Zechariah 5:9

"Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold there came forth two women; now they had wings like the wings of a stork; and they lifted up the ephah between earth and heaven."

The purpose of the appearance of these two women was that of removing "Wickedness" to Babylon (the land of Shinar). Here again we are confronted with the most radically different interpretations of who are represented by these women, and of their character, whether evil or righteous. "Kohler finds in them the messengers of Satan, and Neumann the angels of Yahweh."[25] Jamieson also understood the women to be "ministers of God to execute his judgments."[26] Without attempting to decide a question which is ably supported by many able scholars on both sides, it does seem incongruous that "God's ministers" should be represented here as borne by the wings of a stork. "Their wings were the wings of an unclean bird. . it may be that evil spirits are symbolized."[27]

What is clearly in focus here is the removal of Wickedness from the land of God's people to Babylon, the place of their previous captivity. Significantly, Israel never more fell into the worship of idols after their captivity. Watts gave as a definite meaning of the vision that, "Idolatry will have no place for the people of God in the new era."[28] This certainly appears to be correct; not only was it proved to be true in the case of the Old Israel; but in the times of the Messiah, which are never out of sight in any of these visions, idolatry has never found a place; nor has the departure of a large segment of Christianity from this principle negated the general truth that Christians do not worship idols.