"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." - Revelation 11:3-4
During the Tribulation period, two witnesses will be sent by God to proclaim the judgments of God upon the earth. This lesson will cover two important topics:
1) The timeline of the witnesses within the Tribulation period
2) The identity of the two witnesses
As stated in previous lessons, the book of Revelation was written chronologically and concurrently. Revelation chapter 11 covers the entire Tribulation period in condensed form in the same manner that chapter 6 did. Let's do a quick overview of this chapter before we dive into the identity of the two witnesses as this will allow us to understand when they will begin their ministry.
"And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months." - Revelation 11:1-2
In The Jewish Temples lesson, we looked at the specifications for the third temple that will be constructed in the latter days. Israel's Sanhedrin has already constructed the materials necessary to rebuild the temple and reinstate the priesthood. All that they are missing is a red heifer and peace in order to begin construction on the Temple Mount. Given current technology and the specifications, the temple could be constructed and consecrated within a matter of days. It is quite possible that the Jews will begin construction of the temple and then consecrate it as part of the peace treaty signing. That is speculation on my part, but I do believe it to be the most logical order of events given that verses 2 and 3 both cover the first half of the Tribulation period.
Revelation 11:3-6 describe the incredible power that God grants these two witnesses. Many will come to Christ because of their testimony, but even more will hate them because of the judgments they pronounce and execute.
"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." - Revelation 11:7
The Antichrist is the one that God allows to kill His two witnesses. The Bible will always interpret the Bible which is how we can know who the person is that will kill these two men of God. Revelation 17:8 uses the same phrase "ascendeth out of the bottomless pit" to describe the Antichrist.
"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. 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. 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" - Revelation 11:8-10
Revelation 11:8-10 describes mankind's depravity during the Tribulation period. Humanity will be so perverse that there will be a Satanic Christmas to celebrate the death of these men. They will leave the bodies of the witnesses on the street decaying for all to see while they exchange gifts! However, God will have the last laugh when...
"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. 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." - Revelation 11:11-12
People will watch as these mutilated bodies are reformed before their very eyes and brought back to life. Not only will people witness this miracle, but the two witnesses will be raptured in the same manner as the Church years earlier (Rev. 4:1).
Revelation 11:13-19 gives a very brief overview of the final 3.5 years of the Tribulation to Christ's return.
So now that we know when the two witnesses will appear, who are they?
Strictly using the Bible, I am going to show you the possible candidates for the identity of the two witnesses. I want to stress that this is a subject of much speculation and nobody should be dogmatic regarding their identities.
The first person that many believe will be one of the witnesses is Elijah the prophet. The reason for this is found in Malachi 4:5 which states "behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord". If you've read the lesson on the difference between the Day of Christ and the Day of the Lord, you will recall that the Day of the Lord speaks of Christ's return to establish His kingdom and judges all of the nations. Some would argue that Elijah already came because of what Jesus said in Matthew 17:12-13. However, Luke 1:17 clarifies that Jesus was referring to the "spirit and power of Elijah".
Another possible identity is Moses. At the Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-3), Moses and Elijah appeared. Further argument for these two men returning as the two witnesses is found in Revelation 11:5-6. These two men have powers that speak of events in their respective histories (Ex.7-11 and 1 Kings 18:38).
A third possible candidate is Enoch. Enoch walked with God and was raptured prior to the global flood in Genesis 5:23-24. In Jude, Enoch was quoted to have prophesied "behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him" (v14-15). The theme of Revelation is the return of Jesus Christ.
In Romans 11:24-25, Paul describes Israel and the Gentiles as olive trees. John stated in Revelation 11:3 that the two witnesses are "the two olive trees". Elijah was a Hebrew and Enoch was a Gentile.
The final candidate is the Apostle John. I personally believe that he will be one of the witnesses, but as stated earlier, none of us can know for certain. John's name in Hebrew is Yochanan which means "grace". Notice how the Church Age is also known as the Age of Grace because this is the only dispensation when works do not play a part in salvation (see Dispensations lesson cf. Eph. 2:8-9). John, meaning grace, is raptured in Revelation 4:1 representing the Church being removed before the Tribulation period begins. If the two witnesses are Elijah and John, that would mean that the two witnesses would represent the Prophetic and Apostolic periods which are the foundation of God's household (Eph. 2:19-20).
Revelation was written by John and consists of twenty-two chapters. Read what the angel said to John in Revelation 10:11, "and he said unto me, thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings". Prophesy again? He was in the middle of the first prophecy! How could he prophesy again unless the angel meant that John would come back to prophesy again? The first time he prophesied was around 90 AD when John wrote this book and sent it to the seven churches. By very definition of "again", that would mean John would have to prophesy more than once. Also, look at the character of John as displayed in Luke 9:54. He wanted to call down fire (i.e. judgment) upon the Samaritan town. The Samaritans were mystical Jews that combined idolatry with Judaism. Notice in Revelation 11:8 that they are killed in Jerusalem which is referred to as Sodom (representing homosexuality) and Egypt (representing idolatry) which were both practices of the Samaritans.
The Bible gives a crystal-clear timeline for the two witnesses, but unfortunately, does not dogmatically indicate who they will be. Given the clues in God's Word, it will most likely be two of the four candidates listed.