Here is my exploration of chapter 12 which starts this prophecy concerning Israel to the End Times.
1IN THAT day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem [to cleanse them from] sin and uncleanness.
2And in that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no more be remembered; and also I will remove from the land the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit.
This day seems clearly to be when Jesus returns – or for the Jews, the coming of the Messiah.
Look at the end of chapter 12 for the amazing parallels between this prediction of the Messiah and Jesus:
10And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication. And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his firstborn.
11In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of [the city of] Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddo [over beloved King [b]Josiah].
In this first verse of Zecharia 13, we have the inhabitants in Jerusalem who are weeping over the coming of the Messiah baptized in water and receiving the Spirit of grace. For a Christian, these verses are truly amazing…
In verse 2, we have the coming of the Messiah removing the false prophets and unclean spirit.
In Islam, from what I’m reading now, the coming of Jesus is very different for both Christians and Jews:
returns [Jesus] will personally correct the misrepresentations and misinterpretations about himself. He will affirm the true message that he brought in his time as a prophet, and that he never claimed to be the Son of God. Furthermore, he will reaffirm in his second coming what he prophesied in his first coming bearing witness to the seal of the Messenger, Prophet Muhammad.
Richardson, Joel (2009-07-28). The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast (p. 55). WND Books. Kindle Edition.
Jerusalem will be the location of the rightly guided caliphate and the center of Islamic rule, which will be headed by Imam al-Mahdi…. That will abolish the leadership of the Jews…and put an end to the domination of the Satans who spit evil into people and cause corruption in the earth, making them slaves of false idols and ruling the world by laws other than the Shari’a [Islamic law] of the Lord of the worlds.22
The Prophet said…the last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him.23
Richardson, Joel (2009-07-28). The Islamic Antichrist: The Shocking Truth about the Real Nature of the Beast (p. 27). WND Books. Kindle Edition.
Christians are taught that when the Messiah comes (returns), He will destroy the forces of evil that are making war against Israel, the devil will be cast out of the Earth, and a peaceful (1,000 year) kingdom will be established in which He will rule strictly.
There does not seem to be a total conversion at this time or an elimination of all who do not worship Him, however, (I think), because Revelation says that a final rebellion will occur near the end of the 1,000 years when Satan is released from the pit and will gain support among the people – and then be struck down for the final time and thrown with all his followers into hell.
Perhaps this is why Zechariah seems to take a step back here. For we suddenly get:
4And in that day the [false] prophets shall each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, nor will he wear a hairy or rough garment to deceive,
5But he will [deny his identity and] say, I am no prophet. I am a tiller of the ground, for I have been made a bond servant from my youth.
6And one shall say to him, What are these wounds on your breast or between your hands? Then he will answer, Those with which I was wounded [when disciplined] in the house of my [loving] friends.
Why do we suddenly get these false prophets here after we have just had all the warriors against Israel destroyed?
Why, during the kingdom of peace for Israel, are individuals being disciplined?
7Awake, O sword, against My shepherd and against the man who is My associate, says the Lord of hosts; smite the shepherd and the sheep [of the flock] shall be scattered, and I will turn back My hand and stretch it out again upon the little ones [of the flock].
8And in all the land, says the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, but one-third shall be left alive.
9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined and will test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will hear and answer them. I will say, It is My people; and they will say, The Lord is my God.’
I’m not sure, but I believe prophecies like this among Christians have been read as part of the End Times and the period of the initial 2nd coming of Christ, but that seems odd to me at this time.
It seems clearly in chapter 12, this prophecy is time-oriented: That the further you get into the verses, the further you are going in time for the land (and people) of Israel.
And in the last chapter, we already got what clearly seemed to be the great defeat of Israel’s enemies and the establishment of a peaceful kingdom by the Messiah.
[Edit: I’m not so sure about that after getting to chapter 14 later on.]
Why now this sudden return to “2/3rds shall be cut off and perish but 1/3rd shall be left alive”?
Well, again, for Christians in the NT, in Revelation, we are also taught that the kingdom set up at the 2nd coming will not be perfect. We are taught Jesus will lead a rule over the people that will be strict and lead (most) people to accept Him – but – there will be a final rebellion at the end of the 1,000 years when Satan is allowed out of the pit for one last attempt at battle against God and His followers – before he is finally cast in hell with them and a new, eternally peaceful Earth is established:
7And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his place of confinement,
8And he will go forth to deceive and seduce and lead astray the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth–Gog and Magog–to muster them for war; their number is like the sand of the sea.
9And they swarmed up over the broad plain of the earth and encircled the fortress (camp) of God’s people (the saints) and the beloved city; but fire descended from heaven and consumed them. [II Kings 1:10-12; Ezek. 38:2, 22.]
10Then the devil who had led them astray [deceiving and seducing them] was hurled into the fiery lake of burning brimstone, where the beast and false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (through the ages of the ages).
. (Revelation 20)
This fits this prophecy in Zechariah for Israel that began in chapter 12…
Edit: Once I got into chapter 14, I had to take a step back, because there is yet another major war there, and this one directly states God is coming down to join in it…
So, we either have 2 or 3 repetitive descriptions of 1 Messianic war, or, we have different wars we must place in time.
The repeated references to “in that day” from near the start in chapter 12, the prophecy would seem clearly to place this in the End Times and quickly to the coming of the Messiah.
I don’t know yet where we would place the description in chapter 13 and 14…I’ll have to look at scholarly commentaries and edit this…
Right now, I lean toward the idea the bulk of chapter 12 and 13 are talking about the establishment of the 1,000 kingdom and chapter 14 is about the final rebellion at the end of it.
In chapter 14, you will see that God is directly mentioned as coming down, and the kingdom that is established there is one stated to last forever.
We haven’t seen that “forever” marker yet.
—-You can read here for my thoughts on the overall value of pouring over the details of prophecy like this.
As far as my faith and salvation goes, it means nothing. It is more of an intellectual and spiritual curiosity.
