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December 28

Pastor’s Note

A reminder today in Zechariah of the possibility of having a form of godliness, which can be nothing more than a covering for selfishness. Again, as we have seen throughout the major and minor prophets, we read of God’s ultimate purpose and intention to restore, forgive, and establish his people. In Revelation 19, as we near the end of this sobering prophecy, we read of the joyful return of Christ and the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb.”

— Pastor Mike

Zechariah 7-9

A Call for Justice and Mercy

7:1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev. Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech and their men to entreat the favor of the Lordsaying to the priests of the house of the Lord of hosts and the prophets, “Should I weep and abstain in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me: “Say to all the people of the land and the priests, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh, for these seventy years, was it for me that you fasted? And when you eat and when you drink, do you not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? Were not these the words that the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous, with her cities around her, and the South and the lowland were inhabited?”

And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. [1] 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lordof hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. 13 “As I [2] called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the Lord of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.”

The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion

8:1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? Thus says the Lord of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

14 For thus says the Lord of hosts: “As I purposed to bring disaster to you when your fathers provoked me to wrath, and I did not relent, says the Lord of hosts, 15 so again have I purposed in these days to bring good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; fear not. 16 These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace; 17 do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord.”

18 And the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.

20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts; I myself am going.’ 22 Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord23 Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

Judgment on Israel’s Enemies

9:1 The burden of the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach
 and Damascus is its resting place.
For the Lord has an eye on mankind
 and on all the tribes of Israel, [3]
and on Hamath also, which borders on it,
 Tyre and Sidon, though they are very wise.
Tyre has built herself a rampart
 and heaped up silver like dust,
 and fine gold like the mud of the streets.
But behold, the Lord will strip her of her possessions
 and strike down her power on the sea,
 and she shall be devoured by fire.

Ashkelon shall see it, and be afraid;
 Gaza too, and shall writhe in anguish;
 Ekron also, because its hopes are confounded.
The king shall perish from Gaza;
 Ashkelon shall be uninhabited;
a mixed people [4] shall dwell in Ashdod,
 and I will cut off the pride of Philistia.
I will take away its blood from its mouth,
 and its abominations from between its teeth;
it too shall be a remnant for our God;
 it shall be like a clan in Judah,
 and Ekron shall be like the Jebusites.
Then I will encamp at my house as a guard,
 so that none shall march to and fro;
no oppressor shall again march over them,
 for now I see with my own eyes.

The Coming King of Zion

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
 Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
 righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
 on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
 and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
 and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
 and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
 I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
 today I declare that I will restore to you double.
13 For I have bent Judah as my bow;
 I have made Ephraim its arrow.
I will stir up your sons, O Zion,
 against your sons, O Greece,
 and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

The Lord Will Save His People

14 Then the Lord will appear over them,
 and his arrow will go forth like lightning;
the Lord God will sound the trumpet
 and will march forth in the whirlwinds of the south.
15 The Lord of hosts will protect them,
 and they shall devour, and tread down the sling stones,
and they shall drink and roar as if drunk with wine,
 and be full like a bowl,
 drenched like the corners of the altar.

16 On that day the Lord their God will save them,
 as the flock of his people;
for like the jewels of a crown
 they shall shine on his land.
17 For how great is his goodness, and how great his beauty!
 Grain shall make the young men flourish,
 and new wine the young women.

Revelation 19

Rejoicing in Heaven

19:1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
 for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
 who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” [5]

Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,
 all you his servants,
you who fear him,
 small and great.”

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
 the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
 and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
 and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
 with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said [6] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant [7] with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The Rider on a White Horse

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in [8] blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, [9] both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence [10] had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Footnotes

[1] 7:11 Hebrew and made their ears too heavy to hear
[2] 7:13 Hebrew he
[3] 9:1 A slight emendation yields For to the Lord belongs the capital of Syria and all the tribes of Israel
[4] 9:6 Or a foreign people; Hebrew a bastard
[5] 19:2 Greek bondservants; also verse 5
[6] 19:9 Greek he said
[7] 19:10 Greek fellow bondservant
[8] 19:13 Some manuscripts sprinkled with
[9] 19:18 Greek bondservant
[10] 19:20 Or on its behalf

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