Zechariah. The name means “Jehovah has remembered”. The prayers of his parents refer here.

Zechariah. God in the book promises to remember the promises he gave to Abraham of land and to David of a kingdom and a child to reign for ever and ever on David’s throne. See 1:1 Zechariah is the son of Berechiah who is the son of Iddo. Iddo was a priest (See Nehemiah 12:4) who returned from Babylon under the leadership of Nehemiah. Zechariah is a priest. He was also a prophet.

Zechariah appears during the restoration period. God brought a remnant back from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judea. He restored the nation. There are 3 great prophets during this time, they are:- Haggai, Zechariah & Malachi. Around 520 BC, Zechariah appears in the second year of Darius (1:1) They returned in about 536 BC to rebuild the temple. They had stopped building because of opposition and so God calls Zechariah and Haggai.

God’s programme for Israel during the times of the Gentiles.

“The time of the Gentiles”. See also Daniel (70 weeks) for structure. Zechariah gives us the character as from the Jewish perspective of the structure of the time of the Gentiles. See Luke 21:24 (Jerusalem is under the heel of Gentile domination for “the time of the Gentiles”) from 586 BC (when Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem) and it continues under the second coming. There has been short periods when it seems they were back in control of Israel but it is not permanent.

“The fullness of the Gentiles” is a term which refers to the period of time between the cross and the rapture. God is calling out a people for himself – the church. At this time Israel has been set aside. Daniel looks at the time of the Gentiles from a Gentile perspective.

• Brief introduction (1:1-6). The nation is called to repentance.
• The prophetic visions. (Chapters 1-6). Zechariah sees 8 visions. In those 8 visions God gives to Zechariah His programme for the nation of Israel during the times of the Gentiles. There is a climax vision at the end of chapter 6. When Zechariah sees in the vision the crowning of the high priest Joshua. He becomes a priest King. This is a beautiful type of Jesus – when he comes again at the end of the Tribulation. It outlines about 2,500 years of history.
• The prophetic message (Chapters 7-8). From Bethel a delegation come to Zechariah and ask him concerning the observance of fasting in the nation of Israel. The temple has not been finished they were worried about their outward appearance. A man’s heart is more important.
• The prophetic burdens (Chapters 9-14) There are two burdens mentioned starting at 9:1 and 12:1. A burden is a declaration from God which is very toilsome or grievous to the prophet.

1. Israel’s judgement for rejecting their messiah Chapters 9-11. This deals with the first coming of our Lord. See 9:9. The second coming of our Lord is given to us in v 10. Between v 9 and 10 is 2,000 years of history. In chapter 10 you have the programme of the second advent. In chapter 11 the prophet predicts that Israel will prefer a false shepherd to the true prophet. This is what happened when our Lord came. They preferred the Sadducees and Pharisees. They will also prefer the Antichrist rather than Jesus.
2. Israel’s blessings for receiving the Messiah chapters 12 – 14. There is great trial which prepares Israel for the reception of the Messiah. It is the tribulation. See Zech 12:9 & 10. There will be a realisation of Israel 13. They will be a nation who follows the Lord..

• Prophecies concerning Christ.

1. His humanity and His coming in lowliness, 6:12.
2. His Rejection and betrayal for thirty pieces of silver, 11:12-13.
3. His being struck by the sword of the Lord, 13:7.
4. His coming in glory, 14:4 o His kingship and priesthood, 6:13; 9:9; 14:9, 16.
5. His reign, 9:10; 14:9-11, 16-21.
6. His building the Lord’s temple, 6:12-13.
7. His establishing peace and prosperity, 3:10; 9:9-10.

• Joshua and Satan. 3:1-7. Joshua is representative of the nation Israel. Satan seeks to destroy the nation (Revelation 12:1-6). “A brand plucked out of the fire” means they are rescued for future service. Neither Joshua nor Israel were contenders with Satan while clothed in their own righteousness. They must be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Even a new patch on the old garment will not avail.
• When the heart is wrong, the ritual is wrong. 7:8-14. Conduct denies confession. It is not our hymn singing on Sunday but our action on Monday that is the real test. The people before the captivity went through the ritual, but their lives were wrong.
• Prophecies concerning the end-times.

1. Final siege of Jerusalem, 12:1-3; 14:1-2.
2. Initial victory of Judah’s enemies, 14:2.
3. The Lord’s defence of Jerusalem, 14:3-4 (Armageddon).
4. The judgment of the nations, 12:9; 14:3.
5. Topographical changes in Judah, 14:4-5 (Lord’s return and kingdom).
6. The celebration of the feast of tabernacles in the kingdom, 14:16-19.
7. Holiness of Jerusalem and the people, 14:20-21.