Overview
Zechariah: Zechariah sees a man with a measuring line going to measure Jerusalem. An angel tells him that Jerusalem will be so large that it will not have walls. The Lord says he will be a wall of fire around it and the glory in her midst.
The Lord then tells everyone in the north to flee and escape to Zion. The Lord is going to punish those who formerly were used by him to plunder Zion. But Zion is the apple of his eye and he will pay them back and they will know the Lord did it.
Zion is to rejoice because the Lord will live with them. Many nations will belong to the Lord and be his people in that time. Judah will be the Lord’s portion and he will choose Jerusalem. All people are to be silent before the Lord because he is about to do this.
Zechariah then saw Joshua before the Lord and Satan was standing there accusing him. The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuked Satan. Joshua is like one plucked from the fire. His clothes were dirty. The angel told others standing there to remove the dirty garments. The Lord then said he had taken away Joshua’s sins and will dress him with pure garments. Zechariah asked them to put a clean turban on him and they did, along with other clothes.
The angel of the Lord assured Joshua telling him if does what he says, he will rule the temple and courts. He will have access to all standing there. Joshua and his friends sitting there are a sign that the Lord will bring his servant, the Branch. The Lord set a stone before Joshua with seven eyes. The Lord said he will put an inscription on it and remove the sin of the land in a single day. Then everyone will be at peace and invite neighbors to be at peace.
Psalm: David asks the Lord to quickly hear his prayers. He wants his prayers to be an act of worship like the evening sacrifices. He asks the Lord to keep him from evil in his speech and actions. If it is necessary, have a righteous person rebuke him and he will count it a blessing. Still, he prays against evil rulers. He wants them to hear his words so that when they are punished in hell, they will know why.
David is looking to the Lord for refuge. He doesn’t want to be trapped by the wicked people. He asks that they fall into their own traps.
Proverbs: Agur says there are several things he doesn’t understand but are splendid to contemplate. How an eagle flies, how a snake slithers, how a ship sails, how a man is with a virgin. He also contrasts that to an adulteress who doesn’t think she has done anything wrong.
Revelation: John saw a beast come out of the sea. It had 7 heads with offensive names on them, 10 horns and 10 crown. It looked like a leopard with bear’s feet and a lion’s mouth. He had great power and authority for 42 months. One head looked like it had been killed and then healed. Everyone on the earth thought it was awesome, worshiped, and obeyed it. They thought no one could defeat it.
The beast spoke pridefully and blasphemed God, his name, and his saints in heaven. It was allowed to persecute and conquer the saints on earth. It ruled all people on earth and people who were not written in the Lamb’s book of life worshiped it. Those who are destined to be taken captive or killed, it will be done to them. This means the saints must listen to the call for faithful endurance.
John saw another beast come out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb. It had the first beast’s authority and spoke like a dragon. It caused fire to come down on the earth to impress and deceive people to make them worship the first beast. It convinced them to make an image of the first beast. It gave breath to the image so it could speak and kill anyone who would not worship the image.
The second beast also made everyone of every socioeconomic position receive a mark on their hand or forehead. Only those with the mark could buy or sell anything. The mark is 666 which is the number calculated from its name. Only the wise can do the calculation.
What Stood Out
Zechariah: “For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day” (Zech 3:9).
Psalm: “Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies” (Ps 141:4)!
Proverbs: “Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky …” (Prov 30:18-19).
Revelation: “If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints” (Rev 13:10).
Insight
Zechariah: Zechariah must have been ADD. It is so hard to tell who is talking to whom. However, that doesn’t stop the Lord from using him to give us some very interesting perspectives. Yesterday, we saw that Satan is the one who accuses us before the Lord in Revelation 12:10. In Zechariah, we see that he was doing the same thing to Joshua (Zech 3:1). We are just like Joshua, dirty with all our sins. Satan wants to remind us of it all the time. He wants God to zap us. He will keep us in bondage to our sin as long as he can. Then the Lord rebukes Satan and that is absolutely soul calming. But there’s more! The Lord clothes us with clean garments. He takes away our sin. Through Jesus Christ we are forgiven and made clean when we turn to him for salvation.
But there’s more! While we have a glimpse of the future in what Jesus has done for us in this passage, we also have a glimpse of what God is going to do in the future. He is going to remove the iniquity of Israel in a single day! That will be awesome! Can you imagine a whole people suddenly understanding and knowing that Jesus Christ is their Messiah all on the same day? Think back about when you realized that Jesus was your Savior and you were saved. Now multiply that by millions of people all in the same country. Jerusalem is going to be jumping!
Psalm: How often do we have desires for things we shouldn’t want that start off with our mouths. We really need to think more about what we say. I love pizza or some other thing, and it becomes a lust. If only I had … and it becomes a trap. Why me? And that becomes grumbling and complaints. It is too easy to say these things without realizing they are tempting in us in the wrong direction.
It is the desire of most Christians to keep their hearts from evil deeds. How many of us actually pray for that? David recognized that keeping bad company can corrupt us and we may desire the same things they do. Without the Lord’s help, we would fall into the traps of materialism, pride, power, and other things that he world offers. We need to ask the Lord to keep us from those traps or we may not realize that they are there or how much they draw us away from the Lord.
Proverbs: When I look at birds in flight, I am envious. I would love to be able to do that. Yes, I said that right after commenting on how what we say can lead us astray. But one day, we’ll all have resurrected bodies and the birds will look at us and be envious. In the meantime, observing nature and the way God has designed things are ways to bring glory to him. We can praise him for the marvelous way he has created very living being as well as all the inanimate objects in the universe that display his glory.
Revelation: This first beast appears and he has authority to rail against God and conquer saints for 42 months. The second beast appears to deceive those who will never be saved. These two beasts are often called the false messiah and false holy spirit. The first because of the head wound that appeared to be fatal and was healed. This would be his false resurrection. The second beast would be a false holy spirit because he animates an inanimate image. He also performs miracles to bring attention and worship to the first beast just as the Holy Spirit seeks to bring glory to Jesus.
Since they conquer the saints, then it is obvious that there are still people on the earth who are Christians. Some believe the people who are not deceived and do not worship the beast are those who have come to Christ after the rapture. If that is true, then this chapter has little importance for us because we will all be gone. On the other hand, if the rapture hasn’t happened or we are in one of the many places of the world where this kind of persecution and spiritual warfare is going on, then we need to pay very careful attention.
The biggest thing we need to remember is that God is in control. This applies to us now as well as anyone going through the tribulation. It means that when believers are killed or taken captive for their faith, we must persevere in our faith. We can’t start doubting because we think God has abandoned us or that he isn’t in control. We can’t lose faith in our salvation being secure and we can’t give in to worshiping the beast or its image.
Application
I want to be prepared for anything that happens, whether it is something as terrible as the tribulation or any other kinds of temptations and trials. It is helpful when I don’t let the world and the things people do mold my desires and things I “love.” It is easier when I understand the Lord is in control and I can trust in him.
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