THE TWO WITNESSES ARE MOSES & ELIJAH AND THEY WITNESSED JESUS' RESSURECTION !

 THE TWO WITNESSES ARE MOSES AND ELIJAH WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT !

Let’s use the scripture and scripture alone to support the aforementioned claim. The parallels between the life of Elijah and Moses are remarkable. And it’s amazing how they pattern the life of Jesus.

Moses	Elijah
Moses flees for his life after killing an Egyptian taskmaster (Exodus 2:11-15)	Elijah flees for his life after killing the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 19:1-3)
Moses encounters God in the form of a burning bush at Mt. Horeb and God calls him to a specific task (Exodus 3)	Elijah encounters God in the form of “sheer silence” at Mt. Horeb and God calls him to a specific task (1 Kings 19)
Moses out-performs the signs and wonders of the wise men and sorcerers in Egypt (Exodus 7:1-14)	Elijah out-performs the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-39)
Moses parts the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14)	Elijah parts the waters of the Jordan River (2 Kings 2:8)
God provides food for Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16)	God provides food for Elijah and for the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:6-16; 1 Kings 19:5-8)
Moses and the Israelites spend forty years wandering in the wilderness (Exodus-Numbers)	Elijah spent forty days and forty nights in the wilderness (1 Kings 19:8)
Moses appoints Aaron as his successor (Numbers 27:12-23)	Elijah appoints Elisha as his successor (2 Kings 2)
Moses dies in the presence of God at the top of Mt. Nebo, God buries him, and no one knows his burial place “to this day” (Deuteronomy 34:1-7)	Elijah is taken by God in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11-12)

 

Isaiah 40:29

He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.

 

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

 

God decided to use both these men to reveal himself (as Jesus Christ) to the world  through their lives and subsequently use them to witness His execution of His ultimate plan of salvation and redemption and to proclaim the good news to His homeland people. You’ll get what I mean shortly.

 

Do you see how Moses’ and Elijah’s lives mirror each other. Definitely God is trying to show us something. Now, let’s see how they relate to Jesus and how they pattern the life of Jesus to be worthy of representing Him and to witness about Him to His people !

 

Moses	Jesus
The king of Egypt attempted to slay the infant Moses (Ex. 1:15–22)	King Herod attempted to slay the infant Jesus (Matt. 2:7–11, 17–18)
Born under remarkable circumstances (Ex. 2:1–16)	Born under remarkable circumstances (Luke 1:27–38)
Performed signs & miracles (Ex. 4:28–31)	Performed many signs (John 20:30)
Fasted forty days and forty nights (Ex. 34:28; Deut. 9:9, 18)	Fasted forty days and forty nights (Matt. 4:2)
Served as a mediator between Israel and God (Ex. 20:19–22)	Serves as the “one mediator between God and men” (1 Tim. 2:5)
Controlled the sea (Ex. 14:21)	Controlled the sea (Matt. 8:26)
Aided by twelve tribal leaders and seventy men (Ex. 24:1, 9; Num. 1:4; 7:10–88; 11:16–17, 24–25; 17:2–9; Deut. 1:23)	Aided by twelve Apostles and seventy men (Matt. 10:1–7; Mark 3:14–19; Luke 6:13–16; 10:1–27)
Sent from God (Ex. 3:1–12)	The “Father hath sent [Jesus]” (John 6:57)
Through miraculous means, produced food for the people (Ex. 16:2–22)	Through miraculous means, produced food for the people (Matt. 14:15–21; 15:33–38; Mark 6:36–44; Luke 9:12–17; John 6:5–13)
Delivered Israel from Egypt’s bondage (Ex. 3:1–12; 12; 14)	Delivers humans from sin’s bondage (2 Cor. 1:10)
King of Jeshurun (Deut. 33:5)	King (Matt. 21:5)
Teacher (Deut. 4:5)	Teacher (Matt. 5:1–2)
Prophet (Deut. 18:15–19)	Prophet (Deut. 18:15, 18)
Lawgiver (Ex. 31:18)	Lawgiver (Isa. 33:22; John 1:17).
“Moses was faithful in all his house” (Heb. 3:2)	Jesus was “faithful to him that appointed him” (Heb. 3:2)
Performed great wonders and signs (Ex. 14:21–31)	“Many other signs truly did Jesus” (John 20:30)

 Moses represents the law of God. Torah in Hebrew means teaching. Moses was molded and sent by God to His people to teach them His ways and to lead them to the promised land just as how Jesus Christ, who is God made flesh, came to us to lead us to our promised land, Heaven !

Let’s now compare the life of Elijah with that of Jesus’ !

Elijah	Jesus
Uttered prophecies (1 Kgs. 17:1; 2 Kgs. 1:1–4; 17)	Uttered prophecies (Matt. 24:3–51)
Miraculously multiplied food (1 Kgs. 17:14–16)	Miraculously multiplied food (Matt.14:17; 15:34; Mark 6:38; 8:7; Luke 9:13–17; John 6:9)
Raised the dead (1 Kgs. 17:17–23)	Raised the dead (Matt. 9:18–25)
Demonstrated power over the elements (1 Kgs. 18:41–45; 2 Kgs. 2:8)	Demonstrated power over the elements (Matt. 8:23–27; Luke 8:23–24)
Wicked ruler attempted to kill Elijah (1 Kgs. 19:2; 2 Kgs. 1)	Wicked ruler tried to slay Jesus Christ (Matt. 2)
Fled from wicked rulers to the wilderness (1 Kgs. 19:1–4, 10)	Fled from wicked rulers to the wilderness (John 11:46–54)
Fasted forty days and nights (1 Kgs. 19:8)	Fasted forty days and nights (Matt. 4:2)
Received multiple revelations from the lord (1 Kgs. 19:9)	Revealed numerous truths
Fearlessly denounced sin (1 Kgs. 21:17–24)	Fearlessly denounced sin (Matt. 11:22–23)
Was taken up into heaven (2 Kgs. 2:11)	Was taken up into heaven (Acts 1:9–11)

Elijah represented the prophets of the bible. God even gave Elijah a grand exit from his prophesying duties to another location by a chariot of fire. As we have discussed in our previous segment of this study, Elijah was just transported to another place to be protected from untimely death through Ahab and Jezebel and for his future mission. Elijah died some time after he wrote a letter to King Jehoram and I’m sure Archangel Michael would have fought for the right to his body just as he fought for Moses’ body !

This is a side by side study of the Transfiguration accounts across the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

Matt 17.1-9	Mark 9.2-9	Luke 9.28-36
1 Six days later,   Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves.     2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white.     3 Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.                   4 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5     While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them,	2 Six days later,   Jesus took with him Peter and James and John,   and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves.     And he was transfigured before them,   3 and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.                   5 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.   7 Then a cloud overshadowed them,	28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James,   and went up on the mountain to pray.   29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed,   and his clothes became dazzling white.     30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.   34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and
and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my beloved Son; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.”   8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”	and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!”           8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. 9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 So they kept the matter to themselves,   questioning what this rising from the dead could mean.	they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!”             36 When the voice had spoken,   Jesus was found alone.           And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Let’s analyze all three. Jesus took Peter, James & John and led them to a high mountain. These three were important because Peter would unite the Jews and the gentiles, James would lead the church of the Jews and John would reveal the things to come through the book of revelation. Paul is not here, but Jesus Himself would reveal the secrets of the kingdom to Paul for the good of the gentiles. Let’s get our focus back on Moses & Elijah. Sometimes while I write, I have to remind myself to not go on rabbit trails. Jesus’ face changed / transfigured and His clothes were dazzling white. Remember from our previous study on Moses that his face shot rays after meeting God (or now we know that Moses met Jesus). Boom ! Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared ! Discussing about what ? Discussing about His departure ! What departure ? I’m just going to spill the beans, I am not going to withhold the mystery to make my paper interesting. They were discussing about THREE departures which we will discuss more later.

1. Departure to Hell from Earth

2. Departure from Hell back to Earth

3. Departure from Earth to Heaven

Then Peter wanted to make tents for them since it was the feast of tabernacles (google it for more info). A cloud overshadowed them and God’s voice proclaimed The Son of God ! And poof, everything went back to normal. Jesus told Peter, James & John to keep silent of the things they saw for now. That, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is the transfiguration story and the first witnessing task of Moses and Elijah of being the witnesses to the glorious plan of God.

So far, we have discussed how the life of Moses and Elijah parallel each other and the life of Jesus. From our previous study on Moses and Elijah we know how they time travelled and ended up at the mount of transfiguration and how they witness the glory of God who is Jesus Christ the Son of God !

Now, please stay with me through some boring research and let me strengthen my claim and not only my claim, but all my fellow bible researchers and enthusiasts. Let’s read Revelation 11 and analyse.

Revelation 11

The Two Witnesses

1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.

The Witnesses Killed

7 When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. 10 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.

The Witnesses Resurrected

11 Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. 13 In the same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell.

There are 3 main theories about who the two witnesses are;

1. Either Moses, Elijah, Enoch

2. Two contemporary men acting in the power of OT prophets

3. The church & the Jews

 

But we know who the two witnesses are through our studies and how their lives mirror that of Jesus.

 

Word Study

Martus means eye or ear witnesses of what they’ve SEEN or HEARD, also in a judicial sense.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3144/kjv/tr/0-1/

 

Deuteronomy 19:15

“One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.

 

Jesus told his disciples they would be his witnesses, in addition to his entire ministry they also witnessed the risen Messiah from the dead.

 

God calls them ‘MY’ witnesses.

 

2 Corinthians 13:1-4

This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” I have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you. For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

 

Corinthians 13:1 tells us that difficult to understand prophecies and ideas are also confirmed by two or more scriptures / witnesses agreeing.

 

So now we have a grasp on why there will be two witnesses but what will the witnesses in revelation 11 testify about ? The essence of salvation described in (Romans 10:9) has to be what the two witnesses witness too. How else are you going to convince the hard-headed jews if not through the two greatest of all time prophets which all jews agree on.

 

Romans 10:9

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

This evidently negates the possibility of the two witnesses being contemporary men working in the spirit of the prophets or two large groups of people, the church and the Jews.

The two witnesses of Revelation 11 has to be eyewitnesses to Jesus’ resurrection who will be perfect for the end times to witness to the remnant which flees to the wilderness. God will send the two witnesses of old, Moses and Elijah who saw Jesus physically rise from the dead and who will explain the mysteries of God. They will testify to the Jews, to whom God has promised.

 

Some speculate the two witnesses are two large groups of people who are the modern-day Gentiles and Messianic Christians, witnessing to Jews for 2,000 years with only limited success they don't seem like the ideal candidates. The apostles witnessed to the Jews in their lifetimes but the majority of Jews remained resistant to the gospel so they aren't likely either.

 

Enoch, a name that is frequently suggested as a witness who wasn't a Jew at all so he is less likely to be the witness and through our previous study, we know Enoch too died and did not directly witness Jesus in His glory !

 

The most likely candidates will be Jews and the most likely individual will be someone the Jews are familiar with and trust in addition to the Jews there is someone else the witnesses will testify to.

 

Revelation 11:4

These are the two olive trees and the two lamp-stands standing before the God of the earth.

 

Zechariah 4:14

So he said, “These are the two anointed ones, who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth.”

 

Hebrew Word Study

beside

עַל־ (‘al-)

Preposition

Strong's Hebrew 5921: prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 

 

By reading the whole chapter and understanding the context, the witnesses standing before the Lord of the whole earth means the two witnesses testifying against Satan (Antichrist) by standing before him just as how Moses stood against the pharaoh and Elijah standing against Ahab & Jezebel. So the two witnesses will witness to the Jews and stand and testify against the oppressor.

 

The mission of the two witnesses is clearer now and so far we know that they must be eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection, that they would have the authority to interpret scriptures, that they have to be Jews to qualify and that they would be recognized and trusted by the Jews. The witnesses have to also stand against the Antichrist and testify !

 

Let’s first demolish other theories proposed by people regarding who the two witnesses are to avoid confusion.

 

1. Joshua and Caleb who brought back the encouraging report to the children of Israel that the promised land was theirs X

2. Peter and John as they stood before the Sanhedrin Council X 

3. Moses and Aaron at the burning bush and pharaoh X

4. Enoch and Elijah because they didn’t die but we know they died X

 

The Lord said to Moses, see I make you as God to Pharaoh and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet. Yes Aaron mentioned as a prophet and a spokesperson for Moses but Aaron did not witness Jesus and he did fashion the golden calf. He obviously can’t be one of the two witnesses.

 

Michael fought Satan for the right to Moses’s body ! I can go on to preach about how Satan owned the right to all our bodies and how Jesus Christ purchased us from Satan with His blood. But that’s for another discussion. Let’s focus on the two witnesses for now.

 

Malachi 4:5-6

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.

 

For Jews, Passover is a solemn festivity, worshiped around the family table with a very interesting tradition where one of the chairs is always left empty for Elijah. Jewish tradition teaches that Elijah the prophet will be the harbinger of the coming of the Messiah and the world's redemption.

 

So, God is going to send Elijah in flesh to warn the Jews before His coming. Moses, the writer of Torah, who represents God and Elijah who represents the prophets are the likely candidates being the two witnesses !

Christians ask, hasn’t Elijah already come in the person of John the Baptist according to Jesus.

 

Matthew 11:14

And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.

 

When we read Matthew chapter 11 in context, Jesus is implying that John the Baptist comes in the spirit of Elijah to prepare the way for the Lord. An example or a shadow. Because Elijah will be sent in the future to do the same alongside Moses.

 

Malachi 3:1

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.

 

And this is what John the Baptist had to say about who he was.

 

John 1:19-23

Now this is the testimony of John the Baptist, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the LORD,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

 

Before John was born the angel Gabriel appeared to his father Zechariah and prophesied that John would come in the spirit and the power of Elijah, not that he would be Elijah. Jesus also said Elijah would return to restore all things something that John the Baptist obviously never did.

 

Luke 1:17

He will also 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.”

 

Mark 9:12-13

Then He answered and told them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him.”

 

This is why the event that transpired at the Mount of Transfiguration is so important to understand as I’ve emphasized throughout this study. The disciples recognized the real Elijah and Moses appearing and speaking to Jesus about his death and resurrection according to Mark and Peter said let’s build tents for them as it was the feast of Sukkot (tabernacles), so we know they physically appeared. God’s voice being heard on the feast of Tabernacles foreshadow events after millennial reign of Christ ! Epic !

Luke 9:30-31

Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure,which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem.

 

What departure are they talking about ? What did Jesus fulfill at Jerusalem ?

Remember one of the criteria to be the two witnesses is witnessing the ministry, death and resurrection of Christ. Moses and Elijah were talking to Jesus about his departure from earth down to hell, his departure from hell up to earth and his departure or ascension into heaven which were to be fulfilled at Jerusalem !

 

Allow me to show you something that will blow your mind. Let’s read !

 

Luke 24:2-5

But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in dazzling clothing. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!

 

Wait a minute ! Two men ? Not two angels ! The so called scholars of the bible say Luke mistakenly wrote two men instead of two angels. I don’t think so, God’s Words are crystal clear. Exactly as described by Luke, two men appeared at the tomb in dazzling clothing and said why do you seek the living among the dead to the women because those two men witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Those two men are Moses & Elijah ! HalleluYah !

 

As mentioned previously, they must have witnessed to the ascension of Jesus Christ as well. Yes they did !

 

Acts 1:10-12

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

MOSES AND ELIJAH ARE THE TWO WITNESSES AND THEY WITNESSED JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD ON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION, THEY WITNESSED JESUS’ DEATH, THEY WITNESSED JESUS PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS IN HELL, THEY WITNESSED JESUS’ RESSURECTION AND THEY WITNESSED JESUS ASCENDING UP TO HEAVEN WHILE THE DISCIPLES WERE WATCHING !

Did you notice a pattern ? For all the FIVE instances Moses and Elijah were witnessing God’s ultimate plan, they were actually with Jesus. I will leave you with that thought. My clue to you would be, try and relate it to the future according to the book of revelation.

Some other points and questions I gathered through this research.

- 2 witnessesservants on earth prior to the return of Christ (what they do is more important)

- sackcloth - coarsely woven, uncomfortable, black goat’s hair, worn as a sign of mourning (Zechariah 13:8 where 2/3 of the land perish and that’s when they mourn and start preaching

- also mourn for sin and call people back to repentance

- also mourn for their fallen brothers

- God calls them ‘MY Witnesses’ - Rev 11:3 they are witnessing about something they saw or heard (word study - martus - witness)

- Deut 17:6 They are God’s witness to a world worthy of judgement

- Testify against antichrist and his kingdom and they will justify the judgement of God that He’s going to bring down on the wicked when Jesus returns (like witnesses in a courtroom)

- witnesses that will certify the correct timing of the return which starts the day count. Two witnesses from the Sanhedrin were required to witness and announce the feast of trumpets on a new moon (Deut 19:15)

- Moses and Elijah spoke to God, met Jesus at transfiguration, life represented / mirrored that of Jesus’

- satan also has his two witnesses in Rev, false prophet and antichrist

- Matt 24:24 satan empowers his witnesses to deceive the world

- two witnesses frustrate satan / antichrist by shutting off sky and no rain fall (rev 11:6)

- just like Elijah prayed for no rain against Ahab & Jezebel (Luke 4:25 exactly 3.5 years)

- parallels of egypt plagues and revelation (two witnesses parallel rev)

- Moses & Elijah will chellenge the antichrist just as pharaoh and when people see the repeating pattern, they will believe them and finally proclaim Jesus is God

- Rev 11:4 tells they are the two olive trees / 2 lamp stands - Zechariah 4 - prophecy about God accomplishing through his spirit - two olive trees pour oil into a lampstand which also represents 7 churches (so are there 2 menorahs)

- God will pour our his spirit on the 7 churches to witness to the world until rapture ?

- two witnesses happen between trumpet 6&7 ?

- meaning they would be around during the crowning of Jesus to greet and witness to the remnant that Jesus is Lord

- and Jesus ascends the second time to be crowned ? Daniel 7:13

- does the killing of the witnesses happen after Jesus ascends back to heaven ?

- Nisan 10 ? Israel invasion ? Just like how Jesus entered on a donkey on Nisan 10 ?

- beast will make war and kill them, witness will be hated, despite signs, still unrepentant

Summary & Conclusion

Who are the two witnesses ? In revelation Chapter 11, the bible prophesies that there will be two witnesses who show up during the end times and these men will prophesy for 1260 days which equals 42 months or three and a half years and if anyone tries to hurt them, fire proceeds from out of their mouth to kill their enemy and they have the power to shut up heaven that it rain not and to turn water into blood and to smite the earth with all plagues.

Some theologians will suggest that these two witnesses are simply figurative and they speak of all believers because we should all be speaking the word of God and the word of God is powerful and miraculous but when the bible means to say that the word of God is powerful in a figurative way it compares that word to a sword as we see in Revelation 1 and Revelation 19 where out of the mouth of Jesus goes a sharp sword. This prophecy of the witnesses on the other hand is very specific and very different from other figures of the word of God. Here we find not just a figurative statement about the power of the words they are speaking, we actually find the specific acts that are accomplished by their words, fire devouring their enemies, drought, water turned to blood and smiting the earth with plagues.

We can safely rule out the idea that these witnesses are just figurative pictures of all of god's people and we have to conclude that they are two real human beings. Revelation even tells us that these are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth and  if the candlesticks and the olive trees are figurative of these witnesses then the witnesses must not be figurative themselves, they must be real people. So this verse seems to give us confirmation that they are not figurative but are actual people and it even hints at who exactly they are. Surely they are not angels. Angels are messengers or sometimes warriors but never are they described as witnesses. The message of the gospel is one that angels desire to look into but apparently they can't understand it according to 1 Peter Chapter 1, also these witnesses end up dying and rising from the dead just as Jesus did because the witnesses are to mirror the life of Jesus. Nowhere else in the bible do we see an example of angels dying and it would be unreasonable to assume that the bible uses the word witnesses here in reference to angels and so it's safe to rule that out.

We're given in revelation 11:4 they are the two olive branches and candlesticks that stand before the God of the earth. This is a very clear reference to the old testament prophecy of Zechariah in Chapter 4 where he writes that he saw a candlestick of gold with a bowl upon the top of it and its seven lamps thereon and seven pipes to the seven lamps. This seems to be referring to a menorah, the type of candlestick that was found in the tabernacle and the temple which gave light to the holy place. Zechariah says that by this candlestick he saw two olive trees, one was upon the right side of the candlestick and the other upon the left. Now when Zechariah asked what these olive trees were, the angel that talked with him explained their prophetic and figurative meaning to Zechariah saying that the man Zerubabel who was tasked with rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem would be helped by God to accomplish this mission but Zechariah wanted to know specifically what these two olive trees were so he asked a second time and eventually after asking three times he was given this reply that  these are the two anointed ones that stand by the lord of the whole earth. Apparently this candle and these olive branches or trees represent two specific people who are anointed for a specific purpose and stand next to the lord of the world. Now Zechariah was to take this to mean that just as these two were anointed for a purpose and God was with them in their mission so Zerubabel was called to build the temple and God would be with him but this definitely reinforces the idea that these two witnesses are specific people that God had chosen for a specific purpose in the end times and this specific calling that god chose them for leads us to our two most likely theories as to who they are. Moses & Elijah or Enoch & Elijah.

Enoch was that hardly mentioned character in the book of genesis who was the father of Methuselah the oldest man who ever lived and scripture tells us that Enoch walked with god and he was not for god took him. As we studied previously, Hebrews 11 tells us that Enoch died. We also studied and confirmed that Elijah too died just as Moses. Hebrews 9:27 which states very plainly that it is appointed unto men to die once. The second theory is probably more likely to be true that is that these two witnesses could instead be Moses and Elijah. Both theories conclude that Elijah is one of the witnesses because Malachi clearly states in Chapter 4, “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord. Now this prophecy was partially fulfilled in John the Baptist whose coming Luke 1 tells us was in the spirit and power of Elijah but it seems that it will be finally fulfilled in Elijah himself coming as one of the two witnesses and even the miracles that the witnesses perform are reminiscent of Elijah who prayed in the old testament that it would not rain and it didn't rain for three and a half years, the exact same amount of time as the drought brought by the two witnesses in Revelation 11.

So Elijah being one of these two makes perfect sense but what about that second man could he really be Moses instead of Enoch. Here are two reasons why the second witness is actually more likely to be Moses. First if we examine the miracles that these witnesses perform, two of them parallel the ministry of Elijah they prevent rain from falling for three and a half years which Elijah did in 1 Kings 17 and fire proceeds from their mouths to devour their enemies which Elijah did in 2 Kings 1 when he was confronted by enemies who sought to harm him, fire fell from heaven and they were killed but what about the other two miraculous powers that these witnesses have as far as we know Enoch never did any miracles but the other miracles in Revelation 11 actually parallel the miracles of Moses perfectly besides calling fire to consume their enemies and causing a three and a half year drought these witnesses also turn water into blood and smite the earth with all plagues. This is exactly what God used Moses to do in Egypt, the Nile river turned to blood and the nation was plagued ten times as a matter of fact it seems from Revelation 11 that the plagues on Egypt were merely a precursor, a warning, a small example of the plagues that will come on the world during the end times.

Now these miracles are done by the power of God of course and God could potentially give anyone the power to do these if He chooses but it does seem that revelation is telling us some of the miracles that they work in order to give us a hint as to who they are if that's the case it certainly seems to be suggesting that these two witnesses are Moses and Elijah. The most compelling reason that the second witness is Moses is the transfiguration event. This event is described to us in Mark 9, Luke 9 and in Matthew 17 where we find that Jesus took Peter James and John to the top of a high mountain and he was transfigured before them His face shone like the sun and his clothes were white like light. This is absolutely fascinating and it brings up a ton of other questions, did He appear to them as He did to John in Revelation 1 with fiery eyes and skin as burning brass ? We don't know but what's more interesting for our current study is the fact that two other men appeared with Him when He was transfigured these men were Moses and Elijah. Now Matthew and Mark both tell us that these two were seen talking with Jesus but they don't tell us what the three were talking about however Luke who gathered testimony from multiple sources for his gospel including from the apostle Peter himself actually did record their subject of conversation. He writes that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and spake of his departure which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. So they were actually talking about the death of Christ which would soon take place. This strongly suggests that Moses and Elijah are chosen by the Lord for a specific purpose just as Zechariah stated about the witnesses.

They were talking with Jesus about his death on the cross and maybe Jesus wanted to explain to them that just as He would die and rise from the dead three days later so would Moses and Elijah die in the end times and rise three and a half days later and if you think about it Enoch is never seen with Elijah in any place in scripture but here we have the Jesus communing with Elijah and Moses about future events that seems to very strongly support the Moses and Elijah view and also it's interesting to note that Jude tells us that Michael the archangel contended with the devil disputing about the body of Moses. Maybe God prevented men from ever finding the place where Moses's body came to rest after he died because one day God will resurrect that body and Moses will return with Elijah as the two witnesses !!

 

All Glory, Honour & Laud to God the Most High. Amen !