Introducing the Two Witnesses

Revelation 11:1-6

John gives another prophetic intermission.

As he did in Rev 7:1-8:1, John gives us another prophetic intermission in Rev 10:1-11:14 between the sixth and seventh trumpet judgments. The first part of this intermission portrays an electrifying buildup to the upcoming bowl judgments and the soon, climactic end of the Tribulation. It also emphasized the bittersweet nature of God’s judgment; it is immensely exhilarating for God’s people yet incredibly painful for those who reject him.

This final part of the intermission shifts attention from the world at large to the city of Jerusalem in particular and the temple that will be there. It also shifts John’s focus from the strong angel of Rev 10:1-11 to two extraordinary men whom God calls his witnesses.

What John describes in Rev 11:1-14 does not necessarily occur between the sixth and seventh trumpets, but rather describes certain details about the second half of the Tribulation in particular. Since John never tells us which judgments happen in the first half of the Tribulation and which ones happen in the second half, we can only conjecture.

John measures the Temple in Jerusalem (Rev 11:1-2).

John opens this section of the intermission with a new task he was given by God through an angel, presumably the same strong angel which gave him the little scroll (cf. Rev 10:11). This task required John to measure something with a reed, which was a narrow, hollow stalk plant that grew in the Jordan valley (Rev 11:1). People would use these stalks as both walking and measuring sticks because they were lightweight and sturdy.

What was John told to measure? “The temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there” (Rev 11:1). Some suggest that this temple refers to God’s heavenly temple, but this suggestion is not compatible with the description that follows, which describes the outer part as being relegated to the insurgent, unbelieving Gentiles and which associates the temple with Jerusalem (Rev 11:2). (Scripture frequently describes Jerusalem as “the holy city,” e.g., Neh. 11:1, 18; Isa. 48:2; 52:1; Dan. 9:24; Matt. 4:5; 27:53.

This temple refers to an actual temple that the Jews will rebuild either before or at the start of the Tribulation when they restore Temple worship and resume offering sacrifices according to OT norms.

Here John focuses not on the entire temple complex, but on the central, primary zones of the temple instead, where he “measures out” three things (Rev 11:1):

• “the temple,”  which is the structure containing both the Holy Place (with its table of shewbread, a golden lampstand, and an altar of incense) and the Holiest Place (with the Ark of the Covenant)
• “the altar,” which is a reference to the surrounding courtyard with the brazen altar reserved for Jewish worshipers
• the worshipers themselves

John excludes “the court which is outside the temple” because of its association with unbelieving, pagan Gentiles who will wreak havoc in Jerusalem (“the holy city”) for forty-two months (Rev 11:3). This was an outer courtyard area where Gentiles were permitted to enter and was separated from the worship area by a stone wall.

Why would John measure these things and people? Neither he, God, nor the angel seem interested in measuring the physical dimensions of the temple or counting the number of worshipers since no such calculations are given. Instead, John measures out these things to designate them as belonging to God in a special way and for receiving special treatment from God. It’s as if God John were placing “God’s property” and “no trespassing” signs around the perimeter of this part of the temple and the people who belonged there. The future millennial temple received similar treatment from Ezekiel (Ezek 40) and an angel will measure the future New Jerusalem in a similar way as well later in Revelation (Rev 21:15-17). (See also Zech 2:1-5.)

By measuring this space, John was establishing God’s distinction between Jews who will turn to God in true worship during the Tribulation and the unbelieving Gentiles who will persecute them.

John focuses on the second half of the Tribulation. (11:2-3)

Why is this positive affirmation necessary? Because during the first half of the Tribulation, the final week (seven years) of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy, the antichrist will enable the Jewish people to resume worship at the Temple (Dan 9:27). This will be a remarkable feat since the Temple area is currently occupied by two Islamic structures including the Dome of the Rock. Somehow the antichrist will overcome this conflict.

Halfway through these seven years, however, the antichrist will end this arrangement by refusing to allow Jews to offer their sacrifices and offerings any longer (Dan 9:27). He will set up an image of himself to be worshiped in the temple rather than God, instead, placing himself in direct opposition to believing Israel, whom he will persecute intensively for “a time, times, and half a time,” a reference to three-and-a-half years (Dan 7:25; 12:11). John refers to a similar timeframe with “forty-two months” and “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Rev 11:2-3).

John introduces us to two extraordinary witnesses.

During this period of intense persecution directed at believing Israel (the second half of the Tribulation), God will commission two extraordinary men as his “witnesses” (Rev 11:3).

They will preach judgment.

Like the prophets of the Old Testament (OT), they will call for repentance, offering God’s salvation, and they will also predict God’s judgment for those who refuse to repent. Being “clothed in sackcloth” identifies these men as bringing a message of doom and judgment. Sackcloth was a coarse, heavy, and uncomfortable material that people wore when they were experiencing or expressing significant distress or sorrow of some kind.

They will represent God’s justice.

Why will there be two witnesses rather than one? Though John doesn’t explicitly answer this question, justice normally requires at least two eyewitnesses to establish a guilty verdict in a just legal system (cf. Num 35:30; Deut 17:6; 19:15; 2 Cor 13:1). These two men would serve as God’s witnesses for three and a half years, before the final verdict and consummation of his judgment on the unbelieving world.

They will lead in a revival of faith in Israel.

John goes on to describe these men as “two olive trees” and “two lampstands standing before the God of the earth” (Rev 11:4). This unique description distinctively resembles the same kind of description of two other men in Israel at the end of the OT, named Joshua, a high priest, and Zerubbabel (Zech 3:1-4:13). In this prophecy, Zechariah portrayed these men as “anointed ones” who were specially sanctioned by God and empowered by the Spirit. It was their role to prepare the way for a revival of faith in God and genuine worship in Israel. Though the two witnesses in the Tribulation will preach judgment to the pagan world, they will also have this role – to lead Israel in a nationwide revival of faith and worship to God during a period of intense persecution.

They will receive some extraordinary abilities.

To ensure the success of these two witnesses, God will grant them some special abilities. They’ll be able to produce fire with their mouths. This may refer to breathing out fire from their mouths (like a fire-breathing dragon), or it may also refer to calling for fire with their mouths (as in “calling down fire from heaven”). They’ll also be able to hold back the rain, turn water to blood, and initiate plagues. John adds that they’ll be able to do these things as frequently as they choose for the entire second half of the Tribulation.

What is the purpose of these abilities? John says that they will be able to invoke these things to consume, devour, and destroy anyone who attempts to harm or punish them. This will be a time of intense persecution for believing Israel, but these two men will become the focal point of this persecution and will be able to defend themselves by these extraordinary means.

Do we know who they are?

Who are these witnesses? As with many other cases of ambiguous identities in Revelation, John doesn’t give us any names. From this silence, we can conclude that their identities are not important to the purpose of this book – to encourage us to persevere as followers of Christ.

Some people suggest that these two men will be Enoch and Elijah. They make this claim based upon the shared fact that both seem to have gone on to heaven without dying (Gen. 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11). Though this is an interesting phenomenon, it offers no solid connection to these two Tribulation witnesses. Scripture nowhere makes “not dying” a part of their identity.

Some believe that Mal 4:5 predicts that Elijah will certainly be one of these witnesses, yet Christ seemed to teach his disciples that John the Baptist fulfilled that prophecy instead (Matt 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13; cf. Luke 1:17). It’s worth pointing out that God said this Elijah would come “before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD,” but he doesn’t say immediately before, so in that sense, John the Baptist certainly qualities.

Others suggest that these witnesses will be Moses and Elijah, two major OT prophets. This seems possible (even likely) since both appeared with Christ at his transfiguration (Matt 17:2-3). To further support this view, they will point out how the special abilities of these two witnesses resemble the abilities God gave to these men in history.

• Moses turned the waters of the Nile River to blood (Exo 7:17-21) and announced the other plagues that would come on Egypt as well (Exo 7-12).
• Elijah announced a three-and-a-half-year drought in Israel (1 Ki 17:1; Jam 5:17) and called down fire from heaven on his enemies (2 Ki 1:10, 12).

So who are these two witnesses? Are they Moses and Elijah? The simple answer is – we don’t know. And even if we did, what would that change about John’s message and his encouragement to persevere through our own difficulties as believers today.

They may also be Joshua and Zerubbabel mentioned in Zechariah, for instance. Though I’m not aware of anyone who’s suggested this, it’s not an entirely crazy idea since John alludes to their similar ministry in the immediate context. To those who would say, “Well, it can’t be them because they already died,” I would answer that where does the Scripture tell us that these must be men from history who haven’t died yet? Nowhere. Furthermore, it’s not impossible for God to bring back someone from the dead. Consider Lazarus, for instance, who died and was buried, but whom Christ resurrected from the grave. He went on to live again for a while before dying again.

Though these two witnesses might be Moses and Elijah, they may just as easily be two other unnamed men whom God will appoint as his anointed and empowered messengers with extraordinary abilities to defend themselves. The key here is to come back to what the Bible clearly says and avoid speculation, even if that speculation includes Jewish rabbinic theories and connections made by popular Bible teachers. If the Bible doesn’t make the connection, we shouldn’t either. We should focus on what the text actually says and let that message speak God’s truth to our hearts.

Key Takeaways

The God of the past is the God of the future.

Sometimes we look back longingly (or jealously) to the past. On one hand, we don’t want to offer animal sacrifices or get stoned for disobeying our parents, but on the other hand, we’d really like to see God part the Red Sea or defeat the city of Jericho with a miracle. As prophetic look at the Tribulation like what John gives us in Rev 11:1-6 reminds us that what God has done in the past he will also do in the future. Just as he sent influential witnesses into the world, like Moses and Elijah, and accomplished extraordinary things through them on behalf of his people (and against their ungodly foes), so he will do in the Tribulation. God is not weaker today than before; he’s only being longsuffering instead.

Evangelism is always important, even in the darkest times.

This second half of the Tribulation will feature an insurgence of unparalleled persecution against God’s people. This persecution will be so intense that God will provide his people with a hiding place in the wilderness to protect them from destruction (Rev 13:6). Even in such a time, when God’s people must go into hiding, he will provide witnesses for Christ and equip them with such abilities that they will be indestructible. Even then, God will not allow the world to go without a witness.

Today, we neither experience this degree of persecution, nor do we enjoy such extraordinary powers. Even so, we have received a commission from Christ and empowerment by the Spirit to “be witnesses unto him” throughout the world (Acts 1:8) until he removes us from the Earth and sets this final stage of his plan in motion “to restore the kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6). As we do, we have his assurance that he is “with us always, even until the end of this age” (Matt 28:20).