Zechariah 13:3

In Zechariah chapter 13 we are being told some of the circumstances that shall exist in the great one thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth. The Bible says in Zechariah 13:3, “And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.” This verse is emphasizing the fact that there will be no false prophets and no false religion during the millennium. But it also implies some other interesting truths about the nature of life on this earth during the time of the millennium. Evidently, there will be some lost people on the earth during the millennium. How else will great numbers of people be deceived and join up with Satan at the end of the millennium? It says in Revelation 20:7-10, “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

When Zechariah 13:3 tells us that the false prophets will be “thrust through,” it is emphasizing just how society will be governed during the millennium. It says in Psalm 2:7-9 in a prophecy about the Messiah, “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” Jesus said in Revelation 2:26-27 speaking of those who will rule with Him on the earth, “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.” And it also says about Jesus in Revelation 12:5, “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.”

The Bible says in Zechariah 13:4-5, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.” I think that these two verses are emphasizing that honesty and truthfulness will be commonplace in the millennium. There will be no deceivers. When another person tells you something, it will be true. No one will claim to be a prophet when they are not a prophet. That is a very big contrast to the way things are today. There are many false prophets and sometimes it is hard to identify them. Jesus warned us in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” It says in Second John 1:7, “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”

Zechariah 13:6-7 are two more amazing Messianic verses that prophesy about what happened to Jesus when He was put to death on the cross: “And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” We already read the prophesy in Zechariah 12:10 that says, “and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced.” And now concerning the piercing, we read, ”What are these wounds in thine hands?” And so we see that a very specific description of the crucifixion of Jesus is given approximately 500 years before Jesus was born. Never forget that the wounds that Jesus endured were done for you so that you could be forgiven. Every Christian must always ask himself or herself the question, “How much do I love Jesus the Son of God for what He suffered for my sake?”

The Bible says in Zechariah 13:8-9, “And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people: and they shall say, the Lord is my God.” Zechariah 13:8 tells us what is going to happen to the people of Israel at the timeframe when Christ comes at the Second Coming. There will be many Jewish people who will die: two-thirds of them will die. This seems to be what will happen: the nations of the earth will come against Israel in war. Perhaps the fighting will take place in Israel in the weeks and months before Christ returns, or perhaps all of these casualties will take place the very day that Christ returns. The point that Zechariah is foretelling is that there will be many deaths among the Israelites. After inflicting all of these casualties, the armies of the earth amass themselves in the valley of Megiddo, the Israelites who survive see the return of Christ and believe on Him as their Savior, and then Christ turns to the armies in the valley of Meggido and destroys all of them as described in Revelation chapter 19.

Notice that Zechariah 13:8-9 tells us that first there is tremendous sorrow and death, and then there is a turning to the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, the ideal situation in life would be for someone to recognize the many blessings that God has showered upon them, and then to turn to Jesus out of appreciation for those blessings. But unfortunately for them, people do not usually turn to the Lord when things are going well for them. And because God loves everyone so much that He wants to do everything necessary to bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus, eventually God will allow sorrows and disasters into some people’s lives for the purpose of motivating them to turn to Him. Some people will only look up when they are lying flat on their backs.

Notice very carefully what is said in Zechariah 13:9, “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people: and they shall say, the Lord is my God.” As we have just stated, this is a spiritual principle that often is in effect in someone’s life when the Lord Jesus wakes them up to their need of Him as Savior. Involved in this spiritual process is when the Holy Spirit brings people under conviction of sin because the whole purpose of turning to Jesus is for forgiveness of sins. The spiritual principle described in Zechariah 13:9 can also take place in the lives of those who are already saved. Remember that once we are saved, we are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. In other words the Lord is very interested in our spiritual growth and development.

One of the reasons that Jesus allows sorrows and difficulties into our lives is because He is mostly concerned with our spiritual development. Whenever something really bad happens to us, we need to remind ourselves: the Lord allowed this for a purpose. Perhaps the purpose is so that I will learn a valuable spiritual lesson, and that I will learn to trust in Jesus even with this happening to me. As it says in First Peter 1:6-7, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” It also says in First Peter 4:12-13, “Beloved think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding glory.”

The Bible says in Zechariah 14:1-3, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” Zechariah 14:1 speaks of the “day of the Lord.” This term is used to speak of a future time when the Lord will return for the specific purpose of bringing judgment and punishment to those who oppose God and refuse to trust in Him. The phrase “day of the Lord” occurs many times in the Bible. It is found first of all in Isaiah 2:12 that says, “For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.” It also says in Isaiah 13:6-11, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

The phrase “the day of the Lord” is also found in Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and Malachi. One of the phrases uses in Joel is quoted in the New Testament. It says in Joel 2:28-31, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” It is interesting that the Holy Spirit interprets Joel 2:28 for us and says in Acts 2:17, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” The last days started in the days of the apostles, and covers the period of time until Jesus returns. His return is made up of two parts or two phases: the rapture of the believers at the start of the Tribulation, and the actual Second Coming seven years later when Jesus appears at the Battle of Armageddon. God has been telling us about the “day of the Lord” since the time of the prophets 2500 years ago. What a wonderful day it will be when we see Jesus. It might be today.

___________________________________________________