From Babylon to Jerusalem - (Zechariah) ch.5:5 - 8:13 — Zac Poonen

The Seventh Vision: Babylon, Mammon, and the Bushel Measure

Chapter 5, Zechariah chapter 5. The conclusion of our last study, we were looking at chapter 5, verses 5 to 11, which is the seventh vision that Zechariah had. And this is a very important vision, because here he sees, as we saw in verse 6, the margin of bushel measure.

And we considered the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 11, where he said that your light should not be concealed in a bushel measure. The light speaks of the life of God, in him was life, and Jesus was life, that life was the light of men.

And the bushel measure speaks of the God of this world, Mammon. And when Jesus said that your light should not be in the bushel measure, he was saying, essentially, that your life should not be hidden and corrupted by the power of Mammon.

And that is always a danger in the church, that the light of God can be darkened by the power of Mammon. And this is a danger that is always present to every one of us, because we are dealing with money every day, buying and selling, and dealing with money.

And Jesus spoke about the deceitfulness of riches, he spoke about Mammon as being unrighteous Mammon. There are two things Jesus said about money, that it was dirty and it was deceitful. And I have to remember when I handle money that it's dirty, it's deceitful.

And particularly, to see that that does not corrupt my Christian testimony. And when we read about Jerusalem and Babylon, we have considered many things about Babylon, but one thing we see about Babylon from Revelation 17, and particularly chapter 18, is that it is an economic system, a system built by Mammon.

But it has got a religious appearance about it. It is religion being used to further one's own ends. And Paul speaks about that in 1 Timothy chapter 6, very important in this connection. He says about those who think of religion as a means of making money, 1 Timothy 6, verse 5, that godliness is a means of great spiritual gain when it is accompanied by contentment.

And there he goes on to speak about the love of money in the rest of that chapter. But this godliness becoming a means of gain, and the clearest example of that in the New Testament would be the money changers in the temple, who were doing a service for the people, in the sense that they were exchanging the people's Roman coins for the Hebrew shekel, which they had to put in the sanctuary.

There were people who were selling doves and sheep in order to help these people who had come from distant places to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Why did Jesus turn them all out of the temple? Because they were making money out of this.

But you say, can't you make a profit selling doves and sheep? Yes, you can make a profit, provided you do it in the marketplace, but you can't make a profit in the temple. In the temple, you are not permitted to sell doves and sheep for profit.

And that's a principle we have to see, how much, even though it is there in scripture, yet how much of it has penetrated Christianity today. So many things done in the name of Jesus Christ, and the whole aim is to make profit.

A lot of Christian bookshops, good Christian books, but profit-making is the motive. Tapes, Christian tapes, and profit-making is the motive. Christian stickers, Christian t-shirts. It's amazing, the spread of Babylon all over.

Can't we sell t-shirts and tapes and books? Yes, but not in the name of Jesus Christ, and make profit out of it. Because the fundamental principle of Jerusalem is sacrifice. That I spend my own energy and time and money to serve the Lord.

Whereas the fundamental principle of Babylon is profit. And there we can see how much of all these Christian organizations has been penetrated by the spirit of Babylon. And that's what we see here in Zechariah chapter 5, that there was this bushel measure, and it looked just like an ordinary bushel measure on the outside, but there was a lead cover on it that says in verse 7, inside was this woman, and this woman was Babylon.

We read in verse 11 that they were taking this bushel measure to the land of Shinar. If you turn to Genesis chapter 10 and verse 10, you read about Shinar there. Genesis 10 and verse 10, we read there about Nimrod, who was the first type of the Antichrist in the Old Testament.

Nimrod, verse 9, a mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, or Babylon as the margin says. This is where the tower of Babel was built in chapter 11. And Iraq and Akkad and Kelna in the land of Shinar.

So from that verse we know that Shinar is actually just another name for Babylon. And when you turn to Daniel chapter 1 and verses 1 and 2, Daniel chapter 1 verses 1 and 2, we read that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem.

And the Lord gave Judah into his hand, and he brought them to the land of Shinar. So there again we find that Shinar is just another name for Babylon. And so we see here in Zechariah 5 .11, to build a temple for her in the land of Shinar, means to build a temple for her in the land of Babylon, to build a house.

And that is the false church. And that is being built for this woman, it's being built for her. And she sits inside this bushel. Here is making money in the name of religion, personal gain in the name of religion.

God and mammon mixed up together. I always say this. If you get a salary for what you do, what you are doing is not Christian work. Because in Christian work there is no salary. It's quite alright to get a salary for our work.

But we must remember that where you get a salary, that is secular work. 100 secular work. In Christian work there is no salary. Jesus never promised a salary to his disciples. And then we can see, which Christian organization is there in this country, which does not pay a salary to its workers?

None. That is why I say, those are not Christian organizations. They are secular organizations. There is nothing wrong in working in them. They are secular organizations. But it's blasphemy to say that it is doing the Lord's work.

God and mammon cannot mix like oil and water cannot mix. When you mix oil and water, it's not fit for drinking, it's not fit for putting into your scooter either. If you keep them separate, they are good.

And that's the problem when people try to mix God and mammon, what eventually becomes the kingdom of mammon and not the kingdom of God. But the thing is, there is a deception about it. This woman doesn't manifest herself.

She is concealed with a lead cover. The whole thing is hidden. And there we can see that there can be the outward appearance of religion. And inside, the motivation of it is personal gain, which God alone can see.

That's why God has lifted the lead cover, given us revelation to see the humbug and the hollowness of so much of Christianity that goes by the name of Jesus Christ, and yet the motivation in it all is not sacrifice, but personal gain.

And once we think in terms of personal gain, we have started building Babylon. Whether it's personal honor or money or position. And we have to build a church on the opposite of that. Sacrifice. We are not to draw people here by any other means than the word of God and the word of the cross, the principle of sacrifice, not the principle of Babylon, which is gain.

There are people who have come to us at different times who have probably heard from different places that there are generous people here who help those who are in financial need, and there are people who have come and tried to become members of our church because they thought this is a good place to be in, because when I am in financial need, the other brothers and sisters will help me.

We have to be very careful about such people, because if we give room to them, we can end up adding a lot of people who have got actually the spirit of Babylon there. They can sit there appearing to be very religious, but if you lift up the lead cover inside, it is this woman thinking of what can I gain by coming here.

What can I gain, not spiritually, materially, or honor, or position, something of the earth. To gain spiritually is a good thing, but to gain materially, that is essentially of Babylon. I have to think in terms of what can I give, not what can I gain.

Then I am qualified to be a part of Jerusalem, which is a city of sacrifice. And it is not just a matter of criticizing and condemning a whole lot of Christian organizations. I don't believe we have the right to criticize and condemn them if we have not first of all seen that this spirit of Babylon first of all dwells in our own flesh.

If we have not got light on this woman sitting inside, hidden by a lead cover inside our own flesh, and if we have not driven her out from there, if we have not driven her out in our own life, then we have got no right to point out that error in someone else.

But if I have seen this spirit of seeking my own gain, and my own honor, and my own profit, in my own flesh first of all, and put it to death, and crucified it, and said no to it, and driven it out, then we have the right to speak about this in other people.

And this is the reason why so few people have the authority to speak about it. Because they haven't put it to death in their own flesh first. This woman dwells in our own flesh. But it says here finally, there were two other women who came with wings like a stork.

We saw in Leviticus 11 and verse 19 that a stork is one of the unclean birds. And Jesus spoke of the birds of the air coming and taking the seed as the agents of Satan. And here is one of those unclean birds.

Babylon has become the nest of every unclean bird, we read in Revelation chapter 18. And here is one of those unclean birds, the stork, that's come to take Babylon, the evil spirits in the heavenly places, have come to take her to her own base, it says in verse 11, to the place where she belongs.

We read a similar verse in Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 and verse 25 about Judas. Judas was called to be an apostle. And we read in Revelation 21 that the apostles' names are on the foundation stones of the walls of the New Jerusalem.

Just think, Judas Iscariot's name could have been on one of the foundation stones of the walls of the New Jerusalem. But it says here, instead of this ministry and apostleship, Acts 1 .25, which Judas should have got, he turned aside from this, from this calling to be in the foundation stone of the walls of the New Jerusalem, to go where?

To go to his own place. That was Babylon. That was Judas Iscariot, making money in the name of religion. In the name of religion, he helped the high priests, and he got money for it, and he went to his own place.

And a person who has this spirit will go to his own place. There is a foundation being laid there, a pedestal being put, a house being built for those who have this spirit. Brothers and sisters, this is what we are to fear, lest we become a part of.

This system that has corrupted Christianity, making money and gain and profit for oneself, position and honor and money and all types of gain, in the name of religion, with a lead cover, hiding it all.

Oh, to see it in our own flesh, and put it to death, and crucify it, and be ruthless with it, and say, Lord, let me never, never find that spirit in me. Always let me think in terms of sacrifice and giving, and never in terms of getting.

That's how we build a church, and we have to preserve the church here, in that purity. Otherwise, Babylon can enter even here. Now we come to chapter six, and we see here the eighth and last vision that Zechariah got.

The Eighth Vision: Chariots, Angels, and God’s Judgment

I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains, and the mountains were bronze mountains. Now, what are these chariots? We can compare Scripture with Scripture.

It's always best to compare Scripture with Scripture. And we read in Psalm 68 and verse 17, Psalm 68 and verse 17, the chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands, and the Lord is among them.

And in another translation it says thousands and thousands of angels. These are the chariots of God. And so it speaks here about the chariots of angels, thousands and thousands and thousands of them. The thousands of chariots that came to take Elijah up without dying, that protected Elisha when the army came to attack him.

We read here that they came forth from the mountains, and the mountains were bronze mountains. Again, if we compare Scripture with Scripture, Zechariah 6 .1, in the Old Testament we read that bronze was used for the altar where the animals were sacrificed in the tabernacle.

And it speaks of judgment on those animals. And here it speaks, therefore, in Zechariah 6 .1 about these agents of God who are going forth to execute God's judgment. The first chariot were red horses, the second, black horses, the third, white horses, and the fourth, strong dappled horses.

And I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, What are these, my Lord? And the angel answered and said, These are the four spirits of heaven. You remember when we studied Revelation 7, we saw these four spirits holding back the winds of judgment from coming upon the earth till the 144 ,000 were sealed on their foreheads.

The four spirits of heaven going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth. In other words, these are spirits who stand before the Lord and then they are sent forth to execute a particular task of judgment.

And with one of which, the black horses are going forth to the north country, the white ones go forth after them, and the dappled ones go forth to the south country. Now, we don't want to speculate as to what the black and the white and the dappled are.

There are many people who are interested in getting all types of fancy interpretations for that. I want to say this, brothers and sisters, where we find a clear scripture that interprets another, we can give an interpretation to it.

Where there is no clear scripture, we say we don't know. And I don't know what all those colors symbolize, but we know that these are the agents of God. And when the strong ones went out, they were eager, verse 7, to patrol the earth, to walk about through the earth.

And he said, go, walk about through the earth. So they patrolled the earth. And then he cried out to me and spoke to me saying, See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased my wrath in the land of the north.

Even now, the judgments of God fall upon the earth. For we know, for example, in Sodom and Gomorrah, judgment fell long before the final judgment. And there are various times we read when in the book of Amos, chapter 4, we read that God judged various places by not sending rain and judging certain other people with volcanoes and floods and various ways with wild beasts and war and sword and pestilence and famine, the various ways by which the judgments of God are already falling upon the earth.

The poisonous serpents that bit the Israelites in the wilderness, they were part of God's judgment. And so there are little bits of God's judgment go forth even now where sin increases, where sin overflows beyond a certain level like it did in Sodom and Gomorrah.

God comes down in judgment. And that judgment has appeased God's wrath in a particular land, it says here. And so we see that these horses are, as it were, the movements of God's providence, the circumstances and situations that happen around in the world.

And when we look at them, they can look as though the circumstances and events that are happening in the world around us even today, some of it may look like wild, uncontrollable horses. They really look like wild, uncontrollable horses running here, running there, various things happening, the judgments of God in various ways, the judgments of God upon idolatrous lands, and various things like that.

And we can think that these are all wild, uncontrollable horses. But here in this vision we see that they stand before the Lord of all the earth and go only after getting His permission. And so that's the consolation that we get in this, that there is a sovereign God who is controlling all these apparently wild, uncontrollable horses.

God's got the reins in His hand, and He's controlling the reins of all these events that are taking place all over. And so we see here that God gave Zachariah eight visions. And if you remember, the first vision was also a vision of horses.

And here were these, if you turn back to Zachariah chapter one, you remember we studied about the myrtle trees, and that spoke about the new creation we saw in that low, despised place. And there were these horses, red, sorrel, white, described in verse eight, whom the Lord had sent to patrol the earth, verse ten, and they came back and reported to the Lord, we have patrolled the earth, and the earth is complacent about its condition.

And now we see in the final vision, these horses going forth and executing judgment, because the Lord was angry, it says in Zachariah 115, with these nations who were complacent about their sinful condition.

And there was a judgment to wake them up from their spiritual sleep. And all these eight visions were meant to encourage these depressed, discouraged Jews, to stir them up, to build the house of the Lord.

And the purpose with which God gives them to us also is the same, that we might be encouraged to build the body of Christ. The visions that Zachariah had began with a vision of God's sovereignty in the first vision, and ends with a vision of God's sovereignty.

And this was the great thing that Zachariah proclaimed, the sovereignty of God, God's sovereign control over all nations, over all circumstances, so that his people need not think that all these things are happening through blind chance.

God is in control of everything. So just briefly, to review the eight visions, the first one we saw in Zachariah one was about God's people despised, and in that low place, and the sovereignty of God protecting them.

The second one, in Zachariah one, 18, the horns, the powers that sought to destroy and scatter the church, and the overcomers, verse 20, the craftsmen, who were going to drive the devil's power out, so that the church would be built.

The third vision was about Jerusalem, chapter two, surrounded by a wall of fire, having no membership list, but God himself being a sort of a wall of fire through which people had to pass if they wanted to become members of this church, and God himself protecting Jerusalem.

Zachariah 2, 8 is the apple of his eye. The fourth vision was of the son of God as our intercessor, and standing against Satan, our accuser, protecting us from the accusations of Satan, chapter three.

The fifth vision was in chapter four about the ministry of the Holy Spirit who seeks to pour himself through us and give us a ministry where we are crushed like olive oil to be poured out so that the lampstand can burn.

The power of the Holy Spirit and the crushing of the olives so that oil can be supplied for the lampstand to burn. Not for our crushing so that I gain something. That can be selfish. That I can be crushed so that the church gains something.

That's really something. To be so unselfish that my crushing is not because I want to be in the bride of Christ or I want some personal glory in the final day, but so that the church can burn. That is true unselfishness with Christ at the center.

And then the sixth vision was about the judgment of God in the flying scroll, chapter five, particularly on those who steal and tell lies and bringing a curse upon their house. God's judgment catching up with the sinners.

The seventh one was what we just considered about Babylon concealed. And the eighth one is again of the sovereignty of God. And all these visions were meant to encourage people to press on with building the superstructure.

The Branch, the High Priest, and Building the Temple

And now we come to verse nine. The word of the Lord also came to me saying, take an offering from the exiles from Heldi to Abijah and Jediah and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon and take silver and gold and make an ornate crown and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehoshaddak, the high priest and say to him, thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, a man whose name is Branch, for he will branch out from where he is and he will build the temple of the Lord.

And Joshua was to be a type of Jesus Christ because Joshua was the high priest and he was there to be a type of Jesus, our high priest. And they were to make a crown for this high priest. A very beautiful picture here that the people who left Babylon, it says these people in verse 10 who have arrived from Babylon were to give an offering and Zechariah was to take this offering and take the silver and gold not from all these Babylonian Christians, no, but from the people who had come out of Babylon to Jerusalem.

He was to take an offering only from them. This is a fundamental principle in building the body of Christ in this matter of receiving an offering. Whom do we take an offering from? Well, that's clear in Zechariah 6 .10.

We are to take an offering from those who have come out of Babylon. We are not interested in an offering of those who do not receive the message of leaving Babylon. But those who have come out of Babylon can give an offering.

And the first offering we are to give is of our lives, our bodies. That's the first offering. And then the other things. Our body and our life is much more important to God than everything else. And with this offering that we present, that they presented, Zechariah was to make a crown for Joshua.

You get the picture here of the offering that we make is what God is going to use to crown the Lord Jesus Christ as King. It's a very beautiful picture. That if I present my body, and the offering I have to give to God is a body, this body that God has given me.

When we think, if we say we are to offer money, then there is going to be a big difference even with all of us who are sitting here. Some can give more, some can give less. And that depends on your income.

But when it comes to presenting our body, everyone sitting here is equal to present our body in the moment of temptation and say, Lord, here is my offering to you. I've come out of Babylon and here is my offering and every one of us has that opportunity to present our body as an offering to Christ.

Our tongue and our eyes in the moment of temptation and our self-will to follow Jesus whose body was always presented to the Father. This is the meaning of the breaking of bread. This is my body broken for you and I eat it.

I say, Lord, I want to go this way. I'm presenting my body as an offering. And when I do that, that is the means by which finally Jesus Christ will be enthroned as King of this universe. That's the way.

That's why it's so important that God can find people throughout the earth like these people mentioned here. Just think if your name and my name can be put there in the New Covenant. These people who have come from Babylon take their offering of their bodies and make a crown for Jesus that he can be enthroned as King and that he can come back in glory.

That's the picture here. And thus says the Lord of Horse, this man whose name is Branch. We considered that in studying Zechariah chapter 3. That is referring to Christ manifest in the flesh because that's mentioned in Isaiah 11 verse 1 that a branch will come out from the root of Jesse, the father of David.

He is of the seed of David. He will branch out from where he is and he will build the temple of the Lord. Jesus said that. I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Yes, it's repeated.

It is he who will build the temple of the Lord. The government will be on his shoulder. He will be the one who builds the temple of the Lord. He uses us, but he is the one. He is the architect and he is the builder and he will bear the honor.

Praise God. He is the only one who is going to get the glory for building the church. We can say we are giving ourselves to build the church, but he is the one who will bear the honor and he will sit and rule on his throne.

He will be a priest on his throne and the council of peace will be between the two. That is, see it in relation to the building of the temple of the Lord. Verse 13, the last part. He will be a priest on his throne.

In the Old Testament, a priest could never sit on a throne and a king could never be a high priest. That was impossible under the Old Testament. The high priest was one, the king was another. And we can say the only exception in one sense to that was Melchizedek who was a king and a priest.

That's why in the New Covenant Jesus is called a priest after the order of Melchizedek. He was a king and a priest. He rules and he intercedes. As a king he rules, as a priest he intercedes. In the Old Testament the king ruled and the priest interceded.

But Jesus rules and intercedes. And that is a different type of rulership. And the measure in which we can be a leader for others is the measure in which we can intercede for them. Because we are also called in Revelation 1 .6 He has made us kings and priests.

This is a New Covenant concept. And the council of peace will be between the two offices. There will be peace between the king and the priest because it will be united in Jesus Christ. And perhaps that could also refer to the fact that Jesus is the one who brings peace between God and man.

Between the two. And the crown will become a reminder in the temple of the Lord to Helam, Tobijah, Jediah and Hinn the son of Zephaniah. And those who are far off will also come and build the temple of the Lord.

Now whenever we read about those who are far off that refers to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. We read that in Ephesians 2 .13. Now in Christ Jesus you who were far off have been brought near. You see, those who are far off verse 17, Ephesians 2 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and to you who were near to the Gentiles and the Jews.

And together they are going to build the body of Christ. Zechariah 6 .15. Those who are far off the Gentiles will come and together with those who are near they will become one body and will build the temple of the Lord.

Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you and it will take place if you completely obey the Lord your God. What a beautiful verse. That God's purposes take place when you completely obey the Lord your God.

It is complete obedience. It's very interesting that that word completely is used there. Complete obedience is what enables Jesus to build his church in any place. And that's why it's very important if we are going to build Jerusalem that we preach complete obedience not partial obedience.

Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. This is the proof that the message we preach has been sent by the Lord. That the Jew and the Gentile the people from different communities and different groups come and become one and together they build the church and the glory goes to Christ.

Empty Rituals and the Meaning of Fasting

And then we come to chapter 7 and here was a question that was raised by certain people. Zechariah 7 .1. In the fourth year of King Darius the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month which Chisleh the town of Bethel had sent Charizer and Regimelech and their men to seek the favor of the Lord.

There were certain people who came to Zechariah asking a question. And the question was this speaking to the priests who belonged to the house of the Lord and to the prophets saying shall I weep in the fifth month and abstain as I have done these many years?

You see the Jews had as a tradition when they went into Babylon in captivity organized certain fasts in certain months and those are mentioned here later on it says here when you fasted and mourned verse 5 in the fifth and in the seventh month actually there were four fasts and they are all described in chapter 8 verse 19 the fast of the fourth the fast of the fifth the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth month there were four fasts that God had not commanded them.

These fasts were related to certain events in the history of Judah when Nebuchadnezzar came and laid siege to Jerusalem broke down the walls captured the city various events that took place in various months.

And when the Jews were in Babylon they thought of these months and they thought these are the days when certain things happen when God's judgment came upon us and we are going to fast now and seek God.

And they had these fasts four times a year in the fourth month in the fifth month in the seventh month and in the tenth month and now that they had come back to Jerusalem from the captivity they came to find out should we now continue to have these fasts.

Now there are certain things that God has not necessarily commanded which are a good thing to do. For example to read the Bible every day. That's a good thing to pray at a certain time every day or various activities like this are good.

But the word of the Lord that came to Zechariah in reply to these people's question did not really answer their question. The Lord said when you fellows sat there in Babylon and you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month over all these 70 years you did it.

Was it actually for me that you fasted. He said. You fellows just went through it as a ritual. And when you eat and drink don't you just eat for yourself. Don't you drink for yourself. Are not these the words which the Lord proclaimed by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and prosperous with its cities around it and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited.

Now what were the words which some of the former prophets prophesied. Concerning this we can look at one example in Isaiah 58. In Isaiah 58 one of the prophets that was Isaiah had prophesied to the whole nation of Israel long before they went into captivity.

And this is what Isaiah had said. The Lord told Isaiah. Cry loudly and don't hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet and declare to my people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they seek me day by day. They come to the meetings. Why have we fasted. Verse 3 thou does not see. You know Isaiah was a fantastic prophet. Tradition tells us that history tells us that Isaiah was sawn in two.

You read in Hebrews chapter 11 about those who were sawn asunder. And Jewish history tells us that that actually happened to the prophet Isaiah. When you read through the prophet Isaiah you are not surprised that he was sawn asunder because of some of the things he said.

For example he said in Isaiah chapter 1. Isaiah chapter 1 he said in verse 10. Hear the word of the Lord. You rulers of Sodom think of that telling all the bishops in Jerusalem. You rulers of Sodom you people of Gomorrah what are all your multiplied sacrifices of me.

I am fed up of all your burnt offerings. And when you verse 12 when you come to appear before me bring verse 13 bring your worthless offerings no longer their incense is an abomination. And I hate verse 14 your festivals.

They become a burden. And so on the he says last part of verse 13 I cannot endure all your meetings. Think of that he said I am fed up. The Lord says he is fed up of all your special meetings and your conventions and your all night prayer meetings.