7 Now we are ready to identify the two witnesses.

These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks [lampstands] standing before the God of the earth. (Revelation 11:4)

The reference is to the fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah, and so we would expect to find the answer there concerning the identity of the two witnesses.

In the fourth chapter the angel pointed out to Zechariah a golden lampstand, and also two olive trees, one on each side of the lamp-stand.

When Zechariah beheld this vision he asked the question many of us have asked after having read the eleventh chapter of the Book of Revelation: "What are these, my lord?"

The answer given to Zechariah is the Lord’s answer to our question concerning the meaning of the lampstands and olive trees of Revelation, Chapter 11.

So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord? (Zechariah 4:4) What is the meaning of this vision? What is signified by the golden lamp-stand, its bowl, its seven lamps, its seven pipes, and the two olive trees standing by it?

What does Revelation mean when it states that the two witnesses are "the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks [lamp-stands] standing before the God of the earth"?

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