Zechariah has a prophesy that not much is talked about but that may be close to happening. It is found in Zechariah 13 and 14.

“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, it is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” – Zech. 13:7-9

This prophesy is about “smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered:” who was Jesus and the resulting Roman destruction of Jerusalem that happened in 70 AD. Only about 1/3 of the people survived in Jerusalem and the rest were killed or exiled. But many prophesies have a secondary fulfillment as well and the next part seems to be about a future war.

“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.” – Zech. 14:1-5

There is another war coming and it is called the day of the LORD. All the nations will be gathered against Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. I imagine it will be about like the Palestinian attack of March 7th on Israel. Half the city will go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will arrive and fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle! His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and it shall be split in two forming a large valley that reaches to Jordan River. Then the LORD tells the remnant to flee through the valley to safety. Now that the LORD has arrived there will be victory for Israel, but NO, instead He tells them to flee. WHY? I believe another prophet; Micah has the answer. He tells us the conversation the LORD has with the people and their destination when they flee.

“Arise and depart, for this is not your rest; Because it is defiled, it shall destroy, yes, with utter destruction. . . “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold (Heb. Bozrah), Like a flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so many people. The one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the LORD at their head.” – Micah 2:10-12

You must remember that when Antiochus Epiphany (the first type of the antichrist) went into the Temple to place there the abomination that destroys, he was ushered into the Temple by the High Priest Jason who represented the false religion of the day. The same type of false religion will exist during this time of Antichrist as well. All who stay in Jerusalem will be swayed away from their faith in the true God. The LORD has a place prepared for them, Bozrah which is found at the southern end of the Dead Sea in Edom. It was well known for its sheep folds which were made by piling up rocks to form the pen for protection for the night. Then in the morning this Shepherd would come and break open the pen and lead the sheep to pastor. This then is the “wilderness” Revelation 12 tells us that Israel flees into.

“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.” – Rev. 12:13-14

Remember, all this was called by Zechariah, the Day of the LORD. which agrees with what I have long thought, the Day of the LORD is longer than a 24-hour day, it lasts at least 3½ years, while the LORD deals with the invading amies that have taken over Jerusalem.

There are many other thoughts that stream from this prophecy but, this enough for this article. For example, where does this place the present war Israel is engaged with in Gaza and Lebanon? Where is the battle called Armageddon? The WORD of God knows, and He has carefully concealed it from His enemies in the world.

I pray my thoughts have been clear enough for you to follow them and to be prepared for what is coming.

Pastor Charles Cooley, ret.