Who are the two witnesses in Revelation?

Who are the two witnesses in Revelation?

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The Bible does not explicitly name the two witnesses in the Book of Revelation (chapter 11), leading to a variety of interpretations among theologians. The most common theories identify them as Moses and Elijah, Enoch and Elijah, or a symbolic representation of the church or scripture. 

Prominent interpretations

Moses and Elijah

This is a widely supported view, primarily due to the parallels between the witnesses' supernatural powers and those of Moses and Elijah. 

Miraculous powers: The witnesses have the power to turn water into blood and strike the earth with plagues, similar to Moses' actions during the Exodus. They can also withhold rain, an ability famously demonstrated by Elijah.

Transfiguration account: Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus during his transfiguration, where they discussed his death and resurrection, foreshadowing their end-time ministry.

Law and prophets: Together, they can be seen as representing the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah), validating Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament. 

Enoch and Elijah

Some early Church Fathers, including Hippolytus of Rome, identified the two witnesses as Enoch and Elijah. 

Did not experience death: The foundation of this theory is the belief that neither Enoch nor Elijah ever died. The Book of Genesis says Enoch "walked with God, and he was no more," and the Book of Kings describes Elijah being taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. According to this view, they must return to earth to experience death, as "it is appointed for man to die once" (Hebrews 9:27). 

Symbolic interpretation

Others suggest the witnesses are not literal individuals but rather represent a larger entity.

The Church: This perspective views the two witnesses as a symbol for the faithful church, which witnesses for God through its preaching and martyrdom. This is supported by Revelation calling the witnesses "two lampstands," a symbol used in Revelation 1:20 to refer to the churches.

The Old and New Testaments: Another symbolic view sees the witnesses as representing the Law and the Gospel, or the Old and New Testaments. Their 1,260 days of prophesying is seen as the period where the truth of scripture was repressed, culminating in a public rejection. 

The Witnesses' ministry in Revelation 11

Regardless of their exact identity, the biblical text describes the role of the two witnesses clearly: 

Duration: They will prophesy for 1,260 days (or three and a half years) while wearing sackcloth, which symbolizes mourning and repentance.

Location: They will perform their ministry in Jerusalem, in the "great city...where also our Lord was crucified".

Death and resurrection: After they complete their testimony, they will be killed by the "beast that comes up out of the abyss." Their bodies will lie in the street for three and a half days as the world celebrates. After that time, they are resurrected and ascend to heaven in a cloud. 

Part 2 from https://www.gotquestions.org/two-witnesses.html

In Revelation 11:3–12 is a description of two individuals who will help accomplish God’s work during the tribulation: “I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth” (verse 3). Nowhere does the Bible identify these two witnesses by name, although people through the years have speculated.

The two witnesses in Revelation will have miraculous powers to accompany their message (Revelation 11:6), and no one will be able to stop them in their work (verse 5). At the end of their ministry, when they have said all they need to say, the beast will kill them and the wicked world will rejoice, allowing the bodies of the fallen prophets to lie in the streets (verses 7–10). Three and a half days later, however, God’s two witnesses will be resurrected and, in full view of their enemies, ascend to heaven (verses 11–12).

There are three primary theories on the identity of the two witnesses in Revelation: (1) Moses and Elijah, (2) Enoch and Elijah, and (3) two unknown believers whom God calls to be His witnesses in the end times.

(1) Moses and Elijah are seen as possibilities for the two witnesses due to the specific miracles that John says the witnesses will perform. The witnesses will have the power to turn water into blood (Revelation 11:6), which duplicates a famous miracle of Moses (Exodus 7). And the witnesses will have the power to destroy their enemies with fire (Revelation 11:5), which corresponds to an event in Elijah’s life (2 Kings 1). Also giving strength to this view is the fact that Moses and Elijah both appeared with Jesus at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3–4). Further, Jewish tradition expects Moses and Elijah to return, based on the prophecy of Elijah’s coming in Malachi 4:5 and God’s promise to raise up a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18), which some Jews believe necessitates Moses’ return.

(2) Enoch and Elijah are seen as possibilities for the two witnesses because of the unique circumstances surrounding their exit from the world. Enoch and Elijah, as far as we know, are the only two individuals whom God has taken directly to heaven without experiencing death (Genesis 5:23; 2 Kings 2:11). Proponents of this view point to Hebrews 9:27, which says that all men are appointed to die once. The fact that neither Enoch nor Elijah has yet experienced death seems to qualify them for the job of the two witnesses, who will be killed when their job is done. In addition, both Enoch and Elijah were prophets who pronounced God’s judgment (1 Kings 17:1; Jude 1:14–15).

(3) Two unknowns are seen as possibilities for the two witnesses because of the lack of specificity in Revelation 11. Scripture does not identify the two witnesses by name, and no well-known person is associated with their coming. God is perfectly capable of taking two “ordinary” believers and enabling them to perform the same signs and wonders that Moses and Elijah did. There is nothing in Revelation 11 that requires us to assume a “famous” identity for the two witnesses.

There is an interesting passage in Zechariah 4 that gives us a prototype of the two witnesses of Revelation. Zechariah has a vision in which he sees a solid gold lampstand. On top is a bowl of oil, and an olive tree stands on each side (verses 3–4). The lampstand gives its light without human maintenance, being constantly supplied by the olive oil flowing from the trees into the bowl. God’s message to Zechariah was that God’s work (rebuilding the temple) would be accomplished “not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit” (verse 6).

Zechariah asks about the meaning of the olive trees and the branches supplying the oil, and the angel who speaks to him says, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:14, ESV). In other words, God’s power to sustain His work is flowing through two individuals set apart for the task. In Zechariah’s context, these two individuals are Joshua (the current high priest) and Zerubbabel (the current governor of Judah). We can also see a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ here, as the Messiah would combine the offices of priest and king. Then we come to Revelation 11:4. In the description of the two witnesses, John says, “They are ‘the two olive trees’ and the two lampstands, and ‘they stand before the Lord of the earth.’” John quotes from Zechariah 4. The two witnesses of Revelation, like Joshua and Zerubbabel, will have God’s power flowing through them to accomplish God’s work.

So who are the two witnesses of Revelation? The Bible does not say. All three views presented above are valid and plausible interpretations that Christians can have. The identity of the two witnesses is not an issue Christians should be dogmatic about.