Who are the Two Witnesses? 

        §2 The identification of the Two Witnesses described in Revelation 11 will not be absolute until they arrive, but the scripture provides enough clues so that we can make a likely identification of both witnesses.

        §3. Revelation 11 describes the witnesses and their work:

        And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. 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, even the two lamps 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.  And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.  And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

        §4 The text tells us, "These are the two olive trees, even the two lamps standing before the God of the earth."  This refers us back to Zechariah:

        What seest thou?  And I said, I have looked, and behold a lamp all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:  And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof ... What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? ... What be these two olive branches which by the hand of 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 sons of oil, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth (Zech. 4:2-14).

        §5 The lamp is a mennorah.  At the head of the base of the lamp is a bowl from which oil is drawn up seven branches to the seven lamps.  The olive trees keep the bowl full of oil, and because they produce oil they are called "sons of oil" in the Hebrew text.  We meet up with this lamp again in Revelation 1:12-13:
I saw seven golden lamps, and in the midst of the seven lamps, one like unto the Son of man.
         Once again this seven lamp lampstand is a mennorah.  The mennorah represents the Jewish faith.  It also represents the individual places of worship.  For each congregation has a mennorah.  The mennorah is a lamp, the light of the world, but it is also a tree, the tree of life with its branches.  In the midst of the tree is Yeshua.  For Yeshua is the light of the world, and he died on a tree to give life to His people.  The Mennorah, thus represents the Lord and his work.  Beside the mennorah are two prophets.  Who are they?

        §6. Let us examine another passage:

        And out of one of them [Syria] came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south [Egypt], and toward the east [Babylon-Perisa], and toward the pleasant land [Israel].  And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven [the priests]; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.  Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host [Messiah], and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary cast down (Daniel 8:9-11).

        §7. The host of heaven is defined in the Torah as the Levites and Priesthood, but that is not was concerns us here.  It is the "stars" that are cast to the ground.  The stars are heavenly messengers.  In this case, they are the two witnesses.  For, it is the two witnesses which are killed after 3½ years (1260 days) of the first half of the last seven.  Immediately after their murder, the daily is taken away and the temple is defiled and the nations trod it under for 42 months.  So, the two witnesses are called "stars".  Why is that?  And what does their witness concern?
        §8. The two witnesses will bear testimony to the highest and most profound truths of the scripture.  But in order to be a witness, they must have seen something to witness about.  Their testimony will conern the central truth of all time: repent and believe the good news.  In conjunction with this, they will have to have seen the death and resurrection of the Messiah.  For that is the central event that they must witness.
 And witness it they did.  For in the time of Zechariah they were already standing before the Lord of the earth, which means that they were alive when Messiah died.  At the end of their testimony they will give the sign of Jonah.  For they will be killed, and in the middle of the third day they will rise from the dead, proving that their testimony of Yeshua's death and resurrection is true.
        §9. Now before the coming of the Great and Terrible day of YHWH, the Jewish people will get their earnest desire, and Ayliyahu (Elijah) will get his.  Ayliyahu wanted nothing more than for Israel to repent.  He wanted a reformation of the nation.  But it was not granted to him at that time.  He was taken up to heaven alive to await the end of the age:
        Remember ye the law of Moshe my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horayv for all Yisra'ayl, with the statutes and judgments.  Behold, I will send you Ayliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of YHWH:  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 land with a curse (Malachi 4:4-6).
        §10. Yes, the Elijah cup at the seder is a valid tradition.  God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent.  What has he said and he will not make it good, or what has he spoken and it will not come to pass?  God keeps all his promises.  He said he would send Elijah the prophet.  Now, Yochannan the Immerser (John the Baptist) was sent as a type of Elijah, but Elijah was still to come.  For Yeshua said:

        And his learners asked him saying, "Why then say the scholars that Ayliyahu must first come?  And Yeshua answered and said unto them, "Ayliyahu truly shall first come, and restore all things.  But I say unto you that an Ayliyahu is come already, and they acknowledged him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they liked.  Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them."  Then the learners understood that he spoke unto them of Yochannan the Immerser (Mt. 17:10-13).

        §11. Yeshua spoke this after John was dead.  Yet, Yeshua speaks of the work of Alyliyahu as being yet future.  For he says, "Ayliyahu truly shall first come."  What he meant is that John was a type of Elijah.  Notice that Yeshua did not call John, "Elijah the Prophet," but only "an Elijah"?  That is because, the scripture teaches that "Ayliyahu the Prophet," must come and "restore all things" not anyone else.  Why then does the Christian World teach that Malachi 4:5-6 was terminally fulfilled in John?  Because, they have a misunderstanding of Yeshua's words compounded with a blind spot toward the Jewish people and the Law and Prophets, which they do not take seriously.  Yeshua said that Ayliyahu would come after John died, and after the Transfiguration.  That means that Ayliyahu is still to come.  For what has God said that shall not come to pass?
        §12. Could Elijah be one of the two witnesses?  He is a prophet.  So is one of the witnesses.  He did call fire down from heaven.  So do the witnesses.  He did shut up the sky to that it might not rain.  So do the witnesses.  By the way, what other prophet did these things? None!  He is alive at the side of Yeshua in the heavenlies.  And he does qualify as one of the "stars of heaven":
And he was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moshe and Ayliyahu taking with him ... Yeshua charged them, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." (Matt. 17:2-3, 9).
        §13. What were Moshe and Ayliyahu alive to see?  Did they not witnesses the death and resurrection of our Lord?  Why is Moshe also mentioned in Malachi 4:4-6?  Who was it that turned water into blood, and who smote the earth with every manner of plague?  Was it not Moshe?  What other prophet did these things?  None!
        §14. If the central event of the scripture to bear witness to is the death and resurrection of Yeshua, then who is left alive to bear legal testimony to the matter?  For every matter must be confirmed by the word of two or three witnesses.  Two witnesses is considered legal proof of a matter to the Jewish people.  Are not Moshe, Ayliyahu, and Enoch the only three that we know of, who are still living?  Moshe is resurrected.  For the angel went to recover his body, and the Adversary argued over it!  So Moshe, was raised by the time of Zechariah, and lived to appear on the Mount with Yeshua and Ayliyahu.  And he is still alive to this day waiting to interceed for His people.  For Moshe's great desire was for the salvation of his people.
        §15. Was not Moshe the only prophet who stood before the Lord of all the earth in his earthly sojourn?  Did he not speak to him face to face?  Is not Moshe the most celebrated prophet of the Jewish people?  What will "Israel" do when Moshe and Ayliyahu come preaching Isaiah 53?  What will they do when Moshe and Alyiyahu identify Yeshua as the prince of the host?
        §16. What will backslidden Israel (the "Church") do when Moshe preaches repentence?  Turn from your sins.  "Remember the Law of Moshe my servant" says YHWH.  One of the greatest ironies of all time will be the two witnesses.  For what "Israel" hopes for, and yet rejects, it will get, and what the "Church" rejects and accepts it too will receive.  For the "Jewish" people reject their Messiah, and the "Church" rejects God's law.  And they will receive both when God's prophets come preaching "Repent and faithfully trust the good news ... for the great and terrible day of YHWH" is near at hand.
        §17. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever! ... And they that understand among the people shall instruct many ... And he will turn the heart of the fathers to the children ... and he will restore all things" (Daniel 12:3; 11:33; Mal. 4:6; Mat. 17:11).  Yes, God's people are on the verge of the greatest revival and reformation in their long history ever to take place.

        §18. The two witnesses are probably Moshe and Aliyahu.  That is what this author believes.  The scripture does not say so directly, but the circumstantial evidence is considerable.  We should be prepared for the possibility.  Aliyahu will certainly come.  For the scripture names him specifically.  And I cannot think of a better way God could choose to reform his people.  Can you?

§19.
 

 1. Who shut up the skies for 3½ years?
 2. Who turned water into blood?
 3. Where do Moshe and Ayliyahu stand now?
 4. What did they witness?
 5. What will Ayliyahu do?
 6. Why is John the Baptist not Elijah the Prophet?  Can you prove it?
 7. What is the custom at Passover?
 8. What is the custom at the end of the Shabbat?
 9. What did Ayliyahu wish for in his ministry?
 10. What did Moshe do for Israel?  What did Moshe wish of himself for the salvation of his people?

§20

 1. Ayliyahu.
 2. Moshe.
 3. Before Yeshua in heaven.
 4. The death and resurrection of Yeshua.
 5. He will reform the nation and restore all things.  The sons of Israel will return to their fathers.  Perhaps this means that all the faithful will again identify with Israel and their Jewish heritage.
 6.  John was an Ayliyahu, i.e. a type of Ayliyahu.  Yeshua said that Ayliyahu was still to come after John was dead, and after the transfiguration.
 7. To set a place of Ayliyahu.
 8. To sing Ayliyahu Ha-Navi.
 9. He wanted reformation so badly that he went into a depression when it did not happen after slaying the prophets of Ba'al.
 10. Moshe begged God not to destroy Israel, and God heeded him.  Moshe requested that God blot him out of his book for Israel's salvation.