Zechariah 5:1-4
Vision: The flying scroll.
Summary: A curse, written on front and back, would go into the house of all thieves and liars.
Explanation: God would purge His people, even as He restored his land and His city.
Zechariah 5:5-11
Vision: The woman in the basket.
Summary: The prophet sees a woman, called “wickedness”, in the basket. It is said to be carried to Babylonia until a house is built for it, at which time, it will be set in its place.
Explanation: This is the spiritual power behind Jezebel, the “queen of heaven”, the god of Babylon. This power was let in, and put in rulership in Israel, through the sinful marriage of Ahab. This let in such a flood of wickedness, ruling on the throne of God, that of David, that it established this power over the land of Israel, apparently. God, in the cleansing of His land and people, removes this power, but puts it in the land of Babylon, the country that would oppress and control Israel then and in the future. In this way, it is a mercy, but it is also a judgment. Israel must remain faithful to keep the power of this principality at bay, but it is removed from the immediate operation in the nation. As we see before the Babylonian captivity, the nation was given to the worship of the golden calves, after their restoration, they never revert back to this sin again. This is because this ruling principality was removed from the area. This is, again, the woman riding the city of Rome in Revelation 17, and is the Great Harlot. It is none other than the same as Jezebel, which killed the prophets. This time in the persona of the false Roman goddess “Roma”, this entity was said to personify the city, and also, civilization itself. This demon was a ruling power over the city, that even the emperor himself hated, though it was diefied with him in, and sometimes above him, in many of the temples. It is carried away and put in place in Babylon, which continues down through Rome, and John in Revelation 17 is astonished when he sees the woman Jezebel riding the seven hills of Rome. The sin that Israel empowered is now coming against them. Yet, it is the beast of Rome that hates her and will destroy her and burn her body with fire.