Who is the man riding on the red horse among the myrtle trees? It is Christ. The myrtle trees are the people of Israel, and at this time they were really in the bottom, for they were in captivity. Babylon is never on top, but always in the bottom. Do you like to live and work in the bottom? Why do you love Babylon so much? We should all come back to Jerusalem. You may think that Babylon is good, but you must realize that Jerusalem is on top and Babylon is in the bottom.
In the past years, when those working in the denominations came to talk with us, they always sounded as if they were low. They were in the bottom. Even they themselves sensed that they were not on top. When we come back to the local churches, we are on top, regardless of how much others oppose us. Even when they say we are wrong, we can sense in their speech that they know we are on top and they are in the bottom.
Myrtle trees are not grand trees like the cedars or pines, but small trees which grow in the bottom. This is the people of Israel in their captivity. They were in the bottom; yet praise the Lord! the Lord Jesus was with them. But how was He among them? Many times people ask us, “Don’t you think if we have Christ, that is enough? Don’t you think that Christ is among us?” Yes, Christ is among those in the bottom, but for what purpose? To bring them out of the bottom! No human words can express what mercy and love the Lord has toward those in captivity. He is even among the believers who are still in the Catholic Church. But do you think that Christ is with them that they may remain there? No, He is with them to bring them out. He is not sleeping there, but riding on to bring them out. He has no intention to settle—Catholicism is not His settlement. That is the bottom. The denominations and the free groups are not His settlements. They are also the bottom. Christ is there, but Christ is riding through there. He is not a myrtle tree planted at the bottom. You may be planted there, but He is not. He is riding on! This is quite meaningful.
He is riding on a red horse! This signifies sacrifice and redemption. And He prayed for the captivity: “O Lord of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years?” (Zech. 1:12). Christ prayed for the people who were in the bottom. This is the desire of Christ expressed in His intercession for those in the captivity. And God answered, “I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched upon Jerusalem” (Zech. 1:16). I have the full assurance that the Lord’s recovery today is due to Christ’s intercession. He is interceding for those who are still in the bottom.
In the second vision, God raised up four horns and four carpenters to work out the situation for the captives to return. I do believe that today we still have the four horns. Twenty years ago, I never dreamed that there could be a local church in Los Angeles. Many know that I had no intention of coming to this country. But the Lord worked out the situation. Christ was interceding for the captivity, and the Father answered by causing the king of Persia to send the captives back to Jerusalem. He was one of the horns. The horns are the powers in the situation who accomplish something so that the people can return to Jerusalem. Christ interceded for the return of the captivity, and the Father answered by raising up the horns to make the return possible. I believe that the same thing is being done today.
In the third vision, a measuring line was put upon Jerusalem so that once more it might be possessed by the Lord. To measure something means to take it. The Lord is going to take over Jerusalem. This signifies that today the Lord is going to take over the local churches. Hallelujah! The measuring line has been put upon the United States!
In this vision we see that the Lord is both the Sender and the Sent One. “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zech. 2:8). If we read the entire context, we see that the Sender and the Sent One are identical. The Lord of Hosts is the Sender, and the Lord of Hosts is also the Sent One. Christ is the Sender, and He is also the Sent One. Christ today is not only the life in the recovery of the local churches, He is also the Sender and the Sent One. He sent Himself to come into the situation to work out everything so that the local churches might be recovered.
(The Recovery of God's House and God's City, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)