Zechariah 14:11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
Zechariah continued to write about the Jerusalem of the time of the Millennium. Men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction. What a change from what Jerusalem is today and what it will yet be before this prophecy is fulfilled.
We noted in Zechariah 12:2 that Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling yet one day in the future. It has its problems now, but there is worse ahead for it. However, there is also better ahead for Jerusalem. The time is coming when Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. What a day that will be.
Mr. Netanyahu would love to see that day, but he will not. Jesus Christ will be in charge then, not the current P.M. It will be a great day for the Jews of that time. They will experience something their forefathers had wished for ever since the early days of king Solomon. During his reign, there was a brief time where Jerusalem was safe and prosperous. No one dared to attack. Commerce was booming and the king was busy building. Sadly, he was also busy destroying his own life and that of the state of Israel. His many wives and concubines turned his heart away from God and the kingdom was divided by God at his death. Since that time, Jerusalem has struggled to achieve peace and safety. They have never succeeded.
All that will change when the Lord Jesus Christ takes His rightful place as the King, and Prophet, and Priest of Jerusalem.
This is a picture of the change that this same Lord Jesus Christ brings to the heart of any person who humbles themself in repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. As we look at modern day Christianity, we do not see much of that. We see thousands of professing Christians who wear a facade that is shifting and cracking. They are working hard to try to make it look good, but they cannot manufacture what God says is real for all of His children. Thus we see people changing the Word of God to take away from the beauty of God’s salvation, and making it something that is not all that special, just one of many options.
I read recently that Joel Osteen’s religious empire is beginning to fall apart. He inherited a religious organization with about 6,000 members when his father died. Since then he has managed to build to over 40,000 members, at least on paper. However, his feel good gospel has not worked for many of those 40+ thousand and apparently around 20,000 members have left his group. Some have gone to other religious organizations, and some have just dropped off the public religious scene. Joel Osteen is just one of hundred and perhaps thousands of false teachers who have been telling lies to the gullible.
Man is looking for some way to find peace. Even Cain sought that in Genesis 4. He was the first man to try to develop a humanistic religion. God refused to accept his attempt. God graciously addressed Cain’s rebellion, but Cain insisted on doing things his way. Since that time there have been countless numbers of false religions and that will continue until the Lord Jesus Christ takes the devil and all lost people out of the picture for good at the end of the Millennium. The devil will be bound with chains in the bottomless pit for one thousand years, but he will be loosed at the end of that time, and he will amass a large following that will attempt one last attack against the Lord Jesus Christ. As with all others, they will fail miserably and the devil will immediately be cast into the lake of fire. All his followers from the time of Cain will then appear at the great white throne judgment where they will be exposed for who they truly are. Then they will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.
God gives us this information now, to help people to turn from the path of destruction to the truth. Sadly few ever do that in any generation. We are currently in a time of great deception with false revivals taking place in certain universities and countries.
The Bible is still true and the Bible tells us we can tell the true saints by their fruits.
God told Zechariah to write that the day is coming when Jerusalem will be changed. It will be safe for all who inhabit it. That is not today and it will not be tomorrow. However, it will come at God’s appointed time.
Verse 12 tells us that God will judge those who fought against the LORD. God will send a plague upon them. It will be a terrible thing. We have heard of the flesh eating disease. This will be worse than that. We read that while people are standing, their flesh will be consumed. Their eyes will be consumed out of their sockets. Their tongues shall consume away in their mouth.
Keep in mind, Zechariah wrote this over two thousand years ago. Every generation has had opportunity to read and study this book since the time it was written. No one will be able to stand before the LORD and claim they did not know. Thousands of false teachers have corrupted this book as they have the rest of the Scriptures. They will face their judgment. So will all those who choose to believe liars, rather than believe the truth.
God loves the world. He says so. He does not want anyone to perish. The key is to listen to Him.
Today is the Lord’s Day. Jesus promised to build His church upon Himself. He promised the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
There are still a few true local churches around today. Calvary Baptist Church of Treherne is one of them. If you live in our area we would welcome you to come visit us.
We are thankful for those who do attend and those who do pray for us. We are nothing without the Lord. We need His blessing on His work that He has called us to.
Pastor Bartel