Commentary: The Two Witnesses
and the Final Exodus
These are just my thoughts and my end time theories may not line up with yours.
"...Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses."
2 Corinthians 13:1 NASB
The Exodus in the Bible serves as a foreshadowing of the rapture (or exodus) of the End Times. And like in the Exodus, where Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh (a type of Antichrist), there will be two witnesses in the end times standing, as it were, before the Antichrist and the whole world. These two witnesses will be prophets, speaking truth and performing miracles for 1260 days. (Revelation 11:3)
They will warn of God's coming judgment that is coming upon the entire world. And they will also testify to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ because they were eyewitnesses.
They will have the power to shut up the sky, so that rain will not 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 plague, as often as they desire.
---Revelation 11:6 NASB
And though the world will hate their message, the two witnesses will be unstoppable until they finish sharing their testimony of Jesus Christ.
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.
--- Revelation 11:7-12
Who Were the Two Witnesses?**
Scripture points to Moses and Elijah as the two witnesses and here is the reasoning:
We know that Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration to talk with Jesus:
Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. --- Matthew 17:3
It is likely that they were consulting with Jesus about his upcoming crucifixion.
After the consultation, I believe we see them at the tomb and at the resurrection.
Let me explain.
In Luke, we get this description at the tomb:
...early in the morning, the women came to the tomb,....found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but ...did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them.
--- Luke 24:1-4
And Who are the 2 men in "radiant apparel?"
The Bible does not say and it is speculation, but most likely, they are Moses and Elijah in radiant resurrection bodies. The NIV Bible version translation says: "two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning."
And immediately after the ascension of Jesus we read:
And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
--- Acts 1:9-10 NASB
It is likely that the two men at the tomb and at the ascension are Moses and Elijah.
And when they appear again in the end times, they can claim to have been eyewitnesses to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
God's Purpose of His Two Witnesses:
1. to call the wicked to repentance as indicated by them wearing sackcloth (Revelation 11:3).
2. to testify and prophesy against the antichrist and sin for 1,260 days (Revelation 11:3, Revelation 11:6).
3. to testify that Jesus Christ is God's Son and that He is LORD of Lords and KING or KINGS. (Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:16)
They are the perfect witnesses since they were (I believe) eyewitnesses to His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.
4. to encourage believers to give their testimony of Jesus Christ even when facing death. Moreover, they will be our pattern to follow.
(Revelation 12:11)
5. to justify the coming judgment on the wicked.
Their testimony will fulfill the law of Moses in Deuteronomy 17:1 and will counter the false prophetic witness of the Antichrist and false prophet during the end times.
The Bible says that the saints will be given opportunities to witness and that we should not worry about
what we should say:
But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given
what to say,
--- Matthew 10:19 NIV
And with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit prophesied by
Joel 2:28, the end time saints will be bold, effective
witnesses of Jesus Christ.
I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
--- Psalm 40:9-10
Acts 4:31, Acts 14:3, 2 Corinthians 3:12, Ephesians 6:19, 1 Thessalonians 2:2
Jesus, speaking about end times, said: "But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. 13 This will be your opportunity to serve as witnesses.
--- Luke 21:12-13
Many of the faithful will be killed during the end times:
I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus.
--- Revelation 17:6
And for those who are not martyred, they will be "caught up" to the Lord, fulfilling the final exodus in what is commonly called the rapture.
(1 Thessalonians 4:17)
Footnote Credit:
watch Nelson Walters YouTube videos:
"Two Witnesses Documentary" and
"Who the TWO WITNESSES Are and What They Do Unlocks Mysteries of Revelation"
