today's meditation (Zech.14) Seeing and Knowing

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Zechariah 14:1-21) Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoils taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be taken, the houses plundered, the women raped, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be eliminated from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west forming a very large valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just 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!

6 On that day there will be no light; the luminaries will die out. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at the time of evening there will be light.

8 And on that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

9 And the Lord will be King over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.

10 All the land will change into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but 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 to the king’s wine presses. 11 People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will live in security.

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. 13 And it will come about on that day 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 raised against the hand of another. 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And just like this plague, there will be a plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and all the cattle that will be in those camps.

16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of armies, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 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 armies, there will be no rain on them. 18 And 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 strikes the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.

20 On that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of armies; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of armies on that day.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Only unbelievers will go into the Tribulation, but there will be those becoming believers during the seven years, along with Israel as a nation.  They will see the judgements, the signs of Jesus' second coming and believe.  Some of the judgements include the sun and stars losing their light, wars, plagues, and earthquakes.

Near the end of the Tribulation, like the parting of the Red Sea, the Lord will cause an earthquake which will create a valley for all believers to use to escape the enemies.  Then the Lord will come again with His holy ones to have victory at the battle of Armageddon and remove all sinners from the earth.

Only believers will enter the Millennium, but there will be people born into that time period and they will have to make their choice - to make Jesus their Lord and Savior or not.  Jesus will be right there on earth, governing it with immediate and righteous justice.  Jesus will also be right there in person to answer and guide people.  And Jesus will fulfill all of Israel's covenants.

As for right now, all believers have the indwelling omniscient Holy Spirit to help guide us.  The Lord is omnipresent, so anywhere and all the time, we can talk to Him and make our requests known.  And because the Lord is omnipotent, nothing is impossible for Him.  We also have access to God's written word, the Bible, which is relevant and applicable to any situation we could ever encounter.  Because God desires that all come to know Him, He is faithful so we can see and know - BEHOLD - we can be confident and trust in Him.