[MUSIC PLAYING] The Bible from 30,000 feet,
soaring through the scripture from Genesis to Revelation. We're in the book of
Zechariah tonight. And Lord willing, I want
to finish the Old Testament tonight. That's just Lord willing. So we want to jump
right into it. This is the Bible
from 30,000 feet. We are looking at
a general overview. And we want to look at the
last two books of the 39 books that comprise your
Old Testament, the book of Zechariah and
the Italian author Malachi after that-- I mean, Malachi-- and
hopefully finish this out. In the New Testament,
there are many quotes from books like Genesis,
Psalms, and Isaiah. Those are the three
big OT, Old Testament, books that are quoted the
most in the New Testament and for good reasons. The subject matter and
the length of the book merit them being quoted a
lot by New Testament authors. But what you may not know
is the book of Zechariah is quoted about 40 times
in the New Testament-- 4-0 times in the New Testament. Why? Because it is so
obviously messianic. And the New Testament
authors knew that. And so much of the
quotations that deal with the coming
of the Messiah, the second coming are from
the book of Zechariah. If you were to read the Old
Testament from cover to cover, and I assume some of
you have done that, you would discover that
there is not just one person named Zechariah. There are guess how many? 30 different Zechariahs. This is one of them. And this is the most
notable one of them. He was a priest, that is he
was born in a priestly family. He was not born in
the land of Israel. He was born in the
captivity of Babylon, but then came back to Jerusalem. It's like the
opposite of Daniel, who was born outside of the
captivity and born in Jerusalem and then went into captivity
and served in Babylon. This guy, Zechariah,
was born in captivity and then went back to
Jerusalem to serve. So it's just like
the polar opposite. He was a contemporary of another
prophet we've already looked at by the name of Haggai. And they were sort of
like two peas in a pod. They both had the same ministry,
though very different styles. God used them to stir up the
apathy of the people, who had come back from
the captivity, started to build the temple,
and after a year shut it down, got very busy with their own
affairs, their own lives, didn't want to do
anything for the work of the Lord in Jerusalem. So that the temple lay in ruins. God raised up Haggai, who
is like a kick in the pants, and Zechariah, who is like a
pat on the back, very, very different ministries,
very different styles, but effecting the same result.
And I have to find my place, because I just accidentally
closed my Bible. So I'm just sort of talking
to you until I do that. And we're back in
Zacharias, Chapter 1, OK. If you want a time frame,
and I know you do-- if you want a frame as
to when he prophesied, he fits perfectly into the
books of Nehemiah and Ezra. In fact, Nehemiah, Chapter
12 writes about Zechariah coming to Jerusalem. Ezra Chapter 5 and 6
talk about the ministry that he and Haggai had in
inspiring the people to build. So he has already
been mentioned. If you have read those books,
that's not unfamiliar to you. OK, what is his subject matter? Well, he is a prophet
that has a sweeping scope. He is looking at the rebuilding
of the temple that has been left and laid in ruins. And he'll go all the
way to the future to the second coming of
Christ, so something that is very local and immediate,
the building of the temple, all the way to the first coming
and even the second coming and even the millennial kingdom,
all is mentioned and written about in this book. His style is different. I've noted that. How was it different? Haggai, as I said, was in
your face, pointed the finger, was very, very frank. This guy is more of a
mystic, head in the clouds. And he sees visions, a series
of visions about the future. So when you read
this book, it's not unlike reading the
visions of Daniel or reading the visions of John
in the Book of Revelation, these apocalyptic
very symbolic visions. He's longer. He's more poetic. He's more prophetic
than Haggai was. Again, two different
styles, but God uses them both to
work in tandem. I like that. I like the fact that you and
I may have different styles, but the Lord uses us
all very uniquely. So they just form a
good example of that. By the way, the reason I
believe the Lord used visions like in Daniel,
like in Revelation, and like here in Zechariah,
is because there's something about the poetry of
a vision described that paints a picture in your mind
that makes an impact, A, and transcends time and culture. So that when you read
it years later, and even years and centuries
later, the impact can still be felt because of the
style in which it is written. That's why I think Revelation
is written in that style. Revelation opens by saying the
revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him, which He
gave or sent to His servants and signified-- that's the word that
is used-- signified, that is expressed in signs. So likewise Zechariah signified
or expressed these things in signs. The reason he wrote
is to bring hope to the refugees, the captives,
who had come back to Jerusalem. They were very small. Remember, out of about a million
Jews in Babylonian captivity, only 50,000 of them return. They're a very small,
vulnerable group. There's a lot of enemies
all round them up. In Sumeria, there's Sandballat,
Tobiah, and the whole crew wanting to shut them down. There's pressure in Persia
from a subsequent king. And so they're wondering
about their future. Persia was so large, a
world dominant nation. They were a small group. And they were there in
fear, as well as now apathy. Somebody once said
every tomorrow has to handles,
the handle of faith or the handle of
fear and anxiety. It's essential that you grab
a hold of the right handle. And that's where this
prophet comes in. He wants the people of Judah
to grab the handle of faith. God has good things
in store for y'all. And so trust him. So we begin the book. "In the eighth month of
the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to
Zechariah, the son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo,
the prophet saying, 'The Lord has been very
angry with your fathers. Therefore, say to them,
thus, says the Lord of hosts, return to me, says
the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you,
says the Lord of hosts. Do not be like your fathers
to whom the former prophets preach, saying thus
says, the Lord of hosts, turn now from your evil way
and from your evil deeds. But they did not hear nor
heed me, says the Lord." The people had
returned to the city. But according to this, they have
yet to fully turn to the Lord, return back to Him,
return back to Him with a full commitment
and devotion to finish building that
temple, that center of worship for the nation to continue. They had come back to Jerusalem. It was very different coming
back from when they left it. And you know, you perhaps
some of you have discovered-- I know I have-- whenever you go back to
the place of your birth, the land of your birth,
it's not the same. It's not what you expect. Things do change. And they came back and
saw not a temple standing, but a bunch of ruins. And every time they saw
that pile of stones, it was a reminder that their
forefathers had failed. And thus, the
judgment had fallen. And they're there to
rebuild those stones. And as I said, after a
while they became apathetic. And both Zechariah and
Malachi address that. I'm going to take you over to
verse 7 of that first chapter. "On the 24th day
of the 11th month, which is the month Shebat,
in the second year of Darius the word of the Lord came to
Zechariah, the son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo, the prophet." I'm not going to read
all these visions. But there is a series
of eight visions about building the
temple, all relating to rebuilding the temple. Chapters 1 through 8 are all
about rebuilding the temple. Chapters 9 through 14
are all about the Messiah who is coming, coming again,
and will rule and reign forever. The first vision beginning
in the verses we just read are about a man standing
among the myrtle trees seated on a horse. Behind him are other horses. It is a short, but
sweet vision about how God intends to prosper
the nation of Judah back in the land. Verse 8 says, "I saw
by night, and behold, a man riding on a red horse. It stood among the myrtle
trees in the hollow. And behind him were
horses red sorrel." Which is sort of like a
reddish brown and white. Laurel trees are not big trees. They top out at
about 8 feet or so. But they're hardy. They're evergreen
and they're hardy. Hard to kill them. And this is a picture
of the nation of Israel. They had been attacked
so many times. They had recently been decimated
by the Babylonians, before that the Assyrians. But they're still there. They're back. And so it's a vision
of hope that they're going to be able to
withstand even this, what they have gone through. Down in verse 16. "Therefore, thus says
the Lord"-- you'll see how He flushes this out-- "I am returning to
Jerusalem with mercy. My house shall be built in
it, says the Lord of hosts. And a surveyor's line shall be
stretched out over Jerusalem." There is going to be
some expansion going on. There is going to be
building going on. In Chapter 1:18 takes us to this
second of those eight visions. And this is a vision
of four horns. Now, if you know
your Bible, you know that horns are symbols of
authority, symbols of power, usually symbols of
powerful nations. And these are nations
that at one time had Israel under their thumb. They were in control. They were dominated
over, Israel and Judah. And as the vision
continues, there are four stonemasons
or craftsmen that break these horns
or lose the horns. They get rid of them. So they overpower them. Let's read, verse
18, "I raised my eyes and I looked, and
there were four horns. And I said to the angel
who talked with me, what are these?" It's always a good
question if you don't know what
you're looking at, especially when it comes
to biblical things. You know, sometimes we
like to not our heads like, yeah, that's really deep. It's so deep I have no
idea what you're saying. So it's better to just
say, hey, what's up? What am I looking at? What do these things mean? So he does. "And so he answered
me, these are the horns that have scattered
Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And then the Lord showed
me four craftsmen." We don't exactly know
who these nations are. My guess is they represent
the same four nations as seen in the prophecy
of the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar saw an
image of gold and silver and bronze and iron
and iron and clay. Gold was Babylon,
followed by Medo-Persia, followed by Greece, followed by
Rome, all of which subjugated and persecuted
the Jewish people. Daniel had his own vision
of the same kingdoms. But in his vision in Daniel
7, it was wild beasts. It seems that these four
horns fit those four nations as once dominating Israel,
but all being pushed aside and Israel surviving
through the midst of it. Chapter 2 brings us
to the third vision. And that is a vision
of a measuring line. Remember, we just
read about that, a surveyor's line over Jerusalem
because it's going to expand. So Verse 1, "I raised my
eyes and I looked and behold, a man with a measuring
line in his hand. So I said, where are you going? He said, to measure Jerusalem
to see what is its width and what is its length." The vision goes on
to basically explain that Jerusalem however
big it was at that time would expand and grow. Interesting side note,
3,000 years ago-- and you can still see the early
settlements of Jerusalem-- 3,000 years ago, the
population of Jerusalem was about 2,000
people at its peak. And it covered-- the whole
city enclosed in walls covered only 10 to 12 acres. That was the city of Jerusalem,
10 to 12 acres enclosed by a wall, 2,000 people. That was Jerusalem. Today, the population of
Jerusalem is not 2,000 people. It's 875,000 people, close to
a million people in one city. The square mileage of
the city of Jerusalem, far from 10 to 12 acres,
is 49 square miles. It has expanded. That measuring line
has gone way out. There's gridlock
in the Holy City. Over in Chapter 3, we
get vision number four. It's a vision of Joshua, not
Joshua in the Old Testament after Moses, but Joshua
the high priest who served alongside Zerubbabel. Remember Zerubbabel? We've already noted his name. Zerubbabel was the civic
leader, like the mayor or the governor of the city. Joshua was the religious
leader, the high priest. And this is a vision of the
cleansing of the high priest emblematic of the cleansing
of the nation itself. Verse 1, "Then he showed
me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel
of the Lord and Satan standing at his right
hand to oppose him." Now, we can relate
to that, can't we? We, who serve the Lord,
we, who follow Jesus, we have an adversary. That's what Satan
means, an adversary, an enemy, who opposes
everything you want to do or activate in serving the Lord. He wants to oppose you. And this is
interesting, Verse 2, "The Lord said to Satan,
the Lord rebuke you Satan." Now, that's interesting. He didn't say, I rebuke
you Satan, which He could. He can. He is the Lord who
created the devil. He created Lucifer,
who became the devil. But the Lord said
the Lord rebuke you. He used the third person. The Lord who has chosen
Jerusalem rebuke you. Is this not a brand
plucked from the fire? Speaking of Joshua. "Now Joshua was clothed
with filthy garments and was standing
before the angel. And he answered and spoke to
those who stood before saying, take away the filthy
garments from him. And to him he said, see, I have
removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe
you with rich robes." I see here something that I've
always felt strongly about. When it comes to
spiritual warfare, we should never deal
directly with the devil. I've heard believers
become very emboldened. And they'll be praying and in
their prayers sort of pivot from praying to God to
talking to the devil, which I think it's just never good. Why pray to him? And say something like, Satan
I rebuke you in Jesus' name. Or Satan we rebuke you. Even the Lord didn't
use the first person. Even the Lord said,
the Lord rebuke you. So you say, well,
why is that a model? Because we see it again
in the New Testament Book of Jude, Verse 9,
where we are told that even Michael the Archangel
when disputing with Satan over the body of Moses dared
not bring a reviling accusation against him. This is Michael the
Archangel fighting another demonic
archangel, the devil. And it said, he didn't even
bring a reviling accusation, but rather said the
Lord rebuke you. So I don't even like
to talk to the devil. I don't think it's good
form for a Christian to have conversations with them. The Bible says
resist the devil, not carry on a negotiation
with the devil. Don't even talk to him. When the devil
knocks at your door, ask Jesus Christ to answer it. You don't have to
even engage him. And let's just say you don't
have to worry about him. Oh, it's the devil. So? What's new? Oh, it's the devil. Sometime go study one
of the great hymns of the church written
by Martin Luther called, "A Mighty Fortress is Our God." There's great
lyrics in that hymn. And one of the stanzas
goes something like, and though this world
with devils filled should threaten to
undo us, we shall not fear for God has willed his
truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim
we tremble not for him. One little word shall fell him. God will speak one word
and he'll be incarcerated, and he'll eventually
be destroyed. The song goes on
to say, his rage we can endure for lo
for his strength is sure and his doom, Satan's
doom, is sure. So good to study the
scripture and into study those who use the scripture to write
their worship songs like that. Now that's the fourth vision. The fifth vision
is in Chapter 4. It's a vision of a menorah. Do you know what a menorah is? A seven-branched candelabrum
that was in the Tabernacle, later on in the Temple. It is a fire that burned
before the Altar of Incense and the Table of Showbread. It was representative
of the presence of God among his people. But in Chapter 4, it's
a vision of a menorah that I would best describe
as an automated menorah. Before the days of
modern technology, it's a seven-branched
candlestick. Above it is a collecting bowl
that had olive oil into it. Pipes went out from this bowl
to the heads of the lamps to keep them lit. And on either side of the
menorah and this receptacle were two olive trees. So the oil was olive oil. So the olive oil
was being produced by the olive trees,
fed into the receptacle and by gravity taken
to the lamp stand. So you know usually
the price would have to fill it every day. This thing's automated. Check this out. Verse 1, "Now the angel who
talked with me came back and waken me as a man who was
wakened out of his sleep"-- oh, by the way, all
of these eight visions happened in one night. You think you have weird dreams
after your pizza with onions at 11 o'clock at night. Eight of these crazy
visions inspired by God, not pizza, not falafel,
not hummus, not onions, but the spirit of
God in one night. So he gets woken up. "And he said to me,
what do you see? So I said, I'm looking. And there's a lamp
stand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it. And on the stands seven
lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it. One at the right of the bowl. The other at the left. So I answered and
spoke to the angel who talked with me saying,
what are these, my Lord. And the angel who talked with
me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are?" And I like it. I love his honesty. "I answered, no." "So he answered me, this is the
word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, not by might, nor by
power, but by my spirit says the Lord of hosts." You recognize that verse. Very famous, very familiar
to you, often quoted. "Who are you, oh, great
mountain before Zerubbabel? You shall become a plane. He will bring forth the capstone
with shouts of grace, grace to it." In other words,
whatever obstacles you face in rebuilding this
temple, it's going to happen. You tell Zerubbabel this vision. God's going to do it. It's not going to be
by human strength. It's not going to
be by human wealth. But by the power of the
Spirit it'll get done. Rely on that, Zerubbabel. Don't say we don't
have enough money. We don't have enough resources. Just get it done. God will give you what you need. "Not by might, not by power, but
by my spirit, says the Lord." I love this,
because that's how I explain the existence of this
fellowship in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I didn't come here with
a demographic study of the area or being
financed by a group with a vision and
a plan and we're going to do this and do that. I had no experience and I
had no idea what I was doing. And those who know me
say, and you still don't. And if that's so, I'd rather
keep it just like that. It's a good arrangement,
because I may not, but He does. And so, well, how do you explain
the success of the church? Not by might, not by
power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. There are three more visions,
which we will not look at, all about the same theme. Jerusalem is going to
be built. The obstacles are going to be removed. Chapters 9 through 14 take
us to that messianic portion of the book, all the way to
the millennial reign of Christ, the kingdom on Earth, the
first coming of Jesus, as well as and most
principally the second coming of the Messiah. Keep in mind these
prophets did not see the gap that you and
I know to be the church age between the
first coming of Jesus and the second coming
has been an age of grace, 2,000 years of grace, where
people from all over the world and different generations
different tongues, largely Gentiles have come to
believe in the God of Israel through the Messiah, the
Jewish messiah, Jesus. Prophets didn't see that gap. They saw these processes as
all sort of a screenshot. I often use the
illustration, it's like looking at a mountain
range from 40 miles away. It looks postcard flat. But as you get closer,
you see that the peaks are separated by valleys. And if you go over
it, like if you take the tram over our own
mountain, which looks just like a big flat mountain
from this town, when you go on the tram, you
see the different peaks and the little
valleys between them. And so the prophets just
saw the mountain range. They didn't see the distance
between the events that happened. Now, I have a good example. Take you over to Chapter 9. Chapter 9:9, we have in two
verses, two comings of Jesus, the first coming and
the second coming with a gap between the verses
of now about 2,000 years. So again, both comings
seen sort of as one event. This is sort of like Isaiah 61. Remember that text? Jesus quoted that in the
synagogue in Nazareth in Luke, Chapter 4. And the text of Isaiah is
"the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because
he has anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor, to open the prison doors
to those who are captains, to proclaim the year of
liberty, the acceptable year of our Lord." Then Jesus closed
the book and said, "Today this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing." However, he closed the
book and stopped the text in the middle of a verse. There is a comma in
that verse of Isaiah 61. Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. Prison doors to those
who were captives, recovery of sight to the blind,
to proclaim to acceptable year of the Lord-- comma-- and the day of
vengeance of our God. That comma between the
first and second phrase is a 2,000 year-long comma. I preached a whole message
once on that comma. You say, well, I've
heard you do a verse. No, I just did the comma. So you have a
verse that includes the first coming and
the second coming, the tribulation and the
second coming of Christ. But Jesus wisely and
correctly closed the book before the verse ended,
the day of vengeance of our God, because that would
be the tribulation period. So he closed it and said,
today, this scripture is fulfilled in your ears. Now, we're waiting for
that rest to be fulfilled. So you see it here. Verse 9, Chapter 9, "Rejoice
greatly, o, daughter of Zion. Shout o, daughter of Jerusalem. Behold your King
is coming to you. He is just and having salvation
lowly riding on a donkey, a colt, the foul of a donkey." Does that sound familiar? That prediction was fulfilled
in the New Testament by Jesus on April
6, 32 AD, according to Sir Robert Anderson
who tabulated the dates. It was precisely 173,880
days after March 14, 445 BC when the declaration was
given by the Persian monarch to go back and
rebuild Jerusalem. And Daniel said from the
going forth of the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until
the Messiah, the prince, will be 173,880 days to the
very day Jesus showed up from the eastern
side of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives walking
with his men, his disciples. And he'd been there
before on several feast. Normally, they would walk
all the way into the city. But something was
different on this day. He asked for something he
never asked for before. He said go into the village
next to you and get me a donkey. It's tied up. There's a couple of donkeys
there, a mom and her colt. Bring them to me. Don't ask a-- if somebody
stops you and says, what are you doing? Just say the Lord needs
it, and they'll let him go. So they were over there. They go, what are you doing? They go, let's try this. He said try it. Lord need it. OK, take it. So they took the donkey. Jesus sits on the donkey,
comes into Jerusalem. For the very first
time, he allows himself to be welcomed
publicly as the Messiah. And then he stops midway. And he begins looking at
Jerusalem and weeping over it. And in Luke 19, he says
something very significant. He said, If only you had
known, especially you, in this your day, the things
that make for your peace, but they are blinded
hidden from your eyes. Therefore, your enemies
will surround you, cast an embankment around you. Your city will be leveled
with your children in it. Not one stone will
be left upon another because you did
not know the time, the day of your visitation." He held them accountable to know
when he was coming because he gave them the timetable. And the tip-off, the
clue should have been, he's riding a donkey. Hello, Zechariah 9:9. He's coming on a donkey. Kings rode donkeys
in times of peace. They rode steeds, horses,
stallions in times of war. That's why when Jesus
comes back, Revelation 19, he's not on a donkey anymore. He's on a horse to rule and
reign, to conquer the world, to put an end to what
has been going on. But here, as the
prophecy predicted, he's riding a donkey. Now, between Verse 9 and 10, the
period at the end of Verse 9 is a 2,000-year period, the age
of grace, the church age. Now, Verse 10, we're
into the second coming. "I will cut off the
chariot for Ephraim"-- that's a euphemism for
the nation of Israel. It's one of the large tribes-- "and the horse from
Jerusalem, the battle both shall be cut off. He shall speak peace
to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea
to sea and from the river"-- that is the Euphrates--
"to the ends of the Earth." This is Messiah's peaceful
reign after His second coming. You may want to write in the
margin, Isaiah, Chapter 2, because in Isaiah, Chapter 2,
and the book of Micah, I think, Chapter 4-- they quote each other-- "and they will beat their
swords into plowshares and their spears
into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up
sword against nation. Neither shall they learn
to make war anymore." That's Messiah's
reign from Jerusalem. And that is the same, shade
of meaning here in this verse. Chapter 10 speaks
about the blessings of the future kingdom, Chapter
11 the rejection of the King. In Chapter 11, can we
just do this very quickly? Verse 10, "I took
my staff, beauty, and I cut it in two that it
might break the covenant, which I had made with all the people. So it was broken on that day." Verse 11 of Chapter
11, "Thus, the poor of the flock, who
were watching me, knew that it was the
word of the Lord. And I said to them, if
it is agreeable to you, give me my wages. If not, refrain. So they weighed
out for my wages"-- how much? 30 pieces of silver. "And the Lord said to me,
throw it to the potter, that princely price
they set on me. So I took the 30
pieces of silver, threw them into the house
of the Lord for the potter. Then I cut in two
my other staff, bonds that I might break the
brotherhood between Judah and Israel." The Prophet here
speaking of Jesus paints the picture of Christ as a
shepherd asking his flock, what am I worth to you? Expecting them to say, oh,
you're worth everything to us. You have immeasurable worth. But they say, you are worth less
than a slave gored by an ox. Now let me explain that. In Numbers, Chapter
21, 30 pieces of silver was the price you would pay
for a slave gored by an ox. So that's very low. So basically,
they're saying, you are worth to us
less than a slave. Your value to us is only
30 pieces of silver. Now, Matthew 27 goes on to say
that this is the fulfillment-- Judas Iscariot
fulfills this prophecy because he took 30 piece of
silver for betraying Christ. That's all Jesus was worth
in fulfilling that prophecy. Threw it into the
house of the Lord. They bought a potter's field. Judas hung himself in
that potter's field. So that prophecy
was fulfilled here. Chapters 12, 13, and 14
are about the second coming of Christ. And interspersed in that-- the kingdom age
is there as well-- but interspersed in
that is the last battle of the nations of the world
that gather against Jerusalem in the end of days. So I take you now to Chapter 14
where we will bring Zechariah to a close. And noticed something in
Verse 3 of Chapter 14. "Then the Lord will go forth and
fight against those nations." You really have to
read all of 12 and 13 to really get the flow
of that, but we just don't have the time. I trust you've done it before. And this is 30,000 feet, so "The
Lord will go forth and fight those nations"-- judgment it
is already decreed about these nations before these versus--
"he'll fight against those nations as he fights
in the day of battle. And in that day,
his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which
faces Jerusalem on the east." It's always fun to pull
this out while we're standing on the Mount
of Olives and just to realize what
has happened, what will happen from that place. And the Mount of Olives
will be split in two, making a very large valley. Half of the mountain shall be
moved toward the north and half toward the south. When Jesus ascended
up into heaven, he didn't ascend up into
heaven from Jerusalem, but from the Mount of
Olives outside of Jerusalem. Right? It says he took his disciples
out to the Mount of Olives and then a cloud
lifted him up, and they watched him go into heaven. And so the disciples are
looking up, because, you know, he was here. Now, it's-- [WHIRRING SOUND]
they kind of saw him rising, checking it out. And so as they're looking up,
an angel appears and says, you men of Galilee, why do you
stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who
is taken from you will so come again
in like manner as you have seen
him go into heaven. How did Jesus go into heaven? In a cloud, visibly,
physically visibly from the Mount of Olives. How will Jesus return? In a cloud, physically,
visibly to the Mount of Olives. And this time it'll
be split in two. I've been told on a number
of occasions by tour guides that there is a fault line
that runs from the Syro-African Rift, that great tectonic
plate formation that formed the nation of Israel,
that fault line rides runs directly under the
Mount of Olives. So that fault line is waiting
for a very specific footprint. And when his foot
touches down, I think that fault will be
active and that valley will be formed when Jesus
returns to the Earth. Verse 8, "And in
that day there shall be living waters shall
flow from Jerusalem, half toward the eastern sea,
half toward the western sea. In both summer and
winter it shall occur. The Lord shall be King
over all the Earth. In that day, it shall be the
Lord is one and His name one." I have interesting
little tidbit about that. But I don't have
the time, because we have Malachi to finish. So sorry about that. That's very cruel
probably to say that. But go down to Verse 16. It shall come to pass-- now, we're looking future now. We're looking past
the second coming. We're looking into
the kingdom age now. Messiah is reigning on Earth. It says he'll be King
over all the Earth. We read that. Now, watch this. "It'll come to
pass that everyone who is left of all the nations
which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year
to year to worship the King of the Lord
of hosts and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles." So if you're not able to
join us on a tour of Israel, you'll get there. In fact, it seems
that there'll be a delegation from every nation. You might be part
of that delegation to celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles in Jerusalem. So you'll get to see
it in the Kingdom Age. But it is worth a trip
before the Kingdom Age, because it's nice to see
a before and after view, because if I read
is Ezekiel right, it's not going to look
anything like it does today. And if you want to
see the places that represent the biblical places
where things took place, it's kind of good to see
it before that point. OK, now, we're in the
last book of the Bible. We can do this. Short book, four short chapters. The book of Malachi-- I mean, Malachi. It is the bridge between the
Old Testament and the New Testament. It takes us all the way
to John the Baptist. He's mentioned in this book. He fulfills prophecies
mentioned in this book. Now, you usually
think that Malachi is the last Old Testament prophet. No, the last Old Testament
prophet was John the Baptist. You say, how do you figure? Well, Jesus said all the
prophets prophesied until John. So Jesus designated
John the Baptist as the last of the OT,
Old Testament, prophets. And we should move on. I have to catch
myself sometimes, because my mind goes
to these places. And I've got a real it back in. So there's a style in this
book called a dialectic style. Dialectic style meaning
it's a question and answer. Or better yet, a proposition
followed by an objection followed by a reaction. And so that's the style that
is seen throughout the book. Because of that,
Malachi has been called the Socrates
of the Old Testament, because of this very unique
style of his prophecy. OK, so it is post-exile. The people are back in the land. I already mentioned
they're apathetic. They're divorcing their wives. They're not good with finances. They're withholding
their tithes. All of these things are
addressed in this book. But notice the first few verses. "The burden of the word of
the Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord. Yet you say"-- here is
that dialectic style. "Yet you say in what
way have you loved us?" Imagine saying that to God. God says, I love you. We say, prove it." "Was not Esau Jacob's
brother, says the Lord. Yet Jacob I have loved." So there is this resistance
that we see in this book. Go down to Verse 6, "A
son honors his father. A servant his master. If then I am the Father,
where is my honor? And if I am the master,
where is my reverence? Says the Lord of hosts. To you priests who
despise my name, yet you say in what way
have we despised your name?" And He answers that question. Go down to Chapter 2. This continues as he uncovers
several of the issues they have I mentioned. They're dealing with money. They're dealing with
their spouses, et cetera. Verse 13 of Chapter
2 says, "This is the second thing you do,
to cover the altar of the Lord with tears with
weeping and crying. So he does not regard
the offering anymore, nor receive it with
goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, for what reason? Because the Lord has
been witness between you and the wife of
your youth with whom you have dealt treacherously,
yet she is your companion"-- or your covenant companion for
life and the wife by covenant. Verse 16, "For thus
says the Lord of Israel, he hates divorce for it covers
one's garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. Therefore, take
heed to your spirit that you do not
deal treacherously." Now Chapter 3 and 4, which
brings us to the close, these are the most famous two
chapters in the book of Malachi. This is where most quotes come
from and most of our attention is known on these
last two chapter. You'll see why. Verse 1, Chapter 3,
"Behold I send my messenger and he will prepare
the way before me. And the Lord whom you
suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger"-- so
that's the second messenger in this section. The first messenger
mentioned right up front. This is now the
second messenger. "Even the messenger of the
covenant in whom you delight, behold he is coming,
says the Lord of hosts." So there's two messengers. One is called the Lord. One is somebody
announcing the Lord. This is predicted at the time
the temple wasn't even finished or they had slowed down on it. For this prophecy
to be fulfilled, there has to be a temple
standing, because he's the Lord of the covenant. He's going to come to
that temple suddenly. "Even the messenger of the
covenant in whom you delight." So this is why
this book provides the bridge between the
Old Testament and the New Testament. Now, when Malachi is
done, which will be soon-- well we're almost done with it-- there's going to be
400 years of silence before God speaks again to the
Father of John the Baptist, Zacharias, that
Elizabeth is going to have a child, who's going to
be the messenger that fulfills this. So God breaks his radio
silence after 400 years. Now, go over to Chapter 4:5. Look at that. We're already at the end. "Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great
and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the
heart of the fathers to the children, the heart of
the children to the fathers, lest I come and strike"-- or smite-- "the
Earth with a curse." When Jesus was transfigured
up in the Galilee region in front of his disciples,
Peter, James, and John were with him. Two people appeared
with Jesus on that mount of transfiguration. One was Moses. One was Elijah. They were talking
about the cross. They were talking about
the coming kingdom. Here is the
prediction, God says, "I will send Elijah the
prophet before the coming, the great and dreadful
day of the Lord." Now, notice the description
of what he will do. He will turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children, the hearts of
the children to the fathers. An angel, as I
mentioned, appears to Zacharias 400 years later,
father of John the Baptist, said you're going to have a boy,
going to call his name John. He's going to be
God's messenger. He is going to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children and the
children to the fathers, which troubles us a little
bit or makes us wonder, well, wait a minute,
that's Elijah the prophet who's coming. So in the previous
chapter, I'm going to send my messenger who's
going to make the way for the Lord, the messenger. Now, he says Elijah the
prophet is going to come. Now, as I turn to
Luke, Chapter 1, I'll read to, as we're
closing this out. Verse 15 of that first chapter,
"The angel says to Zacharias. He will be great in
the sight of the Lord. He won't drink wine
or strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy
Spirit from his mother's womb. He will turn many of
the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also"-- watch this--
"go before him in the spirit and in the power of Elijah"-- quoting now the
prophet that we just read-- "to turn the
hearts of the fathers to the children
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just to
make ready a people prepared for the Lord." OK, John the Baptist is born. He comes on the scene. He starts preaching,
starts baptizing. They come to him and they
ask him, right in his face, are you Elijah? And he says, what? No. Are you that
prophet, the Messiah? He said no. So he denies being the Messiah. He denies being
the prophet Elijah. Although the angel
said to his dad, he's going to be
Elijah-like, right. OK, it gets even
more fun than that. In Matthew, Chapter
1, Jesus speaking, quoting Malachi in Verse 10
of Chapter 11 of Matthew, Matthew 11:10, "Behold, I
send my messenger before you. Prepare your face. Prepare your way before you. Assuredly, I say to you,
among those born of women, there is not risen one
greater than John the Baptist, but he who is least in
the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John
the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers
violence and the violence take it by force
for all the prophets and the law prophesied
until John." Now watch this. "And if you are
willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come." Now we're complicating
it a little bit, right? Because Zachariah
hears from the angel he's going to be like Elijah. Yet John the Baptist
said no, I'm not Elijah. Now, Jesus says, if
you can receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. OK, now I'm going to resolve it. Matthew, Chapter
17-- don't worry, we're closing this
book very shortly. I know my time's up. Chapter 17 of Matthew, "His
disciples asked him," Verse 10, "saying, why then do
some of the scribes say that Elijah
must come first?" Well, the scribes are right,
because the prophet said that, right? "Then Jesus answered and said,
Elijah truly is coming first and will restore all things." So he's speaking future. John the Baptist has
come and gone, right. He says Elijah will be
coming in the future. But Verse 12, "but I say to you
that Elijah has come already and they did not know
him, but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man
is also about to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood
that he spoke to them of whom? John the Baptist. OK, so put it all
together for you. John the Baptist was a
forerunner of the messenger. He came having an
Elijah-like ministry. In a sense, he was Elijah
fulfilling the ushering in of the Messiah. But the real prophet
Elijah, who died, whom Jesus met on the
mount of transfiguration, will come again before Jesus
shows up the second time. When does he come? I think Revelation 11. There are two prophets. And if you look at
their description, they smack almost
identical of what they're able to do and
their description of Moses and Elijah. That happens before the-- so I hope that solved
the puzzle for you. John the Baptist was
in a sense Elijah, but not the real prophet Elijah. Was Elijah-oid, Elijah-like. But the real prophet
Elijah will be resurrected, will come to the Earth, and will
have a ministry before Jesus. OK, the Old Testament ends. And what is the last word
in the Old Testament? What's the last word? Every Bible opens to-- curse. Mark that. Because the last verse of the
Bible in the New Testament revelation says the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, amen. The Old Testament
ends with a curse. The New Testament
ends with a blessing. Jesus came to remove the
curse introduced in Genesis, maintained here all the way
through the book of Malachi. But as it says in the
Gospel of John, Chapter 1, "The law came by Moses,"
which brought a curse, "the law came by Moses,
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." We hope you enjoyed this message
from Skip Heitzig of Calvary Church. For more resources,
visit calvarynm.church. Thank you for joining us for
this teaching from the Bible from 30,000 feet.
