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a unique day

Zechariah 14:1-21

Zechariah 14:1 Notice that a day belonging to Yahveh is coming when the plunder taken from you will be divided in your presence.
Zechariah 14:2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city.
Zechariah 14:3 Then Yahveh will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle.
Zechariah 14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a massive valley so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.
Zechariah 14:5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then Yahveh, my God, will come and all the holy ones with him.
Zechariah 14:6 On that day there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish.
Zechariah 14:7 It will be a unique day known only to Yahveh, without day or night, but there will be light in the evening.
Zechariah 14:8 On that day, living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea, in summer and winter.
Zechariah 14:9 On that day Yahveh will become King over the whole land – Yahveh alone, and his name alone.
Zechariah 14:10 All the land from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem will be changed into a plain. But Jerusalem will be raised up and sit on its site from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses.
Zechariah 14:11 People will live there, and never again will there be a curse of complete destruction. So, Jerusalem will live in security.
Zechariah 14:12 This will be the plague with which Yahveh strikes all the people who have warred against Jerusalem: their skin will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
Zechariah 14:13 On that day a great panic from Yahveh will be among them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of one will rise against the other.
Zechariah 14:14 Judah will also fight at Jerusalem, and the surrounding nations’ wealth will be collected: gold, silver, and abundant clothing.
Zechariah 14:15 The same plague as the previous one will strike the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.
Zechariah 14:16 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, Yahveh of Armies, and to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
Zechariah 14:17 Should any of the families of the land not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, Yahveh of Armies, rain will not fall on them.
Zechariah 14:18 And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague Yahveh inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
Zechariah 14:19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Shelters.
Zechariah 14:20 On that day, the words Holy to Yahveh will be on the horses’ bells. The pots in the house of Yahveh will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar.
Zechariah 14:21 Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to Yahveh of Armies. All who sacrifice will come and use the pots to cook in. And on that day, a Canaanite will no longer be in the house of Yahveh of Armies.

a unique day

Sometimes the “day of the LORD” does not refer to Christ’s coming, but some other event. The phrase could be rendered “when Yahveh strikes.” But this final prophecy of Zechariah can refer to no other time. All the nations have been gathered against Jerusalem to battle, a battle the New Testament calls Armageddon. At first, Jerusalem will seem to be lost.

But then, The Messiah will reverse his ascension of old, landing on the Mount of Olives. He is accompanied by his angelic armies. They are there to do battle against the enemies of Israel, and to conquer the opposing nations, restoring peace to Jerusalem, and installing the Messiah as king over all the earth. From then on, all of the families of the earth will keep the festival of Shelters, celebrating the presence of God, because He will be here.

LORD, thank you for your coming kingdom. Give us the wisdom to celebrate your presence and live by your word now.