There’s A Great Day Coming!

There’s A Great Day Coming!

Series: The Minor Prophets

Text: Zechariah 13

Introduction: (What?)

In the last message we saw the phrase “in that day” repeated six times. If we start in chapter 12 and go through chapter 14 we will find that phrase 18 times. In the beginning of chapter 13 we find the phrase “on that day” which connects it to the Millennial Kingdom. According to J. Vernon McGee, “that day” refers to the end of the Great Tribulation and the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Jesus in Jerusalem. In the verses to follow God, through Zechariah, tells us what to expect when that Great Day arrives, and not all of it is positive. God is going to clean house in Israel, and the whole world.

Examination: (Why?)

1. There Is a Fountain

Zechariah 13:1 ““On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity.”

Since Zechariah used the phrase “on that day” several times, let us take a closer look to what it is referring to. Most commentators believe that it is referring to the advent of the Millennial Kingdom, which is when Christ will come to reign over the world from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. In Revelation 20:2–7 “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it so that he would no longer deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands. (During the Great Tribulation) They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (John McArthur says that the OT and NT believers are also included in those who will reign with Christ) The rest of the dead (those destined for eternal punishment) did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.”

We must understand that this happens before Armageddon, the final battle when Satan and his minions (Gog and Magog) When the Millennial Reign comes, a “fountain” will be opened “for the house of David”. Hymn writer William Cowper wrote in the 1700’s the hymn “There is a fountain, filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.” That fountain will have already been open for thousands of years when Jesus comes to reign in Jerusalem, but it will be opened “for the house of David” when He comes again. The Apostle Paul referred to this in Romans 11:25–27 “I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

2. False Prophets Exposed and Deposed

Zechariah 13:2–6 “On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“I will remove the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will banish the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land. If a man still prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You cannot remain alive because you have spoken a lie in the name of the Lord.’ When he prophesies, his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him through. On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive. He will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased me as a servant since my youth.’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’—then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends’.”

When Christ sits on His throne in Jerusalem, He will cleanse the nation Israel of all idolatry, false prophets and deception. He will break the power of Satan which has kept His Chosen Ones captive for millennia. God’s judgment on those false prophets is so complete that event their parents will kill them.

The hairy cloak refers to the the clothing worn by Elijah (and John the Baptist) which some of the false prophets wore to give them some legitimacy as prophets. They had self-inflicted wounds which came from their worship of idols. (remember the prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel who cut themselves until the blood gushed out when calling on Baal to send fire on the altar.) When Jesus comes and begins to judge them they will try to cover up their false teaching by saying, “I am not a prophet; I work the land, for a man purchased me as a servant since my youth.’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’—then he will answer, ‘I received the wounds in the house of my friends’.”

3. The Scattering of the Sheep

Zechariah 13:7–9 “Sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate— this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. In the whole land— this is the Lord’s declaration— two-thirds will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it. I will put this third through the fire; I will refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ””

In this latter part of the chapter, God spoke through Zechariah regarding Jesus, the Messiah. Although the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman conquerors where the ones we usually associate with the crucifixion of Jesus, the reality is that they were pawns in the hands of God. In this passage God referred to Jesus as “My associate” which means “My equal” thus validating the divinity of Jesus. God gave the order to strike Him, just as God orchestrated the events of the crucifixion. And then we find the statement quoted by Jesus in Matthew 26:31–32 “Then Jesus said to them, “Tonight all of you will fall away because of me, for it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered. But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.””

In Zechariah God said, “I will turn my hand against the little ones. Remember Jesus used the term “little ones” to refer to young believers when He said in Matthew 18:6 ““But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depths of the sea.” I don’t think it is a stretch to apply the term “little ones” to the new believers after Pentecost. In Acts 4-7 we find the Apostles and early believers facing the opposition of the religious establishment of the day. Finally in Acts 8:1 “Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.”

McArthur thinks that the 2/3 to be killed is yet in the future and will happen under the reign of the Anti-christ. The 1/3 will be the remnant that will accept Christ as Messiah during the Great Tribulation, and will “pass through the fire” to be refined. There will be the mutual commitment where They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’, and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’ ””

Application: (How does this apply to me?)

We are still in the “time of the Gentiles” or the church age, during which non-Jews are given the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel and be grafted in to the root of Israel. That calls for surrender to Christ.

The day is coming, sooner that we think, when these events will take place, after which it will be extremely difficult and costly for someone to surrender to Christ. In the words of the song writer, “It’s now or never.”