Zachariah. Go to New Testament, go back to books and you're there. That might be easier than trying to thumb your way all the way through the Old Testament. Book of Zachariah. If you don't have a Bible, there are Bibles up under the seats in front of you. If you've got your app. I may be old, but I don't mind a nice blue glow in your face as you're looking at the scriptures. These folks with the electronic stuff. Well, last week I gave a introduction to this book of prophecy. And so we are now in a sermon series on it. And my purpose in presenting this particular book is to lay a foundation so we can understand our future study in the book of Revelation. If there is not at least some basic understanding of the prophecies of the Old Testament, what the Hebrew prophets said about the same time period that Revelation cover, then you're not going to properly interpret Revelation. And because that is true, that so many do not do that, we end up with a lot of allegorical interpretation of the book of Revelation that it's just, well, it simply is wrong. It's manned speculations instead of going back to what the prophets have already said about it. Now, since my purpose is a preparation for something else, I'm not gonna be going into as depth in this study as I normally do with most of my expositional studies of a particular book. If you are interested in all the nuances of why a certain thing may mean something or what all the different commentators, then I would suggest Feinberg's book. Next slide. Charles Feinberg, God remembers, has studied the book of Zechariah. And then John MacArthur has released his first in a series of commentaries on the Old Testament, and the first one is on Zechariah. I'm also going to say I'm very grateful to one of my professors, Irv Busenitz. I was in his classes back in the last millennium. And he has written a very good book, which I am going to be using quite a bit in this series. It's entitled, Preach the Minor Prophets, a Practical Guide. He just does an excellent job of summarizing the salient points throughout all the minor prophets. And I found that very helpful by using some of his outlining later in the sermon. Now Zechariah is a post-exilic prophet who was contemporary with the prophet Haggai. That means he is after they have returned from exile to Babylon. Haggai had given his first message from the Lord only two months prior. The message of both prophets were to encourage the remnant that was tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem and the temple with getting on with the work of rebuilding the temple. Opposition and discouragement had caused them to stop rebuilding for about 14 years. Cyrus's decree in 538 was to go do it. They got discouraged, they stopped. And so Haggai was the first one to give a message. September 1st, 520 BC, he rebuked the people for having become complacent. They had become now more focused on building their own houses and trying to become prosperous than they were doing what they were there to do, which was to rebuild the temple, start the worship of Yahweh in a proper manner. And so he pointed out to them, you actually are striving to be prosperous, but you're not prosperous because God's against you. You're not obeying him. So that is Haggai, and that kind of run through the rest of it. Now Yahweh then stirred up the governor, Zerubbabel, he's actually in the Davidic line, he's governor, and Joshua the high priest resumed the work. 23 days later after Haggai's first message they began. They had gotten as far early on as laying the foundation and repairing the foundation. Now they're starting to work on the structure itself. A month after Haggai gave a second message to Yahweh, Zerubbabel now enters and he gives his first message from the word of the Lord. Now, we examined that message last week. It's in Zechariah 1, 1 through 6. And it was a reminder to them that the wrath of God had been upon their forefathers because of the evil they had done. They were not obedient to God, and their failure to heed the many warnings of prophets, and so God had sent them into exile. The warning is, don't repeat the errors, the failures of your fathers. Learn from history. Don't do that. Because you're in danger of that. You've come back to land, but you're following the same kind of pattern. So it was a good warning. And it complemented very well what Haggai was saying. Now that warning though isn't completely in harmony with the prophecies in Deuteronomy 30 about a restoration. They needed to return to the Lord and he'd return to them. And so that's what his call. Return to the Lord. Don't go the direction of your forefathers. Yahweh remembers he will keep his covenant. That's an encouragement. Haggai then gives a third message the next month reminding them again, your lack of prosperity has been because you were not obeying Yahweh. But now that you've started, you can expect that God is going to bless you. Zerubbabel then has a series of visions, eight of them in one night. That would have been a long night. Probably tired the next day. In fact, I know he was tired and one of the visions the angel has to wake him up again. So all in one night, and it's one after another, just sequencing. And each of these is going to be dealing with trying to encourage Zerubbabel and Joshua to continue the work. That's their purpose. Now we covered the first vision last week, that was the one of the four horses, the riders, and the angel of Yahweh among the myrtle trees. And again the message was rebuilding the temple Yahweh remembers. Now he had been indignant for 70 years and the nations that had laid waste to Israel, to Judah, and Jerusalem were at peace. But they had gone into an excessive degree in their attacking of the Jewish nation. And so God's wrath was now abiding upon them. But the promises is, I am returning and Jerusalem's going to be rebuilt. So that becomes a message of hope. It's going to be restored, it's going to be populated, it's going to be prosperous, and his house is going to be built in it. A very encouraging prophecy to them in that very first vision. The second vision we also covered last week, verses 18 through 21, of horns and smiths. I'm like, horns and smiths? Why not the Joneses? No, we're talking about people who are creative with wood and metal and that kind of, okay, metalsmiths and things. Now this particular prophecy parallels Daniel chapter 2 and Daniel chapter 7 and they would have been familiar with them because those prophecies were only given 75 years and 35 years prior respectively. Now the Horians referred to the nations that in succession had scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem which Daniel had revealed to be Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and then Rome. The Smiths, the text states, are also the same nations because in succession they destroyed the nation previous. So, Medo-Persia destroyed Babylon, Greece destroyed Persia, and then Rome destroyed Greece. But then there's a fourth nation needed to destroy Rome, which again parallels the prophecies of Daniel. It would be a renewed messianic kingdom. Messiah would be reigning, and he would smash the kingdom of Rome. He would carry out his retribution upon those nations that have oppressed and scattered the Jews, and then fulfill the prophecies, Messiah is going to reign over the earth forever. So that was last week. Today we're going to cover the next three visions. It takes up quite a bit of space, so we're going to be moving a little fast. Now the third vision recorded in Zechariah 2, Herb Busenist titles this vision of the Surveyor as Blessings on Israel at the Lord's Return. And he outlines it in five blessings bestowed on Israel. Prosperity, protection, regathering, plunder, and praise. This vision follows immediately after the second one. So follow along as we look at it. Zechariah 2 verse 1, He said to him, run, speak to that young man saying Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because the multitude of men and cattle within it. So stop there. So the man with a measuring cord is a surveyor and he's been sent to determine the dimensions of Jerusalem. Now the interpreting angel that was in the first vision goes out to meet another angel that gives a very important and encouraging message to be delivered quickly to this young man. Jerusalem will be inhabited without walls because of the multitude of men and cattle within it. That is a description of great prosperity and peace. A population that has increased so much they no longer fit within the walled confines of the city. Feinberg points out that the word used here actually, of unwalled, actually refers to plains, open-level country, as contrasted with fortified walled cities. And he cites Ezekiel 38.11 as the explanatory use of that word. So it's more than just they outgrew the bounds of the city. Okay, that actually is going to start pointing towards some other prophecies. To the very small population of Jerusalem at that time, this would be extremely encouraging. Because you got a little population, there's not enough there even when they start rebuilding the walls of being able to cover all the walls. There's not enough people. But it's gonna be so prosperous, the walls can't contain them. It's gonna be outside the bounds. But that also indicates something else. They have to be at peace. or they have to have some means which is guarding them. Otherwise, especially in the ancient time, you would build some sort of fortifications to protect yourself. You'd extend your walls. Hezekiah did that when he knew Assyria was coming down. He extended the walls of Jerusalem to contain the people so they'd be safe from the coming attack. Now, verse five describes the source of that protection, and it's Yahweh himself. He says, I will be a wall of fire around her. I will be the glory in her midst. Now if you recall, when was the last time that God had manifested himself as fire, a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud? Exodus. And he was their protector. In fact, if you recall after they had wandered for a couple days there and Pharaoh's army starts chasing them and they're up against the Red Sea, it is God manifesting himself in that form, a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud got between the army and the children of Israel that allowed the children of Israel to cross the Red Sea after God had parted the waters and let them go across on dry land. Well protection also means sometimes that there's going to be an offense as well. So what did Pharaoh's army do? We're going to follow them in. Off they went and the text actually says in there that through the pillar of fire and cloud he brought the army Egyptians into confusion. Then he brought the waters back over them and that was the end of Pharaoh's army. Yahweh states in this verse that he would be their protector in the future in a similar manner. And since God has not manifested himself in that particular way since the exile. This is still future as will be seen the rest of this particular prophecy. Allocations of this prophecy do injustice to the text. Look at verse 6. Ho there, flee from the land of the north, declares Yahweh, for I have dispersed you as the four winds of heavens, declares Yahweh. Woe, Zion, escape you who are living with the daughter of Babylon, for thus says Yahweh of hosts, after glory he has sent me against the nations which has taken you as spoil, for he who touches you touches the apple of my eye. Now this section begins with a very urgent cry. Usually translated as, ho there. It's actually, ho, ho. It's, pay attention here, okay? And it's directed to those who are still in Babylon. You need to flee. Babylon is referred to in verse six as the land of the north, even though actually they'd be more like south, south, east of them, because you had to go up around, follow the river trails and around. Ancient armies didn't cross that big desert to try and attack over toward the Mediterranean. They would go up and around. That's why it's a reference to Babylon. Babylon directly referenced in verse seven. Now the warning is urgent because as they stay there, they are in danger both spiritually and physically. Spiritually is because Babylon is a seat of pagan worship, the worship of false gods, and the longer they're there, the more influence that culture has upon them. In fact, you're going to see some of it is because why didn't they return? Less than 50,000 returned. The majority of the people stayed in Babylon or wherever they had settled. They had been there for 70 years. This is now home. It's not home. In fact, he calls them Zion, refers to them, and pronounces a woe on them for being there. Zion referring to Jerusalem. You Jews are supposed to return. woe to you if you stay here." Now they're also in physical danger because the rest of prophecy points out that the hand of God is going to be against the nations that scattered the Jews as the four winds of heaven. There is a sense in which this could refer to the directions of the compass because Assyria had taken the northern tribes and they had gone to the north, the northeast, actually to the northwest as well. They'd scattered them all through their territory. When Babylon came, they went to the east, southeast, and some fled down to Egypt. That's the south. So you're covering the compass directions there. But Feinberg points out the phrase here is as four winds, not to the four winds. And so it's a reference really to the violence by which they were scattered. Those nations that had done this and taken Jews as spoil were in danger because they touched the apple of Yahweh's eye. In modern vernacular, their actions against God's people, they poked God in the eye. Now how do you react when you get poked in the eye? Okay? Don't poke God in the eye. Okay? His response to the next verse. Verse 9. Now that's a reversal of positions. God would take action. The former masters will become spoiled for those that have been their slaves. When that occurred, He says, "...then you will know that Yahweh of Hosts has sent Me." Now, that sentence demands a little bit of explanation. Yahweh is the speaker, yet the statement is, Yahweh of hosts has sent me. Yahweh has sent Yahweh. Well, how do you explain that? The doctrine of the Trinity. God is triune. He's one being existing in three persons. So, God the Father sends God the Son. That pops up three different times in this vision, in this section. It also explains verse eight, where the same kind of thing happens. Now after glory, Yahweh sends Messiah against the nations. The glory referred to here is either a reference to the glorious appearing of the Messiah, which will happen at the second coming, or as Feinberg interprets this, Yahweh is sending the Messiah for the vindication of his glory on the nations that have spoiled Israel. In other words, he will gain glory as he destroys these nations according to his word. That also happens, guess when? At the second coming. Now the next section of this vision describes the good things that are going to happen to Messiah's return. I am coming and I will dwell in your midst declares Yahweh. Many nations will join themselves to Yahweh in that day and will become my people. Then I will dwell in your midst and you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you. Then Yahweh will inherit Judah as the portion in the Holy Land and will again choose Jerusalem. And then ends, be silent all flesh before Yahweh for he is aroused from his holy habitation. Now notice again at the end of verse 11, Yahweh of hosts is sending me, which is also Yahweh, so that's Messiah. These are the blessings on Israel and the nations after Messiah's return. Yahweh again dwells in the midst of Jerusalem and many nations seek him out to become part of his people. Now we like that as Gentiles. Now a few of you have some Jewish heritage. We're grateful to get grafted in. We're grateful that God is so gracious to allow us to also be part of His people. But that's also future. Nations will seek Him out. After pointing out the praise that's going to be given to Yahweh in the future, the vision ends with a message to what has to happen right now. it is to be in reverent silence before Yahweh all flesh why as they consider what has he has revealed is going to be done and that Yahweh remembers his promises and he has been aroused now to take action So the praise in the future, right now, be reverent, God is at work. So that's the third vision. Again, you can see how easy, this is a great encouragement to a discouraged people to get back at work. Build the temple. Don't be discouraged. Don't let the frustrations of any building project get to you. Don't let the frustrations of the Samaritans who are trying to oppose you and all that stuff, don't worry about it. God's got it under control. Now the next vision, is dealing with Joshua the High Priest. Booz and it's entitled this one, Snatched from the Fire, Acquitted in the Presence of the Accuser. And he outlines it in seven points which we're going to follow here. The first is the rituals of the accuser, his modus operandi. That's the first point. Look at verse one. Then he showed me Joshua the High Priest standing before the angel of Yahweh and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Now, Joshua is the current High Priest at the time of the vision. And he is seen standing before the angel of Yahweh. Which I've mentioned before, that's the pre-incarnate manifestation of Christ, the Messiah. Satan is standing to the right and following his normal mode of operation against all of humanity, including the righteous. He's making accusations. Now Satan may act on his own initiative. And sometimes that's blatant. We are certainly told in 1 Peter 5, 8, you're adversary. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. So sometimes it's pretty blatant. Other times it's more deceptive. 2 Corinthians 11, 14 tells us that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So there's deception. That particular passage talks about false doctrines he brings through false teachers to sway people off to false beliefs. And now that they're believing the wrong thing and doing the wrong thing, he can accuse them. He may take advantage of what God has said. Remember the case of Job. It's actually God that points Job out to Satan. Then Satan makes an accusation that's false. He's actually accusing Job of not having character that God says he has. He may take advantage of your individual sin. James tells us that when sin is a result of our own lust, our own desires, and when it's conceived, it brings forth sin. So he certainly has plenty of opportunity with that, doesn't it? Because we are sinful. And so the purpose of all these accusations, though, is to make us unacceptable to God and discourage us. To bring a condemnation. Even saved individuals can fall prey to this. If you become too introspective, and there's a point for that, we should be mindful of our own sinfulness and seek God. We've got to remember that God gives forgiveness in Christ. If you become too introspective, you're listening to the devil's lies, and you think, God can't use me, look at all the failures I have, look how terrible I am. Well, guess what? God knows that, and he knows it better than you, all right? As you mentioned about depravity, you didn't know the word before. Yeah, you start recognizing like, oh, and you have to start wondering, how could God do anything for me? I am wretched. But that exactly is what magnifies him, isn't it? That is his mercy, his grace, his love, that he himself would take that on in Christ so that we could become the righteousness of God in him. We gotta keep the forgiveness in mind instead of just listening to devil's accusations. But however, the next point explains Satan is limited. We've got to keep that in mind, too. First, in the case of Job, God limited what Satan could do to him. And that matches perfectly the promise in 1 Corinthians 10, 13, that God does not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but always provides a means of escape that you may be able to endure it. It's always there. Too often we don't bother to look for it. Or if it is there, we still want what we want and we ignore it. In addition, Ephesians 6, 10 through 17 says he provides spiritual armor. That we can stand firm against the schemes of the devil, but we do have to put that armor on. Fourth, we can petition the Lord for forgiveness through confession, can't we? And that's just relying upon who He is. If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just, forgive my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I'm relying upon Him and His character to keep His promises as He just declared them. And then fifth, one that I always have found thrilling is the fact that both the Holy Spirit and Jesus intercede with the Father for us. That's in Romans 8, 26 through 27 in verse 34. In fact, the very next verse, verse two, is an example of that. Verse two, and Yahweh said to Satan, Yahweh rebuke you, Satan. Indeed, Yahweh has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you. Is this not a brand delivered from the fire? Notice again, there's a double reference to Yahweh. Yahweh, the Messiah, who's the angel of Yahweh in verse one, is speaking and calling on Yahweh, which would be the Father, to rebuke Satan. For just like Jerusalem, Joshua is chosen by God. And so Satan's accusations are true, but by his own choice, God has intervened to save Joshua. That's encouraging. Because the same thing is true for us, isn't it? This next section reveals Joshua's filthiness and God's actions to cleanse him. Verse three. Now Joshua's clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. And he answered and spoke to those who were standing before him saying, remove the filthy garments from him. Again, he said to him, see, I have made your iniquity pass away from you and I will clothe you with festal robes. Then I said, let them put a clean turban on his head. So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments while the angel of Yahweh was standing by. Now three important points to note in this particular section. First, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. Satan's accusations were true. Second, it is the angel of the Lord who takes action. He removes both the filthy garments and the iniquity. And third, the angel of the Lord took actions to have clean clothes put on Joshua. That is true for us as well. Satan accuses us about our sin, and most of the time, guess what? He's true. We're guilty. But it is God who has chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we be holy and blame us before him, Ephesians 1.4. This is according to God's choice. It is Jesus Christ who then takes action by his own sacrificial death that then provides redemption from sin so that we are forgiven and our sins are taken away. That's Ephesians 1.7. And it is Jesus Christ by his own actions in the atonement that makes the believer righteous before God. That's Romans 10.1 and 2 Corinthians 5.21. You're a completely new creation. And God made him to be made sin so that we could be made the righteous of God in him. So while we may still sin, the standing we have before Christ is righteous. We're forgiven in Christ. Verse six, and the angel of Yahweh testified to Joshua saying, thus says Yahweh of hosts, if you will walk in my ways, if you will keep the responsibility given by me, then you will also render justice in my house and also keep my courts. I will grant you access to walk among these who are standing here. So it's still the angel of the Lord, Messiah, who is speaking, and then he gives Joshua two charges. Buzanitz gave a very succinct summary. Be faithful to have a godly character, and be faithful to fulfill the commission that God has given you. And if you will do that, then He is going to enable you to fulfill all the responsibilities that you have properly. That is also something that's true for us, isn't it? Be faithful to pursue a godly character, be faithful to be true to whatever gifts God has given you, to serve Him with those, and He is the one who's gonna enable you to actually do it. We don't serve the Lord in our own strength. The next section foreshadows the prophetic future using the messianic names and symbolism, verse 8. Now, Joshua and those who are with him are, as the text says here, wondrous signs in the sense they foreshadow coming events and persons. The titles, My Servant, The Branch, and The Stone, all refer to the Messiah. My Servant is used multiple times as a reference to the Messiah. Isaiah 42.1, 49.3, verse 5, 52.13, 11, Ezekiel 34, 23, 24, right? And you wrote all that down. And you're gonna look it up later, okay? Just look up my servant. It's a constant title given to Messiah. The branch points to a term used several different ways also referring to Messiah. In Isaiah 11, one, the branch is the stem of Jesse and refers to the fruitfulness. In Isaiah 53, 12, it describes the Messiah's humility. In Jeremiah 23, 5, it ties it into a Davidic kingship. In Isaiah 4, verse 2, it is tied to his deity. And then in Zechariah 6, 12, it's tied into his future construction of the temple in the millennium. Now the stone also has multiple references to Messiah. He is the stumbling stone, the rock of the fence in Isaiah 8, 14. He is the stone that smashes the world's godless kingdoms in Daniel 2, 3, and 4. He is the stone that was rejected by the builders, but became the cornerstone in Psalm 118, 22, and Ephesians 2, 20 through 22. Now the seven eyes on the stone, that one's a weird one, right? I've never seen a stone with seven eyes. All right, what is that referring to? Well, Zechariah 4, 10 or Revelation 5, 6 give us the clue. It's actually referring to God's omniscience. Seven is a number throughout scripture that speaks of perfection. He knows. Now, what was written in the inscription? Well, it's unknown. But the near context relates it to removal of the iniquity of Judah and Jerusalem in just one day. That's a future purging that leaves the land holy and it matches the prophecies of a future time when Jerusalem is going to be holy. That's in Joel 3.17, Obadiah 17, Zechariah 14. It is going to be made holy. Now the last verse in this vision also describes that same day. Verse 10, in that day declares Yahweh of hosts, every one of you will call for his neighbor and sit under his vine and under his fig tree. It's a description of peace and prosperity. It's a condition that actually existed early in the reign of Solomon. Same phrase is used in 1 Kings 4.25. But it is going to happen again in the reign of Messiah in the last days, as Micah 4.4 states it. So this vision would have been a great encouragement to this remnant that's rebuilding the temple. Yahweh remembers. Joshua is going to be made clean. He is going to carry out his responsibilities as the high priest. The promises of the future reign of Messiah would be fulfilled. Now the fifth vision is Zechariah chapter four. Bousnet titles this vision of a candlestick and two olive trees of, I did it my way. He then outlines in three points by which we are also going to examine this vision. Now again, the remnant had become discouraged in rebuilding the temple to the point they had stopped work for 14 years. They've just started it up, and anybody who's been in any building project, you know that's a tough position. You're getting started, and a lot of the work that's done initially doesn't show a lot visually. And so you get discouraged by it. Once you start getting the structure up, it's like, yeah, we're making progress. So you can see, there can be early discouragement, and they've been used to focusing on other things. So these, again, are visions to encourage them. You've started the work, keep at it. Fulfill what God has called you to do, and he is the one who's gonna do it through you. This particular vision assures that Zerubbabel, who is the governor, is gonna be empowered by God to carry out all of his duties. Look at verse one. We'll read down through verse 7 to begin with. This is, the Lord empowers his will through the Holy Spirit. Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me as a man who was roused from his sleep. He said to me, what do you see? I said, I see and behold a lampstand, all of gold, with its bowls on the top of it, its seven lamps on it, with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on top of it. Also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bull and the other on the left side. Then I answered and said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, what are these, my lord? So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are? And I said, no, my lord. Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, this is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says Yahweh of hosts. Now the vision begins with the interpreting angel returning to awaken Zachariah to see the next vision. The next two verses describe what he saw. There's a candlestick. It has seven branches, and so it's very similar to what would have been in the tabernacle and in the temple. You might think of a menorah. Except this one, it has a bowl of some sort at the top of it. The bowl would have been filled with oil. And from that bowl, there are seven pipes, conduits for the oil, going to each of the lamps. So there's plenty of flow of oil to keep the lamps lit. Beside the candlestick are two olive trees, which continually supply the oil for the bowl. So this is a self-refilling lamp that is perpetually filled with oil. That's what he sees. Now, if you didn't have that, the priest had to keep coming in and putting oil in it, right? So he could understand that part, but what is this talking about? I mean, if you saw something like that, what would you think? Well, if you were using lamps, you'd probably think, great, I don't have to keep going and filling it up, and it'd be a lot cheaper, I don't have to buy the oil, the olive trees are doing that, right? Maybe you'd think of that, I don't know, but you'd certainly be confused, why is God giving me a vision of this? So he asked the angel, what's the meaning of this? What does this represent? The angel tells him that it represents the word of Yahweh, desirabble, that it would be by God's spirit instead of human resources. It's not wealth, it's not military might, it's not human strength. He is going to establish what he wants and enables desirable to fulfill all of his duties, but it's by the Lord at work. This description of a mountain being flattened into a plain by Zerubbabel illustrate that God is going to give him the ability to accomplish tasks that otherwise seem impossible. You got one guy in front of a mountain, you're going to flatten that thing? He always says yes. But you know, this has always been true of God's people, hasn't it? We do the work that God calls us to do, not by our own strength, but by the strength the Lord gives us. In fact, if we try to do it by our own strength, it's gonna be wood, hay, and stubble. It's gonna be worthless. It needs to be by God working through us. Our part is to step out in faith. We believe God, we act upon what we believe, and let him take care of the results. even basic things for us as Christians. 1 Corinthians 2, 4, and 5, our proclamation of the gospel is to be in a demonstration of the Spirit and not in persuasive words of wisdom. So that face rests on the power of God and not on human wisdom. This has always been a problem in evangelism because evangelists like to get another notch on their spiritual belt. You know, I got another one, got another one. And they want to count them all up. And maybe you haven't grown up, but I did. We get the evangelist report. How many hundreds were saved? Man, we've saved the nation over and over several times. Where are they? They're not in church. Because they've relied on human wisdom to get someone to do something like say the magic prayer. You ever been taught that one? If you say this prayer at the end of the track, you're saved because you said the magic words. Does prayer save you? Absolutely not. It's the one to whom you're praying that saves you. So you better know who he is and what he's done for you and believe that. That is done by God's Spirit. What did Paul say? The word of Christ is foolishness. but it is the message of God. And so it's God's work that actually accomplishes that. So this has always been true, it's true now. The same thing, our weapons of spiritual warfare, 2 Corinthians 10, four and five explains it, are not of flesh, but they are divinely powerful, the destruction of fortresses and speculations, and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, so we take every thought captive to the beings of Christ. Should any Christian ever be afraid of a PhD? No. Okay? Usually, if it's a PhD in our secular world, is they've gotten so educated, they're dumb. Okay? I'm sorry, but that, I don't know how else to put it. They're intelligent, but they're dumb, because they've been educated away from basic truths. Why do you think our nation's in the state it is? We've gone into depraved minds, and they think being wise, according to their own standards, they became fools before God. There is a creator. They can try and explain them away, but it keeps hitting them upside the head. If they pay attention to even their own research, they'd see there is a God, and they're responsible to him. We don't need to be afraid. Go back to the word of God. Go back to what God said. That means I'm relying upon God and not human wisdom. That's the same thing that Zerubbabel was told. Rely upon me, not upon your own efforts. Now this statement about the addition, the stop zone, that refers to the completion of the building. In this case, it would refer to the, by the context, it's the temple, at which time the people then are gonna respond, shouting, grace, grace to him. It's a call for God's grace and favor to rest upon this completed building. As Rubble had previously been discouraged, he'd been intimidated. Now he's assured the work is going to be completed by the power of God instead of your own abilities. The next three verses emphasize this assurance. Look at verse 8. For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line and the hand of Zerubbabel. These are the eyes of Yahweh which roam to and fro throughout the earth." So here is a direct assurance that God is going to enable Zerubbabel personally to complete the building. So it's not just the building is going to be completed, it's Zerubbabel is going to be completed with your own hands. You will see this. Now the reference to small things here is actually a reference to the size of this temple he's constructing in comparison to the Temple of Solomon. In fact, Haggai 2.3 makes that same comparison. Ezra 3.12 reports that when the temple was completed, those that were old enough to remember Solomon's temple actually wept because it was so much smaller than what Solomon's had been like. and yet there would be rejoicing to see the work to go forward, and that's what he's encouraged them. In fact, this reference to these seven is noted in the text as the eyes of Yahweh, which was referred to in the earlier vision, in the eyes on the stone, in Zechariah 3.9. This represents God's omniscience. God's perfect will is being carried out through Zerubbabel. So don't be concerned if it's smaller than the last one. This is what I want. You are to complete it, and you will complete it. Verse 11, then I answered and said to him, what are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on the left? And I answered a second time and said to him, what are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes which empty the golden oil from themselves? And he spoke to me saying, do you not know what these are? And I said, no, my Lord. And he said, these are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth. So Zachariah asked essentially the same question twice. The second time, though, he confirms that these two olive trees were perpetually supplying the oil of the bull, which eventually flowed to the lambs. Now the angel then has to explain, well, what's the meaning of this? I can see the vision, but what does this mean? The angel explains that the two anointed ones, it's actually the term that could be sons of oil, and it refers to the king and the high priest whose offices were inducted with anointing of the law. You poured oil on them. Okay, remember Samuel did that with both Saul and David. He poured oil on them. The same thing with the high priest. There'd be oil poured on him. They were anointed. They now were officially in that position, holding that office. Now Zerubbabel, as a governor, fulfilled the function of king in rebuilding the temple. Now he's not the king because he is under the authority of Cyrus. But he is holding that office. It is his responsibility to see that the work of building a temple is physically accomplished. So he's one of the anointed ones. The other is Joshua the high priest. He is anointed to serve in the function of bringing the people to God. So that would be the sacrifices and their prayers. Now in the Mosaic law, these two offices are always kept separate. In fact, they'd have to be separate because the kingly line has to be descended from Judah, and the priestly line had to be descendants from Levi, two different tribes. No individual could hold both offices. But in the future, Messiah is going to hold both offices. He is of the royal Davidic line, Romans 1.3, 2 Timothy 2.8 state that. The lineages state that as well. He is a descendant from the line of David, both physically and has the right to the kingship through adoption through Joseph. And he is also, as Hebrews 7 takes pains to explain, a priest after the order of Melchizedek. So he's not a Levitical priest. He's a different kind of priest, but he's a priest. So what's the conclusion of all this? Yahweh remembers. He keeps his promises. The promises he kept to Zerubbabel, to Joshua, the temple was built, are the same promises that then extend out from those same visions to things that are still future for us. Joshua serving as the high priest, having been chosen, made clean by God, Zerubbabel completed the temple, Jerusalem was restored. Yahweh still remembers these visions, he remembers his covenants, and remembers that there's going to be an ultimate fulfillment in the return of Messiah as king and priest. He is going to reign in Jerusalem that will be restored, repopulated, and prosperous with God's glory filling the temple just as it did when the Shekinah glory came and filled the Temple of Solomon and drove everybody out. That is still in the future. We can rest assured of those things. Father, thank you for the truth of your word. And even though these are ancient prophecies, we take encouragement because what's in them, in these visions, much of it has been fulfilled. Those things that were meant for encouraging Zerubbabel and Joshua, completed. But that gives us confidence that those things that projected off to the future are going to be completed as well. And that is our hope. We, like them, are looking forward to the Messiah's return. Father, for him setting up his kingdom on earth. Father, for things to be made right. Father, that you might receive all praise and glory. In Jesus' name, amen. I'm gonna ask the men if they'd come and prepare the table. First Corinthians 11 tells us that a purpose of communion is to show forth his death until he comes. So this morning with this particular section of scripture we've been looking at, a little more emphasis on he's going to return. But it's also a reflection, a time to take thought yourself. We mentioned earlier that Joshua was filthy. Well, maybe you feel filthy today, because you haven't confessed the things you need to. But that's the wonderful thing about walking as a Christian. It's a simple matter. We never approach this table in our own righteousness. It is always in the righteousness of Christ. And we are cleansed. We are forgiven in him. I want to give you a few minutes to go before the Lord. Maybe there's something you just want to confess and make sure you're ready to partake of these elements. Remembering his death, certified, proved forgiveness is there if you'll seek it.