" Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? 

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the LORD; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the LORD, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: 

According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so --my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.--- 

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will --shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;--- And I will shake all nations---, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. " - Haggai 2:1-4

Haggai

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Jonah and Nahum prophesied to the Assyrians at Nineveh before its fall, Hosea to Northern Israel before it was taken off to captivity by Assyria, Zephaniah and Habakkuk spoke to the Southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin before the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem and the captivity, Obadiah spoke to the Edomites about the consequences of their behavior when Israel was being led captive by the Babylonians. 

We have a third set of prophets (Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi) that spoke AFTER the captivity, at various time periods ... Haggai and Zechariah BEFORE building the second temple, and Malachi AFTER it (bemoaning the character of the priests and predicting a cleansing). 

Haggai's exhortation to the people is given in Chapter 1 as being " In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest".... and the exhortation was to rebuild the temple ... given as noted, to Zerubbabel (the Civil authority), and Joshua (the spiritual authority) encompassing all Israel (including the tribe of Levi). 

Darius I (c. 550 – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. His reign is well documented by extra-biblical sources, so we have a sound basis for dating the prophecy of Haggai. 

It is interesting to note the environment in which the construction of the supposedly "inferior" temple (remarked on in our text this week) took place.

 Darius was a usurper, overthrowing the lineage of Cyrus to install himself on the throne. During his reign he organized his kingdom into 20 provinces called "satrapies", instituted a new currency, and put down the revolt of 9 kings that opposed his rule. In many cuneiform inscriptions denoting his achievements, he presents himself as a devout believer, perhaps even convinced that he had a divine right to rule over the world.

Interesting pre-echoes (to coin a word) of what we see predicted at the end time!

And here is our characteristic hallmark of the "minor" prophets... holding secrets that prove they are "minor" in name only, as what we see spoken in Haggai predicts the events that are soon to come upon this world!

A building of a temple in Jerusalem, and cataclysmic events that will SHAKE everything!

This shaking is referenced in the book of Hebrews, in a most solemn admonition that we would to well to heed...

" See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, ----Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. --- And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire. " - Heb 12:25-29

And predicted in the Book of Revelation... 

" And I beheld when he had opened the -- sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great --earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.  [[ Big Shaking ]]

And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?  [[ Nations Shaken ]] " - Rev 6:12-17

This shaking, terrible as it seems, does NOT herald the return of Christ, even though it is cataclysmic enough to seem that way. No, there are still 7 trumpets that wait to be blown before the blowing of the 7th trumpet ushers in the last 7 years of human history.

Frightening? Yes, but we can take comfort in the Word of God that will He will preserve His people (just as He preserved them from the plagues in Egypt -- something referenced in the text of Haggai this week AS WELL)...  we are assured that His Spirit will ever remain with us ... and asked to FEAR NOT!

This comfort is sealed with a 4-fold promise... emphasized by the repetition of the phrase "saith the LORD of hosts"... consoling Israel for the paucity of splendor of this human constructed temple... 

"For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will --shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land;--- And I will shake all nations---, and the desire of all nations shall come and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts. " 

Peace seems to be a distant concept for that land today, but in the midst of all this upheaval, we WILL see both a 4th and 5th rebuilding of the House of God ( #1 = Solomon, #2 = Zerubbabel & Joshua #3 = Herod #4 = End-time temple #5 = Millennial temple ) and a glory to come that will make the former look like nothing!!

Hallelujah!