In chapter 13 God reinforces the idea that the children of Jacob will be saved from their sins in the exact same way that we have been saved from ours. Just as each of us turned from our wicked ways and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior – through faith – they too will do the same.
When we get to Zechariah 14, we’ll see how that chapter is a completely different prophecy.
We will kill billions of people in the first four verses, but there’s also a blessing that cannot come without this horrifying event.
Like Ezekiel 38 and 39, Zechariah 12 and 13 are a single vision. Stephen Langton, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury, broke this vision into two pieces, and was very foolish in doing so. And, putting that artificial break in the middle made it harder to see that Zechariah 14 is not connected at all to the previous two chapters. Chapters 12 and 13 begin with an attack upon Jerusalem and the region of Judah. It continues with their repentance and the acceptance of Jesus as their savior. Zechariah 14 is a completely different story.