Zechariah 6:1 – Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze.
Now we come to the eighth, and final, vision of Zechariah. The vision begins with the prophet seeing four chariots which are moving through the midst of two mountains made of bronze. The text implies that these are war chariots.
There are four main interpretations of this vision. We will briefly introduce three, without fully investigating them.
- Interpretation #1 asserts that the four chariots represent the four Gospels of the New Testament. The apostles and other leaders are sent by God to accomplish his will and facilitate the spread of the gospel.
- Interpretation #2 asserts that the four chariots represent changes in the world order brought about by war among the nations. In this theory, the colors of the horses represent the various changes.
- Interpretation #3 asserts that the four chariots represent the four great empires which subdued the known world. These would be the same four nations (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome) who were depicted in the earlier vision of the horns.
Self-study resources are readily available to anyone who wants to learn more about these theories. All of them, to some degree, point to a truth revealed in this vision.
However, in our study, we will take the view that the four chariots represent messengers of God, who are standing by to carry out his will and enforce his decrees.
This enforcement may entail ministering/assisting God's people or executing God's judgments upon sinners throughout the world. These messengers could be people, nations, angels, or other spiritual beings we are not familiar with.
It was standard for prophetic words of the Old Testament to predict a specific set of facts or events which God would eventually bring to pass.
For instance, we know that the prophet Isaiah predicted that a virgin would conceive and bear a son whose name would be Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). This was a prophetic word in which the predicted events occurred exactly as foretold.
But the eighth prophetic vision of Zechariah is a bit different. It gives us an example of what is sometimes referred to as the 'continuous fulfillment of prophesy'. This term is used when the prophetic word gives us a revelation of a divine principle of God and his kingdom, rather than a specific set of facts which will have a future fulfillment.
Because this type of prophetic word reveals a kingdom principle, it will show up or come to pass time after time after time, in any (or all) generations.
In this case, the divine principle centers on the timely punishment of the enemies of God's people (both the Jews and the church). We can see this divine principle in effect throughout Old Testament history.
This principle was evident in Zechariah's day in the destruction of Babylon, the nation who had taken the Jews into captivity. But the principle of God's destruction of those who oppose his people was also evident with the overthrow of Edom, Midian, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and many others.
This divine principle is still in operation today. If we are able to watch long enough, we will eventually see the judgment/destruction of Israel's (and the church's) current enemies. In fact, because this is a kingdom principle, we would expect to see fulfillments of it until the end of this age. The final fulfillment will occur when Satan and his minions are finally cast into the lake of fire.
One final note: Many scholars see an added dimension to this prophesy. They point out that the seventh vision centered on God's disciple of his own people, which was immediately followed by a vision of the judgment/destruction of her enemies. For this reason, they believe that the kingdom principle involves discipline of God's people first, which is then followed by the judgment of her enemies (who often carried out that discipline).
With this in mind, let's dig into the specifics of this amazing vision!
Mountains of bronze - What can we determine about the mountains? The prophet specifically mentions that they are not normal mountains made of rock. In his vision, they are made of brass.
This signifies that they are insurmountable, immovable, and unchanging. They represent God's plans, purposes, and decrees which rest upon his infallible wisdom and are supported by his limitless power. The kingdoms of man cannot change, void, stop, or subvert them. If God decrees it, it will come to pass!
We also find that the chariots are closed in on either side by the mountains. The mountains (God's purposes) act as natural barriers, restricting the chariots and determining where they can (and cannot) go, and how fast (or slow) they can travel. Thus, we see that God's decrees/plans restrict or limit what happens in the world.
For example, God decreed that Israel would go into captivity for a period of 70 years. He then sent the nation of Babylon out to fulfill his will. The Babylonians would have been more than happy to completely wipe Israel off the map forever, but God's decrees restricted their bloodthirsty desires, so that they were unable to completely annihilate the Jews.
God also controls the timing of all his plans, which unfold under his watchful eye at the exact moment he intends. This means that Israel did not go into bondage any sooner than necessary and she could not be held by her enemies any longer than God ordained. This happens despite the desires of Israel's enemy (just ask the Egyptians).
We also know that due to the shape, size, and position of normal mountains, they often obscure the contents of the valleys that lie between them. In the same way, God's plans may not be immediately visible (perceived) by those who will be affected by them. However, we can rest assured that God is in control of the situation, even if we don't understand exactly how he will accomplish his purposes.
Again, we can point to evidence from the captivity. When Israel was on the verge of fulfilling her 70-year sentence, her leaders did not see any possible way to return to Jerusalem and reestablish the temple. But God made it happen. Instead of liberating them through military means, he simply touched the heart of Cyrus, who commissioned the Jews to go to Jerusalem and build a temple for Jehovah.
Now, here is something to consider - we know that God never changes:
Malachi 3:6 - "For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, the children of Jacob, are not consumed."
Since that is the case, the bronze mountains of God's laws and decrees are still in effect today. The church may be surrounded by enemies of the cross, but their evil desires are being limited or held in check by the power of God. Whether they know it or not, all of their schemes are filtered through God first; they can only do what God gives them permission to do.
Let's not forget that God's messengers are not limited to judgment. They also respond to God's decrees of help and assistance for his people.
Hebrews 1:14 – Are they [angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?
In addition to this supernatural help, we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone. Like the prophet Elisha, God has surrounded us with his angels and messengers, who will bring his will to pass on our behalf as we partner with him.
II Kings 6:16-17 – He [Elisha) said, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
For our part, let's not waste time and energy worrying about the schemes of our enemy. If we need assistance, God will send one of his messengers to help us. This allows us to focus on trusting in God, building up our faith and fighting for the kingdom of heaven until every last soul has been won for Christ!
Zechariah 6:2-3 – The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses – all of them strong.
Now let's take a closer look at the chariots. The text implies that these are war chariots which are obviously under the control of drivers. Again, they represent messengers of God who ride swiftly through the world to execute his commands. Sometimes they are executing judgment and sometimes they are ministering to the saints of God.
Most scholars attach significance to the color of the horses which pull the war chariots. The colors are believed to reflect the character or purpose of the chariot and thus the command/decree they enforce.
Red – One chariot has horses of a red color reflecting God's fiery wrath and vengeance on the wicked. Red is associated with bloodshed and war (Isaiah 63:2, Revelation 6:4).
Black – There is a chariot pulled by black horses. Black normally represents sorrow, calamity, and mourning (Jeremiah 4:28), as well as famine and/or dearness (dearness denotes anything that is scarce, hard to get or excessive in price - Revelation 6:5-6). Black can also indicate disease, pestilence, and/or plagues.
Bay or Dappled – There is also a chariot pulled with Bay horses. The word 'Bay' has also been translated as dappled, speckled or piebald referring to a combination of colors. It therefore represents a mixture of good and bad events such as prosperity and adversity, sickness and health, joy and sorrow, etc.
Together, these three chariots symbolize the three great judgments of God – war, hunger and pestilence (II Samuel 24:11-13).
White – There is also a chariot pulled by white horses. White is generally associated with joyful and prosperous times. In this case, it may also point to the glorious victories of the ministers of the divine judgment/assistance.
Having given this explanation, I would like to point out that there are other bible commentators who believe that the colors of the horses do not provide an identification of their assignments or characteristics. This view says that the horses are given different colors merely to make the vision more distinct or easy to understand.
They also point out that while the colors of the horses in the book of Revelation do have specific meanings, there is nothing to suggest those distinctions should be used in the vision of Zechariah.
In either case, we are told the horses are strong and swift. We expect them to be strong because they are empowered by the Spirit of God. We expect them to be swift, because when God gives an order, it must be obeyed immediately.
It is interesting to note that on an individual basis, God uses all of these 'horses' to draw people to Christ. Some may find him in the midst of fear during a war, while others may be drawn to him through the peacefulness of nature. Some sinners are drawn to God because of lack, while others seek him after discovering the emptiness of riches, etc. God can and will use any situation to draw sinners to himself.
Zechariah 6:4-5 – Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, "What are these, my lord?" And the angel answered and said to me, "These are going out to the four winds of heaven, after presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth."
As we saw in the other visions, Zechariah does not immediately understand the significance of what he sees. So once again, he asks the assisting angel for clarification.
And once again (I can't stress this enough), God reveals this mystery to the prophet because he humbly asks to receive wisdom and instruction.
Before the Lord –The spirits of destruction and deliverance stand in the presence of God awaiting his instructions; they do not move or take action without his permission. This confirms what we already know – God is Master of the earth and everything in it; he is supreme over all.
His messengers will find their way to every single point on the globe. None are excluded because God's providence extends over every square inch of his creation. Nothing is outside of his control. His commands, decrees and purposes will certainly come to pass:
Isaiah 46:9-11 – "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purposes,' calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it."
This truth does not stop the enemy from whispering lies into our hearts and minds. He will tell us that God is 'asleep at the wheel' or that he is idly sitting on this throne unaware of our circumstances and difficulties. He tries to convince us that God is ignoring us, or that he is not actively doing anything on our behalf. This is a pack of lies from the pit of hell!
When the devil whispers these thoughts in your mind, fight back with your spiritual sword: the word of God! Remind the devil of the eighth prophesy of Zechariah. Remind him that God never slumbers or sleeps (Psalms 121:1-8); he is always watching over us and he moves on our behalf at the exact moment when it will benefit us most.
Four winds of heaven –The four winds of heaven are obviously symbolic, because the literal winds of the earth do not stand before God as his servants ready to carry out his will.
Some translations use the word 'spirits' instead, which is closer to the true meaning. The winds represent all the powers and/or agencies by which the earth can be affected (I Kings 22:19-22, Job 2:1-7, Luke 1:19, etc).
In the case of ancient Israel, we might say that the 'four winds' refer to various world powers (like Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia) because these nations carried out the will of God on earth as it related to the kingdom of Israel.
These nations were empowered by God, yet they were also limited so that they could do nothing over and above what God had determined against his people. These nations did not receive permission (the ability) to do God's bidding until he released them to go.
Then, after fulfilling their purpose, each of these nations was given a chance to repent and seek the Lord before being judged by him. (Again we see the cycle of God disciplining his people in order to get them back on the right path and subsequently punishing those who make themselves the enemies of his people.)
Now don't forget, God's messengers are not just agents of judgment. They also assist God's people when needed.
For instance, after the resurrection of Jesus, King Herod had the apostle James martyred. When he saw it pleased the Jews, he also arrested Peter and put him in prison, intending to kill him after Passover.
But God had other plans for Peter! He sent one of his messengers to rescue/release him from prison:
Acts 12:7 - And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he struck Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands.
(You can read the whole account in Acts chapter 12). Some scholars believe that the apostles of Christ (and other ministers of the gospel) stood before the throne of God before the foundation of the world and came forth to minister on the earth during their appointed time.
God empowered them with gifts, courage, experiences, grace and most importantly his Holy Spirit, which enabled them to perform the work that he commissioned them to complete. He sends them to every part of the world to minister to all men as he sees fit.
Angels are also ministers of divine providence who are routinely used in the management of the affairs of the church.
Zechariah 6:6 – "The chariot with the black horses goes toward the north country, the white ones go after them, and the dappled ones go toward the south country."
North country/South country - Here we begin to see the decrees of God being sent throughout the earth to accomplish his purposes. We are told that some horses move toward the 'north country' while others are commanded to go toward the 'south country'. What can we determine from this?
As we know, Jerusalem is the home of the Jews and the birthplace of the church. From God's point of view, it is the center of the world. This is the point of reference from which God arranges and carries out the history of the world.
Therefore, when chariots are sent toward the 'north country' this refers to places north of Jerusalem. When God sends his decrees to the 'south country', it refers to places and kingdoms that are south of Jerusalem.
Black horses – During the time of Zechariah, the immediate target of the black horses was probably the nation of Babylon.
At the end of the captivity, most of the Jews chose to remain in the luxury of Babylon (the world), rather than enduring the hardships associated with returning to Jerusalem and working to reestablish the temple (fellowship with God). These Jews were warned in the third vision of Zechariah (2:7) to flee that nation, because judgment was decreed for it.
If this was the case, then historically speaking the black horses and chariot symbolize the Medo-Persians, who destroyed Babylon:
Isaiah 13:17-19 - Behold I [God] will stir up the Medes against them [Babylon], which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
White horses – White horses were also dispatched to the north. Bible scholars see this as the Greek empire, led by Alexander, which was benevolent towards the Jews.
Dappled horses–Finally, the dappled horses are identified as the Roman Empire because their treatment of the Jews was both good and bad.
Scholars are in general agreement about the identity of these nations, however, their identities are not the main point of this vision.
We must once again remind ourselves that we are being presented with a divine principle - the four chariots represent messengers of God (who could be people, nations, angels, etc), who stand by to do his will whether that be ministering to God's people or executing his judgments upon sinners throughout the world.
This is an unchanging principle; God continues to minister to his people and bring judgment on her enemies through his messengers even in this generation.
We would expect to find this continuing until the very end of this age and indeed the book of Revelation (with the seven seals and bowls of judgment) again shows that God rules the events of this world by bringing about judgment in his time, and according to his will.
Zechariah 6:7 – When the strong horses came out, they were impatient to go and patrol the earth. And he said, "Go, patrol the earth." So they patrolled the earth.
Two items of significance are seen in this verse.
First, God's agents were impatient to get on with the work assigned to them, but they could not move so much as a single inch or footstep until God permitted it. But once he does, they move immediately and swiftly to do their work.
We have touched on this idea before but let me just reiterate it once more – if you feel that God has called you to minister in any capacity whatsoever, don't hesitate. Step out and begin to do what God has asked. As you do, you (and those around you) will be blessed.
God equipped the horses and chariots for the tasks set before them. Likewise, he will equip and empower you for the work assigned to you. So get up and get going!
Two, the horses are granted permission to patrol or move throughout the whole earth. This shows that the meaning of this vision is not limited to the times of ancient Israel.
Once God's agents were given a 'green light', they immediately began to fulfill their mission of countering the plans of Satan who 'goes to and fro in the earth' (Job 1:7, II Thessalonians 2:8-9, I Timothy 4:1) seeking to destroy God's people. Their mission will continue unabated until the second coming of Christ, when the revived Roman Empire and final kingdom of the antichrist will be judged.
Zechariah 6:8 – Then he cried unto me, "Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country."
Two interpretations are given for this verse.
According to verse 7, those who went to the north country were sent to destroy Babylon.
The first theory says that because God's messengers had fulfilled his judgment against that nation, his wrath was appeased and his Spirit was at rest. This is the most common interpretation of the verse.
But there is another explanation as well. The second theory says that 'set my Spirit at rest' should be translated as 'have made my anger to rest'.
Those who hold this view believe that God's wrath was deposited in the land of the north (Babylon) which refers to the world or unbelievers. They believe the meaning of the verse is that the wrath or anger of God rests upon the wicked. This is confirmed by the apostle John in his gospel:
John 3:36 - He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.
Summary: The eighth vision of Zechariah teaches us that God has universal control and supremacy over all of creation. He has agents or messengers in his presence right now, standing by to carry out his will and enforce his decrees. This enforcement may entail assisting/ministering to his servants or executing his judgment upon sinners.
While these agents are empowered by God, they are also restrained and limited by his decrees; he determines where they can go, what they can do and how fast they can travel.
Furthermore, this vision is an example of the 'continuous fulfillment of prophesy'. In other words, it reveals a principle of God's kingdom that is at work all the time; we will find multiple fulfillments of it until this age is over.
That principle is this: At an appropriate time, God will subdue or destroy the enemies of his people. Many commentators believe that the judgment of Israel's enemies is preceded by God's discipline of his own people.
In light of this knowledge, the Jews of Zechariah's day could rejoice – God was well aware of the difficulties they faced in rebuilding the temple and the walls of Jerusalem.
Although God was going to judge the nations who oppressed them, it was up to God where, when and how that judgment would occur. As for their part, they needed to repent of the sin which had crept into their own lives (details in vision #7).
What message does this vision contain for the church of today?
As the church looks around and sees her enemies fiercely roaring on all sides, she has no reason to worry; God is the supreme ruler of all creation. He has not left us powerless or helpless in the fight against the kingdom of darkness.
We cannot help but be reminded that God has given us the keys to his kingdom:
Matthew 16:19 – I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
We also know that even a tiny amount of faith can remove an entire mountain of the enemy:
Matthew 17:20 – He [Jesus] said to them, "If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to here,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."
Plus, we have the full armor of God which includes both offensive and defensive components (Ephesians 6).
And if we still need additional assistance, God has agents/messengers standing in his presence right now, who will come to our aid when he releases them.
We can rejoice knowing that the church is guaranteed victory through Jesus Christ our Lord and at the end of this age, we will witness the judgment of our enemies.
Let me offer you some encouragement, relief and strength:
We live in a culture of 24-hour access to everything – food, entertainment, medical services and even work. This includes around-the-clock access to worldly news sources which continuously focus on how bad things are getting in our nation and in the world.
It's perfectly clear that the enemy is at work stirring up protests, inciting war, attacking the economy, opening the floodgates of our borders and generally attempting to obliterate the kingdom of heaven on earth. But there is another side to the story, which you won't find on the news – God is in control.
He is the supreme administrator of the universe. He has set limits upon the power and authority of Satan, his followers, and the activities of nature. They do not have free reign; the mountains of God's infallible wisdom and power funnel them in such a way that they do his bidding/perform his will.
In addition, God uses his heavenly messengers (angels) to assist his people in the war with Satan.
Therefore, victory for the kingdom of heaven is assured. Hallelujah!