“So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel …” (Hag. 1:14, NKJV)
The prophetic manifestation of the New Jerusalem lies largely in the hands of the typological figure of Zerubbabel, we pointed out in the last teaching.
In Hag. 1:14 the following is noted, a given that has implications for each member of the Bride: “So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, 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 …” In the teaching of Day 1174 the concept of the “spirit of the remnant” was explained, and analogous to this it is clear that “the spirit of Joshua” and “the spirit of Zerubbabel” are all corporate mantles that enable the empowerment of a variety of very specific tasks. The spirit of Zerubbabel is thus a spirit you can also receive to lay the foundation of the New Jerusalem. What would this entail?
One of the most important revelations regarding the spirit of Zerubbabel lies in the gematria of the word, which is a total of 241. One of the words that have the same gematria is אמר, or ‘êmer, which in its dynamic equivalent in Greek means rhema! [Remember in Day 1176 we pointed out that the words tabernacle and rhema also have the same gematrical value!] This implies that the material with which Zerubbabel rebuilds the temple, is the rhema-words of the Bride, or then: “living stones” (1 Pet. 2:5)! All processes with which the Bride is engaged in networking and correspondence of rhema words, is thus a result of the corporate authority of Zerubbabel. If these actions are also part of your life, you function in the spirit or with the mantle of Zerubbabel.
We thus need to consider everything we now know of the historical Zerubbabel within the overarching concept of this mantle, which is focused on the building of the New Jerusalem:
- First: Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews (42 000 in number, rounded off) from Babylonian captivity, a strong indication of the 42nd to the 1000th generation! Read the teaching of Day 364-365 again to better understand the symbolic meaning of the 42nd generation [Concerning the number of Jews freed, look at Tollington’s research in Tradition and Innovation in Haggai and Zechariah 1–8 , p.132.]
- Secondly: He was the governor of the Persian province of Judah (Hag. 1:1), and thus we can claim, with certainty, that this mantle only functions in the Bride, and alas not in the church.
- Thirdly: Although he descends from the Davidic line, and thus originates from the royal tribe of Judah, Zerubbabel was clearly not a king. This is most likely due to the fact that he is one of the descendants of Coniah, of whom Jer. 22:30 prophesies that none of his descendants will sit “on the throne of David”. His brotherly relationship with the high priest Joshua clearly offers the typology of the priest-king combination, which represents the foundation of the new priesthood of Melchizedek. Clearly this represents a new dispensation which is not directed by the physical, but instead by the spiritual.
- Fourthly: Zerubbabel’s father’s name is Pedaiah (1 Chr. 3:19, not Shealtiel, as Hag. 1:14 claims – there is a good reason for this seeming ‘mistake’), which means “Jehovah has ransomed”. The name of Zerubbabel, the son, thus means “sown in Babylon”, and one of his sons is named Ohel (1 Chr. 3:20), which means “tent” (BDB). In the generational lines the symbolic and identity pointers can be clearly read – God paid the ransom so that descendants who were sown in the kingdoms of the world can be freed, so that they can become a tabernacle/tent of the Almighty. All the other children of Zerubbabel points to the godly nature of this tabernacle generation, including Shelomith, the only daughter, whose name means “peaceableness” (Strong), a clear permutation of Jeru-salem.
- Fifth: The Jewish Encyclopedia presents a very important other possible meaning of the word Babylon (which is generally translated as confusion or chaos). In the Babylonian language it consists of the words “bab” (gate) and “ili” (God), literally then “the gate of God”! In the light of what we learnt in the teaching of Day 1238-1240, the believer then becomes, despite his circumstances, a gate, for others, to a higher spiritual dimension! The anointing or mantle of Zerubbabel is then a calling with a corporate aim.
- In the sixth place: In Ezra 1:8 the reader is introduced to one of the main figures of the temple restoration project, namely “Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah”. Strangely enough, this prince disappears from the scene quite abruptly, and Zerubbabel takes his place without any further explanation. It is not mentioned anywhere in the text, but Biblical commentators argue that there is more than enough reason to believe that Sheshbazzar is the Babylonian name of Zerubbabel (The Complete WordStudy Dictionary). Sheshbazzar means “worshipper of fire” (BDB). This is of typological significance, as king Cyrus’ name means “possess thou the fire” (BDB), and this corporate mantle is closely linked to the baptism of fire, the importance of being transmutated through the being of God, into the third dimension [This was extensively discussed, in all its various facets, in the teachings of Day 662-761.]
- And then, a seventh point: Hag. 2:23 notes the following: “‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, says the ‘” This expression, “My servant”, which is clearly a term of endearment God uses in Scripture, does not feature often, but is used in abundance when speaking about David (2 Sam. 3:18; 7:5; 1 Kings 11:13, amongst others.). In his book Zemah and Zerubbabel: Messianic Expectations in the Early Postexilic Period (p. 232) Walter Rose points out that this has the implication that Zerubbabel will reign like his father David, which however never happened. What does however become clear, is that a spiritual perspective on kingship is being introduced here. This then necessarily links to the fact that Jesus, from His birth (Matt. 2:2), to His crucifixion (Matt. 27:37), is considered “the King of the Jews”, even though he never formally took up such a position (John 18:37). Clearly Zerubbabel is also presented as such a type of spiritual king, especially since Jesus is also referred to, in the prophetic Isa. 42:1, as “My Servant whom I uphold”.
In the next teaching we continue this description of the spirit of Zerubbabel.
- Selah: Do you have the spirit of Zerubbabel, or do you know someone who does?
- Read: 23-25; Prov. 10-11; Phil; Ps. 49.
- Memorise: 49:15