The Vision of the Four Chariots

Zechariah lifts his eyes and sees four chariots coming out from between two bronze mountains, each distinguished by the color of its horses. The prophet responds in the characteristic pattern of these visions by asking the angel what they mean. The paragraph sets the scene with strength, movement, and the expectation of world-level significance.

A¹nd again I lifted up my eyes and saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains — mountains of bronze. ²The first chariot had red horses, the second black horses, ³the third white horses, and the fourth dappled horses— all of them strong. ⁴So I inquired of the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?”

The angel identifies the chariots as the four spirits of heaven going out from before the Lord of all the earth. They head toward different regions, patrol the earth under divine commission, and finally bring rest to the LORD's Spirit in the north. The paragraph interprets the vision as the active extension of God's rule and satisfaction of His judicial purpose among the nations.

⁵And the angel told me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth from their station before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶The one with the black horses is going toward the land of the north, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.” ⁷As the strong horses went out, they were eager to go and patrol the earth; and the LORD said, “Go and patrol the earth.” So they patrolled the earth. ⁸Then the LORD summoned me and said, “Behold, those going to the land of the north have given rest to My Spirit in the land of the north.”