Message Notes Ezra & the Prophets 6: Christ at the Center Brad Julihn - Dec. 1, 2013 I. Intro: Zechariah s ministry is focused on one central theme. The theme is this: Return to me, and I will return to you. They had already begun to obey God by rebuilding of the Temple, so this is a call to return in heart to the Lord. The 8 night visions are like a music video from heaven filled with spiritual imagery and revealing truth. All of them require explanation from the angelic messenger. Even Zechariah does recognize the significance of what he is seeing. The first 5 visions convey the fact: that God sees their situation and cares, and the promises made to Abraham s descendants are still in effect, that their enemies will be defeated as they obey what God has told them to do and make Him the center of their lives. that though what they are doing now seems small, God is using this it to bring the blessing promised to Abraham's descendants, to the whole world. that Joshua is symbolic of a future High Priest who will remove the sin of the land in a single day. And Zerubbabel is symbolic of a future king who will bring in the kingdom of God not by political power or military might, but by the power of the Spirit of God. These visions reveal both the eternal significance of their actions, and the promise of present blessing as they truly return to the Lord. God will use their faith and obedience as the groundwork for the ultimate fulfillment of His promise to bless the whole world through the descendants of Abraham. And so we come to the final three night visions in Zechariah 5 & 6. We will look at them briefly and then consider a subtle sign of God fingerprint on these visions. II. A Flying Scroll: Zechariah 5:1-4 A. The 6th Vision: Again in quick succession the scene changes before Zechariah's eyes. This time he sees a huge flying scroll. The same angelic messenger who has been explaining things to him asks that simple question; "What do you see?" Zechariah describes the scroll as being about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. And the angel tells him it is a curse that is going to cover the whole land. And it has a message on each side. One side says every thief will be banished, and the other side says every liar will be banished. 1 P a g e
B. The Meaning: 1. So what is the point of this vision? III. Sin in a Box: Read Zachariah 5:5-11 A. The 7th Vision: Zechariah is told to look up and he sees something that he doesn't recognize. It is a measuring basket that contains the sin of the people throughout the land. When the lid is briefly raised there is a woman inside, who we are told "This is wickedness." If the gender of this image has any significance, it is only of the allure or seductiveness of evil. The angel has to push the wickedness back into the basket and push the lid closed. Then Zechariah sees two other women with wings like a stork. They seem to be angelic beings. They pick up the basket and begin to fly away. So Zechariah ask his guide where they are taking it. He is told it is being taken to Babylon to build a "house" for it and when it is ready it will be set up there. The wording suggests that the "house" is a temple where this wickedness will be set up and worshipped. Babylon was the place Judah had been taken in exile because of their sin. It often associated in Scripture with being the center of idolatry and sin. In Revelation 17-18 the woman riding the Beast is called "Babylon the Great". She represents the evil world system. She is called the haunt of every evil spirit. A voice from heaven calls out, "Come out of her my people, so that you will not share in her sins." B. The Meaning: 1. So, what is the point of this vision? God is going to deal with both sinners and sin! IV. Chariots of Fire: Read Zechariah 6:1-8 A. The 8th Vision: For the eighth time, Zechariah looks up. He sees 4 chariots coming out from between two mountains. Again we are specifically told the color of the matching teams of horses which pull each chariot. When Zechariah asks what they are, he is told; "These are the four spirits of heaven going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of all the earth." Then he is told specifically which direction three of the four chariots are sent. They do not go out randomly or on their own, but await the command to go. The vision concludes with a command to look at the effect the chariot with the black horses has. "Look, those going toward the north country have given my Spirit rest in the land of the North." 2 P a g e
B. The Meaning: This is a puzzle. There are details, but little explanation. By itself this image makes little sense. Our usual response to such things is to throw up our hands, say "I don't get it!", and closed the book. But we should probably catch ourselves for a moment. God does not speak for no reason. Nor is unable to express Himself clearly. He speaks in the ways He does for a purpose; and His purpose is not to waste His breath. He wants His people to get it. So it might help us to ask ourselves some questions. 1. Where else do we see a vision with multi-colored horses? 2. What was that vision about? A man standing among the myrtle trees explains that the red, brown, and white horses in the vision are angelic scouts sent to see what is going on in the world. They see the whole world at peace except for Jerusalem. God is more upset about their situation than they are. He is angry with how the nations have treated His people. The Spirit of God is not at peace with the situation. And God promises to act and once again bring peace and prosperity. So the first and the last visions both have multi-colored horses that represent angelic being sent throughout the earth. In the first vision, the Spirit of God is not at peace; but when the eighth vision is done the Spirit is at rest or peace. In the first vision, God sees their situation and promises to make thing right. After the eighth vision things seem to be made right. So... ; there seems to be a structural connection between the first and the last visions. The question this raises is whether the other visions also have connections? V. A Fingerprint of God: A. A Chiasm: Meeting in the Middle The Greek letter Chi is represented with a character that looks like our English X. One of the literary devices that is seen in the Bible is referred to as a "chiasm," with reference to that X. What is a CHIASM? It is a word-picture that criss-crosses in structure. Often, it is a string of phrases, ideas, or visions that are structured so that the first is parallel to the last; then the second is parallel to the next-to-last; and so on, until the parallels meet in the middle. Whatever that thing is in the middle, that is the idea that the author is seeking to emphasize by using this structure. This parallelism often presents an idea in both a positive and a negative way, such as blessing and cursing, or love righteousness and hate evil. A CHIASM like this: 3 P a g e
A 1. Idea A A 2. Idea A B 1. Idea B B 2. Idea B C 1. Idea C C 2. Idea C D 1. Idea D D 2. Idea D B. Are Zechariah's 8 Visions a Chiasm? We have already seen evidence of parallelism in the first and last visions. Do we see parallels between the other chiastic pairs? Let's investigate by trying to diagram it out! A 1. God's Lack of Peace: Multi-colored horses represent angels sent throughout the earth, everyone is at peace except God and His people. God cares and promises to do something about it. B 1. God's Judgment on the Nations That Scattered God's People: Four Horns which are the kings who scattered them (including Babylon) will be defeated and terrified by Four Craftsmen. Their enemies are no longer at peace. C 1. God's Blessing on His People. A surveyor tries to measure the vast expansion of Jerusalem. God promises to be a wall of fire without and its glory within. All nations joined to the Lord and the promise of God's presence made to Abraham is renewed. D 1. Joshua the High Priest Foreshadows Christ: He is cleansed and foreshadows a greater high priest who will remove the sin of the land in a single day. D 2. Zerubbabel the Davidic Prince Foreshadows Christ: He will overcome obstacles and complete the Temple, not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God. He foreshadow the King of Kings and greater Son of David who will build a temple of living stones. C 2. God's Curse on Sinners. A flying scroll declares God's curse on the thief and the liar. Sinner's will be judged B 2. Wickedness Gathered and Sent Back Where It Came From. The land is cleansed of wickedness. It is sent back to Babylon the source of evil. A 2. God's Spirit Rests in Peace: Multi-colored horses pulling chariots represent angels sent throughout the earth. They bring peace and rest to God's Spirit. 4 P a g e
C. Implications: I do not think I have explained all this very well. But if you agree that there is a chiastic structure here, then several conclusion flow out of it. 1. This Is One Vision Not 8! This is not a random bunch of pictures with a message. It is one carefully crafted video that reinforces the importance of returning to God because He will return to you. God does see their situation and care. He is not at peace with what is going on, but promises to act on their behalf. He will bless His people, judge His enemies, and fulfill His plan to make the descendants of Abraham the source of blessing to all nations. He will do this by raising up a High Priest who will remove the sin of the land in a single day and by raising up a Son of David who will remove all obstacles and build God's temple. 2. The Chiasm Wasn't Zechariah's Idea! Zechariah did not come up with this deep structure by literary talent and weave it into his prophecies. He hardly understood what he was seeing himself. He simply reported what he saw and what the angels said. The intelligence behind this literary structure looks to me like God's fingerprint. It is evidence that God had His hand in all this. 3. The Most Important Point Is What's In the Middle! Unlike most literary structures which emphasize what comes at the end, chiasm points you to what comes in the middle. And what comes in the middle is Christ. The visions of both the cleansed High Priest who takes away the sin of the land in a single day, and the greater King and Son of David who will finish the temple that He has begun; are the most important reason why they and we should return to the Lord. A King and a Priest are coming to fulfill all the promises God has made to us. So we should not delay our return, our worship, or our obedience. VI. The Two Are Really One: Read Zechariah 6:9-15 And in order to emphasize this central truth and hope, God concludes this eight part prophetic video with A WORD, not with A VISION to Zechariah. He is instructed to go and place a kingly crown on the head of Joshua the high priest. And then elements from the MIDDLE fourth and fifth visions are ascribed to him. The high priest who is called "the Branch" is also seen to be the king who will build the temple. For the first time it is clearly reveal that the role of the king and the priest will be merged in one man. The priesthood and the kingship foreshadow the two roles of one future person who will bring to pass all that has been promised in this vision. Their hope and ours is Jesus Christ the perfect high priest and King of Kings. So whatever the circumstances or obstacles you face, be encouraged! God's program is not sidetracked. Jesus is the Center! And we are also spoken of here. We Gentiles are "those 5 P a g e
who are far away who will come and help build the temple of the Lord." So, craftsmen; temple builders, let's get on with the work He has commissioned us to do! 6 P a g e