Copperhead
Well-Known Member
The day of worship ([Zechariah] vv. 16–19)
The primary occupation of heaven will be the worship of the God of heaven. In these verses, the prophet foresees those who are ‘left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem’ (v. 16) joining in the worship. This indicates the conversion of those who once were the enemies of God and his people. Conversion makes God’s enemies his friends and sinners his subjects.
What are we to make of the reference to these converts keeping the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 16)? This feast was designed to commemorate the wandering of the people of Israel for forty years in the wilderness, during which time they were compelled to live in temporary booths or shelters. During the eight days of the feast, the Jews would recall those years by constructing temporary shelters for themselves and staying in them during the feast.
The Feast of Tabernacles was also a harvest festival. James Ayre writes of it, ‘It reminds them that God brought them out of a desert into a glorious land flowing with milk and honey; a land of broad rivers and streams.’2
The mention of this particular feast in relation to eternal glory should therefore be taken to mean that the saints who worship in heaven will be mindful of their wandering before they were saved and of the grace that made them part of God’s great spiritual harvest.
We cannot leave this section without noting that those who are not present to participate in the worship of heaven are under the judgement of God and plagued by him, just like Egypt of old (Exod. 7:14–10:29; 12:29–30).
Ellsworth, R. (2010). Opening Up Zechariah (pp. 135–136). Leominster: Day One Publications.
What is really bad about that is it totally assails the scripture. The kingdom of Yeshua is not in Heaven, it is here on earth. The OT is replete with passages that show that and Yeshua will reign from literal Jerusalem as promised to David (2 Samuel 7).
The disciples even asked Yeshua before His ascension if now was the time He would set up the kingdom for Israel and reign from Jerusalem. They knew the promises of the OT. He did not chide them for asking that question but acknowledged it was a right question by stating that the period is up to the Father and they were not to worry about it but focus on their task of spreading the Gospel.
That passage in Zechariah regarding the Feast of Tabernacles, what happens to those who do not go to Jerusalem to keep that festival? They are punished by having rain withheld from their land. Some will rebel against the Lord that will cause Him to have to punish them.
This comports with why Yeshua will be ruling with a rod of iron. Revelation 2 and Revelation 12. Why would He have to do so with those that were converted and part of the redeemed in Him? Do we then take our sin nature with us into the Kingdom and still rebel against Yeshua? Absurd!! No, these people that are rebelling are literal mortals who were allowed into the kingdom ON EARTH that the Messiah is reigning over. They are the sheep of the nations who will be judged on how they treat Yeshua's brethren in Matthew 25 and those of the Hebrews who were represented by the 10 virgins of Matthew 25. No, those virgins do no represent the church. The church is the bride of Yeshua, the virgins are the brides maids.
The kingdom parables of Matthew 13 bear out the fact that the kingdom will not be perfect, in fact, it will become progressively more evil over time. Isaiah let's us know that there will even be death in the kingdom. Does that sound like a perfect world?
The Parable of the Mustard Tree. The tree grows big and covers everything and the birds come and nest in it. The key to the parable is "birds". In the previous parable of the Sower, Yeshua told us that the birds are the evil ones. So while Satan may be locked up, the evil ones will be nesting in the kingdom.
What of the Parable of the Leaven? The woman hides leaven in three measures of meal, which during temple times was the fellowship offering. But she hides leaven in the fellowship offering. That was a capital crime during the temple days. Leaven is symbolic of sin and corruption. Remember how Yeshua told His disciples to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees?
The parable of the Wheat and the Tares, unlike other parables where the owner of the field is off somewhere else, the owner is there. Again, evil has been introduced into the kingdom as Tares. The evil ones sow the tares. Eventually, the kingdom of Yeshua becomes corrupted with all the tares and the harvest at the end of the age (not the end of the tribulation period) occurs where the righteous and evil are separated and the righteous go into the Kingdom of the Father.
If the Kingdom of Yeshua is so great and perfect, why does it only last 1000 years and then when Satan is release, most of the kingdom rebels against Yeshua? Revelation 20 and Psalms 2.
As the Parable of the Leaven shows, sin is introduced into the kingdom and eventually permeates the entire kingdom. Matthew 13. Some of the subjects will refuse to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. They will have rain withheld from their land. Zechariah 14:16-18. The the nations grow discontented over Yeshua ruling over them with a rod of iron to the point when Satan is released (Revelation 20), he foments a final climactic rebellion against Yeshua (Psalms 2).
No matter how perfect of conditions that the Lord will provide for man, the sinful heart of man remains.
Last edited: