There is another reference to the seven churches of the end times in Zechariah. In fact, it is where the image of the seven lampstands in Revelation 1 is drawn from. This is seen in Zechariah 4:
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep,
A quick word here - there is a bit of ironic speaking in this passage! The word Zerubbabel means "born in Babylon", which means "born in confusion." To be in confusion is like being in a stupor; it's like being asleep. But Zerubbabel was a prince of Israel (of the tribe of Judah, and in the lineage of Jesus - Luke 3:27) who brought Israel out of Babylon to rebuild the Temple of the Lord (see Ezra and Nehemiah). So this part of the prophecy about Zerubbabel is a play on words, in as much as Zerubbabel is synonymous with Israel being wakened out of a sleep.
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: and two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
Here is the seven candlesticks from Revelation 1 - the seven churches of the end times. In this vision, the olive oil which is the fuel for the lamps comes from two particular trees. The meaning of the trees is explained below.
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, "What are these, my lord?" Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, "Knowest thou not what these be?" And I said, "No, my lord."
I love it when the prophets have to ask the meaning of the visions that they see, because it means that the prophecy will also be explained to us, the readers!
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.
The meaning of Zerubbabel is explained further here. When people today discuss establishing the kingdom of God, we have to pay attention to the methods that they talk about using, because this verse says that the kingdom will not be established by power or by might (i.e. by force) but it will be established by the movement of the Holy Spirit! This is what happened when John the Baptist and Jesus went out and began preaching the Word - the Spirit of God moved in the hearts of those people that believed in Him. Jesus also discussed how it would come about after that time in Matthew 10 and Mark 13, when the Holy Spirit would speak through people.
Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerbubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, 'Grace, grace unto it.'"
This passage was taught by Jesus in Matthew 21:21 and Mark 11:23. The mountain that is being removed is the synagogue of Satan, which is going to be a great mountain in the end days. (Mountains represent nations in spiritual language.) The people of the synagogue of Satan will be crying for grace to the headstone of their nation - he will have told them that he is God - but he is not.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, "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. 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 though the whole earth."
As Jesus said in Matthew 21:21 and Mark 11:23, if one has faith enough to stand against the synagogue of Satan in the end days, the mountain is going to remove itself. People know the sound of truth, and the people that hear the seven churches preach in the end days will see that the word is upright and straight, as symbolized by the plummet (or "plumbob"). In the time of this prophecy, the plummet was a stone that was hung from a string so that carpenters knew when the walls of a building were straight up and down. So this stone that is hanging from the plummet is the stone that was discussed in the last chapter (see previous post) that has the seven eyes on it. The seven eyes are the watchmen of the end times and the seven churches of the end times. This passage gives the explanation of why the seven churches are not just located in Turkey, but through the whole earth.
Then answered I again, and said unto him, "What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?" 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?" And he answered me and said, "Knowest thou not what these be?" And I said, "No, my lord." Then said he, "These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
The two trees are the two witnesses of the end times, who are discussed in Revelation 11.
This gives another prophecy from the Old Testament that discusses the churches of the end times, and what they are to accomplish in those days. God bless.
