Zechariah 4:1-10

Then the angel who had been explaining the visions came back and roused me as someone awakened from sleep. And he asked me, “What do you see?” As I focused my eyes, I replied, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl for the oil on top. It has seven lamps, and each lamp has a golden spout for the wicks. And I also see two olive trees overshadowing the lampstand, one on the right and one on the left.” So I asked the angel who was talking to me, “My lord, what do these things represent?” The angel answered, “Do you not know what they are?” “No, my lord,” I said. Here is the message of YAHWEH to Zerubbabel: “You will not succeed by military might nor by your own strength but by my Spirit,” says YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies. “And what are you, O mighty mountain? Before you, Zerubbabel, this mountain of obstacles will crumble. Then he will set the capstone in place to shouts of ‘Grace and beauty be upon it!’ ” Then another message from YAHWEH came to me: “With his own hands, Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of this temple, and with his own hands he will finish it. Then you will know that YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, has sent me to you. “Those who despise the day of small beginnings will rejoice when they see Zerubbabel holding the plumb line in his hands. “The seven lamps represent the seven eyes of YAHWEH that keep a close watch over everything on earth.”