Revelation 11 is the focus of this study.
Before we discuss their identities, I want to discus what their role is.
First and foremost, to me their clearly in the first half of the Tribulation. Their 3 and a Half year ministry is linked to The Temple during a period when the "outer court" is given to the Gentiles.
QUOTE "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
During the second half, after the Abomination of Desolation occurs and the Jews flee to Edom the entire Temple will be under Gentile control.
This also means The Temple is already built when their ministry begins, so Perry Stone and others insistence that they will lead it's rebuilding is false. I believe they'll be be preaching what Paul teaches in Hebrews, that the Temple sacrifices are no longer needed because Yeshua paid the price for all Sin. And so they'll be hated like Stephen was in Acts 6:13
QUOTE "And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law"
The witnesses are false because I'm sure they misrepresented what Stephen said just as the false witnesses against Yeshua did, but to me this still hints at why Stephen's enemies were bothered by his preaching.
Elijah is obvious
Rarely some will even question Elijah's status (claiming their not two literal individual, but symbolic), saying that to Christians the promise of Elijah's return (Malachi 4:5&6) was fulfilled by John The Baptist. But this is an over simplification of what the New Testament says about the connection between John and Elijah (who due to Greek transliteration issues tends to be called Elias in the KJV of the NT).
Matthew 11:14 says "if ye will receive it" they didn't however, John was rejected just as Yeshua was. Accounts of the Transfiguration likewise have allot of quotes that can be taken out of context to support this doctrine, but that discussion is particularly mystical in nature. John like Elisha preached with the "Spirit and Power" of Elijah, but that's a separate thing from his literal return. In John 1:21 John clearly states that he is not Elijah. John could be viewed as a near fulfillment, like Solomon was of Nathan's Prophecy, but the true ultimate fulfillment is still yet future.
Other circumstantial reasons to view Elijah as a witness will happen to come up as I discus the identity of the other one. So addressing the John issue is all I need to do for now.
Not Moses
So many scholars I respect, like Chuck Missler, who are right on so many other basic Eschatological issues still insist on this mistaken view that the other Witness is Moses. I'm going refute those arguments.
1. "The plagues parallel Elijah and Moses". Miracles are truly performed by God, Elijah and Moses happened to be affiliated with some of the most basic and standard stuff. Truth is however it's primarily Elijah's ministry their description parallels, with stopping the rain for 3 and a half years and consuming their persecutors with fire. The only specific thing affiliated with Moses is the turning water to blood. But by this point in Revelation that's already no longer unique to Moses, we saw it in the trumpet judgments twice and will again twice during the bowl judgments.
2. "It was Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration". The Transfiguration follows directly when Yeshua said to the Twelve "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Matthew 16:28. My response to how that verse is used by Preterists and Amillennials is that it's referring to the Transfiguration. Yeshua and his two visitors are transfigured into their post Resurrection states. I believe there is a deliberate bending of Space-Time here, and that the Elijah with Yeshua here has already experienced the events of Revelation 11.
3. "Moses and Elijah represent The Law and The Prophets". For starters the term "The Law and The Prophets" isn't used in Revelation 11. Also "The Prophets" in that sense refers to the Prophetic books of The Bible, Elijah didn't write any of those. But at any rate, Enoch is from The Torah.
Those are the typical core three arguments, but I want to address now two I've heard chiefly from Chuck Missler.
First Chuck claims that the Prophecy of the coming "Prophet like unto Moses" from Deuteronomy 18 really implies a second coming of Moses but that's simply lost in translation, but my own study of the Hebrew text lends it no support. At any rate he's ignoring Acts 3:22 and 26:22 which define this as a Prophecy of Yeshua.
He also cites Jude verse 9
QUOTE "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."
Suggesting the reason defending Moses's body from Satan was so important was because God still has a future plan for him.
I believe the reason was to be a witness to the Resurrection. Matthew 27:52&53 says
QUOTE "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
As I've said elsewhere, this can't be another temporary Resurrection like Lazarus, that wasn't a special sign anymore. This is referring to the first phase of The First Resurrection. We know where Moses was buried, Mt. Nebo isn't as controversial an identity as Sinai. Lots of excavations go on there, but the body of Moses hasn't been found. I believe Moses certainly had to be among those Resurrected soon after Yeshua, which means he's not capable of dieing anymore, which The Witnesses will have to do.
Why I view the other as Enoch.
I believe in the symmetry of The Bible. Exactly two people are recorded as being taken out of the Earth alive without ever dieing. One we are told specifically will come back. Then Revelation 11 speaks of Two Witnesses who operate like Old Testament Prophets, and definitely parallel the one confirmed to come back. And both will die and be resurrected in circumstances distinct from most of humanity. It seems to be like 1+1=2.
Chuck Missler argues against Enoch by saying "He's not Jewish". He's one of those Pre-Tribbers who view the entire Tribulation as being uniquely focused on Israel, so clearly the other can't be a Gentile, not even a pre-Abramanic gentile. But to me the Gentiles are still relevant during this period, the whole world is said to hate them, not just Jews offended by their Jewish message. I could add that Chuck also likes to say that the Woman of Revelation 12 is "Israel, in the sense that she starts with Eve" The Seed of The Woman, Enoch is part of that sense clearly, being in the Genealogy of Yeshua from Luke 3.
Hebrews 9:27 is often cited by Enoch supporters, though I hardly view my position as dependent upon it. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment". The response to that however is that there are exceptions to this chiefly in those who will be Raptured. Because weather your Pre, Mid or Post Tirb, 1 Thessalonians 4 clearly describes people who will be spared "dieing" in the normal way when Yehsua returns to gather his people.
The Church is Resurrected at the Rapture "The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain", those alive still when it happens will be Resurrected without dieing. No one was truly resurrected before Yeshua in 30 A.D. So Enoch couldn't have been Resurrected, he still needs to be.
John 3:13 is often cited by enemies of The Bible as a contradiction, for contradicting the accounts of both Elijah and Enoch by saying. "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.[/red]" The answer is that Elijah and Enoch were taken out of the Earth, but did not go all the way to the "Third Heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2–4). But that answer leaves Enoch stranded if only Elijah comes back.
Given what we now know about the nature of Time thanks to Albert Einstein, about how if you travel past the Speed of light your also traveling through Time itself. What if Enoch and Elijah were taken to an Angelically inhabited Planet orbiting a distant Star? Both could have arrived at the same time despite being taken from Earth thousands of years apart simply by giving their "Chariots" different speed settings. They were briefed on what they needed to do, I suspect arrived after 100 A.D. so they could be given a complete New Testament and Hebrew Scriptures to study. Then left to Space-Time Travel again and will return when the Tribulation starts, but for them it'll have only been like a few years tops.
I feel I should add, though it's ultimately irrelevant to me. That them being Enoch and Elijah was virtually the unanimous opinion of early Christianity. Early Chuch fathers, such as Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus of Rome state this view, the last two I know take the correct Futurist views on most issues of Eschatology and so are my favorites to read on that subject. The account of Christ's descent into Hades from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus features both of them identifying themselves as The Two Witnesses. The Pseudo-Prophecy from the late 4th Century attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl also identifies them as Enoch and Elijah. This Moses popularity popped up much latter.
For open minded Jewish readers.
Now I want to go into reasons why I feel I can argue from the Hebrew Scriptures alone that Elijah will have a partner. And in the process will make some more interesting arguments in Enoch's favor. (I wouldn't worry about setting another cup at Passover though, I'm sure their Ok sharing.)
I'll start with how witnesses going in twos is a common pattern in Scripture. Joshua sent two spies into Jericho, earlier the spies Moses sent were in six pairs of two (Joshua and Caleb being the only two to give a good report). Moses also had Aaron's assistance when he went before Pharaoh. The pattern might be related to Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:5 though that's sickly in a legal procedure context.
The pattern does apply to Elijah himself, there was another Prophet of YHWH opposing the idolatry of Ahab and Jezebel. Micaiah, who spoke the truth in opposition to the false prophets in 1 Kings 22:19-23. You might be surprised I didn't choose Elisha for this analogy. Elisha is the protege of Elijah who actually in a sense surpasses Elijah performing twice as many miracles. In a sense that anticipated Church Age believers, because Yeshua foretold the Disciples' deeds would surpass his own in John 14:12. But in another sense I think in this context he represents those faithful of the second half of the Tribulation who will continue the work to the Two Witnesses after their Death, Resurrection and Rapture.
Next I will turn to a specific passage alluded to in Revelation 11, Zechariah 4. The two Olive Tress on each side of the Menorah, which represent two Anointed Ones who stand before YHWH. Standard interpretation is that they refer to Zeurbbable and Joshua, leaders of the first wave of Israelites returning from the exile. Of course that is true, in one sense they do foreshadow The Witnesses. But there is more to it. One of the layers of symbolism of the Seven Candlesticks of The Menorah to me is the Seven Angels who stand before the Throne of YHWH. So what we have is symbolically two men who are currently among the Angels.
What's interesting is this passage is also often affiliated by Jews with Hanukkah and read during that festival. They see the two Olive Trees next to the Menorah as foreshadowing the nine candlestick Hanukkah Menorah. Hanukkah is linked to the history of Antiochus Epiphanies and his Abomination of Desolation, a precursor of The Man of Sin. So it does also have End Times significance.
It's not noticed by us in English because of differences in transliteration, but in Hebrew the first syllable of Hanukkah is the name of Enoch. The Holy Spirit loves making puns like that, so I don't think it's a coincidence.
Rabbinic Tradition does indeed today expect more coming figures then just Elijah and The Messiah. I've written a study on Messiah Ben-Joseph and how that concept is both compatible with and incompatible with Christian understandings of Prophecy.
Some argue there are a total of four coming, Messiah Ben-Joseph, Messiah Ben-David, a Priest and a Prophet. The Prophet is typically Elijah's role, but he could fit Messiah Ben-Joseph as well, some traditions about Ben-Jospeh have an interesting parallels to what Revelation 11 says about the Witnesses. Being killed by the villain(s) body left laying in the streets of Jerusalem for a time period until their Resurrected by Ben-David.
Some of the stuff I've read from Rabbinic Jewish speculation does consider the idea of one of the four specifically having a mission to the Gentiles and/or being a Gentile. Which is a decent response to Chuck Missler's main argument against Enoch.
The Priest is often interpreted as a Levitical/Aaronic priest, sometimes using the term "War Priest". But alternatively is sometimes considered a Priest "after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110). To Christians that is chiefly a title of Christ, but it also applies to The Church, as we're also promised to reign as Kings and Priests with him.
In the strictly Jewish sense the Priests' most important role was carrying out the Sacrifices. So in that context I view the Priesthood of Melchizedek as beginning with God himself in Genesis 3 killing animals to make coverings for Adam and Eve, then Able who's offering was accepted over Cain's, and then the entire line of patriarchs from Seth to Noah (which includes Enoch), and then was passed down many others including it's namesake until it ended with Jethro the Priest of Midian and father in law of Moses who was contemporary with the Aaronic Priesthood's birth. So Enoch is an interesting candidate.
Before we discuss their identities, I want to discus what their role is.
First and foremost, to me their clearly in the first half of the Tribulation. Their 3 and a Half year ministry is linked to The Temple during a period when the "outer court" is given to the Gentiles.
QUOTE "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
During the second half, after the Abomination of Desolation occurs and the Jews flee to Edom the entire Temple will be under Gentile control.
This also means The Temple is already built when their ministry begins, so Perry Stone and others insistence that they will lead it's rebuilding is false. I believe they'll be be preaching what Paul teaches in Hebrews, that the Temple sacrifices are no longer needed because Yeshua paid the price for all Sin. And so they'll be hated like Stephen was in Acts 6:13
QUOTE "And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law"
The witnesses are false because I'm sure they misrepresented what Stephen said just as the false witnesses against Yeshua did, but to me this still hints at why Stephen's enemies were bothered by his preaching.
Elijah is obvious
Rarely some will even question Elijah's status (claiming their not two literal individual, but symbolic), saying that to Christians the promise of Elijah's return (Malachi 4:5&6) was fulfilled by John The Baptist. But this is an over simplification of what the New Testament says about the connection between John and Elijah (who due to Greek transliteration issues tends to be called Elias in the KJV of the NT).
Matthew 11:14 says "if ye will receive it" they didn't however, John was rejected just as Yeshua was. Accounts of the Transfiguration likewise have allot of quotes that can be taken out of context to support this doctrine, but that discussion is particularly mystical in nature. John like Elisha preached with the "Spirit and Power" of Elijah, but that's a separate thing from his literal return. In John 1:21 John clearly states that he is not Elijah. John could be viewed as a near fulfillment, like Solomon was of Nathan's Prophecy, but the true ultimate fulfillment is still yet future.
Other circumstantial reasons to view Elijah as a witness will happen to come up as I discus the identity of the other one. So addressing the John issue is all I need to do for now.
Not Moses
So many scholars I respect, like Chuck Missler, who are right on so many other basic Eschatological issues still insist on this mistaken view that the other Witness is Moses. I'm going refute those arguments.
1. "The plagues parallel Elijah and Moses". Miracles are truly performed by God, Elijah and Moses happened to be affiliated with some of the most basic and standard stuff. Truth is however it's primarily Elijah's ministry their description parallels, with stopping the rain for 3 and a half years and consuming their persecutors with fire. The only specific thing affiliated with Moses is the turning water to blood. But by this point in Revelation that's already no longer unique to Moses, we saw it in the trumpet judgments twice and will again twice during the bowl judgments.
2. "It was Moses and Elijah at the Transfiguration". The Transfiguration follows directly when Yeshua said to the Twelve "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Matthew 16:28. My response to how that verse is used by Preterists and Amillennials is that it's referring to the Transfiguration. Yeshua and his two visitors are transfigured into their post Resurrection states. I believe there is a deliberate bending of Space-Time here, and that the Elijah with Yeshua here has already experienced the events of Revelation 11.
3. "Moses and Elijah represent The Law and The Prophets". For starters the term "The Law and The Prophets" isn't used in Revelation 11. Also "The Prophets" in that sense refers to the Prophetic books of The Bible, Elijah didn't write any of those. But at any rate, Enoch is from The Torah.
Those are the typical core three arguments, but I want to address now two I've heard chiefly from Chuck Missler.
First Chuck claims that the Prophecy of the coming "Prophet like unto Moses" from Deuteronomy 18 really implies a second coming of Moses but that's simply lost in translation, but my own study of the Hebrew text lends it no support. At any rate he's ignoring Acts 3:22 and 26:22 which define this as a Prophecy of Yeshua.
He also cites Jude verse 9
QUOTE "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."
Suggesting the reason defending Moses's body from Satan was so important was because God still has a future plan for him.
I believe the reason was to be a witness to the Resurrection. Matthew 27:52&53 says
QUOTE "And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
As I've said elsewhere, this can't be another temporary Resurrection like Lazarus, that wasn't a special sign anymore. This is referring to the first phase of The First Resurrection. We know where Moses was buried, Mt. Nebo isn't as controversial an identity as Sinai. Lots of excavations go on there, but the body of Moses hasn't been found. I believe Moses certainly had to be among those Resurrected soon after Yeshua, which means he's not capable of dieing anymore, which The Witnesses will have to do.
Why I view the other as Enoch.
I believe in the symmetry of The Bible. Exactly two people are recorded as being taken out of the Earth alive without ever dieing. One we are told specifically will come back. Then Revelation 11 speaks of Two Witnesses who operate like Old Testament Prophets, and definitely parallel the one confirmed to come back. And both will die and be resurrected in circumstances distinct from most of humanity. It seems to be like 1+1=2.
Chuck Missler argues against Enoch by saying "He's not Jewish". He's one of those Pre-Tribbers who view the entire Tribulation as being uniquely focused on Israel, so clearly the other can't be a Gentile, not even a pre-Abramanic gentile. But to me the Gentiles are still relevant during this period, the whole world is said to hate them, not just Jews offended by their Jewish message. I could add that Chuck also likes to say that the Woman of Revelation 12 is "Israel, in the sense that she starts with Eve" The Seed of The Woman, Enoch is part of that sense clearly, being in the Genealogy of Yeshua from Luke 3.
Hebrews 9:27 is often cited by Enoch supporters, though I hardly view my position as dependent upon it. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment". The response to that however is that there are exceptions to this chiefly in those who will be Raptured. Because weather your Pre, Mid or Post Tirb, 1 Thessalonians 4 clearly describes people who will be spared "dieing" in the normal way when Yehsua returns to gather his people.
The Church is Resurrected at the Rapture "The dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain", those alive still when it happens will be Resurrected without dieing. No one was truly resurrected before Yeshua in 30 A.D. So Enoch couldn't have been Resurrected, he still needs to be.
John 3:13 is often cited by enemies of The Bible as a contradiction, for contradicting the accounts of both Elijah and Enoch by saying. "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.[/red]" The answer is that Elijah and Enoch were taken out of the Earth, but did not go all the way to the "Third Heaven" (2 Corinthians 12:2–4). But that answer leaves Enoch stranded if only Elijah comes back.
Given what we now know about the nature of Time thanks to Albert Einstein, about how if you travel past the Speed of light your also traveling through Time itself. What if Enoch and Elijah were taken to an Angelically inhabited Planet orbiting a distant Star? Both could have arrived at the same time despite being taken from Earth thousands of years apart simply by giving their "Chariots" different speed settings. They were briefed on what they needed to do, I suspect arrived after 100 A.D. so they could be given a complete New Testament and Hebrew Scriptures to study. Then left to Space-Time Travel again and will return when the Tribulation starts, but for them it'll have only been like a few years tops.
I feel I should add, though it's ultimately irrelevant to me. That them being Enoch and Elijah was virtually the unanimous opinion of early Christianity. Early Chuch fathers, such as Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus of Rome state this view, the last two I know take the correct Futurist views on most issues of Eschatology and so are my favorites to read on that subject. The account of Christ's descent into Hades from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus features both of them identifying themselves as The Two Witnesses. The Pseudo-Prophecy from the late 4th Century attributed to the Tiburtine Sibyl also identifies them as Enoch and Elijah. This Moses popularity popped up much latter.
For open minded Jewish readers.
Now I want to go into reasons why I feel I can argue from the Hebrew Scriptures alone that Elijah will have a partner. And in the process will make some more interesting arguments in Enoch's favor. (I wouldn't worry about setting another cup at Passover though, I'm sure their Ok sharing.)
I'll start with how witnesses going in twos is a common pattern in Scripture. Joshua sent two spies into Jericho, earlier the spies Moses sent were in six pairs of two (Joshua and Caleb being the only two to give a good report). Moses also had Aaron's assistance when he went before Pharaoh. The pattern might be related to Deuteronomy 17:6 and 19:5 though that's sickly in a legal procedure context.
The pattern does apply to Elijah himself, there was another Prophet of YHWH opposing the idolatry of Ahab and Jezebel. Micaiah, who spoke the truth in opposition to the false prophets in 1 Kings 22:19-23. You might be surprised I didn't choose Elisha for this analogy. Elisha is the protege of Elijah who actually in a sense surpasses Elijah performing twice as many miracles. In a sense that anticipated Church Age believers, because Yeshua foretold the Disciples' deeds would surpass his own in John 14:12. But in another sense I think in this context he represents those faithful of the second half of the Tribulation who will continue the work to the Two Witnesses after their Death, Resurrection and Rapture.
Next I will turn to a specific passage alluded to in Revelation 11, Zechariah 4. The two Olive Tress on each side of the Menorah, which represent two Anointed Ones who stand before YHWH. Standard interpretation is that they refer to Zeurbbable and Joshua, leaders of the first wave of Israelites returning from the exile. Of course that is true, in one sense they do foreshadow The Witnesses. But there is more to it. One of the layers of symbolism of the Seven Candlesticks of The Menorah to me is the Seven Angels who stand before the Throne of YHWH. So what we have is symbolically two men who are currently among the Angels.
What's interesting is this passage is also often affiliated by Jews with Hanukkah and read during that festival. They see the two Olive Trees next to the Menorah as foreshadowing the nine candlestick Hanukkah Menorah. Hanukkah is linked to the history of Antiochus Epiphanies and his Abomination of Desolation, a precursor of The Man of Sin. So it does also have End Times significance.
It's not noticed by us in English because of differences in transliteration, but in Hebrew the first syllable of Hanukkah is the name of Enoch. The Holy Spirit loves making puns like that, so I don't think it's a coincidence.
Rabbinic Tradition does indeed today expect more coming figures then just Elijah and The Messiah. I've written a study on Messiah Ben-Joseph and how that concept is both compatible with and incompatible with Christian understandings of Prophecy.
Some argue there are a total of four coming, Messiah Ben-Joseph, Messiah Ben-David, a Priest and a Prophet. The Prophet is typically Elijah's role, but he could fit Messiah Ben-Joseph as well, some traditions about Ben-Jospeh have an interesting parallels to what Revelation 11 says about the Witnesses. Being killed by the villain(s) body left laying in the streets of Jerusalem for a time period until their Resurrected by Ben-David.
Some of the stuff I've read from Rabbinic Jewish speculation does consider the idea of one of the four specifically having a mission to the Gentiles and/or being a Gentile. Which is a decent response to Chuck Missler's main argument against Enoch.
The Priest is often interpreted as a Levitical/Aaronic priest, sometimes using the term "War Priest". But alternatively is sometimes considered a Priest "after the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110). To Christians that is chiefly a title of Christ, but it also applies to The Church, as we're also promised to reign as Kings and Priests with him.
In the strictly Jewish sense the Priests' most important role was carrying out the Sacrifices. So in that context I view the Priesthood of Melchizedek as beginning with God himself in Genesis 3 killing animals to make coverings for Adam and Eve, then Able who's offering was accepted over Cain's, and then the entire line of patriarchs from Seth to Noah (which includes Enoch), and then was passed down many others including it's namesake until it ended with Jethro the Priest of Midian and father in law of Moses who was contemporary with the Aaronic Priesthood's birth. So Enoch is an interesting candidate.
