Who are the two witnesses in Revelation 11?
Question 10030
Revelation 11 introduces two unnamed figures who prophesy for 1,260 days during the Tribulation, are killed by the Beast, lie unburied in the streets of Jerusalem, and are then raised and taken to heaven in the sight of their enemies. Their identity has been debated since the earliest centuries of the church, and Scripture does not name them directly. What it does provide is enough detail to narrow the field considerably.
What Revelation 11 Says
The two witnesses are given authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, which corresponds to the first half of the Tribulation (Revelation 11:3). They are described as “the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth” (Revelation 11:4), language drawn directly from Zechariah 4, where the olive trees represent anointed servants who mediate God’s purposes. Their ministry is accompanied by extraordinary power: fire proceeds from their mouths and consumes their enemies (Revelation 11:5), they have power to shut the sky so that no rain falls during the days of their prophesying (Revelation 11:6), and they have power to turn the waters to blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague (Revelation 11:6).
When they have finished their testimony, the Beast that rises from the bottomless pit makes war on them and kills them (Revelation 11:7). Their bodies lie in the street of Jerusalem for three and a half days while the inhabitants of the earth celebrate and exchange gifts (Revelation 11:8-10). Then the breath of life from God enters them, they stand on their feet, and they are called up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watch (Revelation 11:11-12).
The Case for Moses and Elijah
The most widely held identification is that the two witnesses are Moses and Elijah, and the evidence is substantial. The specific powers attributed to them correspond precisely to the ministries of these two figures. Elijah shut the heavens so that it did not rain for three and a half years (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17), and the two witnesses shut the sky for a period described in precisely the same terms. Moses turned the waters of Egypt to blood and struck the land with plagues (Exodus 7-12), and the two witnesses possess the same authority.
Both Moses and Elijah have unfinished business with Israel. Malachi 4:5 promises that God will send “Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.” Jesus affirmed that “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things” (Matthew 17:11), distinguishing between John the Baptist, who came “in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17), and a future, literal Elijah whose ministry of restoration remains unfulfilled. Moses represents the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets, the two great divisions of Old Testament revelation, and their appearance together at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:3) may foreshadow their future joint ministry during the Tribulation.
Elijah was taken to heaven without dying (2 Kings 2:11). Moses died and was buried by God (Deuteronomy 34:5-6), but the unusual dispute over his body described in Jude 9 has led some to suggest that God had a future purpose for that body. Whether Moses is raised or appears in some other form is not specified, but his involvement in a future prophetic ministry is at least consistent with these unusual details surrounding his death and burial.
The Case for Enoch and Elijah
An alternative identification pairs Enoch with Elijah, based on the fact that both were taken to heaven without experiencing death (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:11). Since Hebrews 9:27 states that “it is appointed for man to die once,” some have argued that Enoch and Elijah must return to fulfil this appointment, and their death at the hands of the Beast in Revelation 11 would accomplish this. The view was held by several early church fathers and has a long history in Christian interpretation.
The weakness of this identification is that the powers described in Revelation 11 do not correspond to Enoch’s ministry in any way. Enoch is described as a man who “walked with God” and was taken (Genesis 5:24), and Jude 14-15 preserves a prophecy attributed to him concerning the Lord’s coming with His holy ones to execute judgement. But there is no connection between Enoch and the specific acts of shutting the sky, turning water to blood, or striking the earth with plagues. These are the distinctive marks of Moses and Elijah, not Enoch and Elijah. The Hebrews 9:27 argument is also not as strong as it appears, since believers who are alive at the Rapture will also never experience physical death, yet no one suggests this violates the general principle of that verse.
Two Unknown Figures?
Some interpreters argue that the two witnesses are not historical figures returned but two individuals who arise during the Tribulation and are empowered by God with a ministry that echoes Moses and Elijah without being those individuals. This is possible, but the very specific correspondence of the powers described in Revelation 11 with the historical ministries of Moses and Elijah suggests more than mere echoing. The details appear designed to identify the witnesses with those particular figures, and the promise of Malachi 4:5 expects a literal Elijah, not merely someone who ministers in his style.
So, now what?
Scripture does not name the two witnesses, and dogmatism is not warranted. The evidence, however, points most strongly toward Moses and Elijah. Their specific powers match, their significance in the history of God’s dealings with Israel is unparalleled, and the Old Testament anticipates Elijah’s return before the Day of the Lord. What is beyond question is their role: they are God’s prophetic witnesses to Israel during the darkest period of human history, their ministry is supernaturally empowered and supernaturally protected until God’s appointed time, and their death and resurrection serve as a dramatic testimony to the watching world. God does not leave Himself without a witness, even in the worst of times.
“And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:3 (ESV)