Temple Construction Only by the Holy Spirit (Zech. 4:6)
Today, we will share the grace of God through Zechariah 1 to 4. The content of the book of Zechariah is, after the Israelites came out of captivity of Babylon, there were three waves of exiles returning to Israel, and there were two attempts to rebuild the temple. This was the second attempt. The Babylonians completely destroyed the Israelites and their temple and dragged off the Israelites as captives, and for the Israelites, the temple is the same as life.
If the temple is destroyed, it means disasters have come upon them and they have been dragged off as captives. In the Old Testament, the way for the people of God was through worship in the Temple. But why is it that the people of God had their temple destroyed, their possessions burned, and themselves taken as captives to other nations?
The answer is simple, in Zech. 1:1. It says the reason why God allowed the Israelites to be taken as captives, their possessions burned, and their temple to be destroyed. Then it also says that God promises to restore the temple, and now He wants the Israelites to restore the correct relationship with Him. In the New Testament, we who believed in Jesus Christ are the Temple of God. Now, we are past the age of the Temple and we are in the age of the church. When the people gather, there is tremendous importance and meaning. There was only one Temple in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, the church is scattered. In the Old Testament, they had one Temple but now the churches are scattered and each of the 237 nations must have their churches raised, and that is what we talk about today.
First, our personal temples must be restored. In order for the restoration of our personal temples to be continuous, we must restore the church building. The church building is the platform where individual churches can gather together, pray, and be restored and healed. So, you need to know very well what sense of the temple is in the Old Testament, and now that Jesus Christ has come, what is the sense of the church and the temple now.
In Zechariah 1:1, “In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the Word of the LORD came to Zechariah.” The Word is something God gives to us. Instead of saying we are holding onto the Word of God, we are holding onto whatever God has already given us. Zech. 1:2, “The LORD was very angry with your forefathers.” What is the LORD being angry? It means the LORD allowed the Israelites to be taken captive to Babylon and for all their possessions to be destroyed.
The reason why he was so angry was because he told the Israelites multiple, countless times, “Return to Me, and I will return to you; turn from your evil ways” in Zech. 1:3. In Zech. 1:4, it continues. The ancestors here refers to the generation before the captivity of Babylon, about 70 years prior, and that was their parents and grandparents who were told by God multiple times, but they refused to listen to Him.
Zech. 1:5, “Where are your forefathers now? And the prophets, do they live forever?” It means they are not alive anymore. Then in Zech. 1:6, “But did not my words and my decrees, which I commanded my servants the prophets, overtake your forefathers?” meaning, the Word of God did not go into the people, so they repented and said, “The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.” What does this mean? This means God was continuously giving His Word, but they did not listen, nor were they interested.
In Zech. 1:7, again the word of God comes. Without a doubt, God gives us His Word from the Throne of Heaven. God is invisible but He gives us His Word from the Throne of Heaven, and that is where the Israelites failed. They had no interest in God’s Word; then, where were they interested? Because they remained in their idol worship of getting whatever they desired and were obsessed with themselves, they were unable to hear God’s Word.
If the Word of God doesn’t go into you, everybody has their own obsessions, and even if you listen to God’s Word, you cannot hear because there is a state in which you’re obsessed with something else. Some people hear the Word of God without really hearing it. They’re obsessed with something else in their heart, so even though God continues to give them His Word, they don’t listen; they have no reason to listen.
We live in such an age today. The Word is flowing out like a flood but everybody lives with their own idols, they live their walk of faith thinking about what they desire, making money and succeeding, they’re obsessed with that so they don’t really hear the Word of God, even though they listen. People who live like this have no choice but to go into an age of mental illness. If people go to church, this should be restored and healed, but instead, it gets worse because without the Word of God, the things of the world go into that, and they get obsessed with that, and they’re enslaved by Satan. That was the age of suffering for 70 years in Babylon.
In Zech. 1:12, again the Word of the Lord comes on Zechariah and the angel of the LORD said, “LORD Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem?” Everything was destroyed, the temple and their businesses, and it says the LORD was angry with Israel for 70 years, and now, after 70 years, God gave His Word to Zechariah to restore them.
In Zech. 1:16, “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,’” meaning they will have Temple Construction restored. The Temple being rebuilt means complete restoration. It means they were restored both physically and spiritually. Why? This is the work God does for the Israelites through His Word.
Zech. 1:17, “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,’” meaning the land, the temple, and everything will be restored. God is saying He will restore everything after 70 years. Before the Jerusalem temple and the people of Jerusalem were destroyed, they thought they were fine because they had the temple and their homes; however, they weren’t trying to listen to God’s Word. This means the Temple, their homes, and their places were not fine; they were already in a state of destruction.
The people were thinking, “As long as I go to church and I have a house and can eat and survive, I’m not really interested in God’s word,” but that has already determined their fate. That was 70 years ago. All of that generation had died away and the future generation is arising, so now God is telling about what happened in the past and what they must do now. You are completely empty-handed but God will restore you completely. God will restore the Temple and your towns.
Looking at Zech. 2:4, it says, “Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it,” whereas before, there were walls. God says He will not build a wall around the city because of the great number of the people and livestock that have increased. In Zech. 2:5, “I myself will be a wall of fire around it,” declares the Lord, “and I will be its glory within.” The reason why people build a wall around a city is to defend themselves against enemies, but now God is saying, “I will guard you personally as a wall of fire, and my glory will be within.” I will protect you so that no enemy can enter.
Do you think you can guard your own life? Because you think you can guard your own life, the Word of God does not come in. Do you think you can protect your own life if you make a lot of money and succeed? You lose everything, even money. Nonbelievers are irrelevant to God; this is what God does for His believers because they are His children. So even though God warned these people over and over again, they still did not listen.
Then in Zech. 2:7, “Come, Zion,” the people of Israel, “Escape,” meaning, come out of Babylon. After 70 years, they returned to Jerusalem and that’s what God is doing. When the Word of God is restored, everything is restored. In Zech. 2:11, “Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day,” meaning, many Gentile nations will be joined. Because of the restoration and rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem, many Gentile nations will come to join this Temple.
What is the Temple? It is the Temple that saves all the nations of the Gentiles of the world. If we lose the covenant of saving the 237 nations, then the Temple is broken down. If your studies and business are not within the covenant of saving the 237 nations, it will continue to fall down because God desires to use your studies and businesses to save the 237 nations of the entire world. But if you live without the Word of God, just according to your own thoughts, your entire life will not be able to do this or that.
When God gives these words, Satan does not leave this alone, that’s Zech. 3. Zech. 3:1, Zechariah sees a vision, “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest, standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.” Even though God promised to restore this, Satan prevents it. Zech. 3:2-3. Joshua was covered in sin, but he was the high priest, standing before God with all the sin of Israel. If his clothes are filthy it means he has sinned before the LORD.
Satan knows this and uses this as a foothold to argue against God. Satan does not work for no reason; he uses a foothold to attack. When you have unbelief, Satan works because God has left Satan to work like that. 1 Peter 2:7, it says, when we are in sin or unbelief, Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. In Job, Satan goes to test Job, and when God asks Satan where he’s been, Satan says he’s been scouring the entire world, looking for somebody to test.
Formally speaking, he can test people before God, “God, this is a sin.” If you have disbelief, God allows Satan to work like this, and until you’re restored by the Word of God, Satan does not leave. Satan burrows into our scars and makes us completely leave God’s Word and God allows this to happen. I hope you will not hold onto your scars; hold onto God’s Word instead. The reason you are scarred to begin with means you hold onto only your own reasons and motives; it doesn’t matter how much you talk about your scars, Satan works upon that and God allows Satan to do that until you are restored in God’s Word.
So, as Satan is accusing him with these sound and correct words, God says, “Take of his filthy clothes; I will take away the clothes and put fine garments on him,” meaning, He takes away our sin. On the cross, Jesus Christ received all of our sins, transgressions and dirtiness from us, and if you simply hold onto the covenant, then Satan cannot budge and accuse you. Without the covenant of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t matter how correctly you try to think or act; it is irrelevant to Satan. It doesn’t matter how correctly or upright you try to act without the Word of God or Jesus Christ; Satan will enter. If anything, you’ll be destroyed because of your correct actions and thoughts because this is not the answer, but you think that it is. It’s only correct from your perspective; it may be incorrect from somebody else’s point of view. I’m sure it’s correct from your situation but from someone else’s circumstances it is not right. But you don’t hold onto the Word of God; you hold onto your own correctness, so Satan works.
Justice without the gospel is a channel for Satan. Justice without the gospel will divide people, why is that? Because you say, “Everyone else is wrong and I am correct,” you will be discriminating and dividing. Only inside of the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed; without the gospel, Satan enters you. Who on this earth is righteous? The Bible tells us, no one other than Jesus Christ. By believing in that, I’m covered in His righteousness. We are not righteous because of our actions, but Jesus Christ covers us with righteousness.
Why is this important? Without doing this, Satan will not leave us alone. 1 Cor. 10 tells us to forgive the people who hurt us, who harm us and do things against us. You forgive this before Christ, but what comes after that is more important. That is how you will overcome and break down Satan. If you keep saying you’re correct and the other person is wrong, Satan will work. You need to forgive the other person for yourself, because if you do not forgive other people, Satan will use that channel to attack you 100 times worse.
You’ve received forgiveness from Jesus Christ on the cross; He has covered over you so you are sinless, your past, present, and future sins. When you hold onto the covenant, Satan cannot budge. It’s the same thing for the Israelites in the Old Testament. God covers over them and calls them clean. Satan tries to accuse people but there’s nothing he can talk about.
Zech. 3:7, now the Israelites are being restored back to God, “This is what the LORD almighty says: ‘If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house,” that is, my Temple, “and have charge of my courts,” that is, the courtyards, “and I will give you a place among these standing here.” If you follow after God’s Word, He will protect your family, church, and field.
Zech. 3:8, “Listen, high priest Joshua and your associates seated” before you who will listen, this is the content of Zech. 3, then Zech. 4:6 is what we read today. It is not possible by your strength. Whatever you can do with your own strength will all be destroyed. The fact that it is by the Lord’s spirit means you follow His Word and it must be done by the Holy Spirit. That is why and how God will restore the destroyed temple and your destroyed businesses. On the other hand, if you do everything with your own obsession, diligence, and hard work, the Lord will not help you.
What is a Christian? I am dead and now Christ lives within me. Because I am dead, I do not live with my own thoughts or my own plans because that is now useless. The more you hold onto that, the more Satan works with curses and disasters, so it’s the same thing. The Christ within me, to live by His plan, His Word, His power, that is the method and goal of my life. I hope you will restore the word of God by examining yourself, to see why you are the way that you are. You might think that you’re okay without doing this by God’s Word; look at the Bible, you will be destroyed. Because you are a person of God, He will restore you again, but nobody knows how long it will take to restore you.
It took the Israelites 70 years, we don’t know how long it will take for us; either way, God will restore His people. But don’t be like that, but by God’s Word and God’s grace, follow after His Word with your actions and thoughts; plan your future with His Word. In the restoration of the Temple is also contained the spiritual restoration of Israel and the financial restoration.
When this happens, Satan will try to block you so you cannot do this by making you look at your present reality. But the Bible says it is not done by your strength but the power of God placed within you, so simply believe. Even right now, in the age of the New Testament of the scattered churches, God is doing His work. If you stake everything to raise up these platforms, God’s Holy Spirit will work upon you. If you live your life irrelevant to this, God will just leave you alone, irrelevant to Him. This platform is so important because if you have the content, you need a vessel in which to place the content. If you have the Word of God, you need a platform through which you can proclaim the Word of God.
Some people say, “Why is the Temple so important?” To proclaim the Word, we need a location. Without this thinking, you cannot run a business well. This is something you realize even with a hole-in-the-wall shop. It doesn’t matter how good your products are if you don’t have a location to sell it, but you say your materials are good? Nobody can find you to buy your products because you’re always wandering around, then you can just live in a tent like a homeless person; it’s the same thing.
You want to have your own house but you say we shouldn’t build a temple? That’s somebody who is not fitting with God. When you’re aligned with God, you will begin to receive answers. It doesn’t matter how much you say this is not right; only God’s Word is right, then God is bound to give you power because it doesn’t happen by your hard work. God says, “Only by My Spirit, it is only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit must work upon your business to restore the economy of light.
I hope you will hold onto God’s Word and challenge towards it in prayer. The reason you continuously remain within the curse of poverty is because you are far from God’s Word. Money is not everything but God uses the economy when He needs it. If you have nothing right now, it doesn’t mean you have nothing, but according to God’s Word and works, He will answer your prayers. If you have the first thing in your heart as the Temple of God, all things will be restored.
Most people prioritize their own house but the Bible doesn’t say that. In the wilderness, God did not tell them to build their own tents, but the Tabernacle. You must agree with this to see the Word of God from this point on. Why is it that, when David became king, this is what he wanted to do? He was living inside of a palace and was apologetic about it before the Lord saying, “This is not right.” He was sleeping in the finest, luxurious bed, but the Ark of the Covenant was in a wind-swept tent.
Does God lack power? God works in the one who knows this, God moves material things. 1 Chronicles says God is the One Who makes people great. Especially the young adults, you think you can just work hard; that’s simply out of ignorance. The Word of God says, if you just work hard, you’ll be destroyed. The first is God’s Word; the second is God’s Word as well. God begins to work according to His Word. The Temple where the Word of God is relayed because the Word of God is proclaimed through worship. We can bring in the people from the 237 nations and give them healing. We need to have a location for them to receive healing.
For this work, I give my life. Then, this verse is saying, “It doesn’t matter what you do; it must be by God’s Word.” When this Word goes into your heart, God begins to move. It doesn’t matter how destroyed your business is; God can change that. Otherwise, if you live irrelevant to the Word of God, it doesn’t matter how well you think you’re doing. That’s the history of Israel. They thought they were doing well in the beginning but later on, they were seized by war, the temple was burned and the families were torn apart as they were taken captive, and God allowed this.
The one who goes all into God’s Word, the one who doesn’t use any thinking except for God’s Word because the Word is everything. The one who follows the stream of this word will bear fruit in season. I hope you will pray, holding onto God’s word, and resolve in your heart. To what extent will I receive answers from God? If you don’t do this, and you just do it haphazardly, God will be haphazard with you. When you make a certain resolution before God, God does it certainly. It is different depending on the faith, and you are within the time schedule of blessing.
Let us pray together, God is doing world evangelization in this age with Temple Construction, this might seem like something you can do, but it’s not; it’s not something that happens because you have money. God steals that away, and just because you don’t have money doesn’t mean you can’t do it. When God’s word goes into you, God does this, and in this time schedule of the church, follow the stream of the word well.