Zechariah 14:1-7

Zechariah 14:1

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

Here Zechariah speaks about the warning that the day of the LORD is coming to Jerusalem when it shall be destroyed by the Roman army in 70 A.D.  All of the goods and the spoils of the destruction will be given to the conquerors.  It is the time of retribution because the Jews had hated and colluded with Rome to have the Lord Jesus Christ killed.  Now their temple will be destroyed along with the city signaling the end of the Mosaic law and the time of salvation by grace alone has come.  The temple to be built is the spiritual temple of the believers.

Zechariah 14:2

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

The destruction will not be a random event but the LORD himself is bringing the nations against Jerusalem because the day of its final destruction is at hand.  The city was taken as Titus surrounded the city and even made a trench.  He even had all the trees cut down within one mile from the walls so no one could escape.  And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.  (Luke 21:20)  The houses were rifled or pillaged and everything was taken from them and given to the conquering armies.  The women were also barbarously violated as the soldiers went from house to house.  Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof.  (Deuteronomy 28:30)  In Zechariah 13:8 we read about the two thirds which would be cut off and die.  In this verse we read about half of the city which would be one half of the two thirds or one third will go into captivity, that is, they will be taken by the Romans and would become slaves in different places all over the empire and of course the second half would be those that lost their lives in the siege.  Then the residue or remnant of the people left behind would be speaking of the believers which obeyed the Lord’s command to leave Jerusalem when they saw the armies approaching would be allowed to go back into the city and would have no need of a temple because the days of animal sacrifices ended when the Lord Jesus Christ became the final and only sacrifice for sin.

Zechariah 14:3

Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Then eventually the LORD would fight against Rome which means that they will have served their purpose.  Just as the LORD fought against Assyria, Babylon and Egypt causing them to cease to be world powers.  The same situation will happen to Rome, eventually they would cease to be a world power.  No longer would they be a threat to anyone.

Zechariah 14:4

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.

It was on the Mount of Olives where the Lord Jesus Christ was arrested by the temple guards but now he is symbolically speaking of the Mount of Olives which was located east of Jerusalem and this is the way the church would have escaped out of Jerusalem because the Roman army would have attacked from the north.  {3} The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.  {4} Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:  (Isaiah 40:3-4)  By mentioning the fact that all the four directions are mentioned is that they are symbolic in that the LORD himself made the way for the church to escape the siege of Jerusalem.  In Isiah 40:4 we read that “every mountain shall be made low” which means that the Lord himself made the way of escape for the Christians in Jerusalem.  They had escaped east to Qumran and surrounding areas.  Jesus had prophesied to the believers that when they saw the armies approaching, they were to waste no time in gathering their goods but were to escape as fast as they could.  The unsaved Jews disbelieved the words of the LORD and suffered horribly because of their rank unbelief.

Zechariah 14:5

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Verse 5 continues the thought from verse 4 by beginning with “and.”  The valley which is the way that the believers will escape from Jerusalem will reach unto Azal.  Azal is a place unknown but it roots from a Hebrew word “awtsal” which means to “keep or reserve.”  So the place is symbolic of the place where the Christians fled to be kept in safety by the LORD until it would be time for them to return and live in Jerusalem once again.

Zechariah 14:6

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:

During the destruction of Jerusalem the believers will be in hiding for their own protection and the outcome of their situation would be unclear in that they would wonder if they would be next for the Romans to attack and kill and make them slaves.  The light would not be dark either in that there would be the light of the true gospel that God was keeping them safe during the siege of Jerusalem.  It was a time of uncertainty in their lives.  Just like when a believer goes through rough times in the present day.  The outcome of their situation will be unclear but they have enough light to know that God is in control of their situation.

Zechariah 14:7

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.

The one day in view is the day of judgment for the whole earth and it will be the time when the believers will be ushered into Heaven after the great day of resurrection of all the believers.  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.  (Acts 17:31)   Zechariah 14:7 is speaking of all the believers in Heaven since it mentions the fact that there is no day nor night and the only place that occurs is Heaven.  And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.  (Revelation 21:25)  One of my favorite hymns is called “In the land of Fadeless Day.”  Instead of the sun going down at evening, there will be light.

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.  (Isaiah 58:8)

Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.  (Isaiah 60:20)