TWO ANOINTED ONES
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? 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? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
The Prophet Zechariah comes now to ask the Lord concerning the meaning of these two olive trees in their relationship to the one candlestick, or lamp stand. He receives no answer from the first question, so he sets forth a second, showing his ernest desire to know the truth. This is a lesson for us all. For God’s silence upon our first seeking is never a matter of His unconcern, but very well could be a matter of our insincerity! For sometimes we ask not with whole hearted engagement. We should be as the lame beggar who ‘gave heed’ to Peter and John. expecting to receive something of them!
And upon his second seeking, he does find his answer. For the Lord instructs him that these two olive trees are representative of the two anointed ones who stand before him! Now we should look, not just for those who stand before the Lord, but for those who are anointed that stand before him! For both Satan and Gabriel are said to stand before him (Zech. 3:1; Luke 1:19).
Two Officers for the Two Offices!
And we clearly see that in that same verse of Zechariah 3:1, it is said that Joshua, the present high priest stood before him, and we know that he was anointed. Exodus 28:41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.
Then there is Zerubbabel, whom we know to be governor of Judah, from Haggai 1:14. He represents the kingship, or political rule of God in Israel. And the king was also to be anointed. (1 Kings 19:15,16). Therefore, at that time in national Israel, the two anointed ones who stood before the Lord, in order to give the light, and the direction of God came through the offices of the king (governor) and high priest! And as you can clearly see, this was light enough for only one candlestick!
However, in the New Testament, upon the sending of the Holy Spirit, even though the Lord retains these two offices to stand before him, the two offices are not limited to only two officers! For we read in Revelation 1:5-6, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Therefore every true believer, every single regenerate soul since Pentecost is a king-priest before the Lord God!
And now we see that when these two anointed ones are spoken of in the New Testament, there are two candlesticks, and not just one! For with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the New Testament believer produces twice the light as did the two individual officers of the Old Economy! 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. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
Those emotionally attached to a fancied image of some future national Israel with a temple of wood and stone, are actually yearning to revert into that darkness! They are denying the glorious light of the believer, like Christ, as a temple, in-dwelt by the third Person of the Trinity! John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
The law is shadowy! Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Christ brought life and light to that gang who sat in that darkness! Matthew 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
He clearly tells us that both he and the true church are the very light of the world! (John 8:12, Matt. 5:14). And listen to these verses:
Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Spiritual Believer Kings & Priests
Every individual believer is both spiritual king and priest producing twice the light of the two separate individuals who held that physical office in the Old Economy! But the above verses tell us that collectively the New Testament believers are like the lights of an entire city, set upon a hill, which can never be hidden! And as we saw the number of candlestick double from the Old Economy to the New, when we come to the saints collectively there are said to be seven candlesticks! This being, not six plus one, but a number of completion, or perfection from God!
Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
And each individual king/priest believer comes together into the local assembly they bring a spirit of a rich glory to make up that well lit “city”! Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
The Light of Believer Kings/Priests
But we have yet to deal with just how the light of two lamp stands is produced from from a believer king/priest! And because we have been brain washed by the Harlot system for the last 100 years or so, we have had this most important revelation sealed up again from us! We have been instructed that door knocking, soul winning is the way of witnessing. And my! How the light has gone out in our churches!
But the characteristics of the king/priest believers, just being who they are in every day society, produces the light that causes God to be glorified! Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. We have adopted the business world’s tactics and crowded out the Spirit’s rich benefit. We simply need to have a converted membership, under the discipline of King Jesus, and in a worshipful spirit to our Hight Priest (Heb. 8:1), and light will beam out everywhere!
But our nation has come so far as even to put our children on drugs rather than submit them under godly, loving discipline! For discipline IS a matter of love! Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Before the Lord’s resurrection, and therefore before his sending forth the Holy Spirit to all nations, there was one heathen, gentile, Roman soldier effectually brought to be proclaimed as having more faith than anyone Christ had ever seen in Israel! And guess how he had his eyes opened to the Light of Life? – Discipline! Matt. 8:5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
His testimony of the light of life coming into his heart was that he was “a man subject to authority!” Therefore he recognized Christ’s kingly character by His kingly authority!
And the believers kingly privileges, and kingly discipline environment, coupled with his priestly character are the key to effectual evangelism and to the true and full witness of the Holy Spirit through the church to the entire world!
Listen what happens when the believer priests practice worship! Acts 4:23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. 24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: 31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. Worship always precedes all spiritual effects from the church! The preaching was attended by the Spirit’s boldness, from these same men who were once hiding for fear of the Jews, only after they came to worship!
John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
We don’t need more old books reprinted! We don’t need more quotes from yesterday’s notable preachers! We don’t need more Google investigated sermons! We don’t need more Bible Conferences with loads of religious rhetoric! We need more believer king/priests bowing under the sceptre of King Jesus and uncrowning their own heads to pave his path with their golden crowns!
What is the Identity of the True Church?
Revelation 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles:
Here is God identifying the organism of the Body of Christ, the Church! For it is not an organization, (failure in understanding this is why it is being suffocated today), but a living holy organism! It is bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh! And he gives again, the two criteria for her identification! – Discipline and worship! – The relating to everything from her king/priest character!
For in verse one we see that the rod is to be laid down to determine what is the real church and what is to be left out of this measurement to identify! And that word rod, is the exact same Greek word translated twice in Hebrews 1:8 as sceptre! But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. For those who bow not under his rule, as stated in our Hebrews 12 passage, are not his sons!
And then in Revelation 11:1 there is given the other mandatory quality – worship! Measure only those to be within the identity of the true church of God who are spiritually associated with the altar, as them that worship therein.
Glorious light will be ours – light enough to recover our families, our lost neighbors, and our pitiful nation – only when we return to a godly discipline under the sceptre of King Jesus and to a true spiritual worship in the Holy Ghost!
Pastor Gene Breed
January 5, 2011
