(REFLECTIONS ON Zechariah 14:1-21)

9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.

There are 66 books in the Bible written at different times and by different writers. There are a total of 17 prophetic books in the Old Testament with 5 being major prophets, and 12 minor prophets. Major and minor prophets aren’t determined based on the fame of the prophet, but the length of the book.

Whether it is the minor prophets that we have been going through in our church Bible reading program, the major prophets, or the entire Bible in fact, it is all leading to one place.

It is the same with the final chapter of Zechariah. Everything leads to the Lord being king over all the earth. The Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. And all that remains will be those that are in the Lord.

It is our belief as Christians that the only way to remain in the Lord is through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no other way to God but through the Son and by His Spirit. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are One, and those who belong to Christ are brought into fellowship with this Triune God and into unity with one another.

There is an interesting image in today’s Scripture of the Lord coming down and His feet standing on the Mount of Olives. As the Lord stands on the Mount of Olives, it will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley. As the Lord comes and stands to fight against the nations, there will be a direct path opened between the Mount of Olives that provides safe passage to Him.

For us as Christians, this image points us toward the greater reality fulfilled in Christ. Our refuge is not ultimately found in a place or a path, but in the Lord Himself. We enter into that refuge through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit.

It will be a day of victory as there will no longer be the darkness of night, but all will be light. This should remind us of Jesus’ statement in the Gospel of John that He is the light of the world.

8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as winter.

11 People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.

The light, the living waters flowing out of Jerusalem, and the end of the curse, should immediately lead us to Revelation 22:1-5,

1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middles of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer by any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

The Bible is full of diversity, diverse Scripture, multiple writers, diverse cultures, traditions, and thought, but it is all leading to one place. The Lord will be the only one. Let us then not lose focus, be led off on a tangent, lose sight of the truth and hope we have in the Book of Revelation.

Perhaps there is a reason beyond being a difficult book that there aren’t many preachers that preach on Revelation. Perhaps it is because the answers to the great mysteries of life, existence, meaning, purpose, and the end are revealed in it, and it is something that many do not want to face.

We desire a faith that fits our mold, rather than allowing faith be us fitting into the plans of God. We often also read through the Bible and turn what is Holy, True, Eternal, and reduce it to just talking about our own lives, our own life circumstances, our politics, country, church, and lose sight that in the end the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Zechariah 14