As I Understand It...

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. The Hebrew and Greek meaning of the words mentioned are from Strong's Hebrew-Greek Dictionary.

The Jewish Messiah Will Come One Day

It has always been somewhat of a mystery to me that more hasn't been said in relation to the Book of Zechariah. I know Iv'e heard it preached from Zechariah from time to time but most prophesy preaching has been related to the books of Daniel and Revelation. When I think of Zechariah it seems to me that it tells of when the Jewish Messiah comes and fights for His people. Zechariah 12:7-9 says, "The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem."   It is in Isaiah 25:9 that the Bible says, "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."  So in the day when the Jewish Messiah comes the Jews will recognize Him as their God.

In Zechariah 12:10 the Jewish Bible says, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." They shall look on their God as the One whom they crucified. The tens of thousands of saints will consist of all those who have hoped in His coming, both those who have died in this hope and those which are alive and remain. (See 1st Thessalonians 4:14-17) The nations that come against Jerusalem will be every nation for the Bible says in Zechariah 14:2-3,  "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle." This includes the United States of America, currently one of Israels best friends and greatest allies. All nations, the Bible says, will be gathered against Jerusalem and the Lord will destroy them.

I remember when I was first saved that one brother who was the adult Bible teacher, and also the one who baptized me in Jesus precious name, used to teach from the books of Daniel and Revelation, correlating them together. I would sit on the edge of my seat as I listened to the teaching. Our pastor, who had been unable to come to church due to a heart attack finally was able to attend church and resume his pastoral duties. He had an old evangelist friend come for a week of meetings. The evangelist was a "chart teacher, and unfurled his charts across the back of the pulpit. He taught mainly from the books of Daniel and Revelation. I, as usual, sat on the edge of my seat drinking the teaching in. Suddenly it occurred to me that what I was hearing conflicted with what the adult Bible teacher had taught. I immediately (in my heart) ask the Lord Jesus who was right? The Lord immediately responded "I am right." The Word of God is right. In fact the Bible says of itself in Psalm 33:4,  "For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth." From then on to this time I have always been skeptical of what men could say about the Bible and have always believed the Bible to be the last word.

To get back to my subject, in a nutshell my understanding is as follow: The Bible says in Acts 1:9-11, "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." The Bible says in 2nd Thessalonians 1:7-9,  "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power..." And in Revelation 1:7,  "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." He was taken up and a cloud received Him out of their sight and He will come in clouds to take vengeance on the unbeliever in that day.

This will not happen until all the nations of the world come and fight against Jerusalem to finally wipe the troublemaker Israel from the face of the earth. But what about the catching away of the Bride of Christ, the Church? The Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17,  "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." We, the Church, shall, " ...ever be with the Lord." Where He is we shall be also. His coming will be cataclysmic. The Lord said in Luke 17:24,  "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day."  As one song says, "there will be no time to mend." Zechariah does not paint a pretty picture for the remnant of Israel. As mentioned before in Zechariah 14:2,  "For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city."

It will happen just as the Bible says! The foregoing is only my understanding. Not necessarily the way it will be. When asked by the disciples when the end would happen Jesus said in Matthew 24 and 25, that great prophecy of the end time. Far too much to discuss here. But it behooves you to read it. The important thing is to be ready for the soon return of the Lord Jesus. For the Lord said in Matthew 24:44 and in Luke 12:40,  "Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Jesus will return as Apostle Paul said in  1st Thessalonians 5:2, "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night," and Apostle Peter said in 2nd Peter 3:10,  "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."  If you have never repented of your sins, been baptized in Jesus precious name for their forgiveness of sins, I encourage you to do it now. God in His graciousness will baptize you with His Holy Spirit. For He has promised it to them that obey Him.  (See Acts 2:38 and Acts 5:32) Jesus is coming, are you ready?