PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 130
July 26, 2003 www.TribulationPeriod.com
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 to 14:16
Part 1
There are many principles in prophetic writings of which one must be aware when attempting to interpret them. Perhaps the first, and most basic of these principles, is the awareness that all the chapter and verse divisions in the KJV were made by the King James translators. I am glad they made the divisions, but the awareness that Zechariah wrote it as a continuous narrative, without chapter and verse divisions, is a great help in analyzing a passage for the purpose of correlation with preceding and subsequent verses.
After graduation from seminary I changed my viewpoints, concerning the interpretation of a couple of verses in Zechariah 14, because of the continuous narrative principle. In point, I changed my mind on the time frame of Zechariah 14:4,5, which I had long believed referred to the 2nd Advent, that is, the coming of the Lord at the end of what is called the tribulation period. I believed it referred to the 2nd Advent because of the last phrase in verse five: “and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” I came to believe that this phrase belongs time wise to verse six. If so, verse six would read: “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.” (See Birth Pang 20 for verses four and five, and Birth Pangs 9 through 11 for verses six and seven)
Zechariah 14:4-7 – 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. [5] 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: [6] 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: [7] 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. (Verses 6 and 7 occur 1260 days after verses 4 and 5, and correlate with Matthew 24:29,30)
Matthew 24:29,30 – Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
A seminary teacher, whom I love and greatly admire, took me aside after he heard my first lecture 24 years ago, and pointed out to me the splitting of the Mount of Olives occurs some 1260 days before Armageddon. After considering what he said, I changed my mind, coming to the conclusion he was correct.
With all this in mind, please consider the following exposition of the book of Zechariah from 13:8 to 14:16.
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
“All the land” refers to Israel. Two-thirds of its population will perish. The remaining one-third will survive the vicious attack, and will remain in the southern Negev wilderness of Israel for some 1260 days. If the attack happens to occur at some point in time between 2005 and 2008, this would mean between 1.7 and 1.9 million Jews would make it into the Negev alive.
Lord willing I will continue a line-by-line exposition in our next whole numbered Prophecy Update.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 131
August 1, 2003
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 TO 14:16
The Past Pictures the Future
The Exodus Revisited and Repeated
Part 2
Please read Prophecy Update Number 130 and Special Prophecy Update Number 130D in our Prophecy Archives before reading this Update.
Zechariah 14:4,5 – 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. [5] 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:
We are presented with a picture of God standing over a valley he has created beneath his two feet. The remnant of Israel will flee through the valley beneath his feet to a place of safety he has prepared for them in the Negev wilderness. Their Messiah is standing over them in a protective mode, as they flee through the two “sides” of the great valley he has just created.
I closed Special Prophecy Update Number 130D as follows: “Once the Jerusalemites have cleared the eastern side of the valley, it is quite likely that the diverted Jordan River will fill in behind them as described in the transformational process presented in Birth Pangs 22 to 30, and thereby prevent the armies of antichrist from pursuing through the valley God created. In fact, this presents a scenario like God’s deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian Pharaoh, when they fled through two walls of water on a wide valley floor created between the two “sides.”
With Updates 130 and 130D in mind, let’s take a look at the time when God first delivered the nation of Israel from bondage and death. He stood over them in a protective mode in “the cloud” as they fled from the Egyptian Pharaoh between two walls of water he spread before them, and the dry land extended to the “sides” of the valley he created between the waters of the Red Sea.
Exodus 14:29-31 – But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. [30] Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. [31] And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.
The Lord stood over the Red Sea and spread the waters apart with his feet, and held them open until the Israelites were across and in a place of safety.
When God parts the Mount of Olives with his feet, Israel will again see a great work that the Lord has done, and thereby begin to fear and believe that his Son, Jesus Christ, is the Messiah of Israel. They will not see the Lord standing there doing it, but they will see the Mount of Olives divide into two sections, just as they did not see the Lord doing it, but they did see the waters of the Red Sea divide.
Just as God was over them when they crossed the Red Sea between two “sides” of water, and protected them, so will it be when Messiah splits the Mount of Olives. Messiah was with them, over them, and above them as a part of the God Head when they went through the Red Sea on dry land, and he followed them throughout their Sinai experience.
Exodus 13:21,22 – And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: [22] He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.
But how do I know their Messianic Rock was with them in all their Old Testament experience?
I Corinthians 10:1-4 – Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; [2] And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; [3] And did all eat the same spiritual meat; [4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
When Israel flees through the Mount of Olives to its prepared place of safety in the Negev wilderness, a growing number of Israelites will begin to believe that Jesus was, and is, their Messiah, and this ever growing number of Israeli believers will be the seed of the woman, who is Christ. That Jewish remnant of 144,000 sealed believers will continually testify to all the Israelites that Jesus was, and is, the true Messiah of Israel. Their testimony will lead to the conversion of a nation in a single day at the Second Advent.
Revelation 12:6,17 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. [17] And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 66:8 – Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
Matthew 23:38,39 – Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. [39] For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Zechariah 13:9 – And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Romans 9:26-29 – And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. [27] Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: [28] For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. [29] And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
Matthew 24:21,22 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. [22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
Matthew 24:29,30 – Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Zechariah 12:9,10 – And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. [10] And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Revelation 1:7 – Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 132
August 8, 2003
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 TO 14:16
Part 3
Please look back at the following Prophecy Updates before reading 132: 130 (Part 1), 130D, and 131 (Part 2).
Americans are accustomed to read the account of an event found in the straight line, progressive style of writing. But the prophetic writers, at times, hopped back and forth between prophetic events separated by as much as a thousand years, and chronology is often difficult to maintain in interpreting them. When writing about end time events they would write about the beginning of the tribulation period, then jump over to the 2nd Advent and into the millennial reign, then spring backward to what led up to the tribulation period, then rush to the end of it and the final battle of Armageddon, etc., etc., etc. So, at times, it is not easy to separate the events they describe, especially within the chapter and verse divisions in the Scriptures supplied by the King James translators. So, with this in mind, please look at Zechariah 13:9.
Zechariah 13:9 – And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
We are advised they will be severely tried by the fire of the last 1260 days of tribulation in the Negev, but they will eventually cry out to their God, and he will deliver them. This whole event lasts some 1260 days, and then continues for a thousand years thereafter. Now, as we move into the next verse of the continuous narrative, the writer backs up in time, and tells us of an event associated with the beginning of the tribulation.
Zechariah 14:1 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Jerusalem sets “in the midst” of Israel, and its spoils shall be divided among the 10 conquering nations. Once again, in the prophetic style of writing, in the next verse, in the last phrase, he jumps to the end of the 1260 days, and assures Israel that God will preserve a remnant in the Negev, which will return some 1260 days after Jerusalem falls.
Zechariah 14:2 – For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the RESIDUE of the people shall not be CUT OFF from the city.
The word KARATH is translated “CUT OFF.” There are several words translated “cut off” in the KJV. KARATH means “TO BE CUT OFF FOREVER.” The other Hebrew words translated “cut off’ usually provided a way for the offender to be restored to fellowship with Israel, but KARATH implies BEING CUT OFF WITHOUT ANY CHANCE OF BEING ALLOWED TO RETURN. The word translated RESIDUE is the Hebrew word YETHER, which is translated as REMNANT in Micah 5:3. (See Prophecy Update Number 64)
Micah 5:3 – Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the REMNANT of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. (See Prophecy Update Number 64)
In the last phrase of Zechariah 14:2, God is assuring the tribes of Israel that even if they will be driven out of Jerusalem, they will return some 1260 days later. He does this by the use of the word “NOT.” The residue (REMNANT) of the people (ISRAELIS) shall NOT be CUT OFF from the city.
When Jerusalem falls, God begins to fight for Israel, and it begins a period of 1260 days, through which he will extend his protective shield over them in the Negev wilderness.
Zechariah 14:3 – Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Lord willing, I will pick up on this Scripture in the next whole numbered Prophecy Update.
SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 132A
August 9, 2002
God’s Kingdom Hand Switches Flocks!
I discussed Zechariah 13:7 in Special Prophecy Update Number 131C. I will now continue to discuss this passage because its implications are very far reaching, and of great prophetic significance.
Zechariah 13:7 – Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
The Shepherd of Israel, the Messiah of Israel, the living Son of God was rejected by the massive proportion of Israelites, and his small flock of the little ones of Israel, who had followed him for more than three years, were indeed scattered as I laid out in detail in 131C in our Archives.
John 1:11 – He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Matthew 23:29-38 – Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, [30] And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. [31] Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. [32] Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. [33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? [34] Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: [35] That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. [36] Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. [37] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! [38] Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
When the flock of Israel rejected their Messiah, God’s hand of favor was turned upon the little ones of the small flock that followed him, and it rests upon many small flocks across the world that still continue the teachings he gave that first flock in the church commission given in Matthew 28:18-20.
Matthew 28:18-20 – And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Zechariah prophesied that God’s hand of favor would be turned upon the little ones when Israel rejected Messiah, the Shepherd who God was to send to lead them.
Zechariah 13:7 – Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
Mark 14:26-28 – And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. [27] And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. [28] But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
The first “sheep” he chose were the first “little ones” he called out, and they were his first “little flock,” his first “little church.” They grew into a very large church after they were empowered at Pentecost, and were eventually scattered by Herod and Saul’s persecutions across the face of the Roman Empire. Since that time, many “little flocks” of “little ones,” like the one at Jerusalem, who still teach and practice what Christ taught the first “little flock,” have come into being across the face of the earth.
Acts 2:41,42 – Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. [42] And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Today’s “little flocks” teach the same practices of the New Testament. I identify these “little flocks” by the name “New Testament churches”, meaning they teach and practice the faith once delivered to the saints.
Jude 3 – Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Christ came to the flock of Israel as Messiah to bring in the kingdom promised to Israel, but they rejected him. John, Jesus, and his disciples preached that the kingdom was nigh. But the flock of Israel rejected both the king and the kingdom, and God’s hand turned upon the little ones, the little flock, to whom he offered the kingdom.
Matthew 3:1,2 – In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, [2] And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:17 – From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luke 10:9 – And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
The flock of Israel would not receive the king and his kingdom, but the little flock, the first N.T. church that he called out and then taught for more than three years, did receive it. And out of that first flock of little ones have come many other little flocks of little ones, little temples, little local churches, that have accepted the kingdom he offered.
Luke 12:32 – Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
There are a vast multitude of children of God, who make up the family of God, that are not seeking the things of the kingdom. But there are a few little ones in little flocks, in local churches, who still are following the teachings of Jesus he passed on to them through the New Testament.
Revelation 3:4 – Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
They are the ones who are seeking the kingdom he said he was going to give to the first flock of little ones who followed him, and in so doing were seeking the kingdom.
Matthew 6:33,34 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. [34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
These little ones in local churches still fight the daily fight against the sinful nature in their flesh, knowing they will not always submit to the indwelling Spirit of Christ, but exercising I John 1:8,9 when they fail. I am thankful to God that I am delivered from the body of this physical death by Jesus Christ, rather than by my ability to keep every jot and tittle of the law.
Romans 7:23-25 – But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. [24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? [25] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
I John 1:8,9 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Before Jesus came, and while he was conducting his ministry, the nation of Israel represented God’s chosen people, and there was only one temple on earth that he accepted as the place he would receive assembly worship, the Temple in Jerusalem. There were some acts that the Lord considered to defile the Temple to the extent the offender paid with his life. When the 10 northern tribes broke away to form the northern kingdom of Israel, they eventually tried to form a worship center separate from Jerusalem, but God never accepted their worship in it. The Samaritans were a mixed breed of Jew and primarily Assyrian, and the place where they were still attempting to worship God is revealed in the following passage, at the time Jesus was passing through Samaria, and conversing with the Samarian women at the well.
John 4:20-24 – Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. [21] Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. [22] Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. [23] But the hour COMETH, and NOW is, when the TRUE worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. [24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Jesus made it plain that the little flock, the little church, which he had organized, was correctly worshipping God as a church at that time, and that others like it would continue to do so in the future. And just as the Spirit had dwelt in the Jerusalem Temple, so does the Spirit dwell in each one of his local churches today.
Ephesians 2:22 – In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Each one of his local flocks, his local temples, his local churches, are the places where glory is received by God by his Son.
Ephesians 3:21 – Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
And the penalty for spiritually defiling on of his local churches, his local temples, is also, as it was in the Jerusalem temple, at times punishable by loss of life.
I Corinthians 3:16-17 – Know YE not that YE are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth IN YOU? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple YE are.
All of the pronouns in caps are plural, and “IN” means “AMONG.” This refers not to the body of one man or woman, but to a church member who defiles the entire local body of Christ, which is the local temple of God at that location, made up not of mortar and stone, but of properly baptized believers who are built “together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.”
I Peter 2:5 – Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
The temple in Jerusalem was the house of God. Each local church is a local temple, God’s husbandry, God’s building.
I Timothy 3:14,15 – These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: [15] But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
I Corinthians 3:9 – For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
The word used for “husbandry” means “God’s tilled ground.” It is in the local church that the plow of God’s truth tills the ground, and waters the seed that he has planted in us.
Ephesians 5:26,27 – That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, [27] 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.
It is in the midst of such an assembly of believers, in a local church, that praises are to be sung to God.
Hebrews 2:12 – Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
There is no substitute in God’s plan for a local church. Salvation is not in the local church, but the ones who are saved are supposed to serve in a local church. Why?
Ephesians 3:10 – To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Ephesians 1:22,23 – And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, [23] Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 133
August 15, 2003
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 to 14:16
Part 4
Please review Parts 1, 2 and 3, which are the last three whole numbered Updates, before reading Part 4.
Zechariah 14:3,4 – Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. [4] 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.
God begins to fight for Israel when Jerusalem falls by providing them a protective shield in the Negev wilderness for some 1260 days
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (See Prophecy Updates 5 to 11)
The first action God takes to assure their escape and safe passage to the Negev is to spread apart the Mount of Olives. This opens an escape path through the valley created by his power, and they flee through it into the valley on its opposite side. They then continue their flight through the Judean wilderness into the Negev. (See Birth Pang Number 20)
The expression “His feet shall stand” is used to figuratively show his might and power, as one who stands supreme in all power. He divides the Mount of Olives by his power. I do not believe this is the time of the 2nd Advent of Christ. The following Scriptures also picture the Lord, or the Angel of the Lord, or a mighty Angel standing on God’s creation, and declaring the power to affect or change it.
Nahum 1:3 – The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
Revelation 10:1,2,5 – And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: [2] And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, [5] And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
Daniel 12:7 – And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
Time = 1 yr times = 2 years half a time = ½ year — 3 and ½ prophetic years of 360 days or 1260 days or 42 prophetic months.
God will scatter the power of Israel, allowing only a third of them to survive in the Negev, but after the time, times, and a half, he will have finished his work, and Israel will turn to the power of their God. Now Israel trusts in its own power and the power of the United States, but at the end of the time, times, and a half (1260 days) in the Negev, they will turn back to their God and his power.
Zechariah 13:8,9 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
I believe Zechariah 14:5 pictures the Lord standing on the Mount of Olives when Jerusalem is conquered by the antichrist, and providing a way of escape for this people to the Negev, where he will try them for the final 1260 days of the tribulation period.
Zechariah 14:5 – 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. (See Birth Pang Number 20)
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 134
August 22, 2003
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 TO 14:16
Part 5
Please look at Parts 1 through 4, which are the last four whole numbered Updates, before considering Part 5.
In Zechariah 13:8,9 we were advised of the initial attack of antichrist against Israel, and by the last phrase in 13:9 we were told what would happen some 1260 days later.
Zechariah 13:8,9 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. [9] And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
In Zechariah 14:1-5, we were told about the initial fall of Jerusalem, and in the last phrase of verse 5 were advised what would happen some 1260 days later, namely, the Second Advent of Jesus, the last phrase being “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” This last phrase correlates with Matthew 24:29,30.
Matthew 24:29,30 – Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: [30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
The first phrase in Zechariah 14:4 – “And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives,” corresponds to the first great earthquake in the book of Revelation. (See Birth Pang Number 2)
Revelation 6:14 – And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
The last phrase in Zechariah 14:5 – “And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee,” correlates with the last great earthquake in the book of Revelation. (See Birth Pang Number 2)
Revelation 16:17-19 – And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. [18] 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. [19] 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.
The next two verses tell what has happened to the earth’s atmosphere when he returns with all the saints at the end of the tribulation period. (For a full exposition of these verses see Birth Pangs 9 through 11)
Zechariah 14:6,7 – And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: [7] 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.
Verse eight tells what the splitting of the mount of Olives, some 1260 days prior to his Second Advent, will have made possible in a transformation of Israel for the millennial reign of Christ. (See Birth Pang 28)
Zechariah 14:8,9 – 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. [9] And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
Verse nine describes the kingship of Jesus from Jerusalem during his millennial reign.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 135
August 29, 2003
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 TO 14:16
Part 5
Please review Parts 1 through 4, which may be found in the four whole numbered Updates preceding Part 5.
Zechariah 14:10 tells what has happened to the city of Jerusalem during the pouring out of the vials of wrath during the last portion of the worst part of the tribulation period. It is what has occurred during this portion of the tribulation period, coupled with the splitting of the mount of Olives some 1260 days before Armageddon, that has created the scenario laid out in verse ten.
Zechariah 14:10 – All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
The splitting of the mount of Olives occurs when the antichrist conquers Jerusalem to begin the last 1260 days before Armageddon. It occurs in conjunction with the great earthquake found in Revelation 6:14, which is the first earthquake reported in Revelation. The final transformational phase, involving a great lifting of the land from Geba to Rimmon, occurs primarily when the last great earthquake ends the tribulation period in Revelation 16:17-19. All of the transformational changes, which begin when Jerusalem falls, and end at the pouring out of the last vial of God’s wrath, will produce a millennial Jerusalem pictured in verses eight and eleven. (See Birth Pang Figure Number 48)
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.
Zechariah 14:11 – And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
For a detailed description of these changes, and other phenomena that are associated with this 1260-day period, please see Birth Pangs 24 to 28 and 20, and the Birth Pang Diagrams associated with them.
In verses twelve and fifteen, Zechariah describes the effects of the Lord’s actions on some of the humans and animals that inhabit the land from Dan to Beersheba during the latter portion of the tribulation period. For a full discussion of these two verses, please consult Birth Pang 16.
Zechariah 14:12 – And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
Zechariah 14:15 – And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
When the fantastic calamity, described in Birth Pangs 16, 20, and 24 to 28, comes upon the multi-national armies of antichrist, there will be such mass confusion between the different ethnic groups at the final battle of Armageddon, that they will be killing one another by “friendly fire.”
Zechariah 14:13 – And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 136
August 6, 2003
Zechariah Exposition 13:8 to 14:16
Part 6
Please review Parts 1 through 5 in our Prophecy Archives, which are the last five whole numbered Prophecy Updates 131 through 135.
I closed Part 5 by stating: When the great calamity, described in Birth Pangs 16, 20, and 24 to 28, comes upon the multinational armies of the antichrist, there will be such mass confusion between the many ethnic groups assembled, that they will be killing one another in droves by what we call “friendly fire” today.
Zechariah 14:13 – And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
When Israel sees what God has done to her enemies, it will sweep north out of the Negev to retake Jerusalem, then drive as far north as Hamath in Syria, as far east as the Euphrates, as far west as the River of Egypt, and to the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. Thus they will claim the Abrahamic Land Grant God has won for them at Armageddon, which is initially found in Genesis 15:18, and later has its northern and southern bounders defined in Ezekiel 47:17,19. Then Micah 5:9 will apply for a thousand years. (Please consult Prophecy Updates 66 and 67)
Zechariah 14:14 – And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
Genesis 15:18 – In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:
Ezekiel 47:17 – And the border from the sea shall be Hazar-enan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the NORTH SIDE.
Ezekiel 47:19 – And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the SOUTH SIDE southward.
Micah 5:9 – Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
Verse 16 describes the beginning of the system of worship that will exist on this earth for a thousand years.
Zechariah 14:16 – And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. (Consult Prophecy Updates 86B, 86C, and 86D)
Messiah will enter the newly constructed millennial temple, which will be built after his Second Advent, as the bodily presence of the Glory of God.
Ezekiel 43:1-5 – Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: [2] And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. [3] And it was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. [4] And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. [5] So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.
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