John Gill Commentary Zechariah 6

And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked
When he saw another vision, as follows: and, behold, there came four chariots; by which are meant, not the four Gospels; rather the apostles of Christ, who had their commission from Christ; were sent into all the world by him, and carried his name and Gospel thither; were the instruments Christ used in bringing many souls to him, and into his church, and for the defence of his Gospel, and of his interest; and were military chariots, who fought the good fight of faith; and triumphal ones, who were made to triumph in Christ, being more than conquerors through him; though others think angels are here meant, the chariots of the Lord, (Psalms 68:17) since they are called the four spirits of the heavens; and are said to go forth from standing before the Lord of the earth, and are sent by him into each of the parts of it, (Zechariah 6:5Zechariah 6:7) and are represented by horses of various colours, as in (Zechariah 1:8) these may be signified by chariots, for their glory, strength, and swiftness, in which Jehovah rides about the world, and executes his will; and are used for the destruction of the church's enemies, and for its protection and defence. The Jewish writers, after the Targum, generally interpret them of the four monarchies, the Persian, Grecian, and Roman, by whom the will of God was done in the world; and seem to be greatly the design of the vision.

these came out from between two mountains: and the mountains were
mountains of brass; such where this metal is found, as in Chalcis, where it is said to be first found^F15; and from there it has its name in the Greek tongue; or in the island of Cyprus, from which it may have the name of copper; and such mountains were in Judea, Idumea, and Arabia, formerly; as Carmel, according to Hesychius^F16; and Phinon in Idumea; and some mountains in Arabia, about eleven miles from Horeb, which, Jerome says^F17, formerly abounded with veins of gold and brass: these may intend the decrees and purposes of God, which, like "mountains", are very ancient, earlier than the everlasting hills, high and deep, not to be reached and searched into; are dark, obscure, and hidden to men, till made known; and are firm, solid, and immovable, and are lasting and durable; and, like mountains of "brass", are never to be broken in pieces, revoked, made null and void; for they stand upon the unalterable will of God, upon the basis of infallible wisdom; are supported by uncontrollable power, and cannot be disannulled by all the men on earth, and devils in hell: and, according to these fixed and immutable decrees, the said monarchies in succession have taken place in the world; unless it should rather be thought, that by these mountains of brass are designed the power and providence of God, by which the several peoples who first founded those empires were restrained for a while from going forth to make war upon others and subdue their kingdoms, until the time came when it was God's will that they should.

The allusion may be to race horses in chariots, formerly used for such exercises, which were held within the circus or bars, till the sign was given when they should start: in like manner these nations were kept within bounds for a while, just as the four angels were bound by the providence of God at the river Euphrates, until they were loosed; which signify the Saracens, and their numerous army of horsemen under their four leaders, who were restrained from overrunning the "eastern" empire of the Romans, until it was the pleasure of God to loose them, and give them liberty, (Revelation 9:14–16) . Grotius understands this literally of the straits of Cilicia, and the vastness of the mountains there, through which the Babylonians and Persians, Alexander and his generals, used to pass into Syria, Judea, and Egypt. But rather, these visionary chariots seemed to steer their course through a valley that lay between two mountains, by which they escaped the difficulties presented by the mountains. This may denote the low estate of these monarchies in their origin, and the difficulties they grappled with and overcame before they rose to the grandeur they did. Some interpret the two mountains of brass of the kingdom of Israel, after the Babylonish captivity, and the kingdom of the Messiah; and the four chariots, of the four kingdoms, in this order; the Persian, the Grecian, that of the Lagidae and Seleucidae, and the Roman, which is last in sequence; but was seen first by the prophet, because utter destruction was brought upon Israel by it^F18: according to this interpretation, the red horses are the Romans; and the other, the above mentioned. So Cocceius is of opinion that the two mountains are two powerful and unshaken kingdoms, set up by God; or rather two manifestations of the same kingdom; the one the kingdom of the house of David; the other the kingdom of Christ, which is spiritual, but as to the effect earthly, in the subjection of all nations to it, (Daniel 7:22Daniel 7:27) the kingdom of the house of David, as to its external form, is abolished, but nevertheless remains in the root, until it appears in another mountain; and between these two, or in the middle space of time, four kingdoms with their armies would possess the promised land; and he observes that in (Daniel 2:35Daniel 2:45), mention is made of two mountains, and that these chariots in part agree with the several parts of the image there.

FOOTNOTES:

• F15: Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 4. c. 12. Vid. l. 7. c. 56. & l. 34. c. 2.
• F16: Apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 6. col. 886.
• F17: De locis Hebraicis, fol. 90. A.
• F18: Vid. Gurtler. Voc. Typ. Prophet. Explic. p. 58, 177.

In the first chariot [were] red horses If these are to be understood of the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the Gospel, they may be compared to "horses", for bearing the name of Christ, and drawing the chariot of the Gospel; for their strength to labour in the word and doctrine; for their courage in the cause of Christ; and for their swiftness in doing his work; and to "red" ones, for their flaming zeal for the honour of the Redeemer, and their bloody sufferings for his sake: and if of angels, they may be compared to "horses", because strong and swift to do the will of God; and to "red" ones, because they are the executioners of his wrath and vengeance on wicked men: but if by "the chariots" are meant the monarchies, then by these "red horses" must be designed the Babylonians and Chaldeans, so called because their soldiers were clothed in red, and their chariots were like flaming torches; and they were sanguinary, cruel, and bloody in their tempers, and in their actions to the Jews; and were signified by Nebuchadnezzar's head of gold in his image; see (Nahum 2:3Nahum 2:4) (Habakkuk 1:6–8) :

and in the second chariot black horses ; which, applied to the apostles and ministers of the Gospel, may denote their mean and abject appearance outwardly, and their knowledge in the mysteries of grace, which are dark and obscure to others; and, if understood of angels, is applicable to them, when messengers of ill tidings, or executioners of judgment: but if the monarchies are meant, which seems best, the Medes and Persians are intended; and their "black" colour is expressive of the sorrowful estate of the Jews under them, especially in the time of Haman, as Jarchi and Kimchi observe: black horses were reckoned strong, well made, and fit for labour; and the Ethiopians and Moors chose to have their horses they used in war all of this colour, to strike the greater horror and terror into their enemies; and to see black horses in a dream was accounted a bad omen ^F19 . The Medes and Persians were a strong and warlike people, and were very terrible to their enemies, under Cyrus; and very troublesome and distressing to the Jews, under Cambyses and Ahasuerus.

FOOTNOTES:

• F19: Vid. Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 7. col. 106, 107.

And in the third chariot white horses
Which, as referring to Gospel preachers, may denote the purity of their lives and doctrines, and their conquests and victories over the souls of men by the ministry of the word; and, as applicable to angels, may express the purity of their nature and actions, the joyful messages they bring to the heirs of salvation, and their victories over the evil angels; but, as respecting the monarchies, point at the Grecians, and the conquests of Alexander, and his mildness and gentleness to the Jews: white horses were used in triumphs, in token of victory ^F20 ; see (Revelation 6:2) (19:14) and they have been reckoned the swiftest in running; and by the "oneirocritics", to see them in a dream or vision is a good omen ^F21 ; and so it was accounted with the Jews ^F23 ; all which suits very well with Alexander, who was famous for his victories over many nations: and who, with great velocity, overran them, and as soon conquered them, and was kind and beneficent to the Jewish nation:

and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses :
signifying either the diversity of gifts in the ministers of the Gospel; or the different employment and services of angels; or rather the Romans are meant, who were collected out of various nations, and consisted of different people, and had various forms of government, and emperors of different dispositions to the Jews; and particularly as two colours are assigned to these, it may respect the division of their kingdom into Pagan and Papal, as is predicted in (Daniel 2:41Daniel 2:42) . Kimchi thinks the "bay horses" design the kingdom of the Ishmaelites, or Turks, a strong and powerful people; as some think the word used signifies ^F24 ; rather the Goths and Vandals; see (Zechariah 6:7) .

The word for "grisled" is by the Targum rendered "spotted" or "speckled"; and comes from one which signifies "hail"; and so denotes such coloured horses as are spotted with white spots, like hailstones ^F25 , upon another colour, as black or red; and is by the Septuagint, and others, rendered "various" ^F26 , of divers colours: and the other word for "bay" is rendered by them "starling coloured"; the colour of the starling, which is a black bird, with white spots; and so were a fit emblem of the Goths, Huns who were of various nations, and had various laws, customs, and usages; though some think by these two are meant the successors of Alexander, the Lagidae and the Seleucidae, put together, because of their intermarriages with one another, as well as succeeding Alexander: the former by the "grisled", who went and settled in the south country in Egypt, (Zechariah 6:6) whose first king was Ptolemy Lagus, from whence is the name, and who is the king of the south in (Daniel 11:5) and the latter by the "bay" or "ash coloured", as the Targum; the kings of Syria hiding deep their counsels, as under ashes, particularly Antiochus, as Grotius observes; and sometimes making war on one nation, and sometimes on another; and both of them in their turns falling upon the Jews suddenly, and with great violence, like hailstones, and making sad devastations among them, reducing them to ashes; but then this sense shuts out the Romans, the fourth monarchy, from having any place in this vision, which cannot be admitted; since these four chariots answer to the four sorts of metal in Nebuchadnezzar's image, and to the four beasts in Daniel's vision.

So the Jewish writers

FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Aurel. Victor de Viris Ilustrib. c. 26. in Furio Camillo, & Plutarchus in Camillo.
• F21: Bochart, ut supra, (Hierozoic par. 1. l. 2. c. 7.) col. 105, 106.
• F23: T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 1.
• F24: (Myuwma) "fortes", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "robusti", Piscator, Tarnovius, Gussetius, Stockius, p. 74. "validi", Burkius; so Kimchi; and the Jews in Pesikta apud Yalkut in loc.
• F25: (Myddb) "grandinate", Montanus, Cocceius, Burkius; "grandiue gut. tati", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius, De Dieu, Pembellus.
• F26: (poikiloi) , Sept.; "varii", Pagninus.

Then I answered and said to the angel that spoke with
me
After he had seen the chariots come out, and had observed the different colours of the horses in them:what [are] these, my lord ?
that is, what do they signify? what is the meaning of this vision?

And the angel answered and said to me
In order to grant him his request, and explain the vision of the chariots: these [are] the four spirits of the heavens ;
or, "the four winds of the heavens"; the apostles and ministers of the Gospel may be compared to "the winds", because their ministry is the ministration of the Spirit, which is like wind that blows invisibly, powerfully, and where it listeth; and because in and by it the Spirit breathes life and comfort into the souls of men; and because of the powerful efficacy and penetrating nature of the word preached by them, and their swiftness and readiness to do the will of God: angels are called "spirits" or "winds", (Psalms 104:3Psalms 104:4) they are created spirits, and so differ from God; are incorporeal ones, and so differ from men; and are immaterial and immortal, and so die not: they are spiritual subsistences, and spirits of the heavens, or heavenly spirits; heaven being the place of their abode and residence; and they may be compared to "winds", for their invisibility, wonderful penetration into places and things, their very great swiftness, and prodigious power and strength. The Targum paraphrases the words thus, "these are the four kingdoms, which are as the winds of heaven;" and so the same are signified by the four winds in (Daniel 7:2) to which they may be compared for their swift and forcible carrying all before them, and for their fickleness and changeableness; and to which, the several parts of the world, into which they went, agree.

which go forth, from standing before the Lord of all the earth :
so the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the Gospel, stood before him in his eternal purposes and decrees from everlasting; and went forth, having their commission from him in time; and were sent by him into the several parts of the world he is the Lord of; and by whom they were filled with gifts, grace, and courage, fitting them for their work. Angels also stand before him, ministering to him; always behold him; are in his presence, and enjoy his favour; and go forth from him, being sent forth by him on various accounts into all the parts of the world; which Jehovah is the Creator, Upholder, and Governor of: moreover, this is applicable to the four monarchies; these stood before the Lord in his vast and infinite mind; in the secret decrees of it, before the world was; and the sending and going forth of them from him show that they were powers ordained of God, who has the government of the whole world in his hands.