I will jump here because some people misunderstood about John the Baptist, Elijah and Two Witnesses.
Now would that be anything like Christ saying of John the Baptist, this
"IS" Elijah? Did you think that meant it was literally, physically, Elijah? Was it Elijah that lived hundreds of years before? No! Was it Elijah as Christ said? Yes! It's not an enigma. John came as the
"Spiritual" or Allegorical Elijah, a Spiritual messenger of God. Because
John was filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and
so came in the same Spirit and with the same power that Elijah did. He was Metaphorically Elijah, not physically Elijah. Just as the bread wasn't physically Christ. That would be silly, as Christ was standing right there and He didn't tell anyone to take a physical bite of Him. Some people have to get off this anti-spiritual kick. Because it's foolish considering the number of passages confirming these truths. Allegorically. Just as John the Baptist "WAS" Elijah prophesied to come. As it is written:
Luke 1:15-17
- "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
- And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
- And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Because of the Spirit of God, he came in the SAME SPIRIT that Elijah came with. Was He Elijah that was prophesied to come? Yes. Was he the Elijah that lived hundreds of years before? No! Likewise, when Christ says of the bread, this is my body. Is it his physical body? That is (again) blatantly absurd, the stuff of certain Church traditions. Was it his body? Yes, because like Elijah, it wasn't the name that was substantive, but
the Spirit.
But as I said, some people slowly come to understand the Spiritual, and some people never come to understand it, because it is not given to them to understand. It is
spiritually discerned. And we should all discern what the bread of Christ's body was. It's His word by which we are nourished and sustained.
Matthew 16:11-12
- "How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
- Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."
Think of it this way, the bread (doctrine) of the Pharisees, versus the bread (doctrine) of Christ. That's why Christ is called the Word of God. He "IS" the Manna from heaven. Metaphorically speaking, that is why Christ asked us to eat his flesh (like bread) in order to receive His Word. Selah!
Now the OP is about Two Witnesses, so we need to understand this.
The Two Witnesses of Revelation chapter 11 are NOT literally Moses and Elijah (or Jesus Christ and John the Baptist as one member suggested) any more than John the Baptist was literally Elijah! But
"like" John the Baptist, they come in the
same Spirit and power as Moses and Elijah. They come in the same Spirit and power of the "Law" and the "Prophets." Because they are endowed with the
power of the Spirit of Christ to witness of God's word. Consider wisely with the spirit of Elijah on Elisha!
2nd Kings 2:14-15
- "And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
- And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him."
The Spirit of Elijah unto this power is the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit! It would behoove men to start listening to God spiritually!! Because as Elisha came in the Spirit of Elijah by coming
in the power of the Spirit of God, so John the Baptist did also! So are we, Christians, too! In fact, this is plainly illustrated in God's prophecy of John's birth. Consider wisely:
Luke 1:16-17
- "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
- And he shall go before him in the Spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
John came before Christ (as prophesied) not "physical" Elijah, but in the Spirit and Power that Elijah came in. In other words, it wasn't Elijah's own power, it was the
same Spirit of God in him unto his acts. What many people fail to understand is that it is NOT necessary for Elijah to physically come back for us to have a "literal" fulfillment, just that John came in the same Spirit that Elijah had, to do the works of God.
Likewise, the two witnesses come in the Spirit and Power of Moses (the law) and Elijah (the prophets), and their works are the works of the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost! The Two Witnesses represent the church, everyone who is born again and received the same Holy Spirit! These things are Spiritually discerned! As Jesus told his faithful servents as witnesses...
Acts 1:8
- "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be Witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
And compare this with Revelation 11:3:
"
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."
The two witnesses receiving Power to prophesy Salvation Gospel are the SAME WITNESSES Acts 1:8 says to receive the power when the Holy Spirit is poured out upon them. They are the Church, made up of all Elect who have received the Holy Spirit since Pentecost.