"These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the
before the Lord. (It is said that an apocrypha written by John states that Enoch and Elijah will come back.) "Two witnesses." Two is the number specified in the Bible for witnessing (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16). "Sackcloth" has the meaning of bitterness. The New Testament does not command us to wear sackcloth, but in the Old Testament there was such a commandment (Isa. 22:12; Joel 1:13). What the two witnesses preach is judgment, not the gospel. Enoch preached judgment (Jude 14-15), and Elijah was a prophet who wielded a sword (1 Kings 18:40; 2 Kings 1:10, 12). They preach sad news, not glad tidings. In the three and a half years of the great tribulation, even if Christians remain, it will be impossible for them to preach the gospel because they will no longer be able to escape tribulation.
2. Revelation 11:4 "These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stand before the Lord of the earth." "Olive trees" produce oil and the "lampstands" give light. There is oil, and there is light. The olive trees and the lampstands were standing at the time of Zechariah (Zech. 4:11-14), they were standing when John was writing the book of Revelation, and they are still standing now. The words translated "anointed ones" (see Zech. 4:14, KJV), when translated directly from the original, are "sons of oil." This means that these two persons are filled with the Holy Spirit. "The Lord of the earth." The Jews have their kingdom. In Genesis 14:22, God is the possessor of heaven and earth. After the Jews lost their kingdom, God was known only as the God of the heavens (Dan. 2:18, 28, 37, 44). Now He is again called the Lord of the earth, for He has returned to His Old Testament position and has again acknowledged the Jews. What kind of people are these two witnesses? Perhaps they are those who sell the oil to the five foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-2, 8-10a), or perhaps they are those who give a little help to the persecuted ones during the time of the great tribulation (Dan. 11:34). 3. Revelation 11:5 "And if anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone desires to harm them, thus must he be killed." These two oppose the whole world and Antichrist. "If anyone desires to harm them, thus must he be killed." We see that these two persons must know even