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“Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jud 1:9).

Why is Zec 3 used here? Because, of all the references to satans or Satan in the OT, only in Zec 3 is wording that may be used to support the idea of a fallen angel. Job 1 could not have been used as proof by the Enochites that Satan was a disobedient angel. As with the book of Mormon, the believers in the Book of Enoch would have searched desperately for authority from the OT. Zec 3 was the Enochite’s best shot at OT evidence. None of the other OT references to Satan would support the Book of Enoch’s teaching, but rather detract from it.

The other good thing about Zec 3 from the Enochite point of view was that the LXX showed “Jesus the Priest” powerless between the Angel of the Lord (Michael) and The Diabolos (Satan). As such it was possibly understood as a prophecy relating to “Jesus the Priest” or “Jesus the Prophet”, which would place Jesus “below the angels” (same problem as Hebrews).

Origen (185-254) refers to a document called the “Assumption of Moses” and quotes, “Moses having died in the mount, the Archangel Michael was sent to remove the body. The Devil therefore wishing to cheat him withstood him, saying, ‘the body is mine as lord of all material things’ or because of his slaying of the Egyptian blaspheming against the Holy One and proclaiming him a murderer. The angel not enduring this blasphemy against the Holy One, said to the Devil ‘God rebuke thee!’. ”

But this appears to be quoted secondhand because the writer cannot decide which of two reasons the Devil argued. In other words it appears to have already been lost in the days of the earliest reference to it. While a Latin “Assumption of Moses” does exist today, it does not contain the story above. Perhaps the only question here is who made this up — Enochites to explain Zechariah? or early Christians to explain Jude? Either way it is another “cunningly designed fable”, or “Jewish myth”, as Paul describes it in Tit 1:14. Note that Moses, and not Christ, is the Holy One.

Note also that in the Assumption of Moses it is not “before the Lord”. God is not mentioned. In Zec 3 it is “before the Lord”.

It has also been suggested that “Body of Moses” meant either Ezra and the people, or Joshua the Priest, or Jesus (the “prophet like unto Moses”; but that is not proven. Whatever it meant to Jude’s readers the phrase “the Body of Moses” is certainly not a scriptural term (it has no basis in the LXX or NT); so the phrase very likely came from those who “denied the Lord that bought them”.

To conclude: whatever extra legends relating to Zec 3 may then have been taught by these false teachers, Jude’s point was simply that the angel of Israel in prophecy (named “Michael” in the prophetic language of Daniel) did not behave in the manner the Enochites did in accusing angels of sin. Likewise neither did Ezra (Ezr 4:6) to the accusation against Joshua the servant of Moses.

The accusers of Ezra 4:6, Rehum and Shimshai who wrote the letter to Xerses, are not called “Diabolos” in the LXX as for example was Haman, but note that Jude’s “railing accusation” is quoted from “railing accusation against them” in 2Pe 2:11 — so Jude’s “diabolos” is plural. Rehum and Shimshai were just as much “diaboloi” to Ezra and Joshua, as Haman was to Mordecai.

“And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh” (Jud 1:23). Jude’s point is that if his readers must make reference to Zec 3 and Ezra 4:6, then they should learn all the positive lessons — the clean garments of Joshua the Priest should be theirs not through Enoch, Moses or the angels, but through the Greater Joshua, Jesus our High Priest, raised above all principalities and powers. (JB)

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Time: 520 – 490 BC.

The title of this book comes from its traditional writer, as is true of all the prophetic books of the Old Testament. The name “Zechariah” (lit “Yahweh remembers”) was a common one among the Israelites identifying as many as 27 different individuals in the OT. It was an appropriate name for the writer of this book because it explains that Yahweh remembers His chosen people and His promises and will be faithful to them. This Zechariah was the son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo (Zec 1:1,7; cf Ezra 5:1; 6:14; Neh 12:4,16).

Zechariah, like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was both a prophet and a priest. He was obviously familiar with priestly things (cf Zec 3; 6:9-15; 9:8,15; 14:16,20,21). Since he was a young man when he began prophesying (Zec 2:4), he was probably born in Babylonian captivity and returned to Palestine in 536 BC with Zerubbabel and Joshua. He became a leading priest in the restoration community succeeding his grandfather, Iddo, who also returned from captivity in 536 BC, as the leader of his priestly family (Neh 12:4,16). His father, Berekiah (Zec 1:1,7) evidently never became prominent.

Summary: Zechariah was a younger contemporary of Haggai. He also encouraged the people to rebuild the Temple. Like Daniel and Revelation, this book contains apocalyptic visions, and detailed references to the coming Messiah. The book concludes with descriptions of the enemies of Jerusalem being judged and of the future glory of God’s kingdom.

Key verse: “Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zec 9:9).

Outline

1.	Introduction: The call to repent: Zec 1:1-6
2.	The night visions: Zec 1:7-6:8
	a)	Vision of the horses: Zec 1:7-17
	b)	Vision of the horns and craftsmen: Zec 1:18-21
	c)	Vision of the surveyor: Zec 2:1-13
	d)	Vision of Joshua the high priest: Zec 3:1-10
	e)	Vision of the golden lampstand and two olive trees: Zec 4:1-14
	f)	Vision of the flying scroll: Zec 5:1-4
	g)	Vision of the woman in a basket: Zec 5:5-11
	h)	Vision of the four chariots: Zec 6:1-8
3.	The crowning of Joshua: Zec 6:9-15
4.	Questions concerning fasting: Zec 7:1-8:23
	a)	The question: Zec 7:1-3
	b)	The lesson from history: Zec 7:4-14
	c)	God’s purpose of blessing for Israel: Zec 8:1-23
5.	The future of the nations, Israel and Messiah’s kingdom: Zec 9:1 – 14:21
	a)	The first oracle: Zec 9:1-11:17
	b)	The second oracle: Zec 12:1-14:21

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Time: 635 – 615 BC.

Summary: Zephaniah prophesied during King Josiah’s reign. He was responsible for a great religious reform. This reform followed the wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon, who led the nation into various forms of idolatry. Zephaniah pronounces inescapable judgments against Jerusalem for their sins and exhorts national repentance. He further speaks of the “day of the Lord” when God will intervene to judge sin.

“Zephaniah can hardly be considered great as a poet. He does not rank with Isaiah, nor even with Hosea in this particular… He had an imperative message to deliver and proceeded in the most direct and forceful way to discharge his responsibility. What he lacked in grace and charm, he in some measure atoned for by the vigour and clarity of his speech. He realised the approaching terror so keenly that he was able to present it vividly and convincingly to his hearers. No prophet has made the picture of the day of Yahweh more real” (JMP Smith).

Key verse: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zep 2:3).

Outline

1.	God’s judgments upon Israel: Zep 1:1 — 2:3
	a)	Announcement of total judgment: Zep 1:1-3
	b)	Judgment on idolaters in Judah: Zep 1:4-9
	c)	Wailing through Jerusalem: Zep 1:10-13
	d)	The inescapable day of the Lord’s wrath: Zep 1:14-18; 2:1-3
2.	God’s judgments on the nations: Zep 2:1-15
	a)	Judgment on Philistia: Zep 2:4-7
	b)	Judgment on Moab and Ammon: Zep 2:8-11
	c)	Judgment on Cush: Zep 2:12
	d)	Judgment on Assyria: 2:13-15
3.	God’s future kingdom, after His judgments are finished: Zep 3:1-20
	a)	Judgment on Jerusalem: Zep 3:1-5
	b)	Jerusalem’s refusal to repent: Zep 3:6-8
	c)	The nations purified, the remnant restored, Jerusalem purged: Zep 3:9-13
	d)	Rejoicing in the city: Zep 3:14-17
	e)	The nation restored: Zep 3:18-20

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THE SUMMARY BOOK OF ALL PROPHECY (ZEPHANIAH)

The writer was requested some time ago to speak on the subject: “The Prophets and their Message”. Upon reflection, this began to take on the dimensions of a lifetime study instead of a 45-minute talk. How does one go about condensing such a vast collection of material into manageable limits? (By actual volume, the “prophets” — including the Apocalypse of John — comprise 21% of the whole Bible.)

And, furthermore, in the welter of various and sometimes conflicting interpretations, just WHAT is the “message of the prophets” anyway?

The matter was considerably simplified by arbitrarily omitting 15 of the 16 Old Testament prophets, along with Revelation, and narrowing down the selection of source material to one, short, little-studied book: Zephaniah.

Why Zephaniah? For one thing, it has been called, as you may have already guessed from the title, “The summary book of all prophecy”. This is because, in only three chapters, it contains ALL of the three basic elements of Bible prophecy:

• God’s judgments on Israel (Zep 1:1–2:3),
• God’s judgments on the nations (Zep 2:4-15), and

• God’s future kingdom, AFTER His judgments are finished (Zep 3:1-20).

And, when you think about it, what else is there, really? In all the other prophets, simply variations of these three themes.

So now we are making progress. Let us consider each element in turn:

GOD’S JUDGMENTS ON ISRAEL

Israel (or shall we say Judah?) was God’s nation, and our example. Everything they did, and everything God brought upon them, are for our examples and admonition. So let us, who THINK we stand in God’s estimation, take earnest heed to these writings — lest we fall, as did Israel (1Co 10:11,12).

” ‘I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will sweep away both men and animals; I will sweep away the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. The wicked will have only heaps of rubble when I cut off man from the face of the earth’ ” (Zep 1:2,3).

“I will sweep away — or cut off”… four distinct classes of sinners:

1. The OPEN idolaters: “every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests — those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host” (vv 4,5).

2. The SECRET idolaters: “those who bow down and swear by the LORD AND who ALSO swear by Molech” (v 5).

3. The backsliders: “those who turn back from following the LORD” (v 6).

4. The indifferent: “those who… neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him” (v 6).

That seems to cover the field rather well! Can we imagine any sort of sinner who does not fall into at least one of these categories? Do we not sometimes find even ourselves perilously entrapped in sins of most of these types?

It all has to do with “caring”: the open idolaters CARE, but they care wrongly; they have a zeal but not according to knowledge, and they bow five times a day toward Mecca or burn incense to a smiling stone image, but it profits them nothing.

The secret idolaters CARE too, but only half-heartedly; they serve God at times, but they never quite overthrow the altar of “Mammon” in their lives!

The backsliders CARED for God at one time, but they stopped caring. Perhaps the “cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches” entered their lives and choked the word of God.

And, last, there are the indifferent, who CARE not at all, who cannot be moved even with dynamite from the comfortable ruts of their sad, empty little lives.

What is the lesson for us? God sees and will judge EVERY type of iniquity: the external idolatry of false religion as well as the secret, internal idolatry of covetousness (Col 3:5), which wears a cloak of “righteousness” in order to deceive (both itself and others).

“Search us, Lord, and know our heart. With every idol bid us part.”

These exhortations are lost on us if we think only of “idols” made of wood and stone, and pride ourselves as having nothing to do with such. But the “idols” that should frighten us, from whose bondage we should pray to be delivered, are the modern “gods” of materialism, licentiousness (in books, movies, and television), and pleasure-seeking! For God WILL judge EVERY type of sin: the open indifference of atheism no more than the hidden indifference of a lax Laodicean faith which seeks its own comfort and ignores its “nakedness” in God’s sight.

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“The LORD has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited” (Zep 1:7).

Christ is the one true sacrifice, so that in turn he may also be the bridegroom of the marriage feast. The Father has invited guests to the sacrifice — to partake of the forgiveness of sins which Christ has made possible, and to obtain a “wedding garment” so that they will be suitably attired to attend the feast. But those guests who have not faithfully prepared themselves, when they do try to enter the great marriage feast, will be punished because they are, figuratively, “clad in foreign clothes” (v 8).

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“At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing, either good or bad’ ” (v 12).

Is this the picture of the household of faith in the Last Days? By their attitudes (that is, in their hearts) some appear to be saying (although they would never dream of saying so openly) that God is indifferent to what man does. ‘Don’t remind me that He sees or cares what I do. Leave me alone to while away my satisfied, self-centered little life.’

The great causes of God are not often defeated by open frontal attack, but rather by the slow, crushing, glacier-like mass of indifferent disciples. The Truth of God cannot be destroyed by the enemy, but it can be smothered to death by the lazy “friend”, who sits on it!

Let us examine ourselves. We all build “fences” around ourselves in one way or another. It is a deep-seated desire of human nature to seek protection and security, and to forget unpleasant things. But unless we are careful, we may come to seek our strength and support within ourselves, in our own possessions and accomplishments. “I will build bigger barns,” we say, but God says, “You are fools. This night your lives may be required of you.”

Let us not develop ingenious ways of keeping God and His demands out of our lives. Let us not be children, hiding in our “playpens”, amusing ourselves with expensive and time-consuming “toys”, until the urgency of the Truth has melted away in our lives.

Rather, let us “seek the LORD… righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’S anger” (Zep 2:3).

GOD’S JUDGMENTS ON THE NATIONS

For us, these can be both warning and encouragement: warning, because God is a jealous and holy God, whose longsuffering is not endless; but also encouragement, because His judgments on the nations are the prelude to the kingdom, when “the people of the world learn righteousness” (Isa 26:9).

In this section (Zep 2:4-15), four peoples or groups of peoples stand for the Gentiles in their totality:

1. To the west of Israel were the Philistines (vv 4-7) — modern Palestine;

2. To the east, Moab and Ammon (vv 8-11) — modern Jordan;
3. To the south, Cush (Ethiopia or southern Arabia) (v 12); and

4. To the north, Assyria or Babylon (vv 13-15) — modern Iraq.

These nations encircle Israel, which is of course at the center of God’s plan. Their “bounds” — both as to national boundaries and limits of influence — are set by God according to His purpose with His people Israel (Acts 17:26; Deu 32:8).

This is a comfort to those who see and understand the Divine Hand in world affairs. God has said, in effect, “This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt” (Job 38:11). Even though around us men’s hearts are failing them for fear, if God be for US, then nothing will “harm” US except what HE causes or allows for our betterment.

GOD’S FUTURE KINGDOM

In the last section the prophet Zephaniah looks again at the sins of Judah, but this time with a remedy. First the sins:

The sins of Jerusalem were four, and the reasons for those sins were likewise fourfold:

The sins (Zep 3:2)	The reasons (Zep 3:3,4)
1. No obedience	1. Wicked princes
2. No correction	2. Wicked judges
3. No trust	3. Wicked prophets
4. No atonement (“drawing near”)	4. Wicked priests

In Zephaniah’s day, all the kings and princes (except Josiah) were wicked men who could not lead a wicked nation into obedience. “Like princes, like people.” The judges were accustomed to bribery and graft, and did not teach “correction” or “instruction” (AV mg). With the exceptions of Zephaniah and Jeremiah, the prophets were false and wicked men, who trusted in the arm of flesh and not God. And the priests, who “profaned” the sanctuary, could not help in the least to draw men back to God.

It was a sorry state, but there was yet hope. As the sins of the people fell under four headings, because of the failures of all four classes of national leaders, so God’s remedy for His nation (and for the world) is also seen in four parts — all involving Christ. The recurring theme through the last section is:

“The LORD — Yahweh — is in the midst of you!” (vv 5,12,15,17).

Christ was once, and will be yet again in greater scope, the manifestation of the LORD or Yahweh upon the earth. He will be “in the midst” of men once again, in the capacity of righteous leader, when he returns to set up his Father’s Kingdom. At that time, he will be:

1. A righteous JUDGE (vv 5-7) — who will do no iniquity himself, but will instruct the world in righteousness.

2. A righteous PROPHET (vv 8-13) — who will bring to mankind “a pure lip” or language (v 9), with which they will call upon the LORD, and “the meek and humble” will “trust in the name of the LORD” (v 12).

3. A righteous KING (vv 14-16) — who will deliver his people from evil and lead them in the ways of obedience.

4. A righteous PRIEST (vv 17-20) — who will save his people, and bring them back to oneness, or atonement, with God.

THE PROPHETS’ MESSAGE

This man Christ must be our study, no matter where we turn in the Scriptures. His mind must be in us (Phi 2:5), his delights must be ours, his sorrows ours too. And his perception of the “world” must be shared by us. As he walked with his disciples one day near Herod’s temple, they exclaimed: “What a great building… what great stones…”

To this he replied, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Mat 24:2).

Thereby he reminds us that nothing of what we see around us is eternal — not the magnificent buildings, nor the noble accomplishments, nor the heaped-up wealth, nor the awesome weapons, nor the seductive “entertainment”. Only character is eternal, and only then when it manifests the righteousness of God. The same prophet (yes, the greatest of all prophets!) who prophesied that every “stone” would be cast down also said:

“Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Mat 6:33).

Even though we cannot see it now, that “city” and that “kingdom” will be eternal; and it will be built up with “living stones” in which righteousness will dwell.

Judgments there must be first, on God’s people no less than on the world. But the storm clouds will finally expend their force, and a new day will dawn — brighter and more blessed than we have ever witnessed — with joys unspeakable for those who have truly sought the LORD.

This is the prophets’ message.