Shabbat Shalom everyone. Today we are going to continue in the teaching that we have gone through the prophet Zechariah in Hebrew, Zechariah in English. And so turn with me to Zechariah chapter 11, and I'd like you to follow me as I'm reading Zechariah chapter 11. Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. Howl for a tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the mighty are spoiled. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds, for their glory is spoiled. A voice of the roaring of young lions, for the pride of Jordan is spoiled.

Thus says the Lord, my God, feed the flock of the slaughter, whose possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty. And they that sell them say, blessed be the Lord, for I am rich. And their own shepherds pity them not. For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land. Sayeth the Lord, but lo, I will deliver the men, everyone, into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king. And they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And I will feed a flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves, the one I called beauty and the other I called bands.

And I fed the flock. Three shepherds also I cut off in one month. And my soul loathed them. And their soul also abhorred me. Then said I, I will not feed you. That that dieth, let it die. And that that is to be cut off, let it be cut off. And let the rest eat every one the flesh of another. And I took my staff, even beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people. And it was broken in that day. And so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the Lord.

And I'm going to stop with the reading of Zechariah chapter 11. Now, beloved brothers and sisters, let me tell you that most Bible teachers, when they arrive to Zechariah chapter 11, really have to admit that this is a very difficult chapter to expound upon. And therefore, they come to maybe different conclusion about this chapter. But we, first of all, realized that Zechariah was raised by God to minister to the Jewish remnant, who came back from Babel and was beginning to build the house of the Lord. There was discouragement that we have been learning from these previous chapters. And Zechariah and Haggai and later on Malachi, those three Hebrew prophets, were raised by the Lord to present an encouragement to the Jewish remnant.

About 520, we read in the previous chapters in our study, we find out that Zechariah presented himself there to the Jewish people. And now a few years passed by, and he continued in the messages of the Lord to those remnant. At about 487 BC now, he's speaking to them about future events. Things that will happen in a future day. Though he's speaking 487 to the remnant of Judah in the land, he was talking to them about events that are going to happen much, much later on. After the Messiah will come in this chapter. After he will be rejected by the nation of Israel in his first coming. And even he takes them all the way to the tribulation period before the kingdom will be established.

The millennial age, the thousand years reign of the Messiah over Israel and over the nations of the world. Remember that the word Zechariah in Hebrew means Jehovah remembered. Zechariah past tense, God remembered his people Israel. And he remembered their need. And he remembered his covenant towards them. But he also disciplined his people Israel when judgment is due. Just the same like he does to the body of Messiah. The church of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. He disciplined his people when he's needed. The church is not exempt from the discipline of God when there is violation of the word of God. And we see it throughout the seven churches of Asia Minor in the letters that were written by the Lord in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3.

But here we are in Zechariah chapter 11. And you know most Bible teachers look at this chapter. Some believe that this chapter applied to 586 B.C. And that it had already happened when Israel, the Jewish people, were taken down to Bavail. Others believe that this chapter speaks about the tribulation period after the church will be raptured. Israel is going to go through the seven years of tribulation period. And yet others, and we might be included in this, we believe that much of what is written to us here in this chapter applied to the 70 AD when Titus came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and burned the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem.

And many of our Jewish people have been killed. They say that over 1 million Jewish people were killed in 70 AD by Titus. And many of them have been scattered throughout the nations of the world for nearly 2,000 years. And it is only just recently when our forefathers returned to the land. In 1948, Israel became a nation, a state, and our Jewish people came back to the land and began to reestablish the nation of Israel. But it is always in preparation for the future day when the tribulation will arise. But I would like now to go directly to the text itself. We saw in chapter 10, beloved brothers and sisters, especially I would like to emphasize in chapter 10, the fact that God said that he's going one day to restore Israel.

And you remember verse 8, it said, I will hiss for them and I will gather them for I have redeemed them and they shall increase as they have increased. Here in chapter 10, he's speaking about the future day when Israel is going to be restored. But now in chapter 11, he's pausing and he's giving us this chapter to show us that before Israel will be regathered as a nation and restored, there will be a rejection of the Mashiach, of the Messiah. And he began in verses 1, 2 and 3, by giving these individuals there, the approaching judgment upon the people of Israel that will come later on in 70 AD. Now I'm putting the number 70 AD because you're going to see how it will apply to 70 AD.

Notice that he's giving them the approaching judgment, first of all, in verses 1 to 3. And then from verse 4 to the end of the chapter, he tells them why the judgment will come. So let's begin. First of all, notice verse 1. Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedar. Then verse 2. Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen because the mighty are spoiled. Howl, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the forest of the vintage is come down. Now notice, beloved brothers and sisters, that he's speaking about the cedars that will come out of Lebanon. Now every time when the Bible speaks about the cedar of Lebanon.

Or Erez Arzei Lebanon in Hebrew. It is the cedars of Lebanon that were brought from Lebanon in order to build the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Those trees that Solomon brought from Lebanon, they were used in order to build the temple in the city of Jerusalem. Just turn with me to 1 Kings chapter 5. I want to just make a note in connection with these trees, the cedar of Lebanon. You notice that it says here in verse 1. And Hiram, the king of Tyre, Tyre and Sidon, is in Lebanon, sent his servant unto Solomon and to Shlomo. For he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father.

For Hiram was ever a lover of David. So Solomon sent to Hiram saying, "Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house unto the name of Jehovah his God. For the wars which were about him on every side. Until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet." But, listen, verses 4 and 5. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurring. And behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God. As the Lord spake unto David, "My father saying, Thy son whom I will set upon my throne, in thy room he shall build a house unto my name." Verse 6 says, "Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon, and my servants shall be with thy servants.

And unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint. For thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the tzidonite." And so on. But you see what it says in verse 10. "Sochiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all that he have desired." Now brothers and sisters, in order to build the temple Beit HaMikdash, the house of God in Yerushalayim, they had to bring cedar from Lebanon. And the cedar of Lebanon is really representing to us in the prophet Zechariah the temple Beit HaMikdash, the house of God in the city of Yerushalayim.

So now God is telling Zechariah to tell the remnant of Israel, of Judah that were right there at about 487 BC, to anticipate a day in which judgment is going to come upon the house of the Lord in the city of Jerusalem. Remember, this remnant is now just finished to build the second temple after they returned from Babylon. But even this very temple will be destroyed later on when Israel will violate the word of their God. And so back to Zechariah, chapter 11 and verse 1 and 2. He's saying open the doors all Lebanon, that the fire, listen to this, use this expression fire, because the temple was burnt by Titus.

The fire may devour the cedars. Really, the word cedars would apply to the temple. Howl fir tree, for the cedar is fallen. The temple will be fallen. The house of God is fallen. Notice this expression we have in verse 1. Number 1, fire. Number 2, devour. Notice in verse 2. Number 3, fallen. Number 4, spoiled. Number 5, calmed down. Zechariah is speaking to the remnant of Judah about a future day when the temple in Jerusalem is going to be devoured, going to be burned by fire, is going to fall down and ultimately be spoiled by those who are going to come to the city of Jerusalem. This is all in anticipation. The judgment is going to come and it is interesting.

It is an approaching judgment. He's going to give us the reason immediately after why this approaching judgment will come. But he's first giving them the truth concerning the judgment that will be coming. Notice verse 3 now. We find out that the false shepherds of Israel are to howl as well. These are the leaders of Israel who did not accept the Messiah. And because of the rejection of the Messiah, they are going to bear the consequences. That's what he's really saying. And I'm reading verse 3. There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds. Those are the shepherds that should have cared for the nation, should have lead the flock, should have been an example to the nation and draw them closer to the Lord, to God, to the Messiah who is going to come.

And then notice, for their glory is spoiled. Not that glory again. It's the temple that was there situated in the city of Jerusalem, where God set his name in this building that the people of Israel have built. He set his name there in the temple, but their glory is now spoiled. A voice of the roaring of the young lions, for the pride of Jordan is spoiled. This expression here, the pride of Jordan, is again another reason why this is speaking about the Jordan Valley. You know, there is a pride that one can have because of all the glory that we have. We have the temple.

We have the nation. We are in the city of Jerusalem. We are Jewish people. We are part. We are chosen people. And pride can be brought up. And God is going to say, your pride is going to be spoiled when your pride is not in me. Your pride is in yourself, exalting yourself above measure. And that's what really happened. And you know, this is the very same danger in the church of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. There is a pride that we have. We think if we are saved, and we belong to Jesus, and we are what you call Christian, Messiah followers, and there is an inclination to be proud and arrogant.

And God said, listen, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and he will exalt you in due time. God resists the proud, but he gives grace unto the humble. And so there are lessons that we can learn in the present-day dispensation of the church age that we learn from our nation Israel and the history of our people of Israel. And so all this written to us in about 487 BC, Zechariah received from the Lord to give to his Jewish people the remnant to return in view of a coming day, which we know to be the 70 AD judgment that fell upon the city of Jerusalem, the temple that was there who represented by those cedars of Lebanon that was sent from Hiram back to Solomon to build this great temple in the city of Jerusalem.

Now, in Zechariah chapter 11, from verse 4 to verse 11, we have the reason for this judgment. You know, God does not judge anyone unless one deserves it. In fact, brothers and sisters, think about that. He judged his son, the Messiah, that we will never need to be judged. That's how gracious God is. But there is a time that God have to judge men, his very own people needed to be judged. So here in verses 4 to 11, we have the reason that the judgment came upon our nation Israel. First of all, verses 4, 5 and 6, God instructing Zechariah to act as if he was the coming Messiah. It's very interesting. You know, sometimes the Lord asks his people to do something very strange.

You remember, he asked the prophet Isaiah and Ezekiel to do some things to enact something that were really not normal, not common. And yet, it's like a parable enacted. And so we begin here, first of all, in verse 4, the Lord is speaking now to Zechariah. And he says, Zechariah, thus says the Lord, my God. Note that the word here is Elohai, meaning my God in Hebrew. In other words, Zechariah is now expressing what his God, the Lord, my God, said unto me. What did he say? Zechariah, feed the flock of the slaughter. This flock of the slaughter is the whole nation of Israel. And the Hebrew word for the flock of the slaughter in Hebrew is tzon ha-haregah.

That means the flock that are going to be taken to the slaughter. So he says, you feed them. Zechariah is called to act out that which is symbolically of what God was going to do. Notice now in verse 5, it says here that the flock are not really cared by no one. Look at this. It says here in verse 5, whose possessors slay them and hold themselves not guilty. And they that sell them say, blessed be the Lord, for I am rich. And their own shepherds pity them not. Now you see what happened. Zechariah was going to enact here as if he is the promised redeemer, the promised Messiah.

And he is being told by the Lord, look, the flock that are prepared for the slaughter, really their possessors, they really kill them. They don't care about them. The possessors here prophetically really speak about the Romans, where the Romans were there possessing, controlling the Jewish people earlier than 70 AD. They were controlling them, but really they don't care for them. They slay them and they hold themselves not guilty. But not only that, brothers and sisters, it says in verse 5b, they that sell them say, blessed be the Lord, for I am rich. And their own shepherds pity them not. Even their spiritual leadership really didn't pity them, didn't care for them.

They say, well, I am rich, I am well, I am fine. And they did not pity their situation, their need that the flocks, the people of Israel have had. They didn't care for them. Notice, and I am going down now to verse 6, it says here that the flock will not have the end of it, even they will not have the care, the compassion of Jehovah, because a time coming where the Lord will have to discipline the whole flock, the whole nation. It says in verse 6, for I will have no pity on the inhabitants of the land, sayeth the Lord. But, Lord, I will deliver the men, everyone into his own neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king.

And they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. In other words, God is saying, it's not only that the possessors, the Romans will behave in such a way they will hold themselves not guilty and they will slay them. It's not only that the leaders, the shepherds of Israel who should have really cared for the flock. They themselves said, you know, I am rich and I will not pity them, I don't care. But even the Lord, there is coming a time where the Lord himself, as he says here in verse 6, I will have no more pity on the inhabitants of the land, sayeth Jehovah.

But, Lord, I will deliver them, everyone into his neighbor's hand and into the hand of his king. And they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them. And you can see that here we learn something that is very important. That the Lord himself, there is coming a time when the Lord will give over his people in judgment because of the fact that they have rejected the Messiah, the promised Messiah of Israel. And I want you to notice that it is very interesting that the text here tells us about event that occurred before 70 AD when the Lord Jesus, when Yeshua the Messiah was here.

Notice what it says in verse 6 again, that I will deliver every man and everyone into his own neighbor's hand. And notice that it says, and into the hand of his king. Now, do you remember when we read in the previous chapter 9, verse 9 and 10, we read of the promise of the coming of the Messiah in his first coming and in his second coming. Let's read Zechariah 9, verse 9 to you once again. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O daughter of Yerushalayim. Behold, your king cometh unto thee. He is just and having salvation lowly and riding upon an ass and upon a cold, the fall of an ass.

Now, do you remember when Yeshua came in his first coming, he was rejected. He was despised and yet God says, behold, your king cometh. But when the Messiah came in his first coming, Israel as a nation, the leadership of our own people, did not accept him as the king, as the Messiah. The many ordinary individuals did accept him and wanted to embrace him. But the leaders of Israel did not accept him as the king, did not acknowledge him as the king of the Jews, the king of Israel, though he was the king of Israel. The Magis, the wise men said, where is he that was born, the king of the Jews?

On the cross, the superscription was, this is Yeshua, the king of the Jews. But the leaders did not accept the Messiah as the king of Israel, as the king of the Jews. Turn to John chapter 19. It is towards the time of Yeshua's death on the cross, on the tree. John 19 and verse 14, it says, and there was the preparation of the Passover, Pesach. And about the sixth hour, he says unto the Jews, behold your king. That was Pilate, Pilate. He came and presented before the Jewish leaders and he says, look, this is your king. But listen to what we read. And they cry out away with him.

Away with him. Crucify him. Pilate, sayeth unto him, shall I crucify your king? And the chief priests, listen, it is the chief priests. And they answered, we have no king but Caesar. The leaders of our nation, Israel, rejected the kingship of Yeshua and have chosen Caesar to be the king. We have no king but Caesar. Well, back to Zechariah chapter 11. God is saying now to the leaders of Israel. He is speaking, of course, to the remnant of Israel, 487 BC, pointing them to the future day. When the Messiah rejected, he says, listen, he said to them in verse 6, I will no more have pity on the inhabitants of the land.

Sayeth Jehovah. Sayeth Jehovah. Why? He said, but lo, I will deliver the men, everyone into his neighbor's hand. And into, listen, the hand of his king. And when Israel refused the kingship of Yeshua and chosen the kingship of Caesar, God says, I'm going to deliver you into the hand of your king. And their king was Caesar when they rejected Yeshua, the Messiah, as their king. He was the true king of Israel. He was the king of kings and lord of lords. He was the promised Mashiach, the promised redeemer of Israel who have come in his first coming, understanding that he will be rejected. But Israel have chosen Caesar to be their king.

We have no king but Caesar. And so God says, okay, there is going to come a time that I'm going to hand you over to the one that you have chosen to be your king. Be your king. And the Caesar, the Kesar, was the one that sent the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem, to destroy the temple, to burn up the cedar, which representing the temple in the city of Jerusalem. And so in verses four, five and six, God instructed Zechariah to act out as if he was the Messiah. And as he acted out as the Messiah who coming, the king of the Jews, the king of Israel, was refused.

Then God says, okay, I'm going to hand you over to the one that you have chosen your king, namely Caesar, by choice. And so now in verses seven to eleven, Zechariah is really acting out what God had requested from him. And I want you to notice this, beloved brothers, this is very interesting. God is taking us from 480 BC all the way to the time when the Messiah came and died about 30 AD and then taking us further to about 70 AD. And ultimately it takes us to the tribulation period before the kingdom will come. And so notice now Zechariah is acting out what God has told him to do, the role of a shepherd Messiah.

It says here, notice that verse seven, I will feed the flock of the slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves, and the one I call beauty, and to the other I call bands, and I fed the flock. Now Zechariah acting out as the Messiah. And what does he do? He is feeding the flock of slaughter, the flock is the whole nation of Israel, who are being prepared for judgment because they have rejected the Messiah. He fed them, namely, like the good shepherd, like Yeshua the Messiah, as we have read in John chapter 10. I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd give his life for the sheep. He fed them. But now look what he does. He even fed the poor of the flock. Every time you read of the poor of the flock, these are the believers from among the rest of the nation of Israel. You know, the Jewish believers always have been a remnant. There is a remnant in every generation. In fact, today in the church age, Romans 11 tells us there is a remnant according to the election. In other words, God has elected a remnant from among our nation, Israel, in this present day dispensation in which we live in. Romans 11 in verse 5.

All of us who are Jewish believers here, we are part of the remnant of believers who are part of the church of Jesus the Messiah. But in every generation, there is always what you call the poor of the flock. Those who are the minority, the small group among the many. So Zechariah here is feeding the flock of the slaughter in verse 7. And I want you to notice what he does. Again, he's acting as in the place of the Messiah. And so we find him now. It says in verse 7b, he fed the flock of the slaughter, even you, the poor of the flock. And notice that I took unto me.

You see, he is acting now as a shepherd. Two staves. Two staves. In Hebrew, shnei maklot. Two sticks. The one I call beauty. In Hebrew, the word is noam. And the other I call benz. In Hebrew, it is the word chovlim. And I fed the flock. Here is Zechariah now. Being faithful as in type, in picture. In parable. Acting out as if he is the Messiah. And he takes two sticks. And he gives them names. The one he called it beauty. Actually, it's better. The word noam means pleasant. Naim. In Hebrew, behold how good and how pleasant. How naim is the same Hebrew word. Beauty should be really pleasant.

And chovlim, benz, means it comes from the word rope. Chevel. Where you tie together everyone. In other words, here is Zechariah taking care of the nation of Israel in type of the Messiah. And he takes those two sticks. And he gives them names. One of them he called them noam, pleasant. The other one he called them benz. Ropes to tie them, to hold them together. You know, God always desired to have his people united together. And his people are pleasant to him. That they are a joy to his heart. Whether it is Israel. Or whether it is the body of Messiah, the church. He always liked to see the people of God together.

And he liked to lead them. And to give them all what he is able to provide for his own people. And that is what his desire. So here we see what Zechariah have done. Now, you know very well that every shepherd usually has more than one stick. He has usually two sticks. One of them is the one in which he will lean on. And he will lead the sheep to follow after him. And he will sometimes draw them to himself. The other one is a bit smaller. But thicker is where he will have to give some correction. Or to chase those that come against his own people.

I want to show you this in the Psalms. Turn to Psalm 23. The very famous Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd. It speaks about the true shepherd of Israel. Namely, the God of Israel. And David is singing this Psalm. And David is saying in verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still water. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. And then he says. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil. For thou art with me. And now notice, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 4b.

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Shiv techa um mish'an techa. Shiv techa um mish'an techa. Shiv techa um mish'an techa. Those two Hebrew words. Thy rod is to protect. And to discipline. Thy staff is for direction. And the word shiv techa um mish'an techa. In Hebrew simply means. It is where he is giving defense. And he gives discipline. And the staff is where he lean on. Mish'an techa. These are really giving direction. He says. They comfort me. Thy staff. And the rod and thy staff. They comfort me. Every good shepherd. Every true shepherd. Have those two sticks. And one of them is called here rod.

The other one is called staff. That is. The shepherds would always carry this with them. In order to lead the flock after them. So back to Zechariah now. In chapter 11. Zechariah in acting out. As the Messiah. The good shepherd. And he feed the flock for the slaughter. Verse 7. He also take care of the poor of the flock. This is the believers. Who believe in a Messiah. In his first coming yet. And then he took unto him two staves. I took unto me. He said in verse 7. The one I call beauty. Noam. The other I call Benz. Chovlim. And I fed the flock. Here you can see the faithfulness of Zechariah.

To obey what God told him to do. In acting it. But really in type. In a parable. We see the faithfulness of Yeshua. In his life. Or how he cared for his people. Think about his brothers and sisters. He lived here for 33 years. Thirty years he was really in obscurity. The last three and a half years before he died. He was really living public life. The four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Tell us the beauty of the life of the Lord. How he cared for his people Israel. How he fed them. Whether he was in Galilee. Or whether he was in the city of Jerusalem.

Wherever he had been. People have been taken care of. You remember where he fed the 5,000. He took two loaves of bread and five fishes. And he fed the multitude. And the people have been fed. And he met their need. He cared for the flock. He fed the people. Our own people Israel. When he was in the Galil. Or even when he was in the city of Jerusalem. He always sought to minister. To the people of Israel. To his own people. You remember what John once said. He came unto his own. But his own. Received him not. He loved them. He wanted to minister to them.

And that was the purpose that he came. He came unto his own. And I have to mention some verses here. Because this is important. To see the ministry of Zechariah. Is enacting what the Messiah was going to do in a future day. Look at this. In Matthew chapter 9 verse 35. We read. And Yeshua went about all the cities and the villages. He was teaching in their synagogue. He was preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He was healing every sickness. And every disease among the people. Verse 36. But when he saw the multitude. He was moved with compassion on them. And we read here in verse 36b. Because they fainted.

And they were scattered abroad. As sheep having no shepherd. Here is the true shepherd of Israel. The lover of our nation. He taught the people. He preached to the nation. He healed the sick. He ministered to the needs of all the people. And his compassion for the people of Israel was so tremendous. That in chapter 10. And verse 5. He says. These 12. After he chosen the 12 apostles. He sent forth. And he commanded them. And he says. Listen what he said to them. Before Israel rejected him. He says. Go not into the way of the Gentiles. And into the cities of the Samaritan. Until ye not. He said to them.

But go rather to the lost sheep. Of the house of Israel. That is exactly what he came. In his first coming. To do. Will Israel accept the Messiah? Will they acknowledge that he was the Messiah? But unfortunately. God knows that. Ahead of time. That when he is going to come. And the Messiah will come. Israel will not accept him. At his first coming. And so. Back beloved brothers. To Zechariah. Again. To chapter 11. We read verse 7. And these two sticks. That Zechariah had prepared. One of them he called. Noam. The other one he called. Chovlim. Pleasant. And bind together. Unity among the people. He sought the unity.

Of the people of Israel. And so. We read now. In verse 8. Zechariah. Now. He cut off. Three shepherds of Israel. Why? Because those three shepherds. Notice. I am reading now. Verse 8. Three shepherds. Also. I cut off. In one month. And my soul. Loathed them. And their soul. Abhorred me. Now. Again. Remember. In this chapter. Zechariah. Is acting out. The Messiah. In what is going to happen. Now. Those. Three. Shepherds. Are a representation. Of the leaders. Of Israel. And all three. Shepherds. Most Bible teachers. Will tell you this. It is representing. The leaders of Israel. Israel. Who despised. Yeshua. Who did not accept him. Who rejected him.

And challenged him. All the time. You know. When Yeshua. Came in his first coming. His problem. Was not with the ordinary. Jewish individual. His problem. Was always. With the leadership. It's always. The religious leaders. And today. I can tell you. To be the same thing. In the present day. Church age. Will come today. His problem. Will be. With the professing. Christians. And all the clergy. Who claim. To follow God. But they find out. That really. They're not doing. The will of God. They will find. That there will be. In conflict. With him. Should he come. In the present day. Of the church age. But he will not.

He will come. Only. The rapture. To meet us. In the air. And in his second coming. At the end. Of the tribulation. But notice that. Those three shepherds. We might. Very well. Say. That they are. Representation. Of the priests. The scribes. And the elders. Of the nation. When the Messiah. Was here. At his. First. Coming. Cutting off. Simply. It speaks. Of judgment. That will fall. Upon them. Which we're going to see. In a moment. So these are. The leaders. Of Israel. Who rejected. The Messiah. The Pharisees. The Sadducees. The Herodians. The scribes. The priests. The elders. These are representations. Of the leaders. Of Israel. Turn to Matthew.

Chapter 22. And notice that. Some call this chapter. Yeshua. In the lion's den. Why? Because there were those. Who opposed him. From among the leaders. Of our nation. In Matthew. Chapter 22. Notice. Verse 15 and 16. Then. Then. When the Pharisees. And took counsel. How did they might. Entangle him. In his talk. And they sent out. To him. Their disciples. With the Herodians. Here's one sect. Among the religious. Jewish community. Called the Herodians. And they challenge him. They said. Master. We would like to know. If you are the true. And so on. And what you teach. You to tell us. In verse 17. What. Thinkest thou. Is it lawful. To give a tribute.

And to see the honor. In other words. They try. To find fault. With Yeshua. Seeking to entangle him. Those are the Herodians. Now. Go a little bit. Further down. In verse 23. Here's the second group. And they are the Sadducees. That's Dukim. And it says. In verse 23. The same day. Came to him. The Sadducees. Which say. That there is no resurrection. And they ask him. Saying. Master. Moses said. To die. Having no children. His brother. Shall marry his wife. And raise up a seed. Unto his brother. And they began. To ask him. Some questions. That was really ridiculous. And the Lord Yeshua. Told them. In verse 29.

He answered. And he said to them. Ye do err. Because you do not know. The scripture. Nor the power. Of God. This is the Sadducees. Who sought to find fault. In Yeshua. The Messiah. Now. Go a little bit. Further down. To verse. 34. In here. The third group. Is the Pharisees. It says. In verse 34. And when the Pharisees. The Prushim. Had heard. That he had put the Sadducees. To silence. They were gathered together. Then one of them. Which was a lawyer. Asked him. A question. Tempting him. And saying. Master. Which is the great commandment. In the law. And trying to find fault. In Yeshua. And Yeshua gave him an answer.

And really put this person. And the Pharisees. In their place. And so. Beloved brothers and sisters. What we learn from these verses. In verse 8. That the three shepherds. Are representation. Of those. Who oppose the Messiah. In the leadership. Of Israel. At his first coming. And he said here. In verse 8. My soul loathed them. And their soul. Also abhorred me. They didn't love him. At all. Because they knew. That he would be the one. That would put them. In their place. Being the true Messiah. He was teaching. The word of God. They were teaching. Religion. He was teaching. The truth. They were teaching. Fallacy. And I want to apply this.

To the church ace today. If the Lord will come. Today. In this present day. There is so much. Fallacy. That existing. In the professing. Church of Jesus. The Messiah. And we. Have to be. Discerning. What is from the Lord. And what is. Man made. And that's. What we read here. In verse 8. About the three. Shepherds. That he will cut them off. Now. Look at this. Now. Verse 9. We are moving down. Zechariah. Now. Stop to feed. The flock. Here is. When God. Is going to come. To a time. When he will stop. To feed the flock. Because he is ready. To allow them. To be judged.

It says. In verse 9. Then said I. I will not feed. You. That. The diet. Let it die. And that it is. To be cut off. Let it be. Cut off. And let the rest. Eat. Everyone. The flesh. Of another. So. What we learn here. That at some point of time. Zechariah. Stopped. To feed. The flock. At some point of time. In the history. Of our people. Israel. God. Remove. Himself. From the protection. Of the nation. And he stopped. To feed them. Stopped. To provide. For them. Because he prepared them. For a coming. Judgment. That will come. Upon. The nation. Of Israel. So. This is very important.

There was a time. In which. Israel. Have rejected. The Messiah. And they came. To a point. Where do you remember. In Matthew. Chapter 12. When the leaders. Of Israel. Said. That he speak. In the power. Of Baal. Zevuv. And they were accusing. The Messiah. Yeshua. That his miracle. That he does. In the power. Of Satan. Baal. Zevuv. The Lord. Of the flies. Is one of the expressions. That we. Gave. To Satan. Because he is the Lord. Of these. Flies. Which we don't like. At all. This is one of the expressions. That is given. To Satan. And. They accuse. Yeshua's miracles. And activity. As if he does it.

Not in the power. Of God. But in the power. Of Satan. And that's where. The expression. The blasphemy. Of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew. Chapter 12. In verse. 24. When the Pharisees. Heard it. They said. This fellow. Does not. Cast out demons. But by. Baal. Zvuv. The prince. Of the demons. And Yeshua said. Yeshua knew their thought. And he said unto him. Every kingdom. Is divided. Against itself. Is brought unto. Desolation. Your house. Divided. Against itself. Shall not. Stand. And if. Satan. Cast out. Satan. He is divided. Against itself. How shall. Then his kingdom. Stand. And if. I. By. Baal. Zvuv. Cast out demons. By whom. Do your children.

Cast them out. Therefore. They shall. Be. Your. Judges. And now. Going down. To verse 31. Therefore. I say unto you. All manner of sin. And blasphemy. Shall be forgiven. Unto men. But the blasphemy. Against the Holy Spirit. Shall not. Be forgiven. Unto men. And whosoever. Speaketh a word. Against the Son of Man. It shall be forgiven. Unto him. But whosoever. Speaking. Against the Holy Spirit. It shall not. Be forgiven. Unto him. Neither in this world. Neither in the world to come. In other words. Saying to them. That they have. Blessed him. The Holy Spirit. Of God. Who testified. To the fact. That he was. The true Messiah.

By rejecting him. And saying. That he spoke. And did miracles. In the power. Of Satan. They really. Blessed him. The Holy Spirit. Ruach HaKodesh. Which testified. To the Messiahship. Of Yeshua. And so beloved. Brothers and sisters. Back to Zechariah. Chapter 11. And now. In verse 10. We read. Now. God. Coming. In judgment. Upon the nation. Of Israel. And that. Had been fulfilled. In 70 AD. It says. In verse 10. Zechariah. Broke the stuff. That is called beauty. And I took. Notice. I. Zechariah. Messiah. In typology. He took my stuff. Even beauty. Noam. And. Cut it. Asunder. That I might. Break. The covenant. Which I had made. With all the people.

Now. Pause with me. Every verse. Here is rich. It seemed to be. To us. Very. Hard to understand. But if you understood. Things behind it. It's so full of riches. Here. In these verses. In other words. The word beauty. Noam. Pleasant. God. In the person of the Messiah. Through Zechariah. Parable acting. He took one of those stuff. And he broke it. And then he says. That I. Might break. My covenant. Which I had made. With all the people. Now. We never read. Of any. Covenant. That God made. With all. The Amim. The Hebrew word. Amim. People. That God made. A covenant. With Abraham. We know.

That God made. A covenant. With the house. With Israel. We know. That God. Made a covenant. With Noah. But we never read. Of such a covenant. That God had made. With all. The people. Now. What is this covenant. We don't have. Anything written. In a sense. About this covenant. That God. Had made. With all. The nations. Of the world. In what. They don't even. Know it. That this covenant. Means. That he will. Shelter. His people. Israel. Throughout. The generation. No one. Will ever. Be able. To destroy. The people. Of Israel. Because God. Have had. His hands. Of protection. Over the nation. Of Israel. That in.

Every generation. They try. To destroy. The Jewish people. Our own nation. They never. Can. Totally. The nation. Of Israel. Though. Persecution. Come. From generation. To generation. From time. To time. But. Israel. As a nation. Have always. Have been. Protected. By God. And preserved. Until the. Messianic age. That is going to come. But here. In anticipation. Of the 70 AD. Judgment. God said. That he. The Messiah. The prophet. Zechariah. He broke. This. Stick. This. Makel. Pleasant. This first one. And he cut it. Asunder. That he. Might. Also. Break. His covenant. Which he made. With all the nations. Of the world. In other words. He will remove. His hands.

Of protection. Over the Jewish people. Specifically. At the time. That is coming. 70 AD. That the. Anticipation. Of the judgment. Was coming. Now. I was thinking. How to illustrate. This truth. The best. I was thinking. Of a verse. Or two. To illustrate. This truth. And the best way. Is to go. All the way. Back. To Genesis. Chapter 4. And if you will. Please again. Turn back. To Genesis. Chapter 4. With me. And I want. To illustrate. This. Through the two. Men. The two sons. Remember. Both of them. Approached God. Abel. Brought. Of the. Animal. Blood. Cain. Brought. Of the fruit. Of the ground. He may have brought. Vegetables.

And fruit. God. Have accepted. The blood. Sacrifice. Of Abel. And he rejected. The offering. Of Cain. Because there was. No blood. Atonement. In human. History. Happened. Right there. The first. Murder. Was a man. Who killed. His own brother. Out of jealousy. So. Genesis 4. Verse 10. And he said. This is the Lord said to Cain. What have thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood. Crying unto me. From the ground. And now you are cursed. From the earth. Which has opened her mouth. To receive your brother's blood. From thine hand. And when you till the ground. It shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive.

And a vagabond. Shall thou be in this earth. In other words. God said to Cain. What have you done? The blood of your brother's Abel. Is crying. From the ground. To the ground. And he says. Because you have done it. You are going to be a fugitive. And a vagabond. In Hebrew. Na'vanad. You are never going to have a rest. Here in this world. You are going to run from place to place. You are never going to find rest. Because you. Have killed your brother. And so Cain answered the Lord. In verse 13. My punishment. Is greater. Than I can bear. Behold. You have driven me out.

This day. From the face of this earth. And from thy face. And I shall. Be hid. And I shall be a fugitive. And a vagabond. In the earth. And it shall come to pass. That everyone. That finds me. He. Shall. Slay me. In other words. Cain said. God. You have made me now. A fugitive. Running from place to place. And if anyone will see me. He will kill me. So you know what God did. And again. It's a beautiful typology. What God said. I'm going to protect you. Cain. It says in verse 15. And the Lord said unto him. Therefore. Whosoever slays Cain. Vengeance shall be taken on him.

Sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain. Lest anyone find him. Should kill him. Now look at the grace of God. Cain deserved to be. Judged. But God put a mark on him. And he said. Anyone who touches Cain. He will be judged. Sevenfold. Now Cain rejected his brother. Cain became a type of the nation. Who rejected their brother. Yeshua the Messiah. Cain became a vagabond. You know. Our Jewish people have no rest in this world. From generation to generation. You find that Jewish community is struggling. You know. Look at the history of our people. Everywhere we have gone. We had Hitler's. We had Hamon's.

We had Nebuchadnezzars. We had Russian czars. The Spanish Inquisition. And on and on and on. The Jewish people have no rest here in this world. Why? Because Israel had rejected Yeshua the Messiah at his first coming. And until Israel will acknowledge the Messiah. They will be like Na'vanad. Like a vagabond. Running from place to place. Look at the Jewish persecution upon the face of this world. Even today. When we are in the land. There is no rest. Bombs are falling every time. Whether it is from Hamas. From Gaza. Or whether it is from Hezbollah. From Lebanon. Or whether it is coming from elsewhere. All around.

The Jewish community have no rest here in this world. God put a mark upon them. That whoever is going to touch Cain. They will be judged seven times. In other words. Cain received that mark of protection by God. That he will preserve him. And nobody will be able to kill him. But what we learn here from Zechariah. In this context of the chapter in which we read. God will remove for a season. This protection. I might break my covenant. This is Zechariah 11 verse 10. I will break my covenant. Which I had made with all the people. And God opened the door. Beloved brothers and sisters. For the Romans.

To come and to destroy. The city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem. And to totally devastate. The Jewish people at that time. And over 1,100,000 Jewish people died. And many of them have been taken to slavery. Now I got to read for you something. From history. About 70 AD. Listen to these beloved brothers and sisters. In the year 66 AD. The Jewish people of Judah. Or Judea. Rebelled against the Romans masters. In response. The emperor Nero. Dispatched an army. Under the generalship of Vespasian. To restore order. By the year 68 AD. Resistance. In the northern part. Of the province. Had been eradicated. And the Romans. Turned their full attention. To deal with Jerusalem.

That same year. 68 AD. The emperor Nero. Died by his own hand. Creating a vacuum. Or power vacuum. In Rome. Resulting in chaos. Vespasian. Vespasian. Was declared. An emperor. And he returned. To the imperial city. This is to Rome. It fell upon his son. His son's name. Was Titus. Or Titus. To lead. The remaining army. In assault. On Jerusalem. The Roman legion. Surrounded the city. And began. To slowly. Squeeze. The life. Out of the Jewish. Stronghold. By the year 70 AD. Attackers. Attackers. Had breached. Jerusalem's. Outer walls. And began. A systematic. Ransacking. Of the city. The assault. Culminated. In the burning. And destruction. Of the temple. That served.

As the center. Of our Jewish people. In victory. The Romans. Slaughtered. Thousands. And of those. That were spurred. From death. Thousands. Of more of them. They were enslaved. And sent. To toil. In the mines. Of Egypt. Others. Were dispersed. To arenas. Throughout the empire. To be. Butchered. For the amusement. Of the public. Can you imagine. Many have gone. Many of these Jewish people. Have gone. To those arenas. Where they have been. Butchered. Publicly. By the thousands. The temples. Sacred treasures. Were taken. To Rome. Where they were displayed. In celebration. Of the victory. The rebellion. Sputtered. On. For another. Three years. And it was. Finally. Extinguished.

In 73. A.D. With the fall. Of the various. Pockets. Of resistance. Including. The stronghold. Of Metsada. If you know. Metsada. Is right there. By the Dead Sea. Where rebels. Have gone. The Jewish. People have gone. And took Metsada. In 73. A.D. The Romans. Took those. Metsada. And those. About 900. And something. Jewish people. Committed suicide. Just. Not. To fall. By the hands. Of the Romans. Listen. Our only. First hand. Comes from. The Jewish. Historian. By the name. Of Josephus. Flavius. Was a former. Leader. Of the Jewish. Revolt. Who had. Surrendered. To the Romans. And had. One favor. With. Vespasian. In gratitude. Josephus. Took on. Vespasian's. Family name.

Flavius. As his own. Called. In Hebrew. Yosef. Ben. Matitya. He. Was born. Into the. Hashmonaim. Lineage. Yosef. Josephus. Became. A Pharisee. At the age. Of 19. He. Went. To Rome. And he. Returned. Back. To Jerusalem. In 66. A.D. Josephus. Yosef. Became. A leader. At the time. Of the revolt. Of the Jews. Against the Romans. During the reign. Of Nero. Who reigned. From 54. To 68. A.D. Josephus. Was appointed. The commander. Of the most. Northerly regions. Of Galilee. In 66. And 67. A.D. He was captured. By the Romans. In 67. At Yotfat. And while. A prisoners. He became. A go-between. In negotiation. With the local. Jewish population. Regarding. The war.

In 69. A.D. Vespasian. Gave Josephus. His freedom. And after. The war. Which lasted. From 66. To 73. A.D. Josephus. Yosef. He retired. To the Roman. Exile. As a Roman. Citizen. During. The reign. Of Vespasian. Now. I want to read. The final. Remarks. Josephus. Was a Jewish. Historian. A.D. In the city. Of Jerusalem. And look. What he wrote. The rebel. Jewish people. Shortly. After. They attacked. The Romans. And a clash. Followed. Between. The guards. Of the sanctuary. And the troops. Who were putting. Out. The fire. Inside. The inner court. Then. The latter. This is. The troops. They routed. The Jews. And followed. In hot. Pursuit. The temple.

Itself. Then. One of the soldiers. Without. Awaiting. Any orders. And. With. No. Dread. Of. So. Momentous. A deed. He. Urged. One. By. Some. Supernatural. Force. He snatched. A blazing. Piece. From a wood. Of the wood. He climbed. Upon. Another soldier's. Back. And he threw. The flaming. Brand. A low. Golden. Window. That gave. An access. On the north. Side. To the rooms. That surrounded. The sanctuary. And as the flame. Shut up. The Jewish people. Let out. The shout. Of dismay. That matched. The tragedy. That we have. Here. In chapter. Eleven. They flock. To the rescue. With no thought. Of sparing. Their lives. With all their strengths.

For the sacred structure. This is the temple. That they had. So much. Loved. It came up. In flame. And before. Their very. Own eyes. The Roman soldier. Took a piece of wood. And so on. And threw it into the temple. And the whole. Temple. Had burned. And can you. Imagine. This is the temple. Where God. Set his name. And it was. Totally destroyed. In 70 AD. As we read. In Zechariah 11. And verse 1. Open thy doors. O Lebanon. That the fire. May devour. Thy cedars. Your temple. The temple. In Jerusalem. Now. Let me conclude. Here. In verse 11. Go now. Back to. Zechariah 11. And then. Verse 11. Notice. After he broke.

This. Stuff. That is called. Beauty. In verse 10. And he says. I might. Break. My covenant. Which I made. With all the people. Then it says. In verse 11. Messiah's covenant. Was broken. In that day. It says. In verse 11. And it was broken. In that day. And so. The poo. Of the flock. That waited. Upon me. Knew. That it. Was. The word. Of God. In other words. Beloved. Brothers and sisters. The poor. Of the flock. Those are the believers. Who have acknowledged. The Messiah. They saw. When the time came. They saw. Indeed. That this. Is what the Lord. Have already. Prophesied. In a previous time. When the Lord Yeshua.

Was here on earth. When he said. To Israel. That this. Is going to happen. When there will be. A rejection. Of the Messiah. Israel. Itself. Will ultimately. Will experience. The judgment. Of God. 20 AD. I'm concluding. With Luke 21. Verse 20. When you shall see. Jerusalem. Compass with armies. Then know. That a desolation. Thereof. Is nigh. Then let them. Which be in Judea. Flee into the mountains. And let them. Which be in the midst. Of it. Depart out. And let. Not. Them. That are. In the countries. Enter. There. Into. For. These. Be. The days. Of. Vengeance. That. All. Things. Which are. Written. May. Be. Fulfilled. By. Worn. To them.

Which are. With a child. And so on. This. Verse 23. And he says. In verse 24. And they shall fall. By the edge. Of the sword. And they shall be. Led away. Captive. Into all the nation. Jerusalem shall be. Trodden down. Of the Gentiles. Until the times. Of the Gentiles. Be fulfilled. Here's the Lord Jesus. At about 30. Or so. A.D. Before his death. He mentioned. What's going to happen. In 70. A.D. When the Jewish people. Will experience. The destruction. Of the temple. In Jerusalem. And it is only. The believers. Who understood. That he was. The promised Messiah. They knew. That it was. Indeed. The word. Of the Lord.

And apparently. The Jewish believers. Have fled. Jerusalem. Before 70. A.D. Came. And they. Were spared. From the judgment. That came. Upon the rest. Of the nation.