A Study in Zechariah Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Daniel was born in the land of Israel but wrote his apocalypse outside of it. Zechariah was born outside of the land but wrote his within the land. Daniel, Ezekiel, and John all wrote outside the land. Only Zechariah was in Israel when he wrote his apocalypse. In the dark day of discouragement which blanketed the remnant, he saw the glory in all of the rapture and vision of hope. He has more messianic prophecies than any of the other Minor Prophets.

Verse 1 - The fountain here is not one that gets turned on and off. It is a fountain ever flowing. Christ is the fountain of life. He is the fountain that never shall run dry. He is of the house of David. Justification and sanctification flow from the blood of Christ, not from ceremonial sacrifices.

Verses 2-5 – These verses refer to the prophet(s) of false religion. The false prophet and his followers will be taken (Revelation 19:20 – “But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur”).  This is a picture of the end of all false religion.

Verses 6 – If anybody asks him, “Where did you get these injuries on your body?” The false prophet will lie, claiming to have gotten them at his friend’s house.

Verse 7 –These words remind us of Isaiah 53:10, ‘It pleased the LORD to bruise him.’ ‘My shepherd’ is ‘the man that is close to me’. For Christians, this shepherd and this man are both Jesus. The nail-scarred Christ will be present.  His followers will not desert Him but will rally around Him.

Verses 8-9 – Two-thirds of the Jewish nation were to perish in the Roman wars. A third are to survive. Probably the destruction of the two-thirds and the saving of the remnant, the one-third, are still future, and to be fulfilled under Antichrist.

Verse 9 – The third who survived will be made pure, as though through fire. This purification will come through the blood of the Lamb. It will enable God to proclaim “They are my people.” It will enable the people to respond, “The Lord is our God.” This references those who come out of the Great Tribulation and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.