Zechariah 022 – Hanukkah Victory

Transcript

Zechariah 022 – Hanukkah Victory

By Dr. Andy Woods – 03/23/2022

Zechariah 9:14-17

Good evening everybody. Let’s take our Bible and open them to the book of Zechariah chapter 9, and verse 14 (Zech 9:14). Wednesday nights we’re continuing our verse by verse study through the book of Zechariah. So, you remember the big outline.

Structure

1. Introductory call to repentance (Zech 1:1-6)
2. Eight night visions (Zech 1:7–6:15)
3. Question and answers about fasting (Zech 7–8)
4. Two burdens (Zech 9–14)

Part one was a call to repentance, chapter 1, verses 1 through 6 (Zech 1:1-6). Then came the eight-night visions that Zechariah had in a single night, chapter 1, verse 7 all the way through chapter 6 (Zech 1:6- Zech 6).

All of those night visions basically are there to encourage the returnees to rebuild the temple and of course, that section ends with the coronation of a priest, Joshua.

1. Eight Night Visions (Zech 1:7‒6:15)
2. Riders & horses among the myrtle trees (Zech 1:7-17)
3. Four horns & four craftsmen (Zech 1:18-21)
4. Man with the measuring line (Zech 2)
5. Cleansing of the High Priest Joshua (Zech 3)
6. Lampstand & olive tree (Zech 4)
7. Flying scroll (Zech 5:1-4)
8. Woman in the basket (Zech 5:5-11)
9. Four chariots (Zech 6:1-8)
10. Conclusion: crowning of Joshua (Zech 6:9-15)

So that typifies what those night visions are about; that priest, coronation of a priest, typifies Christ’s millennial reign and so that’s how all of those night visions are going to be fulfilled one day in the millennial reign of Christ. Then part three is questions and answers.

Structure

1. Introductory call to repentance (Zech 1:1-6)
2. Eight night visions (Zech 1:7–6:15)
3. Question and answers about fasting (Zech 7–8)
4. Two burdens (Zech 9–14)

Actually, question and answers. The question came in from the men at Bethel in chapter 7, verses 1 through 3 (Zech 7:1-3), should we continue to mourn the temple that was destroyed seventy years earlier by Nebuchadnezzar now that the temple is being rebuilt?

III. Questions & Answers Concerning Fasting (Zech, 7‒8)

1. 1. Question (Zech 7:1-3)
   2. Four divine answers (Zech 7:4‒8:23)
      1. Condemnation of empty ritualism (Zech 7:4-7)
      2. Condemnation of past covenant failure (Zech 7:8-14)
      3. Prediction of Jerusalem’s restoration (Zech 8:1-17)
      4. Prediction of future blessing (Zech 8:18-23)

And there’s four divine answers there and basically the main point of it is: You shouldn’t be concerned about the destruction of the temple. What you should have been concerned about are the reasons that led to the destruction of the temple, violations of My covenant. So you were mourning the effect and not the cause and weaved into all of that is information about what it’s going to be like one day in the millennial reign of Christ when the nation of Israel goes back to God’s covenant, the Mosaic covenant and then we finally moved into part four of the book, which is where we find ourselves. The last section which is two burdens.

1. Two Burdens (Zech, 9‒14)

1. 1. Israel’s postponed deliverance due to her rejection of her Messiah (Zech, 9‒11)
   2. Israel’s future deliverance due to her acceptance of her Messiah (Zech, 12‒14)

The first burden relates to the first coming of Christ, the second burden relates to the second coming of Christ. Each burden has three chapters. Burden number one, chapters 9 through 11. Burden number two chapters 12 to 14 and the first burden is Israel’s postponed deliverance due to her rejection of her own Messiah. So Zechariah predicts five hundred years in advance that the nation of Israel will stumble over her own Messiah and all of the victories that God was going to do in and through Israel have been postponed, because of that rejection and then burden number two will be about Israel’s future deliverance when she will accept her Messiah in the second coming. 4:06

So we just barely were working our way through the first burden.

1. First Burden Outline (Zech, 9‒11)
2. 1. 1. Divine warrior hymn (Zech, 9)
      2. True shepherd (Zech, 10)
      3. False shepherd (Zech, 11)

The first burden has three parts: There’s a divine warrior hymn. Then there’s chapter 10 that follows chapter 9, which we may get to it tonight, I’m not sure. But there’s a description there of the true shepherd. So that’s what the nation could have had had they embraced their king in his first coming. But they didn’t embrace the true shepherd, chapter 10, they instead embraced a false shepherd or will embrace a false shepherd, chapter 11; and chapter 11 is where you to start getting really specific information about how many pieces of silver they’re going to betray Him for, etc… etc… etc…

Divine Warrior Hymn (Zech 9:1-17)

1. Judgment on the oppressing nations (Zech 9:1-8)
2. Messiah (Zech 9:9-10)
3. Covenant protection (Zech 9:11-17)

So we’re still in chapter 9, which is sort of the divine warrior hymn and it begins with God’s Judgment on the nations that are oppressing Israel.

1. Judgment on the Oppressing Nations (9:1-8)

• Hadrach (Zech 9:1a)
• Damascus (1b)
• Hamath (Zech 9:2a)
• Tyre & Sidon (Zech 9:2b-4)
• Philistines (Zech 9:5-7)
• Jerusalem (Zech 9:8)

So there’s a list of nations there and it starts up north of the nation of Israel and Syria and moves all the way down south to Philistia and as we’ve studied, quoting here Kenneth Barker:

Kenneth L. Barker – Barker, Kenneth L. “Zechariah.” In Daniel-Minor Prophets. Vol. 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 12 vols. Edited by Frank E. Gaebelein and Richard P. Polcyn. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985. p. 657.

“As history shows, the agent of the Lord’s judgment was Alexander the Great. After defeating the Persians (333 B.C.), Alexander moved swiftly toward Egypt. On his march he toppled the cities in the Aramean (Syrian) interior, as well as those on the Mediterranean coast. Yet, on coming to Jerusalem, he refused to destroy it.”

As history shows, the agent of the Lord’s judgment was Alexander the Great… And that was about 333 BC roughly… So Zechariah is seeing Alexander the Great in 518 BC almost two hundred years in advance and so that string of victories where God brought discipline or judgment on all of the different nations that were bullying Israel, that string of victories would have just kept right on moving into the millennial kingdom and all the nation of Israel had to do to receive these maximum blessings is to enthrone the king, their Messiah on His terms.

Divine Warrior Hymn (Zech 9:1-17)

1. Judgment on the oppressing nations (Zech 9:1-8)
2. Messiah (Zech 9:9-10)
3. Covenant protection (Zech 9:11-17)

But you get into verses 9 and 10 (Zech 9-10) and you start getting a description five hundred years in advance why that wouldn’t happen.

1. Messiah – (Zech 9:9-10)

• First advent (Zech 9:9)
• Second advent (Zech 9:10)

So verse 9 (Zech 9:9) is speaking of the first coming of Christ, verse 10 (Zech 9:10) is speaking of the second coming of Christ and the nation of Israel did not receive their final victory, because Jesus didn’t come the way they thought a Messiah should come. If He had come just like Alexander the Great, who would deliver that string of victories in verses 1 through 8 (Zech 9:1-8), they would have been thrilled. But Jesus was outside the box; He came in humility; He came on a donkey; He came to deal with the problem of sin first, before the political victories would be ushered in and that just didn’t fit with their understanding of a Messiah and so consequently, when He came, verse 9 (Zech 9:9) predicts five hundred years in advance that they tripped right over Him, which is what they did. He was right there in their midst. They could have had the king and the kingdom and they stumbled and if you want to know why they stumbled, you should read the sermon on the mount, because the sermon on the mount is a description of why they stumbled and that’s where Jesus explains in the sermon on the mount that the kingdom is more than politics. It’s more than getting rid of Rome. It has to do with spiritual righteousness and you can’t enter the kingdom unless God’s righteousness is transferred to you, because you certainly don’t have that righteousness on your own and when you start to study the sermon on the mount, Matthew, 5 through 7, you’ll see exactly why they tripped over Christ. They wanted the political aspect of the kingdom but they didn’t want all this other stuff about dealing with sin and transferred righteousness and things like that. 8:38

So verse 10 (Zech 9:10) then is a description of what things are going to be like once they accept Him as their king. It says: He will speak peace to the nations; And His dominion will be from sea to sea, And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth…

And Zechariah could see verse 9, first coming, he could see verse 10, second coming what he could not see, just like any other prophet couldn’t see, the valley between the mountain peaks and what’s that valley between the mountain peaks? That’s the church age, that’s us. So Warren Wiersbe writes:

Warren Wiersbe – Wiersbe, Warren W. “Zechariah.” In The Bible Exposition Commentary/Prophets, pp. 447-76. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Cook Communications Ministries; and Eastbourne, England: Kingsway Communications Ltd., 2002. p. 467.

“The entire age of the church fits between Zechariah 9:9 and 9:10, just as it does between Isaiah 9:6 and 7 and after the comma in Isaiah 61:2.”

The entire church age fits between verse 9 and verse 10…

Divine Warrior Hymn (Zech 9:1-17)

1. Judgment on the oppressing nations (Zech 9:1-8)
2. Messiah (Zech 9:9-10)
3. Covenant protection (Zech 9:11-17)

So once you get beyond verse 10, then you have more victories, verses 11 through 17 (Zech 9:11-17).

Covenant Protection – (Zech 9:11-17)

• Blood covenant (Zech 9:11a)
• Prisoners liberated (Zech 9:11b-12)
• Victories (Zech 9:13-17)

You have the reason for the victories, A covenant verse 11a (Zech 9:11). You have a description of the prisoners liberated, verse 11b through 12 (Zech 9:11-12) and you have more victories. So why does God is continuing to bless and keep His hand on the nation?

Because He made a covenant with them called the Abrahamic Covenant. Israel didn’t make a covenant with God, God made a covenant with Israel and that’s why God continues to have His hand on the nation of Israel and then you get into the second part of verse 11 and into verse 12 and you have a description there about the prisoners who are going to be released from captivity and that’s probably a reference to the fact that there were still some Hebrews in Babylon, because when the Hebrews returned from Babylon they came back in three waves and when Zechariah is having these prophecies only one wave had transpired.

Waves two and three haven’t transpired yet and so you have a prediction that God is going to get everyone out of Babylon and then you move down into verses 13 through 17 and you have a description of even more victories. Charles Ryrie writes:

Charles Ryrie – The Ryrie Study Bible

“Zechariah 9:11-12 (RSB:NASB1995U): 9:11-12 Restoration and blessing for those still in Babylon is promised. Blood of My covenant. Probably the Abrahamic covenant, which was ratified with a blood sacrifice (Gen. 15:9–10), though possibly the Mosaic, which required many blood sacrifices. Waterless pit. Cistern used as a dungeon.

These verses predict the defeat of Greece (particularly of Antiochus Epiphanes) by the Jewish people during the Maccabean era… So verses 1 through 8 are a description of Alexander the Great and how God would use Alexander the Great to discipline or bring judgment on all of Israel’s oppressors. Then you have the description of the two comings of Christ, verses 9 and 10 and then by the time you get to verses 13 through 17, you have a description of even more victories. Now these victories would not be at the hands of Alexander the Great. These victories jump forward to about the year 167, roughly and it’s a description of the nation of Israel in the intertestamental period under the thumb of a dictator named Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a Seleucid. His very name means “God manifests”, that was Antiochus’ name. No ego problem there, right? By the way, you know what ego stands for, right? Since we’re edging God out. So if you have an ego, you’re edging God out. Antiochus had a big ego problem, because his very name means God manifest and he would introduce a horrific wave of persecution against Israel during the intertestamental time period. 13:03

So the first eight verses are really a description of Alexander the Great about 333, but these verses jump forward to 167 BC and they start to describe the persecution that the nation would experience under Antiochus and how God would still be with His people and God has to be with His people because they’re the covenanted nation. How God would still be with his people as they would actually miraculously overthrow Antiochus Epiphanes during the intertestamental period. So most people believe verses 13 through 17 are a description of that. So Charles Ryrie writes:

Charles Ryrie – The Ryrie Study Bible

“Zechariah 9:13-17 (RSB:NASB1995U): 9:13-17 These verses predict the defeat of Greece (particularly of Antiochus Epiphanes) by the Jewish people during the Maccabean era (second century B.C.).

These verses… Verses 13 through 17 (Zech 9:13-17)… predict the defeat of Greece (particularly of Antiochus Epiphanes) by the Jewish people during the Maccabean era (second century BC)…

HANUKKAH

• The Maccabean revolt
• December 25^th 164 BC, the temple is liberated and rededicated
• 1 & 2 Maccabees
• The miracle of the lamp oil
• Hanukkah “Feast of Dedication” (festival of lights).
• Christmas / Jewish Holiday
• John 10:22-24

So this man, Antiochus came to power. He began to desecrate the temple. We know from the Maccabean books which are not canonical books, but they’re good historical sources, how he actually took a statue, a pagan statue and put it into the rebuilt Jewish temple and he banned the nation from using their prayer books, from reading from the Talmud, from reading from Hebrew Bible. He actually sacrificed a pig to humiliate the Jews in the second temple and December 25th, 164 BC, the temple was liberated and rededicated. The nation of Israel won an amazing victory against Antiochus, a battle that they should not have won and as I mentioned before, you can read about these in the Maccabees books, which we as Protestants don’t accept as canonical, but they’re good history and according to the tradition there was only enough oil for the lamp for one day, because it has to burn eight days for the temple to be rededicated under Jewish rule and the oil miraculously burned for eight days and there’s an actual feast in Judaism that comes out of this called… Anybody know? Hanukkah or feast of lights or feast of dedication. We celebrate Christmas right around the same time period and in John, 10, verses 22 through 24 (John 10:22-24), you’ll see Jesus going to Jerusalem to celebrate Hanukkah and by the way, you can read about this also in Daniel, 8, 21 through 25 (Dan 8:21-25), that’s another prediction given centuries in advance about this Jewish victory in Hanukkah and you can also read about it in Daniel, 11, 29 through 35 (Dan 11:29-35). 16:33

So Zechariah is not the first to predict this. Some of the prophets that preceded Zechariah, like Daniel, predicted this as well. So verses 13 through 17 are probably for the most part, a description of what happened at Hanukkah. Although some of it, you’ll see kind of bleeds forward and talks a bit about the second coming of Christ as well, but the primary reference we think, verses 13 through 17 is Hanukkah. So with that being said, we’ve already read verse 13 last time, look at verse 14 (Zech 9:14), it says: Then the LORD will appear over them, And His arrow will go forth like lightning; And the Lord GOD will blow the trumpet, And will march in the storm winds of the south… So the Lord’s coming like lightning to help people in this Hanukkah time period, is exactly how the Lord’s going to come back and rescue Israel also at the end of the tribulation. You’ll notice the word lightning there. Jesus uses lightning to describe the second advent. He said in Matthew 24:27:For just as lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west so will the coming of the Son of Man be… and you notice that there’s going to be a sounding of the trumpet. You see the word trumpet there and very sadly most people when they see the word trumpet they think it’s the rapture, because Paul describes the rapture as the last trump. Let me let you in a little secret, if I can here, God has more than one trumpet. Even when you see how He ordered Israel in the Book of Numbers when to march, when to not march. I mean, there’s one trumpet for get up and going, there’s another trumpet for pause, there’s another trumpet for stop. All the way through the Bible God has more than one trumpet. So this is not dealing with the rapture, this is not our trumpet. This is talking about Israel’s trumpet and you’ll also notice there that it says: …and God will march in the storm winds of the south… That makes sense, because God is the one that creates the whirlwinds. It says in Job chapter 1, verse 19 (Job 1:19), it says: Behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone… Job says… have escaped to tell you… So there’s a situation where God allowed a wind to come and to destroy Job’s family. Now, I’m not going to tell you that the tornado that just came through Texas, God caused that because we’re living in a fallen world and there are problems with earthquakes and tsunamis and things like that, because the earth is in a state of travail. So every time an earthquake hits or a tornado hits, you have all these preachers on TV saying God caused that, which I don’t really know if that’s true or not, because the earth has a lot of problems in it, because of the fall, that God doesn’t cause. The earth is in a state of groaning. However, I will tell you this, that there are some whirlwinds that God does cause and I think that’s what’s happening in the book of Job and I think that’s what’s happening here as God is describing the deliverance of His people, not only on Hanukkah but related to the second advent also. 20:44

So there was a partial fulfillment of this during the Maccabean revolt, where the Jewish people threw off the bonds of Antiochus, rededicated the temple and Israel enjoyed a window of political independence there, subsequent to that victory for over a hundred years. So why does God keep providing for and protecting His people? The answer is back in verse 11 (Zech 9:11) because the nation of Israel has a covenant. Even though God knows that they’re going to stumble right over their own Messiah, once He shows up on a donkey, He continues to be faithful to the nation because they are the covenanted nation and that takes us to verse 15 of chapter 9 (Zech 9:15), where it says: The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar… So you’ll notice there in verse 15, it says, God will defend them. In the Psalms it says, He who keeps Jerusalem, he who keeps Israel does not sleep nor slumber. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm, 27, verse 10 (Psa 27:10), it says: For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up… I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation in your life where you’re out of sorts with your own parents. I’ve been in that situation from time to time when I thought I was fulfilling the Lord’s will for my life and yet I didn’t have, now this would go back a few decades, I didn’t really have parental approval. There’s nothing more painful than being out of fellowship on that issue with the people that brought you into the world, you know, your mother and father and so that verse Psalm, 27, verse 10 (Psa 27:10) was very special to me, because it was a reminder that, yes! You can fall out of fellowship with your earthly parents but the Lord will take up your cause; and that’s what the nation of Israel has been promised there, the Lord of hosts will defend them and it talks here in verse 15 (Zech 9:15) about trampling on the slings used in battle. Earlier the sword and the bow and the arrow were described. That’s how the battle is going to be waged and the nation’s going to have such a great victory that the Lord is actually going to trample on the slings used in battle and it talks here about the death of Israel’s enemies would be just like a sacrifice unto the Lord upon his altar. So when He brings death upon the enemies of the nation, the Lord is actually going to receive that like a sacrifice on his own altar and then you go down to verse 16 (Zech 9:16) and it says: The LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land… So you notice there it says the Lord will save them on that day. Now the word “save” is a little tricky, because when we use the word save in Christian circles we are always talking about salvation from hell through faith alone in Christ alone and I’m here to tell you that’s not how the word “save” is always used in the Bible. Typically it means that but there are many, many other uses of the word “save”. For example, in Hebrews, 11, verse 7 (Heb 11:7), it says: By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith… So that verse Hebrews, 11, verse 7, says Noah was saved by getting into the ark. I mean, is that how he went to heaven? He got into the ark and God says okay, you can go to heaven. No, Noah was saved the same way Abraham was saved, the same way Adam was saved, through faith in God’s future provision. The death, burial, resurrection of Jesus. So then what does it mean here in Hebrews, 11, verse 7 (Heb 11:7) when it says, Noah was saved by getting into the ark? Well, he was saved from water. God didn’t say, okay! You got into the ark so you get to go to heaven. What God said is, okay! You got into the ark, now you’re going to be protected from the deluge. So there in verse 16 (Zech 9:16) when it says, the Lord their God will save them on that day, what it’s talking about is how the nation is going to be supernaturally protected from the diabolical reign of Antiochus Epiphanes during the events surrounding Hanukkah and in that time period God is going to protect them like a flock, just like a shepherd looks out for his flock, that’s what God is going to do for Israel in that intertestamental time period and it talks here about how he’s going to trample the sling stones used in battle. Verse 14 (Zech 9:14) is a description of the sling stones that are going to be thrown against the nation in these events and how God is actually going to trample these sling stones down to the point where they’re going to actually become stones in a king’s crown. So remember what Isaiah, 54 says, I think it’s verse 17, if memory serves (Isa 54:17): No weapon that is formed against you will prosper… 27:48

So Antiochus is going to bring all of these arrows and slings and God is going to take those things and not only trample them to the ground, but they’re actually going to become attractive ornaments in the crown of the king and then, you’ll notice there it says, verse 16 (Zech 9:16): And the LORD their God will save them in that day As the flock of His people; For they are as the stones of a crown, Sparkling in His land… I guess it says it once, in that day. What day is it talking about? Well, it’s talking about Hanukkah. When you go all the way back to Leviticus, 23, what you’ll see all the way back to the time of Moses, laid out for you there, are the seven feasts in Israel that the nation was to respect.

Passover, celebrated redemption from Egypt. Unleavened bread, celebrated separation from Egypt. First fruits, celebrated the praise for the initial crop. Pentecost, celebrated the full crop coming in. Trumpets, celebrated the new year. Atonement, celebrated that the day of reckoning was postponed for one year. when the procedure of Leviticus, 16 was followed; and then booths, separated God’s provision for the nation during their wilderness wanderings. So four feasts in the spring, three feasts in the fall and what happens as you continue on through biblical history, is God continues to perform victories on behalf of the nation and so the nation of Israel gets another feast out of it.

So two others were later added to the calendar, making nine feasts total. What was added to the seven is what’s called Purim, which is basically a celebration of God’s miraculous deliverance of the nation of Israel from the wicked plot of Haman to exterminate the Jews from the face of the earth and the whole book of Esther is a description of how that victory came into existence and how a brand new feast came into existence and then, something else was added to the calendar there, in the month of Kislev, which is right around our Christmas time and it has to do with the victory that Zechariah is predicting here concerning how the nation of Israel will miraculously overthrow the diabolical reign of Antiochus Epiphanes around 167 BC. So, as I like to say, every time there’s a plot to exterminate the Jewish people, not only do the Jewish people miraculously survive but they actually get a holiday out of the whole thing. So we have our seven Levitical feasts and then we have two others that are added to the calendar, Purim and then following that Hanukkah and then you go down to verse 17 (Zech 9:17) which is the last verse in the chapter, it says: For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins… So this is talking about the covenant blessings that are going to come to Israel once she’s back in fellowship with God and all the way back in the time of Moses, in the Mosaic Covenant, God in Deuteronomy chapter 28, which is really the spine of the whole Old Testament,

Six Parts of a Suzerain-Vassal Treaty in Deuteronomy

• Preamble (1:1-5)
• Prologue (1:6–4:40)
• Covenant obligations (5–26)
• Storage and reading instructions (27:2-3; 31:9, 24, 26)
• Witnesses (32:1)
• Blessings and curses (28)

verses 1 through 14 (Deut 28:1-14) is a description of blessings for obedience and verses 15 through 68 (Deut 28:15- 68) is a description of curses for disobedience and when you read verses 1 through 14, you’ll see all the wonderful things that God is going to do in and through Israel once she’s back in obedience to Him and so when it mentions things here like grain and wine and agricultural productivity, you could take your Bible and go right back to Deuteronomy, 28, verses 1 through 14 and see those same blessings described and once Israel is back in right relationship with Him, notice there’s a description here of her beauty. For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs!… Israel will no longer be despised by the nations of the earth like she is today. But she will actually be extremely attractive to the point where back in Zechariah, 8, we learned that in that time period ten Gentiles will grasp the garment of one Jew and say we’re going to go with you, because we have heard that God is with you, because Israel will no longer be despised amongst the nations of the earth. But she will be attractive again and it describes, here, her prosperity. Grain, flourishing, wine, that’s right out of Deuteronomy, 28, verses 1 through 14 (Deut 28:1-14). 33:57

The replacement theologians, people that think that God is through with the Jew, you wouldn’t believe the gymnastics they have to go through to rewrite passages like this. They have to completely allegorize them and take them in a non-normal sense. So here is one such replacement theologian. He says, concerning these verses:

Thomas McComiskey – McComiskey, Thomas Edward. “Zechariah.” In The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expositional Commentary, 3:1003-1244. 3 vols. Edited by Thomas Edward McComiskey. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992, 1993, and 1998. Page 1174

“The citizens of Christ’s kingdom as well as God’s ancient people are a landed people. Hebrews 3 and 5 make this clear, affirming the believer’s landedness in the gospel—’at- homeness in Christ.’ Today, the fruit of the land that causes its citizens to flourish is the fruit of salvation.”

The citizens of Christ’s kingdom as well as God’s ancient people are a landed people. Hebrews, 3 and 5 make this clear, affirming the believer’s landedness in the gospel—’at- homeness in Christ.’ Today, the fruit of the land that causes its citizens to flourish is the fruit of salvation… So what he’s saying here is get away from what this literally says and really what this is talking about is God’s blessings on the church, which is how replacement theology functions. You have to take the language and you have to re filter it and make it into something that it’s not actually saying. This is not talking about the church. When these words were written, the church didn’t even exist yet. The church at that time was a mystery. What this is talking about is God’s blessing on Israel in the millennial kingdom. But what if you go to a church that doesn’t believe in a future millennial kingdom? What if you go to a church that teaches you that the church is the kingdom? Because the church has eclipsed Israel in the outworking of God’s purposes, called replacement theology. Sometimes called supersessionism, meaning the church has superseded Israel. What do you do with these verses then? Well, you have to rewrite them and you have to kind of spiritualize them and soteriologize them and most Christians by way of denominational affiliation are sitting in churches that teach this doctrine around the clock. It’s a heresy that goes all the way back to Augustine in the 4th century that the church is the new Israel, replacement theology. So what do you do with the current Israel that exists? Well, you just pretend that their re-birth in 1948 was a fluke and many of them say that, which is like being hit by lightning twice or three times. Do you realize how many things had to go right for Israel to be reborn as a nation 1948? I think someone told me that there were like a hundred things that had to go right simultaneously and all of them did and Israel was miraculously reborn, because it was a miracle. So if you’re sitting in a replacement theology church, they’re basically going to tell you that what’s going on in the Middle East today is just a fluke, because after all, we as the church have inherited all of Israel’s blessings, you just have to get away from your literalism and sort of spiritually apply it to the church, replacement theology. It’s very interesting that the replacement theologian never transfers the curses to the church, never. They only transfer the blessings to the church. I, for one, am pretty happy that we’re not Israel when you look at the severity of those curses. 37:50

So we at Sugar Land Bible church do not teach replacement theology. What we teach is that the church is an interruption in God’s past work and future work with Israel. God had a past work for Israel and that was interrupted because they rejected their own king.

That’s what verse 9 is predicting, Zachariah 9:9. God has a future work in and through Israel when they will embrace their king in the second coming. That’s what verse 10 (Zech 9:10) is talking about. So what’s happening in the middle? What’s happening in between? There is this gap of time. That’s a mystery. We’re living in that mystery now. We’ve been living in that mystery for the last two thousand years where we believe in the fact that the church is an interruption in God’s past and present work.

Lewis Sperry Chafer called this interruption an intercalation. An intercalation is a term he deliberately chose because he wanted to communicate the point that the church is not somehow fulfilling Israel’s program. She’s blatantly interrupting Israel’s program. Now, I was listening to Alistair Begg, who you guys hear on the radio, and there’s not much of a drive from my house to this church and I flipped it on and there was Alistair Begg talking and you know, generally I like Alastair Begg, you know, he talks in an accent and he can give you kind of the warm fuzzy for the day and I could not believe the heresy that he espoused from my driveway to this church which is a time period of probably less than 5 minutes. I mean, he just espoused one false teaching after another, that the church has replaced Israel, the church is the new Israel and every time he talked, I was like, that’s wrong, then he would talk another 30 seconds, I said, that’s wrong. He talked for another thirty seconds, I said, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, that’s wrong, and finally my vocal chords started to wear out and thank God my ride was over with. I got out of the car and was able to get away from that. But the truth of the matter is and I’m not trying to pick on Alistair Begg, I’m just showing you the mindset of Christendom. I mean, Alistair Begg is probably one of the most popular preachers and teachers in Christendom and if you actually listen to Alistair Begg’s theology, not that he might not have something good to say on some other area, okay? But on this subject, he is flatly, blatantly a replacement theologian. I mean, he basically would do exactly what this gentleman does here. Take all of these prophecies that clearly concern Israel and he would basically rewrite them and make it sound as if these prophecies somehow are being spiritually fulfilled today. That is what replacement theology is. So at Sugar Land Bible Church, we do not teach replacement theology, what we teach is intercalation theology. Intercalation, meaning the church is an interruption in Israel’s program and because the church is not Israel but rather is an interruption in God’s program in and through Israel, I have absolutely no need to take these prophecies and make it sound like they’re happening now, because according to intercalation theology there is a specific time period carved out by God Himself, yet future, called the millennial kingdom when all these prophecies will happen literally and so since I believe in that and apparently Alistair Begg doesn’t believe in it, I have absolutely no problem taking this at face value. Alistair Begg on the other hand, who is a replacement theologian and believes that the church is the new Israel, has to go through all of these exegetical gymnastics to make it sound as if these prophecies are happening currently. I believe one of the most satanic, diabolical heresies that Satan has ever spawned within Christendom is replacement theology. 42:59

For this reason: It is an attack and an assault on the character of God. If God can take all the promises to Israel, through the Abrahamic Covenant, a covenant that God made with Israel while Abram was asleep and He can cut the cord on those promises and transfer them to some other group, i.e., the church and make it sound like the promises are being fulfilled in a different sense in the church. If God can do that with Israel, what do you think He can do with your promises? I mean, if that’s how God is, He can cut the cord on Israel, He can cut the cord on you. If He can cut the cord on the Jew, he can cut the cord on you. That’s why Romans, 8, which gives us all of those great promises about nothing can separate us from the love of God, yada, yada, yada, tremendous promises. That’s why Romans, 8 is followed by Romans, 9. Romans, 8 is a zenith in the Christian life talking about our future glorification, our eternal security and then all of a sudden in Romans, 9, 10 and 11 Paul starts talking about Israel and replacement theologians have no idea why Paul has switched subjects. I know exactly why Paul switched subjects. Paul switches subjects from the Gentile dominated church, Romans, 8, to the nation of Israel, Romans, 9, 10 and 11, because someone in the back of the room raised their hand probably, and said, you know Paul, you’ve made all of these great promises to the church but God has cut His cord on the Jewish people and if God has cut the cord on the Abrahamic Covenant, then the promises in Romans, 8 are not worth the paper they’re written on, because God is fickle. God is a liar. God changes His mind. So therefore, Paul very carefully says, Oh! That’s where you’re wrong. God has not cut the cord on the nation of Israel. Romans, 9, Israel in the past elected. Romans, 10, Israel in the present rejected. Romans, 11, Israel in the future accepted. So everything that God said he would do in and through the nation of Israel will be executed and fulfilled on His timetable. Therefore, Romans, 11 is followed by Romans, 12. How does Romans, 12 begin? To offer your body as living sacrifice to the Lord, as a Christian. Well, how in the world could you do that if you can’t trust God? I mean, if God breaks His word, how in the world do I have an incentive as a Gentile Christian to offer my body to Him as a living sacrifice. If God can say one thing and do something else, if God can rip out the carpet from a whole nation, He could do it to me in an instant and by the way, Muslims live like this every day of their lives, because in their theology, Allah is a deceiver and because he’s a deceiver you really don’t know if you’re going to make it into heaven or not. So they’re always worried about, do their good works outweigh their bad works? And even if their good works do outweigh their bad works, maybe they’ll get up to the pearly gates and Allah will have changed his mind. Do you realize that as a Christian you don’t have to worry about that? God made you promises, you can take them to the bank and don’t use the excuse that God broke His word to the Jew cause He didn’t, Romans, 9, 10 and 11 explains that and then you get to the end the Romans, 11 and you just say, well, praise the Lord, look at who God is. He’s completely trustworthy. Therefore, I can take my body and offer it to him as a living sacrifice. I can’t do that as long as I am mistrusting whether God means what He says and says what He means. That’s why this issue of Israel, we talk about it here a lot, replacement theology, this is why it actually matters, because it relates to the character of God and I like a lot of the things Alistair Begg says on a lot of different issues, but I did not like anything that he said in the drive from my house to the church in five minutes where I heard it with my own ears where he is espousing blatant replacement theology and at some point folks, we need to, dare I say grow up, become big boys and girls and start to scream what we’re hearing. 48:38

Everything coming at you on Christian radio or Christian media or Christian TV or Christian literature, no matter how fine sounding the preacher is, is not of God and you have to be in a position to say, okay, I can take that truth but what he just said here for the last five minutes, I completely and totally reject and that’s the difference between immaturity and maturity. You look at little kids, when they’re very young crawling on the floor. I mean, my daughter was this way, no doubt I was this way. When the kids are crawling on the floor everything they see on the ground they put it in their mouths. Is it good for me or is it bad for me? They have no capacity for discernment; it just goes in the mouth and that’s what a baby Christian is like. Oh! I’ve heard it on the radio, it must be true. Oh! I’ve watched it on TV, it must be true. Oh! I’ve read it in Christian literature, it must be true. Oh! Someone who speaks with an accent, it must be true. Oh! So and so uses a lot of Bible verses, it must be true. Let me tell you something folks, when the Jehovah’s witnesses show up at your house, not if but when, they’ll give you Bible verses. By the way, when Satan is arguing with Jesus in Luke, 4 and Jesus starts quoting the Bible back to Satan, Satan starts quoting the Bible back to Jesus. It’s like a scripture quoting contest. So just because someone uses the Bible, it doesn’t mean it’s true, okay? Cause you can rip scriptures out of context. So when a child reaches the age of 16 and they’re still crawling on the ground and they’re still taking everything that they see on the floor and putting it in their mouth, that isn’t cute anymore. It loses its cuteness. That is a developmental maturity problem and quite frankly, with all of these things that are thrown our way via Christian media and all of the things people listen to, what is the state of Christianity in the United States of America? It’s in a very low state of maturity. It’s almost at an infancy level, because people, for the most part, will believe anything from anyone as long as I like how the person talks and as long as the person comes across friendly, not understanding that Satan comes as an angel of light. I have no idea where this idea of the devil came from where he’s got horns, a pitch fork and a red cape, okay? That is not the biblical description of Satan. That’s a description of Satan that really comes from the Middle Ages. The biblical description of Satan is he comes as an angel of light and read about Satan in his fall, before he fell, in Ezekiel, 28, verses 12 through 17 (Ezek 28:12-17) where it looks like his body was set up so that he could reflect all of these different colors, like the colors of the rainbow and when you saw him in light of God, he refracted and reflected total beauty. That’s why in Isaiah, 14, verses 12 through 15 (Isa 14:12-15) he is called Lucifer. Translated Lucifer which means light bearer. So if you’re looking for Satan, you don’t look for him with the pitch fork and the horns and the red cape, you look for Satan in a place of prominence within Christianity. You look for him behind the pulpit. You look for him talking in a way that everybody likes and I had no intention of going off this direction into all this stuff but the truth of the matter is replacement theology is right out of the pit of hell. I’ve been studying this for a long time. I mean, I’ve read everybody. I’ve read all the scholars, I’ve read where all the stuff comes from. I even wrote a little book on this called Ever Reforming and so Andy, what is your scholarly opinion after all these years of study? Here it is, it’s right out of the pit of hell and the reason it’s out of the pit of hell is because it attacks God at the most foundational level which is an assault on His character. If God can’t keep His word to Israel, you cannot trust anything He says to you and I was going to move on but since I just laid a heavy on you I feel bad for you all, so I’m going to let you out six minutes early. 54:09

So let’s pray. Father, we are grateful for chapter 9 and your promises to the nation of Israel. Help us to understand why these things are important and I pray you’ll be with us as we move into chapter 10 next week. Help us to understand that we’re not just dealing with pie in the sky theology but we’re involved in the queen of sciences, theology itself, as it relates to who you are in Your character and what You promised to us. We’ll be careful to give you all the praise of the glory. We ask these things in Jesus’ name and God’s people said, Amen and you’d better take….