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Pamphlet #1113
Zechariah chapter 13
Zechariah 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).
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) and a dry desert, a desolation, when the false shepherd sets up his kingdom! But alas, not for long!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 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:
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 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.
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!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.
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" (the ministers manning the pulpits in most of our 21st century so-called Christian churches)! Jesus Christ is returning and in that day He shall rid the land of BOTH!
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!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.
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.
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!"[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.
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!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:
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.
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!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.
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![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.
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!
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"!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:
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!Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
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![17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
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!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.
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!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.
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!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.
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. 13:6
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.
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.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.
To be "offended" means to "trip up", to "stumble", as in apostasy!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.
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: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.
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)."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."
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!
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?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.
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!
How beautiful and how perfect is the Plan of God for this generation![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.
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.
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!John 19:28
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, "I thirst".
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):
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!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.
And so Psalm 69:21 is fulfilled, letting you know that the Redeemer is indeed Jesus Christ: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 finally:Psalm 69:21
They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
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...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.
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 a 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:
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 13:10
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.
Matthew 13:34
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
Live Link to> Zechariah'sVisions and all of the Zechariah studies TOC
Live Link to> Zechariah chapter 14
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