8 The angel answered:- 9 "Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit."
The angel answered:
. . . 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 4:6)
"Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit."
Zerubbabel was a ruler of the Jews who with Joshua, the High Priest, was directing the rebuilding of the Temple of Solomon during the reign of King Darius.
Zerubbabel, the builder, was being informed by the Lord that the Temple of God, typifying the Body of Christ, will be completed by the Spirit of God, not by the efforts of human beings. It is the Spirit who builds the Temple of God, the Kingdom of God.
This is the meaning of the "two witnesses" of the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation.
The most powerful, most authoritative testimony of God ever to be given to mankind will come in the days just before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the world. This witness will not be given by an energetic, enthusiastic, talented, wealthy church. It will be given by the Holy Spirit. This is the significance of the two olive trees, and the two lamp stands standing before the God of the earth.
Only the Holy Spirit of God can bear a testimony of God that will have eternal significance in the Kingdom of God.
If the two witnesses were Zerubbabel and Joshua, or Enoch and Elijah, or Moses and Elijah, as some scholars have suggested, this is what the angel would have answered.
When a question as important as this is raised (for it is clear from the eleventh chapter of Revelation that the two witnesses represent the most powerful testimony of the Kingdom to be given during the Church Era), the Spirit of Christ will give us a straightforward answer and not leave us guessing.
John the Baptist was "Elijah" because he came in the "spirit and power of Elias" (Luke 1:17). John the Baptist was "Elias, that was for to come." Yet, John was not Elijah himself.
Neither Moses and Elijah nor Enoch and Elijah, were the two witnesses but they were important forerunners of the two witnesses. They bore witness through the power of the Spirit, as will be true of the saints, the members of the Body of Christ, in the last days.
The two olive trees speak of the double portion of the anointing, the authority and power of the Holy Spirit, in building the Temple of God, in bearing witness of the soon coming of the Kingdom of God.
The number two signifies also there must be two or more witnesses if a testimony is to be lawful. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. (John 8:17)
Two refers to the double portion of power that rested on Elisha. As John the Baptist came in the Spirit and power of Elijah, so it is true that the members of the Body of Christ will bear witness of Christ by means of a double portion of the Spirit.
As the "rain" of the Holy Spirit came upon the early apostles and churches, as described in the Book of Acts, so will there be a double portion of revival power resting on the apostles and churches of the days just before Jesus returns from Heaven.
In the Kingdom of God, the glory of the latter house will be greater than that of the former (Haggai 2:9).
Jesus has kept the good wine until now.
So much for the two olive trees, the doubled source of the continual anointing by the Holy Spirit. What about the two golden lamp stands? The eleventh chapter of Revelation does not state that the two lamp stands were of gold, but we assume they were, for three reasons:
The Lampstand of the Tabernacle of the Congregation was hammered into shape from a talent of pure gold. The Lampstand of the fourth chapter of Zechariah was of gold.
The seven lamp stands representing the seven churches in Asia were of gold—Revelation 1:12.
In the eleventh chapter of Revelation we observe two (golden) lamp stands standing before the God of the earth.
In the fourth chapter of Zechariah there is one lamp stand, "all of gold." One lamp stand, and then two lamp stands.
Revelation, Chapter One, speaks of seven lamp stands.
In the Tabernacle of the Congregation there was one golden Lampstand. In Solomon’s Temple there were ten lamp stands of pure gold (I Kings 7:49).
Back to The Two Witnesses