Zechariah 11:15

The Bible says in Zechariah 11:15-17, “And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd. For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces. Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.” These verses are about a “foolish” shepherd. If Jesus is the great shepherd and the good shepherd, who is the foolish shepherd? Perhaps the foolish shepherd is the antichrist. The word that is translated “foolish” means more than just having a lack of wisdom. It means having a lack of divine wisdom because of turning against God, and thus it means to be perverse.

God said, “I will raise up a shepherd in the land.” God is talking about a future date, and by saying “in the land,” God is talking about a shepherd with a much greater scope of influence than the typical shepherd. It makes sense that if Jesus is the Good Shepherd, that the antichrist would be called a foolish or perverse shepherd. If this is the antichrist, then calling him a shepherd might be another indication that the antichrist is either a Jew or a false Christian. Daniel indicated the same thing very clearly in Daniel 11:37, “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.”

Zechariah 11:16-17 lists five or six things that were done wrong by the foolish shepherd, showing us how evil he will be. The foolish shepherd “shall not visit those that be cut off.” A believer understands the reality and finality of death. We have faced death, thought about it, and planned for it. And as we think of others, we understand that the end is coming. If they do not repent, their soul is in danger of eternal damnation: forever outside of the blessings of heaven. Jesus put it this way in Mark 8:36, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” The foolish shepherd has no concern over the eternal destiny of people.

It also says in Zechariah 11:16 that the foolish shepherd, “neither shall seek the young one.” Of course, the phrase “young one” refers to the youth or the children. How much God loves children. Jesus demonstrated His love for children. It says in Mark 10:13-16, “And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” It is a wise thing to bring children to Jesus and to introduce them to Him. Evidently the Spirit of God starts working in the hearts of many children at a very young age. It is not uncommon to hear people claim that they came to know Jesus at a very young age. No doubt Jesus wants to save people as early in their life as He can, not only to ensure that they will go to heaven, but also to help get them on a path to the best life possible for them. The longer someone takes to surrender themselves to Jesus, the greater the possibility that they will acquire bad habits or ways of thinking that will limit their effectiveness in serving Christ in their life. That is why it says in Ecclesiastes 12:1, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.”

Jesus made a very interesting statement about heaven and little children in Mark 10:14, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” Heaven is characterized by children. Everyone who is there is called a child of God. Even Jesus called His disciples little children. In John 13:33 Jesus said, “Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.” There will be a lot of children in heaven. It does seem reasonable that a little child or a little baby would go to heaven if it dies at a young age. Many do die at a young age, especially with all of the abortions that take place. Heaven is a place of children. Heaven is a place full of children. In heaven there will be laughter and joy and innocence beyond our ability to imagine except when we see and understand little children. One reason that God has given us little children is so that we can understand somewhat what heaven will be like.

The foolish shepherd will not care about young children. As a matter of fact along with the devil he will try to destroy young children. Children are so often the objects of abuse, neglect, and harmful teachings. That is one of the reasons that we need to reach them when we can. If we do not reach them, then someone will get to them with false ideas and with the wrong ideas. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3-7, “And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” How much Jesus loves children, and therefore at the judgment how great will be the punishment of those who have harmed children or led them astray. The word “offence” refers to causing someone to stumble: in other words, leading them down the wrong path, or giving them the wrong teachings, or being a bad influence on them.

It says in Zechariah 11:16 that the perverse shepherd will not “heal that that is broken.” Once again this is the opposite of what the good shepherd does for people. Jesus is a healer, a forgiver, a builder-up of our souls. Jesus creates, establishes, and strengthens in ways that only Jesus can do. The foolish shepherd tears down, harms, criticizes, and destroys. Jesus said about the devil in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

According to Zechariah 11:17 the perverse shepherd will not “feed that that standeth still.” One of the main responsibilities of a shepherd is to feed the flock. And of course, we are talking about feeding God’s people the Word of God. It is no doubt we are in the last days. There are many who are supposed to be shepherds, but they spend too much time talking about themselves or giving out their own wisdom instead of the Word of God. That would be awful if someone who is supposed to be a shepherd turned out to do no better than the perverse shepherd when it comes to feeding God’s flock.

Not only does the “idol shepherd” fail to feed the flock, but Zechariah 11:17 also says that he “leaveth the flock.” The word that is translated “leaveth” can be translated “abandon.” The sheep need the shepherd. If they are abandoned, then they are as good as dead. What a contrast between the perverse shepherd and the Great Shepherd, Jesus, who gave His life for the sheep.

The word “idol” that is used in Zechariah 11:17 is translated here the way it is usually translated throughout the Old Testament: “idol,” referring to a false God. The word literally means “worthless” or “vain.” It is interesting that the perverse shepherd would also be called the “idol” shepherd. It says about the antichrist in Second Thessalonians 2:3-4, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” Perhaps the perverse shepherd will have great oratory ability. Many false teachers do. It says in Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Be careful about praising a man for any observed gifts or talents. God deserves all the praise. When you praise a human being too much or in the wrong way, you might be falling into the trap that will result in the lifting up of the antichrist. Have the attitude that Paul told Christians to have even in regards to God’s true shepherds. Paul wrote in First Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

It says about the perverse shepherd in Zechariah 11:17, “the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye.” This verse tells us something that almost everyone knows about the antichrist: he is a violent person who will use military might to accomplish some of his lust for power. That is one way in which it is has been obvious that many people might have become the antichrist throughout the course of the age of grace since Jesus ascended to heaven. However, Christ could have returned at any moment in any of the two thousand years that have passed. Since Jesus hasn’t returned yet; that means the antichrist has yet to come on the scene. As it says in First John 2:18, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” It might be that the antichrist will come into power through peaceful means, but then will turn to the harsh and cruel use of military force to expand his control. From God’s perspective that person will be the antichrist, but from man’s perspective that person will initially appear to be just another political leader.

The idea that the antichrist might come to power in peace, and then turn to military force is what seems to be expressed in Revelation 6:1-2, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” It also says in Daniel 11:37-38, “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.”

The antichrist will come into power and will be revealed when the Lord allows such events to happen. That is why it says in Revelation 6:1 that Jesus opened the seal which set these events in motion. It says in Second Thessalonians 2:6-12, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Even though the antichrist uses his ungodly ways to deceive and to conquer, Zechariah 11:17 makes it clear that he will be destroyed and judged. The message about the antichrist is the message that Jesus has all power, that good will win over evil in the end, and that Christians can be comforted and look forward to the future. It says in Zechariah 11:17 about the perverse shepherd, “his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.” We just read Second Thessalonians 2:8 which says about the antichrist, “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” The antichrist is called the “beast” in the book of Revelation probably because of his animal-like and inhuman cruelty. It says concerning his final end in Revelation 19:19-20, “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” One reason to repent and believe in Jesus while you have time is so that you will be on the winning side.

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