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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Zechariah 14:1 - 14:11
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The Judgment and the Redemption
v. 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, a great Day of Judgment, and thy spoil, that gained by the enemies in overcoming Jerusalem, shall be divided in the midst of thee, the enemies being at leisure and secure in the conquered city.
v. 2. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, the enemies being recruited from all countries of the world; and the city shall be taken and the houses rifled and the women ravished, a picture of an apparent complete overthrow of the Church such as she experienced during the dark ages; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, yielding to the power of Antichrist, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city, some at least would remain faithful to the true God in the Church of the Reformation.
v. 3. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle, on the many occasions when He went forth to battle with them and for them.
v. 4. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, this location being considered the center of the earth and the throne of the Lord, as He makes ready for judgment, 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, an earthquake having this effect as the earth trembled under the footsteps of Jehovah, 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, thus opening a road from Jerusalem straight toward the east.
v. 5. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, since it would offer safe hiding-places; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal, a small town east of Mount Olivet; 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, His advent being looked for by His children 'with joyful expectation, and all the saints, the holy angels, with thee. The picture sketched by the prophet shows Jehovah preparing to judge the nations, while the believers flee to Him for refuge, knowing that their salvation is near.
v. 6. And it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear, that is, there would not be full daylight, nor dark, literally, "the glorious things will withdraw themselves," evidently said of the lights of heaven, the sun, moon, and stars;
v. 7. but it shall be one day, a most singular day in every way, which shall be known to the Lord, He alone being acquainted with its true nature, not day nor night, because the lights of heaven will have lost their power to shine; but It shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light. This picture represents the Church of the Middle Ages gradually sinking into darkness as the light of the Word of God was obscured by its leaders. Fortunately, however, the Lord, through the Reformation, caused the glorious light of His Gospel to shine forth once more.
v. 8. And it shall be in that day, after the restoration of the light of the Word in its original position, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, from the Church of the Lord in its renewed state, Cf Eze_47:1; half of them toward the former sea, toward the east, and half of them toward the hinder sea, toward the west, so that the blessings of the Gospel would be distributed throughout the world; in summer and in winter shall it be, without intermission.
v. 9. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth, as the Ruler of His Kingdom of Grace; in that day shall there be one Lord, the Triune God once more accepted by the Church as He had revealed Himself in Christ, and His name one, to be glorified wherever His Word is proclaimed.
v. 10. All the land shall be turned as a plain, with no more mountains to obstruct the work of the Church, from Geba, some twelve miles north of Jerusalem, to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, at the southern border of Judah; and It shall be lifted up, Jerusalem alone being placed up on high, and inhabited in her place, or, "shall dwell in her place,". from Benjamin's gate, in the wall of the north side of the city, unto the place of the first gate, on the east or northeast, unto the corner gate, that on the west, and from the tower of Hananeel, on the northeast corner of the city, Neh_3:1, unto the king's winepresses, in the royal gardens on the south side of the city.
v. 11. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, such as came upon the Church through the wickedness of Antichrist; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. The Church, as renewed by the Reformation, will, on the whole, remain in possession of the truth and its blessings.