ZECHARIAH 14:1-11 | A FORESHADOW OF THE RETURN

TEXT: ZECHARIAH 14:1-11 | A FORESHADOW OF THE RETURN

INTRO: Over the past couple weeks we have watched as evil has sought to destroy God’s people, Israel.

The atrocities and horrors that have taken place and have been broadcast have been overwhelming.

We have had a glimpse into the evil potential of man’s heart outside of God’s intervention.

The murder of innocent lives including children

The abuse of women

The torture of another human being

The absolute depravity of men acting out in the name of “religion”

If you haven’t experienced any emotions of righteous indignation and brokenness, I must ask, what if it were your family?

What if that was your wife?

What if those were your kids?

What if that was your home?

And what makes you any better than those people going through those very things?

What makes you and I think we deserve anything else?

It was with the the heartbreak of all that has been on display that I received a text from my mom this week.

And she simply drew my attention to a passage of Scripture that seems eerily similar to what we have seen over these past couple weeks.

Zechariah 14:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, And thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For 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 forth into captivity, And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Those words of v.2 hung in my mind as I read them.

Is this not what we are seeing right now?

Could not that have been a paragraph in one of the news websites that you read this past week?

Houses rifled, women ravished, people taken into captivity as hostages in Israel!

But while this sounds all too familiar, this is not a prophecy of what has just happened… it’s a prophecy of what is still to come.

You see these events described are events that will take place after the rapture of the church, at the end of the 7 year tribulation period in which God will reign out His wrath on the world in His final dealing with Israel!

Before the events we just read about will come to their final fruition, following the removal of the church from this earth, there must be a rising up of the nations surrounding Israel with the intention of her destruction.

And in the midst of that threat, a man will rise on the scene as a perceived “savior”… whom we know as the antichrist.

He will do what seems impossible… he will lead in a peace treaty with Israel.

With that treaty will begin the 7 year countdown of the tribulation period.

Now how do we know what is taking place in v.2 of Zechariah 14 isn’t what we just experienced?

Because we have the context of will immediately follow: Zechariah 14:3-11

Zechariah 14:3–11 KJV 1900

3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, As when he fought in the day of battle. 4 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 toward the east and toward the west, And there shall be a very great valley; And half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, And half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah: And the Lord my God shall come, And all the saints with thee. 6 And it shall come to pass in that day, That the light shall not be clear, nor dark: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, Not day, nor night: But it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. 8 And it shall be in that day, That living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; Half of them toward the former sea, And half of them toward the hinder sea: In summer and in winter shall it be. 9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. 10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: And it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, From Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, And from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. 11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

Jesus will come all the way down to earth and will rest His feet on the Mount of Olives!

He will destroy all the enemies of God and His people!

With just a spoken word, the greatest world war will come to an end.

Zechariah 14:12 KJV 1900

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people That have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, And their eyes shall consume away in their holes, And their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

And do you want to know who will be there to watch it happen???

Zechariah 14:5 KJV 1900

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah: And the Lord my God shall come, And all the saints with thee.

If you know Jesus Christ today, one day you will be there!

On your white horse along with Christ!

Wow! What a day!

So, what about all that is going on in Israel today?

I think it is proof, that everything the Bible says, could be just around the corner!

It is a foreshadowing of what is to come!

All my life I have heard preachers stand before me and proclaim that the rapture of the church and the return of Christ could happen at any moment

Since the ascension of Christ back to heaven in Acts 1, the rapture of the church and return of Christ has been proclaimed to be possible at any moment.

But can you imagine how difficult it was for people to imagine before 1948 before Israel was given back a portion of land to call their own?

Can you imagine how hard it was to comprehend even 60 or 70 years ago how everyone in the world could see the bodies of 2 witnesses lying in the street?

Can you imagine only a few decades ago how hard it was to imagine that a mark of the beast could be placed in the right hand or forehead of someone?

And now, it doesn’t take much imagination to see the possibility of Israel facing an all out attack from the nations on her border.

Friend, no man knows the day or the hour of Jesus’s rapture and ultimate return… but can I tell you, it could be very soon.

So, can I challenge you to make sure you are ready?

If you don’t know Christ as your Savior, receive Him today!

This book is true, and according to this book, there is only one way to heaven!

If you know Christ as Savior, where is your urgency?

Your urgency to get busy serving Christ with what time we may have left!

Your urgency to tell others about the One Who gave His life to pay for their sins!

Your urgency to live for something that is actually going to last for eternity!

We have no guarantee of another day or week to serve Him, so let’s get busy today!

Proverbs 27:1 KJV 1900

1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.