“And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth” (Zechariah 9:11).

This wonderful prophecy follows immediately after the verse predicting the coming of the Messiah into Jerusalem riding upon a lowly donkey’s colt (Zechariah 9:10). That prediction was fulfilled by Jesus as He came into Jerusalem on that last Sunday before His death and resurrection (Matthew 21:4,5), but the prophecy in our text was certainly not fulfilled at that time. There have been wars somewhere in the world practically every year since Jesus came, and there are perhaps thirty or more local wars going on right now. Nevertheless, the day will come when He shall indeed speak peace to all the nations.

There was a time just over 80 years ago when the nations had fought a great war that was supposed to end all wars. They celebrated the armistice that ended that war on November 11, 1918, and established an annual holiday called Armistice Day. But many other wars followed that war, so the name was changed to honor the veterans that had fought in any of those later wars as well. However, there is still no real peace in the world.

The fact is that there can be no lasting peace between men and other men until there is peace between men and God. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can make such a peace, for He alone is the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Indeed, He has already paid the price to make such true and eternal peace, for He “made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself” (Colossians 1:20).

In that great coming day when He returns to earth to establish His kingdom, “He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth” (Psalm 46:10), “and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:17). HMM