*Scripture: Zechariah 14:1-21 (NKJV)* 1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.
6 It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; The lights will diminish. 7 It shall be one day which is known to the LORD--neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. 8 And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. 9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be--"The LORD is one," and His name one. 10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin's Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananeel to the king's winepresses. 11 The people shall dwell in it; And no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. 13 It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the LORD will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, and raise his hand against his neighbor's hand; 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. 15 Such also shall be the plague on the horse and the mule, on the camel and the donkey, and on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be. 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain. 18 If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 20 In that day "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the LORD's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the LORD of hosts. Everyone who sacrifices shall come and take them and cook in them. In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts. *Devotion* We must never forget when reading the Old Testament prophets that the ultimate fulfillment of their prophecies is Christ. "The day of the Lord" is Christ's coming. And the people of Jerusalem (the remnant) are the Church. We note here that after the suffering of the Church the Lord comes and fights for His people. Jesus stands on the Mount of Olives (the same place He ascended from) and brings warfare to His enemies, and blessings to His Church. "Living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea." Just like with the plagues of Egypt in Moses' day the Lord strikes His enemies with plagues. The Feast of Tabernacles is a very appropriate image for the in-gathering of the nations to receive their reward. It was an autumn harvest festival, and it commemorated the interim time just before entering into the Promised Land. It works well as imagery for the Church as the gathering place for the saints before receiving their final inheritance. Though some will still reject Him and madly fight against Him, He shall sweep them away and give all His gifts to His faithful servants. We must remember, especially in our day, not to grow weary in our faith. We cannot let the godless cause us to lose heart. We must remain steadfast though the world goes from bad to worse. Our Lord is the Victor, and so are we, when we are in Him.
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