Who Are The Two Witnesses In Revelation 11?

Revelation 11 is one of the most controversial chapters in the Bible.  Verses 3-14 describe two witnesses who prophesy for 1,260 days, are killed, and then come back to life and ascend into heaven.  Who are the two witnesses?  I this post I will give a preterist interpretation of the two witnesses.  

Three things are said about the two witnesses:

1. Their authority (3-6).
2. Their martyrdom (7-10).
3. Their resurrection (11-14).

1) Their authority (Rev 11:3-6).

Five things are said about their authority:

First, they are given authority to prophesy.  They are two Christian preachers (witnessing about Jesus).  The number “two” is significant because Jewish law required at least two witnesses to establish testimony.

Second, they prophesy for 1,260 days (or 42 months, or three and a half years).  They preach to Jerusalem all throughout the Jewish War, which lasted precisely three and a half years.

Third, they wear sackcloth.  The OT prophets wore sackcloth as a sign that their message was one of repentance or destruction.  The witnesses preached a “turn or burn” type of message.

Fourth, they are the two olive tress and two lampstands who stand before the Lord.  This is a reference to the two men in the prophet Zechariah’s day who were anointed by the Lord to lead the people, Joshua and Zerubbabel (Zech 4).  Zecheriah’s vision was of a lampstand that was supplied with an unlimited flow of oil from two olive trees.  The point was that Joshua and Zerubbabel were empowered by God.  The two witnesses in Revelation are appointed and empowered by God.

Fifth, they have supernatural abilities (four, in fact).  These are the same abilities that God gave to the OT prophets Elijah and Moses.  The point is that the two witnesses have supernatural abilities.

From this information we can conclude that the two witnesses are likely two apostles who continued to preach to the Jews in Jerusalem during the three and a half years of the Jewish War before its destruction.

2) Their martyrdom (Rev 11:7-10).

Three things are said about their martyrdom:

First, they are murdered by the beast.  This refers to Satan.  He was indirectly behind their death as he influence evil people to murder them.

Second, their dead bodies will lie in the main street of Jerusalem for three and a half days for public viewing.  The text doesn't say "Jerusalem," but the context makes it clear when it says "where also their Lord is crucified."

Third, the Jerusalemites will celebrate their death.

One scholar, James Stuart Russell, believes the two witnesses to be the apostles James (the brother of Jesus and author of the epistle of James) and Peter.  

1. They were the two main leaders of the church in Jerusalem throughout the book of Acts, and probably afterward.  All through Acts, Jerusalem was their main headquarters, and probably their residence.  We know this continued to be the case with James until his death.  
2. They were both apostles, and had power to perform great miracles. 
3. They both lived until the destruction of Jerusalem.
4. They both were martyred.  We know that Peter was martyred because Jesus predicted it (Jn 21:19).  We have two ancient historical sources that point to James’ martyrdom as happening in Jerusalem, right before Rome surrounded Jerusalem (Josephus, and Hegesippus, a Christian writer of the second century).  Hegesippus says that James was such a good man that many people, even among the Jews, considered his martyrdom to be the final straw that led to the siege of Jerusalem.  While we don’t have firm evidence that Peter was there with James at the end, it is very possible.  We know that one apostle was there, preaching Christ to the end; and it is highly possible that there was a second apostle who was witnessing with him to the end, maybe Peter.

3) Their resurrection (Rev 11:11-14).

Four things are said about their resurrection:

1. After three and a half days, people saw the two witnesses come back to life and stand up.
2. The people watched as they ascended into heaven.
3. A violent earthquake struck, destroying a tenth of the city, and seven thousand people died.
4. The survivors glorified God.

We don’t have any historical record of two preachers in Jerusalem before the end dying and coming back to life, but that doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen.

As for the earthquake, there is a possible literal fulfillment referenced in the works of Josephus.  During the Jewish war with Rome, there was also a bloody civil war being waged in the city of Jerusalem.  One group, the Zealots, had control of the temple.  When they heard that the high priest was about to hand the city over to the Romans, they called for an army from Idumea to help prevent the betrayal.  The Idumaeans arrived at the gates of Jerusalem with 20,000 men, but the high priest had the gates locked, so they couldn’t enter.  That very night, there was a fierce thunderstorm and an earthquake.  During the storm the Zealots cut the bars of the gates, which allowed the Idumaeans to enter.  Once inside they went crazy and killed thousands (8,500 according to some sources).

The two witnesses could have been two apostles, possibly James and Peter, who stayed in Jerusalem and continued to preach there throughout the Jewish war, and were eventually martyred.