14:1 The Lord announced through His prophet that a day was coming, for His benefit primarily, when the nations that had plundered Israel victoriously would divide their spoil among themselves in Jerusalem. This would be the Lords' day in which He would do His will, in contrast to man's day in which man conducts his affairs without divine interference.
14:2 The Lord would gather all the nations against Jerusalem to fight against her (cf. Rev. 16:16-21, Armageddon). They would capture the city, plunder the houses, and rape the women. Half of the Jewish residents would depart as exiles, but the other half would remain.277This has never yet happened.
"The only [?] explanation is that this is an ideological conflict to remove a non-co-operative element that blocked the way to an international world order."278
"This eschatological verse alone--with its statement that the city will be captured'--is sufficient to refute the notion popular in certain circles that the times of the Gentiles' (Luke 21:24) were fulfilled as of the rebirth of the modern state of Israel. According to Lucan theology, after the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled,' Jerusalem will be trampled on no more. Since Zechariah 14:2 clearly indicates that Jerusalem will be trampled on' again in the future, the times of the Gentiles' would seem to extend to the Messiah's second advent, when those times' will be replaced by the final, universal, everlasting kingdom of Daniel 2:35, 44-45."279
14:3 Yahweh would then take the role of the divine warrior and fight for His people Israel (cf. 1:3; 9; 10:4-5; 12:1-9). He had done this previously in the Exodus and on numerous other occasions (cf. Exod. 14:13-14; Josh. 10:14; 23:3; Judg. 4:15; 2 Chron. 20:15).
"The actual order of events in this day peculiarly the Lord's is: (1) the nations assembled to war against Jerusalem (vs. 2); (2) the city captured and plundered, etc. (vs. 2); (3) the spoil of the city divided within its walls (vs. 1); (4) the Lord's intervention (vs. 3)."280
14:4 In that day Yahweh's feet, in the person of Messiah (cf. Acts 1:9-12; Rev. 19:11-16), would stand on the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem (cf. Acts 1:11).281Since people were east oriented in ancient times, Zechariah described this mountain as in front of Jerusalem. The Lord would split this mountain in two (with an earthquake?) so half of it would fall away to the north and the other half to the south leaving a large east-west valley down the middle (cf. Rev. 16:18-19).
14:5 The Israelites would flee for safety through this valley with mountains on either side (cf. 2 Sam. 15:16, 30; 2 Kings 25:4; Ezek. 11:22-25). The valley would reach as far as Azel (lit. "be joined to"or "be at the side of, near;"cf. Mic. 1:11), a site presently unknown but obviously some distance east of Jerusalem. They would flee as they did during the great earthquake that happened during King Uzziah's reign over Judah (cf. Amos 1:1).282Then the Lord would come with all His holy ones with Him, namely, Christians in heaven and angels (cf. Ps. 89:5, 7; Matt. 25:31; Col. 4:4; 1 Thess. 3:13; Jude 14; Rev. 19:11-16). Zechariah expressed his own relationship with the Lord, his faith in Him, and his wonder at this revelation by referring to Him personally: "O my God."
14:6 In that day the luminaries will dwindle (lit. congeal) and there will be a reduction of light on the earth (cf. Joel 3:15-17; Amos 5:18).
"The meaning is that the loss of light is explained by the congealing of the heavenly bodies, their thickening' as it were to the point that they cannot shine [cf. Exod. 15:8; Job 10:10; Zeph. 1:12]."283
14:7 It will evidently be like twilight, neither day nor night (cf. Gen. 1:3-5). Even in the evening there will be more light than usual. It would be a unique day in human history (cf. Jer. 30:7). This phenomenon would occur on a day that only Yahweh would know (cf. Matt. 24:36; Acts 1:7).
Other passages also predict cosmic phenomena in the Day of the Lord (Isa. 13:9-10; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Amos 5:18; Matt. 24:29-30; Rev. 6:12-14; 8:8-12; 9:1-18; 14:14-20; 16:4, 8-9). Bear in mind that this "day"is an extended period of time, not just a 12-hour or 24-hour period. Here the end of the Tribulation is in view all of which the prophets spoke of as the Day of the Lord along with the Millennium.
14:8 Also in that day life-giving water would flow rapidly out of Jerusalem half of it flowing east into the Dead Sea and half west into the Mediterranean Sea.284This water would flow all year round, even in the summer when most streams in Palestine dry up (cf. Ps. 46:4; Joel 3:18). The Israelites divided their year into two seasons instead of four: summer and winter (cf. Gen. 8:22; Ps. 74:17; Isa. 18:6).285Probably the water will be literal, but it certainly has symbolic significance as well (cf. Ps. 46:4; 65:9; Isa. 8:6; Jer. 2:13; Ezek. 47:1-12; John 4:10-14; 7:38; Rev. 22:1-2).
"There is no reason to take this [whole description] in any but a literal way, unless one is prepared to deny a literal coming of YHWH as well."286
