The Two Witnesses

Revelation 11:1-14

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.

The second half of this intermission, now, shifts attention from the world at large to the city of Jerusalem in particular and the temple that will be rebuilt there. It teaches us that God will protect those who turn to him in genuine worship.

God will raise up two extraordinary men. (Rev 11:3-6)

This section of the intermission also shifts John’s focus from the strong angel of Rev 10:1-11 to two extraordinary men whom God calls his witnesses. Though we may guess at specific identities for these men (such as Enoch, Moses, Elijah, or John the Baptist), we simply do not know whether they will be men who return from the past or new men whom we’ve never encountered before.

What matters is not who they are but what assigns and enables them to do for three-and-a-half years. At a time when the persecution of God’s people will reach its zenith, these two men will (1) preach judgment, (2) represent God’s justice, (3) lead in a revival of faith in Israel, and (4) receive some extraordinary abilities. They’ll be able to defend themselves against mistreatment by: (1) producing fire with their mouths, (2) holding back the rain, (3) turning water to blood, and (4) initiating plagues. Such abilities will resemble abilities given previously to Moses and Elijah, though on a greater scale.

The antichrist will kill these two men. (Rev 11:7-10)

Though these two extraordinary witnesses will be able to defend themselves against anyone who desires to kill them, God will withdraw this ability when their assignment comes to an end (“when they finish their testimony”). John describes this moment as the result of a threefold progression in which a powerful figure will (1) fight against them, (2) defeat them, (3) and then kill them. This extended campaign indicates that they will not go down without a fight, so their defeat will be the result of a drawn-out affair. Yet they will be killed in the end.

Who is this powerful figure that will defeat them? John describes him as “the beast which ascends out of the bottomless pit.” The word beast portrays a carnivorous animal, like a lion or panther, that stalks its prey and kills it violently. The primary account of him appears in Rev 13 and he appears prominently after that until his climactic end (Rev 20:10).

• Some suggest that John is referring to Satan, but this is unlikely since he portrays Satan as a dragon instead (Rev 12:3, 9).
• A more likely answer is that this beast refers to the antichrist, a powerful world ruler who will take international leadership during the Tribulation. He himself will suffer a life-threatening, physical wound (Rev 13:2, 9). It’s also instructive to know that the Old Testament (OT) prophetic book of Daniel also uses the word beast world empires and rulers who oppose God’s people and plan (cf., Dan 7:17-18, 23-27).

Buist Fanning gives a helpful explanation of what “ascending from the bottomless pit” conveys.[1] He says:

This human figure is said to ‘come up from the bottomless pit’ because his rise to prominence and exercise of power is under Satan’s control.

So his ascent is a reference to his rise to prominence rather than his personal origins. He will be a human being and a powerful world ruler whose rise to power and political initiatives will be empowered by Satan and guided by the deepest counsels of hell.

When the antichrist succeeds at killing the two witnesses, he will humiliate them by leaving their dead bodies to lie exposed in the street, denying them a proper burial. In Middle Eastern culture, treating a dead body this way is a great (perhaps the greatest) insult against a person’s reputation. In this case, it demonstrates the antichrist’s deep-seated contempt and repudiation of not only these two men but of their message and the God who sent them.

John also tells us that their demise will occur in a “great city” which is “spiritually called Sodom and Egypt.”From this, we recognize that this will be a prominent city, not an obscure location. We also see that though the names Sodom and Egypt are given, these are not the actual names of the city. By using the word spiritually, John wants us to understand how God has viewed the spiritual character of this city, despite its greatness.

• The OT prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah accused the people of Jerusalem in particular and Israel at large (Jerusalem was the cultural, political, and religious center of Israel) of being like Sodom, an ancient city known for its immoral behavior (Isa 1:9-10; 3:9; Jer 23:14).
• Then the OT prophet Ezekiel accused the people of Israel of resembling Egypt by worshiping other gods (Ezek 20:7-8; 23:27).

So, with these two figurative allusions, John reminds us that this great city, both ancient and modern, have been idolatrous and immoral. Then he pinpoints this city with one more historical reference, “where also our Lord was crucified” (Rev 11:8). This is none other than the city of Jerusalem.

John expands his perspective in Rev 11:9-10 from how the antichrist will treat these two witnesses when they die to how the people of the world will treat them. That “peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days” indicates that the world will be paying close attention to the events in Jerusalem at this time. When the antichrist kills the two witnesses, the moment will make immediate headline news and receive close, worldwide attention. Yet despite this widespread attention, no one will attempt to alleviate their shame by burying them. In fact, people will celebrate their deaths as a worldwide holiday and even exchange gifts with one another like at Christmas.

This childish, twisted response will reveal the fallen, rebellious condition of mankind’s heart. They’ll view God’s messengers as enemies and refuse to repent. This will not even be an ambivalent response that’s unwilling to commit to one side or another. It will be a response that willfully and wholeheartedly disregards God and his message to the world.

God will resurrect these two men. (Rev 11:11-13)

This celebration will be short-lived because God will restore these two men to life again after three-and-a-half days. This particular timeframe will bear a striking resemblance to the death and resurrection of Christ, making their association with Christ unmistakable.

John tells us that when these men return to life and stand up, the people who are watching them will swing quickly from jubilant celebration to “great fear,” which may be described as feelings of horror, panic, and terror.

However, after they resurrect there will be an audible voice from heaven calling them upward. After this voice is heard, the two men will ascend into the clouds similar to how Christ ascended following his resurrection and people will see this happen (Acts 1:9).

What happens next will be both tragic and triumphant. Regarding tragedy, a powerful, local earthquake will occur in Jerusalem, destroying one-tenth of the city’s infrastructure and killing seven-thousand residents.

On the flip side of things, triumphant results will also occur as what appears to be the remainder of the city’s residents will turn from fear to God in faith, as John says they “gave glory to the God of heaven” (Rev 11:13).

• “Giving glory to God” is a positive, genuine thing that angels do towards God in the heavenly throne room (Rev 4:9).
• In later Tribulation judgments, John equates “giving glory to God” with genuine repentance (Rev 16:9).
• John also uses “giving glory to God” to describe how believing people respond to God’s final, ultimate deliverance from evil (Rev 19:7).

Furthermore, this response of “giving glory to God” stands in stark contrast to how people will have responded to God’s judgments previously in the Tribulation, as when they refused to repent following the sixth trumpet judgment (Rev 9:20-21). This turning-point moment may even refer to that future day when all Israel will finally turn to Christ as Messiah (cf. Rom 11:26).

Following this encouraging development, John resumes his description of the seven trumpet judgments (and the three woes), as he will now describe the final trumpet judgment and woe in the verses that follow (Rev 11:14).

Key Takeaways

What can we learn from this preview of future events?

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).

Even God’s faithful witnesses may suffer and die.

After all, if these two faithful witnesses at such an extraordinary time, with such extraordinary abilities that prevent them from dying, will die after three-and-a-half years of service, should we expect any better?

Christ’s forerunner at his first coming was no different. Though he had fulfilled his role faithfully, announcing the coming of Christ and calling for repentance and faith, he was eventually beheaded by the wicked king Herod (Mark 6:27-28).

And let’s not forget the most extraordinary example of all time, whose suffering and death John specifically mentions in this passage, keeping us true to our Christ-centered interpretation of Revelation. The Lord himself who holds the power of life and death in his hands, the Lion of Judah, willingly died as our sacrificial Lamb in the very city where the two witnesses will be killed. If Christ himself suffered and died, we should expect no better.

Though we don’t possess the supernatural, superhuman abilities that God will give to his two leading Tribulation witnesses, we can rest assured that we hold two things in common.
One, we should expect to receive persecution just as they also did if we live as godly, faithful followers of Christ (2 Tim 3:12).

Two, we will die when God chooses, no matter who we are and whatever we may suffer.
George Whitfield, the well-known preacher of the Great Awakening in America during the early to mid-1700s, said, “We are immortal until our work on earth is done.” He was right, and we don’t need to call down fire from heaven for this to be so. We must only live as faithful followers of Christ and witnesses for the gospel.

Our comfort and hope is not in avoiding death but in our resurrection.

Like Christ himself, who has already risen from the grave, and like the two witnesses in the Tribulation, we too look forward to our own future resurrection. We should not waste our lives hiding from death but should go forward with courage and peace knowing that if we die in our service for Christ, we will be resurrected with our Savior forever with a body that will never again suffer or die.

With this confidence, we can embrace whatever challenges we may face in the year ahead as followers of Christ in an antagonistic world, knowing that death has no power over us – even if we die (1 Cor 15:54-58).