How this final prophecy of Zechariah 14 explained reveals the Second Coming of Christ, the defeat of the nations, and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom.
Bible Study Guide
The Day of the Lord Begins: Jerusalem Surrounded (Zechariah 14:1–2)
(Verses 1-2) Zechariah opens with sobering words of heavenly implications.
“A day of the Lord is coming.” (Zechariah 14:1)
The prophet points to a time around the midway point of the Tribulation that leads us into the Second Coming of Christ. Zechariah 14 explained is one of the most detail revealing prophecy passages before the book of Revelation. It correlates with many other “day of the Lord” prophecies.
Jerusalem’s enemies will surround it. This will be a global invasion of many nations upon Israel.
At the three-and-a-half-year mark of the seven-year Tribulation described in Daniel 9, the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and unleash this invasion against the nation.
“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27)
This is more than confirmation. It is clarification of what is soon to unfold in our very day. The prophet Daniel offers additional clarity on these unfolding events in Daniel 11:36-45.
The Warrior King Appears (Zechariah 14:3)
(Verse 3) The King of kings and Lord of lords will go forth to fight for Israel. This will not be the first time Israel experiences the direct intervention of God on it’s behalf. At the beginning of the Tribulation, there will be another great attack on Israel. It will be the Ezekiel War of Ezekiel 38.
God will come to the defense of Israel as the prophet explains in Ezekiel 38:17-23.
Just as He fought in the days of old, He now fights for Israel again. The Second Coming is not a quiet descent — it is a divine invasion. This is not symbolic imagery. This is physical and direct intervention by God through Christ. This will be personal and violent.
This is not a God whose abandoned His people. This is a God who abundantly loves His chosen people.
The Mount of Olives Splits in Two (Zechariah 14:4–5)
(Verses 4-5) The exact place of His departure becomes the place of His return.
“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)
This Zechariah 14 Second Coming places Jesus right on the Mount of Olives. It was the very place He ascended before the eyes of His disciples. This puts Jesus about a mile from the Temple.
Today, we live in a world of increasing shaking and trembling. The earth grows more violent in power and frequency. This is all meant to lead us up to the days of the Tribulation. The Bible says it will be a time of the worst geological upheaval the earth has ever experienced.
Revelation 16 explains it this way:
“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.” (Revelation 16:17-18)
Mount of Olives splits as it relents to the power of heaven. Geography changes in an instant. A route to escape is provided. Zechariah 14 Second Coming is foreshadowed with powerful shaking.
Notice that Christ will return with the Holy Ones. These are the believers who were raptured before the Tribulation. How exciting is that?
A Unique Day Unlike Any Other (Zechariah 14:6–7)
(Verses 6-7) When seven years of wrath have run their course, the survivors will watch in astonishment as blazing light breaks through the darkness. This stands in extraordinary contrast as the soldier’s spear of darkness pierced the light of Christ that hung on the cross.
This means that this day will defy the natural law that mankind has grown accustom to.
The foreshadow of Zechariah 14 Second Coming will mark the end of this current age. Patterns and order of this age will come to an end.
At evening time — light appears. The spiritual darkness that covered the Tribulation gives way to supernatural illumination. The long night ends. The old order is gone. Heaven has arrived. Things will never be the same. The righteous King will now rule.
Living Waters Flow from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8)
(Verse 8) Israel’s enemies are defeated. Then life replaces judgment.
From Jerusalem flows living water — east and west. Ezekiel dedicates the last 9 chapters of his book explaining how Jerusalem and the Temple will exist in the Millennial 1,000 year reign of Christ. He foreshadows in greater detail words from God about the river of life that will flow from Jerusalem.
“The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.” (Ezekiel 47:1)
The river will flow year-round. Unstoppable. Judgment gives way to restoration. The curse begins to lift. The King’s presence transforms the land.
This imagery points to the eventual New Heaven and New Earth in the book of Revelation:
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Revelation 22:1)
This will take place at our final destination with God after the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ.
The King Over All the Earth (Zechariah 14:9)
(Verse 9) Jesus is coronated the King of kings and Lord of lords.
“On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:
king of kings and lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16)
He will not reign only over Jerusalem or the nation of Israel. He will be the One and only Lord and King over all the earth and every nation.
“The Lord shall be King over all the earth.” (Zechariah 14:9)
This is not a metaphor. Nor is it spiritual. Jesus will reign both physically and globally.
The fractured kingdoms of men will end. The rule of Christ begins. One Lord. One name. There will be no other.
The Land Is Lifted, Jerusalem Is Secure (Zechariah 14:10–11)
(Verses 10-11) The face of the earth will undergo drastic and devastation and change under God’s seven year wrath.
After the wrath, the powers of heaven upon the earth will continue to change the topography. This time it will be a transforming and restorative power as Christ prepares the earth for the Millennial Kingdom.
Isaiah foreshadows one of the most important aspects of these geographical face-lifts.
“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.” (Isaiah 2:2)
The land flattens and Jerusalem rises. On the day Jesus delivered His Olivet Discourse, His disciples marveled at the beauty of their Temple as they gazed across the Kidron Valley from the Mount of Olives. Imagine what this new Temple described in Ezekiel 40-48 will look like atop the highest mountain in the land.
Never again will it be destroyed. What armies tried to crush, God permanently exalts.
Do you know what’s even more marvelous? We will be there with the Lord, reigning with Him in all His glory.
The Plague of Judgment on the Nations (Zechariah 14:12–15)
(Verses 12) Zechariah 14 explained looks back at judgment and declares with dreadful clarity the fate of those who fought against Jerusalem. The same nations that gathered in arrogance face instant devastation. Their strength dissolves where they stand. This is the final reckoning of rebellion.
(Verse 13-15) Throughout the Old Testament, God establishes and repeats this ancient biblical pattern with deliberate purpose. He strikes the enemies of Israel as He goes before them in battle.
Although not all served as victories for Israel. God still intervened in a way to fulfill His purposes in these battles.
- Battle of Gibeon (Joshua 10)
- Battle of Micmash (1 Samuel 14)
- Battle of the Midianites (Judges 7)
- Battle of Aphek (1 Samuel 4)
The Nations Worship the King (Zechariah 14:16–19 Explained)
(Verses 16-19) The earth will move from war and wrath to worldwide worship under the command of Christ.
There will be survivors of the seven year Tribulation. These survivors will be required to come yearly to Jerusalem to worship the King and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Zechariah tells us that this original Jewish feast established by God will continue to be celebrated in the Millennium.
The feast in the Millennial Kingdom is not optional allegiance. There will be consequences for those nations who refuse the purposes of God continued by Christ.
“If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain.” (Zechariah 14:17)
It is enforced righteousness. The King rules.
Holiness Fills Everything (Zechariah 14:20–21)
(Verses 20-21) “Holiness to the Lord” is no longer confined to priestly garments. Even common cooking pots are holy. There is no separation between sacred and secular.
The age of rebellion ends. Satan has been cast away for a thousand years. The age of holiness begins.
Through ancient Old Testament history, Israel had been mixed with the original people of the land of Canaan (Promised Land). Against God’s orders to rid the land of all its enemies, many remained through OT history.
This will not be the case in the Millennial Kingdom.
“And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 14:21)
Ezekiel also foretold of this:
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.'” (Ezekiel 44:9)
Closing Reflection: From Wrath to Restoration
As Zechariah 14 explained brings this prophetic book to a close, it does more than describe the Day of the Lord — it closes an era.
After these final words, heaven will grow silent. The prophetic voice will rest. Four hundred years will pass before the cry of repentance rises again through John the Baptist and the arrival of Jesus Christ. But Zechariah does not end with silence in defeat. He ends with a reigning King.
Wrath gives way to restoration. Judgment clears the stage for holiness. The nations that raged will one day worship. The city that trembled will stand secure. And the Lord will be King over all the earth.
This is the heartbeat of zechariah 14 explained — not destruction, but dominion. Not chaos, but coronation. God does not abandon His promises; He fulfills them in power.
What awaits the believer lies far beyond present comprehension. The Millennial Kingdom will end this current sinful age, and the glory of Christ’s reign will answer every question suffering has ever raised. In the presence of our King of kings and Lord of lords, faith will become sight, sorrow will give way to joy, and holiness will define all things.
Zechariah closes with a world made sacred.
And the next time heaven speaks, it will announce a new covenant in Christ — the very King this prophecy exalts.
To understand how every chapter builds toward this climactic return, revisit the full prophetic arc of Zechariah 8–14.
Further Studies On Related Prophecy
- 📖 Related Prophetic Bible Studies
- Explore additional Scripture passages that align with the prophetic themes discussed in this study.
- Daniel 9:25-27 – The Final Seven: How Daniel’s Timeline Leads to Earth’s Last Days
- Ezekiel 38:10-23 – The War of Gog and Magog Unfolds in God’s Perfect Timing
- Matthew 24:29-31 – The Second Coming and the Gathering of the Saint
- Revelation 16:12-21 – The Battle of Armageddon Biblically Explained
- Revelation 19:11-14 – The Second Coming of Christ & the Battle of Armageddon
- Revelation 22:1-5 – The Garden of Eden Restored
Closing Prayer
Sovereign Lord,
As we reflect on Zechariah 14 explained, we stand in awe of Your power and Your promises. You rule over history, and You will bring this age to its appointed end. When the appointed wrath has finished its work, restoration will rise in its place, and Your Son will reign as King over all the earth.
Strengthen our faith as we wait for that day. Guard our hearts from fear and deception. Help us live holy lives now, knowing that holiness will one day fill the world. Fix our eyes on Jesus, our coming King, and anchor our hope in the kingdom that cannot be shaken.
We long for the day when faith becomes sight and we stand in the glorious presence of our King of kings and Lord of lords.
Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.