Are the "two" witnesses a single person?

Are the "two" witnesses a single person?

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The following are quotes from various websites which present the case that the two witnesses are not two seperate persons but a single person. In Scripture, the number two represents verifiable facts. Hence, the message of the "two" witnesses is true. The number two used here is symbolic, not literal. Also, the "two" witnesses fulfill a dual role in a single prophet. Meaning of Numbers in the Bible:
The Number 2

  1. According to Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Vaticanus, and Codex Ephraemi, as the oldest manuscripts, as well as early church theologians such as Arethas of Caesarea, the original Greek text of Revelation 11:8 uses the singular word ‘body’ instead of ‘bodies’, whereas later the text switches back to using the plural form ‘bodies’ in verse 9. The plural v. singular ambiguity is reinforced in Rev. 11:5 where the original Greek text of the oldest manuscripts uses the singular term ‘mouth’ instead of ‘mouths’ in the plural. Therefore, verse 11:5 reads: "If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies," and verse 11:8 reads “And their dead body shall lie in the street of the great city.” Since the original Greek text requires that the "two" witnesses have one common i.e. shared mouth, and one shared dead body, and if interpreted literally, therefore "they" would have to be just a single person.
    Who Are the Two Witnesses in Revelation

  2. *** Dead body on the street **: The beast coming out of the abyss ends up killing the two witnesses. We would expect that the two witnesses would each have their own body lying down where they had been killed. This is not what we read in Revelation 11:8. As Stefanovic mentions in his book, the expression in Greek is written in the collective singular "to ptōma autōn", which means "the dead body of them". In the Greek version, Revelation 11:9 also includes this reference in the singular, and only then the text switches back to the plural form ‘bodies’ (ptōmata). We saw this unity of the two witnesses in Revelation 11:5, where we read the expression stated in the singular form: "the mouth of them" (tou stomatos autōn). The two witnesses are a unit.
    The two witnesses: dead in the middle of the street * Revelation 11:7-8 – Part 3 of 6

  3. The Fact that the Two Witnesses are Embodied in One Man Explains the Shift to the Singular Tense in v. 9. The fact that….the two witnesses are one man may also be implied by a peculiar shift from the plural to the singular tense found in v. 9.3 This verse literally reads, “Those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations look at their dead body for three and a half days, and do not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb.” Notice body is singular, not plural. This is not a linguistic mistake. Revelation 11: A Preterist Commentary–Who are the Two Witnesses?

  4. Verse 8
    dead bodies — So Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas. But A, B, C, the oldest manuscripts, and Coptic read the singular, “dead body.” The two fallen in one cause are considered as one.
    Verse 9
    dead bodies — So Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas. But A, B, C, and Coptic, singular, as in Revelation 11:8, “dead body.”
    Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary

  5. Their dead bodies (ta ptwmata autwn). "Their corpses," plural here, though singular just before and in verse Revelation 11:8. Bible Study Tools: Revelation 11:9

  6. Bodies – Textual evidence is divided between this and the reading “body.” However, the singular form would be used collectively as is the term “mouth” in verse 5. (see comment there)
    Revelation 11:5 “And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.”
    Hurt them – That is, hurt Revelations two witnesses/Old and New Testaments.
    Fire proceedeth out of their mouth – Even though there is two witnesses they only have one mouth.
    Revelation Chapter 11 – Revelations Two Witnesses

  7. (footnote) g Revelation 11:9 Lit body
    Revelation 11 New American Standard Bible

  8. …first I want to go over the phrase "dead bodies." This is a really strange thing. It literally is fallen. And it’s singular. It’s really strange. This word—literally, "fallen"—came to mean (in Greek) a corpse or dead body. And so it is correctly translated here "dead body." It’s singular.
    Why God would inspire John to write a singular "body" (rather than two) is unknown. That’s why I said it’s weird. It’s strange.
    Sermon: The Two Witnesses (Part Seven)

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