Zechariah 14:1-21: “The Return of Jesus Christ - Kingdom Come.”

Zechariah’s visions were more short-term, focused on the people as they were still returning from Babylon in 520 BC, and on the city of Jerusalem, including the rebuilding of the Temple. The narratives immediately followed the single night of eight visions and dealt with the situations facing the Judean community as the rebuilding effort continued. The oracles are very different in almost every way from the first two portions of the book. They were written considerably later, perhaps by as much as forty years, and the focus is on the final days of human history, specifically God’s relationship with the nation of Israel. Both deal with severe judgment. In the first oracle, the focus is on the judgment of the Gentile nations, while in the second oracle, God’s judgment turns toward Israel. Tonight, we will study chapter fourteen, the final passage in the second oracle and the book. 

Chapters twelve and thirteen set the stage for, and are actually integrated with, this final chapter. The two key verses speak to God’s salvation of Israel in terms of repentance in 12.10. 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.   . and forgiveness in thirteen. 1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.  . Chapter fourteen is about the final great event of human history:  the return to earth of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah. 

This oracle is a good example of what makes prophecy, and especially Zechariah, so challenging. It’s complex, the language is not always clear, and it’s not written according to a clear, Western-style timeline approach. The narrative elements of twelve and thirteen integrate chronologically into fourteen. I’ll take note of those instances as we go, so we don’t get too confused, and I’ve built this chart to put the events in chronological order. Events in chapter fourteen are in the gold color. In terms of the major events within the Battle of Armageddon and the second coming of Jesus, note the events left to right:  Jerusalem is besieged, sacked, and pillaged by the nations; as the battle is almost over and the enemies are still on the battlefield, Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives, destroys the enemies, and saves the remnant Jews; they look to Him in repentance, are forgiven, and enter the Millennial Kingdom. 

The Battle Turns

Now comes a specific day, a special day within the larger timeframe known as the Day of the Lord. The opposing Gentile nations, led by the Antichrist, the False Shepherd who has violated his covenant with Israel, have besieged all of Israel, from the north to the south,  especially the capital city, Jerusalem. 

1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Israel’s enemies appear to have won. Jerusalem is taken, occupied by the enemy, and the citizens suffer as civilians always do in wartime. Anything of value is taken and likely brought to central locations such as plazas or public squares, and the soldiers begin to take what they want from the plunder. Some of the Jews remain in the city for a time, while many are already being taken into custody by the militaries of the Gentile nations. They will not be treated well, for the Antichrist orchestrated this global assault on the Jews and Jerusalem to crush Israel. But there are still some Jews left in the city and Judah. 

The King Returns

This is the moment all the faithful have been waiting for since Jesus ascended after His resurrection. Jesus returns to His city, to His people, to the exact place from which He left: the Mount of Olives. And He’s not coming back as the babe of Bethlehem, or the Suffering Servant, He’s coming back as the Conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as John saw him in Revelation 19.11. “ 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.” And He’s ready for a fight. 

3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 

The geography of Jerusalem and the surrounding land hasn’t changed too much since the days of Jesus. This is a map of the small area that encompasses Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, separates by the Kidron Valley. as the text says, the Mount of Olives stands to the east of the city. the Mount is actually the center mountain of a small range of three mountains running north to south. this is a panoramic view of the Mount from Jerusalem. It’s not very high, about 2,660 feet above sea level, but it is conspicuously higher than the Kidron Valley, and slightly higher than Jerusalem at 2,600 feet above sea level. 

Jesus returns just as He said He would. Acts 1.9-11  records the prophecy of the exact manner and location of Jesus’s return. 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?  This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”  Another prophecy fulfilled. 

And when He arrives and touches the Mount of Olives, the impossible happens. Jesus’s feet will touch down on the Mount, and at that moment, the Mount will be split by an earthquake, creating a wide valley between the two halves of the Mount of Olives as they move, one to the north and one to the south. Here, God calls this valley “the valley of My mountains”. And this valley is there for two special reasons: first, it’s a place of refuge for the escaping remnant of the Jews. flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal.  . the word ‘Azal’ is a preposition. Azal (a’-zal) = Noble; root of a mountain; deep rooted; (root = to join together; to put by the side; to separate). Given the definition, it is clear that this valley will be near, or beside, Jerusalem, specifically joining together the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives, providing a ready way of escape from the occupying enemy forces. The second reason is that this valley will very likely become the Valley of Jehoshaphat, a Hebrew word meaning “judgment”. This place name, which has never existed in Palestine, is mentioned in Joel 3.1-2, 11-12. 

“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel; 11 Hasten and come,
    all you surrounding nations,
    and  gather yourselves there.
Bring down your warriors, O Lord.
12 Let the nations stir themselves up
    and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge
    all the surrounding nations.

God will judge the nations, and I believe this valley is the location for that judgment. it seems quite plausible that as the Jews flee to the east, the enemy forces will pursue them from the city into the valley, setting the stage for a reenactment of the other great deliverance of the Jews, the crossing of the Red Sea during the Exodus, as God’s people are delivered by God’s hand from vicious enemies. These godless nations will face the full fury of God’s wrath on this day, the Day of the Lord. For then, as verse five says, Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. . and though the Almighty needs no help, He will bring the “holy ones” with him. This term in Scripture applies to OT saints (Deuteronomy 33.2), holy angels (Psalm 89.5), and NT saints (I Corinthians 1.2). It seems clear that all three groups may well be represented in this assembly, including NT believers. For example, I Thessalonians 3.11-13  says, 11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. Hallelujah!

A Special Day

This will be a day like no other. 

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.  8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.  10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

The miraculous geographic changes created by the return of Jesus the King are not the only physical changes that happen on the Day of the Lord. Let’s examine what we know about this Day. 

The Hebrew in this portion is unclear as to its meaning. Based on all I understand, It will be a unique, singular day in which the normal cycles of light and dark are interrupted, and neither seems to be dominant, as if it was twilight, but unsure if it was becoming more light or more dark; but at the end of the day, which might not be 24 hours, the light prevails. 

Also, rivers shall flow all year round from Jerusalem to the east and to the west. Zechariah sees what Ezekiel had also seen and recorded in chapter 47 of his prophecy of the water flowing to the Dead Sea. This water shall flow from beneath the Temple, from under the threshold, and when the living water reaches the sea, the Dead Sea will live. The western river shall flow to the Mediterranean Sea, and the desert will blossom like a rose (Isaiah 35.1)

And the land will be changed all around Jerusalem, from Geba in the north to Rimmon in the south, and the land will become a plain. Other hills will be flattened except Mount Zion and Jerusalem, and the difference will be so stark that Zechariah describes Jerusalem as being “aloft”. One commentator compared it to a solitaire diamond ring. The city will be inhabited and secure, and as the place names indicate, from east to west and north to south.

We’ll return to verse 9 to close. 

A Complete Defeat

Those who rose up against the Almighty God, under the command of the Antichrist, will pay a great price for their rebellion. 

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.  13 And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even  Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

The Lord will deploy three lines of effort in this battle against the opposing nations: first, the plague mentioned in verse 12, when life will be taken from the rebels and their animals so quickly that decomposition will begin before they can fall to the ground. Second, a divine panic of confusion and chaos that will result in the enemies turning their hands against each other, as is recorded in II Chronicles 20, and third, the supernaturally empowered Jews shall join and fight against the enemy, as Zechariah prophesied in 12.1-9. and the wealth of the nations will be brought into Jerusalem as spoils from the battle. 

A New Life

As the Battle of Armageddon gives way to the beginning stages of the Millennial Kingdom, all the remaining peoples of the earth must reckon with the Lord Jesus as the single Ruler over all. 

16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.

Now the timeline shifts forward, as we get a glimpse of life after the Lord Jesus takes the throne of his millennial kingdom as the one Ruler over all the earth. The nations will send representatives to Jerusalem to worship, and surely those who do not come to the capital will worship wherever they live. And, significantly, the feast called out here is the Feast of Booths, or Tabernacles. This third of the three annual pilgrimage feasts of Israel’s year took place after the harvest, in the seventh month, our September and October. It commemorated God’s provision for the nation during the wilderness years as the people lived in the open for seven days in booths constructed of tree branches.  Tabernacles was the most joyous of the festivals, with the harvest and the remembrance of God’s goodness blending together so that all people would rejoice and praise God for his saving grace. It was during this feast that Jesus proclaimed, “I am the light of the world” (John 8.12). So if nations will not acknowledge God’s gracious provision for them in Christ, then he will not provide the early rains. 

And in that Kingdom day, all things will be made holy, down to the pots and pans and the bells on the horses. And no trader (or Canaanite) shall be present in the house of the Lord, for God’s house will not be a den of thieves, as it was in Jesus’s day, but will truly be a house of prayer and worship. 

The Beginning of Eternity

God Himself writes the final postscript to the prophecy of Zechariah. 

9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

The day is coming, and shall soon be, when the Lord Jesus will begin His rightful reign as the Sovereign Lord, as Isaiah 9.7 predicts. 

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace

    there will be no end,

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Application 

The main focus of this final chapter of Zechariah is the return of the Lord. 

What can we say about the application regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ? We could get deeply involved in different theological views of the event, whether or not it will ever happen, whether there is or is not an actual Millennial Kingdom, and an endless list of debatable finer points of this perspective or that view or this latest podcast. 

Let’s set all that aside and be very clear. Ultimately, the most important issue about the second coming of Jesus for each of us is focused on one and only one question: Are you ready to meet Him on that day?

Have you heard the message of repentance and forgiveness, and said, “I don’t believe it” – “that’s not for me” – “I’m not a religious person” – “No God could ever love or forgive me” – “I don’t need God, everything I need is within me” – or simply “There is no God” – if you are that person, I hope you will hear the simple gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. The same Jesus Christ who is coming again, as Zechariah declares him, is the same Jesus who knows you and loves you. Would you turn to him for all you’ll ever need?

Or maybe you have heard the message of repentance and forgiveness, and received that truth as the truth from God, and rightly understood it as an imperative for you. You already know Jesus, and you are all in on faith in God. You already know that seeking and knowing God is the only pursuit that matters, that is worthy of your life. Then you’re in the right place. Unite with this group of believers and serve the Lord alongside us. 

What a wonderful way to close our study of Zechariah, by coming to faith in Christ or by reflecting on our life-changing relationship with Him, to see in Jesus the fulfillment of all the visions and the oracles for the future of the Jewish people and the Church. Every good prophecy from God about His people will come to pass, as several already have. He will bless His people and judge the wicked, and we will enter into a glorious kingdom. 

Jesus Christ is our soon-coming King. Let us rejoice in Him!