Zechariah 14

CHAPTER 14THEME: The second coming of Christ, the MessiahChapter 14 concludes the second division of the last section of the Book of Zechariah. This last section, chapters 9-14, deals with prophetic burdens. There was the first burden, dealing with the prophetic aspects connected with the first coming of Christ (chs. 9-11). In the second and last division (chs. 12-14), we have the second burden in which we have the prophetic aspects connected with the second coming of Christ. This final chapter just gathers together everything and ties up any loose strings there might be. The very interesting thing is that we have had a very definite program given to us in the Book of Zechariah, and that has been true in all three of its major divisions. We had the ten visions, then the historic interlude, and now this last major division of prophetic burdens. We always start where Israel was at that particular time (and they were in a certain amount of difficulty), and then we move through the national conversion of Israel when the nation will turn to God and there will be a pouring out of the Spirit of God. All of this prepares the scene for the return of Messiah, because at that time they have entered the Great Tribulation period. This last chapter is a great climactic chapter, but it also follows the entire program that has been given to us in Zechariah. This is a section that leads up to and into the establishment of the Kingdom at the second coming of Christ. In each of these major divisions, Zechariah, encouraging the people of that day, looks on to the future and outlines a prophetic program. There are certain things which we need to make clear about this chapter. The first is that it is wholly propheticit is entirely that. The other is that it has no prophecy which is being fulfilled in this present age. In other words, it is speaking of the end of the age that ushers in the Kingdom. You will find that many commentators, especially of the higher critical school (and I believe that largely all amillennialists follow this same plan and purpose), teach that this does not actually speak of prophecy, that it is not literal, and that it can be fitted into the present age. Believe me, that leads to some strange interpretations!

Lowe and DeWette, who belonged to that camp, both said: “This chapter defies all historical explanation.” We can certainly say amen to that, as nothing like this has ever happened in the past. Therefore, this chapter is entirely prophetic; that is, it is prophetic from where we are today, and it looks to the future. The only interpretation of this chapter which will satisfy is a literal interpretation; that is the only one that will give the meaning. And any interpretation must be in harmony with the context. In interpreting prophecy or interpreting Scripture anywhere, you cannot disregard the context before and after. Also, you must interpret this in keeping with the spirit and the feel of the entire Word of God. You absolutely cannot reach in here and come out with some wild interpretation that has no basis in fact. I believe that this is a very, very important passage of Scripture, because it demonstrates the difference between literal interpretation of Scripture and that which spiritualizes or mysticalizes it, making it mean practically nothing at all.

Such interpretation merely makes this passage something that is allegorical or something that is mythical or something that actually can be dissipated into thin air. It is an attempt to explain it away rather than to explain it. Let me make a suggestion that is really a mean one. If you are wanting to know the position of a pastor whom you’re not sure about, if you really want to know what he believes, take the fourteenth chapter of Zechariah to him and ask him to explain it to you. You will find out what a man really believes when he deals with this chapter. Certain of the liberal commentators, actually great scholars of the past, and Hengstenberg specifically, refer chapter 14 “to the whole of the Messianic era.” What he really means is that it refers to this church period today. You cannot, by the wildest kind of interpretation, fit that in. That is the reason he does not go into detail. Leupold, another outstanding liberal scholar, says: Our verses do not, therefore, apply to any one situation. They do not describe a siege, capture, and captivity which actually occurred. By means of a figure they describe a situation which obtains continually through New Testament times. God’s people shall continually be antagonized and suffer bitter adversity at the hands of their foes and shall in consequence be brought low; but there shall always be an imperishable remnant, and that not so extremely small. Would you tell me what he really means by that? He means that he doesn’t know what to do with this chapter at all. So the thing he does is spiritualize ithe spreads it out like butter on toast, and it melts just about the same way! May I say that these verses are not just figurative, they do not apply to New Testament times, and the remnant that is spoken of hereit’s been made clear to us in this bookis a Jewish remnant. We need to recognize that this chapter is entirely eschatological. There have been other scholars who identify this chapter with “the error of so-called ‘Jewish Chiliasm.’” The fact of the matter is, as Dr. Unger goes on to say, " ‘Jewish Chiliasm’ was wrong only in the fact that it overlooked the prophesied rejection and death of the Messiah as the indispensable prelude to His manifestation in kingdom glory." With that as a background, let us come to the text itself

Zechariah 14:1

“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh"this would make a good headline for the newspaper. Many times, when you get down into an article, it moves behind the headline and gives you the preliminaries that led up to the headline. That is what happens here. “Behold, the day of LORD.” Here we are again with this very impressive statement. We will find that the thing which is before us in these first three verses is the last siege of Jerusalem. Then in verses Zec_14:4-7, we have the personal advent of the Messiah. We have seen all of this in other chapters of Zechariah, but now we have it brought in from a little different angle. For instance, regarding the Great Tribulation period and the siege of Jerusalem, the thing that was important in the other passages was an emphasis on the latter part of the Tribulation and the deliverance that came, and Zechariah was prophesying to the people for their encouragement. But here we see how tragic it is actually going to be during that period of the Day of the Lord.

The thing that Joel had said was that the Day of the Lord is not light; it is darkness. It begins in darkness. The hopelessness and the helplessness of these people in that period is difficult for us to understand. “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh.” The Hebrew idiom that is employed here is yomba’ leyahweh. (I pass that on to you just to let you know that I did study Hebrew, although I’ve forgotten most of it by now.) This is the expression that is headline material here, and it refers to this coming day which is yet in the future (after the church is removed) when Antichrist brings on the Great Tribulation, although the world will believe that he is bringing in the Millennium. We certainly have had quite a few presidents in my day who were going to bring in the Millennium. Not one of them has gotten within four miles of the Millennium, but that does not prevent Americans from believing that the candidate is going to do it. Well, none of them is going to do itonly Jesus Christ can do that. Dr. Unger’s rendering of this verse is: “Lo, a day is comingthe Lord’swhen thy spoil shall be distributed in the midst of thee.” The enemy is going to take Jerusalem again, and this will be the last siege.

Zechariah 14:2

This is the last siege of Jerusalem, and it is not a pretty picture that is given to us here. The enemy takes the city, and when Zechariah says “all nations,” I am of the opinion that he means that each nation will have representatives there. You might ask how that could be. Well, we have that same thing today with the United Nations. At the time that I am writing this, there are United Nations troops in Israel again. The soldiers come from different nations, and they more or less serve as a buffer between Israel and the enemy. It will be different in that day, but it will be an army that is made up of those who represent all the nations. They will come against Jerusalem, and they’re going to take that city. Again, let me give you Dr. Unger’s translation. It is a sad state: “And the city shall be captured and the houses plundered, and the women raped, and half of the city shall go into captivity, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” Apparently, some will be able to escape. There are those, including myself, who believe that it will probably be the rock-hewn city of Petra to which they will go. Masada would also be a good place. That is where the Jews escaped to at the time of the invasion by Titus in A.D. 70. The only thing is that Masada would sure be a good target for bombers if they went there. I believe that the rock-hewn city of Petra could be the place. This is a sad thing that is revealed to these people through Zechariah. The city is taken, the houses are plundered, and the women are raped. These are the three things that Zechariah mentions here.

Zechariah 14:3

This is a picture of the Deliverer who is coming. It is at this time that their help will not come from the north or south or east or west, but their help will come from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. This will be none other than the Lord Jesus Himself coming to the earth to deliver these people.

Zechariah 14:4

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives.” This is a tremendous statement that is made here, and it is quite literal. The Mount of Olives is literal, Jerusalem is literal, these people are literal. When the Lord Jesus comes, His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives. When Zechariah says His feet, he’s talking about His feet, not His hands. Zechariah says that they will touch the Mount of Olives, and apparently he means that that’s where the touchdown is going to be. I’m of the opinion that if men can send a missile that goes out to the moon and spends a few days there and comes back, and if they can put a battleship out in the Pacific and have that little capsule come down within two or three miles of the battleship, then God is not going to have any trouble with the Lord Jesus Christ touching down at the Mount of Olives.

He is the glorified Christ today. He has nail prints in those feet, but those feet left the Mount of Olives when He left this earth, and He’s coming back to the Mount of Olives when He comes again. This is exactly what was told His disciples. When He ascended, two witnesses came and said, “…Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Act_1:11). This is the fulfillment of it that will take place in the future. When?

In the Day of the Lord, in the time when they are in great trouble, when Jerusalem has been besieged and taken for the last time. “Upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” This mention of the east is not a casual statement. You will notice throughout Scripture that help for Israel is coming from the east. This is the reason they pay great attention to that eastern gate which some call the golden gate. I personally believe that the reference to the golden gate is the gate in the temple that shall be built. If you want to call it the golden gate, that’s fineit is the eastern gate. He will probably come in from the east. Ezekiel also tells us that help is coming to them from the east. I think that it is interesting that we have been on the side of Israel from the very time that it became a nationbut we happen to be a western nation, you see. The real help for them is coming from the Lord, and there is no fulfillment of prophecy taking place there today. We can see that clearly when we put this prophecy down on what is going to happen. “And the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” Great physical changes that are going to take place are mentioned to us here. There will be a great earthquake, and the Mount of Olives will be split right down the middle. Half of it will go to the north and half to the south. “And there shall be a very great valley.” Jerusalem today is surrounded by the roughest terrain that I know of anywhere. I frankly have been no place that can compare to it. It is rugged if you go north or if you go east or if you go south or if you go westany direction that you might go. If you go south to Bethlehem, you would think you were riding one of the toboggan rides at Disneyland. Up and down you gomountain after mountainand it is rugged. If you go north, it is rugged.

If you go west, it is ruggedbig boulders and rocks. You’ve never seen such great big rocks. Going east down to Jerichoagain, it is a rugged trip. The only thing is that the United States put in a wonderful macadam highway there. It is not a freeway, but it is a good highway, and it makes such an easy trip that the tourist doesn’t realize what rough terrain it actually is.

Zechariah 14:5

“And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains.” This is the reason that many commentators believe that they will flee over yonder to the rock-hewn city of Petra in the old country of Edom. However, we cannot be dogmatic because Scripture has not told that. “And the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” This is a very interesting passage of Scripture. It is a picture of the Lord Jesus coming back to the earth. We find this also in Revelation 19 where we are told that the armies of heaven will follow Him. Here it says that all the saints will come with Him. Let us look for a moment at Rom_11:25 which says, “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” This is the time of the fullness of the Gentiles when all the nations come up against Jerusalem. Rom_11:26 reads: “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” That time has definitely not come. The Lord Jesus’ first coming doesn’t satisfy this, and the Jews’ present return to the land does not satisfy any of these Scriptures.

Zechariah 14:6

There will be changes in the lighting of the earth. We are moving through that period of dawn to the coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom. This is, of course, a definite reference to the Day of the Lord, which is actually not a 24-hour day. We come now to a new section in which we find the establishment of Israel’s Kingdom here upon the earth.

Zechariah 14:8

“The former sea” is the Dead Sea, and “the hinder sea” is the Mediterranean Sea. In other words, this will be a spring that will gush up water, and I think it means literal water. Apparently, Jerusalem, which has been an inland city, will suddenly become a seagoing city, that is, a port town. If you want to find in this verse a suggestion of the spiritual Water of Life, I think that will be true also because Zechariah also tells us that the Law, the Word of God, will go out from Jerusalem in that day. But this is literal water that Zechariah is talking about here.

Zechariah 14:9

This is another very marvelous passage of Scripture. It refers to the Day of the Lord and to the fact that the Lord will be Kingthis is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, of course. In that day there will be one Lord and one language. I’d like to turn to Zep_3:9 which reads: “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.” I do not think that we can be definite about which language this will be. God put up language as a barrier to mankind. No wall could be built any higher than the wall of a language barrier.

That was the way in which He was enabled to scatter mankind and then, down through the years, to prepare for the coming of a Savior. Today the gospel is going back into those languages throughout the world. This is another of the great signs which indicate that we are moving toward the end of the age. There will be one language in that day, and I am going to be glad of that. I don’t care what language it is, but everybody will speak that same language.

Zechariah 14:10

This is very important as we are now looking at what is really the finalethis brings us to the end. “All the land shall be turned as a plain [the Arabah].” The Arabah is the geographical name of that deep rift that comes down from above the Sea of Galilee, through the Jordan Valley, through the Dead Sea, down into the Gulf of Aqaba, and on into North Africa. It has been called the Great Rift. It begins at the Dog River at the coast north of Beirut in Lebanon. Zechariah is saying that there will be another great valley that resembles the Arabah. Zechariah says that this great valley will go all the way “from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem.” This indicates the hill country of the ancient tribe of Judah to the border of Simeon on the south. It goes all the way from up north where Geba is located in the tribe of Benjamin to Rimmon, which is thirty-three miles southwest of Jerusalem. That will be a tremendous valley. All of that rugged terrain that is around Jerusalem is going to be smoothed out, and, apparently, Jerusalem will be elevated"and it shall be lifted up.” “And it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepress.” One commentator years ago said that this could not be literal because nobody could find the tower of Hananeel. The interesting thing is that archaeologists have since located it, and this brother is going to have to come up with another interpretation!

Zechariah 14:11

This will be the first time in the history of Jerusalem that it will be a safe place to live. It is not so today, and it never has been. It is a very tender spot. The most sensitive spot in this universe is there. But when the Millennium has come, the Lord Jesus has come, His feet have touched the Mount of Olives, and these tremendous physical changes have taken place, then the people can dwell in Jerusalem safely. In other words, peace will have come to the earth for the first time.

Zechariah 14:12

“Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet.” This is a living death against the enemies of God that will take place. The Book of Revelation tells us that this will take place in the Great Tribulation period. “And their eyes shall consume away in their holes [sockets], and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” May I say, this is a terrible thing.

Zechariah 14:13

That the enemy will be able to take the city will largely be due to this tremendous revolution that apparently will be taking place in the city.

Zechariah 14:14

Jerusalem will become the commercial center of the world. We are told elsewhere in prophecy that, just as they brought great wealth out of Egypt in the days of Moses, they will bring great wealth into the land of Israel when they returnthat is, when God returns them. We come now to a description of the Kingdom itself in contrast to the setting up of it. In the coming of Christ to the earth, He will put down all unrighteousness, all rebellion.

Zechariah 14:16

This verse means that there will not only be a remnant of Israel saved, but also a remnant out of each nation of the Gentiles. And they will be the ones who enter the Kingdom. “Every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up [that is, face in] from year to year to worship the King.” They are going to face in to Jerusalem. There are great changes taking place at this timenot only physically, not only spiritually, not only economically, and in fact, in every area of life, but also the manner of witnessing for God will be different during the Millennium. Today we have been told, beginning at Jerusalem, to go to the ends of the earth (see Act_1:8). Here we find that people from all nations are to go up to Jerusalemthat is what they did before the Lord Jesus came and died on the Cross. But after His death and resurrection He said, “Go to the ends of the earth with this message.” They shall “go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” The Feast of Tabernacles is the feast that the Israelites celebrated when they came out of Egypt. In that day, they will celebrate it because they have been brought from the ends of the earth back to Jerusalem.

Zechariah 14:17

Someone will say, “I thought this was the Millennium!” It is, but the Millennium will be a time of testing those in this great multitudea remnant, but a large remnant, I believewho have turned to God. It is like being a church membernot all church members are Christians, by any means. Therefore, this period of the Millennium will be a time of testing.

Zechariah 14:18

Egypt is used as an example.

Zechariah 14:20

“In that day"Zechariah will not let loose of this expression! “In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.” Even a harness on a horse will be holiness unto the Lord. What does that mean? Everything will be for the service of God. The vessels in the tabernacle were called holy vessels. Why? They were unusual. I have a notion that after forty years in the wilderness they were beaten and battered, and I think they looked like they had really had it. But they were holy because they were for the service of God. And everything in that day will be for the service of God. “And the pots in the LORD’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.” Everything will be for the service of God then, but today we are living in a world where practically nothing is used for the service of God.

Zechariah 14:21

“Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts.” Just think of that! That skillet that you have, the pot for cooking beans or cabbagein that day, all will be for the service of God. Everything will be dedicated to Him. “And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them.” Are they going to offer sacrifices in that day? We read also in Ezekial that they will. Certainly these sacrifices will look back to the death of Christ just as the sacrifices before Christ looked forward to His coming. “And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.” This means that all the hypocrites are going to be removed. This means that every unbeliever will be removed, and there will be none in the service of God unless they belong to Him. This will be the Millennium, my friend. What a glorious picture this is! This is a great finale and climax for the prophecy of Zechariah.