The Seven Lamps and Two Olive Trees

Zachariah 4

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

• God wakes us up to His Church and the Holy Spirit.
• The Church and the Holy Spirit are described as lamps and oil.
• The Church of God is built by His Spirit.
• Jesus Christ builds the Church from start to finish.
• We rejoice to see the plum line of Jesus Christ.
• Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit drips into His Church like oil into a lamp.

God wakes us up to His Church and the Holy Spirit.

“Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.” Zachariah 4:1

The angel who spoke with Zachariah was speaking of the coming of Jesus Christ, through whom sins are forgiven and the Church is built, as quoted, “For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH…. ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” Zachariah 3:8-9 Click here for the post on Zachariah 3.

An angel woke Zachariah, like waking someone from the sleep. In other words, the angel brought light to Zachariah to waken him, or enlighten him, to something he was not aware of. Zachariah would be wakened through a vision, to the Trinity of God, upon which the Church is built. The Trinity includes reconciling to God, through His Son Jesus Christ, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Salvation comes through the Christ, Jesus, not the laws of Judaism, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11

The Church and the Holy Spirit are described as lamps and oil.

“And he said to me, “What do you see?” So I said, “I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left. So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?” Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”” Zachariah 4:2-5

The image below shows the description of Zachariah’s vision from the verses above.

A lampstand of solid gold. The lampstand is seen in the picture above, with the bowl above it. Lampstands are places where lamps are set upon in order to give light. Today, we know the lampstand as the place where the Light of the world, Jesus Christ, is placed. Also, the Church is established to be the lampstand for the Light of the Gospel of Christ. Also, we are the lampstand shining with the Light of Jesus Christ, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life…you are the light of the world.” John 8:12, Matthew 5:14 The “solid gold” means it is included the very best of all that God has for us.

With a bowl on top. Obviously, a bowl offers a place where stuff can be placed into. The bowl set above the lampstands is to provide oil to fuel the light of the lamps. The bowl in Zachariah’s vision is much more than that. Those bowls contain the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Our Lord places those bowls over our spirit and soul so that we can be fed with the Gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Church was established to feed from that bowl, to feed on Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Only by faith in Jesus Christ, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, can our spirit be fueled by His Light.

 On the stand are seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. From the bottom of the bowl is seen seven pipes [looks thin in the image] and each one branches out to one of the seven lamps. The pipes represent the pipes leading to our spirit and soul. Those pipes flow with the Gospel of Christ and Holy Spirit from the bowl, to directly feed our spirit and soul. That is why we are referred to as the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19.

The seven lampstands represents the seven churches, as described in the post listing each of the Seven Churches of Revelations. Click that link and scroll to the bottom of the page for a description of each lampstand. The description of those churches explain how the pipes got crimped, preventing the flow of the Gospel of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Two Churches remained faithful to Jesus and kept the oil flowing into their spirit and soul.

Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left. Obviously, olive trees produce olives, which are used to make oil, which is used to fuel lamps. There are two oil-producing olive trees on each side of the bowl. The oil of those olive trees fill the bowl, to fuel the lamps, to keep the light burning. Prophetically, those two olive trees represent the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Those two produce the oil of the Holy Spirit, to fill the bowl above us, and to fuel the Church and our spirit and soul with the Light o f the world. The Holy Spirit does not come without Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ i snot present without the Holy Spirit. “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

Zachariah could not have known what the meaning of the vision that he saw. That’s because the Lord was speaking of a future event in order that we would believe when it happened. That event would be the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all of humanity, through Jesus Christ. Zachariah saw the vision about 500 years before the coming of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is described in Acts 2:1-4.

The two faithful witnesses mentioned in Revelations 11 are described as the the two olive trees and two lampstands, as quoted, “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.” Revelations 11:3-4 What happened to the other five lampstands? Those are the corrupted, fallen, and unfaithful churches of the seven churches of Revelations. The two faithful lampstands are the two faithful churches of the seven churches of Revelations. They are the faithful churches of Smyrna, who are faithful and persecuted, and of Philadelphia who are the faithful few with little strength.

The Church of God is built by His Spirit.

“So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” Zachariah 4:6

While Zachariah was inquiring about what the lampstands and olive trees meant, the Lord gave a message to Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was given charge of rebuilding the Temple after they were released from the Babylon captivity. The message was, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” The Temple would be built by relying on the Spirit of the Lord, not by might and power. The temple built by Solomon required a tremendous amount of power and might, due to the heavy stones, large cedar trees, and the large distance of bringing heavy materials from far places. The second temple would be much simpler, but built on the Spirit of God.

The Lord is prophetically letting us know that His temple is not built by physical efforts, not by the strong and mighty, not by the powerful of this world. His temple is our body as the temple of the Holy Spirit,  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God…” 1 Corinthians 6:19 That is why the Lord gave Zachariah the vision of the lampstands and olive trees, as described in the previous section. His temple is built on the testimony of Jesus Christ and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Acts 17:24

^“‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain! And he will bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” Zachariah 4:7

Zerubbabel faced a great mountain of obstacles in the effort to rebuild the Temple of the Lord, as described in Ezra 4. Outsiders tried to infiltrate the building process, which Zerubbabel and the other heads refused their offer. Then the people of the land harassed the builders and hired lawyers against them. Their lawyers won a court case to force Zerubbabel to cease from any further building. After that, Zerubbabel’s lawyers appealed the decision and won the appeal and the building of the Temple continued and was completed, as described in Ezra chapters 5 and 6. On top of the above mentioned obstacles, were the physical ruins of the Temple that was destroyed by the Babylonians. It was a heap of rubble that had to be cleared, every stone.

Also, in the days of our Lord Jesus, the “mountain” can be seen as being the laws of Judaism because the Jewish people relied on that instead of relying on the Spirit, “…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6 What is the power and might of the Jewish laws compared to the Christ, Jesus? “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2 The great mountain of obstacles that Jesus overcome are described in Matthew 23.

Today, the beast that that has power over physiology intends to destroy the temple of God, by giving people what to speak, do, think, and feel. That is how the beast sits in the temple of God, our body, as if is God, and is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Click here for a post on that. The global government of the beast and its global culture do all they can to harass anyone who desires to build up the temple of the Lord with the Holy Spirit. They harass us who desire to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.

A capstone is the finishing work of a building, and Jesus Christ is that Capstone. With the last breath Jesus breathed on the Cross, He said “It is finished.” He accomplished the work God sent Him to do, which was to be His sacrificial Lamb to atone for sin. That was the “icing on the cake,” the Capstone on the House of God. There are shouts of praise to the Capstone of “Grace, grace to Him!” The remission of sin and the giving of the Holy Spirit is not done by power and might but by the grace of God, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Our Lord Jesus has turned the great mountains of obstacles into a plain, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 The capstones were the finishing touches on the rebuilt Temple of the Lord. The “capstones” on our spirit, as the temple of the Holy Spirit, cries out, “Grace, grace to it!” Those are shouts of praise to God for the grace He has shown to us by giving His Spirit through His Son Jesus.

Jesus Christ builds the Church from start to finish.

“Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ““The hands of Zerubbabel Have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands will also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.” Zechariah 4:8-9

Zerubbabel built the foundation of the Temple of the Lord and he would be the one to finish it. The Lord gave that prophecy so that when it happened, the Israelites would know that the Lord was with them and He carries through with His word.

Today, the temple of the Lord, our body, is built in the spirit by faith in Jesus Christ and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The word of God gave the prophecy of the coming of the Christ and it was fulfilled about 2026 years ago, “For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH…. And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” Zachariah 3:8-9 The word of the Lord gave the prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and it was fulfilled about 2000 years ago, “And it will come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh…” Acts 2:17 from the prophecy of Joel 2:28-29. Those fulfilled prophecies are so that we may know that the Lord sent Jesus Christ to forgive sin and to give the Holy Spirit.

Jesus has laid the foundation of His Temple by His testimony and He will complete the work that He has begun in us, “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…” Philippians 1:6

The Holy Spirit in us is the guarantee of our eternal inheritance, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance…” Ephesians 1:13-14

We rejoice to see the plum line of Jesus Christ.

“For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:10

What is the day of small things? That refers to the small and humble task of beginning the rebuilding of the Temple of the Lord. Perhaps the Israelites felt “small” because their efforts didn’t come close to comparing to the majesty of the Temple that Solomon built. Below, the picture to the left is Solomon’s Temple, and the picture to the right is the rebuilt Temple. The Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple and the picture on the right replaced it.

Today, the majority of people do not consider the human body to be much of a Temple for the Lord, but He chooses the “small” things of the world to confuse the wise and mighty. “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:27-31

What are the seven that rejoice? That refers to the seven lampstands, which are the places where the Light of Jesus Christ is placed, Zachariah 4:2-5. Those seven lampstands represent the seven Churches that are mentioned in Revelations chapters 2 and 3. The Churches are supposed to be a Light to the world, shining with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To be the light shining with the testimony of Jesus brings rejoicing because that makes us the Children of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit. Click for a post listing each of the Seven Churches of Revelations and scroll to the bottom of the post.

The seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. The seven are the Churches who rejoice to see the plum line in the hand of the Christ, Jesus. The plum line was used to determine whether the walls of a building were straight or not, as seen in the picture below. Through Jesus Christ, the building of The temple is kept from wavering or tilting. The plum line of Jesus Christ keeps the Churches on a straight line within a wavering and tilting world. Also, our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and our Lord Jesus keeps us walking on the narrow road to life and off the broad road of destruction. We rejoice to see the Plum Line. We are the light of the world, walking in alignment with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

The picture below shows a plum line next to a wall. It works by gravity by tying a weighted object to a cord and letting it hang. It hangs in a straight line. It reveals any tilts or irregularities of a wall. The wall in the picture definitely has an irregularity seen by the curve deviating from the straight line of the plum line.

The seven are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth. The Churches are to be the eyes of the Lord, to be the watchtower over a wayward world, to be on the lookout for signs of fulfilled prophecy, and to watch for the return of our Lord Jesus, the Christ. The seven eyes, the Churches, are on all seven continents of the world, with a world view by which to be the watchtower over the global population. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are watching and waiting for the return of Christ Jesus. Jesus is the Plum Line, as quoted, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelations 19:10 If we want to know where the world is within prophecy, we only have to see where Jesus is within the world.

Click here for a list of prophecy fulfilled since the 1940’s, and scroll down to about the fifth paragraph or so.

The walls of today’s world are tilting, wavering, and destined to collapse. The churches are in a fallen state and have tossed aside the Gospel of Jesus Christ to align with community values. There has been a global falling away from the Plum Line. The churches are no longer the eyes and watchtower of the world. Today’s culture, which is global, serves the beast that gives them what to speak, do, think, and feel. That beast gives breath/life to the image of the beast to speak by speaking and living through people everywhere. By what they are given to say and do, they are groomed to the mark, name, number of the beast, “…everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:26-27

The tilted and wavering conditions of the fallen churches has led to the beginning opening of the Seven Seals, and leads to the opening of the Seven Trumpets and Seven Plagues, as described in the post on Revelation 4, with a list of the Seven Churches.

Jesus says this about we who rejoice in the Plum Line of Christ Jesus, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25

Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit drips into the Church like oil into a lamp.

“Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?” And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?” Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:11-14

Olive trees and olive branches are associated with olive oil, which was used to fuel lamps to keep the wick burning and the lamps shining brightly. In his vision, Zachariah wanted to know what the two olive trees and the two olive branches were that drip into the gold pipes. In those days, olive oil was not associated with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all people. Zachariah was curious what the vision meant. The angel of the Lord replied that they are the two anointed ones that stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. Those two anointed ones are Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit drips into the pipe of our spirit and soul through Jesus Christ, who gives the Spirit to those who believe in Him.

God the Creator, and the two anointed ones are the Trinity, the Godhead. That is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Those three have existed since the beginning of time, as quoted, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Genesis 1:26 The “Our” and “Us” in that verse is the Trinity. This is spoken about the Christ, Jesus, “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:2-3

The Spirit of God, through Zachariah, was speaking prophetically about the Trinity. In the days before Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Trinity was not something known about. No one had a Name by which they could come into the presence of God and live by the Holy Spirit through Him. They served God through the laws of Moses. Today, we know that we come to God, through Jesus Christ, and live in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are at the right hand of the lampstands, ready to drip the Spirit into the pipe of our spirit and soul. The lampstands are the place where the Light of Jesus Christ is placed, like a candlestick placed into a candle holder. That is a Light fueled by the Holy Spirit. The Churches were established to be the lampstand to place the Light of Jesus Christ, fueled by the Holy Spirit. Most importantly, every Believer is the lampstand shining with the Light of Jesus by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Light of the world, and because we live for Him, we shine with His Light, fueled by the Holy Spirit within us. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life…You are the light of the world.” John 8:12, Matthew 5:14

Jesus Christ tells a parable about watching to make sure the lamp of our soul always has oil within. In other words, to always make sure that Jesus Christ mixed with the Holy Spirit is within our soul. The oil in the lamp is what gives light to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without our Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit, there is no entry into the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and earth. “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25:13 Click for the parable of keeping oil in the lamp at the return of Jesus Christ.

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning.
Keep me burning till the break of day.
(Church Song)

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1