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The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11: Difference between revisions

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William Branham taught that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 were Moses and Elijah.  But is this what the passage is saying?
William Branham taught that the two witnesses of Revelation 11 were Moses and Elijah who were coming back to earth to minister.  But is this what the passage is saying?


=What the Bible says=
=What the Bible says=
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The passage in Revelation 11 reads as follows:
The passage in Revelation 11 reads as follows:


:''And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”  These are '''the two olive trees''' and '''the two lampstands''' that stand before the Lord of the earth.  And if anyone would harm them, '''fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes'''. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  '''They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall''' during the days of their prophesying, and '''they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague''', as often as they desire.  And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.  But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Re 11:3–12.</ref>
:''And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”  These are '''the two olive trees''' and '''the two lampstands''' that stand before the Lord of the earth.  And if anyone would harm them, '''fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes'''. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed.  '''They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall''' during the days of their prophesying, and '''they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague''', as often as they desire.  


The reference to the two olive trees is clearly taken from the book of Zechariah:
:''And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified.  For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth.  


:''And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?
:''But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.  Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Re 11:3–12.</ref>


:''Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”  And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”  He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”  Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Zec 4:3–4, 11–14.</ref>
==Who are the two olive trees?==


Commentators in general agree that the two men intended are '''Joshua the high priest''', who has already been mentioned in the previous vision, and '''Zerubbabel the governor. the representative of the King'''.<ref>David J. Clark and Howard A. Hatton, A Handbook on Zechariah, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 2002), 146.</ref>
The reference to the two olive trees is clearly taken from chapter 4 of the book of Zechariah:
 
:''I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.
 
:''And '''there are two olive trees''' by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” And I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?
 
:''...Then I said to him, “'''What are these two olive trees''' on the right and the left of the lampstand?”  And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these two branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”  He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”  Then he said, “'''These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth'''.”<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Zec 4:2–4, 11–14.</ref>
 
The two anointed ones is literally the two "sons of oil" in Hebrew, meaning ‘full of oil’.<ref>Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 28, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1972), 132.</ref>
 
Commentators in general agree that the two men are God’s appointed officers for his people<ref>John L. Mackay, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: God’s Restored People, Focus on the Bible Commentary (Ross-shire, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications, 2003), 117.</ref> '''Joshua the high priest''', and '''Zerubbabel the governor, the representative of the Persian King and a descendant of David'''.<ref>David J. Clark and Howard A. Hatton, A Handbook on Zechariah, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 2002), 146.</ref>


==Who are the two witnesses?==
==Who are the two witnesses?==


Rather than Moses and Elijah, it is more reasonable that the two witnesses represent the prophetic witness of the church.
The dispensationalist view is that the two witnesses represent Moses and Elijah.
 
But rather than Moses and Elijah, it appears more reasonable to view the two witnesses as representing the prophetic witness of the church.


There are a number of reasons for this:
There are a number of reasons for this:


#They are “lampstands” (Rev 11:4), which Revelation elsewhere explicitly identifies as churches (Rev 1:20).
#They are “lampstands” (Rev 11:4), which Revelation elsewhere explicitly identifies as churches (see Rev 1:20).
#Joshua and Zerubbabel were the high priest and king seeking the restoration of their holy city; what could better symbolize the saints as a kingdom and priests (Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10) seeking their new Jerusalem?
#Joshua and Zerubbabel were the high priest and king seeking the restoration of their holy city; what could better symbolize the saints as a kingdom and priests (Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10) seeking their new Jerusalem?
#Like John in this context, they prophesy (Rev 10:11; Rev 11:3, 6), fulfilling the standard Christian mission of testifying for Christ (Rev 19:10).
#Like John in this context, they prophesy (Rev 10:11; Rev 11:3, 6), fulfilling the standard Christian mission of testifying for Christ (Rev 19:10).