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Glory in Our Midst: A Biblical-Theological Reading of Zechariah's Night Visions
From the "...[T]he studies that comprise this book were designed to serve quite directly the purposes of those preaching on Zechariah's night visions. More broadly, however, our intention has been to cultivate among all the Lord's people an appreciation of the biblical-theological approach in the exploration of the treasures of God's saving truth in the Scriptures. What is presented here is then a biblical-theological reading of the prophetic visions of Zechariah 1-6. We try to grasp the significance of these visions in the light of their identity as part of the overall eschatological drama of the kingdom of God from creation to consummation, that eschatological reality on which they, in turn, are themselves a window. Though differing somewhat in form from the usual verse-by-verse commentary, this biblical-theological study is still presented as a work of rigorous exegesis, with fresh solutions suggested for the interpretation of some of the key exegetical puzzles with which the enigmatic but not unfathomable symbolism of these visions confronts us. Featured throughout the night visions is a remarkably rich revelation of the Messiah. Reflecting that, each of our chapters is entitled in terms of the office or redemptive act of Christ that is highlighted in the vision in view. Also conspicuous is the role of the Spirit in relation to the messianic mission, particularly in his identity as the theophanic Glory, the Glory-Spirit. This Glory of the heavenly presence of the triune God is indeed the dominant reality in Zechariah's visionary world. And central in the message of the night visions is the gospel promise that this Glory-Presence is vouchsafed to God's people, at last in eschatological fullness. Hence the Glory in Our Midst.
- GenresTheologyOld Testament
Paperback
Published March 1, 2001
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About the author
Meredith G. Kline
22 books34 followersMeredith G. Kline was Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He received his B.D. and Th.M. degrees from Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia) and his Ph.D. degree in Assyriology and Egyptology from Dropsie College. Professor Kline maintained an active writing and teaching ministry, serving on the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. He was also an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The collection of essays in the recently-published Creator, Redeemer, Consummator, a festschrift written in honor of Dr. Kline, attests to the indelible influence his work has exerted on contemporary biblical and theological scholarship.
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March 23, 2021
Kline, Meredith. Glory in Our Midst: A Biblical-Theological Reading of Zechariah’s Night Visions. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2001.
This isn’t a technical commentary or even a popular verse-by-verse one. It is more of a structural reading of Zechariah’s night visions. It also functions as theological meditations, though I am not sure Kline would have seen it that way. In many ways Kline’s scholarship has held up quite well in Middle Eastern studies (more on that below).
Before beginning on the focus of the book, I am going to analyze, or at least mention, the appendix where Kline gives the structure of Zechariah’s night visions. Kline argues that “the book of Zechariah is a diptych with 6:9-15 as its primary hinge...and that the main part of each side panel of this diptych is itself a diptych formation with 3:10 and 11:1-17 respectively” (Kline 241). In chiastic form it would look something like this:
Overall structure:
A (1:10ff) World Mission of the Lord of Hosts
B (Visions 2) Focus on holy land/remove unholy elements
C (Vision 3) Focus on divine presence/theocracy
C’ (Vision 5) Focus on Divine presence/theocracy
B’ (Vision 6) Focus on holy land/remove unholy elements
A’ (6:7ff) World Mission of the Lord of Hosts
Diptych 1
A
B (2:1-14)
C (2:5-17) Divine summons to return
D (3:1-10)
A’
B’
C’
Diptych 2
A
B (10:1-14)
C (10:5-12) Divine summons to return
D (11:1-17)
A’
B’
C’
The real value in the book is Kline’s keen attention to thematic elements that are often lost in discussions on eschatology. First, The Deep. The Deep is the chaotic danger to Yahweh’s creation. It first appears as the unstructured chaos. As revelation progresses, it becomes an active antagonist. It later became a synonym for Sheol (Pss. 18:4ff; 69:1, 2, 14, 15). Indeed, “the deep represented the world power which had subjugated Israel and terminated the Davidic dynasty” (31).
Following his discussion of the myrtle trees (Yahweh’s people?), Kline states, “The actual character of the process of redemptive eschatology is such that heaven breaks into the history of this world beforehand, particularly in the reality of the Spirit, re-creatively fashioning God’s people in the image of his glory (20).
The Mount of Assembly
Armageddon isn’t a specific location. It is the war for Yahweh’s assembly. It is Har Mo’ed, Yahweh’s enthronement mountain. At the end of time, Antichrist, the Gog-warrior, comes from Zaphon, “the heights of the North,” “to attack Zion, the true mountain of divine assembly” (49).
Along these lines, Kline gives a fascinating discussion of ziggurats and altars. A ziggurat represented a mountain. It was “the cosmic mountain, the axis or access between heaven and earth” (61).
Cool point: the Hebrew for the riders who are going to destroy evil is “Harashim.” Kline calls them dragon-slayers (63).
Building the Temple-City
Yahweh’s temple-city is a metapolis. It is the Beyond-City of eternity. It doesn’t need walls because God’s fiery presence fills the eternal city to its unwalled limits (76). Building this temple is a covenantal, royal task (149ff). Kline outlines some covenantal language and structures:
Matt. 28:18-20. Covenantal pronouncement; has elements of presence, authority, and continuation.
Judicial Sanctions
Consistent with the covenantal language is Kline’s connection of baptism and judgment waters, particularly as they destroy the Egyptian army (109).
Imagers
Our image is one of ethical purity, dominion, and eschatological luminosity (114). The latter is our receiving an investiture from Yahweh as he re-creates us in his Glory-Spirit. Moreover as imagers, we bear God’s Name (Rev. 22:4).
The Spirit and the Church
We are the Menorah (Rev. 1:20). We are the ectype of God’s archetypal temple.
Key quote: “The field of history is a courtroom in which God’s people give testimony to his name over against the blasphemies of the idol-worsipers” (138).
Conclusion
This can’t function as one’s primary commentary on Zechariah. It isn’t an exegetical commentary. It is valuable, however, in giving the big picture, structure, and biblical theological overview of Zechariah.
This isn’t a technical commentary or even a popular verse-by-verse one. It is more of a structural reading of Zechariah’s night visions. It also functions as theological meditations, though I am not sure Kline would have seen it that way. In many ways Kline’s scholarship has held up quite well in Middle Eastern studies (more on that below).
Before beginning on the focus of the book, I am going to analyze, or at least mention, the appendix where Kline gives the structure of Zechariah’s night visions. Kline argues that “the book of Zechariah is a diptych with 6:9-15 as its primary hinge...and that the main part of each side panel of this diptych is itself a diptych formation with 3:10 and 11:1-17 respectively” (Kline 241). In chiastic form it would look something like this:
Overall structure:
A (1:10ff) World Mission of the Lord of Hosts
B (Visions 2) Focus on holy land/remove unholy elements
C (Vision 3) Focus on divine presence/theocracy
C’ (Vision 5) Focus on Divine presence/theocracy
B’ (Vision 6) Focus on holy land/remove unholy elements
A’ (6:7ff) World Mission of the Lord of Hosts
Diptych 1
A
B (2:1-14)
C (2:5-17) Divine summons to return
D (3:1-10)
A’
B’
C’
Diptych 2
A
B (10:1-14)
C (10:5-12) Divine summons to return
D (11:1-17)
A’
B’
C’
The real value in the book is Kline’s keen attention to thematic elements that are often lost in discussions on eschatology. First, The Deep. The Deep is the chaotic danger to Yahweh’s creation. It first appears as the unstructured chaos. As revelation progresses, it becomes an active antagonist. It later became a synonym for Sheol (Pss. 18:4ff; 69:1, 2, 14, 15). Indeed, “the deep represented the world power which had subjugated Israel and terminated the Davidic dynasty” (31).
Following his discussion of the myrtle trees (Yahweh’s people?), Kline states, “The actual character of the process of redemptive eschatology is such that heaven breaks into the history of this world beforehand, particularly in the reality of the Spirit, re-creatively fashioning God’s people in the image of his glory (20).
The Mount of Assembly
Armageddon isn’t a specific location. It is the war for Yahweh’s assembly. It is Har Mo’ed, Yahweh’s enthronement mountain. At the end of time, Antichrist, the Gog-warrior, comes from Zaphon, “the heights of the North,” “to attack Zion, the true mountain of divine assembly” (49).
Along these lines, Kline gives a fascinating discussion of ziggurats and altars. A ziggurat represented a mountain. It was “the cosmic mountain, the axis or access between heaven and earth” (61).
Cool point: the Hebrew for the riders who are going to destroy evil is “Harashim.” Kline calls them dragon-slayers (63).
Building the Temple-City
Yahweh’s temple-city is a metapolis. It is the Beyond-City of eternity. It doesn’t need walls because God’s fiery presence fills the eternal city to its unwalled limits (76). Building this temple is a covenantal, royal task (149ff). Kline outlines some covenantal language and structures:
Matt. 28:18-20. Covenantal pronouncement; has elements of presence, authority, and continuation.
Judicial Sanctions
Consistent with the covenantal language is Kline’s connection of baptism and judgment waters, particularly as they destroy the Egyptian army (109).
Imagers
Our image is one of ethical purity, dominion, and eschatological luminosity (114). The latter is our receiving an investiture from Yahweh as he re-creates us in his Glory-Spirit. Moreover as imagers, we bear God’s Name (Rev. 22:4).
The Spirit and the Church
We are the Menorah (Rev. 1:20). We are the ectype of God’s archetypal temple.
Key quote: “The field of history is a courtroom in which God’s people give testimony to his name over against the blasphemies of the idol-worsipers” (138).
Conclusion
This can’t function as one’s primary commentary on Zechariah. It isn’t an exegetical commentary. It is valuable, however, in giving the big picture, structure, and biblical theological overview of Zechariah.
December 26, 2017
This is a tour de force from Kline and an excellent of example of biblical theology applied to the book of Zechariah. Rather than provide a typical verse-by-verse commentary of the entire book, Kline offers a biblical-theological reading of Zechariah's night visions in chapters 1-6, examining their place and significance in redemptive history as a whole and how they ultimately point to/are fulfilled in Christ.
In each chapter the reader reaps the benefits of Kline's exegesis and rich knowledge of Scripture as he unpacks the various themes, images, and symbols, making this a dense but remarkably captivating read. As expected in such a biblical-theological study of Zechariah, Kline exceeds in connecting these symbolic and apocalyptic visions to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate focus of all revelation. His solutions to the many problematic passages are at least thoroughly biblical, if not entirely convincing. The book concludes with a helpful appendix that summarizes his "three hinge framework" proposal for the structure of Zechariah.
The slow, patient, and careful reader will be rewarded with clarity and insight into a commonly misinterpreted minor prophet, along with a greater appreciation for what God has done through Christ.
In each chapter the reader reaps the benefits of Kline's exegesis and rich knowledge of Scripture as he unpacks the various themes, images, and symbols, making this a dense but remarkably captivating read. As expected in such a biblical-theological study of Zechariah, Kline exceeds in connecting these symbolic and apocalyptic visions to the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate focus of all revelation. His solutions to the many problematic passages are at least thoroughly biblical, if not entirely convincing. The book concludes with a helpful appendix that summarizes his "three hinge framework" proposal for the structure of Zechariah.
The slow, patient, and careful reader will be rewarded with clarity and insight into a commonly misinterpreted minor prophet, along with a greater appreciation for what God has done through Christ.
February 2, 2022
The best thing available on Zechariah up to chapter 7.
If you don't agree with his take on the aspect of works in the mosaic covenant, let that not stop you from reading him, you can work your way around it easily enough.
If you don't agree with his take on the aspect of works in the mosaic covenant, let that not stop you from reading him, you can work your way around it easily enough.
May 16, 2020
As has often been said of Vos at Princeton so it could be said of Kline at Westminster: the school has not produced a more incisive exegete of Scripture. Kline's commentary here is not a normal commentary and often teems at the crevasse of devotional. This commentary has a very particular purpose that surpasses most commentaries in that it comes to the text with theological intention rather than mere exegesis. This allows Kline to make biblical-theological and redemptive-historical applications where most commentaries fear to go. I paired this work with other more exegetical (Hill, Phillips) and grammatical-historical commentaries (Boda's NICOT) so as to balance out Kline's Christological applications. This is necessary as Kline often makes leaps (to Christ) that are not quite warranted by the text. Again, I believe Kline does this for the sake of the purpose of the book: Biblical-Theological reading of the text of Zechariah's night visions. And even when Kline makes these sandy leaps he lays a bedrock of evidence that leaves even the most trained exegete admitting the possibility of the case (see Boda and Hill). But these leaps, although occasionally unwarranted, make for very enjoyable reading.
June 29, 2025
This was a strange work. It is very scholarly and almost feels like a scholarly commentary, but doesn't really present the texts of Zechariah that it is working through. I think if the book contained the text it would be far more helpful, but if you really want to get the most out of this work you should have Zechariah open while reading.
Even then I didn't find this work particularly useful. Kline has some decent insights, but these always feel drawn out far too long. As I said I don't always feel that his thoughts are bad, but they always feel like they could have been half the length and made to be read a bit smoother and that would have fixed a good chunk of the book. I also felt that we spent more time overall outside of the Zechariah than we did within the book itself. I get that images and themes are found elsewhere in the Bible, but I don't feel like that should take up more space than the discussion about the book you're supposed to be focused on.
There were times where Kline felt like he was being more led by his own theology than the text. Some connections he made felt a bit tenuous and the number of times he talked about our relationship with God being one of faith and not works often felt a bit out of place and like he was being led by something other than the text he was talking about.
Personally, this just wound up being a book that was far more dense than it needed to be. It just didn't really ever feel like it flowed from part to part. It felt more like we were reading a fleshed out outline with lots of ideas and repetition, but lacking a last edit to cut down repetition and smooth out the flow.
Even then I didn't find this work particularly useful. Kline has some decent insights, but these always feel drawn out far too long. As I said I don't always feel that his thoughts are bad, but they always feel like they could have been half the length and made to be read a bit smoother and that would have fixed a good chunk of the book. I also felt that we spent more time overall outside of the Zechariah than we did within the book itself. I get that images and themes are found elsewhere in the Bible, but I don't feel like that should take up more space than the discussion about the book you're supposed to be focused on.
There were times where Kline felt like he was being more led by his own theology than the text. Some connections he made felt a bit tenuous and the number of times he talked about our relationship with God being one of faith and not works often felt a bit out of place and like he was being led by something other than the text he was talking about.
Personally, this just wound up being a book that was far more dense than it needed to be. It just didn't really ever feel like it flowed from part to part. It felt more like we were reading a fleshed out outline with lots of ideas and repetition, but lacking a last edit to cut down repetition and smooth out the flow.
June 26, 2019
Exploring the somewhat confused visions of Zechariah, son of Berekiah, for a Bible study, I sense that Meredith is seeking to understand everything in terms of the biblical framework. Parallels of imagery were well-averred with similar accounts in the Bible. What concerned me however was the way in which he would conclude certain things were the case where his reasoning was far from explicit. Perhaps, I'm unclear on the depth of his writing but I felt he jumped around a lot in marshalling material to match his own expectations; confirmation bias as it were.
I wanted a little more out-sourcing of information and clarity for the reasons why he indicated what he did. I guess there isn't too much information on Zechariah's life and we have to make do with what we've got. I think Meredith does make use of this but he goes too far to impose his structure and not to read the text as it ought to be read. (The author knows far more than I do but this is what I think).
I wanted a little more out-sourcing of information and clarity for the reasons why he indicated what he did. I guess there isn't too much information on Zechariah's life and we have to make do with what we've got. I think Meredith does make use of this but he goes too far to impose his structure and not to read the text as it ought to be read. (The author knows far more than I do but this is what I think).
April 14, 2023
I found the book to be tough reading. It is obvious that this man has a wonderful grasp of the analogy of faith and is very capable of finding many intricacies and parallels throughout the Bible. However, I found the book hard to follow and dove in before realizing that this is not a complete commentary on Zechariah, but an expository work on his night visions. I'll look elsewhere for more insight on this prophetic book.
July 8, 2023
If Kingdom Prologue is Kline’s treatment of creation and the beginning of the world, Glory in our Midst is his exposition of the consummation. With careful attention to the biblical storyline, Kline traces out what has been unveiled in Scripture about the majesty, beauty, and the glory of Christ who is coming again to reign forever.
March 11, 2015
This is my first look at Meredith Kline, and the comments about his dense writing style weren't wrong. Fabulous insights, wonderful detail, and remarkably useful in connecting my previously disparate thoughts on the material. But, damn, this guy needs a lesson in how to write clearly. It's almost like he goes out of his way to obfuscate his argument. Perhaps it's a reflection of a brilliant mind. Invaluable content; pity about the communication.
November 19, 2013
Kline is creative to a fault. There were several excellent points and insights. However, there was more head scratching and confusion than enlightenment.
August 13, 2009
indispensable resource as i help teach a study on the minor prophets
May 24, 2019
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Kline is so hard to read, which is unfortunate because I believe he had a lot to say. My OT professor I study under, Studied under a guy that studied under Kline. (If that makes sense). They often rave about how smart he was and the strong handle he had on the scriptures. It was said that he wrote all of his books at the end of his life after 50 years of studying and wrestling with God’s word. If nothing else, Kline illuminates how deep the Bible is. How interconnected it is. And most importantly how Jesus is all the way throughout. If you read this book make sure 1) you have your Bible open 2) you read it slowly and carefully. 20 years from now I may finally begin reconciling all of the connections he’s made.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews