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Lesson 09 – Zechariah Ch 4 & 5
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Teaching from the book of Zechariah, Lesson 9 Chapters 4 & 5.

Zechariah, encourages rebuilding the Temple, offers visions of future hope, divine protection, and promises of a Messiah. The text comes alive with Tom Bradford’s insightful teachings.

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THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH

Lesson 9, Chapters 4 and 5

This 4th chapter of Zechariah is aimed at encouraging Zerubbabel, the civic leader of the returned Jews from Babylon, in his role as the Persian-appointed governor of Yehud. The chapter before this one did essentially the same as concerned Joshua, the religious leader of the returned Jews, in his role as the Persian-appointed High Priest of the revived Hebrew faith community and as head of the Levitical Priesthood. What we need to gather from these 2 chapters is that while it was the Persian King that appointed these 2 Judean leaders, these 2 men apparently had inward doubts about whether God approved of them as legitimate. And, just as clearly, the Judean people (and here I am using the terms Jewish and Judeans as more or less synonymous) had doubts about it as well. And, indeed, that divine validation and encouragement is the focus of chapter 3 for Joshua and chapter 4 for Zerubbabel.

Since the primary mode of communicating these several prophecies that were being given to Zechariah was symbolism, then chapter 4 uses a menorah and 2 olive trees as its symbol. As we discussed last week, because this is a vision, there is no intent for the symbolic elements to accurately represent something real that has or currently is in existence. That is, the description of the menorah is like nothing weโ€™ve seen before, and there is no evidence that a menorah configured in this particular way was ever built and used in the Temple. Nonetheless, it is immediately understood that it is intended to call to mind the Temple menorah. There is nothing to indicate that the Olive trees in the vision were anything other than ordinary looking as one would expect.

Even so, in chapter 4 verse 4, Zechariah says he canโ€™t discern the meaning of this symbol. To which the Interpreting Angel of the vision more less says โ€œwhy not?โ€, implying this ought to be a no-brainer for Zechariah. Since Zechariah doesnโ€™t get it, then neither should we feel as though it ought to be self-evident for us. Great Bible scholars over the centuries have had a field-day trying to figure it out, and so there are various interpretations of it.

We ended last time with the 10th verse of chapter 4, so letโ€™s re-read a portion of Zechariah to lay the groundwork for todayโ€™s lesson.

RE-READ ZECHARIAH CHAPTER 4:8 โ€“ end

As we go forward, be reminded that just as Joshua represents himself, and also symbolically represents the office of the High Priest and all of the Priesthood, so Zerubbabel represents himself, and also symbolically represents the office of the civic ruler of the Judean people, as well as all the Judean people themselves.

The message of verse 8 is that God is giving this part of the vision/oracle directly to Zechariah. Verse 9 is a statement of Yehovehโ€™s divine validation of Zerubbabel as the God-approved leader to complete the Temple rebuilding project; and that because of the way the ancients thought of Temples being associated not only to a god but also to a king, then even though Zerubbabel was not a king the Judeans ought to consider his function and position before God as king-like. Thus, just as the first Temple was called Solomonโ€™s Temple, then this rebuilt one should be thought of as Zerubbabelโ€™s Temple.

Verse 10 must be approached with a better translation than most Bible versions supply. I suggest it ought to be the following to get the original and true intent of it across:

TNK Zechariah 4:10 Does anyone scorn a day of small beginnings? When they see the stone of distinction in the hand of Zerubbabel, they shall rejoice. "Those seven are the eyes of the LORD, ranging over the whole earth."

That is, no one treats with contempt a day of small beginnings. No reasonable person who has the goal or hope of seeing something grand accomplished despises the day when the necessary series of small steps that will be needed to reach that goal, begins. Sometimes that beginning is little more than an inauguration ceremony. In this case, it is that when building Temples kings customarily โ€œlay the first brickโ€ so to speak. So, Zerubbabel is depicted as holding a plum bob in his hand as the ceremonial beginning of the building process. The โ€œstone of distinctionโ€ more literally reads โ€œthe tin stoneโ€. What this is talking about is the weighted object attached to the end of a string that allows a builder to align stones straight up and down and not leaning one way or the other. This weighted object is made of tin; calling it a stone is just a euphemistic way of saying it is heavy like a stone, because no doubt in centuries prior to using metal the weighted object used was a stone.

Moving to verse 11, we find that Zechariah is still perplexed over the issue of the symbolic meaning of the 2 Olive trees in his vision.

CJB Zechariah 4:11 I replied by asking him, "What are those two olive trees on the right and left sides of the menorah?"

Recall that there is a bowl sitting above the menorah into which oil from the olives is placed. That bowl acts as a reservoir for the olive oil that is then distributed to each of the 7 oil lamps via 7 connecting tubes. So, when trying to comprehend this symbol we need to give as much (or probably more) weight to the olive itself than to the tree that produces it, because it is all about the oil that is squeezed from the olives. I think my interpretation of this is validated by what comes next. In verse 12 we read:

CJB Zechariah 4:12 Then I asked the question again: "What are those two olive branches discharging gold[-colored oil] through the two gold spouts?"

Itโ€™s all about the oil. As far as the Interpreting Angel is concerned, Zechariah has asked the same question twice. Thus, the Angel responds with the same answer a second time: donโ€™t you know what it means? To which Zechariah replies โ€œnoโ€. Letโ€™s review that the golden lampstand (the menorah) represents the presence of God among His people. So, what do the two branches with olives that produce the oil then symbolize? Here is what the Angel says:

CJB Zechariah 4:14 He said, "Those are the two who have been anointed with oil; they are standing with the Lord of all the land."

First, I question this CJB translation. Practically all other translations, including those of Jewish source, say that these two are โ€œstanding with the Lord of all the earthโ€โ€ฆ not standing with the Lord of all the landโ€. The difference is substantial. The word translated as earth or land is eretz and indeed it can be used either way. However, when we look at the context we see that the word used to declare who exactly it is that is sovereign over all the eretz, the word is (in Hebrew) adon. While lord is not the wrong translation of adon, it ought not be capitalized because it is not meant to be used as a proper nounโ€ฆ that is, it is not a name or an official title. Rather, it is meant to be descriptive. So, I think, it would be better to say: โ€œโ€ฆstanding with the master of all the earthโ€. Little โ€œLโ€ lord means the same thing as master, but โ€œlordโ€ is not in common usage in modern times to refer to someone who is in chargeโ€ฆhaving power or authorityโ€ฆ so master is better. Therefore, what is being stated is that the scope of the masterโ€™s sovereignty is not just the immediate land of Yehud, but rather the entire known world.

Second: looking at the first part of this verse, a translation revision is also necessary. Much better and more literal is this:

YLT Zechariah 4:14 And he saith, 'These are the two sons of the oil, who are standing by the lord (the master) of the whole earth.'

Sons of oil is, in Hebrew, bene yitshar. Before we can understand this, we need to know that grammatically, yitshar is not a general term for oil produced from olives, but rather it is speaking specifically of โ€œfresh oilโ€ or โ€œnew oilโ€. When we back away and look at the entire context of the Books of Haggai and Zechariah as they operate together, then we see that one of the major matters being dealt with is that the returned Judeansโ€™ expectation of their fields producing abundantly has been dealt a disappointing blow. The crops of every kind have been producing but a fraction of what they should have been. The reason? Lack of consistent rain. The reason for the inconsistent rain? The leaders and the people had been disobedient by putting their own wants and needs above Godโ€™s command, thus dragging their feet on rebuilding His Temple. So, new or fresh oil is directly associated with a bountiful harvest. In our context, it is symbolic that divine favor has returned to the land and the Judean people because the Temple rebuilding project has begun again in determined urgency, thus pleasing Yehoveh.

Bottom line: โ€œsons of oilโ€ is not to be taken literally; rather, it is yet another expression. It more indicates something fruitful or abundant. Actually, in this passage, it carries a dual meaning (as so many Hebrew expressions do). One meaning concerns bounty and fertility (in this case, a newly returned bounty and fertility of the land), and the other meaning is that this concerns two persons or individuals. That is, two individuals are to be associated with the joy of Godโ€™s returned presence, which has led to increased crop yield throughout Yehud, which is the reward for rebuilding Godโ€™s Houseโ€ฆ the Temple.

Can we identify these two individuals? Certainly; it is the two that have been the subjects of chapters 3 and 4: Joshua and Zerubbabel. Joshua and Zerubbabel are the two Olive trees.

I want to remind you of something that I will repeat again a few times as we continue in Zechariah. Every vision, every oracle, every prophecy of Zechariah must be taken in the context of the contemporary world of the returning Jews from Babylon when Zechariah was given, and then wrote down, all of this prophetic information. A modern Bible studentโ€ฆ no matter where on this planet this student might resideโ€ฆ is greatly challenged by this because attempting to understand these symbols that only have meaning in the context of Zerubbabelโ€™s time and circumstances requires much study of those ancient times. One cannot merely read the words and then somehow know what their intent is. Unfortunately, especially in the gentile Christian world, in lieu of doing the needed research the tendency is to correlate these biblical words and symbols to modern examples of our day. The results are interpretations that can be far off the mark. Here is yet another example of this phenomenon from one of the greatest Bible academic teams of the past 3 centuries.

Kiel and Delitzsch say this about this passage: โ€œ the two children of oil cannot be the Jews and Gentiles, or Israel and the Gentile world in their fruitful branchesโ€ฆ Because the candlestick is the symbol of the Church of the Lordโ€ฆโ€

Applied through the filter of centuries of Constantinian Christian doctrines, and through attempting to correlate ancient symbols to more modern things rather than understanding them within their own ancient time and culture, then the meaning truly becomes distorted if not lost altogether. As a result, a fissure is opened into the underlying foundation of anti-Semitism of the Constantinian Church, and what comes bubbling up are the streams and streams of erroneous conclusions and statements as the one I just read to you. Letโ€™s move on to Zechariah chapter 5.

READ ZECHARIAH CHAPTER 5 all

The opening verse that speaks of Zechariah lifting or raising his eyes means to do something again. He returns to looking at a God-sent vision/oracle. This time the symbol is a flying scroll. The Hebrew that is translated as scroll is megillah. Technically speaking, a megillah is a rolled-up, and not a rolled-out, scroll. So, a few Bible versions will call it a roll instead of a scroll.

Once again, the difficult and unique symbolism we find in Zechariah confronts us. There is no other place in the Bible, nor is there any known non-biblical Hebrew document, that speaks of a flying scroll. However, because it is used symbolically and doesnโ€™t attempt to picture a real object in the real world, then the trick is to sort through exactly what that symbol represents.

The size of the scroll plays a large part of understanding what it means. The CJB doesnโ€™t help us as it uses a measurement that is not literalโ€ฆ it gives it to us in feet. The literal reading about the dimensions of the scroll is that it is 20 cubits by 10 cubits. So, is this a flying billboard (the scroll is unfurled)? Or is this a flying roll (the scroll is rolled up like for storage)? There are thoughts in both directions, But, despite the conjectures, it seems to me that a vision of a rolled-up scroll that then speaks of its rectangular dimensions as 20 by 10 cubits, makes little sense. This scroll has been rolled-out so that itโ€™s length and width can be seen by Zechariah.

Equally important to the dimensions of it, is that it is flying in the air. The point of this is movement. The movement of the scroll works similarly in meaning to the horses of different colors that roam the earth. The idea is universality and comprehensiveness. It indicates that the scrollโ€™s contents are not just locally effective, but rather it applies to a large portion of the world and people, if not all. What is the scroll about? Well, any scroll contains writing. It is where covenants are recorded, and scrolls are important records that are usually placed in libraries.

Back to the dimensions. Are these fanciful or meaningful, and/or do they actually connect to something? Some commentators think that it is the 2 to 1 ratio that we ought to pay attention to. Or, that the huge dimensions are just to create an effect of awe in the Prophet, and then finally in the reader. I donโ€™t think so. When dimensions are stated in such a straightforward manner, then we are to take them more literally in order to see what they might correspond to. Since verse 3 tells us this scroll is the curse that goes out and applies to law breakers, then we immediately get it that this must be representative of the Law of Mosesโ€ฆ which is more than merely another law code, it is also a covenant between God and Israel.

CJB Zechariah 5:3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out over the face of all the land; for [according to what is written] on one side, everyone who steals will be swept away; and [according to what is written] on the other side, everyone who swears will be swept away.

Just as the overriding context of Zechariah and Haggai is the Temple, then clearly what comes out of the Temple is part of it. At this time in history, the Temple and its significance was less important to the largest part of Judean society than it had been before their exile, and we see this reflected by the mere 5% of the Jewish exiles who decided to come back when given the opportunity. They of course had read and heard stories of the Temple, but had never actually seen it or experienced it because they were either very small children when exiled to Babylon, or for the vast bulk, they had been born in Babylon. This also means that the Law of Moses and its contents was lesser known, thus having lesser relevance, to the younger generation of the exiles. Because the Temple no longer existed, then the Priesthood essentially no longer existed in any meaningful way. According to the Torah, the Priests were only granted the Temple and its grounds to do their service upon (they also had been granted a string of cities of refuge to operate but this seems to have faded away over the centuries). Once in Babylon, then, Priests served no functional purpose. Thus, the Law of Moses and all that it prescribed took a backseat in the minds of the people. In its place arose some ad hoc houses of meeting and prayer led mostly by concerned laymen. Historically, it had never been the job of anyone other than the Priests to teach the Law of Moses to the people, and to enforce it. Thus, what came from these home fellowship meetings up in Babylon was a mixed bag of those laymenโ€™s understanding of the Law along with some Traditions and Customs they created relative to their current circumstances, although no doubt these Traditions and Customs were said to express the intent of the Law of Moses. It was this innovation of laymen leading and teaching the Law instead of the Priests that evolved into the Synagogue system.

We are told that the original Torah had been placed in the Ark of the Covenant; but, the Ark had gone missing when Babylon invaded Judah, and so it would, until this day, never again be found (I doubt it still existsโ€ฆ although some claim to have seen itโ€ฆ probably having been melted down for its precious gold). No doubt there were copies of the Torah by now that were in the possession of the Priests that had gone off to Babylon. However, in viewing this reality from an overall effect on the people, the Lawโ€™s relevance and its commands for the exiles in Babylon were, in most cases, fading from their minds and memories. They now lived in a society that was governed by a different set of rules and laws, and operated in a different notion of morality. Therefore, when the exiles came home, in order to get their historic brand of faith operating again the Temple, as the center of their faith, had to be reinstated. If the Temple was reinstated then the Priesthood had to be reinstated for the Temple to operate. And in order to run the Temple and the Priesthood, and for Zerubbabel and Joshua to rule over the people, so did the Law of Moses have to be reinstated because Temple, Priesthood and Law of Moses all worked together to form the core of the covenant that made Israel uniquely Israel: their covenant relationship with God.

Joshua represented the Temple and the Priesthood, Zerubbabel represented the civil governance of the people, and now the flying scroll symbolically represented the Torah and the Law of Moses. However, for the moment, the focus is on the curses side of the Law for those who break it. And so, a third aspect to the symbolism of the flying scroll is that the flying represented swift movement such that the provisions of the Law would be reestablished and quickly visit the law breakers.

Letโ€™s be clear about this curse aspect of the Law because it is so terribly misunderstood within traditional Christianity, and therefore it is so radically misspoken about. The Hebrew word used here for curse is alah. It doesnโ€™t mean curse in the sense of a blasphemous word or phrase, nor does it mean an expression of anger. It is a word that operates within covenant language, and is part of the terms of a covenant. It is that part of a covenant that says what happens when one party to the covenant breaches its terms. The Law of Moses covenant provides for two basic outcomes: blessings for obedience to Godโ€™s commands, and curses for disobedience. Curse is more properly seen as a penalty equivalent to a sentence handed down by a court of law for a violation. That is, IF one obeyed the Law of Moses they could expect Godโ€™s shalom and fruitfulness in their lives. But IF they broke a commandment, there would be a penaltyโ€ฆ a prescribed consequenceโ€ฆ based upon a hierarchy of the seriousness of the sin involved in what is commonly known as a lex talionis structure: that is, the punishment is proportionate to the seriousness of the crime committed. It is no different from most Western legal systems in existence today. No one has to worry about being punished if they obey the laws of society. Yet, just because there are punishments in these legal systems for breaking the various laws, that hardly means that the legal system itself is only about oppressing and punishing people to make them unhappy slaves to that societyโ€™s laws.

Constantinian Christianity, however, has twisted the meaning of curse for its own purposes, saying that the term โ€œthe curseโ€ or โ€œthe curse of the Lawโ€ as found in the Bible means that the Law of Moses is no more nor less than a system of oppression upon people, making the Law of Moses itself essentially nothing but a needless heavy burden upon the people to appease a God who will never be fully appeased. All one has to do is to read the Torah to dismiss such a slanderous notion.

Upon the return of the Babylonian exiles to their former homeland after 70 years of exile, God then determined it was time for a re-recognition of the authority of the Law of Moses within the Judean community. The flying scroll is a visualization of His determination to bring social cohesion and stability to the Judeans through the force of that covenant made on Mt. Sinai that, by now, was 700 years old. If I could presume to ad a tag line to the symbol of the flying scroll it would be โ€œthe Law of Moses is again in effect everywhereโ€.

When, in verse 2, the Interpreting Angel asks Zechariah what he sees, the main focus is on the flying scrollโ€™s dimensions of 20 cubits by 10 cubits. Now that I have filled in some background for you, it ought not to surprise that the porch of Solomonโ€™s Temple that lay at the entrance into the Holy Place was 20 cubits by 10 cubits. Some of those Bible commentators who do see a connection between the dimensions of the flying scroll and the Temple claim that these dimensions must represent the Holy placeโ€ฆ that front chamber of the Temple sanctuary. This cannot be correct because that is NOT the dimensions of the original Wilderness Tabernacleโ€™s front chamber nor that of Solomonโ€™s Temple. But, it is the dimensions of Solomonโ€™s porch where those two giant columns, one called Boaz and the other called Yachin, were on display. We know this is the case because it was recorded.

JPS 1 Kings 6:3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.

This association of the ulam (the Hebrew word for this porch) and the flying scroll then represent the reinstatement of the very place where the Law had been used for centuries to judge cases. Just as in the smaller walled Israelite cities when cases would be brought to the Elders who sat at the city gates to judge, so especially difficult cases that were brought to the Priests in Jerusalem to judge were brought to the ulamโ€ฆ to the porch.

The first crime against the Law of Moses that is listed in Zechariah 5:3 is stealing, and it just the way we think of it; taking something that doesnโ€™t belong to us. It is a crime of human against human. The second crime is swearing. This does not mean blasphemy. It is a legal term that essentially means perjury. While we can in one way see this as intent to harm a human, God more sees it as a crime against Him because swearing always involves invoking the name of your god; in this case, invoking Yehovehโ€™s name as a guarantor of your statement. So, it is not that these 2 crimes are the narrow limit of what the curse is to affect. Rather, they are representative of all the crimes of human against human, and human against God.

The comment that these criminals will be โ€œswept awayโ€ is meant in conjure up the enduring mental picture of the Great Flood. God puts these people in the same category as everyone but Noah and his immediate family, and those people were all destroyed by an act of divine wrath. In verse 4 this is further explained:

CJB Zechariah 5:4 'I will release it,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, 'and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name; it will stay there inside the house and consume it completely, even its timbers and stones.'"

The CJB says โ€œI will release itโ€. The Hebrew more literally says โ€œI have brought it forthโ€. The CJB says this is going to happen; the Hebrew says this has happened. More, God is not โ€œallowingโ€ the curse to go out (the way one would release a lion from a cage that has held this lion back from doing what lions do), He Himself has intentionally sent it out to do what He intends to do.

When this speaks of the curse entering the house of the thief and the perjurer, it means that anyone who commits sins will not go unfound. Even if one feels safe and hidden inside his own home, the consequence for their covenant violation will seek them out and it is assured that they will bear the grievous results.

When we move on to the 5th verse of chapter 5, another vision is given. This time, the visionโ€™s symbol is of a woman inside of an ephah. Like the previous vision of the flying scroll, the Interpreting Angel is involved in gaining Zechariahโ€™s attention for him to see it. While this apparently comes quickly after the previous vision, there is no way to know for sure how much time passed. The statement of โ€œraise your eyes and see what this thing isโ€, could easily mean โ€œhere is another visionโ€, and no time at all has passed since the flying scroll vision. But, we canโ€™t know for certain. However, what the flying scroll explains about what happens to sinners, the next verses beginning with 5 offers another perspective on the matter.

What we are to notice is that while the ephah seems to be the primary vision object, in fact it is what is inside of it that is the point. An ephah is a means of measurement of dry goods. It doubles as meaning the container that the dry goods are in. So, saying ephah is like saying a bushel. We easily equate bushel and bushel basket as essentially being the same things.

To help us visualize it, an ephah was slightly more or a bit less than the size of a bushel (no one knows for sure). What might not be so apparent is that an ephah was the largest unit of dry goods measurement of volume (not weight) in use in biblical times. When we read of the omer (as in counting the omer meaning counting the days between the Passover and Shavuot biblical feasts), this is said to be the equivalent of 10 ephahs. But omers were simply ritual oriented and used only in ritual language, and there was no such thing as an actual omer-sized container, nor was the omer used as a standard measure of dry goods in commerce. Everything was ephah based.

CJB Zechariah 5:6 I asked, "What is it?" He said, "This is the eifah-measure [a one-bushel dry-measure] passing by." Then he added, "This is their eye in all the land."

The CJB, therefore, incorrectly interprets the sense of the meaning of ephah as do many Bible versions. It explains that the point of it is its size. Rather, we need to analyze this symbol in the sense of ephah more meaning a basket or a container, and not as a unit of measurement. The next verses explain why that is. Before we go there, what is this strange wording to end this verse that says: โ€This is their eye in all the landโ€? Indeed, the Hebrew word translated to โ€œeyeโ€ is ayin. But, can this be correct? If we keep this as literal as possible, then there is no logical connection between a basket and a human eye.

The Greek Septuagint (created about 250 B.C. as a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), takes this word differently. It takes it to mean โ€œtheir iniquityโ€. But the Latin translations read โ€œeyeโ€. While I certainly donโ€™t know the answer, my suspicion is that the word eye also at one time had a secondary meaning as โ€œappearanceโ€. That is, to the eye means what something looked like.

But then we get to verse 7.

CJB Zechariah 5:7 Next I saw a lead disc lifted up to reveal a woman sitting in the eifah.

What a strange sight! A lead lid covers a container, and within the container sits not grain or some other commodity, but rather a woman! This is strong evidence that the size of the basket has no meaning, because an ephah is only about one cubic foot. The woman would have to be very tiny to fit in such a small space. So here size simply plays no role in the symbol, even though size was everything in the matter of the flying scroll. There is a woman in a container with a lead lid on top of it.

What has a lead lid to do with anything? Why would there be a woman inside a basket? Thatโ€™s what weโ€™ll explore the next time we meet.

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    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 15, Chapter 8 As the Book of Zechariah progresses, we find with each new chapter its messages hitting closer and closer to home because more and more of it has to do with a time in history that not only lies not far ahead of…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 16, Chapter 8 Continued We were in Zechariah chapter 8 at verses 16 and 17 when we ran out of time, so thatโ€™s where weโ€™ll begin today. CJB Zechariah 8:16-17 16 These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other;…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 17, Chapter 9 Zechariah chapter 9 makes a significant turn in the nature and style of what is being prophesied. So much so that mainstream scholarship no longer accepts that Zechariah is still the one doing the prophesying. The Book of Zechariah as it has…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 18, Chapter 9 Continued As we continue in the ultra-cryptic Zechariah chapter 9, letโ€™s briefly review our previous lesson. Iโ€™ll begin by reminding you that in modern times, the Book of Zechariah is seen by most Bible scholars as consisting of 2 books by 2…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 19, Chapters 9 and 10 As we continue today in Zechariah chapter 9, the first chapter in that part of the prophetโ€™s book that for some time has been labeled โ€œSecond Zechariahโ€, we need to keep the bigger picture in mind otherwise weโ€™ll got lost…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 20, Chapter 10 We barely opened Zechariah chapter 10 last time before we needed to stop. So, we only got through the first verse. Letโ€™s start things off by re-reading the entire chapter. RE-READ ZECHARIAH CHAPTER 10 all Verse 1 could be summed up by…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 21, Chapter 10 Continued The opening 5 verses of Zechariah Chapter 10 painted us a vivid picture of divine providence and a stark contrast between God's power and goodness and the failings of false leaders who are either self-deceived, or lie and manipulate for their…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 22, Chapter 11 To repeat the mantra that Iโ€™ve spoken since the introduction to the Book of Zechariah, this is perhaps the most challenging book in the Bible to properly interpret, and, yet, one of the most important from which to glean knowledge. Chapter 11…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 23, Chapter 11 Continued Weโ€™ll continue, today, to work our way carefully, thoughtfully, through the intricate maze of Zechariah chapter 11. While indeed it is quite the task, it is worth it because of the important information that God wants us to know about the…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 24, Chapter 11 Continued 2 Weโ€™re still in Zechariah chapter 11, and concluded our last lesson at verse 8. The material is so dense in information, and yet can be so puzzling in its meaning, that it is always best that we take brief moment…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 25, Chapter 11 Conclusion As we progress through Zechariah chapter 11, we paused last week as we were looking at verse 12. Much symbolic action has been taking placeโ€ฆ spiced up with a number of metaphors, and not an insignificant amount of irony has also…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 26, Chapter 12 Just as Bible scholars tend to divide the Book of Zechariah into two booksโ€ฆ First Zechariah that is chapters 1 โ€“ 8, and Second Zechariah that is chapters 9 โ€“ 14โ€ฆ so, they further divide Second Zechariah into two sections, chapters 9…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 27, Chapter 12 Continued Before we re-open the amazing, mysterious, informative, complex Zechariah, I want to spend some time with a subject that is greatly entangled within its pages, which is also in some ways the elephant-in-the-room for Bible students, and for those that havenโ€™t…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 28, Chapters 12 and 13 We paused in Zechariah 12:10 last time. As a mini-refresher, this entire chapter is about an attack on Jerusalem by the nations. The way the Bible uses the term โ€œthe nationsโ€ always means gentile nations. And, that always means every…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 29, Chapter 13 Since we barely got started last time in Zechariah chapter 13, letโ€™s re-read the entire chapter. Open your Bibles to Zechariah 13. READ ZECHAHARIAH CHAPTER 13 all Zechariah has to be one of the most impactful prophecies that affects us personally and…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 30, Chapters 13 and 14 Whenever we get deep into studying a Bible bookโ€ฆ especially so as concerns an Old Testament bookโ€ฆ it is important that we occasionally back away from it, float up to the 30,000-foot altitude in our hot air balloon, and take…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 31, Chapter 14 Christians have traditionally looked primarily to the Book of Revelation for their guide on End Times matters and information about the return of Messiah. In addition, we find other New Testament books like Matthew, Luke, John, and Thessalonians, which seem to provide…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 32, Chapter 14 Continued Weโ€™ve worked our way to this final chapter of Zechariah, and last week paused at verse 8. Starting at verse 6 we read about changes in nature, or better a change in the very nature of nature, that has (since Creation)…

    THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Lesson 33, Chapter 14 Conclusion Just as the viewpoint of the biblical Creation Story is earth-centric as though someone was standing on earth to record Godโ€™s process of Creation, so as Zechariah winds down the viewpoint reduces further to Jerusalem-centric. Earth, so far as we know,…