Christian
Churches of God
No. F037
Commentary on
Haggai
(Edition 2.5 20060910-20140905)
Haggai was ordered
by God to prophesy concerning the restoration and the construction of the
Temple. The text complements Zechariah and is dual in nature. It looks to the
millennial system and the conversion of the Gentiles.
Christian
Churches of God
E-mail: secretary@ccg.org
(Copyright
© 2006, 2014 Wade Cox)
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Commentary on Haggai
Introduction
The name Haggai is
derived from the word Hag or feast, or festival. The text
is delivered on the New Moon, but Bullinger incorrectly states in his note that
it refers to the full moon which is an error (cf. Companion Bible, fn. 1). It is the Sixth
month or the month of Elul. It is in the Second year of Darius the Persian when
the instruction to complete the Temple is given by Yahovah through Haggai.
This text is thus
an instruction from Yahovah to Judah in tandem with the prophecy given through
Zechariah.
The command is
given in the First year of the 71st Jubilee. The complete structure
of 70 Jubilees from the closure of Eden is complete with the Jubilee in 424/3
BCE, and the Temple is now to be reconstructed. This is the second command
given by God but the work was stopped over a period from the decree of Cyrus
down to Artaxerxes I who stopped construction, and it was ceased until the
Second year of Darius the Persian (see the paper The Sign of Jonah and the History
of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013)).
God has spoken to
Judah over their neglect. The message is constructed in four parts.
1. The Word of
Yahovah. The text commences with a censure for neglect (Hag. 1:1-4).
2. The people’s
sayings are then cited by Yahovah.
3. The Word of
Yahovah is again given.
4. The people’s
sayings are given and replied to by Yahovah.
The Hebrew idiom
for God speaking through the prophets is, “by the hand of”. It thus shows the
intention for the prophecy to be recorded for all time. The instances are
contained in footnote 1 to The Companion Bible.
The word is
addressed to Zerubbabel, meaning sown in Babylon (i.e. Babel). He was of
the royal seed conceived or sown in Babylon, and to Joshua the son of Josedech
the High Priest.
The name Joshua is
the same as that given to Messiah. The full name is Yahoshua or Salvation of
Yaho, which is the function of Messiah as High Priest and also as King of
Israel. The term son in the text is used also of grandson (cf. 1Chr.
3:19 and Ezra 2:2 and 3:2). Look also at the paper Genealogy of the Messiah (No.
119).
Josedech
(Yahosedech) means Yahovah is righteous. The full name Yahoshua, or Joshua
ben Josedech, means Salvation is through the righteous Yahovah.
Joshua is the
first High Priest of the Temple for the New Construction. They are both very
old when this censure is given. The Messiah will be the High Priest for the
final return to Jerusalem, which is the subject of the message in Zechariah.
These texts are thus both connected to the millennial reign of the Messiah.
The word governor
here is derived from the Persian word pechah (from which we derive
Pasha) as a prefect or satrap.
Shealtiel means asked
for from God. He was the son of Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) who was taken captive
to Babylon (2Kgs. 24:15; 1Chr. 3:17; cf. Ezra 3:2,8; 5:2; Neh. 12:1; Mat. 1:12;
Lk. 3:27).
The First
Message
1In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, 2"Thus says the LORD of hosts: This people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD." 3Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, 4"Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
The question is
asked of Judah, as they have left the House of God in ruins for well over a
hundred years when they could have built it a century earlier. However, there
was a Temple at Elephantine operating for the whole time the Temple at
Jerusalem was in ruins and that should not be forgotten.
Yahovah then
reminds them of the signs of their condition.
5Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 6You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes. 7"Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider how you have fared.
So Yahovah starts
and ends with the statement, “consider how you have fared”. They have nothing
because they have not honoured God. The word, consider is used five
times in the book (1:5,7; 2:15,18,23; cf. Job 1:8; 2:3 and Isa. 41:22) and
means set your heart on or give your attention to. The intention
is to examine where Judah has been led and the fruits of what they have done.
Yahovah then
issued the command:
8Go up
to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it
and that I may appear in my glory, says the LORD.
The term appear in my glory is, I
will get me honour. The Hebrew word is ‘ekkabda. This is
one of twenty-nine words that are without the letter He at the end
(Ginsberg’s Massorah, Vol. 1, p. 281). The letter He is equal to
five. Bullinger (Comp. Bible fn. to v. 8) notes this and says that the
Talmudists consider that this was because there were five items missing from
the Second Temple, which are:
Items 2 and 3 are
in fact representations of the Holy Spirit and are representative of its
presence in the elect. Item 5, the Spirit of Prophecy, is present in the
Church and the culmination was in Jesus Christ.
The list is
alleged to safeguard the instances of the word which have the letter He
at the end. (Examples are Ex. 14:4,17.)
In the millennial
Temple the Holy Spirit in the elect as the Temple of God replaces all these
aspects. It has been the case with the church since the inception of the church
in the wilderness.
Yahovah states
that they looked for much and received little. What they stored was blown away.
He then supplied the answer: Because of the House that lay in ruins.
Thus they had done nothing over the entire century from the decree of Cyrus and
that of Darius Hystaspes when they could have acted, and God punished them for
that fact. It was only during the reign of Artaxerxes I that construction was
stopped, but they made no attempt to revive the construction after Artaxerxes
had suppressed the civil war (see paper No. 13 ibid.).
9You have looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? Says the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while you busy yourselves each with his own house. 10Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11And I have called for a drought upon the land and the hills, upon the grain, the new wine, the oil, upon what the ground brings forth, upon men and cattle, and upon all their labors."
God
placed the land under a curse and the produce was withheld from them for their
disobedience.
When God rebuked
them they repented.
12Then Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, and Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the LORD their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the LORD their God had sent him; and the people feared before the LORD.
The people were
thus mobilised to action. Then the Lord spoke again through Haggai.
13Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD's message, "I am with you, says the LORD."14And the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God, 15on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month. In the second year of Darius the king, (RSV)
The message and
the repentance took 24 days from the New Moon to the Twenty-fourth day of the
Sixth month. Look also at the paper The Ascents of Moses (No. 070)
for the sequence over the period from Sivan to Elul, the Third to the Sixth
month.
The prophecy of
Haggai was reviewed in the paper The Oracles of God (No. 184)
in order to deal with a number of issues regarding the calendar, and the
misapplication of both Haggai and Daniel to end-time events. The comments
important to Haggai are quoted here.
“The text in
chapter 1 is a plea to the nation of Judah to commence work on the Temple. The
nation is not being blessed because they have placed their own self-interest
above that of God. There are serious parallels in history with the behaviour of
Judah and the neglect of the work of God. If this prophecy is referring to the
Last Days, it must refer to the spiritual Temple, which is the Church. The
entities in this prophecy are Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel governor of
Judah, and Joshua, son of Josedach the High Priest. The time is the second year
of Darius II. This matter has been explained in detail in the paper The Sign of
Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 013).
The names are of individuals at the time of the reconstruction of the second
Temple (see also the paper Genealogy of the Messiah (No.
119)).
If this prophecy
is of the latter days, we can only be speaking of the spiritual Temple, and the
types of Zerubbabel and Joshua as High Priest. The High Priest, Joshua, is
Yehoshua or the Messiah. The typology with Jesus Christ is found in Zechariah
in the judgment. Christ is both king and priest, fulfilling both typologies.
The injunction in chapter 1 of Haggai is that the nation of Israel will not
prosper until it undertakes the work of the Messiah in the restoration, as part of the Temple of God. The curses
on the land will increase until that happens (Hag. 1:10-11). The first instance
is in the 24th of the Sixth month. This happened with the second Temple. It is
either in the past or it will relate to the future as an anti-type.
Thus, Haggai is
concerned with the construction of the Temple, and the blessing of Israel is
consequent to that activity. It is thus impossible to relate the events in
chapter 2 to an event that is not subsequent to the events in chapter 1. Thus,
the 24th day of the Sixth month saw the work on the house of God. Chapter 2
then commences from the 21st day of the Seventh month or the last day of the
Feast of Tabernacles. The Last Great Day is the eighth day of the Feast” (The
Oracles of God (No. 184)).
The Second
Message
The Second Message
was given on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, and before the
commencement of the Twenty-second day of the Seventh month, which is the Last
Great Day, and is a feast in its own right. The symbolism was that God had
given the instructions from the last New Moon at the end of the period of chaos
and waste and dispersion, and after the ordered restoration of Judah, in spite
of their own indolence and unrepentant attitude. God then prepared the people
for the construction during their restoration in the Holy Land.
He then spoke to
them during the Seventh month and in what is taken as representative of the
millennial system, and before what is taken as the period of the Second
Resurrection of the Dead.
They were to keep
the Feast, and then after the Feast of the Millennium they were to commence
construction.
This message and
prophecy was of a dual nature. It was also to look forward to the restoration
of Judah in the Holy Land, and then towards their rebuke and their repentance
at the last period before the coming of the Messiah.
Look at the
message of God. It is one of courage concerning His actions in shaking the
heavens and earth and the nations in them. This period concerns the wars of the
end and the Last Days. It is not concerned with the conversion as yet, but
rather the bringing to subjugation and then later to repentance and conversion
(see the paper The Day of
the Lord and the Last Days (No. 192) and The Last Thirty Years: The Final
Struggle (No. 219)).
1in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, 2"Speak now to Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4Yet now take courage, O Zerub'babel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehoz'adak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, 5according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit abides among you; fear not. 6For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts. 8The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts. 9The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.'"
The treasure of
all nations is rendered in the Septuagint (LXX) as the elect of all
nations. It must thus refer to the Church and the conversion of the
Gentiles.
The Spiritual
Temple is built over forty Jubilees or two thousand years from 30 CE to the
Second Advent.
The complete House
of God will be built again but in the millennial system after the return of the
Messiah, and after the subjugation of the nations. This is the millennial
Sanctuary referred to by Ezekiel (cf. Comp. Bible fn. to 2:7). The glory
of the latter shall be greater than the first (cf. Ezek. 43:2-5). The physical
house will not be built prior to the Millennium but in the Millennium itself.
The First Jubilee of the Millennium is the Fiftieth or Golden Jubilee since
this command was issued, and Zechariah was also given the sequence of the
activity (see Commentary on
Zechariah (No. F038) and also The Golden Jubilee and the
Millennium (No. 300)).
The spiritual Temple of God was commenced from
Pentecost 30 CE, which was the Third year of the cycle after the Jubilee of 27
CE. We might thus assume that the physical Temple and structures will be
commenced in Jerusalem from the Third year of the 121st Jubilee cycle i.e. in
2030. We will deal with the sequence in the papers on that subject.
The message came
again through Haggai on the Twenty-fourth day of the Ninth month. The message
concerned the sacred and the profane. It concerns the salvation of the nations
and their sanctification. The words holy flesh in the text is the flesh
of the sacrifice, which refers forward to the elect of God. The word rendered dead
body is nephesh or soul and is one of 13 passages where nephesh
is used to denote a dead body. Here it is making a distinction between the
unconverted that are dead, and the living of the elect called of God. Judah and
Israel are restored for the Millennium but all the nations are also restored
and brought to sanctification and holiness on a progressive basis. (See also Commentary on Zechariah (No. F038)
and Sanctification of the
Nations (No. 077).)
10On the
twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of
the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, 11"Thus says the LORD of
hosts: Ask the priests to decide this question, 12`If one carries
holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and touches with his skirt bread, or
pottage, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does it become holy?'" The
priests answered, "No." 13Then said Haggai, "If one
who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become
unclean?" The priests answered, "It does become unclean." 14Then
Haggai said, "So is it with this people, and with this nation before me,
says the LORD; and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer
there is unclean.
The altar was set
up before the Temple and the offerings are being classed as unclean. However,
it refers forward in time to the attempts at sacrifice by Judah without
repentance, conversion and baptism.
15Pray now, consider what will come to pass from this day onward. Before a stone was placed upon a stone in the temple of the LORD, 16how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the winevat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17I smote you and all the products of your toil with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not return to me, says the LORD.
The reference to
God smiting them is an allusion to Deuteronomy 28:22. However, that will change
with repentance.
18Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider: 19Is the seed yet in the barn? Do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still yield nothing? From this day on I will bless you." 20The word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21"Speak to Zerub'babel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his fellow. 23On that day, says the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerub'babel my servant, the son of She-al'ti-el, says the LORD, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the LORD of hosts." (RSV)
The seeds will be
sown and God will bless the sowing before it is drawn in and multiply it.
The blessing of
Judah will occur when it begins to bless the nations and the Temple is
commenced in Jerusalem under the Messiah. On that day, the wealth of the Holy
Land will increase tenfold. The destruction will be healed and the land
restored.
This prophecy thus
places the 24th day of the Ninth month as a pivotal point in God’s
grace to Israel, and His blessings upon the nation. It has usually been seen as
the point in time that the restoration is fulfilled. That was why the attempt
was made to claim that the Commonwealth, under General Allenby, captured
Jerusalem on 24 Chislev 1917. However, whilst the date of Allenby’s entry was
in Chislev, it was not on the 24th day. The attack was launched on
24 Chislev according to the New Moon Conjunction, and not the Hillel calendar.
The detail is examined in the paper The Oracles of God (No. 184).
The primary purpose of that paper was to deal with the issue of the oracles of
God and where the authority for the calendar resided. We will need to take all
this detail into account in the calculations regarding the Restoration of
Israel in the Last Days.
Quoting The Oracles of God (No. 184)
we see that:
“The propositions
made from this prophecy are:
From these points
it is then argued that the Hillel calendar is thus inspired and an oracle of
God.
Firstly, regarding
the fall of Jerusalem, Harper’s Bible Dictionary records that the Babylonians
plundered the city in 598 BCE, and the city was levelled in 587 BCE. Neither of
these dates gives 1917 as equalling seven time cycles, or 2,520 years. The
first date would produce 1923 and the latter date would produce 1933.
Now, this process
is classic circular reasoning, as we will see. It is evident from an
examination of the history of the liberation of Jerusalem that the events were
listed as they were, to convey the impression that God had acted to fulfil
Haggai because the people of the time saw that as a fulfilment of prophecy.
Having contrived the 9 December 1917 date, the contrivance is then used to
justify the Hillel calendar, which formed the basis of the contrivance in the
first place.
In 1917 the Holy
Land was being liberated by Australian, New Zealand and British, and other
allied troops fighting Turks with German auxiliaries. According to the Official
War Diary (H.S. Gullett, The Australian Imperial Force in Sinai and
Palestine, Vol. II of the Official History of Australia in the War of
1914-18, Angus and Robertson Ltd, Sydney, 1937), Gaza and Beersheba had
been taken by 31 October to 1 November 1917. The seizure of Palestine was
inevitable. On 2 November 1917 the Balfour Declaration for the establishment of
the Jewish Homeland was issued by the British Prime Minister Balfour as his
first declaration (the second declaration was regarding the Commonwealth of
Australia under British law). The capture of Jerusalem was not undertaken until
December. The progress of the forces was:
|
Battle of
Beersheba |
31 October to
1 November |
|
Tel el Khuweilfe |
8 November |
|
The breakthrough
occurred (Sinai and Palestine 4-8 November) |
6-11 November |
|
The Great Drive
was made |
8-15 November |
|
The Maritime
Plain was cleared |
11-17 November |
|
The Jerusalem
advance |
16-24 November |
|
Nahr Auja and El
Buij |
24 November to 1
December |
|
Final assault
for the capture of Jerusalem |
7 December |
The final assault
was launched by Commonwealth troops on 7 December 1917. According to the true
New Moon this was the actual date of the 24 Chislev (the Hillel calendar
commenced the month two days later). The Turks and Germans began an immediate
evacuation, and by 8 December 1917 Jerusalem was freed. The infantry had
dug in and established, and by 10 December the Light Horse pushed along
the Nablus road about eight miles. They drew heavy Turkish artillery fire. They
were holding out towards the southern end of the Jordan Valley, and were
attempting to limit Allied access across the river to the Hejaz railway, and so
limit Allenby’s operations on the right flank.
Nothing occurred
on 9 December 1917 as Jerusalem had already been liberated from the attack on
the seventh. Many American histories of Protestant origin seemingly try to
claim that 9 December was the day Allenby entered Jerusalem and liberated it.
The fact of the matter is that Allenby officially entered Jerusalem on 11
December 1917. Allenby was mindful of the bombastic pageantry with which the
German Emperor Wilhelm (William) had entered Jerusalem in 1908. He deliberately
made his entry a low-key affair, entering on foot by the side entrance of the
narrow old Jaffa gate. 100 troops from the contingents lined the Jaffa road,
including English, Scots, Irish, Welsh, Ghurkas, Australians and Italians. The
New Zealanders had ridden hard from Jaffa so that the Dominion might be
represented. The only touch of colour was from a detachment of French infantry
in pale blue uniforms. This was the twenty-fourth time that Jerusalem had been
entered by a conquering force (Gullett, ibid., p. 523) but it was not on
24 Chislev 1917. By the Hillel calendar it was 26 Chislev, but from the
true New Moon it was 28 Chislev. Our troops had indeed entered on 24 Chislev,
but by assault. That is based on the true conjunction with no postponements.
Jerusalem, at the
time of its capture, presented no striking evidence of poverty but it was in an
indescribable state of filth. It was so polluted by sellers of religious relics
and false religion who were habitually unclean (aided by the primitive habits
of the Turkish soldiers over three years) that Christians recalled their visit
with horror (ibid., p. 522). After the occupation of Jerusalem the city faced
food shortages and the British had to truck supplies in from the Mediterranean.
Our advance from the south had been so rapid that the Turks had no time to lay
the southerly colonies waste. They were to prove useful. The Zionist Commission
under the President of the English Zionist Federation, Doctor Weizmann, was
tasked, by authorisation of the British Government, with the reconstruction of
Palestine. This task involved restoring the ruin of eighteen and a half centuries
(The Times History of the War, Vol. XV, London, 1918, p. 179).
The propositions
can thus be seen in the light of historical fact free of the fiction of an
uninvolved Protestant British-Israelite propaganda emanating from the US.
However, we must
remember in all this that Judah had not been blessed at this stage. It is
perverse to imagine that God would have chosen this time to fulfil Haggai and
still leave another prophecy yet to be implemented in which Judah would go
through the worst horrors of its entire existence as a nation. Exactly seven
time cycles from the levelling of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, the Nazi Party
came to power in Germany and began the systematic persecution of the Jews. From
1942 to 1945 Germany undertook the most systematic genocide of the Jewish
people or, for that matter, any nation in recorded history. To assert that this was God’s idea of blessing Judah,
in the fulfilment of Haggai, is the most perverted form of reasoning
imaginable. If Haggai is fulfilled in these activities we can conclude:
It is not
convincing, however, that Haggai is fulfilled.”
However, we can
conclude that this date, 24 Chislev 1917, was the start of the establishment of
Jerusalem as the centre of the Jewish homeland proclaimed under the Balfour
Declaration of 2 November 1917. The other Balfour Declaration concerned
Australia and its Constitution.
If we look at this exercise as an antitype for the decrees to construct
the previous Temple, i.e. from the decree of Cyrus to the commencement of
construction of the Temple under Darius the Persian, we come up with a time
sequence that covers a period of one hundred and sixteen years. The Balfour
Declaration thus sets off the chain from 1917. The Declaration was in the
Eighteenth day of the Eighth month of the Fortieth year of the 118th
Jubilee, or 2 November 1917. The end of the period of 116 years to the
Millennium is in 2033, or the Sixth year of the millennial system. We can
expect the Third to the Sixth years of the Millennium to be concerned with the
Temple and the housing of the millennial administration in accordance with
prophecy (see the papers The
Golden Jubilee and the Millennium (No. 300) and
The Golden Jubilee and the
Millennium Part II: Israel and the Surrounding Nations (No. 300B)).
The reference to
the signet ring is a parallel to Zechariah 4:7-10 and 6:13 (cf. Gen. 41:42 and
Est. 3:10). The symbolism is also seen in the Song of Songs 8:6 and Jeremiah
22:24.
The chosen
one is the true prince and governor of Isaiah 9:6,7. All of the elect are
chosen as David and his line were chosen (1Kgs. 8:16, 11:34; cf. also Zech.
12:8).
“The
dedication of the Temple [mentioned here] was as though the Temple was greater
than Solomon’s Temple. That was just plain nonsense. In fact, the prophecy in
Daniel 9:25-27 shows it is to be built over seventy weeks of years. There is no
doubt that the second Temple, and also Herod’s reconstruction of it, were
nothing compared to Solomon’s Temple. The Temple here spoken of is a prophecy
comparing the spiritual Temple under Messiah with that of the physical Temple,
and the former Covenant.
The Spirit of the
Lord was to remain with the people, and this only happened from the Church on a
permanent basis. Haggai 2:6 is quoted in Hebrews 12:26-27.
Hebrews 12:26-27 His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven." 27This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. (RSV)
This is a direct
warning from Messiah that this prophecy refers to the final shaking of the
heavens and the earth so that what cannot be shaken will remain. This shaking
commences with the Temple of God, which is the Church, being the naos or
Holy of Holies (1Cor. 3:17). Therefore, let us be grateful to God for receiving
a kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:28).
The time-frame is
the wars of the end and the return of the Messiah. The First World War was
called the Great War for Civilisation because it was thought that it was
in fact at the time of the end, and 1914-1916 was rightly seen in prophecy as
the completion of seven times from the Reign of Nebuchadnezzar, commencing from
the Battle of Carchemish in 605 BCE. The wars of the end did indeed commence
from this date, but it was to be over a much more extended time-frame and the
prophecy necessarily involved the restoration under Messiah. The 24th of
Chislev (the Ninth month) involves the question of the Holy and the Unclean
(Hag. 2:10-14). The nation is seen as unclean, and the nation from this time is cleansed of its uncleanness. This point is then
related directly to the placement of stone upon stone in the Temple. From that
day forward is the laying of the foundation of the Temple, and the Lord will
then lay stone upon stone in the construction of the Temple. This sequence does
not relate to physical things, but to the conversion of the nation. From the
construction of the Temple as living stones, the blessing of the nation will
proceed. That is why the Holocaust occurred as it did – because the nation had
not converted and the blessings of the Lord have not yet been given. There will
be more wars and more disasters yet for both Judah and Israel until they are
both repentant and cleansed of sin” (The
Oracles of God (No. 184)).
The Temple is
still being built of living stones and God will not allow a physical structure
to operate on an ongoing basis until Messiah returns and Judah is converted.
The only attempts to do so to date have failed, and resulted in harsher
penalties for Judah. No unconverted Jew or Gentile is allowed to partake of the
Temple. Only those who repent and are baptised are able to be part of the
process so that it is not rendered unclean. The kingdoms of this world are
overthrown and that which was sown in Babylon will be made a signet ring
to the Lord of Hosts. The unclean will be cleansed and will be called Holy to
the Lord and will rule as elohim, as kings and priests in and from Jerusalem.
Bullinger’s Notes on Haggai (for KJV)
Chapter 1
Verse
1
The
word, &c. Compare Hosea 1:1. Joel 1:1. Micah 1:1.
the
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
came =
became: i.e. came to, or was communicated. Compare Luke 3:2. See App-82.
Zephaniah =
hidden of Jehovah, or he whom Jehovah hath hidden (Psalms 27:5; Psalms 31:19, Psalms 31:20; Psalms 83:3). For the connection See Zephaniah 2:3.
Hizkiah =
Hezekiah.
utterly
consume. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia (App-6),
for emphasis. Hebrew. "asoph "aseph = to end, I end.
consume =
take away, or make an end of.
all. Omit "things" =
All; as in Job 42:2. Psalms 8:6. Isaiah 44:24.
the
land. Figure of speech Pleonasm. (App-6) = the face of
the land.
land =
soil, or ground.
saith
the Lord = [is] Jehovah"s oracle.
I
will consume. Note the Figure of speech Anaphora. Three times
repeated.
man. Hebrew. "adam with
"eth = humanity App-14.
and. Note
the Figure of speech Polysyndeton (App-6), for emphasis.
stumblingblocks =
ruin. Occurs only here, and Isaiah 3:6. Figure of speech Metalepsis. "Stumblingblocks" put
first for the idols and idolatry, and then idolatry put for the ruin brought
about by them.
with =
together with. Hebrew. "eth.
the
wicked = the lawless ones. Hebrew. rasha". App-44.
Mine
hand. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia, App-6.
remnant. Septuagint
reads "names", reading shem instead of she"ar, as
in the next clause.
and. Some
codices, with three early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and
Vulgate, read this "and" in the text.
Chemarims = Kemarim
= black-robed, or cassocked. From Hebrew. Kamar, to be
black. Used of idolatrous priests because so clothed; not Kohen, as
appointed by Jehovah. Occurs only here; 2 Kings 23:5, and Hosea 10:5.
worship
the host of heaven. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:19; Deuteronomy 17:3). App-92. Compare 2 Kings 23:11, 2 Kings 23:12. Jeremiah 19:13.
Malcham =
king-god, or king-idol. Syriac and Vulgate read "Milcom".
from =
from after.
sought
. . . enquired. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:29, where the two Hebrew verbs are in the same
order, and are rendered "seek . . . seek"). App-92.
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah.(with
"eth) = Jehovah Himself.
Hold
thy peace, &c. See Amos 6:10. Habakkuk 2:20. Zechariah 3:13.
the
Lord. Hebrew Adonai. App-4.
God. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
a
sacrifice. Septuagint reads "His sacrifice".
bid =
separated. Hebrew sanctified. See note on Exodus 3:5.
the
day of the Lord"s sacrifice. See notes on Isaiah 2:12; Isaiah 13:6.
day. Put
by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6, for the
judgments executed in it.
punish =
visit upon. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 32:34). App-92. Compare Jeremiah 9:25; Jeremiah 11:22; Jeremiah 13:21, &c.
children =
sons: i.e. the royal house. Compare 1 Kings 22:26. 2 Kings 11:2. Jeremiah 36:26; Jeremiah 38:6, &c.
strange =
foreign.
those
that leap, &c. No reference to idolatrous practice, as in 1 Kings 18:26; but to the servants of rulers sent to enter the
houses of others and steal Figure of speech Periphrasis (App-6),
for robbers.
on =
over.
violence
and deceit. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause),
App-6, for the booty procured.
the
noise of a cry. Figure of speech Pleonasm. App-6.
the
second = the new city. See note on 2 Kings 22:14,
Maktesh =
the mortar. Probably the local name of the merchants" quarter in the
Tyropoeon valley, west of Zion. App-68. So called from its basin-like shape.
cut
down = laid low.
they
shall also build, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:30, Deuteronomy 28:39). Compare Amos 5:11. Micah 6:15; and contrast Isaiah 65:21. Amos 9:14.
wine. Heb yayin. App-27.
The
great day, &c. Compare Isaiah 22:5. Joel 2:1, &c.
is
near, &c. Hebrew [is] near, near. Figure of speech Epizeuxis,
for emphasis: i.e. very near.
mighty
man. Hebrew. gibbor. App-14.
wrath.
trouble, &c. Note the Figure of speech Synonymia (App-6).
the
trumpet and alarm = an alarming trumpet. Figure of speech Hendiadys =
a trumpet, yea, a trumpet [call] "to arms"! Compare Zephaniah 2:2.
towers. Hebrew
corners. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6,
for the towers usually fixed there.
they
shall walk, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:29).
land. Not
the same word as in verses: Zephaniah 2:3. for, Ginsburg thinks this should
be "yea".
Chapter 2
Verse
1
Gathers =
Collect. Hebrew. kashash. Occurs only in Exodus 5:7, Exodus 5:12. Numbers 15:32, Numbers 15:33; 1 Kings 17:10, 1 Kings 17:12. It is not the same word as in Zephaniah 3:8, Zephaniah 3:18; or in Zephaniah 3:19, Zephaniah 3:20. See the notes there.
not
desired = not desirable. Figure of speech Antimereia (of
Verb), App-6.
Verse
2
day =
judgment. See note on Zephaniah 1:8.
Verse
3
Seek
. . . seek. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:29), as in Zephaniah 1:6.
judgment =
ordinances; as in Isaiah 58:2. Jeremiah 8:7.
ye
shall be hid. Referring to Isaiah 26:20, and the meaning of the name Zephaniah.
Verse
4
For
Gaza. Supply the logical Ellipsis (App-6), here, and in
verses: Zephaniah 8:12, Zephaniah 8:13, Zephaniah 3:1, thus: "[Mine anger shall be upon
Gaza, saith the Lord ], For", &c.
Gaza
. . . forsaken. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia (App-6),
for emphasis. Heb "azzah . . . "azubah.
Ashkelon. Now "Askalan, on
the coast of Philistia.
desolation =
ruin. Long since fulfilled.
Aahdod Now Esdud. The
same as Azotus in Acts 8:40.
at
the noon day: i.e. during the noon day siesta.
Ekron
. . . rooted up. Note the Figure of speech Paronomasia, for
emphasis. Hebrew. "ekron . . . te"aker.
Verse
6
dwellings =
pastures.
cottages =
pens.
Verse
7
be
for. Supply the Ellipsis = "be for [a
possession] to".
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
shall
visit them. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 50:24. Exodus 3:16). App-92.
them: i.e.
the remnant of Judah.
Verse
8
I
have heard. Supply the logical Ellipsis (App-6): "[My
judgment shall come upon Moab], for I have heard", &c, as in Zephaniah 2:8, &c.
Moab. Compare
Isa 15and Isa 16. Jer 48. Amos 2:1-3.
children =
sons.
Ammon. Compare Jeremiah 49:1-6. Amos 1:13-15.
reproached. See Judges 11:12-28.
Verse
9
saith
the LORD of hosts = [is] the oracle of Jehovah of hosts, the God of
Israel. See note on 1 Samuel 1:3.
the
God of Israel. See note on Isaiah 29:23.
shall
be as Sodom. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 19:24, Genesis 19:25). App-92.
the
breeding of nettles, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 29:23, &c.)
of
My People. Some codices, with two early printed editions (one Rabbinic),
read "of the nations".
People =
nation.
possess =
inherit.
Verse
11
famish =
cause to waste away.
the
isles of the heathen = the coast-lands of the nations. Reference to
Pentateuch (Genesis 10:5). App-92. The phrase occurs nowhere else.
isles =
coast-lands.
heathen =
nations.
Verse
13
And
He. See note on "For", Zephaniah 2:4.
stretch
out His hand. Idiom for executing judgment.
the
north: i.e. against Assyria, because although west of Canaan, the road and
entrance was by the north.
Verse
14
all =
all kinds of. Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Genus), App-6.
upper
lintels = chapiters, or carved capitals.
cedar
work: i.e. the wainscotting.
Verse
15
wag
his hand. Idiom expressive of derision.
Chapter 3
Verse
1
Woe =
Alas for! See note on "For", Zephaniah 2:4.
her: i.e.
Jerusalem. See the Structure, p. 1272.
filthy =
rebellious.
polluted. Hebrew. ga"al, (1)
to redeem: (2) to make or deem common or unclean. A Homonym, with
two meanings. Not the same word as in Zephaniah 3:4.
Verse
2
she
received not. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Aramaean,
Syriac, and Vulgate, read "neither hath she accepted".
correction =
discipline.
trusted =
confided. Hebrew. batah. App-69. Not the same word as in Zephaniah 3:12.
the
LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4.
she
drew not near, &c. Some codices, with one early printed edition,
Aramaean, Septuagint, and Syriac, read "neither unto her God hath she
drawn near".
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
Verse
3
gnaw
not: or, reserve not.
Verse
4
light =
reckless.
treacherous
persons = men (Hebrew. "enosh, App-14.) of
treacheries; placing the emphasis on the treachery.
polluted =
profaned. Hebrew. halal. Not the same word as in Zephaniah 3:1. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 19:8; Leviticus 21:23; Leviticus 22:15. Numbers 18:32). App-92.
done
violence, &c. Compare Jeremiah 2:8. Ezekiel 22:26.
Verse
5
in
the midst thereof. Reference to Pentateuch (Numbers 5:3. Deuteronomy 7:21). App-92. Compare Zephaniah 3:15.
iniquity. Hebrew. "avah. App-44.
every
morning = morning by morning. See Psalms 101:8.
unjust =
perverse. Hebrew. "aval. See App-44.
Verse
6
towers. See
note on Zephaniah 1:16.
Verse
7
corrupted,
&c. Reference to Pentateuch (Genesis 6:12, same word). App-92.
Verse
8
Therefore,
&c. The Massorah (App-30and App-93) calls attention
to the fact that this verse (Zephaniah 3:8) contains all the letters of the Hebrew
alphabet, including the five final letters. This implies that the verse takes
in the whole purpose of Jehovah concerning Israel.
upon: or,
for.
saith
the Lord = [is] Jehovah"s oracle.
to
the prey. Septuagint and Syriac read "as a witness",
reading "ed instead of "ad. Compare Micah 2:2.
gather =
gather in. Not the same word as in Zephaniah 2:1.
for
all the earth. See Zephaniah 1:18; and compare the Structure, p. 1272.
the
fire of My jealousy. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 4:24).
Verse
9
then: i.e.
after all that is implied in Zephaniah 3:8. Note the order of the blessings
in "9, 10": Gentiles first, and Israel after; But in
"18-20-", Israel first, and Gentiles after.
people =
peoples.
a
pure language = a lip purified: i.e. a clean lip in contrast
with "unclean" lips (Isaiah 6:5).
pure =
separated from that which is impure or unclean. Hebrew. barar, as
in Ezekiel 20:38. Isaiah 52:11. Daniel 11:35; Daniel 12:10. The reference is, to being made fit for the
worship of Jehovah, as the next clause shows. Compare Zephaniah 1:4, Zephaniah 1:5.
that
they may. Some codices, with Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and
may".
consent. Hebrew
shoulder. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct),
App-6, for the service rendered by it. It is not the Figure of speech Metaphor as
alleged.
Verse
10
suppliants =
worshippers. Hebrew. "athar. Occurs in this sense nowhere
else. From "athar = to burn incense (Ezekiel 8:11); hence to pray or worship.
the
daughter of My dispersed: i.e. My dispersed People [Israel].
Verse
11
transgressed. Hebrew. pasha".
App-44.
because
of = in.
Verse
12
trust =
flee for refuge to. Hebrew. hasah. App-69. Not the same word
as in Zephaniah 3:2.
the
name. See note on Psalms 20:1.
Verse
13
for
they shall feed, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:5, Leviticus 26:6). App-92.
Verse
14
Sing,
&c. Figure of speech Poeonismus. App-6.
Verse
15
enemy. Some
codices, with Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate,
read "foes" (plural)
in
the midst, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 7:21).
see. The
Codex Hillel, quoted in the Massorah, (App-30and App-93) with
some codices, three early printed editions (one Rabbinic, marg), Aramaean, and
Vulgate, read, "fear"; but other codices, with nine early
printed editions, Septuagint (?), and Vulgate, read "see", as in
Authorized Version.
evil =
calamity. Hebrew. ra"a". App-44.
Verse
16
Fear
thou not. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 7:21).
be
slack = hang down.
Verse
17
is
mighty; He will save. The Hebrew accents place the chief pause or emphasis
on "save", implying not that He will save at some future time,
but that He is an ever-present Saviour. Read "Jehovah thy Elohim is in the
midst of thee, mighty to save [at all times]". Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 10:17).
He
will rejoice, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:9). App-92.
will
rest. Hebrew will be silent. Septuagint reads "will renew
thee"
over
thee. The Hebrew accent places the emphasis on these two words.
Verse
18
sorrowful
for. Supply the Ellipsis = "sorrowful for [the
cessation of]".
solemn
assembly = appointed season.
a
burden. Some codices, with one early printed edition (Rabbinic, margin),
Aramaean, and Syriac, read "aburden on thee".
Behold. Figure
of speech Asterismos. App-6.
undo =
deal with.
gather =
gather out, bring together what has been dispersed. Hebrew. kabaz, as
in Zephaniah 3:20. Not the same word as in verses: Zephaniah 8:18, or as in Zephaniah 2:1. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:3, Deuteronomy 30:4). App-92.
I
will get them, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 26:19).
for
I will make you, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 26:19). App-92.
turn
back your captivity. Hebrew, plural. Idiom for restoring blessings as
aforetime. See note on Deuteronomy 30:3,
saith =
hath said.
q