God’s Righteous Response to Sin
Repent and Return

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Good morning, church! We’re continuing our series through the book of Zechariah in a series that we’ve entitled, “Repent and Return.” That comes from the first few verses of the book of Zechariah. Today, we’ll be in Zechariah chapter five and chapter six, in the message that we’ve entitled, “God’s Righteous Response to Sin.”

As you think about the world today, as you think about the world since you’ve been alive, would you say that things are getting better or worse? Would you say that you see more evidence of unity, love, agreement and morality increasing or decreasing? How would you describe the world today? Do you think things are getting better or worse?

I think that most people would say that our world is worse. Think about the situation in Ukraine today, the situation with Russia, China and America, the situation with the pandemic, the situation with the economy, with the price of gasoline and the price of food. I believe that you would say that today we live in troubling times. You might even be saying to yourself, Where’s God? Don’t You care, God, that the world is getting worse and worse? The church has been in existence for over 2000 years since Jesus laid the foundation, why aren’t things getting better? It seems like sin just keeps getting more and more. People seem to have no shame; in fact, they celebrate their sin. What in the world, Lord, where are You? Don’t You care about sin?

This message, today, will answer the question that God does care and God is responding and will ultimately overcome sin. As we look at this passage today, we’ll be looking at the last three night visions that the prophet Zechariah had in one night. He had eight visions in a row. These visions are number six, seven and eight. We’re going to cover those today. Keep your seatbelts on because we’ve got a lot to cover.

As we’re looking at these visions, I think we’ll hear God’s response to our question, How are you responding to this God? Where are you God?

In the book of Zechariah, chapters five and six, we encounter a God who cares about our sin. He has a righteous response to it and we can understand God’s righteous response to our sin. As we look at the text, I think we’ll see three truths being revealed through these three visions about God’s righteous response to our sins. We’re going to read each of the three visions. We will pause after we read the first one and then the second and the third and then we’ll make applications.

1st Vision: Zechariah 5:1-4 (ESV) 1 Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits, and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of thewhole land. For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side. 4 I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief, and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.” This is God’s word.

Understanding God’s righteous response to our sin: 1. God’s Word reveals our sin and its result.

We’re looking at vision number six; the first one that we’re reading here. We see a flying scroll. The flying scroll is emblematic of God’s word because God’s word reveals our sin and its result. This is the first truth revealed by this vision; the first one we’re reading today. God’s word reveals our sin and its result. A flying scroll. Oh my goodness, have you had a dream like this yet?

My wife likes to tell me her dreams. We will get up and it’ll be at breakfast time and she’ll tell me. “I had a dream last night.” Oh boy, here it comes, because it’ll be some kind of random thing. Usually, I’m such a loser in her dreams. She has to rescue me. I’m such a wimp in her dreams. I would ask her, “Why can’t I be the hero in your dreams?” She replies, “I’m not in control of my dreams.” It seems like she is always the hero and I’m the loser.

I don’t know how you dream. I don’t know what you dream about. I usually don’t remember what I dream about. But these are not dreams; these are visions, where he’s awake. We know that, between vision four and five, he actually dozed off and the angel awakened him. Here, he is awake. He says, 1 “Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a flying scroll! 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” The angel is interpreting to him what he’s seeing. He’s referring to the earlier chapters.

This angel, which we believe to be the Angel of the Lord, points to Jesus. He sees a flying scroll. If we were to look at this today, we would say he saw a flying book because they didn’t have books in those days. Books hadn’t been invented yet, with the idea of binding and having a printing press. At this time, they had scrolls. If you went to a Hebrew synagogue, there would be the table that the leader of the synagogue would preach from and teach from. Behind him would be a cabinet, which they called an Arc. Inside, would be multiple scrolls. They would pull one of them out, for example, the scroll of Isaiah. It might be 100 ft long if you rolled it out. They would spread it the scroll out, put weights down to hold it in place and then read from it. After they finished reading, they would roll it up, wrap it with a beautiful, very elaborate fabric cover and stick it back in the cabinet. Scrolls would have been something that Zechariah would’ve been very familiar with. It was the way that they captured their writings.

This scroll is unusual, though, for it flies. This scroll flies, which points to its supernatural power. It might not be uncommon for one to be 30 cubits long. A cubit is the distance between the elbow and the tip of the finger. The average human arm from that distance to this distance is 18 inches. If you do the math, this particular 20 by 10 cubit scroll was 30 ft long and 15 ft wide. It would look more like one of those banners that a plane pulls when you’re sitting at the beach and you see the advertisements going by. It’s huge. Not uncommonly long as scrolls go, but certainly uncommonly wide. It had writing on both sides.

3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole land.” This scroll was flying over the whole land, with writing on both sides. I think if we were looking at it from our time period, we’d say it’s like the bible flying around; a huge copy of it, flying around. It’s the word of God. That’s what the flying scroll is symbolic of; it’s symbolic of the word of God.

The scroll in the vision is 20 by 10 cubits. That’s the exact dimensions of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. It’s amazing how the scroll points to that. The fact that it’s written on two sides is emblematic of the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus, chapter 32. God wrote on both sides of the Ten Commandments. Did you know that He wrote on both sides?

It sounds like this is the word of God. This is the law of God, flying throughout the land. It’s under divine power. And it points out two types of laws that were being broken. One was one who steals, 3 “…For everyone who steals shall be cleaned out according to what is on one side, and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.” You see that there’s one who steals. He’s going to be cleaned out. It repeats again in verse 4, “I will send it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief…” It’s talking about one who steals now. If you think about The Ten Commandments, it’s breaking the “Thou shalt not steal” law. Theft breaks the 8th commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.” I’m going to clean that out. The transgressors will be removed by the Word of God that goes forth swiftly flying and entering every house or hiding place.

Then, he points out another law, 3 “…and everyone who swears falsely shall be cleaned out according to what is on the other side.” This is from the first tablet, which is towards God. The first tablet of laws was towards God. “Thou shall not use the Lord thy God’s name in vain.” It breaks that commandment. Some would say that, by using one law from the first tablet and one from the second tablet, it’s saying this is the whole law encompassed. Somehave said that; it makes a lot of sense.

The other thing that I would say is, if we were to take a survey today and were asked what are the worst sins, we probably wouldn’t mention stealing and swearing. We probably have some worse ones up there, but those are the two on God’s flying scroll. His word is flying into every household all around the earth and looking into the closet, the bedroom and into the every room of the house, looking and seeking out those that are breaking His law.

Here’s what he’s saying, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” The word of God will not return void. It has a divine power of its own. His word will accomplish what He said it would accomplish. There’s a day coming when it will become evident to all that this will cleanse the land. You see, this is a promise He’s given to Israel, that there’s a day coming when My word will accomplish what I have said, it will accomplish.

He says in verse four, “I will send it out.” That’s a future tense phrase. Not, “I have sent it out.” He didn’t say that. He said, “I will.” His word is already out, but there’s a future day coming when it will be fully accomplished. Even now, we see evidence of it being accomplished.

God’s word says two things at the same time. It says if you live this way, you will be blessed, but if you live this way, you will come under a curse, a curse of sin. That’s what he says. This is the curse that goes out over, and so, God’s word contains both. It contains both blessing and warning. If you live this way, you’ll be under my blessing, but be sure, if you live this way, you’ll come under the curse of death. You’ll come under a curse now because we’re humans.

Anybody who’s ever been a parent and tries to tell their toddler, “Don’t touch that; it’s hot,” the toddler still has to go and touch it because it’s human nature. They have to know it for themselves. Mama said it’s not good, but I need to taste it anyway. I need to try it. God’s word says if you do this, it will lead to death. This word is going out. This is symbolic of the word of God going out, revealing sin and cleaning it out.

The words, “cleaned out,” in the Hebrew, has the idea, “to purge from,” “to cut off” so that those who swear falsely by God’s name, those thieves will be purged from the land. Not only will they be purged, but every evidence of their work and effort and the house that they have built upon their sin will be completely consumed, it says and it shall remain in his house. What’s “it?” “It” is the flying scroll, the word of God. Verse 4, “…And it shall remain in his house and consume it, both timber and stones.” What are houses built of? They are built of wood and stone. This flying scroll will consume every evidence that this person ever existed because they built their house, they built their life on a lie, on sin, on being a thief. This is what the word of God is saying to the prophet Zechariah. You see, the standard for God’s judgment is His word and it has not changed today. We see many talking about the Supreme Court and whether or not they should view the constitution as something that should be interpreted as the original authors intended or whether or not it should be a living document that we could reinterpret as we would today. There’s two schools of thought competing.

I would say to you, if we think about the word of God, we have to be careful about reinterpreting what it means. It means what it says it means and it will accomplish what it says it will accomplish. Be sure your sin will find you out and how you will be judged when the end of days comes. It will be by the standard of God’s word.

If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the word says that you’ve come under grace and that you’re forgiven. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1.

But if you reject Jesus, then you will come under the judgment of what the word of God says. Here’s what Jesus says in John 12:48 (ESV) ”The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.” You see, the word of God is God’s standard of judgment. Here’s what He warns in Romans 6:23 (ESV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you remember the parable that Jesus told in Matthew, chapter seven? He told a parable about a wise man who built his house upon the rock. He built his house upon the rock. The storm came, the winds blew and the rains fell. After the storm blew over, the house still stood intact. Not one shingle was missing. Then, he tells another story about a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against the house. It fell and great was the fall of it; every stone, every timber fell . Why? Because the foundation was not built upon the word of God.

Jesus said that everyone who hears my words and obeys them will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rock is Jesus. The rock is God’s word. But, everyone who rejects My word, it will be like you built your house upon sand. It will fall and great will be the fall of it. God doesn’t leave us in the dark about our sin. He reveals it to us so that we are without excuse. Why not build your house upon the rock of God’s word?

Let’s keep reading. May I say to you, the next vision, perhaps, is the strangest of the eight visions. Zechariah 5:5-11 (ESV) 5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, “Lift your eyes and see what this is that is going out.” 6 And I said, “What is it?” He said, “This is the basket that is going out.” And he said “This is their iniquity in all the land.” 7 And behold, the leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8 And he said, “This is Wickedness.” And he thrust her back into the basket, and thrust down the leaden weight on its opening. 9 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, two women coming forward! The wind was in their wings. They had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven. 10 Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it. And when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.”

2. God’s Spirit restrains sin until the last days. (When sin is allowed to rule unhindered for a season)

This is vision #7 in the night of eight visions. We see the power of God’s spirit to restrain sin until the last days when He will allow sin to rule unhindered for a short season. This is perhaps one of the strangest of the seven, but also the most graphic, perhaps in its ability to allow you to visualize it.

I think this basket is either a very large basket that would contain a woman or it’s a very small woman in a normal basket. Either way, there’s something about this. And then, the picture that this woman named “wickedness” lifts her head up out of the basket when he lifts the cover off and then he presses her head back in and puts the lead cover back on. Can you visualize this picture? It had to be disturbing to Zechariah. “What is it?” Zechariah says.

The word, “basket,” here in the Hebrew is “ephah.” It is about equivalent to a bushel. I don’t know that we have a lot of people with an agricultural background here. Maybe you’ve seen a bushel basket, but it’s the word if I could have just been referring not only to the the size of the basket, but the fact that it was of a certain quantity, which points us towards something in the marketplace. Even the word, “leaden” here, the leaden cover in the original Hebrew says it weighed a talent of lead. It was a talent of lead, which is £75. Again, a measurement. The reason these measurement words are here with this picture of the woman, is because the picture of the woman, as it reappears in the book of Revelation,chapter 17, where she is called “the harlot of Babylon.”

When you put these pieces together – the measurements and the woman in the basket who’s name is “wickedness,” you see the picture that John gives us even more clearly than we have here, of a future kingdom that will take over the entire world and offer a worldwide economy, a worldwide language, a worldwide false religion and so forth. This will be that season, I believe, during the time of tribulation in the last days, that’s being described here. But until then , it’s being restrained. This ultimate overflow of wickedness is being restrained and removed for a season from the land. It’s out there, but it’s being restrained until that future time, and so, we see this picture of a woman. This woman, I believe, if you read Revelation 17, is the harlot of Babylon.

Why is she a harlot? Because God often used this description in His word if someone was committing idolatry. They were supposed to be uniquely married to Him, putting Him first. If they put an idol ahead of Him, He would call that prostitution. They were being a harlot by following idolatry. This future kingdom would be marked by a false religion, a worldwide religion, a world wide economy. Now, are you seeing evidence of some of these things falling into place? I do. This is being spoken of in 500 BC, 520 BC. In fact, we have in the diary entry, a couple of chapters earlier here, that this is approximately February the 15th, 520 BC; he has these eight visions in a row in one evening. Then you see something, if it’s not strange enough that this woman, who is called wickedness, has been weighted down with this leaden cover so that she’s not able to break fully out. She’s being restrained for a season.

These two other women show up with stork wings; as if it wasn’t strange enough, it got stranger. They came forward and the wind was in their wings which points to supernatural power. Now, some look at the two women, as I have read commentaries from theologians about this, and aren’t sure if these two women are good or evil. Those that would say that they’re good would be because they had wind in their wings and because they carried the basket away, which was what God wanted them to do, but, I would say whether good or evil is happening in the land, ultimately God is sovereign overall. So, even those that do evil, God will bring it to good at a future time because He is sovereign.

I land more on the idea that the two women are evil. These two women are symbolic, I believe, of the first Babylon and the second Babylon. I’m informed by Dr. Korman, a Messianic Jew, who preaches today in Israel, by his thought that there are two because it points to both Zechariah’s time when Babylon was defeated and the future Babylon that will reappear and once again be defeated, ultimately by Jesus. These represent the old Babylon and the future Babylon. The reason that I think they are evil is because of a couple of reasons: (1) They have wings of a stork, which, in Leviticus 11:19 says that a stork is an unclean animal. To the Jews, storks were on the unclean list. And so they have wings of a stork. (2) Because they built a house for it and put it on a pedestal; they put it on a base. They protected the basket. They carried it away and built a temple for it. Apparently, they took the woman out and put her on a pedestal. I would say, in my opinion, I land on the side that these two women are indicative of the old Babylon and the new Babylon. Gary, why are you saying this has to do with Babylon again? You said, the woman inside points to a future harlot of Babylon. Look at verse 10 and 11, “Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they taking the basket?” 11 He said to me, “To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it.” Now, if you’re a bible student, you’ve heard of that place before. The best way to understand the bible is with the bible. If you are asking a question from the bible, like, “What’s the land of Shinar?” Look somewhere else in the bible and see if you can find it; that’s the best way. If you look in chapter 10 and chapter 11 of Genesis, you find the land of Shinar and you find it as the place where humanity had been instructed to multiply and fill the earth. They thought that they had a better idea to congregate in one place and build a city so that we don’t separate.They built it in the land of Shinar.

Let me read to you from Genesis 11:1-4, 9 (ESV) Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, …“Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves…” Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. See, the Lord didn’t allow them to build their own religion. They were going to get to heaven on their own effort . He didn’t allow them to congregate in one place because His word had told them to multiply and fill the earth. He recognized that their sin would be without limit if He allowed them to keep doing this and so He restrained it.

This first winged woman points to that old Babylon being connected to the future Babylon. This future Babylon will be similar to the old one. It will build its own world religion. It will try to congregate everybody together in a kind of a humanism, a new age religion that says that there is no sin, everything’s good and humanity is getting better. There would be a religion that would bring people together. There would be a world wide language of worldwide wide religion, a worldwide economy.

What is happening here is that there’s a season where there’s a “lid” on it. But then there’s a season coming where God will allow a house to be built for it and it to be put on a pedestal. I believe that’s the final 3.5 years of the 7 years of tribulation when the lawless one will be revealed and sin will be allowed to run its course for a short season. You can read about this in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 (ESV), the Apostle Paul is writing, 6 “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”

There’s a season coming when the Holy Spirit will be pulled back. I think that’s the season when the Church is raptured. I know not everyone sees it that way, but this is the way I interpret the scripture, that when the church is pulled away for a season, during the season of tribulation, that the Holy Spirit lives in the church. When that happens, sin will no longer be restrained, the “lid” will be removed and a house will be built for this false religion. This is the second coming of Jesus being referred to here.

Do you remember in the book of Genesis, where three men came to visit Abraham somewhere around his 100th year? One of them was the Angel of the Lord and he sent the other two away. As he started to leave, he said, “Shouldn’t I tell my friend Abraham what I’m about to do? I’m about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah.” And so, he turns to Abraham and says, “I’m about to judge Sodom and Gomorrah.” Abraham asks, in Genesis 18:23- 32, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[e] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” But when He got there, He found not even 10. He only preserved the life of Lot, who was the nephew of Abraham, and his two daughters. Sodom and Gomorrah was judged because of sin in the land , but if He could have found just 10, He would have restrained his judgment.

I want you to think about who we are as the church. We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world and the Holy Spirit lives in us. We have a restraining effect on the sin and our families in our land and our nation because we are living according to God’s word and according to His spirit living inside us. But, there’s a day coming, the word of God says, when that will be pulled away and sin will be allowed to run its course so that people see what it really looks like when man gets his own way. And then, Jesus will return. This is what I see as I look here and as I think about this. Are you ready? We already see the spirit of lawlessness at work. I believe we live in the last days. Are you ready for Jesus’ return? 3. God’s Son removes sin as our Priest and King.

Finally, we have vision number eight. We have to go to chapter six to get it. It’s a little longer because it has a good application word at the end. Let me read again: Zechariah 6:1-15 (ESV) 1 “Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, 3 the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my LORD?” 5 And the angel answered and said to me, “These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the LORD of all the earth. 6 The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country.” 7 When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. 8 Then he cried to me , “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.” 9 And the word of the LORD came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the LORD as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah. 15 “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.”

So now, we’re on the eighth of eight visions that took place in one night. In this vision, we see a vision of four chariots with four different colors of horses. We, also, see a repeat of the word of God concerning Joshua, the high priest. Let me show you an image here that might tie all eight visions together as we consider them. If you go all the way back to vision one, you’ll remember it had four horsemen in it of various colors. Now, we’ve got four chariots with horses of various colors. You can see the symmetry in the beauty of the literature as this is arranged by the Holy Spirit to the prophet Zechariah. You can see that God says, ‘If you will repent and return, I’ll clean up Joshua so he’s ready to serve.’ Down here, four and five are the centerpiece visions. This one’s about a real person called Joshua. This one’s about Zerubbabel , the son of David, who would have been king and how he’ll restart the temple worship and he’ll rebuild the temple. These last three visions are the ones we’ve been talking about today. We’ll talk about how God’s going to respond righteously to man’s sin and ultimately cleanse the humanity of sin. And so you can see that vision two and vision seven are similar. Vision three and vision six are similar and four and five are similar. It’s easy to miss that until you really drill down and think about them in comparison.

When you think about the four chariots, you can’t help but also think about the four horsemen of the apocalypse, found in the book of Revelation. As I keep telling you, before you study the book of Revelation, make sure you, first of all, have studied Daniel, Zechariah and Malachi. Make sure you’ve studied the Old Testament, so that you’ll understand the symbols of the book of Revelation.

These four chariots come out from between two mountains of bronze. Bronze is a metal that usually points to God’s judgment. Whenever John the revelator saw Jesus, in Revelation, chapter one, it says that His feet were like burnished bronze. In another place in Zechariah chapter 14, it says that the Messiah comes, that He’ll stand with one foot on Mount Zion and one foot on Mount Olive and that there will be a valley that will be caused because of His judgment. Certainly, bronze seems to refer to God’s judgment.

We see horses of red, black, white and dappled. A red horse would point to war and bloodshed. Black horses usually point to death, white to victory and triumph and dappled to plague, pandemic and judgment. We see these as they go out to the four winds, which I believe means the four directions of the compass: north, south, east and west. They’re not all named when they are sent. They line up before the Lord. I have a picture here; it says that they’re impatient and strong. You read that when the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go. So you just visualize these war horses that are like snorting and pawing the earth. They’re being held back by God until He releases them. Then, He finally says to go and they go forth. We know that the black ones go to the north, which I think is towards Babylon. The white one follows. I don’t know if that means they followed to the north or they just went in sequence. The dappled one went south, which might mean toward Egypt. The red one is not mentioned. It’s hard to make an argument from silence since they aren’t mentioned; they are held in reserve. Apparently, they are mentioned in the four horsemen of the apocalypse in the book of Revelation. However , all four are named, but there is silence with the red horse. We do see, though, the implication that the four went in the four directions of the compass. It says in verse eight that when he got the report back from the horse that went north, the black horse, that it put his spirit at rest. In other words, they accomplished what they were sent to do.

This might point to the fact that they went ahead and took care of old Babylon, which we know is the fact. That doesn’t mean they’ve taken care of the coming Babylon that we’ve spoken of in the previous vision.

Now, we get to a word here, in verses 9 to 15, might be considered the summary of the eight visions. The ultimate hope that’s given in having received the eight visions, he says to take from the exiles. He names them silver and gold. As I looked into the names that are listed here, I believe these names are names of men that have returned from Babylonian captivity and, like the Israelites who took gold and silver from the Egyptians. I think they took gold and silver from the Babylonians and these guys had some. God said to go knock on these doors. These men have set them apart to donate gold and silver to make the crown. He goes and does that and he’s instructed to make a crown.

Then, he has unusual instructions. It says in verse 11, “Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.” Now, you must understand that the office of high priest and the office of king throughout Israel’s history are separate. They’re not to be on one head. He was instructed to make this kingly crown, this royal crown and put it on the High priest’s head, Joshua. Joshua is Yeshua in Hebrew or Jesus in English, I want you to put it on his head.

This Is only going to be temporary, though, because he says, 12 “And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.” His name is the Branch (capital B) which is the name of the Messiah.

We’ve worked this out in previous weeks. This points to the coming Messiah. We see that Joshua is just the type. He gets the crown on his head just for a minute. This crown is actually for the Branch; this is for the Messiah that’s coming.

Verse 12, “… for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.” Verse 13, “It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ That’s not really to Joshua, the high priest. That’s through the coming Messiah. The role of high priest and the crown goes on the king’s head. It will sit on one Man; His name is Jesus. This is a future hope that’s being offered to Israel; there’s coming a Messiah who will combine both roles into one person and there will be peace between them both. In other words, both roles will be combined so there’s peace between both of these roles. They’ll be combined together. 14 “And the crown shall be in the temple of the LORD as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.” The crown shall be in the temple. Joshua doesn’t really get to wear it; he has it on his head for a minute, so that this prophecy can be told. The Branch will build the temple. He’ll combine these two roles. The crown shall be in the temple as a memorial to remind us that the Messiah’s coming; He’s going to combine both roles. That seems to be what we see here.

We see a repetition of the earlier names in verse 14 that we saw in verse nine; there’s a couple of names like Helem and Hen that seemed to be different. They might actually be just another way they were called, but it’s a reference to those who donated the gold and silver. We see here that there’s a Messiah coming and He’s going to combine both roles. One, He’s going to be the high priest who takes away our sin and handles our sin problem. He’s already done that; he already came 2000 years ago. Two, He’s going to come again, as the conquering king, and get rid of all evidence of the sin in humanity so that righteousness rules; that hasn’t happened yet, but that’s coming. We see this in the combination of the two crowns.

The difficulty that the first century Jews had was they didn’t see the two threads of prophecy as two times. They were trying to see them both together. That’s still the case in Israel today. They’re still looking for one that’s the conquering king; they missed the one Who’s already come as the Great High Priest.

Verse 15 , “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.” Those that are far off from God, I think, point to the Gentiles. I think that points to everybody outside of Israel; people that were far from God are going to be brought near and they will help build. What we have here is a picture of the church.

Look at Ephesians 2:19-21 (ESV) 19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” This is the temple that He will build that’s being prophesied here. He will build it and we are it and He’s the cornerstone. The apostles and the prophets are the foundation and we, each, are living stones in the house that the Lord Jesus is building. He’s building it now.

Are you one of them? Have you been brought in from far away from God to be placed in that unique place in the house of God that you are meant to inhabit? Verse 15 finishes like this, “And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.” Are you ready to obey the word of God? Do you want to keep trying life on your own, to try to build your own house or do you want to let the Lord build your house? The one who labors to build their own house labors in vain, but the one who lets the Lord build their house will be blessed. See the Lord, Jesus is the One doing it. We can’t handle our own sin problem.

This is God, explaining how He’s going to remove it, how He’s going to clean it out, how He’s going to reveal it and how He’s going to get rid of it. But for a season, it might not make sense to us. For a season, He’s going to let it increase so that we see the result of it and then He’s going to close it all down and clean it all up. We’re in that season right now, my friends, where we’re seeing the increase, but don’t be afraid. Jesus is coming again, just as surely as He came the first time, He will return. When He returns, He will not be wearing a crown of thorns on His head. He’ll be wearing a crown of gold and silver. His feet will be like burnished bronze and out of His mouth will come judgment, like a two edged sword. He’ll be riding on a white stallion, not a colt of a donkey. On His leg will be written, the words, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” He’s coming again. He’s coming again and when He comes, He’s going to deal with our sin problem, removing its curse, so that eternal life begins in the millennial reign of Jesus.

1 John 3:5 (ESV) “And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him.” As I opened up the sermon today, we are concerned, God, where are you? Don’t you see things are getting worse? He’s let us know that they will get worse. Jesus said in the last days, it will be as it was in the days of Noah, everyone would be like a law into his own self. He told us it was going to get worse before it gets better.

2 Peter 3:9-10 (ESV) 9 “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, andthen the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

He’s coming again. Are you ready? Do you know Him? These are the last of the eight visions that took place in one night in 520 BC, approximately on February the 15th. Zechariah saw these visions and he wrote them down. We studied them today. They still matter. They still speak to those that are willing to lean in by the spirit of God and hear them. Do you hear them?

Let’s pray. Lord Jesus, thank You for Your word. Thank You that it’s a living word. That it still enters into every house and it reveals our hearts. My friend, have you come in from afar today? Have you come in, far away from God, today? Did you get here on a thin thread? You barely made it, but you’re here. Even though these three visions may seem strange to your ears , you do feel something and the Holy Spirit is knocking on your heart’s door right now saying, ‘Come near. Jesus is speaking to you.’ Do you know Him? Do you have a relationship with the Father? You can have one right now, by praying with me. Prayer is just an expression of your faith. Pray with me, “Dear Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner. I need a Savior. I believe You died on the cross for my sins, You were raised from the grave, You live today and You’re coming again. Lord, I want to be ready. Forgive me of my sins and make me the person You want me to be. I want to be a child of God. I want You as my Savior and Lord.” Thank You, Lord, because everyone who prays, believing, will be saved. Maybe you’re here and you’ve already received Jesus. You’re a believer, you’re a follower, but you’ve been filled with fear with what you see on the news with all the war in the world, the pandemic, the economy and the disunity. It’s made you afraid.The word of God said this stuff would happen. What this shows us is that the clock is near midnight. We’re in the 11th hour. Oh Lord, help us to see the sense of urgency to share our faith with others, to be a witness and to get busy. “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Lord Jesus, I pray that now, over us. We pray in Your name, Amen.