Revelation 11:3-13 (NIV) And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. They are the two olive trees and the two lampstands, and they stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city - which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt - where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth. But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on. At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
Malachi 4:4-5 (NIV) Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
Hebrews 11:5 (NIV) By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”
John wrote in Revelation that God will send two individuals who will witness during the tribulation period for 1,260 days, or 3 1/2 years. The two witnesses will be unique because they will have great powers, including the ability to stop all rainfall throughout the world during the first half of the tribulation period. The lack of rain will destroy crops, trees, grasses (including grains) and rainforests around the world. The devastation will be significant. Many will die from lack of food and heat exposure. It may take the world ecosystem decades, if not centuries, to recover. It is possible the ecosystem may never recover. The impact of this devastation will be catastrophic. And the devastation does not end with stopping all rainfall around the world "during the time they are prophesying." They will also "strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want."
So, who are the two witnesses? Many believe they could be Elijah and Enoch, two great prophets in the Bible who did not die. And the book of Malachi provides some validity to this theory because it states God “will send the prophet Elijah to you before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.” The phrase “great and dreadful day of the Lord” is a clear reference to the tribulation period. It should also be noted that Elijah has already performed the miracle of stopping rain for three- and one-half years (Ref. James 5:17). Enoch may be the other witness because, like Elijah, Enoch "did not experience death" according to Hebrews 11:15.
We may not know the exact identities of the two witnesses until the tribulation period, but we can be assured they will fight valiantly against Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet during the end times. Yes, they will lose their lives in this endeavor, but they will rise from the dead and ascend "up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on", 3 1/2 days following their demise, in a dramatic fashion for everyone in the world to see on televisions, computers, and phones.
