BLOG

Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 34

Zechariah 12:6 says,

⁶ In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.

The clans of Judah, from God’s perspective, are not those who are genealogical Jews but who truly praise God by receiving heart circumcision (Romans 2:28, 29). In the same way, “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel, nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants” (Romans 9:6).

Paul tells us in Romans 11:2 that even though God divorced Israel and sent her out of His house, “God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.” He proves this by pointing to the remnant of grace, which was never cast out. In Elijah’s day these numbered 7,000 (Romans 11:4). These were the true Israelites among the millions of biological Israelites. Paul refers to them as “those who were chosen” (Romans 11:7).

In the law, Israelites could be “cut off from among his people” (lose his citizenship) if they violated the laws of sacrifice and refused to repent (Leviticus 17:4). When the biological Judahites sacrificed Jesus on the cross, they refused to apply His blood to the altar of their hearts, as commanded in Leviticus 17:5, 6, and so they lost their citizenship in Judah. Only the believers retained their citizenship, and to their number was added many from other ethnicities according to the provision given to them in Isaiah 56:6-8.

The Flaming Torch

So Zechariah tells us that God “will make the clans of Judah like a firepot… and a flaming torch.” This is a prophetic statement based on the law in Deuteronomy 33:2, 3 KJV,

² And he said, “The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand went a fiery law [esh dath, “fire law”] for them. ³ Yea, He loved the people; all His saints are in Thy hand; and they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words.”

When God came to Mount Sinai, He appeared as a fire. In that fire were “ten thousands of saints” who were in God’s hand. These were glorified saints, in whose hearts were written the “fiery law” (Jeremiah 31:33). How? Because “they sat down at Thy feet; every one shall receive of Thy words.” By receiving the words of God and of Christ, they manifested faith, which comes by hearing His word (Romans 10:17).

These saints contain the fire (glory) of God in their circumcised hearts. They are Israelites in the sight of God.

Zechariah focuses upon Judah in particular, promising to make them “like a firepot” (i.e., a vessel containing the fire of God) “and a flaming torch,” a light to the nations. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6, 7,

⁶ For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. ⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

The fire of God within them “will consume” all fleshly attributes by the power of the Spirit. Hence, “the inhabitants of the [heavenly] Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.” This is not a prophecy that benefits those claiming Judah citizenship who have rejected Judah’s King. Those who remain under the Old Covenant read the Scriptures through a veil (2 Corinthians 3:15), preventing them from understanding New Covenant applications of the law and the prophets.

Zechariah 12:7 explains,

⁷ The Lord also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.

It seems that God intends to “save the tents of Judah first” (the believers in general) so that the glory of New Jerusalem citizens is not “magnified above Judah.” It seems to me that the inhabitants (citizens) of the New Jerusalem point to the overcomers (Israelites) who are called to “reign with Christ” (Revelation 20:6), whereas Judah refers to believers as a whole. Those who receive the title Israel are called to rule; the rest of the believers are not.

For this reason, God gives glory to the believers (Judah) first, and this occurred on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. It is only in Christ’s second coming that the manifestation of the sons of God occurs, and where the rulers (Israelites) are given the glory that is due to them. It was important to God to give Pentecostal glory to His Judah believers first. That way, all believers are given equal opportunity to become overcomers.

Defending the New Jerusalem

When Jacob wrestled with the angel, he won by losing. By recognizing that God rules, he was given the title of Israel, “God rules.” Many Christians claim that Israel means “ruling with God,” as if to say that Jacob had defeated the angel and thus won his freedom of will. But all Hebrew names ending in -el have God doing the action. So Dr. Bullinger points out in his notes on Genesis 32:28, that “Israel = God commands, orders, or rules.”

Israel is a name given to those who truly understand the sovereignty of God. It is only those who are truly in submission to God and who are in agreement with Him who are known as Israelites in the sight of God. When Zechariah equates the Israelites (rulers) with the New Jerusalem itself, it implies that other believers, to one degree or another, still think in Old Covenant terms. Their allegiance is to the earthly Jerusalem, physical temples, Aaronic priesthoods, and animal sacrifices. Such thinking fails to give testimony to God’s sovereign right to establish the New Covenant and to make alterations accordingly.

Zechariah 12:8 says,

⁸ In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.

The angel Michael (“who is like God”) was specifically Daniel’s “prince” (Daniel 10:21). Daniel was of the house of David, so we may extrapolate that Michael was the angel of Judah. More than that, though David was from the tribe of Judah, he was more than this. In relation to King Saul before him, who was a type of the church, David was an overcomer, a true ruler who was not in rebellion against God.

Zechariah 12:9 continues,

⁹ And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

While God always raised up their enemies to destroy the corrupt earthly city, God defends the city of righteousness, that is, the heavenly city. God is not in the business of saving the earthly city which has already been condemned and brought under the divine curse. To “destroy all the nations” does not mean that all the people will be killed. The nations are our inheritance, as we read in Psalm 2:8,

⁸ Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

He does not give us this inheritance only to destroy it. In fact, in the end, both Egypt and Assyria will be blessed as God’s people (Isaiah 19:25). In that day He will be called “the God of all the earth” (Isaiah 54:5). A nation is an institution as well as a population. I believe that the nations will be incorporated in the Kingdom of Israel, ruled by the overcomers, ruled by love and true justice. In this way the institutions will be destroyed, the people of the earth will see the light of truth in those who manifest the nature of Christ.