THE CHARIOTS AND THE CORONATION OF JOSHUA The prophet ends the division concerning the visions by these eighth and ninth visions; one, concerning the four chariots reveals the judgment of evil; and the other, concerns the coronation of Joshua, namely the righteousness in Christ Jesus 1- The vision of the four chariots 2- The vision of the coronation of Joshua 1- THE VISION OF THE FOUR CHARIOTS: It so seems that this vision is an extension of the first vision that came in the first chapter; when the prophet saw a rider on a red horse among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were horses red, sorrel, and white. While here, he saw: “four chariots coming from between two mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot were black horses; with the third chariot white horses; and with the fourth chariot dappled horses – strong steeds” (1-3). The first vision concerns the salvation plan of God by the incarnation of the Word coming riding on a red horse, after the rest of the horses prepared the way for Him. Here, the vision refers to God’s plan to chastise evil outside Jerusalem, and His support of the believers against the devil and his wars. He saw four chariots coming out from between two mountains; most probably the Moriah mountain and the Olive mountain; As though the four chariots came out to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, meaning (the Valley of the Judgment of Jehovah), where the Lord gathers all nations together to judge them, because of humiliating His people (Joel 3: 2). Those four divine chariots are: “four spirits from heaven who go out from their station before the Lord of all the earth” (5), to realize the judgment plan of God outside Jerusalem; so that the wicked would not see the glory of Jerusalem, nor enter into it, but are chastised out of it – in this world – or are eternally denied Jerusalem; while the children of God enjoy the inner eternal glory. For this same reason, the Lord of glory, will most probably come in the last day on the clouds; when the wicked will not encounter Him in His glory, but see Him fearful and awesome; whereas the righteous will enter together with Him into the eternal wedding. The two mountains around the valley are “of bronze” (1), from which no one could escape. About the Lord Christ it is said: “His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace” (Revelation 1: 15); whoever hides in Him and unite with Him will tread the earth under his feet, and its thorns and thistles would not touch him (Genesis 3: 18), destroying the curse under him by our Lord Jesus Christ. So will be men of the Old and the new covenants, like two bronze mountains, will tread upon the evil in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and judge it by the Lord. According to St. Dedymus the blind: [the bronze refers to the teachings of the heretics, on whom, having no love, the words of the apostle apply, saying: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13: 1). As iron refers to revolting and solidity, bronze refers to concealing the fault behind appearance like two bronze mountains. It is befitting of us to flee from this valley – of the deceiving heretics with the words empty of true love, lest we would fall under the horrible divine judgment. The diverse colors of the divine chariots refer to the chastisements of God against evil and his help to His people against the devil and his evil works: (1) The first chariot with its red horses represents the spiritual war in which the believer strives against evil, even to death (12: 4); By it He brings evil to perdition to the account of the edification of the inner kingdom. (2) The second chariot with its black horses is a sign of what the war will cause of death to the devil and of perdition to his evil works. (3) The third chariot with its white horses, that follows the preceding chariot refers to the fact that the death of evil is life to the pure virtue. Or, according to St. Dedymus the blind: [The black horses refer to the tools of God’s wrath “when evil is opened on all the inhabitants of the land (Jeremiah 1: 14); followed by the white horses, a sign of joy after the temptation, that the believer would say: “Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case, and executes justice for me; He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness” (Micah 7: 8, 9). Benefitting by God’s chastisements, he would sing praise, saying: “O Lord, I will praise You, though You were angry with me; Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me” (Isaiah 12: 1) (4) The dappled horses, the strong steeds coming from the south, refer to the diverse fruition with which the soul flows inside through practicing repentance after the chastisement; when the bride says: “Come O south wind! Blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out; Let my beloved come to His garden” (Songs 4: 16) Those four chariots with their horses which had the divine command: “Go walk to and fro throughout the earth; so they walked to and fro throughout the earth And He called to me, and spoke to me, saying, ‘See, those who go toward the north country have given rest to My Spirit in the north country” (8, 9). In His love, God sets His chariots forth to work in the earth to realize His divine plan; and when the land of the north (Babylon) falls, the symbol of the devil under punishment, that gives rest to the Spirit of God toward His children. How amazing is God, who, having allowed for the land of the north to become a cruel tool of chastisement on them; His Spirit will have no comfort, and His Heart will have no rest until He sees His people return to comfort in the new Jerusalem, which bears diverse and a limitless abundance of fruition. While chastising, God hears our moaning; as though He, Himself, moans together with us, and will have no comfort until we find it in Him. In our interpretation of the book of Hosea we noticed the words uttered by God Himself who allows for the tribulation, say: “My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred; I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; For I am God and not man; The Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror” (Hosea 11: 8, 9) 2- THE VISION OF THE CORONATION OF JOSHUA: In the third chapter the divine command came to take the filthy garment off Joshua, to clothe him with rich robes and pure turban (3: 4, 5). This was a proclamation of our coronation in Him; For by the cross He tore off our sins and presented Himself to us as the secret of conquest and righteousness. While here, He crowns Joshua with a crown of silver and gold, and together with Him He crowns those returning from captivity. The goal of this vision is to show the coronation of the church whose members were before in captivity, then came to the new Jerusalem. So we can say that the first vision refers to the Lord Christ before ascension, when He was crowned on the cross, and the church was crowned in Him; The second vision was after ascension, when the church came to be crowned in Him, and Christ crowned in her. As according to St. Augustine, [the Lord Christ, before ascension worked in the name of the church hidden in Him and to her account; while after ascension He was hidden in her, to work to His account and in His name]. In this vision, it is noticed: (1) The name of Joshua was not mentioned among those returning from captivity; For He was crowned alone, being a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ, who dwelt among us on our earth, without falling under the captivity of sin, and the devil had no place for him in Him. He conquered first; was crowned as the firstfruit of those who fell asleep, and was risen to His heavenly home, that by and in Him, we would enjoy the crown. (2) The Lord sought from the prophet Zechariah to take gold and silver from the captives – from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have come from Babylon; ….and make an elaborate crown, and set it on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Those gold and silver were previously confiscated by the enemy from the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, and carried together with the captives to be used to the account of Babylon; Now, with the return of the captives, the gold and silver are brought back to be used to the account of the house of the Lord, and to His glory. It is as though man, by being captivated by sin, all his carnal, mental, and physical energies would be directed to the account of evil; then, by returning to the bosom of God, he would put all those energies to be tools of righteousness for the glory of God. (3) The names of men who were appointed to collect the gold and silver from the captives are: a- Heldai (or Kheldai), meaning (eternal); also called ‘Helem’ (14), meaning heath and strength. b- Tobijah; meaning (God is good). c- Jedaiah; meaning (Jehovah knows); the head priest of those who returned from captivity (Nehemiah 12: 6). So the three worked together to bring the silver and gold back to the Lord to become crowns of glory for the church in her one Groom – Joshua. In other words, if our silver and gold are not sanctified, let us look up toward eternity, or the everlasting eternal life, to grant us health to the soul and strength to the spirit, to set forth with all our energies to present as an offering to the Lord. The secret of sanctification of these energies, talents, and possibilities are God’s goodness and compassion to receive us and our gifts as His children, so that we, in turn, would recognize Him and receive Him in us. In short, we are in need to perceive eternity, and to receive the Lord’s compassion and knowledge. (4) They brought the silver and gold into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah (10) before turning them into crowns. As the word ‘Josiah’ means (He who saves), and the word ‘Zephaniah’ means (Jehovah hides or treasures), the sanctification of our energies should be realized in the house of (Him who saves), namely in the church, the temple of our Savior Lord, He who works in us secretly inside the heart, to treasure us as precious jewels fit for the eternal life. God does not care for the outer appearances that make us lose His splendor in us; but He wishes us to have the hidden glorified life, to be counted as precious treasures in His eyes. (5) When the silver and gold are gathered together they become several crowns and not just one, all of which were put on the head of Joshua ……… It is as though every crown enjoyed by the believer is put upon the head of the Groom Himself. About the martyrs, the scholar Origen says that it is Jesus Christ who calls them to martyrdom, fights together with them; grants them the crown, and receives it in them. Transfiguring in His church, the Lord counts every crown as one for Him. According to St. Dedymus the blind: [Notice how it is possible for the Lord Christ the High Priest to put on His head the crowns of all; on account of that all believers represent the body of Christ and its members; being truly said to the congregation of the church: “You are the body of Christ, and members individually” (1 Corinthians 12: 27). Among these members are ‘the feet’ -- those who “are not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Romans 12: 11); others are the eyes; and those who ordain and execute – representing the mind ………It is therefore reasonable for the head of the high priest to carry all those crowns. According to another interpretation by St. Dedymus the blind of these multitude of crowns that are put on the head of our Lord Jesus Christ: [Meditate in how the Lord alone can take so many crowns, having fought all wars to the end, and “was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” “ (Hebrew 4: 15) (6) Those crowns put upon the head of our Groom alone, He presents to us; granting each of us crowns of many virtues; according to St. Dedymus the blind: [It is not strange for several crowns to be put on one head; for every virtue has its own crown; or rather, every virtue is itself a crown; the perfect man, therefore possesses many crowns ………… and as the virtues are bound together, he who possesses them is adorned with many crowns. (7) These crowns are made of silver and gold. Silver refers to the Word of God (Psalm 12: 6), and gold to the spirit or the heavenly life. To be worthy of these crowns, it is befitting of us to be prepared through the Word of God working in us, and the heavenly spiritual mind. (8) The crown on our head in essence is our encounter with the Lord Himself; as it is written by the prophet Isaiah: “In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty” (Isaiah 28: 5); and according to St. Dedymus the blind: [The Lord Himself is the reward of glory, granted to those who glorified God in their bodies (1 Corinthians 6: 20); who have the spirit of submission to the doctrines of the church and the traditions of piety. (9) In this vision, the Lord Christ is called: “the Man”, “the branch”, and “the East” at the same time.. According to the Septuagint version, it is written: “Behold, the Man, whose name is the Branch; He is called ‘The East’” (12); which we have already discussed in the third chapter. On which St. Dedymus the blind comments: [So these titles concern our Savior who came to the world. He is the” “Man being born by St. Mary. He is the true Light, and the Sun of Righteousness “the East”. In conformity to this text, the prophet Jeremiah says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness; a king shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 5, 6). Truly, He is “the Branch” of Righteousness who emerges from David ……….This Branch is the Sun of Righteousness raised from David according to the flesh (Romans 1: 3); and as said by the prophet Isaiah: “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11: 10) ……. “Behold, the Man ………”; Here, proclaiming about the Groom for whom is the bride, he calls Him “the Man”; which is also shown by the apostle when he wrote to the Corinthians, saying: “I have betrothed you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11: 2). To this “Man” St. John the Baptist testifies, saying: “After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me” (John 1: 30); he proclaimed this “Man” by saying: “He who has the bride is the Bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice” (John 3: 29). It is He whom the prophet calls “the Branch” from up high, a Branch of the true light, the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4: 2), who gave light to those who sit in the darkness and the shadow of death Luke b1: 79), to scatter the darkness, and to uproot death, and to make us cross over to life (John 5: 24, and to become light in the Lord, as it is written: “For you were once darkness, but now, you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5: 8). Commenting on calling Him “The East”, the scholar Origen says: [There are two kinds of East: a true East that gives us light; He who says: “I am the Light of the world”; and a deceitful East “the light of the wicked which indeed goes out” (Job 18: 5); and like the false light of the devil who appears like an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 4). (10) About the Lord Christ it is said: “From His place He shall branch out” (12). If, for our sake He became “The Branch”, He branches out to grant us the true life; as said by the Psalmist: “Truth shall spring out of the earth” (Psalm 85: 11). He came to our earth, He, “the Truth” capable to carry us in Him, to raise us from the earth, and to set in us His heavenly house; hence he goes on to say: “He shall build the temple of the Lord”(12), and repeats it twice; on one aspect because the figure 2, as we previously said, refers to ‘love’; for love lifts us up from earth and sets us a heavenly house and a living temple for Him; and on another aspect, He proclaims His work with the Jews, as well as with the Gentiles, to set both together. (11) In the temple He builds here, of the believers, whether of Jewish or of Gentile origin, He sits as a King and as a Priest at the same time; something that was not possible, neither in the temple of Solomon, nor in that rebuilt by Zerobbabel; for then, the kings were of the tribe of Judah, and the priests of the tribe of Levi. In the new temple the Lord dwells to reign on us and to become a priest to our account: “He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule on the throne. So He shall be a priest on His throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (13).. By His kingdom and priesthood, He will destroy the devil and grant peace to His people. According to St. Dedymus the blind: {It is a double throne: of the kingdom and of priesthood ……… as it came in the book of proverbs: “A King who sits on the throne of judgment, scatters all evil with His eyes” (20: 8).; and, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom” (Psalm 45: 6; Hebrew 1: 8).; and, “The Lord sat enthroned” (Psalm 29: 10). As to the throne of priesthood, it came in the epistle to the Hebrews: “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (7: 26); and, “Let us therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrew 4: 16). What he calls “the throne of grace” is the throne of the Holy, Righteous and undefiled Priest. He therefore means that He takes the throne of His father David to reign forever, “and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1: 33); At the same time, “His priesthood continues forever” (Hebrew 7: 24). He will be the only One who has both thrones of the kingdom and the priesthood\. (12) Speaking of the crowns enjoyed by those rulers he says that they “shall be a memorial in the temple of the Lord” (14); and according to the Septuagint version: “they acquire praise in the temple of the Lord”. For the conquest by our Lord Jesus Christ will produce in us the nature of inner praise, and the spirit of joy; to turn our whole life into a praise. According to St. Dedymus the blind: [The teachings of good works present a praise we sing; and bring to our mind enjoyable thoughts, as though music played on a harp and a cymbal. We play on the harp through receiving the teachings of “putting to death our members which are on earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3: 5); “always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus” 2 Corinthians 4: 10), through which man would be like a cymbal made of the skin of dead animals, on which the five wise virgins, who carry lighted lamps play; according to the psalm, saying: “The singers were ahead, the players on instruments followed after. Among them were the maiden playing timbrels” (Psalm 68: 25); the timbrels used by the Hebrew women after the exodus from Egypt and crossing over the Red Sea, led by Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron. Having been impossible in such a desert for thousands of Hebrew women to find enough timbrels; it is most probable that they found symbolic timbrels; namely the practice of piety along a number of years] (13) Building His new temple, the Lord opens the door of work before all; saying: “Even those from afar shall come and build the temple of the Lord” (15), referring to the Gentiles who, after being afar and foreigners, by their new life in the Lord, they became a new building in the new temple.. And as it came in Isaiah: “The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls; their kings shall minister to you; ……… your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day and night; that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, , and their kings in procession” (Isaiah 60: 10).
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