seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Zechariah 14:1 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[a] in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
6 On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. 7 It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.
8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.
9 The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.
10 The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place. 11 It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.
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.
16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. 18 If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord[b] will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.
20 On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[c] in the house of the Lord Almighty.
a. Zechariah 14:5 Or 5 My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake
b. Zechariah 14:18 Or part, then the Lord
c. Zechariah 14:21 Or merchant
The commentaries are on and off IMHO.... but they are smarter than I am.... so this is from the easy English site.
The Mount (or Hill) of Olives was to the east of Jerusalem. It was higher than the hill where they built the temple. Some Bible students think that Mark 11:23 refers to the Mount of Olives. (‘If you say to this mountain, “Let someone remove you and throw you into the sea”, it will happen.’) So perhaps Jesus thought of Zechariah 14:4 when he said those words. People could not escape Jerusalem to the east because of this hill. So, if a valley appeared through it, it would help people to escape from the city. Acts 1:1-11 tells us that Jesus went up to heaven from the Mount of Olives. Some Bible students think that he will return to it. Those Bible students therefore think that this will be ‘a day for the LORD’.
This day will be one continuous day. There will be no night, Isaiah 60:19-20 and Revelation 21:25; 22:5. Probably, only the LORD knows when it will happen, Matthew 24:36.
The hills north and south of Jerusalem will become flat. Jerusalem will then not need them to defend the city. Arabah is the valley of the River Jordan. Geba was 6 miles north of Jerusalem and Rimmon was 35 miles south of Jerusalem. But the city itself will not become flat. The places in the city are:
east (Gate of Benjamin)
west (Corner gate)
north (*Tower of Hananel)
south (Royal *Winepresses)
Zechariah said that a plague will strike the armies that will attack Jerusalem. A plague is a bad thing that happens to many people at the same time. Here it is an awful disease. It will make people rot (turn into a nasty pile of dirt), before they die. Perhaps Zechariah remembered what happened to Sennacherib’s army in 2 Kings 19:35. Then, 180 500 of them died in one night!
People are so eager to escape that they kill each other to do so. They are so frightened that they will do anything to get away.
The people from Judah and Jerusalem fight together against their enemies. They will collect very great wealth.
Even the animals will die. There will be no horses to ride away on. Mules and donkeys are similar to horses.
This is from bibletrack.org.
One more geographical note is in order here. You will notice in verse 4 that the site of the second coming is given, "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." When Jesus ascended to Heaven in Acts 1:9-11 , it was from the Mount of Olives. At that time, the disciples were told that the Mount of Olives was to be his arrival point at the second coming.
God does everything in a natural way. It says here that there is going to be an earthquake..... it will be so violent that the mountains or hills around Jerusalem will flatten out and a river will open up right through the center of the Mount of Olives......
Wait tho....this chapter opens with an invasion.... half the population is enslaved by an enemy..... and then.... then is when the mountain is broken in two which would allow a natural escape route. Now one of the commentaries say that Jesus returning to that mountain with such an impact that it would open an escape route in the middle of a violent battle would be just what the descendants of Jacob [Israel] have been waiting for.
One of the commentaries suggested that the rotting people and animals will be due to a nuclear event. I see that.... BUT..... I don't think the nuclear event is the end.... it's a catalyst that makes ties everything up so naturally..... wouldn't the world take note if an enemy tossed a nuclear weapon that will rot the skin, eyes, and tongues.... and God did something.... like split a mountain and give those who were hiding escape. It says that God is going to take over the day and night cycle. Who needs sunlight and moonlight when the goodness of the Messiah will be shining.
I think the day and night thing is a sign.... just like it was a sign when God moved the clock back for Hezekiah in 2 KIngs 20:8-11. God is capable... and making the night turn into day.... that would get a lot of attention.... naturally..... so everyone will know what happened in Jerusalem.... and stupid humans will stop doubting that God is in control no matter how smart those stupid humans think they are.
It says..... at the end of the book..... the survivors of the battle, rotting plague, and horrific earthquakes.... will live happily in a Theocracy. Everything... even the bells on the horses and the bowls they have in front of the alter and the pots they cook in are all labeled "HOLY TO THE LORD". Everyone will know that God is large and in charge. Everyone will know that Jesus is sitting on that throne.... He earned it.
Hope all this fits....
