The Two Witnesses of Revelation (and Zechariah):
Just Who are They?

Copyright © 2008 The-Revelator.com


There are a couple of schools of thought regarding the two witnesses of Revelation. One idea is centered around the supposition that the two witnesses are two Old Testament figures based on Scripture that seems to support this theory. Likewise, the other explanation, one that I subscribe to, is that these are not at all old testament prophets but modern day prophets. This is actually a more accurate representation of the facts when you look more closely at Scripture.

The first is simply misunderstood and wrongly applied , in which Enoch - who God took away before death in a 'rapture event', is one of the two and that Elijah - who was also removed from the earth without seeing death, by way of a fiery chariot, is the other. I do not contend with the fact that the Bible states these two people left the world in such a manner because I take the Holy Scripture literally. However, one problem that cannot be overcome that once translated, the finite body is transformed and will not again become mortal flesh. These two prophets of God cannot defy the order put in place by God. Zechariah and the Gospels dictate another more plausible scenario especially when taken in context together with Revelation.

Zechariah chapter 4 and Revelation chapter 11 tell us of God’s two witnesses, the two olive trees, also called the two lamp stands that stand before the Lord of the earth. That they will testify to the Gospel of Christ and bring about plagues, angering and terrorizing the inhabitants of the nations of the earth for three and one half years. The plagues of water turned to blood and no rain falling on the land are the two most prominent and are quite telling when determining who the Bible means when describing the two witnesses deeds. This seems to suggest that the two witnesses will be Moses and Elijah. This also, at first glance, seems to present a conundrum since Moses did die and we as Christians do not subscribe to reincarnation. Therefore, we see it is necessary to use scripture to explain scripture.

There is simply not much known of Enoch other than he was a man of God called ‘the first preacher’ by some scholars and that he was "not found, for the Lord took him" - at an early age compared to his contemporaries. Obviously, the Jewish texts on which the apostles and there counterparts as well as the Israelites of antiquity relied upon are not available to us today, so instead of a complete picture of the man we have only a sliver of the information about his life.



Hebrews 11:5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God

Jude 1:14-15 {It was} also about these men {that} Enoch, {in} the seventh {generation} from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."


While this proves that Enoch was translated so that he wouldn’t see death - it by no means gives any evidence that he fulfills any other criteria for being one of the witnesses. And, again, translation means from finite flesh into incorruptible – meaning Enoch had gone to be in paradise. This does, however, give precedence for a 'rapture event'. We know that Elijah prayed for the rain to stop and for three and a half years there was a drought and no rain fell. He also called down fire to consume the prophets of Baal - and did so with his mouth - which is completely harmonious with Scripture and does lend credence to being one of the witnesses in Revelation chapter 11. There remains one small problem, though, that is easily overcome; if Christ said that John the Baptist was Elijah and that he “had come”, how then, could he come again if John was beheaded and did in fact die, and how could John also be Elijah - and we have already established that there is no reincarnation? Again, we must use scripture to explain scripture (parenthetical notation is mine).



Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

John 1:21 And they asked him (John the baptist), What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the Prophet? And he answered, No.

Matthew 17:10-13 And His disciples asked Him, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" And He answered and said, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.


We see that Jesus told His disciples that John was Elijah, yet there is no reincarnation, so what does this mean. Look at what the angel Gabriel tells Zacharias regarding his son to be - the cousin of the Son of God - again, scripture explains scripture (parenthetical notation is mine):



Luke 1:17 And he (John) shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 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.


This makes it crystal clear that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah and was not himself a reincarnation of the prophet of God.

Now, look at Moses. He did perform signs that are harmonious with the criteria for the second of the witnesses of Revelation: (parenthetical notation is mine)



Exodus 4:9 "But if they (the Israelite Elders) will not believe even these two signs or heed what you say, then you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground; and the water which you take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground."

Exodus 7:17-21 'Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. "The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.'"" Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in {vessels of} wood and in {vessels of} stone.' " So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that {was} in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that {was} in the Nile was turned to blood. The fish that {were} in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.

This is very persuasive evidence that Moses is the second witness - yet, not Moses himself, but a man coming in the “spirit and power” of Moses - as Christ Himself explained of John the Baptist's being Elijah.

If these proofs weren’t enough, we have even more to suggest that the two witnesses - “the two olive trees and two lamp stands that stand before that Lord of the earth” - are in fact Moses and Elijah. During the trip to the mount of transfiguration we see an event takes place that is partially described in the gospels and Revelation regarding these two prophets:

Matthew 17:1-3 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.


I think this bit of Scripture speaks for itself. We see that Christ is transfigured so that He looks just as John later sees Him in the vision given to him at Patmos around 90 A.D. And standing before Him - Who IS the Lord of the earth - are His two witnesses.....Elijah and Moses! This speaks volumes when viewed through the lens of the previous Scriptures and I dare say, should be compelling enough for anyone to agree. I see no other scenario that fits like this glove, therefore, I must hold fast to this conclusion. At the beginning of the seven years of tribulation two men of Jewish descent will rise up from among their Israeli brothers in the spirit and power of Elijah and Moses and fulfill the prophecy outlined in Revelation chapter 11 - yet they will not be the reincarnated men but men of this era; converted Jewish Christians, who will have the supernatural hand of the Lord as their protection, and will prophecy about the coming of Messiah to the Jews while bringing about the same types of plagues the former lawgiver, Moses, and the greatest prophet, Elijah, performed in the sight of the nations. If all of this were not enough, one last reference from Christ to seal the deal:

Matthew 7:12 "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."


Moses was the man anointed by God to deliver the Law to the children of God and Elijah was considered the greatest prophet of Israel - whose duty was to prophecy to the Jewish people to turn back to God and stop shedding one another’s blood and acting treacherously toward each other - meaning love thy neighbor. This is what every prophet was charged with - turning Jacob away from his evil and back to YHVH. This is why one can see that Revelation is predominantly a story of God reaching out with Grace to His chosen people, Israel, a final time while Satan does his best to thwart the plans and providence of the Father. This is significant, also, when you see that the only two churches in Revelation in which all of the congregates were praised, without condemnation for any wickedness, and guaranteed a spot in the rapture, were Smyrna = the persecuted church; who died for the word of God not wavering from His commandments, and Philadelphia = the ‘church of brotherly love’; who truly loved one another with the heart of Christ. These are the two ‘lamp stands’ that will be raptured (along with a precious few from the other five churches who 'have not soiled their garments' or ‘do not hold to the ways of the Nicolaitans’, and not them who ‘are corrupted by that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess’ or ‘who call themselves Jews but are not, but are a synagogue of Satan’). The other five, who are (minus previously referenced exceptions within these churches) a harlot who is married to the world and not the Bride set apart as a virgin for Christ at His coming. This is the reason that the two witnesses will rise up among the Jews at the beginning of the seven year tribulation period.

More in the next edition of 'The Two Witnesses; Just Who are They?'



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