His Certain Victory, Your Greatest HopeZechariah 13:2–14:21

Main Idea: God promises certain victory for His people through Jesus Christ.

1. Our Guaranteed Access to God (13:2-9)
2. Satan’s Gruesome Attack on Jerusalem (14:1-3)
3. Christ’s Glorious Appearance on Earth (14:4-9)
4. God’s Gracious Assurances to Us (14:10-21)

Two men were walking through a pasture when, in the distance, they saw an enraged bull charging toward them. The men began to run toward the nearest fence. The bull was in hot pursuit, gaining on them with each step. It became obvious that they were not going to make it to the fence before the bull made it to them.

Terrified, one shouted to the other, “John, you’ve got to pray for us. You’ve got to pray out loud! We’re in for it!”

John said, “I can’t pray. I’ve never prayed in public in my life.”

The other man said, “You’ve got to! That bull is catching up, fast!”

John panted, “All right, but the only prayer I know to say is the one my dad said every night at dinner.” So, he prayed, “Oh, Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.”

I’m not sure what happened next, but I do know that silly story brings up a really serious question: How can we give thanks to God when we’re in trouble, when our lives are tough or even tragic? In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 we are commanded, “Give thanks in everything, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” You may have noticed that the verse doesn’t say, “Give thanks for everything.” There are times that would be impossible or disingenuous. But the truth is, it can even seem nearly impossible to give thanks in everything.

How do you give thanks when your doctor says, “You have cancer”? How do you hold on to hope when the person you love most walks out on you? How do you give thanks when you’ve been fired or when your dream has collapsed? Where does your hope go when you’ve gone through an economic tidal wave that’s wiped out everything you’ve worked for? How can we hold on to hope and give thanks in everything when we face things like these? These are tough things, even tragic things.

The only way to keep our hope alive in life’s tragic and tough circumstances is to live each day in light of God’s eternal plan and purpose. That’s why Bible prophecy is so important for followers of Jesus. Knowing what God has planned for the future gives us hope right now.

The Old and New Testaments are filled with promises of the second coming of Christ. In the OT alone, for every one prophecy of the first coming of Christ, there are eight prophecies concerning Christ’s second coming. The purpose of biblical prophecy is not merely to satisfy our curiosity. For some people, the primary reason for studying prophecies seems to be to quench their inquisitiveness or to bolster arguments for their eschatological position. These are not the reasons God gave us prophecy. Instead, God spoke to His people about the future so that we can see His eternal purpose. Understanding God’s unfolding plan for the future empowers us to live with hope and victory.

Zechariah 13 and 14 are all about giving God’s people hope for the future. The major theme of these chapters is God’s promise of certain victory for His people through Jesus Christ. These chapters divide readily into four major sections. Each section reveals to us something significant about the second coming of Jesus Christ and the victory His coming promises us.

Our Guaranteed Access to God (Zechariah 13:2-9)

Zechariah 13:2-9 describes the spiritual renewal of Israel as they repent and believe in Jesus as Messiah at His second coming. The passage shows how God will provide access for His people to call on Him as they turn away from idolatry and false prophets, are purified by the Lord, and then cry out to God in prayer.

In verse 2 God promises to “erase the names of the idols from the land.” The Hebrew for “idols,” ?atsav, comes from a verb that means to form or to fashion, highlighting the fact that human hands formed idols. Describing the abolition of idolatry in Israel as erasing the names of the idols is significant. In ancient culture, a name reflected a person’s character, reputation, and essence. To erase the name of the idols indicates the total destruction of their credibility and authority in Israel. Indeed, God promises that, as Jesus returns to rule over His people, the false gods represented by the empty idols “will no longer be remembered.”

Along with the elimination of idolatry, God promises to “remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.” Significantly, in this passage the Lord identifies the root of false prophecy as “the unclean spirit.” The Hebrew word for uncleanness, tum?ah, was used in a variety of ways in the OT, referring to the sexual impurity of a woman during the menstrual cycle (Num 5:19; Lam 1:9) and any physically unclean thing in the temple that required purification (2 Chr 29:16). The meaning was extended to spiritual uncleanness and impurity, as in Leviticus 16:16 and Ezekiel 24:13. Jesus confronted unclean spirits a number of times in the Gospels and gave His disciples authority over them (Matt 10:1; Mark 1:23-27; 3:11; Luke 8:26-33). Revelation 16:13-14 mentions unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet in the last days, identifying these unclean spirits as “demonic spirits” that go out to summon the nations to the Battle of Armageddon. Zechariah 13:2, however, is the only place in the OT that talks explicitly about “unclean spirits.”

Verses 3-6 expand on how false prophets will be eliminated from God’s people. The Mosaic law required that a false prophet be put to death (Deut 13:5; 18:20). As the people of Judah turn to the Lord in the last days, God makes the staggering promise that the false prophet’s own parents will not only accuse him of his crime before God but actually carry out their own son’s execution. As a result, those who had been prophesying falsely will suddenly claim a different line of work as their profession. Verse 4 says, “every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies.” The immediate shame at their own prophecies would seem to indicate that the false prophets are not altogether in control of the messages they deliver but are instruments of the unclean spirits they have served. No longer will these false prophets wear the “hairy cloak” that identified them as spokesmen for God and gave them authority and respect (2 Kgs 1:8; Matt 3:4). Instead, verses 5 and 6 say that a man will claim never to have been a prophet, but only a simple hired farm hand since his youth. He will deny that the cuts and scars on his chest resulted from ecstatic cutting rituals designed to gain the attention of the pagan gods (1 Kgs 18:28). Instead, he will attribute them to his friends.

All of this cleansing in Israel—of idolatry, false prophets, and the unclean spirit—can be attributed to the fountain of living waters opened for the people of Judah and Jerusalem through the coming of the Messiah, described in 13:1. James Montgomery Boice observes,

Where does this cleansing from sin’s power and defilement come from? It comes from the fountain. And what is that? Clearly, the “fountain” that will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem is the blood of the Messiah whom they have pierced. (Minor Prophets, 554)

Beginning in verse 7, Zechariah describes the slaying of God’s shepherd and the scattering of God’s sheep. A sword is personified, as the Lord addresses that deadly weapon as he would a sleeping warrior. He calls upon the sword to “awake” and “strike the shepherd.” Notably, the Lord calls the shepherd “My associate.” The Hebrew term is used in other places in the Old Testament to describe a neighbor, a close companion, or another person regarded as an equal (Lev 6:2; 18:20; 19:15). Jesus proclaimed His own equality with God the Father in John 10:30 and 14:9. Telling the sword to “strike the shepherd” shows that the death of Christ was not an accident, but was divinely planned. This is consistent with Isaiah 53:10: “The Lord was pleased to crush Him severely.” At the end of verse 7, Zechariah prophesies that God’s sheep would be scattered as a result of the Messiah’s death. Jesus quoted this verse to His disciples on the night before He was crucified (Matt 26:31). The verse prophesies the disciples’ abandonment of Jesus as He was crucified (Matt 26:56), and also points to the scattering of the Jews with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 as well as during the tribulation (Rev 12:6, 13-17). The phrase “little ones” parallels “the sheep” and may have in view first-century disciples, unbelieving Jews of all ages, or a faithful remnant of the future.

In verse 8, Zechariah reveals what will happen as a result of God’s flock being scattered: they will face a time of crisis that will “cut off” or destroy two thirds of the flock. Only a third of the flock will survive. While the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 may have been a taste of the coming time of trouble facing Israel prophesied by Zechariah, a greater future catastrophe seems to be in view here. Evidently, during the tribulation of the end times, two thirds of the Jews will perish and one third will live through it and enter the millennium. The remnant that survives would include the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5 (Constable, “Notes on Zechariah,” 83–84).

Verse 9 shows that the remnant will be reestablished in a covenant relationship with God. God promised to “put this third through the fire” in order to “refine them as silver is refined and test them as gold is tested.” There is a slightly different shade of meaning between “refine” and “test.” The Hebrew for “refine” is tsaraph, which refers to a process of purification. The word for “test” is bachan, which means to examine or to prove. Add them together, and a full picture emerges of what God will do to the Jews during the tribulation: He will purify them of anything that is impure in order to prove them to be His own redeemed people.

In the days of Zechariah, a refiner would take the raw gold or silver and place it in a ceramic container. Inside the container was the ore—not just the precious metal, but also impurities such as zinc, lead, and salt. The ceramic container was put into a fiery kiln for five days. During those five days, all of the impurities would separate to the outside edges of the container. Nothing would be left in the middle of the vessel but the pure silver or gold. Just as a refiner turns up the heat on gold and silver—first to make it malleable, moldable, and pliable and then to purify it—our God also will allow us, as His people, to go through times of testing and refining in order to make us what He wants us to be. He uses those times of testing in our lives to bring us to our knees, so that we will call on Him.

The culmination of God’s work of purifying His people comes at the end of Verse 9. God makes four statements to describe the access He will provide Israel to Himself after His people have been purged by the persecution in the tribulation. The words follow a chiastic pattern of “they, I, I, they.” (1) “They will call on My name.” This call is more than simply crying out to God for rescue from trouble. Instead, it indicates faith and repentance. (2) “I will answer them.” God will respond to His people’s sincere call by answering, accepting, forgiving, and saving. (3) “I will say: They are My people.” Fulfilling His covenant promise to Israel, God will acknowledge and embrace the people as His own. (4) “They will say: Yahweh is our God.” No more would the people be turned to idols or false prophets. Now their only allegiance will be to the Lord. Paul, quoting from Isaiah 59:20-21 and Jeremiah 31:33-34, rested in the promise that God would restore Israel in the future:

And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written: The Liberator will come from Zion; He will turn away godlessness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant with them when I take away their sins. (Rom 11:26-27)

God’s promise to remove impurities and restore Israel’s access to Him has a powerful application for God’s people today. Like Israel, believers need to repent from following after empty and useless alternatives to God, idols that we create with our own hands and hearts. Like Israel, we must turn from false messengers who pretend to speak truth while peddling deception and lies. And, like Israel, we can count on God hearing and answering when we call on Him, because we belong to Him.

If you’re like I am, you have probably gotten a call on your cell phone, looked at the display to see who was calling, and then decided not to take the call. Instead of answering, you put your phone away in your pocket or your purse. Sometimes you put the cell phone away because you don’t know the person who is calling. Other times you get the call and leave it unanswered because you do know the person and you just don’t want to talk to them. There are also times when you’d like to take the call but you’re busy with something else, and you simply are not available to talk.

As human beings, we’re limited in our availability. We can’t be available to everybody all the time, even when we want to be. But God is unlimited in His power to hear and answer when we call, and because of the work of Jesus Christ, God is always available to His people. He never sees us coming and ducks out of the way to avoid us. He loves us. He cares about us. He hears when we call. That’s the guarantee of our access to Him through Christ.

Satan’s Gruesome Attack on Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-3)

Zechariah 14:1-3 is a graphic description of the details of the Battle of Armageddon, specifically related to what will happen in the city of Jerusalem. Though the attack from Satan-inspired forces will be severe, God provides hope through the Messiah’s victory.

In verse 2 God says, “I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle.” In the final days of the tribulation, all of the nations from throughout the earth will march, anticipating triumph over Israel. These attacking nations will ransack the city of Jerusalem. verse 2 goes on to say that houses will be plundered, women will be brutalized, and half the city will be taken into exile. While attacks against Israel and Jerusalem have been common throughout history, even up to the present day, it’s important to understand that the attack described here is not just a hit-and-run event. This is not a rogue nation lashing out against Israel. The intent of this worldwide attack will be to impose satanic authority on Jerusalem and to subdue God’s people completely.

However, in verse 3, something momentous happens: “Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle.” Just when Satan and his all-nation forces seem to have gained the upper hand, the Lord Himself will enter the battle. Instantly the balance of power will shift in the favor of God’s people.

Think about that scene: The attack is gruesome, merciless, and unrelenting. The enemy is satanic and extremely powerful, even employing wicked, supernatural powers. But God’s people will find their victory in God Himself. He promises to fight for His people and protect them. God’s faithfulness and protective power during this gruesome attack on Jerusalem remind us that our safety does not depend on our distance from danger. Our safety depends on our nearness to God. If we are with Him, He will keep us through the most dangerous times we will ever face.

One evening I was walking our little Yorkshire terrier down the sidewalk. Joey weighs, at most, six pounds, and he lives by this motto: “Love all people; hate all dogs.” Every time we take him out we have to be on the lookout for other dogs because Joey goes crazy, barking and trying to attack. On this particular evening, as I was walking I heard a lady yell from her driveway, “Come back here!”

I looked to my left and saw a little white poodle running away from this lady, toward Joey and me. Joey started barking furiously. I reached down and picked up Joey in my arms. As soon as I did, that other dog ran up and nailed me right in the leg. His bite broke the skin and drew blood. Then, our attacker ran back to the lady in the driveway, who apologized profusely.

On the way back home, I looked down at my little Yorkie and said, “Always remember, Joey, I got bit for you. That could have been you, but I took the hit.” Joey didn’t seem to be all that impressed by my sacrifice. He just kept walking and wagging his tail. But I do think he knows, somehow, that his safety simply depends on his closeness to me. As long as he’s with me, he knows I will to do everything I can do to protect him.

Here’s what the Bible says about you and your God: Your safety does not depend on your distance from danger. There will be times when the path that God has for you will take you into dangerous, difficult, tragic, and even hurtful circumstances. But your safety does not depend on your distance from danger; it depends on your nearness to your God.

At the Battle of Armageddon, when danger will encircle God’s people, when they will be attacked and brutalized by Satan’s forces in ways that are beyond our imagination, the Lord Jesus will show up and take the hit for them. He will fight the battle for them. And, in the same way, He will fight for us today. The cross of Jesus Christ has already proved that fact conclusively. When Jesus died on the cross for our sin, He bore the brunt of every attack that Satan has to offer and He came out of the tomb on the third day victorious. We can praise the Lord because we share in His victory.

Christ’s Glorious Appearance on Earth (Zechariah 14:4-9)

Verse 4 tells what will happen when Jesus returns physically to earth, setting His feet on the Mount of Olives. Situated to the east of the Kidron Valley, right next to Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives rises to a height of 2,710 feet, making it higher than the Temple Mount. The grey soil of the mountain is suited to the growth of olive trees (Barker, “Zechariah,” 691). The Mount of Olives occupies a prominent place in the earthly ministry of Jesus. We read in the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus preached His most extensive sermon concerning the future, end times, and prophecy from the Mount of Olives. Recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, it is often called the “Olivet Discourse.” Then all four Gospels tell us that during His last night on earth before His crucifixion Jesus went to the foot of the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane, and offered up His soul to the Father in surrender (Matt 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-53; Luke 22:39-53; John 18:1-14).

Acts 1 says that after appearing numerous times following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples on the Mount of Olives and ascended to heaven. As the disciples gazed into heaven, two angels appeared to them with this message: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). The place from which Jesus ascended is identified as the Mount of Olives in Acts 1:12.

Writing over 500 years before the birth of Christ, Zechariah prophesied that at the climax of the Battle of Armageddon, the Lord will one day personally, physically, and visibly descend to earth at the Mount of Olives, just as He ascended into heaven from that place. At the instant Christ appears on the Mount of Olives, Zechariah identifies six amazing events that will happen:

(1) The Mount of Olives will divide in two. Verse 4 promises that the mountain “will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south.” A hairline fault line runs east and west through the Mount of Olives, and there a new valley will be formed on the day Jesus returns. This cleaving of the mountain may be caused by an earthquake that will accompany the Lord’s return, although not necessarily. Certainly, the dramatic physical change in the landscape surrounding Jerusalem will be a sign of God’s supernatural judgment.

(2) The people of Israel will flee through the newly formed valley to Azal. Verse 5 says to the people of Israel: “You will flee by My mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal.” Students of the Bible have offered various guesses about the exact identity of Azal. The word itself may be a preposition meaning “near to,” “beside,” or a noun meaning “the side.” For that reason, the word could be translated “very near,” implying that escape will be easy. Others have surmised that Azal may be the Valley of Jehoshaphat mentioned in Joel 3:2 and 12, or that it may be the Wadi Yasul, a tributary of the Kidron River (Barker, “Zachariah,” 691). These are only guesses, however. The location of Azal remains a mystery. What is sure is that Azal is a place to which the inhabitants of Jerusalem will flee for security, and that their flight to Azal will be as urgent as when their ancestors had fled from a notable earthquake during the time of King Uzziah, also mentioned in Amos 1:1.

(3) The Lord will return, accompanied by His holy ones. Verse 5 concludes, “Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with Him.” God’s holy ones are not only the angelic armies of heaven but also resurrected and glorified believers. In the OT “holy ones” or “saints” is used to refer to angels (Deut 33:3; Ps 89:5-7; Job 15:15) as well as to godly people (Lev 11:44-45; Ps 16:3; Dan 8:24). Jesus described His own return by promising to come with both angels and His saints:

And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matt 24:30b-31)

Along with His angels, the souls of the redeemed who have been saved, resurrected, and glorified with Jesus will come back with Him in victory.

(4) Jesus will make dramatic changes in the heavens. Verses 6 and 7 say that on the day of Christ’s physical return “there will be no light; the sunlight and moonlight will diminish. It will be a day known only to the Yahweh, without day or night, but there will be light at evening.” This depiction is very similar to how the new Jerusalem is described in Revelation 21:23, where John writes that the city will not need the sun or the moon to shine on it because the glory of God will give it light and Jesus, the Lamb, will illuminate it.

(5) Jesus will cause a river to flow that will refresh and restore the land. Verse 8 describes a river that will flow in two directions. Half will flow to the Dead Sea, identified as “the eastern sea.” The other half will flow to the Mediterranean Sea, called the “western sea.” This renewing water will never dry up or stop running. Instead, “in summer and winter alike,” it will keep flowing year round. The perpetual and abundant fertility of the land of Israel during the millennial reign of Christ, described in places such as Isaiah 27:6 and 35:1-3, as well as Amos 9:13-14, may be attributed to the river.

(6) Jesus Christ will rule as King over the earth. This is the most glorious thing that will happen. Verse 9 states that Yahweh, in the person of Jesus Christ, “will become King over all the earth.” The verse concludes that the ruler of the earth will be “Yahweh alone, and His name alone.” This means that everyone will acknowledge Jesus as the only Lord. No longer will people claim that you can call God this name, that name, or some other name. No longer will they say, “There are many paths to God. Jesus is a good path, but not the only path.” Instead, the whole world will acknowledge that there is only one Lord: Yahweh, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. He will rule and reign over the earth.

Some words and melodies are inseparably linked to one another. When we read the words from the “Hallelujah Chorus,” taken from Revelation 11:15, our minds automatically replay the striking and famous melody as well:

The kingdom of this world Is become the kingdom of our Lord, And of His Christ, and of His Christ; And He shall reign for ever and ever.

Those majestic words resonate together with the prophecy of Zechariah 14:9 fulfilled here: “Yahweh will become King over all the earth.” Jesus is coming to reign. Every time we repeat the words of the Lord’s Prayer—“Your kingdom come!”—we are praying for this day. Zechariah foretold a day when Jesus Christ will bring into fulfillment the victory that He has already won through His cross and His resurrection from the grave.

The story is told of a Midwestern farmer who hated God, hated the church, and hated religious people. Every Sunday morning, as he was out plowing in his field, he would shake his fist at all the people driving past on their way to church. October came, and the farmer had his finest crop ever. In fact, he had the biggest crop of anyone in the county.

When the harvest was complete, that farmer placed an advertisement in the local paper. In that advertisement, he belittled the Christians in his community for their faith in God. At the end of his letter, he wrote, “Faith in God must not mean much, if someone like me can prosper.”

The response from the Christians in the community was quiet and polite. Someone placed a small ad in the next edition of the town paper, and it said simply, “God doesn’t always settle His accounts in October.”

God does not always settle His accounts in October, or in our lifetimes, or even in centuries of history. Injustice and great wickedness seem sometimes to go unaddressed by our holy and righteous God. But He will settle His accounts. Jesus will come to rule the world in God’s justice and righteousness. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever, hallelujah! His certain victory, in His own time, gives us reason to praise Him and to give thanks in every circumstance.

God’s Gracious Assurances to Us (Zechariah 14:10-21)

Verses 10-21 of our text provide three assurances that God graciously promises to His people. The promises He made centuries ago to the people of Judah have real implications for us, assuring us of victory in the future and providing us with hope right now.

(1) The Bible assures us that King Jesus will establish His kingdom. Verse 10 describes a total transformation of the area surrounding Jerusalem. From the northern border at Geba to the southern border 35 miles south in Rimmon, the region will become flattened into a plain, so that the city of Jerusalem will become more prominent. Additionally, Verse 10 lists a number of gates and other landmarks in the city, promising that Jerusalem will “remain on its site.” With Jesus reigning from the city, Jerusalem will dominate the landscape and will be firmly established. In light of the fact that Zechariah and his contemporaries were working hard to restore the ruined city of Jerusalem, this prophecy must have been especially encouraging.

Verse 11 continues with another promise for Jerusalem: that the city will be inhabited, that it will never again be completely destroyed, and that it will dwell in security—a Hebrew phrase that carries the idea of enduring and staying. This promise was not fulfilled in the time of Zechariah, nor in the era of Jesus and the early church. But when Jesus rules and reigns at His return, the city of Jerusalem—attacked, besieged, and destroyed so many times in history—will be absolutely secure forever. Verses 12 through 15 tell us that any enemies that would dare to rise up against Jerusalem and its King will be struck with a plague and wiped out instantly.

(2) The Bible assures us that all nations will worship King Jesus. In verses 16-19 Zechariah prophesies that all of the survivors who did not die at the Battle of Armageddon will celebrate the Festival of Booths, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, annually. Since Jesus will destroy all of the soldiers of the nations that come against Jerusalem at the Battle of Armageddon, these “survivors” are those who did not engage in the attack. Instead, they are noncombatant citizens of the nations that had attacked God’s people. Along with the people of Israel, they will come to Jerusalem each year for the Festival of Booths, which was a celebration of the harvest. It was a time of giving thanks and praise to the Lord. Verses 17-19 tell us that any nation that refuses to worship King Jesus will suffer drought. Specifically, the text warns against Egypt refusing to come and to worship Jesus. Egypt depended on the overflowing of the Nile to irrigate its crops. With no rain, the river would not flood and the fields would dry up and die.

Imagine what would happen in our lives if we suffered drought every time we failed to give God thanks? What if the blessings started to dry up in our lives? We can be grateful that Jesus is gracious enough to care for us even when we neglect to give Him thanks. Still, we miss out on certain blessings when we fail to give God thanks. We can live our lives day by day giving thanks to King Jesus and worshiping Him because of the ways He has blessed us.

(3) The Bible assures us that the holiness of King Jesus will prevail. Verses 20 and 21 show how Christ’s holiness will permeate the entire city of Jerusalem. The bells on the bridles of common horses will be engraved with the same words inscribed on the turban of the high priest when he served in the temple: “HOLY TO THE LORD.” Further, every pot in the temple would be just as holy as the bowls used in service at the altar. Even more, verse 21 promises that common pots and vessels in the houses of Jerusalem would be so holy that they could be used for service in the sanctuary. Wicked and unholy people, described as “Canaanites” in our text, would no longer be in the house of the Lord at all. Though Jerusalem has often been called the “Holy City” in Scripture and in history, with Jesus reigning, Jerusalem will truly be holy. Every part of the city—to the smallest part, such as bells on horses and pots in cupboards—will be holy to the Lord because Jesus is ruling. His coming promises our certain victory.

I heard about a high school football game where the home team was losing terribly. They could not close the gap in the score, no matter what they did. The clock was about to run out, everyone was discouraged, and the coach was frustrated. Then he looked over to see all the cheerleaders for his team sitting on the grass, their pom-poms down beside them. Their heads were hung low.

Irritated, the coach ran over the cheerleaders and said, “Girls, don’t you think that our team would do better if you girls would stand up on the sidelines and cheer?”

The head cheerleader looked up and as sincerely as she could, said, “Coach, I think our team would do better if we girls would go out on the field and play!”

Maybe you’ve seen a game like that, when victory becomes not just unlikely but humanly impossible. That will be the story in the last days for God’s people. The whole world, led by a satanic ruler empowered by the Devil himself, will be bearing down, not only on the little sliver of land called Israel, but on one city, Jerusalem. The attack will be such that it will be humanly impossible for anything to happen other than defeat. And then Jesus will show up, He will place His feet on the Mount of Olives, and He will change the game.

The same thing that’s true for Israel in its last days is true for followers of Jesus right now. When defeat is absolutely inevitable, when victory is humanly impossible, Jesus shows up. He’s the game changer. For followers of Jesus, victory is on the same road as defeat. Victory’s just a little further on down the road. So if you’re being defeated right now, be assured, based on the Word of God, Your victory is sure in Jesus Christ. Because of His coming, we can have certain victory and the greatest hope.

Reflect and Discuss

1. Zechariah 13–14 promises certain victory for followers of Jesus Christ. How does assurance of ultimate victory change the way you view temporary failures?
2. What forms of idolatry are most present in our culture today? How does idolatry influence followers of Jesus?
3. Idols, though empty, are also associated with spiritual uncleanness. In what way does idolatry lead to demonic influences?
4. God promises to use the tribulation of the end times to purify Israel. How do trials and persecution refine believers and confirm our relationship to the Lord?
5. Is there anything that can limit your access to God as a believer? Why? How does understanding the access we have to God through Christ change the way we pray and worship?
6. At the Battle of Armageddon, the Lord promises to “go out and fight against the nations.” Do you usually think of Jesus Christ as a warrior? Why or why not?
7. How does this passage’s description of Christ’s future activity in earth’s final battle relate to His response to sin and rebellion today?
8. This passage shows that our safety depends on our closeness to God. Have you been seeking safety by fleeing from danger? Does God call His people to a risk-averse life? What adjustments do you need to make to become a more daring Christian?
9. What message does Christ’s coming kingdom speak to the injustice and wickedness of the present world?
10. Zechariah ends with a dramatic picture of holiness pervading throughout Jerusalem. What about you would be different if the Lord’s holiness permeated to the smallest parts of your own personal life?