Zechariah In The Old Testament

The name “Zechariah” means “the Lord (Jehovah) remembers.” In the Old Testament this name is used over twenty-nine times. Zechariah was a postexilic prophet during the restoration from Babylon. He was born in Babylon from a priestly family that returned to Jerusalem with some 50,000 other exiles. Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel he was both prophet and priest. Jewish tradition credits him with being one of the Great Synagogue, a body which is thought to have gathered and preserved the sacred writings and traditions of the Jews after the exile. (Feinberg 273) His ministry, like that of Haggai, was to encourage the returned remnant to rebuild the Temple, and to nourish hope in the coming time of victory over every enemy. Zechariah ministry, however, extends in scope far beyond that of Haggai, dwelling on the person and work of Christ more fully than all the other Minor Prophets together. Also, his visions and oracles are the most messianic yet the most difficult to interpret. This difficulty can be largely overcome if we remember that Zechariah is a postexilic prophet and therefore all visions of future glory cannot refer to the return from Babylon. (Feinberg 273-274) The book …show more content…
However, before moving on there are certain things that need to be made clear about the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah. The first is that it is wholly prophetic. The other is that it has no prophecy which is being full filled in this present age. In other words it is speaking of the end of the age that ushers in the Kingdom. Many amillennialists teach that this does not actually speak of prophecy, that it is not literal, and that it can be fitted into the present age. Such interpretation merely makes this passage something that is allegorical or something that is mythical or something that actually can be dissipated into thin air. It is an attempt to explain it away rather than explain it. (McGee,