We want to say shalom and welcome everyone to the Bible classes of the Holy Scriptures and Israel. We're just singing, sing Hallelujah to the Lord. Shir Hallelujah La'Adonai. How wonderful it is to be able to sing the praises of our Lord Yeshua Jesus, the Messiah who loved us and gave himself for us. Well, beloved brothers and sisters, we are going to continue today in the study of the prophecy of Zechariah. We are in the fourth chapter of Zechariah, in the second half for today, for verse eight. To verse fourteen. Hopefully you have your Bibles with you.

And this portion is kind of interesting, so just follow me as we read together the Word of God, but let's ask the Lord to bless the meeting first of all. And so our God and our Father, we just ask your blessing upon your Word as we study the prophecy of Zechariah, specifically in relationship of the history of Israel and the future restoration of the people of Israel. Bless your Word to us, all we ask, for we ask it in Yeshua and Jesus' name. Amen and amen. And so, beloved brothers and sisters and dear friends, I'm going to read from verse eight to verse fourteen of Zechariah, or Zechariah chapter four. 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 has 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 runeth to and fro through the whole earth. Then answered I and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the menorah, of the candlesticks, the lampstand? And upon the left side, thereof, and I answered again and said unto him, What be these two olive tree or olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?

And he answered and said, And he said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. And I am stopping here, beloved brothers and sisters, reading this second half of Zechariah chapter four to remind you that this Chapter, really deals with the fifth vision that Zechariah have seen. Remember that we said from chapter one and verse seven of the prophecy of Zechariah all the way to chapter six and verse, fifteen, Zechariah that is Zechariah, is, is receiving from the Lord, eight visions. And each one of these visions is in connection with the plan and the purposes of God for Zechariah's people, namely the people of Israel, and the program that God has for them, which really, lead, the, to the future day when Israel will ultimately be restored.

This fifth vision is called the vision of the lampstand and the olive trees. This is chapter 4, verses 1 to 14. We covered the vision of the horsemen among the myrtle trees, chapter 1, 7 to 17. We covered the vision of the four horns and the four carpenters in chapter 1, verse 18 to 21. We've covered the vision of the men with the measuring line in chapter 2, verses 1 to 13. We have covered the vision of the clean garment of Yehoshua, that is Joshua, the high priest, Israel's high priest. This is chapter 3, and verses 1 to 10. And now we have arrived, beloved brothers and sisters, to the fifth vision, which is called the vision of the lampstand and the olive trees in chapter, in this chapter of ours, chapter 4, verses 1 to 14, that whole vision.

That vision is really divided into these three sections. The vision itself in verses one to three, and you remember what we saw in that vision, we have clearly seen in that vision in verses one to three, that Zechariah saw, he said, behold, look, and behold, a candlestick, a lampstand of gold with a bowl upon the top. In other words, here's the lampstand, there's a bowl on top of it, and then what happened, this bowl has this, from this bowl coming seven pipes into each one of these seven lamps on that candlestick, on that lampstand.

And then on the two sides of that lampstand, there are two olive trees. And these two olive trees have pipes that coming to the top, to the bowl. The bowl have seven pipes, some suggest there are seven pipes to each one of the lampstand. Forty nine of them, and this oil is coming straight from the olive tree into the bowl, keeping the lampstand lit at all time. No human intervention.

Divine work. To remind you, we also have compared the fact that when in days of old, when the high, when the priest of Israel would enter into the temple, they will keep the lampstand, the menorah lit, they'll have to clean it and light it and prepare it every time, so the menorah will always, they have to add oil every time, there will be always oil there, but man was involved, the high priest was involved, a human high priest or priest was involved, but here in this vision, Zechariah C. 2 Olive trees, two pipes to a bowl above the lampstand, seven pipes going into the seven candles, seven lampstands, and the light continue on and on and on without any human intervention. Amazing vision that Zechariah is seeing, and he needed to be awakened out of sleep, as it says in chapter four, in verse one, because he was already overwhelmed with the previous visions that he had seen.

And so the man, that is the angel, awakened him, show him that next vision. Now in verses four to ten, we learn of the purpose of the vision, and we have already seen in verses four and five of this Zechariah chapter four, that Zechariah asks is the meaning of the vision. And then in verses six and seven, the angel gave him a word from the Lord to speak to Zerubbabel. Now, who was Zerubbabel? If you remember, we have already looked at this man by the name of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel was one of these leaders, the political leaders of Israel who led the Jewish people back to the Promised Land after the 70 years captivity when Cyrus gave permission for the our own Jewish people some 70 years after the captivity had began to bring them back into the Promised Land, and Zerubbabel was one of the leaders.

And Zerubbabel came, he began to build the house of the Lord, as we have read it in verses six and seven. Notice what we read, Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, Zechariah, you tell it to Zerubbabel. And what you should tell him, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. Lo b'chayil, ve'lo b'koach, kim beruach, beruchi, amar Adonai Tsevaot. It is not because of human power, it is not because of human might, but it is by my spirit, says the Lord. In other words, this oil that came out of the olive tree to keep the light of the, or in the, in the temple, representing the Holy Spirit of God, by, by my spirit, says the Lord. It is the power of the Holy Spirit of God that will enable to Zerubbabel to continue on.

And rebuild the temple. Now remember, beloved brothers and sisters, that for fifteen years, since the time that the children of Israel came to, from the land, from, Babylon, they stopped to build the house of the Lord because of the opposition that they have had. If you just go back for a moment to Ezra, chapter 3, and there, beloved brothers and sisters, we see in these verses, Ezra chapter 3, that something happened and they stopped to build the house of the Lord. We do read in Ezra chapter 3, and the verses that we have here before us is verses 8 to 13, where we read what happened when the people of Israel began to build the house of the Lord. They had an opposition, and because of the opposition that they had, they stopped to build the house.

It says here, beloved brothers and sisters, in verse 10, Of chapter three of Ezra, and when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they said to the priests and their apparel and so on, with trumpets and the Levites and so on, and they were singing unto the Lord, but it didn't take too long that the people around, the enemies of Israel, stopped the Jewish people from building the temple.

It says in chapter four and verse four, and the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them in building and hired the counselors and so on, and then we read later on that they stopped to build the house of the Lord, because they were weakened, they couldn't continue to build the house of the Lord. That was rather sad because of the opposition that they have experienced by those within the enemies within the land of Israel. And you know, that is exactly what happened when When we seek to build, there's always an opposition, sometimes from within, sometimes from without, sometimes from within, sometimes in our own hearts and our self-will, we ending up not continuing on because of sin and, and, and, and failure, and, and, and we are always called to build, to seek to be builders, because after all, the house of the Lord is where blessing are coming for the people of God.

And so we read in this chapter that they weakened them, and then, and troubled them in building. They hired all sort of people, and ultimately they stop, to build, the house of the Lord. Very, very sad, condition that, that happened there. Well, now, Zerubbabel was the one that was used to begin, to do, to lay the foundation, and so now when we have ended in chapter four, verse seven, The Lord made a promise to Zubbabel, and that is where we concluded. The Lord made a promises, he telling Zechariah to speak to Zubbabel, Zubbabel, it is not by your own power, it is not by your own might, but it is by my spirit.

b'ruach sheli, b'ruach Adonai, by my spirit, says the Lord. In other words, the spirit of God will enable you to continue on eventually and to finish to build the house of the Lord. And so in verse 7, we read, Who are thou, O great mountain, before Zubbabel? Any mountains, any opposition, any nation, any people, any opposition that will rise against Zubbabel, eventually God will remove that mountain and will enable Zrubavel to finish the house of the Lord. He continuing, he said in verse seven, Be thou shall become a plain. The mountain of trouble will become plain. The, the, the enemies of Israel will ultimately will be, abolished, and God will stop them from, hindering the building and the restoration of the nation. And he says here, he, notice eventually, he, this is Zrubavel, verse seven at the end, he shall bring forth the headstone. This is the cup stone. In Hebrew it is called here, HaEven HaRoshah, Rosh is head.

Eventually, Zrubavel will be the one that will bring in the capstone and will finalize the building. And it will be, therefore, he says with shoutings, crying, grace, grace, unto it, chesed, chesed, chesed. And you remember what we read in the Bible, in the Word of God, many times, the grace of God. The grace of God, which bring us salvation, has appeared. We need the grace of God. Israel will ultimately will be able to be restored by the grace of God. Zerubbabel will be able to rebuild, to finish the building of the temple, and to put the capstone by the chesed, by the chen, by the grace of God alone.

You know, you know, James said, He giveth more grace. The Lord Yeshua said to Shaul Paul, My grace is sufficient for you. And Paul learned this, Shaul Paul learned it, when I'm weak, then I'm strong, because I need, I depend on the grace of God. Zerubbabel, It's not going to happen with your power, it's not going to happen with your might, but it's going to be by the power of the Spirit of God who will give you grace. Cry for grace. You know, Paul said to Timothy, it is such an interesting verse that the Apostle Paul said to Timothy, listen to 2 Timothy, I just want to read that, 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 1, there seems to be a contradiction here.

Paul said to Timothy, thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. How can you be strong, but strong in getting more grace? Give me more grace, God. Help me more. I need your grace. So Timothy was called to be strong, but not as strong in his own ability. But to be strong in the chesed, in the grace of God. And so there will be the crying and the calling, grace, grace, unto it.

Grace, grace, unto it. As we read here at the end of this. Now, what is interesting here is in the next verses. Now, listen. In the next verses, verses 8 to verse 14, where we are supposed to be today, in these verses, 8, 9, and 10, and then 11, 12, 13, and 14, we have the Lord another, a second word to Zerubbabel, to Zechariah, and of course to give it to Zerubbabel is found in verses 8, 9, and 10. In the second time that he's speaking, notice in verse 6, the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel.

Now, notice in verse 8, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Once again, there's a second word of the Lord coming to Zechariah to tell Zerubbabel not to be discouraged, to continue on in seeking, to wait on the Lord, to seek His grace, to rebuild the temple in Yerushalayim. And he says, listen what he says in verses 9 and verses 10. The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation. Of this house, his hand will also finish it.

And thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto you. So in other words, he made a promise. Yes, Zerubbabel had began to build the house, and he stopped for fifteen years because of opposition, but Zerubbabel will be the one that will conclude the building of this temple. We call it the Zerubbabelic Temple in Yerushalayim. Now go back once again to Ezra, just with me please one more time.

Ezra chapter At three, there we read in verse, and I'm just going to read in verse, really it's verses eight to thirteen. Verse eight, it says, the second year of their coming unto the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel, the son of Shaltiel, and Joshua, the son of Tzadok, and the remnant of their brethren, and the priests of the Levites, and all they that were with them out of the captivity unto Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites from twenty years old, and so on and upward. And then we read in verse nine, then Joshua, stood Joshua with the sons of his brethren, and so on, and then notice Joshua is mentioned, and then we have here in the next verse, verse ten, and when the builders laid the foundation of the temple, The Lord. You notice these two individuals, you have here Yehoshua, that's the high priest, and Zubbabel working together.

Then the, the, the discouragement came, they stopped to build for fifteen years the house of the Lord. Now jump to chapter six of the book of Ezra, and in chapter six, notice what we read there. Now we'll just read some of the, latest verses from verse eleven onwards. For verse eleven onwards, we find out, how they continued to build, and notice what it says in verse fourteen, and the elders of the Jews built it, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Ido, and listen to this, they, notice they built it and finished it. According to the commandment of the God of Israel.

So, back to our chapter in Zechariah chapter 4 and verses 9, we read, The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation, we read it in Ezra 3, and of the house, and his hand will also finish it. And so, Zerubbabel began, and Zerubbabel will finish to build the house of the Lord. But again, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Now, notice, well, notice what he's saying now. In the next verse, verse 10, it is part of the second word of the Lord to Zechariah for Zerubbabel. In verse 10, he's saying something very interesting, because he's saying, who, notice that, verse 10, for who has despised The day of small things.

For they shall rejoice and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zubbabel. With those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. What he's saying, imagine the Jewish people, they're discouraged in the beginning, disappointed because of the opposition. And then finally they begin, but they, to build the house of the Lord, and then the opposition came from all the enemies around, they stopped to build, but then God assisted them eventually, and they continued to build and finished to build it by the end of chapter six of the book of Ezra. And so he's telling to the people in those days, remember, Zechariah is preaching to the remnant of Israel that were in the promised land of Israel. And he began with 520. B.C. when he was speaking to the nation, encouraging them through the visions. And God is saying to Zechariah, he says, listen, don't despise the day of small things.

You know, in Hebrew it says, kimibaz le'yom ktanot. When the Lord's things are being built, even though it's not large, it's not big, don't despise the days of small things. Don't despise any little work that you see is going on for the Lord. Don't despise day of small things. And remember, beloved brothers and sisters, in the those days, the days of small things that he has a reference to, it is a time where the temple in the city of Jerusalem could not be compared to the temple that Shlomo built years earlier, some seventy years, more than seventy years earlier when, and even much earlier, of course, eventually were seventy years, there was the destruction in 586 BC and so on, but even much earlier when he built in about 1000 BC, the temple, he's saying, listen, don't, it was a great temple, but now you have such a small temple, are you going to despise the day of small things?

Don't despise it. You know, I'm thinking about ourselves today in the church age. Whenever the word of God is being presented and the gospel is being shared and, and maybe there is not a large group, maybe there's no thousand people in a, in a local congregation, local church, maybe there are only two or three. Remember what Yeshua said in, in Matthew 18, 24, wherever two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them.

In other words, he delight to see any small work, whenever there is small work is going for the Lord, not to despise a day of small things, he's saying there. And you can just imagine, you know, if you're reading the prophecy of Ezra once again, I mean, in the book of Ezra, you will notice that in Ezra chapter 3, once again, in these verses, verses 12 and 13, it says, I'll read, they were giving thanks because of the foundation that they were building, but you know what happened? It says there that the people shouted with great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

But we also hear in verse 12 that the older generation, they wept with a loud voice, and yet others, many shouted for joy. In other words, the older generation look back and they saw, they used to know of the huge temple that Shlomo had built. But now look at a small thing, so they were weeping. But the younger generation was so grateful and they were shouting, hey, we have the temple of God. We finalized the building of the temple. And the lesson for us, beloved brothers and sisters, wherever there are the small things going for the Lord, done for the Lord Jesus the Messiah today, any locality around the world, praise God for anything that is done for Christ, for the Mashiach. And therefore, Who has despised the day of small things? In other words, you will see God is saying to Zechariah, to tell to Zerubbabel and to the people of Israel, this small thing that began now will ultimately will become large and God will ultimately will fulfill all that which he had promised.

You know, I'm thinking of even for us today in the present day of the church age, of the ekklesia today. God will ultimately will bless the, the, the, the church of the living God, and ultimately all those that belong to Him will enjoy eternal blessing with the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, and Israel here in the context will ultimately, the small things that were revived in the days of Zechariah and Rebavel will ultimately become huge when the Messiah eventually will come and restore the nation of Israel. And so at the end of verse 10, we do read, You will see, they shall rejoice and shall see, known as the plummet, That word for plummet in Hebrew it says, HaEven, Habdil.

This is the, you know, the plummet is a stone that is at the, at the end of a string that give us a plum line, a straight line to see that this is a straight line when there's a heavy stone in the, in the, at the end of a string that is being held. In other words, they shall see the plummet, this is the, the stone that will ultimately will, and will come to a conclusion and, and, and will ultimately bring to fruition, the, the working and the building of the temple, and it takes the really beloved brothers and sisters to the future, promises of God to restore the temple and to the na-, the nation of Israel. That's why he says, they shall rejoice and shall see the, the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with Those seven, they are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth.

In other words, God sees everything upon the face of this earth. And God is the one that will ultimately fulfill the promises that he had made to his people. And that, notice these seven, if you just go back to, to the, to Zechariah chapter three, we do read in verses eight and nine and ten, Zechariah chapter three, verse eight, nine, and ten, Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for there are men wondered at, for behold, I will bring forth my servant, the branch, the Messiah will come. For behold, the stone, notice that, That I have laid before Joshua upon one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave, the engraving thereof, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

In that day, says the Lord of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. In other words, he's promising that the day will come and there will be a restoration, a national restoration. Of the people of Israel. Very interesting, beloved brothers and sisters. Now I just wanted to mention, just for the connection for us, that this person by the name of Zerubbabel is also is seen in the New Testament. If you just for a moment turn to Matthew chapter 1, in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, we see the name of Zerubbabel is mentioned there in the genealogy of the Messiah. Notice then, it says in verse 1 of Matthew chapter 1 and verse 1, the book of the generation or the genealogy of Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Avraham, then Avraham begot Yitzchak, Yitzchak begot Yaakov, Yaakov begot Judah and his brethren.

But if you go further down and come to verse 12, you know Notice that Zerubbabel's name is mentioned. And after they were brought to Babylon, Yohanaiah begat Shaltiel, and Shaltiel begat Zerubbabel. Here we see that Zerubbabel is in the line, in the Messianic line, that he is the one that God is using after the discipline of his people Israel in Babel. He is bringing now this man from the tribe of Judah by the name of Zerubbabel, of the line of the Messianic line, the line of the Messiah.

And so now as we see that now, go now to back to Zechariah in chapter four, now that he have established it, and by the way, the nation of Israel was called to be a light to the Gentiles. I want to read this verse one more time. That's why the menorah is here before us. The menorah, this is the, the, the vision of the lampstand that give light, but the light is received by the two olive trees with the pipe to each one of these seven lamps which give light to the world. Of course, in the temple, in the tabernacle, it gave light within the holy place. But notice what we read in Isaiah.

chapter, 60, I'll just read, I get to Isaiah chapter 60 in the first two verses, Israel as a nation is called to be a light to the nations of the world, and the light to the nation of the world will only be given by Israel when Israel is restored and a redeemed nation. And so we read in chapter 60, Arise and shine, for your light has come.

The light that came is the Mashiach that come to restore the nation of Israel, Isaiah chapter 60. And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee, Israel. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee. And his glory shall be seen upon thee, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

You see, and if you read a little bit further, you will notice that, he's speaking about, I'm not going to read, much further, but in verse 21 he said, Thy people also shall be all righteous, and they shall inherit the land forever. Israel must be restored and be able to give light to the world as God have called them to be. You and I today are called to be light as well. Ye are the light of the world, the Lord Jesus the Messiah said. I am the light of the world, he said of himself, but we receive light from him, and we can give light to others. Just like Israel in a future day, Israel will receive the light from the Lord and therefore they will be able to give light to others. That has to do with the future day.

And so now notice, and these are the final verses for us here today, verses 11, 12, 13, and 14. Here now the Lord is explaining, He give an explanation of the olive tree and the lampstand. This is so beautiful. Again, remember, beloved brothers and sisters, this is 520 BC. Yeshua HaMashiach didn't come as yet. The church was not born as yet. The church was a mystery hidden God. The church was not revealed unto the sons of men, this church age in which you and I live in. That's why we have to always distinguish between God's earthly people, Israel, and God's heavenly people, the assembly, the church, the ekklesia.

We have to distinguish between the wife of Yehovah, Israel, and the bride of Christ, the church, the assembly. We have to distinguish between the earthly people, Israel, and the heavenly people, the assembly, the church, of whom the Lord Jesus said, In my Father's house there are many mentioned. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. The hope of the assembly is in heaven.

We have an inheritance undefiled in heaven, not here on earth. But Israel will ultimately receive the promises of God here on earth, to be a light to the world. Through whom the Messiah and the nation will ultimately give light to the world. That's why the menorah is a symbol of the Messiah, of Christ, but the menorah is a symbol of the nation of Israel. Now here's the final words, and listen to that, in verses 11 to 14. So the Lord is explaining, giving an explanation of number one, the olive trees. Remember in the vision, olive trees? And number two is giving an explanation of the lampstand.

And so notice we read in verse 11, Zechariah is now asking the angel the question concerning the olive tree, and so he's asking him, and he says, Then answer I, Zechariah is saying in verse 11, and he said unto him, What are these two olive trees? Zechariah is asking the angel. What are these, these, two olive trees upon the right side of the menorah, the lampstand, the candlestick, and upon the left side? What are these? Again, notice, two trees, olive trees, on the two sides of the lampstand that have seven lamps. So he's asking a question, you know, he wanted to know. Remember that we have the dream, the vision, in the first three verses, and then we have, as we have already mentioned, after the vision was shown, that, God made the promises to Zerubbabel, but now, as we continue on, we find out that the purpose of the dream was to show Zechariah, to tell Zerubbabel and Israel about the purposes of God for them.

And so the interpretation of the vision is given to him now in verses eleven to fourteen. So he's asking, Zechariah is asking that angel, what are the meaning, what are these two trees that are upon the right side and the left side of the menorah, of the lampstand? So in verse twelve, Zechariah asked again, but notice this time, now he asking about the menorah itself. And he's saying in verse twelve, and he answered again, he said, he spoke again, Zechariah, and he said unto him, what are these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?

So notice what he's asking. Verse eleven is a question, verse twelve is a question. Verse eleven, what are the meaning of the two olive trees? In verse 12, what is the meaning of the two olive branches? Apparently, out of the olive trees came two olive branches, and these olive branches, notice that they threw the golden pipes, there were pipes that were coming out, they emptied the golden oil out of themselves.

What does it mean? Zechariah is asking, what would you do if you see such a vision? You would want to know, what does it mean? Lampstand, two trees, olive trees, pipes coming from the olive trees, through a branch, going on a bowl above the lampstand, the bowl has seven pipes coming down to the seven lamps, and the oil keep flowing and keep flowing of themselves. What does it mean, he asking this angel?

And so notice the answer, and I think it's so beautiful. And now, beloved brothers and sisters, to remind you that don't despise a day of small things in the day when the Jewish people came back and the small little temple was built. God has far more blessing and his intention to bring them into great things that God has for his own people.

And so he's taking them, really, listen to this, he's taking Zechariah, he's taking Zubbabel to the future day of Israel's final restoration. Don't, for a moment, don't mix the church here, because in a sense what happened, bypassing the church age, which you and I finding ourselves today, the church was, is a mystery that was hidden God. So as far as the Jewish prophets, there is no church age because they don't know the church age because it was not revealed to them. They see the first coming of the Messiah, the second coming of the Messiah. They don't see the valley in between the days in which you and I are living today. They are looking all the way to the final days of Israel's restoration. And so notice that in verses 13 and 14, the angel of the Lord answering Zechariah. Here's the answer. Listen to the answer.

As he concluding with this final vision, a final part of the vision of the lampstand and the two olive trees. He says in verses 13 and 14, he gives Zechariah an answer. And he said to him in verse 13 and 14, he answered and he said, knowest thou not what these be, Zechariah, don't you know what these be? And I said, no, my Lord, I don't know. And then he said in verse 14, he said, and he said, these are the two anointed one that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

In other words, he's saying that these two olive trees representing the two anointed one, two individuals that were anointed, notice the word anointed reminding you that it's not by might, not by power, but by my spirit. They were anointed by the spirit of God, and they will be used by the Lord to restore in the power of the spirit of God to begin the restoration of the nation of Israel. Now we have seen here The two ones that were anointed here in Zechariah chapter four, and also in Ezra chapter three and four and five and so on, we see Joshua the high priest, and we see Zerubbabel on the line of Judah. The political, we might say, or the, we might say the king and priest, the line of the king, Zerubbabel, and the prince, and the priest, this is Yehoshua.

But immediately, as we read the whole context of the word of God, I would like you to turn with me to the book of Revelation, to chapter eleven. Now, if you turn to Revelation chapter eleven, it takes us all the way to this middle of the tribulation, when you have two witnesses. That are raised by God during the tribulation, and for verse one all the way to verse thirteen of Revelation chapter eleven, you can see that these, two witnesses during the tribulation period, that actually the Lord said that these two witnesses are called the two olive trees. Notice in verse four of Revelation chapter eleven, these are the two olive trees and the two lampstand or candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Now let me read you these verses. I'll read from verse one all the way to verse thirteen, so you will listen to the word of the Lord here in Revelation chapter eleven.

I'm reading. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod. And the angel stood, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar of them that worship therein. But a court which is without the temple, leave out and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall be tread under foot for forty-two months. These are forty-two months, the second half of the tribulation period, the temple in Jerusalem that will be rebuilt in the future day, the tribulation temple that will be trodden down, trodden under the foot of the, by the Gentiles for three and a half years of the second half of the tribulation. Then he says in verse three, And I will give power unto my two witnesses. Notice, two witnesses he's mentioning here.

And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days. This is one thousand two hundred and sixty days. They will prophesy for the first three and a half years of the tribulation period. To remind you that the tribulation period in Hebrew is called Sarat Yaakov. These are not ordinary tribulation, these are the tribulation, the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy concerning the time of Israel's restoration, which is a one week, which is a one week of years, seven years, divided into two sections, the first half and the second half.

God will raise two witnesses for this first half of the, tribulation period, and these two witnesses, and according to verse three, they will give, he will give power to my witnesses, and they shall prophesy for three and a half years. These are the two, and again, notice how beautiful, to connect it with Zechariah chapter four, these are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. In other words, they give light, they are the two lampstands, they give light to the world and to the nations, and also to the nation, to the Jewish people that are going through Jacob's trouble, and the whole world, that will testify to the world.

And so we continue now in verse, five, and if any man shall hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouth and devour their enemies, and if any man will hurt them, he must be, in this manner, be killed. In other words, God have empowered these two witnesses, unnamed, unknown, we don't know who they are, there are all sort of views who these two witnesses will be, some suggest that one of them is Elijah and the other one is Moses, there are all sort of thoughts concerning who these two witnesses are.

Because the fire, remember Elijah called, you know, he's talking about the, fire coming out of heaven and so on, and, and so they are giving testimony here. If any one of their enemies is doing something to them, they must in this manner be killed. Fire will come out of their mouth. Verse six says, these have power to shut heaven. That the rain, not, that will rain not in these, the days of their prophecy. That's remind us of Elijah. He prayed to God, and God had shut the heavens. And they have power over water to turn them into blood and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. That will remind us of Moshe, of Moses, the lawgiver who turned, you remember, the water into blood when Israel came out of the land of Egypt. So that's why some believe that these two witnesses are really Elijah and Moshe.

We don't have the name, we do not know who they are, but some say that they may be Elijah and Moses. Some believe that they are Elijah and Enoch. Why? Because Elijah, Eliyahu, and Enoch, Chanuch, never died. They were taken out of here without going through death. And some believe that they may be these particular two men who never, never died, but were taken to heaven. Chanuch, Enoch, in chapter 5 of Genesis, and Elijah was taking on later on, as we read in the book of Kings. But we don't know. Some assume. And now notice this as we read further. And when they shall finish their testimony, notice what will happen to these two witnesses. The beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit, this is the Antichrist, He shall make war against them, and he will overcome them, and he will kill them. Apparently, the Antichrist will be successful to kill these two witnesses.

And that's happening now in the first three and a half years of the tribulation period. Then we read in verse 8, And their dead bodies shall lay in the street of the great city. Now notice that city is Jerusalem, but spiritually that city is called Sodom and Egypt, where also the Lord was, our Lord was crucified. So we know it is Yerushalayim, but sadly, during the tribulation period, Jerusalem will be occupied by other nations, and Israel will be still under the occupation of the nation, and although they will have the privilege to rebuild the tribulation temple, which God will not sanction and will not be pleased with, that's why it is called here Sodom and Egypt, representing sinfulness and a world and its system.

Then we have in verse eight at the end where our Lord was crucified, where Messiah was crucified right there in Jerusalem, outside of Jerusalem, but right there in the land of Israel when he died on the Roman cross. And then we read in the next verses, verse nine, And they of the people and the kinders and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their bodies, their dead bodies, to be put into in a grave. In other words, all the nations and the tongues and the people, the kinders of the people of the world, they will be so happy because they will see the dead bodies of these two witnesses, which are called here in verse four, the two olive trees, they will see them dead, and their dead bodies will remain on the streets, and they will not even bury them for three and a half days.

And so we read in verse 10 and verse 11, and I read verse 10, and they shall dwell that dwell upon the earth, they will rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another, because the two prophets, you see these two witnesses, they are actually two prophets, they tormented them that dwell on the earth. In other words, they spoke for God, they gave testimony to the Messiah, and they tormented the unbelieving individuals here in this world, and that's why they were so happy to see that they are dead, and their bodies are still on the streets, and they did not allow them to be buried. What did they do? They rejoiced, they gave gifts one to another, because of these two prophets.

And so The, the, the Lord continued to give instruction to the Apostle John who received this revelation concerning the tribulation period in verse eleven, and he says, after three days and a half, the Spirit of life from God entered unto them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. In other words, we see here a resurrection, a resurrection. And this is the sign of Jonah the prophet. You remember what we read, that the Lord said, as Jonah was three days and three nights, and he spoke about the resurrection, that the resurrection will be a testimony, so you have the resurrection of the Lord, we have the resurrection of Jonah coming out of the fish, and here we see another testimony of these two witnesses that were dead.

But now being raised, and we read here in verse eleven, they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. They were fearful, and they saw the testimony that these two prophets, these two witnesses, which are representing the two olive trees from Zechariah chapter four, are now standing alive. Fear came upon all, and that gave a witness to the nation of Israel in view of Israel's national restoration, because now again, remember, This is now in the middle of the tribulation, in the first half of the tribulation period. The second half is when the Antichrist will stand and sit in the temple claiming to be God. The Jewish people will flee into Bozrah Petra and be kept for the second half of the tribulation by the Lord. But the testimony of the two witnesses who were speaking for God, who were the two prophets, who are the two olive trees from the giving testimony from Zechariah chapter 4, they rose from the dead.

And their testimony of their resurrection produce and ignite the final stages of Israel's ultimate restoration. And so notice what we read. In verses 12 and 13, they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and their armies beheld them. In other words, these two witnesses, they preached, they shared God's word, they were empowered by God, they were, they were, they were fulfilling the two olive trees, a picture that, a vision that was given to Zechariah, they, died, was killed by the Antichrist, the beast, and then they were laid on the street for three and a half days, and then miraculously, they were, they stood upon their feet, they rose from death, and then not only then, not only that, but they were, they heard a voice, and they were taken up to glory. Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, as we have here in verse 12.

And at the end, notice the consequence of the testimony of the two witnesses. In their life, in their message, in their death, and in resurrection and ascension, we find out the result of their testimony. It says in verse 13, At the same hour, there was a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city, this is the city of Jerusalem, fell, and in the earthquake were slain men seven thousand. People died when that earthquake came during the first part of the tribulation period. But notice what we read at the end of verse 13, And the remnant, those that remain, Were frightened, and they gave glory to the God of heaven.

Ultimately, there was a restoration, and the testimony of the resurrection of the two witnesses gave a testimony to the nation, which ultimately lead the nation now to be the one that will give glory to the God of heaven. In other words, they will be used by the Lord to ignite an ultimate restoration of the nation of Israel, which ultimately will come to recognize the Messiah and come to turn back to the Lord.

And so go back to Zechariah. And in Zechariah chapter four, just in conclusion, beloved brothers and sisters, I'm reading the meaning of this testimony that we have here by the angel to this, to Zechariah to give to Zerubbabel. Then answered I, and I said unto him, What are these two olive trees? We just read Revelation chapter eleven verse three and four. What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the lampstand and the left side? And I answered again, and I said unto him, What are these two olive branches which, through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And the answer was, he answered, and he said unto me, Don't you know what these be? And I said, Not, my lord. And he said in verse fourteen, he said, These are the two anointed ones.

Anointed ones. That stand by the Lord of the whole earth. In other words, if we can just for a moment take the prophecy of Zechariah, and just for a moment link it with the tribulation period with Revelation and put it together. What you really see, the church had been taken to heaven at the rapture before the tribulation begin. We see the church in heaven in Revelation chapter 4 and 5, singing, worthy is the Lamb. And then in chapter 6, back down to earth, the seven year tribulation begin and end by the time we arrive to Revelation chapter 19. And in between, in the middle of the tribulation, you have these two witnesses, which are two prophets, which are depict here as the two olive tree. Trees. And they receive their anointed because the Spirit of God is, is using them to give a testimony to the nation, to the nations of the world, but also specifically in the remnant of Israel, to the nation of Israel.

These are the ones that are the two anointed one which stand by the Lord of the whole earth. In other words, they are the one, they will lead, they will be leading ultimately the nation of Israel to awaken them and ultimately to awaken them to the fact that they need to turn back to the Lord and to give light, the minoah, to be a light To the nations of the world in a day that will come in a future day. And so, to conclude, I'm reading once again Isaiah chapter 60. As we read, Arise and shine, Israel, arise and shine, for thy light, the Messiah is come. The light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, the gross darkness, the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee, that is Israel. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about and see. Israel, turn back to the Lord. And as Zechariah is seeing this fifth vision, beloved brothers and sisters, you see the vision of the lampstand and the olive tree, which representing that it is not by might and not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. It is the spirit of God, which will ultimately restore the nation of Israel back to himself, and they shall be a nation that is born in a day. According to Ezekiel chapter 36, we read in verse 26, A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.

And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will, I will put my spirit, again, notice that, not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts, I will put my spirit within you, and I will cause you to walk in my statutes, that ye shall keep my judgment and do them.

God will use the two witnesses represented by the two olive trees here, beloved brothers and sisters, to give a testimony to the nation of Israel and to awaken them to realize that they need to turn to God and ultimately to accept The Messiah. And we will see that later on, they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. Zechariah 12 and verse 10, and they shall mourn as one mourneth for his only son. What a day that will be. What a day that will be. And we as believers today are so blessed to know the same Jesus, the Messiah that was once came to give himself for us. We already believe on him today. And for us, beloved brothers and sisters, the assembly, the church became the house of God.

Every true believer who belong to the assembly, he is part of the house of God. We read in 1 Timothy, in 2 Timothy, I should say, and I'm closing with that, 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15, we do read, listen to this, 2 Timothy 3 and verse 15, we read, I should say, 1 Timothy 3 and verse 15, If I tarry long, Paul is saying, the dumbest know how thou art to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth. For us today, the ekklesia, the assembly, not the building, not the structure, but the true church of all true believers, we are representing the house Of the living God, the pillar, the church of the living God, the house of God, the pillar, and the ground of the truth. And one day, in the future day, Israel will be restored and enjoy a relationship with the Lord.

So here we have conclusion of the vision of the lampstand and the two olive trees, which represent the two witnesses that the Lord will use during the first half of the tribulation to give testimony to Israel, to awaken them, and ultimately to be restored back to the Lord. What a day that will be. Well, our God and our Father, thank you so much for your word. Thank you for this fourth chapter of the prophecy, the vision of that Zechariah have seen. Bless your word to us all, we pray. For we ask it in Yeshua's name. Amen and amen. God bless you, my dear friend. Until the next time, we say... shalom, shalom.