Page:Visions and Prophecies of Zechariah (Baron, David).djvu/198

 the invisible host whose mission was toward the north country caused God's anger to rest on it i.e., " have carried it thither, and deposited it there (made it to rest upon that people or kingdom) as its abode "; as John says of the unbelieving, " The wrath of God abideth on him" The reason why " the north country " is specially singled out for the region on which God's anger was already resting, is to be found, perhaps, first of all in the fact that there the first great world-power namely, the Babylonian was already overthrown by God's judgments. Secondly, because it was probably intended as a message of comfort more directly to the restored remnant, to whom the prophet was primarily commissioned to relate the visions to indicate, namely, that the second great northern worldpower, the successor of Babylon, under whose yoke they were then groaning, was already the object of God's anger, and would soon be trodden down under the feet of the horses of God's war chariot which was being sent forth in that direction.

And, thirdly, as Bredenkamp suggests, God's wrath is specially spoken of in this last vision as being caused to rest on " the north country," because not only was it there that the attempt was first made to array a world -empire against God, and where apostasy sought, so to say, to organise and fortify itself; not only did Babylon also, at a later time, become the final antagonist and subduer of God's people and the destroyer of His Temple, but probably because there, " in the land of Shinar," the metropolis of world-power, Babylon, the great rival of the city of God wickedness, as we have seen in the con sideration of the last vision, will once again establish itself, and all the forces of evil again for a time be concentrated.

Then God's judgments shall be fully poured out, and anti-Christian world-power be finally overthrown to make room for the Kingdom of Christ, whom the Father has invested with all power and dominion and glory, " that all nations and languages should serve Him." His dominion