In this chapter, we come to another wonderful book of the recovery, Zechariah. I cannot tell you how much I love this book. Years ago it was a closed book to me, but later, due to the recovery of the local churches, it was opened. The whole book has become transparent, from the first page to the last. Of course, we do not have the time to cover it entirely, but no other book of the Old Testament tells us so much about Christ as this one. Even Isaiah cannot compare with Zechariah. Isaiah has sixty-six chapters, and Zechariah has only fourteen, yet Zechariah tells us more concerning Christ than Isaiah.
The fourteen chapters of Zechariah are divided into two sections: the first eight chapters are one section, and the last six are another. In the first section, there are eight visions, in which the prophet Zechariah saw the things of Christ related to the recovery of God’s building; in the last section, Zechariah prophesies about Christ in the future, after the recovery of the temple.
Before we go on to Zechariah, we need to see something more regarding Haggai. In the book of Haggai, there is not much mentioned about Christ. Haggai came into the situation while the hands of the governor, the high priest, and the people were weakened by the opposition of the adversaries. They had turned from building the temple to caring for their own houses and interests. Haggai came to rebuke and strengthen them. The Spirit of God again stirred up the spirit of the governor, the spirit of the high priest, and the spirit of the remnant of the people (Hag. 1:14). Three times this verse mentions the stirring up of the human spirit. The Lord also reminded them that since the day he brought them out of Egypt, His Spirit had never left them. Their spirit had to be stirred up.
Here we see that the recovery of God’s building is something in our human spirit and the Lord’s divine Spirit. Our human spirit must be stirred up by His divine Spirit. It is not a matter of the mind or emotion, but a matter of His Spirit in our spirit.
Haggai also points out that if the recovery of the building of the Lord’s house is prevailing, Christ will come. Christ was prophesied in Haggai as “the Desire of all nations.” “And I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:7). Christ, the Desire of all nations shall come. Have you realized that all the nations have a kind of desire? Deep within all human beings there is a desire for peace, rest, and satisfaction. But is there any peace, rest, or satisfaction? We are all aware of today’s situations with riots, wars, and tensions. There is no peace, no rest, and no satisfaction. But we know Who is the peace, the rest, the safety, the security, and the satisfaction. It is Christ, the Desire of all nations! Although the world in a sense is opposing Christ, yet Christ is their Desire. But how can Christ come as the Desire of all nations? It is only by the recovery of the building of the house of God! The recovery of the local churches has very much to do with the coming of Christ as the Desire of all nations.
Let us look at the situation again. Due to the degradation of God’s people, they were carried away from the land of Canaan to Syria and Egypt, with the majority going to Babylon. Suppose no one had returned from these three places of captivity to Jerusalem in the good land. How could Christ have come the first time? It was plainly prophesied that Christ, the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem, and of the people of God. Yet all the people of God had been carried away, and if none returned, how could Christ be born of the people of Israel at Bethlehem? There would be no possibility. So we see the importance of the return of the captivity, not only for the building up of the temple, but even more for the coming of the Desire of all nations.
Today, many dear Christians love the Lord and are so much for the Lord’s work. Yet they still argue with us, saying, “Why must we all go back to the local church? Don’t you realize that we are doing a good work for the Lord?” But we must look at the situation. They may do much good work for the Lord in Babylon, but it is impossible for them to bring the Lord back. It is not possible for the Lord to come back as the Desire of all nations in the place of captivity. For His return, some of His people must return to the original ground. I do believe it will be the local churches that will bring Christ back! Regardless of how much they work for God in Babylon, they can never bring Christ back to the earth. It is so clear in Haggai that the recovery of the building up of God’s house has much to do with Christ’s coming as the Desire of all nations. We know that He did come, not to those who remained in Babylon, but to those who returned to the land of Israel.
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