Major Messages from the Minor Prophets: Visions, Visions, and More Visions—Zechariah

The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews wrote, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,” (Hebrews 1:1, NIV). One of those ways was through visions. In Zechariah we read, “On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berkiah, the son of Iddo. During the night I had a vision ... “ (Zech. 1:7-8a, NIV).

Visions occur frequently in the Bible as instruments of supernatural revelation. They are audiovisual means of communication between a heavenly being and an earthly recipient. It was God, Himself, who declared to His people that this was a method He would regularly use to communicate truth to the Israelites. "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams" ( Num 12:6, NIV). The technical difference between a dream and a vision that of “participation”. In a prophetic dream, the receiver only sees and hears a message from God. An example is found in the experience of Joseph as he ponders weather-or-not to divorce Mary who has announced that she is pregnant. “But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as you wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit ... When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him ... “ (Matthew 1:20-24, NIV).

A vision is has obvious similarities. But visions can occur while the receiver is asleep or fully awake. In John’s Revelation, the Apostle tells us of his vision, and that it took place “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit ... “ (Rev. 1:10, NIV). John is deep in prayer and worship when he receives his vision. In visions, the receiver both sees and hears, but also participates in what he is experiencing, primarily by asking questions and receiving further revelation.

Zechariah tells us I had a vision, and oh my, what a vision it is. He receives eight visionary vignettes over the course of the night. We know that they occurred back-to-back because each vision begins with Then I looked up, or Then he showed me, or Then the angel who talked with me. The visions seem strange, but God gives an explanation of their meaning each time.

• Horseman among the myrtle trees (1:7-17)

• Four horns and four craftsmen (1:8-21)

• A surveyor (2:1-13)

• The consecration of Joshua the high priest (3:1-10)

• A golden lampstand and two olive trees (4:1-14)

• A flying scroll (5:1-4)

• A woman in a basket 5:5-11)

• Four chariots (6:1-8)

Between verse 6 and verse 7 there is a three month interlude. He has warned the Israelites that they are not prospering because their focus has been on themselves, and not God. He encourages them to repent, and they do. Verse 6 ends with “Then they repented and said, ‘The LORD Almighty has done to us what our ways and practices deserve, just as he determined to do.’ ” Soon they begin to prosper, and they turn their attention to rebuilding God’s Temple in Jerusalem. When the people are obedient is when God once again chooses to speak. Tonight I want us to look quickly at the first three visions that Zechariah receives.

I. GOD’S CARE IS DEMONSTRATED BY HIS PRESENCE (1:7-17)

1. this is the vision of the horsemen among the myrtle trees

a. it is a picture of the peaceful kingdom of God on earth

1) the sweet-smelling myrtle trees symbolize the Israel, God’s people—this remnant is pleasing and precious to Him

2) the angel of the Lord standing among the trees signifies God’s presence with and watchful care over His oppressed people

ILLUS. We find a similar picture in the in Revelation 1:12-20 as Christ stands in the middle of a seven lampstands, symbolic of the churches.

3) the other horses travel throughout the world and do the bidding of the Lord to whom they report

b. the message of this vision is that God was angry at the nations of the world, which spoiled Israel, and that He would bless restored Israel again, showing His faithfulness

2. the main character in this vision, the man on the red horse, standing among the myrtle trees, is none other than the Lord, the second person of the Trinity

a. his work is that of redeeming and restoring mankind so that God’s kingdom will be established

3. here God shows Zechariah the end from the beginning by giving him a glimpse of the ultimate goal of his entire Divine Plan of the Ages — the peaceable kingdom of righteousness

a. the vision is a message of God’s care for his struggling people

II. GOD’S CARE IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE PUNISHMENT OF OPPRESSORS (1:18-21)

1. in this vision, Zechariah saw four horns and four craftsmen

a. when asked, the angel was clear in the interpretation of these symbols:

"These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and cast out these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people" (Zech. 1:18b, 21, NIV)

b. the nations that historically persecuted and plagued Israel were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and the Medo-Persians

c. these are the kingdoms that historically oppressed the Jews

1) some Old Testament scholars debate weather-or-not the Medo-Persian empire should be included since it was King Cyrus of that empire who allowed the Jews to return home

2) those scholars look ahead and see Rome as forth horn of this prophecy

2. the craftsmen represent those who will come along and dismantle the former horn

a. if the four horns are Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and the Medo-Persians, then the craftsmen would be the succeeding powers who destroyed the former

b. Greece destroyed the Medo-Persians, the Medo-Persians destroyed Babylon, Babylon destroyed Assyria, and Assyria, destroyed Egypt

3. the prophecy shows that God raises up powers to destroy those who come against His land and people, Israel

a. the Hebrew word for the "scattering" of these nations who came against Israel (v. 21) means "to cast them away" from their place, "to break" the kingdoms of the people that bore arms against Israel, and "to exile" them!

4. regardless of the specific identification of the horns and craftsmen, the point is clear—nations that oppress God’s people may “feel secure” (v. 15) now, but judgment will come

III. GOD’S CARE IS DEMONSTRATED BY THE PROMISE OF A GLORIOUS FUTURE (2:1-13)

1. in this vision, Zechariah saw a man with a measuring line go and measure Jerusalem to find out how long it is

a. an angel came up and told the angel talking to Zechariah, "Run, tell that young man, 'Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it. And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,' declares the Lord, 'and I will be its glory within'" (Zech. 2:4-5)

b. the vision was showing that there would be a Messianic day when Jerusalem would grow to vast proportions and not need a wall because of God's protection

1) never has this vision been fulfilled, except in the past 100 years

2. these verses are a confirmation of Isaiah 11:11-12, where he says, "In that day, the Lord will reach out His hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of His people He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth."

a. notice Isaiah is talking about a second ingathering, the first being the one Zechariah, Haggai, Ezra and Nehemiah were experiencing

b. today, we see Jews coming from the land of the north and from the four corners of the earth back to Israel

1) Jews have immigrated to Israel from 102 nations in our lifetime

3. this is a vision of the restoration of natural Israel to peace and prosperity after God re-gathers them from where he had scattered them during the times of the Gentiles

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