The Bookof Zechariah #18

 

The Day of the Lord
Zechariah 14:1-21
 
Take your Bible, if you will, and let's look at the fourteenth chapter of the book of Zechariah
As you will remember, the book of Zechariah deals with Israel's history from the time when the nation returned from the Babylonian captivity through the establishing of the millennial kingdom on earth. 
 
So as we come to the fourteenth chapter, we really come to the climax, the final establishment of the millennial kingdom, the end of human history, as it were. And it's a tremendous chapter. It's just loaded with prophecy, and admittedly, difficult to understand.
 
And I think the best way to approach it is literally. Many commentaries deal with it symbolically, but that is because they deny the restoration of Israel. If you believe that God is through with the nation of Israel, then passages like this one become very problematic. 
 
So the best way to approach it is simply to take it for what it says in its clearest literal meaning and leave it at that and let the Spirit of God worry about how He's going to bring it all to pass. Because when you try to make symbols out of it, your guess is as good as anybody else's, and none of really makes much sense.
 
As we come to chapter fourteen, remember what's happening. In the last days of Israel's history, you and I are seeing Israel re-gathered.
They've established their nation under a grant given to them by the United Nations. They are still in unbelief as far as Messiah is concerned. They are waiting the time of salvation. And it can't come until Jesus returns and they look on Him whom they have pierced.
 
Before that happens, they will make a seven-year pact with a false Messiah; the foolish shepherd Zechariah talked about in chapter 12.
 
Everything will go along fine for the first 3 ½ years, but in the middle of this seven-year covenant the Antichrist, this foolish shepherd, this false Messiah will break his covenant with Israel. And when he breaks the covenant with Israel, he will require that they worship him and him alone. And when the people of Israel refuse, he gathers the armies of the world together to march against Israel. And he comes against Israel under the command of Satan to exterminate the Jews.
 
This leads then to a great siege of the city of Jerusalem and the land of Palestine in what we know as the battle of Armageddon. So where are we in 2010 inall that? We've already seen Israel beginning to be re-gathered. We've already seen them establish their state. We've already seen some of these things come to pass. They're there in unbelief. Some are still scattered.
 
I believe they are hopeful that something can be worked out in the region to bring peace. So actually the next thing on the calendar as far as Israel is concerned is the coming of the Anti-Christ. And the only thing preventing him coming on the scene is the rapture of the church.
Once the church is raptured, and the Anti-Christ moves into power, everything will be fine for the first 3 ½ years. He then will cause them to go into chaos literally when he desecrates their worship, demands worship of himself and in response, when they don't do it, he calls the armies of the world to come and storm Israel.
 
Now it is precisely at that point, where Jerusalem is under siege that we pick up the fourteenth chapter. Here are the armies of the world gathered against Jerusalem. We've already learned from chapter 13 that when the siege begins, it's basically successful to start with.
 
There is tremendous bloodshed. There is tremendous devastation. The book of Revelations says the blood will be to the depth of the horses' bridles for an area of 200 miles. There is going to be bloodshed like the world has never seen. There is going to be a holocaust in the land. There is going to be a seeming victory on the part of Antichrist and his hosts. And precisely at the point where this victory looks secure is when Christ returns. And that's exactly what we have in the fourteenth chapter.
 
There are four major parts to the chapter:
 
1. The Coming of the Day of the Lord.
 
verse 1
 
The opening phrase "the day of the Lord comes" is kind of an announcement all by itself. You can almost put an exclamation mark at the end of it and start the next phrase as a new paragraph. We have now reached a climax.
Now what is the day of the Lord? Well, the day of the Lord refers, not to one day but a period of time. We use the word "day" in the same way. We say this is the day of space travel. This is the day of the Lord.
 
Biblically, it is the period of time beginning with the rapture of the church and extending through the millennial kingdom. It covers all kinds of events. It covers the Tribulation time when the Lord takes back the earth. It covers the conquering of the nations at Armageddon. It covers the judgment of the nations. It covers the establishment of the Kingdom.  It covers the reign of Jesus Christ on earth for a thousand years. It covers the vanquishing of Satan. It covers this whole great eschatological time block from the Rapture to the end of the Kingdom. In other words, man's day is ended and the Lord begins to take back His earth...the day of the Lord.
 
Now what facet of the day of the Lord are we dealing with? He says it is when “your spoil is divided in your midst”. That means it is that time when Israel is under siege. For all intents and purposes it seems as though they will lose the battle. In fact, the victory is so imminent that the enemy doesn’t even bother to leave town to divide the spoil, they do it right in the midst of town. 
 
And we discover in verse 2 that, in fact, it is God Who is behind it all. “For I will gather. . .”
 
So God brings together a judgment army from all over the world to war with Jerusalem; to once and for all settle the problem in the Middle East. This is the Battle of Armageddon.
 
And verse 2 tells us four things occur:
Number one, the city is taken.
Number two, the houses are plundered.
Number three, the women are raped.
Number four, half the city is taken as prisoners of war.
 
It looks very bad. And these armies are so smug, they're dividing their spoil.
 
But notice the last part of verse 2
 
“the remnant”
 
There is always a remnant. And they are the believing remnant. Earlier Zechariah had told us in chapter 12 that two out of three would die of the whole nation. Two out of every three throughout the whole nation would perish. Here, half out of the city of Jerusalem.
 
Now it looks very bleak at this point. You've only got half of the people left. The city is already being plundered; the battle is over.
 
But quickly go to verse 3
 
God is not about to allow the enemy to destroy the true remnant, the believing remnant, those who are ready to put their faith in the Messiah. They haven't seen Him yet, those who are people of faith, those who are like those baptized by John the Baptist, a people prepared for His coming. And in order to preserve them, God moves in and comes to their rescue.  
 
verse 4
 
"And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east."
 
That's a special mountain.
 
In fact, all through Old Testament history it's special. Some time if you want an interesting study, just study the significance of the Mount of Olives and you'll find some incredible events that occur there.
 
It was there that Ezekiel saw the glory of God departing over the Mount of Olives. That’s in chapter 11; Later on in the forty-third chapter of Ezekiel, Ezekiel sees the return of the glory of God, and it come right back to the Mount of Olives. What a beautiful picture that is because when Jesus left, He left from the Mount of Olives. And when He comes back, He'll come back to the Mount of Olives.
 
How wonderful it is to think of what that mountain could tell us if it could talk. That same mountain on which Jesus shed so many tears night after night, that same mountain would know the denting of His knees as He prayed there night after night after night That same mountain that heard the precious conversations that He held with His disciples, that mountain that witnessed the agony and the bloodshed, that mountain that must have been right there watching when He came out of the grave, that mountain that knew in the days of His flesh the weary feet as they walked its paths, that mountain some day is going to receive those same feet.
 
And look what’s going to happen to that mountain: verse 4 continues
 
Now that's an earthquake. When God starts moving around in the end times, there's going to be a whole lot of shaking going on!
 
Now you've got a worldwide cataclysm generated by some kind of a supernatural cosmic earthquake when the feet of Jesus Christ hit the Mount of Olives. Not exactly like the baby born in the manger the first time He came. He comes in worldwide power and immediately the world is going to know He arrived. In fact, many of them are going to scream for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them to hide them from His face because they know He comes in judgment.  Revelation says there will be 100 pound hailstones falling.
 
And one of the phenomena that occurs as a result of this earthquake is going to be the creation of a valley. Now the Mount of Olives sets to the east of Jerusalem. And in some ways it provides protection, but at the same time it hinders escape. And so what God does is just split the thing, into to provide a way of escape for His people in the same manner as parting the Red Sea. 
 
By the way, this is not the only mention of this valley. Joel chapter 3 calls this valley the Valley o of Decision. And the indication is that into that valley God is going to gather all the nations and judge them after His people have fled to safety. And there's going to be some kind of devastation occur to the armies of the world as they attempt to pursue Israel, just as Pharaoh's army did when they tried to cross the sea that God opened for Israel. The whole thing is going to come crashing down on them when God acts in mighty judgment right while they're in the Valley of Decision.
And so, God creates a valley.
 
Verse 5
 
It's His valley, created for His people through His mountains. 
 
Also note the word "Azal". In Hebrew it means "near." And what he's saying is that the valley is going to split wide open right up near the city so there will be immediate access.
 
Then he mentions the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah."
 
We don't know much about that earthquake. Amos 1:1 talks about it, but we don't know much about it. But apparently it was an awful earthquake and the people had to flee. And so he says you're going to flee in that day just like you fled at the time of the earthquake in Uzziah's day.
 
And then notice the end of verse 5
 
What a great statement about the deity of Jesus Christ. It is His feet on the Mount of Olives. The angel said this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as you've seen Him go. You saw Him leave physically, personally, bodily, literally, visibly from the Mount of Olives, that's the way He'll return. And this same Jesus is here called the Lord my God. He's going to come.
 
And we don’t have time to look at it, but jot down Revelation 19 and there you find a picture of His coming. He comes in uniform. He’s coming to fight and win a battle. He's coming to judge the ungodly.
And just as Zechariah says, He’s not travelling alone. 
"and all the saints with You."
 
In other words, when Jesus comes, He will be accompanied by the saints. Who are the saints? Well that would be the righteous among Israel from days gone by. This would be the church. It might even refer to angels. That means you and I will be there. 1 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 13 says, "Even at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints."
 
And watch this. At this very time when Christ comes and all the saints are with Him riding on the white horses with the white robes and this fantastic glory comes out of heaven, Scripture indicates the remaining remnant of Israel is going to look up and they're going to see Him whom they pierced. And they're going to mourn for Him as an only son.
 
And it is then that Israel will repent, and this remnant is going to turn to Christ and the events of chapter 12 verse 4 to chapter 13 verse 2 slip right into this point. This is a fantastic day.
verse 6
 
In other words, when Jesus comes, all of the stars and the suns of heaven are going to go out. The heaven is going to just be black. This is discussed all over the Old Testament. Repeatedly the Old Testament talks about the day when God changes the patterns of heaven.
 
And in the midst of the blackness comes the blazing revelation of Jesus Christ with all His saints. Now I believe this is really going to happen literally.
And at that moment Israel is going to turn and look and they're going to believe and they're going to turn to their Messiah and they're going to be wonderfully saved and spared judgment and gathered into the Kingdom.
 
What does the rest of the world do? They cry for the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb." The unbelievers scream in fear and terror. But the remnant is redeemed.
 
The next verse gives us another thought of the uniqueness of the day.
 
Verse 7
 
"It shall be one day," and the word in Hebrew "one" here means one day as in the only one of its kind; one unique day like no other day.
 
In other words, the whole of nature is just going to go into an imbalance. The whole thing is out of perspective. All that we understand as night and day is going to be ended. All the stars fall, the suns and the moons are all gone. And Christ comes and it's a new kind of day. And He will become day so that even when it's evening it will be light because He'll be coming in blazing glory.
 
verse 8
 
Right in the middle of Jerusalem, God's going to crack open the ground and create a gushing spring.
Living waters. You know what that means in the Hebrew?
It means "gurgling, running, flowing, rushing, bubbling water," not stagnant water. And so, God's going to crack open Jerusalem and He's going to send the waters going to the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. 
 
Again, I believe it is real water. Isaiah says the desert will blossom like a rose.  And I think it's a picture, too, of how blessing is going to flow.
Jerusalem will become the center of the world and blessing will just flow in all directions. What an incredible time.
 
So, we see the coming of the day of the Lord.
 
Now very rapidly the rest of the chapter.
 
2. The Crowning of the Lord as King.
 
Verse 9
 
The first thing that happens when He arrives, He's going to have a coronation.
 
Do you know how many religions there will be in the world in the Kingdom? Just one.All of the systems of Satan are over. And the absolutely unique and incomparable one God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, Him and Him alone will the world worship. And so in that day there will be one Lord and His name will be one.
 
Verse 10
 
 
 
As a result of this great earthquake, the entire terrain from Geba, which is way in the north, to Rimmon, which is way in the south, is going to be turned into a plain. What does that mean? Literally it translates to become like the Arabah.
 
The Arabah is the name of the valley that is the deepest valley in the world. It runs from way south of the Dead Sea, way south where in some places it is 300 feet above sea level, down to the Dead Sea where it is 1300 feet below sea level, and all the way to the Sea of Galilee where at the Sea of Galilee it is 650 feet below sea level. It is the lowest, longest, flattest valley in the world.
 
And what he's saying is this. All the terrain around Jerusalem from Geba on the north to Rimmon on the south is going to be flattened and lowered to be made like that valley so that Jerusalem will literally stick up in prominence. God is literally going to flatten the whole earth all the way around. And then He's going to rebuild that city and He gives the dimensions here, and she will shine like a diamond solitaire. And on the pinnacle of that prominence will exist the throne of Jesus Christ.
 
Then notice verse 11
 
What a day! So, the coming of the day of the Lord and the crowning of the Lord as King.
 
3. The Conquest of the Nations.
 
Verse 12-14a
 
While the attention of the text is primarily on the victory of God’s people, let me remind you of what's going to happen to the godless.
 
First, there is a great plague – verse 12
 
You ever seen one of those horror movies where the flesh just withdraws and someone becomes a skeleton before your very eyes? That’s the picture. God gives life, and it is God who withdraws life. And it appears that God will so quickly withdraw life that they will rot and become skeletons before they're able to even fall to the ground.
 
Verse 15 tells us it will reach all the livestock and workforce of the nations. A great plague.
 
Then verse 13 says there will be a great panic.
 
There will be such confusion at that moment that those who are not instantly hit with the plague are going to find themselves killing each other...terrible confusion, attacking and slaughtering each other.
 
And then thirdly, there's going to be a great power given to Judah – verse 14.
 
Somehow God is going to give to Judah a great strength and Judah is going to fight and win. So a plague for some, a panic for the nations and a power given to Judah.
 
And the results, in verse 14, the tables are turned immediately and here are these nations counting all their booty, the reverse occurs and the wealth of all the nations is going to be gathered and brought into the hands of God's people.
And so we see the conquest of the nations, the crowning of the Lord, the coming of the day of the Lord. Lastly,
 
4. The Character of the Kingdom.
 
Now that all the ungodly are judged, Christ is on the throne, the land is flattened, Jerusalem is a solitary diamond on the globe, Jesus is reigning on the throne, the people of God have received Jesus Christ, the remnant is ready to take their Kingdom, what happens?
 
Verse 16-18
 
Now the feast of tabernacles celebrated the time when God tabernacled with Israel in the wilderness. And here it is fulfilled. In that day God comes down and His glory again tabernacles with His people and so they celebrate that feast again. Annually the people of the world are going to come to keep the feast.
 
What it means is this: When God sets up His Kingdom and He reigns, He says the world is going to worship.
 
And then he concludes, I love this,
 
Verse 20-21
 
See the little phrase in verse 20 "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD"? That phrase was very special. That phrase was engraved in only one place in Israel's history.
 
The high priest Aaron had a turban, on the front of his turban was a gold plate and engraved on that gold plate were the words, "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD." What did it mean?
 
It meant that there was something about that man that set him apart from every other man. He was an uncommon man. He was especially holy. He was unique. There was no one like this high priest, holiness unto the Lord. But he says in that day every single thing that exists is going to be just as holy as the high priest, even the little bells that ding on the horses are going to say holiness unto the Lord. You see?
 
Fantastic, isn't it? I mean, this is going to be a holy Kingdom. It’s not going to be like it is today. There aren't just going to be a few holy folks, it's going to be a holy world in that day. And everything we come in contact with is going to be a reminder of the holiness of God. Common pots and pans are going to be just as sacred as the altar bowls. When you go to your kitchen to do the dishes, there you will be reminded of the holiness of God. There will be no secular and sacred in that world, there will only be the sacred.
 
Then he closes by saying, "And there won't even be a Canaanite in the place." You say, "What's He got against Canaanites? It's a figure of speech referring to a morally and spiritually unclean person. The Canaanites were unclean, morally and spiritually. And the word "Canaanite" became a proverb in Israel for a degenerate person. In the Kingdom there won't be a degenerate person.
 
You know, the Lord wants a holy people, doesn't He? He's called His church to be holy. He wants a holy church. He wants a holy people. And in that day He's going to have it.
 
Well, that's Zechariah. In Ezra 6:14, we are told that the people prospered through the message of Zechariah. I hope you did. And maybe your life can be just a little more holy and a little more like what He wants and shall gain in His Kingdom.
 
I close with this. The theme of Zechariah, I'll tell you in one word, "Christ." He's the theme.
 
In chapter 1 He is the riding one.
In chapter 2 He is the measuring one.
In chapter 3 He is the cleansing one.
In chapter 4 He's the empowering one.
In chapter 5 He's the judging one.
In chapter 6 He's the crowned one.
In chapter 7 He's the rebuking one.
In chapter 8 He's the restoring one.
In chapter 9 He's the kingly one.
In chapter 10 He's the blessing one.
In chapter 11 He's the shepherding one.
In chapter 12 He's the returning one.
In chapter 13 He's the smitten one.
In chapter 14 He is the reigning one.
 
Zechariah saw Christ. I hope you caught his vision. And I hope you know the Christ he looked forward to.
 
Let's pray.