Israel is going to be saved, but before the day of their salvation comes, there's going to come this terrible day when they line up with the wrong ruler, the wrong one. And you know what's so sad about it is they're going to have such great hope and such great anticipation and such great expectation and such great confidence is this is the guy and this is it. See, it isn't. Who they think is a shepherd is none other than one who's going to devour them down to the very hoofs. Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur.
I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Who is the most evil man of all time? Maybe one of the Roman emperors like Nero? or someone more recent like Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot, Adolf Hitler.
Well, as evil as all of those men were, their wickedness is nothing compared to that of a man who will come to power in the future. the Antichrist. But what does the Antichrist do? Should you fear this man? And if he comes to power, does that mean God is not in complete control of the world at all times?
John MacArthur has answers today on Grace to You as he continues his study called The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ.
Now, with a look at some frightening aspects of events yet to come, here's John MacArthur. Those of you who have been with us for our study of this wonderful book are well aware of the tremendous prophetic importance that it carries. And we have really covered so much of the prophetic picture, all the way from the history of the time of Zachariah clear to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and many, many events in between. And one of the most significant events that is on the horizon prophetically is the rise of an individual that is commonly known as the Antichrist. And as we come to Zechariah chapter 11, we come face to face with this human being.
He's not a demon and he's not an... A fallen angel in that sense, he's not Satan, he is a human being. The most anti-god, rebellious human being yet to arrive on the scene. In the context of Zechariah chapter 11, he appears as the false shepherd. Zachariah tells us In these three little verses.
That Israel is going to accept this. False shepherd.
Now let me give you a quick review.
Now it's not going to last long, so listen. This is a chapter about shepherds. Remember? The first three verses discuss the ravage of the wailing shepherds. The prophet in this chapter is acting.
Remember, we told you he's like putting on a play in front of the people in the city. And he's acting out a part. And the chapter begins with the ravage of the wailing shepherds. The first thing you see is some shepherds are crying and wailing. Why?
because he is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. And the ravages and the wailing and the spoil that's going to take place. Desolation is coming. That's the first three verses. In 70 AD it came.
And then we saw the rejection of the true shepherd. Not only the ravage of the wailing shepherd, but the rejection of the true shepherd. And from verse 4 to 14, Zachariah acted out. The rejection of Jesus Christ.
Somehow, he played the part of the coming shepherd and dramatized for the people. what they were going to do. to the Christ. He even discusses the betrayal of Judas in verses 12. to 14.
There was a price, thirty pieces of silver. cast in the house of the Lord, ultimately given to a potter. All of that was fulfilled. in the death of Jesus Christ.
So Zachariah here is like a play actor. He stands on the stage, which is Jerusalem, in the time in which he lived, to the people who had come back from the captivity, and he says, look what's in your future, people. First of all, there is the wailing of shepherds who have been ravaged and destroyed. And the reason they have been is because when the true shepherd comes, you won't receive him. And then he goes and acts that very thing out in verses 4 to 14.
And then when he hits verse. 15, he talks about the reception of the false shepherd. He says, What is so strange is that while you have rejected the true shepherd, in the end you will receive a false one. What a mix-up. What an exchange.
Now notice this. There's a gap. From verse 14. To verse 15. That jumps all the way.
From 70 AD to the Great Tribulation. When Jesus came into the world, they refused Jesus. They crucified him about 30 A. About 40 years later, 70 AD, the prophecy of this chapter was fulfilled, the land was wiped out. And that came because they rejected the true shepherd.
Now in verse 15 he says I want you to act out one more part, Zachariah. I want you to take the instruments of a foolish shepherd. Put on your foolish shepherd costume. You say, what's that? I haven't got any idea, but they must have known what it was.
I'll give you a hint in a minute. And he says, You act out the foolish shepherd because that's the one they're going to receive. And that's exactly what they do. Daniel 9, 27, they make a covenant with the prince for the time of the tribulation. They line up with him.
Israel does. And so the message of the chapter flows very clearly. It says that before the destruction of Jerusalem, God will appear in the person of Christ to shepherd Israel. Only the poor of the flock will receive the word of the true shepherd, and the rest will reject him. And the good shepherd king would be valued no more than a slave, and they'd sell him cheap.
And as a result of that, God would come against them in judgment. Death, famine, war, civil strife, and their nation would be destroyed. And then, shock of all shocks. They've done that. the true shepherd, and when the false shepherd comes along, they're going to accept him.
Now, as we look at verse 15, it deals with his character. As we look at verse 16, it deals with his work. As we look at verse 17, it deals with his punishment. Let's look at verse 15. And the LORD said to me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
Now, he is going to play the part of Antichrist. He has just played the part of Christ, he will now play the part of Antichrist. As I told you last time, this is not something uncommon to the prophets. Frequently, they acted out a part. To illustrate a truth.
That's what he's doing.
Now you say, What are the instruments of a foolish shepherd?
Well, I don't really know that. Maybe a broken staff. It'd be pretty stupid to go out and try to shepherd a flock of sheep if your staff was broken. Maybe a big club with with metal on it. That you'd use to beat the sheep into submission.
That would be an instrument of a foolish shepherd rather than tenderly care for the sheep. I don't know what it is.
Some have said it was a great club instead of a gentle staff, but whatever it was, he dressed up like a guy who would really be a stupid shepherd to be in those clothes with those instruments. And he says, there's coming a foolish shepherd.
Now, I want you to know something about the word foolish. The word foolish in the Old Testament is a synonym for wicked. The synonym for wicked. And I'm not even going to take the time to show you all of the verses that make those two things synonymous. Particularly are they made synonymous in the Proverbs in many, many places.
It equates the wicked with the fool. His own iniquities, Proverbs 5:22, his own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin, and he shall die without instruction. In the greatness of his foolishness, he will go astray.
So the foolishness and the iniquity are. are co-equal. The foolish shepherd is the evil one. It's the fool who says in his heart, what? There's no God.
In other words, he lives wickedly in rebellion against God. It doesn't mean that he's, you know, he's retarded mentally or anything. It doesn't mean that his mind is less than adequate. It simply means he is wicked. He is vile.
He is evil. He is unrighteous. He is sinful. And that's the character of this particular shepherd. He is a wicked.
Shepherd. And so he says, you play the part of a wicked shepherd. A wicked shepherd might have a club instead of a staff. I don't know. That's his character, a wicked shepherd.
He comes along, the Antichrist does. Like he's going to shepherd the whole world and they buy it. See? And they turn around one day, and it isn't a staff in his hand at all, it's a club, and he starts slaughtering them. He lets the false church exist in Revelation 17.
It's called the whore, the prostitute, the false church, the true church, is gone. He lets the false church go along, and finally he devours it and slaughters them. He lets Israel go along for three and a half years, then he moves in and starts to slaughter the Jews, and he kills two out of every three. He is a wicked, godless shepherd. Let's look at his work in verse 16.
And I want you to notice a very interesting note here. For Lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land. Did you note that? Who is it that permits this shepherd to even arrive? It's God, isn't it?
Nothing ever happens outside the plan and the sovereignty of God. God is no victim. God is not biting his nails, hoping that nothing goes awry. God is not second-guessing Satan. God is even allowing those things to occur.
You go right back to the book of Job for this, don't you? And everything that Satan ever did to Job, he did because God allowed him to do it and drew the boundaries on it. And God allows Satan his final fling, and he allows this guy to come. And when he comes, look at the character. Look at the kind of shepherd he is.
He will not visit those that are cut off.
Now, what this basically means in the Hebrew, without going into a lot of detail. is sheep who are in the process of dying. Because they're cold? Because they're separated from the flock. Because they've been attacked by an animal and they're wounded and they're way off somewhere else.
They're in the process of dying. He doesn't bother. to go out. and take care of them. If they're not right there, He has no concern.
The true shepherd, what does he do? He goes and finds that little sheep that's cold. He goes and finds that sheep that's lost. He finds that sheep that's wounded. He finds the sheep that somehow got separated from the flock and is around the back of a hill.
But this one does not. He isn't even interested at all in saving the wounded. And the cold. He doesn't even look for him. Secondly, He doesn't seek the young one.
He has no concern for the little lambs. Who are the ones that get lost? No concern for the little lamb who can't quite make it over the little hedge that every other sheep was able to go over. No concern. The true shepherd.
leaves the ninety and nine to find the little lamb that's lost. Not this shepherd. He doesn't care about the wounded and the cold and he doesn't care about the young. Further. He doesn't heal that which is broken.
One of the concerns that a shepherd had was broken limbs. Frequently, a sheep would break a leg. A good shepherd would make a splint. to provide. For the broken leg.
Not this shepherd. The shepherd isn't interested in binding. The broken legs. Isn't interested in salving the wounds. Not at all.
Further. Nor feed that which stands still.
Now most commentators feel that that which stands still refers to the firm strong sheep They're just standing still. They require a minimum of help. They don't have to be chased. They don't have to be found. They don't have to be mended.
Nothing needs to be done except to just feed them. And he doesn't even do that. To the strong who need the least help, he is no help at all. To the weak and the wounded and the cold and the dying, he is absolutely indifferent. Totally unconcerned.
Well, by this time, if you were in Zachariah's day and you were sitting there and you were watching Zachariah doing this little act, you'd say, This is some crummy shepherd. This would be you wouldn't buy this shepherd. This is all the opposite of every shepherd you ever knew. You got to be kidding. Who ever heard of such a shepherd who doesn't go out and find those that are cold and wounded?
What kind of shepherd doesn't help little lambs? What kind of shepherd doesn't fix broken bones? What kind of shepherd doesn't even feed the strong sheep that are no trouble at all?
Well, what kind of a shepherd is this?
Well, he does do some things.
Well, you say, what does he do? Look at the end of verse 16. He eats the flesh of the fat sheep. What? What kind of a shepherd is this?
He eats his own flock? Yeah, the fattens. He is greedy. He is selfish. He feeds on the fat of the sheep rather than feeding the sheep.
He eats them. Listen to this. When the Antichrist comes, it's all hearts and flowers. For three and a half years, and then the abomination of desolations, and he begins to eat Israel. He begins to feed on Israel.
He begins to slaughter Israel. And Jesus said in Matthew 24: run for the mountains. when it happens. There is a slaughter like no slaughter ever before. It shall come to pass, Zachariah 13, 8.
Two parts in the land shall be cut off and die, the third shall be left. And even the third will go through fire and refine as silver and gold. He's going to kill two out of every three. He's going to slaughter Gentile believers, everyone that doesn't take his mark. He'll slaughter them from one end of the world to the other.
Only God in His mercy spares one-third of Israel. hiding them away and eat them. Securing them, but he begins to eat the sheep. And then there's a most. unbelievable phrase, and tear their hoofs in pieces.
Translation is claws, but it really refers to hoofs, case of sheep. And you say, well, what is this doing? Have you ever eaten um Spare ribs when you're really hungry. And you you want every Morsel. You ever eaten a pork chop the same way or a T-bone steak, and you're bending the bone, you're getting it there?
You're scraping in there Your wife has just told you there's no dessert and you're going to get everything. Yeah, yeah. And you literally are tearing the bones apart.
Sometimes you do it with chicken. You watch people, you give them a wing, and they'll spend a half an hour on it. That's this guy. He is not only eating the flesh of the fat, but he's tearing the hoofs to pieces to get every morsel. to consume every last bit.
Will you say Were the people in Zachariah's day shocked? Of course. This was absolutely opposite of everything they ever knew about a shepherd. It's inconceivable that a shepherd would ever behave this way. But this is the shepherd that they will receive.
They turned their back on the real one, and this is the one they wanted. And this is the one they're going to get. You know, when I think about that, it's really a sad thing. You know, I have great love for Israel. I tell Jewish people all the time that my best friends in the whole wide world are all Jewish.
That's right, all of them are Jewish, my best friends. Moses, Abraham, David. Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, John, they're all Jewish. And I wish I was Jewish for one good reason. I would like to live and go if I was Jewish and I could make it through the tribulation and be one of the one-third.
But that's not going to work because I'm already saved and I got to go in the rapture. But if it was possible. See? If it was possible, I'd like to be Jewish and not get saved till the tribulation. And then I could live in the kingdom in my physical body.
And then I could really see what it would be like to be a physical person in the kingdom. As it is, I'm going to be a glorified person in the kingdom. I'm not complaining, God, I'm going to be there. But you know, when I think about Israel and the love I have for Israel, and I love to go there. In fact, I'm trusting the Lord that I'll be able to go soon again.
And I think about the fact that Israel is going to be saved, but before the day of their salvation comes, there's going to come this terrible day when they line up with the wrong ruler. The wrong one. And you know what's so sad about it is they're going to have such great hope and such great anticipation and such great expectation and such great confidence that this is the guy and this is it. See? And it isn't.
And who they think is a shepherd is none other than one who's going to devour them down to the very hoof.
So we see his character and his work and then his punishment. Verse 17. This is what the Hebrew says. Woe, worthless shepherd, forsaker of the flock. Whoa.
worthless shepherd, forsaker of the flock, Whoa. Oh, there's that term. That has to do with the curse again. Curse you. Woe to you, worthless shepherd.
Forsaker of the flock. God will judge you and look how it happens. The sword Shall be upon his arm. And on his right eye. His arms should be completely dried up and his right eye utterly darkened.
Now this is interesting. The arm refers to strength. The right arm is always the symbol of strength. God is going to come with a sword of judgment and is going to cut off his right arm. And it's going to wither and shrivel.
Going to be severed and it's going to shrivel into nothing, which means his power will be torn away. And his I, what did I say the I refers to? Intelligence. his intelligence will be turned into idiocy, as it were. Utterly darkened.
He won't know right from wrong, up from down, in from out. The sword of God's vengeance will fall.
Now This indication is also prophesied this judgment in many other passages. Back in Daniel again, look with me at chapter 7. And in Daniel 7, we find again a reference to the coming judgment on this. Individual. This is most interesting.
The Antichrist is going to get this great power. He's going to start to tear and shred the people of God, and then the Lord is going to come in judgment on him. We find this judgment indicated. in many places really. But I think Daniel 7, 9 will give you a little bit of a picture to start with.
And I beheld till the thrones were placed, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. Fiery stream issued and came forth. From before him.
Now, here's the idea of God, and he's just seeing all of his majesty and his wonder and his glory, and he sees it like pure wool, and flames, and wheels burning, and fire coming out, and all this majesty of God's holiness. A thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. This is the angelic host. The judgment was set, and the books were open. And I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spoke, the horn being the Antichrist.
I beheld even till the beast was slain and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. And as for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. There were four beasts in Daniel's image. Remember that? There was the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire.
There was a time when all four of those were really conquered, but they had a little life left. They went on.
Some of their power was still retained. But in the case of this fourth, the beast who rules the revived Roman Empire, the Antichrist, he will be destroyed and there will be no thing remaining. There will be nothing left, no little bit of dominion remaining after his case. It says the beast will be slain, its body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. Not like the others whose dominion was taken away, yet their lives were prolonged.
he will lose his power and his life at the same time.
Now, as you go over in the same chapter to verse 24, it's the same thing again: the ten horns. I'm not going to go into all of this. Out of this kingdom are ten kings. These are the revived Roman Empire nations. And out of this is going to arise the Antichrist.
Verse 25: He will speak great words against the Most High. He'll wear out the saints by slaughtering them as the shepherd that eats the fat of the flock. And he'll do this for a while. A time, times, and dividing of a time. A time would be one, times would be two.
Dividing would be a half, three and a half years, he'll do this. But something's going to change. The judgment shall sit, they shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy him unto the end. Destruction is going to come. And then, of course, Christ is going to reign, God is going to reign.
Chapter 8 of Daniel, verse 23, In the latter times of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance.
Now, incidentally, that's another name for Antichrist. In Daniel, he is called many things. The little horn, the willful king, the king of fierce countenance, and the prince that shall come. All four of those refer to the same individual. And the king of fierce countenance, Shall stand up.
His power shall be mighty. Not by his own power. Who's behind him? Satan. He shall destroy wonderfully.
In other words, he shall create wonder and awe at his destruction. He shall prosper, continue, destroy the mighty and the holy people. Through his policy, he shall cause deceit to prosper and so forth and so forth. But at the end of the verse, he shall, when he stands up against the prince of princes, who's that?
Well, it's the same as the King of Kings. The Prince of Princes, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords is all Jesus Christ. He shall be broken without hand. In other words, there won't even be a struggle. He'll just be shattered.
Broken. In Revelation chapter 19. Listen to this. And the beast was taken, it's the same individual, Antichrist, and his cohort, the false prophet. And they were cast alive into a lake of fire.
Burning. with brimstone. Chapter 20, verse 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the same lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Now he's going to be destroyed. in the sense of his dominion and sent to hell forever with Satan, and all those who occupy Satan's kingdom. It's going to happen.
Now that's what Zachariah 11, 17 is saying. God is going to judge this false Shepherd. Severely. You're listening to Grace TU, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. Today John showed you how Christ will one day defeat Satan and set up his earthly kingdom.
That glorious hope is the subject of John's current study, The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ.
Now, friend, whether you're studying Zechariah or some other book of the Bible, John was convinced that anyone, whether a long time pastor or a new believer, anyone, can know God's Word. In fact, John built his ministry on the principle that Scripture can be studied and understood and applied to all of life. John MacArthur had some comments in studio about that. Here's what he said Well, that is the point, isn't it? God revealed himself.
Scripture is not supposed to be oblique. It's not supposed to be confounding. It's not supposed to be mysterious. It is to be understood. A wayfaring man, though he be a fool, need not err, the Old Testament says.
The New Testament talks about a child. can understand. And this is Revelation. I think what makes some people think it's confusing Is because they've never really diligently attempted to understand it, and because their minds are filled with all kinds of ideas, notions, philosophies, and religious thoughts that somehow have to be navigated in order to get to a true understanding. You've got to sort of undo what you've thought about in the past.
But with a pure mind and with the Holy Spirit, the Bible can be understood. And I think every Christian must understand it. You know, one of the reasons there was a Reformation. Was because the Catholic Church said we can't put the Bible in the hands of people. You know, only the church is the true interpreter of Scripture.
We've got to keep the Bible away from the people. And in the English world, Tyndale comes along and says, I want to get the Bible in the hands of every plowboy in England. Of course, they killed him for it. But every person can understand the Bible, and that's what launched me.
well, way back in nineteen ninety seven to bring out the MacArthur Study Bible. It is a Bible with a text of Scripture and at the bottom of every page I I try to explain every verse. And they're simple, straightforward explanations. One of the things that makes it easy to understand the Bible is to take it in its context. If you just pick a verse out of the air and a verse here and a verse there, you don't really have a context.
But if you're reading the Bible, The flow of the Bible itself helps you interpret it, and then with some aids at the bottom of the page, you can really get a deep understanding of Scripture. The MacArthur Study Bible will be a library in your hands to understand the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation, so contact our ministry today. They're available. Yes, friend, with this one powerful resource, the MacArthur Study Bible, you'll dig into Scripture's background, culture, geography, and language like never before. It's an ideal gift for any student of Scripture, from pastors to new believers.
Order your copy of the MacArthur Study Bible when you contact us today. The MacArthur Study Bible is available in hardcover, leather, and premium goat skin. To order, call us at 855 GRACE or visit our website gty.org. Again, to get one or more copies of the MacArthur Study Bible, visit gty.org or call 800-55GRACE. And make sure you let us know how John's verse-by-verse teaching is encouraging you.
Perhaps it has equipped you to tell your loved ones about Christ, or maybe someone you know has come to faith in Christ after hearing this broadcast. Whatever the case, we want to hear about it. You can email your story to letters at gty.org. Or mail your letter to Grace to you? Post Office Box 4000, Panorama City, California.
91412. And now for the entire Grace to U staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Remember to watch Grace to U television on Sunday on DirecTV Channel 378. And then be back next week when John MacArthur looks at how God will save Israel from its enemies. and what Israel's salvation will mean for the rest of the world.
We'll continue John's study, the return and reign of Jesus Christ, with another half hour of Unleashing God's Truth. one verse at a time on Monday's grace to you.
