“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.
It shall come to pass in that day That there will be no light; The lights will diminish.
It shall be one day Which is known to the LORD— Neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen That it will be light.
And in that day it shall be That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.
And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The LORD is one,” And His name one.” Zechariah 14:1-9. NKJV
Today much of the world is focused on the coronation of King Charles III of England, and all of the pomp and circumstance associated with it. To be truthful, many observers might also believe that the expression “pomp and circumstance” is a massive understatement and should rather be described as a “spectacle”. While not desiring to take away anything from this event, I could not help but compare the coronation of an earthly king with what occurs when the true King arrives to establish His reign on this earth.
This passage from the prophet Zechariah describes the coming return of Jesus Christ to claim His place as the rightful ruler of this earth. A careful reading of these verses reveals a stark contrast between the coronation occurring today in Britain, and the “coronation” which will happen when Jesus returns. By definition, the word coronation simply describes the occasion when one assumes the position of the highest office. While I admit I have not watched any of the events surrounding King Charles coronation, it is not hard to imagine exactly what is going on and how elaborate this event might be, especially if contrasted with what we find in the passage above.
The first thing I notice as I read this account is that the “crown” is not given to our Lord but rather He takes it by force. “Then the LORD will go forth And fight against those nations, As He fights in the day of battle.” While the rulers of this earth have been fighting with each other in unsuccessful attempts to claim the “throne” of power, our Lord returns and defeats them all in a show of force that no one on this earth can match.
Consider what we are told here;
1. The Mount of Olives will be split in two with half of the mountain moving north and the other half south. Speaking only for myself, I find that rather impressive. I rather doubt any earthly king has the power to move mountains.
2. On the day of His return we are told there will be no light, yet at night when it should be dark, it is light. I believe I am safe in saying no one alive on this earth has the power to change night to day or day to night.
3. In the middle of Jerusalem, a river appears that flows two directions, East and West, and never stops in either summer or winter. I think it safe to assume creating a river which flows in two different directions could best be described as an act of God.
The result of all of this is should come as no surprise to anyone as we are told, “And the LORD shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The LORD is one,” And His name one.” .
What strikes me most about this event is that there is no “pomp and circumstance” but rather a simple demonstration of the power of God and the right to rule the earth that He created. It makes me wonder if all of the pageantry and celebration that goes on during the crowning of earthly kings is a simple acknowledgement of their lack of true power, and an attempt to make up for that by elaborate festivities which only mask their unworthiness to assume the right to rule.
Even a cursory examination of the news lately shows evidence of powers trying to position themselves to assume the right to rule that they do not deserve. This day of our Lord’s return is, by all accounts, on our immediate horizon. It will occur at the end of a seven year period known as the tribulation which follows an event called the rapture of the Church. It happens when Jesus removes all who have chosen to believe that He is the Son of God who died and rose again to save us from our sin, and takes us home to live with Him for eternity in heaven.
If you have never made the decision to accept that free gift I encourage you to do so today. Simply ask God to forgive you of your sin based on your belief that Jesus died to pay the price for your sin, and turn over control of your life to Him. You can do that right now by praying a prayer just like this one;
"Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."
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