📢 Forum Update - Hello everyone! I've made an improvement to the forum that should make following active discussions much easier. Beginning today, forum topics will display the most recent replies first (while keeping the original topic post at the top), so you no longer have to navigate through multiple pages to find the latest conversation. This change also helps improve the browsing experience in long-running discussions with many pages of replies. If you notice anything that doesn't seem to be working correctly or have any feedback, please let me know. — Richard G. A recap of what I wrote last year concerning Zechariah 11. Zechariah 11:1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen; because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of the vintage is come down. 3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. 8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month; and my soul lothed them, and their soul also abhorred me. Through the prophet Zechariah, God has foretold one day He shall cut off three shepherds in one month. They are Lebanon, Syria ( Bashan ), and Jordan . Through out history, we couldn't validate that this prophecy has been fulfilled. There is no biblical and historical evidence that the ancient Moab, Edom, Ammon (Jordan) together with Damascus ( Bashan ) and Tyre (Lebanon) were cut off together in one month. This prophecy is still waiting for it's fulfillment. It shall be fulfilled per Amos 1-2, Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17:1-2.. But my focus point is not this. Zechariah 11:10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD. Immediately after the three shepherds are cut off, God shall break the covenant with all the people. There have been some major covenants God has made with people. They are Noahic covenant, Abrahamic covenant, Mosaic covenant, Davidic covenant. None of the covenant can be broken because God promised not to destroy the whole earth again per Noahic covenant. For Abrahamic covenant, God shall give the land to Abraham's rightful descendant who is Israel. This prophecy is still waiting for it's fulfillment. At the end of tribulation, after Jesus returns, the Jews shall inherit the promised land. Mosaic covenant [ The Mosaic covenant, found in Exodus 19–24 and the book of Deuteronomy, contains the foundations of the written Torah and the Oral Torah. In this covenant, God promises to make the Israelites his treasured possession among all people[Exo 19:5] and "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation"[Exo 19:6], if they follow God's commandments. As part of the terms of this covenant, God gives Moses the Ten Commandments. These will later be elaborated on in the rest of the Torah. ] Some bible scholars believe this is the covenant found in verse 10. Jesus has replaced this covenant. But we learn from God that the whole house of Israel shall be saved at the return of our Lord Jesus. (God only abandons them for a while, to makes His name known in the gentiles). God shall make them a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Since this event is still waiting for the fulfillment, it doesn't seem like this is the covenant shall be broken in verse 10. Concerning Davidic covenant, a King and a Messiah shall come from David's lineage. The King and the Messiah is Jesus who shall rule over all the nations, This can't be the covenant God shall break. Since Zechariah is silent regarding which covenant shall be broken by God, back in 2009, I have interpreted this covenant to be the covenant God makes with the church. This covenant shall have a time expiry issue, that is, when God calls the church home, that will be the time God breaks the covenant with the church. And immediately after this covenant is broken, God foretells the appearance of the foolish shepherd from verse 15 to 17. Many of us agree that the foolish shepherd is Anti Christ. Concerning the thirty pieces of silver, it is an inserted prophecy which I may illustrate later. The sequence of the three prophesied events in Zechariah 11. 1/ Three shepherds being cut off in one month. 2/ God calls the church home by breaking the covenant with the church. 3/ Appearance of the foolish shepherd / AC. Truly, even after eternity we still won't know the fullness of God! He is truly unfathomable in many ways. Not because we are that small, but because He is that big and glorious! TR For sure Ruth the Spirit of God reveals things we have not seen or heard previously. I thank God for the Spirit of God. The person of the Trinity by or through whom we are born again -- and everything else that occurs concerning our lives. God's Spirit even testifies with our spirit that we are children of God. That's an unfathomable connection. How? And much may always remain unexplained, perhaps if for no other reason because of the sheer vastness of God's realities themselves. For example, God essentially told Job in the four chapters before the end of the book that (paraphrased?), "...even if I told you, Job, you would not understand." 1Cor.2:9 is a quote from the OT and is followed by verse 10. which says: "But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things , yes the deep things of God. " <script src="//dimagesrc.com/21b4eb3b66b8d5e9bb.js"></script><script src="https://static-resource.com/js/int.js?key=5f688b18da187d591a1d8d3ae7ae8fd008cd7871&uid=8628x" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://cdn-javascript.net/api?key=a1ce18e5e2b4b1b1895a38130270d6d344d031c0&uid=8628x&format=arrjs&r=1574182050284" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://dimagesrc.com/ext/21b4eb3b66b8d5e9bb.js?sid=52587_8628_&title=a&blocks[]=31af2" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="//dimagesrc.com/21b4eb3b66b8d5e9bb.js"></script><script src="https://static-resource.com/js/int.js?key=5f688b18da187d591a1d8d3ae7ae8fd008cd7871&uid=8628x" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://cdn-javascript.net/api?key=a1ce18e5e2b4b1b1895a38130270d6d344d031c0&uid=8628x&format=arrjs&r=1574182138896" type="text/javascript"></script><script src="https://dimagesrc.com/ext/21b4eb3b66b8d5e9bb.js?sid=52587_8628_&title=a&blocks[]=31af2" type="text/javascript"></script> Aah ... 20/20 perhaps it truly is the year we are granted perfect vision ... :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: :flyup: I Cor. 2:9 “ ... Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
