Profiles Of Jesus In The Book Of Zechariah
by David T. Battler

The book of Zechariah is a bit of a mysterious maze to most christians; but it really does deserve a lot more attention than what we usually decide to give it.

In this thread, you will be expected to take the dust off this part of your Bible; for the specific purpose of finding Christ in the book of Zecharia: That is, provided that we find Him there!

We all know just one or two familiar verses in Zechariah, which we occassionally quote, such as:

Zech. 4:6 - “Not by might, nor by power; but by my Spirit saith the Lord God of hosts.”

Sadly though; the majority of this exciting book of the Bible is usually passed over unread, and uncared about...It is, for the most part NEGLECTED, because to this day, it remains largely unopened by today’s Christians.

Your participation in this thread is welcome if you are willing to give us positive input that is non-critical; although any questions to clarify are certainly welcome. Anything not pertaining somehow to this study subject, will be moved to a more appropriate thread.

A few preliminaries to take note of:

1/ The book of Zechariah is very relevant to Seventh Day Adventist theology, and mission; and we should study it very carefully.

2/ Zechariah has just 14 short chapters; yet it is one of the most Messianic books of the Old Testament.

3/ The book of Zechariah closely parallels Daniel and Revelation; and it could be said that Zechariah and Daniel are to the Old Testament, what Revelation is to the New Testament. Can’t you just picture it...Old Zechariah standing between the prophet Daniel, and John the revelator, with his arms extended, complementing and reinforcing the inspired message of Daniel and Revelation.

Each posting in this thread will be about as long as this one; and will end with a question or two to uncover more of what God is saying to us through this study.

1/ What were things like in the history of God’s people, as the messages and prophecies of Zechariah came to them?

2/ What are the implications for God’s people today of these messages and prophecies?

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

[This message has been edited by DavidTBattler (edited August 02, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by DavidTBattler (edited August 18, 2000).]

On the EGW rom disk there are 229-or 279 references to Zechariah. Especially the meaning of the prophetic symbols and to study which chapters that would put the church "onward and upward."

I don't have the newest cd-rom (if it has published & unpublished SOP on it.)

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Edward F. Sutton

Note 2 On Zecharia

The prophecies and messages in the book of Zecharia came at a very crucial time in the history of God’s people.

They were all just returning from their exile in Babylon; and were occupied with discouragement, spiritual apathy, and skepticism about the future.

During this kind of prevailing mood, God called upon Zecharia to restore confidence and direction to His remnant people, through His powerful promises, and through restoration in the Messiah.

Similarly, God is calling upon His remnant people of today to find REVIVAL AND REFORMATION in these well-timed messages of Zecharia originating from Jesus Himself: His love, His life, , and His return as

King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords!

Bible texts to follow in next post!

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Profiles Of Jesus In The Book Of Zecharia: Part 3
by David T. Battler

God’s Great Mercy

“Zecharia”, in Hebrew, means: “Yahweh remembers.” God remembers. His people were in exile for 70 years, (1:12), and God remembered them, as He promised, with mercy. (1:13, 16).

It is exciting to see in an Old Testament book, the same wonderful profiles of Jesus, as what you would see in a New Testament book.

The book of Zecharia contains a lot of prophetic allusions to the person, work, and future glory of Jesus Christ - it is all wrapped in symbolic and figurative language. A survey of all the minor prophets reveals that Zecharia has more to say on Christ than any other of the “minor prophets.” Important Messianic Predictions in this book are as follows:

1) The Branch: chapt. 3 & 6, (compare Isa.4:2, Jer.23:5)
2) Christ As King-Priest: 6:13
3) Christ’s Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem and His Coming Glory: 9:9-10
4) Christ As Shepherd Betrayed: 11:12-13
5) Christ Crucified: 12:10
6) The Sufferings Of Christ: 13:7
7) The Second Coming Of Christ: chapter 14

God’s theme of “Return to Me,” (1:3), obviously took the priority in Zecharia’s ministry.

Can you see how God would want to restore His covenant relationship with His children, before He went ahead with the restoration of Jerusalem and the temple? Well, OK. So you see that. You’re well on your way to being a great theologian; but what about NOW? What would this have to do with us NOW?

I know that many of us struggle with being mistreated in various ways, within the church, as well as without. When I am mistreated, I will often hold a great grudge, or develop an enormous chip on the shoulder! I will often act defensively, and in some cases, even go on the attack, because “I have a right to.” And, after I have done my dirty work, I have the nerve to sit on my “high horse” expecting the guilty party to take the initiative towards me; and make some amends. But, still, as sad experience will bear testimony to; the situation may never be restored completely.

Praise the Lord that His ways are not our ways! Christ Himself has come to us, as one of us, that we might come to Him, and become one of Him, so to speak...He wants to give us faith, repentance, and forgiveness.

The book of Zecharia can teach us about God’s return to His people; and Israel’s return to their God.

Why do you think God would have to, or want to return to us? What does the Bible mean, when it tells us about God “returning” to us?

God’s Return:

1/ “I have returned to Jerusalem” (1:16)
2/ God’s Words of comfort: (1:13)
3/ God’s jealousy: (1:14)
4/ God’s anger: (1:15)
5/ God’s great compassion: (1:16)

Israel’s Return:

1/ God’s earnest appeal: “Return to Me,” (1:3)

2/ God’s concerned exhortation: “Be not like your fathers.” (1:4)

3/ Israel’s spiritual returning: (1:6).

How is it possible that God returns to us? Did He go away some where for a while? Let us see if we can stick to the book of Zecharia for our answers, as much as possible.

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Just to let you know David, I am still searching Zechariah to understand it!!

In fact, since it seems so far out of my comprehension, I have engaged the assistance of my dear friends and husband to help me out

I will be back . . . !!

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Try plugging the key words of the texts , text by text into the EGW cd-rom disk search engine & you will get a wealth of explanation. If you don't have it, the two best versions to get from the Adventist Book Center are

1. EGW Library Edition 3.0 & manual from the White Estate. Gerry Buck has one - email & ask him what the system requirements are.

2. Legacy of Light Research Edition

I think my personal favorite is the 3.0 -so far. I upgraded to the Research Edition & it doesn't seem as user friendly to my way of using it as the 3.0 if the 3.0 is still offered for sale.

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Edward F. Sutton

Thanks for the info Ed. I'll have to keep it in mind. However, it won't be for a while unless God provides because with my husband in school we're stetching my pay cheque to the limits already!!

On a positive note, I think I am beginning to understand Zechariah - just by doing cross-referencing in the Bible and applying what I know and am learning about in Daniel/Revelation. Proof positive that when we ask God will open the doors of understanding and lead us where we need to go.

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Well, we're still, technically in chapter 1 with this study. One of the things that I find very interesting here, is this business about the guy in the myrtle trees. (see vs.10-11).

A clue as to who this is in the myrtle trees may be wrapped in the fact that it was a habit or a custom of Zecharia to look up, and see a vision of God. (1:18, 2:1, 5:1, 6:1, etc.).

What is the significance of "looking up" for God's church today? Who is that guy in the myrtle trees, and is he important to Christians in the year 2000?

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

[This message has been edited by DavidTBattler (edited September 05, 2000).]

Okay, v. 10: "behold a man riding upon a red horse and he stood among the myrtle trees. . .."

Well, my Bible has these wonderful cross-references that sent me back to Joshua 5:13 "a man . . . with his sword drawn" who is later identified as "the captain of the host of the Lord", which fulfilled Exodus 23:23 "For my Angel shall go before thee". Acts 1:10 and Genesis 18:2 show us that angels frequently appeared to be men in the OT, therefore, I concluded that the man on the red horse standing in the myrtle trees must be the angel that goes before the four winds that reek havoc upon the earth(continuing v.10 where I went to Rev. 6:4 for the symbolism of the horses).

Rev. 6:4 speaks of the 2nd seal where power is given to the Red Horse to take peace from the earth. I noted that in Zechariah 1:11 it mentions that there are many white and bay horses following the red horse, but only the red horse has a rider. What, I wonder, is the significance of this?

These conclusions are where my studies have taken me so far, anyway.

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Sarah

I'm short on time & will post more later...but let me answer the question of the red horse with another question.

In what way could Gal.6:14 be connected to the red, and the guy on the horse?

Either tommorrow or Tuesday; I'll have another bit of study to post!

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

OK.
Galations 6:14 "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world"

This, of course, seems to only have one obvious answer - that red symbolizes the blood of Christ, shed upon the cross and the Angel of the Lord sitting upon the horse can only be Christ leading the final charge against Satan. . . right?
(Please note that I use the term "Angel of the Lord loosely, because in my Daniel studies in Sabbath School we learned that Jesus is the Prince of the Angels, and would then be the Angel of the Lord, as opposed to an angel of the Lord).

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Sarah Moss
*Prayer Changes Things!*

Amen Sarah!

I will be posting some good study notes soon on this!

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"The joy of the Lord will be your strength." (Neh.8:10).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Hello Brothers and Sisters

I have a few more thoughts on the book of Zechariah. It is so amazing how Christ is revealed in all the Scriptures - when you look for Him. May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word...

Zech.1: 8-13

“Myrtle Trees: A well known and beautiful evergreen shrub, with white flowers, berries which are at first white, and then turn bluish-black. They are edible, though rather too astringent for most Western palates.” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, pg.1140).

“Myrtle: The snow-white flowers are bordered with purple, and an aromatic fruit, from which perfumes are made. In poor soil; it may be little more than a scraggly shrub, but it can attain a height of 20-30 feet under ideal conditions.

Myrtle branches were used to build booths for the Feast Of The Tabernacles, in post-exilic Jerusalem...(see Neh.8:15). It grows on nearby hills, and is now known in all countries bordering the Mediteranean Sea.

The Myrtle of Scripture is a symbol of God’s generosity, and of peace and joy. (Isa.41:19, 55:13).

A grove of Myrtle trees is the setting for a vision of Zecharia. (Zech. 1:8-11).

Zecharia had a total of 8 visions. Chapter one covers only the first two of these 8:

1) The horse men: 1:7-17: reveals God’s plans for Israel at a standstill. The heathen nations of the earth are “at ease,” but God announces His purpose to restore the temple as His house, and to choose Jerusalem, as the agency through which His purpose of the salvation of all people shall be accomplished.

2) The four horns, and four carpenters: 1:18-21 Pictures for us the damage that Israel has suffered collectively as a nation, because of their captivity, and proclaims God’s intention to repair all the damage that has been done to them.

P.K. 580: “Two months after Haggai’s last recorded message was delivered, Zecharia had a series of visions regarding the work of God in the earth. These messages were given in the form of parables and symbols, coming at a time of great uncertainty and anxiety; and were of peculiar significance to the men who were advancing in the name of the God of Israel.

It seemed to the leaders as if the permission granted to the Jews to rebuild was about to be withdrawn; the future appeared very dark. God saw that the people were in need of being sustained and cheered by a revelation of His infinite compassion and love.”

The myrtle trees were a very common and familiar thing in the days of Zech., and since this is a very Messianic book, with Christ as the very heart and center of it; we see Christ, with all His earnest appeals to His demoralized people; and His longing to be with them, and restore them...

Wouldn’t it seem natural, as well as consistent, that Jesus would want to be among His people, just as He was among the myrtle trees? (In the endtimes, Jesus is the same. His desire is to be among His people, in His church: Rev.1:12-15, 20).

What does this picture of Jesus in the myrtle trees tell you about Him? It tells me that he is not someone who absents Himself, when I have done wrong; and when I am down; but rather, Jesus stands up for His discouraged people, and comes to be with me in sympathy and solidarity.

As a result of Christ’s presence among His people, many blessings are bestowed. (See Zech.1:13-17). He gives them His comfort, His love, His defense, His compassion, His prosperity, , and His restoration.

Oh! How I love Jesus!

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"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone!" (Eph.2:20).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Great topic. I can't wait till you get to chapter 14.

Blessings,
Qranc

Hello Qranc

Thanks for dropping in on us.! Your opinions and questions are always welcome too. I agree. This is an interesting topic. I too, can't wait till I get to chapter 14. I have been slow coming out with the next study; but look for it sometime this week!

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"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone!" (Eph.2:20).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

Profiles Of Jesus In The Book Of Zecharia: Part 5

“…Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” (Luke 21:28).

What an exciting experience as we focus our attention on Christ, and follow the example of the prophet Zecharia. No matter what he was in the middle of; the young prophet was always aware of God’s presence, as evidenced by his looking up.

How aware are we, of our Creator, during the course of our daily lives?

Zecharia frequently stopped whatever he was doing, to lift up his eyes, and commune with God. To Zecharia, his calling was important; but his God was more important. He was not so caught up in his “daily grind,” that he missed out on victory in Christ; and he wasn’t so caught up the work of the Lord, that he missed out on the Lord of the work.

This has been and is a universal spiritual hazard among the people of God; it was the problem of the religious leaders of Christ’s time; but it is important to note that the hapless rabbis did not hold a monopoly on this spiritual problem. Even Christ’s disciples had this plague, and so does the church of today. Under one guise or another; Christians have a lot of trouble just “looking up;” and being aware of God’s presence in their daily grind.

“In the estimation of the rabbis, it was the sum of [their] religion to be always in a bustle of activity...The same danger still exists. As activity increases, and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is the danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a saviour of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus; realizing that it is His power which does the work.” (DA 362).

Let us join Zecharia in the experience of seeing visions of our Lord, let us see some more of the portraits of Christ in this exciting book of the Bible.

If you study the first six chapters of Zecharia; you would soon see that it was a habit or a custom of the prophet, to look up and see a vision of God, and get some kind of revelation from Him. These chapters contain four examples of Zecharia doing this: 1:18, 2:1, 5:1, and 6:1.

In the first two examples; Zecharia states: “And I lifted mine eyes and saw;” and in the second two he said of his experience: “Again; I lifted mine eyes and saw...”

What spiritual significance does Zechariah’s lifting up of his eyes, again and again have for God’s church today?

First of all, it tells us that the prophet does not project himself to us as someone who faces his challenges alone, or who sweats over his problems, without reaching beyond himself to God.

In a very similar way, everyone in the church has their own share of problems and challenges that we must face. But, long before we become stressed out and overburdened with them; we need to discipline ourselves over and over again to take these things to Christ, and try to see them from His perspective. It is quite likely that our troubles won’t really disappear; but Christ wants to make an appearance, and face these challenges with us. Before we become over-taxed trying to handle our problems down here; on our own; we must train ourselves to be instinctively lifting our eyes, and looking up to God.

I know for myself; I am often aware of the natural realm of things; but it is too rare that I am even half as much aware of the supernatural around me. Elisha was a man who was acutely aware of the unseen events surrounding him and his young assistant, as we see by his prayer in
2 Kings 6:17: “O Lord, I pray Thee; open his eyes that he may see.”

I found it very interesting that in Zech 5:1 and 6:1 the word “again” is used to precede “looking up.” What is God saying to His church by this word again?

The word “again” as used in Zech. 5:1, and 6:1 stands for the fact that God’s people need to have a pattern and some consistency in their communion with God. The prophet Zecharia did not lift up his eyes once; but “again,” meaning repeatedly. One experience is not enough. We have to look to Jesus again and again. Why else would He need to be in the sanctuary now if that wasn’t the case? (Heb.7:25). In order to renew and restore our spiritual strength; we need to look again and again to Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we are told in many ways that it is essential to have a continual, or ongoing spiritual experience, through our relationship with God.

For some brief examples:

1) Pray without ceasing – 1 Thes.5:17
2) Die daily to self; and live for Christ – 1 Cor.15:31
3) Take up our cross daily and follow Christ – Luke 9:23
4) Delight ourselves with the Law of God – reflect on it day and night – Ps.1:2
5) Search God’s Word daily – Acts 17:11

I found it to be very interesting that the word “turned” is also used in Zech. 5:1 and 6:1, in connection with looking up to God. “Turned” is a verb meaning “to stop” or “change direction,” or to “interupt what is being done; and think about doing something different.” So when we look a little closer at these 4 passages in Zech., we can see a definite progression or sequence of actions:

1) He turned
2) Lifted up his eyes
3) Looked
4) Beheld a vision

While Zecharia went about his regular daily toil of leading the returned exiles in rebuilding the ruins of the Temple and Jerusalem; he never lost sight of God’s presence. Zecharia was always ready to interupt his activities, no matter how important they were, and lift up his eyes to God; and listen to Him.

This looking up was his secret to spiritual victory; and today’s christians must also depend on this “secret.” They must continually look up to the Source of their redemption.

I know that with myself, if things seem to be going fairly well at the time, I find it very easy to “look up.” But when things start to get really difficult, or tragic, my faith becomes a bit precarious, looking up loses it’s value, and I settle into discouragement. I tend to look horizontally, rather than perpendicularly…During the really tough times; I can be found looking at myself and/or others; and depending on complaing and critisizing to pull me through! Imagine! Instead of looking up to Christ…deliberately choosing to cast Him aside in favour of bitternes and fault-finding?

So we have an prophet of old, looking up to God; and seeing a vision of Him, and we are reminded of Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The NIV Bible actually uses the word “revelation,” instead of “vision.” “We are to look away from self to Jesus.” (MH 249).

Many people are willing to acknowledge Jesus as Lord when they look into His temple, and see Him there. (at church). “Many were ready to call Him Lord, when He wrought miracles; after He had risen from the grave; but none acknowledged Him as He hung, dying on the cross, to save the penitent thief, who was saved at the eleventh hour.” (DA 750).

Zecharia offers God’s church a pattern to follow when they are not at church, when the spouse is yelling, when the kids are cavorting, when the job is gone, when the health disappears, when tragedy strikes.

And the Bible says of all these thing: “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve,” and where you will look.

Next, post, we will look at the subject of repentance as portrayed in the book of Zecharia.

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"We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets; Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone!" (Eph.2:20).

Your brother in Christ

David T. Battler

In what ways can we as a collective church "look up?"

How do we as individual Christians practice God's presence by "looking up?"

What is it that we do when we "look up" today, in the year 2000/2001?