ZECHARIAH
6
A
Bible Study - Commentary by Jim Melough
Copyright
2002 James Melough
6:1.
“And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came
four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains
of brass.”
A careful study of this chapter indicates that it’s primary application is to
the Tribulation era, a period very far distant when the revelation was given,
but which is now imminent.
Four is the biblical number of earth and of testing, and brass is the
biblical symbol of judgment; all of Scripture combining to declare that the
Tribulation period will be the final and most terrible testing time this world
has ever known. It is of further significance that the word used here for
chariots is specifically war chariot, and the Great Tribulation -
the final three and a half years of the seven year Tribulation era - will be a
time that will see the world engulfed in wars far more terrible than any that
have ever been.
Since a mountain is the biblical symbol of a king or kingdom, these two
mountains may represent the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, the
Tribulation period being the time that will bring the conflict between the two
to a climax that will witness the defeat of the prince of this world, and the
victory of the Prince of peace.
6:2. “In the first chariot were red horses; and
in the second chariot black horses;”
6:3. “And in the third chariot white horses; and
in the fourth chariot grisled and bay (dappled) horses.”
It is instructive to note that in Re 6, relative to the Tribulation, we read
also of four horses, the white horse there representing the Tribulation Beast
ruler; the red horse representing war; the black horse, famine; and the pale
horse, death.
6:4. “Then I answered and said unto the angel
that talked with me, What are these, my lord?”
6:5. “And the angel answered and said unto me,
These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before
the Lord of all the earth.”
“... the four spirits of the heavens,” like the “seven spirits” of Re 4:5,
have to be understood as referring, not to four or seven separate spirits, but
to characteristics of the one Holy Spirit, see for example Isa 11:2 where the
reference is to the sevenfold fullness of the one Holy Spirit, “And the spirit
of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the
Lord....”
In the present context the “four spirits” represent the one Holy Spirit as the
Divine Agent of judgment in the Tribulation.
6:6. “The black horses which are therein go
forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the
grisled (dappled) go forth toward the south country.”
Relative to the phrase “the white go forth after them,” some translations -
the NEB, for example - render this “the white go to the far west.”
6:7. “And the bay (red) went forth, and sought
to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you
hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through
the earth.”
Since the black horses went north; the white, west; and the dappled, south, it
seems reasonable to conclude that these bay (red) horses went east, so that
the picture is of the activity of the four chariots over the whole earth; and
as noted already that activity appears to be related to the Tribulation
judgments.
6:8. “Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me,
saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit
in the north country.”
These were the black horses yoked to the first chariot, and the Amplified
rendering of the latter part of the verse is, “have quieted My Spirit [of
wrath] and have caused it to rest - rest is used here in the sense of
stopping or settling, not of ceasing from activity - in the north country.”
Since the black horse of Re 6 represents famine, the inference may perhaps be
made that the reference here is also to Divine judgment, in the form of
famine, settling upon the north country. The absence of any further details
may justify the conclusion that the whole northern hemisphere is meant rather
than one particular northern country.
The absence of any further reference to the activity of the other horses may
be due to the fact that we are meant to interpret their activity also in
relation to their color, and to the significance of that same color in Re 6.
Since therefore the white horse of Re 6 portrays the activity of the Beast
emperor in the Tribulation, the activity of the chariot drawn by these white
horses in the west may also speak of his activity in the western world.
Since the red horse of Re 6 speaks of war, this chariot drawn by the red
horses in the east may well speak also of war originating in the east; but as
the prophetic Scriptures make clear, that war will ultimately engulf the whole
world, and culminate in the conflict of Armageddon. In this connection it is
to be noted that at the time of writing the east is already seething with
conflict which gives every indication of spreading rather than ending; and it
is to be noted further that in the Tribulation a two hundred million man army
will march from the east westward “to slay the third part of men,” Re
9:15-16.
This leaves only the chariot drawn into the south country by the dappled
horses, and while the fourth horse of Re 6, and representing death, is
described as pale, it may well be that these dappled horses also represent
death.
The evil associated with each chariot, however, is not to be viewed as being
confined to the region of the earth mentioned. War, famine, death, and the
activity of the Beast will affect the whole world in the Great Tribulation -
the final half of that seven year era.
6:9. “And the word of the Lord came unto me,
saying,”
6:10. “Take of them of the captivity, even of
Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou
the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah;”
This appears to be the symbolic revelation of what will follow the
Tribulation: the exaltation and blessing of Israel and the nations in the
Millennium.
“... them of the captivity” are those who had returned from Babylon, and the
command to take from the three men mentioned is literally to accept donations
or offerings from them. It is believed by many that these three brought not
only their own personal wealth, but that they acted as the agents of the Jews
who had remained in Babylon and who desired to also contribute to the cost of
the Temple being built.
Nothing is known of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, nor is there any obvious
reason why the prophet was commanded to enter his house, unless he was a
skilled worker in precious metals and therefore capable of making the
composite crown mentioned in verse 11.
6:11. “Then take silver and gold, and make
crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high
priest;”
Some believe that two crowns were made, one of gold and the other of silver;
others, that there was but one composite crown, one part gold, the other part
silver, to be placed upon the head of Joshua the high priest. A composite
crown seems to be more fitted to what is written concerning this diadem.
Since gold speaks of glory; and silver, of redemption, the truth being
declared is that Joshua, like every other high priest of Israel, is a type of
Christ, but here crowned with the composite crown, he represents Christ as
both Priest and King in the Millennium.
Verse 14 indicates that this crown was to be kept in the Temple as a memorial
to the willing giving of Heldai (Helem), Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah (Hen).
There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that Joshua wore it permanently, so
it seems that it was placed on his head briefly as the symbolic token of
Christ’s millennial glory as King and Priest, and then kept in the Temple.
6:12. “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh
the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he
shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord:”
Joshua himself was not “the man whose name is The BRANCH,” but as crowned with
the kingly and priestly crown, he was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ “the man
whose name is The BRANCH,”
God’S true Priest King, and presented also under the same figure in Isa 4:2;
11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15, and Zech 3:8. The BRANCH is a particularly fitting
type of Christ, for the word in the original is associated with greenness,
abundant fruitfulness, springing up out of the ground, as did the Lord in
resurrection as the corn of wheat that had fallen into the ground and died.
“... his place” is ambiguous and may refer to the Lord’s having grown up in
Nazareth, or perhaps to His having risen up out of the place of death which He
had entered in order to make God’s gift of eternal life available to believing
men.
The prophet was occupied with the literal Temple being built by Zerubbabel,
but God here bade him look forward to a greater: that which the Lord would
build out of living stones, 1 Pe 2:5: men who would trust Him as Savior during
this present Church age which began on the day of Pentecost, and that will be
complete at that instant when He will come to the air, and by resurrection and
translation, rapture all of them home to heaven. The building of that
mystical temple going on today, however, doesn’t preclude also the application
of this verse to the literal glorious millennial Temple of which all the other
literal temples are but types.
It is instructive also to note in connection with that mystical temple which
the Lord is building today, that we the living stones who constitute it, are
also “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation; that ye should
shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light,” 1 Pe 2:9
6:13. “Even he shall build the temple of the
Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and
he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be
between them both.”
MacDonald, quoting David Baron, writes, “Surely it is in keeping with the
Royal Priesthood of Messiah, that the Hebrew word used here (for temple) means
both palace and sanctuary. As King He has entered into His palace, and as
Priest into His sanctuary.”
The reference continues to be to the Lord Jesus Christ as the One Who, through
the Holy Spirit, is today building the mystical spiritual Temple, the Church,
and Who in the Millennium will build the glorious literal Temple, but using
human hands to do the actual work. During the Millennium He will sit upon the
throne of heaven crowned with glory and honor, combining in Himself the two
offices of Priest and King, while His regent, a literal descendant of David,
will sit upon the earthly throne in Jerusalem, the office of priest being
filled by a descendant of Zadok, see Eze 44:15-16; 48:11.
That Christ will not be sitting literally on the throne in Jerusalem during
the Millennium is made clear in Eze 46:2,12 where instructions are given
relative to the presentation of the worship of the prince who will occupy the
throne during that thousand year era. Christ is the Second Person of the
Trinity. He does not worship: He is worshiped, though it is necessary to
point out what is largely ignored by many Christians today: worship is to
addressed to the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the power of the Holy
Spirit. To address prayer to any Member of the Godhead, other than the
Father, is to ignore the Divine order, and create confusion.
“... and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” is explained in the
Amplified translation, “... He shall bear the honor and glory ... and
shall sit and rule upon His throne. And He shall be a priest upon His throne,
and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”
6:14. “And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to
Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in
the temple of the Lord.”
As has been discussed in our study of verse 11, the crown seems to have been
kept in the Temple after having been placed briefly on Joshua’s head since
there is no record of his having worn it other than on that one special
occasion.
I regret having no explanation for the substitution of the name Helem
for Heldai; and of Hen for Josiah. Helem means a
dream: robust; Heldai, my times; Hen, favor: grace; and
Josiah, he will be sustained of Jehovah, but these meanings shed no
light on the matter.
Their being “for a memorial” is usually understood to be that the dual or
composite crown would be there in the Temple as a continual reminder of the
generosity and faithfulness of the three men mentioned.
6:15. “And they that are far off shall come and
build in the temple of the Lord, and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath
sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the
voice of the Lord your God.”
The reference here may certainly be to those who might come from Babylon and
Assyria, to which the Jews had been carried captive, but it is much more
likely that the allusion is to those who will be gathered back to Palestine at
the beginning of the Millennium, the Diaspora of AD 70 having scattered them
amongst the Gentiles in virtually every corner of the earth where they remain
to this day, except for those who have returned and continue to return to the
land since the restoration of Israel’s autonomy in 1948.
Those who might come to build the Temple then under construction, would
authenticate Zechariah’s words to that generation; and those who will return
after the Tribulation will be the verification of the prophet’s credentials to
the millennial generations: his words, like those of every true prophet, are
the immutable words of Jehovah, applicable to every generation, and to none
more so than to this present one. Well might Peter write, “We have also a
more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a
light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise
in your hearts,” 2 Pe 1:19.
The final sentence warns that obedience is the prerequisite of blessing.
Israel could have entered into that blessing two thousand years ago, but she
rebelled, not only against the words of the prophets, but against the living
Word Himself when He stood in her midst, crucifying Him at Calvary, as the
prophets had foretold they would, and by that consummate act of rebellion she
has forfeited the blessing Jehovah is so anxious to bestow upon her. It will
take the impending terrible Tribulation judgments to bring her to repentance
and obedience, apart from which blessing is impossible, for God will never
bless disobedience. And what is true of Israel is true of every individual.
He who would enjoy God’s blessing must obey Him.
[Zechariah
7]