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{{Short description|Two prophets mentioned in the Book of Revelation}}
[[File:BambergApocalypseFolio027v2ProphetsAndBeastFromAbyss.JPG|right|thumb|The two witnesses, as depicted in the [[Bamberg Apocalypse]], an 11th-century [[illuminated manuscript]].]]
The '''two witnesses''' ({{Langx|grc|δύο μάρτυρες|duo martyres}}) are two figures mentioned in [[Revelation 11]]:1-14. Some [[Christians]] interpret them as two literal [[prophets]], such as [[Moses]] and [[Elijah]] or [[Saint Peter]] and [[Saint Paul]]. Others interpret them as symbols for a group or groups of people, such as the Christian church (one group) or the Jews and the Christians (two groups). Still others interpret them as a symbol of two concepts, such as the [[Torah]] and [[Nevi’im]] or the [[Old Testament]] and [[New Testament]]. The earliest interpretation of the two witnesses is that they are [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] and [[Elijah]], the only two that did not see death as required by the Scriptures.<ref>"And as it is appointed unto all men {{strong|once to die,}} but after this the judgement." {{bibleverse|Hebrews|9:27|KJV}}</ref> [[Hippolytus of Rome]] is the first commentator to unambiguously present this view.<ref>Hippolytus, On Christ and Antichrist 43-47, 64; and Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.35, 50</ref>

== Textual analysis ==
[[File:Revelation 11 THE TWO WITNESSES.JPG|thumb|"These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth." Revelation 11:4]]

According to the text, the two witnesses are the "two olive trees and the two lampstands" that have the power to destroy their enemies, control the weather and cause plagues. They prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. They are eventually defeated by the beast from the abyss, but rise again and ascend to heaven after three and a half days. This description may be [[symbol]]ism, rather than  [[literal and figurative language|literal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.preceptaustin.org/tool_commentary.htm |title=Bible Commentaries |access-date=2007-06-27 |date=2007-06-07 |publisher=Precept Austin}}</ref> It is an issue of debate.

== Exegesis ==
In attempting to [[Biblical exegesis|interpret]] [[Revelation 11]], commentators have generally understood the two witnesses in one of four ways or as a combination of two or more of these ways:
# as individuals appearing in the future, being either two returning biblical figures or two presently unknown figures; 
# as individuals who were contemporaries of the author of Revelation, such as [[Saint Peter|Peter]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]; 
# as a corporate and personal symbol, such as the martyrs or the totality of the Christian church; 
# as a non-personal symbol, such as the Old and New Testaments or mercy and grace.

=== As individuals appearing in the future ===
[[File:MHS Eliasz i Enoch XVII w p.jpg|thumb|Elijah and Enoch, 17th century icon]]
{{Christian Eschatology}}
The early Christian writer, [[Hippolytus of Rome]], concluded that the two witnesses would be [[Enoch]] and [[Elijah]], the two individuals who did not experience death according to other biblical passages (Genesis 5:24; 2 Kings 2:10-11; Hebrews 11:5).<ref>Hippolytus, On Christ and Antichrist 43-47, 64; and Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel 4.35, 50</ref> This is the earliest proposed identification for the two witnesses. This view is evident outside of early interpretive or apologetical Christian literature. For example, the apocryphal books called the [[Apocalypse of Elijah]] (also known as the Revelation of Elijah) and the [[Gospel of Nicodemus]] (also known as [[Acts of Pilate]]) state that those two witnesses who will appear in times of [[Antichrist]] to engage in battle with him are Enoch and Elijah: 

{{quote|{{sup|32}}After these things, Elijah and Enoch will come down. They will lay down the flesh of the world, and they will receive their spiritual flesh. They will pursue the son of lawlessness and kill him since he is not able to speak.|Apocalypse of Elijah, Chapter 5:32}}

{{quote|{{sup|3}}One of them answering, said, I am Enoch, who was translated by the word of God: and this man who is with me, is Elijah the Tishbite, who was translated in a fiery [[chariot]]. {{sup|4}}Here we have hitherto been, and have not tasted death, but are now about to return at the coming of Antichrist, being armed with divine signs and miracles, to engage with him in battle, and to be slain by him at Jerusalem, and to be taken up alive again into the clouds, after three days and a half.|Gospel of Nicodemus, Chapter 20:3–4}}

Others have proposed [[Moses]], for his ability to turn water into blood and the power to send plagues on the earth (Exodus 7:17-21; 9:13-14; Revelation 11:6).<ref>{{harvnb|Hitchcock|1999|pp=121–122}}</ref> His companion would be [[Elijah]] the prophet, predicted to return (Malachi 4:5-6) and who prevented it from raining in Israel in the days of Ahab (1 Kings 17:1; Luke 4:25; James 5:17; Revelation 11:6). These two appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:1-8; Luke 9:28-36). [[Victorinus of Pettau]] acknowledged the possibility of Moses being the companion of Elijah for the identity of the two witnesses, but he rejects Moses as one of the witnesses and proposes Jeremiah.<ref> Victorinus of Pettau, Commentarii in Apocalypsin 11.3</ref> Therefore, the earliest known espousal of the Moses-Elijah view appears to be in [[Hilary of Poitiers]]'s Latin commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.<ref>Hilary of Poitiers, In Matthæum 20.10</ref> Three notable defenses of the Moses-Elijah view are those by William De Burgh (1801-1866),<ref>{{cite book |last=De Burgh |first=William |title=An Exposition of the Book of the Revelation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=epQCAAAAQAAJ&q=two+witnesses |edition=5th |location=Dublin |publisher=Hodges, Smith |date=1857 |pages=188-209, 409-411}}</ref> [[Robert Charles|Robert H. Charles]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Charles |first=Robert Henry |title=A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John |series=[[International Critical Commentary]] |location=New York |publisher=Scribner’s Sons |date=1920 |pages=1:269–292}}</ref> and William Douglas Adamson.<ref>{{harvnb|Adamson 2002}}</ref> 

Others have proposed two people who are now unknown to the world who will appear in the future as the witnesses. They may be seen as coming “in the spirit” of the prophets of old. The earliest example of this identification seems to be an alternative interpretation of the witnesses from Francis Woodcock (ca. 1614–1651).<ref>{{cite book |last=Woodcock |first=Francis |title= The Two Witnesses: Discovered in severall Sermons Upon the eleventh Chapter of the Revelation … |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo2/A96871.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext |location=London |publisher=Luke Fawne |date=1643 |pages=91–95}}</ref> Several years later, Richard Hayter (ca. 1611–1684) identifies the witnesses similarly, but not simply as an alternative.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hayter |first=Richard |title=The Meaning of the Revelation, or, A Paraphrase With Questions on the Revelation of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Divine … |url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A43131.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext |location=London |publisher=Williams |date=1675 |pages=119–144}}</ref> Four notable defenses of this view of the two witnesses are those by Donatus Haugg (1900-1943),<ref>{{harvnb|Haugg 1936}}</ref> [[James Henthorn Todd]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Todd |first=James Henthorn |title= Six Discourses on the Prophecies Relating to Antichrist in the Apocalypse of St. John … |date=1846 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=63VUeUSuLs0C |location=Dublin |publisher=Hodges and Smith |pages=163–213}}</ref> Isbon T. Beckwith (1843-1936),<ref>{{cite book |last=Beckwith |first=Isbon T. |title= The Apocalypse of John: Studies in Introduction, with a Critical and Exegetical Commentary |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan |date=1919 |pages=584–606}}</ref> and Christine Joy Tan.<ref>{{harvnb|Tan 2010}}. This was later published as a series of articles in [[Bibliotheca Sacra]], volume 141 (2014).</ref>

=== As symbols of the church ===
The two witnesses have been interpreted as representing the Church or a similar concept. The earliest symbolic interpretation of the two witnesses along these lines is that proposed by the 4th century commentator, [[Ticonius]]. He concludes the witnesses represent the church prophesying by means of the Old and New Testaments. 

Symbolic interpretations become more prevalent in the literature with the coming of the Reformation. [[Heinrich Bullinger]] says that the witnesses are all the faithful preachers during a certain segment of church history.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bullinger |first= Heinrich |title= In Apocalypsim Iesu Christi … |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cV9MAAAAcAAJ |year=1559 |publisher=Johannes Oporinus |location=Basel |pages=138-141, 143-144, 147-148, 172-173, 193-194}}</ref> The [[Geneva Bible|1599 Geneva Study Bible]] has asserted that the two witnesses are the exclusive purview of the church.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/geneva-study-bible/revelation/revelation-11.html|title=Revelation 11|publisher=Geneva Study Bible}}</ref> [[David Pareus]] says the witnesses are a succession of individuals, such as teachers or even princes, who uphold true religion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pareus |first=David |title= In Divinam Apocalypsin S. Apostoli Et Evangelistæ Johannis Commentarius |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=4EdYAAAAcAAJ |year=1622 |publisher=Rosa |location=Heidelberg |pages= cols. 469A-476A, 479D-483D, 489C-D, 492A, 503-504, 511C-D, 512C-D, 597A-609D}}</ref> 

Later, [[Matthew Henry]]'s ''Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible'' gives one church interpretation as consisting of believing Jews and that of the [[gentile]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/revelation/11.html?p=2|title=Revelation 11|author= Matthew Henry}}</ref> [[John Gill (theologian)|John Gill's]] ''Exposition of the Bible'' interprets the two witnesses as the true Church in counterdistinction to the "antichrist system" of Roman Catholicism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/GillsExpositionoftheBible/gil.cgi?book=re&chapter=011&verse=003&next=004&prev=002|title= Revelation 11:3|author=John Gill}}</ref>

More recently, some commentators follow the thought of Ticonius and conclude that the witnesses are the Christian church, during a certain period of history. A view along these lines is advocated by [[Gregory Beale]] in his commentary on Revelation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Beale |first= Gregory K. |title=The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text |series=[[New International Greek Testament Commentary]] |location=Grand Rapids, MI |publisher=Eerdmans |date=1999 |pages=536-608, 621-622, 639-640, 642-643, 646-647, 687-692, 694-695, 730-731, 770 |isbn=978-0-802-82174-4 |oclc=38096989 }}</ref> A key point of evidence for Beale and others is that the two witnesses are identified as “two lampstands” and this symbol is used in Revelation 1:20 to refer to the “seven churches.”

Similarly, the two witnesses have been identified as Israel and the Christian Church. "The olive trees" signify Israel. The "witness of the Church" is signified by "the two lampstands."

It has also been proposed that the two witnesses are the [[Evangelism|witnessing church]], because Jesus sent out his disciples "two by two".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apocalipsis.org/downloads/revelatn.pdf |title=Revelation: A Reference Commentary |access-date=2007-06-26 |last=Taylor |first=R A |date=2000-03-17 |pages=111–112 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222600/http://www.apocalipsis.org/downloads/revelatn.pdf |archive-date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> The two witnesses are the true prophetic witness in Revelation (the church), and they serve as the counterpart to the false prophetic witness, the beast from the land, who has two horns like a lamb (Revelation 13:11; cf.16:13; 19:20; 20:10).

Similar to this type of proposal is to see the witnesses as general symbols of [[Evangelism|Christian testimony]]. A view along these lines is advocated by [[Adela Yarbro Collins]] in her commentary on Revelation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Adela Yarbro |title=The Apocalypse |series=New Testament Message |location=Collegeville, MN |publisher=Liturgical Press |date=1979 |pages=68–73 |isbn=978-0-814-65145-2 |oclc=35832261 }}</ref>

=== Other views ===
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] believe that the two witnesses will be two prophets who are raised up to the Jews in the modern [[Israel|nation of Israel]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/77.15?lang=eng|title=Doctrine and Covenants 77:15|access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref><ref>Orson Pratt, Journal of Discourses 16:329</ref> possibly two members of their [[Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church)|Quorum of the Twelve]] or their [[First Presidency (LDS Church)|First Presidency]], who are considered to be prophets by the church. These two prophets will represent both the ancient Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel (the two olive trees) and be descendants of the two covenant sons from the tribes of Judah and Joseph (as the two lampstands).  Some members have suggested that the martyrdom of [[Joseph Smith]] and his brother [[Hyrum Smith]] (Assistant President from 1841 to 1844) are prototypes and they represent the future two witnesses (stated in Revelation) who will be sent to Jerusalem and be killed for their testimonies.

In traditional [[Seventh-day Adventist]] interpretation, as found in [[Uriah Smith]] and [[Ellen G. White]], the two witnesses are the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tagnet.org/cyberspace/Lessons/Fut-057/fut1-057.html|title=If I Were Told the Future — Lesson 57: The Two Witnesses |access-date=2007-06-26 |year=2002 |work=Cyberspace Ministry |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070618100357/http://www.tagnet.org/cyberspace/Lessons/Fut-057/fut1-057.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-06-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whiteestate.org/books/gc/gc15.html|title=The Great Controversy, Chapter 15|access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.champs-of-truth.com/books/dr/rev_chapter_xi.htm|title=Revelation Chapter XI|access-date=11 October 2016}}</ref> They believed that the [[French Revolution]] was the time when the two witnesses were killed.<ref>Smith, p.539 · "But 'the triumphing of the wicked is short;' so was it in France, for their war on the Bible and Christianity had well-nigh swallowed them all up. They set out to destroy Christ's 'two witnesses,' but they filled France with blood and horror, so that they were horror-struck at the result of their wicked deeds, and were glad to remove their impious hands from the Bible"</ref><ref>White, p.265. "The war against the Bible, carried forward for so many centuries in France, culminated in the scenes of the Revolution."</ref> Other [[historicism|historicists]] also consider the two witnesses in this way.<ref>''The Seventh Vial'', Dr J. A. Wylie, p.105</ref><ref>[[Robert Roberts (Christadelphian)|Roberts, R.]] (1880), [http://www.leicester-christadelphians.org.uk/Glenhills/Revelation/Thirteen%20Lectures%20on%20the%20Apocalypse.pdf ''Thirteen Lectures on the Apocalypse''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181104130107/http://www.leicester-christadelphians.org.uk/Glenhills/Revelation/Thirteen%20Lectures%20on%20the%20Apocalypse.pdf |date=2018-11-04 }}</ref>

The [[Bahá'í Faith]] identifies the two witnesses as [[Muhammed]], the founder of [[Islam]], and [[Ali]], the son of [[Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib|Abú Tálib]]. They consider Muhammad as the root and Ali the branch, comparable to [[Moses]] and [[Joshua]]. They interpret "clothed in sackcloth" to mean that they initially appeared to be of no consequence and without a new revelation because the spiritual principles of Islam would correspond closely with those promulgated in Christianity and Judaism. They identify the "beast" to be the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]], who would wage spiritual war against them. The 1,260 days is interpreted as the 1,260 lunar years since the start of the Islamic calendar, corresponding to the Gregorian year 1844; the year the [[Millerism|Millerite]] movement also predicted the return of Christ. The Bahá'í Faith recognizes the significance of 1844 as the year of the declaration of the [[Báb]], bearing a new message from God and proclaiming the coming of [[Bahá'u'lláh]], the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá'í Faith and promised return of Christ.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maddocks |first1=Eileen |title=1844: Convergence in Prophecy for Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith |date=July 2018 |publisher=Jewel Press |isbn=9781732106512 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IP2jDwAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1='Abdu'l‑Bahá |author-link='Abdu'l-Bahá |title=Some Answered Questions |page=48 |url=https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/some-answered-questions}}</ref>

[[Marshall Applewhite]] and [[Bonnie Nettles]] (Do and Ti), the leaders of the [[UFO religion|UFO religious]] cult [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], initially claimed to be the two witnesses in the 1970s. According to their interpretation, they would be killed and resurrected before ascending to heaven in a spacecraft. They ultimately rebranded their "assassinations" as symbolic rather than actual death, owing to the ridicule they were subjected to by the media.<ref>{{cite book|title=Heaven's Gate: America's UFO Religion|last=Zeller|first=Benjamin E.|date=2014|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=978-1-4798-0381-1|pages=115–116}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The two witnesses play a central role in the supernatural drama television series ''[[Sleepy Hollow (TV series)|Sleepy Hollow]]''. The first witness is [[Ichabod Crane]], a [[American Revolution|Revolutionary War]] soldier who, after battling with the [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse#Pale Horse|Horseman of Death]] (whom he causes to be [[Headless Horseman (Legend of Sleepy Hollow)|headless]]), awakens in Sleepy Hollow in 2013. The second witness is [[List of Sleepy Hollow characters#Lt. Grace Abigail "Abbie" Mills|Lieutenant Abbie Mills]], a contemporary woman in law enforcement who helps Crane adjust to the 21st century and aids him in battling dæmonic forces. The two witnesses must face 'Seven Tribulations' (although other characters note that the Witnesses are only required to {{em|witness}} the events rather than take action themselves), the first being [[Moloch]], the master of the Horsemen. The second Tribulation is [[Pandora]] and her master, an ancient [[Sumer]]ian god known as the Hidden One. Third was Malcolm Dryfus and Jobe. Although Lieutenant Mills (now Agent Mills of the [[FBI]]) loses her soul, there must always be two witnesses, and the mantle passes on to [[List of Sleepy Hollow characters#Molly Thomas|Molly Thomas]] on her eleventh birthday. Not long thereafter, Molly's older self, going by the name Lara, comes from the future to aid Crane in his battles, thereby assuming the mantle of the witness from her younger self.

In the ''[[Left Behind]]'' franchise, the two witnesses prophesy at the [[Wailing Wall]] in Jerusalem. They are later revealed to be [[Elijah]] and [[Moses]], and are killed by the [[Antichrist]] [[Nicolae Carpathia]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
* [[2300 day prophecy]]
* [[Day-year principle]]
* [[Events of Revelation#Chapter 11|Events of Revelation (Chapter 11)]]
* [[Great Tribulation]]
* [[Prophecy of Seventy Weeks]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|2}}

== References ==
* {{cite thesis |last=Adamson |first=William Douglas |title=The Identity and Ministry of the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:1–13 |type=M.Th. |location=Detroit |publisher=[[Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary]] |date=2002}}
* {{cite book |last1=Haugg |first1=Donatus |title=Die zwei Zeugen: Eine exegetische Studie über Apok 11,1-13 |date=1936 |series=Neutestamentliche Abhandlungen |publisher=Aschendorff |location=Münster in Westphalia}}
* {{cite book|last=Hitchcock|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vek527fxjN0C&q=two+witnesses|title=The complete book of Bible prophecy|year=1999|publisher=[[Tyndale House Publishers]]|location=Wheaton, Ill.|isbn=978-0-8423-1831-0}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Tan |first=Christine Joy |title=A Defense of a Futurist View of the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11:3–13 |type=Ph.D. |location=Dallas |publisher=[[Dallas Theological Seminary]] |date=2010}}

{{New Testament people|prophets|state=collapsed}}
{{Book of Revelation|state=collapsed}}
{{Doomsday}}

[[Category:Duos]]
[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:People in the Book of Revelation]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Groups of Roman Catholic saints]]
[[Category:Prophets in Christianity]]
[[Category:Unnamed people of the Bible]]