Zechariah

Zechariah

Chapter 14
{Note: The whole chapter deals with the day of the Lord and the day of the Lord includes events in the Tribulation.}

{Verses 1-3: Events in the Tribulation}
1~~Behold,
the day of Jehovah/God {Lord} 'absolutely will come'
{future perfect tense to show this is a certain future event - this
will occur},
and your spoil {Jerusalem - the subject of last three chapters}
will be plundered
{recipients of violence and loss of life, freedom and goods}
in the middle of you
{the plundering of the Jews who give up and surrendered -
battle continues in verse 2}.

2~~For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle.
And the city shall be taken {taken in part}
{walls breached and part of the city taken - from verse 13:8
we saw 1/3 will survive - the believers with doctrine
1/3 are captured (slavery to follow) and 1/3 are killed},
and the houses plundered,
and the women raped
and half of the city shall go forth into captivity
{actually 1/3 of the beginning number, ½ of the remaining},
and the residue of the people
shall not be cut off from the city.

{Note: "All nations" are the four great spheres of influence: the king of the south - Daniel 11:40; the king of the north - Daniel 11:40, Ezekiel 38:2; the king of the west - Daniel 7:3; Revelation 13:1-10; and the kings of the east - Revelation 6:12; Daniel 11:44.}

{Principle of Deliverance}
3~~Then
{when the Jews with doctrine start to fight the enemy
they believe the promises of God that they will be
protected by God though their situation appears hopeless}
shall Jehovah/God go forth
{see Revelation 19:11-21 - this is Jesus Christ with His saints
(verse 5)},
and fight against those nations,
as when He Himself fought in the day of battle
{when He bailed out Moses and the Jews at the Red Sea - Exodus
14:10-14}.

{Verse 4: 2nd Advent - Mechanics of His Deliverance}
4~~And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives
{Jesus will return to the place from which He departed - Acts
1:10-12},
which is before Jerusalem on the east,
and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the middle thereof
toward the east and toward the west
{means the valley will run east and west - see next lines},
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.

{Note: The Mount of Olives is described as to its relationship to Jerusalem. The reason it is so described is because the Jews are going to be trapped and backed up against the mount of Olives. Presumably, the opposing forces have artillery focused on the Mount of Olives so to try cross is definite annihilation. This deliverance is beyond human capability.}

{Note: From the Acts series: The action in this verse was mentioned by angels in Acts 1:11.}

5~~And you all
{the third of the population that survives - believers with doctrine
in their souls KNOW what to expect and what to do!}
shall flee to the valley of the mountains
for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal
{This is a reference to Beth-ezel of Micah Chapter 1:11. And a
valley which goes all of the way from Beth-ezel to Jerusalem
would cause a valley through which the Mediterranean would flow
right down to the Dead Sea which would also overflow right into
the Red Sea. So we actually have Jerusalem becoming a year-
round sea port in the Millennium.}.
Yes, you shall flee, like as you fled from before the earthquake
in the days of Uzziah king of Judah
and Jehovah/God my 'Elohiym/Godhead shall come,
and all the saints with you.

{Note: The saints returning with Christ is also mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 3:13 and in Jude 14. RBT theorizes that the reason for the returning of saints (believers of the Church Age) is in order to remove the demons from the earth in order to set everything up for the Millennium.}

{Verse 6-21: Millennium}
{Verses 6-7: Transitional Day Beginning Millennium}
6~~ And it shall come to pass in that day
that there shall not be light.

{Note: The entire earth is enshrouded in total darkness - a complete supernatural darkness last seen when Christ hung on the cross. Christ as the light of the world is the first thing the people will see.}

{Unique Day of the 2nd Advent of Christ}
7~~ Because it shall be 'the unique day' {'echad yowm}
which continues to be known to Jehovah/God
{the syntax of 'known' here is interesting - it is the Niphal Imperfect
of yada`. The Niphal is a passive tense - so He 'received
knowledge' of these things billions of years ago in eternity past.
Imperfect means continuing action.},
not day, nor night,
but it shall come to pass,
that at evening time {referring to Jerusalem evening time}
it shall be light
{the 'light' is the coming of the Lord - He will be seen by all on
earth}.

{Note: 'Echad means one. Here is means one in the sense of being 'unique'. We have already seen the supernatural darkness of the day. We know from other passages that all unbelievers will be killed and a new civilization will start (they start with believers only). So this is the day between the end of the Jewish Age and Millennium.}

{Verse 8: Jerusalem Now a Seaport}
8~~And it shall be in that day,
that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem
{referring to a stream in Jerusalem will be connected
to the new waterway}.
Half of them {the living waters}
toward the former sea
{referring to the Dead Sea},
and half of them toward the hinder sea
{referring to the Mediterranean Sea}
in summer and in winter shall it be
{Jerusalem will have the very valuable status of being
a all year-round sea port}.

{Jesus Christ shall be King of Kings - and He is the Unique Person}
9~~And Jehovah/God
shall be king {melek} over all the earth.
In that day shall there be one/'a unique {'echad} Jehovah/God,
and His Person/Name {Personality} . . . unique/one {'echad}.

{Note: Israel shall be restored and with the restoration of Israel He will also provide a rulership over Israel as the Son of David. So He will be unique because He is the ruler of the Church, He is the ruler over Israel, He will also be the ruler of the entire earth, He will also be the sovereign when it comes to the judgement, and consequently it says "his name one" - meaning, His personality is unique. Different from the rest of the Godhead in being man. Different from man in being deity. The God-Man in Hypostatic Union - the unique King of Kings, Lord of Lords and, from other verses, the High Priest forever.}

10~~All the land shall be turned as a plain
from Geba to Rimmon . . . south of Jerusalem.
And she shall be lifted up,
and 'the inhabitants will dwell as a place of blessings' {yashab} . . .
{This is a reference to the land of Palestine only. It says the land
is going to be turned into a plain; today it isn't a plain. There will
be a high plateau, and higher than the plateau is going to be
Jerusalem. This is also taught in Isaiah 2:2 and in Micah 4:1. Not
all of it will be turned, but certain parts of it. "From Geba to
Rimmon," is a reference to the Arabah. All of the way to the
northern frontier of Judah, all of the way down to Gibeah, there
will be a high plateau. Why mention Geba to Rimmon? Because
they are associated with blessing in the land. They were famous
for places where there was doctrine and where there was
doctrine there was blessing.}
from Benjamin's gate
{the north gate of Jerusalem which faced the territory of Benjamin
it is significant because it was a place where they received the
news AND the Word of God was taught there, it was a place of
Bible teaching.}
unto the place of the first gate
{The first gate was the old gate of Nehemiah 3:6 and it was
located on the west side of the city. It was used for a place of
morning worship and people often came out there early in the
morning to have their devotions and to study the Word.},
unto the corner gate
{The corner gate was also located on the west side of the city.
This was also a place where Bible doctrine was taught.},
and from the tower of Hananeel
unto the king's winepresses
{The king's winepress was a landmark which had tremendous
and obvious implications. It was a place which was associated
with great happiness. The passage begins with doctrine and
ends with happiness and an abundance of the details of life -
you MUST have doctrine first to appreciate the details.}.

{Verse 11: City of The Happy People}
11~~And they {believers}
shall dwell in blessing/prosperity {yashab} in it {Jerusalem},
and there shall be no more 'cherem'/ban/'irrevocable curse' {cherem}
but Jerusalem shall be safely dwelt in prosperity {yashab}.

{Note: See Joshua 6:17-19 - it is a key word in that book. Cherem (Care -um) means anything 'put under cherem' was so cursed it cannot be redeemed - it had to be utterly and completely destroyed. So, the word can be translated ban or curse. Next, it was 'dedicated to the Lord' so must be put to death. For example the city of Jericho was put under cherem. It was so corrupt that God said it had to be destroyed - why? To protect the rest of the human race. Jericho was controlled by the Canaanites. They did not respect law and order, they had no marriage or families, and they engaged in the Phallic Cult - religion mixed with sex of all types and depravities - homosexuality, bestiality, and child sacrifice during the orgy.}

{Note: The wages of sin is death. The child is born with the sin of the father. We are BORN cherem! That is why Christ had to go to the cross for us. He was made a curse for us (Galatians 3:13) - He was our substitute. Rahab is the illustration that there can be an exception. Those who believe are removed from the curse - since He was our substitute.}

{Note: This verse is saying that cherem will not be a potential for Jerusalem anymore. Why? Jesus Christ will have returned for personal rule! Remember this is ONLY possible in the Millennium.}

{Amplification of Verse 3 - (Jewish written style makes you think!)
HOW the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations -
Verses 12-14: God's deliverance of the Jews - 1st Attack on the
Body}
{Verse 12: Where we left off - Back to the Fighting}
{Principle: Anti-Semitism is going to be Punished}
12~~And this shall be the disease/plague
wherewith Jehovah/God will smite all the nations {Gentiles}
who have fought against Jerusalem
{first round of protection will be disease in the invading armies}.
Their flesh/'human body' shall be caused {by God} to consume away
while they stand upon their feet
{describes a condition like trench foot},
and their eyes shall be caused to consume away in their holes,
and their tongue shall be caused to consume away in their mouth
{describes more disease will affect the attacking armies}.

{Secondly - Enemy is in Panic and Panic means Lack of Thinking - Attack on the Mind}
13~~And it shall come to pass in that day,
that a great confusion/panic from Jehovah/God
shall be among them.
And they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor
{in panic, soldiers run into fellow soldiers pushing them out of the
way of their stampede},
and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor
{in panic soldiers shoot fellow soldiers}.

{Third Attack by God - His Mature Believers FIGHT}
14~~And Judah also
shall 'receive the motivation to fight'
at Jerusalem
And the wealth of all the heathen/Gentiles {gowy}
round about shall be gathered together,
gold, and silver, and apparel,
in great abundance.

{Note: In other words, they are also going to obtain a great deal of booty from these armies.}

15~~And so shall be the disease/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.

{Note: Everything that accompanies the invading armies is contaminated by the epidemic.}

{Verse 16-22: Fulfillment of the Feast of the Tabernacles.}
16~~And it shall come to pass,
that every one who is left of all the nations
which came against Jerusalem
{their nations came against Jerusalem - they were believers
and stayed home}
shall even go up
from year to year to worship the King,
the Jehovah/God of the armies/hosts,
and to observe/'participate in' the feast of tabernacles.

{Note: The feast of the tabernacles was a picture of the blessings of the Tribulation. It is a feast of relaxation/peace/inner happiness. In the millennium, Gentile believers will come annually to worship the Lord Who is now reigning as King of Kings.}

{Not All Born in Millennium will Not be Believers}
17~~And it shall be,
that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth
unto Jerusalem
to worship the King, Jehovah/God of the armies/hosts,
even upon them shall be no rain
{rain represented economic prosperity in an agricultural society
so here this is referring to no economic prosperity for the
unbelievers}.

{Example of Unbelievers in a Close Neighbor Country}
18~~And if the family of Egypt go not up,
and come not,
that have no rain;
there shall be the plague/disease
{a second strong warning to listen to the Lord and
believe His claims},
wherewith Jehovah/God
will smite the heathen/Gentiles
who come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

19~~This shall be the punishment of Egypt,
and the punishment of all nations
that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20~~In that day
shall there be upon the bells of the horses,
'Holiness unto Jehovah/God'
{in the time this was written, economically prosperous nations
could afford to put ornamental bells on their animals and on
the bell was written the name of the one responsible for their
prosperity - that is what we have here - they recognize that God
is responsible for their prosperity}.
And the pots in Jehovah's/God's house
shall be like the bowls before the altar
{another analogy to prosperity - the bowls before the altar
were filled to the brim with meat}.

21~~Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah
shall be holiness unto Jehovah/God of the armies/hosts.
And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them,
and seethe/boil/cook therein.
And in that day
there shall be no more the Canaanite
in the house of Jehovah/God of the armies/hosts
{the Canaanites were in the land before the Jews
they will be completely removed from the land-see Leviticus18}.

This page is sponsored by Kenneth Sidley, CPA and Mox4PainFrLving.