Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” Zechariah 2:1-2

This next vision by the prophet Zechariah is a very fascinating text that I believe is prophecy about the New Jerusalem, God’s Kingdom to come! The vision is very similar to what  Ezekiel received about the future temple (Ezekiel 40) This vision has made many ponder for centuries, is this about a physical future temple or is this vision about the spiritual temple, the Church, the body of Christ ( 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 6:16) 

But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Revelation 21:22

So He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze. He was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. / “Son of man,” he said to me, “look with your eyes, hear with your ears, and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Report to the house of Israel everything you see.” / And I saw a wall surrounding the temple area. Now the length of the measuring rod in the man’s hand was six long cubits (each measuring a cubit and a handbreadth), and he measured the wall to be one rod thick and one rod high Ezekiel 40:3-5

Remember who was also described to be in the appearance of bronze, 

14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters Revelation 1:14-15

And there was the angel who talked with me, going out; and another angel was coming out to meet him, who said to him, “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls, because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. Zecharian 2:3-4

Again I think comparing these visions with the visions in Revelation, this is describing the New Jerusalem, filled by the “Great Multitude”(Revelation 7:9) everyone who is Born Again in Christ, washed by the blood of The Lamb

I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. / And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:2-3

For I,’ says the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ” Zechariah 2:5

Now we see, The Lord, Jesus Christ, speaking himself, that Christ will be in the midst of the New Jerusalem and become its wall of fire around it. This again aligns well with Revelation 

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:5

Christ will be seated on His throne with us, in the New Jerusalem, we will rule and reign with Christ in Gods Kingdom to come! What a great promise to remember as we are Gods people through Jesus Christ, the King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords , Amen!

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