Zechariah

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Zechariah 14 – Skeptic's Annotated Bible answered

A response and reply to the notes on Zechariah 14 in the Skeptic's Annotated Bible (SAB).

King James Version

SAB comment

My comment

1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

(14:1-2) God will make "all nations" fight against Jerusalem. The women will be "ravished" and half its people enslaved.

The exact meaning of this chapter and how to interpret it, is unclear to me.

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.

3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

(14:3-4) "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives."
God will "go forth and fight" for Jerusalem with "his feet" on the mount of Olives.
"The mount of Olives shall cleave ... there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove."
On the day of the Lord, the mount of Olives will be split in two and half the mountain will be removed.

This describes the future, the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Most commentators agree that Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives, see Acts 1:11. How literally we must read this, I do not know. But as so many Biblical prophecies have been fulfilled, for example that the Jews would be one nation again, and that Jerusalem would be inhabited by the Jews, so this prophecy will come to pass too.

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.

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.

6 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.

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.

9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

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.

11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

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.

(14:12) "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."
God will smite the people with plagues that will cause their flesh, eyes, and tongues to rot away.
(14:13) God will make everyone fight and kill his neighbor.

This does not happen to random people, but to enemies, those who fought against Jerusalem.

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.

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.

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.

(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."
God sends his plagues on animals too.
(14:16) Whoever survives all these plagues and slaughters must worship God.

Again, this does not happen to random animals, but to the property of those that fought against Jerusalem and depended on these animals to fight this war.

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.

17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

(14:18) God will "smite the heathen" with a plague.

Not heathen in general, but those that fought against Jerusalem.

19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.

20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.

21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.