C. The Two Witnesses of God.

C. The Two Witnesses of God.
There are only two places in the Bible where these Two Witnesses are spoken of; here in Revelation 11:3-4 and also in Zechariah 4:3; Zechariah 4:11-14.
1. Zechariah 4:3-4; Zechariah 4:11-14.
“And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof. (Zechariah 4:3)
So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?” (Zechariah 4:3-4)
“Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? (Zechariah 4:11)
And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?(Zechariah 4:12)
And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord. (Zechariah 4:13)
Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” (Zechariah 4:11-14)
2. Revelation 11:3-4.
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 ½ years), clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:3)
“These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” (Revelation 11:4) 
Here in Revelation 11:3, God tells us that He will give supernatural power to His Two Witnesses, as we shall discover in Verses Five and Six. They will also prophesy. “Prophesy” in the Greek can be applied in two ways, depending on the contest in which it is used. It can mean “giving forth the word of God,” or, “foretelling future events before they happen.” Here, both elements of prophesy would be included.
In other words, they would be witnessing to the lost concerning the Gospel, which is the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ for the payment of their sins. They would be explaining how the Rapture had been prophesied and fulfilled with all the Christians that had just disappeared. They would prophesy to Israel that the Book of Revelation has foretold that the Antichrist will break his promise of protection that he had made. Therefore, they would be giving forth the word of God for salvation and prophesying what is yet to come; thus fulfilling the word “prophesy” to its fullest.
Their ministry is limited to 3 ½ years, described as 1,260 days. Jewish time is reckoned as 30 days to a month. Divide 30 into 1,260, and you will arrive at exactly 3 ½ years. They will then die a martyr’s death for their wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. They will then leave their earthly visit “to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.” (1 Peter 1:4). 
Notice that Revelation 11:4 is referring back to the prophecy first given in Zechariah 4:3; Zechariah 4:11-14. 
“These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” (Revelation 11:4)
The power that God will give these Two Witnesses, spoken of in Verse Three, is described in detail in Revelation 11:5-6.
“And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.” (Revelation 11:5)
“These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.” (Revelation 11:6).
In Verse Five, “fire procedeth out of their mouth” is not as one may think of, as fire coming out of a dragon’s mouth as we have all seen pictures of. It is a figure of speech; but, clarified in Jeremiah 5:14.
“Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.” – Jeremiah 5:14
Should anyone attempt to hurt, or kill, these Two Witnesses, The Lord has given them the power to speak in the name of God, and the sentence of death will occur immediately.
There most always is a practical application to a spiritual truth. If you are a Christian who witnesses for the Lord, I am sure you have experienced as I have the anger, resentment, and hatred displayed by some of those who want nothing to do with our Savior. I recall some time back that I was witnessing to a pharmacist, and stated that no amount of good works would merit eternal life; only faith in Jesus Christ who paid for our sins. Those words that I spoke ignited a fire of resentment and his response was, that he had been raised in his church, had been baptized, served as an altar boy, and was highly respected in the community. My message of grace through faith, not of good works, lit a fire of hate as he made it clear that I was never to bring up “religion” to him again!
Another example where the Lord uses an object as a figure of speech may be found in Revelation 1:16, where John is describing the Lord Jesus Christ and states that...
“...out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword...”
Do we see Christ, literally, with a sword sticking out his mouth? Of course not. It is a figure of speech that illustrates how deep the word of God can cut and penetrate, even to the soul and spirit. Hebrews 4:12 explains this figure of speech.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12
In the first part of Verse Six we are told of another power the Two Witnesses are given.
“These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy...” – Revelation 11:6 a
Their prophecy covers the first 3 ½ years after the Rapture. Can one imagine this world without rain for 3 ½ years. The lakes, rivers, streams and ponds would become stagnant and polluted. Many of these will be dried up and there will be dead fish everywhere, with no fresh water from heaven. Crops cannot grow without water. Can one imagine the shortage of vegetables, beef, pork, chicken, etc., as all need water to survive. It is amazing how this fits in with Revelation 6:8, as a fourth of the population will die in the first 3 ½ years after the Rapture.
“And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.” – Revelation 6:8
Two things stand out here, which contribute to a fourth of the population dying because of the famine caused by no rain falling for 3 ½ years. It is HUNGER and BEASTS. The Greek here for "beast" is “therion” and is defined as, “a dangerous animal.” We have all heard from time to time about what happens when bears come into towns and villages in search of food. With no rain, the berries, chokecherries, acorns, and other natural foods will not be available. They will be forced to attack and eat anything alive, including humans, in lieu of starvation. Foxes, wolves, mountain lions, hyenas, etc., will kill and eat any dogs or cats that are available. Small children and even adults would be easy prey for a mountain lion who is approaching starvation.
 God’s Two Witnesses, by the power of God, have shut off Heaven’s “sprinkling system.” The Psalmist describes His power and purpose in a situation such as this in Psalms 107:33-34.
“He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;” (Psalms 107:33) 
“A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.” (Psalms 107:34)
Continuing in Verse Six, God has given His Two Witnesses “power over waters to turn them to blood.” This is literal, real blood! The Greek for “blood” is “haima” and is translated as such in reference to the atoning blood of Christ, as it is in reference to human or animal blood. In other words, one day an enemy of God’s Witnesses may be drinking fresh well water and the next day his cup is filled with literal blood! Thank the Lord we Christians will be watching all of this being fulfilled from Heaven, as we will be “absent from the body and present with the Lord” at the Rapture.
I believe it would be interesting to take a look back to the time when Moses was instructed by God to instruct Pharaoh to release His people, the Israelites, free from captivity. The first meeting with Pharaoh resulted in his demon-possessed men duplicating the miracles of Aaron. Here is the record in Exodus 7:10-11.
“And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.” (Exodus 7:10)
“Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” (Exodus 7:11)
The magicians also duplicated the second miracle by also turning water into blood. This is found in Exodus 7:20; Exodus 7:22.
“And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.” (Exodus 7:20)
“And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.” (Exodus 7:22) 
The third miracle of Aaron was also duplicated as recorded in Exodus 8:6-7.
“And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 8:6)
“And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:7)
One must realize that demons and demon-possessed men can only do supernatural things as God permits. When God restricts, their power is rendered useless and they are helpless, as seen in the last seven plagues. Notice, in the fourth plague, as an example of the rest in Exodus, Chapter 8.
“And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 8:17)
And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.” (Exodus 8:18)
It is interesting that the Lord has revealed to us the names of these two demon-possessed men who opposed Moses and Aaron. 2 Timothy 3:8 reveals their names.
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”
Satan and his demons are as much alive today as they were in Moses’ time. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 explains this very well.
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:” (2 Corinthians 4:3)
“In whom the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) 
Every Christian should be working as hard to present the Gospel as Satan is to pervert the Gospel.
Now, last of all in Verse Six, the Two Witnesses are given additional power “to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will.”.
The words “plague” and “plagues" combined, appear 12 times in the book of Revelation. They are all from the same Greek word “plēgē.” It is defined as “a wound, a stripe, figuratively, a calamity.” In other words, this calamity could come to a person via an earthquake, a tornado, or anything from nature. Revelation, Chapters 15 and 16 speak of the Seven Last Plagues. The Two Witnesses could inflict grievous sores like those in Revelation 16:1; or hail stones inflicting bodily wounds like those in Verse 21. They could bring about the plague of a volcanic eruption; or any other plagues that would inflict their enemies “...as often as they will.”
All of this demonstrates to mankind that God is in complete control over Satan and his followers. Satan can do nothing without God’s permission. Notice in Job, Chapter One, where we have God and Satan’s conversation recorded.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job...” – Job 1:8 a
3. Satan’s Accusation.
“Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.” – Job 1:10 
4. Satan’s Proposal.
“But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” – Job 1:11
5. God’s Permission, Power, and Protection
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” – Job 1:12 
As a Christian we need to realize that Satan and his followers can only go as far as God permits. God permitted Satan to test Job, who remained faithful to the Lord. God had confidence in His servant and Job had confidence in the Lord, even though he did not understand how it would all come out. He knew that he was going to live through it, as God had put a limit on Satan in his attack on Job.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” (Job 2:6) 
God has given us His Word, the Bible. When we read His Word, study His Word, and are determined to yield our will to His will, it renders Satan helpless. One thing Satan cannot stand and hates the most is when a Christian “slaps him in the face” with the Word of God! As we look back on Job, we see that God rewarded his servant greatly for his faithfulness.
“So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses.” (Job 42:12 
How wonderful for a faithful Christian, upon entering their Heavenly home to be welcomed by the Lord with these words...
“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”- Matthew 25:21