There is coming a king. Who is that king? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who will it be that comes back? The Lord Jesus Christ?
He came once in humility. He returns in honor. He came in meekness. He returns in might. He came in poverty.
He returns in power. He came in shame and he returns in sovereignty.
Someday your trouble will be over and salvation will come and you'll reign with the king. Welcome to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Today, John is going to continue his series on something every believer should look forward to with joy: Christ's second coming. The first time Jesus came to earth, he was meek and lowly.
But the second time he comes, he will come as a conquering king. You'll see that in John's study titled The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ. But before we get to the lesson, a question that often comes up during a prophecy series like this one is: why study eschatology, the doctrine of the end times? You don't have to know the details of Christ's return to be saved, so why take the time to understand those future events? Listen to how John answered that question.
Well, of course uh God said in Scripture that he that has this hope in him purifies himself. Living in the light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Puts the pressure on us to live godly lives. As a sanctifying effect. It's a sanctifying anticipation.
Right. That's what it is. But beyond that, how. Is it possible? that anyone would assume that the end of the story is the least important part.
That that just is that is beyond comprehension to me. In fact, it's kind of an interesting thing to think about, but there are a lot of people who don't even want to make a decision about Genesis. They don't know whether they believe in the actual creation account in six days.
So they're a little fuzzy on the beginning and a little fuzzy on the end, and they want to be held up as experts on the middle. Look, I often say it this way. The Old Testament is the anticipation of Christ, and that is the glory of the Old Testament. The Gospels are the incarnation of Christ, and that is the majesty of the New Testament. The book of Acts is the proclamation of Christ, and that's the mission of the church.
The epistles are the explanation of Christ, the theology around his coming. And the book of Revelation is the glorification of Christ. How can we rob him of the knowledge of that glory? I think that is. I think that is a sinful thing for a preacher or a teacher to do to avoid the full glory of Christ revealed in the prophetic passages of Scripture, which is one of the reasons early on that I even got into Zachariah.
And you will remember also I did the book of Daniel because it also was prophetic. And I think I've preached through Revelation two or three times throughout my ministry. And the Olivet Discourse, which is Christ's own sermon on his second coming, I am responsible to give the whole counsel of God. And the most exhilarating, glorious truth of all, beyond our own personal salvation. Is the glory of Christ.
You know, this is what I think the martyrs under the altar in the book of Revelation were praying about. Lord, how long, how long, how long are you going to tolerate this? Kind of like the message of Hosea. How long are you going to tolerate this? When are you going to take your glory that you deserve?
And I think that's why we can't ignore prophetic passages. That's right, friend, and to help you understand Zechariah's prophecy and the implications it has for your life, follow along now as John MacArthur continues his study called The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ. Let's look at the Word of God, Zachariah chapter 9. Look at verse 10. We move from the first coming of Christ where we see his character to the second coming of Christ where we see his conquest.
His conquest. This is absolutely fascinating.
Now watch. By the way, you say, how can the Old Testament jump from one to the other? Simple. The Old Testament writers didn't see the church age, you see? They saw the king coming, offering the kingdom and setting it up.
That the church is a mystery. Paul says, This is a mystery which has been revealed to me, which was hidden in the past. And so the gap in here is 2,000 years long now. The Old Testament prophets didn't see. And so immediately the king comes and it moves to his second coming and it says, I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem.
And the battle-bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations, and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the earth, or from the river rather, even to the ends of the earth. from the deep humiliation and affliction of Messiah at his first coming. Zachariah moves to the glory and exaltation of his second coming.
Now, the chariot here is a battle chariot. And the horse is an instrument of war. The horse was used for war.
So were chariots. And what he's saying here is: I will bring an end to war, I will remove the need for chariots and horses in Jerusalem. They won't have to fight anymore. And the battle bow will be cut off. There's no need for these things.
Why? He shall speak peace. to the nations, set up his dominion from sea to sea, from the river to the ends. Of the earth. That's basically a quote from Psalm 72, verse 8.
From sea to sea means worldwide. He will rule the world, rule the whole world. And the river here is the river Euphrates, which was the eastern border of the land given originally to Abram. And so, from Israel's land, bordered on the east by the Euphrates, extending from that center point, that as the Latins would say, terminus a quo, from that point all around the world will be the place where Jesus reigns. He will bring peace so that there will be no more need for battle.
Now here we are in the salvation part. This is God's wonderful redemption of Israel. No more war. He will rule and he will reign. And then he takes it a step further.
Verse 11. As for thee also, that is Israel, by the blood of thy covenant. I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit in which is no water. You know, there's a phenomenal thing here in the Hebrew, and that is this: that this is spoken of as if it already happened. It's a perfect tense.
In other words, it's just as good as done in that day because of the blood of the covenant, I have already sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit in which was no water. Say, well, what does that mean?
Well, he says, first of all, Because of the blood of the covenant. What blood is that?
Well, you remember back in Genesis 15? God made a promise. To Abram. Is it Abram? Before he was Abraham.
Said, I'm going to make a great nation out of you. And I'm going to promise to bless that nation.
Now, I want to seal that promise so you get a. A goat and a ram. And a heifer? and a pigeon and a turtle dove. And you split the animals in half and then just kill the pigeon and the turtle there.
And lay half of the animals on this side, and half of the animals on this side, the dead pigeon on this side, and the dead turtle dove on this side. That's a messy, bloody deal. Say, what's God up to? He got all done doing that, and God just gave him a divine anesthetic, put him to sleep. He zarked.
And the Bible says that God, speaking of God as a smoking, burning lamp and furnace. God passed between those pieces. Genesis 15. Say what in the world is that? In the East, when people made a covenant, They made it in blood.
And the way they did it was to cut an animal in half and walk between the bloody parts of the animal. That was the custom to seal a promise. And God, watch this. God was not making a promise with Abram.
So he just put Abram asleep and said, you're not involved in this kid. God was making a promise with God. Nobody went through those pieces but him. He vowed with himself to bless his people. That's unconditional.
Because God could never break a promise He made with Himself. Both parties. are incapable of violating it. Because both parties are one and the same God. And so he says, it is because of my own covenant.
The blood of that covenant. It may even also include the bloodshed in the Mosaic covenant. And certainly, ultimately, it is the covenant that is fulfilled most singularly in whose blood? The blood of Jesus Christ. Because of the blood that I passed between then, because of the blood of the Mosaic covenant, because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the once-for-all offering, because of those things, some past, some yet to come, I'll never violate my promise.
It's sealed in blood. You say well. People always say, our millennialists always say this. The people who don't believe Israel has a place, they say, well, you see, Israel blew it. You see, Israel isn't worthy to be redeemed.
Israel isn't worthy to be brought back. Israel forfeited their right. Listen, it doesn't say, but I'm going to bring you back because you're so wonderful. Or, I'm going to bring your back because you've just now and then been pretty good. Or I'm going to bring you back because I feel sort of sorry for you.
Says, I'm going to bring you back because I made a promise with myself and I sealed that promise in blood, and when I do that, I keep my promise. And so God says, because of the blood of the covenant, now watch this. I have already sent forth the prisoners out of the pit in which is no water. You remember Joseph? Genesis 37, where'd they throw Joseph?
Where'd his brothers throw him? In a pit? That was a common place to put people you wanted to get rid of. You know what happened when they threw them in a pit? Nothing.
They died. And you know what they used to use for pits? Empty cisterns and dry wells. And that's exactly what you have here. A pit in which there is no water is a dry well.
And God says, Israel has been in a dry well a long time, but because of the blood of the covenant and because I have made a vow to Israel, they're as good as out. Yeah, that's a great message to announce to the Jews. You know that? That your people are as good as out of the pit someday. When the king comes, Israel will be freed from the pit of trouble, the pit of war, the pit of suffering, to know the liberty of the kingdom of peace.
and the reign of the Prince of Peace himself. And so, because of that, he calls them prisoners of hope in verse 12. Turn to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Turn to me is what he's saying. It's all going to come to pass.
Trust me. Lean on me, ye prisoners of hope. And when you get out, everything that's ever been withheld from you will be given back double measure. Is that in the Bible? It's in the Bible, verse 12.
Even today do I declare, I will render what? Double unto you. Not just blessing, double blessing. After all, you've had double anxiety and double pain. All rendered.
Double. Blessing. And they have had. Terrible pain, double pain. Isaiah 61, 7, I just thought of it says, For your shame you shall have double.
And for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore, in their land they shall possess a double portion. In other words, you had double pain, I'll give you a double portion. That's God's promise. And so he says, I'm going to save them.
I'm going to take war from the earth, verse 10. I'm going to give them salvation and bring them out of the pit. And I'm going to double bless them, verse 12.
Now watch this one. Just so we don't lose our place in history. The Holy Spirit stops here and gives us another one of those historical pledges. Are you ready for this one? Verse 13.
When I have bent Judah for me, and filled the bowl with Ephraim. And raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee like the sword of a mighty man, and the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth like the lightning, and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. Trying to stop there.
Now that seems pretty obscure. But it isn't. Let me show you the picture here. It's really clear if you just look. Step at a time at it.
The Lord says, just to let you know, I'm on your side. Even Even so you don't doubt me. Even after Alexander, I got another little token along the path here that'll show you. I mean business. I will use Judah like a bow.
And you know what a bow? You bend that bow. Judah is the bow, and Ephraim is the arrow. In other words, I'm going to use you as my weapons, O Zion, against Greece.
Now, there's only been one time in history when God ever used Israel to defeat Greece. And that was in the period of time, notice the intertestamental period, the period of time between the Old and the New Testament, that 400-year period in there, between the last of the scribes, Ezra, and the first, the New Testament, those 400 years, the last 400. In that period of time, Israel knew the domination of Greece. And only one time in those years did they ever break that domination. It was under the Maccabees.
Judas Maccabeus, a Jewish man and his sons, started a rebellion against the yoke of Greece because that rotten Greek ruler that had been assigned to Israel by the name of Antiochus Epiphanes had so desecrated the temple, he stuffed pork down the throats of the priests and he sacrificed a pig on the altar, and he was a terrible character. And they were so infuriated by this that God raised up a rebellious army and they literally fought against Greece and prevailed. And so that's what you have here. God is saying, someday I'm going to use you to defeat Greece and make you like the sword of a mighty man. And the Lord will be seen over them at that time.
And his arrows shall go forth like the lightning. And the Lord God will blow the trumpet and go with whirlwinds of the south. If you've ever lived in that part of the world, they say you watch for whirlwinds coming from the south because they're devastating, deadly. Whirlwinds. And just like a devastating whirlwind, just like lightning cracking out of the sky, just like a sharp arrow and a piercing sword, God says, I'm going to use Israel against Greece.
And the war lasted from 175 to 163 BC. They fought Antiochus Epiphanes and they won their independence. For them it was a holy war. And here, Zachariah says, God will be your captain. Jehovah will blow the trumpet, he'll call you to battle.
He'll send you out. to victory. But that's only a touch. That's only a token. That's only a pledge on the path to the final victory.
that awaits In the great and glorious future, when Jesus comes. David Barron, the great commentator, written probably the most significant book on the Prophecy of Zachariah says, quote, Zion and Greece. As has been well observed by another writer, are in this prophecy of Zachariah opposed to one another as the city of God and the city of the world. And the defeat of Antiochus, Epiphanes, and his successors at the hands of comparative handfuls of despised Jews, to which this passage may refer primarily, foreshadows the final conflict with world power and the judgments to be inflicted on the confederated armies who shall be gathered against Jerusalem, not only directly by the hand of God, but also by the hand of Israel, who shall then be made strong in Jehovah, so that the feeble among them shall be as David, and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. And so Baron is right.
What you see here is just a token or a pledge. It's just a historical picture of the ultimate great victory God will win over the nations using Israel even as his instrument.
Now let's go on to the final triumph in verse 15. The Lord of hosts shall defend them. And they shall devour. and subdue the slingstones. and they shall drink and make a noise as through wine.
and they shall be filled like bowls and like the corners of the altar. You know, the Lord of hosts is a great term. In the Hebrew, it literally translates the Lord of armies. The Lord of armies is on their side. He is going to defend them like a lion.
He will devour. You see, it's the Lord and Israel one and the same. and Israel like the lion of God. Takes their enemies and devours them. You know, there's an interesting picture here.
I'll just take a minute to, I just remembered this. But the reason this symbolism is used so often in the Bible is because what you devour I'll put it another way. When you devour something, you take its strength and you make it your own. Right? Whatever you eat.
You take the strength of that which you eat and you make it your own and turn it into your own energy. And that's why this is so often used. Israel would literally Take the strength of its enemies and turn it into its own strength. To conquer a certain country was to take all its resources, all of its attributes, all of its strengths. and make them your own.
And that is precisely what they would do. The sling stones, it says you'll walk on them. The enemies in those days used to hurl stones, sometimes with little slingshots, sometimes with great big catapults. If you've ever seen war. Werner Keller's book, The Bible is History.
He's got diagrams of the kind of great big, huge machinery they used to use to throw boulders and crash walls and things. And he's saying, whether they're the little shots or the big stones thrown by the enemy, you're just going to walk on them. They're just going to bounce off, fall to the ground, you're going to walk along. And I like this one. They shall drink and make a noise through wine.
You know what happens to people when they drink too much wine? They get loud. Have you ever noticed that? And they get boisterous. And you're going to be like that.
You're going to know victory, and the joy, and the excitement, and the boisterous. Kind of things that go with it. The battle he's really discussing here is Armageddon. And the armies of the world may amass themselves against Israel, but Israel is going to wind up just walking over the stones. shouting with joy, And then an interesting thing, he likens them to bulls.
He says, and you shall be filled like bowls and like the corners of the altar.
Well, and the bowls are well, Mizrach in Hebrew. This is the type of a bowl. Watch this: the type of a bowl used to catch up sacrificial blood splashed against the altar. When they offered sacrifices, the blood was very meaningful to them, and so when it would splash on the altar, they would catch it in these bowls. And then This is an interesting thing.
Then they would take the bowls and they would splash the remaining blood against the corner of the altar so that it would splatter on this side and splatter on that side. And they would do that to all the corners so that the whole altar was splattered with blood. You can't imagine how ugly an altar finally became. Incredible. An ugly thing.
But they were literally, he says, you will be like bowls that are used to splatter blood. All over the altar. And what he's really saying here is that Israel is going to see the splattering of the bloodshed of the godless. See, both parts are here, people. That's a terrible thing to think about.
Terrible. There's going to be so much blood you'll think you're the bulls. Read Revelation 14:20. The blood will be to what depth? the horses bridles for 200 miles.
So, you have the salvation on the one hand, and the peace and the kingdom, and this terrible judgment of the godless on the other hand.
So we see the character of the coming king. A king righteous. A Saviour. Lowly. We see his conquest.
In judgment, and lastly, I love this. We see his care. Verse 60. And here we turn to salvation again. And the Lord their God shall save them in that day.
as the flock of his people, For they shall be like the stones of a crown lifted up as an ensign. upon his land. And we'll stop there. He says The Lord their God shall save them. in that day as the flock of his people.
Now all of a sudden he's a shepherd. A shepherd king. Saving his flock. I'm not going to take the time to show you, but we'll see it as we finish the book of Zachariah. That shepherd-king concept.
is repeated In Zachariah. Salvation is going to come. Salvation is going to come. Chapter 13, verse 1. In that day, there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David.
And to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. There's going to be a purging. You know what I think the theme song of the kingdom is going to be? Yeah. The Lord is what?
My ship. I shall not want That's the theme song of the kingdom. The saved remnant? He says further, will be like the stones in a crown. Lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
Lifted up means sparkling in Hebrew. The saved people are going to be like sparkling jewels in the crown of the Messiah. Beautiful thought. All the rebels will be purged out, Ezekiel says. And there will be godly people left.
and they will become like jewels in the crown of the Messiah. Malachi 3.17, Malachi says, That the Lord spoke and said, They shall be mine in the day when I make up my jewels. God's people will be like a crown on his head. in the kingdom.
So we see a great future for Israel. Great, great reality of the coming king based on the blood of the covenant. And what is the response? There can only be one response in the heart of Zachariah. There can only be one response in your heart and mind, and that's praise, verse 17.
For how great is His goodness. And how great is his beauty. And then they look into the kingdom and see the plenty that's there. Grain shall make the young men cheerful. and new wine do the same thing to the young girls.
In other words, Look at the kingdom. All supplies will be there. We'll have all we need for happiness. Oh, how great is his goodness. How great.
is his beauty. In that day, beloved, there will be prosperity and there will be joy like the world has never conceived. There is coming a king. I hope you'll be a part of his kingdom. Who is that king?
I'll tell you who it is. Who was it that rode on the colt the foal of an ass? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who will it be that comes back? The Lord Jesus Christ?
He came once in humility, he returns in honor. He came in meekness, he returns in might. He came in poverty, he returns in power. He came in shame, and he returns in sovereignty. And Zachariah says, Be comforted, Israel.
Someday your trouble will be over, and salvation will come, and you'll reign with the king. In case you doubt this. You better look back at Alexander the Great, that was sign number one, and you better look back at the Maccabean Revolution. In 175 BC, that was sign number two. And believe me, God kept the first two, and I'm confident He'll keep the last part, aren't you?
And it behooves us not only To examine our own hearts, as Peter said, seeing that you know these things shall come to pass, what manner of persons ought you to be? We ought to examine our own hearts. We also ought to go to those people around us and call them to be a part of the kingdom. that is going to be brought. By the king.
Our message should be the message of the Apostle Paul. Giving thanks unto the Father, who has made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Who has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, in whom we have redemption. Even the forgiveness. I was serious.
Beloved, we have that. And that's the very message God calls us to pass on to others. The only reason you and I will ever enter that kingdom. We're not Jews. But God's going to let us be there if we love Jesus Christ.
we become spiritual Israel. Spiritual seeded Abraham. He's going to let us into his kingdom because we know his son. I'll tell you something, we have a lot to thank him for, don't we? Yeah.
We certainly do have a lot to be thankful for as believers in Christ.
Some wonderful reminders from John MacArthur today on Grace to You. John's current study is called The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ.
Well, friends, something I trust you're seeing as we continue John's study is this: studying biblical prophecy is an encouraging process, but prophetic texts can also be tricky to interpret.
So, to help you get all you can from the book of Zechariah, the basis for John's current series, let me recommend John's commentary on Zechariah. It gives a thorough and easy to understand explanation of even the most difficult passages in that book. To get your copy, get in touch with us today. The Zechariah commentary costs $25 and shipping is free. To order your copy, call us at 80055GRACE or place your order at our website, gty.org.
Again, to order, call 800-55GRACE or visit gty.org. And remember, if you want to study a particular topic or passage of scripture in more detail, we have thousands of Bible study tools available free of charge at gty.org. That includes blog articles, daily devotionals, John's entire sermon archive. That's more than 3,600 sermons, all free to download in MP3 and transcript format. All of that at our website, gty.org.
And friend, if today's lesson on prophecy has encouraged you, If you've been challenged by our recent blog series called The Great Exchange, or if someone you know has come to faith in Christ after hearing this broadcast, We'd love to hear your story. Email your note to letters at gty.org. or mail your letter to Grace2U. Box 4000, Panorama City, California. 91412.
Now for the entire Grace DU staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Be back tomorrow as we continue John MacArthur's compelling look at the return and reign of Jesus Christ. with another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time. On Grace to You.
