The visions in Zechariah 5 and 6 are all concerning God's judgment. In chapter five the vision of the flying scroll (vv. 1-4) reveals that God's righteous law and its justice cannot allow any unrighteousness on earth. We must be right with both God and man; otherwise, we will suffer God's judgment. The vision of the ephah vessel (vv. 5-11) shows us that the most evil thing on earth is commerce. Apparently commerce is something good, but actually it is evil, full of wickedness. In this message we will go on to consider the two matters revealed in chapter six: the vision of the four chariots (vv. 1-8) and the concluding word to confirm the eight visions in this book (vv. 9-15).
In 6:1-8 we have the last of the eight visions in the book of Zechariah—the vision of the four chariots.
"Then I lifted up my eyes again and I saw, and behold, there were four chariots coming forth from between the two mountains" (6:1a). These four chariots signify the four winds (vv. 4-8) from the four corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1-3) for God's judgment of sins upon the earth. These four winds are used by God to carry out His administration in the entire universe. In particular, they are used by God to carry out His judgment, not mainly on people but on nations, governments, and kingdoms.
In the vision in Zechariah 1:18-21, Zechariah saw four horns which were raised up to damage and destroy God's people Israel. Then God prepared four "craftsmen" to destroy these four horns. The first of these craftsmen was the Persian Empire, sovereignly used by God to destroy Babylon, the first horn. Persia was a great empire; its territory stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. Surely it was not easy for anyone to conquer that vast empire. But Alexander the Great, a young man, came and swiftly defeated all of the Persian Empire. This was all under God's sovereign blowing of the wind to produce the second craftsman in order to destroy the second horn. Then Julius Caesar came with the Roman army and in a short time conquered the Grecian Empire, founded by Alexander. The Roman Empire, the last horn, has now lasted for over two thousand years.