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Lowell Brueckner

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King Over Planet Earth

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"The Lord will be king over all the earth"  (Zechariah 14:9)

How long will it be before the Lord returns to earth to set up His kingdom? Could it happen in this 21st Century? I think, it could easily happen in this century. Could it be twenty years from now? It is not out of the question. Ten years? That's also possible. I can tell you that it will not be earlier than 2022. It cannot take place for at least seven years. Now, look back seven years to 2008; seens like yesterday, doesn't it. It's time to start looking forward to the greatest time that this earth has ever experienced.  Let's get a perspective by taking a look at Zechariah's millenial prophecy. The coming of the Lord draws near! 


Verses 6-15  Steps towards perfection

The first description that Zechariah gives after the Battle of Armageddon is somewhat difficult to understand. Actually, the Scripture, both Old Testament and New, refers several times to this period, so we will just let the Scriptures speak. Isaiah, among several prophets, also informs us of this phenomenon: “Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem” (Is.24:23). Jesus Himself said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light” (Mt.24:29). Could this be the time of the Judgment of the Nations? The words that Jesus had to say about that judgment are similar to those of Zechariah: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another…” (Mt. 25:31,32).


“There shall be a unique day”, and I don’t believe that he is describing the entire Millennium, but only the time between the Tribulation and the Millennium. It is a mysterious day, over which only the Lord has complete knowledge (v.7). The daylight hours will extend, as if to complete the necessary work as quickly as possible, after the Battle of Armageddon.

After this, Zechariah clearly takes us to the Millennium and shows us living waters (v.8). These are the same waters that flowed from under the threshold of the temple in Ezekiel. Ezekiel takes several chapters to describe the new temple (ch. 40-46) and then in chapter 47, he writes of those waters, with much more detail than Zechariah, taking twelve verses, while Zechariah only uses one.

Jesus will be king over the entire earth (v.9) and Jehovah will be one. Jamison, Faucett, Brown comment: “Not that He is not so already, but He shall then be recognized by all unanimously as “One.” Now there are “gods many and lords many.” (1 Co.8:5) Then Jehovah alone shall be worshipped. The manifestation of the unity of the Godhead shall be simultaneous with that of the unity of the Church. Believers are one in spirit already, even as God is one (Eph_4:3-6). But externally there are sad divisions. Not until these disappear, shall God reveal fully His unity to the world” (Joh_17:21, Joh_17:23). We will see the perfect fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer, “I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me…” His people will be perfectly one and the world will recognize Jesus as Lord over all the earth and they will bow the knee before Him.

Jerusalem will be the city of peace, capital of the universal kingdom (v.10). All the hills around Jerusalem will be turned into a plain and the plain will extend from the old Judean border on the north to the southern border. Then, Jerusalem will be lifted aloft over all the terrain, signifying the presence of the Great King in the city. The expression in 12:6 is repeated, “in its place”, marking the gates on three sides and the tower on the other side, and then the interior of the city where are the king’s winepresses. All is simply to emphasize the fact that Jerusalem will be totally inhabited. Notice carefully, after all the destruction and war, the Holy City at last will truly be compatible with its name, the City of Peace (v.11). There will be no place so secure in all the earth. Surrounding His throne will be the nation of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the rest of the families of the Gentiles in the whole world will be worshipers; they will come to celebrate in Jerusalem.

In the next verses, we have to return to the Battle of Armageddon to again prove a principle that we have already studied in another place. Besides being glorified among His people, the glory of the Lord is also manifested by His vengeance upon His enemies (v.12). In that day, it will be fulfilled upon all the confederation of the antichrist (Is.66:24; Rev.19:17-21). As we sometimes see in the Old Testament, the enemy begins to fight one against another (v.13), because God sows confusion among them. It is often His way of defeating them. The enemy enters Jerusalem and all the citizens of Judah help their city brothers (v.14). They defeat the enemy and take possession of all the riches of the world. Because this has been the battle against the whole confederacy of the world, the victory will be universal. All the beasts utilized in the battle will become ill through a plague or, should the animals be symbolic, it would mean that all the weaponry would become dysfunctional. However, I think that the destruction of the Tribulation easily will leave nothing but animals for warfare.


Verses 16-21  Some characteristics of the Millennium

What we are seeing in verse 16 is the remnant of the Gentiles after the Judgment of the Nations (Mt.25:31-46). These are “the sheep” that help the brethren of the Son of Man in the Great Tribulation and the Battle of Armageddon, demonstrating a righteous heart by their deeds. These are the worshipers of Christ and the feast that they celebrate is the Feast of Tabernacles. The other feasts, The Passover with the Unleavened Bread, The Firstfruits, Pentecost, The Day of Atonement, and The Feast of Trumpets have all reached their fulfillment. So the only feast that will be celebrated in this time will be the Feast of Tabernacles. It is the one, in which they bring into remembrance all that they had to endure throughout their earthly pilgrimage, Jews and Gentiles, and how the Lord of Hosts worked miraculously for them. It was in the last day of this last feast of the year that Jesus made His great invitation… “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’”… and now all the nations are enjoying it in its fullness (Jn.7:37-39).

In the Millennium, down through all its generations, not all will be obedient, but now Christ will reign in perfect righteousness in favor of the just and against the unjust (v.17). The latter will go through the Millennium awaiting their evil master to be set free from his prison, so that they can once again follow him. God will chastise them with draught. Concerning the Egyptians, who always had the Nile as a back-up to sustain them through rainless times, a plague will punish them (v.18). There will be punishment for every offense and no rebel will escape (v.19).

It seems to me that all motorized vehicles will be destroyed during the Tribulation and for a thousand years there will be no reason to be in a hurry. Horses will again provide transportation, as was true for some 5,900 years upon the earth, before the evil 20th Century, the age of the Titanic, the automobile and the airplane, to which millions of lives were sacrificed. It was the century of “independence from God”, when the spirit of humanism, identical with the antichrist spirit, came in force.  The god of “progress” and of pragmatism reigned.

However, in the Millennium, all the horses will be sanctified to the Lord (v.20). As the priests were men consecrated entirely to God in the Old Testament, now even the animals give Him glory. We read in Isaiah about friendly serpents, tame lions, and of much more beauty in nature during the Millennium. The common cooking pot will be as sacred as the bowls before the altar. Women will cook in their kitchens with pots consecrated to the Lord of Hosts, who is worthy of all glory and honor. He, who drove from the temple all the merchants, will assure that no more business will be carried out in the place of prayer (v.21). Instead of funding the things of God with money, all the spiritual economy will be realized through the prayer of faith… a faith placed only in He Who sits upon the throne, reigning over all the earth. Thy Kingdom come! Yes, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
















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