The Book of Zechariah is certainly a book for the End Time. God raised up this young prophet, along with the elder prophet Haggai, to call His people unto vision of rebuilding the temple. In Zechariah 8:6, 11, 12 we read the following:
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; if it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts. . . . But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
The Uniqueness of the End-time Remnant
The remnant of God has been found in every generation of human history. What makes the end-time remnant unique is found in the fact of its being the most tested of any generation. This testing and trying will be found in many ways: through the ploys and temptations of the world, the Devil, and even the flesh and self. The greater the ploys and temptations, the greater will be the need of God’s Word and Spirit.
It is evident in observing the various generations of church history that some had more of the Word of God than others. Many generations, such as the Old Testament Israelites, only heard the Word of God once a week. It is amazing to the human heart to imagine the souls of individuals such as Hannah (1 Sam. 2) and Mary (Luke 1) being so saturated with Scripture while possessing no personal copy of the Scriptures. They only remembered what they heard at the readings of the Scriptures in the tabernacle, or temple, or synagogue. So little hearing, and yet so great faith in what little they did hear!
God knew that the end-time remnant would be in the greatest danger, the greatest generation of gospel deception, and the greatest generation of enemies from within. Thus, as we are the nearest to the coming of Christ of any other generation, the providence of God has given the Word of God in our vernacular and easily accessible. Nevertheless, we must always remember there have been others deprived of a copy who yet surely followed what little light they had.
There are two distinct identifications within the end-time remnant. The first identification is that they are truly the remnant in heart. This is a most important observation in that it is the proof of a sovereign God enabling the true ones, the Elect. Clear evidence is seen of God’s presence within them. In 1 John 3:9 we read, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” The remnant are not given to sinning premeditatedly. As Job of old, they eschew sin.
Philippians 2:13 provides another identification of the remnant: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” God is present, He is active, and He is enabling moment by moment the remnant.
Nevertheless, there are those who seem to be identified with the remnant but do not endure unto the end. This is clearly noted in the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25: these are like the five foolish virgins who were closely associated with the wise virgins. As those of Matthew 13 on the stony ground, they will endure for a while, but afterwards, in the time of intense persecution, they fall away; or they hear the call of the world and depart as Demas did from Paul. They may even later turn on the remnant and betray them as Judas did.
Although I do not know who are in heart the true remnant that will endure unto the End, I want to be numbered among those who will! Matthew 24:13 states, “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” He that “endureth” (Greek, hupomeno) refers to one who will abide under, who will bear up courageously under suffering. It is the power of God within the human heart giving life-perseverance unto the end of one’s days, which will be the proof of being part of the biblical Elect. Accordingly, one who does not persevere unto the end will not be part of that Elect. One could be identified for a season with the remnant in its generation, yet eventually leave the very remnant of which he is a part. How many men do we know who for years were strong in voice for God and clearly identified with the remnant, that later following compromise after compromise, eventually turned on the very ones with whom they were once strongly identified. It is happening more often than we desire. Most assuredly, the perseverance of the saints will be the proof of the true remnant.
The Voices of the Remnant
The remnant of God in every generation has had men whose voices became the public declaration of what the remnant was and believed. The “voice of God” in the Scriptures often is the prophet’s and preacher’s voice. Rather than God’s audible voice, it was God speaking to the world and to His remnant through His men. When God said to His people or to an individual, “They will not hearken unto my voice,” that voice was coming through a man or prophet. Paul in writing to the Thessalonians declared, “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (2:13).
The remnant knows that voice of God through a man of God and will follow that Word he gives. Such voices of the remnant have been called seers, watchmen, prophets, and preachers. They all were called in unique times; God sovereignly chose them. They did not appoint themselves; they were called amidst their insight for their times. They were men and women, products of the Word of God and Spirit of God for their generation. They usually were called in crises, at times when the voice of God needed to be proclaimed. They arose by the Spirit of God to rebuke, exhort, and encourage. Calling and identifying the wrong or the right, they were Declarers of God with courage. Sometimes they were from a called family; other times they had no spiritual lineage. Such an appointed voice must know God, God’s Word, the times in which he lives, and clearly give the message for the days in which he lives. He must see the falling away within the camp of God; he must see the world age in which he lives. We desperately need to pray for God to ordain, to choose such men for this generation and for the next generation.
Zechariah, the Seer for His Age
One man that examples this truth of a remnant voice is the prophet Zechariah. His time, his generation was during the exodus from Babylon, the exodus from the religious apostasy. He was around the age of five when he came with the remnant from Babylon back to Jerusalem. Likewise, we are in a time when religious Babylon has made captive the institutional Church. It is a time when denominations have turned their backs on God’s Word and godly living, and they have turned their backs on the remnant. It is a time when very few preachers are giving the exactness of the Word of God for this generation.
Isaiah 21:11 speaks of the burden of Dumah: “He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” This is what the remnant cries for from its remnant preachers: “Tell us about the times in which we live and tell us God’s Word.”
To carefully see such a voice for the remnant, we view the young man Zechariah, about twenty-one years old at this time. He was of a priestly descent. His name means “Jehovah remembers.” He was the son of Berechah (“Jehovah will bless”); his grandfather’s name was Iddo (“the appointed time”). Note the precious trilogy of his lineage: God will remember His remnant, and when He does He will bless them, and it will be at the appointed time.
Zechariah was born in Babylon and called a “young man” (2:4). He was called to minister to the remnant not only in times of discouragement but also in needed times of exhortation. Within his prophetic book he covers the entire future of Israel until the first coming of Christ (at which time the offspring of the remnant will not accept the Messiah). He continues his prophecy through the second coming of Christ when they will look upon Him whom they have pierced. Zechariah will have more to say about the Messiah, His person, His Word, and His glory than all of the Minor Prophets combined. He truly is a man of God that becomes an important prophet to help us find ourselves in the End Time of the last days.
The Visions of Zechariah
The young prophet’s visions are for both the age in which we live and for the needed visions of Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. These specific burdens of preaching are needed by the voices of God’s Word for the End Time. We must see our age and we must see the Christ! We must acknowledge the coming of the Antichrist and the falling away of the Church while yet beholding the Christ in such times.
All of Zechariah’s visions came in one night. For our own time period in history, we must view these visions in our night of history. Although various commentaries number the visions of Zechariah differently, we want to divide all of them into two segments: the first segment is composed of the visions of the world-age, eight in number; and, the visions of the coming Christ which number seven. These visions were given concerning Judah, and would include ultimately all of Israel. They do give precious insights for the remnant at this time in history.
The first of the world-age visions is found in 1:7–13. At this time the remnant seems to find itself in the silence of God with no evident workings of God. He describes the man on the red horse, standing among the myrtle trees in the bottom land. When it seems that God is not moving, and wickedness and compromise abound, there is providence that continues its workings for us and among us. The remnant must see and believe this to be true.
The second is found in 1:18–21: the vision of the four horns and four carpenters. Both of these are viewing the same powers: that of Babylon, Medo/Persian, Greco-Macedonia, and Rome. They became powers to both scatter and eventually gather God’s people. God has His hand on the remnant in the placing of them throughout the world. Some of them God brings together, while others He may scatter. God may be drawing a number of hearts geographically together for the End Time to become strength for the remnant, while with others He may not do so, but keep them as an influence where they are needed.
The third vision is found in chapter 2: the vision of the man with the measuring line. This is a prophecy of the glorious restoration of Israel, their regathering yet to come, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, while the enemies of God will be ultimately cast down. This should remind the remnant today that there is the true Body of Christ; it is beyond labels and tags; it is beyond the theological systems. The remnant sees that God is building His Son’s Body, and though the gates of Hell (death) will prevail (and has prevailed) against the false church, those gates will never prevail against the true Church. That true Church, the heavenly Jerusalem, will rise in the earth as the remnant of God. This should also cause us to rejoice at the coming glory of heaven, with the rapture of the remnant from the corners of the earth; “and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
The fourth vision is found in 3:1–7: the cleansing of the Jewish remnant that had returned to Jerusalem, represented in the taking off of the garments of the high priest. We must see the great need of an end-time revival of the remnant for our cleansing and waywardness of living. We must acknowledge the remnant has its blights, its weaknesses, and failures. Though this may be true, it is definitely not part of the apostasy of the End-time Church; it abhors that apostasy and remains true in its stand against it. The remnant knows it needs revival, but also knows that Christ is its Mediator. He will bring the changes of the garments, and He will bring forth the Mitre, the holiness of life unto the Lord.
The fifth vision is found in chapter 4. The two men presented as two olive trees are Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest. God will use these two men to feed the remnant: as the oil will flow from them into a bowl which then will feed the lampstand representing Judah. God was revealing that there is a lot of oil behind these two men; they are called by God for the leadership of the remnant. The remnant has men who have the oil given to them for this purpose. It is “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (v. 6). This statement was not a condemnation of might and power; this was declared to encourage these two men that they would not need might or power—God would perform the work. The voices for the remnant will give encouragement that it is not the big churches, the big schools, the big ministries, and a lot of money. But it will be solely by the Spirit of God; if that Spirit is not the power, then that ministry is working through the “impressive” power of the flesh. Zechariah goes on to state in 4:7 that the mountains of opposition will be brought down. Yes, the true Body of Christ will be completed without the powers of the organizations of the Church. Only Christ Himself is building the true Church.
The sixth vision is found in 5:1–4: the presentation of the flying scroll. The first five visions were visions of comfort. These next three are visions of judgment. The flying scroll was thirty feet by fifteen feet. On one side of the scroll was the word stealeth and on the other sweareth. This was the commentary of unbelieving Israel. The Jews have always, since the time of their early apostasy, been known for their stealing and deception with commercial goods and with money. (How often we have heard the phrase “Try to Jew him down.”) The word sweareth is from the perspective of laying aside reverence for God. Today, we are in the unbelieving church age, the Christless Church, where He is standing outside knocking for any man within to open to Him, the remnant. The Church is “stealing” truth and the Word of God from the people, the sheep of God. They are “swearing” that everybody is saved, eternally so, and there is no need to change and live right. They have professions of Christ and salvation, yet they do not know that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17b).
The seventh vision is found in 5:5–11: the ephah, the Jewish measure representing commerce. The eyes of all the earth are upon it. James 5:3 speaks that in the last days they will heap up treasures. The Jews will be deeply involved in commerce at the End Time of the last days. Whereas, Revelation 17 presents Mystery Babylon, that woman of wickedness, the apostate church, Revelation 18 presents Babylon the Great, located in the land of Shinar where all the wealth will be brought during the days of Antichrist. The Church in the last days will be rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. It believes that its bigness and prosperity are signs of God’s presence.
The eighth vision is found in 6:1–8: the coming of the great Tribulation Period and the effect of the four horsemen. But there is the coming judgment of the Church that must be seen from the New Testament. God’s judgment must begin at the House of God (1 Pet. 4:17). Christ Himself will “spew” this Church age out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16). What will that spewing be? How will it come about? Are we in the spewing now? Is Fundamentalism experiencing this spewing at this time of its history?
The man of God must see these things of his age and of the institutional Church and must preach and declare them. But the visions of Christ must also come to his heart. This too must be part of his preaching, for it is in these visions that an awakening and revival will come, and must come to the remnant. There will be spiritual blessings through insights of the life in Christ.
The first vision concerning the coming of Christ is seen in 3:8: “I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH,” as well as in 3:9b, “I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” There must be the preaching hope of removing iniquity through Christ, both the guilt of sins and the breaking of the power and dominion of sin in the human heart and life.
The second vision of Christ is seen in 6:12: “Behold the man whose name is the Branch,” along with 6:13, “And he shall be a priest upon his throne.” Oh, the need of a High Priest in my life, interceding moment by moment to keep and sustain my spiritual walk; oh, the ongoing cleansing of His blood from sin (1 John 1:7).
The third vision of Christ is presented in 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” I must truly believe in the first coming of Christ and what it means to my full salvation and the breaking of my will—my stubborn ass will (the ass is redeemed by a lamb, Exod. 13:13).
The fourth vision is seen in 11:12. This vision presents the rejecting of the staff of “beauty,” the Christ, and selling Him for thirty pieces of silver. O how the Church today is selling the Christ of Scripture over to the Liberals, the Modernists, the Agnostics, the Atheists, and the world itself! The remnant dares not do so!
The fifth vision is in 12:10, in the hope of Christ’s second coming. Though this prophecy refers to the remnant of Israel turning to the Lord at His coming, it becomes a cry to the remnant of the saints today for that Blessed Hope of His secret coming. The remnant are purified as they meditate upon His coming day and night.
The sixth vision is found in 13:6:
What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Oh, the days of persecution that are coming upon the remnant! Our Beloved Shepherd is going to be smitten even by His friends, the Church, and it is going to affect the remnant. Historically, the greater the hatred of Christ, the deeper was the persecution of the Christians. Every day the powers of hatred are intensifying against God, His Son, and against His own remnant.
The seventh vision is found in 14:4. Thank God! One day Christ will come and set up His Kingdom; truth will reign and God’s true saints will be part of that rulership of the Kingdom. All the governments will be brought to naught, and Christ will be the King and Lord of all.
Conclusion
We must earnestly pray in these difficult days, when many preachers have become a major part of the problem of the falling away, that God will raise up voices of His Word for the remnant. Note Amos 8:11, 12:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: and they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
This is where we are today when it comes to the true Word of God! We have so many versions of the Bible, so many churches, missionaries, schools, publications, etc. But amidst all of the voices, it is very rare to hear a true voice from heaven, anointed of the Lord to give clarity to the Word of God and to call to the remnant, “This is the way, walk ye in it!”
Where are God’s men who have not sold their soul and voice to this age? Pray, dear reader, for God to give and to preserve a voice of His Word through men and women for the remnant’s sake.