The Sack of Jerusalem

1   Behold, a day of the LORD is coming, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in the midst of you.  2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women ravished; half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city.  3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.  4On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward.  5 And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up, for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD your God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 

A Day of the Lord

Is this the same day as in chapters 12 and 13, or is it another day? It is our opinion that it is all the same, as these three chapters make up one oracle. However, many disagree and throw chapter 14 fulfillment into the future. We can find no hermeneutical rule for this separation or gap in a single oracle. In prophecy, one expects that the next event, which is the historical sack of Jerusalem, to be the fulfillment of the passage. This oracle has been mostly literal. There are a few imagery words: Messiah is a Shepherd, Jerusalem is a cup of reeling. The symbolic imagery that is the norm for Biblical prophecy is not here. No celestial bodies are behaving oddly, no clouds, no horses, no olive trees or lampstands, etc. It is quite straightforward.

The Major Views of Zechariah Chapter 14

• Some teach that Chapter 14 is the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD. Their interpretation becomes imagery. Messiah’s feet standing on the Mount of Olives and the splitting of the mountain explain that the gospel is no longer hindered by the Jews controlling the temple.
• Some teach that this is the Battle of Armageddon. That Antichrist will present himself to the Jews as their Messiah and King of Judah. The battle will be with the King of the North (Assyria) and the king of the South (Egypt), who will attack the city and take it. The power behind these two kings will be Gog and Magog, as well as the Japanese (or Chinese) from the land of the rising sun. Depending on what century the person writing lived in, Gog is either the Russian Empire, the USSR, or the new Russia. The reborn Roman Empire will come from Europe to the aid of the Antichrist.
• Some agree with the Rabbis that this is about the battle of Gog and Magog [Ezek. 38]. That the LORD will put in the hearts of these nations to come up against Jerusalem.

. . . and I will turn you about and drive you forward, and bring you up from the uttermost parts of the north, and lead you against the mountains of Israel; Ezek. 39:2

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be loosed from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. Rev. 20:7-8

• Some believe that in our present geopolitical configuration, after the regathering of the tribes to Israel, Jerusalem will again be besieged as the nations gather to destroy her. The Lord returns as King to deliver Judah and Jerusalem from their hands, then rules and reigns for a thousand years with a rod of iron. He judges the nations as sheep and goats on his return. After the thousand years when Satan has been bound, Satan is loosed, and the rebellious nations come to stage an attack in the valley near Armageddon.

Zech. 14:1   Behold, a day of the LORD is coming, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in the midst of you.  2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women ravished; half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 

Many think or teach that the day of the Lord is a reference to the physical, second return of the Lord to this earth. However, the phrase appears throughout the scriptures, and it is always put before judgment or discipline; it is never a pleasant thing.

The sieges of Jerusalem

If the interpretation is to stay literal, then we must look for yet another attack (future to Zechariah) on the city. Jerusalem is one of the most sacked cities in the world, if not THE most.

• 925   BC Pharaoh Sheshonk I
• 721   BC Sennacherib – failed to take city
• 597   BC Nebuchadnezzar
• 587   BC Nebuchadnezzar
• 167   BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes
• 70     AD  Roman army under General Titus
• 614   AD  Byzantine-Sassanid Wars
• 637   AD  Caliph Omar
• 1099 AD First Crusade.
• 1187 AD Saladin
• 1244 AD Sixth Crusade
• 1917 AD  WW1
• 1948 AD  Israeli war of independence.
• 1967 AD  The 6 day war

In 70 AD, all the nations that made up the Roman Empire did come up against Jerusalem. The city did fall to these nations; property was stolen, the women were raped, and half the population was taken captive. The Lord did fight against all nations as He sent His people out to spread the gospel, which did indeed destroy the Roman Empire. He is not ruling and reigning from Jerusalem. But from the hearts of His people. 

The Mount of Olives

4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley; so that one half of the Mount shall withdraw northward, and the other half southward. 5 And the valley of my mountains shall be stopped up, for the valley of the mountains shall touch the side of it; and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah Then the LORD your God will come, and all the holy ones with him. 

Mountains in prophecy stand for nations. This is a specific mountain, so it must stand for a specific nation. That nation was Judah. As the Jewish polity was destroyed, the Congregation of the Lord never looked back. The physical temple no longer captivated them. They moved out into the nations as they were told they would.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matt. 28:19

Flee

We use the RSV, but here the translation for verse 5 is odd. But for once, the King James is to be preferred.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. Zech. 14:5 KJV

Azel is a proper noun. It is a rare word in the Bible. Mostly, it is a preposition that means “in proximity” or “beside”. The name Azal has Arabic origins and means “to grow” or “that which does not have a beginning.” As a proper name in modern Hebrew, it signifies “noble.” It is the name of a son of Jonathan [1 Chron 8:37, 38 & 9:43, 44]. No location in antiquity has this name. It roots from a verb, to lay aside, reserve, withdraw, or withhold; as a preposition, it means beside. One other thing to note, those who teach that Messiah is coming to save ALL the Jews, cannot use this verse, as only half are left in the city, and only those who flee to this Azel are saved.

Azel is not a real place, just like Armageddon is not a real place. Real people cannot flee to a symbolic place, any more than real people will fight a battle at a symbolic place.

Earthquake

Earthquakes in prophecy denote political upheaval that benefits God’s people. The fall of Jewish polity clearly affected the believers, for after this, they all moved out into the world.

[See Also: Lord of Hosts]

Cold nor Frost

On that day there shall be neither cold nor frost. 7 And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the LORD), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. Zech. 14:-6-7

Many take this literally. But that is rarely how Biblical prophecy works. The idea is that the Age of the Kingdom or the Age of Grace is naw all is spiritually open. There is no spiritual cold or frost, no spiritual night; all is warm and bright. All can be understood with patient study. The Sun of Righteousness has risen in our hearts. The dark night has become a clear day as we begin to understand how the Lord’s will is progressing throughout time. The world may be cold and dark, yet the congregation of the Lord stands in the clear light of the Scriptures.