Zechariah 4 Wake up, look at what the Lord has built
1 Then the angel who talked with me returned and woke me up, like someone awakened from sleep. 2 He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lamps on it, with seven channels to the lamps. 3 Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” 4 I asked the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5 He answered, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I replied. 6 So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty. 7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” 8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. 10 “Who dares despise the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?” 11 Then I asked the angel, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” 12 Again I asked him, “What are these two olive branches beside the two gold pipes that pour out golden oil?” 13 He replied, “Do you not know what these are?” “No, my lord,” I said. 14 So he said, “These are the two who are anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth.”
We need to wake up and see what it is we are building. What is the church? We are a light set on a hill for the whole world to see. This light exposes the darkness, the corruption, the lies, the deceits, the murders. This lamp is not a single light but is seven in one. We shine a light concerning righteousness, and justice. Listen to those in the world and they don’t even know what truth is, they will claim that good is evil and evil is good. They need the light from the word and from the Spirit. But that is only one aspect of the light, we also shine a light on education. We are commanded to teach our children. Education is the key to the Civil rights movement. Pharaoh and the elites lord it over the rest of people because of their education. The Lord said you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. But we are also a light for making peace. Wars are costly, destructive, and evil. Showing people the way of the cross to make peace and to live in harmony with one another, that is a bright light. No one knows this light except for the Lord Jesus and those that take up their cross and follow Him. If you leave the criminal justice system to the world it will become abusive and biased. If you leave the education system to the world it will become abusive and a way to keep people enslaved. If you leave national defense to the world they will destroy themselves and the world. This light also shines on the banking system. The world’s monetary policy is built on the worship of idols, it is vanity, and it is evil. They have a system whereby they can rob widows houses and then make long complicated prayers that few understand to befuddle and confuse the masses. This is a golden lampstand, it isn’t made of vanity and wisps of smoke, it is real, it is substantial, it is made of the word of God and the light will expose the crooks. We are also a light to the bureaucratic system of government, all those functions carried out by the non elected officials. The church carries out all those functions as well, but has to do it on a shoestring budget. The ministry leaders are not insulated by layers and layers of bureaucracy from those they are serving. They get their hands dirty, they serve the soup, they visit the sick. We have much more light and insight than some government official making two hundred thousand a year working in an ivory tower. We are also a light to the mainstream media and the movie industry. Every major literary theme is found in the Bible. We are filled with amazing, captivating stories that edify and uplift. We are also trained in speaking the truth in love. We are also a light to families. The Lord has ordained that the elders of the church be a positive example for fathers and mothers. The church is to be a giant family so that broken families can enter the fellowship and be healed. At the most fundamental level we need healthy families to have a healthy society. The source of most of our ills whether with crime, or education, or public services is to deal with the destruction that accompanies broken families.
In Zechariah's dreams he already saw the first rapture, the escape by those who came out of Babylon. But after that rapture the rest of the believers will wake up and see this Golden lampstand. It will be a tremendous revival. The antichrist will bring in his kingdom by power and might, the Lord will bring His in by His Spirit.
We need a vision, what we are doing in the church is creating a godly government that will both build the society and rule. We are not occupying some independent space from the government. Only a fool would think that unbelievers, people without faith or the knowledge of God’s word, people ruled by the lusts of the flesh, could do a better job, much less even a good job of ruling and reigning. Make no mistake, the church will replace human government. However, it is not by might nor by power. We don’t take over with a military as they tried during the Crusades. We don’t take over with political lobbies and pushing our platform and backing our candidates. It is by the Spirit. It is by the preaching of the gospel, sharing our testimony, bringing people to the Lord and winning souls for the Lord. When people give their hearts to the Lord then the mind and body will follow.
The church is supported with two ministries, the building ministry and the ruling ministry. These ministries simply sink their roots into the word of God and produce pure oil for life and light. Remember the key question “when is the Lord coming?” to which the Lord answers “When will you be ready?”