Revelation Six - When The Four Horsemen Ride
In chapter 13 God reinforces the idea that the children of Jacob will be saved from their sins in the exact same way that we have been saved from ours. Just as each of us turned from our wicked ways and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior – through faith – they too will do the same. When we get to Zechariah 14, we'll see how that chapter is a completely different prophecy. ———————————— Keep this ministry alive with a donation. And, read my books and guides for free: https://revelationsix.com/books/ I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here: https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/ If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter. ———————————— Zechariah Part 13The Salvation Of Israel ContinuesHere’s the first verse of Zechariah 13 that verifies that this is a continuation of chapter 12:
When you see words like ‘in that day’ in the first verse of a chapter, it’s clear that this chapter is directly connected to the previous chapter. It means that we are still speaking of the same prophecy that began in chapter 12. But, how long is the ‘day’ in the phrase ‘in that day’? Those of you who have been reading your Bible for long enough know the answer to that. …'that day' could last for years, decades and even centuries. THAT DAY will only end, when the events described are complete. Days, weeks, months, years and even decades could go by, and THAT DAY will not be complete until all has been accomplished. Verse two continues with what will be accomplished:
Wait. God is speaking of idols. We understand about false prophets and unclean spirits… …but what are these idols? Modern Idolatry In JerusalemYears ago, My wife and I had the chance to witness a new Torah scroll being installed in a local synagogue, nearby our apartment. It was remarkably like what happens with an idol in the kind of pagan temple that you find in Taiwan. As I write this, I am in Taiwan, and we see almost exactly the same kind of procession. When the priests in a local temple in Taiwan decide that it is time for their god or goddess to go on a procession around the neighborhood, or when they want to install a new idol, that procession looks remarkably like what happens when a new Torah scroll is installed in a synagogue. Yes, that Torah scroll has the words of God printed on it, but that doesn’t matter. If you worship and bow down to ink and paper, it’s still idolatry. It doesn’t matter if that ink and paper is formed into the words of God. It is still idolatry. There is only one person that we should bow down and worship: God, and God alone. Bowing down to ink and paper is a sin, no matter what the words say. And, there is also the idol worship of the heart. Any kind of worship that is not of God is idolatry. The religious veneration of ANYTHING that is not the truth is idolatry, and that includes Judaism. And yes, Judaism is nowhere close to anything Biblical. Those who say otherwise, do not understand what the rabbis did to their religion after AD 70 and after the failure of the Bar Kochba revolt. I love the Jewish people, but they are in rebellion against God – for now. The Spiritual Condition of Israel – AfterwardsI was going to skip the next few verses, but then I reconsidered. Why? Because it identifies the spiritual condition of Israel, after these events. It shows the passion with which the average Israeli will worship God. So, let’s look at verses three through six:
This will mean that the Children of Israel will love God more than their own children. This will be a gigantic change from the way that Israeli parents raise their children now. Right now, the average child is put on a pedestal. If there’s anything that the average Israeli worships, it’s their children. There is no sacrifice too big, when it comes to their kids. This created something of a problem for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), in the early years of Israel’s founding. Israel’s little darlings had to be straightened out and given a strong dose of discipline, if Israel was to survive. This has placed the IDF in the role of ‘tough parent’. And, there probably isn’t any military in the world that is better at turning pampered, irresponsible brats into mature, trustworthy adults. So, this is a very big deal. Israeli parents will truly place God first. In every way. And, probably for the first time ever, Israelis will be on the lookout for heresy, and won’t tolerate it when they find it – even if it is in their children. Now, think about the depth of this change of heart. Is this something imposed upon them from outside? By the imposition of Torah, the Law? No, this is the operation of God, where He takes away the heart of stone, and replaces it with a living heart. This is a spiritual transformation from the inside out. It’s the kind of transformation that you and I have gone through. The verses that describe the Millennium don’t reflect such a transformation. And, we will prove that this cannot be the Millennium, when we get to this chapter: Why Israel Must Be Saved BEFORE The Great Tribulation A Verse About MessiahBut, we aren’t done. There are three verses left in this prophecy, and the next one was quoted by Jesus:
Jesus quoted Zechariah, here:
Jesus was referring to His arrest and trial, and the scattering of His disciples. Yet, the context seems to be more than just Messiah, because of the rest of Zechariah 13. But, this isn’t the only time that God throws in a Messianic verse that appears in an unusual place. Just look at Isaiah 7:14-17. That passage talks about the virgin birth of Christ, even though the context is the coming destruction of Israel’s northern kingdom. It seems completely out of place. But, we know that Jesus was born of a virgin, and we know that the northern kingdom was destroyed. So, we shouldn’t stumble over a verse that talks about Messiah, even though that verse appears in an unusual way. However, I do not mind admitting that I don’t quite understand why verse seven appears like that. We could speculate over a possible dual nature to this verse. Unfortunately, the words ‘dual prophecy’ are usually just an excuse to be lazy and engage in wishful thinking. If you want to believe that this also refers to the destruction of Israel’s leadership, that’s fine. But, do NOT take away from the core meaning of this verse – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Two Thirds of Israel Killed - Jacob's Trouble(And two thirds of the world killed.) Then, we come to the last two verses that fill me with dread:
The fact that two thirds of Israel will be killed is horrifying. I know that there are many who claim that this doesn’t mean physical death, and I understand why they want to say that. The thought of two thirds of Israelis dying through violence and earthquake is just too much for many of us to think about. But, the Hebrew speaks for itself. The Hebrew word for die, in the above passage is יגועו (pronounced: yig-va-oo). It means ‘they will die’. And, the root word is גוע (pronounced: gah-va). It literally means to physically expire. In fact, a variation of that word includes agony in that death. The word does NOT indicate a spiritual death in any way. Also, those who advocate the ‘spiritual death theory’ aren’t thinking this through. The people of Israel were ALREADY spiritually dead. Someone who was never spiritually alive, cannot spiritually die. You cannot kill someone spiritually until after someone is made spiritually alive. Israel is not spiritually alive today, so to spiritually kill two thirds of Israel is completely impossible. So, please discard this ‘spiritual death’ theory, if you hold it. But, the physical death of so many… it will be a terrible thing to see. Now, for those of you who have already looked at Ezekiel's Fire, you'll know that death and destruction is not limited to Israel or even the Middle East. It will be everywhere, around the world. Every city will be destroyed, and billions will die. In fact, I would venture to say that at least two thirds of the world's population will die also - if not more than that. Accepting the sheer horror of this event is one of the reasons why I finally understood that ‘Jacob’s Trouble’ really is about Gog and Magog and the Return of Jacob to God. This is the core verse:
And then there are these two verses from Isaiah 30:
When the Redemption of Israel arrives at the coming of Gog and Magog, our civilization will be completely crushed. There will be nothing left except the rubble of our cities, the bodies of the dead and the pitiful survivors who now have to figure out a way to survive without electricity, running water, sanitation, stores to buy food and tractors to harvest and plant. I would be surprised if even two billion survive this event. There is literally no way that any high tech civilization can survive an event like this. This really is talking about the time of the coming of Gog and Magog. It cannot be any other time, and I am not looking forward to this - should I live long enough to see it. A Bittersweet ProphecyThis death and destruction – coupled with spiritual salvation – is a bittersweet note for Zechariah 13 to end on. All the survivors of this great tragedy, in Israel, will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but it will also mean a tremendous amount of terrible difficulty and suffering. As it says in Zechariah 13:9, there will be a refining process, and it should be clear that it will be very, very hard. In fact, I am sure that many will wish that they HAD died, instead of going through what will come after. And, I hate the thought of it, but this is the will of God. And we truly deserve this day of judgment upon us. We have rebelled against God, and it's way past time for this to be brought upon us. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. ———————————— My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. ———————————— Keep this ministry alive with a donation. And, read my books and guides for free: https://revelationsix.com/books/ I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here: https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/ If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter. ————————————
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