Splitting Mount Olives
Zech 14:4-5
4 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.
5 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. NKJV™
Hag 2:6
6 "For thus says the Lord of hosts: 'Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; NKJV™
Gen 48:7
7 But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem)." NKJV™
The Lord has revealed to us a very special insight to this passage from Zech 14. Having already written a chapter in the Resurrected Word study series about the symbols involved in the terribly sad and serious prophecy that Rachel represents, all our Lord had to do was to remind me of those symbols, and Zech 14 all became completely clear. In the case of Rachel’s study, in the study series we work up to the fact that the phrase, "that is, Bethlehem" is a symbol God uses to alert us to the truth that this "most beloved" of the man of God did not make it to salvation, since Bethlehem should be taken there to signify our hope of salvation, in Jesus, the Christ to come, Who was born there. So what the Lord allowed me to understand was that in like manner, to say Mount of Olives is to signify the teachings of Jesus, since that location became His favorite place to teach, and pray, and may have even been the very reason for it’s name:
Luke 22:39
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. NKJV™
So, what this prophecy of the splitting of the Mount actually means is that He will be rightly dividing the fullness of His Word, breaking of the seals, in this, the dawning of the Resurrected Word of God. All His beautiful symbols are there, in another perfect display of His pure language art form, right before our formerly blind eyes [see 2 Tim 2:15; Rev 5; Matt 28:2]. And this one will truly shake the whole earth, like it never before has been shaken [Rev 16:18].
This piece is running parallel with Luke 24:13-35, but uses a whole new set of spiritual symbols. Jesus had a tendency to take Scriptures and make them more straightforwardly understood, and even promised to be more straightforward in days to come [Matt 13; John 16:25-30]. The passage in Luke is well discussed in our studies, yet it is actually quite simple in it’s symbols, after we spend the needed study time first. But the piece in Zech 14 is filled with metaphors and symbols which speak in more detail to this glorious day He is bringing.
As our magnificent Lord breaks open His manna from heaven for us, it will bring us the needed changes and cleansing to be able to escape the evil schemes of the enemies of God, who are trying to have us annihilated, with the main intent being to then bring charges of mismanagement against our Lord. Entirely for the sake of His name, He is bringing this dawning day of phenomenal kindness, and we will escape through the Resurrected Word He is giving us, to deliver us this day. These gathered forces are entirely invisible, being spirits; but any eye can clearly see much of the devastation they have already done to us all. That is only due to the faithful kindness of our Lord God, as He allows us some carnal versions of our true spiritual condition; otherwise we would see nothing, since we are completely blind, spiritually speaking. What we do not realize, but which Scripture reveals here, is that so many have already been lost to the enemy forces [Zech 13:8; Zech 14:2]. The day indeed is dire, and this kindness from the Lord is truly just in the nick of time. Just as written, we will be consuming this Passover with sandals on, belts already girding our wastes, and with staff in hand [Ex 12:11]; we must be ready to go out with the Lord, into His good pasture, being prepared at this very moment [Ezek 34:11-15].
As the disciples look at God’s choice of terms, be sure to expand them to their fullest intent, as your skills develop and the Holy Spirit leads through the studies. For instance, it is no accident that olive oil is used in His golden lampstand in His temple, and that Jesus is the Light of the World [Ex 27:20; John 8:12], and this is the dawning of His Resurrected Word. It is no accident that Moses stood on another "mountain of God," as the Lord wrote the Word out on stone [Ezek 36:26] with His own finger, and handed to man; so many symbols; so much to learn. Each term is perfect, carefully chosen to say precisely what He wishes to say, in a language art form He wishes to speak in. It is now our duty to learn this language of heaven, if we wish to be there, and understand what they are saying when they speak. We are going to serve in the presence of the King of kings; just like Daniel and his friends, we will need to develop our skills in understanding His pure language art form:
Dan 1:17
17 As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. NKJV™
Dan 1:20
20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. NKJV™
Zeph 3:9
9 "For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language,
That they all may call on the name of the Lord,
To serve Him with one accord. NKJV™
This is precisely why God placed these Scriptures here: to guide us this day, helping us to plainly know what He expects of us in these days to come. These studies, this washing in the immersion studies of His Resurrected Word, now broken open for us by the hand of Jesus Himself [Matt 15:36], was always promised and waiting for us this day, sealed until today, to God’s great glory. We simply could not understand the fullness of these prophecies until the Prophet broke those seals open for our understanding this wondrous day.
Eph 5:26
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
NKJV™
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