Today’s Verse
And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, said Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
– Zechariah 13:8
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
This verse is God’s prophecy of the last days, that is, God has clearly told man that in the end not many people will remain. Only one-third of mankind will survive, and two-thirds will be destroyed. Who are the two-thirds to be destroyed? Who are the third that shall be left? Many people may think that the third are those who believe in the Lord Jesus and can confess their sins and repent to the Lord, and that the two-thirds refers to the Gentiles who do not believe in the Lord. But is this really the case? The Book of Revelation prophesies, “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and whoever loves and makes a lie” (Revelation 22:14–15). From this verse, we can see that only when we are cleansed of sin and no longer sin, can we survive and enter into the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, the third refers to those who are freed from sin and purified. Even though people are forgiven of sin when they believe in the Lord, they still often sin and are not cleansed yet. So they are not among the third, much less are those who don’t acknowledge that there is a God and who resist the Lord. Because God is the righteous, holy God, how can God allow sinners to remain and enter His kingdom?
At this point, some people may be confused: “When we believe in the Lord, our sins are forgiven, but we still often commit sins, and we are not purified. This is a fact. So how can we achieve purification, no longer sin, and thus be among the third that shall remain?” First, let’s talk about why we still often sin when we believe in the Lord and our sins are forgiven. After we have been corrupted by Satan, we have a sinful nature within us. In our belief in the Lord, our sins are forgiven, we can come to God to pray to God, we are no longer condemned by the law, and we can enjoy God’s grace and blessings. However, our sinful nature still exists within. Bound by our sinful nature, we still sin and resist God involuntarily. We have not escaped the bondage of sin and achieved holiness, and we are not qualified to enter the kingdom of God. Therefore, the Lord Jesus prophesied many times that He would return in the last days, that is, He would return in the last days to express the truth and do the work of judgment beginning with the house of God. As the Lord Jesus said, “I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:12–13). “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is truth” (John 17:17). There is also 1 Peter 4:17: “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” It can be seen that the judgment work to be done by the returned Lord is to completely resolve man’s sinful nature, so that man can be freed from sin, purified, saved by God, and brought into the kingdom of God. Such people are the third that shall be left. When God’s work of salvation in the last days ends, God brings about the great disaster and does the work of rewarding good and punishing evil. At that time, those who still have not accepted God’s work of judgment and purification in the last days, and who even resist God’s work of the last days, will fall into disasters, becoming among the two-thirds who shall be cut off. Thus, God’s six-thousand-year management work will be fully completed. As God’s words say, “My work lasts for but six thousand years, and I promised that the evil one’s control over the whole of mankind would also last for no more than six thousand years. So, now the time is up. I will neither continue nor delay any longer: During the last days I will vanquish Satan, I will take back all My glory, and I will reclaim all the souls that belong to Me on earth so that these distressed souls may escape from the sea of suffering, and thus will be concluded My entire work on earth. From this day onward, never again will I become flesh on earth, and never again will My all-controlling Spirit work upon the earth. I will do but one thing on earth: I will remake mankind, a mankind that is holy and which is My faithful city on earth. But know that I will not annihilate the entire world, nor will I annihilate the whole of mankind. I will keep that remaining third—the third that loves Me and has been thoroughly conquered by Me, and I will cause this third to be fruitful and multiply on earth just as the Israelites did under the law, nourishing them with copious sheep and cattle and all the riches of earth. This mankind will remain with Me forever, yet it will not be the deplorably filthy mankind of today, but a mankind that is an assembly of all those who have been gained by Me. Such a mankind will not be damaged, disturbed, or besieged by Satan, and will be the only mankind that exists on earth after I have triumphed over Satan. It is the mankind that has today been conquered by Me and has gained My promise. And so, the mankind that has been conquered during the last days is also the mankind that will be spared and will gain My everlasting blessings. It will be the only evidence of My triumph over Satan, and the only spoils of My battle with Satan. These spoils of war are saved by Me from the domain of Satan, and are the only crystallization and fruit of My six-thousand-year management plan. They come from every nation and denomination, from every place and country throughout the universe. They are of different races, have different languages, customs and skin colors, and they are spread across every nation and denomination of the globe, and even every corner of the world. Eventually, they will come together to form a complete mankind, an assembly of man that is unreachable by the forces of Satan. Those among mankind who have not been saved and conquered by Me will sink silent to the depths of the sea, and will be burned by My consuming flames for all eternity” (“No One Who Is of the Flesh Can Escape the Day of Wrath”).
