Zephaniah 3:9

"For then will I turn to the peoples a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one consent."

"For then ..." is somewhat similar to "at that time," or "in the day," or "in the last days," all of which are frequently used as references to the times of the Messiah. From here to the end of the chapter lies one of the most extensive and revealing Messianic passages in the whole Bible. "From this point forward, there is a new note of victory in Zephaniah."[18] Like all the true prophets of God, Zephaniah bore his witness to the coming Christ and his blessed kingdom (Acts 3:18,20). Carson went on to characterize this dramatic change in the tone of the prophecy as "so marked that some commentators insist that this section must belong to a much later period";[19] but all such reasonings appear to be grounded in a phenomenal unawareness of both Testaments. If any prophet should have omitted such encouragements as are in this chapter, he could not have fitted either the established pattern in the Old Testament, nor the affirmations of the New Testament.

"I will turn to the peoples a pure language ..." The essential thought behind this is unity of purpose and holiness of life. It is not that men may use better Hebrew, but that their hearts and lives should conform to the will of God, a characteristic distinctive of the redeemed "in Christ" who are "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "The essential thought finds utterance in plain prose in Jeremiah 32:39 and in Ezekiel 11:19,20," where they are "predicated of Israel in the Messianic age,"[20] as indeed they are here also.

It should also not be overlooked that the focus is not here upon secular Israel at all. It is not merely Israel that shall turn to God with a "pure language," but all men. "This section is reminiscent of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11)."[21] "It means the confusion of Babel shall be done away, and all shall speak the language of faith in one God."[22] Deane also added that, "This, of course, points to Messianic times."[23] In fact, the miracle of tongues on the Day of Pentecost was a token fulfillment of this promise.