Bible Question: I want your opinions on Zechariah 1:18-21 as to why the 4 horns and 4 craftsmen/or carpenters are regarded by some as Assyria Egypt Babylon and then Medo-Persia |
Bible Answer: Hello Mike! Here are a few "helps" on Zech. 1:18-21.. "1:18-21 four horns. The power of Gentile nations (perhaps Assyria, Egypt, Babylonia, and Medo-Persia specifically) that afflicted and scattered Israel. craftsmen. Those peoples and nations whom God used to overthrow the enemies of Israel. The vision reinforces the warning and promise of Gen. 12:3. 1:21 horns were symbols of strength." (The Ryrie Expanded Edition Study Bible) "1:18-21 The second of 8 night visions adds details to the judgment of the nations who persecuted His Israel, buiding upon God's promise to comfort His people (1:13,17). 1:18 four horns. Horns were symbols of power and pride (cf. Ps. 75:10; 89:17; 92:10; Dan. 7:24; 8:20,21; Mic. 4:13). In the context of judgment each symbolizes either a nation or the head of that nation (cf. Dan 7:21,24; 8:3; Rev. 17:12). Here the horns represent nations that attacked God's people (vv. 19,21), referring either to Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and Medo-Persia or perhaps, more likely, to the 4 world empires of Dan. 2,7: Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, all of which oppressed Israel. 1:20 four craftsmen. The word is literally the term for stone workers, metal workers, and wood workers- those who shape material with hammers and chisels. The "hammers" represent the nations which overthrow the 4 horns (v. 18). As with the 4 beasts of Dan. 7, each empire is overthrown by the subsequent one, the last being replaced by Messiah's kingdom (cf. Dan. 2:44; 7:9-14,21,22). Babylon was hammered in a night attack by the Medo-Persians (539 B.C.). With the victory of Alexander over Darius in 333 B.C. at Issus, the Greeks hammered the Medo-Persian "horn." In the second century B.C., the Roman hammer fell and one by one the nations fell (Israel in 63 B.C.). The Roman Empire, revived in the last days, according to Daniel, will be hammered by the returning Messiah (cf. Dan. 2:34,35,45)." (The MacArthur NKJV Study Bible, 1997 Word Publishing) I hope that this is of some help to you! Nolan |