God’s Refinement of the Nation

Transcript

GR 1020
07/31/1977
God’s Refinement of the Nation
Zechariah 13:1-14
Gil Rugh

We’re in the book of Zechariah this evening, and the 13th chapter. Zechariah 13, and if you’re keeping track, there are 14 chapters in the book of Zechariah. So, we’re nearing the conclusion of our study of this book. Encourage you, as I often do, as we near the end of a book, to take time sometime in the next week or two, to sit down and read through this book in one sitting. We’ve spread it out over a number of months but sit down and read through it from chapter 1 through chapter 14. You’ll be surprised how much will come back to mind. Give you a little better feel for the movement of the book as a whole.

Last week, we looked at chapter 12. Chapters 12 and 13 are a unit, and really go together. We have a chapter break, but the ideas conveyed, the message communicated, is one message. So, verse 1 of chapter 13 opens up, “In that day”. I believe this expression that I drew your attention to last week and told you that it would be a good thing to go through and underline that expression in chapters 12, 13 and 14, occurs, I believe 13 times in these chapters. We noted it’s a reference to the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ. Events surrounding the second coming. The tribulation upon Israel, immediately before the second coming of Christ. Then events surrounding the second coming itself and the establishing of the earthly kingdom.

We’re in the second burden of Isaiah. This message, it was emphasized in verse 1 of chapter 12, as coming from the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him. Then we saw something of the revelation concerning the judgments on Judah, that will be coming and the deliverance that the Messiah will bring. The nations will have come up and surrounded Jerusalem, we are at the days of Armageddon, the battle of Armageddon as we noted. At that time, God intervenes and supernaturally delivers Israel. At that point, there’s a turning, nationally, on the part of the Jews to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Thus verse 10, “I will pour out on the house of David”, in chapter 12:10, “On the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication. So, that they will look on Me, whom they have pierced.” We noted that “look on Me” or “Look unto Me”, same expression that was used of the brazen serpent in the book of Numbers. This is tied to Christ in John 3, that we must “look unto Christ, even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. And all that look unto the serpent were saved.” Israel will now look unto Christ. “The one that they had pierced, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son. They will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.” Then verses 11 - 14 develop that weeping and bitterness. Here we have the remorse and godly repentance of the nation Israel. As they change their mind about Jesus Christ. They recognize that indeed He was and is the Messiah. They are willing now, to have Him as their King. Fulfilment of what Paul says in Romans 11, “all Israel will be saved”, it doesn’t mean every individual Jew on the face of the earth. But nationally, the Jews will be saved. In other words, the great numbers of Jews will turn to Jesus Christ at this point. They we’ll have the second advent to earth of Christ Himself.

Verse 1 picks up the idea of verse 10. You have the mourning, then the development of the mourning. The pouring out of the Spirit of grace and of supplication. The Holy Spirit in view here and thus, in verse 1 of chapter 13, “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David, for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity. Here we have God’s provision for the cleansing of the nation. Provision based upon the finished work of Christ, upon which they are now willing to depend. We’re talking about songs that are memorized and familiar, very familiar song that we’ve often sung. There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. This verse formed a basis for that song. Although the fountain here, probably continuing the symbolism of the Old Testament, is a fountain of water. Why don’t you turn over to the book of Ezekial 36, and you’ll see the provision of the Spirit and also the provision of the water for cleansing tied together. Ezekiel 36, just keep thumbing forward a few books. Go through the book of Daniel and into the book of Ezekiel. In verse 22, pick up the idea here, the paragraph. Ezekiel 36:22, “Therefore, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, it is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went. And I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,’ declares the Lord God, ‘when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.” You note the reason that God must fulfill His promise and purposes for the nation Israel, he ties it to His basic character. Has nothing to do with Israel’s faithfulness. God acknowledges that Israel has been unfaithful. They’ve “profaned His name”, but because of the holiness of His name, He’ll vindicate Himself. Verse 24, “For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” That verse is parallel to Zechariah 13:1. The fountain there, is the symbol providing cleansing. Here, the sprinkling of clean water on, provides cleansing. Note verse 26, “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” Same thing he said in chapter 12 of Zechariah, verse 10, He’ll pour out the spirit of grace and supplication. The spirit of grace would be provided for Israel, the Holy Spirit, the result would be, their supplication, their turning to God. Here you have the change of heart as a result of the Spirit being placed within them.

So, the time period is exactly the same, and the events are the same. The provision of the Spirit for the nation Israel, and the provision of cleansing depicted by the application of the water. You could go back to Numbers 19, read the ordinance of the red heifer, where this was applied for the cleansing of blood, I mean, the water was applied for the cleansing of the nation from purification. So, this idea continues, has nothing to do with baptism. Only similarity, is both use water. But a lot of things use water, and they don’t have any connection at all. So, we’re not talking about baptism here. We’re talking about depicting a cleansing. The cleansing, of course, is based upon the finished work of Christ. Now Israel has turned to Christ, looked unto Him, believed upon Him, and thus is experiencing cleansing. That’s the national conversion of Israel, which is yet a future date.

Alright, now come back to Zechariah 13. I say it’s yet a future time, because again, some would see these promises fulfilled in the Church. But as you read them, I think you’ll agree that if you just take them as they are, you would get the idea that God is talking about the nation Israel. Those are the ones in view, they will experience this cleansing. Fantastic day that’s going to be. Imagine when Jesus Christ is present, and Israel has turned to Him as a nation, and there is cleansing for the nation. Something that the nation was unwilling to have 2000 years ago.

Now, surrounding that day, there are judgments. Surrounding the setting up of the kingdom of Jesus Christ on earth, there are judgments that have to take place. Seven years earlier, before the second coming of Christ to earth, we had the rapture of the church. At the rapture of the church, incidentally, there was an article in the newspaper today talking about bumper stickers and made reference to the Rapture of the Church; they quite accurately identified what the Rapture of the Church really is, which was encouraging to see that they had it straight. I don’t think they believed it, but they had it straight. It’s the time when all believers in Jesus Christ, will be bodily removed from the earth, only unbelievers will be left. So, immediately following the Rapture of the Church, there will not be a saved person on the face of the earth. Now, people will be saved during those seven-years. Now, when we get to the end of the seven-years, Jesus Christ will bodily return to earth to set up His kingdom. But before He sets up the kingdom, He sets up a throne of judgment. At this judgment, every unbeliever still alive, will be executed. So that when we go into the earthly kingdom, only believers go into the earthly kingdom. So, we’ll have a reverse situation. Seven years earlier, there hadn’t been a believer left on the face of the earth. When these judgments are over, there won’t be an unbeliever left of the face of the earth. Now during the millennium, there will be children born. Many of those children will choose not to believe in Jesus Christ. They will comprise that element that will rebel against Christ at the end of the millennium.

Alright, so we come to verse 2, “It will come about in that day, declares the Lord of hosts.” Still talking about that time surrounding His second coming. Immediately before and immediately after the second coming, “that day”, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.” The names of idols are going to be removed. The book of Hosea says, even to the extent that the name Baal, will not even be used. That was a name that could be used for husband. But the name Ishee, another name for husband, will be used, because even the name associated with the idols will be abolished. They won’t even use that name as a synonym for husband, because it has an unsavory connection with idols.
They’ll be cut off. “And I will remove the prophets and the unclean spirits from the land.” I think important here, the connection. The prophets, of course, referring to the false prophets, that Jesus said would be so plentiful, Matthew 24:24, related passages. Talking about the abundance of false prophets that will be prevalent during the tribulation period. They will be cut off at this point. They will be removed. Another way of saying, they will be executed.

Now, note connected with them, “the unclean spirit from the land”. This verse tells us clearly, that demons will not be functioning during the tribulation. It ties very directly to Revelation 20. Why don’t you just flip over there quickly? Revelation 20, last book in your New Testament. Almost to the end of that book, the 20th chapter. Chapter 19 of Revelation depicts the second coming of Christ. So, talking about the same time period as Zechariah. In chapter 20 of Revelation, Christ has come. In verse 1, “And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan”, in case there’s any confusion on identifying him. He’s the dragon, he’s the serpent, he’s the devil, he’s Satan. And he is bound for a thousand years. Now, Zechariah makes clear, that the demons, who have followed Satan, fallen angels, will be bound with him as well. False prophets and unclean spirits are removed. So, for the thousand years of Christ’s reign, neither Satan nor his demons will be around to influence man and encourage rebellion against Jesus Christ. So, a key verse. That is the only verse in all the bible, in Zechariah 13:2, that says the demons will be bound. Now, we could surmise it from Revelation 20, since the leader of the demons, Satan, is bound. But Zechariah 13:2 makes clear that the demons also are removed from functioning on the earth, during that thousand-year period.

Another interesting thing here, is the connection between the prophets and the unclean spirits, they go together. We have had much discussion about demonology in our day. Many books written about demons. Some of them good, and some of them not so good and some of them just rank. But the bible is clear, that false teachers are motivated by unclean spirits. That has not changed. The activity of demons is just as prevalent in the United States as it is anywhere in the world. Particularly in connection with false religious leaders. So, it comes, that when the false prophets are removed, those that motivated the false prophets are removed as well.

An interesting account in the book of Kings. 1 Kings, just one of those glimpses as you get into the demon world. Go back to 1 Kings 22, and the bible doesn’t spend much time telling us about the spirit world. But periodically, it gives us glimpse. The book of Daneil gives us glimpse into the spirit world, that tell us that worldly nations have demonic spirits who oversee their activities. That accounts for some of the activities that goes on among the nations. Well, in 1 Kings 22, we have an account here, and the account has to do with a godly king named Jehoshaphat; and an ungodly king that Jehoshaphat had no business being associated with; the ungodly king or the godless king, Ahab. Now, we’re going through the account. Jehoshaphat has joined himself, because he’s really with his father-in-law here; Jehoshaphat is the king of Judah, he’s aligning himself with the king of Israel. They call the prophets. Down through verse 12, they call the prophets to decide whether they should go to battle at Ramoth-gilead. Verse 5, “Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel”, Jehoshaphat again, is a godly king, “’Please inquire first for the word of the Lord’.” Verse 6, “Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, ‘Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?’ They said, ‘Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king’.” But you know, Jehoshaphat is uncomfortable with these ungodly prophets that Ahab has assembled. So, he says, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here?” in verse 7. Now note how Ahab responds, something about the character of the unregenerate man. “And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil’.” Now, isn’t that like so many people today? There are certain bible believing preachers that they don’t like, because they always speak about their sin, and they don’t want to hear that. They are always looking for prophets who will tell them good. We won’t get on a sidetrack about that right now. So, he gives them the name, Micaiah. So, they go get Micaiah, and the officer that gets Micaiah, gives a word to Micaiah in verse 13, “And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, ‘Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them and speak favorably.’ But Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me, that I will speak.’ When he came to the king, [verse 15] the king said to him, ‘Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?’ and he answered him, ‘Go up and succeed, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king’.” That’s what you wanted to hear. Now you say, well wait a minute, he said he’d say what the Lord said. Well obviously, the way Micaiah says it, Ahab is well aware that Micaiah is being sarcastic. Because in verse 16, “Then king said to him, ‘How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord’?”
Now, isn’t it interesting here, that Ahab doesn’t want to hear what Micaiah says, and yet he knows that Micaiah’s not telling him the truth, when he says everything that the other prophets have said. So, Micaiah speaks, and this is where you get insight into the spirit world. Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said ‘These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?’ Micaiah said, ‘Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left.’ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ The Lord said to him, “How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ The He [God] said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail, God and do so.’ Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”

Interesting, that scene reminds you of the book of Job and the opening chapters. Where Job came to present himself before the Lord. Now, here you have the demonic spirits, the fallen angels, presenting themselves before the Lord. You note here, how they are given permission of God, to go out and carry out their evil plans. Lying, deceitfulness, but in accord with God’s purposes for His people. So, here you see the unclean spirits motivate these false prophets. These false prophets had supernatural revelation and insight. Problem is, it came from the wrong area of the supernatural. It came from the demonic spirit world.

Then you go on, and the account is interesting. I’ve said before, I don’t’ like to get off the track on these, because I always go so long. But Zedekiah comes up, and he hits Micaiah in verse 24 and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” He doesn’t have any idea that he’s a false prophet. Even though he is rebelling against the word of the Lord in his life. He goes on to speak of him, then the king still goes up. Ahab and Jehoshaphat, they wanted to hear what God had to say. They’ve heard what God had to say, now you know what they do? They go out and did what they wanted to do anyway. Why did they go through all this trouble? They’d already made up their mind what they were going to do. Did you ever do that? Did you ever make up your mind, what you were going to do, but you wanted to sanctify it, so you prayed about it? But it wouldn’t have mattered what God said, you’d already made up your mind what you were going to do. That’s what Ahab and Jehoshaphat do. Ahab dies. He thought he had a clever plan. He said, Jehoshaphat, you dress up like a king, and I’ll just dress up like a warrior. Because Ahab knew that the enemy was out to kill him. So, the enemy goes and chases Jehoshaphat. But you know what happened? Just by “chance”, somebody shot an arrow and hit Ahab. Just by “chance”. No chance to it at all, Micaiah said that was going to happen.

Ok, enough on that, we won’t pursue that anymore. Come back to Zechariah, so that I can remind myself why we went there in the first place. Zechariah 13:2, the spirits that are motivating the false prophets, we talked about this in 1 Corinthians 10, where false worship is the worship of demons. John’s first Epistle exhorts us to “try the spirits”. Paul wrote to Timothy and warned him that demonic spirits would be at work in the last days. That’s why it’s such a serious matter for a believer to be associated with false worship, and with unbelievers. Jehoshaphat was rebuked by the Lord. You know, a prophet met Jehoshaphat after that battle, and says, what are you aligning yourself, with the enemies of the Lord for? Would you bring the wrath of God upon your head? Jehoshaphat, what right did you have to make a link with Ahab? So, a warning.

But they will all be cut off, verse 2, so the prophets will be bodily executed. The demons are bound with Satan for a thousand years. Alright, verse 3, “And it will come about that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsely in the name of the Lord’; and his father and mother who gave birth to him will pierce him through when he prophesies.” You note how serious it’s going to be. There will be no false prophets tolerated. There will be no need for prophecy with Jesus Christ personally present. There won’t be no need for teachers, in effect, because all the world will be covered with the knowledge of Jesus Christ. When you have a prophet stand up to claim a vision, his own parents will execute him. Because it will not be tolerated. Remember, that Psalm 2 says, that Jesus Christ is going to rule with a rod of iron. There will be no rebellion tolerated in the millennium. Any rebellion will result in immediate execution.

You see here the allegiance even the parents is to Jesus Christ, that supersedes human allegiances. They are loyal to Jesus Christ. They execute even their own son, if he would dare to prophecy as a false prophet. “Also, it will come about in that day that the prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not put on a hairy robe in order to deceive.” A hairy robe was the robe of the prophet. In other words, they won’t disguise themselves as prophets and claim visions. They will be afraid to do that during this period of time.

Now, we come here to a time that is a little bit difficult to distinguish. Somewhere along here, by the time get to verse 7, we come to a messianic passage. Now, the question is, does it begin to talk about Jesus Christ in verse 5? In verse 6? Or verse 7? I made my decision, then I ran to the commentaries to find out who agreed with me. And lo and behold, I couldn’t find anybody. So, I decided I must be wrong. No, I decided they were all wrong. And I did find one this afternoon. The Lord encouraged me. H.A. Ironside, makes the break between verses 4 and 5. I think that’s where the break ought to be. But, in effect, Jesus Christ inserts Himself in the picture here. We talked about prophets, “I am not a prophet; I am a tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth.” Now, this could continue the denial of a false prophet of verse 4, they will be ashamed of their vision, they won’t put on a hairy robe, and they’ll deny any association with a prophetic office. Because they knew the consequences. I think that’s consistent, however, I think that it probably better refers to Jesus Christ. The last statement “a man sold me as a slave in my youth”, does tie very clearly to chapter 11:12, where the 30 shekels of silver, remember, was the price of a slave who had been gored. It would have referred to the early part of the ministry of Christ. Here He is at His second coming, but at least 2000 years earlier, He had been sold as a slave. So, he says here, I’m not a prophet, I’m a tiller of the ground. That same kind of expression had been used by Amos, over in Amos 7. Just flip forward a few books to the book of Amos. Just get to the book of Joel and the book of Amos is the next book after Joel. Amos 7, Amos was a prophet of God. If Jesus Christ was and is a prophet, no doubt about that. But Amos was a prophet as well. But in verse 14 of Amos 7, “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock and the Lord said to me, Go prophesy to My people Israel’.” So, in effect here, the denial in Zechariah 13, “I am not a prophet; I am tiller of the ground, for a man sold me as a slave in my youth”. In other words, picturing what happened to Christ at His first coming. I was rejected as a prophet in Israel, I was sold as a slave, and thus a common laborer. But in effect, that selling as a slave, then leads into verse 6, “And they will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms’?” Where you have it in the margins, “between your hands”, and can be literally translated, “In your hands”. It’s my understanding, that this is referring to Jesus Christ Himself. It amazes me, why so many commentators want to reject this as referring to Christ, when obviously, the context ties to what Zechariah said about Christ, as being sold as a slave. The wounds in His hands and the word are not “arms”, it’s the word “hands”; and can be, literally translated “these wounds in your hands.” I believe the King James had that. Why they moved away from it, I don’t know.

“Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” Again, clearly pointing to Jesus Christ. As they look at Him, saying I was sold as a slave for 30 pieces of silver, that’s the value that the nation placed on Him. Now, they look at him and say, where did you get these wounds in your hands? “I was wounded in the house of my friends”, or literally, in the house of those who love me. Now, that’s a true characterization of the nation Israel. Because even though the nation rejected Him, it was the nation that loved Him. That is the nation of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all the way down to John the Baptist, those who did love Him. His apostles came out of the nation Israel. He was wounded in the house of those who loved Him, of the nation that He came to be King of. So, it’s an apt description of Jesus Christ. It picks up the idea from verse 10 of chapter 12, “they look on Me [Him] whom they have pierced.” They are weeping over Him. Now he says, I’m not a prophet, I was sold as a slave. Picks up the immediate context and also the context of chapter 12:10. Then follows it through, with again, the wounds that He received at the hands of those who hated Him, even though it was in the house of Israel; the house of those who loved Him.

Verse 7 now, picks up, that its God who is responsible, ultimately for this, it was God’s plan. Men are held responsible for their activity, but it was God’s purposes to provide salvation through the death of His Son. So, God speaks and says, “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate,” declares the Lord of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones.” No doubt that we are talking about Jesus Christ here, because in Matthew 26:31, Jesus refers this prophecy to Himself directly. Just flip over to Matthew 26:31, if you can quickly. Matthew 26:31, after the last supper, they sang a hymn, and they went out to the mount of Olives. “Then Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered’.” Now, that is the reference to Zechariah 13:7. So, He is the Shepherd in view, that is being smitten by the sword. “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd”, and not depicting He’ll die by being killed by a sword. But the sword, being the evidence of an instrument of execution or judgment. Like Romans 13 talks about, the powers that be, do not bear the sword in vain, denoting their power to carry out what we call “capital punishment”.

So, you come back to Zechariah 13:7 then. What we do is go back to when He was sold as a slave, and when He received the wounds in His hands. An interesting statement here. “Awake O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the man, My Associate.” That statement “My Associate”, that word, is a clear statement of the deity of Jesus Christ. Could be said, “The man, My Equal”. “The man, My Fellow.” It denotes an equality in relationship. So, here you have a clear statement of the deity of Jesus Christ. That the Lord of hosts, says the sword will be raised against the One who is His Associate, who is His Fellow, who is His equal. He shares in the things that He shares in. In effect, being deity Himself. The Shepherd will be smitten, the sheep will be scattered. “And I will turn My hand against the little ones.” I take it here, the Shepherd is killed, the sheep are scattered, and the entire nation is dispersed form this point. They are all scattered. The hand of God has been against them since that point. Now to destroy them, but to judge them and punish them. By 70 A.D. with the activity of the Romans, the Jews are dispersed throughout the world, and have not been privileged to come back as a nation, until our own generation.

“And it will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, “That two parts of it will be cut off and perish; but the third will be left in it.” You’ll note, from verse 7 to verse 8, we flow over a 2000-year period. We flow from the first coming of Christ, to events surrounding the second coming. Because the Old Testament prophet never considers the period of time in which we live, the church age. But there’s a 2000-year gap between the scattering of the sheep, and then what goes on in verse 8? Verse 8 carries us to the events of the great tribulation. Immediately preceding the second coming of Christ. “And it will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord”, two parts in it, in other words, two thirds of the Jews, living in Israel, will be cut off and perish. “But one third will be left in it. And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. [Then] They will call on My name, and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God’.”

So, you note here, how we’ve had an overview then, from verse 5, sold as a slave, 30 pieces of silver, the wounds that He received in His hands, the sword raised against Him. Giving explanation, verses, 5 and 6, how it was part of God’s plan in providing redemption, the result in scattering of Israel. Then bringing Israel through the refining process of the tribulation. The tribulation does two things. It pours out God’s wrath and judgment on an unbelieving world; and it is the refining process to bring Israel to the point, that we looked at last week in verse 10, where they will mourn over Jesus Christ. They will repent and turn to Him. Look unto Him as their Messiah.

Now, it is clear here, I take it, that we’re talking about the Jews in the land. It tells how great the slaughter is going to be in those days. We said all Israel will be saved. The bulk of Jews alive at the second coming. But in Palestine alone, two-thirds of the Jews will have died by that time. Many of them will have died as martyrs and many will have died as unbelievers. Because the persecution against the Jews, has nothing to do with their faith in Christ. It has to do with the fact that they are God’s chosen people and Satan is unalterable opposed to Israel. Ever understand why the Jews have been persecuted so much over the centuries? It’s because God chose them, back with Abraham. As soon as God chose them, that made them the special objects of Satan’s hatred. Just like when God chose you and called you to Himself. You became the special object of Satan’s hatred. He hates you for more than he hates an unbeliever. An unbeliever belongs to him, and you do not.

Two-thirds will be cut off and perish. Now, we’ll see the details of this when we get to chapter 14. Chapter 14 summarizes it all. Some of the greatest prophecy that we have in all the bible surrounding the second coming of Christ to earth. The third part comes through the fire. I will “refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.” Reminds you of the statement of Job, that when he comes through the fire, he’ll be refined and tested as gold. That’s going to be a terrible time. But for one-third of the nation, living in the land of Palestine, it will be just what was necessary to bring them to the point of being the people that God wants them to be. “They will call on My name, and I will answer them.” Saying basically the same thing as chapter 12:10 says. They’ll turn to Him, they’ll look unto Him, they’ll call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Saying in effect, that they are believing on Him. “And I [God] will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ they will say, ‘The Lord is my God’.”

There will be no national salvation for Israel in our day. That does not mean that individual Jews will not be saved. But they will be saved, to become part of the church. There is no identity for them as a separate group. But at a future time, there will be.

Just look at the book of Hosea, because of the expression here, “They are My people.” The book of Hosea, it’s back after the book of Daniel. Hosea 1, you remember the children of Hosea? The whole family of Hosea was a picture of God’s relationship with Israel. Hosea married a harlot. A wife who was unfaithful to him and played the part of a prostitute. God says, that’s what Israel has done with Me. They were the wife of Mine, and they’ve been unfaithful in pursuing false religions. So, God’s judgment comes, and in verse 6, the first of the children is named “Lo-ruhamah”, and the name has to do with no compassion. No compassion. The reason, “for I will not have compassion on” Judah any longer. Then, in verse 8, she gives birth to a son, and the son is named “Lo-ammi.” Lo-ammi means, not My people. The reason there is, they will not be My people. Yet, verse 10, you’ll note the immediate promise, “Yet the number of the sons of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it will come about that, I the place where it is said to them, ‘You are not My people.’ It will be said to them ‘You are the sons of the living God’.” That is fulfilled with what Zechariah is talking about. Those who it is said to, “You are not My people”, will one day again be identified as My people. So that the day in which we live, we say, they are not His people. They are not His people. That does not mean His purposes with them are over. But the day in which we live, Israel has been removed from the place of God’s special favor. That’s the subject of Romans 11. We the Gentiles, have been grafted into the place of favor. So, we are the people of God today. We who comprise the church, believers in Jesus Christ. But there is coming a day, when the nation Israel, will again be the people of God. That will be after the Rapture, when you and I have been joined to Him in the marriage of the Lamb. Then Israel, in the millennium will function again, as the people of God. They’ll acknowledge the Lord is their God as well.

Again, you appreciate the prophetic scope that God has laid out for us in the Word. From beginning to end, every detail falls into place. Nothing ever frustrates His plan. That’s encouraging for me as well. Nothing will frustrate His plan for me. I’m part of that plan. It’s worked out to perfection. I can enjoy seeing it at work in my own life, in the lives of others, and even in the nation Israel. Anticipate the time when Jesus Christ will come and be accepted by them, as the Messiah that He is.

Let’s pray together. Father, we do thank You, for how clearly Your word speaks. Father, we thank You, that we are privileged to belong to You today. That in grace, You’ve provided salvation, through the death of Your Son. And even the awesome tragedy of men, crucifying the eternal Son of God, was according to your gracious plan. For in that death, salvation was made available to all who would believe. Father, we thank You, for Your grace in dealing with the nation Israel. That You’ve not discarded them forever. That there is coming a day, when they again will be Your people, and You will be their God. Father, we pray that we might be faithful to You. That we might live lives that indicate that indeed, we are the people of God. That we are functioning in a personal relationship with You. Father, pray that even the study of prophecy, might encourage our hearts. Might excite us with the fact that we belong to a God who has all things under control. Working every detail of the events of this world according to His perfect plan. We thank You for the privilege of being part of that plan, in redemption. In Jesus name. Amen