Haggai 2 This Bible Study is written by Roger
Christopherson, and made available with written
permission by http://www.theseason.org Haggai 2:1 "In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying," This is in the next month, about five weeks later, following Haggai's first vision, or word from God. Haggai 2:2 "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying," Notice this message is directed to all areas. Is is to the political [the governor], the religious [the priests], and to the people. No one is left out. Haggai 2:3 "Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?" God is asking through Haggai, if anyone could remember the old temple, and the massive beauty and glory of King Solomon's temple. Then God tells them to all look at this one that you have just built out of timbers [wood]. Then God asks them how they would compare the two. The difference is massive, yet, God tells them He is pleased with them. God is showing them that He is the one that does the deciding as to what is acceptable, and chooses what goes into His temple to please Him. It is not the house [temple] that God received the glory, but what went into it. In Christ's temple of today, many of His elect would be passed over, if it were up to man to do the choosing for that temple. Don't be disappointed with with yourself, when you feel you fall short of His standard, for He knows your heart, and He finds great pleasure when you do the work for His temple [Church]. Haggai 2:4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye People of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:" God is telling us to be strong in the Lord, AND WORK. Prayer is our communication with God, and we must have that communication, but WORK is what gets the job done. Work is what built that old house of God, from the timbers; and work is what will build the body of Christ, His Church; one member at a time. And fitting that temple to be a glory to God and for his pleasure, is what our mission on earth is. God is not telling you to forget your family ad livelihood; but he is telling you to remember Him, while you do your work. Be strong in all that you do, whether it is on the Lord's house, or yours, do it all in the glory of God. Haggai 2:5 "According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not." God is asking them to remember how He was with their forefathers when they came out of Egypt. He parted the Red Sea for them, He preformed miracle after miracle for them as they migrated through the wilderness for forty years. God took care of His children, and He told the Jews, if you are obedient to my Word, I will do the same for you. God's promises are everlasting, and they do not age. they apply to you and I today also. When we do things according to His Word, that protection applies to you and I. Haggai 2:6 "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;" This is the time that our Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth at the seventh trumpet. Then all His enemies will be destroyed on this earth, and all nations will be placed in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who shall rule this entire earth. The ultimate shaking of the earth will not take place until after the millennium age, when the new earth will be formed, as recorded in Revelation 22. This destruction is to all the political powers, and religious forms and evil of both man and Satan. Haggai 2:7 "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts." All the nations are shook at one time, because they are all bound together into Satan's one word system under the Antichrist. This is a fact and a promise from God to you and I. God will fill "his house", His temple, His many membered body with glory and with His grace. These are "the elect of all glory", as written in the original text, and this glory is connected to the final peace we will have in Christ's second temple [in the millennium age]. In the millennium their will not be grace, for this is offered in this age only, but then all of God's elect will have the glory. The "desire of all nations" is the discipline that all people will gladly follow, just as they followed the Antichrist in this earth age, in ignorance. Haggai 2:8 "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts." You prosper by knowing His word, and doing all things in His way. That knowledge will make you prosperous, and will also plug the holes in your money bags. This we saw in the first chapter. He can give and He can take away. Haggai 2:9 "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts." The glory of this "latter house" is the many timbered body of Jesus Christ. Haggai is saying the Glory of Christ's body will be greater than the temple Solomon built. In God's eyes, the latter house, has far more glory than anything man can create to His honor. This thought continues on into the eternity, for Ezekiel 43:2-5 refers to it in talking about the millennium age, and the glory of God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. This temple will have no end. Haggai 2:10 "In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying," Haggai 2:11 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests concerning the law, saying," The priests in this final generation are the ministers, teachers, and priests. God is telling us to ask them a question. Haggai 2:12 "If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No." "Holy bread" is the "flesh of a sacrifice". Haggai 2:13 "Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean." "Dead body" as it is used here, is "nephesh" in the Hebrew. This is referring to the soul of a person and not to the flesh, or dead corps. What is asked is if one with a dead soul touches any of the sacrifices given to God, would that sacrifice be unclean? The answer is yes. The intellect of the soul is their spirit, and if that spirit is dead, it doesn't matter what they touch; in respect to our Fathers word, it is dead also. It's unclean. Why? They don't know what they are are talking about, because they don't know enough about the Word of God, or the law of God to give the truth. Many say 'the law was done away with", and show their ignorance. Christ fulfilled the law dealing with animal sacrifices, which applied to those blood sacrifices when He was nailed to the cross. However, the law of God is still the law of God. Haggai 2:14 "Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean." In Ezekiel 37, there was a whole valley of dry dead bones, and when God's spirit entered them they came alive. Flesh then covered them bones, and those bones became living spiritual souls. Ezekiel them prophesied [preached to those bones], and the Spirit of the Living God entered them. Friend, you can't help in God's house when you are spiritually dead. We see in Ezekiel 44, that in the Millennium age, these spiritually dead are still spiritually dead. When the elect of God comes near them, they must go through a seven day purification period, to be able to return to the presents of the Lord. Then too, the elect can only go to the blood kin, to talk and preach to them, and help them understand. Haggai is saying that the whole bunch that are spiritually dead, can do nothing to glory and honor the Lord, or His temple. Outside of God's way, all your works are unclean, and dead to God. Haggai 2:15 "And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord:" God told them to mark the particular day that they changed their ways. Then you have a reference point to return to to see how you have progressed. Haggai 2:16 "Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten: when one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty." God tells them, Remember when you thought you were going to harvest twenty measures [sheaves]; but after the harvest you had only ten? God blew on it. The "Pressfat" is where you drew the wine from the grapes. You thought you were going to get fifty barrels, but you only got twenty. God blew on it again. This is not a curse, but what God gave you was what He felt you could handle. God only gives to you what you prove to Him you are worthy of. Haggai 2:17 "I smote you blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labours of your hands; yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord." Sometimes when God is trying to correct His children, they just don't get the message. If they would return to God, He will restore the blessing to them. Haggai 2:18 "Consider now from this day and upward [backward]. from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it." God is again telling them to mark the day that they had finished His house. Consider or think about everything that had transpired since they first started to lay the foundation. This applies to you and I, we are to consider our lives, the good and the bad, and spiritually what were we doing for the Lord during these times. Haggai 2:19 "Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you." This relates to us very much today. Pay attention to what happens when you stray spiritually from God's word. Be awake to things around you, and watch for those signs as they come to pass. Then mark them well. Know where you are at at all times, so the events will not sweep you into the camp of the Antichrist. The Barn is built to hold "feed", while the seed is not to be in the barn. The place for the seed is in the ground where it will grow, and reproduce. This is what is happening to most Christians today, they don't plant the seeds in any form, or assist those who do plant the seeds. In fact they don't know the difference between the seed and the feed. If you expect to be part of God harvest and have the glory and blessings God has in store for His elect, it is time to plant those seeds. The season is coming shortly when no seed will grow, because God will give them over the Antichrist [Revelation 9:4], and then the all minds will be closed to accepting any seed. Where is your seed, God is asking you to "consider it". When you take the "seed" of God's word out of the "barn [your mind]", and plant them in the ground [minds of others], God promises you, "from this day I bless you." Haggai 2:20 "And again the word of the Lord came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying," God is promising He will bring the end to pass, and we are living in the generation that will see all the prophecies of God come to fulfillment. Then our Lord Jesus Christ will return. Haggai 2:21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;" Haggai 2:22 "And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen [nations], and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother." The "thrones of Kingdoms", is the Antichrists throne over his one world system. That system has already formed it's political head, and as it that head dies, the religious order of the Antichrist will take it's world wide control. It is that "Throne of kingdoms" that God is saying through Haggai, that He will destroy. The "strength of the kingdoms" is the forms of worship, in ignorance, they will give to the Antichrist. For most of the Christians are included in that "strength" that God says He will destroy. The "horses" are all their powers of authority, while the riders on those horses are the leaders that are becoming part of the one world religious order. That system endorses the rights of Sodomy, of Humanism, and many other forms of teaching God's Word strictly warns against. Haggai 2:23 "In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of hosts." Each of God's elect that understands and follows His word, are God's "chosen". They are the signet, or sign of honor. That honor and glory will be with them through the millennium age, and on into eternity. Friend, it does make a difference what we think, and believe, but also is important what we say and do. We are accountable for it all.
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