Intro
In our previous message, the national repentance of Israel is described in Zechariah 12:10-14. That work of grace involved three steps:
1st God initiated this salvation process by pouring out on Israel “a spirit of grace and supplication”i on the people. 2nd Christ is revealed to the nation as “the one they have pierced.” This revelation of Jesus as Messiah then prompts the third step.
3rd The whole nation mourns deeply for their rejection of Christ. This godly sorrow is expressed by every individual in the nation. Every clan or family mourns together as a community, and the nation as a whole repents of their sin and unbelief.
Our text continues this process of spiritual transformation with the forgivensss and cleansing their sincere repentance. Follow with me as we read our text in Zechariah 13:1-6:
“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. 2 “On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,” declares the Lord Almighty. “I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land. 3 And if anyone still prophesies, their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.
4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive. 5 Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.[a]’ 6 If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’”
First, the source of Israel’s cleansing is stated in verse 1. Then the effect of this cleansing is described more fully in verses 2-6. Anytime a person or a nation mourns over their sin in the light of Christ crucified, God is always faithful to forgive the sin and cleanse that person so that the life is powerfully transformed. Therefore, in our text, we have not only the prophetic event of God spiritually transforming Israel in preparation for the Millennium, but we have a timeless pattern of how God brings salvation into any life. Genuine repentance prompted by the Holy Spirit opens the door for cleansing and transformation.
Hopefully you have experienced this pattern in your own life. Additionally, we must evangelize the lost with this pattern in mind. An “easy beliveism” that skips personal repentance of sin comes short of what is revealed here for salvation.ii First look with me at:
I. SOURCE OF ISRAEL'S CLEANSING as Stated in verse 1.
We are first reminded of the time in which this event occurs. Verse 1 begins with the phrase, “On that day.” That is code for the end time. We encountered it in Zechariah 12:11 which describes the repentance that will occur prior to this cleansing. “On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be as great as the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” The repetition of this phrase in 13:1 affirms the continuation of narrative.
The break between chapters 12 and 13 is unnecessary, since both passages deal with the same timeframe, the same people (“the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem”), and the same subject (Israel’s spiritual transformation). The chapter and verse divisions were first introduced in the 13th Century AD.iii They are not inspired. They are a helpful way of organizing the vast amount of material. So, it your studies, use them as an organizational tool, but make your own determination as to where the paragraphs change.
Notice how this time marker is reinforced at the beginning of verse 2 and verse 4 of Zechariah 13. All the events in chapter 12 occur at the end of the Tribulation period. Chapter 13:1-6 continue the thought describing the cleansing of the nation as it moves into the Millennium. “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. . . .”
As discussed in Zechariah 12:10, “the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem” is a reference to the whole nation of Israel. Some expositors restrict it to the leadership in Israel.iv But God does not just cleanse the leadership of the nation. He cleanses every individual Israelite. This is affirmed in the prediction of this event in Jeremiah 31:33-34: “‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ [after God restores Israel in the last days] declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ [not just the leadership] declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” That is what is taking place in our Zechariah text. Every member of the nation of Israel will know the Lord and be cleansed of their sin. Of course, this fountain is available to you and me today when we turn to Christ in faith.
The fountain that is opened “to cleanse them from sin and impurity” is the blood and water of Calvary. John probably had Zechariah 13:1 in mind when he wrote this account of Jesus’s death: “The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water” (John 19:32-34). “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb. 9:22).
Jesus’s sacrificial death is essential for the forgiveness of sin. That’s why, in Revelation 1:5, John refers to Christ as “Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” (NKJV). Have your sins been wash by the blood of Christ? Has that fountain been opened in your life as it is in our text for Israel?
A false religion will avoid all this talk about the blood of Christ. It is this revelation that sets Christianity apart from the cults and false religions of the world. The unenlightened person thinks he can gain access to heaven by his good works.v He, therefore, goes about to establish his own righteousness (Rom. 10:3), not realizing that self-righteousness is as filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa. 64:6). It is only when the Holy Spirit enables us to see Christ pierced for our sins that we are able to repent and submit ourselves to God’s provision of righteousness.vi Only then is this fountain for cleansing opened for us. Only then does the blood of Jesus cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7).
The opening of this fountain for the nation happens because of their faith response in Zechariah 12.vii The provision for this cleansing was established at Calvary 2,000 years ago. When Jesus offered himself up as the sacrifice for sin on the cross, the cleansing power of his blood became available to all who would receive it. But unbelief kept the fountain closed to Israel as a whole until this end-time event. Now in Zechariah 12:10, they have seen Christ for who he is and have repented of their unbelief. Now this wonderful fountain is opened to cleanse them from all unrighteousness.viii
The Hebrew construction in our text “has the force of permanence: the fountain will not only be opened, but remain open.”ix And so it is for you and me and all those who put their faith in Christ. This cleansing flow is not only available for our initial salvation experience, but it stays open for our ongoing sanctification. 1 John 1:7: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
This fountain provides cleansing “from all sin.” Our text portrays the fountain as open “to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” The Hebrew word (chatta’ah) translated “sin” “is a general term for human misconduct in the form of disobedience to the laws of God.”x It means to miss the mark or go astray. The Hebrew word (niddah) translated “impurity” has to do with “the condition or state of defilement brought about by any breach of the principles of holiness.”xi Therefore, cleansing is provided “for the removal of the guilt of sin, and for the purification of the soul from uncleanness or pollution of sin.”xii This fountain removes both the guilt of sin and the power of sin.xiii
Ezekiel predicted this end-time cleansing of Israel as well. In Ezekiel 36:24-25 God said to Israel, “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.” Aren’t glad that God does not just dismiss our guilt. The guilt has been dealt with at the great transaction of the cross. But he also cleanses us of the defilement of sin. He frees of from the power of sin. Verses 2-6 expound upon that in more detail. Consider with me:
II. EFFECT OF THIS CLEANSING as Described in verses 2-6.
This corresponds to the sanctification that believers experience when they sincerely repent and are born of the Spirit. God delivers the person from his unholy affections and drives out the unclean spirits that have invaded his life.
Verse 2 describes the deliverance from evil that follows the forgiveness and cleansing experienced in verse 1. Zechariah 13:2: “‘On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.’”
This promise is fulfilled for Israel at the same time verse 1 is fulfilled: “On that day.” This is still addressing the spiritual transformation of the nation at the Second Coming of Christ. This spiritual conversion is necessary preparation for the blessings of the Millennium. God’s peace and prosperity come in conjunction with our submission to his lordship. There are timeless principles here. But the passage is specifically addressing an event that occurs “on that day” in the nation of Israel.
On that day, God will “banish the names of the idols from the land.” Of course, “the land” is Palestine where God has regathered the nation. In biblical terms, the name stands for the thing itself.xiv God will banish, eject, drive out “the idols from the land.” The banishment will be so thorough, the names of these idols “will be remembered no more.” Hosea 2:17 promises this deliverance as well. There God says, “I will remove the names of the Baals from her lips [speaking of Israel]; no longer will their names be invoked.” The idols will be removed; their names will no longer be remembered or spoken.
Expositors have questioned why Zechariah would address idolatry in his day since the gross pagan idolatry common prior to the exile was no longer practiced by the exiles who returned to Palestine.xv But we know from passages like Ezra 9:1-2 that the threat of even that obvious form of idolatry reemerging was ever present.xvi But not all idolatry takes on the obvious form of pagan worship. Biblically, an idol is anything in our lives that interferes with our loyalty and obedience to God. In Colossians 3:5 Paul equated greed with idolatry. New Testament believers must avoid anything that gets between us and our relationship with the Lord. The Apostle John closed his first epistle with the caution, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”xvii
However, our text in Zechariah 13 is specifically dealing with Israel during the last days. During the first part of the Tribulation period, and perhaps before, there will be a surge of idolatry and deception in Israel. The deception will be so strong that the nation will make a covenant with Antichrist. Most Christians view the rebuilding of the temple during that time as a wonderful restoration of godliness in the land. But Israel as a whole is currently in their land in unbelief. The temple will be rebuilt by a nation that rejects Christ’s final sacrifice. The sacrifices offered at that temple during the Tribulation period will be an expression of that unbelief. The return to Old Testament sacrifices will not be an expression of faith. It will express the continued rejection of Jesus as Messiah.xviii This is why Jesus expressed so much warning in Matthew 24 concerning deception during that time.
In Matthew 24:23-24 he warned, “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Of course, the ultimate deceiver is Antichrist himself. According to Revelation 13, when he breaks his covenant with Israel, the False Prophet will set up the image of Antichrist in the temple and require everyone to worship him. Paul prophesies this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
Idolatry and deception will be rampant during the Tribulation period. The general unwillingness to repent is recorded in Revelation 9:20-21. “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.” But when Israel does repent, God purges the idolatry from the land, so completely that “they will be remembered no more.”
Not only are the idols removed, but the false prophets associated with the idolatry are also removed. Verses 3-6 focus on the false prophets. But also notice here in verse 2, God will remove “the spirit of impurity” as well. The “the spirit of impurity” stands in contrast to the “spirit of grace and supplication” poured out on Israel in Zechariah 12:10.
Behind the idols and the false prophets are the demonic spirits motivating all the activity. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:19-20, “Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.” Paul is warning Christians to not engage demons through idolatrous practices. The great danger of that today is through movies and video games. As Christians, we must separate ourselves from any activity associated with “the spirit of impurity.”
But in Zechariah 13:2, God promises to banish the unclean spirit from the land of Israel. Of course, the casting of Antichrist into the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20) and the binding of Satan during the Millennium (Rev. 20:1-3) are directly associated with that. It is all preparation for the Millennium. The remainder of our text (verses 3-6) focuses on the removal of false prophecy from the land.
In verse 3 Israel’s rejection of idolatry is illustrated by the uncompromising stand of parents against a child who prophesies falsely. “And if anyone still prophesies [after God has cleansed the land; during the Millennium], their father and mother, to whom they were born, will say to them, ‘You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.’ Then their own parents will stab the one who prophesies.”
We know this is talking about false prophecy because the father and mother say, “You must die, because you have told lies in the Lord’s name.”xix This illustration is about false prophesy given in the name of the true God. Of course, prophesying in the name of a false god would be dealt with in a similar manner.
The reverence and passion for the honor of God will be so strong in the people of Israel after their conversion, that it will supersede human affection. Deuteronomy 13:6-11 had commanded this level of loyalty from Israel in the past. “If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, Let us go and worship other gods’ (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. 9 You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.”xx Deuteronomy 18:20 applies this death penalty to those who presume to speak falsely in the name of Yahweh.
We see this zeal for God’s honor commended in Phinehas in Numbers 25. On that occasion, Israel had fallen into idolatry with Moabite women. Moses commanded the Israelite idolaters to be killed. When one of the idolators openly defied God and Moses, Phinehas took a spear and killed the Israelite idolator and his Midianite lover. That act of loyalty to the Lord turned God’s wrath away from Israel and the plague ended. This is what God said to Moses about Phinehas’s zeal for his honor. Numbers 25:10-13: “The Lord said to Moses, 11 ‘Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my covenant of peace with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting priesthood, because he was zealous for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites.’” This is in contrast to Eli’s preference of his affection toward his sons over his loyalty to God (1 Sam. 2:29).
There is a timeless principle here concerning our reverence and passion for the honor of God compared to our natural affection for loved ones. Jesus applied this principle in our age of grace when he said, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:37). One of the greatest challenges in my life has been to live according to this charge. When a loved one turns from serving God, our natural affection wants to preserve that relationship at all costs. But we cannot set our affection for that loved one above our commitment to Christ and his word. We can keep loving that person, but we cannot compromise the truth just to have their affection. It’s emotionally difficult to keep God first in those situations.
The role and possibly even the need for prophetic office during the Millennium will be different. Prophets function to keep God’s people on the path of righteousness. Historically, they have been essential for confronting wayward kings. Nathan did that when David sinned. Isaiah corrected Hezekiah, and Jeremiah suffered persecution for his stand against the trend of wickedness in Israel. In the New Testament, John the Baptist called people to repentance and Paul confronted kings with the gospel. Today the prophet gift is needed to confront compromise in the church and wickedness in our society. But the environment will be much different during the Millennium. Every Israelite will know the Lord (Jer. 31:33-34). The king will need no correction. King Jesus will reign in perfect righteousness. So, the office of the prophet will function differently during the Millennium or may not even be needed in Israel.
The sentiment in Israel will be wholeheartedly against all idolatry and false prophesy. So much so that false prophets will be ashamed of that past activity. They will hid any connection with it. Otherwise, they risk the death penalty described in Zechariah 13:3.
Zechariah 13:4 says, “On that day [after the conversion of Israel during the Millennium] every prophet will be ashamed of their prophetic vision. They will not put on a prophet’s garment of hair in order to deceive.” Prior to this time, false prophets would wear the “prophet’s garment of hair” so that people would think they were true prophets of God. True prophets like Elijah and Elisha wore a garment made from animal skin with the hair still on it in accordance with their rustic, ascetic lifestyle.xxi John the Baptist wore such a garment made from camel skin (Matt. 3:4).
But the national sentiment against idolatry and false prophesy will be so strong, no one will want to be associated with it. They will “be ashamed of their prophetic vision.” They will separate themselves from anything that would associate them with that profession. And according to verses 5-6 they will deny ever having anything to do with it.
Verse 5 says, “Each will say, ‘I am not a prophet. I am a farmer; the land has been my livelihood since my youth.’” The NKJV says, “But he will say, 'I am no prophet, I am a farmer [the Hebrew for this is very emphatic]; for a man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.'” Unger understands the Hebrew as indicating he was sold as a slave from his youth which would reinforce the impossibility of him having been a prophet.xxii The New Life Translation reads, “But he will say, ‘I am not a man who speaks for God. I am a farmer. A man sold me as a servant when I was young.’” Regardless of which version choosen, the idea is the same. The person is adamantly denying ever being a prophet since his has been a farmer all his life.
Verse 6 is the most difficult verse in this chapter. Since the next verse is Messianic, and this verse refers to wounds in the person’s hands (KJV), I initially took it to be a reference to Christ. There are some scholars who interpret it this way.xxiii However, the majority see it as a continuation of the narrative in verses 2-5. The weight of the evidence is in favor of that understanding. Zechariah 13:6 says, “If someone asks, ‘What are these wounds on your body?’ they will answer, ‘The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.’”
There is no logical break in the narrative from verse 5 and 6 like there is between verse 6 and 7. Verse 7 changes the subject from prophets to “my shepherd” and adds the phrase, “declares the Lord Almighty.” If verse 6 flows out of verse 5, as it seems to do, it would certainly not apply to Christ. For Christ to say he was not a prophet would be a lie.xxiv Additionally, Christ was not a farmer as asserted in verse 5; he was a carpenter from his youth.xxv
So, after the denial given in verse 5, the person is questioned about the wounds in his body which seem to expose past activity as a false prophet. Self-laceration was a common practice in pagan worship. In Deuteronomy 14:1 God forbad the practice among Israelites. The prophets of Baal practiced this in their contest with Elijah. When they were not getting an answer from Baal, 1 Kings 18:28 says, “So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.” In false religions today, self-flagellation and self-laceration is often practiced. So, the inquirer thinks this person got his wounds from his past activity as a prophet.
The Hebrew phrase, bên yädekä, literally means “between your hands.”xxvi “The normal word for hand (yäd), which is used in this instance, is not always sharply differentiated from the anatomical parts with which it is associated: the wrist, arm, or even shoulder . . .Thus ‘hands’ here is a kind of synecdoche representing the upper extremities, so that bruises ‘between the hands’ signify marks on either the chest or back.”xxvii Therefore, the New Revised Standard Version says, “What are these wounds on your chest?”
The answer given to this inquiry is “The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.” The interpretation of this depends on one’s understanding of the word translated friends (me‘ahabim). “As this word is generally applied to paramours [illicit or sinful lovers], Hengstenberg retains this meaning here, and gives the following explanation of the passage: namely, that the person addressed confesses that he has received the wounds in the temples of the idols, which he had followed with adulterous love, so that he admits his former folly with the deepest shame.”xxviii But Keil corrects Hengstenberg by giving due consideration to the context: “But the context appears rather to indicate that this answer is also nothing more than an evasion, and that he simply pretends that the marks were scars left by the chastisements which he received when a boy in the house of either loving parents or some other loving relations.”xxix
Conclusion
So, in Zechariah 13:1-6 we are given a revelation of the forgiveness and cleansing of Israel, followed by elaboration concerning their deliverance from idolatry and false prophecy. Zechariah 13:1 declares the opening of a fountain for sin and impurity. That fountain was established at the cross of Christ. His blood provides a cleansing stream for all sin and impurity. Its provision is appropriated by the nation of Israel at the Second Coming of Christ. But anytime a person looks to the crucified Christ for forgiveness of sin, that fountain is opened for that individual. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.
William Cowper “was the fourth child of a British clergyman and his wife. William’s three siblings died, then his mother died while giving birth to the fifth child. William was six years old when his mother died, and it was a blow from which he never recovered . . . emotionally frail, [he] was sent to a boarding school where for two years he was terrorized by a bully which further shattered his nerves . . .His father wanted him to be an attorney, but, preparing for his bar exam, he experienced runaway anxiety. Concluding himself to be damned, he threw away his Bible and attempted suicide.
Friends recommended an asylum run by Dr. Nathaniel Cotton, a lover of poetry and a committed Christian. Under Dr. Cotton’s care, William slowly recovered. In the asylum in 1764, he found the Lord while reading Romans 3:25: ‘. . . whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith. . . .’ His life was still to hold many dark days of intense depression, but at least he now had a spiritual foundation.” In spite of his many struggles, God used him and he wrote some beautiful hymns. One of those hymns was based on Zechariah 13:1:xxx You may be familiar with it.
“There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
For since by faith I saw the stream
thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.”xxxi
Have you experienced the flow of that fountain? It is the only legitimate source of spiritual cleansing. God dealt with your sin problem through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Without it there is no forgiveness. He offers that cleansing to you today.
ENDNOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from the New International Version (2011) unless indicated otherwise.
ii See Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 433-435 for further explanation of this.
iii “The chapter divisions we use today are usually credited to Stephen Langton, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1207-1228. His chapter divisions were used in the Wycliffe English Bible of 1382 and have been used in nearly all versions since . . . The first full Bible to be published with verse and chapter divisions was Estienne’s edition of the Latin Vulgate in 1555.” Alyssa Roat, “Why Was the Bible Divided into Chapters and Verses?” Christianity.com. Accessed at Why Was the Bible Divided into Chapters and Verses? (christianity.com).
iv Myers and Myers, Zechariah 9-14, 333-335, 357-359, 364 and Leupold, 243 hold this view. But Merrill, Unger understand the phrase as representative of the whole nation. Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 300; Unger, Zechariah, 215. Cf. Jer. 31:27, 33-34.
v Cf. Jer. 2:13.
vi Cf. Rom. 4; 1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:21; Titus 3:5.
vii The provision of the cross must be applied by faith (Heb. 4:2).
viii We encountered this glorious prediction earlier in Zechariah 3:9 where God said, “I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.” See part 9 in this study entitled “Messiah the Qualifier.”
ix Cf. Baron, 462-463; Feinberg, God Remembers, 183.
x Hill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 251.
xi Merrill, 300. This spiritual cleansing was symbolized by the ritual cleansings of the Old Covenant (Lev. 15:19-33; Num. 19:9-22). “Many well-known prophetic sayings exhort to moral cleansing under the figure of cleansing with water (Isa. 1:16ff.; Jer. 4:14), and others anticipate a cleansing by God in the last times (Ezek. 36:25; Zech. 13:1). Furthermore, Isaiah 44:3 conjoins the gift of the Spirit with the future purification.” George Eldon Ladd. A Theology of the New Testament, (1974; rev. ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 39.
xii Adam Clark’s Commentary, in loco, Electronic Data Base. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft.
xiii Cf. Rom. 6:14; 8:3-4; Heb. 9:14.
xiv Cf. Boda, Hagai, Zechariah, The NIV Application Commentary, 491.
xv Cf. Hill, 252.
xvi Cf. Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. In loco. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
xvii For an exposition of this, see Richard W. Tow, Authentic Christianity: Studies in 1 John (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2019), 412-431. Cf. Phillips, Zechariah, 286.
xviii “It is to be remembered that a part of the nation will have been restored to the land in unbelief., and will rebuild a temple, which is the fourth temple. Sacrifices are brought again, but they are an abomination, and the Lord hates them.” Arno C. Gaebelein, Studies in Zechariah (New York: Francis E. Fitch, 1911), 135. Cf. Baron, 464; Feinberg, God Remembers, 185; Unger, 224-225.
xix Additionally verse 4 refers to the deception, and the following verses has the person lying in order to shield himself from punishment.
xx The Old Testament death penalty was executed by the community through stoning. The example in Zechariah 13:3 has death executed by the parents through stabbing. The methods during the Millennium may be different than in the past since much in that society will be different. During the Millennium, justice will be swift and decisive. For example, Zechariah 14:16-19 talks about the punishment on those who do not come to the Feast of Tabernacles.
xxi Cf. 1 Kings 19:13, 19; 2 Kings 2:8, 14; Baron, 466; Merrill, 302.
xxii Unger, 227. Cf. Keil, in loco; Baron, 467; Leupold, 249.
xxiii For arguments in defense of considering verse 6 as Messianic see Unger, 227-230.
xxiv Cf. Deut. 18:15-18; Matt. 13:57; 21:11; Luke 24:19; John 6:14; Act 3:22.
xxv C. I. Scofield, The New Scofield Reference Bible, Zech. 13:6 note (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967), .975.
xxvi Meyers and Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 382.
xxvii Meyers and Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 382. Cf. 2 Kings 9:24.
xxviii E. W. Hengstenberg, Christology in the Old Testament, vol. III (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1875), 121 as quoted by Keil in loco.
xxix Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. In loco.. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.
xxx Robert J. Morgan, Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003.
xxxi William Cowper, “There is a Fountain Filled with Blood,” in Hymns of Glorious Praise (Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House), 95. Verse 3 was not included in the quote.
