John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 6:1-3

"And again I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses." — Zechariah 6:1-3 (ASV)

Here we have another vision, and the Prophet distinguishes it from the former visions by saying that he turned, as if to say that some time had intervened. They were not, therefore, continuous visions; instead, he turned elsewhere, and then he raised his eyes, and the Lord revealed to him what he now relates.

But as the vision is obscure, interpreters have given it different meanings. Those who think that the four Gospels are designated by the four chariots offer a very weak interpretation. I have elsewhere reminded you that we are to avoid these futile refinements, which fade away on their own. Allegories, I know, delight many; but we should reverently and soberly interpret the prophetic writings, not fly in the clouds, but always keep our feet on solid ground.

Others think that the changes meant are those we know occurred in Chaldea and Assyria. Since Nineveh was overthrown so that Babylon might be the seat of the empire, they suppose that this is meant by the first chariot, whose horses were red. Then they think that the Persian empire is intended by the second chariot, as the Jews had, at the beginning, suffered many grievous hardships. Afterwards, by the white horses are signified, as they suppose, the Macedonian power, as Alexander treated the Jews with humanity and kindness. By the fourth chariot, they understand the Roman Empire, and think that the horses are of different colors because some of the Caesars raged cruelly against the Jews and the Church of God, while others showed more leniency. But I do not know whether these things are well-founded.

We see that the fourth chariot went to the south, wandered through various regions, and almost through the whole world. Since this cannot, therefore, be applied to Chaldea, the simpler view seems to be that the four chariots signify the various changes that occurred not only in Chaldea and among the Babylonians but also in Judea and among other nations; and this may be easily gathered from the context.

But as all these things cannot be stated at the same time, we will treat them in the order in which the Prophet relates them.

I will now repeat what I have elsewhere said respecting the words that he raised his eyes, as indicating the divine authority of what was predicted. These words indeed signify that he did not present what he had vainly imagined, nor offer tales he himself had fabricated, but was attentive to what was revealed to him. They also signify that he was somewhat set apart from ordinary life to be an interpreter between God and men. Therefore, authority is ascribed here to the prophecy, as Zechariah did not come forward to speak of uncertain things, but as one sent from heaven, for he delivered nothing but what he had received from above.

He now says that four chariots appeared to him, that came forth from mountains, and that the two mountains where the chariots were seen were mountains of brass. The Prophet undoubtedly understood by these mountains the providence of God, or his hidden counsel, by which all things were decreed before the creation of the world; and therefore he says that they were mountains of brass, because they could not be broken.

The poets say that fate is unavoidable (ineluctable); but as this sentiment is profane, it is enough for us to understand this in terms of God’s eternal providence, which is immutable. And here the counsel of God is most aptly described to us; for before things manifest in action, they are enclosed, as it were, between the narrow passes of mountains, since what God has decreed is not apparent, but lies hidden, as it were, in deep mountains.

Thus, we begin to acknowledge the counsel of God only when experience teaches us that what was previously hidden from us has been decreed in this or that manner. But Zechariah did not add in vain that they were mountains of brass; it was to teach us that God’s counsel is not changeable, as foolish people imagine, who think that God is uncertain about the outcome and is, as it were, held in suspense. For according to their notions, events depend on the free will of men.

They entertain the idea that God foreknows what is to come conditionally, as if this or that will not happen unless it pleases men. And though they do not confess that God is changeable, yet we gather from their erroneous ideas that there is in God nothing sure or certain. The Prophet therefore says here that they were mountains of brass, because God has fixed before all ages what he has purposed to do, and has thus fixed it by an immutable decree, which cannot be broken by Satan, nor by the whole world.

Thus we see how suitable this representation is when the Prophet says that chariots came forth from mountains.

With regard to the chariots, we have seen elsewhere that angels are compared to horsemen, for they ride swiftly, as it were, through the whole world to carry out what God commands them. So also, whatever changes take place, they are called the chariots of God.

For either angels are ready to do anything in obedience to God, or the very events themselves are God’s chariots; that is, they are, as it were, swift heralds who announce to us what was previously unknown. Let us therefore know that all events that unbelievers call fortuitous are God’s chariots, his messengers, who declare and proclaim what was previously concealed from us. And there is nothing strained in this similitude or metaphor.

As to the color of the horses, interpreters, as I have already intimated, have toiled with great anxiety; and though I do not venture to assert anything as certain, yet the probable conjecture is that the black and white horses represent the Babylonians rather than the Persians, but for a purpose different from what interpreters have thought.

For the reference must be to the Jews when it is said that black horses and then white horses went out towards Babylon; for the Holy Spirit indicates that liberty was given to the Chaldeans to harass the Jews and to fill all places with darkness. The blackness, therefore, of which the Prophet speaks signifies the calamities brought on the Jews.

The whole of that time was dark, full of grief and sorrow, during which the Chaldeans possessed the eastern empire, and Babylon was the supreme seat of government or of the monarchy. A very different time succeeded afterwards, when the Babylonians were conquered and the Persians enjoyed the eastern empire.

The color, therefore, was white, for the favor of God shone anew on the Jews, and liberty was then immediately given to them to return to their own country. Thus we see that the Prophet rightly adds that the color of the horses was white; for such was the favor shown to the Jews by the Persians that the sun of joy arose for them, which gladdened their hearts.

But the Prophet makes no mention of the first chariot as going out, and for this reason, as interpreters think, because the empire of Babylon was then overthrown. But they are mistaken in this, as I have already hinted, because they do not refer the colors to the state of God’s Church.

Therefore, the Prophet, I do not doubt, intentionally omits the mention of the going out of the first chariot, because the Jews had experienced the riding of God’s judgment in their own land, for they had been severely afflicted. As God, then, is accustomed to carry out his judgment first on his own household, and as it is written, judgment begins at his own house, (1 Peter 4:17), so he intended to observe the same order in this case: that is, to chastise the sins of the chosen people before he moved on to the Chaldeans and other nations.

As to the last chariot, the Prophet says that it went out toward the south, and then it went elsewhere, and even through the whole world, for God had permitted this.

Now, as to the meaning of this Prophecy, nothing will remain obscure if we hold to these elements of truth: that all events are designated by the chariots, or all the revolutions that take place in the world, and that the blind power of fortune does not rule, as foolish people imagine, but that God thus openly makes his own counsel known to us.

And why the horses are said to have been some red, some black, some white, and some somewhat red, the plain answer is this: because God had sent out his chariots over Judea, which was full of blood. By this, then, the red color is meant.

But he also shows that their enemies would have their time, and this had been partly fulfilled; for God had ridden over them with his chariots, having driven his wheels over their land when Nineveh was overthrown.

And though the Spirit did not simply refer to the Assyrians or the Chaldeans, as if he meant by the black color to designate the wars carried on among them, but rather the calamities brought by them on the Jews, yet I consider the black color to mean in general the terrible disturbances that took place throughout the whole of the East. The Jews could not expect anything agreeable from that quarter, for shortly afterwards a heavier weight fell on their heads.

But in the third place, the Prophet adds that there were white horses, that is, when the time was accomplished in which God intended to deliver his Church.

But he says that the chariots not only went out to the East, or to Babylon; but he says that they also ran through the south and then visited the whole world.

So that we may more fully understand this, we must regard the design of the Prophet. He meant here, undoubtedly, to bring some comfort to the Jews, so that they might not succumb to their hardships, however sharply God might chastise them.

And Zechariah sets before them here two things. First, that no part of the earth, or any country, would be exempt from God’s judgments, for his chariots would pass through all lands. Secondly, that though the chariots of God, terrible in their appearance on account of the black and red color, had visited Judea as well as the north, yet the time had already come in which God, having been pacified, would change the state of things.

And therefore, in the third place, he sets before them another color. For God’s chariot had been sent out through Judea, and then God’s vengeance had visited Nineveh, and afterwards Babylon. Only this sequence had concluded, because it had already been partly fulfilled, for God had removed the darkness and brought sunshine to the Jews, and that from Chaldea, since the Persians, who then possessed the empire, had begun to treat the Jews with kindness.