Presents
Pamphlet #1109
Zechariah chapter 9
Zechariah 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.
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!
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.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.
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!
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!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.
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!
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).[2] And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.
[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.
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!
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!
"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 we shall see the smoke of her burning, and "merchants of the earth""weep and wail":[4] Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and He will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
Yes, Tyrus and all her strong hold will be cast out and brought to nothingness and all the world shall witness it.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.
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, who shall be sitting in the temple, i.e. all proclaiming Christian's hearts, claiming to be God, is going to be cut off!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.
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).[6] And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
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).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.
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.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.
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."[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.
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! Oh! No! That was George Bush, "Read my lips, No New Taxes", if you elect me president, here in America.
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!
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?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.
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
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.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.
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.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.
Let's hear John give the description:
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.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.
SECOND ADVENT
When Jesus Christ returns He shall speak peace unto the heathen all right... with power and authority!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.
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".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.
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!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.
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).
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.[12] Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
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!
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!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.
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.[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.
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!
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![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.
The two candlesticks as we learned in Zech. 4 are the two churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna.Rev. 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
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?[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.
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"?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.
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)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.
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.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.
Time is running out on this final generation. As never before, hold fast to the Word of God!
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