…Or, am I out of my mind to even suggest that an answer can be known? You decide.

In the last book of the Bible, we find a brief mention of “Two Witnesses” in Revelation 11, but there’s no mention of them before or after that. Or, is there?

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.“

This is a passage that has perplexed theologians for millennia. There has been unending speculation as to the identity of these two persons. Could it be some sort of angel or other spirit being? Could it be Moses and Elijah? Enoch? Will they represent someone who has died, then brought back to life and someone else who is alive—or departed this earth while still alive? Does one witness pertain to the Law of the Old Testament, while the other pertains to the Writings? The Prophets?

The ideas about this answer are as vast as there are people to write about it. But the actual answer is very plain to see and it can be identified if one understands exactly what the Book of Revelation says in the first place. It all stems from a single word: “Apokalypsis”, which is the Greek word that we call “Revelation”.

“Apokalypsis” literally means laying bare, making naked, unveiling. In other words, the book of Revelation is a totally open book, brutally honest, that is laid bare before our eyes, with nothing hidden for us to see…if we have the courage to simply see it.

Don’t believe me? It says that very thing in Rev. 1:1. Still can’t see it? Here is exactly how this verse should read if written in the original Hebrew language: התגלותו של ישוע המשיח, שאלוהים נתן לו, להלשיל על משרתיו דברים שחייבים להתגשם בקרוב; והוא שלח וסימן את זה על ידי המלאך שלו אל משרתו ג’ון.  The English equivalent (although, it sounds choppy) is: “Unveiling of Yahshua Anointed which gives to Him THE Elohim [reference to Yahweh, the Father] to show to the slaves of Him what must be occurring in swiftness and He signifies it commissioning through the messenger of Him to the slave of Him John.”

At first glance, the reader who is unfamiliar with Hebrew sentence structure might read this and think it’s odd, that Yahshua gives something to Yahweh. That would be an incorrect reading of this verse. In Hebrew, the recipient of what is being given is mentioned first, followed by the giver, which appears in the sentence afterward. If this sentence were arranged in our English language, yet maintain the same meaning, it would be written like this:

[the] Revelation of Yahshua Anointed, which Yahweh gave to Him to show to His servants things which must swiftly come to pass and He [Yahweh, the Father] sent and signified it by His [Yahweh’s] angel unto His [Yahshua’s] servant, John.

Now, re-read the first half of this verse again. You’ll see that it clearly says that Yahweh GAVE this book to Yahshua. It does not say that Yahshua WROTE the book then passed it down to humans. Clearly, there are two Elohim mentioned in verse 1. Yahshua cannot “give” something to Himself, so the second person mentioned in verse 1 is His Father, Yahweh. Too often, readers of scripture interpret God, Jesus, Christ and The Lord, interchangeably, which only leads to confusion.

Therefore, if Yahweh is its author, then Apokalypsis could only have been written in heaven, because by the time this book was transliterated and given to the Apostle John, Yahshua had long since been resurrected and gone to heaven. Verse 1 cannot be any plainer than that. It is laid bare. He did not disguise, hide or make His words confusing. Verse 1 tells us that Yahweh is the author and He gave this book to Yahshua, who—through an angel—passed it on to John.

Now that we know that Revelation is “unhidden”, we revisit the brief story of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11. What is a witness? Let’s start by identifying the method of their deaths. In verse 7, we learn that after 3 ½ years, they are killed. Obviously, you cannot kill a spirit being, so this rules out some angelic entity. These witnesses must be humans. And human beings can only be killed once. Afterward, they must await their resurrection upon Yahshua’s return. But no human being can ever be killed, return back to life, then be killed again, and Rev. 11:7 clearly describes that the Two Witnesses die. Therefore, each of these witnesses must be human beings who suffer a brutal death after their task is complete.

There is much speculation that Moses is one of the two witnesses. But we can obviously rule him out because his death is recorded in scripture. Can the witness be a person who has been born in modern times, such as within the 20th or 21st century? No, and that answer is easy to understand if we allow Revelation itself to tell us.

How can one be identified as a witness? Strong’s Concordance explains the meaning of this word as “a witness, in a legal sense, or a spectator of anything”. The human beings who will become the Two Witnesses must have seen something, not just be aware of something. You cannot have been “taught” about a past event. The word “witness” in Rev. 11 is not a metaphor or a figure of speech. It is an actual, eye-witness human being.

Occasionally, scripture uses hidden meanings in certain passages and the reader must use other parts of scripture to be sure of the meaning in the vague passage. But remember, Revelation is NOT vague. It is an open book. The word “witnesses” in Rev. 11 appears 22 times in the New Testament and in all 22 occasions, it means a human eye witness to events. When scripture speaks of witnesses, each time it speaks of people who saw the event, not just heard about it. They were there. Are there any significant persons who are identified in scripture whose deaths are not recorded and who could fit this description? Yes, there are exactly two. One person is identified from the Old Testament and the other is identified from the New. Whose death is never recorded in the Old Testament?

The Prophet, Elijah.

In 2 Kings 2, we read about Elijah’s disappearance from the face of the earth. This was not a death. Not only did Elijah know that he would be departing, Elisha (Elijah’s son) and all the people of the town of Beth-el knew it too. To make this clear, the people of Beth-el posed a question to Elisha. In verse 3 it reads: “And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said to him “Knowest thou that Yahweh will take away thy master [Elijah] from thy head today?” What was Elisha’s response? “Yea, I know it; hold your peace.”

Everybody identified here at the beginning of 2 Kings 2 was fully aware that Elijah would soon be departing, alive, to another destination. They knew he was tasked with some other purpose that would manifest itself in the future. This was such common knowledge that 2 Kings continues to reveal even more people who knew of Elijah’s future destiny. This is found in verse 5, when both Elijah and Elisha came to another town, Jericho.

In verse 5, the scenario from verse 3 repeats itself. Just as the common knowledge of the people of Beth-el, in Jericho they understood the same thing. V.5: “And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Yahweh will take away thy master from thy head today?” Again, this question, which came from the townspeople, was met with the same response from Elisha: “Yea, I know it; hold your peace.”

The moment of truth was about to happen and it was witnessed by 50 men (v. 7) who watched from a distance. The reason that Elisha told them to hold their peace was because they knew they were about to witness something beyond their imaginations and, no doubt, they were highly anticipating this moment. They knew, and were told in advance, that Elijah would be departing that day and would be taken away to another time. Except, at that time, nobody had any idea how many years into the future this would be. For all they knew, they were about to witness Elijah’s departure and probably couldn’t wait to see him again and brag that “I was there!” on that fateful day, thinking that they would greet him again later in their lifetimes.

Then, in verse 11, a chariot of fire, with horses on fire, scooped up Elijah and took him away. It’s important to note, Elijah’s death is never recorded anywhere in the Bible, as it is for all other major prophets. But is this the only evidence that Elijah is one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation? Not by a long shot. Several other passages explain what Elijah’s future role will be, and they are so obvious, it may seem too simple to be believed.

In Malachi 4:5, he writes “Behold, I [Yahshua] will send Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh.” Talk about point-blank! But, most scholars and theologians have concluded that this prophecy has already been fulfilled with the ministry of John the Baptist in the New Testament. After all, didn’t Yahshua himself admit as much? And of course, they are referring to a conversation that’s recorded in the book of Matthew.

In Matt. 17:10, the Apostles were asking about the Prophet Elijah. They asked “…Why then say the scribes unto them, Elias [N.T. spelling of “Elijah”] must first come?” Note: They asked Yahshua whether Elijah would soon “come”, not be “resurrected from the dead”. Here in the New Testament, the understanding that Elijah had never died was still common knowledge. What was Yahshua’s response? He answered their question with an answer that had dual meanings—something He commonly did throughout the New Testament.

V. 11—“And Yahshua answered and said unto them, Elias truly SHALL FIRST COME [has not happened yet] and restore all things. V. 12—“But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they [will]. V. 13—“Then the disciples understood that He spake unto them of John the Baptist.”

Again, this answer came in two parts. One) Elijah WILL come again, prior to Yahshua’s 2nd return. Two) John the Baptist’s role was similar to the future role of Elijah in that he prepared the way for the first arrival of Yahshua. Thus, Yahshua’s response included both the current “Elijah” as John the Baptist and the future actual Prophet Elijah. Most people read Yahshua’s response, then His explanation about John the Baptist and immediately jump to the conclusion that both halves of His answer pertain equally to John the Baptist. If this were the case, why did He recognize the future Prophet Elijah that is yet to come in the first half of His answer as a separate thought from the latter half of His answer?

Even Luke, in his book, was certain that Elijah was still alive. In Luke 9:7, Herod was inquiring into the identity of Yahshua, uncertain who He was. It reads “…and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead; v. 8—And of some, that Elias had APPEARED; and of others, that one of the old prophets was risen again.” Wait a minute—wasn’t Elijah “one of the old prophets” too? Why did Luke write that some thought that Elijah had appeared, instead of Elijah was risen again? After all, he certainly was one of the old prophets. By this time, Elijah would have been over 600 years old, so it would only make sense to wonder whether Elijah had risen again. Luke wrote this passage this way, not by mistake, but on purpose, because he was fully aware that Elijah had not yet died. That’s why both thoughts are expressed in v. 8.

This should provide ample proof of the identification of Elijah as one of the Two Witnesses of Revelation. But, the most convincing explanation is also the most astonishing.

In the Bible, the “last” time that Elijah’s name is mentioned is incorrectly believed to be found in the “last” book of the Old Testament, or Malachi, as I cited above. This would be a wrong assumption. The reason it’s wrong is because Malachi is not actually the last book of the Old Testament, when the books are placed into their original manuscript order. In doing so, Malachi is included as part of one singular book called “The Twelve”, or what we commonly refer to today as the Minor Prophets. The Twelve, or one book, was located in the center of the Old Testament and several books came afterward. These include Psalms, Proverbs, Daniel and others. It also includes Chronicles (originally, just one book not two), which was actually the very last book of the Old Testament. Why is this significant? It is because Chronicles was written approximately 156 years after the events of 2 Kings, where we saw Elijah taken away. Keep in mind that this was a time where the average life expectancy was about 70 years.

When Elijah was mentioned in Mal. 4, it was merely a description of his future purpose, written by the Prophet Malachi. But something extraordinary happened in the book of 2 Chronicles. In chapter 21:5, we are introduced to a king of Israel named Jehoram, who (in v. 6) “…wrought that which was evil in the eyes of Yahweh.” Later, in verse 12, one of the most mind-blowing verses in all of scripture appears! And, I’m not kidding.

2 Chron. 21:12—“And there came a writing to him [Jehoram] from Elijah the prophet, saying Thus says Yahweh Elohim of David thy father….” The reason this is such an amazing scripture is twofold. First, re-read the opening statement of that letter. Elijah has just conveyed that this was a quote that came directly from Yahweh. “Thus says Yahweh” is telling Jehoram that these words came directly from Yahweh and were told to Elijah. He did not begin his letter in the traditional way of saying “In the name of Yahweh….” The second reason this is amazing is because this event in 2 Chronicles occurred a century and a half after Elijah had already been taken away by the firey chariot up into heaven. So how in the world could he have sent a letter to King Jehoram many, many years later? The translators were obviously stumped by this fact too, so they came up with an idea and put their explanation in the margin of the KJV Bible. At the mention of Elijah’s letter [which they thought was impossible], the margin’s note reads “Which was written before his [Elijah’s] death.”

Of course they had to explain it this way! After all (they rationalized to themselves), it was understood that Elijah was a prophet of Yahweh, so no doubt, He gave Elijah this vision and no doubt, Elijah wrote it for a future time, and no doubt somebody else knew all about the existence of the letter and no doubt knew the precise moment that Jehoram’s deeds would have finally angered Yahweh to the point of finally punishing him, so no doubt, they knew that this was exactly the right moment to give him Elijah’s letter…written over 156 years ago. Yup. No doubt about it.

Or, Elijah was still alive on earth, 156 years after his recorded departure. He hadn’t died. Long after he disappeared in the firey chariot, he was still on earth and was fully aware of the events surrounding the nation of Israel and he was aware, in real time, of the misbehavior of King Jehoram. After seeing his misdeeds, he wrote a note and had it delivered to Jehoram, telling him of the punishments that he and his people will soon have to endure as a result of his evil ways and disobedience to Yahweh.

I believe scenario number two. Elijah is the first of the two witnesses. He is still alive today, still human and he is approximately 2,600 years old. This should not be shocking to students of the Bible. Some of the first generations of humans to inhabit the earth had lives of 930 years, 912, 905, 895 and even as long as 969 years. Noah himself didn’t die until the age of 950. So, is it really unimaginable that Yahweh could keep a human being alive for twice that long or longer? (Mark 9:23—“Yahshua said unto him, if you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.”)

When the Apostles asked Yahshua whether Elias would be returning now, he would have been over 600 years old even then and they were still certain that he was alive. What’s a measly extra two millennia for Yahweh to fulfill His words of Rev. 11? When Elijah finally dies, after being a WITNESS (eye-witness) to the events of the Old Testament, it will be the first and only time that he does.

Can we identify the second witness? Yes, but this time, it’s so easy, we don’t have to go into nearly as much detail, nor cite as many scriptures. We can begin in Revelation 1:10. Here, the Apostle John, the recipient of the book Apokalypsis, was taken, in spirit to the “day of the Master”. What did he see? He VIEWED [was not “told about”] the events that would be transpiring on earth in the day [era, time, not a literal 24-hour period] of Yahshua. John had already been an eye witness of the events of the first century, A.D. while Yahshua was conducting His ministry. But, here we’re told that he will also become an eye-witness to other events that had not even occurred yet, over 2,000 years into the future.

The first thing John saw was the 7 churches of Revelation with their various descriptions. Then, he saw the 6 seals opened and the catastrophic events that they described. Next, he saw the 7 angels, each one identifying various plagues and destruction. Immediately after seeing all of these future events WITH HIS OWN EYES, what is John told to do?

Rev. 10:9—“And I [John] went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book…. Take it and eat it up…. V. 10—And I [John] took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up…. V. 11—And he [the angel] said unto me [John], THOU MUST PROPHECY AGAIN BEFORE MANY PEOPLES, AND NATIONS, AND TONGUES, AND KINGS.”

What was in this little book? It contained all of the visions that John watched with his own eyes throughout the book of Revelation, from ch. 2:10 to ch. 10:11. Many other visions, besides those recorded in Revelation are written in this little book, but John was told not to write them down (ch. 10:4) because those words are “sealed”, only to be unsealed at a later time. In other words, when John reappears as the 2nd Witness, not only will he prophecy about the things that are recorded in Revelation, he’ll also prophecy about the things that until then had remained sealed.

The angel told John that he would have to prophecy again, and this message is being delivered in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. There is only one other time remaining in all of human history that anyone will be required to prophecy again, and that is immediately prior to the 2nd return of Yahshua Anointed, our Messiah. John has just been given an assignment to prophecy again, which is exactly the role of the Two Witnesses of Rev. 11.

This should be sufficient proof that the Apostle John is the second of the two witnesses, but in case there are still doubters, how about if Yahshua Himself, said, point-blank, that John is one of the two witnesses? Does that sound shocking? Well, He did. But first, He only hinted about it and that reference is found in each of the first three books of the gospels.

Matt. 16:28—Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom.

Mark 9:1—And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of Yahshua come with power.

Luke 9:27—But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of Yahshua.

In each of these verses, the expression “some standing here”, in Hebrew is:  יש כמה עומדים כאן

This literally means: “some of the ones”, and the Hebrew words “some” and “ones” are both masculine and plural.  Most readers would assume that Yahshua was identifying thousands or millions of people, but this would be incorrect.  If he were identifying millions of people, the usage of the words “some” and “ones” would have been gender-neutral.  Yahshua explained, point-blank, that only TWO humans, Elijah and John, would not taste death until their future assignments were completed.

John wrote several books in the Bible, but he’s mostly known for the Gospel of John, his primary book. It is the most intimate description of the life and ministry of Yahshua Anointed, compared to the other gospels. At the end of this important book and after Yahshua had already ascended into heaven, He returned to earth and showed Himself to the Apostles on three separate occasions. The first was in John 20:14. The second appearance was in verse 26. His third and final appearance begins in John 21 and is described throughout the rest of that chapter.

Beginning in verse 20, here is the narrative from the KJV Bible—“Then Peter, turning about, sees the disciple whom Yahshua loved [a common description for the Apostle John] following…. V. 21—Peter seeing him [John] said to Yahshua, “Master? And what will this man do?” [referring to John]. V. 22—Yahshua said unto him, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you? Follow Me.” V. 23—Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that THAT disciple [John] would not die! Yet, Yahshua said not unto him [Peter] “He shall not die”; but “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to you?”

What did Yahshua mean with His use of the word “tarry”? In Strongs, this word is defined as: to remain, abide, not to depart, to sojourn, to continue to be present, to be held, to be kept continually, not to perish, to endure, to survive, TO LIVE. Yahshua had made it clear that His brief time on earth in the first century would be followed by His return at a later date. He had not made it clear to the Apostles exactly when that second return would be. So, when He spoke these words, telling Peter and the others that John would “tarry” till He comes again, the brethren were slightly peeved, thinking that Yahshua would be returning at a point just barely past their lifetimes and only John would still be alive to meet him.

But Yahshua understood that the time of His second coming was not to occur for another 2,000 years. Here, he revealed to us that John’s purpose was/is to be the other witness of Revelation, as he will now TARRY until Yahshua returns again.

When John wrote these words in ch. 21:20-23, he also understood that the amount of time that he would remain on earth was a long, long time. One of the literary devices that he uses throughout his writings, was the use of repetition. If something he writes is repeated, it’s to emphasize its importance. If something is written three times, its importance is elevated to the point of putting a notary stamp of validation on his words. Read what John wrote in the very next verse after Yahshua had just explained John’s role to the others.

V. 24—”This is the disciple which testifies of these things [1st point] and wrote these things [2nd point]: and we know that his testimony is true” [3rd point]. For John to emphasize the significance of what Yahshua had just revealed to the others, he needed to write it in triplicate. He spoke it. He wrote it. And, most importantly, he had witnesses to verify the truth of his assertion [“WE”—those in attendance—know that his testimony is true]. This becomes more than just a legal endorsement. It is like a Supreme Court vote on the matter, affirming its unwavering truth.

The Prophet Elijah, a human being, over 2,600 years old, and witness to events that transpired in the Old Testament, is still alive on earth and awaiting the day that he will reemerge with the Apostle John (that youngster). And John, who is a witness to events that happened in the New Testament, knowing that he will have to prophecy again in many tongues, has had 2,000 years to learn those languages. These two human beings will appear once again, in most of our lifetimes (I’ll save that note for another time) and will prophecy about the 2nd coming of Yahshua Anointed. Their missions will last for 3 ½ years until the day that they are both killed by the Beast in a gruesome manner, meeting their deaths for the first time ever.

Their bodies will be left to rot in the street in Jerusalem and the whole world will rejoice because they did not like the message that they were bringing. But, after 3 ½ days, their spirits will return to them and they will be raised from the dead and stand back on their feet, causing the whole world to fear them. Moments later, they will ascend up into heaven, setting the stage for the 2nd coming of our Messiah, Yahshua Anointed.

What I wouldn’t give to know the whereabouts of each of these people today….