In Revelation 11:3–12 is a description of
two individuals
who will help accomplish
God’s work
during the tribulation:
"I will
appoint my two witnesses,
and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth”
(verse 3).
Nowhere does the Bible identify
these two witnesses by name,
although people through the years have speculated.
The two witnesses
in Revelation
will have miraculous powers
to
accompany their message
(Revelation 11:6),
and no one
will be able to stop them
in their work
(verse 5).
At the end of their ministry,
when they have said all they
need to say,
the beast will kill them and the wicked world will rejoice, allowing the bodies of the fallen prophets to lie in the streets
(verses 7–10). Three and a half days later, however, God’s two witnesses will be resurrected and, in full view of their enemies, ascend to heaven (verses 11–12).
There are three primary theories on the identity of
the
two witnesses in Revelation
: (1) Moses and Elijah,
(2) Enoch and Elijah, and
(3) two unknown believers
whom God calls to be
His witnesses in the end times.
(1) Moses and Elijah are seen as possibilities for the
two witnesses due to the
specific miracles
that John says the witnesses will perform.
The witnesses will have the power
to
turn water into blood
(Revelation 11:6),
which duplicates a famous miracle of
Moses
(Exodus 7).
And the witnesses will have the power to destroy their enemies with fire (Revelation 11:5), which corresponds to an event in Elijah’s life (2 Kings 1)
. Also giving strength to this view is the fact that
Moses and Elijah both appeared with Jesus at the
transfiguration
(Matthew 17:3–4). Further,
Jewish tradition
expects
Moses and Elijah to return,
based on the prophecy
of Elijah’s coming in Malachi 4:5
and God’s promise to raise up a
prophet like Moses
(Deuteronomy 18:15, 18),
which some Jews believe necessitates
Moses’ return.
(2) Enoch and Elijah are seen as possibilities for the
two witnesses
because of the unique circumstances surrounding their
exit from the world.
Enoch and Elijah, as far as we know, are the only two individuals whom God has taken directly to heaven without experiencing death (Genesis 5:23; 2 Kings 2:11). Proponents of this view point to Hebrews 9:27, which says that all men are appointed to die once. The fact that neither Enoch nor Elijah has yet experienced death seems to qualify them for the job of the two witnesses, who will be killed when their job is done. In addition, both Enoch and Elijah were prophets who pronounced God’s judgment (1 Kings 17:1; Jude 1:14–15).
(3) Two unknowns are seen as possibilities for the two witnesses because of the lack of specificity in Revelation 11. Scripture does not identify the two witnesses by name, and no well-known person is associated with their coming. God is perfectly capable of taking two “ordinary” believers and enabling them to perform the same signs and wonders that Moses and Elijah did.
There is nothing in Revelation 11 that requires us to assume
a “famous” identity for the
two witnesses.
There is an interesting passage in Zechariah 4 that gives us a
prototype of the two witnesses of
Revelation.
Zechariah has a vision in which he sees a solid
gold lampstand.
On top is a bowl of oil,
and an olive tree stands on each side (verses 3–4).
The lampstand gives its light without human maintenance,
being constantly supplied by the olive oil flowing
from the trees into the bowl. God’s message to Zechariah
was that
God’s work (rebuilding the temple)
would be accomplished “
not by might nor by power,
but by my Spirit
” (verse 6).
Zechariah asks about the meaning of the
olive trees and the branches supplying the oil,
and the angel who speaks to him says,
"These are the two anointed ones
who stand
by the Lord of the whole earth”
(Zechariah 4:14, ESV).
In other words,
God’s power to sustain His work
is flowing
through two individuals
set apart for the task.
In Zechariah’s context,
these two individuals are Joshua
(the current high priest) and
Zerubbabel (the current governor of Judah).
We can also see a
foreshadowing of Jesus Christ
here,
as the Messiah would
combine the offices of
priest and king.
Then we come to Revelation 11:4. In the description of the
two witnesses,
John says, "They are ‘the two olive trees’
and the
two lampstands,
and ‘
they stand before the Lord of the earth.’”
John quotes from Zechariah 4.
The
two witnesses of Revelation,
like
Joshua and Zerubbabel,
will have
God’s power
flowing through them
to
accomplish God’s work.