Zechariah 6 and God in control of World Empires

 

koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

11 December 2010

 

The book of Zechariah is a fascinating piece of work by a prophet after the exile. In a series of visions he saw so much of history laid out on a table of time for him, that it also includes us. It is therefore important for us to look at one of his visions, Zechariah 6:1-8 that deals with what we have portrayed in picture form below.

Zechariah said that he saw four chariots between two copper-like mountains. Since the chariots are moving north and south one may assume that the two copper mountains are on the east and west. The rising and setting sun gives a copper appearance on the horizons on each side but it is possible that he did not have that in mind here. He saw red horses, black horses, white horses and spotted horses. The interesting thing is that the horses are in the chariots not in front of it. The chariots contain the horses. This is very remarkable since in Habakkuk 3 we have the picture of the day of the Lord and in that eschatological theophany, God appears with angels and move over the mountains like in chariots with horses. The chariots in Zechariah 6 are then also angels in the form of chariots but that contain the horses. The horses are in the chariots.

 

Ezechiel 1

In order for us to properly understand the chariots of Zechariah 6, we need to understand better the vision of the wagon on which God travelled in Ezechiel 1. Much of our description and understanding of the tour of God in Ezechiel 1 is owed to the excellent description of it by William Shea (William Shea, "Ezechiel 1-10" in Selected Studies on Prophetic Interpretation in Daniel & Revelation Committee Series Volume 1 [1982]:13-24). It deals with descriptions of the wagon and also with the Judgment of God, departure of God, expectancy of God, return of God which finally shows a favorable judgment of God upon the righteous, a judgment that distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked of Israel, a judgment in favor of the righteous over against the wicked, a judgment upon the sins of the otherwise-righteous people, an unfavorable judgment upon the wicked, and finally six cases of judgments upon foreign nations.

Below is our depictions of what Ezechiel saw in Ezechiel 1. The ministry of Ezechiel was between July 592 BCE and three and a half years before the fall of Jerusalem in July of 586 BCE, thus January of 588 BCE. Another Seventh Day Adventist work dealing with Ezechiel's treatment of the investigative judgment of Judah, is that of Shea (W. Shea, "The Investigative Judgment of Judah, Ezechiel 1-10," The Sanctuary and the Atonement, eds. Arnold V. Wallenkampf, W. Richard Lesher [Washington, DC, 1981]: 283-291).

Notice that Ezechiel sees God sitting in a throne on the firmament upon four living creatures with wings that has the shape of wheels and that the whole chariot or wagon is in motion. It moves. The main theme is judgment and the scene is glorious.

 

picture 1

 Ezechiel 1 and the traveling of God a.jpg

(Depiction of Ezechiel 1 and the investigative Judgment and travel of God)

Daegeuk Nam also wrote about the throne of God in Ezechiel 1-10 in his thorough dissertation (Daegeuk Nam, "The Throne of God Motif in the Hebrew Bible" Korean Sahmyook University Monographs Doctoral Dissertation Series Vol. 1 [1994]: 242-279). Whereas Ezechiel 1 deals with investigative judgment, Ezechiel 10 deals with executive judgment (ibid, 279). Just like Shea, he did not miss the moving aspect of the throne of God in Ezechiel 1 (ibid, 250).

 

Habakkuk 3

One more piece of evidence we need to bring to Zechariah 6, is the understanding of the coming of the angels with the Lord in the eschatological theophany or second coming of Christ, as depicted in Habakkuk 3. There the angels role over the mountains and God is depicted as if He is in His chariot of salvation with horses.

 

Zechariah 6

Zechariah saw four chariots between two copper like mountains. The interesting thing about the vision is that the horses were not in front of the chariots but in them. The color of the first set of horses were red. All are symbolic since no historical attachment is made to a literal existence of horse-breeding in his own days. The chariots may be angels that carry these horses in them. Of course if Ezechiel 1's vision is kept in mind, God is on His throne above the firmament over these horses, if we may be allowed to cut and paste information over Zechariah 6 from Ezechiel 1. The vision is placed in the realistic context of "these are the four corners of the heavens coming forth standing beside the Lord of the entire earth" (Zechariah 6:5). This is the license that allows us to paste Ezechiel into Zechariah or fuse Ezechiel and Zechariah into one new hybrid of understanding.

What are the horses then? A very interesting suggestion was made in the Middle Ages by two rabbis, one who suggested that they are the four kingdoms or empires Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Edom or Ismael (Rashi) and one who suggested that they are the four kingdoms Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome (Redak). Seventh Day Adventists will find closer understanding with Redak's view and will modify it to include both pagan and ecclesiastical Rome.

 

picture 2

Zechariah 6 red horses babylon.jpg

Red horses depicting the Babylonian empire

 

picture 3

Zechariah 6 black horses Medo Persia.jpg

Black horses depicting the Medo-Persian empire

They moved to the northland meaning that Iran is south of Iraq and that is from where the Medo-Persians went against Babylon.

 

picture 4

Zechariah 6 white horses Greece.jpg

White horses depicting the Greek empire and they also went to the Northland to conquer the Medo-Persians

 

picture 5

Zechariah 6 spotted horses Pagan and Holy Roman Empire.jpg

Spotted horses depicting both pagan Rome (ending officially in 538 BCE and the Holy Roman empire ending officially in 1798)

This empire asked to go all over the world and they did. We find them in 1798 all over the New World (Australia, New Zealand, United States, South America, South Africa etc.). Catholicism's understanding of the word "mission" was originally the word "propaganda" and a document originated at the time of the discoveries of the modern world of new areas across the globe. Catholicizing the New World was considered mission. Since Catholicism is a political-religion, the meaning of propaganda or mission for them is a political control aspect as well. It is not only a spiritual or vertical dimension but an attempt by whatever it takes, to control the horizontal levels of societies as well. A church building or a cross is for them a sign that the kingdom of God reigns in an area. It is not merely the presence of people who is loyal to God as we find it in Seventh Day Adventism, but it is an attempt to gain control of all levels of society to protect, secure, and advance their own institutions. Because the horses are spotted, the spots area may denote pagan Rome but the remainder will be the next empire, the Holy Roman Empire that was to exist for 1260 years between 538-1798.

 

What it meant and what it means

What we have here is the awesome thought that all the world empires, including the follow-up of the deadly wound of the Holy Roman empire in 1798, namely the USA as world empire (Revelation 13, the second beast), is that all these empires are within the wagon or chariot of angels under the control of God who is on the firmament on His throne. The navigation is from God who steers empires for His purpose to fulfil a role in history that will provide the answers to the origin of evil by Lucifer, now Satan, who is just actualizing what he inherently became.

Should we have any trouble all over the world by nations and countries and ideologies, we have this comfort that angels are the chariots for these countries, nations, ideologies to exist in and as empire rise and fall by God's decision, so these can also.

We have thus nothing to fear, except we forget how God has led us in the past. (EGW)