6:11 the head of Joshua. This symbolic crowning of Joshua (same name as “Jesus”), appropriately follows the completion of the eight visions, since the kingdom age will follow the cleansing of the world and the restoration of Israel. It is significant that the crowning is applied to Joshua the high priest rather than to Zerubbabel, the governor and descendant of kings. There could be no other king of Judah until “the Branch” comes (Jeremiah 33:15-17, compared with Jeremiah 22:30). The kingly line of Judah and the priestly line of Levi had always been kept distinct, yet here Joshua the priest would symbolically become “a priest upon the throne” (Zechariah 6:13).

6:12 The BRANCH. Confirming the prophecy of Jeremiah (see note on Zechariah 6:11), “the man whose name is The Branch” will come to occupy David’s throne and to build the millennial temple. But He will also be “a priest for ever” (Psalm 110:4), our eternal Priest-King. Joshua would build the restoration temple, along with Zerubbabel, and this becomes a type of Christ as both priest and king. The crowns themselves were to be laid up in the temple as a memorial (Zechariah 6:14).