Zechariah 13:2

“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, etc.] In the latter day, at the time of the conversion of the Jews, when they shall turn to the Lord, and their sins shall be forgiven, and washed away in the fountain of his blood; for this refers not to the times of the Babylonish captivity, and their deliverance from that, which was now over, when idolatry ceased among that people; nor to the times of Christ, when soon after the false prophets among the Heathens, and their lying oracles, ceased, and Paganism in the Roman empire was destroyed; but to the times before mentioned, of which it is predicted by the Lord, saying, [that] I will cut off the names of the idols out of…”

“Consequences of pardon; not indolence, but the extirpation of sin. names of . . . idols--Their very names were not to be mentioned; thus the Jews, instead of Mephibaal, said Mephibosheth (Bosheth meaning a contemptible thing) (Exo 23:13; Deu 12:3; Psa 16:4). out of the land--Judea's two great sins, idolatry and false prophecy, have long since ceased. But these are types of all sin (for example, covetousness, Eph 5:5, a besetting sin of the Jews now). Idolatry, combined with the "spirit" of "Satan," is again to be incarnated in "the man of sin," who is to arise in Judea (Th2 2:3-12), and is to be "consumed with the Spirit of the Lord's mouth." Compare as to Antichrist's papal precursor,…”

“I will cut off the names of the idols - This had been a fence against idolatry. To name evil is a temptation to evil. Wrong words are the parents of wrong acts. To speak of evil awakens curiosity or passion; curiosity is one of the strongest incentives to act. All public mention of terrible crimes (it has been observed) produces imitation of the specific form of crime. Hence, it was commanded, “make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth” Exodus 23:13. And Joshua names it in his dying charge to Israel, “Be ye therefore very strong to keep and to are all that is written in the book of the law of Moses - either make mention of the name of their gods, nor…”

“Cut off - I will utterly destroy idols and idolatry. The prophets - The false prophets. The unclean spirit - The devil who sets the false prophets to work. Zechariah 13:3”

“13:2 By cleansing Israel, God would erase their former penchant for idol worship, giving them a new heart and enabling them to worship God alone (Jer 31:33; 32:38-40; Ezek 36:25-28). • In the biblical world, one’s name embodied one’s existence. When the names of the idols are forgotten, they cease to exist. • The false prophets misrepresented God by fabricating divine revelations or by speaking in the name of other gods (Deut 13:5-11; 18:17-22). They led Israel astray by encouraging idol worship (Jer 23:13, 25) and would continue to do so (see Neh 6:12-14; Mark 13:22; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 Jn 4:1-3) until that day, the day of the Lord.”

“I will cut: Exo 22:13; Deu 12:3; Jos 23:7; Psa 16:4; Isa 2:18, Isa 2:20; Eze 30:13, Eze 36:25; Eze 37:23; Hos 2:17, Hos 14:8; Mic 5:12-14; Zep 1:3, Zep 1:4, Zep 2:11 cause: Kg1 22:22; Jer 8:10-12, Jer 23:14, Jer 23:15, Jer 29:23; Eze 13:12-16, Eze 13:23, Eze 14:9; Mic 2:11; Mat 7:15; Co2 11:13-15; Pe2 2:1-3, Pe2 2:15-19; Jo1 4:1, Jo1 4:2; Rev 19:20 unclean: Mat 12:43; Luk 11:20; Rev 16:13, Rev 16:14, Rev 18:2, Rev 20:1-3 Zechariah 13:3”

“The house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem represent the whole nation here, as in Zac 12:10. This cleansing will be following by a new life in fellowship with God, since the Lord will remove everything that could hinder sanctification. This renewal of life and sanctification is described in Zac 12:2-7. Zac 12:2. "And it will come to pass in that day, is the saying of Jehovah of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, they shall be remembered no more; and the prophets also and the spirit of uncleanness will I remove out of the land. Zac 12:3. And it will come to pass, if a man prophesies any more, his father and his mother, they that begat him, will say to him,…”