Considerations Regarding The Two Witnesses
The Message Of The Two Witnesses

The sending or establishing of two witnesses is common in the Bible.

Deu 17:2  If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3  And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4  And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
5  Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.
6  At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

Deu 19:15  One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

John 8:16  And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
17  It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
18  I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

2 Cor 13:1  This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Mark 6:7  And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

Heb 10:27  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

The sending or establishing of two witnesses is common biblical practice. The purpose was to establish the truth followed by immediate judgment. This process was designed to remove evil from the midst in a just way.

In the New Testament, the sending of disciples two by two leans toward the establishing of two witnesses against those who refuse the gospel. The practice of having two witnesses in the gospels included Jesus and His Father as being two witnesses confirming any judgment by Jesus. The judgment passed by the Triune God at the end of Jesus' ministry was temporarily cutting off unbelieving Israel and the destruction of the temple in 70 AD because of the rejection of Christ.

At the very end of the age, God will hold to this practice. He sends two witnesses to Israel for the sake of the remnant and to establish a final judgment against all who refuse to repent. Following other gods was one of the primary abominations dealt with by God's juddgment in the Old Testament, and it will also be so in the end times. With the setting up of the abomination in Israel near the end of the age and the following and worshiping of antichrist, the Lord will establish judgment as a final fact by the preaching of the two witnesses in Jerusalem. Judgment will then begin at the visble return of Christ at the end of the three-and-a-half years of witness given by the two witnesses to Israel. There is no reason to deny that this witness will not affect the non-Jewish world as well.

The testimony of the two witnesses will be the final testimony given against unbelieving Israel though there will be a remnant that comes out of their midst who believe in Christ when He returns. It seems logical that since this remnant believes on Christ ONLY as He returns and goes into mourning when they see Him, they have not received Him and become Christians. They will not take part in the rpature of the saints. Therefore, it also seems logical, then, that the message of the two witnesses must come, to some degree, out of the law and the prophets in the Old Testament that point to Christ in the gospels in the same way Paul and Peter and Steven did so. If this is true, then it would contribute to the belief that the message of the two witnesses are based on the Law and the prophets and Christ as the fulfiller of them. This, to me, would point to two men who come in the spirit of Moses and Elijah who represent the Law and the prophets of the Old Testament who would also warn of the antichrist. I don't believe Elijah and Moses will come back personally, but come in the spirit of Elijah and Moses, just as John the Baptist was said to be Elijah. They will announce the coming of Christ and His establishing the visible kingdom.

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