Zechariah 14 absolutely proves that Jesus Christ could not possibly return today or any time within the foreseeable future. The world to which Jesus Christ will return will have been horribly decimated by nuclear war. People won’t have to travel from far distances to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Tabernacles there as the only inhabited parts of the globe in all probability will be those countries immediately adjacent to Israel or countries within a few hundred miles, or less, from Israel! I know that this sounds shocking, almost unbelievable, but let’s look at that text in Zechariah 14 again a bit more closely.
Beginning with verse 16, we read: “And it SHALL come to pass (this prophecy MUST be fulfilled to the letter), that every one that is left (has survived the total war and nuclear devastation) of ALL the nations WHICH CAME AGAINST JERUSALEM shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Notice, the text does NOT say people from all the nations on the earth, but people of “all the nations which came against Jerusalem” in battle, primarily the Arab nations surrounding Israel.
Verse 17: “And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth (which came against Jerusalem) unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts (Jesus Christ), even upon them shall be no rain.”
Verse 18: “And if the family of Egypt (Arab Muslims) go not up, and come not (still refusing to honor Jesus Christ as the Son of God), that have no rain, there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen (Gentiles) that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.”
Verse 19: “This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all (surviving) nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.” Folks won’t be coming to Jerusalem from China and the Western world as all such shall have then been killed in the only world war the Bible speaks of, a nuclear war that destroys humankind by the billions! In Revelation 2:27 we read that Jesus Christ and His overcomer followers will then rule the peoples of this planet “with a rod of iron,” that is forcible, heavy-handed rule if necessary. Also remember that this is not speaking of people alive on earth today but of a future generation.
I know that much of what I now write will be shocking and almost incomprehensible to most of my readers and their pastors as most believers are woefully ignorant of the scriptures, thinking Jesus could return at any moment. (This email article will soon be published on my website).
Verse 20: “In that day (yes, at this yet future time) shall there be upon the bells OF THE HORSES (mechanized vehicles are no more), ‘holiness unto the Lord,’ and the pots in the Lord’s house (yes, the temple will have been rebuilt prior to Christ’s return – remember 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5) shall be like the bowls before the altar (all considered sacred vessels).”
But why is the feast of tabernacles mentioned? Why not Passover or Pentecost or some other feast day? Because the feast of tabernacles was the only feast time that was a teaching festival. (See Nehemiah 8). These surviving peoples must be educated as quickly as possible in the ways of the Lord, in what God demands of His creation. The feast of tabernacles is re-instituted to make this possible.
The present population of this earth is now estimated at about 7.6 billion people. Seven-and-a-half billion people cannot possibly gather together in Jerusalem or anywhere else, but in the book of Revelation we are told that BILLIONS of earth’s inhabitants are killed prior to Christ’s return. One fourth of mankind, nearly TWO BILLION humans, are killed by war, famine and disease at the very beginning of what is commonly called the Great Tribulation. (See Revelation 6:8).
To be continued…..
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley