Zechariah foretells a day when Jesus Christ will reign as King of kings from Jerusalem.
“…And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.” (14:21)
The Canaanites were descendants of Noah’s grandson Canaan. (Genesis 9:22)
Ham and his son received a curse for the sin against Noah while he was drunk and naked.
They occupied the land comprised today of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Israel.
God commanded Abraham to go to Canaan, making a Covenant for the land with him.
Isaac and Jacob were instructed not to marry a Canaanite woman.
It was Joshua’s job to rid the land of Canaan and to possess it as the land promised by covenant to Abraham. The land was full of giants when the 12 spies of Moses did their reconnaissance.
The Canaanites worshipped Baal and Asherah. They attributed the fertility of their land to the god Baal.
Baal worshippers offered sheep, bulls, pigs, and children to gain favor and prosperity.
Asherah was worshipped in ritual sex. She was believed to the mother of Baal and also his mistress. The Canaanites believed the sexual union of Baal and Asherah produced fertility, so they joined in immoral sex to cause their gods to join also; ensuring good harvests. The priests and the worshippers all joined in various unions as worship of Baal and Asherah.
The Canaanites worshipped Baal and Asherah also through bestiality, homosexuality, incest, producing unwanted pregnancies, and offering the babies alive into the arms of Baal as sacrifices.
Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for these same sins. Remember Lot’s daughters? They were influenced by Baal and Asherah to seduce their drunken father.
Zeus took Baal’s place in the New Testament. Artemis took the place of Asherah. Paul had to deal with these false gods or demons as he preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There were more than a thousand prostitutes at the temple in Corinth when Paul arrived there.
Today child sacrifice continues via abortion.
Almost 60 million babies have been aborted in the USA since 1973, and almost 1.5 billion worldwide since 1980. Sexual immorality permeates the media, television shows, music, clubs, gyms, work, school, stores, movies, and the internet. Incest is constantly in the news with relatives sexually abusing children. These abused children are more likely to turn to prostitution and crime. Authority figures are constantly in the news today for having sex with young boys and girls.
Homosexuality, bestiality, Polyamory, Polygamy, transgenderism, are all being forced upon society in the name of Tolerance. Young children are taught by teachers to explore their sense of gender identity and sexual preferences.
Baal and Asherah worship hasn’t gone away, they have just assumed different names. Zeus and Artemis are now hidden in New Age “moral relativism” or “situational ethics.”
Can you see why God hated the Canaanites? Can you see why God is going to judge America and this world? Can you see why God says the temples of the Holy Spirit should not be joined to temples who believe in other gods? Can you see why pastors should separate the platform for those who are fully dedicated to God? Can you see why family members become estranged over ungodly lifestyles? Can you see why the home should be clean from all that displeases God?
God created beauty and harmony in purity and holiness.
The devil sowed tares among the wheat. Disorder, decay, destruction, death are all opposite of God’s plan for mankind.
Think of the awe you experience when you gaze at the innumerable stars of the universe; the wonder, the reverence, the astonishment you feel when looking out over the endless ocean: respect is demanded: worship rises from the heart to the Creator of it all.
Mankind has defiled that which is holy, even our bodies as the temples of the Holy Spirit.
Zechariah says when Christ arrives to rule this earth for 1000 years from Jerusalem, there will be no more Canaanites making merchandise of His Temple, or of His earth, or of His people. The devil and all of his false gods will be bound for one thousand years as Jesus shows the world how to govern justly, in holiness.
All of the turmoil in the Middle East today, involving all of the superpowers of this world, is the result of the devil trying to beat Jesus to world rulership via his antichrist. Jesus wins!
Just as God judged the Canaanites for Joshua to fulfill His covenant with Abraham, He will also judge all nations who practice the pagan worship rituals of Baal and Asherah shortly. His covenant with Abraham and Israel is still valid and will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ for 1000 years before God creates a New Heaven and a New Earth.
Zechariah also foretells this judgment as a Nuclear one.
A Nuclear bomb has the capability of dissolving the flesh right off the bones.
“Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth.” (14:12)
John in Revelation foretells that 50% of the population of the earth will die during the last seven years of time.
When Jesus reigns in Jerusalem:
- Israel will turn to their Lord as their God
- the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
- the children will play with wild animals
- the swords will be beaten into plowshares
- all will be peace, love, joy, and harmonious with Christ as King of all kings.
Three Questions:
- “Will you be looking for Him when He returns?”
- “Will you be among those who acknowledge Him as your Lord and God?”
- “Will your sins be repented of and covered by His atoning Blood?”
