It is ever the terrible tendency
of preachers, even good, faithful preachers,
when we see things that make us think God's people are becoming
indifferent, indifferent to the things of God, careless with
regard to the order of their lives, lax in the service of
Christ. It is our tendency to sternly
scold them, threaten them with the whip of the law, or to slip
in the promise of some blessings if they'll just change. Now,
we don't do it openly, none of us who believe grace would do
that, but rather just subtly with comments like, well, if
you don't do this, you're just not saved. don't experience this or feel
bad, that's a sign that you've never been regenerated. And so
we would bring folks back under the yoke of the law. We know
better. We know better. We know that God's saints are
not under the law, but under grace. We know that the scoldings,
the threats, and the bribes of legality never have any effect
on the hearts of men. Never. Never. They may change
outward behavior. They have no effect on the heart.
And it's our purpose not to change outward behavior, but the heart. Getting folks to change their
outward behavior won't do them any good. Not before God. That
which God speaks to, that upon which God looks, that with which
God deals, is the heart. Religion and all the efforts
of the flesh work from the outside and hope to get in. It won't
happen. God works from the inside and always works out. We just
do things just backwards. It ought never be the case that
we revert to such legal tactic and such legal thought. You see,
Christ crucified, grace experienced, love manifest, and mercy sure,
these things alone draw our hearts to our God. These things alone
affect our hearts as we walk before him. Nothing inspires
devotion like the experience of devotion. Nothing inspires
gratitude like the experience of grace. Nothing inspires love
like the experience of God's matchless free love in Christ. Nothing motivates us in the cause
of Christ like the sure mercy our God has promised us. Now,
the prophet Zechariah understood that clearly. God the Holy Spirit
taught him, and he uses these very things in his day. Zechariah was a younger prophet
than Haggai, but he prophesied in the same time. and is prophesied
as a companion with Haggai. But Zechariah comes along while
the temple work had stopped, while the people were lax, they
had become indifferent, they had become too much involved
with the care of the world, and left aside for whatever excuses
they gave the building of God's house. And Zechariah is sent
of God to call the people to repentance. In these fourteen
chapters he speaks of Christ. He speaks about Christ throughout
these chapters. The book of Zechariah speaks
of Christ coming more fully than any of the other prophets and
gives more pictures and prophecies of Christ than any of the other
Old Testament prophets except the prophecy of Isaiah. He speaks
of the first advent of Christ and coming to redeem us with
his blood to put away our sin in one day. And he speaks of
the glorious second advent of our Savior when he says, The
Lord my God shall come and all his saints with thee. Now that's
what the book of Zechariah is all about. Christ our God and
our Savior saving his people. But Pastor, wasn't this written
to the Jews? Wasn't this written to folks
who had been brought back out of Babylonian captivity, who
had been sent down to Jerusalem to build again the temple of
God and the city of God? Indeed it was. But this book
of Zechariah didn't finish its purpose when the Jews were finished. Oh, no. This is God's word to
you, the Israel of God, this day. This is God's word to his
people in these days in which we live. In fact, the phrase,
in that day, is used by Zachariah twenty times in these fourteen
chapters. Sixteen times it's used in just
the last three chapters of the book. That day of which Zachariah
speaks is the day in which we now live, this gospel day, this
age of God's grace. It began with the coming of Christ
in his first advent, and it extends unto the glorious second advent
of Christ, when time shall be no more. We know that. John said
in 1 John 4, little children, it is the last time. And what
he's talking about, quite literally, he's saying this is the last
tick of the clock. This is the finishing of God's
when Christ came, the last day began. Now, this needs to be
stressed, because I know that while we fight it and resist
it, the influence of the false, carnal religion permeates our
thinking. And we tend to think, well, what
about these days that are yet to come? This is the last day. This is the last day. When our Lord Jesus comes again
in his glory, this last day will have the timepiece of God's purpose
in creation put to an end forever. Eternity dawns when Christ comes
again. In that day, our God pours out
his spirit of grace and supplication upon his people. We read that
in Zechariah In that day, in Zechariah 13, verse 1, there
is a fountain open for cleansing, for sin, for cleansing from iniquity,
and that fountain open is Christ Jesus the Lord. Though all the
world fights against us, God's church and his kingdom is perfectly
safe in that day in which we live, and is constantly triumphant,
though it appears often to be failing. God's church, God's
kingdom is always safe. It is constantly triumphant.
I don't mean we shall triumph, I mean we are triumphant. God's
cause never lags behind. God's cause never wanes. God's cause is never at a loss. Rather, our God causes us constantly
to triumph by his grace, because we are constantly under his care
and under his protection. Zechariah tells us the purpose
of God shall be fully accomplished in all things. God's glory in
Christ shall be seen in the final defeat of all his foes, and in
the complete salvation of all his people. And that's what we'll
see in chapter 14. But Brother Don, can we be sure
of this? Can we be certain that God's purpose will prevail? Can
we be certain that Christ will save his people. Can we be absolutely
certain of triumph over all our enemies and of perfect safety
in all our times, even when we are called of God to go through
the furnace? Yes, indeed we can. Look at it
in chapter 4, verse 6. We'll begin here. Zechariah chapter
4 and verse 6. You see, the whole work, the
whole work of creation The whole work of providence, the whole
work of redemption, the whole work of grace, the whole work
of our salvation is in the hands of our great Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ, our mighty Zerubbabel, here typified unto this man Zerubbabel. Look at it, verse 6. Then he
answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord
unto Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power. Oh, God, teach me this. God's
work doesn't depend on my might or yours. God's work does not
depend on your power or mine. God's work doesn't depend on
men, or what men can do, or what men say. Not by might, nor by
power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. It's the Spirit that
quickens, the flesh poppin' up nothing. Who art thou? O great
mountain. Oh, such a high mountain in front
of me. What's that? Before the rubble? Or what's
that before Christ? He made the mountain. He can
level it. Who art thou, O great mountain, before Zerubbabel?
Thou shalt become a plain, and he shall bring forth the headstone
thereof, with shoutings crying, Grace, grace unto it. Look at
verse 9. The hands of Zerubbabel, the
hands of Christ, have laid the foundation of this house. He
is the foundation. His hands shall also finish it. and thou shalt know that the
Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you." Now, this prophecy of Zechariah
really just has two major divisions. In chapter 1, going through chapter
8, Zechariah deals with the present circumstances in which the people
of God found themselves when he came on the scene, while they
were building the house of God. While they were supposed to be
building it, and they had become lax and indifferent, but the
work hadn't just totally stopped, they had at least begun. And
now Zechariah deals with them in their present circumstances
as he calls them again to return to the work. And then from chapter
9 through chapter 14, the prophet speaks of that which was future
to the children of Israel after the house of God was completed.
In other words, Zechariah has a message for us for now, and
he has a message for us for tomorrow. It is a message of grace, free
grace, of absolute, certain grace, because God our Savior sits on
his throne. now and tomorrow, while we are
engaged in his work, building his kingdom, and when his work
on this earth is done. Now let's look at the prophecy.
The book of Zechariah begins by reminding the children of
Israel that it was the sin, rebellion, and unbelief of their fathers
that had brought them into bondage. Now hear me, hear me, hear me. Wrath and judgment are never
arbitrary, never. I can't stress it enough, I can't
say it enough, I can't speak it plainly enough and underscore
it boldly enough. I hear from folks, preachers
and others who want to dot all the i's and cross all the t's
just right and they want to deal with reprobation and God's eternal
decrees and the order of the decrees and all those things.
God Almighty is not going to fit into your box of mind. He's
not going to do it. He's a bit bigger than we are.
And when you get him all figured out, when you get him all figured
out, he's too little. If you can figure him out, he's
just too little. is never an arbitrary thing with
God. Never. Read this book. Wrath
and judgment are always presented in this book as God's retribution
upon man's unbelief, rebellion, and sin. Judgment comes. Wrath comes because of iniquity,
because of rebellion, because of unbelief, not the other way
around. In this book, the prophet begins
with a blessed, blessed call to repentance, and an assurance
that God Almighty will be gracious to all who seek him. Look at
what it says, verse 3, chapter 1, verse 3, verse 3, chapter 1, verse 3, verse
3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse
3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3,
verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3,
verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3,
verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3,
verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse
3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse 3, verse I
stand before you speaking in God's name, and this is what
God Almighty sends me to tell you. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts,
God who is in control of everybody and everything, Turn ye unto
me, saith the Lord of Hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith
the Lord of Hosts. Is that good or what? But preacher, the Lord's got
to turn me or I can't turn to him. I know that. I know that. But you know, this book never
addresses sinners that way. Not one time. Not one time does
this book address sinners saying, now if the Lord will come to
you and turn you, then you can turn to him and he'll turn to
you. Not one time. This is what this book says.
You turn to me. Right now, David Peterson, you
turn to me. You turn to me. Right now, stubborn,
obstinate rebel, turn to me. You turn to me, and I'll turn
to you. You turn to me in your time of
need, I'll turn to you with my supply. You turn to me for grace,
I'll turn to you with grace. You turn to me for mercy, I'll
turn to you with mercy. You turn to me for compassion,
I'll turn to you with compassion. You turn to me for help, I'll
turn to you with help. Turn to me, I'll turn to you.
Give me a picture. If I look to him, he'll look
to me. I mean if you look to him, he's
already looking on you. Turn to me. Turn to me and I'll
turn to you. That's not a conditional grace? No! No! Turn to me! Turn to me! And I will turn to you in such
a way that you'll know I've turned to you. You'll know I've turned
to you. Now, after calling the people
to repentance, the Lord gave his prophet eight very comforting,
reassuring visions to give to his people. I'll just call your
attention to them, and you can look at them in more detail later.
I want to get to some other things. First, in chapter 1, verses 7-11,
he speaks of four horsemen among the myrtle trees, depicting Israel,
God's elect, scattered among the nations, but not forgotten. Oh, they're scattered like out
here in the midst of an open field. Where are they? I don't know. Nobody knows. Where
do you find them? I don't know. Nobody knows. Nobody
here. But they're not forgotten of
God. As a matter of fact, Zechariah's name means God remembers. And he's telling the children
of Israel, God won't forget you. He won't forget you. And then
he describes four horns. which are used to portray the
nations of the earth, powers of the earth. But along with
these four horns, the prophet describes four carpenters, that
is, skilled craftsmen, four gospel preachers, agents of God, used
by God for the deliverance of his people from the power of
their oppressors, in verses 18-21. And then in chapter 2, verses
1-13, Zechariah sees a man with a measure in said to measure
Jerusalem, the city of God. I read that last week, and I
thought I'd read that before. Over in Revelation 11, same thing
John saw. Only in Revelation 11, John was
given the measure instead. Same thing Ezekiel saw. The presence
of the Lord is here declared to be a wall of fire about his
people. That will make walls unnecessary. This city is to be measured,
but it's measured by this man and this man alone, because he's
the only one who knows the number of his elect, the inhabitants
of that city, which is four square. He measures it, and the vastness
of it means the walls are impossible. It can't be contained. And then
Joshua, in chapter 3, is set before us as the high priest,
clothed after being and crowned after being closed, as the angel
of the Lord stands by. In chapter 4, Zechariah describes
the Lord Jesus Christ as the light of the world, as he is
displayed in this world through his church, the golden candlestick
that he saw here. And then in chapter 5, verse
4, Zechariah describes a flying scroll, the word of God that
goes through all the world, by which God both executes his purpose
and rules the world, and shall judge all things." Then in chapter
6, verses 1-8, the prophet sees four chariots, four chariots
and men riding in them, who are as the four spirits of heaven
sent down from the presence of the Lord to continually patrol
and continually punish the evil in the world. But as I said in
the beginning, Zechariah, more than any of the other Old Testament
prophets except Isaiah, speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ directly,
and speaks of him with types that are just unmistakable. And
I want to call your attention to a few of them. First, look
at chapter 2, verses 1 through 5. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that
man who measures his church. But the church of God, the kingdom
of God, the number of God's is 10,000 times 10,000, a number
that no man knows. Yeah, but he measures it, because
he chose them. He measures it, and he is himself
described in verse 5 as a wall of fire about, and will be the
glory in the midst of her. What you, Zechariah, what are
you saying? Everything's all right. Everything's
all right. I am building my church, I've
measured it, and this is how it's going to be. And then in
chapter 3, verse 5, Christ is presented to us as the angel
of the Lord, who commands the salvation of his people, and
who commanded the salvation of Joshua here. He is that angel
of the Lord who stands in Revelation chapter 10 with a book in his
hand, with his feet upon the sea and upon the land, who rules
all things for the saving of his people. Well, can you call
Christ an angel? Of course you can. The book calls
him an angel. He is the angel of the Lord,
the messenger of the covenant. He is the angel of the Lord's
presence. That's what the word messenger means. Not a created
angel, but the messenger of God, by whom God makes himself known
to men. In chapter 3, verse 8, he is
Jehovah's servant, the servant of God, whom he shall bring forth. And then in chapter 3, verse
8 again, and again in chapter 6, verse 12. And we know this
talking about him because we find it again in Luke chapter
1. The Lord Jesus is called the branch. He is the branch. He is that one that God brings
forth, his righteous branch. And in chapter 3, verse 9, our
Lord is described as the foundation stone, but a foundation stone
with seven eyes. all-seeing foundation. This is
the foundation upon which God builds his church, the only foundation
laid, the foundation stone that is to you who believe precious.
And this foundation stone has seven eyes, perfect knowledge,
perfect understanding of everything. Look here at verse 9. For behold
the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon one stone shall
be seven eyes, Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof,
saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of
that man in one day." One day came when this great foundation
stone was laid, when this great mediator who measures his church
and kingdom came into this world. and he assumed our nature and
he obeyed God's holy law in our womb instead and he was crucified
as our substitute and in one day when he cried it is finished
the iniquity of his people was gone it's gone he took it away
by one sacrifice the sacrifice of himself he put away all the
sins of his people all at once and then Christ our Savior is
typified in Zerubbabel. Let's read that passage in chapter
4, beginning at verse 6. Then answered and spake unto
me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel,
not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord
of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain? I said to you a little bit ago,
I am so ashamed before I want so much to honor him by believing
him. I started to say, I don't have
to believe him. That would be a compliment to me. We meet up with a mountain, an
obstacle, a barrier, a hindrance, something just too big for us.
And it doesn't take much to get too big for us. And oh, it's too much. For me it is, for you it is,
for us it is, but not before the Son of God. Who art thou,
O Mountain, before Christ? Thou shalt become a plain, and
he shall bring forth the headstone thereof, with shouting, crying,
Grace, Grace unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord
came to me, saying," and watch this, "'The hands of Christ have
laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it,
and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto
you.'" He laid the foundation of the house, he's building the
house, and he's going to lay the headstone of the corner,
he's going to finish the work, and when it gets done, you're
going to say, well, God did that. The Lord did this. Here's another
picture. Look in chapter 6, verse 13.
The Lord Jesus is our great priest, who is also our king. He's described
here as our priest upon his throne, the priest who builds his temple,
who bears the glory of his temple, and maintains the counsel of
peace for us. Now watch this. Verse 13. Even
he shall build the temple of the Lord, He shall bear the glory,
that is, the glory is on his shoulders. He's responsible for
it. And he's going to have it all. And he shall sit and rule
upon the throne. Who's that? He shall be a priest
upon his throne. He shall be a priest upon his
throne. That speaks to none but Christ
Jesus, who is our King and our Priest. Now watch this. And the
counsel of peace shall be between them both." Who both? I don't see but one person there.
I don't see but one person there. Oh, but I see two officers. A
council of peace shall be maintained by this king and this priest
upon his throne. This king who rules the world
in righteousness, and this priest who sacrifices, satisfies all
justice, and now he gives peace to his people. Verse 9, Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, thy king cometh unto
thee, he is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding
upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass. And I will cut off
the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and
the battle-bow shall be cut off, Did that happen when Christ came
into this world? When he rode into Jerusalem?
Is that what happened? Well, there's still war and rumor
of war that's everywhere. And he breaks the bow? He cuts off the cherry? What's
he talking about? Not something you read in the
newspaper. Not something you see with the
carnal eye. for something you experience by the hand of his
grace. He breaks the battle bow. He cuts off the chariot of his
enemies, and he saves his people. He breaks rebellion in you, and
he breaks rebellion for you. Read on. And he shall speak peace
to the heathen. And his dominion, when did he have this dominion?
I read and read and read the last couple of weeks commentaries
on this thing. And they kept trying to convince
me, what folks tried to convince me of when I first went into
Bible college. Now what Zachariah saw, what Zachariah saw was Christ
coming, his first coming, and then suddenly Zachariah's vision
jumps way over this parenthetical age that doesn't make any difference
to the second coming, and he didn't see anything in between.
Oh, no! No, no, no, no! Zechariah saw
clearly. This one who came into Jerusalem in lowliness, right
in the front of the fold of an ass, he wasn't going there to
get the Jews to crown him as king. He was going there to take
possession of his throne as God's anointed by way of the cross,
which he had sworn to do in the accomplishment of redemption.
And he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that
thy son also may glorify thee. Thou hast given him power over
all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou
hast given him. And now his dominion shall be
from sea to sea, and from river to the ends of the earth. Where all this Christ grew? Just
that far. Just that far. as for thee also by the blood
of thy covenant." He's talking to Christ, this King, by the
blood of thy covenant. What did our Lord say about his
blood? This is the blood of the New Testament, the New Covenant,
shed for many for the remission of sins. By the blood of thy
covenant, by the efficacy of it, by the acceptance of it,
by the satisfaction of it, by the blood of thy covenant, I
have sent forth thy prisoners, not just prisoners, thy prisoners.
They were his before he sent them forth, but he bought them,
and now he sends them forth out of the pit where it is no water,
turn you to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today
do I declare that I will render double unto thee." What did the
prophet have a command from God to tell the people? Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Declare unto Jerusalem
that her warfare is finished, that her iniquity is pardoned,
and she hath received at the Lord's hand double for all her
sins. Don, today, come. By the blood
of my covenant, I've kicked down your prison doors, and I've set
you free, and I speak peace to you, and I've forgiven all your sins,
and I give you perfect righteousness, all by the blood of my covenant.
Come forth, prisoners of hope. Now, I've got something to drink.
It is by the blood of the covenant that these prisoners go forth.
And he renders to them double for all their sins. Now look
at verse 60. Our Savior is described here
as the Lord our God, who shall save his flock, and make us stones
in the crown of his glory. Sometimes I get subjects that
are too big for me, and that was too big for me. This man
talking to you shall be forever a diadem in the crown of the
glory of the triune God, because he makes me such. His glory shall
shine in me forever. Look at chapter 11, verses 12
and 13. Here's Christ again. I said unto them, If ye think
good, give me my price, and if not, forbear." Okay, we'll tell
you what you're worth, Dutch. So they weighed for my price
thirty pieces of silver. Judas, what's he worth? Can we get him for thirty pieces
of silver? Let's see what the prophet said. Yep, that's what
you sent him for. God rules everything, and Judas
sold him exactly according to the treachery of his heart and
the covetousness of his nature for 30 pieces of silver. Well,
is the prophet exact? Does God dare be precise? Don't you sit back and laugh
when you watch these folks on television who claim to be able
to see the future. They can't give names. Locations,
dates, everything else. I was watching a fellow named
Nostradamus. I was watching one of those history
things about him. And they started quoting from
passages in Nostradamus, talking about the new city. And there'll
be a big fire in the new city. He was predicting 9-11 and the
attack on the World Trade Center. There it is, right there. I must be blind. Oh, that ain't
what he said. How come? Because he didn't know
anything. And neither does any other soothsayer,
or witch doctor, or fortune teller. And it's nothing but idolatry
to think they do. But God speaks with precision. Such precision
that you can test it. You can test it. What did they
do with that money? What did Judas, Pharaoh, repents,
he's horrified because he's betrayed innocent blood, and he takes
the money and says, you take it back! But he couldn't get
rid of it. And they said, well, we can't
do that, that's against the law. We're good religious folks. No,
we want to make a deal, we can't take that back. What are we going
to do with it? Well, let's turn back here to
Zechariah chapter 11 and see what God said we're supposed
to do with it. And the Lord said to me, cast it into the potter,
a goodly price that I was prized at of them, and I took thirty
pieces of silver and cast them into the potter in the house
of the Lord. And so they bought a place in
the potter's field. His hands, we're told in chapter
12, verse 10, were pierced. And then in chapter 13, look
at verse Our Lord Jesus Christ is the
fountain opened by the piercing, not the piercing of men, but
the piercing of God Almighty, open for sin and for uncleanness. In that day there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, open for sin and open for uncleanness. In verse
7, Zachariah even presents our Savior in his dual nature, as
the God-man. Hold your hands here and come
back to chapter 6. Let me show you. Chapter 6, verse 12. And speak unto him, saying, Thus
speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is
the branch. Behold the man whose name is
the branch. The man, the man, he's the one
building this temple, the man. Now look at chapter 13, verse
7. Talking about this same man. God Almighty speaks and says,
Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man, the man,
but what's this man? The man that is my fellow, my
equal, my companion, one with me. Awake, O infinite sword of
infinite justice, against this man who is God, and smite and
slay this desert!" And the sheep will scatter. His disciples forsook
him. All of them. Not just Peter,
all of them. But he makes a promise. The sheep shall be scattered
And I turn mine hand upon the little ones. They're going to
run, but I'm not going to let them go. I'm going to fetch them,
and I'm going to keep them. Verse 7 of chapter 13. Our Lord
is described here as the good shepherd who was given for his
sheep. Now look at chapter 14. The prophet
here speaks of our Lord's glorious second advent. And his feet shall
stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem
on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall
cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west.
And there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain
shall be moved toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley
of the mountains shall reach unto Azel. And ye shall flee,
like as ye fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of
Judah. And the Lord my God shall come,
and all the saints with thee. He comes with ten thousand of
his saints. And it shall come to pass in that day that light
shall not be clear or dark. But it shall be one day which
shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night, but it shall come
to pass that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall
be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem,
half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the
hinder sea, in summer and in winter. It will be just the same.
And the Lord shall be king over all the earth in that day, there
shall be one Lord, and his name one." Now, this prophecy gives
us several clear pictures of God's grace. It's full of grace.
If it's full of Christ, it's full of grace. Let me just call
your attention to two of them. Chapter 3, verse 1. He sees a
picture here of Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel
of the Lord. Here I am, filthy from head to
toe, standing before the angel of the Lord, standing before
Christ, trembling and fearful, because
Satan stands on my right hand to resist me. Verse 2, And the
Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuked thee, O Satan. Even the
Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee. Is not this a brand plucked out
of the fire? I've redeemed them. You shut up, I've redeemed them.
I've bought it. Read on. Now Joshua was clothed
with filthy garments and stood before the angel. That's all
he could do, just stand there. And he answered and spake unto
those that stood before him, saying, take away the filthy
garments from him. And to Joshua he said, Behold,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with a change of raiment. And I said, Let them
set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter on his
head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood
by him. Christ never left him, interceding for him, protecting
him, caring for him all the time, both before he knew it and afterwards. All right, look down at chapter
12, verse 10. In the beginning he said, Turn
to me, and I'll turn to you. Well, when will you turn to him? I'll tell you when you'll turn
to him, when he pours on you his spirit in regenerating mercy
and grace that you cannot resist, the spirit of grace and supplication.
Look at it. Chapter 12, verse 10. I will
pour upon the house of David, upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
I'll pour upon my elect the spirit of grace and of supplication. And they, they upon whom I pour
my Spirit, upon whom I pour my Spirit of grace and supplication,
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. And they shall
mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be
in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn." Then in chapter 11, verse 16,
down through chapter 12 and verse 9, Zechariah speaks about another
group of people. He talks about an idol shepherd
that God will raise up. Antichrist, the man of sin. God
raises him up for the punishment of the unbelieving who will not
worship him. And he leads the nations of the earth, all the
religions of the world, in confusion, as Babylon. He leads them in rebellion and opposition to
Christ, his church and his kingdom. But the Lord God declares in
verse 8 of chapter 12, I'll defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Armageddon is not some future military holocaust. Armageddon
began when this day began. John said even now there are
many antichrists going out into Already. Armageddon is the opposition
of the whole world, political and religious. I said to a friend
the other day, called him up and said, OK, did you hear what
they did? I said, why does that surprise
you? Why are you astounded by what folks do? God said that's
what they do. But everything's all right. He's
still on the throne. He's still in control. and he
still protects his own, even though all hell rage against
us. Now quickly look at verse 12
of chapter 14. I read this and thought to myself,
what a description this is, of the everlasting torments of the
damned, those whose our God, his Christ, his gospel and And this shall be the plague
wherewith the Lord shall smite the people that have fought against
Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away
while they stand upon their feet. Their eyes shall consume away
in their hole, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
And it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult
from the Lord shall be among them. There will be a shame,
he says later. And they shall lay hold every
one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against
the hand of his neighbor." Oh, my soul, what horror that shall be! When
everybody around you hates you, and you hate everybody around
you, then your life consumes away and just will not consume
away. But then things are different
in another land. In verses 16 through 21 of chapter 14, the
Lord tells us just a little bit, just a little bit, about the
glory that awaits us. I'll let you read the passage
later, but he tells us some things that just aren't going to be
there anymore. He says there won't be any more nights. The
sun and the nights will be alike. There won't be any more wintertime.
Summer and winter will be just like there won't be any more
thirst. There'll be living waters flowing to you continually. There'll
be no more darkness. There'll be no more conflict,
no more unbelief, but we will keep the Feast of Tabernacles,
that is, constantly feed upon Christ Jesus our Lord, who was
portrayed in that Feast. And there'll be no more sin,
because every pot, and every gift, and every service, even
the bells on the horses by them, will sing holiness to the Lord. Forever we will serve him in
the perfection of his holiness. Now, what's the last verse of
the chapter? And there won't be any more Canaanite
to drive out or even continue