The fountain against sin and uncleanness opened—Idols and false prophets destroyed—The smitten Shepherd and the sheep scattered—The Remnant saved—Two-thirds cut off and a third part refined by fire.

As mentioned in the closing sentence of the exposition of the last chapter, the first verse of the 13th chapter belongs to the 12th chapter. The division of the Bible into chapters is very often at fault and helps much to obscure the real meaning. “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for Uncleanness.” That day will be the day when they have looked upon Him, Jehovah, the pierced One, and the fountain which is opened is the same blessed fountain of which the saints now sing:

“There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Emanuel’s veins,

And sinners plunged beneath that flood

Lose all their guilty stains.”

The fountain was indeed in existence throughout all the long centuries of Israel’s dispersion. But Israel in blindness did not see it, only the remnant according to the election of grace did realize the precious blood of the Lamb of God, which has taken away the sins of the world. Now all is changed. Upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the house of David the Spirit is poured out. They have seen Him who is the first-born among many brethren, the second Adam, the One who is the Head of a new creation, and the blood of Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, is now cleansing them from all sin and uncleanness. Their guilt is pardoned and all unrighteousness and impurity is completely removed. This great event is everywhere spoken of in the Old Testament. We had it under consideration in the third chapter, containing the night vision of the cleansing of Joshua, the High priest. In that vision the blood which cleanses was not mentioned. Now, however, it is seen, that the cleansing is by the blood of the Lamb. It is the same precious blood which cleansed and washed the glorified saints. The great multitude, which no man can number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues; the saints arrayed in white robes with palms in their hands, who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and who appear with Him. And while they sing their song of praise, Salvation unto our God which sitteth on the throne and unto the Lamb, Israel will be washed by the same blood and join into the song of worship heard from the glorified lips of the saints of God. In the 103d Psalm we have a prophetic expression of what Israel will rejoice in when that fountain is opened. The cleansed nation will break forth and sing:

“Bless Jehovah, oh my soul,

And all that is within me bless His holy name;

Bless Jehovah, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities,

Who healeth all thy diseases,

Who reedeemeth thy life from destruction,

Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”

The cleansing and healing of Israel in that day will be complete and final. No more going back to sin and apostasy after that. Now they are indeed a holy people, a kingdom of priests. Perfect healing is theirs, not alone in spiritual things, but also healing from their diseases. Jehovah is their healer the moment He, as the Sun of Righteousness with healing under His wings, has risen upon them. “And the inhabitant shall not say I am sick; the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity” (Isa. xxxiii: 34). “Neither will I hide My face any more from them; for I have poured out My Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God” (Ezekiel xxxix: 29). “And the Redeemer shall come out of Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord. And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the Lord, My Spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and forever” (Isa. lix: 20, 21). “For behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy, and I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in My people, and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying” (Isa. lxv: 19).

The cleansing of His people is followed by the cutting off of the names of the idols from the land of Israel. The false prophets who were indwelt by the spirit of uncleanness are destroyed. It is the consequence of the outpouring of the Spirit upon Israel. The entire paragraph beginning the 13th chapter speaks of this:

“And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts,

I will cut off the names of the idols from the land,

And they shall no more be remembered;

And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirits

To pass out of the land.

And it shall be if a man still prophesy,

His father and his mother who begat him shall say to him,

Thou shalt not live,

For thou hast spoken a lie in the name of Jehovah;

And his father and his mother who begat him

Shall pierce him through when he prophesieth.

And it shall be in that day the prophets shall be ashamed

Each of his vision when he prophesies;

And shall no more put on a hairy mantle to lie,

And shall say I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground,

For a man has sold me from my youth.

And one shall say to him

What are these wounds between thine hands?

And he shall answer, those with which I was wounded

In the house of my lovers” (verses 2 to 6).

We have seen before in the 10th chapter that Israel will return to idolatry in the last days. The unclean spirit of idolatry which was cast out will at last return with seven others and will find the house empty, swept and garnished. And the evil spirit, with the seven others more evil than himself; will enter in and dwell there, so that the last state of Israel becometh worse than the first. This will happen to this evil generation. This section of the 13th chapter makes it very clear that when the fountain is opened against sin and uncleanness, that idols will have been in the land, and false prophets prophesy there immediately before the manifestation of the Lord from heaven; for how could the names of the idols be cut off from the land if there were none there? Palestine may well be put down now as the great centre of false worship. Greek and Latin crosses are seen on all sides in Jerusalem and other places, while saints, holy houses and places are worshipped and adored. On the spot where the Lord’s house stood, there stands to-day the mosque of the false prophet. All is idolatry. Of course when the Lord returns these false temples will be destroyed, and the Greek and Latin idolatries, as well as Islam, will forever pass out of existence. There will be a purging of the land from these abominations. This may be included in the prophecy here. Still, it is the people of Israel who are especially concerned in the prophecy before us. The land has often been the scene of idol worship, and the people engaged in that which Jehovah despises. It will be so again, only in a much worse form, when false prophets who are inspired by the unclean spirit, and demons themselves will be their guides.

We must look to Revelation for a key. It is well known to all students of the prophetic word that all which comes after the third chapter in the last book of the Bible is future still. We are yet in the things which are present. When the Lord has taken the Church to Himself then the great visions, tribulations, wrath and judgment will be fulfilled. Aside from the scenes in heaven we learn from Revelation the events in the earth during the great tribulation which ends with the wrath from heaven.

Now in the 9th chapter and the 20th verse of Revelation we read, And the rest of mankind which were not killed with these plagues repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship demons and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see nor hear nor walk. Scripture is to be explained by scripture. The Holy Spirit declares through Paul the very same when he writes in 1 Timothy iv: 1, “But the Spirit says expressly that in the latter times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron.” For this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned which believed not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thess. ii: 11, 12).

These words have not yet been fulfilled, nor has the time come. Truly there are many indications around us. Doctrines of demons are seen in more than one respect. Mysterious influences are felt in the earth. The hindering power, the Holy Spirit, is still present, and He is keeping back the full manifestation of evil (2 Thess. ii: 7). But when at last He has gone, in the removal of the body, then darkness indeed will cover the earth. The unclean spirits, and who can count their numbers, will be thrown out of heaven into the earth and take possession of mankind. The voice from heaven declares, Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time (Rev. xii). When our Lord was in the earth preaching the kingdom of heaven He found many persons in the possession of demons, evil spirits, who had complete control of them, and He cast them out. Some cried out in terror, demanding to know if He had come to torment them before the time. They knew Him as the One who would at last send them to their final doom. But when He comes again in His glory from heaven, conditions will be a great deal worse. Satan and his hosts will be in the earth, having deceived the inhabitants of the earth, and seducing with lying wonders and strong delusions those who would not believe the truth, and lead them back to idol worship and to the carnal abominations connected with such a worship. Spiritualism, Christian Science, Buddhism in the very midst of Christendom, as well as the sect of devil worshipers in Paris, London, and Berlin, are but faint samples of the gross darkness which will be when the Church has been removed. There is no human mind which can imagine the condition of things during that time of tribulation, nor is there a pen which could describe the delusions and wickedness which will then flourish for a short time in this world.

What praises, then, should be in the hearts of the Saints for having escaped that tribulation and the wrath to come. No, the Lord will never leave His Church in the earth when Satan and his demons have control. The presence of the Church in the earth makes it impossible that these days can come. But while this will be true in the earth generally, the land of Israel will be the center of that great storm, and there the false worship, idolatry, will be established. It is to be remembered that a part of the nation will have been restored to the land in unbelief, and will rebuild a temple, which is the fourth temple. Sacrifices are brought again, but they are an abomination, and the Lord hates them. The 66th chapter of Isaiah in its beginning speaks of this fact. We have to turn once more to the book of Revelation to find there a commentary. In the first quotation from the book we learned of the conditions in the earth in a general sense, but when we read the 13th chapter we find ourselves on Jewish ground, in Jerusalem. In that chapter we read of the worship of one who is termed the dragon, and this dragon gives power to a beast, who is likewise worshiped. And there was given him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given him authority to continue forty and two months (verse 5). . . And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, everyone whose name hath not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain from the foundation of the world . . . (8th verse). After this we read in the 11th verse of a second beast. And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like unto a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the authority of the first beast in his sight, and he maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great signs, that he should even make fire come down out of heaven upon the earth in sight of men. An image of the beast is made. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which hath the stroke of the sword and lived. And it was given unto him to give breath to it, even to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as should not worship the image of the beast should be killed (14th and 15th verses). We see here a trinity revealed. The first is the dragon, the second the beast, and after that beast, which is called the first beast, the other, or the second beast. The dragon is the father of lies, the devil, the first beast is his son, the Antichrist, and the second beast is the evil spirit, which causes the dwellers in the earth to worship the beast. It is the trinity of evil as it is yet to be seen in the earth, and worshipped by those who rejected the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This beast is the false Messiah. The one of whom we read in 2 Thes. ii. The son of perdition, he that upholdeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. Now this is the great abomination of the great tribulation. The 13th chapter of Revelation speaks, as we have seen, of Antichrist having received a deadly wound by a sword, but he lived. It was a miracle that he lived. The dragon gave him power to overcome it. But not alone does he raise up the beast again from death, but he imparts life to the image of Antichrist, which is to be worshipped, so that it could speak, and all who refuse to worship the image are to be killed. Antichrist is a perfect counterfeit of the true Christ. The devil will then place him before the world as a substitute of Christ. The wound of the beast was made perhaps by those who pretended to love him. With the light from Rev. xiii, Zech. xiii becomes very plain, for the false prophets and idols mentioned in our chapter are connected with the winding up of this dispensation. The sixth verse does not speak of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is generally taken to be a Messianic prophecy and often quoted as such. The context, however, shows beyond a doubt that the person mentioned is the false prophet. And one shall say to him—the false prophet—What then are these wounds between thy hands? And he shall say, Those for which I was wounded in the house of my lovers. Nowhere is this prophecy quoted in the New Testament as being Messianic. Surely if it had any reference to the Lord, the Holy Spirit would have quoted it somewhere in the New Testament. We have here the description of the false shepherd, the Antichrist, the beast with the deadly wound. Of course there will be many false Messiahs in that day when Antichrist reigns. False messengers, lying prophets, with their delusions will go throughout the land and to the nations likewise. But when He appears whose right it is, Antichrist, all false prophets, and all the idols will be forever cut off and the land will be thoroughly cleansed of all these abominations. If it were possible that a man after this manifestation should still prophesy (speaking falsely, a lie in the name of Jehovah), his own father and mother would slay him for it. The true Shepherd is now seen once more in the closing of this chapter, and with him mention is made of the remnant.

“Awake, O sword, against My shepherd,

And against a man, My fellow, saith Jehovah of Hosts;

Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered,

And I will bring back My hand upon the little ones.

And it shall be in all the land, saith Jehovah,

Two parts therein shall be cut off and die,

And the third shall be left therein.

And I will bring the third part through the fire,

And I will refine them as silver is refined,

And will try them as gold is tried;

He shall call upon My name and I will answer;

I will say, It is My people,

And he shall say, Jehovah is my God.”

The question comes to every student of the word, why is here an interruption in the events which we have followed and which are given chronologically? Why is there no continuation bringing out other phases of Israel’s salvation and the coming of the Lord? The change is very abrupt, and there is a going back to events which are the events of His first coming and His rejection. The solution of the difficulty would be almost impossible if we would interpret the sixth verse of the wounded one as referring to the Lord, the Messiah. But the fact that in the sixth verse we have the person of Antichrist answers the question which we have asked. The change and the interruption is made to show the contrast between the Good Shepherd and the false shepherd. The devil’s masterpiece had been in the earth; perhaps he pointed to his wounds in his hands and to the fact that he was dead and became alive again, and mockingly he spoke of Jesus of Nazareth and His claim of having been dead and now living. The true Shepherd has appeared. He too is pierced, but He was pierced for their sins, and to make the whole complete a new thought is brought out which has not been seen so far in Zechariah. It is the same as in Isaiah liii, the suffering One, who is a man, and called My fellow, the fellow of Jehovah of Hosts, Jehovah Himself; who speaks here, and what does He speak? The sword is to work against His Shepherd and against His own Fellow. The blessed mystery of the atonement is thus brought out. Indeed it is the heart of the Gospel here. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have life eternal. The Lord, laid on Him the iniquity of us all. It speaks of Him, the forsaken One, the Son of God, forsaken in the hour of His agony, the sword upon Him and against Him. In the New Testament we find the passage quoted in the Gospel of Matthew, 26th chapter and 13th verse: Then saith Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of Me this night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. In the last verses of the 13th chapter we have once more teachings concerning the remnant. These verses are not alone applicable to the remnant and the sheep in the time when our Lord was in the earth and immediately after he had suffered, they are not alone applicable to the remnant, which was in Jerusalem when the Roman armies came for destruction, but the application is to be made in connection with the people living in the land when Antichrist will reign, and the suffering of the remnant, the one-third, and the glorious privileges of that remnant are likewise future.