Two Witnesses of the Tribulation

The Two Witnesses - Moses and Elijah

Moses and Elijah are the two heralds of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Jesus revealed the names of the two heralds or witnesses in Matthew 16:28 and Matthew 17:1-3. On the Mount of Transfiguration you have a picture of the Second Advent. Jesus Christ was transformed as He will appear at the Second Advent with His two heralds, Moses and Elijah.

““Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”“ (Matthew 16:28, NASB)

“Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.” (Matthew 17:1-3, NASB)

Moses and Elijah will be indwelt with the Holy Spirit during their ministry and will have a great testimony for Jesus Christ. They are the “two olive trees” and the “two lampstands” in Revelation 11:4.

“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.” (Revelation 11:4, NASB)

They will be protected by God until their mission is finished. Rev. 11:5.

“And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.” (Revelation 11:5, NASB)

John the Baptist was the herald at the First Advent. John was not Elijah and said so in Matthew 17:10-13.

“And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.” (Matthew 17:10-13, NASB)

Luke 1:16-17 points out that John, as a herald, has the same spirit and power as Elijah.

““And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”“ (Luke 1:16-17, NASB)

In Matthew 11:12-14, this Elijah is said to be John the Baptist.

““From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.” (Matthew 11:12-14, NASB)

Malachi 4:5-6 says Elijah will be the herald of the Second Advent.

““Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”“ (Malachi 4:5-6, NASB)

The two witnesses were given power to cause drought as did Elijah, to turn water into blood as Moses did, and to send plagues as did Moses. Rev. 11:6.

“These have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.” (Revelation 11:6, NASB)

God will permit their death when their job is finished. Their dead bodies will lay in the streets of Jerusalem for 3½ days with many able to witness it all. Unbelievers will be happy to get rid of the two witnesses and they will celebrate and send gifts to each other. Rev. 11:10.

“And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.” (Revelation 11:10, NASB)

The souls and human spirits of Moses and Elijah will be returned by God to their physical bodies and the two witnesses will walk around long enough to establish their resurrection and to shock those rejoicing over their death. Rev. 11:11.

“But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.” (Revelation 11:11, NASB)

When the two witnesses ascend up into heaven, the city of Jerusalem will be judged by God. Rev. 11:12-13.

“And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” Then they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:12-13, NASB)

Within ten days the Second Advent will take place. Rev. 11:14.

“The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.” (Revelation 11:14, NASB)

Why one of the witnesses is not Enoch

Probably the most often expressed guess with regard to the identity of one of the two witnesses of the Tribulation is Enoch who was translated to heaven bodily without dying. This event was one of the three signs of the flood. The first event was Noah’s preaching for 120 years. The second was the death of Methuselah. The third was the translation of Enoch. Gen. 5:23-24.

“So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” (Genesis 5:23-24, NASB)

The Tribulation will be the end of the Jewish Age. The king who will be returning is the son of David, a Jewish king. A Jewish king has Jewish heralds. At the First Advent, the herald was John the Baptist who was a Jew. At the Second Advent, Elijah and Moses will be the heralds and are also Jews. In the Jewish Age, the Jews are responsible for dissemination of the Gospel. The two witnesses will be evangelists (called prophets) and will be Jews. Enoch was a Gentile.

Opposing Sets of Witnesses

In Revelation 11:1-14 we have the Lord’s two witnesses. These two witnesses are heralds of His Second Advent. The setting for the Lord’s two witnesses is the restoration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, which will be restored in unbelief. Because religion will infiltrate and distort the concept, it will be impossible for the truth to be taught in that temple, therefore it will be necessary for the Two Witnesses to speak.

“"And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."” (Revelation 11:3, NASB)

“When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.” (Revelation 11:7, NASB)

“But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.” (Revelation 11:11, NASB)

In Revelation 13, we have Satan’s two witnesses. These two witnesses are heralds of the Second Fall of Satan.

“And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.” (Revelation 13:1, NASB)

“And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.” (Revelation 13:6-7, NASB)

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed.” (Revelation 13:11-12, NASB)

“And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.” (Revelation 13:14, NASB)

The two recorded areas of evangelism in the Tribulation are Israel and Western Europe. There are others, but these are the two specifically indicated. Therefore, in these two areas of evangelism Satan will have special emissaries – one from Israel called the Dictator of Palestine and one from Western Europe called the Dictator of the Revived Roman Empire.

Each one is a political and religious dictator. The Beast out of the sea (the First Beast) will be the Dictator of the Revived Roman Empire. The Beast out of the Land (the Second Beast) will be the Dictator of Palestine. See category on Evangelism in the Tribulation.