This is a continuation of a reading of a prophecy on what will happen for Israel that began in chapter 12. Here is my reading of chapter 12, and chapter 13.
1BEHOLD, A day of the Lord is coming when the spoil [taken from you] shall be divided [among the victors] in the midst of you.
2For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses rifled and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
This is curious — From the start of chapter 12, it has seemed clear to me that we are reading a time-oriented prophecy: that the further you go in the verses, the further in time you are moving. Remember as well that these chapter divisions were not in the original text but were added later. At the end of chapter 13 we had:
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.
So, what do we have at the start of chapter 14 another great battle?
Is this another description of the same war in chapter 13 or a new one? I’m not sure. In reading chapter 13, I speculated that, since we seemed to have the establishment of the kingdom by the Messiah at the end of chapter 12, the war in chapter 13 is likely the final revolt at the end of the 1,000 year kingdom of Revelation 20…
Now, I’m not so sure. Back to Zechariah 14:
3Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.
4And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from the east to the west by a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south.
5And you shall flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal, and you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah; and the Lord my [Zechariah's] [a]God shall come, and all the holy ones [saints and angels] with Him.
Well, this war in chapter 14 is clearly not one we have seen in history yet. This is certainly future prophecy.
I believe most scholars will view this as the 2nd coming of Jesus at the start of the 1,000 kingdom.
I’m not sure. It is either than or the final battle of Revelation.
You know – I don’t think I’ve ever heard scholars and prophecy buffs talk about the last battle against the forces of evil just before the final judgment (Great White Throne)…
I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look at OT prophecy and link it to that battle that is mentioned just briefly twice in Revelation 20:
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)
They always point prophecy like this to the start of the Kingdom – not the end…
I know J. Vernon McGee noted Hell isn’t open for business until the Great White Throne judgment. Here, we see Gog and Magog throne not into the bottomless pit but the fiery lake of hell.
Let’s look at verse 3 again: “Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.”
“As when He fought in the day of battle.” Wouldn’t that be the battle that began the Kingdom – rather than this being that battle itself? This verse seems to clearly to say this is Jesus participating in a 2nd war…
Now, look at verse: “and the Lord my [Zechariah's] [a]God shall come, and all the holy ones [saints and angels] with Him.”
Is the “Lord” here the same Lord as verse 3? Maybe.
Maybe it is the God-head coming with the Heavenly host?
The Heavenly host is clear and clearly new, I think.
It would seem what these passages are saying is: At the end of the 1,000 Kingdom, Jesus will lead the hosts of His earthy host against those humans are rebelling against Him and Satan’s forces released from the bottomless pit – and – He will be joined by the Heavenly host and God-the Father…
I need to chew this over much more, but it seems an acceptable reading of Zechariah 14 and Revelation 20…
Moving on:
8And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern [Dead] Sea and half of them to the western [Mediterranean] Sea; in summer and in winter shall it be.
9And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day the Lord shall be one [in the recognition and worship of men] and His name one.
Again, I think most would say this “day” is the start of the Kingdom. I’m not sure. I think it could fit the Earth after the Great White Throne judgment that ends the Kingdom and starts eternity.
It makes sense — if we consider Revelation 20 clearly tells us there will be a final rebellion to end the Kingdom period.
Jesus will rule both the Kingdom and eternity. So, I don’t think “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth” strongly indicates either the start or end of the Kingdom.
But, “in that day the Lord shall be one and His name one” does not seem to fit the start of the Kingdom — since we know a future rebellion will take place.
The worship of God by all mankind and creation does not take place until after the Great White Throne judgment. The return of the saints of Heaven also doesn’t take place until then. It seems to me these verses speak of that period – not the start of the Kingdom…
11And [Jerusalem] shall be inhabited, for there shall be no more curse or ban of utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall dwell securely.
How can Jerusalem dwell securely (forever) if there will be a final rebellion of men and evil when Satan is released from the bottomless pit at the end of the Kingdom?
13And in that day there shall be a great confusion, discomfiture, and panic among them from the Lord; and they shall seize each his neighbor’s hand, and the hand of the one shall be raised against the hand of the other.
14And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together–gold and silver and apparel in great abundance.
Another set of verses that could fit either period but in context seem to be the final battle.
But – shucks – this seems to fall apart with the next verses:
16And everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths.
17And it shall be that whoso of the families of the earth shall not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.
18And if the family of Egypt does not go up to Jerusalem and present themselves, upon them there shall be no rain, but there shall be the plague with which the Lord will smite the nations that go not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
19This shall be the consequent punishment of the sin of Egypt and the consequent punishment of the sin of all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.
That certainly isn’t the eternal new Earth…
21Yes, every pot in all the houses of Jerusalem and in Judah shall be dedicated and holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil their sacrifices in them [and traders in such wares will no longer be seen at the temple]. And in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite [that is, any godless or unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lord of hosts.
Color me confused…
Everything until verses 16-19 seems to indicate a final reckoning. A war that will put evil and rejecting God’s will away for good. A war that will leave nothing but good and peace.
But, verses 16-19 destroy that picture…
I’ll have to reread this and then check out commentaries, because I don’t feel comfortable with this exploration overall…
— On reading the verses again, here is one possible reading:
It hinges on verses 11 and 12:
11And it shall be inhabited, for there shall be no more curse or ban of utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall dwell securely.
12And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot away while they stand upon their feet and their eyes shall corrode away in their sockets and their tongue shall decay away in their mouth.
The idea is that this is a hinge of the prophecy.
Verses 1 through 11 are an outline of history or the final war:
Jerusalem is abused and then attacked by many nations. Then God comes to fight for His city and people. Then a miraculous reshaping of the land will take place as God establishes peace and security under His direct rule.
Verses 12 to 19 or 21 are a more detailed description of — apparently how God will destroy (smite) the nations attacking Jerusalem.
The prophecy does not appear to be time-oriented from start to finish. The 2nd half of the verses seems to be a snap-shop focusing in on how God will accomplish what is laid out in the 1st half.
This could be about the time of the establishment of the 1,000 Kingdom.
It could also be about the end of the Kingdom.
It could be about how the whole of the Kingdom will unwind from start to finish…
Perhaps that is it…maybe so…
I’ll have to consider and read more…
