Zechariah 14

Zechariah 14 is the final chapter of the Book of Zechariah and concludes the second "burden" (a weighty message entrusted by God), which begins in chapter 12. In Zechariah 13 the shepherd is smitten, and the remaining third is refined in the fire. This chapter goes on to depict the final battle for Jerusalem and its restoration "in that day."

Outline

• Verses 1–2: On the Day of the LORD, the LORD gathers the nations to battle against Jerusalem. The city is taken and half of its people go into captivity, but the remnant of the people is not cut off.
• Verses 3–5: The LORD goes forth and fights against the nations. His feet stand on the Mount of Olives, and the mountain splits from east to west, forming a great valley. The people flee into that valley as they fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, and the LORD comes with all the saints.
• Verses 6–11: A single day comes that is neither day nor night, and at evening time there is light. Living waters flow out from Jerusalem toward the eastern sea and the western sea, in summer and in winter. The LORD becomes king over all the earth. The whole land is made a plain, and Jerusalem is lifted up and dwells safely, with no more curse.
• Verses 12–15: A plague falls on the peoples who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh, eyes, and tongues rot away. A great tumult comes upon them, and they strike one another. The gold, silver, and apparel of the nations are gathered together, and the same plague strikes their animals.
• Verses 16–19: Those who remain from the nations go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. No rain falls on any nation that does not go up, and Egypt receives the same punishment.
• Verses 20–21: "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD" is inscribed even on the bells of the horses, and every pot in Jerusalem and Judah becomes holy. There is no longer any Canaanite in the house of the LORD.

Key Verses

• Zechariah 14:4, "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east," ties the coming of the LORD to a specific location. It is frequently cited in discussions of the Second Coming.
• Zechariah 14:9, "And the LORD shall be king over all the earth," declares that the God of Israel will be revealed as the one King of the whole world; it is the climax of the chapter.
• Zechariah 14:20, "In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD." This inscription was originally engraved on the plate of the high priest's miter (Exodus 28:36). Its extension to everyday objects portrays the disappearance of the distinction between the holy and the common.

People and Places

• The LORD: The central actor of the chapter, who strikes the nations and becomes king over all the earth.
• Uzziah: A king of Judah. The earthquake that occurred during his reign is also mentioned in Amos 1:1.
• Mount of Olives: The mountain east of Jerusalem.
• Azal: The point to which the split valley extends; its exact location is unknown.
• Arabah: The low-lying region extending from the Jordan Valley to the area south of the Dead Sea. It serves as an image of the whole land being made level.
• Geba and Rimmon: Places north and south of Jerusalem, respectively. They mark the extent of the land that becomes a plain.
• The gate of Benjamin, the corner gate, and the tower of Hananeel: Gates and a tower of the city of Jerusalem.
• Egypt: Commonly understood to be singled out because it depends on the flooding of the Nile rather than on rainfall.

Notes on Interpretation

• How this chapter is read varies according to one's eschatology.
• Those who hold dispensational premillennialism read it literally. They hold that Christ will physically stand on the Mount of Olives at His return and that the nations will go up to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles during the millennial kingdom.
• Amillennial interpreters in the Reformed tradition tend to read it symbolically, seeing it as a depiction of the consummation of the kingdom of God in the Old Testament language of temple and feast.
• In the New Testament, the following passages are read together with this chapter:
• Acts 1: Jesus ascends from the vicinity of the Mount of Olives, and the promise is given that He "shall so come in like manner."
• John 7: On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus speaks of rivers of living water.
• Revelation 22: The New Jerusalem is portrayed as having no night and no more curse.
• 1 Thessalonians 3:13: The statement that the Lord will come "with all his saints" echoes verse 5.
• The word "Canaanite" in verse 21 can also mean "merchant" in Hebrew, and some translations render it "trader" or "merchant." Some interpreters link this to the cleansing of the Temple.
• There are reportedly many Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives, along with a tradition expecting the Messiah to come there. This is a later tradition based on this passage, not something the text itself states directly.