But the pipes are not on the candlestick but on the olive branches.
Can you point me to the verse where God is giving instructions for the Tabernacle where the lampstand has pipes?
Re-read Zechariah 4
2 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:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
The prophet is shown a menorah, and asks what it means, the angel explains that the candlestick represents the house of God that Zerubbabel was rebuilding (he was the high priest), but less the building, and more the body of believers, because as we know, the building is of less importance "the church" is not a building but a body of believers similarly.
then the prophet asks about the olive trees and is told that they are 2 anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth. The 2 witnesses have these same 2 symbols, but Jesus says that candlesticks represent churches in Revelation, so, 2 bodies of believers, and 2 anointed ones, and I believe scripture connects their identities by the things they do (turning water to blood and cutting off all rain from the land for 3.5 years), and more simply, it was Moses and Elijah that stood next to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.
Except the book of Revelation can be.
You are not seeing the special nature of Revelation. Supporting details are not necessary.
You just described Revelation as a photograph and the rest of prophecy as a pile if puzzle pieces. Which one do you use to make sure the puzzle pieces are in the right place? The photograph.
It shouldn't be. Because you miss so much of it if you are not familiar with the Old Testament prophets. You are right that Revelation sorts all those old prophetic passages and makes sense of all of them, but in return, the old testament explains some of the symbols in Revelation, it is a symbiotic relationship in text where Revelation organizes Old Testament prophecy and gives it all context and to some degree timing, but the Old Testament prophets give detail and provide the vocabulary needed to see all the symbols for what they are.
Otherwise you have Jesus with a literal physical sword coming out of His mouth, a literal sea monster, and the two witnesses being 2 literal candlesticks and olive trees.
Just one encounter as far as I know.
Now did I say that other passages never refer to the same events or did I say that they might? It was the latter.
There are supporting verses in other books..
But they are NOT needed. In my opinion.
The way I look at it... All other passages point to Revelation... but Revelation does not point to past prophecies.
the other passages explain symbols, which is necessary because it is apocalyptic language, it's not a literal sea monster, it's a kingdom and its king, Daniel 7 explains (Revelation 17 confirms), it's not 2 literal olive trees and candlesticks, Zechariah 4 explains, and Revelation 1 confirms the candlesticks. and it's not a literal sword, as other scripture explains that it is the Word of God.
Hebrews 4
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
