Intro
In the last six verses of the book of Zechariah, we get a glimpse into the Millennium. Zechariah does not give us a lot of information about life during the Millennium. But the material in Zechariah 14:16-21 sheds valuable light on the subject.
Zechariah’s message revolves around the two advents of Christ and God’s plan for Israel. At the First Advent Christ legally regained title of the earth and all therein.i At the Second Advent he fully executes those legal rights and banishes the usurper. Zechariah provides considerable detail about the latter.
In the passages leading up to our text, the return of Christ initiates powerful changes. The earth shakes and the Mount of Olives splits in two the moment his feet touch earth. Christ rescues the Jews in Jerusalem and the whole nation of Israel is spiritually transformed as they receive Jesus as their Messiah. The Antichrist armies are crushed, and every knee bows to Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lord.ii That sets the stage for the Millennial age.
At the Second Coming the old order is completed, and a drastically different new age begins. There is a continuation of some conditions, but others are radically changed. It’s helpful to get these changes in mind as we approach our text today.
Here are a few consistencies between the new Millennial age and the current Church age.
1. People on earth will live in imperfect mortal bodies.iii 2. Mortals will continual to give birth to children with an Adamic nature. 3. Though significantly improved, the earth will not yet be perfected. 4. Though Israel will become the head of all nations, the gentile nations will retain their distinctive identities. 5. Though people will live much longer, death will not be completely eradicated.
The Millennium will be very different from what we experience now. Here are a few differences to keep in mind.
1. Christ will rule over the whole world in righteousness (Zech. 14:9). As Revelation 11:15 puts it, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ” (NKJV).iv
2. Under his rule, social justice will prevail worldwide.v
3. Jerusalem will be the capital of the world and the “times of the gentiles” will be over.vi
4. Jerusalem will be the worship center of the world and all false religion will be extinguished.
5. A new system of worship will be observed that memorizes the cross through rituals and sacrifices at the fourth temple described in Ezekiel 40:1-46:24.vii
6. Satan will be bound, and his host neutralized (Rev. 20:1-3).
7. The effects of the curse will be minimized, and productivity enhanced throughout the world.viii
8. The ferocity of the animal kingdom will be removed (Isa. 11:6-8).
9. There will be no disease; death will only come as a judgment on rebellion. Therefore, death will be rare (Isa. 65:20).ix The population of the world will soar.
10. The knowledge of the Lord will fill the earth.x
11. World peace will be realized.xi
12. Resurrected people will rule with Christ.xii We are not told specifically whether mortals will be able to see us or not. Since Christ in his glorified body will be visible, it is likely we too will be visible.xiii
This is not an exhaustive list of differences. But it illustrates the radical changes that are implemented at the Second Advent.
The Millennium serves as a transition between our current age and the eternal kingdom. During the Millennium all God’s promises to the nation of Israel will be fulfilled. At the end of this thousand-year reign of Christ, Satan is released from the bottomless pit to test the hearts of those living during that time.
Revelation 20:7-10 records this final rebellion.
“And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”xiv The verses that follow talk about the Great White Throne Judgment where all the wicked are also thrown into the lake of fire as well.
This rebellion lets us know that many will serve Christ during the Millennium out of self-interest, rather than spiritual transformation. The true condition of their soul is exposed when Satan is released, and they are offered an alternative to serving God. But multitudes during the Millennium will serve Christ in sincerity and will not follow Satan in this final rebellion.
Following the casting of Satan into the lake of fire, Revelation 20:11-15 describes the Resurrection of the Unjust and the Great White Throne Judgment. Evil is fully is fully removed as the wicked are cast into the lake of fire.
Then John saw a new heaven and new earth. Revelation 21:1- 3 records the eternal kingdom.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”” Verse 3 declares the fulfillment of God’s purpose for humanity, realized through the work of Christ.xv God himself dwells with his people forever in a state of perfection.
In Zechariah 14:16-21 we learn about three dynamics that characterize the Millennial age. 1. Universality of Worship (vs 16) 2. Strictness of Administration (vs 17-19) 3. Pervasiveness of Holiness vs 20-21).
Follow with me as we read Zechariah 14:16-21.
“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. 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.”
In today’s message we will deal with the Universality of Worship as recorded in verse 16.
Under Christ’s leadership there will only be one religion, and it will be the right religion. In today’s environment, billions are misled by false religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. Even within Christianity, there are damning cults and ritualistic religion that do not lead to salvation. As Jesus said, “Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matt. 7:13 NKJV).
But the Second Coming of Christ changes all that. Every eye sees him, and every knee bows to him.xvi Every Israelite is converted, and they fulfill their calling as priests to the nations.xvii The whole world bows to Yahweh and his Christ. Many will bow in sincere repentance; many will simply bow out of expediency. But all will bow. The worship of the one true God will be universal and uncontested. Zechariah 14:9: “And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.”
The political and religious leadership of the world will rest on one person—the only one who is capable of doing it right. Isaiah 9:6-7 describes his righteous rule during the Millennium. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”
We dare not trust the authority of the political and religious to anyone other than Christ.xviii Prophecy reveals the destruction that will come during the Tribulation period under Antichrist and his False Prophet. But the perfect heart of love and wisdom in Jesus qualifies him to not only be the supreme political leader of the world, but to be the supreme religious leader of the world at the same time.
Zechariah 14:16 pulls back the curtain of the future and gives us a peek into worship during the Millennium. “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." The Feast of Booths is also called Feast of Tabernacles. Because of its celebration of the harvest, it is sometimes called the Feast of Ingathering. The Hebrew word for booths, Sukkoth, is often used. And because of the prominence of this feast some biblical passages simply call it “the feast.”xix
We cannot take time in this message to read the Mosaic instruction for the feasts in Leviticus 23.xx But verses 33-36 established the Feast of Tabernacles as an eight-day holy gathering to be held on the fifteenth day of the seventh month which falls in September or October of our calendar. Leviticus 23:33-36 says:
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 ‘Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the Lord. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 36 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.’”
Of the seven major feasts listed in Leviticus 23, why is the Feast of Tabernacles the only one mentioned in our text. It could be given as representative of all the feasts.xxi But that is probably not the explanation.
The most plausible explanation is found in the foreshadowing function of these feasts. They typify God’s plan of redemption. David Baron says these feasts in Leviticus 23 “may well be styled ‘The Sacred Calendar of the History of Redemption.’”xxii He shares how the order of these feasts signify the sequence in which God’s “great redemption scheme were to unfold themselves in the course of the ages.” As Unger points out, the Feast of Tabernacles “is the only one of the seven feasts of the Lord which at that time will be unfulfilled typically and the only one which will be in process of fulfilment by the kingdom itself” (emphasis Unger’s).xxiii
The New Testament gives us insight on the fulfillment of the other six feasts.
1. The Passover was fulfilled on the cross when Christ laid down his life as the lamb that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 36; 1 Pet. 1:19). First Corinthians 5:7 specifically refers to Christ as “our Passover lamb.”
2. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is being fulfilled in the sanctification of believers. Paul alludes to this when he writes in 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, “. . . Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are
unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”xxiv So this feast is currently being fulfilled.
3. The Feast of Firstfruits was fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ (1 Cor. 15:23).xxv
4. The Feast of Pentecost is fulfilled in the Church age beginning in Acts 2, fifty days after Christ’s resurrection. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit the New Testament church is established and sustained to the end of the age.xxvi The loaves waved before the Lord represent the church, the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16-17; 12:12-13).
5.The Feast of Trumpets will be fulfilled in the regathering of Israel in the last days (Isa. 27:12-13; Ezek. 37:1-19).xxvii
6. The Day of Atonement will be fulfilled through the national conversion of Israel at Christ’s Second Advent. We explored this in our study of Zechariah 12:10-13:6. Of course, the basis of this great event is the cross of Christ.
The only feast not fulfilled at the beginning of the Millennium is the Feast of Tabernacles.xxviii This feast is named after the practice of dwelling in temporary booths for the first seven days in commemoration of God’s care and provision during Israel’s journey in the wilderness. On the eighth day of this feast Israel enjoys a sacred assembly, then finishes the feast in their homes rather than in the booths.xxix
During the Millennium, the Feast of Tabernacles will commemorate God’s watchful care over his people during their earthly journey, his continual provision, and the harvest of souls into the kingdom by the grace of God. Above all other feasts, this is a celebration of the full ingathering of the harvest.xxx It is a special time of joy and thanksgiving. Deuteronomy 16:13-14 instructs, “You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 You shall rejoice in your feast. . . .” Worship during the Millennium will be characterized by joy and thanksgiving.
There are two practices during this feast that warrant additional attention: the Ceremony of Water Libation and the Ceremony of Illumination.
For the Ceremonial of Water Libation, “every morning of the feast a joyous procession, accompanied by music and headed by a priest bearing a golden pitcher, measuring just a little over two pints, made its way from the Temple courts to the Pool of Siloam. At the same time another procession went to the place in the Kedron valley called Moza, or Colonia, whence they brought willow branches” which were then configured to form a canopy over the altar of burnt offering. The priest carrying the water timed his return so that he arrived just as the other priests “carried up the pieces of the sacrifice to lay them on the altar. As he entered by the ‘Water Gate,’ which obtained its name from this ceremony, he was received by a three-fold blast from the priest’s trumpets. Amid great demonstrations of excitement and joy this water was poured into a silver basin, or tube, on the altar, simultaneously with the prescribed libation of wine, which was poured into another tube.
On the seventh day, called the ‘Hoshanna rabba,’ the great Hosanna, the joy and excitement of the people reached their climax.” Silence would fall on the crowd as the Levites began singing the Hallel (Ps. 113-118) with the people responding “Hallelujah” to each line. The priests then led the worshippers (carrying their palm branches) in a march around the altar seven times. As the singers reached Psalm 118:25-29 everyone joined in the words. As they reached verse 26, the people waved their palm branches and exclaimed, “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord,” greeting “the coming Messiah and King, to whom they knew these words applied.”xxxi
Understanding this ceremony gives greater insight on Jesus’s words in Matthew 23:39 where he said to the Jews, “For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" With this ceremony embedded in their culture, they would have immediately understood this as a greeting of Messiah.
The ceremony also enriches our understanding of Revelation 7:9-10: “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” For any Jew, the palm branches would evoke recollection of this great Feast of Tabernacles.xxxii It would indicate a celebration of God’s faithfulness in both provision and protection.
Knowledge of this ceremony also enhances our appreciation for John 7:37-38: “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.’” Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles. The feast is coming to a close on the eighth day. At that sacred assembly (Lev. 23:36), with the Ceremony of Water Libation fresh on everyone’s mind, Jesus cries out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” John follows up with the explanation in verse 39, “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” Of course, a partial fulfillment of that occurred in Acts 2. God continues to pour out his Spirit on those who come to Christ. The promise will be fully realized after Israel’s conversion during the Millennium.
The Ceremony of Illumination is another practice that went on during the Feast of Tabernacles. At the end of the first day of the feast, the worshippers gathered in the Court of Women where huge lamps were illuminated. Four enormous golden lamps seventy-five feet highxxxiii were located there, each with four golden bowls. “Four youths of priestly descent” would climb ladders and fill the bowls from large pitchers of oil. The old worn breeches and girdles of the priests served for wicks for these lamps.”xxxiv Imagine the competition among the priestly youth for the privilege of climbing the seventy-five feet ladder and lighting the oil. At those heights its obvious why the elder priests didn’t perform the feat themselves.
Leaders with flaming torches in hand danced around these lamps while the Levites played music and the people sang. This illumination reminded Israel of the cloud of glory and the pillar of fire in the wilderness. But chiefly it pointed them to the “Messianic promises in the future when the light of Jehovah should arise upon their land and people.”xxxv
With this ceremony of illumination fresh on people’s minds, Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”xxxvi Since that statement millions have responded and received the light of Christ. But the world as a whole is still in darkness.xxxvii During the Millennium the world will experience that light on a grand scale with Christ ruling from the throne of David in Jerusalem and the knowledge of the Lord covering the earth.xxxviii
Conclusion
The Feast of Tabernacles is the only feast mentioned in Zechariah 14:16 as required of the nations during the during the Millennium. The foreshadowing function of the seven major feasts probably accounts for this. According to that symbolism, the Feast of Tabernacles is the only one yet unfulfilled at that time. Zechariah 14:17 describes the consequence that any nation will experience if it does not participate. “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.”. We will deal with this strict and decicive judgment in our next message.
Worship during the Millennium will be characterized by great joy and thanksgiving. This is a prominent feature of the Feast of Tabernacles; celebration of God’s goodness and care. Although many things change over time, one thing does not change: the importance of recognizing God’s goodness and expressing gratitude to him for that goodness. David wrote in Psalm 92:1-2, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night” (NKJV). People spend thousands of dollars in therapy trying to find peace of mind and joy in life. So often they overlook this simple principle of emotional health: nurturing a grateful heart. Paul instructed the church in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I don’t know your circumstances today. But I know one thing we can do in those circumstances: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Let’s take a moment in closing to do that.
ENDNOTES:
i Adam relinquished this right of rulership in Genesis 3. What Adam lost through disobedience, Jesus reclaimed through full obedience to the Father. (Rom. 5:18-19; Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 9:28). Commenting on Revelation 5, Criswell writes, “. . . this book has to do with the redemption of God’s created universe and everything in it. That book is a book of redemption.” W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons on Revelation: Five Volume Complete and Unabridged in One, Vol. 3, 1964 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1978), 56.
ii Cf. Zech. 12:10; Rom. 11:26; Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 1:7.
iii Cf. Isa. 65:18-25.
iv The form of world government will be a theocracy in which Christ rules as God’s representative. Cf. George N. H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1952), 221, 583-584 as quoted by Pentecost, Things to Come, 495-496.
v Cf. Isa. 9:7; 11:4; 33:5-6; 65:21-25; Jer. 23:5.
vi Cf. Luke 21:24.
vii Expounding Ezekiel 40:1-46:24 is beyond the scope of this book. For a brief explanation of that passage from a dispensational perspective see Pentecost, Things to Come, 512-531.
viii Cf. Rom. 8:19-22
ix Cf. Isa. 29:17-18; 33:24; 35:5-6; Jer. 30:17;
x Cf. Isa. 2:2-3; 11:9; 32:17-18; Hab. 2:14; Micah 4:2.
xi Cf. Isa. 2:4; 9:6-7; Hos. 2:18; Micah 4:1-3; Zech. 9:10.
xii Cf. Luke 19:17-19; 22:30; Rom. 8:17; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4.
xiii Cf. Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7.
xiv All Scripture quotes are from the English Standard Version unless indicated otherwise.
xv Cf. 1 Cor. 15:24-28.
xvi Cf. Rev. 1:7; Phil. 2:9-10.
xvii Cf. Zech. 12:10-13:6.
xviii This strict distinction between the priestly and political leadership was carefully guarded during Israel’s monarchy. Cf. 2 Chron. 26:16-23.
xix Cf. 1 Kings 8:2; 2 Chron. 5:3; 7:8-9; Ezek. 45:25.
xx Leviticus 23:4-5 (Passover); 6-8 (Feast of Unleavened Bread); 9-14 (Feast of Firstfruits); 15-22 (Feast of Pentecost; 23-25 (Feast of Trumpets); 26-32 (Day of Atonement); 33-36 (Feast of Booths). Under Mosaic Law all the males were required to journey to Jerusalem and participate in three of these annual feasts: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Deut. 16:16).
xxi Meyers and Meyers, Zechariah 9-14, 468-470 explore why this feast might be considered “the feast par excellence.” This is the feast time when Solomon dedicated his temple in 1 Kings 8.
xxii David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 30 of 4086. Baron explains this title writing, “But not only are the ‘Feasts’ and every detail of the ceremonial to be observed at those appointed seasons full of meaning, but the very order in which they stand in the sacred calendar, is, I believe, significant as setting forth the order of sequence in which the various stages of God’s great redemption scheme were to unfold themselves in the course of the ages” (Location 51).
xxiii Unger, Zechariah, 265. Although we cannot be dogmatic about this position, the fulfillment scheme presented here enjoys strong scriptural support.
xxiv Cf. David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 267 of 4086.
xxv Cf. David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 391 of 4086.
xxvi Cf. David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 440 and 516 of 4086.
xxvii Baron correctly understands the antitype to include Israel’s regathering in their homeland in preparation for their national conversion (Day of Atonement) and the gathering of the church in the rapture (Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16-17). David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 608 of 4086. For a discussion of Matthew 24:31 see Richard W. Tow, Rapture or Tribulation: Will Christians Go Through the Coming Tribulation? (Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2022), 169-171.
xxviii “. . .there is nothing in this dispensation [the Church Age] to answer to the Feast of Tabernacles. No, its fulfilment is yet in the future, when, after Israel’s national Day of Atonement shall have come to pass. . . .” David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 706 of 4086.
xxix This crowning day of all the feasts looked forward to the eternal state described in Revelation 21-22.
xxx Cf. Ex. 34:22.
xxxi David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 706-730 of 4086.
xxxii Cf. W. A. Criswell, Expository Sermons of Revelation, vol. 3 (), 156.
xxxiii Morris reports the height to be fifty cubits, and I assume the cubit to be about 18 inches. Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 1986 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2000), 301.
xxxiv David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 756 of 4086.
xxxv David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 756 of 4086.
xxxvi It is uncertain whether Jesus said this at the Feast of Tabernacles. Morris comments, “The words were evidently spoken not long after that feast, and John has recorded them right after his account of the feast. Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John, 1986 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2000), 301.
xxxvii David Baron, Types, Psalms, and Prophecies, Titus Books, Kindle location 756-780 of 4086.
xxxviii Cf. Not only will the earth experience increased natural light (Isa. 30:26) but there will be a flood of spiritual light as well (Isa. 11:9). The promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit will be fully realized (Joel 2:28-29).
