The Two Witnesses: Enoch & Elijah?

[Wally]

No flesh(sin corrupted) has entered Heaven.



Revelation 4:2
Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.



Isaiah 6
1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said:
“ Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”



It does appear a couple spirits have entered or at least seen Heaven.


2 Kings 2:11
Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.


The Bible says that's where Elijah went. As no sin can enter, I would guess he was in a glorified body.

[Bruce Baber]

Hmmm. I'd say there is at least the possibility that they (Elijah and Enoch, or Elijah and Moses) would descend in clouds. There was a cloud on the Mount of transfiguration and when it left Moses and Elijah had disappeared. Perhaps they will come back in a cloud.

[Rlight]

I'm with writesinme. I believe it'll be Moses and Elijah, for the same reasons writesinme gave. Besides, they were both Israelites (the Tribulation will be the last 7 years of the Age of the Law, when God will once more work through His chosen people; Enoch was a Gentile), and neither of them finished their callings. God will give them the chance to do just that during the Tribulation.

Yes, Moses did die, but God is quite capable of raising him back to life if He so chooses. There was a dispute between Michael and Satan over his body, which makes me wonder if God didn't somehow protect his body so that he could one day be brought back to temporary life.



Kathy G.

I concur with writesinme and Kathy. I also wondered why there was a dispute over Moses body. The mere fact that it is mentioned in the Bible has to mean its important. You combine that with those two appearing at transfiguration and it seems logical they would be the two witness. Add in the comment earlier on plagues and no rain and you have more support. Maybe Elijah does the talking and Moses just spews the fire from his mouth, since he is "not eloquent with words". Both were vital instruments God used in a basic battle between the God and Satan (false gods, antichrist, etc, etc). They have experience in this area, they are battle tested. If anyone is qualified to warn of God's impending judgement, its these two. As for Enoch, I never really saw him as prophet so to speak, just someone who was holy. I'm sure there is significance to his be taken away, just not sure what it is.

[kgreen20]

Good points. Also, Elijah was used by God to bring about a lengthy drought, while Moses was used to turn water into blood. These same miracles will be replicated during the first half of the Tribulation by the 2 witnesses. Besides, the witnesses have to be Jews in their own right, since it's a Jewish dispensation (the last 7 years, to be exact). Enoch was a pre-Flood Gentile, and that disqualifies him.

[I'mready]

Well we know that Elijah is coming for sure -- and it does look very possible that he may be one of the two witnesses - or it may be possible that the two witnesses are just two men born on the earth in the end times and Elijah is a completely different person in End Times prophecy.

Malachi 4:5-6
5 "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."


Revelation 11:3-12
3And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." 4These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5If 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. 6These men have power to shut up the sky 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.
7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The 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.
11But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then 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.



The Jews were and are looking for Elijah -- it seems to be apparent from this verse that the Jews still might have believed that Jesus is the Messiah - IF Elijah came to save Jesus from the Cross -- they are expecting Elijah to come and prepare the way for the Lord.
They were/are expecting him to come back from 'Heaven' where he went.


Matthew 27:46-49
46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,[a] lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."
48Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

[swimclb]

I appologize if this is the wrong place for this thread or if this is speculative, but I have a question about the identity of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. I have heard/read somewhere that they were Moses and Elijah. Anyone want to shed some light on the identity of these two people....or are they people whose names we will not know?

[I'mready]

I appologize if this is the wrong place for this thread or if this is speculative, but I have a question about the identity of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. I have heard/read somewhere that they were Moses and Elijah. Anyone want to shed some light on the identity of these two people....or are they people whose names we will not know?

They are just two people that God will raise up at the Time - there is no Biblical proof they are Moses and Elijah ( there are some references such as the Mount of Transfiguration) -- although there are many who believe this.

[I'mready]

They are just two people that God will raise up at the Time - there is no Biblical proof they are Moses and Elijah ( there are some references such as the Mount of Transfiguration) -- although there are many who believe this.

We know from scripture (Malachi) that Elijah will return -- but not as one of the two witnesses.

[1angel4u]

I appologize if this is the wrong place for this thread or if this is speculative, but I have a question about the identity of the two witnesses of Revelation 11. I have heard/read somewhere that they were Moses and Elijah. Anyone want to shed some light on the identity of these two people....or are they people whose names we will not know?

The consensus of most Bible prophesy scholars that I've studied is that they think, indeed, as you've spoken, Moses and Elijah are the two witnesses.

The only other possibility would be perhaps, Enoch:

Gen. 5:24

and

Heb. 11:5

Check this out:

http://http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/moses-elijah-and-the-transfiguration/

[Lainy68]

I've been under the impression that it would be two of three people, Enoch, Elijah or Moses. Enoch and Elijah both having never experienced the taste of death would be two good candidates. Moses, just being who he was. Then again, I do not know the mind of God. He may put two people who are of no consequence until that moment when they are put into that position of authority. What I derive from Revelation 11:4 is that at the time of John, they were already standing before God.