As for me, I will declare this forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob, who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked, but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.” Psalm 75:9-10.

The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. Psalm 145:18.

Jesus said to (Thomas), “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 NKJV.

We begin our new book and chapter, Zechariah 1. These notes below help in understanding: “Nestled near the end of the Old Testament, among what are known as “minor prophets,” is the book of Zechariah…Like Haggai, he encouraged the people to finish rebuilding the temple, but his message went far beyond those physical walls and contemporary issues. With spectacular apocalyptic imagery and graphic detail, Zechariah told of the Messiah, the One whom God would send to rescue His people and to reign over all the earth. Zechariah is one of our most important prophetic books, giving detailed messianic references that were clearly fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. The rebuilding of the temple, he says, was just the first act in the drama of the end times and the ushering in of the messianic age.” In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo: “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the Lord. Where are your ancestors now? And the prophets, do they live forever? But did not My words and My decrees, which I commanded My servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors? Then they repented and said, ‘The Lord Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as He determined to do.’” v. 1-6. And then Zechariah had these visions from God: During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses. I asked, “What are these, my Lord?” The angel who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.” Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.” And they reported to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.” Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long will You withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which You have been angry with these seventy years?” So the Lord spoke kind and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. Then the angel who had been speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’ Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty. “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’” Then I looked up, and there before me were four horns. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?” He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.” Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. I asked, “What are these coming to do?” He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.” v. 8-20. Imagine hearing these words from God’s prophet! 70 years of captivity and those who oppressed them would be overthrown by God. And the temple would be rebuilt. That affirmation was needed by these very people who had stopped the rebuilding. And the promise of the coming Messiah was the encouragement for them from nations yet to come who would overthrow and rule by their horns.

When we read Scripture with the help of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see that we are the same as the people written of who lived long ago. They are all our ancestors. We are the ones continuing this path of life that Creator God began at the creation of all things. We will go on to become the ancestors of those yet to be born. How are we doing? Are we choosing life lived with God helping us or are we still not understanding? Without Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, how can we understand? Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices…Return to Me, and I will return to you…do we think those words were only for “those people” living in “those days”? They, too, thought they were God’s chosen people. They didn’t know about the angels sent by God, going throughout the earth. Do we? In our day, do they see the whole world at rest and in peace? What, then, is needed? Creator God, the Lord Almighty! And as we turn to Him, He will help us and take us to a deeper love and trust and hope in Him. Can we see how needed that is for us living in our age of mankind today? We all of us need our Creator God, just as did our ancestors, and just as will our descendants who come after we are gone. We are the same and our need is just as great. We can’t trust empires then or empires now because they need to come to an end. Only Creator God can usher in the Kingdom of God that will be for all the nations so that the healing of our hearts and minds can begin in Him and His love for His children then and now and yet to be.