Dispensationalists - those enamored with the notion that Christ will return to the earth to establish a political kingdom over which He will reign for 1,000 years - rely heavily upon Zechariah 14 as an important Old Testament element of the pre-millennial scheme. Dispensational writer Hobert E. Freeman characterizes Zechariah 14 as a description of, "the destruction of Israel's enemies, salvation of Jerusalem and the millennial reign of the Messiah over all the world from Zion." He further states:
"The prophecy of Zechariah is to the Old Testament what the book of Revelation is to the New. It is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament which portrays God's future dealings with His chosen people Israel...The book of Zechariah, especially chapter 14, stands as a continual corrective to all those theories that deny the literal, future restoration of Israel, after a period of chastening, in her own land, over whom the Messiah will reign in Zion." (An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets, Moody Press, 1968, pp. 334, 335.)
Dramatically, advocates of dispensational theology allege that Zechariah 14:1-3 contains a description of the approaching "Battle of Armageddon" which will be consummated by the descent of Christ, "upon the Mount of Olives" (vs. 4) to overthrow His enemies and to commence His millennial reign.
The truth of the matter is Zechariah 14 has no reference whatever to a millennial reign of Christ upon the earth. The Bible indisputably teaches that the Second Coming of Christ will terminate all earthly affairs (II Peter 3:4, 10) and any view of Zechariah 14 or any other portion of the Scriptures which conflicts with this clear truth must be forthrightly rejected.
A Look a Zechariah 14
The prophet Zechariah foretells of the coming "day of Jehovah" when the nations will be gathered against "Jerusalem" to battle. The horrors of such a conflict are interrupted when the Lord intervenes and defends the city against the nations. The Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem is rent asunder providing a passageway of escape for the faithful. The enemies of God are punished with fearful plagues and henceforth Jerusalem dwells safely, and from year to year the people worship Jehovah who is, "King over the whole earth." Concerning this exciting chapter, let us observe the following.
(1) How would one determine that this is a prophecy of an alleged millennial reign of Christ on Earth? Did Christ, during His earthly ministry so interpret it? did any divinely inspired New Testament writer ever quote Zechariah 14 with a "dispensational" application? Absolutely not! There is not a speck of evidence that would point this prophecy in the direction of pre-millennialism. If there is, pre-millennialists are obligated to produce it. Actually, New Testament writers repeatedly stress that the prophetic thrust of the Old Testament was concerning the salvation of grace (I Peter 1:10-11) which burst into bloom with the dawning of the gospel dispensation. The apostle Peter affirmed that, "all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days" (Acts 3:24). The "these days" were the days of the Christian age. The dispensational view of Zechariah is arbitrary and unwarranted.
(2) A basic problem with pre-millennialists is their inability to discern the difference between the literal and figurative elements of the Scriptures. Those who fail to note that much of the prophecy of the Old Testament is couched in figurative terminology are destined to fail in their attempts to understand the Bible. In his classic book Biblical Hermeneutics, Professor Milton Terry wrote: "A thorough interpretation of the prophetic portions of the holy Scripture is largely dependent upon a mastery of the principles and laws of figurative language, and of types and symbols." (p. 313) A careful study of Zechariah 14 will clearly indicate that those who attempt to literalize the message of this chapter, as the pre-millinnialists do, are pursuing a disastrous course of interpretation.
Note: (a) If Zechariah 14:4 refers to the literal return of Christ (i. e., the Second Coming) upon the Mount of Olives, exactly who is it that will make that escape flight to the east in the cleft of that mountain? Certainly not the wicked for the Bible plainly teaches that they will be destroyed when the Lord returns (Matthew 25:31-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9) and surely not the righteous for they shall be, "caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air" (I Thessalonians 4:15). And who else is left? (b) Verse 8 speaks of living waters going forth from Jerusalem in summer and in winter. Since summer and winter will occur only as long as the earth remains (Genesis 8:22), and as the earth will not remain beyond the coming of Christ (II Peter 3:4, 10), it is obvious that the events of this verse cannot transpire after the literal return of Jesus which supposedly is alluded to in verse 4. (c) Verse 12 tells of Jehovah smiting His enemies and their "flesh" being consumed. Again, this cannot possibly refer to a period after the literal return of Christ; the Coming of Christ will signal the end. The dead will be raised and the living, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, will be changed from flesh ("this corruptible" or "this mortal") to incorruption and immortality (I Corinthians 15:23-24, 51-53).
(3) The pre-millennial view of Zechariah 14 strikes at the very heart of the abiding nature of Jesus' work at Calvary. Verses 16 and 21 speak of those who go up to observe the feast of tabernacles and who make sacrifice. Again, the dispensationalists literalize and assert that Judiasm, will all its carnality and animal blood, will be revived in the millennium. Regarding this crude view Roy H. Lanier, Sr. in an excellent article which exposes the utter absurdity of a literal view of Zechariah 14, pointedly asks: "Are these interpreters ready to accept the restoration of the Old Testament feast with its offering of animal sacrifices? During the feast of tabernacles, which began of the 15th day of the 7th month, daily offerings of animals were made by fire, 199 animals of all kinds were offered, 'besides the continual burnt offering and the meal offerings and the drink offerings' (Numbers 29:12-38). Among these daily offerings was 'one he-goat for a sin offering.' Jesus is our sin offering, and if we go back to offering he-goats for sin offerings we must reject Jesus as a sufficient offering for our sins" (Firm Foundation, October 5, 1965, p. 633.) The Old Testament law with its rivers of animal blood was abolished at the cross (Ephesians 2:15-16) and has hence been "taken" (erken-in the perfect tense, denoting the permanent abolition of the Law of Moses) away forever (Colossians 2:14). Truly, dispensationalism is a materialistic, Judaistic and infidelic system.
Conclusion
Whatever else the meaning of Zechariah 14 may be, it cannot be harmonized with pre-millennial theology. Two common views of this remarkable chapter held by non-millennialists are: (a) It is a symbolic prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., together with the spread of the gospel throughout the Christian age thereafter or (b) It is a figurative description of the history of spiritual "Jerusalem" (i. e., the church) from the time of its commencement throughout the whole of the Messianic era. Marten Woudstra notes that though pre-millennialists attempt to prove their theory by this chapter, "From the mixed character of the imagery employed, referring now to cataclysmic upheavals, now to regular pilgrimages to Jerusalem, it seems to this writer that no such literal interpretation of the passage is intended. The prophecy has in view various aspects of the gospel age with particular emphasis on its conclusion" (The Biblical Expositor, II, pp. 377,378.).
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