Join us as we delve into the intricacies of Bible prophecy through Zechariah’s writings, shedding light on one of the earliest revelations about Jesus’ second coming. As we enter the Thanksgiving season, we pause to express gratitude for God’s faithfulness and the blessings of community and fellowship. With a moving testimony from a listener in Texas and reflections on faith’s impact, this episode is a poignant reminder of the hope and assurance we have in Christ.
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible with our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McKee. In our weekly study, the Bible bus is traveling through the prophetic book of Zechariah. Now, I didn’t know this until I studied Zechariah with Dr. McKee myself, but within its pages is a key passage that speaks clearly of Jesus’ second coming. His first coming was to provide a way of peace, reconciling us to God. Well, the second coming, which Jesus himself prophesied about, will be the judgment of all who have rejected the free offering of salvation that he came to provide the first time. One of the earliest glimpses that we get of this second coming is right here in the book of Zechariah. And today, well, we get a front row seat to learn about that Bible prophecy in Dr. McGee’s Sunday sermon titled, When Christ Returns in Triumph to Jerusalem. Now, before we open God’s Word together, let me take a moment to say that we’re heading into Thanksgiving week here in the United States. And as most of you know, it’s a time when families and friends gather, and there’s often a lot of food and fellowship. And for many of you, well, football is a part of that as well. I know it is at my house. But for those of us in the faith, it’s also a special opportunity to pause and to thank God for His many, many blessings in our lives. So I do hope that you’ll indulge Greg and me as we just take a minute to talk about the things that we’re grateful for through the Bible, including each one of you listening now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, Through the Bible is such an encouraging and a blessed ministry. Everybody that’s associated with it gets blessed. And we just want to thank God for that because, you know, all of us that try to serve the Lord can end up in different contexts. Some ministry contexts are not as easy as others. And although we work hard, there’s a lightness to Through the Bible because we all are trusting God. We’re not trusting ourselves. And I think that gives us tremendous freedom.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. And I’ve talked about this before. I love it because this is a ministry that on paper should not exist. I’ve said this before. We put a bunch of smart people in a room. Let’s build a ministry long after the founder passes and make it multiple times larger in terms of its reach and its effectiveness. And nobody would build through the Bible. And God likes it that way.
SPEAKER 03 :
And it’s a voluntary ministry. Nobody’s being forced to do anything. The people that pray for the ministry, we just ask and they pray. The people that give, we barely ask. We just let them know we do need support, and they give freely and joyfully and hilariously, as the Scripture says. And our partners give freely, and the gospel is… The seed of the word of God is given out completely free all over the world. And I mean, Steve, I just can’t tell you how grateful I am that I get to have a small part in an amazing ministry like this.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah. I’m also thankful for the way God really rewards faithfulness, just a little bit of faithfulness. And he is so faithful to show up and give exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or hope. And I think that is reflected in the commitment that we have as a ministry to to have at least 50% of what comes in go out into other areas where we will get no, in the smart people world, ROI, return on our investment, because those people are never going to become givers directly to our ministry. We think it’s a win if their ministry can support itself. That’s correct. And we strive for that because we don’t want to keep them dependent on you know, the support that primarily comes from the U.S. and Canada, and oftentimes we’re successful in helping them get to that place. But again, God is just so faithful. Most ministries, not to talk about other ministries, but most ministries do not give in a missional outreach the way through the Bible does. In fact, I don’t think there’s any out there that do it to the depth that we do it and the consistency over literally decades. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, in an earlier part of my ministry work, I worked with about 100 radio ministries in the U.S. and helping them go international. And if they did 10%, that was a lot. And again, we’re not trying to thump our chest and say we’re so great. Everything that makes this ministry a place of happiness and lightness is we recognize it’s not us, it’s God. We love to tell you that we’re not that smart. Now, I don’t think we’re stupid, you and I. Yeah. We want to be good stewards and run this ministry well, but at the end of the day, we know it doesn’t depend completely on us.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right. And we see that because God’s hand has been so, so evident in so many different aspects. And if you listen to when Greg and I get a chance to talk. read the testimonies that come in so consistently, you see how it’s like, okay, these guys didn’t figure that out. The Holy Spirit was clearly there and drug them along. And it’s just wonderful to be a part of it. The Lord lets us do it. And hopefully you have joy in that as well, that you’re thankful, especially those of you who have signed up for our World Prayer Team. You write in and tell us how you’ve been blessed. And that blesses us because you’re encouraged by what we’re telling you, and we are so excited about it. And it becomes this virtual cycle of encouragement and joy that we’re glorifying God in what we’re giving testimony to one another of how God has been so good to us.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yes. And I think we have time to read this really great letter from Beverly in Texas. Okay. And she writes to you and me, and she says, Okay. Mm-hmm. Now is that time. And I now have the luxury of sitting down every morning, Bible open, Dr. McGee’s notes and outlines open on my laptop and starting my day with you. God is so good and continues to bless me way more than I deserve. He has seen me through many difficulties in life, including the death of my husband in 2006 and the raising of my four lovely children. I pray for TTB Daily and will continue to send gas money. Please keep doing what you’re doing because it works, as evidenced by the numerous letters and emails you receive.
SPEAKER 02 :
Beverly, thank you so much for that testimony. And there’s so much in that letter. Thank you for your service. and how your occupation was serving as an addiction counselor to adolescents. Yeah, a ministry, yeah. Yeah, and I’m sure that from a Christian perspective, you were able to share Christ in many of those situations, and our prayer would be that you’ve been able to see the fruit that that bears, but ultimately, just like us, as we pray for the World Prayer Team, for the lives to be changed, I think you’re gonna be delighted by seeing the impact that you had on people’s lives, drawing them to Christ through the course of your service in that addiction counseling. Greg, let’s pray as we begin our study. Would you open us?
SPEAKER 03 :
Father, we’re just celebrating how grateful we are for everything you give, life and breath and strength and the ability to know you and love you and serve you and to receive your mercy and grace every morning. We just want to say thank you and we love you. And now we pray that you would speak to us as we study your word in Jesus’ name.
SPEAKER 1 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 02 :
Now here’s the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 04 :
Zechariah was a young man in love. And the name of the one that he loved is called Jerusalem. She’s likened in Scripture to a woman. Sometimes not a very good woman. Sometimes to a very wonderful woman. But she’s called that. And even Zechariah himself spoke of her like that. In Zechariah 9, 9, that which is probably the most familiar verse to all of us from Zechariah is this verse. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is just. and having salvation lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a coat the foal of an ass. So that Zechariah, in this very familiar verse, and we’ll look at it in just a few moments, we always identify it, what we call the triumphal entry. And of course, it speaks of a triumphal entry, but the one that Zechariah spoke of has not yet taken place. But this man had a passion for this city. It was his city. And he thought of her prosperity and of her future. You’ll find that he had a great deal to say about her. That’s one of the themes of Zechariah is Jerusalem. And at the very outset, over in chapter 1, verse 17, yet saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts, my cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem. You can see he was jealous for the city and for its future. When you come to the last section of Zechariah, you will find there are 30 references in this last section to the city of Jerusalem. 30 times he mentions the city by name, and again and again he is referring to the city so that it becomes the great theme of this prophet. Therefore, any interpretation of eschatology which dismisses Jerusalem must be fundamentally wrong because it ignores so many clear-cut statements of scripture relative to God’s plan and purpose for this earthly city. And most of all, you would contradict the book of Zechariah, for this man was talking about the earthly city of Jerusalem and that God had a plan and purpose for it. Now, God’s purpose for the earth actually centers around the city of Jerusalem. It is to be the capital of the earth. It’s called in scripture, the navel of the earth. It’s called the very center of the earth. And we’re told that the law is yet to go forth from Jerusalem and that Jerusalem is the city of the great king. Our Lord says, swear not by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king. And Zechariah makes it clear that God’s purpose is here. In the second chapter, verse 10, he says, Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto thee. So that we see immediately that God’s purpose concerning the earth is around Jerusalem and Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Someone has put it like this. Palestine became the nerve center of the earth in the days of Abraham. And later on, the country became the truth center because of Moses and the prophets. Ultimately, it became the salvation center by the manifestation of Christ. His rejection led to its becoming the storm center as it has continued to be through many centuries. And the scriptures predict that it is to be the peace center under the messianic kingdom. And it will be the glory center in a new universe yet to be experienced. so that God has an eternal plan and purpose concerning this city. Now it’s in the last section of Zechariah that we find so many references to this city. It becomes almost a passion with this man to talk about Jerusalem. And it’s just my thought to let this man Zechariah speak to you because he’d like very much to tell you about his city. Now, will you notice what he says concerning it? And I turn now to the eighth chapter. Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth. and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Now that is very direct language, as you can see. Now I’ll continue, dropping down now to the eighth verse. And I will bring them, that is his people, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and they shall be my people, and I will be their God in truth. and in righteousness. And then dropping on down into this chapter to verse 22. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to pray before the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, in those days it shall come to pass. that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with thee, for we have heard that God is with you. Now that is a very strange verse. It speaks of the future when the temple will be rebuilt. So that the question arises, will the temple be rebuilt? And I say to you that I think we’re very close to seeing the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. But let’s understand what temple is being rebuilt. The first temple, of course, was that of Solomon. And the thing that Solomon did was to carry out the plans of David, who wanted to see the articles of furniture transferred out of the tent that had been used on the wilderness march and put in a permanent dwelling, which was done by Solomon carrying out the plans of David. That temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. And it was burned about 587 or 88 BC. And then the Jews, when they returned, and Zechariah is one of them who’s encouraged them to rebuild the temple. And they built it. It’s called Zerubbabel’s Temple. And it was taken and partially destroyed. about this Syrian who stands as probably the finest type of Antichrist, hated even today by the Orthodox Jews who know their history, Titus Epiphanes, who destroyed the temple, but only partially. And when Herod came along, and that was before Christ was born, it began about 40 BC. He began to rebuild the temple. And I will give you some figures on it in just a few moments. But if you want to know something of the grandeur of it, for there was in connection with it a fortress. It was three miles around the walls of this temple and the fortress that was built at that time made of white marble. And it was one of the spots that tourists would naturally go to see, especially the gates of the temple. It’s before those gates that our Lord gave, John 15. I am the genuine vine. And this is a place that our Lord, when he was here, would not acknowledge as God’s temple. You remember he said, your house is left unto you desolate. He never called it God’s house or his house at all because the Shekinah glory had departed. Now, there was an attempt made afterward, but this temple, of course, was destroyed by Titus the Roman in 70 AD. And then there were those that attempted to build it. Julian the Apostate attempted to rebuild the temple. And Cyril, one of the great saints of the church, told him this. He says, there will never be another temple built until Antichrist comes. And that is the next temple that will go up in Jerusalem, will be the temple in which Antichrist will put his image. And that is the thing our Lord mentioned when he says, when ye see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place. Now, the holy place has to be in the temple because the church does not have a holy place, nor does any church. yonder in Jerusalem. Now that is the next temple that will be rebuilt. Now where are we in this plan and purpose of God? I have here an editorial that appeared several years ago in a Jewish magazine in Palestine. This is indeed interesting because it begins to let you see the thinking even of those people in unbelief today. Now, this is the editorial. There has been much ado about the lack of formal religious life in the new state of Israel. And many are the missionaries from our own American Jewish community who desire to establish synagogues throughout the land of Israel in the hope that they will arouse the Yishuv, that is the Jews who have settled in Israel, to a great spiritual awakening. Isn’t that interesting? What these well-intentioned members of our community fail to realize is that the synagogue performs a vital function to the diaspora, that is the dispersion, where it is the very heart, center, and source of Jewish endeavor. However, in Israel, where the whole land is a Beth Knesset, and I think they mean a holy house, a synagogue cannot possibly have the same meaning. What Israel needs is the temple. It is time to build a new temple in Israel, the third temple, the one that will mean to modern Israel what the ancient temples meant for more than the thousand years of their existence. All Jerusalem is holy. This new third temple of our people, as long as it’s built in Jerusalem, world Jewry with all the dreams and longings of the ages. It would be dedicated to God in the spirit of Solomon’s dedication, and my house shall be a house of prayer for all peoples. The glowing menorah, that is the candlestick, would once more give life mighty symphonies and glorious choirs would there dedicate their songs to God. It would be a place of prayer and meditation, a place of beauty and serenity, a place of memories of our past and dreams of our future, a place where all that occurred would be not a secular nature, but on the highest religious plane, devotion and dedication to the service of God. When you begin to write and think and talk like that, you’re getting ready to start a movement to begin the building of a temple in Jerusalem. I believe that if we live out our natural lifetime, you and I will see the appearance of a new temple. Are they in this? What is some of the background? It was in 1889 that the Freemasons of Boston applied to the American government for the incorporation of a company to take in hand the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. And it’s quite interesting that they were not permitted to rebuild the temple. I think that it must be rebuilt by the Jew and not by the Masonic order, if you please. And I have nothing against the Masonic order, but that’s not their job. And when the temple of Zerubbabel went down under this Syrian and Herod the Great, he wanted to build probably the most ornate temple of all. He employed 10,000 skilled workmen. The walls were constructed of snow-white marble. It was not even completed in Christ’s day. and was never completed because it was destroyed by Titus the Roman. The surrounding walls, including a fortress, were three miles in circumference. And yet it had written in Latin and Greek and Hebrew these words, no stranger may enter under pain of instant death. As you know, it was dedicated to these people in a very special way. And then when Titus besieged the city, he destroyed it And at that particular time, why he put up an idol of Jupiter. He was a great worshiper of Jupiter, the Roman Jupiter. And this was called an abomination. And it was an abomination. That was actually the second abomination that it appeared. And our Lord says, the one spoken of by Daniel has not yet appeared and it will appear. Now, there are many Jews. The family of Mazor in New York City have set aside, and this money is put aside, $500,000 to build on Aaron Kodish. That is, the holy ark to go into the temple will cost $500,000. It’ll be made as it was in the original of solid gold. In Italy today, I’m told, and I have this on clippings that I do not have with me, that they have the stones of the temple already hewn out. All they’ve got to do is get a foundation in that land in Jerusalem to put it on, and they can start putting it up immediately. So that the thing that Zacharias is talking about after all of these centuries is not a far-fetched dream, but just think of this. that from his day down to the present hour, almost 2,500 years, this is still the zeal and the goal of these people. And Zacharias says, it will come to pass. There will be a temple rebuilt. in which we’re living. And it means that Jerusalem is still a very important city. It was Alexander Gabriel, the radio commentator, who made this statement not long ago, speaking of the difficulty they were having with the Arab countries. He says all of these moves nurtured by the Arab League are convincing proof that the Palestine peace is equally crucial to the West perhaps even to world stability itself. And now that’s interesting because that’s the thing that this man, Zechariah, is going to say is that as long as Jerusalem is disturbed, the world can never have peace. That’s interesting. The city that has suffered more sieges than any city, it’s 27 major sieges of the city of Jerusalem. And you know what its name means? The city of peace. God says there is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. And that city stands as a monument to that. Even his own people can never have peace as long as there’s sin in the land. You begin with the first major taking of the city in 1400. BC by the Jebusites. It was wrested from them. Then again 587 or 88 by Nebuchadnezzar. 332 Alexander the Great took it. 322 Ptolemy of Egypt smashed through the defenses. And 65 BC, another Pompeii, it was then, besieged and took the city. And then again in 70, every stone was leveled to the ground by Titus. And that didn’t end it all because the crusaders took the city and destroyed it. 1187, Saladin destroyed the city. 1517 Selim the first of Turkey took it from the Egyptians and in 1917 and it was the only thing that World War accomplished that I can see they took it out of the hands of the Turk and General Allenby entered the city and that was the beginning of the movement that made it possible for the nation Israel to be back in that land today I say that you and I are living and have lived in some very and see some of the things that are taking place. No city has ever been sacked as this city has been sacked. It was, again, if I may refer back to the time of Titus, Josephus tells us that 2,700,000 Jews crowded into that city within the walls. There were three million Jews in Galilee at that time, 12 million in the land. And these people were starved. They died so fast they had to throw the bodies over the walls of the city. And probably over half of the city was destroyed. This man Titus brutally slew them. It is one of the saddest stories that is amazing. imaginable. Now let me move on because this man Zachariah has a great deal to say to us concerning this city here, if you please. He says that there will be a certain order of events that will take place also. Now will you notice, and I’m turning now to chapter 12, these are the statements that confirm now what we’ve called your attention to in Zachariah 12, verse 2 and 3. Listen to this now. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. All that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces.” though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. Now, there is without doubt a remarkable statement. Do you want history to confirm that? Go back to the very beginning and see the nations that have attempted to rule the city of Jerusalem and and come right down the line. Now, I’ll not worry you with that other than this. The last nation that burdened themselves with Jerusalem was Great Britain. When Great Britain took over Palestine, it was the leading nation of the world. Where is it? God says, I’ll cut any nation to pieces that attempts to control that city. And yet our Lord said, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles. until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And one of the most interesting things took place in 1949, when after they had established the nation Israel, the United Nations wanted to decide what to do with the city of Jerusalem. And they divided the city and didn’t give it to the new nation of Israel. And do you know why? Because the Roman Catholic Church and the Soviet Union joined together, and it’s the only time they’ve ever joined together on everything to make it an international city. And people have been amazed at that, that how could they agree on that? And why did they do it? I’ll tell you why. Because the Lord Jesus said, It’ll always be an international city until I get ready to move in. Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled. world that’s not all in that day will i make the governors of judah like a hearth of fire upon the wood like a torch of fire in the sheath they shall devour all the people round about on the right hand and on the left and jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place even in jerusalem What a tremendous statement for God to make. He’s not through. It shall come to pass in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. He’s done it so far, my beloved. And I think he’s going to continue to make that good. It’s very clear that when Russia comes against it, and I’ll not give all that information, but I want to say to you that Russia’s moves are in that direction today. That’s the direction they must go. God says the minute they move there, I’ll deal with them. And any nation that moves toward this city quite interesting. Until Jerusalem can have peace, the world cannot have peace. God says It’s from there that the Prince of Peace is to rule as far as the earth is concerned. Now, one of the most remarkable prophecies is the one that I began with. I want to turn to it very briefly because it’s probably one of the most abused scriptures today. And we always have sermons on the triumphal entry. And if you’ve noticed that I’ve always been very careful to say the triumphal entry was not a triumphal entry at all. Why wasn’t it? Well, because the prophecy of Zechariah was not fulfilled. And that’s exactly what Matthew and John, when they quoted from Zechariah, were careful to say, because neither one of them quoted the prophecy in its entirety. Now, will you listen to this? The prophecy says, rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He’s just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. Now, will you notice how Matthew quoted it in Matthew 21? This was what is said in verse 4 and 5. All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet saying. Now, only this could be fulfilled. Here’s Matthew. Tell ye the daughter of Zion. Where do you get that? May I say to you, you’re not seeing the time to say rejoice. It’s not the time to say, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. It’s tell the daughter of Zion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek and sitting upon an ass and the coat, the fold of an ass. What’s left out? He’s just and having salvation. That’s left out. Why was it left out? Because it was not fulfilled when he came. Was salvation the first time? No, not when he rode into Jerusalem. What was he doing? Matthew presents him as the king. What’s he doing when he’s riding into Jerusalem? He is officially offering himself as the one in the line of David, the king, and that’s all he’s asking them to accept. Accept him as the king, not the savior at that time. They rejected him as the king. And Matthew’s very careful to leave that out. Why? Because it’s not till he comes next time will he offer salvation to these people. Now, will you notice then the order of events and Zechariah will give you the program if you’ll just let him speak to you. And I’ll give this very quickly and then I’m through. In chapter 14 now, we come to the order of events. Listen to this. And I begin, behold, the day of the Lord cometh and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. This is now after God’s purpose in the church is completed. The church is removed. The day of the Lord begins with the great tribulation. Listen, what will happen? Jerusalem is still the center. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle and the city shall be taken. The houses rifled, the women ravished, half of the city shall go forth into captivity and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. That’s when he comes. It’s when Jerusalem is besieged in the great tribulation period and it is taken at that time. They have no help except from him because Antichrist has now taken the city and it’s besieged from every direction. His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives. That’s where he first touches the earth. He ascended from the Mount of Olives. And if you want to know how literally I believe the word of God, when he left this earth, if it was his left foot, That was the last one to leave this earth and his right foot will be the first one to touch it. He won’t miss a step. Word of God is to be literally fulfilled, my beloved. Just as he ascended into heaven, he’s coming again and his feet shall touch the Mount of Olives. And until that day, there can never be peace on this earth. There can never be peace on this earth. There have been too many men that have promised peace to this world, and they have not been able to deliver. Only the prince of peace can deliver. Now will you notice, this is God’s program, if you please. And this is one of the wonders and marvels of it. Will you notice this? But it shall be one day, it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day nor night, but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. It shall be in that day that living water shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea, half of them toward the hinder sea, in summer and in winter shall it be. So that actually the whole topography of that land is to change. The Dead Sea will no longer be the Dead Sea. The Lord shall be king over all the earth in that day. There shall be one Lord and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimon, south to Jerusalem. Everything identified with Jerusalem. And he even measures it here. It says from the tower of Hananil under the king’s wine presses. I do not have time to go into this at all. But several years ago, the critic ridiculed this. He said you couldn’t take it literally because nobody knows where the Tower of Hananil was or ever was, for that matter. I heard Dr. Melvin Grove Kyle in the lectures he gave at seminary, and he was… one of the greatest archaeologists of the past. He was the editor of National Geographic for years, worked with the University of Pennsylvania, and the editor of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Dr. Kyle said this to us in class. He said they ridiculed that, but I happened to be present, he said, when we excavated the Tower of Hannah Neal. And if you want to measure from there, you can measure. May I say to you that Actually, Jerusalem is so covered with debris that the archaeologist that knows this today will tell you that in many places you’ve got to go down 60 feet to get to where the city really was. That city’s been destroyed, my beloved. 27 major sieges besides many minor sieges. Now will you notice? Here is the thing, and men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. Now, in that day when he appears, he’s going to bring, we’re told, salvation to Jerusalem. We are told this, that they’re going to ask this question in that day, and I’d like for you to notice this. I want to pick up this verse. Yes. Verse 10 of chapter 12, and I will pour upon the house of David, from the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. Now, he comes. Zacharias says, Matthew confirmed that. That was not a triumphal entry when he came before Comes the next time, he’s just and having salvation. Then he has his pierced hands. And they’ll say to him, what mean these in your hands? Zechariah says, 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 friend. I came unto my own. My own received me not. And then they’ll weep and mourn because of him, because they’ll know that he was their Messiah and they crucify. And they’ll turn to him. There’ll be a weeping in Jerusalem, a mourning throughout the land. This is our king. This is our savior. He’s our Messiah. We’ve waited for him and he’s come. That’s when he comes to deliver Jerusalem in that day. Then this is God’s program as you begin to move on. In that day, there shall be a fountain open in the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. It’ll be open to them in that day. Now will you notice as you follow through to the consummation, chapter 14 verse 16 it shall come to pass that everyone that’s left of all the nations you see there’ll be many nations on this earth for the millennium which came against jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the king the lord of hosts and to keep the feast of tabernacles and it’ll be safe to go into that city why well because of this in that day shall there be upon the and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts. And may I say to you, that means simply this, that everything in the city, in the pots and the pans, will be dedicated to the use of God. Have you ever looked at Los Angeles? How much of Los Angeles does God have? Very little of it. He has very little of Los Angeles. But in Jerusalem in that day, every pot and pan on the stove will be dedicated to Almighty God. What a wonderful thing that is. That’s God’s plan and purpose for an earthly city called Jerusalem. Zechariah was in love with it. He loved it. That was his hope. Your hope and mine is not in that city. Your hope and my hope is in the new Jerusalem that comes down from God out of heaven, the heavenly Jerusalem, the one that the Lord Jesus said, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I’ll come again and receive you unto myself. That’s one of the reasons, honestly, I’m not too anxious to go to the earthly Jerusalem. I have no real estate there. I have no future there. My future is in that city that he’s gone to prepare. How do you get to that city? And I’m through. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me. The way to that city tonight is through the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a man by the name of John Bunyan, an awful sinner. He came to Christ. He wrote his story. It’s called Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. It’s his own story of how he came to the cross with his burden of sin. It rolled off and then he started on his journey to the celestial city. This is the city that the believers going to the heavenly Jerusalem, not the one we’re talking about tonight. God has a purpose for the earth. God has a purpose for the church tonight, for those that will trust the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
SPEAKER 02 :
Learn more about God’s gift of salvation by clicking on How Can I Know God in our app or at our website, ttb.org. And remember, you can also call 1-800-65-BIBLE and we’ll send some resources by Dr. McGee to you on how you can know God personally. Again, to be in touch, 1-800-65-BIBLE. Email us, biblebus at ttb.org. And by mail, Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. I’m Steve Schwetz, grateful for this time with you in God’s Word. Join us each weekday for our five-year daily study through the whole Word of God. Check for times on this station or look for Through the Bible in your favorite podcast store and always at ttb.org.
