Click here for the Zechariah 14:1-5 PODCAST
1 A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. 2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. ~ Zechariah 14:1-5
Today, we come to Zechariah 14, the last chapter of the book. This chapter is about winning by losing. God will use the greed and blood-thirstiness of a world under the complete control of Satan to bring all of history to this final conflict, the battle of Armageddon.
The armies of the world will gather against Jerusalem. And, there will be a tremendous battle that will produce incredible bloodshed and devastation. The enemies of Israel will seem to have accomplished their goal, but, as we are informed in today's text, God will miraculously intervene.
In v.1-2 of today's text we read, "1 A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. 2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city."
Israel's enemies will have such a sense of victory and such a sense of overwhelming confidence that they plop right down in the middle of Jerusalem, and they will begin to divvy up the wealth of the Jews right there on the spot. And, just at the moment when all will seem lost for the Jews, the Lord Jesus Christ will break through the clouds.
In v.3-4 of today's text we read, "3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south."
Now, the Old Testament records many days when God fought on the behalf of His people, Israel. And, as He did then, so He will do on that future day. The Lord Jesus will burst through the skies to fight for His people. This will be the long-awaited arrival of the Day of the Lord which is mentioned in the Bible over twenty times. It will be a day that unbelievers will regret and a day that believers will be relieved. It will be a day of redemption for those humble enough to cry out to God for His salvation, and it will be a day of judgment for those who refused to receive the free gift of forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ.
According to Acts 1, when the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven He ascended from the Mount of Olives. And, at His Second Coming, He will return to the very same spot, upon the Mount of Olives. He left this world from the Mount of Olives, visibly and bodily. To the Mount of Olives He will return visibly and bodily. This is a major difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming.
Seismologists have reported that there is a fault line running under and through the Mount of Olives. And they say, it could burst at any moment. It is waiting for a very strategic footprint that will break that fault and cause an earthquake this world has never seen before nor shall ever see again. Revelation 16 informs us this earthquake that will happen in Jerusalem, causing the cities of the nations to collapse. This earthquake will create a huge valley, enabling Israel to flee from its enemies.
In v.5 of today's text we read, "You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him."
The Old Testament prophet Joel calls this valley, "the Valley of Decision." It is essential to understand that here it is not talking about somebody choosing to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead, it is a place where God decides the judgment He is going to pass on to the unbelieving people of the world.
The word "Azel" in Hebrew means near. The valley will split wide open near Jerusalem so that there will be immediate access for the threatened Jews. And they will flee through the valley of the mountains which will reach to Azel.
There is coming a day when the righteous judgment of God will be handed out. If we stand in that valley of decision, on that day, it will be too late to choose to believe on Christ. The Scripture reminds us, "Today is the day of salvation." To wait until the Battle of Armageddon will not end well for anyone who has waited. But, by God's grace, you now have time before that day arrives to make your decision. Will you decide today to believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved?
