Although only his disciples witnessed his ascension, even his enemies will see him at his return (Revelation 19:11-15). After his resurrection he ascended to heaven in cloud (Acts 1:9). The Roman guards who saw him at his resurrection cowered in fear (Matthew 27:54 Matthew 28:4). At his resurrection as well as his death, there was an earthquake (Matt 27:51 Matt 28:2).
He lied in the grave 3 days and was resurrected (Matthew 28, Mark 16). He was murdered at the end of his testimony in Jerusalem. Jesus Christ’s ministry, like those of the two witnesses’, lasted about 3 ½ years (see Jack Finegan’s Handbook of Biblical Chronology). The daughter of Herodias gave the head of John the Baptist to her mother as a present. He was also murdered at the end of his ministry by Herod (Matthew 14). John the Baptist wore sackcloth as part of his ministry (Matthew 3:4). John the Baptist was said to come in the spirit of Elijah (Luke 1:17) and was said to fulfill the prophecy that Elijah “must first come ” (Malachi 4:5 Matthew 17:10-13). (My comments in italics)Ĥ) Several individuals identified by the Historicist interpretationĪlthough Moses Stuart classifies the identity of the two witnesses as Jesus and his forerunner John the Baptist “incongruous & irrelevant,” there are actually several parallels between the two pairs. Moses Stuart does an excellent job of summarizing many of the interpretations of the two witnesses up to his time. To resolve this problem, the two witnesses are often understood to be symbolic, representing either a body of people (for example the body of witnessing Christians) or possibly a relative duality (The Law & The Prophets, The Old & New Testaments). If the text can be taken as figuratively or symbolically, though, some individuals do come close. Obviously no one from the first century meets all the requirements of the vision. The number of criteria is obviously subjective, but the chart below gives a reasonable breakdown of the vision. They must be identified within the period from 30 – 70 AD, that is, between the ascension of Jesus Christ to the fall of Jerusalem forty years later.Īlthough many excellent suggestions have been made for the identity of the two witnesses, most interpretations come short of explaining all the criteria required by the vision. According to the preterist interpretation of Revelation (both partial and full preterism), the vision of the two witnesses has already taken place. Prophesy 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.Īmong futurists, these witnesses have been variously identified as Enoch & Elijah, or Moses & Elijah, or simply two future Jewish-Christian converts.įor the preterist, though, the identity of the two witnesses can be a little more troubling. Reve 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall In the 11th chapter of Revelation we read of two mysterious prophets whose identities have been a matter of debate among all major interpretations of Revelation.
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