The Two Witnesses

You might recall that in the first half of the Tribulation, there are two sets of seven judgments, 14 judgments of God in the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation – the seals and the trumpets.

The seventh trumpet is a big deal. The seventh trumpet is blown at the midway point. The seventh trumpet marks the beginning of the end, the start to the Great Tribulation, and Rev. 11:15 gives the impression that the seventh trumpet will be blown continuously all throughout the final 3 ½ years of the Tribulation until the kingdom arrives. Bullinger would write that the seventh trumpet expands into the final seven vial judgments during the last half of the Tribulation.

Even though the two witnesses will have been on this Earth prophesying for the entire first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation, we won’t learn about them until Rev. 11, and that’s for a reason. The two witnesses are revealed to us here because their death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven is the catalyst to everything that follows in the last half of the Tribulation. It’s the catalyst to the seventh trumpet. It’s the catalyst to the Abomination of Desolation in Jerusalem. It’s also the catalyst to the Mark of the Beast, and God sending three angels down to the Earth with the three messages for all mankind including the everlasting the gospel. Their deaths is the spark that lights the inferno of the Great Tribulation in the last 3 ½ years, which includes the final seven judgments, the worst judgments God ever inflicted upon the Earth.

This is why we don’t read about the two witnesses until Rev. 11 because their story gives context to everything that happens in the last half of the Tribulation. The book of Revelation isn’t a jumbled mess of events that are out of order. Revelation has one main narrative that explains all the events of the Tribulation in chronological order. However, God would occasionally insert flashbacks and flashforwards for the sake of providing context to some of these major events. I think God does this to keep the book of Revelation at a reasonable length and He also does this to simplify everything.

Otherwise, it’d take a million words to explain everything.

Thus, every time God inserts a flashback, He was does it for a reason, which is always born out by the context. For example, we pointed out before that everything in Rev. 7 about the 144,000 existed to answer the question at the end of chapter 6. Who shall be able to stand? Context explained the reason for its existence even though it’s out of sequence.

So, too, the context for this story about the two witnesses is the preparation for the seventh trumpet, which is what chapter 10 is all about.

Rev. 11:3-15

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Rev 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. Rev 11:6 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. Rev 11:7 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. Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

The Story of the Two Witnesses

First, we read in vs. 3, “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” We may presume that the angel is continuing to speak here, and yet, we find this statement that “I will give power unto MY two witnesses.” Either the Lord has begun speaking to John or the angel is speaking the words of the Lord to John, because these are the Lord’s two witnesses and it’s only the Lord who will ultimately empower them.

What is it He’s empowering them to do? They’ll prophesy the entire time they’re on the Earth, which isn’t only the predicting of future events but also them speaking the words of the Lord to the people of the Earth. They’ll be prophesying 1,260 days, which is 3 ½ years at 360 days a year according to the Jewish calendar. The two witnesses will be on the Earth Day One of the Tribulation, and they will die and ascend into Heaven precisely at the midway point.

We also learn in these passages that they’ll be empowered to shoot fire out of their mouths, kill others in the same manner that they tried to hurt them, control the weather, turn water into blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. How will they be empowered to do these things? Through the Holy Spirit. This is yet more proof that the Holy Spirit will be active down here on Earth during the Tribulation. Miracles were always done through the Spirit.

We also learn here that they’re dressed in sackcloth. Personally, I would’ve loved to have seen them dressed up in three-piece suits. But they’ll be dressed in sackcloth, which signifies a state of mourning (Gen. 37:34). I don’t think this is mourning for Israel only but for all the people on Earth, because God’s judgment is upon all people on Earth.

Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. They are represented by two olive trees and candlesticks.

Olive trees, which were representations of Israel’s spirit life, produce olive oil which is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Lev. 24:2, Exo. 25:37, Isa. 11:1-2).

Candlesticks send forth light (Zech. 4, Satan resisted, 3:1).

In the previous verse, they were also called two witnesses. Of course, it’s a timeless principle that God would have events established in the mouth of two or three witnesses (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). A witness is one who gives testimony (v.7) to what he knows to be true.

The two witnesses will testify to not only God’s existence and the truth that Christ is the only begotten Son of God, but they’re also testifying to the truth of everything that will befall the Earth over the course of the Tribulation. Yhey’re not simply explaining THAT these judgments will be happening, but they will also be explaining WHY these judgments will be happening.

This means they’ll be exposing sin and corruption in the whole world on a scale like never seen before, which will make them a threat to every power structure, every leader, and every false religion, which is why the world will hate them so much they’ll send armies to take them out.

I’ve heard some suggest that the two witnesses will be only in Israel and only prophesying to Israel, but I think their ministry will be global. Just as Matt. 24:14 reveals that the gospel of the kingdom will go global, so too, the ministry of the two witnesses will be global. We’re told these two men will have the power to smite the earth (the whole earth) with all plagues, as often as they will. Why are they empowered to smite the whole earth with plagues? Because their ministry will be global to all the inhabitants of the Earth. Just as God’s judgments are global, so too, the ministry of the two witnesses explaining WHY God’s judgments are coming will be global. They will expose of sin and corruption around the globe, which is why God’s judgments are global. This also explains why the entire world will celebrate their deaths.

I suspect it’s possible these two witnesses may well travel the globe through the Holy Spirit’s Crazy Transportation Service. They’ll prophesy to all people to the ends of the Earth over the course of 3 ½ years. Even if they don’t travel the globe, the entire globe will hear everything they have to say. And they’ll be hated for exposing the wickedness, and the entire world will do everything they can to take them out. We know that exposing corruption can be a sure ticket to getting yourself murdered. But the two witnesses will put the world on notice about their state of condemnation before God because of their seemingly bottomless wickedness, and the world will respond by trying to kill them. This is why they’re empowered to control the weather, turn water to blood, send plagues, and kill everyone who tries to kill them. They’ll expose all corruption top to bottom and literally be invincible until the appointed time of their death.

There is also a fascinating comparison to be made between Jesus Christ and the two witnesses. You can’t help but make this connection because they’ll be killed on the same spot where the Lord was crucified. (I give David O’Steen credit for this list I’m about to share.) Jesus described Himself as a witness. You remember how He told Pilate in Joh 18:37 Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Jesus Christ is also called the faithful witness in Rev. 1:5. There are a number of similarities between Christ as the faithful witness and the ministry of HIS two witnesses in Rev. 11.

• Both minster in great power with signs and wonders.
• Both minister for 3 ½ years.
• Both are invincible until the appointed time of their deaths.
• Both are killed at Jerusalem because of the son of perdition.
• Both have enemies rejoicing at their death.
• Both are raised the third day.
• Earthquakes accompany their death and resurrection.
• And both ascend to Heaven in a cloud.

They’re also called two Olive Trees, which is a callback to Zech. 4 and the two olive trees in the vision of the golden lampstand, which made Zerubbabel and Jeshua two early types of the two witnesses. I’ll just quote Bullinger. Long but worth sharing. He wrote, “The two Olive Trees in Zech. iv. are there explained as denoting ZERUBBABEL the prince, and JESHUA the high priest. And when it says here in Rev. xi. 4: ‘These (two Witnesses) ARE the two Olive Trees,’ the Figure is Metaphor, and the verb ‘are’ means represents. ‘These represent the two Olive trees,’ etc. This is the Spirit’s own explanation of these two Witnesses. Just as Zerubbabel and Jeshua were raised up, and gifted, and divinely endowed, and protected against Satan’s assaults, so in the coming day of Israel’s acknowledgment by God, two other great Witnesses from God will be raised up, corresponding to them, occupying a similar position as the depositories of Heavenly power and wisdom, and exercising a similar ministry… The secret Divine supply of oil to these two Trees and Lamp-stands illustrates the great reality (in Zech. 4:6) — ‘This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might (mar. armies), nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.’ That is to say, it was a material representation of mighty spiritual potencies which were coming forth from the Spirit of God to give success and power to Zerubbabel and Jeshua for the completion of the work in which they were then engaged. That work was the restoration of Jerusalem, its temple, and its worship. In like manner shall these Two Witnesses be spiritually endowed with still greater power for a greater work, which will be carried out in face of the opposition of more formidable enemies. In that day Satan was present to ‘resist’ (Zech. iii. 1, etc.): and the Lord, who had ‘chosen Jerusalem,’ was present to ‘rebuke’ him. So here, Satan will be indeed present; and his resistance will reach its highest point: hence these Two Witnesses must needs be equipped as witnesses never were before, in order to carry out and fulfil their testimony…”

Matt. 17 might be a good place to identify the two witnesses.

There are two primary theories: Moses and Elijah or Enoch and Elijah.

This is a debate that goes back at least to the 1800’s when Bullinger wrote his commentary on Revelation. We all agree that Elijah has to be one of the two witnesses not only because he was present at the Lord’s transfiguration but also primarily because of Matt. 17.

Mat 17:10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? Mat 17:11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. Mat 17:12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Mat 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.

Their question makes perfect sense. Malachi said in Mal. 4:5 ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD…’ But God didn’t send Elijah. He sent John the Baptist instead. So it’s only logical that they would ask the Lord Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

But the disciples didn’t realize there would be two comings of the Lord. It’s still true what the Lord said in Mat. 17:11 that “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.” What Malachi wrote is also still true. God will send Elijah down to this Earth before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

What about this other verse? The Lord said in Mat 17:12 “But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.” What does that mean? Luke would explain in Luke 1:17 that John the Baptist “shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Elijah is come already as a type in John the Baptist who went before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elias.

Every word the Lord said to the disciples, just as they are written, are true. Elijah has come as a type in John the Baptist, and Elijah truly shall also come in the future as one of the two witnesses.

What about the other witness? Who is he?

Some would say it has to be Moses simply because he was with Elijah at the transfiguration. Others would say Enoch, because it’s appointed unto men once to die (Heb. 9:27). Moses died. Enoch didn’t die. So the assumption is that his death had been put off to die later as one of the two witnesses. We read in Heb. 11:5, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death…” One could argue that that verse means that Enoch should not see death in his lifetime in order to see death as one of the two witnesses, but I get the impression from that verse that Enoch should never see death.

In any event, I’ve became greatly convinced that the two witnesses have to be Moses and Elijah, not merely because they were both present at the Lord’s transfiguration but largely because the powers that will be given to them during the Tribulation mirrors the powers that were given to Moses and Elijah in their lifetimes.

Both were prophets (and called prophets again in v.10).

Both are said to have stood before God. In vs. 4 of Rev. 11, it’s said of the two witnesses that they are the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Of Elijah, it was also written in I Kings 17:1, “As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word”. Of Moses, it was also written in Psa. 106:23, “Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen stood before Himin the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them.”

• Both preached to archetypes of the Antichrist (Pharoah and Ahab).
• Both destroyed enemies with fire.
• Both smote the earth with plagues.
• Both were on Mt. Sinai 40 days and 40 nights.
• Both are mentioned together in last chapter of OT, Malachi 4, which was all about the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD.
• And yes, both were with Christ on the mount of transfiguration.

Their presence at the Lord’s transfiguration signified the meeting of the faithful witness with His two witnesses. Bullinger would write, “Perhaps the most compelling reason that Enoch could not be one of the witnesses is that, even though he was a Patriarch, he was a Gentile, which would exclude him from any credible ministry in Israel…” He’d later write, “Both Moses and Elijah were highly revered in Israel and their reappearance would be the type of catalyst needed to reinitiate the Great Commission. Moses represents the Law while Elijah represents the prophets, which, to Israel, is all-encompassing.”

Then we read in Rev. 11:5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies (just like Elijah at Mt. Carmel and Moses in Exod. 9 with the hail and fire): and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. Rev 11:6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy (like Elijah): and have power over waters to turn them to blood (like Moses in Exod. 7), and to smite the earth with all plagues (like Moses), as often as they will.

Man, this is some of the most exhilarating, action-packed verses in the Bible. This entire corrupt world full of wickedness will hate these two men with every fiber of their beings just for speaking the truth. Moses and Elijah will spark the fury of the entire globe. Nations will send everything they have to take these guys out. Assassins, guns, missiles, drones, bombs, poisons.

But they’ll all fail, because through the power and the all-seeing knowledge of the Spirit, they’ll evade every attempt on their life, always three steps ahead. They’ll kill everyone who tries to kill them. They’ll expose corruption at the highest levels. They’ll tear down power structures of governments. They’ll condemn all manner of wickedness. They’ll expose every false religion, and you know how angry certain people get when someone talks smack about their religion.

Plus, they’ll break the will of entire nations of people who want to take them on. Moses and Elijah will be empowered to inflict upon nations all manner of plagues, as often as they will. Remember, one of those plagues Moses gave Egypt was boils! What nation has the ability to take on two guys with that kind of power? So the arrogant leaders of all these nations of the world who think that they can do whatever they want and no one can stop them because they control all the armies, they will all get their pride handed to them on a platter by two guys in sackcloth!

How epic is that? Praise the Lord! The lame takes the prey!

Rev 11:7 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. Who is the beast? What beast ascendeth out of the bottomless pit? I’d suggest that the answer is Satan, and the verse I would use for that is Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Satan is the one who will later ascend out of the bottomless pit to be loosed for a season at the end of the millennial reign to deceive the nations, which will lead to the final showdown at Gog and Magog.

How will Satan kill the two witnesses?

It seems plausible to me that Satan will take out the two witnesses through the antichrist. You may recall that Rev. 13 is all about John witnessing the rise of two beasts. In the first half of that chapter, John sees the rise of the first beast, which is the antichrist. In the second half of that chapter, John sees the rise of the second beast, which is the false prophet. Yet, in that chapter both of those individuals are called beasts. Why? Because both of them will be, for the most part, puppets of Satan. Satan is the true beast, the true driving force behind the antichrist and the false prophet. These two men will allow themselves to operate under the full influence and guidance of Satan himself. These men will literally sell their souls to the devil.

All of this begs the question, “When does John see the rise of the two beasts in Rev. 13?” It can’t be chronological, because in chapter 12, the antichrist has already become possessed by Satan and carries out the Abomination of Desolation. The beast is already the beast in chapter 12 before John shares the vision about seeing the beast rise from the ocean in chapter 13. So why does John talk about seeing the rise of the beast in chapter 13 after having witnessed the Abomination of Desolation in chapter 12? I think John is inserting a flashback into the narrative to explain the history of the antichrist and the false prophet just as we reached the point in the main narrative about the Abomination of Desolation. It’s like a movie. We just witnessed the tragic scenes of the Abomination of Desolation. Then we’re given a flashback about the rise and the history of the antichrist, which led to that moment, because the antichrist has been mostly absent in Revelation until now. Rev. 13 gives context to what just happened in Rev. 12. This means that from the beginning of the Tribulation, the antichrist will be the antichrist, lying to the world about being the Son of God. The beast will be the beast from the beginning. What John saw in Rev. 13 takes place at the beginning of the Tribulation.

Rev 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. How do you explain this verse? Where do the two witnesses die? Clearly, they die on Calvary’s hill outside of Jerusalem, because that’s where the Lord was crucified. So how do you explain these references to Sodom and Egypt? John explains it: which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. Those are spiritual identifiers for Jerusalem. They have become spiritually like Sodom and Egypt, now the city where there is outright rebellion against God, a city where moral degeneracy and debauchery runs rampant. This isn’t the first time God identified Israel as “Sodom.” In the days of Isaiah, He addressed the rulers of Jerusalem as the rulers of “Sodom” (Isa. 1:8-10). Jerusalem was also called “Egypt,” which is frequently used to mean rampant polytheism in Israel, belief in many gods.

Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. This leads to my favorite quote in Bullinger’s commentary on Revelation. He wrote, “The older commentators might have felt a difficulty in understanding how the whole earth could rejoice at an event happening at Jerusalem. But in these days of electric inventions, telephones, and wireless telegraphy, we all know how the next day the whole world sympathises and rejoices together.” LOL But Bullinger was wrong. Look at what vs. 10 says. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies. How would the world through telegraphs and telephones be able to SEE their dead bodies? It’s a spiritual presentation, perhaps in the sky like Luke 4:5, because technology will be dead by this point.

Rev 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 11:14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. I don’t think these verses require much in the way of exegesis because they’re pretty straightforward. But I’ll add this. We established that Satan operating through the antichrist will kill the two witnesses. I suspect that, when the world sees the antichrist be victorious in defeating the two witnesses, that’s the moment he also solidifies all his earthly power. Because he defeated the two witnesses, he becomes the new king of the world. Then he’ll easily implement his one world government.

Finally, vs. 14 tells us that The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

There are three woes in the book of Revelation. The first woe is the fifth trumpet. This is the judgment that takes place in Rev. 9 in which the bottomless pit is opened and locusts with stingers will fly out to torment every unbeliever for five straight months. They’ll be in utter pain and won’t be able to die. And when it’s over, John writes in Rev. 9:12 “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.” The second woe is the death of two witnesses because immediately upon their death and ascension into Heaven, we’re told in Rev. 11:14, “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.”

The third woe is the seventh trumpet, which, as we mentioned in the beginning, is blown throughout the entire last half of the Tribulation and expands into all seven of the final judgments of God, called the vial or the bowel judgments.