After Zechariah’s vision of Joshua and the Angel, the prophet received a message regarding Zerubbabel: “The Angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, ... and behold a candlestick all of gold, ... and seven pipes to the seven lamps, ... and two olive trees by it ... .”
(SS 306.1)
“So I ... spake to the Angel, ... What are these, my Lord? ... Then He answered, ... This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”“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? ... Then said He, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:1-6, 12-14.
(SS 306.2)
From the anointed ones that stand in God’s presence divine light, love, and power are imparted to His people, that they may impart to others light and joy and refreshing. Those who are enriched are to enrich others with God’s love.
(SS 306.3)
In rebuilding the house of the Lord, Zerubbabel had labored in the face of manifold difficulties. Adversaries had “discouraged the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build,”“and by force and power made them cease.” Ezra 4:4, 23, RSV. But the Lord now spoke through His prophet to Zerubbabel, “Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.” Zechariah 4:7. Throughout history, great mountains of apparently insurmountable difficulty have loomed up before those trying to carry out the purposes of Heaven. Such obstacles are permitted by the Lord as a test of faith. This is the time to trust in God. The exercise of living faith means an increase of spiritual strength and the development of unfaltering trust. Before the demand of faith, obstacles placed by Satan will disappear: “Nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matthew 17:20.
(SS 306.4)
The way of the world is to begin with pomp and boasting. God’s way is to make the day of small things the beginning of the glorious triumph of truth. Sometimes He trains His workers by disappointment and apparent failure. It is His purpose that they shall learn to master difficulties.
(SS 307.1)
Often men are tempted to falter before perplexities and obstacles. But if they will hold their confidence steadfast, God will make the way clear. Success will come. Mountains of difficulty will become a plain; and he whose hands have laid the foundation, even “his hands shall also finish it.” Zechariah 4:9.
(SS 307.2)
Human power did not establish the church of God. Not on the rock of human strength, but on Christ Jesus, the Rock of Ages, was the church founded, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18. God’s glorious work will never come to nought. It will go on “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.” Zechariah 4:6.
(SS 307.3)
The promise to Zerubbabel was literally fulfilled. See Verse 9. “The elders of the Jews builded, ... and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar.” Ezra 6:14, 15.
(SS 307.4)
The second temple did not equal the first in magnificence, nor was it hallowed by those visible tokens of the divine presence which pertained to the first temple. No supernatural power marked its dedication—no cloud of glory filled the newly erected sanctuary, no fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice on its altar. The Shekinah no longer abode in the most holy place. The ark, the mercy seat, and the tables of testimony were not found there.
(SS 308.1)
And yet this was the building concerning which the Lord had declared, “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former.”“The Desire of all nations shall come.” Haggai 2:9, 7. Jesus, the Desire of all nations, by His personal presence hallowed the temple. Yet many have refused to see in His advent any special significance. Their minds have been blinded to the true meaning of the prophet’s words.
(SS 308.2)
The second temple was honored, not with the cloud of God’s glory, but with the presence of the One in whom dwelt “all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”—God “manifest in the flesh.” Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16. In this alone did the second temple exceed the first in glory. The “Desire of all nations” had indeed come to His temple, when the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in the sacred courts.
(SS 308.3)