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Revelation Six - When The Four Horsemen Ride

Zechariah Part 5

John Little

Sep 7

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Zechariah 4 shows us yet another direct connection with the Book of Revelation. This time, it is the two Olive Trees and the Two Witnesses that we see in Revelation 11. But, there is one difference. In Zechariah 4 there is one candlestick and in Revelation there are two. And, the candlestick in Zechariah is described differently than the one in Revelation.

Is this difference significant?

We also see the Seven Eyes which are the Seven Spirits of God that go through all the earth. They are also talked about in Revelation 5 AND Zechariah 3.

Are you starting to see how important Zechariah is?

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Zechariah Part 5

In chapter 3 of Zechariah, God speaks to the Joshua the High Priest, who had filthy garments. But, in chapter 4 God speaks to Zerubbabel who is the governor of Judah.

Where else have we heard of this Zerubbabel ben Shealtiel?

Well, they came to Jerusalem with Ezra to build the Temple at the command of Cyrus, King of Persia - which was 550 BC. But, they didn't complete it by the time Artexerxes I came along more than 60 years later and told them to stop. It sounds like - even though they had resistance from the locals - they still dawdled in their work. So, when the High Priest in Zechariah 3 was described as having 'filthy garments' it was probably well deserved. He and Zerubbabel didn't do their jobs as well as they should have.

But, then about 60 years later, in the second year of Darius II in 425 BC, Haggai stood up with young Zechariah and told them to get back to work on the Temple. And, they did.

Now, as we start looking at Zechariah 4, we are only halfway through the prophecy that began in chapter 1, and will finish at the end of chapter 6. As I have said before, the chapter breaks are only about 800 years old, and were not made by men who were true followers of God.

Chapter 4 begins with Zechariah having fainted:

1 And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
2 And 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:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
- Zechariah 4:1-3 (KJV)

Zechariah asks what these are, and the angel asks him if he knows. Zechariah says that he doesn't know. The angel then responds with something that doesn't sound like an answer at all:

6 Then 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.
7 Who 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.
8 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
9 The 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.
- Zechariah 4:6-9 (KJV)

Through this angel, the Lord is saying that Zerubbabel has nothing to worry about and that the Holy Spirit will make this happen. Even though it seems like a mountain stands in front of Zerubbabel, making him feel unable to finish the task, God will remove the obstacles in his way - again, through the Holy Spirit. And in Ezra 5, we see Haggai and Zechariah prophesy that the Jews should restart the building of the Temple:

1 Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.
2 Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.
- Ezra 5:1-2 (KJV)

And, to prove that God would use the Holy Spirit to make this happen, the enemies of the Jews sent to Darius, asking them to make them stop. But, they also reported what the Jews had told them, that Cyrus the Great had given them permission. So, a search was made, and through the Holy Spirit, the scroll written by Cyrus was found. And, Darius not only gave the Jews permission to finish the Temple, but he made sure that everything that they needed was provided for them.

How long did it take the Jews to finish the Temple?
Four years.
(We see all of that in Ezra 6.)

So when God says, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit", that will accomplish more than any effort or determination that we or our enemies have. If the Holy Spirit is with us, nothing can stop us. If the Holy Spirit is not with us, we can do nothing.

Then a strange verse appears, and there are some terrible translations of it - especially the ESV.

For 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.
- Zechariah 4:10 (KJV)

The KJV and other translations like it come closer than the others. It is NOT a plumb line. That is NOT what the Hebrew says. The Hebrew is actually two words: האבן הבדיל (haEh-ven haB'deel). It basically means 'the stone of tin'. And this is where translators should NOT be fooling around with the language. If it says 'stone of tin', say 'stone of tin'. Yes, I know that we would normally use such 'stones of tin' as a weight for a plummet or a plumb line. But, the Bible didn't say that, and the translators should not have fiddled with it.

And, that grand and glorious ESV that was supposed to be like the best bible ever? They actually say 'plumb line', when no such word as 'line' is actually in the verse. This kind of thing makes me wonder how many Bible translators were even true Christians.

And, what does this stone of tin have?

Seven Eyes.

Where did we see these seven eyes before in Zechariah?

Here:

9 For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.
- Zechariah 3:9 (KJV)

This appears to be the same stone in the hand of Zerubbabel. And, God said that He would put seven eyes on that stone, and that these eyes would be the seven eyes that run to and fro on the earth.

How does Revelation describe these eyes?

6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
- Revelation 5:6 (KJV)

So, these seven eyes are the seven spirits of God that see everything on the earth, and they are also on the stone of tin in the hand of Zerubbabel.

Then Zechariah asks the angel a question:

11 Then 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?
12 And 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?
- Zechariah 4:11-12 (KJV)

Revelation says this about these two olive trees:

3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
- Revelation 11:3-5 (KJV)

After about three and a half years, these two witnesses are killed by the beast that rises out of the bottomless pit.

What does that angel in Zechariah 4 say about these two olive trees?

13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
- Zechariah 4:13-14 (KJV)

Of course, everyone and their grandmother have theories about who these two anointed ones who will prophesy against the Antichrist. Some claim certain prophets. Others claim that they are Judaism and Christianity, which is insane. Some even claim that THEY are one of the two witnesses.

But, God doesn't say who they are. And, if God doesn't say, maybe we shouldn't. In fact, the safest and most effective way to understand the Bible is to look at it as more than a book of knowledge about God. It's more than that. It sets the boundaries of our knowledge about God.

Those things that are not said, are forbidden until the Lord Returns. Even Paul, in 2 Corinthians 12:4, says that there is knowledge that is not lawful for men to say. So stop seeking for unlawful knowledge. (All that you will get is a lie from Satan.)