1)KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE PROPHECIES.

"The Bible is its own expositor. One passage will prove to be a key that will unlock other passages, and in this way light will be shed upon the hidden meaning of the word. By comparing different texts treating on the same subject, viewing their bearing on every side, the true meaning of the Scriptures will be made evident.

"...How little has been done by the church as a body professing to believe the Bible, to gather up the scattered jewels of God's word into one perfect chain of truth! The jewels of truth do not lie upon the surface, as many suppose....

"The jewels of truth lie scattered over the field of revelation; but they have been buried beneath human traditions, beneath the sayings and commandments of men, and the wisdom from heaven has been practically ignored; . . .There are veins of truth yet to be discovered; but spiritual things are spiritually discerned....

"But those who profess to believe in Jesus, should ever press to the light. They should daily pray for the light of the Holy Spirit to shine upon the pages of the sacred book, that they may be enabled to comprehend the things of the Spirit of God. We must have implicit trust in God's word, or we are lost....

"The reason that many professed Christians do not have a clear, well-defined experience, is that they do not think it is their privilege to understand what God has spoken through His word...." Fundamentals of Christian Education pp. 187-189.

"God's Spirit has illuminated every page of Holy Writ, but there are those upon whom it makes little impression, because it is imperfectly understood." Testimonies to Ministers p. 112.


Let us now proceed to examine one of those veins of truth, a prophecy of the Old Testament that was written many years ago for those upon whom the ends of the world are come. Let us turn to the Word of God to find out how and when the Lord takes the reins in His own hands. (See: Testimonies to Ministers p. 300.)



"And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass. In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses. (Note: these colors mean something).

Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country.

And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country." Zech. 6:1-8.

These verses contain one of the most remarkable and important pictorial prophecies recorded in Sacred Writ, and their true interpretation brings a soul-gripping revelation of momentous church history both past and future.

Herein we see four chariots coming out from between two brass mountains. The chariots are pulled by different colored horses.

2)HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND THIS PROPHECY?

The first thing we have to ascertain is whether this prophecy is literal or symbolic.

"The language of the Bible should be explained according to its obvious meaning, unless a symbol or figure is employed. Christ has given the promise: 'If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine.' John 7:17." Great Controversy p, 599.

"...The Old Testament is the gospel in figures and symbols. The New Testament is the substance. One is as essential as the other...." Counsels to Writers and Editors p. 26.

It is quickly discerned at a glance that this must be a Symbolic Prophecy as one does not normally see mountains composed of brass and different colored horses going in designated directions without the aid of a driver.

In order to correctly understand this prophecy, the first symbol to be considered is the mountains of brass.



3)WHAT DO MOUNTAINS REPRESENT?

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Micah 4:1,2.


Here we see that in the last days, God's church is likened unto a mountain.

In Isaiah 56:7 the Scriptures again use the symbolism of a mountain to represent God's church.

"Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." Isa. 56:7.


"And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;" (Daniel 9:20)

Now let us see the Spirit of Prophecy comments on this text, "Many and wonderful are the promises recorded in the Scriptures regarding the church. 'Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.' Isaiah 56:7." Acts of the Apostles p. 9.

Why does the Lord show us a mountain to symbolize His church in this prophecy? Let us turn to the Spirit of Prophecy to find our answer.

"Behind the lofty bulwarks of the mountains--in all ages the refuge of the persecuted and oppressed--the Waldenses found a hiding place. Here the light of truth was kept burning amid the darkness of the Middle Ages. Here, for a thousand years, witnesses for the truth maintained the ancient faith.

"God had provided for His people a sanctuary of awful grandeur, befitting the mighty truths committed to their trust. To those faithful exiles the mountains were an emblem of the immutable righteousness of Jehovah. They pointed their children to the heights towering above them in unchanging majesty, and spoke to them of Him with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning, whose word is as enduring as the everlasting hills.

God had set fast the mountains and girded them with strength; no arm but that of Infinite Power could move them out of their place. In like manner He had established His law, the foundation of His government in heaven and upon earth.

The arm of man might reach his fellow men and destroy their lives; but that arm could as readily uproot the mountains from their foundations, and hurl them into the sea, as it could change one precept of the law of Jehovah, or blot out one of His promises to those who do His will. In their fidelity to His law, God's servants should be as firm as the unchanging hills.

"The mountains that girded their lowly valleys were a constant witness to God's creative power, and a never-failing assurance of His protecting care. Those pilgrims learned to love the silent symbols of Jehovah's presence." Great Controversy pp. 65,66.

Thus we must conclude that the mountains in this prophecy must represent God's church.

The fact that there are two mountains with a valley in between from which the chariots come, distinctly show us that these two mountains must represent God's church in two different periods of time when His church could be symbolized as a strong and durable mountain, We must remember that God never has more than one true church at a time.

Next week, we'll look at --Why brass? What do each of the four chariots represent?

So the angel speaking with Zechariah is Christ, as in previous chapters.
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No, it appears not. The verse 6:4 reads, "Then I answered and said to the angel who talked with me, 'What are these, my lord?"

The word for "angel" in Hebrew is "malak" which means --messenger of God, an angel.

As often said in the previous chapters (1 to 5) the messages given Zechariah are from a angel. For instance in chapter 2, we read again, "And there was the angel who talked to me, going out; and another angel was coming to meet him.."

Although Zechariah often refers to this angel as "my lord" we notice that it is not the capital "LORD" used. Back in Zechariah's day this term was used often as a means of respect.

But more importantly we shall see the lesson that the Lord is attempting to send us with this symbolic vision. Each piece comes together as a puzzle and once completed becomes a clear and unmistakable lesson.

Yes Christ is the angel of the LORD.

He is God's messenger.

See EGW on Zechariah 3. The angel is Christ.

Since these horses first appear in Zechariah 1,
that might be a better launching pad for the lesson.

(BTW - Is this your own study, or are you sharing
another's interpretation ?)

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(If Christ is our focus, we should acknowledge His presence when passages speak of Him)

Surely this won't detract from a study.
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Actually in re-reading and doing a little more in depth study , you may very well be correct. But even if this is so, it makes this lesson even more powerful, because it is coming straight from the Lord Himself to Zechariah. All the more we study it and know it!

This study is the interpretive work of brother Houteff.

As far as "going back to chapter one", there are several lessons through out the chapters, with different meanings of the different lessons. For instance Zechariah 4 shows God's method of interpreting the Scripture correctly. We may get to that next.

If you really want to know the symbolic importance of the prophecy of the 4 colors of the chariots of Zachariah Chapter 6:2 which states; In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horses; 3 And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled and bay horses" then you must look to Revelations Chapter 6.

Revelation 6: 2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Now read the chapter from Uriah Smith's book 'Daniel and Revelation' on Rev Chapter 6 and the seven seals.

It makes me so sad to see so much confusion over the true intent of the word of God, and for men to be here to teach other men these lies. So sad.

Look at the location of where the first four seals were felt and see the correlation between them and the four winds of Zechariah 6. Then you will know the intent of this prophecy.

It is good that you continue teaching this garbage here because people will just stop listening because it is proven a lie.

And just so no one here falls into this trap without fair warning, Godsloveandlaw is advocating this man Houteff as a prophet from God.

And in the writing that he is taking all this information from Houteff that improperly quotes the Spirit of Prophecy and misapplies scripture, Mr Houteff says the first three horse drawn chariots represent the early SDA church in the three angels messages, and the fourth Chariot with the "bay horses" represent the 144,000 when Christ takes the reigns of the church.

But he doesn't realize that in the history of the Christian church the fourth phase of the church in Revelation 6, the pale horse whose rider is death, is synonomous with this "grizzled Bay". The fourth phase of the Christian church is when they were killed for their faith to the point where men gave up the true faith.

“And power was given unto them” - him, says the margin; that is, the power personified by Death on the pale horse; namely, the papacy. By the fourth part of the earth is doubtless meant the territory over which this power had jurisdiction; while the words sword, hunger, death (that is, some infliction which causes death, as exposure, torture, etc.), and beasts of the earth, are figures denoting the means by which it has put to death its martyrs, fifty millions of whom, according to the lowest estimate, call for vengeance from beneath its bloody altar.{DAR 438.3}

Every single pioneer of the Seventh Day Adventist Church agrees with this understanding, but Mr Heuteff says this horse is the 144,000? This horse is the church durring the death decree from the Papacy. He claimed to be a part of the Grizzled team because he thought he was persecuted from the SDA church for the truth.

Can anyone here tell this man which of the four horses in Revelation 6 is the church that represents the apostolic early rain church which is what the remnant is a copy of? Since I would probably wait in vain for an answer; it is the white horse. The Apostolic church durring the first seal was first after Christ with the bow of promise in their hands, who went conquering and to conquer.

So for this Mr Houteff to say that the grizzled Bay is the 144,000 obviously does not apply scripture in the same way that John the Apostle who wrote Revelation, or any of the Pioneers did does he?

Houteff's whole mission was to call the SDA church Babylon, and that is what Godsloveandlaw is here to do in his wake. You support a false prophet Godsloveandlaw.

In continuing our Zechariah 6 study. Let us recap what we learned from the prior study.

1) Zechariah saw two mountains made of brass.
2) A space between the mountains in which he saw four chariots "coming from between them".
3) Each of the four chariots had horses of different colors
4) Mountains in Scripture describe God's people or church.

let us continue --

What significance is there in the fact that these mountains are composed of brass?

If the mountains represent God's church in two different periods of time, then the metal brass, must be characteristic of God's church at that particular time. Let us see if brass has any outstanding properties that could be characteristic of God's true church.

BRASS---"Articles made from brass are free from dirt, gas and other defects so that the product can be polished to a brilliant finish." World Book Encyclopedia, 1962, Vol. 2 p. 467.

Now let us see how the Spirit of Prophecy describes the remnant church when she becomes the church triumphant.

"His church is to be a temple built after the divine similitude, and the angelic architect has brought his golden measuring rod from heaven, that every stone may be hewed and squared by the divine measurement and polished to shine as an emblem of heaven, radiating in all directions the bright, clear beams of the Sun of Righteousness....The dross, the worthless material, will be consumed, and the influence of the truth testifies to the world of its sanctifying, ennobling character...." Testimonies to Ministers pp. 17,18.

Being composed of brass, the two mountains can never, in even the smallest part be carried away by wind or flood. Matter not what betide them, they stand immovable. And as they are symbols of God's holy church, they must therefore represent her at a time when she is able to withstand the storm when she is a clean and fit place for the dwelling of His Holy Presence.

Has God ever had a church fitting this description?

"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:1-4.

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls....Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." Acts 2:41,47.

Thus we see that the early Christian church may fittingly be represented as the first brass mountain-a strong and durable church in which the Holy Spirit dwelt. Now let us see what the Spirit of Prophecy has to say about this church.

"The apostles encountered those in the church who professed godliness while they were secretly cherishing iniquity. Ananias and Sapphira acted the part of deceivers, pretending to make an entire sacrifice for God, when they were covetously withholding a portion for themselves.

The Spirit of truth revealed to the apostles the real character of these pretenders, and the judgments of God rid the church of this foul blot upon its purity. This signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ in the church was a terror to hypocrites and evildoers." Great Controversy p. 44.

"Through the gift of the Holy Spirit the disciples were to receive a marvelous power. Their testimony was to be confirmed by signs and wonders. Miracles would be wrought, not only by the apostles, but by those who received their message. Jesus said, "In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." Mark 16:17, 18." Desire of Ages p. 821.

Thus we see that the first brass mountain fittingly represents the early Apostolic church in her purity. Logic would lead us to conclude that if the first brass mountain represents God's church at a time when the church was strong and durable, able to withstand the storms of persecution and endowed with the Pentecostal power of the Holy Spirit, then in order to be consistent we would have to conclude that the second brass mountain must also represent God's church at a time when she will again be endowed with this same power.

Does our church at the present time meet this condition?

"The church is not now the separate and peculiar people she was when the fires of persecution were kindled against her. How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! I saw that if the church had always retained her peculiar, holy character, the power of the Holy Spirit which was imparted to the disciples would still be with her.

The sick would be healed, devils would be rebuked and cast out, and she would be mighty and a terror to her enemies." Early Writings p. 227.

"From considerations like these, it is evident that the perfect state of the church here predicted is still in the future;..." Early Writings p. 140.


"A Hope of Reform.---The church must and will shine forth "fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." God's servants must, by laboring together with Christ, roll away the curse that has made the church so lukewarm. [Rev. 3:15-19 quoted.] The chastening reveals a hope of reform [vs. 20, 21 quoted] (Letter 130, 1902)." 7 Bible Commentary p. 966, E.G. White.

The facts so far established show God's dwelling place in two separate sections, for He has only one church organization at a time. The truth having been solidly established that the Early Christian Church is symbolized by the first "Brass Mountain," and the Purified Church that closes the gospel work by the other, (which is yet future) then it follows as a logical sequence that the valley lying between the two mountains (the space through which the chariots come forth), therefore denotes the period of church history between the two holy church organizations.

This valley then must symbolize the history of the church from the time when the Apostolic church's purity began to wane until the time when the Lord purifies the seventh church (Laodicea), when she shall go forth conquering and to conquer (Prophets and Kings p. 725), becoming the church triumphant (Testimonies to Ministers p. 47), the church in whom Christ character will be perfectly reproduced (Christ's Object Lessons p. 69), thus ushering in the period of the Second Brass Mountain. (Follow the Chart provided with this study.)

God's Church Represented by Many Symbols.

God's church has been represented all down through the ages by various symbols depending upon the varied conditions and circumstances in which the church is typified.

Isaiah speaks of God's church as a crown of glory, showing the honor and glory that will be conferred upon God's church in the last days.

"Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." Isa. 62:3.

Jeremiah portrays the might and courage of the church by the symbolism of a Battle Ax.

"Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;" Jer. 51:20

John the Revelator portrays the church as a beautiful golden Candlestick, depicting how the church should be the light of the world.

"...and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." Rev. 1:20.

When the Lord wanted to portray how true and pure the church must be, He symbolized it by a comely and delicate woman, a virgin.

"I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." Jer. 6:2.

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2 Cor. 11:2.

Thus we see that God typifies His church by various symbols depending upon the truths that He is endeavoring to portray in that particular instance. If the Lord wanted to portray how close His relationship is to His church He wouldn't use the symbol of a candlestick or a mountain. The symbol of a Bride would be more fitting.

Would the Lord use the symbol of a virgin to portray how strong and durable His church must be? Of course not. The symbol of a brass mountain would be more fitting.


--Next study we'll look at the four chariots and what they represent.