John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 14:4

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, [and there shall be] a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south." — Zechariah 14:4 (ASV)

He continues the same subject: that God’s power would then be conspicuous in putting enemies to flight. He indeed illustrates his discourse here with figurative expressions, as if he wished to bring the Jews to see the scene itself. For the object of the personification is simply that the faithful might set God before them as if in a visible form.

Thus, he confirms their faith, as indeed it was necessary. For since we are dull and entangled in earthly thoughts, our minds can hardly rise up to heaven, even though the Lord with a clear voice invites us to Himself. The Prophet then, to aid our weakness, adds a vivid representation, as if God stood before their eyes.

Stand, he says, shall His feet on the Mount of Olives. He does not here promise a miracle, such as even the ignorant might conceive to be literal. Nor does he do this in what follows, when he says, The mount shall be rent, and half of it shall turn to the east and half to the west. This has never happened; that mount has never been rent. But as the Prophet could not, under those grievous trials which might have overwhelmed the minds of the godly a hundred times, have extolled the power of God as much as the urgency of the case required without employing highly figurative language, he therefore accommodates himself, as I have said, to the capacity of our flesh.

The meaning of all this is that God’s power would be so remarkable in the deliverance of His Church that it would be as if God manifested Himself in a visible form, reviewed the battle from the top of the mountain, and gave orders about how everything was to be done.

First, he says, Stand shall His feet on the Mount of Olives. Why does he not rather say, “In the city itself?” It is because by this way of speaking he meant to show that God would watch, so that He might see what would be necessary for the deliverance of His Church.

All these things, I know, are explained allegorically—for example, that Christ appeared on the Mount of Olives when He ascended into heaven, and also that the mount was divided so that it might be passable, and so that the apostles might proceed into the various parts of the world in order to assail all the nations. But these are refinements that, though they please many, still have nothing solid in them when anyone properly considers them. I then take a simpler view of what the Prophet says: that God’s hand would be sufficiently conspicuous whenever His purpose was to aid His miserable and afflicted Church.

The same view is to be taken of what follows: that a great valley would be in the middle, for the rent would be one half towards the north and the other half towards the south. It is as if he had said that Jerusalem was, so to speak, concealed under that mountain, so that it was hidden, but that afterwards it would be on an elevated place.

This is similar to what is said elsewhere: Elevated shall be the mountain of the Lord, say both Isaiah and Micah, above all mountains (Isaiah 2:2; Micah 4:1). That hill, we know, was small; yet Isaiah and Micah promise such a height as will surpass almost the very clouds.

What does this mean? Simply that the glory of the God of Jerusalem will be so great that His temple will be visible above all other heights. So also in this place, Rent, he says, shall be the Mount of Olives, so that Jerusalem may not be as before in a shaded valley, having only a small hill on one side, but that it may be seen far and wide, so that all nations may behold it. This, I think, is what the Prophet simply means. But those who delight in allegories must seek them from others.