1The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we live and meet with you is too small for us. 2Please let us go to the Jordan, and each man take a beam from there, and let’s make us a place there, where we may live.”
He answered, “Go!”
3One said, “Please be pleased to go with your servants.”
He answered, “I will go.” 4So he went with them. When they came to the Jordan, they cut down wood. 5But as one was cutting down a tree, the ax head fell into the water. Then he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.”
6The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” He showed him the place. He cut down a stick, threw it in there, and made the iron float. 7He said, “Take it.” So he put out his hand and took it.
8Now the king of Syria was at war against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
9The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” 10The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once or twice. 11The king of Syria’s heart was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13He said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.”
He was told, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night and surrounded the city. 15When the servant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16He answered, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. 18When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.”
He struck them with blindness according to Elisha’s word.
19Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” He led them to Samaria. 20When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “Yahweh, open these men’s eyes, that they may see.”
Yahweh opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the middle of Samaria.
21The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, “My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?”
22He answered, “You shall not strike them. Would you strike those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, then go to their master.”
23He prepared a great feast for them. After they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria stopped raiding the land of Israel.
24After this, Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. 25There was a great famine in Samaria. Behold, they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. 26As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
27He said, “If Yahweh doesn’t help you, where could I get help for you? From of the threshing floor, or from the wine press?” 28Then the king asked her, “What is your problem?”
She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29So we boiled my son and ate him; and I said to her on the next day, ‘Give up your son, that we may eat him;’ and she has hidden her son.”
30When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes. Now he was passing by on the wall, and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth underneath on his body. 31Then he said, “God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat stays on him today.”
32But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then the king sent a man from before him; but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent to take away my head? Behold, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold the door shut against him. Isn’t the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
33While he was still talking with them, behold, the messenger came down to him. Then he said, “Behold, this evil is from Yahweh. Why should I wait for Yahweh any longer?”
Like much of the content of the Book of Revelation, the identity of the Two Witnesses is a matter of conjecture. Whoever they might be, they are a matter of great intrigue. These two witnesses, filled with the Holy Spirit, will have supernatural powers. When anyone approaches them to kill them, fire will come out of their mouths and consume all enemies. This should get a “wow” out of anyone who reads this. There are all sorts of guesses concerning who the witnesses might be. Some think they include John the Baptist himself, a figure much like Elijah. Others believe it could be Enoch because he did not die. Others have thought that it might be Moses because he appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. It’s really anybody’s guess. I sort of feel like one of them might be Moses. When Jesus was asked by the lawyer which was the greatest commandment, he quoted the Torah passage that mandates loving God with all our hearts and loving our neighbors as ourselves. He said that on these two commandments hang ALL THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS. When we think of the Law, we think of Moses as the lawgiver. When we think of the prophets, we think of Elijah as the super prophet. These two would be the ultimate coming of the Law and the Prophets. Perhaps those commandments predict the identity of at least one of the witnesses.
Others believe it could be Zechariah, and others believe it could be John, the beloved disciple himself, because in the last verse of Chapter 10, Jesus says, “You will prophesy again.” The bottom line is that we do not know. We’re told that the two witnesses are sort of untouchable. I think of them sort of like Jedi Knights from Star Wars with supernatural ways about them. We think of Elijah calling down fire to consume the enemies of God during his battle with the Prophets of Baal. When I was a little boy, my mother would read me stories of things that Elijah did, and in my mind, he was sort of like a superhero. Later in life, I’ve wondered if some of what she told me was just stories that she had made up. There is a story in which Elijah recovers an axe head that was floating on the river. “4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.” 6 So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. 7 Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.” (2 Kings 6:4-7, NKJV). My mother wove many tales around that one short account mentioned in the Bible, so I suppose I want Elijah to be one of the two witnesses, and I think that he will be.
These two will have the power to shut off the rain. Elijah did the same thing. Moses had the power to turn the waters to blood. That is one of the plagues of Egypt. They will have other powers like Moses to bring plagues upon the land. Regardless of who they are, they remind us that God is still in the business of doing supernatural works, and they will be on great display at the end of time. We live in an age in which we wonder why God doesn’t just come down and perform mighty deeds like those of old. I’m talking about waters parting, walls falling, armies falling dead, and demons fleeing. The fact is, there are still miracles happening around us. We fall asleep, then, by His grace, most of us wake up. Our bodies are intricately and wonderfully made. The sun, moon, and stars continue in motion, defying all explanation. The plants on the earth continue to generate their own food from sunlight. We’ve just grown accustomed to the miracles of God around us. Reader, there are miracles in your own life. Observe them and give thanks for them. God can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants. Miracles still happen, but that is not what keeps us faithful. We are people of faith because God’s word tells us who God is and what He can and will do. The miracles can always be explained away, but God’s word is true, and He is faithful. He can still part the troubled waters of our lives. He still knocks down the walls that entrap us. Recommit to Him today and rest in Him and His word. Miracles are happening. He is faithful.