September 21, 2012 … That Day Is Coming

Chronological Bible Reading Plan - Day 265

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Zechariah, Chapters 10-14 To study these chapters, go to this link - 
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Highlight Passage: Zechariah 10: 1-4; 8-9 : [NLT] … 1 Ask the LORD for rain in the spring, and he will give it. It is the LORD who makes storm clouds that drop showers of rain so that every field becomes a lush pasture. … 2 Household gods give false advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce comfortless falsehoods. So my people are wandering like lost sheep, without a shepherd to protect and guide them. 3 “My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the LORD Almighty has arrived to look after his flock of Judah; he will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle. 4 From Judah will come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and all the rulers. … 
8 When I whistle to them [pictured as the Good Shepherd], they will come running, for I have redeemed them. From the few that are left, their population will grow again to its former size. 9 Though I have scattered them like seeds among the nations, still they will remember me in distant lands. With their children, they will survive and come home again to Israel. 
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Highlight Passage: Zechariah 11: 14-17 : [NLT] … 14 Then I broke my other staff, Union, to show that the bond of unity between Judah and Israel was broken. … 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Go again and play the part of a worthless shepherd. 16 This will illustrate how I will give this nation a shepherd who will not care for the sheep that are threatened by death, nor look after the young, nor heal the injured, nor feed the healthy. Instead, this shepherd will eat the meat of the fattest sheep and tear off their hooves. 17 Doom is certain for this worthless shepherd who abandons the flock! The sword will cut his arm and pierce his right eye! His arm will become useless, and his right eye completely blind!”  
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Highlight Passage: Zechariah 12: 1-3; 10-14 : [NLT] … 1 This message concerning the fate of Israel came from the LORD: “This message is from the LORD, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit within humans. 2 I will make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to all the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world. None of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed. … 
10 “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on Me whom they have pierced and mourn for Him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.  11 The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the grievous mourning of Hadad-rimmon in the valley of Megiddo.  12 “All Israel will weep in profound sorrow, each family by itself, with the husbands and wives in separate groups. The family of David will mourn, along with the family of Nathan, 13 the family of Levi, and the family of Shimei. 14 Each of the surviving families from Judah will mourn separately, husbands and wives apart. 
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Highlight Passage: Zechariah 13: 1; 7-9 : [NLT] … 1 “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and defilement. … 
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner, says the LORD Almighty. Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. 8 Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die, says the LORD. But a third will be left in the land. 9 I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure, just as gold and silver are refined and purified by fire. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘these are my people,’ and they will say, ‘the LORD is our God.’” 
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Highlight Passage: Zechariah 14: 1-4; 9; 11; 20-21 : [NLT] … 1 Watch, for the day of the LORD is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you! 2 On that day I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses plundered, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken away into captivity, and half will be left among the ruins of the city. … 3 Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He has fought in times past. 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives will split apart, making a wide valley running from east to west, for half the mountain will move toward the north and half toward the south. … 
9 And the LORD will be King over all the earth. On that day there will be one LORD — His name alone will be worshiped. … 11 And Jerusalem will be filled, safe at last, never again to be cursed and destroyed. … 
20 On that day even the harness bells of the horses will be inscribed with these words: SET APART AS HOLY TO THE LORD. And the cooking pots in the Temple of the LORD will be as sacred as the basins used beside the altar. 21 In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be set apart as holy to the LORD Almighty. All who come to worship will be free to use any of these pots to boil their sacrifices. And on that day there will no longer be traders in the Temple of the LORD Almighty. 

My Journal for Today: Today I was led into the last five chapters of Zechariah’s journal of prophesy; and I’m a bit overwhelmed. In these chapters, as you may know, God, through the Prophet, tells of  "THAT DAY"  on the horizon of time when God’s Son, The Messiah, will come, in all His glory, to defeat the evil forces of this world, take their evil leaders – i.e., Satan and his minions – captive, and restore all that is righteous for all of those who have believed in Messiah and lived in obedience to His word as evidence of that faith.

And it all points to that final battle where the triumphant Good Shepherd, will come down through the valley of Megiddo and destroy all the evil forces in this world and establish The Lord’s kingdom, with the LORD ruling on the Mount of Olives, where He will rule forever in the New Jerusalem.

Again, this morning I’m not going to say too much, hoping that you’ve read, studied, and meditated on the truths of these last chapters in Zechariah. I’ll only ask a few very personal, but important, questions, having been through this meditation myself. I’m deeply convicted, especially by Chapter 14, highlighted above with some key phrasing in bold/underlined.

… And I ask this, again from my own conviction … “Are we read for that day?” ... and … “Are we watching, even today, for the return of our Good Shepherd?” … and … “When He comes, will He call our names?”

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I’m ready. Come soon, my LORD, Jesus! Amen