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Vision of the Flying Scroll
 1
Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll.
2 And he said to me, "What do you see?" So I answered, "I see a
flying scroll. Its length is twenty cubits and its width ten
cubits." 3 Then he said to me, "This is the curse that goes out
over the face of the whole earth: 'Every thief shall be
expelled,' according to this side of the scroll; and, 'Every
perjurer shall be expelled,' according to that side of it." 4 "I
will send out the curse," says the Lord of hosts; "It shall
enter the house of the thief And the house of the one who swears
falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house
And consume it, with its timber and stones."
Zechariah 5:1-4
(1) Then.. a
flying scroll: This is the
6th vision of Zechariah. The scroll was the
equivalent of a book. Since there were no books in Zechariah’s
day, but scrolls. The outstanding features being, the size of
the scroll and that it flies.
(3)
Length…twenty...width.., ten cubits: One of the
most peculiar aspects of the scroll is its size, Twenty cubits
(30 feet) by Ten Cubits (15 feet). This is the identical size of
the Holy Place, the room before the Holy of Holies
in the Temple and Tabernacle (Exodus 26:33). In the Holy Place
stood the Lampstand, the Bread of presence and the altar
of incense.
This
is…curse.. The contents
of the scroll was the curse, which goes over the earth. God’s
word is, sweet and bitter, sweet to those who benefit, but
bitter to those who resist it. Both John and Ezekiel were told
to eat a scroll, in their mouth, it was sweet but in the
stomachs it became bitter. (Ezekiel 3:1-3)
Re 10:10 Then
I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it, and
it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it,
my stomach became bitter. Re 10:11 And he said to me, "You must
prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and
kings." Revelation 10:10-11
The… whole
earth: This scroll
represents the curse of judgment upon the world. God’s word
will enter every house, throughout the earth. This judgment will
be against the whole earth.
The size of
the scroll represents the Holy Place, where the priests
ministered before the Lord for sin.
This vision will ultimately be fulfilled in the tribulation, as
God’s judgment and wrath against the nations is completed. Sin
will be judged, leading to the destruction of the sinner and
sinful nature of the world we live..
In land of
Judah, the returning exiles, were being admonished to obey the
law, or face judgment. The immediate reference was to Judah, but
greater fulfillment is to the whole earth.
The whole purpose of the Tabernacle was to represent man before
a holy and righteous God, who was also merciful and provided a
way of restoration. Through the death of Messiah the sin of the
land was eliminated in a single day, (Zechariah 3:9). Judgment
however will still be rendered on sin, hence the curse on the
earth.
Vision
of the Woman in a Basket
5 Then the
angel who talked with me came out and said to me, "Lift your
eyes now, and see what this is that goes forth." 6 So I asked,
"What is it?" And he said, "It is a basket that is going forth."
He also said, "This is their resemblance throughout the earth: 7
"Here is a lead disc lifted up, and this is a woman sitting
inside the basket"; 8 then he said, "This is Wickedness!" And he
thrust her down into the basket, and threw the lead cover over
its mouth. 9 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were
two women, coming with the wind in their wings; for they had
wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket
between earth and heaven. 10 So I said to the angel who talked
with me, "Where are they carrying the basket?" 11 And he said to
me, "To build a house for it in the land of Shinar; when it is
ready, the basket will be set there on its base." Zechariah
5:5-11
(5)
The angel who talked: The seventh
vision now takes place. The same angel identified as the angel
“who talked with me”.
Lift your
eyes Zechariah is
reporting what he is seeing in a vision.
(6) What is
it: The angel
asks Zechariah what he sees, to describe it for the reader.
A basket:
Zechariah sees a basket, the word here in Hebrew is hpya'eyphah, a measuring
basket which holds a dry
measure of quantity, equal to 3 seahs, 10 omers; the same as the
liquid measure bath; (about 9 imperial gallons).
Throughout
the earth: The basket
holds iniquity, which goes through out the land. The NIV
translates this verse:
I aksed,
“What is it? He replied, “It is a measuring basket” And he
added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land”
(NIV) Zechariah 5:6
The word
translated resemblance was translated as iniquity
in some ancient versions.
The exiles
had returned from Babylon, and their hearts were not right with
God, as they carried the sins of the land of Babylon with them
into the land of Judah.
Though this scripture had an immediate application to the land
of Judah, the greater application applied to the whole earth.
(7) Lead
disc: The covering
on the basket was a Lead disc, (also translated talent weighing
97 pounds) inside the basket was a woman, who was the
personification of sin.
A woman
sitting: The women in
the basket is the personification of sin. In the book of
Revelation, we see a similar woman, she is called the Mother
of harlots. Here her name is called Wickedness.
Re 17:1 Then
one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked
with me, saying to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of
the great harlot who sits on many waters, Re 17:2 "with whom the
kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of
the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication." Re
17:3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.
And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of
names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Re 17:4
The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden
cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
Re 17:5 And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON
THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE
EARTH.
Revelation 17:1-5
Inside the
basket: Here this
woman sits inside the basket, the woman of Revelation is riding
the Beast, the coming end-times kingdom, which is opposed to the
Kingdom of God. (Daniel 7:11-13, 19). The basket had a lead
cover, which is a base material; the woman in basket must have
been small since an ephod is only about 9 gallons in volume.
(8) This is
wickedness: Women are
portrayed in scripture as examples of virtue and sin. Proverbs
presents two women, the Proverbs 7 women and the Proverbs 31
women. These two women are complete contrasts, one is
adulterous, the other virtuous.
This woman is presented as wickedness in not only the land of
Judah but also the whole world. This wickedness like the flying
scroll proclaims will one day be judged.
He thrust
her down: The angel
who talked with Zechariah, seems to be the one thrusting the
women in the basket, after he showed her to Zechariah. The
Hebrew word for thrust, $lX
Shalak,
connotes a violent action against the women, followed by a
hurried covering of the Ephah.
(9) My
eyes: Zechariah is
merely writing what he sees with his eyes.
Two women:
Two women now appear, with wings resembling those of a stork,
and they carry the basket upward as Zechariah watches.
(10) Where
are they carrying: Zechariah
now wants to know where they are taking the women in the basket.
Build a
house: The answer
is to Babylon, to build a house and a base for the women.
 Land
of Shinar: Shinar
r[nX,Means
the land of two rivers.
Babylon from
the time of Genesis was the spark of rebellion against God, when
humanity was one tribe, it was at the tower of Babel, located in
Babylon, man rebelled against God.Its at the Second Coming, the
revived Kingdom of Babylon will oppose the kingdom of
God.According to Revelation chapters 17 and 18, here Satan will
make his last stand.
Revelation presents two Babylons, in chapter 17 there is
spiritual Babylon, which has corrupted the world with sin,
through religion. For this reason, she is called “Mystery”,
because she uses religion to deceive the world and lead people
astray. The second Babylon is economic Babylon, who through
commerce pollutes the world with material goods.
Re 18:1 After
these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having
great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
Re 18:2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying,
"Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a
dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a
cage for every unclean and hated bird! Re 18:3 "For all the
nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and
the merchants of the earth have become rich through the
abundance of her luxury." Re 18:4 And I heard another voice from
heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in
her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. Re 18:5 "For her
sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her
iniquities.
Revelation 18:1-5
According to
a literal reading of Revelation and Daniel, in the end of days,
coming world leader will establish Babylon as his base of
operation as he establishes a world government. The women in
the basket is taken to Babylon. In Babylon a base, then a house
will be made ready for her, in the end of days, she will be
fully established in the world. | 
