Zaccaria 14:2 Commento

Divers things were foretold, in the two foregoing chapters, which should come to pass "in that day;" this chapter speaks of a "day of the Lord that cometh," a day of his judgment, and ten times in the foregoing chapters, and seven times in this, it is repeated, "in that day;" but what that day is that is here meant is uncertain, and perhaps will be so (as the Jews speak) till Elias comes; whether it refer to the whole period of time from the prophet's days to the days of the Messiah, or to some particular events in that time, or to Christ's coming, and the setting up of his kingdom upon the ruins of the Jewish polity, we cannot determine, but divers passages here seem to look as far forward as gospel-times. Now the "day of the Lord" brings with it both judgment and mercy, mercy to his church, judgment to her enemies and persecutors. I. The gates of hell are here threatening the church (Zac 14:1, Zac 14:2) and yet not prevailing. II. The power of Heaven appears here for the church and against the enemies of it (Zac 14:3, Zac 14:5). III. The events concerning the church are here represented as mixed (Zac 14:6, Zac 14:7), but issuing well at last. IV. The spreading of the means of knowledge is here foretold, and the setting up of the gospel-kingdom in the world (Zac 14:8, Zac 14:9), which shall be the enlargement and establishment of another Jerusalem (Zac 14:10, Zac 14:11). V. Those shall be reckoned with that fought against Jerusalem (Zac 14:12-15) and those that neglect his worship there (Zac 14:17-19). VI. It is promised that there shall be great resort to the church, and great purity and piety in it (Zac 14:16, Zac 14:20, Zac 14:21).

INTRODUCTION TO ZECHARIAH 14 This chapter treats of the coming of Christ with all his saints, and his personal appearance among them; and of the signs of the times before that; and of what shall befall the enemies of the church, both open and secret; and of the happy state and condition of the church itself. First there will be a time of great affliction to the people of God, Zac 14:1, when the Lord will appear and fight for them, and will appear to them, and with them, Zac 14:3 but before this time it will be an uncommon season, neither day nor night; at the close of which, light will break forth, Zac 14:6 the Gospel will be spread far and near, attended with the Spirit and grace of God in great plenty, Zac 14:8 which will bring on the spiritual reign of Christ over all the earth, Zac 14:9 particularly the land of Judea, and the city of Jerusalem, shall be inhabited by men with safety, Zac 14:10 and all those that oppose and fight against the Lord's people shall be destroyed, partly by an immediate plague from the Lord upon them, and partly by the hands of one another, and also by the saints of the most High; and the plague shall not only be upon their persons, but upon their cattle likewise, Zac 14:12 and as for those that profess the Christian name, and yet neglect or refuse to worship the Lord in a spiritual and evangelical manner, there shall be no rain upon them, Zac 14:17 and as for the church and people of God, there shall be universal holiness among them, and not a single Canaanite to be found in the midst of them, Zac 14:20.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle,.... Meaning not the Romans, in the time of Vespasian, for they were not all nations; nor did a part of the city only go into captivity then, but the whole; nor did any remain in it: it seems right to refer it to the gathering of the kings of the earth to the battle of the Lord God Almighty at Armageddon, Rev 16:14 unless it may be thought better to interpret it of the vast numbers, out of several nations, the Turk will bring against Jerusalem, to dispossess the Jews of it, by whom it will be again inhabited in the latter day; see Eze 38:4 and Kimchi interprets it of the Gog and Magog army. The Jews, in their ancient Midrashes (d), apply it to the times of the Messiah; which is true, if understood not of the first times of the Messiah, whose coming they vainly expect, but of the last times of the Messiah. And the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go into captivity: this will be the time when the outward court shall be given, to the Gentiles, the Papists; the two witnesses shall be slain, and their enemies shall rejoice and send gifts to one another, Rev 11:2 this will be a trying season, and such a time of trouble as has not been known: and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city; there will be a remnant according to the election of grace; the city, the church, shall not be wholly extinct; Christ will reserve a seed for himself in those very worst of times, as he has always done: this cannot refer to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, for then all the inhabitants of the city were cut off, or carried captive, and none left; but, if literally to be understood, must refer to what will be, when the army of Gog shall come against it in the latter day; though these circumstances are not mentioned in Ezekiel. (d) Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 22. 3. & Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2.

And we can see this with our own eyes. For though many have afflicted the word of Christ and are even now contending with it, yet it is lifted above them and become stronger than them all. Yes, truly, the hand of Christ is raised against all that afflicted him, and all his enemies who from time to time rise up against his church are said to be “utterly destroyed.” The fulfillment of this also agrees with the passages quoted on the destruction of the whole Jewish race, which came on them after the coming of Christ. For Zechariah writes this prophecy after the return from Babylon, foretelling the final siege of the people by the Romans, through which the whole Jewish race was to become subject to their enemies. He says that only the remnant of the people shall be saved, exactly describing the apostles of our Savior.

(Chapter 14, verses 1, 2.) Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when your spoils will be divided in your midst. And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem for battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women violated. And half of the city shall go into captivity, but the rest of the people shall not be removed from the city. LXX: Behold, the days of the Lord are coming, and your spoils will be divided within you. And I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women defiled. And half of the city shall go into captivity, but the rest of my people shall not perish from the city. Those whom the Lord threatens to come will divide the spoils of Jerusalem in its midst, and everything that is included in the prophetic discourse, these are the ones about whom we also read in Isaiah: The day of the Lord, the day of incurable fury and wrath, to make the whole earth a desolation and to remove sinners from it (Isaiah 13:9). But how necessary will it be for its spoils to be divided in its midst? This often happens, that what has been suddenly seized in the city is divided outside in the field or in the wilderness, lest perhaps the enemies come upon it. However, such a weight of evils will fall upon them, that the spoils will be divided among themselves as a means of securing victory. Not only will Jerusalem be captured, inciting all nations against it in battle, but the houses of those who dwell in Jerusalem will be laid waste, and the women violated, causing sorrow for their husbands and masters. They will be unable to protect their homes from pillage or their wives from the lust of the enemy, as is written elsewhere: 'Those who gather within you shall fall by the sword and your sons shall be dashed to pieces before your eyes; your homes shall be plundered and your wives violated' (Isaiah 13). Nothing can be found more cruel or wretched, where out of fear for their own lives they dare not defend the safety of their children or the modesty of their wives. This very thing, the prophet Amos, speaking against the impious priest Amaziah, says: Your wife will commit adultery in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, and your land will be measured out with a measuring line (Amos 7:17). And all these things will happen to the people of Judah: Because the nations have raged, and the peoples have planned in vain. The kings of the earth have risen up, and the rulers have gathered together as one against the Lord and against His Christ (Psalm 2:1-2). He who mocked and scorned them, and in his fury troubled them, to the extent that even the Apostle, seeing that the years appointed for repentance had already passed, and yet they persisted in denial, they who killed the Lord and persecuted the prophets and apostles, said: 'Wrath has come upon them to the end.' (I Thess. II, 16). Josephus, who wrote the history of the Jews, recounts that they endured all of this and much greater things than what we read in the prophets. Cornelius Tacitus, who wrote the Lives of the Caesars in thirty volumes from the time of Augustus until the death of Domitian, also describes how the middle part of the city was captured, while the rest of the population remained in the city. At that time and at other times, it is confirmed that the northern and lower part of the city was captured, but the hill of the temple, and Zion, where the citadel was, remained intact. The Jews claim that these events will be fulfilled under Gog: some claim it happened during the time of the Macedonians and Egyptians, and from various other peoples. Let us explain the truth of the Lord's teachings, which have been written down, in our time.

The commencement of this chapter relates to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and to the calamities consequent on that event. From this great Jewish tragedy the prophet immediately passes to the utter extermination of the enemies of Christianity in the latter days. God will display his power in behalf of his people in a manner so astonishing and miraculous, that even they themselves, and much more their enemies, shall be struck with terror, Zac 14:4, Zac 14:5. The national prosperity of the Jews shall then be permanent and unmixed, Zac 14:6, Zac 14:7; and these people shall be made the instruments of converting many to the faith of the Messiah, Zac 14:8, Zac 14:9. The great increase and prosperity of the Christian Church, the New Jerusalem, is then described in terms accommodated to Jewish ideas; and the most signal vengeance denounced against all her enemies, Zac 14:10-19. From that happy period God's name will be honored in every thing, and his worship every where most reverently observe, Zac 14:20, Zac 14:21.

I will gather all nations - The Romans, whose armies were composed of all the nations of the world. In this verse there is a pitiful account given of the horrible outrages which should be committed during the siege of Jerusalem, and at its capture. The residue of the people shad not be cut off - Many were preserved for slaves, and for exhibition in the provincial theatres.

LAST STRUGGLE WITH THE HOSTILE WORLD POWERS: MESSIAH-JEHOVAH SAVES JERUSALEM AND DESTROYS THE FOE, OF WHOM THE REMNANT TURNS TO THE LORD REIGNING AT JERUSALEM. (Zec. 14:1-21) day of the Lord--in which He shall vindicate His justice by punishing the wicked and then saving His elect people (Joe 2:31; Joe 3:14; Mal 4:1, Mal 4:5). thy spoil . . . divided in the midst of thee--by the foe; secure of victory, they shall not divide the spoil taken from thee in their camp outside, but "in the midst" of the city itself.

gather all nations, &c.--The prophecy seems literal (compare Joe 3:2). If Antichrist be the leader of the nations, it seems inconsistent with the statement that he will at this time be sitting in the temple as God at Jerusalem (Th2 2:4); thus Antichrist outside would be made to besiege Antichrist within the city. But difficulties do not set aside revelations: the event will clear up seeming difficulties. Compare the complicated movements, Dan. 11:1-45. half . . . the residue--In Zac 13:8-9, it is "two-thirds" that perish, and "the third" escapes. There, however, it is "in all the land"; here it is "half of the city." Two-thirds of the "whole people" perish, one-third survives. One-half of the citizens are led captive, the residue are not cut off. Perhaps, too, we ought to translate, "a (not 'the') residue."