Sovereign Grace
Puritan Board Sophomore
Hello again, Willis,
In the eternal state, earth has been cleansed by fire—whether utterly dissolved and recreated, or its surface burned away and remade, commentators vary—and upon this New Earth the city of God, New Jerusalem, has come down (Rev 21:1,2,3). The land promises now are fulfilled not only by the boundaries of old Israel but include the entire earth ("the meek shall inherit the earth"). The Israel of God possesses the world, indeed, the universe.
Zechariah 14:1,2,3,4 was the last thing I let go of from my premil days, that is, interpreting it literally. I now believe it stands for the ravaging of the church during the age, and particularly its being overcome at the very end. Although it is certainly possible the Lord could touch upon the Mount of Olives at the end, though I think Rev 6:14, "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places" indicates that upon His return the earth will not remain intact. The two witnesses of Rev 11 were the next-to-last thing I relinquished upon embracing the amil view.
I think Zechariah 14 speaks of a future time and not something that occured during the Christ's earthly ministry. Seems the writing speaks of future events. Seems like John Gill's commentary is spot on. But I, and Gill, could be wrong.