the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative plural masculine
are
εἰσίeisí
G1526
they are
two
δύοduo
G1417
"two" · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
trees
ἐλαῖαιelaiai
G1636
an olive (the tree or the fruit) · noun — nominative plural feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
two
δύοduo
G1417
"two" · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
candlesticks
λυχνίαιluchniai
G3087
a lamp-stand (literally or figuratively) · noun — nominative plural feminine
standing
ἑστῶτες.hestōtes
G2476
to stand (transitively or intransitively) · verb — perfect active participle, nominative plural masculine
before
ἐνώπιονenōpion
G1799
in the face of (literally or figuratively) · preposition
God
θεόςtheós
G2316
figuratively
earth
γῆςgēs
G1093
soil · noun — genitive singular feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Zechariah 4:11-14 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
Zechariah 4:2-3 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his…
Jeremiah 11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and…
Psalms 52:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he…
Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the…
Romans 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the roo…
Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Revelation 11:3-13
In this time of treading down, God has reserved to himself his faithful witnesses, who will not fail to attest the truth of his word and worship, and the excellency of his ways. Here observe,
I. The number of these witnesses: it is but a small number and yet it is sufficient. 1. It is but small. Many will own and acknowledge Christ in times of prosperity who will desert and deny him in times of persecution; one witness, when the cause is upon trial, is worth many at other times. 2. It is a sufficient number; for in the mouth of two witnesses every cause shall be established. Christ sent out his disciples two by two, to preach the gospel. Some think these two witnesses are Enoch and Elias, wh…
standing before the God of the earth--A, B, C, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS read "Lord" for "God": so Zac 4:14. Ministering to (Luk 1:19), and as in the sight of Him, who, though now so widely disowned on "earth," is its rightful King, and shall at last be openly recognized as such (Rev 11:15). The phrase alludes to Zac 4:10, Zac 4:14, "the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." The article "the" marks this allusion. They are "the two candlesticks," not that they are the Church, the one candlestick, but as its representative light-bearers (Greek, "phosteres," Phi 2:15), and ministering for its encouragement in a time of apostasy. WORDSWORTH'S view is worth cons…
These are the two olive trees - Mentioned Zac 4:14, which there represent Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest. The whole account seems taken from Zac 4:1-14. Whether the prophet and the apostle mean the same things by these emblems, we know not.
John Gill on Revelation 11:4
These are the two olive trees,.... Or represented by the two olive trees in Zechariah 4:3, which there design Joshua and Zerubbabel; and who in laying out themselves, their gifts and wealth, in rebuilding and finishing the temple, were types of these witnesses, the ministers of the Gospel, in the successive ages of the apostasy; who may be compared to olive trees, because of the oil of grace, and the truth of it in them; and because of the gifts of the Spirit of God bestowed on them, or their having that anointing which teacheth all things; and because they freely impart their gifts, and the golden oil of the Gospel unto others, and also bring the good tidings of peace and salvation by Chris…
The Church Fathers
These are the two olive trees, etc. The Church, illuminated by the light of the two Testaments, always stands by the commands of the Lord. For the prophet Zechariah saw one seven-branched candlestick, and these two olive trees, that is, the Testaments, pouring oil into the candlestick. This is the Church with its unfailing oil, which makes it burn with light in the world.
He shows now that he is speaking not of future realities but of present things when he says, "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth." This refers to the church, which is illuminated and made strong by the light of the two Testaments and is equipped by the two kinds of witness that by divine inspiration is allowed in various of its members. The two lampstands represent the [one] church, but he has spoken of two because of the two Testaments or because [the church] is gathered from the circumcision and uncircumcision and exists in union with the chief cornerstone.
"These are the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth." These two candlesticks and two olive trees He has to this end spoken of, and admonished you that if, when you have read of them elsewhere, you have not understood, you may understand here. For in Zechariah, one of the twelve prophets, it is thus written: "These are the two olive trees and two candlesticks which stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth; " that is, they are in paradise. Also, in another sense, standing in the presence of the lord of the earth, that is, in the presence of Antichrist. Therefore they must be slain by Antichrist.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Olive-tree — Is frequently mentioned in Scripture. The dove from the ark brought an olive-branch to Noah (Gen. 8:11). It is mentioned among the most notable trees of Palestine, where it was cultivated long before…
Candlestick · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Olive · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Olive Tree, The · Illustrative: Of the two witnesses — Illustrative: Of the two witnesses
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
