Zechariah 12-14

Thursday Evening Bible Study

August 10, 2006

Introduction

We now look at the final prophecy or “burden” of Zechariah. The previous “burden” had much to do with the first coming of the Messiah (Zech. 9-11). This second one has much to do with the second coming of the Messiah.

Zechariah 12

:1-9 Coming deliverance for Judah

:1 The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:

Before God tells His people about His promise to rescue them, He reminds them about just who He is.

Lesson

Remember how Big God is

Comfort and faith come when we realize how big God is.

Jesus taught us to pray:

(Mat 6:9 NKJV) "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

He is the God in heaven. Remember who you are talking to.

Jehoshaphat’s prayer

The army of Judah was being attacked by several enemies at once. Look how his prayer for deliverance starts …

(2 Chr 20:5-7 NKJV) Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, {6} and said: "O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? {7} "Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

The outcome of Jehoshaphat’s battle? The army of Judah worshipped God and God caused the opposing armies to turn on each other.

Hezekiah’s prayer

Hezekiah was in a bad spot. His little city of Jerusalem was under siege by the reigning army of the world, the Assyrians. Look how his prayer for help starts …

(Isa 37:14-17 NKJV) And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. {15} Then Hezekiah prayed to the LORD, saying: {16} "O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. {17} "Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.

The outcome of Hezekiah’s situation? They went to bed that night and woke up in the morning to find the army of the Assyrians wiped out. One angel had killed 185,000 Assyrians in a single night.

David’s courage

David could face the huge towering Philistine because of his confidence in God’s power.

(1 Sam 17:43-47 NKJV) So the Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. {44} And the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!" {45} Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. {46} "This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. {47} "Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands."

David compared Goliath’s sword, spear, and javelin against his weapon, the name of the Lord. David was confident he would win.

The outcome of David’s battle? David won.

When I find myself in a situation where someone asks me to pray for a desperate situation, I try to remember to put this into practice. When I pray the “pastoral prayer” every Sunday at the end of worship, I will usually begin by bringing to mind the awesome power of our Great God.

I don’t do this because God needs to be reminded of who He is. I do this because I need to be reminded of who God is.

:2 "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem.

cup of drunkenness – the nations that try to attack Jerusalem will end up staggering as if they are drunk because of God’s great power.

all the surrounding peoples – it seems that the battle that Zechariah is describing is none other than the battle of Armageddon, the big one, the final battle on earth before Jesus returns.

The focus of the world during Armageddon will be Jerusalem.

:3 "And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

heavy stone – they will try, but they won’t be able to budge it.

:4 "In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

confusion – a supernatural confusion will come upon the armies marching against Jerusalem.

:5 "And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.'

:6 "In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place; Jerusalem.

The leaders of the Jews in those day will be very strong.

:7 "The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah.

:8 "In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.

Sounds like supermen.

:9 "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

There was an old song back in the days of the Jesus Movement that went, “I wouldn’t want to be a Cossack, headed down that Palestine Road, thinkin’ ‘bout what’s written in the Word of God, about the things that He’s foretold …” (The Cossack Song, by Tom Coomes, Tom Stipe, LoveSong, 1973).

:10-14 Judah mourning for Messiah

:10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

supplication – they will be crying out to God for deliverance, crying out to be saved.

whom they pierced … only son … firstborn – who else could this be talking about but Jesus Christ?

I think this is describing the salvation of Israel in more ways than one.

(Rom 11:25-27 NKJV) For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. {26} And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; {27} For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins."

It seems to me that this is might be the point where Israel finally turns to Jesus as their Messiah.

:11 "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Hadad Rimmon – Hadadrimmown= “Hadad of the pomegranates”. This was a place named after two Syrian gods. It was the place in the valley of Megiddo where the nation mourned for King Josiah after he was killed by Pharaoh Necho.

(2 Ki 23:29 NKJV) In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo when he confronted him.

Josiah was a good king, but he stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and ended up being killed by the Pharaoh. It was a great national tragedy.

plain of Megiddo – this is the location of Armageddon, in northern Israel.

:12 "And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves;

mourn – why will there be mourning and sorrow? Because they will realize that Jesus, whom they have rejected for two thousand years, is indeed their Messiah, their deliverer, their Savior.

This is not a mourning that they are continuing to reject the Messiah, but a mourning over the fact that it took them so long to accept Him.

Nathan – one of the sons of David, so this is a specific line or branch of the family of David.

It is interesting that even though Jesus’ step father Joseph traced his lineage through David’s son Solomon (Mat. 1:6), can you guess which son of David that Mary traced her lineage through? Nathan. (Luke 3:31).

:13 "the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves;

Levi – one of the tribes of Israel, the priestly tribe.

Shimei – there are a lot of Shimeis in the Bible, but this probably refers to the Shimei (Num. 3:18) who was the grandson of Levi.

:14 "all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.

It won’t just be a general national turning to Jesus, but a turning of individuals to Jesus.

Lesson

You need Jesus.

Some people think that they are a Christian because they are born in the United States.

It’s a nice thing to have been born in the United States, but you need to be born again to be saved.

You aren’t saved because your parents went to church, you are saved because you have come to know Jesus personally.

Zechariah 13

:1-6 Idolatry removed

:1 "In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

This might be talking about a real fountain of water, but I have this feeling that it’s talking about the cleansing that comes from the cross, the blood that brings forgiveness.

The “mourning” at the end of the previous chapter brings forgiveness.

(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

:2 "It shall be in that day," says the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.

This particular period of man’s history is a part of Daniel’s “seventy weeks”:

(Dan 9:24 NKJV) "Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

It will be a time when transgression and sin cease. It will be a time that brings cleansing from sin.

:3 "It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, 'You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

prophesies – these are false prophets Zechariah is talking about, as in verse 2

Parents who have children that had been prophesying falsely will put their children to death.

This is what the Law of Moses prescribed, death for false prophets (Deut. 13:6-10)

:4 "And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies; they will not wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive.

robe of coarse hair – something that the true Old Testament prophets used to wear. These false prophets will be dressing up as if they are real prophets.

(Mat 7:15 NKJV) "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

:5 "But he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a farmer; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.'

They will deny having been a so-called “prophet”.

:6 "And one will say to him, 'What are these wounds between your arms?' Then he will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'

Some see this as part of the previous section, that the false prophets would have wounds that they would inflict upon themselves while trying to call on their gods – like Elijah’s counterparts at Carmel – 1Ki. 18:28.

Others see that is part of the next section, as possibly a reference to Jesus being wounded and betrayed by Judas.

:7-9 Shepherd Savior

:7 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, Against the Man who is My Companion," Says the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd, And the sheep will be scattered; Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Jesus said that this verse was a reference to Him.

(Mat 26:31 NKJV) Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

He was struck and the disciples scattered.

I wonder if this might have some sort of secondary fulfillment at the time of Armageddon.

:8 And it shall come to pass in all the land," Says the LORD, "That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, But one- third shall be left in it:

It seems that the prophecy is speaking of the number of Jews who will die during this time of the end.

Only one third will survive as a “remnant”.

Today there are about 6 million Jews in Israel. That would mean 4 million dying and 2 million surviving.

It is this remnant that will be saved and fulfill the verse,

(Rom 11:26 NKJV) And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

:9 I will bring the one-third through the fire, 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, 'This is My people'; And each one will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

Lesson

God’s refining

(1 Pet 1:6-7 NKJV) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, {7} that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how much growing up we do when we go through difficult times.

When I look back at the times in my life that I would call the most difficult, I can see a different kind of depth produced in my life that I didn’t have before.

James wrote,

(James 1:2-4 NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, {3} knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. {4} But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

This is one of the elements of refining, God producing patience.

Paul wrote,

(2 Cor 1:3-5 NKJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, {4} who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. {5} For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.

Another blessing of refining is comfort – when we go through difficult times, we are able to receive God’s comfort, and in turn to pass it on to others who would go through the same thing.

Illustration

We cannot be established except by suffering. It is of no use our hoping that we shall be well-rooted if no March winds have passed over us. The young oak cannot be expected to strike its roots so deep as the old one. Those old gnarlings on the roots, and those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of many storms that have swept over the aged tree. But they are also indicators of the depths into which the roots have dived.

-- Charles Haddon Spurgeon in "A New-Year's Benediction" (War Cry, Jan. 1, 1994). Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 1.

Illustration

Warren Wiersbe says that realism is idealism that has been through the fire and got purified; cynicism is idealism that has been through the fire and got burned. Now whether you get burned or purified is not determined by the intensity of the heat but by the malleability of your spirit.

-- R. L. Russell, "Triumphing over Trials," Preaching Today, Tape No. 119.

This all makes me look at the fellows on TBN, the “faith” preachers who give you the impression that God does not want you to ever be sick or go through a difficult time.

And I wonder what kind of Christian comes out of that ministry if the whole mindset is on avoiding and rebuking difficult times instead of growing through them.

I’m not saying we need to become masochists and jump headfirst into difficult times. But I wonder if it’s possible to come to the point where we actually learn to embrace the difficulty instead of run from it. I wonder how much faster I would grow if I did that.

Zechariah 14

:1-15 The Day of the Lord

:1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst.

the day of the LORD – this is a reference to the time of the very end, when Jesus returns.

spoil will be divided – the city of Jerusalem will be captured towards the end of the battle of Armageddon and the spoils of the city would be divided.

:2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

all the nations – the whole world will be against Israel.

the remnant of the people shall not be cut off – perhaps this is when the people will be like “supermen” (12:8)

(Zec 12:8 NKJV) "In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them.

:3 Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.

the LORD will go forth and fight – Jesus returns to Jerusalem and fights the battle.

John gives us a hint:

(Rev 19:11-16 NKJV) Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. {12} His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. {13} He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. {14} And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. {15} Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. {16} And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Isaiah speaks of what leads up to this:

(Isa 63:1-6 NKJV) Who is this who comes from Edom, With dyed garments from Bozrah, This One who is glorious in His apparel, Traveling in the greatness of His strength?; "I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save." {2} Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress? {3} "I have trodden the winepress alone, And from the peoples no one was with Me. For I have trodden them in My anger, And trampled them in My fury; Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments, And I have stained all My robes. {4} For the day of vengeance is in My heart, And the year of My redeemed has come. {5} I looked, but there was no one to help, And I wondered That there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. {6} I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth."

When Jesus returns to earth from heaven, His first stop will be in the land of Edom (Is. 63:1), where many of the Jews have fled from before the antichrist (Rev. 12:14). Some feel that a place they will go to is the ancient city of Petra (Isa. 16:1-4).

After rescuing the Jews in Edom, Jesus will move His armies to Jerusalem where He will rescue the city from the nations that have surrounded it.

:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.

When Jesus ascended to heaven, it was from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1). Here, Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus will stand on the Mount of Olives which is next to Jerusalem. The mountain splits in two, forming a valley.

:5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, And all the saints with You.

Azal – “he has reserved”; we don’t know where this is.

you shall flee – this new valley will be an escape route for the remaining people of Jerusalem.

earthquake … Uzziah – Amos records this earthquake (Amos 1:1)

the LORD … will come, And all the saints … – Jesus and us (Rev. 19:14)

:6 It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.

The prophet Joel wrote,

(Joel 2:30-32 NKJV) "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. {31} The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. {32} And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls.

:7 It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD; Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.

evening … light – there will be a new source of light – Jesus.

:8 And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.

living waters – Water that flows from a spring is called “living” water as opposed to water that is collected in a cistern. Fresh water will flow from Jerusalem. Some will flow into the Dead Sea, the rest will flow into the Mediterranean.

Ezekiel speaks of this water that flows from the throne in the Temple:

(Ezek 47:8-10 NKJV) Then he said to me: "This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. {9} "And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. {10} "It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.

The waters that flow into the “Dead Sea” will heal it.

Jesus spoke of living water:

(John 4:10-14 NKJV) Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." {11} The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? {12} "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" {13} Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, {14} "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

Jesus is the source of life. True life flows from Him. When He returns, we’ll see a picture of this flowing from Jerusalem.

:9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be; "The LORD is one," And His name one.

:10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses.

Geba – a town 6 miles NE of Jerusalem.

Rimmon – a town 35 miles SW of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is a city that is on the line of hills that run north and south through the southern part of Israel. But it seems that the entire line of Judean hills will become flattened, while Jerusalem itself will be raised up even higher.

:11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

:12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

Some have suggested that this sounds like some sort of nuclear explosion. It doesn’t have to be, it could be simply that God speaks, and they melt.

:13 It shall come to pass in that day That a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, And raise his hand against his neighbor's hand;

I’d panic too.

:14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations Shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.

Earlier it was Jerusalem that was being divided among the spoils, now the Jews will have the spoils of all these armies and nations that were gathered against it.

:15 Such also shall be the plague On the horse and the mule, On the camel and the donkey, And on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be.

Melting flesh. Yuck.

:16-21 The Nations worship the King

:16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

When Jesus returns to rule and reign, it won’t just be over the nation of Israel, but over the whole world. Jerusalem will be the capital of the world.

The Feast of Tabernacles (or “Sukkoth”, Lev. 23:33-43) will be celebrated by the nations of the world. The feast falls around October each year.

The Feast of Tabernacles was originally set up to remind the people of when God delivered Israel from Egypt and they wandered for forty years in the wilderness, living in tents or “tabernacles”. It was also a time when God lived with the people, when His presence was in the Tabernacle. In addition, it was a celebration of the end of the harvest season, when all the crops have been harvested.

Jesus was also an embodiment of this feast. John records:

(John 1:14 NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word “dwelt” is the word “tabernacled”. Jesus settled down with us when He took on human flesh.

:17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain.

:18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

:19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

The nations that don’t participate in the Feast will experience drought.

:20 In that day "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

:21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

When Jesus returns, He will clean house, He will make everything holy. Even the horses bells will be holy.

I think there’s something in us that longs for the day when everything will be made right.

We are often reminded of just how unfair life it.

There will be a day when it’s all made right – when Jesus returns.

Lesson

Hopes refinement

It’s a healthy thing to be reminded about Jesus’ return.

(1 John 3:1-3 NKJV) Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. {2} Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. {3} And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Hope purifies.

I don’t know if the current situation in the Middle East will get worse or not. It could be that these are the events that will light the fuse for the events of the end to take place. It might be that Israel will crush Hezbollah, pull back, and buy some more time. But either way, we need to be ready for Jesus’ return.

Arden K. Barden wrote,

It is not the way we deal with our human situation that is the basis for hope (as in “I have hope because I’m doing a good job with life…”) --hope is the basis for how we deal with our human situation.

It’s our hope in the soon return of Jesus that gives us the strength to keep going, to keep changing, to keep fighting the fight, to keep swimming against the current of the world.

We are looking forward to the day when Jesus returns.

(Luke 18:7-8 NKJV) "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? {8} "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"