(Zechariah 2:6-9) “Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord. 7 “Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon.” 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. 9 For behold, I will wave My hand over them so that they will be plunder for their slaves. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me..."
And although there is also punishment for Israel in the Tribulation, for those who become believers during those seven years, there is this encouragement which gives a little peek into the Millennium...
(Zechariah 2:10-12) Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” declares the Lord. 11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. 12 The Lord will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem..."
Interesting! I've never seen this before. We know that Jerusalem had or has a physical wall around the city for protection, but in the Millennium, there will be a thousand years of peace and safety - because Jesus is there - and He will provide the "wall OF FIRE"!!!...
(Zechariah 2:3-4b) ‘Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. 5 For I,’ declares the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
Today's takeaway: I had this thought. Not sure if I've shared this already, but I find it really interesting! For unbelievers - fire is punishment! For believers - fire is cleansing AND PROTECTION, as I now see from this verse. When we stand before Jesus at the Bema Seat, and our good deeds are judged, they will be put through the fire. All deeds which have been done with good and pure motives will be rewarded, and the rest will be burned away. As for our souls - because we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and have Christ's righteousness - we will be able to go through the fire unscathed. We are fireproof!...
And so now, just as I was searching the scriptures for more on this thought, I found lots of stuff at the end of Zechariah. So I'm going to do something different for my takeaway, and jump ahead and launch into a huge thing on the topic of "fire" regarding the end times.
So right away, we have the "fire" theme to introduce this whole line of thought. Also, a "shepherd" theme is introduced in this lamentation, which is vague, but we can see how the people's sin has disappointed God and the shepherds (the prophets and spiritual leaders of God)...
(Zechariah 11:1-3) Open your doors, O Lebanon,
That a fire may feed on your cedars.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, because the glorious trees have been destroyed; wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down.
3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, for their glory is ruined; there is a sound of the young lions’ roar, for the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, because the glorious trees have been destroyed; wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down.
3 There is a sound of the shepherds’ wail, for their glory is ruined; there is a sound of the young lions’ roar, for the pride of the Jordan is ruined.
Because of this, God has Zechariah play a part in an analogy...
(Zechariah 11:4) Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter..."
Zechariah plays the role which represents Jesus, who is rejected and betrayed for a meager 30 shekels of silver. Breaking the two staffs represents God not sending His word to the Israelites through (inspired) prophets for quite a while because of their sinfulness. The other three shepherds (in verse 8) probably represent corrupt prophets, priests and kings of Israel who are cut off, which makes sense as there is a big gap of time (called the "Silent Years") - which spans over 300 years from the last (inspired) prophet until Jesus comes to earth the first time...
(Zechariah 11:7-14) So I pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, hence the afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Favor and the other I called Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also was weary of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to die, let it die, and what is to be annihilated, let it be annihilated; and let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 I took my staff Favor and cut it in pieces, to break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day, and thus the afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not, never mind!” So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff Union, to break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Because Israel rejected Jesus (the True Shepherd) the first time, another shepherd will take over in the Tribulation. This "foolish shepherd" represents the Antichrist...
(Zechariah 11:15-17) The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye! His arm will be totally withered and his right eye will be blind.”
At the end of the Tribulation, in the battle of Armageddon, as the Antichrist leads his army from all the nations toward Jerusalem in order to wage war against God and Israel, Jesus will come with His "holy ones" (either angels, and/or the Christians who will have been raptured before the Tribulation)...
(Zechariah 14:1-5) Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
God will allow the Israelites who have become believers through this time - help fight the enemies - aiding them with supernatural powers. Notice the fire theme...
(Zechariah 12:2-6a) “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. 3 It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. 4 In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the Lord of hosts, their God.’ 6 “In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples..."
All unbelievers will die...
(Zechariah 14:12-13, 15) Now this will be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. 13 It will come about in that day that a great panic from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another... 15 So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps.
Those surviving the Tribulation and battle of Armageddon will inherit all the wealth left behind...
(Zechariah 14:14) Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance.
There will be a last chance for the Israelites to see and recognize Jesus...
(Zechariah 12:10-11a) “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. 11 In that day there will be great mourning..."
The prophecy in verse 7 is twofold, because it is also referring to when the disciples scattered after Jesus was taken to be crucified. But all the following verses refer to Jesus' Second Coming. Only one third of the Israelites will become believers - and these believers will go through the cleansing fire...
(Zechariah 13:7-9) “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8 “It will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it.
9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
8 “It will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, “That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it.
9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Then Jesus will remove all evil from the earth at the Judgment of Nations...
(Zechariah 13:1-2) “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity. 2 It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land..."
Jesus will lead all people who have become believers during the Tribulation, into the Millennium, and He will sit on the throne...
(Zechariah 14:9) And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.
As the perfect King, Jesus will fulfill all covenants, and Israel will finally be able to live on their land as promised...
(Zechariah 12:6b-9) ...while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. l7 The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. 8 In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them. 9 And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
There will be peace on all the earth...
(Zechariah 14:10-11) All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
The earth will be replenished...
(Zechariah 14:7-8) In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. 8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Now, although only people who have become believers in the Tribulation will enter the Millennium, people will marry and have families. Anyone born in the Millennium will have to choose to believe or not. Here we see that Jesus will maintain a worldwide peace, exercising immediate justice...
(Zechariah 14:16-19) Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.18 If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the Lord smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Everything in the Millennium will be considered holy, and there will never more be disobedient "shepherds" in the Lord's Temple...
(Zechariah 14:20-21) In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “HOLY TO THE LORD.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.
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