ZECHARIAH LESSON 5


     We will begin this lesson in Zechariah 5:1 "Then I turned, and
lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll."

     In the previous vision, we saw God and His church. In this it
seems, there is a somber message to those who are still actively
sinning. This is a vision, possibly seen in the heavens. This flying
roll was like a scroll. Whatever is written upon it, is from heaven
and God.

     Zechariah 5:2 "And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I
answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof [is] twenty cubits,
and the breadth thereof ten cubits."

     This scroll was 30 feet long and 15 feet wide. This is the very
same dimension of the porch of Solomon's temple. This is the angel
speaking to Zechariah. Revelation 18:5 "For her sins have reached unto
heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities."

     Zechariah 5:3 "Then said he unto me, This [is] the curse that
goeth forth over the face of the whole earth: for every one that
stealeth shall be cut off [as] on this side according to it; and every
one that sweareth shall be cut off [as] on that side according to it."

     This is very much like the handwriting on the wall. This speaks
of the sins being written down in heaven. The curse for stealing was
written on one side of the scroll. The curse for swearing was written
on the other side. Swearing a lie was a very serious offence in the
sight of God. In a court of law today, it is called perjury, and can
carry a sentence of imprisonment. To swear, you violate God's
reverence. Stealing was, and is, another very serious offence.
Stealing violates your neighbors rights. These two sins were,
possibly, very active with the Jews that returned from captivity, and
that may be why they are separated out from the other ten
commandments. This judgement was not just against those returned from
captivity, but everyone everywhere who commit these sins.

     Zechariah 5:4 "I will bring it forth, saith the LORD of hosts,
and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of
him that sweareth falsely by my name: and it shall remain in the midst
of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the
stones thereof."

     The curse will not just automatically go away. They must repent
and change their ways, for the curse to be removed. This is very
similar to the plague of leprosy that comes into the house. "Leprosy"
symbolizes sin.

     Zechariah 5:5  "Then the angel that talked with me went forth,
and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what [is] this that
goeth forth."

     This is another vision. This is the seventh vision.

     Zechariah 5:6 "And I said, What [is] it? And he said, This [is]
an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This [is] their
resemblance through all the earth."

     Zechariah did not understand what he saw. He asks the angel to
tell him what it is.  An "ephah" is a dry measurement of about 6 or 7
gallons. They have been measured and found wanting. This symbolizes
the sin of the world.

     Zechariah 5:7 "And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead:
and this [is] a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah."

     Speaking of the lead here, might indicate the sin was heavy as
lead. Lead is a deceiving metal, as well. It is sometimes mistaken for
silver. Lead is poison, as well. The woman, in this case, probably,
symbolizes the Israelites who are caught up in sin.  This woman
actually symbolizes all sinners and all sin.  It is not speaking of
women, but of a woman.  It seems as if there is some kind of container
and this talent of lead is the lid. The woman is down in the
container.  This is speaking of the combined sins of the world.

     Zechariah 5:8 "And he said, This [is] wickedness. And he cast it
into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the
mouth thereof."

     The woman in this is not a woman at all, but the personification
of evil, like mystery Babylon in Revelation. When the sin tried to
leave the ephah, it appears there was a seal of lead put on the lid to
keep it down.

     Zechariah 5:9 "Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and,
behold, there came out two women, and the wind [was] in their wings;
for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the
ephah between the earth and the heaven."

     This is a carrying away of this sin. The two women mentioned,
here, are strong because of the wind under their wings, and because of
the comparison to a stork which is very strong. This is most assuredly
a departure of sin from Zion and Jerusalem.  Women generally symbolize
a country, or a city, as the two did in the following Scripture.
Ezekiel 23:2 "Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one
mother:" In this case, they symbolized Samaria and Jerusalem. These
two women could symbolize the apostate church and mystery Babylon.

     Zechariah 5:10 "Then said I to the angel that talked with me,
Whither do these bear the ephah?"

     I believe they were carried away to some evil city.

     Zechariah 5:11 And he said unto me, To build it an house in the
land of Shinar: and it shall be established, and set there upon her
own base.
     This Shinar was an idolatrous land. Shinar and Babylon are the
same area. Genesis 10:10 "And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel,
and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar." This seems
to be speaking of carrying this ephah to Babylon, and setting up some
place to worship a sensual false god there. The sins of Zion are gone,
and gathered in this evil place, where the enemies of God dwell.  This
could be a warning for all of God's people to get out of physical
Babylon then, and a warning to all believers in Christ to get out of
spiritual Babylon now.  Christians are supposed to be a separated
people. We are in the world, but we must not be of the world.  We must
walk holy before our God. Babel {Babylon} is a symbol of the evil
world.










































                        Zechariah 5 Questions


1.  When Zechariah looked up, what did he see?
2.  What kind of message does God have Hezekiah bring in this vision?
3.  What was the flying roll like?
4.  How big was the roll?
5.  What else had these very same dimensions?
6.  Quote Revelation chapter 18 verse 5.
7.  This is the ________ that goeth forth over the face of the whole
    earth.
8.  What two specific sins were mentioned?
9.  This roll in the heavens is very much like what?
10. In a court of law today, swearing a lie is called _________.
11. To swear a lie, you violate God's ____________.
12. Stealing violates your __________ rights.
13. How can they get rid of the curse?
14. This is very similar to the plague of __________.
15. The second time he looked up, in this lesson, what did he see?
16. What is an "ephah"?
17. What does this ephah symbolize?
18. What are some things we know about lead?
19. Who does the woman, in this lesson, symbolize?
20. This woman is not a woman at all, but the __________ of evil.
21. How was the sin kept in the ephah?
22. How do we know the symbolic two women were strong?
23. This is most assuredly a departure of _______ from Jerusalem.
24. Quote Ezekiel chapter 23 verse 2.
25. Who do the 2 women symbolize?
26. Shinar and ___________ are the same.
27. Quote Genesis chapter 10 verse 10.
28. What does this lesson warn all of God's people to do, when they
    are caught in a sinful place?
29. We are in the world, not _____ the world.
30. Babel {Babylon} is a symbol of what?