Thru the Bible

Host: Foundation he saints of the Lord is laid for your faith in his excellent word. Welcome to Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. We're in the book of Zechariah, an Old Testament prophet who had a vision of Jesus' second coming. What exactly did Zechariah see? We'll find out in chapter 14.

Host: As we get settled on the Bible bus, here's the latest in our introductions from Dr. McGee on the attributes of God.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And God doesn't have a feeling of guilt because he sent the flood and destroyed all of mankind with the exception of Noah. God makes no apology for judging man and he certainly hasn't asked me to do it.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And we are told when Moses crossed the Red Sea with the children of Israel after the Egyptians were destroyed, and God did that. He sang, Jehovah is a man of war. God hates sin. And God loves the good. He never makes light of sin, and we should not shut our eyes to it.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, Paul says. And it is said when Just in the possid was dying, that he reached his finger in that wound in his side and flung his blood in the air and he says, thou hast one, oh Galileaan. Yes, he had one.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: God does punish sin. And he says he that being often reproved, hardeneth his heart shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedy. Proverbs 29:1. God, our God, is a God who punishes sin.

Host: Well, God's judgment is sobering, but it's not the end of the story. And the same God who punishes sin also offers forgiveness and new life through Jesus Christ. And we get evidence of God's grace at work in the lives of our fellow listeners all the time. In fact, Greg and I want to share some recent letters that we've received. Greg, what do you got?

Guest (Male): We have letters literally from all over the world and, you know, we often talk about flinging the seed. We're also just flinging God's grace out there because the word of God is the seed and the word of God is the message of grace and mercy. So let's go to Africa, one of your favorite languages to pronounce.

Host: Yes, Umbundu.

Guest (Male): Umbundu, yes, and here's what this letter said. I served as a soldier and was involved in fighting for many years. Soon after I was home, I became blind without any possibility to read the word of God. One day I tuned to Through the Bible and I found the program very helpful.

Guest (Male): Today, I use it as my church. In my village, few people have radios. For example, in my region, I am the only one. Therefore, every evening, I invite people to come to my place to listen. Sometimes the number increases up to 100 to 200 people gathering. Many people are joining us every day because of the way you teach the word of God, which is different from what we have often heard. May God bless this ministry.

Host: Such an encouragement. I read this and I think of the soldier that I met in Uganda. Similar situation. He was a career soldier and retired and found Through the Bible and got saved really certainly the third quarter of his life and it was just exciting to see the joy in his eyes.

Guest (Male): Well, and what a picture of a a a village where he's the only one with a radio and then 100 to 200 people gather around to listen. I mean, this is why we fling the seed in every possible way and we're we're still doing a lot of radio because there are places where it reaches very effectively.

Host: Absolutely. Now, here's a listener in Russia that shares this. I never felt more alone than when I moved to a city to support my parents financially. There was no work in our small town and even in the city, jobs were hard to find. I ended up cleaning offices at night, which felt humiliating. Most of my money went back to my parents and I was barely surviving myself, but the hardest thing to deal with was the loneliness.

Host: I started drinking to try to cope, but that only made things worse. The guilt was overwhelming. My Muslim family wasn't very devout. We mostly just celebrated the holidays, but one thing they taught me stuck, drinking alcohol was wrong. For some reason, the truth clung to me and the guilt began tearing me apart. I even started thinking about taking my own life.

Host: Then, a few months ago, I found your programs. They began to open something in my heart. There was hope, there was forgiveness. For the first time in months, I started to feel a little better. I listened to every program I could, when I wrote to you asking what it really means for a Christian to have faith in God, I knew I was missing something, but I didn't understand what.

Host: Through our conversations, I learned much about Christianity. Still, when you offered to pray for me, I hesitated, but I'm so glad I said yes. It was incredible. I hadn't felt such peace in a long time. It is a miracle. Someone actually cares about me. Please pray that I will come to a true and lasting faith in Jesus. Man.

Guest (Male): Wow. Steve, both of those two letters, which by the way, are not spectacularly unusual. We get letters like this all the time. The thing that strikes me is they're so real, they're so human, they're filled with this could happen to anyone anywhere on Earth, and yet God's grace is reaching them.

Guest (Male): And I just want to say if you're part of this ministry, if you pray, if you if you're able to support financially, you're part of what God's doing in lives like this.

Host: Yeah, Greg, let me pray for us as we begin. Heavenly Father, we are so encouraged daily by the reports that we get back, the testimonies of people coming to Christ, people being comforted, people understanding what faith is. I pray that you would continue to bless the ministry as it goes out even today, Lord, in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Host: Let's open to Zechariah 14 as we go through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now friends, we've come to the last chapter, and this chapter actually continues and it concludes this second division here at the end. We've had the last section in the outline divided into prophetic burdens beginning with chapters 9 through 14, and then there were the prophetic aspects of the first burden that were connected with the first coming of Christ.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And in this last section, and that began with chapter 12 through 14, we have here the prophetic aspects connected with the second coming of Christ. Now, this last chapter actually, it just gathers together everything and ties any loose strings there might be.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: I've labeled this chapter features and facts connected with the coming of Christ to the earth. You see, the very interesting thing is that we've had a very definite program given to us in Zechariah. And that's been true in all three major divisions.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: When we had the 10 visions, then we had that historic interlude and now this last major division of prophetic burdens. We always start where Israel was at that particular time and in a certain amount of difficulty. And it moves through to the national conversion of Israel.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: When the nation will turn to God, there's a pouring out of the spirit of God. And that prepares the scene for the return of the Messiah, because at that time they've entered the great tribulation period. Now this last chapter is a great climactic chapter, but it also follows the entire program that's been given to us in Zechariah.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And for that reason, this is a section that leads up to and into the establishment of the kingdom at the second coming of Christ. Now we've had that in each one of these major divisions. In other words, Zechariah, encouraging the people at that day, looks all to the future and he outlines a program.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And therefore, in chapter 14, there are certain things we need to say about it, that it is holy prophetic. It's entirely that. And then the other thing is that it has no prophecy for the present day or this present age in which we're living.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: It is speaking of the end of the age that ushers in the kingdom. And you will find that many of the commentators, especially the higher critical school. And today, I think that largely all amillennialists follow the same plan and purpose, that this does not actually speak of prophecy.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And then that it's not literal and that it can be fitted into the present age. And believe me, that leads to some strange interpretation. Lo and Devett, who were a couple of the liberal boys, they belong to that camp. They both say that this chapter defies all historical explanation.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And believe me, you can say amen to that. Therefore, this chapter is entirely prophetic. That is, it's prophetic from where we are today and looks to the future. And the only interpretation that will satisfy is a literal interpretation. That's the only one that will give the meaning.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And any interpretation must be in harmony with the context here. As I've said all along, that in interpreting prophecy, or interpreting scripture anywhere, you cannot disregard the context before and after. And then also you have to interpret this in keeping with the spirit and the feel of the entire word of God.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: You just can't reach in here and come out with some wild interpretation that has no basis in fact. And I think that very frankly, that this is a very very important passage of scripture, because it does one thing. It demonstrates the difference between literal interpretation and this idea of spiritualizing it and mysticalizing it as many do and make it mean practically nothing at all.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: This is not an incomprehensible or obscure connotation, making them merely something that is allegorical or something that is mythical or something that actually can be dissipated into thin air. They attempt to explain it away rather than to explain it.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And by the way, let me make a suggestion, and I feel a little mean today, and this is a suggestion that is really a mean suggestion. Now if you really want to know the position that a pastor that you're not sure about, either on radio or in the town or the city where you live.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: If you really want to know what he believes, take the 14th chapter of Zechariah to him. Ask him to explain it to you. You'll find out when you get there what the boy really believes when he takes the 14th chapter of Zechariah. Now, may I say to you, isn't that mean to say a thing like that.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: This is the reason that certain of the commentators that have been liberal, great scholars of the past, actually, Hestonberg, for instance, he refers the chapter 14 to all of the Messianic era. Well, what he really means, he refers it to this church period today.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And you can't by the wildest kind of interpretation fit it in. And that's the reason he doesn't go into detail. And Lupold, another outstanding liberal scholar says, our verses do not therefore apply to any one situation. They do not describe a siege, capture and captivity which actually occurred by means of a figure.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: They describe a situation which obtains continually through New Testament times. God's people shall continually be antagonized and suffer bitter adversity at the hands of their foes and shall in consequence be brought low, but there shall always be an imperishable remnant and that not so extremely small. Would you tell me what he really means by that?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: What he really means is he doesn't know what to do with this chapter at all. So the thing you do is you spiritualize it and you spread it out like butter on toast and it'll melt just about the same way. Now, may I say that these verses are not just figurative and they do not apply to New Testament times.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And the remnant that is spoken of here, it's been made clear to us in this book, it's a Jewish remnant that he's talking about, and that this is entirely eschatological. Something that we need to recognize. Now, there have been other scholars that have just called it Jewish millennialism.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, the fact of the matter is, as Dr. Unger says, Jewish millennialism was wrong only in the fact that it overlooked the prophesied rejection and death of the Messiah as the indispensable prelude to his manifestation in kingdom glory. All right, now with that as more or less of a background, let's come to the text that we have here and look at it today.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: We have verse one now, and will you note this. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. Now, actually this is a headline. This would make a good headline in the paper. And you notice many times that a headline is written over an article, that when you get down in the article, you move back of the headline and they give you the preliminary that leads up to it.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now that's what you have here. But you will notice what he says, behold, the day of the Lord. And here we are again with that very impressive statement. But we're going to find that in these first three verses here that we have the last siege of Jerusalem. That is the thing that will be before us.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And then we have in the next four verses, 4 through 7, you have the personal advent of the Messiah. Now, all of this has been before us in this book in other chapters. But now we have it from a little different angle. For instance, the great tribulation period, the siege of Jerusalem.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Why, actually, that's been before us, but the thing that was important in the other passage was an emphasis on the latter part of it and the deliverance that came. And Zechariah was giving it to the people for their encouragement. But here you see how tragic actually it's going to be during that period of the Day of the Lord, that it begins in darkness.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: That is the thing Joel had said, the Day of the Lord is not light, it's darkness. It begins in darkness. And the hopelessness and helplessness of these people in that period, it's difficult for us to understand. And so the Day of the Lord here is headline material. And by now, we ought to know something about it.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, the Hebrew idiom that is employed here is Yom Yahweh. I just pass that on to you just to let you know. I did study Hebrew, although I've forgotten all of it by now. But anyway, that is the expression that is the headline material here. And it refers to this coming day that's yet in the future when the church is removed and Antichrist brings on the great tribulation.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: The world will believe that he's bringing in the millennium. And we've certainly had quite a few presidents in my day. Never one of them was going to bring in the millennium. And you want to know something, not one of them got in four miles of the millennium. But it doesn't keep us from believing that the next candidate is going to do it.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Well, none of them are going to do it. As we said last time, only Jesus Christ can do that. And what he's saying here is this. Lo a day is coming. It's the Lord's when thy spoil shall be distributed in the midst of thee. And it means the enemy is going to take Jerusalem again.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: This is the last siege. And he says here, and let me read this, for I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, 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.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, this is the last siege and it's not a pretty picture that's given to us here. The enemy takes the city. And when it says all nations, I'm of the opinion that each nation will have representatives there. You say, well, how could that be? Well, what do you have today in the United Nations?

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: You have that same thing and over in that land at the time I'm making this tape, the United Nations is there again. And the soldiers come from different nations that are in the United Nations. And they serve more or less as a buffer between Israel and the enemy.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, it'll be different in that day, but it's an army that's made up of those that represent all the nations and they're coming against Jerusalem and they're going to take Jerusalem. And we're told here, and let me give this verse here, it's a sad state. It says in the city, shall be captured, the houses will be plundered, and the women raped, and half of the city shall go into captivity.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: But the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Apparently, they will be able to escape. Now there are those that believe, and that includes myself, that probably it'll be the rock-hewn city of Petra where they'll go to. But Masada would be a good place where they went before at the time of Titus.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: The only thing is, it sure would be a good target for bombers if they went to Masada. So the rock-hewn city of Petra could be it. But I don't think that we can be dogmatic about a great many of these things that the scripture is not clear on. Let's be dogmatic about what the word of God has to say.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, this is a sad thing that is revealed to the city is taken, and the houses are plundered, and the women raped. Those are the three things that he mentions here. Now we are told, verse 3, then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now this is a picture, actually, of the deliverer who's coming. It's at this time that their help will not come from the north or the south, east or the west, but the help will come from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth, and that will be none other than the Lord Jesus himself coming to the earth to deliver these people.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And that is part of the Day of the Lord, you see. Now we have in verses 4 through 7. We'll not get through all of that, but will you notice verse 4? And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst toward the east, toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south. Well, this is tremendous statement that's made here. And it's quite literal. The Mount of Olives is literal, Jerusalem is literal, those people are literal, and the thing that takes place here is tremendous.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: When the Lord Jesus comes, his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives. And I think that that's quite literal. He's the glorified Christ today. He has nail prints, spike prints in those feet. But those feet left the Mount of Olives when he left here and he's coming back.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And you remember that's exactly what he told his disciples. He said when he ascended that the two witnesses came and they said, men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing at heaven? This same Jesus that is gone into heaven shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And this is the fulfillment of it, that will take place in the future and when? In the Day of the Lord, in the time when they are in great trouble and Jerusalem has been besieged and taken and it'll be the last time. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now, that's not a casual statement. You will notice through scripture that help for them is coming from the east. And that's the reason they put such great attention to that Eastern gate, which some call the Golden Gate. I personally think the reference to the Golden Gate is the gate in the temple that shall be built.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: But actually, if you want to call it that, fine, it's the Eastern gate and that he'll probably come in from the east. Ezekiel tells us that. The help is coming to them from the east. And I think that's interesting. We've been on the side of Israel from the very beginning they become a nation, but we happen to be a Western nation, you see.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: The real help is coming from the Lord and there's no fulfillment of prophecy there today. You see, and you put this prophecy down on what's going to happen because the thing that's going to take place is that there'll be a great earthquake and that mountain will be split right down in the middle, and half of it will go to the north and half to the south.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And apparently, the city that has been an inland city will suddenly become a sea-going city. That is a port town. And the waters that will come forth will flow both to the Mediterranean as we're going to see, and also to the Dead Sea. And both of those areas could use a little extra water these days.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: And apparently, all of this change of topography, as we'll see next time, is to elevate Jerusalem so that it will stand out in a valley. Very much like Mount Rainier stands out up here in the state of Washington. But Jerusalem in that day will. Now today it does not stand out like that.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: There are many of the mountains around Jerusalem that are higher than Jerusalem is. We want to talk about that next time because it's a very interesting thing and we do expect to conclude this book next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Host: Our next study is our last in this amazing prophetic book of Zechariah. Until then, to find a resource that'll deepen your study of God's Word, why don't you get our app? Or you can visit us at ttb.org. You can also reach us at 1-800-65-BIBLE or email us at biblebus@ttb.org.

Host: You know we'd love to hear from you. I'm Steve Schwetz, grateful for your company on the Bible bus and your partnership in taking God's whole word to his whole world.

Male Singers: Jesus came home on to be my own. Sin had left the prison stain. He washed it white as snow.

Host: Through the Bible is a five-year study of God's entire word, and together we discover God's purposes in history and our lives, found only when we believe in Jesus Christ. Do you know him yet?