There is a lot of speculation as to who or what the two witnesses are, yet
again if one allows scripture to interpret itself, you should be able to discern
what or who they are.
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end
come."
Before the end comes the world will be given one last opportunity to her the
true word of God and a last chance to accept it, and that is the job of the two
witnesses.
Revelation 11:3-11 "And I will give power unto my two witnesses,
and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed
in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks
standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire
proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and 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, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as
often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the
beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them,
and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in
the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,
where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and
tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and
shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell
upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts
one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the
earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered
into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them
which saw them."
2 Esdras also known as 4 Ezra 6:26 "And the men that are
received shall see it, who have not tasted death from their birth: and the
heart of the inhabitants shall be changed and converted to a different
spirit."
The Apocalypse of Elijah 3:7-15 "Then when Elijah and Enoch hear
that the shameless one has revealed himself in the holy place, they will
come down and fight with him saying, Are you indeed not ashamed? When you
attach yourself to the saints, because you are always estranged. you have
been hostile to those who belong to heaven. you have acted against
those belonging to the earth. You have been hostile to the thrones.
you have acted against the angels. you are always a stranger. you have
fallen from heaven like the morning stars. you were changed, and your
tribe became dark for you. But you are not ashamed, when you stand firmly
against God you are a devil. The shameless one will hear and he will be
angry, and he will fight with them in the market place of the great
city. And he will spend seven days fighting with them. And they will
spend three and one half days in the market place dead, while all the people
see them. But on the fourth day they will rise up and they will scold him
saying. "O shameless one, O son of lawlessness. Are you indeed not
ashamed of yourself since you are leading astray the people of God for whom
you did not suffer? Do you not know that we live in the Lord?"
The Book of Jubilees 4:23-36 "And he ( Enoch) was taken from
amongst the children of men, and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in
majesty and honour, and behold there he writes down the condemnation and
judgment of the world, and all the wickedness of the children of men. And on
account of it (God) brought the waters of the flood upon all the land of
Eden; for there he was set as a sign and that he should testify against all
the children of men, that he should recount all the deeds of the generations
until the day of condemnation. And he burnt the incense of the sanctuary,
(even) sweet spices acceptable before the Lord on the Mount. For the Lord
has four places on the earth, the Garden of Eden, and the Mount of the East,
and this mountain on which thou art this day, Mount Sinai, and Mount Zion
(which) will be sanctified in the new creation for a sanctification of the
earth; through it will the earth be sanctified from all (its) guilt and its
uncleanness through- out the generations of the world."
The two witnesses shall prophesy, clothed in sackcloth, if any man will hurt
them, fire proceeds out of their mouth. When they shall have finished their
testimony the beast shall make war against them and kill them. And their dead
bodies shall lie in the street of the great city where also our Lord was
crucified, and the people and nations shall see their dead bodies and shall not
suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And after three days and an half
the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet;
and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they ascended up to heaven in
a cloud and their enemies beheld them.
So we have learned that the two witnesses are capable of speech (shall
prophesy), wear clothing (sackcloth), can be hurt, can kill in self defense, and
can and will be killed. They have visible bodies, stand upon feet, and will
ascend from the earth into the sky. It couldn't be any clearer, these are
physical beings.
Who they are can only be speculation since scripture does not say in
definitive words. I can only share my thoughts as to who they are, and
how I have arrived at it.
Zechariah 4:11-14 "Then answered I, and said unto him, What are
these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the
left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these
two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil
out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these
be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones,
that stand by the LORD of the whole earth."
These two have been anointed and stand with the Lord. To understand, we need
to know what it was to be anointed. It usually meant one or more of the
following, note #3;
To apply oil, ointment, or a similar substance.
To put oil on as a sign of sanctification or consecration.
To choose, usually by divine intervention.
For the wages of sin are death, and all have sinned. Yet! There are two
prophets who did not die. According to scripture, both Enoch and Elijah were
taken away from the earth.
Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God
took him."
2 Kings 2:11-12 "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and
talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire,
and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of
Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold
of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces."
Hebrews 11:5 "By faith Enoch was translated G3346
that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated G3346
him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased
God."
Jubilees 10:17 "And in his life on earth he excelled the
children of men save Enoch because of the righteousness, wherein he was
perfect. For Enoch's office was ordained for a testimony to the generations
of the world, so that he should recount all the deeds of generation unto
generation, till the day of judgment."
G3346
= met-at-ith'-ay-mee
From G3326 and G5087; to transfer, that is, (literally) transport, (by
implication) exchange, (reflexively) change sides, or (figuratively) pervert: -
carry over, change, remove, translate, turn.
Both Enoch and Elijah were translated ("change of place" "put
in another place") from the earth (Genesis 5:21-24; 2 Kings 2:1, 9-12), yet
scriptures teach that everyone has to die once (Hebrews 9:27). Could it be that
the Lord chose them to be his end time witnesses (prophets) and that their
deaths were put on hold?
But, just before the END Jesus said: "THIS gospel OF THE KINGDOM"
the announcement of the government of God, the RULE of God, the COMMANDMENTS of
God, the same Gospel that Jesus PREACHED, shall go to all the world for a
witness unto all nations--and THEN shall the end of this world come.
