Zechariah chapter 8 and declaration of Trump(8:20~23)
20 “Thus says the Lord
of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet
come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another,
saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in
Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
Intro)
In the bible there are many signs of end of the world in Old and New Testament. Jesus says, in Mark 13:1-10, ‘Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Yes, this part has already fulfilled. Today’s Jerusalem’s temple still has foundation, and Islam’s sanctuary Golden Dome is built on the top of it.
Verse 3-10
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines [a]and troubles. These are the beginnings of [b]sorrows. (yes, this part is fulfilled or some area still in progress.)
9 “But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will [c]be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them. (This part is also in progress)
10 And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.
Gospel has spread through many countries. Now Islam countries are left.
Middle East’s Jasmine revolution has opened a door to gospel. As Islam gets weak gospel will open the tight window with great force.
And Israel will be stronger and spreading more spiritual power to Middle East Area.
When there was an Iran’s army came to Syria the country attacked them was Israel.
Currently, Israel at least has 70-80 atomic bombs. Countries that are surrounding Israel are stronger and bigger, but that’s the reason why they cannot attack Israel. Israel also carries America on its back, so none would mess with them.
Why it is how it is? It is because God is there, and he helped.
(Today’s verse is related to reality and fulfilled few promises about Jerusalem. Let this sermon be the reminder of our God is alive and keeps promises he made although it is over 2400 years ago.)
Body)
A) Words about Jerusalem’s recover in future (1-13)
Again the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘I am [a]zealous for Zion with
great [b]zeal;
With great [c]fervor I am zealous for her.’
3 “Thus says the Lord:
‘I will return to Zion,
And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth,
The Mountain of the Lord of hosts,
The Holy Mountain.’
(God loves Jerusalem sanctuary and picked to promise the grace. Reason why God is jealous for Zion is because he loves sanctuary and it was ruined.
Verse 3 God says, ‘I
will return to Zion,
And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.’
God left the Sanctuary for 70 years, but this means he will come back and give
peace and blessing. After Jesus came the ear of church has begun, and so does
Jerusalem sanctuary’s new start to become resident to
people who are righteous and faithful. )
4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Old men and old women
shall again sit
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of [d]great age.
5 The streets of the city
Shall be full of boys and girls
Playing in its streets.’
6 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘If it is [e]marvelous in the eyes
of the remnant of this people in these days,
Will it also be marvelous in My eyes?’
Says the Lord of hosts.
(This means they will receive blessing of long living and recover.)
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Behold, I will save
My people from the land of the [f]east
And from the land of the [g]west;
8 I will bring them back,
And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem.
They shall be My people
And I will be their God,
In truth and righteousness.’
9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Let your hands be
strong,
You who have been hearing in these days
These words by the mouth of the prophets,
Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid
For the house of the Lord of hosts,
That the temple might be built.
10 For before these days
There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast;
There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out
or came in;
For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.
11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.
12 ‘For the [h]seed shall be
prosperous,
The vine shall give its fruit,
The ground shall give her increase,
And the heavens shall give their dew—
I will cause the remnant of this people
To possess all these.
13 And it shall come to pass
That just as you were a curse among the nations,
O house of Judah and house of Israel,
So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.
Do not fear,
Let your hands be strong.’
As God said, people are coming back to Israel such as, North America, Europe, Africa, and Russia etc.
B) That time people have to keep peace and truth.
In This part God talks about duty of today’s Israel people, and foreign church members
14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Just as I determined
to [i]punish you
When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days
I am determined to do good
To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.
Do not fear.
16 These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
17 Let none of you think evil in [j]your heart against
your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”
18 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘The fast of the
fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.’
20 “Thus says the Lord
of hosts: ‘Peoples shall yet
come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another,
saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in
Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the [k]sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
Duties that God appointed for Israel people to do to recovered Israel are,
First, be truthful among neighbors, a true trial, and do not like making false oath.
Saint Paul says in Ephesians 4:25, ‘25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.’'
Second, God said have a peaceful trial and do not plan to harm each other. Trial should have good purpose, not to have one to plan to harm the others. It is evil work.
1 John 3:15 says, ‘
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.’
Today’s verse 19-23 says,
19 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘The fast of the
fourth month,
The fast of the fifth,
The fast of the seventh,
And the fast of the tenth,
Shall be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts
For the house of Judah.
Therefore love truth and peace.’
20 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Peoples shall yet
come,
Inhabitants of many cities;
21 The inhabitants of one city shall go to another,
saying,
“Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord,
And seek the Lord of hosts.
I myself will go also.”
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations
Shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in
Jerusalem,
And to pray before the Lord.’
23 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the [k]sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.” ’ ”
In Zechariah 14:20~21 says 20 In that day “HOLINESS TO THE LORD” shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, [j]every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.,
Indeed. Today, In Jerusalem the Philistines/Canaan people are pushed out of the area. Islam sanctuary will fall soon enough, and new Jewish Sanctuary will be built. According to current News it shows prediction of third sanctuary to be built soon. In storage people are gathering lots of building supplies. You can look it up if you are curious.
In Zechariah 6:15 it says, ‘15 Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you. And this shall come to pass if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.”
We are one of Jerusalem people. By our blood line we are foreign, but with God’s grace we became God’s people.
Therefore, we need to spread God’s gospel to the end of the land. This is work of peace with truth. Mission is our duty and God’s order.
Conc)
Last year December, President Trump picked Jerusalem as capital of Israel. President also said he will move Embassy of the United States of America to Jerusalem. This means God’s word will come true.
England and France are afraid of this. UN is worried about this, because this can cause wars or something not good, Countries near Arab started to hate USA.
On May 14th, 2018 Embassy of the United States of America opened in Jerusalem. However, what happened to those who were opposed to this idea? They couldn’t raise a finger, because God was involved in this work. God’s word in Zechariah is fulfilling. Hallelujah!
We need to know that spreading gospel to whole world is our God’s plan to save mankind, and work hard towards in spreading the gospel to all nations.
090218 IK SUN AHN
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