Zech. 14:3-5

3 Then shall the LORD [Yahovah] go forth [yatsa'], and fight [lacham] against those nations [gowy], as when [yowm] he fought [lacham] in the day [yowm] of battle [qarab].

4 And his feet [regel] shall stand [`amad] in that day [yowm] upon the mount [har] of Olives [zayith], which is before [paniym] Jerusalem [Yaruwshalaim] on the east [qedem], and the mount [har] of Olives [zayith] shall cleave [baqa`] in the midst [chetsiy] thereof toward the east [mizrach] and toward the west [yam], and there shall be a very [ma`od] great [gadowl] valley [gay']; and half [chetsiy] of the mountain [har] shall remove [muwsh] toward the north [tsaphown], and half [chetsiy] of it toward the south [negeb].

5 And ye shall flee [nuwc] to the valley [gay'] of the mountains [har]; for the valley [gay'] of the mountains [har] shall reach [naga`] unto Azal ['Atsel]: yea, ye shall flee [nuwc], like as ye fled [nuwc] from before [paniym] the earthquake [ra`ash] in the days [yowm] of Uzziah [`Uzziyah] king [melek] of Judah [Yahuwdah]: and the LORD [Yahovah] my God ['elohiym] shall come [bow'], and all the saints [qadowsh] with thee. KJV-Interlinear

3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! NASB

The Lord Jesus Christ will then arrive on the scene, in all of His glory. With all Church Age believer s right behind Him, He will come with clouds. We are the clouds. There will be so many of us believers, that to the people on the earth, we as a group, will seem as clouds covering the skies from horizon to horizon.

The holy ones here in our verse do not, however refer to Church Age believers. Remember that our dispensation was never revealed in the Old Testament. This is a reference to the elect angels, who will also accompany the Lord in His Second Advent return.

The intense darkness that was covering the world, will give way to the brilliant light of Christ. His light will overpower even the brightest sunlight at high noon on a very clear day.

Christ will come to fight as a warrior, to get right into the thick of the battle, hand to hand with the enemy.

Ex. 15:3

3 The LORD is a warrior; The LORD is His name. NASB

Isa. 42:13

13 The LORD will go forth like a warrior, He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies. NASB

Rev. 19:11-16

11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself. 13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. NASB

There are still many people, believers, trapped in the middle of Jerusalem. They will be surrounded by enemy forces.

When Christ returns to the earth, He will return to the very place from where He left at His First Advent. He will return from the direction of the east, heading west toward the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem, and He will set His first foot down on the Mount of Olives.

Ezek. 11:23

23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood over the mountain which is east of the city. NASB

Acts 1:11

11 and they also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven. NASB

Ezek. 43:2

2 and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the way of the east. NASB

With many believers still inside the city, and needing to be rescued, Christ will cause the Mount of Olives to divide in a great earthquake. It will divide, splitting in half. Splitting from east to west, from Jerusalem to the Jordan.

Half of the mountain will move to the north and the other half will move to the south, creating a huge valley from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. Now remember that the Dead Sea is several hundred feet below sea level, so its waters will not come rushing back toward Jerusalem. This, for the moment, will be a downhill valley, with Jerusalem the high point and the Dead Sea the low point.

Keep in mind too, that Satan is leading the assault against humanity, and especially believers in Jerusalem. Satan did no simply disappear from the scene in the last few weeks, he is very active and frantically trying to prevent anyone from being delivered in Jerusalem. That is Gods promise.

So in order to prevent that, he has to kill everyone. Those folks trapped in Jerusalem are in real danger. That is, they are in danger if you look at their situation from the human perspective. From Gods perspective of course, they are as good as saved.

The valley that will open up from the east side of Jerusalem, toward the east, will not be a valley of refuge, but a valley of escape.

The Hebrew word atsel means adjoining. In this case it means adjoining the city. The earthquake will open up a huge valley or gorge, right up and into the city of Jerusalem, on its east edge. People in the city, that is, those who are mature believers, will know of this prophecy and they will be making their way to the cities eastern edge. Not the present city s boundaries, but the boundaries, or city walls of the city back in Zechariah s time.

Those believers will evacuate out of the city to the east, and to safety. They will evacuate as in the manner of the escape in the time of King Uzziah. This is documented briefly in Amos 1. Of that escape, we know very little. But, Zechariah speaks of it as though all readers know, of the details of that escape by means of an earthquake.

So one wonders if something might be discovered, some archeological find, perhaps in the near future, which will give us more details regarding this earthquake of Uzziah s time.

Amos 1:1

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. NASB

Now, guess who is pursuing those believers, following them right into the, newly opened, valley. And now you have just one guess as to what will happen next.

Now is the time to post a prayer.