Haggai mentions nothing further about Christ. But in the Bible, there is always the principle of testimony. There was not just one prophet sent to the people of recovery, but two. Two is the number of testimony. The Lord sent not only Haggai, but also Zechariah. It is rather difficult for us to discover from what kind of family Haggai came. But Zechariah tells us clearly that he came from a priest’s family; so he was a priest-prophet. His prophecy was based upon his priesthood. He spoke very much concerning Christ because his ministry sprang from the priesthood. Today in the Lord’s recovery, we need the prophets such as Haggai to strengthen us, warn us, and stir us, but we need prophets such as Zechariah even more. Haggai has two chapters, while Zechariah with fourteen chapters is seven times greater. We do not need much of Haggai’s ministry, but we do need much ministry from Zechariah. This is because Zechariah’s ministry is the ministry of the priesthood.
Today so many people assume the prophethood, but they do not have the priesthood. In 1960 a Pentecostal movement began on the west coast which was quite prevailing for three or four years. That movement has quieted down now due to a prophecy which was never fulfilled. In 1963 some in that movement prophesied that there would be a huge earthquake in Los Angeles in 1964. But nothing happened. I told the brothers not to be bothered by those kinds of movements. Sooner or later, they will be terminated by their prophecies. They prophesied, but there was no fulfillment. Today in the recovery of the local church, we do not need that kind of prophet. We need the priest-prophet. We need the prophets who are the real priests, who have living contact with the Lord and who know something of Christ. Read the book of Zechariah again and again, and you will see that he did not predict anything but Christ. All he spoke about was Christ, because he was a priest contacting the Lord all the time. We need Haggai, but we need Zechariah more. We need Haggai one time, but Zechariah seven times.
Everyone understands the book of Haggai. “Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes” (Hag. 1:6-7). It is easy to understand this. And he says, “Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts” (2:4). Everybody understands this kind of prophet.
But when you read Zechariah, it is not so easy to understand. “I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white” (Zech. 1:8). What is this? A man was riding upon a red horse among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom. What does this mean? We must tell Zechariah that he is not as simple as Haggai. We can understand what Haggai says, but we do not know what Zechariah is speaking about!
In Zechariah we see something much deeper. This is the mystery of Christ. First, there was the man riding on a red horse among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom. Then, there was the vision of the four horns with four carpenters. The third vision was the putting of the measuring line upon Jerusalem. And the fourth vision showed Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord. Who is the angel of the Lord? While Joshua was standing before the angel, Satan was standing by him. And the angel of the Lord acted to change the clothing of Joshua, because Joshua’s clothing, the basis for Satan’s accusation, was so dirty. Then he told Joshua that he would bring forth a stone, and this stone, with seven eyes, is the branch. What does all this mean? The fifth vision showed a golden lampstand with seven lamps and seven pipes full of oil. The sixth vision concerned a flying roll. How strange this is! After the flying roll, there was the measuring pot, which was called the ephah. And the eighth vision was concerning four chariots. What was Zechariah talking about? It is much easier to understand an earthquake coming to Los Angeles!
Brothers and sisters, we must see that this mystery is the mystery of Christ. In the recovery of the Lord’s house today, we do not need the prophets like Haggai so much. Yet today, nearly all the prophets are like Haggai. Have you heard some prophecy about Christ as God’s mystery? This is the problem today. There are too many Haggais, and hardly any Zechariahs. Haggai only opens the way for the prophecy, and Zechariah follows. In the recovery of the local churches, we need more prophecies like Zechariah, more prophecies about Christ. Today we rarely hear the voice of Zechariah, because it is mysterious; it is something which is not according to human concept. We need the heavenly vision to see the things concerning Christ related to the recovery of the building of God’s house.
(The Recovery of God's House and God's City, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)