Zechariah 14:4

The Bible says in Zechariah 14:4-9, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 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. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. 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. And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” Whose feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives? The feet of the LORD. The word that is translated “LORD” is the Hebrew word for Jehovah. Of course, we know from the teachings of the New Testament that Jesus is the One who accomplishes all these things in the day of the LORD. That which in the Old Testament was called “the day of the LORD,” in the New Testament is sometimes called “the day of the Lord Jesus.” It says in First Corinthians 1:8, “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Zechariah 14:4 refers to a great earthquake that will take place at the Second Coming of Christ. This might be the same event that is mentioned in Revelation 16:18-19, “And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.”

Zechariah 14:5 mentions people fleeing Jerusalem and finding refuge in the mountains. It says, “And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains.” This also seems to be similar to the advice that Jesus gave to whomever would be alive when the Abomination of Desolation takes place. Jesus said in Matthew 24:15-22, “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”

It says in Zechariah 14:6-7, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.” These two verses seem to be an indication that it was at least partially revealed to Zechariah that there would be signs in the heavens because the light that we have comes from the sun, the moon, and the stars. Anything significant going on in the atmosphere or the upper atmosphere will affect the light. Evidently the Lord is going to allow great disruptions in order to be signs to the people of the earth to get their attention. God is hoping that people will repent, and the time of the Great Tribulation will be when the Lord will use these new means to wake people up. If the preaching of the gospel of Christ, and the normal sorrows and difficulties of life, and the working of the Holy Spirit does not awaken people to their need of Christ, then maybe the signs and the calamities of the Tribulation will do the trick. Concerning some of the signs in the heavens, it says in Revelation 6:12, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.”

It says in Zechariah 14:8, “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.” This verse refers to what it will be like in the millennial Kingdom of Christ. Water represents cleansing from sin. Jesus stands on the Mount of Olives and immediately a great river of pure water begins flowing out of the Mount of Olives. Wherever Jesus is, there is cleansing from sin. That is one of the reasons that the name of Jesus is preached and lifted up: so that people will come to Him and be cleansed from their sins. Whenever you see a river or think about a river, remember that God has given a symbolism to rivers: cleansing from sin and thus, spiritual life. Jesus said in John 7:37-38, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” During the entire one thousand year reign of Christ this river will flow in order to remind everyone that forgiveness of sins and eternal life come from Jesus Christ. Once the millennial kingdom has ended, there will also be a river in heaven, in the eternal state. It says in Revelation 22:1-2, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

It says in Zechariah 14:9, “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” Of course, we know who is being talked about when it says, “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth.” It is talking about Jesus. Revelation 17:14 says about Jesus, “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” It is good to notice for an understanding of the Bible that when Zechariah said that Jesus would be “king over all the earth,” that Zechariah was speaking literally. As King of kings, Jesus will actually sit on the throne of David as King in Jerusalem and shall rule the rest of the world from that literal throne. One of the reasons that Jesus will do this is to fulfill promises that were made to David.

Another important truth to point out about Zechariah 14:9 is that the word “LORD” literally means Jehovah. Since this verse is talking about Messiah, once again we are being told in no uncertain terms that Jesus is Jehovah.

There are a number of very interesting truths that we can say as we reflect on the great statement made by Zechariah in Zechariah 14:9, “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth.” Of course, the most obvious meaning is that all other authorities that exist during the Millennial age will be surrendered and subjected under Jesus Christ. But there is something else implied here that is also very significant. No human being will want or need to be in control any more. One of the problems with sinful human nature is that people have a strong-willed desire to be in control. This desire to be in control and to be dominant leads to a great number of problems. It lead to the creation of Babylon. The most terrible and frightening characteristic of the kingdom of Babylon has to do with its control over the people in its dominion. Babylon was established by a man named Nimrod, and it says about Nimrod in Genesis 10:8-10, “And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” What was Nimrod hunting? He was hunting people. He established Babylon on the basis of this strong motivation to dominate and control people. Babylon has always been that way. Babylon exists in the world today, just as it has existed throughout human history, and just as it will exist in the last days. Notice also that it says about Babylon in Revelation 17:15, “And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”

What a contrast between this human drive to control and to dominate and to rule, and the example and the teachings of Jesus. The Bible says in Luke 22:24-27, “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.” Matthew quotes from Isaiah and writes about Jesus in Matthew 12:18-21, “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”

If Jesus was a servant, then certainly Christians should regard themselves as servants. The apostles definitely regarded themselves as servants. James, John, Peter, Jude, and Paul all called themselves servants of Jesus Christ. Paul also said that he was a servant to people in First Corinthians 9:19, “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.” Christians are reminded many times in the New Testament to be good servants on the job. For example, it says in Colossians 3:22, “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.”

One of the important Christian principles to remember is that the idea of being a servant is to also exist within the home. One of the great passages about the marital relationship says in Ephesians 5:21-33, “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

When you submit yourself to someone, you are doing the same thing that a servant does. When you submit yourself to someone, you are doing the opposite of what a ruler does or what a king does or what someone does who is in charge. It is important to notice that the passage in Ephesians chapter five says that each person should submit themselves to the other. That means that the man should serve the woman in the home, and the woman should serve the man. But it is also important to notice that in Ephesians 5:22 wives are told directly to submit themselves to their husbands. Too many Christian women have been influenced by the philosophy of the world which creates a spirit of rebellion among women. A Christian woman should learn the distinctive Christian qualities that a Christian woman should possess and these qualities include being in subjection to the husband, and she should not desire to be like a man. Christian women are reminded that Sarah called Abraham, “Lord,” in First Peter 3:6. When women try to be like men, they end up trying to be like Nimrod, who wanted to dominate and to control, and we know where that led: it led to Babylon. There is no Christian honor in ruling over others, but there is great honor in being a servant because the Father said of Jesus, “Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased.”

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