Facts About The Two Anointed One’s

1. They are prophets, since they are called anointed ones
2. They were already standing before Yahweh at the time of the vision
3. They are in heaven since that is where Yahweh is, and they evidently were not on earth with Zechariah at the time
4. They were alive since they cannot stand before Yahweh if they are dead—either they never died, or they were raised back to life
5. They will still be alive at the end of time since this is a prophecy about what the Messiah would do in end time.

“Standing”—Not “Stood” or “Will Stand”—Before the Lord

Note that the angel does not speak of the two anointed in past or future tense but in present tense. He does not say, the two anointed ones, that stood”, nor “the two anointed ones, that will stand” but “the two anointed ones, that stand before the Lord of the whole earth”.

That is, these two anointed ones  were already at the time of the vision standing before the Lord of the earth. Therefore, if they are men,

1. First, at the time of the vision, they were in heaven,
2. Second, if they are men, since they cannot enter/serve in heaven if they are dead, then they were alive in heaven at the time of the vision.
3. Therefore, they either
   1. Had never died but were translated to heaven or
   2. Died and were raised back to life and taken to heaven

Other Defining Qualities of These Men

The Apostle John speaks of these “two anointed ones” as the Two Witnesses [Rev 11:3-4].

There, in Revelation we learn about them that they have,

1. Power to shut up the sky and keep it from raining [Rev 11:6]
2. They have the authority and power from God to kill anyone who tries to kill them with fire [Rev 11:5]

Elijah—One of the Two Anointed Ones

Evidently, by his own testimony and the record of Scriptures, Elijah is one of them. Why?

1. Because he “stands before Yahweh” [1Kgs 17:1; 18:15; 19:11] and
2. He was taken from the earth without dying [2Kgs 2:1,11].
3. Therefore, if he is alive, and he stands before Yahweh, then he has been standing before Yahweh.
4. Also, Elijah was evidently an anointed one as his Spirit rested upon Elisha [2Kgs 2:9-10,15]. (This is particularly significant because he is one of the only two prophets in Scriptures who transferred their Spirit to another person).

From John’s testimony about the Two Witness, the fact that these have power to defend themselves with fire shows that Elijah is one of the two. Elijah was one whose calling from God was validated with fire from heaven which consumed not just the sacrifice on mount Carmel, but also, as Revelation says, his enemies—the two captains of fifty and their fifties [2Kin 1:10,12 cf., Rev 11:5]. Therefore, Elijah is quite easily identified as one of the two anointed ones that stand before the Lord of the Earth.

The identification of Elijah as one of the two prophets is made more sure by the fact that the prophet Malachi identifies him by name. God very plainly declares through Malachi that He will send the prophet Elijah before the Day of Yahweh comes.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh” [Mal 4:5].

Jesus also identifies Elijah as the one who is coming

 Jesus replied, " To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? [Mar 9:12]

The Other Anointed One

We can identify the other anointed one as Moses from the following,

1. The Spirit Upon Them:
   1. First, of all the prophets in the Bible, the only prophet whose Spirit was given to another was Moses.
   2. The Spirit was taken from Moses and given to the 70 elders [Num 11:25]. As with Elijah and Elisha, Yahweh came down to make this happen.
   3. And before Moses was taken, he laid his hands on Joshua and he was filled with the Spirit of Wisdom [Deut 34:9].
   4. Second, no other prophet was as prolific with miracles. The quantity of miracles done by Elijah  (which includes those done by Elisha since he was standing in the office of Elijah [1Kgs 19:16]) is only matched by Moses.
2. Standing Before Yahweh:
   1. Although we don’t read that Moses “stood before Yahweh”, the records show that he did [Exo 33:7-9].
   2. Both Moses and Elijah went to speak to God at Horeb [1Kgs 19:8-11].
      1. Abraham stood before Yahweh [ Gen 18:22; 19:27], but this was not in the same way as Elijah stood before Yahweh.
      2. Moses stood between Yahweh and Israel [Deu 5:5]—this was something he continually did
      3. The Levites were chosen to stand before Yahweh [Deu 10:8; 18:7; 2Chr 29:11]—this was under the law
      4. Elijah stood before Yahweh [1Kgs 17:1; 18:15; 19:11]
      5. Elisha stood before Yahweh [2Kgs 3:14; 5:16]—Elisha was standing in the office of Elijah. In other words, Elijah was standing through him.
3. The Destruction of Their Enemies By Fire:
   1. Like Elijah, Moses’ ministry was validated with fire from Yahweh’s presence and with firedestroying those who opposed him [Num 16:28-30,35; 26:9-10 cf., 1Kin 18:36-40]
   2. Fire was the proof that they were sent from God and had done everything they had done according to God’s word to them.
      1. Elijah said,

          “…let it be known this day that …I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.”[1Kin 18:36]

      2. Moses said,

          “…Hereby you shall know that Yᵉhôvâh has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord.”[Num 16:28]

      3. And the response to both was fire from God’s presence [Num 16:35 cf., 1Kin 18:35]
   3. With fire, those who opposed them were destroyed,
      1. For Moses, fire destroyed the 250 companions of Korah, Dathan and Abiram [Num 16:35]
      2. For Elijah, fire consumed the two captains and their fifties [2Kin 1:10-11]

Moses, Elijah & the Lord Jesus Christ

Above is a beautiful fact to note and expound on.

The greatest miracle workers in Scriptures were Moses, Elijah (himself and through Elisha) and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only these three that God had their Spirit given to another/others.

Now, of the three, the Lord Jesus Christ is quite evidently by far the greatest. Quite evidently, as John the Baptist testified, God has given him the Spirit without measure and the evidence is in

1. Both the quantity and quality of miracles and in
2. The distribution of his Spirit.

Jesus is so great and has so much of the Spirit that even till today his men and women are still receiving his Spirit and healing and performing great miracles, signs and wonders.

Now, it is important to observe that in all cases of transfer of the Spirit, those who received the Spirit were an extension of the one from whom they received the Spirit.

1. The Seventy Elders were anointed with Moses’ Spirit so that they could help him with his work.
2. Joshua received the Spirit of Wisdom through Moses’ laying on of hands so that he could carry on and finish the work Moses had started
3. Elisha also received the Spirit of Elijah so that he could stand in the office of Elijah and carry on his work.

Therefore, the great number of Jesus’ disciples—past, present, and future—who have and who are still receiving his Spirit show how great, how exceedingly great the Lord Jesus is. All of them are extensions of the Lord Jesus Christ.