To God, the Two Witnesses are figuratively seen as "two olive trees" and "two lampstands that stand before
the Lord on earth" (Rev 11:4). This precise imagery was used in the
prophet Zechariah's vision of the restoration of the Second Temple to vindicate the leadership of Joshua the
priest and Zerubbabel the governor of Judah.
The two olive trees represent two anointed servants of God who stand before the Lord on
earth (Zech 4:11-14).
The two lampstands represent what is behind the Two Witnesses, "not by might nor by power,
but by God's spirit" (Zech 4:1-6).
The Two Witnesses appear clothed in sackcloth and are confronting the world's sin and evangelizing for God
for a period of 3-1/2 years. As His witnesses, God will grant them the authority to:
Kill any who attempt to harm them by fire that flows from their mouths (Rev 11:5).
Have the power to stop the rain while they are prophesying (Rev 11:6).
Have the power to turn water into blood (Rev 11:6)
Have the power to invoke every plague known to man (i.e. diseases, the plagues of Exodus,
etc.) upon the earth as often as they desire (Rev 11:6).
The Two Witnesses are reminiscent of the Old Testament prophet Moses who had the ability to invoke
supernatural wonders and spectacular natural events to demonstrate to the world the reality of the God of the
Hebrews.
The "Beast from the Abyss" will make war and kill the Two Witnesses (Rev 11:7).
While the identity of the "Beast from the Abyss" is not explicitly clear, the likely individual is the fallen
angel king of the abyss named Abaddon (Hebrew) / Apollyon (Greek) who was released when the Fifth Trumpet
sounded signaling an unfallen angel to use a key to open the abyss (Rev 9:1-2, 11-12).