This Bible study originally took place in 1986. This article is condensed from the audio. To hear the bible study
click this link THE TWO WITNESSES (Full Audio Version)
The truth as revealed here is the direct results of God's answer to my search for the TRUTH concerning the identity
of the Two Witnesses.
I had heard so many 'different' answers from so-called Bible teachers and so-called prophecy experts that even
one with the limited mind of man could 'know' that so many 'completely different' answers to the same question could NOT' be
right.
Picture this in your mind if you will. Imagine myself and 4 other people standing in the middle of Oklahoma.
I ask the question, “In which direction from here is Canada?”
The first man pointed North and I felt much better because now I knew.
Much better that is, until a second man spoke up and said, “No, that's not right” , and he pointed
to the South.
Just about the time I was trying to decide which one to believe, the third man spoke up and said, “No they're
both wrong. Canada is in this direction from here” and immediately pointed toward the West.
My next thought was “I'm getting confused.”
About then the forth man spoke and said, “NO, they're all wrong.” He then very confidently pointed
to the East and began to explain 'why' only his answer was correct.
My head began to swim in confusion. All four men began to speak at once and just as confusion was about to convince
me that perhaps we were Not intended to understand the answer to this question,
all at once, a brilliant thought hit my mind.
“Why not ask God?”
Of course our real question is not “In which direction from here is Canada”, but rather '”The
Two Witnesses, who are they? Who are they not?”
I included that 'only as an example' of just how confusing it is for Christians to get a straight answer to any
question, especially prophecy.
The original question I sought the answer too was, “Who are the TWO WITNESSES of Rev. 11?”.
I had been told that they were Moses and Elijah. Others said they were Enoch and Elijah. They then went to great
lengths to prove why. Some other off beat examples of what men teach on this subject are, “They are the Old and New
Testament; They are the 'church' and 'Israel' or; They are the apostle John and the apostle Do-dad because of yakety-yak,
yakety-yak”.
Like I said, I had already considered an extreme thought. Why not ask God? If anyone would know he would. If
I ask in faith and he doesn't answer it could only be because he doesn't intend our knowing.
I think I can be fairly certain that I just lost many readers because many Christians (so-called) truly believe
that God no longer speaks to anyone since the Book of Revelations was completed. Many Christians also believe that God no
longer performs miracles today and so forth and so on. Two important things to notice about this myriad of different answers
is, ONE, all these answers could NOT be right, and TWO, ALL are NOT based on 'what is written' , but based upon
the assumptions of men or upon 'adding too' or 'taking away' from God's Word. God's reward for those who do the latter is
written in Rev. 22: 18 – 19
I did, however, at that time have a few things going in my favor. I had seen God perform miracles with my own
eyes and I had already heard his voice with my own ears.
This brings us back around to the subject of this article.
The question I ask was simply, “The Two Witnesses” of Rev. 11 – Who are they really?”
GOD'S ANSWER
As it turns out, the answer I did receive could better be described as 'Who they are NOT' rather than 'Who they
are' . I ended up receiving 'much more' than I had even ask.
One helpful bit of information for all lovers of THE TRUTH is this: When anyone seeking to teach the Word finds
it necessary to explain why “their version” of the Truth must include
reasons why words God saw fit to have written don't “really mean” what they appear to mean, you might perhaps
pray you see a warning, a flashing railroad crossing sign in your spirit. You are about to get hit by a train driven by a
'WORD CHANGER'. Any time you ask a simple yes or no answered question and it takes 20 minutes and 20 pages for them to give
their answer 'which' they should have been able to answer with a simple yes or no, you may as well ask God to start singing
the famous Johnny Cash song which contains the words “I hear the train a coming!” It's the 'WORD 'ADDER'S SPECIAL'
and I can only advise you to get off that track.
As it turns out, God's 'reason' and purpose for sending these two mystery people is 'much
more important' than their actual names.
An extremely long introduction to be sure, but it just seemed important for readers to understand where I'm coming
from and from 'WHOM' these truths came.
Let's begin by reading : Revelations Chapter 11, verse number ONE.
“And there was given me (John) 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 that 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 prophecy 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
the power to shut up heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them 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.”
Everybody loves a mystery. The Lord loves a good mystery because he knows all the answers. These two witnesses
we've just read about here in the eleventh chapter of Revelations brings us back full circle, WHO are they, WHO are they NOT?
Every search automatically becomes 'a process of elimination'. I'll just give you a brief example as to why I
would make such a statement.
Let's say you were searching for something you'd lost in your house. You would more than likely start in ONE
area, say in this room. After you'd searched this room completely and did not find it, you could go on to the next room because
you've eliminated this room as a possibility of being the answer to your search.
So, let's just remember that every search is a process of elimination. Of course, we're NOT searching for some
item lost in a house but rather The TRUTH from God, which will shed His LIGHT on His ANSWER.
Of course the only place we can find God's answer to anything is in his WORD. We need always remember, if God
saw it important enough to bother placing it there, then he must desire for us to know and understand.
So let's start by looking at three of the most suggested candidates as taught by today's Prophecy experts, Bible
teachers, the Phd's, etc. etc. etc.
MOSES?
We're going to look first at Moses. Let's look once again at Rev. 11: 6. Here we read that one of the miracles
performed by these two witnesses requires the power to turn water into blood. This is very likely one of the reasons why many
of our modern day experts pick Moses as being one of these two witnesses. Another likely reason is because of what occurred
on the Mount of transfiguration. (This story is found in Matt. 17: verse 3. )There both 'Moses'
and 'Elias' appeared with Jesus. As it turns out, this is also the favorite pairing by our modern day scribes as to the identity
of 'both' of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11
We will leave the subject of Elias (Elijah in the Hebrew) because right now, we are focusing on Moses only.
Remember, we were looking closely at verse 6 and we've noticed specifically that these two 'mystery' witnesses
both have the power over waters to turn them into blood.
Hopefully, every reader also knows this sounds very much like one of the miracles performed at the hand of Moses
in the land of Egypt when God brought upon that land the ten plagues.
Let's go back to Exodus 7: verse 17 “Thus saith the Lord, In this thou shalt know that
I am the Lord; behold, 'I WILL' smite with the rod that is in 'mine hand 'upon the waters which are in the river, and
they shall be turned into blood.” Please notice that the Lord said “I will smite” speaking of himself.
This is a most important truth. In verse 19 God commands Moses to 'say unto Aaron' thus and so and thus and so. Please don't
lose sight of the fact that although God had Moses to tell Aaron to go thru the motions, according to verse 17, it was God
doing the actual 'smiting'. Here we have a man (Moses) hearing God's voice, believing what he heard, doing what God said
to do, and doing it in faith. Moses heard God's voice and obeyed. Aaron heard Moses' voice and did as Moses said, but it was
God who performed this miracle (as he did with all of the other nine plagues brought upon Egypt at the 'hand of Moses'). At
this point , you might begin to wonder why these facts are important to the subject of our article. Just be patient and we
shall find out.
Before we return to Rev. 11: 6 you need to make sure you have the Truth we've just covered fixed firmly in your
memory. It was God who said it , God who performed this miracle of turning waters into blood, AND especially the TRUTH
that God did it at 'his WILL'.
Now we can return to Rev. 11: 6
I want you to notice that this same power has been given to The Two Witnesses , and also the power to smite the
earth with all plagues, (but the last 5 words you need not miss are) 'AS OFTEN AS THEY WILL' .
The question you need ask yourself is this. Did God give Moses a blanket authority to perform this miracle as
often as 'he willed' or was it a 'one time only' occurrence?
Back in Exodus we read it was God himself saying it and God who did the smiting of the waters. God never said
to Moses, “ if you ever see the need for this miracle to be done again, just go right on ahead.”
The answer should be plain and simple. (No, he did not give Moses the authority to perform this miracle at Moses'
own will.)
One needs to understand that God does not throw his words around casually. Every word spoken by God has a reason
and a purpose. Unlike men, God does not bandy his words about lightly.
The authority given by God unto The Two Witnesses is entirely different from any and all other prophets before
or since with one noticeable exception.
That one exception, of course , being Jesus . (We may return to that later in this article.)
Now, let me remind you of what we started out looking for. We are looking at the 'possibility' of Moses as being
one of these TWO WITNESSES.
Let's go back and learn some very interesting facts about this man called Moses.
Deuteronomy 34: 5 – 7
“So Moses the servant of the Lord 'died there in the Land of Moab, 'according to the word of the Lord' and he buried
him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses was
a hundred and twenty years old 'when he died': his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.”
The three most important things to learn from these 3 verses are as follows. ONE, this man Moses 'died' and
he was 'buried'. If Moses died and he was buried then Moses 'died' a physical death. Now, it should not require some great
education for anyone who believes that God's Word is 'absolute' TRUTH to believe exactly what God said here.
I have actually heard men teach that Moses
didn't really 'die' but was only hidden away by God to be used by God centuries later as 'one' of THE TWO WITNESSES.
Now , you talk about grasping at straws, this is about as 'extreme' as it gets.
I am endeavoring to make this as simple as possible. It's up to YOU to choose WHO you will believe.
Will it be God? Or man? God said Moses 'died' and was buried and now some modern day nut-cases teach that Moses did NOT
really die, but has only been 'hidden away' on some deserted isle. I can't help it, but that absurd theory always reminds
me of Satan's words in the garden of Eden, “Surely you shall 'not' die.”
TWO , the second thing important to notice might better be found by answering for yourself this question. Why
did God bother pointing out that Moses did not die from any sickness or disease? That answer also is very simple. God wanted
to make certain that you first knew what Moses did NOT die from so you could then look for the reason why Moses did die. The
answer to that question is found in verse number 5: “Moses died there in the land of Moab, 'ACCORDING
TO THE WORD' of the LORD .” Moses died then and there because God said so. That's what Moses died from. It was
God's Appointed time for Moses to die. That time was appointed and set by God the moment he spoke what he did to Moses.
THREE, The third thing you can glean from these 3 verses will also come in the form of answering for yourself
these questions.
If, as is taught, Moses is to be one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11, (keeping in mind that both of the
TWO WITNESSES must die a physical death as it plainly says in Rev.11: verse 7), our question then becomes – Would God
require 'any man' to die 2 ,TWO, physical deaths?
Even Jesus himself was only required by God to die ONE physical death. Would God require more from Moses than
he did of Jesus? I would hope that anyone having read thus far should know the answer should to be NO, NO, and NO.
To find out the answer to our last question, (would God require any man to die 2 physical deaths) , we find God's
answer in Heb: 9: 27. Here we find a law of God and it reads: “It is
'appointed' unto men (mankind) ONCE to die (he speaks here of physical death) and AFTER this the judgment.” The
two most important things 'not' to miss here, are the phrase “ONCE TO DIE” and the word 'APPOINTED'.
The first is super simple. The phrase ONCE TO DIE means exactly what ONCE sounds like ONCE means. Once means
one time and ONE time only. This is a law of God and God does not violate his own Word. Look back now and recall that Moses
has already died a physical death. He died at his APPOINTED TIME ,as it was set by God , when God spoke the time, place and
manner of Moses' death.
It might prove beneficial to be reminded once again that both of the TWO WITNESSES die a physical death in Rev.
11: 7 because God has already chosen and set 'their' APPOINTED TIME TO DIE. It should now become obvious that in order for
Moses to be 'one' of the TWO WITNESSES , God would have to break his own law, which we just read about in Hebrews 9: 27
I hope and pray that you KNOW that God would not do such a thing. Our search, as far as Moses being one of the
TWO WITNESSES, can only conclude by us seeing very clearly that Moses is therefore 'excluded' by reason of PHYSICAL DEATH'
.
If you're really sharp you might come up with an interesting question. “Well, what about someone like Lazarus,
friend of Jesus, who Jesus raised from the dead? Did he not die 2 TWO physical deaths? The answer is YES he did. But –
not two physical deaths at 'his' appointed time to die, as God sets for all mankind.
The first time Lazarus died, did he die as did Moses? No, he died from a sickness. He was killed by Satan, the
thief who comes for but to kill, to steal, and to destroy. The 'first time' Lazarus died, he was killed by Satan before, Before,
'BEFORE' God's appointed time arrived. Had that not been the case the next thing to happen to Lazarus would have been his
Judgment, not his resurrection. We SHOULD also know that Lazarus went on and lived for some period of time before keeping
his appointment (once to die) as is set by God for 'all' of mankind. The exact time, place, or manner in which Lazarus later
died a physical death is 'Not' recorded in God's Word. Why then did God allow Satan to snuff out Lazarus' life 'before' his
appointed time came? That answer is not only simple but also self-evident. Hopefully you will remember the story. God did
not allow Jesus to go to Lazarus until 4 days 'after' his death. It is taught and believed in Judaism that the spirit of a
person remains with the body of the deceased for 3 days before it is allowed to move on. Upon what that belief is based, I
have no interest in knowing. The church in the earth today believes enough silly superstitions. It does look very much like
God eliminated any possibility of the Jews denying Lazarus' resurrection by saying that Lazarus' spirit had not left yet and
just re-entered Lazarus' body.
This story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus is MOST important to this study . You may not be able to
see why yet, but before the end of this study you will.
This story is found in John 11: 1 -26 The verse you must not miss is verse 26 where
Jesus said, “I AM 'the' resurrection and the life.” (partial)
So that we do not become distracted or confused, a very short recap seems to be in order as well as perhaps a
warning to those who find it necessary to 'add too' and or 'take away' from God's Word 'as written'. That warning from God
is found in Rev. 22: 18-19 . God's reward for those who violate God's Word as written there, perhaps
might not be a reward greatly to be desired.
Where were we? Oh yes.
We were looking at a law of God as found in Hebrews 9: 27 (appointed unto men once to die) and seeking to understand
why Lazarus' double dose of death was NOT a contradiction to this scripture. Hopefully, you now have that understanding.
ELIJAH? ENOCH?
We will now look at a man named Elijah, who according to God's Word 'NEVER' experienced physical death , not
even one time. Hopefully, you will know there are only two men written of in God's Word who left this earth without ever dying
a physical death. One was a man called Enoch and the other this man named Elijah.
If an honest person were to ask the question, “If all men have a set time (appointed by God) to die a physical
death, how then is this not a contradiction of God's Word? “
For all who love THE TRUTH that answer will seem so, so simple once you understand why God found it necessary
to remove two men from this earth without first dying a physical death.
You can rest assured that God did have a reason and that reason is of vital importance in our determining whether
either Elijah or Enoch, or both, could possibly be the answer to our search for the identity of the TWO WITNESSES.
First of all one needs to understand how this 'taking' of these two men without first keeping their appointment
with physical death is NOT an exception to Hebrews 9: 27.
Read that verse again carefully. It may well prove to be that verse did NOT say what you thought it did. What
it 'did' say, is that God has set an 'appointed' time to die for all men. What it did not say, is that every person would
'keep' that appointment. The simple yet profound answer is that both Enoch and Elijah had an appointed time for physical death
set by God, but 'were removed from this earth 'BEFORE' their appointed time came. Ask yourself this question. Have you ever
had an APPOINTMENT but for one reason or another had to cancel that appointment?
The thing you must Not miss is to understand WHY God did this.
In order for us to know and understand the WHY we need to understand 'another' law of God.
This law is found in 2nd Cor. 13: 1 “This is the third time I am coming
to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall 'every' word be established.”
This was not some new thing at the time God had Paul write this. This law had been in effect since Moses' day
and should you doubt that fact, you can go back and read Num. 35: 30 and Deut. 19: 15
This same law of God was given unto Moses by God. Moses did not just make this up or simply grab it out of thin
air.
First we might make certain that we understand the phrase “in the mouth of two or three witnesses.”
(partial)
To make certain you don't miss the meaning of 'two or three' let me say the same thing in several different ways.
It means 'at least two' and it means 'one' is not sufficient, and it can be very easily understood by saying 'two or more'.
Another important point to realize is the phrase 'every word' and this also includes 'every word' spoken by God. God keeps
his own law. Anyone who believes differently might well perhaps 'Not' know God so nearly as well as they think.
Perhaps the best way to make certain that you understand this is by example. Since we've already mentioned the
story of Jesus and what occurred on the Mount of transfiguration we'll just use that. Matt. 17: verse
1 “And after six days Jesus taking Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,”
(partial) We could come up with some interesting questions here. Why did Jesus take 3 disciples with him? Simple and
honest question and guess what? A simple answer as well. He took them 'to be witnesses' that this story is Truth. Remember
God's law. “Let every word be established (as TRUTH) out of the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses.” (partial)
Many things in God's Word were witnessed to as being Truth by 2 witnesses, others 3 witnesses, and some TRUTHS
by even more witnesses, MANY MORE. For our example take the resurrection of Jesus. 1st. Cor.
15: 6 Here you can see God had the resurrection of Jesus witnessed to by 'over' 500 witnesses. Now , that's a lot of
witnesses which incidentally should also show you the importance God places on our believing in THE RESURRECTION of Jesus.
More about that later. The important thing for us to focus on at this moment is to understand that God's Law requires 'at
least TWO' witnesses. Now we can return to our search for God's reason for taking Enoch and Elijah from this earth without
first dying a physical death. God had a reason and that reason was simply to establish his Word about something 'written of'
in his Word. Would you be interested in knowing exactly what Word of God he established by taking two men from this earth
without experiencing physical death? We'll find God's answer to that question by turning first to 1st.
Cor. 15: 51 – 52.
These two verses describe an event which most Christians have chosen to call 'THE RAPTURE' . Our second scripture
is found in 1st. Thess. 4: 17 . Both of these two scripture references speak of the
same 'for sure and for certain' event. They both speak of an entire generation of believers who will leave this world 'without'
having kept their appointment 'ONCE TO DIE' . God 'has' established the TRUTH of these verses and he did so by taking
both Enoch and Elijah from this earth without first dying a physical death. As it also turns out, these two men are probably
the second most likely candidates taught as being The Two witnesses and as it turns out, they 'kinda' are. Notice, I said
'kinda'. Back 23 years ago when I sought God's answer as to who are the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11, as stated before, it turned
out that I received much more knowledge than I believed myself to be seeking. Enoch and Elijah 'ARE' God's two witnesses of
'something', but not the Two who are written of in Rev. 11. I have no choice at this point but to tell you exactly
what God said to me about Enoch and Elijah. This is 'not' written in God's Word ,so no one is required to believe the following
statement. God said, “Enoch and Elijah are MY two witnesses of “NO DEATH”. You might need to think about
that statement for a minute or two.
The TWO WITNESSES of Rev. 11 – are they witnesses of NO PHYSICAL DEATH? They can NOT be because these Two
Witnesses are killed. They die a physical death. Is this not correct? This makes for an interesting question. Can these same
two men be witnesses of both 'NO PHYSICAL DEATH' and witnesses of the opposite side of this coin? What
are the TWO WITNESSES of Rev.11 witnesses of?
Answer for yourself and me a simple question.
Consider the plain Truth that the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11 are killed and their dead bodies lie dead in the streets
for 3 and ½ days and THEN brought back to life by God. What exactly do these unquestionable facts add up to? Can you give
me a simple and precise one word description for what this would be called?
Let me help you. These events are describing what God has chosen to call 'RESURRECTION'.
This word resurrection means 'from' physical DEATH back 'to' LIFE.
The importance of this occurrence can NOT be overstated. What is God's purpose for having the entire world see
this with their own eyes? It is also important to know that Enoch and Elijah can NOT be God's witnesses of “NO PHYSICAL
DEATH” and also His Witnesses of resurrection from physical death. One precludes the other. There are many reasons given
in God's Word proving that Elijah is not one of the Two Witnesses written of in Rev. 11.
To keep this article as brief as possible I will only give one.
The chief reason why Elijah has been taught as being one of the TWO WITNESSES is based on an old testament prophecy
found in Mal. 3: verse 1 “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before
me; (partial)
Elijah is specifically named in Chapter 4 and verse 5.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:”
These two verses when looked at alone would seem to give pretty strong evidence that indeed Elijah must indeed
come again.
Let's go to Matt. 17: verses 10- 13
“And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias (Elijah) must FIRST come? And Jesus answered
and said unto them, Elias (Elijah) truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias (Elijah)
is COME ALREADY, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man
suffer of them. Then the disciples UNDERSTOOD that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.”
The scribes of Jesus' day taught that Elijah must come first. First means ONE TIME not TWO. Jesus said plainly
that Malachi's prophecy had already been fulfilled. That prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist. The disciples understood
exactly what Jesus said. Do you?
At the very least, anyone should be able to see and understand that Malachi's prophecy having already been fulfilled
is 'NO' grounds for proving Elias (Elijah) must come again and will be 'ONE 'of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11
As already stated there are other scriptures we could include but should not be necessary because anyone who
loves Jesus should KNOW that Jesus knew far more than 'all' the scribes of both then and now 'combined'.
Once more it all comes down to 'who have you chosen to believe' ?
Enoch should take much less time to eliminate as being one of the answers to our search.
Let's look at Heb: 11: 5 “By faith Enoch was translated (taken) that he should not
'see' (know) DEATH; and was not found, because God translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that
he pleased God.”
A short verse to be sure, even though we could write and talk about it for pages and pages and for hours and
hours. For the purpose of this study ,however , one only needs to understand one simple TRUTH. In verse 5, God tells us 'WHY'
he took Enoch. God tells us the WHY in 6 short and simple words. “That he should not see DEATH.” Almost as important
as what God did say is what this verse did 'NOT' say. This verse does NOT say “God took Enoch so Enoch could
come back a few thousand years later and see (know) physical DEATH”. If Enoch was taken by God so that he should NOT
'see' (taste or know) physical death only to come back later and taste of death, then the same would have to be true of all
believers who are taken ('raptured') at the end of this age. That's what someone would have to believe, if they believe Enoch
is to be one of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11
What right has anyone to change what God 'did' say into something God did 'NOT' say?
I'll answer that question by reminding you of God's promise in Rev. 22: 18 – 19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out
of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
We can continue forward with one simple reminder that has been stated earlier.
Our examination , of these 'three' most popular candidates as being God's Two Witnesses referred to in Rev. 11
, should have brought you to the conclusion that none of these three could be correct.
As I said before, there are more man made theories than you could shake a stick at so I'll cite here only a couple
of examples.
One in particular which comes to mind is “the TWO WITNESSES of Rev. 11 are in TRUTH only “representative
“of The OLD and The New Testament.”
I'm not certain but if memory serves me I believe this 'THEORY' originated with the Worldwide Church of God.
This can be seen for exactly what it is by reading Rev. 11: verse 11 - “And after 3 days and a half
the Spirit of God entered into them, and they stood upon their 'FEET'; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.”
I can NOT speak for you but as for me, I was never aware that the Old and New testaments even had feet. Were you?
Would you care to hear one more absurdity?
The most recent explanation as to 'WHO' these 'two' Witnesses are is as follows. They are, according to this
newly hatched theory, the Church and the nation of Israel. Their explanation begins by saying the TWO WITNESSES are not two
actual living people but are two 'CORPORATE ENTITES' . “Wow grandma, what big teeth (words) you have.” Two very
impressive sounding words to be sure but the catch is, they are not found in God's Word anywhere, especially in Rev. 11.
I fully expect for a new theory to be born in the minds of the 'WORD ADDERS' just any day now. Perhaps someone
of similar persuasions might teach that the 'truth' is, that the TWO WITNESSES of Rev. 11 are really Michael Jackson and Elvis
Presley. You might think I am saying this only in jest, well kinda, but I wouldn't be at all surprised.
Enough time spent on absurdities so now let us proceed onward to find out God's reason for his sending THE TWO
WITNESSES. As I stated in the beginning, God's 'why' for doing this is far 'MORE' important than 'who' they are.
WITNESSES OF RESURRECTED LIFE
Romans 10: 9 “That if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him (Jesus) from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Once more we find ourselves needing a simple one word description of what this verse speaks of. That one word
is simply (RESURRECTION)
That word means 'from death unto life'. For any and all who do NOT believe in the RESURRECTION, there can be
'no salvation'. Believing in 'THE RESURRECTION is a requirement set by God himself. How could anyone who refuses to believe
that God raised Jesus from the dead, believe God's promise to do the same for all believers? They can't.
To understand WHY God resurrects the TWO WITNESSES and does this in the view of the entire earth will become
obvious shortly. Be patient.
The answer to this question can be answered by turning to John 20: and beginning with
verse 29.
“Jesus said unto him, (Thomas) because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen,
and YET have believed.”
The first thing you need to see is Jesus made a distinction between those who believed only after they had seen
with their own eyes and those who would believe 'without' seeing.
Believed what? Believed that Jesus had been raised from the dead. (Resurrected) It's not hard to understand that
this is what Jesus is talking about. Thomas had been with Jesus for 3 and ½ years so it can NOT be that Thomas had never seen
Jesus. Both Jesus and Thomas are talking about 'after Jesus was raised from the dead' , RESURRECTED , if you please.
Thomas had made the statement “Unless I see it with my own eyes, I will NOT believe.”
Believing something God has said without seeing is not pleasing unto God because 'without faith it is impossible
to please God.” The word FAITH means believing without seeing. Equally as important is to remember that Thomas did end
up believing.
Using our generation for example, have we ever seen Jesus with our own eyes? Not very likely. We have taken God's
higher road. We have chosen to believe based solely on God's Word. Don't miss this important point.
Believing that God raised Jesus from the dead (the resurrection) only after you see is 'NOT' pleasing to God.
It is however true that in the days in which we live there are multitudes who do NOT believe God raised Jesus from the dead
because God had it written in his Word. Some will believe, but exactly like Thomas, only AFTER they witness a RESURRECTION
with their own eyes.
Now we are approaching the reason why God shows the entire world that He alone has the power over DEATH.
When God raises the TWO WITNESSES from death unto life and does this before the eyes of an unbelieving world,
it's to give one last chance to believe in 'THE RESURRECTION. What a merciful God we serve. If anyone ever ask you why God
raises the TWO WITNESSES from the dead you can just answer, The world's LAST CHANCE to be saved.
Will everyone who witnesses this event believe and call on Jesus? Sorry to say ALL will not.
Can you now understand what great lengths God will go, to save his creation of man?
For all who will not believe even after seeing with their own eyes there will remain NO HOPE.
In conclusion what exactly have we learned?
Hopefully we've learned that the reason WHY God does something is far more important than 'who' he uses in doing
it.
We have learned a few things regarding who they are not. We've also learned to beware of those who go
to extreme lengths to prove their man made theories.
We have also learned that whoever the TWO turn out to be, they must be two physical mortals and they must have
NEVER suffered physical death yet.
Remember back in the story of Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus Jesus spoke these words, “I AM the Resurrection,
and the life; (partial)
This is THE TRUTH that the TWO WITNESSES testify of. A warning is well in order here.
Anyone who's taken the time to read this rather lengthy article must still choose who they will believe. Some
might well respond by saying, like Thomas, I will believe it when I see. The problem with that is, the simple truth that none
of us have any guarantee of being still alive to witness this event. You might very well die in your sleep tonight. Your appointed
time to die may be before morning. If I were you, I would NOT take that chance. You can call on Jesus today and not ever have
to wonder again. You can choose to believe that God raised Jesus from the dead just because he said so.
If you would be willing to do that, not only will you have God's PROMISE for your salvation but will have also
the honor of pleasing the ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD, CREATOR OF ALL THINGS, and from this day forward you will have the greatest
privilege and honor any man could ever hope to have. You will now have the right and privilege of calling God 'your heavenly
Father'.
I pray that you make the right choice. Jesus bought and paid for your salvation with his very own blood. Your
eternity depends on your making the RIGHT choice. This is my prayer for ALL who have taken the time to read the words of this
article. May God's Spirit of Truth come upon you and that you will hear and obey his voice.
“The Spirit and the bride say, Come.”
Amen and Amen
