In brief
The two witnesses are two prophets described in John's vision in Revelation 11. God gives them power to prophesy, clothed in sackcloth, for one thousand two hundred sixty days. When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss kills them, but after three and a half days God raises them and they go up to heaven. The text does not name them. What we remember is faithful testimony to the point of death and God's final victory.
What does the name The Two Witnesses of Revelation mean?
Revelation does not give their names: it calls them “my two witnesses” (Revelation 11:3) and compares them to the two olive trees and the two lamp stands. The identifications proposed, such as Moses and Elijah, Enoch and Elijah, or the witnessing church, are readings by interpreters, not statements of the text.
The story of The Two Witnesses of Revelation
Two witnesses clothed in sackcloth
Revelation 11:1-4John is told to measure the temple of God, while the nations tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. God announces: “I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lamp stands standing before the Lord of the earth.
Signs that recall Moses and Elijah
Revelation 11:5-6Fire comes out of their mouth against those who want to harm them. They have power to shut up the sky so that it does not rain, as Elijah did long ago, and to turn the waters into blood, as in the plagues of Egypt in the time of Moses. Their ministry is protected by God until their testimony is complete.
Killed by the beast
Revelation 11:7-10When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss makes war on them and kills them. Their dead bodies lie for three and a half days in the street of the great city, “where also their Lord was crucified.” Those who dwell on the earth rejoice and send gifts to one another, because these prophets tormented them.
Raised and taken up to heaven
Revelation 11:11-12After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God enters them, and they stand on their feet. Great fear falls on those who see them. A loud voice from heaven says to them: “Come up here!” They then go up to heaven in the cloud, as their enemies watch.
God receives the glory
Revelation 11:13-15At that hour, a great earthquake makes a tenth of the city fall, and seven thousand people are killed. The rest are terrified and give glory to the God of heaven. Then the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, and voices proclaim that the kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
Test your knowledge
What The Two Witnesses of Revelation teaches us
- God gives his witnesses the strength to proclaim his Word, even in a hostile world.
- Faithful testimony may cost a life, but death does not have the last word for those who belong to God.
- The world's joy at the fall of God's servants is short-lived: God raises his own.
- Difficult prophetic texts are read with humility, distinguishing what the text says from our interpretations.
Key verses
God gives his two witnesses power to prophesy, clothed in sackcloth, for one thousand two hundred sixty days. Sackcloth evokes mourning and the call to repentance.
After three and a half days, the breath of life from God enters the two witnesses. God has the last word over the death of his servants.
“These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” The image of the two olive trees in Revelation 11:4 echoes this vision of Zechariah.
Bible verses to meditate on
Sermons about The Two Witnesses of Revelation
- After the Rapture: What Happens Next to the WorldThe pastor presents the two witnesses of Revelation 11:3-13 as one of the two major figures of this period, sent by the Lord to stand up to the beast and prophesy for 1,260 days.
- Lamentations 1: A Warning for the Church TodayThe preacher sometimes feels that we are entering the era of the two witnesses: the church almost reduced to nothing, the witnesses struck down, but who will rise again for a final testimony before the Lord's coming.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the two witnesses of Revelation?
The text does not name them. Some see Moses and Elijah, because of signs that recall their ministry; others think of Enoch and Elijah, both taken up by God; still others read an image of the witnessing church. These are interpretations. The text affirms only that they are two prophets who are sent, then raised by God.
How long do the two witnesses prophesy?
They prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth (Revelation 11:3), about three and a half years. The same duration appears in other forms in Revelation: forty-two months in 11:2 and “a time, and times, and half a time” in 12:14. Readers understand this period in different ways.
Where are the two witnesses found in the Bible?
Their story is found in Revelation 11:1-14. To understand the images used, you can read Zechariah 4, which speaks of the two olive trees and the lamp stand, as well as 1 Kings 17:1 on Elijah shutting up the sky and Exodus 7:14-24 on the waters turned to blood in the time of Moses.