Well, I don't have a PowerPoint this morning. So I do want you to open your Bibles to Zachariah. And I think you'll be able to get a lot. I believe you'll be able to get a lot out of this book in just a little while. Let's remember a number of things. So let me give you some background thoughts here. First, I wanna just say a word about the unity of the 12. We've been studying this summer, the prophets, the book of the prophets, Stephen calls it. The book of the prophets in Acts chapter seven, he refers to the minor prophets as one book. He calls it the book of the 12. And so there is a unity of the books. And the arrangement is not chronological. The arrangement of the books is theological. There may be some other elements to that arrangement as well. For example, like in the first six, for the first six, he goes back and forth between prophets that minister to the northern kingdom and to the southern kingdom, to the northern kingdom, to the southern kingdom, He does that for the first six. But then, of course, the northern kingdom disappears. 722 BC, Assyria comes in, and they take the ten tribes away. And they repopulate the area with people who are not from there. And that's how they got rid of their enemies. So we come to after the sixth prophet, then we have three that are specifically aimed at Judah. But Judah also then comes under judgment. So 586 BC, and we have the fall of Jerusalem. And so they are now taken into captivity. The last three prophets, though, also share a unity because they are post-exilic prophets. So Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and that's where we are. Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, they all are serving the people of God after they have returned to the land. God promised not only that he would take them out, that he would judge them and discipline them, but he also promised And you remember that under Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes, that the people were returned and regathered into the land. Now, when we look at the message of the minor prophets, there are three outstanding things, three outstanding themes that we could notice. One is repentance. because there is a consistent call to repentance in the minor prophets. And then not only is there a consistent call to repentance, but also there is a prediction of judgment, okay? a call to repentance, a call to repentance, the prediction of judgment. Not only that God would judge his people, but that he would also judge the nations. And there is a lot of reference to what we call the eschaton, the final stage in human history, when the nations are judged and when God establishes his kingdom. the call to repentance, the call to repentance, and then the promise or prediction of judgment, and then the promise of restoration. The promise of restoration. So that's the third element. Those three themes run through all of them. And if I were to choose three major themes for Zachariah, those would be it. A call to repentance, right out of the door with, out of the gate, I guess is the metaphor, comes right out of the gate with verses one through six. But this call to repentance, you know, is, in part, we see it answered in the response of the leaders and the people, Joshua, Zerubbabel, and the people. And you remember the message on Haggai last week and some of those personalities. So in part, but not fully is there repentance. But when we get to chapters 12 and 13 and 14, then we see the people actually fully repentant because there is a movement of the spirit of God upon them in the last day. And God converts the nation in one day. And then there is the restoration. And there is the judgment. And so all of those elements flow through the entire book. So a call to repentance, a prediction of judgment, and a promise of restoration. And that is characteristic of the book of the 12. I think that's very important. It's been one of the outstanding things for me in studying these books this summer. But now, historically, so that's the context of the book of the 12. Historically, the book of Zechariah falls in the context of Ezra and Nehemiah. If you go back and read the history of Ezra and Nehemiah, read those books, you read about the decree of Cyrus. In Ezra, there is this return, and we see about 50,000 people coming in that book that are initially coming back into the land. And they have resources that have been given to them by the kings, by Cyrus, and then also under Darius, and also under Artaxerxes. And this covers quite a period of time, but there are actually three different waves of return that Ezra and Nehemiah speak of, those two books. And we're kind of in the middle in our story here because the people have come back. So they come back about 538. Remember, we're counting down, okay? The numbers are not increasing, they're decreasing as we move toward the birth of Christ. And so they come back around 538 And they begin the process of building. But by 530, because of opposition, they have the Samaritan neighbors. You remember those folks that were planted there by the Assyrians. And they have a mixed religion. They've got elements of Judaism, but they also have elements of idolatry and paganism mixed in. So consequently, they want a part in the building, but they certainly cannot because they don't have the integrity of believers, of true believers. What they believe is actually a form of idolatry. It's a syncretism. And when they are rejected by the Jews, then they arouse themselves and contact other leaders and write letters to try and stop the work. And because of fear, the work is paralyzed. So by 530, the work has stopped. There's no walls around Jerusalem. The foundation for the temple has been laid. The altar has been built. They've resumed some worship, but that's all. It's stopped. And you remember from Haggai that in that interim period, when the work has stopped, people just turn in on themselves. And their focus is on building their own houses, and their focus is on their own finances, and all those things. And God is judging all that. You recall the passages that were read last week. So 520. God moves to stir the people up to return to the work. And he does this by raising up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. Haggai is a older prophet and Zechariah is a younger prophet. In fact, he's called this young man within his own prophecy. And so Haggai, the older prophet preaches. He's the one who initially launches out, but their prophecies occur, overlap. And so they are preaching to the people and we read in the book of Ezra. And in fact, if you can hold your place here and turn back to Ezra chapter four, I think this will be helpful to us. Ezra 4.24. Here we see the transition. Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased. 4.24. Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased. And it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia. Now that's important because you're gonna see references to the second year of Darius, both in Haggai and in Zechariah. Both give dates for their prophecies. And then look at chapter five. Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and in Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. So Zerubbabel, the son of Sheatiel, and Jeshua, the son of Josedach, rose up and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them helping." And that little transition, three verses that we just read there, that's the context of Haggai and Zechariah. So just trying to give you some background here. Now, I'm afraid if once I start, I'm gonna forget. So let me just mention that we have in Zechariah, especially in the early chapters, a good example of what is called apocalyptic literature. And you may remember, because it hasn't been that long ago, so I can't place it in my mind when I did it, but I was preached on Revelation. I preached, I think, chapters 18 through 22. It hasn't been very long ago. And we saw when we were doing that apocalyptic literature, so it's not the first time you've heard about this, But apocalyptic literature is characterized by visions, by symbolic imagery that is revealed to the prophet. But then there is a person who explains the imagery to the prophet. And in explaining it to the prophet, he explains it to us as well. And so those are the characteristics of apocalyptic literature. And that's what we see here. And so when we look at the book, we could divide it up into three parts. First, chapters one through six is the apocalyptic visions. There's an introduction, the call to repentance, in chapter one, but then after that, you have eight night visions of Zachariah. And I'll tell you about those in just a second. And then when we end chapter six, chapter seven and eight have a question and a problem. And they have to do with, should we continue to keep these fasts that we were fasting during to mourn over the things that happened. And they were fasting for when the temple was destroyed. They were fasting for different devastating dates in the history of Israel. And so the prophet receives a revelation to answer that problem. And so that's what you have in chapters seven and eight. And then chapters nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, is predictive, it's prophetic. Here you have the burden of the Lord. And so you have that phrase a number of times. So when you think about a burden, have you ever had something you needed to tell someone and it was really troubling you to have to go and tell and to share, to open up, you just did not want to, but it was on you, you had to tell them. Perhaps it was grave news, difficult news. That's what Zachariah felt. He felt the burden of these prophecies. So chapters nine through 14 are all prophetic in nature. And there's some mixture as we go along, but that's pretty much an outline, at least as to the nature of the parts. So let me give you one other way of looking at the book, because we can divide it into two parts. Because chapters 1 through 8 all occurred during the building of the temple. So it is in the book of Zechariah that the temple is finished. It's completed. And then chapters nine through 14, which are predictive about what the Lord is going to do when he comes. Those books all speak of the future. So those are after the building of the temple. So chapters one through eight are all during the building of the temple, arousing them to build and they build, they complete it. are those prophecies that are given after worship has been restored in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. So those are all introductory things. Let me just pause there to see if anyone has a question or a comment that you'd like to make before I tell you more about the book. I didn't have PowerPoint, but I used my hands. You know, there was, I know Eric probably would know this, but back in like Spurgeon's day, the way that preachers learned to preach, they followed a school of elocution, and they would actually put them inside of a box with holes, and then they would call out an emotion, and based on that emotion, you would know which holes to stick your arms through for that gesture, you know? So if they called out anger, you know, you stick them out those two holes, you know, or whatever. I don't know what this one was. But if you look in some of Spurgeon's lectures to his students, he shows them, he does an entire poem showing them all the gestures that would be needed for that So that's the way they taught preachers to speak. No doubt they were very good speakers, but it's better when it comes natural, I think. All right, so now let's think about Zachariah. And in thinking about Zachariah, I wanna tell you about myself. I will tell you this, that ministry is tough. Spurges said that a pastor, his tool for work is his heart. And that if your heart is broken, then you have to work with a broken tool. I think that is so true. And the elders, the pastors that are here, they know what it is to labor with heartache. And a week ago or two weeks ago, I guess it was been a couple of weeks ago, I just had encountered a number of ministry issues that were so heavy on me that I thought, boy, if I could escape, if I could just somehow not have to bear these burdens. You ever feel that way? I'm pretty positive most of you have felt that way. But it was just so heavy on my heart. And I went home, I think, a Wednesday evening, And I struggled to sleep. I finally fell asleep. I got up the next morning. And when I got up, it was like, you know how you wake up and there's only this millisecond before all that comes back to you of what's going on. And so that's the way I woke up. So I woke up and then, oh. And so I was feeling a burden. I sent a text to Michael. and ask him to pray for me. I told him I just could not seem to shake it. And I was feeling that way. I came in to the office and Eric prayed with me. So, you know, I got people helping me here, but I am still down. I mean, I am going down, down, down. So I'm setting my office, you know, one of the most amazing things, I try to give thanks for it all the time, is that I can read my Bible at work. This is, in fact, it's what I must do. And so I was remembering that I needed to prepare for Zachariah. So I started reading through the book. And it was like I hadn't heard a word that Zachariah had said. So have you experienced that before? You know, just totally dull to what had been said. I thought, well, that was no good. So I went back to read again. This time I was reading, actually reading and listening to someone read it out loud so that I could follow more attentively. And that was helpful to me. And so I was reading and these first eight visions of Zachariah were so amazing. I just felt my focus come off of myself and the world and circumstances and to be put on the Lord and his promises. And when my faith was strengthened, Now, what is it that Zachariah was saying that was so encouraging? Well, keep in mind his very purpose. He is seeking to encourage the people of God who have become discouraged in the work of God. And, and so he is, he's speaking truth to me. He's calling them to repentance. He's predicting that there's judgment is coming, but he's also speaking of restoration. So those are themes that are running through here. But in these visions, this, this is what we see. Now listen carefully, because if you don't, if you didn't get any of the background stuff, I said, this would be the most important element here in, in giving these visions. He shows Zachariah what is happening in the spiritual realm in contradiction, in contrast to what was happening in the physical, visual realm. On the level of what you could see, things were not that good. They were discouraging. But once he begins to see the work of God, then his heart is encouraged. And so is mine. So maybe we'll look at just a little bit here. I may end up reading some of these twice for different purposes. But let's take a look at the vision, the first vision in verse seven of chapter one. the 24th day of the 11th month, which is the month Shabbat in the second year of Darius. Did you notice that the second year of Darius? Okay. word of the Lord came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet. I saw by night and behold a man riding on a red horse and it stood among the myrtle trees in the hollow and behind him were horses red, sorrel, and white. And then I said, My Lord, what are these? So the angel who talked with me said to me, I will show you what they are." So here's the apocalyptic literature we discussed. And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, these are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth. So they answered the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees and said, we have walked to and fro throughout the earth and behold, all the earth is resting quietly. So the vision is a vision of angelic who are patrolling the earth. And they have come back to say that the time is quiet. The earth is not at war right now, and it is a time for building. That's what he's telling them. But let's keep going. Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, Oh, Lord of hosts, how long will you not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against what you were angry these 70 years? And the Lord answered the angel who talked to me with good and comforting words. So the angel who spoke with me said to me, proclaim saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, I am zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with great zeal. I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease for I was a little angry and they helped but with evil intent. Therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosts, I am returning to Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in it, says the Lord of Hosts, and a surveyor's line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. Again proclaim saying, thus says the Lord of Hosts, my city shall again spread out through prosperity. The Lord will again comfort Zion and will again choose Jerusalem. And so here are these words of good and comfort, they're good and comforting words that say that God's intention is that his temple would be built. And so can you imagine, even though they look, there's opposition over here, there is a lack of energy and zeal, there's a self-orientation, with regard to the population and there's apathy. And so all those things may be very discouraging, especially to the two leaders. Who are the two leaders? Someone tell me who the two leaders are in Jerusalem at this time. You have a spiritual leader and a political leader. Zerubbabel, he's the prince, the governor. And Joshua, the high priest. Now these two people are very important Some of the prophecies, some of the visions are given especially about them. And that's also gonna play an important point a little later. So here's the point, is that we cannot see the spiritual things that are at work, but God is at work. God is at work. Christ promised, I will build my church. And he says, I am with you, we'll keep you in all places. He says, I am with you until the end of the age. He says, I will never leave you nor forsake you. He promises to give us the gifts that we need. He encourages us with so many of his promises. And so once our gaze is taken off of the nations, the news, right? Once our gaze is taken off of those things and it's placed upon the promises and the word of God, what happens to our faith? We are so energized. We're so encouraged because God is doing something. The world can't see it, but we know he is doing it. And all the visions are this way. They show the secret working of God that is behind the scenes doing and controlling all things for his glory and encouraging his people. And he opens our eyes through the word so that our faith is encouraged. Now, I hope that encourages you because it surely encouraged me. And when I read these eight night visions, that's what I saw, that God is at work. He's never stopped working and he's doing all the things he promised to do. And that's our encouragement. So the first six chapters all deal with these night visions. I won't read them all. You've heard them probably many times. And I'm not going to try to teach the rest to you as well. All the predictive prophecy would be impossible to do that. But what I do want to do is to answer the question, Do we see Christ in the book of Zechariah? The only Old Testament book that has more prophecies about the Messiah is the book of Isaiah. And so it is filled And a person could ask the question, is Jesus in the book of Zechariah? Well, that question's a little trickier to answer, right? Because we have to remember that Jesus is the name that was given by the angel to Joseph to name Mary's son. That he was to call his name Jesus for he would save his people from their sins. But the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God, did exist before his incarnation in Mary's womb. And this is what we need to know. The Son of God, the one who would become incarnate, the one who would commission the apostles to preach his gospel in the New Testament, is the same one who commissioned and gave the prophecies to Haggai and Zechariah in the Old Testament. So the same Christ, yes. And so from that standpoint, we can say absolutely, yes. We can say Jesus is in the book of Zechariah. From that respect, that while he had not become incarnate yet and received the name Jesus, as the second person of the Trinity, as the one who would become incarnate, he is present here. And I wanted to point out that he's present in at least four ways. I think there are probably more ways in which Christ is present in the book of Zechariah, but I want you to see him in these four ways. First of all, Christ is in Zechariah as God. You know, whenever we have God spoken of in the Bible, it is the triune God. God doesn't become a Trinity in the New Testament. He has always been the triune God. And the witness to the Trinity is throughout the Old Testament as well. And so He is the Lord of Hosts. In fact, let's look at chapter one We have the name, the title, the Lord of Hosts is used 53 times in Zechariah. It's used 14 in Haggai. In that short book, it's used 14 times. And I can't remember the number in Malachi, but it's also, it is, the title, the Lord of Hosts is used many, many times in these post-exilic prophets, the prophets to the remnant. And so let's just read a few verses here. Let's see here. Let me pick up. I'll start with the first one. In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zachariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. This is not the patriarchs. This is the previous generation. The Lord has been very angry with your fathers. Therefore say to them, thus says the Lord of hosts. There's the first time we see that title. return to me, says the Lord of Hosts. And I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. Do not be like your fathers to whom the former prophets preached." So when he speaks here of the Lord of Hosts, he's speaking of the triune God. And the title, the Lord of Hosts, means the Lord of Armies, but it is a statement of God's sovereignty and his control, because not only are the hosts of heaven, the angelic hosts at his disposal to do his will, but the host of heaven, the stars, and in fact, he can call, you know, he has his bees that he calls to fight his battles for him. And he hooks this one and pulls this one over here. It's a statement of his sovereign control. And this, when we read this about the Lord of hosts, keep in mind, this is the triune God. And so Christ is present as the Trinity, the triune God, wherever there's a reference to God in the book of Zechariah. Secondly, Christ is in Zechariah as the angel of the Lord. He is in Zechariah as the angel of the Lord. And so maybe look at a couple of passages here. We read the first vision. And if you look at the first vision, let me pick up at verse nine, chapter one of verse nine. Then I said, my Lord, what are these? So it's the vision, the question. So the angel who talked with me said to me, I will show you what they are. All right, now let's think about this for just a second. The word angel means messenger. The word angel means messenger. And the word angel actually speaks of an office, not a being. There are archangels who have a specific, a higher office of authority. You know, who can name some of the kinds of angels? Cherubim, seraphim. So we know there are different kinds of angels, but the word angel is the office of a messenger, okay? So this is very important. So the angel is going to explain, verse 10, and the man who stood among the myrtle trees. So he's the angel, here he's the man. This is a pre-Bethlehem. A Christophany is a pre-Bethlehem manifestation of Christ. And so the man that's talking with Zachariah is the Lord, is our Lord, the Son of God, Jesus, is the one who is speaking to him. And so this is quite amazing. And so just to look a bit further, it says, the man who was stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, these are the ones who the Lord has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth, verse 11. So they answered the angel of the Lord who stood among the myrtle trees. Okay, so the other messengers, the riders of those horses, they are now responding. Then in verse 12, then the angel of the Lord, and as I've told you, this is the second person of the Trinity, answered and said, oh, Lord of hosts. So you have the Lord, the angel of the Lord speaking to the Lord of hosts. This is God, the son speaking to God, the father, and he is interceding. And he says, how long, Lord? How long? He's interceding with that same kind of compassion that we read about in Hebrews chapter four. And so he's saying, how long? And the father answers the son, the Lord answers the angel with those good and comforting words. So there are probably numerous other places, but maybe we could take a look at the vision of the high priest in chapter three. should move along here. But this will be a good segue into the next one. There are only four ways that I want to share with you that we see Christ. So, in one of the night visions, verse chapter 3, then He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, the Lord rebuke you. The Lord Satan, the Lord rebuke you." This plurality in the Godhead is another reference to the Trinity. And so, the Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel. And you guys have heard, I know Tim and Seth have both spoken on this passage. And then he answered and spoke to those who stood there, take away the filthy garments from him. And to him, he said, see, I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe you with rich robes. He says, let them put a clean turban on his head. So he is cleansed and he is crowned. So they put a clean turban on his head and they put clothes on him and the angel of the Lord stood by. So this is the angel of the Lord. atoning, redeeming for the sins of Joshua, the high priest, who represents the people. He is representative of the people of God. And you see the function, the work of the Trinity here. Now, that brings me to the third way that we see Christ. Christ is in Zachariah typically in the persons of Joshua and Zerubbabel. And if we look, let's see, at chapter four, chapter four and verse six. So I'm passing over the vision of the olive trees, which I take to be Joshua and Zerubbabel, the olive trees and the candlestick and the oil. And here's the interpretation of it in chapter four and verse six. And he answered and said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Now notice that the word of the Lord, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts. So in this one verse, you have the word of the Lord, you have the spirit of the Lord, and you have the Lord of hosts. Once again, this is a triunity here that is being showed with regard, demonstrated regarding the nature of God. And then notice this, this prophecy for Zerubbabel. Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forth a capstone with shouts of grace, grace to it. if we read a little further he says, the hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple. His hands shall also finish it. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. This is again a reference to the persons of the Trinity. The Lord of hosts has sent me, the angel of the Lord, the second person of the Trinity to you. And let me just pause there. So, Zerubbabel is the builder of the accomplisher, the overcomer of all these problems in order to see the work of the God completed. And we know from Haggai's prophecy as well, that he is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the King, who is the ruler, who will overcome all enemies, who will accomplish all the will of God. And not only that, but also Joshua. So if you look at chapter six and I'll try to speed along here. Joshua chapter, excuse me, not Joshua, Zechariah chapter six and verse nine. So after the eight visions, there's this scene. I don't think this is a vision. I think this really happened. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, captives," and let me pass down so verse 11, "'Take the silver and gold, make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua,' verse 12, "'Then speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold the man whose name is the branch. From his place he shall branch out and he shall build the temple of the Lord. Yes, he shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the glory. He shall sit and rule on his throne and he shall be a priest on his throne and the council of peace shall be between them both. Now, in the Old Testament, the office of priest and king were kept separate. But here, there is this symbolic action where Zachariah has a crown made, a beautiful crown, and they hold it over or place it over Joshua's head, who is representative of the king priest who will accomplish all things. a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the mediator, who has all the offices of prophet, priest, and king. Zechariah himself was a prophet and a priest, and perhaps he also is a picture of Christ. So Zerubbabel and Joshua are both types of Christ, Christ the king, Christ the priest, as they represent and serve and accomplish the will of God. So, four ways that Christ is in Zechariah. First, He's there as God, the Lord of hosts, the Trinity. Christ is there as the angel of the Lord who interprets the visions of Zechariah. Christ is in Zechariah typically as in the persons of Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the ruler. And then Christ is in Zechariah prophetically as the coming Messiah. And I'm not gonna read all the passages there because there's so many, but do you remember one of the famous ones? Well, let's read the one. Okay, chapter nine. Chapter nine. This is perhaps the most famous, but there are more. Zechariah 9.9. All right, verse nine is Christ's first coming. Verse 10 is Christ's second coming. So let's read it. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you. He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt the foal of a donkey. So you remember when Jesus rode into Jerusalem upon a donkey in this fulfilled. This is the King. But He was crucified. But look what happens here. He comes again, His second coming. Here it is presented in one view, but clearly verse 10 is His second coming. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem. The battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. And so those two verses bring together the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, his coming first as a suffering servant, and then his coming as a glorious king and conqueror and ruler. Well, that's it. We have one minute. So I finished early. Don't let anybody say I don't finish early sometimes. Does anyone have a question or a comment I hope you're excited about Zachariah. What a great book. And let the word of God encourage your heart. For every look you take at circumstances, look to God's word. Dewey, would you close in prayer for us, please?