It is written in Rev 11:3-12: And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. 4These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. 5 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. 6 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. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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. 11 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. 12 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 .
According to the scriptures above which will be fulfilled during the days of tribulation that is to come upon the whole world to try them that dwell on the earth in those days, we clearly understand that there will be two prophets of judgment that will be sent by God in those days. These two prophets will be empowered by the Holy Ghost to prophesy for 1260 days (about 3 ½ years). They will be given power to shut up heaven and smite the earth with many plagues because of sin and wickedness. There will be so much deception (Matt 24:4, 24-25) and apostasy at that time that God had already chosen for Himself two prophets who are currently in heaven to witness for Him on the earth in those days. These two prophets are called God's witnesses in Rev 11:3. They are also called the two olive trees, and two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth in Rev 11:4. These two olive trees are also mentioned in Zech 4:11-14 where they are called the anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. This clearly means that they are currently in heaven, for it is written that they stand by the Lord of the whole earth who we know is in heaven (Matt 6:9).
These two prophets shall prophesy at least 42 months before the Great Tribulation (Daniel's 70 th week) during which days the city of Jerusalem will be as Sodom (Rev 11:8) indicating that sin will be rife in the city and many parts of the world. For this reason, these prophets shall torment the earth in those days. They will be the instruments by which God shall reveal His judgments upon the earth by sending some of the plagues written in the Book of Revelation. Life will be terribly hard in those days for it is the hour of trial for the world and they that dwell in them. This is why it is written in Rev 11:10 that the people on the earth shall rejoice when these two prophets are killed by the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit. They will rejoice because these prophets tormented the earth with their prophecies causing many plagues to come upon it. But yet their rejoicing shall not last, for these prophets shall be resurrected after 3 ½ days and shall ascend into heaven in the presence of their enemies (Rev 11:12). This is another literal rapture! Praise God!
The beast out of the bottomless pit (abyss) that will make war with these two prophets is a satanic angel and not a human spirit of some dead man. Only angels are confined to the abyss. The abyss is the abode of demons and some angelic beings. No human soul and spirit ever go there (Luke 8:26-31; Rom. 10:7; Rev. 9:1-3, 11, 11:7; 17:8; 20:1-10). This angel from the abyss does not incarnate himself in the human antichrist, but merely uses him as a tool to revive the 5 th or ancient Grecian kingdom as the last kingdom of the Gentiles before the second coming of Christ. This last kingdom of the Gentiles is the antichrist's kingdom and this satanic angel is the principality over that kingdom. He is the prince of Grecia mentioned in Dan 10:20 who overthrew the prince of Persia mentioned in Dan 10:13 & 20. This satanic principality ruled the old Grecian Empire, the 5 th of the five kingdoms that had fallen before John's day as written in Rev 17:10. When his kingdom fell, he was confined to the abyss where he remained during the 6 th kingdom (the Roman Empire, which was the one in existence in John's day) and where he has been ever since. He will be confined to the abyss until the ten-toed kingdoms are formed inside the old Roman Empire territories (Rev 17:12-14). At that time, he will be loosed from the abyss to use the antichrist to revive the old Grecian kingdom. This is also as written in Joel 3:6. This is why it is written concerning this satanic angel in Rev 17:8 that he was (had existed on earth before John's day), and is not (on the earth in John's day), and shall ascend out of the abyss and go into perdition.
So then, who are these two prophets? Are they revealed from the word of God? Listed below are some truths about them. These truths also reveal their identities
They are two men, not covenants, dispensations, etc (Rev 11:3, 7-12)
They are Christ's witnesses, again implying that they are men (Rev 11:3)
They will be given power in the future. Since they are currently in heaven, this power will be given them when they come back to the earth (Rev 11:3).
They will be prophets (Rev 11:10)
They will prophesy for 42 months or 1260 days or at least 3 ½ years before the Great Tribulation (Rev 11:2-3: 12:6, 14; 13:5, Dan 7:25; 12:7)
They will be clothed in sackcloth (Rev 11:3)
They are symbolized by the two olive trees and two candlesticks which stand before God (Rev 11:4; Zech 4:11-14)
They were already in heaven when Zechariah the prophet prophesied, about 500 years before Christ (Zech 4:11-14).
John saw them in heaven about 96 A.D., so whoever they are, they are probably two men translated to reside in heaven at least 500 years before Christ (Rev 11:4; Zech 4:11-14; Mal 4:5-6). This will exclude John the Baptist, John the Apostle, and every other man that lived on earth after 500 B.C.
They will be invincible for the 3 ½ years of their ministry (Rev 11:5-7)
They will have power to destroy their enemies (Rev 11:5)
They will be able to cause fire to come out of their mouths to devour their enemies (Rev 11:5)
They will have power to shut up the heavens (Rev 11:6)
They will have power to turn the water to blood and smite the earth with plagues as often as they will (Rev 11:6)
When the 1260-day ministry is finished the supernatural angelic spirit out of the abyss will use the human Antichrist to kill them (Rev 11:7)
Since it is appointed unto men once to die (Heb 9:27), it is certain that they are two men who have never died so that they can die at the hands of the antichrist in the future. This excludes Moses or any other man who has already died
They will remain dead for 3 ½ days and then be resurrected (Rev 11:8-11). This further proves that they are two men who have never died and that they will neither be resurrected nor immortal when they come from heaven to begin their ministry.
With all these truths as listed above, there would seem to be only two men in the Scriptures who could fulfill these facts about the two witnesses. They are Enoch and Elijah. That Elijah will be one of them is clearly prophesied in Mal 4:5-6. John the Baptist was never Elijah, fulfilling this prophecy. John himself said he was not Elijah. This is clearly written in John 1:21. He only came in the same spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the hearts of men for the Messiah's first advent in the way that Elijah the prophet will prepare their hearts for the second coming of the Messiah before the day of the Lord (Luke 1:17). Enoch is the only other man translated that he should not see death in his lifetime on earth (Gen 5:21-24; Heb 11:5; 2 Kings 2). Both Enoch and Elijah were prophets of judgment (Jude 14-15, 1 Kings 17:-18). If either Enoch or Elijah had been translated in immortal, glorified bodies, they would have been the first-fruits of the resurrection instead of Christ (1 Corinth 15:20-23), and they would not have been able to suffer physical death again as written in Rev 11:7 that they were killed. This suggests that they are currently in heaven in their natural bodies where they will continue to live until their return to the earth in the future to fulfill what is written concerning them.
Having received these words, we exhort you all to watch and pray always, for the coming of the Lord is at the doors. Remain holy and pure in all things and abstain from every appearance of evil. Grace be to you all. Maranatha.
