There is a lot of speculation as to who or what the two witnesses are, yet
again if one allows scripture to interpret itself, you should be able to discern
what or who they are.
Why two witnesses? God's law requires the testimony of at least two witnesses
before condemning a person to death (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15, Hebrews 10:28).
Before the end comes the world will be given one last opportunity to her the
true word of God and a last chance to accept it, and that is the job of the two
witnesses. They will prophecy for 3 1/2 years.
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
Revelation 11:3-11 "And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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."
The Apocalypse of Elijah 3:7-15 "Then when Elijah and Enoch hear that the shameless one has revealed himself in the holy place, they will come down and fight with him saying, Are you indeed not ashamed? When you attach yourself to the saints, because you are always estranged. you have been hostile to those who belong to heaven. you have acted against those belonging to the earth. You have been hostile to the thrones. you have acted against the angels. you are always a stranger. you have fallen from heaven like the morning stars. you were changed, and your tribe became dark for you. But you are not ashamed, when you stand firmly against God you are a devil. The shameless one will hear and he will be angry, and he will fight with them in the market place of the great city. And he will spend seven days fighting with them. And they will spend three and one half days in the market place dead, while all the people see them. But on the fourth day they will rise up and they will scold him saying. "O shameless one, O son of lawlessness. Are you indeed not ashamed of yourself since you are leading astray the people of God for whom you did not suffer? Do you not know that we live in the Lord?"
The Book of Jubilees 4:23-36 "And he ( Enoch) was taken from amongst the children of men, and we conducted him into the Garden of Eden in majesty and honour, and behold there he writes down the condemnation and judgment of the world, and all the wickedness of the children of men. And on account of it (God) brought the waters of the flood upon all the land of Eden; for there he was set as a sign and that he should testify against all the children of men, that he should recount all the deeds of the generations until the day of condemnation. And he burnt the incense of the sanctuary, (even) sweet spices acceptable before the Lord on the Mount. For the Lord has four places on the earth, the Garden of Eden, and the Mount of the East, and this mountain on which thou art this day, Mount Sinai, and Mount Zion (which) will be sanctified in the new creation for a sanctification of the earth; through it will the earth be sanctified from all (its) guilt and its uncleanness through- out the generations of the world."
The two witnesses show up after the second woe has past, after the
tribulations have already begun, clothed in sackcloth, if any man will hurt
them, fire proceeds out of their mouth. When they shall have finished their
testimony the beast shall make war against them and kill them. And their dead
bodies shall lie in the street of the great city for precisely 3½ days, and all
people and nations shall see their dead bodies and shall not allow bodies to be
buried. And after 3½ days
the spirit of life from God revives them, causing great fear upon the earth. And they
ascend up to heaven in
a cloud.
It couldn't be any clearer, these are
physical beings.
Who they are can only be speculation since scripture does not say in
definitive terms. I can only share my thoughts as to who they are, and
how I have arrived at it.
For the wages of sin are death, and all have sinned. Yet! There are two
prophets who did not die. According to scripture, both Enoch and Elijah were
taken away from the earth, it does not say the died.
Genesis 5:24 "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him."
2 Kings 2:11-12 "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces."
Hebrews 11:5 "By faith Enoch was translated G3346 that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated G3346 him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God."
Jubilees 10:17 "And in his life on earth he excelled the children of men save Enoch because of the righteousness, wherein he was perfect. For Enoch's office was ordained for a testimony to the generations of the world, so that he should recount all the deeds of generation unto generation, till the day of judgment."
G3346
= met-at-ith'-ay-meeBoth Enoch and Elijah were translated ("change of place" "put
in another place") from the earth (Genesis 5:21-24; 2 Kings 2:1, 9-12), yet
scriptures teach that everyone has to die once (Hebrews 9:27). Could it be that
the Lord chose them to be his end time witnesses (prophets) and that their
deaths were put on hold?
Zechariah 4:11-14 "Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves? And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the LORD of the whole earth."
Could those two have been anointed and stand with the Lord?.
Scripture does speak of more than one Elijah to come, but only the first and
last have miracles / powers recorded, which ties them together.
1st Elijah
Several years after Elisha picked up the mantle that Elijah dropped, the following passages confirm that Elijah was still alive, even though the mantle was in Elisha's hands:
(2 Chronicles 21:5) " Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem…"
(2 Chronicles 21:12-15) "And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the Lord God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction your children, your wives, and all your possessions; and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day."
2nd Elijah
Also according to scripture, Elijah is referred to as a voice from the wilderness, would come again:
(Isaiah 40:3) " The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God."
(John 1:19, 23) Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”… He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:’ Make straight the way of the Lord,”‘ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
(Matthew 17:12-13) " But I [Jesus] say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands.” Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist."
And Jesus told yet of another Elijah to come after Him:
3rd Elijah
The Elijah to come at the very end of the Church age will have the same powers as the first Elijah of 2 Kings:
(Matthew 17:11) Jesus answered and said to them, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.”
(Malachi 4:5-6) "See, I am sending you Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord comes, that great day, greatly to be feared. And by him the hearts of fathers will be turned to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers; for fear that I may come and put the earth under a curse."
Hippolytus of Rome in the third century felt it was literally the
original Elijah coming again:
(Hipploytus, Treatise on Christ and the Antichrist 43-47) "…Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For he says, “And one week will make 96 a covenant with many, and it shall be that in the midst (half) of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall cease.” 97 By one week, therefore, he meant the last week which is to be at the end of the whole world of which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias [Catholics often use the Latinized form of Elijah, called Elias] will take up the half. For they will preach 1, 260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the nations...He says by Malachi and the angel, 103 “I will send to you Elias the Tishbite before the day of the Lord, the great and notable day, comes; and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, lest I come and smite the earth utterly.” 104 These, then, shall come and proclaim the manifestation of Christ that is to be from heaven; and they shall also perform signs and wonders, in order that men may be put to shame and turned to repentance for their surpassing wickedness and impiety...For John says, “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” 105 That is the half of the week whereof Daniel spake. “These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouth, and devour their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. 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. And when they shall have finished their course and their testimony,” what saith the prophet? “the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them,"
So is Elijah to come just prior to the Messiahs return the same as the first? Be glade it is not a salvational issue.