Zechariah was a prophet alongside Haggai. Both of them prophesied after the return from exile around 520BC. Jeremiah had prophesied that the exile would last seventy years. Then God would establish the New Jerusalem, yet life rebuilding the city of Jerusalem was difficult and it seemed like none of those promises were coming true.

Zechariah challenged the exiles to turn back to God. Unlike their ancestors, it seems that the post-exilic community did repent. But then Zechariah has this series of dream visions. They are arranged in a symmetrical way. The first and eighth visions consist of four horsemen on patrol declaring the world at peace. This prompts the question of the establishment of the messianic kingdom. The exile is over. Is now the time?

The second and seventh dreams reflect on Israel’s past sin and exile. Four horns scatter Israel before being scattered themselves. A woman named “Wicked” is transported to the land of Babylon. The horns represent Assyria and Babylon, who conquered the kingdoms of Israel and took the people into Babylon because of the Israelites’ wickedness.

The third and sixth dreams depict the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is measured so that it can be built. Once it is built, a scroll flies over the city, punishing those who do wrong. The point being that the Scriptures will purify the New Jerusalem.

The fourth and fifth dreams focus on the leaders during the post-exilic period: Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the royal heir of David. Joshua is depicted as Israel wearing a dirty robe, but the dirty robe is replaced with a clean white robe. He becomes a symbol of the futuremessianic king. In rebuilding the city, Zerubbabel and Joshua are told success will only come if they depend on the Spirit of God. Zechariah has an additional vision of Joshua becoming a symbol of the future messianic priest-king. This is on the condition that this generation obeys God. The conclusion of these dreams is a call from Zechariah to the people to become the type of people who are ready to participate in God’s kingdom by becoming people who are faithful to the covenant.

The rest of the book focuses on images of the messianic kingdom. The king comes and there is much rejoicing, but then he is rejected by the leaders of Israel. The people of Israel follow the leaders of Israel in this rejection. Yet this rejection will not last forever. In the concluding chapters, God confronts the evil among the nations with His justice. He pours out a spirit of repentance on His people, who repent of their sin. All the nations come together in the New Jerusalem and a new Garden of Eden is formed there, with the river of life flowing from it.

The New Testament writers quote or allude to the book of Zechariah frequently. The gospels demonstrate how Jesus fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah while John draws from Zechariah’s startling imagery in writing the book of Revelation. Zechariah was focused on a coming messiah; the New Testament authors show that Jesus was the awaited Messiah. Hebrews tell us that He is the priest-king. The kingdom has come, but it has not come in full yet. The book of Revelation carries the same message as Zechariah: look above the chaos of this life and hope for the coming of God’s kingdom. As we are waiting, we must become people who are ready to participate in God’s kingdom. We must live in faith!