Zechariah 14:1-21--The Coming Day of the LORD

Zechariah 14
English Standard Version

The Coming Day of the LORD
14 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. 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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This is our last passage for the book of Zechariah.  Next time we will start the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament.  There's just a few books of the New Testament left to study after that--1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Revelation.

The nations are going to attack Jerusalem and it's going to look like they are going to win.  The city will be pillaged and the women will be raped and half of the city will be taken into exile.  However, the LORD Himself will come down to fight for the city and His people.  Jesus will return to the same mountain that He left from and the mountain will split in two from east to west (opening the gate that people have tried to seal to keep Him from being able to enter the city to fulfil this prophecy).  Half of the Mount of Olives will move to the north, and the other half will move to the south.

The people will flee to the valley of the mountains as they did in the days of the earthquake that happened during the reign of King Uzziah.  Then the LORD God (we know that this will be the Lord Jesus Christ) will come and save His people.

That day will be like no other.  The LORD will make it as bright as day when it should be evening and there will be no cold or frost on that day.  There will be a River of Life that will flow out of Jerusalem, and the waters of this River will divide so that half will flow to the Eastern Sea, and half to the Western Sea.  These waters will flow all year long, continuing to nourish the Land and give it abundant life.

The LORD Himself will be the King of His people, ruling from His Holy City, Jerusalem.  The Name of the LORD will be known and exalted throughout the whole earth.

The high places will be made low and the low places high so that the whole Land will be made into a plain, but Jerusalem will remain high and lifted up as His Holy Mountain and there is some indication that it will be made to be the highest mountain in the entire earth by what is said in other prophecies.  Many people will live there and they will dwell securely because the Prince of Peace will bring peace and safety to His people.

What will happen to those who try to attack Jerusalem?  Their flesh will rot away while they are standing in place.  It will be a gruesome and horrifying death.  Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

There will be such a great panic that the LORD will cause to come over the enemies of the people of Jerusalem that these enemies will attack one another.  Then the wealth of all the enemies of the people of God will become theirs for the taking, but a plague similar to that which killed the men who made war against Jerusalem will also come over the animals in their camps (horses, camels, donkeys, mules, etc.).

Everyone who survives (those who belong to the LORD) will come year after year to worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and they will celebrate the Festival of Booth every year.  Anyone who does not go up to Jerusalem to worship and celebrate the Festival of Booths will be cursed with no rain for the entire year.  This plague will affect families and nations that do not come to worship the LORD or celebrate the Festival of Booths.

Then the LORD will make even the horses and everyday pottery holy--everything and everyone will be "holy to the LORD" like the people and items that were seta apart for service in the Tabernacle and Temple.  All the people will be made priests and they will all be able to eat of the holy sacrifices (see Exodus 19 as this was the LORD's desire from the very beginning of the nation of Israel).  No longer will there be anyone selling in the Temple courtyard (sometimes people had to come from a long way off and could not bring an acceptable sacrifice with them, so they were sold one for the right price when they arrived in Jerusalem).

We are left looking for and longing for the coming Day of the LORD which is both a day of deliverance and salvation for the righteous and a day of judgment and wrath for the wicked.  We do not have forever to get ready for this day.  One day soon, it will come upon everyone suddenly, and there will not be time to repent and believe in the moment.  Today is the day of salvation for you if you hear the LORD calling to you.  Today is the day that you can choose to be a part of the King of God that is forever and stop being a part of the kingdom of this word that will be destroyed.  These two kingdoms are always opposed to one another and only one will win and we know that it is God and His Kingdom that will be victorious both now and forevermore.  Surrender to the winning kingdom today.  It is better to be a servant in the Kingdom of God than to imagine yourself as king or master (you are not) and be forever imprisoned in the Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels (and all those who choose to be a part of his kingdom).  There are only two choices on where you spend eternity and how you will spend it.  "Choose you this day whom you will serve....but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."