Question: What are the two olive trees?
“I have been reading Zechariah 4 about the two olive trees with the pipes that supply oil to the golden lamp. This sounds like an illustration of the Father and the Son pouring out the oil of their spirits into the lamps to light the world, but when I get to the last verse this doesn’t fit.”
Answer:
You are right that the golden oil flowing out of the two olive trees represents God’s Spirit, as explained in verse 6: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” This oil flows into the bowls of the candlestick, which represents the people in God’s church. In John’s vision of Revelation 1, Jesus told him, “The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:20)
The two olive trees in Zechariah’s vision are said to be “the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:14) This would eliminate either of them from being the Father, and since two are mentioned, they could not be the Son. I believe that the most consistent interpretation is that they are the two anointed cherubim, who stand before the throne, as represented by the two cherubim that Moses was commanded to place on top of the ark of the covenant in the earthly sanctuary. (See Exodus 25:17-20.) Satan was one of these covering cherubim before he fell into sin and was cast out of heaven. (See Ezekiel 28:14-19.)
In the April 1999 issue of Present Truth, we printed an article on the ministry of the angels, which covers this vision in more detail. If you are interested, you can find it online at: https://presenttruth.info/newsletters/PresentTruth/1999/pt_d_apr99.htm, or you may contact us for a printed copy.
I hope this helps to answer your question.
