Jer 49:36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of h eaven,

and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no natio n whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. Eze 37:9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, an d say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. Dan 7:2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the fo ur winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea Dan 8:8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the gre at horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds o f heaven. Dan 11:4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for o thers beside those. Zec 2:6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD : for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD. Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and the y shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Mar 13:27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elec t from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost par t of heaven. Rev 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners o f the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Zec 6:1-8 (1) And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains o f brass. (2) In the first chariot were red horses; and in the second chariot black horse s; (3) And in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grisled an d bay horses. (4) Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these , my lord? (5) And the angel answered and said unto me, These are the four spirits of the heavens, which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth. (6) The black horses which are therein go forth into the north country; and the white go forth after them; and the grisled go forth toward the south country. (7) And the bay went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro th rough the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. (8) Then cried he upon me, and spake unto me, saying, Behold, these that go tow ard the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country.

these are the four spirits of the heavens; or, "the four winds of the heavens"; the apostles and ministers of the Gospel may be compared to "the winds", because

their ministry is the ministration of the Spirit, which is like wind that blows invisibly, powerfully, and where it listeth; and because in and by it the Spiri t breathes life and comfort into the souls of men; and because of the powerful e fficacy and penetrating nature of the word preached by them, and their swiftness and readiness to do the will of God: angels are called "spirits" or "winds", Ps a_104:3 they are created spirits, and so differ from God; are incorporeal ones, and so differ from men; and are immaterial and immortal, and so die not: they ar e spiritual subsistences, and spirits of the heavens, or heavenly spirits; heave n being the place of their abode and residence; and they may be compared to "win ds", for their invisibility, wonderful penetration into places and things, their very great swiftness, and prodigious power and strength. The Targum paraphrases the words thus, "these are the four kingdoms, which are as the winds of heaven;'' and so the same are signified by the four winds in Dan_7:2 to which they may be compared for their swift and forcible carrying all before them, and for their fi ckleness and changeableness; and to which, the several parts of the world, into which they went, agree: which go forth, from standing before the Lord of all the earth: so the apostles of Christ, and ministers of the Gospel, stood before him in his eternal purposes and decrees from everlasting; and went forth, having their commission from him in time; and were sent by him into the several parts of the world he is the Lord of; and by whom they were filled with gifts, grace, and courage, fitting them f or their work. Angels also stand before him, ministering unto him; always behold him; are in his presence, and enjoy his favour; and go forth from him, being se nt forth by him on various accounts into all the parts of the world; which Jehov ah is the Creator, Upholder, and Governor of: moreover, this is applicable to th e four monarchies; these stood before the Lord in his vast and infinite mind; in the secret decrees of it, before the world was; and the sending and going forth of them from him show that they were powers ordained of God, who has the govern ment of the whole world in his hands.

The number four is specified not merely in reference to the four quarters of the h orizon (implying universal judgments), but in allusion to the four world kingdom s of Daniel.