This is a difficult prophecy for anyone and everyone, and we won’t cover every verse here in great detail, but I want to call out what is most obvious. It will give us a framework by which to dig into the rich symbolism and spiritual significance proven to be used by prophets over and over again.
Many of the concepts allude back to Old Testament events and principles, while at the same time foretelling the future of the true Israel – the circumcised of the heart, not the flesh, as Paul would explain. Jesus called the living stones, built on Him the cornerstone, the people to whom the vineyard – the kingdom – would be given when it would be taken away from ethnic Israel and the generation of vipers responsible for killing Jesus himself. He continually warned them that their time was up as they completed the measure of their sin and that they would be judged before all his disciples died.
Zechariah 12:2b
The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.
This happened in AD 70.
Zechariah 12:3b
And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.
This happened in AD 70.
Zechariah 12:11
On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
This happened in AD 70.
Zechariah 13:1
On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.
This also happened in AD 70, but you must think a little more. This statement tells us something interesting. A fountain implies the release of water. Water is symbolic of the Holy Spirit/salvation. Remember that Jesus, who was of the house of David, said believers would have living waters inside them.
John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as[a] the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Furthermore, look at the result of the water from this fountain – cleansing from sin. And to whom does it go? The inhabitants of Jerusalem. From this, we know this passage includes the spiritual Jerusalem, the “heavenly Zion” of which Hebrews speaks when he calls them the “and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” This cannot be physical Jerusalem. It’s spiritual. Therefore, when reading these chapters in Zechariah, we must understand that there are 2 separate Jerusalems. How they are spoken of will inform us which one is being mentioned in particular places.
Zechariah 13:2a
2 And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more.
This happened in AD 70.
Zechariah 13:
7 “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
This happened in AD 70.
Zechariah 13:
8 “In the whole land, declares the Lord, two-thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one-third shall be left alive. 9 And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
This happened in AD 70. Most of Judea and Jerusalem were slaughtered, while God preserved a believing remnant that helped spread Christianity throughout the world.
Zechariah 14:1-2
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.
This happened in AD 70.
Zechariah 14:
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 the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him
This is exactly what Jesus told His followers to do in the Olivet Discourse, in response to events that were to unfold in His generation.
Matthew 24:
16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Zechariah 14:
8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem
This happened in AD 70. Remember that “living waters” is what is in the heart of believers. This signifies first-fruit Christians leaving Judea/Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:
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.[f] Jerusalem shall dwell in security.
Here we see a perfect example of the 2 Jerusalems. One is laid waste and the other is preserved “aloft.” The 1st is physical Jerusalem, while the 2nd is spiritual Jerusalem. Notice that spiritual Jerusalem dwells in security – a people of God that will never experience a decree of destruction.
Zechariah 14:
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.
This happened in AD 70, to the people responsible for the blood of the prophets and saints – the ones that fought against spiritual Jerusalem. And who was that? Physical Jerusalem.
Zechariah 14:
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.[g] And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance.
This happened in the Jewish Revolt of 66. The zealots attacked their own land, and the initial response by Rome was defeated. At the Battle of Beth Horon, 6,000 Romans were slaughtered as the zealots crushed the initial Roman attack and plundered them. The loot helped keep them afloat for 7 years until the last of them were killed at Masada.
Zechariah 14:
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.
This is where you have to recognize the spiritual warfare and the spiritual result. (Remember that in Revelation Jesus fights with the sword from His MOUTH – this means His Word.) After the war, in the New Heavens and New Earth – that is, the spiritual government of the spiritual temple and new covenant instead of the physical temple and old covenant – the feast of booths will be kept. You must know that the Feast of Booths, otherwise known as the Feast of Tabernacles, was a celebration of God’s presence with his people restored. What the prophet is saying is that all nations will enjoy the presence of God – both Jew and Gentile, even without a physical temple. And those who don’t choose to be on the correct side of spiritual warfare will NOT receive rain – the blessings of God, the most important of which is the Holy Spirit – the living water.
Zechariah 14:21b
And there shall no longer be a trader[i] in the house of the Lord of hosts on that day.
You see, physical Jerusalem had both true followers and fake within it. But spiritual Jerusalem, which fully replaced physical Jerusalem in AD 70, is inhabited ONLY by true believers.