Zakharia 4:1

Vision Five: The Menorah

4:1 The angelic messenger ¹  who had been speaking with me then returned and woke me, as a person is wakened from sleep.

Zakharia 4:4

4:4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, “What are these, ²  sir?”

Zakharia 4:11

4:11 Next I asked the messenger, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?”

Zakharia 11:15

11:15 Again the Lord said to me, “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. ³ 

[4:1]  ¹ tn See the note on the expression “angelic messenger” in 1:9.

[4:4]  ² sn Here these must refer to the lamps, since the identification of the olive trees is left to vv. 11-14.

[11:15]  ³ sn The grammar (e.g., the incipient participle מֵקִים, maqim, “about to raise up,” v. 16) and overall sense of vv. 15-17 give the incident a future orientation. Zechariah once more is role-playing but this time he is a “foolish” shepherd, i.e., one who does not know God and who is opposed to him (cf. Prov 1:7; 15:5; 20:3; 27:22). The individual who best represents this eschatological enemy of God and his people is the Antichrist (cf. Matt 24:5, 24; 2 Thess 2:3-4; 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7).