Zechariah 4:7  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.
8  Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9  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.
10  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 fro through the whole earth.
11  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?
12  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?
13  And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
14  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

God often used symbolism in this book. He had a message for the people of that time but also a message for future generations. While God does not always use symbolism in prophecy, He chose to do so here. The mountain here is a reference to those who would oppose the Word of the LORD as given by Zerubbabel. The opposition to God’s truth will be destroyed. We know that there was opposition to the building of the Temple and the walls of Jerusalem. We also know that the Temple was rebuilt and the walls were completed. The opposition was strong at times but the work was completed.
Today, there is still a massive assault against the truth. Even in secular terms, we have seen the invention of a few new terms to try to go after people who say things that government officials do not like. They do not want to call others “liars” so they have invented new terms which mean the same thing. The problem is that it is our governments and health officials who are often the liars and they do not want to be exposed as such.
God told Hezekiah that the time would come when the mountain of opposition to the will of God would be destroyed. It would be made a plain. That time will be in the Millennium and beyond that time. During the Millennium Jesus Christ will rule. He will be the King. He will be the Saviour and He will be the Lord. There will be no opposition to His rule allowed. It will not be until the end of the Millennium that the devil will be loosed from his chains and he will amass a large number of the people living at that time for one final attack against the Lord Jesus Christ. The devil and his armies will lose and the devil will be cast into the lake of fire and the lost will stand before the great white throne judgment and will be judged according to their works and then cast into the lake of fire. The current heavens and earth will be destroyed by fire and a new heavens and earth will be created by the Lord. There will be no trace of sin there. The mountain will be made a plain.
The headstone is a reference to the “capstone”. The Temple would be completed with shouting. The grace here speaks of “favour and charm”. The Jews would rejoice in the completion of the work. The enemies would not be happy, but that is their problem.
We noted yesterday that the stone was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. True peace can only be known when Jesus Christ rules. That was true in Zechariah’s day and it is still true today. There are multitudes of people who do not know God’s peace in their heart. The fault in each case is in those lacking the peace. God has revealed Himself to mankind in a very clear manner. The rebellious nature of man is what keeps him from knowing God’s peace. Zechariah was directed to address that in his day and it is still the major need of mankind today.
Verse 8 again reminds us that this message is from the LORD. In verse 9 we see that the rebuilding of the Temple was the immediate focus. The Temple was a picture of Who Jesus Christ is and what He does. His house will stand while all others will crumble.
Zerubbabel was instrumental in laying the foundation of the Temple and he would also see it come to completion. Through this accomplishment, the people would know that God had sent Zechariah for this important work.
In verse 10 we read of the rebuke given to those who would oppose the work. We read in Ezra that there was opposition to the work being done. There were those who despised the work being done. They did not want to see a Temple in Jerusalem. They hindered the work for a time, but the work was eventually completed. There would be rejoicing to see the work being done. Even though the second Temple was smaller than the first one, it was still good to see a Temple going up again in Jerusalem.
God’s work will be done. Jesus taught the disciples of this fact when He taught them how to pray. God’s will is always done in heaven and it will also be done on earth.
The plummet was a plumb line used to make sure the walls were straight. The Temple needed to be straight but again there is application here to the sure work of the LORD. The seven eyes are mentioned here again. The LORD was watching over this work. That is why it would be completed. The LORD blesses His work when it is done His way. We are reminded here that the LORD is indeed omniscient. His eyes run to and fro through the whole earth. There is nothing that escapes His eye. He knows where His children are and what they are doing. He sees the difficulties they face. He desires to bless His children. He also knows the way of the wicked. He wants the wicked to turn to Him. He has a record of all the works of the wicked. Unless they turn to the LORD, their works will condemn them at the great white throne judgment.
In verses 11&12 Zechariah went back to the two olive trees. He wanted to know the purpose of those two trees. Zechariah knew they were there to supply oil to the candlestick. He also knew they had some other purpose. Zechariah understood there was a prophetic nature to this vision and he was not understanding that.
The candlestick was for light. The candlestick in the Temple was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Light of the world. He brings light into the darkness. He shows His truth to all of mankind. He wants men like Zechariah and Zerubbabel and every born again Christian to proclaim His truth to all people.
God declared that the two olive trees were symbolic. They were symbolic of the two anointed ones. Who were those? There are a couple of possibilities here. They could be Joshua and Zerubbabel, the two men that have been mentioned already in this book. Joshua was the high priest and thus he would be anointed by the LORD. Zerubbabel was the political leader chosen by the LORD and he would also be anointed by the LORD for his task. Another possibility is that the two anointed men were Haggai and Zechariah. In Ezra 6:14 these two men are mentioned in recognition of their work in prophesying at the time of the building of the temple.
The oil of the olives was the fuel for the candlesticks, but the oil is also representative of the Holy Spirit. The anointing would be the equipping of the LORD for the work that needed to be done. None of the four men mentioned could do their work properly if they were not chosen by the LORD and equipped by the LORD for the work that needed to be done.
A third possibility is found in Revelation 11:3-4:

Revelation 11:3  And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
4  These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

We see in those verses a direct reference to the two olive trees and the two candlesticks that stand before the God of the earth. Those two witnesses will be protected by the LORD for the duration of their ministry. When their work is completed, they will be killed by the antichrist. Their dead bodies will be celebrated in the streets of Jerusalem. Three days later their dead bodies will be raised up and they will ascend up to heaven in plain view of all those on earth.
There seems to be a double fulfillment to what Zechariah was given in our text. God used men in that time to illustrate the further fulfillment of this prophecy in the last days as seen in Revelation 11.
God gave Zechariah these things to encourage him in his work that needed to be done. He could do that work because he was given that work by the LORD. The LORD always equips His child for the work He has for him. His enabling is through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit in the life of His servant. The message His servant has is a light in a dark world. God blesses His work. It is powerful and it is effective. Not all who hear the Gospel will respond favourably. However, they will be held accountable for their response whether positive or negative.
The wise person listens to what God has to say and seeks His blessing in his life. Zechariah was such a man. He was an obedient servant of the Lord. Joshua and Zerubbabel were as well. It is always important to know the LORD and to willingly serve Him.
Pastor Bartel