The angel said, this same Jesus shall so come in like manners you've seen him go. You saw him leave physically, personally, bodily, literally, visibly from the Mount of Olives. That's the way he'll return. And this same Jesus is here called the Lord my God. Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur.
I'm your host, Phil Johnson. You're probably already familiar with the extensive, vivid accounts of Christ's return as given in Daniel and Revelation. But they don't provide the whole picture. There's some gaps that still need to be filled.
Well, today on Grace to You, John MacArthur is going to fill in those gaps as he continues his current series, The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ. John will unpack Zechariah chapter 14. It's a passage packed with details about Christ's return, details that are found nowhere else in the Bible. And now, with a look at some amazing truths about the Second Coming, here's John. The basic theme of the book of Zechariah, just to remind you, is the sweep of Israel's history from the time of Zachariah.
When the nation returned from the Babylonian captivity, right on till the establishing of the millennial kingdom on earth. That is the subject of this 14th chapter: the establishing of the millennial kingdom.
Now, as we come to the 14th chapter, we really come to the climax: the final establishment of the millennial kingdom, the end of human history, as it were.
So what do we have then in the first three verses? We have the nations assembled to war against Palestine. The city has been taken and plundered. The spoil is being divided in the city. Half of the people remain, and all of a sudden the Lord arrives to fight.
And let's go to verse 4 and see where he arrives first. And his feet. shall stand in that day. on the Mount of Olives. which is before Jerusalem on the east.
Verse 5. And ye shall flee To the valley. of the mountains. It's called the valley of my mountains in the Hebrew. It's the valley of my mountains.
In other words, there was one mountain there and no valley, but I made a valley and two mountains. By splitting it. He formed it by splitting olive. It's his. valley, his mountains.
And they'll flee through that channel. For the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azel.
Now the word Azel in Hebrew means near. And it is apparent that in that period of time, the location very near to Israel On the east was an area known as Azel, sometimes spelled Azal, sometimes Azeel. And what he's saying is... that the valley is going to split wide open right up near the city.
So, you don't have to run a long way down and up any hills to get to that open channel of escape. That thing is going to split right open, right up near the city.
So that there'll be immediate access and they'll flee, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel. Yea, you shall flee as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. And we don't know much about that earthquake. Amos 1:1 talks about it, but we don't know much about it. But apparently, it was an awful earthquake, and the people had to flee.
And so he says you're going to flee in that day, just like you fled at the time of the earthquake in Uzziah's day. And then this has got to be the greatest. And the Lord, my God, shall come. People, that is a great statement of the deity of Jesus Christ. You get that?
It is his feet on the Mount of Olives. The angel said, This same Jesus shall so come in like manners you've seen him go. You saw him leave physically, personally, bodily, literally, visibly from the Mount of Olives. That's the way he'll return. And this same Jesus is here called the Lord my God.
He's going to come. And he sees at the end of verse 5: the Lord my God shall come and watch this, and all the saints with thee. In other words, when Jesus comes, he will be accompanied by the saints. What I'm saying is that you're going to be there. Say, you're sure about that?
I'm absolutely sure you're going to be there. Because in first Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 13, it says this. Even At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Now, wait a minute. What are you talking about, Paul?
Well, I'm talking about you to the end that he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. He's saying, I want you to be ready for that time. I want you to be a part of that. You say, well, it seems to me he's just indicating for us to be ready. Where do we get to be a part of it?
Well, to complete Paul's thought, you have to go to Colossians chapter 4. Chapter 3, pardon me, verse 4. It says this, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, that is at his manifestation, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. In Judeo. Verse 14.
It says, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints.
Now watch this. At this very time, back in Zachariah. At this very time, when Christ comes, and all the saints are with him, riding on the white horses with the white robes, and this fantastic glory comes out of heaven. At this very time, I believe the the remaining remnant of Israel The remnant of Israel is going to look up. And they're going to see him whom they what?
Pierced. And they're going to mourn for him as an only son. And it is precisely at this moment that the events of chapter 12 take place. When they look on him whom they've pierced, when a fountain of blessing is opened, when they repent.
Now you say, well, then it's going to take a little while for him to get here.
Well, I don't know. But I think at the moment that this occurs, when this thing begins to unfold, whatever the time gap is, whatever it takes for people to repent, when it begins to happen, the remnant is going to turn to Christ and the events of chapter 12, verse 4 to chapter 13, verse 2 slip right into this point. And this is a fantastic day. Look, there are some more changes in nature. Quickly, verse 6, I'm going to read you the proper rendering.
It shall come to pass in that day, there will be no light, the luminaries will fade. In other words, when Jesus comes, all of the stars and the suns of heaven are going to go out. The heaven is going to just be black. All the lights are going to go out.
Now, this is discussed all over the Old Testament. This is not something just extracted out of this one text. Repeatedly, the Old Testament talks about the day when God changes the patterns of heaven. Isaiah 13:9, the day of the Lord comes, cruel with wrath and anger. The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light.
The sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. Isaiah 24 talks about it. Joel 3 talks about it. Matthew 24 talks about it. And maybe the most clear passage is Revelation 6, 12 to 14, where it says the lights of heaven go out, the heaven is rolled up like a scroll, the stars fall out of the sky like figs overripe when the tree is shaken, the whole place goes black, and in the midst of the blackness comes the blazing revelation of Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Now I believe this is really going to happen. Literally. And at that moment, Israel is going to turn and look. And they're going to believe. And they're going to turn to their Messiah.
They're going to be wonderfully saved and spared judgment and gathered into the kingdom. You say, what does the rest of the world do? They cry for the mountains and the rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. The unbelievers scream. in fear and terror.
But the remnant is redeemed. The nation is redeemed. The next verse gives us another thought of the uniqueness of the day. It shall be one day, and the word in Hebrew one here means one day, the only one of its kind, one unique day like no other day. Which shall be known to the Lord, only He can know all that it involves.
It won't be day and it won't be night. It'll come to pass that at evening time it'll be light. In other words, the whole of nature is just going to go into an imbalance. The whole thing is out of perspective. All that we understand as night and day is going to be ended at that point.
All the stars fall, the suns and the moons are all gone, and Christ comes, and it's a new kind of day. And he will become day, so that even when it's evening, it'll be light because he'll be coming in blazing glory. And then, when he comes, of course, his whole blazing glory will fill the kingdom. Fill the earth. He will arise, says Malachi, the son of righteousness, with healing in his beams.
Here he comes, the blazing sun of righteousness, with healing in his beams, blazing out of heaven. And for all who fall under that light in faith, there will be instant salvation. For all who curse the light, judgment. And it shall be, verse 8 says, in that day. that the living waters shall go out from Jerusalem.
Half of them toward the former sea. Half of them toward the hinder sea. In summer and winter shall it be Jerusalem is going to be dramatically changed. You know what's going to happen right in the middle of Jerusalem, which is Mount Moriah, where the temple would be, right in the middle. Underneath that rock that's there.
Somehow, God's going to crack open the ground and create. A gushing spring that's going to send rivers running both directions, east and west. One toward the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea to the east. And one toward the west. And I believe this is real water.
Because Isaiah says the desert will blossom like a what? Like a rose.
Now people say, Boy, you better get over there and see if there's water under there. Prove this. Doesn't need to be water under there. God can create it at the time He needs it. And I think it's a picture too of how blessing is going to flow.
Jerusalem will become the center of the world, and blessing will just flow in all directions. What an incredible time.
So we see the coming of the day of the Lord.
Now, very rapidly, the rest of the chapter will flow. Verse 9 begins: the crowning of the Lord as king. We've seen the coming of the day of the Lord.
Now, the crowning of the Lord as king. The first thing that happens when he arrives. He's going to have a coronation. Verse 9, and the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
Listen, the Lord is not only going to be the king in heaven, but in that day he's going to be the king on earth. He will not be king de jure, that is by right, but he will be king de facto, that is in fact. This is a promised reality. The king is coming and he is going to be king. And in that day, it says he'll be king.
Now watch this. And there will be one Lord and His name one. Do you know how many religions there will be in the world in the kingdom? One, that's all. Just one.
Anybody who begins to start another one will be dealt with by the rod of iron. With which Christ rules. Read Revelation 19. The worldwide monotheism, one religion, all of the systems of Satan are over. And the absolutely unique and incomparable one God, the only wise God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, Him and Him alone will the world worship.
And so in that day there'll be one Lord, and his name will be one. Verse 10. And this says what happens when the kingdom is set up. All the land shall be turned like the Arabah. From Gebe to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem.
And it shall be lifted up and inhabited in its place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hannaniel unto the king's wine presses.
Now let me show you, this is absolutely fantastic. You say, I didn't notice. It is. Verse 10, now watch. The land shall be turned like the Arabah.
When Christ comes, this tremendous earthquake takes place, and he creates this valley running east. Mount Moriah somehow is split, and water starts to flow every place. The judgment of the nations takes place, and as a result of this great earthquake, this is fantastic, the entire terrain, now watch this, from Giba, which is way in the north, to Rimon, which is way in the south. Is going to become like the Arabah. You say, well, what is the Arabah?
Listen, the Arabah is the name of the valley. that is the deepest valley in the world. It runs from way south of the Dead Sea. Way south, where it may be as high in some places as 300 feet above sea level, down to the Dead Sea, where it is 1,300 feet below sea level, and all the way to the Sea of Galilee, where at the Sea of Galilee it is 650 feet below sea level. It is the lowest, longest, flattest valley in the world.
It is the flattest valley, obviously, of any valley that low, because it's the only valley that low. And what he's saying is this.
Now, watch this: that all the terrain around Jerusalem. from Giba on the north to Rimon on the south is going to be flattened and lowered to be made like that valley so that Jerusalem will literally stick up like a solitaire diamond on a ring. That's what he's saying. Incredible. And then he's going to rebuild that city.
And he gives the dimensions here from Benjamin's Gate, and I'm not going to tell you where all these are, they're different places on the north, and the northeast and the northwest and the southwest and so forth. But he's going to give it back its dimensions that it once knew in its glory, see. It's not going to be some little village like it was in Zachariah's time. He's going to make it like some huge diamond, and on that flat plateau will exist the throne of Jesus Christ. I mean, that's going to be someday, isn't it?
Fabulous. The whole land made flat And Jerusalem Lifted up in the middle of the verse, Jerusalem shall be lifted up. And it says inhabited in its place. And the implication of the Hebrew is peacefully. inhabited.
What a day. And in verse 11? And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. No more destruction, no more curse. Why?
Well, no more idolatry, no more apostasy. And so there's no more curse. That's Coronation Day. Not only is the Lord crowned, But the city is crowned. And it becomes the jewel of the earth.
And Christ is crowned king and sits on the throne. In that city. What a day. So, the coming of the day of the Lord and the crowning of the Lord as king. Thirdly, The conquest of the nations.
Now, having done this, there is the matter of the judgment of the nations. Verse 12. And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will smite all the peoples that have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet. and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets.
and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them, and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor, and Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem. Stop right there. And we've seen some glorious positive results, and he has to say, but let me remind you what's going to happen to the godless people. Three things.
First, a deadly plague. A deadly plague. It's just incredible. This plague in verse 12, with which the Lord will smite the people, will cause their flesh to consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouth. That really constitutes the judgment of the nations.
Those are the ones that he says depart. into everlasting Punishment. While the others who are the remnant who have seen him and believed, are the sheep. And he says to them, Come. and inherit What?
the kingdom prepared for you.
So the first thing is a terrible plague. And then he adds to another thing that's going to happen. And I don't know the sequence of these things, and I don't know all how it fits together, but it'll come to pass in that day that a great tumult from the Lord, and the word tumult means a confusion or consternation. And they they'll confuse themselves, and they literally will lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And then, thirdly, there's going to be a superhuman strength given to Judah.
Judah shall fight at Jerusalem.
Somehow, God is going to give to Judah a great strength, and Judah is going to fight and win.
So a plague for some A confused Suicide By the nations and a superhuman strength given to Judah. And the results? In verse 14, the tables are turned immediately. And here are these nations counting all their booty. The reverse occurs.
The wealth of all the nations round about shall be gathered together: gold and silver and apparel in great abundance. In other words, the wealth of all the nations is going to be gathered and brought into the hands of God's people. And the plague, he adds in verse 15, will even touch the horse and the mule and the camel and the ass and the beasts. It'll be in the tents. And so there's going to be a plague that not only takes care of the people, but all their possessions and animals and everything.
Lastly, The character. the kingdom. It shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations, And I believe this is going to be the believing remnant out of the nation. They were believing or else they turned when Christ came. But these people from the nations will go up from year to year to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, and keep the feast of tabernacles.
You see, the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated the time when God tabernacled with Israel in the wilderness. And here it is fulfilled, you see. In that day, God comes down and His glory again tabernacles with His people. And so they celebrate that feast again. Annually, the people of the world are going to come to keep the feast.
And it shall be, verse 17: that whoever will not come of all the families of the earth to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. In other words, if people from nations don't come, if nations rebel, God's going to turn off the rain and it won't rain. And if it doesn't rain, they'll have a drought. And if they have a drought, they're going to have a disaster. And there'd be one nation that'd say, we don't mind if it doesn't rain, we don't depend on rain.
And that nation would be Egypt. But the Lord says in verse 18, if the family of Egypt goes not up and come not, that have no rain, there shall be the plague with which the Lord will smite the nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. He says, if the rain doesn't get you, the plague will. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And then he concludes: I love this.
In that day, This is so beautiful, get this. In that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses Holiness unto the Lord. and the pots in the Lord's house Shall be like the bulls before the altar. Yes, every pot in Jerusalem. And in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts.
And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and boil in them, and in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite. In the house of the Lord of hosts.
Now, I want you to get this. This is literally fantastic. Watch. See the little phrase in verse 20, holiness unto the Lord? That phrase was very special.
That phrase was engraved in one place. In Israel's history. The high priest Aaron. had a turban. On the front of his turban was a gold plate.
And engraved on that gold plate were the words, Holiness Unto the Lord. What did it mean? It meant that there was something about that man that set him apart from every other man. He was an uncommon man. He was especially holy.
He was unique. There was no one like this high priest. Holiness unto the Lord. But he says, in that day, every single thing that exists is going to be just as holy as the high priest. Even the little bells that ding on the horses are going to say holiness unto the Lord.
You see? Fantastic, isn't it? I mean, that's going to be a holy kingdom. Isn't going to be like it is in the world today. There aren't just going to be a few holy folks.
It's going to be a holy world in that day. And even the bells on the horses are going to say holiness to the Lord. And even the common pots and pans are going to be just as sacred as the altar bowls, he says. There'll be no secular and sacred in that world. There'll only be the sacred.
Just think of this. Take every single thing in our society that isn't sacred and subtracted, and you've got the kingdom. What would they advertise in the paper? What would you do for entertainment? I wonder how many programs would be on TV.
Even the horses' bells will be holy, even the pots and pans. Then he closes by saying and there won't even be a Canaanite in the place. You say, what's he got against Canaanites? Why does he say that? The word Canaanite, beloved.
is a byword. It's an epithet. It's a title. It's a figure of speech referring to a morally and spiritually unclean person. The Canaanites were unclean.
morally and spiritually. And the word Canaanite became a proverb in Israel for a degenerate person. In the kingdom, there won't be a degenerate person. What a time. What a time.
Anybody who comes along that way, the Lord will judge. And the whole world will be holiness. unto the Lord. You know, the Lord wants a holy people, doesn't he? He's called our His church to be holy.
Couldn't help but think of Ephesians 5, where he says, Husband, love your wives as Christ loved the church. and gave himself for it that he might present it to himself as a holy church. Spotless. without blemish. He wants a holy church.
He wants a holy people. And in that day he's going to have it. You're listening to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. John's current study is called The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ.
Well, friend, after three weeks digging into the prophecies of Zechariah, you may have been surprised by how much the prophet said about the end times. While the books of Daniel and Revelation have some better-known descriptions of Christ's second coming, Zechariah fills in some key gaps. And if you don't understand this book, you won't understand what God has told us about His plans for the world. I raised that point with John a few years back. Here's what he said in response.
You know, Phil, no book is superfluous. No book is a throwaway book. You know, you remember, who was it, Martin Luther, who said James was a right strawy epistle. Yeah. He didn't like James.
I suppose I think he came to like it better. Yeah, he did. But I suppose most of the people we're talking to right now and have been talking to for the last three weeks have never in their life read the book of Zachariah thoughtfully. Maybe in a scripture reading, they kind of read through it. Most Christians wouldn't stop long enough to go in it.
They'd be confused by maybe the first chapter.
So. They have lost the profound blessing of the rich truths that are revealed there, Just the thought that Israel will one day in the future look on the one whom they've pierced and mourn for him as an only son. Yeah, that's one of the most poignant texts. It is. And you know what that actually says?
They will look on me, God says, and mourn for him. As the only Son.
So they will, he is saying, me and the Son are one, the deity of Christ. There's so much in this book. It's uh it's sad to think that people have missed this. That's right, friend. This series on the last few chapters of Zechariah examines the hope of every Christian, Christ's second coming.
It's a great resource for a new believer, or maybe to go through with your small group. You can download all eight messages from John's study, The Return and Reign of Jesus Christ, free of charge from our website, gty.org. Get this series when you contact us today. Our website again is gty.org. And both the MP3s and the transcripts for the return and reign of Jesus Christ are available.
You can take advantage of those free downloads today. Just go to gty.org. And thanks for remembering that the support of listeners like you keeps this broadcast on the air in your neighborhood and on stations across the United States and beyond. You play a key role in encouraging believers and local churches around the globe. To partner with us, mail your tax-deductible donation to Grace2U.
Box 4000, Panorama City, California, 91412. You can also donate when you call, 855 GRACE. That number again, 800-55 GRACE. or you can express your support online at gty.org.
Now, for the entire Grace to U staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Remember to watch Grace to U television this Sunday on DirecTV Channel 378. And then be back next week when John MacArthur looks at what death means for the believer and for the unbeliever. In both cases, the end is not the end. That's the title of the study John begins next week.
Don't miss the next half hour of Unleashing God's Truth one verse at a time on grace to you.
