Hey there David,
The Bible explicitly states
agreed that Zechariah 12:10 was fulfilled when Christ was crucified:
Wrong. There is plenty of evidence to suggest there is a lot more in the future that has to happen. When you examine every verse in Zechariah 12 there is prophecy that has not been fulfilled. I do not know when the following happened Ezek 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. John 19:36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. You quote this verse and do not say where this quotation has come from in the Old Testament. When you find the relevant scripture, are you going to agree prophecy was fulfilled? 37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced [Zechariah 12:10].
'They pierced' is in the sense of a past event. It is not in the immediate sense at the time they looked at Jesus hanging on the tree who had been pierced a few hours before. Like Thomas who would not believe until he had seen Jesus for himself. It was at that time of Thomas seeing, Jesus said to him, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.The situation has to arise for the Jews to be overthrown one final time. It is when Jesus is sent back to save them from annihilation, that they will recognize him when he returns. They will then see the error of their ways and regret what they (as a nation) had done in the past. This is the context in which Zech 12:10 should be considered.
Later in your post you quote from 2 Corinthians, but we learn the following from 2 Cor. 3:13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done away in Christ. If you believe in Christ, then you do not have the veil over your eyes as secular Israel has or those who do not belong to the spiritual household of faith, represented by spiritual Israel
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. The spiritual veil over secular Israel remains in place until this day (even this very day, today). Only when Jesus returns will the veil be taken away when they realize it was Jesus they crucified 2,000 years ago.
Other prophecies in Zechariah were also fulfilled:
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.This is descriptive of the way Jesus entered Jerusalem and can be seen as a part fulfillment of the total prophecy of Zechariah and identifies this as Jesus. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. 12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
And another:
Now you are jumping around in Zechariah. Just remember that we have two oracles here.
1. The first oracle: Zec 9:1–11:17
2. The second oracle: Zec 12:1–14:21
Please keep in mind that these two oracles involve the nations, Israel, and Messiah's kingdom.Zechariah 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. 8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
Now look at the CONTEXT of these fulfilled prophecies - they all connect the coming of Christ with a violent overthrow of Jerusalem.
I agree with this first part And they are directly connected with the formation of the CHURCH to whom God says "It is my people." All these verses are confirmed by Paul who applied the OT prophecies (which you misapply to future carnal Israel) to the CHURCH:
This should be debated before you accuse me of misapplying this prophecy. I am giving reasons why these prophecies include secular Israel. We have both a spiritual Israel and a secular Israel to consider. God is using secular Israel as His witnesses in the world as part of God working in all the nations. Secular Israel does not represent all the saved people who make up Christ’s church and spiritual Israel.2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.But this applies to all believers of whom you are not one. I am arguing with a disbeliever. Never mind, I shall continue to give an alternative explanation so that you might give my explanations some serious thought and above all, let other visitors to these posts not get the impression that your understanding is the only one to consider. The truth will win in the end.
This is confirms that Ezekiel 37 is about Pentecost and the CHURCH which is the true Temple of God:
Ezekiel 37:24 And David my servant [a type fulfilled in Christ] shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd [Christ]: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with themThis is talking a covenant of peace and in future with secular Israel, in which it speaks of David who at the present time is dead the same as in Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. In keeping with God’s promises David has to be resurrected. That is a future event.
Where is the peace with Israel at present? ; it shall be an everlasting covenant [The New Covenant Where did you get the conclusion the peace covenant is the same as the covenant in the blood of Jesus replacing the old Mosaic law and animal sacrifices? The peace covenant spoken of here in Zechariah is concerning secular Israel and making peace in the future. Eventually, all secular Israel will be converted to the truth the same as all nations will be taught under Christ’s rule] with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
The idea of a future carnal temple of God is entirely contrary to everything in the New Testament.
In the future Kingdom of God, I agree that temples (like that destroyed in AD 70) will be a thing of the past. God will be 'all and in all' and dwell with man and not be confined in the minds of men to a temple. God does not dwell in temples. Even verse 27 you have quoted says; My tabernacle also shall be with them. What do you understand this tabernacle to be? Even if you say that Christ represents the tabernacle of God, Christ will be a physical reality on earth when he returns which is future.All the best,
Richard
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