Old Testament Scripture Reading: Zechariah 12:6 – 10 (KJV)
Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
Zec 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
Zec 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
Zec 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
New Testament Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 – 17 (KJV)
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
2Th 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
2Th 2:17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
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Transforming Power Statements:
1) There is an urgent need for true disciples of Jesus Christ to discern the status of the “professing church, or the “visible church” from the “Actual / real Church” who are the ones who are guided in accordance with the “rightly divided Word of Truth” in order that they are operating in the realities taught by Jesus Himself and not by the whims of compromise which are the governing reality of what is referred to in Scripture as “Mystery Babylon the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth”.
2) It was such a similar blindness as this that caused Israel to fail to recognize the “time of their visitation” over which Jesus wept because of their failure to realize and accept Him at His first coming, which has caused a judgment of “partial hardening” which is over the majority of the Jews till this day and shall remain until the time spoken of here in the prophecy of Zechariah, when God will re-establish the covenant people to become instruments of His judgment against the rebellious world of unbelievers who have also continued in their own ways against Jesus The Christ, His “true Church”, and even the Jews and are operating under the illusion that they have arrived at some kind of utopia which has complete disregard of that which is clear in the Holy Bible, God’s Word.
3) As Paul wrote the Thessalonians to explain the way the world would be when it is time for Messiah to return, he offers us a glimpse of the events that precede Christ’s return and admonishes the Church to realize that it is God Who is behind our salvation and also Him Who gives us consolation to continue in ministry as well as to know and understand the controversies of the end times so that we are informed and not surprised, and can prosper against all odds.