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Scripture Reading: Zech. 12:1-9; 14:1-7, 12-15
The Christ unveiled in the book of Zechariah is a Christ who is intimately involved with human history. The first six chapters reveal that He is involved with the Persian Empire, and the last six chapters reveal that He is involved with the Grecian Empire and the Roman Empire. As we have seen, the center of the prophecies in chapters nine through eleven is Christ as the rejected Messiah. In chapters twelve through fourteen, Christ is unveiled as the Messiah returning to be enthroned as the King not only over Israel but over the whole world. His first coming, described in Zechariah 9—11, was humble and intimate; His coming back, described in Zechariah 12—14, will be with power and authority.
Zechariah 12—14 covers the prophecy concerning Israel's destiny in three matters: in the great war of Armageddon (12:1-9; 14:1-7, 12-15), in their household salvation (12:10—13:9), and in the millennium (14:8-11, 16-21). In this message we will consider the prophecy of encouragement regarding Israel's destiny in the great war of Armageddon. However, first I would like to give a word concerning the significance of the human spirit as revealed in 12:1.
This verse says, "The burden of the word of Jehovah concerning Israel. Thus declares Jehovah, who stretches forth the heavens and lays the foundations of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him." The heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man was created by God with a spirit that he may contact God, receive God, live God, fulfill God's purpose for God, and be one with God. It is marvelous that such a verse as this is in an Old Testament book which unveils a Christ who is so involved with human history and politics. This indicates that in His economy God planned to have Christ as the centrality and universality of His move on earth. As the very God, He has ruled over the entire human race, managing the world situation age after age for thousands of years. For His chosen people, who would care for Him as the Creator and as the Redeemer, there was the need for Him to create a receiver so that they would have the capacity to receive all that God had planned for Christ to be. Christ is wonderful, but if we did not have a spirit, how could we receive Him? Today in every circle of society, people do not exercise their spirit. Even in religious circles, the matter of the human spirit is neglected or even opposed and denied. If we neglect our human spirit, there is no way for us to contact God.
In John 4:24 the Lord Jesus said clearly that God is Spirit and that those who worship Him must worship in spirit. This is the basic principle. To worship God is just to contact God, to receive God, to enjoy God, and to experience God. However, very few among the human race today know that God is a Spirit and that we have been created by God with a spirit. God has ordained that we should contact Him and receive Him by the exercise of our human spirit.
In God's creation there are principles. For instance, if we want to see different colors, we must use our eyes. Suppose I were blind. Could I hear the colors? Could I smell them? Certainly not! In order to see colors, we must use the proper organ. The principle is the same in relation to us and God. God is real, yet some dare to say that there is no God. Of course, if we do not exercise our spirit, surely there is no God to us. We cannot touch God by means of our physical body. Neither can we realize Him by our mentality, by our mind, for this is not the proper organ to use in contacting God. God is Spirit. If we would worship Him, contacting Him and receiving Him, we must exercise our spirit. Thank God that in His creation He made three crucial, equally important matters — the heavens, the earth, and our spirit. Our spirit, therefore, is as crucial, as important, as the heavens and the earth.
Zechariah is a book unveiling Christ as God's center and circumference, yet this Christ is intimately involved with human history. Not just anyone can know this One, but God's chosen people who realize that they have a spirit can know Him. In reading the book of Zechariah and in contacting the Christ revealed in this book, we must first know that we have a spirit. Then we need to exercise our spirit to pray, saying, "Lord, I want to gain the Christ who is unveiled in Zechariah." If we exercise our spirit in this way, we will sense something living touching us deep within. This is why there is in this book such a verse as 12:1, a verse that charges us to pay full attention to the receiver within us, our human spirit, that we may receive the Christ revealed in the book of Zechariah.
God's purpose is for us to receive Christ. However, Christ is complex in all that He is. He is all-inclusive, because He is so many items. Furthermore, this all-inclusive Christ is very involved with history, politics, and governments. How can we understand such a One? The only way is, after reading and studying, to turn ourselves to prayer. When we turn ourselves to prayer, we exercise our spirit. At that moment, Christ imparts Himself into us. This is the heavenly, divine dispensing. Through this dispensing we receive Christ as our life, our light, our patience, our love, our everything.
Though Zechariah was a young man, he knew the secret of contacting God to receive what God has revealed. We all need to learn of him to exercise our spirit to receive God and to receive what He has revealed.
Let us now proceed to consider the prophecy in chapter twelve.
Chapters twelve and fourteen show us many aspects of Israel's destiny in the great war of Armageddon.
The war of Armageddon will be the greatest war among mankind. It will terminate human government on earth at the end of the coming great tribulation, in the short period of time that will consummate the present age.
This war will take place at the end of the great tribulation of three and a half years (Matt. 24:21; Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 11:2; 13:5).
The war of Armageddon will be a war motivated by Antichrist to destroy Israel (Rev. 16:12-16; 9:13-16; 19:19).
Although this war will be motivated by Antichrist, it will be waged by Satan through his human followers against God with His saints (Rev. 16:13-14; 17:14; 19:14; Zech. 14:5b). Satan has his followers, and God has His saints. For thousands of years, Satan has been exercising his devices to gain people for his army. God has also been working to prepare His chosen ones to be His army. Eventually, at the great war of Armageddon, there will be two armies — Satan's earthly army and God's heavenly army.
The war of Armageddon will be fought by Antichrist with his followers directly against Christ with His overcomers (11, 14, Rev. 19:19; 17:14). Antichrist, the embodiment of Satan, will be the commander of Satan's army, and Christ, the embodiment of God, will be the Commander of God's army. Thus, on the one hand, it will be a devilish war; on the other hand, it will be a divine war. In this divine war, Christ will destroy Antichrist "by the breath of His mouth" and bring him to nothing "by the manifestation of His coming" (2 Thes. 2:8). These are the weapons Christ will use to defeat Antichrist.
This war will be the great winepress of the fury of God trodden by Christ at His coming back to judge the world (Rev. 14:17-20; Isa. 63:1-6). So many evil ones who hate God will join Antichrist in fighting against God. When these evil ones are gathered to Armageddon, they will actually be the grapes to be trodden by God in the winepress of the fury of His wrath. In bringing his armies and so many evil ones together, Antichrist will actually be doing a work for God.
The nations that will participate in that international war against Jerusalem will be gathered also by God. Half of the city of Jerusalem will be brought into captivity, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city (Zech. 14:2). In His mercy God will still preserve half of His elect people.
Jehovah will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling and a burdensome stone to all the besieging peoples, that is, to the armies of Antichrist and to all the evil ones with him. God will cause their horses to be bewildered and blind and their riders to be mad (12:2-4). Jerusalem will need divine protection not only against Antichrist and his armies but also against Satan and his demons and evil spirits. We may not know how God will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling and a burdensome stone, but we know that He will do this.
Jehovah will strike all of them who besiege Jerusalem during the war of Armageddon. Their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet; their eyes will rot in their sockets; and their tongue will rot in their mouth. A great panic from Jehovah will be among them; and each will seize his neighbor's hand, and his hand will rise up against his neighbor's hand. Furthermore, the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. The same plague will be on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that are in those camps (14:12-15).
Jehovah of hosts will be the strength of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and will make the leaders of Judah like a fire pot under wood and like a torch of fire among sheaves, and they will consume all the surrounding peoples on the right and on the left. Jerusalem will dwell again in her own place. Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first and then the house of David and Jerusalem. In that day Jehovah will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, making the feeble among them like David and the house of David like God, like the Angel of Jehovah (Christ) before them. (In 12:8 the Angel of Jehovah is in apposition to God.) Moreover, Jehovah will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem (12:5-9).
Zechariah 14:3-7 reveals that Jehovah as Christ will then come with His saints and go forth to fight against Satan, embodied in Antichrist, and his followers, the nations.
The feet of Jehovah as Christ will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split at its middle toward the east and toward the west into a very great valley so that half of the mountain will remove to the north and half of it to the south (v. 4).
The remnant of Israel will flee into the valley of Jehovah's mountains (v. 5).
In that day there will be no light; the shining ones (the sun, the moon, and the stars) will withdraw. It will be a kind of day known only to Jehovah, neither day nor night. But at evening time there will be light (vv. 6-7). This indicates that God will change many things in the universe in order to judge the evil human beings and to save His elect.
