Who are the Two Witnesses?
I believe that the two witnesses are Elijah and Enoch in the Tribulation Period. Can you shed some light on this subject for me?
The identity of the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation is a highly disputed topic. As objectively as possible we will look at the main interpretations and give the strengths and weaknesses of each.
Elijah and Enoch
Strong Points
According to Hebrews 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
See All..., “it is appointed unto men once to die”. One doesn’t have to read very far into the scriptures before finding a man who breaks this rule. In Genesis 5, we find the story of Enoch, a man who walked with God of whom it is said, “he was not; for God took him.” It appears that Enoch did not die but was taken alive by God. Later in the scriptures we read of a similar account dealing with a man named Elijah. In 2 Kings 2 we find Elijah and Enoch walking together and talking. The Bible goes on to give this account,
2 Kings 2:11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
See All... “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
If we accept Hebrews 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
See All... as a rule that applies to every man from Adam until now, then we must believe that both Enoch and Elijah must die. This certainly would come to pass if Enoch and Elijah are the two witnesses for in Revelation 11:7And 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.
See All... we read that the beast will “make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.“ Considering this fact alone we would certainly say that the witnesses could be Enoch and Elijah.
Weaknesses
As a Bible student we must always be willing to weigh the weak points of a teaching before we accept it. As pertaining to the two witnesses being Elijah and Enoch there are a couple of weak points.
First of all, the use of Hebrews 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
See All... as a proof causes us to make too many assumptions. The first principle in Bible study should be “what does it say?” The verse plainly says “it is appointed unto men once to die”. It does not say that God can’t intervene and cause a man to miss this appointment (i.e. Enoch). Another example of a problem is the believers that are alive at the coming of our Saviour. Of this account we read
1 Thessalonians 4:17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
See All... “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Once again this verse doesn’t say that we will die and then be caught up, so if Hebrews 9:27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
See All... is a rule that applies without exceptions then we have some problems in a couple of places.
Another problem that makes this interpretation faulty is the fact that we have only one verse that even hints to a possibility of Elijah and Enoch. As we have seen that verse does not hold much weight. It is not always a good idea to build a teaching or doctrine based on one verse, especially for the novice Bible student. It would certainly be safe to say that every man has an appointment with death and the only way out of that appointment is by the divine intervention of an omnipotent God. If you do not read of a man’s death in the scripture then you assume that man met his appointment. God only tells us of the rare times in history when He, for a purpose known only to Himself, rescues a man from the appointment with death.
Elijah and Moses
Strong Points
Their authority with the Jews- In the New Testament we find the Lord dividing the Old Testament into three major categories. These categories are the law, the prophets and the psalms (Luke 24:44And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
See All...). If we were to look at the main representatives of each category, we would easily agree that Moses would be associated with the law and David with the Psalms but we might question who would be most associated with the prophets. This is certainly one of the weaker points for narrowing it down to Elijah for there were many prophets. However, when taking other points into account, applying this to Elijah does not deny the scriptures. The law and the prophets are the portions of scripture where God laid down His law and rules for fellowship with Him.
The Mount of Transfiguration was one of the most fascinating events that took place during the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was, if you will, a preview of the glorified Christ and His kingdom. Here we find the Lord Jesus and two Old Testament saints. Who were they? You guessed it. Moses and Elijah. It has been taught that Moses was representative of those who have died and will enter the kingdom. Elijah was representative of those who will be translated into the kingdom without having died. Peter, James and John were representative of the Jews who will be not in their glorified bodies but rather will be in the kingdom in their fleshly bodies and those who were at the bottom of the mount would be those nations who go into the kingdom because of their proper treatment of God’s people during the tribulation. Nevertheless, God does not give us the words that Moses, Elijah and Christ speak to each other. The importance lies in their presence rather than their words.
Prophecy- The prophetic strength of Moses and Elijah is mainly directed at Elijah. We are told several times in scripture that Elijah has to come again. By a close look at the scriptures you will realize that John the Baptist could have been Elijah if the Jews would have accepted him (Matthew 11:12-14 [12] And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
[13] For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
[14] And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.
See All...), but when they did not the Lord told them that Elijah must come again (Matthew 17:11And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
See All...). It is very important to realize that the Lord had everything in place to establish His kingdom with the Jewish people on earth, but when they rejected Him their kingdom was postponed. This postponement means that Elijah still must come again for he is to come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
See All...).
By characteristics of the witnesses it is meant, what do we know about the works of the witnesses as recorded in the Book of Revelation compared to the works of Moses and Elijah. For this portion we will make use of a table.
| Characteristic | Moses | Elijah |
|---|---|---|
| Power to devour their enemies by fire (Revelation 11:5And 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.
See All...) | Numbers 16:31-35 [31] And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
[32] And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
[33] They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.
[34] And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also.
[35] And there came out a fire from the LORD, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense.
See All... | 2 Kings 1:9-13 [9] Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
[10] And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
[11] Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
[12] And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
[13] And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
See All... |
| Power to shut Heaven that it rain not (Revelation 11:6These 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.
See All...) | 1 Kings 17:1And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, 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.
See All...; James 5:17Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. See All... | |
| Power to turn water into blood (Revelation 11:6These 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.
See All...) | Exodus 7:19-20 [19] And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.
[20] And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
See All... | |
| Power to smite the earth with all plagues (Revelation 11:6These 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.
See All...) | Exodus 9:13-15 [13] And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
[14] For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth.
[15] For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth.
See All... | |
| Both are called prophets (Revelation 11:10And 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.
See All...) | Deuteronomy 34:10And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
See All... | 1 Kings 18:22Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
See All..., 36 |
Weaknesses
In closing I would like to say that even Moses and Elijah as the witnesses could be wrong. By looking at the scripture, we can be pretty sure that it is Moses and Elijah but we must admit that there is no verse in the Bible that directly names the two witnesses as Moses and Elijah. The thing to remember is that God’s word is the final authority and not our understanding of it.