Visions of the Day of the Lord (Part 2)

Our theme for 2023 is “Life in the Spirit.”

Today we continue our study of the book of Zechariah.

We almost wrapped this up two weeks ago - however, these chapters contain a great deal of information

We began with eight visions.

Oracles are prophetic words and visions are prophetic pictures.

Then we added a third category - prophetic acts.

The point of the oracles, the visions and the prophetic acts is that while Israel is building a temple for the presence of God, God is building His people as a temple for His presence.

Zechariah is prophesying to the people of Israel who have returned from exile and are rebuilding the temple.

These last chapters of Zechariah’s book are talking about another day in the future “the day of the Lord” when God’s work of restoration and new creation will be completed.

The exile is over and they are rebuilding the temple again.

Everything will be good now! - Right?

Zechariah says, “no, that wasn’t it!” - that didn’t solve the problem.

There is going to come another day - the day of the Lord - that will solve the problem.

History is going to repeat itself - everything that has happened will happen again.

The “Day of the Lord” causes us to think beyond our own present circumstances and merely solving the problems of today.

All of the things that we are facing, whether personal problems or current events are part of a much bigger problem of sin and God’s plan is for redemption and restoration.

The big picture is that God is preparing a people who will represent Him on earth and who will partner with Him in bringing about His purpose.

The day of the Lord is going to be a day of cleansing, it will be a day of battle, but ultimately it will also be a day of victory for those who have centered their lives on Jesus Christ.

A day of cleansing.

Zechariah 13:1 ESV

1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.

Experience personal cleansing.

Most teachers who teach on Zechariah are usually teaching on end time events.

I want us to focus on what kind of people we should be - to be ready for whatever is coming.

That is why we started with communion - whatever is coming- the most important this is our communion / connection with God through Christ.

We want to keep that connection pure and clean.

There will be a cleansing of the prophetic.

Zechariah 13:2–6 ESV

2 “And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.’ 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?’ he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

Here is a prophet prophesying about the end of prophesy.

Has prophecy ceased?

No, but it is going to be purified.

Prophets aren’t going to be just some special people, but all of God’s people are going to hear His voice and discern what God is saying together.

Zechariah is prophesying a fundamental change in the way we view and practice the prophetic.

It is harder to get away with being a false prophet when much of the church is both prophesying and discerning prophecy.

There will also be a cleansing through persecution.

Zechariah 13:7–9 ESV

7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones. 8 In the whole land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’ ”

The Zechariah hears the word of the Lord saying, “that’s right, some of them are not going to make it.”

God is going to put His own people to the test.

God’s people are going to be purified, refined - brought to another level.

God has plans for His people that is going to require a “next level” kind of faith.

It is not a question whether or not God’s people will experience tribulation - many of them already are - perhaps many of us will.

The question is: “How do we position ourselves as God’s people so that whatever comes, takes us to that next level?”

A day of battle.

There are going to be battles before there is progress.

Matthew 24:6–8 ESV

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Just as there is no birth without pain, there is no progress without resistance.

New creation isn’t going to happen without some deconstruction.

Christians who have their eyes fixed on the Kingdom of God are going to experience conflict.

But here’s the good news...

God will fight your battles.

Zechariah 14:1–3 ESV

1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.

Zechariah is prophesying the siege of Jerusalem.

“Wait a minute!” That already happened and they are back again after the exile.

Guess what? It happened again in 70 A.D. And the Jews looked to the prophecies of Zechariah and expected that God was going to deliver them - but it didn’t work out that way.

Of course, the read the passages about deliverance, but must of skipped over the part about repentance and recognizing the one whom they had pierced.

And who can say that it won’t happen again?

What will this generation do differently?

Now there is a relevant question! When will we learn?

This passage sounds like what happened in Israel just a few weeks ago on October 7.

The situation right now in Israel is a very delicate one - they can’t afford to not respond to the tragic loss of life that happened a little over a month ago.

But if they are not careful and measured in their response, they will be seen as being just like their enemies and the world will very quickly turn against them - some already have.

If they react too much or too little, It could have serious consequences - that is why we pray - we need God’s help and God’s perspective.

It is so important that they - and we - acknowledge our dependence on God.

God will make a way.

Zechariah 14:4–7 ESV

4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.

You probably recognize that Zechariah is prophesying the second coming of Jesus Christ long before his first advent.

Next Sunday begins Advent Season - Advent is about anticipating Jesus coming to earth - while we are celebrating His first coming, we also anticipate His second coming.

Acts 1:9–11 ESV

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

So just as Jesus ascended from the mount of Olives. Zechariah says, just as the angel said, that He will return to the same spot.

We are not talking about Jesus just gently descending onto the Mount of Olives...

This event will be accompanied by an earthquake and tectonic plate shift.

Israel is situated along the border between the African Tectonic Plate and the Arabian Tectonic Plate. The border between these two plates forms part of the Great Rift Valley, the world's most extensive geological fault, which extends southward through eastern Africa as far south as Mozambique.

This is literally going to be an earth-shattering event.

And the mount of olives is going to part just like the Red Sea.

God is going to make a way for His people.

Is this literal or figurative? - I don’t know. I could be both!

When God makes a way, are you ready to run toward it?

In 70 AD the Jews were disillusioned because God did not answer the way that hey expected.

We might experience the same this if this tribulation doesn’t play out the way our end times charts suggest.

The point of telling us this ahead of time is not so that we will have it all figured out, but that we will be ready to move when God shows up.

We want to be attuned to God, listening to His voice, having been tested and ready for whatever is next.

God is the source of life.

Zechariah 14:8–12 ESV

8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

There is a contrast between those in Jerusalem, having passed through what seemed like the end of the world, now living in peace with God on the throne.

We see the river of life here as described in Ezekiel.

Ezekiel 47:1 CEV

1 The man took me back to the temple, where I saw a stream flowing from under the entrance. It began in the south part of the temple, where it ran past the altar and continued east through the courtyard.

Except this river flows both east and west.

The earthquake creates a rift running north and south and the river runs east and west - what is that a picture of?

And the nations that come against God’s people, who converge on Jerusalem in battle - they are destroyed by a plague in their own place where they thought they were secure.

Some people see a nuclear event prophesied here - it could be.

But the point is that God turns the table on His enemies.

What they plotted is what happens to them.

There is One Ruler and King of the earth.

The mountains that were a natural defense around Jerusalem will no longer be needed.

Jerusalem itself is a city without walls.

Those who would fight against God are defeated where they stand.

A day of victory.

The day of the Lord is turning out to be a pretty ominous event.

Zechariah is prophesying to the Jews who are getting ready to celebrate the completion of the temple.

They must have thought, “this is the glorious day we have all been waiting for!”

Zechariah is essentially saying , “This isn’t it!”

There is an end to the story, but this isn’t it.

This isn’t the last temple and this isn’t how God will dwell with His people - this isn’t Eden! - Not yet!

Don’t panic.

Zechariah 14:13–15 ESV

13 And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

So how is God going to fight for His people?

And how are we going to know who is with God and who is not?

We have seen this before, where the enemies of God simply destroy each other.

That is the most decisive judgement of God, that He simply withdraws His peace and people attack each other.

Notice that this affects not only people in the enemy camp, but it can be in our own camp - even the animal kingdom can experience this.

Paul warns against this happening in the church.

Galatians 5:15 ESV

15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

So how do we keep this from happening?

Don’t panic. - Don’t give in to fear.

Don’t act out of your own anxiety or insecurity.

You have to know who you are and where your security lies.

Everybody is not out to get you.

Other people are not the enemy.

There is another enemy who wants to turn us against each other.

Remember the accuser? Yeah Him!

If we fall for it - He wins!

What is the alternative? We grow like olive trees with the oil flowing together into one bowl.

From that bowl it flows out to various branches and from the branches to multiplied lights.

God is preparing a people who will light up the world working together under the anointing of His Spirit.

So what do we do?

Submit to God.

Zechariah 14:16–19 ESV

16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

Not only is God on the throne, but all of the nations are bringing tribute to God.

Tribute is a sign of submission - they are acknowledging dependence on God.

Acknowledge your dependence on God and things will go well for you.

If you don’t - things won’t

Blessings if you do - bad things if you don’t

That’s not manipulation - that’s just a fact!

They are celebrating the Feast of Booths - it is a reminder of the time spent in the wilderness.

It is a reminder of their complete dependence on God.

It is a reminder of their journey and how God provided for them.

And it is a time of joy and celebration at the abundance of harvest.

There is a punishment for not remembering what God has done.

Do you know what that punishment is?

If we don’t remember where we came from and what God has done, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Everything belongs to God.

Zechariah 14:20–21 ESV

20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.

Everything belongs to God.

Everything is labeled “Holy to the Lord.”

Even the pots that aren’t so important are labeled “Holy.”

You may think you are just a “cracked pot” but you are “Holy to the Lord”

Why “Holy to the Lord?”

Exodus 28:36 ESV

36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’

That is what was inscribed on the turban of the High Priest.

That was the name given to someone who had taken the Nazarite vow.

That is what the tithe was called.

That is what the offering was called.

That is what God’s people are called.

There isn’t going to be anyone or anything left who is not “Holy to the Lord.”

Talk about a major shift in the earth!

There won’t be anymore holy or unholy because all that’s left will be holy to the Lord!

There won’t be anymore special prophets, because everyone that’s left will know and hear God.

There won’t be any more panic or strife because only those who have learned to depend on God will remain.

What’s left will be a people who do not need a temple, because they are the temple - each one of them inhabited by the very presence of God.

Questions for reflection:

How do you feel about the “Day of the Lord?” Are you afraid or worried? Are you excited? What could you be doing to prepare for that day?

Do you know God’s voice? Can you hear God’s voice? How are you cultivating a healthy dependence on God?

Do you see yourself as “Holy to the Lord?” Are you treating parts of your life as sacred and other parts as not sacred? Is church or temple a place that you go or is part of who you are?