The Flying Scroll: Zechariah 5:1-11

I believe we struggle with what I am about to say.

How can a person who is saved live continually in sin? Well, they cannot.

A person who lives in continual sin and rebellion cannot possibly assured of his or her salvation. Israel is a perfect example of that. Today, a remnant of Israel is being saved.

Romans 11:1 “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”

Even though a remnant is being saved, the vast majority of Israel is living in open rebellion against God, and throughout its history, God has judged those Jews for their disobedience, and He will in the future too. At the same time, however, God will judge the whole world.

Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

Revelation 20:15 “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Neither nationality nor ethnicity nor wealth nor church membership will keep a person from being judged. You may be living in sin today telling your parents or grandparents that you are saved, but, dear friend, God knows if you are or you are not, and as much as we do not want to admit it, how we live shows the world the truth.

How can someone claim to be a Christian if all they do is drink alcohol like a fish, never come to church, never serve in the church, and are always committing acts of adultery and fornication? If a person is acting like that, I do not care what church he is a member of, I do not possibly know how he can know if he is saved. At the very least, that person is like Lot, saved but knowing for sure and definitely leading those around him straight to hell.

This vision we are about to look at has Israel in mind, but it also has a worldview. What is said of Israel is also true of the church in the following context.

Just as not every Jew will be saved, not every church member will be saved either, but there is coming a day when believers and non-believers will be separated.

We call that the Rapture for the Church and the Day of the Lord for Israel.

Dear friend, Jesus Christ knows His sheep, and one of these days, He is going to separate His sheep from the goats.

1. The Vision of the Flying Scroll.

Zechariah 5:1 “Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.”

Remember this. I have said this many times. What God’s Word says in one spot, especially in the prophecy, it will mean the same thing in another part of God’s Word unless it specifically says it means something else.

Ezekiel tells us about the flying roll/scroll.

Ezekiel 2:9 “Now when I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me; and behold, a scroll of a book was in it.”

Ezekiel 3:1–4 “Moreover He said to me, “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”

So I opened my mouth, and He caused me to eat that scroll. And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.”

So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. Then He said to me: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them.”

Ezekiel was commanded to digest the scroll, the Word of God, and give it to the people.

All preachers should digest God’s Word. Too many preachers are too focused on programs and not God’s Word. The people do not need programs. The people need preachers boldly proclaiming the Word of God. In the New Testament, John was given the same command.

Revelation 10:9–11 “So I went to the angel and said to him, “Give me the little book.” And he said to me, “Take and eat it; and it will make your stomach bitter, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.”

Then I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach became bitter.

And he said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.””

Sometimes, God’s Word is bitter. At other times, it is sweet, but whether it is bitter or sweet, the preacher needs to digest it in order to preach it.

In Zechariah, this particular scroll represents God’s Word in general and the 10 Commandments in particular.

2. The Size of the Scroll.

Zechariah 5:2 “And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.””

You are probably thinking that you do not care how big this scroll was, but I promise you that it is incredibly amazing and important.

The scroll Zechariah saw was very large. Using our system of measuring, it would be 15’ x 30”.

It was so big that the only way it could be seen was for it to be spread out like a flying carpet.

The scroll was the same size as the Holy Place of the Tabernacle and the same size as the Porch of Solomon.

The Holy Place was where the high priest could come and worship according to the Law. No one could ever go inside the veil unless the blood was there, and the high priest did that once a year. The high priest would go into the holy place once a year representing the people.

When the high priest went into the Holy Place, he stood on redeemed ground, ground that had been redeemed by blood.

Today, if you are saved, you stand on redeemed ground, ground bought by the blood of Jesus, and it is none other than Jesus Christ who is your High Priest.

Jesus Christ, however, is our forever High Priest, and He does not have to come once a year offering blood. His was a one-time offering.

1 Peter 1:18–21 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

You and I are not like Aladdin standing on a flying carpet. We are standing in Jesus Christ who made a one-time offering for our sins, our past, present, and future sins.

3. The Contents of the Scroll.

Zechariah 5:3 “Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to that side of it.””

Now, this is really amazing.

The first four commandments deal with man’s relationship with God.

Those four commandments were on one side of the scroll.

The last six commandments deal with man’s relationship with man, and they were on the other side of the scroll.

Notice what the Lord says to Zechariah.

“This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth.”

What is the curse? THE LAW.

Whoever breaks the Law will be cut-off from the face of the earth. You do not just break the Law; you become a lawbreaker.

James 2:10 “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Israel was given the Law to obey the Law.

Leviticus 5:17 ““If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity.”

Deuteronomy 4:40 “You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.””

If you broke one law, you were guilty of breaking the whole law. One little lie told to hide guilt meant that you were a lawbreaker deserving to be cut off from the face of the earth. That is not being cruel. Israel had promised to obey God’s commandments, but instead of obedience, they were constantly disobedient, and as a result, Israel was dispersed among the nations of the world.

One of these days, God is going to deal with Israel and the other nations of the world who have abandoned God’s Law.

God knew the Law could not be kept because of Adam. God knew the Law would bring death which is why the last Adam, Jesus Christ, came to this earth, perfectly abiding within the Law and dying for the Law’s demands.

4. The Importance of Grace.

Zechariah 5:4 ““I will send out the curse,” says the Lord of hosts; “It shall enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house And consume it, with its timber and stones.””

“It shall enter into the the house of the thief” represents the commandments that deal with man’s relationship with man. “It shall enter into the house of the one who swears falsely by God” represents the commandments that deal with man’s relationship with God.

Now, this is very important.

The 10 Commandments were never given to the Christian. The Christian’s way of life is outlined in the New Testament, and it is a life that is to be marked by grace.

Now, do not get me wrong. If our society was governed strictly by the 10 Commandments, the crime rate would be a lot lower than it is, but dear friend, I hope you realize that the Law is based on justice and not mercy and grace, and I, for one, would much rather experience God’s grace and mercy and not His justice.

The people of Israel did not have the indwelling Holy Spirit. We do have the indwelling Holy Spirit. Man in his own strength could never measure up to the Law’s demands. It is impossible, but in this Age of Grace, Christians through the Holy Spirit can produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

Galatians 5:22–23“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Now, here is the important connection.

Are you and I still lawbreakers when we sin? NO!!!!

Why? Because all of our sins have been paid for never to be brought to our charge again.

Here is a passage for you that explains it.

Romans 4:5–8 “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.””

Those of us who are saved are wrapped in the righteousness of Christ, and because of that, sin can no more be charged to our account, and Paul says we are blessed because the Lord will no longer consider us as lawbreakers. AMEN!!!!