First, it is a very personal prophecy about, and a promise to, the man Zerubbabel about his role in the

end times. The time being spoken of is the Day of the Lord, that is, the second coming of Christ. The specific events described in verses 21-22 are the Great Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon, when all the Gentile nations come to battle against Jerusalem. During that time and in that battle, God will shake heaven and earth, overthrow the throne of kingdoms (the throne of the antichrist) and destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. As He comes to rescue His people and establish His Kingdom, the Lord will also resurrect the dead saints and gather (rapture) the living saints. All will be gathered together to Him to be judged and receive a reward and an inheritance in His Kingdom. In the midst of this thought, Zerubbabel is given a specific promise that he will be like a signet ring. A signet ring is a symbol of authority. Whoever carried the Kings signet ring also carried his authority. I see this as a statement that Zerubbabel will obtain great authority in the Messiahs Kingdom. There is precedent for this type of promise. God made a similar promise to the prophet Daniel in Daniel 12. 8 Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, My lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

Zerubbabel is a man.

In verse 4 Zech. Asks what the olive trees and lamp stands are. In verse 6 the angel begins to tell Him. Their identity has something to do with the end time Zerubbabel of which Zerubbabel of old was a type. The angel tells Zech. this is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord of Hosts. Whatever follows is written to the end time Zerubbabel. Verse 7. who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring forth the headstone of it with shoutings, crying. Grace grace unto it. This verse as we read it is almost incomprehensible. But, if we look closely we will see that it is indeed, comprehensible. We simply need to give it deep consideration. First of all, lets remember that all these words contained in scripture which are written like this, in ITALICS, were not in the original writings. They are words supplied by the translators which they thought would make the text clearer. In many cases they do. In some they simply obscure the

Zerubbabel of the age end.

understanding of what is written. They certainly obscure the understanding of this prophecy. Also, if we are to understand, we must know the symbolic meaning of the key words used. For instance, the words great mountain used here must be understood as a great nation or kingdom. In bible symbolism a mountain is a nation or a kingdom. Thus, the great mountain which shall become a plain before Zerubbabel, is symbolic. We should understand this great mountain to be a great nation or kingdom. In this case the great mountain is to be a great nation or kingdom which exists at the age-end. The coming age-end beast is to be a great nation. Since Zech. Great mountain is one which will become as a flat plain before the age-end Zerubbabel, we must understand it to be the end-time empire of the beast which is to be in existence at the time of fulfillment of this prophecy. It will not be able to stand as a deterrent to the work of Zerubbabel of that time. Zerubbabel will have no more trouble climbing this symbolic mountain than if it were a flat plain. The headstone refers to Christ who is the headstone or chief cornerstone of the church, and the word translated as shouting actually means a great tumult or war. With these things in mind lets see if we can understand this verse a little better. who are you, O great Nation? Before Zerubbabel you are no more than a flat plain; and He shall bring forth the corner stone (Christ is the chief cornerstone of the church) at a time of great tumultuous war and proclaim (preach) grace, grace unto it (the cornerstone). When you notice the work of Zerubbabel as described in verses 8-10, you will see this much clearer. In verse 9 we read, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; His hands shall also finish it, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. The work of Zerubbabel has to do with the building of the end-time house of God with Christ as its chief foundation stone. Nothing is going to bar or prohibit that work. His hands will start it and his hands will finish it. Not even the beast himself, will be able to keep the Zerubbabel work from being completed. It will begin, as verse 10 tells us, as a very tiny work - almost nonexistent. The time when it begins is called here, the day of small things That is a reference to the outset of the Zerubbabel work. It will be ridiculed and despised by those who ought to be glad to see it begin - the church of God! Yet, they will end up rejoicing when they see in the hands of Zerubbabel the work tools for straightening up the building of the house of God. As we get into our study of the two witnesses of revelations chapter 11. We will come back to this prophecy and look closer at it. For the time being, let me just tell you that the work of Zerubbabel described here in verse 7, is the same work as that of the man with the writers inkhorn. It is the work of the age-end church as we approach that time. It is the work that which finishes the calling together of Gods church. That church will be made up of all those who are already in it at the time when the sealing of the 144,000 and the great uncountable number of the gentiles takes place, and those who are bought into it during that sealing. That is the identity of the 144,000. They are those who are saved during the final work of the church as 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel are sealed. 2 tribes are Israel in flesh 10 are the lost tribes. Us the Christian nations, Dan-mark..so forth.