Considerations Regarding The Two Witnesses
Daniel 11 And Revelation 10

It should be quite obvious to all that God used two primary means of speaking to His people in the Old Testament that they would know His will: through the Law and the prophets. The Law was given through Moses and pointed to one who would come: the Lord Jesus Christ. The prophets, represented by Elijah, pointed to Him alone as well.

On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus appeared with both of these men, Moses and Elijah:

Mat 17:1  And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,
2  And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3  And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.
4  Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
5  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

"Hear ye Him." The Father spoke from heaven, and in these three words, His message was "Up to now you had heard of one to come and seen Him foreshadowed in the Law and the prophets. This is Him, this is my beloved Son, as He has said. Hear ye Him."

Daniel And Revelation

There are some interesting verses in Daniel and Revelation that could indicate this same presence of the Jesus, Moses and Elijah. In Daniel 12, we read,

Dan 12:5  Then 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.
6  And 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?
7  And 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 an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.
8  And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

Here we have a man dressed in linen, upon the waters of the river with two others, one of each side of the river. The two men on either side are not identified, but the man on the river is by the use of the word, "Lord." The word lord is used in Daniel in two ways, one with a small "l" and the other with a large "L." When "lord" is used, Daniel is speaking of someone other than God. When "Lord" is used, it always refers to God Himself. In verse 8, it is God Himself who is doing the speaking and the one that one of the personages on either side of the river asks a question, as does Daniel. The linen garment would point to this person as the Son of God.

In Revelation 10, we have a complementary picture of this scene:

Rev 10:1  And 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:
2  And 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,
3  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. . . .
5  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6  And 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:
7  But 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.
8  And 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.

The lion-like roar can easily be applied to the Lion of Judah, the rainbow as that which was over the throne of God, His face shining as the sun and other descriptions are easily seen as Christ. We also have a book mentioned in both sets of verses. In Daniel the above verses continue by speaking about the book being sealed:

Dan 12:9  And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
10  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
11  And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12  Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
13  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

In Revelation 10, we find the book being opened:

Rev 10:8  And 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.
9  And 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.
10  And 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.

Both scenes point to the end when Christ returns. In Daniel, the daily sacrifice being taken away, the setting up of the abomination, and the 1290 and 1335 days all place the time frame in the middle of the seventy week. In Revelation, the scene is similar to that of Daniel that it's obvious it is the same timeframe, with the coming of the seventh trumpet. In Daniel 12:6, one of the personages asks,

And 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?

The fulfilling of the mystery of God in the seventh trumpet in Revelation 10 answers, in part, this question as in Daniel 12:6. The eating of the book tasted sweet, meaning this period would bring us to the coming of Christ. It's turning sour in the stomach indicates a time of great trial in the last three and a half years which closes this age.

The question that must be asked, though, is if these two scenes from these books complement one another in their similarity, where are the two men that are described in Daniel 12? If Daniel 12:7 points to the last 3-1/2 years of Daniel's 70th week, which it does, then so does Revelation 10:6-7, a time period which will introduce the end found in the seventh trumpet. I believe the two witnesses prophesy during the last half of Daniel's seventieth week and they, therefore, would have just begun their ministry since the little book was open, a ministry described in the opening verses of the very next chapter. In either case, they would not be present in the scene in Revelation 10 as they are in Daniel 12 because they would have started their ministry. Are the two others in Daniel 12 Moses and Elijah and the two witnesses of Revelation? I believe it is very probable when we take into consideration the similarity of the two chapters and the transfiguration where Jesus appeared with Elijah and Moses, the law and the prophets and these are two main means of God speaking to His people.

It is interesting that the description of the two witnesses immediately follows Revelation 10, as the two men are not mentioned in this book. This is most likely since the verses we've mentioned speak of the last three and a half years termed the Great Tribulation.

The problem I have with the two witnesses being Moses and Elijah is that there is no precendent in Scripture for God sending any living man back to earth. There is a precendent for one coming "in the likeness" of one who didn't die. That would be Elijah, the one coming in his likeness being John the Baptist. I believe the two witnesses will two men who come in the power of Elijah and Moses and thus in their likeness.

The Law And The Prophets

The Law and the prophets are mentioned 11 times in the New Testament:

(Mat 5:17 KJV)  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

(Mat 11:13 KJV)  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

(Luke 16:16 KJV)  The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

(Luke 24:44 KJV)  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

(John 1:45 KJV)  Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

(Acts 13:15 KJV)  And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

(Acts 24:14 KJV)  But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

(Acts 28:23 KJV)  And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

(Rom 3:21 KJV)  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

The Law and the prophets pointed to Jesus and prophesied until John the Baptist. Now the Church would proclaim He had come and that He would come a second time, reminding the Church of even Old Testament prophesies and that they be kept in remembrance. During this period, both Jews and Gentiles can enter the body of Christ where hope dwells of His return and their completed salvation. But what of Israel in the end times who still won't believe the gospel? Was there not a remnant to be saved from it at the very end? What message would they hear from the two witnesses?

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