God gives the Prophet Zechariah 8 visions in one night. We read about the first 4 yesterday. They are prophetic visions that mirror John’s visions in the Book of Revelation. Let’s dig in…
Zechariah 4 – A Lampstand and Two Olive Trees
Then the angel who had been talking with me returned and woke me, as though I had been asleep. 2 “What do you see now?” he asked.
I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks. 3 And I see two olive trees, one on each side of the bowl.” 4 Then I asked the angel, “What are these, my lord? What do they mean?”
5 “Don’t you know?” the angel asked.
“No, my lord,” I replied.
6 Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 7 Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him! And when Zerubbabel sets the final stone of the Temple in place, the people will shout: ‘May God bless it! May God bless it!’”
8 Then another message came to me from the Lord: 9 “Zerubbabel is the one who laid the foundation of this Temple, and he will complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me. 10 Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
(The seven lamps represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world.)
11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on each side of the lampstand, 12 and what are the two olive branches that pour out golden oil through two gold tubes?”
13 “Don’t you know?” he asked.
“No, my lord,” I replied.
14 Then he said to me, “They represent the two anointed ones who stand in the court of the Lord of all the earth.”
Zechariah 4 NLT
Zechariah 5 – A Flying Scroll and a Woman in a Basket
I looked up again and saw a scroll flying through the air.
2 “What do you see?” the angel asked.
“I see a flying scroll,” I replied. “It appears to be about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”
3 Then he said to me, “This scroll contains the curse that is going out over the entire land. One side of the scroll says that those who steal will be banished from the land; the other side says that those who swear falsely will be banished from the land. 4 And this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: I am sending this curse into the house of every thief and into the house of everyone who swears falsely using my name. And my curse will remain in that house and completely destroy it—even its timbers and stones.”
5 Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.”
6 “What is it?” I asked.
He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain, and it’s filled with the sins[c] of everyone throughout the land.”
7 Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. 8 The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again.
9 Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky.
10 “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.
11 He replied, “To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal.”
Zechariah 5 NLT
Zechariah 6 – 4 Chariots and a Crowning
Then I looked up again and saw four chariots coming from between two bronze mountains. 2 The first chariot was pulled by red horses, the second by black horses, 3 the third by white horses, and the fourth by powerful dappled-gray horses. 4 “And what are these, my lord?” I asked the angel who was talking with me.
5 The angel replied, “These are the four spirits of heaven who stand before the Lord of all the earth. They are going out to do his work. 6 The chariot with black horses is going north, the chariot with white horses is going west, and the chariot with dappled-gray horses is going south.”
7 The powerful horses were eager to set out to patrol the earth. And the Lord said, “Go and patrol the earth!” So they left at once on their patrol.
8 Then the Lord summoned me and said, “Look, those who went north have vented the anger of my Spirit there in the land of the north.”
The Crowning of Jeshua
9 Then I received another message from the Lord: 10 “Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah will bring gifts of silver and gold from the Jews exiled in Babylon. As soon as they arrive, meet them at the home of Josiah son of Zephaniah. 11 Accept their gifts, and make a crown from the silver and gold. Then put the crown on the head of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. 12 Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. 13 Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’
14 “The crown will be a memorial in the Temple of the Lord to honor those who gave it—Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah son of Zephaniah.”
15 People will come from distant lands to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. And when this happens, you will know that my messages have been from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. All this will happen if you carefully obey what the Lord your God says.
Zechariah 6 NLT
Future Prophetic Visions
Jeremiah’s prophetic visions match up to the visions John records in the Book of Revelation…
- 7 lampstands and 2 olive trees – the 7 churches of Revelation 1-3, and the 2 witnesses.
- The scroll is judgment on thieves and liars and Babylon will fall.
- The color of the horses drawing the 4 chariots match the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The Holy Spirit’s Anointing
Olive oil always represents the Holy Spirit. I love the line, “It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” That means that everything is done by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the Grace of God. Nothing at all is accomplished by our own strength or force. When we try to do it ourselves, we suffer for it. We need to give it all to God — commit each task, project, day, week to Him.
Like the Proverb says…
3 Commit your actions to the Lord,
Proverbs 16:3 NLT
and your plans will succeed.
Jesus is the plumb line by which we measure spiritual success. He uses people anointed by the Holy Spirit. To be used by God for His purposes you must…
- Have access to God — that is, have a relationship with Him
- Be willing to serve God as He calls you. He will give you Spiritual Gifts and enable you with talents and skills for His work and His glory. Like He gave me talent and skill to be a writer, speaker and teacher. It’s all Him. That’s why I end each blog and podcast with “Soli Deo Gloria” — To God Alone be the Glory!
The Woman in the Basket
She represents wickedness and the basket, the “ephah” represents business. Unfortunately, it was the bad side of commerce and trade — greed, deception, covetousness. She is taken back to Babylon and in Revelation, we are told that Babylon and everything that represents Babylon, will be destroyed.
The Jews returning from exile were corrupted by pagan business practices. God was not only concerned with getting the Jews out of Babylon. He wanted to get Babylon out of the Jews.
We have that same problem in today’s church. The world is ingrained deeply in the church. Very soon, Jesus will come back for His born-again believers — the True Church — in the Rapture and will take the church out of the world. Will YOU be Left Behind?
Messianic Vision
Here “the Branch” is mentioned again. That refers to Jesus as the Messiah. Pastor Sandy Adams explains…
This is Messianic. Notice the phrase, “Behold, the Man…”, or in Latin, “Ecce Homo.” Those are the exact words Pilate used to introduce his prisoner, Jesus of Nazareth, to the bloodthirsty mob in Jerusalem, “Behold, the Man…” Pilate used this phrase to introduce the Messiah, the Suffering Servant. It’s ironic here, Zechariah uses the same words to introduce Messiah, the Conquering King.
And notice the man who’s being introduced is called “the Branch.” Again, this is the Old Testament idiom for Messiah. He is the shoot or offspring of David’s royal family. He’s “the Man whose name is the BRANCH” – the emphasis being on His humanity. Messiah is a man.
Notice too, “From His place He shall branch out…” Isaiah 53:2 said of the Messiah, “He shall grow up a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.” He’s a branch that grows out of dry ground. He grows strong and tall in a barren place, in the midst of a wilderness. And this was true of Jesus. He was planted in a wicked, spiritually barren world, but He drew His nourishment from heaven and lived a sinless life.
Jesus is a testimony that a person can bloom where they’re planted. Sink you roots deep into God, and not your surroundings, and you too will flower and sprout!
Notice the final words of this prophecy, “and He shall build the temple of the Lord…” At the time, this was Zerubbabel’s task, and he was successful. He built a second Temple that King Herod would later enlarge. But a third Temple is coming. Scripture teaches that in the last days, at the midpoint of the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist will defile the Temple.
Apparently, it’ll be rebuilt before the time of the end. Currently, there’s much talk and planning in Jerusalem of rebuilding a Jewish Temple. Given the politics, we don’t know how it will happen, but it will. Yet none of these Temples will be built by Messiah. And that’s the promise in verse 12. Messiah will build the Temple. I
believe this happens after Jesus returns, and judges the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. He’ll build a Temple when His kingdom comes. This is what Ezekiel 40-48 is all about. Jesus will construct the Temple that stands for a thousand years. This is the place we’ll worship Him in His kingdom.Remember, Jesus has good experience at building Temples. He’s spent the last 2000 years building a spiritual Temple, called “the Church.” And after putting up with us, building a literal Temple will be a breeze.
Sandy Adams
Jesus, Messiah, King and our High Priest
Back in 2 Kings 15, King Uzziah ruled over Judah. He also wanted to be priest and God struck him with leprosy. Pastor Sandy comments…
Obviously, the Lord was extremely serious about maintaining a separation between kings and priests. But this is what makes Messiah’s ministry so unique. He is a king and a priest. Only the Messiah will have the right to sit on the throne and burn incense before God. The New Testament calls Jesus both King of kings, and our great High Priest. In Him the two offices will converge.
Some scholars believe the crown made by Zechariah was in the Temple until Jesus’ day. It was lost in 70 AD, at the destruction of the Temple. There are also people who consider Joshua’s crown synonymous with the scepter mentioned by Jacob. In Genesis 49:10, Jacob predicted, “The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between His feet, until Shiloh comes.” Shiloh is another name for Messiah. It could be this crown – like a scepter, a sign of his royalty – was in the Temple until Jesus presented Himself to Israel, and was rejected. Perhaps Jesus will wear this crown made by Zechariah when He returns and reigns from Jerusalem.
When Jesus returns, Gentile believers from all over the world will come to Jerusalem and build the Temple. We read in Ezra that in Zerubbabel’s day the Jew’s Gentile neighbors were trying to sabotage the building of the Temple.
Sandy Adams
When Jesus comes they’ll pitch in and help.
Where will YOU be when Jesus comes back?
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
