The Mysteries of God

“And it will be one day which shall be known to Jehovah, neither day nor night; but it will happen that at evening time it shall be light.” (Zechariah 14:7)

The facts in the prophecy of Zechariah come fast and seem like they happen one after the other. In the Scripture before (verse 6) Zechariah prophesies about a day when there is no light. This is the event of the end time. Then immediately in verse 7, Zechariah writes about another event, the New Jerusalem needing no light at night. John in the book of Revelation reveals to us the source of light in the New Jerusalem. “And there will be no night there. And they need no lamp, or light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light. And they will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5) Keep in mind that when prophecy is given to a prophet, he gets bits and pieces or impressions. He can only speak what he sees, hears, dreams or only what is revealed to him. Also keep in mind that he may not understand what he is prophesying. He is merely relating what the Lord is showing him. So the information in Zechariah seems confusing because in the one Scripture he’s prophesying about there being no light in the day and in the next how the night is like the day. It’s important to connect the prophecy to other Scriptures to understand what he is talking about. Zechariah 14:7 is about the New Jerusalem. “And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they might shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:23) This Scripture makes it clear it’s about that divine city where Jesus is the light of that city. It is no other city but the New Jerusalem.

Notice that Zechariah’s prophecy does not mention a time or relational event by which we may estimate when this will happen. “But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not the angels of Heaven, but only My Father.” (Matthew 24:36) And although the event is prophesied, no time is given to Zechariah. That’s because it will come at a time unexpected. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. And they did not know until the flood came and took them all away. So also will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39) This is to happen at the same time or directly before the appearing of Jesus on the earth. This is not the rapture (the resurrection of all the saints, dead and alive). Jesus does not touch earth at the rapture. The saints meet Him in the clouds. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall ever be with the Lord.” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17)

The end time is the Father’s business. He keeps the day secret from man. Why? You may ask. Jesus told the disciples clearly. We know God knows what is best for us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We have no idea how we and unbelievers would react if we truly knew when that day would be. The disciples asked Jesus about that day. They were thinking of a natural kingdom. But Jesus was talking about the divine kingdom of God. “Then, indeed, these coming together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, do You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:6-7) God has determined that we don’t need to know when this time will come. We may induce when it’s close, but not the actual day. And God’s wisdom keeps it from man. When that day arrives, everyone on earth at that time will be surprised. “For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.” (1Thessalonians 5:2)

Scripture tells us a bit about the New Jerusalem. We get a glimpse, but I don’t think we even realize the glory that it will be. Zechariah and John have revealed that the Lord will be the light and the night will be lighted up like the day. Isaiah also prophesied about the Lord being the light so that there’s no need for the sun and the moon. “The sun will no more be your light by day; nor the brightness of the moon give light to you; but Jehovah will be to you for everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun will no more go down, nor your moon withdraw; for Jehovah will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be ended.” (Isaiah 60:19-20) There will be peace among people and creatures. No one will hurt anyone. No animal will destroy another. All knowledge of God will be revealed. “Also the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the cub lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9)

The Lord reveals what is essential, no more, no less. He reveals what is important for us. We know that day is coming. We don’t know when, but we need to be prepared for eternity because it’s inevitable. And because we don’t know the day, we either are serious about eternity or play around in sin hoping not to get caught in sin when the day comes. Knowing for certain that the day is coming should be reason enough to submit to God’s mandate. But no, people still allow themselves to be swayed by temptation. They take the path of least resistance and lose eternity, much like the people of Noah’s time. (Matthew 24:37-39) There are many mysteries of God we don’t know and which the Lord sees that we should not know. He tells Daniel many times about shutting up the words and sealing the book until the end of time. (Daniel 12:4) And in Daniel 8:26 God tells Daniel to shut the vision up. In Revelation 10:4 a voice from heaven tells John not to write what the seven thunders say. Daniel didn’t understand a part of the vision he saw, but God told him it was to be sealed until the end of time. “And I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, O my lord, what shall be the end of these things? And He said, Go, Daniel! For the words are closed up and sealed until the end-time.” (Daniel 12:8-9)

We may not understand many things that happen in our lives, but one thing we must do is trust the Lord. If we belong to Him, we know He has our best in mind for us. We may not understand because God is in the everlasting eternal which is beyond our understanding. We are in the finite earth with finite understanding. The Lord knows what we can handle and what we can wait to understand when we are in eternity. So we trust Him in those things that are hard for us to understand. He will let us know what we need to know and when we need to know it.

In summarizing, the Lord has given us a little glimpse of His wonders at the end of time, the New Jerusalem, the rapture and the second coming. We don’t have a full picture because some mysteries are in God’s authority to keep from us. We must trust Him completely that He knows what is best for us. I believe that even if we knew, we would not be able to understand it. God’s plans for us in eternity are beyond our understanding. There have been people who have had near death experiences and more than one has mentioned that there are colors in God’s world that are not in this world. So, God’s world is more wonderful than we can imagine. If He would reveal it to us, we wouldn’t believe it.

Let us pray:

Father God, You are more wonderful than I can imagine. Your mysteries are withheld from my finite minds because You know me and know what is best for me. But I know one thing and that is that it is beyond my understanding. Lord, I trust You. I know that You want the best for me. No matter what happens and whether it feels good or not to me, it is Your best for me. I have Your promises of protection, of love and blessings and I believe Your Word and know that You are faithful to fulfill Your Word, no matter if it looks contrary. The glimpses of the world in which You live that You have revealed, even those are beyond me. I love You, my Lord and my God. I thank You for the plans You made for me since the beginning of creation. I thank You that You mapped out a plan for me. Help me to fulfill Your purpose for me. I love You Lord and trust You with all of my heart. In the Name of Jesus I pray, amen.