Welcome to another enlightening episode of ‘Through the Bible’ with Steve Schwetz guiding us on a spiritual journey through God’s Word. In this episode, we traverse the Old Testament Book of Zechariah with the insightful teachings of the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee. Is world peace truly attainable? Dive into the prophetic scriptures with us as we explore God’s promise of a time when peace will encompass the earth, a peace only possible under the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. We also hear impactful testimonies from listeners across the globe who have been spiritually transformed through this program,
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellence.
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Is world peace even possible? That’s a big question, and one that many Christians ask today. Welcome to Through the Bible. I’m Steve Schwetz, your host on this five-year journey through God’s entire Word. Now, in this study, our teacher, the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee, is going to tackle that very question as we travel to the Old Testament book of Zechariah. But before we begin, let’s hear from a few of our fellow passengers on the Bible bus. First, we hear from a listener in Assam, India. Now, I am trying to make it a habit to go to church. Please pray that I may become a true follower of Christ. Well, praise God for that. And then here’s another note. This is from a listener in Uganda. I thank God for this program. It has helped my prayer life. I have even started praying when I am alone. I had backslidden in my life, but this program caused a turnaround, and now my spiritual life is healthier. Thank you, and God bless. isn’t that encouraging next our last note is from amani in egypt i grew up believing that only if i obey all the rules and do enough good things maybe just maybe god will accept me but this message about being a child of god it confused me at first are you really saying that just by faith in jesus i can be called god’s child that i don’t need to prove myself first If this is true, then it changes everything. I want to believe, but I’m scared. I’ve never known love without conditions. Please, can you help me understand more about how to begin a relationship with God, not based on fear, but love? Wow, I love these reminders that God is at work through His Word. Would you join us in praying for these listeners and millions more like them? Sign up for our World Prayer Team at ttb.org. Now let’s return to Dr. McGee’s series of introductions on the Millennium.
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Now I want to continue what I began last time on some of the spiritual characteristics of the millennium. We put such great emphasis on the desert and blossoming as the rose. Well, that’s fine. But there is something far more important. And one of the things that we mention is that it would be a time of peace. Man would learn war no more. Peace would be something that at that time would cover the earth like the waters cover the sea, and it will be because the Lord Jesus will be reigning here upon this earth. And I venture to say that until he reigns, there will not be peace for any length of time on this earth. There are a great many people parading today and saying, peace, let’s maintain the peace we have now. Well, don’t they realize that there are 57 wars going on throughout the world, and they can’t be stopped by man. We’re told in chapter 9 of Isaiah, verse 5, it says, “…for every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood. But this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful.” Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. In other words, this is something that God is determined to do. And He has the energy to do it, by the way. And after all, what is the Sermon on the Mount? The Sermon on the Mount is the law of this kingdom. And in it you have righteousness and peace. And the only peace that can come to the sinner man in this race that he is in, the human race, he cannot know peace until that peace is in his heart, that his sins have been forgiven. And so that’s the kingdom that’s to be established here upon this earth.
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We’ll hear more of this discussion in our next study. For now, though, let’s pray for one another as we open God’s word. Father, speak to us through your word and help us to hear your voice clearly and then respond with humble hearts to all that you have for us to learn. In Jesus’ name, amen. We’re off to Zechariah 1 on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Verna McGee.
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Now, friends, we’re in this first chapter of Zechariah, and beginning at verse 7, we saw the first of the ten visions that are given to us here. And this first vision was the rider on a red horse among the myrtle trees. That is, apparently in the shade or under the shade of these myrtle trees. And it was down in a low place. And they grow taller there, down in a place like that. And back of this rider, there were three different kinds of horses, red horses and white horses and sorrel horses. And the sorrel horse, evidently a sort of a yellow colored horse. And they were apparently under the shade of the tree in such a way that the sun would come through, made them look rather speckled and gave that impression. So frankly, I’m of the opinion that you really have only two colored horses here, the red and the white. The red speaks of war, the white of victory, and, of course, of purity and many other things. But these horses represent the fact that God is watching over this earth. That’s the great comfort of it. And the pre-incarnate Christ is the one on the red horse. Now, the message that was brought to the Lord Jesus by these that were the ones patrolling the earth, that there was peace in the earth. Now, we suggested last time that of 5,000 years of recorded history, that there’s been a little over 200 years that there’s been peace in the earth. That is, total peace in the earth. But this was one of those periods And we left off last time with verse 11. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees and said, We’ve walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. Well, you would say, well, now that’s wonderful. That is great. That peace has at last come to the earth. But what kind of peace was it? Well, it’s a kind of peace that’s not going to last very long. And why? Well, verse 12. Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? That is for 70 years now. Jerusalem has been in rubble and ruin and in debris and in ashes. And now they have come back after the 70 years captivity and they’re beginning to rebuild. And the cry here is, how long will it be before God is going to bring a real blessing? How long will it be? Well, God makes it clear here that he’s displeased with the nations who are at peace and who ignore Jerusalem’s plight. You see, he makes it clear here, and we’ll note this now as I begin to read, God is jealous for Jerusalem, and the nations of the world are indifferent to her. God had returned to Jerusalem with mercies, and the nations have a responsibility also. But they were at peace. But they’re not going to be at peace long. May I make this statement here? The world can never have permanent peace. until the Lord Jesus is reigning in Jerusalem. He is the Prince of Peace, and the world can’t have peace. And the peace that He offers today is peace with God because of sins forgiven, peace with your neighbor. And if you are right with God, you can have peace even among nations today. But the so-called civilized nations have been the ones in this century that have carried on two world wars. Not Christian nations, but civilized nations. And I had a little poem. I was going to pass it on to you today, but I couldn’t put my hand on it. It was when we went into the South Pacific in fighting against Japan. And the soldier boys were amazed on many of the islands. They expected to find headhunters and cannibals and all that sort of thing. And they found little churches and Christians, and they were receiving them joyfully. And the poem goes on to say that the so-called heathen were at peace and the so-called Christian nations were at war. Well, that was the picture. The world can’t have peace apart from Christ. Therefore, Jerusalem is the key to it. And the world was trying to have peace in that day and ignored Jerusalem. And it wasn’t going to last long. You see, this was during the reign of Mediapersia. Mediapersia had put down the Babylonian Empire. Babylon, before that, had put down both Egypt and Assyria. So the Mediapersian Empire was reigning now all the way from the Indus, all the way into the Mediterranean. and all the way from the snow of the mountains around the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, all the way down to the burning sands of the Sahara Desert. And they had brought, for a brief period of time, peace into the world. But it wouldn’t be long till out of the west, That would come Alexander the Great. And it upset the apple cart again. Because actually, Jerusalem was the key to it. Now will you notice, and I’m beginning reading now at verse 13. And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comforting words. Now, underscore those two adjectives. There were good words and there were comforting words. These are the words that are helpful. You see, Haggai pronounced judgment, but not Zechariah here. He is getting good words, and he’s getting comforting words. Now will you notice verse 14, “…so the angel that talked with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem, and for Zion with a great jealousy.” Now, we’ve dealt with this word jealousy before. God is not jealous as we are today. It’s not the human kind of jealousy that might lead to a shooting or might be just the flare-up of a bad temper. But the jealousy of God that is mentioned here is the kind of jealousy. In fact, God says, I’m jealous with a great jealousy. That is, I’m exceedingly jealous. You see, jealousy is a burning, fiery passion. And men have been jealous of that which is their own and what’s dear to them. And when it falls into the hands of another and there’s danger of it being taken away from them, believe me, they begin to move. Well, in this sense, may I say to you, God is likewise jealous. This was his city. These were his people. And he is fully aware here of the worldwide woe of oppressed Israel today. He’s jealous for his people. And I believe that in time, God is going to move on their behalf. And the world then and the world today is just ready to forsake them. Now, let me just keep on reading here. God says, “…and I am very much displeased with the nations that are at ease, for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.” In other words, these nations were doing nothing for this city, and God wanted to be known that it was His city. And now he says in verse 16, Therefore thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies. Now God is saying to his people, I have come back and in mercy I want to deal with my people. And as he’s told us today, he’s rich in mercy. And he says, My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Now, there are those that believe that this line stretching forth upon Jerusalem speaks of the fact that there would be a great building boom and Jerusalem would expand and become a great city in that day. I think that’s probably true. But every time God mentions the fact that a man with a measuring rod or a measuring line is going forth, we’ve seen this before, it simply means God is getting ready to move directly in that particular case. And here, now that the 70 years’ captivity was over, God is turning to his people again, and those that now have returned to him, and he’s there rich with mercy, and he wants the nations and wants them to know they can never have peace. unless there is peace in Jerusalem. That is the key to the peace that’s here on this earth. And haven’t the events of the past few years since they’ve become a nation again rather indicated that? And this little nation found out how few friends they really had in the world at the beginning of the oil crisis. They fell away like dead flies from them. because they wanted nothing to do with them, because they wanted the oil more than they wanted the friendship of this nation. But of course, this nation has not in any way returned to God, in spite of the fact that there’s been this great building boom over there today. They’ve returned back to the land, and they’ve been building the city, and Zionism is very much of a reality today, but they’re still actually building scattered throughout the world in unbelief, and they’re still persecuted even at this moment in this day in which we live, so that, friends, there’s not peace on the earth, and there cannot be peace on the earth until there is peace in Jerusalem. And I’d like to dwell on this even more, but I cannot in this type of a study. We will be coming to other passages on Jerusalem in which we intend to develop this other line of thought, which I think is very important today, that the significance and importance of Jerusalem as far as the history of the world is concerned. And you can check that back in history in the past, and it’ll certainly be in the prophecy for the future. There’s a great deal God has said concerning that. He said in Psalm 132, “…for the Lord has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation. This is my resting place forever. Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” That’s verse 13. And he goes on to say in Psalm 78, verse 67, he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph. He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves. God says that’s a spot that he loves. I must confess, I do not love Jerusalem. I just have to be very frank and confess that it’s not to me an attractive place at all today. But God’s going to make it that someday. The judgment of God is upon the place, I think, even in this day. Now, let me continue to read here. He says, verse 17, “…cry 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.” Now, that looks down the future. So these people can recognize that they are working in the plan and program of God that’s going to extend down through the future. And what an application for Christians today. Are you and I working in something that has eternal value? What you’re doing today, what value will it be ten years from today, a hundred years from today, a million years from today? Are we actually working in the light of eternity? And we should keep that in mind. Now we come here in verse 18 to the second vision. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold, four horns. And I said unto the angel who talked with me, What are these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Now, I take it that’s one vision, but the next two verses about the four carpenters that are mentioned here, I consider that a separate vision, but it’s generally put together by all the interpreters as one. I do not see it that way. Now, when he says here that he saw four horns, and these horns are the ones that scattered Jerusalem. and scattered both Judah and Israel, the northern and southern kingdom. Now, a horn represents a Gentile ruler, and you find the little horn in the 7th chapter of Daniel, verse 24. And then when you go over to Revelation, and I think probably I should turn to that one, the 17th chapter of the book of Revelation says, And I want to look at that and read that one to you. It’s verse 12, and it says, “…and the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet, but received power as kings one hour with the beasts.” So that is for the future, you see, looks to the future. But the horns represent a Gentile world power, and these four horns represent four Gentile world powers— Well, who are they? Well, the four that scattered Israel are Babylon, Mediapersia, Greece, and Rome. All four of them scattered these people. Now, the very interesting thing is that God makes it very clear that these four horns are going to be dealt with. Now, notice verse 20, and we come now to the four carpenters, as they’re called in our text today. Or they actually are trained workmen. And let me read verse 20 and 21. And the Lord showed me four artisans. And as I say, they are skilled workmen. They’ve generally been translated four carpenters. Or they can be called the four smiths. A smith is generally a trained workman, and this may explain the reason there’s so many smiths in the world, because you’ve got four to start with here, and that’s a pretty good start. The Lord showed me four artisans, skilled workmen. Then said I, What come these to do? What are these skilled workmen doing here? And he spoke, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head. But these are come to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it. And I think here’s without doubt one of the most remarkable prophecies that we have in the Scriptures. And frankly, I’m going to turn to the explanation that has been given by another one. Who are the four smiths here? Well, Jerome and Cyril and Calvin consider them supernatural means that God uses here, and they’re symbolic of the supernatural means. Well, I don’t quite agree to that. I think that what you have here now, the smiths are artisans that build up And what you really have, and I’m greatly indebted to Dr. Merrill Unger for this interpretation. And by the way, I think he has the finest book on Zechariah that there is, at least that I have seen. You see what happened. The first horn was Babylon. Now, it was cast down by media Persia. the second horn. But Media Persia now acts as an artisan. It tears down one nation but builds up another nation, the Media Persia. But in turn, the second horn, Media Persia, was destroyed by the third horn, which was the Graco-Macedonian Empire under Alexander the Great. But it in turn was destroyed by Rome so that these Smiths came along and they destroyed these. But the interesting thing, if you go back and study Rome, Rome was not destroyed by an outside power. In fact, Rome is to come back together again because it never did die. Rome just fell apart because of the internal corruption that was in that kingdom. It fell apart. Now there’s coming one who will be Antichrist and put it back together again. And he’ll be a world dictator. But who’s going to put him down? Well, the coming of Christ to the earth. He’ll be the fourth carpenter, if you please. He’ll be the fourth smith. He’ll be the one that will put down the Roman Empire when he comes at the end of the Great Tribulation period. I think this is one of the most wonderful prophetic passages that you have in the Word of God. And friends, I hope that this enables many of you to see how important it is to study all the Word of God in order to understand prophecy. No prophecy is given for any private interpretation. You don’t interpret it by itself. It has to be fitted into God’s tremendous program that reaches on into eternity. And until we see it that way, personally, I don’t think you see it at all. All right, until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
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Be sure to hop aboard the Bible bus next time as our journey through Zachariah continues. Until then, for resources to deepen your study of God’s Word, just visit us at ttb.org or call us at 1-800-65-BIBLE and we’ll be happy to help you. And when you’re in touch, would you be sure to tell us how you listen? Is it through our app, on the radio, our Bible bus flash drive? Is it on YouTube? There’s so many different ways that you can hear the program. This little bit of information, as we’ve mentioned before, helps us to make ministry decisions. So, Thanks in advance for your help. As we go, I’m Steve Schwetz, saying for all of us at Through the Bible, we’re praying that God’s great peace, love, and mercy would be with you as you walk with him in his word. Through the Bible is a five-year study of God’s entire Word, and together we discover God’s purposes in history and our lives, found only when we believe in Jesus Christ. Do you know Him yet?
