter, the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thou saith the Lord of hosts, if thou will walk in my ways and will keep my charge, Then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." The priesthood of Israel. Israel, as a nation, had been disobedient and did not keep the first charge given them to walk in God's ways. It's now repeated and it speaks of Israel's future calling after their cleansing. When the Lord Jesus came to the nation of Israel during his personal ministry, Those that were supposed to be the religious leaders of that day had turned far away from what God had commanded them and were walking according to the traditions of men. So what we're gonna read here is not talking about that day, but it's still talking about the future. Look at Zechariah 8, verse 20 through 23. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, it shall yet come to pass that there shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another saying, let us go speedily to pray before the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, in those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nation, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you. We've heard that God is with you. Many nations will come and be joined to them in that day. And they will be a faithful house because why? The great high priest is there. He's not only the high priest, but he is the king as well. Now verses eight through 10 of this chapter, record the sixth vision, and it speaks of Jehovah's branch or Jehovah's servant, the branch. When we preach through this, I use several passages to show that the branch refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now for this summation, it will be good we read three verses in verses eight through 10. It's not difficult to see this points to Christ and the time when Israel's iniquity is purged and they dwell safely. Look at chapter three, verses eight through 10. Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring my servant the branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts. and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day." It's a reference to the conversion of Israel later as a nation. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. They'll be converted and they will dwell safely in their land under the Lord's servant, the branch, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter four starts with the seventh of the ten visions. In this chapter, we read of the golden candlestick and the two olive trees. As you read that, the first part of that, it is very, very difficult to try and understand what's being said. But the difficulty is removed because the vision is explained in verses 11 through 14. Let's read those verses, 11 through 14, chapter four. Then answered I and said unto him, what are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which, through the two golden pipes, emptied the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, knowest thou not what these be? And I said, no, my Lord. Then said he, these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. I mentioned to you when we preached this message that there are many commentators. Be careful when you read comments about people and don't search and see what the scriptures really say. They say these two things that they're talking about is the church and the scriptures. Notice the phrase, these are the two anointed ones. The word ones in Hebrew speaks of human beings. Hundreds of times it talks about person, child, father, mother, always about a human being. Anointed, smeared with oil, prepared for the work. Two persons. Do we find language like this anywhere else in the scriptures? We do. Exactly like that. And we saw that in Revelation chapter 11 verses 1 through 14. Please turn there and let's read that. Because this summarizes what's said in chapter 4 of Zechariah. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod, and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and then the worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty-two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, And they shall prophesy a thousand, two hundred, and threescore days, that's forty-two months, three and a half years, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, recognize the language, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. exactly what Zechariah said. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies. And if any man will hurt them, he must be in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and have power over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them. and their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified, that's Jerusalem, and they, the people in kindreds and tongues and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies be put in graves. They that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and a half, the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, And great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. In the same hour was there a great earthquake, and a tenth part of the city fell. And in the earthquake were slain a men 7,000, and the remnant were frightened. It gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past, and behold, the third woe cometh quickly. How men can say, after they read this passage of scripture, that this is a church and this is a scripture, I don't know. Bodies that die. that can cause fire. Bodies that lie in the street and the whole world sees them and rejoices over them and suddenly they stand on their feet and are caught up into heaven. The two witnesses that witness for the Lord of the whole earth at this point in the great tribulation period Most of the saints in the churches will have been killed or subdued. Israel has been taken to a place in the wilderness where they're protected and fed for three and a half years. These witnesses will stand as God's prophets of the whole earth, as Zechariah said. In chapter five, verses one through four, we find the eighth of the ten visions. These verses speak of a flying roll, which is said to be the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth. This flying roll had flattened out, one side and the other. This curse would cut off those who oppose either side of this row, the first or the second. The curse would enter into the house of the thief and those who swear falsely by the Lord's name and would consume their houses with the stones and timbers thereof. The roll is a scroll, and we concluded, I concluded, that it is the Ten Commandments. There's the first part, that's God word, and the second part, that's man word. This commandment of the Lord was given to the Jews. They had it in writing. But the Gentiles all over the earth do by nature the things written in that law, and so they're a law unto themselves. In other words, God has put it in their heart and in their conscience, and they know it's wrong to dishonor God. They know it's wrong to dishonor father and mother. They know it's wrong to commit murder, to commit adultery. All men know that. So they're a law unto themselves. That's why all men are guilty before God. Those that are under the curse, all men are because they're under that law. You and I have been delivered from the curse of that law by the body of Christ. No longer has any relevance to it. In verses 5 through 11, we see the ninth of the ten visions. These verses told us of an effa, which had a woman in the midst. It was sealed with lead and then taken by two women who had the wings of a stork, an unclean bird. to the land of Shinar, where a house is built and established upon her own base. And Ephah speaks of commercialism. There was a house established on the land of Shinar, which in profane history is called Sunar in Mesopotamia, at the place where the Tower of Babel was built. And commercialism had its beginning tied to religion. It's clear from scripture that this house became a great whore who is associated with commerce. The reason is that all the merchants of the earth are made rich by her, this religious system. And we see that when it's finally destroyed, that they will weep and cry when she's destroyed in a single hour. Sumer or Shinar is the place of the beginning of Catholicism. Roman Catholic system is the great whore that sits upon many waters, many people, one of the most prolific religions on earth. She's called Mystery Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. She's drunken with the blood of the saints. And with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus, she has seven heads, which are seven mountains upon which the woman sits. The woman is that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth, namely Rome. You watch it. Every leader that comes to power any place on the earth, Within a very short time after he becomes a leader, he must make a trip. I don't know why they do it, but he goes to Rome to see the Pope. You don't think that she's tied to commercialism? I want you to read this with me and we'll bring our summer to a close. Please turn to Revelation 18. I want you to get the sense of this. I'm gonna read verses one through four, and I skipped this only because of time, and go down to verse nine and following. And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit. and the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are wax rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her my people that you be not partaker of her sin and that you receive not of her plague. Now look please at verse nine. And the kings of the earth who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her shall bewail her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning. standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come. and the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buyeth her merchandise any more. The merchandise of gold and silver and precious stones and of pearl and of fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet and all fine wood and all mannered vessels of ivory and all mannered vessels of most precious wood and of brass and iron and marble and cinnamon and odors and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and the souls of men. You talk about merchandising in a way that we don't even understand except by the word of God. The Catholic system runs the merchandise of the world. She controls it. She's the richest thing on earth, the great whore. And when she's destroyed, you talk about all these merchants that are flying so high in their jets and their great places to live and their finest fineries, sudden, have nothing because it's taken away. It all started. Got Babylon. And Zachariah tells us about it in chapter five. Plain as it can be plain. You talk about a religion, that's a horror. That one is. It sells out. Anything that had to do with godly, it never was part of it at all. It just took it to itself. And it's all tied to the effa, commercialism. It's a brief summary of chapters one through five. Next time, as the Lord enabled us, we'll preach through the sixth chapter of Zechariah. That chapter speaks of four chariots, which is a tenth vision, and the crowning of Joshua in the last few verses. May the Lord bless as we I speak that message. As you can see, this book presses on from the return of the remnant from Babylon to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the second temple to the very end when Christ returned with his saints and his king over all the earth. I ask you, I ask you God's people, Brother Rick doesn't know this, reading some scripture this morning and really got a hold of my heart. That's a wonderful thing about God's word. It brought me to my knees. It made me want to weep for me, for my God. God help us. to live honorably, justly, honest in this present world, looking for the appearing of our Savior, soon appear. You know Him, Jesus Christ, God's Son, crucified, buried, and rose again. You know Him as your Savior. Is He your Lord and Master? Serve Him. Serve Him. Serve Him in the church. You can't serve Him out the church. Serve Him in the church. You don't know Him. You've heard enough gospel preached. I hope you've heard it. I hope you see it, and I hope you'll be saved. We pray for you that have not made a profession of faith. I pray that you'll come to know your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for your attention.