The Minor Profits

[0:00] We have scarcely gotten underway with the prophecy of Jeremiah. He is the next to the last that we will be considering in our study of the minor prophets. We have yet, well, actually we've got Haggai to go because we're taking them not in their canonical order, but in their chronological order.

[0:21] And actually Haggai and Zechariah were contemporaries. And in all likelihood, they certainly knew each other. And there is some lap over in their prophecies.

[0:33] But for the most part, Zechariah is really zeroing in on the future, things to come. And we'll be looking at that. It will, of course, require us to go into Daniel and into the book of the Revelation as well to get a fuller picture from what Zechariah is describing.

[0:50] But that will be a little later on. Zechariah's book is one that is just filled with visions. Visions and prophecies.

[1:03] Visions are actually different from dreams. Dreams occur while you're sleeping. But visions.

[1:14] Visions are experienced when one is wide awake. Such as Peter saw the vision of the sheet let down from heaven in Acts chapter 10.

[1:26] So there is a distinction between that. And we're going to be looking at Zechariah's visions. And the vision was provided much as it was with Peter, only much earlier chronologically.

[1:40] And the individual falls into a trance-like situation and sees this vision. Probably the best way that we can describe it is kind of like looking at a giant movie screen while you're wide awake and seeing this vision.

[1:59] And sometimes God worked that way. And Zechariah is one of the principal examples of that. And I have an excellent commentary that has been of help to me.

[2:11] It was written by a Jewish scholar who came to faith in the Lord Jesus as his Savior. And his name is David Barron, B-A-R-R-O-N. And he has written a commentary called The Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah.

[2:26] And I found it to be very profitable. So if we may, let us look at the first chapter of Zechariah. We had a little bit of an interruption, but we'll return to it. And I just want to read the first six verses because we don't get into the new content until down to verse 7.

[2:43] But I will give you a heads up. And that is, I want you to look for, as we move through the text, the word Lord, spelled with small letters.

[2:56] And then the word Lord with capital letters, which means something entirely different. And then the phrase Lord of hosts.

[3:08] And to just give you a little bit of a heads up, my understanding of the text here, which is, of course, subject to error, as are all of our understandings.

[3:22] But I think what we are talking about is the Lord of hosts is a reference to God the Father. The servant of the Lord, which is also mentioned in the chapter, is reference to Christ.

[3:39] And the Lord, just small letters, L-O-R-D, is referred to as the Lord or a Lord of the messenger.

[3:50] And these, all three, appear in this very first chapter. And if you do not have a translation that makes a distinction between them and the spelling, you would not know that even though the words are L-O-R-D in the English, in the Hebrew they're different.

[4:09] In the Hebrew, one is, well, we would translate it probably, how would you pronounce J-V-H-V?

[4:25] What is that lacking? It is lacking of vowels. Vows. So we put the vowels in where we think they belong or should belong, and it comes out, the J-V-H-V comes out Jehovah.

[4:43] And then there is a capital L, but a small O-R-D that in the Hebrew is Adonai. A-D-O-N-A-I. Adonai.

[4:55] And then there is Lord that is all small letters, and when that is used, it is simply a synonym for a human master or a human superior.

[5:09] In the same way that Sarah called Abraham Lord, but it has nothing to do with deity, it's just recognizing his position.

[5:21] So let us begin, if we may, with Zechariah, and I'm going to skip the first six verses. Well, I'll read them, but I'm going to reserve comment on them, because we have looked at them before.

[5:31] In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Barakai, the son of Iddo, saying, The Lord, note the spelling, was very angry with your fathers.

[5:46] Now he's talking about their forefathers. And the reason for the anger was the sin, the rebellion, and the idolatry that they were engaged in for years, that the prophets, Jeremiah for one, warned them against, and they did not heed his warning, and God brought the Babylonians against them, and destroyed the city, and carried them off into Babylon.

[6:13] And that's what he's talking about here, when he says, The Lord was very angry with your fathers. There were previous generations, And this is, by the way, 70 years later.

[6:26] Because he's talking about the time of judgment and captivity, and remind yourself, if you will, that the Babylonian captivity is going to transpire over a period of 70 years, and when the Jews return from Babylon, only about 40,000 or 50,000 will return.

[6:50] Some of them are unable to return, because they grew older while they were in Babylon, and they were unable to make the trip, so they stayed there. Others had started businesses, and had situated and stabilized themselves in Babylon, and they remained.

[7:06] But there were about 45,000 to 50,000 that returned, and they are going to be under Zerubbabel, who will be the new governor, and Nehemiah, who will be in charge of building the wall.

[7:19] And this is all under Cyrus the Persian, or Darius the Mede, that they are allowing that, because the Babylonians have been disposed of this by this time, so we've got new people here. The Lord was very angry with your fathers.

[7:31] Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts. There's that phrase, Lord of hosts. Return to me, declares the Lord of hosts, that I may return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

[7:43] And I've got to stop here, just to inject this. We dealt with this concept of the return, return spiritually, return in the faith, return in obedience.

[7:56] That all has to do with repentance. We spent some time on what repentance means, and what it doesn't mean. Are we square with that? Okay? Remember, that under the old dispensation, that John the Baptist preached, repent for the kingdom of heaven.

[8:14] But he never explained what he meant, by repent. And the reason he didn't explain it, was because everybody knew. Didn't need any explanation. But today, when we proclaim the gospel, we do not tell people, repent, because they probably wouldn't even know, what you mean by that, unless they think of penance.

[8:38] But, you cannot, come to faith, in Christ, without repenting. It is impossible. So, you do not have to do it, consciously, but you do it, unconsciously, because, whenever someone, who is unsaved, hears the gospel, for the first time, understands it, Christ died for their sins, this is new information to them, that they did not know before.

[9:08] And when they hear that information, they process it, they reach a conclusion, and if they reach the conclusion, that, they have been wrong, all along, in what they believed.

[9:22] Because, they thought, being a nice person, and going to church, would get them to heaven. now, they hear this gospel, about the substitutionary death, of Christ, for their sins, and it conflicts, with what they believed, previously, and they will either, refuse, to change their mind, and stay, with what they've always believed, because they're comfortable, with that, or, they will say, boy, I've been wrong, about this, I need to make a change, I need to change my mind, from my good deeds, and good intentions, and come to the position, where I receive Christ, as my Savior, and sin bearer.

[10:06] When you do that, even though the word, may not be involved at all, you have repented, because the word means, change, of mind, metanoia, through the mind, means to change the mind, so, when I came to faith in Christ, back in 1956, that's exactly what I did, but if somebody, would have asked me, well Mark, have you repented, I would say, what's that, I don't know what that, but I did, I did when I heard the gospel, I changed my mind, about what I believed, and it was just, kind of like an automatic thing, so what I'm saying is, you cannot come to faith in Christ, without repenting, because, if you are not in Christ, you are already, in some other mode of belief, or idea, and then when you hear the gospel, you've got to make a change, that, is repentance, and by the way, let me inject this, guys, you never, outgrow your need, for repentance, repentance, is it just for sinners, you repent, from anything, that you discover, to be wrong, or in error, and you change your mind, and this is something, we do all the time, do all the time, guy goes downtown, he goes to the, car dealer, and, and he looks at the new,

[11:29] Chevy's out, and he says, I'm thinking about, getting one of those, and then, he pretty much, makes up his mind, he goes home, and he tells his wife, that I'm going to, I'm going to buy a new Chevy, and then, somebody says, well have you seen the Ford yet, well no, I haven't seen, well you ought to take a look, at the Ford, so guy goes, and he looks at the Ford, and he says, you know, I was going to buy a Chevy, I was going to buy a Chevy, but I changed my mind, now he won't use the word repent, because we tend to think, that's got something to do with religion, but it's a much broader word than that, repentance simply means, you change your mind, about anything, and it always has to do, with moving from, what you previously believed, to what you changed your mind to, so it doesn't necessarily have, any religious connotation, at all, it's a very practical word, so let us move on, this is what he's talking about, do not be like your fathers, verse 4, to whom the former prophets, proclaim saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, return now from your evil ways, and from your evil deeds, which again, implies the presence, of volition,

[12:42] God never calls anyone, to anything, without their being able, to comply, God is not an unreasonable taskmaster, he never asks us to do anything, that is beyond our ability to do, and repent, is one of them, return, that's a volitional act, that is an act of the will, return now from your evil ways, and from your evil deeds, but, they did not listen, or give heed to me, declares the Lord, so what else is new, and as a result, what happened, 70 years, captivity in Babylon, that was the penalty, they did not listen, your fathers, where are they, well, they're gone, they're gone, they've passed on, and the prophets, do they live forever, no, even the men of God, come to an end of their life, and they're gone too, but did not my words, and my statutes, which I commanded, my servants, the prophets, overtake your fathers, then they repented, and said, as the Lord of hosts purpose, to do to us, in accordance with our ways, and our deeds, so he has dealt with us, in other words, what God told us, would befall us, if we continued, in our rebellion, and unbelief, is exactly what happened, just like the Lord said, so, let us move on then, the 24th day, of the 11th month, and this is the way, that the Hebrews, always calculate time, you will never see, you will never see, in the Bible, our day of the week,

[14:42] Monday, or Wednesday, or Sunday, or Friday, you never see that, because in the first place, all of those, weekday names, are named after, pagan deities, so in the scripture, it gives the month, and of course, it's the Jewish month, and they always give, the number of the day, of the month, like we have here, the 24th day, of the 11th month, which is the month, Shabbat, in the second year, of Darius, the word of the Lord, came to Zechariah, the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows, and I just, want to remind you, that there are, 28 different, Zechariah's, in the Bible, so you've got to, understand, which Zechariah, you're talking, we're talking about, Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the prophet, so there are, 27 other Zechariahs, not to be confused, with this Zechariah,

[15:44] I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding, on a red horse, and he was standing, among the myrtle trees, which were in, the ravine, now the ravine, is a depression, it is a low area, and these myrtle trees, are, comparatively speaking, we would probably, call them, scrub trees, they are not, mighty oaks, they are not cedars, they are not, majestic trees, that reach to the sky, these are, lower type trees, and probably, the best term, that I could use, is like a scrub tree, like you might even think, of a scrub maple, or something like that, it's not a very, a very sought after tree, or a very desirable tree, just a myrtle tree, and, as the text goes on, they are in the ravine, with red, sorrel, and white horses, behind him, and then I said, my lord, and look at how the word, is used, look at how it's spelled, it is not a word, that is assigned, to deity, it is a word, that is assigned, to a lesser being, what are these, and the angel, who was speaking with me, said to me,

[17:18] I will show you, what these are, and the man, who was standing, among the myrtle trees, answered and said, these are those, whom the lord, has sent, to patrol the earth, so they answered, the angel, of the lord, who was standing, among the myrtle trees, now I believe, that the text, will bear this out, I think, that this angel, of the lord, is none other, than what we would, refer to, as a Christophany, this is a, pre-incarnate, appearance, of the lord, Jesus, now he is not, going to be born, and be, in flesh, incarnated, until, Bethlehem, when the father, will send the son, and the son, will be, actually, the seed, the divine seed, will be, embedded, in the womb, of the virgin Mary, and she will provide, his humanity, and the father, will provide, his deity, and this person, will be, the theanthropic, individual, the god man, only person, ever to exist, of this composition, utterly, totally unique, he is Emmanuel,

[18:44] God with us, God in the flesh, in the person, of Christ, but he has, an existence, that is eternal, the son, well in order, for the father, to be a father, there has to be, a child, and Jesus, is the son, of God, he is the eternal son, and we got a problem, with this, because, we see, lesser beings here, father, son, et cetera, and, well, let me just stop here, and inject something, that's, well, it's, it's a mind blowing concept, but guys, I am well familiar, over the last 50 years, of the, arguing, and wrangling, that has gone on, even among Christians, regarding, the nature, and character, of God, father, son, holy spirit, there are not, three gods, there's one God, subsisting, in three persons, our immediate response is, well, how can that be, that doesn't make, any sense, well, of course it doesn't, it doesn't make, any sense to us, but I want you to keep, this thought in mind, the only thing, we know, about the almighty, is what he has been, pleased to reveal, about himself, we would not know, anything, about God, the creator, and sustainer, of the universe, we would not know, anything about him, if it were not, for the fact, that he is, the self, disclosing,

[20:29] God, we know, on the basis, of what he has revealed, about himself, now let me ask you, this question, do you think, for one moment, that God has revealed, to us, all that he is, of course not, would never be able, to contain it anyway, what we know, about the character, the nature, and the essence, of God, is limited, to what he has been, pleased to reveal, there is so much, more about him, after all, we are talking about, an infinite being, we are talking about, a being, without limitations, that's completely, over our head, we don't know, really what we are, talking about, and you know, I think this is, one reason, why the Lord, told Moses, when he said, he wanted to see him, he wanted to see him, face to face, and the Lord, told Moses, you can't do that,

[21:30] Moses, you, you would not, be able to survive, the experience, I'll put you, in the cleft of the rock, and I will pass by, and you can see, my backside, but you cannot, look upon my face, for no man, could look upon my face, and survive, or live, and that's just, one small indication, of the distinction, and the enormous distance, between humanity, and deity, and God accommodated, Moses that way, so when Christ, appeared, in the flesh, he was, the visible, representation, of the father, so much so, that he made, an issue of it, and said, he that has seen me, has seen the father, we are of the same, essence, character, and nature, how can that be, well it can't be, in human terms, but please, let's not assign, all that God is, to human terms,

[22:33] John, in verse 11, and the angels, the angel of the Lord, is put among the, the Lord, and said, we, is that we, because of the plurality, of the Trinity, well it certainly, is a plural pronoun, and all I can say, is that there are, plural individuals, involved here, when he says, we, have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth, is peaceful and quiet, relationship, so, all I know, is there is a plurality, of beings here, and before we get off, this angel of the Lord, let's, let's come back, keep your place here, in Zechariah, and let's come back, quickly to, Genesis chapter 16, a passage, I'm sure you're, familiar with, Genesis chapter 16, this is a, fabulous passage, really, this has to do, with, Hagar, having been sent out, from the presence, of Abraham, and Sarah, and she's, later going to have, the child, you know, that, that, that will, be Ishmael, and that's going to, present a number of problems, for Israel, but, in verse 7, we have, the angel of the Lord, found her, by a spring of water, and, in the Old Testament, and New, every time the word, angel is used, probably the best,

[23:58] English translation, would be, a messenger, messenger, because, the angels, are, messengers, more than they are, anything, angel was a messenger, to Zacharias, explaining the birth, of John the Baptist, and angel was a messenger, to Mary, giving her, the information, about bearing the Lord, so we find, angel messengers, many, many times, and they are, kind of like, a go between, between deity, and humanity, God is pleased, to use, angelic, informers, and, and angels, by the way, angels, seem to have, completely, passed off, the scene, of the earth, after the gospel period, when you get, into, the gospel, of the grace of God, and the church age, we see, very little, almost zero, activity, of angelic beings, there are, some people, that make some claims, but they can't be verified, and we wonder about that, but the point,

[25:04] I want to make is, once the church, is removed, and the time, of tribulation, gets underway, angelic, activity, is going, to be, bustling, and it's really, going to be, very dramatic, Dave, did you have a comment, question?

[25:20] Were angels, invisible to people then? I'm sorry? Were angels, visible then? Well, angels apparently, have the ability, to make themselves, visible, or invisible.

[25:31] Well, you said that, they seem to be, invisible now, but people, relate stories, about how, they were in a bad accident, or something, and they, somebody came out, appeared, a body, appeared out of nowhere, and came out of the car, and was burning, saved them, and then disappeared.

[25:48] Yeah, absolutely. I cannot, and would not, deny that, but I would only say, that these are, very rare occasions. We do not hear, a lot about, angelic activity, that can be verified.

[26:03] But, during the Old Testament, it was rather common, in the Gospels, it's common, when Christ said, he could call, twelve legions of angels, to his rescue. He wasn't exaggerating.

[26:15] And we find, angels, in the book of Acts, the angel, appeared to Peter, when he was in prison, told him to get up, we're getting out of here. And he took him out, and the angel, disappeared, just like that.

[26:27] And, angels are going to be, major players, in the tribulation period. And it's going to be, quite significant, but we'll be going from that. So let us look at, Genesis chapter 16.

[26:37] The angel of the Lord, found her, by a spring of water, in the wilderness, on the way to, Shur, and he said, Hagar, Sarah's son, Sarah's maid, where'd you come from, and where are you going?

[26:53] And she said, I'm fleeing from the presence, of my mistress Sarai. And that's just a different, spelling of, Sarai's name is going to be, changed to Sarah, later on, but now it's still Sarai.

[27:04] And the angel of the Lord, said to her, submit to your mistress, and submit yourself, to her authority. Moreover, the angel of the Lord, said to her, I, I, indicating that it will be, the angel of the Lord, I, will greatly multiply, your descendants, so that they shall be, too many to count.

[27:30] The angel of the Lord, said to her, behold, you are with child, and you shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord, has given heed, to your affliction.

[27:43] Now here he is speaking of the Lord, in the third person. But earlier, the angel of the Lord, is speaking to her, in the first person. Says, I, you know that difference?

[27:55] And that means something. And, goes on to describe something about him. And then I want you to come over, if you would, to Genesis, while we're in the territory, come over to Genesis, chapter, 18.

[28:16] Chapter 18. And the Lord, and this is, by the way, look at the spelling again. This is, Yahweh, this is Jehovah.

[28:28] And the Lord appeared to him, by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door, in the heat of the day. This is Abraham, of course. And when he lifted up his eyes, and looked, behold, three men.

[28:43] Now, why does he call them men? I think it's because, they look like men, they were dressed like men, they walk like men, they talk like men.

[28:55] They weren't men at all. They were able to assume, a human identity, and be taken from him. When the women arrived, at the tomb of our Lord, and the stone had already been rolled away, as well.

[29:14] 棘, that's like, the stone's mother, and the stone's mother. Albert, who's like there, who are you? As if he found out some of the great things, so he lives up with brothers. ent Mohammed, it's for him to see him. He told them all, he told him to have been sitting at the desk desk, and he was so worthless, and back Shalya.

[29:26] So, the thing was I could do more than him, as if yeah, I could do that. That was just about yards, and it was like, how about the old man in the place I wouldיע around? If you were talking about, how old was言 just that? L吉 giant, and the number one Kat, and the last lady,