King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Thursday, September 21, 2023
Chapters: ZECHARIAH 5-9
Study: Show And Tell
Hello My Brother/Sister/Friend,
I do not know why, but as I was reading the chapters for today, this passage came to mind, [Jude 1:11-13 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; 13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.]
Perhaps the reason it came to mind is that we have so many people, and I am talking about men who call themselves pastors and deacons, and women who call themselves teachers and ministers who appear to be Godly, but are deceiving the people who trust them. Now, ignorance surely is not bliss as it will surely send lost soul who trusts in the lies to hell. That does not mean that God will not send judgment upon these false prophets, [2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.]
Now, technically there are no more prophets, but those who are saved and born again through their faith in Christ are teachers and minsters as the prophets were of God’s Word, only He gave it to them as He inspired them. There is so much written in the Old Testament, that when you actually take the time to study it, you will discover that it is almost identical to the New Testament, the only difference is that Christ has come in the flesh, and we are no longer subject to the sacrifices. Now, as we continue reading through Zechariah, God, is giving him more visions. There may not be much written in these chapters, but they sure pack a punch.
[Zechariah 5:1-4 Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. 2 And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. 3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. 4 I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.]
[for every one that stealeth shall be cut off] Does this remind you of anything? It reminds me of something Jesus said, [John 10:1,10 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.]
[and it shall enter into the house of the thief,] This reminds me of something else Jesus said, [Matthew 24:42-44 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.]
Of course, Jesus, was referring to the time that He would return for His people. We do need to be on constant watch for Jesus because He really is going to come for His people as a thief in the night. And He will get vengeance on anyone who used His name in vain or led people astray with their lies, [2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;]
There are so many people trying to get to heaven some other way, but there is only one way, and that is Jesus Christ. Christ, is the one who will come as a thief in the night, and only those who know Him as their Saviour will escape the fire. Now, if the flying scroll was not strange enough, this next vision was even stranger. There is a woman in the middle of an ephah of lead, an ephah is a bundle of grain such as wheat, but this was lead.
[Zechariah 5:5-9,11 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. 6 And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. 7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. 8 And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. 10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? 11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.]
[This is their resemblance through all the earth.] This represents all mankind and we are all appointed two things, life and death. We only have a limited amount of time on this earth and here is the thing, we do not know when our last day will be. Those who are content to live here without Christ enjoying their sin for a season are filling up this ephah full of lead that will eventually be cast upon them, and there will be no escape, [John 3:35-36 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.]
[To build it an house in the land of Shinar:] This is not a house of worship, rather a house of judgment in Babylon, which is Shinar. This is a prophetic message to the Jews in reference to their crucifying Jesus and rejection of the Gospel. The woman in the middle represents the sinful church and the Jews corruption during that time. And the ephah that is being carried away by the other two women represents the Jews who would be carried away into some far country, they shall be confined there in all their suffering without any hope of release due to their own unbelief. And so this is why the Bible says, [Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.]
Now, the day will come when all Jews will finally recognize Jesus as the Messiah and they too will be saved, but that will not happen until Jesus returns. Right now, it is those of us who do believe that are sent out to preach the Gospel to the world. Believe it or not, we actually have angels watching over us and guarding us so that we can be faithful and true witnesses. Through another vision that God had given Zechariah, He shows Him these chariots of horses that are sent to the four corners of the earth.
[Zechariah 6:1-5,8 And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 2 In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. 8 Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.]
[These are the four spirits of the heavens,] These are the four angels of the heavens sent by God to administer to the saints of God and bring judgment to all whom have caused harm to them. This gives a striking resemblance to something we read in Revelation, [Revelation 6:2,4-6 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.]
[these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit] We can wonder how Jesus can fathom the thought of taking away what little peace we have left on the earth, and seeing everything destroyed. We can wonder how desolate and bare things will be when there will not be enough food for the people. Think about it, this is not Jesus acting out in anger, this is sadness and grief over the rest of the people on earth that have such a hatred for Him and His people that they rather be in hell that accept Him, [Romans 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.]
The saints are the saved, born again believers of Christ, and it will be each and every one of them who will reign with Him after this first round of judgment upon the earth. They will also receive crowns for their faithfulness to Christ, which God goes on to explain.
[Zechariah 6:10-13 Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 11 Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.]
[and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.] The glory of both of those crowns shall by upon Christ, as King as He delivers them from their spiritual enemies. And as Priest, He reconciles man with God through His own sacrifice. The crowns that we will receive are righteousness, [2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.] Life, [James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.] and Glory, [1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.]
It is amazing what the flesh desires, and what one desires is different from another, one gets satisfaction from substance, another gratification, another power, yet another pain. Can I tell you that all desires of the flesh lead to pain. Why? Because the flesh has the has only one desire, to satisfy itself. Even though God had sent the Jews to Babylon that did not mean they were to forsake the Law. God, addresses this through Zechariah.
[Zechariah 7:1-6 And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Darius, that the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah in the fourth day of the ninth month, even in Chisleu; 2 When they had sent unto the house of God Sherezer and Regemmelech, and their men, to pray before the LORD, 3 And to speak unto the priests which were in the house of the LORD of hosts, and to the prophets, saying, Should I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years? 4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying, 5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me? 6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?]
[did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?] Whenever we fast, eat, drink, whatever it is that we do with our physical bodies, it must be with God in mind. Why? It keeps us in check, reminds us that He is our provider, and takes our mind off of our own flesh for a while, [1 Corinthians 10:31-33 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.]
The priests and prophets were complaining about praying to God because they felt like their prayers were not being heard. Well, God’s response is nothing short of telling them that they were not because they did not pray and fast for His benefit, it was for their own. God, goes on to tell them what gets His attention.
[Zechariah 7:9-12 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: 10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. 12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.]
[Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions] There are times when fasting is necessary, it is not as though our prayers are not heard at other times, it is simply done so that we might use more time in prayer and doing God’s work rather than our own flesh for a while, [Isaiah 58:5-7 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?]
[and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.] God, will close His ears to the prayers of those who turn their ears away from hearing His Word. The Bible is not some book that you can just pick and choose what to believe, it is God’s Law, and He expects us to believe in and actually obey all of it. Of course, there are some laws that we are not subject to any longer, but we are to never discredit nor make void of them, [Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.]
Do you see that? We do not live a life in obedience to God for the sake of our salvation, it is so that others can see our faith. We are to be different! We are not to be like the world and give in to every temptation known to man, and here is the thing, if we walking in the Spirit, those things to do even phase us. Remember, God is jealous so, He will not share us with anyone or anything. Through Zechariah, God tells us of His jealousy and of the day when He Himself returns to Jerusalem and we will all walk with Him.
[Zechariah 8:2-6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. 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. 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. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. 6 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the LORD of hosts.]
[should it also be marvellous in mine eyes?] When we truly understand what Christ has done for us, and what we were facing we do not want to leave nor forsake Him. These promises were partly fulfilled in the Jewish church and had fuller accomplishment in the Gospel church, but everything has not been fulfilled yet, and will take place when Christ returns and both Jew and Christian unite as one Church. In fact, God, goes tells us of the day when every nation will come together and actually follow the Jew.
[Zechariah 8:7-11 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; 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. 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. 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 neighbour. 11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.]
[the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid,] Even though this is referring to the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who were the ones who got them back to rebuilding the temple, I believe that Jesus is talking about building His Church here. I say that because He told the religious leaders this, [John 2:19-21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21 But he spake of the temple of his body.]
[Zechariah 8:13-17 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. 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: 15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not. 16 These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: 17 And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.]
[These are the things that ye shall do;] In other words, “Get your act together!” While we will never truly understand what Christ has done for us, we do get a sense of it when faced with our own pain and suffering. I know that was what brought me to dedicate my life to Him. Our sole desire in life after we are saved ought to be what we can do to thank God, not out of obligation, but out of honor and respect for saving not only souls, but lives from much worse had we remained lost in the world. There will come a day when whoever is left on the world will tire of living what is actually a dead works life and seek Christ. In fact, God, goes tells us of the day when every nation will come together and actually follow the Jew.
[Zechariah 8:20-23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 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. 22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 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.]
[for we have heard that God is with you.] Let me tell you, there is no greater accomplishment than to have someone tell you that they see Christ in you. That does not happen if we are living a worldly life, and let me tell you, it brings conviction to them as well. There is nothing more convicting for a worldly Christian to see Christ in you as you go about your every day with Him. And many of them will actually avoid you because they refuse to turn from them sin. This is actually where a lot of people turn away from their faith in Christ. And to be honest, I do not believe they were ever saved to begin with. Why I believe that is the fact that we all backslide a little bit from time to time, but when Christ truly lives inside of us, we never fall off of that foundation because He is the one who keeps us on it, [2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.]
The longer I walk with Christ the more I understand why God separates His faithful from His unfaithful, even if it is family, that is one burden that we cannot bear. Well, the day will come when even they will be faithful, but until then we have to hold on to the hope of Christ returning and bringing all this to pass. You know, many of these prophecies have already come to pass, including this one that every time I read it, I think of Jesus as coming into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
[Zechariah 9:9-12,16 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 16 And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.]
[and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass,] This prophecy was fulfilled the week that Jesus would be crucified, He arrived in Jerusalem as the King, people bowing and praising Him, [Mark 11:7-10 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. 8 And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.]
[for they shall be as the stones of a crown,] Think about a king’s crown and the jewels that surround it, they signify royalty, and that is each and every saved, born again Christian. We are not one of the commoners that sit in the background, hoping to be able to get a glimpse of the king, we are one with Him, and can get a glimpse of Him anytime we want so, it is time for all Christians to stop acting like a commoner and start acting like a child of the KING.
[1 Peter 2:9-12 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for making me a part of Your family, not by works or obedience to Your Word but solely by my faith and trust what Your Son has done for me. Each day that passes brings us closer to the day Christ returns and judgment begins upon the whole earth. Lord, You know the intentions of our hearts, as You allow circumstances and affliction to keep us faithful and true, lead us and guide us, keep us in Your Word so we are not only hears of it, but doers also. Give us Your power to be a witness that teaches Your truths and righteousness, and what will really happen when He returns to claim Your people. Fill us with Your mercy and grace to endure all things and walking in the Spirit so that the temptation to sin does not even phase us. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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