The Lord Encourages His People in the Midst of Enemies

Readings: Zechariah 1:7-2:12; 6:1-8 (texts); Revelation 6:1-11
March 8, 2015 (Pasig Covenant Reformed Church)
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Introduction

Congregation of Christ: For about 70 years, the people of Israel suffered captivity in Babylon. No Promised Land, no king, no high priest, no temple, no sacrifices, enslaved in foreign lands. But God did not forget them. He sent the Persian king Cyrus to end the Babylonian empire. In 538 BC, King Cyrus authorized the Jews to return to the Promised Land and rebuild the temple. After two difficult years of settling back in a devastated land, began the great task of rebuilding the destroyed temple.

But people in the neighboring lands did not want to see another powerful Jewish nation rise again from the ashes. So the temple rebuilding was set aside for 16 years. Then the people got caught up in the task of settling in and rebuilding their lives. But God, through the prophet Haggai, asked the question, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” (Hag 1:4). People responded and began to work again on the temple, which they finished in four years in 515 BC.

While Haggai’s ministry was mainly on encouraging the people to finish the house of God, Zechariah encouraged them to repent of their sins and renew their covenant with God. He accused them of committing the very sins and social injustices that their fathers had done before, incurring the wrath of God and their exile. Just two months into the work of rebuilding, “the word of the Lord” came to Zechariah came in two main parts:

First, Chapters 1-6 consist of eight night visions, in which the main theme is that God dwells again with His people, that He will bring judgment on their enemies, and that he will send them a Servant to remove their sins. These visions encouraged the Lord’s people to continue working to rebuild the temple. Second, Chapters 9-14 consists of a number of prophecies about the coming Messiah and the Temple, the restoration of God’s people, and the judgment of their enemies.

Zechariah has more Messianic prophecies than all other Minor Prophets combined, second only to Isaiah in the number of references to Christ. Except for Ezekiel, it is the book most often alluded to in John’s Revelation. Like Revelation, Zechariah is an apocalyptic book.

What’s the difference between prophetical and apocalyptic books? Prophecies are often prayers of lament, repentance, praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. Often, prophets call for people to repent because the Lord has revealed judgment if they did not. Apoca­lyptic, on the other hand, is a “revelation” of the Lord’s message using the symbolism of graphic images and numbers. In the New Testament, the Book of Revelation and Matthew 24 fall into this genre. The prophet is taken into a spiritual realm—in the case of John, to God’s throne-room in heaven itself—and there, he is shown by an angel figurative images of the future, but sometimes even the past and present. If the prophet has questions, the angel answers and clarifies what he sees and hears.

This message of encouragement in the midst of evil, hostility, and apathy to the gospel is also for us. In Zechariah, “the one whom Yahweh remembers,” the Lord remembers us in our earthly pilgrimage. His encouragement to us today consists of three things: (1) His Eternal Presence; (2) His Mighty Protection; and (3) His Trustworthy Promises.

His Eternal Presence

In this first of four sermons on Zechariah’s night visions, we will study the first, second, third and eighth visions of Zechariah, since these four are related. As previously mentioned, his eight visions follow a pattern: First, he sees the vision. Second, he asks the “angel who talked with me, ‘My lord, what are these?’” And third, the interpreting angel explains the vision.

Two angels are mentioned: the “Angel of the Lord” (lit., messenger of Yahweh); and the interpreting angel. The Angel of the Lord is usually identified with the “man riding on a red horse.” I agree with the many scholars who believe that this Angel is the pre-incarnate Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. This is because he is often called “the Lord of hosts.”

The first and eighth visions are very much alike, since they are about horses and chariots. In the first vision, Zechariah sees a man riding a red horse among myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind the rider on the red horse are horsemen on red, sorrel, and white horses. “Sorrel” is reddish-brown. These are natural colors of horses. The horsemen’s task was to “walk to and fro throughout the earth” (“patrol” ESV; “go” NIV; lit., “walk about” “traverse”). The horsemen reported that that the earth is “resting quietly” (“at rest and at peace”), which means that the nations have been subdued by the Persian King Cyrus. Because of this, Zechariah is jealous, for it seems that the Lord has been angry and unmerciful towards his people for 70 years (v 12).

The eighth vision has four chariots with four different colors of horses: red, black, white, and dappled or spotted. Black and dappled horses are not in the first vision. The four horse­men were also sent to walk about the earth and report to the Lord.

Revelation 6 uses Zechariah’s imagery of four horses with white, red, black, and pale colors. The white is for the conquest of nations; red is for war; black is for famine; and pale for death. The Old Testament often refers to the north as the direction from which armies invade Israel. So it is very likely that the black horses going to the north symbolize the invading enemies of Israel. But the conquering rider on the white horse defeats these invaders later, as what happened to Assyria and Babylon.

But the interpretation of the colors of the horses is not crucial to the understanding of the text. We know that all these horsemen were sent by God to watch the world. Most commen­tators believe that the man riding the red horse is the Angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Son of God, the mounted Warrior-Messiah. He has authority over the other angelic horse­men. He is referred simply as “Yahweh” in verse 13. Christ is the rider on a white horse in Revelation 6 and 19. Psalm 68:4 speaks of God as a Conquering Rider through the deserts.

In our text, the rider on the red horse is riding among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Myrtles are hard evergreens, with star-like, white flowers and fragrant, bright green leaves. Myrtle trees are mentioned in an idyllic picture of rivers, mountains and trees in the future paradise (Isa 41:18-19; 55:13). These trees therefore point back to the Tree of Life in Eden and forward to the Tree of Life in the new heaven and new earth.

The rider on the red horse is a picture of Christ riding among the myrtle trees, his own people—ever-green, ever-blooming, eternal, fragrant, and bright. The rider who rides the clouds of heaven came down to earth as “the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us” as Immanuel. He humbled and emptied himself of his divine riches and privileges and became his people’s Servant to save them from their sin. Instead of riding triumphantly on a white horse, he rode a lowly donkey into Jerusalem: “Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zech 9:9).

Zechariah prophesies that the Lord will dwell with his people from many nations, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people” (2:10-11). Before he rode the clouds of glory into heaven, Jesus promised his people, “I will send the Spirit to dwell within you till the end of the age. I will never forsake you nor leave you. I will remember your groanings, your prayers, and your sufferings. I will bring your prayers before the Father in heaven.”

When we worship together in this place on the Lord’s Day, he is present with us. And when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, he nourishes our souls with his own body and blood. Christ is present with us now and forever.

But he also protects us now with his “measuring line” in this world (1:16; 2:1-5).

His Mighty Protection

Zechariah’s second vision talks about “four horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem” (1:18). There are also four craftsmen who will “terrify them” and “cast them out.” The number four often represents the four corners of the earth, the four directions on a compass, therefore, the whole earth. Horns often symbolize strength and power (Jer 48:25). The interpreting angel says that these four horns are those nations that have conquered and scattered the Jewish people. The craftsmen are those nations who in turn will cast down these conquering nations. Some have interpreted these four horns as the past, present and future world empires, including Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome.

The third vision consists of “a man with a measuring line in his hand” to measure Jerusalem’s width and length. In Revelation 11, John was commanded by an angel to measure the sanc­tuary and the altar of the temple, “and those who worship there.” But the outer court is not to be measured, because “it is given over to the nations” for trampling (verse 2). Therefore, when God “measures” something, it is symbolic that it is under his protection and ownership.

But the man was commanded by another angel not to measure the city. Why? Because it has no walls! How can he measure a city without walls? Because the Lord himself will be its wall, a wall of fire. Recall the pillar of fire during the Exodus for guiding them at night, and for protection. This also recalls the protecting hedge that the Lord built around his own vineyard Israel (Isa 5). This means that there will be a time when God’s people will dwell in perfect peace and prosperity.

Did Israel ever experience total peace with her neighbors from the time of their return from Babylon until its destruction by the Romans? No, they did not. A remnant was per­mitted to return to the Promised Land, the Temple was rebuilt, and they experienced some prosperity and comfort (1:16-17). But the prophecies about total peace and prosperity in the land obviously remain to be fulfilled.

Should we as the people of God expect that these prophecies will come true in this age? This is how health and wealth preachers deceive their flock. But Scriptures tell us that we should expect hardship, opposition, and suffering because we are God’s people.

The Christian life is pictured as a difficult pilgrimage, and also as spiritual warfare against our enemies, not as a Sunday picnic. But while we struggle in this world, we have a Comforter, a mighty Defender, Jesus Christ, the rider on the white horse, Faithful and True. “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev. 19:11-15). Even if countless thousands of Christians have been martyred, the church, like the evergreen myrtle trees, still prospers and will certainly triumph. But we may not be proud of our successes. It’s not because we’re strong and mighty, but that God is a mighty wall of protection around us!

God encourages us in our struggles. He is our mighty Protector. He is eternally present with us now and forever. And his promises are dependable and trustworthy.

His Trustworthy Promises

Did God fulfill his promises to his people Israel? He sent grace and comfort to his people after they suffered captivity for seventy years. A remnant of Israel returned to the Promised Land, rebuilt the Temple and the cities. All of the mighty empires that conquered Israel – from Egypt, to Assyria, to Babylon, to Persia, to Greece, to Rome – are all mere archaeological ruins today.

But some of these prophecies remain unfulfilled. Zechariah’s visions and prophecies stretch out over centuries, even thousands of years. This is sometimes called “telescoping,” where near and far events are blended into one prophecy. The final Day of the Lord is still coming, when all the enemies of God will be cast down, and God will “shake his hand against them” in his wrath. They will suffer judgment. Then in the new heaven and new earth, God’s people “will again spread out through prosperity.” They will enjoy peace so that they don’t need to build walls around their cities. The radiant glory of God himself will be their light. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord, for the gospel will spread to the ends of the earth.

But during our pilgrimage on this earth, there will be plenty of opposition to the Word of God. Many scoffers will come your way, and say, “There is no God” or “God is dead.” When sufferings come, they will tell you, “Curse God and die!” When you share the gospel to them, they will tell you, “It’s all mythical foolishness.” When you tell them that God will punish evildoers, they will scoff, saying, “Christians have been saying that for 2,000 years!”

But God’s “words and statutes which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?” Men and empires will all die, but the Word of God shall stand forever. The sheer number of Old and New Testament manuscripts is overwhelming: 10,000 OT and 5,600 NT with 99.5 percent accuracy! Compare this with only 600 manuscripts of Homer’s Iliad with only 95 percent accuracy. This is because God’s Word is firmly fixed in the heavens, His faithfulness endures to all generations. Jesus, the rider on the red horse, says to us, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt. 24:35).

Dear Friends in Christ: Zechariah’s first three and eighth visions promise us that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came down to earth to dwell with us now with his Spirit, and forever in his heavenly kingdom. He is our strong and mighty Defender and Protector. He fulfills all his promises to us, because his words will never pass away.

We are encouraged by these promises because we know that in all our sufferings and persecutions in this world, God does not sleep, but is actively opposing all the forces that threaten his people. How did God oppose his enemies? By sending his Son to be crucified by his enemies! King David and the prophets asked, “How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever?” (Psa 13:1) In our distress, we too can cry out to God, “How long?” In Revelation 6, John saw

the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been (Rev 6:9-11).

People of God, be encouraged! Those barbarians and savages who persecute, pillage, torture and inhumanely murder our brothers and sisters in Christ will have their Day in God’s court of justice. Yes, we are to pray that they too will believe in Christ. But on that Day of God’s wrath, the Warrior-Christ riding on a white horse will throw all of his unrepentant enemies into the lake of fire, and there, they will be weeping and gnashing their teeth forever and ever!

In the midst of our “toil and tribulation, and tumult of our war,” “we wait the consummation of peace forevermore.” When our Day in God’s court comes, Christ will clothe all of us with his own white robe of righteousness dipped in his own blood, and will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master!” And on that day of everlasting peace, justice and righteousness, the “great Church victorious shall be the Church at rest.”