11 Then I answered and said to him, “What are these two 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 drip 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, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
4:11
Then I [Zechariah] answered and said to him [interpreting angel], “What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?”
Again Zechariah asked the interpreting angel the meaning of the “two olive trees.”
4:12
And I further answered and said to him,
Zechariah asked for a more detailed meaning of the “two olive branches.”
“What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?”
The “two olive branches” are here brought forth for the first time; they were branches of the two olive trees. The gold pipes allowed the oil to drain into a bowl reservoir. This is a new image as well.
4:13
Then he [interpreting angel] answered me [Zechariah] and said, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
Zechariah did not know how to interpret the vision.
4:14
So he said, “These [two branches] are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth [God, as Creator].”
The two branches were “anointed ones” who would serve “the Lord of the whole earth.” This is a reference to both Zerubbabel, the civil leader, and Joshua, the high priest. The lampstand represented Israel as a light to all nations, especially during the Millennial reign of Christ, the King-Priest, who is sovereign over the “whole earth.”
PRINCIPLE:
The two offices of king and priest foreshadow the Messiah’s offices in the Millennial kingdom.
APPLICATION:
The two olive branches represent the two offices of the Messiah in the Millennial kingdom—king and priest. Zerubbabel, the civil leader, was of the line of David, giving him royal lineage. Joshua, the high priest, was the other officer. Jesus is the priest who intercedes on our behalf (He 9:24). Israel anointed both priests and kings with oil (Ps 45:7). The Messiah as King-Priest will rule over the whole earth, exercising dominion over a restored earth. The restoration is to the purpose of creation—God’s glory on earth in time (Isa 60:1-3). The Messiah will bring to completion what Adam failed to do—gain dominion over the world to give God glory.
