WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF PREACHING VICTORY LECTURES October 28 31, 2002 Theme: STUDIES FROM THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Church of Christ Fourth Street and Willard Avenue Moundsville, West Virginia 26041 Published by & Order From West Virginia School of Preaching P.O. Box 785 Moundsville, WV 26041 (888) 418-4573 printed & bound by Louis Rushmore 4325 Southeast Drive Steubenville, OH 43953 (888) 725-7883 [email protected] www.gospelgazette.com 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE........................................................................... 5 AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH....... 8 Emanuel Daugherty HORSES AND CHARIOTS............................................. 25 Michael W. Mayo “JEHOVAH WAS SORE DISPLEASED WITH OUR FATHERS”....................................................................... 34 Donnie S. Barnes HORNS AND SMITHS.................................................... 44 Neal Pollard HAGGAI COMPARED TO ZECHARIAH ..................... 49 Dan Kessinger ANGEL OF THE LORD .................................................. 75 Charles J. Aebi JESUS THE PRIEST/KING............................................. 86 Donnie S. Barnes JERUSALEM, A CITY WITHOUT WALLS.................. 97 Skip Andrews MY SERVANTS THE PROPHETS............................... 107 Neal Pollard THE WORK OF THE FORMER PROPHETS .............. 115 Dan C. Bailey SATAN THE ACCUSER............................................... 128 Charles C. Pugh III ERRORS OF PREMILLENNIAL DOCTRINE............. 147 W. Terry Varner QUESTIONS ON FASTING.......................................... 169 Wesley Simons MESSIAH’S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY............................. 180 Neal Pollard 3 ZERUBBABEL: A TYPE OF CHRIST......................... 188 Andy Robison THE SCHOOLS OF THE PROPHETS.......................... 196 Louis Rushmore GOD’S PROVIDENCE OVER JERUSALEM.............. 210 Denver Cooper, Sr. THE FLYING SCROLL................................................. 220 Richard D. Melson THE CALL TO GOD'S PEOPLE................................... 229 Bruce Daugherty RETURN OF GLORY TO JERUSALEM ..................... 237 Steven P. Smithbauer JESUS – THE SMITTEN SHEPHERD ......................... 246 Frank Higginbotham PUTTING SIN WHERE IT BELONGS......................... 253 Roger A. Rush TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS .................................. 260 Clarence McDowell THE FLOCK OF SLAUGHTER.................................... 270 Wesley Simons VALUE OF FULFILLED PROPHECY......................... 283 Trevor Major JERUSALEM’S END AND NEW BEGINNING.......... 292 D. Gene West JESUS, THE FOUNTAIN OF CLEANSING ................ 307 John M. Brown 4 PREFACE The lectureship committee met earlier this year to consider the theme of the Eighth Annual West Virginia School of Preaching Victory Lectures. When the thought was put forth to do the Book of Zechariah, we were immediately in one accord. To my knowledge there has not been a lectureship among brethren in the churches of Christ on this minor prophet book. It was agreed by all that a lecture series on this great book would be a major contribution to the volumes of lectureship books being presented to the brotherhood. We gave careful consideration to the men who would be invited to speak, knowing the difficulty of some of the prophetic themes to be developed. We believe that some of the finest Bible students in our area and from other places have been assembled and have collaborated with us to produce a worthy volume that will be a blessing to all who read it. When studying a volume of this type there are a number of things needed to be searched out and accomplished: (1) We want to give an accurate exposition of this important book. Accuracy of interpretation should have the foremost place in the Bible student’s mind. If one cannot arrive at the truth on an Biblical passage, then such study will do little to help one’s spiritual growth and development. (2) The prophetic themes to be discussed must be correctly interpreted. Prophecy containing predictions of future things must be carefully and prayerfully reasoned out. One does not read the Bible as he reads the newspaper. Nor does one read prophetic books like he would read the Book of Acts or the epistles. Zechariah is a book filled with highly figurative passages that have led to wild and fanciful interpretations destructive to the soul. Novices to Bible study tend to get lost in the visions and predictions of this 5 book. But to the wise and mature student great and wonderful benefits are derived, providing blessings to heart and soul. (3) Important lessons for modern day Christians must be presented to make this study practical. All the speakers and writers in this lecture series have taken great pains to develop lessons that provide food for thought and things that will stimulate growth in the knowledge of God’s word. The great Messianic passages in Zechariah are a challenge to the students of the Scriptures. More than one of our speakers have thanked me for making them do study, research and meditation, in a book that many times is neglected because of its difficulties of interpretation. The personal lessons and thoughts provoked by this study of our Lord Jesus Christ and His kingdom have proved to be of special benefit to them. Our speakers have done well to glean out the lessons to be learned. We pray that it will also be true of those who read them. Deepest appreciation is given to the elders of the Hillview Terrace church of Christ for the existence of West Virginia School of Preaching, thus making these lectures possible. These are men who have the interest of the church and school of preaching which is under their oversight at heart. Also, we want to extend our great thanks to the men of WVSOP faculty who served on the lectureship committee this year: Charles Pugh, Louis Rushmore, Gene West, and this writer, Emanuel Daugherty. Many hours of planning and preparation have gone into this lectureship program as to topics and speakers. We appreciate their time and talents which are many. The school secretary, Diana Johnston has worked many hours in typing and computer work, correspondence and phone calls, copying and mail-outs to keep things moving. She is greatly appreciated for her service and devotion to the school. A big thank you must also go to Elizabeth Robison, our faithful librarian, for proofreading 6 some of the manuscripts. Her knowledge of the writing and language skills is a wonderful asset to our school (for teachers and students alike!). Last, but by far not least, we want to pay a debt of gratitude to Louis and Bonnie Rushmore, who have been responsible for the printing, assembling, collating, cutting, gluing, binding, etc. of the WVSOP Lectureship book this year and for the past several years. Louis and his wife put in many, many thankless hours and sleepless nights to get the job done. They have always been on time and caused the Director little or no anxiety, for which he is thankful. A special effort is made each year to produce quality audio and video tapes of all the lectures. These can be purchased for a nominal fee. Please note that the lecture schedule also serves as an order form to purchase tapes. The elders have asked that all tape purchases be prepaid. Emanuel B. Daugherty August 14, 2002 7 AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH Emanuel Daugherty My task in this lectureship devoted solely to the prophetic book of Zechariah is to give an overview of this volume. Zechariah is listed in the books of the “Minor Prophets,” so called because of their brevity as compared to the “Major Prophets,” such as Isaiah with its 66 chapters, Jeremiah with its 52 chapters and Ezekiel with its 48 chapters. Zechariah has 14 chapters over all, and though “minor” in comparison, it is one of the “major” prophets when it comes to Messianic content. His prophecies about the Messiah are exceeded only by those of that great statesman-prophet Isaiah. The Prophet and Historical Background Zechariah means “He whom Jehovah remembers,” and is one of the three writing prophets of the Persian Period. He is a contemporary and co-laborer with Haggai in stirring up the people to rebuild the temple, and begins his labors about 80 years before Malachi. The name Zechariah is a popular one in the Old Testament, with some thirty men having that designation. He is one of the few prophets who gives information about his lineage, identifying himself as the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo the prophet. According to Nehemiah 12:1, 4, and 16, Zechariah’s grandfather, Iddo, is listed as one of the Levites and priests who returned with the first group of Jews with Zerubbabel. This makes him then a priest and prophet. He is likely not the slain prophet of the Gospels (Mt 23:35; Lk 11:51). See 2 Chronicles 24:20. There is nothing said about his call to prophesy, but he is referred to as a “young man” (2:4), and, because of the dating of the books of Zechariah and Haggai, we know that AN OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH each did his preaching within a few months of the other. Both were called of God to prophesy, urging the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. The temple of David and Solomon had been destroyed in 586 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and had lain waste for nearly 70 years. When the captives first came home from Babylon, they immediately began work on the temple with the foundation being laid in 536 B.C. But they received opposition from the Samaritans and other peoples who had moved into the area in their time of Captivity (Ezra 4). This opposition had begun in the reign of Cyrus the Great and continued through the reigns of Ahasuerus (Cambyses) and Artaxerxes (Psuedo-Smerdis) who wrote an order totally stopping the work on the temple until the second year of the reign of Darius Hystaspes in 520 B.C. (Ezra 4:23-24). Ezra chapter 5 records that a challenge was made to Darius the king inquiring if King Cyrus had ever really authorized the rebuilding of Jerusalem at all (5:17). A search was made in the archives at Babylon, and the edict of authorization to build the city and temple was found (6:1-5).