(Zechariah 13:1-3) 1 “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. 2 “It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. 3 It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.
There are three layers to this prophecy from Zechariah. In order to understand the message for Christ’s church, we must unpack these three layers.
In the first place, this prophecy speaks to the Jewish remnant, which awakens to Christ in the very end of days. Secondly, what we read speaks specifically to the church in every age, until He comes; which we will examine in detail later in this article. Ultimately, this prophecy’s fulfillment is in the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwells righteousness (Revelation 22).
FOR THE JEWISH REMNANT
The time is coming when “all Israel will be saved”. This must be understood to mean the remnant Paul speaks of in Romans 9-11, remembering that the true Jew is one with a circumcised heart. Lest we fall into the error of dual covenant theology, which suggest the Jews are saved by adhering to the Old Covenant, rather than through repentance and faith in Christ, we must hold that Jew and Gentile are saved through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore the audience is the Jewish remnant of which Paul speaks.
Romans 11:5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
This is important regarding when the fountain Zechariah describes will be poured out on the remnant, which sometime around the midpoint of the last seven years of earth, before Christ’s return. Revelation 11-13 reveals the approximate time. Specifically in Revelation 11’s.
Revelation 11:3 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
These two witnesses prophesy against antichrist for 3 ½ years, before being killed. Prior to their ministry a third temple will be rebuilt. These two witnesses are likely a civil governing leader and on of the Levite priestly class, as this follows the pattern set up in Zechariah’s 3 and 4. In these chapters two men are symbolized as two olive trees and two lamps stands, just as the two witnesses in Revelation 11:4.
In Zechariah the civil leader is one Zerubbabel, who oversaw the construction of the temple. The second is Joshua the high priest. As Antichrist seeks to build the third temple, it is likely the two witnesses are initially involved in its construction, but come to discover who the Antichrist is. At that time, which is at the beginning of the tribulation, they begin to prophecy and are untouchable, until their death.
Their ministry and death’s will awaken the Jewish people to the deception of Antichrist.
At that time, Satan, who is cast down from heaven as “the prince of the power of the air” (Revelation 12), will attempt to destroy the Jewish people, but be unsuccessful, after which He turns his hate on those who “keep the commands of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:17), who are Christians. He is then given authority to make war against the saints and overcome them (Revelation 13:7).
It is this collection Jewish believers we discover the “all” of Paul’s desire for “all Israel to be saved”. Once they see the suffering of the church and our testimony of Christ, revealing YHWH, they will “then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn”.
Wow! Hallelujah!!! What a great day. This is when the “fountain will be opened up” for the amplified purification of His remnant.
It is after this awakening, when our Jewish brethren, filled with the Holy Spirit, join us in our longsuffering, against Antichrist’s holocaust. We can surely know then, that our blessed Hope is near.
THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT IN THE NEW HEAVENS AN THE NEW EARTH
Before considering how Zechariah 13 1:1-3 concerns the Church of Jesus Christ, we will discuss the prophecy’s ultimate fulfillment, which comes about when Christ has made all things new and we dwell in a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.
In Jerusalem, after Christ has made all things new, where the throne of God and of the Lamb rests, we find this awesome fountain, which continuously restores and heals the nations.
(Revelation 22:1-5) 1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
(Ezekiel 47:1-2) 1 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.
As this Fountain, this Flood, moves eastward gets deeper and wider and eventually ends spilling into the Dead Sea which is healed.
A necessary note is that this is an actually event in salvation history, as well as an indication of what the Lord Jesus Christ does to heal the nations now. In considering the imagery of Revelation 22:2 we see trees bearing 12 kinds of fruit for the healing of the nations. When considering Psalm 1 we can see that this reveals to the saints of God.
(Psalms 1:1-3) 1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. 3He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.
In my next post we will discover the specific nature of this prophecy to the church and the remnant, and be challenged to let the fountain flow as intended, rather than damning it up. But until then, let me ask, are you a tree of Christ, where the lost can taste the fruit and see that God is good?
