Read Zechariah 4
"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 the left..."
Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two olive trees, one
at the right of the lampstand and the other 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 golden oil drains?" ... So
he said, "These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of
the whole earth. " Zech 4: 2, 3, 11, 12, 14
Question!! Who are the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of
the whole earth?
To help answer this question, let's turn to Revelation 11:3,4
"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.
Notice the similarity to the two olive trees mentioned in Zechariah;
"who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth" and "standing before
the God of the earth"
Reading further into Revelation, we have a hint as to who they might be.
Revelation 11:5,6 "And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds
from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to
harm them, they must be killed in this manner. These have power to
shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and
they have powers over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the
earth with all plagues, as often as they desire."
In Exodus 7, 8, and 9, Moses turns water into blood and plagues are
sent upon the earth.
In 1 Kings 17, Elijah proclaims a drought upon the earth, and in the
beginning of chapter 18, he proclaims the sending of rain. In his
competition with the prophets of Baal (chapter 18), Elijah demonstrated
the power of God when fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt
sacrifice.
Some theologians believe that the two witnesses could literally be Moses
and Elijah.
Looking at the two olive trees from another point of view:
In 1 John 5:5, three witnesses are mention: the Father, the Word and
the Holy Spirit.
"For there are three who bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
Perhaps the two olive trees are the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit.
Christ means anointed. Jesus means savior. Jesus Christ is the
anointed savior.
In Zechariah, the olive trees were referred to as the anointed ones.
But what of the character of these two witnesses and their relationship
to the church and to each of us in our walk with Christ?
Going back to the lampstand in Zechariah, the oil in the bowl is
feeding seven lamps. Seven is the number of divine completion.
What do the seven lamps represent?
For this, turn to the book of Revelation, chapter 4:5; "And there
were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven
spirits of God."
What are the seven spirits of God?
For the answer, go to Isaiah 11:2,4; "And the Spirit of the Lord will
rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
Lord...But with righteousness He will judge the poor..."
The seven spirits being: wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength,
knowledge, fear of the Lord and righteousness.
The oil feeding these lamps come from a bowl. What is the bowl?
Proverbs 8 describes wisdom. Read Proverbs chapter 8. In this
description, one will find the seven spirits listed above.
Proverbs 9:1 says, "Wisdom has built her house. She has hewn out
her seven pillars." The bowl is full of wisdom.
The wisdom found in the bowl is a product of two olive trees whose
branches drip into the bowl. What is dripping into the bowl to form
wisdom?
There are several clues to this. Proverbs 2:6 says, "For the Lord gives
wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding."
From the mouth comes words. Logos and Rhema. Knowledge and
understanding.
When Solomon built the temple, he made two cherubims out of olive wood
and placed them in the inner sanctuary.
"Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood....he
overlaid the cherubim with gold." 1 Kings 6:23,28
Moses had two cherubim made of gold and placed them at the ends of the
mercy seat.
"And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall
make them at the two ends of the mercy seat." Exodus 25:18
God said that he would speak to Moses from between the two cherubim.
"And there I will meet with you , and I will speak with you from above
the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim."
The two olive trees represent knowledge and understanding of the ways of
God. Combining the two produces wisdom. In the latter days, knowledge
and understanding of these ways will be demonstrated by the last two
witnesses. One will provide knowledge as Mose gave the law. The other
will provide rhema in the spirit of Elijah.
"Remember the law of Moses, ... Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet." Malachi 4:4,5
"...We have found Him of who Moses in the law, and also the prophets,
wrote...Jesus of Nazareth..." John 1:45
The two olive trees are anointed witnesses preaching the gospel of
Jesus Christ.
In the latter days, there will be a lack of understanding concerning
Christ. People will have knowledge of Christ, but will lack understanding
of Him. The Jews had knowledge of the Messiah to come. Their lack of
understanding caused them to not recognize Him when He came.
The same thing will happen in the latter days when the latter day rain
falls upon the earth. Those who witness in the spirit and power of Elijah
in the latter days will be accused of being "of the devil".
"Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute;
and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw....
But when the Pharisees heard it they said, 'This fellow does not cast out
demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." (Mt. 12:22,24)
Those who are anointed with oil from the two olive trees will be able
to recognize them. They are the ones who approach the ark of the covenant
and listen to the words of the cherubim. Wise are those who will enter
the Kingdom of Heaven and receive instructions from the helpers; the
Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, angels and those men who are sanctified
by God to fulfill the great commission.
So, who will recognize the two witnesses when they arrive? How many
Christians, Jews and others of the world will persecute Moses and
Elijah (Logos and Rhema) when they return?
If you preach this sermon, please let me know how many people came
forward to accept Christ. Also, please send comments or Bible Questions
to:
E-Mail: cottrell@praisenet.com