This message examines the beautiful and hopeful prophecy of Zechariah 3 which provides us a window into the ministry of Christ in the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary. Listen and be encouraged!

<p>This message examines the beautiful and hopeful prophecy of Zechariah 3 which provides us a window into the ministry of Christ in the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary. Listen and be encouraged!</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Pagosa Springs SDA

Skip Dodson

A Window Into the Most Holy

Well, we're thankful to be in God's house today, aren't we?

It is always a blessing to meet with the saints.

And we live in the most portentous and amazing times that I can remember in my entire life.

So if there is ever a time where we need the Holy Spirit as we hear God's Word, I think that time would be now.

So let's pray and ask God to grant us this precious blessing.

It's something for which Jesus promised that if we ask for it, he will give it more readily than the best earthly parents are ready to give good gifts to their children.

Father in heaven, we do pray for your divine spirit today, your Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead.

We ask that you would send him in mighty power, not so that we would just simply be overpowered, Father, but that our minds would be changed, that we would see the precious message of Christ and His righteousness in the Word of God today.

We need to understand these truths, for, Father, they form the foundation of our experience and our preparation for the times that we're in now and the times that are to come.

And so we pray, dear Lord, today, that you would, Lord, put a veil over my face as Moses had to.

But Father, let the people see your glory.

Whether you agreed with him or not, Donald Trump was without question never afraid to change course if he thought he could achieve a better outcome on something.

This was especially the case with personnel.

You may recall that he parted ways with 5 attorneys in his legal team shortly before he faced the record-setting second impeachment trial.

You know, you're just days ahead of a trial and you say to 5 of your attorneys on your legal team, sorry guys, but I think we need to make a change here.

Reportedly, he did this because of what sources refer to as a lack of chemistry between the former president and the lawyers.

I'm not sure exactly what that translates into, but you can use your imagination.

Now, while we might consider this a risky move, I guess it's hard to argue with success.

Now, regardless of our feelings about the former president and his acquittal, I want to remind you that we all face an upcoming trial and that we are all hoping for a verdict of acquittal in the heavenly judgment.

I am so thankful that we have an advocate in heaven whose commitment is unquestionable.

We never need to wonder whether he will do the right thing for us or not.

And in our scripture reading today, we see an effort of the devil to impeach, if you will, God's people.

2 times in the book of Revelation, it tells us that we are called to be kings and priests and in our scripture reading, we see Satan's effort to impeach us from our God-appointed office.

We see the efficacy of Christ, our heavenly attorney, who argues conclusively for our acquittal.

Because it may have been a while since you read the book of Zechariah, I feel like I should say a little bit about it from a general perspective.

Other than the book of Daniel, Zechariah bears the greatest resemblance to the New Testament book of revelation of any other Old Testament book.

Have you read the prophecies of Zechariah recently?

When Zechariah prophesies, he prophesies of visions that are highly symbolic.

In fact, they're so symbolic that an angel has to come to him and interpret them for him.

This is the same way the book of Daniel is and also the book of Revelation.

The prophecies are of unusual scenes, interesting things, not commonplace activities.

And though his visions are not panoramic sweeps of history as are those of Daniel and John, the manner in which Zechariah receives them therefore is quite similar.

In addition, we should understand that Zechariah prophesied just after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity when the children of Israel were taken away from their land and taken captive to the country of Babylon.

Zechariah's prophecies center on the return of the Hebrews to their homeland and the restoration of the temple and the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem.

Zechariah called the true people of God to depart from the place of their exile and return home to this work.

Friends, are we not called to do the same thing?

Haven't we been given the same message to share?

Come out of her, meaning Babylon, come out of her my people.

Note what 1 writer said about the chapter that we're going to consider this morning.

Seventh-day Adventist pioneer Ellen White said, Zechariah's vision of Joshua and the angel applies with peculiar force to the experiences of God's people in the closing up of the great day of atonement.

Now, wouldn't you like to understand more clearly anything that applies with peculiar force to the situation we're in today?

Would you like to understand that more clearly?

I think we ought to take some time this morning and look at this.

As we consider this passage that Wayne read a few moments ago I believe you will be convinced also that these words apply with peculiar force to our circumstances today.

So let's read them through together once again.

I'm sorry, Zechariah chapter 3, verse 1, I'll begin there.

"'Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.

And the Lord said to Satan, The Lord rebuke you, Satan.

The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you.

Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the angel.

Then he answered and spoke to those who stood before him saying, take away the filthy garments from him.

And to him he said, see I have removed your iniquity from you and I will clothe you with rich robes.

And I said, let them put a clean turban on his head.

So they put a clean turban on his head and they put the clothes on him and the angel of the Lord stood by.

Then the angel of the Lord admonished Joshua saying, Thus says the Lord of hosts, if you will walk in my ways and if you will keep my command then you shall also judge my house and likewise have charge of my courts.

I will give you places to walk among these who stand here.

Hear, O Joshua the high priest, you and your companions who sit before you, for they are a wondrous sign.

For behold, I am bringing forth my servant, the branch.

For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, upon the stone are 7 eyes.

Behold, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in 1 day.

In that day, says the Lord of hosts, everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.

Zechariah chapter 3, verses 1 through 10.

And I don't intend to try to do an exhaustive commentary on this passage today.

To state it plainly, that attempt would exhaust me and it certainly would exhaust you.

Besides, there is no exhausting the infinite thoughts of God anyway.

So let me address the text simply by making 5 observations about it.

And the first thing with which we are confronted in this passage is the reality of the great controversy.

Verse 1 tells us that Joshua the high priest is standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan is standing at his right hand to oppose him.

We see Joshua the high priest in direct confrontation in the vision.

This is exactly what the great controversy is all about, friends.

It is the history of our loving Creator whose government is being assailed by an opposition movement.

This opposition movement is being led by a former insider.

We see him here called Satan, which is not a proper name, but rather it is a term which means adversary or enemy.

Yes, if you really want to trace back the origins of the deep state, it began in heaven.

Throughout the Bible, this enemy appears, always attempting to subvert God's plan for the human race.

And I point this out to you as I have in times past because I think this background understanding is most vital for us to consider, even in terms of everyday life and decision making.

If we are ignorant of what the Bible says on this particular point, or if we fail to give it proper consideration, we are bound to go wrong in our theology and in our practical living.

How can we understand the meaning and scope of Christ's atonement that he came to make unless we understand how the need for it arose in the first place?

And this is exactly what makes the nominal churches of today so theologically weak.

This is why their view of the gospel and its impact on our individual lives seems to be so truncated.

I would submit to you that they have failed to take seriously all that the Bible teaches in regard to the reality of the great war in heaven, and its implications for us who live here on earth.

So many churches have accepted the devil's deceptions.

A Window Into the Most Holy

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