Question:
Who are the two witnesses in the tribulation period that are killed by the antichrist?
Answer:
The Bible does not give us their names. Revelation 11:3-13 says, “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.”
Some have guessed these two to be Enoch and Elijah, because those two men were taken directly to heaven. Genesis 5:24 says, “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Of Elijah, II Kings 2:1 says, “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” The Bible does not specifically say that the two witnesses of the Book of Revelation are Enoch and Elijah, so I cannot say that there are.
I assume that these two witnesses are going to be two men who get saved after the Rapture takes place. Remember, no one who has heard the gospel before the Rapture, and rejected it, is going to be saved after the Rapture. II Thessalonians 2:9-12 says, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Those people who have heard and rejected the true gospel, are going to believe the lie of the devil after the Rapture.
A great multitude of people are going to get saved during the Tribulation Period, but it will be people who never heard and understood the gospel before that point. Revelation 7:9-14 “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
So these two witnesses of God must not have heard the true gospel before the Rapture. How will they get saved when there are no Christians left upon earth after the Rapture? God’s Word will still be here. Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Psalm 12:6,7 says, “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”
It may be that they get saved through reading a gospel tract that a Christian laid somewhere. A man wrote in to us telling us that he was a garbage collector. One day, he saw a gospel tract discarded in the garbage. He picked it up and read it and got saved. It may be that they will listen to a cassette tape of a message being preached, or watch a video of a message, and thus repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ. I do not know what will lead them to Christ, but something will.
After that, they will be Spirit-filled preachers. Revelation 11:4 says, “These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” That is clear language reminding us of Zechariah 4:1-6 says, “And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep, And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof: And TWO OLIVE TREES by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, NOT BY MIGHT, NOR BY POWER, BUT BY MY SPIRIT, saith the LORD of hosts.”