Zechariah 2:1-131I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. 2Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof. 3And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, 4And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein: 5For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her. 6Ho, 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. 7Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon. 8For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. 9For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me. 10Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. 11And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 12And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. 13Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation. (Zechariah 2:1‑13)
The third vision is that of a man with a measuring line, going up to measure Jerusalem, a symbol that that city would come under God's attention for blessing.
There are two other instances of the measuring reed or line indicating that the time has come for God's gracious intervention in blessing, namely, Ezekiel 40-48:35, and Revelation 11:1, 21And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. (Revelation 11:1‑2).
Then follows a glowing description of how Jerusalem shall be inhabited as a city without walls, and of the protection that the Lord will be to His people, even as a wall of fire round about.
A good deal of speculation has been indulged in as to what the words, “After the glory,” can mean. Matthew 24:3030And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30) appears to solve the difficulty in showing us the Lord coming in glory, and then dealing with the nations in reference to Israel, as seen in the words, “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations” (Matt. 25:31-3231When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: (Matthew 25:31‑32)). How magnificently the chapter ends: “Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for He is raised up out of His holy habitation” (vs. 13).