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This morning, we come to the end of our very detailed exegetical study of Zechariah's prophecy, and I must say that the ending here is deeply impactful to me personally.  I'm humbled to know the future, as we all should be. We won't know all of the details. We won't know when these things will happen, necessarily. We don't even know completely what will happen or how, but God gives us some pretty clear details in general of what is going to happen, and we know why. And frankly, Bible prophecy is one of the greatest motivators in my life to honor Christ. And this is, therefore, the second part of our study of Zechariah 14, the last chapter, and it is under the heading, "The Glorious Day of Messianic Retribution, Rescue and Restoration." We're looking specifically now at verses nine through 21. Let me read the text to you, as follows,

“Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.

“On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

“On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.

“And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.

“And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

“Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them. And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the Lord afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

“And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses,

“’HOLY TO THE LORD.’

And the pots in the house of the Lord shall be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the Lord of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.”

When we think about all of the political infighting, all of the global conflicts, all of the ways politicians are trying to somehow make life better for everyone, frankly, dear friends, all of these things are merely rearranging the deck furniture on the Titanic. There will be no peace until the Prince of Peace arrives, there will be no rule of law until the King arrives and rules with a rod of iron. There will be no worldwide worship of Christ until he destroys his enemies, until he builds and until he occupies his temple in Jerusalem and establishes Israel's holiness as a high priestly nation, as he has promised. And until then the corruption of sin, combined with Satan's evil rule in this world, will continue to destroy all that God deems righteous. The world is being prepared for the rule of the Antichrist and the pre-kingdom judgments that God is going to unleash upon this planet. Then in the hour of Israel's greatest peril, her deliverer will come. The King will return in power eight and great glory and establish his kingdom.

Now a brief review, because we've been away from this - because I've been away for a number of weeks - in Chapter 14, we have the conclusion of Zechariah's second oracle, which goes from chapter 12 through chapter 14. And you will recall that the second oracle began with a description of the future deliverance and national conversion of Israel. That's in chapters 12 through 13. And of course, all of this is a prerequisite for Messiah's magnificent return and the establishment of the kingdom over Israel on the earth. And chapter 14 is really the crowning glory. It is the consummation of all the comprehensive prophetic visions revealed in Zechariah's prophecy concerning the future hope of Israel. They are the remnant described in chapters 12 through 14 - the Jewish remnant - which consists of ethnic, national and territorial Israel. They will be regathered to their promised land at the end of the age. And all of this, of course, underscores God's commitment to be faithful to his covenant promises, which I might also add that extends to all of the redeemed, which includes us.

You will remember that Israel is a part of the church, along with believing Gentiles. We see this, for example, in Ephesians 2:11 all the way through, I think about verse six of chapter three. We know, however, that God's promises and covenants made with Israel do not find complete fulfillment with the church, but that God has sovereignly ordained a future day when all Israel will be saved - Romans11:26 - when the natural branches will be grafted back into their own olive tree, there in Romans 11 and verse 14.

Now, the last time we were together, we looked at the first eight verses of chapter 14, which describes the first advent and the rejection of the Messiah, all of which is preparatory for his second advent. And today we behold the prophetic denouement, or the final act; the final dramatic action of this whole historical play, if you will, that God has given us over history. This magnificent historical drama pertaining to Israel's hope of their promised Messiah and the long-awaited kingdom. And this will be the time when the elect of God, down through the ages, both Jew and Gentile, will reign. This will be the grand finale. This will be what the ineffable conclusion of all that God has promised on Earth. And that's why I have entitled my discourse to you, "The Glorious Day of Messianic Retribution, Rescue and Restoration."

Now we're going to look at this morning under two very simple headings—number one, the establishment of Messiah's kingdom; and number two, the worship of Messiah's kingdom. And I might add, in order to understand what God has said, we've got to be careful to lay aside all of the cultural, evangelical Gentile lenses that we use to see the world. We must also set aside any theological systems that man has devised that would permanently disenfranchise Israel and make her be nothing more than the church that has somehow replaced her or superseded her; and instead, we need to just simply take God had his word and not deny it. And I might also remind you that there are about 2500 prophecies in the Bible, and approximately 2000 of them have already been fulfilled, literally. In fact, over 300 of them were fulfilled when Jesus came, during his life and his ministry. So it would make me believe that the rest will be fulfilled, even as God has said.

And again, I'm awestruck as I look around at the world today, especially at the antisemitism that continues to grow, irrational, antisemitism. And I think about the judgment that's coming upon the nations that reject what God is going to do in Israel. I think of Zechariah 12 and verse three. "It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it." You ask, "Well, what's going to happen to America?" Well, it's going to eventually come against Israel, like all the rest of the nations. Zechariah, chapter 14 and verse three, "The Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle." Zephaniah prophesies the same thing in chapter three and verse eight, "Indeed, My decision is to gather the nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger, for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal."

I might also add that the coming judgments upon the earth --I call them pre-kingdom judgments, tribulation judgments -- will also be a time when God purges the wicked from Israel. Amos 9:10, speaks of this, "All the sinners of My people will die by the sword. Those who say, 'The calamity will not overtake or confront us.'" So the Prince of Peace is going to bring peace with God for all who trust in him and also bring peace on the earth. And he's going to fulfill his covenant promises to Israel. His spirit will be poured out upon his people. Jeremiah 31 speaks of how all of these things are going to happen; a remnant will come to know him, and he will be king over all the earth. My, how I long for that day. I get so tired of all of these politicians jockeying for position to somehow rule over us. Numerous passages describe how Jesus, the Messiah King, will fulfill the promises of the Davidic dynasty. For example, in Amos, chapter nine, verse 11, "'In that day, I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old.'" We know that when he returns, Christ is going to rebuild his temple, or I should say, build his temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel 40 through 48 gives the details of that. He is going to return to the city in glory, as the prophet Haggai says in chapter two and verse seven, and every nation is going to stream to Jerusalem to worship Him, to learn from him. Isaiah two speaks of this very specifically.

The curse on the creation is going to be lifted as well. We are told that the wolf will dwell with the lamb and the nursing baby will play in the hole of the cobra; Isaiah chapter 11, verses six and verse eight. The renovated earth will also allow people to live longer, well beyond 100 years of age (Isaiah 65:20 ). Frankly, as I get older, I'm kind of glad that I'm not going to live a whole lot longer. I think some of you older people will agree with that.

And in the New Testament, we see how the disciples anticipated the glory of the promised coming kingdom of Christ and his earthly reign. In fact, after his resurrection, he said in Acts one, verse six, "...they were asking him, saying, 'Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?'" And of course, Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew six and verse 10, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." And the kingdom itself will be again the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel to restore them to their land that they forfeited through their disobedience, which caused them to be temporarily set aside. We know that, at during that time of the millennium, in Revelation 20 and the first six verses, Satan is going to be bound for most of the 1000 years; going to be released at the very end and destroyed. We know during that time, the dead in Christ are going to come to life and reign with Christ.

And now, that's just a little bit of a summary, but now we come to the last 12 verses of Zechariah, 14, where the inspired prophet reveals just the final phase of manifest glories that are going to be revealed in the kingdom age. So let's look, first of all, under the heading, the establishment of Messiah's kingdom, what is going to occur. Verse nine, "And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day." That "day" is speaking of the day of the Lord. That prophetic era of Israel's eschatological judgment followed by her salvation and restoration at Christ's second coming that will extend through the millennium. "The LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day, the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one." Beloved, here we see, and this is so exciting to me, here we see a coming day where the Lord Jesus Christ will reign in complete authority. I mean, this is the lordship of the king over all the earth. I mean, think about it, practically, no more government shutdowns, right? No more democratic socialists, no more politicians, no more dictators and false teachers and LGBTQ pastors and pretentious televangelists. No more counterfeit worship. "In that day, the Lord will be the only one and His name the only one." No more Allah, no more Muhammad, no more Buddha or Vishnu or some phony Jesus. The Lord, we are told in chapter 13, verse two of Zechariah will, "cut off the names of the idols from the land." Can you imagine that? Paul speaks of this in Philippians two, where he says, "At the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."

This will be the time, dear friends, when the final Adam will gain dominion and accomplish what the first Adam failed to do in his reign, in his dominion in the garden. In fact, in First Corinthians 15, we see that the Father will hand the kingdom of this world over to his Son, the Messiah King, who will be empowered by the seven-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit, as we read about in Isaiah 11.

Now Zechariah is going to next reveal to us the exaltation and the peace of Jerusalem, and it's going to begin with a topographical change of the city. And before we look at verse 10, where it says that all the land is going to be changed, remember in verse four, we're told that when the Lord returns, "His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives." We're told that the Mount of Olives will be "split in the middle from east to west by a very large valley." So there's going to be a seismic shift in the land, which will cause half of the mountain to recede northward and the other half southward, forming a huge valley. So there will be a massive geological fracture that will occur; a valley extending toward the west and toward the east. And this will also make this city even more conspicuous where Christ will reign. So in verse 10, he says "All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba," which, by the way, is about five and a half miles north of Jerusalem, "to Rimmon" which is 35 miles south of Jerusalem. So there's going to be essentially a 42-mile area there that will essentially be leveled.

And I might also add that this is a description of the ancient hill country of the tribe of Judah. If you go there today, as I've been many times, it is extremely hilly; it's like mountainous. "But," it says, "Jerusalem will rise." In other words, Mount Zion will be elevated, will be exalted. And this is going to be important. All of this topographical change to accommodate the number of worshipers that will come, "Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin's gate as far as the place of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel now to the king's wine presses." Now these were dimensions - eighth century dimensions - of Jerusalem, which the people now, who are hearing this about 525 BC, they would have understood these dimensions.

And I might also add that if you look at the millennial temple itself, as Ezekiel describes it, it's going to be about 875 feet square, and the total land area of the city, including the temple and the residences of the priests and Levites, is estimated to be about 50 by 50 miles. Well, it gives you a sense of what it will be like. And I want you again to notice Jerusalem will rise but remain on its site. In other words, it's going to be the highest point in the region possessing an exalted position. People will be able to see it from many miles away. No one's going to miss it. And I'm reminded here of what Isaiah says in chapter two, beginning in verse two.

"Now it will come about in that day, in the last days, that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it.

"And many peoples will come and say, 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.' For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."

We also read in Isaiah's prophecy, chapter 52 and verse 13,

 "Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted."

Now back to Zechariah. Notice in verse 11 we read that, "People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security." Now this is something they have never enjoyed. May I remind you that Israel is about the size of the state of New Jersey, about 9000 square miles. It has a population of about 9.73 million people. About 75% of them are Jewish. And they are surrounded by 22 Arab countries encompassing 5 million square miles, populated by approximately 600 million people, who are aligned with the entire Muslim world, which consists of about 1.8 billion people: about 24% of the world's population. And virtually all of these Arab Muslim countries are committed to wiping Israel off of the face of the earth. Or, they might not say it, and they might do business with them, but they wouldn't mind it if it happened. But they are still here. Obviously, God is protecting them.

And next, God describes his judgment on Israel's enemies through his prophet. Notice verse 12. "Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth." Now I can't even begin to imagine what this would be like. Obviously, it's horrific, but I must say that what comes to mind is a movie I watched a long time ago that you've probably all seen, Raiders of the Lost Ark. And you remember when the Nazi villains opened the ark, one guy's face melted, and another guy's head imploded, and another dude's head exploded. And so it's going to be something like that; not a good day for these people.

Verse 13, "It will come about in that day..." and this is speaking now, this is essentially the battle of Armageddon, "...that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another." I'm reminded of other times when this occurred in Scripture. You can see it, remember in Judges seven, when Gideon gained the victory by God's help over the Midianites. I remember the story in First Samuel five, remember when the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant to Ashdod, and they put it there in the temple with Dagon. Remember, and Dagon, you know, fell over, lost the palms of his hands, and his head comes off. And, and we read how God punished them with deadly confusion, as well as with tumors. And tumors in the Hebrew is a word for hemorrhoids. God is very creative with his judgment; and they wanted to get rid of the ark, which they did, but God confused them as well.  You can read about the same type of thing in First Samuel 14 with Jonathan's triumph over the Philistines at Michmash and so forth.

I want you to notice that this great panic will come directly from Yahweh. It will fall upon the forces of the Antichrist as they besiege Jerusalem during the Battle of Armageddon. And notice what will happen to the remaining enemies who are left. It says in verse 14 that, "Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance." So the point here is Israel is going to recapture all that had been taken from them at the beginning of the siege.

Verse 15, "So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle with that will be in those camps." Here's another indication that I find very intriguing, that the battle of Armageddon may be far more like medieval warfare than what we might think. And what's really intriguing, especially as a horseman, is the mention of horses constantly in the prophetic literature. Are these literal? Are they symbolic? Well, we can't say for sure. Can't be dogmatic. But I have an idea that I want to share with you that I think is at least a tenable interpretation. You might recall in Zechariah 12:4, it says, "'In that day,' declares the Lord, 'I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.'" Well, that's interesting. Again, is that symbolic? Is it literal?

I was reading an article the other day entitled "Ezekiel Riders Awaken: Russia Returns to Mounted Assault Forces." An article says this quote, "According to Russian military sources and footage verified by multiple outlets, commanders in the Dansk region, (this is in Ukraine), are forming horse mounted assault teams. Two soldiers per horse - one riding, one firing - practicing under drone cover, training animals to stay calm amid explosions and gunfire. A Kremlin leak linked blogger described them as a quote 'modern horde,' noting that the horses quote, 'see well at night, need no roads and can instinctively avoid mines.'" And I'm reminded, of course, in Ezekiel 38 that there will be a coalition led by Gog and Magog, and it will come from the uttermost parts of the of the North; come against Israel. And the invaders are described as, quote, "all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army." The article went on to say - it's talking about under the caption - why horses make sense. Again, "Analysts explain that the modern battlefield has changed. Drones have made noise, heat and road dependency deadly. Horses, meanwhile, move silently; don't need fuel, and can traverse terrain. Tanks cannot. They leave no heat signature, and they can carry men or supplies where vehicles can't go."

So, are these literal steeds, or do they symbolize some kind of mechanized forces. I don't know. I will say this, that the Hebrew text gives no hint that the horses are meant to be understood metaphorically. But I also know, we also know, about the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgment that will lead up to this time. They're described in Revelation chapter six through 19. And beloved, these judgments will have an unimaginable effect on the skies, the seas and on the land. It's hard to imagine, for example, satellites surviving what is going to happen before the battle of Armageddon. Now imagine if there is a collapse of cyber communications; if there's no more GPs, no more power grids, no fuel supplies. I mean, modern weaponry would be useless. And you will remember, for example, in the Seal and Trumpet Judgments, that will occur during the first three and a half years of the time of the Tribulation, called the "beginning of birth pains." In the second seal, there's going to be worldwide war that destroys the Earth's food supply. The third seal, there's going to be global famine. The fourth seal, a fourth of the earth will be killed by war, famine, pestilence and disease and wild beasts. Remember the 14th century, the bubonic plague, also called the Black Death. It swept through Europe, killing 27 million people; a disease that resulted from the bite of an infected flea found on rodents and rats, mice, those types of things.

Well, that's just the Seal Judgments, and then next comes the Trumpet Judgments. The first four Trumpet Judgments release plagues that will target the natural objects of the Earth's ecology, unlike the last three plagues that will unleash a demonic onslaught and target human beings specifically. The first trumpet destroys a third of the Earth's vegetation. The second trumpet judgment destroys a third of the sea. The third judgment destroys a third of the world's fresh water, and the fourth trumpet darkens 1/3 of the heavenly bodies. That's the beginning of birth pains.

And then you have the Bowl Judgments. And here, the pain as in childbirth, increases in severity and in rapidity. I might add that these are plagues that recapitulate the plagues upon the Egyptians in Israel's first and great deliverance. So if we look at, for example, in Revelation 16, there's going to be loathsome and malignant sores on the beast worshippers. The seas are going to turn to blood; everything in them dies. The same fate falls on the fresh water, the rivers and the springs. There's going to be sun that scorches men with fierce heat. Darkness encompasses the earth. The river Euphrates, dries up, allowing the kings from the east to be assembled "for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty" verse 14. "And they gathered them together," according to verse 16, "to the place, which in Hebrew is called HarMagedon."  And then the seventh bold judgment is the greatest earthquake the world has ever known.

Verse 20 says, "And huge hailstones, about 100 pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe." So with all this going on, if you're trying to destroy Jerusalem, horses might come in pretty handy. Revelation 14 verse 20, we read, "And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of 200 miles." Of course, this is language of hyperbole and horror describing just the magnitude of the slaughter. But again, you read these things, we can't be dogmatic, but I think it is fascinating to realize what could happen, and certainly what will happen with respect to God's judgment.

So back to verse 15, "So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps." So we've seen first the establishment of Messiah's kingdom, and finally, the worship of Messiah's kingdom. Now bear in mind, the only survivors of the pre-kingdom curses will be those who have turned to Christ in faith and obedience. In other words, the only ones that will enter the kingdom will be genuine born again, believers, both Jews and Gentiles. In Isaiah 26 verse nine, we read, "For when the earth experiences Your judgments, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." And again, during this time, chapter 14, verse nine, "The LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and his name the only one." And so this will be the beginning.

But then it says this in verse 16, "Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths." This is also known as the Feast of Tabernacles. Delegates from every nation, evidently, will come to Jerusalem. There will be annual pilgrimages. Now, historically, the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles, was one of three pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish people where the Israelites were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. And they would go to Jerusalem, they would erect tents or booths for seven days to commemorate God's presence with them during the wilderness wanderings, to celebrate how he delivered them into the Promised Land. And it was also a harvest festival, celebrating the end of the harvest time and God's faithful provision.

And I might add that still today, the people in Israel and other parts of the world where Jewish people live, they celebrate this time. It is known as Sukkot. It begins on the 15th day of Tishrei through the 21st day, that would be October. And families - and I've seen this, it's fascinating to behold - families will come to the area as close as they can to Jerusalem, sometimes just in their own neighborhoods, and they will build temporary outdoor huts and branches. I know a lot of my family and a number of people from our church are right now living in huts and in tents and at Piney Campground, and you're probably watching right now; but this is what they would do. Even today they will decorate these shelters with fruit and flowers and lights and colorful decorations. Many of them will eat their meals there; sleep in them. It's a time of celebration, a time of singing and a time of feasting. And during the millennium, this celebration is going to continue.

And I might add that this would have been of great encouragement to those people that first received these dramatic revelations, as it tells them that God is not finished with them, that there is hope - future hope - that God is faithful to his covenants. By the way, do you remember when Peter, James and John were on the Mount of Transfiguration, and Jesus somehow peeled back his flesh in a way that allowed the effulgence of his glory to blaze forth. You remember what Peter wanted to do? We read about it in Matthew 17:4, "Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, (three booths), one for You and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'" Well, why would he do that? Because he thought the kingdom was being inaugurated. He just saw the glory of the living Christ. So in the millennium, the Lord will physically dwell with his people -- tabernacle with his people -- Revelation 21:3, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God himself will be among them.'"

Now, back to Zechariah 14, verse 17, "And it will be that, and it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them." Now, this is interesting. We know that while only the redeemed will enter the kingdom, they are going to have children, and we see that many of their children are going to reject Christ. They're going to choose not to worship him. But as we see here and in other passages, the Lord will not allow this to go unpunished. Christ rejecters, we also know, alive at the end of the millennium, will join with Satan and will be temporarily released for a short time, and they're going to be destroyed in that final rebellion. And we know that Messiah is going to punish those who will refuse to honor him. Revelation two, verse 26 and following,

"To him, I will give authority over the nations;

"and He shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces,

"as I also have received authority from My Father."

Verse 18 goes on to say, "If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths." Now, something technical here, but I want to address it so I don't get a flood of emails this week asking me to explain this. You will notice it says, "rain will fall." That's in italics. That's because it's not in the original. The translators have included this and this is a very obscure Hebrew construction. It's inserted based upon the previous verse - verse 17 - that's speaking about rain, but it's probably better a reference to the plague that is there in verse 18. Can't be dogmatic on that. The point is, he's going to judge them.

The other question is, why is Egypt singled out? Well, we don't really know. Certainly, it has been a nation that historically has showed the greatest opposition to Israel. Much of that still occurs today, but it's probably just symbolic of all of the other nations. Verse 19 goes on to add to this saying, "This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths." And certainly, those early recipients of this prophecy would have understood this, in that context, as they thought about Egypt. And it's fascinating that the Messiah will not need a standing army. You don't read about that anywhere; he will be able to supernaturally rule with a rod of iron through things like plagues and drought and famine and so forth; and he will invoke severe penalties on those who refuse to worship him.

But notice next, just the scope of his rule, especially as it relates to the consecration the holiness of Israel in verse 20, "In that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, 'HOLE TO THE LORD.'" Absolutely fascinating. Certainly the Jewish people would have thought this like, "Oh, my goodness, but horses are unclean animals. We're not supposed to eat them." By the way, if you go to Canada, be careful, because lots of times when you order that hamburger, it used to whinny, okay? But they were considered instruments of war. Israel's kings, remember, were warned to never rely upon them for protection or deliverance. But in the millennium, think about this, as the Israelites perhaps ride to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths, even their horses will wear bells saying, "Holy to the Lord," which I might add is the same phrase that was inscribed upon the turban of the high priest. The point is, even animals that were once considered unclean will be consecrated to the Lord. Furthermore, "And the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar." Now, the pots were the lowliest of all of the vessels. They were used to do things like boil meat, remove ashes from the altar and so forth, but they were never to be used for offering sacrifices; unlike the bowls, which were polished, made of polished bronze and silver that were used for blood sacrifices.

Verse 21 goes on to say, "Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. There will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day." Canaanite, by the way, was used in the Old Testament to refer to a dishonest person. Certainly, they were evil people, but it was used to refer to a dishonest person, one who is morally, spiritually unclean. In fact, Hosea 12:7 describes a Canaanite as one "in whose hands are deceptive balances. He loves to oppress." Well, the point beloved of all of this is that the perfect purity of holiness will characterize all of the implements of the temple, and even the most common and ordinary things of domestic life. HOLY TO THE LORD will be the inscription on everything in the entire region of Jerusalem and Judea, including the people.

But I want you to notice the phrase, "and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them." Now it's fair to ask, why will there be reinstitution of animal sacrifices in the millennial kingdom? I mean, after all, the perfect and final sacrifice of Christ has been accomplished, especially in light of Hebrews chapter seven through chapter 10. The answer is really quite simple. These sacrifices are a memorial sacrifice, like we do with the Lord's Supper, as we did earlier. They're not atoning sacrifices. So the purpose of the sacrifices is to remember what Christ has done in his work of redemption. They are described in Ezekiel 43 through 46. And I might also add, if you look at them - we're not going to take time here - but you will see that they differ greatly from the Aaronic system. So they will not be a re-institution of Mosaic Judaism, as some will want to claim. And I find it remarkable that when you think about it, having rejected their Messiah for so long, Israel will have missed their opportunity to remember the Lord in communion like we did today, but now they're going to have a millennium where they can remember what he has done. But again, the sacrifices will not be expiatory. In other words, they will have no power of atonement. For according to Hebrews 10:4 "It is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins."

Well, we come to the end, and it's so fitting that the Spirit of God would inspire his prophet to end on such a high note as this. Indeed, here in chapter 14, we witness the title of my exposition to you, "The Glorious Day of Messianic Retribution, Rescue and Restoration." And I long for that day when the Lord Jesus Christ, the Priest King, will sit upon his throne; when a central sanctuary will be built in Jerusalem on the mount of the Lord (Ezekiel 40 through 48); when all of the nations will stream to worship and to praise him, and we will be there reigning with him. In fact, the precise and specific dimensions given in Ezekiel regarding the temple reinforce the importance of a literal interpretation describing an actual sanctuary.

And as I close this morning, may I remind you that all of this is consistent with God's new covenant promises. Ezekiel 37 beginning in verse 26, he said this, "'I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever.

"My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.

“And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.'"

Beloved, the millennium will be the consummating bridge between the purposes of God in human history and the eternal order. And as John Calvin once said, quote,

"We must hunger after Christ till the dawning of that great day when our Lord will fully manifest the glory of His Kingdom, the whole family of the faithful will keep in view that day."

And I trust we are all a family of the faithful. My, what hope we have in Christ, Amen. Let's pray together,

Father, thank you for the incredible truths of your word. Thank you that by the power of your Spirit, you have wrought within our souls a longing to see you, to be with you, to be taken out of this wicked world. But Lord, until you do, we want to be faithful in fulfilling the Great Commission that we would go and make disciples, that we would preach the gospel, that we would help people understand how they must observe all that you have commanded. Lord may this be the passion of our heart. And finally, Lord, if there be one in our midst that has never come to faith in Christ, I pray that you will do your mighty work of grace within their soul. Raise them from spiritual death to spiritual life, give them eyes to see the horror of their sin and the majesty of the living Christ that gave his life to pay for the sins of all who would trust in him; may today be the day of their spiritual resurrection, of their new birth. Lord, we thank you. We give you praise for all things, and we pray, Lord Jesus come quickly, Amen.