ZECHARIAH 6-7:
There were so many correspondences to Revelation in the three chapters we read yesterday in Zechariah that I cannot even take time to list them. I single out this one from chapter 3 as especially interesting:
3:8 NLT “Listen to me, O [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.
9 Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day.
Joshua was called the ‘Branch’, or ‘Rod’, or ‘Shoot’— and in this age we can clearly see that both he and Zerubbabel are pictures of the Messiah. The Branch is also referred to in Jeremiah and Isaiah.
Secondly, it is interesting that the stone has seven ‘facets’. The word for facets in Hebrew is literally ‘eyes’. And the Lamb in revelation has seven eyes.
This insight given to Zerubbabel in chapter 4 is a principle for all of us to lay hold of:
It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
This is one of Gale’s favorite verses. We have claimed this repeatedly in our lives:
10 NLT Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin…”
ISAIAH 61:
Yesterday in chapter 60, we heard many wonderful promises about the New Jerusalem— especially verses 1-3 and 19-21.
REVELATION 15:
Note that in chapter 14 the victory over Babylon is proclaimed as already won. God’s holy people are again warned against receiving the mark of the beast. At the end of the chapter are the two harvests, the wheat harvest of the righteous, and the grape harvest of those who will enter into eternal punishment. These are visions that give an overview, in a similar vein as the vision in chapter 12.
Sovereign Lord God, our creator and Father, and Lord Christ Jesus, our savior. We are the poor and broken hearted that you have saved. We are the captives that you have released. We were oppressed, and you have defeated our enemies. We are those who mourn for so many losses, but you comfort us. You will wipe away all our tears. You turn our grief and sorrow into joy and gladness, and give us songs of praise. May we be like fruit trees that bear much fruit for your glory. May all nations come and worship you. May your glorious actions be seen by all, resulting in your praise. But before we can enjoy entering that new Jerusalem that will be dressed up like a bride on her wedding day, it is necessary for you to right all wrongs. It is right, Lord, that you judge the people on earth who have joined Satan’s forces, who are liars and murderers, and who stubbornly refuse to listen to the truth about you, but instead promote all kinds of evil. The judgments you will bring show your holiness and justice, and will be the answer the prayers of your people who have been persecuted and killed. Lord, today, we desire to please you in all we do because we live in awe of you.
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