Two olive trees

The visions of the lampstand and the olive trees

Background: After the Babylonian captivity where the Jews had been exiled since 586 BC, they returned to Jerusalem in waves. When Cyrus (600 or 576 BC–530 BC) decreed in 538 BC to rebuild the temple, a first group returned with Zerubbabel and Jeshua, and with the two prophets Haggai and Zechariah:

• Zerubbabel was appointed governor by Darius I (550–486). They started to rebuild the temple, but many found no time for that and instead sought their fulfillment in their newly gained civil liberties without religious duties.
• Since some of them said the time has not yet come for the Lord’s house to be built (Hag 1:2 & 2:3), the prophets called them to return to the Lord and his work.

To reach their hearts, Zechariah was given 8 visions that lay out God’s plan of redemption and judgment of the nations:

1. The first was of a rider and his horses among beautiful myrtle trees, depicting the nations at peace who will be shaken up by God to end the oppression of his people.
2. The 2nd was of the nations as four horns, and of 4 craftsmen that will come to take away their power.
3. The 3rd was of a man with a measuring line depicting God’s plan to build not only the literal Jerusalem, but an open heavenly city walled by God himself.
4. The 4th (ch 3) is about Jeshua the high priest as a metaphor for the priestly role of the body of Christ.
5. The 5th reveals in more detail the nature of this church.
6. Thereafter, visions 6-8 depict God’s victory and judgment over all evil.

Aim: This study will focus on the 4th and 5th vision since they are the basis for interpreting also several other essential prophecies about the church and its future in the gospels and in the book of Revelation.

Read: Zecharaiah 3 & 4

1) Zech 3: Who is Jeshua? cf Ezr 2:2 & 5:1. What did Zechariah highlight about him as noteworthy, and why? Are any of these attributes not shared by every believer? 

• v5, his clothes: cf Lk 15:22; Rev 1:6; Col 3:9-12 (put on the new self… clothe yourselves with compassion…);
• v7, his calling: cf Ro 11:22
• v8: he himself must keep listening to God’s word (cf Rev 3:22)
• v1, his position: Where does he stand?
• Since all these attributes are common to all believers, can this envisioned priest signify anything other than the church?

2) Zech 4: Who do you think is represented by this lampstand?

• Picture this vision of a lampstand before your own eyes: Does it have anything in common with the previous vision?
  • Seven eyes (3:9); seven arms/lights on the lampstand =>
  • What could these 7 lights signify? cf Jn 8:12
  • How is the world supposed to see this light? Mt 5:16

3) What could be the purpose of this vision?

• What did Zechariah himself desire first and foremost to understand about this vision? v4 [What are these?]
  • 4:4 These what? The lights? The channels? Or the trees?
  • 4:5-6 How did God answer? Was Zechariah looking too far? How could he have known that the vision of the lampstand is about the Holy Spirit (signified by the oil)? How does the lampstand illustrate the ministry of the Spirit and how He does or does not operate?
• What is not meant to be achieved by might or by power (according to this vision)? [The light: It shines thanks to the oil inside, not due to the grandeur of the lampstand]
• 4:7 How do you interpret the question “what are you, o mighty mountain“? What do ‘mountains’ represent in the language of OT prophets? [Kingdoms; here the kingdom of Satan, 3:1]
• What answer does Zech. imply to this (rhetorical) question?
  • v10: Which “small things” are despised by some? cf Hag 1:2; 2:3

4) Application

• What is the vision of your church community for what it is and what it is supposed to be?
• Does this match with your own ‘dreams’ or hopes for them and your own life?
• How can you tell whether or not you consider the ongoing work of building God’s temple a “small thing”?