"...[T]he great city. Cf. 11:13; 21:10; see notes on Zech 14:1–8. Jerusalem will be split into 3 parts (Zech. 14:4), not as a judgment (cf. 11:13), but as an improvement. The additional water supply (Zech. 14:8) and topographical changes (Zech. 14:4,5) will prepare the city for its central place in the millennial kingdom. Jerusalem is the only city to be spared the judgment (cf. 1 Chr. 23:25; Ps. 125:1,2; Mic. 4:7) and will be made more beautiful (Ps. 48:2), because of her repentance (see 11:13). cities of the nations. God’s purpose is very different for the rest of the world’s cities—they are to be destroyed. Babylon. The capital of the Antichrist’s empire will receive a special outpouring of God’s wrath as prophesied in Is. 13:6–13. Chapters 17,18 give details of its destruction (Re 16:19)...
"14:1–21 Chapter 14 is an amplification of 13:8,9. Prior to Israel’s national conversion (cf. 12:10–13:1), the Jews will make a pact with a false messiah (cf. Dan. 9:27), known as the foolish shepherd (cf. 11:15–17) or Antichrist. In the middle of that 7-year covenant, Antichrist will break his treaty with Israel and require the worship of him alone (Dan. 9:24–27; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:3,4). When Israel refuses, the armies of the world will gather to do battle, climaxing in a great siege of Jerusalem and the Battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19). Following the Lord’s victory at that battle (cf. Rev. 19:11–16), will come the full restoration of Israel as anticipated in Hos. 14:4–7; Joel 3:18–21; Amos 9:13–15; Mic. 4:1–3; Zeph. 3:14–20."
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Zec 14:1
Gettin' there...
[Joel Rosenberg's Blog] "(Jerusalem, Israel) The nations are being shaken – physically, spiritually, emotionally, financially, politically and in so many other ways.
The people of Norway have been shaken this week by seeing sheer evil unleashed against precious, innocent children.
Japan has been shaken this year by the enormous earthquake, the resulting tsunami, and the horrific nuclear meltdown.
The people of Egypt, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen have been shaken this year by dramatic and largely unexpected the revolutions underway there and throughout the Arab world.
Iran has been shaken by the enormous pro-democracy movement that took to the streets but was then nearly crushed by the tyrannical government in Tehran.
The people of Israel are being shaken by fears that Iran is rapidly closing in on building nuclear weapons and the world is not doing nearly enough to stop them in time.
Greece has been shaken by its unprecedented debt crisis and resultant riots and social unrest.
Americans, too, are being shaken. We face arguably the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Nearly half of all Americans believe we are heading towards another Great Depression.
Unemployment is over 9%. Housing foreclosures are skyhigh. People have lost enormous sums of money due to depressed housing prices and stock market volatility. The federal government is trying to spend our way to prosperity but is making things worse. Our annual federal budget deficit topped $1.3 trillion last year. This year, it looks like the feds will spend more than $1.5 trillion beyond what they are taking in in revenue. Our debt is skyrocketing. The U.S. is now on the verge of financial default, and hampered further by political ineptitude in Washington that threatens to comp0und an already precarious situation.
What if these events are not all random? What if the God of the Bible is allowing these to happen to shake us, to wake us, to get our attention, that we might turn to Him and ask Him to have mercy on us and help us?
The Lord said through the ancient Hebrew Prophet Haggai that the nations would be shaken in the future. “For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. I will shake all the nations….I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations...” "(Haggai 2:6, 7, 21, 22) Full text: The Lord is Shaking the Nations Physically, Spiritually, Financially: Why, and how should we respond? by Joel Rosenberg
