Like the prophet Haggai, from whose book we have been reading these last two days, Thursday and Friday, the prophet Zechariah also encouraged the returning Israelite exiles to rebuild the Temple. The passage we read today records one of the prophet's visions. It contains both practical and mystical elements. The man measuring Jerusalem was a symbol of the physical work that needed to be done in rebuilding the Temple. God's affirmation provides a religious reason for rebuilding the Temple: "I will be for her an encircling wall of fire.... I will be glory in her midst". Our lives only take on true meaning when God is in our midst.

Though Zechariah's passage does not mention "new Temple" or "new Jerusalem", newness is clearly part of the prophet's message. The rebuilt city would be a new city, with a new Temple. As such, it would be a sign of hope.

Since Zechariah was a prophet, the meaning of his words goes far beyond the particular historical situation in which they were spoken. Eventually Scripture will invite us to look beyond a new Jerusalem and a new Temple towards a new heaven and a new earth.