Zechariah, Chapter 2, the beginning of Verse number 1, the Bible reads: "I lifted up mine eyes again and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, 'Whither goest thou?' And he said unto me, 'To measure Jerusalem to see what is the breadth thereof and what is the length thereof.' And behold the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him and said unto him, 'Run. Speak to this young man saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. For I saith the Lord will be unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the midst of her.'"
Now, Chapter 2 is picking up exactly where Chapter 1 had left off, and I'm just going to very quickly mention to you what Chapter 1 was about. If you remember the timeline of the book of Zechariah, this is going on, this is being preached in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, okay? The children of Judah had gone away captive into Babylon for 70 years. That 70 years is expired. Now they're coming back to the promised land and the preaching of Zechariah and Haggai was to encourage them as they're going back to rebuild. It talks about how when they're building the wall and when they're building the temple, how they prospered through the preaching of Zechariah and Haggai, is what Ezra told us, that that preaching was there to strengthen them and encourage them and so forth.
That's the context of what we're reading. In this passage at the beginning of Chapter 2, it's talking about the fact that Jerusalem is going to be inhabited, it says in Verse number 4, as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. What he's saying is there are going to be so many people dwelling in Jerusalem you couldn't wall it in as a walled city. It's going to spread out with just so many inhabitants. He's just trying to impress upon them the fact that they're going to be brought back from captivity and that they're going to once again possess the promised land. He's just encouraging them with that and so forth.
Now, in Chapter 2, some of this also has to do with a future fulfillment having to do with the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, because during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the Bible teaches that they will be dwelling safely and that they won't be worried about any enemies or anything like that because of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be ruling with a rod of iron. The wolf is going to lay down with the lamb and all that in the millennium. We're going to get into that later in the chapter here. But I just want you to know the context of what Zechariah is preaching about. He's encouraging the people, talking about the fact that they're going to come back from Babylon - that's what Chapter 1 was about - and they're going to repossess the promised land.
But he also gave a stern warning in Chapter 1 that said, "You need to obey my word. The reason why you went into captivity in the first place and were kicked out of the promised land was for disregarding the words of the prophets. You better listen to the preaching and draw an eye to God, and he'll draw an eye to you." That was the message of Chapter 1. But I want to point out an important verse here in Verse number 5, where it says, "For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the midst of her." What he's teaching here is he's saying, "You won't even need a physical wall to protect you. I'll be your wall. I will be your defense. I will protect you." Now, keep your finger there on Zechariah, but flip over to Isaiah 26, Isaiah Chapter 26.
Isaiah, Chapter number 26, to the left in your Bible, and we'll begin reading at Verse number 1. The Bible reads: "In that day, shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks." What's the wall here in this verse? Salvation is the wall. "Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates," watch this, "that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." You know, this is a great verse that we hear quoted all the time, Isaiah 26:3. This is the type of verse that someone would have framed on the wall, isn't it, or that you would get a greeting card with this verse inside of it? I think it's great the way that this verse is used to talk about the peace of God in our hearts, the peace that passeth all understanding.
But you know that's not really what this verse is actually about in context? That's a great secondary meaning. I'm not saying to take it down from the wall. It's a great secondary application, but what he's talking about literally here is being at peace from your enemies because God is protecting you, if you actually read the context here, because he talks about the fact that salvation will be their walls. They'll have a strong city, "Open ye the gates," Verse 2, "that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in." You notice that when the children of Israel in the Old Testament worshiped the Lord and did that which was right in his sight, he would give them rest from their enemies round about. He would put the fear of them on the nations around them and they would have peace. Then when they would disobey the Lord, turn after other gods, worship Satan, then God would bring in foreign enemies that would come in and wreak all kinds of havoc amongst them, right?
Look at the book of Judges. Look at the days of the kings and you'll see that same pattern going on, and you'll see God blessing the Hezekiahs and the Josiahs and then you'll see him bringing judgement upon those who did that which was wicked in the sight of the Lord. But the reason I want to point this out is that many people would like to take the promises of Zechariah Chapter 2, and they would like to import them into 2015 Israel. They would try to apply this to the state of Israel in the Middle East today in 2015, and I've even heard that the John Hagees of this world say that the Lord will be a wall of fire round about and glory in the midst. Can you say amen to that? You know, and they preach this about Israel. God's going to be the wall of fire and the glory. But hold on a second. What's the wall? Salvation.
Hey listen. If you don't have salvation, you don't have God's wall, and they can build their iron dome. That's not God's wall. See God's wall, God's bulwark is salvation. Verse 2 says, "Open ye the gates that the righteous nation, which keepeth the truth may enter in." Let me remind you of a little verse, John 14:6. "I am the way, the truth, and the light." Who said that? Jesus. Jesus saith unto him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh under the father, but by me." Let me ask you this. Is a nation that denies Jesus a nation that keeps the truth? No way. It's a nation that rejects the truth. See, the Bible says here, "Open ye the gates that the righteous nation, which keepeth the truth may enter in." Okay? That would not describe 2015 Israel.
Now in Zechariah Chapter 2 that did describe them, because in Zechariah 2 they were trusting the Lord. They did have salvation, and God was talking about the blessings that he would bring, that he would be that wall of fire around them, that he would be the glory in the midst of her. Even if you just think about that word glory. Hey, God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, without Jesus there's no glory. Without Jesus there's no salvation. Without Jesus there's no wall of fire about you and glory in the midst of you. That's all through Jesus, okay? But today in 2015 unfortunately, Israel is without Christ and that means that they don't have any of these things. Now, go to Isaiah, Chapter 60. Isaiah, Chapter number 60. Now, did they have them in the time of the Old Testament, in Zechariah 2? Yes.
Now, another point that could be made is that in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, okay, then it will once again be a righteous nation because Jesus will be on the throne. But what you have to understand about the millennial reign of Christ is that there's something that happens before the millennium that's known as the First Resurrection, also known as the Rapture, also known as The Dead and Christ Shall Rise First. What's going to happen is, before the millennium takes place, there's going to be a resurrection of all the saints who've ever lived, Old Testament, New Testament saints are all going to be resurrected. Jesus said that when he comes at his kingdom, his 12 disciples would sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, okay? Now, in the millennium, when the apostles are judging the 12 tribes of Israel, those are Old Testament saints that have been resurrected.
This is what a lot of people miss. They miss the fact that before Israel is in safety and in the millennium with Jesus reigning, that first there's going to be a resurrection of the saints that takes place first. It's known as, [inaudible 00:09:51] pre-millennialism. There's a resurrection before the millennium, and it's biblical. Of course the Bible talks about the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and the word of God, how they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, that resurrection. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath no power," et cetera, et cetera. Twelve tribes, that doesn't describe the Israel that we see today because they're not in tribes over there. It's just a mass of people, a bunch of Polish people that say, "Hey, we're Jews," but they're not ... Nothing against Polish people, of course. I'm part Polish myself.
But the point is though, that we don't see 12 tribes. But here's the thing. In the Old Testament, we did see 12 tribes existing. Even at the time of Christ there was a remnant of a little bit of the 10 tribes still floating around, although most of the Jews were of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, there was still a remnant of some of the other tribes, whereas today many of those tribes have totally ceased to exist. Whereas, in the millennium though, will the tribes be back in them millennium? Of course. Why? Because you're resurrecting the Reubenites, those that were saved. You're resurrecting the Gadites. You're resurrecting the Asherites and the Simeonites and all of these, Issacharites, that don't exist today because they've been lost and mixed and so forth. They're all coming back though, and they will be judged by the 12 apostles in the millennial reign of Christ. There's a foreshadowing of that in Zechariah, Chapter 2.
Did I have you turn to Isaiah 60? Look at Isaiah 60, Verse 18. "Violence shall no more be heard in they land, wasting nor destruction within they borders. But thou shalt call thy walls salvation." Is the Bible being consistent here? "Thou shalt call thy walls salvation and thy gates praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee, but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God, thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down. Neither shall thy moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous. They shall inherit the land forever. The branch of my planting, the works of my hands, that I may be glorified."
This is talking about way in the future, isn't it? This is talking about when there's going to be no night there, and how they have no need of the sun, for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne, the lamb is the light thereof, the Bible says. Jesus is the light. This is way in the future, isn't it? This isn't now. This is in the future. This is when Christ returns to this earth. Let's go back to Zechariah Chapter 2 with that in mind. We're using Scripture to interpret Scripture. We're comparing spiritual things with spiritual. When you compare God's word to man's word, you're comparing God's word to that which is carnal, but when you compare Bible with Bible, you're comparing spiritual with spiritual.
We compare Zechariah with Isaiah, we see that both of them are prophesying of a time when Jerusalem will dwell without walls and when salvation will be the wall. Jesus will be the light. The glory will be the glory of God, and it'll all be through Jesus Christ. It'll be a righteous nation that keeps the truth, not a nation that has a gay pride parade every year in Tel Aviv. That's not a righteous nation. Not a nation that was voted the number one homosexual tourist city in the world in 2014. That's not what we're talking ... No, we're talking about a righteous nation and Israel of today is not a righteous nation. They're an ungodly nation. They reject Jesus. They were rejected by Jesus. You got to keep that in mind when he says in Zechariah 2:5, "For I saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her." That's what it's talking about.
Look at Chapter 2, Verse 6. "Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord. Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon." He's referring to the fact that they've been captive in Babylon. They've been scattered from the promised land. They've been dwelling in Babylon. They've been dwelling in the north. He's saying he's going to bring them back, okay? He's saying, "Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon." Stop right there. Zion there, in that particular verse, is not a place is it? It's a group of people in this particular context, isn't it? Because when he says, "Deliver thyself, O Zion," he's not talking about a place. He's talking about the people. When he says, "O Zion," he's talking about his people. God's people are spiritually known as Zion.
"Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." Now, what is this saying? He's turned again unto them. He turned away from them for 70 years. He had them carried off into a foreign land, but now he has turned back unto them. That's the word that he used in Chapter 1 of Zechariah, and he's turned back toward them and he's saying, "Now, I'm going to side with you and against your enemies, and anyone who touches you is touching the apple of my eye." He's talking about the fact that he's going to protect them. Now again, this is a Scripture that the Jews that are Christ-rejecting Jews would love to apply this Scripture unto them and say, "We're the apple of God's eye." Basically they'll say, "Oh, anyone who touches Israel is touching the apple of God's eye."
I guess they think it has to do with the dirt, but actually it has to do with the people, God's people. But here's the thing. People who reject Jesus Christ are not God's people in the New Testament. See, it's not ethnic. It's spiritual who is Zion in the New Testament. In fact, the proof for that is right here in this exact chapter, and it's amazing to me. This verse, Zechariah 2:8, is one of the most often quoted verses by people that are Zionists, people who basically teach that the physical Jews are the chosen ones, not Christians, not believers, but no, it's the physical Israelites. They are the chosen people. This is one of the most oft-quoted, but isn't it funny how they quote Verse 8, but they don't make it down to Verse 11, just 3 verses later. Look at Verse 11.
"And many nations," now is this one nation? No, many, "And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day and shall be my people." Did he say one nation is my people? Just Israel, just that one nation is my people. No, no, he says, "many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day and shall be my people." Many nations shall be God's people. Why? Because he said to Abraham, "I've made thee the father of many nations." Why? Because he's the spiritual father of many nations. People say, "Oh, well, but what about the physical?" Hey, the flesh profited nothing. This is a spiritual book. You're in a spiritual service. This is a spiritual church, spiritual preaching, spiritual subject. You know, we sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We're not here to talk carnality. You want to glory in your flesh, you came to the wrong place.
We're here to talk about the spirit. We're not here to talk about how white we are or how black we are or how Jewish we are, how Gentile. Hey, in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile. It doesn't matter. The Bible here is teaching that many nations shall be joined unto the Lord in that day and shall be my people. Look at the beginning of Verse 11 there. What is it that makes you God's people? When you're joined unto the Lord. The Bible says, "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit," it says in First Corinthians, Chapter 6. "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." See, being joined unto the Lord makes you one of God's people. If you're not joined to the Lord, you're not one of God's people, no matter what nation you are. "Oh, well, I get an automatic pass." Well, think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham to our father, for I say unto you that God has abled these stones to raise up children of Abraham.
They'll quote Verse 8 but they'll forget the context of Verse 11, many nations. Many nations are part of the spiritual Zion, spiritual Israel of God, God's people, the elect in the New Testament. It's believers in Jesus Christ that fit this bill, and he's already predicting it back in Zechariah, saying many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day. Now, you wonder why is it that of all the verses in the Old Testament that talk about Israel, that talk about the fact that they were the chosen people back then, okay, why do they quote Zechariah 2:8 so much? What is it about this particular verse when there are so many verses that they could choose from that say something similar to this? Back when Israel, physically, the nation, were God's chosen people in the Old Testament before Christ came and said, "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits of." Why this verse?
Well you know, there's something really creepy about that and I'll tell you why. Because the book that Judaism uses as their final authority, they claim it's the Torah, but it's not. The Torah tells you about the creation and the flood and it tells you to circumcise and to do animal sacrifice. I mean, look, the Torah talks a lot about animal sacrifices. You ever read Leviticus? What's the first 9 chapters? A lot of sacrifice, a lot of animal sacrifice. But do you see the Jews doing any animal sacrifices? No. "Oh, but we have to do it in Jerusalem." No, that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says in Exodus that they can make an altar anywhere they want. All they have to do is make a pile of rocks or dirt, pile of dirt. It says that right after the 10 Commandments, in Exodus. Go to the 10 Commandments, Exodus 20, keep reading a few verses. You'll get to the part where he tells them how to make an altar out of dirt and out of stones.
Not only that but long after the temple was already built, you remember that? Elijah offered a sacrifice unto the Lord. Was he at the temple? Was he in Jerusalem? No, he was on Mount Carmel and he piled up stones and built the altar to the Lord. God sanctioned that offering by sending fire down from Heaven and consuming it. This excuse of, "Oh, we don't have the temple. We can't do a sacrifice." That's ridiculous. That would be like ... You know what would be like? That'd be like if I was married to my wife for decades and I said, "Oh, I can't have relations with my wife because we don't have a bed. One day when we get a bed, we'll do it." I mean, that's how stupid that is. Like basically you're so hung up on that location that you can't even do a major command ... I mean, look that's a pretty big part of being married. It'd be kind of weird to abstain from that for decades, right?
Well, here's the thing. A major part of their religion is the animal sacrifice, huge commandment. Passover, atonement, the daily offering, the morning sacrifice, the evening sacrifice. We're talking every time they get into cleansing. Almost all things by the law are purged with blood and without shedding of blood there's no remission. But, "Oh, can't do it. Don't have the temple. Don't have the location." It's not even like they can't do it in Jerusalem. They possess part of Jerusalem. I mean, they could pile up stones or they could even do it in the city that God chose. "Oh, but no we can't." See, that's just an excuse for them to disobey the Bible. Now here's the thing. I don't believe in animal sacrifices, because Jesus is the lamb of God, which taketh the sin of the world. But if they don't believe that, it just makes zero sense for them not to do these sacrifices. It doesn't hold up biblically, even from an Old Testament standpoint.
You say, "Well what do they believe in?" Well, they have a different book. It's not the Bible. Christians think, "Oh, well Jews believe the Old Testament." No, no, no. They have a different book. It's called the Talmud. The Talmud is the holy book of the Jews. That is what they ... And if you talk to an Orthodox Jew, they'll tell you it's the word of God. It's divinely inspired, and that is the true authority unto Judaism, the religion of Judaism, especially Orthodox Judaism. It really is focused on the Talmud to get the actual practice of what they actually do and what they actually believe. They'll give lip service to the Torah, but what they actually do matches up with the Talmud. Now the Talmud mentions Jesus in it only a few times. The Talmud was written around 500 A.D. It's based on stuff that was written as far back as 200 B.C., but it was actually compiled in its present form around 500 A.D., the Babylonian Talmud.
Okay, so because it was written after the time of Christ, it mentions Jesus several times. Now, it's a huge book, 36 volume encyclopedia-like book, but it mentions Jesus only a handful of times. But when it does mention Jesus, it's to blaspheme him and to ridicule him. Now, one of the worst passages in the Talmud that ridicules Jesus quotes Zechariah 2:8. That's what I find creepy, because it talks about Jesus being in Hell for all eternity, and then it even goes a step further. It asks Jesus what his punishment is in Hell and the fake Jesus of the Talmud, this figment of their imagination, the fake Jesus says that he's in boiling excrement for all eternity. That's what they think of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They think he's boiling in excrement right now. That's what their holy book says, the Talmud. Look it up.
Not only that, but the fake Jesus of the Talmud, who is boiling in excrement, you know what he says? He warns the people that are on earth, "You better be nice to the Jews." He says, "Seek their good. Seek their welfare. Do them no harm, for he that toucheth them, toucheth the apple of God's eye," and quotes this Zechariah 2:8. Isn't it funny how the Jesus of the Talmud is being punished and humiliated in excrement and he's telling you, "Oh, please be nice to the Jews. Treat them well. Treat them good. Don't make the mistake that I made." You know why the Talmud says Jesus is being punished like that? For mocking the rabbis. For mocking the sages. Because Jesus did make them look stupid. Remember when Jesus showed up to the rabbis and he confounded them and astonished them and defeated them and they dared not ask him another question? They went away humbled and they went away humiliated?
The real story is that Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah and Jesus is the king of kings and Lord of lords, and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, and he humiliated them while he was on this earth. That's why they crucified him, because they didn't like being humiliated. That's why they crucified him. You know, when he comes back, they're going to be humiliated once again, and here's the thing. They write this blasphemous book where he's humiliated. It's a lie. He's not in boiling excrement, blasphemous Jews. No, he's reigning. He's at the right hand of the Father in Heaven right now, and he's not whining. He's not whining about, "Oh, please, seek the good of the Jews." No, I'm going to seek the gospel. I'm going to seek the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not going to seek the good of Christ-rejecting Judaism. Not interested.
But you know, when you think about the fact that in the number one most blasphemous passage in the Talmud, the holy book of the Jews, the most blasphemous portion, just happens to quote Zechariah 2:8. Then isn't it funny how these Christian Zionists, they're repeating Zechariah 2:8. Now here's the thing. Zechariah 2:8's a wonderful Scripture, but here's the thing. Zechariah 2:8's about the Old Testament nation of Israel, back when they worshiped the Lord. Whereas the quote from the Talmud is applying it to unbelieving Jews, so when you hear these Christian Zionists talking about the apple of God's eye, they're not doing it in the context of Zechariah 2, many nations, those who believe in Christ, those who are saved, those who are joined unto the Lord, the righteous nation that keeps the truth. They're doing it in the context of, oh just if you're a Jew you get the free pass. That's what the Talmud teaches.
That makes it creepy, to hear them misapply and misquote Zechariah 2:8, the same way that the Talmud does in its most blasphemous section. I mean that just shows you that Satan is at work. That's the way I see it. That's my opinion. That's what I believe about these people who spout this stuff off. But what does the Bible say here in Zechariah 2? Let's keep reading. "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye." You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to claim that promise for myself right now. Because you know what the Bible says? "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." He that toucheth me toucheth the apple of God's eye. Are you saved tonight? He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of God's eye. Why? Because God loves you and God loves me, and we're his people. We've really been gypped of some of these promises. This is a great promise.
When was the last time you heard a sermon that applied this promise to us as believers? That's who it's intended for. Anybody who's joined unto the Lord can claim this promise. Red and yellow, black and white, if you're joined unto the Lord, this promise is for you. God'll bless those who bless you. God'll curse those who curse you. Why? Because you're in Christ. "Because unto Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not seeds as of many, but to they seed one which is Christ. And if you be Christs, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." What does it mean to be an heir? An heir is someone who inherits something, right? What are we an heir of? The promises made to Abraham. The promises of God. Every promise in the book is mine, every chapter, every verse, every line. This is what the Bible is teaching here.
But it's amazing how people will just disregard Verse 11. They'll disregard the whole book of Isaiah. They'll disregard other Scriptures. Look what the Bible says here. Let's keep reading. Verse number 8: "For thus saith the Lord of hosts, after the glory, hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For behold I will shake mine hand upon them and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me." This is the prophet Zechariah saying, "You'll know that the Lord of hosts has sent me when these things come to pass that I'm preaching." He says in Verse number 10, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord."
Now, what is there to sing and rejoice about? What are we supposed to get excited about in Verse 10? Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith ... We're supposed to rejoice that Jesus is coming, that he's going to dwell in the midst of them, right? Here's the thing. That's why the Bible says also, "For we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh." See, we rejoice in Christ. We rejoice that he's going to come and dwell among us. We rejoice that he's gone to prepare a place for us, and that if he is gone away, then he'll come again and receive us unto himself, that where he is, there we may be also. That's something to be excited about. That's something to rejoice about.
But no, no, no. This is all about Jews getting excited about the piece of dirt that they possess. No, it's about Jesus. Isn't it great how the whole Bible's about Jesus? Hey, "of him give all the prophets witness." Does that include Zechariah? "Of him give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive the remission of sins." That's the message of the Bible. He says here, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord." Have you ever noticed how many songs are about the second coming of Christ, how many hymns deal with Heaven and Christ returning and things like that? Because it's something that we should sing and rejoice about.
When he says, "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion," he's not saying like [singing in Jewish 00:32:33]. What's he saying? Why? Because that's a bunch of vain repetition, babbling, because it's not about Jesus, that's why. You say, "Well, do you even know what they're saying?" I don't care what that means. It's not about Jesus. It's vain. It's vanity. No, I want to sing about Jesus. I want to sing about the second coming of Christ. Hey, blessed assurance. Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine. Visions of rapture now burst on my sight. I'd rather sing about Jesus. Why should we sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion? Because I come, he says. What did Jesus say at the very end of Revelation 22? Behold, I come quickly. He said, "I come." Here he says, "Look, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord," and many nations. Not just one nation - many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people.
"Well, they're joined unto the Lord, but they're still not his chosen people." No, he said, "And they'll be my people." They'll be joined unto the Lord and they'll be my people. That's what makes you his people. "And I will dwell in the midst of thee and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee, and the Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion, in the holy land and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation." Let's ask ourselves this question, Verse 12. "The Lord shall inherit, Judah, his portion, in the holy land and shall choose Jerusalem again." Well, think about this. If you choose it again, it's like you weren't choosing it for awhile, and then you start choosing it again. Think about that.
What if choosy moms who chose Jiff, what if they were eating Skippy for awhile? Then they said, "I will choose Jiff again." Now, if they were continuously eating Jiff the whole time, there would be no choose again. It would be just, "I'm going to continue to choose Jiff." Does everybody understand what I'm saying? All right. I'm getting down on the level ... I'm making this so simple that even a theologian could understand. Okay? There was a time when he's turned away from them. Now, in Zechariah's day, that was the 70-year Babylonian captivity, and then he turns to them again and says, "Hey, we're going back to the holy land. We're going back to Judah. We're going back to Jerusalem. You're coming back. Turn to me and I'll turn to you."
It says, "The Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion, in the holy land and shall choose Jerusalem again." Okay. When is that going to happen? What did he just say in the last verse? "I'll dwell in the midst of thee. I come. I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord," in Verse 10. In Verse 11, "I will dwell in the midst of thee." In Verse 12, "The Lord shall inherit Judah, his portion, in the holy land." What are we talking about? The millennial reign of Christ. What are we talking about? Now, in the short-term, we're talking about them coming back from Babylon, and repossessing the promised land. But there's a further out interpretation where he's talking about, "I'm going to come. I'm going to dwell in the midst of you." The Lord himself shall be with them and be their God, the Bible says. The Lord will dwell in the midst.
Remember? They'll have no wall? There'll be the wall of fire. Jesus will be the glory. Salvation will be the wall. The truth will be there. What's the Bible saying here? Yeah, the Lord's going to inherit Judah, his portion, in the holy land in 1948. Only one catch. None of them believe in him. Don't let that bother you, that little hiccup. That small ... I know, it's just a small detail. The Lord's going to inherit Judah in the holy land. He's going to inherit a bunch of unbelievers? You think Jesus looks down from Heaven and sees a bunch of unsaved unbelievers and says, "This is my inheritance." Whoa. That's not the inheritance. No, no, no. This is talking about in the millennium, because in the millennium, it's going to be all saved inheriting it.
It's going to be the resurrected saints inheriting it. It's going to be us ruling and reigning with Christ for a thousand years, but it's also going to be the resurrected Israelites, the 12 tribes. That's who's going to be inheriting that land over there because that's their homeland, from where they lived back ... See, it's like we just forget about these people like they ever existed. It's like we just forget that there were like about 4,300 years of human history before Jesus came, and there were saved people who are in Heaven right now. I mean, stop and think about that. How many saved people do you think are in Heaven right now from before Jesus? For 4,300 years of human history right? How about guys like David? Did you forget about him? Hello, guys, I'm still up here.
You know David is going to be on this earth in the millennium? He's going to be resurrected. Daniel, God tells Daniel in Daniel, Chapter 12, where he's talking about the resurrection, he's talking about the tribulation and everything in Daniel 12. He says to Daniel, "You will sleep in the dusty earth until then, and then you'll be brought back." His body is in the dust, his soul is in Heaven. He's coming back. He's saved. He will be in that millennial reign of Christ. People need to remember that when they're reading Scriptures like this. I don't think anyone could really dispute that this is talking about the millennium, when he's talking about I'm going to dwell among them. There's going to be no wall. It's going to be totally safe. Obviously we're talking about the millennial reign of Christ.
You know, in the time that I have left here, I don't have a lot of time left, but go to Romans 9. Romans, Chapter 9, because I want to point out where it says in Zechariah 2:11, "And many nations shall be joined to the Lord, in that day," it says, "and shall be my people." Right? I just want to reinforce that point with a New Testament Scripture. Because we're in the Old Testament. I know I quoted some New Testament to you, but I want to reinforce that by just having you turn to a New Testament Scripture here, in Romans Chapter 9. Look at Verse 22. "What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath, prepared for destruction? And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As he saith also in Osee ..." Osee is Hosea.
"I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved." Instead of just the Jews being God's people, he says now it's going to be not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles, as he saith also in Hosea. "I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which was not beloved, and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God." What is that place where he said, "You're not my people?" That place is Israel. Read Hosea, Chapter 1. "But in that same place, it shall be said unto them they are the children of the living God." But it's not just the Jews. It's also the Gentiles. It's both. It's everybody who's saved.
What's the common denominator if it's Jews and Gentiles? Jesus is the common denominator. "Esaias also cryeth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea." All of them are going to be saved. No, a remnant shall be saved. Who's that remnant? The Bible says in Romans 11 that it's the remnant according to the election of grace. It's election by grace, not election by race. Election by grace. Get that g on the front. "For he will finish the work," Verse 28, "and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Esaias said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma and been made like unto Gomorrha." Isn't it it funny how it kind of reminds you of Sodom and Gomorrha over there because they don't have the seed? What's the seed? Christ.
Because remember it said, not seeds, but one seed, Christ. Hey, if we didn't have the seed, we would have been like Sodom and Gomorrha. Ain't that the truth? But also what he's saying is except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed. He's saying if there were not a remnant left behind, they would have been like Sodom and Gomorrha. Who's the remnant, according to the election of grace? It's salvation through faith. Who's the election? Those who believe in Jesus. Who are the remnant? Well, okay, who was the remnant in Elijah's day? Remember when Elijah said, "I'm the only one. I'm the only one left and they seek to kill me?" What did God tell him? No, you're not the only one. I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Bael. He said, "Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
Who are the election? Who is that remnant? It's those who aren't bowing the knee to Bael, but they're bowing the knee to Jesus. That's the remnant. He says in Verse 30, "What shall we say then?" What shall we preach in 2015? What should I teach the Baptist church that I'm the pastor of? It says, "What shall we say then? That the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness. Even the righteous which is a fake, but Israel which followed after the law of righteous has not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore?" Why? Because they sought it not by faith. They sought it in the flesh. They sought it not by faith, so what am I supposed to be preaching in the New Testament? I'm supposed to be preaching, "Hey, the election that have attained it is both Jews and Gentiles. Israel has not obtained it. They didn't seek it by faith." Is that what's being preached in most Baptist churches tonight, on November 4th, 2015? Sadly, no, but it's biblical.
"They sought it not by faith but as it were by the works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone." What was the stumbling stone? Jesus was the stumbling stone, because he said, "Behold I lay in Zion a cornerstone, a rock of offense." See, to us Jesus is the cornerstone. To the Jews, he's a rock of offense. He's a stumbling stone that they stumble at. He says, "They stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written," Verse 33, "Behold I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Notice, he'll substitute the word stumbling stone. Elsewhere it says cornerstone. Why? Because to us he's the cornerstone, to them he's the stumbling stone. Why? Either you're building on him ... Because other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Christ.
Either you're building your life on Jesus because you believe in Jesus and he's in your heart, and he saved you, or else you trip on Jesus and fall on your face. That's what they've done. That's what the Bible says. Look, here's a great closing. "Stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Now, that word ashamed is a little different than we would use the word ashamed today. When it says, "Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed," here's what it's saying. You're not going to be disappointed. He's not going to let you down. Because think about it. If you were to put your trust in somebody and they let you down, then you're left with egg on your face sometimes, right? Here's what he's saying. "Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." He's saying Jesus is not going to let you down. If you believe on him, he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. You believe on him, you shall be saved.
"Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life," the Bible says. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Lord, thank you for this powerful chapter in Zechariah 2, Lord. Thank you that we found some wonderful promises for ourselves, Lord, instead of for Christ rejecters in a far country, Lord, or in Los Angeles or New York or anywhere else, Lord. Thank you for promises that we can apply, that you love us, that we're the apple of your eye, that you'll bless those who bless us Lord, and that you're our glory. You're the wall around us, Lord. We can go to sleep tonight and put our head on our pillow, and feel completely safe, for thou art with us. Lord, thank you for being that wall of fire around us and the glory in the midst of us as a church and as families and as Christians, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
