144,000 Anointed, 2 Witnesses and The Sun Clothed in Sackcloth

The book of Revelation tells us about two witnesses that will prophesy for 1260 days with the power of fire that proceeds from their mouth to devour those that wish them harm.

This post will investigate who these witnesses are and provide an alternative to the common understanding. Many people speculate that these two witnesses might be Moses and Elijah because of the miracles they are said to perform, or Enoch and Elijah because they were the only two previously taken without death.

I believe the two witness are the 144,000 from the two houses of Israel (Northern and Southern Kingdom).

These witnesses are sealed (anointed) before the fall of Babylon the Great (USA) and are therefore protected for 1260 days in the midst of the tribulation before they are called up at the midpoint of the tribulation.

Let’s see what the scriptures have to say.

Are the Two Witnesses Clothed in Sackcloth?

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake (nuke); and the sun became black as (like) sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; — Revelation 6:12

The first thing to notice is that the moon cannot be “as blood” if the sun isn’t shining. So the sun is darkened by something in front of it, not by an eclipse or a supernatural darkening.

And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. — Revelation 11:3.

I believe this is saying that the days are clothed in sackcloth because the sun is covered by smoke from the forest fires and nuclear war. If my interpretation is correct, then the sackcloth has nothing to do with identifying the two witnesses clothing choices.

If there are indeed 144,000 people that comprise the witnesses from the two houses of Israel, then it doesn’t make sense that they would all be wearing sackcloth for that entire period of time.

The Day of YHVH — Sun like Sackcloth

For the day of the Lord is coming,For it is at hand:A day of darkness and gloominess,A day of clouds and thick darkness,Like the morning clouds (fog) spread over the mountains (nations).

A people come, great and strong,The like of whom has never been;Nor will there ever be any such after them,Even for many successive generations.

They enter at the windows like a thief (in the night).The earth quakes before them (nukes),The heavens (sky) tremble (roll up);The sun and moon grow dark ,And the stars diminish their brightness (smoke).

— Joel 2:2

The Sealing of the 144,000

Before getting back to the two witnesses, lets learn about the 144,000.

And after these things I saw four angels (four horsemen) standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given (authority / power) to hurt the earth and the sea,

“Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed (anointed) the servants (witnesses) of our God in their foreheads.”

And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel (Judah and Joseph). — Rev 7

After the sealing, then the rapture.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

… And he said to me, These are they which came (escaped, raptured) out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

— Rev 7:9,14

Note that Four Horsemen, angels, were given power (authority) to conquer, take peace with a great sword (nuke), judge and disrupt economies, and kill 25% of the earth (with the sword/nuke, hunger, death, and nations of the earth). No action actually occurs until the 6th seal when the nukes drop, the sky rolls up like a scroll, every mountain (nation) and island were moved, and everyone runs to their fallout shelters.

The Four Horsemen are called to wait until the sealing of the 144,000 and the rapture before the earth, sea and trees are hurt.

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil (the anointed 144,000) and the wine (spirit). — Rev 6:5–6

Notice further, that when the black horse( angel of death), is introduced, a voice in the midst of all four horses (angels) says “see you do not hurt the oil and wine”. This is talking about the 144,000 anointed (sealed) with oil, and filled with the spirit. This clearly confirms that the anointing happens before the four horses hurt anyone.

This also establishes that the 144,000 will be on earth in the midst of the work of the four horsemen, otherwise why would they have to be instructed not to hurt the oil (annointed) and the wine (those with the spirit).

Who are the Two Witnesses

These witnesses are the two olive trees (Israel/Judah) and the two lamp-stands that stand before the Lord of the earth. — Revelation 11:5

According to Revelation these witnesses are “two olive trees”, which is a reference to Zechariah.

What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick (7 churches, the raptured) and upon the left side thereof? — Zech 4:11

Then said he, These are the two anointed ones (sons of oil, sealed ones), that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. — Zech 4:14

Then from exodus describe the anointing of priests.

“You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.” — Exodus 40:15

Then from Ezekiel we have the two trees joined together as one that represent the two houses (northern and southern Israel).

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “As for you, son of man, take a עֵץ stick (tree) for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another עֵץ stick (tree) and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick (tree), and they will become one in your hand. — Ezekiel 37:15–17

Where did the 144,000 come from? From all the tribes of Israel.

…there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand (144,000) of all the tribes of the children of Israel. — Revelation 7:4

144,000 and Temple Dimensions

There are some interesting numerological relationships between the size of the Holy of Holies and the 144,000.

I mention this because the “anointed ones”, the “sons of oil”, the “sealed ones”, stand by the Lord of the whole earth as an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. This is a perfect description of 144,000 priests sent to all nations to interface between YHVH and the people of the world.

For more about these measurements, check out this video from 119 ministries.

Yeshua Sends Out 72 in pairs ( 72 x 2 = 144 )

As is typical of YHVH, He likes to model by example what will happen in the future. Consider he sent out 72 people in pairs. Symbolic of the 144,000 to be sent out in the future.

Now after this the Lord appointed/anointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. 5 And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I say to you, it will be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that city. — Luke 10

…

Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” 18 And He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” — Luke 10:17–20

Notice how Yeshua makes reference to “on that day for Sodom” and then later makes reference to “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning”. These are key symbols that help us connect the historical lived parable to future events.

The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.

— Rev 12:9

So when the 72 pairs return, Yeshua makes reference to Satan falling from heaven. When the 144,000 finish their 3.5 years, the dragon is hurled to earth to pursue the woman, but the woman is protected for a time, times, and half a time (3.5 years).

This completes the comparison and suggests that the two witnesses are the 144,000 who are anointed and protected during the first 3.5 years of the tribulation.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness (144k, the 2 witnesses) to all the nations, and then the end will come. (last 3.5 years)— Matthew 24:14

Conclusion

The two witnesses are not Moses, Elijah, Enoch, nor any other old testament figure. They are the 144,000 from the two houses of Israel, the two Olive Trees. They are sent out in pairs to the whole Earth like the 72 that Yeshua sent out during his ministry. During this time the sun will be clothed in sackcloth because of the sudden destruction, aka nuclear war that kicked off the Fall of Babylon.

I have updated my Tribulation Timeline below.

You can learn more about this timeline by watching my video on youtube or reading my Medium post.