Welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. This will be study #37 of Revelation, chapter 1, and we are going to be reading from Revelation 1:13:

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

Now as we have been going through this chapter, verse by verse, we have seen that John heard a voice behind him. He turned to see who it was, and he saw "seven golden candlesticks," and now in verse 13, "in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man." So the Lord is continuing to focus our attention on *candlesticks* and the number *seven*, once again. As we mentioned before, the number *seven* is found throughout the Book of Revelation.

Let us talk a little more about *candlesticks*. We saw how in the tabernacle God had a golden candlestick made that had seven lamps, and in Solomon's temple there were ten golden candlesticks made---five to be on one side and five to be on another side, in a prominent place in the temple.

There is another place that God speaks of a "golden candlestick" and that is in Zechariah 4:1-4:

And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

Here, we have this vision that is being given to the prophet, and he sees a "golden candlestick" with seven lamps; and that is similar to the "seven golden candlesticks" that we find in Revelation 1, but here it is one (singular) *candlestick* that has seven lamps and two olive trees by it. Notice the connection that God is making between the "golden candlestick" and its seven lamps and "two olive trees." Now these two olive trees are discussed further in this same chapter, beginning in Zechariah 4:11:

Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?

And that is exactly what we also want to know: what are these two olive trees and what do they represent? So let us keep reading in Zechariah 4:12-14:

And I answered again, and said unto him, What *be these* two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden *oil* out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these *be*? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These *are* the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

You know, this is the Bible, and the Bible has much that is a mystery to us, and it is only by God's grace, as He helps us to understand things, that we are able to learn spiritual truth that God has hidden in His word. We just sense, as we are reading about "golden candlesticks" and "olive trees," that the Lord is hiding some information here that could be very helpful for us to know.

So we are curious. What are the two olive trees, and why does God say that "these are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth"? The "two olive trees" are the "two anointed ones."

When we look at the word *anointed*, here in Zechariah 4:14, which is Strong's #3323, we find that it is only translated in this verse as *anointed*. Every other time (and it is used several times in the Old Testament), it is translated as *oil*; in every other instance in which this particular Hebrew word is found, it is translated as *oil*, but, here, it is "two anointed ones."

In the Book of Joel, it is found at least three times, but we are just going to look at one verse in Joel 1:10:

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

And that is the Hebrew word translated as *oil* in this verse, and it is the same word translated as *anointed* in Zechariah, chapter 4. Also, it says in Hagaai 1:11:

And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.

Now in both these places, in Joel 1:10 and this verse in Haggai 1:11, God is spiritually looking forward to the time of the great tribulation, when He will bring a spiritual drought in the churches and the congregations, and He is using this word *oil* to try to help us understand that. We can see why the King James translators translated the word as *anointed* in Zechariah, because it was awkward for them to say, "the two with oil," or "the two of oil ones." And what is oil for? Oil was used to anoint, and the two olive trees were by the golden candlesticks with the seven lamps, so they must be related to some sort of anointing. And, yet, it is the word *oil*.

We also are immediately drawn, when we read of the two olive trees and the two anointed ones that identify with the golden candlesticks, to what we read in Revelation, chapter 11, and I am going to read Revelation 11:3-4:

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

Well, now, that helps us a great deal in relating what we are reading in Zechariah 4 to the "two witnesses" of Revelation 11, because there were "two olive trees" that were on either side of the "golden candlestick" with its lamps, and, here, the "two witnesses" also are called...and let me read it again, in Revelation 11:4, where we are more familiar with the identification of "two witnesses," but it is just as legitimate to say "these are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." So, in other words, these things are synonymous: we could speak of the "two witnesses," or we could speak of them as the "two olive trees," or the "two candlesticks."

By now, we should be seeing how God has set up the "candlestick" in order to illustrate the light of the Gospel; first; within national Israel, as in the days of old they were God's representatives of His kingdom on earth, and then (as we are reading in Revelation 1), God identifies the *candlestick* with the New Testament churches and congregations of the world throughout the New Testament church age period.

That is why Revelation's language which is referring back to the *candlesticks* (and, certainly, the Jews would have been able to make this connection, and it is there for all of us to see, that it identifies the churches with the *candlestick*) is very significant language, because it demonstrates that God's light was with national Israel, and they were His representatives, and now that same light is with the New Testament church. And that goes to prove, and to show, that the church took over the mantle of national Israel, and now would be the representatives of God's kingdom to the inhabitants of the earth. The language of the *candlesticks* show that because the *candlestick* is that which gives forth light.

Let us read a little further here in Revelation 11:5:

And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Now, here, we understand that this is the testimony of God's word, the light of the Gospel, that His people would be the messengers of, and they would be completely identified with this light of the two olive trees and the two candlesticks. Let's just keep it at that: if instead of "two witnesses," God had said, "the two candlesticks were overcome and killed," we would understand immediately that this means the light of the Gospel has gone out; there is no more light.

And that is exactly what God meant, but where were the *candlesticks* found? Remember what it said in Revelation 1? (and do not let the difference in number confuse you). We have already seen there were ten golden candlesticks in Solomon's temple, one golden candlestick in the tabernacle, and Revelation 1 speaks of seven golden candlesticks, and two candlesticks in Revelation 11; God changes the number in order to teach spiritual truth behind the various numbers He is using. But the constant point is the "golden candlestick" which represents the light of His word.

And it says, again, in Revelation 1:20:

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The "golden candlesticks" identify with the New Testament churches, and the "two witnesses" are the "two candlesticks* standing before the God of the earth, just as in Zechariah, chapter 4. There was the golden candlestick, and the two olive trees, and the two anointed ones standing by the God of the whole earth.

And now the "two witnesses" have finished their testimony, and "the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them." So, at the point of the ascension of the beast (and that is another name for Satan that God has given to him exclusively for the period of the twenty three year great tribulation, from May 21, 1988 through May 21, 2011), when the beast was loosed from the bottomless pit at the beginning of the great tribulation, and immediately he went into the church. He went right after the churches and the congregations. That has always been the central point of his attack, and he, once again, when he was loosed, went after those that identify with God's kingdom, where the Bible was found, where the people of God had been in the midst of the churches and congregations, and where the Holy Spirit (Christ Himself) was found for almost 2,000 years.

And as Satan ascended at this time (he had always caused trouble within the churches, even during his period of being bound over the course of the church age), now something different was happening, because the Lord now had loosed him completely to overcome the churches, to overcome the "two witnesses," to overcome the "two candlesticks."

So, Satan now was able to rule as the beast in the congregations, as well as in the world. He was the "man of sin" who would now take his seat in the temple and, of course, you cannot have the Spirit of Christ in the midst of the congregations along with the spirit of Satan. God did not work things out that way; so God determined to "come out of the midst" and to allow Satan to win, to be victorious, at this point, over the churches, and this began back in 1988, and continued for twenty three years, in order for God to bring judgment on the churches.

And what was that judgment? The judgment was the light of the Gospel going out. This is why Revelation 8, as it pronounces the judgment on the "third part" that identifies with those in the churches, says in Revelation 8:12:

And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

This is indicating that there was darkness in the "third part," where the churches are congregations were concerned, all over the whole earth. Now outside of the churches (in the world), God had not yet started the "latter rain period" at the beginning of the great tribulation for 2,300 evening-mornings, so, virtually no one was being saved in the world for a period of six years and almost four months. However, the language of the Bible permits or allows that certain ones could have become saved; yet, none would have become saved in the church. So, of the few, if any, that did become saved (and the Bible would allow for that possibility, from our perspective, but God knows if He saved anyone or not), those individuals would have been saved out in the world. There is no possibility at all that any person was saved in the church during the 2,300 evening mornings, because God darkened the congregations, and the Holy Spirit left that place, and Satan entered in. Yes, we do allow for a handful of individuals to be saved, but only outside of the church.

Of course, the "third part" of the sun was darkened on the churches, and that spiritually dark condition would prevail throughout the entire twenty three years of the great tribulation. And then after the great tribulation---immediately after---the Bible says, "the sun was darkened and the moon did not give its light and the stars fell from heaven," and it does not say "the third part," so now God is indicating it is the entire sun, and the entire moon, and all the stars, spiritually speaking, of the heavens, that have lost the light. The light of the whole world has gone out, and now there is no place wherein individuals could possibly be saved (even a handful), because when the sun went dark in the church, there was still outside in the world where someone could potentially be saved, but now there is no place in the world---the light of the Gospel is out completely.

That is what this language is indicating here, as Revelation 11:6-7 speak of the "two witnesses," which we do not normally think of as identifying with the two candlesticks, and with the light of the Gospel being put out. They were lying dead in the street, according to Revelation 11, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, for a period of three days and a half, which identifies with the 2,300 evening mornings. Then we read "after three days and a half, they stood upon their feet," and that would tie in with the year 1994, and the end of the 2,300 evening mornings, and the beginning of the wonderful "latter rain" period, where God would, once again, send forth the light of the Gospel to all the world, and save a great multitude from all the nations.

Well, let us go back to our verse in Revelation 1:13:

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man...

This is a proof text that is letting us know that the Lord Jesus Christ was in the churches; He was "in the midst." He is the one "like unto the Son of man." Jesus is called the "Son of man" in a few places in the Bible, and there is no one else that could be in view. It is obviously referring to the Lord Jesus. When John heard the great voice, the voice identified Himself as "Alpha and Omega, the first and the last," and that language only fits Christ; it only applies to the Lord Jesus, and He is the one "in the midst of the seven candlesticks."

When we get together in our next Bible study, we will look at that idea, and this word "midst," and we will see how it also relates to the removal of Christ as He removes Himself from the midst of the churches, once the church age came to its conclusion.