Zechariah 4:8

6 So he answered and said to me:
“This is the word of the Lord to ^aZerubbabel:
^b‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.

7 ‘Who are you, ^aO great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth ^bthe capstone
^cWith shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ”

8 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

9 “The hands of Zerubbabel
^aHave laid the foundation of this¹ temple;
His hands ^bshall also finish it.
Then ^cyou will know
That the ^dLord of hosts has sent Me to you.

10 For who has despised the¹ day of ^asmall things?
For these seven rejoice to see
The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
^bThey are the eyes of the Lord,
Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these ^atwo olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?”

12 And I further answered and said to him, “What are these two olive branches that drip¹ into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”

13 Then he answered me and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”

14 So he said, ^a“These are the two anointed ones, ^bwho stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Zechariah 4:8 Mean?

Zechariah 4:8-10

This is a second interpretation of the first five verses, but not a different one. We have a preliminary interpretation in verses 6-7, and in verses 8-10 we are presented additional information and interpretation of the seven lamps.

The interpretation in verses 6-7 concentrated on "by My Spirit," making sure we get first things first. God, by His Spirit, will be behind all of this; it will be done by grace. We must understand this as priority one when we consider the work of the Two Witnesses. They are servants, and they follow the lead of God's Spirit. That is how their work will be done. That is their mind as well; they will not take credit for what they accomplish. They will know that it is done by God's Spirit.

Verses 8-10 shows that God really has Christ in mind (more than Zerubbabel, who was just a type). We always have to look at things like this and realize that there are types of Christ in them. Zerubbabel—though he is a type of one of the Two Witnesses—is really a type of the true Savior, Jesus Christ. Christ is the true King, and we can never keep Him out of these things.

Christ is building a spiritual temple, and He finishes what He starts. We can paraphrase verse 9 as, "The hands of Jesus Christ have laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it." We could go back even as far as Creation and recognize that He was the One who created everything. He started the process that will end in salvation. He will complete the job and bring God's purpose to pass. As far as laying the foundation goes, He did that in Old Testament times, or we could bring it forward as when He gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins to establish our relationship with God the Father. No matter where we see the starting point of the spiritual Temple in history, He will complete it.

Philippians 1:6 says He who has started a good work in you will finish it. He will complete it. Zerubbabel's completion of the physical Temple in 515 BC is just a sign, if you will, that Christ will finish the spiritual one.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Two Witnesses (Part Four)

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What Does Zechariah 4:8 Mean?

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