Who Are The Two Witnesses of Revelation?

Who are the two witnesses mentioned in the Book of Revelation?  Can they be identified?

By Two Witnesses

The Old Testament idea that by two witnesses a thing is established as fact may be why the Book of Revelation mentions the two witnesses because the testimony of only one person is insufficient to prove anything.  In the Old Testament, the law stated that “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Duet 19:15).    Even in the New Testament Paul writes that “Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (2 Cor 13:1). When Jesus addressed issues concerning church discipline he said “But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Matt 18:16) so the idea of having two witnesses is vital to any kind of witness or testimony to be established as trustworthy or factual.  Perhaps there is something even to the fact that there is the Old Testament and the New Testament.   The Old Testament supports what is written in the New and they both agree on one thing…”the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4; Rom 1:17; Heb 10:38).

God’s Two Witnesses

In the Book of Revelation, the two witnesses are mentioned and appointed by God Himself and not by man as the Apostle John writes that God says “I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (Rev 11:3).  We see that it is God that grants these two witnesses their authority and not man.  They will be God’s witnesses for 3 & ½ years and give people time to repent and trust in the Savior and their being in sackcloth is symbolic of their humility and afflicting themselves before God on behalf of those who are not yet saved.  This shows that they are fully devoted to God as His witnesses and desire that no one should perish.

Hints on Who the Two Might Be

These two witnesses are called by God as “the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.  And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire” (Rev 11:4-6).  Will these two witnesses be Elijah and Moses?  I remember reading that Elijah was given the authority to withhold the rain for 3 years (1 King 17, 18) and God worked through Moses to perform many plagues on the nation of Egypt including turning the waters into blood (Ex 7-11).  Also, Elijah and Moses were with Christ during the Transfiguration (Mark 9:1-8). Remember that Moses death and burial was a mystery because God Himself buried Moses in the “secret place” (Duet 34:5-6) and Elijah was transfigured and taken up into the heavens and never tasted death (2 Kings 2:1-11).

The Two Witnesses were Martyred

It was after witnessing for 3 & ½ years “when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:7-8).  Here we read that the beast, which has been given authority by Satan, kills the two witnesses.  To “make war with them” is just another way of saying that they were murdered by the Devil’s right hand man, the beast.  When these two are put to death the whole world celebrates because they no longer proclaim the gospel to the earth’s inhabitants which deeply convicted the world of their sins.  After this it was “For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth” (Rev 11:9-10). You can see that the two witnesses’ testimonies tormented “those who dwell on the earth” because they didn’t want God to rule over them and they refused to repent of their sins.  That’s why they rejoiced.  Even worse, they didn’t allow them to be buried so that their dead bodies would lie in the open to decay.

Two Witnesses Resurrected

The world threw one of the greatest parties in history, evidenced by the fact that the entire world rejoiced “over them and [made] merry and exchange[d] presents.” Why?  Because their witness “had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth” so now that they were killed, their witness was silenced.  But was it really? No, because “after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.  And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven” (Rev 11:11-13).  Talk about a quick sobering up!  When the world saw that they were raised to life and taken up into heaven “great fear fell on those who saw them” because they realized that God had taken them up and that their judgment was sure to follow. That’s why “there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell.”  The party’s over.  God’s swift judgment on an unrepentant world now fell upon them.

Conclusion

Today, God still has two witnesses; the Word of God, the Bible and the Holy Spirit which convicts the world of sin (John 16:8; Acts 17:11).  If you have never repented and trusted in Christ, then these two witnesses will testify against you at the Great White Throne Judgment.   Without Christ’s payment of His own blood, you won’t be seen as having the righteousness of God imputed to you (2 Cor 5:21).  Instead, here is a description of your day in court before the Holy, Righteous Judge, Jesus Christ: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:11-15).

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon