Sun.’s Devo - God Remembers his People

Read: Zechariah 1:1-21; Revelation 12:1-17; PSalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 30:17 Zechariah’s name means “Yahweh Remembers.” He prophesied two months after Haggai, calling the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem to repent and rebuild the Temple. The some fifty thousand exiles who had returned were the poorer of the captives and had quickly rebuilt the altar and begun construction on the Temple. They had stopped rebuilding because of the great opposition. Their neighboring Samaritans were able to get an order from the Persian government to make them stop building. They had given up building for about 12 years. Haggai and Zechariah urged the people to return to the Lord and restore the temple. Zechariah wrote more than any other prophet about the second coming of the Messiah. *** Zechariah saw three of the four horses that patrol the earth. They saw the red, brown, and white horses and their riders -the same ones we see in Revelation. They reported to the angel of the Lord that the world was at peace. When he heard this he prayed for mercy to be shown to Jerusalem who had been exiled for 70 years. He proclaimed that it was now time to judge the nations that harmed Jerusalem and show mercy toward Jerusalem. *** He proclaimed the prosperity that would soon return to Jerusalem. Zechariah was shown four blacksmiths who would now terrify Israel’s enemies and throw them down. *** In Revelation, John witnessed a woman with the sun and moon beneath her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She stood for the body of Christ. A large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his head came and with his tail, swept away one third of the stars in the sky throwing them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman waiting for her to give birth so he could devour her son. She gave birth to the one who would rule the nations with an iron rod. Her baby was snatched away from he dragon and caught up to heaven. The woman fled into the wilderness to the place God had prepared for her. She stayed there for 1,260 days. *** War broke out in heaven and Michael and his angels fought the dragon and his angels. The dragon lost and was forced out of heaven. He was thrown down to earth with his angels. Salvation was then proclaimed from heaven because the accuser of the brethren had been defeated. A warning was also given that the devil had now come to terrorize God’s people on the earth. He immediately went after the woman who stands for the Church. God protected her and swallowed his lies into the earth. War was waged between the devil and God’s children. *** Lord, thank you that nothing the devil tries will stop what you intend to do through your children on the earth. Our enemies will be destroyed by the very evil they plan for us. We give you praise and honor!