Read 273.) Zechariah 7:1-8:23 and Ezra 6:14-22. As a percentage of their prophetic content, I would say no prophet received more End-Times content than Zechariah, as we will note.
Chapter 7 opens with a time clue that helps us to place this at 518 BC. Some of the settlers of the area had fasted a time in the 5th and 7th months of their calendar year and were asking of the priests and prophets if they should continue their practice and habit since the house of the Lord was nearing completion. The Lord's answer was that they had not sincerely fasted unto Him all that time that they had fasted anyway, and told them to repent and change their ways, much as Isaiah had in chapter 58 of his book. See that in verses 9 and 10? He goes on to explain that was the very reason He had removed them from their Promised Land to leave it desolate for 70 years in the very first place. It had been because of their sins!
Chapter 8 goes on to tell us from the Lord thru the prophet that He will one day return to Jerusalem to dwell there again. This then becomes a Millennial promise as we will see word clues in the passage. Verse 3 confirms this. It will be the time of Jerusalem's elevation before all the world. Verse 8 further confirms the nature of that time. A key characteristic of the Millennial Kingdom will be this matter of prosperity we see beginning with verse 12. And from this prosperity, once again, as was to be Israel's role from the very beginning, the Gentiles would see the Hand of the Lord in His blessing of faithful Israel and they would come to Israel and to Jerusalem to seek out the Lord, desiring that He save and bless them as well.
This concept that Israel would covenant with God and obey His decrees, resulting in His supernatural and superabundant blessing of Israel first arises with Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 4, verses 5 thru 8. We actually saw for the first time this principle come into play and to result in a Gentile conversion unto the Lord with the Queen of Sheba coming to King Solomon in Jerusalem halfway through his reign in I Kings 10 and the first 13 verses there. That had been the very height and pinnacle of Solomon's and of Israel's glory, but they were unable to maintain their lofty position as Solomon let it go to his head. He became lifted up in pride believing that had been all about him, and not the Lord. It has been a very long downhill run of some 430 years to this time of Israel's low estate and humiliation. But the promise of God unto them is that He would still bring it all to pass in an even greater way when His Millennial Kingdom is established. It's what the Book is all about!
ForeverKingdom,
Harold F Crowell
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