It is sometimes claimed by various believers that the statement made by Moses to the Israelites, about a prophet like himself that was to come, is a reference to his own return as one of the two witnesses spoken of in the book of the Revelation to John, chapter 11. Of course, saying “a prophet like Moses” is not the same as saying “Moses, himself” but it seems that many people wish to interpret it that way. So, let's look at that scripture.
Deu 18:17-19 KJVR And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. (18) I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (19) And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
What is meant by “a prophet... like unto thee”? Does it simply mean a prophet or does it mean a prophet that is of the calibre of Moses or does it go further and mean a prophet with the calibre and character of Moses? Perhaps it means a prophet of Moses' calibre (extremely well versed in the law and knows God) and who is also a leader.
However, I believe that it is referring to a prophet who is not only a leader and of the calibre of Moses but who stands before God, Himself, and is a prophet who has seen God face to face. I believe this because it was said of Moses that no other prophet (at that time) was or had been like Moses. Since this is merely what I believe, this post could be interpreted as an opinion piece but I do provide some reasonable support for my conclusion.
Exo 33:11 KJVR And the LORD spoke unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.
Num 12:7-8 KJVR My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. (8) With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
Deu 34:10 KJVR And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,...
Moses had seen God face to face before his own death. Elijah, who came much later, did not see God face to face even when God came to him as the small, still voice but Elijah did eventually see God when he was taken without dying. From this it would be easy to believe that Moses and Elijah will be the two witnesses, and it is possible that they can be. What this fails to take into account, h0wever, is that there is no precedent anywhere in scripture for a non-contemporaneous person, specifically a person of the past, coming into the present to do a work for the Lord. It simply does not exist. Not that it couldn't but that it doesn't, and if we are to understand the final book of the bible, the only way we can is by understanding parables and precedents.
So, to whom does the scripture refer when it speaks of a prophet like Moses coming to Israel? God said that the prophet would speak everything that God commands him to speak and that whoever does not take seriously what that prophet says shall be held to account by God Himself.
There is only one prophet who perfectly fits the description and his name is the Lord Yeshua, the Christ. Yeshua was a great prophet when he walked the Earth. He clearly stated that he only said what the Father told him, only did what he saw the Father doing, and that the only way to the Father (who is God, of course) was through him (Yeshua) and that those who did not believe him would die in their sin, and that guarantees that God will hold them to account. God clearly said, of Yeshua, “this is my beloved son. Listen to Him!”
God would speak to no other prophet as He did with Moses, as if a man speaking to a man, until came Yeshua who is God's only begotten son, with whom He would speak directly. All these facts perfectly fulfil the scripture of Deuteronomy 18:17–19. I will not bother going into providing all the necessary scriptural references that describe the facts I have just stated (which you can verify for yourself) but I will provide some clearly stated verses found in the gospels which testify further to what I have here claimed.
Of what the Lord Yeshua did and said...
Joh 5:30 KJVR I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Joh 8:38 KJVR I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Of what Yeshua and others declared him to be...
Joh 1:45 KJVR Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
Joh 5:46-47 KJVR For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. (47) But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Joh 6:14-15 KJVR Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. (15) When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Joh 7:40-41 KJVR Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. (41) Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
We see in the reference in John 6 and 7 that there may be contention as to whether or not Yeshua actually fulfilled the expectation that Elijah would come again. However in John 6:15 we see that Yeshua was concerned that they would try to make Him a king and we know that Elijah was no king but to the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years, Moses was, in essence, their king, so the fact that it seemed that the people wanted to make Yeshua their leader speaks of Him being seen as the prophet like unto Moses. In John 7:40–41 we see that there was contention amongst the people as to whether or not Yeshua was “the Prophet”, which many in our time take to be a reference to Elijah, but others of that time disagreed, as do many in our time, and said that Yeshua was the Christ. So, those verses provide no direct support that Yeshua was the prophet like unto Moses but the other verses do provide that support since, like Moses, Yeshua had already seen God face to face, Yeshua was seen by the people as a leader or even a king, Philip declared that this was the prophet that Moses spoke of and last but foremost, Yeshua said, for himself, that he was the one that Moses wrote of. Do we really need more evidence? Some may but I am happy with that.
It seems that the prophet “like unto Moses” is not a reference to Moses coming back as one of the two witnesses, nor is it a reference to Elijah who came much later, but it is, in fact, a reference to the Christ who was (at that time) yet to come.
