The fourth vision shows Joshua, representing the priesthood, standing before the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him (Zech. 3:1). The problem was that Joshua still had the dirty clothing from Babylon. We must never come back to Jerusalem with the old things. All the old concepts, old ways, old teachings, and old opinions must be discarded. If we look at ourselves, we see how old we are. We have come back, but what about our clothing? As long as we are still in the oldness, we are under the accusation of the enemy. Our position is right, but our condition is wrong. We have come out of Babylon, but Babylon has not come out of us. So many things of Christianity are still within us. We need a change not only in position, but also in condition. The old clothing must be taken away, and we must put on new garments. Christ is our new clothing. We must drop all the old things from Babylon; all the forms, teachings, concepts, opinions, etc., from Christianity must be taken away. We need something new, and this newness is Christ. Christ must be our covering and our clothing.
In some places the Lord’s people have taken the ground of the church, but they have still kept the old teachings and old ways. Thus, there has been ground for the enemy to accuse. We must change our clothing and take away all the old things so that we can put on something new of Christ. And we need not only the clothing, but also the mitre, the crown. Christ must be our clothing, and He must be our crown.
It was after this that Joshua was in a position to bring forth the branch, which is also Christ as the producing One. In the recovery of the local churches, we need Christ as the branch to produce. We need the growth of life, and we need the fruit-bearing by the branch. This branch is also the stone. The branch is for producing, and the stone is for building. The local churches can be built up only by Christ as the branch and the stone. This stone is the foundation with seven eyes. We have seen in the book of Revelation that the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God. This is the sevenfold, intensified Spirit for the recovery of God’s building. This vision is so clear. We need the clothing of Christ to be in a position to bring forth Christ as the producing One as well as the foundation stone with the intensified Spirit for the recovery of the building.
Following this is the vision of the lampstand. After Christ as the producing branch and the foundation stone with the seven Spirits, there is the lampstand. It is at this time that the declaration is made: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6). It is by the seven Spirits of the foundation stone. And He is not only the foundation stone, but also the headstone. This is the topstone which is used to cover the whole house. Christ is the foundation stone, and He is also the topstone. He is the foundation for the building of the local churches, and He is also the topstone of the local churches.
The sixth vision is that of the flying roll, which clears up the situation among the people. There were some evil things among the people, and this vision was given for the purpose of dealing with these things.
After this is the vision of the ephah, telling us that there were still many Babylonian things among the returned captives. The Lord says that these Babylonian things must be returned to Babylon. These two visions show that in the Lord’s recovery all the sinful things must be cleared up, and everything of Babylon must be sent back. Let the Babylonian things be returned to Babylon. All the things of Christianity belong there; they do not belong in the Lord’s recovery. Anything we bring with us must be sent back.
The eighth vision, the vision of the four chariots, is something of judgment. The Lord will judge the entire situation.
We do not need to see all of these visions in detail, but we must see Christ as everything. He is the branch, the producing One. He is the foundation stone and the topstone for God’s building. Now He is the King on the throne, and He is also the Priest. He has the kingship and also the priesthood. Upon Him these two ministries are united. So He is the One to build up the temple of God. He is the branch; He is the King; He is the Priest; therefore, He is the Builder. This is why we need Christ as the branch to produce, we need Christ as the King for the headship and the kingship, and we need Christ as the Priest for the priesthood that He might be the real Builder to build up the local churches.
The vision of Christ in Zechariah is related to the recovery of God’s building. He is the One riding on a red horse among the captivity and interceding for their return. He is the branch, the foundation stone, the topstone, the King for the kingship, and the Priest for the priesthood. And now He is the Builder. So we must enjoy and experience Him as the branch to produce life, and we must experience Him as the King for the kingship and the Priest for the priesthood. Then we will be in the recovery of the building of the Lord’s house. This is Christ seen in all the visions in the recovery of the building of the house of God.
(The Recovery of God's House and God's City, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)