{"id":2207,"date":"2021-06-12T16:24:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-12T21:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/?page_id=2207"},"modified":"2021-07-30T13:51:16","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T18:51:16","slug":"zechariah-chapter-12","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/zechariah-chapter-12\/","title":{"rendered":"Zechariah Chapter 12"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h1 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">James Trimm&#8217;s Nazarene Commentary on Zechariah Chapter 12<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pierced-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2953\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pierced-2.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pierced-2-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><em>The Last Battle and Return of Messiah<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color:#ff000d\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>12:1-2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1 The burden of the word of YHWH, concerning Yisra\u2019el. The saying of YHWH, who stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him:<br>2 Behold, I will make Yerushalayim a cup of staggering unto all the peoples round about, and upon Y\u2019hudah also shall it fall, to be in the siege against Yerushalayim.<br>(Zech. 12:1-2 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This prophecy relates to the last battle in which the gentile armies shall surround Jerusalem and bring it under siege (see Zech. 14:2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the Targum Jonathan and Rashi, At this battle, some of the House of Judah (Jews) will be forced by the gentile armies to fight against Jerusalem. Rashi writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>and <\/em><\/strong><em><strong><strong>upon Y\u2019hudah<\/strong>:<\/strong> the nations that will be in siege against Jerusalem will impose upon Judah, for the house of David will be inside and the gentiles will besiege them. And also, the children of Judah will come, against their will, to besiege Jerusalem. So did Targum Jonathan render it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#ff0015\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:3-4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Yerushalayim a stone of burden for all the peoples. All that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded: and all the nations of the earth, shall be gathered together against it.<br>4 In that day, says YHWH, I will smite every horse with bewilderment, and his rider with madness. And I will open My eyes upon the House of Y\u2019hudah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.<br>(Zech 12:3-4 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rashi interprets that YHWH will divinely protect those of the House of Judah who have been forced to fight against Jerusalem.  He writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>I will smite every horse:<\/strong> of those gathered there with bewilderment and blindness, and their riders with madness (Shem Ephraim). But upon the [members of the] house of Judah, who are among those gathered against their will, I will open My eyes to protect them from this plague.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#f70021\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5 And the chiefs of Y\u2019hudah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Yerushalayim are my strength, through YHWH Tzva\u2019ot, their Elohim.<br>(Zech. 12:5 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rashi says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>And the chiefs of Y\u2019hudah shall say in their heart<\/strong>: when they see that the others who were gathered are plagued with this plague, and they are saved.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>The inhabitants of Yerushalayim are my strength<\/strong>, etc.: The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who know that we came upon them against our will, strengthened my help with their prayer by the Lord, their God.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#f7001d\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>6 In that day, will I make the chiefs of Y\u2019hudah like a pan of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire among sheaves. And they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Yerushalayim shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Yerushalayim.<br>(Zech. 12:6 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seeing this divine protection, the House of Judah will turn on the gentile armies that had forced them to fight against Jerusalem.  As Rashi writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>In that day, will I make the chiefs of Y\u2019hudah<\/strong>: They will return and wage war with those who brought them there.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7 YHWH also shall save the tents of Y\u2019hudah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, be not magnified above Y\u2019hudah.<br>(Zech. 12:7 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rashi explains:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>YHWH also shall save the tents of Y\u2019hudah first<\/strong>, Before the inhabitants of Jerusalem come out of the city, they shall have a salvation &#8211; to return to their tents and to their homes &#8211; and afterwards the salvation shall come to the inhabitants of the city. That is the salvation concerning which it is stated (14:3): \u201cAnd the Lord shall go forth and wage war.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>be not magnified<\/strong>, etc., shall not increase: to boast over them and to say, \u201c You were saved only because of us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#a3000d\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>8 In that day shall YHWH defend the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and he that stumbles among them at that day, shall be as David. And the house of David shall be as a godlike being&#8211;as the angel of YHWH before them.<br>(Zech. 12:8 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>and he that stumbles among them at that day, shall be as David.<\/strong>  They will receive a great revelation (see 12:10) The Zohar says of this verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Said.R. Judah: \u2018Ah, had I come here only in order to hear these mystic revelations, it would have sufficed! It is.also written:<strong> \u201cAnd he that stumbled among them on that day shall be as David\u201d<\/strong> (Zech. Xll, 8). \u201cAs David\u201d,.who said: \u201cIn my poverty I have prepared for the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold\u2026\u201d; \u201cas.David\u201d, who said of himself: \u201cFor I am poor and needy\u201d (Ps. LXXXVI, I); yea, he called himself thus, who.was king above all other earthly kings!\u2019<br>(Zohar 2:122a)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>godlike being<\/strong> &#8211; The Hebrew is literally \u05db\u05b5\u05bc\u05bd\u05d0\u05dc\u05b9\u05d4\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05dd  &#8220;like Elohim&#8221; which Targum Jonathan renders \u05db\u05bc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b7\u05d1\u05b0\u05e8\u05b0\u05d1\u05b4\u05d9\u05df &#8220;like great ones&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#ff010e\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:9<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Yerushalayim.<br>(Zech. 12:9 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does this mean &#8220;seek&#8221;?  The Talmud says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>R. Alexandri: What is the meaning of the verse, And it shall come to pass on that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations (Zech. 12:9)\u2014 \u2018seek\u2019 among whom? What the Holy One, blessed be He, says is, I will seek their records:17 if they have any meritorious deeds to their credit, I will redeem them, but if not, I will destroy them.<br>(b.Avodah Zarah 4a)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is certainly in keeping with the events recorded in Zechariah 13:4-6 where the Messiah interrogates a false prophet upon his return.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#fd0015\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And I will pour upon the house of David,<br>and upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim,<br>the spirit of grace and of supplication.<br>And they shall look unto Me, whom they pierced through,<br>and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son:<br>and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness<br>for his firstborn.<br>(Zech. 12:10 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although this passage is a Messianic prophecy of the crucifixion of Messiah, it does so as a sort of &#8220;flashback&#8221; in a prophecy about the return of the Messiah.  In fact, both Matthew (Matt. 24:30) and Revelation (Rev. 1:7) connect this passage (Zech. 12:10-14) with the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven in Daniel 7:13-14.  This coming of the Messiah in Zechariah 12 will lead into the Messianic judgement of purification and refinement in Zechariah 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a prayer breakfast in Jerusalem in the 1980&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/W._A._Criswell\">Reverend W.A. Criswell<\/a> once asked <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shlomo_Goren\">Rabbi Shlomo Goren<\/a>, &#8220;What are you going to do when the Messiah comes and he is Jesus?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To which Rabbi Goren responded &#8220;I would have no problem with that, what are you going to do when Yeshua returns and he is an Orthodox Jew?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This prophecy is telling us that at the second coming of Messiah, many Jewish people who had not accepted him, seeing that Yeshua is the Messiah, will accept him in that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the Talmud Rabbi Dosa (who lived around 250 CE) teaches regarding Zech. 12:10:<br><br><em>What is the cause of the mourning [of Zech. 12:12]\u2013\u2026<\/em><br><em>It is well according to him who explains that<\/em><br><em>the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph,<\/em><br><em>since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse:<\/em><br><em>And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced,<\/em><br><em>And they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his<\/em><br><em>only son. (Zech. 12:10)<\/em><br><em>(b.Sukkot 52a)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(See comments to 12:11-14 for more on this passage of Talmud in the overall context of Zech 12:10-14)<br><br>In fact the Jerusalem Targum to Zechariah also identifies this one being pierced in Zechariah 12:10 as the \u201cMessiah ben Ephraim\u201d.<br><br>Lets look at a key phrase from this verse in the Hebrew:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\"><br>\u05d5\u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 \u05d0\u05ea \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05d3\u05e7\u05e8\u05d5<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><br>\u201cAnd they shall look toward me whom they pierced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pierced.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2951\" srcset=\"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pierced.jpg 300w, http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/pierced-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>have pierced<br>they<\/td><td>whom<\/td><td>&lt;\u2014\u2013<\/td><td>toward<br>me<\/td><td>And<br>shall look<br>they<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u05d3\u05e7\u05e8\u05d5<\/td><td>\u05d0\u05e9\u05e8<\/td><td>\u05d0\u05ea<\/td><td>\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9<\/td><td>\u05d5\u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Although many attempts have been made to translate this passage in other ways, the Hebrew is obvious. The article \u05d0\u05ea points to the next term \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05d3\u05e7\u05e8\u05d5 \u201cwhom they have pierced\u201d as receiving the action of the verb \u05d5\u05d4\u05d1\u05d9\u05d8\u05d5 \u201cand they shall look\u201d while the preposition \u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 must be understood \u201ctoward me\u201d as the final \u05d9 indicates the first person \u201cme\u201d.<br>Now lets look at how this was translated in the Aramaic Peshitta Tanak:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>whom<br>have pierced<br>they<\/td><td>at<br>him<\/td><td>toward me<\/td><td>shall look they<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u05d3\u05d3\u05e7\u05e8\u05d5<\/td><td>\u05d1\u05de\u05df<\/td><td>\u05dc\u05d5\u05ea\u05d9<\/td><td>\u05d3\u05e0\u05d7\u05d5\u05e8\u05d5\u05df<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that the Aramaic translation adds the phrase \u201cat him\u201d to the passage.\u00a0 This is because the Aramaic translator was attempting to translate the Hebrew word for word into Aramaic.\u00a0 In his quest for such a word for word translation, he attempted to translate the untranslatable Hebrew word\u00a0\u05d0\u05ea with \u201cat him\u201d\u00a0\u05d1\u05de\u05df so as to convey the idea of a pointer to \u201cwhom they pierced\u201d as the direct object.\u00a0 The Hebrew word\u00a0\u05d0\u05ea is a preposition which is unique to Hebrew and which points to the next word or phrase as the direct object receiving the action of the verb.\u00a0 In this case the word indicates that the \u201dwhom they pierced\u201d is receiving the action of\u00a0 \u201dand they shall look toward me\u201d.\u00a0 The Aramaic translator has added \u201dat him\u201d so at to connect \u201dwhom they pierced\u201d with \u201dthey shall look toward me\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now lets look at how this appears as quoted  in Yochanan 19:37 in the Peshitta Aramaic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>whom have pierced they<\/td><td>at him<\/td><td>shall look they<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u05d3\u05d3\u05e7\u05e8\u05d5<\/td><td>\u05d1\u05de\u05df<\/td><td>\u05d3\u05e0\u05d7\u05d5\u05e8\u05d5\u05df<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Note that the Aramaic as it appears in Jn. 19:37 differs from the Peshitta Aramaic of Zech. 12:10 only by one word.&nbsp; This Aramaic reading omits the phrase \u201dtoward me\u201d and retains only \u201dat him\u201d.&nbsp; Either Yochanan or the scribe of the Aramaic text of Zech 12:10 which served as his source text, seems to have found the phrase \u201ctoward me at him\u201d to be redundant and thus omitted the phrase \u201dtoward me\u201d.&nbsp; This shift from \u201ctoward me\u201d to \u201cat him\u201d could only have occurred in the Aramaic text of Yochanan 19:37 and been translated into the Greek text of John 19:37.&nbsp; Thus pointing to the <em><strong>Aramaic origin of the book of Yochanan<\/strong><\/em> and explaining the shift in the reading of this verse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now if we look at Zech. 12:10 in context we will see that the speaker here is YHWH:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&nbsp;The saying of YHWH concerning Israel\u2026<\/em><br><em>I [YHWH] will seek to destroy all of the nations<\/em><br><em>that come against Jerusalem.<\/em><br><em>And I will pour upon the house of David<\/em><br><em>And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,<\/em><br><em>The Spirit of grace and of supplication;<\/em><br><em>And they shall look toward me whom they pierced<\/em><br><em>And they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son\u2026<\/em><br><em>(Zech. 12:1, 9-10)<\/em><br><br>So we see that:<br><br>1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \u201cMe\u201d the speaker is YHWH.<br>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; YHWH (\u201cMe\u201d) is being looked upon.<br>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The one receiving the action of being pierced is the \u201cMe\u201d being looked upon.<br>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Therefore the one being pierced here is YHWH.<br><br>Many translations have bent over backwards to try to avoid this reading.&nbsp; For example the JPS (1917) text has:<br><br><em>\u201cAnd they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through.\u201d<\/em><br><br>And the Hebrew Publishing Company 1916 text has:<br><br><em>\u201cand they shall look unto me for every one whom they have pierced\u201d<\/em><br><br>As we have said above the Hebrew word ET&nbsp;\u05d0\u05ea is an untranslatable Hebrew preposition which points to the next word or phrase as the direct object which receives the action.&nbsp; While often Hebrew is very ambiguous, here is could not be more specific in saying that the one being pierced is the one being looked upon.&nbsp; These Rabbinic versions are aimed at making the one looked upon be YHWH and the one being pierced as being someone else.&nbsp; Another translation that mistranslates Zech. 12:10 is the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses \u201c<em>New World Translation<\/em>\u201d which reads:<br><br><em>and they will certainly look to the One<\/em><br><em>whom they pierced through<\/em><br><br>These translators do not have the luxury of making the one \u201clooked upon\u201d and the one \u201cpierced\u201d be different because Yochanan 19:37 makes it clear that they are the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their only \u201cway out\u201d has been to wrongly translate&nbsp;\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 \u201dtoward me\u201d as \u201cto the One\u201d.&nbsp; This translation is intended to avoid the problem presented to Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses (who reject the idea that Messiah was YHWH incarnate) by a text that plainly says that the \u201cMe\u201d (YHWH) is being both looked upon and pierced.&nbsp; Since Yochanan identifies the one pierced as well as the one looked upon as Yeshua, the JW\u2019s must find some way to prevent this from being YHWH.&nbsp;&nbsp; They do so by mistranslating&nbsp;\u05d0\u05dc\u05d9 as \u201cto the One\u201d.&nbsp; In reality the&nbsp;\u05d0\u05dc means \u201ctoward\u201d and the \u05d9 suffix is the first person indicator.&nbsp; This \u05d9 cannot mean simply \u201cthe One\u201d but <strong><em>must<\/em><\/strong> mean \u201c<strong>Me<\/strong>\u201d.&nbsp; This is clear to any first year Hebrew student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is especially interesting is that those who wish to avoid the clear meaning of Zech. 12:10 cannot agree together on what it is supposed to say instead. This is because they are all trying to make it say something other than what the Hebrew text actually does say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"color:#fd0418\" class=\"has-inline-color\">12:11-14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>11 In that day shall there be a great mourning in Yerushalayim, as the mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of Megiddon.<br>12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart: the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Natan apart, and their wives apart;<br>13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart;<br>14 All the families that remain: every family apart, and their wives apart.<br>(Zech. 12:11-14 HRV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both Matthew (Matt. 24:30) and Revelation (Rev. 1:7) connect this passage (Zech. 12:10-14) with the coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven in Daniel 7:13-14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Talmud records that there was a debate between Rabbi Dosa and other Rabbis concerning the meaning of Zechariah 12:10.&nbsp; The Talmud says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>What is the cause of the mourning [mentioned in Zech 12:12]?<\/em><br><em>R. Dosa and the Rabbis differ on the point.<\/em><br><em>One [Rabbi Dosa] explained, The cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph,<\/em><br><em>and the other [the Rabbis] explained, The cause is the slaying of the Evil Inclination.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It is well according to him who explains that the cause is the slaying of Messiah the son of Joseph, since that well agrees with the Scriptural verse, And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son (Zech. 12:10).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>But according to him who explains the cause to be the slaying of the Yetzer Ra (Evil Inclination), is this [it may be objected] an occasion for mourning? Is it not rather an occasion for rejoicing? Why then should they weep? \u2014 [The explanation is] as R. Judah expounded: In the time to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring the Evil Inclination and slay it in the presence of the righteous and the wicked. To the righteous it will have the appearance of a towering hill, and to the wicked it will have the appearance of a hair thread. Both the former and the latter will weep; the righteous will weep saying, \u2018How were we able to overcome such a towering hill!\u2019 The wicked also will weep saying, \u2018How is it that we were unable to conquer this hair thread!\u2019 And the Holy One, blessed be He, will also marvel together with them, as it is said, Thus says the Lord of Hosts, If it be marvelous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in those days, it shall also be marvelous in My eyes.<\/em><br><em>(Sukkah 52a)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, when we understand the how the destruction of the Yetzer Ra is achieved, we will see that there is in reality no conflict between the view of Rabbi Dosa (not only Rabbi Dosa, but the Targum Jonathan to Zech. 12:10 which agrees with Dosa&#8217;s view) and the view of the Rabbis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman) (1194-1270 C.E.) wrote one of the most authoritative Torah commentaries in Rabbinic Judaism. In his commentary to Deut. 29:6 he tells us about the destruction of the Yetzer Ra:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>And YHWH your Elohim will circumcise your heart (Deut. 30:6) It is this which the Rabbis have said, &#8220;If someone comes to purify himself, they assist him&#8221; [from on High]. The verse assures you that you will return to Him with all your heart and He will help you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This following subject is very apparent from Scripture: Since the time of Creation, man has had the power to do as he pleased, to be righteous or wicked. This [grant of free will] applies likewise to the entire Torah period, so that people can gain merit upon choosing the good and punishment for preferring evil. But in the days of the Messiah, the choice of their [genuine] good will be natural; the heart will not desire the improper and it will have no craving whatever for it. This is the &#8220;circumcision&#8221; mentioned here, for lust and desire are the &#8220;foreskin&#8221; of the heart, and circumcision of the heart means that it will not covet or desire evil.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Man will return at that time to what he was before the sin of Adam, when by his nature he did what should properly be done, and there were no conflicting desires in his will, as I have explained in Seder Bereshit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>It is this which Scripture states in [the Book of] Jeremiah 31:30], Behold, the days come, says YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ..etc. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Eternal, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This is a reference to the annulment of the Yetzer Ra (evil inclination) and to the natural performance by the heart of its proper function. Therefore Jeremiah said further, and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My People; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying: &#8216;Know YHWH; &#8216;for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Now, it is known that the imagination of man&#8217;s heart is evil from his youth and it is necessary to instruct them, but at that time it will not be necessary to instruct them [to avoid evil] for their Yetzer Ra (evil inclination) will then be completely abolished. And so it is declared by Ezekiel, A new heart will I also give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will cause you to walk in My statutes . (Ezekiel 36:26)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The new heart alludes to man&#8217;s nature, and the [new] spirit to the desire and will. It is this which our Rabbis have said : &#8220;And the years draw nigh, when you shall say: I have no pleasure in them; these are the days of the Messiah, as they will offer opportunity neither for merit nor for guilt,&#8221; for in the days of the Messiah there will be no [evil] desire in man but he will naturally perform the proper deeds and therefore there will be neither merit nor guilt in them, for merit and guilt are dependent upon desire.<\/em><br><em>(Ramban on Deut. 29:6)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice that in describing the destruction of the Yetzer Ra, Ramban says that the Yetzer Ra is destroyed in the \u201cdays of Messiah\u201d.&nbsp; This phrase \u201cdays of the Messiah\u201d is a reference to the teaching of the school of Elijah the prophet as recorded in the Talmud:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years are the <strong>days of Messiah<\/strong>, but through our many iniquities all these years have been lost&#8230;.<\/em><br><em>Rab said: All the predestined dates have passed, and the matter [now] depends only on repentance and good deeds.<\/em><br><em>(b.San. 97a-97b)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This passage of Talmud tells us that the school of the prophet Elijah taught that the ages of this world could be broken down into three ages (each of about 2,000 years).&nbsp; 2,000 years of chaos, 2,000 years of Torah and 2,000 years of the days of Messiah.&nbsp; This would place Messiah&#8217;s coming right around the first century.&nbsp; (The Talmud then continues through page 99a trying to explain why Messiah did not come in the first century after all.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is it possible that Rabbi Dosa and the Rabbis are <em><strong>both<\/strong><\/em> right?&nbsp; Could it be that Zechariah 12:10 speaks both of the death of Messiah, and through his death, the destruction of the Yetzer Ra as well?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James Trimm&#8217;s Nazarene Commentary on Zechariah Chapter 12 The Last Battle and Return of Messiah 12:1-2 1 The burden of the word of YHWH, concerning Yisra\u2019el. The saying of YHWH, who stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him:2 Behold, I will make Yerushalayim &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/zechariah-chapter-12\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Zechariah Chapter 12&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2207","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Zechariah Chapter 12 - NazareneSpace Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/nazarenespace.com\/blog\/zechariah-chapter-12\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zechariah Chapter 12 - NazareneSpace Blog\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Trimm&#8217;s Nazarene Commentary on Zechariah Chapter 12 The Last Battle and Return of Messiah 12:1-2 1 The burden of the word of YHWH, concerning Yisra\u2019el. 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