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The American Wisdom Series
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Presents
Zechariah's End Time Studies

chapter 1

We live in the most exciting "Bible Times" in the history of mankind, bar none! We live in the "time of the end" that the prophet Daniel wrote of and spoke of and desired to "see", a time when "many would run to and fro" and "knowledge would be increased" and the "seals" of the great book, God's Word, would be opened and "unveiled" by the Lamb of God (Rev. 6:1) to "the wise", who are
simply those who sincerely study His Word and hear His voice
.

Daniel 12:4
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Again, the words of the prophet were to be closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
Daniel 12:9
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
Then the wise in "the time of the end", aka "the last days", would understand what was written concerning the events of the final generation.
[10] Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Consider now the times! Think about the incredible technological age of increased knowledge and information and global communications in which we live! Even the "scoffers" (2 Pet. 3:3) MUST admit there has NEVER been a time like this in the history of mankind! Never! And you see, it is this generation that the majority of the prophecy in God's Word was written for and to, the time when half the souls to ever "walk under the sun" are presently alive in the flesh and will soon face the glistening one Satan who as the great dragon drew one third of God's children (Rev. 12:4) away from the mercy seat of His truth and justice in "the world that then was" (2 Pet. 3:6). That "rebellion" to His ways caused our Father to pour out His wrath upon that world, that first earth age, and "by His fierce anger" it did PERISH! That's right, the Word of God declares that this beautiful earth "became" utterly void and desolate, without form, and water covered the now dark surface of the whole planet (Gen. 1:2)! You can read all about that destruction in the 4th chapter of Jeremiah, verses 19-27, and you can see the physical evidence of that destruction in the layers of the earth's crust and in the fossil records contained therein.

To wit, the "time of the end" spoken of by Daniel has arrived, the time Joel the prophet called "the last days", the time when the "wise" sons and daughters, God's servants and handmaidens would come to "see and understand" the visions and the dreams of the prophets and begin to teach (prophesy) to their brothers and sisters, i.e. they would teach the now "unsealed" visions of the prophets to their brothers and sisters. 

Here are the words of Joel as quoted by the apostle Peter on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Acts 2:17
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
All the events that shall happen in and unto this final generation were prophesied long, long ago, even as Jesus said in Mark 13:23 "...behold, I have foretold you all things". In fact, our heavenly Father made a covenant of immutable promises to our Father Abraham and confirmed that covenant with Isaac and Jacob whose name He changed to Israel. God promised Abraham that his children would become as numerous as the stars of the heaven and the sand of the sea and in his seed "shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" because he had obeyed His voice (Genesis 22:18).

Live Link to->>> Do you know where "The House of Israek is Today?"
And Live Link to->>>  "Do you know who you really are?"
Are you a Israelite?
 Be thoughtful before you answer. (Maybe you only think you're a Gentile!)

That brings us to this great Book of Zechariah, written by the prophet whose name means "Yahveh has Remembered" or "Remembered of Yah"! You see, unlike man, our Father NEVER forgets His promises, nor His covenants, nor His beloved children whom He promised to save and redeem. He also promised to send them His "messenger" before BOTH of His advents, the fulfillment of the first of which is now documented History. To that end, and as part of the introductory to the Book of Zechariah, let us read the "prophecy" of the Zechariah who brought forth the "messenger" to prepare the way of the first advent! I speak of Zacharias (Greek for Zechariah), the father of John the Baptist who came in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord.

Luke 1:67
And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
If you are familiar with this account in Luke up to this point, you will recall that Zacharias could not speak until now, until it was time for God to loosen His tongue*!
 
*Note to the deeper scholar: Watchmen, take heed and be patient in the Lord! Ezekiel 3:26-27 "And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. [27] But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house."
This is what he then said to Zacharias :
[68] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people,

[69] And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

[70] As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

[71] That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

[72] To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant;
This verse pretty much sums up the name "Zechariah" and even what the Book of Zechariah is all about. You see, the second advent is about to take place and God has prepared His messengers to bring forth His Word to prepare the way before the second advent, that great Day of the Lord's return!
[73] The oath which He sware to our father Abraham,
Do you not think that oath, that covenant "He sware to our father Abraham", stills stands? Yes it does! Our people may have forgotten God, but thankfully He has not forgotten them!
[74] That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear,

[75] In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life.

[76] And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

[77] To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

[78] Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

[79] To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

We shall learn in the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah how our Father brings forth that "light" of saving knowledge and truth through His two candlesticks in the dark hour of this final generation. Yes, though we walk through the valley of (spiritually) dry bones (Ezek. 37), through the valley of "the shadow of death", we "serve Him without fear", i.e. "we shall fear no evil" (Ps. 23), for He is with us and we know He remembers His people and His promises to them and to us! We also know the truth that Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is that "way of peace".
[80] And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
And so it is in this final generation as well that His children, His messengers to this generation, grow strong in His Word day by day for they eat that "daily bread" which gives them strength (Ezk. 3:1). (Note: A desert is a wilderness).

To complete our introductory, let us review some historical facts. Zechariah began his prophecy in 410 BC shortly after his contemporary, the prophet Haggai, inspired Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant of the people to resume work on rebuilding and finishing the temple. They were instructed to build the House of God upon the foundation that was already laid, which foundation is our Rock. You could even say that they were rebuilding the house of Israel for is it not written in Rev. 7 that 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel would be sealed with the knowledge of His Word before the consummation of the final events in this generation take place? Nevertheless, Haggai's prophecy covered a period of only four months while Zechariah's prophecy covered a full "7 year period" from the second year of Darius the king until the eighth year of his reign, which was from 410-403 BC. (See notes in the Companion Bible, pg. 1280.) By the way, "Darius" means "the restrainer" or according to Professor Sayce "the Maintainer".

Therefore, in as much as the Book of Zechariah really closes* the Old Testament, and in as much as it covers a 7 year period analogous to the 7 year period of Daniel's 70th week, and in as much as the subject concerns the building of the temple, the many membered body of Christ in these last days, let there be no doubt as to the time and the timeliness of this great work! Those who have eyes to see and ears to hear need to pay very close attention to what our Father would have us know at this time! You see, the Book of Zechariah was written expressly for the edification and instruction of the "spirit of Elijah" ministry in these last days, i.e. to His messengers who would bring forth His Word as His witnesses to prepare the way before the second advent, before that great Day of the Lord!

*Note: See appendix 77 in the Companion Bible.

Let us begin this marvelous work of Zechariah.

Zech. 1:1
In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
"Berechiah" means "Blessed of Yah" while "Iddo" means "timely"! How fitting for those who have just been instructed by Haggai to consider their ways and consider the time!
[2] The LORD hath been sore displeased with your fathers.
Knowing the tremendous love our Father has for His children, this is surely an understatement of fact.
[3] Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Three times we are REMINDED that it is "the LORD of hosts" speaking which is "Yahveh Zeboath" in Hebrew, an emphatic title declaring that God is LORD of ALL the hosts of BOTH heaven and earth! This title occurs fifty-three times in Zechariah and is characteristic of this wondrous book. Also, the number three in Biblical numerics denotes "Divine perfection and completeness". You see, this statement by our Father is what it is all about!

Why do you suppose "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me" is the very first instruction given in this book? Because that is the work of the Elijah ministry before the great and dreadful day of the LORD!

Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
This speaks of the 2nd advent, the great and dreadful day of the LORD, not the first advent.
[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Again, this is the mission of the "spirit and power of Elijah" ministry.
Zech. 1:4
Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.
This is the same message the witness, the bearer of the Light, preached before the first advent:
John 1:6
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. [8] He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
This of course was John the Baptist, son of Zacharias, saying "Turn ye now from your evil ways!"
Matthew 3:1
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

[2] And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

[3] For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

John went forth in the "spirit and power" of Elijah! So shall God's messengers in this generation go forth in that same spirit and power... even so they now do!
Luke 1:17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Now a question from the LORD of hosts:
Zech. 1:5
Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?
This is in contrast with the words of God which DO live forever. And His words come to pass exactly as they are written both positively and negatively depending on the decisions His children make, i.e. the path, the "ways", they choose to follow.
Deut. 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
And guess what? Our fathers found out the hard way that the "cursings" are just as sure to come as the "blessings"!
Zech. 1:6
But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us.
You see, the good news in all this is that God is faithful to His promises! This you can learn by being blessed according to His promises or by being cursed according to His promises. But I will tell you this with certitude in the manner of "Thus saith the Lord"! He wants His children to "Return unto Him" and repent and be blessed! The love of His children is foremost on His mind and for that reason He is longsuffering to us-ward, and if His children will "Turn unto Him" He will surely "Turn unto them" (Zech 1:3)!
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
We are going to learn that the knowledge of the Four Hidden Dynasties, the first four seals of Revelation 6, is a requirement for those would have part in the building of the temple, the sealing of God's people in these last days. Stay with us in this study of Zechariah! It is a work you will always REMEMBER!

Zechariah began his prophecy shortly after Haggai began his, in the second year of the reign of Darius the king, and to the same leaders and remnant of God's people who had come forth out of Babylon to rebuild the temple, the House of God, in Jerusalem. Therefore as a contemporary and even forerunner to Zechariah, it is important that we have read and understood the words of Haggai. To that end, and as a preface to this study, let us recall Haggai's final prophecy concerning the return of Jesus Christ at the end of this flesh age once the building of the temple, His many membered body, is complete!

Haggai 2:20
And again the word of the LORD came unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying,

[21] Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

Make no mistake about it! There is a GREAT SHAKING coming when Jesus Christ returns at the second advent as the world ruling King of kings and Lord of lords. Call it an "earthquake" or even a "Great Shakeup" if you like, for the present order of things (which sure is confusion) shall be turned upside down by Yeshua Messiah and His Zadok when the kingdom of God, the government of God, is established upon Mount Zion.

"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" That's right! You can read all about that coming "earthquake" right now because we actually have tomorrow's newspaper in hand, today! And we will read all about it when we come to section Z-14, i.e. the 14th section of "The Zechariah Post". Right now, let's continue with the factual, non-editorial, no-spin news (NSN), from "The Haggai Gazette" which accurately quotes in the first person exactly what it is Christ is going to do to the nations when He returns?

[22] And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Of course the kingdoms of the earth shall all be covenanted to the New World Order, Satan's one world system, ("Mystery Babylon" which has been and is being built by Satan and his son Cain's descendants, the Kenites.) also known as the first beast of Rev. 13:1. Christians MUST know that the strength of that first "earthly beast" (NWO) is derived from the powers of the Four Earthly Dynasties (FED) which are clearly explained in the first Four Seals of Revelation 6. Those powers, which are forces that can be used to control the minds and lives of men and women (or give them freedom), are the powers of Religion, Politics, Economics, and Education, which are symbolized in Rev. 6 by White, Red, Black, and Pale horses respectively. "Horses" are symbolic of "power" and each one of these powers of and by itself can be used to control people! But alas, in these last days they all come together and are exercised collectively and universally to bring forth Satan's One World System known as the New World Order, a "beast" indeed! The bad figs (the Kenites, descendants Satan’s son, Cain) and the good figs (descendants of our brother Judah) together formed that little country in the Middle East, called Israel today. We the Christian nations of Western Europe and the Americas; Christians, from the former ancient "House of Israel" helped them set it up. Where's it located? Jerusalem! How convenient for Satan when he comes to earth prior to Jesus Christ's return, claiming he is God!

Live Links to=> The Good Figs and Bad Figs of Judah
Live Links to=> KHAZARS

However, that system SHALL BE BROUGHT DOWN by Jesus Christ and His saints! You see, it is WRITTEN that "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord (Rev. 11:15)", i.e. they shall all be overthrown and shall be replaced with the temple which is being built right NOW by the remnant of God's people, those Zerubbabels who were born in Babel (confusion) and whom God has chosen and called forth out of that confusion to do His Will, His Work. That work is to build His house, the many membered body of Jesus Christ, and they shall be given His authority to carry His rod of iron throughout the Millennium, even as His signet (the seal of authority of the King).

[23] In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.
Are you one of God's elect chosen before the foundation of this world (Eph. 1:4)? If so, you have a purpose and a destiny which your Father has not forgotten! Therefore listen carefully to the word of the LORD through His faithful servant Zechariah, whose name means "Remembered of Yah".


#1 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The rider on the red horse"
Zech. 1:7
Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,
Remember the admonition from Haggai who urged us five times to "consider" things, e.g. our ways, what we are building, and even what time it is? And now we have been given this great Book of Zechariah which truly is a "Timely" (Iddo) message from the LORD to those who are "Blessed of Yah" (Bechariah).

Also, in relation to the time and subject matter of Zechariah it is worth noting that the number "24" in Biblical numerics represents the "priesthood" and the number represents "11""judgment" (see appendix 10 in the Companion Bible).

[8] I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white.
The first thing we must understand is that this is a "vision". In fact, this is the first of eight visions Zechariah will be shown, and this first vision is one he "saw by night"! That lets us know two things: 1.) the time of this vision, i.e. that it is for the "night time" (as we shall see) and 2.) that God's elect are given to "see" what is going on during that period of the night. You see, the world even now dwells in the shadow of darkness (spiritual darkness) which shall soon become a when the "total eclipse of the sun""moon turns to blood", i.e. when Satan (moon) comes and deceives the whole world into believing he is the true sacrifice (blood), i.e. that he is Jesus Christ (sun) who shed His blood. But you see, God's elect possess the light of truth and shall not be spiritually put to sleep during the night. They do fill their lamps with oil and thus they shall see their way through that final hour of darkness.

One more note concerning the myrtle trees in verse 8. Myrtle trees were small fragrant trees that grew in the mountains near Jerusalem and it was from the sweet smelling myrtle branches that booths were made at the Feast of Tabernacles However, the major point is (as your Companion Bible will document) the location where this is standing is between the "two mountains" of"man"(Neh. 8:15). Zech. 6:1 where we shall once again meet up with the four "colored horses".

Zechariah now asks the Lord what these horses are. You "see", that is how one learns truth, by asking Jesus Christ, i.e. by going to the Word of God where He will unveil the visions and the seals and show you those things which others cannot see, even those things which are hidden in the shadow of darkness. There is no other way one can come to an understanding of the truth but to go to Him directly through His Word.

[9] Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
Questions, questions, questions! God's servants always have so many questions! They just seem to hunger and thirst after righteousness, i.e. truth and the knowledge of His Word. Of course they are so blessed for it: Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." To wit, you will always find that whenever the disciples came and asked Jesus Christ a question, which they so often did, He always answered them! On the other hand, the multitudes who listened to Him speak always went their way after He was finished, probably smiling at each other and saying "Wasn't that a lovely sermon?"
[10] And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
The great scholar Dr. Bullinger calls these whom the LORD hath sent "invisible agencies", which is a fair enough description for they are indeed "scouts" whom the LORD hath sent to bring back a report (vs. 10) about the status of things on the earth. In other words they are His watchmen who see and monitor, as in measure, the level of the activities of the earthly dynasties throughout the earth, which we know are those Four Hidden Dynasties symbolized by the colored horses.

Therefore, having just returned from their commissioned assignments, let us listen in and hear them give their latest report to Jesus Christ:

Zech. 1:11
And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
Here is a question for you: Do you understand and agree with this report, i.e. as to its present accuracy and timeliness? God's elect, those who have come out of Babylon of whom Zerubbabel was a type, and who also hold fast to the plumbline of God's Word in the building of the walls of His house, do also run to and fro through the earth as His "eyes", i.e. as watchmen. Consequently, they should also be able to discern the activity level of the earthly dynasties and know the TIMES and the SEASONS!
Zech. 4:10
For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
By the way, the word "Behold" used Zech. 1:11 is a figure of speech called an "Asterismos", which is a word used to draw special attention to some particular point or subject. The point of emphasis here is that the time being spoken of is the "time of stillness and rest" when everyone is spiritually asleep. In other words it is that time of night (spiritual darkness) when they cry peace and safety, i.e. still and at rest! Here it is as reported by Paul, the New Testament editor and correspondent of good news paper, "The Thessalonian Times":
1 Thes. 5:1
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
This is especially true if one has read the history reports, forecasts, and in-depth instructions and directions of all the prophets of God. You "see", everything you want to know about these last days is all right there! Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things."
[2] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
Thieves come unexpectedly at night when everyone is peacefully sleeping safe and sound, as snug-as-a-bug-in-a-rug!
[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Be sure to read the rest of Paul's report because it documents that God's elect, His children, will not be surprised. Why not? Because they are the children of LIGHT and know how it is all "going down" in this final generation!
1 Thes. 5:4-5
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

[5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

You "see", as "eyes", as "watchmen", we "see" (understand) what is going on behind the scenes! So keep up the good work!
[6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Paul then gives us some very, very, comforting words of knowledge and wisdom in verses 7-10, e.g. "God has not appointed us to wrath", which means we shall not be "shakees" but rather "shake-ers" with Him! Read these words of comfort for yourself and share them with others!
1 Thes. 5:11
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
The next question to be answered is as follows:
Zech. 1:12
Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?
This has to remind students of God's Word of the question His servants asked Him in Rev. 6:10, those servants whom the apostle John saw in his spiritual trip to the Day of the Lord (Rev. 1:10). Rev. 6:10: "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge* our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (We shall discuss these 70 years in-depth in a subsequent lesson.)
*Note: For an in-depth study of the second advent concerning the "Day of Vengeance of our God: to comfort all that mourn", read the Book of Nahum. "Nahum" means "comfort".
[13] And the LORD answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words.
God is not angry at His children who love and serve Him and therefore they have nothing to fear concerning the terror and darkness of this final generation. It is such a comfort to know the plan of God and to know the answers to questions concerning what is going on in the world behind the scenes, in the shadows of darkness by the powers that be. That knowledge and wisdom from our Father's Word sets us free and dispels all fears and truly comforts us by giving us peace of mind. You see, people only fear the unknown, that which they cannot "see"! That is why they are afraid of walking alone at night, in the dark. But as Paul so eloquently explained in 1 Thes. 5, God's servants do not walk in darkness and therefore they do NOT scare nor fear evil (Ps. 23:4)!

Now, since the question concerning Christ's return to Jerusalem was brought up in Zech. 1:12, let's see what is going on concerning the holy city. Before we do though, let us be reminded from His Word that when Jesus Christ returns, the "temple" which is built and being built there now (i.e. in Jerusalem), shall be pulverized to the point that not one stone shall be left standing atop another. Luke 21:5-6 "And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, [6] As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." That is because when He returns He shall be quite angry with what is going on in that city in which our Lord was crucified.

[14] So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
Our Father has chosen the city of Jerusalem as His favorite location in all the world! Did you know that? Read Ezekiel chapter 16 and you will discover that He actually "took her to wife" and someday she will completely fulfill her destiny to be His beautiful bride: Rev. 21:2 "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." No wonder Jerusalem has been the bloodiest city and seen more wars than any other city in the history of mankind. Satan wants it for his own!

To that end when Jesus Christ returns He will find standing in that city, and "sitting in the temple of God (2 Thes. 2:4)", the abomination of all abominations, the son of perdition himself, Satan claiming that he is the bridegroom, i.e. that he is Jesus Christ. And that false messiah will have deceived and spiritually seduced the whole world and the majority of Christians who were to remain virgins throughout the night and wait for the true Bridegroom. That is why Christ said in Matthew 24:19 "WOE unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!" He wasn't talking about natural, physical pregnancy but about "spiritual seduction", spiritual impregnation, i.e. about His virgin bride being the first one "taken in the field" by the false messiah.

Why is God so jealous for Jerusalem? Wouldn't you be if you went away and came back expecting to marry your virgin bride and you discovered that she had been in bed with someone else? Woe, indeed! 

And as for the heathen who have run roughshod all over God's people, here is how our Father feels about them:

Zech. 1:15
And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
In other words, our Father used the heathen as a rod of correction upon His children but they went far and above what they were supposed to and became extremely oppressive in their affliction of His children. To be sure, Father is NOT happy with the heathen! Therefore the shaking shall be great indeed and their "house" (temple) shall be destroyed and He will set His "house" upon Mt. Zion, which house is His temple, the many membered body of Christ which is now being built!
[16] Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
From thenceforth that kingdom of true peace and true prosperity shall fill the earth!
[17] Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
This is what the books of Haggai and Zechariah are all about, the building of His house to be established on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem! Here is a picture of His house now being built (Rev. 7:1-4) standing on Mount Zion!
Rev. 14:1
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
His name is being sealed in their foreheads at this very moment. Is it not written in Rev. 7:1-8 that His temple, 144,000 from His house, even from the whole house of Israel (i.e. 12,000 from each tribe), must be sealed in their foreheads before the Four Winds are released, before the Great Shaking takes place and this flesh age comes to a close? Yes, it is written there! Go read it!
[2] And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:

[3] And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.

[4] These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

These "kings and priests" we see standing on Mount Zion shall rule and reign on earth instead of the heathen, for they remained virgins throughout the night having kept their lamps filled to the full with the oil, the Holy Spirit of the Truth of His Word (see parable in Mat. 25:1-12). They are His firstfruits.

Let's continue now with the remainder of the first chapter of Zechariah.



#2 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Four Horns"
 
Zech. 1:18
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns.
Zechariah "lifted up his eyes" and he SAW what's up! Behold... meaning pay attention... Four Horns! Horns, just like horses, are symbolic of power! The question is: What are these powers and what do they have the power to do?
[19] And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
These have the power to "scatter" our people, even the whole House of Israel, i.e. both the house of Judah AND the house of Israel! As part of the sealing in one's forehead, he or she MUST know who and where the house of Judah is and who and where the 10 Tribes of the House of true Israel are and dwell this very day!
(Note: If you would like information on where the true House of Israel is today, write to Artisan Publishers, P.O.Box 1529, 1409 West Shawnee, Muskogee, OK, 74402 or visit www.artisanpublishers.com and request the booklet "The Abrahamic Covenant", by E. Raymond Capt.) or log unto pamphlets #1020 and #1064 here on our web site.

Yes, as it is written, the holy people of God of both the houses of Israel and Judah have been spiritually scattered in these last days just as they were physically scattered by the Assyrian and the king of Babylon. In fact, when it comes to God's Word one could say our people are a bunch of "scatter brains" for they not only do not know who they are, they also cannot see the "Four Hidden Dynasties", these Four Horns, which now hold them captive (as in Egypt) and have taken them to Babylon (as in the land of confusion).

Let's examine the word "scatter".

scatteräøˆæˆzaòraòhzaw-raw' H2219
A primitive root (compare H2114); to toss about; by implication to diffuse, winnow:—cast away, compass, disperse, fan, scatter (away), spread, strew, winnow.
Here is the Hebrew word "zoor" (#2114) that Dr. Strong references to help us understand "scatter":
 øeæzuòrzoor H2114
A primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be aforeigner, strange, profane; specifically (active participle) to commitadultery:—(come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-) strange (-r, thing, woman).
You see, the powers of the Four Horns have grown strong (waxed great) in this final generation through having incrementally, much as a locust and a liberal chews away little by little, caused our people to be drawn away from the truth of God's Word.

The locusts are coming soon!
And the dragon with them! 
Locusts, Locusts Everywhere"
Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 
 scorpion image
Revelation 9:3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.  
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Of course, there is nothing new under the sun and we know this is as it was in the first earth age when Satan drew 1/3 of our people away from God's mercy seat, His truth, His ways (Rev. 12:4). In other words, the House of Israel, God's holy people, have been "spiritually diffused", "tossed about", and "turned aside" from His Word and they do follow after that which is profane, i.e. the traditions of men. Their problem is that in their ignorance of His Word they know NOT the difference between that which is holy and that which profane, and therefore they cannot "discern" between that which is clean and that which is unclean as we learned in Haggai 2:13-14. Therefore they commit spiritual adultery (idolatry) and as we read earlier, our Father does not like it one bit!

Thank God though for the builders of His temple! You see, those Four Horns shall be destroyed and replaced by the House of God and the POWER of His Word!

[20] And the LORD shewed me four carpenters.
Remember that Zechariah is prophesying to the builders of the temple and he obviously knows what carpenters are as evidenced by the fact he does not ask the LORD what they are, just what they have come to do (vs. 21). Here is the definition of the Hebrew word translated "carpenter":
carpenter =  Løˆç˜ chaòraòshkhaw-rawsh' H2796
From H2790; a fabricator of any material:—artificer, (+) carpenter, craftsman, engraver, maker, + mason, skilful, (+) smith, worker, workman, such as wrought.
Now here is the definition of the Greek word for "carpenter", the word used in Mark 6:3 to describe Christ's vocation:
carpenter ôÝêôùítektoôntek'-tone G5045
From the base of G5098; an artificer (as producer of fabrics), that is, (specifically) a craftsman in wood:—carpenter.
Now read these words of the apostle Paul in section C-3 of the "Corinthian Chronicle":
1 Cor. 3:9
For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

[10] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

If you have studied the Book of Haggai you should know the difference between a "wise" builder and a "foolish" one. Remember Haggai told us to "consider" carefully our ways, i.e. what and how we are building. Here is the definition of "masterbuilder" which comes from the words "arche" and "tekton" (#5045), which is "carpenter":
masterbuilder =  Pñ÷éôÝêôùíarchitektoônar-khee-tek'-tone G753
From G746 and G5045; a chief constructor, that is, "architect":— masterbuilder.
A "wise" person builds his or her house upon the ROCK, Jesus Christ, the Word of God, right? (Matthew 7:24 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.")
[11] For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now back to the four carpenters! Understand that "four" in Biblical numerics denotes "earth" as in the four points of the compass, which are the four corners or four wind directions of the earth, i.e. NSEW, and you will understand who these "four" carpenters are. They are simply God's elect whom we already "saw" (through the eyes of John) standing on Mount Zion with the King of kings (Rev. 14:1)! You see, when He comes to this earth at the sound of the 7th Trump, He gathers them from the four winds, i.e. from all directions!
Matthew 24:31
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
winds =  Tíåìïò anemos an'-em-os  G417
From the base of G109; wind; (plural) by implication (the four) quarters (of the earth):—wind.
Here is what the carpenters, God's elect, are going to do!
Zech. 1:21
Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it.
The four horns have "scattered" our people, but the four carpenters shall come and tear down the power of the four horns which have held down the heads of our people for so long! These carpenters are going to "fray" those horns which is to shatter and shake the living daylights out of them! And having been delivered, our people will then "lift up their heads" to Mount Zion!

So what shall we say to conclude this study? How about: Let us all get our heads out of "the sand" and look up to the "mountain" of God, to His Word! His saints are soon taking over Mount Zion to rule and reign on this earth with the King of kings and Lord of lords for a thousand years! "Yes... oppression, bondage, fear, and the confusion of nations shall soon be replaced with Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, for the "Desire of all nations" shall soon come to Mount Zion (Hag. 2:7). Amen."

Hope to see you standing there on that Mountain!

chapter 2

Our Heavenly Father never forgets His children and He never forgets to fulfill the covenants and promises He has made in His Word, the proof of which can easily be documented over and over and over again in the pages of History. Of course some of those promises contain both blessings and cursings which are conditional upon the course of action His children decide to follow (Deut. 30:19). To that end, our forefathers who "sorely displeased Him" (Zech. 1:2) by not listening to His prophets (vs. 3), thereby rejecting His Word, found out that the cursings are just as sure a promise He fulfills as the blessings (Zech. 1:6).

We also know that among the many immutable promises our Father made was that there would be two advents, the first of which would be as the Lamb of God, Emmanuel, who would come and dwell among us in a tabernacle of flesh and pay the ultimate price upon the cross of Calvary to save and redeem His children. However, the second advent would not be to come as a Lamb to be slain but as the mighty King of kings and Lord of lords who would "raise up out of His habitation" (Zech. 2:13) and execute justice and righteousness among all nations and restore the kingdom upon Mount Zion in the great city of Jerusalem. And you can be as sure as knowing that the sun will rise in the east, that God has NOT forgotten that promise and just as surely as the first advent came to pass and was fulfilled exactly as it is written, so SHALL the second advent come to pass and be fulfilled exactly as it is written. In fact, the name "Zechariah" means "Remembered of Yahveh" and the subject of his marvelous book is just that, i.e. that God has remembered His children! You see, Zechariah speaks of the second advent when Messiah returns to Jerusalem and he details the work of the ministry which comes in the spirit of Elijah in these last days and prepares the way before Him.

In chapter 1 we documented the time frame of Zechariah's prophecies as being when the Four Horns, the Four Hidden Dynasties, the first Four Seals of Rev. 6, had succeeded in scattering all of true Israel and Judah and Jerusalem to where "no man did lift up his head" (Zech. 1:21)! Of course Zechariah, the servant of God, by the grace of God was able to (and did) "lift up his eyes" and see the Four Horns (Zech. 1:18), just as the apostle John was able to stand on the sand of the sea and lift up his eyes and "see" the beast, the New World Order powered by these Four Horns, rise up from among the people. It has come to pass and the hourglass marking the final hour of this generation of the fig tree is all but emptied out.

We also learned that the carpenters of God shall come from the four corners of the earth and "fray" those powers and cause the walls of Babylon the Great to come tumbling down just like the walls of Jericho whereby you can be sure there also shall not one stone be left standing atop another!

Let us now continue with our reading and understanding of the great Book of Zechariah. The subject as we begin chapter 2 is taken from Zech. 1:16 which is Christ's "return to Jerusalem with mercies" to build His house. Remember, this concerns the second advent, not the first.



#3 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Measuring Line"
Zech. 2:1
I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand.
Once again Zechariah "lifts up his eyes" and is able to "see" the visions of God! We must do the same! In other words, as servants of God, as His sons and daughters in this final generation, we must also have opened eyes (eyes to see) in order to "see" and understand the visions the prophets saw (Acts 2). Notice in this third vision Zechariah sees a man with a measuring line in his hand who shall go forth to measure Jerusalem for the express purpose of determining what its breadth and length are. That means he is going to determine its boundaries to see how many can dwell there!
[2] Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
Also remember to whom it is Zechariah and Haggai give their prophecies! It is to the contractors and construction crew of the temple, those who are called forth out of Babylon to "spiritually" rebuild the house of God which represents in type the many membered body of Jesus Christ in these last days. To that end, there is a question being addressed and answered here, which is this: "Is there a limit to the size of God's house that is being built in these last days?" Some might even ask: "Are there only 144,000 out of the House of Israel who shall be saved?"

 
Open your eyes, lift them up, and understand this vision of Zechariah!
[3] And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him,
[4] And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
There is a logical "Ellipses" that needs to be supplied in this verse "saying [Stop!]", for as Dr. Bullinger points out in the Companion Bible, "the reason given  implies that measuring will be useless, owing to the overflow of inhabitants". This should answer the question "Are there only 144,000 saved?" The answer is NO! There shall be a great multitude of people from all nations who shall come out of the great tribulation, a multitude "which no man can number". John documents it for us in Rev. 7 just following the listing of the 12,000 from each of the tribes of Israel.
Rev. 7:9
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
Consider that the reason no man could number them is not because the multitude is too great to number, but because quite frankly that number has yet to be determined, i.e. because of the "free will" of the people who must individually and on their own make their choices to (or not to) "turn unto Him"! And just who are these people?
Rev. 7:14
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
So let us keep up the good work of building His house upon the foundation which is already laid, for as it is written in the beginning of this great Book of Zechariah, "Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts." This means ALL, i.e. anyone of any race, color, or creed who will turn unto Him can dwell in His house! You see, He loves all of His children and it is will, His desire, that none of them perish! Therefore there is much work to do and much building to yet accomplish while there is still some sand left in the hourglass. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Zech. 2:5
For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
This is simply our Father, who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), saying that He shall warm and give comfort and protect ALL those who come and dwell within the walls of His house. Isaiah wrote of that same comforting and protecting glory who shall come to dwell on Mt. Zion.

By the way, it is same glory who protected our forefathers when they came out of Egypt:
Isaiah 4:5
And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
Therefore, let EVERYONE hear and take heed to the following message:
Zech. 2:6
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
The "land of the north" is Babylon, the lon or land of Babel which means "confusion" in Hebrew. In other words, it is "the state of mind" to where God's people have been spread (scattered) "by" the four winds of heaven. We read the same urgent message to "flee", as in "escape", from Babylon in the Book of Revelation!
Rev. 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

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Come out of religious confusion and STOP following the traditions of men perpetuated by churchianity! Turn to God, to His Word and dwell with Him and He will come dwell with you!
Zech. 2:7
Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
Jerusalem is and shall continue to be the "headquarters" of Babylon of these last days right up until the King of kings returns. It is Jerusalem where the false Messiah, the son of perdition, the little horn, the vile person, Satan, shall stand as the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet and deceive the whole world into believing he is in fact God, i.e. Jesus Christ who has come to rapture them away.
[8] For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
It is not "after the glory" but rather "For His own glory" that He shall come forth out of His habitation (vs. 13) and lay his hand upon (next verse) and SHAKE the nations which have spoiled (as in the spoiling of war) His children! For you see, those who have taken advantage of and touched (laid their oppressive hand upon) those who love and serve the LORD have "touched" His beloved children who are the "apple of His eye". As you know, the pupil (apple) is the most sensitive part of the eye which is why the expression the "apple of my eye" refers to that which is precious in our sight and for which we quickly and instinctively raise our hands to protect.

This verse refers in part to the Song of Moses (Deut. 32) that the house of God now being built will be singing when the LORD comes to dwell in the midst of His children on Mount Zion (See Rev. 15:3-4).

Deut. 32:9
For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
The House of Israel (Jacob) is His "portion" and the lot of His inheritance. They are the "apple of His eye"... so precious in His sight.
[10] He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.
Where did He find you? In a desert land... and in the waste howling wilderness. Oh, He found you at the "Desert Inn", even at "The Wilderness Cafe and Lounge"? You may laugh, but all I can say it is a "good thing" He has kept an eye on some of His "apple dumplings", isn't it? One thing is for sure though, when God protects His own and keeps His "eagle eye" on them, it is like the great eagle who "fluttereth over her young" and "spreads abroad her protecting wings"!
[11] As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
But as for those who have touched the apple of His eye, WOE!
Zech 2:9
For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me.
When Almighty God lays His hand upon someone, he or she is in big trouble! And the nations are going to feel His shaking! Remember Haggai, Zechariah's contemporary, was prophesying this same thing?
Haggai 2:21
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

[22] And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

The "good news" is that justice and righteous shall be served and executed upon the earth, even forevermore! Won't that be a joyful and glorious time when the Prince of Peace comes to this earth to dwell in the midst of His children?
Zech. 2:10
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
And sing they shall, even as we/they standing on Mount Zion singing (Rev. 14:1-3).

We even know what song it is that the overcomers shall be singing:
Rev. 15:3
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

[4] Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

That's right! Every knee shall bow and all nations shall come and worship before the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Zech. 2:11
And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
What a house! All who wish to join themselves unto the house of the Lord now may do so. There is plenty of room!
[12] And the LORD shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
It is written in Ezekiel 16 that our Father chose Jerusalem, even as one takes a wife, to be His dwelling place for all eternity. Thus shall Jerusalem "yet" fulfill her chosen destiny to be His when He comes to her! And remember we read in the Song of Moses that it is His people who are "His portion"? They are the lot of His inheritance and they shall be established in the "holy land".
Deut. 32:9
For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.
Therefore...
Zech. 2:13
Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
When He comes forth from His holy habitation ALL the earth shall "be silent", i.e. shall hold her peace, for the Prince of Peace and His saints of the Kingdom of God shall take over the reigns of government upon the earth and we shall finally have peace on earth.

What do we say then? We say hear the words of your Father: "Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts."

So turn to Him and seek Him now! Seek Him daily through His Word and come out of confusion, come out of Babylon, and enter into His rest now! Else you can continue to follow the traditions of men and become part of the new "Silent Majority", those silenced by the shaking of His hand when He pours out His Wrath upon the world of the ungodly.

The choice is yours!

*******

chapter 3

"Lift up your eyes" and get ready to "see" and "understand" the profound and astounding words of comfort and wisdom contained in the third chapter of the great Book of Zechariah. The prophet whose name means "Remembered of Yahveh" is about to be given the fourth of "eight" visions, all of which must be "seen", as in understood, by God's elect in this final generation of the fig tree, the generation that shall witness the dawning of a new age. It is even fitting that number of the visions in this book, the number "8", denotes "resurrection" or "new beginning" in Biblical numerics (see appendix 10 in the Companion Bible).

The reason these "eight" visions are essential knowledge for "His just ones" in these last days is because it is God's elect who go forth before the day of the Lord to teach and give witness and to prepare the way for His second advent. They are the "kings and priests" of God who shall reign in the kingdom during the Millennium with the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. Rev. 5:10 "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

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We have also seen that these eight "visions" begin and are given for the time just preceding the second advent, the season when the Four Horns, aka the Four Hidden Dynasties, have all come together to exercise their power over the people, "power" which is able to "keep their heads from lifting up" (Zech. 1:21). It was also revealed in the "visions" that God's carpenters shall come from the four corners of the earth to "fray" and dismantle those earthly dynasties and replace them by establishing the house of God on Mount Zion, which house is being built even at this time. And remember... we learned in our last study that it is God's Plan, His purpose, to bring forth out of Babylon, out of the land of confusion, as many who will heed His call through His servants who speak His words after the manner of "thus saith the LORD". You see, our Father is very patient at this time even as He has ordained the holding back of the Four Winds of Rev. 7:1 to allow not only for the completion of the sealing of the 144,000 in His house but to allow for any and all who will to "turn unto Him" and come and dwell in the House of God. Were we not shown in chapter 2 by the angel with the measuring line that there is plenty of room within the boundless walls of His protection?

Of course, it is also written that there shall come a time when His longsuffering will end and He shall come forth from His habitation and shake both the heavens and earth as we learned in closing verses of Haggai.

Haggai 2:21
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;
Yes, it is written that He is coming to overthrow all the kingdoms and nations and powers of the earth.
Haggai 2:22
And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
And then shall the authority of the kingdom be given unto His chosen ones, God's elect, i.e. the saints of the most high (Dan. 7:27) whom HE both "chose" and "called" out of Babylon to rebuild the temple, the many membered body of Jesus Christ in these last days.
Haggai 2:23
In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts.
In order to prepare one's mind and to be able to better place this study in proper context, it would be most helpful if one has read with understanding the great Book of Haggai. The reason is because Haggai (meaning "feast" or "festival") and Zechariah ("remembered of Yahveh") prophesied together for a time unto Zerubbabel and Joshua and the remnant of the people and when taken together they give us much insight into the duties of the "kings" and "priests". You could even say that the short Book of Haggai sets the stage for the lengthier Book of Zechariah which, if you recall, covers a 7 year period even as a type of the final 7 year period, the 70th week of Daniel.

Nevertheless, here is a short excerpt from our introductory study of Haggai concerning the "kings" and "priests" who are God's elect:
Haggai 1:1
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
The very meanings of the names in this verse give us a foundation of understanding for God does not waste words nor use "fillers" in His Holy Word.

Zerub-babel means "sown in Babel" or "born in Babel". Babel of course means "confusion", out of which Zerubbabel came, just like God's elect in this final generation whose eyes and ears have been opened and who have come out of Babylon, i.e. religious confusion! Zerubbabel's father's name "Shealtiel" means "I have asked God", i.e. inquired of Him. Joshua on the other hand means "Yah's savior" of whom Joshua was a type, this Joshua as well as the one who led our forefathers "across the river" and "into the promised land". Also, "Jo-sedech" is "Yah's-zadok" in Hebrew which means "God's just", His righteous ones, i.e. His elect!

So what do we have here? We have "two servants" of God whose fathers are of the "kingship" line of Judah and the "priesthood" line of Levi. That's right, servants of the King of kings and Lord of lords! And we shall learn in this Book of Haggai that the spirit of those two servants along with the remnant of His people shall be stirred up by the LORD, i.e. by His spirit, to complete the temple, the many membered body of Christ, a work that must be complete before He shakes the heavens and the earth (Rev. 7:1-4).

Let us now understand the vision of Zechariah concerning the priesthood of God's elect! This vision, if you have eyes to see and ears to ear, will not only show you the condition of "grace" of His elect in these last days, but also their relationship to and how they are to handle the adversary (SATAN), the accuser of the brethren!

Note: Those who understand Romans chapter 8 concerning the predestination of God's elect whom He knew before the "foundation of this world" (Eph. 1:4), i.e. the choosing, calling, justification and glorification of God's elect, will have little if any difficulty with this 3rd chapter of Zechariah. However, there is nothing like a graphic illustration, a "picture" to make things clear in one's mind.



#4 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Branch"
 
Zech. 3:1
And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Got this picture? You had better know right up front that if you are one of God's elect trying to do His will in this final generation that you have an ADVERSARY (Satan) who will try to "resist" you. Of course God's elect know only too well what sinners they are in the flesh and old Satan the accuser will use every means he can to try and discredit them and accuse them.
Zech. 3:2
And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
Learn a great lesson from this "vision". Do NOT argue nor bargain with the adversary, Satan, the devil, because one simply does not negotiate nor make deals with murderers and terrorists and Satan is both, even the father of both. The LORD, the One with all power in both heaven and earth who is soon returning to the city He has chosen to reign in for all eternity, even Jerusalem, shall rebuke Satan. Again, the LORD, NOT you nor me, shall rebuke Him... and rebuke him He SHALL. "See" the vision and also know that even Michael the archangel does not discuss policy nor strategy nor even bring railing accusations against old slimeball slick Satan, but simply says "The Lord rebuke thee!"
Be wise and "Do thou likewise!"
Jude 1:9
Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Then too, know and understand that Satan cannot "burn" God's elect for they are protected by the Gospel Armor (Eph. 6). Remember that Nebuchanezzar the king of Babylon, who was a type of the king of Babylon of the end times, tried to "burn" God's servants Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo but it didn't work, did it? In fact, the "fire" did not even singe their hair, as in "not an hair of their heads perished" (Luke 21:18), nor did even the smell of smoke from the pit cling to their "garments"!

So let Satan try to resist and let him make all the accusations He wants. You know where he stands! And you also know where you stand with the Lord, don't you? You do if you are one of His elect chosen before the foundation of this world (Eph. 1:4). 

Here is what Paul says regarding those who have a destiny, a "job to do" in this final generation:

Romans 8:30
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
God's elect who have been predestinated to serve Him have been justified and glorified, even from the first earth age if you have the wisdom to know!

 Keep that thought in mind as we continue.
[31] What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
The Lord takes care of His own.
[32] He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

[33] Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.

If Almighty God, the Creator of the Universe, justifies someone who can override His decision? Answer: No one! God help those who come against and interfere and try to stop His children from doing His will in fulfilling His plan. Woe!
[34] Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Again, the Lord takes care of His own. Now let's continue with the vision Zechariah sees of the priesthood, i.e. God's elect.
Zech. 3:3
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Yep, I'm sure that God's elect recognize this as a proper and fitting spiritual portrait of themselves! Of course it can be easily argued that these filthy garments are the transgressions of the people if one considers the duties of the high priest. Nevertheless, whether collectively or individually we do know that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags".
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Now notice what happens next!
Zech. 3:4
And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
Look at that! Did you "see" what just happened? Christ took away Joshua's filthy rags and caused his iniquity to go "bye bye"! Then He said He would clothe him with a "change of raiment" which you can be sure is clean and white just like a wedding garment! In other words, Christ took away Joshua's filthy garments and clothed him with salvation.
Note: It is important that one fully understands this verse, otherwise he or she could be in for some rough times in dealing not only with the adversary (Satan) but, also, with grappling over the sins of his own flesh.

Notice what Joshua receives next!

Zech. 3:5
And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.
To understand this verse one needs to know what a fair mitre is. Here is Dr. Smith's definition:
Mitre(something rolled around the head), the turban or headdress of the high priest, made of fine linen cloth, eight yards long, folded around the head. On the front was a gold plate on which was inscribed Holiness to the Lord .(Smith's Bible Dictionary)
Do you see the picture? Christ took Joshua, set him aside as a brand plucked from the fire, as one protected from the accusations of Satan, took away his filthy garments (his iniquity), clothed him in His righteousness, and set a mitre upon his head making "him a priest unto our God" (Rev. 5:10), even with His name written upon his forehead! Wow, what a picture of God's elect! Christ will do that for you too; Just believe, and invite Him into your heart!
[6] And the angel of the LORD protested unto Joshua, saying,
The word "protested" in this verse means to "solemnly testify", not to "protest" against something like we use it today. The LORD is simply giving His solemn word to Joshua that if he "stays in His ways", stays in His Word, and "keeps His charge", i.e. His commands, by doing the work of the priest which is to teach and build up the temple of the Lord, then he shall indeed judge and rule and have free reign in His house... even forever!
[7] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.
Those who were standing by when Zechariah saw this vision were angels, weren't they?
[8] Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.
Men who "are wondered at" are men who are for a "sign", even a "sign", a witness, to this generation who go before He brings forth the BRANCH, Jesus Christ, at the second advent!
[9] For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
The word "stone" used here is the same word translated "plummet" in the next chapter which we shall see (i.e. the plummet) "in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven". However, do not miss in this verse that the LORD of hosts has declared that He will remove the iniquity of the land. In other words, there shall be a great cleansing of the land, even of the whole earth, "in one day" on THE DAY when Jesus Christ returns to the city of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, in chapter 4 we are going to learn the details concerning the "plummet" and those "seven eyes"... so keep "your eyes" open!
[10] In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree.
"In that day", i.e. in the day that Jesus Christ cleanses the land, every "you shall call""man" and his "neighbor" to the feast of the LORD, which is what the figure of speech "call under the vine and under the fig tree" means.

To that end, when the days of the prophecies of Haggai (feast) and Zechariah (Yahveh has remembered) are fulfilled it shall truly be said that "Yahveh has remembered the feast"!

*****

chapter 4

One of the more commonly asked questions students of God's Word ask and discuss is, "Who are the two witnesses of Revelation chapter eleven?" In so far as most of what is written in the Book of Revelation, the book of the "unveiling", is not new but rather a graphic summary of that which is already written in the prophets, so likewise an in-depth understanding of who the two witnesses are comes from understanding the dreams and visions of the prophets and in particular the "5th vision" of the prophet Zechariah which we are about to "see"!

As we proceed to "see" the vision by allowing Jesus Christ, the Word of God, to "awaken us" to His truth, keep in mind what we learned from our introductory study, that this Book of Zechariah (along with the Book of Haggai) concerns the "spirit of Elijah" ministry and the builders of the temple that would come before the second advent to prepare the way before the Day of the Vengeance, the Day of the Lord. You see, Jesus Christ returns at the second advent not as a Lamb to be slain but rather as the King of kings and Lord of lords to "shake the nations" and execute justice (His righteousness) in ALL "four corners" of the earth and to establish the kingdom of God (thy kingdom come) upon Mount Zion with His saints who shall rule and reign with Him for a thousand years!

Rev. 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Live Link to->>  Kings and Priests
Remember also that we discussed the office of "priest" as being that of teacher and the office of "king" as judge or ruler. Thus we have Haggai and Zechariah prophesying to BOTH Zerubbabel the "ruler" (king) and Joshua the "high priest". In other words we have the "civil" and the "ecclesiastical" which shall both soon be under ONE, even the King of kings and Lord of lords. Yes, there shall be NO separation of "church and state", meaning NO separation of God and state (the true agenda of the "left"), for God's people shall fulfill their eternal destiny of becoming "One Nation Under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!" May God help us until that great day when the Prince of Peace comes!

Therefore, in preface this study let us review the purpose of the two advents as it is written in the 61st chapter of the great Book of Isaiah, the text from which Jesus read when He stood up in the temple as it is written in Luke chapter four.

THE FIRST ADVENT

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

[2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,

The name "Christ" means "anointed" and it was the Anointed One, Jesus Christ, who stood up in the temple and read this passage of Isaiah 61 right up to the middle of the second verse where He deliberately stopped reading and closed the book. Luke 4:20-21 "And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him. [21] And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." Christ came at His first advent to preach good tidings and bring salvation to ALL who will receive Him, thus fulfilling the first half of Isa. 61:2. The second half of Isa. 61:2 is yet to be fulfilled at His second advent (when He returns).

THE SECOND ADVENT

[2 ...continued] and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
We have read and studied much about the soon coming Day of Vengeance, also known as the Day of the Lord, in these Minor Prophets. Let us take a moment and look just a bit closer at who these are "that mourn". Here is Strong's definition of "mourn":
mourn = 'abel, aw-bale', Hebrew 57; from Hebrew 56 ('abal); lamenting :- mourn (-er, -ing).
Those who mourn are those who teach His truth and "decry the injustice" in Zion (see vs. 3). You see, just before Christ's return the Beast of Rev. 13:1, the New World Order brought forth by the Four Hidden Dynasties of Politics, Education, Economics, and Religion, those "Four Horns" which are the four earthly powers Zechariah saw in His first vision, will have taken away both the sovereignty of the nations and the freedoms of God's people. Wake up! Hello! And it is written concerning the two witnesses that they shall teach God's Word, His truth, "lamenting" the injustice, the oppression, and the deception. In other words, they shall decry the evils of the Beast, all four rudiments of it! Remember too, that God's "carpenters" are going to dismantle those powers with His Spirit, His truth, and the walls of Babylon the great shall come tumbling down at their "shout". Yes, God's two witnesses shall mourn as they "decry the injustice" of the "wicked one" and "his ways" as they teach truth and announce the soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords at the sound of the 7th Trump.
Rev. 11:3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
To be "clothed in sack-cloth" is simply an expression, a figure of speech, denoting one who is mourning, i.e. lamenting and declaring the WOES!
sackcloth = sakkos, sak'-kos, Greek 4526; of Hebrew origin [Hebrew 8242 (saq)]; "sack"-cloth, i.e. mohair (the material or garments made of it, worn as a sign of grief) :- sackcloth
By the way, the two witnesses will end up giving a whole lot of "grief" to the false messiah (Satan) and his beast, his one world system (Rev. 11:7).
sack = saq, sak, Hebrew 8242; from Hebrew 8264 (shaqaq); properly a mesh (as allowing a liquid to run through), i.e. coarse loose cloth or sacking (used in mourning and for bagging); hence a bag (for grain, etc.) :- sack (-cloth, -clothes).
Have you never noticed what was written in the "roll" given to the "watchman" for this final generation? Ezekiel 2:9-10 "And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; [10] And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe." God's elect tell it like it is! And there is to be both a witness and a warning given unto all nations before that great day! Joel 2:1 "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand."

Do you have a purpose and a destiny? It is written in Mark 13, Mat. 24, and Luke 21 that some of God's elect shall be delivered up for Christ's sake and give witness as "testimony" before kings and rulers!

Luke 21:12
But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
So much for the escape-the-trib "Rapture Theory"! These strong, "rich" folks (Rev. 2:9) are true Christian soldiers in the service of their King who not only "take a stand" against the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph. 6), they "take the stand" for His sake!
[13] And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
It might help some to know that "councils" (also "synagogues" in Greek) and "witness" and "testimony" are legal terms used in a court of law where justice is being executed? Just wait until we get to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Yahveh judges)! I guarantee you everyone will be "wakened" on that day! Joel 3:12 "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about."
[14] Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

[15] For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

In as much as the witness and testimony will be to all nations, i.e. those of a strange language (see Ezek. 3:6), the Holy Spirit will speak through His elect just as He did on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection as recorded in Acts chapter two. And that language which was spoken by His servants needed no interpreter for it was clearly understood in the native tongue (language) by all those who were present.

Let us continue in Isaiah 61 concerning the second advent.

Isaiah 61:3
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.
And He SHALL be glorified at His coming when EVERY KNEE shall bow to the King of kings and Lord of lords! Now notice what the "trees of righteousness" do:
[4] And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
That's a lot of WORK, a lot of rebuilding and repairing, which is quite different from the concept many Christians have of sitting around on their "cloud nine" flapping their harpers, isn't it?
[5] And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

[6] But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

Do not overlook that BOTH "Priests" and "Ministers" are mentioned just as it is written in Rev. 5:10 "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." Do you understand the two offices in the kingdom under the King of kings and Lords of lords! If you do, you have reached the first step in understanding the purpose of the "two" witnesses of the final generation.

OK, it is now time to "wake up" and "see" Zechariah's 5th vision!



#5 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Golden Lampstand"
Zech. 4:1
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
It is written in Romans chapter 11 that our people do "slumber" unto this day, as in wander in a stupor for they do not "know" nor are they able to "see" the visions of the prophets. To them, the words of the prophets are but mysteries shrouded in symbolism for they have no shepherd to teach them. Come out of that slumber and let Him, through His Word, open up your eyes to "see"!
Romans 11:7
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
God's elect have "eyes to see"! The rest cannot see for the traditions of men (taught in most of their churches) have blinded them to His truth!
[8] (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Only Jesus Christ, the Anointed One, the only One found worthy to open the seals (Rev. 5:5), can remove the "sleep" from your eyes that keep them from opening and seeing clearly the things that are written. Therefore, go to Him, to His Word, seeking His truth while asking for understanding, i.e. asking for eyes to see and ears to hear.
Zech. 4:2
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
The question to Zechariah is "What do you see?" Put yourself in the place of the prophet and ask yourself that same question. Then let's dig into the Word starting with the word "candlestick" which is translated from the Hebrew word "menorah". One can more fully understand the meaning and purpose of the candlestick, i.e. how it is that the light "is given unto all that are in the house" (Mat. 5:15), if he or she digs down a little and looks at the root of the word in Hebrew.
candlestick = menowrah, men-o-raw', Hebrew 4501; or menorah, men-o-raw'; feminine of Hebrew 4500 (manowr) (in the original sense of Hebrew 5216 (niyr)); a chandelier :- candlestick.

manowr, maw-nore', Hebrew 4500; from Hebrew 5214 (niyr); a yoke (properly for ploughing), i.e. the frame of a loom :- beam.

And so it is that God's elect keep on ploughing as they carry the light of His truth into a world filled with darkness!

Now we shall complete this fourth chapter of Zechariah and come to really "see" how that not by might nor by power are the nations shaken and brought down to their foundations, but by the Spirit of Almighty God through His servants, living "trees of righteousness", who have been called forth out of Babylon to take and inherit the kingdom when Messiah returns.

Note: It is a well established fact that most people absorb and remember infinitely more of what they see than what they hear or read. To that end, the Word of God is filled with many explicit and graphic analogies and symbolic illustrations that the Holy Spirit uses to paint images and pictures (i.e. visions) in our mind's eye. However, the use of symbolism works to the extreme in opposite directions. In other words, if a person is given to understand what the symbols used in an analogy represent then the picture they "see" makes very clear the "understanding" of what is being communicated. On the other hand, if a person does not know what the symbols used in an analogy represent then the vision they see either makes no sense at all and remains a mystery unto them or it takes on an entirely different nature when substitute meanings of the symbols are inserted. (That holds true for many of the ministers manning the pulpits in our Christian churches.)

Therefore, symbols themselves and parables using symbols can be used effectively and simultaneously to BOTH "hide" and make "clear" the meaning of something. Again, it all depends on whether or not the one listening to the parable has been given to understand what the symbols mean! We shall see that this is precisely the basis of WHY Jesus Christ always spoke to the multitude in parables!
Matthew 13:34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake He not unto them:
His disciples came to Him seeking to know why He always spoke in parables.
Matthew 13:10
And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Here is part of the answer He gave them:
Matthew 13:11
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
One obvious reason why it wasn't given unto them (the multitude) to know what the parables meant was they never came and asked Him. Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" They just "left church" when Christ dismissed them and went about their business perhaps remarking to one another "Wasn't that a beautiful sermon today?" The disciples on the other hand, who hungered and thirsted for truth and knowledge, always came to Him, i.e. they went to the Word of God (Jesus) and asked questions and sought the explanation of His parables.
Matthew 13:36
Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and His disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
And so... because the disciples wanted to know and came seeking Him, Christ explained to them what the symbols meant! Therefore... it was given unto them to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven!

This is important for us in this final generation to understand so let's read the rest of the answer Christ gave unto His disciples when they asked of Him concerning why He spoke in parables
:
Matthew 13:12
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
If you have the desire, the hunger and thirst for truth and knowledge, Christ shall feed you with such abundance you will be filled to the full! Otherwise your lack of knowledge and wisdom will cause your light to go out and you will even lose your belief in the true Messiah as you fall before Satan, when he comes to earth as the false-christ, in your ignorance.
[13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
The unfortunate fact is that the majority (the multitude) of our beloved brothers and sisters in this nation are Biblically illiterate. Therefore they are clueless about the parables and visions of the prophets for they have not eyes to see nor ears to hear. That is why it is so easy for "many" to come in Christ's name, i.e. as Christian preachers, ministers, priests, pastors, etc. claiming to be His representatives, and deceive the Biblically illiterate (and therefore blind) Christians just as Christ said WOULD surely happened in this final generation (Mat. 24:5, Mark 13:6).
[14] And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Why are they Biblically illiterate without eyes to see and ears to hear? Next verse!
[15] For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
They are thick headed* even because of their prosperity and they simply do not care nor see the need to rely on Christ. And it is by their own actions they show they do not hunger and thirst nor seek after Him.
*waxed gross = pachuno, pakh-oo'-no, Greek 3975; from a derivative of Greek 4078 (pegnumi) (meaning thick); to thicken, i.e. (by implication) to fatten (figurative stupefy or render callous) :- wax gross.
Understand that it is during times of tragedy and war and great disasters that people will turn to God, "Oh Lord, help us!" But when they are fat and happy and prosperity abounds (you've heard the phrase "it's the economy stupid", that is when they forsake their Father and His instructions, "Don't need nor have time for you right now, Dad!" Therefore peace and prosperity is the greater test of one's love for God, is it not? Perhaps this helps in understanding the "great tribulation" for the "waxing gross" is part of the story of these end times as outlined in the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 32.

 (Jeshurun in the following verse is used figuratively for Israel, even our people.)
Deut. 32:15
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
But you who love studying your Father's Word are blessed indeed! Why? Because He gives you answers and understanding to "see the visions" and know exactly what is happening in our world at this present time!
[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Have you ever considered just how blessed you are for studying His Word and allowing Him to open your eyes?
[17] For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
That's right! You and I are privileged to see and hear and understand more than the prophets themselves did. You see, they all wanted to know what it would like in our generation and to even know the meaning of the very words they wrote for you and me who live in this "time of the end", but alas they did not: Daniel 12:9 "And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Therefore, you are the envy (righteously speaking) of the prophets, not the other way around!

So let us go to the Word of God and continue to seek an understanding of the visions Zechariah saw! Remember, we saw that Zechariah was awakened and he looked and "behold" he saw a pure "gold candlestick".

Zech. 4:2
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
What we are being shown through the eyes of Zechariah in this graphic illustration is the manner in which God will pour out His Spirit, His truth, in these last days when "darkness" comes upon the land. You see, it is through this golden candlestick that the precious "oil" flows from the "fountain above" (bowl upon the top) which produces the "light" of "his seven lamps". Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which is why it is used for anointing!
1 Samuel 16:12
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

[13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Now, "What are these seven 'lamps'?" (We go to Him, His Word, for the answer.)
Rev. 4:4
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
Make note of the location here "round about the throne" where the elders are seated.
Rev. 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
The lamps of fire (spirit) are the seven Spirits of God! What are the seven Spirits of God? (Again, we go to Him for the answer.)
Rev. 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
This is the same location as we saw in chapter 4, i.e. "round about the throne" where the elders are seated! And they are saying...
[12] Saying, Amen: (1) Blessing, and (2) glory, and (3) wisdom, and (4) thanksgiving, and (5) honour, and (6) power, and (7) might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
Now pause and think about this! When a person opens his or her mouth and speaks words he or she sends along with those words a "spirit", call it an "attitude" if you like! It could be the spirit of anger or hate or an attitude of jealousy, etc. But you know what? We just read what spirits come out of the mouths of His servants. They are the Seven Spirits of God: Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, and might! We should think about them the next time we open our mouths!

Now understand that these "lamps" which give "light" unto the world must be continuously supplied with the "oil" from above which produces the light! ALL of those seven spirits of God come from His Word! How are you doing with your seven lamps? Is your wisdom filled from the knowledge of His Word? All true wisdom comes from God! From whence do get your power?

You see, as wise Christians in these last days (virgins waiting for the TRUE bridegroom) we are to FILL our lamps with the "oil" from above, i.e. from His fountain, the Word of God!

Matthew 25:1
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

[2] And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

[3] They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

Hey, are you a "fat cat", i.e. "waxen fat"? Do you take the time to seek first the kingdom of God, to study His Word and fill your spirit, your intellect and attitude, with the "oil" from above? Or are you too busy, Concerned about things of the Flesh? You can't take any physical thing with you when you die the "Shadow Death"; Except your RIGHTEOUS ACTS!
[4] But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
What do the wise do that the unwise do not? They study their Father's Word and absorb His truth! They fill their lamps daily from the fountain of truth.
[5] While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
To help you better understand the sentence structure used here, place a pair of parentheses around verse four because the subject carried forth into verse five is the "foolish virgins". The "wise" virgins do NOT sleep during the night which Paul documents for us! 1 Thes. 5:6-7 "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. [7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night."
[6] And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
You better be pumping some oil into your lamps during the 11th hour because at midnight (when Christ returns) it's too late! And it is real late right now!
[7] Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
You better believe there will be some attitude adjustments made when Christ returns!
[8] And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Yep, that's our people. Gimme, gimme, gimme! They seek the easier softer way! They will sit on their "pews" and listen to some windbag, from the pulpit, tell them to just believe and have faith and wait for the Rapturemobile to come take them to cloud nine! Sorry fool, this "ain't no entitlement program" where you sit around and live off your hard working brothers and sisters! You have to "wake up" and "git up" and go to work and dig for your own oil. 2 Tim. 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
[9] But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Each Christian must fill his or her own lamps from His Word! Here is what Christ says to the church of Laodicea, the church of the "fat cats" (waxen fat), one of the five churches which SLEPT (31 Sardis, #2 Laodicea, #3 Ephesus, #4 Pergamos, and #5 Thyatira):
Rev. 3:17
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Yep, "waxen fat" Christians indeed!
[18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Better go to the "fountain" now because you see it is getting really dark out there in the world at this time! Really dark!
Matthew 25:10
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

[11] Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

[12] But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Do you know what it is these Christians are going to say to Christ when He returns and the door to the wedding feast is closed to them?
Matthew 7:22
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
They are going to say they taught in His name. The only problem is they taught the traditions of men and not His Word line by line and verse by verse. They therefore took His name (Christ, i.e. Christian) and used it in VAIN! That is what the 3rd Commandment is all about, i.e. taking the Lord's name in vain! Do NOT use His name to teach men's traditions or you are going to get the door slammed in your face!

They will also claim that they should be able to cash in all the wonderful works they did in His name. Again, the problem is they just never quite got around to doing what He wanted them to do! Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

So He will say to them:

[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Ready to return to Zechariah? Here is what he "sees" next:
Zech. 4:3
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
We are going to learn that what Zechariah is being shown in this vision is exactly how it is that Almighty God shall pour out His Spirit in these last days. Students of God's Word know that "Trees" are used symbolically from Genesis to Revelation to represent men, i.e. people! In fact, that is one of the first "eye opening" things God's elect learn when Jesus Christ removes the "blindness" from their eyes.

Do you "see" both MIRACLES CHRIST PERFORMED HERE in these verses?! First Miracle in Verse 24 The Second Miracle in Verse 25! Of course it's the First One that is important to your understanding of the Bible!
Mark 8:23
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on His eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought.

[24] And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

[25] After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

 Did you "see" both Miracles? If not read and re-read the following pamphlet until you "SEE" !!!!!
 
Live Link to->>> "The Blind Man From Bethsaida" 

Your Eternal Life may well depend on it !!!!

One thing is for sure! You must "see" this to understand what happened in the "Garden of Eden" cause Eve didn't physically eat a APPLE !!!!

Do you know what she did?

Therefore these two "olive" trees are indeed men of God and we are going to see what it is they do in this final generation. For it is written that they are not only two "see""anointed ones" who "empty the golden oil" out of themselves but they are also referred to as (Zech. 4:12),"witnesses" in Rev. 11:3. Witnesses are those who give "testimony", aren't they? And they will give and will "finish" their testimony (Rev. 11:7)!

Let us also look at the origin of the word "olive" used of these two "olive" trees in Rev. 11:

olive = elaia, el-ah'-yah, Greek 1636; feminine of a presumed derivative from an obsolete primary; anolive (the tree or the fruit) :- olive (berry, tree).
Notice the names of God, "El" and "Yah" which make up "olive". How fitting indeed the oil of the olive is used to represent His Spirit!

So Zechariah wants to know who the two olive trees are:

Zech. 4:4
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
Question, questions! God's servants are so hungry to know!
[5] Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
It is worth noting in light of what we have discussed in this study that Zechariah did NOT guess nor give his opinion about who these two olive trees are. He simply said he did not know! However, the angel did answer his question and in doing so told him exactly how the beast, the New World Order is going to be leveled flat as a pancake... shaken to its very foundations!

Next we shall see how and by whom that is accomplished!

The Kings of kings and Lord of lords, the "LORD of the whole earth" (Zech. 4:14), is soon returning to establish His eternal kingdom upon Mount Zion. However, in the last days before that great day of the Lord's arrival it is written that God will pour out His spirit on His servants and handmaidens (Acts 2) and they shall teach and give witness (1) unto His people, their brothers and sisters of the House of Israel. Then shall some be delivered up and the "fire" of His Holy Spirit shall speak through them to give witness (2) and proclaim the gospel of the kingdom unto ALL the nations of the earth. That proclamation will be the good news, except to the kings and rulers who receive the witness, announcing that the 7th Trump is about to sound and the King of kings and Lord of lords is coming to "take their crowns" from them and set up His kingdom to rule ALL nations with a rod of iron. We read of that proclamation to the gentiles [nations] in the great Book of Joel:

Joel 3:9
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles [nations]; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
It is written in Luke 21 that God's elect are NOT to premeditate nor script what they shall say when they are delivered up before the kings and rulers of this earth. And as we noted in the opening paragraph of this study, some SHALL BE delivered up to give witness: Mark 13:9 "... and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them". The reason they are not to premeditate is that the Holy Spirit shall speak through them at that time and their testimony shall "be a witness" unto all nations and shall bring to pass the prophecy in Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel [good news] of the kingdom [the coming King and His dominion] shall be preached [Gr. #2784 = "to herald"] in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then [after that witness] shall the end come."

Joel continues with the proclamation to be given unto the nations...

[10] Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
The nations had better gather everyone, the disabled, the feeble, etc, and everything within their reach to try and defend their satanic system. Why? Because the "mighty ones" of God, His elect, are moving in and taking over Dodge and nothing and no one will be able to stop them.
[11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

[12] Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

Everyone, including all the nations of the world, will "wake-up" when Jesus Christ returns for as it is written "... every eye shall see Him... (Rev. 1:7). means "Jeshoshaphat" "Yahveh judges" and so it shall be when Christ returns to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

Let us now continue with the 4th chapter of Zechariah. Remember the question Zechariah asked earlier, which is now being addressed and answered by the angel, was "Who are the two olive trees standing upon the right side and the left side of the "bowl" filled with the golden oil!"

Zech. 4:6
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
Understand that these are NOT the words of men but rather the divine word of the LORD given unto Zerubbabel who was a "type", a forerunner of those who have been called forth out of Babylon to rebuild the temple, the many membered body of Jesus Christ in these last days. What is said in this verse is that it shall NOT be by (man's) might nor by (man's) power, but by His spirit, which is that "golden oil" of truth and wisdom and power and might which flows from the "bowl" through that candlestick which is the light before His throne that burns brightly (Rev. 4:5).

Exactly what is He talking about that happens "by His spirit" and what do the two olive trees have to do with it? Open your eyes, as in "look up", and understand this 5th vision of Zechariah for it has to do with not only the teaching and the witnessing in these last days but also the "fraying" of the Four Horns, the "fall of Babylon the great", the demise of the New World Order, and the establishing of the kings and priests of God upon Mount Zion who rule with Christ for a thousand years.

[7] Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
Mountains are symbolic of "nations" and this "great mountain" which stands in the way of Zerubbabel (see note in the Companion Bible) is none other than the New World Order, that nation of nations which is going to be leveled, i.e. it is "coming down"! Remember the vision Zechariah saw in the first chapter when he first "lifted up his eyes", the vision which set the time period of His prophecies? It was the vision of the Four Horns (Zech. 1:18), those four earthly powers we call the Four Hidden Dynasties that would combine globally (i.e. extend to the four corners of the earth) in the final generation and bring about the 1st Beast of Rev. 13:1 (the NWO) whose power structure is outlined there. That "beast" rises up out of the sea (symbolic of people) and becomes so big and powerful (even already has) that the question is asked in Rev. 13:4 "Who is able to make war against him?"
Rev. 13:4
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?
The answer to the question is "Jesus Christ is able to make war with him!" And He SHALL! So "Proclaim War!" You see, it is written that God's elect are able to and shall stand against the beast, though NOT with the power of the arm but rather with the Gospel Armor (Eph. 6) on and in place, even as that little shepherd boy, David, who once fought against the "bear" and the "lion", would have no fear of stepping forward to face what "appeared" to his frightfully intimidated brothers to be his certain death! Yet he went forward to battle armed with "Grace", i.e. "5" smooth stones (5 is the number of "grace"), and took a valiant stand against the giant beast Goliath (the pride of the "wanderers", i.e. the Philistines). And what did the small lad do? He PROCLAIMED right to the face of the beast, Goliath, which was witnessed by all the people who were assembled on the "mountains" on either side of the plain (1 Sam. 17:3), that he (the beast) was "coming down"! BUT NOT by (man's) power and (man's) might, but rather in the name of and by the power of Almighty God, the God of Israel! "And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and He will give you into our hands" (1 Samuel 17:47).

Do you want to know how the one world system, the beast, the New World Order, is going to be shaken to its foundations and leveled to the ground? It shall be by the "hand" of Almighty God through His elect who have been called forth out of Babylon to build the temple in these last days. That's right! The great mountain, that "nation" set up by the kenites through the four horns Zechariah saw, which again are the Four Hidden Dynasties of Politics, Education, Economics and Religion, will become a "plain" as flat as a pancake.That nation shall not only "quake" from the "shoutings" of God's elect, but its walls shall come tumbling down through the power and might of the Holy Spirit, NOT by the might and power of men. Do you remember how Jericho was taken? Not by might nor by power, but by His Spirit when the priests of God marched around that city and blew the final sound of the last trump at which point they all "shouted"!

Let us read the next verse and then discuss the bringing forth of the "headstone" we read about in Zech. 4:7.

Zech. 4:8
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

[9] The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.

The temple SHALL be finished, even the sealing of the 144,000 in Rev. 7 (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of His house), by those called out ones, those "born in" but "called out" of "confusion" (Babylon) to build-up the many membered body of Jesus Christ in these last days. Then shall that "cornerstone" which was rejected by the builders, even the "capstone" (headstone), be brought forth to the temple. Grace, grace indeed, for that headstone is Jesus Christ Himself!
Psalm 118:21
I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.

[22] The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

[23] This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

God is going to finish the work, His way, by His spirit.
Zech. 4:10
For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
A "plummet" is a simple carpenter's tool, a piece of zinc or other metal which hangs on a line and is held "straight up" and "true" by the natural force of God's gravity! You see, when the plummet, symbolic of God's Word, is used as a guide with which to build a house or temple it guarantees "trueness", i.e. truth. And what of the day of small things? Just always remember from the ensamples of His Word (1 Cor. 10:11), that when the hand of Almighty God is involved, though it may be only upon a shepherd lad, it is "no small thing" for it can fell a beast and shake and move a "great mountain"! Do you recall what Christ said in Matthew 17:20?
Matthew 17:20
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
And that "mountain" shall be removed hence... leveled flat as a pancake to become a "plain"! It shall be by those "seven" pairs of "eyes" upon the "stone" which Zechariah spoke of in the last chapter. They are the watchmen (eyes), the 7,000 symbolic of God's elect who continually fill their lamps with the "golden oil" from above! So NEVER think that a small handful of God's elect cannot bring down the beast of Rev. 13! It is coming down!
Zech. 3:9
For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
Perhaps this will give you a better understanding of the words of Daniel the prophet concerning the stone cut out without (men's) hands, i.e. engraved by God Himself! It brought down the "beast" envisioned by Nebuchadnezzar who was a "type" of the king of Babylon of Revelation, i.e. Satan.
Daniel 2:34
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

[35] Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

The power and wealth and might of the great beast shall be "frayed" by God's carpenters, "broken to pieces" by His 7,000, God's elect!

Here it is again:
Daniel 2:44
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

[45] Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

OK, so we "see" how things are going down in this final generation. God's elect are going to take part in causing a great shaking of all the nations, an earthquake indeed. And these seven eyes do not go to sleep but stay awake as watchmen carrying the light of their lamps through the dark hour! "Who then are these two olive trees?", Zechariah asks again!
Zech. 4:11
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
Zechariah still did not understand who these two olive trees were. However, the groundwork laid by the angel in the previous verses now gives us the foundation for understanding.
[12] And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
It is written: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17). Have you ever wondered how God does that, i.e. pours out His spirit? I mean, does He take a pitcher of His spirit and pour it out like one does Kool Aid into a glass?

No sir! He "pours it out", i.e. empties it out, through His two which is what"sons of oil" "anointed ones" means in verse 14! Remember that the "golden oil" is symbolic of His Spirit which flows from the "bowl" above to give light! That is what the two olives trees are anointed with, i.e. filled with! Check out the word "empty" in Zech. 4:12:

empty = cruwq, rook, Hebrew 7324; a primitive root; to pour out (literal or figurative), i.e. empty :- × arm, cast out, draw (out), (make) empty, pour forth (out).
The spirit and truth and wisdom and power of God, His Word, flow from the "Oil" in the candlestick above through His "two olive trees", His two servants, His two "anointed ones, His two "sons of oil", His two witnesses (Rev. 11), and is emptied out through the two golden pipes to the two churches here on earth of Philadelphia and Smyrna found in Rev. 2 & 3. You see, those two out of the seven churches, the seven of which are symbolized by seven candlesticks (Rev. 1:20), are the wise "sons and daughters" of God in this final generation who fill their lamps with the oil from above!
[13] And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
[14] Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth.
That's right! The two olive trees are two living men here on earth who stand by the LORD of the whole earth! They are simply two "anointed ones", which means "sons of oil", i.e. sons who are filled from above with the "Oil"! And they pipe that oil, pouring out His spirit to the two golden candlesticks, the brothers and sisters of God who love studying His Word and filling their lamps with that "oil"! You see, they go before the great day of the Lord and "prepare the way" for the bringing forth of "the headstone" which is the second advent of Jesus Christ.
Rev. 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Rev. 11:3-12 speaks of the two witnesses in this final generation who are these two olive trees who are used as vessels to pipe the oil from above which ignites the flames of the two golden candlesticks of the brothers and sisters that they may continue to burn brightly until that great day when the King of king and Lord of lords returns with all power and glory!

How precious indeed is the Word of God!

*************

chapter 5

Zechariah has now "seen" a picture (a vision) of how it is that God shall pour out His Spirit, even is pouring out His spirit, in these last days upon His servants and handmaidens, those sons and daughters who shall see the visions of the prophets and teach them to their brothers and sisters. We have also learned that the two witnesses, those two "sons of oil", and the two candlesticks which are the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna, who shall be the instruments in God's hands who shall both bring forth His Word to His house, the true house of Israel, and then give His witness unto the "nations" in preparing the way for the second advent of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Now, in this "5th" chapter of Zechariah, those with eyes to see and ears to hear can "lift up their eyes" along with the prophet of God and "see" two very simple visions concerning those two works of God's elect in this final generation. Also, in these two visions we shall be privileged to "see" along with His purpose of restoration exactly "how it is" that our Father shall bring about both the elimination of idolatry and false teaching in our land and the elimination of Satan's wicked and oppressive beast system, the New World Order.

Again, remember that although there is only one body of Christ, and these two witnesses along with all of God's elect are certainly all of that one body, there are two works that God's elect shall accomplish in this final generation of the Fig Tree before the return of Jesus Christ. The first work, or witnessing, is that of the teaching, the bringing forth of the "roll" by the watchmen to the true House of Israel (Ezek. 2:9-3:11). The second is the "delivering up" to the kings and rulers whereby the proclamation of "the gospel of the kingdom" is given unto ALL nations announcing that the King of kings and Lord of lords is returning and the NWO, that "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH" (Rev. 17:5), is coming DOWN! And so it is that we shall "see" a picture of these two great works in the next two visions Zechariah "sees" when he "lifts up his eyes"! Interestingly enough, these are the 6th and the 7th visions given unto the prophet which concern the work done before the 6th and 7th Trumps sound, respectively!

Let us now "see" and understand the 6th vision of Zechariah as he describes to us what he saw!



#6 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Flying Scroll"
 
Zech. 5:1
Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.
Do not overlook the fact that Zechariah "turned" (figuratively, i.e. he considered as in "his wheels were turning") immediately after seeing the vision of the "two anointed ones" in the previous verse, the last verse of chapter four! This is important as it connects these next two visions with those two witnesses and the seven thousand of God's elect, i.e. the two candlesticks of Rev. 11 which are the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia!
[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.
What in the world is a "flying roll"? Well, I sure hope you do not have a Masters Degree or PhD of the type that will prevent you from seeing the simplicity of this, but a "roll" is simply a papyrus used for writing, i.e. a scroll or book, and this very large scroll written on both sides is "flying" like a big billboard... yes... as in flying through the air! Got the picture? In a moment we are going to learn exactly where this roll is flying! But first let us understand from the book of the "watchman", Ezekiel, that this "roll" is actually the Word of God.
Ezekiel 2:9
And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Take notice what is written "within and without", i.e. on both sides of the roll!
[10] And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
Ezekiel is instructed by God to "eat" the roll, as in consume and digest it thoroughly, and then go speak unto the house of Israel! Remember what we learned concerning the two witnesses who were "clothed in sackcloth"? To be "clothed in sack-cloth" is an expression, a figure of speech, denoting one who is mourning, i.e. lamenting and declaring the WOES, the curses to come upon those who do not turn to Him, to His Word!
Ezekiel 3:1
Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.
You see, it is God's elect, His "watchmen" in this final generation, through whom He causes the roll to "goeth forth" over the face of the whole land. They, the "watchmen", the "eyes" of God, "eat the roll daily" asking for and receiving His daily bread, and so they are always diligently "being about their Father's business"!

To that end, it is also worth noting that the dimensions of this "roll" which was seen by Zechariah were 20 cubits by 10 cubits (30 feet x 15 feet) which is the exact size of the temple porch (1 Kings 6:3)! To wit, the temple porch was where the "law", the Word of God, was usually read!

Now let us see what this "flying roll" shall accomplish:

Zech. 5:3
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.
To "goeth forth" literally means to "go forth on business" and so it is that God is taking care of business executing His Word exactly as it written. Those who have eyes to see and ears hear know that the teaching of that "roll" does literally "fly" over the face of the whole land (eretz) upon the airwaves 24/7 into millions of homes.

But why is the "going forth" of the roll called a "curse"? It is a curse to the "thieves" and "false prophets" (liars) of God's Word who shall experience the "Woe" from our Father's hand for lying and building their own houses! Our Father does not like it one bit and they shall surely be cut off! Woe! Ezekiel 34:2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?"

Note: "shepherds of Israel", i.e. ministers of the Christian churches of western Europe and the Americas.

The Word of God (the roll) declares all the "curses" that come upon those who do not follow God's laws. Have you ever read Deut. 28 beginning with verse 15? Deut. 28:15 "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." Yes, although the Word of God contains all the blessings for those who love the Lord, it also contains the lamentations, and mourning, and woes which shall come upon those who do not hearken unto His voice, and especially (meaning more severely) upon those who do NOT "eat the roll" but claim they are Christ's ministers and representatives.

Zech. 5:4
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.
"Woe" to those robbers of our people's vineyard and woe to those liars who take the name of the LORD in vain, i.e. swear falsely by His name! Their houses, their churches which they have built upon sand instead of upon the Rock , His Word, are ALL coming down and so they shall be removed from our midst when Yeshua returns. Christ clearly warned us of the "many who would come in His name", claiming to be Christian ministers and preachers, and would deceive many through teaching the traditions of men instead of teaching from the roll. Unfortunately, as a result of their "swearing falsely", teaching lies in the name of Christ, they will lead many (most) of our brothers and sisters to also swear falsely, as in worship the false messiah, Satan, when he comes claiming he is God.
Note: If you would like to learn more about the thieves and robbers who do not enter into the sheepfold through the "door", the Word of God, then go to the 10th chapter of John. There are many thieves and liars who have built their own houses in the name of God and who teach our people that they are going to "fly to save their souls" (Ezek. 13:18-20), i.e. that they are going to be "taken up" in the clouds at any moment in a rapture of the church. Such lies by those thieves who have not entered into the sheepfold through the "door" shall be exposed by the "roll" at "roll call" and their houses shall come tumbling down.
John 10:1
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.
OK, enough said! Let us move on to the 7th vision of Zechariah.


#7 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Ephah"
 
Zech. 5:5
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.
Here comes another vision so "lift up your eyes" and do as the angel says... and "see" what it is that now goes forth.

"Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... it's an EPHAH??"

[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.
An "ephah" is a container about the size of a bushel basket which is used to "measure grain" and so it is symbolic of commerce and economics. Here is what Amos says about those who make the ephah small and falsify the balances of commerce in their New World Order. They just can hardly wait to rip people off! (Review also the seal of the "Black Horse" in Revelation chapter six.)

Live Link to->>> Revelation chapter six
Amos 8:5
Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
The phrase "this is their resemblance through all the earth" in Zech. 5:6 means this is a "global picture" of the extent of corrupt commerce on earth at this time. But wait, there is more concerning this ephah!
Zech. 5:7
And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
How many of our people really know who sits in the seat in the midst of commerce*? I dare say far too few! But as it is written right here in Zechariah, the "lid is going to come off the ephah" and the "woman" who sits in the midst of it shall be EXPOSED. It shall be the witness of God's elect that will do that exposing.

Who is this "woman" anyway? She is the great whore of Rev. 17 & 18, the mother of harlots, "false religion", the one with whom all the kings of the earth have committed fornication (Rev. 17:2)! She has lived "high on the hog" at the expense of others and claims she needs not the Bridegroom for she is already married... and she is... albeit to the wicked one, the spurious messiah, Satan himself!

* If you would like to learn more about how money works and the "wicked one's" corrupt economic systems, log unto (Live Link to-)>> "The Hidden Dynasty of the Economy" right here on this web site. 

Rev. 18:7
How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

Mystery Babylon the great is wicked indeed for it is the "rasha", the lawless one, the son of perdition, who heads this oppressive ungodly system.
Zech. 5:8 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.
God through His elect, His witnesses, shall EXPOSE the great harlot who sits in the midst of the ephah as filthy and wicked, i.e. as the iniquitous work of the wicked one! To wit, "Zechariah" means "Yahveh Remembers" and so it is that He shall NOT FORGET those who have religiously and economically oppressed His people through lies and deceitful practices!

 Let go back to Amos and document it.
Amos 8:4
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
The greedy who swallow up the needy shall be given fair warning by God's witnesses and they shall surely hear His servants say "Hear this"... "Thus saith the Lord GOD!" Meanwhile, the greedy can hardly wait rob and steal by deceit...
[5] Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
Such is "their resemblance in all the earth"! Rev. 6:5-6 "... 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."

There's your crooked "measure of grain", the small ephah!
[6] That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

[7] The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Woe unto them! Our Father shall surely remember their deeds and He shall bring them to justice on that great day when Jesus Christ returns!

Next we are going to "see" who it is that "lifts up this ephah" and carries this basket of filth to its "base", its final resting place, which is the PIT in land of Shinar, Babylon!

Zech. 5:9
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
Who are these "two women" with the "wind" in their wings? "Wind" is "ruach" in Hebrew which means "spirit" and it is the "spirit" that makes their wings as "strong" and "swift" as those of a stork*? These two women are "virgins" who have not defiled themselves with women, i.e. with that filthy whore, the wicked one (rasha) who sits as a queen in the ephah. (See Rev. 14:4).
* Note: It is true that the stork is an "unclean bird", but then so too is the eagle! The Hebrew terminology used here clearly refers to the characteristic of the "wings" of the stork which are very "strong" and "powerful" permitting the stork to fly high and with tremendous velocity.
[10] Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
Where are God's elect going to take the ephah (commerce) with the filthy wicked woman (false religion)?
[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.
Hey, they are going to carry this baby to its final resting place (base) in the land of Shinar, which is Babylon!

So there you have it! What great imagery our Father has given us in this 5th chapter of Zechariah to show us how He uses His elect, those two olive trees and those two candlesticks, to bring forth His Word, the "flying roll", over the face of the whole land, and to expose the great whore who sits as a queen in the midst the ephah.

What a time to live! And what a privilege it is to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in this final generation!

*****************

chapter 6

We have now come to great 6th chapter of Zechariah in which the prophet of God whose name means "Remembered of Yahveh" will be given his eighth vision! Eight in Biblical numerics denotes resurrection, rebirth, "new beginnings" and so it is in this chapter that we shall see the culmination of events of this flesh age followed by the birth of a new age when the BRANCH comes forth as King of kings and Lords of lords, the Lord of all the earth, to take the reigns of governorship and execute justice in all the earth.

In chapter 5 we saw two "visions", mental motion pictures (I call it telepavision), of the two works that God shall accomplish through His elect, through the two churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna which are fed by the two sons of oil in this final generation. Those two works are: 1) the teaching of God's Word, which is the "going forth" of the "flying roll" throughout the land as a warning and a witness (like a big billboard) to the true house of Israel (today's Christians Nations of western Europe and the Americas). This is accomplished by His "watchmen", those 7 pairs of eyes (eyes that see spiritually), who also complete the building of the temple, the 'sealing' of the 144,000 in Rev. 7 before the Four Winds are released, and 2) the lifting up, the exposing of the great harlot in the ephah, which is the satanic wickedness of the New World Order. This is accomplished when some of God's strong-winged spiritually rich (Rev. 2:9) elect are delivered up and give witness unto all nations (which have all joined together (epi) into one with the harlot in the ephah) by proclaiming the gospel of the coming kingdom of God, i.e. proclaiming that Jesus Christ is soon coming to this earth as King of kings and Lord of lords to tear down and smash this filthy, unholy one world system of Satan's and cast it into the pit of hell forever!

Now in this 6th chapter we are going to "turn" with Zechariah, i.e. while considering those two previous visions, and "lift up our eyes" and "see" what events follow those two works. Students of the Book of Revelation will have already figured out by that statement that what we must be going to see are events of the 6th and 7th Trumps respectively... and they are right on!

#8 of Zechariah's Eight Visions "The Four Chariots"

Zech. 6:1
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.
Look! Behold! This is some vision, isn't it? Of course you know there are no "brass" mountains on earth, right? This is our first clue to the fact that we are "seeing" something spiritual, supernatural in scope. Also, one should know that "chariots" are used symbolically to denote WARFARE and the number "Four" is the number pertaining to "the earth" (see appendix 10 in the Companion Bible).
Note: We are going to discover that the vision we are "seeing" is of the "wind", the "ruach" (the spirit). In other words it is the powerful spiritual warfare which follows the 5th Trump, which is what? The 6th Trump! That spiritual tribulation is part of God's judgment whereby He uses HIS locust army to come against His people to chastise them! (See Dr. Bullinger's note on Zech. 6:5 in the Companion Bible, re: judgment.) Therefore, since these chariots and horses are sent by God to execute His judgment upon the earth, they come from the Valley of God's Judgment, which those who have studied the Book of Joel know is called the Valley of Jehoshaphat. "Jehoshaphat" means "Yahveh Judges". To wit, if you check a map of Jerusalem you will find that the Valley of Jehoshaphat lies between the "two mountains", Mount Moriah and the Mount of Olives.

Now notice what is in these chariots of war! Horses! Colored Horses!

[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.
Horses are symbolic of POWER and we see these same colored horses in the first four seals of Revelation chapter 6 concerning the "powers" we call the "Four Hidden Dynasties" (all lead by Satan, although God is allowing him to lead spiritually for now and in person when the 6th. trump sounds). Zechariah now sees something else.
[4] Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?
Let us hear and understand the answer from the Word of God.
[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.
These are the same four spirits, or angels, of Rev. 7 who hold back the Four Winds until the flying roll has flown, i.e. until the teaching, the sealing, of the 144,000 has been accomplished. You see, the chariots which are symbolic of warfare, and the horses which are symbolic of power, reveal to us that this is talking about Spiritual Warfare... of the wind! By the way, the Hebrew word translated "spirits" in this verse is "ruach" which is often translated wind!

Before we go to Rev. 7 to learn more about these Four Spirits and the Four Winds, notice that they went forth "from standing before the Lord of all the earth"! What does that mean? Perhaps it would help to read how Dr. Moffat translates it which is, "after they have presented themselves before the Lord of all the earth". Why would they present themselves before God? The simple answer is "Because God said so", because it is written that they receive instruction from the One who is total and complete control. That is one of lessons we learn from all of this, i.e. that our Father is complete control and NOTHING happens without Him allowing it to (see Col. 1:16-17)!

If you have read the Book of Job you may recall that Satan himself "presented himself before the Lord" and he was given specific orders!

Job 1:6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
The sons of God are the angels. Also, you can read the account of the conversation between Satan and God for yourself concerning His servant Job, a type of God's elect, but the bottom line is that Satan was told he could NOT put forth his hand upon Job! So let there be no doubt about the power and authority of our heavenly Father. Again, neither Satan nor his locust army can do anything without the express written consent of the Creator of the Universe! So have no fear! Got it?
Job 1:12
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
The reason this is so important is because the locust army that comes with Satan at the sound of the 6th Trump is also given instructions before the Lord as in "commanded" by Him that they may NOT hurt those who have the "seal of God" in their foreheads, who are God's elect.
Rev. 9:4
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Now let us go to Rev. 7 and learn more concerning these Four Angels and the Four Winds!
Rev. 7:1
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
The "four corners" means "four quarters" or "four quadrants" of the earth, i.e. the whole earth, global, in all four directions, North, East, West, & South... NEWS. The Four Winds are poised and ready to go as soon as the angels get the go ahead! Anxious indeed they are as we shall see!
[2] And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
Who is this angel from the east? It is Michael, the angel with the 6th Trump. You see, it is documented in Rev. 12:7-12 that it is Michael who is holding back Satan and his angels, that locust army. He does so until our Father gives him the command to step aside and release Satan and his angels, i.e. cast them to this earth! Then "WOE to the inhabitants of the earth" (Rev. 12:12) when they are let go for as Daniel states in chapter 12:1, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." The word "trouble" means "tribulation"! There will be great tribulation, great "spiritual warfare" when the 6th Trump sounds!
Of course, it is written in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 that Jesus Christ shorted the reign of Satan and his locust army! In other words, He has held back the 6th Trump, the furious angelic onslaught, the Spiritual Warfare, the blowing of the four winds, for the sake of the elect! Why for the elects sake? To give them more time; So that they could seal the 144,000 of the temple and whomsoever would "turn unto Him"! Of course, Satan is not too happy about his time being shortened! In fact, he is really steaming with anger! Oh boy! Nothing like an angry fire breathing dragon stomping around! Got your sword ready?
Rev. 12:12
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
You can just imagine "the war in heaven" as Satan and his legal-beagle attorneys futilely argue "the letter of the law" claiming that he should have 3 1/2 literal years! Sorry Satan, the Judge has ruled your time has been shortened to five months! (See Rev. 9:5 for documentation.)

Let us now return to Rev. 7 and see what it is the angels who hold back the Four Winds are kept from doing until the sealing has taken place.

Rev. 7:3
Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
These trees are NOT the good guys! This is documented by the spiritual "Hurt" they shall inflict when they are released with the FULL POWER of the Four Winds:
hurt = adikeo, ad-ee-keh'-o, Greek 91; from Greek 94 (adikos); to be unjust, i.e. (active) do wrong (moral, socially or physical) :- hurt, injure, be an offender, be unjust, (do, suffer, take) wrong.
You should know who it is that wages this spiritual warfare and inflicts the "hurt"? Again, it is the locust army!
Rev. 9:3
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

[4] And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

They come with POWER to do spiritual BATTLE but they are NOT permitted to hurt those who have the Word of God sealed in their minds. Again, this is the great tribulation, the tribulation of Satan as the false-christ, the time of trouble, the great spiritual warfare... i.e. the onslaught of the four winds which blow GLOBALLY upon the whole earth, all four corners (quadrants)! Of course the earth, sea and trees are symbolic terms meaning the peoples of all nations, creeds and tongues. Do you have the Gospel Armour on (Eph. 6) and in place to be able to take a stand against these dudes, against the fiery darts of the Wicked one?
Rev. 9:7
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Hey, would you like to take a guess as to what color these "horses prepared unto battle" are?

Let us now return to the great Book of Zechariah and continue with these four spirits. We are now going to see these horses go forth into all the earth, in every direction, i.e. North, South, East and West.

Zech. 6:6
The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.
[7] And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth.
Oh boy! Here they come! The command has been given "Get the hence out of here!" And remember... they are really anxious (sought to go) to walk to and fro through 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.
To quiet His spirit means His judgment and chastisement have been executed. Do you remember what the "north country (country = eretz)" is? You may recall that we read about it in our study of the second chapter of Zechariah. The north land (land = eretz, same word translated country) is the land of Babylon, the state of confusion (babel) to where God's people are taken spiritually in these last days.
 That is why God says to His children concerning Babylon the great, "Come out of her, my people!"
Rev. 18:4
And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
If you have the seal of God in your forehead, when the four winds are released as part of God's judgment upon His people, you will not be a recipient of any of those plagues! Got it?

Again, we read the same thing in Zech. 2:6 concerning "come forth", i.e. come forth "out of Babylon", the land of the north?

Zech. 2:6
Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD.
Perhaps the definition of the word "north" will help us understand this spiritual land of darkness and confusion, the land of the "north", i.e. spiritual Babylon:
north = tsaphown, tsaw-fone', Hebrew 6828; or tsaphon, tsaw-fone'; from Hebrew 6845 (tsaphan); properly hidden, i.e. dark; used only of the north as a quarter (gloomy and unknown) :- north (-ern, side, -ward, wind).
By the way, if you would like "see" further into the tremendous "flood like" spiritual onslaught (blowing winds) when the angel of the 6th Trump lets the four angels loose, just read Rev. 9:13-20. You should now be familiar with enough symbolism to easily understand it!

Next we shall see what happens following the witness of the valiant children of the captivity!

Who said "crowns"?

The final verses of the great 6th chapter of the Book of Zechariah bring forth a summary and reveal to us the purpose and end result of the eight visions shown to the prophet of God whose name means "Remembered of Yahveh". In these concluding verses we are reminded that God has surely NOT forgotten His people and that just as Jesus Christ promised He would raise up and rebuild the temple, His body, symbolic of His many membered body, He is doing so in these last days according to the faithfulness of His Word. And we have seen through "visions", graphic illustrations, that it would be through His faithful servants who love and serve Him in this final generation that He would accomplish His wondrous works.

However, it seems most of Christianity today is focused almost entirely on salvation and baptism, the first "babe" steps in becoming a Christian, and they totally disregard the meat of God's Word (Heb. 5) concerning His ways, the ways of truth and justice, which is His righteousness. Thus without being fed any meat from His Word, it is no wonder that the final generation that would "boom forth" in these last days would never grow up (mature) in His Word but remain "babes" even unto the end. It also seems fitting that they would even come to be known as the "Baby Boomer" generation which is that final generation spoken of by Christ when He told us to learn the Parable of the Fig Tree. You see, that final generation began on May 15, 1948, when the "fig tree" was set out in the land of Judea (Jer. 24). The problem is that those who remain "babies" in His Word, those who are also likened to virgins who do not fill their lamps with the oil from the Bowl above, i.e. from His Word, SHALL BE seduced by the first supernatural entity who comes on the scene. That one will not be Jesus Christ whom most of Christendom is expecting at "any moment", but will rather be the king of Babylon, the false messiah, the instead-of-Jesus, Satan himself!

Live Link to->> Jesus said, "Learn The Parable of the Fig Tree."

That is why a servant of God in these last days MUST be able to see the wickedness of the "four horns" in Zech. 1:18-19 and how they are used and abused by Satan's own to "scatter God's people (spiritually)" and bring forth the beast of Rev. 13:1, the New World Order. That is why four, even the first four of the seven seals in Rev. 6, that you MUST have locked in your forehead in these last days pertain to those "Four Hidden Dynasties", those four powers (horns) of Religion, Economics, Education, and Politics.

You see, there is nothing new under the sun. In other words, there is nothing new in this flesh age that wasn't present in the first earth age, in the "world that then was" that Peter speaks of in 2 Pet. 3:6 which was destroyed by the wrath of God (Jer. 4:26) at Satan's first rebellion. If you read with understanding the 28th chapter of Ezekiel it will document for you that it was by the corruption of those same four "powers", all present in Ezek. 28 which together comprise the "tail" of the Dragon (Rev. 12:4), that Satan drew a third of God's children away from the mercy seat of righteousness in that first earth age

He has done so once again in this present earth age.

Wake up America!

But Satan's oppressive, unrighteous, unholy One World System shall not endure, for the King of kings and Lord of lords is soon coming to take over the reigns of ALL government on this earth. THEN we shall have true peace on earth because truth and justice shall be established in ALL the earth! 

Read what is written of the "child who was born" in a lowly manger, concerning His second advent at the sound of the 7th Trump!

Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This did not happen at the first advent but shall happen at His second. And you know what? God's elect of the Elijah ministry of these last days shall prepare (even are preparing) the way, building up the temple of God, for the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords to take upon His shoulder the governing of the whole earth!
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Here are the definitions of "judgment" and "justice".
judgment = mishpat*, mish-pawt', Hebrew 4941; from Hebrew 8199 (shaphat*); properly a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or [participle] divine law, individual or collective)...
Are you beginning to understand the Valley of Jeho-shaphat? When Christ returns at the 7th Trump He will institute the "Divine Law" of God to which all nations shall henceforth adhere!
And what of justice? The word "justice" comes from the prime root "zadok", or "tsadaq", which means righteousness or justness! And it will be His Zadok, the just ones, i.e. His elect, who shall hold fast to and enforce His Word with His rod of iron throughout the Millennium (Ezek. 44).
justice = tsedaqah, tsed-aw-kaw', Hebrew 6666; from Hebrew 6663 (tsadaq); rightness (abstract), subjective (rectitude), objective (justice), moral (virtue) or figurative (prosperity) :- justice, moderately, right (-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).
tsadaq, tsaw-dak', Hebrew 6663; a primitive root; to be (causative make) right (in a moral or forensic sense) :- cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just (-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be, turn to) righteous (-ness).
Again, why is this so important to the servants of God in this final generation? Lift up your eyes as you read the remainder of this 6th chapter of Zechariah and you will easily "see" the answer.
Zech. 6:9
And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

[10] 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;

When you consider all of those who came out of the captivity, out of Babylon (as per the Book of Ezra), we see here that only a few are mentioned. To that end, it is worth taking a short side trip to Dani-el, whose name means "God is Judge", keeping in mind that the Book of Daniel is written to those of the second witness, those rich (spiritually rich) of the church of Smyrna who shall be delivered up "to death" and who shall give witness and testimony to the kings and rulers of the earth, even before the king of Babylon, Satan himself! (By the way, do not worry about the "death" part!) It doesn't mean they will die; I means they will be delivered up to Satan, whose name is death!

Here is what the king of Babylon instructed his crony "Ashpenaz" to do. Take heed for this is a type to come in our generation:

Daniel 1:3
And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;
Are you of that "seed" in this final generation who serves the King of kings and Lord of lords? Psalm 22:30 "A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation."
[4] Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.
Understand what is being said here. If you have "no blemish" (God's elect of Rom. 8, justified by Him) and well favoured, and skillful in the wisdom and knowledge of God's Word using science (meaning "common sense" in Hebrew), then the king of Babylon wants your hide!! And you know why? So he can feed you his "meat", his idolatrous meat, and cause you to drink his "wine", the wine of Rev. 18:3, that wine of fornication! Yes, he wants to nourish you for "three years" so you can stand before him (and be his)! Imagine that!
[5] And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

[6] Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

You know the rest of the story. Of course, God showed Daniel favour and he befriended the prince of the eunuchs, Melzar (butler, i.e. wine server), and said to him "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink" (Dan. 1:12). There is your "ten day" spiritual tribulation of the king of Babylon trying to feed you his junk food! Nevertheless, it came to pass while everyone else was eating bad fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Daniel and his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, fasted on pulse (grain) and water, i.e. on the true "bread of life" and the "living water" instead of idolatrous doctrine! In other words, they ate their daily bread and kept true to God's Word!

Later on, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, aka Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo, would be exposed as politically incorrect NWO citizens, even exposed as religious extremists by certain "Chaldeans", and they would thus be delivered up before Nebuchaddnezzar, the king of Babylon who was a type of the world ruling false-christ of these last days. At that time they were commanded in the face of certain death by barbeque in the fiery furnace to "become his", i.e. to bow down and worship his image! But alas! Without a huddle, or any premeditation, or anxious consideration whatsoever, they would say to the would-be "king of kings" AFTER declaring Almighty God to be greater and more powerful than him, Take your statue and shove it!

This did not go over too well with old Neb and so he cranked up the spiritual thermostat, i.e. "turned up the heat" seven times hotter than it was wont to be, and had his goons toss the three lads into the burning fiery pit! Of course it is written concerning the witness of these last days that any who would hurt God's servants must in the same manner be killed (Rev. 11:5) and so it was that the goons were consumed by the fire from the furnace, just as those who had Daniel thrown to the lions were themselves fed to the lions. Therein is a lesson to be learned for these last days: Don't mess around with God's servants!

Let us now return to Zechariah having placed in our minds the type of faith and trust in God that His servants who fast on the true bread and water of life have in this final generation! They shall rejoice and come out of the "fire" smelling like a "rose"!

You will recall in verse 10 that Zechariah was to take of them of the captivity, even Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, which are come out of Babylon, and go that same day into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah.  Josiah means "Whom Yahveh heals" and "Zephaniah" means the "Hidden of Yahveh", even those two hidden "rays of light" we learned about in Habakkuk. 

Here is what they are to do:

Zech. 6:11
Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest;
Note: This verse is specially marked, meaning it is of great importance, as it is one of 26 verses each of which contains all 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Indeed, in this verse we see the coronation of the High Priest as King! (See note in the Companion Bible.)

Do you realize that Joshua (Yeshua), the son of Jo-sedech (Yahveh is Righteous), is the "high priest" who comes from the tribe of Levi? It is Zerubbabel of the tribe of Judah, the kingship line, who wears the civil crown. But look! Behold! Here we see the "high priest" receiving crowns upon His head. That's right! Oh Susanna, you're "seeing" it! Yes, Jesus Christ, Yeshua, riding on His white horse shall wear the "crowns" when He comes around the mountain when He comes.

Rev. 19:11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon Him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.
This is the return of Jesus Christ at His second advent... and He shall have many crowns upon His head.
[12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
The many crowns are all the crowns of the nations who shall submit them when He comes to the Valley of Judgment which is the Valley of Jehoshaphat. In other words, as it is written, "every knee shall bow to the name of Jesus Christ", and ALL crowns shall be given unto the King of kings and Lord of lords, i.e. Jesus Christ.

If you understand all the visions of Zechariah to this point, then you know that it is the elect of God who shall prepare the way in bringing forth Messiah the BRANCH as King of kings not just Lord of lords to rule ALL NATIONS with a rod of iron, i.e. with the justice and righteousness of the Word of God.

Zech. 6:12
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:
Jesus Christ promised He would raise up His temple! And it is written in Ps. 22:30-31* that in the last days a "seed" would come and serve Him and declare His righteousness in bringing forth the BRANCH. "Seed" means "offspring" as in "sons and daughters", even the sons and daughters of God in this final generation of the Fig Tree who do serve Him, who teach His Word and have come to build up His house, His temple, NOT to build up their own houses!

Live Link to->>> THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

Again, Joshua the high priest was a type, a shadowing forth, of Messiah who is to be crowned as BOTH King and Priest! He shall come to the "temple" He is building through His sons of oil and the two candlesticks which are the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna.

* Comment on Ps. 22: Did you know that as Jesus Christ hung on the cross at Calvary He quoted, as in taught, the entire 22nd Psalm which begins with "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and ends with "It is finished" (See note in Companion Bible on Ps. 22:31)?
[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.
Jesus Christ shall be BOTH the Ruler and Priest, the King of kings and Lord of lords, when He returns. That is why and how there shall be TRUE PEACE on earth, because BOTH the civil and the ecclesiastical shall all be under one head, even Jesus Christ, who shall rule with His servants whom He has made kings and priests to rule with Him throughout the Millennium! Rev. 5:10 "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
Note: On page 1286 in the Companion Bible, Dr. Bullinger also makes the following comment on the word "both" in verse 13: "both: i.e. two offices, priest and king will be combined in one person, Messiah."

Now understand these next two verses for they too are profound indeed!

[14] And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD.
A "Memorial" is a "Remembrance", which is what "Zechariah" means, i.e. "Remembered of Yah". In other words, the crowns shall be to His servants, even those servants who are the sons of Zephaniah (Hidden of Yah) who receive His good Grace from above (Hen means "Grace"), as a remembrance until the second advent. It shall be to His servants whom He has made to be kings and priests to rule with Him and through whom He builds His temple in these last days. To further our understanding of this, let us look at the meanings of the names to whom the crowns shall be:

"Helem" means "strength" as in strengthened through His Word. means "Tobaijah""goodness of God" as in blessed by His goodness, i.e. spiritually rich. "Jedaiah" means "Whom Yah has known", not as those "babes" who claim they love the Lord but to whom He says in Matthew 7:23 when He returns: "... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Do you love and serve Him? Are you strengthened daily by His Word, the true bread of life and the living water? If not, you can be!! All you have to do is turn to Him!

And now to conclude this chapter six, here is some really, really good news!

[15] And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.
As it is written it shall be (even is now) the "seed", the sons and daughters who shall come and serve Him in the final generation ("afar off", as in the last, i.e. farthest out), who shall come and build the temple. However, even though they shall be called forth by Him to build His house, understand that the opportunity, even His salvation, is open to anyone who will "TURN TO HIM (Zech. 1:3)" and "DILIGENTLY OBEY THE VOICE OF THE LORD YOUR GOD (Zech. 6:15)"!

Yes, Jesus Christ shall send that seed, His elect, the sons and daughters of the oil, to build the temple, the many membered body of Jesus Christ. And so it shall be built! But through His GRACE, ANYONE of any race, color, or creed, who "will diligently obey the voice of the LORD God" can have the opportunity be joined together in Him and become a part of the building of the temple of the LORD and receive a crown of glory at His coming.

That is our Father's will... for He dearly loves all of His children. And it is for that reason that we remain patient and endure and continue to serve Him until such time as He is ready to consummate the end of this age!

2 Peter 3:9 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is     longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

*********

chapter 7

What a privilege our Father has given us in these last days to enable us to "lift up our eyes" in His Word and "see" the eight visions of Zechariah which outline the purpose, the time frame, the overall plan and the details of the work of God in this final generation as He pours out His spirit through His two sons of oil, His two witnesses, unto those two lighted candlesticks which are the two churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna comprised of the sons and daughters spoken of by Peter in Acts chapter two.

Two things are for certain though:

1.) Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven is returning to Zion at the sound of the 7th Trump to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords of ALL the earth and to "establish it with judgment (divine law) and with justice".

2.) It is written that before we gather back to Christ there shall first come a false messiah to Zion at the sound of the 6th Trump, one "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thes. 2:4)."

Before we complete these next two chapters we are going to learn how and why it is that our people shall fall away from the true Messiah, which Paul calls "the great apostasy" in 2 Thes. 2, and worship the false messiah (Satan) when he comes at the sound of the 6th Trump, and claims he is God. Not only that, we shall see how the whole wide world shall "take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew" and go up to Jerusalem in a great religious revival and worship this abominable desolator of men's souls (Satan) who stands in the holy place claiming to be God. These next two chapters therefore are very important to our understanding of the times in which we live today. In fact, the hour glass has already been tipped and the last grains of sand are about to run out on this flesh age. So as we Baby Boomers are used to hearing, "Ready or not, here He comes!"

As we begin the 7th chapter of Zechariah, the timeframe given in the first verse corresponds to our late November/early December in the fourth year of Darius the king, two years from the beginning of Zechariah's prophecies and two years from the completion of the Temple which was in the 6th year of Darius the king in 405 BC. Keep in mind what we learned in our opening study that unlike Haggai who prophesied during a four month period, Zechariah's prophecies span a period of 7 years which we even "saw" from his visions correspond to the last 7 years of Daniel culminating with the return of the King of kings.

Zech. 7:1
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 Regem-melech, and their men, to pray before the LORD,
Let us first check-out the meanings of the names given in this verse that we might come to a deeper understanding of what is going on here. "Sherezer" is an Assyrian name meaning "prince of fire", call him "prince of (strange) fire" (see Numbers 3:4), and "Regem-melech" means "king" (melech) of a "regem", which is a "heap of stones", which pretty much describes what the 12 tribes symbolized by the 12 stones in the breastplate of the Levitical priests had become. So here we have representatives of Bethel, which is supposed to be the "house of God" ("Beth-El" means "House of God" in Hebrew), whose names are basically synonymous with "Idolatry" and a heap of "Confusion". Well, perhaps it may offend some, but as wise old Solomon declared, "there is nothing new under the sun", and idolatry and confusion (babel) are pretty good overall descriptions of the Christian priesthood in our land today.

Here is the question these representatives were to ask the priests in the house of the LORD of hosts:

[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?
We are going to learn in great detail in the next chapter about the "fasts" (appointed times) of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months for they are very crucial to our understanding of what is happening even right now in the land of Judea! Nevertheless, we should make note of the fact that the two fasts spoken of here and in the next verse, i.e. the fasts of the fifth and the seventh months, were on the 10th of Ab (5th month) when the Temple and the houses were burnt (Jer. 52:12-13) and on the 3rd of Tishri (7th month) when Gedaliah was slain by Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah (Jer. 40:8 & 41:1-3) respectively. These dates correspond to about the last weeks of our July and September.

However, the important thing to understand as it relates to the lesson to be learned in the following few verses is that these were religious ceremonies they were concerned about, not the Word of God, and the question the representatives of Bethel are asking is "Should they continue weeping and mourning on these days as they have done throughout the 70 years of their captivity?" Here is the answer straight from the word of the LORD of hosts:

[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?

Well now, God says! Let's take a galloping poll and do a little analysis and just see how much good all that fasting and mourning has done to date! (Hmmm, wonder if they know why they went into captivity in the first place?)

Question to all ye people of the land and all you so-called priests (ministers): "For whose benefit did you do all that fasting and mourning?"

Do you think they did it unto the LORD God of hosts, i.e. that they might repent of their sins and of their disobedience to His laws and commands which brought on their captivity in the first place?  Seems to me if they even have to ask the question as to whether they should stop or continue that it has become nothing more than a ritual, wouldn't you say? You see, most of them now listened to "princes of strange fire", i.e. they had become idolatrous and worshipped after other gods, even enjoying the prosperity and security that their captors provided! Therefore, they really did not pray to the living God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but 
to a strange god of another fire, even Satan himself.

Do you think it is any different in our land today?

Next question from the LORD of hosts:

[6] And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?
Yes, they were "eating and drinking" for themselves and it is obvious that they were "marrying and giving in marriage" to strange gods (see Mat. 24:38). You see, they were not into "hungering and thirsting" after righteousness, i.e. for His Word, His truth! They were not putting God first either in their sorrowing nor in their eating and drinking!

Again, there is nothing new under the sun in this final generation. Many of our brothers and sisters listen to those priests (ministers) with strange "fire" who claim to be representatives of the "house of God", i.e. claim to be Christian ministers and priests preaching and teaching in the name of Christ, but who teach our people to follow after the traditions of men which cause "great confusion" (Babel)! Jesus Christ warned us of those false preachers of strange fire, those MANY who would come in His name in this generation and deceive the multitudes with traditional fairy tales of apples and snakes and instill a false sense of security and hope in our people by promising them they will "fly-away" in a rapture when Satan the spurious messiah comes to town. The problem is... that false teaching that Christ will return at any moment literally "sets them up" for the spiritual kill, as in it prepares them for the great apostasy (2 Thes. 2:3), the great falling away which is to accept the first supernatural entity (Satan) who comes from heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) who will be none other than the false messiah coming at the sound of the 6th Trump. Jesus Christ's first warning concerning our day was to watch out for false preachers and teachers and the apostle Paul says to watch out especially for those who teach doctrines declaring that we gather back to the real Christ before the would-be Christ, the son of perdition, comes and reigns in His stead deceiving the whole world with great signs and wonders showing the world that he is God:

Matthew 24:4
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Paul also said:
2 Thes. 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the day of our gathering back to Christ] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Our Father now continues with His reply to all the people of the land and to the priests concerning the "religious" questions of "hot lips" Sherezer and "rocks-in-his-head" Regem-melech:
Zech 7:7
Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain?
Don't you think that you all should have listened to the words of the LORD through his prophets which He sent "while the good times rolled", i.e. while Jerusalem was inhabited and all the people were enjoying peace and prosperity? And now all you can think about is what you should do at church on certain days. Arrrggghhh!

I will tell you this... the fact is it doesn't matter what your religious activities are, be they feasting, fasting, singing, or wailing. Your Father wants truth and justice, His Word which is righteousness, to flow like a river of water throughout our land. I wonder how the roaring past quarter century will measure up to His will?

Amos 5:23
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

[24] But let judgment [divine law] run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

No, our people did not listen back in the days of old when God so richly blessed them, nor will they listen today "while the good times roll"! And so it is that this nothing-new-under-the-sun scenario pertaining to THIS final generation is part of the "Song of Moses", the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy, that the overcomers of Satan and of his beast system will be singing at the victory celebration when Yeshua returns (Rev. 15:3). Are you familiar with the words of this song? You see, it is not when a person is in big trouble, like hanging upside down in a deep well, that he forgets to cry out and acknowledge God. It is when he is "rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing" (Rev. 3:17) that he forsakes God and is so easily "drawn away" from His Word. Hey, "It's the economy stupid!" they now say! Therefore, peace and prosperity, which is exactly what the great tribulation of Satan is, is the greater test of one's love for God and of one's loyalty to the mercy seat, the seat of truth, justice, and the American way.

Here it is in the great Song of Moses:
Deut. 32:15
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
"Jeshurun" is a name referring to Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. Did you know that you MUST know where his sons and daughters, especially the so-called "lost 10 tribes" of the house Israel, dwell today in order to understand the prophecies of God's Word pertaining to this generation.
If you do not know where they are then contact www.artisanpublishers.com and request the booklet "The Abrahamic Convenant", by E. Raymond Capt. OR log unto pamphlets Live Links to->>> #1020 and #1064 right here. 

Yes, the Baby Boomer generation of Americans have become a bunch of "fat cats" and the majority of them lightly esteem the Word of God by rarely, if ever, studying it chapter by chapter and verse by verse and adhering to His ways of economics, civil government, education and religion. Consequently, they let the four horses of those Four Hidden Dynasties of Rev. 6 run all over them as in "trodden them down"!

[16] They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
They already follow the abominable one (Satan) through their idolatrous traditions of men!
[17] They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
There's the answer to the questions: "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?"
[18] Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
How does one forget or forsake God? By not studying His Written Word. One cannot separate the Living Word from the Written Word. You see, the way one gets to know Jesus Christ is through His Word because He is the Word of God. That is why Christ will say to the many churchgoers who cry Lord, Lord and try to cash in their tithes and do-gooder deeds along with their gold stars for faithfully teaching Sunday school, etc., all done in the name of Christ of course, to GET AWAY from me, I never knew you! Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
[19] And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
They roll the fertility goddess Ishtar's eggs during the high day of Christianity, the Passover, and they accept liberalism instead of demanding truth and justice and accountability and then people wonder why the LORD does not answer their prayers? Go figure! I mean think about it! How many blessings do you pour out and how many requests do you fill for the things your children ask for, after they act totally irreverently and willfully disobey your every wish and command... especially after you have warned and warned them and told them to shape up or ship out? Well, Israel did NOT shape up after being warned by the prophets and God did ship them out just as He said He would!
[20] And He said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
Next we shall learn straight from the LORD of hosts exactly what it is He wants all the people and the priests of THIS NATION to do! Do you know what it is?

We just saw the priestly representatives of the people who were anxious concerning their religious worship services and came to question God's prophets (Zech. 7:3) as to whether or not they should continue the fasting and mourning for the destruction of the temple (now that it was being rebuilt) as they have been doing these many years of their captivity.

That had to be really disappointing to our Father! Why? Because they should have been less worried about church and more concerned about the fact that His prophets warned them, foretold them, of their captivity that would come IF they continued to ignore and disobey His laws and statutes (thereby following after other gods). In other words, IF they failed to execute His judgment (divine law) with justice and compassion throughout the land, the "natural result" would be destruction and captivity. To wit, there is nothing new under the sun!

Do you not think it is amazing that even after having witnessed His words of warning, those same curses written on the "flying scroll", come to pass exactly as they were written in the law and exactly as they were spoken by the Holy Spirit through the mouths of His prophets, that they were still not repentant nor desirous to seek Him and follow His ways? Well, unfortunately it is not amazing at all. In fact, it is very characteristic of the "sottishness" (Jer. 4:22) of our people even to this day. You see, though they claim to love the Lord, most Christians do not really know Jesus Christ, the Word of God, because they do not study His Word! Therefore in their ignorance they have none understanding of the difference between the holy and the profane, nor the wisdom to "discern between the unclean and the clean"!

Jeremiah 4:22
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish [means "stupid"] children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
To do good is to trust in God and follow His ways, His Word, which is truth and justice, NO MATTER WHAT! Yes, we need to stick to and follow our national motto, "In God We Trust"! To do evil is to allow liberalism to creep in and gnaw away like locusts at the fabric of truth and justice and all that is righteousness! And never forget that all those things that happened to our forefathers happened unto them as ensamples for our benefit, i.e. for the benefit of this generation upon whom the ends of the world are come that we may "see" and "understand" what shall befall us! And it is "befalling us" now! Wake up!
1 Cor. 10:11-12
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
It is true that History repeats itself, which is another way of saying that History is prophecy! So if you think you are in good standing with the Lord because of your "churchianity" and yet you do not know the lessons of the "things that happened" unto our forefathers and have "taken heed" yourself, then you are in for a fall... a great fall... even the great falling away of the majority in 2 Thes. 2:3 when that man of sin, the lawless one, the little horn, the son of perdition, Satan himself, comes standing in the holy place claiming to be God!
[12] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Here then is something else to consider! Not only has our gracious and loving Father given us His Word with His clear instructions along with numerous and explicit ensamples of "cause and effect" written for our understanding, but He has further given us TYPES and ensamples in these last days (even of the 6th and 7th Trumps)! Have we not been given to "SEE" almost a decade {The 1990s} of leadership by a charming and charismatic "lawless one", a "rock & roll" "little horn" player from "little tyre ("rock" in Hebrew)", who entered in during times of peace and prosperity and profaned the highest office of our land, perverted justice, scorned truth, despised the rule of law, dealt "treacherously" with foreign governments, as in "sold out" and accepted bribes, debased women and committed fornication with the "harlot"?

Question: How is it possible for one who has "stooped (fallen) so low" to receive a 66% job approval rating in a nation where more than 90+% of the population professes to be Christian? Yes, "sottish" is an appropriate word and now we have been given a 9-11 wake-up call, even a witness to the ways the prophets warned our ancestors not to follow, the ways which brought forth terror and the destruction of the temple which they now religiously mourned! Should they continue with their fasting and mourning? What for? If you stay in your Father's Word and follow Christ like He said, then there will be no cause for fasting and mourning, only feasting! Now you know how to "wipe away all tears"!

Wake up America! What is it our Father would have us do?

Zechariah 7:8
And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

[9] 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.

There is nothing new under the sun, even from the "first earth age" throughout all eternity concerning our Father's righteous ways! These words were given unto our forefathers in the wilderness following their captivity in Egypt and these same words are now given to the sons and daughters of this final generation. Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

Again, "Wake-up Christian" and learn the lessons of "yesterday" for they aptly apply "today"! God said so (1 Cor. 10:11)! Did our forefathers listen to the words of the prophets, to God's Word? No, they did not and they suffered the consequences of their decisions documenting that God's Word is true!

[11] But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.
They just don't want to hear the truth about the consequences of their actions, do they? They would rather blame someone else and play the role of victim or poor-me-baby! That's Satan's way and the way of his children of disobedience, i.e. the kenites! Victim, victim, victim! Remember? The "little horn" was never at fault. It was just that someone was always out to get him, especially those far-right-wing-conservatives who were after justice!
[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.
The phrase they "made their hearts as an adamant (stone)" means they are a strong-willed, self-willed, stubborn people, i.e. a bunch of "hard heads"! They especially harden their hearts during times of peace and prosperity. You see, they did enjoy the prosperity of their captors in Babylon. There is nothing new under the sun.
[13] Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:
Let's see! If you were to totally ignore your mother and father and not listen to them one whit, and worse yet you go contrary to their wishes and take heed to the bad advice of others, would you then expect your parents to reward your behavior and give you everything you ask them for? I don't think so! Yet some people wonder why God does not answer their prayers! They are "sottish" indeed! Read His Word... there is no need to wonder about anything! You see, our Father poured out His wrath in the first earth age and destroyed the "world that then was" (Jer. 4, 2 Pet. 3:6, Gen. 1:2).
See Live Link to- When the dinosaurs roamed the earth?
He also said He would pour out His anger on our forefathers and scatter them with a "tempest" IF they chose not to follow His Word... and they didn't... and He did. Unlike man, our Father always keeps His word!
[14] But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
They blew it, didn't they? Let us therefore use wisdom and learn from the error of their ways lest HIStory repeats itself at our expense, because it is written that God shall pour out His wrath on this froward (disobedient) generation IF they will not turn to Him! Shall we close our eyes and ears and pretend it isn't so? As a nation, far too many of us closed our eyes and ears during the reign of the "little horn" (Bill Clinton) and look what it brought us! Satan's ways always bring "desolations", which is why He is called the "desolator"!

Then we SAW one who came come to power (George Bush) who claimed to stand for truth and justice and the American way, one who holds accountable the wicked and unrighteous. Time will tell, what is it we should expect from doing things God's way or if we don't? You know something! One does not have to be a "guru" nor have "supernatural powers" to know what the future brings. Any child who can read can learn of the blessings and cursings in Deut. 28 which naturally, by Divine Law, follow obedience or disobedience respectively! We as individuals have a choice! We as a nation have a choice! Therefore, it is up to you! Just don't "fast and mourn and whine" when you get what is coming to you as result of your bad choice! Your Father won't listen to you! "So what will it take for Him to turn unto you", you ask? We go back to the beginning words in Zechariah. If you did not hear them then, will you be able to hear them now?

Zech. 1:3
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.

[4] Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

The choice is yours! Always has been!
Deut. 30:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
As you can see, God is "Pro Choose Life"!
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chapter 8

It is the same old story from the beginning. It is the lesson to be learned by God's people which is simply this: When our people let down their guard from holding fast to the Word of God and begin to listen to liberalism and allow it to bear fruit, we can expect desolation and death to follow. Ask Adam and Eve who had it made in the garden of God. Ask our forefathers who "waxed fat" in the land of milk and honey and because of their prosperity began to slowly but surely be drawn away from God's commands, His Word, and follow after other gods. In other words, they began to listen to the proud and arrogant liberals, those who elevate themselves in their own minds to become as "little gods" who think that they, apart from the Word of God, can best determine how to run other people's lives!

Wake up America! It's not true! It's a lie! It's a fake! They (liberals) are "fakes" (hypocrites) and their "ways" are "fakes" (lies)! Are you going to allow Satan to continue to draw you away from the truth of God's Word through his "enlightenment"? Do you want peace and happiness or do want anxiety followed by desolation and death? Go ahead and eat and digest that bad fruit and soon you can become as one of them, thinking you too know much better how to determine good and evil and right and wrong than your heavenly Father. Hey sottish one! It is garbage in... garbage out! You are what you eat! Don't continue to ear up "WHAT SATAN SAYS"!

Genesis 3:5
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Yes, you too can become a god, with a little "g", just like the "fire breathing dragon" SATAN, himself. Only today we call little gods "flaming liberals". Christians who know their Father's Word, thereby having on the Gospel Armor of truth, do fearlessly stand against their "fiery darts" (Eph. 6)!

In chapter 7 we learned that our Father wants us to "execute true judgment and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother" (Zech 7:9) and not to "oppress the widow, the fatherless, etc." As you should know, for it is recorded in HIStory for our benefit (1 Cor. 10:11), our forefathers "refused" to hearken unto His words and the resulting consequences were exactly according to His Word. They were "scattered" and their beautiful homeland became desolate.

The question is: Can we as individuals and collectively as one nation under God, learn from the error of their ways and instead of following their path which led to their captivity and the destruction of the temple, "Turn unto Him" and "keep His commandments" in all our ways, i.e. in religion, economics, politics and education? Have we not been given a great wake-up call? Shall we continue to mourn or shall we execute His judgment in all the earth? God bless our leaders who seek to execute judgment, because it is written that when we allow truth and justice to prevail in all the land, then shall Freedom ring and our streets and our gates shall be safe and secure! Read again from chapter 7 what happened to our forefathers:

Zech. 7:14
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
God's elect are in the process of rebuilding the temple, the many membered body of Jesus Christ in these last days. And they shall be successful in preparing the way for the King of kings and Lord of lords to return and establish His righteousness upon Mount Zion! After He destroys the Temple(religion) we, under the leadership of Satan, have built during the past 2000 years!

What shall it be like in the Holy City when the Prince of Peace returns? We certainly know what it is like this day and it is NOT a pretty sight, is it? It has become a "city of lies" and the "mountain of the desolator" but at the sound of the 7th Trump it shall become a "city of truth" and the "mountain of the LORD of hosts" (Zech 8:3), the peace and beauty of which we shall read about in this study. Remember also that it is written in Ezekiel 16 that our Father "took to wife" the city of Jerusalem as His eternal resting place, and as we read in Zech. 1:17, He shall yet make her the great "city of peace", even the "foundation of peace" as her name in Hebrew denotes!

Zech. 8:1
Again the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying,

[2] Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

His jealousy and anger over Zion shall become even greater because of the great "indignation" that takes place when the "abomination of desolation", the abominable desolator (Satan as the false-christ) spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stands in the holy place claiming to be God (2 Thes. 2). Woe! Then He shall come forth and pour out the fury of His wrath upon the ungodly and as it is written, "there shall not be left one stone standing upon another" on that great day He returns to Zion! Luke 21:6  "As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

This is what the city has become:

Isaiah 1:21
How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.

[22] Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:

This is what the city shall soon become when Messiah returns as King:
Zech. 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.
Behold, the "Holy Mountain of God"! Will you be standing there with the King of kings when He returns? Rev. 14:1 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads."
Isaiah 2:2
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Remember the "wise men" from the east who were led by the "star" to the house of God? Lift up your eyes and see! Bright "Stars" of God, those which have not fallen, will ALWAYS lead you to Jesus Christ, to the "house" of God. And from hence forth when He who was born KING OF ISRAEL comes to this earth to establish His kingdom upon Mount Zion, as we just read in Isa. 2:2, ALL the nations and all the kings of the earth shall flow unto it.

Even so shall it be throughout all eternity:
Rev. 21:23
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

[24] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

Do you "see" what Abraham "saw"... that beautiful city which has "foundations" (even supporting pillars - Rev. 3:12), whose builder and maker is God?
Hebrews 11:10
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
What a beautiful and peaceful home this earth shall finally be for all eternity, beginning when the Prince of Peace returns to Mount Zion where the government "will be upon His shoulder". (Isa. 9:6)!

Let's check out the future and see how the streets of Jerusalem shall be... compared to how they are today!
Zech. 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.

[5] And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.

Of course we will all be in spiritual bodies during this time, the time of the Millennium, but seeing that we are not yet to that point these graphic descriptions of peace and safety are given to us in terminology we can understand and relate to now while we are still in the flesh.

What these verses tell us is that the streets of Jerusalem which are now NOT safe to sit down and rest in and which have become streets where boys and girls get blown up or shot to death, shall soon become a safe and peaceful place to rest or play!

 Isaiah uses similar figures of speech to "describe the indescribable" peace.
Isaiah 11:6
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
And what of Satan, that old serpent, and his idolatrous "meat", i.e. his liberal theologies and ideologies brought forth by his "seed" which are contrary to the Word of God?
Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Just let someone try and ride a "red" horse (see Rev. 6) or a "black" horse during the Millennium. He shall quickly meet up with the good guys, the Zadok Rangers on their white horses, and with His "rod of iron" they shall dismount the would-be liberals and they shall quickly "bite the dust"! Hi Ho Silver!

Yes, the peace and happiness and security in Jerusalem will be a wonder to behold!

Zech. 8:6
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.
The Hebrew word used here for "marvellous" means "wonderful" and is in reference to the preceding verse (vs. 5), i.e. the great and wonderful peace in Jerusalem. You see, it is the "just and true" ways of God which shall bring about the wonderful peace and harmony among all peoples and nations and tongues. Again, that is part of the Song of Moses which the overcomers shall sing on Mount Zion.
Rev. 15:3
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
Zech. 8:7
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
"From the east country, and from the west country" is a figure of speech called a Synecdoche (of the part) and it means from everywhere. In other words, He shall gather His people from all over the earth, from all four corners.
[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.
Here is a "word to the wise" in these last days! Those of you among the sons and daughters who have "heard" the words of the prophets which "were in the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid", i.e. let's say... have been around for awhile and have seen the foundation of the temple laid, it is now TIME to strengthen your HANDS, which are those things you use to do "work" with! In other words, let's be "doers" and not "hearers only" (James 1:22)! Let's be about the task for which we have been called and chosen and finish the work!

He wants us to EXECUTE JUDGMENT, His Divine Law! Remember, He is not interested in our church services and our songs of praise and worship if we are disobedient to His Word. These are strong words and we are not trying to offend those who go to church nor judge nor condemn those who do. Going to church is fine but it should be a place where one hears the Word of God taught chapter by chapter and verse by verse.

Perhaps it is worth repeating "His Words" through His servant Amos to those "church goers" (those who seek Bethel, the "house of God") but who do not "seek the Lord God" through His Word, i.e. do not study and rightly divide His Word. Here is what He  states to the "House of Israel", of which America is the leading nation today:

Amos 5:4
For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
Did you know you do not have to actually "go anywhere" to Seek the Word of the LORD. Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and take the "little book",Yes, the one lying there on your coffee table! Gathering Dust! and eat ye all of it. (Ezek. 2:9 - 3:3). Or... you can run around all over the place like a foolish virgin, like a chick with her head cut off, and still not find the Word of the LORD. You already have it! Take it and "Eat it"!
Amos 8:12
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
Do not seek Bethel/church! If you truly seek Him, He is in the "volume of the Book" (Heb. 10:7)! Seek Him there!
Amos 5:5
But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
Beer-sheba means "well of seven" or even "well of covenant" for it is where Abraham made a covenant with the Philistines not to come against each other. Abraham gave Abimilech seven lambs as a witness to the transaction. Also, "Gilgal shall surely go in to captivity" reads "Gilgal galoh yigleh" in Hebrew which is a Paronomasia, a figure of speech, even a play on words, where similar sounding words are repeated. In English we would say, "The Roller, rolling, shall roll away."

However, this verse is really quite simple because Father is telling us that there is no salvation in any of those places, not in a church, not in setting up altars, and not in making covenants. You must seek Him! That is the ONLY way!

Again, you can go to church (Bethel) regularly for years and years and more years (and I'm not knocking churches or going to church) and yet still be slaughtered with the majority in the spiritual warfare of these last days. You can set up altars all day and all night, such as at Gilgal, and you can make covenants all the way to Beer-sheba, but unless in these latter days you seek the LORD thy God through His Word, not man's, with all your heart and all your soul, your little old church isn't going to do you a bit of good on that Day! The sad part is that the life giving instructions to Seek Him and obey His Voice, not man's, was given to our people and recorded in His Word long, long ago!

Here it is in the Book of Deuteronomy:

Deut. 4:29
But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
What our Father wants is for judgment, His divine law, His Word, to flow like a river throughout the land so we can all be safe and sound and happy and blessed. Shall we continue to fast and mourn? Shall we continue to play church?

 Thus saith the LORD God:
Amos 5:21
I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

[22] Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.

[23] Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.

[24] But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

So the question is: Are you helping to build up the temple in these last days by teaching the truth of His Word, not man's, and executing His judgment. Will you be made a pillar in the house of God? Rev. 3:12 "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." As we have learned, our forefathers did not hearken to His words and they paid the price by suffering the "curse".
Zech. 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 neighbour.
Their former "ways" had brought upon them their affliction. Think about it!

Remember the words Haggai spoke to them?
Haggai 1:5
Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

[6] Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.

One must sow "good seed", His truth, His Word, in order to produce a bountiful harvest. In other words, one cannot sow Puffed Wheat as seeds and expect it to bring forth a crop. And as Zechariah just said in verse 10, neither can there be peace of mind and serenity because of the affliction, because of the "adversary" and his little "adversites", the Kenites.

However, the "good news of the kingdom of God" is that there SHALL BE true and lasting peace when the Prince of Peace comes to Mount Zion to execute judgment (divine law) in all the earth. His sons and daughters are now preparing the way for His return!

Zech. 8:11
But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the LORD of hosts.
Why? Because there shall be a remnant who will know the truth and do the work and serve Him in this final generation and He shall bless the work of their hands which are strengthened in Him.
[12] For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine 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.
You with "ears to hear", understand this on a spiritual level. The "seed" are those sons and daughters who serve Him in this generation, the "seed" He spoke of while hanging on the cross as He taught the 22nd Psalm. Psalm 22:30-31 "A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. [31] They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this." His righteousness is His Word, the knowledge of truth and justice! They shall prosper and produce much fruit on the true Vine as the "latter day rain" falls upon the earth.

Yes, the "heavens shall give her dew". Are you beginning to sing "The Song of Moses" in your heart and mind? It is for our time! It is the story of our generation! It is the good news of the kingdom of God where truth and justice and peace and happiness come to this earth. "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:3).

Haggai 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn?... My fellow Christian, are you doing your part? Are you planting seeds of truth! His Word!
Deut. 32:2
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
It shall come to pass exactly as it is written.
Zech. 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.
Though they were scattered among the heathen in fulfillment of the curse (remember the "flying scroll") which always follows disobedience to His Word (Deut. 28), Israel shall yet be saved out of her affliction, i.e. out of her captivity and oppression by the adversary (Satan)! Do not misunderstand, our Father is as angry as ever at His children in these last days for following after the idolatrous ways of their forefathers (Zech. 1:2-4), but as He has promised in these last days He shall send forth His seed, the remnant of His people, i.e. His elect, and He shall prosper them and they shall bring forth much fruit.
[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.
Do NOT Fear nor be anxious in these times of distress and labor pangs. Be STRONG in His Word and tell it like it is, i.e. teach God's Word exactly as it is written, after the manner of "Thus saith the LORD God!" Then the saints of the Most High shall inherit the kingdom! Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Again, what is it our Father would have us do? Is it to "seek Bethel", i.e. just go to church every Sunday? Shall we continue to "fast and mourn" over the consequences brought upon us by the curse? Quit listening to men and "open your ears" by opening His Word and start listening to His Voice

Here is what He wants you to do:

[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:
Again, we read this same thing in the last chapter, remember? Our Father loves truth and the execution of judgment, HIS judgment, HIS Divine Law, the commands of the Word of God. And they apply both individually and nationally. You see, to have peace within our gates, the gates of our homes and the gates of our nation, we MUST execute His judgment (divine law) in all our doings. To do otherwise WILL BRING DESOLATION and it HAS! We have actually been witnesses to the truth, to the surety of God's Word in these last days! Wake-up America!  You see, your choice, your vote, is a serious matter for it is a "choice" for the ways of life or death, blessings or cursings (AND THAT INCLUDES THE UNBORN!!!). Therefore choose to follow the heavenly "stars" who follow Christ and lead all nations to the House of God as opposed to choosing to follow "fallen stars" who will lead you away from truth and justice and bring about desolation, even the Desolator (Satan)!   Choose Life!

The choice is YOURS! And your choice affects the well-being and safety of your people! So if a priest or prince of the people is not for God's ways, the ways of truth and justice, then he or she is simply not "for the people"!

Next, here are two things NOT to do:

[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.
He HATES disobedience and compromise to truth, justice and the American way! Do you know what a "false oath" is? It is a "compromise" of God's Word, His truth and His justice, the Divine Rule of Law! You see, it will not be long and the wickedness of liberalism (false oaths) shall be "consumed" from off the face of the earth, burned with the "fire" of His truth (2 Pet. 3:10)! Then the pure light of truth shall come forth and shine brightly in Zion!
Isaiah 62:1
For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.

[2] And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.

[3] Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

[4] Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.

What a beauty she will be! "Hephzi-bah" means "My delight is in her" and "Beulah" means "married"!

Yes, there shall be "Peace on Earth towards men of Good Will" when the King of kings, the Prince of Peace, returns to Mount Zion!

The truth of God's Word is that if a people and a nation will simply keep His Word and obey His commands, i.e. love the truth, then there will never be a need for fasting and mourning! To that end, God ordained only "feast days" for His people, not "fast days"!
Zech. 8:18
And the word of the LORD of hosts came unto me, saying,
[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.
We are going to summarily learn about these fasts which were appointed by man, because the events that happened on these days are "types" which have written "for us upon whom the ends of the world have come" (1 Cor. 10:11-12) to "see" and understand what events shall transpire in these last days. Students of prophecy will be interested in studying even deeper into these events because in type they have to do with the 6th Trump, the spiritual desolation brought about by the coming of the king of Babylon, the desolator, i.e. Satan the false-christ, to Jerusalem.

So you better watch out,
you better not pout
,
Satan is coming to town!

What we are to learn from our Father in verse 19 in identifying these "fast days", these "appointed times", is that if we love truth, His Word, and peace, which obedience to His Word brings (Deut. 28:1-14), then there are no fasts days, only feast days. Eventually all fasts shall be turned to joy and gladness when the Prince of Peace returns to this earth. Until then... Woe to those who are deceived!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, let us look at these "4" fasts. "4" in Biblical numerics signifies the "earth" which is likened to having four corners as in the four directions of the compass, N.E.W.S. There are numerous modern types and overlays of these four appointed times which we are not going to go into, but if you are a student of modern history you will discover that there has often been, especially recently, much trouble on these dates, as there yet shall be. If you are not familiar with the Hebrew months and how they relate to the Gregorian calendar, then just know that the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months correspond to our July, August, October, and December even spilling over into each following month respectively.

We begin with the fast of the 4th month which was when the city of Jerusalem was broken up and king Zedekiah and his men broke through the inner wall and fled through the gate on the south corner of Ophel.

Jeremiah 52:6
And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.

[7] Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.

You can also read of this event in the 39th chapter of Jeremiah.

The fast of the 5th month was when the temple and the houses were burned and the protecting walls of Jerusalem were broken down which you can read about in Jer. 52:12-14.

Jeremiah 52:12
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,

[13] And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire:

[14] And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about.

You should know what (even who) the "wall" surrounding Jerusalem is symbolic of and the details surrounding its rebuilding from the great Book of Nehemiah. Remember also that we discussed the "wall" in Zech. 2:5.

 The fast of the 7th month was when Gedeliah whose name means "Yah has become great", the son of "Ahikam" which means "brother of rising", was slain by Ishmael and his ten men.

Jeremiah 41:1
Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah.
Mizpah comes from "mizpeh" meaning "tower".
[2] Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.
Question to the wise: Have you been following the events in the city of Jerusalem since the visit to the temple mount in September of 2000 by the current prime minister whose first name is "lion"? Keep your eyes wide open at this time.

Next we have the fast of the 10th month which was the day the king of Babylon and all his army came and set his face against Jerusalem. This is symbolic of, a type of, the king of Babylon of Revelation, i.e. Satan as the spurious messiah and his angelic host coming to the holy place. We can read about the type of this yet future fulfillment in Jer. 52:4 and Ezekiel 24. Pay particularly close attention to this day.

Jeremiah 52:4
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it round about.
This is such an important day to remember that God told the watchman, Ezekiel, to write down this day, i.e. to remember it real good. Why? Again, because it was the day the king of Babylon set himself against the holy city Jerusalem!
Ezekiel 24:1
Again in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

[2] Son of man, write thee the name of the day, even of this same day: the king of Babylon set himself against Jerusalem this same day.

You see, the king of Babylon, Satan as the spurious messiah, is soon coming to Jerusalem to take the world captive in a religious revival such as the world has never seen! The "spiritual desolation" brought about by this "abominable desolator" spoken of by Daniel the prophet will be tremendous indeed!

It is written that he shall come and deceive the whole world into believing he is God, the event which will cause the great apostasy, the great falling away from the true Messiah to the fake that Paul talks about in 2 Thes. 2!

Yes, the clock is ticking upon the final generation of the fig tree which began on May 14, 1948, and sooner than one might think, Satan along with his angelic host will soon be cast out of heaven to this earth. Woe!

Live Link to->>> The Parable of the Fig Tree
Rev. 12:9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And how does he deceive the whole world?
Rev. 13:14
And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
So get ready freddy and open your understanding to these last four verses of Zech. 8. Yes, there will be a time of restoration and rejoicing when the King of kings and Lord of lords returns to this earth, but not before Satan and the 10 kings who receive their power one hour with the beast do lead all the world to worship the false Messiah standing in the holy place (Rev. 17:12),(Mat. 24:15) where he ought not!
Zech. 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:
It shall yet come to pass in this generation when people from many cities from around the world, peoples of all kindreds and nations and tongues as verses 22-23 document, go to Jerusalem to seek the one who is there.
Who will they find there?
 Do you know?
[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.
Will you go also? Again, what this is referring to is that there is going to be a worldwide religious revival! The whole world will believe that the one standing in Jerusalem is the LORD of hosts. Again, is it not written, did we not just read, that Satan shall come and stand in the holy place and deceive the whole world? What is it that he deceives the whole world into believing? Answer: That he is God, the God of all people and nations and languages, i.e. the Messiah, Allah, etc.!

The apostle Paul documents this for us very clearly in 2 Thes. 2:

2 Thes. 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
The "day that shall not come" is the day of our gathering back to Jesus Christ which does not happen until the 7th Trump. Paul is telling us that BEFORE THAT DAY of our gathering back to Him, the son of perdition, that man of sin, the false messiah (Satan), will come at the sound of the 6th Trump and deceive the whole world into believing that he is God, i.e. Jesus Christ.
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Therefore the whole world will seek after him.
Zech. 8:22
Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
Many people and strong nations, i.e. the whole world joined together as one, shall come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of hosts. Only one problem... the one whom they seek to worship shall be Satan as the fake Christ.
[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.
Who are these 10 men? This should give you a major clue as to what is being talked about here. These ten men are the ten kings of the one world political system (Dan. 7:24, Rev. 17:12) who come to power one hour with the beast. We see these men taking hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, or at least claims to be a Jew (Rev. 2:9, 3:9), and saying "We will go with you: for we have "heard" that God is with you!"

Let me tell you something... when the King of kings and Lord of lords returns to this earth, there won't be any rumours or "hearing" that Jesus Christ is in Jerusalem for every eye shall see Him and every knee shall instantly bow before Him.

Paul taught us in 1 Cor. 15:52 that when Jesus Christ returns at the sound of the 7th Trump, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed into our spiritual bodies. Until then, do not listen to rumours or be deceived by "miracle workers"!  Listen to your Father's Word and "take heed" to the words of Jesus Christ concerning the "rumour", the "hearing", that Jesus Christ has returned.

Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
This is STRONG deception, the strong delusion Paul talks about 2 Thes. 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." What lie? That the LORD is in Jerusalem, let's go!

The Greek word (Strong's # 5580) for "false Christs" is the singular word "pseudochristos" which means "a spurious Messiah: - false Christ"

Again, he comes, at the sixth trump, before the true Messiah returns, at the seventh trump, and he deceives the whole world.

Let no man deceive you! Christ warned you of the great deception to come!

[25] Behold, I have told you before.
[26] Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
So when they say, "Let us go down to Jerusalem and worship God", DON'T GO! Don't believe that big lie (2 Thes. 2:11)!

Believe and hold fast to the Word of God!

************
chapter 9

Perhaps the most dangerous doctrine taught by the majority of Christian churches in this final generation is the "theory" known as the any-moment "rapture" of the church. At first it seems amazing that such a popular and widely espoused doctrine cannot be documented in the scriptures, but then it begins to make perfect sense when we consider it is written in Rev. 12:9 that when Satan is cast out of heaven to this earth, he comes and deceives the whole world, including the majority of Christianity (2 Thes. 2:3), into believing that he is God. 

So if the majority of Christians, because of their lack of knowledge of His Word, will believe the big lie (2 Thes. 2:11), i.e. that the abominable one who comes standing in Jerusalem is Jesus Christ, it therefore should come as no surprise that they believe a big lie now, especially one that "sets them up" for the great fall! Paul even calls their bowing to the wicked one who shall come with all power and signs and lying wonders, the great "falling away" (apostasy) in 2 Thes. 2:3.

The fact is folks, you can go to your local library and document in church history that the theory of the any-moment rapture of the church was conceived in the troubled mind of a woman named Margaret MacDonald in the year 1830 in Glasgow, Scotland. She had a "vision" on her bed in which she saw Jesus Christ return and "take up" His church "in the clouds". It is now widely taught that this is the manner in which Christians will escape the "great tribulation" of the spurious messiah, Satan.

Let us briefly consider two elements concerning this teaching that has so many of our brothers and sisters "set-up" to accept the first supernatural appearing "Good Guy" to come from heaven.

First of all, the theory supposes that in order to "qualify" to be among those "taken up" one must be "born again" or "saved", meaning that he or she is in great "spiritual" shape having obtained the promise of eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, if one's soul is already "saved" the only thing the rapture can do is spare or "save" the flesh body from a little pain or suffering or death.

Of course those who are spiritually strong in the Word of God do not focus on the flesh nor the things of the flesh. To that end, Christ even said NOT to fear those who can kill your flesh (you're going to shed it anyway someday, right?) but rather fear Him who can destroy both your body AND soul, which is your heavenly Father!

Matthew 10:28
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Nevertheless, the biggest problem with the any moment "rapture theory" is that it is based on a totally erroneous foundation which presupposes that the "great tribulation" of Satan when he is cast to earth is going to be a "fleshly" battle, filled with violence and physical pain and death, when nothing could be further from the truth! The great tribulation of the false-christ is a "spiritual" battle (not of flesh and blood - Eph. 6:12) which is why the apostle Paul instructed us to put on the whole "Gospel Armor" (Eph. 6) and be ready to TAKE a STAND, as in to FIGHT, against the "fiery darts" of the Wicked One. In fact, the great tribulation of the spurious messiah is the most intense spiritual battle ever to befall flesh mankind. How so? Because it will actually be a "religious revival"... a battle for the very souls of men and women who shall face the "supernatural" to see who it is they will worship and follow. 

Remember we discussed this "religious revival" in the 8th chapter of Zechariah when we learned there is one coming who will stand in Jerusalem claiming to be God and all the nations of the world, out of every language, will "take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew" (Zech. 8:23) and be led to worship this false messiah who "sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God" (2 Thes. 2:4)

Are you ready for Christ to return at any moment? If so, you are in big trouble having already believed a lie, for it is written in 2 Thes. 2 that the son of perdition must first come claiming to be the Messiah, which happens at the sound of the 6th Trump, before the true Messiah returns at the sound of the 7th Trump.

And you know what? When the false messiah comes riding in on the first "white" horse, the whole world is just going to love him to death... their own spiritual death that is!

Well, the good news is that our Father is in complete control and this is all part of His wondrous plan. We also know from His Word that He will not allow this "vile person" to reign for very long. In fact, we know from Rev. 9 that he shall have at most a five month period to complete his spiritual desolation of the souls of men. Then the Prince of Peace, the King of kings and Lord of lords along with the saints of the Most High, shall come and take the kingdom and destroy the entire One World System, bringing it to naught!

What an exciting time to be alive for it shall be unto this generation that all these things shall be fulfilled. Let us now read what shall happen to the New World Order and her wicked "would-be" king of kings!

Zech. 9:1
The burden of the word of the LORD in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the LORD.
Pay close attention to what is being said in this chapter because it is a "Divine Proclamation" from the LORD, which is what the word "burden" used here means! The time spoken of is when Jesus Christ returns and "every eye shall see Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him" (Rev. 1:7). The subject is the deliverance of God's people out of the hand of the "bastard" king (vs. 6), i.e. Satan, that abominable one who shall come and deceive the world, and the demise of his entire One World System!

To wit, the land of Hadrach is the country in the neighborhood of "Damascus" and "Hamath" (next verse) which mean "activity" and "wall or walled" respectively. In other words, the "walls" of Babylon the Great are going to come tumbling down, just like the walls of Jericho, and all the "activity" of the great "harlot in the ephah" shall cease and desist immediately and forever more!

[2] And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
If you have wisdom and have "counted the number of the beast" (traced the kenites) and have learned the "Parable of the Fig Tree" as per Christ's instruction in Mat. 24 and Mark 13, then you probably already know that Hamath was the father of kenites and they control central banking and international trade today just as they did when Tyrus ("rock" in Hebrew) and Zidon were in their heyday before God brought them down as a "type" for us to see in this generation "upon whom the ends of the world are come" (1 Cor. 10:11-12).
[3] And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets.
In other words, "Tyrus", which was actually a "walled" rock island just off the mainland, represents the wealth of the New World Order, the stronghold or wall (like in 'wall street')! What is being said here is simply that, in those days, all the riches of the world literally belong to Tyrus, their New World Order. It is their heaped up "strong hold" like a "wall of wealth and money"! But don't worry! That wall is coming down and a new "wall" shall be set up in Jerusalem... remember?  Zech. 2:5 "For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."

Actually, the Hebrew word translated "strong hold" in verse three is one that cannot be fully reproduced in English (see note in the Companion Bible). Just know that money is "power" and the sons of Hamath have used this "power" mightily to influence governments and leaders and institutions in bringing forth the New World Order. You might call it Satan's version of the "Golden Rule": The Guys With the Gold make the Rules!

Live link to=> Who owns the Federal Reserve Bank

Nevertheless, modern Tyrus shall not endure any more than her forerunner did in the days of old. And you know what? When some of God's elect are delivered up to the false-christ and give their testimony, they shall proclaim the gospel of the kingdom of God, i.e. that Jesus Christ is coming as King of kings and Lord of lords to have the dominion, and their little ol' One World System is going to be smashed by the true Rock and cast into the sea! 

Note: This the kings and rulers will not like to hear much less see come to pass!

[4] Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and He will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
"Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29)! And when He comes all the "power and might", the "evil rudiments" of the great harlot, will be cast into the sea... gone... finis... melted by His fire (2 Pet. 3:10 ). And the shall see the smoke of her burning and "merchants of the earth""weep and wail":
Rev. 18:16
And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!

[17] For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,

[18] And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!

[19] And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

Yes, Tyrus and all her strong hold will be cast out and brought to nothingness and all the world shall witness it.
Zech. 9:5
Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.
These are all enemies of Israel. Gaza, which means "strong", shall see and fear while Ekron shall be "torn out by the roots", which is what its name means in Hebrew. And Ashkelon, meaning migration, "shall not be inhabited", i.e. the migratory ones (kenites) shall "have none to sit (on the throne as king)"! Why not? Because the King of kings and Lord of lords is going to cleanse the temple when He returns and Satan, that mongrel, that half-breed who shall be sitting in the temple claiming to be God, is going to be cut off!
[6] And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
The Hebrew word for "bastard" used here is "mamzer" which means or "half-breed""mongrel, even "alienated one"! It is used here to describe the one who shall "dwell", which means to "sit (as king)" in Ashdod (which means to ravage or make desolate)! In other words, this half-breed is a descendant of Cain, a kenite, the pride of the Philistines (migratory ones), i.e. the kenites! He shall be "cut off" from his reign and Michael shall cast Satan back into the bottomless pit for the duration of the Millennium, after which he shall be loosed for a short season to test those who have been taught the difference between the profane and the holy and to discern between the clean and the unclean (Ezek. 44:23).
Rev. 20:2
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

[3] And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Satan will no longer be afforded the power structure he has now which is almost identical to the one he had in the first earth age (see Rev. 13:1 & Rev. 12:3 respectively).
Zech. 9:7
And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
This simply means that Satan, the "anti-christos" (which means "instead-of-Jesus" in Greek), will no longer play the role of Jesus Christ, the one to whom communion is taken.

In other words, Satan comes to this earth and sets himself up as Jesus Christ, the one who shed His blood on the cross, and in doing so he takes away the daily sacrifice, which is communion, the bread (body) and wine (blood), from the real Jesus Christ because communion will be taken to him, the false messiah! Remember, the whole world will believe he is God. Therefore, our Father is going to yank that "blood" out of his rotten lying mouth along with all the other abominations he spews forth between his teeth.
[8] And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
God shall "encamp about His house" means the same as what we read in Zech. 2:5, that He will be our "wall of protection"Zech. 2:5 "For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."

The word "oppressor" used in this verse means a foreign oppressor, as in a "taskmaster". The word in Hebrew is actually "nagas" meaning to "press hard" as in "tax, harass, tyrannize" (see Strong's # 5065)! When Jesus Christ returns to this earth as the King of kings and Lord of lords, there shall be no more "oppression" forever more!

Hey, unlike the promises man makes, when Almighty God says a thing, like "Read My Word... No New Taxes", you can count on it!

When you look around today and witness the earthshaking events taking place in divers places, both here at home and abroad, you might stop and say to yourself, "What is this old world coming to?" And the answer would be, "It is coming to the exact point Jesus Christ and all the prophets foretold us of!" It is coming to the point we read of in earlier in Zechariah chapter nine where soon there shall appear a "bastard", a "mongrel", a "half-breed", an "abominable one who maketh desolate", who shall dwell (sit) in the holy place and claim to be God! Worse yet, it is written that the whole world, the "people of all languages and nations" (Zech. 8:23) will believe he is who he says he is, i.e. the true Messiah, and will say, "Let us go speedily (to Jerusalem) and pray before the LORD (Zech. 8:21)".

It is also written in 2 Thes. 2 and Rev. 13 that this one (Satan as the spurious messiah) who is cast out of heaven along with his angels to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9) shall show forth wondrous "credentials" in support of his false claim of divinity by performing great signs and lying wonders in the sight of men, even "making fire (lightning) come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men (Rev. 13:13)." Wow! What a show this supernatural vile person who enters in peaceably (Dan. 11:21) and prosperously will put on for all the world to see!

Do not be deceived by appearances dear Christian! Jesus Christ does NOT return to this earth with a "Magic Wand" to pull rabbits out of hats in the sight of men, but rather to MAKE WAR with the "Sharp Sword" which proceeds out of His mouth (i.e. His Word, Rev. 1:16). As it is written, with His sharp sword He shall "smite the nations" and with His overpowering "Rod of Iron" He shall EXECUTE JUSTICE in all the earth and establish His righteous kingdom upon Mount Zion, an everlasting kingdom which shall spread forth throughout the whole earth!

Rev. 19:15
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
The exciting news is that in this chapter we are going to learn once again, as we have so often learned in these Minor Prophets, that God shall use the army of His elect to "take on the dragon". He shall use those Christian soldiers who have taken the time to study His Word and put on the whole Gospel Armor (Eph. 6) of truth and who are willing to take a stand against the "fiery darts" of the "wicked one" while their brothers and sisters seek to "fly away" in some "rapture" because they "fear" what Satan might do to them (to their flesh body)! What about you? Will you be like the little shepherd lad, David, and trust in the Lord your God and go forth and take a stand against the beast? Or, will you be like his brothers who cowered in the fear of their unbelief?

David knew God would give Him the victory, didn't he? Don't you know that it is written that we Christians already have the victory? You can even "see" ahead into the future and read in Rev. 15:2 about those overcomers who have "gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name" singing the victory song, the "Song of Moses" which is Deut. 32. Again, they (we) already have the victory so what is there to be a afraid of? Do you believe God and His Word, or not? To this point ALL things have come to pass exactly as they are written in His Word leaving little to no doubt that the rest shall follow suit! That alone should increase your faith and trust in Him knowing with surety that when Almighty God makes a covenant and a promise, He keeps His Word!

For example, the lowly manner in which Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem at His first advent happened exactly as it is written right here in the Book of Zechariah, in the very next verse of our study:

FIRST ADVENT

Zech. 9:9
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.
This was the first advent when Christ came as Savior, to pay the price on the cross for the sins of any and all who will turn to Him.
Matthew 21:5
Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem by His enemies. Now He sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father awaiting the appointed time to return unto Jerusalem. But I assure you He will not enter Jerusalem this time "lowly" riding upon an ass! He shall come with ALL POWER and AUTHORITY riding upon a white horse followed by His army of saints.

Let's hear John give the description:

Rev. 19:11-16
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
He is JUST and He shall return to Jerusalem as King of kings and Lord of lords to destroy Israel's enemies and establish His kingdom, His dominion.

SECOND ADVENT

Zech. 9:10
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 river even to the ends of the earth.
When Jesus Christ returns He shall speak peace unto the heathen all right... with power and authority!
Isaiah 2:4
And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
He shall not only destroy His enemies at His coming and subdue all nations, but in doing so He shall also fulfill His promise, His "covenant of blood" (Ex. 24:5-8), which is His promise to DELIVER His people "out of the pit wherein there is no water".
Zech. 9:11
As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
The water spoken of is the "living water", the water of life, of which there is NONE in the pit. You see, wherever Satan dwells there is nothing but dry desert where famine (for the true bread of life) and dearth (for the living water of life) turn every living thing into spiritually dead dry bones!

Remember we read that "Tyrus" (of Ezek. 27), the New World Order brought forth by the "king of Tyrus" (Ezek. 28), shall "become a stronghold" and "heaped up silver as the dust", i.e. very wealthy and prosperous (Zech. 9:3)? Will you look for your security and safety in that material stronghold of peace and prosperity headed by the one who comes to Jerusalem claiming to be God? Or will you turn (return) unto your Father who is our "wall" of protection who "encamps about His House (Zech. 9:8).

[12] Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
It is God through His Word, His covenant of blood, who gives His elect faith and hope who even in the face of adversity and imprisonment (captivity) keep that faith and maintain that hope. Therefore, He has promised unto them a "double portion" of reward, of inheritance, which always goes to the firstborn, i.e. to the firstfruits who are of the first resurrection.

You know something? There has never been a time in the history of flesh man like the time we live in today. Return unto Him now and be part of that army of saints who shall stand on Mount Zion with Jesus Christ when He returns to Jerusalem to establish His dominion. Put on the whole armor of God, i.e. read (with understanding) and study (rightly dividing) and digest the Word of God, and He will make you as the sword of a mighty man against His enemies! What a privilege and opportunity we have in these last days to take on the beast and the enemy(s) of our people!

Zech. 9:13
When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Again, the sword is His truth, His weapon, which He shall bring forth in the last days to cut off His enemies. Will He use you to bring it forth? It is up to you. He will if you will (Ja. 4:8)! He has promised to protect and watch over His people who go forth to sound the alarm and Blow the Trumpet in Zion!
[14] And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the LORD GOD shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
This speaks of the Last Trump, the 7th Trump when the King of kings returns. You see, until the enemy, Satan, comes to town riding on his deceptive "white horse" (Rev. 6:1) claiming to be the true messiah, the watchmen on the wall sound the alarm to their brothers and sisters that he is coming to take them captive. Of course the false prophets are saying as they did in the days of Jeremiah... don't worry! In fact, they tell our people that they will be GONE, taken up in the Rapturemobile when the king of Babylon (Satan as the false-christ) comes.

 Hey, haven't you read? They did not escape in the type set forth in history and they shall NOT escape when the king of Babylon of Revelation comes!

But once the king of Babylon is here and the people have been taken captive, there is no need to sound the warning he is coming... for he will already be here!  Then, as it is written in Mat. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, shall some of God's elect be delivered up to the kings and rulers of the earth, even to death (to Satan himself), and shall "proclaim the gospel of the kingdom", i.e. that the King of kings and Lord of lords is about to return to this earth and crash (as in crush) their big one-world party, and establish His dominion in their stead!

Shall God's elect worry or fear? No! As it is written in Luke 21 they are not even to premeditate what they shall say for the Holy Spirit shall speak through them at that time. God shall defend them and protect them just as He did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneggo when they were tossed into the fiery furnace!

[15] The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones*; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar.
These sons and daughters who trust in the LORD of hosts, shall "kick major dragon" when they "shout" (make a noise) and even the "stronghold" (wall of protection) of Babylon the Great shall come tumbling down at the sound of the last trump just like the walls of Jericho! These "noise makers" are His sons and daughters, His wise virgins who have filled their lamps with oil, the truth of His Word! And as it is written both here in Zechariah and in the Book of Revelation, they shall DEVOUR their enemies!
* Note: To "subdue with slingstones" is a figure of speech meaning to "trample on their weapons"! I like to picture this just like David slinging that small stone from the brook of living water (Father's Word) at old Goliath! David then took his enemy's own sword and cut off his head!
Rev. 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
The two candlesticks as we learned in Zech. 4 are the two churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna.
[5] And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
The "fire" is His Spirit, His Word! So is there anything at all to fear? Of course not, if you know Him! So are you going to "fly away" and avoid the heat from old dragon-breath (Satan) when he comes or are you going to stand with the Gospel Armor on and in place, knowing that Satan's fire cannot harm you in the least, and show him and his dragonettes what real FIRE feels like coming out of the mouth of a servant of the living God?
Zech. 9:16
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.
Will you be part of that "ensign" He shall lift up on Mount Zion in that day for all the world to see? Will you be a part of the ruling crown of His dominion, a gemstone in the diadem, one who shall carry His power and authority and execute justice with His "Rod of Iron"?
Rev. 1:6
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Did you know He has already given us His power and authority over all our enemies? Are you using it in your life today? (Luke 10:18-19)
Zech. 9:17
For how great is His goodness, and how great is His beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
The word "cheerful" actually means to "flourish". In other words, the good news is that ALL the world shall flourish with His great goodness and His great beauty! You know why? Because there shall be plenty of His Truth and His Spirit ((spiritual bread)spiritual wine) for the Great Day is coming when His Word shall flow forth from Zion as a great river of living water.

Time is running out on this final generation. As never before, hold fast to the Word of God!

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chapter 10

One of the prophetic signs Jesus Christ gave His disciples concerning the final generation of the fig tree was that there would be famine in the land (see Mat. 24:7, Mark 13:8)! However, Christ did not elaborate on nor give the details as to what that famine would be, so most people, including most ministers and pastors, just assume He meant there would be a famine for food!

Unfortunately they do err not knowing the scriptures because the Lord GOD Himself plainly states in the Book of Amos, written there openly for any and all to read and clearly understand, exactly what the great famine of the last days is:

Amos 8:11
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Stop and think about this a minute. These are not the words of Amos but rather the words of the Lord GOD, as in "saith the Lord GOD"! Yet most Christians have never heard these "words of the LORD" concerning the famine of the last days and now you know why! It is precisely because of the famine itself! You see, most preachers and pastors in this nation do NOT teach His Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse, so our people are spiritually starving to death! The preachers and pastors are therefore part of the PROBLEM, aren't they? And we are going to discover in today's study that our Father is not too happy with them! WOE!
[12] And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
One can find lots and lots of churches scattered from sea to shining sea, but the insides of most of those churches are void and empty (Beth-avens, houses of emptiness) because all that is taught there are the empty traditions of men. To wit, Jesus Christ expects much more from His disciples than to wander about aimlessly, as evidenced by the fact of what else He said in Mark 13, in vs. 23, "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things." You want answers to your questions? Then go directly to Jesus Christ, to the Word of God, and seek Him and ask Him. That is where the answers are to be found! Let Him tell you "all things" and then you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free, free from anxiety and worry and confusion and free from the bondage of the traditions of men.

To that end, at the conclusion of our study of chapter 9 we asked the question "Do you want be part of that "ensign" He shall lift up on Mount Zion in that day for all the world to see? Do you want to know Him and serve Him and be a part of the ruling crown of His dominion, a gemstone in the diadem, one who shall carry His power and authority and execute justice with His "Rod of Iron"? Then you must be willing to forsake the traditions of men taught by the false shepherds of our people and ask the only One in all the universe who is able to open the seals of His Word to your understanding. For it is written that there is no man or woman or angel who can reveal it to you, only the LAMB of God. Rev. 5:3 "And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon." The point is... it is time to STOP wandering about and time to start asking the LORD! Turn to Him, to His Word, and hear His Voice!

Let us now understand this from an analogy of nature itself:

Zech. 10:1
Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
You must ASK and seek the LORD in these last days, in this time of the latter rain, for it is He alone who can provide the blessed latter day rain and make the clouds bright with lightning to give His children showers of rain, i.e. to rain down His Truth upon them...meaning upon YOU!
Note: One should be somewhat familiar with agriculture and the growing of crops in order to fully understand the analogy God is making using "the latter rain".  While occasional showers fall all winter, the showers at the autumnal and vernal seasons were more frequent and more important. The early rain is necessary to prepare the soil for receiving the seed, but the latter rain which falls just before the time of harvest is of the greatest importance in producing a fruitful and bountiful crop! Deut. 11:14 "That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil."

The season of this final generation is now drawing to a close as we are in the time of the latter rain, the time just before the harvest when Jesus Christ returns to thrust in the sickle and reap (Rev. 14:15). But remember! There is yet one to come, first (i.e. false-christ, the instead-of-Jesus), before the true Christ returns, who shall do much harvesting of his own... out of season! Jesus Christ cautioned us to take heed and pray that our flight be not in winter (Mat. 24:18), i.e. that we are not harvested out of season, and that we are not the first woman taken in the field (Mat. 24:40) who is taken by the false husband, the spurious messiah, not the true bridegroom! Of course, if you listen to the majority of the so-called shepherds (preachers) of our people they tell you to hope and pray you ARE the first one taken in the field. Don't go to the wrong wedding! The first wedding will be to the wrong Jesus, the false messiah!

Again, ASK the LORD, and seek the truth from His Word, not from empty (of His Words) wind bags, dreamers of "fly-away" theories, and those who take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Do you know what taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain means? It means to claim you represent Christ, i.e. come in His name as a Christian preacher, teacher, priest, etc., and teach vanity to His people, the empty traditions of men, church this and church that, instead of teaching God's Word chapter by chapter whereby His sheep are fed the true bread of life! If you are a shepherd who follows traditions of men, then you better pay close attention to what your Father has to say in these next few verses!

Zech. 10:2
For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
The Hebrew word translated "idols" is "teraphiym" which is a family idol, even idolatry, and idols cannot make lightning or rain to fall or cause anything in the field to grow! Go ahead and "ask them" instead of the LORD! Or go ahead and listen to these diviners who claim God speaks to them and tells them someone out there in TV land has real bad arthritis in his or her hands and God is healing them right now! Have you ever ASKED the LORD concerning this matter of their claim?
Ezekiel 13:3
Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
They follow their own spirit, their own mind.
Ezekiel 13:7
Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
God says concerning these vain (empty) visions that they are speaking LIES! They claim the LORD said it, but the LORD says He didn't speak to them. Now just who are you going to believe?  They need to know from the Word of God that they are in big trouble lest they cease from taking the Lord GOD's name (Jesus Christ) in vain, to speak vanity (emptiness, nonsense) to His children while they starve them to death.
[8] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
Let us repeat Zech. 10:2 for this verse says so much.
Zech. 10:2
For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
We already covered the biggest "false dream" told by the false shepherds to our people, and that is the one Margaret MacDonald envisioned of the any-moment pre-trib "Rapture of the Church"! That false dreamed-up doctrine gives a vain sense of hope and security to many of our brothers and sisters, even to the point many are told they do not need to study the Book of Revelation because they will not be here when all those events take place! That is just not scriptural! It is a bunch of "hot air" which is pretty much what "comfort in vain" means, though it literally means "give vapor for comfort"!

But the main point we need take note of in Zech. 10:2 is the scattering of our people because "there was no shepherd"! Where are the true shepherds who lead their flocks to the rich green pastures of His Word? Our people are so "lost" because their pastors have let them starve that they do not even know that many of them are true descendents of Jacob, children of the true House of Israel. Those 10 northern tribes went north over the Caucasus Mountains following their captivity and migrated by way of greater Scythia and became know as Cimmerians, Celts, Normans, Danes, Saxons (Saac's sons, i.e. Isaac's sons), etc. They settled in western Europe, the British Isles and later emigrated to the America's.

Note: If you do not know where the 10 so-called Lost Tribes of Israel are then contact Artisan Publishers, P.O.Box 1529, 1409 West Shawnee, Muskogee, OK, 74402 or on the web at www.artisanpublishers.com and purchase the booklet "The Abrahamic Covenant" by E. Raymond Capt or log unto pamphlets LIVE LINKS TO->>> #1020 and #1064 right here on this web site.

Yes, God's sheep have gone astray because of the lack of true shepherds. Ezekiel records the same sad story concerning the shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:5
And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.

[6] My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

What does God think of those shepherds (ministers) who leave off teaching His Word and instead substitute religious ceremonies and do-gooder deeds as one's duty to God?
Zech. 10:3
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
God is against the shepherds and He punishes the leaders. But He will not forsake His people for the LORD of hosts is going to take the sheep out of the idolatrous hands of the false shepherds and make His people into strong, powerful, Christian warriors!
Note: The Hebrew word translated "goats" is "attuwd" which means "leaders of the people".

In other words, God is going to turn His sheep into mighty warriors, to wit, the army of the living God who shall bring forth the latter rain, i.e. His Word.

[4] Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
Let us further define what these terms mean. Corner = Cornerstone, Nail = Tent peg (of the Tabernacle), Battle Bow = Weaponry that wins the battle, as in His Sword, and Oppressor = the Governor. Although Christ is the Chief Cornerstone and the fulfillment of all these things and the One who fights our battles and gives us the victory, He shall bring forth His elect, His mighty army, and give them His Power to tread down their enemies and go forth into the battle and fight. (Luke 10:19
 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.)
[5] And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
If you try and go it alone you will be in big trouble. It is not we who have the power to tread down, but the power and might of the Lord who is with us, the Word of God! He shall be with His people and give them the victory in the battle just as He did the faithful shepherd lad, David. And the riders on those four horses in Rev. 6, the powers of the Four Hidden Dynasties, shall be confounded in the day of the battle.
[6] And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
He will strengthen the House of Judah and save the House of Israel. (Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh was the largest of the 10 tribes of the House of Israel and is put forth here to represent the whole house, much as America and Great Britain represent the 10 tribes today.) It is written in Ezek. 37 that the two sticks (branches) of Judah and Israel will be joined back together when Jesus Christ returns.

And He WILL HEAR (meaning to respond or answer) them when they finally ASK Him, realizing that only He can make the rain come down. Do you want to be a part of the mighty army who shall lead His people to victory? Ask Him NOW and seek Him NOW through His Word. He is putting His mighty army together at this time!

Zech. 10:7
And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
It doesn't get any better than that!
[8] I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
What this says is that God will "whistle to them and they will come running home"! In other words, when He is ready for you He will call you. Until then, wait upon the LORD.
Note: "Have increased" means as in former times, i.e. as the type once set forth.
[9] And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.
God sows His elect, His mighty ones, among the people to teach His sons and daughters, to give them hope, and in that day His people shall turn again, which means they will return to Him! It truly is a marvelous and wondrous plan!
Zech. 10:10
I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.
God will use His elect, His mighty spiritual warriors, to bring His people out of the oppression (Egypt) and captivity (Assyria) of the beast, the One World System in these last days. And He shall bring them into the holy land bounded by Gilead on the east and Lebanon on the north. There will be so many of them that there will hardly be room for them (i.e. a place found for them). This is just a figure of speech giving emphasis to the fact that there will be many multitudes of His people gathered.
[11] And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
This analogy is to the Red Sea when the waves in the sea were held back and His people passed through on dry land and Pharaoh and his chariots were destroyed. The scepter not just of Egypt but of all nations, i.e. the stronghold of New World Order, shall be taken away and given to the King of kings and Lord of lords whose saints shall be made kings and priests to rule with Him for a thousand years. The good news is that oppression and captivity (Egypt and Assyria) will forever cease from ruling over His people for they shall be free forevermore as One Nation Under God.
[12] And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in His name, saith the LORD.
Wherever they go they will carry His name and His authority with them. For they shall be kings and priests of God!

Live Link to->>> Kings and Priests

"Thus saith the LORD!" 

And so it shall be!



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chapter 11

There is nothing new under the sun and it all boils down to one thing in this final generation, as it always has from the very beginning, even from the first earth age. Which shepherd are you going to listen to and follow... the real Shepherd, Jesus Christ, or the false shepherd, Satan, when he comes to earth claiming to be Christ? That is correct! There are two Jesus Christs, two shepherds, the real and the fake, and the one you follow is the one you believe in for actions speak louder than words! You can say the "words" to your husband (or wife) "I you love you" but after awhile if you never DO anything he or she likes and worse yet you do everything he or she abhors, like commit adultery (the analogy being idolatry), then what do your words mean?

They mean NOTHING... for they are empty words made void by your actions, your works!

You see, there is only ONE TRUE SHEPHERD who speaks NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH and that is Jesus Christ, who IS the Word of God! Oh, you can listen to men, call them under-shepherds if you like, but if you do not document for yourself what they teach then you are in grave danger of being led astray! In fact, if you do not study the Word of God, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15), whereby you are you able to try the spirits (1 Jn. 4:1), i.e. test the doctrines to see whether or not they are of God (as in contained in His Word), then you will certainly, not maybe, be taken captive by the coming king of Babylon (Satan, the spurious messiah) and be led astray into his land, the land of Babylon (which means confusion, even confusion as to who the true shepherd is.) Always remember that the very first thing Jesus Christ warned us about in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 concerning this final generation, is to "beware of false prophets" who come in His name , i.e. claiming to represent Him as His Christian ministers and leaders, because they shall deceive the multitudes with their unscriptural spirits of iniquity and cause a "great falling away" by "setting-up" our people with their traditions and visions of men to accept the false messiah as the true shepherd when he comes.

And so it is written, and so it shall be!

However, if you recall in chapter 10 we learned it is also written that our loving Father is going to bring His children back to Him by destroying His enemies when He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords. At that time He shall "give a whistle" and gather His children to Him and release them from their captors. We also learned that those who come to Him now, who come to the Word of God now, before the great harvest, and ask of Him for the precious "latter day rain" (Zech. 10:1) to fall upon them, i.e. for Him to reveal the truth of His Word to them, they shall not fall down as trees hewn to the ground nor shall they bow before the false shepherd, the false messiah, Satan, when he comes to this earth claiming to be God.

The reason this is so important to understand is because there is a time of judgment coming soon upon the land when God will send a great false shepherd (the king of Babylon) who shall bring down the cedars of Lebanon and all the trees in the land, just as he did in the first earth age! You can read and understand all about it by reading Ezekiel chapter 31 where the holy spirit uses the simple analogy of trees, which are used throughout God's Word as symbols of men (people), to explain how the Assyrian, Satan, the "te'ashur" in Hebrew which means a plain box-cedar, exalted himself to be like the most high. That would-be-tall tree, Satan, shall return to the forest (wilderness) once again in this final generation and once again he shall exalt himself as the most high, even claiming to be the most high. We are going to read about this "lowly tree", this false shepherd who comes and exalts himself as the Great Shepherd, before we complete this 11th chapter of Zechariah.

Remember that the name "Zechariah" means "Remembered of Yahveh". Thank God, He, remembers us and our people and that His Word is True, for we as a people have surely not remembered Him in that it is becoming increasingly evident day by day that we have strayed from His Word.

Let us now continue in the book of His remembering of His people.

Zech. 11:1
Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
Prepare yourselves, all you who dwell in the land. Our Father's judgment, His fire, is coming "For our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29)! You might say it is going to be a hot time in the old town tonight when He comes!
[2] Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down.
Of course trees do not "howl", just they have no knowledge of good and evil, which again shows that we are talking symbolically about people. To means to "Howl"WAIL and there shall be much weeping and wailing when Yeshua returns to this earth. That old "te'ashur", that old box cedar, has already fallen and has through his many "false shepherds" spoiled ("shadad" - ravaged, oppressed, desolated) many of the mighty, majestic, honorable trees of Lebanon! Yes, true Israel, the once beautiful and unified forest (garden of trees) of God, has become a desolate wilderness, i.e. has "come down". How sad it is indeed, for as we learned in chapter 10, had there been true shepherds (ministers) in the land instead of "sheep shearers", our people would not have gone astray! Nevertheless, God will soon put an end to ALL false shepherding, both civil and ecclesiastic and there shall be wailing (howling) of the false shepherds and roaring (moaning) of the devouring lions when He returns.
[3] There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.
The "voice of the howling of the shepherds" is the voice of the "false shepherds" whose "garments" are spoiled (stripped) and the voice of the "roaring" of young lions is their "rumbling or moaning" because the "pride" or "swelling" of Jordan is "laid waste". In other words, the "pride (swelling) of Jordan" refers to the fact that the Jordan had thick wooded banks, thick with foliage, which was the "lair of lions" (Jer. 12:5, 45:19). The point we are to understand is that God is going to strip (consume) the thick foliage of Jordan where the "young lions" dwell undercover.

This happens when He returns at the sound of the 7th Trump.
[4] Thus saith the LORD my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
Though this command to Feed the flock "of the slaughter" is given here to Zechariah, one of God's elect, concerning those who are deceived and ready to be slaughtered, the command of the LORD God to "feed His sheep" is a command to ALL shepherds!! Therefore, take special heed if you are a shepherd! Nevertheless, before the desolator (Satan, the great shearer and slaughterer of the souls of His sheep) comes to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9), God will see to it that His flock is fed through His faithful servants, those sons and daughters in this final generation who have seen (understood) the visions of the prophets (Act. 2:17) and who shall teach His people, as in feed them His Word, not the words of traditions. He shall also "save" His own sheep, His elect, from the mouths of the false shepherds, just like David ripped the lamb out of the mouth of the lion and the bear, and He shall see to it that His flock has real food in the trough to eat and lush green pastures in which to graze.

To that end, Father is becoming very weary of this "feel good churchianity", where the false shepherds just parade around and say "Praise the Lord" and then pass the basket to make themselves rich. Do you think those shepherds really care about the widows or the handicapped or the elderly who live on limited fixed incomes and to whom the shepherds make false promises of "rich blessings" if they "sow big seeds", which is their coded language for "write big checks"? They do slay the souls of our people whom they hold captive in their denominations teaching vanity (emptiness) in the name of Christ and in the house they call by His name! They shall surely pay the price for their iniquitous deeds! Woe unto them! Ezekiel 34:2 "...Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?"

[5] Whose possessors slay them, and hold themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own shepherds pity them not.
Woe indeed, for the possessors of the flocks are but sellers of sheep, "sheep traffickers", in-it-for-the-money hirelings! There are some good teaching pastors in the land, but we know from their "actions", their fruits (Mat. 7:15-16), that most who call themselves shepherds do NOT pity their flocks, as in have compassion on them, as in be concerned for the welfare of their souls. If they did they would obey the command of Jesus Christ and FEED them His Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse that they might be saved! Instead, they themselves slay the sheep like wolves in sheep's garments in that they set-up their entire flocks to worship, to be led by, the great lying false shepherd when he comes, the wicked shepherd whom we shall read about at the conclusion of this chapter. And though they hold themselves faultless and will plead "not guilty" when the Lord returns (Mat. 7:22), it is written they shall be held accountable for leading His sheep astray, away from the green pastures, the Word of God, whereby the flock shall be scattered having no shepherd to protect them in the day of battle. '

Here is the "not guilty" plea of the many false shepherds in that day when the Lord returns:
Matthew 7:22
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
God says to the shepherds, "Feed my sheep... HIS WORD... from His Pasture"! Yet so many, even the majority, do not! They are too busy conducting "praise and worship" services and teaching the traditions of men in His name, and taking up collections or soliciting for volunteers to help with humanitarian or other causes. Jesus Christ has a question for them in Luke 6:46... "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Therefore when those shepherds come to Him with their "not guilty" plea He will say:
Matthew 7:23
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Please do not misunderstand the point of what is being said here. We are not "coming down" on any of our brethren or churches which do teach the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, nor are we attempting to single out denominations or ministries, nor identify personalities, etc. This we have never done nor will we be a part of tearing down, for such is not our intentions which are simply to teach and build up. We love all of our brothers and sisters, but the fact is that sometimes the truth cuts deeps and it hurts. Nevertheless, it is extremely important for us to understand concerning the false shepherds, the hirelings who feed themselves, because when "the big bad wolf" comes they will not be there to protect the sheep! Why? Because as we have already noted, they have not loved the sheep with the love of a true shepherd! For many, it is just a job.

 Here are the words of Jesus Christ:
John 10:11
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

[12] But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

[13]The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

David was a shepherd who did care for his flock and when the lion came to take one of his lambs David went after him and smote him and saved the lamb! Then... the lion "rose up" against David the shepherd, and David took hold of that sucker's own whiskers and slew him.
1 Samuel 17:34-36
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

[35] And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

[36] Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.

Of course David knew it was not the power of his might, but rather the LORD who did the delivering.
1 Samuel 17:37
David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
We will see that the time is soon coming when "time is up"! Because our people would rather believe the idolatrous traditions of their forefather's than study God's Word, God is soon going to raise up a great false shepherd in the land, one who shall not visit the (spiritually) dying nor go after those who have stayed (from God's Word). Nor shall he bind up the (spiritually) wounded nor feed the (spiritually) famished.
Zech. 11:16
For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
Sound like a good shepherd to you... or a wolf in a shepherd's (even the shepherd's) garment? Well, he will appear to be wonderful indeed in that he will bring in peace and prosperity (fat upon the land) and he shall show great signs and wonders and perform miracles in the sight of men! In fact, it is written that so powerful will be his "credentials" that the whole world, including the majority of Christianity with the exception of God's elect, will believe him to be the real shepherd, Jesus Christ himself. But this dragon, in a shepherd's garb, who shall appear so loving and gentle will have the "teeth of a great lion" and will spiritually rip and tear in pieces the very souls of our people!

Study the Word of God and "listen to Him" and come to know the voice of the true Shepherd, the Word of God, and learn to follow Him. Then when the "strange shepherd" comes, you will know with certitude whether he be the true or the false shepherd!

John 10:4-5
And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.
He leads, they follow! He does not stand behind them and drive them  like cattle.
[5] And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Isn't it amazing how that the Plan of God for this final generation is all right here in the great Book of Zechariah, including the coming of both the false messiah, that false shepherd we shall read about here in chapter 11 (Zech. 11:16) who shall come and appear first unto this generation, and the true Messiah who shall return to usher in the kingdom and "to stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives" (Zech. 14:4)! Of course it should come as no surprise to those who study His Word that the events of today and the events of the future yet to come are contained here in the prophets of old, for Jesus Christ said in Mark 13:23 "But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things". And so He has. All we need to do is read and understand that which is already written.

To that end, it is written in Rev. 9:4 that Christians living in this final generation must have the "seal of God", the true knowledge of His Word, locked in their foreheads, otherwise they will be easily consumed by the great religious deception, the spiritual onslaught of Satan and his locust army (his angelic host) when they are cast out of heaven to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9). To wit, one of the things far too many people have a lack of knowledge of is that Satan is actually a very beautiful, handsome cherub (Ezek. 28:14) with a great charming and witty personality (Ezekiel 28:12 "...Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty"!) In other words, Satan does not have pointy horns on his head nor does he walk to and fro sporting a little red leotard and carrying a pitchfork whereby when he appears people will instantly recognize him and say, "Hey, look... there's Satan!" Nevertheless, it seems most Christians picture him as an ugly looking creature whom any Christian would be able to spot and recognize as the evil and wicked one!

NOT SO! Be careful! Take heed! Don't believe cartoons and fairy tales! The fact is that IT IS WRITTEN that most Christians will believe that Satan... that's right... the charming Devil himself... is actually Jesus Christ when he [i.e. Satan] comes to this earth riding on a "white horse"! And because this imposter, called "anti-christos" in Greek, which means "Instead-of-Jesus", comes to earth FIRST at the sound of the 6th Trump BEFORE Jesus Christ returns at the sound of the 7th Trump, and since most Christians are caught up in this "any-moment" pre-trib rapture theory which promotes the big lie that the King of kings is going to return at any moment and "take away" His Christian soldiers so they don't have to stand and face the enemy, the very task for which all the while they should have been putting on the gospel armor (Eph. 6), they are therefore "set-up" to accept and believe that the first supernatural entity who comes to this earth is Jesus Christ. 

If you do not understand this then you are as a "dead man", spiritually speaking, because you will bow before Satan and be marked as one of his, i.e. deceived in your forehead that he is Christ! In other words, you will be a part of the great apostasy, the great falling away which the apostle Paul spoke of, which is when our people turn to the wicked one, the false messiah, the false bridegroom, the false shepherd, and follow him and take him for their husband!

Therefore, because of the paramount importance of this matter, let us preface our study by documenting the coming of this false one in the New Testament and then return to the 11th chapter of Zechariah and document the same thing, i.e. the coming of a great false shepherd.

2 Thes. 2:1
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,
The subject is the return of our Lord Jesus Christ and when it is we gather back to Him!
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
You have a choice of whether to believe troubled spirits, like the vision of Margaret MacDonald concerning the any-moment rapture, books and movies, or very friendly preachers who blindly follow the traditions and doctrines of their churches which will ultimately lead their also blind congregations to believe a lie... the lie that the son of perdition when he comes is really Jesus Christ. The admonition is "Do NOT let men or women deceive you by any means", including superficial documentation whereby subjects and objects are changed or concocted to fit certain theories, such as is so often done to Paul's first letter in 1 Thes. 4:13-18 where the subject (given in vs. 13) is "where the dead are and what happens to them when Christ returns", not the great escape from the false-christ! Paul simply gives comfort in these verses to the Thessalonians by explaining that their loved ones they were so concerned about, those who had passed away (died in Christ, i.e. died believing in Him), are with the Lord now, in heaven, not lying dead six feet beneath the ground. And when He returns at the LAST TRUMP, the one with the shout which is the 7th and last one, He will bring them with Him. Paul further explains that they will "rise", as in stand up or appear first... in their spiritual bodies which they already have as per 1 Cor. 15 (so we can't precede them in getting ours, vs.15) and then we will (be changed in the twinkling of an eye into our spiritual (aer) bodies - 1 Cor. 15:52) and gather together with them. And so shall we ever be together with Him and together as a family united. There is nothing even remotely hinted at in 1 Thes. 4:13-18 either in the English or the Greek about any "escape" from anything, least of all, Satan,  the false-christ!

Stop listening to fictitious stories! You better know that when we finally do gather back to Jesus Christ, Satan's butt will have been kicked real good by His "bruisers", i.e. God's elect!

Now have the strength and courage to listen to and believe the Word of God regardless of what men might teach...

[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
"That day" is our gathering back to Christ which is at the 7th Trump when He brings our loved ones back. "That day", the 7th and last Trump follows the 6th Trump, the 6th Seal, and the 6th Vial, when the son of perdition is cast out of heaven to this earth, i.e. when the wicked one is revealed. God's Word declares that we are simply NOT going to gather back to Jesus Christ until the false-christ, the false Messiah, appears and draws everyone to him... by claiming and showing great signs that he is God!

In other words, the false-christ, the son of perdition, Satan, the one who exalts himself (Isa. 14) appears on this earth claiming he is God, and causes the great falling away from the real Christ
.
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

[5] Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

[6] And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

You know what is keeping him from being here right now, don't you? Michael is holding him at bay "in the gulf" until Father says it is time to step aside and "let him go", i.e. "cast him out"! (Dan. 12:1 and Rev. 12:7-9)
[7] For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
Here is a quote from another translation so you don't get the idea this is speaking of the holy spirit or the church or something else required to support the great escape theory:
2 Thes. 2:7 "As for the work this man of rebellion and hell will do when he comes, it is already going on, but he himself will not come until the one who is holding him back steps out of the way." (Living Bible)
Again, the one who is holding him back is Michael (see notes in the Companion Bible, pg. 1796, for further documentation).
[8]And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
And THEN, when Michael casts that Wicked one out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9) he will be revealed, meaning he will appear standing in the holy place where he ought not and claiming that he is God.

By the way, notice that when Christ does return, Satan is destroyed by His brightness!

[9] Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

[10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Why will there be such a great apostasy, such a great falling away to this Wicked one who appears as an angel of light? It is because Christians do not study the Word of God, have not the love of His Word, but would rather listen to false shepherds who deceive them with bizarre and unscriptural fairy tales beginning with snakes and apples and ending up with tales of flying away into the clouds!
Good grief, Charlie Brown!

Therefore God says, "Hey, if they want to believe a lie, I'll give them what they want."

[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
The "strong delusion" that He will send them is the false shepherd whom we shall read about as we conclude this 11th chapter of Zechariah!
[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Unrighteousness is following the traditions of men which will lead you to follow Satan, instead of following the Word of God and doing as the Lord commands. Nevertheless, it is part of God's plan to allow His people to have their way and make their own choice concerning who they will follow in this final generation.
His people will not listen to His Word, i.e. will not study His Word. They would rather believe the false shepherds.
So, God is going to give them, even raise up, a false shepherd of false shepherds that they may believe a lie and so die (spiritually).
That time is soon upon us!
Zech. 11:6
For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
Yes, the time is coming when even "brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death" (Mark 13:12). In other words, they will deliver each other and their loved ones up to the one they believe to be Jesus Christ sitting in the temple and thus they shall cause their (spiritual) death! Remember Zech. 8:20-23? If not, go back and study it again!

Also, it is written in Rom. 11 that only God's elect will not bow a knee to Baal, i.e. bow to Satan when he appears standing in the holy place claiming to be the Messiah. ALL others are blinded, having followed the "blind shepherds" who sheared them rather than lead them to the green pastures of His Word that they might eat of the manna from heaven and have the strength to make it through the dark hour of the great famine of the end time. Yes, the time is coming when God shall pity them no more and send them their strong delusion.

[7] And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
This verse is easy to understand once you know that in Hebrew the two words translated "poor of the flock" mean "sheep traffickers" when they are read together. The "sellers of the sheep", the "sheep traffickers" , the "sheep shearers" are those possessors, those wolves in sheep's clothing who eat the fat and lead their flocks to the spiritual slaughter.

But don't worry! God is quite able to feed everyone, even the multitudes as He showed by example in the New Testament. He is even going to feed the "sheep traffickers" too, and give them to drink... only the cup He has for them contains His wrath. Remember, He is quite angry with them for slaying His sheep and shearing their wool.

Nevertheless, God shall deliver His sheep from the "sheep traffickers" and feed His own, even with the two staves of Beauty, which means His Grace, and Bands, which means Union.

Ezekiel 34:11
For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.

[12] As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

[13] And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.

[14] I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.

As for the false shepherds and those kenites whose "leaven" has so infiltrated the teachings of Christianity to the point that most Christians will "grab the skirt of one who calls himself a Jew (Zech. 8:23)" and go to the holy place and worship the kenite messiah, Christ shall cut them off speedily. Watch what you eat, Christian! The green pasture, the true Bread of Life, is in His Word! That is why Christ said to beware of the leaven (false doctrine) of the Sadducees, the Pharisees and even Herod (Mat. 16:6, Mark 8:15).
Zech. 11:8
Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
The three shepherds to be "cut off" represent the whole religious
 community
including the priests, the magistrates, and the false prophets. Remember that it was the religious community, even those scribes and Pharisees who "sat in the seat of Moses", i.e. were in charge of the temple, the church, who "cut off" the messiah whom they abhorred.

It is no different today in the religious community. The shepherds/pastors of our people have dealt treacherously against the LORD and so it is that the majority of our people are lost and wandering sheep, not knowing their way back home or even who their true shepherd really is. Few actually know that many, many, of our  people are of the true House of Israel, of those ten lost tribes. It is not a popular thing to teach, but the sad truth of the matter is that too many Christian preachers in this nation are leading their flocks to commit adultery/idolatry with another "man", with another Lord, the false Lord, the anti-christos (Satan)! They are teaching them through traditions and "theories" to accept the first messiah who returns and that they should desire to be the first woman taken in the field. Go ahead! Be taken by the first bridegroom and attend the first wedding, the wedding of the spurious messiah! One day you will wake up and find you have committed adultery and attended the WRONG wedding and now the door to the wedding of the true Bridegroom has been slammed in your face! Yes, the preachers have dealt "treacherously", deceitfully, against the Lord Jesus Christ and have produced a generation of strange children (so called Christians) who do not belong to the Lord! They really belong to someone else... the false messiah, the great false shepherd, which they shall testify to by the act of their apostasy when he is revealed!

Here it is, written in the book whose very title means "salvation"... even Hosea, concerning the priests who lead their flocks astray!

Hosea 5:6
They [the priests and preachers] shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; He hath withdrawn himself from them.
God said the time is coming soon when "I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land" (Zech. 11:6)!
[7] They [the priests and preachers] have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
Here are Strong's definition of "treacherously" and "strange":
treacherously = bagad, baw-gad', Hebrew 898; a primitive root; to cover (with a garment); figurative to act covertly; by implication to pillage :- deal deceitfully (treacherously, unfaithfully), offend, transgress (-or), (depart), treacherous (dealer, -ly, man), unfaithful (-ly, man), × very.
strange = zuwr, zoor, Hebrew 2114; a primitive root; to turn aside (especially for lodging); hence to be a foreigner, strange, profane; specifically (active particaple) to commit adultery :- (come from) another (man, place), fanner, go away, (e-) strange (-r, thing, woman).
Again, the "strange children" that have been produced as a result of adultery/idolatry do not belong to God. They belong to another "man" (see Rev. 13:18)! Therefore, it is written that God will quickly take away their "portions", which means their inheritance, even their land. He did it before (physically) and He shall do it again (spiritually) in these last days.
Zech. 11:9
Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
Which will it be for you? There is no famine nor lack of food for those who seek Him and ask Him for their "daily bread". All others will die spiritually from viper poisoning and leavened junk foods. And so left to their own devices they will eventually spiritually destroy one another!

We are now going to read an analogy of the "cutting asunder" of "Grace" and "Union" in these next few verses (11-14), which pretty much says it all concerning the reason and justification for the raising up of the great false shepherd (vs. 15-17).

Zech. 11:10
And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
[11] And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
The Old Covenant was broken and made into the New Covenant when Jesus Christ came to this earth as a lowly Lamb to shed His blood to pay the price for the sins of the world, for any and all who will come to Him and believe in Him, even His Word. The "poor of the flock", those "sheep traffickers", even the kenites, knew "that it was the word of the LORD", for no man could do the things that He had done. Nevertheless, they rejected Him and scorned Him and for thirty pieces of silver, the price paid for a slave, they had Him betrayed and delivered up and crucified. At that time, the sun was darkened and the veil to the holy of holies was rent from top to bottom and later the resurrection of those local folks who came forth out of their graves, gave witness and testimony to all, including the head kenite Caiaphas, that He was the Word of God.

Yes, the good Shepherd gave His life for the flock. And what do the "sheep traffickers" think of a true shepherd? Not much!
[12] And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
Again, thirty pieces of silver is the price paid for the damage done to a servant, a slave. Obviously this paltry amount shows what the kenites, even the "sheep traffickers", think of the true Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, for thirty pieces of silver was "the price they put on head"! By the way, if you are one of God's elect and you teach His Word straight on, you can be assured they do not think much of you either!
[13] And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Well what do you know? No matter how you look at it, for a mere thirty pieces of silver, the price of the redemption of a damaged slave, the precious blood of Christ was shed and the potter's field was purchased! Of course it is written that Judas carried that 30 pieces of silver back to the temple and threw it on the floor in protest of their murder of Christ. That wasn't the deal he made with them! Then too, if you take the time to understand the Greek in Acts 1:18 you will discover that Judas did not hang himself but rather he was hanged, as in murdered by the kenites. (See notes in Companion Bible, pg. 1577).
[14] Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
Remember, "Bands" means "Union" and so it was that because of His love for His children, the union of Israel was cut asunder and the branch was split into two sticks (Ezek. 37:20), the southern House of Judah along with Benjamin being the one stick, and the northern House of Israel (the so-called 10 "lost" tribes) the other. This was done according to His will, as it was written, that the Plan of God might be fulfilled when one day His lost sheep would hear His voice when He calls.

But you see, it would seem at this point rather than going directly to Him and hear His Voice, directly from His Mouth, i.e. from His Word, most Christians would rather listen to the false shepherds, many preachers, tell them comforting fanciful stories about how "fat they are", i.e. what great spiritual shape they are in just because they acknowledge Christ is Lord (so do the demons), and that soon they will be "raptured away"! Hey, they have no need to don the full Gospel Armor (Eph. 6) to be ready to take a stand with God's elect against the fiery darts of the wicked one, do they? The sad result will be though, as we have already read in this study, that they will be spiritually slain in the great battle. Rather than being caught up in the clouds, they shall be caught up in the great apostasy and be led to worship a shepherd who could really care less about them, much less lay down his life for them.

[15] And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
God knows exactly what He is doing and He says He is going to raise up a "foolish" shepherd, meaning one who is "perverse". In other words, when He gives the command to Michael (the one who is holding Satan in his place - Rev. 12) to turn Satan and his angels loose, then the son of perdition will be revealed and come and stand in the holy place and claim to be the real shepherd, Jesus Christ. And let us see if He will feed and care for God's sheep as a true loving shepherd does:
[16] For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
Well, now you know exactly what this great religious one who shall come really thinks of God's sheep. As we noted earlier, the great false shepherd will appear to be wonderful indeed in that he will bring in peace and prosperity (fat upon the land) and as it is written (2 Thes. 2:9) he shall show great signs and wonders and perform miracles in the sight of men! In fact, it is written that the whole world, including the majority of Christianity with the exception of God's elect, will believe him to be the real shepherd, Jesus Christ.

But this false, perverse shepherd claiming to be the messiah will not visit "those that be cut off",  i.e. the perishing, nor seek the young ones who have gone astray, nor heal the spiritually wounded, nor strengthen the spiritually weak with the Word of God. No, this great red dragon in a shepherd's garb who shall appear on the surface to be so loving and gentle will have the spiritual "teeth of a great lion" and he will "eat the flesh of the fat" (those fat cats who think they are in such great spiritual shape) and he will spiritually rip and tear in pieces the very souls of our people!

[17] Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
The great foolish shepherd himself has already been sentenced to perish in the lake of fire, which is why he is called the "son of perdition", i.e. the "son who will perish". One's "arm" is symbolic of his work and the phrase simply means that he shall do no more evil works but shall remain in the darkness of the pit. But let this verse also be a warning to the "his arm shall be dried up""idol shepherds" of our people.
idol = 'eliyl, el-eel', Hebrew 457; apparently from Hebrew 408 ('al); good for nothing, by analogy vain or vanity; specifically an idol :- idol, no value, thing of nought.
An "idol" shepherd is one who takes the name of the Lord in vain, as in claims to be one of His representatives but who speaks not with His Voice, from the mouth of His Word in the manner of "Thus saith the Lord God, but rather teaches for doctrine the vain tradition and commandments of men thereby making void the Word of God. We now leave this study with the words of our Lord:
Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And so it is today that many are deceived. Take heed!
*************************
chapter 12

There is a time coming, a day, when many people shall "wake up" to the realization that a great apostasy has taken place and that all the while they have been worshipping the one sitting in the temple (claiming to be God), they have actually been serving and worshipping the false messiah, even Satan, as God. Oh, the shame of it all and the mourning that shall take place in the land on that day when many suddenly realize that they have committed adultery... that they are spiritual whores! That day which we speak of is the day Jesus Christ returns! That day is spoken of in this 12th chapter of Zechariah, whose prophecies, if you recall from our first study, cover a 7 year period, even the last 7 year period of this flesh age.

Remember that we have learned numerous times, even in the last chapter, that there is one coming in this final generation who shall appear as God, as a great shepherd, even as the Messiah, and shall deceive the whole world into believing his flood of lies! We read that this false shepherd shall appear in Jerusalem, standing in the holy place, sitting in the temple, and that the people of all nations shall go to Jerusalem and bow before his image, i.e. his image that he is God. What an abomination!

However, it is written that the false messiah and his One World Political/Social/Economic System shall be destroyed by the coming of the King of kings and His saints when they "take over" the governments and the governing of all the earth! Yes, the King of kings, the one spoken of in Isaiah 9:6, shall have the government upon His shoulders, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)."

Yes, the real Jesus Christ shall come at the sound of the 7th Trump and establish His kingdom upon Mount Zion and it shall be an everlasting kingdom and it shall never be moved!

Rev. 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
What a great day that will be for God's people who love and serve Him. What an awful day that will be for those who do not! Hear now the Word of the Lord through His servant Zechariah (Remembered of Yahveh):
Zech. 12:1The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
This is an oracle (burden) from the LORD for Israel, a prophecy that SHALL (not maybe) come to pass! And just to remind us so there should be no doubt whatsoever in our little ol' minds that He is able to deliver His people Israel and bring this prophecy to pass, He gives us a short synopsis of His many magnificent accomplishments... including creating both the heavens and the earth and Fathering the souls of each and every one of His sons.
Enough said!
[2] Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
This verse not only declares that it is God Himself (I will) who shall accomplish this, but it also sets the time frame for this prophecy concerning when it shall come to pass. It shall be "when the people round about shall be in a siege both against Judah and Jerusalem". When does that happen? As verses 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 & 11 document, it shall be "In that day", which is the Day of Lord's return! You see, the false shepherd, the false rock (their little rock is not our immovable Rock - Deut. 32) will have been sitting in the temple and the peoples of the earth will be busy in their apostasy worshipping him as God, fulfilling the words of Zech. 8:23: "The people 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 [to Jerusalem]: for we have heard that God is with you". It shall be in that day that the King of kings shall return and establish His everlasting kingdom upon Mount Zion and in the process make Jerusalem a cup of trembling as He shakes the nations round about (Hag. 2:7) causing them to tremble and reel!
[3] And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
A burdensome stone is an immovable stone, an immovable rock, one that cannot be lifted (burdened). Jesus Christ is that immovable Rock, that stone which is cut out without hands (Dan. 2:45), who shall return to Jerusalem and shall smite the nations and against whom none can prevail. In other words, anyone who comes against this Rock (as in tries to lift it to remove it), i.e. comes against the King of kings or against His elect who are His governors (kings and priests), shall be cut in pieces (with the sword of His Word - Rev. 1:16). Will you be one of those solid rock pillars standing with Him on Mt. Zion in that day (Rev. 14:1) who cannot be moved? Psalm 62:6 "He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved."

Live Link to>>> Kings and Priests
[4] In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
You should be familiar with horses and riders by now, even those four horses (powers) which are those four hidden dynasties and their riders, the locust army led by Apollyon, i.e. Satan, the son of perdition (Rev. 13)! The powers that be, shall be smitten with astonishment, with "consternation and panic", and every horse (power) of the peoples (nations) shall be smitten with blindness (by the brightness of His coming, i.e. His truth, His rod of iron, etc.)

Father's "eyes shall be upon Judah" means that the rulership, taken from the smitten powers, shall now be in hands of Judah, which is the "kingship line"! You see, from here on out His kings and priests, His elect, shall "govern" the earth. Rev. 20:6 "... they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

[5] And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
The new "governors", God's elect, shall say in their hearts "God is my strength", which by the way is what the name EZEK-I-EL means in Hebrew! Dr. Moffat translates this verse, "then shall the clans of Judah say to themselves, the strength of dwellers in Jerusalem lies in the Lord of hosts, their God". Here is Strong's definition of "governors":
governors = 'alluwph, al-loof', Hebrew 441; or (shortened) 'alluph, al-loof'; from Hebrew 502 ('alaph); familiar; a friend, also gentle; hence a bullock (as being tame; applied, although masculine, to a cow); and so a chieftain (as notable like neat cattle) :- captain, duke, (chief) friend, governor, guide, ox.
Now notice the prime root of "governor" as used here:
'alaph, aw-lof', Hebrew 502; a primitive root, to associate with; hence to learn (and causative to teach) :- learn, teach, utter.
And so it is written, and so shall it be that God's elect, the governors of Judah, His just ones, the Zadok, shall teach during their reign and they will do so with discipline exercising His "rod of iron"! Ezekiel 44:23-24 "And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. [24] And in controversy they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths."
[6] In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
"God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29) and so it is that "fire" is used symbolically to represent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit... remember Acts chapter 2? And it is written in Ps. 104:4 and Heb. 1:7 that He makes His ministers a "flame of fire", who spew forth His Word, His Spirit, TRUTH! It is that truth, His Word, that devours, consumes, "all the people round about". Have you read how God's witnesses devour their enemies with that "fire", that spirit of truth which proceedeth out of their mouths?
Rev. 11:4-5
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

[5] And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

The other analogy, which is used in this chapter to say the same thing, is simply that anyone who tries to "pick up and move the rock" shall be cut in pieces, i.e. with the sword of truth! You see, the same things are said over and over in God's Word in so many different ways using so many different illustrative examples and analogies and similes, that one would think sooner or later we would "get the picture"! Let's continue in Zechariah:
Zech. 12:7
The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
Our Father's perfect plan of salvation is not a "shoot from the hip" plan without order and priorities nor a plan without set times. To wit, God is not the author of confusion and what we are told in this verse is that there is an order to the salvation and restoration of His people. He is going to save those who are "scattered" first before that glorious city of Jerusalem. So the question is: Are you one who is destined to rule and reign with the house of David, i.e. reign with Him as part of that "kingship line?" How strong are you and from whence does your strength come? Have you been wise to build your house upon the Rock (Mat. 7:24)? Have you "eaten the whole roll", i.e. the Word of God, and become strong in Him (Ezekiel 3:1-9)? The bottom line is, "Do you trust and rely on the Lord your God and in the power of His Word?" He is able!
[8] In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
Who will those inhabitants of Jerusalem be in that day when the LORD defends it? His people, of course! He is our defense, our rock and our mighty fortress (Ps. 18:2)! And remember the analogy from Zech. 2 that He is our "wall", even a "wall of fire" round about Jerusalem?
Zech. 2:5
For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
Also, do not overlook the fact in Zech. 12:8 that His people will "be as (like) David" with the angel of the Lord before them! Remember when David's own brothers and all the other supposedly mighty, valiant soldiers of Israel serving in the army of God, were intimidated by the beast (Goliath), that young David was not afraid and "took on" the Beast, one on one! Why was David not afraid? Because the Creator of both heaven and earth, His heavenly Father, promised to go before him and fight his battles and protect him round about! And David trusted in Him! So it was no contest... I mean little old Goliath verses the Creator of the universe! And David knew it and he easily took out Goliath with one small stone from the brook of living water. I like to think of it sometimes as a "piece of the Rock"! Therefore, David became a champion of his people and would one day reign in Jerusalem as their king. Will you be as David and be a champion of your people? Zech. 12:8 says God's elect shall be as David! Will you one day reign in Jerusalem?
Zech. 12:9
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Again, remember He is the Creator of both heaven and earth and all mankind and when He says He WILL do something, such as destroy the nations that come against Jerusalem, HE WILL and He IS ABLE. Of course the good news of the kingdom, i.e. the coming of the King of kings, shall be proclaimed before that day comes when He destroys the nations. That proclamation shall be given when God's elect are delivered up (Mark 13, Luke 21) and give witness and that "fire" of Pentecost Day in Acts 2, i.e. His Holy Spirit, speaks through them, as in proceedeth out of their mouths, as they give witness! Of course they are not to premeditate what they shall say at that time, nevertheless, they shall make known the good news of the kingdom that Jesus Christ is coming with His saints to set up His everlasting kingdom on earth and destroy the New World Order. Of course the beast will stand in defiance and shall make war with the Lord of lords and King of kings. But alas, the beast shall once again lose big time! The victory has already been declared.

Here it is:

Rev. 17:14These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

By the way, here is the context of the proclamation to the nations as written in the Book of Joel, which book Peter quoted on that first Pentecost Day concerning the last days.
Joel 3:9
Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

[10] Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

[11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

On that day, when the nations gather and try to "pick up and remove the Rock" they are going to get thumped real good by His mighty ones (God's elect) who shall come down on them real hard! Joel says those nations (who come against Jerusalem) better go and gather every soldier, every man, woman, child, invalid, etc., and arm themselves with every implement of war they can find or produce because they are going to face the mighty ones, a whole army of warriors like as David, who trust in their God! No contest! What did we read a few verses ago in Zech. 12:6... that His mighty ones, His elect, the "governors of Judah", "shall devour all the people (nations) round about, on the right hand and on the left"?
Zech. 12:10
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Upon His elect, those who are His at His coming and who shall inhabitant Mount Zion, He shall pour out the spirit of His grace and of supplications. But the nations round about and those who pierced Him and those who worshipped the false shepherd and the false king, shall mourn with great anguish when that day comes!
Rev. 1:7
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Yes, all the tribes of the earth shall mourn in that day when the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven with ALL power and with GREAT GLORY! Here it is in Christ's own words in Mat. 24:
Matthew 24:30
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Christ is not returning as a Lamb to be slain but as THE King of kings and Lord of lords and every knee shall bow to His authority, i.e. to the name of Jesus Christ! And those idolatrous worshippers of the false shepherd who listened to the would-be-Jesus tell them he was going to "fly them away" to never, never land, shall be so ashamed at the discovery of their whoredom, i.e. that they had been the first woman taken in the field and were seduced by the false bridegroom, that they will wish the hills and mountains to hide them or fall on them rather than have to face Him (Rev. 6:15-17).
Zech. 12:11
In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
There shall be a "great mourning" where the nations are gathered in Jerusalem, so great that the comparison is made here to the unprecedented national mourning that took place in Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo when king Josiah died. Here is the text from 2 Chronicles describing the magnitude of the people's lamentations.
2 Chron. 35:22-25
Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. [23] And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. [24] His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. [25] And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.
The nations shall gather against the King of kings at the battle of Armageddon but they shall be destroyed and their power stripped by Jesus Christ and His saints, i.e. by Him who has all power in both heaven and earth. So you can see, there's just no contest! We have the victory in Him. The sad part is that many of our brothers and sisters will have been seduced by the great false shepherd, Satan, the false messiah, the fake bridegroom, etc., and will have committed spiritual adultery, which is idolatry, and will have stumbled and fallen. They will have missed the opportunity to be part of the firstfruits, the first resurrection, and now having being declared dead (spiritually) they will have to wait until the end of Millennium to receive life which will be at the (eternal) second resurrection... or the second (and final) death for those who don't make it.

Yes, what a sad and mournful day that will be when Christ returns and finds His bride to be with child! "...Woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days" (Luke 21:23)!

Zech. 12:12
And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
The Hebrew word "bad" translated "apart" in these last three verses means by implication "a part of the body" or "branch of a tree", i.e. every family tree or branch of the family. However, notice that it is "their wives apart" that shall be mourning. The word "wives" as it is used here means "adulteress" which is used in analogy throughout the scriptures to characterize "idolatry". In other words, all the family branches of idolatrous worshippers of the great false shepherd, Satan, shall be mourning when they discover who it is they have been seduced by and taken for their husband.
[13] The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;

[14] All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

Do not be the first woman taken in the field, one who is spiritually seduced by Satan, the false messiah, even as that old serpent from the garden wholly seduced mother Eve. Be a wise virgin and fill your lamp with oil (His truth, His Word) and wait patiently upon the Lord!

Listen to the admonition of the apostle Paul:
2 Cor. 11:2
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Don't be had! Stay in your Father's Word and trust in Him!
chapter 13

The season is growing long and the hour is late which means very soon the great false shepherd, the son of perdition, will be cast from heaven with his angels and shall come stand in the holy place claiming to be God (2 Thes. 2). However, his reign has been shortened to only a five month period, which is the time of the locusts of Rev. 9:5 & 10, whose season is from May through September. It shall be at the end of this indignation that the Great Day shall come, that day when Jesus Christ shall return and cleanse the temple leaving not one "stone" left standing atop another (Luke 21:6). In that day He shall set up His everlasting kingdom upon Mount Zion and establish that "wall" around Jerusalem and His judgment shall run down as waters and His righteousness, His Holy Word, shall flow as mighty stream (Amos 5:24).

Zech. 13:1
In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
The Hebrew verb translated "shall be" in this verse is "hayah" with the participle which simply means that the fountain of living water shall be permanently opened, as in forevermore! You see, just as the original fountain was cut off at the rejection and crucifixion of Messiah, except for those who would come to and drink from that fountain, so shall there be a severe famine (Amos 8:13) and a dry desert, a desolation, when the false shepherd sets up his kingdom! But alas, not for long!

The word "sin" is translated from the Hebrew "chata" which means "to miss the mark"! It is written that many of our people, in fact the majority, will "miss the mark" and miss out on the first resurrection because they did not know Christ, the Word of God, and were deceived by the false-christ. Oh they say "Lord, Lord" and do many noble works in His name (Mat. 7:22), but because the false shepherds (Christian ministers) have all but starved them to their spiritual death by teaching to them the traditions of men instead of His Word, most of them shall be part of that great falling away, the apostasy! You see, if one does not teach the Word of God but substitutes religious activity in its stead, then that person having forsaken the Word has FORSAKEN GOD! And it is written in this 13th chapter of Zechariah that in that day those prophets (teachers) of men's visions and false doctrines shall be surely ashamed because they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, His Word, and caused their entire congregations to fall away. Jeremiah also documents that those who forsake His Word shall be ashamed:

Jeremiah 17:12
A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

[13] O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

The truth of the matter is that our people have become a valley of dry bones (Ezk. 37) because (1) they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, His Word, by not studying it, and (2) by listening to false shepherds speak lies about it, like "apples and snakes" and other too-numerous-to-mention untruths, they have no water... even setting up a false rock which cannot hold water!

Jeremiah also documents that for us.
Live Link to- Valley of Dry Bones
Jeremiah 2:13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Our Rock is the Living Water, even as that Stone of Scone was struck by Moses and the water poured forth for our people who wandered in the dry wilderness!

Yes, the fountain of Living Water shall be permanently opened to rid the land, our nation, of her two evil sins, "Idolatry" and "Unclean Spirits", i.e. "False prophecy (teachings) put forth by false prophets"! Jesus Christ is returning and in that day He shall rid the land of BOTH!

Zech. 13:2
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
Obviously this has not yet come to pass which further documents that this is speaking of the last day! Also, to "cut off" means to destroy or consume!

Remember we documented in a prior study from Ezek. 44:23 that the Zadok, the just ones, God's elect, "shall teach my (His) people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean." Idolatry and false teaching simply will not be permitted to flourish and any such attempt to teach false doctrine shall be handled with the rod of iron, according to His Word.

[3] And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
To "speak lies" in the name of the LORD is to take His name in vain. To wit, many preachers, even those with good intentions who themselves are deceived, speak lies (false precepts and doctrines) in the name of the Lord for again, they teach the traditions of men which make void the Word of God. The shame of it is that our people are NOT taught how to truly love and please their Father for it is written that all they know about how to love Him is from those vain (empty) traditions they are taught, some of which have them jumping, or swinging, or gobbling like turkeys, or just making donation after donation to this wonderful cause or that. As the true prophet and teacher of His Word says, "It is all just a bunch of lip service!"
Isaiah 29:13
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear (meaning to revere) toward me is taught by the precept of men:
In other words, many Christians go to church and do religious things and sing songs of praise and worship but their "hearts", their minds, do not align with their Father's, with His Word! One cannot be filled with His spirit, His Word, if his or her mind (heart) is filled with the vain teachings and visions of men and or women. Please do not misunderstand, I am not "knocking" going to church or singing songs. It is just an irrefutable fact that the vast majority of our Christian brothers and sisters and loved ones are not taught (fed) the Word of God chapter by chapter and line by line! Show your brothers and sisters where the stream of Living Water is NOW, where the green pastures are NOW, and stop playing church!

The good news is that the kingdom of God is soon coming! At that day when Jesus Christ and His saints stand on Mount Zion, that fountain of truth, that fountain of living water, shall flow like a river from beneath the throne of the Lamb! Furthermore, idolatry (false gods) and unclean spirits (false doctrines) will no longer be permitted, which is what the verse we just read in Zech. 13:3 is speaking about! 

The reference is to Deuteronomy 13:6-10, so let's go there and see what additional wisdom we might gain from His Word.

Deut. 13:6
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

[7] Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;

[8] Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

[9] But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

Note: Many people do not understand the law of liberty and so when they read about the death penalty in God's Word they "get all shook" up as they envision many people being killed. Not so! You see, God says if we will obey His laws and His commandments then these things will cease from happening among us! In other words, if we publicly execute murderers and rapists according to God's law, there will be a whole lot less murders and rapes in our land and we will be at liberty (free) to walk the streets of our towns even at night!
[10] And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Do you not think seducing God's children and drawing them away from His Word is a serious offence? That is precisely why we are down here walking under the sun, dwelling in the flesh. You see, it is written that Satan drew away 1/3 of us, the stars of heaven, (Rev. 12:4) to follow after him and his idolatrous ways in the first earth age. Therefore, God, destroyed that first earth age; And sentenced Satan, His son, to die (Ezek. 28:18), to be turned to ashes from within and perish in the lake of fire at the end of the Millennium. Hence he is called the "son who will perish"... the son of perdition!

The point is, do not listen (i.e. take heed) to false preachers and false teachers of His Word, even if they are a spouse or relatives or close friends, or any other "tree" who entices you with bad fruit that is not found in the Word of God. ALWAYS test the fruit (1 Jn. 4:1) and then stick to God's Word, so obtaining your fruit directly from Him, the everlasting living Tree of Life. That way you will not produce "bad fruit" yourself by sharing that junk with others, like Eve did with her own husband! 

Live Link to- What happened in the garden

Live Link to- Eve was not just any women, was she? She had a special purpose, as did Adam

Again, why is this so important? Read it for yourself in Matthew 7:19 "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is  hewn down, and cast into the fire." So always stay in God's Word and eat fruit from the Tree of Life that you yourself might bear good fruit! Did you know that God even likens Himself to a fir, an ever (eternal) green (living) tree, in Hosea 14:8: "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found."

You see, it is written... even in the next verse... that those preachers, those nice friendly false shepherds who lead their flocks to follow the traditions of men and so set them up for the fall, the great falling away, i.e. the great apostasy when they bow to the false-christ when he appears at the sound of the 6th Trump believing the lie that he is God, are going to be sorely ashamed of what they have taught in that day when the true Messiah appears at the sound of the 7th Trump. Then too, during the Millennium, Jesus Christ and His Zadok are not going to put up with false preachers! There will be No More "playing church" and putting on religious garb to look like a man or woman of God and then teach people to roll Ishtar's eggs or sooth them with visions of "flying away" in some rapture when Satan comes! That's "Bad Fruit"! It does not hold to the test of His Word and if you give it to others you are bearing bad fruit and doing the work of another god... even the great false shepherd! 

Here, read what the false prophets of today will be doing during the Millennium, i.e. in that day!

Zech. 13:4
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
This is not to say that it is a sin to wear a garment of a prophet (teacher), for Elijah wore skins with a girdle of leather about his loins as did John the Baptist (Mat. 3:4). But one can simply NOT identify a true teacher of God's Word by outward clothing! TEST their FRUITS, i.e. what they "FEED YOU"!

Let's document it from Christ's own words:
Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
How do you tell if your good friendly preacher is a good shepherd or not? Test his or her fruits, what he or she teaches... not his or her outward appearance! Of course none of them look or seem like wolves!
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Let's continue in Zechariah with the doings of the false prophets in that day when they shall be utterly ashamed of their past doings!
Zech. 13:5
But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
Looks like a change of profession for these false prophets, doesn't it? They will no longer claim to be shepherds proudly leading their flocks, but now they are tillers of the ground, mere servants working in the field. Should have learned a lesson from Adam in the first place... i.e. learned to tend and keep the garden and not eat the fruit from Mr. Know-it-all standing in the midst of the garden!
WARNING, UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH! Stay away from bad fruit!
Do not eat bad fruit!
Genesis 2:16
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

[17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

If you think this is talking about an apple tree and eating an apple, you have ALREADY eaten "bad fruit" from false branches! Spit that venomous poison out and start eating from the Word of God, from the table of the Lord! In other words, obtain your fruit from that great fir tree, from the Tree of Life, else you too will die!
By the way, the word "apple" is not even mentioned in the Book of Genesis!
Note: These next few verses, particularly verses 7-9, are felt by most scholars to belong after the discussion of that great false shepherd in the last two verses of chapter 11, vs. 16 & 17, because they look back to Messiah being cut off. Be that as it may, the subject following chapter 11 beginning with verse one of chapter 12 to this point has been the 7th Trump, the coming of the King of kings and His "governors of Judah" and the mourning of those who "missed the mark" and "they (who) shall look upon Me whom they have pierced" (Zech. 12:10)!

In other words, the true Shepherd of Israel, Jesus Christ, who was rejected by His own house and "wounded for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:5), pierced through His hands, and thrust in His side with a spear (sword) whereby that (sin free) blood and water poured forth, is coming to bring forth His own sword and restore His people Israel and also execute justice, as in just recompense in all the earth.

Therefore it is fitting that the contrast is made here between the Shepherd who was pierced and smitten and the false prophets, even that great miracle-working false prophet who shall come and deceive our people because the fountain of living was forsaken and continues to be! Never forget the fate of the false prophet... which is eternal death.
Rev. 19:20
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Consider now the following question concerning the wounds in the hands of Christ, a question to be asked in the Millennium which needs to be understood by the true disciples of Christ now!
Zech. 13:6
And one shall say unto Him, What are these wounds in Thine hands? Then He shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.
Dr. Bullinger points out in "The Companion Bible" on page 1294 that "Messiah is here spoken of, in contrast with these prophets." He also notes that it is spoken in the yet future time, and referring to His past rejection! In other words, the time is in that day, even the first day of the Millennium, when the question is asked concerning the wounds "between His hands", i.e. in His palms. He got them when He was wounded and pierced to pay the price AND to REDEEM His people as per Psalm 69. That is WHY Christ said on the cross "I thirst"! He was quoting that great Psalm of redemption*.
Zech. 13:7
Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is my Fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Awake means to "open your eyes" and since Jesus Christ quoted this verse in Mat. 26, while speaking to His disciples, let us go there and seek to see more, as in understand more.
Matthew 26:31
Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.
To be "offended" means to "trip up", to "stumble", as in apostasy!
offended = skandalizo, skan-dal-id'-zo, Greek 4624; ("scandalize"); from Greek 4625 (skandalon); to entrap, i.e. trip up (figurative stumble [transitive] or entice to sin, apostasy or displeasure) :- (make to) offend.
And so it is that Peter would come to understand through his experience demonstrating the offence, having said to Christ Himself that he would NEVER be offended, and he would write the following concerning Jesus Christ, our Rock, in 1 Peter 2:8:
"And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."
That's right, Jesus Christ Himself, our Rock, will be (even is) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (skandalizo), to them which stumble at His Word, i.e. are Biblically illiterate! Got it? The part of Zech. 13:7 Christ doesn't directly quote is that "He will turn mine hand upon the little ones" which means He will protect the little ones who are the remnant, i.e. God's elect. To that end, Christ told His disciples that after He was risen, He would go before them into Galilee (see also John 10:4).

If your "eyes are now open" to purpose of the sword against My Shepherd, you will understand there is a great twofold purpose for the raising up of the false shepherd and the tribulation by "fire" of the great apostasy!

Zech. 13:8
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
The majority of Christians shall be deceived by the spurious messiah. They will be the first women (virgins) taken in the field! They will stumble and fall because they will believe he is their rock, Jesus Christ! Why? Because even now they stumble at His Word. They simply do not know the Word of God for the false shepherds have forsaken the living fountain of water and have spoken "lies" in the name of Christ. Hopefully not too many of our people will be so inclined to listen to false prophets during the Millennium. Is that not what we just read in this lesson?

As for the elect, the remnant of His people, they shall come through the fire (as did Shadrach and company) and be purified and made white! No, they won't fly away in some rapture to escape the tribulation. And you know what? Neither will they forsake Him this time but they shall "take a stand against the fiery darts" (Eph. 6) and they shall stand firm and unshakable upon the immovable rock*. 

It is written! Will you be among them? I pray that you are!

*Remember Zech. 12:3? Just let someone try to lift it up and remove it!

[9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
How beautiful and how perfect is the Plan of God for this generation!

We just thank our Father for His Word, that Living Fountain that shall soon be opened and flow as a river forevermore!

*Here is an except on the redemption by the "Redeemer" from our study of John 19. When Jesus Christ was wounded and hung on the cross, the last thing He did before He gave up His life was to redeem His people.

John 19:28
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, "I thirst".
This is so incredible that it is a shame our teachers and ministers do not teach the full story of the miracle on the cross to our people, the reason for the wounds in His palms. They continue to see only human flesh and so teach that He was merely thinking of Himself, His physical pain, when He said "I thirst". But I assure you He was NOT! He was thinking of the reason He came to dwell in the flesh, which was to pay the price as the sacrificial Passover Lamb and redeem the lost sinners. Yes, He was as ALWAYS unselfishly thinking of the children, which includes you and me!

You see, the Roman soldiers have finished casting lots for His coat (Ps. 22) and Jesus now knew that all of the scriptures pertaining to others have now been accomplished, exactly as they are written. So the time has finally come for the scriptures of the 69th Psalm to be fulfilled concerning the "Redeemer", for having now made provision for the woman, the time has now come to "redeem" her.

So just as Jesus quoted and taught the 22nd Psalm beginning with verse 1, "My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me.", He now quotes and teaches from the 69th Psalm, the "Psalm of Israel's Redemption", saying "I thirst" 
(Ps. 69:
1,21).

You should now pause and turn to the 69th Psalm and read it in its entirety. If you are fortunate to have a Companion Bible you will aided by the structures beginning on page 759. 

Here is a "cut" from the outline:

H | K Psalm 69 - THE KING WAITS FOR DELIVERANCE (v. 14) FROM SUFFERINGS, SHAME, AND SORROW. (THE TRESPASS OFFERING). pg. 759.

K |  vs. 1-21 Prayer
      vs. 22-29 Imprecation
        vs. 30-36 Praise   pg. 784

When you read the final verses of Praise (Ps. 69:30-36) you will find that just like Psalms 22 it ends with a prophecy concerning the "seed", who after having "served Him" in this final generation (Ps. 22) by declaring His Word, they shall inherit the glorious City of God (Ps. 69):

Psalm 22:30-31
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

[31] They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Psalm 69:34
Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

[35] For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

[36] The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love His name shall dwell therein.

Yes, in His final moments just before He died Jesus was telling us that the "scripture must be fulfilled", of Psalms 69, when He said, "I thirst"! Read again John 19:28 "After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, "I thirst". It clearly says He said, "I thirst", in order to fulfill the scripture, the Word of God, NOT because He was thirsty!
 Do you see? I hope you do, for it is so beautiful and perfect, as He is!
John 19:29
Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
And so Psalm 69:21 is fulfilled, letting you know that the Redeemer is indeed Jesus Christ:
Psalm 69:21
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
And finally:
John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished": and He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
The final words from the lips of Yeshua Messiah are the final words from the 22nd Psalm, which is Hebrew translates to "It is finished". Notice also that the Savior, our Redeemer, did NOT die and then His head dropped forward. That is because no man could take His life so...
... He willingly.... and unselfishly.... and lovingly.... "bowed His head".... and, then, laid down His life for you and me.

We have come to the last chapter of Zechariah (Remembered of Yah) which brings us to the last day of this flesh age and the dawning of a new day, a day known as the day of the LORD. And what a tremendous view of the events of that day our Father gives us in this 14th chapter. The message is clear and simple because the symbolic imagery is vividly graphic! But it is as with all analogies using symbolism in that symbols can either hide and obscure the meaning of what is being said or they can make "clear as bell" what is meant if one has been privileged, normally by his or her asking to be shown, what the symbols mean. In fact, that is precisely why Jesus Christ spoke to the multitudes in parables, to BOTH hide what was said to the multitudes and to make it clear to His disciples when they later came to Him and asked Him to explain the symbols. Of course, don't take my word for it that that is why Christ spoke in parables unless you first document it. That you can easily do in Mat. 13:

Matthew 13:10
And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

[11] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

And so now you know why it is that Christ always spoke unto the multitudes in parables! To those who come to Him, to His Word, and ask, it is given. However, the multitudes, the main streamers, always went their way saying things like "Wasn't that a nice sermon today?" There is nothing new under the sun.

Matthew 13:34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

******************
chapter 14

Let us now conclude our study of Zechariah. In this final chapter we are going to see Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, come to Jerusalem after the abomination of desolation, Satan, has sat in the midst of the temple and made the whole land spiritually desolate by deceiving the whole world into believing he is God! Then, at the appointed time, the LORD shall come forth and cleanse the temple, pulverizing the "stones" of the temple, and defeating His enemies and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever! What a glorious day it shall be when that 7th Trump sounds!

Editor's Note: You see the temple Jesus destroys at His return is not a building, or a structure, as we think it to be, when we read in the New Testament, that not one stone will be left standing a top another, but, is rather, the religious system He finds in place at His return, which was set up by the little rock (Satan) who is not the true Rock (Jesus Christ), and put in place by all of Satan's little stones, i.e. his off spring, (the sons of Cain). Those are the stones we read about that will not be left, one upon another, in Matthew 24:2! Those stones are the Jewish leaders , Jesus addresses in John 8:44, who are of their father, the devil. 
Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
Let us now read of that day!
Zech. 14:1
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
This is speaking to Jerusalem saying that when the spoil (the prey) has been divided and taken by the one who sits in the midst of thee, i.e. Satan sitting in the temple upon Mt. Zion, then the day of LORD shall come.

The next verse explains:
[2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
When the final siege of Jerusalem has taken place by the king of Babylon, Satan, and the houses (temples, or even families, i.e. the houses of Israel) have been rifled (spiritually plundered) and the women (adulteresses/idolaters) ravished (shagal in Hebrew; to copulate with, to lie with, i.e. spiritually seduced) and half (which means "the middle or midst of") the city shall go forth into captivity, i.e. the false-christ comes and sits in the temple and takes the prey, THEN shall the LORD go forth and fight against those nations (which have all joined together in the NWO).

Nevertheless, even so, never forget what we learned in this great book that the remnant, God's elect, are protected by the "wall", His wall of fire, and that no harm shall come to them.

[3 ]Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
We are going to read in verses 6 & 7 that this day, this day of battle, of war, when the LORD comes forth and fights, will be like no other day. Here is a type of that day like no other when the LORD fought for His people Israel. It is often called "Joshua's long day".
Joshua 10:13-14
And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

[14] And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

Though they know they sling the stones of truth, those like David know that it is the LORD who goes before them into battle! And at this time, the nations shall have all joined together into one beast, even one great mountain, the New World Order, even the mountain that those of faith shall move and cast into the sea. In other words, those nations shall come against Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord, and He shall go forth and do the fighting for His people and the enemy shall be utterly defeated. It is written, we have the victory in Him!
[4] And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
We know that there shall be a great "earthquake", a shaking of all the "mountains" of the earth (Hos. 2:21), which means a shaking of all the nations when Jesus Christ returns. And in that day when His feet stand upon the Mount of Olives this flesh age shall be over and everyone, ALL people, will be instantly changed into their spiritual bodies. Paul makes this very clear in 1 Cor. 15:50-52. And yet, God is going to cleave the Mount of Olives and open a great valley, making a path of salvation, a way of escape, through the valley of the mountains, i.e. through the nations. The picture of the mountain cleaving and the path through the valley, etc., is given to us to graphically illustrate to our minds what is happening spiritually.
[5] And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
How far does the valley of the mountain's reach? Unto Azal, which means "noble" or even the Noble One. In other words, He is going to make a path to the mountain of God where the Noble One resides. This applies to the remnant, His elect, those He protects.  
 
[6] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
[7] But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
This will be a day like no other just like the day of battle the LORD fought for Israel that we read about in Joshua 10! In other words, at the time it should be evening, it shall be light! Dr. Bullinger notes in the margin of the "Companion Bible" on page 1295, that this "one day" means "one [continuous] day, or one day by itself, unique"!
Here also is how Dr. Moffat translates this verse: "It will be one long day then, neither cold nor hot nor frosty, a day of days [the Lord knows it], not a day and a night but light at eventide." (MOFFAT) In other words, His light shall shine till the victory is won for "that day" of battle shall be the last day of this darkness, of this flesh age, and the first day of a victorious new age, the Lord's Day which is the 1000 years we call the Millennium when we will all have passed from our flesh bodies into our spiritual bodies.

[8] And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
The living waters spring from that fountain we read about in chapter 13 (Zech. 13:1). These two living waters which flow from sea to sea (throughout the world) continually, during all seasons, are not physical rivers. That is not what we are to learn from this for waters and rivers and mountains are just symbols used to place pictures in our minds in order that we might understand that which is spiritual, the things we cannot see (Rom. 1:20)! You "see", by this point in Zechariah one should know that these two rivers (the rivers of Ezek. 47) are no different in that sense from what we learned concerning the two witnesses, that one is of the kingship line and one of priesthood line. That is because there are two horns (powers) of the Lamb, which are those of King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 11:15). In other words, at that day and from henceforth there shall be ONE KING and ONE LORD over all the earth whose rivers of TRUTH (His Word) and JUSTICE (His Righteous Judgment) shall flow like mighty rivers from beneath His throne through all the earth!

To wit, notice the next verse:
[9] And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
Remember we learned in the last chapter that the names of all idols will be ridden from the land? There shall be only one name, one Lord, one king over all the earth. There shall also be a great crushing of all the powers and a gathering (confiscation) of all the wealth of the nations and Mount Zion and Jerusalem shall be lifted up!
Zech. 14:10
All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it [i.e. Jerusalem] shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place [see Zech. 12:6], from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
To understand the full meaning of this verse one needs to know that Geba was a town along the north boundary and Rimmon was a town in the southern portion of Judah. So what we have described here FROM Geba to Rimmon is all the land outside the city or, as the context of the remainder of the verse shows, "surrounding" the city of Jerusalem. The city itself is spoken of in contrast to the surrounding land and described by its "four" gates which face North (Benjamin's or Ephraim's gate), West (the first gate or Old Gate), East (the corner gate), and South (the sheep gate near the tower of Hananeel).
So what is this verse talking about? It means that the land, put forth to mean the nations, shall be made low as in made a plain round about, and the holy city of Jerusalem and Mount Zion shall be lifted up, i.e. exalted above all nations. The prophet Micah explains this to us:
Micah 4:1-2
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
Let us also read the next verse for we shall also read of the "coming of the nations to Jerusalem", to the exalted mountain of the LORD, in the last few verses of Zechariah.
[2] And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
"Learn" and "walk"! In other words, learn His ways (be taught from Christ, His Word) and walk in them, walk in His paths! Remember from Ezek. 44:23-24 that this is precisely what the Zadok will be teaching during the Millennium and so there will be no famine or dearth for water! For the LAW of His justice shall go forth and WORD of His truth shall go forth! There are your two rivers which shall flow from His throne as mighty rivers throughout the whole earth! What a glorious time that will be! No more war, no more utter destruction, for there shall be peace on earth because The Prince of Peace and His saints shall reign and dwell in that city forevermore!
Zech. 14:11
And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
Remember the description we read in Zech. 8:4-5 of how safe and peaceful it will be in the city, i.e. the figurative picture of children playing and old men and women sitting in the streets. To wit, the word "destruction" in Hebrew is "cherem" which means "a shutting in". There will be no more captivity, no more fear, and no more utter destruction for we also know from Rev. 20:1-3 that the old dragon, the desolator, will be bound and cast back into (shut in) the bottomless pit during that time.
[12] And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
This verse sure conjures up some vivid imagery in the minds of the reader, doesn't it? And rightfully so.. it should... because it is designed to do so! However, one should not go wavering to and fro, back and forth, from thinking in the flesh to the spiritual in this chapter. We are talking from here on out about that day, the day of Christ's return at the sound of the 7th Trump, when Christ returns and ends this flesh age and everyone, ALL people... the good, the bad, and the ugly, are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, into their spiritual bodies (1 Cor. 15:50-52). If that is how you see this verse, just as a change of bodies, then so be it.

Perhaps though you can "see" that this verse is speaking figuratively, in picturesque format, about the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people who have fought, as in warred, against Jerusalem! It is talking about the pestilence, even their punishment, their "going down in defeat" when "the fire of His wrath" (Ezek. 38:19) is poured out upon them. In other words, they are going to FEEL the HEAT, the FIRE of His WRATH from head to toe! And just as the gods of Egypt were turned against them in the plagues (such as the Frog Goddess they worshipped could not spare them from the plague of frogs) neither shall the gods of this generation, gold and silver, etc., be able to deliver the nations. Zeph. 1:18 "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land."

Hey, it's going to be a hot time in the old town tonight for the enemies of God. All that is evil in this flesh age is going to be consumed by His fire for as it is written in Heb. 12:29, "Our God is a consuming fire!" Peter also speaks about the coming of that day, the day of God, when all the elements (evil rudiments) shall melt with "fervent heat"! That is HIS HEAT, the fire of His wrath and it will easily consume their tongues, their speech!

2 Peter 3:12
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements [rudiments] shall melt with fervent heat?
If it helps one to understand this better, what is being said here is analogous to the great winepress that squeezes the grapes at this same time of the "great harvest" and the blood (the juice of the grape) runs as high as the horses bridles!
Rev. 14:20
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
These graphic figures of speech mean there will be great multitudes of spiritually dead, those who "miss the mark" and "missed the cut" for the first resurrection and now must go through the Millennium subject to the Great White Throne Judgment at the end. Their "blood" shall run deep and as "far as the eye can see", again, multitudes of spiritually dead. And they shall surely feel that squeezing in the winepress just as they feel the heat of His wrath at His coming!
[13] And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
Do you remember from our study of Haggai when he spoke to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, a type of God's elect who was born in confusion (Babel) and was called forth to be a governor, a ruler?
Haggai 2:21-22
Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

[22] And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen [nations]; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.

Jesus Christ is going to come forth and "shake the heavens and the earth" and "overthrow the nations"? He is going to destroy their strength (all their horses) and there shall be a "great tumult" as is a "great uproar" as in "great distress among the nations" (Luke 21:26) because they will be brought down, every one by the sword of his brother. Touché!
Zech. 14:14
And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
Those with wisdom and eyes to see know that Judah is mixed with "good" and "bad" figs (Jer. 24)

Live Link to->>>  The Good Figs and the Bad Figs of Judah

And so they know who it is of Judah who shall also fight at Jerusalem, against Jerusalem! Certainly not the governors of Judah, God's elect, for as we learned in chapter 13, they shall stand firm upon the rock, i.e. with the King of kings! No, it shall be those who possess this great wealth spoken of in this verse, those whose gods are gold and silver, i.e. those who claim to be of Judah (Rev. 2:9 & 3:9) who have brought forth the nations of the NWO to fight against Jerusalem. Their spoils are going to be "gathered together" as in confiscated! Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and their shall be much weeping and tumult! Just read Rev. 18 and you will understand.

 Here's a short excerpt:
Rev. 18:15-17
The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, [16] And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls! [17] For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off...
The same thing (plague of confiscation, poof!) shall happen to all the commerce of the NWO (next verse).
Zech. 14:15
And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
Horses are symbolic of power and are even used to describe the Four Hidden Dynasties (powers) in Rev. 6. All these beasts in Zech. 14:15 are beasts of power, of burden, which carry forth commerce in like manner as ships. They shall receive the same "plague" which means they too (i.e. the power of trade and commerce) shall be taken away, confiscated! Babylon the great is coming down! It is that simple! You see, there is a new King of righteousness in town and His rules and His Word shall apply from here on out, like it or not! The nations therefore had better get their acts together and do that which follows in verse 16 or they shall experience the "real lake of fire" at the end of the Millennium which won't consume their flesh this time, but rather their very souls! That is why Christ told us not to be concerned about those who can kill the body (flesh), but rather fear [revere] the one who can bring about the final plague, the death of the soul in the lake of fire: Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [gehenna]."

So the nations and the peoples of the nations that "missed the mark" in this flesh age better had get busy and do the following, learning and walking in His ways:

[16] And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Notice the striking contrast here with what those nations were doing when they came against Jerusalem to fight the LORD of hosts, before their defeat and destruction at the coming of the LORD. They SHALL henceforth go up every year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. They SHALL, that is, if they want to be part of the second resurrection and live past the consuming fire which comes at the END of the Millennium, following the Great White Throne judgment!

That is why the Feast of Tabernacles is specifically mentioned here, because it is the time of the great harvest of harvests, i.e. the time of the Millennium in which they better keep (live) according to His Word! Will they have free choice to decide not go up to Jerusalem? Yes they will! There shall even be controversy during that time (liberalism doesn't die easily)! Nevertheless, they will be given opportunity in that day to learn and to walk in His ways and if they "miss the mark", if they don't learn to discern between the holy and the profane and walk the walk during that time, they will be sentenced at the great white throne judgment and suffer the second death, the ultimate "plague of fire" by being consumed in the lake of fire along with Satan, the son of perdition. We mentioned Ezek. 44:23-24 earlier so let's read it now to document what shall be taught and also that there will be controversy during the Millennium, which implies free will and freedom of choice.

Ezekiel 44:23-24
And they [the Zadok] shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

[24] And in controversy [i.e. when there is controversy] they shall stand in judgment; and they shall judge it according to my judgments: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all mine assemblies; and they shall hallow my sabbaths.

So what happens to those who do not come up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord?
Zech. 14:17
And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
They shall receive no rain? What does that mean spiritually? Well, rain is symbolic of truth, His word (Deut. 32), and the withholding of rain causes spiritual drought and famine followed by pestilences, plagues... and eventually the ultimate plague... death!

Very simply,
  if they do not receive "rain" during the Millennium, they will wither and become dry and be consumed by fire at the end of the Millennium. The next verse documents that they will receive the plague for lack of rain.
[18] And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
What did the LORD smite all the nations with that came and fought against Jerusalem? His "fire", remember (vs. 12)?
[19] This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
If they "miss the mark", i.e. don't make it in "THE FIRST RESURRECTION TO ETERNAL LIFE", during the Feast of Tabernacles, during the time of the great harvest, they shall ultimately be punished, if they still follow Satan at the close of the Millennium, with death in the lake of fire. By that time they shall have made their own decision even judging themselves which will be testified to in their own book by the way in which they walked, and they shall be without excuse. They shall be without excuse because this is how it shall be throughout the Millennium, in that day:
[20] In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
Hold it! You may be doing it again! Our minds like to think flesh, materially... in this case... pots and bowls and real horses, because that is what our minds SEE in imagery, in the PICTURES painted in our mind's eye by the holy spirit for the purpose of communicating to us. But remember, we learned in the very first chapter about "horses", even those four horses, the four powers known as the Four Hidden Dynasties which are now in the control of Satan and his children of disobedience. It is those horses (powers) they ride and abuse and use in unrighteousness to bring forth the oppression and captivity of the New World Order, and to bring forth the nations of the world to fight against Christ and His holy mountain!

You SEE, this great Book of Zechariah (Remembered of Yahveh) ends in perfect symmetry to its beginning. It began with the four horns, the four horses (those powers of Religion, Economics, Politics, and Education) belonging to and in control of the unrighteous false messiah and his children of disobedience and ends on that day with those horses (powers) having been totally confiscated from the nations, from the New World Order, and from those of Judah (the bad figs, the kenites) who fought against Jerusalem.

In other words, dear Christian, the beautiful truth of the matter is that whenever a "bell" of a horse (power) is rung, it shall ring HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD! Or look at this way: If someone tries to ring a bell on a horse (exercise power and authority) and they do not "ring it" in righteousness, i.e. according to God's Holy Word, then God's elect will come forth and "ring their necks" for them with a rod of iron! To wit, there shall never again be a crack in our Bell of Liberty. Got it? Praise God and may His kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven... and it SHALL... even sooner than many might think!

And what of these pots in Jerusalem? You should have no trouble whatsoever understanding this after the detailed lessons we learned concerning the false prophets and those "sheeptraffickers"!

[21] Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
You see, ordinary pots used for cooking and preparing food shall all be like the bowls before the altar that were used to "catch the blood" of the sacrifice unto His Holiness, the Lord of hosts. In other words, there shall be no phony sacrifices or false doctrines or "unclean food" cooked and/or served in Jerusalem and in Judah! And in that day, there shall be NO MORE sheeptraffickers, merchants of sheep (which is what Canaanite means here) in the house of LORD of hosts!

What is the conclusion therefore given in these last two verses? It is very simple! The reason that all Power on Earth shall be executed with JUSTICE, with HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD, and the reason only the TRUTH of HIS WORD shall be taught in all the land, is because the KING OF KINGS and LORD of LORDS doth reign with His Zadok in ALL THE EARTH and His TRUTH and His JUSTICE shall flow like mighty rivers from beneath His throne throughout the whole earth. We so look forward to that day!

Thank you Father.
We love you so much that even now we sing in our hearts from that great Song of Moses:
"Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15:3)!
Hallelujah!


The "eight" visions Zechariah
received from the Lord
are essential knowledge for "His just ones" in these last days.

The reason the "eight" visions Zechariah
received from the Lord
are essential knowledge for "His just ones" in these last days
is because it is God's elect who go forth before the day of the Lord to teach
and give witness and to prepare the way for His second advent.

They are the "kings and priests" of God
who shall reign in the kingdom during the Millennium
with the King of kings and Lord of lords,
Jesus Christ.

 
Rev. 5:10 "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

We have also seen that these eight "visions"
begin and are given for the time just preceding the second advent,
the season when the Four Horns, aka the Four Hidden Dynasties,
have all come together to exercise their power over the people,
"power" which is able to "keep their heads from lifting up" (Zech. 1:21).

It was also revealed in the "visions"
that God's carpenters shall come from the four corners of the earth
to "fray" and dismantle those earthly dynasties
and replace them by establishing the house of God on Mount Zion,
which house is being built even at this time.

And remember... we learn in Zechariah that it is God's Plan,
His purpose, to bring forth out of Babylon,
out of the land of confusion,
as many who will heed His call through His servants
who speak His words after the manner of "thus saith the LORD".

You see, our Father is very patient at this time
even as He has ordained the holding back of the Four Winds of Rev. 7:1
to allow not only for the completion of the sealing of the 144,000 in His house
but to allow for any and all who will to "turn unto Him"
and come and dwell in the House of God.

We are taught in chapter 2 of Zechariah,
by the angel with the measuring line,
that there is plenty of room within the boundless walls of His protection?

The Lord takes care of His own.

Let's look in on Zechariah's vision of the priesthood, i.e. God's elect,
During these end times.

Zech. 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

Yep, I'm sure that God's elect recognize this
as a proper and fitting spiritual portrait of themselves!

Of course it can be easily argued that these filthy garments
are the transgressions of the people
if one considers the duties of the high priest.

Nevertheless, whether collectively or individually
we do know that "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags".

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Now notice what happens next!

Zech. 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

Look at that!
Did you "see" what just happened?

Christ took away Joshua's filthy rags
and caused his iniquity to go "bye bye"!

Then He said He would clothe him with a "change of raiment"
which you can be sure is clean and white just like a wedding garment!

In other words,
Christ took away Joshua's filthy garments and clothed him with salvation.

Note: It is important that one fully understands this verse,
otherwise he or she could be in for some rough times
in dealing not only with the adversary but with grappling over the sins of your flesh.

The two advents of our Lord

We read about the two advents of our Lord in the book of Isaiah

THE FIRST ADVENT

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

[2] To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,

The name "Christ" means "anointed"
and it was the Anointed One, Jesus Christ,
who stood up in the temple and read this passage of Isaiah 61
right up to the middle of the second verse where He deliberately stopped reading and closed the book.

Luke 4:20-21 "And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him.

[21] And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."

Christ came at His first advent to preach good tidings
and bring salvation to ALL who will receive Him,
thus fulfilling the first half of Isa. 61:2.

The second half of Isa. 61:2 is yet to be fulfilled at His second advent.

THE SECOND ADVENT

[2 ...continued] and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

We have read and studied much about the soon coming Day of Vengeance,
also known as the Day of the Lord, in these Minor Prophets.

Let us take a moment and look just a bit closer at who these are "that mourn".

Here is Strong's definition of "mourn":
mourn = 'abel, aw-bale', Hebrew 57; from Hebrew 56 ('abal); lamenting :- mourn (-er, -ing).

Those who mourn are those who teach His truth and
"decry the injustice" in Zion.

You see, just before Christ's return the Beast of Rev. 13:1,
the New World Order brought forth by the Four Hidden Dynasties
of Politics, Education, Economics, and Religion,

those "Four Horns" which are the four earthly powers Zechariah saw in His first vision,
will have taken away both the sovereignty of the nations and the freedoms of God's people.

Wake up!
Hello!

And it is written concerning the two witnesses that they shall teach God's Word, His truth,
"lamenting" the injustice,
the oppression, and the deception.

In other words, they shall decry the evils of the Beast,
all four rudiments of it!

Remember too,
that God's "carpenters" are going to dismantle those powers
with His Spirit, His truth,
and the walls of Babylon the great shall come tumbling down at their "shout".

Yes, God's two witnesses shall mourn as they "decry the injustice" of the "wicked one"
and "his ways" as they teach truth and announce the soon coming King of kings and Lord of lords
at the sound of the 7th Trump.

Rev. 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

To be "clothed in sack-cloth" is simply an expression,
a figure of speech,
denoting one who is mourning, i.e. lamenting and declaring the WOES!

sackcloth = sakkos, sak'-kos, Greek 4526; of Hebrew origin [Hebrew 8242 (saq)];
"sack"-cloth, i.e. mohair (the material or garments made of it, worn as a sign of grief) :- sackcloth

By the way, the two witnesses will end up giving a whole lot of "grief"
to the false messiah and his beast, his one world system (Rev. 11:7).

sack = saq, sak, Hebrew 8242; from Hebrew 8264 (shaqaq);
properly a mesh (as allowing a liquid to run through),
i.e. coarse loose cloth or sacking (used in mourning and for bagging);
hence a bag (for grain, etc.) :- sack (-cloth, -clothes).

Have you never noticed what was written in the "roll" given to the "watchman" for this final generation?

Ezekiel 2:9-10 "And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

[10] And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe."

God's elect tell it like it is, pal!
And there is to be both a witness and a warning given unto all nations before that great day!

Joel 2:1 "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand."

Do you have a purpose and a destiny?

It is written in Mark 13, Mat. 24, and Luke 21 that some of God's elect
shall be delivered up for Christ's sake and give witness as "testimony" before kings and rulers!

Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

So much for the escape-the-trib "Rapture Theory"!

These strong, "rich" folks (Rev. 2:9)
are true Christian soldiers in the service of their King
who not only "take a stand" against the fiery darts of the wicked one (Eph. 6),

they "take the stand" for His sake!

[13] And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

It might help some to know that "councils" (also "synagogues" in Greek)
and "witness" and "testimony"
are legal terms used in a court of law where justice is being executed?

Just wait until we get to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (Yahveh judges)!
I guarantee you everyone will be "wakened" on that day!

Joel 3:12 "Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about."

[14] Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

[15] For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

In as much as the witness and testimony will be to all nations,
i.e. those of a strange language (see Ezek. 3:6),
the Holy Spirit will speak through His elect
just as He did on that first Pentecost Day following the resurrection as recorded in Acts chapter two.

And that language which was spoken by His servants needed no interpreter
for it was clearly understood in the native tongue (language) by all those who were present.

Let us continue in Isaiah 61 concerning the second advent.

Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.

And He SHALL be glorified at His coming
when EVERY KNEE shall bow to the King of kings and Lord of lords!

Now notice what the "trees of righteousness" do:

[4]And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

That's a lot of WORK, a lot of rebuilding and repairing,
which is quite different from the concept many Christians have of sitting around on their "cloud nine"
flapping their harpers, isn't it?

[5]And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.

[6]But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.

Do not overlook that BOTH "Priests" and "Ministers"
are mentioned just as it is written in Rev. 5:10 "

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

Do you understand the two offices in the kingdom under the King of kings and Lords of lords!

If you do, you have reached the first step in understanding the purpose of the "two" witnesses of the final generation.

Do you know what many Christians are going to say to Christ
when He returns and the door to the wedding feast is closed to them?

Zech. 4:2
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

What we are being shown through the eyes of Zechariah
in this graphic illustration is the manner in which God will pour out His Spirit, His truth,
in these last days when "darkness" comes upon the land.

You see, it is through this golden candlestick that the precious "oil" flows from the "fountain above"
(bowl upon the top) which produces the "light" of "his seven lamps".

Oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit which is why it is used for anointing

1 Samuel 16:12
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

[13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Now, "What are these seven 'lamps'?"
(We go to Him, His Word, for the answer.)

Rev. 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

Make note of the location here "round about the throne" where the elders are seated.

Rev. 4:5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

The lamps of fire (spirit) are the seven Spirits of God!
What are the seven Spirits of God? (Again, we go to Him for the answer.)

Rev. 7:11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

This is the same location as we saw in chapter 4, i.e. "round about the throne"
where the elders are seated!

And they are saying...

[12]Saying, Amen: (1) Blessing, and (2) glory, and (3) wisdom, and (4) thanksgiving, and (5) honour, and (6) power, and (7) might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

Now pause and think about this!

When a person opens his or her mouth and speaks words
he or she sends along with those words a "spirit", call it an "attitude"
if you like!
It could be the spirit of anger or hate or an attitude of jealousy, etc.

But you know what?
We just read what spirits come out of the mouths of His servants.

They are the Seven Spirits of God:
Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, and might!

We should think about them the next time we open our mouths!

Now understand that these "lamps" which give "light" unto the world
must be continuously supplied with the "oil" from above
which produces the light!

ALL of those seven spirits of God come from His Word!
How are doing with your seven lamps?

Is your wisdom filled from the knowledge of His Word?
All true wisdom comes from God!
From whence do get your power?

You see, as wise Christians in these last days
(virgins waiting for the bridegroom)
we are to FILL our lamps with the "oil" from above, i.e. from His fountain,
the Word of God!

Matthew 25:1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

[2] And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

[3] They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:

Hey, are you a "fat cat", i.e. "waxen fat"?
Do you take the time to seek first the kingdom of God,
to study His Word and fill your spirit, your intellect and attitude, with the "oil" from above?

Or are you too busy?

[4] But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

What do the wise do that the unwise do not?

They study their Father's Word and absorb His truth!

They fill their lamps daily from the fountain of truth.

[5] While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

To help you better understand the sentence structure used here,
place a pair of parentheses around verse four
because the subject carried forth into verse five is the "foolish virgins".

The "wise" virgins do NOT sleep during the night which Paul documents for us!
1 Thes. 5:6-7 "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
 [7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night."

Matthew 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

You better be pumping some oil into your lamps during the 11th hour
because at midnight it's too late!

And it is real late right now!

[7] Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.

You better believe there will be some attitude adjustments made when Christ returns!

[8] And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.

Yep, that's our people. Gimme, gimme, gimme!
They seek the easier softer way!

They will sit on their "phews" and listen to some windbag tell them to just believe and have faith
and wait for the Rapturemobile to come take them to cloud nine!

Sorry fool, this "ain't no entitlement program"
where you sit around and live off your hard working brothers and sister!

You have to "wake up" and "git up" and go to work and dig for your own oil.
2 Tim. 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth."

Matthew 25:9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Each Christian must fill his or her own lamps from His Word!
Here is what Christ says to the church of Laodicea, the church of the "fat cats" (waxen fat),
one of the five churches which SLEPT (Sardis, Laodicea, Ephesus, Pergamos, and Thyatira):

Rev. 3:17
Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Yep, "waxen fat" Christians indeed!

[18] I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Better go to the "fountain" now
because you see my friend,
it is getting really dark out there in the world at this time!

Really dark!

Matthew 25:10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.

[11] Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

[12]But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

Do you know what it is these Christians are going to say to Christ
when He returns and the door to the wedding feast is closed to them?

Matthew 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

They are going to say they taught in His name.

The only problem is they taught the traditions of men
and not His Word line by line and verse by verse.

They therefore took His name (Christ, i.e. Christian) and used it in VAIN!

That is what the 3rd Commandment is all about, i.e. taking the Lord's name in vain!

Do NOT use His name to teach men's traditions or you are going to get the door slammed in your face!

They will also claim that they should be able to cash in all the wonderful works they did in His name.

Again, the problem is they just never quite got around to doing what He wanted them to do!

Matthew 7:21 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." So He will say to them:

[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I see men as trees, walking

Zech. 4:3
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

We are going to learn that what Zechariah is being shown in this vision
is exactly how it is that Almighty God shall pour out His Spirit in these last days.

Students of God's Word know that "Trees"
are used symbolically from Genesis to Revelation to represent men, i.e. people!

In fact, that is one of the first "eye opening" things God's elect learn
when Jesus Christ removes the "blindness" from their eyes.

Mark 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when He had spit on His eyes, and put His hands upon him, He asked him if he saw ought.

[24]And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

[25] After that He put His hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.

Therefore these two "olive" trees are indeed men of God
and we are going "see" what it is they do in this final generation.

For it is written that they are not only two "anointed ones"
who "empty the golden oil" out of themselves (Zech. 4:12),
but they are also referred to as "witnesses" in Rev. 11:3.

Witnesses are those who give "testimony", aren't they?
And they will give and will "finish" their testimony (Rev. 11:7)!

Let us also look at the origin of the word "olive" used of these two "olive" trees in Rev. 11:

olive = elaia, el-ah'-yah, Greek 1636; feminine of a presumed derivative
from an obsolete primary; anolive (the tree or the fruit) :- olive (berry, tree).

Notice the names of God, "El" and "Yah" which make up "olive".

How fitting indeed the oil of the olive is used to represent His Spirit!

So Zechariah wants to know who the two olive trees are:

Zech. 4:4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

Question, questions!
God's servants are so hungry to know!

[5] Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

It is worth noting, in light of what we have discussed here in Zechariah,
that Zechariah did NOT guess nor give his opinion about who these two olive trees are.

He simply said he did not know!

However, the angel
did answer his question and in doing so told him exactly how the beast,
the New World Order is going to be leveled flat as a pancake... shaken to its very foundations!

What in the world is a "flying roll"?

Zech. 5:1 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.

What in the world is a "flying roll"?

Well, I sure hope you do not have a Masters Degree or PhD of the type
that will prevent you from seeing the simplicity of this,
but a "roll" is simply a papyrus used for writing, i.e. a scroll or book,
and this very large scroll written on both sides is "flying" like a big billboard...
yes... as in flying through the air!

Got the picture?
In a moment we are going to learn exactly where this roll is flying!

But first let us understand from the book of the "watchman", Ezekiel,
that this "roll" is actually the Word of God.

Ezekiel 2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;

Take notice what is written "within and without", i.e. on both sides of the roll!

[10] And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe.

Ezekiel is instructed by God to "eat" the roll,
as in consume and digest it thoroughly,
and then go speak unto the house of Israel!

We learned earlier in Zechariah concerning the two witnesses who were "clothed in sackcloth"?

To be "clothed in sack-cloth" is an expression, a figure of speech,
denoting one who is mourning, i.e. lamenting and declaring the WOES,
the curses to come upon those who do not turn to Him, to His Word!

Ezekiel 3:1 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

You see, it is God's elect, His "watchmen" in this final generation,
through whom He causes the roll to "goeth forth" over the face of the whole land.

They, the "watchmen", the "eyes" of God, "eat the roll daily"
asking for and receiving His daily bread,
and so they are always diligently "being about their Father's business"!

To that end, it is also worth noting that the dimensions of this "roll"
which was seen by Zechariah
were 20 cubits by 10 cubits (30 feet x 15 feet)
which is the exact size of the temple porch (1 Kings 6:3)!
To wit, the temple porch was where the "law", the Word of God, was usually read!

Now let us see what this "flying roll" shall accomplish:

Zech. 5:3 Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth:

Beware of those who take the LORD's name in vain,
i.e. swear falsely by His name!

"Woe" to those robbers of our people's vineyard
and woe to those liars who take the name of the LORD in vain, i.e. swear falsely by His name!

Their houses, their churches which they have built upon sand instead of upon the Rock , His Word,
are ALL coming down and so they shall be removed from our midst when Yeshua returns.

Christ clearly warned us of the "many who would come in His name"
claiming to be Christian ministers and preachers,
and would deceive many through teaching the traditions of men
instead of teaching from the roll (The Bible).

Unfortunately, as a result of their "swearing falsely",
teaching lies in the name of Christ,
they will lead many (most) of our brothers and sisters to also swear falsely,
as in worship the false messiah when he comes.

John 10:1 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.

There are many thieves and liars who have built their own houses
in the name of God
and who teach our people that they are going to "fly to save their souls"
(Ezek. 13:18-20), i.e. that they are going to be "taken up" in the clouds
at any moment in a rapture of the church.

Such lies by those thieves who have not entered into the sheepfold
through the "door" shall be exposed by the "roll" at "roll call"
and their houses shall come tumbling down.

"Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... it's an EPHAH??"

Zech. 5:5 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.

Here comes another vision so "lift up your eyes"
and do as the angel says... and "see" what it is that now goes forth.

"Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... it's an EPHAH??"

[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.
An "ephah" is a container about the size of a bushel basket
which is used to "measure grain" and so it is symbolic of commerce and economics.

Here is what Amos says about those who make the ephah small
and falsify the balances of commerce in their New World Order.

They just can hardly wait to rip people off!
(Review also the seal of the "Black Horse" in Revelation chapter six.)

Amos 8:5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
The phrase "this is their resemblance through all the earth"
in Zech. 5:6 means this is a "global picture" of the extent of corrupt commerce on earth at this time.

But wait, there is more concerning this ephah!

Zech. 5:7 And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.
How many of our people really know who sits in the seat in the midst of commerce*?

I dare say far too few!

But as it is written right here in Zechariah, the "lid is going to come off the ephah"
and the "woman" who sits in the midst of it shall be EXPOSED.

It shall be the witness of God's elect that will do that exposing.

Who is this "woman" anyway?
She is the great whore of Rev. 17 & 18, the mother of harlots, "false religion",
the one with whom all the kings of the earth have committed fornication (Rev. 17:2)!
She has lived "high on the hog" at the expense of others
and claims she needs not the Bridegroom for she is already married...
and she is... albeit to the wicked one, antichrist himself!


Rev. 18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Mystery Babylon the great is wicked indeed for it is the "rasha", the lawless one,
the son of perdition, who heads this oppressive ungodly system.
Zech. 5:8 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.
God through His elect, His witnesses,
shall EXPOSE the great harlot who sits in the midst of the ephah as filthy and wicked, i.e.
as the iniquitous work of the wicked one!

To wit, "Zechariah" means "Yahveh Remembers"
and so it is that He shall NOT FORGET those who have religiously and economically
oppressed His people through lies and deceitful practices!

Let go back to Amos and document it.

Amos 8:4
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
The greedy who swallow up the needy shall be given fair warning by God's witnesses
and they shall surely hear His servants say "Hear this"...
"Thus saith the Lord GOD!"
Meanwhile, the greedy can hardly wait rob and steal by deceit...
[5] Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
Such is "their resemblance in all the earth"! Rev. 6:5-6 "... 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."

There's your crooked "measure of grain", the small ephah!

[6] That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

[7] The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Woe unto them!

Our Father shall surely remember their deeds
and He shall bring them to justice on that great day when Jesus Christ returns!

Next we are going to "see" who it is that "lifts up this ephah"
and carries this basket of filth to its "base", its final resting place,
which is the PIT in land of Shinar, Babylon!

Zech. 5:9 Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
Who are these "two women" with the "wind" in their wings?
"Wind" is "ruach" in Hebrew which means "spirit"
and it is the "spirit" that makes their wings as "strong" and "swift" as those of a stork*?

These two women are "virgins" who have not defiled themselves with women, i.e. with that filthy whore,
the wicked one (rasha) who sits as a queen in the ephah. (See Rev. 14:4).

* Note: It is true that the stork is an "unclean bird", but then so too is the eagle! The Hebrew terminology used here clearly refers to the characteristic of the "wings" of the stork which are very "strong" and "powerful" permitting the stork to fly high and with tremendous velocity.

[10] Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah?
Where are God's elect going to take the ephah (commerce) with the filthy wicked woman (false religion)?
[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.
Hey, they are going to carry this baby to its final resting place (base) in the land of Shinar, which is Babylon!

So there you have it!

What great imagery our Father has given us in this 5th chapter of Zechariah
to show us how He uses His elect, those two olive trees and those two candlesticks,
to bring forth His Word, the "flying roll", over the face of the whole land,
and to expose the great whore who sits as a queen in the midst the ephah.

What a time to live!
And what a privilege it is to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in this final generation!

" Brass" Mountains on Earth!

Zech. 6:1 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.

Look! Behold!
This is some vision, isn't it?

Of course you know there are no "brass" mountains on earth, right?

This is our first clue to the fact that we are "seeing" something spiritual,
supernatural in scope.

Also, one should know that God uses"chariots" symbolically to denote WARFARE
and the number "Four" is the number pertaining to "the earth".

Note: We are going to discover that the vision we are "seeing" is of the "wind", the "ruach".

In other words it is the powerful spiritual warfare which follows the 5th Trump,
which is what?

The 6th Trump!
That spiritual tribulation is part of God's judgment whereby He uses HIS locust army
to come against His people to chastise them!

Therefore, since these chariots and horses are sent by God to execute His judgment upon the earth,
they come from the Valley of God's Judgment,
which those who have studied the Book of Joel know is called the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
"Jehoshaphat" means "Yahveh Judges".

To wit, if you check a map of Jerusalem you will find that the Valley of Jehoshaphat
lies between the "two mountains", Mount Moriah and the Mount of Olives.

Now notice what is in these chariots of war! Horses!
Colored Horses!

[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.
Horses are symbolic of POWER
and we see these same colored horses in the first four seals of Revelation chapter 6
concerning the "powers" we call the "Four Hidden Dynasties".

Zechariah now sees something else.

[4] Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord?
Let us hear and understand the answer from the Word of God.
[5] And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forthfrom standing before the Lord of all the earth.
These are the same four spirits, or angels, of Rev. 7 who hold back the Four Winds until the flying roll has flown, i.e.
until the teaching, the sealing, of the 144,000 has been accomplished.

You see, the chariots which are symbolic of warfare,
and the horses which are symbolic of power,
reveal to us that this is talking about Spiritual Warfare... of the wind!

By the way, the Hebrew word translated "spirits" in this verse is "ruach" which is often translated wind!

Notice that these Four Spirits and the Four Winds,
went forth "from standing before the Lord of all the earth"!

What does that mean?

"Wake up America!"

In the sixth chapter of Zechariah we are reminded that God has surely NOT forgotten His people
and that just as Jesus Christ promised He would raise up and rebuild the temple,
His body, symbolic of His many membered body,

He is doing so in these last days according to the faithfulness of His Word.
And we have seen through "visions", graphic illustrations,
that it would be through His faithful servants who love and serve Him in this final generation
that He would accomplish His wondrous works.

However, it seems most of Christianity today is focused almost entirely on salvation and baptism,
the first "babe" steps in becoming a Christian,
and they totally disregard the meat of God's Word (Heb. 5) concerning His ways,
the ways of truth and justice, which is His righteousness.

Thus without being fed any meat from His Word,
it is no wonder that the final generation that would "boom forth" in these last days
would never grow up (mature) in His Word but remain "babes" even unto the end.

It also seems fitting that they would even come to be known as the "Baby Boomer" generation
which is that final generation spoken of by Christ when He told us to learn the Parable of the Fig Tree.

You see, that final generation began on May 15, 1948, when the "fig tree" was set out in the land of Judea (Jer. 24).

The problem is that those who remain "babies" in His Word,
those who are also likened to virgins who do not fill their lamps with the oil from the Bowl above, i.e. from His Word,
SHALL BE seduced by the first supernatural entity who comes on the scene.

That one will not be Jesus Christ whom most of Christendom is expecting at "any moment",
but will rather be the king of Babylon, the false messiah, the instead-of-Jesus, Antichrist himself!

That is why a servant of God in these last days MUST be able to see the wickedness of the "four horns" in Zech. 1:18-19
and how they are used and abused by Satan's own to "scatter God's people (spiritually)"
and bring forth the beast of Rev. 13:1, the New World Order.

That is why four, even the first four of the seven seals in Rev. 6,
that you MUST have locked in your forehead in these last days
pertain to those "Four Hidden Dynasties", those four powers (horns) of Religion, Economics, Education, and Politics.

You see, there is nothing new under the sun.

In other words, there is nothing new in this flesh age that wasn't present in the first earth age,
in the "world that then was" Peter speaks of in 2 Pet. 3:6
which was destroyed by the wrath of God (Jer. 4:26) at Satan's first rebellion.

If you read with understanding the 28th chapter of Ezekiel
it will document for you that it was by the corruption of those same four "powers",
all present in Ezek. 28 which together comprise the "tail" of the Dragon (Rev. 12:4),
that Satan drew a third of God's children away from the mercy seat of righteousness
in that first earth age. He has done so once again in this present earth age.

Wake up America!

But Satan's oppressive, unrighteous, unholy One World System shall not endure,
for the King of kings and Lord of lords is soon coming to take over the reigns of ALL government on this earth.

THEN we shall have true peace on earth because truth and justice shall be established in ALL the earth!

Read what is written of the "child who was born" in a lowly manger

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This did not happen at the first advent but shall happen at His second.

And you know what?

God's elect of the Elijah ministry of these last days shall prepare (even are preparing) the way,
building up the temple of God,
for the return of the King of kings and Lord of lords to take upon His shoulder the governing of the whole earth!

Did you know that as Jesus Christ hung on the cross at Calvary He quoted,
as in taught, the entire 22nd Psalm which begins with
"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
and ends with
"It is finished"

It is the elect of God who shall prepare the way in bringing forth Messiah
the BRANCH as King of kings not just Lord of lords to rule ALL NATIONS with a rod of iron, i.e.
with the justice and righteousness of the Word of God.

Zech. 6:12 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:
Jesus Christ promised He would raise up His temple!

And it is written in Ps. 22:30-31* that in the last days a "seed" would come and serve Him and declare His righteousness
in bringing forth the BRANCH. "Seed" means "offspring" as in "sons and daughters",
even the sons and daughters of God in this final generation of the Fig Tree who do serve Him,
who teach His Word and have come to build up His house, His temple,
NOT to build up their own houses!

Again, Joshua the high priest was a type, a shadowing forth,
of Messiah who is to be crowned as BOTH King and Priest!

He shall come to the "temple" He is building through His sons of oil
and the two candlesticks which are the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna.

*Comment on Ps. 22: Did you know that as Jesus Christ hung on the cross at Calvary He quoted,
as in taught, the entire 22nd Psalm which begins with
"My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
and ends with
"It is finished"

[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 peaceshall be between them both.
Jesus Christ shall be BOTH the Ruler and Priest, the King of kings and Lord of lords, when He returns.

That is why and how there shall be TRUE PEACE on earth,
because BOTH the civil and the ecclesiastical shall all be under one head,
even Jesus Christ,
who shall rule with His servants whom He has made kings and priests
to rule with Him throughout the Millennium!

Rev. 5:10 "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."

So as we Baby Boomers are used to hearing,
"Ready or not, here He comes!"

What a privilege our Father has given us in these last days to enable us to "lift up our eyes" in His Word
and "see" the eight visions of Zechariah which outline the purpose, the time frame,
the overall plan and the details of the work of God in this final generation
as He pours out His spirit through His two sons of oil, His two witnesses,
unto those two lighted candlesticks which are the two churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna
comprised of the sons and daughters spoken of by Peter in Acts chapter two.

Two things are for certain though:

1.) Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven is returning to Zion at the sound of the 7th Trump to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords of ALL the earth and to "establish it with judgment (divine law) and with justice".

2.) It is written that before we gather back to Christ there shall first come a false messiah to Zion at the sound of the 6th Trump, one "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thes. 2:4)."

In chapters seven and eight of Zechariah we learn how and why it is that our people shall fall away from the true Messiah,
which Paul calls "the great apostasy" in 2 Thes. 2,
and worship the false messiah when he comes at the sound of the 6th Trump.

Not only that, we shall see how the whole wide world shall "take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew"
and go up to Jerusalem in a great religious revival
and worship this abominable desolator of men's souls
who stands in the holy place claiming to be God.

These two chapters  of Zechariah, therefore, are very important to our understanding of the times in which we live today.

In fact, the hour glass has already been tipped and the last grains of sand are about to run out on this flesh age.

So as we Baby Boomers are used to hearing,
"Ready or not, here He comes!"

How does one forget or forsake God?

Christians do it by not studying His Written Word.

One cannot separate the Living Word from the Written Word.
You see, the way one gets to know Jesus Christ is through His Word because He is the Word of God.

That is why Christ will say to the many churchgoers who cry Lord, Lord
and try to cash in their tithes and do-gooder deeds along with their gold stars for faithfully teaching Sunday school, etc.,
all done in the name of Christ of course, to GET AWAY from me,
I never knew you!

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. [22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? [23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Deut. 32:19 And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
They roll the fertility goddess Ishtar's eggs during the high day of Christianity, the Passover,
and they accept liberalism instead of demanding truth and justice and accountability
and then people wonder why the LORD does not answer their prayers?

Go figure!

I mean think about it!

How many blessings do you pour out and how many requests do you fill for the things your children ask for
after they act totally irreverently and willfully disobey your every wish and command...
especially after you have warned and warned them and told them to shape up or ship out?

Well, Israel did NOT shape up after being warned by the prophets and
God did ship did them out just as He said He would!

[20] And He said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

And it is "befalling us"!
Wake up America!

In Zechariah we are told how priestly representatives of the people,
who were anxious concerning their religious worship services,
came to question God's prophets (Zech. 7:3)
as to whether or not they should continue the fasting and mourning for the destruction of the temple
(now that it was being rebuilt) as they have been doing these many years of their captivity.

That had to be really disappointing to our Father! Why?

Because they should have been less worried about church
and more concerned about the fact that His prophets warned them,
foretold them, of their captivity that would come
IF they continued to ignore and disobey His laws and statutes
(thereby following after other gods).

In other words,
IF they failed to execute His judgment (divine law) with justice
and compassion throughout the land, the "natural result" would be destruction and captivity.

To wit, there is nothing new under the sun!

Do you not think it is amazing that even after having witnessed His words of warning,
those same curses written on the "flying scroll",
come to pass exactly as they were written in the law
and exactly as they were spoken by the Holy Spirit through the mouths of His prophets,
that they were still not repentant nor desirous to seek Him and follow His ways?

Well, unfortunately it is not amazing at all.

In fact, it is very characteristic of the "sottishness" (Jer. 4:22) of our people even to this day.

You see, though they claim to love the Lord,
most Christians do not really know Jesus Christ, the Word of God,
because they do not study His Word!

Therefore in their ignorance they have none understanding of the difference between the holy and the profane,
nor the wisdom to "discern between the unclean and the clean"!

Jeremiah 4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish [means "stupid"] children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
To do good is to trust in God and follow His ways, His Word,
which is truth and justice, NO MATTER WHAT!

Yes, we need to stick to and follow our national motto, "In God We Trust"!

To do evil is to allow liberalism to creep in and gnaw away like locusts at the fabric of truth and justice
and all that is righteousness!

And never forget that all those things that happened to our forefathers
happened unto them as ensamples for our benefit, i.e.
for the benefit of this generation upon whom the ends of the world are come
that we may "see" and "understand" what shall befall us!

And it is "befalling us"! Wake up!

1 Cor. 10:11-12 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
It is true that History repeats itself,
which is another way of saying that History is prophecy!

So if you think you are in good standing with the Lord because of your "churchianity"
and yet you do not know the lessons of the "things that happened" unto our forefathers
and have "taken heed" yourself
, then you are in for a fall... a great fall... even the great falling away of the majority in 2 Thes. 2:3
when that man of sin, the lawless one, the little horn, the son of perdition,
comes standing in the holy place claiming to be God!

[12] Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Here then is something else to consider!

Not only has our gracious and loving Father given us His Word
with His clear instructions along with numerous and explicit ensamples of "cause and effect"
written for our understanding,
but He has further given us TYPES and ensamples in these last days (even of the 6th and 7th Trumps)!

Have we not been given to "SEE" almost a decade of leadership by a charming and charismatic "lawless one",
a "rock & roll" "little horn" player from "little tyre ("rock" in Hebrew)",
who entered in during times of peace and prosperity and profaned the highest office of our land,
perverted justice, scorned truth, despised the rule of law, dealt "treacherously" with foreign governments,
as in "sold out" and accepted bribes, debased women and committed fornication with the "harlot"?

Question: How is it possible for one who has "stooped (fallen) so low"
to receive a 66% job approval rating in a nation where more than 90+% of the population professes to be Christian?

Yes, "sottish" is an appropriate word and now we have been given a 9-11 wake-up call,
even a witness to the ways the prophets warned our ancestors not to follow,
the ways which brought forth terror and the destruction of the temple
which they now religiously mourned!

Should they continue with their fasting and mourning?

What for?

If you stay in your Father's Word and follow Christ like He said,
then there will be no cause for fasting and mourning, only feasting!

Now you know how to "wipe away all tears"!

Wake up America!

What is it our Father would have us do?

They (liberals) are "fakes" (hypocrites)
and their "ways" are "fakes" (lies)!

It is the same old story from the beginning.

It is the lesson to be learned by God's people which is simply this:
When our people let down their guard from holding fast to the Word of God
and begin to listen to liberalism and allow it to bear fruit,
we can expect desolation and death to follow.

Ask Adam and Eve who had it made in the garden of God.

Ask our forefathers who "waxed fat" in the land of milk and honey
and because of their prosperity began to slowly but surely be drawn away from God's commands, His Word,
and follow after other gods.

In other words, they began to listen to the proud and arrogant,
those who elevate themselves in their own minds to become as "little gods" (known as liberals)
who think that they, apart from the Word of God,
can best determine how to run other people's lives!

Wake up America!
It's not true!
It's a lie!
It's a fake!

They (liberals) are "fakes" (hypocrites) and their "ways" are "fakes" (lies)!

Are you going to allow Satan to continue to draw you away from the truth of God's Word
through his "enlightenment"?

Do you want peace and happiness or do want anxiety followed by desolation and death?

Go ahead and eat and digest that bad fruit
and soon you can become as one of them,
thinking you too know much better how to determine good and evil
and right and wrong than your heavenly Father.

Hey sottish one!
It is garbage in... garbage out! You are what you eat!

Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Yes, you too can become a god,
with a little "g", just like the "fire breathing dragon" himself.

Only today we call little gods "flaming liberals".

Christians who know their Father's Word,
thereby having on the Gospel Armor of truth,
do fearlessly stand against their "fiery darts" (Eph. 6)!

Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and take the "little book"
and eat ye all of it (Ezek. 2:9 - 3:3).
Here is a "word to the wise" in these last days!

Let's be about the task for which we have been called and chosen and finish the work!

God wants us to EXECUTE JUDGMENT,
His Divine Law!
Remember,

He is not interested in our church services
and our songs of praise and worship if we are disobedient to His Word.

These are strong words and we are not trying to offend those who go to church
nor judge nor condemn those who do.

Going to church is fine but it should be a place
where one hears the Word of God taught chapter by chapter and verse by verse.

Perhaps it is worth repeating "His Words" through His servant Amos
to those "church goers" (those who seek Bethel, the "house of God")
but who do not "seek the Lord God" through His Word, i.e.
do not study and rightly divide His Word.

Here is what He  states to the "House of Israel",
of which America is the leading nation today:

Amos 5:4 For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
Did you know you do not have to actually "go anywhere" to Seek the Word of the LORD.
Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and take the "little book"
and eat ye all of it (Ezek. 2:9 - 3:3).

Or... you can run around all over the place like a foolish virgin,
like a chick with her head cut off, and still not find the Word of the LORD.

You already have it!

Take it and "Eat it"!

Amos 8:12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
Do not seek Bethel!

If you truly seek Him,
He is in the "volume of the Book" (Heb. 10:7)!
Seek Him there!

Amos 5:5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beer-sheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
You must seek Him!

That is the ONLY way!

Again, you can go to church (Bethel) regularly for years and years
and more years (and I'm not knocking churches or going to church)
and yet still be slaughtered with the majority in the spiritual warfare of these last days.

You can set up altars all day and all night, such as at Gilgal,
and you can make covenants all the way to Beer-sheba,
but unless in these latter days you seek the LORD thy God through His Word, not man's,
with all your heart and all your soul,
your little old church isn't going to do you a bit of good on that Day!

The sad part is that the life giving instructions to Seek Him and obey His Voice,
not man's,
was given to our people and recorded in His Word long, long ago!

What is it that Satan deceives the whole world into believing?

The king of Babylon, as the antichrist,
is soon coming to Jerusalem to take the world captive in a religious revival
such as the world has never seen!

The "spiritual desolation" brought about by this "abominable desolator"
spoken of by Daniel the prophet will be tremendous indeed!

It is written that he shall come and deceive the whole world into believing he is God,
the event which will cause the great apostasy,
the great falling away from the true Messiah to the fake that Paul talks about in 2 Thes. 2!

Yes, the clock is ticking upon the final generation of the fig tree
which began on May 14, 1948, and sooner than one might think,
Satan as antichrist along with his angelic host will soon be cast out of heaven to this earth.

Woe!

Rev. 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And how does he deceive the whole world?
Rev. 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
So get ready freddy and open your understanding to these last four verses of Zech. 8.

Yes,
there will be a time of restoration and rejoicing
when the King of kings and Lord of lords returns to this earth,
but not before Satan and the 10 kings who receive their power one hour with the beast (Rev. 17:12),
do lead all the world to worship the false Messiah standing in the holy place (Mat. 24:15) where he ought not!

Zech. 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:
It shall yet come to pass in this generation
when people from many cities from around the world,
peoples of all kindreds and nations and tongues as verses 22-23 document,
go to Jerusalem to seek the one who is there.

Who will they find there?

Do you know?

[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.
Will you go also?
Again, what this is referring to is that there is going to be a worldwide religious revival!
The whole world will believe that the one standing in Jerusalem is the LORD of hosts.

Again, is it not written,
did we not just read,
that antichrist shall come and stand in the holy place and deceive the whole world?

What is it that he deceives the whole world into believing?

Answer:
That he is God, the God of all people and nations and languages, i.e. the Messiah, Allah, etc.!

The apostle Paul documents this for us very clearly in 2 Thes. 2:

2 Thes. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
The "day that shall not come" is the day of our gathering back to Jesus Christ
which does not happen until the 7th Trump.

Paul is telling us that BEFORE THAT DAY of our gathering back to Him,
the son of perdition,
that man of sin,
the false messiah,
will come at the sound of the 6th Trump
and deceive the whole world into believing that he is God, i.e. Jesus Christ.

[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Therefore the whole world will seek after him.
Zech. 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
Many people and strong nations, i.e. the whole world joined together as one,
shall come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of hosts.

Only one problem... the one whom they seek to worship shall be antichrist, the fake Christ.

[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.
Who are these 10 men?
This should give you a major clue as to what is being talked about here.

These ten men are the ten kings of the one world political system (Dan. 7:24, Rev.17:12)
who come to power one hour with the beast.

We see these men taking hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew,
or at least claims to be a Jew (Rev. 2:9, 3:9),
and saying
"We will go with you: for we have "heard" that God is with you!"

Let me tell you something... when the King of kings and Lord of lords returns to this earth,
there won't be any rumours or "hearing" that Jesus Christ is in Jerusalem
for every eye shall see Him and every knee shall instantly bow before Him.

Paul taught us in 1 Cor. 15:52 that when Jesus Christ returns at the sound of the 7th Trump,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed into our spiritual bodies.

Until then,
do not listen to rumours or be deceived by "miracle workers"!

Listen to your Father's Word and "take heed" to the words of Jesus Christ
concerning the "rumour", the "hearing", that Jesus Christ has returned.

Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
This is STRONG deception,
the strong delusion Paul talks about 2 Thes. 2:11"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." What lie? That the LORD is in Jerusalem, let's go!

The Greek word (Strong's # 5580) for "false Christs" is the singular word "pseudochristos"
which means "a spurious Messiah: - false Christ".

Again, he comes before the true Messiah returns and deceives the whole world.

Let no man deceive you! Christ warned you of the great deception to come!

[25] Behold, I have told you before.
[26] Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
So when they say,
"Let us go down to Jerusalem and worship God",
DON'T GO, PAL!

Don't believe that big lie (2 Thes. 2:11)!


The most dangerous doctrine taught by the majority of Christian churches.

Perhaps the most dangerous doctrine taught by the majority of Christian churches in this final generation
is the "theory" known as the any-moment "rapture" of the church.

At first it seems amazing that such a popular and widely espoused doctrine cannot be documented in the scriptures,
but then it begins to make perfect sense when we consider it is written in Rev. 12:9
that when Satan (antichrist) is cast out of heaven to this earth,
he comes and deceives the whole world, including the majority of Christianity (2 Thes. 2:3),
into believing that he is God.

So if the majority of Christians,
because of their lack of knowledge of His Word,
will believe the big lie (2 Thes. 2:11), i.e.
that the abominable one who comes standing in Jerusalem is Jesus Christ,
it therefore should come as no surprise that they believe a big lie now,
especially one that "sets them up" for the great fall!

Paul even calls their bowing to the wicked one who shall come with all power and signs and lying wonders,
the great "falling away" (apostasy) in 2 Thes. 2:3.

The fact is folks,
you can go to your local library and document in church history
that the theory of the any-moment rapture of the church
was conceived in the troubled mind of a woman named Margaret MacDonald in the year 1830 in Glasgow, Scotland.

She had a "vision" on her bed in which see saw Jesus Christ return
and "take up" His church "in the clouds".

It is now widely taught that this is the manner in which Christians will escape the "great tribulation" of antichrist.

Let us briefly consider two elements concerning this teaching
that has so many of our brothers and sisters "set-up"
to accept the first supernatural "Good Guy" to come from heaven.

First of all, the theory supposes that in order to "qualify"
to be among those "taken up" one must be "born again" or "saved",
meaning that he or she is in great "spiritual" shape
having obtained the promise of eternal life through believing in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, if one's soul is already "saved"
the only thing the rapture can do is spare or "save" the flesh body
from a little pain or suffering or death.

Of course those who are spiritually strong in the Word of God
do not focus on the flesh nor the things of the flesh.

To that end, Christ even said NOT to fear those (like antichrist)
who can kill your flesh (you're going to shed it anyway someday, right?)
but rather fear Him who can destroy both your body AND soul, which is your heavenly Father!

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Nevertheless, the biggest problem with the any moment "rapture theory"
is that it is based on a totally erroneous foundation which presupposes
that the "great tribulation" of antichrist is going to be a "fleshly" battle,
filled with violence and physical pain and death,
when nothing could be further from the truth!

The great tribulation of antichrist is a "spiritual" battle
(not of flesh and blood - Eph. 6:12)
which is why the apostle Paul instructed us
to put on the whole "Gospel Armor" (Eph. 6)
and be ready to TAKE a STAND, as in to FIGHT, against the "fiery darts" of the Wicked One.

In fact, the great tribulation of antichrist is the most intense spiritual battle ever to befall flesh mankind.

How so?

Because it will actually be a "religious revival"...
a battle for the very souls of men and women
who shall face the "supernatural" to see who it is they will worship and follow.

"What is this old world coming to?"

When you look around today and witness the earthshaking events taking place in divers places,
both here at home and abroad,
you might stop and say to yourself,

"What is this old world coming to?"

And the answer would be,
"It is coming to the exact point Jesus Christ and all the prophets foretold us of!"
It is coming to the point we read of in our last study of Zechariah in chapter nine
where soon there shall appear a "bastard", a "mongrel", a "half-breed",
an "abominable one who maketh desolate",
who shall dwell (sit) in the holy place and claim to be God!

Worse yet,
it is written that the whole world,
the "people of all languages and nations" (Zech. 8:23)
will believe he is who he says he is, i.e. the true Messiah,
and will say,
"Let us go speedily (to Jerusalem) and pray before the LORD (Zech. 8:21)".

It is also written in 2 Thes. 2 and Rev. 13 that this one (Satan as Antichrist)
who is cast out of heaven along with his angels to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9)
shall show forth wondrous "credentials" in support of his false claim of divinity
by performing great signs and lying wonders in the sight of men,
even "making fire (lightning) come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men (Rev. 13:13)."

Wow!
What a show this supernatural vile person who enters in peaceably (Dan. 11:21)
and prosperously will put on for all the world to see!

Do not be deceived by appearances dear Christian!

Jesus Christ does NOT return to this earth with a "Magic Wand"
to pull rabbits out of hats in the sight of men,
but rather to MAKE WAR with the "Sharp Sword"
which proceeds out of His mouth (i.e. His Word, Rev. 1:16).

As it is written,
with His sharp sword He shall "smite the nations"
and with His overpowering "Rod of Iron"

He shall EXECUTE JUSTICE in all the earth
and establish His righteous kingdom upon Mount Zion,
an everlasting kingdom which shall spread forth throughout the whole earth!

Rev. 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

Do you believe God and His Word, or not?

To this point ALL things have come to pass exactly as they are written in His Word
leaving little to no doubt that the rest shall follow suit!

That alone should increase your faith and trust in Him
knowing with surety that when Almighty God makes a covenant and a promise,
He keeps His Word!

For example,
the lowly manner in which Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem at His first advent
happened exactly as it is written right here in the Book of Zechariah,
in the very next verse of our study:



FIRST ADVENT
Zech. 9:9 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.
This was the first advent when Christ came as Savior,
to pay the price on the cross for the sins of any and all who will turn to Him.
Matthew 21:5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem by His enemies.
Now He sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father
awaiting the appointed time to return unto Jerusalem.

But I assure you He will not enter Jerusalem this time "lowly" riding upon an ass!
He shall come with ALL POWER and AUTHORITY riding upon a white horse
followed by His army of saints. Let's hear John give the description:

Rev. 19:11-16 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. [12] His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. [13] And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. [14] And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. [16] And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
He is JUST and He shall return to Jerusalem as King of kings and Lord of lords
to destroy Israel's enemies and establish His kingdom, His dominion.


SECOND ADVENT
Zech. 9:10 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 river even to the ends of the earth.
When Jesus Christ returns
He shall speak peace unto the heathen all right... with power and authority!
Isaiah 2:4 And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
He shall not only destroy His enemies at His coming and subdue all nations,
but in doing so He shall also fulfill His promise,
His "covenant of blood" (Ex. 24:5-8),
which is His promise to DELIVER His people "out of the pit wherein there is no water".
Zech. 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
The water spoken of is the "living water", the water of life,
of which there is NONE in the pit.

You see,
wherever Satan dwells there is nothing but dry desert
where famine (for the true bread of life)
and dearth (for the living water of life)
turn every living thing into spiritually dead dry bones!

Most Christians have never heard these "words of the LORD"
concerning the famine of the last days and now you know why!

One of the prophetic signs Jesus Christ gave His disciples
concerning the final generation of the fig tree
was that there would be famine in the land (see Mat. 24:7, Mark 13:8)!

However, Christ did not elaborate on nor give the details as to what that famine would be,
so most people,
including most ministers and pastors,
just assume He meant there would be a famine for food!

Unfortunately they do err not knowing the scriptures
because the Lord GOD Himself plainly states in the Book of Amos,
written there openly for any and all to read and clearly understand, exactly what the great famine of the last days is:

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
Stop and think about this a minute.

These are not the words of Amos but rather the words of the Lord GOD,
as in "saith the Lord GOD"!

Yet most Christians have never heard these "words of the LORD"
concerning the famine of the last days and now you know why!

It is precisely because of the famine itself!

You see, most preachers and pastors in this nation
do NOT teach His Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse,
so our people are spiritually starving to death!

The preachers and pastors are therefore part of the PROBLEM, aren't they?
And we are going to discover in today's study that our Father is not too happy with them! WOE!

[12] And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
One can find lots and lots of churches scattered from sea to shining sea,
but the insides of most of those churches are void and empty (Beth-avens, houses of emptiness)
because all that is taught there are the empty traditions of men.

To wit, Jesus Christ expects much more from His disciples than to wander about aimlessly,
as evidenced by the fact of what else He said in Mark 13, in vs. 23,
"But take ye heed: behold,
I have foretold you all things."

You want answers to your questions?

Then go directly to Jesus Christ, to the Word of God,
and seek Him and ask Him.
That is where the answers are to be found!
Let Him tell you "all things" and then you shall know the truth
and the truth will set you free,
free from anxiety and worry and confusion and free from the bondage of the traditions of men.

Don't you go to the wrong wedding friend!

Zech. 10:1 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

You must ASK and seek the LORD in these last days,
in this time of the latter rain,
for it is He alone who can provide the blessed latter day rain
and make the clouds bright with lightning to give His children showers of rain, i.e.
to rain down His Truth upon them...meaning upon YOU!

Note: One should be somewhat familiar with agriculture
and the growing of crops in order to fully understand the analogy God is making using "the latter rain".

There is the former rain or the early rain which commenced in autumn,
mostly during the months of September and October
while the latter rain fell in the spring of the year during the months of March and April.

While occasional showers fell all the winter,
the showers at the autumnal and vernal seasons were more frequent and more important.

The early rain was necessary after a hot and protracted summer to prepare the soil for receiving the seed,
but the latter rain which fell just before the time of harvest
was of the greatest importance in producing a fruitful and bountiful crop!

Deut. 11:14 "That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil."

The season of this final generation is now drawing to a close
as we are in the time of the latter rain,
the time just before the harvest when Jesus Christ returns to thrust in the sickle and reap (Rev. 14:15).

But remember!

There is yet one to come first (i.e. anti-christ, the instead-of-Jesus),
before the true Christ returns,
who shall do much harvesting of his own... out of season!

Jesus Christ cautioned us to take heed and pray that our flight be not in winter (Mat. 24:18), i.e.
that we are not harvested out of season,
and that we are not the first woman taken in the field (Mat. 24:40)
who is taken by the false husband, antichrist, not the true bridegroom!

Of course,
if you listen to the majority of the so-called shepherds of our people
they tell you to hope and pray you ARE the first one taken in the field.

Don't you go to the wrong wedding friend!

The first wedding will be to the wrong Jesus, the false messiah!


Do you know what taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain means?

 ASK the LORD, and seek the truth from His Word,
not from empty (of His Words) wind bags, dreamers of "fly-away" theories,
and those who take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Do you know what taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain means?

It means to claim you represent Christ, i.e. come in His name
as a Christian preacher, teacher, priest, etc., and teach vanity to His people,
the empty traditions of men, church this and church that, instead of teaching God's Word
chapter by chapter whereby His sheep are fed the true bread of life!

If you are a shepherd who follows traditions of men,
then you better pay close attention to what your Father has to say in these next few verses!

Zech. 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
The Hebrew word translated "idols" is "teraphiym" which is a family idol, even idolatry,
and idols cannot make lightning or rain to fall or cause anything in the field to grow!

Go ahead and "ask them" instead of the LORD!
Or go ahead and listen to these diviners who claim God speaks to them
and tells them someone out there in TV land has real bad arthritis in his or her hands
and God is healing them right now!

Have you ever ASKED the LORD concerning this matter of their claim?

Ezekiel 13:3 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
They follow their own spirit, their own mind.
Ezekiel 13:7 Have ye not seen a vain vision, and have ye not spoken a lying divination, whereas ye say, The LORD saith it; albeit I have not spoken?
God says concerning these vain (empty) visions that they are speaking LIES!

They claim the LORD said it,
but the LORD says He didn't speak to them.

Now just who are you going to believe?

 They need to know from the Word of God that they are in big trouble
lest they cease from taking the Lord GOD's name (Jesus Christ) in vain,
to speak vanity (emptiness, nonsense) to His children while they starve them to death.

[8] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord GOD.
Let us repeat Zech. 10:2 for this verse says so much.
Zech. 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
We already covered in our previous studies the biggest "false dream"
told by the false shepherds to our people,
and that is the one Margaret MacDonald envisioned of the any-moment pre-trib
"Rapture of the Church"!

That false dreamed-up doctrine gives a vain sense of hope and security
to many of our brothers and sisters,
even to the point many are told they do not need to study the Book of Revelation
because they will not be here when all those events take place!

That is just not scriptural!

It is a bunch of "hot air" which is pretty much what "comfort in vain" means,
though it literally means "give vapor for comfort"!


Cimmerians, Celts, Normans, Danes,
Saxons (Saac's sons, i.e. Isaac's sons), etc.

Please note that the main point of in Zech. 10:2 is the scattering of our people
in these end times
because "there was no shepherd"!

Where are the true shepherds who lead their flocks to the rich green pastures of His Word?

Our people are so "lost" because their pastors have let them starve
that they do not even know that many of them are true descendents of Jacob,
children of the true House of Israel.

Those 10 northern tribes went north over the Caucasus Mountains following their captivity
and migrated by way of greater Scythia and became know as Cimmerians, Celts,
Normans, Danes, Saxons (Saac's sons, i.e. Isaac's sons), etc.

They settled in western Europe, the British Isles and later emigrated to the America's.

Which shepherd are you going to listen to and follow...
the real Shepherd, Jesus Christ,
or the false shepherd, Antichrist?

There is nothing new under the sun
and it all boils down to one thing in this final generation,
as it always has from the very beginning,
even from the first earth age.

Which shepherd are you going to listen to and follow... the real Shepherd,
Jesus Christ, or the false shepherd, Antichrist?

That is correct!
There are two Jesus Christs,
two shepherds, the real and the fake,
and the one you follow is the one you believe in for actions speak louder than words!

You can say the "words" to your husband (or wife)
"I love you"
but after awhile if you never DO anything he likes and worse yet you do everything he abhors,
like commit adultery (the analogy being idolatry),
then what do your words mean?

They mean NOTHING... for they are empty words made void by your actions, your works!

You see, there is only ONE TRUE SHEPHERD
who speaks NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
and that is Jesus Christ who IS the Word of God!

Oh, you can listen to men,
call them under-shepherds if you like,
but if you do not document for yourself what they teach then you are in grave danger of being led astray!

In fact, if you do not study the Word of God,
rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15),
whereby you are you able to try the spirits (1 Jn. 4:1), i.e.
test the doctrines to see whether or not they are of God (as in contained in His Word),
then you will certainly, not maybe, be taken captive by the coming king of Babylon (antichrist)
and be led astray into his land,
the land of Babylon (which means confusion,
even confusion as to who the true shepherd is.)

Always remember that the very first thing Jesus Christ warned us about in Mat. 24 and Mark 13
concerning this final generation,
is to "beware of false prophets" who come in His name , i.e.
claiming to represent Him as His Christian ministers and leaders,
because they shall deceive the multitudes with their unscriptural spirits of iniquity
and cause a "great falling away" by "setting-up" our people with their traditions
and visions of men to accept the false messiah as the true shepherd when he comes.

And so it is written, and so it shall be!

However, it is also written that our loving Father is going to bring His children back to Him
by destroying His enemies when He returns as King of kings and Lord of lords.
At that time He shall "give a whistle" and gather His children to Him
and release them from their captors.

We also know that those who come to Him now,
who come to the Word of God now,
before the great harvest,
and ask of Him for the precious "latter day rain" (Zech. 10:1) to fall upon them, i.e.
for Him to reveal the truth of His Word to them,
they shall not fall down as trees hewn to the ground nor shall they bow before the false shepherd,
the false messiah, when he comes to this earth claiming to be God.

The reason this is so important to understand is
because there is a time of judgment coming soon upon the land
when God will send a great false shepherd (the king of Babylon)
who shall bring down the cedars of Lebanon and all the trees in the land,
just as he did in the first earth age!

You can read and understand all about it by reading Ezekiel chapter 31
where the holy spirit uses the simple analogy of trees,
which are used throughout God's Word as symbols of men (people),
to explain how the Assyrian, the "te'ashur" in Hebrew which means a plain box-cedar,
exalted himself to be like the most high.

That would-be-tall tree, Satan,
shall return to the forest (wilderness) once again in this final generation
and once again he shall exalt himself as the most high,
even claiming to be the most high.

We can read about this "lowly tree",
this false shepherd who comes and exalts himself as the Great Shepherd,
in the 11th chapter of Zechariah.

Remember that the name "Zechariah" means "Remembered of Yahveh".

Thank God He remembers us and our people and that His Word is True,
for we as a people have surely not remembered Him
in that it is becoming increasingly evident day by day that we have strayed from His Word.

"His Arm Shall Be Dried Up"

Zech. 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.

The great foolish shepherd himself has already been sentenced to perish in the lake of fire,
which is why he is called the "son of perdition", i.e. the "son who will perish".

One's "arm" is symbolic of his work and the phrase
"his arm shall be dried up"
simply means that he shall do no more evil works but shall remain in the darkness of the pit.

But let this verse also be a warning to the "idol shepherds" of our people.

idol = 'eliyl, el-eel', Hebrew 457; apparently from Hebrew 408 ('al); good for nothing, by analogy vain or vanity; specifically an idol :- idol, no value, thing of nought.
An "idol" shepherd is one who takes the name of the Lord in vain,
as in claims to be one of His representatives but who speaks not with His Voice,
from the mouth of His Word in the manner of "Thus saith the Lord God,
but rather teaches for doctrine the vain tradition and commandments of men
thereby making void the Word of God.
Matthew 24:4-5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

[5]For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And so it is today that many are deceived.

Take heed!

There is a time coming,
a day, when many people shall "wake up"
to the realization that a great apostasy has taken place
and that all the while they have been worshipping the one sitting in the temple (claiming to be God),
they have actually been serving and worshipping the false messiah, even Satan, as God.

Oh, the shame of it all and the mourning that shall take place in the land on that day
when many suddenly realize that they have committed adultery... that they are spiritual whores!

That day which we speak of is the day Jesus Christ returns!
That day is spoken of in this 12th chapter of Zechariah, whose prophecies,
cover a 7 year period, even the last 7 year period of this flesh age.

We know that there is one coming in this final generation who shall appear as God,
as a great shepherd, even as the Messiah,
and shall deceive the whole world into believing his flood of lies!

We read that this false shepherd shall appear in Jerusalem,
standing in the holy place, sitting in the temple,
and that the people of all nations shall go to Jerusalem and bow before his image, i.e.
his image that he is God.

What an abomination!

However, it is written that the false messiah
and his One World Political/Social/Economic System shall be destroyed
by the coming of the King of kings and His saints when they "take over" the governments
and the governing of all the earth!

Yes, the King of kings, the one spoken of in Isaiah 9:6,
shall have the government upon His shoulders,
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)."

Yes, Jesus Christ shall come at the sound of the 7th Trump
and establish His kingdom upon Mount Zion
and it shall be an everlasting kingdom and it shall never be moved!

Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
What a great day that will be for God's people who love and serve Him. What an awful day that will be for those who do not!

Christ is not returning as a Lamb to be slain
but as THE King of kings and Lord of lords
and every knee shall bow to His authority, i.e. to the name of Jesus Christ!

Zech. 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

Our Father's perfect plan of salvation is not a "shoot from the hip" plan
without order and priorities nor a plan without set times.

To wit, God is not the author of confusion and what we are told
in this verse is that there is an order to the salvation and restoration of His people.

He is going to save those who are "scattered" first before that glorious city of Jerusalem.

So the question is: Are you one who is destined to rule and reign with the house of David, i.e.
reign with Him as part of that "kingship line?"

How strong are you and from whence does your strength come?
Have you been wise to build your house upon the Rock (Mat. 7:24)?
Have you "eaten the whole roll", i.e. the Word of God,
and become strong in Him (Ezekiel 3:1-9)?

The bottom line is,
"Do you trust and rely on the Lord your God and in the power of His Word?"

He is able!

Do not be the first woman taken in the field,
one who is spiritually seduced by antichrist,
the false messiah,
even as that old serpent from the garden wholly seduced mother Eve.

Be a wise virgin and fill your lamp with oil (His truth, His Word)
and wait patiently upon the Lord!

Listen to the admonition of the apostle Paul:

2 Cor. 11:2
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

[3] But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Don't be had!
Stay in your Father's Word and trust in Him!

To "speak lies" in the name of the LORD is to take His name in vain.

Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Our Rock is the Living Water,
even as that Stone of Scone was struck by Moses
and the water poured forth for our people who wandered in the dry wilderness!

Yes, the fountain of Living Water shall be permanently opened to rid the land,
our nation, of her two evil sins, "Idolatry" and "Unclean Spirits", i.e.
"False prophecy (teachings) put forth by false prophets"!

Jesus Christ is returning and in that day He shall rid the land of BOTH!

Zech. 13:2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
Obviously this has not yet come to pass
which further documents that this is speaking of the last day!

Also, to "cut off" means to destroy or consume!

Remember we documented in a prior study from Ezek. 44:23 that the Zadok,
the just ones, God's elect,
"shall teach my (His) people the difference between the holy and profane,
and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean."

Idolatry and false teaching simply will not be permitted to flourish
and any such attempt to teach false doctrine shall be handled with the rod of iron,
according to His Word.

[3] And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
To "speak lies" in the name of the LORD is to take His name in vain.

To wit, many preachers, even those with good intentions who themselves are deceived,
speak lies (false precepts and doctrines) in the name of the Lord for again,
they teach the traditions of men which make void the Word of God.

The shame of it is that our people are NOT taught how to truly love
and please their Father for it is written that all they know about how to love Him
is from those vain (empty) traditions they are taught,
some of which have them jumping, or swinging, or gobbling like turkeys,
or just making donation after donation to this wonderful cause or that.

As the true prophet and teacher of His Word says,
"It is all just a bunch of lip service!"

Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear (meaning to revere) toward me is taught by the precept of men:
In other words,
many Christians go to church and do religious things
and sing songs of praise and worship but their "hearts",
their minds, do not align with their Father's, with His Word!

One cannot be filled with His spirit, His Word,
if his or her mind (heart) is filled with the vain teachings and visions of men and or women.

Please do not misunderstand, I am not "knocking" going to church or singing songs.

It is just an irrefutable fact that the vast majority
of our Christian brothers and sisters and loved ones are not taught (fed)
the Word of God chapter by chapter and line by line!

Show your brothers and sisters where the stream of Living Water is NOW,
where the green pastures are NOW,
and stop playing church!

TEST their FRUITS, i.e. what they "FEED YOU"!

Do you not think seducing God's children and drawing them away from His Word is a serious offence?

That is precisely why we are down here walking under the sun, dwelling in the flesh.

You see, it is written that Satan drew away 1/3 of the stars of heaven (Rev. 12:4)
to follow after him and his idolatrous ways.

Therefore, God sentenced Satan, His son, to die (Ezek. 28:18),
to be turned to ashes from within and perish in the lake of fire at the end of the Millennium.

Hence he is called the "son who will perish"... the son of perdition!

The point is, do not listen (i.e. take heed) to false preachers and false teachers of His Word,
even if they are a spouse or relatives or close friends,
or any other "tree" who entices you with bad fruit that is not found in the Word of God.

ALWAYS test the fruit (1 Jn. 4:1) and then stick to God's Word,
so obtaining your fruit directly from Him, the everlasting living Tree of Life.

That way you will not produce "bad fruit" yourself by sharing that junk with others,
like Eve did with her own husband!

Again, why is this so important?

Read it for yourself in Matthew 7:19
"Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire."

So always stay in God's Word and eat fruit from the Tree of Life
that you yourself might bear good fruit!

Did you know that God even likens Himself to a fir,
an ever (eternal) green (living) tree, in Hosea 14:8:
"Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?
I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree.
From me is thy fruit found."

You see, it is written... even in the next verse... that those preachers,
those nice friendly false shepherds who lead their flocks to follow the traditions of men
and so set them up for the fall,
the great falling away, i.e. the great apostasy when they bow to antichrist
when he appears at the sound of the 6th Trump believing the lie that he is God,
are going to be sorely ashamed of what they have taught in that day
when the true Messiah appears at the sound of the 7th Trump.

Then too, during the Millennium, Jesus Christ and His Zadok
are not going to put up with false preachers!

There will be No More "playing church" and putting on religious garb
to look like a man or woman of God
and then teach people to roll Ishtar's eggs
or sooth them with visions of "flying away"
in some rapture when antichrist comes!

That's "Bad Fruit", pal!
It does not hold to the test of His Word
and if you give it to others you are bearing bad fruit
and doing the work of another god... even the great false shepherd!

Here, read what the false prophets of today will be doing during the Millennium, i.e. in that day!

Zech. 13:4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
This is not to say that it is a sin to wear a garment of a prophet (teacher),
for Elijah wore skins with a girdle of leather about his loins as did John the Baptist (Mat. 3:4).

But one can simply NOT identify a true teacher of God's Word by outward clothing!

TEST their FRUITS, i.e. what they "FEED YOU"!

Let's document it from Christ's own words:

Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
How do you tell if your good friendly preacher is a good shepherd or not?
Test his or her fruits, what he or she teaches...
not his or her outward appearance!

Of course none of them look or seem like wolves!

[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

The majority of Christians shall be deceived by antichrist.


Zech. 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

[9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

The majority of Christians shall be deceived by antichrist.

They will be the first women (virgins) taken in the field!
They will stumble and fall because they will believe he is their rock, Jesus Christ!

Why?
Because even now they stumble at His Word.
They simply do not know the Word of God
for the false shepherds have forsaken the living fountain of water and have spoken "lies" in the name of Christ.

Hopefully not too many of our people will be so inclined to listen to false prophets
during the Millennium.

As for the elect, the remnant of His people,
they shall come through the fire (as did Shadrach and company)
and be purified and made white! No,
they won't fly away in some rapture to escape the tribulation.

And you know what?
Neither will they forsake Him this time but they shall "take a stand against the fiery darts (Eph. 6)"
and they shall stand firm and unshakable upon the immovable rock*.

It is written! Will you be among them?
I pray that you are!

How beautiful and how perfect is the Plan of God for this generation!

We just thank our Father for His Word,
that Living Fountain that shall soon be opened and flow as a river forevermore!

When Jesus Christ was wounded and hung on the cross,
the last thing He did before He gave up His life was to redeem His people.

John 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, "I thirst".
This is so incredible that it is a shame our teachers and ministers
do not teach the full story of the miracle on the cross to our people,
the reason for the wounds in His palms.

They continue to see only human flesh
and so teach that He was merely thinking of Himself,
His physical pain,
when He said "I thirst".

But I assure you He was NOT!
He was thinking of the reason He came to dwell in the flesh,
which was to pay the price as the sacrificial Passover Lamb and redeem the lost sinners.

Yes, He was as ALWAYS unselfishly thinking of the children,
which includes you and me!

You see, the Roman soldiers have finished casting lots for His coat (Ps. 22)
and Jesus now knew that all of the scriptures pertaining to others have now been accomplished,
exactly as they are written.

So the time has finally come for the scriptures of the 69th Psalm
to be fulfilled concerning the "Redeemer",
for having now made provision for the woman,
the time has now come to "redeem" her.

So just as Jesus quoted and taught the 22nd Psalm beginning with verse 1,
"My God, My God, why has Thou forsaken Me.",

He now quotes and teaches from the 69th Psalm,
the "Psalm of Israel's Redemption",
saying "I thirst" (Ps. 69:1, 21).

You should now pause and turn to the 69th Psalm
and read it in its entirety.

When you read the final verses of Praise (Ps. 69:30-36) you will find
that just like Psalms 22 it ends with a prophecy concerning the "seed",
who after having "served Him" in this final generation (Ps. 22) by declaring His Word,
they shall inherit the glorious City of God (Ps. 69):

Psalm 22:30-31 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

[31] They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Psalm 69:34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

[35] For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

[36] The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love His name shall dwell therein.

Yes, in His final moments just before He died Jesus was telling us
that the "scripture must be fulfilled", of Psalms 69, when He said, "I thirst"!

Read again John 19:28
"After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished,
that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, "I thirst".

It clearly says He said, "I thirst",
in order to fulfill the scripture,
the Word of God, NOT because He was thirsty!

Do you see?

I hope you do, for it is so beautiful and perfect, as He is!

John 19:29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
And so Psalm 69:21 is fulfilled, letting you know that the Redeemer is indeed Jesus Christ:
Psalm 69:21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

And finally:

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished": and He bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
The final words from the lips of Yeshua Messiah are the final words from the 22nd Psalm,
which is Hebrew translates to "It is finished".

Notice also that the Savior, our Redeemer, did NOT die
and then His head dropped forward.

That is because no man could take His life so...

... He willingly.... and unselfishly.... and lovingly.... "bowed His head".... and laid down His life for you and me.

However, the multitudes, the main streamers,
always went their way saying things like
"Wasn't that a nice sermon today?"

The last chapter of Zechariah (Remembered of Yah)
brings us to the last day of this flesh age
and the dawning of a new day,
a day known as the day of the LORD.

And what a tremendous view of the events of that day
our Father gives us in this 14th chapter.

The message is clear and simple because the symbolic imagery is vividly graphic!

But it is as with all analogies
using symbolism in that symbols
can either hide and obscure the meaning of what is being said
or they can make "clear as bell" what is meant if one has been privileged,
normally by his or her asking to be shown,
what the symbols mean.

In fact, that is precisely why Jesus Christ spoke to the multitudes in parables,
to BOTH hide what was said to the multitudes
and to make it clear to His disciples
when they later came to Him and asked Him to explain the symbols.

Of course, don't take my word for it that that is why Christ spoke in parables
unless you first document it.

That you can easily do in Mat. 13:

Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

[11] He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

And so now you know why it is that Christ always spoke unto the multitudes in parables!

To those who come to Him, to His Word, and ask, it is given.

However, the multitudes, the main streamers,
always went their way saying things like "Wasn't that a nice sermon today?"

There is nothing new under the sun.

Matthew 13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
 In this final chapter of Zechariah we are going to see Jesus Christ,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
come to Jerusalem after the abomination of desolation, antichrist,
has sat in the midst of the temple and made the whole land spiritually desolate
by deceiving the whole world into believing he is God!

Then, at the appointed time, the LORD shall come forth and cleanse the temple,
pulverizing the "stones" of the temple,
and defeating His enemies
and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of His Christ,
and He shall reign for ever and ever!

What a glorious day it shall be when that 7th Trump sounds!


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On the same subject: see below

Chapters 40-48 of Ezekiel
Prophecies Concerning the Millennial Kingdom and the Temple therein, i.e. the many membered body of Christ which the carpenters in Zechariah's 2nd vision of these last days build. Let us be reminded from His Word that when Jesus Christ returns, the "temple" (religion, even so called Christian religion) which is built and being built there now by the New World Order (i.e. in Jerusalem), shall be pulverized to the point that not one stone shall be left standing atop another and replaced by the many membered body of Christ. Luke 21:5-6 "And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, [6] As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." That is because when He returns He shall be quite angry with what is going on in that city in which our Lord was crucified. But another Temple is also being built right now by the Lord's elect.. It is the one described below which will replace the temple Christ destroys at his return.
If YOU MISS this verse, (Ezekiel 40:4), the rest of the Book of Ezekiel will be little more than a description of a temple building and a city. 1 Cor. 2:14 " But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

The Millennial Temple Within the Temple:
Chapters 40-44
#8040 IF YOU MISS this verse (Ezekiel 40:4), the rest of the Book of Ezekiel will be little more than a description of a temple building and a city
#8041   The Millennium Temple we are reading about in these last nine chapters of Ezekiel is to "show the way", the plan, to the true Temple, which is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.
#8042   What is the Plan of God for the final 1000 years commonly called the Millennium, which precedes the Great White Throne Judgment and the entering into the Third Earth Age, the age of eternal happiness?
#8043   Our Father has given us a PICTURE of this Millennial temple and its laws and ordinances that we may see the plan of God in the Millennium
#8044   Is everyone who claims to be a Christian going to be able to enter the kingdom and sit at the feet of Jesus during the Millennium?

The Millennial Temple Without the Temple:
Chapters 45-48
#8045   If you read older Bible commentaries written before the twentieth century you will see how little Ezekiel chapter one was understood until now.
#8046   No, the sacrifices in the Millennium will not be of blood and sacrificial animals any more than it is today, but they must be of the same spirit of love and service that causes those who truly believe in Jesus Christ to hunger and thirst after righteousness... every day.
#8047There IS a condition here, though as we noted it is not of race or nationality. The condition is simply "IF" you thirst.
#8048   What a time the Millennium will be!