“I see a solid gold lampstand,” I answered. “It has a bowl on top of it. There are seven lamps on it. Seven tubes lead to each of them. ³There are two olive trees by the lampstand. One is on its right side. The other is on its left.”

⁴I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what are these?”

⁵He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”

“No, sir,” I replied.

⁶So he said to me, “A message came to Zerubbabel from the Lord. He said, ‘Your strength will not get my temple rebuilt. Your power will not do it either. Only the power of my Spirit will do it,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

⁷“So nothing can stop Zerubbabel from completing the temple. Even a mountain of problems will be smoothed out by him. When the temple is finished, he will put its most important stone in place. Then the people will shout, ‘God bless it! God bless it!’ ”

⁸A message came to me from the Lord. His angel said, ⁹“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple. His hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you.

¹⁰“Do not look down on the small amount of work done on the temple so far. People will be filled with joy when they see Zerubbabel holding the most important stone.

“The seven eyes on the stone are the eyes of the Lord himself. He looks out over the whole earth.”

¹¹Then I said to the angel, “I see two olive trees. One is on the right side of the lampstand. The other is on the left. What are those trees?”

¹²I continued, “I also see two olive branches. They are next to the two gold pipes that pour out golden olive oil. What are those branches?”

¹³He answered, “Don’t you know what they are?”

“No, sir,” I said.

¹⁴So he told me, “They are Zerubbabel and Jeshua. The Lord of the whole earth has anointed them to serve him.”

A Vision of a Flying Scroll

5I looked up again and saw a flying scroll. ²“What do you see?” the angel asked me.

“A flying scroll,” I replied. “It’s 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”

³He said to me, “A curse sent by the Lord is written on it. It is going out over the whole land. Every thief will be driven out of the land. That is what it says on one side of the scroll. Everyone who lies when taking an oath to tell the truth will also be driven out. That is what it says on the other side. ⁴The Lord who rules over all announces, ‘I will send the curse out. It will enter the house of the thief. It will also enter the house of anyone who lies when taking an oath in my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it. It will pull down its beams and stones.’ ”

A Vision of a Woman in a Basket

⁵Then the angel who was talking with me came forward. He said to me, “Look at what is coming.”

⁶“What is it?” I asked.

“A measuring basket,” he replied. “The sins of the people all through the land are in it.”

⁷Then the basket’s cover was lifted up. It was made out of lead. A woman was sitting in the basket! ⁸The angel said, “She stands for everything that is evil.” Then he pushed her down into the basket. He put the lead cover back over its opening.

⁹I looked up and saw two other women. They had wings like the wings of a stork. A wind sent by the Lord carried them along. They lifted the basket up between heaven and earth.

¹⁰“Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel.

¹¹He replied, “To the country of Babylonia. A temple will be built for it. When the temple is ready, the basket will be set there in its place.”

A Vision of Four Chariots

6I looked up again and saw four chariots. They were coming out from between two mountains. The mountains were made out of bronze.

²The first chariot was pulled by red horses. The second one had black horses. ³The third had white horses. And the fourth had spotted horses. All of the horses were powerful.

⁴I asked the angel who was talking with me, “Sir, what are these?”

⁵The angel answered, “The four spirits of heaven. They are going out to serve the Lord of the whole world. ⁶The chariot pulled by the black horses is going toward the north country. The one with the white horses is going toward the west. And the one with the spotted horses is going toward the south.”

⁷The powerful horses went out. They were in a hurry to go all over the earth. The angel said, “Go all through the earth!” So they did.

⁸Then the Lord called out to me, “Look! The horses going toward the north have given my Spirit rest in the north country.”

A Crown Is Given to Jeshua

⁹A message came to me from the Lord. His angel said, ¹⁰“Get some silver and gold from Heldai, Tobijah and Jedaiah. They have just come back from Babylonia. On that same day go to Josiah’s house. He is the son of Zephaniah. ¹¹Use the silver and gold to make a crown. Set it on the head of the high priest Jeshua. He is the son of Jehozadak.

¹²“Give Jeshua a message from the Lord who rules over all. He says, ‘Here is the man whose name is The Branch. He will branch out and build my temple. ¹³That is what he will do. He will be dressed in majesty as if it were his royal robe. He will sit as king on his throne. He will also be a priest there. So he will combine the positions of king and priest in himself.’

¹⁴“The crown will be given to Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah and Zephaniah’s son Hen. The crown will be kept in the Lord’s temple. It will remind everyone that the Lord’s promises will come true.

¹⁵“Those who are far away will come to Jerusalem. They will help build the Lord’s temple. Then his people will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to them. It will happen if they are careful to obey the Lord their God.”

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