Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 879. Bible Study: Zechariah 1 (Hearing from God, the 4 Horses Vision/Symbolism)
Transcript
- 0:00We are continuing on with the next book we're in the series
- 0:04right now where we're covering all of the prophets, but the
- 0:08next one who would have been in sequential order as far as the
- 0:14year that the prophecies were given would be Haggai.
- 0:18But as I was studying another chapter within the Bible, I
- 0:23needed to go to Haggai for references.
- 0:25And because it's such a short one, I already ready recorded
- 0:29it. So that would be episode 656 if
- 0:33you want to check it out. So after Haggai would be
- 0:37Zachariah and then Malachi. So our next one, since we just
- 0:43finished, let's see, we had prior to that we had done
- 0:48Ezekiel. So now we are going to go to the
- 0:52Book of Zechariah and start there.
- 0:55And I actually prepared for this yesterday, but it just got.
- 0:59So I just was led in so many places that I didn't even get a
- 1:04chance to do a recording. So hopefully I can go.
- 1:09Through. This in a very logical sense
- 1:11because there's just so much information that I found.
- 1:16But anyway, let's get started with the book of Zechariah.
- 1:20And dear Lord, please reveal to us what you want us to
- 1:24understand and let the Holy Spirit give me wisdom and
- 1:29understanding as I go through this.
- 1:31And if I speak about anything that you don't want me to speak
- 1:33about, just let me stop. Please, I ask this in Jesus
- 1:37name, Amen. So Zechariah in this study Bible
- 1:42that I have, it has a really great intro.
- 1:46This is the Quest study Bible. It's the NIV version and each
- 1:51book is broken down so you can see what year everything
- 1:53happened and the summary page before the chapter starts is it
- 1:58goes through what why read this book?
- 2:00Who wrote the book? When was it written?
- 2:03What was happening at the time, what to look for in Zechariah.
- 2:07All these things are really important or helpful when you're
- 2:10studying the Bible. So I will get started with
- 2:12their. The first summation is why read
- 2:15this book? This book offers spiritual
- 2:18strength and encouragement. Have you ever struggled with
- 2:22your own sense of significance? Perhaps you felt unappreciated
- 2:28or that your efforts weren't worth much.
- 2:30At times, you may have been tempted to quit.
- 2:33Zachariah found a city full of people who felt like.
- 2:37This. So he spoke words of
- 2:40encouragement and motivation to them, and they picked up the
- 2:44pieces and kept on going. Appropriately applied,
- 2:48Zachariah's words can do the same for you.
- 2:52So who wrote the book? Zachariah, whose name means
- 2:56Yahweh, remembers he was a prophet and a priest.
- 3:01He was born in exile in Babylon. As a young man in 538 BC, he
- 3:09returned to Jerusalem. So he was so after Daniel, we
- 3:17know the whole story of Daniel and Ezekiel, they were the ones
- 3:21who went into exile in Babylon. Now Zechariah, he wasn't even in
- 3:26Jerusalem when they all left. He was birthed when they were
- 3:30already in Babylonian captivity. But he gets to go back.
- 3:33So he doesn't really know the Jerusalem before, but.
- 3:38Because he just. Grew up in Babylon from what
- 3:41this says. So when was it written?
- 3:43His ministry began on the 8th month of the second year of
- 3:48Darius, that is, in October or November of 520 BC.
- 3:57His final dated prophecy was in the fourth year of King Darius,
- 4:01on the 4th day of the ninth month in Chapter 7.
- 4:06That is December 7th, 518 BC. So that's like about two years
- 4:13there. Further prophecies in Chapter 9
- 4:17were given perhaps sometime around 480 BC.
- 4:23So what was happening at this time?
- 4:24God's people had been in captivity in Babylon for 70
- 4:28years, but when Cyrus came to power, he gave permission for
- 4:32the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
- 4:37Many chose to stay in Babylon, but those who returned set about
- 4:41their task with great enthusiasm.
- 4:44They soon encountered many obstacles, however, and became
- 4:47discouraged. Zechariah not only motivated
- 4:51them to finish what they had begun, but he also gave them a
- 4:54vision of God's purposes beyond. The restored temple.
- 4:59What to look for in Zechariah? Notice the brief history lesson
- 5:03Zechariah gave. It showed the people how God had
- 5:06been working in their lives even when they hadn't realized it.
- 5:10Also watch for Zechariah's insights into what God intended
- 5:14to do for, for, and through the Jews.
- 5:17Though many words are through. Yeah, though many words and
- 5:20phrases in Zechariah seem obscure, be on the lookout for
- 5:25many predictions concerning the coming Messiah.
- 5:29So I guess this is really timely because people it's all over
- 5:32social media about people looking for this.
- 5:34And there's I have some thoughts again after after reading this
- 5:39chapter and doing the research that I did.
- 5:41So I will. Start by reading Zechariah
- 5:45chapter 1 and it's titled A Call to Return to the Lord.
- 5:50In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word
- 5:53of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, son of Barakiah, the
- 5:58son of Edo. The Lord was very angry with
- 6:02your ancestors. Therefore tell the people, this
- 6:05is what the Lord Almighty says. Return to me, declares the Lord
- 6:10Almighty, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.
- 6:15Do not be like your ancestors to whom the earlier prophets
- 6:19proclaimed. This is what the Lord Almighty
- 6:21says. Turn from your evil ways and
- 6:23your evil practices. But they would not listen or pay
- 6:27attention to me, declares the Lord.
- 6:30Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets?
- 6:33Do they live forever? But did not my words and my
- 6:37decrees, which I commanded, my servants, the prophets, overtake
- 6:41your ancestors? Then they repented and said, The
- 6:46Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices
- 6:52deserve, just as He. Determined to do.
- 6:56So that was. Kind of the.
- 6:57First vision that he had he, you know, there's this repetitive
- 7:02nature of God with his people and it I always think about it
- 7:07this way, it is God with the people of Israel, but God
- 7:12doesn't show favoritism. He chose Israel, but not because
- 7:16they were his favorites. So if God has no favourites and
- 7:22he does this to his chosen ones of Israel, that would mean He
- 7:26would likely respond the same way to us.
- 7:30So we can learn from something where God gives a warning.
- 7:35This is what OK, this is what happened with the Israelites.
- 7:37God gave a warning. There was no response to the
- 7:41warning. They just kept on doing what
- 7:44they wanted to do. They didn't repent.
- 7:46They didn't turn away from their their sin, turn away from their
- 7:50evil ways of living. And therefore God disciplined
- 7:56them. He didn't discipline them to be
- 7:59mean to them. He disciplined them so that
- 8:01things would get tough and then they would turn to Him, which it
- 8:05shows they did because in verse 6 it says then they repented and
- 8:10they realized what was going on. The Lord Almighty has done to us
- 8:14what our ways and practices deserve, just as He determined
- 8:18to do so. That's kind of the cycle that we
- 8:21all will go through if we are a child of God.
- 8:25It says in Scripture that God disciplines those He loves.
- 8:30OK, next group of, I guess the next vision here.
- 8:36This is called the man among the Myrtle trees.
- 8:40So on the 24th day of the eleven, 11th month, the month of
- 8:46Shabbat in the second year of Darius.
- 8:50The word of the Lord. Came to the prophet Zechariah,
- 8:52son of Barakiah, the son of Edo. So this was actually like two
- 8:56months later essentially, because the first one was on the
- 8:598th month and then this one was on the 11th month and in the
- 9:02same, you know, the second year of Darius, both of them.
- 9:05So two months later, he has another vision.
- 9:08During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man
- 9:12mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the Myrtle
- 9:17trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and
- 9:22white horses. I asked, What are these, My
- 9:25Lord? The Angel who was talking with
- 9:28me answered. I will show you what they are.
- 9:32Then the man standing among the Myrtle trees explained they are
- 9:37the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.
- 9:42So this is important because this defines.
- 9:47What these horses are, I believe these are.
- 9:51Spiritual, you know, maybe they are literal horses, but from the
- 9:56spiritual realm. I don't know.
- 9:58Or maybe they're just symbolic of something spiritual.
- 10:02But clearly it explains that, you know, he said behind him was
- 10:07red, brown and white horses. And he was on a red horse.
- 10:10And I said, what are these? They're talking about the
- 10:14horses. And he says the they are the
- 10:17ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.
- 10:23So right there, I mean, there's several things that it made me
- 10:28think of when I read that was again in the the Book of
- 10:33Revelation, because we can understand the Book of
- 10:37Revelation when we understand what's in the Old Testament and
- 10:41the book of Zechariah very much ties into the Book of Revelation
- 10:46at various points. And I think we can learn from
- 10:50it. So in the Book of Revelation,
- 10:54let's see, I don't know if that was the first place that I was
- 10:56going with my. The books that I was looking at,
- 11:01I don't that wasn't the very first place because OK, but I do
- 11:08let's see if I can find the Book of Revelation because I did jump
- 11:11around here quite a bit and. No, I don't have that.
- 11:21Sorry. I I thought I was prepared.
- 11:23I must have closed a a tab that I had opened.
- 11:27On this about the Book of Revelation, but I believe it's
- 11:30Revelation 6 is where this is and it has to it is about the
- 11:36seals because when the seals are opened by the Lamb who is Jesus,
- 11:42there are 7 seals and the. 1st 4 seals are horses.
- 11:48Do they tie to this? It sure seems like it because
- 11:54they are in the spiritual realm and they are coming out and this
- 11:57is what and there's different purposes that they have now.
- 12:01The ones in the book of Zechariah are going about the
- 12:04earth and they're observing it and it's they are red, brown and
- 12:11white horses. But the ones in the seals,
- 12:14they're very similar. Colored, but there is a White
- 12:17Horse. In the Book of Revelation verse
- 12:20verse Revelation 6 verse 2 there's a red one.
- 12:26In Revelation 6 verse 4, then the. 3rd seal there's a black
- 12:32one and then in the let's see, the 4th seal is not translated.
- 12:43Great. In the fourth seal, Revelation 6
- 12:48verse 8 Now in the NIV version it says a pale horse and the
- 12:52best way to look at this is to go to blueletterbible.org and
- 12:58then search Revelation chapter 6 verse 8.
- 13:02Then click on the. Tool box it says.
- 13:05Tools on the left hand side and it's a blue box and click on
- 13:09that and it'll show you word for word what the original.
- 13:13This will be Greek because we're in the New Testament in the Book
- 13:15of Revelation, but it'll show you what the word is, and the
- 13:19word is actually chloros, which means green.
- 13:23So this is a. Green Horse.
- 13:26And so maybe they just thought, OK, that doesn't make sense.
- 13:30Let's just figure out what could that mean and it, you know,
- 13:36translation, translation errors, they probably should have just
- 13:40translated. There was a green horse.
- 13:42So we have 4 different colors. We have white, red, black and
- 13:47green or red, white, green and black.
- 13:53It's really interesting colors and there's a lot of people that
- 13:57talk about the colors and the symbology in them.
- 14:00And, and all of that is guesswork right now because we
- 14:03don't know in hindsight, we will know.
- 14:06But the first, the first horse, well, we're not studying the
- 14:10Book of Revelation, so I won't really get into what each one of
- 14:13those represent. But at each seal, one of those
- 14:16horses get released. And so it seems like that's a
- 14:21spiritual release from the heavenly realms.
- 14:24You know, Jesus is in the heavenly realms as he opens the
- 14:28seal at the throne of God. He's opening the seal.
- 14:32And this is all before Jesus returns because it's it really
- 14:38has been. I think nobody can really argue
- 14:41that. At the 6th.
- 14:42Seal is when Jesus returns. You can compare that with lots
- 14:47of different versus it throughout the Bible.
- 14:50So before Jesus returns, there's multiple seals.
- 14:54Before Jesus returns, there are the four horses.
- 14:58Then you have 5-6 and seven, the last three seals that are
- 15:02broken. And so at the 5th seal, there is
- 15:08a lot of. It just sounds like death.
- 15:11It's like waiting for this death to just happen all over the
- 15:14place. So this could be a really Great
- 15:17War that happens around the 5th Seal just because it it talks
- 15:24about. You know, I'm saying a little
- 15:26bit more about the Book of Revelation.
- 15:27I didn't intend to, but in the Book of Revelation, the 5th
- 15:30seal, they are the souls under the altars, and they're saying
- 15:34how long? This is the fifth seal.
- 15:37They're saying how long before you avenge?
- 15:40Our death. So Jesus.
- 15:42Is coming for vengeance. As God said, the vengeance is
- 15:45mine. It's not us.
- 15:46We're not supposed to be taking vengeance on anyone.
- 15:49It's God's vengeance and He will do it.
- 15:52So all these seals get open, the four seals.
- 15:56At the 5th seal we see souls under the altar.
- 15:59That's what John sees. And they're saying, how long is
- 16:02it going to be basically Jesus before you come back and avenge
- 16:06us? And they're told to wait until
- 16:11their their other brothers and sisters are killed, just as they
- 16:15were. So we have to be aware that
- 16:18before Jesus returns, there's probably going to be lots.
- 16:23Of people dying and Jesus did say that if those days had not
- 16:31been cut short, no one would survive now we are in a really
- 16:38interesting time where all. It just I I say.
- 16:44All it, it just keeps growing, the numbers of countries of
- 16:48nations who are getting involved in this war currently, You know,
- 16:58we just, I mean, there's just a lot happening.
- 17:00I mean, Iran is Iran and Israel and the US basically were all in
- 17:07it right now and other countries and nations are getting involved
- 17:12because they're getting bombed too.
- 17:14And so then they said it's not going to go unpunished when they
- 17:19get bombed by Iran is bombing other coastal territories that
- 17:29that, you know, normally would probably be, you know, they'd
- 17:32have an alliance with. But, and this is not Israel or
- 17:36the United. States, however, it both Israel
- 17:40and the United states Iran absolutely hates and has wanted
- 17:45to destroy for a very long time, and many of the leaders have
- 17:50been taken out by. Through the war with Israel, by
- 17:56Israel in the United States as of the state of the recording,
- 18:00which is 352026. So it's we'll just we'll just
- 18:09see what happens, but we're seeing a lot of things
- 18:13happening. I mean the first.
- 18:15I mean, just, I guess I'm going to talk about the Book of
- 18:17Revelation a little bit because the first, the first horse is a
- 18:20White Horse and it's going out to conquer.
- 18:23The writer is going out to conquer and it, it appears
- 18:26peaceful. Then the second horse that comes
- 18:29out is war. It's, it's red.
- 18:33It's like it's going to take peace away from the earth and
- 18:37make people kill each other. So we're certainly seeing a lot
- 18:41of that happening. Then the third seal is famine.
- 18:47Well, it's it's scarcity basically.
- 18:49I mean, a lot of people did say it's famine, but it's just
- 18:52saying that there's going to be a shortage of supplies.
- 18:54Like you have to use a whole day's earnings to buy 2 lbs of
- 18:59wheat and you can get 6 lbs of barley for a day's wages.
- 19:08So it's talking about scarcity and inflation is the way I see
- 19:12it. People have said famine.
- 19:14It doesn't talk about people starving here.
- 19:16It just says that things are really expensive is the way I
- 19:19read this in and that is the third seal.
- 19:24Then the 4th seal is when it says that death in Hades comes.
- 19:32And they were given a power over a fourth of the earth to kill by
- 19:37sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
- 19:42So there's war, hunger, plague, sickness, wild beast.
- 19:50That's all happens when the 4th seal is opened.
- 19:54And then you get to the fifth seal.
- 19:55So you see that there's a lot of people who have already died at
- 19:58that point, and they're just saying how long.
- 20:01So right before Jesus comes, there's a lot of death.
- 20:05And with everything that's happening in the world, we need
- 20:09to pay attention to that. And most importantly, we need to
- 20:13make sure that we are prepared in our relationship with God,
- 20:18that we apply and understand what God said to the Israelites.
- 20:23Turn to me. I want a relationship with you.
- 20:27And he is forgiving and merciful.
- 20:31And we don't know. I mean, something could happen
- 20:36and there could be some nuclear explosion.
- 20:39It doesn't say the entire world is going to be affected by it,
- 20:42but it doesn't say where. It says 1/4 of the earth.
- 20:47Now does that mean 1/4 of the square?
- 20:51You know, miles of the earth, you know, is it, is it location
- 20:55wise that is it, you know, was that measured by, you know land
- 21:00measurement or was that measured by numbers of people involved
- 21:06either way? It's pretty significant, so.
- 21:11And this is what the Bible says is in the future, we don't know
- 21:14when this is going to occur. And this could be a flare up
- 21:17that we're experiencing right now.
- 21:18That is just, it could just be a very minor in comparison to
- 21:24something that's happening that will happen eventually because
- 21:28it's in Bible prophecy and this will happen someday, but when
- 21:32the 4th seal gets opened. And a fourth of the earth is
- 21:35killed. You know, we could just be
- 21:37seeing a, a flare up of that because there is, there are
- 21:41these times where there's a foreshadowing of what is to come
- 21:45and a lot of people start to think, oh, this is the end, this
- 21:48is it. And it turns out not to be.
- 21:50So we could also be in that time frame right now as well.
- 21:55So the only thing that's important right now is to
- 21:59prepare our relationship with God when we see these things
- 22:02happening. We don't know for sure when it's
- 22:05going to be, but we need to be right with God.
- 22:09We need to have turned away from our evil ways and turn towards
- 22:13him and establish that relationship.
- 22:16Otherwise we will be disciplined along with the entire world.
- 22:21Who will be disciplined if and when?
- 22:25I mean, I guess when Jesus returns or when these seals do
- 22:29get opened, if they're not being opened right now, you know,
- 22:33there's, there's different viewpoints on that and, and
- 22:37people who study Bible prophecy. So we don't know.
- 22:40But anyway, the, the tie back to the book of Zechariah is that he
- 22:46sees these horses and he understands.
- 22:49Well, he's told by the Angel who was talking to him that these
- 22:53horses are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.
- 22:58So they are observing the earth. I'm going to continue with verse
- 23:0011. And they reported to the Angel
- 23:04of the Lord, who was standing among the Myrtle trees.
- 23:07We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world
- 23:12at rest and in peace. Then the Angel of the Lord said,
- 23:19Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem
- 23:24and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with
- 23:28these 70 years? So we'll pause here. 70 years is
- 23:34the time that they have. They were in captivity and
- 23:36Babylon. And the Angel is saying to the
- 23:40Lord, how long is it going to be that you're going to withhold
- 23:45your mercy because he knows God is merciful and loving and he's
- 23:48like, how much longer? They've been here for 70 years.
- 23:51How much longer is this going to be?
- 23:54So look at how God responds. So the Lord spoke kind and
- 24:00comforting words to the Angel who talked with me.
- 24:06So that just shows you the character of God and just how
- 24:08loving. I mean, we get wrapped up in all
- 24:10this horrible stuff that's happening.
- 24:11But the God behind all of this, He isn't a God of wrath, as some
- 24:17call him from the Old Testament. He spoke kind and comforting
- 24:21words. The people who received the
- 24:24discipline that he gave deserved it because they were against the
- 24:29only one who is good. There is no one good but God.
- 24:34Jesus said that to, I think it was the Pharisees when they
- 24:37talked to him and they were calling him good or something
- 24:40and he said, why do you call me good?
- 24:42He was challenging them because he's like the only one who's
- 24:45good is God. So are you calling me God?
- 24:48I think that's kind of what Jesus was kind of putting in
- 24:50front of them to challenge them and their beliefs and what they
- 24:53were saying because they knew the law really well.
- 24:57They knew the the the scripture very well.
- 25:01And so here they are calling him good and in Scripture says there
- 25:04is no one good but God. So.
- 25:08Verse 14 Then the Angel who was speaking to me said, Proclaim
- 25:12this word. This is what the Lord Almighty
- 25:14says. I am very jealous for Jerusalem
- 25:17and Zion and I am very angry with the nations that feel
- 25:23secure. I was only a little angry, but
- 25:27they went too far with the punishment.
- 25:30So here we also see another thing that God does is when
- 25:33people get rebellious. Like this is specifically about
- 25:37his chosen people, Israel. And and when they got
- 25:42rebellious, they needed to be disciplined with the purpose of
- 25:49hoping that the discipline would wake them up and make them turn
- 25:53to God. A lot of times people don't turn
- 25:55to God until they hit rock bottom.
- 25:58But and he uses other countries so he can use an ungodly country
- 26:04to come against his chosen people because of what they did,
- 26:09because they haven't repented. And that's what he's done
- 26:12historically. And if he did it in the past, he
- 26:16will do it again. But this is the other thing, is
- 26:19he there's also that free will. So these nations that hate
- 26:23Israel sometimes. God will be.
- 26:26With them allow them to defeat Israel.
- 26:28He's done that so many times in the history of the Bible, though
- 26:32it, the Israelites defeated, you know, when they were
- 26:35outnumbered, they defeated their enemies because God was with
- 26:39them. But then when they rejected God
- 26:42and they started worshipping other fake gods, then God got
- 26:47angry about it. And he's like, fine, you want
- 26:49those. I'm not going to, you know, you
- 26:52go ahead, align yourself with them.
- 26:54And he was silent. He turned away from them.
- 26:57And then they started having troubles and they weren't, you
- 27:03know, succeeding in everything. So God can use the evil enemies
- 27:10and allow them to do what they want to do by their own will to
- 27:15accomplish God's ultimate will, which is He wants Israel to
- 27:21repent, so he'll use. Enemy nations to come against
- 27:26Israel with the hopes of repentance that people will do
- 27:31and it. And you see that verse, I guess
- 27:34What verse was it? It was in the first section.
- 27:38It it said, I guess it's tied in verse 6.
- 27:42It says then they repented and said the Lord Almighty has done
- 27:45to us what our ways and practices deserve just as he
- 27:48determined to do so. They realized it once things get
- 27:52really bad, you're like, wow, I've just like not been very
- 27:55good to God and now all this is happening.
- 27:58Maybe I better turn back to God and that's what the Israelites
- 28:02were doing. So God let's these enemies do
- 28:07harmful things, but here God is saying he's like they went too
- 28:13far with the punishment, like I let them go with their free
- 28:18will, but no, it went too far. So here's what's coming next,
- 28:24says, therefore, this is what the Lord says, I will return to
- 28:28Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt.
- 28:35So God hasn't forgotten his promise.
- 28:37He is still going to make a house, a home for himself here,
- 28:45there in Jerusalem. He's going to return to
- 28:49Jerusalem with mercy. This is talking about when Jesus
- 28:53reigns for 1000 years, the millennial reign, and there my
- 28:58house will be rebuilt. So he keeps his promise and the
- 29:04measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem, declares the
- 29:08Lord Almighty proclaim further. This is what the Lord Almighty
- 29:12says. My towns will again overflow
- 29:16with prosperity and the Lord will again comfort Zion and
- 29:22choose Jerusalem. So he's promising the
- 29:25restoration he that he's always promised as there is going to be
- 29:30a day that all of this will again overflow with prosperity
- 29:37and Zion will be comforted and he will choose Jerusalem.
- 29:41That's where he will be. And Zacharias says, Then I
- 29:45looked. Up and there before me were 4
- 29:47horns. I asked the Angel who was
- 29:50speaking to me, What are these? He answered me.
- 29:54These are the horns that scattered Judah, Judah, Israel,
- 30:00and Jerusalem. So the southern Kingdom of
- 30:04Judah, the northern Kingdom of Israel and the city of
- 30:09Jerusalem. So there were 4 horns.
- 30:12Horns are typically representing a represent power in the Bible
- 30:17symbolically. And of course he's seeing these
- 30:20things and they are so they are symbolic of something.
- 30:23And he sees 4 horns. Their powers are kingdoms.
- 30:27And so this even ties into the Book of Revelation when it talks
- 30:31the beat about the beast with the 10 horns, I think, or 7
- 30:36horns, I can't remember now which, but I think it might be
- 30:4110 horns. And but these are like, it's the
- 30:44final. I'm getting off into that.
- 30:47But it's like the final beast entity that rules and reigns
- 30:51over the earth. And I think there are 10 horns.
- 30:54There are 10 powers. There are 10 kingdoms that come
- 30:57up at the very end of times to rule over the entire earth.
- 31:03It says, then the Lord showed me 4 Craftsman.
- 31:08Now this is very different. OK, so you have the four horns
- 31:12and you have the four Craftsman. And when I looked up Craftsman,
- 31:16I don't have that called up anymore.
- 31:19But there's like those skilled in destruction is what it also
- 31:24is called. Like they can be Craftsman that
- 31:27make beautiful things, but they can also be Craftsman that are
- 31:29skilled in destruction. And he says then the Lord showed
- 31:34me 4 Craftsman. I asked what are these coming to
- 31:37do? He answered, These are the horns
- 31:41that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but
- 31:45the Craftsman have come to terrify them and throw down
- 31:51these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against
- 31:55the land of Judah to scatter its people.
- 31:58Now this is the end of chapter 1.
- 32:01So God has a counterbalance of power that's going to come
- 32:07against the four horns who scattered Judah.
- 32:13And there's a lot of things that I thought about as I was reading
- 32:18that because I thought about, and I'll see maybe I can just do
- 32:23this quickly and summarize most of what I researched.
- 32:26But I thought about the the horns and the Craftsman being
- 32:34opposite one another. And so one's coming to destroy
- 32:37and, and God's angry with these nations who came against Israel.
- 32:42So we went in. We kind of want to know who are
- 32:44the horns in the study. Bible says that it talks about
- 32:47that. And but then that that led me to
- 32:52question. So this is going to be a little
- 32:54bit longer explanation I think, so I'll go there first.
- 32:58So the study Bible question says what were these horns?
- 33:02These horns were probably metallic, either bronze or or
- 33:06iron. Horns were a symbol of strength
- 33:10in the ancient world, and these could refer to individual rulers
- 33:14or nations. And then it says perhaps
- 33:18Assyria, Egypt, Babylon and Persia, because those were all
- 33:23the ones that, well, you know, I immediately I thought, OK, those
- 33:27were all the ones that conquered Jerusalem.
- 33:30But then I thought Egypt, I guess, you know, did Egypt do
- 33:34that? And, and so I was searching a
- 33:37little bit and that seemed like a weaker argument for Egypt
- 33:41actually doing that. I mean, they certainly did have
- 33:44wars, but did they? And then of course, they had
- 33:49Israel a long, long time ago under slavery right before the
- 33:53Exodus. Assyria, of course.
- 33:56Assyria conquered the northern Kingdom of Israel.
- 34:01We know that from reading Bible prophecy.
- 34:03Babylon then conquered the southern Kingdom of Judah.
- 34:08We know that. And then Persia came in and
- 34:12conquered them. So there were these stages.
- 34:17And so then I thought, this reminds me of Daniel's dream of
- 34:22the four beasts. And the four beasts essentially
- 34:26represent Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and but not Egypt
- 34:33necessarily. And so I thought, OK, that's,
- 34:36that's interesting. There's four beasts in, in
- 34:38Daniel's dream, in this, this vision that he got from God
- 34:42showed him that these were certain kingdoms and there were
- 34:46I guess these stages of kingdoms that would happen.
- 34:49And then there was this last and final Kingdom before Jesus comes
- 34:53and destroys that Kingdom. So that's also in the, the my
- 34:58study Bible has a really good depiction where it takes all of
- 35:04Daniel's dreams and it has this chart and it shows how each one
- 35:08of his dreams like there's a line of symbolism that relates
- 35:16to a certain Kingdom. So I might go to that.
- 35:20But then again, the the other part of it was that I thought
- 35:25about the altar that God had told Moses to make, where the
- 35:32sacrifice is the Holy of Holies. And so he how the altar was
- 35:36designed. It has four horns on each of the
- 35:39corners and everything I looked up that people have talked about
- 35:43says it all says you know, that that it.
- 35:46Shows you the. Extents of the earth because it
- 35:48talks about the four corners. It's just saying everything.
- 35:51This is like the sacrifice that would, you know, atone for sin
- 35:55and and Hebrews tells us that without the shedding of blood,
- 35:58there is no forgiveness of sin. And but I was like, gosh, the
- 36:03four horns. I wonder if the four horns on
- 36:06the altar do have more symbolism because nobody really talks
- 36:10about the four horns on the altar.
- 36:13But the process when there was a sacrifice, was that a bull?
- 36:18And so you know that that I went down the rabbit hole on that
- 36:21like the bull, what that represents, the bull was
- 36:26sacrificed and then it's blood was sprinkled on all the four
- 36:31horns. And there's symbolism in that
- 36:35too. And but that was the process
- 36:38that happened. And this whole thing, this whole
- 36:41event that was to occur was to purify the altar and, and to
- 36:49also purify the people that that that would then partake from it,
- 36:55the sacrifice that was made. And again, that is also
- 37:00symbolism for Jesus. And because Jesus was the Lamb
- 37:06of God who takes away the sin of the world.
- 37:09So it, it's just like a, a symbolism that's pointing to
- 37:14Jesus all the way back at the altar and the blood that he shed
- 37:19for all to purify us. So that all makes sense.
- 37:23That also ties into the the Passover where the blood of the
- 37:28land protected the Israelites from the plague that went out in
- 37:35Egypt. And the interesting thing about
- 37:38the plagues that went out to Egypt, all the different types
- 37:41of plagues that Egypt suffered from prior to the Passover, they
- 37:48all were significant. This was from my study Bible.
- 37:51I didn't know this, but I read it in my study Bible, which was
- 37:53really good. They were all like a direct
- 37:56response to the quote little G gods that Egypt worshipped.
- 38:02So I think there were like flies or gnats or locusts or all these
- 38:05things, like Egypt had all of these different gods that they
- 38:08worshipped. And so God sent plagues.
- 38:11You know, it's almost like, OK, you're going to worship these
- 38:13things. Well, I'm going to infest you
- 38:15with those things. See how you like it.
- 38:17You want to worship it, OK, It's going to be all over.
- 38:20And so it also made me think about reaping and sowing.
- 38:25Like what we do is what God gives us back.
- 38:28Like he gives us free will. And that's something to really
- 38:31think about. You know, if you want to be
- 38:33blessed, bless others, you don't, don't expect to curse
- 38:38others and be mean to others and do bad things to others and then
- 38:42be treated differently in life because it does seem to, you
- 38:47know, reaping and sowing. It's like we get what we deserve
- 38:52to some extent because we all deserve to be separated from
- 38:57God. But God was merciful, loving and
- 39:00forgiving to us when we go to Him and gave us a way through
- 39:05Jesus to get into the Kingdom of God.
- 39:07So anyway, these these, it's, it's really interesting.
- 39:15Like does that altar that God gave Moses to design the Holy of
- 39:22Holies where the blood was sprinkled on, does that actually
- 39:25represent the process that he was saying, here's what's going
- 39:29to happen in the end? You're going to have these four
- 39:32beasts and there's going to have to be a sacrifice.
- 39:35And then this, this bull, I think is so interesting.
- 39:40And this is just a theory, but it's very interesting.
- 39:43And I think if you've studied any of the stuff, you would find
- 39:47it interesting as well. But a bull represents a lot of
- 39:52times represents A deity like a fake God.
- 39:56And so it may be wonder like just like God did with the
- 40:00plagues in Egypt, where all of the plagues that came against
- 40:04them were a direct response to the gods that they worshipped.
- 40:09So is is this like reaping and sowing?
- 40:11Is God actually symbol symbolically using a bull and
- 40:16showing that eventually there's going to be a destruction of
- 40:18that? That bull that's so strong and
- 40:21powerful over all the earth, but his blood is going to be it's
- 40:28going to be he's going to be sacrificed and, and his
- 40:32extermination will then when he's no longer present, we will
- 40:40be in the presence of, of God. You know, it's like when Satan
- 40:44is destroyed, when he when he's finally destroyed and no longer
- 40:48able to affect the earth, then everything will be purified and
- 40:54atoned for the whole process that Jesus goes through the 1000
- 40:58years, like after all of that happens, and then we will be in
- 41:01the Kingdom of God and there will be nothing evil that will
- 41:04ever enter. And all of that, like good and
- 41:08evil will be separated forever. And so that, that was just a
- 41:15thought that came to mind as I was doing this.
- 41:18So I'm going to look through these these tabs that I have on
- 41:25things that I looked up, you know, 'cause it's, if you want
- 41:29to read. Well, here's what I did was I
- 41:33looked up horns or to see when the horns were actually talked
- 41:39about and to find that word, which is Strong's H7161.
- 41:45And you can find that in blueletterbible.org.
- 41:48And you can search and you can see every sentence that uses
- 41:51that that word, that same word. And then just just read it
- 41:56because it, it sometimes gives a lot of insight into what is
- 42:03happening because there's, you know, like, I'll just say like
- 42:08Leviticus 8. Here's an example.
- 42:10Next, Moses slaughtered it and took the blood, and with his
- 42:15finger put some of it around the horns of the altar and purified
- 42:21the altar. Then he poured the rest of the
- 42:24blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make
- 42:28atonement for it. And then there's so it, it
- 42:37clearly says this is kind of interesting too.
- 42:49In Deuteronomy, there's I again, I'm not going to read all of
- 42:53these because this we could probably spend a full day
- 42:58discussing this, but but search it because it's really
- 43:02interesting to see what you'll find about horns and about blood
- 43:06and about anointing within that. So then I, I looked about
- 43:12because of the, the horn, like Egypt being considered a horn
- 43:17from the study Bible. So I searched, you know, when
- 43:21did Egypt scatter Israel? So it says Egypt did not scatter
- 43:26the nation of Israel in a single event, but rather played a role
- 43:30in the broader ancient scattering of the Jewish people
- 43:34and engaged in major 20th century conflicts with them.
- 43:38Historically, Egyptian forces under Pharaohs like Nikko
- 43:42Arshashek conducted campaigns, while in modern history, history
- 43:47Egypt initiated wars in 19481967 and 19 73 So we can see there's
- 43:56always been a little tension between Egypt and Israel.
- 44:01Now here's something else I want to mention is that so well, the
- 44:07conflict ended with the 1979 Egypt Israel Peace Treaty, which
- 44:13saw the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Sinai
- 44:17Peninsula by 1982. So that's fairly recent and you
- 44:25know, it's not that that long ago that that happened.
- 44:28But this talks about like modern conflicts.
- 44:31In 1948 was the Arab Israeli war, Egypt got engaged in that
- 44:36war. In 1967 was the Six Day War,
- 44:40Egypt along with other nations fought Israel resulting in
- 44:44Israel occupying the Sinai Peninsula.
- 44:47And then in 1973 Yom Kippur wore so that's interesting.
- 44:52Again, this is this was on October 6th, 1973, which
- 44:56happened to be Yom Kippur, and it made me think about October
- 45:007th, 2023. That, you know, look at that
- 45:04even #1973 and then 2023. So there was, you know, the.
- 45:15Let's see, 2023 -, 1973, when I'm thinking and talking, I
- 45:22can't do it. It was 50 years.
- 45:24OK, so it's 50 years later, 50, 50 years later, similar date,
- 45:33October 7th, October 6th. But it doesn't relate to Egypt.
- 45:37You know when this happened, But these are when these things
- 45:40happen on Jewish holy days. Doesn't it make you think
- 45:44there's a spiritual entity behind it?
- 45:45Especially when, you know, Ephesians 612 tells us that we,
- 45:49you know, we, our battles aren't against flesh and blood, but
- 45:52against the spiritual powers in the heavenly realms, essentially
- 45:55the dark forces of evil. So it, it just seems like when
- 46:00there's a significant day like that, that there's something
- 46:03spiritual going on because these represent some kind of a promise
- 46:07between God and Israel. So when we see wars happening on
- 46:10these days, it does seem like the enemy is coming after
- 46:14Israel. So bottom line though, is it
- 46:19doesn't seem like Egypt scattered the nation of Israel
- 46:23in a single event. They may have participated.
- 46:25So that that makes me wonder, is there something coming in the
- 46:29future? We'll just something we can
- 46:31watch for. Not to say that it's going to
- 46:34happen anytime soon. I mean, they're not even in the
- 46:36war right now. So who knows when or if this
- 46:40will be. But but here's something in
- 46:42Bible prophecy that hasn't also happened that makes me think
- 46:47Egypt and Israel are going to get into some battle because it
- 46:52says that. Well, actually I want a little
- 46:55bit more research that I did. I kind of think it's, here's
- 46:59what I think it'll be like something from like the Turkey
- 47:02area, a ruler from there who's going to come against Egypt and,
- 47:10and then maybe as a result, maybe there will be some
- 47:14significant war because there's a prophecy about Egypt that said
- 47:18it it will be desolate for 40 years.
- 47:21And I also searched that to find historically, when was Egypt
- 47:24desolate for 40 years and they weren't so.
- 47:29And it says basically from top to bottom that Egypt's going to
- 47:32be desolate. So again, I think that's
- 47:35something that happens in the future and I think maybe, well,
- 47:41we'll just go through some other things.
- 47:44So another thing going back to the the blood on the four horns
- 47:48of the altar, it says blood on the four horns, horns of the
- 47:54altar represents the comprehensive atonement,
- 47:57purification and forgiveness of sins, highlighting the power of
- 48:00the sacrifice to cleanse and consecrate.
- 48:05So what else? The bull.
- 48:10So I wondered, why the bull? You know what is What is the
- 48:16significance of using a bull as a sacrifice in ancient Israel?
- 48:22So this is what I found. Using a bull as a sacrifice in
- 48:24ancient Israel was a major symbolic act signifying maximum
- 48:30atonement, purification and total surrender to God.
- 48:37As the most valuable domestic animal representing strength and
- 48:41wealth, bulls were reserved for serious high level offerings
- 48:46such as the sin offering for the high priest or the congregation.
- 48:53So they were expensive, potent and significant livestock,
- 48:57making them the appropriate sacrifice for national high
- 49:01level sin or atonement. On the Day of Atonement, they
- 49:06symbolized power. Bolsted symbolized power,
- 49:11prosperity and authority, representing the best the
- 49:14worshipper had to offer. The large volume of blood from a
- 49:18bowl was used to sanctify the altar in the Tabernacle,
- 49:22purifying them from the contamination of sin.
- 49:27The laying of hands on the bull's head represented the
- 49:32transfer of sins from the people to the animal.
- 49:38Bulls were used in the ordination of priest and the
- 49:42dedication of the temple, symbolizing total consecration
- 49:47and devotion to God. The use of an unblemished bull
- 49:53highlighted the need for perfection in bringing offerings
- 49:58to God. So then blood was also used for
- 50:05anointing. So I just want to bring this up
- 50:08because it's another interesting thing to think about and to know
- 50:12from the Bible and and rituals that happened.
- 50:15So yes, blood is used for ceremonial anointing,
- 50:19purification, and consecration in biblical, particularly the
- 50:24Old Testament context. It signifies settings setting
- 50:28something apart for God. Often used alongside oil in the
- 50:33ordination of priests. You can find that in Leviticus
- 50:36chapter 8, verse 30 and cleansing rituals to symbolize
- 50:40atonement. In Leviticus 830, Moses used
- 50:44blood from the sacrifice and anointing oil to consecrate
- 50:48Aaron and his sons, applying it to their ear, thumb, and big
- 50:54toe. Interesting process, but you
- 50:57know, procedure, like why did they do that?
- 51:00But that's what they did, their ear, thumb, and big toe.
- 51:03I'm sure there's some sort of symbolism in that as well.
- 51:08Blood was sprinkled for the cleanse for cleansing rituals
- 51:11such as those for lepers or in the Day of Atonement signifying
- 51:18the cleansing of sins. Exodus 24 eight describes blood
- 51:23being sprinkled on the people to seal the covenant, with God
- 51:27acting as a blood community setting them apart.
- 51:31That's a covenant marking protection.
- 51:33The blood on the doorpost during the Passover served as a sign of
- 51:37protection. It kept the first borns from
- 51:40being killed by the Angel of death who passed over.
- 51:44That's why they passed over their door.
- 51:47New Testament Shift In the New Testament, physical blood is
- 51:50replaced by the metaphorical or spiritual application of
- 51:53Christ's blood for cleansing, which is seen as bringing about
- 51:59a new internal and spiritual anointing.
- 52:03While oil represents the Holy Spirit's empowerment, blood
- 52:08specifically represents atonement and purification.
- 52:14So again, that brings out the point that, you know, no one can
- 52:19come to the Father except through me.
- 52:20That's what Jesus said, and it's through Jesus's death, his on
- 52:27the cross, the blood he shed, and his resurrection.
- 52:30He defeated death. That's how we are able to have
- 52:34eternal life with the Father. So then I got into a deep dive
- 52:43with the symbology from Daniel's dreams.
- 52:47And I don't know if really we have a lot of time to go into
- 52:52that, but it's very interesting, like all these visions.
- 52:56So like I said, my study Bible has this really great
- 52:59identification of the four kingdoms.
- 53:02So Daniel had a dream first of all with Nebuchadnezzar statue,
- 53:07but it seems like it it sidelines, it turns into these
- 53:11different empires that ultimately represent the four
- 53:15beasts. And it shows the parallel in my
- 53:18study Bible. So I wish I could show that to
- 53:20you, but I can't. So in, in chapter 2, Chapter 7,
- 53:27chapter 8 of the book of Daniel, those are good ones to compare
- 53:32side by side and look at each one of the entities that Daniel
- 53:36sees. And, and it ultimately appears
- 53:41like there's these, this could be these 4 horns perhaps, but I
- 53:46don't know if they, if these are the four horns or not.
- 53:48Because what happened was Assyria had already conquered
- 53:54the northern Kingdom of Israel. So when Daniel got this vision,
- 53:59Assyria had already done that. So what God was showing him was
- 54:03the next 4 kingdoms to come. And he was it, well, the
- 54:08Babylonian Kingdom. I mean that that came.
- 54:11So that was the the empire and it was Daniel's present time
- 54:16when he was getting these dreams.
- 54:18But then after that, which you know was the Babylonian, is
- 54:21modern day Iraq. Then after that came the Medes
- 54:24and the Persians, which are like modern day Iran.
- 54:29And then after that a lot of Bible studies say Greece and
- 54:34that is true and it's about the Mediterranean.
- 54:38But what they don't often say is they don't associate it with
- 54:43Turkey because Turkey, I think it's Anatolia, They they're,
- 54:50it's very much connected with Turkey, I think almost more so
- 54:55than with Greece. And I'll get into a little bit
- 54:58of that as I get to the subsequent tabs.
- 55:01But that 3rd beast, which is we're going to see how Turkey is
- 55:06connected like with the leopard, how Turkey is connected with the
- 55:10goat. These are from different
- 55:11visions. That he had.
- 55:13And how Turkey was part of that Grecian empire, which was
- 55:18actually called Yavon. If you look up in the Hebrew,
- 55:23it's either spelled Jav ANRYAVEN, but it it represented
- 55:33like the basically Turkey and Greece in a little bit more area
- 55:38of the ancient land and then the 4th Kingdom.
- 55:41A lot of study Bible studies call it the Roman Kingdom and it
- 55:47just shows like when, you know, Rome kind of started to rule in
- 55:51a sense, I guess 146 BC and that that that continues and is part
- 55:59of the the final Kingdom that will be reigning.
- 56:02And that's, that's really interesting theory.
- 56:07But this last beast, the way that I understand it from
- 56:11studying these are, is that that beast comes up in the end times
- 56:18and it's made of 10 different kings who don't really have a
- 56:22Kingdom, 10 different rulers who don't have a Kingdom, but they
- 56:25are given a Kingdom for a very short while.
- 56:28And so I don't, you know, there's some discrepancies here
- 56:33and we could probably spend all day talking about all the
- 56:35different theories that everyone has on these entities.
- 56:38But when the symbolism is really interesting because I, you know,
- 56:44like in Daniel Chapter 7, it talks about the lion in in that
- 56:52vision. And then the empire that's
- 56:54associated with that was the Babylonian, which is modern day
- 56:57Iraq. So I was just curious, I was
- 56:59like, is Iraq associated with a lion?
- 57:01And it says Iraq is strongly associated with the lion,
- 57:05specifically the Lion of Babylon, a 2600 year old stone
- 57:11statue found in the ancient city symbolizing strength and
- 57:16royalty. Historically, lions represented
- 57:19Mesopotamian kingship, and the Iraqi National Football team is
- 57:23nicknamed the Lions of Mesopotamia.
- 57:27So that's really interesting. That goes back to Daniel Chapter
- 57:307 and the vision he had with the lion, which represented the
- 57:34empire of Babylon, which is located in modern day Iraq.
- 57:40So then the next animal that was in Daniel's vision in Chapter 7
- 57:47was a bear. And so I've heard so many
- 57:52different thoughts about the bear, but I wanted to see like
- 57:58is is Medes associated with a bear?
- 58:02And it says yes. And by, well, yes.
- 58:04In Bible prophecy, specifically Daniel 75, the Medio Persian
- 58:08Empire is symbolized by a bear with three ribs in his mouth.
- 58:13And it furthermore says the bear represents combined powerful and
- 58:17predatory nature of the Medes and Persians, while the three
- 58:20ribs represent the major territories of Babylon, Lydia
- 58:25and Egypt conquered by them. That's a good theory.
- 58:29But you know, again, that's somebody's interpretation.
- 58:32It's Bible hermeneutics is where that comes from.
- 58:36But it, you know, we can take that lightly because it is an
- 58:39interpretation of the Bible, but it does kind of make sense.
- 58:42And it says that's the only way that it really shows that that
- 58:46is tied to now Lydia is actually in Turkey.
- 58:51So it the territory of basically, let's talk about
- 58:55modern day nations that this that the Persian Empire, Iran
- 59:03would you know, the the geographical location.
- 59:07So it's Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. So you're going to see a lot of
- 59:11similar countries when you get away from the biblical ancient
- 59:14names and you put modern names in there, you're going to see
- 59:17some patterns. That's the only one reason why I
- 59:20bring that up. So then the the third envision
- 59:27in Daniel's vision in Chapter 7, he sees a leopard that's
- 59:31compared to a goat in chapter 8. And this is, you know, I was
- 59:37like, is the goat symbolically associated with Syria, Turkey,
- 59:42Iraq and Iran? I was just curious and really it
- 59:46should be like, is it is it really significant with Turkey?
- 59:50So this was interesting. So in Zaza Alivi tradition,
- 59:57mountain goats are considered sacred, often viewed as
- 1:00:02companions of Saints or divine beings that protected the
- 1:00:06community. So there's just a lot of
- 1:00:10symbolism about goats and and it's not a good thing.
- 1:00:15I mean, like in in the occult practices like the goats, not
- 1:00:19necessarily a good thing. And.
- 1:00:23There's like the bull. The bull is another thing that
- 1:00:27is featured in occult demonology and ancient cults.
- 1:00:36The bull was deeply ingrained in ancient religious practices such
- 1:00:40as the Egyptian APIs bull which which embodied gods like TA.
- 1:00:45Whatever. However, you say that so the the
- 1:00:49bull is a strong archetype for primal untamed forces often
- 1:00:54explored in a cult, Pagan and mythological studies.
- 1:00:58So I'm not going to get into a whole lot of detail about that.
- 1:01:01But in ancient Mesopotamia, there was a quote bull man,
- 1:01:06that's that's pictured. And then you get into mythology
- 1:01:10and there's. A lot of bulls that are there.
- 1:01:13And then there's the goat. It was the Baphomet, which is
- 1:01:17the primary symbol of the occult.
- 1:01:19And there's, you know, there's just like all these.
- 1:01:23It's interesting to me again that these were the, the animals
- 1:01:28that were used as sacrifices, the bull, the ram, the goat.
- 1:01:36And these are things that all, like, have significance in
- 1:01:40occult practices. So like, does the ram represent
- 1:01:43the occult? The ram symbolizes the occult
- 1:01:46primarily through its historical association with ancient
- 1:01:49deities, fertility and power, which were later adapted into
- 1:01:53esoteric symbolism. But you see these people, like
- 1:01:56today that, you know, will have these, like, curved ram horns on
- 1:02:01their heads. You know, I've seen that like in
- 1:02:03parades and things and and it's again, it's very occultish.
- 1:02:08There was like a Europe, a European parade recently that
- 1:02:12within the last few years that had some really strange like a
- 1:02:15cult looking things and people were like, you know, almost
- 1:02:18worshipping and that. So then getting back to the land
- 1:02:22of Turkey in the Book of Revelation in chapter 2, I found
- 1:02:28it interesting that Pergamum is in in Turkey.
- 1:02:31In fact, all of the churches that are referenced in the first
- 1:02:36few chapters of the Book of Revelation, their historical
- 1:02:39location was in Turkey. Is that significant?
- 1:02:43You know, that's something that we can all determine.
- 1:02:46But specifically in chapter 2 in the Book of Revelation, it talks
- 1:02:50about to the church in Pergamum in verse 13, it says, I know
- 1:02:55where you live, where Satan has his throne, yet you remain true
- 1:03:00to my name. You did not renounce your faith
- 1:03:03in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who
- 1:03:07was put to death in your city where Satan lives.
- 1:03:10So this is like twice it, you know it it, it calls out
- 1:03:14Pergamum where Satan lives. I have no idea why, but that's
- 1:03:19what the Bible tells us. And that is in Turkey.
- 1:03:23So I just find that interesting. It's in Bergama, Turkey.
- 1:03:30That's where it is. The ancient city of Pergamum is
- 1:03:33in Bergama, Turkey. It's in the western Anatolia.
- 1:03:40And this is part of that Grecian that Yevon that we were talking
- 1:03:44about, that third Kingdom. So it's you just you start
- 1:03:48finding these things. You know, in, in his, in
- 1:03:54Daniel's vision in Chapter 7, he talks about a lion, which we
- 1:03:58said, you know, does have ties to Iraq in Babylon.
- 1:04:03You know that it's, it's featured very prominently.
- 1:04:07The bear, the ram does have ties to Iran.
- 1:04:11The leopard, the goat, they, they have ties to Turkey.
- 1:04:16And that's like the third beast, you know, Greece and Turkey.
- 1:04:22And then the 4th 1 was very different.
- 1:04:24So it's made-up of a lot of different, different kings that
- 1:04:29we will see and it rises up at the very end.
- 1:04:32So let's see what else did I I was looking at the colors of the
- 1:04:36horses. Somebody is made.
- 1:04:40I don't, I think I'm just going to skip over that.
- 1:04:42There's, there's certainly lots of different theories about the
- 1:04:45colors that are used in the, the horses that go out, the spirits
- 1:04:53that are red, white, green and black.
- 1:04:57So just very interesting and there's some symbolism.
- 1:05:02Certainly there is and kind of relates to Iran too.
- 1:05:08So you can do your own search on that.
- 1:05:11And, and I think I did just a little bit more searching, which
- 1:05:20really doesn't, doesn't prove anything, but so I'm not going
- 1:05:26to. I, I was thinking about, I was
- 1:05:28trying to figure out what all these different horns were.
- 1:05:35And there's other groupings of four that I looked into, such as
- 1:05:41like the eagle, the ox, and then you have the bull.
- 1:05:46So they're they're just like, it doesn't really matter.
- 1:05:50It was just just out of curiosity looking up these
- 1:05:53things and I'm I'm just clicking through right now.
- 1:05:58Oh. What nation is associated with
- 1:06:00the goat in the Bible? In the Bible, the goat is
- 1:06:03primarily associated with the Greek Empire, Macedonia
- 1:06:06specifically under Alexander the Great as a great symbol of speed
- 1:06:10and power in Daniel 8. But as I said, if you look up in
- 1:06:16the Bible, it's Yevon and it is that Mediterranean area.
- 1:06:21So Greece is a part of it, but it's also Turkey.
- 1:06:25So I just find I think Turkey's going to play a very significant
- 1:06:29role in this last, the final reigning beast from the Book of
- 1:06:36Revelation. And so I, yeah, I looked up the
- 1:06:42RAM and it's tied to, you know, media and Persia.
- 1:06:46So there's, and then the other thing is, OK, so I looked up the
- 1:06:51leopard. I think there is some importance
- 1:06:53to this because, you know, we have this third Kingdom or the
- 1:06:56third beast that was seen and it's described as a leopard in
- 1:07:02Chapter 7, a goat in Chapter 8 of Daniel.
- 1:07:06And then it's in my study Bible called Grecian.
- 1:07:08But like I said, I think it's Greece and Turkey.
- 1:07:11So here's the interesting thing. The leopard is a significant
- 1:07:15symbol of ancient Anatolian or modern day Turkey culture,
- 1:07:21particularly in Neolithic times around 6000 to 8000 BCE,
- 1:07:26representing power, protection and divinity.
- 1:07:31It is found in artifacts like the goddess on the throne from I
- 1:07:35can't pronounce the name and 12,000 year old statues from
- 1:07:41Carahente I can't pronounce that either.
- 1:07:44But the point is it's been around for a long time and
- 1:07:48somehow it's it's connected to Turkey.
- 1:07:52And then I thought the same thing.
- 1:07:54I thought, well, is the leopard symbolic of Greece?
- 1:07:57The leopard is not a national symbol of modern Greece, but in
- 1:08:01Bible prophecy, Daniel 7, it represents the rapid four part
- 1:08:04division of Alexander the Great's Greek empire.
- 1:08:07In Greek mythology, it is associated with Dionysus, which
- 1:08:10is also depicted riding a Panther or wearing its skin.
- 1:08:15So this says, you know, no, it's not really related to Greece,
- 1:08:19but again, because this ancient territory of Yevon or Javon,
- 1:08:24Javon covered the Mediterranean and Turkey, somehow Bible
- 1:08:30scholars zeroed in on Greece rather than on Turkey.
- 1:08:36And so I guess I wanted to point that out because I think Turkey
- 1:08:40may factor in here pretty significantly and because of
- 1:08:47multiple other places within the Bible.
- 1:08:53So I, I just searched, you know, what modern countries represent
- 1:08:59the land of ancient Greece. Ancient Greece primarily
- 1:09:02encompassed modern day Greece and the western coast of Turkey,
- 1:09:07ancient Ionia. Now, what's really interesting
- 1:09:10is the Ionians had Apollo was their God.
- 1:09:17And in the Book of Revelation, it says this Angel comes down
- 1:09:22and opens up the abyss and they have the head over the the
- 1:09:27abyss. I said, is this Angel of
- 1:09:29destruction called Apollyon. So I thought that was kind of
- 1:09:35interesting. You know, it's like there's all
- 1:09:37these things that seem to be pointing to Turkey in some
- 1:09:41manner, the western coast, ancient Ionia perhaps, and that
- 1:09:49is about the destroyer and that's what that last beast
- 1:09:53happens to happens. So let's see, there's something,
- 1:10:02I don't know if I need to read that because we talked about
- 1:10:07Egypt and then there was the number four that I looked up and
- 1:10:14about bowls being. Sacrificed in the Passover lamb
- 1:10:17sacrifice. The the Passover lamb is really
- 1:10:22significant. I mean, I didn't know like all
- 1:10:23of these details. I might just read it because you
- 1:10:26know, the next season that we're going to be getting into will be
- 1:10:29Passover and will be Easter for Christians.
- 1:10:31And it's there's a lot of. Significance to the Passover,
- 1:10:35it's all about Jesus. And so I'm going to read some of
- 1:10:39the things that it says, you know, the Passover lamb
- 1:10:41sacrifice process. So the Passover lamb sacrifice
- 1:10:45involves selecting an unblemished one year old male
- 1:10:48lamb or kid on the 10th of Nissan and slaughtering it on
- 1:10:53the 14th at twilight. The blood was collected by the
- 1:10:57priest in silver slash gold basins and sprinkled on the
- 1:11:00altar while the families roasted the lamb whole without breaking
- 1:11:06bones to eat the bitter herbs and unleavened bread.
- 1:11:10So lot of symbolism here. So Jesus is described in the
- 1:11:15Book of Revelation as the Lamb and he was unblemished.
- 1:11:19He was sinless. The lamb here is unblemished.
- 1:11:24Then the oh, Jesus's death on the cross was actually at
- 1:11:30Passover. So even the timing of the
- 1:11:33Passover happened at the timing of Jesus's death.
- 1:11:36I mean this was all pointing to Jesus and then his blood is what
- 1:11:44tones for our sin and it says without breaking bones.
- 1:11:50That's the description in here. And this is like Jesus.
- 1:11:56He didn't have his bones broken on the cross.
- 1:11:58The when they did crucifixion, I think the last thing they would
- 1:12:02do is the soldiers would go around and break the bones.
- 1:12:05But instead, just to fulfill God's word, instead Jesus had a
- 1:12:11spear. The the soldier put a spear into
- 1:12:15Jesus aside and blood and water came out from it.
- 1:12:17They didn't break his bones. And that's also a fulfillment of
- 1:12:22prophecy that's found in the Psalms and I can't remember.
- 1:12:25It was about like no broken bones or they did not break your
- 1:12:27bones when then it talks about dividing up his clothes and
- 1:12:30things like that. There's a Psalm that really
- 1:12:33depicts the crucifixion scene And and that's what Jesus is
- 1:12:41quoting when he said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
- 1:12:44He's quoting Psalm, a Psalm from the from the Bible and are from
- 1:12:52ancient scripture and you know, people.
- 1:12:55It's it's very interesting to know that because Jesus also
- 1:13:00said that I didn't come to change anything that the prophet
- 1:13:04said or that was written in Scripture.
- 1:13:06I just came to fulfill it. So he's, he was fulfilling it
- 1:13:10when he was saying the, this, the words of the Psalms.
- 1:13:14So it was a perfect, OK, getting back to the sacrifice process,
- 1:13:20it was a perfect male lamb or kid was chosen and observed for
- 1:13:23three days to ensure it was without blemish.
- 1:13:29Christ's death and resurrection was like a three day process.
- 1:13:33And so again, it's just like there's so many like quote
- 1:13:36coincidences that aren't the slaughter took place in the
- 1:13:40afternoon, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM on the 14th day of Nissan.
- 1:13:44Jesus was on the cross at that time, which is, you know, again,
- 1:13:49not a coincidence, but it's the fulfillment like all of these
- 1:13:54things pointed to Jesus. Let's see there, you know, so
- 1:13:59the number of three the ritual temple period worshippers
- 1:14:02slaughtered the lambs in the temple courtyard in three
- 1:14:04consecutive ways. Waves priest blood ritual,
- 1:14:09priesthood and rose, catching the blood in basins and passing
- 1:14:13them to the altar to be poured out at the base like Jesus's
- 1:14:17blood was poured out of his side at the cross, you know, at the
- 1:14:22the landed at the base of the cross.
- 1:14:25Preparation and cooking. The lamb was skinned and the
- 1:14:27entrails and fat were removed. Fat portions were burned on the
- 1:14:30altar. The meat was roasted whole on a
- 1:14:34spit, traditionally pomegranate wood and eaten that night.
- 1:14:40Jesus was I mean, his body was abused.
- 1:14:43He was they, they, he was tortured.
- 1:14:47I mean, his, his flesh was like torn from the, I forgot what
- 1:14:51they called it, the flogging that the Romans did, the
- 1:14:55soldiers did to him. So it was almost like he was
- 1:14:59almost like a piece of meat the way he was treated.
- 1:15:04Think about that. That's the Son of God who is
- 1:15:06sacrificing his own life. For all of us.
- 1:15:09That he went through that. I mean, it hits hard when you
- 1:15:13think about it that way. And this was also symbolic of
- 1:15:19the original Passover in Egypt where the blood was applied, The
- 1:15:23blood of the lamb was applied to the doorpost in the lentil of
- 1:15:26the homes to protect the inhabitants.
- 1:15:28So that's what Jesus did for us. He protects us from eternal
- 1:15:34separation from God. And so I'm going to move on.
- 1:15:46I think I talked about some of these things, so I'm not, I'm
- 1:15:49not going to. There's a lot more that I looked
- 1:15:51up, but I don't think I need to talk about all those things.
- 1:15:56But this, this whole, I think I talked about that too.
- 1:16:05So, yeah, Egypt in total is going to be desolate for 40
- 1:16:11years. And I here's what I think, OK,
- 1:16:17There's just search In Daniel Chapter 11, it talks about the
- 1:16:23kings of the South and the king of the north.
- 1:16:26And it's the king of the north. And so it doesn't, you know, all
- 1:16:32we know is is the king of the north and he's going to conquer.
- 1:16:35He's going to invade Israel. Many countries will fall, but
- 1:16:40Edom, Moab and the leaders of Amman would be delivered from
- 1:16:43his hands. It's like the area of Jordan is
- 1:16:45going to be delivered and he extends his power over many
- 1:16:49countries and says Egypt will not escape.
- 1:16:53So we know that Egypt is still functioning at that time.
- 1:16:57So Egypt has to be present when this is what I believe.
- 1:17:02This king of the north is actually the Antichrist and and
- 1:17:10so when he takes over, maybe he takes over by war and he
- 1:17:15destroys Egypt because I don't know when Egypt has ever been
- 1:17:19desolate for 40 years. So it'll be interesting to see
- 1:17:24how this all unfolds. But I think just something to
- 1:17:27watch, you know, you know, pay attention to anything that
- 1:17:29involves Egypt coming up and it could it could hold true.
- 1:17:36So I think I've covered now everything that I was going to
- 1:17:39talk about, but I know I didn't read all of the questions and
- 1:17:42answers from the study Bible. It's already been long.
- 1:17:45So I will you can either tune, stay tuned in or or come back
- 1:17:51some other time. But I'll read through the
- 1:17:54questions for chapter 1. So how did the word of the Lord
- 1:17:57come to Zechariah? We don't know for sure.
- 1:17:59Perhaps it came through a vision, an Angel, or an audible
- 1:18:05voice. What had made God angry?
- 1:18:08God had been angry with the ancestors of his chosen people
- 1:18:11because of their unfaithfulness and disobedience.
- 1:18:14So he sent the Assyrians and the Babylonians against his people
- 1:18:18to punish them. But Assyria and Babylon, the
- 1:18:20nations that felt secure, had gone too far, both in their
- 1:18:24brutality and by trying to destroy Israel as a people.
- 1:18:27So God became very angry. We should not assume from this
- 1:18:31that God's anger is vindictive or gets out of control.
- 1:18:34His anger, like everything else about Him, is holy and is never
- 1:18:38divorced from His grace. How do we return to God?
- 1:18:43This is another way of saying repent.
- 1:18:45To repent means more than simply being sorry.
- 1:18:49Sometimes we are sorry only because we've been caught or
- 1:18:53because we dislike the painful consequences of our actions.
- 1:18:57True repentance is the result of godly sorrow and produces a
- 1:19:02change of mind that leads to a change of behavior.
- 1:19:10What is the month of Shabbat? This is the 11th month in the
- 1:19:13Hebrew lunar calendar, corresponding to our January or
- 1:19:17February. It is a vision at night, the
- 1:19:19same thing as a dream. A night vision is not
- 1:19:23necessarily the same thing as a dream, but it may take place in
- 1:19:27a dream. It is a.
- 1:19:29Supernatural revelation, message, or insight communicated
- 1:19:33through images seen only within a person's mind or spirit.
- 1:19:38The pictures seen in a vision may illustrate spiritual truths
- 1:19:43or future events. Who was the man on the red
- 1:19:46Horse? He was an Angel in human form.
- 1:19:50Some say any Angel, others say the Angel of the Lord, and still
- 1:19:56others say the Archangel Michael.
- 1:19:59How had the nations went too far with the punishments?
- 1:20:02God had used Assyria and Babylon to punish Israel, but those
- 1:20:05nations soon felt God's anger too, because they had treated
- 1:20:09Israel with extreme cruelty. Their cruelty to Israel stirred
- 1:20:13God's jealous love for Israel. So God would again turn his
- 1:20:17mercy and favor favor toward Israel.
- 1:20:21Do ancient visions have any meaning for us today?
- 1:20:24Yes, because these visions were revelations from God.
- 1:20:29There are two ways they can benefit Christians today, even
- 1:20:32though we are not the original recipients.
- 1:20:35First, we can observe what the results of the visions were for
- 1:20:38the people who originally received them.
- 1:20:40As the people were inspired or challenged, we too can be.
- 1:20:44Second, many ancient visions contained revelations from God
- 1:20:47that transcended immediate circumstances.
- 1:20:50Prophecy about a coming glorious age, for example, was understood
- 1:20:54by the original listeners to mean a prosperous.
- 1:20:57Future for. Israel but may, but it may also
- 1:21:00refer to God's eternal plan for his people and is thus relevant
- 1:21:05to us today. How did God intend to choose
- 1:21:09Jerusalem? Some say the language here and
- 1:21:12in chapter 2 is symbolic of God's spiritual blessings for
- 1:21:15His people, since Jerusalem never attained its former glory.
- 1:21:20Others suggest this language hints at future eternal
- 1:21:24blessings for all those who follow the Lord.
- 1:21:29After Israel's dismal failure to keep the covenant, God
- 1:21:33reaffirmed his calling and promised his blessing.
- 1:21:38And then who were the Craftsman? These Craftsman, probably
- 1:21:41metalsmiths, referred the nations whose task it was to
- 1:21:44terrify and defeat the horns of verses 18 through 19.
- 1:21:48Perhaps Zechariah was thinking of the skill they would use in
- 1:21:51performing their violent activities.
- 1:21:52More likely, he was completing his analogy.
- 1:21:55Skilled Craftsman could remove the horns God planned to remove.
- 1:22:00The power of those who had terrorized his people.
- 1:22:05So that concludes chapter one from the book of Zechariah.
- 1:22:09If you're not subscribed, please do so and hope you come back for
- 1:22:14chapter 2.