The Message of Zechariah: Fuel for the House of Prayer
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH
A. The book of Zechariah contains more prophecies concerning the coming Messiah than any other book in the
Bible with the exception of Isaiah. They give us much information concerning the person and the mission of the Messiah
from his birth to his second coming and his reign during the Millennial Kingdom. Many of these prophecies have already
been fulfilled with striking accuracy. For example: He will come in meekness (riding on a donkey) (Zechariah 9:9 cf.
Matthew 21:5); He will be betrayed (for thirty pieces of silver) and rejected by men (specifically the nation of Israel)
(Zechariah 11:12-13 cf. Matthew 26:15; 27:9-10); He will suffer and die (Zechariah 13:7 cf. Matthew 26:31,56; 9:11;
Mark 14:24; 12:10; 13:7 cf. Matthew 26:31,56; John 19:37)
B. The fact that Jesus fulfilled these prophetic promises with such accuracy gives us great confidence that the many
unfulfilled (and surprising) prophecies in the book will be fulfilled in an equally literal fashion.
C. Zechariah also gives us detailed information about the End-Times. Any serious student of the end times must be
familiar with the prophecies of Zechariah. It has been called the “Apocalypse of the Old Testament.” Among the Minor
Prophets, it contains the most specific and comprehensive prophecies concerning end-time events. More than any other
Old Testament book, its visions and highly symbolic language resemble the apocalyptic books of Daniel and Revelation.
D. The book of Zechariah gives many specific promises concerning God’s end time plan for Israel and the nations.
It deals in substantial detail with subjects such as the rise and fall of Antichrist, the time of Jacob’s Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7)
the battle of Jerusalem, the Second Coming, Israel’s deliverance and salvation, the rule of the Messiah from Jerusalem
and life during the Millennium.
E. Zechariah’s messages (along with those of Haggai) also give much encouragement to God’s people who are
seeking to build the house of prayer. The Lord raised up Haggai and Zechariah at a Time when the people of God had
become discouraged in building the Temple (House of Prayer). The messages of Zechariah are filled with encouragement
to help a people who were called to re-build the Temple after the exile to Babylon in preparation for the coming Messiah.
Much of the background to the prophetic ministry of Zechariah can be found in the book of Ezra.
F. Rightly understood, these messages will give courage to God’s people at any period of history who are called to
re-establish night and day ministry to the Lord in preparation for the return of the Messiah. Much of the encouragement
given in Zechariah cannot be fully understood without a paradigm that takes seriously the emphasis and role of prayer
and worship in the establishing of God’s Kingdom on the earth. The book of Zechariah gives much information about
the importance of the prayer movement to God, the impact it will have and the spiritual fuel needed to sustain it.
II. CONTEXT OF ZECHARIAH’S MESSAGES
A. The historical setting of the prophecies of Zechariah is the time following the return from Babylon by a number of
the Jewish exiles (about 520 B.C.) Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, were the last three OT prophets and were known as
the “restoration” prophets because of their focus on rebuilding the Temple and re-establishing the worship of God in
Jerusalem.
B. The Lord raised up Cyrus, king of Persia (modern day Iran), for the purpose of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem
and returning the Babylonian Jewish exiles to the land of Israel. In 539 B.C. Cyrus took control of Babylon and shortly
afterwards he issued a decree that the Temple in Jerusalem should be built.
2Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And
He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3Who is among you of all His
people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of
the LORD God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4And whoever is left in any place where he dwells,
let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings
for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:2-4)
C. This event had been prophesied 200 years earlier by Isaiah yet only 42,360 out of one million who went into exile
responded to the call to return and rebuild.
28Who says of Cyrus, "He is My shepherd and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, "You
shall be built," and to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid." (Isaiah 44:28)
D. Those who responded to the call to return were mostly young adults and many were of priestly lineage (including
Zechariah). In other words this was a young adult worship movement led by Zerubbabel (a descendant of King David)
and Joshua the High Priest. They began with great zeal and at great personal cost but after a short while, they began to
lose heart because of negative circumstances, opposition and persecution from those already in the land. They stopped
building after just two years and for fourteen years they neglected the building of the Temple.
24Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the
second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. (Ezra 4:24)
E. Fourteen years later, the people are still in Jerusalem but now they are focused on their own houses, their own
businesses and their own ministries. The Lord raises up Haggai and Zechariah to motivate the people to get refocused
on the reason they came back to Jerusalem (building the Temple) and get the job finished.
F. Haggai tells the people that life isn’t working right because they are not being faithful to the thing God called them
to do. While Haggai focuses on calling the people to invest their time and money in the project, Zechariah’s message
focuses on a transformation of the heart. His messages call the people back to wholehearted obedience out of desire
rather than duty. Without a transformation at the heart level, the people would never have succeeded in completing the
Temple.
Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in
Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them. 2So Zerubbabel the son of
Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak rose up and began to build the house of God which is in
Jerusalem; and the prophets of God were with them, helping them. (Ezra 5:1-2)
14So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and
Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of
Israel (Ezra 6:14)
G. The prophetic anointing in our midst is essential if we are to succeed in doing the work of day and night prayer.
It is the means that God uses to awaken the heart and to cause the people building to encounter His heart. Without the
prophetic anointing it is going to be hard to get motivated to finish the project
III. INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH’S NIGHT VISIONS
A. The book of Zechariah is divided into two main sections. The first section is dated around 520 B.C. and is mostly
comprised of a series of eight visions and a message on fasting. It is mostly concerned with encouraging the people to
complete the building of the Temple. The second half of the book is undated (though most are agreed it was much later
in Zechariah’s life) and is made up of two prophetic oracles focusing with great detail on many of the end time events
surrounding the return of the Messiah and the Salvation of Israel.
B. The Lord gave Zechariah eight distinct visions over one night in February 519 B.C. The visions are distinct, yet
related in their message. The conclusion of the message is the symbolic and prophetic crowning of Joshua that takes
place the following morning (Ch.6).
C. The combined message of the visions is summarized in the name of the prophet himself. Zechariah’s name means
“God remembers”. God is letting a burnt out people know that he hasn’t forgotten them. He remembers his people with
affection and he has not forgotten his promises towards them. The message of the visions is that God still loves them,
has a glorious purpose for them and is with them to help them complete the task at hand.
D. The visions are a combination of information about God’s future plans for his Israel and the nations and revelation
of His affection and love towards His people. Understanding both God’s affections for us (who He is and how he feels
about us) and his strategy to bring righteousness and justice the earth (what He is going to do) is critical to keep us
steady in the task of building the House of prayer.
E. Understanding and meditating on God’s nature and affections towards us causes us to want to draw close to Him
and serve Him wholeheartedly. The idea is this: “a lover will always outwork a worker.” Filling our minds with the
knowledge of God’s character and heart towards us will produce energy in our spirits to give ourselves to 100%
obedience in the task
F. Studying God’s end-time program for human history fills us with urgency to pray because we want to be ready
when he comes. We do not want to be those whose love has grown cold and are serving him only half-heartedly. Studying
the end times also fills our hearts with hope that God will triumph over all evil and be seen as victorious in time and space.
G. Understanding God’s end time strategy to judge wickedness and establish justice and righteousness on the earth
causes us to desire 100% obedience in our lives because we understand that what we are doing in the day of small
beginnings (Zech. 4:10) is significant and counts towards our destiny. When we are consumed with the reality of his
eternal plan for the earth it produces a response in the present. We live with eternity in view rather than for the present.
H. King David is a good example of someone who was wholehearted before God and pursued 100% obedience in
his life. He filled his mind with the knowledge of God’s affections (who He is) and the knowledge of His will (what He is
going to do.) This produced a desire in him for 100% obedience (e.g. see Psalm 101). It is interesting that the greatest
expression of obedience that flowed out of David’s life was his desire to build a dwelling place for God (see Psalm 132).
I. In Zechariah, God is showing Israel the end of the story now so they will change the way that they live in the present
and finish building the Temple. He tells them he is going to judge all Israel’s enemies and make Jerusalem the capital city
of the earth. God’s people need to live in reality of their future destiny rather than for present comfort. The reason they
were living for present comfort is that they had forgotten his promises to them or lost faith in them. They had lost vision
and without vision they were destined to perish.
J. Israel fell into apostasy because she did not consider (meditate upon) her destiny (Lamentations 1:9). That is the
reason we need understanding of the end times. We need to order our lives according to God’s eternal perspective and
live according to the big picture. This will keep us from being swept away with the wicked.