Dive into the fascinating world of Zechariah’s prophecy as our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, takes us on an enlightening journey through the book of Zechariah chapter 6. We explore the visionary symbols of the four chariots, each representing significant events parallel to the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation. Discover how God’s judgments are described with powerful mercy and justice interwoven throughout. This episode promises a compelling exploration of prophecy rich with spiritual truth.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in God.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Through the Bible. Whether you’re fascinated by prophecy or find it, well, just a little overwhelming, this study in the book of Zechariah offers something for everyone. Our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, walks us through the prophet’s vision of four chariots, each one the same color as the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation 6. Coincidence? Probably not. Dr. McGee helps us connect Zechariah 6 with the coming judgments described in Revelation, and it’s both sobering and powerful. So open your Bible to Zechariah 6, verse 4, and let’s begin with Dr. McGee’s brief introduction to God’s judgments and His incredible mercy.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now I talked. Last time about the subject of peace, that was the thing that would characterize the millennium. We do not know what peace is today. Last count, there were 57 wars going on in the world. Well, that’s not a time of peace. They’re saying today, peace, peace, when there is no peace. There will be when Jesus reigns on this earth. And now there’s another wonderful characteristic, and that is justice. And justice is something that men know today very little about. The psalmist in Psalm 89, verse 14, he writes this, “…justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne.” Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. And you’ll notice that justice and mercy are put together. All right? One of the most prominent words in the Christian vocabulary found in the Bible is the word justice. However, it does not occur very often in current conservative literature. When it does occur, it is invariably associated with gloom and doom pronouncements, generally harsh judgments. Israel prays God for his justice. I wonder if you’ve ever noted that. For instance, here again in Psalm 89, 14, justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. You notice that all through the Psalms there is a praise of the justice of God and of judgment. Notice in Psalm 7 at verse 9, It says, O let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the just, for the righteous God, or the just God, trieth the hearts and reins. And you find that God is praised for his justice. They praised God because he was just and identified justice with mercy. Now, aren’t you glad that God’s just? You’re going to get a square deal from him. You can trust him. It would be tragic if God was not just and also holy. We’ll be coming to that later. The popular conception of justice is sometimes depicted in a piece of stone carved into a figure of a woman who is blindfolded, holding scales in one hand and a sword in the other. All of this is symbolic. Justice is a woman because she should be tender, blindfolded because she should be impartial in meeting out justice. And she’s even-handed in the dealings and discharge of her office. The scales represent here as weighing the evidence on both sides impartially. The so it means she’ll not hesitate to impose a penalty on McGilty. Now, that’s not the Bible conception of justice at all. When God created man and permitted him to fall, God made a promise. He would rescue man from destruction and save him for eternity. God made good his promise. God made the promise and the provision to save man at the beginning. The Lord Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God. that was slain before the foundation of the world. And he is the one that taketh away the sin of the world. Now, the cross is not an ambulance, therefore, sent to a wreck. God was just when he made a way to save man by faith. God was true to himself. He exercised justice. He was willing to make the supreme sacrifice. He gave his son who paid the penalty. God is free to exercise grace toward man. He is just. His grace is offered to every man who will receive it. This is what it means to be saved by grace.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, thank God for this glimpse of good news in the middle of some very heavy passages. Let’s take a moment to pray together. Father, you are gracious and merciful, and yet you’re perfectly just. We pray for those who haven’t yet received the amazing gift of salvation through faith in your son, Jesus Christ. Would you draw them close to you now? In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Now here’s Dr. J. Werner McGee with our study of Zechariah 6 on Through the Bible.
SPEAKER 01 :
Now, friends, last time we were in this prophecy of Zechariah. And in the sixth chapter, it’s the tenth vision that this man had. And we see here the four chariots. Now, the four chariots had horses hitched to them. And some of the horses were red, that is, to one of the chariots. And the second chariot had black horses. And the third chariot had white horses. And the fourth chariot dappled and bay horses. And I do not know how to describe a dappled horse to you. I know one when I see it. And I can remember as a boy that they would speak of a certain horse, a certain color, and it always seemed to me it was sort of a bluish color with spots in it, almost white spots that the horse had, an unusual color. Now, these four chariots that had the four different colored horses hitched to them actually remind us of the four horsemen of the apocalypse that John tells us about in Revelation. Now, the order is given here quite differently than it is given in the book of Revelation. There it’s the white horse that rides forth first, and then the red horse of war. And then the third horse is the black horse, and that’s famine. And then the fourth horse is that of the plague of death that rides forth. And the order is a little different here. And I don’t think the order, therefore, in this vision is the important thing. Because actually, the important thing to note here, and for these people to note, because he’s speaking to the nation Israel, that God intends to judge the whole earth. And you find out in the interpretation, and I’d like to begin reading now with verse 4, and we’ll pick up the interpretation. He says here, “…then I answered and said unto the angel who talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. Now, these spirits that are mentioned here are obviously angels that are directing this, the same that you have in the book of Revelation, that angels have charge of the judgments that are coming upon the Gentile nations. Now will you notice that he answers by saying, these are the four spirits of the heavens. They go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. Now we get the interpretation. The black horses which are there go forth into the north country and the white go forth after them. And the dapple go forth toward the south country. And the bay went forth and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth. Now, the bay horses apparently go along with the dapple horses into the south country. So they walk to and fro through the earth. Now, we have the black and the white going into the north country. And we have the dappled horses going to the south. Now, none going to the east or the west. Well, on the west is the Mediterranean Sea. We must remember that two mountains that are suggested there are obviously Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives. The Mediterranean Sea being on the west, the horse would not move in that direction. It’s not a seahorse that we have here. And then there would not be any movement toward the east. for the simple reason that that great Arabian desert is out there. Now, the direction they go would lead them throughout the whole earth, of course. And the thought that is given here is just simply that. In verse 7, “…and the bay went forth and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth.” And he said, go from here, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Now the black horses and the white went into the north country. And I personally believe that the judgment of the Great Tribulation period begins actually with Russia coming down into that land and that there would be the judgment first to go to the king of the north, to Gog and Magog in the north. Then the judgment in the south would be toward Egypt. But the thought here is not so much the order, the riding of the horses, as you have in Revelation. Because in Revelation, we are given the series of the great tribulation period. We’re given one event, one crisis right after another that shall follow. First, in Revelation, the white horse rides forth. Well, he brings a victory that brings in a false peace into the earth. And actually, the world will think that they’re entering the millennium when actually they’re entering the great tribulation period. Because immediately after the white horse, there comes forth the red horse of war. And that breaks out worldwide. Then there rides forth this black horse, and this black horse is that of famine. Famine generally follows war and also plague. And then death is the fourth one. The pale horse rides forth, or the dappled as we have it here in the bay that are mentioned. So that we have here these four different chariots with the four different colored horses. Here the order is not the important thing. It would seem to me that the important thing that is mentioned here is the fact that God intends to judge all the nations of the earth. And each one of these represents a judgment that is coming from God. This all takes place in the Great Tribulation period. And you find the four horsemen of the apocalypse, as John gives it, in the sixth chapter, and read on into the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation, and you’ll find it mentioned there. And also, when we come to verse 9, the visions are over now, and we come back to that which actually takes place. Now again, let’s recall that Zechariah, along with Haggai, is prophesying to the remnant that have returned to this land. Now I’m reading verse 9. The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Take of them of the captivity, even Heldai, and Tobijah, and of Jediah, who are come from Babylon and come the same day and go into the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. Now, we are given here three men that have returned from Babylon. They did not come back with either of the groups that returned. but they have now come on their own. Now, Haldai means robust, and Tobijah means God’s goodness, and Jediah means God knows. Now, you can tie those together if you want to with, I think, a very definite meaning that God knows that through his goodness, that he intends to put his king upon the throne down here, and he’s going to do it in a robust and powerful manner. And what takes place now is a symbolic crowning, but it pictures the coming of Christ and his reign upon this earth, that which is yet future. And we have that given to us. And I’d like to read on into this chapter. Verse 11. Then take silver and gold and make crowns and set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Josedach, the high priest. Now, the Lord Jesus is the great high priest today. The book of Hebrews is a book that speaks of the fact that Christ is our great high priest. And we’re told to consider our great high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, today he’s passed within the veil. He’s gone into heaven, and he’s sitting at God’s right hand. But he’s waiting until the time comes when his enemies are made his footstool and he’ll come forth to this earth to establish his kingdom here upon this earth. Now, what we have here is a picture of that. And you will notice that all of this follows in sequence after the judgment of God’s people. After the judgment of all the Gentile nations of the world, now we have the coming of Christ and his crowning as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And that’s the explanation of why we have all these crowns here. He is the King of kings. And all will cast their crowns before him. He is the one who is King of kings and Lord of lords. And so Joshua here, as the high priest of that day, represents the Lord Jesus. We have actually the threefold ministry of the Lord Jesus given in time span. The first time span is that he came to this earth 1,900 years ago as God’s prophet. He came down here to speak for God as God’s Word. And he himself was the Word of God, for he revealed God in humanity and revealed the love of God by going and dying upon the cross for your sins and my sins, so that he’s God’s prophet. Now, today he’s God’s priest. And he’s at God’s right hand. He’s entered into the Holy of Holies, God’s presence itself. He’s presented his own blood for your sins and my sins. And he ever lives there to make intercession for us. He also intervenes for us when there’s sin in our lives. And we confess that sin. He also walks among the lampstands. Now, one day he’s coming out again. And when he comes out, he’s coming, as the book of Revelation makes it very clear, as king of kings and lord of lords, so that he’s prophet, priest, and king. And so here Joshua is crowned because he is the high priest. And he’s crowned as the Lord Jesus shall be crowned. And now we are given the other figure of speech that we have had before. And it’s here in verse 12. And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch. Now, that was not the name of Joshua. But actually, it’s the name that’s been given to the Lord Jesus Christ. He came 1900 years ago as the branch, a root out of a dry ground. The very fact that he came into humanity and came to a people at the time that he came when they were subject to Rome is the most amazing thing in the world. He’s a root out of a dry ground. He wasn’t even the root of David. He was the root of Jesse. Jesse was a peasant, and he didn’t come as a king. He came as the savior of the world. He’s to be called Jesus. He’ll save his people from their sins. Though he’s in the line of David, he’s a root out of a dry ground. Suppose you’d go out on this California desert that’s to the east of us here, or into Arizona, or New Mexico. Some of the places are extremely desolate. And suppose as you walked along in that dry where nothing is growing except cacti and there are a few rattlesnakes around. And all of a sudden you come upon an iceberg lettuce that’s growing there luscious and green. You would be amazed at that. In fact, it’s just something that couldn’t happen under normal circumstances. Well, the Lord was the root out of a dry ground. He was the branch. Now he’s coming again as the branch. But this time the branch is to rule the world. Behold the man whose name is the branch. and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build a temple of the Lord.” So that the encouragement that’s given to these people locally and at that particular time is this, that this house that you’re building is in the series of houses. First, it was the tabernacle in the wilderness. Then it was Solomon’s temple. And then it was Zerubbabel’s temple. Then it was Herod’s temple. And there is to be a great tribulation temple built. And then there will be the millennial temple that will be built upon this earth. This is in the series of temples, and God calls it one house. He never speaks of it as being separate, but one house. so that what they are doing, it may look small, as we saw in the book of Haggai, and many of them thought it was not very important. God says that he’s the one to judge the importance of it, and it’s in his plan and purpose. And that is the thing, again, we’d emphasize to many of you today. Now, I get letters of people saying, well, I can’t do very much for God. Now, who told you that you couldn’t do very much for God? This temple that these people built, some of the old timers who’d seen Solomon’s temple, they wept. They said, this is nothing compared to it. God says, I’m with you in this building. And I wasn’t in Solomon’s temple in the last days. The Shekinah glory had departed and the Ichabod was written over it. But now I’m with you. Who told you? that you couldn’t do much for God. My friend, if you are working for God and in God’s plan and purpose, and I don’t care how small that might be. Might be a mother today that has one little boy or one little girl and you bring that one up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and they go out as a missionary or they become a real worker for God. May I say to you, who’s going to determine whether it’s great or not? God is the one that’s to determine that. And if you are in the plan and purpose of God, and you’re doing what God wants you to do, well, I’d say to you that your work is as important as anyone’s work at the present hour. And I make this statement again. I think the greatest pulpits that we have in Southern California are not in churches. They happen to be sick beds where some dear saint of God is confined. Somebody told me the other day about a young man that is confined to his bed and he is paralyzed from his neck down. and how he is a radiant Christian, listens to this program, and he is sending out literature all the time. And may I say to you, I’m not sure but what that sick bed of that young fella is more important than this radio ministry. And it’s probably more important than anyone that you know about today. And you think they’re doing something big and great for God. You let God decide that. The important thing is for you and me to get into the will of God. And that is the point that both Haggai… and Zechariah were trying to get over to these people. You’re doing what God wants you to do. It’s small, but it’s in the plan and purpose of God. It’s great and big, and it’s going to eventuate in Jesus coming to the earth and establishing his kingdom. My friend, you can’t improve on that kind of a program. And that’s God’s program for you and for me today. Well, we’ll have to leave off right there. This is a very important section we’re in. This is not a vision. This is something they actually did in that day. And we’ll see the conclusion of it next time. Until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.
SPEAKER 03 :
that’s a great challenge if you want to do something meaningful for God let him guide you whether it’s something small or something great that part really doesn’t matter what matters is our obedience when we follow his lead faithfully we can trust him with the outcome One important way that you can serve is by becoming a faithful prayer partner with this ministry. We depend on the prayers of those who love God and love His Word. It’s a partnership we deeply value. Learn how you can pray with us, won’t you? You can simply tap on World Prayer Today in our app. You can visit ttb.org forward slash pray or just call us at 1-865-BIBLE. I’ll see you next time on the Bible Bus. Until then, may God bless you as you walk with Him.
SPEAKER 02 :
Jesus gave it all, all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.
SPEAKER 03 :
We’re grateful for the faithful and generous support of Through the Bible’s partners, whom God uses to take the whole word to the whole world.
Dive into the fascinating world of Zechariah’s prophecy as our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, takes us on an enlightening journey through the book of Zechariah chapter 6. We explore the visionary symbols of the four chariots, each representing significant events parallel to the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelation. Discover how God’s judgments are described with powerful mercy and justice interwoven throughout. This episode promises a compelling exploration of prophecy rich with spiritual truth.
