The Last war

[angels4u]

The Last War Report

by Norbert Lieth

"Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 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. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 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. 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. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark" (Zechariah 14:1-6).

This last war before Christ returns is probably the Battle of Armageddon because it is not between certain nations, but all nations (verse 2). Zechariah wrote of Christ's visible and triumphant return with His saints to subdue the nations that have been fighting against Israel, and of the immediate establishment of the Messianic kingdom. This event has not yet been fulfilled. It refers to that great day when the Lord will stand upon the Mount of Olives, causing it to split in half. Notice the following terms written in this connection: "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh" (verse 1); "...in the day of battle" (verse 3); and "His feet shall stand in that day..." (verse 4).

This passage contains a summary of the events written in chapters 12 and 13. These events are referred to again, and their further development is revealed. Although the descriptions are not necessarily chronological, we must put them together like the pieces of a puzzle to get the whole picture. The sequence of events could be as follows:

Jerusalem is attacked by the surrounding nations in Zechariah 12, causing civil war to develop (12:2 and 14:14). The attack of the king from the north, behind whom stands Gog, from the land of Magog, with his allies, could coincide at that time. It is also quite possible that we are primarily concerned with Islamic lands. Later on, Jerusalem will be attacked by all the nations and will be involved in a terrible war (12:3). Two-thirds of Israel's population will perish in this war (13:8). Jerusalem will be captured and half of the city will be led into captivity (14:3). But then the Lord will arise to fight against the nations, which does not necessarily coincide with His visible return. He will coordinate the events in such a way that the enemies are beaten (14:3). The horses will shy, their riders will be crazed and the nations will be blinded (12:4). This means that the war strategy of which people are so proud of today, and which is demonstrated and marketed by the media, will end in chaos. The Lord will destroy the hostile nations (12:9 and 14) through supernatural events (14:12-13). The Mount of Olives will divide for the flight and protection of the Jews (14:4-5). The remainder of Israel and Jerusalem will go through these events, but will call upon the Name of the Lord and will be protected (13:9 and 12:8). The half of Jerusalem that the nations cannot destroy will strengthen themselves in the Lord and defend against their opponents (12:5 and 8). Judah will be saved first because two-thirds of her people will have already perished (12:6-7). Then the Lord will appear visibly to His people (14:5). They will see the One whom they had pierced (12:10) and repent wholeheartedly (12:10-14). They will receive forgiveness, which will result in their spiritual rebirth. They will receive the Holy Spirit and the Messianic kingdom will be established (13:1-6 and 14:6-21).

Zechariah 14:1-5 almost sounds like a live war report. Yet, after countless wars spanning thousands of years, beginning with Cain and Abel and continuing until this present day, this will be the final war report: "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee" (Zechariah 14:1-4). How impressive are the words, "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh." The nations think quite differently. Jerusalem, the burdensome stone, must be removed. As far as the United Nations is concerned, Jerusalem will be the only hindrance to a self-established, humanistic world empire in which the God of Israel will have no room. However, what the nations do not realize is that their day will become the day of the Lord. The day of the nations, when they wanted to erase Jerusalem from the face of the earth, will become the day of the Lord and all the nations will be punished.

It is exciting that all nations will be judged because of Jerusalem. The downfall of the warring nations will not take place just anywhere in the world, but in Jerusalem.

Zechariah 1:10-11 reveals how God observes the nations and their actions in connection with Jerusalem. Verses 14-15 describe the Lord's zeal for Jerusalem as well as His wrath against Jerusalem's enemies. Chapter 2 explains how God judged the world empires who touched Jerusalem and Judah, and that God views the Jews and Jerusalem as the "apple of His eye." Chapter 3 tells how Satan is rebuked because he turns against God's chosen city. The Lord announces that He will destroy all the nations that have gathered against Jerusalem (chapter 12:13). Jerusalem will become a burdensome stone on which the nations will cut themselves (12:3). Chapter 14:12-13 shows how the Lord will judge the nations. Chapter 14:2 explains that the Lord gathers them in Jerusalem for the day of judgment: "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle." The nations believe that they are acting on their own initiative, but the hand of God is behind it to judge them. Now the climax has been reached, and God's intervention on behalf of Zion is imminent. The nations' actions regarding Jerusalem have finally reached their peak; the measure is now full and the nations have become ripe for judgment.

Jerusalem's Weakening

"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 the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city" (Zechariah 14:2). Initially, the nations will gain a victory over Jerusalem, which will have terrible results. They will be strengthened in pursuit of their goal, and Israel will become extremely weakened. In view of this situation, you might think the Lord had forgotten His promises to Israel. Where has the Lord's zeal for Jerusalem gone? Where is the fulfillment of His promises for the future? Jerusalem is the city of the Messiah; it is the city of David's descendants, to whom God has promised that there will never be a lack of a descendant on his throne. Is this a lie, or perhaps only a dream? Isn't the Bible true? Or is it just a book like any other? The Jews grieved and swore once by the rivers of Babylon, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem...". Has God forgotten Jerusalem?

The war report from the "mother" of all wars will be considered "breaking news" at that time. The media will concern themselves primarily with this topic, and all other wars will be of secondary importance. Numerous correspondents and reporters will comment on the situation of the nations and will deliver endless war strategies and Jerusalem's imminent downfall. The media will keep the nations informed down to the final detail. We can almost hear them saying:

"The major attack that began a few weeks ago with the gathering of the nation's troops outside Jerusalem is coming to a climax. The city was quickly captured despite its bitter resistance. Chaos has broken out among the inhabitants. People are fleeing; there are a number of dead enemies (traitors to the anti-Christian empire) lying in the streets, including children. After the armed forces began robbing gold from the banks and, as in Kosovo, the women were raped, comparative peace now reigns. A special unit is engaged in transporting thousands of prisoners away. The power of our enemy is broken and the nation's goal has almost been reached. The final solution to the Jewish problem is at hand."

The Great Turning Point

Yet the day, which will become night for Israel, will not end with the nation's victory. Suddenly, the Lord will "...go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle" (Zechariah 14:3). When the Jews have reached their lowest point, and all further resistance seems so hopeless that they have to surrender themselves before their enemies, and above all before God, a turning point will take place in their favor. One report will follow another, as was the case in the days following the World Trade Center attack and collapse. Suddenly, losses in their own ranks will be noticed. A mysterious illness will strike the soldiers (14:12). Officers of the individual nations will disagree and work against each other. The situation will seem out of control. The military strategy will no longer work, weapons will fail, soldiers will kill one another and racial conflicts will arise. Inexplicable and surprising events will cause great confusion and the general staff will become perplexed (14:13).

Suddenly, a great earthquake will take place: "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" (Zechariah 14:4). This fulfills the angel's promise to the disciples the day Jesus ascended into heaven: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). This very event will probably trigger off the earthquake, just as Jesus' death did (Matthew 27:51). His resurrection was accompanied by an earthquake, and His return will also generate one. It could be that the earthquake described in Revelation 16:17-21 coincides with the Battle of Armageddon: "And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 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. 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. 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. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great" (Revelation 16:16-21). The Mount of Olives will split in two as a result of the earthquake. For a large number of Jews, the newly erected canyon will open the way of escape: "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" (Zechariah 14:5, also compare to Amos 1:1).

Many of the troops that have been hostile toward Israel will be exterminated through these events and a large part of their weapons will be destroyed. There will be a great distress on account of sickness. In addition, the Jews will suddenly find new courage and many will start to believe in God again and will become stronger in the battle against their enemies.

Media correspondents will be almost out of their minds. A few days earlier, everything looked so different. And now? It seems like the story of David and Goliath: Israel (little David) begins to have victory over the great Goliath (the nations). At that time, it was not David who hit Goliath; it was God who guided the stone to hit Goliath right in the forehead. Israel will remember God's intervention in the past and say to one another, "Do you remember the exodus from Egypt? At that time our fathers were also in an impossible situation. They stood before the Red Sea and Pharaoh pursued them with his troops from behind. Our people were terribly afraid and thought their doom was sealed. Yet Moses said, 'Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace' (Exodus 14:13-14). Then suddenly, the sea divided and Israel was able to pass through. However, the Egyptians pursuing them drowned in the sea. Therefore, let us be strong in the Lord and call upon His Name. Let's believe in His help, because His promises have not been made void; they will be fulfilled."

The Lord's Visible Return

Zechariah 14:5 reads: "...and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee." Isaiah 31:4 is the parallel verse: "For thus hath the LORD spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the LORD of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof." At this return of the God of Israel, the Jewish population will be shaken to the core and will repent. Why? Because they will have experienced the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their faith in Him will be strengthened so that they will have even called upon His Name. But one thing these people have not yet really understood is who this God is. Now they will be able to see that Jesus Christ is the true God of Israel. He will reveal Himself to them (12:10) just as Joseph revealed himself to his brothers after they had rejected him, and then sought help from him years later without knowing who he was.

Israel will then confess, "It is the one we had nailed to the cross, the One whom we pierced. He was in our midst once before, but we did not want Him." But something else will have a permanent effect; namely, that the Lord will return with His saints. I believe that besides the angels (Matthew 24:31), the Church, which has already been raptured, will be with Him. Consider these passages:

"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day" (2nd Thessalonians 1:7-10).

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints" (Jude 1:14).

"...at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints" (1st Thessalonians 3:13).

"And I (John) saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war...And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (Revelation 19:11, 14).

Won't it be a great surprise for Israel that, in the meantime, the Lord has chosen a Church out of the nations, with which He will now return? Not only will Israel see Him return (Matthew 24:30), but so will all the other nations and tribes of the earth (Revelation 1:7).

The Lord's return will be accompanied by tremendous supernatural occurrences. An earthquake will cause the division of the Mount of Olives and also in the heavens certain shocking things will take place: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark" (Zechariah 14:6). In many parallel verses, the Bible says that there will be signs in the sun, moon and stars, which will proclaim Christ's imminent return (compare to Mark 13:24-26, Isaiah 13:10 and 34:4, Joel 3:4, Amos 5:18, 20 and Revelation 6:12-17).

Thus the Lord will take the ultimate war report into His hands. The people will not need to watch television, listen to the radio or read the newspaper; they will all experience it live and will gaze toward heaven when the light of His return arises!

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