The Two Witnesses vs. End Time False Prophets

You may have heard people claim to you that they are one of the Two Witnesses or claim to have met the Two Witnesses. Over the years, many people have made these claims to me.

I have ignored claims about the Two Witnesses because the Bible gives us a good idea of what to look for from the real Two Witnesses.

I don’t want you to get deceived. In this article, I’ll share with you insight about the Two Witnesses who will appear, including their likely identity.

The Two Witnesses

The Two Witnesses have not begun their ministry yet. In fact, the ministry of the Two Witnesses will not begin for a while.

God will assign two people to prophesy near the midpoint of the tribulation to counter the spread of Antichrist’s one-world religion. They, the Two Witnesses, will prophesy for 1,260 days or 3.5 years:

“(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 God of the earth.” (Revelation 11:3-4)

The topic(s) the Two Witnesses will prophesy about shall not contradict the Word of God or God’s Will. Deuteronomy 18:22 implies that a prophet from God predicts things that come to pass while a false prophet says things that do not come to pass:

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:22)

Based on this, you can know that you’re dealing with a false prophet when they claim to you to be one of the Two Witnesses and make a failed prediction.

The Message of the Two Witnesses

Revelation 11:3 tells us that the Two Witnesses will wear sackcloth clothing during their ministry:

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:3)

The sackcloth may give us a hint about what the Two Witnesses may stress to people during their ministry. The Bible suggests that sackcloth is worn at times of mourning (Genesis 37:4, Isaiah 22:12), when one seeks to show humility (Daniel 9:3), or when one is seeking to repent (Jonah 3:6-8):

Genesis 37:34 (Mourning): And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

Isaiah 22:12: (Mourning): And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:

Daniel 9:3 (Humility): And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes

Jonah 3:6-8 (Repenting): (6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. (7)And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: (8) But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

The Two Witnesses may urge people to humble themselves before God and to repent their evil ways during their ministry. The wicked will refuse to heed the words and warnings of the Two Witnesses.

Don’t Try to Harm Them

The Two Witnesses will practically be invincible during their 1,260 days of service. The Two Witnesses are not people you want to mess with for the following reasons:

  • Anyone who tries to harm them will die.
  • They will have the authority to punish the earth with plagues:

“(5) And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth 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.” (Revelation 11:5-6)

Revelation 11:6 indicates that it may not rain during the 1,260 days of their ministry. One reason why people may try to harm the Two Witnesses is for bringing this long drought. The Two Witnesses will smite the earth with other plagues as well, so the wicked will have plenty of reasons to hate them.

The Identity of the Two Witnesses

The identity of Two Witnesses is subject to debate. However, many agree that the Prophet Elijah will be one of the Two Witnesses. God promised in Malachi 4:5-6 that He will send Elijah to perform work before the coming of the Day of the Lord.

“(5) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: (6) And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

The focus of the debate concerns the identity of the second person. The three main candidates are:

  1. Enoch
  2. John, the author of Revelation.
  3. Moses

I believe Moses is likely the second of the Two Witnesses. Here are two key items to consider:

The Battle for Moses’s Body

Jude mentions that Satan and the Archangel Michael contended over the body of Moses:

“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.” (Jude 1:9)

This begs the question why would Satan want Moses’s physical body? Normally, a corpse should not concern Satan. However, in this case Satan wanted to prevent Michael’s attempt to gain (or maintain) custody over Moses’s body.

It’s reasonable to conclude that there was a strong demand for Moses’s body because it may be used again when Moses serves as one of the Two Witnesses.

Transfiguration

Second, Moses and Elijah (Elias) appeared together when Christ was transfigured.

“(1) And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, (2) And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (3) And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.” (Matthew 17:1-3)

The appearance of Moses and Elijah with a transfigured Jesus complies with the description of the Two Witnesses standing before God in Revelation 11:4.[1]

The Death & Rise of the Two Witnesses

Antichrist will manage to kill the Two Witnesses near the end of the tribulation in Jerusalem, the city where the Lord was crucified. The wicked will celebrate the deaths of the Two Witnesses after they tormented them during their ministry:

“(7) And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth 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 Lord 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.” (Revelation 11:7-10)

The detail about how the bodies of the Two Witnesses will remain in the streets gives us some idea of how much the wicked will despise them.

  • The wicked will show disrespect to the bodies by not giving them a proper burial.
  • The dead bodies will be on display so people can derive joy from the slaying of the Two Witnesses.

However, three days later the Two Witnesses will rise from the dead and ascend to Heaven to the chagrin of all those who celebrated their death:

“(11) And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God 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 God of heaven.” (Revelation 11:11-13)

The people who witness this event may begin to realize who is exactly in charge-and it’s not Antichrist! It’s God in Heaven!

Conclusion

Beware of people who claim to you that they are one of the Two Witnesses. You are likely dealing with a person who is not one of the Two Witnesses. Be skeptical of what they tell you.

Be careful as many false christs and false prophets will arise in the future who will seek to deceive many unsuspecting people. Don’t become one of their victims.

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Note

  1. Under this scenario, Moses would die twice, which does not seem right at first glance. However, according to Got Questions, a popular Christian Q & A website, there’s biblical precedent for a person to die twice.
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Wayne Croley
Wayne Croley

Hi! I’ve studied and written about Bible prophecy since I was a teenager. My goal is to make Bible prophecy easy for you to understand while avoiding the sensationalism seen elsewhere. I am the author of several end time books, including Prophecy Proof Insights on the End Times, a comprehensive book about the end times. I hold an M.B.A. and degrees in Managerial Economics and Political Science.