Zechariah 13

We turn to the Bible in Zechariah chapter 13. I'll quickly read in chapter 13 and verse 1. In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and there shall no more be remembered.

And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. And it shall come to pass that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that beget him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord. And his father and his mother that beget him shall thrust him through when he prophesyeth.

And it shall come to pass in that day that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision when he had prophesied. Neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive, but he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a husbandman, for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. Now see the abrupt transition. Just notice that and we'll discuss about it.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow, sayeth the Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass that in all the land, sayeth the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein.

And I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name and I will hear them. I will say it is my people, and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and our spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle, and his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west.

And there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal. Yea, ye shall flee like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark, but it shall be one day which shall be noon to the Lord. Not day nor night, but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light.

And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea. In summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth.

In that day there shall be one Lord and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plane from to Ramon, south of Jerusalem. And it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananiel unto the king's winepresses.

And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. And there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

And it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them, and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor. And his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the hidden roundabout shall be gathered together, gold and silver and apparel in great abundance.

And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents as these plague. And it shall come to pass that everyone that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, and keep the feasts of tabernacles. And it shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not that have no rain, there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feasts of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feasts of tabernacles. In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses holiness unto the Lord, and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bulls before the altar.

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts, and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them and seethe therein. And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite and the house of the Lord of hosts. And surely the Lord will bless to us the reading of His precious Word.

Come to the last two chapters of this great book. I trust that you have enjoyed the studies as much as we have and I have. Many have come up and says, well this is the first time I've seriously looked into Zechariah.

It's a clean part of my Bible. I'm glad, I'm glad that you've come. And we've been considering, I hope we've enjoyed, especially in these chapters.

Get a glimpse of Christ. And as we have said, this is one, perhaps after Isaiah, the most messianic Old Testament book. There are others as well.

The Psalms are greatly messianic. But just the concentration of these 14 chapters of the book of Isaiah, you could nearly say that it's one of the most concentrated messianic books in the Old Testament. So we've appreciated some of this messianic text.

And we will come to not so much the last, but in terms of His relation or His connection to Calvary. We'll come to one more here and it will be very precious. And we have just now read, Awake, O sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord.

We'll consider that, spend some time around that. And I just want to impress upon you that that is a section that, that verse, that section sounded a bit abrupt. But that's because that's the pivot center of this chapter, these chapters we are reading.

And I'll show you in a while how the whole thing, the layout works out. But quickly, just a quick word of introduction. We have considered chapter 1 to chapter 6. And again, we said that chapter 7 and chapter 8 has one section.

And then chapter 9 to chapter 12. So that's, I hope it's something easy to remember. 1 to 6, 7, 8, 9 to 12.

Just a simple division of the book of Zechariah. In chapter 1 to 6, at the end of that section in chapter 6, we saw, my servant the brunch, the man the brunch. And he shall be a priest upon his throne.

He shall build the temple of the Lord. So chapter 1 to chapter 6, we saw that the priesthood was prominent. And then we saw at the end of chapter 6 that the brunch, and he is now the priest upon his throne.

Only a king has a throne. So that that whole section you could nearly summarize, that not only is he a priest, he's a king. So if I could be just very simple, chapter 1 to 6, the priest king.

But when you come to this section that we're looking at, chapter 9 to chapter 12, you notice, and our brother has reminded us, we're starting into the shepherd, the shepherd section of this book. The thought of the flock, the thought of the shepherd comes out very prominently. And especially from chapter 9, I think around, is it chapter 9 and verse number 16.

And that's where they first mentioned there of this book on the flock of his people. And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people. From that point onwards, you'll see the theme of the shepherd becomes prominent all the way to the end.

But when you come to chapter 14, suddenly the shepherd theme just fades away a bit. But what comes out very clearly and prominently is the theme of the king. So the king, he is the king of all the earth, and it will rain over the whole planet, and there will be nothing equal to him.

So if chapter 1 to chapter 6 is the priest king, then we could say that chapter 9 to chapter 12, we're looking at the shepherd king. And hope that will be easy to remember. A priest king, then the shepherd king, and that is what we're looking at chapter 9, chapter 14.

When we're looking at the shepherd king, we find a few things. In between 9 to 14, we found that this shepherd was rejected. They gave him 30 pieces of silver.

In their own estimation, in their eyes, he was not worth anything. And then we'll come to chapter 13 here in a while, and this shepherd is smitten. It's going to be a rejected shepherd, and we'll see he's a smitten shepherd.

And then from this point onwards, from rejected to being smitten, and suddenly we see that he's the king in chapter 14. The shepherd that was smitten, rejected, is now the shepherd king. That will be what Christ will be in the days to come.

He has always been a shepherd to Israel, but they rejected him. They in their own hands have smitten, crucified him, but he will come. We saw in chapter 12, and he will be manifested, and they will mourn, and they shall see the one whom they have pierced, and they will recognize him as their messiah, and then will acknowledge him as their king.

So the priest king and the shepherd king before us. From chapter 9 to chapter 14, our brother Phil had reminded us that there are two burdens. We saw in chapter 9, it began with the burden.

So if you notice in chapter 9, it specifically says, the burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus, and so on. But when you come to chapter 12, which is where the other burden is, it says the burden of the word of the Lord for Israel. So again, in a very simple manner, it could be just sometimes overly simplistic, but it will help you remember and just see the division.

Perhaps we could say from chapter 9 to chapter 11, it is the burden for the Gentile nations. Israel is in there as well, but it's Israel in relation to how the Gentile nations will be to them. But when you come to chapter 12, on which to chapter 14, it is the burden for Israel.

So it is the prophecy, and the focus, and the theme mainly will be around Israel. However, it is not just Israel. Especially when we were looking at chapter 12 yesterday, and now to chapter 13 and chapter 14, you'll find that the lens has zoomed down to not just Israel, but to Jerusalem.

Chapter 12, battle in Jerusalem. Chapter 13, we will read that a fountain is open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Chapter 14, the battle reemerges, and it is a battle again in Jerusalem.

The end of chapter 14, all they that refuse to go and worship the king in Jerusalem, they will have to deal with a governmental hand of Christ. So Jerusalem is the focus. Now again, I say this, if somehow you're not a believer, or if you're not convinced of the accuracy and the inerrancy of the scripture, of the prophecy of the Word of God, you just have to take a look around what's happening today.

Now, I am not saying that prophecy is being fulfilled today. No. Now a lot of preachers will say, oh, look at this part of the Bible, that part of the Bible, look at the war in Iran, and prophecy is being fulfilled.

No. I think the next prophetic event we're waiting for is none other than the rapture. And we don't know when that's going to happen.

That could happen at any time, you know. And the coming of Christ, the rapture, is not dependent on world events. World War II, and they thought that the Lord was coming.

And 9-11, and they thought that the Lord was coming. And now the war in Iran, and everyone thinks that the Lord is coming. But if the whole thing settles down and becomes peaceful again, and suddenly all the Christians are not thinking about the coming of the Lord anymore, and they get on with their life, the world could settle in perfect peace, and yet the Lord could just suddenly come.

So the rapture is not dependent on world events. The Lord could come at any time. So that's the next prophetic event.

However, what we see in world events today could be a preview of what is to come. If you look at the chaos today, wait till you see the tribulation. And if you, we won't, you're right.

Figurative speech. We won't. The events that are happening in this world, have you noticed that all the chaos of this world, if you could just sum it up.

Why the wars are happening? Why the instability instability around the Middle East? Why is the Middle East a hot spot? Not just the Middle East, the hottest spot on earth is really Jerusalem. And not just Jerusalem, there's this little plot on that mount. And that's where they're all fighting for.

The Muslims are fighting for it, the Christians want a piece of it, the Jews say that's theirs. And that's where, that's the root cause of nearly all the instability of the Middle East. And that's what the Bible tells us.

Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone. Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling. And that is going to be in the future.

But you're looking at even a preview of the whole thing. Jerusalem is going to be the hottest spot on earth. And it is not even beautiful, naturally speaking.

If you ask a man, why are they all fighting for that little piece of land? There's no petroleum down there. There is no gold. There is no rare earth.

There is nothing there. It's just a mount. The whole world is paying attention and conflicts have arisen because of it.

Why? Because the Bible says so. And Jerusalem will be the capital of the world. So I trust that with these things, you'll appreciate prophecy.

And what we look at today is not irrelevant. Though it is not prophetic fulfillment, we certainly are seeing a preview of things to come. So Jerusalem is the focus, chapter 12 to 14.

Now quickly, just a little bit of structure of outline. I put it in the notes if you have it with me, with you, my notes that I've given you. There's a symmetrical structure as well.

It's interesting to see some of this structure. There's a symmetrical structure from chapter 11 onwards. We saw there were bad shepherds.

But then there is a good prophet. Who? Zechariah. He was asked to act out the whole thing as we were told.

But he spoke of bad shepherds, but he was a good prophet. Chapter 12, battle in Jerusalem. First part of chapter 12.

Second part of chapter 12 to the first verse of chapter 13, you have Israel reconcile. They shall behold him whom they appease. A fountain opened in Jerusalem.

Then comes again in chapter 13, second part here. We are looking at bad prophets and a good shepherd. So remember in chapter 11, we saw bad shepherds and a good prophet.

Now we're looking at bad prophets and one good shepherd. You see how amazing the Word of God is. You spend time reading on it and just detect the consistency and the harmony of Scripture.

So now we're looking at bad prophets and one good shepherd. And when we come to the first part of chapter 14, we have a battle in Jerusalem again, just like what we have in chapter 12. And when we come to the second part of chapter 14, we have Jerusalem now reinstated.

So you see, I hope with the notes you have a particular structure. Now one final one before we open and get our brethren to come in. The abruptness of chapter 13 verse 7, awake O sword against my shepherd, is perhaps partly due to the fact that the Spirit of God is indicating to us that this is some kind of a middle point.

When you go from chapter 12 to chapter 13 verse 6, just before the shepherd prophecy, that section begins with a behold in chapter 12. Are you seeing that? Chapter 12, we're on verse 1 and 2, there's a behold. So chapter 12 verse 1 to chapter 13 verse 6, this section has a behold.

Then comes this shepherd prophecy from verse 7 and goes all the way to verse number 9 in relation to his people. And then comes chapter 14. What does it begin with? Behold.

So chapter 12 to chapter 13 verse 6, one section, behold. Verse 7 to verse 9 becomes the center. And chapter 14 begins again with a behold.

So in between the two behold sections, right smack in the middle and the core of this thing, awake O sword against my shepherd. And that is why the abruptness comes in to signal that we're right in the middle of this thing from chapter 12 to chapter 14. And it's divided with the indication, the marker of a behold in the first section, and a behold in the second section, and the shepherd prophecy right in the middle.

So that is the reason I believe for an abruptness. But it's also interesting to see that from chapter 12 verse 1 to chapter 13 verse 6, that first behold section, it primarily deals with the second coming of Christ. And then in the second behold section in chapter 14, it also deals with the second coming of Christ.

But this shepherd section, right in the middle, it concerns the first coming of Christ. So again, you see how amazing Scripture is. It's not out of order.

It is always in a certain pattern desired by God, oftentimes symmetrical. And when you detect a bit of the pattern, you could appreciate how the Word of God is written for us. So I'll just say that, and you have all the divisions in the notes we have given to you.

So no point we repeat that again. And you see how 13 and 14 are divided in the verses. And that's all I'll say.

I'll invite my brethren as well, my brother Phil as well, if anything to add to the introduction. Would it be fair to say, Brother Gideon, that one of the links between where we finished in chapter 12, now as we come into 13, at the end of 12, the salvation of Israel, and the language of chapter 13 in the opening verses is of sanctification. So is that a divine order, a divine principle, even for ourselves? Of course, we're talking about national salvation for Israel in chapter 12, but the salvation of a soul today is surely also with a view then to sanctification as a result.

Absolutely. Absolutely. In fact, I would think that that is the connection between that first verse of chapter 13 and that of the end of chapter 12.

You could almost lump it together as part of the whole event. So not only that they have national reconciliation, but now there is a fountain open, and notice, in that day. Now, perhaps I had not said enough.

We said it throughout the readings. One of the key expressions coming up in these chapters, in that day, and the frequency will increase when you come to chapter 14. But here, in that day, there shall be a fountain open.

And here, a fountain that opens or a fountain which openeth. So it's in a participle. So it really means this, it will remain open.

A fountain that will remain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This expression here for sin and for uncleanness. It's very interesting, because in the original text, it nearly sounds exactly as the expression for purification and uncleanness in the ashes of the red heifer, Numbers chapter 19.

And you know that thing, the ceremonial cleaning, the holy water, if anyone was defiled, they would need the water that came from the ashes of the red heifer. And very interesting that today, Israel is still searching for a red heifer. And they think that Messiah will come back.

And Brother Phil spoke about, you know, modernist interpretation of how technology and all its progress could result in the Messiah for them, in that sense. Many Orthodox Jews are looking for a personage Messiah. And they think that there are few things that they need.

They need the red heifer. And so through history, they've been searching for the perfect red heifer. Every time they thought they found a red heifer, without blemish, without spot.

Unfortunately, a few months later, something comes up. And they dismiss that and they back to square one, they're looking for a red heifer again. And they're constantly searching.

And they're always hopeful, but always disappointed that these will come when they will no longer need an animal red heifer. Christ will be the source of the atonement and will be the means of their cleansing and their sanctification. And so it will be through the person of Christ, the work of Christ, the blood of Christ, and the fountain, the spiritual fountain will be open to them for cleansing and for uncleanness.

So the red heifer will be replaced by the efficacy of the blood of Christ. Do we see, do you see a sequential unfolding of events here? So verse back to chapter 12, verse 10, they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. And then verse 11, in that day, there shall be great mourning.

And then chapter 13, verse one, in that day, there shall be a fountain open. So do we visualize this as the Lord is manifest in his glory coming out of heaven, the armies of heaven with him and so on. They look upon him whom they have pierced in all his glory.

It triggers mourning, repentance. It dawns upon them like Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus road. I've been wrong all along.

He is the Lord, right? And there's not only national mourning, but right down to the families, to individuals, right? It is thorough repentance on the part of that remnant. And then in that day shall they, is it the same day? It's likely in that day, the same day, I would think that that national reconciliation would also at the same time bring into effect sanctification and cleansing. Right.

As they discover Isaiah 53, the language of Isaiah 53, he was wounded. The one who was pierced was wounded for our transgressions. I hope after seeing this, you might not write me out as your friend, but I do defer a little bit, Brother William, not much, but a little.

I do think that there is personal salvation first for these Jews. So I think during the tribulation, many of them might be saved. Right, right.

There's 144,000 for sure. And then there's more through their ministry. So how are they going to be saved? Also through the gospel, also through the believing of Christ, also through the recognition of the relevance of Calvary and the death of Christ to them.

So they would have been saved. They would have known Jesus Christ. So I do not think that here in chapter 12, it is the first time, first realisation that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ.

I do think though that this is an official day of mourning, and they're brought to come before Christ. And nationally, as a nation, they weep, not because they just got saved, but as they review the history of rejection of the shepherd, and ultimately of their hand in crucifying the Christ, nationally, there is a national mourning together. Is this when the nation will be born in a day? Yes, I would think so.

I mean, secular Israel today, they look back to May 14, 1948, in relation to that scripture. But it's still future, isn't it? It is. So there might be salvation in the individuals.

So this is national reconciliation before Christ. So I don't know, perhaps you would defer, Brother Phil, but that's been what I've been thinking about. Yeah, just to clear that up then, Brother, I'm a little bit puzzled.

In the tribulation period, there is a resumption of Old Testament conditions, isn't there? The church has gone to heaven. God will resume his dealings with Israel. And the preaching to Israel was the gospel of the kingdom.

So it would seem from Ezekiel 38, 39, that that invasion triggers an awakening of the spiritual element of Israel. Throughout the tribulation, there will be a spiritual element, and there will be a purely nationalistic element. I take it that's the two, the foolish virgins, the wise virgins of Matthew 25.

So a purely nationalistic element, they can't survive on their nationalism. But you've got this spiritual element of the nation. Now, in the meantime, as we've read, two-thirds of that company are going to be killed anyway.

By the time we get to the end of the tribulation, only a third of the nation of Israel will have survived. Now, I'm not sure that I know of a scripture that says they are, in that sense, justified by faith before the Lord comes. Surely, when he comes to establish his kingdom, it's as a result of them crying for physical deliverance.

And that cry is heard. It's then when they see him and they look upon him whom they pierced, that the repentance comes, that the affliction of soul comes. And then, as a result of that, their sins are removed.

But it's all national, isn't it? It's collective. Am I right? Am I following the track here? Right. But there would have been individuals during the tribulation period, 144,000 for sure, than others that have received the gospel.

Chapter 14, 144,000 of Revelation. 144,000 are in focus. And there's the angel with everlasting gospel.

Angels don't preach the gospel. I take it it's the responsibility of that 144,000 to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom. Now, that expression was used.

You just mentioned it, I think. Would you explain what that is, as opposed to the gospel of the grace of God? Yes, certainly. The gospel of the grace of God today, according to Acts 15, is the means by which God is calling out from the nations a people for himself.

The gospel we preach today is a unique gospel. Paul, three times over, refers to it as my gospel. It was what was revealed to him.

The gospel the Lord Jesus preached, his disciples preached, was the gospel of the kingdom. And it was the call to national repentance, or individual repentance, but a call to the nation that all the prophecies leading up to this point are now being fulfilled. I'm talking about when the Lord was here.

John the Baptist was preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and that now is in abeyance. It will be preached again in a day to come. I think we must make a distinction in this, because one of the things we're told in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 is when the Lord Jesus comes to execute judgment in flaming fire, there are two particular companies upon which he will execute judgment in fire immediately.

One is a company that refuses to acknowledge God as God, the earth dwellers. The second company is those that receive not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who refused, heard, were exercised by, and refused the gospel before the rapture will have absolutely no second chance in the tribulation.

They are reserved to the judgment of 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. Therefore, it's a different gospel for a different purpose. It will go out again, find success in all the nations. With respect, we never read of the 144,000 preaching.

No, we don't. They're there in chapter 7. They're there in chapter 14. There's a faithful remnant, a spiritual remnant that's going out preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and those who respond, and their response will be gauged in many ways as to their attitude to the Jew under persecution.

Most will be martyred as far as I can see. Right. So the gospel of the kingdom then in essence is that the kingdom repent, believe the gospel, the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.

Because the king was here, it had drawn near in that regard. Yes. But now he's absent.

And so the gospel of the kingdom as such is not preached today. Correct. In that regard.

But after the rapture of the church, again, we're in the anticipation mode of the kingdom. Of the king coming. And the proclamation is repent for the king is coming, it's drawing near, and it's time for you to repent.

Yes. I take it very reverently that the difference between the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel today, a key difference is the destination of our faith as a result of the gospel is heaven. Today.

Today. But for the gospel of the kingdom, the destination as a result of their faith is the kingdom. Is the kingdom, right.

So on earth. On earth. That's right.

And then I take it as well, I mean, no. I'm sorry. This could go, no, no.

If you go to Revelation 12, the devil is cast down and the accuser of the brethren, how is he defeated? The blood of the lamb. That's right. So I take it that the gospel of the lamb and the proclamation of the efficacy of the blood of lamb will continue throughout the tribulation time.

Absolutely. And I think there will be Gentiles and Jews that will be saved as a result of receiving the gospel by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and the cross. And so now we must move on.

And there in verse two onwards, you have all the way to verse number six. Now we're looking at false prophets. So there were false shepherds in a previous section we saw.

And there was one good prophet called Zechariah and he agreed and he was obedient to God to our brother Phil reminded us that he acted out on that role of a shepherd. But eventually the sheep were cast away. But now when we come to this section, there are false prophets, but there will be a good shepherd.

So false prophets are before us. And again, it says, and it shall come to pass in that day. Now that in that day, again, remember this expression comes up.

It does not mean just one single day. Correct. The expression, the day of the Lord, for example, it is not only just one single day.

It climaxes on one single day when Christ comes. However, the whole period from tribulation all the way into the millennial kingdom, it could be described the day of the Lord. Likewise in that day.

So it could be a period. So this section on the prophets, we're not talking about just one particular day. We're talking about the period of the kingdom now in that day.

So the fountain will be open. The cleansing will be made available throughout the whole period. And now, unfortunately, on the other side, there will be false prophets and they will be suppressed.

They will not dare to practice their evil deeds. They will not do their black magic, but they will be suppressed. So here is one classic example.

We find that in the millennial kingdom, not everyone will submit to Christ. There will be those. And yet clandestinely, they will, in their hearts, they will deny Him.

They will reject Him. But they will be prevented from practicing what they want. Here, there might be false prophets.

But it says in that day, at the beginning, of course, in the kingdom, they, I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered. Idols will no more be allowed. The names of idols will not be remembered.

And I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. False prophets will not be allowed to practice. Evil spirits, unclean spirits will be cast out as well.

And then it says, what will they do then? They'll do nothing. It shall come to pass that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that beget him shall say thou shall not live. So even their parents will forbid.

And that's again back to Deuteronomy. And the law says that if the son prophesied and is a false prophet, the father and mother shall drag their son out and will stone him to death. So we're seeing again a recurrence of that now in kingdom condition.

And is it particularly relevant, Brother Gideon, because there's going to be a new temple. Yes. The Lord's going to build it.

We've seen that earlier on in the book. The Lord will call the temple city of Zion into being. Yes.

And he shall build the temple. He shall bear the glory. That new temple needs a new priesthood.

Mm hmm. And in Exodus 19, God stated his intention for the nation was that they would be a nation of priests. They never have been yet.

We know that the priesthood was confined to one family of one tribe. But in that day, not on that day, in that day, in that period of time, you've described as the temple is being inaugurated as the new system is being inaugurated, there needs to be a new priesthood cleansed, educated as to what they're doing. And so all this spiritual dross.

Yes. Is to be removed. Yes.

And there's therefore the principle of sanctification here is to take away everything that detracts from the purity of that new ministry of a new priesthood in a new temple. Yes. Very good.

In the context of Matthew 13, wheat in the tares. At the end, at the time of harvest, the angels go forth to gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. Here they are.

They're all listed. Very good. Now it says, and his father and his mother that beget him shall thrust him through when he prophesied.

Why not stone him? That's what they did. This word thrust him through is the same word. They shall behold him whom they have pierced.

Yes. So they would not accept the piercing of Calvary. The one who died.

Their punishment is a piercing through as if they were to be crucified. So now this word comes up. They shall thrust him through when he prophesied.

Is this a millennial condition? I think so. I think so. There will be a capital punishment for false prophecy.

Right. So this would be a person then who has been born during the millennium. Yes.

Not converted. I believe that all that enter into the millennial kingdom and the first batch will all be believers. Be born again.

You must be born again to enter the kingdom. That's right. So this is one then born subsequently to this, some distance into the millennium, and then he rises up as though he's a prophet.

But he's not. He's not. And so there's summary judgment that he is to be thrust through.

That's why in that day is not just one day. This is now speaking of the period throughout the kingdom. Now it says in verse 4, and shall come to pass in that day that the prophet shall be ashamed.

They will even be ashamed to just even imply that they are prophets. And they will no longer wear rough garments just like Elijah then. Never.

Don't want to look like a prophet, pretend like a prophet, imitate another prophet. But he shall say, I am no prophet. So even though within his heart, there is that heart of rejection of Christ and of rebellion.

Some thinking that he's a prophet. I'm no prophet. I'm a husband man.

For man taught me to keep my cattle from my youth. And then one shall say, what are these wounds? You remember first Kings 18 and the Baal worshippers or priests. They jump all over the altar and cut themselves.

And yet there is no voice or respond from heaven. And so the cutting of self is a reminiscence of idolatrous practice in the past. So don't be surprised that still there will be people thinking about things like that in the millennial kingdom.

Because at the end of the kingdom, we know that there will be a generation coming up and they will, the devil will be released from the bottomless pit. And there will be the one final battle together with the devil against God and Christ. And finally, they will be defeated once and forever.

Now, what are these wounds? Those I wounded in the house of my friends. Now, in the context of Israel becoming what they so far have never been, a kingdom of priests, one would ask the question, well, here's a priesthood. It's a national priesthood.

Why would there be a need for any prophet? So it's not a question of sorting out true prophets and false prophets in the millennium, because there won't be any prophets. There's no need for it. Because the one who is the spirit of prophecy is there.

He's ruling and reigning. And where before people look to prophets for a word from the Lord, when you think of Malachi, Malachi says that the priest lips should keep knowledge. Yeah.

The people should seek the law at his mouth. So the prophets are done away. The priesthood is purified.

So if the people want to know anything about the word of the Lord, they go to the priest. Yes. And so there's no need for prophets anyway.

So if a man stands up and says, I'm a prophet of whatever flavor, he's false in the millennia. Give us a little clarity then on Joel 2. Uh, it's a come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophecy. Your old men shall dream dreams.

Your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days, will I pour out my spirit and I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth. So is that in the tribulation? Yes, I would think so.

Not tribulation. You mean millennium, don't you? No, I meant tribulation. I thought that would be millennial.

You've just told us there'd be no prophets in the millennium. Well, there's no need for them in the millennium because Christ is reigning and there's a purified priesthood. But also what Joel 2 necessitates is it has to include what happened in Acts chapter 2. Yes.

There was a partial fulfillment then wasn't there? When Pentecost took place and Peter says, this is that which was prophesied by the prophet Joel. Yes. Not completely, but that first part of it.

Yes. The spirit being poured out resulting in people being able to declare the word of God. That's the prophecy there, isn't it? We certainly get that in the two witnesses in the middle of the week.

Well, the first part of the tribulation period. Because I thought the context of Joel 2 is very clear the next few verses. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

Right. And that has happened here already in Zechariah 13. So just clarify that.

You're talking tribulation? Yes. In Joel 2, yeah. Okay.

Now we have to move verse number seven. And that's a key verse. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.

Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered and I will turn my hand upon the little ones. Now this is, as I mentioned, it's not focal. The centerpiece now of this section here.

We've seen quite a few references in Zechariah of the first coming of the Messiah. And this is, I think, pivotal to this part from chapter nine to chapter 14. Brother Gideon, could I just pause you for a moment? There's that verse beforehand I think needs to be emphasized.

All right. I remember as a young believer quoting this, Lord say morning, in relation to the Lord Jesus. What are these wounds in thine hands? Then shall they answer that which I was wounded in the house of my friends, right? Afterwards, there was dear brother that took me aside and indicated that in the context here, these are false prophets.

That's right. This is not to be interpreted in relation to the Lord Jesus. That's right.

That's right. In fact, a brother was asking me a few days ago about the same thing. Right.

This is not the wounds of the Savior. This is not Thomas seeing the wounds of my Lord and my God. No, these are the wounds of the false prophet.

Right. But now here's an interesting point just on that, because the one who's ruling and reigning, our Lord Jesus, and he's moving amongst his subjects, they can see wounds in his hands. They can see the marks of Calvary there.

Now, I'm not arguing with what you're saying, but the point I'm making now is that these false prophets, they're saying, I've been in the house of my friend, and look, I've got wounds like he's got. Right. Well, we can talk about that later.

Well, you don't agree that the marks are there? I would need some scriptural support for that. But anyways, we're not on that point. Let's move right along.

All I'm suggesting there is that they're using this to try and validate the false ministry. I get it. They're saying that he had wounds in his hands, and I've got wounds in mine.

We're of the same. He's my fellow, and not at all. Well, you could at least make the argument that the one who had the right to say the wounds are from the wounds of a friend is the one that you have in verse 7, where we're coming to, because he came unto his own, and his own received him not.

So if anyone had the right to say it, it was this one. Yeah, the words seem to fit the Lord Jesus, but in the context, they're applying to the false prophet. I agree.

Just for those who are thinking about the implied difference, when the Lord Jesus in resurrection appeared to his own, he had the marks of Calvary. If he hasn't got them in the millennium, when did they change? Well, reading of Revelation chapter 1, he's clearly in the glory, and we don't see that mentioned. So when did they change? Well, he's glorified now.

Well, now, because I'm the chair, I get the last say. I'll have to move you folks on, but I am quite with you, Phil, that the marks are there. Revelation 1, that's a vision.

Thomas being there, that's his physical body. So I thought that if the resurrected body had the wounds, that wounds was intended to be there. Thinking of him having a resurrected body and keeping the wound meant that he deliberately had the wounds to show the marks of Calvary.

So that's all I'll say. We be brethren, and we'll move on. Awake, O sword, not against my brethren, but against my shepherd.

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. This is Jehovah the Lord speaking. Cyrus is also called my shepherd, but not in this sense here.

He was an instrument of God. He was a servant of God, but now it is a sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow, seer the Lord of hosts. So first of all, he's my shepherd.

Secondly, he is the man. And thirdly, he is my fellow. Now, you would have thought that this shepherd, well, seeing that in the past chapters, there are so many of those false shepherds and bad shepherds, and then to your surprise, instead of God punishing those shepherds, even though governmentally he did, suddenly the good shepherd himself is facing a sword.

And then we come to realise in the context and the flow of redemptive history, the right, the wrong will not be put right unless this good shepherd is put to the sword. So he suffers and Calvary is in view. And it's amazing that he's the man.

Ah, my fellow, that's an interesting word. This word fellow is like the word neighbour or a friend and would almost convey the thought of an equal. So perhaps not outrightly, but behind, perhaps hinting as well, that he is equal with God who says he is my fellow.

So you said, well, where is the equality of the son? That's one here. That's right. With the father.

He, my fellow saith the Lord of hosts. The sheep shall be scattered. Matthew tells us that they all forsook him and fled.

Yes. So clearly the Lord Jesus. But why the mention of a sword here? Clearly there was no sword involved literally in relation to the death of the Lord Jesus.

I think it's a metaphor of slaying. So he was slain, right? And I was just going to that passage that you referred to. It's Matthew 26, yes.

56. Around. 56.

56. Oh, it's 31 there. Then saith Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night.

For it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Now, just to answer your first question first before I go to the next one, brother William. And I would turn my hand upon the little ones.

I do not take that as judgment. I take that as restoration and recovery. Because this word, I will turn my hand upon the little ones could mean, I will cost my hand to turn back the little ones.

Cause them to turn back. Turn back. I see.

So it's a process of bringing. So the work of Calvary did not result in them turning away, but it cost the hand of God to recover them. And therefore in Matthew 26 that you have referred to, it says, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

Verse 32. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. That's very nice.

So I take that as this part. I will turn my hand upon the little ones. That's a lovely link.

So now this word, smite the shepherd. Who is smiting the shepherd? What's smiting the shepherd? You might think, well, in the immediate text, it looks clear. It's the sword that is smiting the shepherd.

But I will tell you that it is not. Because the sword is masculine. And this verb smiting is, the sword is feminine.

This word smiting is masculine. So in the Hebrew, the verb must match the gender of the object. Or the subject must, sorry, the subject, the gender of the subject must match the gender of the verb.

So the sword is feminine. The smiting is masculine. Therefore, the sword is only an instrument.

But the one who is actively doing the smiting, who do you think it is? God. Lord of hosts. So it was God.

Go ahead. So have we got the thought here then? I'm thinking now of Hebrews 4, that where you've got some two things, which are to all intents and purposes identical, but not quite the soul and the spirit. The only thing that can divide them is a sword.

It's the sword of the spirit, the word of God. So would it be the case here that Calvary is in view? We speak very carefully. I know of no scripture that would even suggest that at Calvary, there was any separation between the father and the son.

But at Calvary, there was a very distinct separation between an offended God and a representative man. Hence, it's the man that's spoken of here. And the sword comes between them.

It comes between a righteous God and a sin-bearing man who is bearing. And brethren, permit me to say this. Please, please with a loving heart toward you.

But I've heard quite a number of times over this weekend, brethren, very well-meaning, speaking about the Lord Jesus bearing the wrath of God. I know of no scripture that teaches that. The Lord Jesus bore the judgment of God, but he never bore the wrath of God.

Wrath is hot anger. God was never angry with Christ. He was never angry with the man of Calvary.

But he meted out, measured total judgment in a calm and collected way. The Lord Jesus bore the judgment of God. And it seems here the sword is dividing between the righteous God.

He's separating a man from his God. And the Lord Jesus was the only one who ever knew what that meant. Would that be right? So hence, the use of the word sword rather than spear.

Correct. And also explains the difference in gender grammatically in the verse. Very good.

Now, verse number eight. And it shall come to pass that in all the lands of the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein. And now we're going to the future again.

So from the first sentence, we're going to see the fate, the fate of the sheep. You know, smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. Now there's a bit of that here in verse eight and nine.

So the death of Christ resulted also in a scattering. That scattering was first of all seen in the Jews being dispersed. And we see that in Acts as well.

And eventually AD 70 and they're totally dispersed. And in the time to come in the last days, there will also be some kind of this scattering. They will have to pay the price for all they've done to Christ Jesus of Nazareth.

And here it shall come to pass, two-thirds shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein. This, I believe dear brethren, refers to the Israelites, the Jews. And only what is left is the third part.

And even then the third part will be brought through the fire. They will go through the tribulation, just like Daniel's friends put into the furnace, heated seven times. No coincidence, heated seven times.

And then what do they find? One like the Son of God in the midst of them. They're going to be tried with the fire, through the fire, in the fire. And they will come out delivered.

And He will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried. At the end, they shall call my name and I will hear them. Despite being put through the fire, these redeemed ones, the remnant coming out.

And the Lord will say, it is my people. In Hosea, lo ami, not my people. Now, coming through the fire, amihu, it is my people.

And they shall say, the Lord is my God. The sheep will be scattered, the little ones returned. And my mind goes to Isaiah 40, again, beautiful millennial passage.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs with his arm. That's his order, isn't it? He'll gather the lambs, the young ones already born and carry them in his bosom.

And shall gently lead them that are with young. A new generation coming on, a new order of flock. And he will, it's a beautiful passage, isn't it? The gentleness that is expressed here.

And he will feed his flock like a shepherd. And gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom. Isn't it interesting how the Spirit of the Lord uses Hosea, right? You're indicating that what is said here is this fulfillment of Hosea, right? Where the Lord disowns his people, then he claims them as his people, fulfilled here.

Yet, interestingly, in Romans 9, when Paul quotes that verse, he's validating bringing in the Gentiles as his people. In the context of the day of grace, isn't that interesting? How the Spirit of God can use the same scripture, apply it in two different ways. So what was supposed to be the portion of Israel, you quote the Romans, Gentiles grafted in.

With his flock in John 10, there's others he's got to bring. That's right. You know, they don't really truly belong to the flock, but grace is going to bring them into it.

That's right. Though there is a distinct identity. Now, this is basic.

I hope all the young people get it right. There is a distinct identity between Israel and the church. Israel will always be Israel.

The church will be the church. And God deals differently with the church and with Israel. However, there are scriptures oftentimes.

The blessing of Israel are also enjoyed by the church. And in terms of sometimes the application, there is a overlap of application of the blessings that belongs to the church and also to Israel and also to the church. But in terms of the identity, there's a distinct group, Israel, and a distinct group, the church.

Now, don't fall into this replacement theology thing that Israel is gone. No more hope. And the church is the new Israel.

The Bible is very clear that Israel... I hope as you have read these passages in Zechariah, you'll know that God has in mind Israel of future glory for them.