“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth, saith the LORD.” – Revelation 11:3
In the last three installments of this 14 week series on the Book of Revelation, I examined the Antichrist, his accomplice, and his infamous Mark. In this 10th installment, I’m going to focus on his biggest adversaries during the seven-year Tribulation – the TWO WITNESSES of God.
Who are they? Why are they sent? What do they do? I answer all of these questions to the best of my knowledge in my new book, THE COMING SIGNS OF OUR TIMES: A Guide for Those Who Are Left Behind in the Generation of Tribulation. I also cover the Third Temple in the chapter about these Witnesses; so if you want to read about that, you gotta grab the book.
In the meantime, I’m going to share a few pages from that chapter, dealing solely with these two mysterious holy prophets of the LORD. Enjoy this preview…
These prophets of God will preach repentance and the Gospel throughout the final 3 ½ years of the Tribulation. Since they are prophets, they will most likely be revealing what is yet to come in the remainder of the Tribulation to those who’ll listen. Obviously, for all those left behind who have Holy Bibles and/or this book in your hands, you already know what they will be preaching. Most will hear it for the first time. The Antichrist will loathe these men because they’ll be exposing his Satanic nature to the world, but he won’t be able to kill them. Like the 144,000, these holy men will receive a supernatural protection of God. No one and nothing will be able to harm them until their ministry is fully completed.
What will be amazing to see, to say the least, is they literally breathe fire upon their enemies. Anyone attempting to stop their preaching or hurt them will be devoured by fire. They are referred to as the two olive trees and two candlesticks because these are idioms from the Old Testament that infer they’ll be continuously filled with the Spirit. Before I get into the miraculous powers that have been granted them by the LORD, I am sure everyone wants to know who exactly these witnesses are. I think I’ve got a pretty good idea, and most Prophecy scholars virtually all agree on the identity of one. The one name universally agreed upon is Elijah.
The first reason it could be Elijah is that he was one of only two men throughout the entire Bible who had never died, but was taken up to Heaven alive. Next, Malachi 4:5-6 says Elijah would be sent before the great and dreadful Day of the LORD. The Day of the LORD is the culmination of the Tribulation – the day when God unleashes the absolute worst of His wrath upon unrepentant sinners of the world and upon all of His enemies, especially Satan and the Antichrist.
The third reason is Elijah was the only Old Testament prophet who could call down the “fire of God” from Heaven (1st Kings 18:36-39). The Two Witnesses breathe fire. Reason number four is that he was the prophet at whose word the heavens “were shut” so it “rained not” for 3 ½ years (1st Kings 17:1 and James 5:17). This is another specific power these Two Witnesses will possess. Many Prophecy students are adamant that Elijah is one of the two because the heavens are shut and it rains not in the Tribulation for the exact same number of years as in Elijah’s day – 3 ½ years.
So, since we have determined that Elijah is most likely one of the two, then who could the other be? There are two names most often suggested by theologians – Enoch or Moses. In my earliest years of Bible study, I believed Enoch was the other witness. The reason I came to that conclusion was because Enoch was the only other man in history who had never died, and was taken up into Heaven alive. It seemed like a pretty logical theory. The two men who never died, Elijah and Enoch, would come back down as the Two Witnesses. I have since changed my mind.
I now suspect Moses to be the other witness, and I have more than one reason for believing that – as opposed to just one reason for Enoch. There were two prophets of God in the Bible whose ministries were unfinished because they weren’t fully obedient to God: Moses and Elijah. Elijah ran from Baal-worshipping Queen Jezebel in fear, and asked God to take his life. So, though he had started out a courageous man of God, he didn’t finish running his race boldly. He instead cowered under pressure of persecution. I am sure that he has hoped for a second chance to end his life on the right note, and he will get it this time around.
When Moses was nearing the end of his life and ministry, he disobeyed a command of God because he was so aggravated with the children of Israel that he lashed out at them in a fit of anger. It was because of this act of disobedience, the man whose entire life was about leading the Israelites to their Promised Land would not be allowed to enter the Land himself. Yet another disappointing ending for a great prophet of the LORD. I would think that Moses is looking for a second chance to get it right as much as Elijah is. I believe that, like the Tishbite, he will get that chance.
Another convincing reason why the second witness could be Moses is that he is the prophet who smote Egypt with the plagues of the LORD and turned the waters to blood. These are the other two powers the witnesses are said to possess. Also, during Jesus’ transfiguration on the Mount, His disciples witnessed Him speak to two specific men: MOSES and ELIJAH (Matthew 17:3, Mark 9:4, and Luke 9:30). Was this event a foreshadow? Of course, no one can be dogmatic about who these Two Witnesses are; because their names are not given. But I think God gave us enough clues to put two and two together (pun intended).
That’s it for the preview. To read much more about these Witnesses, what they will do, and what their fate during the Tribulation will be, go grab THE COMING SIGNS OF OUR TIMES on Amazon today. You can also grab it on Barnes & Noble, Booksamillion, Walmart, and many other online book retailers globally.
In the next installment, I’ll delve into the 7th Trumpet, and a few of the 7 vials of 7 plagues that are poured out upon Planet Earth towards the end of the Tribulation. Until then, stay close to our Lord so that you won’t be left behind to experience any of what I’ve been sharing from the Book of Revelation!
“These are the two olive trees, and two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These 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, to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” – Revelation 11:4-6
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