“And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” Zech. 14:4.
The day here referred to is the day of the Lord spoken of in verse 1, also called in other texts, “the great and terrible day,” “the day of wrath,” etc. This day begins at the close of human probation, being marked by the falling of the seven last plagues. It covers the entire period of the wrath of God, and the destruction of sin and sinners; for beyond it there is no wrath, since the wicked are not raised and destroyed until after the close of the one thousand years, as shown by Rev. 20:5-10. Therefore the day of the Lord must cover the one year in which the plagues fall upon the earth, the one thousand years in which the wicked world and fallen angels are judged by Jesus and the saints as they live and reign together, and the period in which the wicked are raised and pass through the experience hereinafter described.
Let us begin at the ushering in of this day, and, by tracing from scripture to scripture, follow the events in the order of their occurrence until we find the point of time in the day of the Lord, in which His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives, and thus find the application of this scripture. In previous articles we have shown that the great battle in the day of the Lord is fought at Jerusalem, and that it is composed of two parts: (1) The capture of the city by the nations; (2) the Lord fighting against those nations which fought against Jerusalem. In this day of the Lord under the sixth plague, the nations are gathered, and the water of the Euphrates is dried up, i. e., the Turkish power is overthrown, and Jerusalem is taken. Then follows, under the seventh plague, the conflict previously described, in which the nations are destroyed, and God’s people delivered; the earth is reduced to desolation, and all its wicked inhabitants are gathered into the embrace of death. The remnant alone are accounted worthy to escape all these things, and to stand before the Son of Man. These facts the following texts will prove. Jesus said:—
“But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the Flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the Flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt. 24:37-39.
“Behold the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.” “The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for the Lord hath spoken this word.” Isa. 24:1, 3.
“I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void, and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger.” Jer. 4:23-26.
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.” Rev. 7:9.
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4.
“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Cor. 6:2, 3.
“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 14, 15.
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Rev. 20:5, 6.
When He Comes.
By these texts it will be seen that the feet of the Saviour do not touch the earth when He comes to gather His saints, but that they are caught up to meet Him in the air, and that they ascend with Him to the throne of God; there in His presence they live and reign with Christ for one thousand years. During this time the earth lies waste, its cities broken down, no man in it, and even the birds of heaven are gone. In this period of time the judgment of the wicked occurs. At its close Christ returns with the saints to the earth to execute the judgment. As He descends to earth His voice raises the wicked dead, and they come forth a vast multitude, myriads from every age and clime.
After Jesus arose in triumph over the powers of darkness, He was seen of men for forty days. At the end of this period of time He took the eleven, and led them to the top of the Mount of Olives, and while He talked with them, yea, while He was in the act of blessing them, He suddenly left the earth, and ascended to the throne of His Father. The spot where last He stood will be the first to feel the impress of the feet of earth’s returning Creator and King.
O earth, marred, blackened, and ruined by sin, thou art to feel the touch of thy Redeemer. Wonderful results followed when a woman but touched the hem of His garment. What shall it be to thee, O earth, when thou shalt feel the touch of His feet, for His feet shall stand at that day upon the Mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mountain shall be rent in twain from east to west, and one part shall move away to the north, and the other part to the south, thus forming a vast, yawning chasm, and then, at the call of the creative voice of Jesus, a great and glorious plain will spring up under His feet. Its beauty and loveliness have had no parallel in earth since Eden faded away and its garden was removed. This is the earnest of the new earth soon to be called into existence before the wondering eyes of the saints. This spot shall never be blighted by sin nor defiled by the feet of the wicked.
The Capital City.
At this wonderful manifestation of power the wicked flee in consternation, as they fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, and the Lord, with His saints, takes possession of the plain. While the people of God shall be gazing with wonder and delight upon the beauties of this place, their attention will be called to the city; and looking up they will see that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, and her light will be like unto a stone most precious, even a jasper stone clear as crystal.
Yes, like a flashing jewel radiant with light, the city will descend and settle upon the plain to be the future capital of the new earth. This is the city which is above, and which is free, and is the mother of us all (Gal. 4:24); the city for which Abraham and his children have looked, a city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God (Heb. 11:10, 16). And this city hath twelve gates, and an angel at each gate. Rev. 21:9 to 22:5. Through these gates of pearl, and up the golden streets shall God’s children walk with gladsome feet, toward the throne of God and of the Lamb. Out of this throne proceeds a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, and it flows through the city and out upon the plain; and so we read in Zech. 14:8-11:—
“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea; in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s wine-presses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.”
In these verses we are carried forward to the time when the whole earth shall be renewed, when men shall dwell safely in Jerusalem, when there shall be no more utter destruction, for the time of destruction is past, and the river of the water of life from the city, passing through the plain, distributes itself in life-imparting stream throughout all the earth, and the Lord is King over it all. The thought in verse 10 seems to be that the strip surrounding the city shall be about five times the width of the city itself, while above the plain the city shall tower in its grandeur, and shall be inhabited to the utmost limits of its walls.
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark; 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.” Zech. 14:6, 7.
These verses are a little obscure, but the reading of both the Septuagint and Isaac Leeser’s translation of the Hebrew conveys the5idea that there is no clear light, but fleeting light and darkness. In the city we are told that they have no need of the light of the sun, nor of the moon, for “the glory of God doth lighten her, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” A city resplendent with the presence of God and of the Lamb would be so clothed with light that the plain would be light about her. But outside the plain in the broken, unredeemed earth still in the possession of the wicked, the condition would indeed be fleeting light and darkness, until the closing of the day of the Lord or the evening of that day, then the glory of the Lord will flood the earth for the destruction of the wicked. Verses 12 to 15 read as follows:—
“And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one upon the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.”
In these verses we have a description of the plague or destruction which shall come upon all the people who have fought against Jerusalem. In our former study we found that the nations are gathered against it under the sixth plague, but do these armies constitute all who have fought against Jerusalem? These armies went against the Turk, and took the city from him; that, in itself, would be no greater sin in the sight of God than the overthrow of any other power, and the capture of any other city. But in our study we found that the real object of this battle was to establish Satan’s right to that city and to the kingdom which it represents. Hence, in fighting against Jerusalem, they were really opposing God.
The Millennium and After.
In Rev. 20:4-6 we have brought to view the resurrection of God’s people at the beginning of the one thousand years to live and reign with Christ during that period of time.
Verse 5 reads: “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” At the close of this period a resurrection will occur which will include all those who, in all ages of the world’s history, have opposed God, and refused to accept Christ as a Saviour. These resurrected ones constitute the nations who will be in the four quarters of the earth, and their experience is described in the verses which follow:—
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city; and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Verses 7-9.
Thus we see that in the final deception all who have opposed God are led up to fight against Jerusalem, and for the same purpose as formerly, to-wit, to establish Satan’s rule; but they are consumed by fire, while the spirit of anarchy and confusion controls them. In this event we have the fulfilment of verses 12 to 15.
The Feast of Tabernacles.
“And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Zech. 14:16-19.
In these verses two classes are brought to view, to-wit, those who come up to the feast of tabernacles, and those who refuse to come. Of the first class it is stated that they shall come up from year to year to keep this feast. Of the other class it is said that they shall have no rain, and that they shall receive of the plague. In order to understand this we will need to inquire what is meant by the feast of tabernacles, and when it will be observed.
During the time of the journeyings of the children of Israel in the wilderness, God gave them instruction concerning certain things which they were to observe after they entered the Land of Promise. Among these was the feast of tabernacles, to be celebrated once each year. In it they were to commemorate their past wanderings by living in booths during the time of the feast. It was to be a joyous feast, and was to follow the feast of atonement.
Around the ancient city of Jerusalem there was laid out a piece of land called holy ground. Upon this strip of land those who could not find room in the city would erect their booths, so that any one approaching the city during this feast would behold the beloved city surrounded by the camp of the saints. They were perfectly secure in this camp, for God had promised that while they were in attendance at these feasts no enemy should enter their border to even so much as molest their substance. Had Israel been faithful to God, no invading army would ever have set foot upon that holy ground; but because of their sin this was permitted. Jesus gave this as a sign by which His people might know when that city would be destroyed. In speaking of this, Matthew says: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, stand in the holy place,” etc. Mark’s record reads: “When ye shall see the abomination of desolation, standing where it ought not,” etc.; while Luke says: “When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” By these quotations it will be seen that the abomination of desolation was an invading army, and that it ought never to have stood upon that holy ground, and that when it did stand, then that would be a positive sign that God had withdrawn His protection, and given the city over to destruction. From the facts herein stated we learn that the antitypical feast of tabernacles must follow the great antitypical day of atonement; that it can not be celebrated until God’s people have ceased their wanderings and entered into the possession of at least a part of their goodly inheritance. This places the feast at the close of the one thousand years, when God’s people have returned to earth, and the city of Jerusalem is in their possession.
The Closing Scene.
We have found in our study that when Jesus and the saints return to this earth, a great plain is formed; that this is a part of the new earth, hence is holy ground; that the New Jerusalem settles upon this plain; that, in the possession of God’s people, it becomes the camp of the saints about the city.
Here in this glorious city, and upon this beautiful plain, God’s people, with all sins forgiven and blotted out in the day of atonement which has passed, and with their wandering ceased, shall celebrate for the first time the true feast of tabernacles; while the resurrected wicked, as a great invading army, numberless as the sands on the seashore, shall come up to lay siege to the city. But this city is not to fall. “No weapon formed against her shall prosper,” and the feet of this invading army shall not be permitted to tread upon this holy ground; for God shall send the plague upon all the people who have fought against Jerusalem, for fire shall come down from God out of heaven, and they shall be consumed. Then when the earth shall be renewed, and shall stand forth in her beauty in the sunlight of eternity, God’s people shall come up from year to year to keep this feast, and to rejoice before the Lord, because their wanderings are forever passed, and they are in the possession of their glorious home, the heavenly Canaan. Then, as stated in the last two verses of Zechariah, upon everything shall be written, “Holiness to the Lord,” and all that is connected with the service of God shall be as clean and pure as the bowls upon the altar, while each son and daughter shall present themselves as a living sacrifice to the Lord, holy and acceptable. It is the true Israel who are to keep this feast, it is all who are to possess the heavenly Canaan or the earth made new.
But the promise of inheriting the earth is to Abraham and his seed, and we become children of Abraham by faith in Christ, for “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” So the Gospel invitation is an invitation to come up to the feast of tabernacles; and this invitation has been given to all the earth, to all the family of darkness (Egypt). But alas, many of them have refused to come up, and when they give the final refusal, then the Spirit of God is given no more to them, or in the language of Zechariah, “they have no rain,” for rain is a symbol of the Spirit of God, and the fate of all such is to receive of the plague, which is to be consumed as described in the preceding verses.
Then let us accept the gracious invitation while it is called to-day, and become a true child of Abraham, an heir to a home in the earth made new, a participator in this great feast of rejoicing, in the glorious sunlight of God’s presence.
