Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns. And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these?” So he answered me, “These are the horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Zechariah 1:18-19

The horn in the Bible can be symbolic of many things, but mostly it represents power, authority, and victory. Think about it from an animal perspective, from my experience as a deer hunter, the buck with the largest rack of antlers, typically dominates the other bucks and claims its territory from them. So when you see a horn mentioned it’s talking about power and authority

If you remember earlier in this chapter, the prophet Zechariah warned Israel about judgement to come, and these four horns represent the four empires that will scatter Israel. Historically, most believe these 4 empires are Babylon, Medo-Persian, Greece, and Rome. 

The Prophet Daniel also references these 4 world empires

‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four kings which arise out of the earth Daniel 7:17

Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.  Zechariah 1:20

The 4 Craftsmen/hammers/skilled workers is partially a mystery. We now they are Gods response to the wicked empires that persecute Gods people, but specifically who they are is up to interpretation. It could be the other nations God has raised up to defeat these empires, it could be angelic beings God has used, or it could be specific people such as Moses, Joshua, ect. Just know there is a spiritual battle going on and Christ has the final Victory!

And I said, “What are these coming to do?” So he said, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, so that no one could lift up his head; but the craftsmen are coming to terrify them, to cast out the horns of the nations that lifted up their horn against the land of Judah to scatter it.” Zechariah 1:21

The Lord himself , as Zechariah is a prophet, that this vision is about the 4 horns (empires) that will scatter Israel. And the craftsmen “cast out the horns of the nations”. 

And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. Daniel 2:40-41

We are living in the final empire, that has broken in many other little empires. But as reminded in Daniel , Christ has the final victory and His Kingdom is forever, Amen!

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Daniel 2:44