Zechariah 14:10 Commentary and Bible Study

Powerful descriptions of the judgment and destruction of Jerusalem and of her exaltation and habitation and safety cannot be reconciled without understanding that ‘Jerusalem’ is being used in two different senses. The solution to this puzzle is not to say that the prophecies are consecutive and that one takes place first and then the other, as if there is a sudden reversal in her fortunes. Both of these descriptions are true at the same time. This is solved for the Christian by the apostle Paul who speaks of ‘Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. ²⁶ But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.’ (Galatians 4:25-26).Some people expect these things to be literally fulfilled, geographically – a great split in the mountain, with Christ standing on the top of it, and hills and other mountains becoming all a great plain – but it is symbolic language, and it is already being fulfilled. Through the Roman Empire and through their passion for building straight roads radiating out through the whole empire and throughout the world, everything was prepared by God for AD 70 and the great impetus to the gospel along trade routes throughout the world. So it was as if everything became a plain. Communications came alive. Everything was orchestrated by God to fit the crucifixion of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Jerusalem will be inhabited because the spiritual Jerusalem will have many children and it is as if they come to her from all over the world. Actually they stay in their own lands and do not move geographically, but they come to her in the sense that they embrace the doctrine that went out from her in the times of the apostles. It will be as if Jerusalem was lifted up and made more prominent, and as if the surrounding hills were levelled off to make it easier for people from all nations to come to her. The new Jerusalem will be a place of safety for the truth of God will keep her safe. The new Jerusalem will be plainly visible to the whole people of God wherever on earth they live.