October 10, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’” (Zechariah 12.3-5)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

How close are we to Har-Meggido? I cannot answer that question. I can have some thoughts on the question, but I cannot answer that question. I cannot answer that question because I am in Christ (though not perfectly) and Christ is in me (perfectly). And He who is perfect in Me, and my professed reality of being in Him, cannot answer that question. If He cannot answer that question, then why would I presume to answer it for anyone? Jesus said (Matthew 24.36-37; Mark 13.32-33), “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that day [or time] will come.” All I can say in response to the question of the Apocalypse, the “End Time,” the “Second Coming,” Armagedón (Har-Meggido) and when will it come is this “We are closer now than we have ever been.” When Jesus was asked about when the Messiah would come to rid the earth of the pestilence which afflicted all of Israel called sinful humanity (and at that time it was the Roman Empire as the sinful humanity of choice), Jesus responded “Be ready.” He gave the listeners, which included the disciples, illustrations, stories and parables to help them frame the answer in a way that it should have been easy to understand and grasp. The decision to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey, the foal of an ass, on the first day of the week of Passover was seen as “that day.” The people were prepared for “that day.” The disciples were excited when Jesus sent two of them, and we are not sure which two- perhaps Peter and John, to get the donkey. They recognized the prophetic and biblical significance of this symbolism of the conquering hero riding in not on a stallion but a donkey. I believe they may have also missed the significance of it as well. Regardless, it is clear that they believed “that day” had come. The tenor of their lives had changed. The anticipation must have been electric and electrifying. It did not take long for that two mile journey from Bethany to Jerusalem to become a spectacle. The hinterland of Jerusalem was filled with people (mostly of Jewish heritage) from all nations who had come to celebrate Passover. For some it was an annual pilgrimage. For others it was a “once in a lifetime” event. For others it was a purposeful economic practice to be in Jerusalem for Passover and Pentecost because it spoke to them of fruitfulness and the promise of God to increase their harvest with the hope of a blessing. It may well have been a similar scene 33 years when, whether because of the required census ordered by Augustus or not, Jerusalem and the surrounding area was flooded with people. It would make sense that there was no room in Bethlehem as the numbers of people already swelled to over a million people in the city of Jerusalem where only 25,000 lived. Now, the flood of Jews was increased because of the ministry of Jesus. News of His going to Jerusalem spread like wildfire, especially after the reviving of Lazarus from Bethany which Jesus had commanded. Was that “the day”? It certainly wasn’t Armagedón. But, the prophecy of that time and place had not yet been given.

Counter “that day” with the scene in Nazareth when Jesus had come home to see His mother. He had just been baptized (read anointed) by John the Baptizer and confirmed by a forty day fast in the wilderness. He had begun to do signs and wonders across the Jordan and back into Galilee in Capernaum. Now He was in Nazareth and the “boy done good” had returned. He was welcomed in the synagogue and asked to be the scripture reader for the day as a visiting rabbi. No one asked when He became a rabbi. No one even knew He had gone to rabbinic school (which He hadn’t). But such a celebrity wasn’t going to be questioned when “miracles” were at stake. The people would cry out “Do here what you did in Capernaum.” So, Jesus took the scroll from Isaiah and began to read the text which lifted up “the year of Jubilee” when all debts would be forgiven. When He finished reading, He declared “This day, in your hearing, the Word of God has been fulfilled.” Was that “the day” which Zechariah was given when “all the nations of earth are gathered around Jerusalem“? Of course, Jesus was in Nazareth at that moment and in the words of Nathanael when Philip said “Come and see, we have found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth,” who replied “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” He was in Nazareth with His own family, friends and neighbors and not in Jerusalem crowned as “King of kings and Lord of lords, Messiah, who would sit upon the Throne of David.” “That Day” had not yet come. Did the disciples believe that day was when Jesus entered Jerusalem “triumphantly but humbly”? Did the disciples believe that day was when Jesus cleared the Temple in righteous outrage declaring to the Chief Priests, Elders and Temple leaders that it was a House of Prayer for all nations and not a den of thieves? Did the disciples believe that was when He gathered with them in the Upper Room from where they could see the Temple and its courtyards anticipating that on the next morning He would be offering the sacrifice as the Prophet/Priest/King of Israel only to watch in horror as He, the Lamb of God, was the One sacrificed by the enemies of the people and of God?

So “what day” was God speaking of when He declared to Zechariah that He would lift up Jerusalem and all of the nation of Israel (reconciled Northern and Southern Kingdoms)? Were “those” days we have reflected upon the foreshadowing of “that Day”? Were they pointing beyond their foreseeable future and asking them to look to when all things would finally come together on “the Day of the Lord”? Was it speaking of the “Second Coming” which was unknown in Judaism and not claimed until the Church found its voice? What is that voice of the Church? Is it not the full voice of recognition as with Paul who declared “He who was without sin became sin for all so that all who would believe would become the righteousness of God“? (2 Corinthians 5.21) It was with that voice the Church called everyone, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” to repentance and to claim their salvation which was at work in them and through them by the Holy Spirit so that the commission left by Jesus of Nazareth, the Resurrected Christ, could be enacted and fulfilled. It was with that voice the Elder of Ephesus, John the Beloved, spoke to the Church in tribulation at the hands of the Enemies of God and humanity in the flesh and in the spirit of Christ Jesus who would return not as a sacrifice but as the Anointed and Appointed Judge of all by the God of all to rule, reign and set in place those who had chosen as they had chosen? What was that choice? Those who chose the life of lies denying the sovereignty of God who raised Jesus the supreme sacrifice from death and the grave to sit again at God’s right hand would be allowed to dwell in their sin forever without forgiveness or pardon. Those who chose the life of truth believing in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God and accepting Him as their personal Lord and Savior would be brought into the House of God prepared just for them. They would be treated as the Holy Bride of the Divine Groom and dwell in peace for all eternity to worship Him and Them in spirit and in truth. “That day,” mighty ones of God, is yet to come. “That day,” mighty ones of God, is drawing nearer and nearer with each and every breath. “That day,” mighty ones of God will be here sooner than the world expects. What if “that Day” was today? Would we be ready for the fulfillment of God’s Word given to the prophets as it was to Zechariah?

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.