_The Last Night Vision of the Prophet.--The Vision of the Four
Chariots Coming from Between the Mountains of Brass.--The Crowning of
Joshua with Crowns._
The prophet lifts up his eyes again and sees four chariots which come
out from between two mountains which were of brass. In the first
chariot the horses are red, in the second they are black, in the
third white, and in the fourth speckled bay. The angel explains that
these are the four spirits of the heavens which go forth from
standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black and the white
horses go forth into the north country, the speckled go to the south
country, and the bay went forth and sought to go that they might walk
to and fro through the earth, and so they did. The last verse of the
vision reads: "And he called me and spake to me, saying, Behold,
these that go forth in the land of the north have caused my spirit to
rest upon the land of the north."
We notice first the similarity of the last vision with the first
contained in the opening chapter of Zechariah. The visions opened
with the hosts of heaven upon red, speckled and white horses, having
walked to and fro through the earth. We learned from the first vision
that its meaning was judgment; that God was displeased with the
nations, and is once more jealous for Jerusalem and ready to turn in
mercy to Zion, and the hosts of heaven are seen in that first vision
preparing for judgment. In the last vision the chariots of judgment
are seen coming forth to sweep over the earth, to be followed by the
crowning with crowns of the high-priest. The riders of the first
vision may be termed the advance guards of the judgment, but the
chariots now put the divine decrees into execution. The riders halted
in a valley amidst a myrtle grove, but the chariots rush forth to
execute their terrible work from between two mountains of brass.
These mountains mean undoubtedly Mount Moriah and the Mount of
Olives. They rush through the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The brass is
mentioned to denote the firmness and stability of these mountains,
which shall never be moved. We do not think that in the four chariots
there is an allusion to the four world-powers. The judgment of them
is now come. The stone is falling and smiting the image at its feet
and pulverizing it, putting it completely out of existence. The
chariots are God's powers, agencies for judgment in the earth, which
will pass swiftly along, shown by the fast running chariots. In Rev.
vi the seven seals are opened, and there go forth the four terrible
riders upon white, red, black and pale horses. The riders in the
Apocalypse are the riders which go through the earth during the great
tribulation, but in the eighth night vision of Zechariah we see the
chariots of God's wrath. The vision falls in the time when heaven
opens and He appears riding upon a white horse, His name Faithful and
True, coming in righteousness to judge and to make war. Wonderful
vision of Him who is clothed with a vesture dipped in blood! He is
followed by the armies of heaven upon white horses, all clothed in
fine linen white and clean. "And out of His mouth goeth a sharp
sword, that with it He should smite the nations, and He shall rule
them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of almighty God" (Rev. xix). Immediately after
the appearing of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords with all His
saints, "An angel is seen standing in the sun, and he cried with a
load voice, saying, to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven,
Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
that ye may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of captains and the
flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit
upon them, both free and bond, both small and great." How terrible
that wrath will be, what awful work these chariots will work in
slaying the ungodly, rebellious people, and spoiling the armies of
military Christendom no human pen can describe. "Before Him went the
pestilence, and burning coals went forth at His feet. He stood and
measured the earth. He beheld and drove asunder the nations; and the
everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills did bow.
The sun and the moon stood still in their habitation. Thou didst
march through the land in indignation. Thou didst thresh the nations
in anger" (Hab. iii). O how our hearts as believers should praise our
God and our Lord Jesus Christ who has delivered us from that wrath to
come. And while the tribulation is not yet, and wrath will come after
the tribulation, how should we redeem the time and witness of that
great salvation to Jew and Gentile, and teach in the words of the
second Psalm, "Kiss the Son." His wrath shall soon be kindled. The
time is short, and soon the scenes of terror, tribulation, and wrath
will be enacted in the earth. The removal of the Church from the
earth will be the signal for the beginning.
The angel interprets to the prophet that the chariots are the four
spirits of the heavens which go forth from standing before the Lord
of the earth. These agencies for wrath were with God standing before
Him the Lord of all the earth, but now at His command they descend to
scatter death and destruction. They go forth in sets, and the north
country and south country both so prominent in the prophetic word are
mentioned. The bay horses, however, are not confined to one
direction, they go through the entire earth. At last in the judgment
of the land of the north the Spirit is caused to rest. The overthrow
of the enemies of Israel is complete and the Spirit is quieted. How
long may the wrath last and for how long may the chariots do their
deadly work? Perhaps longer than we now think. The millennial reign
of Christ, as foreshadowed in the bloody rule of David, followed by
the peaceful reign of Solomon, may teach us lessons in this
direction. The night visions have ended. They may be termed the
Apocalypse of Zechariah. Daniel, Zechariah and Revelation go together
in a wonderful harmony and explain each other. Alas! that just these
three parts of the Bible should be so little studied and so little
understood.
The long night of visions for the young prophet Zechariah had passed
by and the noise of the speeding chariots had left his ears. The
morning must have been when he opened his eyes after beholding such
wonderful things, and now the Word of the Lord comes to him.
A command is given to the prophet, which has a sublime prophetic
meaning. The command will surely be once more carried out by Israel
on that glorious morning when the Sun of righteousness has risen
after a dark and dreary night of sin and tribulation as well as wrath
is past. What is the command? Take from the exiles, from Cheldai,
from Tobiah, and from Jedaiah, and go thou on that day, go into the
house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, whither they have come from
Babylon. Take silver and gold and make crowns, and set them upon the
head of Joshua the son of Josedek, the high priest, and speak to him,
saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold a man whose
name is Branch, and from his place he shall grow up and build the
temple of Jehovah. Even He shall build the temple and bear majesty,
and shall sit and rule upon His throne, and shall be a priest upon
His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And
the crowns shall be to Chelem, and to Tobiah, and to Jedaiah, and to
Hen, the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah.
And they that are afar off shall come and shall build in the temple
of Jehovah, and ye shall know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to
you, and it will come to pass if ye will hearken unto the voice of
Jehovah your God.
Some consider this to be the ninth vision of the prophet. It is,
however, the Word of the Lord which comes to the prophet. There can
be no doubt but the command was actually carried out and Cheldai
(robust), Tobiah (God's goodness), and Jedaiah (God knows), gave
their silver and gold, and crowns were made out of it and placed upon
the head of Joshua the high priest. But the action had a much deeper
meaning. It was a highly typical one. It must have astonished Joshua
and the people to hear such a command, for the royal crown did not
belong to the high priest but to the descendant of David. He must
have understood that the whole command had a symbolical bearing.
Joshua hears it from the Word of the Lord that another person is only
typified by him, "Behold the man whose name is the Branch." It is
this man the Branch who will be a priest upon the throne. This, of
course, is our Lord Jesus Christ. The name of the high priest Joshua
is in itself very significant, for the meaning is, God is salvation,
Saviour, Jesus. Pontius Pilate was fulfilling prophecy when he stood
there leading out Jesus of Nazareth before that tumultuous multitude,
and when he said "Behold the man." If the assembled Jews had known
the Scriptures they would have recognized the phrase. But how did he
then come forth? He wore a crown of thorns upon His meek and loving
brow, and the people gazed into the blood-stained face of the Lamb of
God now ready to be placed upon the altar and slain. But once again
it will sound forth, "Behold the man," for when He appears it will be
after He has gathered His saints, and then He will come as the Son of
Man in the heavens, and the sign of the Son of Man will be seen
there. He will be crowned again, too, but not with the crown of
suffering and shame, but with the crowns of glory. Thus he is seen in
Revelation xix: 12 as wearing many crowns.
He comes to build the temple of Jehovah, bearing majesty, sitting and
ruling upon His throne. He is now the builder of the spiritual temple
which is composed of living stones (Eph. ii: 21; 1 Peter ii: 5). But
when He comes again there will be the building of another temple. It
is now no longer His Father's throne but His own, upon which He is a
priest as well. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords has now taken
possession of His inheritance. The times of overturning are over and
He whose right it is has come. There is a very instructive thought in
the fact that the persons of the exile, as mentioned above, were to
bring the silver and the gold out of which the crowns were to be
made. The time will come when the whole exiled nation, so long
scattered and peeled, though even in dispersion, the richest nation
of the earth, will bring their silver and gold, their glory and their
all and lay it at the feet of the King.
The CX Psalm will then find its fulfillment: "Thou art a priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek." Melchizedek united the
offices of a king and a priest in one person. "For this Melchizedek,
king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning
from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him; to whom also Abraham
gave a tenth part of all; first, being by interpretation King of
Righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is King of
Peace. Without father and without mother, without descent, having
neither beginning of days, nor end of life, but made like unto the
Son of God; abideth a priest continually" (Heb. vii: 1-3). The whole
will be realized in the restoration of the kingdom to Israel. Perhaps
the fourteenth verse will also find a literal fulfillment then after
the crowning of the King by His own people who rejected Him once, and
a memorial of that event will be seen in the temple throughout the
millennium.
They that are afar off are now seen coming, and build not the temple
of the Lord but in the temple. The Gentiles, of course, are they that
are afar off and who are even now building in a certain sense in the
temple of the Lord, but when He has returned and sits upon His throne
this prophecy will find its final fulfillment. And when shall it all
come to pass? An answer is given which refers us to the opening words
of the first chapter. "And this shall come to pass, if ye will
diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God."
In the whole command of the crowning of the high priest, Israel's
future glory is likewise seen. Their great and high calling will be
realized in that day when the man the Branch comes forth and turns
away ungodliness from Jacob. Israel will be as His earthly people
like the Priest upon His throne, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
peculiar people. The kingdom has then come, and the will of God is
being done in earth as it is done in heaven. And oh how blessedly for
the believer's heart to think God's own thoughts and move in the
purposes of God. Our own individual salvation eternally assured, we
ought to cry continually "Even so, come Lord Jesus."--Amen, Amen!