Again I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, four chariots came out from between two mountains. And the mountains were mountains of bronze. 2 The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, 3 the third white horses, and the fourth chariot dappled horses—all of them strong. 4 Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 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. 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.” 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. 8 Then he cried to me, “Behold, those who go toward the north country have set my Spirit at rest in the north country.”
The Crown and the Temple
9 And the word of the Lord came to me: 10 “Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. 11 Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. 13 It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ 14 And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Hen the son of Zephaniah.
15 “And those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. And this shall come to pass, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Zechariah 6 ESV
Zechariah 6 A Vision of Four Chariots
…9Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me. 10I declare the end from the beginning, and ancient times from what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’ 11I summon a bird of prey from the east, a man for My purpose from a far-off land. Truly I have spoken, and truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, and I will surely do it.… Isaiah 46: 9-11
I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.
3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.
5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. Revelation 6: 1-8
Four chariots came out from between two mountains - Remember in chapter 1, the horses and riders, and how they stood there, having come back to report to the rider on the red horse after a scouting mission? They asked God, how long? They were ready for war, Israel's persecutors were at peace, but the horsemen were ready to deliver her and judge her enemies. Now they are not standing still among the myrtles, they are on the move, with their war chariots. They are coming from between the two mountains, this most probably being the Mt. of Olives and Mt. Zion, which would put these warriors in the Kidron Valley, also known as the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
…3Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. 4On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half the mountain moving to the north and half to the south. 5You will flee by My mountain valley, for it will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with Him.… Zechariah 14: 3-5
1“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, 2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land. 3They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink.… Joel 3: 1-3
And the mountains were mountains of bronze - Mountains are a symbol of strength, power, and rule in the Bible, and bronze is a symbol of judgement.
…15His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. 17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,… Revelation 1: 15-17
Now, where is the valley of Jehoshaphat? Well, there isn’t any. There isn’t any. Jehoshaphat means Jehovah judges. It is the valley of judgment. But Bible scholars have always equated that with the Kidron Valley. That’s been the common place. In fact, I might add something very interesting. Jews and Moslems both agree that the final judgment of the world will take place in the Kidron Valley, which will be renamed the Valley of Jehoshaphat because it will be there that Jehovah judges.
Notice in the 14th of Zechariah in the 4th verse, and I’ll show you why they equate these two. When Christ returns – now watch – “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in its midst thereof toward the east and toward the west” – in other words, the little Valley of Kidron is going to split wide open – “and half of the mountain removed toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” In other words, God is going to create a whole new valley there, a huge, massive one and that is where the judgment will take place. - J Mac
The first chariot had red horses - This represents war and bloodshed.
The second black horses - Look above at Revelation 6: 5 & 6, you see the scales, the wheat and the barley, enough to feed one person for a day, but the price was a day's wages. This is massive inflation and famine.
The third white horses - White horses represent victory in conquering.
And the fourth chariot dappled horses - This is a gray horse, like the pale horse in Revelation, representing death and hell. This is probably tied to sickness and disease, which are often associated with famine, sometimes following and sometimes preceding.
These are going out to the four winds of heaven - This is similar to Biblical references to the four corners of the earth, North, South, East and West, everywhere.
1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree. 2And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3“Do not harm the land or sea or trees until we have sealed the foreheads of the servants of our God.”… Revelation 7: 1-3
After presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth - In the visions of the prophets, including Isaiah and John, it was the angels (created spirit beings) that stood before the Lord, and were sent out from His presence.
Now, that phrase at the end of verse 5, as a footnote, is a millennial title for the Lord, the Lord of the whole earth. It’s referring to the day when He takes over the whole earth. It’s also used in Micah 4:13 and again in the 4th chapter in the 14thverse of Zechariah. - J Mac
Have set My Spirit at rest in the north country - We so concentrate on God's love that we really don't comprehend it, for we try to know it outside of His just and holy nature. God is just, and all of creation wonders at His patience, the angels are ever at the ready to be sent out, to carry forth judgment. This is satisfaction, the correcting of the wrongs done towards His prophets and His people, toward His own Holy name.
What does that mean? That means that my spirit was always in turmoil until vengeance was accomplished, you see. And now, God’s spirit is at rest. He is appeased by judgment. He is satisfied, particularly – notice verse 8. He is particularly satisfied from those who have gone to the north country because it was from the north that the worst of all enemies came, Babylon. And listen. In the book of Revelation what does the writer of Revelation call the final form of evil? Babylon. And so, it is when the ultimate Babylon is put down that God’s spirit is at rest. - J Mac
Heldai - Means "the Lord's world".
Tobijah - Means "God is good."
Jedaiah - Means "God knows."
Take from them silver and gold - God is sending them with silver and gold so he wants Zechariah to meet them, take the metals, and go make crowns, a silver and a gold crown, that are composites that fit together into one crown.
Set it on the head of Joshua...the High priest - Wow is this ever loaded, but remember in the prior chapters, that Joshua the High priest and Zerubbabel were signs. We also discussed Who it was historically that would hold all three offices, that of prophet, king and priest. We have seen prophets that were priests and David, who was a prophet and king, so from both offices we have those that profess, but we have never seen a priest be a king or a king allowed to be a priest. King Uzziah attempted this and was given leprosy for his arrogance. This is giving us and them a visual sign of the Branch that would come, first offering Himself as the High Priest makes the offering for atonement, and then being crowned by the Father as He Who overcomes sin, death, and the grave. This present sign that Zechariah is demonstrating points to a future reality, and a future kingdom, where Jesus physically reigns and is recognized for Who He is, King of kings and Lord of lords, the Son of God, Creator, the Great High Priest.
Now, when I first read that, that was shocking to me. And the reason it was shocking to me is this. In the Old Testament, the priestly office and the kingly office were always kept distinct, always. In fact, do you remember, I think it’s II Chronicles, chapter 26 where King Uzziah decided that he wanted to play like a priest. And so, he tried to take on the priestly role. And you remember how God reacted to that. A king was not a priest. A priest was not a king. Those two were distinct.
You say, “Well, then what is – what is this all about? Why are they crowning Joshua the high priest?” It is only a picture, that’s all, only a picture. Listen. There will be in history only one king who is a priest. Who is that? Jesus Christ. And all you need to do to know that is to read Hebrews 7:1. “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God” – he was the only other one, which was way back before Israel was even a nation. He is the one who will be, in a sense, like, or rather, whom the Messiah will be like. And it says he was a “king of righteousness” and a “king of peace. Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but is made like unto the Son of God.”
Melchizedek is a picture. Christ is the fulfillment, the only King Priest. And so, you have here a picture of Christ, the coronation of the great High Priest. And I want to show you something interesting. Verse 12. Here is the significance of the symbol or the type. “And speak to him saying” – He says, now, Zechariah, you say this. The Lord said to Zechariah, you say this – “Thus speaks the Lord of hosts saying, ‘Behold the Man whose name is The Branch.’”
Now, stop there for a minute. Do you remember somebody else who said “Behold the Man”? Who was it? Pilate, in John 19:5. The words of Pilate when Pilate said “Behold the Man,” he didn’t know it, but he was echoing the prophecy of Zechariah, that the Messiah, the ultimate King Priest would be a man. If the assembled Jews had not been demonically blinded by hatred and unbelief, they may have recalled the prophecy of Zechariah. Once again, He wears a real crown, a real diadem as a man, God incarnate. Then it says, “whose name is The Branch,” or literally, the shoot, the sprout. Now, that is a Messianic title for Him that is used in several places in the Old Testament, here and in Isaiah. - J Mac
The counsel of peace shall be between them both - No longer will the separation of church and state be necessary, for all apostasy will be removed. He will wear the crown and stand as priest at the right hand of the Father. The two offices will be reconciled in the Branch, the Messiah.
1A Psalm of David. The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2The LORD extends Your mighty scepter from Zion: “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”… Psalm 110: 1-2
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.… Hebrews 4: 14-16
And those who are far off shall come - The gentiles.
…12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility… Ephesians 2: 12-14
1 In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.… Micah 4: 1-2
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