Q287 : Do the Two Witnesses Kill the Antichrist?

Pastor Garland,

I have been listening through your teaching on Revelation^a and it has been very helpful in a number of ways helping to clear up a lot of questions I have always had.

I understand we can't have all the answers but Rev chapter 11 is one that I keep coming back to time and again. Understanding the Two witness in the first half has been helpful as it relates to the timing of the book. Here is a copy of some notes I have made on that chapter.

• Two Witnesses: 1st 3 1/2 years at the temple. They are attacked for there testimony which leads to the 144,000.
• Was Antichrist killed by fire from the mouth of the two witnesses? And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast (Rev. 13:3, KJV).
• 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 (Rev. 11:5, KJV).
• 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 (Rev. 11:7, KJV).

A287 : by Tony Garland

Although I haven’t run across that suggestion in my reading on the subject, there's nothing that I’m aware of in the Scriptures that would absolutely preclude the idea.

Some commentators see Zechariah 11:17 as a possible indication of how the Antichrist will be either wounded or possibly killed. But it is impossible to be dogmatic on that point.

If the witnesses were to kill the Antichrist, then it would be a somewhat strange turn-around of events for him to rise and overthrow them after being overthrown by them. Even so, as I said, I'm not aware of a passage that would preclude this idea. What we can say is that he appears to have been killed—prior to his restoration and ascension from the abyss to subsequently kill the witnesses (Rev. 11:7).

Having said that, I would caution not to go beyond what Scripture reveals as it tends to fuel speculation. Many students and teachers of God’s Word wind up with strange ideas and doctrines by placing too much emphasis upon vague passages, sensational ideas, and speculation rather than sticking to what Scripture clearly reveals.

Paying attention to what is not explicitly stated in Scripture is sometimes as important as studying what is.

There is more than a life-time of things that are revealed within Scripture to keep us busy without having to go beyond that. So, it might be an interesting idea to think about, but I don't think one can go very far with it.

Thanks for your interest.