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But By My Spirit, Pt. 2
Zechariah 4:1-14 says, “1And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, 2And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: 3And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. 4So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? 5Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. 7Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it. 8Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also finish it; and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto you. 10For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth. 11Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? 12And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? 13And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”
Now, after the angel of the LORD makes it clear that what Zechariah is called to do could only be accomplished by His Spirit, the angel then goes into detail concerning what all of this vision represents. The seven pipes and lamps represented in this passage of scripture are the eyes of the LORD. That does not mean that God is some foreign alien with seven eyes on his head because we are created in the image of the LORD, and He has two eyes just was we do. It symbolizes that God is all-seeing and all-knowing, and He is looking for a people whose hearts are perfect toward Him so that He could show Himself strong on their behalf. The purpose of His omniscience and omnipresence is not to bring judgment upon the world, but to show the brightness of His glory and strength to them. God desires to do that for His people, and He is not willing to do that for those who are “perfect”, but those who are “perfect towards Him”, which is a huge difference. Being perfect is an attempt in yourself to be holy and never make a mistake, which are the people who truly believe they have “arrived” in God, but being perfect towards Him is having a complete desire for just more of God in your life! That is the people God will bless and reward!
Next, the angel describes what the two olives trees were. These olive trees, both on the right and left sides of the golden candlestick with a bowl on top, extend two branches through two golden pipes so that they could empty oil out of them into the lamps. In other words these olives trees fed the oil into the lamps to keep the lamps burning, which, again, represents the eyes of the LORD. They were the anointing that kept the lamp shining so brightly. These two olive trees at this point in time represented Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest because it was in Zechariah chapter 3 when Joshua stood before the angel of God and Satan stood right by him, resisting him. That is when the angel said to Satan, “Satan, The LORD rebuke you.” Joshua and Zerubbabel obtained consistent prayer lives because all they wanted to do was please God, and as a result of their continual willingness to bless God, God was going to bless them by showing forth the brightness of His glory and strength. We serve a very strong God, and He will reward His anointed people by working the miraculous.
This is the interpretation of this vision, but I truly believe that it is twofold. It is something that was fulfilled in Zerubbabel’s day, but it will also be fulfilled in the future. John saw a much similar vision and heard the voice of the LORD speak concerning its interpretation. Revelation 1:4, 20 says, “4John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne…The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” Revelation 4:5 says, “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” John was an apostle or pastor of seven churches in Asia Minor, and as God gave him the words to speak to these seven churches, he laid a blueprint of the kind of church that Jesus Christ is coming back for. So, the golden candlestick represented a complete church, and the seven lamps represented the seven spirits of God that see everything going on in the world, and they are looking for a people whose hearts are perfect towards the LORD! But who are the olive trees? The olive trees are the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11, which are the two men who have been caught up to heaven to never see death, which would be Elijah and Enoch. These two men have been standing, literally, in the presence of the LORD for a very long time, and they will come back for the 3 1/2 years to defend the 144,000 Jews in the time of tribulation. What a powerful fulfillment of prophecy!
In everything that goes on, even when it seem impossible or miraculous, just know that it can only be accomplished by the Spirit of the LORD. It requires faith when it is beyond your capabilities and control, but it is in those moments when you fully depend on God for a breakthrough and answer, and as a result of your faith, you are rewarded with a breakthrough! God knows what He is doing, but He is waiting for the moment where you stop trying to do it all in yourself by your own might and power and just turn it over to Him. Then, He will show you the magnitude of the greatness of His strength!