"I will be her wall of fire round about, declares Jehovah, and I will be the glory within her" (v. 5). Here we see that the wall of the city of Jerusalem and the glory within her are Jehovah Himself, indicating that Jehovah will be the protection of Jerusalem at her circumference and her glory at her center. Both the glory in the center and the fire at the circumference are Christ. This shows the centrality and universality of Christ in God's economy. Today Christ is the glory in the center of the church, and He is also the fire burning around the circumference of the church for her protection. In the New Jerusalem the Triune God in Christ will be the glory at its center (Rev. 21:23; 22:1, 5), and this glory will shine through the transparent wall to be its protection of fire (Rev. 21:18).
Zechariah 2:6-13 tells us the crucial significance of this vision to the people of Zion.
In verse 6b Jehovah declares concerning His people, "I have spread you out like the four winds of the heavens." We may think that God scattered the people of Israel when they were taken into captivity. However, this verse says not that God scattered them but that He spread them. This is like the spreading of the believers in Acts 8. Thousands of believers were in Jerusalem, but God was not satisfied. A persecution was raised up which scattered them. That persecution was not good, but it brought in a glorious spreading (Acts 11:19). Likewise, if the children of Israel had not been captured, God's testimony would have been limited to the small city of Jerusalem with its temple. But when the children of Israel were scattered to Babylon, four young people became witnesses of God and a testimony for Him. In this way, God's testimony was spread to Babylon. If God's testimony had not come to Babylon, how could people realize that He is able to make the fire in the blazing furnace of none effect and able also to shut the mouths of lions? God is great and sovereign, and He has a broad heart. Therefore, He wanted His testimony to be spread to faraway places.