Reference: Zechariah, Prophecy Of
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Nothing personal is revealed concerning the prophet except that he was the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet. The dates mentioned are the eighth and eleventh months of the second year, and the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius, answering to 519 and 517 B.C., Zec 1:1,7; 7:1. Haggai's prophecy was in the second year of the same Persian king, so the two prophets were contemporary, and, according to Ezr 5:1; 6:14, they both roused and encouraged the Jews to go on with the building of the temple. Zechariah's prophecy is much occupied with the great Gentile kingdoms under which the Jews were placed: there is also much respecting Jerusalem, and it reaches on to the time of the Messiah and His rejection, and to the last days when Israel and Judah shall be blessed in the land.
Zech. 1. The introduction calls upon the people to turn to the Lord: not to be like their fathers who refused to hearken to the warnings, but who when God's punishments had fallen upon them, had been forced to acknowledge the truth of the prophet's words. The point of the chapter is that Jehovah had returned to Jerusalem with mercies, and God's providential ordering of the nations would favour the building of the city. The first vision is in Zec 1:7-17. A man, the angel of Jehovah, on a red horse (the horse is a symbol of the energy of God's providential government in the earth) stands in the shade among the myrtle trees, and there were other horses, red, speckled, and white, as symbols of God's agency in the government of the earth: cf. Zec 6:5. "The powers that be are ordained of God" and were used by Him. If the 'red' horse signifies Persia (having the same colour as the horse of the angel, possibly because Persia was at that time ruling and was favouring God's people), doubtless the 'speckled' and the 'white' point to the two nations that were to succeed
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Their anger is cursed, because it is so fierce, as is their vehemence, because it is so cruel. I will separate them throughout Jacob's territory and disperse them throughout Israel."
The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor a ruler's staff from between his feet, until the one comes, who owns them both, and to him will belong the allegiance of nations.
The LORD found him in a desert land, in a barren, eerie wilderness. He surrounded, cared for, and guarded him as the pupil of his eye.
On the seventh day of the fifth month, which was during the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar's reign as king of Babylon, captain of the guard Nebuzaradan, a servant of the king of Babylon, arrived in Jerusalem
But Josiah wouldn't turn around. In fact, he put on a disguise so he could fight Neco. He wouldn't listen to what God told him through what Neco had to say, and as a result, Josiah came to attack Neco on the Megiddo plain. Some archers shot King Josiah, and the king told his servants, "Take me away, because I'm badly wounded." read more. So his servants removed him from the chariot he was in and carried him away in a backup chariot that he had and took him back to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried in the tombs of his ancestors. All of Judah and Jerusalem went into mourning for Josiah. Jeremiah sang a lament for Josiah, and all the male and female singers recite that lamentation about Josiah to this day. In fact, they made singing it an ordinance in Israel, and they are recorded in the Lamentations.
At that time, the prophets Haggai and Iddo's son Zechariah prophesied specifically to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel.
And so the Jewish leaders continued their building, and prospered because of the prophecies of Haggai the prophet and Iddo's son Zechariah. They completed the rebuilding in accordance with the commandment from the God of Israel and the edicts of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
"A shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch will bear fruit from his roots.
Indeed, your ruins, your desolate places, and your devastated land will now be too crowded for your inhabitants, while those who swallowed you up will be far away. "The children who are grieving at present will yet say in your hearing, "This place is too crowded for me; make room for me, so I may have a place to live.'
You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
In the seventh month, Nethaniah's son Ishmael, the grandson of Elishama, a member of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, came to Ahikam's son Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with ten men. While they were dining together there at Mizpah, Nethaniah's son Ishmael and the ten men with him got up and killed Ahikam's son Gedaliah, the grandson of Shaphan, with swords and killed the man whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
and in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with all his army. He encamped near it and set up siege works all around it.
By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine became so severe that there was no food for the people of the land.
I'll bring you out from the nations and gather you from the lands where you were scattered. With a powerful hand, with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, I'll bring you into the wilderness of the nations. I'll judge you right there, face to face. read more. Just as I judged your ancestors in the wilderness in the land of Egypt, so I'll judge you," declares the LORD. "I'll cause you to pass under the rod until I will have brought you into the bond of the covenant. I'll eliminate the rebels among you, along with those who are transgressing against me. I'll bring them out of the land where you've lived, but they won't be able to enter the land of Israel. Then you'll know that I am the LORD."
A message came to me from the LORD, and this is what it was: "Now as for you, Son of Man, grab a stick of wood for yourself and write on it these words: "FOR JUDAH AND THE ISRAELIS, HIS COMPANIONS' "Then grab another stick and write on it: "FOR JOSEPH, THE STICK OF EPHRAIM, AND ALL THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, HIS COMPANIONS' read more. "Then join them together end-to-end so that they become a single baton in your hand. When the descendants of your people ask you, "Would you please explain to us what you mean by this?' you are to tell them, "This is what the LORD says: "Watch me! I'm taking the baton that represents Joseph, which Ephraim is holding in his hand, along with his companions the tribes of Israel, and I'm going to join them with the baton that represents Judah. I'm making them a single baton, that is, a complete baton in my hand." "The batons on which you engrave your writing are to remain right in front of them in your hand. Then tell them, "This is what the Lord GOD says: "Watch me take the Israelis out of the nations where they've gone and return them from every direction. I'm going to bring them back into their own land. I'm going to make them a united people in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and I'll set a single king to rule over them. They'll never again be two separate people. They'll never again be divided into two kingdoms. They will never again defile themselves with their idols, with other loathsome things, or with any of their sins. Instead, I will deliver them from all of the places where they have sinned, and then I'll cleanse them. They will be my people and I will be their God."'" """My servant King David will be there for them, and one shepherd will be appointed for them. They will live according to my decrees, keep my regulations, and practice them. They will live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob and on which your ancestors lived. They will live in that land, along with their children and grandchildren, forever. David my servant will be their everlasting leader. I'll make a secure covenant with them, one that will last forever. I will establish them, make them increase in population, and will place my sanctuary in their midst forever. I will pitch my tent among them and will be their God. They will be my people, and the nations will learn that I, the LORD, am the sanctifier of Israel when I place my sanctuary in their midst forever."'"
Now, just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands and that it crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold to pieces so also the great God has revealed to the king what will take place after this. Your dream will come true, and its meaning will prove trustworthy."
In the eighth month of the second year of the reign of Darius, this message from the LORD came to Berechiah's son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet: "The LORD was very angry with your ancestors. read more. So tell them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Return to me," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will return to you. Don't be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets proclaimed: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "It's time to turn from your evil lifestyles and from your evil actions," "but they would neither listen nor pay attention to me,'" declares the LORD.' "Your ancestors where are they? And the prophets do they live forever? But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: "The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.'" On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month Shebat) in the second year of the reign of Darius, this message from the LORD came to Berechiah's son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet:
On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month Shebat) in the second year of the reign of Darius, this message from the LORD came to Berechiah's son Zechariah, the grandson of Iddo the prophet: "I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse! The horse was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown, and white horses."
"I stared into the night, and there was a man mounted on a red horse! The horse was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him there were red, brown, and white horses." Then I asked, "Who are these, sir?" The messenger who was talking to me answered, "I will tell you who these are." read more. The man who stood among the myrtle trees answered, "These are the ones whom the LORD sent out to wander throughout the earth." Then they reported to the angel of the LORD who stood among the myrtle trees, "We have wandered throughout the earth and look! the entire earth is at rest. Everything is quiet and peaceful." And the angel of the LORD replied, "LORD of the Heavenly Armies, how long will it be until you show mercy to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, with whom you have been angry for these past seventy years?" So the LORD answered the angel who was speaking to me with kind and comforting words. Then the angel who was speaking to me told me, "Announce this: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "I have a deep concern for Jerusalem, a great concern for Zion. I am deeply angry with the nations who are complacent, with whom I was only a little displeased but they made things worse!" "Therefore this is what the LORD says: "I have returned to Jerusalem with compassionate intentions. My Temple will be rebuilt there," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem."'" "Also announce the following: "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "My cities will again overflow with prosperity. The LORD will comfort Zion once more and will choose Jerusalem again."'" Then I looked up and saw four horns. I asked the angel who was talking to me, "What are those?" So he answered me, "Those are the forces that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
I asked the angel who was talking to me, "What are those?" So he answered me, "Those are the forces that have dispersed Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." Then the LORD showed me four artisans. read more. Then I asked, "What have they come to do?" He answered, "Those horns that dispersed Judah so that no one could lift up his head those artisans are coming to disrupt the power of nations, tearing them down now that they've come to power and dispersed the land of Judah."
For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "In pursuit of glory I was sent to the nations who plundered you, because whoever injures you injures the pupil of my eye.
""Listen, High Priest Joshua, you and those companions of yours who sit with you, for these men are a sign that I am presenting my servant, the Branch. Look, the stone that I put in place in Joshua's presence on that one stone are seven eyes. And look, I will do the engraving myself,' declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "and I will remove the perversity of that land in a single day.
Then the angel who had been speaking with me returned and woke me up as if I had been asleep. Then he asked me, "What do you see?" read more. So I said, "I have been watching and look! there is a menorah made completely of gold with a bowl on top of it. And there are seven lights on it, along with seven feeder channels to the lamps, which are also on top of it. Two olive trees are near it, one on the right side of the bowl and one on the left."
Then he replied to me, "This is this message from the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by valor nor by strength, but only by my Spirit,' says the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel's presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, "How beautiful! How beautiful!"'"
"Who are you, great mountain? You will become a plain in Zerubbabel's presence, and he will position the capstone, exulting over it, "How beautiful! How beautiful!"'" Then this message from the LORD came to me again: read more. "Zerubbabel's hands have laid the foundation of this Temple, and his hands will finish it, so that you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to all of you. For who has despised the time of insignificant things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven lights represent the eyes of the LORD, which are looking throughout all of the earth."
For who has despised the time of insignificant things? They will rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven lights represent the eyes of the LORD, which are looking throughout all of the earth." Then I asked the angel, "What are these two olive trees, one on the right of the menorah and one on the left?" read more. I also asked him a second question: "What are these two olive branches on either side of the two golden feeder channels that carry the golden oil to the seven lights?" The angel replied, "You don't know what these are, do you?" I responded to him, "No, sir." He said, "These are the two anointed ones, who stand continuously beside the Lord of the whole earth."
Then I looked up and saw a flying scroll! And the angel asked me, "What do you see?" I answered him, "I'm looking at a flying scroll. It's 20 cubits long and ten cubits wide." read more. He responded to me, "This is the curse that is going out over the surface of the whole earth, because, according to this side of the scroll, all thieves will be ejected, and according to the other side of the scroll, all liars will be ejected." "I am bringing this about," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "The curse will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who lies in my name. The curse will remain in his house until that house has been completely destroyed, right down to its timber and stones." Then the angel who had been talking with me stepped forward and told me, "Please look up and see what's going out." So I asked, "What is it?" He replied, "This is a basket making its appearance." He also said, "This is what it appears to be in the entire land." Look, a round lead cover was being lifted, and there was one woman seated inside the basket! And the angel said, "This is evil!" So he shoved her back into the basket and snapped the round, lead cover over the opening. Then I looked up to see two women coming forward with the wind filling their wings. (They had wings like those of a stork.) They took up the basket, holding it between the earth and sky. So I asked the angel who was talking to me, "Where are they taking the basket?" He answered me, "To the land of Shinar, so they can build a temple to the woman in the basket. Then when its preparations are complete, the basket will be set there in its place."
Then I looked up and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains! And the mountains were made of brass! Attached to the first chariot were red horses. Attached to the second chariot were black horses. read more. Attached to the third chariot were white horses. Attached to the fourth chariot were speckled horses and gray horses.
Attached to the third chariot were white horses. Attached to the fourth chariot were speckled horses and gray horses. In response, I asked the angel who had been talking with me, "Sir, what are these?" read more. The angel told me, "These are four heavenly spirits that are going out on patrol after having presented themselves to the Lord of the whole earth.
The angel told me, "These are four heavenly spirits that are going out on patrol after having presented themselves to the Lord of the whole earth.
The angel told me, "These are four heavenly spirits that are going out on patrol after having presented themselves to the Lord of the whole earth. The black horses are headed into the north country, and the white ones are headed out after them. The speckled horses are headed toward the south country."
The black horses are headed into the north country, and the white ones are headed out after them. The speckled horses are headed toward the south country." Then the gray horses went out. They were eager to go out on patrol throughout the earth, so the angel said, "Go patrol the earth." So they went out on patrol throughout the earth.
Then the gray horses went out. They were eager to go out on patrol throughout the earth, so the angel said, "Go patrol the earth." So they went out on patrol throughout the earth. Then he called to me, "Look! The horses that went north have caused my spirit to rest in the north country."
Then he called to me, "Look! The horses that went north have caused my spirit to rest in the north country." Then this message from the LORD came to me: read more. "Go take up an offering from those who came out of the Babylonian exile, that is, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah. Go along with them today into the house of Zephaniah's son Josiah, who returned from Babylon.
"Go take up an offering from those who came out of the Babylonian exile, that is, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah. Go along with them today into the house of Zephaniah's son Josiah, who returned from Babylon. Take silver and gold and fashion crowns to set upon the head of Joshua son of Johozadak, the High Priest. read more. Then tell him, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Here is the man whose name is The Branch. He will branch out from where he is and will rebuild the Temple of the LORD.
Then tell him, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Here is the man whose name is The Branch. He will branch out from where he is and will rebuild the Temple of the LORD. Yes, he will indeed rebuild the Temple of the LORD, and he will exalt its majesty by sitting and ruling on his throne. He will serve as priest on his throne, and no contention will exist between them. read more. The crowns will go to Helem, to Tobijah, to Jedaiah, and to Zephaniah's son Hen, as a memorial in the Temple of the LORD. Those who are now far away will come and do reconstruction work in the Temple of the LORD. Then you will know that the LORD of the Heavenly Armies has sent me to you. This will come about if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God."'"
During the fourth year of the reign of King Darius, a message from the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month Kislev.
"Talk to everyone in the land, as well as to the priests. Ask them, "When you were fasting and mourning during the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, were you really fasting for me?
Furthermore, house of Judah and house of Israel, even though you used to be a curse among the nations, now I will surely save you, and you will be a blessing. Stop being afraid. Instead, grow stronger.'"
"Tyre built itself a fortification, hoarding silver like dust and pure gold like mud in a street. Look! The Lord will evict her, striking at her power in the sea, and she will be consumed by fire. read more. Ashkelon will see it happen and will be terrified; Gaza will tremble greatly. Ekron will be ashamed of her expectations, Gaza's king will perish, and Ashkelon will become uninhabited. A strange people will inhabit Ashdod, and I will eliminate the arrogance of Philistia. I will remove the blood from its mouth, along with its abominations from between its teeth. Its survivors will be dedicated to our God; It will be like a clan of Judah, and Ekron will be as a Jebusite. I will set a garrison around my Temple, to hinder those who might come and go, and to guard against oppressors who intend to invade; for I have taken note of this with my eyes."
Then I took the staff that I had named "Pleasant" and broke it, showing I was breaking my covenant that I had made with all of the people.
The LORD told me, "Pick up the tools of a worthless shepherd again, for I am now raising up a shepherd in the land who will neither search for the lost, nor care for the young, nor fix the broken, nor sustain the healthy. Instead, he will devour the meat of the best of the sheep, tearing off their hoofs." read more. "Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May the sword strike his arm and his right eye. May his arm wither and his right eye be completely blind."
Then they will mourn for him, as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him, as for a firstborn son. At that time, Jerusalem will mourn deeply, like the mourning about Hadad-rimmon that took place in the plain of Megiddo.
"At that time," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, "I will eliminate the names of the idols from the land, and they will not be remembered anymore. I will also force both prophet and demon to leave the land. It will also come about that if any man would dare to prophesy, then his father and his mother who bore him will respond to him, "You will not live, because you are speaking lies in the name of the LORD.' Then his father and mother who bore him will stab him for prophesying. read more. Furthermore, it will come about at that time that every prophet will become ashamed of his vision as he prophesies. They will wear no rough garments intended to deceive others." "He will say, "I am no mere prophet. A servant of mankind am I, because a man dedicated to this have I been from my youth.' "Someone will say to him, "What are these injuries to your hands?' "He will reply, ""what I received at my friend's house.' "Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the mighty one who is related to me," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies. "Strike the shepherd, the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the insignificant ones. It will come about in all of the land," declares the LORD, "that two thirds of the people living there will die, but a third will survive who live there. And I will bring that surviving third through, testing them as if through fire, purifying them like silver, assaying them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, "This is my people,' and they will say, "The LORD is my God.'"
You will run away through my mountain valley, because the valley of the mountains will extend as far as Azal. You will flee, as you fled from the earthquake during the reign of King Uzziah of Judah. And so the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones will be accompanying you." "At that time, the daylight will be neither bright nor overcast.
Then the Pharisees went and planned how to trap Jesus in conversation. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don't favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. read more. So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." They brought him a denarius. Then he asked them, "Whose face and name is this?" They told him, "Caesar's." So he told them, "Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away. That same day some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and asked him, "Teacher, Moses said, "If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his widow to his brother. The same thing happened with the second brother, and then the third, and finally with the rest of the brothers. Finally, the woman died, too. Now in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be, since all of them had married her?" Jesus answered them, "You are mistaken because you don't know the Scriptures or God's power, because in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. As for the resurrection from the dead, haven't you read what was spoken to you by God when he said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." When the crowds heard this, they were amazed at his teaching. When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they met together in the same place. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him by asking, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus told him, ""You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second is exactly like it: "You must love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments." While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" They told him, "David's." He asked them, "Then how can David by the Spirit call him "Lord' when he says, "The Lord told my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."'? If David calls him "Lord', how can he be his son?" No one could answer him at all, and from that day on no one dared to ask him another question.
Then Jesus told them, "All of you will turn against me this very night, because it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'
I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me. Yet if another man comes in his own name, you will accept him.
Now some Greeks were among those who had come up to worship at the festival. They went to Philip (who was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and told him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." read more. Philip went and told Andrew, and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus told them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, I tell all of you emphatically, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it produces a lot of grain.
Then I saw a lamb standing in the middle of the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders. He looked like he had been slaughtered. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth.
These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing in the presence of the Lord of the earth.
Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you don't participate in her sins and also suffer from her diseases. For her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.