Zechariah 14
This mountain near the city of Jerusalem was spoken of many times in the Bible. It must have been named in earliest times for the olive trees growing on it, they grow well on rocky, sunny slopes and live to be very large old trees. The mountain is more a ridge than what we would call a hill, with villages and gardens on the sides.
The first time it is spoken of in the Bible was once when David left the city, he went by way of this mountain, which was also called Olivet (2 Sam. 15:30). That was over a thousand years before Christ.
In the book of Zechariah it is told that one of the very greatest of all events is to be at this mountain, when all nations are gathered near Jerusalem for battle. It says,
“Then the Lord shall go forth.. against those nations,... and His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.” Zechariah 14:4.
It is plain that will be a time of punisent, or judgment, not like when the Lord Jesus came to earth to bless. In those years He was many times on that mountain; He talked to the people from there; it was to a garden there that He and the men with Him went the last night for prayer; and there the soldiers came to take Him. After He was raised from the dead, He was with His followers on the mount of Olives when He was taken up from them, and “a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
While the men stood looking upward, they were told that “this same Jesus” would come again as they had seen Him go. (Acts 1:11.).
That time will surely, come, but no one can say when. Yet the words of the prophet are very plain, naming that same mountain, and the prophet was told that the mountain should be divided, when a valley between, and the people would flee in fright, as the people once fled from an earthquake there, or near.
We do not fully understand all this told to the prophet, yet we can understand that God shows most plainly that there will be a “day” or time of judgment on earth by the Lord Himself. After that, “the Lord shall he King over all the earth.” Zech. 11:9. People are to go from all nations to worship Him.
The prophet wrote before of safety for the people of Jerusalem after the time of judgment; that also is told to show it will be a real city, people will have their homes there; it even speaks of the children. We might think the Lord would not think of them, but He told the prophet,
“The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets.” Zech. 8:5.
All this teaches us how real the events will be of which God told the prophets to write; and He wants Ills people to know their words.
In the new Testament we are told that God waits to bring the time of judgment, because He is “longsuffering” to save, and “not willing that any should perish,” 2 Peter 3:9,15.
ML 10/25/1942