THE MESSAGE OF ZECHARIAH
Number 36
THE DAY OF THE LORD
Zechariah 14
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WE come now to the closing chapter of this prophecy which has occupied us for so long. This last chapter presents great difficulties and for this reason there have been many different ways of understanding this prophecy. The difficulty lies in the fact that there seems to be no happening so far which could be said fits the details of this prophecy. Some have given some historical reference, but this is not convincing. For this reason I feel that this whole prophecy lies in the future, and because of this any understanding must be of a very general kind. For me the whole chapter seems to be symbolic, and it is in this way that my understanding is arrived at, though I make no claims to be right. As the opening verse speaks of the "day of the Lord" I take this to be a description of all that follows, and so I see the whole chapter speaking of the time, just before, during and after the return of Christ to judge the living and the dead. I see the chapter as a symbolic declaration of what this time will be like. It is couched in Old Testament ideas, in both the physical and earthly and the religious and spiritual. These references I believe are not meant to be taken literally but as descriptive of conditions at the coming of the Lord at the end of this age, and the end of the world.
OVERALL VIEW
Verse 1 seems to me to be a general statement which the rest of the chapter describes in more detail. This day of the Lord is not just a reference to an event that the Lord comes, but also and more particularly to the fact that this day will be the time for the Lord's glory to shine forth and be perfected in the finishing of his work of redemption, and his final victory over evil. It will be the day the glory of Jesus will shine forth in perfect power and glory, and he will be exalted in the eyes of all with the glory which is his by right as God and redeemer.
The words "when your plunder will be divided among you" describes the blessing which will come to the church, the people, of God. In time and history the people of God have been deprived and persecuted, but at this time things will be different. All that the world plundered from the people of God, in whatsoever sort of way, will be returned to them, and the church will have all things for joy and blessing. It is a summary to describe the the blessing of the new heaven and earth.
The events leading up to the coming of the Lord are symbolically described for us in verse 2. This will be a time of great tribulation for the people of God, and a time when the forces of evil will seem to have triumphed completely. The verse describes a time of terrible suffering and experiences of great evil. However although it may seem that the church of God is annihilated this is not the case. That some people will remain in the city speaks of a remnant of the church surviving.
The bible speaks of a great tribulation coming over the world in the time just before Christ's return. It is Satan's little day, but it is a relatively short time, though for those who have to go through it may seem endless and total darkness. Revelation 20:7ff speaks of such a time. During history Christ has bound Satan so that his power is limited, and the gospel can be preached throughout the world (see Revelation 20:1-3). Then just before the return of Christ he will be released before his final defeat at Christ's return. We have a similar revelation in Revelation chapter 11. From verse 7 we see Satan triumphing, who has come forth from the Abyss. Evil seems to have totally triumphed, but just before the final return of Christ, resurrection and ascension takes place, and Satan is finally put down for ever.
We have only to look out on our world, and in every country we see increase of evil. It is manifested in every conceivable way. We may be forgiven for supposing that this last time of tribulation is close. However there has been evil times before, and this may not be so, but that the end of things is still far in the future.
In a very symbolic way we are given a description of how God will deliver his people in this time, and keep them safe until Christ finally comes and judges the living and the dead.
The picture is of Christ standing over his people. The mount of Olives looked over Jerusalem, so the picture is that Christ is watching over his people. A way of escape and safety is described symbolically by a description of the mount of Olives splitting in two, and this is as if the legs of Jesus divide and splitting the mountain, and so making a valley between the two halves of the mountain, and it is by this valley God's people can escape to safety. Azel is no known place but suggests a place where Satan can in no way harm them.
As the people of God wait at Azel finally the Lord will come in the company of all the angels (v.5b). This echoes such language as Paul uses in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 where the return of Christ for his people is described as a time of great triumph and glory and majesty.
Then in verses 6-11 we have a wonderful description of the wonder and glory that will come when Christ returns in glory.
There will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nigh time. Even when evening comes there will still be light. It is a picture of the coming of eternity where time will be no more, and all evil and darkness will be expelled. All will be pure and lovely and glorious (v.6-7). But we are told that the coming of this day is known only to the Lord (v.7).
Speculation has been made all down history, and people have thought they could predict the time of Christ's coming, but Christ and the bible tell us it will not be known until it happens. This is why we are warned to be ready.
Verse 8 speaks of the glory of the life which shall be enjoyed in this eternal kingdom. This is described symbolically by a perpetual river of living water flowing throughout the land. In this life the people of God have moments of great glory in the presence of the Lord spiritually, but these are rare. Most of the time we still have some thirst because of the corruption of our flesh, and the hate of the world. In the heavenly glory we will hunger no more and thirst no more, because our whole being will be fully and totally satisfied.
Verse 9 speaks of this heaven as being under the total and only rule of the Lord, and it is this that assures us and gives us the blessing of this eternal life which has been described. We shall own God as king and serve God as king then without any failure or neglect. We shall be kept in peace and safety because our king reigns gloriously.
Verses 10-11 describe in a symbolic way the eternal peace and safety that will be the norm in the heavenly country, and it is so described so that we may appreciate and understand that there is no corner of this realm which is not in this safety.
What happiness and glory will the saints of God enjoy then. All the sufferings of the present age is nothing to the glory that will be revealed in us.
The symbolic description of eternal punishment given here is terrible to contemplate. The description in verses 12 and 13 is one of living death, and a description of everlasting misery. This is the bible concept of death. It is not oblivion, but the absence of everything that is good, and which promotes happiness and well being. The picture is of awful existence where a person is entirely alone. The terrible thing is that it is everlasting. Many have sought to diminish the horror of the state of the unbeliever in eternity in one way or other, but places likes Matthew 25:46 makes this impossible. Jesus says "Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." The word used for eternal, in the original Greek, is the same in both parts of this verse. Therefore if the righteous have conscious existence in life, the wicked have conscious existence in this terrible death.
Appreciation of this revelation of hell should make all who enjoy faith in Christ to be so filled with horror and so filled with compassion for the lost, that they pray and work to the utmost that the gospel may be made known and people plucked as brands from the burning. We need to meditate on this revelation of hell, so this urgency for the lost may never leave us, but rather increase within us.
Verse 14 describes how all that unbelievers lived for in this life, and sold their soul for, shall be taken away leaving them with nothing.
This terrible end will be for all those who do not go up year by year to worship the Lord. In other words we are told in verse 16-19 who it is that find they end up in hell. It is not just the ones who have lived very wicked lives and done terrible acts of evil. It is in fact all who have not worshipped the Lord and served him truly. We need to understand this. Worshipping the Lord truly is not simply embracing a religion or being religious. It is not simply belonging to a Christian church. Nor is it being charitable and kind. It is only those who have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ, and whose worship thereby is accepted by God. We must be reconciled to God through faith in Christ, before we can go up to worship the Lord. This seems so hard for people to understand and accept. Satan blinds the mind and heart of unbelievers so that they do not see the truth. People have no real consciousness of their sin which separates them from God, so they believe themselves to be able to come before God in their own righteousness and by their own merits. They do not see that they need to avail themselves of the gift of perfect righteousness through faith in Christ.
These last two verses describe the essential character of this heavenly glory. It is that everything is holy to the Lord. This means not only that complete holiness reigns, but also that everything is done to the Lord in perfect conformity to his holiness. It means also that everything is holy as God is holy so that everything brings glory to God and delights God.
This is true also of the saints who dwell in heaven. We will be wholly sanctified to the Lord, and this will be our life and our joy and our eternal occupation. There will be nothing that defiles, but all will be lovely and beautiful with the beauty of God.
So we know what to expect as children of God. In this world there will be suffering, but when Christ comes there will be full redemption, and the glory of eternal life complete and full. We shall see Jesus and there will be nothing in that realm or in us to tarnish the joy and glory of that eternal fellowship. How difficult it is to describe what we do not know yet. However by such revelations as given in this chapter we know what we hope for, and with patience wait for it.
Let us close by pointing out the urgency of obeying Christ's command to go into all the world to preach the gospel. If people don't hear, they can't understand. If they do not understand they can't believe. If they don't believe they can't be saved. Let us have compassion, and follow our Saviour and seek for the lost that they may be saved.