The End of the World — and What Will Come Next

Review

Now, since this is the final episode of the Zechariah Zone Series, let’s take a moment to review. The nation of Israel was strong and thriving in the days of King David and King Solomon, but then it began to come unraveled. Finally in 587 BC, the Babylonian Empire swept over Israel, slaughtered its armies, deported the survivors, destroyed its capital of Jerusalem, and burned its magnificent temple of the Lord to the ground. 

The Jews who survived settled down in Babylon, sad and bewildered, but the Lord wasn’t finished with them. In 538 B.C.,  Emperor Cyrus issued a decree that the Jews could return to their native land. About 50,000 people did so. Their political leader was Zerubbabel and their high priest was named Joshua.

They returned to Jerusalem and got a good start at rebuilding the temple. But they ran into enormous opposition and gave up the project. For nearly 20 years, this Jewish remnant built their own houses and established their own communities while the house of God was neglected.

Then, according to the book of Ezra, which tells this story, two prophets showed up—Haggai and Zechariah. Their preaching induced a revival of the work, and Zerubbabel and Joshua led the people to resume building the temple, and to complete it, and to dedicate it. We call this the second temple, and it was later enlarged by King Herod. This was the temple where our Lord was brought for His dedication; where He talked to the rabbis at age 12; and where He taught the people as the Son of God.

Zechariah’s sermons motivated a people who had been bound up in the ropes of discouragement, and much of what he said can motivate us as well. He is the prophet of encouragement. Many times I’ve gone to Zechariah when I was discouraged and have found inestimable help.

First, there is an introductory message at the beginning of chapter 1.

Second, Zechariah has a series of eight visions that came to him in a single night. These eight visions all describe various aspects of the future of Jerusalem and the people of God. They are recorded for us from the middle of chapter 1 to the middle of chapter 6.

In the center of the book is a transitional section that includes one action, which serves as a conclusion to the visionary part of the book; and two chapters on the subject of fasting, which serves as an introduction to the final prophetic part of the book. 

Chapters 9-14 are predictive prophecy. Chapters 9, 10, and 11 center around the Messiah’s first coming and rejection. Chapters 12, 13, and 14 are about the Messiah’s coming.

These final chapters give us the Bible’s most vivid picture of what’s going to happen when Jesus returns.

Chapter 12 tells us that during the latter days of the Great Tribulation, the armies of the world under the supreme command of the antichrist will occupy Israel and besiege Jerusalem. At that time, Jesus will leave Heaven for His descent to earth. The Jewish people will see Him whom they have pierced and will mourn for Him. 

Chapter 13 says that He will open up for them a fountain for the forgiveness of sins, and Israel will finally and forever embrace Her Messiah King. 

Chapter 14 tells us the Messiah’s feet will land on the Mount of Olives, which will split in two. This will provide a way of escape for the trapped citizens of Jerusalem. The Coming King will then destroy His enemies and establish His earthly Kingdom. Based on the 1000 year time duration discussed in Revelation 20, we call this the Millennial Reign of Christ. 

1. The Destruction of Israel’s Enemies

Let’s wrap up our study by reading the final paragraph of the book, starting at Zechariah 14:12 – 

¹² This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. ¹³ On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another. ¹⁴ Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵ A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

There are several passages in the Bible that describe how the returning Messiah will simply annihilate the evil forces of the antichrist that were in the process of trying to destroy the nation of Israel and the Jews. The phrasing here is striking—their flesh will rot while they are standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

It sounds like the results of a nuclear attack, although Zechariah calls it a plague. In Revelation 19, we’re told the nations will be annihilated by the sword that comes from the mouth of the Messiah, referring to His pronouncement of doom against them. And the birds will eat the flesh of the kings, generals, and the mighty and their horses.

Ezekiel 39 adds even more detail. Referring to the antichrist and armies of wickedness:

On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your troops and the nations with you. I will give you as food to all kinds of carrion birds and to the wild animals…

Then those who live in the towns of Israel will go out and use the weapons for fuel and burn them up—the small and large shields, the bows and arrows, the war clubs and spears. For seven years they will use them for fuel…

For seven months the Israelites will be burying them in order to cleanse the land. All the people of the land will bury them, and the day I display my glory will be a memorable day for them, declares the Sovereign Lord. People will be continually employed in cleansing the land. They will spread out across the land and, along with others, they will bury any bodies that are lying on the ground.

After the seven months they will carry out a more detailed search. As they go through the land, anyone who sees a human bone will leave a marker beside it until the gravediggers bury it in the Valley of Hamon Gog…. And so they will cleanse the land.

2. The Transformation of the Nations

After the destruction of Israel’s enemies, Zechariah predicts that the Messiah will establish a Kingdom and the nations will be transformed. Look at Zechariah 14:16:

¹⁶ Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. ¹⁷ If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. ¹⁸ If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. ¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

Some of the other prophets spend a lot of ink describing the state of the nations after the return of Christ. For example, Isaiah, chapter 2, says:

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

3. The Holiness of the Kingdom

The final paragraph of Zechariah describes how holiness will characterize the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Messiah. Verse 20 says:

²⁰ On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. ²¹ Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty.

Conclusion

Let me wrap up our study with a couple of summarizing points. First, the book of Zechariah has four basic parts. There’s an opening message, followed by a series of eight visions, all of them giving encouragement to the weary temple builders. In the middle of the book there’s some transitional material, and the final chapters, 9 through 14, tell how the Messiah will be rejected at His first coming and embraced by Israel at His second coming. All along the way there are verses we can apply to ourselves. 

Second, like many of the prophets, Zechariah ends the story with the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, the final 1000 years of world history during which Jesus will rule on earth from Jerusalem. This is the prelude to eternity, the front porch to the eternal state. I don’t have time to go into it here, but it’s my conviction that you and I will be in the city of New Jerusalem during this time, for the Kingdom age on earth is for Israel—the time when God will fulfill all the promises He has made to His Jewish nation.

Third, Jesus Christ is the real subject of this book. I’m going to give you a list of predictions about him. We’re told that the Messiah will:

• Come and live among the Jewish people (2:11).
• He will become a servant who will cleanse people from their sins (3:8).
• He will remove the sin of the world in a single day (3:9).
• He will be called Joshua or Jesus, who will serve as both King and Priest (6:9-11).
• He will be called the Branch, sprouted from the stump of Jesse and He will sit and rule on His throne (3:8; 6:12-15).
• He will come in the wake of Alexander the Great (9:1-8)
• He will enter Jerusalem on a donkey (9:9).
• He will be humble of heart (9:9)
• He will proclaim peace to the nations (9:10).
• He will be a shepherd who saves (9:16).
• He will be from the tribe of Judah (10:4).
• He will be the cornerstone (10:4).
• He will be a tent peg (10:4)
• He will be a warrior (10:4)
• He will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (11:12).
• The money will be thrown down in the temple (11:13).
• The money will be paid to the potter (11:13).
• The Shepherd-King will be pierced (12:10). 
• His blood will establish a covenant that will set prisoners free (9:11).
• He will open a fountain for the cleansing of sin (13:1).
• He is close to God (13:7).
• He will be struck and His sheep scattered (13:7).
• In the future, His feet will descend to the Mount of Olives, just as the nations of the world are attacking Jerusalem in the Last Battle and He will save His people and establish His kingdom (14).
• He will come with His holy angels (14:5).
• His coming will precipitate an earthquake, a river, and other topographical changes in Israel (14:4-9).
• Israel will mourn when they recognize Him as Messiah (13:10-14).
• He will proclaim peace to the nations (9:10).
• His rule will extend from sea to sea and to the ends of the earth (9:10).
• He will reign as king over the whole earth (14:9).
• The entire world will come to Jerusalem to worship Him (14:12-21).
• His Kingdom will be one of holiness (14:20).

What person in the Bible or in human history was Jewish, who came to live among His own people, who was a servant who, on a single day, would provide cleansing for sin; who is named Joshua or Jesus; who is both priest and king; who is called the Branch and the Cornerstone, who entered Jerusalem on a donkey and proclaimed peace to the nations? Who is this person?

He was a good shepherd who was struck down, betrayed for 30 pieces of silver that were thrown onto the temple floor and used to buy a field from a potter? Who is this Shepherd King who was pierced, whose death opened a fountain for the cleansing of sin?

Who is this strange person who will return one day, His feet descending onto the Mount of Olives at the climactic moment of a violent battle in which the nations of the world are surrounding Jerusalem. Who will save His people, assume His throne, and rule over a Messianic kingdom unlike anything the world has ever imagined?

This Joshua, this Jew, this servant, this priest, this king, this branch, this cornerstone, this shepherd, this martyr, this man whose own veins provide a fountain filled with blood – this man of prediction and prophecy is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth was still roughly 500 years in the future.

Well, that wraps up our study of the prophet Zechariah. Let me leave you with my favorite verse of the book: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

Thank you for digging into the book of Zechariah with me!