(Comment piece)
IF the two witnesses are two individuals, then leaving Revelation 11:4 out of the text makes absolutely no difference and does not change its meaning in any way:-
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
5 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.
6 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.
7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.
8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.
10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
But John was inspired by Christ who was giving John the Revelation, to include the following:
Revelation 11:4
"These are the two olive trees, and the two lamp-stands standing before the God of the earth."
The above tells us that:
(A) we should identify the two witnesses in terms of their symbolic representations by two olive trees and two candlesticks; and
(B) that we should not assume that the two witnesses are referring to two individuals; neither should we assume that they are not referring to two individuals.
Anyone who is cautious enough when reading scripture would spot this - and it should cause each person to compare scripture with scripture after prayerfully asking God to give him the understanding - in order to at least attempt to ascertain what is meant by the symbols of two olive trees and two lamp-stands - before just "declaring" the two witnesses to be two individuals, or to be referring to churches.
Failing to do so is a matter of privately interpreting scripture, because Revelation 11:4 appears to allude to Zechariah 4:14's "two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.":
Zechariah Chapter 4 is all about the building of God's Temple.
Zechariah 3:8-9 tells us that in Zechariah 4 the two olive trees represent Joshua the High Priest and Zerubabbel the magistrate / king of Israel, and BOTH are types of Christ, who gives power to His two witnesses in Revelation 11:3:
Zechariah 3
8 Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch.
9 As for the stone I have set before Joshua - on the one stone THERE ARE SEVEN EYES.
I am about to engrave an inscription on it,' says the LORD who rules over all, 'to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
Zechariah 4
7 "What are you, you great mountain? Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple capstone with shoutings of 'Grace! Grace!' because of this."
Zechariah asks a question about the olive trees TWICE in the passage:
Zechariah 4
3 There are also two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the receptacle and the other on the left."
4 Then I asked the messenger who spoke with me, "What are these, sir?"
5 He replied, "Don't you know what these are?" So I responded, "No, sir."
6 Therefore he told me, "These signify the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by strength and not by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD who rules over all."
7 "What are you, you great mountain? Because of Zerubbabel you will become a level plain! And he will bring forth the temple capstone with shoutings of 'Grace! Grace!' because of this."
8 Moreover, the word of the LORD came to me as follows:
9 "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this temple, and his hands will complete it." Then you will know that the LORD who rules over all has sent me to you.
Zerubabbel is a type of Christ laying the foundations of His Temple and His hands also finishing it. So is Joshua, the high priest:
11 Next I asked the messenger, "What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the menorah?"
12 Before he could reply I asked again, "What are these two extensions of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?"
13 He replied, "Don't you know what these are?" And I said, "No, sir."
14 So he said, "These are the two sons of oil who stand by the Lord of the whole earth."
Zechariah 3:8-9 and Zechariah chapter 4 link the two olive trees, which provide the oil, to Joshua and Zerubbabel (and hence, to Christ). He is THE CAPSTONE of the Temple in Zechariah 3:8-9. He provides the Holy Spirit and power to His two witnesses (Revelation 11:3); and to:-
(i) THE SEVEN LAMPS of the lamp-stand (Zechariah 4:2-3 & 12-14); which are:
(ii) "THE SEVEN EYES OF THE LORD, WHICH RUN TO AND FRO THROUGH THE WHOLE EARTH" (Zechariah 3:9 & Zechariah 4:10); and this is alluded to in Revelation 5:6:
(iii) THE SEVEN EYES OF THE LAMB; which are linked in the same verse to:
(iv) "THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD SENT FORTH INTO ALL THE EARTH (Revelation 5:6), which are linked to:
(v) The "SEVEN LAMPS of fire BURNING BEFORE THE THRONE, WHICH ARE THE SEVEN SPIRITS OF GOD" (Revelation 4:5).
Therefore because what is written in Zechariah Chapter 4 is also referring to God's temple whose foundation-stone is THE BRANCH, the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 1:12-13 are ALSO being symbolized as candlesticks / lamp-stands / menorahs (whatever you want to call them).
The finer details in the above scriptures may provide us with a better understanding:
* Candlesticks / lamp-stands are not the candles / lamps themselves, but the lamp-stands:
Matthew 5:15:
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick [luchnia]; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
G3087 λυχνία lucniva luchnia {lookh-nee'-ah}
a lamp-stand (literally or figuratively):--candlestick.
Therefore, because they are lamp-stands and not the lamps themselves, the lamp-stands in Revelation 11:4 seem to symbolize two churches - but IF each of the two lamp-stands symbolizes a menorah, then each will have seven lamps, i.e FOURTEEN lamps in total.
* Finer detail: Zechariah saw fourteen pipes going to the lamp-stand from the olive trees beside it (Zechariah 4:2), and he was told that the two 'sons of oil' (or 'anointed ones') that stand before the Lord of the whole earth, are the branches / conduits through which the oil from the olive trees is poured out (Zechariah 4:12-14).
* The Hebrew word for 'anointed' in verse 14 is the word that is always referring to oil in all other Old Testament passages and verses which use the same word.
* In the context of Zechariah Chapter 4 (based on Zechariah 3:8-9), the two branches of the olive trees / 'sons of oil' / 'anointed ones' are referring to Joshua and Zerubbabel, who had been appointed by God with respect to His house, and were symbols that God was about to bring about His servant THE BRANCH (Zechariah 3:8-9).
* Revelation 11:10 calls the two witnesses 'prophets'.
The two sons of oil / branches of the olive tree (through which the Holy Spirit is being poured out), are (like Joshua and Zerubbabel) the two leaders of the Lord's flock. In the case of Revelation 11:3-4, they would be the leaders of the two 'lamp-stands', each of which seem to support seven lamps (churches), i.e - fourteen lamps, corresponding to the fourteen pipes Zechariah saw in Zechariah 4:2.
Whatever the case may be, it would be short-sighted for someone to pretend that Revelation 11:4 makes no difference to the interpretation of the identity of the two witnesses:
Revelation 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two lamp-stands standing before the God of the earth.
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