Zechariah, Reference and the Structure of Revelation 6-8:1 103 to the land of Israel. Zechariah’s choice of reference would suggest that he has not forgotten his Jewish past and that the focus of his book is the re-establishment of the land of Israel of his fathers. Consequently, I am inclined to translate #r,a, as ‘land’ rather than earth, while acknowledging that some contexts negate this possibility. The final indication of an Eden motif can be seen in the promise of Zech 1:11, “…I (Yahweh) will dwell in your midst…” In Gen 2:9, the tree of life and knowledge of good and evil, representing God’s presence, were in the middle of the garden. The exact identity of the horsemen is problematic. Baldwin says that they correspond to mounted messengers in the Persian Empire.52 Peterson argues that since there were three colours, therefore there were actually three groups of horsemen. He sees four as a number of completeness and therefore three was a sign of incompleteness indicating that “though things are at rest, they are improperly so”53. It is more likely that the angel of Yahweh and the three groups of horsemen went throughout the earth, but then the latter came and gave an account to the former of what they saw. The reason for the choice of colours for the horses is particularly difficult. Mitchell suggests that the various colours indicated that the horses were divided into various troops54. Although some have sought to isolate the identity and significance of the colours,55 it is difficult to associate them with any antecedent text and Stuhlmueller points out that they do not appear to be significant to the prophecy56 and so they shall not be discussed further. The horsemen find the earth/land to be at rest and Stuhlmueller suggests that this is referring to the end of the Persian civil war once Darius had overcome all opposition.57 However, God’s angels are once more roaming around the land of Israel, preparing the way for the return of Yahweh, providing a report. The implied report is not positive; the land is at rest because the Persians still own it and although some of the people of Israel have returned, yet many have not. 52 J. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary (London 1972) 95. 53 Petersen, Haggai and Zechariah, 143. 54 H. Mitchell, J. Smith, J. Bewer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Jonah (Edinburgh 1951) 119. 55 See W. McHardy, “The Horses in Zechariah”, In memoriam Paul Kahle (Berlin 1968) 174-179; B. Peachey, “A Horse of a Different Colour, the Horses in Zechariah and Revela- tion”, ExpTim 110 (1998-1999) 214-215; Meyers, Haggai, Zechariah, 111-113. 56 C. Stuhlmueller, Rebuilding with Hope: A Commentary on the Books of Haggai and Zechariah (Edinburgh 1988) 62. 57 Stuhlmueller, Rebuilding, 63.