The Daily Audio Bible

Eighth Vision: Four Chariots

6 Finally, I looked up and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. ^2 (A) The first chariot was pulled by red horses, and the second by black horses; ^3 (B) the third chariot was pulled by white horses, and the fourth by spotted gray^[a] horses.

⁴ “Sir,” I asked the angel. “What do these stand for?”

^5 (C) Then he explained, “These are the four winds^[b] of heaven, and now they are going out, after presenting themselves to the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The chariot with black horses goes toward the north, the chariot with white horses goes toward the west,^[c] and the one with spotted horses goes toward the south.”

⁷ The horses came out eager to patrol the earth, and the angel told them, “Start patrolling the earth.”

When they had gone on their way, ⁸ he shouted to me, “Those that have gone to the country in the north will do what the Lord's Spirit^[d] wants them to do there.”^[e]

The Chosen Leader

⁹ The Lord said to me:

^10-11 Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah have returned from Babylonia. Collect enough silver and gold from them to make a crown.^[f] Then go with them to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah and put the crown on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak.^{[g] 12-13 (D)} Tell him that I, the Lord All-Powerful, say, “Someone will reach out from here like a branch and build a temple for me. I will name him ‘Branch,’ and he will rule with royal honors. A priest will stand beside his throne,^[h] and the two of them will be good friends. ¹⁴ This crown will be kept in my temple as a reminder and will be taken care of by Heldai,^[i] Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah.”^[j]

¹⁵ When people from distant lands come and help build the temple of the Lord All-Powerful, you will know that the Lord is the one who sent me. And this will happen, if you truly obey the Lord your God.

A Question about Going without Eating

7 On the fourth day of Chislev, the ninth month of the fourth year that Darius was king of Persia,^[k] the Lord again spoke to me. ^2-3 It happened after the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer with Regem-Melech and his men to ask the priests in the Lord's temple and the prophets to pray for them. So they prayed, “Should we mourn and go without eating during the fifth month,^[l] as we have done for many years?”

^4-5 It was then that the Lord All-Powerful told me to say to everyone in the country, including the priests:

For 70 years you have gone without eating during the fifth and seventh months of the year. But did you really do it for me? ⁶ And when you eat and drink, isn't it for your own enjoyment? ⁷ My message today is the same one I commanded the earlier prophets^[m] to speak to Jerusalem and its villages when they were prosperous, and when all of Judah, including the Southern Desert and the hill country, was filled with people.

^8-9 So once again, I, the Lord All-Powerful, tell you, “See that justice is done and be kind and merciful to one another! ¹⁰ Don't mistreat widows or orphans or foreigners or anyone who is poor, and stop making plans to hurt each other.”

^11-12 But everyone who heard those prophets, stubbornly refused to obey. Instead, they turned their backs on everything my Spirit^[n] had commanded the earlier prophets to preach. So I, the Lord, became angry ¹³ and said, “You people paid no attention when I called out to you, and now I'll pay no attention when you call out to me.”

¹⁴ That's why I came with a whirlwind and scattered them among foreign nations, leaving their lovely country empty of people and in ruins.^[o]

The Last of the Terrible Troubles

15 After this, I looked at the sky and saw something else that was strange and important. Seven angels were bringing the seven last terrible troubles. When these are ended, God will no longer be angry.

² Then I saw something that looked like a glass sea mixed with fire, and people were standing on it. They were the ones who had defeated the beast and the idol and the number that tells the name of the beast. God had given them harps, ^3 (A) and they were singing the song his servant Moses and the Lamb had sung. They were singing,

^5 (C) After this, I noticed something else in heaven. The sacred tent used for a temple was open. ⁶ And the seven angels who were bringing the terrible troubles were coming out of it. They were dressed in robes of pure white linen and wore belts made of pure gold. ⁷ One of the four living creatures gave each of the seven angels a bowl made of gold. These bowls were filled with the anger of God who lives forever and ever. ^8 (D) The temple quickly filled with smoke from the glory and power of God. No one could enter it until the seven angels had finished pouring out the seven last troubles.

(A psalm by David.)

A Prayer in Time of Danger