Watchman Radio Hour

David Shulze: Welcome to the Watchman Radio hour. Coming to you from Portland, Oregon, here in the beautiful Northwest. This is David Shulze, your announcer. The Watchman Radio hour is a production of Watchman Radio Ministries International, an evangelistic ministry reaching out to the peoples of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And now here's our speaker, Alex Dodson, to bring you this week's message from God's word.

Alex Dodson: For our scripture reading today, let us turn to Zechariah chapter 6 and we'll begin reading in verse 9. Let us hear the word of the of the Lord. The word of the Lord came to me. Take silver and gold from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon. Go the same day to the house of Josiah, son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak. And tell him, this is what the Lord Almighty says. Here is the man whose name is the branch.

And he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord. And he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two. The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen, son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. And those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.

This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the Bible that you have given to us. We thank you that it's your infallible word and that we can put our full confidence in everything that it says. And our Father, as we come to study your word, we pray that you would send forth your Holy Spirit in great convicting power. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. There's a lot of teaching today about rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, that it will be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy prophecy and will soon take place.

However, is this what we should be focusing on? Whether the Jews will try to rebuild their ancient temple or not is not the question. They might and they might not. The fact is that there is no need to rebuild that temple. The temple that was destroyed in 70 AD is gone. It has been replaced by a much greater temple. It is that temple that we should focus on as the people of God. We should not be seeking to rebuild a physical temple that was long ago destroyed and was fulfilled in one who is much greater.

Where it says in Matthew 12:6, Jesus said, I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. In John 2:19 through 22 it says, Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in 3 days. The Jews replied, it's taken 46 years to build this temple and you're going to raise it in 3 days. But the temple he had spoken of was his body. And after he was raised from the dead, his disciples recall what he had said. And then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. Here Jesus indicates that there is another temple besides that earthly temple in Jerusalem.

He was referring to his own body, which he did raise in 3 days at his resurrection. It is through him that now a spiritual temple is being built, much greater than that ancient temple in Jerusalem, which is long gone. Haggai also profit of a prophesied of a greater temple to come. And Haggai 1:6 through 9 it says, this is what the Lord Almighty says. In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations and the desired of all nations will come.

And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty. The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty. The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty. And in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty. The second temple would be more glorious than the first temple because it was to that second temple that Jesus would come. And he would fulfill the temple in his death and resurrection and would then build a spiritual temple. Today our focus should not be on building an earthly temple in Jerusalem, but on building a spiritual temple which is this church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our text then is Zechariah 6 and verses 12 through 15, which again says, tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says. Here is the man whose name is the branch. And he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord. And he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two. The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen, son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.

And those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. And this will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God. Joshua foreshadowed another temple. Joshua foreshadowed another temple builder greater than he. When the old earthly temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, another temple had already begun. And that temple was being built by Jesus Christ and continues to be in formation. One day the Jews will find their true temple, but it will not be an earthly temple, but the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They will be grafted back into God's true temple, which is spiritual. Now let us see in the first place that the branch would build the temple. Verse 12 again says, tell him, this is what the Lord Almighty says. Here is the man whose name is the branch. And he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. The branch or the Messiah. In Isaiah 4:2 it says, in that day the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious and the fruit of the land will be pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.

In Jeremiah 23:5 and 6 it says, the days are coming, declares the Lord. When when I will raise up to David a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness. And then in Jeremiah 33:15 and 16 it says, in those days and at that time I'll make a righteous branch sprout from David's line. And he will do what is just and right in the land.

In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. All these verses pointed to the coming of the Messiah who was called the branch. Matthew Henry writes, now the promise is that God will in the fullness of time raise up a greater high priest like Joshua. Tell Joshua that he is but the figure of one that is to come, a faint shadow of him. Speak unto him in the name of the Lord of hosts that the man whose name is the branch shall grow up out of his place, that is out of Bethlehem, the city of David, the place appointed for his birth.

And though the family be a root in a dry ground, yet this branch shall spring out of it as in the spring when the sun returns, the flowers spring out of the roots in which they lay buried out of sight and out of mind. He shall grow up for himself by his own vital energy shall he shall be exalted in his own strength. The Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible says, the branch, as is true of many of Zechariah's prophecies, the immediate context makes it clear that this term refers to Joshua the high priest. But on the other hand, Zechariah had earlier stated that Joshua and company were symbols of things to come later.

That is that their actions were at best the initiations of blessing and judgments that would take place with the coming of the great son of David. Thus it is not surprising that the term refers to the Messiah as well. Isaiah used it as did Jeremiah as the title of the Davidic descendant who would rule on David's throne. Early Jewish interpreters also saw the word branch as a Messianic title. The work of Joshua as well as that of Zerubbabel foreshadowed the work of Christ, our high priest and our king. Joshua would build an earthly temple, but he was merely a foreshadow of the branch who would come in the future and would build a spiritual temple.

The branch then would build a spiritual temple and that spiritual temple is the church. The church is often called the temple of God. It is this great temple that is now being built. First Corinthians 3:16 and 17 it says, don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him, for God's temple is sacred and you are that temple. In second Corinthians 6:16 it says, what agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.

As God is said, I will live with them and walk among them and I will be their God and they will be my people. In Ephesians 2 in verses 19 through 22 it says, consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his spirit.

In first Peter 2 4 through 6 it says, as you come to him, the living stone rejected by men, but chosen by God and precious to him. You also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in scripture it says, see, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone. And the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Today a new temple is being built. It is a temp it is a spiritual temple.

It's a it's cornerstone is already been laid and many other stones are being laid upon that foundation. That new temple is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the cornerstone. It is a spiritual temple as all the verses we have just read tell us. This is the temple that the branch would build. Colin Daly writes, he will grow from below upwards. From lowliness to eminence, this sprout or branch will build the temple of the Lord. That these words do not refer to the building of the earthly temple of stone and wood. They relate to the spiritual temple of which the tabernacle and the temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel were only symbols.

The temple which is the church of God itself. And Matthew Henry writes that as Joshua has an active, useful instrument in building the temple, so the man, the branch shall be the master builder, the soul builder of the spiritual temple, the gospel church. He shall build the temple of the Lord. And it is repeated, even he shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall grow up to do good, to be an instrument of God's glory and a great blessing to mankind. Note the gospel church is the temple of the Lord, a spiritual house, a holy temple.

In the temple God made discoveries of himself to his people. And there he received the service and homage of his people. And so in the gospel church the light of divine revelation shines by the word. And the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise are offered. Now Christ is not only the foundation, but the founder of this temple by his spirit and grace. The spirit of the Reformation Study Bible says, it is he who will build the temple of the Lord. Joshua worked together with Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple. This action foreshadowed the work of the Messiah.

As the king of God's people, the Messiah would also build the temple. Zechariah encouraged the Jews of his day by pointing out that the actions taken in their day anticipated and moved in the direction of the full restoration in the Messiah. The New Testament explains that Jesus began to fulfill the rebuilding of the temple through the resurrection of his body. Continues to fulfill it in the church and will ultimately fulfill it in the purification of the new heavens and the new earth as the dwelling place of God. The great temple of God is now being built.

It is a spiritual temple. Its cornerstone is the Lord Jesus Christ. Its stones are made up of all who trust in him. This temple is the church. It is this temple that we should focus on, not some earthly temple in an earthly Jerusalem. There is a much better temple. It is that temple that we should promote and focus on. It is that temple, the building of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and inviting all to come into it through faith in him. And then let us see in the second place that a priest king would build the temple.

Verse 13 says this. It is he who will build the temple of the Lord and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne and he will be a priest on his throne and there will be harmony between the two. Joshua was a priest who would have a throne. But this is not normal. The priest did not have a throne. He was not a king or a ruler. Yet Zechariah tells us that Joshua would have a throne. What did he mean? Matthew Henry writes, the signification which God gave of the ceremony.

Everyone would be ready to ask, what is the meaning of Joshua's being crowned like this? And the prophet as is is is ready to tell them the meaning of it. Upon this speaking sign is grafted a prediction. And the sign was used to make it the more taken notice of and the better remembered. And so it was all a sign of something to happen in the future. A priest and a king in one person. And it was fulfilled in the Messiah, the priest king. The Messiah would be both a priest and a king in one person.

He would offer a sacrifice as priest and he would rule as a king. Colin Daly writes, the crowning of Joshua the high priest with a royal crown which did not properly belong to the high priest as such, as his headdress is neither called a crown nor formed part of the insignia royal dignity and glory. But it had a typical significance. It pointed to a man who would sit upon his throne as both ruler and priest. That is to say would combine both royalty and priesthood in his own person and rank. The man whom Joshua is to represent or typify by having a crown placed upon his head is designated as the Messiah by the name branch.

Colin Daly writes going to say in this majesty he will sit upon his throne and rule. Also using his regal dignity and power for the good of his people and will be a priest upon his throne. Will be at once both priest and king upon the throne which he assumes. For the calling of a priest in relation to God and the people is not to sit upon a throne, but to stand before Jehovah. The Messiah who unites himself in himself royalty and priesthood will counsel and promote the peace of his people. Matthew Henry writes that he shall have a throne and be both priest and king upon his throne.

A throne denotes both dignity and dominion and exalted honor with an extensive power. This priest shall be a king. And his office as a priest shall be no diminution to his dignity as a king. He shall sit and rule upon his throne. Christ as a priest ever lives to make intercession for us. But he does it sitting as his at his father's right hand as one having authority. We have such a high priest as Israel never had. For he is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens, which puts a prevailing virtue into his mediation.

He that appears for us within the veil is one that sits and rules there. Christ, who is ordained to offer sacrifices for us, is authorized to give law to us. God has prepared him a throne in the heavens. And if we would have any benefit by that, we must prepare him a throne in our hearts and be willing and glad that he should sit and rule upon that throne. And to him every thought within us must be brought into obedience. Matthew Henry goes on to say that the council of peace shall be between them both, between the priest and the throne, between the priestly and kingly office of Jesus Christ.

The man, the branch must grow up to carry on a council of peace. Peace on earth and in order to that peace in heaven. So shall the peace and welfare of the gospel church and of all believers be wrought, though not by two separate persons, yet by virtue of two separate offices meeting in one. Christ purchasing all peace by his priesthood and maintaining and defending it by his kingdom. Jesus is our priest and our king. He came and offered himself a sacrifice for our sins. And he even now intercedes for us. He also is our Lord and master, our king.

It is to him that we look. It is to him that we offer our lives in obedience to his commands. And then let us see in the third place that the Gentiles would help to build the temple in verse 15. Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God. Those far away would come from Babylon to help build the temple. In a sense it was from Babylon that the people came to build the temple.

Colin Daly writes, strangers will come and build at the temple of the Lord. Those who have come from far distant Babylon are types of the distant nations who will help to build the temple of the Lord with their possessions and treasures. This symbolical proceeding therefore furnishes a confirmation of the promise in Haggai 2:7 that the Lord will fill his temple with the treasures of all nations. It pointed to the gathering in of the Gentiles into the church. These strangers that would come help build the temple pointed ahead to the bringing of the Gentiles into the church.

In Isaiah 49:22 it says, this is what the sovereign Lord says, see, I will beckon to the Gentiles. I will lift up my banner to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders. It will be these Gentiles who will come and help build the temple of the Lord. That is the spiritual temple, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry writes that there shall be a happy coalition between Jews and Gentiles in the gospel church. And they shall both meet in Christ, the priest upon his throne as the center of their unity.

Those that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord. But it has a further reference to that temple of the Lord which the man, the branch was to build. The Gentiles, strangers from far off shall help to build it. Far from among them God will raise up ministers that shall be workers together with Christ about that building. And all the Gentile converts shall be stones added to this building so that it shall grow up to a holy temple. When God's temple is to be built, he can fetch in those that are far off and employ them in the building of it.

The temple is still being built. And people from all over the world are coming to help build it. People from India and China, people from Africa and South America, people from every nation are coming to help build the temple of the Lord. It is this great temple, this spiritual temple, this church of the Lord Jesus Christ that should be our concern. We should not be seeking to rebuild earthly temples, but only the spiritual temple of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this spiritual Jerusalem that we should seek. It is the spiritual Zion that we should promote.

She is the church of the living God. In Hebrews 12 verses 22 through 24 it says, but you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly to the church of the firstborn whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkle of blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

We should seek the glory of Zion. That is the glory of the church in this age we're living in. In Isaiah 62 1 and 2 it says, for Zion's sake I will not keep silent. For Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your righteousness and all kings your glory. And you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. We should be praying for the church and calling upon the Lord daily to make her glorious in this world and a shining light to all nations.

In Isaiah 62 6 and 7 it says, I have posted watchmen on your walls, oh Jerusalem. They will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. Many today have their eyes on an earthly Jerusalem and hopes of an earthly temple. Yet our eyes should be on the heavenly Jerusalem and the temple of the living God, which is his church. Our hope should be that his church would shine forth in glory in this age in this world and that the whole world may come to see the glory of the Lord.

This is our prayer. And you are invited to come help build the temple of the Lord. You are invited to come to his spiritual temple to his church. You are invited to come in repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You are invited to come at once. The spirit and the bride say come. And let him who hears say come. And whoever is thirsty, let him come. And whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. Our Father in heaven, we do pray for the building of this spiritual temple, the church.

We do pray, oh Lord, that people from all over the world will come and help to build this temple as they come into your church. Oh Lord Jesus, help us to keep our eyes upon the glory of Zion and not to put our eyes on some earthly temple somewhere. But help us to put our eyes on the glory of Zion, on your glory. And we pray that your church will shine forth in this world and be a light to all people. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

David Shulze: We hope this week's broadcast has been a blessing to you. If you have any questions about Mr. Dodson's message, please write us. You may email us at info@watchmanradio.org. Our mailing address is Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251 Portland, Oregon 97213. That's Watchman Radio Ministries International, Post Office Box 13251 Portland, Oregon 97213. You may listen to this broadcast at any time on the internet at www.oneplace.com. In the list of ministries just select the Watchman Radio hour. This week's program and previous programs are always available there for listening. Our web address is www.watchmanradio.org. That's w a t c h m e n radio.org.

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