Zechariah starred in a one-man play...about as far "off Broadway" as you could get! Prophets were sometimes known to use visual aids, but Zechariah's play had props, costumes...and 2 acts. It was a drama about good and bad shepherds, and rebellious sheep. In one performance only, God was spelling out for Israel exactly what was going to happen to them, and why. We're in Zechariah 11, but we'll start with a quick summary of chapter 10. Here's Pastor Jim with a theatrical Right Start.

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Are the "times of the Gentiles" drawing to a close? Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would be "trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." And those "times" have stretched to a couple of thousand years, so far. But is this phase of God's plan almost complete? We've been studying Zechariah; today Pastor Jim will "zoom out," to get a broader prophetic picture. In fact we'll start off in the New Testament - Luke, chapter 21 - for today's Right Start.

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Gentiles in the Kingdom of God? Oh, my! Paul should have given a "trigger warning" when he told first-century Jews that God was offering reconciliation even to the Gentiles. As soon as he said that, he needed a "safe space." But Zechariah had promised this, 500 years earlier. In fact, several Hebrew prophets had made it clear that God's plan would bring salvation to all nations and races. Today we open Zechariah, chapter 9, and find some prophecies that have already been fulfilled in astounding detail. Here's Pastor Jim.

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It's much easier to give God some repetitious religious ritual, than to give Him our will! You'll remember that a prophet had told the first king of Israel, "to obey is better than sacrifice," but many kings and many catastrophes had passed into history when Zechariah had to relay the same message - again. Some pious folk had brought a question to the religious elite, and God answered it.

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Let's shed some more light...on lampstands.Our new message taken from the book of Zechariah will revisit chapter 4 - just briefly - to talk about the imagery of lampstands. If you remember John's vision of Jesus walking among the 7 golden lampstands in Revelation, you know they're important prophetic symbols. Then we'll move on to the middle of chapter 6, to talk about what Zechariah heard, after he stopped seeing visions.

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Zechariah may have asked a dumb question, but I'm glad he did! We all know what a menorah looks like: it's that 7-branched oil lamp used in the temple. So Zechariah, the priest, might have known one when he saw one. But in his fourth vision he saw a very weird lampstand connected to a bowl connected to olive trees, and he had to ask the angel, "What are these, my lord?" Yes, I'd like to know that, too. What do these represent? Here's Pastor Jim to show us the answer, from Zechariah, chapter 4.

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A good way to learn difficult concepts is through conversation. Great teachers of the past used the question-and-answer format or conversation to help students learn - think of a catechism, or Plato's dialogues. Well, God used this method of instruction with Zechariah, as we'll see today. The prophet didn't understand everything he was seeing, but what he realized, he remembered. And this lesson pertains to us, so stay sharp!

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"Return to Me, that I may return to you." That cry opens the prophecy of Zechariah, and we can hear the longing in the heart of God for restored fellowship with His people. If the book of Isaiah reads like a Gospel, then Zechariah is the Old Testament equivalent of Revelation. It's a book that Pastor Jim would like us all to know better, especially in these last days. So today we begin a new series that will take us through that prophetic book.

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