Zechariah 14:2

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ... The prophecy seems literal (cf. ). If Antichrist be the leader of the nations, it seems inconsistent with the statement that he will at this time be sitting in the temple as God at Jerusalem (); thus Antichrist outside would be made to besiege Antichrist within the city. But obscurities and difficulties of detail do not set aside the main facts of revelations: the event will clear up seeming difficulties. (Compare the complicated movements, Daniel 11:1.) The beast that leads the secular hosts is distinct from the second beast that wields the spiritual power, and who is also called "the false prophet" (Revelation 13:1; Revelation 16:13) Moreover, Antichrist, who at one time sits in the temple as God, may subsequently prove to be at the head of the hosts which shall assail Jerusalem and perish finally, after a temporary success.

And half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. In Zechariah 13:8, it is "two-thirds" that perish, and "the third" escapes. There, however, it is "in all the land;" here it is "half of the city." Two-thirds of the whole people perish, one-third survives. One-half of the citizens are led captive, the residue are not cut off. Perhaps, too, we ought to translate 'a (not "the") residue.'