Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.
2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
3 And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
5 But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
Chapter 12 closed with the children of Israel alive at the end of the Tribulation, acknowledging their sin and seeking forgiveness. That generation of Jews will come to understand that God is holy and they are not. They will take the time for genuine repentance.
Now in chapter 13 God is opening a fountain to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. It is important to acknowledge sin and seek God’s forgiveness. It is also important for God to forgive. We know there were times in Israel’s past history when God said He would not hear their cry. He would not forgive them. Their hearts were not genuine. They were looking for a “deal” where they could keep their sin and yet be forgiven. That never works with God.
In verse 2 the LORD of hosts would clean house. The beginning of the Millennium is a time of purity. Jesus Christ is the declared King, Priest, Prophet, Saviour, Messiah, Lord. We know earlier in Israel’s history, God commanded them to destroy all the idols and anything that hinted of idolatry out of the land of Canaan as they moved into that land. Israel was hesitant to do that then. They were weak and they were not that interested in obedience. The result was recorded for us in the book of Judges and beyond. They struggled to know the blessings of the LORD because they did not want to submit to His terms.
Now, Jesus was physically and spiritually in charge and He was going to clean house. He was going to give the incoming group of saints the opportunity to start with a clean slate. The physical temptations would be greatly reduced. Of course the heart of the people would still need to be humble to trust in the LORD for them to truly know His blessings.
When Jesus will clean house, the people will not remember the idols any longer. The false prophet and the unclean spirit will be gone. Jesus taught the importance of not just cleaning house, but of setting in place that which will guide and direct the cleansed person.
Jesus taught the importance of close fellowship with Him after salvation. The true local church is important for the true child of God. The true local church does not build on the type of poison that is promoted in most religious clubs today. The music in a true church is still “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”. The devil’s music has no place in a true church. The hearts of true saints do not want the devil’s music either. The preaching in a true church is from the Word of God. It is not apologetic in nature. It is bold and uplifting.
In verse 3 we see further that any person who assumes the right to prophesy in that time will be shut down even by his own family. Today we have far too much tolerance of false teaching. We cannot stop them from having their own platform and spewing their filth. However, those who are truly saved should not endorse or accept false teaching. Jesus often exposed the Pharisees and their friends. The apostle Paul named names of false teachers who were seeking to undermine the truth in his day. We have done that with TPUSA and other groups. We have mentioned false teachers like Kenneth Copeland and Jack Hyles. It is important to warn people of the deception that is very common. False teachers are not just preaching another form of truth. They are teaching false doctrine and must be avoided.
During the Millennium, there will be no tolerance for false doctrine. It will be dealt with swiftly. In verse 4 we see that the false prophets will be ashamed of their visions. Today they prance around, boasting of their false doctrine. They gain quite a following from gullible people who are too lazy to read the Bible for themselves. Of course, lost people lack the discernment needed to reject false teaching. They know it is not right, but they push the Truth to the back and accept the false teaching because it feels good to them. They can continue on in their sin if they can find a “preacher” who will endorse what they are doing.
We see in verse 4 that there is a certain attire that identifies a prophet. Again, today many preachers want to look just like the people they are deceiving. They do not want to be identified by what they wear or how they talk. However, there still is a certain attire that identifies a true man of God. It is not the backwards collar of some religions or the robes worn by the Catholic clergy.
In verse 5 we see that the true men will reject the notion of being considered a prophet. There will be no need for other prophets at that time because Jesus Christ will be the Prophet. The men will settle for being husbandmen who have been taught by someone else. They will admit they were taught to look after cattle, not people. Jesus will have His servants whom He will enlist for certain tasks, but none of them will act independently. They will be humble and faithful to Him.
In verse 6 the scene changes. The attention is turned to Jesus Christ again. We know from Scripture that after Jesus’ resurrection, He still had the scars from the nails and the piercing in His side. That will remain with Him for all eternity. The people will notice them and they will want to know what that is about.
Jesus will answer them. They need to know that those scars were given to Him by His friends. John 1:11 tells us that Jesus came unto His own and His own received Him not.
Psalm 41:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
Judas was supposed to be a friend of Jesus. He rejected that privileged place and chose destruction instead. Jesus was not caught off guard by Judas’ actions. He was grieved by it but He knew it was going to be that way. Judas had all the opportunity he needed to trust in the Lord, but thirty pieces of silver was more attractive to Him than a loving and just Saviour and Lord. In the end he threw that money back at the feet of the chief priests and went and hung himself and entered hell at that moment. He is still there and will eventually be cast into the lake of fire. He made a costly mistake. He will never be forgiven for that. He is a warning to anyone today who wants to pretend to know the Saviour, but whose heart is wicked. Be sure you are not one of them. Trust in the Lord for your salvation and know the blessing of the Lord. Those of us who are saved need to speak up and encourage others to know the truth in these days of grace.
Pastor Bartel