Zechariah 14: Last Days in Detail

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

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Zechariah 14 specifically describes the following:

• the Day of the Lord
• a time of judgment and salvation for God’s people
• filled with end time prophecies and promises of God’s ultimate victory over evil.
• reminds believers of the hope and redemption that is to come through Jesus Christ,
• also it reminds us of our victory over death, the grave and the devil. (from Smith’s Outline Bible)

The Day of the Lord, once again, is not a particular day or simply a 24-hour period of time. It is a period of time that includes the Tribulation period of seven years and the events immediately following it (The Millennial Kingdom, etc.).

It is like hearing some older person say to a younger person, “In my day, we did this and so and so,” where the word “day” is meant to include a period of time, whether days, months or even years. This is what is meant by the term “Day of the Lord.” It encompasses a specific period of time that includes a number of years and incorporates many events, not merely one particular day.

Zechariah 14:1-5 – Zechariah describes a time of great difficulty and conflict for Jerusalem, when:

• The city of Jerusalem will be besieged and plundered
• The LORD will intervene and fight for Israel against the nations who come against her
• This will be at His return and when His feet touch the Mt. of Olives, the mount will be split in two
• Similar to the parting of the Red Sea when God provided a miraculous escape for Israelites (Exodus 14:21-22)
• Also points to the ultimate deliverance of all God’s children in the future

During this time, the Lord will have victory over all Israel’s enemies (Zechariah 14:6-11). The earth and space will experience cataclysmic changes due to the coming of the LORD. There will be no light, but simply a unique day known only to the LORD that we cannot appreciate now. We are told that “living waters” will flow continually after He returns.

Unlike what some teach, the LORD will be physically present and reign over the entire earth and all nations. We also see this also in Revelation 22:1-2. We are told the river of life flows from God’s throne and that every knee will bow and confess He is LORD. This will be a continuous situation during the coming Millennial Kingdom, which is what the prophet Zechariah is describing here.

Once the Lord physically returns, He will not only set up His Kingdom, which will last for 1,000 years, but He will enter into judgment of the Nations (Zechariah 14:12-15). The judgment will occur on those who attacked Israel. They will be struck with plagues and will be tossed into confusion and panic.

These future plagues will be similar to the plagues sent on Egypt (Exodus 7 – 12). The plagues sent on Egypt ultimately led to the Israelites’ escape from Egypt. This judgment also looks to the future judgment of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25, and ultimately points to the final Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20.

Zechariah 14 ends with a description of the worship that will occur in the restored Jerusalem among all the people there. All nations will come to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles from wherever they are located throughout the earth.

The Feast of Tabernacles was a time of thanksgiving and remembrance of God’s provision for the Israelites in the wilderness – Leviticus 23:33-44. It also points to the coming perfect worship of all the saints in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22-27). The glory of God will be its light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

Zechariah 14 is a powerful and dynamic chapter that speaks of the Day of the Lord and the ultimate victory of God over evil. It serves as a reminder to all believers of the hope and redemption that is to come through Jesus Christ. The imagery of judgment, deliverance, and worship points to the final fulfillment of God’s promises to his people. As we await the return of Christ, we can take comfort in the knowledge that God is sovereign and will ultimately triumph over all.

The Book of Zechariah is merely one portion of God’s Word that highlights future events specific to Israel. Zechariah 14 highlights the fact that though God is the One who gathers specific nations against Israel (similar to the events foretold in Ezekiel 38-39, aka the Northern Invasion), and through it ends up destroying many Jewish people during that time. However, He also saves for Himself a remnant of Jewish believers who will be protected and will ultimately go into the Millennial Kingdom.

It is fascinating that Zechariah 14 describes the physical return of our Lord as He touches down on the Mt. of Olives. Once He does, we are told that a huge valley will be created as one part of the mountain moves to the east and the other portion moves to the west. Because of the valley that is created by this event, Jewish people will walk through to safety in that valley, much like their ancestors walked across the dry sea bed when God, through Moses, parted the waters then leaving a mountain of water on each side with a dry path through the middle.

We learn that when the nations attack Israel, God will send a plague on them as recorded in verses 12-15. Notice that what is described here is similar to the after effects of a nuclear holocaust.

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war 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.

Whether God destroys His (and Israel’s) enemies with nuclear detonations that armies may have with them or whether He sends a specific plague that causes people to literally melt away, we don’t know for certain. In any case, God deals with Israel’s attackers in a way that won’t be forgotten by those who survive.

Starting in Zechariah 14:16, we are told that everyone who survives all of this, will be among the people who go up to Jerusalem from wherever they are to worship King Jesus in Person. Those people of various nations who do not go up will have rain withheld from them so their crops cannot grow as a form of judgment.

Things will not be perfect during the Millennial Kingdom because people who have not died during the Tribulation, but are believers, will go into the Millennial Kingdom to live there. They will marry and have children. Those children will still have sin natures, passed onto them by their parents. Because of that, sin will still occur among those human beings.

Jesus will deal with any issues that occur during the Millennial Kingdom using His “rod of iron” (Revelation 2:27), which indicates that He will have to be very tough to keep sin in check. Interestingly enough, at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan (who has been imprisoned in the Bottomless Pit during that time), will be released for a short while in order to create a rebellion (Revelation 20:7-10).

That may seem odd to us, that God allows Satan one more chance to turn people against God, but it is God’s way of finalizing sin, to eradicate it completely. It shows us that people, when left to themselves and their own devices, will almost always go against God’s will. This is one of the hallmark doctrines throughout Scripture. Free will leads to sin.

The very last verse of Zechariah 14 tells us some interesting things.

21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts.

Literally, every cooking pot in the New Jerusalem of the Millennial Kingdom will be set apart to give honor and glory to Yahweh. People will use them to bring their sacrifices used in worship to the LORD during that time. Life will be completely different from what it is now and it is difficult for me to adequately realize.

Regarding “there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord…” this verse tells us that the Canaanites, throughout their history and especially as they connect to Israel’s history, “represented people who were morally and spiritually unclean, reprehensible to Yahweh, and doomed to death,” (Genesis 9:25; Isaiah 35:8; Ezekiel 43:7; 44:9; Revelation 21:27; Notes from Dr. Thomas Constable).

In the end, it is exceedingly difficult to fully appreciate what this coming 1,000 year Kingdom means to us. Everything about life then will be completely different. There will be fairness and true equity based on God’s righteousness that flows from Him and will be reflected throughout the earth.

Zechariah 14 informs us of the very last of the last days in some detail. As we see things ramping up in the Middle East, we know that we are not there yet, however, we appear to be on our way. There may soon come a day when the forces that make up the Northern Invasion of Ezekiel 38-39 will come together to attack Israel, the apple of God’s eye. I don’t know if this will occur prior to the coming Tribulation or at the end of it. Commentators have mixed views.

It is clear though that hatred of Israel and anti-Semitism itself is dramatically on the rise. Because of that, it is only a matter of time before a major attack against Israel is started. We know in Zechariah 14:1-2, there is major death and destruction before God steps in and fights for Israel. This occurs in Ezekiel 38-39 and here in Zechariah 14 (if they are two separate events).

As believers, all we can do is know what God’s Word says and believe that He will accomplish it and all His purposes, for His glory. Knowing what is coming should not engender fear within us but greater faith in His ability to provide. In the end, we know we will be with Him, in His Kingdom, serving Him with glorified bodies and the complete absence of our current sin natures. While it is hard to imagine, we know that nothing could be better!

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Source: https://studygrowknowblog.com/2025/03/31/zechariah-14-last-days-in-detail/