Zechariah 6:13

The Bible says in Zechariah 6:13, “Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” This verse is a continuation of a great Messianic prophecy that is recorded for us in the book of Zechariah. We are told several important things that Jesus will accomplish as Messiah. He will build the final and the greatest of all temples. Jesus will “bear the glory.” In other words Jesus will bring the glory of God to the temple as it should be. The glory of God represents His majesty and might. The place of God’s presence is the place of His greatest glory. That is why the glory of God should have always been in the temple because the temple represents the presence of God. The glory of God is first presented to us in the book of Exodus when the glory was shown to Moses and the children of Israel. It says in Exodus 16:6-7, “And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?” Then it says in Exodus 24:16-17, “And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.”

The glory of the Lord became associated with the tabernacle. It says in Exodus 29:42-43, “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.” The glory of the Lord was a visual representation of the majesty and the power of Almighty God. To have seen the glory of the Lord would have been a stupendous and awe-inspiring experience greater than any other experience possible. To give a very small example of what the glory of the Lord must have been like: there was one scene in the movie “The Wizard of Oz” that we can use as an illustration. Dorothy and her friends had been trying to visit the Wizard. Finally, they got to the Emerald City and were allowed into his chamber. The Wizard had set up a false representation of himself in order to keep any visitors in awe. There was a great image projected upon the wall, and there was fire and smoke and thunder, and a booming voice. Dorothy and the others were both terrified and attracted at the same time. To experience the glory of the Lord would mean that all of your senses would be moved as never before. What you would see, what you would hear, and what you would feel would surpass anything that you could imagine: because the power and the holiness and the might of Almighty God would be in your very presence.

One of the purposes of the temple in the Old Testament was for it to be the actual place where the glory of the Lord would appear. But alas the glory departed. The children of Israel did not fulfill what could have been. The failure of Israel is another story of the failure of man. But ladies and gentlemen, we have a Savior. And thank God for the wonderful promise in Zechariah 6:13. It says, “he shall bear the glory.”

Zechariah 6:13 also says about the Messiah that he “shall sit and rule upon his throne.” Of course, this is talking about the throne of David. It is very clear in the Old Testament that the throne of David would become the throne of the Messiah. It says in Psalm 89:34-37, “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn in my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.” That is why Jesus was born in the lineage of David: so that Jesus would be a legal heir to the throne that He will take over at the Second Coming. This is the very first point that is made in the book of Matthew. It says in Matthew 1:1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

Notice that Zechariah 6:13 says about the throne of the Messiah, “and he shall be a priest upon his throne.” The Messiah will be both priest and king. This is a situation that did not exist in the Old Testament. Therefore, it is an important change. Of course, Jesus is everything to those who believe in Him, so it is not surprising to us that He will be both king and priest. Jesus is called the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Jesus has all power in heaven and in earth. The fact that Jesus will occupy the throne of David leads naturally into a description of what life on earth will be like during the time of the millennium, and answers the question as to why there will be a millennium. During the millennium Israel will be the greatest country and Jerusalem will be the capital city. Jesus Christ will rule the earth for one thousand years from the throne of David. Jesus will demonstrate just how this earth can and should be governed. The rule of Christ will be the best government that this world has ever known. He will rule with a rod of iron. The rule of Christ from the throne of David will perhaps be a fitting conclusion to the first coming of Christ when a crown of thorns was placed upon his head, a robe was draped across His bloodied shoulders, and He was mocked instead of worshipped. It says in Matthew 27:29, “And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.”

Jesus will be both king and priest. Jesus came in the lineage of David as king, but Jesus did not come in the lineage of Aaron as priest. Jesus is a priest after the Old Testament personage named Melchisedec. The Bible explains the priesthood of Christ in Hebrews 5:1-10. It says, “For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Hebrews 5:1 gives us the main purpose for the priest. It says, “that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.” Of course, we know that Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin.

The reign of Christ for a thousand years on the throne of David will be the greatest government that the world has ever known. Maybe the Lord makes it a thousand years just so that everyone will get a real good look at what government should be on this earth. It is interesting that this greatest of all governments will be a combination of a king and a priest as a ruler. There will be no separation of church and state. There will be no democracy. There will be the perfect combination of a loving and autocratic ruler with spiritual truth. Human history will only prove as the centuries go by that all human governments will fail the people. This human failure will only make the reign of Christ that much more welcomed and enjoyed. Look at what has happened on this earth when there have been autocratic human leaders: almost all of them have abused their power and oppressed the people. Look at what has happened when human beings have attempted to combine government with religion, as is currently the case in many Moslem countries: freedom is lost. If there is no religious freedom, then there is no freedom at all: no freedom of speech, no freedom of assembly, and no freedom of self-determination. Look at what happens when government attempts to be separate from religion as is currently the case in the USA and many European nations: in order to prove that they are separate from religion, they actually restrict and punish religious speech. In addition when they throw out religion, they also throw out morally and ethics, and the country suffers greatly.

Of course, none of these mistakes will happen under the one thousand year reign of Christ. Christ’s reign will be the best times that the earth has ever seen. Not only will government be right but all of nature will also be right. Nature will be at peace with itself and with mankind. It says in Isaiah 11:5-10, “And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” It also says in Isaiah 65:17-25, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.” What a wonderful time that will be. Peace is coming to the earth because Jesus is coming just like it says in Zechariah 6:13 concerning Christ being king and priest, “and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” If you have not found the peace of God in your heart, turn to Jesus while you have time.

___________________________________________________