I. 14:1-21 The Consummation of All Things

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1 I. 14:1-21 The Consummation of All Things Chapters nine through thirteen described the coming of Christ, his death, and resurrection. Chapter fourteen is different. It divides into seven sections neatly separated by seven occurrences of the expression on that day. On that day refers to the day of the Lord, an expression often used by the prophets for a time when God intervenes in history to bring judgment. It usually refers to a time when God comes to judge sin. It does not usually refer to a 24 hour day but a period of time. In the NT the day of the Lord usually refers to the second coming of Christ. In chapters 12 and 13, the material we covered in the last two weeks, we saw that it referred to Christ s first coming and the judgment of sin that occurred at the cross. By contrast, the orientation of Chapter fourteen is fundamentally future. The Day of the Lord will be the consummation of all things. In the words of Barry Webb, We have arrived at the end of the end. The key verse is 9. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. Remember, this is apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature speaks in symbols and pictures, usually non-literal. Everyone agrees that some parts of apocalyptic are literal and some symbolic. But on some passages there is great disagreement. What is literal and what is not. That is the question. And sometimes it is not clear. With this in mind Barry Webb writes. In view of the largely symbolic nature of apocalyptic writing it would be unwise, generally speaking, to take the description of the last things in this chapter too literally. It is language stretched to the breaking point to describe the indescribable. 1 1 Barry Webb, The Message of Zechariah, (Downers Grove: IVP, 2003) footnote 268 pg of 11

2 We interpreting apocalyptic we need to follow the adage of St. Augustine. In essential unity. In non-essentials liberty. In all things charity. The seven descriptions of the Day of the Lord break down into three general headings. 1 st The Consummation will come with conflict. 2 nd The Consummation will be glorious. 3 rd The Consummation will be Fruitful. A. THE CONSUMMATION WILL COME WITH CONFLICT (1-5) 1. A Day of Defeat (Zec 14:1-3) 1 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. The Day of the Lord, the day of salvation, starts with defeat. In this text, the enemies of Jerusalem despoil the city as its citizens watch. Their conquers divide the spoil. Their houses are plundered, their women raped, and half the population sent into exile. This should not surprise us. God often allows his friends to suffer. Think of the martyred Missionaries. Remember how the Russian Communist party bitterly repressed Christianity for 80 years in Russia. Last, think of Christ himself. Last week we heard the Father saying, Awake O sword against my Shepherd against the man who stands next to me (13:7). Note that God is the author of this defeat. Vs 2 I will gather the nations against Jerusalem. This is the appearance of defeat that Paul anticipated in Romans 8: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him 2 of 11

3 who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. God allows suffering and defeat because he loves us. However, at the end of the period signified by verses 1-3, God goes on the offensive. Verse 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 2. A Day of Divine Help Verses 4-5 describes God coming to the rescue of his people and the first appearance of on that day. The important point is this: Whether in victory or defeat, God is sovereign. He is always conquering. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall 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 Mount of Olives is just East of the Temple in Jerusalem. Between them is the Kidron Valley. The Mount of Olives is actually a ridge that runs North to South just parallel to Jerusalem. Since God s enemies occupy the city, God descends on the Mount of Olives. Immediately the Mount splits and a Valley cuts the Mount in two from East to West. The two halves move away from each other, North and South. Note the direct parallel to the dividing of the Red Sea and Israel s escape from Egypt. Here is the idea. At the last minute, just when it seems hopeless, God will arrive to save his people. God s people will flee Jerusalem via this Valley to the East. 3 of 11

4 In summary, what will the coming of the Day of the Lord be like? It will be a time of intense conflict. There will be much suffering, but in the end, God will save his people. This has been the pattern of biblical history. When it appeared utterly hopeless God saved his people through the Red Sea. When it appeared utterly hopeless, on the third day God raised Jesus from the dead. I believe this text is telling us that in like fashion, when it appears utterly hopeless, God will return to save his people, judge the living and the dead, and re-make all of creation. B. THE CONSUMMATION WILL BE GLORIOUS (6-12) The next three times the expression on that Day appears it describes this day. It is a day of divine light. It is a day of living water, and it is a day with the Shema will be fulfilled. 1. A Day of Divine Light 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. The day of the Lord shall be a day of no light (vs 6), but then the text reads, neither day nor night, but at evening a continual light (vs 7). What does this mean? It refers to the end of the current creation and the beginning of the New Creation, a Day when the Lamb will be our light. The Day of the Lord will be a day of divine light. This is the light of relationship with God. Jesus referred to it when he said, I am the light of the world. This light is the ability to see Christ with the eye and ear of the heart. Revelation 21:22 25 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on 4 of 11

5 it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day and there will be no night there. In summary, the day of the Lord will be a day of spiritual light, a spiritual light that dominates natural light. Remember, this is apocalyptic literature God communicating with symbols and word pictures. 2. A Day of Living Water 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. Notice living water flows from Jerusalem both East and West, in other words it flows out from the people of God to the entire world. Verse 8 is a word picture reminding us that God will restore the world to its original intention. It is a theme that runs through the Bible from beginning to end. In Genesis 2 a river flowed out of Eden to water the world. It was to export natural and spiritual life to the entire world. Jesus is both the water and the source of this water. When he met the woman at the Samaritan well, he promised her living water. It was referring back to this text. Then, a couple of weeks later we have this incident recorded. John 7: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. The last chapter of the Bible contains a final picture of Zechariah s living water. Revelation 22:1 2 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 5 of 11

6 Note: The living water flows from the throne. This means you must get before the throne, and put yourself in a posture of subservience before you can drink. And, that is way this section ends by connecting Christ s kingship and the living water. 9a And the Lord will be king over all the earth. 3. A Day of Single minded Worship 9b On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king s winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war 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. 9b Opens this section with an ode to the Shema, the ancient Jewish prayer first laid down in Deut 6:4. Deuteronomy 6:4 5 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. The idea in 9b-12 is that on the day of the Lord all men everywhere will have submitted to the one true God. Idolatry will be banished. Polytheism will be gone. Single minded devotion to YHWH will reign. That s what 9b means. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. Another word picture of this reality is the appearance of a plain around Jerusalem and its corresponding elevation. This is a repetition of the prediction of Isaiah 2 and Isaiah 40. Isaiah 2:2 3 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, 3 and many peoples shall come, and say: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 6 of 11

7 C. THE CONSUMMATION WILL BE FRUITFUL (13-21) 1. Salvation for the nations This passage inserts the Nations into the day of the Lord. Why the nations? As we saw last week, God promised Abraham that he would bless the nations through him. The fulfillment of that promise appears in this text. The nations have been warring against Jerusalem. As we saw earlier, God defeats them, but a remnant turn to worship the true and living God. 13 And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. When Zechariah gave this prophecy the Jews looked down on non-jews, i.e. the nations. However, this passage tells us that, on the day of the Lord, God will include the nations in his plans. At first they will fight against God s purposes. God will give his people victory. They will gather spoils from the nations, and then the remnant of the nations that remain will go up to Jerusalem to worship. This has been a theme throughout Zechariah. Zechariah 2:11 11 And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. Zechariah 8: Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. 23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take 7 of 11

8 hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. God has been fulfilling this passage for 2,000 years. Because the Jews rejected God s Son, he has reached out to us, the nations, and included us in his plans. Zechariah wants us to know that the Nations will be included in God s plans. 2. Holiness to the Lord 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, Holy to the Lord. And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day. The second fruit of the Day of the Lord will be holiness. This should not surprise us. We saw last week that the Day of the Lord is a Day of sanctification. Sanctification is a synonym for holiness. We are not talking just a little holiness, but universal holiness, holiness 24x7 for every member of the new creation. This means hope. Why? Because holy people are happy people. Sin ruins the prospect of sustained happiness. Holiness infuses us with permanent, unshakable happiness. This is a fitting note with which to end this wonderful book. Why? Holiness is the ambience, the air, the atmosphere of Heaven. Holiness is another name for God s supremacy and perfections. We just learned in verse 9 that the Lord will be king over all the earth and on that Day the Lord will be one and his name one. We also learned that Christ will be our light in a way that we cannot now imagine. He will also give us free access to living waters. He is the living water. 8 of 11

9 All of this will happen because we will be perfected in holiness. Christ will return. We will see him as he is. We will live to experience it because the sight of him will completely purify us of all sin. 1 John 3:2 2 Beloved, we are God s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. In summary, we just examined seven descriptions of the Day of the Lord. They break down into three general headings. 1 st The Day of the Lord will come with conflict. 2 nd A Day of the Lord will be glorious. 3 rd The Day of the Lord will be Fruitful. D. APPLICATION: PUT ON HOPE Apocalyptic literature is generally about the future. It describes the future with symbols and word pictures that describe vast, panoramic realities. As we have studied Zechariah our application has often been hope for the future. That is a logical outcome of biblical, apocalyptic literature. So, it is fitting that we end Zechariah with another chapter that calls us to hope. hope? What have we learned from this final chapter that would ignite 1 st We learned that the Consummation comes with conflict. This means that,although life often involves struggles, valleys, pains, and great disappointments, God promises to never leave us or forsake us. Because he is sovereign, despite our trials, we have confidence. Verse 2 read I will gather the nations against Jerusalem. Jerusalem s defeats were God s doing, and yet, at the last moment, he splits the Mt. of Olives to make a way of escape for his people. Lesson? No matter how painful or extensive your trials, put your hope in God. There is reason for great hope. 9 of 11

10 2 nd We learned that the consummation will be glorious. Ultimately it is all about Christ. We learned that, On that Day Christ will be our Light. He will guide us. He will reveal himself to us. We learned that he will be living water to everyone under his kingly authority. He will satisfy all of our spiritual longings. This was David s prayer. As the deer longs for running streams so longs my soul for you, O my God (Ps 42). It is the prayer of all true Saints. God has bound all of our happiness, all of our gladness, up in this stream. Psalm 46:4 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. On that day the idolatry we read about last week will be banished. Christ will be our universal king. He will show himself so great and wonderful that all temptation to idolatry will be impossible. Zechariah 14:9 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. These three items (Light, Living Water, Oneness) are matters of great hope. 3 rd We learned that the nations will be included in the consummation. Aren t you glad? This means hope for outreach and evangelism, hope for Japan, hope for S.E. Asia, and hope for India. 4 th We learned that the consummation will usher in a Day of Holiness, a day when sin will have no power over us. Temptations torments will be banished. Guilt and insecurity and fear will not be able to touch us. Why? We will be holy as God is holy. That means we will also be happy as God is happy forever. Hope is important because it inspires perseverance in godliness. A teen learning to drive can correct swerving in their lane by looking 300 yards down the road. Ladd: There will come a day when that which is mortal shall be swallowed up in life. The backaches, headaches, jangled nerves, arthritis, strained hearts, ulcers and 10 of 11

11 cancers will all be healed in the influx of the life of The Age to Come. Our doctors, dentists and surgeons will have no more patients. Our hospitals, sanatoriums and institutions will be empty. Eternal life will mean the salvation, the transformation of the body. 2 Hoekema: Since God will make the new earth his dwelling place, and since where God dwells there heaven is, we shall then continue to be in heaven while we are on the new earth. For heaven and earth will then no longer be separated as they are now, but will be one (See Rev. 21:1-3) 3 2 Ladd, G.E., The Gospel of the Kingdom, pg 69 (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1959) 3 Hoekema, Anthony A., The Bible and the Future, pg 274 (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1979) 11 of 11