4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth.

A. The two witnesses are here described as olive trees and candlesticks.

B. Olive trees were used by Paul in Romans 11:1-36 to describe how God cut off the Jew and grafted in the Gentiles. Here the olive tree represented the church.

C. Candlesticks were used in 1:20 to represent the churches in Asia.

D. I believe that, while the symbols are very different, they are used in other places in the New Testament or in the book of Revelation to represent Christians, the true church.

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Old Testament