Intro
Our text today is entirely dependent of the passage we studied last week. Therefore, to get the context for today, we will read Zechariah 1-5.
“Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people hall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee As you fled from the earthquake In the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, And all the saints with You.”i
The pivotal point in biblical prophecy is the Second Coming of Christ. The significance of the event is demonstrated by the cataclysmic phenomena that accompany Jesus’s return. When his feet stand on the place of his previous departure, the Mount of Olives splits, forming a huge valley running east and west between the northern half and the southern half. The immediate value of this change is to provide a way of escape for the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem.
But Christ’s return is verified by other cosmic signs as well. Four major changes in the world are recorded in verses 6-11. These not only announce the coming of Christ, but also transition the world from the current age as we know it to the glorious Millennium.
I. SHIFT IN ASTRONOMICAL CONDITIONS (vs 6-7)
The first change, documented in verses 6-7, is a change in the light coming from the sun, moon, and stars.
Verse 6 says, “It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.” The phrase “in that day” is the same as we encountered in verse 4 describing the arrival of Christ on the Mount of Olives. So, we know these manifestations occur at the Second Coming.
Darkness, the absence of light, is often associated with judgment. One of the judgments on Egypt was a “thick darkness” that could even be felt.ii When God’s wrath was poured out on Christ at the cross, there was darkness over all the land from noon to 3:00 pm.iii And here at the Second Coming, this darkness occurs as God judges the armies of Antichrist. We will see additional details of that in verses 12-15 of our text.
This failure of celestial light is attested to by other prophets as well.
Isaiah 13:9-10 warns, “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.”
Joel 3:14-15 addresses the same event, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.15 The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness.”
Matthew 24:29-31 helps us with the timing of this. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” This darkness alerts the world to Christ’s coming. It gets everyone’s attention.iv
The Hebrew word yekaroth is used in Zechariah 14:6 of ‘the resplendent heavenly bodies,’ i.e., the stars.”v The verb qapha’ means to “thicken, condense, congeal.vi It is used in Exodus 15:8 as a description of the hardening or congealing of the waters so the Hebrews could pass through. The idea is that the heavenly luminaries will lose their brilliance. The NKJV, based on the Masoretic Text accurately translates it, “The lights will diminish.” This is preferred over the Revised Standard Version follows the Septuagint and translates it, “there shall be neither cold nor frost.” The NIV approximates that.
This concluding statement in Zechariah 14:6 simply explains how the light is lost “by the congealing of the heavenly bodies, their ‘thickening’ as it were to the point that they cannot shine.”vii Merrill suggests, “the luminaries of heaven will become clouded over, thickened or congealed, so that the light will not shine forth.”viii More information on the astronomical disturbance is provided in the next verse.
Zechariah 14:7 says, “It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord — Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.”
The day the Lord returns will be a unique day, a day like no other. It will be peculiar enough that all should know something very unusual is taking place.ix
“It shall be one day Which is known to the Lord.” God alone comprehends its true nature and purpose. It will be mystifying to the scientists, defying the laws of nature as we know them.x
It is a day that transitions from the old to the new: “Neither day nor night.” “It will not be day, because the natural sources of light will be withdrawn; not night, because of the supernatural light at evening and the glorious presence of the returned Lord.”xi The day begins in darkness when there would normally be light, and it ends in light when there would normally be darkness.
“But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.” Genesis 1:1-2 records God’s creation of night and day in the natural order on earth.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Those conditions have existed from that beginning and will continue until the Second Coming of Christ.
Jesus’s return initiates a shift in the cosmos that will profoundly affect conditions during the Millennium. Mark Boda writes, “The ‘congealing’ of the heavenly lights will return the cosmos to the conditions of the first day of the creation account. . . .”xii The day that would normally begin with the light of a sunrise, will instead be dark. But darkness gives way to light as God establishes a new order for the Millennium. “But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.”
Isaiah prophesied these atmospheric changes that will characterize the Millennial age in this promise to Israel: “Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, And the light of the sun will be sevenfold, As the light of seven days, In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people And heals the stroke of their wound” (Isa. 30:26). God will not just restore the environment as it was. There will be a seven-fold improvement. The light of the sun with all its benefits will be seven times as great.xiii
The Millennium serves as an interim step between the state of things now and the eternal perfected kingdom of the new heaven and new earth revealed in Revelation 21. The Millennium will be characterized by significant liberation from the curse in the earth as we know it now.xiv Natural conditions will be much more favorable. Everything changes when Christ returns to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.”
Why does God tell us about these manifestations that accompany Christ’s return? It’s not just to satisfy curiosity. A lot of details are not given. But we are informed enough to know his coming will be attested to by profound undeniable cosmic changes. Every knee will bow on that day because the event will leave no question about whether this is Messiah Jesus. “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
These revelations concerning Christ’s return are given to fortify God’s people against deception. Jesus’s main concern for those living in the last days was deception. In Matt 24:23-27 he warned,
“Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 "Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
As a nation, Israel will be deceived by Antichrist. The deception will be incredibly strong. Paul warned of perilous times in the last days and told Timothy, “. . . evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”xv The problem is not going to get better. According to Paul it will “grow worse and worse.” I have dealt with people who were deceived into thinking Jesus has already returned. They so spiritualized Scripture that they came to that conclusion. The revelation we have in Matthew 24 and Zechariah 14 should convince us of the folly in that kind of thinking. Antichrist will work profound miracles. But the cosmic signs given to us in our text will not happen. Antichrist will not split the Mount of Olives. The topographical changes around Jerusalem described in the next few verses will not occur until the true Messiah returns. Jesus told us these things beforehand so that we would not be deceived. That’s why we study them as we do today.
Since Jerusalem will become the capital of the world with Jesus ruling from that center, dramatic changes occur in that region to accommodate its future.
II. CHANGES IN WATER SUPPLY IN JERUSALEM AND THE SURROUNDING AREA (vs 8)
Zechariah 14:8 describes the opening of underground river in the city of Jerusalem:. “And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.”
The earthquake that accompanies the splitting of the Mount of Olives will break open the earth in Jerusalem so that this river of fresh water can flow. Of course, Zechariah is prophesying a literal fountain. In this verse, the phrase “living waters” indicates water flowing from a fresh spring. Jeremiah 2:13 uses the same phrase in contrast to water in man-made cisterns. There God says, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns — broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Because of scarcity of rain especially in the winter months, people in that region dug cisterns to store rainwater.xvi This source of water was less than ideal since cisterns could leak or the water could become stagnant. In contrast, there is a continual, year-around flow of fresh water from this underground spring. Thus, Zechariah 14:8 concludes: “In both summer and winter it shall occur.”
This reliable source of fresh water not only enables Jerusalem to become the metropolitan capital of the world, but it transforms the land around the city. Jerusalem will be in an elevated position (verse 10), and the water will flow both east and west. Half will flow into “the eastern sea” which is the Dead Sea, and half will flow into “the western sea.”
In Ezekiel 47 we learn several additional facts about the flow of this water. Verse 1 tells us the water flows “from under the threshold of the temple.”xvii Ezekiel only reports the eastward flow while Zechariah tells us it also flows to the west.
Verses 3-5 tells us the depth of the water increases as it flows eastward, from ancle deep, up to the knees, then the waist, and ultimately waters to swim in.
Verse 7 reveals the increased productivity as a result of the consistent water supply. “When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.”
Verse 8 says the flow of water into the Dead Sea transforms it from salt water to fresh water. Currently the Dead Sea cannot sustain life.
Verse 9-10 describe the abundance of fish that can be harvested from the Dead Sea during the Millennium: another source of prosperity for the region.
Verse 11 adds an interesting sidenote: “But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.”
Verse 12 talks about the prosperity this river will bring: “Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
The flow of this river is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden in the original creation. Genesis 2:10 says, “Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden. . . .” The Millennium will experience some restoration of paradise lost. The river is also a foreshadow of “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” in the eternal kingdom (Rev. 22:1). In Scripture life and fruitfulness is often associated with water.
The flow of this river and the increase in light described in verse 7 are literal, physical manifestations during the Millennium. But they also reflect the increase in spiritual conditions. It’s not either physical or spiritual; it is both physical and spiritual. Verses 20-21 address the spiritual improvements that will prevail. Our next verse reveals the primary source of the spiritual advancement.
III. CHANGE IN WORLD LEADERSHIP (vs 9)
Zechariah 14:9: “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be — ‘The Lord is one,’ And His name one.”
“Everything rises and falls on leadership.”xviii With the establishment of King Jesus over the earth, the world will rise to a new level spiritually and material prosperity. The key to everything during the Millennium is simply this: ““And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.”
The word translated earth (‘erets) can be translated land depending on the context. In verse 10 it is properly translated land. But almost all translators recognize “earth” as the proper translation here. Certainly, verses 16-17 of this chapter indicate a world-wide rule. At his return every knee will bow to Christ (Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 1:7). “Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him” (Ps. 72:11). He will return, not just king of Israel, but King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:16). At his Second Coming he will not only destroy all humans who oppose him, he will also confine Satan and cast Antichrist into hell.xix
“In that day it shall be — ‘The Lord is one,’ And His name one.” Twice in this verse, ‘echad is translated “one.” We previously encountered it in verse 7. And it is prominent in the Shema confession. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” (Deut. 6:4). “It is generally held by scholars of all persuasions that this is a confession not only of YHWH’s self-consistency but of his uniqueness, His exclusivity.”xx In Isaiah 46:9-10 the Lord says, “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.'”xxi
Of course, the Lord is this from eternity to eternity. But Zechariah 14:9 is telling us that he will be known and worshipped throughout the earth as the one and only God. Idols and false religion will be eradicated during the Millennium. Monotheism will be worldwide under Christ’s kingly rule.
IV. ELEVATION OF JERUSALEM (vs 10-11)
Zechariah 14:10 reveals another change that will come. “All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses.”
The earthquake that occurs when Christ returns will depress and flatten the hills around Jerusalem so that the city is elevated above the surrounding area. “All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem.” Geba was a Levitical town of Benjamin about six miles northeast of Jerusalem.xxii Unger identifies Rimmon with En-Rimmon which is “33 miles southwest of Jerusalem.”xxiii It is identified as “south of Jerusalem” to distinguish it from other towns named Rimmon, especially Rimmon in Galilee.xxiv
The NIV translates this more precisely: “The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah.” As Unger points out, “the noun is definite with the article.”xxv So Zechariah is not just saying it will be “turned into a plain,” although the flattening into a plain is communicated by the simile of Arabah.xxvi But Arabah is “the lowest spot on the earth's surface.”xxvii So the land will also be depressed.xxviii
Because of these geological changes “Jerusalem shall be raised up.” No longer hidden by the rugged hills around it, the city of the great King will be the most prominent feature in the landscape.xxix While this will be a physical reality, it will also be symbolic of the preeminent political and spiritual status of the city. Isaiah also predicted this elevated status in Isaiah 2:2. “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.”xxx
Jerusalem will be “inhabited in her place.” Although major topographical changes will occur around the city, Jerusalem will remain “on her ancient historical location” (emphasis Unger’s).xxxi
The parameters of the city given in this verse approximate the city in its golden days during Solomon’s reign.xxxii Benjamin's Gate is also known as Ephraim’s Gate and is in the north wall.xxxiii The First Gate “which has been situated by some scholars on the western wall of Jerusalem, has been identified with the Old City Gate (Neh. 3:6), also called the Mishneh Gate.”xxxiv “The Corner Gate was located on the western wall of Jerusalem (cf. 2 Kgs 14:13; Jer. 31:38)” (emphasis Hill’s).xxxv The Tower of Hananel “stood at the north or north-east corner, and ‘the king’s winepresses,’ which all are agreed were in the king’s gardens south of the city, would indicate the northern and southern boundaries.”xxxvi
The parameters of the city are difficult to define with precision. But that is not the point of verse 10. The point is that Israel will be restored to its former glory, and in fact will become the capital of the world. That was a message Zechariah’s generation needed to hear. At the time this prophecy was given, Jerusalem was a small insignificant town in a Persian province.xxxvii Zechariah and his companions had sacrificed everything to return from Babylon and rebuild the city and the temple. By worldly standards, their accomplishments were not that impressive.xxxviii But Zechariah is sent to encourage them with his visions and prophecies. Remember Zechariah’s third vision of the man with the measuring line? The promise in Zechariah 2:4 was, “Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it.” That is being affirmed here in Zechariah 14:10.
Verse 11 continues, “The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.” Never again will the city come under God’s judgment of “utter destruction.” The RSV translates cherem as “curse.”xxxix The Septuagint uses the Greek word anathema.xl Under the righteous rule of Messiah, the city will never again fall into the sin/idolatry that brought God’s judicial destruction in the past.xli “But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.”xlii
This is a word of assurance for Zechariah’s generation. But there is a message of hope here for us as well. God will accomplish his plan for Jerusalem, for the nations, for you and me. In the midst of our daily struggles, we can lose sight of that. What a puny, insignificant town Jerusalem was in Zechariah’s day. But God is bringing Jerusalem into this glorious future described in our text. And how insignificant and weak we sometimes feel. But it’s not over ‘till it’s over. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6). We cooperate with God in this work, but our faith is not in our ability to accomplish it. Our faith is in his ability to bring us into glory. As the Apostle John put it in his first epistle, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Take courage in that promise.
ENDNOTESL
i All Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Exodus 10:21-22.
iii Matthew 27:45. Many other passages associate darkness with judgment, for example: Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:15; Matt. 25:30; 2 Pet. 2:17; Jude 1:13; Rev. 16:10.
iv Although this darkening is mentioned in Zechariah 14:6 after the statement of Christ’s return in verse 5, Zechariah is simply giving details surrounding the central event of Christ standing on the Mount of Olives. For an examination of Matthew 24:27-31 see Richard W. Tow, Rapture or Tribulation: Will Christians Go Through the Coming Tribulation (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2022), 167-162.
v Baron, Zechariah, 500. Cf. Unger, Zechariah, 251.
vi Strong’s Concordance, O.T. 7087.
vii Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 319. Feinberg (p. 198) agrees with Merrill. Mitchell, et al. think the Hebrew text is corrupt and the verse is saying, “There shall no longer be cold and frost. . . .” H. G. Mitchell, J. M. P. Smith, and J. A. Brewer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Jonah, The International Critical Commentary, Driver, Plummmer, and Briggs, eds., 1912 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1951), 346. Meyers and Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 431-432 contend for translating verse 6: “It will be on that day: there will no longer be cold or frost.” They understand the verse as indicating altered weather conditions for the coming age. Although the weather will be different (Isa. 30:26) during the Millennium, the Masoretic Text should be retained for Zechariah 14:6.
viii Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 319.
ix Jer. 30:7.
x Cf. Unger, Zechariah, 252. Unger understands this day to be “the concluding part of this period centering on the second advent of Messiah,” rather than “a twenty-four-hour interval.” But the terminology in verse 7 fits a twenty-four-hour day better.
xi Feinberg, God Remembers, 198.
xii Boda, Haggai, Zechariah, The NIV Application Commentary, 525.
xiii Keil (in loco) writes, “Drechsler gives it correctly: ‘The radiated light, which is sufficient to produce the daylight for a whole week according to the existing order of things, will then be concentrated into a single day.’” (from Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.) In Jerusalem the brilliance of God’s glory will outshine all this increase in sunlight (Isa. 60:19-22).
xiv Romans 8:21 points to the earth’s future liberation from the curse. That liberation is fully realized in the new earth of the eternal kingdom (Rev. 22:3). Perhaps the second law of thermodynamics will be altered during the Millennium for increased efficiency throughout the earth. See Ashley Hamer as quoted by Jim Lucas, “What is the second law of thermodynamics? Live Science. Accessed at https://www.livescience.com/50941-second-law-thermodynamics.html.
xv 2 Tim. 3:1, 13.
xvi “Cistern,” Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986).
xvii Joel 3:18 also predicts this. Cf. Ps. 46:4.
xviii John Maxwell, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership ()
xix Rev. 19:19-20; 20:1-3. The loss of Satan’s leadership and the elimination of idolatry suggest the neutralization of fallen angels/demons during the Millennium as well. It is possible, they are confined with their leader in the Bottomless Pit.
xx Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 323.
xxi Cf. Ex. 9:14; Isa. 40:18-28.
xxii “Geba,” Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986). Cf. 2 Kings 23:8.
xxiii Unger, Zechariah, 259. Cf. Joshua 15:32; 19:7: 1 Chron. 4:32; Neh. 11:29.
xxiv Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, in loco, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.). Cf. Baron, 511; Judges 20:45, 47. These changes will make the land around Jerusalem more productive and fruitful. See Meyers and Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 441-442 for a discussion of the increased fruitfulness.
xxv Unger, Zechariah, 259.
xxvi Strong’s Concordance, O.T. 6160 defines the term as “desert plain”; both the NIV and NKJV translate the term as “plains” in the phrase “the plains of Moab” in Numbers 22:1.
xxvii “Arabah,” Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers.
xxviii “The Arabah includes the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River valley, the Dead Sea, and the area between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. Much of this region lies below sea level, and the Dead Sea, which lies at approximately 394 meters (1,292 feet) below sea level, is the lowest spot on the earth's surface.” “Arabah,” Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers
xxix Cf. Ps. 48:2; Matt. 5:35.
xxx Cf. Micah 4:1
xxxi Unger, Zechariah, 260. Cf. Zech. 12:6.
xxxii Cf. Unger, Zechariah, 260.
xxxiii Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, in loco, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Cf. 2 Kings 14:13; Neh. 8:16.
xxxiv Hill, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi, 266.
xxxv Hill, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi, 266.
xxxvi Baron, Zechariah, 513.
xxxvii Cf. Meyers and Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 444.
xxxviii Cf. Ezra 3:12; Neh. 4:1-3; Haggai 2:3; Zech. 4:10.
xxxix Cf. Isa. 43:28.
xl Cf. 1 Cor. 16:22; Gal. 1:8-9.
xli Cf. Jer. 31:40. The eradication of evil described in Zechariah 13:1-6 assures this, for “the curse causeless shall not come” (Prov. 26:2 KJV).
xlii This affirms the Lord’s promise in Zechariah 2:5: “‘For I,' says the Lord, 'will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.'” Jeremiah 36:32-44 links this protection with the spiritual transformation Israel will experience. Cf. Jer. 26:6.
