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Zechariah

About this book
Chapter 4

1 The angelic messenger who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a menorah of pure gold⁠ with a receptacle at the top. There are seven lamps at the top, with seven pipes going to the lamps.⁠ 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.” 4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these, sir?” 5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.⁠ 7 “What are you, you great mountain? Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain!⁠ And he will bring forth the temple capstone with shoutings of ‘Grace! Grace!’ because of this.” 8 Moreover, the Lord’s message came to me as follows: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, and his hands will complete it.⁠ Then you will know that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sent me to you. 10 For who dares make light of small beginnings? These seven eyes will joyfully look on the tin tablet in Zerubbabel’s hand. These are the eyes of the Lord, which constantly range across the whole earth.”⁠ 11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?” 12 Before he could reply I asked again, “What are these two extensions of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?” 13 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” And I said, “No, sir.” 14 So he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Texts in conversation

How Revelation's Two Olive Trees Echo Zechariah's Vision

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s vision of two olive trees and a golden lampstand is based on Zechariah’s image of the menorah and living trees. In Zechariah, the lamp represents God’s spirit sustaining the rebuilt temple, and in Revelation it is a symbol of God's presence.

Passages

Zechariah 4:2

Hebrew Bible
1 The angelic messenger who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I replied, “I see a menorah of pure gold with a receptacle at the top. There are seven lamps at the top, with seven pipes going to the lamps. 3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left.” 4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these, sir?” 5 He replied, “Don’t you know what these are?” So I responded, “No, sir.” 6 Therefore he told me, “This is the Lord’s message to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Zechariah

Revelation 11:4

New Testament
1 Then a measuring rod like a staff was given to me, and I was told, “Get up and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and the ones who worship there. 2 But do not measure the outer courtyard of the temple; leave it out because it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will trample on the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 (These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.) 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and completely consumes their enemies. If anyone wants to harm them, they must be killed this way.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Together with Zechariah 4:14, Revelation 11:4 may also allude to Leviticus 24:4, where ‘the pure gold lampstand [is] before the Lord continually’ ... The lampstand in the tabernacle and temple was in the presence of God, and the light that emanated from it apparently represented the presence of God. Similarly, the lamps on the lampstand in Zechariah 4:2–5 are interpreted in 4:6 as representing God’s presence or Spirit, which was to empower Israel (= ‘the lampstand’) to finish rebuilding the temple, despite resistance (compare Zechariah 4:6–9) ..."
G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 395.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Zechariah 4:2 and Revelation 11:4

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