27: Minor Prophets – Zechariah 12-13

[Dunkle] Welcome to Minor Prophets class. We're carrying on, and we're getting near the end of Zechariah. Now, it's three chapters, but these three chapters make up what is called a single prophetic utterance. And I'll mention that, whereas this previous one, in our last session, we saw several prophecies that seem to be dealing with ancient Judah, and specifically we just talked about the first coming of Jesus Christ, what we're going to see in this last utterance is largely end-time prophecy, or if not end-time, at least future from the time that Zechariah wrote.

And it starts off pretty serious. "The burden of the Word of the Lord against Israel" (Zechariah 12:1). So, some of the scholars said maybe this should be for Israel. The prophecy is pertaining to Israel, and God is going to, in a sense, assert His power and authority. So, He says, "Thus says the Eternal, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundations of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him" (Zechariah 12:1). In case we're not sure who this is we're talking to, it's God.

He made everything. He gives us our very breath. And keep in mind where it says the spirit of man, we could debate whether that means the spirit of man that enables our brain to have intellect, but the word ruach could also mean just our breath. And God gives us our very breath of life. But He introduces Himself, and then He says, "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Jerusalem" (Zechariah 12:2).

This indicates something that we can see in history. It seems there's been an ongoing, I would even say, irrationality among peoples concerning Jerusalem. Maybe it's not totally irrational. It's worth remembering Jerusalem is considered a holy city by three major religions.

You know, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity all look to Jerusalem. And so wars have been fought over it for many years. You know, it's this cup of drunkenness. People are irrational about it. And it's worth noting this cup of drunkenness often serves as a metaphor for God's wrath. I've got a list of several scriptures. Let me turn to just a couple. The first one is in Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25, beginning in verse 15. We'll see that the imagery, the symbolism of this cup. So Jerusalem isn't literally going to transform into a cup, but God uses that to portray a certain frame of mind.

So Jeremiah 25, verse 15, "Thus says the Lord God of Isreal to me, ‘Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. And they will drink, and stagger, and go mad because of the sword that I send among them. Then I took the cup from the Lord's hand, made all the nations to drink to whom the Lord had sent me.’" (Jeremiah 25:15). So pretty powerful symbolism. When you cause Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness, that's something to note. The other place I'll read is in Revelation chapter 14. Revelation 14, beginning in verse 10. This might sound a little familiar. We tend to read Revelation more often than Jeremiah. Well, we're breaking into a thought, but it says, "He Himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation" (Revelation 14:10).

And it goes on to say he'll be tormented with fire. I don't want to get into the symbolism here of Revelation, but just to note that the cup of God's indignation, of wrath, of, we could say, even irrationality. So this cup of drunkenness. Verse 3, "All nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:3). Okay, so we can look historically and remember, as I've said, there's been fighting over Jerusalem.

Well, maybe since David went to capture it from the Jebusites. And then, of course, we know the Babylonians fought and conquered Jerusalem. And the Romans did. And since that time, we had the Muslims conquer it. We've had the Crusaders. We've had wars in modern times since Israel declared its independence. It seems to be ongoing. It's like a heavy stone.

Let's continue, though, and look at this in an end-time context. Matter of fact, at the end of verse 3, it says, "All nations of the earth are gathered against it" (Zechariah 12:3). If we're looking end time, that seems to be referring to what we would call the Battle of Armageddon. Joel chapter 3, verses 1 and 2, talks about all the nations in the Valley of Decision. And in verse 4, in that context, in that day, says the Lord. By the way, I mentioned there's a lot of end-time prophecy. If you just glance with me, verse 4 says, in that day.

Verse 8, in that day. Verse 9, in that day. Verse 11, in that day. Chapter 13, verse 1, in that day. Chapter 14, verse 1, the day of the Lord is coming. End-time prophecy, certainly. In that day is one of those cues that almost all the time refers to the end time. So in that day, back in Zechariah 12, verse 4, says the Eternal, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness" (Zechariah 12:4).

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 12:5). If we're talking about armies gathering, but then God causing confusion, we could be talking about actual cavalry, but we sometimes wonder if we see these symbols, ancient symbols of implements of, I don't want to call a horse an implement of warfare, but think of horses and chariots, and we think, could they picture tanks and Apache attack helicopters and things like that? And God could cause confusion with their communication systems and their navigation and avionics systems, just like He had the Midianites who came against Israel in the days of Gideon get turned around and start fighting each other.

I think we see something like this happen. And of course, this governor of Judah, thinking, we've got the strength, and they have had that. Israel has been amazingly successful in the modern era against overwhelming odds, fighting several wars against their Arab neighbors and having success, partly because of support from the United States and, to some degree, Britain. So we'll keep that in mind. But we go on in verse 6, "In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves" (Zechariah 12:6). That's a bad combination. You don't want your wood pile all catching fire. You want to take it a few pieces at a time to your fireplace.

So it's like a fiery torch in the sheaves, something that's inflammatory, literally, catching on fire, things that shouldn't. "They shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place — Jerusalem" (Zechariah 12:6). We might be talking about God stepping in in the end time to preserve the people that He wants in a certain place.

Well, I would say here, along with God, well, what seems to be God giving Judah or the modern nation of Israel success, sometimes in places where we wouldn't have expected it. We also see leaders of modern Israel, you know, maybe being more militant than they need to, or, well, who am I to judge how much they need to, but certainly being militant, maybe being inflammatory against the other nations.

In the present time, we've seen over the last, what has it been, two years now since Israel fighting in Gaza and nations calling on Israel for a ceasefire and Benjamin Netanyahu basically saying, we've got to fight this out. That's not a direct quote, by the way, but, you know, we have leaders of Israel who are looking out for their nation's best interest as they see it, but it's been sometimes like a fire pan in a wood pile or a torch among sheaves. So I don't think it's hard to say, yeah, that's been fulfilled. Maybe it'll get even worse. And we start getting into some, perhaps hyperbole, and some prophecies that we're not sure how they'll be fulfilled, because in verse 7 it says, "The Lord will save the tents of Judah first" (Zechariah 12:7).

So God is watching out for the descendants of Judah, "so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah" (Zechariah 12:7). Let me continue, and then we'll back up. "In that day the Eternal will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David" (Zechariah 12:8). So someone who's weak will be... what does it mean like David? That they'll write a bunch of psalms? That they'll... Well, David was a mighty warrior, and I'm pretty sure in this context that's what he's talking about.

David is the one that said, "I will fight" that giant. And he did it with a sling and only needed one of the five stones. And David had success after success in battle. God is saying, someone who's weak among these people, I'll make like that.

And then He'll go on, "and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them" (Zechariah 12:8). What is that saying? "It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" (Zechariah 12:9). Notice in verse 9, God says, "I will seek to destroy" them. First person, God will step in, and He'll take a hand. That helps... it helps me to be comfortable with not being quite sure what He means about making the weak like David, and someone that's like David being like God.

It seems that God is talking about enhancing people's ability, perhaps physically, giving people dramatic physical success where they wouldn't have had it. How exactly will that be fulfilled? I caution to guess. It is worth noting, though, and there in verse 8 it says, "the house of David shall be like God" (Zechariah 12:8). Who is the house of David? Well, they are among the Jews, but the house of David is considered separately. And our understanding of prophecy and of God's promises to King David was that he would leave... David would always have a man to sit on a throne ruling over the tribes of Israel.

And we've seen that as being fulfilled in a roundabout way, currently by the House of Windsor in England, the longest ruling monarchy in Europe. And I know some people have doubts of it, but it's the best explanation for the fulfillment of those prophecies.

Then I say, is this saying that King Charles is going to suddenly be like Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator and suddenly have all these powers? I didn't want to go Terminator. I was thinking of Rambo. And Prince William, you know, is it going to be something that bizarre?

Boy, we would notice that. That would be on the evening news, and you'd hear about it on the radio. But there's something else I want to caution, and there's a prophecy in Jeremiah. I won't turn there, but Jeremiah chapter 33 and verse 22, Jeremiah 33:22 says that David's descendants will be like the sand of the sea. So God not only promised that David would have a descendant ruling, but that David would have a lot of descendants, probably most of whom have no idea they're descended from King David.

Maybe they're a major portion of one of the nations descended from Israel, and God knows exactly who they are and where they are today. And I don't. I'm not sure, but, you know, we could see maybe this prophecy will be fulfilled in a group of people that we wouldn't recognize or think about, but we'll know it when it happens. Notice I might have said the word maybe half a dozen times in that last paragraph. So I'm partly speculating. I believe God's prophecies are absolutely true and will be fulfilled.

I'm not quite so certain exactly how they'll be fulfilled, but it's something for us to watch. Keep our eyes open and see. You know, it'll be entertaining, I suspect, when it happens. Let's go on in verse 10. So we get to something that is a little more sure as end-time prophecy. "So I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication" (Zechariah 12:10).

So whoever they are, there's going to be grace, a benefit, a blessing from God. "Then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for his firstborn" (Zechariah 12:10). This sounds like people that are upset and disappointed. Why? Because they're looking on the person whom they pierced. That seems to be Jesus Christ. In Psalm 22, verse 16, Psalm 22:16 is the prophetic psalm that says, "They pierced My hands and My feet" (Psalm 22:16).

And of course we know when Jesus was crucified, He was pierced. You know, well, the word for hands could include wrists and feet, but we know He was crucified. He was also pierced in the side with a Roman sword or spear, whichever it was. And are people going to see Jesus? Well, actually I will read Revelation 1, verse 7. Just to remind us, because it says, yeah, "they will look on Me whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). Revelation 1:7 says, "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him" (Revelation 1:7).

The Apostle John probably had Zechariah in mind when he wrote this, but I don't think he's just making an allusion to a previous prophecy. I think God is inspiring these words. This is God-inspired prophecy reminding us of part of that received prophetic scenario. Jesus Christ is going to come back to earth and, as lightning goes from one end of the sky to the other, all will see it.

And a lot of people will be unhappy. They'll be mourning, probably because they don't have a good relationship with Him. There's not even enough of a relationship to recognize who that is. I guess I'm a product of my times. I still remember going to see the movie Independence Day when it came out. I saw it at the drive-in theater, of all things. It was a fun summer. But I remember aliens come from outer space and the nations have to rally their military forces to fight. And I've wondered, pure speculation, but will some of the nations feel that way when Christ is coming?

Will they be so ignorant of God's Word that they think it's an alien invasion? We better fight for all we're worth. If, and it's a big if that's true, the humans aren't going to have the same success they did in the movie.

Jesus is the one that will be victorious. Only that works to everyone's good. We'll be glad that Jesus was victorious when we learn who He is indeed. But for the moment, there will be grieving. A very serious grieving as one grieves for a firstborn. Think of how it was for the Egyptians when God smote the firstborn and there was an outcry throughout all the land. Pharaoh's spirit was finally broken and he said, "Let the people go." (Exodus 12:31).

It's going to be like that. And God gives it a little more description that leaves us wondering because it says, "In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem" (Zechariah 12:11). That's M-O-U-R, not like the dawn of a new day. "Like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo" (Zechariah 12:11). You guys know all about Hadad Rimmon. No, me neither. But the plain of Megiddo is... Remember, Megiddo is where we get the name Armageddon from. It's up in this area.

One speculation that I like is that this... it's often thought that this is where the good king Josiah met his end. Because there was an Egyptian army going to face the Babylonians, and Josiah led an army out to participate in this battle. When he was kind of warned, Josiah, keep your nose out of this. It's none of your business. And he was wounded. It ended... Let me say that in English. He was wounded. It ended up costing him his life. And there was great mourning because Josiah was a very good king and had a lot of success. Maybe this is a reference to that. Here in Zechariah 12:11, it doesn't mention Josiah, just "Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo" (Zechariah 12:11).

And it goes on to say some things that are puzzling to me and to others. "The land shall mourn, every family by itself" (Zechariah 12:12). "The family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves" (Zechariah 12:12). Well, we know David, but we just discussed how he might have descendants at the end of time that we don't recognize now. So will this involve that group, if we could say so? And why separate from their wives? Will it be an isolation that's imposed from an outside power or something they've done themselves? Then in verse 12, it mentions "the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves" (Zechariah 12:12).

We would guess this Nathan is the one who was one of the younger sons of King David. You know, King David had several wives and several children. Nathan stands out as one of them because he's actually the one from which Christ was descended through Mary, Christ's mother. So Luke's genealogy traces the genealogy we believe is Mary. Because at the beginning it says Joseph basically should be son-in-law of, I think, Heli, and then it traces all the way back. So is there a significance to that?

Well, it goes on besides David and Nathan, their families. Verse 13, "the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves" (Zechariah 12:13). Shimei, we believe, was another branch of the family, the tribe of Levi. So we've got some subdivisions of David's family, maybe subdivisions of the Levites. And verse 14, "all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves" (Zechariah 12:14).

And, you know, scholars have been looking at that saying, well, what's up with that? And that's exactly what I say because I have not come across something that really seems to address this. I believe our Bible commentary says maybe this is a type of mourning that a person just has to deal with on his own or her own. And as I said, I've speculated, is there some type of separation or enforced isolation at the end time? But I ask it as a question without having any basis of that as an answer.

So this is another thing I'd say for us to watch for. I think it has an end-time fulfillment. I'd like to think it'll be obvious when it happens and we'll go, ah, Zechariah 12! Now I get it! But until then, I'm going to stop talking about it because I can only say I don't know in so many ways. But there are some things we do know, right? And let's go on in chapter 13. Here's that phrase again, "In that day" (Zechariah 13:1), that seems to include end-time prophecy, but might also be tying to the previous thought. You know, as these previous verses might have been showing mourning, perhaps repentance by the house of David and Solomon, it says, "There shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness" (Zechariah 13:1).

What's a fountain have to do with sin and uncleanness? Well, let me give you two possible... well, let me give you four things this could refer to. Two that we get based from Scripture. One, the fountain could be referring to Christ's blood, okay? Because Christ's blood washes us from our sins. Revelation 1, verse 5 is a good reference for that.

So our sins are washed away in the blood of Christ, in a sense.

A second one, and I'm going to reference the scripture first, Ephesians 5:26. In Ephesians 5:26, Paul references us being "washed... by the water of the word" (Ephesians 5:26). So God's Word can be something to help cleanse, you know, our conscience, so to speak. "How can a young man cleanse his way?" (Psalm 119:9). By seeking God's Word and doing it.

Let's consider another couple of things that might seem more remote, but I don't think ridiculous. Think of what Jesus said in John chapter 7. "On the last day, that great day of the feast" (John 7:37), apparently after they'd had a water-pouring ceremony, when Jesus said what? He said, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). He said... He said, I couldn't help it. Okay, so a fountain. For sin and uncleanness, the Holy Spirit works on that.

And let's add maybe the obvious thing we should have thought. There are numerous prophecies in the Millennium of there being literal water flowing from the throne of God. Ezekiel chapter 47 spends like 12 verses describing this river. And Ezekiel is saying, "I went out by one thousand cubits" (Ezekiel 47:3), and I went across, it was up to my ankles. I went a thousand more, it was my knees. He kept going. It became this deep river. And it flowed, some into the Mediterranean, some into the Dead Sea, and the waters were healed.

Revelation 22, verses 1 and 2 also talks about "a pure river of water of life" (Revelation 22:1). I'm going too fast. Revelation 22, verses 1 and 2, one more. Well, we could say two. Joel 3:18. Joel 3:18 is a brief reference to this flow of water.

And I forgot...

If you look across the page, for me, it's Zechariah 14:8. It says, "And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea" (Zechariah 14:8). So if the Bible interprets itself, this fountain opened could be referring to literal water. But I don't want to overlook that symbolism, because we know we are washed by Christ's blood from our sin. And that's the most important way to have a fountain for sin and uncleanness.

Let's go on. We've got that as a positive. And verse 2, it says, "It shall be in that day," says the Lord of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered" (Zechariah 13:2).

Okay. Zephaniah... We're in Zechariah, but Zephaniah 3:9 refers to "a pure language" (Zephaniah 3:9), or a pure tongue, that God will give to all the nations. And I think when we covered that, I speculated that God might well remove all these names of foreign pagan gods that have become part of our language. You know, maybe we'll go back to referring to the days of the week by numbers. First day of the week, second day of the week, third, instead of these names that are based on pagan gods.

Same for months. Well, whatever. "I'll also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land" (Zechariah 13:2). Okay. Obviously, that's referring to false prophets. Okay. So no more false prophets. The reason I'm saying that, you could say, well, maybe we won't need any prophets. But Joel 2:28 is where, when God talks about the Holy Spirit being poured out, it says, "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy" (Joel 2:28).

So I don't think all prophecy will be cut off, but false prophecy certainly will be. "And the unclean spirit to depart from the land" (Zechariah 13:2). And we see the term unclean spirit in the New Testament quite a bit, referring to demons, and we know they're going to be bound. Here's a bit of trivia. So if you have a Bible trivia game, this is the only place the term "unclean spirit" appears in the Old Testament, which isn't of great significance.

I think the idea is there, but this is the only place it appears. Just like, trying to think, is it here or there's a place nearby where the term "Holy Land" is the only place it appears in the Bible. But I don't want to play a game of Trivial Pursuit right now. Instead, we'll go on in verse 3. "It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, 'You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord'" (Zechariah 13:3).

Wow, that's serious. Mom and Dad are calling you out because of lies. Again, false prophets. "And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies" (Zechariah 13:3). Wow, that's pretty strong stuff. It seems to parallel something we saw back in the law of Moses, or the law God gave Moses. Deuteronomy chapter 13, verses 6 through 10, Deuteronomy 13:6–10, describes parents, you know, if a child is incorrigible and won't stop sinning, it talks about the parents bringing him to the magistrates and then them stoning him. So I'm glad that didn't happen with me and my parents, but what's intriguing, though, is Deuteronomy, it talks about stoning.

It doesn't talk about thrusting through. And I'll note, this is the same Hebrew word that back in chapter 12, verse 10, where it says, "They will look on Me whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). So it's the same word for pierced. And some people said, is there a connection? Is it that people will have the same kind of strong feelings against a false prophet as those kind of feelings that ended up killing the Messiah? That will be that strongly abhorrent to them, that they can't stand this lack of truth. I'm speculating, but something that would lead a father and mother to basically kill their own child because of false prophecy is very strong.

What I'd like to think this means is God is saying, it's not going to happen. Nobody's going to be a false prophet because that's how terrible it is and what a reaction it would bring. I like that idea. It's going on in verse 4. It says, "And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies" (Zechariah 13:4). "Nor will they wear a robe of coarse hair to deceive" (Zechariah 13:4). And that seems to imply that's the type of garment that prophets wore. And in, I believe it's... I'm trying to think in the Kings, there's a reference to Elijah wearing a coat of...

Now, what was it? Leather coat or... Anyways. Something, a primitive garment, it seems to be like the uniform. So every prophet, you know, these false prophets will be ashamed and they'll deny it. Verse 5, "But he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a farmer, for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth'" (Zechariah 13:5). Someone will say, "'What are these wounds between your arms?'" (Zechariah 13:6).

Well, "'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends'" (Zechariah 13:6). Now, this could be referring to the punishment. It said, you know, the father and mother will thrust him through. Maybe if he survives that, it's saying he's still got the wounds. Some people have speculated it's referring to the self-inflicted wounds that can come in pagan worship. And if I say that, it might make you think of the time when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. Remember, you build an altar to Baal. I'll build an altar to the true God.

"You call on your god first" (1 Kings 18:24). Well, when Baal didn't respond, they started cutting themselves to try to get his attention. Some people wonder if that's what it's referring to here. Well, the bottom line, though, is, okay, people will be ashamed if they were engaged in that type of activity. They're going to say, no, that's not me. You know, I just happened to get wounded. Well, you might not have seen that I had a whole bunch of scrapes up and down my arm a week ago from moving furniture. Matter of fact, this morning, my wife was saying, you know how many places I found blood on the wall from you bumping into it?

Not like I was gushing blood everywhere, but it's easy to get hurt accidentally doing stuff. So that's why I was saying, no, it was just that. I wasn't worshipping a false god because, well, let's say the idea is nobody wants to be associated with that.

Jesus is here. The Kingdom of God is established. We want to forget that past. We're devoted to Him. And then the prophecy turns to Him. We have an abrupt change to a Messianic prophecy. And this is one that has more of a past fulfillment, perhaps, than future. It says in verse 7, "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion" (Zechariah 13:7).

The word there for "My Companion" is transliterated A-M-I-T-H. And we could all guess at how to pronounce that. I want to say amith. Basically, it means a friend, a fellow, a companion. I mean, the reason I'm calling it out is this is another case that seems to be God the Father speaking of God the Son. So we've got one God Being talking about the other. So the Shepherd, Jesus Christ was the Good Shepherd. He was God's companion. "Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered" (Zechariah 13:7).

"Then I will turn My hand against the little ones" (Zechariah 13:7). Okay, "strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered." Yeah, we know that from the Gospel accounts. It's in both Matthew and Mark. Matthew 26:31 quotes this, and Mark 14:27. Okay, this was when Judas led the soldiers to take Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.

So, you know, and Jesus boldly went out to meet them and said, "Whom are you seeking?" (John 18:4). You know, and He said, well, if you're here for Me, "let these go their way" (John 18:8), talking about His disciples. Now, they didn't run immediately. We know Peter had to pull out a sword and cut off somebody's ear. But then they arrested Jesus and everyone else fled. And Matthew and Mark both quote this scripture. Okay, so it was foretold it was going to happen. The sheep were scattered at the Garden of Gethsemane. But we could see maybe an ongoing and possibly future fulfillment. We should remember the true Church has been scattered for most of its history.

You know, and matter of fact, in the Book of Acts, you can see when persecution arose, the disciples were scattered, but they went preaching the gospel. So it started then, and it has been through much of history. You know, the true Church, what?

Existing, well, this map doesn't even go far enough. On the outskirts of the Roman Empire, scattered and weak. And some have wondered, you know, is this like an ongoing or even what I like to call a cause-and-effect prophecy? The reason this comes to mind is within, well, when I wrote my notes originally, I said recent years.

Let's say recent decades. We had a strong leader of the Church of God in modern times who died. I'm talking about Herbert Armstrong. And after he died, the Church somewhat scattered. You know, there was deception and heresy, and a strong leader led a group here, another strong leader led a group there, and certainly God allowed that. But it seems that, you know, maybe whenever there's a strong leader that's suddenly removed, the sheep scatter.

I did preface that by saying maybe. Maybe God will look and say, Dunkle, that's not what I'm talking about here. But it's hard not to see a parallel. And one thing I would say, if we're God's sheep, it'd be good for us to strive to avoid scattering, you know, to stick together because if the leader we're following is not any man, but it's Jesus Christ, well, He was stricken and His sheep at that point scattered, but He's not being stricken anymore.

We stay close to Jesus Christ. If we're all close to Him, we all stay close to each other. You know, that's inherent, and we can avoid the scattering that seems to happen over and over. So I like to emphasize that. But we have some other things happening because "I will turn My hand against the little ones" (Zechariah 13:7).

What we're going to see in verses 8 and 9 seems to be a prophecy of the end time, and especially against the descendants of Israel. "And it shall come to pass in all the land," says the Lord, "that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it" (Zechariah 13:8).

"I will bring the one-third through the fire" (Zechariah 13:9). So even surviving doesn't mean without any problem or difficulty. "I will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested" (Zechariah 13:9). So it brings good results. "They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'This is My people'; and each one will say, 'The Lord is my God'" (Zechariah 13:9).

But to get to that point, God's saying, yes, you are My people. And the people saying, yes, You are my God. There's a lot of destruction.

And these numbers are numbers we see in other places. Let me see if I can... In Ezekiel chapter 5, I'm going to turn there quickly. God has Ezekiel perform a pantomime. I like to use that term.

God has Ezekiel shave off all of his hair and divide it into three even piles. One-third of it is chopped up with a sword. One-third is burned with fire. Another third is scattered to the wind, and He draws out a sword after them. And He says, this is Israel. Notice that the division is just like what we saw in Zechariah. And the meaning is given in Ezekiel chapter 5 verse 12. He says, "One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them" (Ezekiel 5:12).

What we would say is this seems to be some specific prophecies about the end of the age, the time before Christ returns, and it's sobering. It's scary to think there's going to be massive loss of life. We would apply this specifically to the descendants of Israel, that God knows who they are and where they are. And a lot of them are not going to survive to see Christ return. But some will.

Now, those who don't survive have the hope of the second resurrection. So let's not write them off. They'll come up in paradise after we've had a millennium of rebuilding the world. But it's going to be grim for those of us that are there at that time, assuming we're there and see it.

Boy, that's a grim thing to end the class on, but we're out of time. But that does bring us to the end of chapter 13. So in our next session, we will come to the end of Zechariah and probably introduce Malachi. So thanks all for your patience. We'll carry on.