Zechariah 14:5-21
THE division of our Bible into chapters and verses has made it very easy to refer to passages of Scripture, but it was the work of men not inspired, and sometimes appears (as here) to have been hurriedly done. The last part of verse 5 should have been separated from the first part of the verse, and as beginning a new (and the last) section of Zechariah’s prophecy, ought to be the first verse of a new chapter.
“The Lord my God shall come”, says the prophet, and then, addressing Him, adds, “and all the saints with Thee”,—for those who have believed in the Lord Jesus during the present dispensation of grace, formed by the Holy Spirit into one body, the bride of Christ and the Church of God, will be with the Lord when He comes to reign (Jude 14-15; Revelation 19:6-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 1 Corinthians 6:2). The Scriptures do not disclose whether or not the Old Testament saints will also be with the Lord when He comes.
Verses (6 and 7 present a little difficulty in translating into English, but it is plain from the passage that the day of the Lord will be introduced by a notable departure from the ordinary order of night following day as evening comes on. (See Isaiah 30:26). This is not surprising when we consider the majesty the Person Who is coming, and the great consequences of His coming. There will be physical changes, then, also, as verse 10 declares, and the river of verse 8 has no counterpart today (See Ezekiel 47; Joel 3:18; Psalm 46:4). The river of Revelation 22:1, 2 is, we think, symbolic, rather than an actual flowing stream of water.
The “former sea”, as the marginal note points out, is the Dead Sea, and the “hinder sea” is the Mediterranean, but the Dead Sea will no longer be without life in its waters (Ezekiel 47:8-10). The Lord will be the one and only King (verse 9). Geba, in verse 10, was about six miles north of Jerusalem, but the site of Rimmon has not been identified.
Other passages have foretold the destruction of the armies which under the king of the north will compass Jerusalem immediately before and after the Lord’s coming to establish His kingdom; verses 12-15 disclose what will be the character of their end, and of this, the Word of God provides at least two examples in past history: —Judges 7:22 and 2 Kings 19:35.
Verses 16 to 21 bring to a close Zechariah’s prophecy with a view of the Millennial years which may profitably be compared with Isaiah 2:1-4; 4:2-6; 9:2-7; 11:1-10; 19:18-25; 25:6-9; 27:6; 28:5; 30; 41:18-20; 65:17-25; Jeremiah 31:31-10; Ezekiel 10 to 48; Hosea 2;18-23; Amos 9:13; Micah 4; Habakkuk 2:14; Zechariah 8:3-5 and Revelation 21:9-27; 22:1-5, the last mentioned presenting in expressive symbols, the relation of the Church to the earth during the Millennium.
The thousand years, glorious though they will be, and an important part of the answer of God the Father to His Son’s humiliation and His cross, will come to an end; the judgment of the great white throne will follow, and the eternal state will begin (Revelation 20:5-15; 21:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). But of these things the Old Testament prophets were not told.
ML 11/07/1937