John Mark Hicks

Zechariah’s fourth vision takes him into the heavenly council which mirrors the reality of the holy courts of the temple where priests officiate before the Lord (similar to Isaiah 6:1-3). The earthly temple is the meeting place of the heavenly council. The temple is one place where heaven and earth overlap. Zechariah sees three persons: […]

Zechariah sees a man with a measuring line in his hand. He is about to measure the length of Jerusalem’s borders, partly for the purpose of erecting a wall around it. Jerusalem needs protection from its enemies. Though Pax Persiana has brought peace among the nations, this does not secure Jerusalem from its regional enemies (cf. […]

Zechariah’s second vision continues a theme that was only briefly noted in the first vision, that is, Yahweh is angry with the nations who treated Judah with “evil” (ra’ah; 1:15). Zechariah, presumably having lowered his eyes to reflect on the first vision, now looks up to see a second vision. Here he sees “four horns.” The […]

Zechariah sees a rider on a “red” (more like reddish-brown) horse among myrtle trees in a “glen.” Behind this rider is an indefinite number of horses with a range of colors which reflect the variety of horses within the Persian Empire. Scouting is the only function given these horses (and their unidentified riders)—they “patrol the […]

The visions of Zechariah renew the Abrahamic promise to post-exilic Israel—God intends to bless Israel so that all nations might be blessed. The word of Yahweh given to Zechariah for the people is “Return to me, and I will return to you.” This message comes to Zechariah through a series of eight night visions on […]

Zechariah, a priest who returned with other Babylonian exiles to Jerusalem in 537 BCE, appears before the people in 520 BCE as a prophet. “The word of the Lord” comes to Zechariah—he is given a message from God to the people. Zechariah sees himself in line with the former prophets with a similar message, a […]

Zechariah is the longest and, many think, the most difficult of the “minor” (smaller) prophets. It is also one of the most significant. Zechariah is important for understanding the good news of Jesus the Messiah. Zechariah 9-14 is the dominant prophetic resource for the authors of the Gospels for narrating the meaning of Jesus’ passion. […]