Bible Reading

Zechariah Chapter 14 - Finishing off, or Filtering? 

What will God do with His people in the last days?  

Written by

2 copper mites

|

3 min read

This last chapter of Zechariah describes events that will happen before Jesus’ second coming.

Among the events described, there was one description that puzzled me – when God says:

“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle…”

(Zech 14:2a)

Why does God want to gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem, i.e. His church (Heb 12:22-23)? Isn’t God’s will for all of us, believers, to be saved (Jn 3:16)? Why does He seemingly want to make an end of us, during the end times?

As the world ends, God filters for the people whose hearts are ready for heaven.

These are the true believers who, despite persecution and losing their spiritual leaders, still hold on to their faith in God; they continue to seek and surrender to Him, even when their faith is being tested (Zech 13:7-9).

This also includes former unbelieving nations who, after being subdued by God, choose to surrender and submit to God as their King (Zech 14:3, 9).

As for the “diamond-hearted” (Zech 7:12), they will not survive.

Even without physical persecution, as long as the people’s hearts remain diamond-hard to God’s words and they continue their smooth-sailing lives of sin, these people are simply adding to God’s wrath which will eventually be unleashed upon them in His final judgement (Rom 2:5).

Moreover, when it comes to the diamond-hearted, there are other parts of the Bible that describe God’s response to such people, with similar connotations as Zechariah 14:2a – for example, God “gives them over” to their wicked minds (Rom 1:28); God “sends them a strong delusion” when they prefer unrighteous lies over God’s truth (2 Thess 2:10-12). In Zechariah 14:2a, the nations are stirred up against God’s people because of their hard-heartedness, just like how Pharaoh was stirred up against Moses and the Israelites when he refused to let them go. When man is diamond-hearted to God’s rule, God does not resort to tyranny to make His sovereignty known. Instead, He patiently waits for man to heed His calls for repentance (2 Pet 3:9). But if man chooses impenitence, God waits on His judgement seat.

What does this mean for us?

Zechariah 14:16 says (bold = emphasis):

“Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of the Booths.”

Survive God’s great filtering – this means diligently fighting off anything from the world that makes us waver in our faithfulness to the King of kings.

Also, pairing our efforts with this faith: that Jesus will save us to the uttermost, so long as we always draw near to Him and let Him ‘tenderise’ our hearts with His word and Spirit (Heb 7:25). 🫀

See Also

Daniel Chapter 4 - Let the Most High God Reign in Your Life

Daniel Chapter 4 - Let the Most High God Reign in Your Life

The story in Daniel Chapter 4 is perhaps not unfamiliar to many of us. King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the great Babylonian empire, the king of kings, being turned into a beast, how spectacular is that? It's not until we read through this chapter for ourselves that we realise something even more spectacular: this whole chapter is told by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel Chapter 4 is King Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony! Isn't King Nebuchadnezzar the infamous evil king? How is it that in this chapter he gives praise to the almighty God? Perhaps the first thing that should catch our attention from today's chapter is the repeated phrase in verses 17 and 32. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He wills. This phrase can even be said to be the theme of the whole Book of Daniel. This book is mostly set in the time of exile, when there seemingly was no longer any king over the people of God. Yet, in the Book of Daniel we see that though there was no earthly king ruling over Israel, God made it clear to these foreign kings that He is the almighty God. He was still the one who was truly the King. The outcome of this is that the evil king Nebuchadnezzar, probably the greatest and most powerful man during his time, writes this testimony for all peoples, nations, and languages to hear (Daniel 4:1-3). Imagine being a subject in the Babylonian empire, and receiving this declaration from king Nebuchadnezzar praising and glorifying the God of Israel. Though God's people sin against Him and are punished by being taken into exile, the name of God is still magnified. God is not put to shame. Today through baptism we have entered into the Kingdom of God. Yet, it is key for us to consider whether God truly is the King of our lives. It's natural to make many plans for our future, out of a desire to lead our dream lives. But for us Christians, the sovereignty and authority of God is something that we must be well-aware of and fully willing to submit to. If God doesn't let me get that job, are we able to accept it? If God closes the path towards our dreams, are we will to say "Let Thy will be done"? If God takes away all that we have, are we able to be like Job and say "Blessed be the name of the Lord"? If all this is causing us to struggle, remember this: God loves us. He knows what's best for us, He knows what we need. He has already given His life for us, and given us His precious Spirit to dwell within us. Having faith in God's love towards us gives us strength to submit to our King with full assurance that this is the best path for us, this is the way to blessing and to eternal life. Since our God is the highest and rules over the kingdom of man, what then should our response ought to be? Nebuchadnezzar begins and ends his testimony by praising and glorifying God. Giving praises to God is something that we have been often taught but perhaps we have not given enough thought to or taken seriously enough. Yet, throughout the Bible, it's clear that praises are a key part of our worship to God (just read the Book of Psalms). What might we praise God for? Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can praise God for His greatness and His almightiness. Just consider the stars, or the intricacies of the human body. We can praise God for His love and wisdom as seen in His creation as well as in His word. The more we study into the holy scriptures, the more we are filled with awe at how complete, connected, and wonderful these life-giving words are. We can also glorify God for His salvation which He has so freely given to us. Imagine how different our lives might be today if not for His grace and mercy! It's when we decide to finally take the importance of praising God seriously and intentionally set aside some time in our daily prayers to praise God, that we truly experience the blessing that comes along with it. We go through life being filled with joy and gratitude, knowing that we have such a great and powerful Heavenly Father who loves us. In fact, it was when Nebuchadnezzar took the glory for Himself rather than giving all glory to God, that the infamous transformation into a beast took place. This brings us nicely to the final point of reflection for this devotional. Pride - when we take glory for ourselves rather than giving glory to God. Nebuchadnezzar's testimony serves as a stark warning for us. Even just a sentence or thought of pride can greatly displease God. How often have we unknowingly taken credit for ourselves for any achievements we have, or for any divine work that we do? Being puffed up with pride and not keeping to one's proper domain is precisely the sin of satan (1 Tim 3:6, Jude 6-7). If we are filled with pride, what difference is there between us and satan? In fact, while satan exalted himself, God on the contrary lowered Himself, coming in the likeness of man and humbling Himself even to the point of death (Phil 2:5-8). Whose example do we want to follow, that of God or of satan? Let us take warning from the story of Nebuchadnezzar and carefully consider who's example we want to follow. Indeed, God opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble. He blesses the meek, that they might inherit the earth .

Who Are We

We're the True Jesus Church, a global, non-denominational church built upon the teachings of Jesus and His apostles. Founded by the Holy Spirit, our mission is to spread the complete gospel of salvation to the ends of the earth.

Learn more about us

We have four places of worship, and we gather for Sabbath and night worship services. We welcome you to join us for any of our in-person services!

Worship with us