THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From the Captivity to the Return
Message Thirteen—The Minor Prophets (4)
Scripture Reading: Zech. 2:1-2, 5, 8-9, 11; 10:1, 3; 11:7; 12:1, 10
I. “The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him”—Zech. 12:1:
A. In His creation God made three crucial, equally important items—the heavens, the earth, and the spirit of man.
B. The heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man was created by God with a spirit that he may contact God, receive God, worship God, live God, fulfill God’s purpose for God, and be one with God.
C. The central government and most prominent part of man’s being should be his spirit; a man who is ruled and controlled by his spirit is a spiritual man—1 Cor. 2:14-15; 3:1; John 3:6; Eph. 3:16; 1 Pet. 3:4; Dan. 6:10.
D. The way to fulfill God’s economy in the divine history is by Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit in our spirit; Zechariah reveals that the building of the church will be consummated by Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit of grace to be the topstone of grace—4:6-7, 12-14; 3:9; 12:1, 10; Rev. 4:5; 5:6.
II. We need to exercise our spirit to experience and enjoy Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit in the following aspects—Zech. 2:1-2; 11:7; 10:1, 3, 8, 12:
A. Christ is a man with a measuring line in His hand, measuring God’s people in order to test, judge, examine, and possess them for His kingdom—Zech. 2:1-2; Ezek. 40:3; 47:1-5; Psa. 139:23-24.
B. “I will be her wall of fire round about, declares Jehovah, and I will be the glory within her”—Zech. 2:5:
1. That the wall of the city of Jerusalem and the glory within her will be Jehovah Himself indicates that Jehovah as Christ will be the protection of Jerusalem at her circumference and her glory at her center; this shows the centrality and universality of Christ in God’s economy.
2. Today Christ is the glory in the center of the church, and He is also the fire burning around the circumference of the church for her protection; in the New Jerusalem the Triune God in Christ will be the glory at its center (Rev. 21:23; 22:1, 5), and this glory will shine through the transparent wall of the city to be its protection of fire (21:11, 18a, 24).
C. Christ came as a Shepherd, shepherding in Favor (grace) and Bonds (binding); grace is for our being mingled with God, and bonds are for our being bound into oneness—Zech. 11:7; 2:1-2, 5, 8-9, 11; John 21:15-17.
D. While the Lord is so favorable to us, we should ask Him to send us even more favor, more grace, more “rain”—Zech. 10:1; 12:10; Ezek. 34:26.
E. After being visited by the Lord as the Shepherd, every weak sheep among God’s people becomes a horse of majesty—Zech. 10:3; cf. 9:13, 16; Dan. 11:32b.
F. Often during our time of morning revival, the Lord whistles to us, calling us and gathering us to Him; the Lord’s whistling is not shrill but mild and gentle, somewhat like the singing of a bird—Zech. 10:8.
G. The Lord strengthens us in Himself so that we may walk about in His name (v. 12; Col. 3:17).
III. The focal point and major content of the divine history within human history are the two comings of Christ for the testimony of Jesus, the building of God—Zech. 9—14:
A. Zechariah 9 through 11 speaks of Christ’s lowly first coming, which was humble and intimate:
1. Christ came as the King of Israel, lowly and riding upon a donkey, even upon a colt, the foal of a donkey—9:9-10; Matt. 21:5-10.
2. Christ came as a Shepherd, shepherding in Favor (grace) and Bonds (binding)—Zech. 11:7-11.
3. Christ was detested, attacked, rejected, and betrayed by one of His disciples for thirty pieces of silver—vv. 8, 12-13; Matt. 26:14-16; 27:3-10.
4. Christ was smitten as the Shepherd, and His disciples were scattered as the sheep— Zech. 13:7; Matt. 26:31.
5. Christ’s two hands were wounded on the cross in the house of Israel, the house of those who love Him—Zech. 13:6; John 19:18a.
6. Christ’s side was pierced, and He became an opened fountain for sin and for impurity—Zech. 12:10; 13:1; John 19:18a, 34; Matt. 26:28.
B. Zechariah 12 through 14 speaks of Christ’s victorious second coming, which will be with power and authority:
1. Christ will come a second time accompanied by His saints, the overcomers—Joel 3:11.
2. His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east— Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:9-12.
3. He will fight for the children of Israel, His chosen people, against the nations that besiege them and will save them from destruction—Zech. 14:2-3, 12-15; 12:1-9.
4. At that time the whole house of Israel will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him; thus, all Israel will be saved—vv. 10-14; Rom. 11:26.
5. Afterward, He will be the King to reign and rule over the nations; all the people will go up to Jerusalem year after year to worship Him, and all will be sanctified unto Him—Zech. 9:10; 14:16-21.
IV. The all-inclusive Christ is the history of God working within the history of man to gain the building of God for the manifestation of God—4:9; 6:12-15; John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rev. 4:5; 5:6; 21:2:
A. While Christ is skillfully working to sovereignly control the world situation in human history, He is skillfully working Himself into us in the divine history to make us the masterpiece of His work, the poem of God, a new invention of God, expressing His infinite wisdom and divine design—Acts 5:31; Eph. 2:10.
B. Christ in His humanity is the Angel of Jehovah, Jehovah Himself as the Triune God, standing with God’s people in the lowest part of the valley in their humiliation to care for them, intercede for them, and bring them swiftly out of Babylonian captivity—Zech. 1:7- 17; Exo. 3:2, 4-6, 13-15; Isa. 63:9; Deut. 33:27.
C. Christ is the last Craftsman used by God to break the four horns; the four horns are the four kingdoms with their kings—Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire—also signified by the great human image with four sections in Daniel 2:31-33, the four stages of locusts in Joel 1:4, and the four beasts in Daniel 7:3-8, that damaged and destroyed the chosen people of God—Zech. 1:18-21.
D. In order to live in the divine history within the human history and become Christ’s mighty ones for His building, we need to apply the cleansing blood of Christ, live in the divine Spirit of Christ, and abide in the beautifying and killing word of Christ to flow out Christ for the unique expression of Christ—Zech. 3:3-4; 4:6; 12:1; Rev. 19:13-15; Eph. 5:26; 6:17; Zech. 4:12-14.
V. The world situation has always been the indicator of the Lord’s move on earth—cf. 1 Chron. 12:32a:
A. The mystery of lawlessness is working today among the nations and in human society; this lawlessness will culminate in the man of lawlessness, Antichrist—2 Thes. 2:3-12.
B. The ten kings typified by the ten toes of the great image in Daniel 2 will be under Antichrist, who will be the last Caesar of the revived Roman Empire; all this will transpire in Europe—Rev. 17:10-14:
1. Before the crushing of Antichrist and the totality of human government transpires, the Lord’s recovery must spread to Europe and be rooted there.
2. The spreading of the truths of the Lord’s recovery will be a preparation for the Lord’s coming back to bring the recovery and restoration not only to Israel but also to the entire creation—Matt. 24:14; cf. Rev. 5:6.
Ministry Excerpts:
SISTER VERSES IN ZECHARIAH AND ISAIAH
In the books of Zechariah and Isaiah, both of which have much to say about Christ, there are sister verses that speak clearly regarding the human spirit. Zechariah 12:1 says, “Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.” This reveals that the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man was created by God with a spirit that he may contact God, receive God, live God, fulfill God’s purpose for God, and be one with God.
Isaiah 42:5 is a sister verse to Zechariah 12:1. “Thus says God Jehovah, / Who created the heavens and stretched them out, / Who spread forth the earth and what springs up from it, / Who gives breath to the people upon it / And spirit to those who walk on it.” The Hebrew word translated breath here can also be rendered spirit (cf. Prov. 20:27). These sister verses both mention three matters: the heavens, the earth, and the human spirit. Whereas Zechariah 12:1 speaks of God’s forming the human spirit, Isaiah 42:5 simply speaks of God’s giving a spirit to man.
Verse 6 goes on to speak concerning God’s purpose in giving man a spirit. “I am Jehovah; I have called You in righteousness; / I have held You by the hand; / I have kept You and I have given You / As a covenant for the people, as a light for the nations.” Here we see that God intends to give His Son Christ to us as a covenant and as a light to the nations. Such a Christ is wonderful, but unless we can receive Him, He does not have anything to do with us. In order to receive this Christ, we must have a receiver within us, and this receiver is our human spirit. God has given us a spirit so that we can receive, partake of, participate in, and enjoy Christ as the covenant and as the light.
OUR SPIRIT AND THE SEVENFOLD INTENSIFIED SPIRIT
Our regenerated human spirit matches Christ, who is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). Regarding this, Zechariah 3:9 says, “This is the stone that I have set before Joshua: upon one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its engraving, declares Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” This stone which has been engraved with God’s engraving to take away the sin of God’s people is Christ. The seven eyes of the stone are “the eyes of Jehovah running to and fro on the whole earth” (4:10). In order to understand the significance of the seven eyes, we need to consider Revelation 5:6. “I saw..a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” The Lamb here, who is the stone in Zechariah 3:9, is Christ, and the seven eyes are the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Thus, the Christ who has been engraved by God to take away our sin bears the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Actually, He, the last Adam, has become a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), even the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Christ today is the Spirit, and we have a spirit particularly formed by God to match Christ.
Let us now go on to consider the Christ who is unveiled in the book of Zechariah. In the first part of this book (chs. 1—6), there are five visions concerning Christ, and in the last part (chs. 9—14), many details concerning Christ.
VISIONS CONCERNING CHRIST
In the first of the five visions concerning Christ, Christ is unveiled as the Man as the Angel of Jehovah riding on a red horse and standing among the myrtle trees (1:7-17). The myrtle trees signify the humiliated yet precious people of Israel in their captivity. Christ’s riding on a red horse indicates that He was the redeeming One. His being the Angel of Jehovah indicates that He was the One sent by God to take care of His people with much expectation while they were in captivity.
In the second vision (vv. 20-21) Christ is the last Craftsman used by God to break the four horns—Babylon, Persia, Greece, and the Roman Empire—which damaged and destroyed the chosen people of God (vv. 18-19). Christ will be the unique One not only to break the four horns but also to smash the entire human government from the toes to the head, as signified by the great human image in Daniel 2.
In the next vision Christ is the One who measures Jerusalem in order to possess it (Zech. 2:1-2). This One not only possesses Jerusalem but also becomes the center of Jerusalem as the glory within her and the circumference of Jerusalem as the wall of fire round about her (v. 5). Furthermore, He is both the sending One and the sent One. He, Jehovah of hosts, has sent Himself as the Angel of Jehovah (vv. 8-9, 11).
In the fourth vision Christ is unveiled as the topstone of grace (4:7). As indicated in 3:9, upon this stone are seven eyes, signifying the seven Spirits, that is, the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Christ is therefore the topstone of grace to consummate God’s building with the sevenfold intensified Spirit.
The fifth vision involving Christ is the vision of the lampstand of gold and the two olive trees (4:2-3, 11-14). The lampstand here signifies the nation of Israel as the collective testimony of God shining out all His virtues. We may say that this lampstand is also a type of Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God. In Zechariah’s time the two olive trees were Joshua and Zerubbabel, but during the three and a half years of the great tribulation, the two olive trees will be Moses and Elijah.
DETAILS CONCERNING CHRIST
The last six chapters of Zechariah are divided into two groups: chapters nine through eleven, which speak of Christ’s lowly first coming, and chapters twelve through fourteen, which speak of Christ’s victorious second coming.
In His First Coming
In His first coming, Christ came as a lowly King and was temporarily welcomed as the King into Jerusalem in a lowly form. Regarding this, 9:9 says, “Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion; / Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! / Now your King comes to you. / He is righteous and bears salvation; / Lowly and riding upon a donkey, / Even upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Christ came also as a Shepherd (11:7-11), shepherding in Favor (grace) and Bonds (binding). However, He, the proper Shepherd of Israel, was detested, attacked, rejected, and sold for thirty pieces of silver (vv. 12-13). The children of Israel were thus left to false, useless, and worthless shepherds—the elders, the priests, and the scribes—who would not take care of them (v. 17).
In His Second Coming
In chapters twelve through fourteen, we see Christ in His second coming. In His coming back, He will be the King not only over Israel but also over all the peoples on earth. “Jehovah will be King over all the earth; and in that day Jehovah will be the one God and His name the one name” (14:9). He will reign over the entire earth, and all the peoples of the earth will go up to Jerusalem from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 16). Upon those who refuse to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, there will be no rain (v. 17).
CHRIST AND THE TEMPLE OF GOD
The book of Zechariah clearly reveals that God desires the rebuilding of the temple (4:9; 6:12-15). However, without Christ everything, including the temple, is empty. We need Christ, yet Christ needs a Body. This Body is the temple of God, the house of God, the expression of God, the satisfaction of God. Hence, today we should emphasize both Christ and the church. Concerning Christ, we need to pay attention both to the crucial aspects unveiled in chapters one through six and to the details unveiled in chapters nine through fourteen.
CHRIST’S JUDGMENT UPON THREE CATEGORIES OF THINGS
Finally, I would like to point out that in the book of Zechariah we can see Christ’s judgment. The vision of the flying scroll (5:1-4), the vision of the ephah vessel (vv. 5-11), and the vision of the four chariots (6:1-8) are visions of judgment. Christ’s judgment will be carried out by the four chariots which come forth from between two mountains of brass (v. 1). Brass here signifies judgment. Although the two mountains of brass do not signify Christ, they are nevertheless closely related to Christ, for He has been appointed by God to carry out the judgment upon the living and the dead (John 5:22; Acts 10:42; 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1). On the one hand, Christ is the Redeemer and the Savior; on the other hand, He is the Judge. As the Judge, He will carry out God’s judgment. According to Zechariah, Christ’s judgment over the earth will be upon three categories of negative things. First, He will judge stealing (5:3b, 4b). Stealing signifies sins toward man, which are the issue of greed and covetousness. Second, Christ will judge the matter of swearing falsely by Jehovah’s name (vv. 3c, 4c). Swearing falsely by Jehovah’s name signifies sins toward God, which are the issue of a wrong relationship with God. Those who swear falsely in this way do not deal with God in faithfulness and honesty. Third, Christ will judge the entire human government signified by the great human image in Daniel 2. He, the last Craftsman, will come as the stone cut out without hands and smash this great image from the toes to the head. Thus, He will clear away from the earth all stealing, all false swearing by Jehovah’s name, and all of human government.
We need to see how Christ’s judgment is related to us today. We should be careful not to steal from others in any way, and we should also be careful to be honest and faithful with God. Then we will be right with man and also right with God. Finally, we need to see that Christ will come as the stone cut out without hands and will smash the entire human government and thereby bring in the eternal kingdom of God. (Life-Study of Zechariah, msg. 15)