So, we'll turn tonight to Zechariah chapter 14 and look at this chapter as a whole. Zechariah, of course, was prophesying several hundred years before Christ was born. So, he's writing in Old Testament times and he's talking about things that are going to happen in the future. But prophecy isn't history written beforehand. And sometimes the events have to occur before we can really understand the prophecy that is given. And also, prophecy is a bit like when you look at a mountain range in the distance. It seems you see all these hills, and they all seem to be basically at the same distance away. But then as you come closer, you see that there's some hills nearer, some hills or mountains further away. As you get in amongst them, you see that there's perhaps different ranges of hills. And so it is that there are different events here in chapter 14. And the Prophet sees them and he draws the picture for us, but some of these events happen sooner, some later. And some of the matters that he refers to have different fulfillments, as it were. At different stages, they are fulfilled to different extents, as it were, more and more being fulfilled as the time goes by. Now, the picture that we get in Zechariah 14 is of dark days ahead, very dark days. really troubling times for God's people. And Jerusalem and Judah here refer to the church of God, the church in the New Testament age. Dark times, difficult times, troubled times ahead. But the message we're given is that the future is bright. There will be difficulties, but at the end of the day, God's people will have the victory. The ultimate future is one of great happiness, peace, and blessing. Sometimes it troubles us, doesn't it, when things go wrong and when hard things happen in our experience. And we wonder, why did this happen? Why did that happen? Why this illness? Why this loss of a job? Why this financial problem? Why did these people turn against me? Why these troubles? Sometimes as Christians we think, well, if we're Christians, if we believe in Jesus, if we follow him, if we pray to him, then everything should be fine. We should have a great life, no problems, no difficulties, and we just sail through life, a great time, and eventually we end up in heaven. But that's never the picture given to us in the Bible. The picture given in the Bible is that Christians have different troubles and trials and difficulties. But why, Lord, why the troubles? Well, sometimes it's hard for us to know. But they certainly have this effect. These troubles are part of the purifying process. It's a bit like gold being put in the furnace in order to purify away the dross. These troubles make us see the emptiness of this world so that we won't set our heart upon this world, but rather set our heart upon heaven. If we look for happiness here, we're going to be disappointed. Because so often, even things that look so promising and things that we think are going to bring great happiness to us, they turn out the very opposite. And we get huge disappointments. Because we're not to find our ultimate happiness in anything here, but only in God himself. We're to look to him. So we're not always going to be successful, but at the end of the day, we shall be successful. But meanwhile, we have to press on through the troubles, through the difficulties, and overcome them. Turning then to the chapter in front of us, we see in verse 1 that the prophet is talking about the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is coming. Now, so often in Old Testament times, people would be longing for the day of the Lord. We long for God's day. We pray for God's day to come. And we ourselves are like that, and we're praying for a day of the Lord to come. But here we see that the day of the Lord was a day of disaster, really. A day of real trial. A day of difficulty. People look for the day of the Lord and they think automatically, oh, in the day of the Lord, Christians will be healthy and wealthy and prosperous and everything will be wonderful. But sometimes when the day of the Lord comes and the Lord comes, he shakes us and he brings troubles and trials and difficulties and problems in order to purify us. And God is angry sometimes with us because of things that we've done wrong, things wherein we have offended Him. God sees our sins as Christians. Even though our sins are forgiven and washed away because of the death of Jesus, His blood cleansing away our sins, yet God corrects us, chastises us. disciplines us so that we will hate our sins and not continue in them, but turn from them. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil is divided in the midst of thee. Jerusalem, and what's happening? The enemies have invaded, they've broken through the walls of Jerusalem, and They have completely overcome the army of God's people and they're dividing up the booty, the spoil, doing it openly in the streets. Now that's something that has happened over the years. We think, for example, of Christ on the cross. What a great victory the enemy had, or so it seemed. Satan triumphing. And there at the bottom of the cross, what do you see? The soldiers sharing the booty. Jesus' clothes being divided amongst the soldiers, and they're casting lots. Who would have his coat? That was just, as it were, a picture of things that would happen from time to time, down through the centuries. Think about the time of the Reformation, the way God's people were persecuted. And in some countries, God's people still persecuted today. The enemy, as it were, getting into the midst, and God's people thoroughly beaten. And sometimes the enemy isn't an atheist or somebody from a false religion. Sometimes the enemy are professing Christians, wolves in sheep's clothing, popes and bishops and moderators and pastors of mega-churches and professors of theology, and they're acting completely in contradiction to Christianity, in corruption, in lust, in false teaching, and spoiling the church. So these people who have the name of Christian are really on the side of Satan, and they come into the church, and they're plundering the church. for their own benefit and for their own happiness and their own lusts. We look around at the church today and there are thousands, thousands of millions who claim to be Christians in the world. But how many are real Christians? How many are truly born again? How many love the Lord Jesus and follow Him? So many professing Christians, and they're very different from the holy men and women of God that the Bible calls us to be. Well, verse two, for I will gather, says the Lord, in this day of the Lord, I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, raped, and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. God gathering the nations against Jerusalem as church. and the church plundered and the women raped and tortured. What a horrible picture. And yet, did that not happen many a time down through history? At the time of the Reformation, we think of all those Christians who were tortured terribly. on the rack, and the thumbscrews, and burnt to death in the fire, and women being raped, and all sorts of things being done. But it wasn't just in the past. These things are still happening today. Christian women in Egypt, and Pakistan, and Nigeria, Somalia, all kinds of terrible things done to Christians. The Lord, as it were, allowing these things to happen. But the residue of the people shall not be cut off. Many cut off, but yet there will be a residue, there will be a remnant. But then, verse 3, then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. It's interesting to notice how it is the Lord's day, the day of the Lord, and it is the Lord who gathers the nations against Jerusalem. God is in control. It's not Satan. And even Satan is God's instrument. God has a purpose in everything that happens. Nothing happens by luck, or chance, or fate. It is God who gathered these enemies against his people. He has a purpose. That should give us encouragement. Trust in the Lord. He knows what he's doing. He's looking after his church and he will bring his church home to heaven. Perfect. He allows the enemies to go so far. He allows them to, as it were, invade Jerusalem. to come into the church and to destroy on every side, then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations. God will fight for his people. And all those who are the enemies of God's people, though they flourish for a time, their judgment is coming. Verse four. And the Lord shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. You get a great view there of Jerusalem. And so the picture we have here is of God standing on the Mount of Olives, looking over Jerusalem. Jerusalem symbolizing his people, his church. And God is standing, watching. watching, watching. Nothing happens without his notice. O Lord, thou hast me searched and known, thou knowest my sitting down and rising up, yea, all my thoughts afar to thee are known. God is there on the mountain watching Jerusalem, looking on. And then we're told that God provides a place of safety The Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst, part of it moving north, part of it moving south, a valley forming there. And verse 5, he shall flee into that valley of the mountains. As you fled from the earthquake in the day of Uzziah, for the Lord God shall come and all the saints with thee, all the holy ones, all his holy angels with him, God coming to deliver his people. Remember when David fled from Absalom. He fled from Absalom, from Jerusalem. He went eastward and we're told of how he struggled and the people that were with him up the Mount of Olives and how they were weary. But now, says God, I'm going to make it easy for you to flee. I'm going to make the Mount of Olives form a valley. I'm going to make a hiding place for you. and you will run into that hiding place, and you will be delivered from your enemies. The enemies can only afflict you for so long. They can only attack you for a time, and then you'll be able to escape. I will give, and I will provide you with a place of safety, a place that you can escape to. Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. God loves his people. And although he allows them to go through hard things, yet at the same time he provides them with deliverance, with a valley that they can run to, a place of safety where they can hide. Verse six, and it shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark, 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. Mysterious words. A day, it's not light and it's not dark. And then at evening time, suddenly it's going to be bright. What is this speaking about? It's speaking about a time, a difficult time, a trying time, a time when everything seems to be so dark as if there was an eclipse of the sun. The sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood before that great and terrible day of the Lord come. Suddenly, Oh, everything's so dark and gloomy and foggy and threatening. And evening time has come and it looks as if it's going to be followed by night. There's no hope, despair. But no, at evening it shall be light. At night time, bright light shining. And sometimes we find that in our experience, where as it were, led to the end of our resources. We don't know where to turn. Everything is so gloomy. And just at the point where we're despairing, the light shines. The Lord's my light and my salvation. At evening time it shall be light. And verse eight, and it shall be in that day that living water shall go out of Jerusalem, half toward the former sea, the Dead Sea to the east, half towards the Hinder Sea, the Mediterranean, then summer and in winter shall it be. A river, a river of sparkling water, A river with green grass and trees on either side of the river. That was a picture of life in the Middle East, where there was a shortage of water and where things could be dry and dusty. Where the rivers would flow in the wintertime, but then in the summer they would dry up. living water, living water flowing out of Jerusalem, living water flowing out of the church, going through the whole land of Israel, and bringing life wherever it goes. And this is a picture, a picture of the Holy Spirit, a picture of God's life-giving water. You know, you have that picture for us at the end of Ezekiel's prophecy. The river flowing out of the temple, bringing life wherever it goes. And it's a picture too that we have in the Garden of Eden, of the rivers watering the garden. And we have paradise, heaven, in Revelation 22. The river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out. Jesus is the water of life, the life-giving water. And so we have a picture here of salvation flowing from the church, flowing out, refreshing, life-giving. And verse 9, the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day there shall be one Lord and his name one. The kingdoms of this world becoming the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. You and I, we see other kings reigning. Secularism reigns today in Britain. Islam reigns over certain countries. Hinduism over other countries. But one day, all the kingdoms of this world will be reigned over by Christ. He is king. The Lord shall be king over all the earth. What an encouraging picture. The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. There's a great future for God's church. And in that day there shall be one Lord and his name one. One Lord, not many different Lords, not many different religions, not even many different denominations, but a unity of the truth. One Lord, one God, one faith, one baptism. God's people united as one. It's a lovely picture that comes to its fullness, of course, in heaven itself. And then verse 10. All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimen in the south. We have Jerusalem surrounded by mountains. But these mountains, as it were, in this symbolic language, of course, turned into a plane. And in this plane, we have the picture of Jerusalem being lifted up. And Jerusalem being inhabited. Not just by a handful of people as it was in the days of Zechariah, but going back to better days. Thinking of better times, from Benjamin's gate to the corner gate, the Tower of Hananiel to the King's wine presses, men shall dwell in it, Jerusalem full of people, Jerusalem exalted, and there shall be no more utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall dwell safely, God's people, God's church being raised up, all the enemies being destroyed and flattened, and God's church being raised up, the New Jerusalem, which of course is a picture of heaven itself. The New Jerusalem, descending as a bride from heaven, bride adorned for her husband. The people of God with their blessed future, And then we read of what's going to happen to the enemies of God's people in verse 12. This shall be the plague, for with the Lord shall smite these that have fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh shall consume away as they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongues shall consume away in their mouths. Horrible picture. A picture of people standing there, but their bodies are starting to rot, and the rot and the gangrene spreading up, and their eyes rotting in their sockets, and their tongues rotting in their mouths. A picture that comes to its fullness in hell, where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. All those that fight against Jerusalem, this is the plague that the Lord will bring upon them. All those who are enemies of God's people, you're either for him or against him. Are you an enemy of God's people? Or are you on their side? The plague were with the Lord shall smite them, their flesh consuming and rotting, the stink and the pain and the horrible rot of the flesh and the eyes consuming in their holes and the tongue consuming in their mouth. 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 upon the hand of his neighbor. And his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. There we have a picture of hell too. Everyone laying hold of his neighbor. People talk about, oh, I'd like to go to hell if my friends are there. But what happens in hell? Everyone lays hands upon their neighbor, upon their friend, upon their previous loved one. Because in this life, God gives us common grace. There's no common grace in hell. It's just fighting, quarreling, pain and suffering, dying and not being able to die and fighting and quarreling and hatred and bitterness and spite and venom towards one another. And verse 15, it even affects the animals, the horse, the mule, the camel, the ass. All those who fight against Jerusalem, their wealth will be given to the Lord's people, and they themselves shall be destroyed. Destroyed in this life, but especially in the life to come. It's a picture of the future. There's a heaven and there's a hell. A place of bliss and happiness for those who trust in Jesus and love him. A place of misery. Jesus spoke often about it, warning people to flee from that place of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. where the plague is, where the rot is, where the fightiness and the quarrelliness, and there's no peace, and there's no joy, and there's no rest, and it's crying and misery forever. What a terrible picture. Verse 16, and it shall come to pass that everyone that is left of all nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. Here we're told about many, many enemies of the Lord's people who'd converted and who'd changed into friends. We think of Saul of Tartus, the Apostle Paul, who was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord. But he was converted, and he became a great follower of Jesus. and a great servant of the church. And down through the centuries, many are converted from being enemies to being friends. And that's what we have here then, those who came against Jerusalem, and they shall instead go up to worship the Lord of hosts and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 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. Great plague, no rain. Famine. Crops wouldn't grow. People would die of starvation. And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not, that have no reign. There shall be the plague, for with the Lord shall smite the heathen that come not to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all nations that come not to keep the Feast of Tabernacles." Why the Feast of Tabernacles? Well, the Feast of Tabernacles was, in many ways, the most joyful of all the feasts. of the Old Testament. At tabernacle time, Feast of Tabernacles, they used to cut down branches of trees and make for themselves little shelters, maybe on the roof of their houses or out in their gardens. They would make these and they would camp out during these days and they'd be feasting and camping and rejoicing and remembering the good things that the Lord did for them. remembering how God looked after them when they were passing through the wilderness for 40 years, camping in the wilderness. So this was a recap of that. But it was also a celebration of harvest. The end of the harvest was the Feast of Tabernacles. And they were eating of their harvest and rejoicing in the harvest. Harvest time's a joyful time when they gather in fruits of their labors for the past year. They're gathering in all that has grown in the fields and they're rejoicing in this harvest that has been gathered in. So, God's people are to rejoice in the Lord. And those who will not come and rejoice in the Lord with them, plagues shall be upon them. were called to the joy and the peace and the gladness of God's people and to join in it with God's people rejoicing in the Feast of Tabernacles. And if people will not come to join with the people of God in worshipping Him and in rejoicing in Christ the Saviour, plagues will come upon them. The plague of No rain and the plague of the disease, the pestilence that caused their eyes to rot in their sockets and their tongues to rot in their mouths and their feet and their hands to rot and drop off. The pain, the misery, the judgment of God. So you have the picture. picture of blessing upon God's people, God's people who have their troubles, God's people who know what it is for the enemy to invade and the enemy to plunder and the enemy to torture, but only for a while. God allows the enemy to go so far, then stop. Touch not mine anointed, do my prophets no harm. God loves his people and cares for them and will only allow Satan to go so far and will only allow the oppressor to oppress them just sufficiently for their good. But those who are the enemies of God's people, on them comes plagues and judgment. And then finally we notice the last two verses. And in that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses holiness unto the Lord. In the Old Testament, the high priest had a breastplate and on it was written, holy, holy unto the Lord, holiness unto the Lord. But here, it's a picture of New Testament church, and particularly of heaven. Even the horses. with their little bells on the horses on their harnesses. Holiness, everything is holy. Everything's to the Lord. Everything's given to the Lord. Everything is set apart for Him. The pots of the Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. The bowls before the altar for gathering the blood of the sacrifice is so holy. But all the pots are going to be holy. Yea, and every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord. The common pots that people used for cooking their food, even these pots shall be holy. And all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them and seethe therein. Holiness, holiness, holiness to the Lord. God's holy people, God's people made perfectly holy. made perfectly sanctified, surely a picture of heaven. And in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts. The idolater, the immoral idolater, they won't be there. The Canaanite won't be there. Nothing unclean shall enter heaven. Nothing immoral shall go there. No unrepentant sinner will get to heaven. Nothing unclean shall enter. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. Let's remember that. Some people seem to think, oh, you can live as immoral a life as you like. And then you believe in Jesus, everything's fine, you get to heaven. But no. If we're living in moral lives, that's a clear sign that we're not the Lord's people, and that we're not on the road to heaven, but on the road to hell. God is holy, and nothing unholy enters heaven. The unholy things are cast into the lake of fire. But the holy enter heaven. How important then it is for us to repent and believe the gospel and turn from our sins and be converted and follow the Lord and seek him and serve him. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Make sure that you're on the way to heaven. And remember, Jesus told us there's a broad road that leads to destruction. Broad is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. many on the broad road. Let's make sure we're on the narrow road that leads to heaven so that at the end of the day we're in that holy place and we're God's holy people and not in that other place.