We're going to continue with Zechariah. We're up to Zechariah 14. We're going to do the whole chapter, verses 1 through 21. This is the 20th part of the Prophets of the Restoration. We're in the final chapter of Zechariah. This final chapter is highly controverted in some respects. In other respects, most of the references are, I think, clear enough that we can discern certain things about what is being said. The previous chapter ended with a discussion, roll back to the discussion of the time of Christ. That's really what I think the beginning of Zechariah 14 is about. And then it progresses from there to some general language about the nature of the Christian era. And then, as we'll see, I believe the later part of the chapter is devoted to themes that have bearing on the nature of the millennial era. So I'll point out why I think that as we go through the chapter. I will show you where I think we move from one thing to the other. I don't think that the whole chapter, for example, is just to be taken in terms of what happened at the sacking of Jerusalem, for example, or, on the other hand, that this is all relegated to the Second Coming. These are clearly things that are pointing to a state of affairs prior to Christ's return. But they are also things that are clearly prophetic with respect to after Christ's first advent. So again, remember the overarching theme in Zechariah has to do with encouraging those who are building the temple to rebuild. Why, if these bad things are going to transpire in between? Ultimately, for two reasons. One is, these are typical. It's going to lead to the advent of Christ, the Messiah. Even after that, even though things are going to get bad for Israel for a while, we're still looking beyond that to a period when Israel will be recalled. And so, in this final chapter, we're going to move from the destruction of Jerusalem really to that period when Israel is recalled. And that's why I think the language toward the end of the chapter is so important, because it's talking about, and it's encouragement to those who are rebuilding the Temple, saying, look, the nation of Israel is not going to be cut off forever. And when they're grafted in again, here's what it's going to mean. And this is why you need to build. So we want to begin with verse 1. Zechariah 14, verse 1. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and I spoil, shall be divided in the midst of thee. So the day of the Lord cometh. This is a chapter that's beginning with the prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem following Christ being rejected by the Jews. Remember at the end of the previous chapter, the language about smiting the shepherd and the sheep are going to be scattered and the judgments that would come. God's the judge and avenger of the shed blood of his son. This is the point here. The rejection of Christ and the crucifixion at the hands of the Romans brings with it a day of vengeance unlike Jerusalem has ever seen. Yes, they're going to smite the shepherd, but here's the result. After the sheep are scattered, after all of this, judgment comes. And the enemies who are going to triumph are going to divide the spoils of the city in their midst. Remember in verse 8 of the previous chapter, It said it shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein. Well, that's what's going on here now. Two thirds are going to be cut off, one third part is going to be left remaining. Spoil be divided in the midst of thee. There's not going to be any real Any opposition, they're going to triumph. Is the destruction of Jerusalem a type of the Second Coming? Yes. So the Second Coming would be the anti-type of... Destruction of Jerusalem. All of the judgments in the Bible, the anti-type, is really judgment day. Okay, so... If we look at verse 2, we can see, I think, a little bit more clearly the nature of what's talked about in verse 1. Zechariah 14, verse 2. So now, we're told the severity of the attack. When Jerusalem is destroyed, the Lord gathers up the Roman army. And the Roman army is very interesting. And I've alluded to this, I think, before. It actually consists of many nations. A number of the nations are subject to the Romans. Some are merely confederate with the Romans. But the Roman army is not just Romans. not just people from the center of the Roman Empire or what have you, these are people from all over. In fact, we know that a number of the nations around Israel participate. They're called up and they're part of this assault when the Romans attacked Jerusalem. These armies, remember, These are God's vengeance for the death of his son. God's pursuing a controversy, he has a controversy with Israel over the rejection of Messiah. So he's gathered all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. Now, we're told the city will be taken, the horses rifled, women ravished, all of which comes to pass at that time, yet we're also told there's a residue that's not going to be cut off. So even in this calamity, there's mercy. And the mercy in this case is in the form of a remnant from whom the nation is going to be preserved for that later mercy, which will be the conversion of the Jews, and they're grafting in again. So they're not all being wiped out. We're told that. Some are being kept aside. Verse 3. Zechariah 14 verse 3, then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. Yeah, this idea of the Lord going forth. What this verse is doing now is two things. Those who are hearing of these judgments are assured that the work, this judgment, is of the Lord. The fact is, and we see this throughout scripture, God by his secret providence orders everything, all things, so that the church's enemies are brought forward to execute his punishments, and it's generally for their disobedience. They've done wrong, they've disobeyed God, and this is their pay. They're being punished, they're being afflicted. But in this verse we're told, basically, that although the Lord first gathered them, the next thing is he himself is going to fight against them. And this should be a warning. The enemies of the church, they don't get any thanks from God for punishing the people of God. They themselves end up being subjected to condign punishment for their actions against the people of God, because inevitably they're not doing it to the glory of God. They're not punishing the people of God as the punishment of God. They're doing it for what they can get out of it, and inevitably they push beyond the allowance, if you will. So, the success is marked out by that last phrase, as when he fought in the day of battle. It's really compared to other times when Israel was made to prevail against their enemies. How many times do we read in the Bible, the Lord fought against this or that nation for Israel, and they prevailed. That's the idea in this verse. that although they're going to have this initial success, ultimately they're not going to prevail. And the interesting thing is, just from a bird's eye view, consider this. The Roman Empire no longer exists in any form. But a remnant of the Jews has been preserved down to the present day. The nations that have risen up against this remnant have been systematically squashed down through history. There's really no place they can go. They're going to get squashed out of history because they were the enemies of the people of God. I want to come to verse 4. So again, we have a question really in view, and it's this idea, if With the sacking of Jerusalem, the temples burnt, the cutting off of the nation of the Jews, really, what would become of the Church of God? And that's really, I think, what this verse is doing. It's providing an answer. Where is the Church of God at this point? Now, there are a lot of premillennialists who find in this verse a verse that points in their mind to the Second Coming. and I don't think they could be further from the truth. The Church isn't going to perish, and that's not the point of the mention of the Mount of Olives here. It is true that when Christ returns, we're told that He will return in the way that He left, which is to the Mount of Olives. That's not really what's going on in this verse. It's not the point of this verse. The point of this verse is the doctrine of salvation is going to be revealed beyond the land of Israel. And this language of His feet standing on the Mount of Olives, it's talking about the mount from which Christ ascended. We want to look at Acts 1 verses 11 and 12. Acts 1 verses 11 and 12. which also said, you men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall also come in like manner, as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then return they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey. I think this is looking forward to his Ascension, and that's important because you see from the Mount of Olives, remember from the end of Matthew's Gospel, it was from there that Christ gave the Great Commission to disciple the nations. So there was a plan from the time of Christ's Ascension, it had been announced, to bring Gentiles into the church in place of the Jews. And the language here about the cleaving of the mount and the mountain removing this way and that way. Under the law, the middle wall partition was erected between Jews and Gentiles. And Israel was in some sense cordoned off from the other nations by this mountain range. Jerusalem itself sits in the middle of a bunch of mountains. The idea is, with the ascension of Christ, that separation is dissolved. And it's portrayed here as if the mountains basically are brought low. The cleaving of the mountains points to making straight the way of the Lord. Every mountain is going to be leveled. valleys, and so on, shall become like plains." And that's what's happening here. We're going to see that, that very language, in fact, that this has become a plain. The Gospel is no longer going to be constrained to and centered upon the Temple of Jerusalem. That insular center for the true church is going to be dissolved. It would instead be presented without ceremonies and types. So this is not about the second coming. This is about really what happens at the time of Christ's first advent, particularly when he's ascending and giving orders to the church to carry the gospel into all of the earth. I cry out, 14.5, and ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Hazel of Yea. Ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquakes in the days of Josiah, king of Judah. And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. So the idea here is, ye shall flee. It's talking about the elect among the Jews. They're going to the valley of the mountains. Which valley of the mountains? The one we just spoke of. The valley that was created when these mountains are cleaved in half. We're talking about the Jews seeking the same salvation together with the Gentiles. Not all the Jews are cast off at this time. Some are saved. They're going to be in the same valley where salvation is proclaimed without types and shadows. The Jewish believers are going to flee, particularly after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. They're going to go to other places. They're going to flee. Ezel signifies anything which is set apart or separate. The Valley of the Mountains shall reach unto Ezel. points either to the Church, which is chosen or set apart by God, elect, or it points to the Gentiles who were previously separated by the middle wall partition. Either way, we look at this, the point is that not all the Jews are going to be cast off at this point. Not all of them will remain in unbelief. Some of them are going to believe. You know, the apostles are all Jews. There are a lot of Jews in the early church who believe. And they flee out of Jerusalem at that time when the Gospel now is turning from Israel to the world. It's moving from looking inward toward Jerusalem to outward into all nations. The earthquake that is referred to here is, we don't have a lot of information about it during the days of Uzziah, but it's alluded to if you look at Amos 1.1. In Amos 1.1, the prophet, in passing, mentions this earthquake. And it's clearly the one during the days of Uzziah. Amos 1-1. The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. Two years before the earthquake. So the earthquake, whatever that earthquake was, it was a very memorable event. And undoubtedly, many Jews were led to flee before it as a warning of judgment to come. That's the idea here. This is something that was in the not-too-distant past, not necessarily in living memory, but not so far in the remote past that it would be an obscure point. People would know the stories. Now, these predictions are concluded with this statement, and the Lord my God shall come and all the saints with thee. In other words, Christ will come in the flesh and begin to gather his elect. He's going to initiate this shift from Jew to Gentile. And his coming in the flesh, especially his crucifixion, is what would draw men to himself. That's the idea here. He's come in the flesh, His crucifixion, He was lifted up and He's drawing all men to Himself. So this is what's in view. Now, that brings us to what is clearly now, at the fall of Jerusalem, the Church and the synagogue are clearly separate. Before that, Particularly for people who are on the outside looking in, it would have looked very similar. They wouldn't have necessarily been able to distinguish one from the other. A Christian versus a Jewish synagogue or church. That is the beginning of a certain era that really continues to this day for the church. And that's talked about in verse 6. Come to pass that day that light shall not be clear nor dark. This is a verse, I think, speaking of the general character of the whole Gospel era. In contrast to the Old Testament, In that day, it would be a time of light. However, for the vast tract of time during the Gospel era, the light is not going to be clear, or, as the word could also be translated, precious. So, whether we say clear or precious, the idea, I think, is the Gospel is not going to be as valued as it ought, nor will it be taken up as it ought. So the enlarging of the church, which is looked for under the New Testament, is going to be somewhat limited by the low valuation which is placed upon the true religion. And although it's not going to be clear or precious, like to many, nonetheless, it will not be as the time prior when outside of Israel all was darkness. So, at this point, as the Gospel is going out into the nations, there's light, but it's not clear. Why is the Church so confused? Why has it been rent with so many heresies? Why do we have all of this dissension? People can't agree. All these different opinions. The Church is separated, divided. The light is not yet clear. It's not dark like it was under the Old Testament. Gentiles are being saved. The Gospel's outside of Israel, and yet it's not clear. And again, we could take that as meaning it's not clear, the light is not clear because we're muddling it, but if we take it as precious, the idea is the light is not clear because it's just simply not being valued. The fact is, most people are not valuing it the way it should be valued. All right, verse 7. Zechariah 14, verse 7. So this is where we begin to see a little bit of where this chapter is going. The length of this period, that is, between the establishing of the New Testament era and its continuance to the period noted at the end of this verse, is known only to God. This period shall not be day. It shall be one day, but it shall have some darkness, and it shall not be night. It's not day nor night. It's a day known only to the Lord. He's the one who knows the duration of this day, the Gospel day. Right? But it's not day nor night. In other words, it's a mixed dispensation, and yet we have to understand that no matter how mixed this era is, this Gospel era is, The days of the Gospel are still day, in contrast to the Old Testament. They're different from sunset or the dark night of paganism. It's still different. It's still day, even though it's not really day nor night. But look at this verse, where it goes. Though the duration of the day is mixed, yet in the evening time it shall be light. In other words, in the latter end of the Gospel day, this mixed time, the time that we've talked about, when the Jews are converted, when the fullness of Gentiles are brought in, it shall be light, it'll be unmixed and glorious. Is that what Paul's talking about in 2 Corinthians when he says, "...and they shall come to you, as you see, as it were, in a glass?" Darkly? No. In 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians. Yeah. Yes, he's talking about the same thing when the Jews are converted. It's going to, yeah, then all the mixture of the light, that goes away, that sort of twilight. In the evening, that is the latter part of the Gospel day, it's going to be light. You would expect it's going to be dusk or something else, right? But no, Zechariah is saying it's going to be light. That's the millennial period, the time when the light of the Gospel is going to shine unhindered, and it will be grasped for its true worth. People are going to get it. They're going to understand this is really valuable. This is something to be had. And then look at verse 8. And it shall be in that day that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea. In summer and in winter shall it be. So the former sea can also mean the eastern sea. The verse is talking about the gospel going forth from the church. So as the millennial era approaches, Living waters of the Gospel, as attended by the working of the Spirit of God, are going to spread both toward the East and the West. And we can see this language about living waters. We look at John. In John's Gospel, there are a couple of verses. John 4, verse 14, and also John 7, verses 38 and 39. John 4, verse 14, But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 7 verse 38-39 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." So the Gospel is going to spread to all nations, and as a river that waters the whole kingdom, it's going to water the face of the earth. In this language, again, this is very much like we read about in Ezekiel, toward the end of Ezekiel, in his Millennial Temple, the river coming out of the Temple. Here it's going out from Jerusalem. when in that day in that day at this point we're talking about the evening when it will be as light it's going to be light so there's going to be seasonal changes uh that are mentioned here right summer and winter shall it be but it's What it's saying is this Gospel is permanent. Seasonal changes are not going to affect it. Unlike the shift from the Old Testament dispensation to the New, this is the permanent one now. The Gospel is it. There's not going to be some third thing coming. People who want to have the Koran next or the Book of Mormon next, they're wrong. This Gospel is permanent now. Moses' dispensation is provisional. It's typical. It's ceremonial, shadowy. And the result of all of this we read of in verse 9. Zechariah 14 verse 9, And the Lord shall be king over all the earth, and that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. Gospel blessings are going to be such that Christ is going to be the universal king over Jews and Gentiles. Over all the earth. Now the fact is this, though Christ as God is king of the whole earth, Essentially, considered, he is already king. Yet, as he is mediator, he's not yet acknowledged to be by all. But this verse is saying there's going to come a time when he will be. He's going to be acknowledged as king by all. During the millennial era, Christ is going to be acknowledged by the nations to be who he is. King over all. The thing for which he came and died is going to be granted him in fullness. Now, in that day points particularly to the time when the Jews being restored, they're joined again to the church and both Jew and Gentile profess the same religion. In that day shall there be one Lord and His name one. There's going to be a unity. Why? Well, again, remember, The Gospel era generally is light, but it's neither night nor day. It's not clear. But at this time, the light is going to be clear. During the millennium, it's going to be clear, it's going to be valued or prized as it should be, it's going to be efficacious, it's going to accomplish that for which it's been set. All right, verse 10. Verse 10, all the land shall be turned as a plane from Geba to Rimen, south of Jerusalem, and it shall be lifted up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananiel unto the king's wine presses. So here now we have a prophecy of Israel's interest in particular in the gospel privileges as they're brought again into the kingdom and restored to the church. The idea here is this. Church and people of Israel are going to be exalted at that time. It's going to be as if all the land around Jerusalem were turned into a plain, in order that Jerusalem itself be lifted up and inhabited. And the markers that are given is here. Geba is the northern limit of Judah. Rimen is the southern limit. This is a general prediction pointing to a time when the Church, once more, is going to be exalted amongst the whole Jewish nation. So everything else is going to be brought low in order that Jerusalem might be elevated, lifted up. It's not literal language, it's figurative. Speaking of, again, that idea of every mountain being brought low and every valley raised up, the Gospel is going to prevail among the Jews from north to south. The gate of Benjamin was on the north. The first gate was on the east. The Tower of Hananel was on the southeast. The wine vats were on the southwest. Again, the language is indicating all the traces of former destruction, the sacking of the city, whether we're talking about Babylon or Rome, all of these traces are going to be removed and the Church of the Jews is going to be restored to her former glory. It's going to be a restoration that affects all the Jews, not just some of them, but all of them, North, South, East, and West. Verse 11. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. The result of the matter is that Jerusalem, which is the center of the Jewish Church, shall be dwelt in. There's been a long period of desolation. The point is Jerusalem is going to be built again, the church is going to be restored to the Jews, and this is going to come to an end when the Jews are restored. And the point of this verse is really to promise them something. Once they're grafted in again, they will no more be subject to utter destruction. That's going to be it. The case of the Babylonian captivity. When the Jews returned from Babylon, they never again had the problem with idolatry that had brought them to Babylon. Babylonian captivity pretty well squeezed out any desire to commit idolatry among the Jews. And so this period coming back being grafted in again, the recovery from this historic trauma of being cast off will be such that the Jews are not going to go off the reservation again. They're going to remain true to the Church and there's going to be no more utter destruction. Instead, we're told Jerusalem should be safely inhabited, without threat of being destroyed by enemies, because Israel is once more taken in the Church of the people of God. No more to fall away. No more to be cast down or cast off. You know, they get beyond that experiment, they're not going to want to go back there again. That was bad. They're going to recognize it for what it was, what it is, and they're not going to want to return to that. So the lasting effect I think that we have with respect to this is that although there's an apostasy at the end of the millennium, it probably is not going to involve the Jews. They're going to stand fast, it would seem, from this verse. They're going to be safely inhabited. They're not going to be subjected to the predation of the nations. That's going to be corrected. Verse 12. Yes, so Returning to the theme that God is going to fight against those who fight against Israel, this verse says, here are some of the judgments, and in each verse, the next few verses are going to take up aspects of this. Judgments that are going to befall the nations that sought to destroy Israel. God, first of all, is going to fight against them with plagues. That should remind you of God bringing Israel out of Egypt. And he fought against Egypt with plagues. Ten plagues of Egypt. Their flesh shall consume away. We see that with Herod. Remember Herod when he blasphemed God in Acts 12. And his flesh consumes away. Their physical strength is going to be removed even as they think to stand. Their eyes and their tongues are going to consume as their parts and abilities which they used to persecute are being destroyed. They're going to be just ripped apart in a sense. They're going to be incapacitated. And it's going to be by reason of the fact that they were forward in persecuting people of God. God is not going to stand for this. So they're going to be destroyed. Verse 13. So, here's another judgment. The enemies of the Jews are reduced through a series of internal divisions and dissensions. We saw this kind of thing going on in the Old Testament when enemies came against Israel. Sometimes God would turn them on themselves. That's the idea here. They're going to be turned on themselves. Now remember, the time frame, when is Israel dwelling in safety? When is the beginning of this period that we're talking about? This is when Israel is converted. This is when the Jews are being drafted in again, where they're being restored to the church. So as Israel is being turned, as the millennial era is dawning, those who were once against the progress and growth of the church, they're going to turn on one another. And it's going to be like Babel for them. You know, they were getting along. They had all joined hands to persecute the truth. This is a language that we read about in Revelation 19 prior to the millennium. That battle of Armageddon and all of that. They're coming together against the Jews. They don't want this to succeed. And yet, in the midst of the battle, they're smitten by plagues. They start to turn on one another. You know, people who formerly got along fine are no longer getting along. Verse 14. Verse 14. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem, and the wealth of all the heathen who round about shall be gathered together, gold and silver and apparel in great abundance. So Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem. In other words, God is going to use the Jews to fight on behalf of the Church for establishing a true religion. And they're going to succeed to such a degree that they're going to be enabled to spoil the nations that sought to spoil them. As they're spoiling the nations that spoil them, does that mean that they're going to be spreading the gospel among them? Will the Jews be like the missionaries, as kind of like the Gentiles have been missionaries to all the world? As the Jews are converted, will they then be like the missionaries to the entire world as the world converts? They're certainly going to have some impact. Remember now, we're not there yet, but as this is going on, not all the nations are gonna fall under judgment. Some are being converted. And as judgments are falling, others are being converted. You start to look and say, wait a minute, I don't want that for me. Okay, so there's this cycling through. This period preceding the millennium, This is sort of the last hurrah of the unconverted nations against the true religion. Romanism is falling, Islam is falling, Christianity is spreading like wildfire now. The nations that are persecuting the Jews and the nations that are going to support the Jews and all of that, they're falling. God gives the Jews, in this verse, it looks like He's going to give them tremendous success to push back. And the Jews are going to bring a lot of the wealth of the Gentiles into the Church to serve the interests of true religion. They thought to spoil them, uh-uh, it's not going to turn out that way. They're going to be spoiled. They're going to be dispossessed. Do you think that the Jews will use some of the money that they've already stolen from the Gentile nations to do that? Well, all they have is going to be turned to serve the Church. Verse 15. Verse 15. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents as this plague This verse is basically giving us the idea that God's going to use the very means that are employed by the enemies of His people to punish them. He's going to turn to their punishment. Everything that they're using for service and carriage is going to be made to feel the wrath of God against the wicked. So the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass, these are all animals that have been used for military purpose. And all of that is going to be plagued. So the Jews are going to be fighting back, and God is going to be fighting alongside the Jews, if you will, putting down this that they're doing, putting an end to it. Again, judgment is falling. As we're approaching the millennial era, there are battles going on. There's a lot of fighting. The nations are being systematically defeated as Israel is converted. They're no longer able to prevail. has its own impact on the nations. So, what's the impact? Are they all getting this? Verse 16, I think, is indicating that they're not all being judged or punished at this time. Some of them are escaping punishment, and the reason they are is they've got a very different reaction. Look at verse 16. Verse 16, and it shall come to pass that everyone that is left of all the nations which come against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feasts of tabernacles. The idea in this verse is those that are not consumed in the judgments, the previous judgments that were mentioned in the previous verses, they are, according to this verse, they're going to be brought to conversion. So not everyone is going to be judged. Some are going to be converted. And when they see the judgments of God falling on those around them, many, in fact, will likely be converted. And they're going to join Israel in confessing Christ, and I think most interestingly, they're going to be brought into the true worship of God. That's the idea here of what's happening when they're going up from year to year to worship the King, and so on. So, spiritual worship in this verse is being held forth under terms of the ceremonial law. Going up, That refers to them ascending and becoming part of the true Church of God, which is Jerusalem. Remember Psalm 122. People of God go up. You go up to Jerusalem. You're ascending. The idea here is this, that the public worship of God under the New Testament really makes any place its practice Jerusalem. all the nations which came against Jerusalem even shall go up, that is to Jerusalem, from year to year to worship the king. That's what they're doing. They've gone from being persecutors of the Jews to being worshipers together with the Jews now. This is a millennium. The keeping of the Feast of Tabernacles was a time of great joy. We'll look at Leviticus 23.40. Leviticus 23.40. This is the first thing we need to keep in mind. Feast of Tabernacles is a feast of great joy. Now, the other interesting thing about the Feast of Tabernacles is The Feast of Tabernacles is a feast which typifies Christ's incarnation. Look at John 1.14. John's Gospel. John 1.14. John 1.14. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So, the Word dwelt among us, or tabernacled among us, is what the Greek says. So Christ is tabernacling. That is, He's keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. Here now, we're told all these Gentile nations are going to come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Why? Again, it's the joyful feast, it's the one that typifies the Gospel era, because it looks to the incarnation of Christ. It's also a feast related to the preservation of Israel 40 years in the wilderness, until the Lord brought and settled them in the Promised Land. So this is talking about the Millennial era. This is talking about bringing them up to this point where they embrace the Gospel in its fullness, in its plenitude. Both the joy of the Gospel, the message of the Gospel, the redemption of the Gospel. All these things are rolled into this Feast of Tabernacles. All of these things are part of the message of Tabernacles. So to the Jews, reading this, they've got to wonder why are, you know, why are Gentile nations going to be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles? They've got to think about what the Feast of Tabernacles means. But we know some things about Tabernacles in light of the New Testament. All right, verse 17. It shall be that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. So those that are not destroyed in the judgments and who do not come up to worship That is, they don't profess a true religion. They don't embrace Christianity. Those who are not destroyed and still refuse to come, they're going to be visited with more judgments. And the idea, I think, is this here. The places, if you think about where the church is going to be established, are going to be fruitful and prosperous. There's language in the Minor Prophets of the Gospel going forth and turning a desert into Eden. Where the Gospel is going, it's going to be prosperous. But where the message of the Gospel is resisted, there's going to be no rain. There's going to be famine. All things that attend to drought. Starvation. Are these things going to be merely temporal? I don't know. Certainly it could refer to the fact that they have no word of God. There's a famine for the word of God. There's going to be a drought. The Spirit of God is not going to be moving among them. Whatever we take this to mean, and I'm not sure that we need to limit it, the fact is this. It's going to be a curse. It's not going to be a good thing. This is not a good thing. It's going to be a judgment. And those who are under it are going to understand that it's a judgment. Verse 18. So now the threat is particularly applied to Egypt. Egypt is one of the oldest enemies of the Church. Now, the difference with Egypt over other nations, and may have some bearing on this. Egypt, they might not think it needed rain, because the Nile flooded every year. But they're going to face judgment nonetheless. There are going to be plagues. Those who refuse to bow before Christ, those who refuse to submit to His authority as the millennial period commences, are going to find themselves smitten in ways that are going to bring them to bow. They're going to be made to acknowledge that Christ reigns. They're going to be brought to that point. You can't avoid it. This isn't an avoidable point, that Christ is the one who has all of the authority. So it doesn't matter how old your animosity, it doesn't matter how independent you think you are, that you can withstand whatever you think is going to be the punishment. God has punishments. Verse 19. Zechariah 14, verse 19. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Right. This is a punishment or sin of Egypt. The punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. Verse 19 is giving us a glimpse of the real nature of the sin of the impenitent world. The real nature is this. Wicked men refuse to attach themselves unto the worship of God. who think that they're Christians, or think that they can have half, they're missing the point. It's a sign of impenitence that they won't come to worship God in the way He has commanded. He's an impartial judge, He's the avenger of His people against all that remain enemies and despisers of true religion. But it's very clear here, The wrath of God is going to pursue and subdue all nations that resist Christ. He set Himself against them. And that's a real crime. That they will not bow before Him. That they think that they can do what they want to do. That there will be no repercussions. Not at all. He's clear on this. Verse 20. Verse 20. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses holiness unto the Lord, and the pots in the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. So this verse now is describing the result of the judgments and the conversions. When the Jews are converted and restored, when the fullness of the Gentile nations are brought in, the idea here is that the Church is now going to advance like an army. But this army, these horses for the army, they're going to have bells on them that are going to be inscribed with the message of the miter of the priest, which is holiness unto the Lord. Now this is going to be inscribed on the bells of the horses. the cry of war, the idea is that there's going to be an advancement of the gospel, the church is going to advance it, not by a sword of flesh, but by the sword of pursuing holiness, which is proclaiming. The message of the Gospel. The Church is going to wield the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. It's not going to be involved in warfare. Christianity is not Islam. Christianity is not interested in spreading its message at the point of a sword or at the barrel of a gun. That's not how Christianity is spread. spread and it will be spread during the millennium through preaching. And not just any preaching, it's going to be the preaching of holiness. It's going to be a concern for the keeping of the laws and the precepts of God. The holiness is going to be an advancing and a growing holiness at that time. It's not going to be something that is going in fits and starts, it's going to be a continual advance, like an army. An advancing army, they keep moving, they keep moving forward. And that's the picture we have. Church is going to be arrayed like an army, moving forward. And again, it's going to be like a desert before them and Eden behind them. Wherever the Gospel goes, it's going to be the opposite of what happens when false religion comes in. So we're told here the pots that were taken as if pots were taken and consecrated as bowls before the altar. And I'll come back to that in just a moment, but because it comes up again in the next verse, it's a very interesting, I think, image of what's happening. So finally, verse 21. Verse 21, Yea, 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 seed therein. And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. So here again we see there's going to be an increase in holiness amongst the whole church, including the Jews, Jerusalem and in Judah. Things once common. That's the whole point of these pots. The pots are common cooking instruments. And yet, so thorough is this Reformation going to be, that these common items are going to be taken and consecrated as bowls before the altar. They're going to be brought into the spiritual worship of God. Nothing is going to be left out. And finally, the last phrase is really, I think, getting to this point. At this time, during the Millennium, there's going to be no more unredeemed people in the Church. Not maybe absolutely, but the number of those who are not really converted is going to be very, very small. The Millennial Church is going to attain a degree of purity hitherto unheard of, so much so that there'll be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord. It's going to be very pure. That's the nature of the millennial religion. And that's why Zechariah is keen to see that the temple is rebuilt. None of this is going to happen if the temple isn't rebuilt. The people of God aren't brought to that point. It's very important then that the people of God come to understand that despite the ups and the downs, the ultimate issue of this is going to be very important. Israel is going to be brought to a perfect pitch of safety, because Israel is going to be brought back, restored to the Church, grafted in again, no more to be subject to utter destruction. And at that time, the nations are going to come together to worship together with Israel. That's the millennial period. So Haggai and Zechariah, now remember, they were preaching early on at the time of the building of the temple. Next time we're going to take up and begin talking about what Malachi has to say. Malachi is somewhat later than Haggai and Zechariah. Malachi He's going to give us a little bit different information regarding the nature of the kingdom that is coming. It's being typified by what they're doing. And he's going to get into information important to the establishing of the Krishnara. And so we'll start taking up that where we're going next time.