Four Horns and Craftsman

Zechariah 1:18-21

Some very old and non-English translations of the Bible may place the second vision in verses 2:1-4, while English translations place it in 1:18-21. Whatever its placement, it does not take away the significance of the message God wanted Jerusalem, Judah, and the others to know. As we will see, this second vision will make up the third sermon Zechariah is asked to deliver.

If you will remember from our last chapter, God is talking, and in verse 15, He says,

“I am exceedingly angry with the
               nations at ease;
For I was a little angry,
And they helped – But with evil intent.”
– Zechariah 1:15.

Zechariah’s first sermon was a call for Jerusalem and Judah to repent and turn back to God. In his second sermon, the Lord declared His enduring love for Judah and Jerusalem and promised to bless them. Yet, as we have just seen, He also proclaimed that He was exceedingly angry with the surrounding nations. This creates a deliberate contrast: God had been only “a little angry” with Judah—angry enough to discipline them—, but His anger toward the nations around Judah was far greater. God had allowed those nations a limited measure of authority as instruments of discipline because of Judah’s persistent disobedience. But, as humanity so often does, they took the small amount of power granted to them and abused it. For this reason, God is now exceedingly angry with them. His message is essentially this: “I gave you a little power to discipline My people because of their poor choices, yet you went far beyond what I intended. You mistreated them before and during the seventy years of captivity, and you continued to mistreat them after the remnant returned to rebuild their homeland.”

This sets the background or stage for the second vision, Zechariah’s third sermon in his series. The first sermon called for Judah and Jerusalem to turn around and enter a right relationship with God by asking for forgiveness. Then God promised to bless Jerusalem and Judah, and as we saw, God’s anger against the nations around Judah. Now we will see what this anger looks like.

“Then I raised my eyes and looked, and there were four horns.
-Zechariah 1:18.

As we have seen in the past, things that are mentioned as a group of four usually represent the directions of the compass, N, E, S, W, which means it includes everything and everyone everywhere. In this case, it represents all the kingdoms of the earth, especially those around Judah and Jerusalem.

But the question remains, what does the term or phrase “Horn” mean? Horns are powerful appendages on various animals, such as a bull, a goat, a buffalo, and other such animals. It is a symbol of power for animals and is also used as such in the scriptures. But in the scriptures, it can also represent a powerful nation or even a mighty king. We saw this in Daniel 7:24.

“The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.
– Daniel 7:24

Horns can also mean power:

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my
               Deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
– Psalm 18:2

Throughout Scripture, God is described in many ways—our rock, our shield, our strength, and even the horn of our salvation. The image of a horn signifies strength, authority, and power. In prophetic literature, horns often symbolize kingdoms or kings.

In Zechariah 1:19, the prophet is shown four horns—four powers that “scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” Notice that the interpreting angel intentionally includes Israel along with Judah and Jerusalem, broadening the scope of the oppression to the whole covenant people.

Historically, several nations oppressed, scattered, or afflicted Israel and Judah. Many interpreters identify these four horns as Edom, Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt—four historical enemies that repeatedly harmed God’s people. Others argue the four horns refer to the four successive empires of Daniel: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Yet, of these, only Babylon truly scattered Judah, and Persia, in fact, restored them (though Persia retained political control). For this reason, the first view aligns more naturally with Zechariah’s context.

Let us briefly consider all the historical powers—Egypt, Edom, Assyria, and Babylon, Greece, and Rome.

Egypt
The Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel for two centuries, reducing them to bondage under harsh labor. God judged Egypt through the plagues and ultimately caused Pharaoh and his army to drown when they recklessly pursued Israel into the Red Sea.

Assyria
Next came Assyria, with its capital at Nineveh, which destroyed the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE. The prophet Nahum foretold Nineveh’s downfall, which began in 626 BCE when the Babylonians under Nabopolassar defeated the Assyrians and began their ascent to imperial dominance. Nineveh fell in 612 BCE, and Assyria was completely extinguished in 609 BCE. Assyria ruled the known world for nearly 1500 years, yet fell from power to complete destruction in 17 short years.

Edom
Edom—the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother—came under God’s judgment for their treachery during Jerusalem’s fall. According to Obadiah, the Edomites helped the Babylonians by capturing fleeing Judeans and handing them over. They also participated in plundering the temple. The people of Judah longed for justice against Edom, but God declared that vengeance belonged to Him alone. He would bring Edom down through the rise of other nations. Historically, Edom ceased to function as a political or economic power sometime between 553 and 550 BCE—shortly before the time Judah and the returned remnant resumed rebuilding the temple.

Babylon
Finally, Babylon—the empire of Nebuchadnezzar—destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BCE and carried Judah into exile. Jeremiah foretold Babylon’s fall, and Daniel 5 records the dramatic events of the night the empire collapsed into the hands of the Medo-Persian army. Some believe Babylon is the fourth and final horn in this interpretation.

But let’s continue to explore the other world empires that followed Babylon.

Medo-Persia
Although Judah later faced threats during the events recorded in the book of Esther, they generally lived peacefully under Persian rule. Persia even supported their return and the rebuilding of the temple under Cyrus the Great, Darius the 1, and others. All this was in stark contrast to the hostility of the earlier nations.

It was under the Persian empire that Zechariah describes the four horsemen riding to and fro throughout the earth. They have reported that all is quiet among the nations. Yet even with the relative ease of the nations around Judah and Jerusalem, the people had not been doing God’s work in restoring the Temple or Jerusalem.

Haggai, a contemporary of Zechariah, has come to tell the people to get back to what is essential. What is important for Judah and Jerusalem is to stop worrying about the nations around them and get back to doing what God has asked them to do. Because if they fail to carry out God’s mission for them, they will continue to be judged by God.

You have seen how Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem have been judged by the nations when they were not faithful, so get to work so we will not be judged by them again. But even though God uses the foreign nations around Judah and Jerusalem as his judges, they have gone beyond what God intended in their work of judgment. Therefore, they will be judged. And as we are about to see, the nations that followed Persia receive Judgement as well.

Greece
Under the Greeks, Alexander the Great was notably respectful toward the people and faith of Judah. Jewish historical tradition (e.g., Josephus) even records that Alexander showed admiration for the Jewish Scriptures and spared Jerusalem when conquering the region. After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided among his generals—the Diadochi—forming four Hellenistic kingdoms.

Judah fell under the control of the Seleucid Empire. Under the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Jewish culture and religion came under severe assault. Antiochus attempted to eradicate Jewish worship by outlawing key religious practices and desecrating the temple, including by sacrificing unclean animals upon the altar. His persecution began around 167 BCE and continued until he died in 164 BCE.

This oppression triggered the Maccabean Revolt, a significant uprising led by the priestly Hasmonean family. The revolt succeeded, leading to the rededication of the temple (remembered in the festival of Hanukkah and also in John 10:22, when Jesus was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Dedication) and eventually establishing about a century of semi-independent Jewish rule. During this period, Judah was essentially an independent state, though later functioning as a protectorate under the expanding power of Rome. The rise of the Hasmoneans also contributed to the growing influence of the Pharisees as a major religious movement.

Rome
Rome ruled over Judah and the broader land of promise from 63 BCE until 536 CE. In 31 CE, the religious leaders—both priests and Pharisees, usually rivals—united in their opposition to Jesus of Nazareth. They appealed to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to execute Him on charges framed as blasphemy and political sedition against Rome, leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Roman rule intensified in the decades that followed. In 70 CE, after a large-scale Jewish revolt, the Roman general (later emperor) Titus laid siege to Jerusalem, resulting in the destruction of both the city and the Second Temple. The devastation was nearly total. Most Bible scholars see the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem in 70 CE as judgment against it for the actions of killing the Messiah.

After another revolt—the Bar Kokhba uprising (132–136 CE)—Rome responded with even harsher measures. Judea was depopulated, many Jews were enslaved, and the Romans rebuilt Jerusalem as a new city named Aelia Capitolina. Jews were banned from entering the city and, in many cases, from the region entirely. This marked the beginning of a long dispersion that would shape Jewish history for centuries.

After reviewing the evidence, it seems best to identify the horns in Zechariah’s vision as Egypt, Assyria, Edom, and Babylon—the four primary historic oppressors of God’s people before the exile. At the same time, the symbolic use of four invites a broader understanding, representing all nations that have lifted their horns against God’s people throughout history. No oppressor is exempt. And as history shows, when a nation exceeds the authority God has granted it, judgment eventually comes—often through the rise of another nation. Babylon fell to Persia. Persia fell to Greece. The Western Roman Empire fell to the tribes of Northern Europe. Again and again, God brings down those who exalt themselves through injustice or oppression.

“Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen.
And I said, ‘What are these coming to do?’”
— Zechariah 1:19, 21a

The prophet—and the reader—are naturally drawn to the question of who these craftsmen are and what their role might be. The end of verse 21 provides the answer:

“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 1:21b

The question then becomes: Who are these craftsmen God sends to overthrow the oppressive nations?

Zechariah establishes a consistent pattern:
God uses world empires to discipline His people, but then judges those very empires when they exceed His purpose.

Throughout biblical and post-biblical history, this pattern is unmistakable.
Egypt, Assyria, Edom, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome all fit precisely into this rhythm of divine sovereignty.

Greece, particularly under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, “added to the calamity” of God’s people (cf. Zech. 1:15). His attempt to eradicate Jewish worship and desecrate the temple set the stage for the Maccabean revolt—an event anticipated in the imagery of Zechariah 9:13, where God stirs up His people against Greece.

Rome, the final ancient empire to rule Judea, not only crucified the Messiah foretold in Zechariah 9–12 but later destroyed Jerusalem itself, fulfilling Zechariah’s warnings about the nations that gather against God’s people. Rome’s crushing of the Bar Kokhba revolt and its expulsion of Jews from the land stand as further examples of a horn that overreached—and eventually fell.

Thus, the empires that rose after Zechariah’s time became living illustrations of his message:
God watches the nations. He holds them accountable. He will ultimately vindicate His people.
The “craftsmen” represent those powers—even Gentile powers—that God raises up to break the horns of oppression and unchecked power.

Here lies a crucial truth often overlooked:
God not only uses Gentile nations to discipline His people—He also uses Gentile nations to discipline other Gentile nations.
His love, patience, mercy, and commitment to justice extend far beyond Israel. God’s purpose has always been that, as foreign nations interact with His people, they might come to know the God of heaven—the God who loves not only Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel, but also the nations.

Therefore, as we ascend Zechariah’s chiastic mountain, the message becomes clear:
Repent and turn toward God. Walk in His ways. Do not fear the chaos around you. God is in control.
Your calling is to faithfully pursue the work He has set before you. And when opposition arises—whether from individuals or nations—trust that God Himself will handle it. The Judge of all the earth always does what is right.

But the passage also reassures us that God remains in control of the nations. At times, it may not appear so. Like the prophet Habakkuk, we may find ourselves crying out, “Why does injustice continue unchecked around us?” Yet Zechariah’s message to his readers—both ancient and modern—is unmistakably clear: God still rules over the affairs of the world, even when His hand is not immediately visible. Ultimately, those who persecute God’s faithful people will face the same divine justice that came upon the nations surrounding Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem.

Therefore, Zechariah’s first two visions serve as profound messages of hope. They remind us that as we wait for Christ’s Second Coming—and for the final setting right of all things—God sees, God remembers, and God will act. The nations that reject Him and harm His people will receive their just reward, and His faithful ones will be vindicated.