Zechariah 11:14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
In verse 14 the scene changes. Back in chapter 10 the LORD spoke of reuniting Judah and Ephraim and bringing the nation of Israel back together again. Yet Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ in His first coming. A few Jews were saved at that time, but the majority hated Jesus. They chose to believe the false teaching of the chief priests, the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the lawyers. They expected the Messiah to overthrow the Roman government and give them back the ‘glory days of king David’. They did not understand that the glory days of king David were because David walked humbly with the LORD.
The Jews of Jesus’ day were not interested in that. They wanted to walk in the pride of the flesh. They wanted ‘freedom’ but did not understand where true freedom comes from. It does not come from fighting against God. It comes from submitting to Him. It comes from true Biblical repentance and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Jews are a very divided nation even today. That is why they cannot form a strong government. They always need a coalition government and thus there must be compromise to be able to govern. There is always a faction that is not happy with the coalition government. That will remain the case until the Lord comes back at the end of the Tribulation.
In our text, the LORD stated that He cut asunder His other staff — Bands, that He might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. That division is still there today.
In verse 15 the LORD spoke of another foolish shepherd. Remember the LORD has already spoken of foolish shepherds that were there in the time of Christ’s first coming. There will be another foolish shepherd which is a reference to the antichrist.
Verse 16 describes the nature of this foolish shepherd. He will be ruthless. He will not care about the Jews. He will desire power and he will seek to destroy the Jews. He shall eat the flesh of the fat and tear their claws in pieces. You can read about his nature in the book of the Revelation as well as in Daniel and a few other places. He will be a wicked ruler. The apostle Paul called him the “man of sin”. He will arrive as a deceiver who will convince the world that he is a peacemaker. The Jews will lay down their arms and they will foolishly trust this imposter. At the mid point of the Tribulation he will show who he truly is. He will defile the Temple that he had built and he will declare himself God. He will try to force all people to take his mark and he will not allow any commerce without that mark. He will go after all Jews and anyone who gets saved at that time. If it were not for the fact that God will shorten his time, he would accomplish his goal. However, his time of absolute ruthlessness will be three and one half years. He will not have enough time to accomplish his goal. Jesus Christ will come back at the end of that three and a half years and will cast the antichrist and the false prophet into the lake of fire. He will destroy all the wicked on the earth at that time, and He will establish the Millennial kingdom. Only saved individuals will enter that time.
In verse 17 the LORD warned of the idol shepherd that leaves the flock. There are many false shepherds today. Not just among the Jews but across the world. The idol shepherd here is singular, a reference to the antichrist. He will be the culmination of all the idol shepherds before him. As noted again here, he will not care about anyone but himself. During his first three and one half years he will deceive the people into believing he cares about peace. The world will be so hungry for peace by that time, that they will accept his lies.
II Thessalonians 2:11-12 we read:
II Thessalonians 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
You can read that passage and see further the nature of that wicked man. We know in Canada there are many gullible people now. Anyone that would support the current government is gullible. They cannot think clearly. The reality is that there is no party in Canada at this time that would do any better than what we have right now. They have proved that because no party is speaking up in support of the court’s decision that the lockdowns of the Wuhan virus times were illegal. It was wrong to freeze people’s bank accounts, etc. No party is willing even now to recognize that fact. They are all too afraid of speaking up. They are too hungry for votes to do right. That is just one issue. There are several others, that condemn all the parties.
When the rapture takes place, all the saved will be removed from this earth. There will be no true church. This devotional will go silent. All that will be left on this earth is the antichrist and false teachers.
The LORD will raise up one hundred and forty-four thousand Jewish virgin men during the time of the Tribulation. They will testify of the truth. God will also have His two witnesses in Jerusalem. The antichrist will work to silence the one hundred and forty-four thousand and he will succeed in murdering the two witnesses in Jerusalem. Their dead bodies will lie in the streets of Jerusalem for three days. The world will see it and will throw a party. At the end of the three days, God will raise up those two dead witnesses and remove them from the earth. All the world will see that as well.
Our text does not tell us all of this, but it is in the Bible. Our text gives us a summary of the wicked and evil ways of the antichrist. He will have his people who will do his bidding. Again, we see wicked people running this country now. They are so power hungry that they are willing to do the bidding, not just of our ruthless leaders, but also of men like George Soros and the Chinese government.
God gave these warnings hundreds of years ago but most people have ignored them. They have chosen to believe the lies because it is easier. Years ago I spoke with an older man about the corruption in our government at that time. He was a professing Christian man and he could not refute what I was telling him. His answer to me was that as long as he could die in peace that was all that mattered. The next generation would need to figure things out for themselves.
That answer was very much like the answer of king Hezekiah in the last fifteen years of his life. God spared his life for fifteen years. The Babylonians came to visit him and pretended to want to be his friend. He showed them everything he had in Jerusalem. Isaiah warned him that that nation would one day come and invade Jerusalem. Hezekiah shrugged it off and stated that as long as there was peace in his time, that was what mattered.
We need to take heed to the warnings of God. We need to look at the promises of God and understand that those promises are there for all who will humble themselves and trust in the true God. Those who are truly saved care about their families and neighbours, etc. We want them to know the truth and be saved. We cannot be selfish and just think about ourselves. This life is too short and eternity is a long time. Without the Lord, this life and eternity are a disaster. Be sure you know the true God today and serve Him with your life.
Pastor Bartel