Smiting of the false shephards

Zechariah's prophecy of the smiting of the False shephards of Israel



The Foolish Shepherd

The identification and timing of the foolish shepherd is even more controversial than that of the Good Shepherd. The four candidates usually put forward are[59]:

1) Herod

2) The Roman Rulers

3) The whole body of native rulers

4) The Beast of Dan 7:8

The first thing to note is that the Lord is making a new statement that Zechariah is about to illustrate. We should therefore assume that at least something is being conveyed by that which Zechariah says. Bad shepherds had already pervaded Judaism for hundreds of years and had been denounced as such by previous prophets. Therefore we have to assume that the shepherd to come was more distinct or pernicious than those that have gone before. In particular we should look for a fulfillment that is clear and not too general.

We should also note that this shepherd is to be raised up in the land. This would appear to preclude Romans or Edomites from being the intended fulfillment. It also seems to preclude the ‘Beast from the Sea’[60] who is a gentile. It would also be particularly strange for God to state so emphatically that He is raising the shepherd from the land if the beast from the sea was the correct fulfillment.

The timing is clearly a key issue to be decided upon. Unfortunately there are two perfectly reasonable ways of interpreting the English text of Zec 11:15. If it is taken to introduce a second prophecy unrelated to the previous then the Lord’s statement that he will raise up a shepherd could refer to any period of time from 520BC forwards. If however verse fifteen is considered to introduce a second phase of the same prophecy then the raising of the foolish shepherd has to take place subsequent to the death of the Lord and scattering of the sheep.

However, Dr Unger points out an interesting feature of the Hebrew which is supported by the Young’s literal translation. Zechariah is told to take the instruments of the shepherd again. In fact the KJV rendering ‘Take unto thee yet’ supports the same notion although does not emphasize it so clearly. Assuming these gentlemen have translated correctly then we discover that this is indeed the second half of the same prophecy. Therefore a fulfillment should be looked for that is subsequent to the death of the Lord. This rules out Herod and his contemporaries from consideration.

The lack of clear historic fulfillment prior to AD70 and the fact that the flock will not be fully re-gathered until a point still future leads me to suggest that the fulfillment of the foolish shepherd is also still future. Further given that the shepherd has to have particular concern for the Jew and that he is to be raised from the land leads me to suggest that it is the beast from the land of Revelation 13:11 that is in view here as the foolish shepherd. For those who object that the false prophet is really just a mouthpiece I would point out that we are told that the beast from the land has all of the power of the beast of the sea[61] and that it is the beast from the land that leads the persecution of those that refuse to worship the beast of the sea[62] and that insists upon the infamous marking of 666.

There are some other points in Zechariah 11 that possibly give us some insight into the relationship of the false prophet to the people of Israel. Zec 11:16 gives a stirring account of the extent of his neglect and indeed abuse of the flock. He doesn’t seek the dying, the young, and the injured or even attempt to help those that are easy to help. Instead he eats the flesh and is so determined to get everything he can that he will even part the hooves to remove every last morsel of meat.

It is Zec 11:17 however that gives us an interesting detail: he leaves the flock. This would suggest that the foolish shepherd had for some period of time, at least ostensibly, shepherded Israel. We are not explicitly told but it would appear to me as reasonable that the foolish shepherd probably shepherds Israel during the period when the Beast from the Sea has a contract with them. Then during the mid-point of the tribulation when the contract is broken[63] I suspect that the foolish shepherd switches sides and begins the persecution. It is particularly interesting that the demise of the false shepherd is both military (the sword) and medical (the withered arm and blindness). As suspect this dual attack upon him is due to his dual role in both the religious and governmental spheres.

The Smiting of the Shepherd

Dr Unger has described Zec 13:7 as one of the most important verses in the Old Testament[64]. This is because it brings forward two separate facts. First it states that the shepherd is going to be smitten...

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