There is a story often told of three bricklayers. When asked what they were doing, the first replied, “I’m cutting stone.” The second said, “I’m earning a paycheck.” But the third looked up and exclaimed, “I’m building a cathedral!” The third worker was able to persevere in his labor better than the others because he believed in the end goal.

Zechariah ends with another vision of God’s plan for Israel and the nations. Chapter 14 opens with a bleak picture. The nations have gathered against Jerusalem, capture it, and ravage the city (v. 2). This is another glimpse of the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16–21). All hope seems lost. But at that moment, “the LORD will go out and fight against those nations” (v. 3).

Just as Israel was saved from the Egyptians by the parting of the Red Sea, the Lord will split the Mount of Olives in two for people to flee to safety from their enemies (v. 5). After the nations are defeated, living water will flow out of Jerusalem and through the valley to the east to the Dead Sea and to the west toward the Mediterranean Sea (v. 8). Jerusalem will be fruitful, secure, and safe. Indeed, at that time, “the LORD will be king over the whole earth” (v. 9).

This will be fulfilled when Jesus returns. The reality of God’s ultimate rule should motivate us to persevere with joy in the present. “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:8–9).

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