Who Are the Two Witnesses During the Tribulation Period?

In Revelation 11, we are introduced to two witnesses and there has been much speculation as to who these two are. We are going to take an in-depth look using Scripture to see if there might just be some clues to who these two are and what their purpose is. The Bible says that it is appointed to every man, once to die, but we know there are exceptions to this. The church will be raptured some day and they will not see death. The Bible also tells us that Elijah didn't see death, he was taken away to be with God in heaven. Enoch was taken from the earth, he didn't see death. The Bible also teaches that before the Lord comes back in His Second Coming, two witnesses come back to the earth. Some believe one of them is Moses, who represents the law and the other is Elijah who represents the prophets. It could also be Moses and Enoch or Elijah and Enoch. No one can say for 100% certainty, but we will do a little digging to see if we can find some clues that will point to some clarity in the Bible regarding these two. The world will definitely find out and to say that they are empowered is a understatement.

God is about to make a very special announcement to mankind by the mouth of His witnesses.

Revelation 11:3 ~ "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 

1260 days is 3 1/2 years or 42 months. All these numerical references to time specific time are all the same no matter how you measure it. God will place these two in the world and it will be in Jerusalem. They are wearing sackcloth which is kind of like a gunny sack or burlap. This is the same type of sackcloth that Isaiah wore or John the Baptist wore. It's referred to as camel's skin. The fur remained on the outside. The wore the most uncomfortable part against their skin, not the soft furry side. They did it so the prophet of God would never be comfortable or used to it in his ministry. The ministry reminded him constantly that it was God's business. It was God's Word.

These two special evangelists, everyone wants to know who they are. There are a few things we need to remember that are important. They are the mouthpiece of God. These are prophets of God that speak in the name of God, they are dedicated to the Word of God. They say what they need to say no matter what with no concern for their own personal safety. God has two witnesses appointed and what could be their possible identity?

Their identity tells us that they belong to God. You belong to God if you are a Christian. You are the property of God. He loved you enough to have bought and paid for you through the death and resurrection and faith we place in Jesus Christ. Jesus paid that price with His own blood.

Notice the words " I will give power..." Who is speaking to John? The messenger or angel. This is another reference that points the the mighty angel in Revelation 10 might just be Jesus Christ. They are powered by God. The word for power is dunamus, which is where we get our word dynamite from. It is a life changing, explosive power. These two also live and die before the Lord.

Revelation 11:3 ~" And I will give power to my two witnesses," 

The word for witnesses here is the word martyrs or martis. We use the English word "witness."It means to live for God and we all called to be witnesses for God. This means we no longer live for our lives but for God's life.

Romans 12:1-2 ~ "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

God doesn't want a dead sacrifice, He wants a living one. One that tell others about Him. It also refers to these two witnesses that there is an unveiled courtroom setting be revealed before us. They stand there to bear witness and share the truth of God's Word against an unbelieving world. A courtroom is being set and the world is getting ready to be judged.

Deuteronomy 19:15 ~ "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Our entire judicial system in America is based on Deuteronomy 19:15. The Roman government even operated that way. These two witnesses are the tools God is using to tell the world that judgment is coming. They are commanded by God to prophesy.

Revelation 11:3 ~ "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth."

If you do the math, you will come up short by 5 days. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation, does not use a calendar with 365 days, it never has and it never will. God uses a Greek calendar with 360 days. So when we see 3 1/2 years, we are counting it on a 365 days calendar not God. God uses a 360 day calendar to arrive at 1260 days or 3 1/2 years on a biblical calendar or 42 months.

This is a wonderful link whenever you go through the Bible and read Bible prophecy now. You will either see times defined by 42 months, 3 1/2 years, 1260 days or times a time and a half. That is how it reads in English. Times = 2 in Hebrew, Time= 1 in Hebrew and a half is a half. That is exactly how you find it! 2 + 1 + 1/2 = 3 1/2 !  That is why when you open the Bible and begin to study it you might not understand what is being said. This demands that you and I both study the Old Testament!

So what does all this have to do with you? Because when God says something will last 1260 days or 42 months or 3 1/2 years it will last exactly that long. Same as when He tells you that if You come to Him and put your faith in Him, He will never leave you. He loves you. You can rest in those promises as much as you can rest in the details God gives us in the Bible. What God says, He keeps!

Revelation 12:14 ~ "The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where should be taken care of for a time, times and a half a time, out of the serpent's reach."

You already know how long that is, 3 1/2 years!!!

Daniel 7:25 ~ "He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time."

Daniel 9:27 ~ "He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

Seven is seven years. In the middle of the seven or 7 years is 3 1/2 years, 1260 days or 42 months. You can't have sacrifices and offerings in Israel unless you have a temple. God gives a very somber power over the supernatural. Their origin is supernatural.

Revelation 11:4 ~ "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth."

You wouldn't understand the references of the two lampstands or the two olive trees unless you read the Old Testament. You won't find references to the two olive trees until you read the Book of Zechariah. The two witnesses in the book of Zechariah in Chapter 4, are referred to as the two anointed ones of God that will stand before God over the whole earth. These two anointed ones or two olive trees. See how reading the Old Testament makes sense of what we are reading now.

They will have a supernatural origin and so is their ministry. They will preach and do things that are of a divine nature. So who are these two witnesses? 1st view: Moses and Elijah. That is the popular view that they are divinely sent back from heaven to earth. Why? (1) Moses is referred to as the law giver. The ministry during the Tribulation period is predominately to the Jewish nation. They honor Moses right? When Moses died, God buried him. Nobody knows where Moses is buried. God says that nobody knows. This is what we do know what happened when Moses died, that Satan for some weird reason, tried to steal the dead body of Moses. What would he want with the dead body of Moses? It says that Michael, the archangel in the Book of Jude, fought and disputed with Satan over the body of Moses.  Why? Some scholars say, that is Satan could have inhabitated this body of Moses, he could have come back to the people of Israel, and given false doctrine to them. Interesting.

There is a second view. That those are simply just two witnesses ordained by God who are of the Jewish people, who are saved at that time during the Tribulation Period, and are specially anointed prophets of God. That could be. That they are not any of the Old Testament prophets or men of God. The Bible doesn't give us their names exactly.

The third view which I believe is the correct view. The Bible tells us over and over again that Elijah must come before the great day of the Lord. Elijah must come back. What is unique about Elijah is that he never died. He was caught up in a chariot in the whirlwind of God and was taken into heaven. Did Moses die? Yes he did. Elijah's ministry was directly a ministry of the prophets. If you go to Israel today and ask them who is your greatest prophet of all, they will tell you Elijah. They honor him tremendously to this hour. Jesus says that Elijah must come back before He returns. That's a queue that excludes the rapture from the Second Coming by the way. Elijah has to come back to earth before the Second Coming. Elijah does not have to come back before the Rapture. Elijah is coming back. So we know one of these guys! Elijah according to Old and New Testament.

Malachi 4:4-6 ~ "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Matthew 17:10*11 ~ "The disciples asked him, "Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first. Jesus replied, "To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things."

So who is the other guy. I'll give you a hint. This guy had a specific ministry to the Gentiles. He preached the coming of the Lord. He used a term we know in Greek, "maranatha." Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints. He too did not die. He never died. He was in fact "raptured" from the earth. This is my opinion. It could be wrong. I believe it is Enoch. Enoch and Elijah never died and Enoch preached to a Gentile world. Elijah preached to the Jewish world. Remember what is going on during the Tribulation period, judgment and events and by the way, these two witnesses can call down judgment and can do anything they want for 3 1/2 years. They will cause the earth to not receive any rain. The earth will dry up. We read that in previous chapters in Revelation, chapter 8. This is a parenthetical insert and what has happened in chapter 8 is being recapped in chapter 11.

These prophets will be ministering during that time. They will have tremendous power given to them by God. They will exercise this supernatural power.

Revelation 11:5-6 ~ "If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have the power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."

We have to remember that during the Tribulation period the world will be so demonized that what these two men will do, will simply fit in with everything else. Who had the power to shut up heaven so that no rain fell in the Old Testament? Elijah! Who turned the waters to blood? Hmmm, sounds like something Moses would do, as well as the plagues. Yet it was Enoch who warned that this would happen too! They have all this power to do all of this and more for 3 1/2 years. Now that is power.

These events will happen and they will come. You and I don't have to have any exposure or influence or any trauma of these events that are coming. It's not an escape view it is simply biblical. Now granted the Tribulation period could be 50 to a 100 years away. I don't think so, but frankly with all due respect, I don't really care. Jesus is the one I am looking for. He is the one that holds my hope.I'm not looking for the Antichrist, I am looking for the Living Christ. I am expecting to hear a trumpet blast at any time. Jesus told us throughout the Bible to be looking for Him and watching for Him. No where in the Bible does it say to be looking for the Antichrist. To wait for him and to be expecting him.

Always in the Bible it is to look for Jesus, expect Jesus, wait for Jesus. We shouldn't be looking for the undertaker but looking for the Upper taker! Let's look for Jesus every single day!

Is God Still Using Angels Today?

Most people when taking in the books of the Bible might rate the Book of Revelation as the most confusing followed up by probably the Book of Isaiah. However if you dig a bit deeper you will find that the Book of Isaiah is much like a mini-Bible within itself. The first half deals with the judgment of God's wrath against the nations of Judah and Israel and the later part with God's grace and mercy for His people. There are 66 chapters within the Book of Isaiah, much like there is 66 books within the Bible. Like any good Bible study, you need to understand the context of what is happening, and thus the reason for all of us to own a really good study Bible. They will break up the paragraphs and break up the chapters and they really help you. It is a worthy investment and they are not cheap. Think of it this way, 10 visits to Starbucks, can buy you a world class Bible! It will really help you go through all the books of the Bible in a whole different way!

Today's study will touch on the fact of whether God is still using angels today. We know that is very true as the Book of Matthew and Hebrews tells us that angels are His ministering spirits that He has sent forth, the Bible says, to minister to the heirs of salvation. We might make light of the fact about guardian angels in light of movies like It's A Wonderful Life and Clarence the angel who helps George Baily. Yet the Bible tells us that as believers in Christ, we have a least one angel that has been dispatched to our care. The second point is that Jesus tells us according to the Scripture how we treat children for example, for their faces (the children's) are represented before heaven, by their angels. Peter reminds us how we treat strangers that come into our life, because unknowingly you could be ministering to an angel. That is so sobering. Imagine how many of us have met homeless people who could have been angels testing our benevolence or in a hospital?

According to the Book of Revelation, it is only going to increase and the angelic mission is clearly defined from the Bible. It's a though the veil between the physical realm and spiritual realm is pulled back and they impact one another like never before. So why then do some scholars confuse the mighty angel we see in Revelation 10 with that of Jesus Christ. It might be because the word here for angel is not the same as an angelic being with wings, it means a messenger sent from heaven to make an announcement. It is not necessarily an angel like Michael or Gabriel. Whoever he is, he is one dispatched from heaven, with an announcement to be given to earth. That is all we know about him at this moment.

We also know that the word for angel means a created being from heaven with wings but also from the Old Testament, we have the word theophany or a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ before Bethlehem's manger. Christ appeared before Abraham and Joshua for example, and He was announced as the Angel of the Lord. In Revelation, in the opening chapters 2 and 3 it says, "to the angel at the church of Philadelphia..." We know that angel is none other than the pastor of the church of Philadelphia back then in the time of Christ. So the word has a broad application. So who is this? Let's keep studying.

We know that the message is by divine delivery no matter who it is. When we see the word "another mighty angel" is means another angel of a different kind. So he is somewhat of a great order other than your run of the mill angel. Not that any angel if we saw it today would be run of the mill. If we were able to see one, we might just pass out. When Daniel saw an angel he got sick to his stomach and had to lay in bed for many days. Lets just explain it this way, if we have another angel of a different kind providing a message by divine delivery, let's just call this one the L.A. Times. That is a messenger of a different order. But if someone comes to your door wearing a Federal Express uniform, that is still a message coming to you from a different order or from a different dispatch.

This angel is a different from the L.A. Times and the Federal Express as it is from the run of the mill angel. I think you understand this now. Notice his origin. He comes out of heaven. When God desires to provide a message to mankind, His origins are always from heaven. Always. God speaks to Abraham!

Genesis 22:11 ~ "But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham! 'Here I am', he replied."

God speaks to Moses from heaven. 

Exodus 3:2-5 ~ "There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." "Do not come any closer," God said, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

What made that ground holy? The person that was in the burning bush which was the LORD. His title was the angel of the LORD. What is the title of the angel of the LORD in the Old Testament? It is none other than the LORD Almighty, Jesus Christ. A pre-incarnate appearance before Bethlehem. When God spoke to the prophets what did He say?

Hebrews 1:1-2 ~ "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through who he made the universe."

When God spoke to the apostles, what did He say?

Matthew 17:5 ~ "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

 When God speaks to mankind, He speaks from above.

Luke 3:21-22 ~ "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven opened up and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

God's messengers deliver a message from heaven. When God speaks, it comes from above. When God sends His messengers to mankind, it is also a messenger of divine description. This is what causes scholars to think that this messenger is someone other than just another angel.

Revelation 10:1 ~ "Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars."

This is truly an awesome description of this divine messenger. "Clothed with a cloud," that connects us immediately with whoever this person is, he is in great association with the Lord, himself. When God spoke to Moses, Mt Sinai was covered with a cloud. Not only that but when God watched over and protected the children of Israel in the wilderness, He manifested Himself as a cloud by day. On the Mount of Transfiguration, when they saw Jesus transfigured, what descended from heaven and covered them all? A cloud of glory. At Jesus' ascension when He went back up into heaven, what received Him into heaven? A cloud. At the Rapture of the church, what is going to happen when Christ comes? We are going to be caught up into the Lord's presence in the cloud. At the Second Coming, how it that going to look? The Bible says that Christ will come with the church and His angels with Him in the Second Coming in a cloud. The Lord is always in association with clouds.

Matthew 26:64 ~ "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ~ "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever."

Daniel 7:13 ~ "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence."

Matthew 24:30 ~ "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."

Then it says that he has a rainbow around his head. When we get to heaven we will be given eyes to see spiritual things. God is revealing this for John to see right now. God promises to never judge the world again without mercy as we see in Genesis.

Genesis 9:13-14 ~ "I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth, and the rainbow appears in the clouds,"

Revelation 4:2-3 ~ "At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald encircled the throne."

The cloud in association with the Lord, and the rainbow in association with the Lord. We see the connection. We can also understand why there would be some confusion between this being a run of the mill angel or the Lord, Himself. "His face was like the sun,"

Revelation 1:13-16 ~ "and among the lampstands was someone 'like a son of man,' dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his moth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance."

We remember the seven lampstands is the manifestation of God's presence among His people from the first being in the tabernacle and then here in Revelation where we find that Jesus walks among them being His church.

Matthew 17:2 ~ "There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light."

We remember before in Revelation 1:15 that "His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace," He sends His messengers to mankind, a message for divine duty.

Revelation 10:2-3 ~ "He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke."

What is with the little book or scroll? This is a bit technical. You shouldn't be so focused on the placement of his feet or even the little scroll or book, is that it is open. Did you catch that? You might want to circle that in your Bible. The word implies that the book in heaven, this angel who has this book is not open. It is a book that is secret, that is held by God, it is a book that when it is opened has things in it that we are not allowed to know. God won't answer these questions we have about the book even though the Bible has all the answers. No matter what footnotes you might have in your Bible, no one knows about the little book. Nobody. Someone once said that only Seventh Day Adventists know what the book says, but they are not allowed to tell anybody what it says. Don't believe it. Read the Bible. It says that no one knows what is in the book.

Now we come to a bit of history. Whenever a general conquered another empire in a battle, they would take the general of the empire they defeated and lay him down and stand on his neck and declare victory. John would have understood this term that he is seeing an angel stand on the sea and on the land, what is he declaring? Absolute victory and John would have known this. He is announcing absolute victory of the rule and reign of the dominion by God. Even Jews who know their history who read this would understand what this means.

God gives us this break because as we have been marching through our study into Revelation, it has been pretty heavy. It might have even scared some people to unlike my Facebook page or unfriend me because they don't like what the Bible has to say about these events of the end times. He gives us a break in the story at this point to infuse hope, grace and mercy into those that are reading this. That is the very reason why some churches don't teach on the Book of Revelation, it isn't exactly a church growth builder but remember it is the only book of the Bible that offers a blessing to those that read and hear its words. This portion of the Bible is all about hope because our God is a God of hope, grace and mercy.

For those of you reading this today, that might feel hopeless, let me pray for you.

Father,

Whoever this person is that is reading this today, and they feel like they are at the end of their rope. Maybe it's their marriage, their kids, the sacrifice of their jobs, or another issue that only You know that they are dealing with. We pray that you would bring healing to their situation, healing to their relationships, health to their body, and God, peace and comfort to their soul. God, we are trusting right now that You will take this and You will touch the person who is reading this right now, who is crying out to You right now, saying "Dear God please intervene in my life, please help me now." And Lord, I have no doubt that You will speak to them, because that is the kind of God You are! In Jesus Name, AMEN!!!