September 13
Zechariah 9:1-14:21
No one who knows the stories in the gospels wants to be Judas. I’m sure Judas, when he was young and especially when he began to follow Jesus never imagined his life would end up like it did. His problem was that he became disillusioned when his vision of what the Messiah was to do did not match up with what Jesus was doing. We should never elevate our theological thoughts over God’s word. Many who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, as I do, set their eyes every year on Rosh Hashanah or the Festival of Trumpets as the time when Jesus will come back to rapture His church (1Thessalonians 4:13-18). This date is chosen since in 4:16 it states that the rapture will occur with the blast of the trumpet. It is also considered the day since Jesus fulfilled the four Jewish spring feasts (Passover, Unleavened bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost) at the time of His first coming and this is the next prophetic event and Rosh Hashanah is the next feast in the Jewish calendar. This all makes sense, except that Jesus, Himself states that no one is to know the date or hour of His return, only His Father (Matthew 24:36). Some have countered with the Jewish New Year is not declared until the new moon is actually seen, which is unknown. But I have a few problems with the choosing of this date (I may be incorrect, just my thoughts). The Jewish feasts are particular for the Jewish people. They served as dress rehearsals for their future fulfillment in Jesus. The Jewish people were all familiar with these days, much as the church is familiar with Christmas and Easter. The rapture of the church is not a Jewish event, but largely represents the Gentile Church being taken up, representing the end of the “time of the Gentiles”. The church has been guilty in the past with inserting itself where it doesn’t belong, in Reformed Theology, where many of the future promises to Israel were erased by theologians and the word church was inserted. This all being said, I do believe the rapture will occur before the tribulation and it seems sooner than ever, but I’m not looking for a particular date. I do believe after the rapture, when the Gentile believers are removed, and we enter the “time of Jacob’s trouble”, also known as the tribulation, which will represent a time of unprecedented Jewish acceptance of their Messiah, Jesus, and yes, at this time the fall feasts (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Feast of Tabernacles) will be fulfilled.
There is incredible prophecy in the book of Zechariah concerning both the first and second coming of Jesus. In fact, this is the minor prophet quoted most commonly in the New Testament. We read in Zechariah 11:10-13, “ Then I took my staff called Favor and cut it in two, showing that I had revoked the covenant I had made with all the nations. That was the end of my covenant with them. The suffering flock was watching me, and they knew that the Lord was speaking through my actions. And I said to them, “If you like, give me my wages, whatever I am worth; but only if you want to.” So they counted out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—this magnificent sum at which they valued me! So I took the thirty coins and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord.” This was fulfilled precisely by Jesus and the actions of Judas. The New Covenant was ushered in upon the crucifixion, death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the staff called “Favor” or “Beauty”. The rest of this prophecy is almost word for word what transpired with Judas (Matthew 27:3-10).
So why did Judas become Judas. How did this follower of Jesus become the traitor and enemy in the gospel story? We read in John 6:15, after feeding the five thousand, “ When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself.” Judas was waiting for the second coming Jesus, the conquering King, who will rule and reign from Jerusalem and subdue all enemies. That was not His purpose at His first coming. It was salvation. It was the shedding of His blood, as our Suffering Servant, to enable the payment of our sins so that spending eternity in heaven, with Him, might be made possible. These prophecies were there: Psalm. 22, Isaiah 53, in addition to other places. We even read of it today in Zechariah 12:10, “ “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.” But these images of the Messiah was written off by Judas, as the images of the conquering king took center stage in his mind. May “our version” of Jesus be rooted in the entirety of Scripture. May we realize that when our vision differs from the vision of Scripture, Scripture is always right. There is nothing wrong with reading into things, we have all done this and will probably continue to do so. We simply can’t elevate these thoughts and get disillusioned as Judas did. Prophecy will indeed be fulfilled, completely according to His Word. In this we can trust. He is indeed coming.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: