The Two Witnesses and the Coming Temple
A Bible study from Revelation 11, Zechariah 4, and Ezra 3 • NKJV

Folks, this is Peter from a wet windy Helensburgh. For about fifteen years I have sat with these chapters, Revelation 11, Zechariah 4, Ezra 3, Malachi 4, Matthew 17, Daniel 9, reading them again and again, comparing Scripture with Scripture. I am not writing as a man who has settled every last question, but these Scriptures go deeper into study. I am writing as a brother who has found the Word sure, and who wants to get some of that study down on paper so you can read it, weigh it, and be built up in the faith.

When we open the last book of the Bible, we are not stepping into a closed door. The signs and pictures in Revelation are windows. They let the light of the rest of Scripture shine in. Revelation is the capstone on the first sixty-five books. God assumes we have been reading those books.

You know folk, Revelation 11 is one of those chapters that can feel hard and daunting at first. As we read through it speaks of two witnesses in Jerusalem, a temple, an altar, and worshippers. If we take the words as they plainly speak to us, and if we let the Old Testament explain the New, a clear picture begins to form. That picture has steadied me for years. I pray it steadies you too.

The Two Witnesses

John writes:

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:3, NKJV)

Their ministry is heavy, much like John the Baptist in the wilderness. The city is later said to be trodden underfoot for forty-two months. That is the same length of time as one thousand two hundred and sixty days, using thirty-day months. In Daniel and Revelation, those numbers mean what they say. A day is a day. A month is a month.

Look at what these two men can do. If anyone tries to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth. They can shut the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophesying. They can turn waters into blood. They can strike the earth with plagues as often as they desire (Revelation 11:5–6).

Who in the Old Testament did those things? Elijah called down fire and shut the heavens. Moses turned water to blood and brought plagues on Egypt. These are not small names. Moses and Elijah stand at the top of Israel’s story, the Law and the Prophets.

The Transfiguration Gives Us a Preview

After Jesus told the disciples that some standing there would see the Son of Man coming in His glory, He took Peter, James and John up a high mountain. He was transfigured before them. And who appeared with Him? Moses and Elijah.

Coming down from the mountain, the disciples asked why the scribes said Elijah must come first. Jesus answered, “Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things” (Matthew 17:11, NKJV). That is a plain sentence. The last verses of the Old Testament say the same thing:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” (Malachi 4:5, NKJV)

John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah. He prepared the way. But he himself said he was not Elijah (John 1:21). Jesus still held Israel responsible for rejecting John’s message. That does not cancel the future coming of Elijah. It shows that God holds people accountable to the Word they hear now.

Moses and Elijah on the mountain were talking with Jesus about His “exodus”, His death in Jerusalem. They had not yet received glorified bodies. The general rule is that it is appointed for men to die once (Hebrews 9:27). There are exceptions in Scripture. Lazarus died twice. Those raised by Elijah, Elisha and Jesus died again. If the church is caught up, raptured, many will never die at all. So the objection that Moses and Elijah cannot return and die again is not as strong as it first sounds.

The Two Olive Trees and the Two Lampstands

Revelation 11:4 says:

“These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.” (NKJV)

That language comes straight out of Zechariah 4. After the Babylonian captivity, God raised up two men to restore worship in Jerusalem: Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor. They were called “the two anointed ones”, in Hebrew, the two sons of oil. Oil in Scripture so often speaks of the Holy Spirit. Their work was not by might, nor by power, but by God’s Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).

Those two men are the pattern. They are not the same two men who will stand in Jerusalem in the last days. They show us the kind of ministry God uses when He restores altar worship among His people Israel. In the future, no two names would mean more to Israel than Moses and Elijah.

They Built the Altar First

Now  let me share with you with this detail that helps the mind settle. When the remnant came back from Babylon, they did not wait for a finished temple building. Ezra tells us they built the altar on its bases and offered burnt offerings to the Lord, even while the enemies of the land made them afraid (Ezra 3:2–3).

God accepted that worship with the altar came first and the house came later. That is a gracious pattern. Revelation 11 does not describe a vast stone complex. John is told to measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. The heart of the passage is functioning worship, an altar, and people standing before the Lord.

The Tabernacle that was in the wilderness it was already a complete place of worship without a stone temple. That same thought may help us with the last days, where God can restore true worship quickly, even if a grand building is not finished first.

Will There Be a Proper Temple?

Yes. There will be a real place of worship in Jerusalem during the Tribulation. Daniel 9:27 says the coming prince will confirm a covenant with many for one week, seven years. In the middle of that week he will bring an end to sacrifice and offering. He cannot stop sacrifices unless they have started.

That means a functioning altar will be in place in the first half of Daniel’s seventieth week. Whether that begins as a Tabernacle-style sanctuary, a temporary house, or a fuller building, the Bible does not spell out every brick. What it does say is enough. There will be a temple of God, an altar, and worshippers. Later the outer court is given to the Gentiles, and they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months (Revelation 11:2).

Some of us wonder about the Dome of the Rock and the crowded Temple Mount, just the other week 50,000 people attended central Selichot midnight prayer. We do not need to force a timetable. God is able to open a way. He has done it before. A working altar can be raised more quickly than a finished stone house. That is not a wild guess. That is how God already restored worship after the exile.

When Does This Happen in Relation to the Rapture?

The catching away of the church is imminent. No predicted time-block has to run first. “The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17, NKJV).

The temple does not have to stand before that day. After the church is taken, God is never without a witness on the earth. The two witnesses appear in Jerusalem. A covenant is confirmed. Worship is restored. A short gap may exist between the Rapture and the official start of the seven years. Scripture does not give us the number of those days. It does give us the order of the main events.

The First Half and the Flight

If the two witnesses finish their one thousand two hundred and sixty days, and then their bodies lie in the street for three and a half days while the world rejoices, that ministry fits the first half of the week better than the last half. At the end of the last half, the Lord returns. There is no room then for the world to make merry for three and a half extra days.

We read the beast kills the witnesses and the abomination is set up, those in Judea are told to flee (Matthew 24:15–16). Revelation 12 shows a remnant protected in the wilderness for the remaining three and a half years.

Many students of prophecy have looked at the region of Edom, Sela and Petra as that place of refuge. Isaiah speaks of hiding for a little moment until the indignation is past (Isaiah 26:20).

We can hold that gently. The main point is sure: God will hide and keep His people.

The 144,000 and the Gospel of the Kingdom

Through the witness in Jerusalem, many in Israel will turn to the Messiah. Twelve thousand from each tribe are sealed so that they cannot be killed until their work is done (Revelation 7). Jesus said this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14). Where the church has not finished the task, God will still get the message out.

This is not the church replacing Israel. “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26). The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Ethnic Israel has a future under the Abrahamic covenant. The church is the body and bride of Christ. Both are precious to God. They are not the same programme.

The Millennial Temple

The Tribulation sanctuary is not the last word. Ezekiel 40 to 48 describes a temple in the Kingdom age that is far larger and more detailed than anything Israel has yet built. It belongs to the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth.

The sacrifices there are a real difficulty for some believers, because the cross is finished. One way to read them is as memorials, like the Lord’s Supper looks back to the finished work of Christ. They will also teach holiness in a world where Jesus is King and nations still need to learn His ways. We do not have to settle every question about those offerings to believe that Ezekiel meant a real house in a real city in a real Kingdom.

How the Pieces Sit Together

1. The church is caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
2. A covenant is confirmed with many in Israel for seven years.
3. An altar and a functioning sanctuary are established in Jerusalem — perhaps simply and quickly at first.
4. The two witnesses prophesy for 1,260 days and call Israel back to the true Messiah.
5. At the mid-point the beast kills them, stops the sacrifices, and sets up the abomination.
6. A remnant flees and is kept by God for the last three and a half years.
7. The Lord returns, Israel is saved as a nation, and the Millennial Temple becomes the centre of worship in the Kingdom.

Scriptures to Keep Open

• Revelation 11:1–13
• Zechariah 3–4
• Ezra 3:1–6
• Malachi 4:4–6
• Matthew 17:1–13; 24:14–21
• Daniel 9:24–27
• Romans 11:25–29
• 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
• Ezekiel 40–48
• Revelation 12

Why This Should Steady Us

Folks, God means what He says. He said Elijah would come. Jesus said Elijah is coming. He said all Israel will be saved. He said the time is near. The book of Revelation is not given to confuse the church. It is given so that those who read and hear and keep the words of the prophecy will be blessed (Revelation 1:3).

We do not need to know every detail of stone and courtyard before we can trust the Lord. We do need to be faithful witnesses now. The two witnesses will be faithful unto death. We wrestle not against flesh and blood. If our gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost. Satan blinds minds. Our work is to stand on the authority of all sixty-six books and point people to Jesus Christ.

The dead in Christ will rise. We who are alive and remain will be caught up. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Until He comes, keep in the Word. Search the Scriptures daily, like the Bereans. And look up. Our redemption draws near.

A Prayer

Father, thank You for Your Word. Thank You that You have not left us in the dark about the things that must shortly take place. Thank You for Jesus, our Saviour and coming King, and for the sure hope that we shall be with Him.

Give us ready hearts. Keep us faithful while we wait. Help us to love Israel as You love Israel, to preach Christ while there is still time, and not to be shaken by the noise of the world.

If any who read this are weary, lift their heads. If any are unsure of their salvation, draw them to the cross. If any are watching the signs and growing fearful, remind them that You hold the times in Your hand.

Come, Lord Jesus. Until that day, make us a people of the Book, a people of prayer, and a people of hope. In Jesus’ name. Amen.