One Lamp, Two Olive Trees

Much like the books of Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation, the book of Zechariah is a Book of Visions – with yet another end-time timeline of events. Both Zechariah and Haggai were post-first exile prophets who prophesied of things to come. Why is it important to know this? Because their prophesies hold a time release of two restorative time periods in Israel’s history, in their day and the end-time. Israel experienced her first exile into the Babylonian Empire. Their first exile into Babylon prefigured their second exile, executed by the Romans at the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The second restoration of their second exile will be during the end-time global Babylonian empire. We attempt to understand the origins Babylon and the global Babylonian empire in the next section.

All the prophetic language among the Old Testament prophets that described Israel’s return from their second exile has been in full swing for the last seventy plus years! During this time, the time-release revelation of the imagery of two-in-one and one-in-two becomes evident and prolific, whether illustrated as two sticks becoming one or, as we will see in Zechariah, two olive trees feeding into one lamp stand. 

We are presently witnessing this time-release of prophetic fulfillment of Israel’s restoration from their second exile and the global phenomena of Gentile Biblical Zionism both supporting and identifying with Israel and the Jewish people – we are witnessing the One New Man coming together end-time fulfillment!

In chapter 4, Zechariah saw a vision of the very mystery that Paul so articulately described for us.

Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, What do you see? So I said, I am looking, and there is a lamp stand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left. So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Zech 4:1-4

Thankfully, Scripture interprets its own imagery. As we know in Romans 11:17, the two olive trees are defined for us as (1) the natural olive tree represents ethnic Israel, the Jews, and the wild olive tree represents the believing engrafted Gentiles. The singular lampstand (menorah) is the One New Man and our role as illuminators of God’s will in these last days. Israel was to be a light to the nations and when we were adopted into the Family of God, we too, are ordained to be a light to the nations.

We must remember that the mystery of God’s inclusion of the Gentiles was veiled to Old Testament prophets until the unveiling of Jesus Himself, who commissioned the Apostle Paul to reveal the mystery of the One New Man. If you read the full passage in context of Zechariah 4, Zechariah actually asks the angel twice what this imagery meant. 

At first glance, one would think that the angel was almost ignoring Zechariah’s question. However, the opposite is true, the angel was expanding the revelation. This passage, among the numerous 150 Old Testament chapters that describe the end-times, is a great example of a two-tiered time release prophecy of the restoration of Israel after the first exile and the second exile in the end-times. In the text, Zerubbabel was the Israeli civil authority, assigned to rebuild and restore Jerusalem after Israel’s first exile. He was the prefigurement, a type and shadow, of the Messiah who would rebuild and restore Israel at the return from their second exile. Careful as you read, you might just shout right out-loud, “Grace! Grace!”

Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? (this is a mystery throughout Scripture for the Jewish people until appointed time of revelation) And I said, No, my lord. So he answered and said to me: This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘ Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. Who are you, O great mountain (world-system)? Before Zerubbabel (prefigurement of Jesus) you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone (the finished works ) with shouts of Grace, grace to it!’ Zech 4:5-7

A capstone is the last stone to cap or crown the finished works that began with the first cornerstone – Jesus is both the Cornerstone and the Capstone of His own New Creation. He is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega (Rev 1:8). Just as we saw in the Genesis account, God created Woman as a helpmate comparable to Adam. So in kind, as we have seen, His greatest creation is His Bride, whom He created out of Jew and Gentile, as the One New Man, a Helpmate, comparable unto Himself!