Good morning!
I read a piece online recently that stated "World War III has begun". This made me think of the passage I was going to study this morning. Zechariah writes of two world wars, within relatively close proximity to each other. When they begin, the entire earth will know it!
Who was Zechariah anyway, this prophet who wrote a book of the Old Testament? I have read that this is one of the most precisely dated books of the Old Testament. Zechariah was from the priestly line of Levi. He was born in Babylon, during the latter part of the 70 years that the nation of Judah was in captivity there. He returned to Jerusalem as a young child, with his family, during the first wave of returning exiles.
Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai, who was an old man when Zechariah was a youth. Much of Zechariah's book focuses on the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. As a Levitical priest as well as a prophet, he was very concerned with the rebuilding and encouraged the Jewish people to persevere in their efforts.
Chapters 12-14, however, deal with the distant future of the Jews and of Jerusalem. In the first part of chapter 12, God speaks through Zechariah to say that the people dwelling in Israel and Judah will be besieged by "all the nations of the earth". Now, you want to talk about a world war? This is speaking of no little conflict here. All the nations of the world, aligned against Israel. God will at this time work a great miracle on behalf of Israel. He will destroy those nations attacking her, while "saving the dwellings of Judah" and "shielding those who live in Jerusalem". Verse 6 says, "Jerusalem will remain intact in her place." Wow. Some theologians believe that this refers to the great battle of Gog and Magog, described in Ezekiel 38-39, which will usher in the Tribulation period.
This miraculous intervention on the part of our God will be accompanied by an extreme outpouring of His Holy Spirit ("grace and supplication") upon the Jewish people. The reason I describe this as extreme is because of the people's reaction to this outpouring. In some miraculous way, the Jews will associate this deliverance with Jesus Christ. They will recognize Him as "the one they have pierced", and their repentance will be great. The entire land will mourn; individual clans will be re-identified and will mourn. The people's focus will be turned away from idols and toward the worship of the Holy One, whose Name will live forever (13:1-6). Prophets will realize the error of their interpretations and will be prone to throw off the mantle of prophet as a result. The people will be dumbfounded at how they formerly missed the Messiah. The cleansing fountain referenced in 13:1 is the same cleansing fountain that was opened when Christ's blood was first spilled. It is the only fountain which can "cleanse them from sin and impurity".
The latter part of Zechariah 13 seems to hearken back to the last days of Christ's earthly ministry. We are not told how many Jews of Christ's day became His followers. Zechariah 13:7-9 seems to indicate a third of them did. Matthew 26:31&56 describe Jesus' reference to the Zechariah passage and then the literal fulfillment of it. After Christ returned to Heaven, though, His followers began to undergo a process of refinement, which continues to this day. (This passage establishes the Church as the present-day "people of God", until He removes the Church from the earth in The Rapture. His attention will then return to the Jewish people.)
In Zechariah 14, we see another battle surrounding Jerusalem. It is different from the one described in Zechariah 12 because in this one, Jerusalem will be captured, the houses ransacked and the women raped. There will be a tremendous earthquake, which will split the Holy Land in two, altering the courses of the major waterways in the region. The water symbolizes the return to earth of THE Living Water, Christ Jesus Himself. Most theologians believe that this is the great war at the end of the Tribulation period, when Christ visibly returns, clearly seen by all the inhabitants of the earth. Revelation 1:7 describes this event as a time when "every eye will see Him" and Romans 14:11 adds, "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."At this time, "his holy ones" will be with Him, and He will stand upon the top of the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem. Revelation 19:11-21 gives more information about this battle. This parallel passage states that Jesus Christ will defeat the assembled nations with a sharp sword that will come out of His mouth. If Jesus Christ could create the cosmos by speaking it into existence (John 1:1, Colossians 1:15-16), then He can certainly speak the nations into oblivion. This Revelation passage also references the Zechariah earthquake and the alteration of waterways.
What does Zechariah 14 add about this battle? It is fascinating to me that in verses 6-7 Zechariah tells us that this will be a unique day in that daytime and nighttime will be all messed up. There will be no distinction between the two; "when evening comes, there will be light." Perhaps this is because the presence of God Himself is always characterized by light. He is Everlasting Light, and "in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Zechariah also describes what will happen to the enemies of God in this great battle - - how they will perish. He describes it as a "plague" coming upon them. The characteristics are that "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" (14:12). Some have noted the comparison to how nuclear weapons affect human and animal life. Verse 15 says that all animal life in the area will suffer the same fate.
Verses 16 to the end of chapter 14 describe a little bit of life in the new kingdom, Christ's millennial reign of 1000 years. Did you know that we will celebrate the Jewish feasts during that time? Yes, all inhabitants of the earth will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. God Himself, Jesus Christ, will have come to dwell among men once again, this time to reign in power and glory from Jerusalem. Look at this: it is declared by Zechariah that "Holy to the Lord" will be inscribed upon all of the everyday tools of trade and life! Can you imagine pulling a bowl out of your pantry and seeing that phrase inscribed upon it? That is how fully the truth of Jesus Christ will permeate everyday life on earth in that day. Stupefying...I can hardly imagine it!
Well, God has some amazing days in store for mankind, does He not? I serve an awesome God, and I pray that you serve Him too.
Good morning, Lord! Thank you for this new day in which to worship and serve You. I am grateful for and fascinated by your prophecies for the future of earth. They reveal Your constancy, Your changelessness, Your faithfulness to Your own and Your promise to judge rightly Your enemies. It is only by the blood that flowed from the body of Your Son that I am not in that enemy camp. I thank You for Jesus' blood, which has washed away all of my sin, as surely as that fountain will flow over the House of David in days to come. "For by Him and through Him and TO Him are all things! To Him be glory forever!" (Romans 11:36) In My Savior's precious name, amen.
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