They meet in apartments with the curtains drawn, or in rented rooms booked under another name, because the only churches the state will license are the ones that have agreed to place the Party ahead of the gospel. For these independent Chinese Christians, the choice is not between comfort and inconvenience. It is between a… Read more

Zechariah 14 (KJV) is the day of the LORD against the nations gathered at Jerusalem, the standing of His feet on the Mount of Olives, the reign of the LORD as king over all the earth, and the survivors coming up to keep the feast of tabernacles. The LORD is Jesus Christ, and Jerusalem and… Read more

Zechariah 13 (KJV) follows the mourning of chapter 12. A fountain is opened, idols and false prophets are removed, the shepherd is smitten, and a third part is brought through the fire. The LORD is taken as Jesus Christ, and Jerusalem, the house of David, and the land are the city and people corresponding to… Read more

Zechariah 12 (KJV) is the burden of Israel: Jerusalem becomes a burdensome stone, the nations gathered against her are struck, and the house of David mourns for the one they pierced. The LORD is taken as Jesus Christ, and Jerusalem, Judah, and the house of David are the land and people corresponding to modern Israel.… Read more

Zechariah 11 (KJV) is the burden of the flock and the acted prophecy of the two staves. The LORD is taken as Jesus Christ, and Lebanon, Bashan, and the Jordan are the northern and eastern regions adjoining the land (Lebanon, the Golan/Bashan highlands, and the Jordan valley). The thirty pieces of silver are cited by… Read more

Zechariah 10 (KJV) contrasts false diviners with the LORD’s care for Judah and Joseph, then promises a regathering from Egypt and Assyria. The LORD is Jesus Christ. Egypt remains Egypt; Assyria is the northern Mesopotamian power whose core territory corresponds to modern Iraq and adjoining Syria; Gilead is the highlands east of the Jordan (modern… Read more

Zechariah 9 (KJV) opens the second half of the book with a burden against the cities north and west of Judah, then turns to the coming of Zion’s king and the LORD’s defense of His people. The LORD is Jesus Christ. Damascus remains Damascus in Syria; Hamath is the area of Hama in Syria; Tyre… Read more

Zechariah 8 (KJV) continues the reply begun in chapter 7. It is a series of promises that the LORD will return to Zion, restore Jerusalem, and turn the fasts into feasts. The LORD of hosts is Jesus Christ, and Jerusalem, Zion, and Judah are the land and people corresponding to modern Israel. 1 Again the… Read more

Zechariah 7 (KJV) records a question about fasting sent from Bethel and the LORD’s reply. The LORD of hosts is Jesus Christ, Jerusalem and Judah as the land and people corresponding to modern Israel, and the former scattering as the work of the nations that carried them to Babylon (core territory modern Iraq). 1 And… Read more

Zechariah 6 (KJV) closes the night visions with four chariots and then records the symbolic crowning of Joshua and the prophecy of the Branch (Jesus Christ). The LORD is taken as Jesus Christ, the north country and Babylon point to the Mesopotamian territory corresponding to modern Iraq, and Jerusalem remains the land corresponding to modern… Read more

Zechariah 5 (KJV) contains two visions: a flying scroll and a woman seated in an ephah who is carried to Shinar. The LORD is taken as Jesus Christ, and Shinar/Babylon is the territory corresponding to modern Iraq. The woman called Wickedness is sometimes linked by interpreters to the later Babylon figure of Revelation 17–18. Mystery… Read more

Zechariah functions as the Old Testament counterpart to Revelation. Both books are apocalyptic visions given through an interpreting angel, packed with recurring symbols found almost nowhere else. Zechariah 4 (KJV) is the vision of the golden lampstand and the two olive trees. Revelation 11:4 directly identifies the two witnesses as “the two olive trees, and… Read more

Zechariah functions as the Old Testament counterpart to Revelation. Both books are apocalyptic visions given through an interpreting angel, packed with recurring symbols found almost nowhere else. Zechariah 3 (KJV) is the vision of Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan accusing him. The LORD and the angel of… Read more

Zechariah functions as the Old Testament counterpart to Revelation. Both books are apocalyptic visions given through an interpreting angel, packed with recurring symbols found almost nowhere else. Zechariah 2 1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Zechariah sees a man holding a… Read more

Zechariah functions as the Old Testament counterpart to Revelation. Both books are apocalyptic visions given through an interpreting angel, packed with recurring symbols found almost nowhere else: colored horses patrolling the earth, four horns and opposing craftsmen, a measuring line over Jerusalem, a golden lampstand fed by two olive trees, seven eyes, flying scrolls, and… Read more

There is a moment in almost every public argument about faith when the words stop landing. A citation is read aloud. The verse is clear. The hearer does not receive it. He relocates it, renames it, or asks what it has to do with the topic. The speaker repeats the sentence. The hearer repeats the… Read more