We've been on a remarkable journey as we've traversed the pages of Zechariah's prophecy, and we return once again to that great prophetic book in chapter six. This morning, we will be looking at verses one through eight. And I've entitled my discourse to you, "Divine Judgment Set into Motion."

Before I read the text and we begin to examine it, may I remind you that the eighth and final vision that we will look at this morning - a vision of horsed chariots - connects with the first vision of the series where the warrior king, the Messiah, dispatched his angelic horse riders to reconnoiter the earth - to traverse the earth - to see the occupied territory. And the text says, "Behold," in other words, to their surprise, the nations of the world were calm. Although they were living in rebellion against the Most High God, they were content with all that they were doing. They had no fear of God. They were tranquil. They were self-satisfied, self-assured, self-absorbed, self-sufficient, self-confident. And this is very troubling. "All the earth," the text says, "is peaceful and quiet."

But as we look at the other visions, as they unfold, we see that judgment is coming. And may I remind you of the words of Jesus in Luke 12 and verse 40, where he said, "...be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect." And here, in the eighth and concluding vision, the horses, symbolizing specific judgments, as we will see, and the chariots, symbolizing angelic agents of divine judgment, are unleashed upon the nations of the world. And this scene is also connected with what is commonly referred to as the four horsemen of the apocalypse that we read about in Revelation six. There the apostle John saw black, white and dappled or ashen, pale horses. And this, of course, would have been deeply encouraging to those exiles that had returned, some 50,000 of them from Babylon to a devastated region where they and their ancestors had once lived; and this reminds them that God is faithful to his covenant promises; promises to bless them for obedience, curse them for disobedience. God is faithful to fulfill all of the spiritual as well as material promises of the Abrahamic, the Davidic and the new covenants.

And in Zechariah's prophecy, may I remind you that the overall theme is God's covenantal faithfulness towards his disobedient people. In fact, Yahweh is God's covenant and personal name conveying his loyal love for his people; his faithfulness, as you read about, for example, in Exodus three. And his name Yahweh, which is "IAM," underscores his ever-presentfaithfulness to his covenant people, even in their rebellion and in their disbelief. And he is presented in Zechariah's prophecy as both the protector and the Redeemer, the Savior of Israel. And this will continue until he returns to this earth to establish his glorious kingdom in a renovated earth and a renovated Jerusalem. And then he will say, as Zechariah tells us, in Zechariah 13:9 "'"They are My people," And Israel will say, "Yahweh is my God."'" And his desire is for Israel to repent, to be reconciled to Him, which is a repeated theme, and this is what God wanted these exiles to understand. This is how he was encouraging them.

In fact, Zechariah's name literally means "Yahweh remembers," and this will be the dominating theme. Yahweh remembers his covenant promises. He has not forgotten you. And of course, again, these would have been wonderful words to these beleaguered people, as they should be to each of us, because we are all part of these. Promises that will one day come to fruition.

And may I say that this is especially encouraging to us in the hour in which we live, because these are deeply discouraging times, are they not? When you look at all that's going on, we see phony Christianity growing like flies on manure. It's unbelievable, the prosperity gospel and so forth. We see violent Marxists having a coordinated terror campaign against Tesla because of Elon Musk and DOGE exposing all of the corrupt ways the leftists have been using our tax dollars to advance their agenda down through the years; we're seeing the collapse of our culture with the hegemony of the woke left that hates America, that demands socialism. And we see, especially the Democratic Party, as, frankly, a death cult. A death cult, the slaughter of the unborn is unbelievable. They estimate about 1 million every year. Absolutely staggering. Reminds me of the blood guiltiness that we read about in the Old Testament, where "the blood of those slaughtered cries out for vengeance from a holy God"; and that day is coming. This is a whole group of people, at least half of the nation, and many in the Republican Party - it's not just limited to them - but people that celebrate sexual perversions that God calls abominations. It's unimaginable. And the corruption is so pervasive in the leftist progressive movement that it really begs language. People that turn a blind eye to terrorism, as we saw with the whole Black Lives Matter movement, with the Antifa movement that's still alive, with the Hamas activists like at Columbia University, which is about 60% made up of foreign students. And our tax dollars fund these things. The criminal aliens that many of the leftists are content having here because they are socialists, they are communists that will help ultimately advance their agenda.

We look at the world around us and we see that we're essentially on the verge of another world war, we see China's ascendancy growing in their economic power, their technological abilities, their military power, even outpacing the United States. And of course, this is setting the stage for the battle of Armageddon, which will be a coalition of Eastern nations that will one day come against Israel. We're watching a rapid, just rapid, geopolitical shifts take shape in Europe and in Asia, in the Middle East and especially in Israel. And don't think for one minute that China's aggression against Taiwan will stop there, but it could realistically be the assembling of the rest of the world's armies for the climax of human history, the battle of Armageddon that Daniel speaks about in Daniel 11:44, when the kings of the east will cross a dry Euphrates and come against Israel, as we read about in Revelation 16. And isn't it interesting how the Euphrates River is drying up? We don't know when the Lord is going to return, but folks, the constellation of prophetic signs points to the fact that it could be very soon. But a day of reckoning has been promised, and that's what we see described here in this eighth vision. So let me read it to you, Zechariah, six, beginning in verse one.

"Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains.

With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses,

with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot strong dappled horses.

Then I spoke and said to the angel who was speaking with me, 'What are these, my lord?'

The angel replied to me, 'These are the four spirits of heaven going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,

with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones go forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.

When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth. And he said, Go patrol the earth.' So they patrolled the earth.

Then He cried out to me and spoke to me saying, 'See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.'"

I'd like to give you an outline that kind of helps you understand a passage of scripture. And I had a nice three-point outline, and I thought, you know this isn't really worth it. It's going to be more confusing, confusing. So I've given you a one point outline, alright? Just one heading. We're going to see the four chariots of judgment unleashed and explained. Now let's look at this text closely.

First of all, bear in mind, young Zechariah is receiving all of these, we are told, in one night. All of these visions; talk about overwhelming. And he's had seven of them thus far. And then he sees this, verse one. "Now I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains." So we have four war chariots, angelic vehicles of divine judgment upon the nations. And may I remind you that these eight visions are typical of what we see in Hebrew. They're given to us in a chiastic construction where there are parallels the first vision parallels the eighth; the second, the seventh; the third, the sixth; the fourth and fifth are the most important that speak of the Messiah, and they parallel one another. So if we're going to understand the eighth vision, we must go back as well to the first vision.

And may I remind you in the first vision, in chapter one and verse eight, we read, "I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a red horse, and he was standing among the myrtle trees, which were in the ravine with red, sorrel and white horses behind him." Now you may recall that this is a picture of the pre-Incarnate Christ - the angel of Jehovah - as we discover in verse 11 and 13 of chapter one. And there we see that he is prepared for war. He is ready for war with the angelic riders behind him, but he's not yet fully engaged in the war. He's not yet attacking his enemies. And we read that he's in the myrtle trees. Myrtle symbolizes Israel, the covenant people, the eternally elect nation, the object of his eternal love and his unchanging purposes.

And it says that he was "standing among the myrtle trees which were in the ravine the "mᵊṣullâ" the deep, narrow, steep-sided valley with a deep bottom. The term is from the root "ṣālal" which means "to be dark." So this is an apt figure describing the state of Israel. They are in this dark place, pictured as the myrtles. They languish in deep darkness. They're suffering in a deep ravine of humiliation and degradation; woefully distressed until the period of the times of the Gentiles will ultimately be finished, which is in the context here. You read about that more, for example, in Luke 21.

And the lowest part of Jerusalem, of course, was the Kidron Valley, a deep ravine where water will frequently flow and nourish plants, especially myrtle trees. And so what we see in that first vision is that the warrior king, the Messiah, he is prepared for war, but he has not yet launched his attack. He is standing in a position of readiness, standing with his people Israel, even in their demoralized state of degradation.

And also in that first vision, you have three horses, but no chariot. Again, this is a reconnaissance mission, not ready to launch the attack. And we read in verse eight of chapter one that he was riding on a red horse, and then there was the sorrel and the white horses behind him. And we know biblically that red is associated with war, with vengeance, with judgment, with bloodshed. The sorel, the "śārōq" is a mixed colors of red and white; perhaps signifying a mixed mission of judgment and mercy. And of course, the white horse always signifies victory - the conqueror; a symbol of triumph.

Now, when we come to the eighth vision, where we're at today, you have four horses with chariots. The addition here is a black horse. We see biblically, the black horse symbolizes famine. And here, in the eighth vision, the command to charge has been given. Like, remember the flying scroll of judgment in the fifth, or in the sixth vision, that was quote "going forth." Which denotes active implementation of judgment. And so here in the eighth vision, we're going to have the red horse of war, the black horse of famine - which, by the way, isspoken of as well in Revelation chapter six, verses five and six - we're going to have the white horse of victory - the steed of a conqueror. And we're going to have the dappled horse, the "bārōḏ" which really means in Hebrew, "hail-spotted" as if it was sprinkled with hail; a spotted horse with various discolorations, perhaps symbolizing the various causes of death from multiple forms of judgment consistent with that same horse that's described in Revelation six and verse eight, the ashen or the pale horse. For example, in Revelation 6:8 we read, "I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth."

Again, to give you good background, here in the first vision, we read that those whom the Lord sent to patrol the earth, according to verse 11, reported back, to quote, "the angel of the Lord." And we know that that was, that's Yahweh. That's the Messiah.

By the way, again, remember, this is the same angel of the Lord that killed 185,000 Assyrians who were about to take Jerusalem about two centuries later. You read about this in Second Kings 19. So they report back to the angel of the Lord who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, "'We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is peaceful and quiet.'" But now again, in the eighth vision, we see God unleashing four angelic warriors in judgment upon the nations of the world. Now the number four is not there by accident. It is significant in Scripture. We see the number four used to convey ubiquity or pervasiveness, universality; and here it represents the pervasive, universal scope of the judgment, namely "the whole earth" they patrolled, as we read about in chapter one and verse 11.

To give you some examples, in Isaiah 11:12, we read about the gathering of the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Daniel spoke of the four winds of heaven in chapter seven, chapter eight and chapter 11. Jeremiah 49 verse 36, "'"I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four ends of heaven and will scatter them to all the winds;"'" And even Zechariah in chapter two, and verse six says, "'I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens.'" And so here, in this eighth vision, the four-horse chariots are being unleashed globally. That's the point. Angelic agents called in verse seven, "the strong ones." It could be as translated as well "the mighty ones." And the point is, there will be no safe place, even as the flood in the days of Noah covered the entire Earth.

And will you also notice the region from which this judgment will proceed; verse one of chapter six, "...four chariots were coming forth from between the two mountains; and the mountains were bronze mountains." Now the definite article in the Hebrew "he-hā-rîm" translated "the," points to two well known, "the" mountains, "the" two mountains. They are well known mountains, specific mountains. And of course, this would be Mount Zion and the Mount of Olives. And the ravine - the deep valley between the mountains, of course - is the Kidron Valley, as described earlier in Zechariah one eight.

And may I remind you that this region, this valley between, is a valley of judgment, the valley of Jehoshaphat, that Joel prophesied. And speaking of the battle of Armageddon in Joel three, beginning in verse two, God says, "'I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.'" If we move over to verse 12 and following,

"'Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.

Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come tread, for the widened press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

The sun and moon grow dark and the stars lose their brightness.

The LORD roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth tremble. But the LORD is a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel.

Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will pass through it no more.'"

And dropping down to verse 20 and following we read,

"But Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem for all generations." Judah, Jerusalem, not the church. This is not speaking about the church, nor is it speaking about Jesus as the New Jerusalem or the new Israel. It's Judah and Jerusalem, speaking of Israel.

And it goes on to say verse 21, "And I will avenge their blood, which I have not avenged. For the LORD dwells in Zion.'" And of course, Zechariah speaks of the same thing in Zechariah 14, beginning in verse four.

"In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.

Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!",

speaking of the second coming of Christ.

Now, folks, if you look at these passages with the normal understanding and the normal use of language, you can see exactly what he's saying. And if the Lord didn't mean what he's sayingthat I have no idea what any of this means, and you don't either.

Now back to the eighth vision. So these four chariots are coming forth from between the two mountains, and the mountains were bronze mountains. And it's interesting, verse five associates them with the very presence of the Lord. He says, "'What are these, my lord?'" Referring to the chariots, "The angel replied to me, 'These are the four spirits of heaven...'" - gain, this is going to be representing the angelic warriors - "'These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,...'" The "four spirits of heaven," the "rûaḥ." It can be translated "wind," it can be translated "breath." It can also be used to speak symbolically of a supernatural being of an angel. In fact, we see the same term in the seventh vision, where it's used to describe two demons.

So in verse five Zechariah sees four spirits of heaven, angelic warriors going forth. They're going forth to execute divine justice. And notice it says, "...after standing before the Lord of all the earth." I love language like this, because this is the God that I serve. This is the Lord that I love. This is the one that is coming again for me and for you, and who is the Lord of all the earth. It is the Messiah. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who possesses all authority and is the ultimate King and great High Priest, as we read in Zechariah 4:14.

And we see the same imagery of these four spirits of Heaven described in Revelation seven and verse one. There we read, "After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth." By the way, the four corners of the earth is just a way of describing north, east, west and south. And they're "...holding back the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree." And in this context, we see God commanding these four magnificent angels to enact a pause on the impending judgments of God upon the upon the earth, and this is actually in that context between the sixth and seal and the opening of the seventh seal. So he's describing these angels helping to pause; this is a merciful pause in judgment to protect a select group of people empowered to perform a specific role of reconciliation of Israel to her Messiah, along with many Gentiles.

And the phrase "four winds" is elsewhere associated with divine judgment. We see this especially in the Old Testament. For example, in his vision of the four beasts, you remember Daniel said in chapter seven and verse two, "'I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts were coming up from the sea.'" We see a similar description in Jeremiah 49 verse 36, Hosea 13 and verse 15, where wind, once again, is symbolic of an invading force of divine judgment.

Now back to verse five of chapter six, the four spirits of heaven are "...going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth." In Hebrew, the word for "standing" denotes standing at attention, or officially presenting oneself for service. These angelic warriors are waiting to do his bidding. And when Daniel described his vision, remember of the Ancient of Days, in Daniel seven, he sees the Ancient of Days being seated upon his throne, he said this in verse 10, "'A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him; 1000s upon 1000s were attending Him, and myriads upon myriads were" here it is, "'standing before Him; the court sat and the books were opened.'"

So here we see these four chariots representing angelic warriors who have been waiting to implement the predetermined plan of God to judge the nations. They will be the ones that will execute judgment for God, consistent, by the way, with the findings of the angelic scouts in the first vision.

Now notice, the four chariots in verse one are coming forth from between the two mountains. That's fascinating. Judgment against Israel's oppressors will proceed from the very presence of God in the very heart of the Jewish capital, not from the valley between the mountains where he was waiting in the first vision, but from the mountains on either side. And we read that the mountains were bronze. It could be translated, brass. This is an alloy of copper and tin, primarily. Now, bronze is commonly used in Scripture as a symbol of divine judgment upon sin, and there's numerous references, for example, of bronze in the Pentateuch, especially in the context of the tabernacle.

For example, in the tabernacle, there was a brazen altar, which was a type of the cross of Christ as he presented himself as a whole burnt offering without spot; he presented himself to God, Exodus, 27 two. It also pictures judgment, for example, in John 12, verse 31 and following Jesus says, "'Now judgment is upon the world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.'" We can go to Exodus 38, to Leviticus six, to Numbers six. And you see various utensils in the tabernacle that were holy unto the Lord, pots and shovels, pans, spoons, basins, snuffers. In Numbers 21, verse nine, you will recall that that God was judging the people with serpents, and he caused them to come to a place of sheer terror. And he had them erect a bronze serpent. And if they looked upon that serpent, they would be healed. And Jesus said in John three verse 14, "'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.'"

So again, bronze is symbolic of God's righteous judgment on those who have offended his holiness. And bear in mind, in this context, the judgment is coming upon the nations of the world. But please understand that judgment is also coming upon every single individual that has ever been born. That includes you. It includes me. Make no mistake, the wrath of God abides upon every single person who has ever lived; those of you who are living right now, the wrath of God abides upon you, unless you have placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty for your sin. You can either trust him to take care of your sin debt, or you will pay for it for eternity. And the only remedy is found in divine grace, available only through faith alone, in Christ alone. This is why, in John 3:36 Jesus said, "'He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.'"

What does it mean to believe? Well, it means to believe that he is your only hope of salvation. Because of your sin, you are helpless. There is nothing you can do to earn your salvation; to merit your salvation. You must wholly depend upon the saving work of Jesus Christ. And we're told that "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no name under heaven that has been given among men by which you must be saved."

So, Jesus is the Lord of all the earth and one day, every knee is going to bow, every tongue is going to confess, and know this, that even now, at this very minute, he is the Lord of all the earth. We don't see him; we see some of what he's doing in the redeemed, in the church, even in his protection of Israel, despite their wickedness. But one day he will stand upon the earth, and people will see. Right now he is on his throne, and he is restraining his predetermined judgment upon all men, but that judgment is going to be unleashed during the time of the tribulation; the pre-kingdom judgments.

And why would he judge the world? Simply because he is holy, and all sin must be punished. Moreover, the very purpose of His creation is to bring glory to himself. And the grand theme of Scripture is Christ and his kingdom. It is not the gospel; it's the gospel that provides a way for us to be citizens that can enter into that kingdom. But ultimately, the grand theme is the glory of Christ in his kingdom; both his mediatorial kingdom upon this earth, as well as the eternal kingdom, because the millennial kingdom will be the consummating bridge between human history and the eternal state.

And as we see in these visions, the Messiah, once again, has his angelic warriors on standby, if I can put it that way; ready to exact judgment. So when he arrives at his second coming, his enemies will be defeated and he will reign upon a renovated earth in all of his glory.

I was reminded of Micah chapter five, where we read of this from another prophet. And here the Spirit of God speaks to us through his his servant in chapter one of Micah five. "'Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; they have laid siege against us; with a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek.

But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.'

Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren will return to the sons of Israel.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, because at that time, He will be great to the ends of the earth.

This One will be our peace."

My I long for that day, and that day is coming. Now, notice again, back to our text in verse five of Zechariah six, "The angel replied to me, 'These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth, with one of which the black horses are going forth to the north country; and the white ones going forth after them, while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.'" Now in the immediate context here, the enemy to the north would have been Babylon. The enemy to the South would have been Egypt. And of course, these have always been the, historically, the inveterate enemies of Israel that have persecuted them so violently. You say, why isn't the west or the east mentioned? Well, because on the west, nobody's coming from the west, the Mediterranean Sea is there. And on the east, you have the Arabian desert; and I've been there, and you see, there's no way you can bring an army through that and come up the mountain to get to Jerusalem. So they always attacked Israel from the north and from the south.

And bear in mind, once again, in the first vision, the Lord gave gracious and comforting words to his people. He says that he was exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, and he how he was angry with the nations that oppressed them, and that he was going to judge them. And now here, in the eighth vision, he's going to fulfill that promise. In the first vision, the angelic horses, once again, they went out in a reconnaissance mission. But here, in the eighth vision, these angelic warriors, called the strong ones, or the mighty ones, are unleashed upon Israel's enemies to execute God's predetermined plan of judgment. In the first vision, the angelic scouts give Messiah a report, and in the eighth vision, they are sent out to quote "patrol the earth." Patrol, by the way, in the original means to travel about, to travel about, to execute divine judgment.

Now, as we come here to verse six, we see the black horse - representing famine - goes forth to the north to destroy Babylon. And where is Babylon? Well, it is the land of Shinar. You will remember, we went into that at great length; that was the place where Nimrod eventually spawned the great wickedness of the world. And there's where the commercial, political and religious systems were all originated. Read about that again in Zechariah five verses, five through 11. And that whole system contaminated not only Israel, but all of the nations of the world. And the commercial and the ecclesiastical center of the world will be in that region as well, at least symbolized by that region, during the future reign of the Antichrist and the False Prophet. You read about that in Revelation 17 and verse eight in chapter 18.

And there you will recall, there's the picture of the woman sitting inside the ephah in the seventh vision that points to Revelation 17 and 18. Revelation 17, you've got the the woman representing this false religious system. She's riding the scarlet beast, the Antichrist, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and 10 horns. And then it says, in Revelation 17 four,

"The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her, of her immorality, and on her forehead a name was written, a mystery,"

"'BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.'"

And beloved, even today, the world is being prepared for this great Babylonish whore that will promise to bring the world's religions all together under one monolithic banner of ecumenism. And that's why anytime you see anything that smacks of ecumenism, you need to run from it. It is satanic. It is from the very pits of hell. It is a demonic system. And one day, that demonic system will be the sole worship of the world. Eventually it will lead to the worship of the beast.

So back to the text, the black horses are going forth to the north country. And it says, "'And the white ones go after them.'" White, a symbol of victory, the steed of conqueror. So these angelic warriors will ensure the victory. And then it says, "'...while the dappled ones go forth to the south country.'" In other words, to Egypt. So, the "bārōḏ" - the dappled horses - as if sprinkled with hail (discolorations),  they will go and cause various forms of death, again, consistent with the pale horse of Revelation 6:8.

I might also add that if you go to Isaiah 19, you will see an incredible description of the eschatological judgment of God that he will pour out on Egypt. And together, these two satanic enemies of Israel, polluted Israel, contaminated all of the nations of the world. And what we see here is is through these two nations, Babylon and Egypt, they represent all of the nations that have oppressed her; all of those that have mocked God, but his judgment is going to fall upon all of the nations of the world, and even Israel. And this is why the red horse of war and bloodshed is not mentioned. John MacArthur speaks of this very well. He says this, "The red horses remained in Israel. For there will be war throughout the entire nation, and blood splashing up to the horses’ bridles (Revelation 14:20). As mentioned in Daniel 11, one through 35 and Zechariah 13, eight through nine and chapter 14, one through 13, this final and epic battle will not only destroy Israel's enemies but also purge unbelievers from the nation itself. Zechariah saw the same event in his sixth vision, which prophesied that God's covenant curse and judgment will fall on the rebellious among His own people. God had commissioned His angelic host to bring this about as well."

And of course, like every nation, Israel is filled with wickedness even to this day. In fact, I know from first-hand accounts that the greatest use of prostitutes in Israel is from the Orthodox Jewish men. So you see this phony religiosity - and we see it in our country, you see it in Islam, you see it in in Christianity - you see this phoniness; but all of that is going to be purged away.

Now, notice verse seven, "'When the strong ones went out, they were eager to go to patrol the earth.'" The original gives us the idea that they were zealous to go forth in every direction, to unloose judgment upon the earth, to prepare for the arrival of the King of kings and Lord of lords. And he said, "'Go, patrol the earth.' So they patrolled the earth." And once again, there will be no safe place to avoid judgment.

My mind goes to the sixth seal in Revelation, six verses 12 through 17, where we read of what's going to happen during that time, where people in sheer terror will try to escape. They won't repent. They will continue to blaspheme his name, but they will try to escape. And those that don't die from sheer panic will become suicidal. And there we read in Revelation six, beginning in verse 12,

"There was a great earthquake; and the sun became black a sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;

and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.

The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

Then the kings of the earth and the great men, the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains;

and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb;

for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'"

Obviously, no one is able to stand unless they are standing as one clothed in the righteousness of Christ and therefore are able to stand in grace. Romans five is the great text that expands upon that magnificent truth.

So indeed, the strong ones in Zechariah's visions will go out. They're eager to eager to patrol the earth. And then notice, what's what it says in verse eight. "Then He cried out..." This was the Messiah here. This is our Lord Jesus. "He cried out." It's interesting. The Hebrew verb there for crying out means to cry out, or to call out with great enthusiasm and triumphant joy. But we also find it used for calling out people for military service, Judges 4:10, and also verse 13. Second Samuel 20, verses four and five; and perhaps both are in view here.

But, "Then he cried out to me and spoke to me."  In other words, he's about to say something of enormous importance here. And here's what he says, "'See, those who are going to the land of the north have appeased My wrath in the land of the north.'" What a comfort this will be to the Lord.

By the way, other translations, like the Legacy Standard, and I believe the New King James, and perhaps some others will translate it a little different but saying the same thing. "See, those who are going to the land of the north have caused my spirit to have rest in the land of the north." And so the result of these righteous judgments against the wicked will cause the fury of the Lord to cease. This is especially true as it relates to final Babylon, Revelation 17 and 18. And throughout Zechariah's visions, we see the Holy Spirit depicted as one being actively engaged in fulfilling all of God's promises.

And you know, as I think about this, friends, I just think, Oh, the outrage of divine holiness, towards those who mock Him, towards those who reject Him, towards those who commit unspeakable crimes, especially against Israel and against his church, against believers. Zechariah two, eight we read, "For thus says the LORD of hosts," in other words, the one who is in charge of all of the armies of heaven. "'After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of his eye.'" I think of the wicked today that continue their antisemitic rants and murders; there will be a special place in hell for those people, and that's tragic to say, but that will be the reality unless they repent. And you know what? Some of them will by God's grace, most of them won't.

So the Lord cries out in triumphant joy to Zechariah, and through this, he's crying out to the discouraged remnant in Judah, and he is elated over the certain fulfillment of his predetermined plan to both judge and to save. And what a comfort this must have been to those dear people, those ancient people, as it is to us today. And frankly, I'm overwhelmed with joy when I anticipate the Lord's return, when he establishes his kingdom upon the earth, renovates the earth, returns it to Edenic splendor; at the end of which he will uncreate the earth and the heavens and recreate it. But there will be a time when ethnic Israel, and I've got friends that live there, many of them don't know Christ, many of them do. But there will be a time when ethnic Israel and countless Gentiles will finally worship their Messiah.

And today, according to Romans 11, beginning in verse 25 we see a

"...partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,

'THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.'

From the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, Gentiles, but from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;

for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

Folks again, as I close this morning, these are amazing times in which we live. I believe that the very last days before the Lord returns. There’s many reasons why I would say that, but let me give you at least one. We know that Ezekiel prophesied on several occasions that prior to the pre-kingdom judgments, Israel will be gathered to her land in unbelief. And we're seeing that happen. 1948 was an incredible year in that regard, and we read on several occasions that after they are gathered to the land in unbelief, that there will, there will be a time of unprecedented persecution, which will ultimately lead to her national restoration. And we see this preparation today in the modern state of Israel. Why will God do all of this? Well, Ezekiel tells us in chapter 36 beginning in verse 22,

"'It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for My holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you went.

I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD,' declares the Lord GOD, 'when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight.

For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land.

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.

Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers, so you will be My people, and I will be your God.'"

Oh dear Christian, what a graphic picture of God's unfailing, sovereign love as it relates to his dealings with Israel, and what an astounding promise that we have of his judgment upon all of the nations. And it was all of this that inspired Horatius Bonar to compile a variety of Scripture passages that I'm going to read to you in the words of a hymn that he wrote. Here's what he said,

Forgotten! no; that cannot be:
  all other names may pass away,
but thine, my Israel, shall remain
  in everlasting memory.

Forgotten! no; that cannot be:
  inscribed upon my palms thou art;
the name I gave in days of old
  is graven still upon my heart.

Forgotten! no; that cannot be:
  belovèd of thy God art thou,
his crown forever on thy head,
  his name for ever on thy brow.

Forgotten! no; that cannot be:
  sun, moon, and stars may cease to shine,
but thou shalt be remembered still,
  for thou art his, and he is thine.

Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Folks, divine judgment is ready. It is ready to be unleashed. It is coming, and one day it will be set into motion. And I pray, as a minister of the gospel, that you are ready to meet your Creator, the infinite Holy God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God of the Bible. And may it never be said in this life or in the one to come that you were not warned, because unless you place your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary, you will perish in your sins. But, o, the hope that we have in Christ, what a blessed gospel, and in this, we all rejoice. Amen? Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for the astounding truths that you have revealed to us in your word. We realize that this is your self-disclosure. This is your way of revealing to us who you are and what you are going to do and what you have made available to all who will humble themselves in repentance, and I pray that that will certainly be the consequence of what we have heard and studied here today. God, we thank you. We rejoice in the hope that we have in Christ and even so, Lord Jesus come quickly. Amen.