In our study of Zechariah chapter fourteen, we will look at the final fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the nations and its final rise at the hand of God.
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Look, a day is coming for ADONAI when your plunder will be divided right there within you. "For I will gather all the nations against Yerushalayim for war. The city will be taken, the houses will be rifled, the women will be raped, and half the city will go into exile; but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city."
Zechariah begins with a headline like in a newspaper and the news is that Jerusalem will be taken once again. In chapter 13, we saw that God was going to refine his people and this is a part of that process. We must also remember that God is in control of this time as he says that "I will gather the nations". As we see here, the city of Jerusalem will be divided in two by this great gathering of nations and that speaks of a remnant of the Jewish people that will remain their worshipping God.
Then ADONAI will go out and fight against those nations, fighting as on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east of Yerushalayim; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, to make a huge valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
Now, the prophet tells us of how the Jews will be saved from the nations. Yeshua Messiah appears on the Mount of Olives and the mountain is split to form a huge valley that runs east and west from the Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea. It is interesting to note that this is what the two men in white told the disciples as he was taken up to heaven in Acts 1:11.
You will flee to the valley in the mountains, for the valley in the mountains will reach to Atzel. You will flee, just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of 'Uziyah king of Y'hudah. Then ADONAI my God will come to you with all the holy ones.
Azal refers to Nahal Azal which is a valley south of Jerusalem. This gives us an idea of how wide the valley will be that runs to the east and west. This great shifting of the land will serve to elevate Jerusalem and it will be done by the hand of God. After the remnant is preserved for a time at the place called Petra, Yeshua will return with all of those who have trusted in him and the millennial reign will begin. Paul was speaking of this in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4.
On that day, there will be neither bright light nor thick darkness; and one day, known to ADONAI, will be neither day nor night, although by evening there will be light.
This verse speaks of the New Jerusalem and the fact that God is the light of not only the city but the entire world. Nobody knows when this will happen except the Father. This is the same thing that the apostle John saw in Revelation 21.
On that day, fresh water will flow out from Yerushalayim, half toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea, both summer and winter.
John calls this the River of Life and it flows from Jerusalem through the valley that was created earlier. The Dead Sea which has very little life around it today will be made fresh and new from this water of life. We see that this water is not dependent on the natural process of mountain snows melting but instead flows directly from God. Therefore, it will flow continually and not just during the spring.
Then ADONAI will be king over the whole world. On that day ADONAI will be the only one, and his name will be the only name.
There is only room for one king on this new earth and that will be Yeshua Messiah. This is significant because it is the responsibility of a king to provide for the needs of the people of the land.
All the land will be made like the 'Aravah, from Geva to Rimmon in the Negev. Yerushalayim will be raised up and inhabited where she is, from Binyamin's Gate to the place where the earlier gate stood, and on to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hanan'el to the king's winepresses. People will live there, the curse will be broken, and Yerushalayim will live in safety.
As King, Yeshua will turn the land into a very fertile plain like the Arabah (the Jordan River Valley). Jerusalem will be a shining city on a hill and will never fall to an enemy again. It will continually contain God's people and there will be no fear of its end.
ADONAI will strike all the peoples who made war against Yerushalayim with a plague in which their flesh rots away while they are standing on their feet, their eyes rot away in their sockets, and their tongues rot away in their mouths.
This verse shows us what will happen to the troops from the nations that attacked Jerusalem. Their flesh will simply be consumed or fall away. Many have equated this to a nuclear war and, while that is possible, we must remember that it is God that is bringing this judgment and he does not need nuclear weapons. We can only say that it is terrible and, at that point, all opposition to the rule of Yeshua in Jerusalem will be removed.
When that day comes, there will be among them great panic, sent by ADONAI, so that everyone lays hands on his neighbor, who in turn attacks him. Y'hudah too will fight against Yerushalayim; and the wealth of all the nations will be assembled - gold, silver and clothing in great abundance.
When the power of God is demonstrated in the judgment on the soldiers of the nations, it will cause panic. Today, nations trust in their military and even the UN peacekeepers but, when they are destroyed, all hope for the nations is lost. The nations will not only realize that Yeshua owns Jerusalem but also realize that all of their possessions belong to God as well.
A plague like this plague will also affect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys and all the other animals in those camps.
Whatever is used to strike down the soldiers assembled against Jerusalem will also affect their animals. The animals listed are those that were used by soldiers in battle and this speaks of the fact that the tools of war will be destroyed.
Finally, everyone remaining from all the nations that came to attack Yerushalayim will go up every year to worship the king, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, and to keep the festival of Sukkot.
The people of the nations that attacked Jerusalem will then go to Jerusalem to worship God. The Festival of Tabernacles is a time of great rejoicing and celebrating. It is also a time of remembering the wandering of Israel in the desert and the provision of God during that time. In the same manner, the nations will worship God and remember the fact that they were spared from the fate of the troops that they sent in opposition to him.
If any of the families of the earth does not go up to Yerushalayim to worship the king, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, no rain will fall on them. If the family of Egypt doesn't go up, if they refuse to come, they will have no [annual] overflow [from the Nile]; moreover, there will be the plague with which ADONAI will strike the nations that don't go up to keep the festival of Sukkot. This will be Egypt's punishment and the punishment of all the nations that don't go up to keep the festival of Sukkot.
With the establishment of his kingdom on earth, the nations will continue to acknowledge him every year or the blessing of rain will be removed. Not only will they be not blessed but they will be struck with the same plague that fell upon the soldiers.
When that day comes, this will be written on the bells worn by the horses: "Consecrated to ADONAI"; and the cooking pots in the house of ADONAI will be [as holy] as the sprinkling bowls before the altar.
Everything in the city of Jerusalem will have a singular purpose and that is to serve God exclusively. The age of people professing to love God and yet doing their own thing will be over.
Yes, every cooking pot in Yerushalayim and Y'hudah will be consecrated to ADONAI-Tzva'ot. Everyone who offers sacrifices will come, take them and use them to stew the meat. When that day comes, there will no longer be merchants in the house of ADONAI-Tzva'ot.
All of the land of Israel will be set apart for God's people and everything in it down to even the smallest of cooking pots. Canaanite refers to those that opposed the will of God and his plan as well as merchants and those pursuing commerce. We see that anyone that is not morally and spiritually clean through the blood of Yeshua Messiah will not have a part in this New Jerusalem and new earth.
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