Zec 14:3-5 | KingComments | STEP | Here the last attack on and capture of Jerusalem by “all the nations” of the earth is described ( ; cf. ). It is a self-willed act of the nations as they are gathered by the LORD for their battle against Jerusalem. The LORD stands behind the events and controls them, so that His purpose is achieved. That purpose is the liberation of His people by the judgment of their enemies. At first it seems that the peoples are succeeding in their intention. They capture the city, plunder the houses and ravish the women. In doing so, they carry out God’s judgment on apostate Israel. They also take half of the population of Jerusalem into exile. But there is talk of “the rest of the people”, which is a remnant that is not cut off and stays in the city. So there is no total destruction of the city as there was in the year 70 AD. It is the last siege by the nations. If the Lord Jesus cuts them off, the times of the Gentile will have come to an end ( ). When the need is greatest, the LORD appears. His people are attacked and whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye. He will then go out of heaven ( ) to fight as He did before. We can think of His fight against the Egyptians when He frees His people from bondage ( ). He also fights for His people when they take possession of the land of Canaan ( ).

‏ Zechariah 14:3-5

The Nations Gathered and Judged

Here the last attack on and capture of Jerusalem by “all the nations” of the earth is described (Zec 14:2; cf. Zec 12:2). It is a self-willed act of the nations as they are gathered by the LORD for their battle against Jerusalem. The LORD stands behind the events and controls them, so that His purpose is achieved. That purpose is the liberation of His people by the judgment of their enemies.

At first it seems that the peoples are succeeding in their intention. They capture the city, plunder the houses and ravish the women. In doing so, they carry out God’s judgment on apostate Israel. They also take half of the population of Jerusalem into exile. But there is talk of “the rest of the people”, which is a remnant that is not cut off and stays in the city. So there is no total destruction of the city as there was in the year 70 AD. It is the last siege by the nations. If the Lord Jesus cuts them off, the times of the Gentile will have come to an end (Lk 21:24).

When the need is greatest, the LORD appears. His people are attacked and whoever touches them touches the apple of His eye. He will then go out of heaven (Rev 19:11-16) to fight as He did before. We can think of His fight against the Egyptians when He frees His people from bondage (Exo 14:14). He also fights for His people when they take possession of the land of Canaan (Jos 10:14).

His Feet on the Mount of Olives

These verses have no prefill. They have yet to be fulfilled in their entirety. The Lord Jesus returns to the Mount of Olives from where He went to heaven (Zec 14:4; Acts 1:9-12). “His feet”, the feet of the Lord Jesus, stand on the Mount of Olives. Here we have another proof that He is the LORD, Yahweh. He is the Son of Man Who comes with the clouds of heaven and He is also the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:13 ; 22). He is the LORD coming from the LORD, a mystery incomprehensible to us.

It seems that the touch of his feet causes an earthquake which splits the Mount of Olives in two. Because one half of the mountain faces north and the other half faces south, a “very large valley” is created that runs from east to west.

This valley will serve as an escape route (Zec 14:5). But who will flee here? Is that the remnant left in Jerusalem for whom an escape route is opened here by the LORD? More likely it is that the wicked suddenly see a possibility of fleeing from the coming Judge – which of course will turn out to be an illusion.

“The earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah” to which Zechariah refers took place two centuries earlier (Amos 1:1). It must have been an earthquake deeply engraved in the memory of the people, and it has become a fixed place in history. They then fled out of great fear of the earthquake. In this way one will not only flee from the enemy, but especially out of fear for the appearance of the LORD that accompanies such impressive natural phenomena.

The prophet is so full of what he sees, that in the last part of the verse he passes from descriptive to addressing. He sees in the mind how everything will go. He is so involved in it, that he turns unnoticed to Him Who shows him everything and proclaims: “And all the holy ones with You.” He speaks to the Lord Jesus. Zechariah represents the remnant here.

“The holy ones” who return with the Lord Jesus are not the angels. They are the Old Testament and New Testament believers who were all caught up at the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air (1Thes 3:13 ; 1Thes 4:14-18). After all the believers are revealed before the judgment seat of Christ and the marriage of the Lamb is celebrated, they come back to earth with Christ.

In what follows, Zechariah first describes the full and certain result of the coming of the Lord Jesus (Zec 14:6-11). Then he shows the judgment of the enemy (Zec 14:12-15) and what the consequences are (Zec 14:16-21).