Prisoners Of Hope Liberated And Blessed Series

Intro

In our last message we expounded Zechariah’s prophecy concerning the First Advent of Christ found in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” i Both Matthew and John quote this verse and apply it to Christ’s Triumphant Entry on the Palm Sunday preceding his crucifixion.ii In his First Advent Christ would come as a servant offering salvation to Israel.iii Jesus articulated this in Matthew 20:27-28: “And whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Now in Zechariah 9:10 the prophet sees Messiah’s rule during the Millennium. At his Second Coming Christ will establish worldwide peace “from sea to sea.” Follow with me as we read the promise God gives in Zechariah 9:10: “I [God the Father] will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He [Messiah] will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

Often in prophetic scriptures the prophet sees the First and Second Coming like we would see two mountain peaks in the distance without seeing the valley between them. The prophet reports what he sees, and it does not include the valley of time that is between the two events. This sometimes referred to as telescoping.iv

The New Testament identifies this valley of time as the church age. Paul referred to this as a mystery that was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets. In Ephesians 3:2-6 he wrote, “Surely you have heard about the administration [RSV says stewardship; NKJV says dispensation] of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”v As Baron says, “A pause of nearly two thousand years has already ensued between the 9th and 10th verses of this great prophecy. . . .”vi

Worldwide disarmament will be one result of the establishment of Christ’s rule during the Millennium.vii Zechariah 9:10 begins, “I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He [Messiah] will proclaim peace to the nations.” The United Nations and other organizations strive toward this goal, but it will only be accomplished by Christ at his Second Coming. His supernatural defeat of the nations will render all conventional weapons obsolete. The current misguided efforts toward globalization will fall into the hands of the satanically inspired Antichrist. The Antichrist’s

efforts toward world dominion will lead the nations into disaster and destruction.viii We are for globalization; we are for world peace. But we know by biblical revelation, it can only come through the righteous rule of Messiah Jesus.ix

Zechariah 9:10 concludes with an assurance that Messiah’s rule will be worldwide: “His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.” The “River” in the text is probably the Euphrates. H. C. Leupold writes, “Since the Euphrates was the northern boundary of the promised Kingdom of Israel, this expression begins at the utmost limits and goes thence ‘to the ends of the earth.’”x Both phrases, “from sea to sea” and “from the River to the ends of the earth” indicate worldwide dominion.xi The Kingdom of God is currently advancing, but this worldwide dominion and peace is not yet fully realized. A quick reading of the current news will attest to that. This is one way we know the eschatological nature of the verse.xii

However, for those who currently bow to King Jesus, there is a present-day experience of peace. There is an application of these truths in the now. The world may not be at peace, but there is a peace that passes understanding that is available to every believer.xiii And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God (2 Cor. 10:4). For those of us who have been grafted into the olive tree (Israel),xiv God has taken away “the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem.” “The battle bow” has been “broken” for us because we do not use intimidation and control to advance the kingdom. We advance the kingdom through the message of the cross and an invitation to voluntarily submit to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.