ZECHARIAH 14:1-8

{Zechariah 14}

Last month, on May 1, there was a large fire at an apartment complex in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Police Officer Eli Rogers was the first to arrive at the scene. He was alerted by neighbors that there were still people trapped inside of the building. Without hesitation, Officer Rogers kicked open the door, entered the burning apartment, and quickly lead a mother and her two small children to safety. He then returned into the building to fight the fire with an extinguisher until firefighters arrived on the scene.

It’s wonderful to know that there is a hero out there that will help people in the midst of their greatest trial. And we get to celebrate the fact that we have a God who will help His people in their time of need. God has not abandoned this world and God has not given up on His people. And ever since creation God has been moving history toward it’s final culmination.

We have now been in the midst of some oracles of God given through the prophet Zechariah. Giving words of warning and encouragement to a harried Jewish remnant having returned from exile, God is giving a glimpse of what the future holds for the world and for Israel itself.

Parts of the oracles have to do with Christ’s first coming, some His second coming, and some the times in between. And what has been revealed through Zechariah is not necessarily in a linear, chronological order. Sometimes God looks at the big picture. Sometimes God looks at a minute detail.

It made me think of the maps you have on your phone. You plug in a destination, and you get a big picture of the route it wants to take you. But then you can zoom in to see a specific area—maybe a street or intersection or whatever. It’s all the same route, just seen from different perspectives.

Tonight’s passage zooms in on what appears to be the end. It looks at judgment, deliverance, and dominion. What we see is that even in global chaos and deep trials, God remains sovereign. He is orchestrating events leading towards the return of Christ. And we can celebrate now that Christ will have victory whenever that happens. First, God gives us a glimpse of:

1) The Final Rebellion and Trial

Zechariah 14:1–2 LSB

1 Behold, a day is coming for Yahweh when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 Indeed, I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city will go forth in exile, but those left of the people will not be cut off from the city.

Zechariah begins by saying that a day is coming for the Lord. Some versions may even call it a day of the Lord. Whenever you hear the term THE DAY OF THE LORD you might automatically think about the final judgment at the end. Now, that is technically what it is talking about in this passage, but when you come across it in other passages that is not what it refers to.

The Day of the Lord refers to a time or period when God decisively intervenes in human history to execute His sovereign will, bring judgment upon rebels, and vindicate His holy name. A few things to note: first, the day is not a single, 24-hour period, but a divinely appointed time of significant action. And two, it is used in biblical literature for several different events that displayed God’s judgment and God’s sovereignty.

So, for example, Isaiah 13:6 and Zephaniah 1:14-15 refer to the impending Babylonian captivity and destruction of Jerusalem as the Day of the Lord. Then a little later, Isaiah 13:10-13 refer to Babylon’s judgment in terms often associated with the Day of the Lord. Ezekiel 30:3-4 talk about the Day of the Lord for the Egyptians. Obadiah 1:15 talks about a Day of the Lord for Edom.

The Day of the Lord is a recurring theme where God moves in history in big ways to mete out His justice, demonstrating His sovereignty over every nation and every situation.

But all of those Days of the Lord are also types and shadows for the final Day of the Lord which is described here. So, zooming in, we see that Jerusalem is going to go through some hard times as they are ransacked by nations that are opposed to them. But even God is sovereign in this.

God says in v. 2 that He will be the One who gathers the nations against Jerusalem. There may be several reasons for this. One, it will give God the chance to judge with finality all the nations that have opposed Him and His people (be it Israel or the Church). But then secondly, I speculate that this might be the means through which Israel will finally accept their Messiah. Because guess who comes to the rescue? In the second section of our passage we see:

2) Christ’s Triumphant Return and Victory

Zechariah 14:3–5 LSB

3 Then Yahweh will go forth and fight against those nations, as the day when He fights on a day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; indeed, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

V. 3 tells us that Yahweh Himself will come as a warrior to save His people from this tribulation that they are facing. God will personally, directly, and powerfully intervene. Unlike the charges that unbelievers lay against God, God does not look uncaringly from a distance. He isn’t unaware or uncaring about what goes on in the earth. He doesn’t see the suffering of His people and merely think: well, that stinks.

He sees. He cares. And in His timing He intervenes. It says in v. 4 that His feet (Yahweh’s feet) will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east. We know that when the Bible talks about God’s eyes and ears and feet that it is anthropomorphic—giving God human characteristics in order to make a point about God. God doesn’t literally have eyes, ears, feet, hands, or whatever.

What Zechariah says here would really make a Jew wonder. Because all they know of God is that He is Yahweh. They have no concept of a Trinity—no delineation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How in the world would God place feet on the Mount of Olives. He would and could if He were also a man.

Jesus, who is Yahweh, will come, save the people, vanquish the foes, and set up His reign on earth. So, God will plant His feet on the Mount of Olives because it is Jesus at His return. The God-Man will come and bring history to its intended end.

Now, this is the way I picture it, and I think that it actually could go smoothly for any of the end-time views. 1 Thessalonians tells us that when Jesus returns He descends from heaven, the dead in Christ will rise and meet the Lord in the air—this would include Old Testament saints who looked forward by faith to Christ. And then those who are alive and remain will be caught up with Him. It says in v. 5 that Jesus comes with His holy ones—the saints, and maybe the angels too.

And we will accompany Christ as He descends to the earth. When He comes to the earth He will land on the Mount of Olives which is east of Jerusalem, running north and south. His landing will split in the middle. This will give the remaining residents of Jerusalem a chance to flee to safety. And then Jesus and His heavenly army go in and triumph over the enemy nations. And now maybe, with Jesus returning, the remaining Israelites will look upon their Messiah and believe.

Now then, depending on your flavor of end-time beliefs, determines what you think that Jesus ushers in and what is described in the remaining verses of our passage. But one way or another, the next section talks about:

3) The Dawn of Christ’s Earthly Kingdom

Zechariah 14:6–8 LSB

6 And it will be in that day, that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7 And it will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh, neither day nor night, but it will be that at evening time there will be light. 8 And it will be in that day, that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

This section talks about the heavens and earth being changed. There is a complete revamping of the known universe. Christ will make all things new.

If you are Premillennial Dispensational, you believe that this refers to Christ’s thousand year reign. If you are Amillennial or Postmillennial you may believe that this refers to the new heavens and new earth—the ushering in of the eternal state. It is also possible for Amillennials and Postmillennials to take some of this passage as being figurative in language, describing through pictures Christ’s return. I probably lean toward it being literal and it referring to the ushering in of the new heavens and new earth—the eternal state.

Because, look at what is described. It says in v. 6 that there will be no light. That doesn’t mean that everything will be plunged into darkness. It means that the normal sources of light will no longer be needed because God/Christ is present who will literally be the Light of the World.

The end of v. 6 is a hot mess because different translations say a whole lot of different things—the Hebrew is that difficult. The ESV says something about cold and frost. The NET Bible says the sources of light in the heavens will congeal. The CSB says  the sunlight and moonlight will diminish.. And the LSB that I read says the luminaries will dwindle. Other than the ESV, they all seem to take on the sense of the moon, sun, and stars no longer being needed, so they’re lights will fade away because Christ’s light will outshine them so you can’t even see them.

And this is actually the testimony of the rest of Scripture.

Isaiah 60:19–20 LSB

19 “No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory. 20 “Your sun will no longer set, Nor will your moon wane; For you will have Yahweh for an everlasting light, And the days of your mourning will be finished.

Revelation 22:5 LSB

5 And there will no longer be any night, and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever.

V. 7 in our passage says that there will no longer be day or night because even when it is evening time there will be light. So, Christ’s light will be continual and glorious.

But then we get another picture of the newness of Christ’s new creation in v. 8. It says that living waters will flow from Jerusalem going east and west. The blessings of Jesus who is the living water will start to spread throughout the earth and bring healing and life to what was cursed and dead. It’s all part of the renewal. It will be the same in summer as well as winter—meaning this renewal will be continuous, unceasing, and global. This reminds us of another passage:

Revelation 22:1–2 LSB

1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

We notice how this passage in Zechariah and Revelation 22 seem to go hand in hand—they are prophecy and one day they will result in fulfillment. It also reminds us of another passage:

Joel 3:18 LSB

18 And it will be in that day, That the mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of Yahweh To water the valley of Shittim.

Where Christ rules and reigns there is blessing and prosperity—making all things new. And this is given to us as an encouragement, reminding us that this old order of things will not be the way things always will be. There will not always be death and decay and sin and war and grief and pain and sorrow. Christ will bring a complete reversal of the curse, returning the world to the way it was intended back in Genesis 1 & 2.

This passage teaches us that God remains sovereign, orchestrating all events towards the glorious return of Jesus Christ, His ultimate triumph over evil, and the establishment of His perfect rule. How do we respond?

First, cultivate an unwavering trust in God’s sovereignty amidst global turmoil. There has always been wars and rumors of wars. However, there is not a single thing going on in the world that is outside God’s sovereign control. So we trust that God has orchestrated every detail of what is going on, no matter how dark it looks, because through it all He is achieving His righteous purposes to bring about the return of His Son. So, we cultivate peace in the face of anxiety and despair.

This passage also encourages us to persevere through personal and collective trials as we anticipate Christ delivering us from all evil. So, with live our lives with a Kingdom perspective, making our decisions of life based on the promises of what will come in the future. This includes life choices that embrace holiness and righteousness.

So, let this be an encouragement for us, and may we pray that we will endure until His return...