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The Minor Prophets and the End Time Church Part 15
The Book of Zephaniah
By: Darryl Henson
We are going to get, today, to the book of Zephaniah--moving along in the Minor Prophets.
I want to do a brief review, however, of where we've been; so we can see how this all ties
together, chapter by chapter, like the stories in a book.
In Hosea, Joel and Amos we have the problems laid out that are occurring in the church. And
God's judgment, if there is not severe and wholehearted repentance, to both the physical nation
and the spiritual nation--the church. Joel really introduces the theme of the Day of the Lord
heavily and gives warning ahead of time. This is nigh; and we have space to repent--during this
story that unfolds through the Minor Prophets. How long this lasts, in terms of chronology and
today's time, I do not know. But I know that the story gets more and more intense the farther
along we go here. So the problems are laid out there.
In Obadiah, you might remember, we talked about the Edomites--both physical (who are trying to
destroy Jacob) and also Edomites in the church (who are in the process of destroying the
church). Then we saw Jonah, which overall tells us to be very, very careful to respond quickly and
accurately to everything God tells us to do. Perhaps He put Jonah there, on the heels of those
others, as a reminder--before He dives into other subjects.
Then in the book of Micah there is, again, quite a bit of warning. The introduction, in time
sequence, of the daughter of Zion--which is the daughter that God is going to select to lead His
remnant people back to Him. And an introduction of the great threat of the next enemy--the
Assyrian--in whatever form that takes here in the end time.
The book of Nahum then describes Assyria and what she will do, and gives a warning again to
Judah (or, the church--the scattered churches particularly), and then the sentence for what they
do to God's people.
Then we get to the book of Habakkuk, which we covered last month. In it, Habakkuk asks two
questions. He is very insignificant in terms of being a "known" person. We know nothing about
Habakkuk really, except that God inserted him here--as "a nobody"--to give a message.
Habakkuk had a couple of questions burning in his mind. The first was, "How long, O Lord?" And
the answer, basically, is "While I sort out the righteous." The second question he asked was:
"Why not punish these other people, instead of us? We're Your people."
Once Habakkuk got over his attitudes, he began to realize that he had to embrace God. His name
means "embrace." Embrace means to hug tightly. To go into the arms of God, so to speak--like
we hug one another, as we just did here in Gladewater. Having not seen each other for a while, it
was wonderful to come up and hug each other, and say, "How are you?" and look at each other
and see if we were any thinner or whatever might have happened to us in the interim.
So we are to embrace God! And that is the way that Habakkuk, then, began to tell his story. He
gave a prayer; and he said, "I'll stand on my watch. I'll patiently wait." Then, once his attitude was
straightened out, the message that God gave to him was "This is a message that will not tarry. If
you hear this message of repentance, this message of "How long?" and "Who will God punish?" -He said, "Run!" Hurry into the embrace of God!
In chapter 2 and verse 4, he says, "The just shall live by faith." And then he talks about the pride
of those who have spiritual pride and how it will be knocked down. And we get to the end of it;
and right at the end, verse 17 of chapter 3, he shows--and I think this is speaking not just of the
physical nation but specifically of the church here.
"Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive
shall fail, and the fields shall yield no food; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall
be no herd in the stalls:" (Habakkuk 3:17).
So he's talking about the condition of the church, along with the condition of the world around us
(in Israel) as well. But we are zeroing in, in this series, primarily on the church--because that is
the key for us right now. The key for the rest of Israel will come in the Millennium and the Great
White Throne Judgment--with the beginning of the softening and a humbling process in the Great
Tribulation. But we need to humble ourselves and become meek ahead of time. And we need to
realize that the churches that we see around us (the folds, the flocks, the herds, the trees, and
the vines) are not going to fare. They are going to come down and come apart-- just as the
physical nations, very shortly, will as well.
So, the emphasis at the end of the book of Habakkuk is individual responsibility. That's what he
says here in verse 18 of chapter 3.
"Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my
strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon my high
places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments" (Habakkuk 3:18-19).
So, a hind (or, a deer) runs very rapidly. It can run uphill, over obstacles, over rocks, over cliffs-most cliffs, anyway. And God is going to make us that way, if we embrace Him. So that we can
walk on the high places, spiritually speaking.
So Habakkuk's message is that judgment is coming. It is set. Both the world and the church are
going to be trodden down and come apart. So it is an individual matter to turn to God and
embrace Him with out whole heart--and to live and walk in faith and patience before our God--if
we are to be saved through all this and to walk on the high places.
Now, this same theme continues in the book of Zephaniah--because he renews and revives the
theme of the Day of the Lord, right off the bat. He says that the judgment is set for the church
overall, and for the physical nations of Israel. And then he zeroes in on personal salvation through
the remnant of the church. Just as there will be a remnant of physical Israel to go into the
Millennium, there will be a remnant of the church that goes in--as the firstfruits. So that is the
overall emphasis of both of these books.
Zephaniah is the last prophet who wrote before the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans. In other words, the last warning came through this man; and then the fall came--very
shortly thereafter.
Here's a quote from Barnes' Notes (the commentator): "All these particular judgments contain
principles of God's judgments at all times. But in Zephaniah they seem all to converge in the love
of God for the remnant of His people. The nation he calls a nation not desired. [Or, not desirable.]
…He foretells a sifting time, [which we'll see, down in chapter 3]."
If we are not in "a sifting time" right now, I don't know what we are in.
The name Zephaniah itself means, "The Lord has hid." Habakkuk meant "embrace" [God]; and
those who embrace God--Zephaniah follows with--the Lord will hide. Or, the Lord has hid.
So, we are going to see (before we finish this) that God is going to take care of those who
embrace Him-- who turn to Him wholeheartedly, as Habakkuk told us. Those who run spiritually,
in other words. Those who don't sit half-asleep--but are wide-awake, and running toward God.
Zephaniah wrote up until the twelfth year of King Josiah. Josiah being as righteous as any king in
the history of Israel, he began the reforms very early in his kingship. He took the throne, I think,
when he was only eight years of age (as I recall). He probably didn't do a great deal of reforming
at that point; but, later on in his life, he began truly to reform--to kick the idols out, and to help
Israel to get back to God.
So it's interesting that Zephaniah wrote during the reign of Josiah--up until the twelfth year of his
reign at least. It was just before the captivity occurred and during a time of reformation. That is,
reforming--reforming to be like God. And that is the emphasis that we are under right now. It's a
reformation spiritually, because we had drifted into idol worship--of ourselves, and other idols.
Now it's time that those are put away. So we are very much talking here about reforming before
the final curtain is dropped (as we'll see, as we get into the book).
Barnes makes a comment here that "the extirpation of idolatry could not, it appears, be
accomplished at once." Do you notice anything familiar there? The extirpation of idolatry in ME
does not come out overnight--or, in YOU. This is a process that we have to keep working at --day
after day after day, to extirpate our own thoughts and come to have every thought into the
captivity of Jesus Christ. So the setting for the book of Zephaniah is very, very much just like what
we have today. And it certainly applies to us today!
Interestingly enough, another comment that Barnes makes is that "The worship of Baal was cut
off, not through Josiah, but (as Zephaniah prophesied) through the captivity. Jeremiah asserts its
continuance during his long prophetic office." In other words, the warning came through
Zephaniah; and they were about to go into captivity, shortly after this.
You see Jeremiah began his message in the thirteenth year of Josiah--one year after, apparently,
Zephaniah gave his. Jeremiah's prophecy went on; and, apparently, he prophesied for over fifty
years. That's interesting too, if you stop to think for a moment. They were going to go into seventy
years of captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah prophesied for, apparently, a little over fifty years
(according to the commentators).
Now, compare that with today. The Church of God has been in captivity of the daughter of
Babylon, as Zephaniah 2 tells us. And Herbert Armstrong was raised up and preached for over
fifty years, with much the same message of Zephaniah in that sense--a warning of the end time,
that the gospel had not been preached for two thousand years. As you will recall, he said that
very often. And he preached against Baal. He preached against the queen of heaven, and Easter.
He preached against Christmas, and against all these things that the so-called "Christian" nations
of Israel had lapsed into.
He set those things straight in the Church of God-- just as Jeremiah preached about the very
same things, and for about the same amount of time. We have now reached very close to
seventy years of the church today. I don't know how God counts it; but Herbert Armstrong began
to be converted around 1926-27. The church began to actually be organized around 1933-34.
Seventy years later puts you anywhere from 1996 (from 1926) to 2003-04 (if you count 1933,
when I think it was organized as a corporation, or 1934, when it went into the world as a witness
via radio). So we are right in the neighborhood of seventy years.
Zechariah addresses that. The world is at rest; and then he very quickly says, "Save yourself, O
Zion." So perhaps we are nearing the end of this captivity where the church is shackled--in that
sense, spiritually--by Babylon. It is all around us, and in us, and among us; and we have to be
putting it out. But maybe the physical release from that is not too far away either. At least, I hope
so--if there is any connection here. But I don't want to go into that any deeper, because that is a
story that will be unfolded in the book of Zechariah in more detail. But I wanted to mention it here,
because Zephaniah is the last warning before the captivity took place, in their particular case.
And now, if we move that down to the end time age, maybe we are almost to the end of the
captivity.
And, by the way, there is the chronology that explains why there is an apparent contradiction
between Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In Jeremiah 29, Jeremiah said, "Build houses. Settle down. It's
going to be a long captivity." He prophesied just before the captivity occurred and then through
much of it. Since it was going to be a long time, it was time to settle down and do those things.
Here, again, we see a parallel with Herbert Armstrong. He settled down, in southern California;
and he built colleges. He built homes. He settled in for a long "captivity" in that sense.
Now, Ezekiel 11 tells us not to build houses and to preach against those who say that it's a long
time--and to build houses. But Ezekiel wrote between 140-150 years after the captivity started.
Therefore, the Jews (for the most part) and Israel did not even have access to the book of Ezekiel
you see. And Judah had settled down so much in Babylon that, when God did allow them to
leave, only a minority--a remnant--left and went back to Jerusalem.
So here we have a circumstance where God says that there is a remnant--right at the end--and
they will come and build that latter temple. This is [foretold in] the next book [Haggai], after the
book of Zephaniah. So you have, again, only a remnant that will respond and come and do what
God says--just like you did back then.
So now is not the time in the end, because that is what Ezekiel is talking about. Ezekiel starts
right off the bat (I'm talking of chapter 5 here.) with: "I'm going to destroy ninety percent plus of
your population."--and, spiritually speaking, of the church as well. So now is not the time to settle
down. And I think that pretty well explains the difference between Jeremiah and Ezekiel's
instruction. It's simply a matter of a different time--in chronology--that they are talking about. One
at the beginning of the captivity ("Settle down. It's going to be long. Settle in for the long haul."),
whereas Ezekiel says, "Don't do that. It's coming quickly." (Speaking here of the end time).
Here's another interesting thought that you might compare with today. This is again from Barnes:
"It was the custom of the great conquerors of the East, not to destroy capitols, but to re-people
them with subjects obedient to themselves."
It has been postulated that we would have a great nuclear war, and America would be destroyed
by that. But the way it seems to be shaping up in the world today is "Why would they destroy the
infrastructure?" Why not come in and use it? Kill the people and take them captive to other
countries. Then use what is here.
If we are having betrayal from within (which, it appears to me, fits the pattern of the Bible-wherein the church was betrayed from within), that probably will happen in the physical nations of
Israel as well. Our people will be sold into slavery. Those who do not go easily will be killed. Also,
famine and pestilence will come as the result of sin. All of this is the result of sin; and God allows
it. But it may be that, when this nation is taken, the people will be taken away just as they did in
the past. That is the historical way the Chaldeans and the Assyrians did it.
Now it is interesting that what Zephaniah prophesied here, in the days of Josiah, did shortly
thereafter come to pass. But Zephaniah writes, right at the end, from the standpoint of the Day of
the Lord. So, there was a message there (to Judah, in that day); but the message for spiritual
Judah today--and for physical Israel, for that matter--is what is contained in the book of
Zephaniah as his first and foremost message. Those people back then probably thought that it
was written for them. Certainly, it was; and it happened. We, in looking at the context and
analyzing the Day of the Lord (as it's laid out in Revelation and other places), have to realize that
it was actually written (in a larger sense) for us. If it did come to pass back then, then it is surely
going to pass again--and probably very shortly, because he prophesied very shortly before it
happened.
I'm not going to go through all of this, for sake of time; but, if you want to look it up, you can in
various commentaries. Zephaniah used quite a few expressions, or pieces of expressions, or the
same words that Isaiah, Joel, Amos and Habakkuk used--showing that he had access to those
prophets that came before him. He was building on what they had written. There are quite a few
examples of that, given by the commentaries; but we'll bypass that.
At the time that the book of Zephaniah was written, the Assyrian Empire was still in existence.
Nineveh was not yet conquered, which took place (according to Barnes' discussions) in the
closing years, or possibly not until after the death, of Josiah. So, the Assyrian is going to attack
us; and then God is going to take care of the Assyrians--as we'll see very quickly here, as we get
into the book.
"The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son
of Amariah, the son of Hizkiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah" (Zephaniah
1:1).
So, from that, we can extrapolate that Zephaniah was a Jew, because he was the grandson of
the Jewish king, Hezekiah. He is writing, overall, with Judah in mind. As we have seen in some of
the other books--in my mind, at least, I am basically writing off Worldwide as Israel (which was
concluded in unbelief) pretty much for the moment. And we are dealing with those who broke off-those I have concluded, from reading various scriptures, that Judah is referring to the scattered
brethren who have been scattered in this captivity (spiritually) that we are in at the moment, and
going into. Even though in a sense we are coming out of the captivity of Babylon after seventy
years, we are still in a scattering here. It is a principle--a pattern--of what is happening today.
"I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD" (Zephaniah 1:2).
Zephaniah gets right to it. This is not a "maybe." Judgment, as I said before, is set. (Where is it
back there? He says, "Pray not for this people. They will not repent.") The judgment is coming.
There's no way to get out of it, at this point.
When he says, "I will utterly consume all things from off the land."--my margin says, "By taking
away, I will make an end." I think that's an interesting way to put it. He's going to make an end to
all of this--of man's experience and Satan's shenanigans here on this earth. So He's not just
talking of consuming as He did with Noah, because that did not put an end to all this. It only
allowed it to start over smaller and grow back. This time, He says, "I'll make an end of it."
"I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea,
and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD"
(Zephaniah 1:3).
So this is much broader than just Israel. This is talking about the whole world, and the Day of the
Lord, and the end.
Last week, I received a note from someone who was anticipating getting into this book. She said,
I think, that it was her favorite book in all the Bible--because it shows the power, the might, the
awe of God and what He is about to work on this earth. I hadn't thought of Zephaniah as being, in
one sense, that dramatic. But, boy, you start reading it and this language is pretty powerful.
"I will also stretch out my hand upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and I will
cut off the remnant of Baal from this place, and the name of the Chemarims with the priests;"
(Zephaniah 1:4).
This was written during the reign of Josiah, when perhaps he had begun to reform somewhat; but
had not accomplished that yet. There was till a remnant of Baal in Israel. And though we may
have started toward overcoming in the church and putting out our idols, there is still a remnant of
Baal in every last one of us. And we have to continue to work on that. I think it's important to bring
that out here.
"Chemarims" is simply Hebrew for "idolatrous priests." (Number 3649 in Strong's, if you wish.)
He's going to cut off Baal and the idolatrous priests. "And…" There are several "ands" here. God
is going to include a lot of people.
"And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops;..." (Zephaniah 1:5).
They did go up on the top of the houses. There were a lot of flat top houses in that day, in
Jerusalem. There they could see the sun, to worship. There, I suppose, they could worship Baal
in peace; and they had their sacrifices up there. Sometimes we put serving Baal at the top of our
list too. You might say that we go to the top of the house to make sure that we can see Baal.
"...and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;" (Zephaniah
1:5).
It's interesting that he puts those together--as if the worship of God and the worship of Baal were
co-existing, side-by-side. "You cannot serve two masters." Yet that may be the case here. We
have some people (and every one of us, for that matter) who try to straddle the fence. We try to
hang on to some of the things of this world and yet, at the same time, worship God. So by our
actions, we are swearing by both--and that is unacceptable to God.
"And them that have turned back from the LORD;..." (Zephaniah 1:6).
So looking at the church today, there are some who have turned away from all the teachings of
God to the teachings of Baal, or Satan, or Protestantism, or Catholicism, or wherever they've
gone.
"...and those that have not sought the LORD, nor enquired for him" (Zephaniah 1:6).
Now, the Hebrew here apparently emphasizes seeking the Lord; and the nitty-gritty of it is
diligently. That is, to seek God diligently. I think that would include quite a number in the greater
Church of God today--including the Church of the Great God. We may be seeking God, we may
be inquiring of God; but we may be doing it lackadaisically. We may not yet have our whole
hearts in "embracing God," as Habakkuk put it. To really embrace, that is. We are willing to come
up and maybe shake His hand and say, "Hi, God. How are You?" But are we ready to throw our
arms around Him--around His Word, around His ways--and make them our thoughts as we toss
and turn at night, and as we wake up in the morning, and as we go out of our front door? So that
the things of God are number one in our minds! That is the force of the Hebrew here in verse 6.
Not just to seek God, but to do it diligently!
"Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand:..."
(Zephaniah 1:7).
He's saying, "I'm going to cut off man and beast. The Day of the Lord is at hand."
"...for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath invited his guests" (Zephaniah 1:7).
You might remember several places (in the Psalms, and elsewhere), where the language says,
"All of you gather." Isaiah, for one, did say that. "I will gather all the nations. Get yourself together.
Form a confederacy. Form a conspiracy. Give Me your best shot. I'm preparing a sacrifice of your
body, blood, and bones. And I'm inviting all of you." And then He invited the fowls of the air, and
so on, to come eat of the feast. So God means business here. He's bid His guests--or, sanctified
His guests (in the Hebrew)--which means that He's set them apart. He's set them aside, got them
ready.
"And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and
the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel" (Zephaniah 1:8).
So this is a judgment that is set. And we have to be dressed properly, or we are going to go with
the blood. I mean that our blood will be shed. Isaiah 52:l tells us to put on our holy garments.
Revelation 3 and Revelation 7 (with the firstfruits) both talk about putting on the white garments of
holiness and righteousness. Matthew 22, about the wedding feast, says that if we come without a
wedding garment--without the holy, righteous, character of God--we will be cast out; and there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So anybody who has on strange apparel (dirty clothes) is in
trouble.
"In the same day also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, who fill their masters'
houses with violence and deceit" (Zephaniah 1:9).
Does that mean it's a sin to jump up and down on the threshold of your house? [No.] Apparently,
what this means is that there are those who don't pay any attention to the threshold. They run in
and out of the houses to sin --very quick to bring fraud and stolen goods into their master's home.
The fact that they are crossing his threshold means nothing to them.
When we are in God's house, do we bring our sins across the threshold and into His house? Are
we ashamed of our sin? Can we come in not shamefacedly? Can we come in with pride, and
vanity, and spiritual self-righteousness? Or do we fear to bring our sins into the temple, or the
house, of God? Do we fill our Master's house with violence and deceit?
"And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that there shall be the noise of a cry from
the fish gate, and a wailing from the second, and a great crashing from the hills" (Zephaniah
1:10).
And we shall see that this is talking about a financial crash. The fish gate was on the north, or
northeast, side of Jerusalem. That is where the attacks tended to come from, because it was the
weakest area of the city in terms of physical protection. It is ironic that our weakest link financially
is in the northeast--in New York and on Wall Street. It could be very interesting that God uses
these things; and we transfer them from the physical Jerusalem (which is today "Sodom" and
"Egypt") to where the majority of Israel is today--and certainly that financial system which affects
the whole world, and Israel as a whole.
"An howling from the second [gate]"--they did enlarge the city and the wall was extended. So
perhaps he's talking about an extension here of the city of Jerusalem. The fish gate was on the
same side. Then "a great crashing from the hills." The commentators tie-in Mount Moriah and
Mount Zion here because, if you were attacked from below, where do you go? You head for the
high ground. Well, Mount Moriah was the seat of religious worship in Jerusalem; and Zion is
where the civil government was and where most of the wealthy people lived. They were up the
hill. "Snob hill" we might call it (or, it became that) there in Jerusalem. So the great crashing from
the hills has something to do with the people who have the money.
"Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh,..." Zephaniah 1:11).
Maktesh literally means "mortar"--as a mortar and pestle, where corn was ground and where
business was transacted in the city of Jerusalem. So it was a financial district. Here again, he's
building something--i.e., that the financial district, the financial things, the wealthy people, Moriah
and Zion will fall. As we go on, this ties it to the financial things precisely, or exactly.
"Wail, ye inhabitants of Maktesh [or the market area], for all the merchant people are cut down; all
they that bear silver are cut off [So it's talking about a financial crash.]. And it shall come to pass
at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps [candles],..." (Zephaniah 1:11-12).
The symbol of candles being used here, because there's no place to hide. When God goes
through, He's going to shine a candle in every dark place. If you think you can get away from this
judgment (which has been set) and this crash (which is going to fall), you've got another think
coming. God is going to light the place up with candles and find everybody. There's no way to
escape His judgment--other than the venue of repentance.
"...and punish the men that are settled on their lees:..." (Zephaniah 1:12).
Now this is a very interesting analogy, as well. It is a wine making term; and it had to do with the
dregs of the wine, in the bottom of the cask (or, whatever they had it in). It wasn't poured from
one vessel to another, let [it] settle, and then poured while leaving the dregs in the bottom each
time, until all the dregs were sorted out. So what he's saying here is that the dregs of the wine are
defiled and, really, not good. People are defined--the dregs of humanity--drunk on bad wine and
talking like drunks.
"...that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil" (Zephaniah 1:12).
Can you imagine a drunk saying that? That is, some one drunk on bad wine saying, "Ah, the Lord
can't do anything. He's not involved. Let's have some more wine." There are a lot of people today
who are not paying attention to these warnings. And if we are drunk on the dregs, we are in
trouble. So we can't be settled on our lees, or on the dregs, because then we hear nothing.
Drunks aren't afraid of much of anything. They'll step off of something high. They'll walk out in the
snow and lay down. They just aren't afraid of anything! But God is telling us here that we'd better
fear Him, and fear the judgment that is coming--and not just settle back. Spiritually, perhaps, it
describes people who do not really know what is going on, what is coming down, and rest easily
in their confidence that they are okay. "I'm okay," as the drunk would say [slurred]. "And you're
okay," he would say--unless he got too much bad wine, and then nobody's okay. But we won't
talk any more about drunks, I guess. That's enough. But we are in spiritual trouble if we are not
drinking good wine, and if we are not doing what we need to be doing.
"Therefore their goods shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation: they shall also build
houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine of them"
(Zephaniah 1:13).
You see the church woven through this thread. Even though this is a financial crash that is going
to occur (to the United States, as Israel; and probably to the world, because everything is tied to
our economy), what about all these churches out here trying to do a work? Their money will go
with it too. Their capacity to preach the gospel will also go away.
What about all of the 'spiritual houses' that are being built? I could refer you back to Isaiah 5 here;
but, again, for sake of time, we've already covered that several times. But the spiritual houses are
going to be torn down. God is going to tear the hedge down, from around the church. He already
has. And it is being invaded and torn down--church, after church. (Isaiah 5.) Three big ones are
coming down. (Zechariah 11.)
So, on a physical level right now, there is a building boom in this country that is unbelievable. You
can sit on the top of the mountain above Denver and almost watch the subdivisions marching
over the hills to the east, to the south, and to the north. In every city that I go to, it's the same
way. They are building, building and building. So this building boom is going to end in destruction.
Even though they've built these houses, they are not going to live in them and rear children in
them.
And everywhere churches are being built, built, built --as one group splits, and splits, and splits
again. But they are all coming down. (All but one, actually--which will be built.) In verse 13, when
it says, "They shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof," the parallel is again of the
church.
"The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteneth greatly,..." (Zephaniah 1:14).
This is very much like the words of Habakkuk and Isaiah. "It is near. It is near."
"...even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly" (Zephaniah
1:14).
So no matter how great, and mighty, and wealthy a man may think that he is--or how wonderful
he is spiritually (again, using the church in the analogy)--he'll cry bitterly.
"That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasting and desolation, a day
of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness," (Zephaniah 1:15).
There again, he's using the words of Joel.
"A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities,..." (Zephaniah 1:16).
Those who think they are fenced, that they are okay. Fenced by their own righteousness,
perhaps--or self-righteousness.
"...and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind
men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust,
and their flesh as the dung" (Zephaniah 1:16-17).
Pretty graphic analogy, if you think about it. So physically, when this happens, mankind is not
going to know what to do, or where to go, or how to cope with it. He won't be able to cope with it.
And the same is true of those who walk blindly from a spiritual standpoint. They don't know where
to go. They don't know what to do. And this is already beginning to happen to the church.
"Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath;
but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy
riddance of all them that dwell in the land" (Zephaniah 1:18).
God is a jealous God. We had better believe that, brethren! He will not take kindly to those who
bring sin into His temple (into His house) and who do not respect the threshold (the door) of His
house. Overall here, He's talking about a physical destruction of the whole earth, of Israel, of
Judah; and He'll boil it down here specifically to His church and His people and that remnant, a
little later.
"Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired [or, not desirous];"
(Zephaniah 2:1).
We in our present form--as a physical nation, and as a church--are not desirable to God, because
we do not have our holy garments all on. Perhaps we are still washing them out; and they are
turning a little whiter--and are not quite as brown, I hope. But we don't have it all together yet.
So He says, "You shameless people." I think that is more like the Hebrew. We are unworthy; but
perhaps we'll be given grace, as we will see. So there's a contingency here. When He says,
"Gather yourself together," (if you look it up) it means as one gathers sticks to build a fire. That is,
to gather something up.
I think that there are three different levels here that we need to consider. The first is by far the
very most important in the long-range scheme of things; and that is to get yourself together--to
pull yourself together, to gather yourself up spiritually. To repent and take stock of yourself. Get
everything coordinated. Make sure that you are right with God and that you have your holy
garments on. That is the first level here and the most important level. If we don't do this, then that
which follows will also not happen.
The second level may be to gather into one group, or organization--as one gathers sticks into a
bundle. God is going to begin to gather His remnant of people together into one organization. It is
incumbent upon us to find out where that is, and to take the personal responsibility to determine
where God is working--where He is going to work. To prove this, I would refer you to the book of
Haggai. I don't want to get into the story too much, because that's next and I want to keep this in
order. But He does say there that He is going to gather the remnant church together--along with
Joshua and Zerubbabel-- and build the latter temple.
He says here [in Zephaniah 2:1] to "gather ourselves together" and then, in verse two-"Before the decree bringeth forth, before the day passeth as the chaff, before the fierce anger of
the LORD cometh upon you, before the day of the LORD'S anger cometh upon you" (Zephaniah
2:2).
So this gathering process--of gathering ourselves up individually spiritually [and] of beginning to
gather the church together into one temple (His remnant people, from wherever they may be)-has to begin to occur. That's what occurs next in the story, in the book of Haggai.
Third, we may have to gather into one location. That is, geographical. This would be the third in
line, and the third in importance, and the third in chronology. In other words, the Day of the Lord
is coming. The end is near. The place of safety is not far off. So, on a third level, God is going to
gather His people together.
Each one gathers personally, individually, and spiritually to embrace God with diligence. Then He
puts the church together into one organization. (The book of Haggai.) And then many places talk
about how He's going to bring all His people--from the four corners-- together in one location; and
that He will be with them.
Now, He gives some instruction to go with this.
"Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, who have performed his judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hidden in the day of the LORD'S anger"
(Zephaniah 2:3).
So, bottom line here is the spiritual condition--that we seek meekness and righteousness. This is
what we need to be preaching, what we need to be teaching, what we need to be (on an
individual level) doing. It may be that you shall be hidden. That ties in very closely with Luke
21:36--where it says, "Pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things."
It's not automatic. "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. I'm in the church" won't get it! If
we have not gathered ourselves up spiritually, if we try to knock on the door and come in without
wedding garment, then we're going to be in trouble.
So along with telling us to gather ourselves up, chapter 2 and verse 3 is probably as important a
verse as there is in this whole book. "Seek the Lord," as we said before, "diligently." When it says,
"Those who have wrought his judgment," who is that talking to? There's nobody else on earth that
has wrought God's judgment other than the Church of God--His people whom He's called out of
this world. So He's talking to us! No one else on this earth even knows what righteousness is,
and most men walk in vanity and pride.
Seek meekness--one of the primary keys to peace and unity. God says that when He gathers His
people together in one organization, He will bring peace there. (Haggai 2:9, I think it is.) "To this
place will I bring peace." And we cannot have peace as long as we are filled with vanity and
pride, and will not consider others and esteem them better than ourselves.
Whether or not we will be hid in the day of the Lord's anger is dependent upon having these
attitudes and are praying that we be accounted worthy [to escape]. It's not just assuming that
because we are in the church (or, in a particular organization in the church) that we are going to
be there.
"For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they shall drive out Ashdod at the
noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted out" (Zephaniah 2:4).
Here he addresses the enemies of Israel. Those are cities of the Philistines, on the coast. So, not
only is the world going to be destroyed--man and beast; but then he tells Judah that they will have
a financial crash. It probably will be worldwide; at least for a time, until the Beast says, "I have a
better answer," and solves the problem. And all the world then bows before the Beast and says,
"Oh, yes. Your system will work." (But ours has to go away.)
And our enemies also are going to be destroyed. That partly answers Habakkuk's question: "Why
do you punish us and not them?" [And the answer…] "Well, you have sinned, Judah (My people).
And I will then punish the people who punished you. But I will use them as the rod of my anger."
So there's a confederacy of people whom God is talking about here. I don't know 'who' the
modern Philistines are, or just where they are; but they are involved. Certainly they are, at least,
involved in the pattern as one of our enemies; and we have many today, as the peoples of Israel.
"Woe to the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the Cherethites!..." (Zephaniah 2:5).
Let's see. I looked that one up. Cherethites means "cutters off." It reminded me of the book of
Obadiah, where the Edomites laid in wait to cut off Jacob--and will lay in wait to cut the church off
when she escapes, as per Revelation 12. So Cherethites simply means "cutters off." That is,
those who try to cut off Israel.
"...the word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy
thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. And the sea coast shall be dwellings and cottages for
shepherds, and folds for flocks" (Zephaniah 2:5-6).
In other words, "When I come through and destroy you, there's going to be nothing left except
that which a shepherd and a flock might dine on outside the cities, of what's left along the coast."
So this is specifically to those Philistines.
"And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah;..." (Zephaniah 2:7).
So when God cuts off our enemies, He's going to give us their land. Do you want to know how
this thing is going to wind up in the nation of Israel, the Holy Land? God's telling you, right here.
And not only that-- but also the spiritual coast (the spiritual land) is going to be given to the
firstfruits. (Those who are faithful to God, and seek meekness and righteousness.)
"I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, by which they
have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border. [So here are some
more traditional enemies of Israel.] Therefore as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the place
possessed of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the remainder [the remnant] of my
people shall lay them waste, and the remnant of my people shall possess them" (Zephaniah 2:89).
I don't know exactly how this is going to turn out; but we saw in Micah 4 that God tells us to go up
against the Assyrian. He tells us, just before that, to "Rise and thresh, O daughter of Zion." I think
this has a lot to do with the work that is done under the two witnesses. They will be given power
to perform plagues--to turn water into blood, just as in Egypt. And what happened there (with
Moses and Aaron) was the absolute destruction of the Egyptian Empire.
So those two men, along with the church that backs them and supports them--because it talks
about more than them, there in Micah 5, where it talks about seven shepherds and eight principal
men--it's bigger than that. The daughter of Zion, herself, is to rise and thresh. So you and I are
included in this. We are not to 'run' from all of this. Rather, we are to "stay and face."
And, by the power of Almighty God, the little daughter of Zion is going to prevail over the great
kingdoms of this world. They just simply cannot do anything about it. If they try, fire will come from
the mouth of the two witnesses and they will be destroyed-- up until the very end (when the two
witnesses are killed, as individuals).
So when He says, "My people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people shall posses
them," they are going to come in and invade our land. "When the Assyrian comes into your land,"
is the way Micah puts it. God will cause them to be defeated. Then when the battle of
Armageddon comes, of course, Christ is going to put them all down and make them a sacrifice at
His picnic. Then He's going to give His people all those lands back.
"This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves
against the people of the LORD of hosts" (Zephaniah 2:10).
When is this all going to hit? I don't know. I just heard about a family that killed themselves, who
had recently been a part of one of the splinter groups of God's church. Now it's being tied
together as a cultist thing, as so on and so forth. They automatically make that connection. What
is going to be the domino that falls and causes all this to start? I don't know; but, every time
something like this happens, you have to wonder.
Now notice the contrast here between His instruction to seek meekness and righteousness, and
the pride that will be destroyed.
"This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves
against the people of the LORD of hosts. [That is, against the church --and, ultimately, against
physical Israel.] The LORD will be terrible to them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth
[Josiah's reformation here. Perhaps Zephaniah is referring to that.]; and men shall worship him,
every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen" (Zephaniah 2:10-11).
So God is going to start the Day of the Lord; and, before it is finished, everybody is going to
worship God--or be dead. This moves on into the Millennium. It moves on, in the church, to those
who are counted worthy to go to the place of safety--as opposed to those who stay behind and
spiritually perished, and perhaps even physically perish (as other scriptures indicate.)
"Ye Cushites [Ethiopians] also, ye shall be slain by my sword" (Zephaniah 2:12).
Well, what does Ethiopia have to do with it today? Well, at the time this was written, apparently
Israel's influence only went as far as Ethiopia. So it's talking about the furthermost enemies of
Israel. Today it might be on more of a worldwide basis, because we have enemies everywhere.
But at that time, it only went as far as Ethiopia apparently--according to the commentaries, at
least.
"And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a
desolation, and dry like a wilderness" (Zephaniah 2:13).
So through the two witnesses and the church at the end, there will be at least a standoff--if God's
people do not destroy them. And then Christ will finish the job.
"And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and
the bittern shall lodge in her upper lintels; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be
in the thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work" (Zephaniah 2:14).
In other words, the whole empire is going down. The houses won't even be safe in Assyria,
because God is going to birds sitting in the windows and in the thresholds of the doors. The cedar
was not what was put on the outside; but what decorated the inside. So God is going to make a
complete destruction.
"This is the rejoicing city that dwelt in security, that said in her heart, I am, [That's a name of God.]
and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in!
every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and shake his hand [wag his head]" (Zephaniah 2:15).
So they thought that they were secure. But this ruling, New World Order, Assyrian Empire that is
rising is going to be totally crushed by God. That's why He tells us in Isaiah 8, "It is coming. It is
here. It will be. But don't fear it; fear Me." He is able to destroy it. Of course, we're worried about
our hides, and will they get us before He gets them. But He says, "Don't worry about it. Worship
Him who is able to kill both body and soul." (Not him who is just able to kill the body--which, by
comparison, is very unimportant.)
Now, it takes some mental adjustment, and some spiritual adjustments, to say, "I will risk my
physical body for the Kingdom of God." We need to be making that adjustment, because we may
be very well called upon to make that choice--some of us, that is.
It's interesting. God says, "They'll kill you; but not one hair of your head will be harmed." That
almost sounds like a paradox. But even though they kill the body, if we are spiritually right, not
one hair of our head will be harmed. We'll be in the Kingdom of God and live forever. What is this
[physical] body as compared to the spiritual Body of Christ? If He's living in us, then that will be
preserved and not one hair of that will be harmed. (I don't think this means that they can cut your
liver out, but they'll leave your hair alone.) I think it means that the [physical] body, indeed, may
die; but not one hair will be lost on a spiritual level.
Now Zephaniah changes subjects--to Jerusalem, again.
"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!" (Zephaniah 3:1).
How has Jerusalem been oppressing? "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that stones the prophets." She
has oppressed God's true people. The Jewish nation, Israel as a whole, has always denied those
whom God has sent. And it will happen again.
"She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew
not near to her God" (Zephaniah 3:2).
So whether it's on a physical level (with the nation of Israel, and Judah) or whether it's talking
about the church (and I prefer to emphasize that)--the church obeyed not the voice. She received
not the chastening of the Lord. She trusted not in the Lord. She drew not near to her God--that
which He has admonished us to do, in the book of Habakkuk. To embrace God and to turn to Him
with our whole heart--the church has not done this, overall. And this is the last warning, brethren.
This is it!.
"Her princes within her are roaring lions;..." (Zephaniah 3:3).
That reminds me of Jeremiah 23 and Ezekiel 34-- about the ministry devouring the flocks.
"...her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the next morning" (Zephaniah 3:3).
The force of the Hebrew here is that they eat it up and don't save any bones until the morning.
They are ravenous and greedy. They want us to pray and pay (mostly pay) and stay.
"Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they
have done violence to the law" (Zephaniah 3:4).
By "light and treacherous" it means, in the Hebrew idiom, apparently they just sort of bubble over.
They boil. All of this garbage is coming out of them; and they say, "Peace, Peace." when there is
no peace. And they say, "Peace." when there is destruction coming. And they preach that we
have thirty or forty years left, whereas Ezekiel said, "Don't build houses. You won't live in them."
"They have done violence to the law." Do you think the law of God is still in effect? This is an end
time prophecy about the Day of the Lord; and it's still talking about the law here. They've done
away with it.
"The just LORD is in the midst of her; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his
judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame" (Zephaniah 3:5).
We can come to the Church of God and cart our sins right along with us. We are not afraid to leap
on His threshold. Where is our shame? The Laodicean jumps across the threshold saying, "I'm
clothed." But he is naked, and knows no shame. He doesn't realize that he is unclothed. He
really, really thinks that he is clothed. It is spiritual deception of self! Brethren, we have to cut
through this and realize my heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. [Jeremiah 17:9] This
applies to me! And be ashamed of our sins, rather than coming in with our big smile on and our
nice suit--and thinking we are "clothed."
"I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none
passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is no inhabitant"
(Zephaniah 3:6).
The towers were their "watchtowers"--that which was the strongest, most impregnable part. The
Day of the Lord is taking the nations down; and it is also taking the churches down. (They are
already coming down, one at a time. And they are getting fewer and fewer people in each one, for
the most part.)
"I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut
off, however I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings" (Zephaniah 3:7).
God began to destroy the church--and Worldwide. And He thought surely they would hear, surely
they would wake up, surely they would take this as an individual responsibility to put on the
"clothes" of righteousness and holiness. But, come to find out, that wasn't enough. We didn't
listen. He said not only Israel (in Jeremiah 3) but the treacherous sister, Judah, also has defiled
her garments. Surely they would have heard. Surely we would fear God. But apparently we
haven't feared God in the way that He is talking about--because the destruction, and the
chastening, and the desolation continues in the churches today.
All right. Here's the big word THEREFORE, in verse 8.
"Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my
determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them my
indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my
jealousy. [And He's not kidding!] For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may
all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent" (Zephaniah 3:8-9).
When He's through, He's going to have our attention; and we will fear. Those who survive this
desolation of the church will fear, and obey. And those who survive the physical tribulation and go
on into the Millennium are going to fear God, because they are going to see a desolation that will
make Egypt look pale by comparison. He even says that you will not even remember Egypt when
you see this great deliverance that God is going to do for His people. (I think that's Jeremiah 23.)
"From beyond the rivers of Cush [Ethiopia] [from the end of the earth, in other words, from their
point of reference geographically in that day] my suppliants [those who supplicate Me], even the
daughter of my dispersed [His dispersed church], shall bring my offering. In that day shalt thou
not be ashamed for all thy doings, when thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take
away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty in
my holy mountain" (Zephaniah 3:10-11).
"You'll not be haughty in My holy mountain," God says. "You are not going to cross My threshold
with your sins." The Protestant 'Take me as I am, Lord.' is not going to work. (Unless we "am"
changed. Unless we put on holy, righteous garments.) He says, in ISAIAH, that He is going to
purge out the rebels. He is going to sift the tares. He is going to clean the church up; and only a
remnant is going to remain. We'll see that in Haggai.
"I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people,..." (Zephaniah 3:12).
The New King James says, "A meek and humble people." The pride is going away; and He is
going to have a humble and meek people.
"...and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor
speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie
down, and none shall make them afraid. Sing, O daughter of Zion;..." (Zephaniah 3:12-14).
We've covered who the daughter of Zion is. She is the daughter that excels--Proverbs 31. She is
the envy of the other daughters--in Song of Songs. She is the one God chooses. I did not realize
it until (I think, yesterday) I looked this up; and, again, Barnes' Notes says that daughter of Zion
means "the thirsty" athirst for God.
When He says, "be diligent" and "turn to Me with the whole heart"-- that's who the daughter of
Zion is going to be comprised of. Those who thirst for God! Isn't that what Christ said on the
Sermon on the Mount? To hunger and thirst for righteousness. So by very definition, this
daughter of Zion whom God chooses is going to be those who are athirst (like a man walking in
the desert)-- seeking God while He may be found. So if you want to know who comprises the
daughter of Zion--which remnant God puts together--it's going to be those who are thirsty for the
ways of God.
All I can say is "Wow!" That was a real eye-opener to me, to see that--to recognize that He says
"daughter of Zion" and then to understand the etymology of the expression. "Sing, O daughter of
Zion." In other words, "Sing, you thirsty." This sounds like Isaiah 54:1, where he tells us to flee
from Babylon. In chapter 52, he goes through the sacrifice of Christ and shows what He does for
us there. And then in Isaiah 54:1, I believe it says "Sing, O barren." And He says to "enlarge
[broaden] your tent…and lengthen your cords" because God is going to make the daughter of
Zion increase. Those who were thirsty are all going to come together for the same water, in other
words.
"...shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The LORD
hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thy enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is
in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more" (Zephaniah 3:14-15).
We'll see this emphasized in Zechariah 2, when we get to it. Once God puts the church back
together, it will never see evil again. The church will be put together and will eventually go to a
place of safety. In other words, it will never be 'walked on' again. It will be changed when Jesus
Christ returns, in glory. And it will spread to the Millennium, through the rest of physical Israel and
the world--once that happens. But it has to happen first in the church, because the daughter of
Zion--the firstfruits --have to be prepared and gathered first; so that they can be there to teach the
others, when they come through (the tribulation, I'm inferring).
"In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thy hands be slack"
(Zephaniah 3:16).
Once the daughter of Zion (the daughter of Jerusalem) is gathered up, there is work to do. And
that is a theme that He introduces here just before the book of Haggai, where He says, "Be of
good courage. Fear not, and work." (To build the temple of God.) I won't pursue that thread
further at the moment. But "let not your hands be slack." He expects us to be busy.
"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).
So before this destruction, when He gets His church all gathered together, He's going to deliver
her first-- before He does physical Israel. And she will sing!
"I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the
reproach of it was a burden" (Zephaniah 3:18).
We will suffer the reproach (the slings, and the arrows) of this world; but God is going to take that
burden away. And we will rejoice over, and possess, the land of our enemies.
"Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that is lame, and gather her
that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put
to shame" (Zephaniah 3:19).
As Mr. Armstrong said, "We win."
"At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name
and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith
the LORD" (Zephaniah 3:20).
So that which has been downtrodden, that which has been humbled, God is going to exalt. And
once we get past Zephaniah--the last warning that God gives, before the captivity occurred--now
the attention turns. We don't any longer have to try to discern whether it is talking about the
physical nation or the church. The book of Haggai talks about nothing but the church. We'll get to
that next time I speak, God willing; but that will be all for today.