We now come to the end of the book and it turns distinctly apocalyptic.
Again things do not work out in the way you would expect, and the start seems decidedly inauspicious. All the nations will be gathered against Jerusalem and her possessions will be plundered within her very walls. Any expectation of a simple victory is not Biblical. Now when Rome sacked Jerusalem in AD66-70 some of this was fulfilled, but this was clearly not all the nations. Now this could be referring to a single event, or it could be a series of events, or series culminating in a grand finale. We should not expect the present nation of Israel to have an easy ride, nor should we expect a simplistic victory.
But after the apparent defeat the Lord will go and fight for Jerusalem. Verse 4 is the only explicit mention of the Mount of Olives, apart from 2 Sam 15:30.
This will be a special time, for there will be no distinction between night and day. We need to understand that this world as it is will not last forever. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, things will be very different.
John was possibly alluding to verse 8 here in John 7:38. Rev 22:1,2 also refers to a stream of living water.
The Lord’s visible reign will extend over all the earth. Now John 7:38 refers to the Holy Spirit (see John 7:39), so the spread of the gospel over all the earth could be seen as at least a partial fulfilment of this. However, this does not preclude it also being a reference to the millennial kingdom. And Jerusalem will be exalted on that day. So we see again that it is very dangerous to write off the role of Israel in the future plans of God.
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