Zechariah 5

CHAPTER 5THEME: Vision of the flying roll; vision of a woman in an ephahWe come now to the two visions which are the most highly symbolic and unusual of this series of visions. The first, the flying roll or scroll, marks a sharp division in the meaning of the visions which Zechariah received. In the first two chapters God makes it clear that He intends to put down all the enemies of Israel and that the nation will become the nation of priests which was God’s original intention. God told them that this was His desire for them when He brought them out of Egyptian bondage, but, because of their sin, only one tribethe tribe of Leviwas chosen for the priesthood. Then in the vision of Joshua and Satan we learned that the nation first had to be cleansed. Then the vision of the branch and the stone with seven eyes looked forward to the Kingdom Age when God, having cleansed them, would use them, and they would become a light to the world, symbolized by the lampstand being fed oil from the olive trees. The oil, representing the Holy Spirit, signified that they would witness in the power of the Holy Spirit. That is all well and good, but it does raise a question. Does it mean that every member of this nation, every Israelite, will be choseneven those who live in continual rebellion and sin? In the visions before us, we will see that the judgment of God will come upon those who do not become obedient unto Him. He will ferret out those who are rebellious, and He will judge them. By the same token, God will do this in the whole world. Although these visions have in mind the local nation, they also have a world view. There is here a global gospel that looks forward to the establishment of God’s Kingdom here upon the earth. This makes very clear the thing that God said regarding Israel: “…For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Rom_9:6). It is the national unity, the corporate bodynot every memberthat will be accepted. Each individual will have to be obedient to God, come God’s way for cleansing, as we have seen, and will have to receive the Messiah. What is said of the nation Israel is also true of the church. Not every church member is a genuine Christianthat is, a member of the body of believers which is called the church. There will come a day when there will be a separation of believers and unbelievers. The great division of the church will be at the Rapture, and the division for Israel and for all the nations on the earth will be at the second coming of Christ when He gathers His elect into His Kingdom. Then there will be a judgment, and Satan will be bound for one thousand years. All of this is in the picture that is given to us here. You can see that this was for the encouragement of the godly remnant of Israel in Zechariah’s day as well as for us today.

Zechariah 5:1

VISION OF THE FLYING ROLLThe first thing that we should establish is that this flying roll is a scroll which represents the Word of God. We get this explanation from the prophet Ezekiel. “And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; and he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them” (Eze. 2:9-3:4). Ezekiel was to digest the Word of God and then he was to give it out to the people. This is a tremendous picture for us who are preachers. We ought to digest the Word of God. It might be bitter in our tummies, but in our mouths it should be as sweet as honeythat is, something that we delight in giving out. I should add that there is a great difference of opinion and many interpretations regarding the meaning of the flying scroll. But the solid interpretation which has come down through the centuries is that the scroll represents the Word of God in general and the Ten Commandments in particular.

Zechariah 5:2

The size of the scroll was twenty cubits by ten cubitsthat’s a very large scroll. The scrolls in the days of Zechariah were made of papyrus or animal skins with a roller at each end so that the ones reading could roll it off one roller and onto the other roller as they read it. Instead of turning pages as we do when we read a book, they would unroll more of the scroll as they read along. But the scroll of Zechariah’s vision was 20x10 cubits (a cubit was the measurement from the end of the middle finger to the elbow and would vary depending upon the size of the individual but was about eighteen inches), which would make the scroll about 15x30 feet, much larger than a bed sheet, even a king-sized sheet. The only way it could be seen would be spread out, and he sees it as a great flying scroll, that is, traveling rapidly over the whole land. I imagine that it was completely unrolled as it moved over the earth. The size of the scroll is probably significant as it is the same size as the Holy Place of the tabernacle and of the Porch of Solomon in the temple. “And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house” (1Ki_6:3). That was the place where the priest could come and worship according to the Law. No one could ever go inside the veil unless the blood was put in there. That was done by the high priest only once a year when he went in as a representative of the whole nation. When the high priest went in there, he stood on redeemed ground, having been redeemed by the blood. You and I today stand on redeemed ground. We have not been redeemed by gold and silver or by any precious stones or precious jewels, but by the precious blood of Christ. You and I are not standing on a flying carpet. We do not rest on a missile sent from heaven. We have been delivered from the penalty and the power of sin. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Joh_3:14-15).

Zechariah 5:3

Apparently the Ten Commandments were written on the scroll, and the Ten Commandments were divided into two parts. The first four commandments deal with man’s relationship to God, and the last six commandments deal with man’s relationship to man. Therefore, the commandment regarding stealing cited here, “for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it,” probably represents the section which deals with man’s relationship to man. This is clearly identified in Psalm 50: “When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him [Thou shalt not steal], and hast been partaker with adulterers [Thou shalt not commit adultery]. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son [Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour].

These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such as one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes” (Psa_50:18-21). Now, because men in that day were able to break the Ten Commandments without suffering God’s punishment, they came to the conclusion that He was just like they were and would not do anything about their transgressions. But God says that He is going to do something about them. The Mosaic Law was given to the nation of Israel, and it was to be the Law of that nation, and they were to obey the Law. Well, they disobeyed it, of course, and so God put them out of their land. And in their dispersion among the nations, they scattered the Mosaic Law. The mark of civilization has been the commandments of God which relate especially to man’s relationship with man. I want you to notice here the great principle which is put down concerning the Law and especially the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were given to the nation Israel as they stood in the crossroads of the world, and they took them with them wherever they went. They had a tremendous influence upon Egypt as they became a nation down there. When they went into Assyrian and Babylonian captivity, they had a great influence upon those first great empires. They had an influence upon the Graeco-Macedonian Empire and the Roman Empire. The Ten Commandments produced a civilization. You can say what you please, but the great civilizations of this world have had these laws as a basis: Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not commit adultery. These have been basic to a nation, building the homes, building a way of life, and establishing a civilization.

As long as our nation had them as bedrock, we were blessed of God, and our problems were few compared to what they are today. But our contemporary world society has abandoned them, and we have come to the same place to which the nation Israel had come. God has given Israel as an example. God is saying, “Although I have chosen Israel as a nation, I will judge every individual that breaks My Commandments.” And so this flying scroll represents for the whole earth the basis upon which God deals with nations. The interesting thing is that it is very difficult to find anything wrong with the Law. Now God goes ahead and says this

Zechariah 5:4

“It shall enter into the house of the thief"that represents the commandments which have to do with man’s relationship to man. “And into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name” refers to the first section of the Ten Commandments. Even by the name of God a man would perjure himself! The Ten Commandments were never given to the Christian as a way of life. We as believers have been called to a much higher plane, and we attain that plane by grace. Actually, man cannot even attain the plane of the Mosaic Law unaided. God gave them the Law, but He gave them no aid to go with it. That is, He did not give them the filling of the Spirit; the Holy Spirit did not indwell the Old Testament saints. Therefore man in his own strength and ability could never measure up to the Ten Commandments. You and I live in the dispensation of grace, and God has given to us the Holy Spirit whereby we can produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc.), which were never in the Mosaic Law.

Zechariah 5:5

VISION OF A WOMAN IN AN EPHAHSuppose I told you that last night a missile from outer space landed in my backyard and two little men in green came out of it and talked with me. Would you believe it? Well, if you won’t, I won’t tell you such a thing. But there are intelligent people today (as well as others) who actually believe in flying saucers. Some have even testified to having seen them. They have even said they saw little people inside. I understand the U.S. Navy has been giving this serious investigation over the years. We hear from two groups. One believes sincerely and vociferously that there are flying saucers. The other group doubts it and denies it equally vociferously. While I was a pastor in downtown Los Angeles, I had an invitation to go out to Apple Valley to a large rock that is out in that desert area, which was declared to be the landing field where the missiles from outer space came in. I was told they would give me a ride in one of the flying saucers. I didn’t go out there for two reasons. One was that I wasn’t sure there were flying saucers out thereI’m very much of a skeptic. The other reason was that I was afraid if I did go out there and they put me in one of them, they would take me off and not bring me backno one assured me of a round-trip ticket. So I didn’t go out there.

I voiced my skepticism and cynicism about the whole business, but there were some who sincerely believed that missiles from outer space were landing and taking off out in that area. I have driven by that location many times since then, and I don’t know why, but I always pick up speed going by that big rock! Zechariah didn’t believe in flying saucers either, but he saw two flying objects in his visions. He saw some strange missiles from outer space. Remember that I said at the beginning that the Book of Zechariah is one of the apocalyptic books of the Bible. It is ethereal, seraphic, spiritual, and highly symbolic. In other words, what he writes is out of this world. We need to avoid fanaticism on one hand and materialism on the other hand. We’re at the launching pad, and we are ready to see another vision. Actually, we are going to see the first astronaut. Believe it or not, we will learn that it is a woman who is in one of those capsules. It is called an ephah or a bushel basket. Again he has his eyes wide openthis is no dream. And the interpreting angel says, “Look up, please.”

Zechariah 5:6

“And I said, What is it?” After all, this is the first astronaut Zechariah had ever seen, and he didn’t know what it was. Possibly you can remember the great thrill it was when you heard about Alan Shepard making his trip in space. He didn’t get very far, but he was the first American in space. Well, here is a woman in space, and Zechariah wants an explanation. “This is an ephah that goeth forth.” An ephah is a dry measure equal to a little more than a bushel. It was used to measure such commodities as flour and barley; therefore, this symbolized trade or commerce.

Zechariah 5:7

What we have in this vision is a continuation of judgment upon the sin and iniquity of Israel. It looks forward to the Millennium where sin and iniquity will be removed from the land. Also, it looks forward to the judgment of Babylon, which will precede the Millennium. We need to compare it with Revelation 18 where we see the judgment of commercial Babylon. (Revelation 17 pictures the judgment of religious Babylon.) God will judge this matter of covetousness. His command is, “Thou shalt not covet.” And God will judge the love of money and the greed that are connected with commercialism. The “talent” was the largest measure of weight, and it was made of lead, the most common heavy metal which was employed in all commercial transactions for weighing out money. We find that one of the great sins of the Israelites when they returned from Babylon was an insatiable love for money and desire for material things. You may recall that Nehemiah had to deal with them on this issue because they were lending to their brothers at high rates of interest (usury). They had been forbidden by the Mosaic Law to do this, and Nehemiah really straightened them out. The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, pictures life in the land after the temple had been built. Malachi asks the question, “Will a man rob God? …” (Mal_3:8). Believe me, God answered that question.

He said that the whole nation had robbed Him. You see, they were guilty of covetousness; they were bent on accumulating riches for themselves, and they were willing to rob God and hurt their brother in order to do it. That is what they were doing in Zechariah’s day, and God is revealing to him that He intends to remove that spirit of covetousness from the land. “This is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah.” Anytime in the Scriptures that we see a woman out of place, there is an evil connotation. For example, the woman in the parable the Lord Jesus gave (see Mat_13:33) who put leaven in flour. That leaven represents evil, and the leaven of evil is a principle all the way through the Word of God. And when Scripture pictures a woman in religion, such as the church at Thyatira which had “…that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess …” (Rev_2:20), and the “great whore” of Revelation 17, she represents evil. In Zechariah’s vision, the woman represents the nation of Israel that had gone into commercialism. God wants to bless them, but their awful sin of covetousness must be dealt with first.

Zechariah 5:8

Let me give you Merrill Unger’s translation and amplification of this verse (pp. 96-97): Having announced concerning the woman, This is wickedness, thereupon he [the interpreting angel] cast her [the woman] into the middle of the ephah and cast the lead stone [weight] upon its mouth [opening]…. She has been all along sitting or dwelling in the ephah, contentedly, but now that the time has come for commercial Babylon to be removed, to be destroyed, the woman tries to escape from it because she does not want to be removed with it, and so share its inevitable fate. Therefore, she tries to escape.

Zechariah 5:9

Some time ago a movie was produced called “The Flying Nun”; so I call these two women the two flying nuns. But what do they represent? Well, we may be sure that they represent agents of evil because they are associated with and protective of the woman in the ephahand the angel had said of her, “This is wickedness.” “They had wings like the wings of a stork"that is, powerful wings. In Scripture the stork is not a picture of an angel. It is a dirty bird, an unclean bird.

Zechariah 5:10

God is moving this matter of godless and heartless commercialism out of the land of Palestine. Now I want you to see something here. The children of Israel were originally a pastoral and agricultural people, and most of the Mosaic Law has to do with that type of life-style. It gives instructions regarding the land itself, the vineyards, the grain, the livestock, and all that sort of thing. And in our day, the Jews who have returned to Palestine have returned, in a large measure, to the soil. However, when they are out of that land, they get into other businesses. I have never heard of a Jewish farmer in America, have you? When they were in Babylonian captivity, they learned commercialism, and they learned it from the Gentiles. They became good businessmen, and they acquired an insatiable love for riches which they saw among the Gentiles in Babylon. Let me refer you again to the Book of Revelation where, in chapter 18, we find that God is going to judge commercial Babylon at the setting up of His Kingdom; in fact, He is going to get rid of it. My friend, the Bible is a rather revolutionary book, which may be one reason why some people don’t like it. It is said that John Calvin got capitalism from the Bible; and I think that he did. But I want to remind you that there is a great deal more in the Bible on the side of the poor people than on the side of the rich. In the Epistle of James, we find this harsh condemnation: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.

Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days” (Jas_5:1-3). He speaks out against the gathering of money just for the sake of gathering it. Then he goes on, “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth” (Jas_5:4). I wonder what God has to say to some of these great corporations and the great labor unions of our contemporary society. That sort of thing is not going into the Kingdom of God upon this earth. God is going to judge it and get rid of it. If there ever was a revolutionary book, it is this Book, the Word of God. It is too hot for a lot of folk to handle! Now notice that Zechariah asks the interpreting angel, “Whither do these bear the ephah?” And the angel answered, “To build it an house in the land of Shinar.” Where is Shinar? It is the land of Babylon. God will return this evil system to the place it came from, and its final destruction was seen by the apostle John: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicasies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities” (Rev_18:1-5). My friend, in our contemporary civilization, is God in big business? Is God in the stock market? Is God in the labor unions? Is God in the entertainment business? Anyone with any intelligence recognizes that God is left out of all of them. And God intends to remove them from the earth someday. “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth” (Rev_18:21-24, italics mine). When this evil system is removed, Palestine will become truly the holy land; and when wickedness is destroyed from the whole earth, the Kingdom of God will come to the earth. What a glorious prospect this is as you and I live in this present evil age!