Deeper Commentary

Zechariah Chapter 14

Zechariah 14:1 Behold, the day of Yahweh comes- All the previous potentials had not been responded to by Judah, and I have continually mentioned throughout Zechariah that the various prophecies were therefore rescheduled and reapplied to the last days. In this sense, God's prophetic word will come true in essence. And so it is appropriate that Zechariah finishes with a prophecy specifically about the very last days, when all the previous prophecies will come to their final term. Likewise the many judgments upon Judah which had been promised but somehow had been delayed, will all come true. Hence the coming of the day of Yahweh was to be seen as judgment for Judah (Mal. 4:1).

When your spoil will be divided in your midst- The significance of "in your midst" is that it is done there rather than in the camp of the invaders outside the city. This would imply the total fall of the city and its possession by the invaders. The Egyptians sought to pursue Israel and "divide the spoil" (s.w. Ex. 15:9). But there will be no Passover deliverance. Jerusalem will fall.

Zechariah 14:2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle- The gathering of all nations to battle predicted here is the language of Rev. 9 and 16 regarding the gathering of the nations to Armageddon after the release of the hordes bound by the Euphrates- and we have already seen that happening with jihadists bursting across that river into the eretz promised to Abraham. The point is, the words of Zechariah 14 are applied to the events of the last days. Jerusalem therefore must fall.  The final outworking of all this, of course, depends upon whether, or to what degree, Israel repent in response to our appeals: "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the Earth" (Rev. 3:10-11).

 

And the city will be taken, the houses pillaged, and the women raped- This is a quotation from Is. 13:16 about the fate of Babylon. Jerusalem was to be treated as Babylon because that is how they were in spirit. Zechariah was prophesying in the context of Judah’s rather unenthusiastic return from captivity in Babylon; and most of them remained behind in Babylon. The memory was still relatively fresh of how a generation ago, Babylon had captured Jerusalem, destroyed the temple and taken the people into captivity. And now they had returned after the 70 years captivity- and Zechariah was telling them that yet again, Jerusalem was to be “taken” and the population taken into captivity. It would be hard to imagine a more unpopular message. The same Hebrew word translated “taken” is many times used of how Babylon took Jerusalem (Jer. 32:3 “I will give this city into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it”; Jer. 32:24,28; 34:22; 37:8; 38:3,28). Clearly the implication is that a second, revived Babylon would arise and take Jerusalem; and there would be yet another captivity. We are seeing Babylon – Assyria reforming, with a jihadist theology focusing upon taking the city of Jerusalem. The prophecy of Zechariah 14 has never been fulfilled- but it will be.

Half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city- Significantly, half of Jerusalem is comprised of East Jerusalem, which is Arab. So when we read of how “Half of the city will go out into captivity”, this may well refer to the Jewish half of the city. "The rest of the people" is literally "the remnant"; the implication is that there will be a faithful remnant which will not be cut off and will remain in Jerusalem.

Dan. 9:26,27 require the city of Jerusalem to be taken, and the abomination of desolation placed there; and this is quoted by the Lord Jesus as requiring fulfilment in the last days just prior to His return (Mt. 24:14,15,29-31). Any previous fulfilments were incipient at best; they did not immediately herald the Lord’s visible return as required by the Oliver prophecy. Lk. 21:24 adds: "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled". The allusion is to Dan. 8:13: "The transgression of desolation gave both the sanctuary and the host (i.e. the people of Israel) to be trodden underfoot".  This part of Luke 21 is clearly alluding to Zechariah 14, a prophecy about the final desolation of Jerusalem:

Jerusalem surrounded by armies (Lk. 21:20)= All nations against Jerusalem to battle (Zech. 14:2).

The desolation of Jerusalem is near (Lk. 21:20) = The city shall be taken (Zech. 14:2).

Let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains (Lk. 21:21) = You shall flee to the... mountains (Zech. 14:5)

Great distress in the land(Lk. 21:22) = Houses ransacked, women raped (Zech. 14:2)

Led away captive into all nations (Lk. 21:24) = Half the city shall go into captivity (Zech. 14:2)

Jerusalem trodden down by the Gentiles (Lk. 21:24) = Jerusalem a stone trodden down by the Gentiles (Zech. 12:3 LXX).

The “treading down” of Jerusalem didn’t end in 1967; for if that is the reference of the prophecy, then Christ should be back by now. The presence of the Dome of the Rock and Arab possession of East Jerusalem hardly sounds as if 1967 was much of a fulfilment anyway. The times of the Gentiles have clearly continued since 1967. The more logical interpretation is surely that Jerusalem must be trodden down by Gentiles until the “times” of that domination end- and that is probably a reference to the 42 months / 1260 days / three and a half year down-treading which we meet in both Daniel and Revelation.

Zechariah 14:3 Then Yahweh will go out and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle- God again will act openly as He did against Israel's neighbours in past conflicts. The 'going out' will in a literal sense be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus, on behalf of His Father, going forth out of Heaven to intervene against Judah's abusers.

Zechariah 14:4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east- The description of the Lord’s feet standing on the Mount of Olives naturally looks ahead to the words of the Angels at the ascension of the Lord Jesus from that same Mount, promising that He would return in the same way. As He stands upon His feet, so do the opponents (:14 s.w.). This is the greatest showdown of human history, between God and man, Spirit and flesh.

And the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south- This will create four separate elevated areas, with a large valley running north-south between them. Hence the reference to "My mountains" plural in :5; this valley will be the way to flee in :5. The mount of Olives is described as being on the East of Jerusalem; the faithful will flee eastwards and then through the newly created valley. This will then become the valley of Judah's revival spoken of in Ez. 37; they will arise as a powerful army to subdue their enemies, energized by the Spirit and led by the returned Lord Jesus.

Zechariah 14:5 You shall flee by the valley of My mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel- As noted on :4, this implies they flee out of Jerusalem to the east and through the new valley opened up through the mount of Olives. The GNB offers: "You will escape through this valley that divides the mountain in two", avoiding interpreting "Azel" as a proper noun. A way of escape will be made, through a mountain; parted as the Red Sea was parted, that God's people might escape. And yet according to Ezekiel, the glory is to enter from the east (Ez. 43:2); so we are to imagine them uniting with the Lord of glory at the mount of Olives, and joining Him in returning through east Jerusalem. The western slopes of the Mount of Olives appear to be part of what forms the "valley of decision" of Joel 3:14, the "valley of slaughter" of Jer. 19:6. It is through this new valley that the way of Yahweh is prepared to come to Zion from the east.

Yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah- The LXX is significantly different, implying instead that there will be no way of escape: "And the valley of my mountains shall be closed up, and the valley of the mountains shall be joined on to Jasod, and shall be blocked up as it was blocked up in the days of the earthquake, in the days of Ozias king of Juda". Perhaps the ambiguity is intentional; depending upon the faith of the remnant, the earthquake will either open up a way of escape through a new valley across the former mount of Olives (:4), or will block their escape and leave them to their final destruction. The earthquake at Uzziah's time may have been one of the ways in which he was "marvellously / miraculously helped" against his enemies (2 Chron. 26:15). Zechariah's prophecy is based around the restoration of the throne of David, and there are therefore allusions to the historical David throughout. Here, to the fleeing of David from Jerusalem via the Mount of Olives along this same path (2 Sam. 15:30,32).

 

Yahweh my God will come, and all the holy ones with you- LXX, as GNB: "The LORD my God will come, bringing all the angels with him". This is quoted in the New Testament about the return of the Lord Jesus on God's behalf, with "all the angels with him" (Mt. 25:31). Note the change of pronouns; it's as if Zechariah is caught up in the wonder of having Yahweh as his personal God, when otherwise addressing God ["with you"]. Such shifting of address are likely familiar to us if we have ever tried to make a transcript of our own personal prayers. Focus and address shifts within the same sentence, as we often see in the prayers transcripted in the Psalms.

Zechariah 14:6 It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost- The idea is that seasons will be no more. But the Hebrew is difficult; the RVmg. offers "There shall not be light, the bright ones shall contract themselves". This radical change in the planets, sun and stars at the Lord's return is likewise spoken of in Joel 3:15; Is. 13:10; Mt. 24:29; Rev. 6:12,13. It was prefigured by how Joshua-Jesus made them stop in their tracks (Josh. 10:12,13).

Zechariah 14:7 It will be a unique day- Literally, "it will be one day". This recalls the first day of creation, described this way in Gen. 1:3. We will note on :21 that there are seven occurrences of "that day" in this vision. A new creation is being presented. This verse then goes on to allude to "there was evening and morning, the first day".

Which is known to Yahweh; not day, and not night; but it will come to pass, that at evening time there will be light- LXX "When this will happen is known only to the LORD"; alluded to in NT teaching that none knows the day nor hour, but only the Father. But this may be one of a number of indications that the meaning of time will be collapsed around the Lord's return. This is really necessary for there to be the individual judgment of a multitude as many as the sand on the shore. This also explains why it's impossible to construct a chronology of events around His coming in terms of a linear progression. "In that day" is a favourite phrase of Zechariah's, and the events spoken of as then happening are hard to fit into a chronological framework. It would also explain the apparent tension between passages which imply an immortal emergence from the grave, and those which suggest a mortal emergence and then judgment and reward. It just depends which view of time one takes. If there is light at evening time, we would have here another way of saying that the sun will never go down, which is the language of the Kingdom of God established on earth (Is. 60:20; Rev. 22:5).

Zechariah 14:8 It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter will it be- LXX "in the dry season as well as the wet". The new valley spoken of in :4,5 will have living waters flowing in it. The situation of Ez. 47:1-12 which was potentially possible for the restored exiles will then be finally brought about. Just as the waters are mentioned as being created in Genesis (see on:7,21), so in this new creation the equivalent is these living waters, parallel with the law of Yahweh going out of Jerusalem in Is. 2:3; Mic. 4:2, causing the nations to flow back to Zion. And they will revive the otherwise 'Dead Sea' to the east. These are the living waters which Judah could have earlier experienced but refused (Jer. 2:13). Clearly this water of life is used symbolically in Rev. 22:1, but this is not to say that the symbol will have no literal basis. Most symbols do. We can live the essence of the Kingdom life now, in that this living water should come forth from our innermost being to give life to the dead world around us (Jn. 7:38). And this outflow from us should be constant, just as these future waters are not seasonal nor occasional.

Zechariah 14:9 Yahweh will be King over all the earth- Zechariah has previously spoken of a Davidic king reigning for Yahweh over all the eretz or "earth" promised to Abraham. Now this King will be reigning for Yahweh, and clearly looks forward to the Lord Jesus.

In that day Yahweh will be declared as the one and only- This declaration will cut out all idolatry amongst God's people, and all other forms of worship amongst the Gentiles. The command to exalt Yahweh as the only God in Dt. 6:4 was and is therefore an invitation to live the Kingdom life now. In this sense, as in John's Gospel, we can experience the nature of the life eternal right now. The "one day" of :7 is an eternal manifestation of the one God.

And His name unified- It may well be that Eph. 4:4-6 is alluding back to this verse; this passage inspires us to keep the unity of the Spirit, because here and now "there is one body, and one Spirit... one Lord ... one baptism, one God";  Paul is saying that the unity of the Kingdom, as spoken of in Zech. 14:9, must be found in the ecclesia of today.

Zechariah 14:10 All the land will be made like the Arabah- GNB "will be made level". A new flat plateau is envisaged.

From Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up, and will dwell in her place, from Benjamin’s gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses- These locations feature in the account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and the temple (Neh. 3:1,31,32; 12:39). Zechariah was prophesying in this context. He is implying that the work of rebuilding the temple and city had not been done according to the specifications and commandments for the exiles in Ez. 40-48 and Jer. 31:38,40, and so God will finally make it good in His own way. The reference to "the king’s winepresses" at the south of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:15) would only have made sense to the primary audience of Zechariah; he is inviting them to imagine how places they knew well would one day be in the literal, eternal Kingdom of God on earth. And we can imagine the same, regarding things in our lives.

Zechariah 14:11 Men will dwell therein- LXX "They shall dwell in the city". This was in contrast to how in Nehemiah's time, the returned exiles had been reluctant to dwell there because it was not safe. It was a reminder to the initial audience of the potential they had wasted.

And there will be no more curse- Quoted in Rev. 22:3 about the future Kingdom of God on earth. The "curse" in view is not only that placed in Genesis, but the specific curses for disobedience which had come upon Judah.

 

But Jerusalem will dwell safely- Proof enough, surely, that the invasion of Gog when Jerusalem 'dwells safely' is after the Lord's return and not before it (Ez. 38:8,11,14). Attempts to identify the invaders at this stage are therefore slightly misplaced. The Hebrew phrase for 'dwelling safely' is repeatedly used about the blessings of living in covenant relationship with God

Zechariah 14:12 This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will consume away in their sockets, and their tongue will consume away in their mouth- See on :4. This implies that the plague will be sudden, whilst the warring soldiers are standing up. The language could suggest the effects of nuclear radiation. Perhaps Yahweh will punish the nations through their destroying of each other with their own weaponry, and this is implied in :13. This is how He has destroyed previous invaders. The triple reference to "consume away" is perhaps to serve as a signpost to the fact that most of the occurrences of this word relate to the consuming away of Israel because of their sins. Now what has been done to them shall be done to those who did it, as the structure of Revelation explains.

Zechariah 14:13 It will happen in that day, that a great panic from Yahweh will be among them; and they, each of them, will lay hold on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand will rise up against the hand of his neighbour- This is how historically the invaders of Israel were destroyed (Jud. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:20; 2 Chron. 20:23). I suggested on :12 that they may use their nuclear weaponry against each other. "Panic" translates the word used in Dt. 7:23 about the destruction of the Canaanite nations; and these are the same nations in view in the last days: "But Yahweh your God will deliver them up before you and will confuse them with a great confusion until they are destroyed". It is also the word used of the destruction of the Philistines / Palestinians in 1 Sam. 5:9,11.

Zechariah 14:14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem- The repentant Jewish remnant are here prophesied as liberating the captured Jerusalem. This contrasts with passages like Psalm 2 which suggest Jerusalem will be defended and preserved from her invaders. A common way of dealing with these apparent contradictions has been to postulate a timeline of events, a series of invasions, with some happening after the return of the Lord Jesus and His enthronement in Zion. This may be a legitimate way of dealing with the problem, but no proposed chronology seems to resolve all the points of contradiction between the various prophecies. My suggestion again is that Bible prophecy is conditional. Various scenarios may happen, depending upon various factors such as the speed of Israel's repentance, the amount and quality of prayer and spirituality in the believers of the last days, God's grace, His desire to just end it all and get on with the Kingdom balanced against His desire to see more saved by prolonging things... And so Jerusalem may or may not fall, various invasions may or may not happen, in accordance with the human freewill factors that God so respects in how He finally works things out with Israel and this world.

And the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together: gold, and silver, and clothing, in great abundance- What was done to Judah in :1 would now be done to her abusers. This explains the structure of the book of Revelation; the seven seals of judgment upon Israel are reflected in the bowls of judgment then poured out upon those who judged her. This verse is behind Rev. 21:26: "They shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into" the restored Zion.

Zechariah 14:15 So will be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the donkey, and of all the animals that will be in those camps, as that plague- The animals mentioned were all of military usage, and refer to the military resources of the invaders. In latter day terms this translates into the military technology and hardware of the attackers being plagued and thereby destroyed in the same way as the users thereof (:12).

Zechariah 14:16 It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations- The remnant that is left is a term which is usually used about the repentant remnant of God's people. There will also be such a remnant amongst her latter day enemies. This is a major theme- that there will be a minority amongst the attackers who repent.

That came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies- We note the focus of the attackers as specifically upon Jerusalem. This fits with an increasing focus in jihadist Islam [the religion of Israel's surrounding nations and enemies] upon Jerusalem. We can expect to see the Jerusalem issue becoming increasingly prominent, both politically and in their theology.

And to keep the feast of tabernacles- This festival is chosen because it celebrated the entry into the promised land. It will be a way of celebrating God's grace to Israel; the Gentiles will keep it because they have so identified with Israel that her God and her history is now theirs. It was a celebration too of the end of harvest, which is often used as a metaphor for judgment. It is a mistake to think that the Law of Moses will be reinstated for some period at the Lord's return. That law was ended permanently, as the New Testament makes clear. Under that law, men were required to appear three times before the Lord at the main feasts (Ex. 23:17); but here, only one feast appears to be required. Likewise the legal requirements of the restored temple in Ez. 40-48 were not the Law of Moses, as they differed significantly from it.

Zechariah 14:17 It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn’t go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies, on them there will be no rain- At the time of Zechariah, rain was being withheld upon Judah because of their disobedience, as Hag. 1 and Malachi mention. The initial audience would have been aware of this and realized they were being treated like the obstinate Gentiles of the last days who would refuse all evidence of Yahweh's supremacy and refuse to submit to Him. For this is what they were doing.

Zechariah 14:18 If the family of Egypt doesn’t go up, and doesn’t come, neither will it rain on them- The obvious point is that Egypt was then the nation which was independent of rainfall, because it depended for irrigation upon the flooding of the Nile rather than precipitation. With all the huge tectonic upheavals of the last days, this situation will change. That is the clear implication of this threat. "The family of Egypt" is a slightly unusual term. The implication may be that at Zechariah's time, the family of God in Egypt had chosen not to 'come up' to Zion, preferring the land of their exile.

 

This will be the plague with which Yahweh will strike the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of tents- Perhaps God expected the Jews in Egypt to come to Jerusalem to keep the feast. But they didn't, and thereby were living out the condemnation of latter day people who refuse the most obvious evidence that Yahweh is indeed king in Zion.

Zechariah 14:19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that don’t go up to keep the feast of tabernacles- Egypt as so often is presented as representative of "all the nations". We note that even when the Lord Jesus is enthroned in Jerusalem, obedience will not be forced. And we also are reminded that in the face of the most overpowering visual evidence, human nature is such that men can still refuse it. "Punishment" translates the same original word translated "sin", e.g. in Zech. 13:1. The Hebrew language at this point was structured to reflect the fact that sin is its own punishment. It's not so much that God punishes sin, but that sin is its punishment.

Zechariah 14:20 In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, HOLY TO YAHWEH- "The horses" suggests a specific group of horses is in view; and the horses of the context are those ridden by the invaders in :15. Instead of bearing slogans glorifying their dedication to pagan gods, the "bridles" (LXX, NEV "bells") of the surviving horses will be dedicated instead to Yahweh. This is another way of saying that swords will be beaten into ploughs (Is. 2:4). "Holy to Yahweh" was the inscription on the High Priestly mitre (Ex. 28:36). The idea is that such holiness would extend equally; the horses were to be as dedicated to Yahweh as the High Priest. This thought continues in the second half of the verse, where sacred bowls are to be as holy as earthen pots. And we can live with that spirit now; every part of our lives is to be dedicated to Yahweh. No area of life or field of human endeavour is to be considered as more or less sanctified than any other.

And the pots in Yahweh’s house will be like the bowls before the altar- LXX "The cooking pots in the Temple will be as sacred as the bowls before the altar". Holiness will extend to absolutely everything.

Zechariah 14:21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to Yahweh of Armies; and all those who sacrifice will come and take of them, and cook in them- This rather conflicts with the practice amongst the Jews of the priests preparing the sacrifices, with the resultant abuses exemplified in the situation in 1 Sam. 2:13-15. But God seeks for personal relationship with individual people; both now and in that future day, we are to personally prepare and offer our own sacrifice to Him. We cannot depend upon any religious structure to do this for us, assuming because we made a general donation to a fund or charitable appeal we are thereby freed from any further concept of sacrifice.

 

In that day- This phrase occurs seven times in the prophecy of Zech. 14; see on :7. We are perhaps invited to see this as the consumption of the creation week, a new creation. The final "in that day" we expect to be something very significant, but instead the prophecy concludes with what could appear an anticlimax- a reference to there no longer being traders / Canaanites in the temple. But this is typical of the prophets; to focus upon moral failure which might appear relatively minor, and show how deeply significant it in fact is to God.

There will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of Armies- This was of obvious relevance to Zechariah's generation; for the book of Nehemiah laments how Canaanites came and traded and even had chambers in the temple. So the crowning blessing of the Kingdom "in that day" will be that there will be no more spiritual weakness within us the people and temple of God. And this is what surely every spiritually minded believer wishes for above all. Fear of our own weakness and the corruption of God's "house" by apostacy will then be no more.