The Two Witnesses 

This exegesis of the Two Witnesses appears to begin with the sixth trumpet of Revelation 10, as opposed to the more common starting point in chapter 11. Revelation 10:7 speaks about these “servants the prophets” in the plural. I believe that the strange verbiage used “as he hath declared to his servants the prophets,” or the literal Greek translation “of God, as proclaimed this of himself servants, the prophets.” The reflexive pronoun, or anaphor used of the word “himself’ is used in the 3rd person reflexive (singular, plural) form which also functions as the reflexive for the 1st and 2nd person. In other words, the 1st and 2nd person will draw from the 3rd person which is John’s writings in Revelation. In Revelation 11, the two witnesses do stand before God. Also, the timeframe used in Revelation 10:7 denotes, “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,” which is specifically speaking of Revelation 11, and the seventh trumpet.

⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. Revelation 10:7

In Isaiah 9:15 we can determine who a false prophet is “The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail.”  Judah is the “ancient and honorable.” Judea was the first of the twelve tribes, and the tribe of Dan is the tail, and the last of the tribes (Revelation 7:5, Dan is omitted). Let’s look at Exodus 4:4:

Then He said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. ⁴But the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail"-- so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand-- ⁵"that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Exodus 4:4

The word staff used in Exodus 4:4, is the Semitic word כָּף (kaph), which the literal meaning is "hollow of the hand," so-called for its shape. We see the symbolism open up a greater understanding in Isaiah 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales? ¹³Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him?” Moses is a type of God, and the staff represents the power given to Moses over the twelve tribes.

¹And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: ²And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, ³And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. ⁴And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. ⁵And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, ⁶And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: ⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.  Revelation 10:1-7

⁸And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. ⁹And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. ¹⁰And I took the little book out of the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. ¹¹And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.  Revelation 10:8-11

If we look at Revelation 10:11: And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again [palin-] before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. The Greek literal translation of the word palin- in the Strong’s concordance is: back (of place), again (of time), further. The word etymology is from Greek palaio-, comb. form of palaios "old, ancient," from palai "long ago, far back," related to palin "again, backwards," tele- "far off, at a distance," from PIE root *kwel- "to turn, move about," also "far" (in space and time).

If we look at Daniel 12:5-7, two who witness an Angel declaring that when he has “accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people,” then “all these things shall be finished.” The length of time is 1260 years, and the completion of the scattering of His people was 1948. Simple subtraction will equal 688 A.D.  In 688 A.D the Dome of the Rock, כיפת הסלע‎ construction started and completed in 691 A.D. What is more interesting is in Daniel 12:5, the Hebrew word “other,” as in “there stood other two,” The word acher אַחֵר translates in the adjective as “another, other,” and is also the same translation for the word “gentile” גוֹי, נוֹכרִי, אַחֵר. Hebrew 'ibhri "an Israelite," literally means "one from the other side," in reference to the River Euphrates. Those on the other side are the gentiles. So one witness will be gentile [Christian], and the other an Israelite.

⁵Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river. ⁶And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? ⁷And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.  Daniel 12:5-7

In Deuteronomy 17:6 the necessity for two witnesses are defined by Mosaic Law as being necessary to convict and introduce the death penalty against the defendant. And it’s strange how the verbiage, ‘two witnesses, or three witnesses’ is used. Why not just say two witnesses, or more, or at least two witnesses? I believe that this verse is phrased methodically. While Jesus gives them the great appearance of power, but it is through Jesus that this power originates. We need to remember that this power is of God, and He retains all authority, and to exercise His authority over any judgments’ put forth by the Two Witnesses.

⁶At 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.  Deuteronomy 17:6

We see in Obadiah 1:15-21 that “The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion To judge the mountain of Esau, And the kingdom will be the LORD’S. The Edomites of the “mountains of Esau” are the “present day Palestinians.” The present-day Palestinian’s are responsible for most of the hostilities perpetrated against Israel in our present day. God will always send Israel deliverers in their time of inordinate peril. Moses and Aron was a type or pattern as deliverers for Gods people regardless of Israel’s disobedience. The end of days Two Witnesses will proclaim judgment on the “disobedient” nations that don’t accept Jesus as the divine ruler and its messiah. The Two Witnesses will be hated and despised by most, if not all nations, because of this ultimatum and the plagues that will ensue. God will pour out His wrath unmixed, ἄκρατος (meaning “extreme”), thus that nation will be utterly destroyed [Revelation 14:10]. If we read Nehemiah 9:26-28, this isn’t a new methodology and the pattern plays out over and over again.

²⁶But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, And cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You, And they committed great blasphemies. ²⁷"Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors who oppressed them, But when they cried to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors. ²⁸"But as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You; Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. When they cried again to You, You heard from heaven, And many times You rescued them according to Your compassion…  Nehemiah 9:26-28

 ¹⁰I signed and sealed the deed, and called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.  Jeremiah 32:10  

⁴⁴Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be signed and sealed and witnessed, in the land of Benjamin, in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 32:44

We see in Obadiah 1:21, which the deliverers’ יָשַׁע (Two Witnesses), will deliver Israel from the descendants of Esau, the historical fact of Esau's mixture with Canaanites (Hittites) and Ishmaelite’s denotes that it will be a conflict between Muslim (Islam) and Israel.

¹⁵“The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. ¹⁶Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been. ¹⁷But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and Jacob will possess his inheritance. ¹⁸Jacob will be a fire and Joseph a flame; Esau will be stubble, and they will set him on fire and destroy him. There will be no survivors from Esau.” The Lord has spoken. ¹⁹People from the Negev will occupy the mountains of Esau, and people from the foothills will possess the land of the Philistines. They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will possess Gilead. ²⁰This Company of Israelite exiles who are in Canaan will possess the land as far as Zarephath; the exiles from Jerusalem who are in Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev. ²¹Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.  Obadiah 1:15-21

In Nehemiah 9:26-28 we see that Israel “committed great blasphemies,” yet, God continues to send “deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors. ,” but still Israel doesn’t learn. Continues in the same path and transgresses, and God “abandoned them to the hand of their enemies”

²⁶But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets who had admonished them So that they might return to You, And they committed great blasphemies. ²⁷"Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their oppressors who oppressed them, But when they cried to You in the time of their distress, You heard from heaven, and according to Your great compassion You gave them deliverers who delivered them from the hand of their oppressors. ²⁸But as soon as they had rest, they did evil again before You; Therefore You abandoned them to the hand of their enemies, so that they ruled over them. When they cried again to You, You heard from heaven, And many times You rescued them according to Your compassion…  Nehemiah 9:26-28

This same pattern is reiterated in Acts 7:51-53. Israel commits great irreverence, kills the prophets, and yet, God continues to forgive them. The pattern continues until Israel is cast to all the nations, and is in servitude until 1948.

⁵¹You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. ⁵²"Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; ⁵³you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.  Acts 7:51-53

In Zephaniah 1:12 we see the verbiage “I will search Jerusalem with candles [lamps], and punish the men that are settled on their [lees].” The word lees is 18^th century plural of lie, probably from Celtic (cf. Old Irish lige "a bed, a lying"), from PIE root *legh- "to lie.” The word “candles” [נֵר, lamps plural], nir {neer}; also neyr {nare}; or ner {nare}; or (feminine) nerah {nay-raw'}; from a primitive root (niyr; nuwr) properly, meaning to glisten; a lamp (i.e. the burner) or light (literally or figuratively) -- candle, lamp, light. Latin nare is from PIE root *sna- "to swim" (cf. Sanskrit snati "bathes;" Avestan snayeite "washes, cleans;.” Λυχνία, λυχνίας, ἡ, a later Greek word for the earlier λυχνίον, see Lob. ad Phryn., p. 313f; (Wetstein (1752) on Matthew 5:15; Winers Grammar, 24); the Sept. for מְנורָה; a (candlestick) lampstand, candelabrum: Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16; (Luke 11:33); Hebrews 9:2; the two eminent prophets who will precede Christ's return from heaven in glory are likened to 'candlesticks,' Revelation 11:4 (Buttmann, 81 (70); Winer's Grammar, 536 (499)); to the seven 'candlesticks' (Exodus 25:37 “candles” [נֵר, nir lamps plural], (A. V. lamps; cf. B. D. (especially the American edition), under the word )) also the seven more conspicuous churches of Asia are compared in Revelation 1:12, 20; Revelation 2:1.

¹²And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.  Zephaniah 1:12