1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:04,480 Please turn with me in your Bibles to the Old Testament book 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:11,080 of Zechariah, Zechariah chapter 1, which you can find on page 7 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:12,880 or 93 in the chair Bibles around. 4 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:17,680 You can find it around the book of Micah. 5 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:25,200 Last week we were in the book of Hagai, and both Zechariah and 6 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:31,320 Hagai prophesied in Jerusalem at the same time around 520 BC, so 7 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,720 their contacts are identical. They were both prophesying to 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,680 the Jews who had returned to the ruins of Jerusalem from exile in 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:41,720 Babylon, which then turned into Persia. 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,480 Out of all the minor prophets, this is the largest, containing 11 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:50,120 14 chapters. But right now, let's just read 12 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:55,720 the introduction to the book Zechariah chapter 1 verses one 13 00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:00,560 through 3. And here there's there's God's 14 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:03,360 going to declare one of the most important themes of this of this 15 00:01:03,360 --> 00:01:08,080 book that God's people need to they need the Lord to return to 16 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,840 them. Zechariah chapter 1 starting 17 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,520 verse one in the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, 18 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,960 the word of Lord came to the prophet Zechariah the son of 19 00:01:19,960 --> 00:01:24,440 Barakiah son of Ido, saying, the Lord was very angry with your 20 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,440 father's. Therefore say to them, thus 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,680 declares the Lord of hosts. Return to me, says the Lord of 22 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:35,560 hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. 23 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:47,160 Let's pray, heavenly Father, we thank you that our Lord Jesus is 24 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:52,240 our our Good Shepherd who leads us to green pastures. 25 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:55,480 And so we ask now that as we come to Zechariah that we would 26 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,640 feast upon green pastures from this, from this book, perhaps a 27 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:03,200 little little known book and and definitely a difficult book to 28 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,880 understand. We pray, Lord, that as we come 29 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,720 to it, that we would see the glory of Jesus Christ, that we 30 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,240 would see the gospel that would see a glorious vision of the 31 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,880 Kingdom to come. And may we be changed by it. 32 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:22,240 Amen. Arguably one of the best toys 33 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,680 ever created are Legos, right? They just, they encourage 34 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:29,640 imaginative play, creativity, play with other kids. 35 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:34,160 They develop mechanical and building skills and the and the 36 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,920 ability to follow step by step instructions. 37 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,080 There's an endless variety of things that a child can build 38 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:44,920 and imagine. Now imagine working for Lego in 39 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:48,440 2003. That was a dark year. 40 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,480 The company was bleeding out. It had lost $300 million that 41 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:58,720 year, and it was projecting an additional 400 million the 42 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,440 following year. Lego was facing bankruptcy. 43 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:06,080 If you were working for Lego, you'd be worried about the 44 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,320 future. You'd be wondering how on earth 45 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,280 one of the most successful toy companies ever could be on the 46 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:18,320 brink of closing shop. Lego was founded in 1932 with 47 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,800 wooden toys and then they invested in plastics in 196446. 48 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,520 Then in 1958 the recipe was perfected with when they 49 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:28,480 invented the interlocking block system. 50 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,320 They then then the company just took off. 51 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,760 It reached $1.2 billion in revenue in 1993. 52 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,440 And then they they, they, they built theme parks. 53 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,800 They had a clothing line and a variety of Lego sub brands like 54 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:49,360 Duplo and Technic. But then in the 90s sales began 55 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:53,240 to plummet and the 2003, it looked as if the end had come. 56 00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:57,000 Were the glory days gone for good? 57 00:03:58,600 --> 00:04:00,880 But Lego didn't give up. They they decided to tear down 58 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,440 and rebuild. They hired a new CEO, 59 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:05,840 discontinued many of their products, and got back to the 60 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:08,080 core of what Lego was originally all about. 61 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:13,520 And brick by brick, they rebuilt into becoming the top toy brand 62 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,920 in the world, even surpassing Mattel last year. 63 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,120 Their global revenue was almost $11 billion. 64 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:27,720 The post exilic Jews of 520 BC were like Lego in 2003. 65 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,280 The glory days of David and Solomon's temple were long gone. 66 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,880 They were back in Jerusalem, but the city was in ruins. 67 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,800 I'm sure many of them were wondering, is there a future for 68 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:47,240 Jerusalem and for God's people? We have no walls, no military, 69 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,480 no king, and no temple. We're still scattered as a 70 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:54,480 people. Will all of this work of 71 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:59,520 rebuilding even be worth it? I'm sure these doubts clouded 72 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:02,640 the minds of the Jewish people, discouraging them from 73 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,720 rebuilding the Temple. And so God sent his prophets, 74 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,120 Haggai and Zechariah, to encourage them that God still 75 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,800 had a future for his people and for his chosen city, Jerusalem. 76 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,680 Days of even greater glory were coming, but they would need to 77 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:23,360 real be rebuild the Temple brick by brick, and restore their 78 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:28,680 relationship with God. In Zechariah 410 He lifts up the 79 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,600 downcast eyes of the Jews to look to a promised future, 80 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:37,600 saying, For whoever has despised the day of small things shall 81 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,160 rejoice and shall see the Plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. 82 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,800 520 BC was a a day of small things for the Jews, for the 83 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:50,400 Jerusalem, for the Second Temple. 84 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:53,840 But a day of greater glory was coming when the Temple would be 85 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:58,280 finished and God's blessing would return to Jerusalem in an 86 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:02,080 even greater way. Let's now dig into this book. 87 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:05,680 First, consider who this prophet was and a little more about the 88 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,720 context that he was writing in. Then we'll consider the message 89 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,080 of Zechariah. We'll look at its overall 90 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,640 content, and and then we'll focus specifically on seeing the 91 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:18,200 gospel in its various prophecies and visions. 92 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:20,680 Then we'll end with some application. 93 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:27,240 So who is the prophet Zechariah? There are a handful of 94 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,360 Zechariahs in the Bible, but we see in verse one that this is 95 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,760 Zechariah, the son of Barakiah and the grandson of Ito. 96 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,160 Ito is mentioned in the book of Nehemiah as being in the line of 97 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:42,360 the Levitical priests. So that would make Zechariah A 98 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:47,040 Levitical priest as well. So he was, he was a prophet, 99 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:51,760 priest combo. Ezra 614 records that the Jews 100 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:54,680 prospered through the prophetical ministries of 101 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:59,640 Zechariah and Haggai. So it's a little bit about the 102 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:04,480 man Zechariah the prophet. Now, what about the context that 103 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:07,800 Zechariah was prophesying in? As I mentioned earlier, 104 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,120 Zechariah began prophesying in 520 BC, 66 years after 105 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:14,480 Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and destroyed the 106 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,200 Temple and brought many of the Jews to live in Babylon. 107 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,360 Since that time, the Persians had overthrown the Babylonians, 108 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,120 and in Zechariah's day the the Persian Empire stretched from 109 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:31,320 modern day Turkey all the way to Iran, down to Israel, into the 110 00:07:31,320 --> 00:07:34,200 Sinai Peninsula, and even into Egypt. 111 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:39,240 The world of the Middle East had never seen anything as great and 112 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:44,480 powerful as the Persian Empire, so the Jews couldn't have a 113 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:47,040 king. And so they appointed 114 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:49,520 Zerubbabel, who was of the kingly line of David, to be 115 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:54,680 their governor. The high priests, the high 116 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,360 priest during this time, his name was Joshua, but without a 117 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,640 temple, I'm really not sure what the high priest role was 118 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,560 exactly. We have some specific dates in 119 00:08:04,560 --> 00:08:07,000 the book of Zechariah, so we can date some of these visions and 120 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,960 prophecies down to the very day. We have dates in 520, five, 121 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:15,960 19518 BC, and then some of the latter prophecies may have taken 122 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,200 place years later, perhaps at the beginning of the 5th century 123 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:23,320 BC. Alright, so that's some of the 124 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:25,960 background of the book. Let's not get into the message 125 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,400 of Zechariah. There's there's a lot in this 126 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:30,840 book. And so because we don't want to 127 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:34,880 be here until 1:00, I'll give a brief overview of its contents 128 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:38,880 and then we'll dive into some of its message, specifically what 129 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:43,679 is prophetic of the Gospel of Jesus, 1st and 2nd comings. 130 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:47,560 There's there's just so much here that we simply don't have 131 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:50,240 time to cover. Zechariah could be a sermon 132 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:54,720 series all on its own, but I hope that you can begin to see 133 00:08:54,720 --> 00:08:59,480 what a fascinating book this is. So let's first look at the 134 00:08:59,480 --> 00:09:05,280 overall content of this book. You can still look at chapter 1 135 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,400 here. There's, there's, there's 14 136 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,440 chapters and you could, you could divide it all into four 137 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,360 parts. There's, there's the beginning 138 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:17,400 of chapter 1 is the introduction and then chapters, the remaining 139 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:21,840 chapters of one through chapter 6 contain contain 8 wild 140 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,160 visions. Then Chapter 7 and 8 are kind of 141 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:28,440 a section of their own and they contain some history of why 142 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:32,120 Israel was exiled. And then chapters 9 through 14 143 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:36,400 contain some final prophecies and, and it's just, they're, 144 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:39,200 they're a bit different than the, the previous chapters. 145 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:40,960 So that's kind of the overall structure. 146 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:45,160 And as I, as I said, the 8 visions in the first six 147 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:48,040 chapters are, are pretty crazy. So I'll invite you to kind of 148 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:50,440 page through them as we, as I just briefly talk about them 149 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:55,680 here. We won't have time to go over 150 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:58,600 all of them, but just to kind of perk your interest, let me tell 151 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:02,640 you that these apocalyptic visions, they, they kind of feel 152 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,680 a lot like the other visions in the book of Daniel and 153 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:10,760 Revelation when you read them. There's there's a vision of 154 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:13,760 different horsemen and different colored horses who are 155 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,480 patrolling the earth. There's a vision of horns. 156 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:21,920 There's a vision of a man measuring Jerusalem. 157 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,240 There's a vision of Joshua the high priest. 158 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:28,000 There's a vision of a golden lampstand. 159 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:31,520 And then there's there's also a vision of this huge flying 160 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,360 scroll 30 feet long and 15 feet high. 161 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,880 And then there's there's a there's a vision of a of a woman 162 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,760 in a basket, and then she gets flown away by two other women 163 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:46,440 who have stork wings. That's pretty crazy. 164 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:52,640 And the final vision in chapter 6 is a vision of four Chariots 165 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:57,200 similar to the first vision. So as you can imagine, 166 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,240 interpreting apocalyptic and prophetic literature can be 167 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,080 challenging. When Martin Luther was writing 168 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,480 his commentary in Zechariah 14, he wrote this here in this 169 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:14,080 chapter. I give up for I am not sure what 170 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:20,160 the prophet is talking about. So there's nothing wrong with 171 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:25,360 you if your head gets foggy or, or it starts to melt or explode 172 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:29,440 when you're reading this book. There's a there's a high level 173 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:32,560 of difficulty interpreting many of these visions, prophecies, 174 00:11:34,560 --> 00:11:38,800 dating prophetic fulfillment can also be especially difficult. 175 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:45,800 When was or when will a prophetic particular prophecy be 176 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,800 fulfilled? What was it fulfilled in 177 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:54,880 Zechariah's day shortly after before Christ at Christ's first 178 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:57,400 coming? Was it fulfilled around the time 179 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,240 of the destruction of the temple in in 70 AD? 180 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:02,720 Or has it not yet been fulfilled? 181 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,160 Will it be fulfilled at Christ's second coming? 182 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,080 Is it Is it? Is it in the everlasting Kingdom 183 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,640 of heaven? And to make matters even more 184 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:16,080 difficult, many of these visions and prophecies seem to be 185 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:20,760 fulfilled multiple times in part at one point in history, but 186 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,240 then fulfilled in full on the day of the Lord. 187 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,800 That being said, although it is difficult to interpret, we have 188 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:35,720 help from some of the best interpreters, Jesus and the New 189 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,240 Testament authors. Zechariah is quoted and alluded 190 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,040 to very often in the New Testament. 191 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,000 Some have counted around 32 allusions to Zechariah in the 192 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,800 Book of Revelation alone, with at least a dozen allusions or 193 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:51,240 quotes in the Gospels. And then there's others in the 194 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,480 rest of the New Testament, so this makes our job of 195 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,880 interpretation a little easier. The New Testament doesn't 196 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:02,680 explain everything in Zechariah, but it reveals many key 197 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:05,880 prophecies and points us in the right direction for how to 198 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:07,880 interpret such a challenging book. 199 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:12,880 Let's now dive into the message of Zechariah, specifically the 200 00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:18,360 Gospel in Zechariah, the visions and prophecies of Jesus's first 201 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,680 and 2nd comings, and the forever Kingdom He will establish. 202 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:25,280 Have you, have you ever wondered, I wonder what it would 203 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:32,080 be like to to hear a sermon from an apostle before any of the New 204 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:35,920 Testament was written? They would be preaching only 205 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,720 from the Old Testament scriptures and so they would be 206 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:44,280 preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament. 207 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,880 That would be pretty amazing. The apostle Paul does this in 208 00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:53,840 Thessalonica in Acts chapter 17, for instance. 209 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:57,720 So if, if, if the apostles could preach the gospel of Jesus 210 00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:00,800 Christ from the Old Testament Scriptures, I think it's good 211 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:05,480 for us to do the same today. I plan to do that just from the 212 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:08,400 book of Zechariah, though my sermon will will definitely be 213 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,520 nowhere near as glorious or or as accurate as an apostles. 214 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,520 And and I'm I'm still going to leave lean heavily on the New 215 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,640 Testament authors as we go through this book. 216 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,000 I'd highly recommend having a a Bible to to look at and page 217 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:25,320 through since we're we're going to be moving around this book 218 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,880 quite a bit. So let's start by looking at 219 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:31,440 some verses from the first two chapters. 220 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,600 Look with me at Zechariah chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, 221 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,360 chapter 116 and 17. Here we have a vision of the 222 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:44,800 glorious future God dwelling with His people. 223 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,800 Remember, the Jews had begun to rebuild the temple, but they 224 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,280 were likely discouraged at the present state of things and 225 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,120 wondering if Jerusalem would have a future at all. 226 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:58,640 Here we'll read a couple passages where God encourages 227 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:03,000 His people that there is a future for His people, and it is 228 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,800 glorious. Here's Zechariah chapter 1, 229 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:11,640 verses 16 and 17. Therefore thus says the Lord, I 230 00:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,600 have returned to Jerusalem with mercy. 231 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,480 My house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and 232 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,920 the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 233 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,880 Cry out again. Thus says the Lord of hosts, My 234 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:29,760 cities shall be again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord 235 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:33,960 will again comfort Zion, and again choose Jerusalem. 236 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:38,920 The day of small things would one day flourish into prosperity 237 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,680 and comfort for Jerusalem, because God has returned to His 238 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:47,040 people with mercy, and they have returned to Him in faith, 239 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,720 expressed chiefly in the rebuilding of this temple. 240 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:56,120 Now turn to the the next chapter, chapter 2, verses 10 241 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:03,280 through 10 through 12, chapter 2, verses 10 through 12. 242 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,680 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold I come, and I 243 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,080 will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. 244 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,480 And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that 245 00:16:14,480 --> 00:16:18,840 day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in your midst. 246 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:22,000 And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 247 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,360 And the Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the Holy Land 248 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:33,400 and will again choose Jerusalem. The future is glorious because 249 00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,680 God has promised to come and dwell in the midst of his 250 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,320 people. And not only the the people of 251 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,400 Israel, but also many nations will join themselves to the 252 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,000 Lord. So the future, it's not just 253 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:52,280 bright, it's glorious. The rest of the book of 254 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:56,680 Zechariah explains that for this glorious vision to take place, 255 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:02,480 for it to be realized, the three things must first happen. 256 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:06,720 First, the Lord must return to his people. 257 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:13,200 Second, sin must be permanently dwelt with, dealt with, and 258 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,160 removed. And 3rd, the king must return 259 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:20,400 those three things. Let's look at those three things 260 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,119 and see how each contributes to the full realization of this 261 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:29,000 glorious vision for God's people dwelling with God in prosperity, 262 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:33,800 comfort, and joy. So let's turn, let's look back 263 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:39,520 now to chapter one, verse 3. 1st For God's people have a glorious 264 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:42,720 future. The Lord must return to his 265 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,480 people. Chapter one, verse 3. 266 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,440 Therefore say to them, thus declares the Lord of hosts, 267 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:53,360 return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, 268 00:17:54,080 --> 00:18:00,040 says the Lord of hosts, return to me, and I will return to you. 269 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,680 God is the source of all life and blessing. 270 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:07,480 In his presence there is fullness of joy. 271 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,320 So it's impossible to think of this glorious vision for 272 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,680 Jerusalem without thinking of God dwelling with his people. 273 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:20,840 But God's glorious and holy presence had left Jerusalem. 274 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:23,040 We see this in the book of Ezekiel. 275 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:28,280 In Ezekiel 10 and 11, there's a vision of the glory of God 276 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,840 leaving the temple and eventually leaving Jerusalem. 277 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,800 The glorious presence of God left because of the people's 278 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,640 wickedness and idolatry. And so for God to return to his 279 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,480 people, they must return to him like an adulterous wife. 280 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,440 They must return to their husband in faithfulness to him 281 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:52,280 and him alone. In recent days, there's been 282 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,560 some trending news of Aceo, who was caught having an affair on a 283 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:59,920 KISS Cam at a Coldplay concert. When the camera goes on them, 284 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,800 they immediately turn away and duck, trying to hide from the 285 00:19:02,800 --> 00:19:05,960 camera stare. Now, of course, many are shaming 286 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:07,880 this couple for betraying the covenant of marriage. 287 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:14,360 But before we join in throwing stones, haven't we committed an 288 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,480 even worse adultery? Adultery against God? 289 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:23,800 The prophet Jeremiah says that we're like a donkey in heat, 290 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,720 seeking other lovers, other idols. 291 00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,080 So we're not, we're not any better. 292 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,760 We too would would try to hide if all our adultery against God 293 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:42,800 was exposed for all to see. Isn't it amazing that God calls 294 00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,960 us back to Himself even after all we've done? 295 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:53,760 God's love, his electing and faithful love, his jealous love, 296 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:58,200 calls us to return to Him, to come back to His presence, back 297 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,080 to His embrace, back to a relationship with Him. 298 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,400 And when we return to him, like the prodigal son, our Heavenly 299 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:09,880 Father runs to us, kisses us, puts a ring on our finger, 300 00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,160 welcomes us back home, and throws a giant party. 301 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:20,040 Have you been wandering away from God, seeking other lovers? 302 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:25,880 Return to Him and He will return to you with all of His heart, 303 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:34,120 with His very presence. So for God's people to have a 304 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:38,720 glorious future, God must return to them, and they to God. 305 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:41,920 But one of the most common themes in the Old Testament is a 306 00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,880 reoccurring cycle of God's people straying away from him, 307 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:50,800 falling into idolatry, being awakened by the word of God, and 308 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:53,160 then returning to a right relationship with God. 309 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:57,440 It's a cycle, but that cycle just starts all over again and 310 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:01,440 again and again and again. God's people turn away from him. 311 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:04,320 How will this cycle ever be broken? 312 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:09,040 That brings us to the second step. 313 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:13,440 For God's people to have a glorious future, sin must be 314 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,640 permanently removed. Turn with me to Zechariah 315 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:23,680 chapter 3, the vision of Joshua the high priest. 316 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:28,280 Now we're we're going to get into some of the most amazing 317 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:29,800 prophecies of Jesus first coming. 318 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,560 This vision in chapter 3 is a vision of a courtroom. 319 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,840 Joshua, the high priest is the accused. 320 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,440 Satan is the prosecutor, the one who brings the charges against 321 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,320 him. The Angel of the Lord is 322 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:46,560 standing by like a defending attorney, and the Lord is 323 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,520 presumed to be the judge. So look with me at starting in 324 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,960 verse 1 of chapter 3. Then he showed me Joshua the 325 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:58,960 high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan 326 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,120 standing at his right hand to accuse him. 327 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:05,840 And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you, O Satan, the 328 00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:08,520 Lord who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. 329 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,040 Is not this a brand plucked from the fire? 330 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:16,040 Now Joshua was standing before the Angel, clothed with filthy 331 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:18,440 garments. And the Angel said to those who 332 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:21,680 were standing before him, remove the filthy garments from him. 333 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,640 And to him he said, Behold, I have taken your iniquity away 334 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,200 from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments. 335 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:34,080 And I said, let them put a clean turban on his head. 336 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:37,440 So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed them with 337 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:40,240 garments. And the Angel of the Lord was 338 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,360 standing by. This is an amazing vision of the 339 00:22:44,360 --> 00:22:48,760 doctrine of imputation. Here we have Joshua the high 340 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:53,960 priest, the representative of all the Jews, and he is filthy. 341 00:22:55,400 --> 00:22:57,560 It's as if he had taken a swim in the sewer. 342 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,400 His filth is representative of the sin of the people of Judah. 343 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:10,760 And so Satan, our great adversary, speaks the only truth 344 00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:15,120 that he likes to speak. He likes to speak the truth of 345 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:21,000 how guilty we are before God. He's honest about what we've 346 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,200 said, what we've done, what we've desired, and what we've 347 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:28,320 thought in this courtroom. He speaks no lies. 348 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:34,440 He lied to tempt you into your sin and but now he uses the 349 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,360 truth to try to put you into hell. 350 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,840 But even though the charges are true against Joshua, the judge 351 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,840 has mercy. The Lord rebukes Satan and 352 00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:52,520 declares that he has chosen Jerusalem and he has saved him. 353 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,840 Like a charred piece of wood plucked out of a fire. 354 00:23:57,400 --> 00:24:00,000 God has saved his people from the fires of hell. 355 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,440 And then in verses 4 and 5, we see that Joshua's filthy clothes 356 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,360 are exchanged with pure, clean garments. 357 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,240 This is a picture of the doctrine of the imputation of 358 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:16,840 Christ's righteousness. We call it the Great Exchange on 359 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,920 the cross. Jesus took away our sin from us 360 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:26,840 and put it on Himself, and in exchange for free He gives us 361 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:33,200 His righteousness. Second Corinthians 521 says for 362 00:24:33,200 --> 00:24:39,240 our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him 363 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,920 we might become the righteousness of God. 364 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:47,200 That's the great exchange of the Gospel. 365 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:54,160 Then in Zechariah chapter 3, verses 8:00 and 9:00, God 366 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:57,000 promises to permanently remove sin. 367 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,720 Look with me chapter verses 8-9 here. 368 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,440 Now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit 369 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,920 before you, for they are men who are a sign. 370 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:11,080 Behold, I will bring my servant the branch. 371 00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:14,840 For behold, on the stone that I've set before Joshua, on a 372 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,160 single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription 373 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:22,080 declares the Lord of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of 374 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:28,360 this land in a single day. Here God promises to send his 375 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:31,200 servant the branch. This is the same branch 376 00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:35,560 prophesied by Isaiah and Jeremiah, a clear promise of the 377 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:38,840 coming of Jesus Christ, the offspring of David and the 378 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,880 forever King. And then at the end of verse 11, 379 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:45,840 verse 9, the Lord promises that through the coming of the 380 00:25:45,840 --> 00:25:51,560 branch, He would remove the sin of all of the sin of the land in 381 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:56,600 a single day. That day we know, was Good 382 00:25:56,600 --> 00:26:02,280 Friday, when all the sins of all of God's people were put upon 383 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,600 Jesus, the Lamb of God. It's through the perfect 384 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,320 substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross that the 385 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,200 guilt and power of sin is permanently removed from God's 386 00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:18,640 people. Zechariah chapter 6. 387 00:26:18,800 --> 00:26:21,120 We won't turn there right now, but I'll just want to let you 388 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:25,080 know. Zechariah chapter 6 then tells 389 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:32,120 us that the branch that Jesus, he will rebuild the temple and 390 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:37,680 he shall sit on the throne of God as a priest king, a priest 391 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,160 king combination. This is a remarkable vision, but 392 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:45,720 Zechariah has just much more to say about who the branch is and 393 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:48,280 what he'll do. So let's walk through this book 394 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,600 and look at a few key prophecies. 395 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:58,120 Turn with me now to Chapter 9, Chapter 9, verses 9 through 11. 396 00:26:58,120 --> 00:26:59,720 This was our call to worship this morning. 397 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,320 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. 398 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,880 Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, your King is 399 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,760 coming to you righteous and having salvation. 400 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,560 Is he humble and mounted on a donkey? 401 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,840 On a colt, the full of a donkey? I will cut off the chariot from 402 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,120 Ephraim and the War Horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow 403 00:27:24,120 --> 00:27:28,240 shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations. 404 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:31,880 His rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river to the 405 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,160 ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the 406 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:39,320 blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free 407 00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:46,120 from the waterless pit. Here we have a passage that was 408 00:27:46,120 --> 00:27:48,840 quoted in the gospels of Matthew and John. 409 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,600 This was fulfilled on Palm Sunday with Jesus triumphal 410 00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:58,840 entry into Jerusalem. Jesus came as a humble king 411 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,200 riding a donkey, not a War Horse like the kings of the other 412 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,600 nations. His humility is unmatched. 413 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,480 And this king rise into Jerusalem, giving righteousness 414 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:16,120 and salvation to his people. Through him the Lord will 415 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:19,640 establish peace with the nations, and that peace will 416 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:24,760 come because this king will rule not only Zion, but as verse 10 417 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:29,120 says, his rule shall be from sea to sea, from the river to the 418 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:34,360 ends of the earth. And in verse 11, there's a 419 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:36,800 promise that through the blood of God's covenant with His 420 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:40,200 people, He will set their prisoners free from the 421 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,000 waterless pit. I believe that this is a promise 422 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,520 of the New covenant. It will be through the blood of 423 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:51,240 this king that those who are enslaved to sin and Satan will 424 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:54,600 be rescued from their inescapable pit. 425 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,280 What else do we know from Zechariah about this coming 426 00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,360 branch, this this humble priest king? 427 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:07,840 Let's take a brief look at Chapter 11. 428 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,520 Now verses 12 through 13. Please turn there. 429 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:20,400 Chapter 11, verses 12 and 13. Then I said to them, if it seems 430 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,200 good to you, give me my wages, but if not, keep them. 431 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:28,320 And they weighed out as my wages 30 pieces of silver. 432 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:33,120 Then the Lord said to me, Throw it to the Potter, the lordly 433 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,160 price at which the guy was priced by them. 434 00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:39,360 So I took the 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the 435 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:44,440 House of the Lord to the Potter. As you probably know, this is a 436 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,360 prophecy of Judas's betrayal of Jesus. 437 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:54,160 The priest gave him 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave, to 438 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:57,880 tell them the whereabouts of Jesus at night so that they 439 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,160 might arrest him when there was no crowd. 440 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:04,400 Judas ends up throwing the silver into the House of the 441 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,600 Lord, and then he hangs himself. The priest then take the blood 442 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:14,040 money and buy the Potter's field as a burial place for strangers. 443 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:19,440 Matthew 27. The branch, the humble priest 444 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:24,320 king would be rejected and betrayed at the price of a 445 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:30,880 slave. Let's turn ahead now to the next 446 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,680 chapter. Zechariah chapter 12, verse 10. 447 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,720 Zechariah 12, verse 10. And I will pour out on the House 448 00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:47,120 of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and 449 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:51,080 please for mercy, so that when they look on me, on him whom 450 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:55,120 they have pierced, they shall mourn for him as one mourns for 451 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:59,400 an only child, and weep bitterly over him as one weeps over a 452 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:02,960 first born. This prophecy is very 453 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:06,120 interesting. John sites it in his gospel as 454 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:10,080 being prophetic of when Jesus was pierced on the cross with 455 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:14,280 with the with the soldiers spear and out of his side then flowed 456 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:19,400 blood and water. And in Zechariah's prophecy we 457 00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:24,400 see that God promises to one day pour out a spirit of grace and 458 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:28,440 please of mercy so that when the people of Jerusalem look on the 459 00:31:28,440 --> 00:31:33,840 pierced Christ they would mourn bitterly for the the high cost 460 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:38,640 of their sin. This prophecy is also an amazing 461 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:45,480 prophecy of the deity of Christ. Look at the look at verse 10 and 462 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:50,200 notice the change of pronouns in the middle of verse 10. 463 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:56,600 The Lord says when they look on me, on him whom they have 464 00:31:56,600 --> 00:32:01,920 pierced, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, 465 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,240 the Lord God is the one who will be pierced. 466 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:11,400 And we see this explicitly fulfilled by Jesus Christ. 467 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:20,320 He is truly God and truly man. Now just a few verses later, in 468 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:25,920 chapter 13, verse one, it says this, On that day there shall be 469 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:30,440 a fountain opened for the House of David and the inhabitants of 470 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,280 Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. 471 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:39,440 On that day when the Lord is pierced, a fountain would be 472 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:42,400 opened to cleanse God's people from their sin. 473 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:48,720 The apostle John saw blood and water flow out of Jesus side and 474 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,840 later he would write this in first John chapter one verse 7. 475 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:57,680 The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 476 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:02,600 Blood isn't good at cleaning right? 477 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:08,600 It stains, but the blood of Jesus acts like water for our 478 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:14,240 sins, washing them all away. It's this picture from Zechariah 479 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:18,640 12 and 13 that inspired William Culper to to write the hymn that 480 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:21,880 we just sang. There is a fountain filled with 481 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:27,400 blood. So these were just some of of 482 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,160 the clearest prophecies of Jesus first coming. 483 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:32,600 And there's there's some others that that we just didn't have 484 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:38,120 time to get to. It's through Jesus first coming 485 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,280 that sin will be permanently removed by His death on the 486 00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,800 cross. But something else needs to 487 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:46,960 happen. For the glorious vision of the 488 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:52,560 future of God's people to be fulfilled, the King must return. 489 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,720 Turn with me to the final chapter to chapter 14. 490 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:02,280 Here we have prophecies that find their fulfillment in the 491 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:08,199 second coming of Jesus Christ. The 1st 2 verses the scene to 492 00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:12,600 describe a great battle between the nations and Jerusalem where 493 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:17,400 there is a great loss for God's people but a remnant remains. 494 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:23,600 But when all hope seems lost, like Gandalf arriving at Helms 495 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,239 Deep, the Lord arrives to fight for His people. 496 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:32,280 Read with me starting in verse 3 of chapter 14. 497 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:37,560 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as 498 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,239 when He fights on a day of battle. 499 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,960 On that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies 500 00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:46,800 before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be 501 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:52,920 split in two from east to West by a very wide valley, so that 502 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,920 1/2 of the Mount shall move northward and the other half 503 00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:58,680 southward. And you shall flee to the valley 504 00:34:58,680 --> 00:35:02,040 of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to 505 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:06,200 Azza, and you shall flee, as you fled before fled from the 506 00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,880 earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. 507 00:35:09,880 --> 00:35:14,320 Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 508 00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:19,720 Here we have a theophany or an appearance of God. 509 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:25,080 And if the mountains are split at His coming, what can the 510 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:31,200 nations do before him? One day the Lord God will come, 511 00:35:31,200 --> 00:35:36,040 and with him are all the holy ones, His host of angels, the 512 00:35:36,040 --> 00:35:40,720 armies of the Lord. We have heard the name the Lord 513 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:47,680 of Hosts again and again, 14 times in Hagai and 53 times in 514 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:49,960 Zechariah. And now here. 515 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,400 Here they are. Here are the Here are the hosts 516 00:35:53,520 --> 00:35:58,520 waging war with the Lord to win His people once and for all. 517 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:06,000 Now look at verses 6:00 and 7:00. 518 00:36:09,800 --> 00:36:14,400 On that day there shall be no light, cold or frost, and there 519 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:19,360 shall be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day 520 00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:22,440 nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 521 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:25,200 Does that sound a little familiar? 522 00:36:26,680 --> 00:36:31,560 Revelation 21 verse 23 says and the city, this is the new 523 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,760 Jerusalem, and the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on 524 00:36:35,760 --> 00:36:42,040 it, for the glory of of God gives it light and its lamp is 525 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:45,440 the lamp. A day is coming when Christ 526 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:51,160 returns, when there will be endless light, endless day. 527 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:56,560 God dwells in the New Jerusalem, and so His glory shines and 528 00:36:56,560 --> 00:37:00,840 fills everything with his light. There will no longer be shadows, 529 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:05,000 no more night, no more confusion or evil or danger. 530 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:10,520 That is the city that the King, the Lamb of God, will establish 531 00:37:10,640 --> 00:37:16,120 when he returns. Now look at verses 8 and 9. 532 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:19,840 I mean 8 and yeah, 8:00 and 9:00. 533 00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:27,360 On that day, living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of 534 00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,920 them to the Eastern Sea and half of them to the Western Sea. 535 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:33,240 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 536 00:37:35,080 --> 00:37:40,120 In Revelation 22 we also hear of this river flowing out of the 537 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:45,000 New Jerusalem, out of the very throne of God, from God Himself. 538 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:49,360 God's river of life gives abundant life to the whole city, 539 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:55,360 to the trees, and to the very tree of life of which it's 540 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:59,320 fruits will bring healing and its leaves will bring healing to 541 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:04,680 the nations. Then verse 9 we read these 542 00:38:04,680 --> 00:38:10,880 amazing words and the Lord will be king over all the earth. 543 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:16,920 The domain of Jesus Christ has no border. 544 00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:21,280 The new heavens and new earth will be, will all be under His 545 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:28,280 rule, and there will be Shalom, perfect peace in all of His holy 546 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:32,280 mountain. The name Jerusalem means city of 547 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:38,560 peace and the new Jerusalem will be just that, the very essence 548 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:43,240 of it. Verse 11 says Jerusalem shall 549 00:38:43,240 --> 00:38:50,840 dwell in security. Look now at verses 20 and 21. 550 00:38:53,200 --> 00:38:56,480 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the 551 00:38:56,480 --> 00:39:01,400 horses holy to the Lord, And the pots in the House of Lords shall 552 00:39:01,400 --> 00:39:03,320 be as the bowls before the altar. 553 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,000 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of 554 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:10,920 hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them, and 555 00:39:10,920 --> 00:39:12,640 boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. 556 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:19,920 This is this is profound. The phrase holy to the Lord was 557 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:25,200 written on a pure gold plate that was only on the turban of 558 00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:31,800 the high priest. Every common dish in all of the 559 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:38,320 land shall be holy to the Lord. She'll be like that. 560 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:43,200 She'll be like the high priest. This is a prophecy of how 561 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:47,720 everything and everyone in the New Jerusalem will be holy. 562 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:54,440 All of heaven and earth will be the new Holy of Holies, where 563 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,760 God's holy and sinless people will dwell with God's presence 564 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:04,160 completely unhindered and free to gaze upon His face and His 565 00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:17,120 glory without fear. Zechariah 8 Chapter 8 fills out 566 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:21,000 just a little bit more of what this city of peace and eternal 567 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:25,040 life will be like. Chapter 8, verses four and five, 568 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:30,080 says this. Thus says the Lord of hosts, old 569 00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:33,120 men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, 570 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,240 each with his staff in hand, because of great age. 571 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:39,680 And the cities of and the streets of the city shall be 572 00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,720 full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 573 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:50,080 What a beautiful picture, a city full of children playing in its 574 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:54,440 streets, children that we will meet for the first time. 575 00:40:57,680 --> 00:41:00,080 There aren't many more wonderful sound right than the laughter of 576 00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:03,320 children, and heaven will be full of that laughter. 577 00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:09,480 We will all be aged with wisdom and knowledge, and we will all 578 00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:13,160 be childlike in our youth and life, health and joy. 579 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:21,040 This is the glorious vision that God has for His city, for His 580 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:25,520 people, for His church, for all those who have returned to the 581 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:28,080 Lord and found refuge in Jesus Christ. 582 00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:33,200 It is coming. May our Lord return soon. 583 00:41:38,360 --> 00:41:41,280 So how does this glorious message apply to us today? 584 00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,200 I honestly think that having these this, these glorious 585 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:48,880 visions of the gospel and of the Kingdom of heaven in our minds 586 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:50,800 really can transform every area of our life. 587 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:52,560 There's nothing that this can't touch. 588 00:41:54,720 --> 00:41:58,280 Perhaps you've heard God's word today and you're you're sitting 589 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,720 there thinking how you need to return to the Lord. 590 00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:06,480 It's time you've been going your own way, living for your own 591 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:08,760 self. You've been looking at things 592 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:11,120 that you shouldn't, even even controlling people instead of 593 00:42:11,120 --> 00:42:13,920 serving them. You've been ignoring the needs 594 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:16,160 of others in your church or in your in your city. 595 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:21,320 Feel God convicting you and if you feel that then return to 596 00:42:21,320 --> 00:42:24,520 him. Confessor sins to him and he 597 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:26,520 will return to you with all his heart. 598 00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:31,640 He will give you his Holy Spirit to help you put away, to put to 599 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:35,680 death all of your old ways, to put out those old idols of the 600 00:42:35,680 --> 00:42:38,800 temple of your heart, and he will replace it with the 601 00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:44,760 adoration of Jesus Christ. Return to the Lord, look on him 602 00:42:45,240 --> 00:42:52,680 whom you have pierced and mourn and with a heavenly perspective, 603 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:56,560 we can see all aspects of this life clearly that that the 604 00:42:56,560 --> 00:42:59,640 fights that we have with each other really lose their 605 00:42:59,640 --> 00:43:03,840 significance. We see that when we we fight 606 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:07,320 with other Christians and and accuse them of all of their 607 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:10,680 sins. All we're doing is siding with 608 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:16,480 Satan, right the accuser, right We're parroting him. 609 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:19,120 We're saying Amen to his accusations. 610 00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:23,760 Instead with a heavenly perspective of what God has done 611 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:27,200 in his courtroom. We need to look not at the 612 00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:31,200 filthy garments that are on the floor of our brothers, sister in 613 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:37,240 Christ, but but we need to look at the clean and pure vestments 614 00:43:37,720 --> 00:43:41,360 that they're wearing now, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 615 00:43:42,840 --> 00:43:47,280 And we need to forgive them as God in Christ has forgiven us. 616 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,560 And with this vision of the glorious Kingdom, we don't need 617 00:43:55,560 --> 00:44:01,080 to live in a world of regrets, of wishing that our life here on 618 00:44:01,080 --> 00:44:04,800 earth was different, that that we missed out on opportunities 619 00:44:04,800 --> 00:44:09,680 that we'll never get back. Brothers and sisters, do not 620 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:13,320 despise the day or even the life of small things. 621 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:19,280 A far more glorious day is coming first. 622 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:25,760 Peter 113 says set your hope fully, fully on the grace that 623 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:28,240 will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 624 00:44:29,800 --> 00:44:35,160 You are heirs of eternal life, of the faithful city, and there 625 00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:37,680 you will have opportunities that you could never dream of. 626 00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:43,360 Let the vision of Zechariah quiet and content your heart. 627 00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:49,880 And once your heart is quieted and your complaining is stopped, 628 00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:55,840 busy yourself with building God's church, the temple of His 629 00:44:55,840 --> 00:45:00,040 people. Help build it brick by brick, 630 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:04,400 person by person, using whatever gifts and abilities God has 631 00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:06,920 given you to edify the body of Christ. 632 00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:14,800 Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 633 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:19,280 for the message of Zechariah. We thank you for your jealous 634 00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:29,000 heart for us, that you didn't just leave us to just be 635 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:36,040 consumed with our lovers, but rather you have called us back 636 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:38,000 to yourself. You've won us over with your 637 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:44,200 love, You have cleansed us with the blood of Jesus Christ, and 638 00:45:44,200 --> 00:45:46,280 you even want to dwell with us forever and ever. 639 00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:51,200 This is amazing. Lord, I pray that that this 640 00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:56,320 vision of the gospel, this vision of heaven, that that 641 00:45:56,320 --> 00:46:00,240 would that that that those visions would impact literally 642 00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:04,680 every part of our lives as we pray in Jesus name, Amen.