All the nations, (Gentiles), that surround Jerusalem when He comes on the last day, with His saints from heaven to fight against them and destroy them will see Him, and even those who pierced Him.
That everyone, not just Jews.
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You.
Zechariah 14:1-5
JLB
*[[Zec 14:1]] KJV* Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
This verse shows that this takes place (just) before the day of the Lord comes. Zech 14 is one of many scriptures that gives details to events that happen BEFORE the Day of the Lord (DOTL) comes. The term DOTL is more appropo to say DAY OF LORD. It is the time in the future when the Lord shall rule over all of the earth. And this is what we find in v.9:
*[[Zec 14:9]] KJV* And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
And this is what we find in Rev 11, as well:
*[[Rev 11:15]] KJV* And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
This is what we found in Daniel 2 & 7 and numerous other places. E.g.,
*[[Hag 2:21,22]] KJV* Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
But let me give you a listing of things that will take place BEFORE that day comes. The book of Joel deals extensively with this matter.
Verse list:
Joe 2:1-2 KJVLite Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Does that language ring a bell? One doesn't have to look far beyond this:
*[[Mat 24:21]] KJV* For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
OR THIS,
*[[Jer 30:7]] KJV* Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
OR THIS,
*[[Eze 5:9]] KJV* And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
OR THIS,
*[[Mal 4:1]] KJV* For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
It is not the tribulation that precedes that day that comes suddenly and without warning, but it is ALL of the events of the Olivet Discourse that takes place BEFORE that day arrives.
Verse list:
Mat 24:33-36 KJVLite So likewise ye, when ye shall see ALL these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till ALL these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
READ THE O.D. AGAIN. ALL, I repeat, ALL OF THESE THINGS will take place BEFORE that DAY arrives. But let me specifically tie the events of Revelation that takes place BEFORE the DOTL comes.
A. Verse list: Joel 2:4-11 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
B. Verse list: Joel 2:30-32 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call..
C. Mal 4:5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
What do we find in those verses?
1. Heavenly fire,
2. Heavenly blood,
3. Pillars of smoke,
4a. Sun turns dark,
4b.. Moon into blood,
5. Appearance of horses & horsemen,
6. Seeking death in futility,
7. Shaking of the heavens & earth,
8. The coming of Elijah.
We see the shaking of the heavens and earth with the opening of the 6th seal when the world recognizes that the Day of his wrath "is come". As I have already pointed out, this is written in the aorist tense, where the time of action is NOT specified. But the world recognizes this to mean that the day of his wrath is near..."is come".
The rest of these things that happen BEFORE that day are found in the trumpets until things culminate with the 7th trumpet announcing the wrath of God AND the Kingdom of God have come(aorist participle). Just for unmistakable clarity:
Verse list:
Rev 8:7 KJVLite The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Rev 8:8 KJVLite And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
Rev 8:10 KJVLite And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
Rev 8:12 KJVLite And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Rev 9:1-2 KJVLite And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
Rev 9:6 KJVLite And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Rev 9:7 KJVLite And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
Rev 9:16 KJVLite And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
AND FINALLY,
Verse list:
Rev 11:15-18 KJVLite And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
Be Blessed,
EP
