A Flying Billboard & the Material Girl: Zechariah Chapter 5

A FLYING BILLBOARD & THE MATERIAL GIRL: Zechariah Chapter 5

Zechariah 5:1-4 NET  Then I turned to look, and there was a flying scroll!  (2)  Someone asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a flying scroll thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.”  (3)  The speaker went on to say, “This is a curse traveling across the whole earth. For example, according to the curse whoever steals will be removed from the community; or on the other hand (according to the curse) whoever swears falsely will suffer the same fate.”  (4)  “I will send it out,” says the LORD who rules over all, “and it will enter the house of the thief and of the person who swears falsely in my name. It will land in the middle of his house and destroy both timber and stones.”

The Flying Scroll

The prophet, Zechariah, is shown a series of visions by an angelic messenger of God.  This particular vision concerns a roll or scroll flying in the air, and is apparently visible and recognizable by the prophet.  The scroll represents a curse applied to the entire earth according to the NET version.  Other versions divide their translation between “land” and “earth”, allowing some commentators to explain this particular curse as only applying to Israel.  It will be my contention this prophecy applies to the 70^th week of Daniel, the entire planet, and will be encapsulated into the Israel/antichrist/Mystery Babylon during the 70^th week of Daniel.

Its dimensions are twenty cubits by ten cubits which is agreeably reckoned to be thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide.  Several exegetes have noted the dimensions of the scroll are the same as the Holy Place in the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:15-28) and the porch of Solomon’s temple (1Kings 6:3).  They claim this represents judgment will begin at the house of God, but that may not be the case.  I prefer to view it as judgment begins with God.

The curse will be against thieves and those who lie when taking an oath to tell the truth.  The NET version says that thieves and liars “will be removed”.  Other versions read:  “driven out”; “banished”; “expelled”; “cut off”; “cleared away”; and the LXX reads “punished”.

On the other hand, the Young’s literal translation renders this phrase as “hath been declared innocent”.  That is an interesting translation and a Hebrew word study will show that it can have this particular definition.

The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary:  nāqāh: A verb meaning to be free, to be clean, to be pure. Originally, this verb meant to be emptied; therefore, its most basic sentiment is to be poured out and can have a negative or positive connotation. In the negative sense, it refers to a city which has been deserted, emptied of people (Isaiah 3:26). In the positive sense, it is used to connote freedom from the obligations of an oath (Genesis 24:8, 24:41); from guilt (Numbers 5:31; Judges 15:3; Jeremiah2:35); and from punishment (Exodus 21:19; Numbers 5:28; 1Samuel 26:9). Regardless of whether the connotation is positive or negative, most occurrences of this verb have a moral or ethical implication.

As can be seen in the above Wordstudy Dictionary it can be used in either a positive or negative sense.  The positive would be freedom from the obligations of an oath, guilt, or punishment.  The Young’s version is the only one I could find that uses the positive connotation, although there may be others.

And he saith unto me, `This is the execration (curse) that is going forth over the face of all the land, for every one who is stealing, on the one side, according to it, hath been declared innocent, and every one who hath sworn, on the other side, according to it, hath been declared innocent.  (Zechariah 5:3 YLT)

Placed into the affairs and politics of today, Young’s version may constitute a more sensible explanation.  The modern day thieves and liars (i.e. corporate leaders, bankers, politicians, ABC commission chiefs, and others) are never fined, prosecuted, or jailed for lying or stealing from the public or each other.  They merely continue business as usual.  The mainstream media, owned by the elites, never report on the stealing and lying.  Most of the public respond with an “oh well” and continue watching Dancing With the Stars.  However, anyone with the audacity to call them thieves and liars are prosecuted, jailed, or killed.

On the other hand, the Lord will definitely require justice.  The thieves and liars will be destroyed (or their lives will be destroyed) according to the symbolic use of the phrase “land in the middle of his house (residence) and destroy both timber and stones”.

Homilist from Biblical Illustrator:  “It shall remain in the midst of his house.” Not only does it rule the house of the sinner, “it remains in the midst of it” like a leprosy, infecting, wasting, consuming, destroying. It abides in the house to curse everything, even the timber and the stones. Guilt, not only, like a ravenous beast, crouches at the door of the sinner, but rather, like a blasting mildew, spreads its baneful influence over the whole dwelling.

Zechariah 5:6-11 NET  I asked, “What is it?” And he replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain that is moving away from here.” Moreover, he said, “This is their ‘eye’ throughout all the earth.”  (7)  Then a round lead cover was raised up, revealing a woman sitting inside the basket.  (8)  He then said, “This woman represents wickedness,” and he pushed her down into the basket and placed the lead cover on top.  (9)  Then I looked again and saw two women going forth with the wind in their wings (they had wings like those of a stork) and they lifted up the basket between the earth and the sky.  (10)  I asked the messenger who was speaking to me, “Where are they taking the basket?”  (11)  He replied, “To build a temple for her in the land of Babylonia. When it is finished, she will be placed there in her own residence.”

The Ephah or Woman in a Basket

Wilfred Hahn stated in his newsletter, Eternal Value Revue, that both visions of Zechariah 5 “concern the judgment of the end-time boom of commercialism”.  Lying and stealing are the prevalent last-days vices of choice for the elite.  Stealing has gotten quite sophisticated in modern times with the banks, Federal Reserve, Bank of International Settlements, drug companies, and many other organizations.  It has even been said that inflation is the largest form of stealing.  Several years ago, I read that a loaf of bread at one time could be purchased for one silver dime and today the value of silver in a silver dime can still purchase a loaf of bread.  Corporate executives steal from shareholders.  Stealing and false swearing are the grand epidemic of the one world government restructuring process and it is also affecting all classes of people, not just the elite.  This prophecy describes last-days worldwide materialism and commercialism in the form of idolatry.  With the possible start of WWIII to produce the antichrist beast all this commercialism will find its headquarters in Mystery, Babylon, although it will continue to be worldwide, in my opinion.

Zechariah’s flying scroll prophesy views the world as infested with thieves and liars with the elite getting a free pass.

In verse 6 the NET reads “This is their eye throughout all the earth”.  The NET maintains that “eye” in this verse is parallel with “eye” in Zechariah 4:10.  As the knowledge of God is pervasive over the earth, the ephah’s evil is pervasive over the earth in like manner.  According to a Hebrew dictionary, the word is probably a literal word for “eye”, however the LXX reads “iniquity”.  Other versions read:  “resemblance”; “sins”; “form”; “aspect”; and “appearance”. 

BDB Definition:  ‛ayin  1) eye 1a) eye 1a1) of physical eye 1a2) as showing mental qualities  1a3) of mental and spiritual faculties (figuratively) 2) spring, fountain

A metallic lead cover is raised from the top of the ephah and a woman representing wickedness is revealed.  It would therefore to prudent to state that translations such as iniquity and sins would be appropriate and the wicked woman inside could be the resemblance, form, aspect, and appearance of Mystery Babylon during the 70^th week of Daniel.  I personally consider Mystery Babylon to be Jerusalem during the last 3 ½ years of the last seven years.  Jerusalem will have a working temple with all its trappings and tools bought from the merchants of the world and the headquarters of the antichrist beast will be there as well.  For a detailed account go to the following link:    The Whore on the Beast

The ephah encased woman is pushed back down into the basket and the lead covering is secured at the top.  Two women with large wings similar to a stork lift the basket and begin carrying it to Shinar for its final resting place.  Although some versions read “the land of Babylonia”, the original Hebrew word literally means “Shinar” or “plain of Shinar”.  I believe it is a literal Shinar in Iraq and not the United States of Shinar as some exegetes claim.  Again, it is my opinion this woman of wickedness represents Mystery Babylon and at the return of Christ, the thievery, lying, and wickedness of the world will be taken back to their origin to the land of Nimrod.  Some exegetes claim this is a prophecy of the rebuilding of Babylon as a modern day industrial city.  That would take a long period of time and the depleted uranium left in the area by the military would be a huge hindrance.

There is some controversy concerning the two women with wings like a stork.  Are they angels of God?  Some say no, because angels of God are always male and not female.   Also, the stork is an unclean bird so they must be demonic.  Others say the wings are merely large like a stork, because large wings would be necessary to carry the lead weighted basket.  If indeed, they are angels of God, it would be the only instance of female angels in the scripture.  However, it may be that angels can take any form they choose.

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Angels and the Divine Council: Part 3