Zechariah's Seventh Vision: Wickedness Removed Series

In the remainder of this vision, this woman will be transported to Babylon where we will see her in Revelation 17 as “THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” She is the epitome of spiritual wickedness. Merrill Unger says, “The woman represents ecclesiastical Babylon and as personified religious wickedness. . . .” (emphasis Unger’s).xv

So, in this vision Zechariah is seeing the wicked world system of Satan that that had infiltrated Israel and would be eradicated by God himself. The basket pointed to the evil commerce system, and the woman pointed to the wicked religious system. As the Mother of Harlots, this woman represents all ungodly worship systems including false religions and the apostate church.

In Zechariah’s context, the basket with the woman in it symbolized the principle of wickedness that pushed Israelites into sinful behavior. The removal of that wickedness from the land would pave the way for blessing. The remainder of the chapter describes that action.

III. The DESTINATION of the Basket in verses 9-11

In verse 9 Zechariah says, “Thenxvi I looked up—and there before me were two women, with the wind in their wings!” These two angelic beings will be the means God uses to take the basket out of the Holy Land. Some commentators erroneously think the two women are evil spirits because the next verse says, “They had wings like those of a stork.” Their reasoning is: Since a stork is a ceremonially unclean bird, there must be unclean spirits.xvii But our passage does not say they were storks. It only likens their wings to those of a stork. The wings of a stork were known to be strong and able to fly long distances. These two angels have the strength in their wings to carry this basket with its lead lid all the way from Israel to Babylon. The comment that they have “the wind in their wings” may indicate that the Spirit of God gives them strength, since the word for wind can also be translated spirit.xviii

These are an unusual order of angels. They are female whereas many other angels are portrayed as masculine. They have wings whereas some other angels do not have wings. The Seraphim have six wings (Isaiah 6:2). Cherubim have two wings (1 Kings 6:27; Ezek. 10). There is beautiful diversity among the angelic host of God. These angels are strong and are entrusted with a significant assignment. They are to carry the woman with the basket out of the land (Israel) to Babylon.

“Where are they taking the basket?” Zechariah asked the Interpreting Angel in verse 10. The short answer is: ““To the country of Babylonia.” The text uses the ancient word for Babylon, Shinar. It is the same term used for Nimrod’s kingdom at Babel. After God had cleansed the earth of sin through the flood, Nimrod (the grandson of Ham)xix raised up a kingdom in opposition to God. The Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 was place where this evil system originated and spread throughout the earth. The wickedness represented by the basket and the woman inside originated in Babylon.