Zechariah Chapter 8 "Restoration of Jerusalem" This Bible
Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location is provided by http://www.theseason.org Zechariah 8:1 "Again the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying," Zechariah 8:2 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury." This sets the stage for what is about to happen; and that event is the restoration of Jerusalem. God is very jealous over Jerusalem and we see the reason for this is in Ezekiel 16:1-8. God is telling Ezekiel that He compares Jerusalem to the birth of a young female child. In verse three, God tells how the city was born in an unclean state. Jerusalem was known as a Amorite city, called "Jebus"; and it's inhabitancy were from both the Amorite, and Hittite stock. God said that He loathed the day this city was born, and took pity on "Jebus" [Jerusalem], and showed compassion on her. Though this city was polluted in it's blood or early people, God loved that ancient city. Ezekiel 16:8; "Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the thime of love; and I spread my skirt over thee [The commitment to marriage], and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine." God made an eternal covenant with this city, and "I spread my skirt over thee", in the Hebrew text it means that God married Jerusalem. So we see God claims Jerusalem as His own by marriage. And it is in this bond of matrimony, that God's great jealousy comes to a fury over Jerusalem. It is God's favorite spot on this earth. Zechariah 8:3 "Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain." God is returning to earth to reclaim Jerusalem, However prior to his coming, the city of God will see the abomination above all abominations. That abomination is when the entire world will go whoring off to Jerusalem, to worship Satan [in his role as the Antichrist]. The Antichrist will be standing in that holy place, and proclaiming himself to be God, the Messiah. This is what Jesus called in Matthew 24:15 the "Abomination of desolation [of the desolator, Satan] when Jesus was quoting from Daniel 9:27. Not only did the Antichrist pollute the city, but he and his offspring the "Kenites" misled God children. So when God said, "I am returned unto Zion", it will be only one time, and that is when He returns as "King of kings, and Lord of lord's", as outlined in Revelation 19. The Lord will reclaim the city, and cast out all the unclean. Our Lord's Millennium kingdom will be established then, and Mount Zion will be His headquarters. On that day there will be no more lies coming from Jerusalem, for Satan and his kids the "Kenites, and all the fallen angels will be gone for good, they will not be there. Zechariah 8:4 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age." God is speaking here with His full title. To "dwell in the streets" refers to the safety that will exist. Have you seen elderly people sitting on their porches lately in the big city, in safety. This is a sign of total peace, with no thief, nor criminal activity and bloodshed. That is how it will be in Jerusalem, in Christ's kingdom. Zechariah 8:5 "And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof." This is an Hebrew idiom to show the safety that will exist. When even children can play in the streets with no harm to them. Zechariah 8:6 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvelous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts." This is the "Millennium time. God is saying in this question, if you think the remnant [God's elect] are going to enjoy this, think of how marvelous it will be in My own heart also. Our Heavenly father has feelings also, and he also looks forward to the end of this earth age. Zechariah 8:7 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;" God is making a statement here that He will save ALL "His people". The term "from east to west" means where ever the sun shines, that is the entire earth. In Amos 9:9 God tells how He will sift the entire earth, and not one grain [person] from His own will be lost. Our Lord Jesus Christ knows His own, and He gave His life for them [John 3:16], and He will claim every last soul that belongs to Him. Amos 9:9 "For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth." When God sifts out his elect and those saved from the tares of the rest of world, not one soul will fall away by accident. Amos 9:10 "All the sinners of My People shall die by the sword, which say, `The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.' " Are you looking for a way out of the time of God's testing here on earth, when Satan will play his role as the "instead of Christ". Those that promote the rapture doctrine that will lead many Christians to Satan are going to be held accountable for their wickedness at the time of God's sifting. Zechariah 8:8 "And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness." Only God's "elect" will dwell next to the throne. That elect of God are all those who will stand against Antichrist, and will not allow themselves to be deceived, because they knew the Antichrist would come first, and they stood against him. There is no other freedom than the truth. In the time of the Millennium age, God will claim His own, and each will know who God is. They were sealed in their minds with the truth, and will know Jesus Christ. It will not be as in this earth age, where most shepherds will herd their flocks into the Antichrist's fold, for those shepherds don't even know the difference between Jesus Christ and Satan. It is because of God's Word that you know righteousness, and can identify our Lord Jesus Christ. His Word will show you how to live, and you can even know how to put on the armour of God. In the Millennium we will have both the written Word and the Living word to be our guide in truth. We read in John 1:17: "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." "Grace" is the unmerited gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ, and "truth" is our understanding that was given to each us to know we were lost, and that we can do something about it. We can repent of our sins, then seek guidance for our lives through His Written Word. Zechariah 8:9 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built." There is a change of thought here, for we go from the Millennium age, back to our current times. This is an explanation of Ephesians 1:4. This "remnant" are those that God had chosen before the overthrow of that first earth age, [Satan's fall] in the first earth age. These Elect were set in place in God's plan so that the word of God could come forth in the days just prior to Jesus Christ's return. These are the elect of God that Jesus spoke of in Mark 13:11; that will be called into the synagogues of Satan to give account. If you understand what will come about in the end of this earth age, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you, you are one of those elect. It will be no accident, or by chance that you will be there if you are one of God's elect. The selection was made before the foundations of this earth age, that is before man was formed in the flesh, as written in Genesis 1:27-28. God did the selecting, and this event in that latter time is what Peter spoke of that happened in Acts 2. Peter was reminding the Jews that the words they were hearing are recorded in Joel 2. This salvation will come forth, and it will happen exactly as God's Word records it to be. Zechariah 8:10 "For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbor." "These days" are the days just prior to the Millennium age, and this takes place in Jerusalem. The word "affliction" reads in the Hebrew text, "adversary". The adversary is Satan. This is what the manuscripts say in the Hebrew; "The neighbor is the one that doesn't know that the adversary isn't the true Christ. That neighbor that will turn you over to Satan [the Antichrist], will do it thinking "this adversary" was God." There will be no one to hire then when Satan is ruling, because a man's hire [wages] will not be worth anything. This is exactly what we are starting to see happen today, as the Kenites dismantle America, through the United Nations, and our national leaders appear to be totally blind to God's prophecies for these last days. Pay will be reduced to a level of equality, and that equality is slavery [serf wages]. We will see the money that pays the salaries will become worthless also, because the productivity that backs our dollar and other currencies are coming apart. Friend, that day is upon us now, and shortly a day of calling in the debt, [national and personal debt] will be a reality. Our nation, as is the entire world, is in a state of bankruptcy to those God prophesied and warned us against. Those holding the dept are the "Kenites", those bad figs of Ezekiel who call themselves Jews, but are not of Judah. The church world today is wholly seduced by them, as they in ignorance believe them to be "God's chosen people". Jesus Christ warned us of this event through John in Revelation 13:16-17; "And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." That mark "in the forehead", is "in your mind"; it is what you believe to be true. It is to believe a lie completely. The mark in the "right hand" is to do the work of the Antichrist, or in the case of today, the one world system of the Kenites. Those that take the mark will believe the lie, and trust in this satanic false world system that belongs entirely to the "adversary" [Satan]. And they will be proud and happy to do the work of that system as well as the adversary. They will do in in their ignorance. Now go back to Zechariah 8:10 and see why there was no hire for "man", which should read "remnant", speaking of "God's remnant". God's remnant or Elect refused to take Satan's mark, the mark of the beast. Friend, if you know what it means to take the mark, for hire, you will not take it. If it's the Antichrist's payment for hire, you don't want it. Zechariah 8:11 "But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts." This has not come to pass yet for anyone except the remnant [elect]. God is saying that he is not going to intervene, or correct His people in these latter days, as He did to our forefathers. Zechariah 8:12 "For the seed shall be prosperous; the mine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things." God will make His voice heard to the world, and all those who preach it in truth will be blessed. A ministry that preaches God's Word in it's entirety can't help but produce fruit [souls] for the kingdom of God. Zechariah 8:13 "And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong." The "heathen" includes all people, of all races that do not see the truth of God's Word. They are ignorant of God's Word, His plan, and even the the prophecies concerning the Antichrist, and the satanic One World System that has now formed. This is a prophecy that pertains to a time just prior to the Millennium age, and in that time, both the "House of Judah, and the "House of Israel" is still split. Why then, are God's people considered a curse on themselves. This is the second time that "hands be strong" is stated in this chapter. It means "to be strong in doing something". When you know the truth, do it. Then let your light shine in your life and share His Word wherever God has placed you. This is another form of your tithe to the Lord, which is used for the winning of lost souls. Zechariah 8:14 "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:" Zechariah 8:15 "So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not." You don't have to fear anything. There are no giants out these that our Lord can't handle. God said, "fear not". No matter what organization comes against you, God say's you will have the victory, or a way will be made around it. God will fill the gaps when you can't handle it. Zechariah 8:16 "These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:" When Jesus was asked, "who is my neighbor?" He answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan. God is telling us too speak truth always to our neighbor so our words can be trusted. As we go about our daily tasks, think and use good judgment in how we talk to others, and where we go. Don't be a busybody, but we are to let every thing we do and say glorify our Lord. This will please God. Our "gates" are in our homes. When one is an enemy of God, he is not an neighbor but an enemy of our home. We should be bold in our teaching of love, yet stand our ground and be fair in all matters. Zechariah 8:17 "And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord." God's love is true and just, when He saw that His people needed correction, it was given to them and not overlooked. This is as you and I ought to be towards the wicked. When the correction is needed, we must have "strong hands" and must respond to their actions to you. However, our hearts must not be to contrive evil towards our neighbor, or even side with others to swear with others against our neighbor: Especially when we know it is untrue. It may be bitter at times, but we are not to take any false oath against Him, "Oath's" in the Hebrew means "by sevens". In other words, when something is repeated seven times by repetition, it is believed to be true [even when in fact it is a lie]. This is where tradition comes from, and through repetition of a act or a doctrine, people will accept false and untrue teaching to be true. They believe the lie because they don't care about the truth. A lie about a neighbor will never be true, and is unfit for repeating. God is telling you that He hates those things and the ones who do it. Zechariah 8:18 "And the word of the Lord of hosts came unto me, saying," Zechariah 8:19 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace." These fasts are not times when you don't eat, but times you set aside to remember special occasions. The "fast of the fourth month" was to remember the fall of the city of Jerusalem, as recorded in Jeremiah 52:6-7. The "fast of the fifth month", which is the "tenth of Ab", were to remember "when the temple and their houses were burned"., as recorded in Jeremiah 52:12-13. The "fast of the seventh month", "the 3rd of Tisri", was when Gedaliah was slain by Ishmael, following the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon. Gedaliah was the governor, and a man of God as recorded in Jeremiah 40:8, 41:1-3. So these days were set aside to weep over, however they were days that God promised that He would make happen. God is pointing out that these would turn from fast [weeping] days, to feast [rejoicing] days, when Judah finally realizes that all of them were corrections from God. When we see the rise of the "One World System", and we see the four horns of power [hidden dynasties], we should rejoice for these also are corrections by God on His people. The fall of Russia, the establishment of Israel, changes in the British crown, and on and on: God says rejoice, for each of these were written to us, not to create fear, but to give assurance that God's Word is true, and He is still in control. All these current events that are now history, that are part of end times prophecy, alert us to the fact that the Antichrist is coming and that time is very close. It will be as foretold, and God will protect those who have their gospel armor on. Zechariah 8:20 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities:" All of these events that are going to happen, God is saying, will be world wide. Zechariah 8:21 "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." There is a great revival coming, and it will cover the entire earth. This revival is one that you DO NOT want to be any part of it. We are told here that all will rush anxiously to meet their messiah. However, there is one problem, and that is that he is the wrong Christ. It will be the Antichrist, and Satan will lead them with his false peace for five months. Revelation 9:5 "And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man." Satan is not out to kill anyone's flesh body, but he is after the souls of all those that will allow themselves to be deceived by him. When "a scorpion striketh a man", the scorpion first hits the man with venom that leaves the man helpless to defend himself. That action is quick and sure, and allows the enemy to do with the man as it pleases. It is only after the man has been left helpless that the scorpion continues its digestive process within the body of the man. Notice that all the torment and action that takes place, is within the body of the victim, not in the body of the scorpion. This is the same method that Satan will use against you when he arrives. It is why you must seek protection from Satan, and be sealed before his arrival. For once Satan and his fallen angels have arrived here on earth for this five month time of torment, it will be to late. The battlefield for the war against Satan is in your mind, and it will be fought with words, ideas, and even the Word of God. Satan will twist the Word of God and used it to confuse you into following and bowing to him. Zechariah 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord." In II Thessalonians 2:1-4 Paul tells us not to be shaken in mind, or troubled in any way, for Christ will not come back until "the man of sin [Satan, the Antichrist] be revealed, the son of Perdition." Satan is the man of sin, and he will be this "fake" Lord in Jerusalem that the world will flock to bow and pray before. This will happen and during your lifetime. If you see what you believe to be Jesus Christ, in Jerusalem, and the whole world believes him to be God, and you are still in your flesh body; then that is the Antichrist. In I Corinthians 15:50:52 we are told that when Christ comes, "at the last trump, we will all be changed into our new incorruptible bodies". Look it up and read it. It's important for you to understand that you will not see, or stand before our Lord Jesus Christ in your flesh body. If you get nothing else form this chapter, know the Antichrist comes first, before the coming of the Lord. Zechariah 8:23 "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 nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." These "ten men" that come out of the nations of the whole world are "ten horns of power". They are the ten horns, or authorities [agencies] of power that will give their authority in support of the Antichrist. This is also discussed in Daniel's vision of the ten horns. This word for "men" in the Hebrew text is "enosh", which as used in Numbers 31:35 and is not areas of land, or nations, but men of authority of governmental entities; units of government which control the entire earth. The world system is in place through and under the United Nations. The ten systems of authority within the U.N., which are the controlling agencies of authority today are the U.N. forces [military], Health [world relief], Environmental control, Economic [Control of treaties and trade agreements between nations and industry], Red Cross, World Council of Churches, World Court [in Belgium], International Space agency, The World Bank UNICEF [for control and education of your children]. There is not an area of control that they [the Kenites] have not attacked to force your soul to conform and yield to their father Satan [the Antichrist]. Today all nations of the world subscribe to the United Nations charter, and yield to the U. N. authority; even the United States. When we go to war now, we are under the United nations flag. The food stolen from the U.S. taxpayers, are given by the U.N relief agency to advance their Godless agenda. Even our laws and courts violate our own U.S. constitution, for the sake of advancing the U.N. international law. While you were watching your kid's grow up, the world wide political beast of Revelation 13:1-3 grew up around you. You were like the frog that was put into the cold water, that thought nothing of what was going on around him, as the heated water was turned and brought to the boiling. Now you are becoming the delicacy of that world wide system that we have become so accustomed to. The stage is now set, as we wait, for the political beast will fall, and out of it's ruin the religious system will come forth. The supernatural person of the Antichrist will then assume his role, and the Church world will go bananas over him. The Church of God, which will stray so far from the truth that in ignorance and through deception will become part of that great whore, in the spiritual sense. Then God will turn them over to Satan to do what he pleases with them, and only those sealed in their minds with the truth of God's Word will be protected by our Lord.
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