There is broad agreement on the basic meaning of this prophecy. It reveals that in the latter days, Israel will be devastated by an invading host (Zech. 12:2; 13:8; 14:1-2). A remnant of Jews will repent and cry out for divine help, a cry which will be answered by the appearance of the Lord Jesus and those with him (12:7-10; 13:8-14:3). Great religious reformation will occur which will involve Israel and all the world as the kingdom age begins (12:11-13:5; 14:9-11,16-21).
Chapter 12:1-13:6 presents the events from a Jewish perspective while chapter 14 covers the same ground from the point of view of the nations.
Disagreement occurs, however, in identifying the conquering host.
The nations involved
No Gentile nations are specified throughout the three chapters other than Egypt and Canaan (14:18,21). Neither reference is relevant to identifying the invading force, however, as both allusions are to conditions after the kingdom is well established. Egypt is cited to indicate how disobedient peoples will be disciplined during the kingdom. The Canaanites are referred to as an example of idolatrous people who will no longer defile worship in Israel. (Incidentally, the Canaanites are not Arabs, who descend from S hem, but are descendants of Ham [Gen. 10:6]).
The key phrase argued to identify the invaders as Arab powers is “round about” (Zech. 12:2,6; 14:14). Peoples “roundabout” is taken to mean Israel’s immediate neighbors, rather than nations from afar such as Russia, Iran, Libya and Europe (as in Ezek. 38).
Round about
The phrase “round about” is translated from the Hebrew sabib. Sabib occurs 330 times in the Old Testament and is rendered “on every side” 26 times, “circuit,” “compass,” etc., four times and “round about” the balance.
As the term is used in a great variety of settings, it is evident the word is not a specialized term for Israel’s neighbors. For example, in Zech. 7:7, sabib refers to cities throughout Israel; in Joel 3:11,12 and Ezek. 37:21 it alludes to all nations everywhere, while in Ezek. 36:4 and Jer. 25:9 it speaks of Israel’s immediate neighbors. Clearly, what is meant by “round about” must be determined by the context.
All the nations
In Zech. 12-14, the conquering host is described as “all the people of the earth” and “all nations” (Zech. 12:3; 14:2).
Furthermore, Zech. 14:16 speaks of “every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up…to worship the King…” The next verse alludes to the same people as “all the families of the earth” (14:17).
The context thus reveals that “peoples roundabout” is not limited to nations which are immediate neighbors to Israel. In fact, when the three verses using “roundabout” in Zech. 12-14 are examined, they are all seen to refer to the actual army that besieges Jerusalem. Constituents of that fighting force tremble at the Jews (12:2) and are destroyed and pillaged by them (12:6; 14:14). “Round about” thus identifies the representatives of all nations who are drawn to fight against Israel and are physically in the area. (The phrase has the same usage in Joel 3:11-12).
Striking parallels to Ezekiel
Zechariah 14 reveals four aspects of the destruction of Israel’s invader. All four of these points are also revealed in Ezek. 38-39.
- A great earthquake occurs, Ezek. 38:19-20; Zech. 14:4-5.
- The invader turns on itself, Ezek. 38:21; Zech. 14:13.
- Great plague occurs, Ezek. 38:22; Zech. 14:12,15.
- Great spoil taken by Israel, Ezek. 39:10; Zech. 14:14.
While points 2-4 could occur in any great battle, point 1 could only happen one time. Describing the earthquake that will occur, Ezekiel prophesies, “…there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. So that…all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground” (38:19-20). Zechariah writes, “…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” (14:4).
Could these be two different events? Could so great an earthquake occur which would split the mount of Olives wide apart but not affect all the world, causing buildings to collapse everywhere? If we look at a diagram of the major faults in the surface of the earth, we see the one running under the mount of Olives is part of the great rift fault that goes through all Africa and connects to the faults rimming the Pacific and those that go up through Europe. The whole system is interconnected. Surely Ezekiel and Zechariah describe the same event.
Representatives of all nations will be gathered to Israel. There they will experience the power of Almighty God. There they will witness the conquering vengeance of the great Messiah as he comes to deliver his people. They will see the divine glory and those who survive “shall declare my glory among the Gentiles” (Isa. 66:19). The nations everywhere will then have opportunity to peacefully submit to Christ or to resist him. Those who resist will find for themselves that the heathen have been given to him for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession (Psa. 2:8).
Summary
Upon careful examination, we see no reason to forsake the understanding that a great force led by Gog of the land of Magog will conquer Israel. The strongest passages that are used to prove Israel’s last defeat will be by a coalition of Arab states have been examined. They all fall short of proving the point. They either refer to events already past, or they do not speak of a conquest of Israel or they refer to the Gentiles as a whole and not just Arab nations.
Ezekiel 38-39, Joel 2-3 and Zech. 12-14 are seen as being three supplementary and complementary descriptions of the same great events. We look forward to that time, praying that we all might be among those who are with Christ when he comes to deliver his people and reveal the glory of God before all nations.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One