The Second Coming of Christ
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Important messages
It’s quite appropriate on Christmas Day, don’t you think,
to look ahead to His second coming? There’s quite a difference! He came as a
baby, laid in a feedbox in a stable for animals. He returns with His armies as
the King of Heaven, descending upon the Mount of Olives. As His feet rest upon
it, the mount splits in two, opening up a valley in the middle, which extends
to the east. His people escape from Jerusalem and the world’s forces, led by
antichrist.
An expository
study of Zechariah, verse by verse,
chapter 12:9-14
and chapter 14:1-5
The Battle of
Armageddon (Rev.16:16)
“and they
gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon”
(Hebrew: Har signifies
mountain and the name is Magedon)
Chapter 12
God
Himself, creator of man, will deal with him in His time (v.1), joining all
nations in the battlefield of Armageddon, under Mount Megiddo in the Valley of
Jezreel, 60 miles northwest of Jerusalem. This valley has a tremendous history
of battles. An expert declares that he doubts that there is another part of the
world, where so many have occurred. Here are some that are mentioned in the
Bible: Judges 5:20 y chapter 7; 1 Samuel 31:1-13; 1 Kings 18:40; 2 Kings 23:30;
2 Chronicles 35:20.
This
is the scene of the war on the “great day of God”. From there, the battle will
spread over a great part of Israel. Zechariah’s account is of the principle and
most important part… the attack on Jerusalem (v.2). There, outside the city,
blood will flow like a river (Rev.14:20). It may surprise us how many portions
of Scripture tell us of this “day of the Lord” (Ps.2:1-9; Is.66:15-16; Joel
3:12-21; Mt.24:29-51; Mt.25:31-46, 2 Thes.1:6-9; 2:8; Rev.14:20; 16:12-16;
19:11-21).
The
prophet speaks of world-wide opposition, in which the nations of the earth will
no longer tolerate Jerusalem… mainly because in that time, the Jews, who have
made a pact with the antichrist, will refuse to worship him. “I will make
Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples” (v.3). The difficulties within the
city and the “offenses” (such as we hear in the news at this moment… civil
rights, war crimes, etc.) become intolerable for the “united nations”. In this
prophecy, they will join for the last time against Judah and Jerusalem.
According
to the purpose of God, they will join to be destroyed (v.9), and He will come
to save His people, who will find themselves in the worst of scenarios; two
thirds of them will die (13:8) and one third will be greatly refined and tried
(13:9). At that point the will call upon the name of the Lord and thus
recognize their Messiah.
The Jews call
to Jesus (Zechariah 12:10)
“so that they
will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn…”
At
the end of the tribulation (the last part of week 70, prophesied en Daniel 9),
when all nations come against Jerusalem (v.8 and also 14:2), the Jews will come
to believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah. The ‘I’ who speaks
(v.10), who will pour out of the Spirit, is the same one who says ‘they will
look on Me’, proving two things: that He who speaks is the Angel of the Lord
(since 1:11), the Word of God (Jn.1:1), and He is divine, because He pours out
the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is poured upon the remnant of Israel with grace and
that outpouring will produce supplication. Only the Spirit, testifying of
Jesus, can open the eyes of the people, so that they recognize and believe. His
first aid for them will be in the interior of their beings. As they receive
grace, they will be empowered (v.8, as in 2 Ti.2:1).
Zechariah,
who has been quoting the Angel of the Lord, now begins to narrate: “They will
mourn for Him”. They will mourn as
never before (v.10-14), with profound repentance, looking to Jesus of Nazareth
and crying as Anna prayed for her firstborn. Zechariah is expressing a Hebraic
proverb (‘as one mourns for an only son’ or ‘like the bitter weeping over a
firstborn’), that concerns the dishonor and curse upon the barren women.
However this affliction will be even greater, because they remember their
rejection… they rejected the Only Son, the gravity of which would cause total
despair were it not for faith. Because this is a work of the Holy Spirit, He
will also impart faith. Repentance takes place, where it always does, at the
foot of the cross, fixing on the pierced Christ (Ps.22:16 with Jn.19:37,
Rev.1:7). It will occur when Jerusalem falls to the invading nations.
Recognizing Jesus for the first time, enlightened by the Spirit, He will come
to their aid (14:3-5).
At
Megiddo (v.11, Armageddon) the beloved king, Josiah, died (2 Chr.35:22-27), and
the people lamented. It is the Valley of Jezreel, which also bears the name,
composed of pagan gods, Hadadrimmon, and as we have already noticed, it is the
place of many battles in history. As at the death of Josiah, there will be
national grief (v.12-14). Nathan, mentioned in verse 12, is the ‘son of David’, seldom referred to, but
he appears in the genealogy of Jesus, on Mary’s part (Lk.3:31). It is the
humbler genealogy, emphasizing His humanity, which does not boast the line of
Judah’s kings. It is offered by Luke, the Gentile. Matthew gave us the regal
line, as his Gospel described Jesus as the King of the Jews. That is the line
of Joseph, the legal father of Jesus (Mt.1:1-16).
In
the same way, the most distinguished family of priests, along with the least
distinguished, are mentioned (v.13). It means that, from the least to the
greatest, they recognized their sin against their Messiah and are greatly
afflicted. Even though no documents exist since the temple was destroyed in 70
A.D., God has not forgotten who is who in Israel and down through the
centuries, He has protected the genealogical lines (v.14). These are of the
remnant of Israel, the third part, who have survived the antichrist persecution.
Christ Liberates
His People (Zechariah 14:3)
“the Lord will
go forth and fight against those nations…”
Chapter 14
In
Revelation 19:17-21, an angel calls the carnivorous birds to a feast (it will
be a literal feast of buzzards). Joel prophesies of this (Joel 3:2), and calls
the place of battle, “the valley of Jehoshaphat”. Jehoshaphat means the judgment of the Lord, because this
king won an important battle against a confederation of nations (2 Chr.20:26).
Upon this same ground will occur a battle, which is much more important, and
all the earth’s nations will be there (v.1-3). Christ Himself will descend from
heaven to destroy the nations led by the beast (Rev.19:15, 19-21). Jesus speaks
of His second coming in Luke 17:22-37 (and it is described in Rev.19:11-16),
comparing it to the days of Noah and Lot, and then adds that on that day some “will be taken”. They asked Him, “Where?” and He responded, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures
will gather” (v.37, ESV).
So
that the remnant can escape, the Lord will put His feet upon the Mount of
Olives, from where He ascended into heaven (v.4, Acts 1:12; Lk.24:50), on the
east side facing Jerusalem, where also He sat upon a donkey colt
(Lk.19:29,27,41); where He prayed in Gethsemane (Lk.22:39); and where he often
resorted. This same mount will part in two. One part will move to the north and
the other to the south; a valley will open between them (just as the Red Sea
opened). Between them, from Jerusalem on the west and going towards the east,
the remnant of Jews, now believers, will flee. From this account, we can know
how Jesus will return from the east, as Ezekiel saw in his day (Ez.43:2-5).
The
Kedron Valley, which now lies between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, will
extend, traversing through the divided mount (v.5). Zechariah reminds them how
their forefathers escaped the earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Amos 1:1). It
is interesting to note, throughout these prophecies of the last days, that
there are precedents in Jewish history. We see them clearly in this lesson and
they can be seen in the entire book. The Lord will return, as is described by
John in Revelations 19:14, to bring the antichrist and the false prophet to an
end. He will then take the temple in Jerusalem and sit upon His throne.
From
verse 6 and onward, Zechariah gives a marvelous description of the Millennium.
In this little article, we will not study it, but as God permits, we will see
it in the future. An now, we conclude this account, noting that Jesus will be
king over the entire earth (v.9) and Jerusalem will be the city of peace,
capital of the universal kingdom (v.11). 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, who will come to celebrate in
Jerusalem.
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