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Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 35

In Zechariah 12:10, 11 God says,

¹⁰ “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son [yawkeed, “only-begotten” son], and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn [bekore]. ¹¹ In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.”

There are two groups of “the house of David,” just as there are two meanings to “the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Each are distinguished by their faith or lack of faith in Christ. The Spirit of grace and supplication is to be poured out upon the overcomers, the rulers who are called to reign with Christ. Because “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), no one other than Jesus Christ were born of the Spirit. All others were born of water through natural childbirth and had to come to the place of faith at a later time to be born of the Spirit.

So even the overcomers did not start out as overcomers—nor even as believers. All had to be drawn by the sovereign “Spirit of grace” before they could respond with “supplication.” It is because of sin that its penalty (death) was passed down from generation to generation, and for this reason Christ died on the cross to pay that penalty.

So when Zechariah prophesies of the house of David looking on “Me whom they have pierced,” it refers specifically to those of David’s house who have received the Spirit of grace. It is proper, then, for these overcomers to “mourn for Him as one mourns for an only-begotten son,” even though they no longer are held accountable for the cause of Christ’s death on the cross.

This is quoted in John 19:37 as being a prophecy of Christ on the cross. He was crucified along the road to Jerusalem on the Mount of Olives, with a sign over His head detailing the charges against Him. Those who passed by were thus invited to cast stones at Him, especially aiming for his face. For this reason Isaiah 52:14 prophesies, “His appearance was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.”

John applies this Zechariah’s prophecy to the crucified Christ, where John and a few women actually mourned for Him as they looked at Him. Only a small minority had received the Spirit of grace at that time.

The Absalom Conspiracy

Absalom was a son of David and was therefore part of the house of David in his day. He overthrew his father and usurped his throne. David was God’s anointed king, so David was a messiah (or christ). Hence, Absalom was an early antichrist when he usurped the throne. As I have already shown, he received help from Ahithophel, David’s counselor and friend, who was an early version of Judas the betrayer, whom Jesus called “friend” (Matthew 26:50). Jesus Himself played the role of David, the true anointed King.

In that story, Absalom was of the house of David but did not receive the Spirit of grace and supplication. David, instead of fighting his son, left town, allowing Absalom to rule for a season. On his way out of town, he “went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives” (2 Samuel 15:30) and made a sacrifice, thus prophesying the place that the Messiah would be crucified.

The point is that the Absalom conspiracy was replayed with new characters in the New Testament when Caiaphas, acting as Absalom, usurped the throne of Christ. Judas played the role of the betrayer as well. Paul tells us later the prophetic significance of this usurpation, saying in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4,

³ Let no one in any way deceive you, for it [the day of the Lord] will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness [Absalom, the antichrist] is revealed [unveiled, exposed], the son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, [in effect] displaying [presenting] himself as being God.

This describes Caiaphas, who, by condemning Christ, usurped His throne, seating Himself, as it were, in the Most Holy Place, as if he were God. This was the antichrist that Judas assisted in his betrayal of Jesus, thus making him too a “son of destruction” (NASB) or “son of perdition” (KJV). Caiaphas was the antichrist in Christ’s first appearance in the dispute over the throne rights given to the tribe of Judah. Judas, Jesus’ disciple and friend, was the antichrist’s assistant.

In the time of Christ’s second appearance, the conflict is over the birthright and the right to be called Israel. A new generation has arisen to oppose Christ’s claim. If there is a specific leader who is responsible for this, there is little doubt that this antichrist has taken upon himself the role of Absalom and Caiaphas. Likewise, once again, a Judas company has arisen to betray Christ and to acclaim that non-believing Zionists are worthy of the birthright and to be known as Israel.

The point is that in Kingdom history there are at least three antichrists that have arisen, and the last is now being overthrown.

Zechariah 12:10 may be paraphrased as saying, “The house of David will be given the Spirit of grace and supplication, that they [the true House of David] will look on Me whom they [the antichrists] have pierced.” This implies that the overcomers will recognize Jesus as the Christ, even as John and the women at the cross recognized Him. More than that, note that “they will look on Me” and “mourn for Him”

By this subtle wording, he implies that to acknowledge the Son is to acknowledge the Father as well. Jesus said in John 10:38, “the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” We read again in 1 John 2:22, 23,

²² Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

This is the core issue in the dispute between Christians and Jews. While we can understand the Jewish position, it is more difficult to understand Christians who adopt the Jewish position, thereby supporting what John calls antichrist. Such was the role of Ahithophel and Judas.

Keep in mind, too, that when David returned to claim his throne, he depicted Christ in His second coming. Absalom was not elevated to rule with David. He was killed (2 Samuel 18:14). The teaching that the Jews are called to rule the world under Christ does not fit the prophetic type foretold by Absalom’s fate.

The Mourning of Hadadrimmon

Zechariah 12:11 likens the end-time mourning to the time when King Josiah of Judah was killed in battle at Megiddo. 2 Kings 23:29, 30 says,

²⁹ In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. And King Josiah went to meet him [in battle], and when Pharaoh Neco saw him he killed him at Megiddo. ³⁰ His servants drove his body in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb…

In another account, 2 Chronicles 35:24, 25 adds,

²⁴ …All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. ²⁵ Then Jeremiah chanted a lament for Josiah. And all the male and female singers speak about Josiah in their lamentations to this day. And they made them an ordinance in Israel; behold, they are written in the Lamentations.

Josiah was a godly king who was pierced by an arrow and killed while doing battle with Pharaoh, who was making an alliance with the king of Assyria. The prophet Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations in his honor, and the nation of Judah remembered Josiah’s death during the last few decades leading to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. In that light, Josiah can be viewed as another type of Christ, whose piercing is mourned by those who acknowledge Him.

This lamentation was a remembrance of Josiah, and so it points to the meaning of Zechariah’s name, “Yahweh remembers.” This remembrance is timed to occur at the end of the age. Zechariah implies that the book of Lamentations will again come to the forefront when the House of David receives the Spirit of grace and supplication. Those who remember God by honoring His piercing and death will, in turn, be remembered by God.