Zechariah 6

In the final vision that Zechariah received that night, he saw chariots emerging from between Mount Zion and Mount of Olives, rushing down the Kidron Valley. The symbolism is well established: red horses for war, black for economic and social disturbances (calamity), white for conquest and celebration and dappled for disease and pestilence. They report to the Angel of the Lord where Zechariah is standing. The Angel tells the prophet they have been quite eager to pursue a mission; he then commands them to execute.
The horses of calamity and conquest headed north to the Euphrates crossing, preparing to enter Babylon. We know the old displaced Babylonian nobility rose up in revolt against the Persian emperor a few years after this vision, but the Angel reports the chariots will succeed in their mission. Babylon’s nobles were decimated by Darius’ troops. The horses of pestilence headed toward Egypt, but we aren’t told what happened to the horses of war. Perhaps they were all over the place. The vision ends abruptly.
The chapter continues with a symbolic act. It serves well to remember here Hebrew symbolism is far more complex than mere allegory. There is no precise intellectual meaning to savor, but a call to commitment. It’s a vision of what God wants to do for the people of Judah if they will obey.
A delegation had come down from the exiles in Babylon, bringing offerings for the continuing work on the Temple. The names are impossible to trace and the prophet mixes in nicknames that tend to confuse modern readers. For example, Hen (“Grace”) is short for Josiah (“Gracious One”). From the gifts they brought, Zechariah was to take some silver and gold to make a memorial crown. The language used indicates it was two rings, a double crown. It symbolized joining the two offices of priest and king, so vividly portrayed earlier. In this case, the prophet shows God’s desire to bring His Messiah (“Branch”) to rule over the people, joining the two offices as one.
To symbolize this, the prophet uses the High Priest, who isn’t permitted by Moses’ Law to wear a crown, and places it on his head. Then he pronounces the meaning. It’s worth noting here this image was twisted out of shape a couple of centuries later when the High Priest did usurp the civil authority shortly before Rome conquered the area. Meanwhile, the little ceremony sees Zechariah announcing God wants to build his real divine Temple — His home — among the people in the person of this coming Messiah, who will rule as both king and priest, two offices with one head.
Then the crown was handed to the delegation for delivery to the exiles as a memorial, a message that would encourage them to come home and join in building the Temple. When these additional people join the Restoration, everyone would see it as fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy, but only if the people there continued walking faithfully in the Covenant.