Zechariah 14:3 Commentary and Bible Study

Here is a turning point again in the prophecy. The Lord shall go out and fight against those nations which have done violence to his people, but we should not think only of revenge and judgment. This is a gospel age prophecy: how will the Lord fight? Not with a sword or a spear or any such thing. God could overcome his enemies in a moment, at a word, and does not need human weapons to overcome them. This is parallel to the passage in Revelation 6 where John sees ‘a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.’ Christ goes out to conquer through the gospel, and he uses his people to fight with him. He uses preachers and evangelists to make known his gracious message to a lost world. Zechariah has already told us about this white horse (Zechariah 1:8; 6:3). This is the conquest of souls, a merciful conquest, for God responds to his enemies in quite a different way to men. God has mercy on whom he will have mercy. But also ‘whom he will he hardens’. Together with the white horse go out also the red horse, the black horse and the pale horse. The gospel will be preached to all nations, and the elect will be gathered in, but the rest will be hardened. The Lord who goes forth to fight for them will himself stand on the Mount of Olives. Is this literal or is it figurative? Zechariah is full of figurative language, and in this richly symbolic passage we should treat it as a figure. The Lord will be permitting all this to happen; it is his purpose. But while Jerusalem falls, because the Jewish flag has been run down the flagpole by God, the church will flourish because the Jewish-Gentile New Testament church flag has been hoisted. One age has given way to another, and when that happens it will be as if God stands and creates a great valley. Although the city of Jerusalem falls, a great influence will go out from that city into all the world through the gospel. The Romans crush Jerusalem, but God lifts out his people and sends them everywhere around the world. It is as though this battle is viewed from above, and you see the Lord in his power just splitting the mountain, a demonstration of his power as he creates a way of escape and brings mighty and lasting good out of the destruction of Jerusalem to Azal – a place apparently east of Jerusalem to which the way would now be opened up. The earthquake in the days of Uzziah is referred to in Amos 1:1. The Mount of Olives splits in two and a huge valley is formed. Half goes to the north, and half to the south. This is the cross where he did the greatest thing of all. He took away our punishment by a mighty act, which is pictured as splitting the mountain. Like the cleft in the rock which Moses was hidden in, so now we escape into through Christ’s atonement. It is imagery for Calvary. The mountain that splits, vanishes again a few verses later. Some take this literally but the prophet builds it up and knocks it down in a few verses. When Christ comes, it will be a work which can cleave a mountain in two, and create a great valley. The imagery is that by a mighty act he makes a way out for his people. They escape through the valley created down the middle. What is the threat? The judgment of sin. Of course there is a literal side to this. In the New Testament Christ tells his people how they will escape from the attack of the Romans. He warned that they could flee to various mountains around Jerusalem. ‘When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation’ – the Roman armies encompassed Jerusalem – ‘let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains’ (Matthew 24:15-16). Don't wait to pack; don't take anything with you. There will be no time. Flee. So this was always in the past the favourite interpretation; it was predicted in Zechariah.