Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man. - Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man. - Luke 21:36
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. - Revelation 11:3
As foretold in Scripture, at the end of the age the people of the earth will worship an image of the beast and receive a mark in their forehead or right hand. At about this same time one of the antichrists will perform an abomination of desolation in the temple of God; this abomination may include placing an image in the temple of God.
According to Revelation chapter 11, God will send to the earth two witnesses who will appear in Jerusalem for a three and a half year period.
Who are these two witnesses?
What is their ministry?
How will it end?
There are two main schools of thought as to who these two witnesses are; either Moses and Elijah or Enoch and Elijah. Since we believe the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah, we will look at them first.
Moses:
And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. - Exodus 32:31-32
Elijah:
But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. - 1 Kings 19:4
Perhaps Moses and Elijah did not suffer so much from death wishes as from the frustration of their people’s desire to worship an image even after they had seen God’s glory.
Moses:
And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. - Exodus 34:28
Elijah:
And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. - 1 Kings 19:8
Moses parts the Red Sea:
And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. - Exodus 14:15-16
Elijah parts the Jordan River:
And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. - 2 Kings 2:8
Not only are Moses and Elijah able to divide the waters, their successors Joshua and Elisha are also able to do the same thing.
Joshua parts the Jordan River:
And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
[…]
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan. - Joshua 3:7-17
Finally, Elijah parts the Jordan River:
And he [Elisha] took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over. - 2 Kings 2:14
Moses:
And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the
earth, and worshiped.
- Exodus 34:5-8
Elijah:
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped
his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the
cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou
here, Elijah?
- 1 Kings 19:11-13
Not only did Moses and Elijah stand with the Lord in his glory (Matthew 17:2-3), it appears that they both saw the Lord’s glory previously in Mt. Sinai. It is likely that the two witnesses would have a close relationship with the Lord.
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
When John says "These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth", does he expect us to recognize them? Who are these olive trees and candlesticks? The prophet Zechariah has a similar vision that may shed light on this question.
And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
So I answered and spoke to the angel that talked with
me, saying, What are these, my lord?
- Zechariah 4:2-4
AND
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?
And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?
And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that
stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
- Zechariah 4:12-14
Zechariah’s interpretation of his vision as the “two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth” brings up the next question. Who are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth? Matthew may answer this for us.
And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart,
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him. - Matthew 17:1-3
It seems possible that the Bible identifies the two witnesses as Moses and Elijah.
The Bible mentions many of the plagues that the two witnesses perform by name. Moses or Elijah have previously performed every one of these plagues.
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. - Revelation 11:5
This is an accurate description of an event in Elijah’s’ life.
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 a hill. And he spoke unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight.
And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. - 2 Kings 1:9-15
These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in
the days of their prophecy:
- Revelation 11:6a
Again, this happened in Elijah’s time and at his command.
And 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. - 1 Kings 17:1
This first drought lasted for about three years (1 Kings18:1).
... and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. - Revelation 11:6b
To see waters turned to blood we turn to Moses.
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. - Exodus 4:9
And the LORD spoke 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.
- Exodus 7:19
... to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. Revelation 11:6b
All the plagues that Moses was capable of inflicting can be found in Exodus through Deuteronomy.
A list of plagues at the end of the age, is found in the passages on the seven trumpets and vials in the book of Revelation.
Most of the Christians who believe that the two witnesses at the end of the age are real people expect one of them to be Elijah. Many Jews also expect Elijah to precede the coming of the Messiah. However, there is only one verse in the Old Testament, Malachi 4:5, that predicts the coming of Elijah by name before the “dreadful day of the Lord”. Interestingly, this passage also mentions Moses.
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. - Malachi 4:4-6