Introduction
These are the last days of Israel’s history as they are being regathered. They established their nation under a grant given to them by the United Nations providing international protection. Although the nation as a whole is still in a state of unbelief, they are being prepared for the day of their salvation, when they look on the One whom they once pierced. Prior to that time, they will make a pact with a false messiah, identified by Zechariah as a foolish shepherd, and known to us as the Antichrist. Everything will take place peacefully during the first half of that seven-year covenant, but in the middle of it the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and require that they worship him alone. When the people of Israel refuse, he will gather the armies of the world to exterminate them. That attack, which will climax in a great siege of the city of Jerusalem, is known as the Battle of Armageddon.
It is precisely at the siege of Jerusalem that Zechariah 14 begins. Chapter 13 prophesied that the siege will begin successfully and bring about tremendous bloodshed and devastation. It will be an apparent victory for the Antichrist and his hosts. But precisely when his victory looks secure is the moment Christ returns. Chapter 14 opens with a defeated Jerusalem, stripped of its possessions and honor, seemingly conquered by the world’s armies. The conquerors are reveling in their spoils. However Jesus’ return completely reverses the tide of battle.
Lesson
I. THE COMING OF THE DAY OF THE LORD (vv. 1-8)
A. Declared (v. 1)
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.”
1. The time
The opening phrase “the day of the Lord cometh” is an announcement all by itself. You could almost put an exclamation mark at the end of it and start the next phrase as a new paragraph. The prophecy has now reached a climax identified as “the day of the Lord.” It refers not to one day, but to the period of time beginning with the rapture of the church extending through the Millennial Kingdom. That includes the Tribulation and the conquest and judgment of the nations when the Lord takes back the earth. It also includes the establishment of the Kingdom and Christ’s reign on earth for a thousand years, at the end of which Satan will be vanquished forever. Man’s day of dominating the earth will end as the Lord establishes His reign.
2. The treasure
The particular point in the day of the Lord that chapter 14 begins with is the climax of the siege of Jerusalem by the armies of the world. Prophecies in the books of Daniel and Revelation tell us there are four major armies that will be gathered against Israel: the Soviet-Arab alliance from the north, the Egyptian-Arab alliance from the south, the revived Roman confederacy from the west, and Oriental confederacy from the east. They seem to have accomplished their goal of conquering Israel because verse 1 says, “Thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of the thee,” referring to to Jerusalem (indicated by the feminine pronoun personifying the city and it’s mention in the next verse).
3. The taunting
It was uncommon for an enemy to conquer a place and then divide the spoil in the midst of it; usually an army would haul it off. But those who successfully besiege Israel will have such a sense of victory and confidence, they will start divvying up the booty right there on the spot, as if to taunt the remaining inhabitants of Jerusalem. At that very moment, however, Jerusalem’s extremity will become God’s opportunity.
B. Described (vv. 2-8)
1. The gathering by God (v. 2a)
“I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle.”
It may be a little surprising to Israel to learn that God Himself gathered the nations against Jerusalem. Their enemies are not pursuing their independent objectives, or even solely accomplishing the will of Satan. God will use the Battle of Armageddon to purge the unbelieving from Israel and to judge the nations, just as Israel was used as an agency of judgment when it entered the Promised Land.
Revelation 16 indicates the means God will use to gather the armies to Jerusalem: “I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, come out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan], and out of the mouth of the beast [the Antichrist], and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of demons, working miracles, that go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty…. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (vv. 13-14, 16). Demons are going to gather rulers from all over the world to lead the great armies against Israel. But ironically those agencies of judgment will be judged themselves. The focal points of the battle will be Jerusalem and the plain of Megiddo in the north, although the battleground will extend throughout the land of Israel.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
