The two witnesses

“And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:3
There has been much speculation over the years as to the identity of the two witnesses in Revelation 11. They clearly have an important role during the Tribulation, and they have special divine protection. For 3 ½ years they prophesy, and anyone who tries to harm them is killed with fire that comes out of their mouths (Rev. 11:5).
Many people think that Elijah is one of the two witnesses. During his ministry, he caused fire to fall from heaven to devour his enemies (2 Kin. 1:10), and he also commanded that it not rain (James 5:17). The other has been surmised to be Enoch, because like Elijah he too was raptured and did not die; or Moses. I am inclined to go with Moses, for a number of reasons. Firstly, like the two unique characteristics of Elijah that the two witnesses have, they also have two unique characteristics of Moses: turning water into blood, and causing plagues to come upon the earth (Rev. 11:6). Perhaps this was the reason that the devil was disputing with Michael about the body of Moses (Jude 1:9)?
Many people suggest that Elijah and Enoch are the two witnesses, because of Heb. 9:27 (“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that face judgement”), saying that Elijah and Enoch are due to have a date with death. But this verse is a rebuttal against reincarnation – it is not a general rule. In fact, there were many people who died twice: Jairus’ daughter, the Shulammite woman’s son, Lazarus, et al. Also, the rapture of the church will have preceded this, which means that millions more people will have been translated to heaven without having died.
If they are instead Moses and Elijah, it is fitting: they prophesy in Jerusalem, primarily to Jews (as this is the focus of this ‘seventieth week’, Dan. 9:24). Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the Prophets – and we know that the Law and the Prophets all point to Jesus Christ (Matt. 5:17, Rom. 3:21).