Identifying the Two End-time Witnesses

Identifying the Two End-time Witnesses

Gary Primo

Dec. 2, 2017

How many times have we heard someone trying to claim that they know who these witnesses are going to be? I am not one of those people. I really don’t have a clue.

The inspiration for this study came from a YouTube video I watched this week at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRVxPwHJF0k

What perked my interest was that it was the first time I had heard anyone identify them as angels. And, admittedly, this presenter does a pretty compelling job of presenting his case – even though he is unfamiliar with the Set-apart Names. Hopefully Yahuwah will lead him to that truth eventually.

To begin, let’s have a look at Rev. 11.

Rev. 11:3 - And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

4 - These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the Elohim of the earth.

5 - And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devours their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

6 - These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

7 - And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

8 - And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Master was crucified.

9 - And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.

10 - And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

11 - And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from Elohim entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

12 - And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

13 - And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the Elohim of heaven.

14 - The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

When I was in the Worldwide Church of God (ten years before Tkatch), the teaching was that Herbert Armstrong and his brother (forget his name) were to be these two witnesses. I had trouble from the start accepting that claim and am not sure if that was church teaching or just gossip but I long since abandoned that conjecture.

Another claim I heard was that the Two Witnesses would be Elijah and Enoch, resurrected from the dead. Well that didn’t make any sense. If they have been or are to be resurrected from the dead, would they not have new bodies and be in possession of a state where they could no longer die? What purpose would there be in dying and being resurrected twice? No, I believe that whoever the Two Witnesses are, this will be their first experience with death.

So, if you haven’t already, watch the video so that you will understand the rest of this study.

PS – no need to write down the scriptures. I have already done that for you.

Now then, if the video has sparked your interest in this topic, let’s review the material in the video.

Rev. 11:3 - And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

I have heard some claim that this event will end the tribulation. I disagree. I believe that this will take place during the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation. We will find out why when we get to the final verse in this study.

Rev. 11:4 - These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the Elohim of the earth.

The narrator claimed that if we can identify who the two olive trees and the two candlesticks are, we could solve the identity of the two witnesses. Let’s see if that’s so.

Zech. 4:11 –Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?

12 - And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?

13 - And he answered me and said, Know you not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.

14 - Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by Yahuwah of the whole earth.

The narrator claims these two anointed ones to be represented by the two cherubim pictured on the Ark of the Covenant. And also:

1 Ki. 6:23 - So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.

22 - And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.

23 - And within the oracle he made two Cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.

Here we have the two Cherubims made from olive trees. Was that for the purpose of identification? What more obvious connection could there be?

Rev. 1:20 - The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which you saw are the seven churches.

I am not sure if I understand the significance of this verse to this study. The narrator concludes that since each church has an angel over it, these two stars are part of the body of HaMashiyack. I am thinking if this is correct, the Two Witnesses would likely be represented by the closest two candles on either side of the center one, which would represent Yahushua.

Jn. 20:11 – But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

12 - And saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Yahushua had lain.

This is probably the most convincing point the narrator makes. The two angels found inside the tomb were likely the only two witnesses to the resurrection of Yahushua. Could it be that these were the two angels represented on the Ark of the covenant and by King Solomon’s depiction? Are they the two olive trees?

The narrator next asks the question, “So what have my two witnesses been witness to that no one else can testify?” The resurrection of Yahushua!

Gen. 18:2 - And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,

It nowhere mentions how Abraham recognized these 3 men as angels. I would suppose it was because of his special relationship with Yahuwah. The significance of this verse is that it shows two angels (witnesses) accompanying Yahushua, and witnessing Yahushua’s words to Abraham..

Gen. 18:22 - And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before Yahuwah.

Two of the Angels went on to Sodom. The third, Abraham recognizes as Yahuwah and stands before Him to plead for the lives of the people in Sodom. Again, these two are the only witnesses to that event. Lot and his family were told not to look back and could therefore not be considered witnesses to the actual destruction. Unfortunately Lot’s wife did not listen, looked back and was turned to salt.

Gen. 19:1 - And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;

Lot also recognized that these two men were actually angels. He respectfully bows before them. Does this make us wonder if we have actually encountered angels in our lifetimes without even knowing? I believe it is quite possible.

Gen. 19:10 - But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut the door.

Gen. 19:24 - Then Yahuwah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahuwah out of heaven;

I find the wording interesting verse 24 as it alludes to two Yahuwahs, one on the earth and one in heaven. The one on earth is obviously Yahushua; but because He came in the Father’s name and so perfectly reflected the Father, that they are both called Yahuwah.

Rev. 11:5 - And if any man will hurt them, fire proceeds out of their mouth, and devours their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

Just as the two angels that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, these two have the power to destroy all who come against them. The narrator suspects the two are Gabriel and Michael. I believe it is quite possible. This is also reminiscent of Moses (Moshe) in Egypt and all the plagues he called down on the Egyptians.

Rev. 11:10 - And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

From the sounds of this verse, this event could occur right when the world celebrates Christmas. If so, they should first come on the scene 3 ½ years prior, or around or on the Day of Pentecost. These two angels would have been witness to that event, too. Whereas the apostles have all passed away from us, these two angelic witnesses lived on and are witnesses to every phase of the creation, not just these events already covered. They were likely by Yahushua in every step He took, while on the earth.

Luke 1:19 - And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of Elohim; and am sent to speak unto you, and to show you these glad tidings.

It certainly seems as if it is Gabriel who is being identified as the angel that interacted and oversaw (witnessed) the birth of John the Baptist and likely Yahushua also.

Rev. 11:12 - And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.

These two witnesses are going to ascend up to heaven in the exact same manner as Yahushua did. Is there any significance to this act? If angels, this could mean that these will be the first amongst the angelic realm, other than Yahushua, to be judged and rewarded – an act that for the rest of the angelic realm will not occur until after the judgement of man.

According to Jameson Facet and Brown, These two witnesses are presumed to be Moshe and Eliyah.

J.F. & B.

As two candlesticks are mentioned inRevelation 11:4 , but only one in Zechariah 4:2 , I think the twofold Church, Jewish and Gentile, may be meant by the two candlesticks represented by the two witnesses: just as in Revelation 7:1-8 there are described first the sealed of Israel, then those of all nations. But those of Moses when witnessing for God against Pharaoh (the type of Antichrist, the last and greatest foe of Israel), turning the waters into blood, and smiting with plagues;and of Elijah (the witness for God in an almost universal apostasy of Israel, a remnant of seven thousand, however, being left, as the 144,000 sealed, Revelation 7:1-8 ) causing fire by his word to devour the enemy, and shutting heaven, so that it rained not for three years and six months, the very time (1260 days) during which the two witnesses prophesy. Moreover, the words "witness" and "prophesy" are usually applied to individuals, not to abstractions (compare Psalms 52:8 ). DE BURGH thinks Elijah and Moses will again appear, as Malachi 4:5 Malachi 4:6 seems to imply (compare Matthew 17:11 , Acts 3:21 ). Moses and Elijah appeared with Christ at the Transfiguration, which foreshadowed His coming millennial kingdom. As to Moses, compare Deuteronomy 34:5 Deuteronomy 34:6 , Jude 1:9 . Elias' genius and mode of procedure bears the same relation to the "second" coming of Christ, that John the Baptist's did to the first coming [BENGEL]. Many of the early Church thought the two witnesses to be Enoch and Elijah. This would avoid the difficulty of the dying a second time, for these have never yet died; but, perhaps, shall be the witnesses slain. Still, the turning the water to blood, and the plagues ( Revelation 11:6 ), apply best to "Moses (compare Revelation 15:3 , the song of Moses"). The transfiguration glory of Moses and Elias was not their permanent resurrection-state, which shall not be till Christ shall come to glorify His saints, for He has precedence before all in rising. An objection to this interpretation is that those blessed departed servants of God would have to submit to death ( Revelation 11:7 Revelation 11:8 ), and this in Moses' case a second time, which Hebrews 9:27 denies. witnesses as answering to "the two olive trees." The two olive trees are channels of the oil feeding the Church, and symbols of peace. The Holy Spirit is the oil in them. Christ's witnesses, in remarkable times of the Church's history, have generally appeared in pairs: as Moses and Aaron, the inspired civil and religious authorities; Caleb and Joshua; Ezekiel the priest and Daniel the prophet; Zerubbabel and Joshua.

As great as these two men (Moshe and Eliyah) are, they were certainly not witnesses of all the things pertaining to Yahuwah and His Son. However Michael and Gabriel were and are still.

Acts 1:9 – And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 - And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 - Which also said, You men of Galilee, why stand you gazing up into heaven? This same Yahushua, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.

And, yet again, we have these two angelic witnesses, witnessing the ascension of Yahushua. Could this have been their role, right from the beginning, to witness the life and wonderful power of Yahushua as he created the earth and interacted with His creation?

Matt. 20:20 – Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.

21 - And he said unto her, What wish you? She said unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on your right hand, and the other on the left, in your kingdom.

22 - But Yahushua answered and said, You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

Why does Yahushua deny this woman’s request? One, because her two sons did not qualify to sit on either side of His throne. Two, because He already had two who held that distinction. These two are going to drink from the exact same cup as Yahushua. Yahuwah is going to abandon them in their time of need and allow them to be sacrificed just as Yahushua was. And, following days and three nights, dead on the street with the whole world watching, They will be raised up in their new eternal bodies and be raised up to heaven. They will be the first (post Yahushua) of either men or angels to be raised to eternal life. This makes them witnesses to every single event and promise of Yahuwah. They definitely drink from the same cup as HaMashiyack.

Dan. 12:1 - And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

2 - And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

I must have read this passage one thousand times and just noticed one more possible connection to the identity of the two witnesses (or, at least one of them). “At that time Michael shall stand up”. Could this be speaking of the act of the two witnesses standing up from the dead before being taken into heaven?

The greatest time of trouble begins from this point – the latter half of the tribulation. It is at this point that the Third woe begins. It is at this point that the 144,000 are harvested from amongst the earth. It is at this point that Yahuwah will turn His back on the rest of the world and allow HaSatan to have his way.

Conclusion

Well, there you have it. What are your thoughts? I have no idea how many different renditions of this theme there is out there, but I do think that this one deserves some serious merit.

Many of the interpretations I hear that do not seem to stack up, I place in a cold, dark place in my subconscious (a scary place indeed) until further information comes along either supports it or challenges it. Personally I love the challenges the most. Of course the prospect of something new to examine also gets the adrenaline racing. This concept was certainly new to me and I am glad I took the time to examine it.

Still, there will be no way to test the assumption until the day comes. Therefore, I can only keep and promote it as interesting “food for thought” for now, no matter how compelled I presently am to claim it as verifiable fact. So, keeping that in mind, let’s continue with my conclusion.

We are likely all familiar with the Menorah, the candle stand with 7 candles. The highest candle in the middle represents Yahushua. The two candles on either side of the center candle represent these two witnesses. Since the beginning of creation, they have always stood in the exact same place, and have witnessed every single event.

Nu. 35:30 - Whoso kills any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.

Deut. 17:6 - At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

7 - The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put the evil away from among you.

For every judgement, there must be a witness. Two or three witnesses are better, because one witness cannot be challenged. With two witnesses, one could contradict the other. Unless the two agree, the suspect has to go free. The laws of Yahuwah are fair, no matter what anyone says to the contrary.

So, let us presume that these two angels have always held this position, on either side of Yahushua, serving as witnesses to every single event of spiritual value since the creation of the universe. Will they be present in the last days, when we are to be judged? Will they be amongst the witnesses for or against us? Who could refute their witness? If we have been hiding any”secret” sins, we had better not fool ourselves that we would be able to deceive these two witnesses. I simply cannot think of a better witness.

To sum this study up, we have these two witnesses identified as the two olive trees. The two cherubim guarding the Arc of the Covenant were carved out from olive trees. Is this not the prominent clue?

We also have the statement from Zechariah, “These are the two anointed ones, that stand by Yahuwah of the whole earth.” Remember back in Genesis where it sounds like more than one Elohim was involved in the creation process?

Gen. 1:26 - And Elohim said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.

I have always assumed this was referring to the Father and the Son; however, I now wonder if it was referring to these two witnesses who were forever present with Yahushua when he was doing the creating.

Jn. 20:12 tells us there were two angels standing in the tomb when Mary entered it. These were the only two witnesses to the actual resurrection.

Gen. 18:2 tells us that these same two witnesses accompanied HaMashiyack when He appeared to Abraham. They went on alone to provide a witness to the atrocities committed by the population of Sodom and Gomorrah, and to render a judgement according to what they witnessed. .

The angel, Gabriel is readily identified in Luke 1:19. He was witness to the births of both John the Baptist and Yahushua. If he was present, and two witnesses were needed, one has to assume that Michael was also present to provide for two witnesses, as required.

We also have the perplexing question of how can someone die and be resurrected twice. If indeed angels, this question is simply answered. If we try to assume some form of humanity about them, things indeed get more complicated. I had roughly the same question concerning those who Yahushua raised from the dead; and of those who came out of their graves at the time Yahushua died on the cross. Where they resurrected to eternal life to never experience death again; or was this something different. I don’t believe anyone actually knows. I certainly do not.

Acts 1:9-10 picture Yahushua ascending into heaven before around 500 witnesses. Rev. 11 has these two witnesses ascending in similar manner, but their ascension will be witnesses by ALL who dwell on the earth. And, by this example they also affirm the fact that it was entirely possible for Yahushua to ascend to the Father in the same way. Therefore, once again, they are acting as witnesses.

Was “the mother of Zebedee’s children” (Matt. 20:20) actually know what she was asking? She certainly knew what the importance of these two positions were. She simply did not understand that they had already been filled; and always had been occupied.

If Dan 12:1 is indeed a reference to Michel standing up from the dead (Rev. 11), it would appear to identify the second witness – Gabriel and now, Michael.

This all makes sense to me, but who knows, I might be crazy. I will take my chances and go with this, at least for now.

Yahuwah Bless

G.P.