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Zechariah, Prophet of God's remembrance, part 16

Zechariah 6:1-3 says,

¹ Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains. ² With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, ³ with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.

The horses and chariots are said to be located “between the two mountains.” Some think that this is a reference to Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives and that the horses are in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. However, I believe this is unlikely, because neither of those mountains were made of bronze. The mountains appear to be symbolic, not literal.

Bronze is the metal of judgment, just as gold represents the divine nature and silver represents redemption. The outer court in the tabernacle and temple had an altar made of bronze, having bronze utensils as well (Exodus 27:2-4). So the sins of the people were judged by the sacrifice on the bronze altar.

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, whereas brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Copper by itself is too soft to be practical in building the altar and its utensils.

Therefore, the two bronze mountains on either side of the chariots indicate a background of divine judgment.

The Four Colors

The colors of the horses are comparable to the four horses in Revelation 6:2-8. The only difference is that the “dappled” horse in Zechariah is said to be “ashen” in Revelation 6:8. However, the Septuagint, which was the rabbinic translation of the Old Testament into Greek, and widely used in the first century, says that the fourth set of horses in Zechariah 6:3 was “ashen-colored.” Perhaps John was influenced by the Septuagint. Perhaps John was also confirming the Septuagint in this matter.

Zechariah does not tell us the meaning of these four colors. He leaves that task to John, where we find that the white horse identifies a conqueror, the red horse is about war, the black horse is about famine, and the ashen horse is about death. No doubt these colors have the same meaning in Zechariah 6. All of them, even the white horse, are manifestations of divine judgment.

Another difference between Zechariah and John is that Zechariah’s vision shows each chariot being pulled by two horses of the same color, whereas John shows a single horse of each color without mentioning any chariots. Chariots were weapons of war, used with great effect in Egypt, Philistia, and other countries.

Four Spirits of Heaven

Zechariah 6:4, 5 say,

⁴ Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵ The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits [or “winds”] of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth.”

The Hebrew word ruach literally means “wind or spirit.” It can be translated either way. The NASB renders it “four spirits,” but the English translators of the Septuagint say, “four winds.” Normally, “four winds” speak of the four directions, for example, “a south wind.”

Zechariah 6:6, 7 continues,

⁶ “with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled [or ashen] ones go forth to the south country. ⁷ When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.” And he said, “Go, patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth.

No doubt the directions are relative to Jerusalem. The black horses (death) go north toward Assyria and Babylon and are followed by the white horses (conquerors). The ashen horses (famine and pestilence) go south toward Egypt (and perhaps beyond into Africa). As for the red horses (war), Zechariah says nothing. We may assume that they followed the ashen horses, for otherwise, a gap is left in the revelation, but we cannot say for certain.

Assyria was north of Jerusalem; Babylon was east, but to avoid the treacherous desert, traders followed the trade route to Damascus and then eastward to the Euphrates, and then went south to Babylon. It appears that the two winds/spirits (white and black) were patrolling the lands where Israel and Judah had been exiled. The ashen horse chariots went south to Egypt, where the Israelites had been in bondage many centuries earlier.

The earth patrol, then, are “strong ones” charged with resolving the problem of captivity and bondage. Zechariah 6:8 says,

⁸ Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, “See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased [nuach, “settle down, rest, cease”] My wrath in the land of the north.”

The horses representing death and conquest somehow “appeased” God’s wrath—presumably, His wrath against Israel and Judah for their rebellion and sin. The Hebrew word nuach is the name translated Noah. Genesis 5:29 says, “Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work.”

In the days of Noah, God sent a flood to remove “the breath of life” (Genesis 6:17) from the people; but that flood also prophesied of a future flood of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual flood, pictured as rain from above, resolves the problem caused by Noah’s flood, in that God restores the breath/spirit of life in His people.

John tells us that the rider of the black horse carries “a pair of scales” (Revelation 6:5”). This suggests divine justice which deals with sin. John’s description is about measuring wheat and barley, which indicates famine. Such judgment certainly occurred in those days, but perhaps more important is the famine of hearing the word. The result of exile was that the people no longer had ready access to the temple and to the word of God. Amos 8:11 says,

¹¹ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord. ¹² People will stagger from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they will go to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.”

Resolving this famine appears to be the work of those who patrol the north with the black horses. Those few who hear the word, eating His flesh and drinking His blood, so to speak, are the ones who have life in them (John 6:53-55). To eat His flesh means to hear and believe His words and to identify with His death and resurrection. Such people “overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37), and this is prophesied by the white horse and its rider.

As for the ashen horses that were sent to Egypt, it calls to mind the ten plagues upon Egypt, especially the tenth plague, which killed the firstborn in Egypt. The rider of the ashen horse is death (Revelation 6:8). If the ashen horses of death are accompanied by the red horses of war, this no doubt refers to the time under Moses when God redeemed Israel from bondage.

Nonetheless, Zechariah does not give us a complete picture. First, we do not know for certain if the red horses accompanied the ashen horses. This is merely implied. Secondly, the vision ends abruptly with no further explanation. To get a more complete picture, we must go to other prophecies, most notably Isaiah 19. This speaks of divine judgment upon Egypt, but it also speaks of Egypt’s restoration.

Isaiah 19:19-25 says,

¹⁹ In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border [between Upper and Lower Egypt]. ²⁰ It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them. ²¹ Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day… ²² The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing, so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them… ²⁴ In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, ²⁵ whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.”

This, I believe, is the result of the patrolling spirits who were sent south to Egypt. Though God strikes Egypt, He also heals them. The result is not that Egypt is destroyed but that Egypt is “blessed” and are known as “My people.”