"20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
Haggai 2:20-23
On the other hand – and this is the second point of significance in interpreting these verses (see the previous Note) - it is not in the least fanciful to recognise in what is said here an adumbration or foreshadowing of things yet to come. Zerubbabel in this respect is but a type and shadow of the still greater Deliverer who was to come in the fullness of the time, the Messiah, and the troubles and pressures mentioned by Haggai as surrounding the exiles in those days were but the precursors - and indeed the prophecy - of the final troubles associated with the coming Day of the Lord, when in the deepest sense the heavens and the earth shall be shaken, and the new order ushered in wherein dwells righteousness. The thought here leads us naturally and inevitably to the teaching of the New Testament in words such as Acts 17:31, 'He hath appointed a Day, in which He shall judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained'. And, just as in these verses the Messianic promise made to David was transferred to Zerubbabel and his family among David's descendants, so also Zerubbabel himself points forward to another descendant of the line of promise, Jesus Himself (cf Matthew 1:12, 13), Who was to raise up the kingdom of His father David again (Luke 1:32, 33). Of His kingdom there shall be no end, and His name shall endure forever.