Zechariah, Reference and the Structure of Revelation 6-8:1 105 despondent. It was proposed that Zech 1-2 was written with the desire that the people of God would come back to the land of Israel because it is that land that bears the promises of the coming of the eschatological Eden of God. This could suggest that John considers the churches to be in some form of spiritual exile and that he is calling them back into a relationship with Jesus. This idea fits with what is seen in the Revelation letters. Ephesus is warned that its lampstand may be taken away (an exile motif). Jesus’ threat to fight Pergamum with the sword of His mouth (2:16), His threat to kill Jezebel’s children “with death” (cf. Jer 14:12; 21:6; 44:13), His warning that He will come like a thief on Sardis, His telling Laodicea that they are “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” suggests that many of the churches are in spiritual exile and so the idea that Rev 6-8:1 is a call to come out from exile is fitting. The only rider mentioned in Zechariah is the angel of Yahweh. Presumably, the other riders represent the same angel. This would suggest that the rider on the horses in Revelation might be Jesus. The horses in Zechariah went through the land, inspecting it. The transposition of this idea onto Revelation would suggest that the horses are metaphorically riding through the churches. These churches have been revealed in the letters to be spiritually deserted and the horses are inspecting them further. This proposal appears to run against the current trend which understands the horses to represent God’s enemies bringing suffering on the churches. The colours of the horses were difficult to explain in the context of Zechariah. Revelation has changed some of the colours, suggesting that John has his own agenda for them in his discourse, but this issue is beyond the scope of this article. Similar to the Zechariah context, the book of Revelation seems to assume that there are two communities in the churches; those in spiritual exile and those that are not. This can be seen in the letters. The letter to Pergamum suggests that there are a few people who hold to the teaching of Balaam and the Nicolaitans, but not all (2:14-15), in the letter to Thyatira, Jesus says, “Now I say to the rest of you… who do not hold to [Jezebel’s] teaching” (2:24), in the letter to Sardis, we hear that “you have a few people… who have not soiled their clothes” (3:4). These verses demonstrate that there are two sub communities within each church. The cry “How long?” in the fifth seal in Revelation appears to reflect Zechariah’s frustration at the nations having a dominant influence over the people of God. The churches of Asia Minor echo this cry of desperation and God’s response in the Zechariah text automatically refuses to permit the churches to become despondent: “I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity”. Consequently, the reader