Zechariah (Ch 13-14)

During the Millennium the Feast of Tabernacle is prophesied to be reinstated, but sacrifices, the foremost of which is the Passover, is also hinted at.

The differentiations of nationalities are reduced in importance and so are the sexes—there wouldn’t be Gentiles nor Jews; or a Court for the Women and another for the Gentiles in the Ezekiel Temple in Jerusalem, but only designated as Inner Court or Outer Court.

Zechariah 13

¹ “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

— the Lord declares, “On that day a fountain will be opened for David’s family and for those who live in Jerusalem to wash away their sin and stain.

²And it shall come to pass in that day,” saith the Lord of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

— and it shall come to pass that God will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, so that the very names which had formerly been in the mouths of men everywhere were no longer mentioned, and they shall no more be remembered;

— and God will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit who speaks through the false prophets, to pass out of the land. Historically, this was one of the results of the preaching of the Truth, as we saw in the case of the people of Ephesus when Paul proclaimed the true God to them, Acts 19:19

— the Targum says

“And it shall come to pass in that time—says the Lord of Hosts—that I will remove the name of the idols of the nations from the land so that they will no longer be remembered, and I will also abolish the false prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.”

Q How would God abolish these false prophets and cut them off since they are all so deeply entrenched in the land?

³ And it shall come to pass that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother who begot him shall say unto him, ‘Thou shalt not live, for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord’; and his father and his mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

— if a man still prophesies presumptuously, his father and his mother, who gave birth to him, will say, ‘You don’t deserve to live because you speak lies in the name of the Lord.’ Then both his parents shall stab him when he prophesies; this is in line with the command of the Lord in the Old Testament. Cf Deuteronomy 18:20.

— the Targum says

“And it shall be that if a man still prophesies, then his father and his mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken falsehood in the name of the Lord,’ and his father and his mother who bore him will pierce him because of his false prophecy.”

⁴ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a garment of hair to deceive.

— and if those prophets still assert presumptuously, they shall be ashamed every one of his vision that he hath prophesied; to deceive, to impress men with their status as prophets, just as men nowadays affect the dress, speech and manners of certain professions in order to make an impression;

— the Targum says

“And it shall come to pass in that time that the false prophets will be ashamed, each man because of his prophecy, in his prophesying, and they will no longer prophesy falsehood in order to teach lies.”

⁵ But he shall say, ‘I am no prophet; I am a husbandman, for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.’ — but he shall say, ‘I am no prophet, I am an husbandman,’ vehemently disclaiming any connection with the prophetic profession; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth, rather, “a man has purchased me from my youth.”

— the Targum shows how these false prophets would be humbled, says

“And he will say, ‘I am not a prophet; I am a man who works the land, for a man has hired me from my youth.’”

⁶ And one shall say unto him, ‘What are these wounds in thine hands?’ Then he shall answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

— and one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? the scars which he bore as a result of his wounding himself in the service of idols, 1 Kings 18:28. Then he shall answer, in trying to evade the issue and to place the blame elsewhere;

— those with which he was wounded in the house of his friends, possibly when lie was chastised in his capacity as slaves; and may be taken as a warning in our days when men are turning to deceivers for counsel and guidance.

— the Targum says

“And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds that have come upon you?’ and he will answer, ‘These are from the deeds of my own hands, for it was fitting that I was struck because of my sins before the Merciful One.’”

⁷ “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, and against the Man that is My fellow,” saith the Lord of hosts. “Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn Mine hand upon the little ones.

— awake, O Sword, against my Shepherd, concerning his Son, whom he calls “my Shepherd” the same one who addressed the people in Zechariah 11:12 (thirty pieces of silver),;

— and against the Man that is My Fellow, him who is also God, together with the Father, for the Messiah is the Son of God, who was in the bosom of the Father and by him begotten in the great scheme of things, who here summons the Sword for the Messiah’s Sacrifice, to carry out the infliction of suffering by which the redemption of mankind is to be carried out;

— smite the Shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, to smite the Messiah even unto death; a word which Jesus applied to himself on the evening before his death, Matthew 26:31; and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones, literally, “I will bring back my hand upon the little ones” for he intended to redeem the wretched, the poor and lowly, for of these were to make up his Elect.

— the Targum says somewhat differently,

“A sword is revealed against the king of Babylon and against the rulers who are his companions and resemble him, says the Lord of Hosts. ‘Slay the king of Babylon, and his rulers will be scattered, and I will turn the blow of My might upon the ones who follow after him.’”

⁸ And it shall come to pass that in all the land,” saith the Lord, “two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein.

— and it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two thirds therein, the great majority of the people, shall be cut off and die, being offended in him and therefore rejected from his herd; but the third, only a small part, shall be left therein;

— “in all the land” Q, is this all Israel or all the earth? the context seems to indicate the later as this chapter and the next is concerning God dealing with all the nations;

— Just a thought, as the earth has about 8 billion people, this would be something like 4 to 5 billion people dead! Could a soon new and vibrant Covid-2X (or a hybrid variant) do this job of killing thousands falling by the wayside?

— as in Psalms 91 which prophesied what a Godsend pandemic could do?

Nor of the pestilence that walk in darkness, nor of the destruction that lay waste at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. Psalms 91:6-7

— the Targum says

“And it shall be, in all the land — says the Lord — two portions in it shall be destroyed, they shall perish, and the third shall remain in it.”

⁹ And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on My name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is My people’; and they shall say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

— and God will bring the third part through the fire, the test of affliction and persecution as it soon came to the first congregation, and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried, Cf 1 Peter 1:6-7;

— they shall call on my name, and I will hear them, graciously giving them the attention which assured them of his certain assistance; God will say, ‘It is my people, and they shall say, Yehovah is my God.’ This has ever been the relationship obtaining between the God of the covenant and His Elect on earth, and this intimate communion is one of the miracles of the Chosen till the end of time. Cf John 14:23;

— they shall call on my name; my name is Yehovah (YHVH); God’s name is the four-letter Hebrew word יהוה‎ YHVH Yehovah (not Jehovah since the letter J wasn’t around but only after the sixteenth century; (more on this at the end)

— the Targum says

“And I will bring the third part into the trial, into the furnace of fire, and I will refine them as silver is refined, and I will test them as gold is tested. He will call upon My name, and I will answer him. I will say, ‘He is My people,’ and he will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

“The Lord’s Day” is actually “the Day of Judgement” (Encyclopedia Biblica, “Lord’s Day”)

Zechariah 14

¹ Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. — behold, the day of the Lord cometh, the Day of Judgement or the Lord’s Day; there is a parallel in Revelation “the Lord’s Day” of Revelation 1:10;

— and thy spoil that gained by the enemies in overcoming Jerusalem, that shall be divided in the midst of thee, the enemies then being at leisure and secure in the conquered city;

— further on “the Lord’s Day” is actually “the day of Judgement” (Encyclopedia Biblica, article “Lord’s Day”); in later years, when the Catholic Church were getting so powerful this was reinterpreted to mean the day of Christ’s resurrection, Sunday; hence today, “the Lord’s Day” has presumptuously being transformed into a day of worship on Sundays;

— the Targum says

“Behold, the day that is destined to come from before the Lord, when the House of Israel will divide the possessions of the nations in the midst of Jerusalem.”

² For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

— on the Day of Judgement, God will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, the enemies being recruited from all countries of the world; and the city shall be taken and the houses rifled and the women ravished, a picture of an apparent complete overthrow of the Judah such as she experienced before the Chaldean captivity;

— and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, yielding to the power inspired by a Destroyer, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city, some at least would remain faithful to the true God despite the ravaging of the enemies;

— the Targum says

“And I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women violated, and half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.”

³ Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. — then the Lord shall go forth and battle against those nations as he fought like “at the Red Sea” which the Targum adds;

— while other observers point to the many occasions when he went forth to fight with them and for them as King David and many others did;

— the Targum says

“And the Lord will be revealed, and He will wage battle against those nations, just as on the day when He fought at the Sea of Reeds.”

⁴ And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south.

— and on that day, God’s feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, this location being considered the center of the earth and the throne of the Lord as he makes ready for judgement, which is before Jerusalem on the east;

— and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, an earthquake having this effect as the earth trembled under the footsteps of the Almighty;

— and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south, thus opening a road from Jerusalem straight toward the east.

— the Targum says

“And the Lord will be revealed in His might at that time upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will split from its middle toward the east and toward the west, forming a very great valley, and one half of the mountain will move northward and its other half southward.”

⁵ And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal. Yea, ye shall flee as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee.

— and ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains for safe hiding-places; see, Isaiah 2:19; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal, a small town east of Mount Olivet;

— yea, ye ‘shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah; and the Lord, my God, shall come; his advent being looked for by his elect ‘with joyful expectation, and all the saints, the holy angels, with thee;

— the Targum says

“And the valley of the mountains shall be closed in, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal, and you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake that occurred in the days of Uzziah, king of the house of Judah. And the Lord my God will be revealed, and all His holy ones with Him.”

⁶ And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark. — on that day there shall be no light nor dark, cold nor frost, literally, “the glorious things will withdraw themselves,” evidently said of the lights of heaven, the sun, moon and stars;

— the Targum says

“And it shall be at that time that there will not be ordinary light, but a dimness with cold and frost.”

⁷ But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord — neither day nor night; but it shall come to pass that at evening (‘e·reḇ) time it shall be light.

— and it will be a day unlike any other, for it will be one continuous day, known only to the Lord, and there will be no more day nor night for there will be light even during the evening; that is, from 6 pm to midnight.

— the Targum says

“And it shall be one day, known before the Lord—neither like the light of day nor like the coming of night—and at the time of evening there shall be light.”

⁸ And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it be.

— in both summer and winter, life-giving streams will flow from Jerusalem, half of them to the Dead Sea (but the Targum differs, saying it is the Persian Sea) in the east and half to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

— the Targum says

“And it shall be at that time that living waters will flow out from Jerusalem—half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea—and they shall flow continuously, in summer and in winter.”

⁹ And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one.

— and the Lord will be the King of kings over all the earth. On that day there will be one Lord—his name alone will be worshiped; the Lord to be glorified wherever his Word is proclaimed.

— the Targum says

“And the kingship of the Lord will be revealed over all the inhabitants of the earth. At that time they will serve before the Lord with one accord, for His name is established in the world, and there is no other besides Him.”

¹⁰ All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s Gate unto the place of the First Gate unto the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel unto the king’s wine presses.

— the land will stretch out spaciously around Jerusalem—from Geba in the north to Rimmon in the south, with Jerusalem towering at the center and the commanding city gates—Gate of Benjamin to First Gate to Corner Gate to Hananel Tower to the Royal Winery—ringing the city full of people;

— the Targum says

“All the land will become like a plain, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem will be elevated and inhabited in its place, from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Pikus to the king’s winepresses.”

¹¹ And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

— and men shall dwell in Jerusalem and there shall be no more danger nor any destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited; never again will Jerusalem be destroyed; but will be a safe city;

— the Targum confirms the Masoretic Text, says

“They shall dwell in it, and there shall no longer be killing, and Jerusalem shall dwell in security.”

¹² And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people who have fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

— and when the vials are poured out there shall be more plagues, whereby the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem, those who oppose the Kingdom and its work;

— their flesh shall rot away while they stand upon their feet, so that they would rot away in a living death, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth, all these punishments making them unfit for further attacks upon the city of God;

— the Targum says

¹³ And it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor.

— and on that day there will be a great tumult, a confusion and panic; there will be a revolution from the Lord; and everyone shall lay hold of his neighbor, and every hand fighting against another. Mass hysteria when that happens. Panic! fellow citizens became soldiers fighting and killing each other—total terror!

— the Targum says

“At that time there will be a great panic of killing from before the Lord among them, and each man will seize the hand of his fellow, and his hand will be raised against the hand of his fellow.”

¹⁴ And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together: gold and silver and apparel in great abundance.

— and Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem, its citizens taking part in the warfare against the enemies threatening their lives; and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together, the treasures of the enemy, their most precious possessions, gold and silver and apparel, in great abundance.

— other translations say, even Judah shall fight against Jerusalem; this could only be possible if (a) there is a civil war; or (b) Jerusalem is composed of descending heavenly saints, of whom the Jews of Judea couldn’t even recognize the returning Messiah with his multitudes of Revelation 19; so they fight each other;

— the Targum says

“And even the house of Judah will bring the nations into subjugation when they are compelled to wage battle in Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the nations round about—gold, silver, and abundant garments—will be gathered together.”

¹⁵ And so shall be the plague on the horse, on the mule, on the camel and on the ass, and on all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

— and so shall be the plagues of the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass and all the livestock and beasts that shall be in their camps, with such plague the defeat of the enemy would be complete in every way;

— the Targum says

“And so the plague will strike the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and every animal that is in their camps—this same plague.”

¹⁶ And it shall come to pass that every one who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

— and everyone that survives of all the wars, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King of kings, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, to join with the Kingdom in its worship of the one true God.

— the Targum says

“And it shall be that all who remain from all the nations that gathered and came against Jerusalem shall go up year by year to worship before the King of the world, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.”

¹⁷ And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

— and it shall be that whoever refuses to go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain and all the other physical and spiritual blessings of the Lord being withheld from them;

— the Targum says

“And it shall be that any of the families of the nations who do not go up to Jerusalem to worship before the King of the world, the Lord of Hosts—upon them there will be no rain.”

¹⁸ And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not, upon whom there is no rain, there shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen who come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

— and if the family of Egypt, or their representative still refuses to go up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, there could be more than just no rain, but could plague or diseases, like those of the Exodus from Egypt, whereby the Lord will smite the nations that refuse to take part in its worship;

— the Targum says

“And if the kingdom of Egypt does not go up and does not come, the Nile will not rise for them; instead, upon them will come the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.”

¹⁹ This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

— this shall be the punishment of Egypt all nations that refuse to come and keep the Feast of Tabernacles; in opposing his Kingdom and refusing to accept his Word, entrench themselves behind a wall of their own foolishness and shut themselves out from the highest physical and spiritual blessings, but to keep the Feast of Tabernacles;

— and not Easter, which is a form of worshipping Astarte, one of the titles of the Chaldean goddess, the queen of heaven, the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, fertility and sex. She is featured in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the “Ishtar Gate” was part of Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon;

— nor Mithra or Mitra (the Sun-God whose birthday many drunks honor and celebrate on December 25th which they christianised as Christmas); Zeus and others; called “gods of the earth” in distinction from the God of heaven; and men shall worship these earthly gods, acknowledging their supremacy, everyone from his place today, Protestants or Catholics alike;

— those who rebel and continue to resist will be horsewhipped! Nar, those who resist would suffer judgement by the sword, by famine, by pestilence and spending years in captivity to repent there (for more see Ezekiel 4 – 390/40 Years Timeline and The Flaming Sword and Fire from the South!).

— the Targum says

“This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.”

²⁰ In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses: “Holiness Unto The Lord.” And the pots in the Lord’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar;

— on that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, or “upon the trappings of the horses” as the Targum renders it; and this intends either the horses slain in war, whose bells or trappings should be devoted and applied to holy uses; or the horses that carried the people up to Jerusalem to worship there, or horses in common;

— holiness unto the Lord; and the “pots” in which they cooked the sacrifices shall be like “the bowls before the altar” which held the blood of the sacrifices to be sprinkled at the altar; yea, all festivals in Leviticus 23 will be reinstated as prophesied in Ezekiel 46;

— every pot that were used to remove the ashes, they too will be like gold and of silver, like the sprinkling basins that are before the altar; either like them for number; they shall be many because of the numerous nations coming to offer sacrifices like the Jews did, like them as the Targum paraphrases it, shall be many;

— Rashi: there will be upon the bells of the horses: On the bells that are hung on the horse for beauty between its eyes (Pesachim 50a). Those, too, will be consecrated to make service vessels: sprinkling basins for the blood and pots to cook the flesh of the many sacrifices;

— the Targum says

“In that time, even the bells of the horses will bear the inscription ‘Holy before the Lord,’ and the cooking pots in the Temple will be as holy and numerous as the sacrificial bowls before the altar.”

²¹ yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts, and all those who sacrifice shall come and take of them and boil therein. And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

— yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts, all the ceremonies of the Law for which the foremost is the Passover, which would still be kept as a memorial, not just by Jews but by all nations;

— and all they that sacrifice shall come and participate in the Jerusalem Temple, preparing for the sacrificial feasts demands extra utensils, hence pots would be used as bowl to collect blood for the altar and both would be deemed holy;

— and on that day there shall be no more differentiation of being Canaanite nor Jews in the house of the Lord of hosts, no godless people being permitted as members of the Kingdom of God, but are all Godly;

— the nearer the Kingdom approaches its perfection, the clearer is shown there is no cleavage between those who are in truth the servants of the Lord and those not, because all will bear the name of his people after the day of redemption; and those who were against the Lord Almighty would have collapsed long before the Last Day but during the Day of Judgement. Selah!

— the Targum says

“In that time, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy before the Lord of Hosts. All who offer sacrifices will come, take from them, and cook in them. And there will no longer be any merchant in the House of the Lord of Hosts in that time.”

~~~

A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob