Let us now ascertain who these two witnesses are, or are to be. I find on examining the subject all manner of views set forth. And, as is often the case in studying a subject of this kind, I find few that agree—so much so, that at last I found relief in turning from what men said and thought to what God in His Holy Word had written and said.
First. They are two men. Second. They are sent to Jerusalem which, because of the wickedness of the city at the time of their visit, will be called Sodom and Egypt; but, lest we should mistake the place from these names, John adds: “Where also our Lord was crucified.” So Isaiah i. 10 says: “Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.” This fixes safely the place. Besides, the place is pointed out from the fact that they oppose Anti-Christ, who at that time we know will be at Jerusalem. Third. They are sent. You ask where they are sent from? The answer is, From heaven, from standing before the God of the whole earth. Fourth. Who sends them? We answer, Jesus—because the Book of the Revelation is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto John.” Fifth. What were they sent for? In the first place they were to be special witnesses for Jesus, for He calls them His two witnesses. In the second place, they were to prophesy, to be prophets in the fullest sense, to forecast the future, to interpret past and present; to work miracles; to assume control in directing State affairs. Sixth. It is worth your careful notice to note that they are not constituted witnesses by being sent; they are sent because they are witnesses. They are not then to be endowed with miraculous power; “these have power” in the present tense. These facts, if nicely considered, will at once suggest the persons.
Whoever they are, they must have gone from earth to heaven with their bodies, two persons who have escaped death, for their death takes place in Jerusalem. They must have been prophets before they left earth for heaven the first time. And in the third place, they must at some time and place have been special witnesses for Christ. In fact, they are two anointed ones, or, in other words, they are two persons who have been set apart and prepared for the very visit spoken of in the text.