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The Holy Bible Is The Immutable Living Word Of the Eternal God

 

We Recommend The King James / A.V Bible,

with most other translations The Bible Is Used To Deceive

 

All Of Our Rituals,                                    Are An Abomination to The Eternal God.

All Of Our Festivals,                                Are An Abomination to The Eternal God.

All Of Our Pagan Practices,                  Are An Abomination to The Eternal God. 

                       

The Eternal God Is Not A Robotic Moron, On Whom We Make Demands,

And Whom we Obey, As We Like, And When It Is Convenient To Do So.

 

Christ Is Our Living, Loving, Personal Saviour.    There Is No Other.

Christ Is The Solution To All Our Problems.          There Is No Other.

 

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is One God, and

                                              One Mediator between God and men,

                                              The Man, Christ Jesus.

 

If This Verse Is Not In Your Bible, Your Bible Is Corrupt. – Throw It Away. 

You Have Been Deceived Into Serving Satan, the god of this world.

 

Sincerity Is Not The Issue.

You can be sincere and still be wrong.

 

To Live A Lie Is To Die. – It Is As Simple As That.

 

      Obey Or Perish.jpg

  CHAIN                                               CHAIN    

                Breaking All Chains

        Setting The Captives Free 

       

Two Witnesses, Two Olive Trees, and the Candlestick

          

           By Peter James from:   www.peterjamesx.com   

 

This is primarily a study of Zechariah chapter 4.

 

It is a composite chapter, which is all related.

It is not a set of confused cobbled together isolated facts.

It explains the relationship between Christ, the Church,

and the two Witnesses.

 

This is the whole chapter.

 

Zechariah 4:1  And the angel that talked with me came again,

and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,

 

Zechariah 4:2  And said unto me, What seest thou?

And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold,

with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon,

and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

 

Zechariah 4:3  And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side

of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.

 

Zechariah 4:4  So I answered and spake to the angel that talked

with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

 

Zechariah 4:5  Then the angel that talked with me answered and

said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be?

And I said, No, my lord.

 

Zechariah 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying,

This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying,

Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

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.

 

Zechariah 4:8  Moreover the word of the LORD came

unto me, saying,

Zechariah 4:9  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.

Zechariah 4:10  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.

 

Zechariah 4:11  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?

 

Zechariah 4:12  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?

 

Zechariah 4:13  And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not

what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

 

Zechariah 4:14  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones,

that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

 

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First we will look at the matter of the Candlestick,

in the book of Zechariah Chapter 4,

and Revelation Chapters  1 and 2.

 

In Zechariah 4:1 we see an angel meeting with Zechariah.

He was not asleep, but he had been awakened out of his sleep.

 

Zechariah 4:1  And the angel that talked with me came again,

and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,

 

Zechariah is asked what do you see?

 

Zechariah 4:2  And said unto me, What seest thou?

And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold,

with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon,

and seven pipes to

the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:

 

Note that the bowl, the container for the Olive Oil was at the top,

and not anywhere else.

 

It would most likely be a little higher than the 7 lamps,

which were also in a straight line at the top of the Lampstand.

Therefore the popular designs cannot be right.

 

According to the translators,

Zechariah responds that he sees a golden candlestick,

As the device was not a holder for candles.

It should be called a lampstand,

rather than a candle stick, which is a container which holds candles,

because there are no candles involved whatsoever.

 

We also know, that it was Olive oil, and not some petroleum based oil,

which was used in the lamps, because we are told so.

 

The oil was not to be crushed by rollers,

or extracted by any other means.

It was to be ‘beaten’.

 

This must surely mean that pain,

was a major part of the life of Christ, and his body the church.

 

The two components of the lamp, the gold and the oil

were both beaten.

 

Christ was beaten to a pulp, until He was unrecognisable,

and many of his disciples have also been beaten.

 

All the 7 highlighted words denote being beaten.

 

Isaiah 53:4  Surely he hath borne our griefs,

and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,

smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:5  But he was wounded for our transgressions,

he was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon him;

and with his stripes we are healed.

 

 

Exodus 27:20  And thou shalt command the children of Israel,

that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light,

to cause the lamp to burn always.

 

Exodus 25:31  And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold:

of beaten work shall the candlestick (Lampstand) be made:

his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers,

shall be of the same.

 

We are told that there was a main shaft, which had branches.

At this point we are not told how many branches were coming out

of the main shaft, although the most common pictures show

seven branches coming out of the main shaft.

Three out of each side and one at the top.

 

The lamps represented the church, as is clearly shown

in the 7 letters to the churches, in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3.

 

The letters to the churches do not mean that there

were or are only 7 church congregations in the world.

They represented the spiritual condition of the true church,

of the Eternal God, not only at the time that the Apostle John wrote

the book of Revelation, but throughout the ages, right up to today.

 

The letters to the churchs is the true yardstick,

by which all groups who claim to be churches,

should judge themselves.

 

Revelation 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.

And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Revelation 1:13  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one

like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,

and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

 

Christ is the head of the Church.

It is He who sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to the newly born church,

and He continues to do so today.

Therefore the bowl at the very top, represents Christ, who comes

as the Holy Spirit to all of the churches, which are represented by the seven

lamps, which are also at the top of the Lampstand, but below the main bowl,

which we were told is at the top.

 

The church in Ephesus was warned to repent otherwise

its candlestick would be removed.

 

It is very easy to see that it is far more powerful to have

a lamp removed than candle, which was burning on its own.

When an individual lamp is removed from the source of Oil,

the Holy Spirit, it will die almost instantly.

Additionally, regardless of what that church or individual believes,

they are now completely removed from Christ,

regardless of what they might feel or say.

Until repentance, there is no chance whatsoever of them being

reunited to Christ, and so become a part of the lampstand again.

 

The very same thing applies to individuals as well as churches.

 

Revelation 2:5  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen,

and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly,

and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

 

The lampstand is a wonderful representation of the body of Christ.

It shows how we cannot function apart from Christ.

It is the height of foolishness to believe, that we can do our own thing,

on our own, and still be part of the body of Christ.

 

Romans 12: 5  So we, being many, are one body in Christ,

and every one members one of another.

 

The eye or heart or any organ or part of the body cannot function

on its own. The concept is not only nonsense, it is rebellion against

what the Eternal God demands.

The lampstand shows that such a thing is impossible.

 

Christ set up an entire system to ensure that His body functions

as He desires.

It would help a multitude of people if they would realise the very

simple point, that it is the Eternal God, no one else,

who puts everyone in the position that they are in,

within His True Church.

We,who are dust, often do not like the choices,

which the Eternal God has made,

and we forget that we are simply dust, and that we are racing

very quickly back to the dust, from whence we came.

We should think, and meditate on this fact every single day,

and then act accordingly.

 

1 Corinthians 12:28  And God hath set some in the church,

first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers,

after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,

diversities of tongues. (The ability to speak different languages)

 

1 Corinthians 12:10  To another the working of miracles;

to another prophecy;  to another discerning of spirits;

to another divers kinds of tongues;

to another the interpretation of tongues:

 

Zechariah fills in the details about the branches out of the side,

which are not as clear in the Exodus report.

 

He tells us, that out of the main shaft, there were two branches,

one on each side, they were called Olive branches,

so the design was as an Olive branch,

but they were made out of Gold.

These branches were smaller reservoirs of oil from which gold pipes,

fed the lamps above them.

Their function was to ‘empty themselves of oil’.

They can be said to be transporters of the Holy Spirit.

 

Zechariah 4:12  And I answered (Asked) again, and said unto him,

What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes

empty the golden oil out of themselves?

 

We are told that there is a main central shaft,

which also contains the main reservoir, which contains ‘Golden Olive oil’.

Attached to the main central shaft oil tank, are two gold olive branch tanks,

one on each side, and each serving 3 lamps at the top of the lampstand.

 

The ‘Golden Oil’ which represents the Holy Spirit. 

 

Therefore we are told that neither Zerubbabel, nor the two witnesses,

will be operating by their own might or power,

but by full power of the Holy Spirit, as directed by Christ, Himself. 

As we have shown the two branches, which represent the two witnesses,

are directly connected to the main shaft, Christ.

This is truly astounding.

It is no wonder that they are claimed to be standing before

the God of the whole earth in Zechariah 4:14.

 

Zechariah 4:6  Then he answered and spake unto me, saying,

This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying,

Not by might,

nor by power,

but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

In Exodus we are then told that on each side,

of the lampstand there were three branches.

 

Exodus 25:32  And six branches shall come out of the sides of it;

three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and

three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:

 

The result is that we have two main branches,

and each branch supports 3 smaller branch pipes,

which in turn feed the small lamps on the top of the lampstand.

That is what this verse means.

 

We are told in the midst of the seven candlesticks,

which should be ‘lampstands’ is Christ.

The lampstands: the central stand and the central reservoir,

are all one composite unit, which feeds the golden oil,

to the seven lamps, via two golden olive branches.

 

The seven golden candlesticks are referring

to the seven gold lamps on the gold lampstand.

In the midst of the seven lamps and central to it,

as they are all a part of the lampstand, is Christ.

 

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We are then introduced to two Olive Trees,

one on the right side of the lampstand,

and the other on the left side of the lampstand

 

Zechariah 4:11  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?

 

We see that there are two Olive Trees, one on each side

of the Lampstand.

We now see that the two branches on the lampstand,

are not only directly related, but they are referring to the very

same two witnesses.

 

Zechariah has no idea what the two Olive Trees represent.

 

Zechariah 4:13  And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not

what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

 

We have to go to the end of the chapter to find the answer.

We are told that they  are (present tense) the two anointed ones,

who stand (present tense) by the Lord of the whole earth.

So the trees represent two people, who are anointed,

and at present are viewed by the Eternal God,

as standing in His presence.

 

We are told that the Olive trees represent

Two people, who are anointed by the Eternal God,

regards them as continually standing in His presence.

This means that if one is in the Bosom of Abraham,

and the other is on the Earth, they are both regarded

as always being in the very presence of the Eternal God.

 

Zechariah 4:14  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones,

that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

 

We have to go back a little to understand something,

which is quite profound.

 

Zechariah actually asked two questions,

one immediately after the other.

I will repeat them here.

 

Zechariah 4:11  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?

 

Zechariah 4:12  And I answered (Asked) again, and said unto him,

What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes

empty the golden oil out of themselves?

 

To both of these questions, he was given a single answer.

 

Zechariah 4:14  Then said he, These are the two anointed ones,

that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

 

So the branch on each side, which fed 3 lamps, plus the central lamp,

were directly in contact with Christ, and they were used to pass the Holy Spirit,

which they had received from Christ, to the churches.

 

In Revelation Chapter 11:3-4, we are told that the two Olive trees,

are the two final end time witnesses.

We are also told that regarding the witnesses, the Eternal God

sees them also as lampstands, which are standing in His Presence.

 

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.

Revelation 11:4  These are the two olive trees,

and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

 

There is a massive difference between a candle stick and a lamp.

Candles are independent, and each burns by itself, and for itself.

The activity of each is not related to the other.

The Church, which Christ instituted was not designed as

candle sticks to run separately from each other.

 

If all the churches which were actually the True Churches of God,

were candlesticks, this would mean that the Methodists, Anglican,

Evangelical, Churches of God, Pentecostal and all other groups can be quite

comfortable with their customs and traditions etc.

Each would be an entity in itself, and it would be quite able,

to do its own thing, as each desired.

 

The Church of God, by definition has to be a composite organism,

where everyone speaks the same thing, and where there are no

divisions and cliques.

The churches mentioned about and countless others,

do not all speak the same thing.

 

The only thing that they have in common is ‘their confusion’.

 

1 Corinthians 1:10  Now I beseech you, brethren,

by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing,

and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly

joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 

 

Rebellion and confusion are not acceptable to the Eternal God.

 

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 By Peter James from:   www.peterjamesx.com