ZECHARIAH 5
OPENS WITH...
Two Visions Regarding the Cleansing of God's People
Verses 1-2 tells us what Zechariah saw in the FIRST VISION: A FLYING SCROLL.
"Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll. And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I answered, "I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits."
A flying scroll...In this vision GOD gives Zechariah, he SEES a scroll flying through the air, apparently IT IS FULLY OPEN to read because Zechariah can see how LARGE the scroll is.
Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits: The scroll was approximately 30 FEET LONG AND 15 FEET WIDE.
DID YOU KNOW, that these WERE THE BIBLE DIMENSIONS OF THE HOLY PLACE IN THE TABERNACLE & OF THE PORCH OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE?
HOW COOL IS THAT?
Verses 3-4 tells us what the FLYING SCROLL REPRESENTS.
"Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: 'Every thief shall be expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it." I will send out the curse," says the LORD of hosts; "It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones."
Every thief shall be expelled … Every perjurer shall be expelled...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
GOD IS TELLING ZECHARIAH THAT THE TEXT RIGHT HERE ON THE SCROLL CONTAINS the Ten Commandments. To steal was to injure your neighbor; to perjure was to dishonor God, because you had sworn in his name.
I will send out the curse...The two sins, one from each side of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, represent ALL of Israel's sin. God will curse the people who commit these sins and their house.
NEXT GOD GIVES ZECHARIAH ANOTHER VISION, A Vision of the woman and the basket.
AND I WANT TO INTERJECT SOME FOOD FOR THOUGHT HERE. THE KJV HOLY BIBLE IS AS CLOSE TO PERFECT TRANSLATION THAT CAN BE FOUND.
THE OLD ENGLISH SPOKEN IN THE DAYS OF KING JAMES IS CONSIDERED TIRESOME OR OLD-FASHION FOR MANY, SO THE NEWER TRANSLATIONS WERE AND STILL ARE BEING CREATED, WITH THE THOUGHT OF CLARIFYING OR MAKING IT MORE COOL, HIP, AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND, RIGHT?
BUT THE NEWER TRANSLATIONS CHANGE, DELETE, OR DISMISS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTICLES IN GRAMMAR, SUCH AS: A, THE, AN. WHICH IN THE EYES OF GOD ARE VERY IMPORTANT. JUST AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE...
THERE IS AN ENORMOUS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ((AN)) ANGEL OF THE LORD...WHICH TELLS US IT WAS JUST ONE OF MILLIONS OF ANGELS AT GOD'S COMMAND IN HEAVEN.
WHEREAS, ((THE)) ANGEL OF THE LORD, CAN ONLY BE JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, AMEN?
AND IN THE FOLLOWING VERSES, ((PREPOSITIONS)) ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO WHAT GOD IS TELLING US AND SHOWING US. THE NEWER TRANSLATIONS CHANGE THE PREPOSITIONS, SUCH AS THE IN, AT, ON, OVER, BESIDE, THROUGH...ETC... THEY CHANGE THEM AT TIMES TO SUIT HOW THEY RE-CREATE OR TRANSLATE SOMETHING TO MAKE IT GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT....AND THAT CHANGE CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN WHAT GOD IS SHOWING US AND TELLING US, AMEN?
JUST AS RIGHT HERE....THE BIBLE TELLS US OF THE WOMAN SITTING (((IN))) THE BASKET. OTHERS TRANSLATE IT SIMPLY THE WOMAN & THE BASKET, OR THE WOMAN NEAR THE BASKET, AMEN?
SO REMEMBER EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF OUR TRIUNE GOD IS IMPORTANT AND TRUE. THE ARTICLES ARE IMPORTANT AND SO TO ARE THE PREPOSITIONS, AMEN?
Verses 5-8 tells us of the woman sitting IN the basket.
"Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, "Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth." So I asked, "What is it?" And he said, "It is a basket that is going forth." He also said, "This is their resemblance throughout the earth: Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket"; then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth."
It IS a basket that IS going forth...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The basket was an ephah, it and the lead disc were units of measurement and symbols of commerce.
ALSO DID YOU KNOW THE ORIGINS OF THE EPHAH, IS A WORD OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN, meaning measure; a grain measure containing "three seahs or ten omers," and equivalent to the bath for liquids CONFIRMED TO US IN EXODUS 16:36; 1 SAMUEL 17:17; & ZECHARIAH 5:6).
The DOUBLE ephah in PROVERBS 20:10 (marg., "an ephah and an ephah"), & in DEUTERONOMY 25:14, means TWO ephahs, the one false and the other just.
This is Wickedness!...The woman, the basket, and the weight are associated with wickedness.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
They personify greed, materialism, and dishonesty for profit.
AND DID YOU KNOW...The Hebrew word for Wickedness is feminine. This is WHY GOD SHOWED ZECHARIAH A woman personifies evil in this vision.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO POINT TO THIS VERSE AND OTHERS WHERE THE "FEMININE" IS USED TO PREACH AND TEACH THAT WOMEN AS A WHOLE ARE EVIL, WICKED, AND UNWORTHY.
MOHAMMED, IN STRIVING TO GIVE CREDIBILITY TO HIS WRITINGS, BASED MANY OF HIS WRITINGS, IN LARGE, HIS PARADISE TEACHING ON THESE SCRIPTURES AND HIS OWN DISLIKE OF WOMEN, TO SAY THAT ALL WOMEN ARE WORTHLESS AND EVIL VESSELS IN THE EYES OF ALLAH, THAT HAVE THEIR USES TO BRING FORTH WORTHY MALES, BUT DO NOT AND ARE NOT OFFERED PARADISE, BUT DOOMED TO ETERNAL HELL WHEN THEY DIE.
BUT WE WHO STUDY AND KNOW THE BIBLE, KNOW THAT OUR TRIUNE GOD SO LOVED HIS CREATION, AND THAT MEANS MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE, AMEN?
AND GOD GAVE THIS VISION TO Zechariah TO PROPHECY TO THOSE who returned from the Babylonian exile. God's people came back from Babylon WITH a MATERIALISM problem, and this vision speaks to THIS problem.
He thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
God first demonstrates his authority OVER EVIL then removes the wickedness from Jerusalem.
Verses 9-11 TELLS US The woman and the basket are returned to Babylon.
"Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. So I said to the angel who talked with me, "Where are they carrying the basket?" And he said to me, "To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base."
Where are they carrying the basket?
God IS TELLING ZECHARIAH THAT HE WILL cause this evil, materialistic spirit to be RETURNED to its starting-place: Babylon. There it will eventually be destroyed.
When it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The word for base has the thought of a pedestal for an idol. The storks set the idol of materialism where it belongs.
TWO women … they had wings like the wings of a stork...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
This means that the women in Zechariah's vision had BIG wings, strong enough to take this basket back to Babylon. Some regard these women as agents of evil because storks were CONSIDERED unclean animals, but here, WHETHER THEY ARE EVIL OR AGENTS, THEY ALL STILL DO THE COMMANDED WORK of God in sending the wicked woman back to Babylon.
NOW TURN WITH ME TO ZECHARIAH 6
OPENS WITH...
ANOTHER VISION OF A King and Priest & THE VISION OF the four horses and their chariots.
Verses 1-3 tells us AGAIN What Zechariah SAW.
"Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses; strong steeds."
FOUR CHARIOTS were coming from between TWO mountains... Since the original text says the two mountains, most assume they are the Mount of Olives and Mount Zion. Mountains of bronze associates these mountains with strength and judgment.
Four chariots … RED horses … BLACK horses … WHITE horses … DAPPLED horses; strong steeds...
REMEMBER The horsemen of Zechariah 1 were OBSERVERS on reconnaissance.
NOW THESE FOUR chariots and their horses ARE HOSTILE AGENTS OF GOD'S JUDGMENT. THEY ARE EMISSARIES of His war against the earth.
AND SINCE WE HAVE ALREADY STUDIED THE BOOK OF DANIEL AND REVELATION IN THEIR ENTIRETY, WE KNOW SOME WANT TO IDENTIFY these FOUR CHARIOTS with Daniel's four world empires TOLD TO US IN Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 ONLY.
BUT WE KNOW AND REMEMBER THAT THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT THE COLORS ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME OF AS THE FOUR HORSEMEN IN REVELATION 6, WHO ARE EMISSARIES/AGENTS OF GOD'S JUDGMENT.
AND SOME CONNECT THESE WITH THE ANGELIC MESSENGERS OF JUDGMENT IN REVELATION 7:1-3 TOO.
AND WE KNOW THE BIBLICAL SYMBOLISM:
RED SPEAKS OF WAR,
BLACK SPEAKS OF FAMINE AND DEATH.
WHITE OF VICTORY.
GRIZZLED/DAPPLED SPEAKS OF PESTILENCE,
ALL OF WHICH ARE ALL CONFIRMED IN Ezekiel 14:21 & Revelation 6:18.
BUT WHAT WE NEED TO ALWAYS REMEMBER, WHETHER THEY SYMBOLIZE EVIL INTENTS OR JUDGMENT AGENTS OF OUR TRIUNE GOD....OUR ALMIGHTY GOD CONTROLS THEM ALL, AMEN?
Verses 4-8 tells us WHAT THE VISION MEANS.
"Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" And the angel answered and said to me, "These are four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth. The one with the black horses is going to the north country, the white are going after them, and the dappled are going toward the south country." Then the strong steeds went out, eager to go, that they might walk to and fro throughout the earth. And He said, "Go, walk to and fro throughout the earth." So they walked to and fro throughout the earth. And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, "See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country."
Four spirits of heaven...THE ANGEL OF THE LORD, WHO CAN ONLY BE OUR JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, WANTS ZECHARIAH TO UNDERSTAND, SO HE WILLINGLY TELLS ZECHARIAH THAT THESE FOUR CHARIOTS are actually four angelic beings sent from God.
This means that these may not be exactly the same as the four horsemen of Revelation 6, but that the idea of their mission and purpose is similar & ALL ARE JESUS DIRECTED AND SENT, AMEN?
AND WE NEED TO REMEMBER, JESUS GAVE ZECHARIAH VISUALS OF HIS TIME...ONES HE COULD UNDERSTAND. CHARIOTS AND SWIFT STRONG HORSES WERE THE FASTEST MODES OF TRANSPORTATION AND ATTACK IN ZECHARIAH'S TIME, AMEN?
AND MAYBE IF ZECHARIAH HAD HAD THE TECHNOLOGY OF TODAY, HE WOULD HAVE USED RACE CARS OR FIGHTER JETS TO ILLUSTRATE THE FASTEST & MOST POWERFUL, AS THEY ZOOM ACROSS THE EARTH TO DO WHAT GOD HAS COMMANDED THEM TO DO, AMEN?
To the NORTH COUNTRY... Two of the horses are focused on the north, AND WHAT IS NORTH OF ZECHARIAH? Babylon and Magog are.
BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER, EACH OF THE FOUR EXTENDS to and fro THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE EARTH.
Those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
IT IS TELLING US God's Spirit is ONLY at rest when His enemies and the enemies of His people ARE JUDGED.
Verses 9-11 tells us and shows us the CROWNING OF JOSHUA, THE HIGH PRIEST, & GOD COMMANDS A CROWN BE MADE FOR JOSHUA!!
"Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Receive the gift from the captives; from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon; and go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest."
Receive the gift from the captives … who have come from Babylon: As the refugees continued to return from exile they brought with them gifts from wealthy Babylon.
Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah...Taking the meaning of the names WE KNOW:
Heldai means robust.
Tobijah means God's goodness.
Jedaiah means God knows.
GOD IS TELLING ZECHARIAH & US THAT GOD KNOWS THAT THROUGH His goodness, He WILL PUT HIS KING on the throne, and He WILL DO IT in a robust manner, AMEN?
Make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua...THIS MUST HAVE SHOCKED ZECHARIAH.
WHY?
BECAUSE BEFORE GOD HAD TOLD MAN, HE COULD NOT BE KING AND HIGH PRIEST. SO It was absolutely unusual to crown a high priest, because priests were NEVER crowned as kings and kings were NEVER priests.
AND WE KNOW THE STORY IN 2 Chronicles 26 tells the tragic story of King Uzziah who tried to function as a priest, and was stricken with leprosy to the end of his life. Through the history of Israel God commanded a separation between the religious and the civil leadership of Israel.
Elaborate crown...This TELLS US IT IS definitely a ROYAL crown and is NOT the customary headdress of the high priest.
On the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest...There already was a strong, godly civil leader in Jerusalem named Zerubbabel.
IN OUR LIMITED UNDERSTANDING, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD HAVE MADE A LOT MORE SENSE TO CROWN Zerubbabel instead of Joshua … the high priest.
SO WHY JOSHUA...?
WONDERFULLY BECAUSE Joshua was crowned because the NEXT descendant of David to rule would be Jesus, prefigured by the high priest Joshua.
JESUS CHRIST IS KING AND HIGH PRIEST...THE ONLYYYYYYYYYY ONE WHO IS WORTHY AND ABLE TO HOLD BOTH TITLES, DUTIES, AND HONORS IN THE EYES OF ALMIGHTY GOD, AMEN?
AND THERE ARE LIBERAL CRITICS OF THE BIBLE AND ZECHARIAH, THAT ARE SOOO ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THAT Zerubbabel should be crowned here....FORGET GOD'S WORD AND HIS PROMISES AND HIS PROPHECIES...THEY THINK KING JAMES GREEK, ARAMAIC, HEBREW SCRIBES ARE IN ERROR.
BUT WE KNOW, THEY ARE MISSING THE ENTIRE POINT, BECAUSE THIS GOD CROWNING OF JOSHUA, PROPHECIES AND ONCE AGAIN CONFIRMS THE KING-PRIEST JESUS CHRIST TO COME...AMEN?
Verses 12-13 tells us of the Prophecy of THE BRANCH, who is BOTH king and priest.
DO YOU NOTICE....THE BRANCH...NOT A BRANCH...OR BRANCH...BUT THEEEEEEEEEE BRANCH...THAT CAN ONLYYYYYYYY BE OUR SWEET LORD JESUS, AMEN?
"Then speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, saying: "Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH! From His place He shall branch out, and He shall build the temple of the LORD; Yes, He shall build the temple of the LORD. He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on His throne; so He shall be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'
Behold, the Man whose name is the BRANCH!...
RIGHT HERE....GOD IS TELLING ZECHARIAH, ALL OF ISRAEL, AND US IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, THAT THE MESSIAH IS A HUMAN, A MAN, WHOSE NAME IS THE BRANCH!!!
We already saw this Branch in Zechariah 3:8, and SO WE KNOW THE BRANCH IS A PRECIOUS AND WONDROUS TITLE FOR THE MESSIAH, OUR JESUS, TOLD TO US, ALL THROUGH THE OLD TESTAMENT TOO, IN Isaiah 4:2 & 11:1, Jeremiah 23:5 & 33:15.
The BRANCH is ALSO associated with fruitfulness and life. AND REMEMBER JESUS HIMSELF USED THE SAME IMAGE WHEN He said that He was the vine and we are the branches IN John 15:5.
Behold, THE MAN...
DID YOU KNOW In the Hebrew text the prophecy begins 'Behold the Man,' & REMEMBER THEY ARE THE VERY WORDS Pilate used to present the beaten Christ to the people of Jerusalem.
PILATE SAID, 'Ecce homo!' WHICH MEANS BEHOLD THE MAN!
But in Zechariah's vision it isn't the humiliated Jesus we are asked to behold, it is the TRIUMPHANT Jesus, AMEN?
AND THIS TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT OUR ALMIGHTY GOD AND ALL OF HEAVEN...JESUS BRUISED, BEATEN, & CRUCIFIED ON THE ACROSS WAS ONLY A BLINK IN TIME.
ALMIGHTY GOD AND ALL OF HEAVEN DO NOTTTTTT FOCUS ON THE CROSS AND JESUS SUFFERING...BUT THEY PRAISE SHOUT AND FOCUS ON HIS TRIUMPHANT RESURRECTION! HIS VICTORY OVER SATAN, THE EARTH, DEATH, AND THE GRAVE.
WHILE THE LOST CAN COME TO THE CROSS, CAN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE AMAZING LOVE & GRACE OF OUR JESUS CHRIST FOR US ALL, ALL OF US BEFORE WE WERE SAVED.
BUT AS CHRISTIANS, WHO KNOW AND LOVE AND CALL JESUS CHRIST LORD SAVIOR AND FRIEND, WE ARE SEPARATED UNTO ALMIGHTY GOD. WE ARE NOW CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD. WE ARE TO FOCUS UPON JESUS ALIVE AND RULING IN HEAVEN.
JESUS CHRIST IS NO LONGER ON THAT CROSS. OUR JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE...AND FROM THE SCRIPTURES, WE CAN KNOW THAT ALL OF HEAVEN FOCUSES ON THE RISEN, ALIVE, RULING AND REIGNING JESUS. THERE WILL BE NO NAILS, NO CROSSES, IN HEAVEN...ONLY THE PRECIOUS LAMB, AMEN?
From HIS PLACE HE SHALL BRANCH OUT: This speaks of the fruitfulness and outreaching life of the Messiah to come. JESUS WILL REACH OUT...BRANCH OUT...TO THE HEATHEN...TO THE GENTILES...TO THE LOST WORLD. JESUS WILL SEEK OUT AND SAVE THE LOST...GENTILE AND JEW ALIKE.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO WILL NOT READ THE NEW TESTAMENT.
THEY REFUSE TO BELIEVE JESUS IS THE SON OF ALMIGHTY GOD.
THEY REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE MESSIAH.
BUT ONCE AGAIN, ALMIGHTY GOD KNOWING ALL THIS....INTRODUCED AND PROMISED HIS MESSIAH, THE MAN, THE BRANCH TO COME IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, LONGGGGG BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN, AMEN? SO IF YOU HAVE THOSE WHO WILL NOT READ THE NEW TESTAMENT, SHOW THEM ZECHARIAH 6!
And He SHALL build the temple of the LORD: The Branch will REBUILD the temple - not the same temple Zerubbabel worked on, but the temple of His people CONFIRMED IN Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:5.
So He SHALL BE a priest on His throne:...This was an unthinkable concept previously in Israel because priests did not sit on thrones and kings did not serve as priests. Nevertheless, the Branch is different; He rules as both a King and Priest, AMEN?
Verses 14-15 tells us of The crowning as a memorial.
"Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial in the temple of the LORD for Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the LORD. Then you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."
Now the elaborate crown shall be for a memorial...
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
The LORD makes it clear that the crown for Joshua was a picture of the ruling Priest-King JESUS CHRIST in the future. God NEVER intended for Joshua to take control as king in the Jerusalem of his day.
Hen the son of Zephaniah..Earlier, Josiah was said to be the son of Zephaniah, and Zechariah apparently gave this prophecy in his house (Zechariah 6:10). Since the name Hen means "gracious," it is almost certainly another name, and an appropriate name for this Josiah the son of Zephaniah.
Even those FROM AFAR shall come and build the temple of the LORD:
ONCE AGAIN.....HERE IS AN IMPORTANT PREPOSITION ((FROM AFAR)) GOD IS TELLING ZECHARIAH, THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, THAT JOSHUA IS A PICTURE...OF THE AFAR OFF...MEANING FAR IN THE FUTURE...NOT RIGHT NOW.
Still, God's promised blessing in the future means that He wants the work to continue right now, and that He will bless the current work.
AND THAT GOD HAS A PLAN...GOD IS TELLING ZECHARIAH, AND THE PEOPLE AND US TODAY...I HAVE A PLAN...IT HAS A NEAR AND A FAR RESULT.
IT MAY SEEM LIKE YOU ARE SPINNING YOUR WHEELS. YOU KEEP DOING TO THE SAME THINGS FOR JESUS, YOU KEEP RIGHT ON PERSEVERING....AND LIKE IN THE DAY OF ZECHARIAH, THEY HAD A MOUNTAIN OF RUBBLE...THAT HAD TO BE REMOVED BY HAND....THEY DID NOT HAVE EARTH MOVERS, OR BULLDOZERS....ONLY THEIR HANDS, A STRONG BACK, AND MULES TO HELP THEM MOVE IT...SO THE WORK WAS SLOWWWWWW AND TEDIOUSSSSSSSSS.
BUT GOD SAYS, I AM WORKING, I AM PREPARING YOU, I AM STRENGTHENING YOU, AND I AM BLESSING THIS WORK, WHETHER YOU SEE IT OR NOT....JUST KEEP PRESSING IN TO ME, KEEP DIGGING, KEEP MOVING...AND I WILL DO THE REST!