The Smitten Shepherd
Book of Zechariah
Chapter 13
Many times we are
told that the Jewish people did not know that the Messiah would come
to die, yet Zechariah is not the only prophet who writes of these
things.
In the Psalms:
Psa 51:2 Wash me
throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psa 51:3 For I
acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
The Prophet Isaiah:
Isa 1:18 Come now,
and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
There are other
places that taught the Jews about their Savior, yet they chose to
disregard those teachings.
The Jews reject many
of the writings of the prophets and all the New Testament.
The fact is that we
can pick and choose what we believe to be the true Scriptures but in
reality, this does not make the other Scriptures to be false.
All the Scriptures
are actually written by the Holy Ghost and we have no right to pick
and choose what parts to believe and which parts to reject.
2Ti 3:16 All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
We need as much God
as we can get, and the best place to get the truth is with all the
Holy Ghost inspired Word of God!
So what is the truth
of our Savior?
*****Zec 13:1 In
that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
This Scripture
refers to the Messiah as that fountain that is opened to those of
Jerusalem.
We know that
according to the Word of God, the Church is already with the Lord
Jesus Christ before this day comes about, so in "what day"
is this prophet speaking?
He is speaking of
the "day of great mourning" from Chapter 12, when the
Jewish people had finally realized the truth of the Messiah whom they
had rejected and murdered when He first came.
Remember in Chapter
12 they had realized the truth of the Messiah.
Zec 12:10 And I
will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall
look upon me "whom they have pierced", and they shall mourn
for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness
for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Chapter 13 continues
with this theme.
The Lord will
cleanse every believer who remains after the 7 years of Tribulation,
of their sin and of their false worship.
Remember they had
been cleansed of idol worship in those 70 years of captivity, but
they had given their voice unto the Beast, the Antichrist, until he
sat down as God in the rebuilt Temple.
They had been fooled
up until that time, along with all the world!
All that are left,
rulers and people, will be cleansed of their sin because the Lord had
poured out His "mercy" and His "grace".
That word "fountain"
gives the sense of "living waters".
The true "fountain"
is God the Father "as the fountain of living waters".
Jer 2:13 For my
people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain
of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water.
It is God the Son
that we see here in verse 1, the fountain opened to the house of
David and all those in Jerusalem on that day.
God the Holy Ghost
is that river of living waters in the heart of each and every
believer.
Joh 7:37 In the
last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water.
What happens beside
salvation on "that day"?
*****Zec 13:2 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 they shall
no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the
unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
Idols are anything
that we have placed in our lives that we hold to be higher than our
Father in Heaven.
The Lord is saying,
that not only idol worship would cease, but even the names of them
would not be remembered.
Mic 5:13 Thy graven
images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst
of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
You see all idols
are manmade and the things of man are never more important than the
things of God!
You know we have no
need of prophets today!
We have the complete
Word of God which tells us the beginning, and the end, and everything
in between.
God would never send
us another prophet and here, when the Jewish people wake up to the
truth of the Messiah, He tells them the same thing.
The Lord will cause
all the prophets to pass out of the land, which is the Promised Land
and the place where King Jesus will rule this world.
There is no need for
prophets, not even today.
Any prophet would be
a false prophet if they went against any part of the Word of God!
We have the complete
Word of God, there will never be any new revelations that go against
the existing Word of God!
Anything that goes
against the Word of God is also unclean and all unclean things would
pass out of the land of Promises from the Jews and the Church.
So there false
prophets who are filled with unclean spirits!
Unclean spirits are
lying spirits which work in the false preachers and false teachers we
have today!
2Th 2:9 Even him,
whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because
they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
1Ti 4:1 Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils;
1Ti 4:2 Speaking
lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding
to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath
created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth.
The world that is
left after those 7 years of Tribulation, will not want to hear any
false teachers! They will only want to hear the truth!
They certainly will
not want to hear any false prophet and we should not either today.
The world that was
destroyed was a world of lies and deception! The same world we live
in today.
*****Zec 13:3 And
it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his
father and his mother that begat 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 begat him shall thrust him through when he
prophesieth.
False teaching of any sort will be abolished during the Millennial
Reign of Jesus Christ.
We see that parents
will not allow their children to speak against the Lord like they do
today.
Today the parents
allow their children to bring home a false doctrine and will not
correct them but this will change the parents will rule their own
families with a "rod of iron" as will the Lord!
If it were to start
up again, the parents would put an end to it immediately.
The people of
Millennial reign of Christ, will all honor the commandments of
Christ! King Jesus will rule with a rod of iron!
Mar_12:30 And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
Mat 10:37 He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he
that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of
me.
There will be no
place for false teaching during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ!
Rev_2:27 And he
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall
they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
There will be a
complete extermination of the unclean spirits, when Jesus Christ sits
on His throne in Jerusalem!
Though the Church
will be with Jesus, we can still imagine a world where there will be
no lies told of any sort.
There will be no
deception.
There will be no
temptation. (Satan will be bound for 1000 years).
The truth of God
will rule each day!
The government will
be a Theocracy with King Jesus the true Christ upon the throne.
All the needs of the
people will be met, and this includes the truth!
*****Zec 13:4 And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed
every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they
wear a rough garment to deceive:
Zec 13:5 But he
shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to
keep cattle from my youth.
Most all of us can
relate to this picture. We were all dirty rotten sinners until we met
the Lord Jesus Christ and are now cleansed of our sin.
We are all ashamed
of our old lives, at least I know I am.
Even in the days of
near perfection there will be some who will rebel.
There will also be
those who are accused of rebelling who have not.
Remember the craving
to sin lives in each of us as long as we are in this body of flesh.
We are not a people
who are good and sometimes do bad things. We are a people who are bad
and sometimes we may do something good!
This will not change
during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ!
The one thing that
is true is, that those who have survived the Great Tribulation and
now know the truth, will not tolerate those who would again try to
teach a false message.
Until they are found
out, they will not dress as the prophets of old, nor will they appear
as the TV evangelist do today, they will dress the same as those
around them.
He shall say "I
am no prophet". He shall say "I am just an average person"
who has been taught how to work and make a living.
Remember false
prophets prefer to deceive and talk you into supporting them.
They will be hated
and sought out during this Millennial Age.
This is one of the
reasons that King Jesus must rule with a "Rod of Iron"!
All these people
will still have the old sin nature until they are cleansed of that
old spirit!
Mic 3:6 Therefore
night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it
shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall
go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
Mic 3:7 Then shall
the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall
all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
Mic 3:8 But truly I
am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of
might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his
sin.
These false prophets
would rather be seen as slaves rather than confess that they reject
the Lord Jesus Christ!
Some of these men or
women may even be repenting their sin in order to be cleansed by the
Lord, His "Fountain of Grace".
Idolatry, false
prophesy, and unclean spirits will be removed by the Lord Jesus
Christ!
*****Zec 13:6 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.
No doubt this this
is prophecy of our Savior when He was nailed to the cross and if you
are Christian, then those wounds in the hands of the Lord we will
never be forgotten.
These wounds will be
a constant reminder of the things that Jesus did for us so we could
be saved.
We will see those
wounds when He is placing those crowns on our head and will be a
reminder and we will toss those crowns back at the feet of Jesus
In fact the wounds
our Savior received in paying our sin debt will be a reminder to us
all the days though out eternity.
How will we differ
from Christ when we have our own glorified body? Our body will not
have any blemishes. Our body will be perfect, while the Lord will
always show his scars on His body! Those will be His own Crowns of
glory
In real time this
thing also speaks of the early days of the Millennial reign of Christ
The beginning, of
the Millennial Kingdom, may be the toughest years.
Many will go through
firery trials before they find the Lord.
Many will question
their sincerity.
The false prophet
would still carry the signs of self-mutilation and these things could
never be hidden.
1Ki 18:28 And they
cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and
lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
The world that was
destroyed was a world of lies and deception! The same world we live
in today.
*****Zec 13:3 And
it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his
father and his mother that begat 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 begat him shall thrust him through when he
prophesieth.
False teaching of
any sort will be abolished during the Millennial Reign of Jesus
Christ.
We see that parents
will not allow their children to speak against the Lord like they do
today.
Today the parents
allow their children to bring home a false doctrine and will not
correct them but this will change the parents will rule their own
families with a "rod of iron" as will the Lord!
If it were to start
up again, the parents would put an end to it immediately.
The people of
Millennial reign of Christ, will all honor the commandments of
Christ! King Jesus will rule with a rod of iron!
Mar_12:30 And thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the
first commandment.
Mat 10:37 He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he
that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of
me.
There will be no
place for false teaching during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ!
Rev_2:27 And he
shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall
they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
There will be a
complete extermination of the unclean spirits, when Jesus Christ sits
on His throne in Jerusalem!
Though the Church
will be with Jesus, we can still imagine a world where there will be
no lies told of any sort.
There will be no
deception.
There will be no
temptation. (Satan will be bound for 1000 years).
The truth of God
will rule each day!
The government will
be a Theocracy with King Jesus the true Christ upon the throne.
All the needs of the
people will be met, and this includes the truth!
*****Zec 13:4 And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed
every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they
wear a rough garment to deceive:
Zec 13:5 But he
shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to
keep cattle from my youth.
Most all of us can
relate to this picture. We were all dirty rotten sinners until we met
the Lord Jesus Christ and are now cleansed of our sin.
We are all ashamed
of our old lives, at least I know I am.
Even in the days of
near perfection there will be some who will rebel.
There will also be
those who are accused of rebelling who have not.
Remember the craving
to sin lives in each of us as long as we are in this body of flesh.
We are not a people
who are good and sometimes do bad things. We are a people who are bad
and sometimes we may do something good!
This will not change
during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ!
The one thing that
is true is, that those who have survived the Great Tribulation and
now know the truth, will not tolerate those who would again try to
teach a false message.
Until they are found
out, they will not dress as the prophets of old, nor will they appear
as the TV evangelist do today, they will dress the same as those
around them.
He shall say "I
am no prophet". He shall say "I am just an average person"
who has been taught how to work and make a living.
Remember false
prophets prefer to deceive and talk you into supporting them.
They will be hated
and sought out during this Millennial Age.
This is one of the
reasons that King Jesus must rule with a "Rod of Iron"!
All these people
will still have the old sin nature until they are cleansed of that
old spirit!
Mic 3:6 Therefore
night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it
shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall
go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
Mic 3:7 Then shall
the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall
all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God.
Mic 3:8 But truly I
am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of
might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his
sin.
These false prophets
would rather be seen as slaves rather than confess that they reject
the Lord Jesus Christ!
Some of these men or
women may even be repenting their sin in order to be cleansed by the
Lord, His "Fountain of Grace".
Idolatry, false
prophesy, and unclean spirits will be removed by the Lord Jesus
Christ!
*****Zec 13:6 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.
No doubt this this
is prophecy of our Savior when He was nailed to the cross and if you
are Christian, then those wounds in the hands of the Lord we will
never be forgotten.
These wounds will be
a constant reminder of the things that Jesus did for us so we could
be saved.
We will see those
wounds when He is placing those crowns on our head and will be a
reminder and we will toss those crowns back at the feet of Jesus
In fact the wounds
our Savior received in paying our sin debt will be a reminder to us
all the days though out eternity.
How will we differ
from Christ when we have our own glorified body? Our body will not
have any blemishes. Our body will be perfect, while the Lord will
always show his scars on His body! Those will be His own Crowns of
glory
In real time this
thing also speaks of the early days of the Millennial reign of Christ
The beginning, of
the Millennial Kingdom, may be the toughest years.
Many will go through
firery trials before they find the Lord.
Many will question
their sincerity.
The false prophet
would still carry the signs of self-mutilation and these things could
never be hidden.
1Ki 18:28 And they
cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and
lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
For some, it may
take a chastising from our friends to keep us from doing wrong.
Pro 27:5 Open
rebuke is better than secret love.
Pro 27:6 Faithful
are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Whatever it takes
for us to see the light of Jesus, is acceptable to the Lord.
We should remember
the "Grace of God". When we are washed in the blood of
Jesus, we are cleansed of all our sins.
This old false
prophet who finally accepts the Lord will be just as saved as we are,
even if they still wear the signs of false worship .
We may scoff at
these things, but the fact remains that self-mutilation is still seen
today in some religions.
The Lord will rid
the earth of all false prophets, false teachers, false teachers and
anyone who would use lies to deceive others.
We read in verse 2
where even the parents would not allow their child to speak falsely.
Certainly it would
be the same for friends. Everyone would be on the lookout for
anything false!
We need our
Christian friends sometimes to keep us from falling back in sin!
What does Jesus say?
For some, it may
take a chastising from our friends to keep us from doing wrong.
Pro 27:5 Open
rebuke is better than secret love.
Pro 27:6 Faithful
are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Whatever it takes
for us to see the light of Jesus, is acceptable to the Lord.
We should remember
the "Grace of God". When we are washed in the blood of
Jesus, we are cleansed of all our sins.
This old false
prophet who finally accepts the Lord will be just as saved as we are,
even if they still wear the signs of false worship .
We may scoff at
these things, but the fact remains that self-mutilation is still seen
today in some religions.
The Lord will rid
the earth of all false prophets, false teachers, false teachers and
anyone who would use lies to deceive others.
We read in verse 2
where even the parents would not allow their child to speak falsely.
Certainly it would
be the same for friends. Everyone would be on the lookout for
anything false!
We need our
Christian friends sometimes to keep us from falling back in sin!
What does Jesus say?
*****Zec 13:7
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 mine hand upon the little ones.
It would be good to
remember when the Lord Jesus was upon this earth, He was 100% God
while being 100% human. When Jesus went back to Heaven He did so in a
"Glorified Body".
The Lord Jesus
Christ is the True Shepherd!
That man is that
human part that the Lord has made Himself to be, so when we all live
together, we will be like Him.
1Jn_3:2 Beloved,
now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for
we shall see him as he is.
Our Lord Jesus has
made all these things possible.
Again we see in this
passage the Holy Trinity as the phrase "my fellow"
signifies "my equal", my companion. The Lord's Divine
equality with the Father!
The Word was God,
and the Word was with God, but He was man as well as God!
Not a natural man
but the God Man, the way He presented Himself to us, so we can be
with Him and see Him face to face!
1Co_13:12 For now
we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in
part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
He is the True
Shepherd because His people need Him to be that way!
He performs a
Shepherd's part because, He will watch over us, He will provide for
us, and He will guide us throughout eternity!
These are things He
has decided to do Himself!
We are the sheep
that God the Father gave to Him to redeem so that He could give us
back to God the Father when He presents His Bride.
Rev 21:4 And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 22:17 And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely.
It is God the
Father, who caused the sword to smite His own Son that all these
things be true!
It was God the
Father who cause the suffering of our Savior!
The persecuting Jews
were just willing instruments in all they did against Him!
They did it
voluntarily, but they did it according to the Word of God.
Had they not done so
then there would be no Church.
Had they not done so
then there would be no redeemed Jews.
Once the Shepherd
was smitten, God turned His attention to the "little ones"
all those "Babes in Christ" who would grow into the family
of God!
This is the message
of the Lord of Hosts!
And what of those
who deny Him?
Joh 19:6 When the
chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying,
Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and
crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
Joh 19:7 The Jews
answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because
he made himself the Son of God.
Joh 19:11 Jesus
answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it
were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee
hath the greater sin.
Remember it is the
Lord of Hosts who is speaking.
*****Zec 13:8 And
it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two
parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left
therein.
Zec 13:9 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.
At first, it was the
Roman army that laid waste to two thirds of the Jews and the world
has continued to do this throughout the years since that time.
Many times the world
has tried to destroy the Jews, the most recent time on most minds
today would be the holocaust by Adolf Hitler, where 6 million Jews
were slain for no reason.
We know that by the
destruction of the Temple, Jewish worship had been taken away from
this people and has never been restored.
What did God
promise?
"I will bring a
third part through the fire". "And refine them" "and
try them" and the day is coming they will call upon His name!
Eze 5:12 A third
part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall
they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by
the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all
the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Eze 5:13 Thus shall
mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon
them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD
have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them.
Eze 5:14 Moreover I
will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round
about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
Eze 5:15 So it
shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment
unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute
judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the
LORD have spoken it.
It should be obvious
that Jehovah is not through with this promise as of yet, but all the
signs indicate that this is soon coming to an end.
1) The Church will
be taken out.
2) The 7 years of
Tribulation where the refinement of the Jews will succeed.
3) These Jews will
call upon the name of the Lord.
2Ch 7:14 If my
people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land.
Then the Promised
1000 years of King Jesus upon the throne of David.
Amen
Let's Pray!
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