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Zechariah Series - Session #10 - Bible Verse Handbook

Session #10 - Israel: Judged and Deceived

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Session 10 Israel: Judged and Deceived (Zech. 11:1-17)

I. INTRODUCTION

C. Zechariah describes God's judgment of the bad shepherds' rejection of Jesus.

1 Open your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
For the thick forest has come down.
3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

Prophecy of the Shepherds

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5 whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the Lord , for I am rich'; and their shepherds do not pity them. 6 For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord . “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.”

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8 I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh.” 10 And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus thepoor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord . 12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

13 And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter. 14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. (Zech. 11:1-14)

Their future deception in temporarily accepting the Antichrist as their shepherd.

15 And the Lord said to me, “Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16 For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces.

17 “Woe to the worthless shepherd,
Who leaves the flock!
A sword shall be against his arm
And against his right eye;
His arm shall completely wither,
And his right eye shall be totally blinded.” (Z ech . 11:15-17)

G. The reason for her judgment in the Tribulation will be the same, but the judgment will be heightened because Israel will accept the Antichrist.

41He saw the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it, 42saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace…43For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44and level you, and your children within you, to the ground…because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
(Lk. 19:41-44)

H. This prophecy will have its ultimate fulfillment when the Antichrist's armies gather in the land of Israel at Armageddon in the end times

14For they are spirits of demons…which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty…16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14-16)

II. JUDGMENT ON THE WHOLE LAND OF ISRAEL (11:1-3)

A• Zechariah describes a judgment that would affect the whole land of Israel

Open your doors, O Lebanon,
That fire may devour your cedars.
2 Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,
Because the mighty trees are ruined.
Wail, O oaks of Bashan,
For the thick forest has come down.
3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds!
For their glory is in ruins.
There is the sound of roaring lions!
For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins. (Zech. 11:1-3)

This passage probably describes judgment on each social class. Trees can be symbolic of leaders

7 Now when they told Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim, and lifted his voice and cried out. And he said to them:

“Listen to me, you men of Shechem,
That God may listen to you!

8 “The trees once went forth to anoint a king over them.
And they said to the olive tree,
‘Reign over us!'
9 But the olive tree said to them,
‘Should I cease giving my oil,
With which they honor God and men,
And go to sway over trees?'

10 “Then the trees said to the fig tree,
‘You come and reign over us!'
11 But the fig tree said to them,
‘Should I cease my sweetness and my good fruit,
And go to sway over trees?'

12 “Then the trees said to the vine,
‘You come and reign over us!'
13 But the vine said to them,
‘Should I cease my new wine,
Which cheers both God and men,
And go to sway over trees?'

14 “Then all the trees said to the bramble,
‘You come and reign over us!'
15 And the bramble said to the trees,
‘If in truth you anoint me as king over you,
Then come and take shelter in my shade;
But if not, let fire come out of the bramble
And devour the cedars of Lebanon!' (Judg. 9:7-15)

33 Behold, the Lord,
The Lord of hosts,
Will lop off the bough with terror;
Those of high stature will be hewn down,
And the haughty will be humbled.
34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One. (Isa. 10:33-34)

‘Whom are you like in your greatness?
3 Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon,
With fine branches that shaded the forest,
And of high stature;
And its top was among the thick boughs.
4 The waters made it grow;
Underground waters gave it height,
With their rivers running around the place where it was planted,
And sent out rivulets to all the trees of the field.

5 ‘Therefore its height was exalted above all the trees of the field;
Its boughs were multiplied,
And its branches became long because of the abundance of water,
As it sent them out.
6 All the birds of the heavens made their nests in its boughs;
Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young;
And in its shadow all great nations made their home.

7 ‘Thus it was beautiful in greatness and in the length of its branches,
Because its roots reached to abundant waters.
8 The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it;
The fir trees were not like its boughs,
And the chestnut trees were not like its branches;
No tree in the garden of God was like it in beauty.
9 I made it beautiful with a multitude of branches,
So that all the trees of Eden envied it,
That were in the garden of God.'

10 “Therefore thus says the Lord God : ‘Because you have increased in height, and it set its top among the thick boughs, and its heart was lifted up in its height, 11 therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations, and he shall surely deal with it; I have driven it out for its wickedness. 12 And aliens, the most terrible of the nations, have cut it down and left it; its branches have fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys; its boughs lie broken by all the rivers of the land; and all the peoples of the earth have gone from under its shadow and left it.

13 ‘On its ruin will remain all the birds of the heavens,
And all the beasts of the field will come to its branches—

14 So that no trees by the waters may ever again exalt themselves for their height, nor set their tops among the thick boughs, that no tree which drinks water may ever be high enough to reach up to them.

‘For they have all been delivered to death,
To the depths of the earth,
Among the children of men who go down to the Pit.'

15 “Thus says the Lord God : ‘In the day when it went down to hell, I caused mourning. I covered the deep because of it. I restrained its rivers, and the great waters were held back. I caused Lebanon to mourn for it, and all the trees of the field wilted because of it. 16 I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I cast it down to hell together with those who descend into the Pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the depths of the earth. 17 They also went down to hell with it, with those slain by the sword; and those who were its strong arm dwelt in its shadows among the nations.

18 ‘To which of the trees in Eden will you then be likened in glory and greatness? Yet you shall be brought down with the trees of Eden to the depths of the earth; you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the Lord God .” (Ezek. 31:3-18)

10 “These were the visions of my head while on my bed:

I was looking, and behold, A tree in the midst of the earth, And its height was great.

23 “And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field; let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him'; (Dan. 4:10, 23)

We can gain insight by seeing both the literal and symbolic meanings of the following figures.

1Open your doors, O Lebanon, that fire may devour your cedars. 2Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen, because the mighty trees are ruined. Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the thick forest has come down. 3There is the sound of wailing shepherds! For their glory is in ruins. There is the sound of roaring lions! For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins. (Zech. 11:1-3)

2. Lebanon:

9 And Jehoash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as wife'; and a wild beast that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.
(2 Kgs. 14:9)

8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you,
And the cedars of Lebanon,
Saying, ‘Since you were cut down,
No woodsman has come up against us.' (Isa. 14:8)

3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God :

“A great eagle with large wings and long pinions,
Full of feathers of various colors,
Came to Lebanon
And took from the cedar the highest branch. (Ezek.17:3)

9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath. (Amos 2:9)

4. Bashan: This refers to the territory east of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee.

13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up,
And upon all the oaks of Bashan; (Isa. 2:13)

6 Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars; The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks
With ivory from the coasts of Cyprus. (Ezek. 27:6)

5. Shepherds:

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? 3 You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock. 4 The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.

5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them. ” (Ezek. 34:1-6)

III. ISRAEL'S REJECTION OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD (11:4-14)

A• The Lord sent Israel the best shepherd

4Thus says the LORD my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter, 5whose owners slaughter them and feel no guilt; those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich'; and their shepherds do not pity them. 6For I will no longer pity the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD. “But indeed I will give everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. They shall attack the land, and I will not deliver them from their hand.” (Zech. 11:4-6)

They rejected Him

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8 I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9 Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh.” 10 And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord . 12 Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

1• Feed the flock for slaughter:

4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Feed the flock for slaughter,
(Zech. 11:4)

2. The flock for slaughter: The spiritual condition of Israel in the generation that Jesus came to minister to them was so bad that they had already set their heart in a way that was hostile toward God. This is evident from their conclusion that Jesus and John the Baptist were demonized. It was only a matter of time before they determined to kill Jesus.

18John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon.” (Mt. 11:18)

20Many of them said, “He [Jesus] has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” (Jn. 10:20)

4. I will no longer pity:

35That on you [the Jewish leaders who rejected Jesus] may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (Mt. 23:35)

B• Israel rejected Jesus as the good shepherd, though He was their Messiah

7So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock. 8I dismissed the three shepherds in one month. My soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me. 9Then I said, “I will not feed you. Let what is dying die, and what is perishing perish. Let those that are left eat each other's flesh.” 10And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the covenant which I had made with all the peoples [Gentile nations]. 11So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. (Zech. 11:7-11)

1• I fed the flock:

7 So I fed the flock for slaughter, in particular the poor of the flock. I took for myself two staffs: the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bonds; and I fed the flock. (Zech. 11: 7)

2• The poor: David referred to himself as the poor, or as a contrite and godly man

11The poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the Lord. (Zech. 11:11)

6This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him. (Ps. 34:6)

17 But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God. (Ps. 40:17)

29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high. (Ps. 69:29)

5 But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord , do not delay. (Ps. 70:5)

4• Dismissed three shepherds: Jesus named three classes of leaders who rejected Him.

21He strictly warned them…22saying, “The Son of Man must…be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Lk. 9:21-22)

5. They abhorred Me:

27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites…inside you are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness…28…full of hypocrisy and lawlessness .” (Mt. 23:27-28)

3The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled…4and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
(Mt. 26:3-4)

6. Two staffs:

(Zech. 11:7 See above )

a. Beauty: This can be translated as “Favor.” When Zechariah cut this staff in two, it spoke of God lifting His protection and allowing the Gentiles (Rome) to attack Israel.

(Zech. 11:10 See above )

b. The covenant with the peoples:

C• Zechariah ended his job of feeding the flock of sheep, so he asked the other shepherds to pay him the wages that they felt he deserved for his services. They paid him thirty pieces of silver. This was the cost of reimbursing the work that was lost when a slave was injured.

32 If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. (Ex. 21:32)

This small amount of money was an insult for all that Jesus the Shepherd did in feeding Israel's sheep. It reveals how little Israel valued His services. To offer him this wage was like telling Jesus that they considered the services of a common slave to be about as helpful as He had been to them.

12Then I said to them, “If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.” So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—-that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter. 14Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel”. (Zech. 11:12-14)

Throw it to the potter:

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it! ”

5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. 8 Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.

9 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, 10 and gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.” (Mt. 27:3-10)

Thus says the Lord : “Go and get a potter's earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. 2 And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord , O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle.

4 “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 5 (they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), 6 therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord , “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. 8 I will make this city desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. 9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” '

10 “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot be [ a ] made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. 12 Thus I will do to this place,” says the Lord , “and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and poured out drink offerings to other gods.” (Jer. 19:1-13)

2 As it is written in the Prophets:

“Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.”
3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord ;
Make His paths straight.' (Mark 1:2-3)

Combines words from Isaiah and Malachi but only mentions the more prominent Isaiah.

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord ;
Make straight desert (Isaiah 40:3)

1 “Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,

In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 3:1)

1• Cut the staff called Bonds: The staff Bonds spoke of God keeping Israel united as a nation.

14 Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. (Zech. 11:14)

It meant that the Lord was going to allow great strife to divide Israel. The division is temporary; they will be forever reunited

6 “I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back,
Because I have mercy on them.
They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the Lord their God,
And I will hear them. (Zech. 10:6)

IV. THE APPEARANCE OF THE BAD SHEPHERD (11:15-17)

A• The Lord will raise up a foolish and worthless shepherd that Israel will choose

15And the LORD said to me, “Next, take for yourself the implements of a foolish shepherd. 16For indeed I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for those who are cut off, nor seek the young, nor heal those that are broken, nor feed those that still stand. But he will eat the flesh of the fat and tear their hooves in pieces. 17Woe to the worthless shepherd, who leaves the flock! A sword shall be against his arm and against his right eye; his arm shall completely wither, and his right eye shall be totally blinded.” (Zech. 11:15-17)

B• I will raise up:

1The Lamb [Jesus] opened one of the seals...2…a white horse. He [Antichrist] who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him...he went out conquering and to conquer. (Rev. 6:1-2)

5He [Antichrist] was given...authority [by God] to continue for forty-two months...7It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Authority was given him [by God] over every tribe, tongue, and nation. (Rev. 13:5, 7)

C• The Lord raised up a wicked Pharaoh in Moses' day; he was the most powerful man in the world

16 But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. (Ex. 9:16)

17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (Rom. 9:17)

He raised up a cruel and powerful Assyrian king named Sennacherib to judge Israel in a severe way

5 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger
And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. (Isa. 10:5)

The Lord called the wicked Nebuchadnezzar, His servant, to judge Israel in 586 BC

9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' says the Lord , ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.

12 ‘Then it will come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity,' says the Lord ; ‘and I will make it a perpetual desolation. (Jer. 25:9, 12)

6 And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him. (Jer. 27:6)

10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them. (Jer. 43:10)

5 “Look among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
7 They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves. (Hab. 1:5-7)

The Lord raised up the wicked Persian Empire to judge the wicked Babylonians

3 I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have also called My mighty ones for My anger—
Those who rejoice in My exaltation.”

4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains,
Like that of many people!
A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together!
The Lord of hosts musters
The army for battle.
5 They come from a far country,
From the end of heaven—
The Lord and His weapons of indignation,

To destroy the whole land. (Isa. 13:3-5)

He sets leaders in place to serve His greater purposes

17 ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.' (Dan. 4:17)

21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses. (Dan. 5:21)

1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

4 For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. (Rom. 13:1, 4)

D• Foolish shepherd: This prophecy will find its ultimate fulfillment in the Antichrist, who will make a covenant with Israel and then break it to fiercely persecute Israel

15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”

A Cornerstone in Zion

16 Therefore thus says the Lord God :

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
17 Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it. (Isa. 28:15-18)

27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” (Dan. 9:27)

36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the [ q ] God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

The Northern King's Conquests

40 “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
(Dan. 11:36-45)

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (2 Thes. 2:3-10)

13 Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 12:13-17)

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?”

5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

The Beast from the Earth

11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. 12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. 15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, 17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666. (Rev. 13:1-18)

G. His arm and eye: Jesus will easily and quickly destroy the Antichrist

11 “I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

22 until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

26 ‘But the court shall be seated,
And they shall take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.' (Dan. 7:11-14, 22, 26-27)

45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. (Dan. 11:45)

8Then the lawless one [Antichrist] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. (2 Thes. 2:8)

20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. (Rev. 19:20)

Much of this teaching will be used by the English speaking Pastors in the Africa Training Bible School.(ATBS)

Each of these ATBS Series includes an audio and handout or study notes to be downloaded as well as a PowerPoint to make the viewing more visual for the youth.

Click on the links below to download the audio, handouts and PowerPoints and view the teaching online.