Zechariah Series - Session #6- Bible Verse Handbook

Session 6 The Cleansing of Israel's People and Land (Zech. 5:1-11)

I. INTRODUCTION

A•  Zechariah was commissioned to proclaim the message of God's zeal for Jerusalem

14“Proclaim…‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I am zealous for Jerusalem…with great zeal.” (Zech. 1:14)

The sure destruction of her enemies

15  I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease;
For I was a little angry, And they helped— but  with evil  intent. ”

21  And I said, “What are these coming to do?”

So he said, “These  are  the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but  [ g ] the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up  their  horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” (Zech 1:15, 21)

C. The two visions in Zechariah 5 go together (as the two visions in Zechariah 3-4 go together).

The sixth vision deals with removing individual sins from the lives of Israelites

Vision of the Flying Scroll

1   Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.

2  And he said to me, “What do you see?”

So I answered, “I see a flying scroll. Its length  is  twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.”

3  Then he said to me, “This  is  the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,' according  to  this side of  the scroll;  and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according  to  that side of it.”

4  “I will send out  the curse, ” says the  Lord  of hosts;
“It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name.
It shall remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones.” (Zech 5:1-4)

The seventh vision deals with removing the systems of sin from Israel

5  Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this  is  that goes forth.”

6  So I asked, “What  is  it?” And he said, “It  is  a basket that is going forth.”

He also said, “This  is  their resemblance throughout the earth:  7  Here  is  a lead disc lifted up, and this  is  a woman sitting inside the basket”;  8  then he said, “This  is  Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth.  9  Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there  were  two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.

10  So I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?”

11  And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready,  the basket  will be set there on its base.”
(Zech 5:5-11)

D. The fullness of the end-time systems of sin will move to Babylon

2  And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!  3  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.” (Rev. 18: 2-3)

The sixth vision describes the removal of individual sinners from Israel by judgment

(Zech. 5:3 See above )

This seventh vision involves the national cleansing of wickedness from Israel

9  For behold, the stone
That I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone  are  seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,'
Says the  Lord  of hosts,
‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. (Zech. 3:9)

(Zech. 5:10-11 See above )

E. Malachi prophesied that the Lord would cleanse Israel in the end times, so that they would live righteously before Him.

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.

2  “But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He  is  like a refiner's fire
And like launderers' soap.
3  He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the  Lord
An offering in righteousness.

4  “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be pleasant to the  Lord ,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.
5  And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
Against perjurers,
Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the  Lord  of hosts. (Mal. 3:1-5)

F. There is coming an “Acts 5 season” in Israel when liars like Ananias will be quickly struck dead

3Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?...” 5Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last…11 So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things. (Acts 5:3; 5;11)

This will happen in Israel's darkest hour when the abomination of desolation is set up in Jerusalem as many worship the Antichrist

15  “Therefore when you see the   ‘abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place”  (whoever reads, let him understand) (Mt. 24:15)

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. (2 Thes. 2:3-4)

8And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city [Jerusalem] which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Rev. 11:8)

II. THE SIXTH VISION: THE FLYING SCROLL (5:1-4)

B•  The vision has two parts: The symbolism of the flying scroll (Zech. 5:1-2 See above )

The interpretation of the symbolism of the flying scroll

(Zech. 5:3-4 See above )

C•  The symbolism of the flying scroll

3. Its length:

a. It is not an accident that it is the same size as the holy place in Moses' tabernacle.

8  The length of each curtain  shall be  thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements. (Ex. 26:8)

And the porch of Solomon's temple

3  The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house  was twenty cubits long across the width of the house,  and  the width of  the vestibule extended ten cubits from the front of the house.  (1 Kgs. 6:3)

The altar of burnt-offering was just before the porch. The priests gathered for prayer between the porch and the altar

17  Let the priests, who minister to the  Lord ,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O  Lord ,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where  is  their God?' (Joel 2:17)

b. We know the large scroll was unrolled, because its dimensions were seen and it had writing on both sides

3Then he said…“This is the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, ‘every perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it.” (Zech. 5:3)

D. The interpretation of the symbolism of the flying scroll

4“I will send out the curse,” says the LORD of hosts; “It shall enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house and consume it, with its timber and stones.” (Zech. 5:4)

1•  This is the curse: This is God's curse on rebellion against Him

3  Then he said to me, “This  is  the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth:  (Zech. 5:3a)

He is the One who sends out the curse

4  “I will send out  the curse, ” says the  Lord  of hosts; (Zech. 5:4a)

The curse written on the scroll speaks of the curses that Moses prophesied.

15  “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the  Lord  your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16  “Cursed  shall  you  be  in the city, and cursed  shall  you  be  in the country.

17  “Cursed  shall be  your basket and your kneading bowl.

18  “Cursed  shall be  the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

19  “Cursed  shall  you  be  when you come in, and cursed  shall  you  be  when you go out. (Deut. 28:15-19)

The Lord removes sin in two ways: He delights in showing grace, as when He replaced Joshua's dirty garments with clean ones.

4  Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

5  And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.”

So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him.

And the Angel of the  Lord  stood by. (Zech. 3:4-5)

But when His grace is refused, His judgments are necessary to remove all that hinders love. Only those who repent will avoid the curses of the covenant

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call  them  to mind among all the nations where the  Lord  your God drives you,  2  and you return to the  Lord  your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,  3  that the  Lord  your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the  Lord  your God has scattered you.  4  If  any  of you are driven out to the farthest  parts  under heaven, from there the  Lord  your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.  5  Then the  Lord  your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.  6  And the  Lord  your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the  Lord  your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
(Deut. 30:1-6)

When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants…will learn righteousness.

9When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants…will learn righteousness. (Isa. 26:9)

2•  The whole earth: “The land” here is contrasted with “the land of Shinar”

11  And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready,  the basket  will be set there on its base.” (Zech. 5:11)

I think that the land is the best translation here, because those on whom the curse falls are the families that swear falsely by the Lord

“It shall enter the house of the thief
And the house of the one who swears falsely by My name.
It shall remain in the midst of his house
And consume it, with its timber and stones.” (Zech. 5:4b)

6. Both sides of the scroll:

3  Then he said to me, “This  is  the curse that goes out over the face of the whole earth: ‘Every thief shall be expelled,' according  to  this side of  the scroll;  and, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,' according  to  that side of it.” (Zech. 5:3)

7. Having writing on both sides of the scroll parallels the way that the Lord wrote on both sides of the two tablets when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments

15Moses…went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. (Ex. 32:15-16)

9. It shall remain until it consumes:

45And he shall break down the house, its stones, its timber…
(Lev. 14:45)

E. Jesus removed the curse by becoming a curse for all who will give their life to Him.

13Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. (Gal. 3:13)

III. THE SEVENTH VISION: THE WOMAN IN THE BASKET (5:5-11)

A•  Summary: This vision deals with moving the end-time systems of sin to Babylon

(Zech. 5:5-11 See above )

This vision pictures the national cleansing of wickedness from the land of Israel

12  And the  Lord  will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem.  (Zech. 2:12)

9  For behold, the stone t hat I have laid before Joshua:
Upon the stone  are  seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave its inscription,' s ays the  Lord  of hosts,
And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. (Zech. 3:9)

B•  John describes an evil global economic and religious system—the harlot Babylon

5  And on her forehead a name  was  written:

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS
OF THE EARTH.

(Rev. 17:5)

Satan will use economics as a primary means of controlling people and nations in his end-time plan.

(Zech. 5:7 See above )

D•  The symbolism of the vision of the woman in the basket

5Then the angel who talked with me came out and said to me, “Lift your eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth.” 6So I asked, “What is it?” And he said, “It is a basket that is going forth.” He also said, “This is their resemblance throughout the earth: 7Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting inside the basket.” (Zech. 5:5-7)

5. This is their resemblance:

23For your [Babylon's] merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. (Rev. 18:23)

E. The interpretation of the symbolism of the woman

8Then he said, “This is Wickedness!” And he thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over its mouth. (Zech. 5:8)

F. The symbolism of the two women with the wings of a stork

9Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and heaven.
(Zech. 5:9)

G. The interpretation of the symbolism of the two women.

10I said to the angel who talked with me, “Where are they carrying the basket?” 11And he said to me, “To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is ready, the basket will be set there on its base.” (Zech. 5:10-11)

4•  Set there on its base:

13They [the 10 kings] give their power and authority to the beast [Antichrist]…17For God has put it into their hearts to fulfill His purpose, to be of one mind, and to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (Rev. 17:12-17)

5•  The land of Shinar:

10  And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.  (Gen. 10:10)

2  And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.  (Gen. 11:2)

And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations, 9  against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five.  
(Gen. 14:1, 9)

IV. BABYLON IN THE END TIMES (REV. 17-18)

B. Harlot Babylon: The judgments which Jeremiah prophesied about Babylon's sudden, total, and final destruction have not yet happened.

1 The word that the  Lord  spoke against Babylon  and  against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.

2  “Declare among the nations,
Proclaim, and set up a standard;
Proclaim—do not conceal  it —
Say, ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed.
Merodach is broken in pieces;
Her idols are humiliated,
Her images are broken in pieces.'
3  For out of the north a nation comes up against her,
Which shall make her land desolate,
And no one shall dwell therein.
They shall move, they shall depart,
Both man and beast. (Jer. 50:1-3)

The harlot will have authority over the nations by seducing and controlling the world's most powerful leaders (kings and merchants) through global economic networks

3All the nations have drunk of…her fornication, the kings of the earth… and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury. (Rev. 18:3)

9  “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning,

11  “And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore:  15  The merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand at a distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 

17  For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.' Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance

19  “They threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth! For in one hour she is made desolate.'

23  The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.  (Rev. 18: 9, 11, 15, 17, 19, 23)

C. The harlot will be arrayed in purple and scarlet (royal status) and will be respected by the elite financial leaders of the earth, who will give their allegiance to her.

4The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet [royalty], and adorned with gold…having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. (Rev. 17:4)

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.

The Book of Zechariah

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Download Session #1 Why study the book of Zechariah?

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Download Session #2 The coming victory

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Download Session #3 The future glory of Jerusalem

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Download Session #7 The four chariots

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