The Two Witnesses of Revelation

In the 11th chapter of the book of Revelation, two mysterious witnesses are introduced. (Revelation 11:3-6) Who are these “who witnesses” that God empowers at the end of time to do his bidding? Some believe that Elijah and Enoch, who were miraculously “taken away” by God (2 Kings 2:11; Genesis 5:24; Hebrews 11:5) will return from heaven to prophesy for three and a half years. Others think that it will be Elijah who stopped the rain in Israel for three and a half years (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17) and Moses who turned water to blood and brought plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7-12) will antagonize the Beast during the 42 months of his reign. Some religious institutions believe that the two witnesses will be called from within the ranks of their ministry to perform this task. Another theory is that the Old Testament and the New Testament symbolically represent these two witnesses. But the most popular theory is that the two witnesses are the two houses of Israel which are made up by the 144,000. This is the theory that is discussed.

One very important key to understanding biblical prophecy is to let the Bible explain itself. There are clues to the identity of these two witnesses, but one has to find and recognize them. First, look at their clothing as described in the Bible. They are dressed in sackcloth. In Isaiah 22:12, Jeremiah 6:26, and Lamentations 2:10, sackcloth is clearly described as a sign of mourning. Thus, these two witnesses are officially in mourning. What they are mourning about is described later.

Second, look at the role these witnesses play in the book of Revelation. A witness is a person who has seen or knows something, and is therefore capable of giving evidence about it. There are several passages that explain the ro...

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...nts a called out group of people. This symbolism fits in perfectly with House of Judah and the House of Israel who were called out of Egypt and to be God’s people.

These two houses can be seen in the 144,000 sealed tribe members. These 144,000 servant s will form the two witnesses. One question that arises is, why is the tribe of Dan missing? In Genesis 49, Israel gives deathbed prophecies to all his sons regarding their fate in the “last days.” The prophecy for the tribe of Dan explains the reason why he is not included as part of the two witnesses. (Genesis 49:16) Since one cannot be both a witness and a judge in a matter, Dan was chosen to be the judge in the endtime situation.

As one can see, this is an interesting theory that has biblical support. It is great to start to see all of the Bible used in this theory. Eventually, one will know which theory is correct.