Zechariah 13

'And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.'

Zechariah 13:2

In Short

Zechariah13 shows us that the ultimate victory of God's people can only come about by the doing away of the evils from their past. These are the names of the idols, the teachings of false prophets and 'the unclean spirit' of hatred and destruction. In order for this to happen, the largest part (two thirds) of the population in the holy land has to die. Their hearts are completely hardened as once was the case with Farao. The rest of the people (one third) will go through 'the fire' in order to be purified and to be able to absorb the Way, the Truth and the Life in Jesus.

Verse 1

The first verse of chapter 13 is a direct continuation of the last part of chapter 12, where the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem are seen weeping and wailing for the Messiah and God they once rejected, who appears to them in glory and whom they recognize as Jesus Christ, the One that was pierced upon the cross of Calvary: '...and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him...' His appearance wil be combined with the outpouring of God's Spirit upon them: 'And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications'. The fountain that will be opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness is the same fountain that was open to the church for 2000 years: the blood of the Lamb. The blood, that flowed from the wounds caused by the piercing of his hands, his feet and his side at the cross, the scars of which somehow can still be seen on Him while He appears to them in his glory, as described in chapter 12.

The fountain for God's people for sin and for uncleanness of verse 1, is directly related to the verses about the 70 weeks of Daniel 9, which would end run up to 'the  'Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

Verse 2

Three things will be gone from the 'holy land' forever so that for the first time in history, it will truly be a holy land: the names of idols, the prophets and the unclean spirit. The next verses elaborate on the doing away of prophets but not on the first two items that have to disappear. How are we to understand these three evils, if we are so close to the Endtime as most Christians believe.

(1) The fact that is spoken of 'names of idols' instead of idols, means that they are of a 'spiritual' nature. They are not statues of gods, as was the case long ago. They are idols that exert their influence through their names. We believe these are the names of big corporations, in which people have put their trust.

(2) The prophets and the unclean spirit are named in one breath. The prophets of our time are the politicians, promising the public change while keeping everything in line with the interests of the empire, which are contrary to the interests of the public. 

(3) The unclean spirit is the spirit of deception and lawlessness, which is breathed by the false prophets of (2) and which focuses on the power of the empire, which was once received from the dragon (Revelation 13:3) and to which the empire clings in an era of changing circumstances. In the Endtime, the empire will be the most brutal force the world has ever seen, especially in the Middle East, the most strategic region on earth. It is the spirit of THE false prophet, the leadership of Israel that is subservient to the empire, that will deceive the whole world in the last 3.5 years before the return of Jesus. Part of the deception is that Israel would be in the lead and that the empire has to follow - the tale of the Jewish lobby. That is the way in which the empire shields itself from scrutiny and criticism, with its proxy taking all of the blame.

Verse 3

The last century before the second coming of Jesus is characterized by an enormous spike in media-narratives. The Internet is packed with myriads of media-outlets all over the world. Many voices and influencers have gathered their own public and got used to the constantly giving of their views on recent events. The moment will come that the chain of events will suddenly be broken by the second coming of Jesus and all narratives will show to be false. The impact of the second coming on earth's affairs is compared with the impact of the flood in the time of Noah. Jesus is the stone, that will run down the mountain and run over the statue of all empires of the previous 2,600 years. No empire will be left. No narrative will be necessary. Everything will be clear to every one:

'None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.'

Therefore prophets will have become obsolete. Politicians will have lost their value. News outlets won't be necessary any longer. In order to prevent the  false and deceptive narratives to creep into society again, a check will be necessary. This check will be within the families. Parents will hold their adult children accountable for the telling of tales, that go against the new status quo of the kingdom of God, with Jesus on the throne and the law of the Lord going out of Zion. When someone is  promoting new ideas, going against the word of the Lord, harsh punishment will follow within the family: 'and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.'

Verses 4-5

Once the Lord will have returned, it will be considered a shame to have been a prophet. This means that human society will have made a U-turn. We live in the days that many people strive after a position in 'the telling of the narrative', either as politician of as scientist or as teacher or as journalist. That is because the narrative is under control of the devil's empire and he has an interest in the existence of many contradictory visions upon events and developments, confusing people and deriving power from the chaos that ensues. But once the Lord has returned there will only be one tale that is to be told: the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And the complete truth is seen in only One Person: the One that could say: 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life...' So no alternative opinions or visions will exist any longer and anyone that had ever tried to bring a narrative contrary to the truth in Christ will be ashamed and will try to hide his former activities as influencer. An existence as farmer will bear more dignity than that of a prophet: 'But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.'

Verse 6

It might happen that one was chastised for deceptive tales by family and that the hands had been pierced by a sharp tool. These wounds would still be visible and raise questions. But even then no one will acknowledge a former existence as a prophet, so very shameful will this be considered. The only acknowledgment will be made for the chastisement that was done but without mentioning the reason why.

With verse 6 however, we have a smooth transition to a totally different subject. In the next verse 7, we do not meet a false prophet with deceptive tales, not just a true prophet that acted as mouth of the Lord but the one Prophet that has to be considered the Word of God Himself. And that very Prophet of prophets, without Whom no tale would exist, for creation and salvation would not have come, the Way, the Truth and the Life, had to undergo the same punishment as the false prophets of the Endtime, and much, much more than that. He had to bear the heavy blows of the Sword of God for sins not done by Him, but done by those for whom He came to die.

Verse 7

The deepest source of grace (chapter 12) and cleansing (chapter 13) for God's people is seen in the sword that was awakened against the Fellow of the Lord. Here we receive deep insight in God's ways through the offering of Messiah for eternal peace and happiness of sinful humans. Where else did the sword of the Lord awaken against the One that was his Companion, his deepest Confidant from eternity, the Son, than on Calvary's cross, where Jesus prayed 'My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?' Here we find the answer: it was because of the sword of the Lord, that smote Him on our behalf and on behalf of wandering Israel. It is Jesus Himself who applies this text to Himself, when He warns his disciples of the agony that was fast approaching while He led them toward the garden of Gethsemane

'And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Then said Jesus unto them: All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.' (Mathew 26:30,31)

The scattering of the flock has been going on for 2000 years, the disciples and later the Christians that were persecuted. The flock of Israel would be severely attacked by Roman legions. Many thousands would die and others would be sold as slaves. The city and the temple would be destroyed. In 135 AD, the Jews were even prohibited to return to the land for three consecutive years. All of this followed the sufferings of Jesus in Jerusalem. The impact of the rejection of Messiah, selling Him for 30 pieces of silver, is the great subject of chapter 11. Here we find this chapter summarized on one single verse: 'smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones'.

The 'little ones' could be compared with 'the poor of the flock' of chapter 11 (Zechariah 11:7,11). They would on one hand suffer with the rest, being driven from Jerusalem. On the other hand, they would have listened to the word of the Lord and their lives would be spared.

Verse 8-9

When do verses 8 and 9 happen? Were they fulfilled in the Jewish wars that ended in 70 AD and 135 AD? If so, why has Israel still to acknowledge Jesus as Lord? For that is where these verses end with: 'They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.' The book of acts and the 2000 years of history that followed are testimony to the fact that Israel is still in a state of rejection of the one and true Messiah, that was so evidently presented to them, by John the Baptist and directly thereafter by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But for the sake of their position within the empire, the Jewish leaders have totally ignored all of this.

The Abomination of Desolation

The events of 70 and 135AD could have been a partial fulfillment of the two thirds that would be cut off. It cannot have been the total fulfillment because the one third coming to full recognition of their Lord and Savior still has to happen. This means that verse 8 places us in the Endtime, a time in which the larger part of Israel's population will die. How will this happen? It will happen through 'the abomination of desolation'. That is why it bears this name: it will be an act that will bring total desolation over the people. There are multiple occasions on which the Bible shows us how this will come about. The leader of the world empire, with which Israel will be in close cooperation, and who will be acknowledged as 'god' by large parts of Israel's society, will place himself on a holy site, claiming to be indeed some sort of god. In spite of the barriers that exist against desecrating the holiness of this holy site, eventually, Israel's leadership will manage to have their god-emperor honored upon this site, one of the Mosques of the temple area in Jerusalem.

This act will enrage the complete Muslim community in the Middle East. Israel will be attacked from the South and from the North and because the devastating force of modern rocket technology and the enormous rocket arsenals that are being held, especially by Iran, this will cause unprecedented levels of destruction, comparable to the destruction that has been caused in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The Fire

Of course the Palestinian territories will be spared. That is why the one third of the population that will escape the havoc of a total military attack from Iran and Egypt, will be the Palestinians. They however will have gone through much devastation also, as can be seen in the present circumstances of Gaza and the West Bank, where a full blown ethnic cleansing has been going on for about two years - bombing residential buildings, mosques, hospitals, shooting civilians, displacing them by the tens of thousands, starving them, detaining them indefinitely. This is the meaning of verse 9: 'And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried.'

The first part of vers 9 describes the present condition of the Palestinian population, under total attack of the state of Israel, which is nothing but a proxy of the empire, which in turn is directed by 'the dragon', satan. It is the US-empire that delivers all support necessary for Israel to conduct is genocidal operation: financial, military, reconnaissance, diplomatic. That it is the empire and not just Israel that is waging war on the Palestinians is made clear in Daniel 7, where the evolvement of the empire through time is seen, starting with the Babylonian empire and ending with the 11th horn coming out of the Roman empire, which is a very plain description of the US-empire. Daniel 7:21 states: 'I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.' The horn being the US-empire, the saints being the Palestinians.

The role of the dragon is described in Revelation 12. After the war in heaven the dragon was cast to the earth and started to pursue 'the woman that gave birth to the Child', the people out of which Christ was born, Israel. The Palestinians are most closely related to the ancient people of Israel, that lived in the holy land 2000 years ago, more closely than the so called European Jews, that assimilated more with the local populations than those that remained in the holy land or returned to it after the ban, that lasted until 138 AD.

Relation to Isaiah

Isaiah 28:14-19 describes the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by the leaders in Jerusalem, causing a fire to rage in which they are refined as gold by the Lord. In Isaiah this is called 'a covenant with death and agreement with hell'. These verses also shows the fate of those that unleashed upon the people that are in support of the ethnic cleansing of the fellow citizens, which just happened to be there much longer and to have adopted the Muslim faith. The 'two thirds',  those that have enjoyed first class citizenship in the most brutal apartheid regime imaginable will be totally crushed by a foreign power, called 'the overflowing scourge'. Probably this will be the military power of Iran, in Daniel 11 named 'king of the North'.

These are the words of Isaiah 28:14-19:

'Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believes shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be dis-annulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it. From the time that it goes forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.'

The annulment of the covenant with death could be the stand down of the USA at the moment of the attack on Israel. The idea behind this could be that the US-empire, which is in a decline and risks loosing it status as hegemon in the world, sacrifices its Middle East proxy, Israel, in order for Iran to empty its rocket warehouses and to display all of its military power. Afterwards Iran would become an easy prey for the US military might. This is in line with what we read in Daniel 11:36-45.

Relation to Daniel

Daniel 36-37 illustrate the narcissistic character of 'the king', the leader of Israel, imagining himself above all gods, and doing as he wants. But then verse 38 speak of someone beside him, who he also honors, called 'the god of forces, whom his fathers knew not':

'But in his estate shall he honor the god of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.'

Who is this 'god of forces'. It is a military power which has enormous influence. It is the old empire that has finally evolved into the worldwide hegemon of the US-empire. Then verse 39 speaks of the place where he will honor this 'god of forces':

'Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.'

The honoring of the god of forces will also take pace 'in the most strong holds', probably a reference to the sacred places of the temple area in Jerusalem, the two Mosques, that are meticulously guarded against any form of desecration (for instance: no Jewish prayers are allowed). The desecration of these places by the honoring of the god of forces will be accompanied with the 'dividing land for gain'. This strongly reminds us of what is to become 'the Riviera of the Middle East' - that Gaza would be confiscated by Trump and those in his inner circle, like Jared Kushner. It could also relate the the settler colonies in the West-Bank.

War in the Middle East

The verses 40-43 speak of the turmoil in the Middle East because of the US-Israeli provocation - a military attack with full force from Egypt and from Iran. Tensions of military might have been building up for the past years and continue to rise.

'And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.'

This passage also reveals tensions within the community of Muslim countries with a clear shia - sunni - Iran - not attacking Edom and Moab/Ammon, the present day Gulf States and Jordan, which are clearly not on the same side, therefore 'they escape', they are not on the track between Iran and Israel, like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, where all resistance fighters will undoubtedly join the Iranian forces.

The defeat of Iran

The last two verses show the interference of the US-empire:

'But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.'

The tidings out of the east and out of the north could be close by, in Israel and the home country, Iran, where the US-empire is starting to interfere of further away, the decisions made by Russia and China, not to interfere but to submit to an upcoming US-hegemony, leaving the fight to Iran's 'axis of resistance' alone, which is no match for the US military force. So Iran's military power will be totally destroyed and the US will rule the Middle East and thereby the world. From the outbreak of war till the end of this Endtime, 42 months or 1,260 days will pass, as told in multiple Bible passages.

Again: the Abomination

The unleashing of all military powers of Iran and Egypt upon the state of Israel will kill two thirds of the population. That is why the trigger for this disastrous event is called 'the abomination of desolation'. Daniel 9:27 describes it as follows:

'And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.'

'Confirm the covenant 'with many' can also be read as: 'Make heavy the covenant for many'. In that last sense it could be applied to the covenant that already exists for a century, in which the land is promised to certain Jews (non-Muslim, coming from outside - the Balfour declaration of 1917). This covenant is used as a pretext for the British empire and later for the US empire to control the Middle East. The heavy last 7 years (week) of the covenant could refer to the effort of a total ethnic cleansing of the indigenous population, which could have started on December 29, 2022 with the present Netanyahu government. If so, the 'half of the week' with 'the ceasing of the sacrifice and the oblation' and the 'overspreading of abominations' is fast approaching. We have estimated it around June 2026. See numbers 5 and 6 of this page.

Jesus' Warning

Two thirds of the population will die because of the desolation caused by the abomination. That is why Jesus warns those that witness this 'abomination of desolation' to leave  the region immediately, or at least the cities - not even to go back into the house to fetch something:

'When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!' (Math.24:15-19).

From the recent 12-day war, we know that the Israeli government does not care for its own citizens and that it would authorize a travel ban as soon as an all out war with Iran would loom. Shutting up its population in the cities would possibly prevent a total devastation of the Israeli infrastructure. Israel has been doing everything it accuses others of, also the use of civilians as human shield.

One Third

But what about the one third that will survive the military violence? They are 'the Palestinians' that went through the fire before the two thirds will be erased by military power. When will they utter their acknowledgment of the Lord? Here it is important to note that the initiative for the restored relationship lies with the Lord, not with the people: 'And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God'

(1) The Lord will bring them through the fire.

(2) They will call upon his name

(3) He will hear them and say: 'It is my people'

(4) they will say: 'The LORD is my God'.

This means that the full knowledge of the Lord awaits his recognizing them as his people. When and how will that happen? That was the subject of Zechariah 12. With the last verse of chapter 13 we are at the point of Zechariah 12:10, where we read: 'And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced...'

Different Perspectives

Bible prophecy often is not chronological and often skips many centuries.

Chapter 12 starts with the victorious resistance of the Palestinian people toward the invaders from Europe and the US. Then the cause of victory is revealed: the pouring out of the Spirit and the revelation of Messiah and their acknowledgment of Him.

Chapter 13 starts with the cleansing effects of Messiah's revelation: the abolishment of the names of idols, prophets and the unclean spirit. Prophets will be ashamed of every attempt at prophecy at the start of the millennial reign of Christ. Then, verse 7 brings us 2000 years back in time, the awakening of the sword and the smiting of the Shepherd and the effect this would have on the flock. Verse 8 brings us at the desolation of the abomination for two thirds of the flock, the part that had not been subjected to a previous fire, and that will die because of the abomination. They are in the wrong place at the wrong time and they are ignorant of the word of the Lord. These two thirds - the first rate citizens of the state of Israel - were instrumental in the fire that verse 9 speaks of, that the rest of the flock had to go through - the Palestinians that in 80 years were degraded to second rate citizens and thrown in the worst of conditions imaginable. That third of the flock, almost consumed by the fire, will ultimately find their Lord and Savior in the crucified One. And so chapter 13 ends with the same glorious event as chapter 12, the revelation of Messiah to his people, from a different perspective. Chapter 12 is about the strengthening of freedom fighters through mourning for Messiah. Chapter 13 is about purification through fire unto recognition of Messiah.

Chapter 14 shows us again another perspective on the same event - the historical perspective of how it all came about.