ZECHARIAH 8-9:
I hope that you have noticed [Joshua//Jeshua] the high priest. He was the one that Satan was not allowed to accuse. He was given clean clothes. He is a priest and was given a clean priestly turban. And the gem with seven facets (literally, seven eyes) was set before him. He is a picture of the Messiah, who is called the Lord’s righteous Branch. Then in chapter 6 we read that he was given a crown, and told:
6:13 NLT Yes, he will build the Temple of the LORD. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’
As far as a normal man can do so, he is a picture of Jesus. And Joshua is a variant of Jeshua— which is the same name the Greeks pronounce ‘Yesu’, which is where we get our pronunciation of Jesus. From our place in history, how easy it is to see what God was picturing.
Translation note:
[The Hebrew for verse 13 can also be understood like GNT, ESV, and HCSB.]
GNT He is the one who will build it and receive the honor due a king, and he will rule his people. A priest will stand by his throne, and they will work together in peace and harmony.’//NIV84 It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.]
ISAIAH 62:
Yesterday we heard another Messianic section of Isaiah— the part that Jesus spoke in his hometown synagogue in Luke 4. And Jesus alluded to the same passage when he sent John the Baptist’s disciples back to him in Luke 7.
REVELATION 16:
Note that we saw another view of the crystal sea in chapter 15, but this time it was mixed with fire. In chapter 4 it was clear as crystal. My theory is that the glassy sea is the same, but it changes in appearance based on God’s prevailing mood and the tenor of current events. Note that the 144,000 (or all the people victorious over the beast) sang the song of Moses. Note that with just that little hint, the victory over the forces of Satan is pictured as victory over the army of Egypt and release from bondage. The angels are dressed like Jesus in chapter 1. The plagues come from the interiour of the heavenly sanctuary.
We turn now from the interlude between the trumpets and the bowls. There is a difference here: You will see that before, the plagues struck just a third of whatever object. Now they strike 100%. This is the end!
Our sovereign God and everlasting Father, again and again You have repeated the words Zechariah recorded, “I will rescue my people.” “I will bring them back from east and west to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Isaiah prophesied that Jerusalem would be given a new name. He wrote your words when you promised, “The Lord is announcing to all the earth: “Tell the people of Jerusalem that the Lord is coming to save you, bringing with him the people he has rescued.” You will be called “God’s Holy People,” “The People the Lord has Saved.” Jerusalem will be called “The City that God Loves,” “The City That God Did Not Forsake.”
Lord, after giving your Son to redeem and rescue a people and provide a way that they could be accepted as your holy people, it is rather unlikely that you would change your mind and say, “It’s OK, you can come to me by other doors. There are many ways to heaven. It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.” O Lord, help the people of this world to understand how much trouble you have gone to in order to teach the human race that there is only one who can rescue us, and his name is Jesus. There is only one way, and Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Help us to tell people that it matters very much what we believe. Because, Lord, one way You show your glory is by never changing your mind. There will be a New Jerusalem and those who are privileged to live there because of your grace. And there will be those who will experience the seven final plagues poured out upon them.
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