Zechariah 14
COMMENTARY:
: 5 And you shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal: yea, you shall flee, like as you 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 you. (6918 “saints” [qadosh] means set apart, holy, a person who is morally pure, consecrated, or sacred.)
DEVOTION: The return of the LORD at the end of the Tribulation time period is going to happen. It is stated when Christ ascended into heaven in front of HIS disciples on the mount of Olives that HE would come back someday the same way HE left. It was a promise. The angels knew this much about the future plans of the LORD.
We are also told that the saints would return with HIM. Which saints can cause some serious study of the Word of God. Remember there are three types of saints discussed in Scripture: Old Testament saints, New Testament saints and Tribulation saints. It is thought that these will be the New Testament saints returning with the LORD. It could be a combination of saints. We will find out one day.
What we have to understand is that this is going to happen. The angels knew it was going to happen. Christ knew it was going to happen. The LORD revealed to the Old Testament prophets that it was going to happen.
CHALLENGE: Our goal is to be prepared when HE calls us. We should be saying “Even so come LORD Jesus.”
: 7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, not night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. (3045 “known” [yada] means notice, hear of, reveal, to be or become ascertained with certainty, or perceive.)
DEVOTION: In Revelation 21: 23 we read “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” Here we have a confirmation that what Zechariah is given as true is given again in the book of Revelation.
The LORD is going to be the light for the city of Jerusalem. There is going to be no darkness during the reign of Christ. There is always light. Jesus described HIMSELF while HE was on the earth in HIS first coming as the “Light of the World.”
HE is the only light that we need to see our way into eternal life with God in heaven. The Holy Spirit illumines us to understand the Word of God, so that, we can teach others that we are walking in the light.
There is going to be no evenings that are dark during the Millennial Reign of Christ. No darkness. Darkness is what those without Christ are walking in right now. They are like dead men/women walking. They can’t find the right way because they are not turning to the LORD who is the only way to the Father.
Remember only the LORD knows when the trumpet will sound for those who are believers to join the LORD in the air with all the rest of the New Testament saints.
CHALLENGE: We need to be working and listening!!
: 9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. (259 “one” [‘echad] means each, every, certain, only, once, once for all, or first.)
DEVOTION: This chapter is a picture of the end of the Tribulation. All the armies of the Antichrist will come against Jerusalem to destroy it. As this is happening the LORD will return and cause an earthquake that will divide the mount of Olives in half. HE will come to defeat all the enemies of Israel. They will be defeated.
The LORD will be the Light in the city of Jerusalem. The LORD will send LIVING WATER throughout the land. The LORD will be KING over ALL the earth.
There is a time in the future that there will be only the LORD as the GOD to be worshipped. All the false gods will be gone. They will not be worshipped. Their names will not be remembered. There will be “no other name under heaven.” HIS will be the ONLY one.
This speaks of unity and uniqueness. This speaks of everyone worshiping the ONE true God alone. The LORD knows the future. The LORD predicted the future. The predictions of the LORD are going to come to pass IN THAT DAY.
Those who teach that the LORD doesn’t know the future are lying to themselves and others. It is sad that the church has individuals who teach this false doctrine. It is sad that they don’t trust the Word of God to be the truth. It is sad that many in the church are trying to please them and not speak out against them.
Our people are confused enough without “Evangelicals” being divided over this truth. These evangelicals need to change their beliefs or change their identification. We need everyone to be believers in the Omniscience of God.
The future has a Millennial kingdom coming that will manifest the LORD as the only true RULER. People will come from every nation to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles. All those who chose to not worship HIM will be without rain. Those who chose not to worship HIM have plagues come to their land.
This is to inform us that there are people who will be born during the thousand years that will not follow the LORD. They will have no devil to tempt them. They will have the perfect ruler ruling the whole world. So the world and the devil are out of the picture. The only area left to tempt people is the flesh. During this time period there will be those who will yield to the flesh and not worship the LORD.
We need to be prepared to face the future with the hope and assurance that the LORD is working HIS plan. Our responsibility before we leave this world is to reach all those in our world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
CHALLENGE: If we believe that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ – are we telling others about HIM? If not, we need to check our belief!!
: 20 IN that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. (6944 “HOLINESS” [qodesh] means sanctuary, apartness, sacredness, dedicated, hallowed, consecrated, separateness, what is holy, pure, or separated.)
DEVOTION: The future is very prevalent in this minor prophet. He has many visions regarding the future. He sees things that others only wish they had seen regarding the future.
We are told in the Bible that the angels don’t know the future. They are watching what is happening as it happens. We are watching things as they happen. The LORD has chosen a group of individuals to see visions of the future to let us know that HE has a plan and is working HIS plan.
The scribes in Herod’s court knew where to look for the birth of the Messiah. The prophet Isaiah went into the presence of the LORD and realized he was a sinner who shouldn’t even be in the presence of the LORD but found out that his sins could be forgiven. He gave us the prophecies regarding the Messiah being a suffering servant first. The Pharisees looked right over this fact and thought that the Messiah would come as a king at HIS first coming. They were wrong.
We need to understand that Christ has already come as the suffering servant now HE is going to come as the King of Kings and LORD of LORDS. HE is going to ride the white horse with bells on it to announce the fact that HE is the PURE coming King.
This book of Zechariah has so much to understand about the future in it that it would take many sermons to help us understand all of the facts. The future is SURE.
We need to share these facts with confidence with those who have questions about the LORD and the future. We need to answer all the questions that new believers ask about our future hope with Christ.
Worship is going to be happening throughout eternity. There will be other activities during our time with the LORD. The Bible doesn’t explain all of them but there are going to be responsibilities even in heaven for each of us.
CHALLENGE: Live a separated life unto the LORD today. We are a holy people called by a holy God to serve HIM with our whole body, soul and spirit.
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