Good evening. Well, I hope you're enjoying Zechariah. You came back for more? Yes, it is a doozy. It's a doozy book. But boy, you know, when people argue today or they get in banter with the book of Revelation or the book of Daniel, really Zechariah should be the book, should be our go-to book on dealing with the unfolding of the end times. Because there's really no question in Zechariah. People have made question marks of the book of Revelation. They've made question marks of the book of Daniel, which are two of the best eschatological books in the Bible. The two best ones. Old Testament, New Testament, Daniel, and Revelation. And you know those. You understand what's going to happen in the end times. But because amillennialists exist, and that's okay. They're our brothers in Christ. I don't mean to say they're not. But because they exist, they're there to tell us that what we believe is wrong. And we just have to counter and show them that they're wrong. And the book of Zechariah, I think, leaves no doubt. It's not about being right or wrong. I mean it is and it isn't. It's not about arguing. It's about understanding properly what you believe and why about the unfolding of the end times. And Israel factors in so prominently. I find it offensive when people say it just doesn't matter, that Israel just doesn't matter. And they're preachers and think you know what you have a greater responsibility than that. And at least understand, and I don't know that any Amillennialist I've ever met, doesn't mean that they don't exist. ever met has ever studied Zechariah and can answer the questions that Zechariah gives us. So let's just unfold Zechariah's visions all at once here. We'll cover the last three tonight. The last three we've made it through the first five. So the first one we see four horsemen and they are doing reconnaissance and essentially what they are saying is they have gone out by 519 B.C. and they've seen that the world is strangely at peace. And Israel is just now kind of a fledgling nation back in their land. They've been in exile. And it's not right. The point being is that these nations that are at peace need to be dealt with by God. Number two, we see four horns which represent the four nations that oppress God's people. And it might not be just four nations, it might just be representative of all nations that oppress God's people. And we see this happening today. So Israel struggling even today while the world is at peace. I understand that they are more at peace, but it's hard to travel to Israel today. People will say, hey, let's go back to Israel. I want to go back to Israel. It's hard, if not impossible, right now to go back to Israel. It's not a safe place to be. And so in Vision 2 you see the persecution of the Jews and the dispersion by these four horns. And then we see these four craftsmen who come and they are going to restore this nation. We see the surveyor with a plumb line. Plumb line just says it's a straight line. That's how you did back then, you had a straight line. And it was being put over the city of Israel, the city of Jerusalem I should say. Israel is not a city. City of Jerusalem and showing that it's going to be rebuilt. And it's going to be rebuilt with walls of fire protected and ruled over by the Messiah. That has not happened. That's why I said earlier when we know the book of Zechariah, Zechariah is talking about very specifically the restoration of the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem. to the Jews. In vision 4 we see the priest who is represented by a man named Joshua which the very name means Yahweh saves. We see the renewal of the priesthood it had been dirtied he had the dirty clothes God clothes him with proper clothing this is what God will do He will restore the priesthood and why do you need a priesthood? You need a priesthood because man is sinful and God is holy and a priest mediates between God and man. That's why in the New Testament we know about our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the one mediator between God and man. That's who He is. It's what He came to do. Jesus came to mediate God's wrath against sinful people. So we see this vision, it's going to be renewal of that priesthood. We see the candle, the menorah, Messiah as the priest-king. You can't just have a priest, you have to have a king. Jesus is king, but He's also priest. And I explained last time why Jesus can be priest and king, because He's from the line of Judah, from the tribe of Judah I should say, but from the line of a different sort of priests called the Melchizedekian priesthood, different and superior to the Levitic priesthood. We see a flying scroll tonight, which is gonna be judgment for disobedience. An ephah, which is the same as a basket. A return of evil to Babylon where it began and the chariots end. Look, note. I know, it's just so amazingly artistic of me. All you gotta do is click the, yeah, I know, all you gotta do is click a couple buttons on PowerPoint and it does it for you. So we'll look at these three tonight. So let's take a look. Chapter 5, verse 1. We'll go through 5 and 6 tonight. Zechariah says, I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. These are strange dreams. I mean, no doubt about it. Bizarre. The next one is really the most bizarre dream you've ever heard of. But not this one. This one's just kind of strange. There was a flying scroll. Ever seen that? Have you ever dreamt of a flying scroll? Okay. And he said to me, what do you see? Again with the what do you sees? It's like if I saw a flying scroll, I probably wouldn't want to admit it. What do you see? Because the answer back would be, what are you an idiot? Are you drunk? It's not a flying scroll, that's an eagle. I see a flying scroll, he says. And he saw the length. The length is 20 cubits, and it's width 10 cubits. By the way, that's 30 feet by 15 feet. A cubit, in case you don't know, is the distance from the tip of your middle finger to your elbow, typically 18 inches, the way it was measured. So this is humongous. This is more like a billboard flying through the air. It's not a small scroll. A typical scroll, just so you'll know, was about an eight and a half inches, eight and a half to 10 inches. tall and they could be upwards to 20 feet in length as you roll them out. So this is much larger than that. Verse 3, He said to me, this is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land. Surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on the one side and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. So the scroll had writing on both sides. Lots of writing. By the way, it doesn't give all the Ten Commandments, but if you know anything about the Ten Commandments, the first four commandments represent man's relationship to God. Have no other gods before me. I am the Lord your God. Don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don't take the name of the Lord your God in vain is swearing. That's what it is. It's not using a bad word after you miss a three-foot putt per se. It's about taking God's name in a worthless way. And so on one side, it's for all those who have cursed the name of God, and that represents the first half of the commandments, the first four. And then the one that represents the others is those who have stolen On the other side, everyone who swears, the first side is everyone who steals will be purged away from the land and everyone who uses God's name in vain will be purged from the land. Verse 4, God says, I will make it go forth, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. And it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones. Now, strange, dream, strange vision, but it's essentially saying God's Word is going to judge this nation. That's easy to say. Why don't you just say it that way? I don't know. I don't know the whys. Here's what it says. We'll take a look at what it says. So here you've got a picture of a flying scroll, 30 by 15. It's identified as the curse that's going over the whole face of the land. So if it's God's Word flying over the face of the land, there's a curse. God's Word is a curse to people. That's why people don't like it. That's why people don't want it to be literal. If it's literal, they're in trouble. It's announcing judgment upon evildoers. No one likes that person. But that's what God's Word does. You start reading God's Word and it starts judging you. I didn't know that it said that. Well, did you ever read it? God's Word is full of judgment. The Two Commandments is the Third Commandment and the Eighth Commandment representing all ten. Meaning of this in the little paragraph I've written is a reminder to the post-exilic community, that's the Jews that have come back from exile, that they like their forefathers were still subject to God's standards for social conduct as expressed in the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. Failure to abide by these standards would bring slow but certain destruction. God's Word judging God's people and judging all those who aren't God's people. The curse. I love that because the Bible looms big. God's Word looms big. It's not just a tiny little thing. It's not something that we should relegate to no big deal. That's why it's really somewhat appalling today that the Word of God is so today. I mean I'm amazed through the years of having been here people come and say, I didn't know that was in the Bible. I didn't know that was there. Well, have you ever read it? No. Have you ever been challenged to read the Bible? No. I've had people come up and say, thank you for challenging us to read the Bible. I'm a preacher. That's like thanking a heart surgeon, thank you for opening my heart. Well, that's what I was trained to do. It seems strange, but people are not trained to read the Bible. Churches are not, let me go back further than that. Men and women who go to seminary, and I have to add women, because women go to seminary today to be preachers. Sadly, the Bible says they can't, and yet they do, and seminaries accommodate it. But they come out, they are taught, here's how to build a big church. And the number one thing is you don't open the Bible. This is what builds a small church. But isn't it God's Word? Is it for us? Yes, yes Kathy the Bible builds a small church. Yes. You see a bunch of people coming here? And if you notice there is something very common about the people that attend here. They are all eager to hear the Word. It is a mature people. It is a people that by and large gives of their money, gives of their time, prays for people, shows up to serve. There is a common denominator there. There is a church that was built in our area way back when about a year or so after we started ours and the ones that started the church met with Paul Hawkins. Paul Hawkins was with the county at the time one of the engineers and the pastor admitted he said well we are building a Seeker sensitive church and when you build a church his words when you build a church of unbelievers, you know, they're not going to give Okay, well unbelievers don't give Unbelievers don't worship giving of money is worship giving of time of prayer sacrifice of praise and so hey you want to build a big church with no money and Don't give them the Word. You want to build a small church that's healthy, that's glorifying to God? Preach the Bible. And just start reading it, and people show up, and it's amazing the kinds of people that show up to hear the Word of God. So, the flying scroll is representative of God's judgment. People don't want that. They don't like that. People go to church to feel good, don't they? Maybe you were in that crowd one time. I want to go feel good about myself. Well, you killed Christ. I mean, how good can you feel? Let's talk about what God's Word teaches and see what worship follows. The sixth vision resembles the third vision. This sixth vision, this flying scroll, resembles the third vision. Remember the third vision? It's chapter two, the measuring line. Yeah, there you go, that surveyor. And he's measuring the city. It's just what Karen brought today. Measuring the city, what the city would be like. this is one where you've got the judgment over the city that I mean the plumb line is to be put there it's like saying, no this city is out of whack, it's way off. It's like an engineer taking a measuring stick and saying this, the foundation is off, it's tilted. Someone going to the Leaning Tower of Pisa going, I think there was an engineering problem here. And so this sixth vision resembles it, God is judging it. One day, the promise that one day God would reign over Jerusalem and a rebuilt temple ushering in the Messiah's worldwide kingdom. But in order to do so, God must judge and condemn the reprobate and rebellious. Sin must be purged from God's ultimate design. Revelation 21 8 says this, But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death. These are purged and they are purged by God's Word. So, let's take a look at this lovely gal in verse 5. Then the angel who was speaking to me with me went out and said to me, lift up now your eyes and see what is going forth. I said, what is it? He said, this is the ephah, going forth, that's a basket. Again, he said, this is their appearance in all the land. This is a strange passage, difficult interpretation, but their appearance is going to refer to Israel. and what their appearance, in fact the word appearance in the Hebrew text actually is eyes, eyes. And so this is what their eyes, this is how they appear to God we might say, this is their appearance, this ephah, this basket going forth, this is their appearance in all the land and behold a lead cover was lifted up and this is a woman sitting inside the ephah. Remember what I said bizarre, that's just bizarre. So what he sees is a basket. There's a woman in it, and there's a lead covering that keeps the woman in. She comes out, you put her back in. Here she is coming out. It's okay to laugh. It's a strange, bizarre dream, vision. But this is the appearance. One might say that when God looks, He sees wickedness. Keep in mind this is a nation, this is a generation of Jews that has come out of Babylon. Babylon is where all false religions started. We see it in Genesis chapter 11 at the Tower of Babel in the plains of Shinar. Shinar is the same as Babylon. They've been there for 70 years. 70 years in the most wicked nation that personifies all wickedness, 70 years is going to have an effect on you. A couple of years is going to have an effect on you. They've come back perhaps with all kinds of greed, going to bring back all that they've learned from Babylon and put it in God's promised land and God's holy temple. People do that with the church today. They learn certain things. Let's bring a business model to Christ's church. Let's read a George Barna report about what people want and let's give them that. You know that when Rick Warren started his church, Saddleback Church, he knocked on doors in Southern California, and he says this in The Purpose Driven Church, there's the purpose driven life, but the purpose driven church was his way of planting a church. He said, we knocked on doors, we found the most unchurched area in the world, in the United States, and we knocked and we said, what is it that would bring you back to church? And his whole point is give the people what they want. Is that Christ's church? So, my understanding you go to Rick Warren's church back when he was still the pastor and you could go to any, there are certain classrooms, every sort of music you might want. You like Mediterranean music? You go to Mediterranean music. You like rap music? You go to rap music. You get a sermon that's not based on biblical exposition but on, hey how can we make you feel better? That is what works. He learned that by the way from his mentor, some of you will know this name, and that's Robert Shuler. from the Crystal Cathedral who warned many a preacher of his day that if you preach the Bible no one will come and you are the detriment to Christianity. Robert Schuller's voice. So they're bringing the same garbage that we see today in the church from Babylon into God's holy land and the appearance of it is evil, wickedness. Verse 8, then he said, this is wickedness. Now mind you, it's not that women or wicked men don't use this as a way to tell your wife that she's wicked. The word wickedness and some have even in commentaries you'll say well a woman is what brought wickedness into the world and so she's always been wicked and that's just ridiculousness. I mean the Old Testament treats women with great dignity as does Jesus. So it's not that. But the word wickedness is a feminine word. It's a feminine word. And really I think the better way of looking at it is the woman represents harlotry. The woman represents harlotry, in fact that should trigger your minds to a particular passage in the Bible. The book of Revelation, the woman riding the beast, she represents, she is the great harlot. So it's not that women are that way, it's that a woman represents a harlot and we know what a harlot is physically, but spiritually speaking it's when someone takes their allegiance from God onto another religion, onto an idol. That's spiritual adultery. She's the representation of that. So they have brought that into the land. There is wickedness. They didn't come back, mind you, it's pretty clear that the Jews did not bring idolatry back with them where they were worshiping idols. They got that purge from them. But it wasn't that they were shaping idols, but we all have idols. Idols of wanting more, whether it be materialism, sometimes it can be our own children. People worship their own children or their own families, a car, whatever it might be, a home. People worship anything today and so this is wickedness they brought it back and God is saying, I know where it is I've got it in a basket and the lid probably is significant of God saying, I'm sovereign over this. It gets even more bizarre I think. Let's wait on it verse 9, Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there two women were coming out with the wind in their wings. Now the word wind in Hebrew is ruach it could also be translated get this, Spirit. Sometimes with a lowercase s, sometimes with an uppercase s. We don't know. It's either wind or lowercase s or capital S of the Holy Spirit. The NIV does some things with it, other translations. Any of them will fit. The New American Standard Bible here uses, when two women were coming out with the wind in their wings, perhaps just saying that they were flying. And they had wings like the wings of a stork. Now the wings of a stork are larger wings, which would have the ability to carry this basket with a woman in it, representing wickedness. And they lifted up the ephah, the basket, between the earth and the heavens. Verse 10, I said to the angel who was speaking with me, where are they taking the ephah? Then he said to me, to build a temple for her in the land of Shinar. Many of you translations will say in Babylon. The Hebrew says Shinar, but it's talking about Babylon. And when it is prepared, she will set there on her own pedestal. Well, that's just strange. Let's take a look at a few things. Wickedness. In a basket, it's a feminine Hebrew term depicted as a woman. The appearance, as I said, the eye of the woman was that of wickedness in the land. They'd come out of Babylon full of greed. In fact, I reference Haggai here. Haggai is a contemporary prophet of Zechariah, as I told you. And Haggai, when he came and started preaching, what was the problem in the land? What was the topic of his preaching? Do you remember? If you've read Haggai, it's only two chapters. Nobody? You're close what were they doing instead what were they doing instead of doing Versus Versus building a house of God and that's typically what people do people's money is sunk into their homes Sometimes plural homes and you go check their giving record nothing Or maybe it's just a little tip they reach into their pocket, here's the church coffer. But my house, my things, my stuff, what I want to do, but nothing towards the church of Jesus Christ. I encourage everyone here today, are you investing in your life here on earth which is going to end soon? Or in eternity? Where does your money go? You go into your ledger, if you still keep a checkbook ledger like some of us, you know, you go by and say, Amazon, Amazon, Amazon, Walmart, Walmart, Walmart, Amazon, Amazon. Who's your God? Well, I was buying Christian stuff from Amazon, right? Let's take a look at your giving record at church. Well, there's nothing here. Well, you know, I had my family to pay for. I had my church or my car and my house. Okay. That's Haggai's message. He keeps saying, consider your ways, consider your ways. You're doing this when you should be doing that. And this is what God is exposing in Israel, in this wickedness. With the heavy lid, wickedness is secured by God. He's sovereign over it, as He is over everything else. God restricts evil as He deems necessary. God could let it all go, but He still restricts it, even today. The two other women come and carry wickedness away with wings as big as storks. Some have said, well, that they're unclean. A stork is an unclean animal, according to Leviticus and Deuteronomy. So what better than an unclean bird to carry this unclean woman? That might be, but they're not storks. It's women with the wings of a stork. They would need such larger wings. stork-like, unclean, to make appropriate bearers of a contaminated basket. Or I learned this this week is one of my favorite Hebrew words, in fact my favorite Hebrew word is a word, it's a great word to say because you have to get some loogie in the back of your throat to say it. Chesed. Chesed. Did you? See, it's a great word. It means a lot of things. Wonderful. Grace, loveliness, loyalty, faith. It was translated by William Tyndale in the 1500s as loving kindness. It's a made up English word from that and it still exists today in our Bibles. Loving kindness. It's a great way. Well, the word stork is just a letter off from that It's almost like stork is a even though an unclean bird. It's like this loyal bird I don't know if that means anything. I just throw it out to you because it's it was pretty cool I didn't know that was the word for stork Until I you know, I don't read all the Hebrew and every time I get through and stork I go. Okay. Well, that's interesting Maybe that means something. Maybe it's just like, you know, the stork has always been the the animal that brings the baby. I And I don't think that's where it came from, but there's a gentleness there. There's the gentleness of these two women with stork-like wings who carry wickedness out of the land. This is a vision of what's coming, where God will remove it from the land and put it back where it came from. And we see that in the book of Revelation, where God will judge that Babylon nation, which apparently reemerges. Wickedness will be removed from Babylon, or to Babylon, Shinar, where evil began, at the Tower of Babel, where people decided, you know, we're not going to do what God wants, we're going to do what we want. That's the Tower of Babel. In fact, babble means the gate of God, Bab-El, but it's also an onomatopoeia. You know what an onomatopoeia is? The word sounds like the definition of it. Babbling. Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-babble. It's where God confused the languages. It's where they began to babble at this quote-unquote gate of God, and it's where Wickedness began because man said, you know what God said spread out and fill the earth. They said no we are going to stay here and make a name for ourselves. Rebellion. God is going to send it all right back. And you see it right there ending in Revelation 18. Revelation 17 and 18 is the false world system, a beast being ridden by a harlot. So, Zechariah is speaking of that same event. Prior to Israel's final regathering there will be an uprising in Babylon, we believe that from the book of Revelation. Will it be Babylon rebuilt between the Tigris and the Euphrates River? We know the exact location of the old Babylon in the plains of Shinar. Will it be that? Is it spiritual? We don't know. We don't know. Let's see at the end of chapter 5 verse 11, then He said to me, these women are going back to build a temple for her in the land of Shinar and when it is prepared she will set there on her own pedestal. So this depicts this coming world system that will rule. And we know from Daniel and from the book of Revelation that the world will separate into ten nations. There will be ten nations and then one called the Little Horn pokes up and removes three of those nations and becomes one of the ten. And then that little horn will become the dominant ruler of the world and will sit in charge over the world system called Babylon, mystery Babylon, the mother of all harlots. In other words, it's the place where all the people of the world of that day give their allegiance not to God. Not to God, they are committing spiritual adultery with the world system. In the midst of that though, there is this nation of Israel coming to believe and know Jesus Christ. Whereby at the end of it all Israel is saved. Is there a group of Gentiles? There is a group of Gentiles who are also coming to know Christ. This is explained I think through these visions in Zechariah and then reiterated in the book of Revelation. Chapter 6 verse 1. Now I looked, I lifted up my eyes again and looked and behold four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains. And the mountains were bronze mountains. With the first chariot there was red horses. The second chariot, this is not, the horses were in the first vision. These horses however have chariots. I want you to note that if you haven't already. Red horses, the second chariot black horses, third chariot white horses, fourth chariot dappled horses. What does that remind you of? But Revelation 6 with the four horses of the book of Revelation. bringing out the first four seals. Verse 4, Then I spoke, and said to the angel who was speaking to me, What are these, my lord? The angel replied to me, These, note this, are the four spirits, which could also be translated four winds. These are the four spirits of heaven going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth. Looks like angels. We see four in the Bible, there's the four corners of the earth, there's the four quarters of the Something, there's the four winds of heaven in the Old Testament. Aren't there four creatures that stand before God? The four living creatures? Cherubim? We note that in the book of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation. We also note in Daniel's account in chapter 10 that the angel Gabriel is standing in the presence of God always waiting to be sent to give the message God gives him to give. So these beings, these spirits sit in the presence of God. God sends them out. These are the four spirits of heaven going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north. So imagine Israel, you're in Israel, you go north, you go up into Syria, which is the Seleucid Empire, it's always been her enemy, we read about that in Daniel chapter 11. You go a little further north, all the way due north from here is Russia. All the nations that at the Battle of Gog, of the land of Magog, will gather together for this great war against Israel, due north. It could be though, however, that the north is, you have to go north to get to east, to get to Babylon. And remember I told you you've got to follow the Euphrates River, no one goes across the desert. So Israel's enemies are in the north, we know some of their enemies that are in the north that way. And these are the black horses with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country. And the white horses go forth after them. How many of you bought a New Living Translation yet? Do you have it? Are you reading it here? Where does it say they go? It doesn't say they go north with them does it? The south it says, but the west, New Living Translation decided that's what they wanted to say. but it doesn't say West. That would make sense though, you have four horses, you're gonna go in all four directions. But good for you, Jennifer, for getting the New Living Translation, like I told you you should. It's an excellent translation. But translations like this give themselves a little bit more leeway, and I think it's perfectly fine, to take greater liberties with the text. What the text really says is that the black ones go north and the white horses go forth after them to the north. Follow them. While the dappled ones go to the south country. Well, there was four horses, four chariots, but none went east and none went west. If you go west, where do you go? You go into the sea. Is there there's no threat from the sea. If you go east, you go into the Arabian Desert and there's nothing coming out of there. Although today coming out of the Arabian Desert is the the nation of Jordan. So we don't know, I don't know, it doesn't say why but the text really says black go up there, the white follow him. I really think the point is that these are God's, earlier those horses went out to do reconnaissance to see that the land was peaceful around the earth and that Israel was not. These go out to do battle. It's as if God said, I see that they're in peace and now I'm going forth to discipline them. The appled ones went south country, verse 7, when the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth. And he said, go patrol the earth. So they patrolled the earth. Patrolling is to go back and forth. Then he cried out to me and spoke to me saying, see, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased my wrath in the land of the north. Well, all those nations in the north, they come after God's people. How do you appease God's wrath? But get them for their oppression of Israel. So let's take a look at these four chariots here. Vision of the four chariots pulled strong horses. You got red, black, white, and dappled horses emerging from two bronze mountains, which is never translated. Never told what these two bronze mountains are. It's only pure speculation. The black and white horses go north, and here's some of the nations, as I said, that are enemies up to the north, Egypt in the south. Each horse and chariot went not only to patrol the earth, they appeased God's wrath in the north, and we would assume in the south as well. This depicts God's final judgments upon sin, which we read about in more chapters in the book of Revelation, chapters 6 through 16. In other words, if you just want to summarize it, you would say this one just depicts God doing what God said He was going to do to all of His enemies. Has God done that? No, He hasn't done that. Everything that these visions give us is true today, except what the visions sum up that they will do, we await future time. That's why there's no way if you take the view that Revelation has already come to pass, what do you do with Zechariah? hasn't and no one can make this come to pass. Put them together and you've got a pretty good story. Now if you've ever read the book of Revelation you can make these comparisons here. You've got Zechariah 1, you've got four horsemen. In Zechariah 6 you've got four chariots. In Revelation 6 you've got the four horsemen there. I think so. I think that the question is are they different? In Zechariah 1 the vision was to go out and just see what the earth is like. In Zechariah 6 they are going out and they are doing justice of God. Revelation they are doing again the justice of God. The two mountains, I know you're on the edge of your seat. What do they mean? Nobody knows. He doesn't say. Perhaps they are Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives. Mount Zion is Jerusalem. Mount of Olives is right here and the Kidron Valley is right between them. At the beginning of the prophecy where the myrtle trees were, it looks like that's where He was. Okay, you'll never be the same again now that you know that. Apparently it's incidental and we don't need to know what those bronze mountains are. Perhaps the four chariots represent four angels, for in Revelation God uses his angels to bring forth final judgments. They are servants of God, standing in his presence, waiting for their orders. Perhaps comparable to the four horses in Revelation 6, 1 to 7, that is the bidding of these angels. God uses angels to do His, to mete out His judgment. We see that throughout the book of Revelation and even Zechariah. So again, it sounds and it seems complicated all these, but let's just put it together in the pictures, meaning God remembers His promises and He will secure their fulfillment. So let's just put it all together in pictures. I'll go slow. I'll try to speak slow. Now you saw these last week. This is the first vision of the horseman. They are doing reconnaissance. This is God's way of saying, I've looked at the earth, I see everything, don't worry. And we would say that's us today. Don't worry, we know the injustice is going on everywhere. God sees it and he's essentially saying, I'm gonna work it in my time. I know it. I know that God's people are being persecuted. I know that God's people are dying at the hands of enemies. I know what Hamas is doing to my people. God is not scratching his head going, where did these guys pop up? He knows, he sees. What was true then is true now. The four nations that suppress God's people, that oppress God's people, these nations are there today. Again, we see Hamas. We see them oppressing God's people. But not just that, God's people in the Christianity. God sees that. He knows what's happening. He sees it. You and I are wanting justice right now because we feel like God owes us. And God is saying, I see it. I got this under control. Be patient. I'll take care of it in due time. The third vision is God saying that I know my city is in shambles, and I will rebuild it. I will be a wall of fire over it. I will be that. That's great hope. God is saying, I've got this. I see it, and I'm going to reign over it. It's going to be fine. Right now, when I hold the plumb line over it, it's all messed up, but it's going to be better. We could do that today, took the proverbial plumb line over Jerusalem, over Israel today, this is a nation that hates the God of the Bible. They hate Jesus Christ, their Messiah. They hate Him. The ones that killed Him in the first century, today's group, Jews, would do the same thing to Jesus. That's why they hate Him. Don't think that they wouldn't. He is not their Messiah, they don't want Him. But Jesus is saying, notwithstanding, I will reign over that city. You see the Satan accusing the high priest who mediates between God and man. And Jesus or the angel of Yahweh here who is making the priesthood clean again. Not waiting for the priesthood to become clean. This is just another picture I inserted into that of the angel doing that with Joshua, this high priest. You've got the two olive trees feeding the menorah, the lampstand. Behold a lampstand of gold with its bowl on top and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it. Also two olive trees by it. This represents the king and the priest which we know as one man, feeding the lamp, feeding the light, giving the light to the world, God is saying, I've got it. I'm going to do it. Trust me. And it comes back, I think, always to Abraham. Abraham was given a promise that he didn't really have any reason to believe. I don't know how you're going to do that, God, but I believe you. We're looking at the same thing. Lord, I don't know how you're gonna do it, but I believe you. And God, what he credited to Abraham, his righteousness, the same thing is for us today. I believe you're gonna do it, Lord. Do it, pray that God will do it. That's how you pray. Pray that God do things that he swore that he's going to do. The fifth one, I see a flying scroll, this is judgment over the nations, God's Word will judge, it is timeless, it will always endure. You see wickedness being lifted from Jerusalem, from God's people, from the land of the holy over to the land of the unholy where it began. God will take it over there and that is where it will all come to judgment. And then you see these are the four spirits of heaven going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth. And finally, the final battle is done. God's saying, I see it. I'm going to deal with it. And it's going to be beautiful. And we either believe it or we shake our fist at Him going, where's the promise of His coming? In fact, you see that Peter says it in 1 Peter, I'm sorry, 2 Peter chapter 3 where he tells them, he said, look, there's going to be a day when scoffers are going to come up and they're going to say, where is the promise of His coming? Everything happens as it's always happened. And Peter says, look, just know that with the Lord, a thousand years is as a day, a day is as a thousand years. I mean, the eternal God, I mean, it's impossible to put the eternal God and how He can traverse time and space. But when you're in eternity, there's no beginning. There's no before, there's no after. You're the eternal God. God will do it. When we believe that He will, we have the faith of Abraham. And then you see, well let's close it out, I've got 16 minutes. Chapter 6 verse 11, take the silver and gold, make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest and say to him, thus says the Lord of hosts, behold a man whose name is Branch for he will branch out from where he is and he will build the temple of the Lord. By the way, Joshua didn't build the temple. His cohort did named Zerubbabel. We know that from Haggai. So is he talking about that temple? No. He's not talking about the temple of that day. Verse 13, Yes, it is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he who will bear the honor and sit and rule on his throne. He's talking about a priest. No priest would have a crown on his head and sit on a throne. Never did, never will. Not in Israel. No priest can do that. But he's saying Joshua, the son of Jehoshaphat will do that. Thus he will be a priest on his throne and the council of peace will be between the two offices. Now you've got that priest and king office. It's a prophecy about the coming Christ, about the Messiah who is priest and king here represented by Joshua. Verse 14, now the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helem, to Bijah, Jediah, and Hen. Hen means gracious. The son of Zephaniah. Those who are far off will come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you and it will take place, and it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God. Let's take a look. There's a lot more here than you think. In a single night, believe it or not, Zechariah's visions occurred in one night. It's taken us three weeks to look at it. This is a strange night of dreams. In a single night God gave Zechariah eight visions. The very next day God directed Zechariah to participate in a dramatic portrayal of the future Messiah's coronation. This is what that was. What I just read is Zechariah being given permission to take participation in the coronation of the Messiah in the future as King in the Millennial Kingdom. You're thinking, where did you get all that? Easy, let's take a look. Present there were three men who had returned from Babylon. Their names are Heldi, which means robust, Tobijah which means God's goodness, and Judiah means God knows. You put these names together, I'm not a big fan of this kind of thing, but it does seem to mean something. These men foreshadow perhaps the grandeur of the Messiah's millennial coronation. Put their names together, it's in His goodness, God knows the future, robust King. Now, these three men, they've just come out of nowhere, we don't know them, you're not supposed to know these people. If that's the first time you've heard their names you're going, probably never heard them before. They're not popular. They had just made their way back from Babylon and they had stopped off at this house, the house of Josiah. they are representative of exiles having come out of Babylon even though they are coming to a bunch of exiles coming out of Babylon. They are just going to represent everyone coming out of Babylon and they represent with their names we might say in God's goodness, God knows the future there is going to be a robust King. These three men who returned from Babylon were part of Israel's faithful remnant if that is what they represent and their names pointing to their righteous character. These men are part of Zechariah's priesthood. Zechariah's a priest. They're part of that priesthood because that's where they stop off at the priest's house. These men brought an offering contributing to the rebuilding of the temple. Every one of them brought an offering. Those in attendance had come from Babylon leaving the wickedness of Babylon and its worldliness behind. So here's how they may represent in the midst of our Roman study all of Israel being saved. I'm just going to repeat what I said. Here's what they represent. They will bring an offering to rebuild the Millennial Temple. These are people that bring an offering at the end of time. They represent that in Zechariah's day. They represent what's going to happen in the future. People bringing an offering to rebuild the Millennial Temple. And the Millennial Temple is rebuilt when Jesus returns. They will return as exiles from the ends of the earth. That's where the Jews are today. Exiles all over the earth and they will return to their city of Jerusalem. They will love and fear Yahweh who is Jesus Christ. They will be led in worship by Millennial priests, same as they are here. In other words, Zechariah is not just giving this little episode with three guys names for nothing. They represent something, each one of them represents something of what's coming in the future. They represent all the visions we just saw. God knows what's happening. God is going to restore, His Messiah will reign. They will be those who rejected worldliness and the wickedness of evil in times of eschatological Babylon. They are returning from it. Now Israel mind you, and let me clarify this for those of you who come on Sunday mornings when I say all Israel, when Paul says all Israel will be saved. What that doesn't mean and what I don't think I was very clear on Sunday because I had a few people ask me and what I'll clarify again on Sunday. It doesn't mean that every Israelite who ever lived will be saved. It can't mean that. It can't mean that every Israelite in David's day, or every Israelite from David's day all the way to our day, all those who died without faith are in the fires of Hades and will one day be cast into the fires of the Lake of Fire. That's in the midst of all those people there is a remnant of believing Jews in every generation as I said, as Paul says I should say. Israel being saved occurs according to Paul in Romans 11 after the full number of Gentiles comes in and believes. That hasn't been, Gentiles are still believing. So we are waiting for the full number of Gentiles and then all Israel will be saved. That's the end times generation of Israel. maybe it's this generation right now. Maybe it's the generation of Israelites. Maybe the last Gentile comes to believe tonight and God begins to work with this nation that's there right now and God leads them to Christ. That's how God does. He leads them to Christ. If they're that generation or if it's a future generation they will all believe. Now will every single one of them believe? I don't know. It says all, but all doesn't always mean all. Maybe it's the majority. but that nation as a whole will believe. That's what's going on here. God is saying all these things will happen and then all my people will believe when the Messiah begins to reign. Israel. It is not all the Israelites from all generations. I had one lady came up and I think she legitimately said, she said, are you saying that if you are saying that all Israelites from all generations will be saved. She said that a modern Jew can say today, who cares what I believe I'm going to be saved. I said well that is definitely not what I was saying, but I need to clarify that. So it was a good point. Anyone else confused about all Israel being saved? Yeah, go ahead. Well, again, I think sometimes when you're a listener, you have certain responsibilities as a listener. You've got to make sure you're actually listening because as listeners we tune in and out, don't we? You might hear something and somebody in front of you starts bothering you and then you tune back in and you're way out of context. But everything was about when the full number of Gentiles comes in, that's that generation in the future. It has nothing to do with the past generation. Anyway, right now it's individuals being saved, but yes, the nation as a whole will be known as a Christian, Christ-honoring nation. They are not that today. The United States is not that today, and I would even say has never been. Some people, I defend some people, say, well you mean we're not a Christian nation? Not, and never have been. Not, and never have been. We had some men that tried to build the foundation of our Constitution on it, but we have never been a Christian nation. We are not God's chosen people. The land of the United States is not the land that you pray for. You know the old 2nd Chronicles 7.14, if we'll repent and God will heal our land. This is not the land that needs to be healing. It's that land of Israel. Not everyone who was born as a descendant of Abraham is the saved Israel. They're Israelites. But Paul is talking in that context of the Israel who will be saved. That final generation. Not just the remnant. There's a remnant being saved now. In the end it's the entire nation. Remnant would be just people peppered throughout the nation. In the end it's the nation. So we see in this future coronation a crown for the future priest king represented by Joshua here. This priest king also called the branch who is the Christ who is both king and priest. He's the only one who is priest and king. He's the only one that can be. We'll rebuild the Millennial Temple we saw that in Vision 3. The crown and the temple that the Jews would rebuild in Zechariah's day would remind them of the future temple. Messiah would reign. In other words in Joshua's day they're talking about a crown being made for the Temple. And it would remind Israel of the future crown that's going to be laid upon the Messiah. It's going to come. We need to be reminded God is going to do what God said He would do. The nations will bring their wealth into it. The What does that mean? What does that look like? Well, when we all die, we bring into the nation, into Heaven, is that something we bring in? Or maybe once we're there and God gives us the crowns, our own crowns of glory, we bring that wealth laid at God's feet? I don't know what it looks like. It just sounds pretty neat. Don't you think? And Zechariah is giving us that future look. Behold a man. I want you to note that. Look in verse 12. Stay with me. I know you're getting tired. But look at verse 12 there. You've got Joshua there. Then say to him in verse 12, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold a man whose name is the branch. Behold a man. I thought this was wonderful when I read this. I'd never come across it before. It will celebrate God's Son reigning. Behold a man. Well, what does that remind you of? He was the second Adam. You got a man, man, Adam. Jesus is the second Adam. But I love what Pontius Pilate said when he brought Jesus out, mocking Him. Behold the man. Without knowing it, he's quoting from Zechariah. Yes, behold the man. in his own prophetic words. I'd never seen that before. Loved it. Behold the man, behold the man. He didn't know what he was saying. I love that. It will honor Christ's achievements, fulfilling the role of both priest and king at this coronation ceremony. I want you to think about this. Maybe you'll remember, maybe we'll all remember our study of Zechariah when we're there for the coronation ceremony of Jesus. And we will be there. When He is crowned as King over the New Jerusalem, you're gonna say, that's Zechariah study. I didn't know anything what Lance was saying, and I tuned out 30 minutes in, but I remember that. We're gonna be at the coronation ceremony watching the King. It was prophesied that we would be. honoring His life, His sacrificial death, His resurrection, honoring His faithfulness to build the Millennial Temple. That Millennial Temple is nothing like the temple that Zerubbabel built. Nothing like it. It hasn't been rebuilt. Hasn't been built, I should say. It's never been built. The Millennial Temple's dimensions are in Ezekiel 40-48 and it's never been built. It's this global house of worship. The New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven. and there's the temple, and there's outside the city, and I'm guessing space and everything else God made to explore and to worship God and to come back in the city and to bring our wealth and our glory into God's temple and worship Him that way for eternity. It will display a singular dominion and supreme office. Peace and rest are finally ushered in, and isn't that all we really want? That is all we're after, not just in this life, but in the post life, all we're after. I mean, I work hard, you probably work hard. Sometimes it seems like that's all I ever do. And what I find myself doing and working is I'm always trying to get to a place where I'm not working. All right, I get this done, I get that done, check this out, I can go sit down, I can just go, last night I went outside and I made a fire in my fire pit and I just stared at the fire. My poor wife's going, what's wrong, what's wrong? I don't know, I just wanna watch the fire burn. I've got, I'm just going 120 miles an hour. All I really want is rest and peace. And you can't rest without peace, can you? You can go sit down and rest, but if there's no peace going on, you can't rest, you can't sleep, it's just fitful. That's all we're after here in eternity, that is what awaits. I love that. I'm looking forward to that. Zechariah says many strange things, but in the end, it's about God saying, I know what's going on, and I'm going to bring what you're all longing for. Just trust me, I got this. Having fun? All right, Zechariah, we'll take a look. We'll have to slow down a bit when we get into seven and eight, but stay with me, please. Let's finish Zechariah together. I don't want to have more than 10 people in the class when we finish it. That would be a glory. Let's pray. Father, I pray that we would leave here tonight thankful, thankful that we had time in your word and with your people. Pray that we leave here thankful that we have possessed a Bible, probably multiple copies in our home. the ability to know, the ability to understand, and the ability to worship you. I pray that we would. I pray, Lord, that if we're going through a difficult time, as I know some are, that this would be an encouragement to us that you know that. You have reconnaissance horses, and you see the pain and the struggles and the chaos in our own lives. Each one of us individually, as a nation, as a planet, you see it all, and you care. I pray that we would find comfort in that, and that we would be comforted by the fact that you will deal with it, and we will be ushered into your kingdom of eternal peace and rest and joy. This I pray for all of us, in Jesus' name, amen. You've been listening to a sermon by Dr. Lance Waldie, Senior Pastor of Harvest Bible Church in Cypress, Texas.