Jonah

The book of Jonah. What is it all about? Is it simply the story of a man who was swallowed by a whale? And, is it saying Jonah was literally swallowed by a whale?

A few weeks ago I turned on the radio and caught the tail end of a man preaching through the book of Jonah. He said the book was about idols in our hearts. Really? I didn’t hear him again so I don’t know how he explained that, but it did get me to thinking. Naturally, I wanted to share my thoughts here.

First, I accept Jonah at face value. I believe there was really a man named Jonah, although his name was really Yonah (there is no ‘J’ in Hebrew). He was a prophet who is also mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25. I believe this is a book about a real man and that the events described in the book happened just as it says.

With that out of the way, what is the point of the book? There is a point or purpose for the book, even though there are other wonderful and powerful truths contained in it. I want to consider these truths first, then explain the purpose of the book.

The Name
1:1  Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
When LORD is in the upper case or all caps, it is the personal name of God: YHWH, which many pronounce Yahweh.+  It is interesting to follow along and see when YHWH is used and by whom.

Chapter 1 is the account of Jonah’s call and his attempt to flee.
- In verses 1-4 he is called and commissioned by Yahweh to go to Nineveh. Instead, he gets on a ship seeking to flee from the presence of Yahweh, Who then sent out a great wind and caused a storm that threatened the ship.
- In 5-7 his shipmates call upon their various gods for help; god(s) is Elohim, not YHWH.
- In 8-16 Jonah explains who he is, why he is on board, what God he serves, and how they can stop the storm. In this passage we find the shipmates calling on Yahweh for help and safety, and when throwing Jonah out of the ship results in calm seas, they feared Yahweh with a great fear and offered sacrifice to Him.

It is YHWH again in Jonah’s prayer in ch 2. Then when he is in Nineveh (ch 3), the Ninevites refer to Him as Elohim (God). Then it is back to YHWH in ch 4.

In other words, he is YHWH (Yahweh) only to His covenant people.

The God who pursues
3  But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Jonah is called and sent to Nineveh but he does the exact opposite and heads to Tarshish! Why? This will be explained a little later when we get to the purpose of the book. Be that as it may, God doesn’t let him go, and this is a powerful truth: You can run, but you cannot hide! Jonah ran, but God came after him. There is great comfort in this, even though the storm and the belly of the fish was not pleasant. The comfort is this: God wants to restore us to Himself when we fall into sin, and He will pursue us.

The whale
1:17  Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
This of course is what everyone thinks of when they hear about Jonah, as if this was the theme and purpose of the book. I tell you, it is not. Obviously, this is a great miracle, but the book does not dwell on it.
Was this a whale or what? Well, the Hebrew says fish. English translations of the Hebrew say fish. The Tanakh (Jewish translation) says fish. The Peshitta (the Authorized Bible of the Church of the East; Syrian), says fish. The Latin says fish (piscem). The Septuagint (LXX; Greek Old Testament) says whale. Aha! This is the word κήτει (ketei), and since the majority of allusions, references, and quotations from the Old Testament in the New Testament are from the LXX, the New Testament uses the word ketei (I believe cetacea comes from this word). But this Greek word means sea-monster, whale, huge fish. It could have been a whale, since they are huge, but the text just means a really big fish.

On being restored
Chapter 2 The beautiful prayer of Jonah in the belly of said fish. What do you do when you’ve run away from God or fallen into sin and want to come home? You pray. I cried in my affliction to the Lord my God. Amen. Salvation is of the LORD. Amen, again!

On the road again
Chapter 3 Jonah is restored to God and the fish spits him out. What now? As much as possible, you return to what you know God wants you to do. For Jonah, the word is still, Go to Nineveh. He does just that, preaches the preaching, they repent, and God spares them. They turned every one from their evil way, and from the iniquity that was in their hands. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. The prophet Amos cried, Prepare to meet thy God. How do we prepare? Turn to the Lord by repenting and believing in Jesus. When we do that God shows mercy to us. Hallelujah!

Temper, temper
Chapter 4 Jonah has a hissy fit because God spared them.

The Purpose of the book of Jonah
All this brings us finally to the purpose of the book. If none of the above are the purpose or theme, what is? This is captured in the first and last verses of the book:

1:1-2 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

4:10-11  Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than 120,000 persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

YHWH is Lord and Savior of all people. He judges nations. He saves nations. Israel was indeed His covenant people, but He has mercy on any one and every one who will turn from their evil way and call upon Him. This is a foreshadowing of the Gospel days to come!!

So this is not Jonah: The Story Of A Man Swallowed By A Whale, but rather Jonah: The Story Of God Having Mercy On Nineveh

The sad thing is, Jonah knew this:

4:2 And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
He fled because he knew that if they repented God would spare them. Oh what this says about the character of God! And what it says about Jonah - he only went to Nineveh because he wanted to see it destroyed! This is really sad. But God uses imperfect vessels. And how I thank Him for that!!


How does this book further the promise of Messiah? Jesus said Jonah in the belly of the fish was a picture of his death and resurrection. It was no accident that it was three days and nights!


Interesting side notes

The Septuagint adds what I consider a humorous detail in 1:5-6
But Jonas was gone down into the hold of the ship, and was asleep, and snored. And the shipmaster came to him, and said to him, Why snorest thou?


Jonah’s hissy fit in chapter 4. I can’t explain it. And the Bible doesn’t have to record it, because honestly he looks rather childish and petty, not prophet like at all. But that’s the Bible, it tells the stories warts and all. Another reason I believe it to be true.

Thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness

+ YHWH The Jews stopped pronouncing this a long time ago, as a result no one is certain how it should be pronounced. Old Bibles used Jehovah, many people today think it should be Yahweh.

Apostolic Tradition

In 1979 Ralph Neighbour wrote a book, The Seven Last Words of the Church. Interesting title. What would they be? We’ve never tried it that way before. (or as I know it, We’ve never done it that way before.) That is what often comes to mind when we start talking about tradition in the church.

Essentially, tradition is the ways things have always been done. We celebrate July 4 with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, and fireworks that night. Tradition. Open one present on Christmas Eve. Tradition. The church has these kind of traditions as well. I’ve heard it said, Do it twice and it’s a tradition. Tradition is comfortable. You know what’s going to happen when and how it is to be done. On the surface there’s nothing wrong with that. Sadly, traditions often become golden cows – We’ve never done it that way before and we can't do it that way. Ah, now we have a problem.

But that’s not the kind of tradition I’m talking about. I’m talking about Apostolic Tradition. “What in the world is that?” you may be thinking. It is the belief that the Apostles wrote some things down and delivered other things orally. The Bible would be the written down things, the inspired, authoritative Word of God. Apostolic Tradition would be the orally handed down things.

The Jews were a people of tradition. According to Mark 7:1-16 they had traditions that had supplanted the Word of God. But they also had tradition that ran alongside the Word of God and complimented it. The concept of Messiah can be found in the Scriptures, but it is also clearly in the tradition of the Jews. You see it in the Targums (paraphrase / interpretation of the Scripture). There are many Christians who totally dismiss the idea of authoritative Apostolic Tradition, yet these same brethren will refer to the traditional Jewish understanding of the Coming One. And I think rightly so.

The Apostles were Jews and were familiar with this idea of written Word and oral tradition going hand in hand. Is there any evidence in the Scriptures that the Apostles handed down oral instructions that were authoritative, that are not recorded in their writings? Yes, there is.

The word tradition, παράδοσις (paradosis), occurs thirteen times in the New Testament; it means “something given over by word of mouth; tradition.” Several times it refers to Jewish tradition as in the passage in Mark above. Other times it refers to something the Apostles handed over to the churches:

1 Corinthians 11:2 Now I praise you, brethren, that ye remember me in all things, and keep the ordinances [traditions], as I delivered them to you.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. 
[While this does not use the word tradition, it does refer to oral instruction.]

The early church Fathers verify this. I was never taught this in Bible College, but all you have to do is read the Ante-Nicene Fathers (ante is before) - they still have the voices of the Apostles ringing in their ears!! Here’s just a short list:

Clement of Rome (AD 35-99)
"The apostles have preached the gospel to us from the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus Christ [has done so] from God. Christ therefore was sent forth by God, and the apostles by Christ…. they appointed the first fruits [of their labours]… to be bishops and deacons of those who should afterwards believe. Our apostles … afterwards gave instructions, that when these should fall asleep, other approved men should succeed them in their ministry."

Irenaeus (AD 130-202)
"The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith…"

"But, again, when we refer them to that tradition which originates from the apostles, [and] which is preserved by means of the succession of presbyters in the Churches..."

"…since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth: so that every man, whosoever will, can draw from her the water of life."

"For how should it be if the apostles themselves had not left us writings? Would it not be necessary, [in that case,] to follow the course of the tradition which they handed down to those to whom they did commit the Churches?"

Origen, of Alexandria (AD 185-254)
"Now it ought to be known that the holy apostles, in preaching the faith of Christ, delivered themselves with the utmost clearness on certain points which they believed to be necessary to every one, even to those who seemed somewhat dull in the investigation of divine knowledge... The particular points clearly delivered in the teaching of the apostles are as follow:—"

Is it surprising that the Apostles taught things they didn’t write down? Or that the Church would remember them? I wouldn’t be surprised. I still remember something Chuck Smith said at a Pastors Conference many years ago that greatly impacted me: “Always start on time – otherwise you are teaching them to be late.” And I did, too! I think of that every time a church begins the service later than the announced time….

So what is this Apostolic Tradition? What is it that the Apostles handed down orally? What was it they deposited in the Church?


Next Monday: The Rule of Faith

What? Me political?

I very rarely write anything about politics, but I heard something on the news today out of the New Hampshire Primary that got my attention. I Googled it and found a couple of articles on this - one on townhall.com and another on washingtonexaminer.com. I don’t know anything about either one, but they agreed in substance so… Anyway

On Sunday while in New Hampshire, Joe Biden said:

"Those who say 'the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots'–  a great line. Well, guess what? The fact is if you’re going to take on the government you need an F-15 with Hellfire missiles. There is no way an AK-47 is going to take care of you if you're worried about the government knocking down your door."

Why did this get my attention? It sounds like a threat to me. Or at the very least, “Just capitulate to the government now, you can’t win.” I’m not a political animal, but I am an American (uh, England and King George), a South Carolinian (secession), and a child of the 60’s (don’t trust the Establishment). My hackles were raised. I’m pretty sure this is the very reason the Founding Fathers set forth the right of citizens to keep and bear arms in Second Amendment. 

Beckett Adams, in an opinion piece in the aforementioned Washington Examiner, wrote:

“First, what Biden said is a threat. Resistance is futile because the federal government can have you all killed at any time it wants. How inspiring. How presidential.

Further, the former vice president’s comments reveal a general ignorance of one of the most brilliant aspects of the Second Amendment. It creates a careful (albeit admittedly lopsided) balancing act between ruler and ruled. A well-armed militia will obviously be outgunned by a professional military, but that is not the point. The point is that the people can make themselves very hard to govern when the intentions of those in power are evil. When all other checks and balances fail, politicians tempted to subvert the Constitution still feel themselves limited by the friction they know they could encounter in the form of an enraged, well-armed citizenry.

It is also embarrassing to see a man who lived through the Vietnam War, the Soviets’ unsuccessful campaign in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War laugh off the idea of an armed insurrection rebuffing the world’s most advanced and best-equipped military.

Lastly, it should not be lost on anyone that Biden downplayed the importance and efficacy of well-armed militias by quoting Thomas Jefferson, who played a rather large role in the defeat of one of the world's greatest military forces by a ragtag army consisting of regulars and militiamen.”
(You can read the article here)


Since I am writing about political things, Democrat Presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard (Hawai’i) sent me an email today saying she would like to call me this week (well, the South Carolina Primary is February 29). Pretty cool. I have a lot of respect for Tulsi and it would be cool to say she called me! 

Tulsi Gabbard surfing in NH

Everlasting Life

One of the best known Bible verses in the world reads:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What a promise, everlasting life! But what is everlasting life? Well, simply put it is just that, life without end. Unfortunately, that doesn’t fully express it. People might be prone to think of everlasting life as this life never ending: work, pain, weariness, stress, bills, tears, sickness, brokenness, death... I say emphatically, that is not what everlasting life is!

So what is it? Let me offer three passages that speak to this:

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

First, eternal life and everlasting life are the same thing, it’s just the joy of the English language.

Second, everlasting life is contrasted with perish, punishment, death. Clearly, perish, punishment, death are not good. On the other hand, everlasting life is good. It is life everlasting, the emphasis being life.

Jesus said, And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. Eternal life is not only or merely unending life, it is a certain kind of life: knowing God, fellowship with Him. Eternal life is life lived with God, in His presence, participating in His life. Where God is there is light, life, joy, health, peace; no death, no sorrow, no pain, no heartache, no brokenness. That is eternal life. Eternity without God is exactly the opposite. One word that comes to mind to describe eternity without God is torment. Eternal life, on the other hand, is bliss.

So, how do I get this everlasting life?

Romans 6:23 above says, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is a gift, something God gives us. You can’t earn it or buy, it is God’s gift to us.

It is through Jesus Christ. Eternal life is not some thing God gives us, like a Christmas present, or a package from Amazon. It is not something we can go to the store and pick up. Eternal life is through Jesus, it is in Him. He has eternal life because He is life. As the Apostle John says, he who has the Son has life.

John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Everlasting life is all about God giving. He gave his only begotten Son so that through him he might give us everlasting life. And to whom does he give everlasting life? To whosoever believes in Jesus. And what does it mean to believe in Jesus? It means I believe he is the Son of God, the Savior, who died on the cross, rose again from the dead, and is now Lord; believing these things I trust him with my life and commit to following him as my Lord. When we believe in Jesus he gives us everlasting life!

Eternal life: sharing the life of God, in the presence of God, forever. Everlasting!



Here are a few verses if you wish to read more about what the Bible says about everlasting life. These verses also speak of what is often called heaven, because everlasting life and heaven go hand in hand:
Psalm 16:11, Psalm 17:15, John 14:2-3, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:3-5

Tread down our enemies? What is this?

This morning Mary and I read Psalm 108 and I shared v 13 on Facebook:

Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Along with the words of a song, which as I said, I never taught the church but I used to sing:

As I reflected on this I realized that this might need to be explained. Why? Because the verse and the song speak of an enemy, treading down and slaying this enemy. This is warfare talk, and to the world this means physical battle, violence; to tread down your enemy refers to domination, subduing this enemy in a physical manner. And to the ears of the unbeliever this sounds like the Christian is trying to take over his neighborhood, workplace, government, when nothing could be further from the truth. Oh, to be clear, Jesus is coming again and when He does HE will take over, but that’s not our job.

So what does all this talk mean?

The Gospel takes up ideas like warfare, battle, wrestle, and victory and turns them on their ears. What? Yes, the very real and very physical concepts of war and victory and enemy are spiritualized to refer to a spiritual struggle.

Ephesians 6:11-12 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I have enemies, but not flesh and blood enemies. Even when there is a person who is assaulting me, or the government is opposed to me, what appears to my eyes is not my enemy. Victory, therefore, is not striking back at my foe or taking over the government.

So, what is this victory the Bible and this song refer to?

I believe that in order to answer this we need to know the wiles of the devil. In another place Paul refers to these wiles as devices or schemes, we are not ignorant of his devices. What is it that the devil is seeking to do? Briefly,

For the unbeliever he is doing whatever it takes to keep them from believing in Jesus.

For the believer

1) Cause me to quit the faith, give up, go back
2) Cripple me through sin so that I am unable to serve God
3) Distract me through the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life
4) Focus my attention on my problems instead of God’s presence and promises

This is the battle we are in. This is the warfare. Now it should be easier to see what the victory is! Let's look at them one at a time:

1) Persevering in faith. No matter the struggle, the threat, the consequence, I continue to believe in Jesus. You may beat me, jail me, kill me, if I continue to believe in Jesus I win the victory!

2) Walk in righteousness and holiness; avoid the sin which sets me aside. But, what if I stumble and fall into sin? What is victory then? Repenting and returning to Jesus.

We can see that victory doesn’t always look or even feel like victory. But it’s real nonetheless. This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Don't you dare quit. You. Keep. Holding on!

3) Ah, now we are getting down and dirty. Every day of my life I am faced with the cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and if I’m not careful I can be consumed by them. What is victory here? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. I have to draw near to Jesus and stay close to him, seek him daily, stay in his Word, be full of the Spirit. You see, victory is not some package I buy at Walmart or have delivered from Amazon; I overcome every single day. Praise God for the cross, the resurrection, the Word, the Spirit, the name of Jesus! But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

4) Ouch! When God brought Israel to the border of the promised land, Moses sent out twelve spies to spy out the land. When they came back ten of them said, “All we see is giants, man, we can't do this.” Right here is the battle. What do I see? The ten saw giants and couldn’t see God. Joshua and Caleb also saw the giants, but they saw God, Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. That’s victory, when Jesus is bigger than the giants in my eyes!

As Charles Spurgeon said in his sermon, The Victory of Faith, “This fight with the world is not one of main force, or physical might; if it were, we might soon win it; but it is all the more dangerous from the fact that it is a strife of mind, a contest of heart, a struggle of the spirit, a strife of the soul.”

That's our battle. Those are our enemies. That's our victory!

Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, prophesying by the Holy Spirit said (Luke 1:68-75):

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Amen! Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

Christ in the Scroll of the Twelve

Malachi

Malachi is the last prophet of the Twelve, the last book in our Bible; but as you can see from this picture, he is not the last book in the Hebrew Bible

Nevertheless, he was the last prophetic word from God for some 400 years. This helps us understand the electric current of excitement when the word of God came unto John in the wilderness and he began preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins saying, Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.

1:11  For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
Amen! This is describing the gospel age and the salvation of the Gentiles! Peter tells us that in our worship we offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Paul says, By him let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name continually. Amen!

3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
4  Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5  And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
6  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Behold I send my messenger – This is a very interesting verse. My messenger; he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple. And of whom is he speaking? This is so important it is recorded three times in the New Testament:

Matthew 11:10  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 

Mark 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 

Luke 7:27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Who is this messenger? John the baptizer, who pointed to Jesus! Which makes Jesus the Lord whom ye seek. John was sent to prepare the way for Christ. This is described further in Isaiah 40:3-5 (LXX)
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight the paths of our God. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and all the crooked ways shall become straight, and the rough places plains. And the glory of the Lord shall appear, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

4.2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
The Sun of righteousness is the Messiah, who came with healing in his wings!

4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Malachi has uttered some very powerful Messianic prophecies. Here is another one. The Jews recognized this as Messianic and taught that Christ could not come until Elijah appeared first. Listen, Jesus cannot be the Christ unless Elijah has come. So, has he come?

When the angel Gabriel announced the birth of John the baptizer he said:

Luke 1:13-17  
13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.  
14 And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.  
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.  
16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.  
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 
he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah. This is really important.

Jesus, after saying John is the messenger of Malachi 3:1, goes on to say:

Matthew 11:11-15 
11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  
13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  
14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to come.  
15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

There, he says it plainly, this is Elijah which was to come.

What does he mean by, and if ye will receive it? Is he saying, "If you don't receive this, if you don't believe John is Elijah, oh well it was a good try, never mind." No. He means, he that ears let him hear. In other words, "I'm telling you John is Elijah, and if John is Elijah then I am Messiah, the Lord whom ye seek, who suddenly comes to his temple.

I have often heard people say Jesus never claimed to be Christ. Yet here he is saying it in all capital letters!

Just in case you are thinking I am reaching here, hear Jesus again

Matthew 17:10-13  
10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?  
11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things.  
12 But I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.  
13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. 
The disciples are asking, “If you are Christ, what about Elijah? We believe you are Christ, but why do they say Elijah must come first?"

Jesus says plainly, Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto, Elijah is come already.

Then they understood – he spoke to them of John the Baptist. 

John was the messenger who shall prepare the way before me. John was Elijah who is to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And John prepared the way by preaching, "Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand;" then he pointed to Jesus, “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”

John said it. Jesus said it. The Apostles said it: Jesus is the promised Christ! I went through Christ in the Scroll of the Twelve so that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Christ in the Scroll of the Twelve

Zechariah

Zechariah prophesied with Haggai when the Jews returned from Babylon. He has so much to say! I will present it with only a few comments.

2:10  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD.
11  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
13  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
This could be a reference to restoration in his day, but seems to me to be speaking of the last days.

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.
10  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.
Thy King cometh unto thee - fulfilled when Jesus entered Jerusalem
Matthew 21:4-5 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

speak peace unto the heathen…dominion from sea to sea – the kingdom of Christ

blood of the covenant – the cross of Christ

11:12  And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.
13  And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.
Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver

12-14!! Wow! This is a description of the last days including the tribulation suffered by (a restored) Jerusalem, the second coming of Christ, the millennial kingdom.

Chapters 12-13: This is very long and worthy of a detailed study which I cannot do here. But I can share a tip for reading the prophets which I have gleaned over the years.
First, the phrase in that day. A prophecy is uttered and then details relating to that prophecy are added, which are introduced by the phrase in that day. For example 12:2 is the main prophecy, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling when it is besieged. Then in v 3-8 four times we read, in that day ; these are details related to v 2. It is a textual key in the prophets, similar to therefore in Paul.
Second, you will notice  there are other in that day which are introduced by the phrase, and it shall come to pass. These are also connected to the prophecy of v 2 (in that day), yet reveal related matters associated with that day. Another textual key. (Some modern versions don’t have this phrase, while the older ones do, including the LXX).
All this means all of chapters 12 & 13 are about the days prophesied in 12:2. This concerns the tribulation Jerusalem shall undergo just before the Lord returns and how God will save Israel in that day. That salvation is described in chapter 14. Here are chapters 12 and 13

12:1  The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2  Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3  And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4  In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5  And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.
6  In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
7  The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
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.
10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11  In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.
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 Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
13  The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;
14  All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.
13:1  In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

2  And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

3  And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the LORD: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.

4  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:
5  But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth.
6  And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall 
answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.
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.

Chapter 14 describes the day of the Lord: the nations gathered against Jerusalem and the Lord Jesus returning in glory and power and setting up his kingdom on the earth. Once again we find in that day and and it shall come to pass (see above). The main prophecy is v 1-3, then shall the LORD go forth and fight. I believe this is the second coming of Christ and the 1,000 year reign on the earth (millennium) mentioned in Revelation 20.

We find in chapter 14 amazing descriptions of the second coming:
3-4 then shall the LORD go forth…and his feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives – Jesus is returning bodily; and what’s this? Just who is this Christ? the LORD. LORD being Yahweh!!
5 and the LORD my God shall come and all the saints with thee – Hallelujah! Again, who is this Christ? Yahweh my God!!

14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4  And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5  And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7  But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8  And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9  And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
10  All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
11  And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13  And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14  And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15  And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

16  And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17  And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18  And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19  This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20  In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21  Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.