Bear with me because I know you can understand what I am about to post. I am going to use another interpretation of another scripture as a comparison. Revelation states a third of the stars fall to earth. Most people do not read that literally and one of the reasons they do not do so is because if the verse was read literally then the earth would literally be demolished by the first star colliding with the earth. The earth would literally be pulverized into dust and there'd be nothing left for the second, third, fourth, or fifth star to fall upon. It is estimated there are 200
billion stars in the universe. A third of that is 66
billion stars colliding with the earth. The closest star is our own sun. If it began to fall toward the earth all life on the planet would be dead long before it physically impacted the earth. The next closest star is Proxima Centauri. It is 4.24 light years away (it would take four years to "fall" to the earth if it were traveling at the speed of light), and its diameter is 16 times greater than the earth's. The smallest star in the universe is the size of Saturn. So,
logically, we necessarily understand that verse is not to be read literally. If it were read literally all life on earth and the planet itself would be destroyed and there'd be nothing left of the earth for the rest of prophecy to unfold. We also don't read the verse literally because "stars" are often symbols or figures of speech for light and the angelic host.
So..... assumng you understand and agree with what I just posted, let's examine the idea the Mount of Olives literally splits in two.
Zechariah 14:1-8
Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 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. 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! In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
- It happens in a day.
- Jesus stands on the Mount of Olives.
- The Mount of Olives splits in its middle.
- The Mount of Olives splits in its middle from east to west.
- A very large valley is formed.
- Half the mountain moves north, and half the mountain moves south.
- The valley formed by the splitting reaches Azel in the east.
- Water fill flow out of Jerusalem from the eastern sea to the western sea.
The earthquake in Turkey earlier this year was 7.8 (more then 32 Hiroshima bombs in power) on the Richter scale and it created a valley 300 meters long, or about one-fifth of the valley from the Zechariah 14 valley, and 130 feet deep. That occurred at 1312 feet about sea level. The mount of Olives is twice that high.
An earthquake strong enough to divide the Mount of Olives and literally move one half to the north and one half to the south five times greater than the Turkish earthquake would destroy Jerusalem. There would be no buildings left. The city would be rubble. Literally. Jerusalem is about six kilometers or 3.75 miles from Jerusalem and its peak was about 200 feet above the roof of Jerusalem's temple. An earthquake severe enough to cause a valley five times greater than the one in Turkey in an elevation twice as high would exceed our Richter Scale. These numbers can be doubled if the valley extends as far to the west as it does to the east. Now there is a sea to the west of the Mount of Olives (the Mediterranean). The closest sea to the east would be the Persian Gulf, more than 1000 miles away from Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. A river will run from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf.
So.... is it logical to read the Zechariah text literally? Or do we run into the same sort of problem occurring when stars fall to the earth? Remember: an earthquake literally strong enough to divide the Mount of Olives would literally destroy Jerusalem.
If it is not reasonable to think the earthquake literally divides the mountain in two so severely a a huge valley is created and Jerusalem is destroyed, then is it reasonable to think Jesus is literally standing on the Mount when that earthquake happens? He's standing ON the mountain DURING an earthquake that literally divides the mountain on which he is standing AND he does so watching as the city of peace is destroyed.
Or is there a better way to understand the passage, after all, we know the "
living waters" are not literal H20 water. We also know there was a day future to Zechariah's day when Jerusalem was surrounded by many nations. we know the city was captured and we know people fled to the mountains and caves to escape the destruction of the city. We know women (and men) were ravaged and people were cut off from the city by a multi-year siege. We also know there were at least two days when all light was cut off from the city, one during the crucifixion, and another during the siege of Jerusalem.
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