Zechariah 1:18-21 Four Horns And Four Craftsmen.

As is common, the four horns symbolize kingdoms which, “have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem” (vv. 18-19 Cf. Lam. 2:17). The four craftsmen are those who will oppose the nations who have risen up against His people. It is significant that they are called craftsmen, because the people will be called upon to rebuild the LORD’s house and city. The pagan nations seek chaos and destruction, but God’s people were to be about building and exercising dominion in the earth (Gen. 1:26; 2:5). “All the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted” (Ps. 75: 4-5, 10). “The identification of the four horns could be the same as those of Daniel’s prophecies (Dan. 2:36-45; 7:17-28), and so correspond either to Babylonia, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, or to Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and Persia (10:10-11). The horns could also have a greater significance and refer to “the four corners of the earth” (Rev. 20:8)” (NGSB p.1468).