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There's a New Day Coming

Ikvot ha'Mashiach

A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. 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. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 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. 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. On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime-a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light. On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name. (Zech 14:1-9)

In view of the escalation of fighting in Israel, another look at how (and when) this conflict will end is in order. Let's take these nine verses individually.

1) A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. The phrase "day of the Lord" begins as a reference to the time of The Great Tribulation and is progressively narrowed down to the actual day the Lord arrives on the Mount of Olives to establish His Kingdom. The plunder spoken of is the city itself, Jerusalem, and the phrase "among you" literally means in your midst or in front of your faces. It appears the city will be divided yet again, and by foreigners, perhaps in the course of negotiations to end the current conflict.

2) 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. The phrase "all the nations" points to a time in the future when all Israel's allies will have abandoned her. Many place this time after the Rapture of the Church, when the Christian influence that keeps the US and some other western countries allied with Israel will have disappeared. If so the reference is to the time of the Great Tribulation

But it is also possible that even some nations who consider themselves friends of Israel will act in such way as to betray her, in the name of peace for instance. The current "peace plan" being floated by Saudi Arabia is a good example. The world is so desperate for any idea that will bring peace that this plan, initially offered as nothing more than a PR gesture by a country that has finally had to admit that most of the 9-11 terrorists were Saudis, and that it was Saudi Arabian money that purchased the cargo of arms bound for the Palestinians and intercepted by Israel, has received favorable attention from almost every government, even those friendly to Israel. It calls for Israel to return to pre 1967 borders in exchange for recognition by the Arab world. These borders are militarily indefensible for Israel, and yet this proposal is being hailed as a genuine step toward peace. Israel's pre 1967 borders, by the way, went thru the center of Jerusalem and so 1/2; of it was actually in Jordan. A return to pre 1967 borders would again divide Jerusalem. Is this what is meant by 1/2; of the city going into exile? Or is this a reference to the flight of believers from the city at the start of the Great Tribulation? (Matt. 24:16-21) Time will tell.

3) Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. This is a clear reference to the Lord's role as Israel's real commander-in-chief just as He was through out the Old Testament.

4) 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. The Lord in this reference is King Jesus, returning just as He said He would, to the very spot from which He left (Acts 1:10-11). His return triggers an earthquake that creates an East / West cleft as the Mount of Olives is split in two. The geological fault line along which this split occurs has been discovered and runs from the Mediterranean east to the Dead Sea. Its presence prohibited the Intercontinental Hotel (now called the Seven Arches Hotel) from being built on the brow of the Mount of Olives as originally planned. It was re-located to the south and built on more stable ground where it stands today.

5) 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. The cleft creates a route of escape for those fleeing the battle. They will flee in fear for their lives, just as their ancestors did in the ancient past (Uzziah reigned from 792-740 BC in the time of Isaiah). The phrase Holy Ones is used 13 times in the Bible: 6 times its translated saint, 4 times holy and 3 times holy ones. Most evangelical scholars conclude that this reference includes both perfected saints and angels.

6-7) On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime-a day known to the Lord. When evening comes, there will be light. The absence of light from the Sun for even a day would normally cause freezing temperatures, but this day is unique in all of creation: warmth without light. The fact that evening brings light is reverse to all we know, but Rev 21:23 explains that in New Jerusalem there is no need for the Sun or Moon for the Glory of God gives us light. Perhaps the same is true here. By referring to daytime, nighttime, and evening this verse describes a 24-hour period of time. The actual day the Lord arrives.

8) On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter. Ezekiel 47:1-12 explains that fresh water will flow constantly from under the south end of the Temple and will fill the newly created valley with water that becomes a great river flowing west to the Mediterranean and East to the Dead Sea. A line drawn due west from the place on the Mount Of Olives where Jesus departed would pass through the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount. If so the earthquake triggered by the Lord's return will destroy the current Temple Mount and place it at the bottom of the great river. Only a Temple constructed some place other than the Temple Mount would survive to provide the necessary water on the Day the Lord arrives. (read The Coming Temple)

9) The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name. Reminiscent of Phil 2:9-11, this verse tells us that eventually there will be peace in the Middle East and indeed the whole world, for the Prince of Peace will have become King of the whole Earth. Until then mankind will struggle in vain, grasping at one false hope after another, because if the truth be known the very existence of Israel is a cause for war in the Middle East.

But the Lord promised that after He re-gathered His people to Israel for the 2nd time He would never disperse them again (Isaiah 11:11 & Amos 9:11-15). This re-gathering began in 1948 and continues to this day. One day soon He will reveal himself to them and to the world in an undeniable way (Ezek 39:1-7) drawing every living Jew to Israel (Ezek 39:28) to re-establish His covenant and re-build His Temple.

But a false messiah will emerge and lead the world astray again. He will stand in the Temple proclaiming himself to be God and millions will be deceived (2 Thes.2:4). For a time it will appear as if peace has come, but while people are saying "peace and safety" destruction will come upon them suddenly as labor pains on a pregnant woman and they will not escape (1 Thes. 5:3) as the Lord returns to defeat this usurper and those who have joined him. Then The Lord will finally be King over the whole Earth, having taken possession of that which He redeemed with His own blood, shed on Calvary's cross. If you listen carefully you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.