{"id":23080,"date":"2022-09-24T09:51:09","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-zechariah-141\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T09:51:09","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T14:51:09","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-zechariah-141","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-zechariah-141\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 14:1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

1<\/strong>. the day of the Lord cometh<\/em> ] Lit. a day to<\/strong> (or, of) Jehovah,<\/strong> i.e. which is in a special manner His. The previous prophecy (Zec 13:7-9<\/span>) is now expanded, attention being concentrated, however, on the city rather than on the land (Zec 13:8<\/span>), and on the final act rather than on the long previous process of purifying discipline. It is impossible satisfactorily to adapt the terms of this prophecy, either to the taking of Jerusalem under the Maccabees, or to its destruction by the Romans. As Pusey well remarks, “those who explain it solely of this, are obliged to mingle explanations partly literal, as that Jerusalem should be the earthly Jerusalem which was destroyed, partly metaphorical, as to the mount of Olives, its division into two parts, &c.” It should moreover be observed that there is no word here of the city being destroyed<\/em>.<\/p>\n

in the midst of thee<\/em> ] So complete shall be the subjugation of the city, that the enemy shall, in perfect security, portion out her spoil amongst the victorious hosts in the very midst of her.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chap. Zec 14:1-7<\/span>. The final Conflict and Deliverance<\/p>\n

All nations shall come against Jerusalem. The city shall be taken, with the attendant horrors of barbarous warfare, and half its population enslaved, Zec 14:1-2<\/span>. Then Jehovah shall appear, as in olden time, to deliver His people, Zec 14:3<\/span>. Beneath His feet, as He descends upon the Mount of Olives, the mountain shall cleave asunder, the two parts moving northward and southward, and being separated by a wide valley running east and west, Zec 14:4<\/span>. By this valley (which shall reach across the ravine of Kedron up to the city wall) the people that remain shall flee from Jerusalem, as they fled from the earthquake in Uzziah’s time. Jehovah shall come with all His holy ones, Zec 14:5<\/span>, and this “day of the Lord,” unlike all other days and known to Him alone, shall be marked by strange phenomena of mingled light and darkness, and shall have for its evening the dawn of the everlasting day, Zec 14:6-7<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Second Section<\/em>. Zec 13:7<\/span> to Zec 14:21<\/span><\/p>\n

The purification and final glory of Israel<\/p>\n

This Second Section of the Second Burden and conclusion of the whole Book describes the purifying chastisement that shall come upon the people, Zec 13:7-9<\/span>; the great final conflict and deliverance of Jerusalem, Zec 14:1-7<\/span>; the prosperity of the transformed and renovated city and land, Jehovah being King, 8 11; the destruction of the hostile nations, 12 15, and homage of the residue, 16 19; and the perfect holiness of Jerusalem, as the crown of all, 20, 21.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Behold the Day of the Lord cometh – <\/B>Literally, a day cometh, the Lords, in which He Himself shall be Judge, and no longer leave man to fulfill his own will, and despise Gods; in which His glory and holiness and the righteousness of all His ways shall be revealed.<\/P>

And thy spoil shall be in the midst of thee – <\/B>Jerome: How great will the strait be, that the spoils should be divided in the midst of her. It often happens that what, by a sudden assault, is plundered in the city, is divided in the field or in solitude, lest the enemy should come upon them. But now there will be such a heavy weight of ills, such will be the security of conquest, that the spoils shall be divided in the midst of the city.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:1-3<\/span><\/p>\n

And thy spoil shall be divided <\/em><\/p>\n

A sketch on bad men<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three facts concerning such.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n


I. <\/strong>They are capable of perpetrating the greatest enormities on their fellow men. In the account given by Josephus of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans we have a record of enormities at which we might stand aghast. The particulars, says Dr. Wardlaw, here noted are such as usually, it might be said, invariably attend the besieging, the capture, and the sacking of cities; especially when, as in this case, the assailing army has been exasperated by a long, harassing, and wasting defence. The entrance of the unpitying soldiery, the rifling of houses, the violation of women, the indiscriminate massacre, and the division of the spoil, are just what all expect, and what require no comment. And never were such scenes more frightfully realised than at the destruction of Jerusalem when God in His providence in judicial retribution gathered all nations against the devoted, city to battle. All nations, a correct description of the army of Titus, the empire of Rome embracing a large proportion of the then known world, and this army consisting of soldiers of all the different nations which composed it. And, while such was to be the destruction brought upon the city, the desolation was to extend, and that in different ways, at short intervals, throughout the land. The fact that men are capable of perpetrating on their fellow men such enormities show–<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>Mans apostasy from the laws of his spiritual nature.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>The great work which the Gospel has to do in our world.<\/p>\n


II. <\/strong>That whatever enormities they perpetrate, they are evermore instruments in the hands of the worlds great Ruler. The period in which these abominations were enacted is in the text called the day of the Lord, and He is represented as calling the Roman armies to the work. I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished. God in His retributive procedure punishes the bad by the bad. In this case–<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>No injustice is done. The men of Jerusalem deserved their fate. They filled up the measure of their iniquity.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>There is no infringement of free agency. Good men might revolt from inflicting such enormities upon their fellow creatures, but it is according to the wish of bad men. This is Gods retributive method, to punish the bad by the bad.<\/p>\n


III. <\/strong>Though instruments in His hands, God will punish them for all their deeds of enormity. But where is the justice of punishing men whom He employs to execute His own will? Two facts will answer this question.<\/p>\n

1. <\/strong>What they did was essentially bad.<\/p>\n

2. <\/strong>What they did was in accord with their own wills.<\/p>\n

He never inspired them or constrained them. He did but use them. (Homilist.<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER XIV <\/P>

The commencement of this chapter relates to the destruction of<\/I><\/P>

Jerusalem by the Romans, and to the calamities consequent on<\/I><\/P>

that event. From this great Jewish tragedy the prophet<\/I><\/P>

immediately passes to the utter extermination of the enemies of<\/I><\/P>

Christianity in the latter days.<\/I><\/P>

God will display his power in behalf of his people in a manner<\/I><\/P>

so astonishing and miraculous, that even they themselves, and<\/I><\/P>

much more their enemies, shall be struck with terror<\/I>, 4, 5.<\/P>

The national prosperity of the Jews shall then be permanent and<\/I><\/P>

unmixed<\/I>, 6, 7;<\/P>

and these people shall be made the instruments of converting<\/I><\/P>

many to the faith of the Messiah<\/I>, 8, 9.<\/P>

The great increase and prosperity of the Christian Church, the<\/I><\/P>

New Jerusalem, is then described in terms accommodated to<\/I><\/P>

Jewish ideas; and the most signal vengeance denounced against<\/I><\/P>

all her enemies<\/I>, 10-19.<\/P>

From that happy period God’s name will be honoured in every<\/I><\/P>

thing, and his worship every where most reverently observe<\/I>,<\/P>

20, 21. <\/P>

NOTES ON CHAP. XIV<\/P>

<\/P>

Verse 1<\/span>. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh<\/B><\/I>] This appears to be a prediction of that war in which Jerusalem was finally destroyed, and the Jews scattered all over the face of the earth<\/I>; and of the effects produced by it.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Behold:<\/B> here are things of very great importance, and of very mysterious nature, proposed by the Lord to us, and therefore we are called upon to attend to them. <\/P>

The day of the Lord, <\/B>the day which the Lord hath appointed for punishing the sins of his ancient people, day of his sacrifice, Zep 1:8<\/span>, of vengeance, Joe 2:1<\/span>,2<\/span>. <\/P>

Cometh; <\/B>hasteth, or will soon overtake you, O sinful, unthankful, bloody Jews, who first despised and next murdered the Messiah! <\/P>

Thy spoil, <\/B>all thou hast, O Jerusalem, shall become a prey to thine enemy. <\/P>

Shall be divided in the midst of thee:<\/B> thy conquering enemies shall be such absolute masters of thee, that in greatest security they shall divide among themselves what they take from thee, in the very place where they take it: Jerusalem is their own, and all in it, and where they find their own they will take it; so they reckon. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

1. day of the Lord<\/B>in which Heshall vindicate His justice by punishing the wicked and then savingHis elect people (Joe 2:31<\/span>;Joe 3:14<\/span>; Mal 4:1<\/span>;Mal 4:5<\/span>). <\/P>

thy spoil . . . divided inthe midst of thee<\/B>by the foe; secure of victory, they shall notdivide the spoil taken from thee in their camp outside, but “inthe midst” of the city itself.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh<\/strong>,…. Or the day when the Lord will come, both in his spiritual and personal reign; for this is not to be understood of his first coming in the flesh, at which time none of the things after mentioned happened; nor of his coming to take vengeance on the Jews; but rather of his coming to convert them:<\/p>\n

and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee<\/strong>; not the substance of the nations, divided by the Israelites in the midst of Jerusalem, as the Targum and Jarchi interpret it; but the spoil of Jerusalem, when taken by the enemy, as is after said, which should be divided by them with great joy and triumph, in the midst of it: this refers not to the spoil of Jerusalem by Antiochus or the Romans, but to the slaying of the witnesses, and the triumph of their enemies over them, Re 11:7<\/span> or else to the spoil and prey the Turks will come to Jerusalem for, when it shall begin the possession of the Jews; and who perhaps at first will have some success; see Eze 38:12<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

All nations will be gathered together by the Lord against Jerusalem, and will take the city and plunder it, and lead away the half of its inhabitants into captivity (Zec 14:1<\/span>, Zec 14:2<\/span>). The Lord will then take charge of His people; He will appear upon the Mount of Olives, and by splitting this mountain, prepare a safe way for the rescue of those that remain, and come with all His saints (Zec 14:3-5<\/span>) to complete His kingdom. From Jerusalem a stream of salvation and blessing will pour over the whole land (Zec 14:6-11<\/span>); the enemies who have come against Jerusalem will be miraculously smitten, and destroy one another (Zec 14:12-15<\/span>). The remnant of the nations, however, will turn to the Lord, and come yearly to Jerusalem, to keep the feast of Tabernacles (Zec 14:16-19<\/span>); and Jerusalem will become thoroughly holy (Zec 14:20<\/span>, Zec 14:21<\/span>). From this brief description of the contents, it is perfectly obvious that our chapter contains simply a further expansion of the summary announcement of the judgment upon Israel, and its refinement (Zec 13:7-9<\/span>). Zec 14:1<\/span>, Zec 14:2<\/span> show how the flock is dispersed, and for the most part perishes; <\/em> Zec 14:2-5<\/span>, how the Lord brings back His hand over the small ones; vv. 6-21, how the rescued remnant of the nation is endowed with salvation, and the kingdom of God completed by the reception of the believers out of the heathen nations. There is no essential difference in the fact that the nation of Israel is the object of the prophecy in Zec 13:7-9<\/span>, and Jerusalem in ch. 14. Jerusalem, as the capital of the kingdom, is the seat of Israel, the nation of God; what happens to it, happens to the people and kingdom of God.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:1-2<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> The judgment and the deliverance. – Zec 14:1<\/span>. “Behold, a day cometh for Jehovah, and thy spoil is divided in the midst of thee.<\/em> Zec 14:2<\/span>. And I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to war, and the city will be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women ravished, and half the city will go out into captivity; but the remnant of the nation will not be cut off out of the city.” <\/em> A day comes to the Lord, not inasmuch as He brings it to pass, but rather because the day belongs to Him, since He will manifest His glory upon it (cf. Isa 2:12<\/span>). This day will at first bring calamity or destruction upon Israel; but this calamity will furnish occasion to the Lord to display His divine might and glory, by destroying the enemies of Israel and saving His people. In the second hemistich of Zec 14:1<\/span>, Jerusalem is addressed. “Thy spoil” is the booty taken by the enemy in Jerusalem. The prophet commences directly with the main fact, in a most vivid description, and only gives the explanation afterwards in Zec 14:2<\/span>. The Vav consec.<\/em> attached to is also a Vav explicativum<\/em>. The Lord gathers all nations together to war against Jerusalem, and gives up the city into their power, that they may conquer it, and let loose all their barbarity upon it, plundering the houses and ravishing the women (cf. Isa 13:16<\/span>, where the same thing is affirmed of Babylon). Just as in the Chaldaean conquest the people had been obliged to wander into captivity, so will it be now, though not all the people, but only the half of the city. The remaining portion will not be cut off out of the city, i.e., be transported thence, as was the case at that time, when even the remnant of the nation was carried into exile (2Ki 25:22<\/span>). It is obvious at once from this, that the words do not refer to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, as Theodoret, Jerome, and others have supposed.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:3-5<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong> This time the Lord will come to the help of His people. Zec 14:3<\/span>. “And Jehovah will go forth and fight against those nations, as in His day of battle, on the day of slaughter.<\/em> Zec 14:4<\/span>. And His feet will stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which lies to the east before Jerusalem; and the Mount of Olives will split in the centre from east to west into a very great valley, and half of the mountain will remove to the north, and its (other) half to the south.<\/em> Zec 14:5<\/span>. And ye will flee into the valley of my mountains, and the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel, and ye will flee as ye fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. And Jehovah my God will come, all the saints with Thee.” <\/em> Against those nations which have conquered Jerusalem the Lord will fight , as the day, i.e., as on the day, of His fighting, to which there is added, for the purpose of strengthening the expression, “on the day of the slaughter.” The meaning is not “according to the day when He fought in the day of the war,” as Jerome and many others suppose, who refer the words to the conflict between Jehovah and the Egyptians at the Red Sea (Exo 14:14<\/span>); for there is nothing to support this special allusion. According to the historical accounts in the Old Testament, Jehovah went out more than once to fight for His people (cf. Jos 10:14<\/span>, Jos 10:42<\/span>; Jos 23:3<\/span>; Jdg 4:15<\/span>; 1Sa 7:10<\/span>; 2Ch 20:15<\/span>). The simile is therefore to be taken in a more general sense, as signifying “as He is accustomed to fight in the day of battle and slaughter,” and to be understood as referring to all the wars of the Lord on behalf of His people. In Zec 14:4<\/span> and Zec 14:5<\/span> we have first of all a description of what the Lord will do to save the remnant of His people. He appears upon the Mount of Olives, and as His feet touch the mountain it splits in half, so that a large valley is formed. The splitting of the mountain is the effect of the earthquake under the footsteps of Jehovah, before whom the earth trembles when He touches it (cf. Exo 19:18<\/span>; Jdg 5:5<\/span>; Psa 68:8<\/span>; Nah 1:5<\/span>, etc.). The more precise definition of the situation of the Mount of Olives, viz., “before Jerusalem eastwards,” is not introduced with a geographical purpose – namely, to distinguish it from other mountains upon which olives trees grow – but is connected with the means employed by the Lord for the salvation of His people, for whom He opens a way of escape by splitting the mountain in two. The mountain is split , from the half (i.e., the midst) of it to the east and to the west, i.e., so that a chasm ensues, which runs from the centre of the mountain both eastwards and westwards; so that the mountain is split latitudinally, one half (as is added to make it still more clear) removing to the south, the other to the north, and a great valley opening between them.<\/p>\n

Into this valley the half of the nation that is still in Jerusalem will flee. is the accusative of direction (Luther and others render it incorrectly, “before the valley of my mountains”). This valley is not the valley of the Tyropaeon<\/em>, or the valley between Moriah and Zion (Jerome, Drus., Hofm.), but the valley which has been formed by the splitting of the Mount of Olives; and Jehovah calls the two mountains which have been formed through His power out of the Mount of Olives harai <\/em>, “my mountains.” Nor is it connected with the valley of Jehoshaphat; for the opinion that the newly-formed valley is merely an extension of the valley of Jehoshaphat has no foundation in the text, and is not in harmony with the direction taken by the new valley – namely, from east to west. The explanatory clause which follows, “for the (newly-formed) valley of the mountains will reach ,” shows that the flight of the people into the valley is not to be understood as signifying that the valley will merely furnish the fugitives with a level road for escape, but that they will find a secure place of shelter in the valley. ‘El ‘Atsal <\/em> has been taken by different commentators, after Symm. and Jerome, in an appellative sense, “to very near,” which Koehler interprets as signifying that the valley will reach to the place where the fugitives are. This would be to Jerusalem, for that was where the fugitives were then. But if Zechariah had meant to say this, he could not have spoken more obscurely. ‘Atsal <\/em>, the form in pause for ‘atsel <\/em>, as we may see by comparing 1Ch 8:38<\/span> and 1Ch 9:44<\/span> with 1Ch 8:39<\/span> and 1Ch 9:43<\/span> (cf. Olsh. Gramm.<\/em> 91, d<\/em>), is only met with elsewhere in the form , not merely as a preposition, but also in the name , and is here a proper name, as most of the ancient translators perceived, – namely, a contracted form of , since is frequently omitted from names of places constructed with it (see Ges. Thes.<\/em> p. 193). This place is to be sought for, according to Mic 1:11<\/span>, in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, and according to the passage before us to the east of the Mount of Olives, as Cyril states, though from mere hearsay, , . The fact that Jerome does not mention the place is no proof that it did not exist. A small place not far from Jerusalem, on the other side of the Mount of Olives, might have vanished from the earth long before this father lived. The comparison of the flight to the flight from the earthquake in the time of king Uzziah, to which reference is made in Amo 1:1<\/span>, is intended to express not merely the swiftness and universality of the flight, but also the cause of the flight, – namely, that they do not merely fly from the enemy, but also for fear of the earthquake which will attend the coming of the Lord. In the last clause of Zec 14:5<\/span> the object of the coming of the Lord is indicated. He has not only gone forth to fight against the enemy in Jerusalem, and deliver His people; but He comes with His holy angels, to perfect His kingdom by means of the judgment, and to glorify Jerusalem. This coming is not materially different from His going out to war (Zec 14:3<\/span>); it is not another or a second coming, but simply a visible manifestation. For this coming believers wait, because it brings them redemption (Luk 21:28<\/span>). This joyful waiting is expressed in the address “my God.” The holy ones are the angels (cf. Deu 33:2-3<\/span>; Dan 7:9-10<\/span>; Mat 25:31<\/span>), not believers, or believers as well as the angels. In what follows, Zechariah depicts first of all the completion secured by the coming of the Lord (Zec 14:6-11<\/span>), and then the judgment upon the enemy (Zec 14:12-15<\/span>), with its fruits and consequences (Zec 14:16-21<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Persecution of the Church; Judgments and Mercies; Encouraging Prospects.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD>

B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 500.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE>

      1 Behold, the day of the LORD<\/B> cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.   2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.   3 Then shall the LORD<\/B> go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.   4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is<\/I> before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be<\/I> a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.   5 And ye shall flee to<\/I> the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD<\/B> my God shall come, and<\/I> all the saints with thee.   6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that<\/I> the light shall not be clear, nor<\/I> dark:   7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD<\/B>, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that<\/I> at evening time it shall be light.<\/P>

      God’s providences concerning his church are here represented as strangely changing and strangely mixed.<\/P>

      I. As strangely changing. Sometimes the tide runs high and strong against them, but presently it turns, and comes to be in favour of them; and God has, for wise and holy ends, set the one over against the other.<\/P>

      1. God here appears against Jerusalem; judgment begins at the house of God. When the day of the Lord comes<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>) Jerusalem must pass through the fire to be refined. God himself gathers all nations against Jerusalem to battle<\/I> (v.<\/I><\/span> 2<\/span>); he gives them a charge, as he did Sennacherib, to take the spoil<\/I> and to take the prey<\/I> (Isa. x. 6<\/span>), for the people of Jerusalem have now become the people of his wrath.<\/I> And who can stand before him or before nations gathered by him? Where he gives commission he will give success. The city shall be taken by the<\/I> Romans, who have nations<\/I> at command; the houses shall be rifled, and all the riches of them taken away, by the enemy; and, to gratify an insatiable lust of uncleanness as well as avarice, the women<\/I> shall be ravished,<\/I> as if victory were a license to the worst of villanies, jusque datum sceleri–and crimes were sanctioned by law. One-half of the city<\/I> shall then be carried into captivity,<\/I> to be sold or enslaved, and shall not be able to help itself, such is the destruction that shall be made in the great and terrible day of the Lord.<\/I><\/P>

      2. He presently changes his way, and appears for Jerusalem; for, though judgment begin at the house of God, yet, as it shall not end there, so it shall not make a full end there, Jer 4:27<\/span>; Jer 30:11<\/span>.<\/P>

      (1.) A remnant shall be spared, the same with that third part<\/I> spoken of, ch.<\/I><\/span> xiii. 8<\/span>. One-half shall go into captivity,<\/I> whence they may hereafter be fetched back, and the residue of the people shall not<\/I> be cut off, as one would have feared, from the city.<\/I> Many of the Jews shall receive the gospel, and so shall prevent their being cut off from the city of God, his church upon earth. In it shall be a tenth,<\/I> Isa. vi. 13<\/I><\/span>; See Ezek. v. 3<\/span>.<\/P>

      (2.) Their cause shall be pleaded against their enemies (v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>): Then,<\/I> when God has made use of these nations as a scourge to his people, he shall go forth<\/I> and fight against them<\/I> by his judgments, as when he fought<\/I> against the enemies of his church formerly in the day of battle,<\/I> with the Egyptians, Canaanites, and others. Note, The instruments of God’s wrath will themselves be made the objects of it; for it will come to their turn to drink of the cup of trembling; and whom God fights against he will be sure to overcome and be too hard for. And every former day of battle,<\/I> which God has made to his people a day of triumph,<\/I> as it is an engagement to God to appear for his people, because he is the same, so it is an encouragement to them to trust in him. It is observable that the Roman empire never flourished, after the destruction of Jerusalem as it had done before, but in many instances God fought against it.<\/P>

      (3.) Though Jerusalem and the temple be destroyed, yet God will have a church in the world, into which Gentiles shall be admitted, and with whom the believing Jews shall be incorporated, Zec 14:4<\/span>; Zec 14:5<\/span>. These verses are dark and hard to be understood; but divers good expositors take this to be the meaning of them. [1.] God will carefully inspect Jerusalem, even then when the enemies of it are laying it waste: His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,<\/I> whence he may take a full view of the city and temple, Mark xiii. 3<\/span>. When the refiner puts his gold into the furnace he stands by it, and has his eye upon it, to see that it receive no damage; so when Jerusalem, God’s gold, is to be refined, he will have the oversight of it. He will stand by upon the mount of Olives;<\/I> this was literally fulfilled when our Lord Jesus was often upon this mountain, especially when thence he ascended up into heaven,<\/I> Acts i. 12<\/I><\/span>. It was the last place on which his feet stood on this earth, the place from which he took rise. [2.] The partition-wall between Jews and Gentiles shall be taken away. The mountains about Jerusalem,<\/I> and particularly this, signified it to be an enclosure, and that it stood in the way of those who would approach to it. Between the Gentiles and Jerusalem this mountain of Bether,<\/I> of division,<\/I> stood, Cant. ii. 17<\/span>. But by the destruction of Jerusalem this mountain shall be made to cleave in the midst,<\/I> and so the Jewish pale shall be taken down, and the church laid in common with the Gentiles, who were made one with the Jews by the breaking down of this middle wall of partition,<\/I> Eph. ii. 14<\/I><\/span>. Who art thou, O great mountain?<\/I> And a great mountain the ceremonial law was in the way of the Jews’ conversion, which, one would think, could never have been got over; yet before Christ and his gospel it was made plain. This mountain departs,<\/I> this hill removes,<\/I> but the covenant of peace<\/I> cannot be broken;<\/I> for peace is still preached to him that is afar off and to those that are nigh.<\/I> [3.] A new and living way shall be opened to the new Jerusalem, both to see it and to come into it. The mountain being divided, one-half towards the north<\/I> and the other half towards the south,<\/I> there shall be a very great valley,<\/I> that is, a broad way of communication opened between Jerusalem and the Gentile world, by which the Gentiles shall have free admission into the gospel-Jerusalem, and the word of the Lord, that goes forth from Jerusalem,<\/I> shall have a free course<\/I> into the Gentile world. Thus the way of the Lord<\/I> is prepared, for every mountain and hill shall be brought low,<\/I> and plain and pleasant valleys shall come in the room of them, Isa. xl. 4<\/span>. [4.] Those of the Jews that believe shall come in, and join themselves to the Gentiles, and incorporate with them in the gospel-church: You shall flee to the valley of the mountains,<\/I> that valley that is opened between the divided halves of the mount of Olives; they shall hasten into the church with the Gentiles, as formerly the Gentiles with them, ch.<\/I><\/span> viii. 23<\/span>. The valley of the mountains<\/I> is the gospel-church, to which there were added of the Jews daily such as should be saved,<\/I> who fled to that valley as to their refuge. This valley of the mountains<\/I> is said to reach unto Azal,<\/I> or to the separate place,<\/I> that is, to all those whom God has set apart for himself.<\/I> When God makes his mountains a way<\/I> (Isa. xlix. 11<\/span>), by making them a valley, the way shall be opened to all the way-faring men<\/I> (Isa. xxxv. 8<\/span>), and, though fools,<\/I> they shall not err therein.<\/I> Or, to those that are now separated from God this valley shall reach; for the Gentiles, who are afar off, shall be made nigh, with the Jews, who are a people near unto him,<\/I> and both have an access,<\/I> a mutual access to each other and a joint access to God as a Father by one Spirit, Eph. ii. 18<\/span>. [5.] They shall flee to the valley of the mountains,<\/I> to the gospel-church, under dreadful apprehensions of their danger from the curse of the law. They shall flee from the wrath to come,<\/I> from the avenger of blood, who is in pursuit of them, to the church as to a city of refuge,<\/I> or as doves to their windows,<\/I> as they fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah,<\/I> Amos i. 1<\/I><\/span>. Therefore<\/I> the gospel reveals the wrath of God from heaven (Rom. i. 18<\/span>) that we might be awakened to escape for our lives,<\/I> to flee as from an earthquake, for we feel the earth ready to sink under us, and we can find no firm footing in it, and therefore must flee to Christ, in whom alone we can stand fast and be easy.<\/P>

      (4.) God shall appear in his glory for the accomplishing of all this: The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee,<\/I> which may refer to his coming to destroy Jerusalem, or to destroy the enemies of Jerusalem, or his coming to set up his kingdom in the world, which is called the coming of the Son of man<\/I> (Matt. xxiv. 37<\/span>), or to his last coming, at the end of time; however, it teaches us, [1.] That the Lord will come; it has been the faith of all the saints, Behold, the Lord comes<\/I> to fulfil every word that he has spoken in its season. [2.] When he comes all his saints come with him; they attend his motions and are ready to serve his interests. Christ will come at the end of time with ten thousands of his saints,<\/I> as when he came to give the law upon Mount Sinai. [3.] Every particular believer, being related to God as his God, may triumph in the expectation of his coming and speak of it with pleasure, The Lord my God shall come,<\/I> shall come to the comfort of all that are his; for, “Blessed Lord, all the saints shall be with thee,<\/I> and it shall be their everlasting happiness to dwell in thy presence; and therefore come, Lord Jesus.<\/I>” And some think that this may be read as a prayer, Yet, O Lord my God! come, and bring all the saints with thee.<\/I><\/P>

      II. God’s providences appear here strangely mixed (Zec 14:6<\/span>; Zec 14:7<\/span>): In that day<\/I> of the Lord the light shall not be clear nor dark, not day<\/I> nor night;<\/I> but at evening time it shall be light.<\/I> Some refer this to all the time from hence to the coming of the Messiah; the Jewish church had neither perfect peace nor constant trouble, but a cloudy day, neither rain nor sunshine. But it may be taken more generally, as designed to represent the method God usually takes in the administration of the kingdom both of providence and grace. Here is, 1. An idea of the usual course and tenour of God’s dispensations; the day of his grace and the day of his providence are neither clear nor dark, not day nor night.<\/I> It is so with the church of God in this world; where the Sun of righteousness has risen it cannot be dark night, and yet short of heaven it will not be clear day. It is so with particular saints; they are not darkness, but light in the Lord,<\/I> and yet, while there is so much error and corruption remaining in them, it is not perfect day. So it is as to the providences of God that relate to his church; in general the affairs of the church are neither good nor bad in any extremity, but there is a mixture of both; we are singing both of mercy and judgment, and are uncertain which will prevail, whether it be an evening or a morning twilight. We are between hope and fear, not knowing what to make of things. 2. An intimation of comfort with reference hereunto: It shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord.<\/I> This intimates, (1.) The beauty and harmony of such mixed events; there is one and the same design and tendency in all; all the wheels make but one wheel, all the revolutions but one day. (2.) The brevity of them; it is, as it were, but for one day, for a little moment; the cloud that darkens the light will soon blow over. (3.) The eye God has upon all these events, and the hand he has in them all; they are known to the Lord;<\/I> he takes notice of them, and orders and disposes of all for the best, according to the counsel of his will. 3. An issue very joyful secured at last: At evening-time it shall be light:<\/I> it shall be clear light, and no longer dark; we are sure of it in the other world, and we hope for it in this world–at evening-time,<\/I> when our hopes are quite spent with waiting all day to no purpose, nay, when we fear it will be quite dark, when things are at the worst and the case of the church is most deplorable. As to the church’s enemies the sun goes down at noon,<\/I> so to the church it rises at night; unto the upright springs light out of darkness<\/I> (Ps. cxii. 4<\/span>); deliverance comes when the tale of bricks is doubled, and when God’s people have done looking for it, and so it comes with a pleasing surprise.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

ZECHARIAH – CHAPTER 14<\/strong><\/p>\n

Events At Return of the Lord In Glory<\/p>\n

Verses 1-3:<\/p>\n

Armageddon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Verse 1 announces <\/strong>“The day of the Lord,” a day of vengeance, in which the Lord will vindicate his justice by punishing the wicked, then save His elect people, to magnify His glory, Joe 2:31<\/span>; Joe 3:14<\/span>; Mal 4:1<\/span>; Mal 4:5<\/span>. See also Isa 2:10-22<\/span>; Rev 19:11-21<\/span>. Their spoil will be seized and divided in their presence by the foe, in the midst of the city, not outside the camp. They got it by deceit and greed and were to lose it in Divine judgment, Gal 6:7-8<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Verse 2 foretells <\/strong>that the Lord will, by permissive will, gather all nations against Jerusalem (the city of peace) to do battle. The half of the city shall be taken, their houses rifled, (or looted) and their women raped and humiliated, Isa 13:16<\/span>; And half of the inhabitants of the city shall go forth as captive slaves, or chattel, salable property, of the Gentile foe. And a residue of those remaining in the city shall not be cut off, uprooted, or taken away from Jerusalem, but left to perish.<\/p>\n

Verse 3 prophesies <\/strong>that then, at that point, the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, or come down from heaven, in power and great glory, and fight against those nations, as in days of old, Exo 14:14<\/span>; Exo 15:3<\/span>, terminating the battle of Armageddon, v. 1-5; Mat 24:27-28<\/span>; Rev 16:14<\/span>; Rev 19:11-21<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zechariah pursues the same subject as in the preceding chapter: for having promised a joyful and happy state to the faithful, who despising their indulgences in Chaldea had returned to their own country, he now reminds them that their peaceful condition in Judea would not be without many trials and troubles; and therefore he exhorts them to patience, lest they should faint in their adversities, and repent of their return. <\/p>\n

Some apply this chapter to the time of Antichrist, some refer it to the last day, others explain it of the destruction of the city which happened in the reign of Vespasian; but I doubt not but that the Prophet meant here to include the calamities which were near at hand, for the city had not yet been built, (178) the Jews having been much harassed by their neighbors; and we also know how atrocious was the tyranny which Antiochus exercised: in short, there was a continued series of evils from the time the city and the temple began to be built till the coming of Christ. As then the Jews, who had preferred foreign countries to their own, might have boasted of their lot and despised their brethren, as though they had foolishly and thoughtlessly removed from foreign lands, and had been too precipitate in returning, God designed to declare by the mouth of Zechariah what evils were at hand, that the faithful might with a courageous mind be prepared to undergo their trials, and that they might never succumb under any evils, for the Lord had promised more to them than what they could have attained in Chaldea and other countries. Having now explained the meaning of the Prophet, I shall come to the words. (179) <\/p>\n

Behold, he says, the day shall come to Jehovah, and divided shall be thy spoils in the midst of the city. By the demonstrative particle Behold, the certainty of the prophecy, as it has been elsewhere said, is intimated; for the Prophet points out as by the finger what could not yet be comprehended by human minds. And he says, that the day would come to Jehovah, that they might know that they would suffer a just punishment when the Lord treated them in this manner; for men, we know, indulge themselves and seek pleasures, and when God seems not to deal kindly with them, they raise a clamor as though he were too severe. Hence the Prophet reminds them, that so great a calamity would not come without a cause, for God would then execute his judgment. He does not expressly describe it, but he speaks as though he summoned them before God’s tribunal. Now when we understand that we have to do with God, it avails us nothing to murmur. It is then better to be silent when God is set forth as being in the midst of us, for it is certain that he will not in chastising us exceed what is just. <\/p>\n

But here is described a hard affliction; for Zechariah intimates that the city would be exposed to the will of enemies, so that they would divide at pleasure their spoils in the very midst of it. What conquerors snatch away, they afterwards in private divide among themselves; and we know that many cities have been plundered, when yet the conquerors have not dared to expose to view their spoils. But the Prophet means here that there would be no strength in the Jews to prevent their enemies from dividing the spoils at their leisure in the midst of the city. <\/p>\n

(178) This was not done till the time of Nehemiah, who returned to Judea about ninety years after the first return under Zerubbabel, and several years, probably thirty or forty, after the date of this prophecy. — Ed. <\/p>\n

(179) Dathius truly says, that interpreters have toiled much in the explanation of this chapter, some taking the words in a spiritual sense, others maintaining that what is here said was fulfilled before the coming of Christ, and a third party holding that all is as yet unfulfilled. He was disposed on the whole to assent to the opinion of Grotius, the same in part with that of Calvin — that this prophecy, as well as some in the preceding chapters, were fulfilled in the times of the Maccabees. See 1Ma 6:26<\/span>, etc. He indeed admits that this theory does not remove all the difficulties, but leaves less than any other. <\/p>\n

Marckius doubted not but that the beginning of this chapter is a prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and he quotes Jerome, Cyril, and Theodoret as having expressed the same opinion. Lowth, Scott, Adam Clarke, and Henderson take the same view. But the sequel of this chapter may be better explained by the events which followed the attacks of the Greco-Syrian kings on Jerusalem, (see 2Ma 4:0<\/span>,) than by the events which followed the ruin of that city by the Romans. Blayney viewed the contents of this chapter, and much of what is found in the preceding chapters, as yet unfulfilled: and so does Newcome in part. <\/p>\n

Henry is doubtful whether this chapter and the preceding are to be understood of the whole period from the Prophet’s days to the days of the Messiah, or to some events during that time, or to Christ’s coming and the setting up of his kingdom upon the ruins of the Jewish polity. — Ed. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

LATER THINGS OR EVENTS INCIDENT TO THE END OF THIS AGE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zec 12:1<\/strong><\/span> to Zec 14:21<\/strong><\/span><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

IN concluding our studies of this prophecy we will attempt the treatment of three chapters, twelve to fourteen. Any one of these contains material sufficient for many addresses, but inasmuch as the three relate to one general period of time they may be compassed by a single discourse.<\/p>\n

There is no portion of Zechariah which so effectually approves of our sub-title The Old Testament Apocalypse as that contained in the chapters now before us for study. At very many points we have seen this Book parallel Johns great volumeThe Revelation. But the most marked agreement between Zechariah, the Prophet of the Old Testament, and John, the great Seer of the New, is noted by a comparison of the latter chapters of these Books. In truth, the very best students of the Scriptures,the men who accept them as verbally inspired, who read them with devoutest spirit, who reckon a literal understanding of their statements as the sanest interpretation of their meaning, who know them sufficiently to compare volume with volume, chapter with chapter, and even sentence with sentence,are perfectly agreed in regarding the latter chapters of Zechariah and the latter chapters of Revelation as looking to one and the same great period in history, and to the same transcendent events. Our study of these chapters has convinced us of the correctness of these views.<\/p>\n

The chapters fall into natural study under three heads,The Tribulation: The Restoration: and The Millennium.<\/p>\n

<\/span>THE TRIBULATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

The burden of the Word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.<\/em><\/p>\n

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.<\/p>\n

In that day, saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open Mine eyes upon the House of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.<\/p>\n

And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of Hosts their God (Zec 12:1-5<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

I shall pass over the natural suggestions of this text of how Jehovah was really burdened by this Word; how He was also the Maker of heaven and earth, and of how Jerusalem itself is to be the storm center of the worlds greatest and last conflict, in order that we may straightway give ourselves to the discussion of the Tribulation.<\/p>\n

<\/span>This is the sad day of Scripture.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,<\/em><\/p>\n

A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.<\/p>\n

And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have siwied against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung (Zep 1:15-17<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Such is the language that Jehovah put into the lips of Zephaniah His Prophet. When Isaiah was contemplating the Millennium he said of the peoples<\/p>\n

And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isa 2:4<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

But when Joel was contemplating this time of tribulation he said,<\/p>\n

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:<\/em><\/p>\n

Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong (Joe 3:9-10<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Men have been wont to anticipate with joy the hour when the sword should become the plowshare and the spear the pruning-hook, but who can imagine the awful day when the plowshare shall become the sword and the pruning-hook the spear? And yet that is the day to which the Words of Zechariah look.<\/p>\n

There are some events upon which even the sun in the heavens refuses to look. When Christ was dying on the Cross,the Innocent, yet infinitely suffering victim of wicked men,God threw a veil over the face of the sun, and all nature shuddered to its very heart as it turned from the awful scene! According to Jesus Christ, when this hour of which Zechariah speaks shall arrive,<\/p>\n

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.<\/em><\/p>\n

All these are the beginning of sorrows.<\/p>\n

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My Names sake.<\/p>\n

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.<\/p>\n

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many (Mat 24:7-11<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.<\/p>\n

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elects sake those days shall be shortened (Mat 24:21-22<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

For a teacher of the Word of God to tell people that the world is going to grow steadily better and all human conditions are destined to constant improvement, until by a slow yet sure evolution of human history the Millennium will break, is to part company absolutely with the Prophets of the Old Testament and the teachers of the New, Christ included. According to these there is a day of tribulation ahead, the scenes of which will cause that the sun be darkened<\/em> and the moon shall not give her light.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Christ was crucified the earth, as if sickened at heart, shook throughout her form; but when this day of tribulation comes, other planets shall be moved out of their places in demonstration of the awful agony to which Gods universe will be subjected. Read the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew and be not deceived. It was an awful thing when wicked men sacrificed Jesus Christ on the Cross; but human history will know one worse day, and that will be when Jehovah offers on the altar of judgment all them who have rebelled against Him! See Eze 39:17-20<\/span>.<\/p>\n

In that day Gentile and Jew shall suffer. <\/strong>What shall happen to the Gentile is recorded in this twelfth chapter, verses two to nine; and what shall happen to Jerusalem and the Jew is written into this same prophecy (Zec 13:7<\/em><\/span><\/em> to Zec 14:2<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Is it not significant that the very Prophets who foretold the dispersion of the Jews, the persecutions to which they should be subjected, the great tribulation into which they should eventually be called, were themselves members of this nation? And while every Jew is a patriot, those who loved Israel best were the very men the Spirit compelled to utter the sentences of her coming judgment. It was Isaiah who prophesied judgment for the Gentiles who oppressed his people (Isa 51:22-23<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> But, as we have seen also, it was the same Isaiah who told his people of the tribulation which should come upon them. They charged Elijah with troubling Israel, but after events proved that Elijah was telling Israel only the truth. John was a Jew and yet when the vision was vouchsafed him he was faithful to declare,<\/p>\n

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of Heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;<\/em><\/p>\n

That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great (Rev 19:17-18<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

It is strange how people start back from such a picture as that which is presented in Revelation touching this day of universal tribulation, and yet remain unimpressed by the very shadows that prove this coming event.<\/p>\n

Yesterday you devoured your newspaper; aye, some have even transgressed the Lords Day and have this morning poured over the bloody page to learn whether China or Japan has contributed, in the last twenty-four hours, the largest number of soldiers to the point of the sword.<\/p>\n

Twenty years ago there were teachers on every side who were saying, The world has seen its last war. Arbitration has superseded battle; but the better students of the Book knew that the blood-red dawn of the twentieth century was the sign of the storm that was to sweep the world. When Russia and Japan engaged in their first fight men predicted that this was a little difficulty and would pass with a brief day. Months passed and the streams of blood deepened; then the dove of peace was scarcely settled when the World War broke. No man knows when a change in international difficulties may end; but the God who taketh up nations in His hands<\/strong> and to whom the whole future is more familiar than is his most recent past to any man, knows what conflicts are to come; and He, by the mouth of His Prophets, has spoken of this great cataclysm of blood. And yet, what believer should question that in it all right will triumph, human happiness will be enhanced, and Divine honor and love glorified!<\/p>\n

John Watson never said a truer thing than this, Progress by suffering * * is embodied in the economy of human history. * * Humanity has fought its way upwards at the point of the bayonet, torn and bleeding, yet hopeful and triumphant. As each nation suffers it prospers; as it ceases to suffer, it decays. Our England was begotten in the sore travail of Elizabeths day. The American nation sprang from the sons of martyrs. United Germany was baptized in blood. * *<\/p>\n

Before we have finished with Zechariah we shall find that out of this baptism of blood which shall characterize the end of the age, will come a people, and a reign, of righteousness. A period more glorious than any which has preceded it; a state which shall exceed all the Utopias of which uninspired men have dreamed. And yet before we speak of that some other things must be mentioned if we are to give ourselves to a real study of this text.<\/p>\n

Out of this tribulation the Church will escape. <\/strong>In the midst of Zechariahs description of battle the Lord halts the picture to say,<\/p>\n

Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle.<\/em><\/p>\n

And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.<\/p>\n

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Asal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee (Zec 14:3-5<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

I shall never forget the first time I ever heard a reference made to that great truth of Scripture with which so few are familiar, namely, that God is dealing with the people of the world in three divisions. It was the lamented A. J. Gordon who, standing before the Baptist ministers of Chicago, said, Brethren, I will talk to you a little while this morning concerning the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God.<\/p>\n

1Co 10:32<\/span> becomes the key to many of the mysteries of the Word. After one has heard these three divisions,the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God, he rightly divides the Scriptures, assigning to each that which was surely intended for it; and when the day of travail upon the part of the Jew and the Gentile shall come, let it be known that the Church of God will not participate in the agonies of that hour. (It is perhaps necessary, in passing, to make the distinction between apostate Christendom, as it now exists, and the Church of God which is nothing else than the Body of Christ. Christendom is made up of church members; the Church of God is made up of true believers. Many church members will go into the tribulation and perish there, but the members of the Church of God shall be saved out of that awful hour.)<\/p>\n

A comparison of Scripture with Scripture shows that the coming of the hour to wake the righteous dead with His voice, and to catch up together with them the living saints, as promised in 1Th 4:13-18<\/span>, precedes the great tribulation which is to come upon the earth. To the church in Philadelphia Jesus, by the pen of John, said, Because thou hast kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth<\/em> (Rev 3:10<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

The saints of the tribulation period will not be churchmen who are alive and upon the earth when that hour strikes, but converts made by the tribulation itself. The hundred and forty and four thousand [sealed] of all the tribes of the Children of Israel,<\/em> and the Gentile multitude which no man could number,<\/em> * * [standing] before the throne<\/em>; These which came out of great tribulation<\/em> will present the throng of converts produced by that awful time.<\/p>\n

Doubtless one reason why many of the Christians of the earth have not been more ardent touching the Return of the Lord is the fact that they have felt that it was to be antedated by this day of tribulation. But let it be understood that the Church,the Body of Christ,will spend the tribulation period with its Head in the Heavenlies; and if there is any one season destined to be more festive than another, and worthy to be regarded as the joyous wedding hour, it is this very brief time when the tribulation of the earth, so awful to contemplate, shall only be exceeded by the Rapture of the saints as they assemble about Him whose great heart of love has, like a magnet, lifted them from home and street, and even out of the depths of the cemetery.<\/p>\n

THE RESTORATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

As in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew events which are separated by long stretches of time are so presented as to make them seem practically one, so in the study of Zechariah the references to the tribulation and the Millennium are intermingled. Three things, however, are clearly taught concerning the restoration.<\/p>\n

In it the city and the land will participate.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the House of David shall be as God, as the Angel of the Lord before them.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (Zec 12:8-9<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

We have already seen that Jerusalem is to be rebuilt; that its walls are to be greatly enlarged; that it is to even break out on every side the tents of Judah lying beyond the inclosed city. And now behold this promise that Jehovah shall defend its inhabitants. The feeblest among them that day shall be as David<\/em>the mighty warrior of the past. The House of David shall be as God, as the Angel of the Lord before them.<\/em> It seems a strained thing to say that some descendants of the House of David will be found who will break forth as captains and leaders in that hour. The Descendant of the House of David is none other than Jesus Himself,the Angel of Jehovah,who shall indeed be as God. And when He shall undertake the defense of Jerusalem what powers can stand before Him?<\/p>\n

Far more wonderful than the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, the exaltation of that city to the place of her first importance, and the manifestation of the power of God in the very overthrow of all them that are against His people, is the promise concerning the land,<\/p>\n

All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamins gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the kings winepresses (Zec 14:10<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited (Zec 14:11<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Visitors to Palestine now find it a hilly country; yea, splendidly mountainous; those who shall tread it in that time shall discover it level,an elevated plateau. Such indeed is the Word of Scripture as spoken about Palestine. Scientists I suppose would resent this suggestion and claim that it is a physical impossibility. But who that has ever crossed the Rocky Mountains, or the mountain ranges of the Northwest, and studied the upheavals of the past, and seen the power of God to do what He will with the earth, but believes that the same One who lifted our mountains from the level can reduce them again,and will,when the exigencies of His infinite purposes require it? No wonder Mrs. E. M. Exton has written the poem published but a few years since: <\/p>\n

Oh, Palestine, sweet Palestine!<\/p>\n

Our eyes would fain behold<\/p>\n

The glory of the latter day,<\/p>\n

By Prophets long foretold.<\/p>\n

When thy fair hills, and lovely vales,<\/p>\n

Teeming with life, shall sing<\/p>\n

The praises of Immanuel,<\/p>\n

Israels anointed King.<\/p>\n

When on mount Zion there shall stand<\/p>\n

A Temple to His praise,<\/p>\n

Surpassing that which Solomon <\/p>\n

Built in the former days.<\/p>\n

To which the ancient tribes ascend <\/p>\n

In throngs to praise their God;<\/p>\n

With ardent love, and earnest zeal,<\/p>\n

According to His Word.<\/p>\n

From out that glorious Temple then<\/p>\n

Rich streams of life shall flow,<\/p>\n

With healing virtue to restore <\/p>\n

Whereer the waters go.<\/p>\n

From Thee, as center of the earth,<\/p>\n

Such righteous laws shall spring,<\/p>\n

To benefit the earth, and man,<\/p>\n

Yea, every living thing.<\/p>\n

As man could never formulate,<\/p>\n

Forceful, yet just and true;<\/p>\n

Suited alike to every land,<\/p>\n

To Gentile and to Jew.<\/p>\n

The PrinceMessiahshall return<\/p>\n

In righteousness to reign:<\/p>\n

For He as Heir to Davids throne <\/p>\n

The title doth retain.<\/p>\n

The cruel oppressor He will break,<\/p>\n

The groaning earth set free;<\/p>\n

With universal power will rule<\/p>\n

The world in equity.<\/p>\n

While they of Tarshish and the isles,<\/p>\n

With every land, shall bring <\/p>\n

Their tribute to Jerusalem,<\/p>\n

The City of the King.<\/p>\n

Thy sons again once more have turned <\/p>\n

Their longing eyes to thee.<\/p>\n

Oh, Palestine, sweet Palestine,<\/p>\n

Een now they homeward flee.<\/p>\n

By it Israel will be restored to Divine favor.<\/p>\n

And I will pour upon the House of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me wham they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.<\/em><\/p>\n

In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon.<\/p>\n

And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the House of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;<\/p>\n

The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart;<\/p>\n

All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.<\/p>\n

In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness (Zec 12:10<\/em><\/span> to Zec 13:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, reminds the Gentile world of the promises to Israel in these words,<\/p>\n

For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?<\/em><\/p>\n

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.<\/p>\n

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:<\/p>\n

For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins (Rom 11:24-27<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

It would hardly seem necessary, in view of all that has been said in this volume, to refer at any length to the promised restoration of Israel, but we should not pass over the fact that this restoration comes through their penitence; nor forget how deep their penitence is, as set forth in the concluding verses of this twelfth chapter.<\/p>\n

Some months ago I saw a Jew under conviction for sin; a Jew convinced that his Christ had been crucified. The bitterness of his grief surpassed anything I have ever witnessed in the form of contrition for sin! When he came to me he had just finished reading the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle to the Romans, and he had walked the streets in utter agony, questioning with himself whether he were yet in his right mind. Seeing how deep was his anguish, I suggested that he meet two Christian Jews who were in the building at the time, and he cried out as if the thought were unbearable, No! No! I do not want to meet them; I do not want to meet any one. I cannot! I must be alone until this anguish passes and I find pardon and peace!<\/p>\n

There are places and dates at which, and on which, the Jews wail now. But the wail is largely perfunctory. The time will come, however, when their wailing will be the result of breaking hearts, in answer to the conviction of a crucified Savior; And in that day there shall be a fountain opened to the House of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness (Zec 13:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

John Bunyan gives us a vivid pen picture of what it will mean when Peters call, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,<\/em> shall become effective with the Jews. He imagines their answers to the overtures of the Apostle:But I struck Him on the head with the rod: is there any hope for me? Every one of you,<\/em> saith the Apostle. But I spat in His face: is there any forgiveness for me? Yes, is the reply, for every one of you. But I drove the spikes into His hands and feet, which transfixed Him to the Cross: is there cleansing for me? Yes, cries Peter, for every one of you. But I pierced His side though He had never done me wrong; it was a ruthless, cruel act, and I am sorry for it now: may that sin be washed away? Every one of you,<\/em> is the constant answer.<\/p>\n

Meyer also justly comments, As it was at the beginning of this era, so it shall be at its close, with this difference that whereas then only some few thousand souls stepped into the fountain, at last a whole nation, the House of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, shall wash there and be cleansed. Then the words of the Apostle Peter, spoken centuries ago in Solomons porch, will be fulfilled when Israel repents and turns again; her sins will be blotted out, and there will come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and the restoration of all things, Which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began (Act 3:21<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Then idols and false prophets shall come to an end.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the Name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.<\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied; neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive:<\/p>\n

But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am cm husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth (Zec 13:2-5<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the strangest movements of modern times is the going after false prophets. The worship of idols is no new thing. From the earliest days the faithful of Jehovah, and even Jehovah Himself, have been in battle against these. The false prophet is no new thing, but his multiplication and his exaltation through great followings surely characterize the times in which we live. When one thinks of all the claims that Dowie put forth and remembers that a million people accepted him as the actual embodiment of every pretension, and of the scores of smaller boasters since, he is impressed with the language of Timothy,(1Ti 4:1-2<\/em><\/span><\/em>)<\/em>Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.<\/em><\/p>\n

When one studies the claims of Sanford and understands how large was his following, how abominable his behavior, how cruel even his customs, according to the reports of those who came from the inside, he must feel that 2Th 2:11-12<\/span> is witnessing fulfillment:And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.<\/em><\/p>\n

We have seen boys playing a game called Following the Leader. One is the leader and whatever he does, where he steps or jumps, the rest must follow. The Devil has adopted it. Beware of following either a man or a woman claiming to be a great leader. Christ says, Follow Me.<\/p>\n

And the false prophets of the present hour foreshadow that great leaderthe Man of Sin. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory.<\/em> This leader also shall be made ashamed, yea, even destroyed by the brightness of His Person upon whom we have fixed our hopes, and whose personal return to the earth shall seal the doom not only of his agents but of the very adversary himself.<\/p>\n

<\/span>THE MILLENNIUM<\/strong><\/p>\n

But it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it shall be in that day, that Living Waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.<\/p>\n

And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His Name one (Zec 14:7-9<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.<\/p>\n

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lords House shall be like the bowls before the altar.<\/p>\n

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of Hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the House of the Lord of Hosts (Zec 14:16-21<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

Three remarks:<\/p>\n

Then JehovahJesusshall be King of the whole earth.<\/strong> Zechariah is only resounding the statements of his predecessors concerning the Kingship of Jesus. That supremacy has been the prediction of every Prophet, and is reaffirmed by every Apostle. The promises of it are so oft repeated that pages would be required even for their quotation. Suffice it now to remember All nations shall serve Him.<\/em> Yea, The world, and they that dwell therein.<\/em> The stone that smote the image is to become the great mountain and fill the whole earth. Only a half century ago Strauss alarmed the Christian world by declaring that no such Person as Jesus ever lived except in the minds of His Apostles; He was but an imagined Christ. And yet He who conquered more hearts and controls more thought and affection today than any other person who ever trod the earth will, when He walks it again, command all men and they shall obey Him.<\/p>\n

Then all the inhabitants will join in Jehovahs worship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.<\/p>\n

And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles (Zec 14:16-19<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

The Millennium is not to be a time of willing submission upon the part of all; but it is to be a time when all who refuse to worship the King shall be visited by His fury. Now the wicked flourish as the green bay tree; then they shall know only the blight of Gods judgment.<\/p>\n

Holiness unto Jehovah shall characterize all custom and conduct.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lords House shall be like the bowls before the altar.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of Hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the House of the Lord of Hosts (Zec 14:20-21<\/em><\/span>).<\/em><\/p>\n

In reading Dr. Lorimers volume Christianity in the Social State he speaks of that good time to come when in the new civilization there will be no necessity for any statutes against strong drink. The people will be so educated, their lower nature so completely under control that it would be equally an insult to their intelligence and morality for the legislature to pass an enactment against drunkenness!<\/p>\n

But alas for the vain reasoning of men! Lorimer sleeps with the dead, education is almost universal in the greater governments, and yet iniquity deepens! In man there is no help. Salvation is of the Lord.<\/em> Holiness awaits His glorious reign!<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CRITICAL NOTES.] Day<\/strong>] specially appointed to inflict judgments and manifest his glory. Spoil<\/strong>] accumulated by inhabitants of Jerusalem and fit for the enemy. <\/p>\n

Zec. 14:2<\/span><\/strong>. Nations<\/strong>] to take and plunder the holy city, to rob houses and ravish women (cf. Isa. 13:16<\/span>). Half<\/strong>] The able-bodied sold into slavery or condemned to work in mines. Res<\/strong>.] Poorer not cut off<\/strong>] i.e.<\/em> not transported, but permitted to perish in ruins. <\/p>\n

Zec. 14:3<\/span><\/strong>. Against<\/strong>] The enemy doomed in turn to destruction by Jehovah, as when he fought for Israel at Red Sea. <\/p>\n

Zec. 14:4<\/span><\/strong>. Mount<\/strong>] Which for situation and height is most convenient to help his people. His feet<\/strong>] touch, and the result is an earthquake (Psa. 68:8<\/span>; Nah. 1:5<\/span>). The mount is split through the middle latitudinally; one half falls to the north, and the other to the south. A great valley<\/strong>] is formed for the escape of Gods people. <\/p>\n

Zec. 14:5<\/span><\/strong>. The<\/strong>] Lit. my<\/em> mountainsZion and Moriah specially sacred to Jehovah [Moore<\/em>]or mountains formed by my<\/em> power. He had given them separate existence. The level opening would extend to Azal<\/strong>] a place near Jerusalem, of which no trace exists at present. Like as<\/strong>] the flight from the earthquakeswift, universal, and in fear, as in the days of Uzziah (Amo. 1:1<\/span>). The Lord<\/strong>] The second person indicates the joy of the prophet in hailing the shining retinue of Jehovahs appearance. Saints<\/strong>] Holy angels (Deu. 33:2-3<\/span>; Dan. 7:9-10<\/span>; Mat. 25:31<\/span>; Rev. 19:14<\/span>). Some say redeemed men as well as holy angels. <\/p>\n

Zec. 14:6<\/span><\/strong>.] A period of unmitigated calamity, which comprehends the long centuries of oppression, cruelty, and scorn to which Jews have been subjected since the destruction of Jerusalem [Henderson<\/em>]. Clear<\/strong>] Lit. precious, splendid<\/em> (cf. Job. 31:26<\/span>). There the moon is described as walking preciously<\/em>, or splendidly<\/em>, i.e. in brightness; but dark<\/strong>] lit. condensed<\/em>, from a word to contract<\/em>, to draw together<\/em>. The words describe the passing or vanishing of the brightness of the stars, answering to the prophetic announcement that on the day of judgment sun, moon, and stars will lose their brightness or be turned into darkness (Joe. 3:15<\/span>; Mat. 24:29<\/span>) [Keil<\/em>]. <\/p>\n

Zec. 14:7<\/span><\/strong>. One day<\/strong>] Solitary in its kind, and unparalleled by any other; neither perfect day nor perfect night. One continuous day without night (Rev. 22:5<\/span>; Rev. 22:15<\/span>). The millennium described (Rev. 20:3<\/span>; Rev. 20:7<\/span>) [Henderson<\/em>]. Known<\/strong>] only to Jehovah, and should restrain the curiosity of men. <\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/em><\/p>\n

THE GRAND ASSAULT AND THE WONDERFUL DELIVERANCE.Zec. 14:1-6<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Interpreters take this chapter, some literally and others symbolically, believe it to have been partially or to be fulfilled wholly in future ages. In whatever sense explained, it sets forth the great contests of the Christian Church and the great principles of Gods moral government.<\/p>\n

I. The grand assault<\/strong>. All nations are gathered together for battle against Jerusalem. <\/p>\n

1. An assault at the appointed time<\/em>. The day of the Lord cometh. God suffers his people to be reduced and to pass through fiery trials; but as day dawns after night, so a period is chosen to vindicate his judgment and punish his foes. <\/p>\n

2. An assault in accordance with the Divine purpose<\/em>. For I will gather all nations. God is supreme over all nations, and will accomplish his purpose in spite of the opposition and often by the wrath of man. Historians record events and look no higher. But prophecy exhibits God in history. He predicts, and he fulfils. <\/p>\n

3. An assault with partial success<\/em>. We have assault, capture, and plunder, and sad is the picture of rifled houses and dishonoured women. This should remind us of future conflict with the powers of darknessteach us not to expect peace and calm. A fearful encounter may be at hand, the outlook may soon darken, and the onslaught may convulse the Church. But when the enemies seem to triumph victory will be snatched from them. Then<\/em> the Lord shall go forth and fight against those nations. <\/p>\n

II. The wonderful deliverance<\/strong>. God is not hidden in obscurity. He comes forth<\/em> in wondrous deeds. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people. <\/p>\n

1. Deliverance by supernatural means<\/em>. The mount was cleft asunder, a very great valley was made, and a place of escape was provided by the special power of God. Nothing can prevent the escape of Gods people. Mountains are removed and valleys are filled for the way of Gods redeemed. Behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and will tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft. <\/p>\n

2. Deliverance under Gods leadership<\/em>. God himself goes forth against the foe, and fights for his people. <\/p>\n

(1) God was clad in awful majesty<\/em>. Again, the glory of the Lord stood upon the mount; the earth quaked beneath his feet, and the stars above grew dim. The physical world marked the events in the spiritual. <\/p>\n

(2) God was attended by splendid retinue<\/em>. My God shall come, and all the saints with thee. Angels stand before his throne, wait orders, and fly on missions of mercy and judgment. They are represented as going with God for the execution of his purpose. They attended the first, and will come with the second appearance of the Lord Jesus. Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment.<\/p>\n

THE REMARKABLE DAY.Zec. 14:6-7<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Many refer these words to different periods, but we take them as connected with one event. The coming of the Lord will produce great changes in nature. The day will bring night, and the evening light. Its order will be reversed. When the natural course of events would bring darkness, a bright light shall dawn.<\/p>\n

I. A day of mingled light and darkness<\/strong>. Not the clearness of unclouded day, says Wardlaw, from whom we borrow, nor the darkness of a starless night. Something between both, or a combination of bothdarkness here and light there. A representation of the dispensation before and since the days of Christ. Mercy and judgments, comforts and afflictions in the Christian Church. In the world truth and error, Christ and antichrist in mighty conflict. Now night, and then day. The light is neither clear nor yet dark, not day nor night; but the darkness will pass away and the true light soon shine. <\/p>\n

II. A day only<\/strong>. It is one day. Some say one long, continuous day of grief, which makes the saints cry, How long? But take it in another sense. Whatever be the length, it is only a day<\/em>. In the darkness light is not wanting in which we may work and walk. The sun does nor entirely set. The clouds will soon be scattered. Brief, comparatively, is the period, though the joy of day and the repose of night be absent. This should uphold and console in our fight of afflictions. <\/p>\n

III. A day of remarkable close<\/strong>. When evening is naturally expected, lo, the splendours of day break forth. At evening time it shall be light. To Gods people life may be clouded, and to Gods cause night may be dark. But ere long the Lord shall be their everlasting light, and the days of their mourning shall be ended. <\/p>\n

IV. A<\/strong> day only known to God<\/strong>. Which shall be known to the Lord. Its changes and consequences, its precise duration, are not revealed to men. We should not be curious in asking, O, my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? Let us obey the injunction, Go thou thy way till the end be,wait in patience and earnest preparation,for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days. (Dan. 12:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n

LIGHT AT EVENING.Zec. 14:7<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The promise or prophecy, says one on this verse, is that light shall come at a time when it is not natural, when in the common course of things it is not looked for. It would be no surprise that light should come at noonday; we expect it then; it is just what we are accustomed to see. But if, when the twilight shadows were falling deeper and deeper, with a sudden burst the noonday light were to spread around, that would be a surprise. Lux tenebris<\/em> has received and continually receives manifold fulfillments [Jacox<\/em>].<\/p>\n

I. In human experience<\/strong>. Few lives are spent from early day to evening time in the light of God. Sometimes at midday, and often in the night, light shines. <\/p>\n

1. In the conversion of the sinner<\/em>. Sin is darkness. The penitent struggling with sin and temptation, forsaking the world and turning to God, sees no light and often feels forsaken. At length hope dawns, a voice is heard, and mercy shines. <\/p>\n

2. In the life of the Christian<\/em>. Abraham learned that God could provide in extremity, Jehovah Jireh. Jacob found that things which appeared against him at one time were only passing clouds for a brighter light. Israel in Egypt and David in trial discerned the silver lining. God turns the shadows of life into morning, and to those who trust him the night shineth as the day. Light is sownlike seed cast into the groundfor the righteous, and will in due time, and after needful process, be reaped in golden harvest (Psa. 97:11<\/span>). <\/p>\n

II. In the history of the Christian Church<\/strong>. In Jewish and apostolic, in the dark and middle ages, in the Reformation and times of revival, this truth has been illustrated. The Church has passed through days of gloom and starless nights; dreary years of tempest, frost and snow, in wintry blasts and wearisome times, but light has come. Gods ways<\/em> may seem dark and mysterious, impenetrable and hostile, but in him<\/em> no darkness dwells. Light and truth will break forth from his word and providence to chase away superstitions and error, to make the world happy, intelligent, and pure. At evening time<\/em>, improbable or impossible as this may appear, it shall<\/em> be light. The light of the knowledge of the glory of God shall cover the earth as the waters cover the seas. <\/p>\n

III. In the end of life<\/strong>. In lifes evening light is desired. Nothing is more common than the craving and demand for light a little before death, says an author. Open the windows, cried M. de Lescure, on his dying bed. Rousseau wished to have a parting look at the glorious orb of day. Goethes request was for more light, more light. Dark indeed has been the evening time to many. But as the sun often struggles through the clouds of day and sinks in brilliant light, so the chamber of death has been filled with light and glory from the Sun of righteousness. To Bunyans Mr. Fearing all was well at last. The gloom of the poet Cowper endured long, but passed away at length. Dr. Johnson dreaded death through life, but met it with hope and unusual patience (Secular Annotations<\/em>). Happy those to whom the valley of the shadow of death is lit up with Gods presence! Unhappy those whose darkness is eternal night! Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.<\/p>\n

Through night to light. And though to mortal eyes<\/p>\n

Creations face a pall of horror wear,<\/p>\n

Good cheer, good cheer! The gloom of midnight flies,<\/p>\n

There shall a sunrise follow, mild and fair [Rosegarten<\/em>].<\/p>\n

HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec. 14:1<\/span> to Zec. 5:1<\/span>. God is supreme in the calamities of the Church and the events of nations. <\/p>\n

2. His supremacy may be questioned through the triumph of the enemy and the inactivity of his people.
3. But a day will come when this supremacy will be finally settled, to the comfort of one and the destruction of the other. Christ must be acknowledged to be Lord of heaven and earth.<\/p>\n

Zec. 14:3<\/span>. As in the day of battle<\/em>. Former experience a comfort in after ages. What a fund of consolation in Gods past dealings for present use!<\/p>\n

Zec. 14:5<\/span>. The Lord my God shall come<\/em>. Bright visions in dark days. The prophet lifts up his head, sees the coming help, and joyfully exults in the vision. <\/p>\n

1. The Lord shall come.
2. When he does come he is my help. My<\/em> God. Hence some may deny and others scoff, but I will patiently wait and constantly trust in him.<\/p>\n

Zec. 14:1-7<\/span>. Gods providence. <\/p>\n

1. Strangely checkered.
2. Wonderfully perplexing.
3. Benevolently working. Or,
1. The mixed condition of the righteous in this world: in knowledge, outward circumstances, inward comforts, and wavering holiness.
2. Gods wisdom in allowing it: to subdue their corruption, to exercise their graces, to bring them to dependence upon himself.
3. Our consolation under it: God notices it, the mixed events work together for good, the scene is short.
4. The happy termination of all: in a state of unmingled good, in an unexpected hour. Finally, Are we the people concerned in it? [Bradley<\/em>].<\/p>\n

ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 14<\/p>\n

Zec. 14:1-3<\/span>. The Lord goes forth<\/em>. How sweetly doth God dispose of all second causes, that while they do their own will they do his [Bp. Hall<\/em>]. Didst thou never hear that things ill got had ever bad success? [Shakespeare<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Zec. 14:4-5<\/span>. Mountain removes. Nature is but a name for an effect whose cause is God [Cowper<\/em>]. In nature things move violently to their place, and calmly in their place [Bacon<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Zec. 14:6-7<\/span>. Light<\/em>. As surely as a good mans sun goes down it shall rise again. If the darkness be caused by depression of spirit the Holy Ghost will comfort him; if by pecuniary loss or personal bereavement the presence of Christ shall be his solace; and if by the cruelty and malignity of men the sympathy of the Lord shall be his support. It is as ordinary for the righteous to be comforted as for the day to dawn. Wait for the light, and it will surely come; for even if our heavenly Father should in our last hours put us to bed in the dark, we shall find it morning when we awake [Spurgeon<\/em>].<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

A DAY OF JEHOVAH COMETH . . . Zec. 14:1-3<\/span><\/p>\n

RV . . . Behold a day of Jehovah cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
LXX . . . Behold, the days of the Lord come, and thy spoils shall be divided in thee. And I will gather all the Gentiles to Jerusalem to war, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, but the rest of my people shall not be utterly cut off from the city. And the Lord shall go forth, and fight with those Gentiles as when he fought in the day of war.<\/p>\n

COMMENTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Zec. 14:1<\/span>) For an understanding of the term a Day of Jehovah, please review the comments in the Introduction to Zechariah and in the beginning of Chapter XLI.<\/p>\n

A Day of Jehovah is always a closing of one historic era and the beginning of another. It is upon this premise that we postulated the belief that the term in that day in chapter thirteen and chapter fourteen refers to two different times. (See comment.) The first day, referred to in chapter thirteen, is the Messianic age in which we live. The second day, referred to in chapter fourteen, is the last time.<\/p>\n

(Zec. 14:1<\/span>(b) – Zec. 14:3<\/span>) In the coming day of Jehovah the spoil of Jerusalem is to be divided in her midst. The occasion for this pillage will be the gathering of the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The treatment of the citys inhabitants is to be barbaric with half the population being taken into slavery. Those not taken into captivity are to remain in the city.<\/p>\n

Those who see the subsequent verses symbolically fulfilled in the church, take this verse to refer to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. This raises grave questions. For example, if we are to take this verse literally of the invasion by Rome, why are we to assume the subsequent verses are figurative? And, how can we identify Rome as all nations?
The Roman occupation of Palestine was by invitation, initially, and so does not fit the description here at all. The final destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, as the result of the failure of the Jews to accept Roman rule, more closely resembles the picture presented by Zechariah, but to explain these verses solely on this basis requires a sudden unexplainable shifting from the literal to the figurative in the verses immediately following.
For example, those who take Jerusalem as meaning the city literally, in verses one through three, insist that the term is metaphorically used in following verses concerning the Mount of Olives. Such inconsistency is a gross violation of the rules of sound exegesis. It is more honest to simply say we do not know exactly what is being described here.<\/p>\n

It seems quite likely that we are dealing with events of the end time and the last rebellion of man against God. Perhaps we must leave the explanation of the prophets language to Him in Whose hands such things rest. Perhaps we, as the twelve, must reluctantly accept the fact that there are certain matters which it is not our prerogative to know as completely as we might like. (cp. Act. 1:6-7<\/span>)<\/p>\n

Chapter XLIIQuestions<\/p>\n

In the Second Day<\/p>\n

1.<\/p>\n

Chapter fourteen deals almost exclusively with _________________.<\/p>\n

2.<\/p>\n

Eschatology may be defined simply as _________________.<\/p>\n

3.<\/p>\n

Do scholars generally agree on the meaning of this chapter?<\/p>\n

4.<\/p>\n

Discuss the two extreme views of pre and post millenialists in regard to Zechariah fourteen.<\/p>\n

5.<\/p>\n

One can never be _________________ and be dogmatic about eschatology, especially when it is written in apocalyptic form.<\/p>\n

6.<\/p>\n

In the study of eschatology we are deprived of a very useful tool in the interpretation of prophecy in general. What is that tool?<\/p>\n

7.<\/p>\n

Review the meaning of a day of Jehovah in chapter forty-one.<\/p>\n

8.<\/p>\n

In the day of Jehovah described in Zechariah fourteen the ______________ of Jerusalem is to be divided in her midst.<\/p>\n

9.<\/p>\n

Half the population of Jerusalem is to be _________________.<\/p>\n

10.<\/p>\n

Why does the Roman occupation of Jerusalem not fit the description here?<\/p>\n

11.<\/p>\n

List the events of Zechariah<\/p>\n

a.<\/p>\n

In that day (10)<\/p>\n

b.<\/p>\n

In that day (11)<\/p>\n

c.<\/p>\n

In that day (12)<\/p>\n

d.<\/p>\n

In that day (13)<\/p>\n

e.<\/p>\n

In that day (14)<\/p>\n

f.<\/p>\n

In that day (15)<\/p>\n

g.<\/p>\n

In that day (16)<\/p>\n

12.<\/p>\n

Describe the present setting of the Mount of Olives.<\/p>\n

13.<\/p>\n

The division of the Mount of Olives would provide an easy ___________________.<\/p>\n

14.<\/p>\n

The events here are compared to an historic earthquake in the days of ___________________.<\/p>\n

15.<\/p>\n

The description of the Lord in company with all the saints always refers to ___________________.<\/p>\n

16.<\/p>\n

What other prophets described the day of the Lord in terms similar to those used here by Zechariah?<\/p>\n

17.<\/p>\n

Peter saw at least the beginning of the fulfillment of a similar prediction by Joel in ___________________.<\/p>\n

18.<\/p>\n

God has always been king over the whole earth. In the end He will be ___________________.<\/p>\n

19.<\/p>\n

Locate Geba and Rimmon.<\/p>\n

20.<\/p>\n

What other topographical alterations accompany the splitting of the Mount of Olives?<\/p>\n

21.<\/p>\n

Who will be safe during these cataclysmic events?<\/p>\n

22.<\/p>\n

Describe the plague which is to come upon those arrayed against Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

23.<\/p>\n

What is the result of this plague?<\/p>\n

24.<\/p>\n

What Jewish feast is to be celebrated by all the nations? What is its significance?<\/p>\n

25.<\/p>\n

What is to be the consequence if any nation fails to keep the feast?<\/p>\n

26.<\/p>\n

Why is Egypt here singled out for special punishment should she fail to keep the feast?<\/p>\n

27.<\/p>\n

Finally the inscription _______________ is to be seen on everything in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

28.<\/p>\n

Explain the significance of this inscription appearing on such diverse items as altar utensils and cook pots in the home.<\/p>\n

29.<\/p>\n

Who were the Canaanites?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(1) The day of the Lord cometh.<\/strong>Better. A day cometh for the Lord<\/em>viz., on which He will signally manifest His glory. (Comp. Psa. 2:12<\/span>, &c.) The second half of the verse gives with, as it were, one stroke of the pen the most vivid description of the first feature of this day, viz., judgment upon Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

FINAL CONFLICT AND TRIUMPH OF JERUSALEM, Zec 14:1-21<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Chapter 14 is an independent piece. The struggle depicted in the first few verses is not the one described in Zec 12:1-9<\/span>; nor can these verses be considered “a further expansion of the summary announcement of the judgment upon Israel, and its refinement (Zec 13:7-9<\/span>).” The prophet beholds a new conflict between Jerusalem and the nations. In Zec 12:1-9<\/span>, the enemies are described as smitten before they are able to capture the city; here the announcement is that “the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity.” Only then will Jehovah appear for the salvation of a remnant and for the setting up of his kingdom (1-7). From Jerusalem, the dwelling place of Jehovah, two streams of living water will go forth covering the whole land with blessing and fertility (8-11). The nations that have come to war against Jerusalem will be destroyed, and their wealth will be given to the Jews (12-15). Those who escape will turn to Jehovah in true worship; those who refuse to do so will be smitten with drought (16-19). Jerusalem and Judah and all that is in them will be holy unto Jehovah (20, 21).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Capture and deliverance of Jerusalem, Zec 14:1-7<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. <\/strong> Behold, cometh <\/strong> Better, Behold, is about to come. <\/em> The coming is imminent (G.-K., 116p). <\/p>\n

Day of Jehovah <\/strong> Literally, a day is about to come for Jehovah. <\/em> The day is the day of Jehovah <\/em> mentioned so frequently by the prophets (see on Joe 1:15<\/span>). In 1b Jerusalem is addressed. The prophet does not stop to describe the struggle; he passes immediately to the outcome and states that the city will be taken and plundered. <\/p>\n

In the midst of thee <\/strong> Indicates the completeness of the defeat; the enemy will gain complete possession of the city.<\/p>\n

In Zec 14:2<\/span>, which is omitted by some as a later expansion of Zec 14:1<\/span>, the prophet pictures the struggle in greater detail. <\/p>\n

I will gather all nations <\/strong> The rest of the verse would seem to indicate that Jehovah sends them to execute judgment upon the city (compare Isa 10:5-6<\/span>; not so in Joe 3:2<\/span>; Joe 3:9-11<\/span>; Ezekiel 38:39). The city will be taken, and the conquerors will spare nothing. <\/p>\n

The women ravished <\/strong> A practice not uncommon in ancient warfare (see on Amo 7:17<\/span>; Joe 3:3<\/span>). <\/p>\n

Half <\/strong> In a general sense a portion. One portion will be carried into exile, the other will be allowed to remain in the city (compare Zec 13:8<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

THE FINAL TRIUMPH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, Zec 9:1<\/span> to Zec 14:21<\/span>. <\/p>\n

With Zec 9:1<\/span>, begins the second main division of the Book of Zechariah, which consists of various oracles, loosely connected, dealing for the most part with events leading up to the final triumph of the kingdom of God. It opens with an announcement of the overthrow of the nations surrounding Palestine (Zec 9:1-8<\/span>), which will prepare the way for the advent of the Messianic king (9, 10) and the restoration and exaltation of the exiled Jews (11-17). This restoration is described more fully in Zec 10:1<\/span> -xi, 3. The promises are followed by an allegory which is intended to warn the people that the realization of the glorious promises depends upon their attitude toward Jehovah (Zec 11:4-17<\/span>; +Zec 13:7-9<\/span>). The remaining portion of the book naturally falls into two parts. The first (Zec 12:1<\/span> to Zec 13:6<\/span>) opens with a picture of a marvelous deliverance of Judah and Jerusalem (Zec 12:1-9<\/span>); but this triumph is only the preparation for the bestowing of rich spiritual gifts. In order to enjoy these fully, they must pass through a process of spiritual preparation (10-14). Then Jehovah will remove all spiritual uncleanness, and a life of intimate fellowship with Jehovah will ensue (Zec 13:1-6<\/span>). In chapter xiv the prophet pictures a new conflict between Jerusalem and the nations. At first the latter will be successful, then Jehovah will interfere, save a remnant, and set up his kingdom upon earth (1-7). From Jerusalem he will dispense blessing and prosperity (8-11); the hostile nations will be smitten and their treasures will become the possession of the Jews (12-15). Those who escape will turn to Jehovah (16); any who fail to do him proper homage will be smitten with drought (17-19), but Judah and Jerusalem will be holy unto Jehovah (20, 21).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

VARIOUS UTTERANCES CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL, Zec 12:1<\/span> to Zec 14:21<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The heading (Zec 12:1<\/span>) names the subject of these utterances, Israel, a term used here not in a national but in a religious sense of the people of Jehovah. The prophecies center around Jerusalem and Judah, the home of the postexilic Jewish community. The section falls naturally into two parts, Zec 12:1<\/span> to Zec 13:6<\/span>, and Zec 14:1-21<\/span>; Zec 13:7-9<\/span>, has no close connection either with Zec 13:1-6<\/span>, or with chapter 14 (see on Zec 13:7-9<\/span>). The first part, Zec 12:1<\/span> to Zec 13:6<\/span>, consists of three divisions; the first (Zec 12:1-9<\/span>) deals with some marvelous deliverance of Judah and Jerusalem, the second (Zec 12:10-14<\/span>) with a prolonged penitential mourning over some great crime, the third (Zec 13:1-6<\/span>) with the purification of the community and its restoration to intimate fellowship with Jehovah.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Ravishing of Jerusalem ( Zec 14:1-2<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have already noted that Zechariah would see Jerusalem as symbolising the whole people of God. Indeed in Zec 2:7<\/span> he describes God’s people in Babylon as ‘Zion’. Thus in the light of Jesus’ words in Joh 4:20-24<\/span>, and in the light of the New Testament description of the true Jerusalem as being a heavenly Jerusalem, although incorporating God’s people on earth (Gal 4:21-31<\/span>), we are justified in seeing in Zechariah’s reference to Jerusalem an indication that he is speaking of God’s people worldwide, the true worshippers of YHWH (Joh 4:24<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:1-2<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

‘Behold, a day of YHWH comes when your spoil will be divided in your midst, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city will go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people will not be cut off from the city.’<\/p>\n

‘A day of YHWH comes.’ A ‘day of YHWH’ occurs when God steps in to bring about His purposes. It is a phrase occurring often in the Old Testament and does not always mean that the final days are in mind. God has His day regularly through history. In Isaiah 13<\/span>, for example, where the ‘day of YHWH’ is emphasised (Isa 13:6<\/span>; Isa 13:9<\/span>; Isa 13:13<\/span>), what is being described is the destruction of Babylon by the Medes (Zec 14:17<\/span> with Zec 14:19<\/span>) which took place in the days of Daniel the prophet (Dan 5:30-31<\/span>). God had His day against Babylon. Here it is the ‘day’ in which the peoples of the world reveal their enmity against God and God acts against them. This was future for Zechariah, but it is not necessarily future to us.<\/p>\n

This description of the ravishing of Jerusalem certainly reminds us of the taking of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 AD with an army made up of many nations. Rome certainly represented a multiplicity of nations. And when Jerusalem was taken the spoils were divided up, houses were rifled and women were ravished. And large numbers were taken into captivity. Others remained to partially restore the wrecked city. But it was equally true of other invasions of Jerusalem, each in itself a reminder of the judgment of a holy God on an unholy people. Thus it is best to see in this a picture of the world’s opposition to the people of God.<\/p>\n

‘And half of the city will go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people will not be cut off from the city.’ We are not here talking about exact fractions. The point is that a good proportion will be taken into captivity, with a reasonable proportion left behind. Some would still remain in the city. And that this must have been so in 70 AD comes out in subsequent history. But it is far more likely that this intended to represent the fact that, in the face of the world’s opposition, a proportion of God’s people will suffer excessively, with others finding life more normal.<\/p>\n

That such a fall of Jerusalem was in the will of God is declared by Jesus in Mark 13<\/span>; Matthew 24<\/span>; Luke 21<\/span>. It was foreshadowed in Dan 9:26<\/span>. And in Dan 9:26<\/span> it is preceded by the cutting off of the Anointed One (Messiah). And it came about in 70 AD.<\/p>\n

But the main point of these verses is not that, it is that the people of God will continually face devastating treatment at the hands of the nations. We may see this as partly fulfilled in the activities of Antiochus Epiphanes against the loyal Jews of his day. Then there was wholesale persecution, and large numbers of death and rapes. And the same was true of the history of the early church, commencing in Jerusalem (Act 8:1<\/span> ff.), and going on in the continual persecutions that followed (Act 14:22<\/span>; Rom 8:35-36<\/span>; 1Th 3:3-4 ; 2Th 1:5<\/span>; 2Ti 3:12 ; 1Pe 4:12-14<\/span>; 1Pe 5:10<\/span>), and especially as revealed in Rev 2:9-10<\/span>; Rev 2:13<\/span>; and on through Revelation. The people of God would experience tremendous buffetings. We may consider the vivid description in Rev 20:9<\/span>, ‘and they (the nations) went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city’, where God’s people would be under worldwide attack.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Triumph of YHWH ( Zec 14:1-21<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> ).<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

In this final chapter Zechariah visualises the final triumph of YHWH. The whole world will be subject to Him, and will worship Him (Zec 14:16<\/span>). He will be King over all the earth (Zec 14:9<\/span>). The idea is of the introduction of the everlasting kingdom.<\/p>\n

At this point we need to stop and consider what was in the mind of the prophet. He was not, of course, aware of the first coming of Jesus, apart from in the general terms of a coming Servant of YHWH, and a coming of David, and there was no way in which he could have anticipated the New Testament revolution which lifted Jerusalem up into Heaven (Gal 4:21-31<\/span>; Heb 12:22<\/span>; Rev 14:1-6<\/span>; Rev 21:1<\/span> ff.) and at the same time made his words meaningful to his own generation. To them activities in the heavens meant the activities of the gods, something anathema to the prophets. Thus when he prophesies activities in the heavens he does so in earthly terms, and in terms of the ideas that the people would understand. But we are not intended to take them literally. To him ‘Jerusalem’ (Zion) represented the people of God wherever they may be (Zec 2:7<\/span>), whilst the sacrifice of Christ on the cross banished for ever the notion of animal sacrifices. The feasts of the Jews represented the realities to which they pointed. Thus the Feast of Tabernacles is really portraying the pouring out of the Holy Spirit seen in terms of life-giving rain (Joh 7:37-39<\/span>). It is surely significant that when the glory of YHWH stood on the mountain east of Jerusalem in Eze 11:23<\/span>, it was after His promise that He would gather His people and pour out His Holy Spirit on them (Eze 11:17-20<\/span>).<\/p>\n

We may analyse chapter 14 as follows:<\/p>\n

God will gather all the nations against His people (represented as Jerusalem) and only half its inhabitants will survive (Zec 14:1-2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

God will then act and take His stance on the Mount of Olives which will divide in two (Zec 14:3-5<\/span> a).<\/p>\n

God will come with His holy ones and begin to establish His Kingly Rule and all His people will dwell in safety (Zec 14:5-11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The punishment is described that will fall on those who have fought against His people\/Jerusalem (Zec 14:12-15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

All the nations will celebrate yearly the Feast of Tabernacles, the time of outpouring, and those who do not come will be deprived of life-giving rain (Zec 14:16-19<\/span>).<\/p>\n

The numbers at the feast will be so large that the whole of Judah will be sanctified to YHWH for the purpose (Zec 14:20-21<\/span> a).<\/p>\n

There will be no more a Canaanite in the house of YHWH of hosts (Zec 14:21<\/span> b).<\/p>\n

Thus here in Zechariah 14<\/span> we have a great final apocalyptic scene in which the triumph of God is revealed and the fulfilling of His final purposes is depicted. It can be paralleled with Revelation 12-22 where similar ideas are depicted.<\/p>\n

What then are we to make of Jerusalem as mentioned in this chapter? To Zechariah and the people of his day Jerusalem was representative of the people of God (see especially Zec 2:7<\/span> where ‘Zion’ were in Babylon). They could not even have visualised a worldwide gathering of God’s people. To them the words of Jesus ‘nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father’ (Joh 4:21<\/span>) would have seemed like blasphemy. To them Jerusalem was the centre of the worship of the people of God, so much so that those who were true to YHWH in Babylon were spoken of as ‘Zion’ (Zec 2:7<\/span>). But Jesus dismissed that idea of the centrality of Jerusalem, and pointed out that in future those who truly worshipped God would do so in Spirit and in truth wherever they may be (Joh 4:24<\/span>). This is hugely important for it demonstrates the New Testament interpretation of Jerusalem. As Paul makes clear in Gal 4:21-31<\/span> Jerusalem is now above, and its inhabitants are the true people of God, His church.<\/p>\n

That Zechariah himself saw his words as somehow going beyond his own age comes out in that his concentration is on ‘Jerusalem’ and not on the Temple, whilst the ‘YHWH’s house’ that he does mention in Zec 14:20-21<\/span> would appear to refer to the whole of Judah, for the pots are holy throughout Judah. This would indicate that the whole of God’s people are holy.<\/p>\n

It is further confirmed by the indication in Zec 14:6-7<\/span> of the cessation of day and night. There will be permanent day. The light of YHWH will have come (compare Isa 9:2<\/span>; Isa 60:1<\/span> ff.). Living waters will have gone out in all directions (Zec 14:8<\/span>), and YHWH will be King over all the earth (Zec 14:9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

But here we are faced with a dilemma. Are we to see the descent of YHWH Himself on the Mount of Olives as occurring at the beginning of the last days, that is, at the time when the Messiah Himself, standing on the Mount of Olives in Luk 22:39<\/span> and parallels, faced up to the battle that lay ahead, thus referring to the great spiritual battle that took place in the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Or are we to see it as His final coming in judgment to bring in the everlasting kingdom as depicted in the end chapters of Revelation? Certainly the latter part of this chapter may have the latter in mind, although we may also see it as indicating current worship, but ‘the last days’ began with the first coming of the Messiah. Thus this chapter may well be seen as a foreshortened view of two thousand years and more. And as we have seen Eze 11:23<\/span> connects His standing on the mountain to the east of the city with the coming of the Holy Spirit (Eze 11:19<\/span>).<\/p>\n

We need, however, to recognise that Zechariah is not here speaking of events literally. This is clear from the fact that night will cease, and there will be perpetual day (Zec 14:6-7<\/span>). Such a depiction is clearly symbolic. A world with perpetual day would be an impossible place for humans to live in. They would lack proper sleep. Indeed, Rev 21:23-24<\/span>; Rev 22:5<\/span> see it as a depiction of the eternal state. It rather here indicates that the permanent light of God has come. Nor are we to see God as literally going forth to fight, except in the fact that He goes forth in His people. As in the depiction in Rev 19:11-16<\/span> the fire of His eyes, and the sword of His words would be all that was required to accomplish victory. ‘His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives’ (Zec 14:4<\/span>) need only be an indication of His divine activity in bringing about what occurs. Strictly speaking YHWH has no feet, unless He takes on human form. His feet here are like ‘the arm of YHWH’, a depiction of YHWH’s power and sovereignty, and they especially depict His taking possession of what He stands on (compare Jos 1:3<\/span>). We may certainly see in it an interesting ‘coincidence’ in that when the king came at Jesus’ first coming He did literally and regularly stand on the Mount of Olives, but it certainly did not bring about major geographical disturbance. What it did portend in was spiritual disturbance throughout the world.<\/p>\n

In contrast Jesus at His second coming is never depicted as standing on earth. His activity is seen as heavenly (Mat 24:30-31<\/span>; Mar 13:26-27<\/span>; Luk 21:27<\/span>; Rev 14:14-16<\/span>; Rev 19:11-16<\/span>). Nor could all nations gather at Jerusalem (Zec 14:17<\/span>). There simply would not be enough room for billions of people in the whole of Palestine. And as the idea lying behind it is the past gathering of the people of Israel to the Sanctuary for the feasts, we cannot speak of it as simply occurring through representatives, for the whole idea of the feasts was that all the men of Israel would gather. Anything less would not be a literal fulfilment.<\/p>\n

That the whole of Judah would become a holy sanctuary, with all its pots being holy vessels (Zec 14:21<\/span>) is theoretically feasible, but it does not tie in with other descriptions of end time Jerusalem. Indeed it means that Jerusalem itself would have become relatively undistinctive, with the distinction of being God’s sanctuary applying to the whole of Judah. If taken literally this contradicts other prophecies. Furthermore there cannot be literal sacrifices of a type that would be in Zechariah’s mind, for he would have seen them as including an element of atonement. That was the significance of the shedding of the blood which was of prime importance with sacrifices. But that necessity has been done away in Christ. Indeed, the idea of atonement was central to the feast of Tabernacles, which was preceded by the Day of Atonement, for all the many sacrifices mentioned included an element of atonement. So the atonement achieved by Jesus’ death on the cross, makes any such sacrifices invalid. Note the specific sacrificial requirement in respect of it (Lev 23:36-37<\/span> with Lev 14:27<\/span>; Num 29:12-38<\/span>). Nor can we legitimately speak of ‘memorial sacrifices’, for such sacrifices would not be what Zechariah was speaking about. They would be a spiritualising of sacrifices, not a literal fulfilment. Once we spiritualise them why have them at all? And that is especially so as in the future ideal kingdom there was to be no death (Isa 11:6-9<\/span>).<\/p>\n

So whatever view we take of Zechariah 14<\/span> it cannot be taken literally. The portrayal is based on the views of that day, in order to be intelligible to his hearers, but it requires things which lie beyond the possibility of literal fulfilment in our present world. If anything it requires the new heavens and the new earth in which dwells righteousness (2Pe 3:13<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:5<\/strong><\/span> “like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah” – <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> This event is mentioned in one other place in the Scriptures. For example, the prophet Amos uses it to date his prophetic ministry (Amo 1:1<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Amo 1:1<\/span>, “The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake .”<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12<\/strong><\/span>  And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12<\/strong><\/span><\/strong> <\/strong> Comments – <\/em><\/strong> Grant Jeffery and others believe that Zec 14:12<\/span> gives a very clear and detailed description of a nuclear blast consuming the flesh of a man. [12]<\/p>\n

[12] Grant R. Jeffrey, The Signature of God<\/em> (Frontier Research Publications, Inc. 1996), 184-201.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/p>\n

The Judgment and the Redemption<\/p>\n

v. 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,<\/strong> a great Day of Judgment, and thy spoil,<\/strong> that gained by the enemies in overcoming Jerusalem, shall be divided in the midst of thee,<\/strong> the enemies being at leisure and secure in the conquered city. <\/p>\n

v. 2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle,<\/strong> the enemies being recruited from all countries of the world; and the city shall be taken and the houses rifled and the women ravished,<\/strong> a picture of an apparent complete overthrow of the Church such as she experienced during the dark ages; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity,<\/strong> yielding to the power of Antichrist, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city,<\/strong> some at least would remain faithful to the true God in the Church of the Reformation. <\/p>\n

v. 3. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle,<\/strong> on the many occasions when He went forth to battle with them and for them. <\/p>\n

v. 4. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives,<\/strong> this location being considered the center of the earth and the throne of the Lord, as He makes ready for judgment, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,<\/strong> an earthquake having this effect as the earth trembled under the footsteps of Jehovah, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south,<\/strong> thus opening a road from Jerusalem straight toward the east. <\/p>\n

v. 5. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains,<\/strong> since it would offer safe hiding-places; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal,<\/strong> a small town east of Mount Olivet; yea, ye ‘shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah; and the Lord, my God, shall come,<\/strong> His advent being looked for by His children ‘with joyful expectation, and all the saints,<\/strong> the holy angels, with thee. <\/strong> The picture sketched by the prophet shows Jehovah preparing to judge the nations, while the believers flee to Him for refuge, knowing that their salvation is near. <\/p>\n

v. 6. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear,<\/strong> that is, there would not be full daylight, nor dark,<\/strong> literally, “the glorious things will withdraw themselves,” evidently said of the lights of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars; <\/p>\n

v. 7. but it shall be one day,<\/strong> a most singular day in every way, which shall be known to the Lord,<\/strong> He alone being acquainted with its true nature, not day nor night,<\/strong> because the lights of heaven will have lost their power to shine; but It shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. <\/strong> This picture represents the Church of the Middle Ages gradually sinking into darkness as the light of the Word of God was obscured by its leaders. Fortunately, however, the Lord, through the Reformation, caused the glorious light of His Gospel to shine forth once more. <\/p>\n

v. 8. And it shall be in that day,<\/strong> after the restoration of the light of the Word in its original position, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem,<\/strong> from the Church of the Lord in its renewed state, Cf Eze 47:1<\/span>; half of them toward the former sea,<\/strong> toward the east, and half of them toward the hinder sea,<\/strong> toward the west, so that the blessings of the Gospel would be distributed throughout the world; in summer and in winter shall it be,<\/strong> without intermission. <\/p>\n

v. 9. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth,<\/strong> as the Ruler of His Kingdom of Grace; in that day shall there be one Lord,<\/strong> the Triune God once more accepted by the Church as He had revealed Himself in Christ, and His name one,<\/strong> to be glorified wherever His Word is proclaimed. <\/p>\n

v. 10. All the land shall be turned as a plain,<\/strong> with no more mountains to obstruct the work of the Church, from Geba,<\/strong> some twelve miles north of Jerusalem, to Rimmon,<\/strong> south of Jerusalem, at the southern border of Judah; and It shall be lifted up,<\/strong> Jerusalem alone being placed up on high, and inhabited in her place,<\/strong> or, “shall dwell in her place,”. from Benjamin’s gate,<\/strong> in the wall of the north side of the city, unto the place of the first gate,<\/strong> on the east or northeast, unto the corner gate,<\/strong> that on the west, and from the tower of Hananeel,<\/strong> on the northeast corner of the city, Neh 3:1<\/span>, unto the king’s winepresses,<\/strong> in the royal gardens on the south side of the city. <\/p>\n

v. 11. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction,<\/strong> such as came upon the Church through the wickedness of Antichrist; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. <\/strong> The Church, as renewed by the Reformation, will, on the whole, remain in possession of the truth and its blessings. <\/p>\n

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

EXPOSITION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zec 14:1<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zec 14:2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

5. The afflictions of the people and their results are set forth in figure and symbol. Jerusalem is represented as taken and plundered.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec 14:1<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The day of the Lord;<\/strong> a day of <\/em>(or, to<\/em>) Jehovah cometh. <\/em>The Greek and Latin Versions have the plural, “days of the Lord come.” It is a time when he will specially manifest his glory and power, and be recognized as allowing the trial of his people for wise purposes. It is impossible to fix on any historical fulfilment of this prophecy. The details suit neither Maccabean nor Roman times; the attempt to define exactly the period and matter of its accomplishment has proved a failure, and has led to a mingling of events of very different dates, and to a conglomeration of senses literal, metaphorical, and anagogical, which creates confusion while assuming to explain difficulties. The literal interpretation must be resigned, and the whole prophecy must be taken to adumbrate the kingdom of God in its trial, development, and triumph. Thy spoil shall be divided. <\/strong>Jerusalem is addressed; and the prophet intimates that the enemy shall get possession of the capital, plunder it, and divide its spoil among themselves in its very midst with the greatest security, the inhabitants being wholly at the conquerors’ mercy.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

How this shall come to pass is now shown. For I will gather all nations. <\/strong>God uses the Gentile nations as his instruments in this trial of his people; they are the fires by which he refines and purifies his elect (Joe 3:2<\/span>, Joe 3:9-11<\/span>). The city shall be taken. The <\/strong>outrages offered to the captive city are such as are indicated in the case of Babylon (Isa 13:16<\/span>; comp. Lam 5:11<\/span>, etc.). Half of the city.<\/strong> The term “half” must not be pressed, as if it contradicted the mention of the two-thirds that were to perish, according to the prediction in Zec 13:8<\/span>. It is a mere rhetorical expression. Or it may apply to the city alone, while the other referred to the whole land. Shall not be out off.<\/strong> In the former captivity all the people were carried away; in this capture of the city a remnant shall be left therein. It is plain from this statement that the prophecy cannot apply to the destruction of the city by the Romans; for, according to the account of Josephus (‘Bell. Jud.,’ Rom 6:9<\/span>), the city itself was razed to the ground, and all the inhabitants were either put to the sword or sold for slaves.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:3-7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

6. Then the Lord himself comes to her help, great convulsions of nature accompanying his presence.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec 14:3<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Shall go forth.<\/strong> God is said to “go forth” when he manifests his power by delivering his people and punishing their enemies (comp. Isa 26:21<\/span>; Isa 42:13<\/span>; Mic 1:3<\/span>). As when he fought in the day of battle.<\/strong> The Hebrew is in general terms, “as when he fighteth in a day of battle,” or, “slaughter;” Septuagint, , <\/em>“as a day of his battle in a day of war;” Vulgate, sicut praeliatus est in die certaminis. <\/em>There is nothing in the text to confine the reference to any one special interposition; it refers rather to the general course of God’s providence in defending his people, though, doubtless, the prophet has in his mind the crowning act of mercy at the Red Sea (Exo 14:13<\/span>, Exo 14:14<\/span>, Exo 14:25<\/span>), which is so often referred to as a typical deliverance (comp. Isa 11:11<\/span>; Jer 16:14<\/span>; Jer 23:8<\/span>; Hab 3:15<\/span>; and above, Zec 10:11<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:4<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

His feet shall stand.<\/strong> By this theophany he shall come to the aid of his people; nature shall do his bidding, owning the presence of its Maker. Upon the Mount of Olives on the east.<\/strong> This mount lay on the east of Jerusalem, from which it was separated by the deep valley of the Kidron, rising to a height of some six hundred feet, and intercepting the view of the wilderness of Judaea and the Jordan ghor. The geographical detail is added in the text to indicate the line of escape which shall be opened for those who are to be de-livened. This is the only place in the Old Testament where the Mount of Olives is thus exactly named; but it is often alluded to; e.g.<\/em> 2Sa 15:30<\/span>; 1Ki 11:7<\/span>; 2Ki 23:13<\/span> (where it is called “the mount of corruption”), etc. Shall cleave in the midst thereof. As the enemy are supposed to beset Jerusalem, so as to make escape by any ordinary road impossible, the Lord will open a way through the very centre of the mountain (as he opened a path through the Red Sea), by cleaving the hill in sunder, the two parts moving north and south, and leaving a great valley running east and west, and leading to the Arabah.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains;<\/strong> ye shall flee by the valley of my mountains; i.e.<\/em> by the ravine made by the cleaving of Olivet into two, which God calls “my mountain,” because effected by his special interposition. Septuagint, , “The valley of my mountains shall be blocked;” Vulgate, Fugietis ad vallem montium eorum. <\/em>The last word is probably an error for meorum. <\/em>Into the chasm thus miraculously formed the remnant shall flee for refuge. Unto Azal; <\/strong> ; usque ad proximum <\/em>(Vulgate); so Symmachus. If Azal, or Azel, be a proper name, it is with some probability identified with Beth-ezel, mentioned in Mic 1:11<\/span>, a village on the east of Olivet. The meaning in this case is that the valley should extend from the west unto the east side of the Mount of Olives, and that in it the people shall find an asylum, that they might not be involved in the judgments which fall on the enemy. Some take Azal <\/em>to mean “union,” and see in it a symbol of the union of the Law and the gospel, or the Jew and Gentile, in one Churchthe valley of God’s mountain extending to “union;” that is, to enfolding all the faithful (see Wordsworth, in loc.<\/em>). <\/em>The earthquake in the days of Uzziah.<\/strong> This is mentioned in Amo 1:1<\/span>, but not in the historical books (see note on Amos, loc. cit.<\/em>). <\/em>The intervention of the Lord is here accompanied by an earthquake, which produces the same panic as on the former occasion, and drives the inhabitants to flight. Shall come.<\/strong> To smite his enemies and to defend his people. All the saints<\/strong> (holy ones<\/em>) with thee.<\/strong> The versions have, “with him;” and thus many Hebrew manuscripts. But such abrupt changes of persons are not uncommon (see note on Zec 2:8<\/span>). The “holy ones” are the angels (comp. Deu 33:2<\/span>; Job 5:1<\/span>; Dan 7:10<\/span>; and the parallel predictions in Mat 24:30<\/span>, Mat 24:31<\/span>; Mat 25:31<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The light shall not be clear, nor dark.<\/strong> The Greek, Syriac, and Latin Versions have, “There shall not be light, but cold and ice.” With the absence of light and sun shall come bitter frost, which impedes all activity, and kills life: or, taking the Septuagint rendering, there shall no longer be the interchange of seasons, but one lasting sunshine. It is plain that a time of distress and calamity is intended, and that the passage is threatening and not consolatory, at any rate, at first. There is solid ground for the rendering of the Revised Version margin, adopted by Cheyne and others, which is according to the Khetib, “There shall not be light, the bright ones shall contract themselves;” i.e. <\/em>the heavenly bodies shall contract their light, or be heaped confusedly together, and cease to shine. The prediction in this case may be compared with that in Joe 3:15<\/span>; Isa 13:10<\/span>; and in Mat 24:29<\/span>; Rev 6:12<\/span>, Rev 6:13<\/span>. The Authorized Version is explained in the margin, i.e. <\/em>“It shall not be clear in some places, and dark in other places of the world”a gloss which is inadmissible.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

One day.<\/strong> A unique day, unparalleled (comp. So Zec 6:9<\/span>; Eze 7:5<\/span>). Which shall be<\/strong> (is<\/em>) known to the Lord<\/strong>. Its peculiar character, and the moment of its arrival, are known to God, and God only (Mat 24:36<\/span>). Not day, nor night. It cannot be called truly the one or the other, because there is darkness in the day and light at night, as the following clause says. This is symbolically explained by St. Ephraem, “It will not be altogether consolation, nor altogether affliction.” It is not full daylight, for calamity presses; it is not deep night, because there is hope amid the distress. At evening time it shall be light. <\/strong>In the midst of trouble and danger deliverance shall come. The whole section is a figurative description of the fortunes of the Church militant, even as Christ announced to his disciples: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Joh 16:33<\/span>); “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (Joh 15:20<\/span>); “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid’ (Joh 14:27<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:8-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

7. Then shall occur a season of joy. The land shall be transformed and renewed, and the Lord shall be owned as the sole King of all the earth.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec 14:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Living waters;<\/strong> i.e.<\/em> water fresh, pure, and perennial (Gen 26:19<\/span>; Jer 2:13<\/span>), a figure of the spiritual blessings and graces bestowed by God upon his Church. From Jerusalem,<\/strong> as the centre and representative of the kingdom of God, as in Zec 12:2<\/span>. The city itself was, as we know, abundantly supplied with water by many conduits and subterranean channels; but standing, as it does, surrounded by hills higher than itself, it is physically impossible that the waters could literally flow as stated. <\/p>\n

The description is symbolical, though the natural features of the country are supposed to be changed in order to preserve verisimilitude (comp. Eze 47:1<\/span>, etc.; Joe 3:18<\/span>). The former<\/strong> (eastern<\/em>) sea the<\/strong> hinder<\/strong> (western<\/em>) sea<\/strong>. The Dead Sea is tile eastern sea to one looking to sunrise from Jerusalem: the Mediterranean is the western sea, behind the observer’s back. Into every quarter the salutary stream shall flow. In summer and in winter.<\/strong> Neither drought nor frost shall stop their perennial flow. “Alike in times of peace and of persecution those waters shall continue their course” (St. Jerome); Septuagint, “In summer and in spring”a rendering which seems to indicate the home of the Alexandrian Version.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:9<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

All the earth;<\/strong> all the land <\/em>of Israel (Zec 14:8<\/span>, Zec 14:10<\/span>)a type of the kingdom of God in all its extent (Rev 11:15<\/span>, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever”). Shall there be one Lord; <\/strong>rather, Jehovah shall be one. <\/em>He shall be universally acknowledged as “the blessed and only Potentate” (1Ti 6:15<\/span>). His name one.<\/strong> Idolatry shall be abolished, and the one God shall be everywhere adored (comp. Zec 13:2<\/span>; Deu 6:4<\/span>). Men shall no longer attribute operations and effects to various heavenly powers, but shall see and confess that all are derived from and centre in him, and are only different revelations of his ineffable nature and attributes. We do not, indeed, see this prediction yet fulfilled, but the grace to accomplish it is ready and operating; it is only men’s perverse wills that impede the gracious purpose of God.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:10<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

All the land shall be turned as a plain.<\/strong> To indicate the exaltation and stability of the centre of the new theocracy, the prophet announces that all the country round Jerusalem shall be turned into a plain, dominated by the metropolis, which stands sublime on a lofty mountain. The Revised Version renders, “shall be turned as the Arabah,” i.e. <\/em>as the Jordan ghor, a valley of abnormal fertility. From Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem;<\/strong> i.e. <\/em>from the north of Judah to its southern boundary. Geba was a town and district on the edge of the great Wady Suweinit, five miles north of Jerusalem. It is identified with Jeba (1Sa 13:3<\/span>), and it formed the northern boundary of the kingdom of Judah (Jos 18:24<\/span>). Rimmon is described as “south of Jerusalem,” to distinguish it from a town of the same name in Galilee (Jos 19:13<\/span>), and from the famous rock Rimmon, to which the Benjamites fled (Jdg 20:45<\/span>, Jdg 20:47<\/span>). It was situated in the territory of Simeon (Jos 15:32<\/span>; Jos 19:7<\/span>), and has been identified with Umm-er-Rummamin, <\/em>a town ten miles north of Beersheba. It shall be lifted up.<\/strong> Jerusalem shall remain exalted on its hill, while all the country around sinks into a plaina figure representing the spiritual exaltation of the new theocracy. Inhabited in her place; <\/strong>or, shall dwell in her place. <\/em>Shall occupy her ancient limits, and abide there safely without fear (comp. Jer 31:38-40<\/span>; Eze 48:15<\/span>, etc.). From Benjamin’s gate,<\/strong> etc. (Jer 37:13<\/span>). It is difficult to define the given boundaries with certainty in every particular. Benjamin’s gate is the same as the gate of Ephraim (2Ki 14:13<\/span>; Neh 8:16<\/span>), so called as leading to the territory of Benjamin, and beyond again to that of Ephraim. It was situated in the north or second wall. From this point the course of the wall is followed, first to the west, and then to the east. The first gate.<\/strong> This was in the eastern part at this wall, and is the same as “the old gate,” or “gate of the old town,” of Neh 12:39<\/span>. The corner gate<\/strong> (2Ki 14:13<\/span>; Jer 31:38<\/span>) was at the northwest corner, west of the gate of Benjamin, at the angle where the first and second walls approached each other. These dimensions would give the breadth of the city from east to west. The tower of Hananeel<\/strong> (Neh 3:1-32<\/span> :l) was at the northeast corner of the north wall, where the citadel Basis or Antonia afterwards stood. The king’s wine presses <\/strong>were probably near “the king’s garden” (Neh 3:15<\/span>), at the southeast extremity of the city. They may have been cut out of the rock, as was often the case. This description gives the extent of the city from north to south. Thus Zechariah illustrates the growth and stability of the Church of God by the figure of the earthly city Jerusalem, firmly and orderly built, and inhabited by a teeming population, as the following verse shows. There is no ground for expecting the literal fulfilment of this prediction.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Men shall dwell in it.<\/strong> There shall be no tear of exile and captivity, and no necessity to fly from a victorious enemy (Zec 14:2<\/span>, Zec 14:5<\/span>). Utter destruction;<\/strong> literally, curse, ban; <\/em>LXX<\/strong>. and Vulgate, “There shall be no more anathema.” The inhabitants shall not incur the curse which is inflicted on transgressors, idolaters, and their cities by the old Law (see Exo 22:20<\/span>; Deu 7:2<\/span>; Deu 13:12-15<\/span>; Deu 20:17<\/span>; comp. Ezr 10:8<\/span>; Isa 43:28<\/span>; Rev 22:3<\/span>). Shall be safely inhabited;<\/strong> or, shall dwell safely. <\/em>Sin being removed, there will be no more occasion for chastisement; and the spiritual Jerusalem shall never be destroyed.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12-15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

8. Having noted the blessings on the true Israelites, the prophet gives further details concerning the destruction of the enemies: they shall perish by plague, by mutual slaughter, by the sword of Judah.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec 14:12<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This shall be the plague.<\/strong> These are the instruments which the Lord uses when he fights against the nations (not the people<\/strong>, as in the Authorized Version), Zec 14:3<\/span>. The plague, or smiting (maggephah<\/em>), <\/em>is some contagions affliction sent by God, as in Exo 9:14<\/span>; Num 14:37; 1Sa 6:4<\/span>. Their<\/strong>. It is, in the Hebrew, “his flesh, his feet,” etc; to show that the general plague extends to every individual. In the last clause the plural is used, “their mouth.” With body, eye, and tongue they opposed the holy city, and took pleasure in its discomfiture: in all their members they shall suffer retributive punishment. While they stand upon their feet.<\/strong> The flesh of each shall putrefy and moulder away, while he is still alive and arrayed against the city of God. Holes<\/strong>; soakers. The eyes had spied out the weak places in the defence, and looked with malicious pleasure on the defeat and fall. Tongue<\/strong>. They had blasphemed God, and cried against his holy place, “Down with it, even to the ground!”<\/p>\n

Zec 14:13<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A great tumult from the Lord<\/strong> (Zec 12:4<\/span>). A general panic or confusion sent by the Lord, such as befell the Midianites (Jdg 7:22<\/span>) and the Philistines (l Samuel Zec 14:20<\/span>), which ends in mutual slaughter. They shall lay hold every one,<\/strong> etc. In this general panic each shall seize his neighbour’s hand in fierce contention. The next clause gives the same meaning (comp. Zec 11:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:14<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem.<\/strong> The adversus Jerusalem <\/em>of the Vulgate and some Jewish interpreters is a mistake, and introduces a wholly irrelevant idea. The meaning is that the Judaeans outside of Jerusalem, the nation at large, rallying to the attack, shall fall on the enemy, now thinned by pestilence and internecine conflicts within the walls of the city, and prevail against them (comp. Zec 12:6<\/span>). Septuagint, ,<\/em>“ <\/em>Judah shall draw up his forces in Jerusalem.” The wealth of all the heathen <\/strong>(nations<\/em>) round about.<\/strong> The costly booty of the enemy shall fall into Judah’s hands. Thus the Church emerges victorious from persecutions, and is enriched and adorned by the means of those who planned her overthrow.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

So shall be the plague of the horse,<\/strong> etc. As was the plague that came on men (Zec 14:12<\/span>), so shall be tide plague that falls on their beasts and cattle. The brute animals suffer for their owners’ sin according to the ban under the old Law (Deu 13:15<\/span>; comp. Num 16:32<\/span>, Num 16:33<\/span>; Jos 7:24<\/span>, Jos 7:25<\/span>). Tents<\/strong>; camps; <\/em>Septuagint, . <\/em>The verse illustrates the utter destruction which shall befall the enemies of God’s Church.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:16-19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

9. Warned by these manifestations of God’s power, the residue of the heathen shall be converted, and shall join with the Hebrews in the regular worship of Jehovah.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec 14:16<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every one that is left.<\/strong> All the heathen that attacked the holy city shall not be destroyed; the remnant saved small become subjects of the Divine kingdom. Shall go up.<\/strong> This is the usual phrase for going to Jerusalem for the purpose of worship (comp. Isa 2:2<\/span>, Isa 2:3<\/span>; Mic 4:2<\/span>; Luk 2:42<\/span>; Joh 7:8<\/span>). The prophet here and in the following clause speaks as a Jew to Jews, who knew and observed only the prescribed form of worship. It is evident that the announcement could never be literally fulfilled; the Gentile world could never come yearly to pay their devotions at Jerusalem. The prediction can only signify that under Messiah’s reign the Gentiles shall be converted to true religion and worship God in regular, orderly fashion, the prophet intimating this in terms derived from the old dispensation, which had the Divine sanction. The Feast of Tabernacles. <\/strong>The Israelites were required to appear before the Lord three times in the year (Exo 23:17<\/span>; Deu 16:16<\/span>)at the festivals of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. But the Gentiles are here required to present themselves only once. The Feast of Tabernacles is chosen for this occasion owing to its peculiar character and tile associations connected with it. It commemorated not only the ingathering of the harvest, but also Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness and tide Divine protection there accorded to them, and their entrance into tide promised land; it was therefore a fitting symbol of the rescue of the Gentiles from the devil’s kingdom, and their entry into the Church of God, where they enjoyed the blessings of God’s grace and protection. It was also a more catholic feast, in one sense, titan the Passover or Pentecost, not being so distinctively Jewish, but one which all nations could keep in gratitude to the Giver of material benefits. We must remember, also, that it was at this feast that our Lord cried (Joh 7:37<\/span>), “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink,” and likewise he declared himself to be “the Light of the world” (Joh 8:12<\/span>), wishing us, it may be, to understand that this feast was the one we should need to keep, being the one which specially sets him forth as the Sustainer and Guide through life’s pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:17<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Will not come up;<\/strong> goeth not up. <\/em>Those who neglected this yearly worship shall be punished according to the threat in Deu 11:16<\/span>, Deu 11:17<\/span>. No rain.<\/strong> The failure of periodic rain in Eastern countries meant drought, famine, and widespread distress. In a spiritual sense, rain represents the grace and blessing of God; these are withholden from those who refuse to worship him and wilfully cut themselves off from the Church. The LXX<\/strong>. has, , <\/em>“These shall be associated with those,” i.e. <\/em>shall be reckoned among those enemies whose punishment has been mentioned above.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:18<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If the family of Egypt go not up<\/strong>. Egypt is mentioned as the great typical enemy of God and Israel, and therefore most obnoxious to punishment if it did not obey the call. That have no rain.<\/strong> This rendering implies, what is not the fact, that Egypt is without rain, and is not dependent upon rain for its fertility. The expression in the text is elliptical, being merely, “then not on them,” and it is obviously natural to supply, “shall there be rain.” As the rise of the Nile depends upon the equinoctial rains in the interior, the failure of these would be disastrous. Another way of rendering the passage is to combine the clauses and append a note of interrogation; thus: “Shall there not be upon them the plague wherewith,” etc.? The LXX<\/strong>. and Syriac omit the negative, , “Even upon these shall be the plague.”<\/p>\n

Zec 14:19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The punishment;<\/strong> literally, sin; <\/em>: peccatum; <\/em>here obviously the punishment of sinsin with all its fatal consequences (comp. Num 18:22<\/span>; Lam 3:39<\/span>; Lam 4:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zec 14:21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

10. Then everything alike shall be holy, and the ungodly shall be altogether excluded from the house of the Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

Zec 14:20<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon the bells of the horses. <\/strong>The prophet, describing the holiness of the theocracy, uses imagery drawn from the ritual customs of the Law. “The bells,” says Henderson, “were small metallic plates, suspended from the necks or heads of horses and camels, for the sake of ornament, and making a tinkling noise by striking against each other like cymbals.” Probably these plates had the names of the owners engraven on them. The Septuagint gives “bridle,” which possibly the unusual word metzilloth <\/em>may mean. HOLINESS<\/strong> (holy<\/em>) UNTO THE LORD<\/strong>; Sanctum Domino <\/em>(Vulgate); . This was the inscription upon the golden plate on the mitre of the high priest (Exo 28:36<\/span>). The affixing of this inscription on the trappings of horses signifies that the commonest things shall become holy, all things that men use for work, profit, or ornament shall be consecrated to God’s service. The pots in the Lord’s house. <\/strong>The “pots” are vessels of inferior sanctity used for boiling the meat of the sacrifice (1Sa 2:14<\/span>; 2Ch 35:13<\/span>). The bowls before the altar. <\/strong>These held the blood of the victims for sprinkling on the altar, and the sacred libations, and were considered of superior sanctity. The prophet announces that now all shall be holy, the lower equal to the highest.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The last announcement is amplified. Every pot.<\/strong> All the vessels of the country shall be consecrated and used in Divine service. The Levitical distinction shall be abolished, and the Lord’s service shall be perfect freedom. Every member of the Church, however humble his station or mean his acquirements, shall be a saint and fit for the Lord’s use. The Canaanite;<\/strong> mercator <\/em>(Vulgate). The word is used in the sense of “trafficker,” or “merchant,” in Job 40:1-24 :30 (Job 41:6<\/span>, Authorized Version); Pro 31:24<\/span> (comp. Zep 1:11<\/span>). If any vessel might now be used in God’s service, worshippers would no longer be obliged to buy special bowls from those who sold in the temple courts (Mat 21:12<\/span>). But it is best in agreement with the context to take “Canaanite” to mean any unclean or profane person (comp. Gen 9:25<\/span>; Le Gen 18:28<\/span>, etc.). Thus Daniel, in the History of Susanna, verse 56, addresses the wicked elder, “Thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Jude;” and Isaiah (Isa 1:10<\/span>) calls the chiefs of Israel “rulers of Sodom,” and “people of Gomorrah.” Henceforward the “people shall be all righteous” (Isa 60:21<\/span>). There shall be one, holy, Catholic Church. Thus the vision of the golden candlestick (Isa 4:1-6<\/span>.) is fulfilled; and that this should come to pass is the design of God’s manifold providences and operations (comp. Rev 21:27<\/span>; Rev 22:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

HOMILETICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zec 14:1-5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A signal revelation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh,” etc. The “day of the Lord” here referred to seems that of the second coming of Christ. We say this partly because it is a tiny to be marked by a signal exercise of Jehovah’s power against his enemies, “as in the day of battle” (2Pe 1:16; 2Th 2:8<\/span>; Jos 10:14<\/span>, Jos 10:42<\/span>); partly, also, because he is then to appear in person in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem (Zec 14:4<\/span>), as though in fulfilment of Mat 23:39<\/span>; Act 1:11<\/span>, Act 1:12<\/span>; and partly, again, because of those who are mentioned here (end of Act 1:5<\/span>) as then to appear in his suite (comp. Mat 25:31<\/span>; Dan 7:10<\/span>; Jud Dan 1:14<\/span>, Dan 1:15<\/span>; Rev 19:11-16<\/span>). Understood thus of that stupendous event, the prophecy seems to describe<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> its immediate antecedents<\/em>; and <\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> its primary results<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> IMMEDIATE<\/strong> ANTECEDENTS<\/strong>. These appear to be described here only so far as “Jerusalem” is concernedwhether we understand thereby, as some do, the literal city inhabited again and besieged (see above, Zec 12:2<\/span>) by the rest of the nations, or that great “spiritual city,” the Christian Church (Gal 4:26<\/span>; Heb 12:22<\/span>; Rev 3:12<\/span>). In either (or both) of these senses we see the condition of “Jerusalem” at the time intended (note “then” in Act 1:3<\/span>). For example, we see:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. The city itself wholly subdued. <\/em>Its bulwarks are all “taken,” its separate “houses” “dried,” its choicest treasures boldly divided by the secure and triumphant enemy in its most central positions, and every refuge against the deepest indignities utterly gone. 2 Its population half destroyed. <\/em>When the inhabitants of a neighbourhood are decimated by disease it is awful enough. Here we have a proportion of lost ones just fives times as great! Every second house uninhabited! Every family less by one half! What all this exactly points to it is hard to say; but there are passages connecting such unexampled excess of trial with the very eve of the Saviour’s coming, in Dan 12:1<\/span>; Mat 24:12<\/span>, Mat 24:13<\/span>; possibly, also, in a spiritual sense, in Luk 18:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> PRIMARY<\/strong> RESULTS<\/strong>; viz. as might be expected, very great naturalor else spiritualconvulsions (comp. Hag 2:6<\/span>, and beginning of 7; Mal 3:1<\/span>, Mal 3:2<\/span>). Three things to be marked about these.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. How mighty they are in nature! <\/em>To divide the tideless waters of the upper Red Sea in old days had been much. To do the same by the flowing waters of Jordan (Jos 3:16<\/span>) perhaps more. To separate, as prophesied here, into two districts, and far removed portions, the solid range of Mount Olivet, more again. At any rate, nothing less.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. How momentous in results! <\/em>Jerusalem, with Mount Olivet practically gone from “before” it “on the east,” where it had stood for so long the most conspicuous object all round about (comp. Psa 125:2<\/span>), would be no longer the same place as before. Where once had been a mountain was now a valley; where a barrier, a way of escapea way of complete escape to “Azal;” either, i.e; as far as needed (so some), or else close at hand (as others). Certainly, if we may judge from the case of Zedekiah (2Ki 25:4<\/span>, 2Ki 25:5<\/span>), the “way of escape” in previous sieges had been by a very different route.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. How easily wrought! <\/em>viz. immediately on the Master’s arrival, by the mere force of that arrival itself by the mere touch, as it were, of his feet! Compareitself not improbably another prediction of the same occurrencethe striking description of Hab 3:6<\/span>; also 2Th 2:8<\/span>, “Whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his coming”, as darkness is destroyed, and that instantly, by the mere presence of light.<\/p>\n

Observe, from all this, the inevitable consequences of every manifestation of Christ, specially, of course, of the latest of all.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Amazing changes to all<\/em>. “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low.” These will be partly, of course, in the world of feeling and thought. “Then shall the righteous shine forth,” as they certainly do not at present (see also Mat 20:16<\/span>, and elsewhere; and Act 3:20<\/span>, Act 3:21<\/span>). Partly, also, it is far from improbable, in the world of matter and sense. (See such passages, on the one side, as Psa 67:6<\/span>; Eze 34:25<\/span>, Eze 34:26<\/span>; Amo 9:13<\/span>; the very ground which was cursed for the first Adam’s sake being blessed then for the sake of the second. See, on the other, 2Pe 3:10<\/span>, etc.)<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Exceeding fear to some. <\/em>Many then will be found fleeing as though for their lives, even in such a way as they did on the occasion of that appalling earthquake in the days of Uzziah, the terror of which had engraved itself so deeply on the national mind. Never before had there been greater fear than there will be at “that day” (Mat 24:30<\/span>; Isa 2:19<\/span>; Rev 6:15-17<\/span>).<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Corresponding triumph to others. <\/em>How many things which now divide Christ from his peoplehow many which now separate his people from one anothershall then be things of the past! All his “saints” shall be with him then (2Th 2:5<\/span>), and with him forever (1Th 4:17<\/span>). Consequently (1Jn 3:2<\/span>; 1Co 15:49<\/span>), they shall be fully “like him” at last; and therefore, also, like one another; and therefore, again, divided no more! No longer, when at last in the Master’s presence, will they “dispute,” as they once did “by the way”.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A wonderful day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark,” etc. However obscure, in some respects, the opening verses of this passage, the “day” they speak of is to be, very manifestly, a day by itself. How strange, e.g; <\/em>the character of its light! Is it the light of “day”? or the darkness of “night “? How strange, also, its timeso that it should be, apparently, at its brightest just when the light of day is no more (end of Zec 14:7<\/span>)! Altogether, a kind of “day” only fully “known to the Lord” (see, though not in exactly the same connection, Mat 24:36<\/span>). Corresponding to this, in other respects also, shall be the character of that day. In particular, “Jerusalem” shall then, as never before, be<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> a centre of blessing<\/em>; <\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> a centre of rule<\/em>; and <\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> a centre of strength<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> A CENTRE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> BLESSING<\/strong>. This is represented to us under the figure of a flow of “living waters” therefrom (see Joe 3:18<\/span>; Eze 47:1-23<\/span>; passim, <\/em>and especially Eze 47:9<\/span>; also Joh 4:10<\/span>; Joh 7:38<\/span>) What is remarkable in this case is that the flow of these waters shall be:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. In most unusual directions. <\/em>Some will flow, naturally enough, along the intervening descent to the “former,” or eastern sea; but some also, altogether supernaturally according to the lie of the land, to the “latter,” or western sea. Countries and races, that is to say, which at present are hardly sprinkled with gospel influences, and to which at present it seems almost impossible to send them, shall then be overflowed by them as by a flood.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. At most unusual seasons. <\/em>How sadly intermittent, as things are now, is the flow of Church work! Now in decadence, now restored! Now frozen by indifference, now revived by warmth! Now exhausted by heat, now refreshed by rain (Psa 68:1-35 :92)! The flow of these days is to be independent of seasonsrivers all the year through (comp. Rev 22:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> A CENTRE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> RULE<\/strong>. Very naturally does this head follow from that before. Influence of such a gracious character, so universally and constantly in operation, will subdue the whole world in due time. This is what seems foretold in Zec 14:9<\/span>. In the present divided rule of the worldand, in some measure, of the Church as wellit is difficult to give hearty subjection to this authority without rebelling against that. Not so when, in all the world, there shall be but one supreme Head. Not so, still more, when the possessor of that supreme authority shall only be known by one name. At present, in many cases, we have vast composite sovereignties, “united kingdoms,” “dual empires,” at best. The man obeyed here as Emperor of Austria is only obeyed next door as King of Hungary. Not so at all in “that day.” The King of “Jerusalem”Christ in his Churchshall be the one title of that “only Potentate”.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> A CENTRE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> STRENGTH<\/strong>. “Jerusalem” is to be strong then for three different reasons. There shall be:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. No facilities for attacking it. <\/em>Beginning from the ancient fortress of Geba on the north (Pusey, in loc.<\/em>), <\/em>down along the whole mountain range to Rimmon in the south, instead of lofty hills sheltering the invaders and dominating the hill of Mount Zion, the “whole land shall be a plain.”<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Every facility for defending it. <\/em>What those other mountains lose, as it were, the hill of Zion shall gain. Remaining still “in her place,” but “lifted up” (setup. Isa 2:2<\/span>) far above her former elevation, the holy city shall look down then on the whole subject neighbourhoodevery ancient wall and battlement being also restored and elevated together with it, and so made doubly effective as a means of defence.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Better still, the knowledge of the possession of these advantages shall prevent the very thought of attack<\/em>. “Men shall dwell there”shall choose to dwell thereknowing how secure it is from attack. What had been so often there shall be never again. “Jerusalem” now is a city which can never be touched. This shall be felt, this shall be acted on, by all without, by all within.<\/p>\n

This glorious prospect of that future day of blessing and peace, whether comparatively near or far off, may console us greatly in the days that now are, whether in witnessing:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Their cruel dissensions. <\/em>What a scene of selfishness, greed, competition, strife, suspicion, distrust, and violence is that now around us! Worse than a “struggle for existence,” it is too often a struggle, even where existence is not imperilled, to keep others down. See how the whole civilized (!) world is standing armed to the teeth, possessed of deadlier weapons, and, consequently, of deadlier determination, than ever. How restful to the spirit to look beyond all this to that described here!<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Their cruel disappointments. <\/em>Much as these evils have been bewailed and lamented, and often as many men have hitherto tried to relieve them, how little comparative success they have reached! Political endeavours to remedy these evils have only led to worse, as a rule. Even the religion of Jesus, the religion of “liberty, equality, and fraternity,” in the very best (and perhaps only possible) sense, has become the occasion, too often, though not the cause, of that which it sought to remove. It is a comfort to know that another hand will itself apply this remedy in due time; and that that will be easily accomplished by him when he comes down from the “mount,” which is now impossible to his friends (Mar 9:14-27<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12-21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A regenerate world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem,” etc. A regenerate man is not a man without disposition to sin, but a man in whose case that disposition is habitually overcome. In that regenerate world partially described in the previous verses, something very similar is to hold good. All the elements of evil are not then altogether to cease; but there shall be in operation then a new principle of action, which shall prevent them from raising their heads. How exceedingly different a condition of things the full establishment of such a rule will result in seems to be taught us, in these concluding verses, in three different ways; viz. in regard<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> to those who shall hate <\/em>“Jerusalem<\/em>;” <\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> to these who shall despise it<\/em>; and <\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> to those who shall inhabit it, <\/em>in those days.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THOSE<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> HATE<\/strong> IT<\/strong>. For such persons there will be, even at that time, as at all previous times, in existence. There will even be some in existenceat any rate, at the very beginning of “that day”who shall be bold enough to declare war against it. How will it be with such then? Not at all as it is with them now, when they seem so often and so mysteriously to have the “upper hand” (Psa 9:19<\/span>, Prayer book Version) against God. On the contrary, partly<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> by judgments within <\/em>them, their very bodily organs, as it were, visibly withering away under God’s displeasure; partly<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> by judgments among <\/em>them, causing them, as in a kind of frenzy, to lay violent hands on one another; partly<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> by judgments upon <\/em>them, which shall turn their very endeavours to injure “Jerusalem” into means for enriching it; and partly<\/p>\n

(4)<\/strong> by judgments around <\/em>them, represented as coming even on the poor brutes they employ for their sakes;God will testify openly what are his feelings and purposes with regard to such doings. In such circumstances, if evil be sometimes desired, it will very seldom be deliberately attempted, and never achieved. How total a contrast, in every respect, to that which we read of in Ecc 8:11<\/span>!<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THOSE<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> DESPISE<\/strong> IT<\/strong>. Besides that hostility which is open and active, there is that which is passive and half-concealed. Some men do not so much oppose religion as ignore its injunctions. Men disposed to act thus will not be lacking, even in that glorious “day.” This illustrated here by a reference to that well known ancient “Feast of Tabernacles,” in which the settled Israelites commemorated the fact of their having been wanderers once in the wilderness (Le 23:41-43<\/span>). Something so far corresponding to this, at any rate, as to be fitly described by the same appellation, will be of universal obligation in the final settlement of that great sabbatical “day” (comp. Heb 4:1-9<\/span>). How will things be with those who despise it and neglect to “come up” (Ecc 8:17<\/span>) ? Not as now (see Mat 5:45<\/span>); but rather as it was in those days when Goshen was distinguished for Israel’s sake, as by a special command from Heaven, from all the rest of the land. Every such contemptuous nation or “family,” whatever the peculiarity of their circumstances and ordinary climate, shall be made to feel then the open displeasure of him who commandeth the clouds. How widely different in those days the language of Heaven! How widely different the conduct, may we not expect, therefore, of the most callous of men!<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THOSE<\/strong> WHO<\/strong> INHABIT<\/strong> IT<\/strong>. These men shall find Jerusalem then “the holy city” indeed. Speaking here of the future, in language drawn from the usages of his own time; or possibly, as some have supposed, speaking so because there will be a certain measure of return to those usages in the future;there are three great changes which the prophet bids us expect in the “Jerusalem” of” that day.” Its inhabitants will see:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. The previously <\/em>“common<\/em>“ become <\/em>“holy<\/em>.” The very bells of the horses being outwardly marked for God’s service, like the high priest’s mitre was in ancient times (Exo 28:36-38<\/span>; see also Isa 23:17<\/span>, Isa 23:18<\/span>).<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The previously holy made holier still, <\/em>The ordinary temple “pits,” only used of old days for “dressing the victims” (Pusey), being now regarded as like the sacrificial “bowls before the altar,” containing the atoning blood itself; and even those vessels outside the “house,” which were only so far holy before that they were found in “Jerusalem” (the holy city), or belonged to “Judah” (the holy people), shall now be regarded as tilt for employment in the temple worship itself.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. The irreclaimably profane forever shut out. <\/em>“The Canaanite,” i.e; <\/em>as representing those who, though not truly the children of promise, yet “would live” amongst them (Jdg 1:35<\/span>) through all the ages, being never seen there again (comp. Isa 35:8<\/span>; Joe 3:17<\/span>; Eph 5:27<\/span>; Rev 21:27<\/span>; Rev 22:15<\/span>).<\/p>\n

“Not yet! not yet! The faultless flock,<\/p>\n

The field without a tare,<\/p>\n

Come last of all the blessing sought<\/p>\n

By centuries of prayer!”<\/p>\n

How fitting a close of the whole is this thought! How rightly does this chief prophet of the post-Captivity Jerusalem tell us thus, in conclusion, of that far more glorious Jerusalem which is some day to shine forth! It is much the same that the Prophet Daniel does at the end of his prophecy. It is the same also that “St. John the divine” does at the end of his song. They bring their message to an end when they have given us a glimpse of the end which God has in store. It is for us to take care that we are truly numbered with those for whom that “end” is prepared.<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY W. FORSYTH<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zec 14:5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lessons of the earthquake.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee.” So said Job (Job 12:8<\/span>). The earthquake serves<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> TO<\/strong> IMPRESS<\/strong> US<\/strong> WITH<\/strong> THE<\/strong> GREATNESS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>. There are forces great and terrible. But back of all, and controlling all, is God. So the prophets taught, and so we believe (Psa 68:8<\/span>; Psa 104:32<\/span>; Job 25:1-6 :9-14; Exo 19:18<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> TO<\/strong> HUMBLE<\/strong> US<\/strong> UNDER<\/strong> A SENSE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> OUR<\/strong> UTTER<\/strong> HELPLESSNESS<\/strong>. Many things possible to man. Can tame the wild beasts and subdue the earth. Can make fire and air and water his servants. But there are times when he feels his impotence. When the earthquake comes, can only say, “It is the will of the Lord” (Isa 2:19-22<\/span>).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> TO<\/strong> CONVINCE<\/strong> US<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> INSTABILITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> EARTHLY<\/strong> THINGS<\/strong>. The earth seems of all things the most stable. But there comes a crisis, and our old faith is gone forever. “A bad earthquake at once destroys our oldest associations. The earth, the very emblem of solidity, has moved beneath our feet; one second of time has created in the mind a strange idea of insecurity which hours of reflection could not have produced” (Darwin).<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> TO<\/strong> ADMONISH<\/strong> US<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> JUDGMENTS<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> COMING<\/strong> UPON<\/strong> THE<\/strong> EARTH<\/strong>. Geologists tell us of internal fires, and the probability of some great catastrophe, sooner or later. “Coming events cast their shadows before.” Earthquakes are prophecies. Confirmed by Scripture (2Pe 3:10-12<\/span>).<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> TO<\/strong> TEACH<\/strong> US<\/strong> THE<\/strong> PERFECT<\/strong> SECURITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> GOD<\/strong>‘S SAINTS<\/strong>. Come what will, who shall separate us from the love of God? There are things which cannot be moved, and they are the heritage of God’s people (Isa 54:10<\/span>; Psa 46:1-11<\/span>.; Heb 12:25-29<\/span>). We look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.F.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zec 14:7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The day of days.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The promise that “at evening time it shall be light” is suggestive and comforting.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> DAWN<\/strong>. Ordinary light seems withdrawn. Things are seen dimly. Discouragement and fear. Ready to say, “Darkness shall cover us.” Call for faith. “God is light.” “He will bring the blind by a way that they know not, making darkness light before them” (cf. Isa 1:10<\/span>). <\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> PROGRESS<\/strong>. Still uncertainty. Neither wholly day nor night. Alternations. Now the sun seems about to break forth, now the gloom returns. Hopes and fears. But on the whole advance. Faith still finds firm footing. Rope brightens. Love never fails. Amidst all the conflicts with science and philosophy, Christianity abides in its power. There is promise of the “perfect day.”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CLOSE<\/strong>. “Evening.” After long waiting and many disappointments, When most needed and least expected. Not in the order of nature, but of grace. When the shadows are lengthening and the sun going down, the light shines forth with a sweet and beautiful radiance. Glorious ending to a dark and cloudy day. The history of the Church, and the experience of individual Christians, afford many illustrations. The promise sometimes finds a tender and comforting fulfilment in the last hours of the dying believer. Bunyan tells us of Mr. Fearing, that, at the entrance of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he was “ready to die for fear.” But to him the valley was quiet from troublers. Then Greatheart notes, as something very remarkable, at the departure of this pilgrim, “The water of that river was lower, at this time, than ever I saw it in all my life; so he went over at last not much above wet shod.”F.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:8-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Living waters.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emblematic of the gospel.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> SOURCE<\/strong>. “Jerusalem.” Centre of supreme authority and law. The place of holy sacrifice. The city of the great King. Here is God’s throne (Rev 22:1<\/span>). “Salvation is of the Jews.” “Of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ came.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> DIRECTION<\/strong>. There is movement. Not arbitrary, but regulated. Not limited to one land, but for all people. “Beginning at Jerusalem.” Such was the law; but from that starting point the messengers of salvation were to go forth to the whole earth. Water seeks the lowest level, and the gospel comes down to the poorest, the most despised, “the chief of sinners.”<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> AFFLUENCE<\/strong>. Rich supplyample to meet the needs of all. In the wilderness the rock waters followed the Israelites in all their wanderings. But this river is sufficient “for the whole world.”<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> PERPETUITY<\/strong>. There are rivers that vary. They run part of the year, and then they fail. But this river never fails. Neither the winter’s cold nor the summer’s heat can affect its flow. There are rivers that have disappearedlike old peoples and old civilizationsbut this river runs on throughout the ages with unchanging life and virtue.<\/p>\n

V.<\/strong> BENEFICENCE<\/strong>. Vitality. Life and the power of life. What so sweet and refreshing as the streams of pure water? Carry blessings far and wide. So with the gospel. Converting souls. Purifying society. Advancing the world in the highest forms of civilization. Grand future. Universal subjection. Universal homage. “One Lord.”F.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:9-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The elevation of Zion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Morally and spiritually (Isa 2:2<\/span>; Mic 4:1<\/span>; Eze 40:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> RAISED<\/strong> ABOVE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> STRIFE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> FACTIONS<\/strong>. Sects. Party spirit. Din and strife of tongues. Confusion and every evil work. But for Zion’s children there is a purer atmosphere and serener skies.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> RAISED<\/strong> ABOVE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> CORRUPTIONS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WORLD<\/strong>. We hear much in our day of germs. The air is everywhere infected. The seeds of disease are on every side. But rise higher, and the danger ceases. So of Zion. Drunkenness, illegitimacy, worldliness, and other sins abound, and lower the tone of society. Need to rise nearer to heaven. “Ye are from beneath: I am from above,” said our Lord.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> RAISED<\/strong> ABOVE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> ASSAULTS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WICKED<\/strong>. Storms. Enemies. Temptations. Cry, “Deliver us from the evil.” The higher we rise, the greater our safety. The more we resemble Christ, with the more hope can we say, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”<\/p>\n

IV.<\/strong> RAISED<\/strong> ABOVE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> VICISSITUDES<\/strong> OF<\/strong> TIME<\/strong>. Dispensations vary. Habits of society alter. Beliefs may change. But eternal truth and righteousness abide. “The true religion is built upon the rock, the rest are tossed upon the waves of time” (Bacon). <\/p>\n

“Serene will be our days, and bright<\/p>\n

And happy will our nature be,<\/p>\n

When love is an unerring light,<\/p>\n

And joy its own security.”
(Wordsworth.)<\/p>\n

Zec 14:16-21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The great harvest home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Feast of Tabernacles had a threefold reference. It was a memorial of the past, it was a service of thanksgiving, and it was also foreshadowing of the better things to come. Well, therefore, may the prophet make it a symbol of the glory of the latter days, when under Messiah’s reign the fulness of the Gentiles should be brought in, and all Israel should be saved. The glowing and beautiful picture may represent the great harvest home of the world.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> UNITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> WORSHIP<\/strong>. No more many gods, but one. No more hostile sects and parties, but the holy Catholic Church of the living God. At last the old promise is fulfilled (Num 14:21<\/span>).<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> JOYFULNESS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> SERVICE<\/strong>. The Spirit of Christ reigns. Love and joy and peace are in all hearts. From all lands and peoples come the songs of praise and the services of thanksgiving to the Father of lights, and the Giver of every good and perfect gift.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> SANCTITY<\/strong> OF<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong>. Society is purified. Every life is consecrated to God. There is no need any more for the law of ordinances, for all things are cleansed. “Holiness” is the law everywhere.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Common life<\/em>. <\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Domestic life<\/em>. <\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Religious life<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“Ah! when shall all men’s good
Be each man’s rule, and universal peace
Lie like a shaft of light across the land,
And like a lane of beams athwart the sea,
Thro’ all the circle of the golden year?”<\/p>\n

F.<\/p>\n

HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Zec 14:1-3<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

A sketch on bad men.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And thy spoil shall be divided,” etc. There are three facts here suggested concerning bad men.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> THEY<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> CAPABLE<\/strong> OF<\/strong> PERPETRATING<\/strong> THE<\/strong> GREATEST<\/strong> ENORMITIES<\/strong> ON<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> FELLOW<\/strong> MEN<\/strong>. “The city of Jerusalem shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished.” In the account given by Josephus of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, we have a record of enormities at which we might well stand aghast. Christ said, concerning this event, “There shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” “The particulars,” says Dr. Wardlaw, “here noted, are such as usually, it might be said invariably, attend the besieging, the capture, and the sacking of cities; especially when, as in this case, the assailing army has been exasperated by a long, harassing, and wasting defence. The entrance of the unpitying soldiery, the rifling of houses, the violation of women, the indiscriminate massacre, and the division of the spoil, are just what all expect, and what require no comment. And never were such scenes more frightfully realized than at the destruction of Jerusalem, when God in his providence, in judicial retribution, gathered all nations against the devoted city to battle.” “All nations,” a correct description of the army of Titus, the empire of Rome embracing a large proportion of the then known world, and this army consisting of soldiers of all the different nations which composed it. And, while such was to be the destruction brought upon the “city,” the desolation was to extend, and that in different ways, at short intervals, throughout “the land.” The fact that men are capable of perpetrating on their fellow men such enormities, shows:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Man’s apostasy from the laws of his spiritual nature. <\/em>To love supremely the supremely good, to do unto others what we would have others do unto us, to love and to be loved, seem to us to be truths inscribed upon the very constitution of the soul. They are instinctive truths. But in all such abominations as here recorded, all these are outraged. Men have fallen away from their own nature. Somehow or other they have become denaturalized.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The great work which the gospel has to do in our world. <\/em>The great mission of the gospel (and admirably adapted it is to its mission), is morally to renew human nature, to bring it back to its true self and its God. It has done so in millions of instances, it is doing so and will continue to do so until the present abominations shall be unknown amongst the race.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> WHATEVER<\/strong> ENORMITIES<\/strong> THEY<\/strong> PERPETRATE<\/strong>, THEY<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> EVERMORE<\/strong> INSTRUMENTS<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> HANDS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WORLD<\/strong>‘S GREAT<\/strong> RULER<\/strong>. The period in which these abominations were enacted is in the text called the “day of the Lord,” and he is represented as calling the Gentile armies to the work. “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished.” If we are to particularize the predicted destruction, and are not satisfied with figurative explanation, we may look to the conquest under Titus, as in some sort fulfilling the announcement. Rome at this time was the mistress of the world, and the army of Titus, who besieged and sacked the holy city, was composed of soldiers of all the nations. These all moved freely, unconscious of any Divine restraint; still they were but the “sword” of justice in his handmere instruments. God in his retributive procedure punishes the bad by the bad. <\/em>In this case:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. No injustice is done. <\/em>The men of Jerusalem deserved their fate. They “filled up the measure of their iniquity.” So it was of old with the Canaanites, who were exterminated by Joshua and his triumphant hoststhe aborigines deserved what they received. Joshua was but the sword of justice. No injustice therefore is done.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. There is no infringement of free agency. <\/em>Good men might revolt from inflicting such enormities upon their fellow creatures, but it is according to the wish of bad men. They go to it freely. It is the gratification of their malign nature. This is God’s retributive method, to punish the bad by the bad. Thus he makes the very wrath of bad men to praise him.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> THAT<\/strong> ALTHOUGH<\/strong> THEY<\/strong> ARE<\/strong> BUT<\/strong> INSTRUMENTS<\/strong> IN<\/strong> THE<\/strong> HANDS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> THE<\/strong> WORLD<\/strong>‘S RULER<\/strong>, HE<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> PUNISH<\/strong> THEM<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> DEEDS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> ENORMITY<\/strong>. “Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” That is, for example, he will fight against Rome, the instrument with which he inflicted just punishment upon the sinners at Jerusalem. By successive irruptions of the barbarous tribes of the north, the glory of Rome was extinguished, and its end hastened. Where is the justice of punishing men whom he employs to execute his own will? Two facts will answer this question.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. What they did was essentially bad<\/em>. Murder, plunder, rapine, etc; were all violations of his great moral laws, and repugnant to his holy nature.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. What they did was in accord with their own wills. <\/em>He never inspired them nor constrained them. They were free, and because they committed crimes of their own free accord, eternal justice required their punishment. Of the Divine government, the justice cried, “Awake, O sword!”<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. Do not let the abominations of war and the outrages on justice, truth, and humanity, which are rife in this country of ours, shake our faith in God. “The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice;” “The Lord sitteth upon the flood.”D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:4<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zec 14:5<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

God in relation to a suffering world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the cast, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley,” etc. The men in Jerusalem were in great suffering and imminent peril, and here is a figurative representation of the Almighty in relation to them.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> HE<\/strong> OBSERVES<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> TERRIBLE<\/strong> CONDITION<\/strong>. “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” On this Mount of Olives Jesus often stood, and from it he commanded a view of the holy city; on one occasion, from its brow, he beheld the city, and wept over it on account of its approaching doom. But the idea suggested here is that God observes men in all their calamities and dangers. His eye is on them. He watches them with the interest of a Father. This is especially the case with his people. <\/em>We are assured that his eye is ever upon the righteous. Job said, “He knoweth the way that I take.” Let us remember, in our greatest trials and sufferings, that he stands on the Mount of Olives. In standing there:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. He sees what we have to endure.<\/em><\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. He sees how we behave ourselves in our condition, <\/em>whether under our afflictions we are trustful, patient, and submissive, or otherwise; whether in our perils we are making an effort to escape. How comforting it is to feel that the eye of a tender, compassionate Father is ever on us, in all our sufferings, in this world of sorrow, trial, and dangers! “Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> HE<\/strong> MAKES<\/strong> A WAY<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> DELIVERANCE<\/strong>. “And the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley” “These verses,” says Dr. Henderson, “convey in language of the most beautiful poetical imagery, the assurance of the effectual means of escape that should be provided for the truly pious. We accordingly learn from Eusebius that on the breaking out of the Jewish war, the Christian Church at Jerusalem, in obedience to the warning of our Saviour (Mat 24:16<\/span>), fled to Pella, a city beyond Jordan, where they lived in safety. As the Mount of Olives lay in their way, it is represented as cleaving into two halves, in order to make a passage for them.” it is not necessary to suppose that the Mount of Olives was thus riven asunder. The idea is that the obstruction to their escape, though formidable as a mountain, should be removed. Christ had said, “Let them which be in Judaea flee unto the mountains,” etc. It was their duty, therefore, to do so. And here is promised the removal of every obstruction. The Almighty would give them every facility to escape to the refuge. This he does for our suffering race. He makes a way for their escape. He makes the crooked places straight, and the rough places smooth. The way for their escape from guilt, ignorance, and misery, which has been blocked up by mountains of difficulties, he has reade straight. The mountains have been cleft asunder, nay, removed. Christ is the <\/em>Way.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> HE<\/strong> PROVIDES<\/strong> A REFUGE<\/strong> FOR<\/strong> THEIR<\/strong> SAFETY<\/strong>. “And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah King of Judah.” Mark here three things.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. The scene of refuge. <\/em>“Azal.” Where is this “Azal”? No one knows. Its position is a matter of pure conjecture. Nor does it matter. It was some asylum to secure them from danger. God has provided a refuge for sinners. We are exhorted to flee to the Refuge set before us in the gospel.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The impulse of flight. <\/em>“Like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah King of Judah.”<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. The necessity of the flight. <\/em>“The Lord my God shall come.” Providential dispensations are often spoken of in the Scripture as the coming of the Lord. The destruction of Jerusalem is spoken of as his coming, and here it is assured as a certainty, the ruin was inevitable. “There is not a word,” says a modern expositor, “concerning this earthquake as spoken of in Scripture history.” The only other allusion to it occurs in the Book of Amos, who was amongst the herdmen of Tekoa, “which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah King of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash King of Israel, two years before the earthquake.” It must have been something extraordinary, unusually extensive and awful, when it is thus used to date a period, and, at the same time, as having occasioned such a flight from the destruction wrought by it as to render it a suitable comparison for the prophet here. Fear was to be their inspiration in flight. As the people fled panic stricken from the presence of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, they were to flee from the dangers at Jerusalem. “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. How thankful should we be to know that God has not deserted humanity in its sins and sorrows! His eye is on it. He has provided a Way for its escape, and a safe Refuge to which it should flee. Our world, bad as it is, is not a God-deserted world.D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zec 14:7<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Dark and bright periods in human life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” The word rendered “clear” is in the margin “precious,” and is in the plural. The word “dark” here is in the margin rendered “thickness.” The following translation by Dr. Henderson gives, I think, the meaning: “And it shall be in that day, that there shall not be the light of the precious orbs, but condensed darkness. But there shall be one day, it is known to Jehovah, when it shall not be day and night; for at the time of the evening there shall be light.” We have here two distinct periodsone of unmitigated distress, <\/em>the other of uninterrupted prosperity. <\/em><\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> HERE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A PERIOD<\/strong> OF<\/strong> UNMITIGATED<\/strong> DISTRESS<\/strong>. “Shall not be clear nor dark,” or, as it is rendered, “condensed darkness.” Dr. Keil gives the same idea as Dr. Henderson, “And it will come to pass on that day, there will not be light, the glorious ones will melt away.” This period of unmitigated calamity primarily refers, we have no doubt, to those long centuries of oppression, cruelty, mockery, and scorn, to which the Jewish people have been subjected ever since the destruction of Jerusalem. In the predictions of Joel (Joe 2:31<\/span>; Joe 3:15<\/span>) referring to the destruction of the holy city and the breaking up of the Jewish commonwealth, the period is referred to as a period when “the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood.” The history of the Jews, indeed, for eighteen centuries has been the history of one long starless night. Two remarks are suggested concerning this dark day.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Such a day is the hard destiny of some men. <\/em>It is so with individuals. <\/em>There are hundreds and thousands of men in every age and country who pass through life from its beginning to its close with scarcely a ray of hope or a beam of joy. Their life is a day of darkness. It is so with some nations. <\/em>The history of some nations and tribes is little less than a history of crushing oppression, bloody revolutions, and untold cruelties and sufferings. The precious orbs are seldom if ever seen in their political heavens.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Such a day is deserved by most men. <\/em>All men are sinners, and deserve this blackness of darkness forever. The very tendency of sin, in fact, is to quench every light in the firmament of the soul. Thank God, Christ has come a Light to the world, and into that light during our stay here we may all enter.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> HERE<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A PERIOD<\/strong> OF<\/strong> UNINTERRUPTED<\/strong> JOY<\/strong>. “But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night, but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light.” This is indeed a unique <\/em>day. Even when evening might be anticipated, “it shall be light.”<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Such a day as this is destined to dawn on every good man. <\/em>Heaven is a scene of light. No clouds of ignorance or suffering obstruct the rays, nor will the sun ever go down: “the Lord God is the Light thereof.”<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Such a day as this is destined to dawn on the world in the future. <\/em>Some expositors consider that the millennium is here pointed tothat long bright period when “all shall know the Lord from the least to the greatest.” This period is promised, and it must come; for “heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of his word shall fail to be accomplished.” When will it come? It is far off, I know. “It shall be known to the Lord;” “It is not for you to know the times and the seasons,” etc.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. Are there not dark <\/em>and bright <\/em>days in every good man’s life? There are days when he walks in darkness, when neither sun nor star appears; and there are days too when all is cloudless and bright. He needs the dark day to prepare him for the full appreciation and enjoyment of the light. As the earth requires the dark cold days of winter as well as the bright and genial days of summer, in order to prepare it to yield the fruits that man and beast require, so doth the human soul require periods of gloom and tempest as well as periods of brightness and calm.D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:8<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The gospel river.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.” The “former sea” here means the Dead Sea; the “hinder sea,” the Mediterranean. The great populations of the world lie towards the west of Jerusalem, and these are to be refreshed by “living waters.” Taking the passage as referring to the gospel, we will notice<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> NATURE<\/strong> AND<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> RISE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Its nature. <\/em>It is “living water.” Water is the most precious element in nature; it may be regarded as the source, the substance, and the sustenance of all life. But then it is not so precious as the gospel. The gospel is often referred to in Scripture as the river of life, the pure water <\/em>of life. It is a living water. Not a dead lake or stagnant pool, but a living stream.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Its rise. <\/em>“It shall go out from Jerusalem.” The gospel might be said to have commenced at Jerusalem. The apostles were commanded to commence there: “Beginning at Jerusalem.” In Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the river might be said to have broken forth.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> DIFFUSION<\/strong> AND<\/strong> CONTINUOUSNESS<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Its diffusion. <\/em>“Half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea.” It is to go from the east and from the west, from the sun’s rising to its setting. The gospel is for all climes. It is world wide in its provisions: adaptations, and claims.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Continuousness. <\/em>“Summer and winter.” In all seasons of human life, individually and corporately.<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> It is constant in the fitness <\/em>of its supplies for human wants. Men, through all changes, in all places, and through all times, want Divine knowledge, moral purity, heavenly forgiveness, fellowship with the Eternal. The man will never be born who will not require these things.<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> It is constant in the fulness <\/em>of its supplies for human wants. It is an inexhaustible river. After countless myriads have had their wants supplied, it remains deep and full as ever.<\/p>\n

(3)<\/strong> It is constant in the availableness <\/em>of its supplies for human wants. Faith is the great condition on which its blessings are communicated, and every man can believe. It is just that act of mind that comes within the power of the child and the adult, the learned and the rude, the savage and the sage, the bond and the free, to perform. How obvious, then, our duty and our interest!<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. How profoundly thankful should we be to Almighty Love for opening in our world such a “living” river as this! and how earnest should we be in our endeavours to let its waters flow into every heart and home and land, the world over!D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:9-11<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The coming moral reign of God on the earth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth,” etc. The subject is the coming moral reign of God on the earth. We say moral, <\/em>for physically he reigns everywhere. Morally, alas! his reign depends upon the will of men, and that will is hostile. As a moral Monarch, the Almighty has to be chosen by his subjects. Three things are suggested in the text as to his coming moral reign on the earth.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> IS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> BE<\/strong> EXTENSIVE<\/strong>. “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.” Although in the next verse “all the earth” is rendered “all the land,” meaning the land of Judaea, we are authorized to believe that he will one day reign over all the earth; that all souls will bow to his influence, as the ripened fields of autumn to the winds of heaven. His kingdom shall come, and his will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> IS<\/strong> TO<\/strong> BE<\/strong> EXCLUSIVE<\/strong>. “In that day there shall be one Lord, and his name One.” He will be regarded as the one King whose laws all study and obey. The great question of all souls will be, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” No other power will rule the soul where he becomes the moral Monarch.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> BE<\/strong> BENEFICENT<\/strong>. “All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem.” Taking Zec 14:10<\/span> and Zec 14:11<\/span>, we gather at least two beneficent results of his moral reign.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. The removal of all obstructions <\/em>to the river of truth. “The land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon,” etc. That is, from the northern to the southern boundary of Judaea. The levelling of this land would not only leave Jerusalem conspicuous, but allow the “living waters” to have free flow.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The elevation and establishment of the good. <\/em>Jerusalem is here represented, not only as being raised and made conspicuous, but as settling down and dwelling securely. “It shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place.” There shall be no more utter destruction; Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. Who will not pray, “Let thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”? Let God reign on earth, and all obstructions to the progress of truth will be removed, and his people will be exalted and established forever.D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12-15<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The elements by which the Divine government punishes sin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And this shall be the plague,” etc. In the third verse of this chapter we are told that “the Lord shall go forth and fight against those nations,” that is, against those nations comprehended in the armies which destroyed Jerusalem; and we have elsewhere endeavoured to illustrate how God punishes bad men by bad men. This passage is a further illustration of the idea. There are three elements of punishment which Jehovah is represented as employing in these versesphysical diseases, mutual animosity, and temporal losses.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> PHYSICAL<\/strong> DISEASES<\/strong>. “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.” “This description of the plague-stricken people,” says a modern author, “is shocking, but it is not more than what actually occurs” (see Defoe’s ‘Plague of London’). Kingsley says, “What so terrible as war? I will tell you what is ten times and ten thousand times more terrible than war, and that is outraged nature. Nature, insidious, inexpensive, silent, sends no roar of cannon, no glitter of arms, to do her work; she gives no warning note of preparation Man has his courtesies of war and his chivalries of war; he does not strike the unarmed man; he spares the woman and the child. But Nature spares neither woman nor child silently she strikes the sleeping child with as little remorse as she would strike the strong man with the musket or the pick axe in his hand.” One could scarcely imagine a more revolting condition of humanity than is here presenteda living skeleton, nearly all the flesh gone, the eyes all but blotted out, the tongue withered. Physical disease has ever been one of the instruments by which God has punished men in this worldpestilences, plagues, epidemics, and so on. But it is not merely a plague amongst the people, but also amongst the castle, as we see in Zec 14:15<\/span>. “And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.” These words remind us of Byron’s description of the destruction of Sennacherib’s host. “<\/p>\n

And there lay the steed with his nostril all wide,
But through it there rolled not the breath of his pride;
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> MUTUAL<\/strong> ANIMOSITY<\/strong>. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour.” The idea is, perhaps, that God would permit such circum stances to spring up amongst them as would generate in their minds mutual misunderstandings, malignities, quarrellings, and battlings. “They shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour.” “Every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” All the jealousies, envyings, contentions, that are rife in society may be regarded as the means by which sin is punished. Sin punishes sin, bad passions not only work misery, but are in themselves miseries.<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> TEMPORAL<\/strong> LOSSES<\/strong>. “And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem.” Not against Jerusalem. “And the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in abundance.” Earthly property men in their unrenewed state have always valued as the highest good. To attain it they devote all their powers with an unquenchable enthusiasm, and to hold it they are ever on the alert, and their grasp is unrelaxable and firm. To have it snatched from them is among their greatest calamities; and how often this occurs in society! By what we call accidents, by a commercial panic, legal flaws, chicaneries, and frauds, rich men frequently are deprived of their wealth, men who are born in palaces often die in a pauper’s hovel. “Riches take to themselves wings, and fly away.” This is another way in which Heaven punishes sin.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. See those elements of retribution working everywhere around us. They have worked through all history. Because they are common we do not note them as we ought. We connect them not with the Justice that reigns over the universe. Albeit they are penal forces.D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:16-19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The public worship of Jehovah.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“And it shall come to pass,” etc. Two remarks are suggested here concerning the public worship of Jehovah.<\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> IS<\/strong> A DUTY<\/strong> BINDING<\/strong> ON<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> PEOPLE<\/strong>. “And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of. all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” “Keil thinks the Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned because it was a feast of thanksgiving for the gracious protection of Israel, in its wanderings through the desert, and its introduction into the land flowing with milk and honey, whereby it foreshadows the blessedness to be enjoyed in the kingdom of God. but in rejecting Koehler’s observation that there is a reference to the feast as a harvest thanksgiving, he overlooks the fact that, if this harvest reference is not recognized, the punishment threatened in the next verse, the absence of rain, loses its appropriateness. The Feast of Tabernacles was meant to keep them in mind, amidst their abundant harvests, and well cared-for fields and vineyards, that as in the desert so still it was God who gave the increase. It was therefore a festival most suitable for all the nations to join in, by way of acknowledging that Jehovah was the God of nature throughout the earth, however various might be the aspects of nature with which they were familiar. Besides, there can be little doubt that by the time of Zechariah, and probably long before, this feast had become a kind of symbol of the ingathering of the nations (Joh 4:35<\/span>) ” (Dr. Dods). Whilst the thousands neglect public worship, not a few argue against it, they say it is uncalled for and unnecessary. In reply to this, we state, where there is genuine religion:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. Public worship is a natural development. <\/em>The being we love most we crave an opportunity for extolling; we want that all shall know his merits. If we are really religious, we love God supremely, and is it not natural to declare our affection in the presence of our fellow men?<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. Public worship is a happy development. <\/em>What delights the soul so much as to hear others praise the object we love the most? This at once gratifies the religious instinct and the social love. Every true worshipper in the great congregation can say it is a good thing to give praiseit is a happy thing.<\/p>\n

3<\/strong>. Public worship is a beneficent development. <\/em>There is nothing that tends so much to quicken and ennoble souls as worship, and nothing gives such a vital interest in one soul for another as public worship. In genuine public worship there is a close coming together of souls, an interblending of the deepest thoughts and the purest sympathies, a kind of spiritual amalgamation. “We should, therefore, not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.”<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> ITS<\/strong> NEGLECT<\/strong> EXPOSES<\/strong> TO<\/strong> TERRIBLE<\/strong> CALAMITIES<\/strong>. “And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” Two things are to be observed here.<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>. The greatness of the punishment. <\/em>“Upon them shall be no rain.” Now, the absence of rain involves every temporal evil you can think offamine, pestilence, loss of physical enjoyment, loss of health, loss of life.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong>. The fitness of the punishment.<\/em><\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> To the offence. “The withholding of the rain,” says Dr. Dods,” was not only one of the ways by which idolatry and apostasy were punished under the theocracy, but it was the appropriate punishment of those who refused to acknowledge Jehovah as the Giver of the harvest. This suiting of punishment to offence is a marked characteristic of God’s government, and should probably be more used in education than it is (e.g.<\/em> by secluding for a time, from all intercourse with his companions, the boy who has told a lie, and so on). Dante has largely utilized the principle in his great poem. In his vision of the realms of punishment he saw tyrants immersed in blood; gluttons exposed in all their pampered softness to a sleety tempest of cold, discoloured, stinking bail; the proud bending forever under heavy burdens; schismatics, who have rent the Church, themselves cleft asunder; those who had pried into the future, and professed prophetic foresight, with faces reversed, unable to see their own way”<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> To the offender. <\/em>The idea of not having rain would not, perhaps, terrify the Egyptians, for they had the Nile, which supplied them with abundance of water. Hence a plague is threatened to them, and no word to them was more terrible than the word “plague.” They had not forgotten the ten plagues inflicted on them in the time of Moses. It was a land of plagues. Thus God punishes. But mark, the punishment was to come because of the neglect of public worship, and the neglect of public worship is punished:<\/p>\n

(a) <\/strong>Now; by the loss of the highest spiritual enjoyments. <\/p>\n

(b) <\/strong>Hereafter; by the reproaching of conscience and the banishment from all good.D.T.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20<\/span><\/strong>, <\/strong>Zec 14:21<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The bright future of the world-the reign of holiness.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses,” etc. Looking at the passage as a portraiture of the future of the world, we are reminded that holiness will be its grand characteristic. There may be, and no doubt there will be, other thingsgreat material and mental prosperitybut holiness will be its salient feature. The holiness will be universal. <\/p>\n

I.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> EMBRACE<\/strong> THE<\/strong> AFFAIRS<\/strong> OF<\/strong> COMMON<\/strong> LIFE<\/strong>. “In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses.” It was common amongst ancient nations to have bells on horses for use or ornament, or perhaps for both. It is said that in Alexander’s funeral procession the horses had gold bells attached to their cheek straps. “Holiness unto the Lord,” under the Law of Moses had been inscribed on the frontlet of the high priest, and nowhere else; now it was to be even on the bells of the horses, the commonest things of secular life. In this age no horses will be employed in wars and races, they will only be employed for right purposes and in a right way. The men who ride and drive them in state will be holy men, the men who use them in agriculture will be holy men. Horses, which for ages have been unrighteously treated and unrighteously used, in that day will be properly treated and properly employed.<\/p>\n

II.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> EMBRACE<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> DOMESTIC<\/strong> CONCERNS<\/strong>. “Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts.” The idea is that holiness will extend even to the minutest concerns of domestic life, the members of families will be religious. The very pots in which the priests cooked their food should be as sacred as the bowls that caught the victim’s blood. Observe<\/p>\n

(1)<\/strong> that the distinction between the sacred and secular is to be abolished; but<\/p>\n

(2)<\/strong> not by separation from the world, nor by making all things secular, but by making all things holy, by carrying into all occupations the spirit and delight of God’s presence. “‘Holiness to the Lord’ is not to he obliterated from the high priest’s mitre, so that he might feel as little solemnized when putting on his mitre and entering the holiest of all, as if he were going into his stable to put the collar on his horse; but when he puts the collar on his horse and goes to his day’s work or recreation, he is to be as truly and lovingly as one with God as when with incense and priestly garments he enters the holy of holies” (Dr. Dods).<\/p>\n

III.<\/strong> IT<\/strong> WILL<\/strong> EMBRACE<\/strong> ALL<\/strong> RELIGIOUS<\/strong> CHARACTERS<\/strong>. “In that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.” “By ‘Canaanite,'” says Dr. Henderson, “is meant ‘merchant.’ The Phoenicians who inhabited the northern part of Canaan were the most celebrated merchants of antiquity. The word may fairly be regarded as standing for mercenary menmen animated by the mercenary spirit.” Such men are ever to be found in connection with religion. The old prophets bewailed this spirit. It was found in the earlier ages of the Christian Church. Men who considered “gain as godliness,” the Canaanite or the merchant, do not necessarily belong to mercantile life, but to other avocations as well, and even to the priestly life. Perhaps the mercenary spirit is as rife in priests and ministers now as ever. But in the coming age there will be no more the Canaanitethe mercenary manin the house of the Lord; all will be holy.<\/p>\n

CONCLUSION<\/strong>. Hail, blessed age! May the chariot of time quicken its speed, and bring this blessed age to this world of depravity and sin!<\/p>\n

Note: This closes our sketches on the prophecy of Zechariah. We confess that going through it seriatim <\/em>we have found in various passages, expressions and allusions to which we were utterly unable to put any clear and intelligible interpretation. There is a haze more or less over the whole book, and our endeavour has been, wherever we have caught a glimpse of a great, practical truth, to bring it out and work it into the service of soul culture. Though we may have failed to give the true meaning to many passages, we know that we have not intentionally misinterpreted any utterance, or turned a phrase or a word to any theological or ecclesiastical predilection, if indeed any such we have.D.T. <\/p>\n

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

5. FINAL CONFLICT AND TRIUMPH OF GODS KINGDOM<\/p>\n

Zechariah 14<\/span><\/p>\n

A. A great and at first successful Assault is made upon the Holy City<\/em> (Zec 14:1-2<\/span>). B. Then God miraculously interposes, grants Escape, and after a mingled Condition of Things gives a final and glorious Deliverance<\/em> (Zec 14:3-7<\/span>). C. A Stream of Salvation pours over the whole Land<\/em> (vers.811). D. The Enemies are chastised<\/em> (Zec 14:12-15<\/span>). E. The Remnant of Them turn to the Lord<\/em> (Zec 14:16-19<\/span>). E. Jerusalem becomes thoroughly Holy<\/em> (Zec 14:20-21<\/span>).<\/p>\n

1 Behold, a day cometh to Jehovah,1<\/p>\n

And thy spoil is divided in the midst of thee.<\/p>\n

2 And I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to battle;<\/p>\n

And the city shall be taken and the houses2 rifled,<\/p>\n

And the women shall be ravished;3<\/p>\n

And half the city shall go forth into captivity,
And the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.<\/p>\n

3 And Jehovah shall go forth and fight against those nations,<\/p>\n

As in4 his day of battle, in the day of conflict.<\/p>\n

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives<\/p>\n

Which is before Jerusalem on the east; And the Mount of Olives shall be split in the centre
Eastward and westward, a very great valley,5<\/p>\n

And half of the mountain shall recede towards the north,
And its (other) half toward the south.<\/p>\n

5 And ye shall flee6 to the valley of my mountains,7<\/p>\n

For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal,
And ye shall flee as ye fled before the earthquake,
In the days of Uzziah the king of Judah;
And Jehovah my God shall come, All the saints with thee!8<\/p>\n

6 And it shall come to pass in that day,<\/p>\n

It will not be light, the glorious9<\/p>\n

will withdraw themselves.<\/p>\n

7 And the day shall be one,<\/p>\n

It shall be known to Jehovah,
Not day and not night,
And at evening time there shall be light<\/p>\n

8 And it shall be in that day,<\/p>\n

Living waters shall go out from Jerusalem,
Half of them to the eastern10 sea,<\/p>\n

And half of them to the western sea,
In summer and in winter shall it be.<\/p>\n

9 And Jehovah shall be king over all the land;<\/p>\n

In that day Jehovah shall be one11 and his name one.<\/p>\n

10 All the land shall be changed like the plain<\/p>\n

From Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem,
And she shall be high,12 and dwell in her place<\/p>\n

From Benjamins gate to the place of the first gate,
To the corner gate,
And from the tower of Hananeel to the kings wine-presses.<\/p>\n

11 And they shall dwell in her,<\/p>\n

And there shall be no more curse,13<\/p>\n

And Jerusalem shall sit secure.14<\/p>\n

12 And this shall be the plague<\/p>\n

With which Jehovah will smite all the peoples15<\/p>\n

Who have fought against Jerusalem;
His16 flesh shall consume away while he stands upon his feet,<\/p>\n

And his eyes shall consume away in their sockets,
And his tongue shall consume away in their mouth.<\/p>\n

13 And it shall be in that day that<\/p>\n

There shall be among them a great confusion17 from Jehovah,<\/p>\n

And they shall seize each his neighbors hand,
And his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor;<\/p>\n

14 And Judah also shall fight at18 Jerusalem,<\/p>\n

And the riches of all the nations around shall be gathered,
Gold and silver and apparel in great abundance.<\/p>\n

15 And so19 shall be the plague of the horse,<\/p>\n

Of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass,
And of all the cattle that shall be in these camps,
Even as this plague.<\/p>\n

16 And it shall be that<\/p>\n

All that is left of the nations which came against Jerusalem
Shall20 go up from21 year to year<\/p>\n

To worship the King, Jehovah of Hosts,
And to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

17 And it shall be that whoso of the22 families of the earth<\/p>\n

Shall not go up to Jerusalem
To worship the King, Jehovah of Hosts,
Upon them there shall be no rain.<\/p>\n

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not,<\/p>\n

Upon23 them there shall be none,<\/p>\n

[Upon them] shall be the plague
With which Jehovah shall plague the nations
Which go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

19 This shall be the sin24 of Egypt,<\/p>\n

And the sin of all the nations
Which go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

20 In that day there shall be on the bells25 of the horses,<\/p>\n

Holiness to Jehovah,
And the pots in the house of Jehovah
Shall be as the bowls before the altar.<\/p>\n

21 And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah<\/p>\n

Shall be holiness to Jehovah of Hosts.
And all who sacrifice shall come
And take of them and sacrifice therein,
And there shall no more be a Canaanite26<\/p>\n

In the house of Jehovah of Hosts in that day.<\/p>\n

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This concluding chapter of the Prophet has been very variously interpreted. Calvin, Grotius, and others supposed it to refer to the times of the Maccabees, which for a variety of reasons is scarcely possible. Marckius, following Cyril and Theodoret, applied its opening verses to the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus, and with him agree Lowth, Adam Clarke, and Henderson; but the circumstances here stated do not correspond with the facts of history, nor if they did, could the former part of the chapter be violently sundered from its plain connection with the latter part. The later criticism (Hitzig, Knobel, Maurer, Ewald, Bertheau, etc.), refer the passage to the period immediately preceding the Babylonish exile and the catastrophe then threatening Jerusalem; and when reminded of the contrast between the prediction and the facts, appeal to the ethical aim and conditional nature of prophecy as fully accounting for this, But even admitting their principle, it does not apply here, for this chapter has nothing to say of sin and judgment, of repentance and conversion on the part of the covenant people, but only of their dreadful trials and glorious deliverance. Such a prediction, addressed to Judah in the last decennium before the exile, could have exerted no healthful influence, and certainly the glowing statements of the latter part of it have no counterpart in any experience of the restored people. It only remains then either with Wordsworth, Blayney, Newcome, Moore, Cowles, etc., to refer it to a period yet future, or with Hengstenberg, Keil, etc., to suppose that it describes in general terms the whole development of the Church of God from the commencement of the Messianic era to its close. In either case the chapter must be taken as figurative and not literal. The cleaving of the Mount of Olives in two for the purpose of affording escape to fugitives from Jerusalem; the flowing of two perpetual streams from the holy city in opposite directions; the levelling of the whole land in order to exalt the temple-mountain; the yearly pilgrimage of all nations of the earth to Jerusalem; and the renewal of the old sacrifices of the Mosaic ritual; these are plainly symbolical statements, but not therefore by any means unmeaning or useless. The chapter does not stand alone in the Scriptures. Parallels are to be found in Isaiah (6566), Ezekiel (3839), and Daniel (12), as well as in the closing book of the New Testament.
The Prophet begins with the account of an attack made upon the holy city by all nations, who, instead of being destroyed (like Gog and Magog in Ezekial) before getting possession of the holy city, seize and plunder it and carry away half its population, and then are met and thwarted by Jehovah, who provides escape for his people. This feature of escape inclines one to regard the passage as an ideal picture of all the conflicts of the Church with its foes.<\/p>\n

(a.) Zec 14:1-2<\/span>. The Attack<\/em>. Zec 14:1<\/span>. Behold? a day cometh<\/strong>, etc. A day to Jehovah=one belonging to Him, appointed for the manifestation of his power and glory (cf. Isa 2:12<\/span>). The final result makes this abundantly plain. Thy spoil<\/strong>, etc. The Prophet addresses the city and says that her booty, not (as T. V. Moore, following the Targum, strangely imagines) that which she takes, but that which is taken from her, is leisurely divided among the conquerors in the midst of the city. The details implied in this general announcement are stated in the next verse.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:2<\/span>. And I will gatherravished<\/strong>. Jehovah collected these nations just as He roused Pharaoh to pursue Israel (Exo 14:4<\/span>), in the same way and with the same result. The divine purpose presides over all human wrath and wickedness, and gains its ends, not only in spite, but often by means, of them. The rifling of the houses and dishonoring of the women are expressions taken from Isa 13:16<\/span>, where they are used in reference to Babylon. And half of the city<\/strong>, etc. Only a part of the inhabitants are to be driven into exile, the rest remain. It was different at the Chaldan conquest of Jerusalem, for then the greater portion were carried away, and afterwards even the remnant that was left (2Ki 25:11<\/span>). The verse cannot therefore refer to that subjugation. Nor can it be applied to the overthrow of the holy city by Titus, who neither had all nations<\/strong> under his banner, nor left a half of the population in possession of their homes.<\/p>\n

(b.) Zec 14:3-7<\/span>. The Deliverance<\/em>. Zec 14:3<\/span>. Jehovah goeth forthbattle<\/strong>. God Himself goes forth against these foes, and fights for his people as He is accustomed to do in a day of battle. The latter clause does not seem to refer particularly to the conflict at the Red Sea (Jerome, Hengstenberg), but rather to the Lords general course, as shown in many former instances (Keil, Khler), Jos 10:14-42<\/span>; Jos 23:8<\/span>; Jdg 4:15; 2Ch 20:15<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:4<\/span>. His feet standsouth<\/strong>. The situation of the Mount of Oliveswhich is before Jerusalem<\/strong>is not added as a geographical designation, which surely would be needless, but to indicate its suitableness for the position of one who intended to relieve the holy city. His feet touch it, and the effect is that of an earthquake (Psa 68:8<\/span>; Nah 1:5<\/span>). The mountain is split through the middle latitudinally, so that the two halves fill back from each other, one toward the north, the other toward the south. The consequence would be the formation of a very great valley<\/strong> running east and west. To one fleeing hastily from Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives presented an obstacle of no small importance, as it did to David once (2Sa 15:20<\/span>); and hence the provision here made for removing the difficulty.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:5<\/span>. And ye shall fleeJudah<\/strong>. The people will flee into the valley of my mountains<\/strong>, not the Tyropon (Jerome, etc.), but into the valley produced by the two halves of Olivet, which are properly called by Jehovah his<\/em>, since He had just given them their separate existence (so nearly all critics). The reason why the fugitives should flee thither is that this level opening extends to Azal<\/strong>, which by almost all expositors, ancient and modern, is considered a proper name denoting a place near Jerusalem, but no trace of any such place now exists. Hengstenberg identifies it with the Beth-Ezel of Mic 1:11<\/span>, and explains its meaning as=standing still, ceasing, so that what is promised is that the valley shall extend to a place which in accordance with its name will afford to the fugitives a cessation<\/em> of danger. Khler follows Symm. and Jerome in rendering it ad proximum<\/em>, which he renders to very near, i. e<\/em>., to the point where the fugitives actually are. It seems simpler to suppose that the term refers to a place east of Olivet, well known in the Prophets day, which by its position would show the valley to be long enough to furnish all needful shelter and escape for the fleeing people. The swiftness of the flight is expressed by comparison to that occasioned by the earthquake in the days of Uzziah<\/strong>, which is referred to in Amo 1:1<\/span>, but of which we have no other information. Some think that the fleeing arises from fear of being swallowed up with their foes by the earthquake (Hengstenber, Keil); but it is more natural to refer it to fear of their enemies. The added clause, and Jehovah my God comes<\/strong>; etc., with the suffix of the last word in the second person, indicates the lively joy with which the Prophet hails the appearance of his God, so that as he sees in vision the shining retinue of his saints, he passes from indirect to direct address, and exclaims, all the saints with thee!<\/strong> The saints here, according to the analogy of other passages (Deu 33:2-3<\/span>; Dan 7:9-10<\/span>; Mat 25:31<\/span>; Rev 19:14<\/span>), are the holy angels, and not (Vitringa) both holy angels and holy men.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6<\/span>. And it shall be<\/strong>, etc. The former part of this verse is very plain, but the last two words are obscure. The Keri represents an early attempt to escape the difficulty by altering the text, giving instead of . This was adopted by the old versions, which, besides, either assumed that was synonymous with , cold, or maintained that the true reading was .Then, rendering the former noun ice<\/em>, they got the sense, It will not be light, but (there will be) cold and ice (Targum, Peshito, Symm., Itala, and so Luther). Some later critics adopting the same text coordinate the three nouns, and bring them all under the negation, thus, There will not be light and cold and ice, i. e<\/em>., no alternation of them (Ewald, Bunsen, Umbreit). But this is a very poor sense, unsustained by any analogy in Scripture, and without force in the connection. It is far better to adhere to the Chethib, in which the only grammatical difficulty is the combination of a feminine noun with a verb having a masculine suffix, which surely is not insuperable in Hebrew. means here as elsewhere precious things<\/em>, with the additional idea of splendor or brilliancy, as in Job 31:26<\/span>, where the moon is said to walk =in brightness or magnificently. The mention of light<\/strong> just before suggests the thought of the stars or heavenly bodies in general, as what is intended by the glorious things. The verb then is taken in its primary sense, to be contracted<\/em> (h. to curdle, to congeal), here=withdraw themselves<\/strong>. The whole verse then indicates a day of darkness. The lights of the earth will all disappear. What the former clause states in plain prose, the latter expresses more figuratively.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:7<\/span>. And the day shall be one<\/strong>, etc. This verse continues the description of the sorrowful time just mentioned. The day shall be one<\/em> in the sense of solitary, unique, peculiar. See the Lexicons. It is known to Jehovah<\/em>, and by implication to no one else, in its true nature. Not day and not night<\/strong>=not an admixture of both, but neither, not a at all, because the lights of heaven being put out, there are no means of determining what is day and what night. The whole order of nature is miraculously reversed. The expression at evening time<\/strong>, etc., is the antithesis of the declaration in Amo 8:9<\/span>, I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I wilt bring darkness upon the land in clear day. At the time when according to the natural course of events darkness should set in, a bright light dawns. Some expositors compare with this verse Rev 21:23-25<\/span>, but the two passages are radically different. It is true not only at the end of all things, but at many a previous period in the history of the Church, that at evening time it becomes light. Some critics give the sense thus stated by Professor Cowles, There is a gradation through three distinct stages: first, utter darkness; then, a dim twilight, like that of an eclipse; then, at the close, when you might expect darkness soon to cover the earth, lo, the effulgence of full and glorious day (M. P<\/em>., 374).<\/p>\n

(c.) Zec 14:8-11<\/span>. Blessings from Jerusalem diffuse themselves over the whole land.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:8<\/span>. Living waters shall<\/strong>, etc. A lively image of the abundance and preciousness of spiritual blessings, as is evident from analogous Scriptures and from the fact that here the water flows in two opposite directions at once, and that it runs not only in winter<\/strong>, but in summer<\/strong>, when usually in Palestine the streams are altogether dry. These waters come not from occasional rainfalls, but are living<\/strong>, i. e<\/em>., proceed from perennial fountains, and so cover the whole land from the Dead Sea lo the Mediterranean with fertility and beauty. They issue from Jerusalem<\/strong>, the central point of the kingdom of God under the Old Testament, and here therefore appropriately standing for the Christian Church, which is that centre under the New Testament.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:9<\/span>. And Jehovah shall be king<\/strong>, etc. Most expositors render over all the earth<\/em>, but the connection before and after refers certainly to Palestine, and there seems no reason for departing from the usual rendering, and the less, inasmuch as beyond doubt Canaan here stands as a type of the kingdom of God in its fullest extent in this world. Of course the meaning is that He will be king not only potentia<\/em> or de jure<\/em>, but actu el de facto<\/em>. In this sense He shall be one<\/strong>, i. e<\/em>., recognized as such, and the same as to his name<\/strong>=outward manifestation of his nature. Not only will gross polytheism come to an end, but also that more refined system which regards all forms of worship as different but equally legitimate modes of worshipping the one Divine Being.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:10<\/span>. All the landwine-presses<\/strong>. The whole land is to be leveled to a plain in order that Jerusalem may be elevated, and then the holy city is to be restored to its former grandeur. The article is emphatic in the plain<\/strong>, which in Hebrew always denotes the Arabah or Ghor, the largest and most celebrated of all the plains of Juda, the great valley extending from Lebanon to the farther side of the Dead Sea. Geba<\/strong> was on the northern frontier of Judah (cf. 2Ki 23:8<\/span>). Rimmon<\/strong>, distinguished from two other Rimmons on the north (Jos 19:13<\/span>; Jdg 20:45<\/span>), by the added clause south of Jerusalem<\/strong>, was a city on the border of Edom, given up by Judah to the Simeonites (Jos 15:32<\/span>; Jos 19:7<\/span>). In consequence of this depression of all the surrounding country, Jerusalem becomes high<\/strong>. The capital seated on her hills shines conspicuous as the only elevation in a very wide region. Of course the physical elevation thus miraculously caused is only figurative of Jerusalems spiritual exaltation. An exact parallel is found in the repeated and remarkable prediction of Isaiah (2: 2) and Micah (4:1), in which, however, no leveling takes place, but the temple-mountain is so elevated that it overtops all the mountains of the earth. Professor Cowles connects the plain<\/em> closely with the two following words so as to get the sense like the plain from Geba to Rimmon; but there was no such plain,the whole territory between these points being hilly in the extreme. The exaltation of Jerusalem is followed by a complete recovery from the ruin brought upon it by the capture and plunder mentioned in Zec 14:1-2<\/span>. The city shall dwell<\/strong> =on its ancient site(cf. 12:6), and have its old boundaries. These, as they are given here, cannot be determined with certainty. The last clause, From the towerwine-presses<\/strong> ( being supplied before ), is generally understood to give the extent north and south, the tower of Hanameel being at the northeast corner of the city (Neh 3:1<\/span>; Neh 12:39<\/span>), and the wine-presses<\/strong> in the royal gardens at the south side (Neh 3:15<\/span>). As to the former clauses, the starting-point is Benjamins gate<\/strong>, whence some suppose that the line ran eastward to the first gate<\/strong>, i. q<\/em>., old gate, (Neh 3:6<\/span>), and westward to the corner gate<\/strong> (2Ki 14:13<\/span>),the gate of Benjamin being on this supposition in the middle of the northern wall (Hengstenberg, Keil). Others with less probability make the corner gate simply a more precise definition of the place of the first gate (Hitzig, Kliefoth). It is to be hoped that the topographical explorations at present in progress on the site of Jerusalem will shed such light upon the whole subject as will make plain what now can he only conjecturally determined. Still, whatever may be the precise force of terms here used, the general sense is clear. The city shall have its former limits.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:11<\/span>. And they shall dwellsecure<\/strong>. Instead of going out either as captives or fugitives, the inhabitants shall dwell securely and have no reason to dread further hostile attacks (Isa 65:19<\/span>). The ground of this security is the exemption from the curse, the dreadful ban<\/em> which always follows sin (Jos 6:18<\/span>); and the cessation of this implies that the people are a holy nation. This clause is used (Rev 22:3<\/span>) in the description of the holy city, the new Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

(d.) Zec 14:12-15<\/span>. The destruction of the hostile nations. The Prophet here pauses in his account of the blessings destined for the purified Church, to set forth more fully the punishment of the ungodly.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12<\/span>. This will be the plaguemonth.<\/strong> according to usage always denotes an infliction from the hand of God. The stroke here is the most terrible that can be conceived,the whole frame rotting away even while the man stands upon his feet<\/strong>, i. e<\/em>., is alive. To emphasize still more the condition of these living corpses, the Prophet adds the rotting of the eyes which had spied out the nakedness of the city of God, and of the tongue which had blasphemed God and his people. The singular suffixes are of course to be taken distributively.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:13<\/span>. A great confusion from Jehovah<\/strong>. Another means of destruction is civil discord. The allusion appears to be to a panic terror causing such confusion that each turns his hand upon the other. Instances occur in Israelitish history, Jdg 7:22; 1Sa 14:20<\/span> (and behold, every mans sword against his neighbor, and there was a very great =confusion), 2Ch 20:23<\/span>. Seize the hand denotes a hostile grasp, and the next clause graphically depicts the effort of the assailant to give a home thrust.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:14<\/span>. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem<\/strong>, etc. An old and widely accepted view translates the final words of the first clause, against<\/em> Jerusalem (Targum, Jerome, Kimchi, Luther, Calvin, Cocceius, and most of the moderns). But this is so flatly against the context, that it must be rejected, even though it be admitted that after usually points out the object of attack. In one case at least (Exo 17:8<\/span>), the preposition has a local sense, and this is true also of Isa 30:32<\/span>, according to Ewalds explanation of the Kethib in that passage. We therefore understand the clause as teaching that Judah=the whole covenant people, will take part in the conflict and carry it on at Jerusalem (LXX., Markius, Hengstenberg, Kleifoth, Keil, Khler). The consequence of this will be the overthrow of the foes and the capture of all their costly possessions. Apparel<\/strong>. As fashions in the East did not and do not change as they do with us, garments of all kinds were kept in great number, and constituted a large part of oriental wealth (Job 27:16<\/span>, Mat 6:19<\/span>, Jam 5:2<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:15<\/span>. And sothe plague of the horse<\/strong>, etc. This verse amplifies the crime and punishment, since it shows the guilt of these foes to be such that even their possessions are overtaken by the divine curse. The case<\/strong> is illustrated by the example of Achan, whose oxen and sheep and asses were burned, along with himself and his children (Jos 7:24<\/span>).<\/p>\n

(e.) Zec 14:16-19<\/span>. The remnant of the heathen shall be converted.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:16<\/span>. All that is lefttabernacles<\/strong>. The prophet states, with an evident allusion to Isa 66:23<\/span>, that those of the heathen who are not destroyed will all go up yearly to the sanctuary of Jehovah to observe one of the great feasts. This, of course, is figurative, as the most intrepid literalist will scarcely maintain that all nations could by any possibility accomplish such a feat. Henderson seeks to avoid the difficulty by supposing that they will go up in the person of their representatives. But even this ingenious device fails to meet the terms used by Isa 50:10<\/span>, where all flesh is said to come every Sabbath and every new moon. The verse is simply a striking method of depicting the entrance of the heathen into the kingdom of God. Why is the feast of tabernacles specified? Not because it occurred in autumn, which is the best season of the year for travelling (Theodoret, Grotius, Rosenmller); nor because this feast was the holiest and most joyful (Koster, V. Ortenburg, Pressel); nor because of its relation to the ingathering of the harvest (Khler); nor because such a festival could be observed without any compromise of the principles of the New Dispensation (Henderson); but rather in view of its interesting historical relations (Dachs, C. B. Michaelis, Hengstenberg). It was a feast of thanksgiving for the gracious protection afforded by the Lord during the pilgrimage of his people through the desert, and for their introduction into tire blessings of the land of Canaan. In like manner the nations will celebrate the goodness which has brought them through their tedious and perilous wanderings in this life to the true and everlasting kingdom of peace and rest. Carrying out this figurative representation, the prophet adds a penalty to be inflicted upon all absentees.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:17<\/span>. Whoso of the familiesno rain<\/strong>. Rain seems to be mentioned as one of the principal blessings of God, that by which the fruitfulness is produced which occasions the joy of the harvest. It therefore appropriately stands here to represent the whole class of providential favors. Compare the notes on 10:1. It shall be withheld from those who fail to fulfill their duties to Him. See a similar threat, upon Israel, in Deu 11:16-17<\/span>. Pressel calls attention to the fine use of the word family<\/em> in this verse in connection with Jehovah<\/em> as king, indicating that then the various nations of the earth shall be considered as so many families of the one people of God.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:18<\/span>. And if the family of Egypt go not up<\/strong>, etc. The menace of the preceding verse is repeated with especial application to Egypt. Many have sought the reason of this particular specification in the natural peculiarities of Egypt, which, being indebted for its fertility not to rain but to the Nile, might seem to be exempt from the threatened drought. But surely, apart from other considerations, this has no force nor application, when it is remembered that even the Nile is dependent upon rains at its source. It is far more natural to attribute the mention of Egypt to its historical relations to Israel as their hereditary foe. The old enemy of the Church shall either join the procession Zion-ward, or else feel the retributive curse.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:19<\/span>. This shall be the sin of Egypt, i This, namely, that no rain falls on them.<\/strong> Hence many adopt the version of in the English Bible, punishment<\/em> (Targum, Calvin, Henderson), and appeal to Lam 3:38<\/span>; Lam 4:6<\/span>, Isa 40:2<\/span>. But it is at least doubtful if the word ever has this sense (see on Lam 4:6<\/span>), and accordingly the difficulty is avoided by taking it=sin, including its consequences (Hengstenberg, Keil, Khler). The inseparable connection between sin and punishment is well expressed in Num 32:23<\/span>. The foregoing passage does not require us to believe that at the period spoken of there will still be godless heathen who refuse to acknowledge and worship Jehovah. It may be simply a rhetorical enforcement of the thought that all ungodliness will then entirely cease.<\/p>\n

(f.) Zec 14:20-21<\/span>. Jerusalem becomes thoroughly holy.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20<\/span>. There shall he on the bellsaltar<\/strong>, , variously rendered by ancient authorities, is now acknowledged to mean bells<\/em>, which were suspended from horses and mules for the sake of ornament. The phrase inscribed upon these, Holiness to Jehovah<\/strong>, is that which was engraved upon the diadem of the high, priest (Exo 28:36<\/span>). This does not mean that these bells should be employed for religious worship, or used to make sacred vessels (Jewish Critics, Cyril, Grotius); nor that the horses and other means of warfare should be consecrated to the Lord (C. B. Michaelis, Hitzig, Ewald, Maurer); but that the distinction between sacred and profane should cease (Calvin, Hengstenberg, Keil, etc.). Even the smallest outward things, such as have no connection with worship, will be as holy as those which formerly were dedicated by a special consecration to Jehovah. Of course this involves the cessation of the Levitical Economy. An advance upon this thought is contained in the second clause. Not only shall everything profane become holy, but the different degrees of holiness shall cease. The pots<\/strong> used for boiling the sacrificial flesh shall be just as holy as the sacred bowls<\/strong> which received the blood of the piacular victims. The two kinds of utensils stood at opposite points of the scale of sanctity; to put them on the same level was to say that all would not only be holy, but alike holy. Calvin on this passage cites with ridicule the opinion of Theodore!, that the former part of the verse was fulfilled when Helena, the mother of Constantine, adorned the trappings of a horse with a nail of the cross! Such trifling was too much even for Jerome.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:21<\/span>. And every potin that day<\/strong>. Here the thought is carried yet farther. Not only shall the temple-pots be equal to sacrificial bowls, but every common pot in the city and throughout the land, will become as sacred as the utensils of the temple, and be freely used by all for sacrificial purposes. The substance of the thought is the same, only more emphatic. This now is repeated in the closing words,no more a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah<\/strong>. does not mean a merchant<\/em>, as in Job 40:6<\/span>, Pro 31:24<\/span> (Targum, Aquila, Jerome, Grotius, Bunsen, Hitzig), for there are no indications that traders in Old Testament times frequented the holy courts for traffic; nor literal Canaanites by birth, such as Gibeonites and Nethinim, who were employed in the lower functions of the temple service (Drusius, V. Hoffman, Kliefoth), for these classes lost none of their former esteem after the restoration; but the term is used as an emblematic designation of godless members of the covenant nation. Canaan was cursed among Noahs children, and his descendants were under the ban (Deu 7:2<\/span>; Deu 20:16-17<\/span>). To say that these should no more be found in the Lords house, is simply to say that all its frequenters should be righteous and holy. Professor Cowles says, Canaanite was the common Hebrew word for trafficker, merchant,a business in bad repute among the Hebrews because so much associated with fraud and deceit. See Hos 12:7-8<\/span>. I am quite unwilling to believe that the voice of inspiration put such a stigma upon a necessary and honorable occupation as this explanation implies. Besides, to say that the love of filthy lucre shall no more pollute the sanctuary, is far less than to say that no form of sin of whatever kind shall be found there. Further, such a view is excluded by the obvious analogy between these two closing verses of Zechariah and the statements in the concluding passages of the Apocalypse, where it is plain that universal holiness is promised as the characteristic feature of the kingdom of God in its final consummation.<\/p>\n

THEOLOGICAL AND MORAL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

1. As this chapter is by most sound interpreters admitted to be either as yet wholly unfulfilled, or else an ideal sketch of the experiences of centuries extending from the beginning to the end of the Christian dispensation, there is, of course, considerable vagueness in the view taken of its details. This, however, is no valid objection to its place in the canon. Prophecy was never intended to be simply history written in advance. Had it been such, its own ends would have been defeated. Its obscurity prior to fulfillment is a sure evidence of its genuineness. But the broad outlines which defy literal explanation, yet serve to indicate great principles, to disclose the springs of Gods moral government, and to furnish useful hints for the guidance of his people, warning them against undue expectations and yet furnishing a sure basis for a reasonable and holy hope. Pictures of siege, assault, capture, plunder, and exile, as sure to occur in the future, forbid the least intelligent reader from forgetting that he belongs to the Church Militant, or from expecting a calm, steady, peaceful, equable advance of Zion to its destined prevalence over the earth. On the contrary, they show that trials of faith and patience must be encountered; that at times the whole outlook will be dark and discouraging; that Satan, like his angels of old in the case of the demoniacs, will fearfully convulse and rend the body from which he is doomed to be driven out. Such suggestions, therefore, however vaguely they may be expressed, furnish to believers real support in the season when the enemies of the truth seem to triumph, by reminding them that just this entered into Gods providential purpose. On the other hand, the same prophecy shows the silver lining of the cloud, shows that the check of the true cause is only temporary. The brilliant representations of future and final triumph console and uphold in the greatest fight of afflictions. And believers fall back upon the assurance of the Psalmist, When the wicked spring as the grass and all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they shall be destroyed forever (92:7).
2. At evening time there shall be light<\/em>. This has come to be a watchword of the Church. The corresponding proverb of the world, the darkest hour is just before day, has been questioned, both in its literal and its figurative aspects, and perhaps justly. But there is no question of the truth of Zechariahs assertion. It is Gods way to test the J faith and patience of his people, to surround them with difficulties, to hedge up their way on every hand until they see and feel their own helplessness and dependence, and then He interposes in a signal manner. In the great trial of Abraham, when called to offer Isaac for a burnt-offering, the preparations had reached the last point, and the patriarchs arm was uplifted to strike the fatal blow, when the voice from heaven stayed his hand, and the believer gratefully exclaimed, Jehovah Jireh=The Lord will provide. The experience of Abrahams descendants in Egypt led to the proverbial saying which the Rabbins have preserved for us When the straw fails, then comes Moses, or as the modern phrase is, Mans extremity is Gods opportunity. When Lazarus was sick our Lord was informed of the fact in ample time to proceed to his bedside and arrest the disease, as He had often done in other cases, but He deliberately remained away on the other side of Jordan, and came to Bethany only when the grave had held its victim for days. This was not through coldness or carelessness, but, as He said, for the glory of God (Joh 11:4<\/span>; Joh 11:40<\/span>), in order that a miracle so transcendent might confirm the faith of his disciples and intensify yet more the love and joy of the sisters in their brother whom they received back from the tomb. And so in all cases, whether of individuals or communities, faith is sustained by the assurance that a day of clouds and gloom cannot last forever, that a change will occur just so soon as the purposes of the visitation are accomplished, and that it will come just when, according to the natural course of things, a starless night is about to set in. Earnest prayer was made by the Church for the imprisoned Peter (Act 12:5<\/span>), but it was not until the very night before the day appointed for his execution that the angel of the Lord delivered him from his guards and fetters.<\/p>\n

3. Water is a natural image of spiritual blessings, and especially of the chiefest of them all,the influences of the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist speaks of a river whose streams make glad the city of God (46:4); Joel declares a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord and shall water the valley of Shittim (3:18); Isaiah promises, I will pour floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring (44:3); but Ezekiel (47:112) furnishes a most striking parallel to Zechariahs prediction. He saw water issuing from under the sanctuary, an ever widening, deepening stream, which swept through the desert bearing fertility in its course, until it reached the Sea of Sodom, the standing symbol of desolation and death, and healed its stagnant waters, filling them with animal life and covering its banks with trees whose fruit was food and their leaves medicine. Our prophet sees living streams which issue in different directions from Jerusalem, and reach to either sea, east and west; and as they flow without intermission, winter and summer, they make the land a terrestrial Paradise with undying verdure and perpetual abundance. No one of these figurative descriptions, however large and varied, is overwrought or extravagant. They rather fall short of the reality. The blessed Spirit is the author of all the holiness in the world. He indeed uses means. The prophecies put Him in close connection with Jerusalem and the Temple. But the means depend upon Him, just as the best appointed ship makes no progress without a breeze. The Apostles were not allowed to engage in their work until the Spirit was poured out from on high, but when the effusion was felt, the feeblest of them spake as with a tongue of fire. The grand feature of the latter day is copious and continuous effusions of such grace,no longer intermittent, or scanty, or of small extent, but radiating in all directions at once, permanently filling every channel, and limited only by the wants of the race. Wherever these living streams reach, the barren soil of nature is fertilized and the dead live again. Quickly but surely, with the same noiseless energy with which the great providential forces work, these spiritual agencies perform their office of reconstructing human society and changing the face of the world.
4. The consequence of such streams of blessing is a degree of consecration never seen before. The form in which the universal prevalence of holiness is expressed, is noteworthy. Men are not to become monks or anchorites, the ordinary conditions of human life are not to be reversed; but on the contrary the infusion of grace will be so large and general that every rank and class will feel it, and its effects will be seen in all the relations of life, purifying and elevating without upturning or destroying. In business, in recreation, in politics, in art, in literature, in social life, in the domestic circle, there will be a distinct and cordial recognition of the claims of God and of the supremacy of his law. There will be no divorce anywhere between religion and morality, no demand that any department of human activity shall be deemed beyond the domain of conscience. When even the bells on the horses bear the same sacred inscription which once flashed from the diadem of the High Priest, nothing can be found too small or too familiar to be consecrated to the Lord. The religious spirit will prevail everywhere, securing justice, truth, kindness, and courtesy among men; doing away with wars, contentions, jealousies, and competitions; hallowing trades and handicrafts; softening the inevitable contrasts of ranks, gifts, and conditions; binding men to one another by their devotion to a common master in heaven; and thus introducing the true city of God on earth for which all saints long with an ever increasing desire. The idea of such a commonwealth originated in the Scriptures, and it can be realized only in the way they point out. All schemes of political, social, or even moral reform, apart from the principles of the Word, are the merest chimeras. They are impossible of accomplishment, and if accomplished, would disappoint their projectors. True religion, restoring the Lord to his rightful place in human thought and action, alone furnishes the sanction, the authority, and the power by which men become what they ought to be to themselves, to each other, and to the community. The last Canaanite will perish from the earth, and the people shall be all righteous, when the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.<\/p>\n

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Bradley: Zec 14:6-7<\/span>. I. Mixed condition of the righteous in this world; in respect to their knowledge, their outward circumstances, their inward comforts, their wavering holiness. II. Gods wisdom in allowing it; to subdue their corruptions, to exercise their graces, to bring them to dependence on Himself. III. Our consolation under it; God notices it, the mixed events work together for good, the scene is short. IV. The happy termination of all; in a state of unmingled good, in an unexpected hour. Finally, Are we the people concerned in it?<\/p>\n

Hengstenberg: Zec 14:11<\/span>. Curse<\/em>. All the dreadful things that can possibly be thought of are included in this one Word.<\/p>\n

Calvin: Zec 14:12<\/span>. The habitation of the godly is secure, not because they dread no attacks of foes, but because they firmly believe that they will be preserved by a power from above, even though the devil excites the peoples on all sides to contrive their ruin.<\/p>\n

Payson: Zec 14:20-21<\/span>. I. All common duties will be performed as seriously as solemn worship. II. Every building will be a house of God. III. Every day will be like a Sabbath. IV. Every meal will be what the Lords Supper is now. V. Yet the distinctions which now prevail will be ob served. VI. There will be no insincere worshippers. Infer (1.) How wretchedly we now live. (2.) See whether we have any religion or not. (3.) Learn what pursuits and pleasures are pleasing to God.<\/p>\n

Footnotes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

[1]<\/span>Zec 14:1<\/span>. is to be connected with =Jehovahs day. See Exeg. and Crit.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/span>Zec 14:2<\/span>.. The Munach stands here in place of Metheg, to show that the rowel is long.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/span>Zec 14:2<\/span>.. The Keri substitutes for this word, here as elsewhere (Deu 28:30<\/span>, etc), the word a very needless euphemism.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/span>Ver 3.. The preposition is to be supplied from the next clause.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/span>Zec 14:4<\/span>. is not a cas. construc<\/em>, of (Ewald, Green), but an absolute form of the same noun (Frst).<\/p>\n

[6]<\/span>Zec 14:5<\/span>.In place of several MSS. read which is the reading followed by LXX, Aq., Sym., Targ., Arab., the first of which renders , shall be stopped up.<\/em> This is adopted by Flgge, Dathe, Blayney, and Boothroyd; but the sense is so inept that some modern critics refuse even to notice it,<\/p>\n

[7]<\/span>Zec 14:5<\/span>. is not a simple plural, but has the suffix of the first person.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/span>Zec 14:5<\/span>.Instead of many MSS. and all the old versions read , but the former is to be preferred, both as the more difficult reading and as more vivid and expressive.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/span>Zec 14:6<\/span>.Henderson claims a preponderance of MSS. authority for the Keri over the Kethib , and the ancient versions all favor it, yet exegetical necessity compels one to adopt the latter. So Hengstenberg, Hoffmann, Kliefoth, Khler, Keil, Pressel, Dr. Van Dyck in new Arab. Bible<\/em>, Frst in his new German Version, etc.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/span>Zec 14:8<\/span>.. The E. V. former is misleading. The Genevan gives east which is correct. The Hebrews determined the points of the compass by looking to the east, and so what was before them was the east, and what was = behind, was west.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/span>Zec 14:9<\/span>.Henderson objects to the rendering Jehovah shall be one, that it makes the passage teach either that Jehovah was not one before, or that he will no longer be three or triune; and he renders Jehovah alone shall be. But his scruples are idle. What is meant is the universal recognition of the divine unity and self-existence, and this is obtained just as well by the ordinary rendering as by the one he suggests (cf. Deu 6:4<\/span>).<\/p>\n

[12]<\/span>Zec 14:10<\/span>This is the only place where the form occurs; in all other cases is used. True, here Furst takes for a proper noun, and renders, like the plain of Jordan shall Jerusalem and Ramah be fruitful and inhabited (Lex. sub. voc<\/em>), but this wholly disregards the accents, and furnishes no equivalent, since the mention of such an obscure place would be unmeaning. He himself in his new German Version returns to the old interpretation.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/span>Zec 14:11<\/span>.. The E. V. utter destruction, hardly expresses the force of this word, which means such destruction caused by a divine decree=curse (Mal 4:6<\/span>).<\/p>\n

[14]<\/span>Zec 14:11<\/span>. . Here, the strict rendering sit secure<\/em>, is more vivid than the E. V., safely inhabited.<\/em><\/p>\n

[15]<\/span>Zec 14:12<\/span>.=peoples, cf. on 8:22.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/span>Zec 14:12<\/span>.His<\/em> flesh, etc. The suffixes are all singular except in the case of the last noun, their mouth.<\/em> Of course the meaning is each ones flesh, etc.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/span>Zec 14:13<\/span>.Tumult does not express the full sense of =a panic terror or confusion (1Sa 14:20<\/span>).<\/p>\n

[18]<\/span>Zec 14:14<\/span>.. The text of the E. V. is right, and the marginal reading against<\/em> to be rejected. See Exeg. and Crit.<\/p>\n

[19]<\/span>Zec 14:15<\/span>. here precedes its correlative ; elsewhere the order is just the reverse.<\/p>\n

[20]<\/span>Zec 14:16<\/span>.The construction is anacolouthic; the subject standing absolutely at the beginning, while the predicate is appended with vav conver.<\/em> .<\/p>\n

[21]<\/span>Zec 14:16<\/span>. is literally from the sufficiency of<\/em> year to year, but expresses nothing more than the simple preposition (cf. Isa 60:22<\/span>).<\/p>\n

[22]<\/span>Zec 14:17<\/span>. The all supplied by the E. V. is quite superfluous.<\/p>\n

[23]<\/span>Zec 14:18<\/span>. introduces the apodosis, and is to be supplied from the preceding verse.<\/p>\n

[24]<\/span>Zec 14:19<\/span>. (LXX.: , Vulg.: peccatum<\/em>) should surely be rendered sin<\/em>, however it may be explained. Dr. Van Dyck, in the new Arabic Bible, conforms to the E. V., as does Frst in his German Version, The Dutch Bible has, de zonde; <\/em>Luther, Sunde.<\/em><\/p>\n

[25]<\/span>Zec 14:20<\/span>.. LXX.: ; Vulg., frnum;<\/em> Luther, Rstung;<\/em> but the meaning in E. V., bells<\/em>, is now established. Dr. Riggs gives a wordy paraphrase, tinkling bridle ornaments.<\/em><\/p>\n

[26]<\/span>Zec 14:21<\/span>.. LXX. transfer the word. Vulg. translates,mercator;<\/em> Frst Kramer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CONTENTS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

In this Chapter the Prophet closeth his predictions; and a blessed close he makes of them. Great events are foretold in the Church of Jesus; in the coming of Christ, and the blessed effects thereof.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle: and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished: and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle, 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east: and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley: and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal; yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The wonderful events spoken of in this Chapter, require great grace, and the divine teachings of God the Holy Ghost to understand. Whether the things promised refer to the first coming of Christ only, or whether they respect in part his second coming; it would be presumption in me to speak positively. Those circumstances which plainly respect the days of Christ’s flesh, we cannot hesitate to decide upon; since we who live in the present hour of Gospel truth, have seen the fulfillment of them in Christ, and his Apostles. But we may humbly express our apprehensions concerning such also as have their tendencies to the event of Christ’s second coming, when we merely send them forth as enquiries, and not as so many determinations. In the opening of this Chapter, the promise is of the Lord’s coming in the flesh. This hath been fulfilled. The miseries of Jerusalem follow in the second verse. And the events here recorded, we may very safely refer to the memorable destruction which took place after Christ’s return to glory; and which Christ himself foretold. Mat 24:2-21<\/span> . A ruin so great, as (according to the great historian of the Jews,) was never equalled in all the annals of mankind. The third and fourth verses of the Lord’s going forth to battle, and his fast standing upon Mount Olives, must refer to a subsequent history. For though he often visited this Mount in the days of his flesh, yet certain it is, he did not stand there openly and personally to the view of his people, at the siege of Jerusalem; neither indeed did he give the least reason to his disciples to expect he would. It is therefore probable, that the Prophet in those verses, might be looking so far forward as to our Lord’s second coming; and if so, there is a correspondence between this scripture, and what the angels said to the astonished disciples at our Lord’s ascension. See Act 1:11-12<\/span> . See Jud 1:14-15<\/span> ; Job 19:25<\/span> . In respect to what is said about the days of Uzziah, Amos, the Prophet, gives some account of it, Amo 1:1<\/span> . And Isaiah talks of the fleeing of the people from the glory of his majesty, when the Lord ariseth to shake terribly the earth. See Isa 2:10-22<\/span> .<\/p>\n

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:7<\/span><\/p>\n

The Prophet is speaking of the last times the period after ‘that day’ when the ‘feet’ of the Lord ‘shall stand upon the Mount of Olives’.<\/p>\n

Whether ‘that day’ refers to the occasion when our Lord made His public entry into Jerusalem, and, pausing on Olivet, ‘wept’ over the doomed city, or whether it refers to His future Second Coming, when He shall ‘reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously,’ one thing is certain, that after that day a period follows, which is described as being ‘neither clear nor dark: but it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night’.<\/p>\n

I. ‘At evening time it shall be light’ There are two principles in this promise which, for the most part, regulate all the dealings of God. There is <\/p>\n

1. A principle of surprise. God delights to frustrate human speculation. The day seems passing; the darkness deepening; night falling, when, in a moment, the light kindles into meridian lustre; ‘at evening time it shall be light’. Thus human pride and reason is humbled, and God’s glory and love stand out alone and supreme.<\/p>\n

2. The principle of patience. The blessing waits till the ‘evening’. You look for it in the morning watch, or you seek for it at midday, but it is nowhere to be found; it is ‘evening’ now; soon it shall be night, when lo! it is here. Do not doubt but that the morning’s gifts, be they what they may, are as nothing to the evening’s blessing. The sun may have been shining on you throughout the day, but still, ‘at evening time it shall be light’.<\/p>\n

II. Consider how true the text is of old age under certain conditions. The old age of a purely worldly man or woman is one of the most distressing and abject of all sights. One cannot be surprised that such dread to be even thought old. The very power to please or to derive pleasure, as they understand it all gone Boon companions, where are they? A solitary being, with very uncomfortable thoughts of the past, looking back on sin and folly forward, to a dark unknown. But mark the Christian man. He, too, has reached the verge of life’s pilgrimage. He has had his share, perhaps more than the average, of cares and trials by the way; his physical powers, too, are waning fast, many a loved object has passed from his sight; but all along he knew full well that this world is no resting-place, and that there is nought abiding; and therefore he did not set his affections on things below, but on things above. Now in such a man there are things sweet memories of the past, confidence in that Arm which has supported him throughout his pilgrimage, hopes of the future, ‘sure and certain’; and the old man’s ‘mouth is filled with praises, and his tongue with joy’. His old age is the happiest and brightest period of his life; while others are nearing the tomb in darkness and uncertainty, his last words will be the triumphant cry, ‘At evening time it shall be light’.<\/p>\n

References. XIV. 7. T. De Witt Talmage, Sermons<\/em> (1st Series), p. 16. T. A. Gurney, Nunc Dimittis,<\/em> p. 10. T. L. Cuyler, Christian World Pulpit,<\/em> vol. lxi. 1902, p. 121; see also vol. lxxii. 1907, p. 94. Spurgeon, Sermons,<\/em> vol. iii. No. 160. XIV. 8, 9. W. Green, Christian World Pulpit,<\/em> vol. xlvii. 1895, p. 315. XIV. 9. F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life,<\/em> vol. i. p. 14. XIV. 20. J. Pulsford, Infoldings and Unfoldings,<\/em> p. 58. Spurgeon, Sermons,<\/em> vol. vii. No. 399. J. Stalker, Christian World Pulpit,<\/em> vol. lv. 1899, p. 118. G. T. Candlin, ibid.<\/em> vol. lxi. 1902, p. 396. XIV. 20, 21. C. Brown, ibid.<\/em> vol. xliv. 1893, p. 373.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

XXX<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH (CONCLUDED)<\/p>\n

Zechariah 12-14<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

This chapter concludes our study of the prophet, Zechariah. This includes the later part of the second division of the prophecy. The last six chapters of Zechariah seem to give a forecast of the history of Israel from the time of the prophet’s writing down to the end of the nation’s history, just as in the book of Revelation we interpret the seven seals, the seven trumpets, etc., as a forecast of the history of the church to the second advent.<\/p>\n

We have had the vision of the shepherd who was to feed the flock of slaughter, who found the flock disloyal, unfaithful, and unappreciative, and who broke the staff, dissolving the union between the two, signifying that this office as shepherd was ended; how that a worldly shepherd was appointed over them, and then followed a brief history of the tragedy of Israel’s history, when they smote ther shepherd and put him to death. In this chapter we take up the consummation of it all, the last, final struggle, and the ushering in of the messianic age as found in Zec 14<\/span> .<\/p>\n

In Zec 12:1-9<\/span> we have the salvation of Jerusalem, the spiritual history of the people, their inner life, national and religious, pictured as the life of their capital, Jerusalem. The clue to it we find in the later part of verse I, where he speaks of Jehovah as the One that forms the spirit of man within him, and this section gives the details as to how Jehovah formed the spirit of Israel, the true kernel of the nation, the center of the national life. We have here Jerusalem represented as the center of Israelitish life, the capital of the nation, besieged by all nations, God protecting her against them and making her the “cup of reeling” and the “burdensome stone” and the “pan of fire” unto all the peoples round about. He says, “I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling, or a bowl filled with wine of which the nations shall drink, and it shall make them drunk and they shall reel and stagger.”<\/p>\n

That perhaps refers to the commotion that was created among the nations previous to the Maccabean age, and afterward, when all the nations that apparently could come in contact with Judah and Jerusalem seemed to be possessed with a passion to destroy her. The anti-Judaistic feeling, or anti-Semitic feeling, was very prominent through those centuries, and the larger fulfilment of this prophecy is the hate of Judaism which has run through all the centuries since. The Jews have been a cup of reeling to all the peoples that have come in contact with them. He says here, “Upon Judah also shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem.” All is now concerned about Jerusalem and Judah, the tribe in whose territory Jerusalem is situated.<\/p>\n

Again he says, “I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples, and all that burden themselves with it shall be sore wounded.” This may refer to the fact that near many cities in the east, it was the custom to have a stone where all the young men could try their strength in lifting it. Or it may refer to a great boulder in the ground to be raised up out of its position and cast away, and as they dig about the stone and lift it up, the only thing they accomplish is to bruise and tear their own hands. The stone is fixed and immovable. The latter is the more probable interpretation. Anyhow, it means that all through the centuries Jerusalem has been a fixed, established fact. God put Jerusalem there and intended that no nation would move the center of his people; that they could not move Jerusalem. They fought round about it and for it and against it for a century or two, but it remained. And he says, “All the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it.”<\/p>\n

Zec 12:4<\/span> shows what Jehovah is going to do upon all the enemies that come against Jerusalem: “I will smite every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah.” His eye is upon Judah for a special purpose. Zec 12:5<\/span> gives the result: “The chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts their God.” Jerusalem was in Judah, the capital of Judah, and the chieftains of Judah now wake up to the fact that their strength and stability and hope are centered in Jerusalem, their capital, and when they realize that, they fight bravely for their city, and the result is that all the nations are defeated.<\/p>\n

Zec 12:6<\/span> says, “I will make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves.” The fulfilment of that may be found in the fact that when the Maccabean heroes rose to fight down Hellenism, thousands of the Jews saw that their national life was at stake if they did not fight for their religion and their country, and rallied around the banner of the Maccabeans, and thus their enemies time and again were overthrown, though there may be a larger fulfilment later on.<\/p>\n

In Zec 12:7<\/span> he says, “Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory . . . of the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah.” In other words, God was going to so deal with them that the people of Jerusalem would have no occasion to feel that they were above the people of the country. Then those inhabitants of Jerusalem and of Judah shall be revived in their national life and spirit. God will put the spirit of the hero in them. “In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David,” the hero warrior, who, when a boy faced the lion and the bear, and when but a youth, a giant; “and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of God,” or as a supernatural being, having superhuman powers. That hath a fulfilment in the house of David represented by Jesus Christ, as God or as the angel of God, and his disciples who were as heroic as David. Zec 12:9<\/span> refers to the fact that Jehovah has made it hard for all nations that have oppressed the Jews, and in a large measure this has been fulfilled, because those nations have suffered. “In that day” here refers to whatever day was referred to in the several prophecies of the passage, reaching down to the time of Christ and his apostles.<\/p>\n

In Zec 12:10-14<\/span> we have the conversion of the Jews. This is a remarkable passage, one of the author’s favorite passages, a vision of the conversion of the people of Judah and Jerusalem after this great conflict is over. It is a picture of their spiritual life, the life of the spirit of the nation from its religious standpoint. Now look at the promise: “I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication.” “Grace” refers to those qualities of the spirit that adorn the person when God’s spirit is given. Coupled with that is the spirit of supplication, “And they shall look unto me whom they have pierced.” We have no reference to one pierced by them excepting as suggested in Zec 13:7-9<\/span> and that is presupposed in this statement. They had pierced their own shepherd, the representative of God, and now he pictures the time coming when they shall look unto him. God is speaking: “Whom they have pierced,” the one whom they have wounded, the one against whom they had poured out their bitterest hatred. This is going to be a great conversion of the Jewish nation.<\/p>\n

This prophecy has a fulfilment in the events of Pentecost and following, but the greatest fulfilment is to follow in the conversion of the Jews as a nation. At that time there will be a bitter mourning, a great mourning; they shall mourn as one mourns for his only son; the Jews could appreciate what that meant better than we can the only one left to bear his name, the only one to keep that name alive in Israel. It shall be as when they mourned for Josiah, who was slain by Pharaohnecoh in the valley of Megiddon when they mourned at Hadadrimmon, a little village just a few miles from the scene of battle. There will be national mourning and a family mourning, for the land shall mourn every family apart. Then he mentions certain families to indicate how completely that is going to be carried out. The family of David, the royal family, then the family of Nathan, one of the sons of David, brother of Solomon, an obscure member of the royal family, which indicates all members of the royal family, the men in one part, the wives in another, men and women separately. The family of the house of Shimei, one of the little or obscure families of the tribe of Levi, to indicate how that every family shall mourn: families mourning, men mourning alone, women mourning alone. This was fulfilled when they looked upon the cross; there many of the people looked upon him whom they pierced, as John says quoting this passage of Zechariah as being literally fulfilled.<\/p>\n

It was fulfilled in the larger sense when at Pentecost three thousand men and more, pricked in their hearts, said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do? We have killed our Messiah!” And in a few weeks thousands, more looked unto him whom they had pierced. For decades afterward many more and through the centuries there have been a few. More and more the Jews are coming to this point when they will look unto him whom they pierced, and there is no grief more poignant, more penetrating to the human heart than the grief of a loyal Jew who realizes that his nation killed their Messiah. God will pour out his spirit upon the nation and all the nation shall look unto him whom they have pierced, mourning as for an only son.<\/p>\n

In Zec 13:1-6<\/span> we have the cleansing of the people as the result of the mourning and supplication above described. The fountain opened for sin and uncleanness was opened for the house of David, the royal family who needed cleansing, needed it as well as the people, showing that he has not in mind the Messiah, for the Messiah did not need cleansing. It is also to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and it is for sin and uncleanness. It is a picture of a fountain flowing to cleanse, something like Ezekiel’s picture where he says, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and cleanse you from your sins,” and David’s “Purge me with hissop and I shall be clean.” Upon this passage is based our song: There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.<\/p>\n

That is the fulfilment of it for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Of course it applied to them first, but it is not confined to them in its application. Then he shows how idols, prophets, and unclean spirits shall be cut off: “I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land and they shall no more be remembered.” That was partly true in the refining of Judaism that followed the Maccabean age, but it receives its fulfilment only in Christianity, the daughter of Judaism, for it is only where Christianity goes that the idols are cut off and are not remembered. Not only the idols are cut off, but the unclean spirits pass out of the land. This again has its fulfilment where the gospel goes, for it is only where Christianity flourishes that these unclean spirits are put out.<\/p>\n

Then the prophets are to be cut off also. Prophecy is going to be so discredited that there will be no more of it permitted. He says here that when anyone shall prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, “Thou shalt not live”; we are not going to have any preacher in our family, and in order to get him out of the way they thrust him through, saying, “Thou speakest lies in the name of Jehovah.” Now this cannot refer to the true prophet and preacher, but to every kind and species of false prophets.<\/p>\n

It refers to all kinds of sorcerers, diviners, especially fakirs. And if there shall be one of those that escape, he shall be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. They are not going to wear a hairy garment to deceive, trying to make themselves look like Elijah, and make people believe they are real prophets as Elijah was. It will be a good thing when preachers cast off all their ecclesiastical “toggery.” He shall say, “I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the ground; for I have been made a bondman from my youth. And one will say, How do you account for those wounds?” Then he shall answer, “These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends.”<\/p>\n

It is difficult to understand exactly the meaning of this passage. Apparently, this is an excuse on the part of the prophet, who has been caught and he seeks to evade the consequences. He was wounded in the house of his friends. They put those marks upon him. So then these constitute no reason for condemning him. That is one idea. A great many apply this to Christ himself. When he shall appear and the Jews, his own people, shall ask him, “Whence those wounds between your hands?” Then he shall say, “These are the wounds I received in the house of my friends,” i.e., among you Jews. That is the larger fulfilment, but the immediate application of it seems to be to the wretched fakers that had no business to preach. There are many of them yet in the East with marks upon their hands to signify their profession.<\/p>\n

In Zec 13:7-9<\/span> we have the smiting of the Shepherd. This is the climax of the nation’s tragedy. The putting of its shepherd to death. The fulfilment of this is in Jesus Christ who was smitten and his little flock scattered. The larger fulfilment is in the fact that the sheep put to death their Christ, and have been scattered ever since. “Awake, O sword,” says Jehovah, “against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow.” In Gethsemane we see the application of this. Although his only beloved and only begotten Son prayed until the sweat broke forth from his brow, that the sword might pass, God says, “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow.” The sword must descend, the shepherd must be smitten. It was then that he turned his hand upon “his little ones” the humble and meek, and as a result two parts of the people were to be cut off, two-thirds of the nation destroyed, and it was so in the intervals following Jesus’ death and the destruction of Jerusalem. “And I will bring the third part (and he did bring a great multitude of the Jews) into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, Jehovah is my God.” The fulfilment of that occurred in the history of the Jews after the crucifixion.<\/p>\n

We have the final assault upon and deliverance of Jerusalem in Zec 14:1-8<\/span> . This brings us to the last chapter and the consummation, the final act in the great drama as pictured by this prophet, Zechariah: “Behold, a day of Jehovah cometh.” There have been many days of Jehovah, when he smote nations and peoples, when he overturned things upon earth, but there is to come a greater day, a day when Jehovah shall manifest his judgments in power. The first result of this day will be the strange fact that Jerusalem shall be captured. Jerusalem the center, the nation’s very life core shall be captured. “Thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee, and I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished,” as was customary in the capture and sack of a city. “And half of the city shall go into captivity and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.”<\/p>\n

Now, what is going to happen when this terrible fate overtakes the city? “Then shall Jehovah go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle.” Although Jerusalem shall be captured and half her people sold into slavery, yet Jehovah will then appear at the crisis to save the city. “His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives,” which is before Jerusalem on the east and towers between two and three hundred feet higher than Mount Moriah, or Zion, upon which Jerusalem was situated. “And the Mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley and half of the mountain shall be removed toward the north and half of it toward the south,” that is, there shall be a great supernatural manifestation of God’s power to make a way of escape for the people from their city. This has never been literally fulfilled, and never will be. The idea is that when the crisis comes upon God’s people, he will make a way of escape, and thus he pictures the way of escape as a cleaving of the mount, separating it and opening a valley for the people to flee. “Ye shall flee by the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel.” We don’t know just where Azel was, some little place east of Jerusalem. “And ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquakes in the days of Uzziah king of Judah,” which event Amos refers to and which followed just two years after he began his preaching. “And Jehovah my God will come and all the holy ones with thee,” and that period for a short time shall be a day of gloom. “It shall come to pass in that day that the earth shall not be light; the bright ones, the sun, the moon, and the stars shall withdraw themselves.” “It shall be one day which is known unto Jehovah, not day, not night,” twilight gloom, murk, half-night, and half-day, but it shall come to pass that at eventide as the day draws to an end, a new day will dawn and there will be light at eventide. This prophecy is yet unfulfilled. The time forecast here is the final gathering of the nations against the Jews, gathered back into their land, just before the millennium. This is the great battle of Jehoshaphat in the plain of Esdraelon, where Jehovah intervenes and saves the Jews from a shameful defeat. It is a great spiritual conflict under the symbol of war. Here the veil falls from their eyes and they behold the Christ as their Saviour. The nation is converted, as it were, in a day and the millennium is here ushered in. (See Revelation <\/em><\/strong> of “The Interpretation.”)<\/p>\n

In Zec 14:9-11<\/span> we have the prophetic picture of the kingdom of Jehovah, king over all the earth, which is in exact accordance with the visions drawn by Isaiah, Micah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. “Jehovah shall be one and his name one,” that is, there is to be the one God, with one name. “And the land shall be made like the Arabah,” the valley of the Jordan, which was so attractive to Lot that he chose it for his cattle and flocks. The land is going to be made like that valley from Geba, a little place north of Jerusalem, to Rimmon on the south, away down in the land of Simeon, we do not know exactly where. Then he goes on with his description of this city, how it is to be built, its dimensions and its various gates, “And there shall be no more curses but Jerusalem shall dwell safely.” All this will be fulfilled in the millennium.<\/p>\n

Next comes the plagues upon her enemies (Zec 14:12-15<\/span> ). The nations that war against Jerusalem shall be utterly destroyed; he gives a picture of the plagues that shall fall upon these nations. “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. . . . They shall turn one against another. There shall be a great tumult from Jehovah among them, and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and they shall rise up against his neighbor, and Judah shall fight at Jerusalem.” In spite of that, all the wealth of the nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. Afterward in spite of all the enemies the Jews shall have the wealth, privileges, power, influence of the world. This will be fulfilled in the destruction of the enemies of the Jews before the millennium at which time the Jews will be converted.<\/p>\n

The remaining nations shall keep the Feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem. The remaining nations means those who have not warred against Jerusalem, but have assumed either a friendly or a neutral attitude. This is the millennial age, this is the time pictured by Isaiah and Micah and the others, when all the nations shall be Jews, and they are to come up and worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Now if this is to be literally fulfilled, then all the nations of the world shall have to become Jews and go up to Jerusalem and keep the Feast of Tabernacles in October. Can we imagine that our Christianity shall have such a setback as that; that we shall all have to revert back to Judaism? This is a picture of the nations converted to the God of Israel expressed in the terms of Judaism. But if any of these nations will not keep the Feast of Tabernacles, they are to have no rain upon them, and Egypt, which is independent of rain because of the overflow of the Nile, is not forgotten by the prophet, but is mentioned as liable to punishment, though he doesn’t say what punishment that is. This is the prophet’s picture of the conversion of the Gentile nations to Judaism, and when we enlarge Judaism into Christianity and picture the conversion of the nations to Christianity, which is the real fulfilment of this, we have the larger fulfilment.<\/p>\n

And lastly, Jerusalem shall be holy. “The bells upon the horses shall be holy to Jehovah. And the pots before Jehovah’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.” All this means there are to be so many people, and they are all to observe the sacrifices and feasts, and they must make every pot in Jerusalem as large as one of those great basins in the Temple. And more than that every one of those pots in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy unto Jehovah. This is the Judaistic and ceremonial idea of holiness. And they that sacrifice shall come and take of them and boil therein. Ezekiel had kitchens in his picture of the Temple for boiling the sacrifices. Zechariah says that there are going to be great holy pots, and they are, to boil in them. “In that day there shall be no more a Canaanite,” that is, there shall be no more heathen, the foreigner, and unclean person, and unworthy person in Jerusalem and in Judah. “All shall be clean,” which is in exact accordance with Rev 21:27<\/span> . where John says. “There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, or maketh an abomination or a lie.” “Blessed are they that have washed their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life and enter into the gates of the city.” John’s picture is richer and larger and fuller than Zechariah’s but in substance they are the same.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

QUESTIONS<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. What is the prophetic picture of Zec 12:1-9<\/span> and what is the fulfilment of it?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

2. What is meant by the “cup of reeling,” “the burdensome stone, “the pan of fire,” and what is the day referred to in the expression, “in that day”?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

3. What is the prophetic picture of Zec 12:10-14<\/span> and what is its fulfilment?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

4. What illustration in verse 2, and what is the significance of the families mourning apart?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

5. What prophetic picture of Zec 13:1-6<\/span> and in what does it have fulfilment?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

6. What allusion in Zec 13:6<\/span> ?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

7. What prophecy of Zec 13:7-9<\/span> and where do we find its fulfilment?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

8. What is the meaning of “little ones” (Zec 13:7<\/span> ), “two parts cut off” in Zec 13:8<\/span> , and “the third part refined” in Zec 13:9<\/span> ?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

9. What prophetic picture of Zec 14:1-8<\/span> and what is the fulfilment of it?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

10. What prophetic picture of Zec 14:9-11<\/span> and what is the fulfilment of it?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

11. What is pictured in Zec 14:12<\/span> and what is the fulfilment of it?<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

12. What final picture of Zechariah and when will it be realized?<\/p>\n

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.<\/p>\n

Ver. 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh<\/strong> ] Jerusalem had her day, and knew it not, Luk 19:42<\/span> (Jerusalem was not Jerusalem, the vision of peace saw not the things that belonged to her peace); God therefore will have his day of vengeance, as she had of visitation. He hath his season, his harvest for judgment, Mat 13:30<\/span> ; and when wickedness is ripe in the field he will allow it to grow no longer, lest it shed and spread, but cuts it up by a just and seasonable vengeance. These Jews were by their own confession the children of them which had killed the prophets, Act 2:23<\/span> ; and, by killing the Lord Christ with wicked hands, they had filled up the measure of their fathers, Mat 23:31-32<\/span> ; what could therefore the Lord do less to a nation so incorrigibly flagitious than bring wrath upon them to the utmost, 1Th 2:16<\/span> “than send forth his armies and destroy those murderers, and burn up their cities?” Mat 22:7<\/span> . When God did this execution here mentioned is hard to say: whether by Antiochus Epiphanes, or rather Epimanes, as some truly called him, for that, being exceedingly mad against the Jews, he “persecuted the Church of God, and wasted it,” Act 26:11 Gal 1:13<\/span> . Or by the Roman spoilers at that last devastation under the command of Titus. Or by Cosroes, the Persian, and Homer, the Arabian, who successively harassed and razed Jerusalem, rifling the houses, ravishing the women, killing whom they pleased, and making the rest pay dearly for the very heads they wore; which servitude lasted till Godfrey of Bullin set them at liberty, so the Gloss here senseth it. Or lastly, by Gog and Magog, that is, by the Great Turk (for Magog is the Scythian nation, from whom came the Turks, lords of Meshec and Tubal, that is, of Cappadocia and Iberia; where they first began to reign), as is before hinted, I take not upon me to determine. Most comentators understand it to be the last overthrow of the Romans. The Spirit might have an eye to the Anti-christian persecutions of the orthodox professors of the Romish Edomites. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee<\/strong> ] Freely and fearlessly, none rising up to make them afraid, the vanquished shall be so disabled and dispirited. Thus the silly doves are glad to save themselves by flight, not fight; sometimes they sit in their dove cots, and see their nests destroyed, and young ones killed, not daring once to rescue or revenge.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Zec 14:1-5<\/p>\n

1Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2For 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 exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4In 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. 5You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!<\/p>\n

Zec 14:1 This is a summary of the entire chapter which emphasizes God’s fighting on behalf of His people. In this chapter His people are depicted as ancient Israel. God judged them and dispersed them, but now He restores their losses (cf. Isa 53:12) and their place (i.e., Promised Land).<\/p>\n

a day is coming for the LORD The day of the Lord is a common theme of Zechariah 12-14, but this phrase has an added Hebrew PREPOSITION of (BDB 750 #5), which denotes that the day is His day! See Special Topic: That Day .<\/p>\n

The VERB (BDB 97, KB 112, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE) denotes an approach or arrival. YHWH will be publicly acknowledged as King and victor (cf. Zec 14:9).<\/p>\n

you This is FEMININE SINGULAR referring to Jerusalem (cf. Zec 14:2).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle Notice the emphasis is on God’s control of history (cf. Zec 14:9; Zec 12:2-3; Zec 12:6; Zec 12:9; Psalms 2; Isa 8:9-10; Isa 17:12-14; Ezekiel 38-39; Joe 3:9-17; Rev 16:14-16; Rev 19:17-19).<\/p>\n

the city will be captured The VERB (BDB 539, KB 530) is a Niphil PERFECT. This final, ultimate confrontation between the kingdoms of this world and the kingdom of our God will result in the partial fall of Jerusalem (cf. Zec 13:8). This fall is described in vivid terms from Jerusalem’s past experience with conquering invaders. However, a remnant will remain (in Zec 13:8 only 1\/3, but here 1\/2). This is a stark contrast to the divine protection promised in Zec 12:1-9.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:3 YHWH fights on behalf of His people as He did in the exodus from Egypt and the conquest and settlement of Canaan.<\/p>\n

In an eschatological sense God is depicted as once-and-for-all fighting on behalf of His people and setting up a new order (cf. Psalms 2; Isa 2:2-4; Ezekiel 38-39; Zechariah 14; also in intertestamental, apocalyptic literature, I Enoch 56:5-8 and IV Ezra 13:1-13, 25-53; and in the NT in Rev 20:7-9.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives The PRONOUN anthropomorphically reflects YHWH (cf. LORD of Zec 14:1; Zec 14:3; Zec 14:5 and PRONOUN of Zec 14:2 a). However, the Messiah often takes on the titles and functions of the Father. In context, this chapter is oriented toward God the Father.<\/p>\n

the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley The Mount of Olives is a 2 mile ridge running to the east of Jerusalem and culminates in the city of Bethany. Apparently this earth-shaking event will occur for two purposes: (1) the return of the Lord to do battle for His people and (2) a way of escape for the remnant that are still left in the city.<\/p>\n

This splitting will be for (1) the remnant to flee (cf. Zec 14:5) and (2) the water of life to flow (cf. Zec 14:8; Zec 13:1; Psa 46:4; Eze 47:1-12; Rev 22:1).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:5<\/p>\n

NASBAnd you will flee by the valley of My mountains<\/p>\n

NKJVthen you shall flee through My mountain valley<\/p>\n

NRSVand you shall flee by the valley of the LORD’S mountain<\/p>\n

TEVYou will escape through the valley that divides the mountain in two<\/p>\n

NJBthe valley between the hills will be filled<\/p>\n

There has been much confusion in the translation of this verse. The word flee occurs three times in Zec 14:5 (BDB 630, KB 681, Qal PERFECTS), but the ancient translations fluctuate the translation from flee to you shall be stopped (BDB 711) The Masoretic Text is followed by the Peshitta and the Vulgate, while the Septuagint and Symmachus’ translation follow the Aramaic Targums.<\/p>\n

NASBAzel<\/p>\n

NKJV, NRSVAzal<\/p>\n

TEV —-<\/p>\n

NJBJasol<\/p>\n

This seems to refer to a city, possibly also mentioned in Mic 1:11 (Beth-ezel), which shows the terminus of this supernaturally-made valley (cf. NRSV).<\/p>\n

the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah Josephus (Antiq. 9.225) links it with 2Ch 26:16-23, when Uzziah offered a sacrifice and was struck with leprosy. This same earthquake is referred to in Amo 1:1 (i.e., 750 B.C.). This may imply that an earthquake will form the valley, but this is not a certainty. Earthquakes are used to describe God’s presence in judgment (cf. Isa 29:6; Eze 38:19).<\/p>\n

the LORD. . .will come and all the holy ones This refers to YHWH’s coming with angels (cf. Deu 33:2-3). Angels are called holy ones in Job 5:1; Job 15:5; Psa 89:5; Psa 89:7; Dan 8:13. The term holy is also used of believers in the OT (cf. Psa 16:3; Psa 34:9; Isa 4:3; Dan 7:18; Dan 7:21-22; Dan 7:25; Dan 7:27; Dan 8:24). In the NT it refers to Jesus’ Second Coming and may include angels and believers (cf. Mat 16:27; Mat 25:31; Mar 8:38; 2Th 1:7; Rev 19:14).<\/p>\n

with Him The Masoretic Text has with You, which may refer to Jerusalem (FEMININE SINGULAR, cf. Zec 14:1).<\/p>\n

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6. <\/p>\n

the day of the LORD. See note on Isa 2:11, Isa 2:12; Isa 13:6. <\/p>\n

the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4. <\/p>\n

thy, (feminine). Referring to Jerusalem. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chapter 14<\/p>\n

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle ( Zec 14:1-3 ).<\/p>\n

So the prediction of this coming day when Jerusalem will be destroyed. Actually, this will be by the antichrist who will come to Jerusalem. He will be heading up a ten-nation European federation. He will come to Jerusalem, first of all, making a covenant, deceiving the people, being declared as the Messiah, and then breaking the covenant after three and a half years, demanding to be worshiped as God. The Jews will rebel. He will take Jerusalem. He’ll cut the people off, and those who have followed the advice of Jesus and have fled to the wilderness will escape. But then the Lord is going to fight against the powers of the antichrist.<\/p>\n

And his feet ( Zec 14:4 )<\/p>\n

The nations will be gathered, all of the nations against Jerusalem be gathered together in the valley of Megiddo: the kingdom of the north, Russia; the kingdoms of the east, China. Joining together, joining against the European federation. And the final great battle, the battle of Armageddon, fought there in the valley of Megiddo, and at that time the Lord shall come.<\/p>\n

his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall split in the middle toward the east and towards the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove towards the north, and half of it towards the south ( Zec 14:4 ).<\/p>\n

So a tremendous cataclysmic kind of a change will take place in the geography there around Jerusalem when Jesus comes, puts His foot on the Mount of Olives, and that whole thing is just gonna split half towards the north, half towards the south, and this great new valley formed going down to the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Now as this split takes place, the geological formations are changed, a vast underground reservoir of water, river, underground river, will spring forth from the area of the throne in Jerusalem. This river will flow forth from Jerusalem going down this valley. Half of it will turn and go towards the Mediterranean Sea; the other half will flow down to the Dead Sea. It will make that whole area along its banks extremely fertile. When the waters come into the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea will be healed. It will no longer be a Dead Sea, but it will be healed, and there will be multitudes of fish in the Dead Sea, and it’ll become a great fishing resort. Along the shores there, the En-gedi, they will dry their fish nets and so forth, the whole scene, geography, will be changed as a result of this probably great, we would call it an earthquake, splits the Mount of Olives right in two.<\/p>\n

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all of the saints with thee ( Zec 14:5 ).<\/p>\n

“Behold, He cometh with ten thousands of His saints to execute judgment upon the earth.” Paul the apostle said, “And when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory” ( Col 3:4 ). Revelation, chapter 19, “And he saw Christ sitting upon the white horse, and the armies that came with Him on their white horses, clothed in fine linen, pure and clean.” We are told earlier who those people are clothed in the fine linen, pure and clean–they are the church, the body of Christ. The pure linen is the righteousness of the saints, which is, of course, that righteousness imputed to us by our faith in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

So the coming again of Jesus Christ for the church. So the Lord is coming, first of all, for His church, to snatch it out of the earth. Then to bring to pass His judgment upon the earth, and upon the inhabitants of the earth for their rejection of His plan of salvation. We will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. We will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Blessed is he that is invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, and we, with John, will behold the events of the Great Tribulation from a grandstand view in heaven. But then in chapter 19 when Jesus comes back to the earth to set His foot upon the Mount of Olives to stop the great battle of Armageddon, then we will return to the earth with Jesus, and we will then reign with Him upon the earth for a thousand years as priests, as a kingdom of priests, actually.<\/p>\n

So there are those, especially Jehovah Witnesses and all, that so misinterpret prophecy. They say, “Oh, you believe that you’re just gonna go up in heaven. You’re gonna stay in heaven; you’re gonna be in some cloud and fiddling on a harp. And I’m gonna be there on the earth, and I’m gonna help rebuild the world and so forth.” Well, the Bible doesn’t teach we’re gonna be forever in heaven. The Bible does teach we’re gonna be forever with our Lord, and of course, where He is, it’s heaven. But when He comes down to the earth it’s gonna be heaven on earth. You’re gonna see the earth that God intended. You’re gonna see the kind of world that God intended that man should live in, a world that is filled with righteousness and peace. The kingdom of God is not meat nor drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. You’ll see the world as God intended it to be, but we’ll be forever with the Lord. When the Lord’s in heaven… hey, we’re His bride; the bride goes with the Groom. So while He’s in heaven, we’ll be with Him. But we’re not gonna take a honeymoon down here and Him stay up there. We’ll come back with Him with His saints to reign over the earth. Then when God establishes the new heaven and the new earth, wherever, however, we’ll be right there with Him. Wherever He is, there will we be with Him, forever with our Lord. That’s the promise, and that’s the hope of every child of God. And I love it, and I can hardly wait. Oh, should we really sit and mourn and mope over those that have gone to be with the Lord already? No. You want to sit and mope? Mope of yourself, because you’re still here. But rejoice for them; they’ve got a good head start on us.<\/p>\n

And His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and it’ll split and so forth, and ye shall flee to the valleys, and the Lord shall come with all of His saints.<\/p>\n

Verse Zec 14:6 ,<\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark ( Zec 14:6 ):<\/p>\n

In other words, it’ll be sort of a twilight zone, not really clear, not really dark, sort of the twilight. You know, I love the evening twilight; it’s almost my favorite time of the day.<\/p>\n

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at the evening time it’ll still be light ( Zec 14:7 ).<\/p>\n

So it’s gonna be a very interesting astronomical phenomena that will take place. And just how God is planning to work it out, I really don’t know, but it’ll be interesting to find out.<\/p>\n

And it shall be in that day, that these living waters ( Zec 14:8 )<\/p>\n

That is, they give life to the Dead Sea when they flow into it.<\/p>\n

shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them towards the former sea, and half of them towards the hinder sea ( Zec 14:8 ):<\/p>\n

Half towards the Mediterranean, and half towards the Dead Sea.<\/p>\n

and it will flow all year round. And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day and there shall be one LORD, and his name one ( Zec 14:8-9 ).<\/p>\n

The glorious Kingdom Age. He will be King over all the earth. “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Oh, how we need to be praying this, especially as we see the deterioration of the kingdoms of man in these days.<\/p>\n

And all the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and be inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, and to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses ( Zec 14:10 ).<\/p>\n

He’s talking about the extension of the city limits of Jerusalem, and they’ve already extended beyond these places.<\/p>\n

And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. And this [is fascinating to me] shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem ( Zec 14:11-12 );<\/p>\n

Those who have fought against Jerusalem, God’s gonna fight against them. And the plague will be,<\/p>\n

Their flesh shall consume away while they are standing upon their feet, their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth ( Zec 14:12 ).<\/p>\n

I would encourage you to read accounts of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and you’ll find that these are the things that happened. These are the results of a nuclear holocaust, a nuclear bomb. The Lord significantly prophesies that this is the way that people will perish–their flesh consuming away upon their bodies while they’re standing there. In Nagasaki the eye sockets melting, the eyeballs melting and rolling down the cheeks. “Their eyes consume in their holes, their tongue consume in their mouths.”<\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every man from his neighbor, [and the hand shall rise up] and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass, and all of the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague. And it shall come to pass, [after this great, horrible battle of Armageddon] that every one that is left of all of the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship ( Zec 14:13-16 )<\/p>\n

Those that are left, not many will survive, but those that are left will go up from year to year to Jerusalem to worship.<\/p>\n

the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of the tabernacles ( Zec 14:16 ).<\/p>\n

The feast of the tabernacles was commemorative of God’s preservation through the long forty-year experience in the wilderness and bringing them into the Promised Land. We will be keeping the Feast of the Tabernacles in the Kingdom Age, for God brought us through the long wilderness. But God will preserve us, God will keep us. We survived from the living water out of the Rock, Christ Jesus!<\/p>\n

And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain ( Zec 14:17 ).<\/p>\n

So you don’t want to come. All right, you’ll not get any rain on your crops.<\/p>\n

If the family of Egypt go not up, and comes not, they’ll have no rain; and there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of the tabernacles. And this shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that come not to keep the feast of the tabernacles. And in that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD ( Zec 14:17-20 );<\/p>\n

I mean bumper stickers everywhere. Glorious day, glorious day, beautiful graffiti. We have a Calvary Chapel in San Pedro, which is a very rough area of town over there. They used to have their building constantly painted with graffiti. They were constantly having to repaint the thing because of all the dirty words and all that were painted on the sides of the building. So the pastor finally went out with a black spray can, began to, after he’d painted the building, put his own graffiti on. Painted on it, “Jesus loves you!” All kinds of things like this on the side of his own building, painted it with this graffiti, and he’s not had problems since.<\/p>\n

“In that day on the bells of the horses, ‘Holiness unto the Lord!'”<\/p>\n

and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts ( Zec 14:20-21 ).<\/p>\n

So the glorious day of the Kingdom Age. A lot could be said… our time has run out, but some night we will spend some time talking about our place in that Kingdom Age during the thousand-year reign. What people will be on the earth, what kind of a control we will exercise over these people, the make up of the population, and so forth at that time, and we’ll go into that some night when we have more time.<\/p>\n

Next week, Malachi. The last of the Old Testament, fascinating prophecy. The last word of God before the Messiah. After Malachi, the silence, the silent years until the voice crying in the wilderness, “Make way, the path of the Lord, make straight His path.” John the Baptist. But we’ll get into Malachi, and then the following week moving into the New Testament.<\/p>\n

May the Lord bless you. May the Lord give you a beautiful week of fellowship with Him as you walk with the Lord in the light of His Word. May He just spread His glory on your way. May you just experience more and more the love of God and the grace of God, as His Spirit works in your heart, the Spirit of grace and supplication. God bless you, and keep you in the name of Jesus Christ. “<\/p>\n

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:1-3<\/p>\n

A DAY OF JEHOVAH COMETH . . . Zec 14:1-3<\/p>\n

(Zec 14:1) A Day of Jehovah is always a closing of one historic era and the beginning of another. It is upon this premise that we postulated the belief that the term in that day in chapter thirteen and chapter fourteen refers to two different times. (See comment.) The first day, referred to in chapter thirteen, is the Messianic age in which we live. The second day, referred to in chapter fourteen, is the last time.<\/p>\n

Zerr: The general subject of this whole chapter should be considered before trying to conclude on the meaning of any particular verse. The subject is the triumph of the Gospel over all the enemies of the Lord (Zec 14:1). The mention of unusual events of a material nature is only for the purpose of illustration and emphasis, and I shall comment on them from that standpoint. Spoil be divided in the midst of thee. The good things available will not be given into the hands of the enemy but will be retained by the Lord’s people.<\/p>\n

(Zec 14:1(b) – Zec 14:3) In the coming day of Jehovah the spoil of Jerusalem is to be divided in her midst. The occasion for this pillage will be the gathering of the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The treatment of the citys inhabitants is to be barbaric with half the population being taken into slavery. Those not taken into captivity are to remain in the city.<\/p>\n

Zerr: The events described here are the kind that would be done in a literal siege around Jerusalem (Zec 14:2). It will be accomplished figuratively in that much opposition will be attempted against the new system of the Lord to be set up In Jerusalem. This fight (Zec 14:3.) will be with the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:17).<\/p>\n

Those who see the subsequent verses symbolically fulfilled in the church, take this verse to refer to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. This raises grave questions. For example, if we are to take this verse literally of the invasion by Rome, why are we to assume the subsequent verses are figurative? And, how can we identify Rome as all nations?<\/p>\n

The Roman occupation of Palestine was by invitation, initially, and so does not fit the description here at all. The final destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, as the result of the failure of the Jews to accept Roman rule, more closely resembles the picture presented by Zechariah, but to explain these verses solely on this basis requires a sudden unexplainable shifting from the literal to the figurative in the verses immediately following.<\/p>\n

For example, those who take Jerusalem as meaning the city literally, in verses one through three, insist that the term is metaphorically used in following verses concerning the Mount of Olives. Such inconsistency is a gross violation of the rules of sound exegesis. It is more honest to simply say we do not know exactly what is being described here.<\/p>\n

It seems quite likely that we are dealing with events of the end time and the last rebellion of man against God. Perhaps we must leave the explanation of the prophets language to Him in Whose hands such things rest. Perhaps we, as the twelve, must reluctantly accept the fact that there are certain matters which it is not our prerogative to know as completely as we might like. (cp. Act 1:6-7)<\/p>\n

Questions<\/p>\n

In the Second Day<\/p>\n

1. Chapter fourteen deals almost exclusively with _________________.<\/p>\n

2. Eschatology may be defined simply as _________________.<\/p>\n

3. Do scholars generally agree on the meaning of this chapter?<\/p>\n

4. Discuss the two extreme views of pre and post millenialists in regard to Zechariah fourteen.<\/p>\n

5. One can never be _________________ and be dogmatic about eschatology, especially when it is written in apocalyptic form.<\/p>\n

6. In the study of eschatology we are deprived of a very useful tool in the interpretation of prophecy in general. What is that tool?<\/p>\n

7. Review the meaning of a day of Jehovah in chapter forty-one.<\/p>\n

8. In the day of Jehovah described in Zechariah fourteen the ______________ of Jerusalem is to be divided in her midst.<\/p>\n

9. Half the population of Jerusalem is to be _________________.<\/p>\n

10. Why does the Roman occupation of Jerusalem not fit the description here?<\/p>\n

11. List the events of Zechariah<\/p>\n

a. In that day (10)<\/p>\n

b. In that day (11)<\/p>\n

c. In that day (12)<\/p>\n

d. In that day (13)<\/p>\n

e. In that day (14)<\/p>\n

f. In that day (15)<\/p>\n

g. In that day (16)<\/p>\n

12. Describe the present setting of the Mount of Olives.<\/p>\n

13. The division of the Mount of Olives would provide an easy ___________________.<\/p>\n

14. The events here are compared to an historic earthquake in the days of ___________________.<\/p>\n

15. The description of the Lord in company with all the saints always refers to ___________________.<\/p>\n

16. What other prophets described the day of the Lord in terms similar to those used here by Zechariah?<\/p>\n

17. Peter saw at least the beginning of the fulfillment of a similar prediction by Joel in ___________________.<\/p>\n

18. God has always been king over the whole earth. In the end He will be ___________________.<\/p>\n

19. Locate Geba and Rimmon.<\/p>\n

20. What other topographical alterations accompany the splitting of the Mount of Olives?<\/p>\n

21. Who will be safe during these cataclysmic events?<\/p>\n

22. Describe the plague which is to come upon those arrayed against Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

23. What is the result of this plague?<\/p>\n

24. What Jewish feast is to be celebrated by all the nations? What is its significance?<\/p>\n

25. What is to be the consequence if any nation fails to keep the feast?<\/p>\n

26. Why is Egypt here singled out for special punishment should she fail to keep the feast?<\/p>\n

27. Finally the inscription _______________ is to be seen on everything in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

28. Explain the significance of this inscription appearing on such diverse items as altar utensils and cook pots in the home.<\/p>\n

29. Who were the Canaanites?<\/p>\n

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The prophet finally described the ultimate victories of the King, commencing with a description of the smiting of the Shepherd and the scattering of the sheep. Of this scattering a remnant would be loyal, and they would become the people of Jehovah.<\/p>\n

The prophet then described the ultimate day of the Lord, which would be ushered in by Jehovah coming to the Mount of Olives in the Person of His King. This advent would initiate the new processes of the settlement of the land, and the cleansing of Jerusalem by judgment, to be followed by the establishment of the Kingdom, in which all nations would gather to Jerusalem as a center of worship, those refusing being punished, while all life would be consecrated.<\/p>\n

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

a Day of Testing <\/p>\n

Zec 13:1-9; Zec 14:1<\/p>\n

This Fountain was opened, when the soldier pierced the Saviors side. But it is not enough for God to forgive; He must deal drastically with the waywardness of his people. And so thorough would be the work, that parents would rather their son should die than assume for filthy lucre and without the divine call, the lucrative profession of a prophet. A township would arise against a man suspected of being a prophet, who, in his terror, would pretend that he was a tiller of the ground. And if they discovered marks in his body which indicated that he had been previously branded as a false prophet, he would rather assert that his friends had been the cause of his affliction, than that he had any sympathy with the prophetic office.<\/p>\n

Note that remarkable anticipation, Zec 13:7-9. See Mat 26:31. Jesus knew that He was the Fathers fellow. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. We will come unto Him, and make our abode with Him. But He is also the Man. By the grace of the One Man, we may reign in life, Rom 5:17.<\/p>\n

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Chapter 14<\/p>\n

The True Feast Of Tabernacles<\/p>\n

Deep indeed is the darkness with which this chapter opens, but gloriously brilliant the light at the close.<\/p>\n

Of all Jerusalems sieges in the past, none were more severe than that depicted in the first two verses. They describe conditions which careful students of history admit have never been known in any past destruction of the city, and can only apply to something yet future.<\/p>\n

Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city (vers. 1, 2). From east, west, north and south, the armies of the nations will have advanced upon Jerusalem, hating the people and city of God, but mutually hating each other.<\/p>\n

Antichrist will be owned by the apostate Jews within the city as the Messiah and King of Judah. But against him the Assyrian, or king of the north, and the king of the south (terms used relative to Palestine), will pour their hordes into the land in one last desperate effort to wrest from this wicked king his brief authority. Behind the Assyrian power will be Gog, the last prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal-undoubtedly the head of the vast Russian empire. Allied with him will apparently be the kings from the sun-rising, or the far east, whose armies will hasten to join him in his assault on Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the Beast, the elected emperor of the confederacy forming the revived Roman Empire, will be the sworn foe of all these hostile powers, and the arm upon which Antichrist will lean. From every part of western and southern Europe he will draw his vast armies, who will be imbued with equal hate against both the faithful remnant of Judah and the Assyrian coalition.<\/p>\n

Between these conflicting powers Jerusalems position will be a most pitiable one. Unable to maintain the dreadful struggle, the city will be taken, and the horrors of a sack be again undergone.<\/p>\n

But when, as it would seem, no power, human or divine, could prevent its total extinction, the Lord shall go forth, staining all His raiment in the blood of the adversaries of His people, fighting as a mighty warrior in the day of battle (ver. 3). Before the eyes of the astonished armies of the world He will appear in glory, and He shall stand upon the mount of Olives, from which He ascended to heaven when He had by Himself made purification for sins.<\/p>\n

As His feet touch that sacred spot, a great earthquake will rend the mount asunder, which will depart to the east and to the west, opening up a deep valley, through which the remnant of His people shall flee for refuge unto Azal (a spot now unknown), which will be as a Zoar for the faithful residue, when judgment is about to sweep over the scene. Thus will they be hidden in the day of the Lords anger till the indignation be overcast.<\/p>\n

This section closes, if properly punctuated, with the declaration, Yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Here there should be a full stop. Of this earthquake in the days of Uzziah we have no specific record, though it is generally supposed to be the one referred to in Amo 1:1. The reference to it here completes the dramatic account of the siege and the deliverance. A new beginning is made in the last clause of the 5th verse, which introduces an orderly account of the appearing in glory of the Lord Jesus and all His heavenly saints, and the blessed results that follow. The Lord My God shall come, and all the holy ones with Thee! Thus shall be ushered in that glorious kingdom which has been so long predicted. Not by the preaching of the gospel and the conversion of the world will this event be brought to pass. Nothing less than the personal presence of the Son of God will ever bring in the Millennium. The holy ones who will come with Him include all the heavenly hosts-angels, and redeemed sinners transformed into glorified saints. 1 Thess. 4 and 1Co 15:51-57 make it plain that ere the time of trouble begins for Israel all the saved of every past dispensation will be caught up to meet their Lord in the air.<\/p>\n

Dead and living, changed and rising,<\/p>\n

In the twinkling of an eye.<\/p>\n

They will appear at His judgment-seat, to be rewarded according to the services rendered to Himself while in this scene. Then the Church as the Bride, and all Old Testament saints as the called and chosen guests, will participate in the marriage supper of the Lamb, which is to be celebrated in the Fathers house. After the happy-nuptial rites, the Lord Jesus, accompanied by all His holy ones, will descend to take His earthly kingdom, and to deliver the remnant of Israel and Judah from their cruel and blasphemous adversaries.<\/p>\n

This will take place on one day which shall be known to Jehovah, a day which no human method of computation can determine. The exact meaning of verses 6 and 7 has puzzled the most scholarly; but this much seems clear, that it shall be a day diverse from every other, beginning in deepest gloom and darkness, but, brightened by the outshining of the Sun of Righteousness, at evening time it shall be light. So will the morning without clouds have dawned upon this poor world, where night has held sway so long.<\/p>\n

Probably as a result of the great earthquake, predicted in verses 4 and 5, will be the phenomena of verse 8. According to the word of the Lord given in Eze 47:1-12 and Joe 3:18, living waters shall go out from Jerusalem-a perennial stream of refreshment, dividing into two parts, half going toward the eastern sea and half toward the western. Of spiritual blessing likewise does this speak, for it sets before us also that river of Gods pleasure, the Holy Spirits testimony to the glories of Christ, which will be as a stream of life and joy to the saved nations.<\/p>\n

Remarkable physical changes will take place in Palestine. The valleys exalted, and mountains leveled, the country will become as a great tableland from Geba on the north to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem. This sacred city will be inhabited in security, and her day of trembling be forever past, for the Lord shall be King over all the earth, and be everywhere owned as the one Jehovah, and His name one (vers. 9-11).<\/p>\n

The nations who will have shown no mercy to Jerusalem will be dealt with in judgment without mercy, a plague consuming their flesh, and internecine strife, or civil feud, causing them to destroy each other. Satan himself was an anarchist in the beginning. His kingdom is a kingdom of anarchy, knowing neither love nor pity (vers. 12, 13).<\/p>\n

Judah will become as the battle-axe of the Lord in that day of His power, victorious over every foe, and enriched by the spoil of those who would fain have spoiled them. Retributive justice will thus be visited on all oppressors when righteousness shall no longer suffer, but reign triumphant over every adversary (vers. 14, 15).<\/p>\n

Then shall the last joyful feast of the Levitical calendar be actually reached (that of the tabernacles), which was to be observed after the ingathering for a full week, culminating in the holy convocation of the eighth day-looking on to eternity (Lev 23:33-43). The sowing, and the long period of waiting for the harvest, over, the reaping time will have come, when joy and praise will fill every heart and songs of thanksgiving be upon every lip.<\/p>\n

Nor shall Israel keep her feast alone, but all the nations that are left for the kingdom shall go up from year to year to Jerusalem, there to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to join with His people (they themselves being numbered among them) in celebrating the glorious ingathering, as they dwell in booths of verdure, as of old it was written in the Book. It will be a sweet and lovely ending after centuries, yea, millenniums, of bitter strife and bloody warfare, when the noise of battle shall be no more heard, national hatreds shall be done away, and the era of peace on earth and Gods good pleasure in men shall have in very deed arrived.<\/p>\n

If, as seems to be intimated in verses 17 to 19, at the beginning, there be any dissentients who shall dare to refuse to wend their way to the city of the great King to worship before Him, immediate judgment shall fall upon them. The heavens will be closed so that their lands will be parched for lack of rain; that they may know that the time when God is directly governing the world shall have at last arrived. If the family of Egypt go not up, who depend not on rain, but on the yearly inundation of the Nile for the fertilization and maturing of their crops, then a special visitation shall be theirs, a plague wherewith the Lord shall smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.<\/p>\n

In this age men may defy God and seem to prosper. In that, which is so soon to come, godliness and prosperity will be linked together. It will be the dispensation of the fulness of the seasons, when all things shall be headed up in Christ, and every knee must bow to Him-when men will no longer walk by faith, as now, but by the sight of their eyes, beholding on every hand the evidences of direct divine intervention in human affairs.<\/p>\n

The last two verses form a fitting climax to the chapter and the book. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in the Lords house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. No longer will a distinction be made between sacred and secular; but men will have learned that anything worth doing at all should be done for the glory of God. The articles for temple service (used in the rebuilt temple of Ezek. 40 to 48) will be sacred to Jehovah. But so will also be every vessel used by the house-wife in Jerusalem and in Judah; while the very bells upon the horses will tinkle His praises. This is the lovely ideal the Holy Ghost portrays for Christians living in the present age; as it is written, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him (Col 3:16, 17). And, again, we are told, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1Co 10:31). He who thus has Gods glory ever before Him, even in the smallest details of life, will anticipate the Millennium, and already enter into what shall by-and-by be true of restored Israel under the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

There will be no drudgery then, no mere working for reward, for the Canaanite will have ceased out of the land in that day. Undoubtedly the name refers to the ancient enemy who ever contested Israels possession of the promised inheritance; but it bears the meaning of trafficker, or bargainer, to whom, in Hos 12:7, we have seen the sons of Jacob are compared. When ill feeling between Abraham and Lot was so narrowly averted through the generosity of the former, it is significantly stated that the Canaanite dwelt then in the land (Gen 13:7). When all strife and bitterness shall be done away in Abrahams redeemed seed, the Canaanite will have passed out of the scene for all time to come.<\/p>\n

This is Israels hope: the possession of the land pledged to their fathers, under the sway of Him whom David called,<\/p>\n

A righteous Ruler over men,<\/p>\n

A Ruler in the fear of God!<\/p>\n

even our adorable Lord Jesus Christ; when in His own times He shall show, who is that blessed and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords. Ours is a higher and holier portion, even to be the Bride of Him who is then to reign. We look to heaven, not to earth, for our inheritance, from whence we expect that very soon now the Lord Himself shall descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1Th 4:16, 17).<\/p>\n

Thus the two callings are clearly distinguished in Scripture. Israel is the wife of Jehovah, now divorced because of her sin, but to be brought back to Himself in grace and made to dwell in her former land in the day when the kingdom is displayed. The Church of the present dispensation is the Bride of the Lamb, whose nuptial hour is drawing near, and who will be one with her Redeemer throughout all the ages to come. Old Testament saints, and tribulation saints who are taken away by death ere the kingdom is set up, will be, as was John the Baptizer, friends of the Bridegroom, called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, to participate in their Lords rejoicing, and able also to share in Jehovahs joy when the earthly Bride shall return to His arms of love and compassion. In heaven their position will be analogous to that of the spared of the nations on earth, who will rejoice with Israel when they see the place she will have in the millennial kingdom. Thus are there various companies and varied glories in heaven and upon earth; but when the authority of the Lord Jesus is owned in both spheres, and every enemy has been banished and rendered powerless, all redeemed creation will delight to ascribe blessing and honor and glory and power to our God and to the Lamb that was slain, world without end. Amen.<\/p>\n

30 The whole question is pretty thoroughly examined in the work referred to, pp. 150-159, a volume which I am glad to take this opportunity of commending to any troubled with doubts as to the full inspiration of Holy Scripture. (It may be had from my Publishers.)<\/p>\n

31 Some suppose the other horses to be riderless, and see in this a significant picture of the restless energy of Gentile dominion; but this involves speaking horses, a figure, it seems to me, grotesque and unimplied here.<\/p>\n

32 I suppose most are aware of the foolish Mormon conceit which makes this young man to be Joseph Smith, the pseudo-prophet, and the angel to be Moroni, who reveals to him the golden plates of the book of Mormon!<\/p>\n

The most casual reading of the passage will make clear that it has no reference to a Zion in America, but is intimately connected with what has gone before, and follows after, as to Jerusalem in the land of Palestine.<\/p>\n

33 I do not enter into this in detail here, as I have already done so in commenting on Jeremiah, chapters fifty and fifty-one. The interested reader may consult The Weeping Prophet: Notes on Jeremiah and the Lamentations. Same author and publishers.<\/p>\n

34 Some read, the red; see R.V., margin. Others translate this word, the strong.<\/p>\n

35 I have thought that possibly commentators in general are wrong in applying the fast of the seventh month to the lesser fast commemorating the murder of Gedaliah, and that it really refers to the great fast of the day of atonement. In that case the prophet would be showing that whether directly appointed by God in His Word, or added by pious consent, no observance was acceptable apart from reality. But as the Jews themselves apply the passage as in the text, I have left it at that.<\/p>\n

36 Jew is but a contraction of Judah, which means praise. Note how the apostle interprets the name in Rom 2:28, 29.<\/p>\n

37 In verse 11 read, He shall pass through the sea of affliction, as in R. V.,-not with affliction, as the A. V. has it.<\/p>\n

38 I do not consider it needful to go into the question of the reference to Jeremy the prophet in Mat 27:9. Many theories have been suggested. The day will declare it.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:7<\/p>\n

There are two principles in this promise, which do for the most part regulate all the dealings of God.<\/p>\n

I. The first part is a principle of surprise. God delights to frustrate expectations. He introduces His power in a manner and at a moment the least anticipated. The day seems just passing-the darkness gathering-everything looks for night-when all in a moment the light kindles into more than meridian lustre. “At evening time it is light.” Thus God keeps to Himself the sovereignty; man is humbled to the dust; reason is all put aside, and God’s glory and God’s love stand out all alone in the ascendant.<\/p>\n

II. The second principle is that of patience. The blessing waits till the evening. It was not in hope’s first beaming; it was not in the world’s full glare; but in the quiet waiting-time it comes. When faith has been exercised, and graces have been tried, and the heart has been disciplined, do not doubt but that the morning’s gifts, be they what they may, are as nothing to the evening’s love. The sun may have been shining on you all the day through; still “at evening time it shall be light.”<\/p>\n

J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 2nd series, p. 187.<\/p>\n

References: Zec 14:7.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. iii., No. 160. Zec 14:8.-Ibid., Morning by Morning, pp. 183, 278; J. Wells, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. v., p. 205.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20<\/p>\n

I. Let us inquire what holiness is. What precisely do we mean when we say of a man that he is holy? We imply not simply that he is virtuous, but rather that his virtue has a special and peculiar quality. The virtuous man regulates his conduct by moral principles alone, while the holy man maintains a close and constant fellowship with the living God. The one gives you a lofty idea of his own excellence, the other makes you feel the greatness and purity of God; the life of the one may be maintained without any thought of Jehovah, that of the other is entirely supported by the communion of his soul with God. The root principles of holiness are constant fellowship with God, and unreserved consecration of the soul and life to God.<\/p>\n

II. Let us ask how this holiness is to be obtained. By no mere process of development or natural selection can the unholy man train himself into holiness. Neither can this change be accomplished by means of external rites. The Scriptures tell us with the utmost explicitness that we are regenerated by the power of the Holy Ghost. In order to holiness, the sinner needs to be reconciled to God, and to be made like to God; these are the very things which are to be accomplished through his belief on the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost.<\/p>\n

III. Where is this holiness to be manifested? In the text it is declared that it will be on the bells of the horses, and that is to be understood only as a specimen of a class. The horse is a common animal employed for ordinary purposes every day; and so the prophet would illustrate the principle, that under the new economy holiness would not be restricted to any person, place, or thing, but would characterise the believer’s life in all occupations and under any circumstances.<\/p>\n

W. M. Taylor, Limitations of Life, p. 175.<\/p>\n

References: Zec 14:20.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vii., No. 399. Zec 14:20, Zec 14:21.-J. Fraser, Penny Pulpit, No. 537. Zech 14-Expositor, 3rd series, vol. iv., p. 453.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Sermon Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

CHAPTER 14<\/p>\n

1. The last conflict and the manifestation of the Lord (Zec 14:1-5) <\/p>\n

2. The complete salvation (Zec 14:6-11) <\/p>\n

3. The punishment of the enemies (Zec 14:12-15) <\/p>\n

4. The conversion of the world (Zec 14:16-19) <\/p>\n

5. The holiness of Jerusalem (Zec 14:20-21) <\/p>\n

Zec 14:1-5. Post-millennialism has tried to find some explanation of this chapter, but has failed. The common view that the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the year 70 A.D. is the burden of this prophecy is ridiculous. We read that all nations will be gathered against Jerusalem. Is this true of the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus? It was only one nation. Did the Lord then go forth and fight against the Romans? No! He used the Romans in judgment. Did His feet stand at that time upon the Mount of Olives? Did He come and all the saints with Him? Were the results of the year 70 the results predicted in the rest of this chapter? Any intelligent Christian must see how foolish it is to interpret this passage as having seen its fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Nor is it true that previous sieges have fulfilled this chapter. Ptolemy Soter took Jerusalem about 315 B.C.; Antiochus the Great took the city in 203 B.C.; the Egyptian Scopus in 199 B.C.; Antiochus Epiphanes in 170 B.C. There were other sieges besides. But none of these sieges is predicted here. It is future.<\/p>\n

What siege then is it? Some premillennial expositors have a very convenient way of calling everything the battle of Armageddon and claim that the twelfth and the fourteenth chapters predict one and the same event. But this is erroneous. It is not the beast, the head of the ten kingdoms, the Roman revived Empire. The details of prophecy concerning the last events can only be understood by distinguishing between the leaders of opposition. There is the beast, the political head of the western nations, the little horn of Dan 7:1-28. He is in league with the second beast, coming out of the earth, with two horns like a lamb Rev 13:1-18. This is the false Christ, the man of sin, who is also called in Revelation the false prophet. He has his seat in Jerusalem, where he poses as Israels Messiah-King and is worshipped as such. Then there is another, the king of the north, typified by the Assyrian, the great invader whom Ezekiel also describes. This king of the north is the sworn enemy of the one who is in Jerusalem, that is the false Messiah; they hate each other. The king of the north heads the confederacy of nations from the East, Russia, Persia, Gomer and different Asiatic nations. Then Jerusalem is finally attacked by these nations. It is this final attack which is described in this chapter (see Joe 2:1-32). But then the Lord goes forth, and fights against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle Exo 14:1-31; 2Ch 20:15-37. He manifests His kingly power and glory in the defense of His city and His people. His feet stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, the place so well known in His earthly life, the place from which He departed to go back to the Father. A great physical upheaval takes place, for the mountain splits in the center, toward the east and west, forming a great valley between. The earthquake mentioned is the same to which Amos refers Amo 1:11. All this has never been; it is future, and the details of it will probably only be understood at the time of its fulfillment. The valley will be the avenue of escape, and the divided Olivet mountain will be ever after a witness to the literal fulfillment of Gods Word.<\/p>\n

And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee. Different manuscripts and versions have instead of with Thee–with Him. But the difficulty is cleared up when we consider that it is the Seer who addresses Jehovah, whose feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. Zechariah bursts out in speaking to Him, And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee. What a glorious manifestation it will be when He is present and all His holy angels with Him!<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6-11. Verses six and seven (Zec 14:6-7) have been rendered in different ways, and have been differently interpreted.<\/p>\n

And it shall come to pass in that day That the light shall not be with brightness and with gloom, And the day shall be one. It shall be known unto Jehovah. Not day and not night. And at evening time there shall be light.<\/p>\n

We believe that this passage means the physical phenomena in nature which are always connected with the day of the Lord Amo 5:18; Amo 8:9; Joe 2:31; Mat 24:30, and other passages). Changes will then occur which will mean that the present order of day and night are superseded by another order, so that when the evening time comes it will be light. That day will Just be one day of light and glory. The glory light will probably be shining throughout the thousand years, and cover the earth as the waters cover the deep.<\/p>\n

From verse eight (Zec 14:8) we learn that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem Eze 47:1-23. This must be interpreted as a literal fact, and likewise as a symbol of the great spiritual blessings. From the holy city go forth westward and eastward the waters which are destined to heal the long miseries of a world groaning under Satans thralldom, themselves the effect and symbol of the rich blessing which Jehovah then diffuses far and wide, and this above all the changes ordinary in nature; in summer and in winter it shall be. Drought and frost will not affect them; neither will the obstruction of the hilly ground toward the west; the waters shall flow as steadily toward the great sea on the west as to the Dead Sea on the east. The Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah, then shall be King over all the earth; and His Name shall be one. His throne is established over the earth and He rules the nations in righteousness. In that day of His glorious manifestation His Name will be revealed as the One who on earth declared I and the Father are One; He will be known as the One Lord and God, and worshipped as such. All idolatry is at an end and the abominations connected with it are abolished. Confusion is forever ended Zep 3:9.<\/p>\n

Other physical changes in the land are indicated in verse ten (Zec 14:10), and from verse eleven (Zec 14:11) we learn that there shall be no more curse and that Jerusalem shall dwell safely.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12-15. This is the description of the dreadful punishment which will befall the enemies in that day. It is to be read in connection with the third verse, the Lord fighting against those nations, and the punishment will be upon them when He appears. Thus it is seen in Rev 19:1-21. He appears, and after His appearing there is the scene of punishment of the enemies. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice to all the birds that fly in midheaven, Come and be gathered unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond and small and great Rev 19:17-21.<\/p>\n

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh Isa 66:24.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:16-19. It is clear from this passage that some nations, or representatives of nations, will be left of those who came against Jerusalem. They, with all the other nations of the world, will then know the Lord and worship Him. The temple will then stand in Jerusalem as the house of glory and a house of prayer for all nations. There will be a perfect worship, grand and glorious, and it will not be confined to Israel, but the nations will join it. We may learn perhaps from this verse that the Lord will leave every year once His place on His throne over the earth and come down to Jerusalem and show Himself in His glory before the worshipping multitudes in the earth, as He is seen in the New Jerusalem above. The occasion is the feast of tabernacles. It is the millennial feast. It is a feast kept in remembrance of Israels journey through the wilderness for forty years and all their subsequent wanderings. It stands also for the ingathering of the full harvest. It is a feast of joy, praise, and thanksgiving. The Jews keep it to the present day, though few know the full meaning of it. Every year when it comes again they read this 14th chapter of Zechariah. It is strange indeed. What a glorious feast that will be, kept there in Jerusalem, when the fullness at last has come! The fullness of the Gentiles has been gathered in, and is in the New Jerusalem; the fullness of Israel has come in the earth, and their receiving has been life from the dead, and Gentiles know the glory of the Lord. Some find a difficulty here in the fact that it is stated that the nations, the residue of men, are to come up to Jerusalem, and the difficulty is that it will be impossible for all of them to do that. It is not at all necessary that every individual must go up to Jerusalem once in a year. Perhaps every nation will send representatives to the feast of tabernacles, and they come in the name of the different nations and bring their presents. This seems to be indicated in the visit of the wise men from the East, who came to Bethlehem to worship the new-born King Mat 2:1-23. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. In Isa 60:6 we read of the coming of the Gentiles to Jerusalem when the Lord has come again. They shall come from Sheba; they shall bring gold and frankincense (the myrrh is left out here, for it speaks of suffering), and shall proclaim the praises of the Lord. As the wise men who came to Bethlehem were representatives of nations, so during the Millennium the nations will send delegations to the feast of tabernacles. What a scene that must be! How crowded Jerusalem will be by those from Greenland and from the interior of Africa, from India and the islands of the sea, as well as from the nations which composed the Roman empire. The ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God, and now their praise is heard in the city and mingling with the psalms sung by His own redeemed people.<\/p>\n

On the other hand Zec 14:17-19 acquaint us with the fact that even during the coming age of the kingdom-glory there will be disobedience among the nations, which will be fully demonstrated at the close of the Millennium, when a final revolt takes place.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20-21. The most holy person in Israel, the high-priest, carried the inscription, Holiness to Jehovah around his mitre, but now even the little bells of the horses bear that inscription. In that temple which stands during the Millennium, sacrifices will be brought, but there will be no difference in the vessels which are used in Jerusalem, the meanest and smallest will be holy. In one word, all will be holy, all will be consecrated to Jehovah. What a perfect service that will be of the people which are then, in truth, a holy people. Application can be made of this to believers now. Surely everything the saint has, and his whole life, must be thus consecrated to Jehovah, to the Lord. No Canaanite will be there, nothing unclean. The Vulgate translates the word Canaanite with merchant. It stands, however, for everything that is unclean and an abomination. The city will be completely purged from it.<\/p>\n

And of the New Jerusalem it is written, There shall in no wise enter into it any thing unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie, but only they that are written in the Lambs book of life…. Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and every one that loveth and maketh a lie Rev 21:27; Rev 22:15. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Isa 2:12, Isa 13:6, Isa 13:9, Joe 2:31, Joe 3:14, Mal 4:5, Act 2:20, Rev 16:14 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: Gen 49:28 – the twelve 1Ch 19:16 – and drew Psa 118:10 – All nations Isa 8:9 – Associate Isa 13:4 – noise Isa 29:7 – the multitude Isa 33:1 – when thou shalt cease Jer 30:7 – for Jer 50:11 – ye destroyers Eze 38:17 – whom Dan 11:32 – shall be Mic 4:12 – for he shall Zec 11:1 – that Zec 13:8 – but Zec 14:21 – in the Mal 4:1 – the day Mat 22:7 – he was Mat 23:38 – General Luk 21:22 – all Joh 11:48 – and the<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

WHEN THE DAY of the Lord arrives, there will come the moment of supreme crisis for Jerusalem. God will allow the most determined adversaries to have their way for a brief time. It has ever been thus. When God begins to work, the adversary is stirred to put forth his power to the utmost but only to find his efforts over-ruled for ultimate good. Thus it was on that occasion that stands out above all else, as is recorded in Act 4:26-28. The actions of the adversary only help to accomplish what God had determined from the outset. How great a comfort is this fact for us today. <\/p>\n

The final siege of Jerusalem, that verse Zec 14:2 indicates, we believe to be that which is predicted in the latter part of Dan 11:1-45, as the act of ‘the king of the north’. In that chapter, verses 36-39, we have at the time of the end, the king, who will do according to his own will, exalting him. self, and magnifying himself above every god, and not regarding ‘the God of his fathers’, whom we regard as being identical with the ‘idol shepherd’, and with the second ‘beast’ of Rev 13:1-18. Against this king, as Daniel reveals, will be found both ‘the king of the south’ and the king of the north’, and it is the latter who will ‘go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many’; and who will finally plant his palace, ‘in the glorious holy mountain’. And Daniel’s terse summary of the result is, ‘yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him’.<\/p>\n

The two ‘beasts’ of Revelation are not antagonistic, but acting in concert. The attack of Gog, of the land of Magog, predicted in Eze 38:1-23; Eze 39:1-29, is against the land of Palestine generally, and not specially Jerusalem, when the land has been brought back from the sword; so these great actors of the last days cannot well be identified with what we have before us here. This leaves the king of the north, who is called the Assyrian in Isaiah’s prophecy, as the one, whose attack will fulfil verse Zec 14:2 of our chapter, though all nations will be involved in the tremendous happenings of those days. It will be, as Zec 12:1-14 has told us, ‘a burdensome stone for all nations’.<\/p>\n

No city, we are told, has been besieged so many times as Jerusalem, and here we learn that this one, the last, will be up to a point a complete success; and then, just before all is complete, the attacker will come to his end and none shall help him. How this will come to pass verse Zec 14:3 reveals. Jehovah will suddenly and unexpectedly intervene in power. When He fought against Egypt at the exodus, He swept the whole Egyptian army into death – ‘there remained not so much as one of them’. In Hezekiah’s day He intervened against Assyria, and 185,000 dead lay upon the earth. What He did of old, He will do again.<\/p>\n

But verses Zec 14:4-5 furnish us with further details of a very remarkable character. When He thus appears, He will have ‘feet’, which ‘shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives’, and He will have ‘all the saints’ with Him. In the light of the New Testament we recognize with joy that the ‘Lord’, the ‘Lord my God’ of our Scripture is none other than our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. His feet left the mount of Olives, when as the earth-rejected One, He ascended to the glory of heaven. On that same spot His feet shall stand, when He returns in power and great glory in judgment upon His foes.<\/p>\n

When He does thus come, a great convulsion will break the surface of the earth. We have not heard of Palestine as a land much subject to earthquakes, during recent centuries. There was one in the days of Uzziah, to which our passage refers, and there was another at the moment Jesus died, as recorded in Mat 27:51. From that time onward has there been another in Jerusalem? – we wonder. At any rate, there is going to be another, as predicted here. An earthquake, when He died the death of the cross, in the most extreme humiliation! An earthquake, when He returns in splendour and majesty! How wonderfully suitable are the ways of our God!<\/p>\n

It is quite clear, we think, that the overthrow of the two beasts of Rev 13:1-18 at Armageddon is something distinct from that which we have before us, though we do not know of any Scripture which makes plain which of the two overthrows precedes the other.<\/p>\n

As the result of the earthquake a way of escape is made for the remnant – the godly remnant, as we suppose – in the moment of their extremity. Saints will be delivered on earth, while the heavenly saints will appear in glory with the triumphant Christ. The translation of verses Zec 14:6-7 is somewhat obscure, but they evidently emphasize the fact that again, just as it was on the day of the crucifixion there will be atmospheric changes in the heavens as well as the earthquake in the surface of the earth. There will be light at eventide, just when naturally we expect darkness to be falling on the scene.<\/p>\n

Verses Zec 14:8; Zec 14:10 further show that the earthquake will produce other great changes in Palestine, both in the flowing forth of waters and in the formation of a plain with Jerusalem lifted up in the midst of it. This agrees with the predictions in the later chapters of Ezekiel. All will be preparatory for the Jerusalem and temple that is to arise in millennial splendour, when, as verse Zec 14:9 says, the Lord will be King over the whole earth. Subsidiary kings there may be, as Isa 52:15 seems to indicate; but He is indeed the King of kings. At last the great era of peace will have arrived.<\/p>\n

But it will not come to pass without judgment of a very severe kind falling upon the sinful nations, as verses Zec 14:12-15 show. The terrible effects of judgment on the bodies of men are given in verse Zec 14:12, and these have, in our day, been likened to the effects produced on the survivors after the fall and explosion of an atom bomb. But in addition to this there will be the internecine destruction of which verse Zec 14:13 speaks. And further Judah will enter into the conflict, and much wealth will be laid up for the coming day.<\/p>\n

We must remember that, though the king of the north may be specially concerned in this attack on Jerusalem, all the nations will be involved as stated in verse Zec 14:2, and so these tremendous warlike judgments will be widely felt in all directions, and hence we get in verse Zec 14:16 the expression, “every one that is left.” We believe that this expression signifies that only a very small proportion of mankind will be left. At the present time many men of foresight are concerned about the very rapid rise in the population of the earth, particularly in nations like China, India and Japan. The over-population that they anticipate half a century ahead may never come to pass if the day of the Lord arrives before that, for their is not only to take place the warrior-judgment here indicated, but also the sessional-judgment of Mat 25:1-46, when the ‘goats’ are separated from the ‘sheep’, and go down to destruction.<\/p>\n

Those that are left will year by year come up to Jerusalem to worship and to keep the feast of tabernacles. When that feast was instituted under the law it was typical of the rest of the millennial age, which will then have been established. So it will be observed as a memorial of the fact that what had been typified had now been actually established, and not to observe it would result in punishment.<\/p>\n

The two verses that close this prophecy emphasize the holiness that becomes everybody and everything that is brought into contact with God. Holiness, we have been told, becomes His house forever. In the coming age it will be stamped upon the most ordinary and the most humble things, such as bells that jingle round the necks of horses and little bowls that have some part to play in the temple services. It is worthwhile noticing that horses are mentioned here, for we might be inclined to ask, But, will not these marvellous inventions in the matter of transport be further increased and expanded in that day? The answer must be that there is no mention of these inventions in Scripture, but the reverse. In that day, instead of men flying all over the earth in their unsatisfied desires, the picture is rather of a man sitting restfully in contentment under his own vine and fig-tree. The knowledge of God will then be filling the earth, and it is this that really satisfies the heart. God in His holiness will, so to speak have come in; and consequently from the house of the Lord the Canaanite will have been permanently cast out. <\/p>\n

These closing words of our prophet might strike us as rather unusual, did we not remember that the continual trouble that menaced the returned remnant of Israel amongst whom Zechariah prophesied was this very matter of marrying Canaanite wives, and even giving some of the Canaanites, related to them by these marriages, a place in the chambers of the rebuilt temple. This thing which had been so great a snare to them, would be gone for ever.<\/p>\n

And as we close our meditations on this prophet, let us not forget that a similar tendency has ever been a great snare amongst Christians. What was it that underlay all the disorders that marred the church at Corinth? It comes clearly to light in Paul’s second letter to them, when in 2Co 6:1-18 he felt his ‘mouth’ was ‘open unto you’, as he put it. He put his finger upon the real trouble; and it was their ‘unequal’ yoking with unbelievers. All through the church’s history this has been one main source of trouble and dishonour. It is so today, we have sadly to confess.<\/p>\n

May God give us all grace and strength to flee from it!<\/p>\n

Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:1. The general subject of this whole chapter should be considered before trying to conclude on the meaning of any particular verse. The subject is the triumph of the Gospel over all the enemies of the Lord. The mention of unusual events of a material nature is only for the purpose of illustration and emphasis, aud I shall comment on them from that standpoint. Spoil be divided in the midst of thee. The good things available will not be given into the hands of the enemy but will be retained by the Lord’s people.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:1-2. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh A day of the Lords great wrath and indignation will soon overtake you, O sinful, unthankful, bloody Jews! A day remarkable for the execution of divine vengeance upon you, and your city, Jerusalem. This chapter ought to have been joined to the preceding; for here the prophet continues to foretel the execution of the threatenings contained in the latter part of the former chapter; namely, how the unbelieving Jews should be destroyed by the Romans. Thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee All that thou hast, O Jerusalem, shall become a prey to thine enemies, who shall be such absolute masters of thee, that, in the greatest security, they shall divide among themselves whatever spoil they take from thee, in the very place where they take it. For I will gather all nations The Romans, being lords of the known world, had the strength of all nations united in their forces. Thus, (Jer 24:1,) Nebuchadnezzar is said to fight against Jerusalem with all the kingdoms of the earth. Lowth. And the city shall be taken For God is its enemy, and who can stand before him, or before nations gathered by him? Where he gives commission, he will give success. And the houses rifled, and the women ravished The Roman soldiers shall exercise those acts of lust and violence which are too frequent among conquerors. That all the outrages were committed, and the miseries endured, which are here predicted, when the Romans took Jerusalem, we have abundant proof from Josephus and other historians: see notes on Deuteronomy 28. And half of the city shall go into captivity The Hebrew word rendered half, may be translated a portion. It must be observed, that the city only is here spoken of; but chap. Zec 13:8, where mention is made of two parts being cut off and dying, refers to the whole land. And the residue of the people shall not be cut off The Romans spared the young and useful part of the Jews: Josephus, Bel. Jud., 6. 9:2. However, these were either condemned to the mines in Egypt, or exposed to the sword and to wild beasts in the provincial theatres, or sold for slaves. Ibid. It must be observed, that the forty thousand who were permitted to go where they pleased, were Idumeans: Bel. Jud., 6. 8:2. Newcome. But it is probable that the remnant of the Jews, who survived this almost exterminating destruction, and their descendants, who have for so many centuries been preserved a distinct people, in order to their future restoration, are intended. Scott.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zec 14:1-2. I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. The tenth legion joined the Roman general; and though they could not take the city by storm, yet famine at last did what could not be effected by the sword, nor by engines of war. But assuredly, the whole connection of this chapter looks farther than the revolt of the Jews against the Romans, and will receive a most signal accomplishment in the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Rev 16:14-16.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:3. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought for Joshua in the day of battle, and stayed the going down of the sun to give them light. If our critics will have all this to mean the Romans, the Lord did indeed fight against them, but it was 365 years after the siege of Jerusalem, and many of the Goths who stormed the city were christians, amongst whose fathers Ulphilas had preached. The Saxon Chronicle speaks of that event in the following words.<\/p>\n

Anno 435. Her Gotan abaecon Rome burgh, ande naeffre syththan Romane ne ricsodon on Brytene: Thaet waes embe xi hund wintra ande x wintra thaes the heo ge-timbred was: Ealles hi rixodon on Brytene feower hund seouanti wintra, syththan Gaius Iulius that lond aerost ge-sohte: Literally thus.<\/p>\n

435. This year, the Goths broke into the city of Rome, and never since have the Romans reigned in Britain. This was about eleven hundred and ten winters after she was ge-timbered (or built.) In all, they reigned in Britain four hundred and seventy winters, since Julius Csar erst ge-sought that land.We ask, what connection can there be between the suppression of the rebellion in Judea, and the milder punishment of Rome? Why lose Zechariahs glory and hope in minor wars and storms?<\/p>\n

Zec 14:5. Ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake. This happened about the twenty sixth year of king Uzziah. Joe 1:1. Josephus speaks of it thus: When this earthquake happened, the mountain [mount Olivet] before Jerusalem, cleft on the west side, and then removed four furlongs towards the east, and there stopped. Antiq, lib. 9. cap. 11.<\/p>\n

And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints, the holy ones, with thee. We find the like promises in many other places to comfort the church, and to rebuke the wicked. Psa 50:3. Dan 7:9-10. Eze 43:1. Mat 23:19. Rev 1:7; Rev 19:14.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:7. But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord. If these occurrences be known to God alone, the arcana or secrets which the Father hath put in his own power, it is in vain to wade beyond ones depth.<\/p>\n

Christ in his (own) times will show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. 1Ti 6:15.<\/p>\n

At evening time it shall be light. The margin directs us to Isa 60:19-20. Thy sun, oh Zion, shall no more go down, nor thy moon wane; for after this last conflict, the Lord shall be thy everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Neither jews nor christians have ever yet seen those glorious things which are spoken of the city of God.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:8. It shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem. The learned jesuit, Emmanuel Sa, to whom I am under many obligations, for Jerusalem in Zec 14:8-9, reads the church, and the nations, as converted to Christ. These living waters, he adds, are the doctrines and grace of Christ; who being the smitten rock, invites us freely to come and drink of the streams of righteousness and eternal life.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:9. The Lord shall be king over all the earth. This promise is repeated from Psa 2:8; Psa 22:27-28. Dan 2:34-44. His righteous government will be everywhere acknowledged, kings and legislators, as well as all classes of the people, shall be made to feel their accountability to the supreme Ruler, and shall conform their administrations to the principles of justice and truth. Such a state of things has never yet existed, except in a very limited degree; but when the kingdom of God shall come, his will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12. This shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalemthe true church, the holy Zion. Their flesh shall consume away. Nay, in anguish and remorse, they shall, as Moab and her allies in the days of Gideon, turn their swords one against another. Then, as in Zec 14:11, there shall be no more cherem, or utter curse and destruction on the church; that cup her enemies shall drink.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20. HOLINESS TO THE LORD. The church, the people, their cattle, their houses and furniture, shall all be hallowed to the Lord. Rom 12:1. <\/p>\n

Zec 14:21. There shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord. Jew and Greek, Barbarian and Scythian shall all be one, and shall all speak the language of Canaan. The Chaldaic and Aquila, for Canaan read merchants. Christ began to cleanse his Fathers house of merchandise. Sa reads, Mercator, videlicet, rerum spiritualium, seu simoniacus.<\/p>\n

REFLECTIONS.<\/p>\n

Our prophet keeps like others the best wine till the last. The hope of the church is sure, and the words of all the prophets are strong. But ah, how to understand them! We fear to miss our road, where the light is not clear nor dark. Distant objects in vision are often indistinct: still they are glorious objects, furnishing ground of hope that Zion shall one day be established on the tops of the mountains. Christs kingdom is that of the firstborn, the children of the promise, Abrahams seed, with which the countless multitudes of gentiles out of every nation and language are associated.<\/p>\n

The variations of commentators on the last chapter are so numerous as to involve doubts whether it be rightly understood. Poole, in his synopsis of the critics, makes the siege of Jerusalem to be by the Romans. But the earthquake, the sudden destruction of the Roman armies, and the rebuilding of the city, are at issue with the critics. The jews in their anguish during the famine did not look to Him whom they had pierced, nor cry in the bitterness of their souls to the Saviour. Neither did they gather the immense spoils and riches left by the besiegers, who perished by the visitations of God.<\/p>\n

The Arian critics, followed by others, insult us by referring all those events to the wars of Maccabeus against Antiochus Epiphanes. How long will men be blind!<\/p>\n

The more enlightened divines and commentators understand these predictions of the triumphs of the Redeemers kingdom; they therefore associate them with the latter part of all other prophetic writings, and expect that the Lord will not always keep silence, but will arise in some glorious manner for the salvation of his saints.<\/p>\n

We therefore hope for some discovery of his glory to punish the scoffers of the age, and to renew the evidences of revelation.Why not? He did renew the evidences on the emancipation from Egypt: he did renew them by signs in after ages. He confirmed also his covenant with many in the days of his flesh. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Zechariah 14. The Tribulation of the Struggle against Heathenism and the Glorious Future which may be Anticipated.It is noteworthy that the writer considers the plundering of Jerusalem as a day of the Lord. Zec 14:1 f. describes the affliction of Jerusalem up to the time of the Maccaban successes which are referred to in Zec 14:3. The sense of what follows is hopelessly obscure in MT and EV owing to the mispronunciation of the Heb. consonants in Zec 14:5. The thought of flight is here altogether out of place. Following the pro nunciation adopted in LXX, we may render Zec 14:5 as follows: And the valley of my mountains (but read the valley of Hinnom) shall be stopped upfor the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azelyea, it shall be stopped up as it was stopped up by the earthquake, etc. In order to understand this description, it must be remembered that a Hebrew allegorist used names of actual places for his purpose, and that our author is addressing those who are familiar with the ancient Scriptures. Here the writer has specially in mind Ezekiels allegory of the living water issuing from the Temple hill and transtorming the whole district to the east (a natural figure of the heathen world of Asia) by the outflow of the word of the Lord from Zion. Ezekiels allegory was doubtless suggested by the fact that the only spring in Jerusalem rises at the bottom of the hill on which the Temple stood. But since the water of this spring flows by the valley of the Kidron through a desert gorge into the deep depression of the Dead Sea, a scoffer or despondent person might maintain that the limited effect of such a stream was a fair measure of the possible influence of Jewish religion on the heathen world of Asia. A river sufficient to produce any effect would require the removal of the Mount of Olives which rises before Jerusalem on the east, and which, since mountains are a constant metaphor for obstacles, naturally suggested a hindrance to the flow of living water. But just as, at the Israelites entry into the land of Canaan, the Jordan ceased to be an obstacle so soon as the feet of the Lords priests were dipped into its waters, so, when the Lords return to Jerusalem is made manifest, when His feet stand, as it were, on the Mt. of Olives, the obstruction to the flow of the living water will be removed, the mountain cleaving asunder, so as to leave a vast channel in the midst through which the water may flow to the regeneration of the heathen world on the east. In the second century B.C., however, the Jews thoughts were directed not only to Asia, but also to the countries about the Mediterranean; and accordingly, as it was necessary that the Mt. of Olives should be made low, in order that the living water might reach the east, so it was necessary that the valley W. of Jerusalem should be exalted in its SE. outlet, in order that the water might flow also to the W.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:8 seems to be misplaced, and should probably be read immediately after the words Uzziah king of Judah. The identification of the valley of Hinnom is uncertain; it may be the Tyropon which runs up into the heart of Jerusalem immediately W. of the Temple, or the valley which bounds the W. and SW. parts of Jerusalem. Both these valleys at their upper end bend somewhat to the W. The writer here pictures one of them as blocked up at its S. end, so that no water can flow out in that direction, and prolonged at its upper end till it reaches Azel, i.e. probably Beth Ezel (Mic 1:11) near the Philistine plain. Josephus states that in the landslip caused by the earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Amo 1:1), at a place called Eroge (probably En Rogel), near the junction of the Kidron and the western valleys, a large portion of the mountain fell away, blocking up the roads and the kings garden.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:5. The Lord my God shall come: read, The Lord God of Israel or some similar expression.with thee: read with LXX, with him.holy ones: the use of this term for the heavenly host is characteristic of late Hebrew; cf. Job 5:1, Psa 89:5; Psa 89:7, Dan 4:13; Dan 8:13.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:6-9. The text of Zec 14:6 has suffered considerably. The passage perhaps originally read: there shall not be light and darkness, heat and cold and frost (see mg.). In any case the sense is clear. We, who live in a temperate climate and in a well-policed society, find it difficult to realise the hardships of life in ancient Palestine, where the struggle to obtain a livelihood was made harder by the extremes of heat and cold (Gen 31:40), and when darkness was a time of anxiety, since a robber might at any time dig through the mud-built walls (Job 24:16, Mat 6:20 mg.) and rob and murder (Joh 10:10). Night, therefore, was a natural metaphor for a time when the wicked might work their will unchecked. The writer looks forward to future peace and ordered government, when there will be, as it were, continuous day, a state of security unbroken by periods of darkness, i.e. of risk of injury, and when at evening time there will be light, i.e. safety. This state of blessedness will come to pass when the Lords law is recognised in all the land, and the Jewish creed (Deu 6:4) will be everywhere acknowledged. There will no longer be any tendency to identify Yahweh with foreign deities, or to worship the Yahweh of one place as distinct from the Yahweh of another, but His worship will be uniform throughout the country (Zec 14:9).<\/p>\n

Zec 14:10 f. The writer, ignoring his former allegory of the cleaving of the Mt. of Olives and the blocking up and prolongation westward of the valley of Hinnom, represents all Judah as transformed into a plain from its N. frontier Geba to Rimmon (i.e. En Rimmon, Neh 11:29, Jos 15:32; perhaps the modern Umm er-rummn, 9 miles N. of Beersheba), Jerusalem alone being lifted up above the surrounding country in order to show its spiritual pre-eminence (cf. Isa 2:2, Mic 4:1). Benjamins gate (Jer 37:12 f.) was, of course, in the N. wall of Jerusalem, and probably near the E. corner. The place (or site) of the first or (former) gate is apparently mentioned as the W. boundary; unto the corner gate seems to be a further description of it; it is mentioned in 2Ki 14:13, 2Ch 26:9, Jer 31:38. The tower of Hananel (mentioned Neh 3:1; Neh 12:39) appears to have been near the NE. corner of the city. The kings winepresses were probably near the kings garden (Neh 3:15). The dimensions of Jerusalem are thus given from E. to W. and from N. to S. The utter impossibility of reconciling the details of one allegorical description with those of another is sufficient proof that the writer had no idea of being understood literally. It is noteworthy that, unlike the authors of Zec 14:9-12, he ignores Samaria.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:12-15. The Punishment of the Heathen Opponents of Jerusalem.This description also is not to be taken literally. The forces arrayed against the Jews came to nothing as though by internal consumption. Zec 14:13 f. appears to be misplaced, and should apparently stand between Zec 14:2 and Zec 14:3. The mention of Judah as fighting against Jerusalem is quite natural in a description of the earlier stages of the struggle, but out of place after a description of the earlier stages of the restoration of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:16-19. The Conversion of the Heathen and the Punishment of those who Fail to Observe the Ordinances of the Jewish Faith.For the thought, cf. Isaiah 66. The reason for the selection of the Feast of Tabernacles is not quite obvious. Probably it was the only feast which those who lived at a great distance from Jerusalem could reasonably be expected to attend, for it marked the end of the agricultural year, whereas a journey to Jerusalem at Passover or Pentecost would sadly interfere with harvest operations. It is somewhat strange that the threatened punishment of a failure of rain is in accordance with a popular superstition; for the pouring of water on the altar at the Feast of Tabernacles, though it may not have been originally so designed, was commonly regarded as producing rain. In Zec 14:18 read the LXX and Syr. text (see mg.). Since Egypt is practically rainless, it is threatened with a different punishment, viz. that of the nations which have opposed Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

Zec 14:20 f. The Future Purification from Heathenish and Sinful Elements.Hitherto horses have been regarded as symbolical of influences opposed to the law of the Lord; henceforth, however, the very horses shall be as holy as the High Priests mitre (Exo 28:36), and the Temple will be so scrupulously kept, that every pot in it will be as free from pollution as the altar bowls which receive the sacrificial blood; indeed so free will Jerusalem be from anything unclean, that those who come up to keep the feasts may use any pot taken at random for the cooking of the sacrificial flesh. Then there will be no more mercenary priests, such as Jason or Menelaus, buying their office; there will no more be a Canaanite or huckster in the house of the Lord.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Nations Punished, Then Restored <\/p>\n

(vv. 1-15)<\/p>\n

This chapter goes back to consider the The Great Tribulation from another viewpoint. “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming (v.1). The day of the Lord stands in contrast to “man’s day” (1Co 4:3 – JND). “Man’s day” is the present time when God is allowing man to express his own opinions and to some extent have his own way. This day will culminate in man’s bold challenge to God’s authority by placing “the abomination of desolation” in the temple area of Jerusalem (Mat 24:15)-an image in honor of the Roman Beast – the leader of the revived Roman Empire (Rev 13:14-15). Thus man’s proud defiance of God will rise to its most lawless height. Then the day of the Lord will burst upon the world in all its awe-inspiring solemnity. God will openly intervene in the affairs of mankind, first for judgment, then for blessing. In that day the spoil taken by the enemies will be divided in the midst of the city. The spoil will not be taken out first, but the enemies will be so complacent in having totally subdued the city that they will take all the time they want in dividing the spoils among themselves in the city.<\/p>\n

God will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem (v. 2). Following the setting up of the “the abomination of desolation” at the middle of the seven years, the Lord will send the King of the North, also named “the Assyrian” (together with a large alliance of nations) against Jerusalem, as “the rod of His anger” (Isa 10:5-6). Dan 11:40-41 speaks of this, saying that the King of the North “shall come against him (the antichrist) like a whirlwind,” and will “overwhelm them and pass through.”<\/p>\n

The Lord Jesus, in speaking of this time, urges the Jews to flee out of Jerusalem when they see the idol set up there (Mat 24:15-18). Some will no doubt do so, but others will be left. The city will be taken, the houses plundered and the women ravished. The Jews will suffer dreadfully, for it will be “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer 30:7). We have seen (Zec 13:8) there will be great bloodshed. Also half of the city will be taken into captivity, the other half allowed to remain. Some years ago a news report told of a French agency discovering in Syria complete plans for a sudden thrust into Israel, which involved removing half of the population of Israel into Arab lands and replacing these with Arab residents. As yet Syria has been restrained by God from doing any such thing. They have found Israel too strong and militant. It may be that in the six day war they hoped to do this, but God gave Israel a decisive victory. But when God sends the King of the North against His people Israel, He will take away all the strength of Israel, so they will be totally defeated. Jerusalem will be left in a greatly weakened condition as the King of the North continues his advance southward, taking control of the land of Egypt and its treasures, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians (Dan 11:40-43). <\/p>\n

After the King of the North subdues Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia, he will hear troubling news out of the east and the north that will cause him to rush back to Jerusalem (Dan 11:44-45). Therefore the time in between verses 2 and 3 of Zec 14:1-21 covers most of the 3 1\/2 years of the Great Tribulation. At the end of the tribulation the Lord Himself will go forth to fight against those nations that have desolated Israel (v. 3). Though God has sent the King of the North, the Assyrian, to punish Israel, yet the Assyrian did not in his heart mean to do the will of God, but wanted “to destroy, and cut off not a few nations” (Isa 10:7). Therefore the Lord Himself will fight against the Assyrian and his confederate nations.<\/p>\n

This great battle will take place, not at Armageddon, but at Jerusalem, for the Lord’s feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives at Jerusalem (v. 4). This will fulfill what an angel told the disciples after they had seen the Lord Jesus taken up to heaven (Act 1:9-11). Just as He ascended from the Mount of Olives at Bethany (Luk 24:50-51), so He will come to Israel at the same place.<\/p>\n

At this time His coming will be with powerful signs, for the Mount of Olives will be split in two, leaving a great valley between the two sections. A great earthquake could cause this, whether the one spoken of in Rev 16:10, is difficult to decide. At any rate, three occasions of great significance to Israel are attended by great earthquakes, the death of the Lord Jesus (Mat 27:50-51), His resurrection (Mat 28:1-6), and the future great occasion of His returning to Israel. All of these events are intended, not only to shake the earth, but to shake people to their depths.<\/p>\n

The citizens will be terrified and will flee as they fled from an earthquake in the days of King Uzziah. That particular earthquake does not appear to be mentioned anywhere else except in Amo 1:1. In panic people will do anything without considering what is wise. Where do they think they can go to avoid an earthquake? They think only of getting away from the place where it first shook them. Why not appeal to the One who created the earth and holds it under His control? How much better it is to calmly face our troubles in communion with God than to try to run away from them. God’s intention in shaking us is to drive us into His own sheltering presence. Jerusalem’s inhabitants evidently will take advantage of the newly-made valley to escape.<\/p>\n

“And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the holy ones with Thee” (JND). This connects with verses 3 and 4: it is not in chronological order, but rather indicates the events spoken of are connected with the Lord’s coming. How clearly this verse teaches that Jesus is Jehovah! He comes “with His holy ones.” This does not necessarily refer to human believers, as does Rev 19:14 where the armies in heaven follow the Lord Jesus in His great conquest at Armageddon. More likely, these “holy ones” are angels as seen in 2Th 1:7-8, “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels.”<\/p>\n

“It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish” (v. 6). Joe 3:15 speaks of this literal phenomenon, “The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness.” See also Mar 13:24-25. This reminds us of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. When he met the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus he was immediately a changed man, but was blinded, not seeing the light for three days. Israel’s conversion will be similar. To begin with, the light will be obscured because of their years of being away from God: they will feel the darkness of their natural, unbelieving state before everything is cleared before their wondering eyes. It will be “a day known to the Lord” (v. 7), for He knows how to translate a sinful people from the darkness to the light through exercise of soul regarding both the darkness and the light. “At evening time it shall happen that it will be light.” When the light normally fades, the power of God intervenes to bring Israel the light that has eluded them for centuries. How often it also happens that in the eventide of one’s life, the light of God breaks into the soul! This is marvelous mercy.<\/p>\n

After the light comes there will be no lack of refreshment for the nation. Jerusalem being the center of God’s dealings on earth, God will cause water to spring up in that city, forming two rivers, one going east to the Dead Sea, the other west to the Mediterranean. Eze 47:1-8 speaks of the waters issuing from under the threshold of the temple and going eastward, causing the Dead Sea to be transformed from salt water to fresh. Ezekiel mentions only the river flowing east, though Zechariah speaks of a westward river also. This phenomenon signifies the fact that Jerusalem will be God’s earthly center from which blessing flows to the whole earth. Far higher than this is the truth taught in Rev 22:1, that a river of the water of life will flow out from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of the heavenly city, with unceasing spiritual refreshment.<\/p>\n

“And the Lord shall be King over all the earth,” not over Israel only, but over all nations. Again, God’s king is the Lord Jesus (cf. Psa 2:6-8), and Scripture calls Him “Jehovah.” Significantly it is added, “In that day it shall be, The Lord is one and His name one.” Israel then will realize as never before, the truth the Lord Jesus declared to them, “I and My Father are one” (Joh 10:30). Having rejected Christ, they blindly accuse Christians of having two gods (or three, if they have heard of the Trinity), but they will consider it wonderful when their eyes are opened to recognize that in Christ “dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2:9). They will recognize the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as being revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. His name also will be one. The unity of His name has been declared before, as in Isa 9:6, “His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” These are not considered names, but one name. Thus there is unity in the persons of the Godhead and there is unity in His name.<\/p>\n

At this time all the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon (v. 10). Geba was in northern Benjamin (Jos 21:17) and Rimmon in southern Judah (Jos 15:32). Evidently the earthquake will greatly change the contour of Judah and Benjamin, leaving much more fertile land. “Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place.” Jerusalem will be the one high spot in the land of Judah, just as it will be given the place of prominent dignity among the nations. Then we are told the boundaries of the restored city. Benjamin’s gate, the first (or former) gate, the corner gate, the tower of Hananeel and the king’s winepress apparently encompass the whole inhabited city from east to west and from north to south. Such a description proves that Zechariah is speaking of the literal earthly Jerusalem, not the “new Jerusalem” of Rev 21:10-27.<\/p>\n

What a relief for that city when its inhabitants are not periodically driven out, when there is no longer any fear of destruction and carnage, but all will have the assurance of safety and stability (v. 11). Thank God, permanent blessing depends on the permanency of the value of the work of Christ on Calvary, which Israel had so long refused, but will recognize and appreciate then.<\/p>\n

Verses 12-15 go back (as prophecy often does) to consider other matters that precede the blessing of Jerusalem. The Lord will inflict a fearful plague upon those nations that have fought against Jerusalem, that is, the King of the North and his allies. “Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths” (v. 12). When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it was reported that people suffered results similar to these, their flesh withering and their eyeballs draining out of their sockets while they stood on their feet.<\/p>\n

But in this case we should not hastily conclude that nuclear warfare will be the means of the affliction, for the Jews in Jerusalem would not likely drop a nuclear bomb in the vicinity of their city. Also, Joe 3:16 tells us, “The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem.” He will go forth at the head of Israel’s armies. Then verse 14 says, “Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.” Would they be able to fight at all if nuclear bombs had been dropped nearby?<\/p>\n

Another element also appears in this victory over Israel’s enemies. The Lord will cause panic to overtake the attackers, so they will fight among themselves, not realizing what they are doing. This being true, together with the Lord going forth and Judah fighting and the plague inflicted on the enemy, it is plain that nuclear warfare is not involved. Still, it will be an awesome culmination of the time of trouble such as the world has never seen before (vv. 12-14)<\/p>\n

The inhabitants of Judah, having been broken down in true repentance before the Lord, and born again, will fight with an energy divinely given. Christians today have no such commission to fight physically. They are to bear the oppression of evil men rather than to fight against them (1Pe 3:13-19). We have a heavenly inheritance (1Pe 1:3-4). But Judah will be fighting for their own earthly inheritance, and at that time this will be perfectly right. The warfare of Christians is not carnal (of the flesh), but spiritual (2Co 10:4-5).<\/p>\n

The huge armies invading Israel will bring with them so many supplies that Israel will be made wealthy by the abundance of gold, silver and clothing they take as spoil. God not only enables His people to gain the victory, but enriches them also. It is a lesson for us. When we give the Lord Jesus His true place, as Israel will then, He gives us strength to defeat the power of the enemy and will use the occasion to enrich us as well, not materially, but spiritually. The exercise of terrible distress throughout the experience of the Great Tribulation will issue not only in victory over the enemy, but in abundance of lasting blessing. <\/p>\n

Israel’s victory at the end reminds us of the grace and power of God on behalf of King Jehoshaphat when a great multitude came against him from Moab, Ammon, Syria and Mount Seir. “Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah” (2Ch 20:2-3). With confidence in God they went to battle. Instead of stirring up bitter enmity in the soldiers’ hearts, Jehoshaphat appointed singers to praise the beauty of holiness, saying, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (vv. 21-22). Then God spread confusion in the ranks of the enemy and they fought against one another until they were all killed, with Israel not having to fight at all. The spoil was so great that it took Israel three days to gather it (vv. 23-25).<\/p>\n

Verse 15 tells us that the same plague of verse 12 will affect the horses, mules, camels, donkeys and any other animals of the enemy. This reminds us of God’s instructions to Saul in 1Sa 15:3, that not only was Amalek to be destroyed, but all their animals also. Since man’s sin has badly affected all animate creation, that creation suffers with him (Rom 8:20). On this smaller scale, the animals that people have identified with their own rebellion against God will suffer the same judgment as the rebels.<\/p>\n

THE GREAT TRANSFORMATION <\/p>\n

(vv. 16-21)<\/p>\n

How Israel will marvel at the amazing change, in so short a time, that has transformed the struggling, suffering city of Jerusalem into the metropolis of the whole world! More than that, those remaining of the nations, formerly her enemies, will voluntarily come up to Jerusalem each year to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (v. 16) and to worship the King, the Lord of hosts (the Lord Jesus). How welcome will be the contrast of calm, settled peace to the former constant turmoil and unrest of the Jewish people! Of course it will be representatives of those nations who come.<\/p>\n

The Feast of Tabernacles is singled out because it is the last of “the feasts of Jehovah” listed in Lev 23:1-44 and signifies the full accomplishment of God’s counsels concerning Israel. It looks forward to the day of millennial blessing which Israel will then have entered upon (Lev 23:33-43). That feast of seven days was a time of great rejoicing after the harvest had been gathered in. Israelites were to make booths of branches of trees and live in them during that week. This teaches us that Israel will have wonderful safety as well as pleasant weather during the Millennium. There will be no thieves to break in nor cold and storms to assail them, nor danger from animals, nor apparently any infestation of insects.<\/p>\n

This will not however be the perfect state, as eternity will be. People will still have sinful natures, but the Lord Jesus will be in authority, ruling in righteousness. If any nation decides not to recognize Jerusalem as God’s center, not sending representatives to the city to give honor to the King, the Lord of hosts, then God will withhold rain from that country. Since Egypt does not depend on rain but is watered by irrigation from the Nile River, then if she sends no representatives to Jerusalem, she will be afflicted by a plague. What plague is not mentioned, but Egypt has in the past learned that God knows how to inflict the kind of plagues that greatly distress the nation (Exo 7:19 to Exo 12:30). During the one thousand years of peace while the Lord Jesus is reigning, the generally favorable circumstances in the world will be interrupted only by some individuals refusing to give honor to Him. The many who have not been born again will still retain an attitude of resentment against authority, even though that authority is kind and considerate. They will be ready to rise up in rebellion as soon as Satan is loosed from his prison and goes out to deceive the nations (Rev 20:7-9).<\/p>\n

The last two verses dwell on the marvel of the change in Jerusalem. Even the bells on the horses will be engraved with the inscription, “Holiness to the Lord.” Israel will be “a holy nation.” Holiness will mark, not only their persons, but what they possess. There will be no separation between secular and spiritual life: all will be for God, just as Christian lives should be today. Even pots would be “like the bowls before the altar,” that is, daily eating utensils would be used as dedicated to the Lord.<\/p>\n

The last sentence in Zechariah is an arresting one, “In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.” There is more instruction in this than merely the banishing of a literal Canaanite. The name means “a merchant,” and the house of the Lord in Israel has been plagued by a spirit of merchandising throughout its history, so that the Lord Jesus spoke with good reason, “Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise” (Joh 2:16). At last that house will be fully purified from the defilement of those who take advantage of Jewish religion to further their interests of greed. If the Lord’s honor will be first in all the relationships of the people, including business, their business will not then infringe on the Lord’s rights in His house. May we also in our day, hold God’s house, the Church of the living God, in due respect, giving the Lord Jesus the supreme honor of which He is worthy.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

14:1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be {a} divided in the midst of thee.<\/p>\n

(a) He arms the godly against the great temptations that would come, before they enjoyed this prosperous estate promised under Christ, that when these dangers came, they might know that they were warned of them before.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The final deliverance of Israel and the return of Messiah 14:1-8<\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

The Lord announced through His prophet that a day was coming, for His benefit primarily, when the nations that had plundered Israel victoriously would divide their spoil among themselves in Jerusalem. This would be the Lords’ day in which He would do His will, in contrast to man’s day in which man conducts his affairs without divine interference.<\/p>\n

"The day of the Lord in prophetic literature designates any time when Yahweh steps into the arena of human events to effect his purposes." [Note: McComiskey, p. 1227.] <\/span><\/p>\n

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

10. JUDGMENT OF THE HEATHEN ANDSANCTIFICATION OF JERUSALEM<\/p>\n

(Zec 14:1-21)<\/p>\n

In another apocalyptic vision the prophet beholds Jerusalem again beset by the heathen. But Jehovah Himself intervenes, appearing in person, and an earthquake breaks out at His feet. The heathen are smitten, as they stand, into moldering corpses. The remnant of them shall be converted to Jehovah and take part in the annual Feast of Booths. If any refuse they shall be punished with drought. But Jerusalem shall abide in security and holiness: every detail of her equipment shall be consecrate. The passage has many resemblances to the preceding oracles. The language is undoubtedly late, and the figures are borrowed from other prophets, chiefly Ezekiel. It is a characteristic specimen of the Jewish Apocalypse. The destruction of the heathen is described in verses of terrible grimness: there is no tenderness nor hope exhibited for them. And even in the picture of Jerusalems holiness we have no really ethical elements, but the details are purely ceremonial.<\/p>\n

“Lo! a day is coming for Jehovah, when thy spoil will be divided in thy midst. And I will gather all the nations to besiege Jerusalem, and the city will be taken and the houses plundered and the women ravished, and the half of the city shall go into captivity, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. And Jehovah shall go forth and do battle with those nations, as in the day when He fought in the day of contest. And His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives which is over against Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split into halves from east to west by a very great ravine, and half of the Mount will slide northwards and half southwards for the ravine of mountains shall extend to Asal, and ye shall flee as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, {Amo 1:1} and Jehovah my God will come and all the holy ones with Him. And in that day there shall not be light congeal. And it shall be one day-it is known to Jehovah-neither day nor night; and it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light. And it shall be in that day that living waters shall flow forth from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea: both in summer and in winter shall it be. And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day Jehovah will be One and His Name One. All the land shall be changed to plain, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem; but she shall be high and abide in her place from the Gate of Benjamin up to the place of the First Gate, up to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel as far as the Kings Winepresses. And they shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more and Jerusalem shall abide in security. And this shall be the stroke with which Jehovah will smite all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: He will make their flesh molder while they still stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall molder in their sockets, and their tongue shall molder in their mouth.”<\/p>\n

“And it shall come to pass in that day, there shall be a great confusion from Jehovah among them, and they shall grasp every man the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall be lifted against the hand of his neighbor. {Eze 38:21} And even Judah shall fight against Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be swept up, gold and silver and garments, in a very great mass.” These two verses, Zec 14:13 and Zec 14:14, obviously disturb the connection, which Zec 14:15 as obviously resumes with Zec 14:12. They are, therefore, generally regarded as an intrusion. But why they have been inserted is not clear. Zec 14:14 is a curious echo of the strife between Judah and Jerusalem described in chapter 12. They may be not a mere intrusion, but simply out of their proper place; yet, if so, where this proper place lies in these oracles is impossible to determine.<\/p>\n

“And even so shall be the plague upon the horses, mules, camels, and asses, and all the beasts which are in those camps-just like this plague. And it shall come to pass that all that survive of all the nations who have come up against Jerusalem, shall come up from year to year to do obeisance to King Jehovah of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And it shall come to pass that whosoever of all the races of the earth will not come up to Jerusalem to do obeisance to King Jehovah of Hosts, upon them there shall be no rain. And if the race of Egypt go not up nor come in, upon them also shall come the plague, with which Jehovah shall strike the nations that go not up to keep the Feast of Booths. Such shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Booths.”<\/p>\n

The Feast of Booths was specially one of thanksgiving for the harvest; that is why the neglect of it is punished by the withholding of the rain which brings the harvest. But such a punishment for such a neglect shows how completely prophecy has become subject to the Law. One is tempted to think what Amos or Jeremiah or even “Malachi” would have thought of this. Verily all the writers of the prophetical books do not stand upon the same level of religion. The writer remembers that the curse of no rain cannot affect the Egyptians, the fertility of whose rainless land is secured by the annual floods of her river. So he has to insert a special verse for Egypt. She also will be plagued by Jehovah, yet he does not tell us in what fashion her plague will come.<\/p>\n

The book closes with a little oracle of the most ceremonial description, connected not only in temper but even by subject with what has gone before. The very horses, which hitherto have been regarded as too foreign, {Hos 14:3} or-as even in this group of oracles (Zec 9:10)-as too warlike, to exist in Jerusalem, shall be consecrated to Jehovah. And so vast shall be the multitudes who throng from all the earth to the annual feasts and sacrifices at the Temple, that the pots of the latter shall be as large as the great altar-bowls, and every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be consecrated for use in the ritual. This hallowing of the horses raises the question, whether the passage can be from the same hand as wrote the prediction of the disappearance of all horses from Jerusalem (Zec 9:10).<\/p>\n

“In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto Jehovah. And the very pots in the House of Jehovah shall be as the bowls before the altar. Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy to Jehovah of Hosts, and all who sacrifice shall come and take of them and cook in them. And there shall be no more any pedlar in the House of Jehovah of Hosts in that day.”<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 1. the day of the Lord cometh ] Lit. a day to (or, of) Jehovah, i.e. which is in a special manner His. The previous prophecy (Zec 13:7-9) is now expanded, attention being concentrated, however, on the … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Zechariah 14:1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}