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God has graciously revealed many magnificent truths to us in his Word - especially in his prophetic Word - truths pertaining to history, to humanity, his plan for the ages, also his plan for all creation, all of which inure to the praise of his glory. And we see this today in our text, in Zechariah, 11 verses 15 through 17. And I've entitled my discourse to you this morning, "The Rise and Demise of Satan's Counterfeit Messiah."

Thus far in Zechariah 11, as we have studied, God has predicted the tragic consequences of Israel's rejection of their true shepherd, the Messiah, reiterating the same warnings prophesied in a number of other passages of Scripture; that they would all be scattered among the nations of the world, that they would be exiled for an extended period of time, that Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed. But in our text this morning, we find a more terrifying consequence than any of the others, all because of Israel's rejection of their Messiah; and that is the rise of Satan's Counterfeit Messiah, the Antichrist. The Apostle Paul speaks of this, for example, in Second Thessalonians two, beginning in verse three, where he says that "the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship." And my friends, even today, the world is being prepared for the Antichrist. In First John two, beginning at verse 18, we read, "Children, it is the last hour; [referring to the last days, the Messianic days since Christ has come] and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour." And dropping down to verse 22 of First John two, we read, "...the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." And he adds in Second John verse seven, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist." referring to the principle of evil that is incarnated, shall we say, in every fallen human being. And frankly, this describes the majority of the world. And sadly, it describes some of you. You say you worship Christ, but you really don't know him. You really don't love him. You live as if he makes no difference in your life. Hypocrites abound. People, especially in our culture, that attend church every Sunday, but they're Christian in name only. And of course, the spirit of the antichrist in sinful man can be seen in false teachers, false religions, blasphemers, godless fools, atheists, all of them represent the spirit of antichrist. But the Antichrist will be the embodiment of all of these people, the absolute incarnation of every satanic lie and every manifestation of evil.

As we look at this text, I've divided it into two categories that I hope will be helpful to you. We're going to, first of all, see the character and conduct of the Antichrist, and secondly, the divine judgment of the Antichrist. Let me read the text to you, Zechariah 11, beginning in verse 15,

"The LORD said to me, 'Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.

"'For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.

"'Woe to the worthless shepherd

who leaves the flock!

A sword will be on his arm

and on his right eye!

His arm will be totally withered

And his right eye will be blind.'"

Now, in order to understand this text, along with many other prophetic texts, you have to have a grasp of, frankly, the entire Bible, because there are many other passages that help us understand what is being said here. And before we examine this passage more closely, I want to give you kind of a big picture overview. And what we need to understand is that today, we are living in what the Bible calls the times of the Gentiles, the times of the Gentiles, and the judgments are yet to come upon Israel - ethnic Israel as a nation - as well as the world. You may recall the metallic colossus, the great image in Daniel two that summarized the culmination of divine judgment as the times of the Gentiles come to an end. That is coming upon the world. Gentile world power will be destroyed, according to Daniel two verse 45 by "the rock cut out of a mountain," but not by human hands. And that, in that context, is referring to the Messiah, a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, the and the gold to pieces. And you may also recall the four beasts in Daniel seven. And out of the last 10 horns emerges in Daniel 7:7, and following, a little horn arises; a little horn, the Antichrist, who will seek to destroy the saints that will primarily be Jews, some Gentiles as well, that are saved during the time of The Tribulation. And in Daniel seven, verse 22 this will continue, quote, "...until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom."

So, this time of unprecedented suffering, also known as a time of Jewish messianic woes, will be a time where Israel will be purged, will be purified in preparation to enter the messianic kingdom. Now here in Zechariah 11 and verse 16, we read that that God himself is going to raise up this terrifying ruler, and he will be his instrument of judgment, through which Israel itself will be brought to a place of repentance, and transformed into the holy nation that it was intended to be.

Now I want to back up even further, and some of this will be technical, and part of it is because we have people that ask questions about these things, and I want to answer those questions, but also make sure that we all have an opportunity to understand some of the great truths that emerge from the Word of God. So bear with me.

In Deuteronomy 32 verses 36 through 43, which is called The Song of Moses, we see how God predicts judgment on Israel as a nation, but he also promises there in verse 43 atonement for the land and for the people, and the people are going to bless all of the nations. And God revealed more details regarding these things in Daniel's prophecies, you may recall, when we went through the book of Daniel, as we are the Book of Zechariah now. In Daniel 9:24 we have this fascinating text. It says,

"'Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place."

So it speaks of 70 weeks, literally 70 sevens or 70 heptads, units of seven. So it's referring to 70 times seven or 490 years. 490 years "have been decreed for your people and your holy city." So what it's saying here is that God has deliberately determined 490 years to accomplish his purposes in delivering the people of Israel and their capital city, Jerusalem. All of this, by the way, is consistent with Daniel's prayer, which, by the way, did not happen at Christ's first coming.

And there are six magnificent objectives that God will accomplish. Notice, first of all, "to finish the transgression," in other words, the violation of God's law, revolting against God's authority, and specifically, it's referring to Israel's unrelenting and unrestrained rebellion against God. And then secondly, "to make an end of sin." A more general term for all wrongs. He's going to judge it with finality. And he says, thirdly, "to make atonement for iniquity." And of course, that was accomplished by Christ on the cross, and then number four "to bring in everlasting righteousness." This speaks of the absolute removal of sin that was accomplished on the cross, and it will be appropriated by Israel as a nation when Christ returns. You will read about this, for example, in Jeremiah 23 verses five and six. And then also "to seal up vision and prophecy." In other words, to hide from view; that's what it means "to seal up"; to hide from view and demonstrate that its functions are over. That is vision, referring to revelation and prophecy - the message of the prophets. And then it says this, "and to anoint the most holy place." To "anoint" means to officially inaugurate into public ministry, "qadashim" - "qodesh qadashim", the Holy of Holies, that's what it is: to anoint the most holy place. And this underscores the profound importance of the millennial temple that's described in Joel three and verse 18, and Isaiah 60 and verse seven. You see it in described in Jeremiah 33 and Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel 40 through 48.

But prior to this, during the time known as The Great Tribulation, we understand from prophecy that the Antichrist will desecrate a newly constructed temple. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 24 verse 15, we read about it in Second Thessalonians 2:4, in Revelation 13:15. But when the Messiah King returns at his second coming, he will build a magnificent new temple, and according to Ezekiel 43, verse four, "he glory of the Lord will come into the house by the way of the gate facing toward the east." Can you imagine what that will be like? But all of this is going to require 490 years of judgment - 70 weeks of years; 70 sevens.

And as we look at this, we see that this is divided into two seasons of deliverance, the first requiring 69 weeks, or 483 years, leading up to the death of the Lord Jesus. Then after an indefinite period of time, the final week - and this is what I believe we're waiting for now - the 70th week would ensue, culminating in the second coming of the Messiah King who will defeat the armies of the Antichrist bent on exterminating ethnic Israel and all who refuse to worship him. Details of this victory are in chapter seven.

Now I want you to remember that Satan has always attempted to thwart the purposes of God. He has always tried to destroy the Messiah and to destroy all who belong to him, both Jew and Gentile. You remember in Genesis 3:15 that the promised seed, the Lord Jesus, would eventually destroy him. And we can read that Satan attempted to pollute the messianic bloodline by creating a mongrel race in Genesis six. We can see how in Exodus 1 Pharaoh tried to eliminate the covenant people altogether by murdering male infants. And on several occasions in the Old Testament, we see how he attempted to eliminate the royal bloodline of David from which the Messiah would come. Later on, Satan used Herod to slaughter all of the male children, remember in Bethlehem, because he thought a Messiah rival would be born from them. We read about that in Matthew two. And then Satan tempted Christ in the garden to violate the divine plan. He he entered into Judas to betray Christ and have him killed and so on.

But folks, Satan's greatest and final attempt to thwart the purposes of God will climax at the end of human history in the person and work of the Antichrist, but we know that his efforts are going to be foiled by the appearance, the physical appearance, of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. Second Thessalonians Paul speaks of this in chapter two, beginning in verse three, he said,

"Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come, [referring to the terrifying judgments of the day of the Lord], for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

"who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God."

Now we have even more clarification about this whole scenario; we go back to Daniel's prophecy in Daniel 9:27, we read that,

"'...he [referring to the Antichrist, as I will demonstrate in a moment], will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.'"

Now bear with me for a moment, a technical digression for those who have inquired. In verse 27 it says, "'And he,'" and I believe this refers to the prince who is to come and will destroy the city and the sanctuary that's referred to in verse 26, that is the Antichrist. Now, non-dispensationalists say it refers to Messiah, the Prince, in verse 24 and the Messiah in verse 25 and not an antichrist figure. And they also deny the future fulfillment of this text. They see this last unit of seven of Daniel's prophecy following immediately after the 69th week and ultimately finding its fulfillment in the ministry of Christ. So they argue that the "he" in verse 27 is a reference to the Messiah.

I would humbly differ, as would many others. It can't be a reference to the Messiah, because there's nothing in the context of Daniel's 70th week that corresponds to anything that Christ did in his earthly ministry. Furthermore, the 70th week is depicted as a period of time that is apart from the first 69 weeks, which are clearly treated as one unit or one period of time.

And I would add that the text goes on to describe how this person makes a quote, "firm covenant with the people." Well, that's something Christ never did over the course of his ministry; even if he had, it makes no sense to mention that here after the statements concerning his death and the destruction of Jerusalem in verse 24. And in what way did Christ, quote, "put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering?" Well, some will say, "Well, he did that at his death on the cross." But how does that fit into the context of this prophecy? And how would the ancient Jewish people have made any sense out of that whatsoever? Moreover, the sacrifice did not cease until AD 70, some 40 years later, and it was stopped by the Romans, not by Christ.

Additionally, if we look at Hebrew grammar, we see that Hebrew grammar requires that the subject of the verb be linked to the last eligible antecedent, namely the "prince who is to come, who will destroy the city and the sanctuary," verse 26, not the "Messiah Prince" in verse 25. And it's obvious that something further needs to be said about the destructive person here, this prince who is to come. And we must also take into consideration that in our Lord's Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, especially in verse 15, Jesus refers to the quote "abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet," and he speaks of this as a future event beyond the period of his earthly ministry.

Furthermore, because the events described at the end of verse 26 and those described in verse 27, and I might add other parallel passages, since they cannot refer to the Roman ruler of AD 70, there must be another ruler of the Roman Empire described in Daniel's previous visions, and he is represented by the figures of the fourth beast and the 10-horned beast in chapter two, the little horn in chapter seven -  namely the Antichrist, who will rule a revived Roman Empire. And this means there must be an extensive gap between the 69th week and the 70th Week, which is not at all unusual in Bible prophecy. You will recall in Daniel 7:24 that Antichrist will rule a massive kingdom that will essentially encompass the old Roman Empire, of which, I might add, includes the United States; a western confederacy, ultimately of a united Europe that Daniel describes as a 10-nation empire. So the point is, there is one more heptad that still awaits; seven more years. And it is this context, in Daniel 9:27, that Jesus uses as the prophetic template that we are to use to determine the chronological sequence of what's called "the beginning of birth pangs." Matthew 24 verses 15 and 16, Mark 13 and verse 14, which I might also add, correlates with the judgments of Revelation 6.

Now back to 9:27; bear with me. I'll be through with this in just a moment. It says, "'And he,'" I believe again, is the Antichrist, "'will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.'" In other words, a great deceiver is going to lure Israel into a protective agreement - it's called a "firm covenant" - "...but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.'" And we can see in Revelation six and verse two, a description of the First Seal Judgment, which, interestingly enough, will be an era of unparalleled world peace, but it will be short lived. It will be a hoax. It will be the calm before the storm. And there you have one who is on, "...a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow..." He has a bow, he has no arrows, implying a diplomatic, not some kind of military victory; a peace sealed by a covenant, not by war. And it says he has a crown, or "...a crown was given to him and he went out conquering and to conquer." This is a picture of the Antichrist, the one who will conquer the world in a bloodless triumph; certainly, the world is waiting for that kind of figure right now.

And the First Seal, with its white horse and rider, symbolizes a force of counterfeit righteousness, of counterfeit peace, that will bring the world into a pseudo peace; a deceptive, false peace, whose architect will be the satanically empowered Antichrist. He will seduce the world with his political savvy, with his personal charisma, and he will put forth a compelling plan for world peace. He will form a strategic alliance of European nations, and with Israel; and even Israel is going to be seduced by his sham, and they will finally be able to rebuild their third temple, which they have the plans for right now.

But three and a half years later, they will learn that it was all a charade when he desecrates the temple, consistent with Daniel 9:27. So in the middle of the week, in other words, three and a half years into the tribulation, the satanically empowered Antichrist will seize the temple. He will betray the Jews. He will demand to be worshiped like his forerunner, Antiochus Epiphanes, and he will do this for 42 months, Revelation 13:5. In other words, the last half of the seven years, and this is the one that is pictured in Revelation 13, beginning in verse one, as, "the beast that's coming up out of the sea." It says he was given, "a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him," in verses seven and following. "It was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain."

Now, what will he do that will be so utterly abhorrent to God? Well, the answer is found in Second Thessalonians two, beginning in verse three. This is "the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship." It goes on to say that "he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." And of course, Satan has always wanted to be worshiped, and this is why he is so determined to deceive people, even today, through false messiahs, false prophets; he is the father of lies. And in Second Thessalonians two, beginning in verse nine, it says he is,

"...the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,

"and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."

I might add, technically here, that in Greek grammar, this indicates that this detestable thing standing in the holy place will be some kind of permanent image, probably of the Antichrist, that will be displayed in the temple. This, dear friends, is the "abomination of desolation" to which Jesus referred in Matthew 24:15 where he quotes Daniel 9:27.

So in summary, God makes it abundantly clear to his people through Daniel that a complete destruction is one that is decreed. It will be poured out on the one whom makes desolate. And indeed, according to Second Thessalonians, two eight, the Lord will slay this lawless one "with the breath of His mouth by the appearance of His coming." Then he, along with the False Prophet, will be, quote, "thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone" [Revelation 19:20]. Aren't you glad to know that that's going to happen, and this will bring to completion the prophecies of Daniel's 70th week?

Now, a bit more on the big picture, but far less technical. Okay, I fear that sometimes people don't have the big picture, so they see these little pieces and they don't really know how they fit together. May I remind you that God's purpose for Israel is to be, according to Exodus 19:6 "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." And we can read all the way back in Deuteronomy, chapter seven and verse six, what he says, "'For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.'" And if we look at the last seven chapters of Deuteronomy, chapters 28 through 34 you will have a prophetic summary of Israel's future, which concludes by stating how ultimately Israel, despite all of their wickedness, ultimately they will repent during a time of tribulation and worship God as they are supposed to do, as they were intended to do. And we read how Israel will be gathered from all of the nations, brought back to her divinely given land and prosper them abundantly. In fact, Ezekiel, chapter 34 through 39 prophesies this very thing concerning Israel's literal future return to the very same land from which they had been driven and scattered, dispersed throughout the entire globe.

And it's essential, as you look at Bible prophecy, to maintain a consistent contextual interpretation of the scriptures, including the Old Testament prophecies pertaining to Israel's future restoration. This is essential to understanding the Bible's storyline. And this, I might add, for the technical name, this will lead you to a premillennial dispensational perspective of Scripture. And central to this understanding is that the kingdom of God, not the redemption of man, is the primary theme of the Bible. You must understand that God's purposes extend beyond man's need for salvation. As important as that is, as glorious as that is, but man is to fulfill the kingdom mandate that was given all the way back in Genesis one verses 26 and verse 28 where man was commanded to rule and to subdue the earth and all of its creatures. Now the first Adam failed, but the second Adam is going to come, and he will not fail. And for this reason, at the end, even of the canon of Scripture, in the book of Revelation, we read about the eternal kingdom and how the saints of God will quote, "reign forever and ever over the new earth." [Revelation 22:5]

Now let me make it very simple for you, the storyline of the Bible emphasizes just three primary components. Number one, the salvation of individual sinners. And secondly, the salvation and restoration of ethnicities, nations and societies. And then finally, the healing of all creation. And we see in Scripture that when Jesus, the last Adam returns, he will rule the earth and the nations from Jerusalem; Zechariah 14 and verse nine; Revelation 20 and verse four. And at that point we see how Israel will be the geographical center of a worldwide earthly kingdom - the kingdom of the Messiah - who will help serve other nations. Israel will help serve other nations. We see this especially in Isaiah 2 and Isaiah 11; and we see how the Gentiles will join Israel in being the people of God [Isaiah 19:16-25]. We see even how the Lord Jesus Christ will share this rule with his saints. I love the passage in Revelation five and verse 10, Matthew 19:28 through 30. And there will be therefore - and I want you to understand this now, this is important - there will be a multi-ethnic and a multi-national kingdom that will abound with blessings and prosperity, not only for Israel, but for all of the nations under the rule of the Messiah. And this is all part of the covenantal purposes revealed in the Noahic, in the Abrahamic, in the Davidic and the Mosaic and the Davidic and New Covenants.

And I would also say, that from my humble perspective, dispensationalism understands this and deals with this. It emphasizes the multi-dimensional nature of the biblical covenants, not merely individual salvation. Now, some of the covenants that were promised were partially fulfilled in the Old and the New Testaments. We see, for example, that Abraham's family began to grow through Isaac and Jacob, as God had promised. We see how Joshua, conquered The Promised Land. We can see how Jesus, the Messiah, arrived, and he brought salvation and blessings to Jews and to Gentiles consistent with God's promise to Abraham and Israel in Genesis 12 verses two and three, where he promised that "in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." And, I might add, consistent with the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit has arrived and now permanently indwells believers, which didn't happen prior to the New Covenant; empowering us to be obedient to God. But the promises concerning the restoration of ethnic, national Israel, the restoration of the earth, of the animals of creation, the restoration of Israel over the people of the earth, promises pertaining to perpetual peace for Israel and her enemies in an earthly kingdom, the rebuilding of Jerusalem - physical, material prosperity - those types of things that are described in the New Covenant have not been fulfilled yet. They await Christ's Second Coming.

For example, in the New Covenant promises found in Ezekiel 36 verses, 29 through 30, we read how agricultural prosperity is linked to Israel's eventual salvation. There we read,

"'Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness; and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.

"'I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.'"

Numerous examples of these kinds of things. And so this is why I reject the assertion of non-dispensationalists that somehow these prophecies - pertaining to multi-ethnic, multi-national, physical prosperity and blessings for Israel and all of the nations - must be interpreted somehow through the lens of typology; that all of these things are mere shadows to be reinterpreted by the New Testament, and that Israel is merely a type of a greater anti-type, which is the church. I just don't see any exegetical reason to embrace that kind of a hermeneutic.

And again, as Paul says in Romans 11:2, "God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew." Makes perfect sense to me. God has chosen to bless the world through Israel. And indeed, we've seen this happen thus far through them. He brought us the Scriptures, the Messiah, and eventually the Messiah will rule the world from Jerusalem; Isaiah 2, Isaiah 11. And once again, in order to understand these things from this perspective, which I think is the right perspective, you must have a consistent contextual interpretation of Scripture. In other words, a literal, grammatical hermeneutic, which preserves the intended authorial meaning of each passage of scripture. This is essential to understanding bible prophecy, and it will help you avoid subjectivity and theological bias.

Now, what does this mean practically? Alright? Well, it means, for example, when in Ezekiel 20 verses 30 and following, when God promises to bring Israel out from the land and gather them from the lands where they are scattered and enter into judgment with them, face to face, and purge them and the rebels, as he did from Mount Sinai, to determine who will enter the earth the Messiah's earthly kingdom, we ought to believe that. That's what God has said. And when in Isaiah two and Micah four, we have a prediction that the Lord is going to reign from a literal Jerusalem, I think we need to believe that. And at his second coming, he tells us that 12 tribes of Israel will be restored and sit upon 12 thrones in the regeneration [Matthew 19:28], we ought to believe that. Why wouldn't we believe that?

When in Revelation 19, verse 15, we are told that when Jesus returns, "He will rule the nations with a rod of iron.." when in chapter 21 verses 24 and 26 we read how the nations and the kings of the world are going to bring their glory and honor unto the Lord into a new Jerusalem, we ought to believe that. When we come to Isaiah 19:16 through 25, and we are told how the nations of Egypt and Assyria, which represents the heart of all of the Islamic oppression, when we read how that these people are going to be saved and they're going to co-exist peacefully with Israel in a future kingdom; and when we read how during this time, five cities of Egypt will speak Hebrew and how Egypt will build a monument to the Lord near its border, and how they are going to build a highway together to worship the Lord in Jerusalem, we ought to believe that. I believe that my God can do that and will do that. That's what he told me.

When in Daniel 9:27, therefore he predicts an antichrist figure will make and break a firm covenant with Israel, and he will commit an abomination in a Jewish temple, and then himself, he will be destroyed, we believe that. When in Matthew 24 verses 15 through 16, Jesus referred to the same text in Daniel, saying, "'Therefore, when you see the ABOMINDATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel, the prophet standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.'" When we read those things, we should believe it.

Now, all that by way of introduction to our text that we'll look at briefly, okay, it's not a long text; verses 15 through 17. Let me remind you that previously, in chapter 11, we saw the impending destruction of Israel and the impending devastation of false shepherds and those who embrace them; the impending denial of the true shepherd and the slaughter of all those who reject him. And all of those were events pertaining to Messiah's first advent and death and concluding with the dissolution of the Jewish nation in AD 70. But what's predicted here pertains to the Messiah's Second Advent, which must be preceded by, as we have seen, unparalleled judgment upon Israel and upon the world as a result of the monstrous rule of the Antichrist. Again, this will be a purifying fire that will bring Israel to a place of genuine repentance and salvation and prepare them for entrance into the messianic kingdom and join in with his reign upon the earth.

So first, we're going to look at the character and conduct of the Antichrist. Notice verse 15, "The LORD said to me, 'Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.'" Now this is referring back to verses seven through 14, where, as you will recall, Zechariah was commanded to role play a shepherd before the people to act out the eventual rejection of Christ and all that would happen as a result of divine judgment. And you remember that he had to take two staffs, one of "Favor" and one of "Union," to demonstrate grace and protection offered by the Good Shepherd whom they would deny. All of that just by way of review, but now, by way of contrast, notice what he says, "'Take again for yourself the equipment of a foolish shepherd.'" Now, usually the equipment, or the instruments of a shepherd, would be used to care for and protect the sheep, but not in this case, because this pertains to a foolish shepherd. Hebrew, "'ĕvilî". It sounds like the word "evil," and that's essentially what the word foolish means. It actually, in Hebrew, it means to "grow thick." It's a fascinating concept, and it refers to those who are thick headed, as we would say; those that are calloused in their conscience. They're hardened to the purposes of God, the wisdom of God; to resurrect a term that you very seldom use, they are obtuse, which basically means deliberately ignorant. This is what we see, for example, in the whole trans insanity. I mean, you're either certifiably insane or you're obtuse, you're deliberately ignorant of the facts. It means insensible. A fool is one that is devoid of good sense. He is stupid. He is bereft of good sense and judgment. In Scripture, it signifies the wicked and the godless.

By the way, we see this, for example, in social media. I would call social media a fool's paradise. We see it in politicians, educators, media, on and on. In Scripture, we read, for example, Proverbs one and verse seven, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction." Proverbs 5:23, "He will die for a lack of wisdom, and in the greatness of his folly, he will go astray." Proverbs14:16, "A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless." Psalm 10, verse four, "The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, 'there is no God.'" In Psalm 53, and verse one, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God,' They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good."

So he's going to now take up the equipment of this foolish shepherd. And then it says in verse 16, "'For behold, I am going to raise up...'" It's interesting here. God himself is going to do this. And this is part of Daniel 70th week, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land. Now, contextually, this would refer to the land of Israel. I might add, as a footnote, I read this last week, of a historic decision in Israel, the Knesset passed a resolution supporting the application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea, over Samaria and the Jordan Valley. If you look at Israel and you see kind of a kidney bean in the middle of Israel, it's all that area that the Palestinian Authority has been ruling at some level, causing all the problems. Well now, Jewish rights are being put over the heartland of biblical Israel; and I might also add that this further denies the absurd two-state solution that so many are demanding. Can you imagine allowing Hamas and Hezbollah to establish their own country, for example, in the Midwest of the United States? When they raise their kids to do one thing, and that is to kill us. See, folks, all of this is purely satanic. This is the stuff of fools.

But notice what he will do. Notice the diabolic cruelty, the heartless disregard of the shepherd that God will raise up. It says that he "will not care for the perishing." Perishing means to cut off or those that are in the process of being destroyed. He will not "seek the scattered." A little technical here - "naʿar" in Hebrew - "naʿar" can refer to a young man or a youth, but it's never used of young animals. So most scholars have adopted and what would be an abstract substantive meaning of "naʿar", that is referring to that "which is scattered." And he's not going to help them either, and he's not going to "heal the broken," literally, the shattered, the fractured; those injured that are in need of immediate attention like a good shepherd would do with its sheep. Nor will he "sustain the one standing." "Sustain" means to "support" or to "give nourishment" to the one standing. In other words, the well, the healthy among the sheep. We know as we read the prophetic literature that we see how the Antichrist will use starvation as his primary weapon, because those that will trust in Christ will not wear the mark of the beast. They will not bow the knee to this satanic ruler. They will not take on that mark. So they will not be able to buy nor sell.

And it goes on to say, "...but he will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hooves." In other words, he is going to feed upon the fattest of the sheep, the best sheep, and he is going to do it to the point of devouring every single morsel to the point of tearing off their hoofs. That's the idea.

And what's interesting is Jesus warned about this unparalleled evil that would come upon them for rejecting the Messiah. He warned them about this. I've read a number of passages to you this morning, but worse yet, not only did they reject their Messiah, but a day is coming when they're going to embrace this false messiah, the Antichrist. In fact, Jesus said in John 5:43, "'I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me.'" Then he adds this, "'...if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.'" And this warning finds its fulfillment in our text.

I might add just you know, from my very heart, for those of you who reject Christ in word or in deed, I plead with you to trust in him, to embrace him with all of your heart and to love him; or should the Lord tarry and you enter into the time of the tribulation, we don't know when that will be, I can assure you that you will remain in the realm of the deceived, and you will perish in your sin, and you will spend eternity in the realm of the damned. So I offer you the gospel.

We've seen the character and conduct of the Antichrist, and we'll close then with the divine judgment of the Antichrist in verse 17. "'Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! A sword will be on his arm and on his right eye!'" "Arm," biblically, is often used as a symbol of strength essential to warfare. The eye is used of being able to have wisdom and see what needs to be done. But also, we know that the warriors would use a shield, and they would cover their left eye, and they would peek around with their right eye in order to see the enemy.

And it says that, "'His arm will be totally withered and his right eye will be blind.'" The point is simply this: God will eventually so incapacitate this monstrous fiend, this worthless shepherd, that he will have no more effect. Second Thessalonians two, once again, verse eight,

"...the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.

"That is the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,

"with all deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."

Friends, the "love of the truth," especially the word "truth," is a synonym for the gospel; and I would ask you, do you love the truth? Not just know the truth, many people know the truth. Satan and his demons know the truth. But do you love the truth? Meaning, do you love Christ? Do you have a heart to obey him? Do you cherish him? Bear in mind, Christ is not merely some means to an end. The Lord Jesus Christ is the all-glorious and all-sufficient end in and of himself. Do you love him? Do you consider everything else in life as the Apostle Paul "to be rubbish in comparison to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord." Or are you deceived by the antichrist spirit of the day? You worship kind of a smiley face Jesus, you just kind of know him by name, but you don't really worship him. You don't really love him. Or do you see him as some social justice warrior that is a profound, blasphemous distortion of who he is? Are you Christian in name only? I mean, do you live as if God really doesn't exist, and if he does, you're quite certain that you're good enough to make the cut.

Folks, only a fool - only one who is depraved and deceived - would possibly reject the saving and the transforming power of Christ in the gospel. And I would challenge each one of you that know and love Christ, will you pray earnestly that God will show you someone in your sphere of influence that you can speak to, that you can relate to in some special way in order to present the gospel to them, and that he would embolden you to speak the truth to them? Because, my friends, the Day of Judgment is coming. The antichrist spirit already exists. I don't need to convince you of that. All you have to do is turn on the news. But the embodiment of this evil will be the ruler of the world one day in the person of the Antichrist. So I challenge you to examine these things in your heart, whether you understand or even believe all of the prophetic things that I've given you today. Know this: God is holy, and he judges sin, all right? And he is coming again.

In light of this, in closing, I want to read to you a hymn that came to mind as I was meditating on all of this. It was written by Keith and Kristyn Getty. We've sung it before. "O, Church Arise." Let me read this to you.

O, church arise and put your armor on
Hear the call of Christ our captain
For now the weak can say that they are strong
In the strength that God has given

With shield of faith and belt of truth
We'll stand against the devil's lies
An army bold whose battle cry is love
Reaching out to those in darkness

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,
But to rage against the captor
And with the sword that makes the wounded whole
We will fight with faith and valor

When faced with trials on ev'ry side,
We know the outcome is secure,
And Christ will have the prize for which He died
An inheritance of nations

Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the eternal truths of your Word. I pray that they will find fertile soil in every heart, and that through the power of your Spirit, you will cause the seeds of truth to germinate in such a way as to bring genuine repentance, salvation and joy forevermore. We commit it all to you for the glory of Christ, and it's in his name that I pray. Amen.