ZECHARIAH 14
George Burnside
“Please explain Zechariah Chapter 14” is a question so often asked. It is a question that should be answered for it is filled with “PRESENT TRUTH” In fact Zechariah has been called “The Apocalypse of the Old Testament”, so it should be studied in the light of Present Truth.
Zechariah 14:1 As “the day of salvation”, so “THE DAY OF THE LORD” covers a period and not a day of twenty-four hours. It begins with the close of Probation and covers the time of the Seven Last Plagues and the Millennium and the destruction of the wicked and purification of the earth by fire.
2 Peter 3:10 “In the which the heaven shall pass away with a great noise,” this is when Christ comes. (See Revelation 6:14-17) “And the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” This takes place at the close of the Millennium. Revelation 20:9, 10. Thus from 2 Peter 3: 10 it is clear that “the Day of the Lord” reaches from the close of probation to the ushering in of the New Earth Eden restores.
Armageddon is called “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” Revelation 16:14,16, because it takes place during that period. “Thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.” This possibly refers to the dividing of the wheat and tares at our Lord’s return, which takes place during the day of the Lord.
Zechariah 14:2 The Gathering of all Nations against Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem is the center of interest in Zechariah as it is in all the Scriptures. It is clear it will also be a center of last day events. Note just a few of the many references to Jerusalem in Zechariah.
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold thy King comes having salvation; lowly and riding upon an ass.” This was fulfilled at Christ’s ride in triumph into Jerusalem. See John 12:15; Matthew 21:1-11.
Zechariah 9:11 “By the blood of Thy covenant”, or as the margin reads, “whose covenant is by blood”. Jesus our Lord sealed the New Covenant with His blood. “This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many”. Matthew 26:28. This amazing act took place at Jerusalem. Why? Oh why did the inhabitants of Jerusalem not accept Him, when it was so clearly foretold in their Scriptures?
Zechariah 11:12,13 “They weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver”. They sold their Christ and His price was thirty pieces of silver. This too was at Jerusalem.
Zechariah 13:1 “A fountain opened to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness”. The inhabitants of Jerusalem were the first to see this and it was the inhabitants that first found cleansing there.
Zechariah 12:10 It was “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” of whom it was predicted “they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced” and that look brought mourning and bitter repentance to some, for let it never be forgotten that the members of the earl y church were all Jews. The Jews did not reject Christ. The majority did, but certainly not all. Those who accepted the Messiah became this world’s greatest benefactors and have handed to us the light of Truth. For instance, on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out, the spirit-filled preachers were all Jews and so were their listeners. (Acts 2:5) They were referred to as Jews. “You men of Judah”, “You men of Israel” Acts 2:14, 22. Those same people were accused as the murderers of their Christ. “You have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain”. Acts 2:23. Jerusalem means “the city of peace” but the facts rebel against that name for since they crucified the Prince of Peace that city has never known peace. Dark days lie ahead for Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:2 “I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling”. The margin “Poison”. The city of peace has become the city of poison and trembling. It has become a city of tragedy.
Zechariah 12:3 “I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people. How strangely true is this becoming in view of the United Nation’s concern and debates over what to do with Jerusalem. It is certainly a burdensome stone for all people. Think for a moment of what has happened in Palestine, and in its capital, Jerusalem.
Psalm 74:12 “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth”. As Christ was crucified for us in the “midst of the week”, so Christ was crucified in the midst or center of the earth. It was then that Christ “caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease”. Daniel 9:27 Then the veil of Jerusalem’s temple “was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Matthew 27:50, 51. It was rent from the top to the bottom for that rending was by a Divine Hand. The temple’s sacrifices and ceremonial ism was of no more use. The supreme sacrifice of all time had been made. Soon even the temple would be destroyed and with its destruction no lamb has been slain as an offering in Jerusalem. God is working salvation in the midst or center of the earth”. He did this in earth’s center so all could know of that wonderful salvation.
Ezekiel 5:5 “This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst (or center) of the nations and countries that are round about her”. Our Lord placed Israel at earth’s center, at its crossroads, to be a witness to the nations. To proclaim His salvation. As a nation they failed in that witness.
Ezekiel 5:15 “So it (Jerusalem) shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction”. The failure of the Jewish people to witness for God has made them and their city a reproach and an instruction. Therefore, we do well to watch Jerusalem. God says it is an instruction. May we watch and learn its lessons. Think what that area has meant to humanity. It was in the middle east that man began and it is there he will end. It was there the Bible was written. It was there Melchisedek, King of Salem, priest of the Most High God ministered. Hebrews 7: 1
Note carefully the following statements from the Spirit of Prophecy and the frequent significant emphasis on Jerusalem. It was the sight of Jerusalem that pierced the heart of Jesus. Jerusalem that had rejected the Son of God and scorned His love, that refused to be convinced by His mighty miracles and was about to take His life. He saw what she was in her guilt of rejecting her Redeemer”. DESIRE OF AGES, page 576.
God had made their temple His habitation, it was ‘beautiful of situation, the joy of the whole earth’ (Psalm 48:2). The record of more than a thousand years of Christ’s guardian care and tender love, such as a father bears for his only child, was there. In that temple the prophets had uttered their solemn warnings. There had burning censers waved, while incense, mingled with the prayers of the worshippers, had ascended to God. There the blood of beasts had flowed, typical of the blood of Christ. There Jehovah had manifested His glory above the mercy seat.
There priests had officiated and the pomp of symbol and ceremony had gone on for ages.” DESIRE OF AGES, p. 576. It was in Jerusalem Christ’s disciples were to begin their work. Acts 1:8.
Jerusalem had been the scene of His amazing condescension for the human race. There He had suffered, been rejected and condemned. The land of Judea was His birthplace. There clad in the garb of humanity, He had walked with men, and few had discerned how near heaven came lo the earth when Jesus was among them. At Jerusalem the work of the disciples must begin.” DESIRE OF AGES, page 820.
“As the place of His ascension, Jesus chose the spot so often hallowed by His presence while He dwelt among men, so Christ stood on Olivet, with yearning heart overlooking Jerusalem from this mountain He was to ascend to Heaven. Upon its summit His feet will rest when He shall come again.” DESIRE OF AGES, page 830.
As Jerusalem is uppermost in the Bible, we do well to watch Jerusalem as she is also uppermost in world news. It will be more so in coming days.
Zechariah14:2 “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem”. William G. Wirth, who conducted the “Signs Question Corner” wrote, “Verses 1 and 2 of Zechariah 14 gives a graphic oriental picture of the final conflict of the nations just before the coming of our Lord (see Revelation 16:14-16), and compare John’s ‘kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. The battle of Armageddon’ with Zechariah’s ‘I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle’ “. U S Signs of the Times, November 19, 1935, page 12. Is it not significant that the only thing on which the United Nations were united upon, was the fact that the Israeli must not hold the old city of Jerusalem. But Israeli has persisted. At the time of writing, the U.S.A. is Israeli’s only ally and even this relationship is severely strained. As this is unfulfilled prophecy, we do well to tread softly. There is one thing certain, God’s word will be fulfilled. This verse will no doubt, be fulfilled in the Battle of Armageddon. This takes place in “the day of the Lord”. Zechariah 14:1. The battle of “the great day of God Almighty” is commonly referred to as Armageddon. Revelation 16:14, 16. It is apparent that “Jerusalem” of this verse cannot refer to the church of God for the following reasons:
“There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood Lose all their guilty stains.”
Many more amazing predictions from this prophecy could be given, but these must be sufficient to convince every honest reader of both their literal fulfillment and their uncanny accuracy. As these have been literally fulfilled, we can expect the predictions of the world’s tomorrow to be likewise fulfilled literally.
“HALF OF THE CITY”
Is it not significant that Jerusalem is today a divided city? The old city is largely inhabited by Arabs and professed Christians, while the other half is settled by Jews. This could explain the reason why half of the city is mentioned. It is still divided in the minds of millions of Moslems.
Zechariah 14:3 At the height of Armageddon the Lord steps in. “Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against the nations.” At Armageddon “the Lord hath a controversy with the nations.”
“The slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth”. Jeremiah 25:31, 33. “The cities of the nations fell.” Revelation 16:19. This includes Jerusalem and all other cities. All earth’s cities are destroyed forever. At Christ’s return, Armageddon terminates for “He makes wars to cease”. The redeemed are translated to heaven where they live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:6. The wicked are slain. At the close of the thousand years the earth is again visited.
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES - JERUSALEM.
Zechariah 14:4 “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives.” It was on the mount of Olives that Titus posted his army to batter Jerusalem. It was from this mount that Jesus beheld Jerusalem, and predicted its future destruction, and it was from this mount He ascended, utterly leaving an ungrateful and condemned city.
IN “THE DAY OF THE LORD”
Note the new paragraph sign. This’ indicates a new paragraph in the original text. We are now at the close of the millennium, when Jesus returns to earth “with His saints”. At His Second Advent He came for His saints. At this advent Christ does not touch the earth. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17. At His third coming at the close of the thousand years He comes “with His saints.” His feet touch Olivet, the place from which He ascended. The mount splits and on that new soil, the city of God, the New Jerusalem rests to become the capital of the New Earth. Revelation 21:1-8 (Early Writings, page 17, 18, 291)
“At the close of the thousand years, Christ again returns to the earth.”
“Christ descends upon the Mount of Olives, whence, after His resurrection, He ascended, and where angels repeated the promise of His return. Says the prophet, ‘The Lord, my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee’ Zechariah 14:5. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof, and there shall be a very great valley! Zechariah 14:4 ‘And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord and His name one’ Zechariah 14:9. As the New Jerusalem, in its dazzling splendor, comes down out of heaven, it rests upon the place purified and made ready to receive it, and Christ, with His people and the angels, enters the holy city.” Great Controversy, page 662, 663. The Jerusalem that Christ trod while on earth is some twenty to forty feet beneath the present Jerusalem, and the present city of Jerusalem will be buried by Christ on that great day. The New Jerusalem rests on the same site as the old Jerusalem. This site will then become not merely the center of the earth but al so the center of the universe, for there will be “the throne of God and of the Lamb” Revelation 22:1.
The resurrected wicked surround the city, but fire halts them in their tracks and it “devoured them.” Revelation 20:9. An old tradition claims that Adam and Eve were buried at Jerusalem, be that as it may, mankind after the flood did begin in the Middle East and there mankind will end, for they will be destroyed as they surround the city of God. Revelation 20:9 Thus mankind began there and there they will end. Thus throughout time and eternity the center of attention has been and always will be Jerusalem. As Jerusalem was the place of our Lord’s agony, betrayal, rejection and shameful death, so it shall be the place of His eternal glory.
Zechariah 14:5 “And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains”. The margin reads, “my mountains”. The Valley is the valley of the previous verse. The valley in which the city of God rests. On the tremendous day when the wicked come up against the city God’s people will enter the city of God, which is in the newly formed valley. “The Earthquake in the days of Uzziah”. Josephus tells of this quake when half the mountain broke off and rolled itself four furlongs”. Antiquities, Book 9, Chapter 10, page 4.
Zechariah 14:6 See Margin.
Isaiah 30:26 Of the renewed earth we read, “Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold.” This will be “in the day that the Lord binds up the breach of His people and heals the stroke of their wound.” The sun sevenfold brighter. This could be:
As this earth becomes the site of God’s throne, Revelation 22:1, and as the heavenly bodies circle the throne, the earth could be moved to a central position. In Isaiah 13:13 we read “the Earth shall remove out of her place”. There is one thing certain and that is the Sun is not going to burn out as some scientists claim. The speculations of men change like the wind, but the Word of God stands sure.
Zechariah 14:7 “But it shall be one day”. “One continuous day” - RSV In the New Jerusalem “there shall be no night there”. Revelation 21:25.
Zechariah 14:8 “Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.” The River of Life, Revelation 22:1.
Zechariah 14:9 “The Lord shall be King over all the earth.” See Great Controversy, page 663. All the world will then be united under one flag. The Flag of Prince Emmanuel. Revelation 11:15 “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our Lord”. Daniel 7:27 “The greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and all dominions shall serve and obey Him”. Then it will be heaven on earth. Then the prayer “Thy Kingdom come” will be fulfilled. After persecution, Daniel 7:25, comes triumph. After the night comes Eternal day. The kingdom is for saints. The ungodly are gone.
Zechariah 14:10 “The land turned as a plain.” Today Palestine is largely a rugged, rocky waste. Great changes are to take place.
Zechariah 14:11 Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited - Margin “shall abide.” This can only apply to the New Jerusalem, the Jerusalem which is above. Galatians 4:26. Revelation 22:3 This is when the New Jerusalem eclipses forever the present Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:12 Note the new paragraph sign. Zechariah goes back now to show the fate of the nations that fought at Armageddon. God has often used wicked nations to punish His apostate people and also to punish each other. 8.
“Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet”. This is evidently under the Seven Last Plagues. Great Controversy, page 657 confirms this. Early Writings, page 289 states, “The false shepherds had been the signal objects of Jehovah’s wrath. Their eyes had consumed away in their holes, and their tongues in their mouths, while they stood on their feet.” Revelation 16:10 “They gnawed their tongues for pain.” With their tongues they had denied truth, taken God’s name in vain, blasphemed and talked filth, now their tongues are consumed. They lived for the flesh, now their flesh is eaten away. They loved to look at sin, now their eyes are eaten out. Sin pays wages, but what fearful wages. May you stop sinning before sin’s pay day. Note carefully these prophecies are to be literally fulfilled.
Zechariah 14:13-15 Describes in Eastern language the confusion of Armageddon. When everyone Is hand is turned on his neighbor. After quoting Zechariah 14:13, this comment is made, “After the saints had been delivered by the voice of God, the wicked multitudes turned their rage upon one another. The earth seemed to be deluged with blood and dead bodies were from one end of it to the other.” Early Writings, page 290. To His saints God’s promise is, “No plague shall come nigh thy dwelling,” Psalm 91:10.
Zechariah 14:16 Note another new paragraph sign - God’s Appeal to all. “Everyone that is left”. There will be a remnant left – Revelation 12:17 “the remnant”. Isaiah 11:11 “the remnant”. This shows the blessing that God is willing to give to the nations if they will look to Him. Some will, for there will be a remnant that will survive. “To keep the Feast of Tabernacles”. This was the last feast of the Jewish year. This passed away at the cross as recorded in Colossians 2:14-17. All the feasts and yearly Sabbaths were typical. This feast typified the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Revelation119:9, and will be kept by “much people in Heaven”, Revelation 19:1.
Zechariah 14:17 Many “will not come”. They ignore the invitation to the Marriage Supper. “No Rain”. Trouble of every kind usually follows in the Middle East from the want of rain. Rain is therefore a symbol of God’s loving kindness. Hosea 6:3.
Zechariah 14:18 “Family of Egypt”. Egypt is singled out as illustrating long rebel lion against God and will no doubt lead in the final attack on Old Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:20, 21 “Holiness unto the Lord”. Everything in the glory land will be holy. “Without holiness no man shall see God.” 2 Peter 3.13 “Wherein dwells righteousness” and nothing else could dwell there. Romans 7:12 God’s “law is holy”. It stands forever, Psalm 119. Exodus 20:11 God’s Sabbath is “holy”. It stands forever. Isaiah 66:22, 23.
Zechariah 14:21 “There shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts”. The devil slips them into God’s church to try to drag it down. Weeds are sown in the church but remember, “an enemy hath done Matthew 13: 28. The wheat and the tares will grow together until the harvest. Matthew 13:30. Then the tares are burned, then there will “be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.” Like the mixed multitude in Israel of old, so ungodly people sometimes get into the church and may even get into positions in the church, but they will not get into Heaven, so do not follow man, but go forward “looking always to Jesus”, Hebrews 12:2. Obey His word and you build on the Rock and will not be swept away. Matthew 7:24-27. For following Jesus you cannot walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life, John 8:12. Eternal life, a life akin to the life of Our God.