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12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another. 14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps. ~ Zechariah 14:12-15
We continue today in our study of the book of Zechariah. To this point in this chapter we have learned of all the wonderful things God will do for His people at the end of the Tribulation when He returns to this earth a second time. Today, we will see some of the things that will happen to those who chose to put their faith not in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In v.12 of today's text we read, "This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths."
Pretty bleak verse. The other day, I had someone message me that God will not do these things to people because He is a God of love. That statement proves that this person does not understand real love, because if he did, he would understand the depth of the wickedness of his sin.
Dr. Timothy Keller once said, "To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. His love liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us."
Those who will go to Hell for eternity will not go there because God chooses to send them there; They will go there of their own choice. A true understanding of our sinfulness yields the understanding that we are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe. Yet, at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared to hope. The value of the cross of Christ is heightened when we recognize that He went to such great lengths because we were so far damned in our sin.
According to v.12 of today's text, a deadly plague will cause the flesh of those who remained in their sinful condition to rot. Such is the nature of sin. Paul tells us in Galatians that the flesh or the evil within us is destroying us. The flesh brings destruction to our being every time we give in to it. And, these people whose flesh will rot are the ones to whom the Lord Jesus will say, "Depart into everlasting punishment."
In v.13 of today's text we read, "On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another."
Those who reject God's offer of salvation will experience a confusion that will cause them such paranoia that they themselves "will seize each other by the hand and attack one another." Those who will not be instantly hit with the plague will find themselves killing each other. The result will be terrible confusion, attacking and slaughtering each other.
In v.14-15 of today's text we read, "14 Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. 15 A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps."
The people of Judah will be given incredible strength to fight and win. As a result, the tables will be immediately turned. It will look like all hope will be lost and then at that point, the fate of Israel will reverse on a dime. The invading godless nations will be counting all their newfound wealth, right there in Jerusalem, and, just at the last moment, Israel will once again be on top of the battle.
And, according to v.15, the plague will even touch the animals of war. This will happen in concert with the second return of the Lord Jesus. This just shows how infectious sin is that even the animals are impacted by the plague. This, yet again, underscores the wicked nature of Satan's way.
The plague will be awful, and nuclear war could explain it all. According to Revelation 6:16, it will be why the nations will cry out for the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. They will want death but be forced to suffer. They will want to hide but will not be able to hide.
According to Revelation 16:3, "every living thing in the sea will die." This could be the result of megatons of nuclear explosives being set off. And, according to Revelation 8:12, "A third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night." In the same way that large volcanic eruptions have darkened the skies in ancient times, nuclear war could fill the atmosphere with particles that block the sun.
Then in Revelation 8:7, "And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up." Between fires started by the insane heat of nuclear explosions, and the nuclear winter that follows, plant life will be devastated.
And, according to Revelation 16:2, "Ugly, festering sores will break out on the people." Radiation could cause burns and dramatically increase the rates of cancer.
And then, according to Revelation 16:8, "The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat." Nuclear war could cause the possible poisoning of all vertebrates by sharply increased levels of vitamin D in their skin as a result of increased ultraviolet light, the people will suffer.
And, according to Revelation 9:18, "A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulphur." Obviously, a nuclear conflict could cause a staggering loss of life from fireballs, nuclear fallout and the massive starvation that would follow a nuclear winter.
The theme of Zechariah, as with any other portion of the Bible, is Christ. He is the theme. He is the answer to all things. This is the foundational truth that affirms the utter sufficiency of Jesus Christ for every spiritual issue in the life of every believer. He is all that is necessary for salvation and life.
The more we grow in our relationship with the Lord Jesus, the more we will be caught up in the unfathomable and eternal covenant between the Father and the Son as they express their love to one another. This is why we are called to eternity, so that we might be a part of a redeemed humanity who will glorify the Son out of the love of the Father. These cataclysmic happenings on the earth at that time will underscore the utter wickedness of sin.
We didn’t stumble into this deal because of our own intelligence. From eternity past we were in the mind and the heart of God from before we were ever conceived. And, by His wonderful grace, we were ushered into the place where we recognized our need for Him and we said, "YES!," to His free offer of salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
