Bible Question: WHY DO THE TWO WITNESSES HAVE TO BE SOMEONE WHO LIVED IN THE PAST? COULD IT NOT BE TWO WHO GOD HAS RAISED UP FOR THE END TIME? |
Bible Answer: The two witnesses need not be people who lived in the past. Indeed it could be two whom God has raised up for the end time. But consider the following. . . . "While it is impossible to be dogmatic about the identity of these two witnesses, several observations suggest they MIGHT (emphasis is mine) be Moses and Elijah: . . . 1) like Moses, they strike the earth with plagues, and like Elijah, they have the power to keep it from raining; . . . 2) Jewish tradition expected both Moses (compare Deut 18:15-18) and Elijah (compare Mal 4:5,6) to return in the future (compare John 1:21); . . . 3) both Moses and Elijah were present at the Transfiguration, the preview of Christ's second coming; . . . 4) both Moses and Elijah used supernatural means to provoke repentance; . . . 5) Elijah was taken up alive into heaven, and God buried Moses' body where it would never be found; and . . . 6) the length of the drought the two witnesses bring (3 1/2 years; compare Rev 11:3) is the same as that brought by Elijah (James 5:17). (MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997) . . . I am not saying the two witnesses ARE Moses and Elijah. I'm saying that, based on the observations above, they MIGHT be Moses and Elijah. Beware of anyone who dogmatically asserts the identity of these two witnesses. |