Zechariah 4:7

"Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a pain; and he shall bring forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it."

Before Zerubbabel and the feeble remnant in the land, Gentile authority might seem like a great mountain, hindering all progress in the work committed to them.[16]

Other views of what was meant by "the great mountain" allege that, "It may mean the tremendous pile of rubble which was all that was left of the old Temple";[17] or, "The great mountain was the power of the world, or the imperial power."[18] Perhaps Ellis was correct in the discernment that, "Interesting examples can be cited from Rabbinic literature in which a man that shows spiritual discernment is called a `mountain remover.'"[19] Certainly, Jesus appears to have used a related statement in the sense of overcoming any great difficulty. "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said cometh to pass; he shall have it" (Mark 11:23). No one has ever thought that this promise of Jesus meant that his apostles would be empowered to perform monstrous and unreasonable miracles such as might be dreamed up by some conjurer. This passage probably has a similar meaning.

"He shall bring forth the top stone ..." The Hebrew text does not make it clear, exactly, what is meant by the top stone; and perhaps Dean is correct:

"It is better to take it as the corner stone, to which we know great importance was attached (Job 38:6; Psalms 118:22). There is no Biblical instance of any top stone or of its erection being celebrated. It may be a mere metaphor for the completion of the work."[20]

The good and encouraging news to Israel contained in this word from God to Zerubbabel was that he would live and be blessed of the Father to see the completion of the temple under his sponsorship and direction. It was precisely the kind of good news that discouraged returnees needed.

"Grace, grace, unto it ..." This indicates the popular acclaim and approval that would hail the completion of the second temple.