Zechariah 14:1-9 English Standard Version

The Coming Day of the Lord

14 Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 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. 3 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 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. 5 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.

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 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.

8 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.

9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

These are the passages that the Jews of Jesus’s time were looking for rather than the Messiah they got. Considering all they were going through at the time, who could blame them?

Jerusalem is located 25 km from the active Dead Sea fault, which is a part of the Dead Sea Rift System Despite its proximity to the fault, the city has escaped past seismic events relatively undamaged. (Discovery Channel)

Science confirms that The Dead Sea fault line is capable of causing the separation described in Zechariah 14:4. This was discussed on the discovery channel during a program on the restoration of the Holy Sepulchre, a focal point of Christian veneration, His tomb bed. 

I cannot help but think about this prophecy being fulfilled and bringing to ruin every effort man has made to build monuments to God. Even if another temple were built to reinstate the daily sacrifices as described in Daniel 12, a quake that strong will lay to waste everything man has accomplished over the past two thousand years in Jerusalem.

1 Corinthians 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: (KJV)

Nothing man has done there shall stand on that day. That is the ultimate definition of vanity.

Psalm 86:12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

Matthew 6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,”

Mankind has changed the meaning of reward. In order to simplify the complicated, I begin here in Matthew 6. There are but two rewards to consider and both are tied directly to righteousness.

The righteousness of Jesus Christ leads to a just reward from God the Father who knows how to give good things to His children.

Self-righteousness leads to worldly rewards that stem from being used to further the abuser of mankind. They might feel good for the moment but become  a great millstone fastened around the neck, drowning us in the depths of the sea of despair. Matthew 18:6

This idea came to me via e-mail. Rewards programs given from the world of users will reward you for choosing their business adventure. Earn more rewards by spending more money. “You too can become a Diamond Member when you earn 10,000 points today!” Then they send you a link to apply for their credit card. The lie is being told it is a reward when you are being fleeced by greedy businesses.

There is no such thing as easy credit in this world.

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

God made a covenant with Abram, a pagan from Ur of the Chaldeans. The promise of this great reward was realized  when Abraham became the father of faith to three religions, that they should follow in his example. Hear God, believe God and obey God.

Colossians 3:23-24 English Standard Version

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Only the children have part in the inheritance. Are you a child of God?