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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/gideon-khoo/zechariah-3-4/
I just want to express my gratitude for the brethren that invited me and privilege to be amongst you in this conference. Now the reading that is before us, of course, is Zechariah chapter 3 and chapter 4.
And I think it's not too many verses, so we'll just take time to read. I'll read it fairly fast and I will assume that you have done your homework and you have read it at home. And I think that's a fair thing to ask because I cannot see in any way you'll be able to understand all that has been discussed if you have not read it, at least basically for yourselves before you come.
So I encourage you to do the reading. All the brethren used to tell us, if you want to understand Zechariah chapter 3, you need to read Zechariah chapter 2. If you want to read chapter 3, you need to read chapter 4 to get the context.
But once you read chapter 2, you need to go back to chapter 1. And then when you read chapter 4, to understand it, you've got to go to chapter 5. And by the time you know it, you've got to read the whole book just to be able to understand and rightly expound one chapter.
And that's the way we should be reading a Bible's context as our brethren have reminded us. And though time limits us to deal with the whole, I think, I trust that we will spend some time before we come to read the passages.
Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 1. And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee.
Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him.
And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head and clothed him with garments.
And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts.
And I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth my servant the brunch.
And you can underline that expression there. It's messianic. 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.
In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall he call every man his neighbour, under the vine and under the fig tree. Chapter 4. And the angel that talked with me came again and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, and said unto me, What seest thou?
And I said, I have looked, and behold, a candlestick or a lampstand 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, and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not that what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
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. 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. Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 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.
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 through the whole earth.
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? 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?
And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. And you know, you could tell the Lord the same thing this afternoon. There are many things we don't understand, and we look to the Lord to help.
And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. I trust the Lord to bless the reading of his precious word. You might have, well, either younger or older, you might have read a storybook.
And when you're reading through a storybook or a novel or something like that, and what you usually do is you start from chapter one and you read page by page and page by page and it gets more and more engaging and perhaps more and more intense and exciting.
And then you come to the last few pages and that's the end. Now, you usually don't go to the last page first. That's a spoiler. And unless you can't wait, you're impatient, and you want to find out what happens to the hero at the end.
He dies or he lives. You jump to the rest and the end. And all right, that's the conclusion. You close the book and you just put it aside. You're done with it. Usually we don't do that. But when we read the Bible and especially prophecy, God does not shy away from telling us the end first.
And that's a great thing. Do you know that a majority of your Old Testament is eschatological prophecy? And the reason why God tells us the end often, it's as if, and I say this reverently, that He cannot wait to tell you what will happen in the end.
He can't wait to tell us the glory that is waiting ahead for us and for Israel. And Brother Willoughby just briefly mentioned, because by telling us the glories that are ahead, it would seem to make the present suffering lighter.
And by telling the glories ahead, we can anticipate the greatness of what is coming. And as a result of our knowledge of what is coming ahead in all its glory, then it will perhaps affect our present life.
To live rightly for Him, knowing that there is reward ahead, knowing there is a glorious bliss ahead. And then it will seem that the present day will not only be lighter, but will live in the good of trust and faith and dependence upon God.
Our Brother Phil had helped us very much last night as he brought to us the introduction of why are we reading prophecy. And on top of all that, I don't want to add more, just one or two points perhaps from a personal perspective.
There is not only just to see what is ahead and how it affects our present life, but as I read prophecy in the scripture, one of the things that I feel is this. I feel small. In this day and age where there is so much of self and me and like, and everything in this world is about what I like and what I want, and it's in this self-centered universe.
The more we read the Bible, the more we engage ourselves in prophetic studies, the more we realize how small we are and how we have a God that is just a huge macro glorious plan for the universe. And when I get a view of all that God has in store for us and for me and for you, I suddenly feel that I'm not so important.
And hopefully that self-centeredness will get less and less. And a glimpse of the glory to come and the greatness of God will perhaps fill our hearts. And ultimately, an adoration for Christ who is the center of God's plan will deepen within our soul.
And so the richness, the greatness of God, and just to feel how, just you read these chapters. In fact, we will come to that point when God will ask them and tell them, despise not the day of small things.
That's a bit like those men there and they rebuilt the temple and the days came when the foundation was laid in Ezra. And you know what happened. There were those that shouted with joy and there were those who saw the former glory of the temple of Solomon and they wept.
God is reminding them, It might seem small to you, but this is a stepping stone to something greater to come. That was a transition period for a greater part of God's history that will be fulfilled. We are a small microcosm of the whole plan of God, yet it's critical.
We are in that strategic part of the whole program of God, the church. That's where we are, the dispensation of grace. Though small and humble, though they despise and they reject it, and yet we are part of God's plan.
You and I, we are all part of God's great plan of redemptive history. So as we read these things, it might lift us up. It might cause that self-centeredness to be reduced, but ultimately it might give us a greater appreciation of the greatness of God.
The other thing I just briefly mentioned, Zechariah is perhaps, other than Isaiah, without exaggeration, one of the most messianic books in the Old Testament. We'll see that in a while, but we will find that this man, I just mentioned to underline, and we read of this, My servant the brunch.
When we come to chapter 6, we will find the man the brunch. He shall be a priest upon his throne. He shall build the temple of the Lord. That's Christ as well. As we come to the second part of Zechariah, we will find Christ as well.
Chapter 9, Behold thy King come. That's the first advent. We will find in those chapters, we will find the smitten shepherd. We will find that they will behold him whom they have pierced. That's Calvary.
And we will find all these pictures and images of Calvary. And then, just in and out, there is a mention of something of Calvary, and we're back again to the future. What's Zechariah doing? He's telling us that God's prophetic program is hinged upon, pivoted upon, this one man.
Without him, none of this will come to fulfillment. Without him, none of this would be relevant. But because of the man whom they have pierced, and the brunch, the servant, the brunch, the man, the smitten shepherd, and all that we'll read about Christ, whatever the opportunity arises, God is trying to tell us that Christ is the center of the whole universe, and the center of all his prophetic program.
Is it not great? We are linked with him. And we are told in the New Testament, through progressive revelation, we shall reign with him. I tell you, dear saints of God, there is great things in store for us.
This petty little life with all the mundane things that we think are worth a ton of gold. They're just nothing. They're fleeing away, and they will vanish. But what will last? What will be eternal? Will be our reign with Christ.
Will be his presence with us, and we with him. And what is in store for us is great. Just a read of this prophecy will also remind us of some of these things. Now, quickly, when we go through these chapters, there is a train of thought throughout the whole of Zechariah.
Our brother, Phil, had just very effectively reminded us that God says, I am returned to Jerusalem. He said, I will come back again. My presence will be known. And he says, I know we have no time to just deal with it in chapter 2, but I'll just quickly mention that, and you'll find that.
Verse chapter 2 and verse number 10, it says, I will dwell in the midst of thee. And there, verse 11, chapter 2, I will dwell in the midst of thee. Now, that seems to be one very important thought. I am returned to Jerusalem.
I am dwelling in the midst of thee. I will dwell in the midst of thee. The presence of Jehovah in all his glory. When we come to chapter 3 and chapter 4, we will deal with the issues as we have mentioned briefly.
How would that be possible? How could the presence of God be experienced and realized if there is still uncleanness? How would be the presence of God be realized if the temple is not fully built and chapter 4, we'll see the weakness.
And therefore, it says, Be strong, Zerubbabel. That's in Haggai. And it says, not by power, not by might, but by my spirit. The spirit of God and the presence of God will be the power for them. So, chapter 3 and chapter 4 will deal with how that might be made possible.
We have no time, of course, to go to the rest of the vision reports, but we will find that God will also have to deal with wickedness. We find a flying scroll and then we'll find a flying ephah. Things are flying in the next two visions after that.
And the flying scrolls seem to tell us of God's righteous demand upon them. None will escape. Thief or whatever it may be, God's holy demands are upon them. And then wickedness will be removed. Shinar will come up.
Babylon will come up. That's coming up in Revelation. A place, a capital for evil. In contrast to Jerusalem, the capital of holiness and righteousness. And then we'll come to the last vision, vision 8.
It will tell us how God at the end will gain control. And He will be the ultimate victor and will be victorious in the whole thing. And so we'll leave it at that. That's the 8 visions. Then the second half from chapter 9 to chapter 14 will tell us in specific events what it will be.
And it will give us the details. With all the evil removed and all that, what are they specifically? We're told that evil shepherds will be removed. We're told that evil false prophets will be removed.
We're told that enemies will be defeated and removed. And when false idols and false prophets and false shepherds and enemies, they're all removed at the end. Chapter 14, the Lord will be king over the whole earth.
And the righteousness and the glory of the Lord will reign. And is it not great that at the end in chapter 14, we'll come to that, that the holiness of the Lord will pervade through the whole entire plain.
So that's generally a train of thought throughout this whole entire great book. Now, just quickly before I sit down, there is a symmetrical structure of these 8 visions. Don't know whether you realize that vision number 1, we heard the man in the myrtle trees and the red horse with all the different colors.
Horses in the first vision. If you go to vision number 8, you'll see horses as well. So horses in vision 1, horses in vision 8. And then you realize that vision 2 and vision 7, you see the bracketing coming in.
Vision 2 and vision 7, something to do with dealing with the nations. We saw in vision 2, the 4 horns and the 4 carpenters. God dealing with the nations. We see vision 7, you have the Ephraim and the woman cast into the thing and taken to Shinar, wickedness removed.
God deals with evil and in relation to the nation. And then vision 3 and vision 6, closing in. Vision 3, God says, I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. There is the man measuring the wall with a measuring line.
And in that message, God says, I will dwell. The Lord in His glory will come amongst them. When you come to vision number 6, you have the flying scroll. And I think the thought is this. If the Lord was going to come into their midst, the law and the righteousness of God must be in their midst as well.
You can't have it one or the other. Could I put it very simply? You can't have the presence of the Lord without the flying scroll. They all go hand in hand. When the Lord comes, His righteousness will rule the whole earth.
The law, the principles, the truth, the word of God will be the predominant guide for every, not just for Christians, not just for Israel, but throughout the whole earth. They will come under the guidance, the supervision, the government of a righteous king.
And His word, His law will reign supreme. The reason why I show you this, 1 -8 -2 -7 -3 -6. That brings us to our chapters 4 and 5. So suddenly 4 and 5 are in the center of this whole parallel structure.
And what that means is, whenever there's such a parallel, symmetrical structure in the Scripture, it is the Holy Spirit's way of showing us the core of the matter. So to some great extent, I believe, dear brethren, that chapter 3 and 4, in terms of dealing with filth, in terms of weakness, form the core of these 8 visions.
And they are issues of great importance. Defilement and weakness. How will God deal with this in relation to the people? So therefore, these two chapters are quite vital. Practical, I trust, as well. But most importantly, we want to spend some time to just look at Christ.
I don't want to miss out. We'll spend some time. Behold, my servant, the brunch. Now if I continue longer, we'll have no more time. So I'll just sit down and not labor on. And I trust that the brethren will come in.
And you'll help us with all the details of the chapter and the difficulty of some of the issues at hand. Again, our brother Phil, if you have anything to add on, please feel free to come in, as well as our brother William.
Thank you for that further overview, brother. Perhaps just to look at the first verse, it seems to me something of a puzzle that you can have a man like Joshua and simultaneously he's standing in the presence of both Christ, the angel of the Lord, and Satan.
How are we to understand that, brother?
I simply take it, brother Phil, as you do, as this is a vision, in a sense that here is the issue. It's the issue of defilement. And you have Joshua standing before, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
It is to discredit Joshua, but really to discredit the nation as a whole. That they're not fit for what they are receiving from God. They're not fit to be a nation. And all this effort of rebuilding and all that, perhaps the devil says, have you not thought of the most vital issue?
And he's right. Have you not thought of the most vital issue? The moral fitness of the people. What are we doing with that? And therefore, I think that's basically the context. Have you any other thing in mind?
No, what came to my mind was actually the words of the hymn writer, when Satan tempts me to despair, telling of evil yet within, upward I look and see him there who made an end of all my sin. And so it's not a literal thing.
We haven't got Christ and the devil in close proximity. Although that, of course, happened in the temptation in the wilderness. But rather, you've got the two sides involved in this. You're quite right.
How can Israel have all these wonderful promises to be fulfilled? And yet, not only have they not upheld God's standards, but oftentimes they've behaved worse than the Gentiles.
And when you come to Chapter 12, which is your chapter, how can a nation which crucified their own Messiah to the cross, what fitness do they have at all at the end of the day? And they shall behold him whom they have pierced.
Would it be a similar contrast maybe to today where Satan is the accuser of the brethren? And then in Chapter 2, you've got the Lord rebuking him. He's still accusing us before the father of our own fitness.
Is there a parallel there?
Yes, yes. I mean, you could apply it to us. But I would think, brother, that at the end here, what is beautiful is this. A change of Raymond is in parallel to our salvation theology of righteousness clothed upon us.
It's not anything we are. But it is because of the work of Christ. He has given to us righteousness. So I think that's the picture here.
Brother Gideon, just something very simple, but to bring everyone up to speed. We have a man's name here, Joshua. And then in the next chapter, you read about Zerubbabel. That's right. Just tell us again, refresh our minds, who are these individuals?
So if you go to Ezra, Chapter 1, around there, and Chapter 2, you'll find that Ezra and Zerubbabel and Joshua, they were the men who were instrumental in bringing the people back to Jerusalem, Ramnan.
And the first wave came back, and they were about to rebuild the temple. And of course, as you know, the historical background that Brother Phil had given, that once they laid the foundation and the work got started, the enemies came in and stopped the work.
But these are men, one who is a priest, high priest, Joshua. And the other one who is Zerubbabel, he really is of a royal descent. Yes. So he comes from the line of Judah. So up to this point, there is a deliberate presentation of these two men side by side.
One is a priest, the other is, he's not a king, because the nation was still a vassal nation of Persia, so they call him a governor. But yet, in the eyes of God, he was of royal descent. So you nearly have a priest and a king before us, and yet in two different persons.
Is it not until we come to Chapter 6, that the whole thing is one. Christ is the priest king. He is the priest upon his throne. So a priest would not have a throne. A king would not have a temple, but he is a priest upon his throne.
He shall build the temple of the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one that is worthy of being priest, great high priest, and king himself. But at this point, we're having a priest, we're having a Judah royal descent, as if it's presenting to us some kind of imperfect condition.
And yet, it's before us.
So they are literal men. They're individuals. They're men that have come back from Babylon. But now, Zechariah is seeing Joshua in a vision. So he knows it's Joshua, but there's something going on here, spiritual energies, we've entitled this.
There's something going on here that indicates that it's not just Joshua in view. So Joshua is representing the priesthood?
I would say that Joshua is representing the priesthood and the nation.
And the nation because the priesthood represented the nation before God.
Perhaps that is brought up even clearer in Haggai. Now, if you just briefly, quickly turn to Haggai 2, and that might become clear. In Haggai 2, in verse 10, it says, In the fourth and twentieth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius came the word of the Lord by Haggai, the prophet saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Ask now the priest concerning the law, saying, If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread or pottage or wine or oil or any meat, shall it be holy?
And the priest answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priest answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people.
And so is this nation before me, saith the Lord. So the defilement of the people defiles the priest. The defilement of the priest defiles the people. And that is why in the day of atonement for the cleansing and forgiveness of the nation, the blood is applied in the sanctuary on the altar.
Because the sins and the uncleanness of the people defile the sanctuary of God. That's a very practical solemn thing. That's not only Old Testament. That's us as well. We have to be very conscious. It's not just when we come into the presence of the Lord.
If there is defilement and sin in our life, I always say, Well, I'm outside. I'm not in the meeting. What I do in my life, that's my business. But bear in mind, when we defile outside, we defile the assembly of God's people as well.
So for 70 years, the nation has been moving and dwelling amongst the heathen. Yes. And there's the influence of that. That is rubbed off on them, doubtless. Even the sin offering, if one hears the voice of swearing, they're deemed to be defiled.
Right? So then there's a need for cleansing, and that's coming in now.
On that line, Brother William, I take it as this is not just a brand plucked out of the fire. I think there's a sense of that. What's the fire? I think the fire is Babylon. That's right. And they're just plucked out.
A brand plucked out of the fire. So they were deserving of judgment, and Babylon was judgment for them. But now they're just a brand plucked out of the fire.
Seems to, perhaps, to answer to an even longer problem with the nation. After they were established in the land, they were under the rule of priests, weren't they? Yes. The priests were the ruling caste.
We know what the priesthood came to in the days of Eli. The monarchy was introduced. They had some 490 years under priestly rule. They failed. They had 490 years under monarchy, and they failed. Then when Daniel's in Babylon, he gets this vision, this revelation of another 490 years, 70 weeks so-called, the final week of years still to be fulfilled.
And that now involves a man who's both a king and a priest. So it seems to extend right back over the history of the nation, that they have been lawless, they've been rebellious, they've failed under priestly rule, they've failed under kingly rule, but there's a day coming when a man who's both a king and a priest, they will submit to him.
Very good.
So our brother Phil is gradually moving us down. We want to speak more about that when we come to the second half of chapter 3. Now, could we just move down to say verse number 4? And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him.
I take it, brethren, not to be overly dogmatic, those that stood before him, I take it those to be the angels. And I don't know what you think, but they are the angelic beings. We've seen, perhaps here, in the spiritual realm, and there's Satan, and there's the angel of the Lord, and there's instruction to take away the filthy garments.
Now, notice this expression. High priests standing before the angel of the Lord. Verse 1 as well, Satan standing at his right hand. Verse number 3, Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel.
Verse 3, verse 4, and he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, the angel of the Lord, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And then, at the end of verse number 5, and the angel of the Lord stood by.
So there's standing by as a key phrase here. And it has to do with something judicial, I take it. Perhaps a court scene. And here is Joshua convicted. The verdict is guilty. He's clothed with filthy garments.
But here is the angel of the Lord. He says, Remove, take away the filthy garments from him. This word filthy is quite a strong word. Yes. Really? Excrement. Yeah, excrement. He's just filled with excrement.
Stinks. Yeah, and that's the position that is viewed. But unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. So in that vision, God gives him a new change of raiment, a new status, a regenerated position before God.
That is the sense of it. So like the prodigal, he had his clothes changed. Yep. He was given a new position. Yep.
And restoration. That's right. Maybe just a practical aspect, if we can. Our brother Gideon has pointed out the fact that if there is sin in our life, we are supposed to be aware of that and confess that so that we don't bring it into the assembly.
But there is also the aspect, I think sometimes believers struggle with the fact that they have confessed sin, but then the accuser of the brethren is there, and he keeps bringing it before. And we see here with Satan, when he brings it before the Lord, it has no power before the Lord because the Lord is the one that has cleansed and he understands where he's at, right?
And so before God, he isn't able to accuse us before God because God understands our standing. But what he can do is accuse us individually and maybe accuse us one to another. There is that aspect too that we have to be aware of, understanding our position in Christ, that we are clothed in his righteousness, and enjoying that truth as well can be important, I think, for us as believers.
So just an aspect in that regard, just practically.
I trust our brethren, the saints of God, realize what our brother is saying. Really, in this whole thing, we could view in two aspects. We have such a thing called positional righteousness. We'll never lose our salvation.
But there is also the aspect of practical righteousness. And perhaps the parallel of what our brother just said would be in 1 John. If we sin, if any man sins, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, and his blood cleanses us from everything.
So we do have one that is in heaven. Joshua, here has the angel of the Lord. We have Christ, our great high priest. Same person, but that's the New Testament aspect of the same truth.
And there's a very practical outworking of that in our lives. Paul will develop that. I'm thinking of Ephesians 4. That you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
And that you put on the new man. Now, we are already a new creation, but we are to act like it. Right? Take on that behavior. Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
So Joshua now not only has a change of Raymond, and to add to what our brother has said, sometimes we don't realize how holy we are before the Lord. Positionally. Yeah, positionally. Lives might not reflect that.
But look at what is the next thing. So, and Zechariah comes in, and he says,. So not only did he have a change of Raymond, he had a mitre upon his head. And if we understand that a high priest, he has a mitre.
And what does it write on that mitre? Holiness unto the Lord. Crown. Holiness unto the Lord. So this man not only has a change of Raymond, he has a mitre and a crown, and writes holiness unto the Lord.
Now, I often wonder, dear brethren, when Aaron or any of these high priests, when they wear a mitre, holiness unto the Lord. Can they see it? Can't see it. You know, I don't know whether you played that game before, write a word and then paste it on your head, and we try to guess what's on each of our heads.
And you can't see what's on your head. But Aaron, when he constantly goes into the presence of God, or Joshua, holiness unto the Lord, he can't see that word there. Who was it for? Who was it for? Who was looking at that?
Who was it? It was for the Lord. And the Lord looks at that man, holiness unto the Lord. It was for the people of God as well. Holiness unto the Lord. But Aaron or these high priests, they were to be conscious that they were holy.
And this man, holiness unto the Lord. Not only a change of raiment, but a status of holiness before God.
It seems a slight surprise to me, Brother Gideon, that it's Zachariah who says, put the turban on his head. Why do you think that might be? Because the Lord is speaking at the time, isn't he? Wasn't he not bold?
And then he almost seems to interrupt.
It was a bold thing to say. It was like, as if, all right, Lord, you put the raiment, all right, put the mitre upon. I think this was a man in line, in tune with the mind of God.
I think so. Because really the setting of that mitre is the man now with full authority to act in the office of high priest, isn't it? And it's as though Zachariah is saying, this is thrilling. This is wonderful.
Do it now.
Do it now. He knew his scriptures. He did. He knew exactly what was the next thing to do. And that's the important thing. Just to know what the Word of God is. And just know what the next thing to do.
If we don't know the Word of God, we won't know the next thing to do. But I think Zachariah, with a change of raiment on the high priest, he looks at the man and he says, something is missing. Put the mitre upon his head.
Holiness unto the Lord. And he acted in line with the mind of God.
That expressed Jehovah's claim upon him. Right? That's right. To serve him. That's right. And to move in holy courts. Ultimately, when Israel will be restored, you do have Revelation chapter 7. Those tribulation saints, they have the seal of the living God on their foreheads.
God's claim upon them. And God will take up Israel again in the future.
So it says, And the angel of the Lord stood by, and the angel of the Lord testified unto Joshua, saying, So now he has a status before the Lord. Holy. Righteous. But now this is, what is next is the demands.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts. And I will give thee places to walk among these dead.
Stand by. Now it's a little bit difficult. I don't know what the brethren think. But here is God saying, giving him the privilege and the authority, if he was faithful, that we understand. He will be in charge of his house.
His priestly privilege and service will continue. But what is a little bit difficult, I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. I'll just stick up my neck. I take it that those that stand by are the angelic being.
Yes. So here what it is, is it's perhaps not so clear, but it's an indication of Joshua's future resurrection reign. If he serves well, is faithful, there is going to be a wider, bigger position and a place for him.
And he will walk among these angelic beings that stand by. Present day faithfulness will not only result in greater responsibility on earth, but will result also in greater responsibilities in the future glory.
Amen.
Are we okay with that? Yeah, I would concur with that, indeed, my brother. And I would take it that in principle, we've got a lesson now. It's not specific. We know the church wasn't the subject of prophecy.
But I'm thinking of the tremendous statement of Paul in Ephesians chapter 3. To the intent that now, unto the principalities and powers, the angelic realm might be made known by means of the church, the manifold wisdom of God.
And we today, even as we sit here now, we know that the covered head of the woman and the uncovered head of the man is because of the angels. Even as we sit here now observing godly order, we are instructing and witnessing to this vast angelic throng who are involved here.
And one day, dear saints, we're going to judge them in the sense of administer them. Paul says to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 6, no you're not. The saints are going to administer the world. Do you not know that you're going to judge angels?
And we're going to administer the angelic realm, these angels included. And we have to show that we are morally fit to do so by observing divine order down here. So they're watching us and they're learning by means of the church.
We're a living object lesson. Something of the manifold wisdom of God in reaching out in mercy and grace to fallen sinners. What a wonderful truth it is, isn't it?
Very good. So in this angelic realm, he touches on the fact the Lord rebukes Satan. Then the Lord removes sin in relation to Joshua here. Then the Lord requires service. Walk in my ways. Keep my charge.
Judge my house. Keep my court. And then the Lord will reward faithfulness in that they'll be given a place to stand amongst those that stand by. Good.
Now, the next section in verse number 8 going down. Now, a different audience now. It says, Here now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee. Now, there were those that stand by.
They were the angelic beings. I suspect now in the vision as well, there are those that sit before thee. And it says, Thy fellows. Your friends. Your colleagues. Your associates. So these are men that are of same rank as Joshua as mortal beings.
And this would either be the Levites or the fellow priests of Joshua. And then the Lord says, For they are men of sign or men wondered at. So he's looking at Joshua and his company of fellow Levites and priests.
And he says that these are men wondered at or men of the sign. Then he says, Behold, for behold, I will bring forth my servant the brunch. No doubt at all. This is messianic. This is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has the title of the brunch. Before we work out some of these tricky parts, I hope you could trace the title of the Lord as the brunch in the Old Testament. And I'll briefly give it to you. You can work it out on your own.
We have in Isaiah chapter 4, 4 verse 2, the brunch of the Lord. He's the brunch of the Lord. We have in Jeremiah 23 verse 5 and 33 verse 15 as well. He is the brunch of righteousness from the line of David.
King. The king. And then we have here in Zechariah chapter 6 verse 12. We won't touch on it, but we'll refer to it. He is the man, the brunch. And here specifically in a passage, he is the servant, the brunch.
My servant, the brunch. Isn't that beautiful? They were looking at the four gospels in relation to the brunch title of the Lord. He is the brunch of the Lord. That's John's gospel. He is the brunch of righteousness from David.
That's Matthew's gospel. He is my servant, the brunch. That's Mark's gospel. And we have he is the man, the brunch. That's Luke's gospel. It could be quite a simplistic way of looking at it. But, you know, those are the things that older men have helped us remember so that we could just position these titles of the Old Testament of the Tzemach or the brunch.
It's an agricultural term. But it speaks of a sprouting. It speaks of one that is coming. And it speaks of one that will be fruitful for God. Now here, my servant, the brunch. Brethren, help us a bit.
Man of sign. And how is it related to, behold, I will bring forth my servant, the brunch. Any thoughts on this?
Well, these men would be, as you say, a sign. They're signifying something. They're a sample, if you will, of what God is going to do in the future in the restoration of the nation as cleansed before him.
And it will come through the instrumentation of the servant, the brunch.
All right. Good. I was wondering as well, Brother William, is there an aspect of here, my servant, the brunch, in terms of his priestly connection? So these are men wondered at. They're priests before them.
So here, in the background of priesthood and Joshua, and he's trying to give us a hint that the servant, the brunch, there will be priestly character in him. And of course, when you come to the New Testament, he's a great high priest.
So these men are a sign of what? A sign of the fact that the brunch will come with priestly privileges and credibility. So my servant, the brunch. So he's the servant priest, the brunch. When you come to Chapter 6, the man, the brunch, he is the man, king and priest, the brunch.
Because there, he will be the priest upon his throne. And so he's the man, the brunch. There's a man, the priest, the king. And here he is, the priest, the brunch. So I was just wondering whether that's the sign behind it, of the future priestly character of the Lord Jesus before.
Is there room, do you think, Brother Gideon, to see possibly also the idea of the apostles there? All right. Because what's on my mind, you know, Matthew 19, Peter comes to the Lord on behalf of the group.
What's in it for us? You know, we've left everything to follow you. Yes. And the Lord says in the regeneration, the 12 apostles will sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. So he has his fellows.
There's the thought that the Lord Jesus in his king priestly rule, he's unique, but he's not isolated. He's got others who are working with him and for him. Ultimately, in the heavenly Jerusalem, 12 gates above each one, the name of a tribe, a throne with each of the apostles there.
So these perhaps, in that sense of the rule as the servant of Jehovah, his fellows who are assisting in millennial rule.
So you take it the fellows would more be the fellows of the men. Well, Joshua, of course, here is a picture of the brunch. Of course. So I could see what you mean. Why a branch particularly?
Well, tell me what you think. Sure. Okay. No, I'm going back really to, again, the book of Isaiah, as I think Zachariah is. And Isaiah pictures the nation as a proud tree, doesn't he? Yeah. In chapter six, the tree is brought down.
I'm going to fell you, God says. And he brings down the tree, the proud nation, but he doesn't dig up the stump. Yes. He leaves the root. Mm-hmm. Isaiah 11. I know it's a slightly different word. The Hebrew word netzer is used there.
But nevertheless, out of the stump, a branch comes. He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. There is a thought that out of the stump of the nation that has been felled in divine judgment, there is one who will come who will be the recovery of it all.
I'm happy with that. So he's a branch coming out of the root, the stump of the nation.
So it's very much a thought of Isaiah 11, the stump of the root of Jesse. So Israel as a nation is just like a dying tree. So Isaiah 53, a root out of a dry ground. He's just unique. And he's just set apart.
So out of a midst of deadness comes life. Yes. And so he's a branch that sprouts out and he will bring hope to the nation.
So Christ is the fruitful bough of the nation. Mm-hmm. And we're about to see that Christ is the foundational base. Yes. All right.
Of the nation. So thank you. That brings us to the next one. Next verse for behold the stone. Now we have to move. We have the thought of the stone. And there is a stone I've laid before Joshua. Upon one stone, seven eyes.
Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts. Now, significantly, it says, and I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day. I have no doubt at all that took place at Calvary when Christ died.
And, you know, iniquity was removed in one day. But Israel will know the fullness of this. And my brother will bring us there to Chapter 12. And then we'll realize the fullness of what it means. I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day.
And it cannot be outside of the death of Christ. No. It must be on the basis of the redemptive work of Christ. Now, He is the stone as well. And you can find the thought of the Messianic subject of the stone.
We find that in Isaiah 28. He is the selected stone. A precious stone, a foundation stone. He is the chosen one, a selected stone. In Psalm 118, unfortunately, He is the rejected stone. He is the sight-lying stone.
And then when we come to Isaiah 8, He is the stumbling stone. And of course, here in Zechariah 3, verse 9, He is the seeing stone. It tells us of the omniscience of divine persons. Here, Christ, not literally seven eyes in the grotesque sense, I think.
Some are thinking about that. But I think it's a symbolical way of describing His omniscience. And there is nothing that is kept from His eyes. And that will come up in Chapter 4 later. Those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord which run to and through the whole earth.
There is nothing hidden from Him. But here, it is in relation to the foundation stone. So, the foundation stone that they laid for the rebuilding of the temple, that was the type of picture of Christ, the foundation stone.
Now, we have to move on. And there is the future promise of peace and of abundance in verse number 10, under the vine, under the fig tree. When Christ comes for them, that is what will be brought in and ushered in for the nation.
So we come to Chapter 4.
Excuse me, just before we do that, brother, I know you are fighting for time, but the last verse here, we got this expression in that day. And we are going to come across it several more times in the course of the readings.
Would you just say something about that, please?
Whenever you find this expression in that day, and it will increase in frequency, as you move down the chapters, especially coming to those last few chapters. And that frequency shoots up in Chapter 14, in that day.
And whenever you find an expression like that, it's most of the time, I would say, nearly always an eschatological view of the future that is to come. So, either it's in the tribulation, either it's in the millennial reign of Christ, and you're in that day.
Every man, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. Here is the picture of abundance and rest and peace and fruitfulness. And that will come, not just figuratively, but literally and completely for Israel in the days of the reign of Christ.
Once the iniquity has been removed. Yes, so the one day, iniquity removed, end of verse 9, in one day, I take it that's the fulfillment of the day of atonement, which came in between trumpets, regathering of Israel, and tabernacles, dwelling before the Lord, rejoicing in the millennium.
So, there's the day of atonement, Israel's conversion, if you will, in that day saith the Lord. I take it that's extending on into the millennium. So, it was initialized by the one day, verse 9, but then in that day, it's the millennial day.
It changes the character of it all.
Very good. So, what Brother William is telling us is this expression, in that day, the word day might be singular, but oftentimes, it does not necessarily signal one single day. It could be characterizing a period that is in view.
So, in that day, we're talking about that day coming in of the millennial, and the whole period of the millennial reign of Christ, and this will be true of that time. Now, Chapter 4, and quite, I would say, quite a difficult chapter, but our brethren will help us.
We have here the vision, and this is the one with vision number 5, and it has to do with the lampstand, and this strange-looking lampstand. I don't know what my brethren think, but there are many versions of the lampstand.
Just go internet and check. Five, six, ten different ways of drawing this out. I take it very simply, dear brethren, that there is a bowl, and whether you think the bowl is part of the lampstand or not, that's the thing.
I take it that perhaps the bowl is kind of separated from the lampstand, which is seven lamps, and there are two branches and two pipes from two big olive trees that are filling all into this big bowl, and this bowl has seven pipes to the seven lamps, and that's how I see it.
Some, of course, think that that big bowl is part of the center branch of the seven-branch lampstand, but I take it that because it is filling into seven lamps, so it would seem that the bowl is separate from the seven lamps.
So the seven lamps might look like the usual lampstand of the sanctuary, but the uniqueness of this is there is a bowl on top, and there's oil filling, and there are pipes filling into the seven lamps.
The brochure doesn't show the seven pipes, but they're there.
Well, yeah. Yeah. So the brochure is wrong.
It's an inexhaustible supply, isn't it? That's it. Oil is one of the most consistent symbols in Scripture of the spirit of God, and where before in the sanctuary the lampstand was dependent, different, of course, from a candlestick, most of the mature believers will know that, some might not.
The distinction is a candlestick simply holds a candle, whereas a lampstand burns oil, and the priests had to replenish the oil. It was part of their ministry in the sanctuary. But now we've got the thought of testimony for God and light being shed abroad, and there's this inexhaustible supply that the olive oil is coming straight from the tree into a big cistern, call it what you will, and it is being fed through pipes to keep an inexhaustible supply going to the lampstand.
Very good. Thank you.
So we will find in this chapter this whole vision of this lampstand that is filled by the two olive trees with oil through the bowl, and as Brother Phil had reminded us, that's a symbol, a picture of the testimony of the nation.
However, later on, the questions and the answer, the conversation between Zechariah and the angel, we will find that it has to do with the building of the temple as well. And if we put it together, I suggest what it means is this, that this lampstand is really a picture of Israel and the temple.
Without the temple, there is no testimony. And that is why the rebuilding of the temple was crucial and of great necessity because the building of the temple was a testimony to the nation that it was the light of the world.
We find that in Isaiah 60, and we will find that the dwelling place of God was the most important piece of the nation's history. The moment, the day when King Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the temple, that signalled the ultimate end.
He could come and level other things, but the day the temple was leveled, that signalled the final end of the nation of Israel or Judah at that point of time. So you could understand that when they came back, the first thing they wanted to build was not the walls, was not the houses, even though they tried to build their own houses.
It was not the military, not weaponry. But the first thing they had to do, despite not having instruments and weapons to defend themselves, it says that when they erected the altar, they were afraid of the nations around.
But that was the first thing they had to do, the altar and the temple. And so it was the most important part of nation building for them. And therefore, here, the testimony of the nation was of great tantamount importance.
So the golden lampstand spoke of Christ, right? A testimony to God, and the Lord Jesus is the brightness of His glory. Yes. Right. So the nation in that coming day, under the rule of Messiah, will bear the light of testimony, will be a blessing to others.
But I was going to ask you about the numbers two that occur. You have two olive trees, you have two olive branches, you have two golden pipes, two times grace, grace, grace, and two anointed ones. Yes.
So is that just for emphasis, two is the number of witness?
I would think so. Two is the number of testimony, as you know. Right. Is that the thought here?
I think so. So if testimony is going to be carried on for God, and the light of testimony is going to be born and shine brightly, it's by the Spirit. Yes. It's by His grace through the Spirit.
So the greatest testimony to a local assembly and the house of God is the evidence that God is there. The Lord is there. That's right. Not the activity, not even the numbers, good even numbers, but the greatest proof and blessing of testimony is the evidence.
When people come in, when visitors come in, when believers come in, and they are convinced that this is the place where the Lord is. Yes. And that is the ultimate expression of testimony. Jehovah Shama.
Shama, that's right. It's an interesting point that when the lampstand was first put into the tabernacle, the Scripture says, or Moses was instructed, that the lampstand, its purpose was to throw light over against itself.
That's right. It's a bit unusual, isn't it? You know, normally you'd have a, the purpose of the lampstand was not to illuminate the sanctuary. The purpose of the lampstand was to cast light over against itself.
The person of Christ presented in all the power of the Spirit of God. And so, again, Christ is at the forefront of these things. And, of course, the application is very clear there in local assembly witness as well.
That a testimony for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Gideon, just to go back a second. When the temple was destroyed, and we talk about Israel being carried away, but on a greater spiritual level, the dwelling house of God was gone. As far as the world was concerned, Nebuchadnezzar, this God of Israel is done.
That's right. There's no testimony for God. There's no testimony for God. And so, this rebuilding of the temple is of monumental importance.
Therefore, it's linked with the lampstand at this point. So, now we come to verse, of course, in verse number 5, the question is asked, what is, or verse number 4, what are these, my Lord? And, of course, the angel that talked with me says, knowest thou not what these be?
And he said, know my Lord. And verse 6, the answer comes. This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit. The explanation of the vision only comes at the end.
So, the answer is not yet given. But the most important part of the answer is given, which is this, that this represents, this is a symbol of, of what? Of this very truth. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit.
It is the Spirit of God that is the most important element, and the testimony and the rebuilding of the house of God. Yeah.
Interesting that when Zechariah says, what are these? And the angel almost looks at him to one side and he says, do you not know this? Do you not know this? And the sad thing is, Zechariah had never seen it.
Exactly. In his short lifetime, he's a young man, he'd never seen the nation as a testimony for God. And, and maybe, though it would sadden us to say it, maybe there's a growing generation, and they haven't seen enough of that amongst God's people today.
They've seen a kind of a formalism, they've seen rules and regulations, and we have, we older ones must challenge ourselves as to whether we have and are rightly putting Christ at the forefront of everything, and presenting Christ to these younger believers to bring them on.
It's a sad thing when they can get older and they may ask questions, you say, do you not know that? No, I don't know it, for I've never seen it.
I've never witnessed it. We should feel the challenge of that. Now, the next thing that the angel said, who art thou, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain. Wow, Zerubbabel says, I'm a small, I'm a small fry.
How am I going to face all these enemies and build this great temple? Now, bear in mind that the rebuilding work has already started. So this reflect for us, the psyche, the psychology, the emotions of these people, and the thinking, the thoughts of these men, even though while the rebuilding commenced and the work was progressing, they must have felt the obscurity, the insecurity, the smallness, the weakness, and the dangers and the threats that were always around.
And here is encouragement of God to this man. He says, before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain, O great mountain. There is nothing that is impossible for you, Zerubbabel, as long as you have the presence and the power and the help of God.
And he says, and he shall bring forth. Zerubbabel, the mountains will be level. That's a bit of a rhetorical picture. Nothing is too great for God. And he says, he shall bring forth the headstone, with shouting, crying, grace, grace unto it.
I take it, reverend, that this is the capstone, the headstone that is at the top. Some think that this is the headstone that is the same as the foundation stone. I understand the line of thinking. But I prefer to think that there was a foundation stone.
That's chapter 3. But this is the final piece, the headstone. So what God is saying is this, you might have laid the foundation, and I know the work stopped for a little while. But I will ensure that the work will reach to the very final bit.
And even the final stone will go to the top. And then the work will finish. And by the time when it's done. You remember in Ezra chapter 3, when they laid the foundation, there was shouting and rejoicing.
But he says, the moment the headstone goes to the top of the building, there will be shouting and rejoicing. And this time it will be this, grace, grace. It will be only by the grace of God, by the favor of God, that all these things will be accomplished.
So is this, the grace, grace, is this spoken to the mountain? Or to the capstone? I think to the capstone. Or to both? In other words, the obstacles will be overcome by grace. And the capstone will be laid by grace.
I have no problem with that.
If you want a typical teaching of this thing, I think the foundation stone is Christ. And the headstone is Christ. In terms of type of picture. He is the beginning. He is the ending. In that sense. And is it not true that all that is of Christ, for us, is on the grounds and basis of grace.
I think we can apply that in our current situation. Now verse number 9. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation. And this is the proof of what we just said. Hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house.
His hands also shall also finish it. And when that is done, thou, singular, shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you, plural. So not only just Zerubbabel, but the whole nation, they will know that when the temple is finished and completed, that the Lord has sent me unto you.
And that is what the Lord of hosts said. Now just to add to this expression. We find that in chapter 2, didn't we? Chapter 2 and verse number 9. And ye shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. And then in chapter 2, verse 11, in the middle, at the end.
And thou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto thee. And now again here in chapter 4. And thou shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. Now just give me a little bit of time.
I don't want to transgress on what our brother Phil had already covered. But I think for the lack of time. You see in chapter 2. It says there, in verse number 8. For thus saith the Lord of hosts. Now he says, apple of his eye and all that.
And verse 9. And ye shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me. The Lord of hosts said that the Lord of hosts had sent me? Does it even make sense? The Lord of hosts said the Lord of hosts had sent me?
Who says there is no plurality of persons in the Godhead in the Old Testament? Thank God for Old Testament scriptures. People say you can't see the Trinity in the Bible in the Old Testament. Only in the New Testament.
Here. And the Jews are probably scratching their heads and wondering. What is this the Lord of hosts said? The Lord of hosts has sent me. And now we have no doubt at all. This sent me is referring to Christ.
Yes. So likewise here. And thou shall know that the Lord of hosts had sent me unto you. The pre-incarnate Christ is personally involved. And helping and empowering the work of the temple. Now verse 10 as we move on.
That was what happened in Ezra chapter 3. There were those who had witnessed the older generation. Witnessed the grandeur and glory of the temple of Solomon. That's gone now. And when they laid the foundation of this rebuilt temple.
It was inferior in the eyes. Compared to that of Solomon's temple. Those that came out from Babylon. And were born in Babylon. And they came back and they were rejoicing. And they were happy to come back to their home.
And to see the temple rebuilt. But those that had seen the former glory. They wept. So that Ezra tells us that you can't. They couldn't tell the voice of weeping and the voice of rejoicing. There was sadness and joy mixed together.
I don't know whether you should take that passage as positive or negative or neutral. And that's the whole thing. The problem. So there is a thinking in that day. Oh this temple. So inferior. So small.
And nothing compared to the whole temple of Solomon. When we go to Hiagai. No time. And we compare to this. God is really going to tell them and teach them. Don't you despise this small temple. Because.
Though it's smaller in foundation. This is part of God's redemptive history. It's a stepping stone to something greater to come. In other words. If I could put it a bit simpler. If you don't build this temple here.
We'll never reach the end. This has to be done now. It's inevitable. It has to be done. Now you say that this is a small temple. The days will come. When this same foundation. That though will be enlarged and expanded by Herod the Great.
Will be frequented and visited by. Christ himself. Lord Jesus himself. How can it be small thing. Despise not the day of small thing.
Isn't there a principle here. In terms of. In the times of the Gentiles. Testimony for God. Really by definition. Is small in character. So the day of small things. Throughout the period of the times of the Gentiles.
We're still in it. But listen. We read on. For they shall rejoice and see the plummet. In the hand of the rubble. An instrument for building. The work of God is going on. Even in this day of small things.
Cause for rejoicing.
It's nice to see that when it comes to the. Extent and the layout of the thing. The measuring line was in the hand of the surveyor. The angel of the Lord. When it comes to the straightness of what's built upon it.
The responsibility sits. With rubble. So you have your tape measure. For laying the thing out. You have your plummet. Your plumb line. To see that the thing is straight. And it's. That's the responsibility that fell upon this man.
Within the confines. Of what God had designed. To see that you're building it. Straight. And we can talk about the day of small things today. And. You know we can fall into the trap. We think. Well conferences might have been bigger.
And the preachers were great. And they were characters. And there's nothing like them today. And. And we talk ourselves down. And we must recognize God raises up men. And he raises them up to serve their generation.
And when that's done they fall on sleep. And let's enjoy before God. What he's given us to do today. And you can look through rose tinted specks. It wasn't all wonderful in the past. But let's work with our might for what God has given us to do today.
As far as the assembly. In the times of the Gentiles. There is no temple for God.
The house of God is in the assembly. Yeah. And this is a day of small things. It is not. The local assembly is a tremendous place. There's never two places that God dwells on earth at the same time. No.
The temple and the assembly weren't. They never overlap. And the church is gone. And the temple comes in. They never overlap.
God has one house. And in the day and age in which we live. It is the house of God. Not a small thing. Yeah. Very good. On that point our brother just mentioned. Can I encourage you dear brethren. Especially younger men and women.
What do you say. In the days of the Old Testament. When they had the Shekinah glory. When they had the pillar of fire, pillar of cloud. And when they saw manna come down from heaven. When they saw the Red Sea parted.
When they saw Jordan parted. Those were great days. You say well. Those were miraculous days. Look at those days. When they spoke in tongues. And there were prophetic gifts. And the dead were raised and all that.
You say those were great days. Nothing today. Nothing today. All we have is just. Men with ties and suits. And they are just sitting down here doing Bible readings. And even the lights don't look like the glory of God.
What do we have today? Can I impress upon you. That we are more privileged than those men in those days. Amen. You know why. You know why. Because the local assembly. The house of God. Though it's not the temple of the old.
I was just speaking there. And our brother in Chicago. The local assembly. There is no place on earth. That's nearer to heaven than the local church. There might be great men in great places. And social gatherings and government gatherings and all that.
But whenever the sins of God are gathered unto his name. When they are there. That's the closest place to heaven on earth. You say well we don't have miracles. And they had the God with the Shekinah glory.
We are more privileged than them. You know why. Because we are nearer to God than ever can be. You say how can that be? Well because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling in us. They didn't have that. They kept the distance from God and God from them.
But God is nearer to us than ever. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are more privileged. And we have the whole Bible in our hands. They only had some scriptures. And the New Testament says they only had Old Testament scriptures.
We have 66 books. We live in more privilege and greater times than those. They might have seen all those great things. But we have greater things today. So don't you despise the day of small things. Can I ask a question brother please?
Alright go ahead. What are these two olive trees? I was trying to finish without knowing that. You saw the trick I was going. So I was hoping that. I'll just tell you what I think. And that will fill up the last two or three minutes.
Many will say that there is Zerubbabel and Joshua. Yeah. In the first instance. I think brethren. I would prefer that they are Haggai and Zechariah. Just in context of what Ezra tells us. That through the encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah the work continued.
Why do I say that? Because they are the two powerhouse pouring oil that started the work going. And that big bowl. If you want me to say what it is. I think that's Zerubbabel. And through him. He led the people of God.
And the oil flowed down to the lamb stands. And the work got going. And the temple was built. So I take it that the two olive trees. Are the two prophetic men. They were instrumental and vital. In bringing the word of God.
And divine revelation. That is pictured. And the oil pouring into the big bowl. And the big bowl received that oil. And that likely was Zerubbabel. And maybe Joshua as well. And the work of God continued.
As the oil flowed down to the seventh branch of the lamb stand. Which is the temple and the testimony of Ezra. Now tell me what you think brother.
I must admit I'm not settled in my own mind brother. Very ready to be taught on it. Because they are not identified for us. These two. There must have been something within Zechariah's view. Could it have been the priestly office and the kingly office?
Perhaps. There's great thoughts in a lot of these things. But we cannot be dogmatic. As to whether it is Zerubbabel and Joshua. Whether it is Zechariah and Haggai and so on.
They are the two anointed ones. There is anointed. So it's anointed office. Prophets or priests or kings. Two is the number of witness. And the Lord Jesus is the faithful and true witness.
Very good. And of course you have the parallel in Revelation 11. Of the two witnesses as well. I'll just only say it's parallel. Not fulfillment. We are happy with that.
If it is the prophet and the priest. Then coming into the one tank. They are working together. The combined ministry of these. Is the means by which the spirit of God enables his people to build.
Very good. Thank you very much dear brethren. For all your help and assistance. In these difficult chapters.