THE TWO WITNESSES

Henry V. Mc Nulty
Author, Founder of Eternal Kingdom Seminary
P.O. Box 4691, Palm Desert, CA, 92261

Now there is another group that Jesus puts in action. Namely, the two witnesses. They are described in Revelation 11:3+ RSV:

And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy an ‘E’ thousand two hundred threescore days clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.

The two witnesses are compared to the two olive trees in Zachariah 4:1-14, which seems to associate them with Moses and Elijah, who were anointed in the Old Testament. Only kings and priests were anointed. In the New Testament, Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, who was sent by God to fulfill all righteousness. Believers were infused with this righteousness through Jesus when they believed and obeyed through baptism. Thus the saints received priestly anointment and were qualified to be the witnesses. In Revelation 1:6 KJV, John is addressing his letter to the saints in Asia and calls them “kings and priests unto God and his Father.” John 14:20 RSV:

In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Some theologians teach that the Two Witnesses are two individuals. This doesn’t fit the description in the scriptures. If there were only two individuals to do the work, they both would by now be in excess of two ‘E’ thousand years old. The two witnesses are not two individuals. They are a corporate group comprised of saints explaining the Old and New testaments. As the saints leave this earth to go to heaven, new saints will be added to the eternal Kingdom and available for service to proclaim the gospel of the Two Witnesses. Revelation 11: 3 KJV tells us that the Two Witnesses would witness for 1260 days clothed in sackcloth. It doesn’t say they would stop witnessing at the end of that period. The 1260 days is the same period of time from the baptism of Jesus to the cross. Sackcloth is usually worn to commemorate death or the end of an era. The law was established in the Old Testament. The prophets foretold of the coming of the Messiah and the ending of the law. Sackcloth worn during that period confirmed the end of the Mosaic Law. The New Testament witnessed the Messiah had indeed come to earth to fulfill the gospel and establish his eternal Kingdom. The Old and New Testaments are the Two Witnesses. The example of the two olive trees fits into the story of the Two Witnesses. The cultivated tree is the Old Testament and the law. The wild olive tree Is grafted into the original olive tree bringing the gentiles and making the New Testament. Both provide oil for the lamp. The prophecy of Zachariah 4:2-3 LB:

I see a golden lampstand holding seven lamps, and at the top there is a reservoir for the olive oil that feeds the lamps, flowing into them through seven tubes, 3 And I see two olive trees carved upon the lampstand one on each side of the reservoir.

Psalms 119:105: Thy word, Old and New Testaments, is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.