Zechariah 1:18-21; Zechariah 2:1-13

Setting: Zechariah is having visions. His city, Jerusalem, is in ruins. He's in the midst of lots of destruction of the city of Jerusalem. The question of the location of Jerusalem has never been an issue; who owns it has.

Vs18: Jerusalem is destroyed, they were enslaved, and so much misery and hopelessness has been tossed on Jerusalem. Vs 18 is a message of hope. The horns in scripture always mean “power, government, and/or leadership”.
Vs19: the horns are Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The gentile empires scattered these horns, governments. These 4 horns are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greek Empire, and Roman Empire. We are told in the book of Daniel and Revelation.
Vs20: carpenter means an artesian, someone who works with their hands.
Vs21: 4 horns, 4 tradesman, these tradesmen are also horns, and they're going to beat up the other 4 gentile horns – the Babylonian empire is taken over by the Medo-Persians, and they are taken over by the Greek Empire, and they in turn are taken over by the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire today still exists in a different form. It's scattered right now, but it will consolidate again according to the Word of God. The United States is a daughter of the Roman Empire. This message is giving Zechariah hope. God is saying that Zechariah's home nation, Israel, will be restored. All the gentile nations will be destroyed and the nation of Israel will encompass the whole earth.

Ch 2
Vs1-3: here's another vision: listen to mp3...