Zechariah 6:1-8
"four chariots"
In his final vision, Zechariah sees four chariots ride out from between two mountains made from bronze. The first chariot had red horses, the second, black, the third, white and the fourth had dappled horses. They probably have some external, contextual meaning, but i'm not really sure what this is. one commentator says that the red signifies war and bloodshed, the black the consequences of war, the white represents peace and prosperity and the dappled shows days of mixed fortune. another attributes to them various nations - red = babylon, black = persia, white = greece and dappled = rome. the translation that this second opinion is derived from says that the white chariot went after the black chariot, not into the west.
The angel with Zechariah then instructed him saying that the chariots are four spirits sent by God, from his presence. The black-horsed chariot then proceeded to go north, the white-horsed towards the west and the dappled to the south. where the red went, is not said, but it either stayed put or went east... i'm inclined to think the former. after this, the angel said that the chariot headed northward has given his spirit rest. i'm assuming that means whatever great evil was in the north is no more... looking at a map, assyria and babylon were to the north. so, it would probably be safe to say that this signified the end of those civilizations. Also, the white-horsed chariot went west, towards Israel. could this represent a return of peace to scattered israel? maybe. (or, in the translation where the white chariots went north, further conquering where the black chariot conquered)
Basically, this shows a final demonstration of God's merciful justice. the conquerors become the conquered and peace returns to israel. but it's an interesting way of portraying it... and i still don't know what happened to the red chariot or where the dappled chariot was headed... anyone have any thoughts or insight on this?
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