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Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 41

Zechariah 14:4 says,

⁴ In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley [gahee, “gorge, ravine, fissure”], so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

“In that day” refers to the time of battle in which God gathers the nations to fight against Jerusalem, as noted in the previous verses. If we are to take this in a literal sense, it speaks of a devastating earthquake that will crack the mountain. A “valley” conveys the picture of some miles between the two halves, which is unlikely. Earthquakes often put fissures in the earth and destroy any roads in the vicinity.

More important is to understand what it means for “His feet” standing on the Mount. Most Bible teachers seem to believe that this refers to the second coming of Christ. Yet Zechariah’s wording says nothing of His “coming.” It is no doubt to be understood in terms of verse 3, “the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations.” In other words, when He goes forth to fight in battle, an earthquake will be the physical sign by which we know He is leading this battle.

Is This Christ’s Second Coming?

If such a sign is needed, it may suggest that He will not be visible to all—at least not yet. He has come countless times in the past in ways that are not visible. In Moses’ day He came to Mount Sinai and was seen only as fire. He came also on the day of Pentecost, visible only by fire (Acts 2:3). In fact, Jesus said that whenever “two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20).

Such passages have led some to challenge the entire way in which Christians have been led to view the second coming of Christ. They believe that Christ’s coming will not be as carnal and visible as some think, but that He will come through His body, the body of Christ. They cite Jesus’ teaching in John 14:7-9,

⁷ “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” ⁸ Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

In other words, those who saw Jesus saw the Father as well. In the same manner, those who see the overcomers are seeing Jesus. Just as Jesus was the Agent of the Father, so also are we called as agents of Christ. I do not doubt the basic truth of this. But I would not want to limit Christ’s appearing in such a manner. He has been known to appear personally to certain ones, even as angels occasionally make appearances. To me, then, there is no law restricting Christ from coming to earth visibly, even though the body of Christ are able to manifest His character.

Nonetheless, in the case of Zechariah 14:4, it seems more likely to me that this is where Christ appears not in a physical way but in terms of a battle. We are to “see” Christ in the earthquake, that is, in terms of the results of His work being accomplished—in this case, victory in battle.

The Earthquake

Zechariah 14:5 continues,

⁵ You will flee [noos, “flee, escape”] by the valley [gahee] of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel [“proximity; a place reserved”]; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and the holy ones with Him!

First we must ask who is being addressed? Who will flee or escape? What are they escaping from? Where will they go? How literal should we interpret this?

The “you” can only refer back to verse 1, which in turn takes us back to the previous verse (13:9). As I showed earlier, this refers to the believers who flee to escape the destruction of Jerusalem. The first-century church in Jerusalem escaped to Pella between 68 and 70 A.D., as we are told by Bishop Eusebius, the fourth-century church historian. He wrote,

“Furthermore, the members of the Jerusalem church, by means of an oracle given by revelation to acceptable persons there, were ordered to leave the City before the war began and settle in a town in Perea called Pella. To Pella, those who believed in Christ migrated from Jerusalem.” [Eccl. Hist., III, 5]

It was the Jerusalem church that fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy during the Roman siege of Jerusalem. This shows that “you” refers to believers, not unbelievers. We now live in the time of the final destruction (Jeremiah 19:10, 11), and so it appears that an earthquake this time will create a ravine by which the believers will escape the city once again.

This earthquake will be comparable to that which occurred in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. I discussed this great earthquake in my commentary, Amos, Missionary to Israel.

“Scholars do not know precisely when this earthquake occurred, but they usually date it around 760-750 B.C. Sitting on the Dead Sea transform fault zone, Israel experienced many quakes over the centuries, but archeologists tell us that this was the strongest quake in Israel’s history. By excavating the ruins of Lachish, about 200 miles north of Israel at the epicenter of the quake, they say that the quake registered about 8.0 on the Richter scale.

“This quake was notable because Amos used it as a well-known marker to date his prophecy. More importantly, the quake was seen as divine judgment upon Israel for its refusal to hear the word of the Lord through Amos. Hence, the quake occurred two years after Amos had prophesied.

“At the very least we may say that the quake was an indirect judgment from God, in that it greatly weakened Israel and prepared the way for the successful Assyrian invasion a few years later….

“The quake affected both Judah and Israel in the time of Amos. Zechariah’s prophecy does not distinguish between Judah and Israel but focuses upon the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. Even as the quake devastated Israel and (as we shall see) destroyed its government, so also was Jerusalem to be devastated….

“The quake devastated the governments of both Judah and Israel but only Israel’s government completely collapsed for about 24 years. After Jeroboam’s death, Scripture records a long gap with no king at all, followed by a series of weak kings who each ruled only a short time before being killed.

“Jeroboam of Israel died in the 13^th year of Uzziah of Judah. Then there was no king in Israel for 24 years, at which time his son Zechariah (not the prophet by the same name) became Israel’s king. Zechariah was enthroned in the 38^th year of Azariah/Uzziah (2 Kings 15:8).

“Hence, there were no kings of Israel from Uzziah’s 13^th year to his 38^th year, leaving a 24-year gap in Israel’s political leadership.”

Just as the great 8.0 Richter earthquake literally destroyed Israel’s government just two years after refusing Amos’ call to repentance, so also in the latter days another earthquake will devastate Jerusalem. The earthquake in Amos’ day was centered far enough north so as to destroy the defenses of the House of Israel. To the south, the House of Judah was less affected. But Zechariah tells us that the coming earthquake will be centered much closer to Jerusalem, paving the way for its destruction.

It seems to me that this earthquake will probably shake the city prior to the nuclear event described in Isaiah 29. The order of events, however, remains unclear at this time. Yet in the midst of this chaos and destruction, God provides a way for the believers to escape. Zechariah says they will go to Azel, a place that has yet to be identified by archeologists. Though comparable to Pella in the first century, this might not be a literal place of refuge. The name can be interpreted as a reservation, a place that God has reserved for them.

Coming with Holy Ones

Zechariah 14:5 says, “Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!” This points to the second coming of Christ, timed to occur after the earthquake and the destruction of Jerusalem. Deuteronomy 33:2 speaks of Christ’s coming to Mount Sinai (as fire), saying, “He came from the midst of ten thousand holy ones.”

Jude 14 and 15 refer to this as well, though he quotes from the book of Enoch:

¹⁴ It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”

The coming of Christ, then, is linked to divine judgment upon the “ungodly” who “who have spoken against Him.” Since this is about the destruction of Jerusalem, it is apparent that it is the inhabitants of that city who have “spoken against Him.”