<p>11:4 <i>These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks, standing before the Lord of the earth</i>- The allusion is clearly to the visions of Zechariah. They are filled with the Spirit for their witness; see on :3.</p><p>Zech. 4 contained a vision of Joshua and Zerubbabel, likened to two olive trees which emptied their oil into the seven branched candlestick, representing the ecclesia of Judah. They represented the kingly and priestly offices. The whole &lsquo;lightstand&rsquo; depended upon these two anointed ones, these providers of oil, and the fact they both in various ways failed to deliver true faith and spirituality meant that the victory over the world which the vision also prophesied could not come about; the final fulfilment had to come through the Lord Jesus, who was the ultimate Priest (cp. Joshua-Jesus) and Prince of Judah (cp. Zerubbabel). This prophecy could have been fulfilled at the restoration; but when we read in Rev. 11:4 that &ldquo;These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks&rdquo;, is the Lord not saying that now He has redefined and rescheduled the fulfilment of that vision in a latter day context?</p><p>The Lord of the earth / land in the Zechariah context was a reference to Israel's Angel (Michael?) who was in control of the land despite all happening within it. But the latter day lord of the land will be the anti-Christ, the fake Christ, the fake, imitation lord of the land. And before him they make their witness. The later allusions to them as it were bringing the plagues upon Egypt suggest they are as it were standing before Pharaoh as Moses did, strangely unhurt by him as Moses and Aaron were strangely preserved from being killed by him, bringing the plagues upon the persecutors of God's apostate people Israel.</p>