"Then I turned and raised my eyes, and saw there a flying scroll. 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.” 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.” “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

     Consuming a house is no small feat. And devouring it with all its timber and all its stones, so as to leave absolutely no clue of it still remaining, is by no means an insignificant accomplishment either. It denotes a thorough and complete annihilation. Or to extravagantly blot out its existence in its consummate entirety. Not only will the house be UTTERLY DESTROYED from every pillar right through to the very last stone, but it's inhabitant will, furthermore, also be summarily EXPELLED. A duality of outcomes. This is the dual repercussion of the LORD doing precisely what He promises to never do to those who love and obey Him (DEUTERONOMY 31:6). It's that frightful moment when the LORD does both utterly "leave you and forsake you".

     And since we are speaking of dualities, John the Baptist was the "voice of one in the wilderness" sent in advance to "announce the coming of someone or something that follows". He was the harbinger of Christ's FIRST coming. In keeping with this, ZECHARIAH 5:1-4 is the "voice of one in the wilderness" that heralds, instead, the great and SECOND coming of Christ. In both instances, "the wilderness" pertains to both "the individual" and "the universal" sifting process spoken of in DEUTERONOMY 8:2, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.”

     Imagery and allegory are in rich supply throughout the beautiful Word of God. In keeping with the theme of dualities, on the one hand, the "flying scroll" in ZECHARIAH is "the sign" of Jesus appearing in the clouds at His second coming (MATTHEW 24:30; REVELATION 1:7). On the other hand, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word is God" in JOHN 1:1 tells us that the "flying scroll" is also the "living Word". That the scroll is flying represents both Jesus as the Word coming on the clouds, as well as that the written Word (the scroll) is both alive and active (HEBREWS 4:12). More precisely, the Word is furthermore fittingly described as "a double-edged sword" (yet another duality) because on one side it blesses, and on the other side it curses. Being a singular blade that is double-edged, an "either-or outcome" by the very same Word is ultimately dependent on what condition of heart the Word finds us all in.

     ““Behold, I set before you today 'a blessing AND a curse': the BLESSING, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; and the CURSE, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.” - DEUTERONOMY 11:26-28. More specifically, the flying scroll pertains to the side of the Word that curses, not the side that blesses. It speaks of righteous judgement. In other words, for those who have rejected the loving circumcision of the blade of the Word, where circumcision is also the duality of "dying to oneself" (rejecting self-government) and "taking up one's cross" (taking on the sovereignty of God - not my will, but His), then at the second coming, that very same blade will now permanently reject those very same people by completely cutting them off from God in righteous judgment (curse).

     In 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19, we are all personally asked this, "do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" Delightfully, God has decreed it fitting to make His home in us all. He has breathed His very breath and presence into the "assembly of dust" that is man. He has established His temple within us. And as landlord of that temple, He has made Jesus, His Son, its very cornerstone. What then, is "the house" that Zechariah is thus referring to? The prophet of God plainly says that the LORD's curse shall enter "the house" and "thoroughly consume it, with its timber and stones". The "house" that is herein foretold to be consumed is the very same "temple of the Holy Spirit" spoken of in 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19. These repercussions unfold when the LORD's curse consequently enters the house of the unregenerate (being those unrepentant and yet still dead in their sins and rebellion), and then subsequently both expels the inhabitants and utterly destroys those houses as being deemed no longer eligible to be a house or temple of the Holy Spirit.

     Zechariah speaks of these two happenings as a single, cataclysmic repercussion. So firstly, then, without impunity, the LORD will sever His umbilical with that house (remove His Holy Spirit from it), and completely cut off the inhabitant's privileged connection to God, and presence of God (expel). "Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.” (ECCLESIASTES 12:6-7). In the blink of an eye, all of this will summarily take place at the milestone of the formidable second coming of the LORD.

     Throughout all the land (all of the earth), for every inhabitant of these houses, they will then all likewise experience what Jesus was forced to experience at precisely that same moment for Him, when as the Messiah, the curse entered His house, and Jesus became a curse for us all. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”” (MATTHEW 27:46). The Holy Spirit completely left Him. Jesus was both left and forsaken. And secondly, Zechariah's prophecy foretells that the house will be utterly consumed. There is only one thing that consumes. This is the consequent "eternal lake of fire" terrible banishment.

     Yet another duality is that Zechariah outlined that "Every thief shall be expelled,’ according to THIS SIDE of the scroll; AND, ‘Every perjurer shall be expelled,’ according to THAT SIDE of it.” The two sides of the scroll represent the TWO different categories of sin in the Ten Commandments (duality). Those sins against man, on one side, and those sins against God. For "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (duality). On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets (duality)." (MATTHEW 22:38). One thing the Word of God is, it is consistent. As with the Ten Commandments, the flying scroll represents the duality of the two major categories of sins, which are further summarised by disobedience to the two greatest commandments. For those who do not abide by His great counsel of love, then on the one hand, for both "the thief", being those who have robbed their neighbour of love (sinned against man), and on the other hand, as well as for "the perjurer", being those who have lied that they love God with all the heart, soul and mind (sinned against God), they shall both be summarily and permanently EXPELLED.

     In Exodus we see another illustration of the repercussions of the significant second coming of Jesus Christ. “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on "the houses" where you are. And when I see "the blood", I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt (the curse shall not enter your house)." And then further on in verse 23, "For the LORD will pass through (flying scroll) to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer (the curse) to come into your houses to strike you.” (EXODUS 12:13, 23). Upon the inevitable and imminent event of Jesus' heralded second coming, His momentous appearance will bring with it the second act of its forerunner event in Exodus (another duality). But on this occasion, it will be carried out on a much more widespread and thorough scale. Whilst the events in Exodus were didactically a relatively moderate curtain raiser, a prior pointer to what is yet to come, Jesus return will signify the opening of the whole world's curtains on this massively-pre announced "sequel event" in the writing of God's history. However, this time, there will be a huge difference in the heavenly attitude between the Lord's first coming as the "gentle Lamb of God", and His Second Coming as the "warrior King, the Lion of Judah". The simultaneous convergence of the Lamb and the Lion in the expression of the Lord's nature represent yet another duality. For precisely the same reasons as in Exodus, the LORD will pass through ALL THE LAND (as with the flying scroll in Zechariah) to strike the Egyptians (representing both the thieves and the perjurers), being those inhabitants of the "kingdom of the world", the opposing kingdom to the "kingdom of God" (duality).

     "Egypt" is a metaphor for "the world", or the "kingdom of flesh". It is against the kingdom of flesh that we are to take up our cross, and to die to self over. "Exodus" is a metaphor of the dual process of God's sons and daughters "separating" or "exiting" from the fleshly kingdom of the world (self-government; sovereignty of self) and embarking on a pilgrimage back to the Garden of Eden (government of the Holy Spirit; sovereignty of God). Duality. Also, the "going forth into the promised land" is a metaphor for entering and abiding in the manifest presence of God. The "promised land" in Exodus is the metaphor for a "better kingdom", being described as better since it is explained as being "the land of milk and honey" (restoring man's intimate (honey) relationship with God, and dwelling in God's manifest presence (milk) as in the Garden of Eden) (duality) EXODUS 33:3). "Crossing the river Jordan" is the metaphor for "leaving behind" the old life of sin and "taking on" the new life of righteousness in Christ (taking up our cross, dying to self, and taking on the image AND likeness of Christ) (duality). And just as the Jewish nation is God's "chosen" people, those who have the blood on the doorposts of their hearts, God's new covenant decrees that they will ALL be Christ's "chosen" people or "His bride" (duality).

     The repercussion of being expelled by Jesus are also depicted and foretold through the parable of the "wise and foolish brides" (duality) MATTHEW 25:1-13), the foolish brides being those who Jesus expelled because He did not know them, and the wise brides that He reserved a seat for at His great wedding banquet (duality). "But he (Jesus) answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (MATTHEW 25:12-13). The foolish brides are they who effectively perjured themselves as loving God with all the hearts, soul and mind, but did not take the extra oil for their lamps. One can only legitimately lay claim to really loving God if we have a relationship with His Son, Jesus. Without that relationship, how else will He know us? Many are called but few are chosen (duality). The foolish brides represent those who God called definitely before time, but those who He ultimately has not chosen, not because they are not called to be brides, because they were, but because they have not chosen to actively know His Son Jesus.

     DEUTERONOMY 11:26-32 talks of two hills (duality), with the tabernacle between them representing the final double-edged Word in the centre. In the account in Deuteronomy, Moses delivered a public and solemn declaration of the twin operations of the blessing and curse, being symbolized by the two mountains of Gerizim and Ebal. The two hills represent the two paths we all choose between in this life, each with its own subsequent repercussion. These "two hills" are ultimately allegorical of the "two trees" in Genesis in the Garden of Eden that every man in creation has to personally choose between. Whatever decision we make, the double-edged Word (tabernacle) rests in the valley between them, and will preside as the ultimate juror, cutting a flawless divide of humanity into one of two mutually-exclusive, eternal camps (duality).

     But know this, whether we choose the Tree of Life now in this life (representing the sovereignty and government of God), or whether we choose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (being allegorical of self-government and sovereignty of self), in the end, the Tree of Life always prevails. The Tree of Life, being the sovereignty of God, always has the final say. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (GALATIANS 3:13). To hang on a tree, represent the repercussion of the curse that enters the house, being the adjudication of the government of God, meaning God always will and always has the final authority. To hang on a tree tells us that even if we oppose the sovereignty of God in this life, one way or the other, those who do will ultimately hang on a tree, signifying they will all at the end of the day ultimately come UNDER His sovereignty, one way or the other. In this life, we will either be grafted as a branch into the Tree of Life, or at the end of it, we will be cut off from it by later hanging from it.

     Having said all this, in as much as the repercussions of His "second coming" are extravagant, God is as much the God of extravagant and lavish "second chances" too (duality). HOSEA 2 speaks most beautifully of the dual and extravagant nature of God's grace, and the lavish love He has promised and reserved for all of us. ““Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the LORD, “That you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, And they shall be remembered by their name no more. In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And with the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely. “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD. “It shall come to pass in that day That I will answer,” says the LORD; “I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth. The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel. Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”” (HOSEA 2:14-23).

     My humble and genuine prayer and petition is that we all fill the oil of our lamps with the "extravagant second chance" of His lavish love, so that we may all extravagantly avert the repercussion of His second coming, and instead, all enjoy the first repercussion being that "... in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet... the trumpet will sound, the dead will be RAISED IMPERISHABLE, and we will be changed."

The God of all time and eternity,
Orchestrates all of history.
The first and last word,
Will always be His.
For this is Your story.
You are faithful,
Yesterday, forever.
And your love endures,
Your love is to all generations,
And you use all things for Your glory.

A CALL TO PRAYER

Our Father in heaven, our sincere and heartfelt prayer is that for all the lost, as well as for all those already found, and all their own, including those who are yet to apply His Blood, our petition and prayer is that all of us will have the sure mark, or signature, of Jesus' blood upon the doorposts to our heart, indelibly imprinted, and inextricably infused into our own blood and being, that we may all be a royal priesthood, so that none who are our own, nor ourselves, may come to know what it is to suffer the judgment and destruction and separation that is surely imminent upon both (a) this world, and (b) upon all who have built their homes (their hearts) upon the treasures of the fleshly kingdom. May each person, and all their own, live above the things and the circumstances of this counterfeit kingdom, and, instead, place all their trust and faith and treasures in the Kingdom of Christ. This we humbly ask, in the genuine spirit of love, and with the heart of genuine intercession, also asking that our LORD produce in all of us who are His own, the fragrance, and the nature, and the spirit of real intercession that operates in His authority and power, thereby taking back by spiritual force and violence all that which has been taken from Him through the deception of the world. These things we ask and pray, and boldly decree, and thank You for in the hallowed and holy name of Jesus, our husband and bridegroom, amen and amen.

DOORPOSTS

The Jews were commanded to write the divine name on the posts (mezuzoth') of their doors (Deuteronomy 6:9).

"“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” - ‭DEUTERONOMY 6:6-9‬

- To God alone be the glory and the honour, forever and ever. Amen and amen.
- God's richest blessings, Wayne Biehn