Are You Ready For Jesus To Return To Rule?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we look at some of the passages from Zachariah and Isaiah and they are some of the most messianic, apocalyptic and eschatological of all the writings in the Old Testament. We are looking at them because they testify to the Lord Jesus Christ and secondly because they shine a light on the events of the “Day of the Lord.” It will be a day when the weak and the strong, the Jews and the Gentiles, the young and the old will converge on the city of Jerusalem. And friends, every knee shall bow down and the battlefields will be turned into playgrounds. I do hope you believe even though it is impossible to understand. Are You Ready For Jesus To Return To Rule?
Scripture: For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. “These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.
Zechariah 4:10 (NRSV)
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. . . . They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:6, 9 (NRSV)
Thus says the LORD: I will return to Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts shall be called the holy mountain. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. Thus says the LORD of hosts: Even though it seems impossible to the remnant of this people in these days, should it also seem impossible to me, says the LORD of hosts? Thus says the LORD of hosts: I will save my people from the east country and from the west country; and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They shall be my people and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.
Zechariah 8:3-8 (NRSV)
On that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the cooking pots in the house of the LORD shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar; and every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. And there shall no longer be traders in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.
Zechariah 14:20-21 (NRSV)
By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
Isaiah 45:23 (NRSV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NRSV)
Message: I am not at my best in writing about end times. It makes me a bit anxious. However I do take some comfort in the prophecy of Zechariah for it is profoundly precious to the Christian. Its unique messianic emphasis and its wide screen unfolding of the events connect the first and second advent. It concludes the human journey from the Garden to the City of God. Zechariah sees it as the final redemption of this world resulting in the millennial reign of Christ in connection with the restoration of Israel. This is a powerful prophecy. And there will be a time we are to shout it from the mountaintops. It is a message we are in time to take to the streets. For we are brothers and sisters despite the conflicts that divide us! Friends, there is a great restoration awaiting the people of God and we can share a bit of it when we worship together. And we all are to share in the future blessings when we repent and live a compassionate and righteous life…..Here Isaiah’s vision of the young…the old…the lions…the lambs living in peace together resonates with me and reminds me of Zechariah’s vision of battlegrounds becoming playgrounds. But there is more. For the Hebrews the restoration was and is caught up in the celebration of the calendar of feasts. And today’s scripture from the Prophet Zechariah is about a time when only one of them, the Feast of Booths (Also called the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of the Harvest) will be observed. It is unique and special because it is the only one being mentioned that is being observed in the Kingdom Age. There are seven feasts. From the Christian viewpoint five have been fulfilled through Christ and the establishment of the Church. This leaves the Feast of Trumpets that will be fulfilled in the future gathering of the Kingdom of God and the Feast of Booths which remembers the time in the wilderness and will not be fulfilled until we have our eternal bodies and live in the place Jesus is preparing for us. Friends, life in the coming Kingdom will be one of undefiled living. It will be a joyous time but also a time when the age of grace ends. What is unique about the Feast of Booths is its fulfillment in the coming of the Kingdom on earth as in heaven, and that is very special indeed, for we pray for this to happen each time we lift up the Lord’s Prayer. However I doubt we understand what we are praying for. In a way it can be read as a call for national repentance and for the Jews to return to the rebuilding of the temple once again. But the message here is also about spiritual renewal preceding the Messianic restoration. It is about the sovereignty of God over every nation–past, present and future. But also it is about the sovereignty of God indwelling in us as a Temple and our bodies as living sacrifices. And for that I pray…Come Lord Jesus.
Pray we are watchful and ready and repentant. Pray we remember that in reading and contemplating God’s Word that all the loose ends and experiences of our life can become connected for a Holy purpose. Pray for Jerusalem as a great place of pilgrimage for the people of God to worship the King of Kings. Pray for it as a place of blessings and justice…a holy place. Pray also for a time of undeniable holiness in each of us as well. Pray for the Holy Spirit to reign in our lives. Pray too for a day when the most common of things would be claimed by God. Pray that every bell we hear be a call to worship. Pray that the sacred and the common become one. Pray that the Kingdom of the World become the Kingdom of the Lord. Pray that we give thanks for God’s faithfulness and the future blessings He has promised. Pray that the harvest be great. Pray we always be listening for the trumpet and the time when fasts become joyous feasts.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 