Zechariah 4:11-14 “Then I answered and said to him, "What are these two olive trees--at the right of the lamp stand and at its left?" (12) And I further answered and said to him, "What are these two olive branches that drip into the receptacles of the two gold pipes from which the golden oil drains?" (13) Then he answered me and said, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord." (14) So, he said, "These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes a vision that was given to the prophet Zechariah in which the Lord’s angel showed him two olive trees standing on either side of a golden lamp stand. In the full account of the vision, the prophet asked the angel three times to explain to him what the two olive trees represented? Finally the angel explained to Zechariah that the two olive trees represented two anointed individuals that continually stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. The Lord of the whole earth referred to in this passage is the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we see that God has chosen these two individuals to stand alongside our Lord Jesus Christ, which means that these two individuals are His closest companions with whom He discusses aspects of God’s kingdom that are not discussed with others. Clearly these two men stand in an office and calling that is unique in the kingdom of God.
Revelation 11:3-4 “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." (4) These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing before the God of the earth.”
The next time we see the two olive trees mentioned in scripture is in the above quoted passage. And so from this passage we see that the Lord Jesus will send His two anointed ones into the earth in the final forty-two months of this present age. This passage reveals to us that our Lord will send these two in a display of power as His witnesses in the earth.
Luke 9:30-31 “And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, (31) who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.”
We know that Elijah is one of the two witnesses because our Lord made that fact very clear to us when He was on the earth (Matthew 17:11). So the question is then raised as to who the second witness is? The answer to that question is Moses. There are several pointers given to us in scripture to show us that Moses is the second witness. For example, we have already seen that as the Lord’s two anointed ones that these two are His closest confidants with whom He discusses aspects of God’s kingdom that He does not discuss with others. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that exact scenario taking place, for in this passage we see both Moses and Elijah appearing in glory with our Lord Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, for the express purpose of discussing His decease that He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Clearly from this passage we can see that our Lord discussed aspects of His decease with Moses and Elijah that He hadn’t shared with even the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Michael E.B. Maher
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