| To And rhey that dwell upon the earth c ſhall re- Joice over them, and make merry, and ſhall ſend gifts one to another d, becauſe theſe two Prophets tor-
mented them thar dwelt upon the earth e.
c It is plain by the repeating of the ſame Words in the cloſe of the Verſe, that by thoſe that dwell up the Earth, are meant
earthly carnal Men, whether Papiſts or Atheifs ; Men that are mad upon their Luſts; for theſe are thoſe in whoſe Conſciences f.ithful and powerful Preaching breeds a torment and uneaſinefs, ſo as th always count godly Miniſters their Enemies (as 4hab told Elijah) and are not able to bear their Words (as the Iſraelites could not bear the Words of Amos.) Theſe therefore ſhall keep Holiday, when they ſee theſe their Enemies conquered, and ſhew all Signs and Expreſſions of Joy. Theſe Preachers were they that hindred them from a quiet ſleep in their Beds of Luſts. 'e And thouvh they fought againſt them only with a Fire out of their Mouths, as Prophets declaring the Will of God to be contrary to their lewd Praftices, and denouncing God's Wrath againſi thoſe that did ſuch things ; yet their Preaching made their Heads ake, partly by al- larming their Conſciences, ſo as they often flew in their Faces ; and partly becauſe by it they were expoſed to the reproach of Peo- ple, as living direaly contrary to the Divine Rule, and in defiance of his Law; thus they torment wicked Men, who therefore always did, and always will triumph in their Suppreſſion, or in any Evil that ſhall betide them. And as they ſee their Suppreſſion greater than ever before, (as it will be undoubtedly during theſe three Years and an half) fo the Triumph of lewd and wicked Men will be porportionably more, though it will be but like a Hypocrites Joy, for a ſhort time; for it will appear that their dead bodies were not put into the Grave.
11 And after three days and an half f, the ſpirit of life from God entred into them, and they ſtood up- on their feet g, and great fear fell upon them which
ſaw them hþ. |
F After that ſhort time which God had determined for Anrchrift ( juſt before his time ſhould be expired) or after the preciſe time of forty two Months, or three Years and an half was expired, when the Gentiles thought they had fully prevailed , and ſhould be no more troubled with Chris Witneſſes. g God who alone can quicken the dead, reviveth them, and reſtoreth them again to theit Employment as his Prophets ; for it is plain, this cannot be an- derſtood of a corporal Refurre&ion; for 1. Their Death was not of that nature; nor 2. Doth the Scripture give us any hints of any ſuch ReſurreQion before the coming of Chriſt to the laſt Judg- ment. + This ſtrikes a great fear into all their Enemies, amazed to think what God was about to do, and rightly preſaging this would be their ruine. | St IT =
It is a great Queſtion now, whether the time here ſpoken of fot ſaying the Witnefles, and their tiſing again, be paſt, or yet to
"come. TI muft confeſs the Papacy. had got fuch a Victory over the
faithful Witnefles of Chriſt, for ſome” Ages before the Refirmation began in Germany about 1517; arid there was fo ſudden a Reſtf- re&ion of them in the firſt ———_— brought to paſs, and carried
Chap Xl
#8
— _—
Chap. XI.
+ Gr. Names of Men.
*Ch. 8.13. & 9.12, & I5. I.
Ch. 10.7. + Ch. 12. IO.
on by ſuch a ſtupendious Series of Providences, that I cannot wonder that ſome did think the time paſt : But we who have out- lived that time more than 150 Years, ſeeing the Turks (whom all judicious Interpreters make the four Angels bound by the River Eu- phrates looſed) ſtill ſo rampant, and the Papacy ſtill fo predomi- nant, and daily treading down the outward Court, have no reaſon to judge the ſlaying of the Witneſſes yet over, at leaſt that they are yet riſen, and ſtanding upon their Feet ; or that the ſeventh Angel hath yet ſounded ; but that we are as yet under the period of time ſ1gniaed by the ſounding of the ſixth Trumpet, and to expet a fur- ther degree of this Evening, before it will be Light over the Um- verſal Church, (for we muſt not think any particular Church intend- ed here) and this appears moſt probable alſo from what followeth before the ſounding of the ſeventh Angel, v. 15.
12 And they 7 heard a great voice from heaven, ying unto them, Come up hither #, And they al- cerded up to heaven ina cloud, and their enemies be-
held them 27. |
i That is the two-Witneſſes ſo often before ſpoken of. k Heard God by a fingular Providence calling them again to their former work and ſtation in his Church ; or (as ſome) to an higher, and more famous place in his Church than they formerly enjoyed ; tor by Heaven the moſt and beſt Interpreters underſtand the Church, 2+ it often ſignifies in this Book. m And this was done in the Face of their Enemies. In this Senſe of this Verſe I find the generality ot judicious Interpreters agreed.
13 And the ſame hour 7 was there a great earth- quake o, and the tenth part of the city fell p, and in the earthquake were flain + of men ſeven thouſand 93
and the remnant were affrighted 7, and gave glory to
the God of heaven /.