Zechariah 2 lets us know that, whatever God may tell us about others, His heart is always occupied with Jerusalem. “I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, Run, speak to this young man” (vss. 1-4). It is the prophet Zechariah, of whom we learn this personal circumstance by the way; though some take it as merely a servant apart from age, which seems to me rather unnatural.
Proof That Much Remains Unfulfilled
The measuring line is the symbol of taking possession, either in title or in fact, when renewed dealings or restorations would follow. Here it is rather the former, because the proper possession would await the overthrow of the Gentile powers; but the act of measuring was meant to show even then God’s intention to bless after this sort.
“Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: for I, saith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her” (vss. 4-5). It is very evident that nothing that has yet been at all meets the terms of the prophecy. We look onward to the day when the multitude of her inhabitants will break all bounds; and, instead of vassalage under Persian or Greek or Roman masters, they will have Jehovah Himself their fortress and wall of defense.
In the next place comes the call to all that remain: the restoration of the Jews will be then complete. “Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith Jehovah: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith Jehovah” (vs. 6). This refers to the previous dispersions of Israel. “Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. For thus saith Jehovah of hosts; After the glory hath He sent Me unto the nations which spoiled you” (vss. 7-8). Nothing can be more distinct. How any with the smallest attention to scripture, not to say spiritual judgment, can mistake the scope or nature of this prophecy, or think that this has been fulfilled, it is difficult to understand. Observe the words “after the glory:” (vs. 8) consequently no blessing before Christ came could possibly accomplish Zechariah’s words. More than this; when Christ presented Himself, so far from then accomplishing these words, there was a further sin and a fresh dispersion. Thus, the dealings of God after the first advent and the crucifixion put the accomplishment of this prophecy farther off than ever and brought in fresh grounds for a new punishment of Israel, not as yet the fulfillment of the prophecy. This will be “after the glory” (vs. 8). Christ must first appear in glory. “For thus saith Jehovah of hosts; After the glory hath He sent Me unto the nations which spoiled you; for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye. For, behold, I will shake Mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent Me” (vss. 8-9). Consequently, there is a song of joy even now raised in anticipation of the fulfillment of glory for the people of Israel. “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee” (vs. 10). What Jehovah did when He brought them out of Egypt will be accomplished and much more. “I will dwell in the midst of thee” (vs. 10).
Universal Homage Only in the Kingdom
The statement of His dwelling among His people regularly follows that of their redemption; as we see in Exodus 15:29 and many other passages. When the redemption was figurative, He dwelt after a visible sort in their midst. When true and eternal redemption shall have been by faith applied to Israel, then will be His true and everlasting dwelling in the midst of His people; but this is “after the glory” (vs. 8). “And many nations shall be joined to Jehovah in that day” (vs. 11). There we find clearly the circumstances of the millennial glory. We see how repeated is the testimony to this inestimable privilege of Zion, as indeed it goes out to all mankind. It seems astonishing how any student of scripture could point to the sojourn of the Son of God before redemption in the land of Judea. The similarity of the language to chapter 9:9 compels to no such conclusion, because this prophecy was fulfilled in the presentation of the King, not at all in His action or the consequences of His advent described immediately afterward. The rejection of the King postponed the complete fulfillment. His coming will take up the broken thread and perfect the web of divine purposes. The comparison therefore with the latter chapter really compels to the inference that both await the public reign of Christ over the land. “And I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent Me unto thee. And Jehovah shall inherit Judah His portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before Jehovah: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation” (vss. 11-13). The age to come will be characterized not by some believing and others not (Mark 16:1616He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. (Mark 16:16); Acts 28:2424And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. (Acts 28:24)), but by universal homage under the kingdom of Jehovah and the Christ, when judgments on the nations after the manifestation of the divine glory have broken the pride of man.
Or “in That Day,” Not Now in the Church
All this part is sufficiently clear. The first chapter in a general way brings in the Gentile powers and their destroyers; the second chapter shows us proof of Jehovah’s peculiar care for this purpose for the earth, of which Jerusalem is the center, the witness of which goes out to all nations when Jehovah shall have made the daughter of Zion His holy habitation. It is to me beyond question that the moment is fixed by the expression “after the glory” (vs. 8). That great event will be when the Lord appears in glory. “That day” fairly and fully interpreted cannot be short of His manifested kingdom over the earth, when Israel is restored to the land, and the nations—having undergone in one form, and in another continuing to undergo, the solemn judgment of the quick—learn righteousness under His reign and bow to the holy pleasure which Jehovah takes once more and forever in His chosen city. The fact that the remnant had already returned from the Babylonish captivity makes it so much the more evident that God here reveals His purpose of effecting a still more complete restoration of the Jews to the land. But all His purposes center in Christ, and will only be displayed when He comes in the clouds of heaven with power and glory, not to destroy but to reign. The judgment of the dead will follow in its season.