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Zephaniah, Prophet of divine protection, final, Your fortunes restored

Zephaniah 3:16, 17 says,

¹⁶ In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. ¹⁷ The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

This is the word of hope for the New Jerusalem and Sion, its seat of government. The promise that “God is in your midst, a victorious warrior” stands in stark contrast to the same God which lays siege to the old Jerusalem (Isaiah 29:2, 3). There God is portrayed as the Commander of the foreign armies that He has mustered to destroy the city.

Likewise, the word of hope to the New Jerusalem is in direct contrast to the lack of hope given to the old Jerusalem in Jeremiah 19:10, 11. The prophets never attempt to distinguish between the two cities, except by the descriptions and prophecies given to each of them. It is only when we come to the New Testament that the distinction is fully clarified (Galatians 4:25, 26; Hebrews 11:10, 16; Revelation 21:2).

The Immanuel Prophecy

Emanuel is a name that means “God with us,” that is, God in our midst. The name first appears in Isaiah 7:14 in the messianic prophecy,

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

This was fulfilled in Matthew 1:22, 23 through an angelic message to Joseph while he was pondering what to do about Mary’s unexpected pregnancy. Strangely, the angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:21 that her son would be called Jesus (or Yeshua, “salvation”), and then Isaiah’s prophecy was cited, which referred to Him as Immanuel, “God with us.”

The apparent discrepancy, of course, is rooted in the two comings of Christ, each with a different purpose and focus. He came to the earthly Jerusalem the first time as the Savior, where He was rejected; but He will come a second time—this time to the New Jerusalem—to be “with us.” In other words, He will be with us and in us (Colossians 1:27). So we read in Revelation 21:3, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them.”

Immanuel and the Tabernacle

John’s reference to “the tabernacle of God” suggests that we are now God’s habitation/temple, as Paul said plainly in 1 Corinthians 3:16. When God’s presence filled Solomon’s temple, God began to dwell with men in the earthly Jerusalem. But when God’s presence filled the disciples in the upper room by His Spirit (Acts 2:1-3), the ultimate purpose of God was fulfilled, indwelling His people who were being built into the true temple of God (Ephesians 2:20-22).

This was to be a greater temple without a dividing wall in the courtyard, distinguishing it from the temple in the earthly city. That dividing wall had excluded women and gentiles from approaching God with the Jewish men. Paul spoke out against this unlawful show of partiality in Ephesians 2:14, 15 and again in Galatians 3:28,

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Paul’s teaching did not put away the law but re-established the law in Numbers 15:16,

¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.

See also Exodus 12:49, Leviticus 24:22, and Deuteronomy 10:17-19. These are all subsets of the second great commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Isaiah was faithful to proclaim the Impartial God of Israel by including foreigners into the covenant given to Israel (Isaiah 56:6-8).

Unfortunately, by the end of the Old Testament period, the corrupt priests had ignored these laws by claiming that God was partial toward them. Malachi 2:8-10 condemns such partiality, saying,

⁸ “But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of hosts. ⁹ “So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction. ¹⁰ Do we not all have one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?”

The prophet saw Judah’s trend toward exclusivism and partiality in rabbinic teaching and thereby foresaw the construction of the dividing wall in Herod’s temple. God’s word says, “you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality.” This problem has resurfaced in modern times when men teach that the Jews are “chosen” by genealogy rather than by faith. Paul contradicts that, teaching that the only “chosen” ones are the remnant of grace (Romans 11:7).

Therefore, when Zephaniah 3:17 speaks of God’s “joy” over His people, he was speaking of those in whom He would indwell as living stones in the true temple. God’s presence in a physical manner came with the incarnation of Jesus Christ and His subsequent ministry. But He had to go to the Father in order to indwell His true temple by His Spirit. John 16:7 says,

⁷ “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper [Comforter] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

Prophetic Feast-day Gatherings

Zephaniah 3:18 says,

¹⁸ “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts—they came from you, O Zion; the reproach of exile is a burden on them.

Zephaniah 3:18 highlights the remnant who mourned their inability to celebrate God’s feasts during exile. God promises to gather them, remove their reproach, and restore their joy in worship. On a higher level, it foretells the day when the feast days are fulfilled prophetically. Passover was fulfilled through Christ’s death, Pentecost was fulfilled in Acts 2, and today we look forward to the fulfillment of the Autumn feasts which prophecy about Christ’s second coming.

Zephaniah 3:19 continues,

¹⁹ “Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors, I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will turn their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.’

We have noted how the seven days of Tabernacles are portrayed in terms of judgment upon Babylon in Revelation 16. The seven bowls of wine poured out upon Babylon represent the seven days of Tabernacles. Hence, the fulfillment of this feast is when God deals finally with the “oppressors” so that God’s Kingdom may replace it with the “freedom of the glory of the children of God” which the entire creation desires.

Zephaniah 3:20 concludes,

²⁰ “At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.

This great gathering includes all who are in a covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the New Covenant. Moses commanded in Exodus 34:23 that the Israelites should gather at the tabernacle before God three times in the year (at the major feasts), explaining in Deuteronomy 16 that the foreigners were to gather with them. While Zephaniah 3:20 is commonly misinterpreted today with an exclusive mindset, Isaiah 56:7, 8 asserts boldly that foreigners were welcome to join them, saying,

⁷ … “For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” ⁸ The Lord God who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, “Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

Until that great day of the Lord, we who remain in captivity to the beast governments of Mystery Babylon are divinely protected. We as individuals have already gathered around the Messiah at Mount Sion, fulfilling Passover and Pentecost on an individual level. But the day is soon coming when the overcoming remnant from all nations will form the collective body of Christ in that great day when the feasts are fulfilled prophetically. Our “fortunes” will be restored fully when all that was lost in Adam will be restored in Christ.