Zechariah can be divided into two parts: the eight initial visions of Zechariah one to six and the later prophecies that begin in the middle of chapter six. Zechariah continued to have visions after chapter six, but the visions began to be more about the future of Israel than about its present. These future prophesies include some of the beautiful Messianic promises that are claimed by the New Testament writers, but they also include some confusing prophesies that are difficult to understand or that have not been fulfilled yet. Some may never be fulfilled. In this background of the book of Zechariah, I first give an overview of the content of the book, and then present my thoughts on the conditionality of Zechariah’s prophecies.
Overview of the Second Half of Zechariah:
- 6:9-15 The Priest King—This is a Messianic prophecy that is referred to in Hebrews.
- Chapters 7 & 8 Should We Fast—The Jews had set aside certain times in exile to mourn for their lost nation. After coming back from exile, some leaders approached Zechariah with the question about whether they should continue to mourn. God’s answer was that they were not mourning for Him, but for themselves. Then there is a recitation of the history of the exile and prophecy of future events before the answer comes back that they should rejoice rather than mourn.
- Chapter 9 Riding on a Donkey—This chapter is Messianic in nature although it seems to start out as a condemnation of nations surrounding Israel. The chapter is full of unexpected shifts in expectations: the condemned Gentile nations include those who will join the people of God, the coming King would be humble, people are weapons yet they will not have warhorses or chariots. By worldly standards of war and conquering, the chapter seems illogical, but viewed through the lens of Jesus’ teachings, some amazing insights appear.
- Chapter 10 The Gathering—This is a promise of the gathering of God’s people from the nations. It has several references to the Messiah. It is the blessing that would happen if the Messiah was accepted.
- Chapter 11 The Good Shepherd—Zechariah is asked to live out a parable of a good shepherd versus bad shepherds. This is a warning of the curse that would happen if the Messiah was rejected.
- Chapters 12-14 In That Day—These prophecies speak of a future day when the Messiah will fight and win over His people’s enemies. There are disagreements as to how these prophecies and promises should be interpreted, but there are also some amazing statements within these chapters. I would caution that in interpreting these chapters to always look for the interpretation that reflects Jesus’ teachings since there are clear references to the Messiah throughout.
The Conditionality of the Prophecies of Zechariah:
There are quite a few places in the last sections of Zechariah where there are prophecies regarding Jerusalem that have not happened. Many interpreters place those prophecies in the future and apply them to the modern-day nation of Israel. I disagree with these interpretations because I believe that they contradict several direct statements in the New Testament. First of all, in the New Testament it is clear that those who claim Jesus as their Savior are the descendants of Abraham and heir to any promises made to Abraham’s descendants rather than ethnic Jews being the only recipients. For example, Romans 4:16 says “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.” Galatians 3:27-29 says “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
It is important to remember that God did not favor the Jews because of their ethnic group. Instead, they were to be His instruments to reach the world with the good news of Yahweh and His righteous ways. There are numerous verses in the Old Testament which indicate that God wanted the Gentiles to become part of His people, but His people Israel failed in their job to reach the strangers around them. When Jesus left the temple for the final time, He declared that their house (the temple) was no longer His house. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’” (Mat 23:37-39). These are just a few of the verses that explain that after the stoning of Stephen, the Jewish nation no longer had a favored status among the nations. At that point, God was fulfilling His objectives through the new nation that He had raised up composed of ethnic Jews and ethnic Gentiles—the church. This nation was not a worldly nation as it had no national government and no leader, except Jesus, their Lord. Instead, it was the kingdom of God on earth run by Jesus’ laws of love.
If I do not place the prophecies of Israel’s glory in Zechariah and other Old Testament books in the future, how do I explain the numerous unfulfilled prophecies of Israel’s bright coming stardom and its fights with surrounding nations? I believe that these verses were conditional prophesies. The Bible makes it clear that there are conditions to the fulfillment of prophecies. Some prophecies are unconditional, and nothing will change them. An example of this is the promise given to Adam and Eve that a descendant of the woman would triumph over the serpent but be bruised in the process. Jesus’ second coming is an unconditional prophecy; He will come again. The basic rule is that any prophecy that is dependent upon God for fulfillment of the requirements is unconditional because God is always faithful to His commitments. However, any prophecy that is dependent upon man for fulfillment is always conditional because God gives us the choice of obedience or rebellion.
What evidence do I have for stating that prophecies are conditional? The book of Jonah is the best example. Jonah told the city of Nineveh that they would be destroyed. They repented, and God did not destroy them. Were God and Jonah lying? No, but the prophesy was based upon the Ninevites continuing in their present pattern of behavior. When they repented, they turned away from that course of action, and God reacted accordingly. There are many prophecies in the Bible of what would happen if Israel stayed loyal to God, but because of their unbelief, God had to withdraw those promises. For example, the children of Israel were told that God would drive out the people of Canaan before them. However, in Judges God withdraws that promise. “Now the angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you” (Judges 2:1-3). Another example is in Isaiah where there is a prophecy of the Assyrians and Egyptians being at peace with Israel, but this never happened because Israel did not remain faithful. This pattern of conditionality is seen over and over again throughout the Bible. Thus, the promises and prophecies of the last part of Zechariah must be read through the lens of conditionality since they were dependent upon the Jews—humans—accepting the Messiah as their King. As a nation, they rejected Jesus, so as a nation, they were no longer the recipients of the promises.
I am not a theologian, simply a Bible student who tries to dig as deep into the scriptures as I can and asks God to guide me through that study. You may disagree with me, and we can still follow our Savior together all the way into paradise. All I ask is that you search the scriptures for yourself to follow the truths of God’s character and love wherever that study takes you.