Zechariah 14:5  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.
6  And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7  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.

Those who are truly born again know there is big trouble ahead for Israel. This trouble will also affect the entire world. We can see the development of this trouble now. Prior to and during World War II the “Jewish problem” was centred in Germany. The Catholics and the Muslims worked hand in hand with Hitler to try to wipe out the Jews at that time. They could not do that because God said NO.
This reality has not stopped the Catholics and Muslims from continuing to try to destroy the Jews. Along with that, these same groups have tried to destroy true Christians as well. They are continuing to have some success in their evil plot. They will never succeed in their goal because God says NO.
The Bible commands born again Christians to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Peace, at this present time is not something that will be known in a nation. It is something that will be known in the heart of the individual who turns to God in repentance and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. There are Jews in Israel and across the world who are saved. They, no doubt, are not happy with the slaughter of fellow Jews. They, no doubt, are not happy with the continued conflict in Israel that has now spilt openly across the world. Just yesterday the largest Jewish school in Toronto was closed due to a bomb threat. Our P.M. has subtly but not so subtly encouraged the hatred toward the Jews. He will be held accountable by God for that. God does not call on us to try to harm him. God calls on us to pray for him. If he would repent and be saved he would be a different man. We do not know if that will happen.
As we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, we need to pray according to God’s will. Since we are studying Bible prophecy which clearly tells us that Jerusalem must face severe trials yet, it would be foolish to pray that the hated toward Jews would stop now. We know it will not. We need to pray for Jews and Gentiles to be saved. The world will not know the peace of God until the Prince of Peace reigns in Jerusalem. Individuals can know the peace of God today by trusting in the Prince of Peace personally. There are a few who are doing that. There are many who are not doing that. That is what we need to pray for.
As we noted yesterday, the Lord Jesus Christ will one day soon set His feet on the mount of Olives and the mount will be split in two. God is more concerned about souls than He is about the physical topography of His creation. A large valley will be created at that time and the nations of the world will be gathered together there to wage war against the Lord Jesus Christ. The devil believes that if he can get rid of God, then things will be good. All people are born as lost sinners. The majority of people believe the lie of the devil. It is a fact that attendance in true churches is down. Some of the mega churches have large attendances, but they are just social clubs. There is no truth in them. They can quote from their perversions and they can pray to their gods, but they are deceived and deceiving many. Most people lack the discernment needed to see this reality.
The Bible warns that at the time of the Rapture, God will send a strong delusion so that those left behind will believe the lying signs and wonders that the antichrist (the man of sin) will perform. The world is being groomed for this now. The solution is to turn to the true God. In order to do this, you need to humble yourself and accept the fact that God has preserved His Word “from this generation and for ever.” He wants you to know the truth and He is TRUTH.
In verse 5 we read that at the time of the Lord’s return, the Jews (ye) shall flee to the valley of the mountains. This is not the valley that Jesus will create when He splits the mount of Olives. God gave Zechariah a quick overview of events that will take place at the end of the Tribulation and into the Millennium.
Revelation 12 and 16 also speak of the time mentioned here. Amos 1 speaks of the massive earthquake that took place in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah. As we faithfully read and study the Bible, we see that God has often used events in the past and present, to warn of things that He has prophesied will happen in the future. We can see the response of mankind to the current situation in Iceland. We can see that the “smartest” minds cannot figure out what is happening there. They have evacuated people from one region, but the assumed volcano has not happened. Looting is taking place even though no unauthorized people are supposed to be in that area.
This situation and the response to it again reminds us that God is much bigger than man. Man often grasps at straws because he refuses to look to God for wisdom and direction. Iceland is not Israel. However, God is showing us His power in different ways to remind us that He is in charge and the wise person turns to Him and trusts in Him.
The events in our text will take place in Israel. God will provide a place of protection for His children in a time when there will be a massive upheaval in Israel. God is able to protect His own in the midst of turmoil. God is amazing. He has proved this over and over again. He often protects the ungodly to give them further opportunity to turn to Him. Most never put 2+2 together. Most religious leaders never put 2+2 together. Pastors need to be in the Word and they need to have some understanding of how the current events relate to the Bible. Pastors need to be humble and not twist the Bible to deceive people.
In verse 5 we see that the LORD God shall come and all the saints. Verses 6&7 tells us that at that time the sky will not be dark nor will it be clear. There will be a haze due to the events of that day. The events of that day will be unusual. God gave this warning to Zechariah long before its fulfillment. We are closer to that event today, but we still do not know the exact time of its fulfillment. It will come in God’s time.
This prophecy was important for Zechariah to proclaim and to record in his day. It is important for us to read and study it today. It is important for the Jews to read and study this and to believe what God is saying. He is giving them a clear warning of future events. It is important for Gentiles to also believe what God is saying here.
As we noted from previous studies, most of the Gentile world will be destroyed by the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation time. This will be due to their rejection of the truth. It is very important to take the time to read and listen to what God has to say. He has not given us a “thriller” to read. He has given us the truth. There are many who have tried to profit from fictionalizing God’s Word. They put it into intriguing story form to get people to read their version of events. They do it to make money.
God is not into making money. His people should not be into making money. We need to study His Word carefully and proclaim the facts as He gave them. We need to pray for wisdom in making relevant application from His Word to what is taking place today. As we have mentioned before, the Bible is not an irrelevant book that speaks of the past, but has no application for us today. The Bible is a living book that has application to every generation. We need to keep things in context and boldly proclaim the truth. True Christians do not follow the political philosophy. We do not put our finger to the wind and see what is popular. We put our hearts and minds to the truth and thus we can know what is truth and how to apply it in our time.
Read God’s Word faithfully. Be sure you are saved. Join a true Bible-believing church. Faithfully attend all the services. Pray for the pastor. Pray for one another. Look to God for direction and wisdom. He will give it through His Word and through a faithful church.
Pastor Bartel