ZECHARIAH
Who is Zechariah?
•He is the contemporary of Haggai
•When Haggai’s ministry ended,
Zechariah came in to replace Haggai
•Zechariah was a priest
The Book of Zechariah
• It is considered as a very difficult book
• It is poetic and prophetic book
• It contains a lot of apocalyptic visions
speaking of the future
Structure of the Book of
Zechariah
1. Chapters 1 to 8 is about the NOW (the then PRESENT
time) in Jerusalem and 8 visions.
2. Chapters 9 to 11 is about the future of the people in
Israel.
3. Chapters 12 to 14 is about the future of the world
attacking Jerusalem and we will see Jerusalem as the
capital of the world.
Chapter 1
• Zechariah scolded the Israelites and warned
them not to be like their fathers who refused to
repent.
• Verse 2 – states that the Lord was very angry
with their fathers
• Verse 4 – states that their fathers did not pay
attention to the Lord through the prophets
Vision #1 is the Vision of 4
horsemen
• This first vision is about the 4 horsemen who were news
reporters to report the condition of the world
• The report they gave was that the world was good and at
peace. This is true because King Cyrus had conquered
Babylon which was terrible and cruel.
• King Darius was a peaceful king. It was a time of peace
where people continue building things
Vision #2 is the Vision of 4 horns
• There were 4 horns sticking out of the
ground. Horns are symbols of military
power.
• Four craftsmen came and yank the
horns out (i.e. de-horned them)
However, there was no killer army
coming again.
• It was a repeat message of peace and
hence, a time to build in this window
period of peace.
Chapter 2 - Vision #3 is the Vision
of a Measuring line
• A man, with a measuring line is equivalent to a
surveyor who goes into a piece of land to
assess the area before building anything
• But Jerusalem is on a hill. There is a limit to its
expansion geographically.
• But why was there a need to expand the walls
of Jerusalem? The reason was ]that God
wanted to encourage more Jews to return
because thus far, only 50,000 Jews had
returned
Chapter 2
• Zechariah 2:8 says that whoever touches Israel
or His people, touches the apple of God’s eye
• He will protect His people just like how an
earthly father protects his children.
Chapter 3 - Vision #4 is the Vision
of the High Priest
• Joshua was the high priest. Satan accused Joshua as being
dirty in his garments and said he did not qualify to be a high
priest
• Satan is the accuser of brethren and an adversary
• God gave Joshua the new clothes.
• Zechariah 3:9 says, “God will remove all iniquities in a single
day”. This happened when Christ died on the Cross and
settled all the sins of mankind as long as they trust and
believe in Him
Chapter 4 - Vision #5 is the Vision of
the Golden Lampstand and 2 olive trees
• The Golden Lampstand is the Jewish
Menorah which is a symbol of Israel
• Zechariah, in the vision, saw a reservoir of
olive oil that kept filling the lampstand.
There was no longer a need for the priests
to keep filling the lamp in the temple.
• Oil refers to the Holy Spirit, the indwelling
of Holy Spirit in all believers.
Chapter 4 - Vision #5 is the Vision of
the Golden Lampstand and 2 olive trees
• Zechariah 4:6 was the word from God given to Zerubbabel.
a) It says, “Not by might, nor by power but by My Spirit”. The
building of the temple is by God’s help, not power of men.
b) This is also a message for Christians. We need the help of
the indwelling Holy Spirit
c) Therefore, the prophets spoke not only to the people of
their time about their real problems but also to us now
Chapter 5 - Vision #6 is the Vision
of the Flying Scroll
a) There was a massive scroll of about 10 metres x 5 metres.
b) There were curses against liars and thieves on the scroll.
c) As the scroll flew around and found liars, they would destroy the
house and ]its inhabitants.
d) This means that in the future Kingdom, we will no longer have to
worry about liars. Now on Earth, we cannot trust anyone including
pastors, spouses, etc. But in the eternal Kingdom of God, we can live in
peace. We can trust ]everyone without worrying about their motives.
Chapter 5 - Vision #7 is the Vision
of a Woman in a Basket
a) A basket is for the gathering of agricultural crops
typically.
b) The woman in the basket was named “wickedness”.
The woman was a personification of sin. The angel
quickly closed the lid to keep the woman inside.
c) Then 2 other women with wings of a bird, carried the
basket to Shinar in the Babylon plains and dumped it
there.
d) This is a picture of all the sins of the world which will
be dumped into Babylon. One day, sin will become
history. We will live in the Kingdom of God without sin.
Chapter 6 - Vision #8 is the Vision
of four Chariots
a) This is the last vision in this book of
Zechariah.
b) Chariots speak about war. The chariots
were described as being very powerful.
c) The 4 chariots went out to the four
corners of Earth. The will of God will be
done. God will be in control.
Chapter 6 • Three exiles came back to
Jerusalem, bringing silver and gold
contributed by the rich Jews who
were still in exile and did not come
back to Jerusalem.
• But the gold was made into a crown
and placed on Joshua’s head. This is
weird considering that Joshua was
not the king but only the high
priest. Zerubbabel was the king at
that time
Chapter 6 • This has never happened before except
once when Melchizedek was both king
and priest (during Abraham’s time).
• Melchizedek was the King of Salem
(Jerusalem) which also means King of
Peace. Melchizedek was also a priest.
• This is a fore-type of Jesus Christ who is
also both King and Priest.
• This vision of Joshua (as a high priest)
being crowned is preparing the people to
know that one day, the High Priest and
King will be One same person, that is
Jesus
Chapter 7
• They wondered if they should still fast to commemorate the fall of
Jerusalem since they were already back in Jerusalem and the temple
had been built and completed.
• Zechariah responded according to the word of the LORD:
The purpose of fasting is not just to put away food but to put away
sin in your life
But that when we fast, we will be reminded that we love food and
we love sin.
Fasting is to put away both food AND sin.
Chapter 7
• Zechariah 7:8-10 says that they should show kindness to widows and
orphans.
a) So, do not worry about what food not to eat, what time to avoid
food but do not do sinful things and do only what is good.
b) It is not how much we bring to God as an offering or how often we
fast that matters to God but how we live our lives every day.
c) It is about whether a person is a faithful Christian who looks after his
employees.
Chapter 8
This chapter is about the peace and prosperity of
Jerusalem. It is about the then present Jerusalem with
better walls but more so, about the eternal city, the
New Jerusalem.
Chapter 9
• Zechariah 9:1-8 say that enemies like the Philistines etc. will never
trouble Israel again in the future.
• Zechariah 9:9
This verse is about Jesus coming on a donkey to Jerusalem.
It is about Jesus’ First Coming as the Suffering King on a peace
mission.
Donkey speaks of a peace mission, not a war mission unlike Jesus
coming on a horse in His Second Coming.
Chapter 9
• Zechariah 9:9
Jews, like Christians, hear what they like to hear and see what they
like to see. We practice selective hearing to suit ourselves. We
mentally ignore or think itis our neighbour who needs that
warning and not us.
Chapter 10
1. This chapter is about the regathering of the Jews.
2. Currently, there is a Jewish diaspora which means the
dispersion of Jews out of their homeland.
3. In 1948, the beginning of regathering happened when Israel
became a nation again but 90% of the Jews today still live
outside of Israel.
4. But one day all Jews will all go home to Israel as
prophesized in this Chapter 10
Chapter 11
1. Zechariah 11:1-3. These verses speak about the
deforestation of the surrounding nations.
2. Zechariah 11:4-17 speak of worthless shepherds. In
verse 17, the “Woe” is a curse. God hates shepherds
that are worthless.
Worthless pastors are not the same as bad or evil
pastors. They basically do not warn, teach or comfort;
they just get paid their salary.
Chapter 12
1. The invading army here probably describes the
War of Armageddon where Israel will be attacked.
2. Zechariah 12:10 says that Israel will cry out to
the Lord and they will mourn for the Messiah
whom they had crucified, whom they rejected for
2000 years.
Chapter 13
Zechariah 13:2-6.
a) God hates the false prophets. The prophecy says that no one will
dare to claim he is a prophet anymore. Parent will deny sons who claim
to be prophets when that time comes.
b) The worst enemies of Israel were not the Assyrians or Babylonians
but the false prophets who led the Jews astray. Similarly, there are
worthless pastors who lead their sheep astray. God will deal with them.
Chapter 14
1. This chapter describes the Day of the Lord.
2. It is similar to Chapter 12 which describes the great battle and it was
also described in the book of Revelation.
3. Zechariah 14:4 says Jesus will land with His feet on Mt Olives just like
how He ascended from there and Mt Olives will split into 2 parts. There
will be universal worship of Jesus Christ.
4. Zechariah 14:21 seems to be a strange ending, saying that every
cooking pot in Jerusalem will be used to cook sacrifices to God. This is
because this verse is not the real ending; the real ending is the book of
Revelation.
What have we learned from the
Book of Zechariah?
• God did not make the book of Zechariah clear because
God did not want us to spend time to examine all
details of the future but instead to be faithful in the
present
• So, we should NOT keep trying to decipher
prophecies like scholars but to live well in the present
days. The future is in God’s hand. We just need to be
sure we will be there with Him
What have we learned from the
Book of Zechariah?
• Today, we are to make disciples and help the poor. We have
work to do. We havelimited time. It is NOT about showing off
our knowledge about the future
• We are NOT saved just for heaven but saved to be Christ-like
and to shine for Him now. The future is in His hand but every
moment of the present is in our hands. Be faithful today.
Know just enough of the prophecies to give you peace.
Therefore, Zechariah is a confusing book because God
designed it that way.
