18 And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four horns! 19 And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” 20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 And I said, “What are these coming to do?” He said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one raised his head. And these have come to terrify them, to cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter it.” Zechariah 1: 18-21 ESV
Zechariah 1: 18-21 Vision of the Horns and Craftsmen
And behold, four horns - A horn represents power in the Bible, and can be a nation or the head of that nation, like Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of Babylon. If you ever watch Animal planet or Discovery Channel, and they have horned or antlered animals on, you will see the males size each other up by the horns and when they battle the horns collide. This is the weapon at the end of the strike, moved and supported by the muscles and skeletal frame of the animal, hence, "mess with the bull, you get the horns." One commentator mentioned that this is also what the hunter hangs in his lodge, the symbol of taking the power of that animal, a trophy from the hunt. The horn comes to be the pride of nations, and the unrealistic view of their power, their standing, God often strips away, for they wield this power with bad intent, abusing authority.
…24upon Kerioth, Bozrah, and all the towns of Moab, those far and near. 25The horn of Moab has been cut off, and his arm is broken,” declares the LORD. 26“Make him drunk, because he has magnified himself against the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his own vomit, and he will also become a laughingstock.… Jeremiah 48: 24-26
…9But I will proclaim Him forever; I will sing praise to the God of Jacob. 10“All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous will be exalted.” Psalm 75: 9-11
1For the choirmaster. Of David the servant of the LORD, who sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said: I love You, O LORD, my strength. 2The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 3I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.… Psalm 18: 1-3
What are these - Zechariah is curious as to the representation of the horns, and the angel answers simply and clearly, "these are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem." And remember, there are four of them. Now some will say because Israel is mentioned, that this starts with the nation of Assyria, but remember, a lot of people from the northern kingdom had representation in Judah and Jerusalem, they fled the apostasy of the north. Also, Zechariah is very close to the time of Daniel, probably a contemporary towards the second part of Daniel's ministry, and Babylon took over Assyria as well. I think this corresponds very neatly to the time of the gentiles, the layout of human history that starts around 600 B. C. with Babylon taking Jerusalem. So then we would have the head, which looked like Nebuchadnezzar, made of gold, finishing the removal of Israel's national sovereignty by destroying the capital city, the holy city, the place of true worship, and this would start the time of the gentiles. See link below.
36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. Daniel 2: 36-41
When Jesus came at His first advent He spoke of the "time of the gentiles" even in His day, and spoke to a future time of completion.
…23How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.… Luke 21: 23-25
Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen - Each of the horns, the countries that came to power and wielded power in the Promised land, had it's own punisher, someone holding the hammer. Babylon was taken over by Medo-Persia, then Greece took Medo-Persia, then Rome took Greece's place, and when we look in Daniel we see Rome in a divided sense which revives and then has an end time appearance of 10 horns.
i. “And then he finds the right men; not four gentlemen with pens to write; not four architects to draw plans, but four mechanics to do rough work. He who wants to open an oyster, must not use a razor: there needs less of daintiness, and more of force, for some works: providence does not find gentlemen to cut off the horns, but carpenters. The work needs a man who, when he has his work to do, puts his whole strength into it, and beats away with his hammer, or cuts through the wood that lays before him with might and main. Rest assured, you who tremble for the ark of God, that when the horns grow troublesome, the carpenters will be found.” (Spurgeon)
To cast down the horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah - So who takes Rome? I'm glad you asked, go back to Daniel 2.
41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” Daniel 2: 41-45
Who takes the revived Roman empire? The stone that was cut from a mountain by no human hand. This is also the chief Corner Stone, that was rejected. "By no human hand" refers to Christ's virgin birth, the eternal Son of God was placed in the womb of Mary, a body was prepared for Him there, to His deity was added humanity, so that He was fully God (eternal, immortal) and yet fully man (know our griefs and our sorrows), but then live the life we did not live, and die on our behalves. He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him.
…13Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God as well? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel. 15By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.… Isaiah 7: 13-15
…41“He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the fruit at harvest time.” 42 Jesus said to them, “ Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.… Matthew 21: 41-43
…16He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.” And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!” 17But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”… Luke 20: 16-18
…32Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” Romans 9: 32-33
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