The last chapter of Zechariah focuses, appropriately, on the final victory of the Messiah when, “The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name” (vs.9). This victory will be preceded by a great battle between the Messiah and the armies of the whole earth. There are many connections, throughout this chapter, with the prophecies of Jesus in Matthew 24 as well as the visions of Revelation. Jesus’ teaching provides the clarification that the ‘day of the LORD’ comes not as a single climactic event, but that it arrives in stages beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem (which occurred in 70AD). The great final victory is given fuller description in Revelation 19:11-21. The symbolism of perpetual light as well as the river of living water described here in verses 6-8 is repeated in Revelation 22:1-5. This chapter also describes plagues sent upon the nations portrayed in Revelation which echo the plagues in Egypt during the Exodus period (vs.12-15). These represent God’s judgement upon the earth. Finally, there is the universal worship of God expressed here in Old Testament terms. In that time there will be no distinction between the sacred and the secular because everyone and everything will be holy (vs 20-21). The prophet is using symbolic language and familiar ideas here to describe the final ‘utopia’ which is the goal of history. In all the inevitable turbulence and instability of the present age we have a firm hope for the future. If you are in Christ, your destiny is secure. You have a lot to look forward to!
Thank God for the sure hope you have for the future.
Read Zechariah 14
