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.
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.
+++
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.
+++
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.
+++
By Peter James from: www.peterjamesx.com