He will remove the sin in a single day.

by Alejandro Roque Glez.

“There are seven eyes on that one stone… and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day… Behold the man whose name is the Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord Yahweh… and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on his throne; and he shall be a priest on his throne.”

(Zechariah 3:8-9; 6:12-13)

The prophet Zechariah ministered at the same time as his compatriot Haggai (520-516 BC). His name means ‘Yahweh has remembered;’ and it is like a premonition of the work that the Lord would show us in the future and also about he has never forgotten our fall, and his Plan steep up to the great finish line. That Final enclosing itself a new beginning, but starting from a state of maturity and different from the experiences met in the Garden of Eden, when the Adamic race began its count. The prophet was the son of Iddo, a descendant from the Levitical priestly tribe (Neh 12:4, Ezra 5:1, 6:14) and where traditions were transmitted not only through the Holy Scriptures, but also as a family habit in the ministry they were entrusted.

It was the time for the Jews’ return to their land (536 BC) after the Babylonian captivity which lasted seventy years. In front of the people and in charge of the returning were Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest, by order of the persian king Cyrus, then head of the triumphant Medo-Persian Empire (538-336 BC). It was a time of reconciliation with God and restoration of the Temple and citadel of Jerusalem, but the prophet Zechariah, inspired by the Holy Spirit goes further centuries later showing the future birth of mankind’s Redeemer: Jesus Christ; and to the now near End Times, Final Judgment, and redemption of God’s people around the whole earth.

Here in this passage in question, we are specifically told that these two main leaders of the Jewish people coming then from exile, were simply “symbolic men” (v.8); that is, Yahweh God through them would show prophetic facts pointing to important future events related to God’s Plan for humanity.

Life in this adamic vessel is like a breath that comes and goes; we are busy in our tasks, doings and desires when suddenly the road we left behind is all that remains in the twilight of that journey through this physical world; then the Lord uses his prophets to reveal––in his infinite divine love––that all is not lost as we are still gravitating in our existential infancy, and the Eternal Salvation’s door remains open. That Door is arranged to anyone who decides to dress as a groom/bride, and grab the right to enter into the banquet of the centuries, prepared from before the foundation of the world.

“I am going to bring my servant, the Branch” (v.8); Jesus Christ, the stem or branch that sprout from the family tree, according to the flesh, of the once king David, as the prophet Isaiah said centuries before when watching the future and certifying that: “a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be on his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end… with judgment and with justice from now on even for ever… and the spirit of the Lord Yahweh shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and… shall make him of quick understanding” (Is 9: 6-7; 11:1-2). He is the Verb and Wisdom of God insistently proclaimed by these men of the Most High, for us to never doubt and make sure that our hope is not founded in unfinished philosophies, human structures, or fear of death.

This Branch and stem the prophet Zechariah speaks is none other than the Son of God who would be born five hundred years ahead of his time (Lk 2:10-11), and in the future time of his crucifixion shall “remove the iniquity [sin] of that land [earth] in one day” (v.9), expiating with his spilled blood on Golgotha the sins of all who receive him as Lord and Savior; later showing reverence and perseverance in their gaits, not pretending to reach yet the unattainable.

That Son of God is clearly represented here in this passage: “the Branch... the stone... one stone... and the seven eyes”(v.9), which are the seven archangels or plenipotentiary ministers of Yahweh God (Rev 1:4), in charge of announcing and to ensure every compliance with the Divine Plan that we have analyzed. In the Holy Scriptures––not the apocryphal books––they have revealed two of their names: Gabriel (Dn 8:16; Lk 1:26) and Michael (Dn 10:13; Rev 12:7); although since Creation God sent his Word using a wide range of occasions when angelic beings brought his spiritual message related to the course of history and the world affairs of humans.

The prophet Zechariah speaks of Joshua the High Priest at the time, which in this prophecy is a symbolism of Christ Jesus, the Eternal Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 5:5-6). Joshua would be responsible for over seeing the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem that was concluded later in 516 BC. That is the greatest symbolism then approaching into history with the redemptive work of Jesus at Calvary, from where he rose up the Spiritual Temple––Church––full of glory (6:12-13); although his Light will not fully dominate until setting his Millennial Throne (Mt 19:28; Rev 20:4-6) which also the prophet foretells during the course of his ministry. And this priest together with the leader Zerubbabel represent that Son who later delivers the kingdom to his Holy Father (1 Cor 15:24-28) once concluded the Millennium (Rev 22:3), shining and staying as his Eternal Priest.

(What will life be on our planet once the Lord fulfills the promise of his coming? If interested you can read it in the form of a literary narrative, recreated in the author's book entitled: 'The King Victorino').

[These and other Old Testament prophecies are explicatively compiled in the author's book entitled: 'Minor Prophets of the Old Testament;' in print and digital editions]

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