Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:
A response to another article. They wrote, “Search as you may, but one cannot find any indication of the gender of the two witnesses, which I expect to appear very soon. I have heard it said from someone that I have learned to trust, as regards to these two who have been prophesied to come for hundreds of years in the Book of Revelation. The Word was as follows; “I BEGAN THE WORLD WITH A MAN AND WOMAN AND I CAN END IT WITH A MAN AND A WOMAN.”
In light of this divine revelation (which none are obligated to accept), would it not seem as though at least one of the witnesses could never come from the church you describe? Indeed, most congregations would have been taught to reject the witness of these two end time characters based solely upon some law, seemingly cast in stone by a simple understanding of the passage in Timothy 2:11.
Phil replied: I considered the above comments made by the writer. I thought them to be interesting. So much so, I decided to do a little homework on it. I will admit that I took for granted that the two witnesses were men. I may be incorrect, so I decided to investigate.
I want to put this thought forward before I begin. Until Israel became a nation in May of 1948 A.D; end time prophecy would have been a lot more difficult to determine. Because the promise of God to return the Jewish people to the land are now being filled in these latter days, we can now make better sense of what John’s book of Revelation was speaking to us about.
The Portuguese Jews in the 15th, thru the 20th century looked forward to their return according to the promises made by God. They believed by faith, understanding what God promised would in time come to pass, and so it did and yet is being fulfilled. Others needed the sign of actual return before they came to believe; these people, like Thomas are the doubters, for their faith is shallow, or their understanding is yet underdeveloped.
Also for those who claim that the Pre-Trip thought is new, they are wrong. This idea is from early church history. Knowledge and understanding were crushed because of the jailing and execution of Christians by the Roman Catholic Church for hundreds of years. There was burning of books and other materials by those who opposed the Roman church. Also the exclusion of Bibles to the lay person, and the Scriptures only being read or presented in Latin, gave way to limited thought, and no increase of knowledge.
Men like Erasmus, Tyndale, Beza, Coverdale, and many others had the courage to challenge the religious authorities and write the Scriptures in the common language of the people. The 16th century Tyndale Bibles were purchased by Catholic bishops as fast as they were printed, and burned.
The invention of the Gutenberg press gave men the ability to produce the K.J.B. and other material in much larger numbers. The first books of the King James Bible were published in 1611. So now the truth was out, knowledge began to increase, as also did the propaganda.
I will take and write on this subject from my perspective concerning the tribulation period. This article concerns the information given to us in Rev.7:3 thru 12, it concern’s the two witnesses.
1. The power of God will be given unto these two witnesses.
2. They shall prophesy for 1260 days, or 3 1/2 years.
3. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.
4. They will have the power to devour their enemies.
5. They have the power to shut heaven, so that it rain not in the days of their prophecy.
6. They have power over waters to turn them to blood.
7. They have power to smite the earth with plagues, as often as they will.
8. The beast shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them.
9. They shall be killed in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified.
10. After 3 1/2 days, the Holy Spirit will again enter them, and they will come back to life.
11. They will ascend up to heaven in a cloud.
It appears the tribulation on the earth then continues, see remainder of verses.
This is where I am in my understanding concerning this subject of the tribulation period. I wrote an article on “Three Pre Tribulation Groups.” I will take my thoughts from that perspective.
Let’s say for the sake of discussion, based on the article, Three Pre-Tribulation Groups, that the body of believers is resurrected (raptured, caught up,) into heaven to be with the Lord. What remains are all the pagan Gentile nations, and the Jewish people (by blood) who rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Without the support of the Christian community, this small nation and its 9 million or so people would truly be in harms way.
The Muslim nations, the Europeans, Russia, the African nations, pagan America, etc. would turn on the Jews in a heartbeat for the wealth that is needed from the Middle East. Why? It the black gold, the wealth that comes from beneath, it’s called oil. Also Satan would be at full speed to destroy the Jewish nation immediately, because the prayers of the Christian community will no longer be heard.
So, my thinking is the two witnesses will most likely be Jews. They will witness in and around Jerusalem to the Jewish people and also condemn the nations of the world for their rejection of Jesus Christ.
God seals the 144,000 Jews (by blood) in their forehead and establishes His two witnesses. So the question is, “are the two witnesses Male or Female, or one of each.” Let’s look at the clues that have been left to us in the Bible.
The first major clue comes from the word Prophet. John also used the word Prophetess concerning Jezebel, see,
Revelation 2:20, “Because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess.”
Now I would assume that John knew the difference, and used both words accordingly. So in my opinion the idea of a prophet here would refer to a man. Let’s continue.
It appears from Revelation 11:1-2, that a literal temple will stand where it once stood. I have no set opinion on this, for I never researched it. But for the sake of discussion let’s say the Jews’ have rebuilt a literal temple where the Dome of the Rock now stands, and have again returned to their old form of religious worship.
For what reason would the Dome of the Rock is removed? “I don’t know.” It could be a vision by God to major Muslim clerics to remove the dome from off that site, a war, earthquake, who knows?
My thinking is, two witnesses most likely will be Jews. They will witness in Jerusalem, to the Jewish people against their total rejection of Christ; they will also condemn the nations of the world for their same rejection.
Revelation 13:5, “Power was given unto him to continue forty and two months,” or 3 1/2 years.
Verse two states that Jerusalem will be, “tread under foot forty and two months, or 3 1/2 years. Also I believe this speaks of the same time. Also more Tribulation is yet to follow the first 3 1/2 years, see, Revelation 11:13 to end.
The 3 1/2 year period is also supported by,
Luke 21:24, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
Psalms 79:1, “the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps.”
Isaiah 63:18, “our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary.”
The Scriptures speak of the two witnesses as having,
1. The power of God will be given unto these two witnesses. Power as meaning: entrusted, commission, authority, right, full-power; “Power unto my two witnesses.” In the Greek it reads, “The two witnesses of me.” The Greek Definite Article implies that the two witnesses were known to John. My thinking is, John having been on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Jesus witnessed Moses and Elias. So it may mean these two men, for they were known by John, and he may have recognized them as the two he is told about in Revelation 11:3.
2. They shall prophesy for 1260 days, or 3 1/2 years. They shall preach under the inspiration the Holy Spirit, pronouncing judgment upon the fallen race of mankind.
3. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. The similarity can be seen in, Zechariah 4:3-12. Two men were meant in Zechariah’s prophecy, they were Joshua and Zerubbabel. These ministered to the Jewish people.
Again will two witnesses will minister to this nation. Their actions will be those of Moses and Elijah. There were 7000 remnant left in Elijah’s day, as there will be left 144,000 sealed in the days of the two witnesses. Also,
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 (strike.)”
Also Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus at the Transfiguration, which foreshadowed the coming millennium kingdom.
Also in Revelation 15:3, the victors shall sing the song of Moses.
Matthew 17:11, Jesus said, “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. This may or may not refer to this event.
Witnesses have generally appeared in pairs, as Moses and Aaron, representing the civil and religious authorities; Caleb and Joshua, Ezekiel the priest and Daniel the prophet. Zerubbabel and Joshua.
They appear in sackcloth which is the garment of prophets. The sackcloth is a catchword linking the episode under the sixth trumpet, with the “sun black as sackcloth” in righteous retribution for all evil and vile men who reject God’s witnesses under the 6th seal.
They are as, “Two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Compare with, Zechariah 4:14, “These are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
Candlesticks, these are as, Philippians 2:15, “lights in the world,” or light bearers. These are real people because verse 7 states that, they will be killed.
4. They will have the power to devour their enemies. Not literally. They have been commissioned to proclaim, and exact the judgments of God against all who attempt to stop them from going forth in their ministry.
5. They have the power to shut heaven, so that it rain not in the days of their prophecy. This as Elijah had done.
6. They have power over waters to turn them to blood. This as Moses had done.
7. They have power to smite the earth with plagues, as often as they will. Again, this as Moses had done in Egypt.
8. The beast shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them. The beast gets its power from Satan. It is described by Daniel, Also Revelation 13:1, 17:8.
9. They shall be killed in Jerusalem; this is where Jesus was crucified. The two will fall as one. Jesus is speaking to the religious authority said in
Matthew 23:35, “That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth — all these things shall come upon this generation.
Verse 39, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the LORD.” This is yet future, and refers to the Jews.
10. After 3 1/2 days, the Holy Spirit will again enter them, and they will come back to life. This is the same Spirit that breath life into Israelis dry bones, Ezekiel 37:10-11. I believe this passage to be closely connected with the full restoration of the Hebrew people, and its land. Compare this also with,
Hosea 6:2, “After two days (two thousand years) will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” This was spoken to the Jews and was meant for the Jewish people.
“They stood upon their feet.” These are the very words Ezekiel 37:10 uses. “I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet.”
11. They will ascend up to heaven in a cloud. “They heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud.”
Phillip Laspino www.seekfirstwisdom.com