Page 253 - Through New Eyes

The Worlds of Exile and Restoration 253

Just so, Zechariah as prophet sees that in heaven God has passed
judgment, and on that basis Zechariah can tell the people that
Joshua has been cleansed. The system can be set back up. This
meta-liturgical vision is the pivot of the series, which runs from
sunset to sunrise. It comes at midnight and points to Passover.
Thus, it has more the marks of a “new covenant” than of just a
covenant renewal. Joshua is given the festal robes (garments of
glory and beauty) and the turban (the golden plate for his fore-
head), and thus the High Priest is restored.
The next morning, after these Night Visions, Zechariah
would tell all this to the people. They would realize that Heaven
had cleansed Joshua, and thus that Joshua could now cleanse the
Temple site and rebuild the Temple.
Vision 5 (4:1-14). The fifth vision concerns the lampstand and
the ministry of God’s anointed king. This complicated vision
shows us a new lampstand, now with forty-nine instead of a
mere seven lamps. This is a symbol of God’s Spirit and power,
which now will run throughout the whole earth, bringing the
light of the Gospel to the nations. The mountains of the world
will become plains before the sons of David. Just as Pentecost
came after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, so this
great outflow of the Spirit came after restoration of Joshua the
High Priest.
Vision 6 (5:1-4). The sixth vision concerns the cleansing of
Israel. The rebuilding of the Temple and of the Holy Place
(whose Tabernacle dimensions are here alluded to, v. 2), will
result in the return of God’s specific judgment of leprosy for hid-
den sin. Israel will be purged.
Vision 7(5:5-@. The seventh vision is a parody of the Ark of
the Covenant. Instead of cherubim we have unclean storks. In-
stead of a holy box, we have a round ephah containing wicked-
ness. Instead of a trip to the Holy Land and an establishment in
the Temple, we have a trip out of the Holy Land and an estab-
lishment in the land of Nimrod. The point is that God’s presence
will not coexist with evil; and when God returns to the Temple,
evil will be driven out.
U.sion 8 (6:1-9). And so we come to the eighth, or sunrise vi-
sion. The symbolism of the vision draws from the Temple in that
there were ten water chariots in the Temple courtyard. We