Zechariah 6:1-8

     In Zechariah 6:1-8, the prophet receives the eighth and final vision of the night (Zec 1:7-8). Like the first vision (Zec 1:8-17), this one included angelic beings that were used by God to render judgment upon the Gentiles nations that were hostile to Israel, His people (Zec 1:10, 14-15; 6:7-8); but whereas the first vision included angelic riders on horses (Zec 1:8), the last vision had eight horses harnessed to chariots, and these were red, black, white and dappled (Zec 6:1-3). “If the colors are significant, perhaps red symbolizes war and bloodshed, black designates death and famine, white speaks of triumph and victory, and dappled denotes pestilence and plagues (see comments on Rev. 6:1–8).”[1] The angelic riders are sent out to patrol the earth and render judgment upon the Gentile nations; specifically, Babylon and Egypt. Zechariah apparently did not understand the significance of the horses and chariots (Zec 6:4a), so he asked his angelic interpreter, “What are these, my lord?” (Zec 6:4b). The angel replied, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth” (Zec 6:5). These were four angelic beings who stand before the Lord, eager to do His will. And God is described as “the Lord of all the earth” which emphasizes He is sovereignty over all (1 Sam 2:6-10; Psa 115:1-3; 135:5-6; Dan 2:20-21; 4:17, 25-26, 32, 34-35; Acts 17:24-28). He judges the Gentile nations of the world, and in this context, He’s using angelic beings to carry out His judgment. He will do this again during the time of the Tribulation (Rev 9:13-15). The teams of horses and chariots broke up, with the black and white ones going to the north, and the dappled ones going to the south (Zec 6:6). The north country refers to Babylon, which attacked from that direction. Egypt was to the south. Nothing is mentioned about the red horses and chariot. Perhaps their mission was covert, or perhaps they were on standby waiting further instructions. These angelic beings were eager to do God’s will, and the Lord set them loose, saying, “Go, patrol the earth”, which is what they did (Zec 6:7). Then God told Zechariah, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north” (Zec 6:8). Those angelic beings who judged Babylon satisfied God’s anger against them. God controls the fate of nations, bringing blessing or cursing, peace or judgment. And, at times, He uses His angels do His will. This appears to be the case here, as well in the future time of the Tribulation when He releases angels to bring judgment upon the world.

 

[1] F. Duane Lindsey, “Zechariah,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 1557.