Return of the King 1
By Ivan Ho 18 Feb 2024
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.
Zechariah 14:16
I have been contemplating on the scriptures in Zechariah 14 that kind of stretches my mind, reminding me that there are things we won’t fully understand until Jesus returns.
In sharing my insights on these scriptures, let me lay down some principles that shape my thinking process:
1. We should interpret this scripture literally, ie what are described in Zechariah 14 is something that will happen physically on earth: that is, in Jerusalem, after our Lord Jesus returns.
2. We should read the whole chapter in context. The first verse of Zechariah 14 tells us that these events will take place on “the day of the Lord” ie, the day of His return to planet earth. Subsequent verses reveal things that will follow which aligns with Revelation 19.
3. We should not allow our traditional and humanistic mindsets to impose our views on the word of God. Rather, we should allow God to speak and review to us in the days and years to come, and shape our thinking patterns and behaviours according to what is written. If the word of God doesn’t align with our traditional religious mindsets, we should change our thinking to align with the scriptures instead of changing the word of God to adapt to our worldview.
Return of our Lord
God, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is the author of the book of Zechariah (as in all the books of the bible). God knows the end from the beginning so that when He gave Zechariah the words, He already had the second coming of Christ in mind. The book wasn’t just written to the Jews but to people in all the nations of the world including you and I.
In the book of Acts, we are told that our Lord will one day come back to earth in like manner as he was taken up to heaven.
When Jesus returns, His feet will touch down on the same place in Mount Olivet in Jerusalem where He was taken up.
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.
Zechariah 14:4
What’s more, the bible tells us that in the last days, certain events will take place leading to the coming of Jesus. One of these prophetic events that is bound to happen is that Jerusalem will be besieged and attacked by the surrounding nations of the world. Half of the city will be taken captive until our Lord returns with His armies from heaven to fight and defeat the enemies of God to establish His earthly kingdom, and Jerusalem will become the capital city from which Jesus will rule and reign with His saints on earth.
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Zechariah 12:2-3
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
Zechariah 14:2And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND Lord OF LORDS.
Jesus rules as King
The images that most of us have about Jesus is that he is someone who is meek, kind, merciful, loving, sacrificing his own life for the salvation of mankind. All these perceptions of Jesus associated with his first coming are absolutely true. However, there is another side of Jesus pertaining to his second coming which we tend to ignore: our Lord Jesus will come back to physically fight and defeat all the forces of evil on earth, and will rule and govern as an earthly King!
Most churches are built based on our perceptions of Jesus at his first coming, but seldom do we emphasis the judgemental and rulership of Jesus portrayed at his second coming. Yet all over the bible, including the Old Testament, the kingdom government of God has been spoken of, not only after the second coming of Jesus, but also throughout the era prior to his first coming.
The ultimate mandate of Jesus is to establish his kingdom on earth with him being the King of kings and Lord of lords!
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.
Zechariah 14:9
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 11:15
The Lion and the Lamb
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Revelation 5:5-6
The above scriptures in Revelation describes Jesus as the Lion and the Lamb: the Lion who will come to conquer and reign, and the Lamb that had been slain, offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
We cannot only talk about Jesus being the sacrificial Lamb and neglect the sovereign rulership of our Lord being the Lion of Judah.
We have always been given the gospel of the kingdom of God rather than just the gospel of salvation of man.
We are commanded to preach the gospel of the kingdom to the world. It is always God’s intention for man to be saved from our sins through the blood of Jesus, and for the saints to reign with Christ on earth.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.