“ Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, The tyrannical city!
She heeded no voice, She accepted no instruction. She did not trust in the Lord, She did not draw near to her God.
Her princes within her are roaring lions, Her judges are wolves at evening; They leave nothing for the morning. Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men; Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
The Lord is righteous within her; He will do no injustice. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame.”
- Zephaniah 3:1-5
“ When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.”
- Revelation 11:7-8
Zephaniah - Conclusion
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“ It was the best of times , it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way……” -
…so wrote Sir Charles Dickens, as he began to spin his tale of two cities, set in 1775, the April of which year the American colonies asserted their independence and the Revolutionary war began at Lexington and Concord, the French Revolution following a decade or more later.
Mr Dickens words seem to typify the world we live in today… where we enjoy so much advancement as mankind, yet our joy is counterbalanced by ever new terrors and miseries that we invent to heap on ourselves!
The two cities Sir Charles wrote of, were London & Paris, but another author, the Spirit of God, has written a tale of two coexisting cities as well….
The city of God, and the city of evil. The holy city, new Jerusalem, and the city of Babylon. The city of David and of Zion, where the Lord caused His Name to reside, and the fallen city of Jerusalem, spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, that crucified its Messiah !
Zephaniah was inspired to prophesy against Jerusalem, because of the evil that had completely taken over and corrupted the people… given as we saw in our earlier studies, to gross immorality and idolatry, completely disregarding any and all concepts of the Lord of Israel, and His commandments.
Whenever that happens, we see what the Lord points out to us in our text this week.
Princes, judges, prophets, priests. Leaders that should be role models, but have given themselves over to complete lawlessness! Is this new?
Pick up your newspaper , you will read of judges accepting bribes, those swearing an oath to protect the Constitution breaking the very laws they have sworn to protect, priests abusing kids in the sanctuary and getting off scot free, and those that should be speaking truth to power, using their evangelical credentials to stump for criminals and hypocrites running for public office!
Disgusting!
Yet, for all that, the mercies of God are new every morning, and He sends His rain on both the just and unjust…. but this happy state of affairs isn’t going to last much longer.
Wicked Jerusalem was razed to the ground by fire, by the Babylonians, and then the Romans in 76 AD, so completely and thoroughly, cattle grazed where once proud buildings stood, and not a shred of evidence was left to show that a grand city once existed there.
The city and temple was rebuilt, in ancient times , by Nehemiah, led by Joshua and Zerubbabel… and the —first— time we see mention of two anointed ones, two golden olive trees that drop their oil into a golden lamp stand with 7 lamps.
Zechariah 4:11–14 —- “Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?” And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.”
After 76 AD, Jerusalem has indeed been rebuilt again… but wickedness has not ceased from within the midst of her. Once again we are seeing a defiance of the Law, neopaganism, syncretism, a turning to their own arms of strength to save them from their enemies, and an oppression of people that are aliens and strangers in their land.
The times are coming very soon, when those anointed ones will appear in the form of prophets clothed in sackcloth, that will appear to speak out against Babylon, the powers that are corrupting this world, and the Holy Land.
In terms of exact timing, these men appear only AFTER (a) the Lamb has opened all 7 seals … and (b) —6–trumpets have been blown, to answer the prayers of saints throughout the ages to bring down the righteous judgment of God upon the earth.
Revelation 8:1–6 (NASB95): When the Lamb broke the —-seventh seal—-, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to —-the prayers of all the saints —— on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and threw it to the earth; and there followed peals of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake. —And the seven angels who had the seven trumpets —prepared themselves to sound them. “
Once these two men have been killed ( then are resurrected and ascend 3 and a half days later ).. the 7th angel sounds, and that ushers in the final 42 month period of The Great Tribulation, after which the saints are “ harvested” from the earth….
…. and then the City of Babylon , and all the earth is judged with 7 bowls of Gods unadulterated wrath!!!!!
Zephaniah 3:8 : “ Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.”
and once done…. Jerusalem is comforted at last….
Zephaniah 3:14–20 (NASB95):
“ Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more.
In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
“I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them.
“Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” Says the Lord. “
Hallelujah!!!!!