The Apocalypse of the Old Testament Chapter 8, Part 3

The Apocalypse of the Old Testament Chapter 8, Part 3

Continuation of chapter 7. Elohim s message is for EVERYONE, not just the delegation Answer in 4 parts, each headed by the phrase: Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah The first message 7:4-7. God challenged them to see if their hearts were right. 2nd message: 7:8-14. God commands them to repent from their self-serving ways, and change how they live and respond to Him. Fathers made same mistakes, experienced Elohim s wrath.

3rd message, chapter 8, verses 1-17. Amazing news!... 4th message: chapter 8, verses 18-23. Elohim promised a time when the Israelites celebrate the appointed times with such joy that Gentile nations will send delegations to Jerusalem to join them in worship. The world will know Elohim is with them. People need to understand their rituals have no effect on His plans. His purposes are unchanged by any ritual, no matter how right it is.

This 3rd message to Israel, as a result of the question asked by the delegation from Bethel, can be summarized as a firm promise that Israel will one day be restored, Jerusalem would be known as the City of Truth, and God Himself would dwell with them. The conditions during the Millennial Kingdom are described here, and confirmed by many other passages of scripture.

He says don t be amazed. Nothing is too hard for Him! Incredible message of encouragement, and exhortation to stay strong, keep doing what He has told them to do, and live their lives to please Elohim. And that is a message for today as well! We must continue building the Temple within with the help of the Holy Spirit, and building up His Body. We must also keep our hands busy and live lives that please Him. It is the same message we need to hear!

18 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, 19 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, The fast of the fifth, fifth, The fast of the seventh, And the fast of the tenth, Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth truth and peace.

Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying This marks the beginning of a new message, the fourth and final in this passage. Here God returns to providing an answer to the original question of fasting raised by the delegation from Bethel early in chapter 7. When the delegation first asked about fasting, they only mentioned one fast, Tisha B Av in the fifth month.

Here God reminds them that He knows everything, and He is watching them. He confirms they have dotted the calendar with their self-imposed fasts, including three more, the fasts of the fourth, seventh and tenth months. Fast of the 4th month lamented the opening of the city of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar due to extreme famine during the siege.

Fast of the 5th month is Tisha B av, (the 9 th day of the month of Av in 587 B.C.) when Jerusalem finally fell to Nebuchadnezzar and the Temple was destroyed. (this is the one they asked about) We have talked before about all the things that have befallen Israel on this date (9 th of Av). It was also the day when God decreed that Israel (the original group that came out of Egypt) in the wilderness would not enter the promised land because of their unbelief.

Tisha B Av was not only the day when Solomon s Temple was destroyed, but also the 2nd Temple by the Romans, in 70 AD. ( Coincidence is NOT a Kosher word! ) It was also the day when the Jewish uprising of 135 AD was put down, and everyone involved killed, including the instigator Bar Kochba. The temple mount, on Mt. Moriah, was also plowed.

The fast of the 7 th month was to mourn the assassination of the Jewish Governor Gedahlia (by Jews!), after the fall of Jerusalem. The Fast of the 10 th month marked the beginning of the siege by Nebuchadnezzar.

COMMENTARY: At that time [when the delegation asked about fasting) God did not directly give them an answer. Instead He admonished them for their self-serving fasting, which was not in repentance for what they had done. It was simply an attempt at penance, which is not a biblical truth. True repentance means you have turned away from your sin. Penance is man s attempt to provide some selfatonement for his sin. God wanted the Jews in Zechariah s day to connect with Him and establish a relationship with Him. He did not want them going through the motions of a ceremony to commemorate an event that they caused themselves. (Woodhead)

Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah All the things that Judah (the southern kingdom) observed as days of sorrow and mourning will turn to gladness and cheer one day. But this day is a long way off for Israel. In fact, its ultimate fulfillment is still in the future, in the time we refer to as the Millennial Kingdom. When Jesus read the Word in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4), he opened the scroll to Isaiah 61. This also speaks of this time of restoration and joy:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD (Adonai YHVH) is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, (Yeshua stopped here when He read this but the passage goes on to describe the future ) And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3 To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness,..

The planting of the LO R D, that He may be glorified. 4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins, They shall raise up the former desolations, And they shall repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, And the sons of the foreigner Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But you shall be named the priests of the LO R D, They shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, And in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. (61:1-7)

Not only is this a passage prophetic of the Millennial Kingdom, but it also indicates through WHOM these blessings will come. The Messiah read the first verse and told the people listening that this Word was fulfilled in Him that day (almost got Him thrown off a cliff!). The rest of the passage, what he did not read, will be fulfilled later. But it is still accomplished through HIM.

Therefore love truth and peace. They are to focus on loving truth and peace. The truth is THE TRUTH, the Word of God. They are to keep themselves from distractions and desires of the world, and focus on what is true. The only thing we KNOW is true is God Himself, and His Word.

Their fasts were an observance of the unfortunate conditions of war. These things were brought on by their disobedience. The world will always be at war somewhere with each other, but God kept their enemies away while they were obedient to Him, living and celebrating His truth. When they turned to the world s ways of thinking, and disobedience, those protections from war were removed and they suffered the consequences, which they now mourned with self-imposed fasts.

God gave them days of celebration in His moadim (appointed times Hebrew word used here). There was only one day among the seven that was a fast day, and that is Yom Kippur, when personal sins were to be lamented and repented (souls afflicted). This was about the sinful broken condition of the relationship with God, not about a worldly war. All need atonement because our sins are grievous before a holy God, and separate us from Him. The consequences of war pale in comparison to the consequences of a broken relationship with God.

20 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Peoples shall yet come, Inhabitants of many cities; 21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us continue to go and pray before the LORD, And seek the LORD of hosts. I myself will go also. 22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.

These verses speak of the Millennial Kingdom, during which Jerusalem will be visited by all nations. Yeshua will reign from His throne at that time, and people will seek God and His justice, peace and truth. The world, all nations (not just Israel) will make frequent pilgrimage continually to the mountain of YHVH.

This should remind us of the familiar words of Isaiah: Then many peoples will go and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of Adonai, to the House of the God of Jacob! Then He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For Torah will go forth from Zion and the word of Adonai from Jerusalem. (2:3)

I myself will also go indicates that many will come together, and most likely travel in large groups. They will come to pay homage to King Yeshua, who will sit on David s throne. These people will enthusiastically seek His face, unlike today. This visitation to the capital of the world, Jerusalem, will be continual and speedy according to the Hebrew text. This situation is seen prophetically in Psalm 122:

I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD. For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, Peace be within you. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good.

The last part of Isaiah 45 also affirms this: Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory. (45:22-25)

And another in Zephaniah: At that time I will bring you in. At that time I will gather you. For I will give you renown and glory among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your captives before your eyes, declares AD O N A I. (3:20)

23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.

It will be glaringly obvious that Israel is blessed in this time of the Millennium. The one on the throne of David is none other than YHVH in the flesh, the one previously rejected by the nations and even Israel herself. Everyone will want a piece of this blessing and will go to great lengths to get it! It will be a very attractive proposal to say come let us go up to the mountain of YHVH because blessings come from this visit!

The use of the number 10 here is most likely to represent ALL Gentile nations. However, it may also have some relationship to the potentially 10 regional governments under the final world ruler. (see Revelation 12:3, 13:1, 17:3, 7, 12, 16. These are the ten horns or ten kings which would divide the world into nations immediately before the Millennium and might still be in place at that time. Just speculation!)

The people of Israel have been maligned, persecuted, tortured and killed for millennia. But things will be much different in the MILLENNIUM the thousand year reign of Yeshua from Jerusalem. Everyone will want to have a Jew as a friend. The nations will honor, respect, exalt and befriend Jewish people at this time. What a beautiful change! It is our hope that change will be because they love Israel and Israel s King (the world s King at this time), and not just because they want some of the favor shown to those of Israel.

Remember, however, human nature is still human nature, even in the Millennial Kingdom. There will be those who have not been completely redeemed, and we know the rule will be enforced. I have set up My king upon Zion, My holy mountain. I will declare the decree of ADONAI. He said to me: You are My Son today I have become Your Father. Ask Me, and I will give the nations as Your inheritance, and the far reaches of the earth as Your possession. You shall break the nations with an iron scepter. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter s jar. (Psalm 2:6-9)

And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod (Revelation 12:5a TLV) We also know there will be another final rebellion at the end of the Millennium that will be very short-lived. These things indicate that this change of heart regarding YHVH s chosen people may in part be due to security and the desire to find favor, rather than a true change of heart regarding Israel.

grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man COMMENTARY: What they are described as doing is taking hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew. The Hebrew verb translated as taking hold is the verb ḥāzaq [which] often denotes almost a violent grabbing of something with the intention of not letting go. The khenaph, is the corner of the long flowing garment worn by the ancient Jews. Then to each of the four khenaphayim of the typically white outer garment were attached tsitsith, fringes, or tassels of blue..

This is probably what is being referred to, since it was the distinctly visible sign of a man, a Jew as the Hebrew text reads. It is spoken of as being caught hold of, first with a view to detain the Jew, as to request his permission to accompany him. But it also has the sense of keeping firm hold, depicting the earnest determination of the Gentile pilgrims to accompany the Jew who is on the way to the future world capital Jerusalem to pay homage to the Jewish Messiah King Jesus. (Woodhead)

Israel s completion and fulfillment of her covenant relationship with YHVH will bring Israel to the forefront of the world s attention. Everyone will want what Israel has at that time. Way back when Moses delivered his famous sermons about blessings and cursings, he said this, from YHVH, in regard to blessings: ADONAI will make you the head and not the tail, and you will be only above and not below if you listen to the mitzvot of ADONAI your God that I am commanding you today,

careful to do them, and do not turn aside from any of the words I am commanding you today, to the right or the left, to go after other gods in order to serve them. (Deuteronomy 28:13-14) Although the early generations chose cursings, God intends to bless with these words, and the believing remnant of Israel will inherit this elevated status during the Kingdom of Yeshua from Jerusalem.