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You You You You You You Amenos take our seats and let's start our first service Welcome to Verity Baptist Church, Manila. Let's get our hymns and turn to him number 84 Me Oh Me Oh Oh Oh It's all pretty important we thank you for this morning We thank your God for the presence of each and every one of us here Lord We ask those who take care and keep the members who are still going here Thank them all God Every we keep them safe and also Lord I pray that you would do a bless for the sake as if we just saw us a sermon Lord I pray that you would guide him and feel your Holy Spirit. Oh God so that he could speak What is truth Lord and I pray oh Lord that you'd also remove the hindrance s from us Lord Let us Help us to be effective with a sermon Oh God and I follow sword Lord that you would also bless the congregation singing the reading of the word and also Oh God that you would bless our Soul winning this afternoon and give us a good better Lord so that we can go out there And I pray that you do bless the fellowship and continue to bless this church We're bringing back all glory and honor to Christ and we pray. Amen For a next song. Let's turn to you number We are with me to be, make me a channel of blessing Raise your life a channel of blessing on first Raise your life a channel of blessing Raise the love of God going through Are you telling the lost of the Savior Are you ready his service to good Make me a channel of blessing today Make me a channel of blessing I pray My life processing My service blessing Make me a channel of blessing today One second Raise your life a channel of blessing Are you burdened by the souls that are lost Have you heard of all those who are shaking The Savior who died on the cross Make me a channel of blessing today Make me a channel of blessing I pray My life processing My service blessing Make me a channel of blessing today Now verse number three, number three hundred eighty three Ready on the third, sing Raise your life a channel of blessing Raise it daily, daily morning And his hope and word of salvation To those who are dying in sin on the cross Make me a channel of blessing today Make me a channel of blessing I pray My life processing My service blessing Make me a channel of blessing today On last We cannot buy tunnels of blessing If our lives are not real, come on, sin Make me a channel of blessing today Make me a channel of blessing I pray My life processing My service blessing Make me a channel of blessing today Make me a channel of blessing today Make me a channel of blessing today Alright, good morning everybody. Welcome to Verity Baptist Church. Take out your bulletin here today. And I'm preaching against Buddhism. Obviously I'm not promoting this picture of this giant Buddha on the front But I always try to make a picture that's attached to what I'm preaching on. So I'll be preaching against Buddhism during the second sermon here today. But anyways, we are a family integrated church Which means children and infants are welcome during the services. We do have a mother baby room Back there for your convenience as well as the ladies restroom. The men's restroom is up here in front. Remember, no eating during the service. Maintain a professional atmosphere And keep the children from running and making noise during the church service. Next page are service times listed. First service is at 10 a.m. Second service 1130. Wednesday evening Bible study at 7. Wednesday is meeting at the church building. On Saturdays all day soul winning at K-Some Memorial Circle. 10 to 12 lunch provided by church and then 2 to 4. Of course we do have soul winning this afternoon at 2.15 p.m. Salvation are listed there. Both month and year to date for our churches and Bible study Fellowships as well as birthdays and anniversaries down there. Next page on announcements and upcoming events. Our Bible memorization challenge. We do have prizes Back there. Under upcoming activities we have a lot of announcements and some things That are not in the bulletin. So just make sure you pay attention to this part. The things that are in the bulletin. We do have both our monthly prayer meeting and choir practice here today. So after soul winning we'll do our monthly prayer meeting. After that choir Practice. If we do have maybe one group that's taking longer to get Back from soul winning we'll probably start the prayer meeting and they can kind of make their own Group once they come and join us later on. Next week Next Sunday is our children's day. Second annual. So that's going to be an exciting Event. There will be food provided but you need to make sure you bring your own Lunch. Because there's going to be food and snacks after soul winning but we're not Going to be providing your lunch next week for children's day. But it's going to be an exciting Time. The kids are going to have a great time. They had a great time last year. Then we also have choir practice on November 6th. November 12th will be our three year anniversary in Pampanga. Now we had the sign up sheet and I have the sign up sheet back there again and I just want to make sure it's accurate because we're basing The vehicles on how many people are planning. So we've basically got two Vehicles for 27 people. We have 27 people signed Up needing a ride. That does include a few children. But we need to make sure that it's Accurate. So if everybody who's planning to go or signed up can just double Check it here today. If there's any last changes make sure it's accurate how many people Are coming. Make sure it's accurate that you do or do not need a ride. Because that will make a big difference. So just double check that here today. That is On the back table. Other announcements that are not here. On Monday October 31st And also Tuesday November 1st we will be having soul winning marathons. November 1st is I believe All Saints Day. The day before is I don't know Halloween Day or whatever. The day before All Saints whatever holiday they call it. But we're going to be having soul winning marathons those days. A lot of people have those days Off from work. One other big announcement and I'm going to bring a sign Up sheet next week. It's going to be basically a survey of those that are interested But not necessarily guaranteeing that you're planning to come. So somebody asked me recently Whether or not we're going to be having a missions trip. Meaning the international missions Trip. Somebody from another country. And I was debating about this For a while and I determined that we're not going to do it because I just don't think it's Going to be the most effective in 2023. But what I would like to start doing is doing A kind of local missions trip. And what I mean by that is that our church Goes to a location and takes a few days and it will be Basically a half missions trip half vacation event. And so this will be the first time ever and it's not guaranteed. We're just planning to do a survey To find out if there is an interest in that. And so I'm going to read a couple Of the things here. I'll bring the sign up sheet next week. But I want to give you time to Basically think about that. The church would provide your transportation To and from the location. However you Would make sure you need to prepare money for your food and lodging. So we're not going to Be necessarily paying for your food or your lodging. It's possible the church might Help with meals and stuff like that. But what we would not want is people showing up And expecting the church. Okay give me a place to stay or whatever. It's like we'll provide Your transportation to the event and back from the event. But we cannot Guarantee anything above that. And so A few other things and then I'll make Mitch and then give some comments on this. The trip Would be for a couple days. It would depend on the location but it might be Something like leaving on a Monday morning and then coming back on a Wednesday. Something like that. The midweek service for both Manila and Pampanga would be at the event. So there would be no local Midweek service. We wouldn't have to worry about having to have someone preach here. The sermon Or Bible study would be there and then we would live stream as long as the internet's okay. If there are not enough people interested Then we're not going to do it. Obviously. So that's why we're getting a survey to find out If people are interested. Now depending on how much Interest there is from this church in Pampanga, we might combine Church events or we might separate them. So for example if there's a Small handful in Manila interested in a small handful in Pampanga, we'll do One event. If there's like 20 in Pampanga and 40 here You know we're probably going to separate because it's going to be very Confusing and complicated. And so this event Is meant to not only be a soul winning event but also a vacation event. The location selected would be a nice tourism spot. So kind of the idea would Be that each year we go to kind of a different spot and you get to have Like kind of a mini vacation but also soul winning there as well. So it's not going to be Like soul winning 8 to 5 and that's it. Kind of like the international missions trip It's pretty much just like a soul winning trip and if you have time at night do something small This would be a little bit different. There would be soul winning every single day but it would not Just be all day soul winning. You'd have the opportunity to visit various places And so if we do this event it would probably be In March of 2023 would probably be the plan. So I'm Giving you a lot of time ahead of time because if you need to save up money or plan to get Time off work, something like that. And the idea would be that every year We would go to a different location. At least that's kind of the goal. I don't know exactly where it would be. I know one of the areas we talked about Or thought about, my wife and I were talking about Baguio would be a nice place. Obviously Baguio is a little bit closer to Pampanga than it is here. But there is a possibility of separating the events or combining them. I'm really not sure. But anyways just something to think about. It would probably be in March The church would provide your transportation to and from the location. And if you chose to drive separately we could pay for the transportation To and from. But you'd have to actually save up money for The food and the lodging for the event. Now my wife has been to Baguio when she was younger several times and she does know places where the price is not That bad for hotels. And if a lot of people are planning to Go you can kind of talk to other people. Maybe share houses or whatever. But anyways just giving you a general overview. Next week I'll give you kind of a sign up sheet. But for today I need you to make sure the sign up sheet is correct For the Pampanga event. Because otherwise people are going to be riding Savit All the way down to Pampanga. That's not the safest thing to do. So anyways that's it for announcements while Brother Marlon leads us in another song. I am happy in the service of the King I am happy in the service of the King I am happy oh so happy I have missed the joy that nothing else can bring In the service of the King In the service of the King Every call and I will bring I have peace and joy and blessing In the service of the King I am happy I am happy Oh so happy In the service In the service In the service There with I and I will ring I have peace and joy and blessing In the service of the King I am happy in the service of the King I am happy oh so happy I am happy I am happy In the service of the King In the service of the King Every call and I will bring I have peace and joy and blessing In the service of the King Let's take our offering. Please let us open our Bibles to Zechariah chapter 1. That is the second last book in your Old Testament. Zechariah chapter 1. As is our custom we are going to read the whole chapter. Please say Amen when you are there. Zechariah 1. In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Perichia, the son of Edith the prophet, saying, The Lord has been so displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Be not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings. But they did not hear. Nor harken unto me, saith the Lord, Your fathers, where are they, and the prophets? Do they live forever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants, the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? And they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to unto us, according to our ways and according to our doings, so has He dealt with us. Upon the four-and-twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Zevad in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the son of Eretia, the son of Helo, the prophet, saying, I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom, and behind him were the red horses, speckled and white. Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what these been. And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth sit still and is at rest. Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long will thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these three squandineers? And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry though saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion, with a great jealousy. I am very so displeased with the heathen that art at ease, for I was but little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction. Therefore saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies, my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. Cry saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion and shall yet choose Jerusalem. Then lifted I up mine eyes and saw and behold for horns, and I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And the Lord showed me four carpenters. Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head. But these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up the horn over the land of Judah, to scatter it. Let us pray. Thank you, our Father, for your Word. Please let us give us concentration, help us to understand the chapter and the sermon, and also we ask you that we always apply the things that we hear, and please bless the future. We thank his name. Amen. All right, we are here in Zechariah chapter 1, and there's no question that Zechariah is one of the most confusing books of the Bible. I mean, if you read your Bible cover to cover, this is certainly probably one of those books where you're just like, Man, I am confused on what is going on. So go to Ezra chapter 5. I want to just kind of show you real quickly why I'm preaching on Zechariah, and this is going to be just one sermon, kind of an overview of Zechariah. We're going to kind of hit some highlights, but of course we're going through the book of Ezra verse by verse, and you get to Ezra chapter 5 verse 1, and the Bible says in Ezra 5 verse 1, Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Edo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them. And so if you remember, in the book of Ezra, they start to go through persecution as they're rebuilding Jerusalem, and as a result of the persecution, they start to make excuses, and they're not doing what God says to do. So basically you have Haggai and Zechariah who become these preachers from God that are basically preaching, trying to motivate them to finish the work. Now before we get into Zechariah, I want you to go to Haggai 2 real quickly. Haggai chapter 2. Haggai 2. So what we need to realize is the book of Zechariah is going to be applicable for what they're actually doing. They're rebuilding Jerusalem, and so there's many references where it's basically trying to motivate them to finish the building and finish the work that God has for them. Haggai 2 verse 1. The Bible reads, In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai saying. So it says in the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month. Okay? Look at verse number 10. Haggai 2 verse 10. In the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet saying. So it mentions the seventh month in Haggai 2.1. It mentions the ninth month in Haggai 2.10. And go to Zechariah chapter 1, Zechariah 1. And it says in Zechariah 1, starting at verse 1, In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius. So I'm just showing you that yes, Haggai and Zechariah, these are contemporary prophets, meaning that they were basically prophets at the same time. So right when Haggai's preaching, and he seems to be preaching before Zechariah, at least the word that's actually written down, then you have Zechariah also preaching. So these two books are going on simultaneously, and this preaching is going forth, trying to motivate the Jews to actually finish Jerusalem. And so it says in verse number 1 of Zechariah 1, In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah the son of Barakiah, the son of Edo the prophet, saying, The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Now, what is Zechariah talking about here? What he's talking about is the fact that the Jews went into bondage for 70 years, right? They went into bondage, and then they're carried away, and then Babylon is ruling the world. And for 70 years, they're basically, you know, God is angry at them. They're in kind of like a timeout. You know, the kids, you give them like a five-minute timeout, and you expect them to get right. They're in like a 70-year timeout, okay? So 70 years. So most of the people that are hearing this preaching, they weren't even alive when this took place. It's not like they were there, and then they got moved, you know, away, and now they're back in Jerusalem. Most of the people hearing this were not even alive. I'm sure they knew the stories. Why are you in bondage? Well, we sinned, and God is angry, and we're in bondage to Babylon. But most of them didn't actually experience this. And Zechariah is reminding these people, these stories that they've heard, that you know what? God was mad at your fathers. He's mad at what they did, right? Verse 3. And Zechariah is saying, well, here's the thing. God is not done with you. If you turn onto me and do what I say and obey what I say, then you know what? God is going to forgive you. He's going to bless you. He's promised you this land. But the contrary is also true. If you don't turn onto me, if you disobey, you are in a 70-year timeout, it's going to be worse the next time. Because think about this. You give your kids a five-minute timeout, we don't really do timeouts, but you give your kids a warning or whatever, it's like the first warning is less than the second. So if they had a 70-year timeout, the next timeout is going to be longer than 70 years at the very least. And he's kind of warning them, hey, for 70 years, which is the whole lifetime of most of the people, their whole life was spent just in bondage. It's going to be worse for you if you don't obey because you already got the warning for 70 years. Verse 4, Be not as your fathers unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Turn ye now from your evil ways and from your evil doings. But they did not hear nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord. And so Zechariah is saying, you know what? Your fathers that disobeyed me, they were warned by prophets during their time period, get right or God is going to judge us. Right? You know, what's interesting is the prophets during that time period, apparently they didn't say, you can do whatever you want because we're God's people. Apparently the former prophet said, hey, you better get right or God's going to judge us. And he did by giving them 70 years in bondage. Verse 5, He says, Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever. Now, here's the thing, most people hearing this were not alive when this took place. But they know these stories. I'm sure it was passed down from their parents like this is the reason why we're in bondage. God is judging us because of what He did. But the thing is, the people aren't really listening because they're disobeying God again. It's kind of like, it'd be like, you know, let's say a parent, you know, smokes cigarettes their whole life with cancer and they warn their kids, but the kids don't take heed to the message. And this is the kind of thing where it's like, hey, you know what, your fathers have warned you, but you're not listening to it. But it's like, well, it doesn't really matter what the father said. It doesn't really matter what the prophet said. You don't have to listen to that. They don't live forever. They're gone, but here's something that does live forever. But my words and my statutes. See, here's the thing, you know what, you can get stories passed down from your fathers or from former preachers and listen to all these sermons. But you know what, at the end of the day, whatever, if you don't want to listen to that, that's fine. But one thing that is always correct is this Bible, the word of God. And he's saying, you don't want to listen to what your fathers tell you. Okay. You don't want to listen to what the former prophet said. Hey, you know what, that's fine. But here's the thing, the word of God stands forever. And all throughout the word of God, hey, you reap what you sow. You live a sinful life and God is going to judge you. So even if you didn't know those stories, even if your parents didn't tell you this is why we're in bondage, it's pretty obvious. Because if you disobey what God says, you are going to be judged. Now this is true on an individual level for us. It's also true with nations. And the nation of Israel was no exception to this. They ended up getting into sin and then God judged them. And it says, but my words and my statutes, which I command in my servants, the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? It's like you don't want to listen to what your father said, but here's the thing, the words of God that were preached then, they ended up taking place. You say why? Because God's word is always going to come true as He says. And they returned and said, like as the Lord of hosts thought to do on us according to our ways and according to our doing, so hath He dealt with us. So what did the father say? You know what? The word of God that was preached, it took place. It's like we didn't listen. These prophets warned us. And he's saying, hey, fine, don't listen to your fathers that say why this took place. Don't listen to what the former prophet said. Don't listen to what this prophet says. What does the Bible say though? Right, because this was a culture where people actually did know what the word of God said. It was a culture where the Bible was read. They knew the commandments of God. They knew what the Bible said. So it's like if you don't want to listen to anything because you're so arrogant, what does the Bible say? Because God's word is going to stand and it's going to do exactly what He says. Verse number 12. And as I said, we're just covering various verses here. We're not covering every verse in Zechariah. Verse 12. Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord of hosts, how long will Thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which Thou hast had indignation these three score and ten years? So the angel of the Lord asked God, how long are you going to be angry at Jerusalem? And he says you've been angry or indignant for 70 years, three score and ten years. That's the 70 years of bondage. And of course, God is giving them another chance here, but they're getting into sin again. Right? Verse 13. And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry Thou saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy. Now, what does the word jealous mean in the Bible? Because in our modern day, the words jealous and envy, people are very confused by them. But there's a clear separation. In our modern day, you kind of just use the word jealous for both jealousy and envy. But these are different words according to the Bible. Jealousy is when something belongs to you and you're very possessive of it. Right? But envy is when something does not belong to you. So if you desire that house or that car, but it doesn't belong to you, you know you're being covetous, you're envying that person because you're covetous. Right? But if it belongs to you, well, I mean, of course you're jealous. It belongs to you. You can be upset about it. There's nothing wrong if something belongs to you and you want it. It belongs to you. Right? But there is a problem with envy. And what the Bible says here about God is that God is jealous over Jerusalem. And the Bible says God is a jealous God. Right. Meaning that if things belong to Him, He doesn't think it's okay to be taken away from Him. Right? God's a jealous God, meaning He doesn't appreciate idolatry. Right. And see, when it comes to Jerusalem, there's a couple ways to look at this. You can look at the people or you can look at the land and both would be true. But see, God is jealous because that's the land that He determined. This is where God's people are going to serve me. And here's the thing, when idols are filling the land, which the Bible says during that time period, He's going to be angry. Right. Because that land belongs to Him. We don't have a right to fill that land with idols. Right? A country does not have a right to fill their land with abortion. A country does not have the right to fill their land with all these homos running around, just any sin that goes and no punishment. No, because it belongs to God. And God says, you know what, whatever the heat of the nations do, fine, but I'm jealous over Jerusalem. This is where the people that are saved are living primarily. This is the area that's going to evangelize the world and then you're living a sinful life and acting like the heat of the nation and God is angry about it. And He judged His people. Why? Because He's jealous over them and they're not doing what He said to do. And then it says this in verse 15, And I'm very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease. For I was but a little displeased and they helped forward the affliction. He said, what is that referring to? Well, when He's referring to the heathen here, I believe He's referring to the heathen nations. And what He's saying is, you know what, I was a little bit displeased. Now I'm extremely displeased. Right? And they helped forward my affliction, the heathen that are at ease, like nothing bad is happening to them and He's very angry. Then He says this in verse 16, Therefore, so as a result of verse 15, Thus saith the Lord, I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies. My house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. So let me ask you this question. Why did God return to Jerusalem with mercy, according to verse 16? Is it because He just had this undying love for His people? Is it because of the fact they turned back to God? No, it's because the heathen were so wicked. What God's saying is, I'm merciful to Jerusalem because these heathen nations are worse. He doesn't say, You turned back to Me, and I love you so much. He said, I'm returned back to you because you're my best option. I got nothing better, is basically what He's saying. He's like the heathen nations that are at ease while all this is going on, they helped forward my anger. I got very mad at all the wickedness they were doing, so therefore, as a result, I returned back to Jerusalem with mercy. And see, what God is warning them is this. Hey, realize, you had a 70-year timeout, but you never really said you're sorry and got back right with Me. I just determined to end it because I have no other option basically. The heathen nations were worse than you. Right? It doesn't say because I just have this undying love for people with that Jewish blood. I have this undying love for them, or that they turned back to Me. No, He says the heathen nations were just really bad, and that's why He turned back to Jerusalem. And so look, God's people that are hearing this, they should feel very fortunate. They should be like, Man, you know what? We are very wicked, and you know what? And here's the thing, if the heathen nations got more godly than us, then we're going to be done because God's not happy with us. Because in our modern day, people have no idea what the Bible teaches about the Jews and Zionism and all this stuff. People have this idea that God has this undying love for this group of people in another part of the world that don't believe on Jesus Christ. And yet, who cares what the fathers or the prophets said? What does the Bible say? From Genesis to Revelation, I don't understand where people get that idea. It is not what the Bible teaches. What the Bible teaches is, you know what? I cast off ten of the tribes, and two tribes were left, and they went into 70-year bondage, and the only reason why I came back to them is because other nations were worse than them. Right? And so here's the thing, it shouldn't be a shock to people that God would just eventually discard them altogether when they got more and more wicked. Verse number 17. Cry yet saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad, and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. He's saying I'm choosing Jerusalem, and the goal is that the cities spread abroad. The goal is the cities reach the entire world with the Gospel is the idea. The goal is this is the nation that I am using, and I want it to spread abroad and reach everywhere. In our modern day, what God uses is not a nation, but local churches. And the goal of the local church is to do what? To spread abroad. Right? You first reach your local Jerusalem, symbolically speaking, according to Acts 1-8, and then you reach the rest of the world eventually. Right? The goal is a church starts, and here's the thing, I get the idea that churches can get very comfortable when they grow, and our church has grown a lot since we started. Right? And it's very nice when the church is growing, you have more activities, but honestly, it's very easy to get comfortable and happy with what you have. Eventually, though, you have to get new churches started. Right? Because you've got to spread abroad. And look, we're spreading abroad on Sundays with our soul winning, but Egypt can only reach so far, you know, in 30 minutes. Right? I mean, it's not like we're going to say, all right, here's your soul winning map, all right, you're going to go soul winning, we're going to send you down to Laguna today, we're going to send you, I mean, it's like, no, you can only reach so far. And so spreading abroad, the way this takes place, is the fact you get more churches started. Right? All right, go to chapter two, verse one. Chapter two, verse one. Chapter one's not that complicated in Zechariah. Most of it's pretty transparent, it makes sense, but what gets confusing about Zechariah is it does not just stay with the present. It actually starts referencing the end times and the millennial reign of Christ. So this is one of those books that when you're reading it, you have to pay attention. Anyway, if you're like me, sometimes I'm paying attention when I'm reading the Bible, sometimes I'm reading, but it's like going straight over my head. And this is one of those books that if you read it that way, you're going to get to the end and be like, I have no idea. Myrtle trees and these different colors, like what is going on with the book of Zechariah? It's a book you have to really study to fully understand. Chapter two, verse one. I lifted up mine eyes again and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said, I wither goest thou, and it happened to me to measure Jerusalem to see what is the breadth thereof and what is the length thereof. And behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be under her wall of fire round about and will be the glory in the midst of her. So this is very interesting because it says Jerusalem is going to be as a town without walls. Now, realize that our modern day is a little bit different because we have missiles and a lot of modern technology. But in these days, if you wanted to protect a town or a city, what would you do? Build a big wall. Right? And you build a big wall, and the only way to attack it is they have to get over the wall, which is going to be pretty hard. I mean, they could have arrows and various things, but it's going to be very difficult to break through that wall. And so for a town to be safe, it needs a wall of protection. Right? Now, there's a symbolic meaning for the present, but a literal meaning for the future. Let's look at the symbolic meaning first. Go to Isaiah 26. Isaiah 26. Isaiah chapter 26. We're looking at all the books that don't make a whole lot of sense. Right? Haggai, Zechariah, Isaiah, Ezra. I mean, a lot of these are pretty complicated things. Anyway, a lot of people, they shy away from complicated books, but honestly, it keeps the Bible entertaining. Because obviously, you look at the various miracles in the Bible, like the 10 plagues of Egypt is one of the most exciting parts, in my opinion, in the Bible, but you've heard it preached so many times, and you've read it so many times. I mean, like, when you're a kid, you hear about the flood all the time. It's literally like the most magnificent event, basically, that's ever taken place, but it becomes kind of like you're desensitized to how amazing it is. So you just kind of read it like no big deal. Right? But the thing about the Bible is there's always parts that are very complicated, so you never, as you read the Bible, you're never going to reach a point where it gets boring because you just understand everything. There's always new things and fresh things to learn. Here's the symbolic meaning. Isaiah 26 verse 1. In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. So the symbolic meaning is that God is the salvation. Okay? But that's just the symbolic meaning. Go to Nehemiah chapter 1. Nehemiah chapter 1. Because literally, you need walls for a city, for protection. Right? You need walls to protect you. And you say, well, Brother Stuckey, you just said there would be no walls, but wait a minute. What is the book of Nehemiah about? Right? Nehemiah 1 verse 3. Nehemiah 1 verse 3. And they said unto me, and remember Ezra and Nehemiah are basically parallel. The first six chapters of Ezra and Nehemiah are parallel to Nehemiah. They're going back to Jerusalem and they're building the house of God. Then in Nehemiah, they're building the walls here. And it mentions here in verse 3. And they said unto me, the remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down and the gates thereof are burned with fire. What he's saying is, the wall's broken down, the gates are burned with fire, how are they going to protect their city? The gates are burned with fire, how are they going to protect their city? Right? They need a wall. They need these gates. And so when the Bible's saying in Zechariah about it's a town without walls, it's actually giving you a picture of the millennial reign of Christ. It's going toward the future. And what you see in the Bible is there's many reference how, you know, in the millennial reign of Christ you can set your weapons aside. Right? You can set away your weapons. You don't need them. But here's the thing. That's not our present. Right? There will be a day when you can have your door unlocked. You leave. I mean, you don't even have keys. You don't need keys. Right? But that's not our present day. Right? I mean, if you left home today and you didn't lock your door, good luck. Right? I mean, you don't know what's going to happen. Right? I mean, you need to have protection. And look, as a city, they needed protection as well. You need walls. You need a gate. You need these things. Jeremiah talks about that. And so the literal meaning is actually going forward to the millennial reign of Christ. And this is where Zechariah gets confusing. Because sometimes it talks about the present. Sometimes it talks about the future. Go to Zechariah 2, verse 10. Zechariah 2, verse 10. And we're still here in the same chapter. Zechariah 2, where it talked about a town without walls. And notice what it says in verse 10. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day and shall be My people. And I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent Me unto thee, and the Lord shall inherit Judah's portion in the Holy Land and shall choose Jerusalem again. Now, ask yourself this question. Has this taken place yet? Many nations being joined to, I mean, Israel, right? To Jerusalem. Have you seen the country of Egypt just join up with God's people? Have you seen Assyria join up with God's people? Right? And it's like, in our modern day, there's not a single country. Right? Tell me the nation that is joined to the Lord in 2022. I mean, I would say the country with the highest percentage of saved people is probably the United States of America. That's my opinion. I could be wrong. And it probably has more good churches than any country in the world. It also has more bloodshed than any country in the world. In fact, if you look at the percentages of countries with the highest percentage of LGBT, many of the top are the United States of America. It's like a competition between, like, the northwestern part of the U.S. It's like San Francisco and Seattle. I mean, there's a competition there who can have more hobos. Right? You can't tell me that that's a country joined to the Lord in 2022. Right? This has not been fulfilled yet with many nations being joined onto the Lord in that day and shall be my people. This is something that's looking way into the future, something that has not even taken place yet. Go to chapter 7. Chapter 7. Why does God mention this? Like, what's the purpose, though? Well, one purpose, I think, for the book of Zechariah is it talks a lot about the heavenly or the spiritual or the future because it's trying to get people in the mindset not to think of the earthly. If you remember from the book of Haggai, everyone's focusing on their own house and their own land and everything that they want and money, and they're not focusing on the Lord. And it's getting them not to think about the earthly but the heavenly. But the other idea is this. He's saying, Many nations shall be joined onto the Lord. He said Jerusalem's going to be spread abroad. He's trying to tell them, Reach the world with the gospel. Don't just be like, Well, we're God's people. We can sit here and everything's great. Don't worry about anything else. No, he's telling them, Hey, you are meant to be a people. Build this house because we need you to spread abroad and reach the world with the gospel. And don't get this idea that you're special to me and nobody else no matter what. Even in the Old Testament, their job was to reach everybody with the gospel. It was not, Well, you know, the Lord died for this group of people but nobody else. That's not what the Bible teaches. He used a nation to evangelize the world and he got rid of them because they weren't doing it. And he's saying, Many nations shall be joined. It's kind of like a reminder. Go and reach everybody. Because I get it. It would be very easy to have this attitude. Assyria is wicked. I'm not going to try to reach people like that with the gospel. In fact, isn't that exactly what Jonah said? Right. Or Egypt is wicked. Right? Why would I reach them with the gospel? I mean, even going way back with Moses and Ethiopia is like, you know, right there with Egypt, kind of used almost interchangeably. It's like, you know, how dare I even marry a woman who's Ethiopian? Right? It's like there's this attitude of, We're better than everybody else. Now, this is certainly true in 2022. The Jews have this attitude. They are better than anybody else. There's no question about that. Now, I don't know if I call this a privilege, but I've knocked on the door of many people that are Jewish, not here in the Philippines, but in the U.S. And honestly, the name of the second sermon today is Why Buddhism is the Least Receptive Religion of the Gospel, but that's of primary religions. Judaism is less receptive. Because many times you knock on the door of a Jewish person, it's like, do you go to church anywhere? And there's this, you know, arrogant smirk. I'm Jewish. And I can't even recreate it. But it's just obnoxious how they do it all. It's like, I'm the chosen. Right? It's just like, I'm chosen. It's like, I'm good to go. Right? And so they have this attitude, and this has been a prevailing attitude for a long time, even amongst those that were saved going way back, where they weren't evangelizing everybody. And so there's these little, you know, symbolic things in Zacharias saying, reach everybody with the gospel. That was your job. Go to Zacharias 7. Zacharias 7. Zacharias 7, verse 4. Then came the word of the Lord of hosts on me, saying, Speak unto all the people of the land and of the priests, saying, When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did you at all fast unto me, even to me? What he's saying is that during that seventy years of bondage, you were fasting, and you were mourning, but was it just a vain show that you were doing? Was it just your mourning because you are basically in bondage? He's saying, you know what, you fasted, but it's not like you were really trying to get right with me. Right? And it's kind of this idea of godly sorrow versus worldly sorrow. And what he's saying is, during those seventy years, you did fasting, you did mourning, you had a lot of worldly sorrow. You were very upset that you were in bondage, but you did not fast to me. He's saying, you did not turn back to me. Once again, what it's saying is, they did not turn back to God. He's saying, you were mourning and fasting, but not because you were actually upset at what you did or felt guilty about what you did. You did it because you just felt bad about your situation. Right. And I've preached on this relatively recently, and it's an idea that we should all know. We're basically, when something bad happens to you, you're always going to be sorry. The question is, do you have worldly sorrow or godly sorrow? Godly sorrow results in a change. Worldly sorrow means you're sorry you got caught. Every serial killer is sorry when they get caught. I'm so sorry. I'm sure you are. I'm sure you don't want to be in jail, but are you sorry about what you did? Right? There is a difference between being sorry for what happened to you and actually sorry for what you did. Right? And what he's saying is that the Jews, by and large, as a people, they were not sorry. They just went through these repetitions trying to get another chance, but they didn't actually turn back to God. Were there exceptions? Of course. Daniel's an exception. I mean, Daniel didn't even do anything to get put into bondage. He's a little child when it happens, and he's right with God, and he's always begging forgiveness for his people. Like, we messed up. Right? So there are people like Daniel that said, He messed up. Forgive us. But by and large, as a people, they were not really sorry for what they did. Verse number six. And when ye did eat and when ye did drink, did ye not eat for yourselves and drink for yourselves? So ye not hear the words which the Lord hath cried by the former prophets when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her when men inhabited the south and the plain? And he's like reminding them, hey, these are the words of God that were preached by former prophets, the things that I'm saying right now. And look, here's the thing. Obviously this took place a long time ago. But honestly, the words that were preached back then are really no different than the words that are preached today in Bible-believing churches. He's preaching, obey me, or you're going to be in bondage. Well, the same thing's true today. The Word of God is timeless. Right? So the same preaching today, obey what God says, or you reap what you sow, it's still true today. Now here he's dealing with a nation, but the same thing is true to us. The same thing is true to us as individuals, where basically we better obey what God says, or we could be in bondage. Right? We could have our 70 years of bondage, whatever that would mean, symbolically speaking, where God is judging us for what we've done. Go to verse 12. Verse 12. And it says in verse 12, Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets. Therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts. He said they made their hearts an adamant stone where basically they did not want to hear the message. Right? Because the Bible says, you know, symbolically, the Word of God is like a sword that pierces the heart. But it's hard for a sword to go through a stone. Right? What he's saying is they basically got, you know, stubborn or thick-headed or whatever you want to say, where they refuse to even listen to the words of God. And there can be no impact if you get stubborn and refuse to actually listen to what God says. Same thing is true to us. The Bible says have an honest and good heart. You have to let that Word of God hit you on the inside. And sometimes it hurts. Sometimes it's like a sword that's piercing the inside of your body. I mean, for anyone who's ever had like a minor operation or something sharp inside of your body, it does not hurt. I had a staff infection in college. And you know what? It really hurt. And they weren't even going that far in. And you know what? The Word of God, it hurts when it hits the inside. But you have to let it hit the inside and you have an honest and good heart. But they made their hearts as an adamant stone. Verse 13. Therefore it has come to pass that as he cried and they would not hear, so they cried. And I would not hear, say the Lord about them. But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them that no man passed through nor returned. So they laid the pleasant land desolate. What he says is, I scattered you amongst the nations. Right? I mean, this is what he did for 70 years. They were scattered abroad. And they're in different parts of the world. They get a chance to return. But here's the thing. If God scattered them once, is it really a shock if he would scatter them again? For a longer period of time? It shouldn't be a shock to any of us. Go to Zechariah 8. Zechariah 8. Zechariah chapter 8. I mean, truly in today's world, the Jews are a people that are scattered abroad. Now, of course, religions in this world are scattered everywhere. But see, the Jews were centralized in one location a long time ago. Not anymore. They're scattered abroad amongst the nations. Right? There are areas like New York City has a lot of Jewish people. But by and large, the Jews are just kind of scattered everywhere. Right? It says in Zechariah 8 verse 1, Again, the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. And so God says, I'm going to return to Jerusalem, and it's going to be a city of truth. Is Jerusalem a city of truth in 2022? Now, there's many ways to look at this, but the first thing about the truth is Jesus saying, I am the way, the truth. Is Jerusalem an area of the world where they are just believing on Jesus Christ? Is it an area of the world where they're just believing the Bible and obeying what God says? They're not a city of truth in 2022. So what is being referred to in Zachariah 8? Because I don't believe they've really been a city of truth ever since these words were spoken. Well, this is once again a reference toward the millennial reign of Christ. Notice what it says in verse 4. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age, and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. There's a verse in Isaiah that's a reference to the millennial reign of Christ, very similar to these verses that we just read here, where in the millennial reign, people are going to be living a lot longer than 120 years. They're going to be living a lot longer. So if somebody dies at the age of 120, you would say they were but a child, right? If they were to die at 100 years old or at an age that we would consider very old. So this is once again looking forward toward the future. Go to Zachariah 14. Zachariah 14. And look, this is a deep book. I'm just giving you the highlights to show of him talking about the present, the 70 years of bondage, but also that is often going to talking about the end times. Zachariah 14 verse 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut out from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, toward the east and toward the west. There shall be a very great valley, and half the mountains shall remove toward the north, and half it toward the south. Now here is also a reference toward the end times. It is not a reference to the present. It's not a reference to 2022. But this is the sort of verse that people that are Zionist preachers will just kind of take and run with it, where he says, you know, the Lord shall go forth and fight against those nations. And, you know, this is especially true growing up in the US, because Israel is always involved in wars. I mean, if you look on the news, some Muslim country might blow them off the planet, right? And here's the thing, growing up in the US, who's the number one defender of Israel in 2022? The United States of America. And the justification for going to war are verses like this, where they'll literally quote a verse from Zachariah or Ezekiel, and it's like, the Lord's going to go forth and fight against those nations, fighting against Israel, so, you know, we are going to do God's work in fighting against those nations also. I mean, this is literally the justification to fight against all of these Muslim countries, and I don't want to go into a rabbit trail about Israel and the fact that they start most of those wars, but here's the thing. If a Jewish country and a Muslim country get involved in the war, this is the way I look at it. False religion, false religion, right? I mean, Islam's a false religion. I have nothing good to say about Islam. I have nothing good to say about Judaism, right? I mean, they deny Jesus Christ, and quite honestly, they blaspheme Jesus Christ a lot more than Muslims would, right? So here's the thing. Well, you know what? God's going to go forth and fight for Israel, so, you know what? We're going to do the same thing, right? Support Israel. Send your donations now. Pray for Israel. I mean, literally in a lot of Baptist churches, they spend time in prayer for the nation of Israel, right? You know, my old church, you know, we had, like, every Wednesday was, like, a prayer meeting. You know, we took a 20-minute break, and we sat in a room, and it was just men, and then women were in another room, and if anybody wanted to pray, they would just start talking if nobody else was, and it would be, like, for 20 minutes. This one guy at church always prayed for Israel. Now, look, this was a little bit obnoxious to me, but one of my friends was getting really upset about it, and he said, you know what? This is what we need to do. Next week, I'm just going to start praying for Iraq, and he's just like, you know what? I just have a burden for the lost people, and I can't remember if it was Iraq or Iran. I get them confused, right? But he's saying, whatever country in the U.S. or was fighting Israel at the time, and he's like, you know what? I just have this burden. I mean, I was trying hard not to laugh, right? And I wouldn't recommend doing something like that, but it just kind of shows the foolishness. Why are you praying specifically for one country, especially a country that blasphemes Jesus Christ? Now, of course, I want people in Israel to get saved. I want people all around the world to get saved. But here's the thing. I'm certainly not going to pray. Just bless Israel. Just give them peace. Just give them prosperity. Why? Number one, God's not going to do it, and number two, why would you pray for it? And look, I mean, he tells the prophets from way back, hey, you know what? Get over it. They've been rejected. But it's like thousands of years later, I still want to pray for them. There's still a chance. It's like they're done, right? And it's all the way from Genesis to Revelation. It's just very, very obvious. Now, go in your Bible to Matthew 21. Matthew 21. Matthew 21. People have such a problem, and you can call it whatever you want. Replacement theology is kind of the normal name for basically the Jews have been replaced as a people. But here's the thing. You don't even have to look at the New Testament to figure this out. Just look at the Old Testament, right? I mean, 10 of the tribes are already done away anyway. I mean, there's not all the 12 tribes. I mean, the whole book of Hosea just says, hey, the same thing is going to happen to the southern kingdom that happened to the northern kingdom, right? It's like it's in Zechariah. It's in all of these books. Even in the ones we're looking at, he says, I didn't have this undying love because they returned back to me or anything. It's like just the heat of nations were worse. But here's the thing. In 2022, there's no question Israel is one of the most wicked countries on the planet, right? And I don't know what God's ranking system would be. I mean, there's a lot of wicked countries. They're certainly near the top of the list, though. Involved in a lot of violence, one of the highest percentages of the LGBT, the only country that by and large blasphemes Jesus Christ on like a whole national level. I mean, in my opinion, they're probably the most wicked country on the planet. But people would say, well, 70, 80 years ago, God let them return back to their land. You know, praise God. Just 70 years ago, it's like they got to return back. Is that really what took place? Look at Matthew 21, verse 12. Matthew 21, verse 12. And Jesus went in the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables and the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer, but he hath made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to them in the temple, and he healed them. When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David, they were sore displeased. And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea, have ye never read? Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise. And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany, and he lodged there. Now he's primarily preaching against the Jews here. And then all of a sudden you see this kind of strange story starting in verse number 18. Verse 18. Now in the morning, as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow in thee, henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon has the fig tree withered away? Now look, the first times I read the Bible, I'm just like, Why does he curse a fig tree? Like, what's the purpose? But the thing is, you can look at this same chapter at this parable later on, and realize he's preaching against the Jews. And here's the thing about a fruit tree. If you have an apple tree, if you have a fig tree, you expect it to do what? To produce fruit. And if it's not producing fruit, it's just in the way. And this fig tree is not producing fruit. Well, what's the purpose of this? Well, later in the chapter, he's going to be talking about the Jews as well, and it's this idea that, you know what, the Jews as a people, they were meant to do what? Produce fruit. You say, Well, brother, I don't know if that's the right interpretation. We'll go to verse 33. Same chapter. Matthew 21, verse 33. Matthew 21, verse 33. Here another parable. There is a certain householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged a winepress in it and built a tower and led it out to husbandmen and went into a far country. Now, the householder represents God the Father. The husbandmen represent the Jews. Okay? Then it says in verse 34, And when the time of the fruit drew near, the servants of the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits of it. So the servants come to get the fruit from the husbandmen because they're the ones that are taking care of the land. Right? The nation of Israel was the country that was meant to reach the world with the Gospel. And then the southern kingdom of Judah was like the last shining light left of those 12 tribes. They were meant to reach the world with the Gospel. And the servants represent the preachers or prophets of God. Now, the servants are just going there, just collecting the fruits. And you know what? Obviously this is a parable, but if you want to think about this symbolically, you think about preachers that are preachers in 2022, you look at our bulletin of all of our salvations, and 6,549 salvations, by and large I'm just collecting the fruit. You say, what do you mean by that? I didn't get most of those people saved. It's not like I just preached some fancy sermon and 5,000 people came down here to the altar or whatever. Right? It's just kind of like, well, you know what? I'm preaching the Word of God, and we're gathered together as a group. We're gathered together as a group of people going out to get the fruit. And it would be the same thing with the prophets in the Old Testament. They're the ones that are preaching the sermons. They're not the ones getting most of the fruit, though. It's a collective effort. Verse number 36, Again he sent other servants more... Actually, verse 35, And the husbandman took his servants and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the first, and they did unto them likewise. But last have always sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. So they're killing all of these servants, and the servants represent the preachers or prophets of God, and they're beating them and stoning them and torturing them and persecuting them. Is that not what you see in the Old Testament? I mean, the Jews were persecuting their own prophets. That's what you're seeing. But they're going to reverence my son. Well, who does the son represent? Well, I mean, if the householder represents God the Father, the son represents Jesus Christ. They will reverence my son. Right now, look, if you take this too literally, I don't really believe a householder would have sent his son after they already killed the servants. Right? So you're not meant to take this word for word literally. It's a parable, right? But it's obvious what's being said, where basically I'll send forth my son, and what takes place? But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, this is the heir, come let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him. Now, this is Jesus Christ talking about what's going to happen to him. This is what you call a self-fulfilling prophecy. Right? I mean, basically, Jesus is saying, you're going to kill me, and they get so angry about what he said that they do exactly what he said. Right? I mean, to me, this is kind of humorous when I read it. You know, the fact that obviously we live long past this. But it's humorous when I read this because it's a self-fulfilling prophecy where basically he preaches it or speaks it into existence. They get so angry at what he says, they do exactly what he says. And it's like it goes over their head. Because the Bible says if they had knowledge, they would not crucify the Lord of glory. The Bible says they would not have killed him if they understood. But it's like they get so angry. He's speaking against us. We're going to kill him. And they literally do exactly what he said in this parable. Right? To me, it's a bit humorous. And then it says in verse number 40, When the Lord therefore the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read the scriptures? The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you. So here's the thing. This parable is speaking about something. And not all parables Jesus explains. But he explains this. Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. And he says, you know what? Because of this, it's going to be taken from you. Now, here's the thing. I do not believe that if the Jews as a whole just turn to God 100%, that God would say, Okay, I'm giving Israel another chance. I believe it's too late. Because this parable, I mean, basically that is taken from you. It's done. Now, here's the thing. It's kind of a mute point because of the fact they have not turned back on you. They have not turned back to God. And according the Bible, they're not going to turn back to God. They're gonna be a wicked people until the day of the Lord's return, right? So it's kind of a moot point. But here's the thing. Even if they turn back to God now, it's too late. It's kind of like when it's like, Hey, you know, you know, go and take the land and they refuse and then all of a sudden you get punished by God. Okay, we'll go now. It's too late. Sometimes time is up and they had their opportunity. They had the warnings. They didn't have to listen to their fathers that said this. They didn't have to listen to the former prophets. But what about the word of God that stands forever? And he said this was gonna take place. So look, I don't understand how people can look at the Jews as a group of people in 2022 and get this idea that God has a special love for them above anybody else on the planet. Doesn't make any sense. Right. I mean, unsaved people get cast into hell forever. How much love do you have to someone that you throw in a burning lake forever? Right? I mean, he that believeth not the son, which includes the Jews, includes the Muslims, includes anyone who denies Jesus Christ, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. You can't tell me that as a people God has this undying love. You say, Well, what happened then 70 and 80 years ago? I mean, isn't that that God allowed them to return back to the land? It wasn't God because when did they turn back to God? Right. People have this idea, well, you know, they got to return to their land because God has this special love for them. Where does it say that in the Bible? He even says, I didn't have a special love. It's just the heat of nations were worse than you. And so what happened 80 years ago? Well, you know what? They were given back the land by various countries. God's not in that. God's not blessing them. You say, Well, I think he is blessing them. Well, then answer me why they are always at war. Because the Bible says if you're right with me as a country, you will not be involved in wars. I'm going to give you peace on every side. Isn't that what the Bible says? Isn't that the promise to the various kings that you know what, if you obey me, I'm going to give you peace. There is no country that has less peace and less safety in 2022 than Israel. Right. They've been rejected as a people. And look, this is what Haggai speaks towards. This is what Zechariah speaks towards. It's obvious throughout the Bible. They were meant to be a gospel that reached the world with the gospel, built up the house of God, and then reached everybody with the gospel. And eventually God said, You know what? Time's up. You killed my son. The kingdom is taken from you. Let's close in the word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your word on this topic in the book of Zechariah. Help us to understand kind of some of the darker sayings in the book in the Bible and some of the more complicated parts like the book of Zechariah, God. Help us to understand Amen for our last song. Take out your hymn books and let's turn to hymn number 413. It must not from his army and Christ is Lord in stand up for to my team in this is glorious name again son number four and strength stand up the arm of flesh will fail you he dare not trust your own and watching on to prayer where judy calls for danger me never one thing there where frankly can you Can you pray for us?