"4 The identity of the two witnesses needs to be viewed from a literal view to understand what they represent. .
Old Testament Background and Relationship to the Identity of Two Witnesses.
The Old Testament teaches that in order to testify on any matter there must be a certain number of witnesses present. Deuteronomy 19:155 teaches that "One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." The original readers of Revelation know this Law and would understand what John was describing to them. Jewish people have been taught that two or more witnesses are needed when bearing testimony about something. "Two witnesses were deemed the minimum required: if two different persons agreed in the testimony, that corroboration was accepted as adequate."6 The two witness will be "clothed in sackcloth" just like the Prophets Jeremiah and Joel tell the people of Israel to do (Rev 11:3; Jer 4:8; Joel 1:13). The Prophets in the Old Testament wore sackcloth also. "The prophets will appear wearing sackcloth, the garment of mourning and penitence."7 In Jewish culture they understood the importance of always having two witnesses.
Belief that Witnesses are Elijah and Moses.
The two witnesses that are described in Revelation 11 are believed by some scholars to be Elijah and Moses. They believe that Elijah and Moses will return during the great tribulation and witness to the world about Jesus Christ. This would be a literal translation of this passage in order for this to be true. This passage is symbolic to represent the two witnesses similar to Moses and Elijah. In Revelation 11:5 John states that "fire comes from their mouths and [will devour] their enemies." Many scholars relate this description to Elijah in 2 Kings 1:10-12. "Elijah's experience in calling fire from heaven, actually has a much closer parallel with Jeremiah.