Zechariah’s Vision of the Living Word and Holy Spirit

“Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at His right hand to oppose Him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebukes you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” [1]

Jesus is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name Joshua. Joshua means the Lord saves. The Lord gave Zechariah a vision of Messiah being slandered for His desire to save Jerusalem (the Jewish people) from their sins. Jesus never sinned but He bore the sins of others. God rebukes Satan for slandering His people.

“Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, ‘Take away the filthy garments from Him.’ And to Him He said, ‘See, I have removed Your iniquity from You, and I will clothe You with rich robes.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on His head.’ So they put a clean turban on His head, and they put the clothes on Him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.” [2]

The filthy garments represent the sins of God’s people. Joshua or Jesus bore our sin. He gave us His righteousness in exchange for our sin. Rich robes symbolize the righteousness He imputed to us. The clean turban symbolizes our new role in Christ. We are members of His body. We are a royal priesthood. The high priest of Israel wore a turban with “Holiness to the Lord” across the front of it. Having been transformed by the gracious work of Christ, our minds are now on heavenly things, the things of God. We are hidden with God in Christ.

“Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If You will walk in My ways, and if you will keep My command, then You shall also judge My house, and likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk among these who stand here.” [3]

Here, the Lord speaks to Joshua as though He is us. He stands before God on our behalf. The call of Joshua [Jesus] and us His followers is to walk in God’s ways, keep His commands, and be judges in His house, and in-charge of His courts.

“Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and Your companions who sit before You, for they are a wondrous sign; for behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the Branch. For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua: upon the stone are seven eyes.

Behold, I will engrave its inscription,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘Everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.’” [4]

These verses confirm that Joshua refers to Messiah. Messiah is the Branch of God. God in flesh appearing! The seven eyes represent the seven spirits of God mentioned in Isaiah 11:1-2 and in Revelation 1:4. Jesus Christ is the One who removes the sin of God’s people in one day. He removes walls of sin that separate us from God and from one another. He brings us into fellowship under the shade of His vine and His fig tree.

“Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep. And he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it, and on the stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left.’ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ So he answered and 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 of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And He shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ Then I answered and said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees—at the right of the lampstand and at its left?’ 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?’ Then he answered me and said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’ So he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.’” [5]

The Lord gave Zechariah a vision of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. His Son and His Spirit are the two olive trees of God that release His anointing among His people. They are authorized to do this not according to His people’s merits, but according to His grace. It is by these two Anointed Ones, the Word and the Spirit, that mountains are removed, and great things happen. Praise the Lord!

[1] Zechariah 3:1-2
[2] Zechariah 3:3-5
[3] Zechariah 3:6-7
[4] Zechariah 3:8-10
[5] Zechariah 4:1-7; 11-14