The Two Witnesses of Revelation 11:1-13: Arguments, Issues of Interpretation, and a Way Forward
type: CreativeWork
description: The narrative of Rev 11:1-13 involves two prophet-witnesses. The question of the identity of the two witnesses of Rev 11:1-13 has been answered in a variety of ways. In the history of exegetical investigation, they have been seen as two actual people, a symbol for a larger group, or even a symbol for inanimate objects. Clearly, some proposals seem more plausible than others do; however, the debate remains open. Indeed, the possibility exists that a stronger case could be made for a previous proposal or that a new one could be found that is more agreeable to scholars of Revelation. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the nature of the problem of identifying the two witnesses and to form a plan for finding a more satisfactory answer. In this way, the research illuminates the path beyond the current state of inconclusiveness. This purpose is accomplished through a survey of arguments that are representative of those used to support the major exegetical identifications of the two witnesses and through an examination of the broad interpretive issues that can be derived from those arguments. In short, the research aims to meet the need for a review of the literature that will more fully expose the state of the question concerning the identity of the witnesses and so offer a basis for a new investigation into that question. The most popular identifications of the two witnesses can be divided into those that understand the witnesses literally and those that understand the witnesses symbolically. The presentations of argumentation are separated according to this division, with one chapter dealing with literal identifications and another chapter covering symbolic ones. In each chapter, the presentations begin with an extensive summary of one exposition. These summaries function as the basis for discussing other significant expositions of the witnesses that, although differing in certain ways from the main ones, still represent the same broad class of identification…
abstract: The narrative of Rev 11:1-13 involves two prophet-witnesses. The question of the identity of the two witnesses of Rev 11:1-13 has been answered in a variety of ways. In the history of exegetical investigation, they have been seen as two actual people, a symbol for a larger group, or even a symbol for inanimate objects. Clearly, some proposals seem more plausible than others do; however, the debate remains open. Indeed, the possibility exists that a stronger case could be made for a previous proposal or that a new one could be found that is more agreeable to scholars of Revelation. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the nature of the problem of identifying the two witnesses and to form a plan for finding a more satisfactory answer. In this way, the research illuminates the path beyond the current state of inconclusiveness. This purpose is accomplished through a survey of arguments that are representative of those used to support the major exegetical identifications of the two witnesses and through an examination of the broad interpretive issues that can be derived from those arguments. In short, the research aims to meet the need for a review of the literature that will more fully expose the state of the question concerning the identity of the witnesses and so offer a basis for a new investigation into that question. The most popular identifications of the two witnesses can be divided into those that understand the witnesses literally and those that understand the witnesses symbolically. The presentations of argumentation are separated according to this division, with one chapter dealing with literal identifications and another chapter covering symbolic ones. In each chapter, the presentations begin with an extensive summary of one exposition. These summaries function as the basis for discussing other significant expositions of the witnesses that, although differing in certain ways from the main ones, still represent the same broad class of identification…
author: Brown, Ian R
keywords: Two Witnesses, Book of Revelation, Interpretation, Biblical Studies
date published: 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T00:53:14Z
provider: Andrews University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Andrews University