Let's open our Bibles to Zechariah 8 and we'll look at the first 17
verses of this chapter. This is a message of hope today. I personally
believe these first 17 verses of Zechariah 8 correspond to the message
of all 17 verses of Isaiah 54 for you advanced students that may find
this message overly simplistic in it's presentation and would like to
develop yourself a chart of thematic parallels between these two
passages for your own edification. I may have opportunity to cover a
few, but if I don't or lack thoroughness, [to your own satisfaction,]
you can continue digging from here. Beginning with verse one of
Zechariah 8 we read:
1 Again the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, 2 �Thus says the
LORD of hosts: �I am zealous for Zion with great zeal; With great fervor
I am zealous for her.� Zechariah 8:1-2
Holding your place in Zechariah 8, let's look at Hebrews 12:22 for
how the Bible describes the New Testament:
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels...
So as we read through Zechariah 8, it's talking to the Church. Let's
look at 1Corinthians 10:11, then we'll look at 2Timothy 3:16-17 and
we'll briefly look at Jeremiah 31:27-28 for something foundational to
our understanding of Zechariah 8 and what I believe God is saying to us:
11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
1Corinthians 10:11
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work. 2Timothy 3:16-17
27 �Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the
house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed
of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them
to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict,
so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD. Jeremiah
31:27-28
So these Scriptures belong to the Church and are profitable for it's
instruction, doctrine, correction, and equipping according to
1Corinthians 10:11 and 2Timothy 3:16-17. And Jeremiah 31:27-28 says He'd
sow the house of Israel and He'd sow the house of Judah with the seed of
man and with the seed of beast. St. Paul indicated in Ephesians 2:15-16
that God sowed the house of Israel and He sowed the house of Judah with
the seed of Gentiles in order to produce in Himself one new man.
So we may presume that if that's true of one part of this equation,
then it's true of the other part of the equation, particularly in the
light of other Scriptures that say as much. Therefore, He's sown the
house of Israel and He's sown the house of Judah with the seed of beast
because Romans 8:21 says the Creation must enter into the liberties of
the children of God.
Going back to Zechariah 8 and reading from the third verse, it says:
3 �Thus says the LORD: �I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst
of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain
of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.�
I am fully persuaded that this return of the Lord to Zion is talking
about an Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, such as we have in the book of
Acts. Lord Jesus said in John 16:13:
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you
into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever
He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
As Hebrews 12:22 says we are at Mt. Zion, His New Jerusalem, through
our submission and obedience to Christ, I believe John 16:13 calls Him
the Spirit of Truth because He creates the atmosphere of the City of
Truth that Zechariah 8:3 says we're abiding in, in Christ. Continuing on
with Zechariah 8:4 it says:
4 �Thus says the LORD of hosts: �Old men and old women shall again
sit In the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand
Because of many days, literally. 5 The streets of the city Shall be full
of boys and girls Playing in its streets.� Zechariah 8:4-5
It says in Isaiah 65:20 about these days we are walking into, right
now: 20 �No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an
old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one
hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be
accursed.
So, Biblically, a child is anyone under a hundred years old. It says
in Isaiah 11:6-9: �The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard
shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; And a little child shall lead them (a little child
being anyone under a hundred years of age). 7 The cow and the bear shall
graze (implying bears won't eat fish); Their young ones shall lie down
together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child
shall play by the cobra�s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand
in the viper�s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy
mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As
the waters cover the sea.
This is the description of the world that belongs to us in Christ
that Zechariah 8 is talking about. Reading from verse 6 of Zechariah 8:
�Thus says the LORD of hosts: �If it is marvelous in the eyes of the
remnant of this people in these days, Will it also be marvelous in My
eyes?� Says the LORD of hosts.
Yes, it is! This was the joy set before Him, the substance of the
hope He authored through the power of His Holy Spirit, and the evidence
of things not seen when it comes to God's love and His heart for us.
Continuing with verse 7 of Zechariah 8:
7 �Thus says the LORD of hosts: �Behold, I will save My people from
the land of the rising sun and from the land of the setting sun
(literally in the Hebrew); 8 I will bring them back, And they shall
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be
their God, In truth and righteousness.� 9 �Thus says the LORD of hosts:
�Let your hands be strong, You who have been hearing in these days These
words by the mouth of the prophets, Who spoke in the day the foundation
was laid For the house of the LORD of hosts, That the temple might be
built. Zechariah 8:7-9
Ephesians 2:20 calls the foundation His Apostles and Prophets. If
it's the house of the Lord of hosts, then it's also the house of His
hosts, which includes the angels. Lord Jesus said, in Luke 17:21: �the
Kingdom of God is within you.� He said here in Zechariah 8:9 that He
intends for our hands to be strong for what He has for us. It says in
Zechariah 8:10-12:
10 For before these days There were no wages for man nor any hire for
beast; There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came
in; For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor. 11 But now I will
not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,� says the
LORD of hosts. 12 �For the seed shall be prosperous, The vine shall give
its fruit, The ground shall give her increase, And the heavens shall
give their dew� I will cause the remnant of this people To possess all
these.
(I later make a comment about who our neighbors are, and Zechariah
8:10 seems to offer an argument against what I say later, but there are
several passages of Scripture where God set animals against the people,
and various types are mentioned from types of birds to insects. So my
suggestion later of expanding our concept of who our �neighbors� are
isn't touched in the least, because He'd previously set animals against
their neighbors as well!)
Contextually, Zechariah 8:10 echoes Ecclesiastes 3:18-19 about man
and animals facing the same plight, I believe the "seed" that's spoken
of in Zechariah 8:12 to be the seed spoken of in Jeremiah 31:27-28:
27 �Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will sow the
house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed
of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them
to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict,
so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the LORD.
Animals and Gentiles united with the house of Israel and the house of
Judah are the temple of the Lord. The Lord of hosts says, in Zechariah
8:11, that He will not treat the remnant as in the former days, while
Jeremiah 31:28 elaborates further on His treatment of Animals, Gentiles,
the house of Israel, and the house of Judah: and it shall come to pass,
that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw
down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and
to plant, says the Lord.
For the seed shall be prosperous, according to Zechariah 8:12: the
seed of man and the seed of beast. The vine shall give it's fruit.
According to John 15:5, Lord Jesus is the vine and the Church is the
branches. Mark 4:30-32 implies something suggestive about our fruit
being shared with the animals. Genesis 1:29-30 is in agreement with this
being His provision for both man and animals.
In Zechariah 8:12 it says the heavens shall give their dew. Hosea 6:3
says God comes to us as rain. Isaiah 55:10-11 likens His Word
functioning in our lives like the stable water cycle of the earth. In
Zechariah 8:12 God says that He will cause the remnant of this people to
possess all of these. He will cause His people to possess a nurturing
authority and dominion over the animals and the planet that builds and
plants after His example of laying aside all of the plucking up,
breaking down, throwing down, destroying, and afflicting that Jeremiah
31:27-28 talks about. In verses 13-15 of Zechariah 8, he alludes back to
Jeremiah 31:27-28 in saying:
13 And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the
nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel (that includes the seed of
man and the seed of beast), So I will deliver you, and you shall be a
blessing. Do not fear, Let your hands be strong.� 14 �For thus says the
LORD of hosts: �Just as I determined to punish you When your fathers
provoked Me to wrath,� Says the LORD of hosts, �And I would not relent,
15 So again in these days I am determined to do good To Jerusalem
(Hebrews 12:22 again) and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.
He is determined to do good to Jerusalem. Zechariah 2:4-5 says He's a
wall of fire around people and animals specifically for this reason.
Again, Hebrews 12:22 indicates that Zion and Jerusalem are symbolic of
the New Testament and our relationship with Christ. From Zechariah
8:16-17 we should close for now with 1John 3:14-24. In Zechariah 8:16-17
it says:
These are the things you shall do: speak each man the truth to his
neighbor; give truth, justice, and peace for judgment in your gates; let
none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not
love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.
Our neighbors would be comprised of Animals, Jews, and Gentiles
according to Genesis 1, Psalm 104, Isaiah 11:6-9, Jeremiah 31:27-28,
Jeremiah 33:6-16, Ezekiel 38:19-20, Hosea 2:14-23, Zechariah 2:4-5, Mark
4:30-32, Romans 8:19-22, and other passages. Let's close with 1John
3:14-24:
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love
the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 1John
3:14
Who are the brethren that we are to love according to Jeremiah
31:27-28? Animals, Jews, and Gentiles. I realize in saying that, with
including the Animals, that I've gone beyond the New Testament, but I
believe I've stayed within Biblical parameters for all that the Bible
says we should regard as the New Testament. Let's continue reading in
1John 3, from the 15th verse:
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no
murderer has eonian life abiding in him.
If He sowed the house, or family line, of Israel and Judah with the
seed of man and with the seed of beast, then that's a marriage in
Jeremiah 31:27-28; a type of blood brotherhood. And Hosea 2:18 confirms
that because the word "covenant" in Hosea 2:18 is translated from the
Hebrew word that's used elsewhere in the Bible that's clearly talking
about a blood covenant. This Hosea 2:18; Jeremiah 31:27-28 covenant is
in the Blood of Jesus. That's where God swore it. He was the lamb of God
on the Cross to fulfill a redemptive role on the Cross, just as He was
made sin, according to Ecclesiastes 2:26, 2Corinthians 5:21, and
Galatians 3:13 so we'd be made His righteousness. Romans 8:21 says the
Creation, i.e. what's nonhuman, must enter into the liberties of the
children of God. That's brotherhood!
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we
also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has
this world�s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart
from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children,
let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1John
3:16-18
This right here is another command to go vegan. He's right there
brought up the Spirit of Truth and the City of Truth from John 16 and
Zechariah 8. Otherwise, if you can separate animals from the Covenant,
you've broken faith and your fellowship with the Covenant of Peace in
Jeremiah 31:27-28, and Isaiah 54:9-10. You are trying to bring walls
within the fire of Zechariah 2:4-5 that Ezekiel 38:19-20 says have to
fall in His Presence in the New Covenant, and you are not allowing rest
in your Mark 4:30-32 branches and are dealing treacherously as a
Zechariah 8:10 enemy of these animals' souls with trying to live in the
Old Covenant portion of Jeremiah 31:27-28 that's been taken away in
Christ. Continuing in 1John 3:
19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our
hearts before Him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than
our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not
condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we
receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things
that are pleasing in His sight. 1John 3:19-22
Perhaps you've been keeping His commandments from your youth, but
have you done as 2Peter 1 says with adding virtue to your faith by doing
those things that are pleasing in His sight? Growing in understanding,
shrinking in selfishness; growing in vision from the Gospel about His
intent to create in the world around us, shrinking in the particular
appetites of the flesh that are at odds with God's perfect will for our
world: have you prioritized being a person of heavenly vision together
with keeping His commandments?
23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of
His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
1John 3:23
Spend some time thinking through this verse in the light of Genesis
1, Isaiah 11:6-9, Isaiah 40:10-11, Isaiah 49:8-9, Isaiah 54:9-10, Isaiah
63:14, Jeremiah 31:27-28, Jeremiah 33:6-16, Ezekiel 34:10, Ezekiel
38:19-20, Hosea 2:18, Joel 2:21-24, Mark 4:30-32, and Romans 8:21 and
sincerely try to tell yourself that you are practicing 1John 3:14-24
without living a fully conscious Isaiah 58 veganism. I sincerely don't
believe you can do it if you'll bare in mind each of these Scriptures on
the vastness of His provisions and the length, breadth, height, and
depth of the New Testament that all of these passages point you to.
You can lift Romans 14, 1Timothy 4, and various other passages out of
the context of lesser glories that were revealed by the Lord
(2Corinthians 3:18), or you can decide that you are laying aside every
weight and running with endurance, according to Hebrews 12:1 and are
going to be His Covenant to restore the earth:
8 Thus says the LORD: �In an acceptable time I have heard You, And in
the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You
As a covenant to the people, To restore the earth, To cause them to
inherit the desolate heritages; 9 That You may say to the prisoners, �Go
forth,� To those who are in darkness, �Show yourselves.� �They shall
feed along the roads, And their pastures shall be on all desolate
heights. Isaiah 49:8-9
24 Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him (or abides in what
He is doing), and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us,
by the Spirit whom He has given us. 1John 3:24
He's given us the Spirit of Truth and accounted us the City of Truth
by His grace. We're to live on and on and on without fear and with a
strong grip on restoring the earth, doing our small part to make sure
all of the seed of man and the seed of animals are prosperous because He
is determined to build and plant them. His building and planting of them
is the diametric opposite of what Jeremiah 31:27-28 says He was formerly
doing. We must abide in Him by abiding in His Word about what He is
doing now.
Previous excuses for licentiousness at the expense of animals are no
longer valid. Our reward is with us and our work before us, if we are in
Christ Jesus and living our lives as His joint-heirs discipling the
nations, restoring the earth, repairing the breach, and restoring paths
to dwell in for both man and animals in the earth.
In closing, I know the minds of so many have been seriously warped by
Augustinian theology, even among those who consider themselves fairly
liberated from it. But let me encourage you to begin thinking of a
Biblical remnant as something similar to first fruits. Because a
Biblical remnant isn't what God's got left after some great judgment or
controversy. Biblically, a remnant is how God begins some new age or new
purpose of absolute beauty that He's unleashing or midwifing. St. Paul
seemed to allude to himself and other Jewish Christians of the first
century as a remnant, yet he asserted in Romans 11 that absolutely all
of Israel shall be saved!
That's an important point for meditating in Zechariah 8 as you reread
this article. A remnant is what He begins some new enterprise with, and
not what's left after nearly everyone has rejected His will. Paul likens
the remnant of his day to the remnant of Elijah's day. The remnant of
Elijah's day kept hope alive until future ages when the ministry of
Christ Jesus would begin.
According to Romans 11:5 a remnant is synonymous with God's elect,
which are those chosen for some given purpose. They're what God begins
with and not what He's left with at the end of the day. I am belaboring
this point because the implication of my message is obviously that God's
chosen a remnant according to Zechariah 8:11 and Isaiah 49:8-9 to walk
in the fullness of His Isaiah 11:6-9 aggressive harmlessness that
accompanies those who believe [all of] the Gospel, according to Mark
16:15-18. Never feel alone in walking in this Hosea 2:18 Covenant at
Christ's right hand (Ephesians 2:6) because you are just the beginning
of a whole new world.
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Covenant Foundations
Animal Gospel
