Sunday, April 22,
2012, 8:35 a.m. – When I awoke this morning, the song, “The Windows of Heaven,” was playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for
your servant is listening. I read Zechariah
13 (NIV 1984):
Cleansing From Sin
“On that day a fountain will be opened to the
house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and
impurity.
“On that day, I will banish the names of the
idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the LORD
Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the
land. And if anyone still prophesies, his father and mother, to whom he was
born, will say to him, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the LORD’s
name.’ When he prophesies, his own parents will stab him.
“On that day every prophet will be ashamed of
his prophetic vision. He will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order
to deceive. He will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been
my livelihood since my youth.’ If someone asks him, ‘What are these wounds on
your body?’ he will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my
friends.’
The Shepherd Struck,
the Sheep Scattered
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man who is close to me!”
declares the LORD Almighty.
“Strike the shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered,
and I will turn my hand against the little
ones.
In the whole land,”
declares the LORD,
“two-thirds will be struck down and perish;
yet one-third will be left in it.
This third I will
bring into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my
name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are
my people,’
and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
My Understanding: The
day is the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it encompasses his first coming to
earth to be born as a baby, his life and ministry on the earth, his death and
resurrection, his ascension into heaven, his sending of the Holy Spirit to
indwell the lives of believers in Jesus Christ, and his coming again in
judgment - first of all the judgment of the tribulation period, and then the
judgment at the end of the tribulation period at which time he will send the
beast and the false prophet to the lake of fire, and he will bind Satan (the
dragon) for a thousand years. Then we will experience his millennial kingdom
reign on the earth with him, and then will come the final judgment, I believe.
So, when we read Zechariah, we must read it in that context,
and understand that it blends together all the events, beginning with Jesus
Christ’s coming to earth the first time all the way to the final judgments on
the earth and on the earth’s inhabitants. Thus, this is not written in
chronological order, but it jumps back and forth in time frequently.
A Fountain Opened
Jesus told the Samaritan woman, with whom he spoke at the
well, about the living water that he gives. He said: “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the
water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal
life” (Jn. 4:14). And, “If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture
has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (Jn.
7:37b-38). This is the fountain that was opened to the house of David (the
Jews) and the inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time when Jesus Christ lived and
walked on the earth, and in particular since his death, resurrection, ascension
into heaven and his sending of the Holy Spirit (living water) to indwell the
hearts and lives of his followers has the gospel spread to all men.
Jesus Christ became our perfect (sinless) sacrifice for the
sins of the entire world, to cleanse us from sin and impurity. Jesus Christ,
God the Son, left his throne in heaven, humbled himself, took on human flesh
and the role of a servant. He lived on this earth, he suffered as we suffer,
and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. He was rejected by his own
people, and was hounded and harassed at every turn by the religious leaders.
They mocked, ridiculed, accused falsely, abused, rejected, despised, spat upon,
scourged, and hung him on a cross to die as though he was a criminal, when he
had done no wrong. Yet, he willingly went through all of that for you and for
me, because he was to die in our place for our sins so that we could be free –
free from the punishment of sin (eternity in hell) and free from the daily
control and power of sin over our lives.
Not only did he die for our sins so we could be free, but he
went through all that suffering and temptations of the flesh so that he could
become our compassionate, merciful and faithful high priest to whom we can go
with our problems, hurts, pain, suffering, temptations, etc., and find a
mediator (Jesus Christ) between us and God the Father who understands and who
sympathizes with us in our weaknesses, but who never placates sin.
Just because Jesus Christ died for the sins of all men, and
just because he has provided a way for all men to be saved for eternity, does
not mean all people are saved. We must believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior, deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Christ, die to our
old way of living in sin, be transformed in our hearts and minds by the working
of the Holy Spirit within us, and we must put on Christ in all his holiness and
righteousness. Simply put, we must stop- make a U-turn – and then go forward.
We must repent of our sins (turn from them), and we must turn to follow Christ
in obedience. This is how we come to know Christ and are found in him as one of
his disciples (followers). We don’t do this in our own flesh, though. This is
the working of the Holy Spirit of God within us as we cooperate and agree with
that work, i.e. as we appropriate it to our own lives.
“You, however, did not
come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in
accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by
its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put
on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”
(Eph. 4:20-24).
The Shepherd Struck
Jesus Christ quoted part of this passage of scripture on the
night he was betrayed, arrested and handed over to be crucified. He is the
shepherd being spoken of here, and although the Jews did the actual physical
killing of Jesus Christ, it was God the Father who struck him, for this is the
very reason Jesus came to the earth, to die for our sins. Yet, it was not just
the Jews who hung Jesus Christ on the cross, for he died for the sins of the
entire world. So, in essence, it was all of our sins that sent him to die a
cruel death so that we could go free.
When Jesus Christ was arrested, his disciples were scattered
(dispersed), as they fled out of fear. They abandoned Jesus Christ in his hour
of need. One betrayed him. Another denied him three times, yet they were all
guilty of forsaking him. At least one stood with him, though, when he was hung
on the cross for our sins. When Jesus rose from the dead and he appeared to his
disciples, they were reunited for a time until Jesus ascended into heaven. Yet,
he promised to send his Holy Spirit to be with them forever, and he fulfilled
that promise. When the Holy Spirit came upon them, they began to preach the
gospel, and that is when severe persecution broke out, and they were scattered
due to persecution.
Jesus did refine his followers and he did test them, as the
early church went through much severe persecution, and many were killed for
their testimony for Jesus Christ. He had promised them (and all of us) that
they would be hated as he was hated, rejected, beaten, imprisoned, accused
falsely, and many would be put to death for the sake of the name of Jesus and
the sake of the gospel. Many believers of Jesus Christ throughout the world
since then have had to endure this kind of severe persecution for their faith
and testimony for Jesus Christ. We, in the USA, have known little of this kind
of severe persecution, but that time will come for us, too, and for the purpose
of refining us, as well, and for getting the adulterous church to return to her
“first love,” as well as to bring many people to faith in Jesus Christ,
including a remnant of Jews, I believe.
The Tribulation
I believe this prophecy of Jesus Christ includes not only
his crucifixion on the cross for our sins and our subsequent salvation, but it
also incorporates the time of tribulation to come upon the earth. This prophecy
in Zechariah speaks of the cleansing of sin produced by Jesus’ blood sacrifice
for our sins, yet it also speaks of another cleansing of sin to take place in
judgment, for the purpose of judgment is always to get people to return to their
God so that he can restore them to a right relationship with him.
When Jesus Christ judges the earth and its inhabitants
during the time of tribulation, his (or its) purpose will be not only to
punish, but to cleanse the people and the earth of sin and impurity. It is only
in judgment that truly all idols will be banished from the land and remembered
no more, though this does happen to some extent when we repent of our sins and
we turn to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior. It
is only in judgment that false prophets will be completely removed from the
land, though this can also take place to some extent as those who have taught
the word of God falsely repent of their sins and turn to walk in faithful obedience
to Jesus Christ.
During the time of tribulation the shepherd will be struck
in the sense that the true church will undergo severe persecution and many will
be martyred for their faith in Christ. We, the church, are the body of Christ.
What is done to us is done to him. Revelation 12-13 speaks much to this issue
of the persecution of the saints of God during the tribulation. Many believers
throughout the world have already had to undergo this kind of severe
persecution, as Satan (the dragon) has been pursuing the Shepherd and those who
hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ for a long time (see Rev. 12). Revelation
also predicts two-thirds of the earth and its inhabitants being wiped out, and
it speaks of a remnant that will come out of the time of tribulation. As well
the Bible, in Revelation 19, teaches us that through this time of tribulation
the bride has made herself ready for the wedding of the Lamb.
Living Water
Jesus Christ is offering this living water to everyone. We
receive his salvation through repentance (turning from our sin) and through
turning to walk in faithful obedience to Jesus Christ. The ability to repent
and to obey are gifts from God and are the working of the Holy Spirit within us
as we agree and cooperate with that work. Yet, many have believed a false
gospel that teaches that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary
for salvation, and many others, who once followed Christ in pure devotion, have
fallen away from their pure devotion to Jesus Christ and have forsaken their “first
love.” Jesus Christ wants all men to come to salvation and to receive eternal
life with God in heaven. If you have not yet turned your life to Jesus Christ,
I pray you do so today. If you have believed a false gospel and you have never
repented of your sins and turned to walk in obedience to Christ, I pray you
will do so today. And, if you are a true believer in Christ, but you have
fallen back into sin, have become complacent about your relationship with Jesus
Christ, and/or you have forsaken your “first love,” I pray that you will return
to Jesus Christ today and allow his healing mercies to cleanse you, revive you
and renew you to a right relationship with him.
The Windows of Heaven
are Open / Unknown / Artist: Gaithers
Why are you lying face
down in the dust
Your accusers have all
run away
And I don't condemn
you, you're free to be clean
Get up and start a new
day
Son, the path you have
chosen has taken you far
Now you're homeless
and sick and afraid
But there's a party
and music to welcome you home
And all the expense
has been paid
The windows of heaven
are open,
The blessings are
falling tonight
There's joy, joy, joy
in my heart
Since Jesus made
everything right
I gave Him my old
tattered garments
He gave me a robe of
pure white
I'm feasting on manna
from heaven
And that's why I'm
happy tonight.
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