IN this vision the prophet saw four chariots come forth from between two mountains of brass. The first chariot had red horses, the second had black, the third had white, and the fourth had grisled and bay. The black horses went forth toward the north country, and were followed by the white. The horses in the fourth chariot were divided; the grisled went into the south country, while the bay received a general commission to walk to and fro through the earth. The red horses are not said to be sent out at all. The angel said to the prophet that those who had gone into the north country had quieted his spirit concerning that country. What are we to understand by this vision? There can be no doubt that it is designed to represent the control which God exercises over the nations by means of his angels. For in his second vision Zechariah saw these horses, and was told that they were those which the Lord had sent to walk to and fro through the earth. He also heard the report which they made to their commander, which shows that they reasoned as intelligent beings, and that they act under the direction of one who is their superior. Zech. 4:10; 6:13, 14. And in the present vision we are distinctly told that those whom he thus saw go forth were the four spirits of the heavens which go forth from standing before the Lord of the whole earth. They must, therefore, represent celestial beings. Zech. 6:5. It is remarkable that two of the visions given to Zechariah are repeated to John. Thus the vision of the two olive trees and the candlestick of Zech. 4, is repeated in Rev. 11, and made the foundation of a still more important prophecy. And thus also the vision of the four spirits of the heavens, in Zech. 6:1–8, represented by four chariots and four groups of horses, each group being of a color different from the others, is repeated to John,247with some important variations, and made the foundation of the first great chain of prophecy in the book of Revelation. Rev. 6:1–8. In the vision of Zechariah the number of horses is not given, but they are in four divisions, for they are attached to four chariots. In the vision of John there are simply four horses, each having a rider, but no mention is made of any chariots. In the vision of Zechariah the horses attached to the first chariot were red, those with the second were black, those with the third were white, and those with the fourth were grisled and bay. In the vision of John the first horse was white, the second was red, the third was black, and the fourth was pale. But it is evident that when Zechariah was told that they whom he saw go forth were the four spirits of the heavens, something besides the horses was intended, for there were more than one horse attached to each chariot, making sixteen in all. Moreover, the fact that there were four chariots attached to each division of the horses indicates the fact that each group or division had a commander. The four commanders are therefore properly the four spirits of the heavens spoken of in Zech. 6:5. Thus, as John had seen the four horses go forth to accomplish great changes in the affairs of the church and of the nations, he saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, whose office it was to control the four winds, either by loosing or restraining them, and who, therefore, like the four spirits of the heavens in Zech. 6:5, govern the action of the four horses, or four groups of horses. Thus we see that in the great work wrought by the angels of God, there is one class of angels whose duty it is to direct, and another and more numerous class whose duty it is to execute. The horses who are attached to each chariot are governed by the angel who occupies the chariot, and thus also, from the nature of the case, the horses seen in the vision of John are under the control of the angels who have power to hurt the earth, and who have also power to prevent calamities. The four spirits of the heavens of Zech. 6:5 and the four angels of Rev. 7:1 must therefore be the same. The striving of the four winds upon the great sea represents wars among the nations. These winds strive when the great kingdoms rise and fall. Dan. 7:2–7, 16, 17, 23. To us these terrible wars seem to be under the control of Satan and his agents. But God has four mighty angels that hold or loose the winds as he sees best. Surely God governs the nations even though sin and death seem to bear terrible sway. We are able to learn the signification of the colors of these horses by what John tells us of the riders who sit on the horses. The rider on the white horse went forth conquering and to conquer. The white horse must therefore represent victory. The rider on the red horse carried a great sword and had power to take peace from the earth. The red horse must therefore denote war and bloodshed. From what is said of the price of food when the black horse went forth, it seems that the black color must indicate famine. See also Lam. 4:8, 9. But there may be a famine for the word of God as well as a famine for bread. Amos 8:11–13. The rider on the pale horse had power to kill with the sword, with hunger, with death, and with the beasts of the earth. The infliction of death in such diverse forms indicated not war but terrible persecution. The first chariot having red horses, and denoting bloodshed, is not said to be sent out at all. But if it had no part to act it would not have been shown to the prophet. The second chariot, representing famine, was sent forth, and this implies that the first had previously gone forth, for famine follows war and slaughter. The third chariot, representing victory, shows how God gives deliverances in the midst of their calamities. The fourth chariot seems to represent a mingled condition of affairs. “The gray or ashy color of the horses is in some degree like the color of the fourth horse in the vision of John. We are not to understand from these symbols that the angels of God are the direct authors of the calamities which come upon men. It is sin that is the source of all distress, whether in the case of individuals or in that of nations. It is Satan and his angels that are the direct authors of calamities, but the angels of God exercise constant oversight, both in directing and in limiting the course of these judgments. Zechariah saw these four chariots come forth from between two mountains of brass. There are no literal mountains of brass upon the face of the earth. Nor can there be mountains of brass in Heaven, for nothing less precious than gold can be found where God dwells. The mountains must therefore be symbolic mountains, even as the olive trees and the candlestick are used as symbols to represent the Old Testament and the New, and the church which receives its light from both. When the word mountain is used in prophecy as a symbol, that is to say when it is used to represent something else more important, it signifies a kingdom. Thus, when the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth, it signifies that the kingdom of God was established and filled the earth. Dan. 2:34, 35, 44, 45. The two mountains of brass must therefore represent two earthly kingdoms. The fact that they are called mountains of brass gives us the means of deciding what kingdoms are intended. In the vision of Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom of Babylon was indicated by gold, the kingdom of Media and Persia by silver, the kingdom of Greece by brass, and the kingdom of Rome by iron. Dan. 2:32, 33, 36–40. We must therefore conclude that the special theater of action of these four chariots as presented in the vision of Zechariah is the territory of two Grecian kingdoms, or perhaps we should say that it is the territory that lies between these two kingdoms, which must be made the battle field of the armies on both sides, which cross and re-cross it. This gives us a definite idea of the application of this prophecy. When the prophet had this vision, Babylon, the kingdom of gold, had lost the dominion, and the kingdom of silver, that is, the kingdom of Persia, was then in authority. While this kingdom continued there was comparative peace for the Jews. But after a brief period of partial tranquillity under the Persians, came the kingdom of brass, under Alexander the great. Though his kingdom was divided at his death into four kingdoms, yet two of these, the kingdom of the north, or Syria, and the kingdom of the south, or Egypt, soon became so much more important than the others that these alone continue to be the subject of prophecy, and the other two are left unnoticed. See how fully Daniel has presented these facts in chapter 11:3–16. The prophecy of Zechariah concerning the horses and chariots which come forth from between two mountains of brass, and which go to the north country and to the south country, is therefore the same in substance as the prophecy of Daniel concerning the wars between the king of the north and the king of the south for the possession of the Holy Land. For Palestine, lying directly between these two kingdoms, was their battle ground, and experienced all the vicissitudes of war, famine, victory, persecution, and distress. Josephus, and the two books of Maccabees, give us a vivid idea of these events. The prophecy of Zechariah has special reference to the calamities which would come upon the Jews from the kings of the north and the kings of the south, if the people of God should sin, and was designed to teach them that God controlled the nations by his angels, and that his people would be protected or chastised, according as they should obey him or rebel against him. The prophecy of John which so much resembles this vision of Zechariah in the use of its symbols, gives us a connected view of important events during the gospel dispensation. We have in this vision of the chariots another indication that the angel who communicated with Zechariah was Michael, the archangel, or prince of angels; for, when the chariots had gone forth and accomplished their work in the north country, he said that they had quieted his spirit concerning that country, thus showing that they went to execute his bidding. Zech. 6:8.