Zec 6:1-15  These are the four spirits of the heavens which go forth…

[Study Aired July 6, 2023]

Zec 6:1  And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 
Zec 6:2  In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 
Zec 6:3  And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 
Zec 6:4  Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 
Zec 6:5  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.
Zec 6:6  The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 
Zec 6:7  And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 
Zec 6:8  Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. 
Zec 6:9  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Zec 6:10  Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 
Zec 6:11  Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 
Zec 6:12  And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 
Zec 6:13  Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 
Zec 6:14  And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 
Zec 6:15  And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

The natural progression of our sojourning in Christ has been shown in the last three chapters of Zechariah. Chapter four was about the two witnesses who have been given the power of God to prophesy for a time, times and half a time and chapter five explains how God’s elect, by the grace and faith of Christ, come to see Babylon, out of which we are mercifully being dragged in this age. This sixth chapter details for us the four sore judgments (Eze 14:21) we must go through as we come out of Babylon, not by our own might or power but rather by God’s spirit (Zec 4:6). God’s power is used in our lives to overcome the complete beasts we are, typified by four horses, each horse having their own symbolic meaning and presence in our life-long journey of coming out of her my people (2Co 6:17). 

Most people will not love Christ’s appearing and will say to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev 6:16-17). Hiding from Christ’s appearing is hiding from His judgments which we need in order to learn of His righteousness, and few are given to desire and endure that process in this life which forges that crown of life we are called to “hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” (Isa 26:9, Heb 12:6, Psa 107:21-31)]

Zec 6:1  And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. 

Zechariah turns and lifts up his eyes to typify for God’s elect our believing what God is doing in the midst of His people, “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zep 3:17). He looks and behold, “there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass.” These chariots typify our weak flesh through which God makes his strength perfect so we can have complete assurance that we can overcome Babylon, represented by the symbols of two brass mountains; brass being the best the flesh can produce (Php 3:3). The negative example of chariots that describes the power of our flesh would be the enemies of Israel who pursued them across the Red Sea to be destroyed by those waters, which typify the destruction of our old man (Deu 11:2-4).

Deu 11:2  And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,
Deu 11:3  And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land; 
Deu 11:4  And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day; [Joh 8:36, 1Co 15:31]

Zec 6:2  In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 
Zec 6:3  And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. 

These four horses are an earlier type of the four horsemen of Revelation 6:1-8.

Rev 6:1  And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, “four chariots out from between two mountains” one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 

This statement in Revelation 6:1 parallels “And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains” (Zec 6:1). As we know, Christ is the one who is riding all of these horses according to the counsel of God’s will (Eph 1:11), and there is a distinction in the old covenant witness in the order that the horses are ridden, versus the order they are shown in the new covenant. 

The old covenant reveals the natural order that precedes the spiritual order in the new covenant, and both are profitable to tell us something about our sojourning in the Lord, as the old covenant prophecies were for our sakes (1Co 15:46, 2Ti 3:16, 1Pe 1:12). The one horse that is common in its order in both recountings of four horses is the grisled and bay and the pale horse, which falls into the fourth category, both horses representing flesh and blood that cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 

Each horse is telling us something about our Adamic nature which only Christ can overcome by riding these horses to their predestined conclusion of not being able to inherit the kingdom of God. So, the fourth horse represents the persistent sickness of flesh that is naturally against the spirit right up until the end of our lives. In the old covenant the fourth horse is described as being spotted and gray (Zec 6:3 CEV),  and in the new covenant, as being pale (Rev 6:8), both symbols of our more mature flesh which still cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 

Right after we learn of the demise of our flesh, typified by these words in Revelation 6:8, “And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth”, we see the glorious outcome for those who are blessed to endure until the end overcoming our enemy, spiritual death, in this life in (Rev 6:9, 1Co 15:55-57, Rom 7:24).

Rev 6:9  And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 
1Co 15:56  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 
1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ [Rom 7:24-25].

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 

Christ is the one who has power over life and death, heaven and earth, demonstrated by His riding and controlling each of these horses to the glory of God. The statement “which they held” of Revelation 6:9 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:” is made possible by the fit man, Jesus Christ (spoken of in Leviticus 16:12) who holds the reigns of our hearts and minds unto salvation as the author and finisher of that faith (Pro 18:21, Rev 1:16, Heb 12:2)

So, what of this order? I’ve taken some excerpts from Mike’s Revelation series to give us a brief description of what each horse represents in the new covenant, which should help us see why the order is different from the old covenant to the new covenant. The meaning of the colors doesn’t change, however the order tells us something about the state of the typical overcomer in the old covenant versus the overcomer in Christ in the new covenant.

OLD COVENANT – 1-red 2-black 3-white 4-grisled and bay (Zec 1:8, Zec 6:2-3)

Christ is the one who causes us to stand, only made possible because He is in the midst of the myrtle trees, which trees represent men (Mar 8:24) specifically the body of Christ in these verses (Neh 8:15, Isa 41:19, Isa 55:13) who know their marred condition, represented by “red horses [Adam, who is without peace], speckled [marred/sin], and white [leprous in the negative sense]” that will be brought into subjection to the rider, Jesus Christ (2Co 10:5) [excerpt from Tony’s study with Zec 1:1-21].

RED – The first old covenant horse Christ rides is red, demonstrating the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth old-covenant approach of justice for the unconverted world (Mat 5:38) that does in fact typify for us how we are to be merciless against the sin in our lives and destroy everything that breathes within ourselves (Deu 20:16).BLACK – There are equal measures and weights in the old covenant (Deu 25:13-16), but they are not accompanied with the grace and truth which can only come about with Christ coming into our lives (Joh 1:17) changing our hearts so that our judgments in the earth become just and merciful, which is when we are truly measuring up to the mind of Christ (Rom 12:20, Eph 4:32, But I say unto you…. Luk 6:35). The black horse rider carries with him a pair of scales (Rev 6:5) that demonstrates the goodness and severity of God upon all flesh (Rom 11:22), and how that judgment of old typifies the judgment that is upon the body of Christ today, who are being received by our Father through those fiery trials in our lives (Heb 12:6, 1Pe 4:12).
WHITE – The white horse represents the old covenant type and shadow righteousness of Christ that can only be exceeded by Christ abiding in us (Mat 5:20). The white horse is the third horse, demonstrating that this is as far as this process of judgment in the earth can be taken, where flesh learns of Christ’s righteousness, but there is no change of the heart without God’s spirit within (Php 3:9, Rom 8:9).
GRISLED AND BAY – This last horse represents death in both the old covenant and new covenant, to which we are all appointed (Heb 9:27) and cannot avoid being made subject to the vanity of life that can only bring about death (Rom 8:20-21). The difference with this “grisled and bay” horse versus the “pale” horse of the new covenant is that one has a sting (1Co 15:55) that does not accompany the hope of the resurrection, no promise of eternal life as a “grisled and bay” horse. However, the destruction of the pale horses tells us that the new life of Christ is being formed with the destruction of the old, and is accompanied with the promise of eternal life to those who believe in this life to the saving of their souls. Again the old covenant type and shadows, when understood to be prophecies for the body of Christ, make them profitable to us and able to make us wise unto salvation (Rom 14:8, Heb 10:39, 2Ti 3:15).

NEW COVENANT 1-white 2-red 3-black 4-pale

excerpts from Mike’s study (Rev 6:1-4 https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/rev-6_1_4/ and Rev 6:5-8)

WHITE (Rev 6:2, Rev 19:11) – “Christ comes into our lives, and while He is on a white horse here, He still has a bow, an instrument of war. The outcome of this war is not in question, because He also is “given a crown” and “He goes forth conquering, and to conquer.”

There has been a lot of controversy over the years concerning the symbolism of this white horse and his rider. Many ministers and commentators teach that this particular ‘white horse’ symbolizes a false Christ, with a false spirit, and a false gospel. However, there is not one verse of scripture which says that Satan conquers anything. Neither is Satan ever given a crown or a white horse anywhere in scripture. The outcome of this heavenly battle was settled in Eden, and it is reiterated after Adam and Eve are cast out of Eden. It was while still in the garden that the fate of the Adversary was revealed:

Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.“

RED (Rev 6:4) – “The second horse was a red horse and we saw that the coming of the white horse rider into our lives, necessarily takes away the peace that we once knew in this world.”
BLACK (Rev 6:5) – “This black horse rider comes with a pair of scales and symbolizes the spiritual famine and the state of spiritual starvation that is our lot as a Babylonian prodigal son.”
PALE (Rev 6:8) – “This fourth seal is revealing Christ to us, just as much as the first seal with the white horse revealed Christ to us. His name is death, not because he is destroying Christ, but because he is destroying the man of sin. Hades, the grave, is the abode and destination of all sinful flesh and blood.” ***end quote ***

Zec 6:4  Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 
Zec 6:5  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.

These four horses represent the complete or whole means by which Christ will judge all the world, each horse demonstrating a facet of that judgment which must ride through our heavens as “the four spirits of the heavens” to purify our lives so we, having done all through Christ, can stand “before the Lord of all the earth” (Heb 9:23).

Heb 9:23  It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

If we endure until the end, the judgment of these horses in our heavens, then we will be used by God to bring about His judgments into the earth upon a white horse, which represents Christ’s power in us giving us the ability to judge all nations with a rod of iron (Rev 19:14).

Rev 19:14  And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Zec 6:6  The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. 
Zec 6:7  And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 
Zec 6:8  Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. 

These black horses, which go forth into the north country, represent the elect who are judged in this age (1Pe 4:17), which judgment is required in order to be received by God being given the righteousness of Christ typified by the white horses that go after the black horses that are first judged:  “the white go forth after them.” (Light comes out of darkness Joh 3:19-21, Mat 5:14, Col 1:27)

The grisled horses going south remind us that we are still in bodies of death which are naturally wretched and do not want to be judged by God (Rom 7:19). Going south symbolizes going away from judgment, which is in the north (Joh 21:18-19). 

The bay horses ‘go forth’ representing our day-to-day living and moving and having our being in Christ like the rest of humanity (Act 17:28), the difference being that God’s elect are being judged and received by God via that chastening and scourging judgment which is endured through His love being shed abroad in our hearts, making is possible for all things, good and bad, to work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom 5:5, Rom 8:28). 

When we are judged by God, we come to our senses like the prodigal son and say, “Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.” It takes the storms of this life God raises to bring us to our wits’ end, realizing that He alone knows how to “quiet my spirit” and He does this through judgment “in the north country.” This all typifies for us how these horses, representing the powers and principalities against which we wrestle (Eph 6:12), are broken by Christ, the rider, who sits far higher than all those powers and principalities (Psa 107:26-30, Eph 1:21).

Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. 
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 

Eph 1:21  Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 
Eph 1:22  And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Zec 6:9  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 
Zec 6:10  Take of them of the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah, which are come from Babylon, and come thou the same day, and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah; 

These next verses typify the reward for those who are judged in this age (1Pe 4:17), and the names and places of those who are taken out of captivity, reveal in type and shadow language, something about the process and the fruit of the lives of those who are being delivered from sin through Christ today (Joh 8:36).

Zec 6:10 Take of them of the captivity, even of “Heldai^H2469, of Tobijah^H2900 of Jedaiah^H3048, “which are come from Babylon, and come thou  the same day, and go into the house of “Josiah^H2977 the son of Zephaniah;^H6846“.

“Heldai of Tobijah, and of Jedaiah” reveal to us that while we were yet sinners and part of the world, the Lord loved us, as we were known of Him from the foundation of the world and are now hidden in Christ (Col 2:3, Col 3:3).

Heldai H2469  khel-dah’-ee
From H2466; worldliness; Cheldai, the name of two Israelites.

Tobijah H2900 to-bee-yaw’, to-bee-yaw’-hoo
From H2896 and H3050; goodness of Jehovah; Tobijah, the name of three Israelites and of one Samaritan.

“Josiah the son of Zephaniah” remind us that we are founded of God from the foundation of the world and that we are hidden in Christ as God’s workmanship (Col 2:3, Col 3:3, Eph 2:10).

Josiah H2977 yo-she-yaw’, yo-she-yaw’-hoo
From the same root as H803 and H3050; founded of Jah; Joshijah, the name of two Israelites.

Zephaniah H6846 – the son of Zephaniah; – tsef-an-yaw’, tsef-an-yaw’-hoo
From H6845 and H3050; Jah has secreted; Tsephanjah, the name of four Israelites.

Zec 6:11  Then take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest; 
Zec 6:12  And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: 

“Josedech” the high priest represents Christ, and “the BRANCH” represents the body of Christ (Joh 15:5). The crown is made of silver and gold, which typify the unwavering desire Christ had and has to accomplish the cleansing of the temple [silver] (Joh 2:17, Mat 21:12) so that the [gold], which represents God’s word in us, can be purified. 

Christ is the one building the temple (Psa 127:1), and He is doing this through the church, through the many joints that supply in love (Eph 4:16) and bear each other’s burdens, fulfilling the law of Christ (Gal 6:2, Joh 13:35, 1Jn 5:2) so that the bride can be made ready for His return (Rev 19:7).

Zec 6:13  Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. 
Zec 6:14  And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the LORD. 

God’s elect build the temple by Christ’s [“Josedech”] direction “and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” The four men, Helem, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen, the son of Zephaniah, who is mentioned earlier, represent the whole (4) of the body of Christ who are sent as Christ was sent into the world to save it, if the world will be given to “diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God“, which in time they will.

The crowns “And the crowns shall be to” that are given to “Helem^H2494, and to Tobijah^H2900, and to Jedaiah^H3048, and to Hen^H2581 the son of Zephaniah” are a “memorial in the temple of the LORD” of God’s power that worked in the lives of the very few who were blessed to experience His power working in their lives to the end that they could become kings and priests who would rule under Christ (Mat 22:14, Rev 20:6). The memorial is represented by the crowns that belong to God (Rev 4:10-11) and, like the book of remembrance, serve this same function of reminding the world and ourselves that we are God’s workmanship, and what has been accomplished in our lives was all by the hands of the Almighty and for the salvation to be given to rest of God’s creation (Mal 3:16, Eph 2:8-10, Oba 1:21, Rom 11:31).

Helem  H2494
BDB Definition: Helem = “strength” or “dream”
1) a returned exile in the time of Zechariah; also spelled ‘Heldai’
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H2492

Tobijah  H2900

BDB Definition: Tobiah = “Jehovah is good”
1) head of a family who returned from exile with Zerubbabel but who were unable to prove their connection with Israel
2) the Ammonite who with Sanballat opposed the rebuilding of Jerusalem
3) a Levite in the reign of Jehoshaphat
4) a chief of the returning exiles
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H2896 and H3050

Jedaiah  H3048
BDB Definition: Jedaiah = “Jehovah has known”
1) a priest in Jerusalem
2) a man who returned with Zerubbabel
3) a ruler of the priests in the days of Jeshua
4) a post exilic priest
5) one honoured by Jehovah, perhaps one of the above
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H3045 and H3050

Hen  H2581
BDB Definition: Hen = “favour”
1) a contemporary of Zerubbabel
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: the same as H2580

Zec 6:15  And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God.

What that work of God will produce in our lives is saviors that will come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau (Oba 1:21), so that “they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD, and ye shall know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you.” This will come to pass if the world “will diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God” which is not possible without God’s spirit within. The consummation of the ages is brought about by the lake of fire, which is what it will take for the world to finally hear “the voice of the LORD your God” (Deu 6:4-5).

The world will know that we are blessed to be coming in the name of the Lord (Mat 23:39), and in time the words that the elect fill the world with will accomplish what God has sent them out to do (Isa 55:11). If God will grant us that diligent spirit in this age, we will rule in the next (Pro 12:24). 

Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Isa 55:11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: [1Co 15:28] 
Deu 6:5  And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.