The Triumph of the Coming King
Repent and Return

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Good morning, church and Happy Palm Sunday! It was great having the children in here with us earlier, celebrating Palm Sunday with us together.

We call it Palm Sunday because 2000 years ago, on that first day of the week, when Jesus and His disciples entered Jerusalem, they entered to people waving cut palm branches and throwing their cloaks in front of Him and crying out, “Hosanna, Hosanna” to Jesus. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna” means “God’s salvation” and, in the Hebrew, “God saves.” They welcomed him triumphantly, but many in that same crowd, perhaps, were paid to say, “Crucify Him, crucify him,” only a few days later, before the week was over.

We are celebrating Palm Sunday today. Palm Sunday is the beginning of what we call “Passion Week.” Every day this week, I will offer an online blog that you can read. We have a daily reading that you can read every day this week to follow along the footsteps of Jesus: Triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, Monday cleansing the temple, Tuesday teaching in the temple, Wednesday at Bethany, Thursday last supper and betrayal, Friday trial and crucifixion, Saturday in the tomb and Easter Sunday He has risen! Every day has a special reading. We would encourage you to meditate on these readings this week. Now, you might be thinking, ‘Okay, Gary, you just recited to us all those days in the gospel readings. So, we’re in the gospels right? We’re in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John today, right?’ No; we’re in the Book of Zechariah. That’s where we’ve been for the last ten weeks.

Today, we’re concluding with chapter 14. You might think, well, that’s really strange. I don’t think I’ve heard anybody preach from Zechariah on Palm Sunday. Well, after you leave today, you’ll say, ‘I’ve heard one person preach from the Book of Zechariah.’ I hope you’ll find today that it was not accidental. It is fully appropriate that we’re learning today from Zechariah, chapter 14. It actually prepares us for Christ’s triumphal return. He is coming again and will triumph as our coming King.

Now, I would remind you, as we’re concluding the book of Zechariah. It ends with two oracles or prophecies. One of them has already been covered in chapters 9, 10 and 11. It was the first oracle; the first oracle is the prophecy of Christ’s first coming. In fact, we’ll find that in that first oracle, the verse that is so appropriate to the day. Zechariah 9:9 (ESV) “ “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” We see in that first oracle,which was fulfilled 500 years after Zechariah, when Jesus came and rode on the colt of a donkey down the mount of Olives and entered into the eastern gate of the city of Jerusalem.

Matthew, in his gospel , 21:4-6, he actually quotes Zechariah. He didn’t realize it at the time, but Jesus was fulfilling that very prophetic verse. The first oracle talks about His first coming.

The second oracle, the second prophecy, begins in chapter 12 and concludes in chapter 14. This oracle talks about His return, His second coming. And so this triumphal entry that we’re gonna be talking about today hasn’t happened yet. The first triumphal entry actually points to the second one. It’s amazing to me today that in this prophecy, 2500 years ago, the Holy Spirit revealed it to Zechariah, because in this second oracle, we see the triumph of the coming king just as Jesus has come and fulfilled the earlier prophecies. We can be assured that He will come and fulfill those that are yet to be fulfilled. This gives us hope. This gives us trust that He’s already proven that He will keep His word. We can believe that He will keep on keeping His word.

He has already come as the Lamb for our justification. He will come again as the Lion of Judah. He has already come humbly riding on the colt of a donkey. He will come again, riding upon a war stallion, a white stallion, when he comes again on the Mount of Olives. That’s the chapter we’re in today.

Do you believe this? Do you understand that Palm Sunday reminds us of what He has done, but it, also, points to Him coming again. Do you believe that? Are you ready for His return? Some of us might look at the world today and get discouraged. If you’re a believer today, you are probably discouraged when you watch the news or you are paying attention to what’s going on in the world.

I would ask you a question: “Do you think things are getting better or worse? What do you think?” Is it getting better or worse? Ifyou’ve been alive for any period of time, I think you would agree the world’s not getting better. It’s not getting better and we shouldn’t be surprised, nor should we be discouraged by this because Jesus actually said this would happen. Things would get worse before they suddenly get better.

That same week, Jesus was going back and forth every day, 2000 years ago, between Bethany and Jerusalem. Bethany was the place where his best friends lived, Martha, Mary and Lazarus. Bethany was within walking distance of Jerusalem. He just had to go up to that ridge of the Mount of Olives and then back down into the Kidron Valley and then back up again to the city of Jerusalem. He made that trek every day that week except for Wednesday when, I believe, He needed a day of rest, He “camped out” in Bethany on Wednesday. It was on Tuesday of that week, that His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, aren’t these buildings amazing? Look at Jerusalem, isn’t it beautiful?’ He tells them this, “I’ll tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on the other, this whole place is going to be destroyed.” That’s in Matthew chapter 24, it’s called the “Olivet Discourse.” As they’re walking up the Mount of Olives, as they’re leaving the city of Jerusalem on that Tuesday, they ask Jesus what is going to happen and what it’s going to look like. Jesus actually told His disciples that things would get worse before His return. He said that there would be “wars and rumors of wars… nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes” (Matt. 24:7). He said that in the last days “lawlessness will increase and the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12). But He said, “Don’t be alarmed, for these things must happen before the end” (Matt. 24:6) and “stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:42). So don’t doubt and don’t despair. Jesus is coming again and He will triumph over evil and establish His righteous reign over all the earth.

Jesus is talking about what we’re going to be studying today in Zechariah chapter 14; let us consider this chapter. As we consider this chapter, I would remind you that it’s not an easy read, nor is it easy to understand, but it’s worth studying. It’s understandable once you dig in. Now, Martin Luther might discourage us a little bit. My son, Jonathan, and I were reading some of our commentaries this week and when Martin Luther wrote about Chapter 14, here’s what he said here about this chapter: “I give up, for I’m not sure what the prophet is talking about.” Well, that’s kind of how I felt when I read the chapter for the first time, but the more I study and the more I let the bible speak for itself, I can say, ‘OK, what did the book of Revelation say about this? What did Daniel say about this?’

The best way to really understand the bible might not be from the commentaries or the study notes. It might be just to keep reading the bible and let it teach you through the Holy Spirit about what it says. I pray that we are able to get at it better today than Martin Luther felt he could.

We’re going to be looking today and reading what Zechariah told the people of Israel that there’s a coming King, a Messiah who will triumph over all of Israel’s enemies and bring peace to the earth and He’ll be the king overall. I believe today that we can look with hope for that coming king.

As we look at the text today, I think the text will give us three reasons that we can look with hope for Christ as our triumphant and returning King. Let’s break it into three pieces to make it easy to understand. We will , read the first five verses and then talk about it. Zechariah 14:1-5 (ESV) 1 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 thedays of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. This is God’s word. Amen.

We can look with hope for Christ’s triumphal return as King: 1. Because as His saints we will be with Him.

Let me direct your attention to verse five again. I’ll read that to you again; the latter part. “Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.” Circle the word, “come.” You’ll see it in verse five: you’ll see the word, “coming,” in verse one. We’re talking about the second coming of Jesus; He will come. This is future tense; future in Zechariah’s day and still future in our day. This is an unfulfilled prophecy that still awaits fulfillment. It will come and when it comes, He will bring His holy ones with Him. It says, in verse five, “and all the holy ones with him.”

Now, some translations, such as the King James translation and the New King James translations and others read like this, ‘then the Lord my God will come and all the saints with you or with him.’ The holy ones and the saints mean the same thing. I don’t know how many saints we have in the house. Some of you know that if you’re a believer in Jesus, you’re a saint, you don’t have to wait for somebody to vote. Jesus already placed His vote and that’s the only vote that counts if you receive Jesus. To be a saint means you’ve been made holy by His righteousness. His righteousness has been accounted for when you receive Jesus.

The scripture says, “all the holy ones.” All the saints. I think there was an angelic host present that came with the Messiah here at His second coming. I think it surely includes those saints that have been raptured before, which is the church .

To remind you of the time period here, this is the second coming. Verse one says, 1 “Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst.” Remember the last time, when we were talking, I said that these last three chapters repeat this phrase, “on that day.” “On that day” is written seventeen times; seven times just in chapter 14. “On that day;” what day are we talking about? It’s the day of the Lord that the prophets prophesied of the day of judgment. This is not the day of salvation, this is the day of judgment and the day of His second coming that’s being spoken of here.

On that day He is coming, with the holy ones that are already with Him. Coming with the angelic armies, with the army of the saints coming with Jesus. Who are they? They are us; they’re the church.

Let me show you a diagram just to help you think about the time period here. This is happening at the end of the tribulation. This chapter 14 is happening right at the end and then it begins to talk about the millennial reign of King Jesus. This is what’s happening. What has happened right here is seven years long. The church has already been raptured at the beginning of the tribulation. The church is the saints, they’ve been taken away to be with Jesus. At the 3.5 year midpoint is the inauguration of the great tribulation because that’s inaugurated by the revealing of the antichrist as being one who is against God, an enemy of God. He places his image in the Holy of Holies in the temple in Israel for this period; it looks like peace and prosperity, but then Israel recognizes and turns away from Him and many of them begin to turn towards the Messiah. When that happens, a great number of the nations of the world come against Israel following the antichrist. This is what’s happening.

Look at this passage and it says in verse 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.” This is what the Lord’s going to do. He’s going to gather all of the nations; it’s going to look like Israel is going to be completely demolished. The description is very graphic; it seems that Israel has lost. Right at that moment when things look as bad as they possibly can, the Messiah returns. He returns on the Mount of Olives, just as he said. He returns exactly as He said.

Remember what the angelic host told the disciples whenever Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives? You can read about it in Acts 1. Jesus ascended on the Mount of Olives and as the disciples were looking up, they saw Jesus ascending into the clouds. Two angels appeared next to them and said, Acts 1:11 (ESV) …“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Here’s what those angels were saying to the disciples, ‘Get busy; stop just looking up. Get busy because He’s coming the same way He left.’

Here’s Zachariah saying that He returns on the Mount of Olives. That’s where He’s coming back. He’s descending back on the Mount of Olives, except this time He comes differently. He doesn’t come humbly; He doesn’t come like a lamb. This time, He comes like a lion. He comes in judgment. He comes, at this point, to protect and defend Israel. There’s a remnant; you can read about it here. Some are cut off, but some are rescued and they’re rescued because when He steps His feet off of the white stallion and steps His feet on theMount of Olives, an earthquake like event happens. The ridge of the Mount of Olives, which runs North to South, is split down the middle, east to west, and a remnant of the Jews will escape through that valley. It says they escape to a place called Azal, which is an unknown location. To be honest, many say it’s perhaps Petra, which is over in the Midianite territory because this valley would have cut through the mountains and made it possible. The word in Hebrew sounds like, “beside” or “near.” At the very minimum, let’s say this; the Messiah rescues the remnant of Israel and they escape through this valley. He’s speaking of what that will look like. Also, he goes on and says that it will be like the earthquake that happened in the days of Josiah, the king of Judah. The only place you can find about this in the bible is if you read from the prophet Amos, chapter 1:1. He says he’s writing two years after the great earthquake that happened during the days of Josiah. All we know is this, there was a big earthquake in Judah and it’s still in the people’s memory. They would remember it, even during the time of Zechariah, because the old people told them about it. It is in people’s memories because of the disaster. Zechariah draws their attention to this.

Here’s what I would draw your attention to today, mainly if you’re a saint. If you’re a believer in Jesus, you don’t have to be afraid of Christ’s second coming. You don’t have to be anxious about it. In fact, it should give you great hope because you’ll be with Him. You’ll already be with Him. As I’ve said before, the best way to read Zechariah is with the book of Revelation as your companion book or vice versa. If you want to understand the book of Revelation, read Zechariah and Daniel as your companion books.

The book of Revelation, chapter 19, this is John the disciple writing this. He says, Revelation 19:11-16 (ESV) 11 “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

On His leg, it won’t say, “Adidas,” It won’t say “Nike.” It will say “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” He steps off of a white stallion and behind him is an army of people dressed in linen, who are also riding white horses. Now, who are they? I suggest to you that they are the church. They are the saints. They are the holy ones who came with Him. They were dressed in linen. How do you know?

How do we know the ones in “fine linen” are the saints? Revelation 19:7-8 (ESV) 7 “Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clotheherself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

We will be with Him when He returns. This is what the Revelator says. This is what the prophet Zechariah says. This is what God’s word says. We don’t have to be afraid, we can have hope. We are with him. He will come suddenly to defend Israel. When things are at the very worst that they could possibly be. When He comes, He will come on the Mount of Olives differently than He did the first time.

The Jews read these prophecies and, I believe, that in the first century, that’s the kind of Messiah that they were looking for, they were looking for the second coming. They were looking for one that would overthrow Rome. They were looking for this King Messiah. They misunderstood and missed the first oracle, in chapters 9, 10 and 11, and jumped right to chapters 12 to 14. But, one had to come before the other. He’s coming again and it makes sense why they misunderstood at the time. But, He is coming again and when He comes, He will rescue them.

Are you one of God’s holy ones? ‘Well, Gary, how do you become a holy one? What do you have to do?’ It’s not what you do. It’s what you believe. Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you said that You are the King of my life? Where is the Kingdom of God? Where is the Kingdom of Heaven? It’s wherever Christ is King. If He’s king of your life, then He’s your king and the kingdom of Heaven has come to you. If you want to be among the holy ones, You must receive the Holy One, Jesus and allow His righteousness to be accounted unto you. You can’t earn it. You can’t work for it, but you can have it if you’ll only believe. That’s why He came.

Okay, so let’s keep reading. The first reason that we can have hope is because as His saints we will be with Him . Let’s pick it up at verse six and go down to verse 15. Notice the repetitive, “on that day, like a pulse; like a beat in a musical that we’re listening to.

Zechariah 14:6-15 (ESV) 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. 9And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps.

We can look with hope for Christ’s triumphal return as King: 2. Because as His saints we’re saved from His wrath.

When we think of wrath, we might mistakenly think of how we get angry, we get out of control and do things we regret later. God’s anger is under His control. When we see the word, “wrath,” what we’re really talking about is His righteous response to a rebellious sin. That is His judgment.

I think we all want justice, Don’t we all say, ‘I want justice?’ Well, we usually mean that for other folks, we don’t necessarily want justice for ourselves, but we want justice in the world. We want God to be just. We want Him totake care of those that have done wrong. Maybe in this day and time, it just seems like people get along and they get by with everything. The only person that doesn’t seem to get by with anything is me. I get caught. Maybe you say that to yourself. I feel like that sometimes.

Even David wrote in the Psalms, “Why do the wicked prosper?” Why are good things happening to bad people? It seems like bad things happen to good people. We question this, but “there’s a payday coming someday.” Someday, God will come in judgment.

Look at verse nine and circle the word, “king.” There’s a king coming; it’s King Jesus and He comes this time not bringing salvation, but this time bringing judgment. He comes as a defender of Israel and as a judge over the world. It’s a unique day.

It says in verse six and seven, that there’s a day coming when the lights will diminish. The heavenly lights, the stars, the moon and the sun will diminish. There won’t be much difference between day and night. It says in verse 6, “… neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.” There’s going to be a light emanating from the Lord Jesus Himself so that you won’t be able to tell day from night. You won’t need the stars, the moon or the sun; He will be your light. There’s a day coming when that will be so.

This morning, we’re in a “box” with no windows, but yet, we’re sitting in the light because we have these electrical lights. There’s a day coming when He shall be the light of all and the lights that we normally depend on will be changed.

What we’re looking at here, in chapter 14, is a recreation. Remember, in chapter 12, when He first starts the second oracle. He says, “I’m the creator who stretched forth the heavens, who formed the earth, who breathed inlife and the spirit into man.” That’s who He is.

Here, He is in chapter 14. He’s doing a “demolition project” before He does a construction project. Demolition always proceeds construction if you’re doing a remodel. He’s doing a remodel. He splits the Mount of Olives in two; He bursts forth the fountain out of Jerusalem that flows to the Dead Sea and brings it life; it flows to the Mediterranean. It doesn’t matter what season, summer or winter. They used to have to depend on the rains, but now, Israel is going to be green year round because of the flowing water that’s coming. He’s going to make the hilly places plain; He’s going to make them level.

It reminds me of what Isaiah said, in Isaiah chapter 40. He says, Isaiah 40:4 (ESV) “ Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” He’s going to level from this area all the way from Geba to Rimmon , so that Israel will stand up on a pinnacle and you’ll be able to see it no matter where you are. Jerusalem will be up; you’ll be able to see it. He’s changing the celestial heavens; He’s changing the geography and this new millennial reign when He comes as a new season on planet earth. He’s “recreating” things, if you will.

Joel talks about it in Joel chapter three; he says that the sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. John the Revelator says in Revelation chapter 22 that night will be no more. They will need no light or lamp or sun for the Lord God will be their light and they will reign forever and ever. This is what we’re reading about right here. This is a description of Christ coming again.

When you think about living waters, it says in verse eight, “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.” First of all, if you see the word “living” with water in the Hebrew, it has to do with moving rather than stagnant. If it were a river or a spring, it’s gushing forth without any pause. It just keeps bubbling up and flowing in these two directions, toward the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean.

One way to look at it is literally and say that there’s a day coming when Israel, which is like a desert, will turn green. But not only that, there’s a way you might look at it and say that the Holy Spirit will be present, because we know that living water, as a symbol, points to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will be so present that he will be present for all people.

We see this coming. Then, we have this beautiful verse 9, “And the LORD will be king over all the earth.” That hasn’t happened yet. He is king. He’s the rightful king, but the people on earth are in rebellion. We’ve been in rebellion ever since Adam and Eve. Now, friends, we’re the bride of Christ. We are the church. We’re not in rebellion. We have some rebellious days but we repent, don’t we? Don’t we say, ‘I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry, King Jesus. I’m sorry, Lord. I know You already forgave me on the cross. I know that I’ve been forgiven.’

I had somebody tell me after the first service, “Hey, pastor. I brought you something. I put it in the staff refrigerator.” I said, “Oh my goodness, I’ll never see it.” Then she said, “Oh no, I put a post-it note that says, ‘This belongs to PG. Don’t touch it.” I said back, “Oh, now I know I’ll never see it. It’s got to be good.” It’s not for them but they must taste some of that, right? It’s just human nature.

There’s a day coming when that rebellion will end. He will be king over all the earth.

Is He king over all of you? Is He king over all that you are and all that you have? There’s a day coming when He will be king. Where every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. That day hasn’t come yet, but it’s coming.

Then, he says in that same verse, verse 9, “On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.” Well, that’s already true. He’s already one and His name is already one. But I believe it will be throughout the earth; no longer will people pray to Buddha or Mohammed. They won’t even pray to Mastercard or Visa. They will only pray to the Lord Jesus, as the One who has revealed God to them, that His name will finally be one in all the earth.

This is the “Shema;” this is a restatement that the Hebrew reader of Zachariah knew. That’s the Shema. That means the whole earth is going to pray the Shema Shema, which is “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu.” Translated this is, “Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is one God.” That’s what they prayed three times a day, every day. They knew this; the Lord God is one. The whole earth will agree. What a day that’s going to be.

And then, he talks about the geography and about how Jerusalem will be elevated. He talks about the safety of the people in Jerusalem. He reverts back to where he is describing what it looked like for the Messiah to defend Israel in a place that the book of Revelation reveals to us is the Valley of Megiddo, which we know is Armageddon. When he goes there, remember that He will speak and a sword will come out of His mouth. This is symbolic language that says that, with a word, He’ll defeat His enemies and when He does, Zechariah says, in verse 12, “And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem.”

Then the scripture says, “their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. It’s a graphic picture. In verse 12, Christ will speak and it’s like an atom bomb drops on the valley of Armageddon here and the people are swept away in a moment. Even their animals, in verse 15, are swept away in a moment. It’s not a very fair battle. I’m not sure what we’re doing on those white horses. I think we’re witnesses. He speaks, it happens and the battle is over. In verse 13, the ones that are still standing for a moment will be so in a panic that they’ll turn on each other.

As we finish this section of Chapter 14, because we’re his saints, this wrath, this judgment is not for us. It’s for those that have remained in rebellion against King Jesus. If we are among those who believe in Him, then He has already received judgment on Himself as a representative in our place. Remember how, on the cross, Jesus looks to heaven and He says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It’s because, in that moment the judgment of God, the wrath of God fell on Jesus, the perfect sacrifice. Now. it doesn’t fall on us. The only way that God could remain just is that somebody had to pay. Jesus paid; therefore. there’s no “double jeopardy.” We won’t be given to wrath; He already paid for it. When we accepted Him, that wrath was already paid.

That’s why, when Paul writes of the second coming of Jesus, he addresses this thing about wrath. 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” There’s wrath coming, “payday is coming someday.” Be sure your sins will find you out. God is a just God; someday He will return in judgment, but don’t be afraid. If you’ve received Jesus, He’s already delivered you from the wrath to come.

In 1 Thessalonians, chapter five, Paul says this, 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10 (ESV) 8 “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.” Whether we’re alive or dead, no matter what our state, we are with him and there’s no judgment for us. We can hope because we have no fear of judgment. The judgment has already been accounted for, on the cross, for those who believe. My dear friend, if you’ve yet to surrender and bend your knee to the Lord Jesus as your king, it is a terrible day that is coming. Mark my words as He says in His word, that this day is coming, and when it comes, it will be a day that God will execute his judgment.

Now, let’s keep reading. We have a few more verses to go and then we will talk about those verses. Zechariah 14:16-21 (ESV) 16 “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain ;rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.”

Our third reason that we can have hope at Christ’s triumphal return is: 3. Because as His saints we will worship and serve under Him.

Circle the word, “King.” It’s in this passage twice; once in verse 16 and once in verse 17. We’re talking about King Jesus and we see that the people will come up and worship the King. Do you see that in verse 16? 16 “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.” The LORD of hosts will be among those worshippers. But the whole earth at that time, those that have survived the battle of Armageddon, will enter into a period called the millennial kingdom of Jesus. It’s a 1000 year reign. The survivors will go up to Jerusalem, year after year, and worship the King and celebrate the festival of booths. It’s mentioned here several times, “the Feast of Booths.” It’s also called the “Festival of Tabernacles” in the scripture. In Hebrew, it’s “sukkot,” which means “booth.” It was a thanksgiving festiva. It would take place five days after Yom Kippur, after the Day of Atonement. In our calendar, it is in the September/October time period. It was the time when the people of Israel were to remember what it was like to live in the wilderness during the 40 years. Even after they were in the Promised Land and had houses of their own, they were supposed to build these little booths, these little tabernacles and camp outside. To this day, many Orthodox Jews will build these during the Feast of Tabernacles. They will build them on the roof or they’ll build them out in the front yard. They will stay in them for that week as a remembrance of what it was like to be homeless, how God gave them a promised land and they were to be thankful.

There’s really only three feasts mentioned in the Old Testament, the Feast of Passover, which is when we celebrate Easter, the Feast of Pentecost, which is when we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit and then there’s this feast, the Feast of Tabernacles. Some have said, ‘Well why is that the only one mentioned?’ It is because in the millennial kingdom, the other two have already been fulfilled.

Passover is already fulfilled in Jesus . He’s the Passover lamb. We don’t need to keep celebrating that feast, that’s over and we don’t need to keep celebrating the Feast of Pentecost because the Holy Spirit has already been given. But we do need to pray and think about that feast that comes when we finally come into the kingdom of heaven, we come into the millennial kingdom and we remember when we used to be homeless. People, once a year, still camp out and remember what it was like when Jesus wasn’t king over all the earth. He was king in name, but the people were in rebellion. I think that feast just keeps on happening.

Maybe we could have a camp out this fall in the parking lot. You want to try that this year? We can all camp out in the parking lot for a week. Are you in for it? Probably not. The people still celebrate that today. In the millennial kingdom, they’ll keep doing it. That will still be a mark.

Verse 16 says this, “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.” Who are the survivors? Some of them are still back there. They’re the survivors. And among those survivors, they will worship Jesus. But some of them, apparently even during the 1000 year reign, will rebel. They will have physical Jesus living on planet earth; they can see Him. They’ve got all of this,yet some people still have rebellion in their hearts during this season. Upon them, he will send a plague of famine and no rain. It says that He calls out Egypt in particular, perhaps, because Egypt was bragging about having the Nile river as the source of their water. But whatever purpose it is that they are mentioned, it’s saying here that during the millennial kingdom there will still be some who rebel and then there will be those, like us, whose lives are so whole that there will be no division between the sacred and the secular. There’ll be no such thing as the secular, the worldly, but everything will be holy to the Lord. Even the horses will have bells hanging from their necks, which will be inscribed, “Holy to the Lord.”

When I was growing up, I don’t remember the horses having bells necessarily, but I remember my grandfather’s cows all had a bell around their neck so he could find them. If they got up in the woods somewhere, you could hear that bell ringing. The bells on the horses in this scripture will be inscribed, “Holy to the Lord.” Remember, earlier in Zechariah , we learned this, that upon the the turban of the high priest, there was a gold plate that said, “Holy to the Lord.” That was part of the high priest’s garment. But now, everything is sacred, so that even the bell on the horse says, “Holy to the Lord. Even the cooking pots, in verse 21, were holy to the Lord, so that you can take your pot, cook some turkey in it and carry it down to the temple and use it there. It’s just as holy; everything is holy. So, there won’t be any more “tupperware;” there will just be “Lord’s supperware.” There won’t be any more “Fords;” there will just be “holy to the Lords.” This is a day when all things will be holy, there will be no separation.

Revelation 11:15-18 (ESV) 15 “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.” There’s a description here in the book of Revelation that coincides with what Zechariah is talking about.

Revelation 20:4 (ESV) …And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. This describes the millennial kingdom. This is what we’re reading about in Zechariah, chapter 14, which talks about the true and coming triumphal entry of King Jesus. That triumphal entry was just a warm up. The one that happened 2000 years ago was just a rehearsal of the one that is to come.

Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday 2000 years ago, riding down the Mount of Olives on a donkey and entering through the Eastern Gate (Matt. 21). Later that week, He taught about the last days on that same Mount (Matt. 24). Then on Thursday after the last supper, He prayed there and was betrayed there. Forty days after His resurrection, He ascended to heaven from that Mount. And the angels said, “Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

Jesus went up and down the Mount of Olives. He went up and down that mountain because he came in on a colt to people waving palm branches. Later that week, He cleansed the temple because they had made it filthy. Verse 21 says, “And there shall no longer be a trader in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day.” He goes back up the mount of Olives on that Tuesday and the disciples go, ‘what in the world are you talking about, every stone will be thrown down?’ Jesus gives them the Olivet discourse. He talks about the last days. That Thursday, He goes down from the Mount of Olives and up into Jerusalem and He has The Last Supper. He comes back out and they sing a song after they have The Last Supper. He stops at the Garden of Gethsemane, which is right as you begin to climb the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane means “wine press” or “olive press.” It’s the place where they would press and crush the olives to get the olive oil out; right there on the Mount of Olives. He stops there and He prays. He says, ‘My Father, is there any way that this cup could pass from Me? But not my will but thine be done.’ He’s right there on the Mount of Olives; the same Mount of Olives. Then, He gets kissed on the cheek by a betrayer. He is betrayed right there on the Mount of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane. Then, He’s carried off to the cross. Then, He gets up on Easter Sunday; He rises again. Forty days later, He made many appearances to the people. But, forty days later, on the day of ascension, He’s back on the Mount of Olives. They all look up as He ascends, and the angels say, “Why are you looking up? He’s coming back the same way.”

Here we are, reading Zechariah chapter 14; He steps off of that white stallion and His feet touch the Mount of Olives. This hasn’t happened yet, but it will happen. He’s coming just as He left. He’s coming in the clouds. He comes back on the Mount of Olives and when He does, all things are changed.

Do you know Him? His word has been fulfilled. His word will be fulfilled. Do you believe this promise? Do you have hope in the triumphal return of King Jesus?

Let’s pray. Lord, I’ve poured my heart out, but if You don’t speak to these people, they will hear nothing from me. May it be Your word now that they hear in their hearts and in their minds. Lord Jesus, You’re in this room right now. Would You knock on heart’s doors right now? To that person who came in far from You today, speak so they would leave here knowing You. You can do it right now, right in your seat, you can pray to receive Jesus. He’s coming again. Are you ready? You can get ready right now. Just pray like this. ‘Dear Jesus, I’m a sinner. I want You as my Savior. I believe You died on the cross for me, that You were raised from the grave and that You live today. Come and live in me , forgive me of my sin, make me the person You want me to be. I want to be a child of God. I want You as my Lord and Savior.’ If you’re praying that prayer, believing, He will save you; He will make you a saint. He will make you one of His own. It’s what He came for the first time, but he’s coming again. Get ready. Others are here today. You know Jesus; He’s the king. He’s the Lord of your life. But some of you admit to being discouraged, maybe angry about the things of the world, maybe anxious about it and afraid. That’s not why He told us this word. He told us this word so that we would get ready. So that we would get busy telling others. So right now, Lord Jesus, we just say, ‘Lord, strengthen us. Take away our fear and our anxiety and help us to recognize the sense of urgency that You’re returning soon. Lord, may You find us busy about your work. In Jesus’ name. Amen .