Posted on 02/14/2017 10:21:30 AM PST by pastorbillrandles
Then I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll. And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits. Then said he unto me, This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof. Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth.
And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her own base.(Zechariah 5)
In the previous vision, Israel is represented as a Candlestick which illuminates the whole world, and is continuously supplied with oil of anointing, that her light might shine. The vision revealed two Olive trees, connected to the Candlestick, constantly replenishing the oil.
The Olive trees represent on the immediate level, the offices of High Priest, and the office of Governor(King). The High Priest is named Joshua, and Zerubabbel is the Governor, a direct descendent of King David, but through the line of the accursed Jeconiah. These two “anointed ones” standing before the God of the whole earth, have been entrusted with a daunting task; to rebuild the temple of the LORD , the visible sign of the restored fellowship of God with His people.
The beginnings look small and could easily be despised by the carnal. The woe will indeed be accomplished, “not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the LORD”. Through Zerubabbel will come the very Headstone of the Temple, the chief cornerstone, none less than the Messiah, bringing Grace unto the Candle Stick that is Israel.Israel’s light will indeed shine brightly, especially on the day when God removes all iniquity from her and from the land.
We have seen in an earlier vision,the gracious way in which God removed the sin and iniquity of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem; through the substitutionary actions of Jeshua the High Priest, bearing the sin and reproach before God, until the wrath was satisfied. Salvation from sin would come by substitution, through the God appointed sin bearer, He would bear the reproach of Ha Satan and the wrath of God for the people.
Before Israel ,Judah and Jerusalem know the blessing of that salvation, Zechariah 5 predicts an intervening period of profound and near universal apostasy, and the judgment of God which answers to it.
The prophet saw a scroll “in mid air” , 20 by 10 cubits, (the measure of the Holy Place). The scroll was open, and covered front and back with writing, like the ten Commandments.
The Angel said, “This is the curse which goes out over the whole earth”. The Law of God has a curse upon it, for all who violate it’s commands. Like the Law of God on Sinai, the scroll has two tables, “Everyone who Steals”, refers to any and all sins against other men. “All who swear falsely” refers to all sins against God Himself.
The Scroll is active, it seeks out the thieves, the violators, the perjurers and blasphemers. Like a modern “smart missile” it sets out to inhabit every house of every violator of these commands and the duties they represent, all sins against men, and all sins against God. The scroll enters the house of all to destroy and consume completely.
The very mark of the last days is unrighteousness and ungodliness, as Paul warns,
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.( 2 Timothy 3:1-4)
Judgment is coming, and no one will escape, the scroll moves swiftly and accurately to consume and destroy, and will cover the entire earth. This is how iniquity will be searched out and judged in the last days.
“a flying roll”
Is this a Pastafarian thread?
Thanks for the interesting analysis! This passage had previously left me wondering what was going on.
It's not like a modern “smart missile”, it IS ONE, and there's not a woman in the basket, it's a nuclear warhead!
maybe its a spy satelite?
Also, the dimensions given, one is length, the other is likely circumference, match the dimensions of short range missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
While the smart missile analogy is decent, it may also be thought of as the counterpart of the blood on the door posts and lintels in the Passover.
In the Passover the people applied the blood and when it was seen God’s wrath passed it by. This was an act of faith and the protection it brought was on account of obedience, applying the blood, rather than the character of those protected.
With the flying scroll God marks out those set aside for wrath based on their actual character and if their “obedience” is false. These people have no external defense to keep the destroyer out of their midst.
The blood of the Passover was applied by obeying, the scroll seeks out those NOT obeying.
In our day we might observe that “houses” — congregations for this bit, though more than just congregation would be included — that have rejected God, though they may seem to have a name like they are alive, are instead acting very much like those in Romans 1:18-32 and those very same houses are withering, collapsing.
Now, about the ephah.
Notice that it says that this is their resemblance, not its? Here I will maintain that it is not unreasonable that we may be dealing with a particular “ephah” out of a class of similar objects having similar appearance “through all the earth”.
They are black (the color of lead), associated with fire, and they arrive from the skies. They are also “set up” by men on bases, even have houses built for them. This is described as wickedness.
There was apparently a long history of men venerating, even worshipping, meteorites, not just in the Near East. At least one remains till this very day in Mecca. Could it be that this ephah in Shinar was just such a thing?
How does this tie into the passage? Well, in contrast to faithful Israel we have those who are thieves and who swear falsely against whom the scroll proceeds. Yet what ancient nations knew enough about God to swear falsely by Him? Could the ephah then refer to the the false religions of rest of the nations through these objects so many venerated?
If in a hurry, start at the 10:00 mark
Becareful ,Michael Rood is highly suspect having come out of a cult called The Way which denies the deity of Christ - http://www.apologeticsindex.org/687-michael-rood
Thank you for posting, and for the pings. I believe this is exactly what the world is facing in the very near future.
It's past time to get our house in order, for those who haven't.
God bless you JJ!
Are you saying that about Pastor Bill?
Michael Rood has come out with so many false prophecies and teachings it`s unreal so exuse Pastor Bill if he doesn`t jump at the crack of the whip.
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