Zechariah 14

A day of the LORD is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. Zechariah 14:1

This otherwise glorious chapter starts off on a very sad and troubling note. Beloved Jerusalem is attacked by all the nations on earth and much of the city is occupied and plundered. The international armies are so confident of total victory that they divide up the plunder in the midst of the city rather than in their various camps. [1]

In Hebrew, this verse reads, “a day is coming for the Lord,” as in the ESV version. Since this whole chapter has to do with a time period known as “the Day of the Lord,” there is no reason that this is not the meaning in this verse.

Perhaps it would be good at this point for us to try and define this coming Day of the Lord. The Bible scholars J. D. Douglas and Merrill C. Tenney explain the day for us:

Day of the Lord: An eschatological term referring to the consummation of God’s kingdom and triumph over his foes and deliverance of his people. It begins at the Second Coming and will include the final judgment. It will remove class distinction (Isa. 2:12-21), abolish sins (2 Pet. 3:11-13), and will be accompanied by social calamities and physical cataclysms (Matt 24. Lk. 21:7-22). It will include the millennial judgment (Rev. 4:1-19:6) and culminate in the new heaven and the new earth (Isa. 65:17; 66:22;

Rev. 21:1). [2]

It seems quite plain that “the Day of the Lord,” “the Day of Christ,” “the Day,” and “that Day” as they are used in scripture all speak of the same thing. The entire book of Revelation likewise speaks in detail of this day. It is sometimes confusing because we are attempting to peek into a time frame that is partially hidden from us. In other words: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror…” (1 Cor. 13:12). It is much like a prehistoric man trying to glimpse the wonders of the electronic age in which we now live. It simply was not revealed to him. Electronic wonders for him were limited to occasional flashes of lightning.

Zechariah has already made mention of this day in several places (cf. 3:9-10; 9:16; 12:4, 8; 13:2). As this chapter progresses, we will get a better idea of other events taking place on this eschatological day. It seems clear that the Day of the Lord will include much suffering for humanity and even for God’s saints.

We might ask “Why Jerusalem?” “Why does the Holy City get overrun by its enemies?” “Where is God?” Baldwin answers these questions by saying: “Judgment begins with them (Jer. 25:29; Ezek. 9:6; 1 Pet. 4:17).” [3] This is obviously the beginning of the refining process mentioned in the previous chapter (13:8-9). Zechariah has already said that two thirds of the people will perish and the other third will be refined in the fire and tested like gold.

Obviously, this chapter presents its challenges to us. The great Martin Luther said: “In this chapter, I surrender, for I am not certain of what the prophet treats.” [4] There is a good reason why Luther was having problems with this chapter on the restoration of Zion. Luther, like many Bible scholars, was an heir of long-standing Christian antisemitism. These are among the things he suggested for the Jews: their synagogues should be burned; their houses should be destroyed and their prayer books burned; their Rabbis forbidden to teach, and their money taken away. All this was in honor of the Lord Jesus of course. [5] His antisemitism blinded Luther and it probably blinds millions of Christians today.

“I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city” (14:2). We need to understand that all nations on the earth will be involved in this war. It is no doubt the pent-up antisemitism of the ages, at last, being released. We should also note that it is God himself who draws the nations to Israel for their judgment and punishment. In Joel 3:2 God says: “I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.” All nations will be judged largely because of their treatment of Israel and the Jewish people over the centuries.

What we have described here is one aspect of the Battle of Armageddon, some of which will be fought in the Kidron Valley next to the Temple Mount. It is also called the Valley of Jehoshaphat or the valley where God judges. We mentioned earlier how Armageddon and Jerusalem are barely fifty air miles apart and how such a large battle will cover both, even all the tiny nation of Israel. It is unthinkable that a worldwide battle involving all nations against Israel will not engulf the whole country in war.

We notice that half the city will go into exile. This very thing happened in the 1948 War of Independence. Old Jerusalem was captured and its people taken into exile in Jordan. This was likely another Day of the Lord in miniature form. We read that the houses of Jerusalem will be ransacked and the women raped. The rape of women was often a hallmark of Moslem victories in the past. Surely, the surrounding Moslem nations will gladly join in with the international forces to vent their ancient rage once more against Israel. We must ask again, “Where are you, God?” It often seems that God gets there only a minute before total disaster, after all, but the faithful have given up. The prophet points out that the whole city will not be taken and a remnant of the population will be left. Yes, God always works with a remnant.

The Lord Comes

Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. Zechariah 14:3

Suddenly, the Lord Jesus arrives on the scene. If studied carefully, Zechariah and the other prophets will force us to seriously adjust some of our concepts on the Lord’s coming. Plainly, he is coming first to save faltering Israel and defend her against the rage of the nations. He will not be coming specifically to New York, London or Paris but to lowly Jerusalem and Israel. Baldwin confirms this saying: “the great majority of modern commentators think of him as intervening on Israel’s side, against the nations.” [6] That is certainly the case as we have already seen.

There is nothing secret about his coming. He will be announced worldwide with trumpet sound and the voice of the archangel (1 Thess. 4:16). He will be accompanied by his triumphant saints and with his glorious angels. His coming will be known in all the earth. We should note that God’s saints from that moment on will have glorified and resurrected bodies. This happens the very instant the trumpet sounds (1 Cor. 15:52).

“On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south” (14:4). Jesus will come back to the Mount of Olives just as he once promised his disciples (Acts 1:11). He will return visibly, in person and as the spiritual/material resurrected Lord that he is. Apparently, his coming will cause a great earthquake that rearranges the Mount of Olives (cf. Isa. 29:6; Ezek. 38:19-20). This Temple Mount is higher than the temple and runs about 2½ miles (4 km.) from north to south. The mountain will be divided in the north/south directions leaving a large east/west passage through it. [7] The Mount of Olives has always been an impressive barrier to one traveling east from the Temple Mount. The access road has always been around the south end of the mountain, an area mostly controlled by the Moslems. In recent years, the City of Jerusalem has in a sense preempted this escape route by running a very busy traffic tunnel through the mountain. I have always noticed that the mountain has a noticeable dip in its middle perhaps at the very place it will one day be divided.

“You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him” (14:5). It appears that a mighty earthquake will slightly precede the Lord’s appearance. His saints will still be escaping from Jerusalem by using a newly made highway through the mountain. This earthquake will be a vivid reminder of the quake that occurred in the days of King Uzziah long before. It apparently came as a result of the king entering the temple and trying to assume the priesthood. This earthquake is mentioned in Amos 1:1 and in the Antiquities of Josephus. [8]

Israel’s Jordan Valley is part of the vast Syro-African Rift that runs 4,300 miles (7000 km.) from Lebanon in the north to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. This rift is highly prone to earthquakes and there have been many big ones over the centuries. During the sixteen years my wife and I lived in the land we felt occasional earth tremors and they certainly got our attention. It is of note that there will be several large earthquakes in the last days (e.g. Rev. 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; & 16:18).

In the midst of this utter confusion and terror, the Lord Jesus will appear with his angels and holy ones (Matt. 24:31; Jude 1:14).

We might need to spend a little time here trying to digest and better understand these momentous events. More than likely we have all had a general idea of Jesus’ coming but we probably did not consider it as focused so much on Israel. We probably thought of Jesus suddenly coming and completely taking over the world and everything in it. That included an instant change in the world and the instant destruction of the wicked. The saints will be whisked away to Heaven and will live there forever. It will probably not happen that way. Jesus is holy beyond description and the whole world is evil beyond description. The Holy Savior will apparently not come into a defiled world and take his seat in the unholy city of Jerusalem. What we seem to have pictured in scripture is more of a thorough and lengthy renovation of the world. For instance, if we happened to purchase a dirty and rundown wreck of a house, we would not immediately move in. We would take some months to renovate it and make it livable.

At this point in Zechariah, we are seeing the beginning of a cleanup and renovation process for the earth as well as the heavens. Both Heaven and earth will be remade (2 Pet. 3:7. 10-13; Rev. 21:1). One of the first acts in this process is the binding of Satan for the next thousand years (Rev. 20:2). Satan has had many thousands of years to mess up God’s creation and it will apparently take some time for God to clean up the mess. [9] We must keep in mind that we are seeing through the glass darkly about this whole era. God has not revealed it all to us, but he has revealed some of it. The scripture says: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever…” (Deut. 29:29).

It is important for us to make clear that everyone on earth will know that Jesus has returned. They will also know that everything is changing. There will be many, many changes and Zechariah only tells us of a few. No doubt, at some point millions of wicked people will be removed from the earth as the Lord has taught us (Matt. 24:38-41). Revelation tells us that possibly one-third of the earth’s population will die in the last day conflagration (Rev. 9:15). In today’s world population figures that could be a number approaching three billion people. Apparently, many Christians will be severely chastened and lose all for which they have labored, but somehow these will be saved through the fire (1 Cor. 3:12-15). Amazingly, the true and faithful saints of God will survive intact and will be totally victorious.

A Brand-New Era – The Millennium

On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. Zechariah14:6

With the coming of Christ to assume all authority over the earth, we will see monumental changes in many things. As we mentioned, Zechariah notes just a few of these changes. There will be changes in light, darkness, warmth and cold (Isa. 13:10; 60:19-20; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Matt. 24:29). At last, we will really have that elusive “climate change” that so many talk about. Since Jesus is the Light of the World we will have constant and blessed light even without sun or stars. With Christ present, the sun will be ashamed to shine (Isa. 24:23). As we remember, in the creation there was light before the sun and stars were made (Gen. 1:4-5, 14). The Hebrew in verse 6 is a little opaque so we will find many variations in the modern translations.

“It will be a unique day – a day known only to the LORD – with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light” (14:7). Baldwin comments: “Time will no longer be measured in days, for night will never fall. ‘That day’ will be one continuous day (Is. 60:19, 20; Rev. 21:25; 22:5), and so its light will not be dependent on sun, moon or stars.” [10] In Revelation 22:5 we read: “There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” We notice that it is the saints of God who will be reigning with Christ on earth. This is astounding information that has mostly eluded the church for two thousand years.

Zechariah continues: “On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter” (14:8). Wiersbe comments: “Jerusalem is the only great city of antiquity that wasn’t built near a large river…” [11] However, the earlier prophet Ezekiel saw that a great river would eventually flow from the throne of God down to the Dead Sea area bringing life and vitality to that dry wilderness (Ezek. 47:1-12; cf. Joel 3:18). Pett says, “…This glorious river, like the apocalyptic Jerusalem itself, is symbolic of the truth of God going out to the nations bringing life wherever it goes.” [12] Guthrie adds: “Living waters picture the river of God in paradise regained (cf. Gn. 2:10 with Ezk. 47:8 and Rev. 22:1).” [13]

I remember on one occasion there was some excitement among the Christians in Jerusalem because water had begun to flow from the ancient walls. Alas, we soon discovered that it was only a broken water pipe in the Old City.

Jerusalem has always had a problem with its water supply. In ancient times the main source was the Gihon Spring. It was a slow-moving flow which King Hezekiah blocked and diverted into the City of David for fear of an Assyrian invasion (2 Ki. 20:20). I have walked through this long water tunnel on several occasions. The cold water gets up to one’s knees or thighs, but it is indeed a slow-moving stream and certainly did not produce enough water for a growing population. With the coming of the Messiah, Jerusalem’s water problems will be over forever (Isa. 35:6-7; Rev. 22:1-2).

“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name” (14:9). In the previous chapter, Zechariah dealt with the problem of idolatry. This plague has been with the human family almost since its beginning. As we have seen, even in our enlightened age we are still prone to idolatry of various sorts. After the Lord appears, this problem will vanish and everyone on earth will know that there is only one God. During the Millennium we will see all nations worshipping the true God. They may be saying things like this: “For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth” (Psa. 47:2).

“The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place” (14:10). Here the prophet gives us a few more immediate changes that the Lord will make in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. There will be some tremendous earth movements with Jerusalem being raised up above the land around it. Throughout history Jerusalem has been sheltered by mountains all around her (Psa. 125:2). These will no longer be needed and the city will be raised up to prominent heights (Isa. 2:2; Mic. 4:1-3). Pfeiffer & Harrison say: “The entire Land of Promise will be renovated (cf. the implication of Mt. 19:28).” [14] This reminds us of Isaiah’s words: “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isa. 40:4-5).

Apparently, the surrounding land from Geba to Rimmon will be lowered while Jerusalem will be lifted up. Utley locates “Geba” about six miles north of Jerusalem (2 Ki. 23:8). The city served as the northern boundary of Judah. “Rimmon” was a village south of Jerusalem (cf. Jos. 15:32; 19:7; and Neh. 11:29) with a location that is still uncertain. [15] After thousands of years it is extremely difficult to locate some biblical sites.

It is also difficult to locate all the ancient gates of Jerusalem. The Benjamin Gate was obviously located to the north since that was where their tribal area began. [16] Baldwin agrees and adds that the Tower of Hananel was probably the most northerly point on the wall. [17] Clarke locates the winepresses near the king’s gardens in the southern portion of the wall. [18] Again, there is not much certainty and little agreement as to these ancient locations.

“It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure” (14:11). What a beautiful promise, that Jerusalem will be inhabited and will never again be destroyed. Even in the days of Nehemiah, they had to cast lots to force folks to live in Jerusalem (Neh. 11:1). With the advent of the Millennium great crowds of people will be coming to the city. Already today Jerusalem is a choice place for Jews to live. It is very crowded and real estate prices are out the top. From the Millennium’s advent, Jerusalem would never again be destroyed. At the end of the peaceful Millennium Satan will once more be freed to do his evil work. He will come against Jerusalem with a mighty army, but he will not enter the city. His forces will be destroyed by the fire of God before they arrive there (Rev. 20:9).

“This is the plague with which the LORD will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths” (14:12). Barnes says it is “The awful description is of living corpses.” [19] Guzik sees the flesh dissolving as the horrible effects of a neutron or nuclear bomb. [20] Pfeiffer and Harrison describe it as “a supernatural, flesh-consuming plague.” [21] It never seems to go well when an army is fighting against Israel. Several modern nations have paid a terrible price for trying it.

“On that day people will be stricken by the LORD with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another” (14:13). In Israel’s long history this kind of thing happened on a number of occasions (e.g. Exo. 23:27; Judg. 7:22; 1 Sam. 14:15-20; 2 Chr. 20:22-23; Hag. 2:22). The Bible says that all nations will come to fight against Israel. That includes our nation, wherever we live. It is important that our soldiers never align themselves to fight against Israel. Today some whole Christian denominations have aligned themselves against Israel and are attempting to destroy the nation through the BDS movement (Boycott, Divest and Sanction). We mentioned this group in 2:13. They are using every means possible through political, economic, educational and other means to destroy the nation. Some of these would likely be the first in line to actually fight against Israel.

“Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected – great quantities of gold and silver and clothing” (14:14). In Hebrew, this passage is a little ambiguous. Some scholars have tried to say that Judah will be fighting against Jerusalem. Baldwin comments that “it makes much better sense to translate the preposition be ‘in’, as does NEB, Judah too shall join in the fray in Jerusalem.” [22] In this great defeat of nations much wealth will be collected. Feinberg comments: “Oriental armies carried large amounts of gold and silver with them on their march…Apparel is often mentioned in lists of spoil, because it was an important item of wealth in the East (Note Judg. 5:30 and 2 Ki. 7:15).” [23]

“A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps” (14:15). When such things begin to happen people can know that they are really having a bad day. Utley says, “It seems to refer to the complete destruction of this invading army’s military capabilities.” [24]

A New Order In The Earth

Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. Zechariah. 14:16

We detect here an entirely new attitude in the nations of the earth. People will no longer hate and persecute Israel but they will be joining with Israel in worship. This picture is seen clearly in Isaiah 2:2-3 as we have mentioned before. We see it also in Micah 4:1-2:

In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

The Feast of Tabernacles is the final pilgrimage festival in Israel. It marks the ingathering of all the harvest and is a time of great rejoicing and worship. The Bible assures us that this festival is a statute forever, a lasting ordinance for all generations (Lev. 23:41). While the other festivals have had a great deal of fulfillment, this festival remains unfulfilled today.

However, the good news is that people have already begun to go to Jerusalem and celebrate this festival. In 1980, after most embassies were pulled out of Jerusalem for political reasons, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) was formed. My wife and I happened to be in the city and we were able to join in worship at their first Festival of Tabernacles celebration. From that time, the festival is celebrated each year and thousands of Christians from all over the world still go to Jerusalem yearly to celebrate with the Jewish people. There are great times of worship for the whole week as well as praise marches down the streets of the city and other events in support of Israel.

“If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain” (14:17). Here we see something very interesting. Dissent and rebellion of peoples to some degree will still be present but will not be tolerated in the Millennial Period. Wiersbe comments: “Remember, though the millennium is a time of peace and blessing, it is also a time when Jesus will reign over all the earth ‘with a rod of iron’ and will judge disobedience (Ps. 2:9; Rev: 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). Not to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles would be tantamount to despising the blessings of the Lord, and this is a serious transgression.” [25] We do need to remember that the peaceful Millennium will end with one last battle, that of Gog and Magog (Rev. 20:7-8). It will be the earth’s last war and the large invading army will be totally destroyed by the fire of God.

Although we see this period through a glass darkly, there is something mentioned in other biblical passages that we might bring up here. It is said of the victorious saints in Revelation, “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10). This has to be one of the least read and understood verses in the Bible. Simply, victorious saints will reign with Christ on earth most probably in the Millennium. In Revelation 2:27 mentioned above, we learn that victorious saints will also exercise rule with Christ over peoples and nations. They will also rule with a rod of iron. They will obviously be resurrected saints, but there will also be fleshly people still living on the earth, for some will grow old and even die (Isa. 65:20). The risen saints will be celebrating the glorious first resurrection. We see more about our warfare in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Probably, because of our Greek understandings, the church has focused on an ethereal old heaven and has neglected the concepts that God is making a new heaven and a new earth. Since Adam fell, the earth is a disaster because Satan is now acting as its prince (Jn. 12:31). The Bible tells us that God will reverse all this since he has given the earth to mankind (Psa. 115:16). He will cause humankind to reign once more through Jesus and the meek will inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5; cf. Dan. 7:27; Rev. 21:3-5; 22:5). It seems that the resurrected/glorified saints of God will reign with Christ through the Millennium. We will join in God’s great restoration program with humanity being restored from the Fall as well as the restoration of all the natural world.

It thus behooves us to start learning to reign with Christ in our daily lives as Paul exhorts in Romans 5:17. It is interesting what the Psalmist sees in regard to our future. It is clear that neither Christ nor his people will put up with wickedness during this period. The double-edged sword spoken of could well be the Old and New Testaments:

May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them – this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the LORD. (Psa. 149:6-9).

This aspect of the Millennium is truly interesting and should help us to rediscover some of the excitement and joy concerning the Resurrection. Early Christians had that abundant and amazing excitement and joy. It is just like God to finish what he began. He began by creating humans and then by giving them authority to rule the earth for him (Psa. 8:3-9; Heb. 2:8). God will not only restore humanity through Christ but he will restore all nature and deliver it from the curse caused by Adam’s failure. An excellent discussion of the Millennium for Christians is available at Lamb & Lion Ministries and is written by Dr. David Reagan. He mentions that the Millennium is a promise to Israel; a promise to the church; a promise to the nations; a promise to Jesus and much more. [26]

Zechariah continues: “If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles” (14:18). Dummelow says, “Egypt is not dependent on rain. Her punishment will therefore be plague.” [27] Psalm 105:32 mentions rain in Egypt but it was the Nile River that was their main source of water. We see again in this verse that the Lord’s wrath will come swiftly upon all disobedience.

“This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles” (14:19). Clarke comments: “God will have his public worship established everywhere, and those who do not worship him shall lie under his curse.” [28] We need to remember that we are looking at a different era. It is one in which Christ has revealed himself clearly to the whole world with trumpet sound and with the voice of an archangel. There can be no excuse for disobedience to such a mighty worldwide revelation.

“On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar” (14:20). We cannot miss the fact that this inscription “Holy to the Lord” was inscribed on the headpiece of Israel’s high priest (Exo. 28:36). Now, “Holy to the Lord” will be inscribed on the bells of the horses. Baldwin says, “Horses no longer needed for war, will bear the inscription on their jingling harness as they provide transport for pilgrims.” [29] Jamieson and company comment: “This implies that all things, even the most common, shall be sacred to Jehovah, and not merely the things which under the law had peculiar sanctity attached to them. The ‘bells’ were metal plates hanging from the necks of horses and camels as ornaments, which tinkled (as the Hebrew root means) by striking against each other. Bells attached to horses were found represented on the walls of Sennacherib‘s palace…” [30] At this time the cooking pots will be like the sacred bowls at the altar. It is clear that in this era there will be no distinction between the sacred and secular. Everything will be sacred to the Lord. The pots in the temple were very base objects but they will be considered as sacred as the silver and golden bowls used to catch the blood at the altar. [31] This reminds us of Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

“Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty” (14:21). This verse makes it plain that there will be a temple in the Millennial Age. In fact, we see in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, that the Antichrist had previously taken his seat in God’s temple. Perhaps this temple is described for us in Ezekiel, chapters 40-48.

Now the prophet says that the holiness would include every pot in Jerusalem. Jamieson and company comment, “every pot — even in private houses, as in the temple, shall be deemed holy, so universal shall be the consecration of all things and persons to

Jehovah.” [32]

Although God is interested in pots there is probably something much deeper here. The Bible says that all of us believers are like clay vessels (2 Cor. 4:7). The New Living Translation says: “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21 NLT). Simply put, in the age to come every vessel of the Lord will be pure, holy and ready for the Lord to use.

This verse assures us that there will no longer be a Canaanite in the temple of God. Commentators are pretty uniform in translating Canaanite as “trafficker” or “merchant.” [33] We can probably remember how Jesus had a great conflict with the merchants in God’s temple (Matt. 21:13; Mk. 11:15-17; Lk. 19:45-46; Jn. 2:13-22). He had no patience with them and even took a whip to them. We might wonder if we still have some Canaanites around. Coffman boldly states: “Preachers who are primarily purveyors of the word of God for money are the true Canaanites of this current era; and the suspicion is fully justified that there are many who fall into this category.” [34]

As we have seen, the Book of Zechariah is a very spiritual book with many pictures, signs and symbols being used. The prophet is limited by his personal revelation and can only provide us with an incomplete picture of Israel’s restoration and the kingdom age. Hopefully, each of us will expand on this picture by carefully reading or rereading the prophets and especially the Book of Isaiah. There are at least some five hundred verses that have to do with the Millennium in the Bible. The more we learn about the coming age and our own part in it, the more our excitement will grow.

Footnotes

1. Guthrie, et al., The New Bible Commentary, p. 801.

2. J. D. Douglas & Merrill C. Tenney, The New International Dictionary of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987), p. 259.

3. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 200.

4. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Zechariah (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1971), p. 258.

5. Cited in David A. Rausch, A Legacy of Hatred: Why Christians Must Not Forget the Holocaust (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), p. 29.

6. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 205.

7. Ibid., p. 202.

8. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 9,10, 4.

9. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1520.

10. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 203.

11. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1521.

12. Pett, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, v. 14:7.

13. Guthrie, et al., The New Bible Commentary, p. 802.

14. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 911.

15. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, v. 14:10.

16. Barnes, Notes On The Whole Bible, Zechariah, v. 14:10.

17. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 204.

18. Clarke, Adam Clarke Commentary, v. 14:10.

19. Barnes, Notes On The Whole Bible, Zechariah, v. 14:12.

20. Guzik, Enduring Word, Zechariah, vs. 14:12-15.

21. Pfeiffer & Harrison, The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 911.

22. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 205.

23. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 343.

24. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, v. 14:15.

25. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1521.

26. Lamb & Lion Ministries: https://christinprophecy.org/articles/why-a-millennium/

27. Dummelow, John Dummelow’s Commentary on the Bible, v. 14:18.

28. Clarke, Adam Clarke Commentary, v. 14:19.

29. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 207.

30. Jamieson, et al., Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 14:20.

31. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 344.

32. Jamieson, et al., Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 14:21.

33. Pett, Peter Pett’s Commentary on the Bible, vs. 14:20-21.

34. Coffman, Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible, v. 14:21.