The Two Witnesses, Tract · Sermon 9
VERS. 11. And after three dayes and an half, the Spirit of Life from God entred into them, and they ſtood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon them which ſaw them.
IN the words laſt handled, we ſaw how joy'd the Popiſh crew were at the ſlaughter of the Witneſſes, thinking they had made ſuch a hand of them, as that they ſhould never hear of them any more: But now (which quaſhes all their mirth, and makes them every whit as ſad as did the ſlaying of theſe Witneſſes rejoyce them before) Behold, After three dayes and an half, the Spirit of Life enters into the Witneſſes, and they ſtand upon their feet.
In which words, you have obſervable;
1. The witneſſes Reſurrection: [The Spirit of life from God ent…rs into them, and they ſtand upon their feet.]
2. The time of their Reſurrection; 'Tis [after three dayes and an half.
3. The Conſequent hereof; [Great fear fell on them that ſaw them.
Of theſe I ſhall ſpeak in this order, and thereof briefly alſo, as of the former, beginning with their Reſurrection firſt, in theſe words [The Spirit of life from God entred into them, and they ſtood upon their feet.
The Spirit of life] that which the Hebrews call [breath of foreign Heb. foreign Arab. foreignlife] this enters into them.
And they ſtand upon their feet:] After this Spirit of life, or Breath of life, or as the Arabique renders it [Spirit from God] enters into them, they ſtand upon their feet; that is, They riſe up again into their former employment: A poſture quite different from what we ere while ſaw them in, when they lay dead in the ſtreet, not able to move hand or foot, for the ſpace of three ye…rs and a half together. But now after that God hath by ſome extraordinary hand of his, reſtored them from their ſuſpenſions and ſilencings, and ſo life put into them, then they ſtand upon their feet, as ready now anew to witneſſe againſt Antichriſt, as …ver they were before. So thoſe dry bones▪ Ez…ch. 37, …. 37. 1….(which alſo ſeem plainly here alluded to) after thet ſinews and fleſh had covered them, (at the tenth verſe,) Breath enters into them, and they ſtand upon their feet.
And this perhaps will tell us what kinde of Reſurrection is this of theſe Witneſſes: For mark it, then is all this fulfilled; I mean, the dry bones have ſinews and fleſh, and after breathed upon, do live, and ſtand upon their feet.] When Iſrael in captivity, without hope, or likelyhood of ever being delivered (in which condition they are the dry bones) are yet by the hand of God brought out of that hopeleſſe Captivity; This is the living and riſing again of the dry bones there mentioned. According whereunto, when theſe Witneſſes, formerly ſlain their office, thrown out thence, are by the ſpeciall hand of God reſtored thereto again; what hinders but we ſay, This is the Spirit of life from God entring into the Witneſſes, and their ſtanding upon their feet.
A Reſurrection properly ſo called it cannot be; for of none ſuch do we reade, till the 20 Chapter of this Propheſie (as was Cha. 20. 5.intimated before) and if not a Reſurrection reall, and proper, what can it be, but ſome ſpeciall hand of God, in reſtoring theſe Witneſſes to place, opening their mouthes which were ſtopped by their former ſlaughter? This appears the Reſurrection of the Witneſſes here intended.
Which if ſo, we need not then that ſhift which ſome make uſe of, telling us theſe Witneſſes riſe again in their ſucceſſors, making this [the Reſurrection of the Witneſſ…s] here mentioned: For if their riſing again, mean their reſtoring to their place of Witneſſes, as we ſaw before, then nothing hinders but the ſame that were ſlain may alſo riſe again: nothing hinders, but the ſame which had their mouthes ſhut (which was their ſlaying) may have their mouthes again open, which is their Reſurrection, I am ſure the ſpace wherein they lie dead hinders not: Had that indeed been long, threeſcore or fourſcore yeers, then perhaps I ſhould have ſought it in their ſucceſſors; but when betwixt the laſt Witneſſe that is ſlain, and the firſt that riſes again, there intervenes but the ſpace of three yeers and an half, 'tis no very hard thing to believe, That ſome who three yeers and an half ſince were ſilenced, and ſuſpended, after that ſpace, have now their mouthes open.
And doubtleſſe it muſt be ſo, for mark it, The dead bodies of thoſe that were ſlain, thoſe ſame dead bodies that lay in the ſtreet, were looked upon three dayes and an half, and not ſuffer… to be put in graves, into theſe ſame (ſayes the Tex…) the Spi…it of lite from God enters, and they ſtand upon their feet.
And I would fain know, what ſucceſſors could be nouriſhed to riſe up in the room of theſe Witneſſes after this time; for either they are Witneſſes themſelves, at what time theſe are ſlain, and then they are ſlain alſo (for then are all the bold oppoſers of, and Witneſſes againſt Antichriſt, ſlain) or elſe then they were not Witneſſes, and then think what a time this three yeers and a half was to hatch up a brood of young Witneſſes in, when now all the other being ſlain, they are hereby deprived of all means of publike inſtruction.
But ſufficient of this firſt thing, I mean the riſing again of the Witneſſes; now follows the ſecond, the time when they riſe again; [After three dayes and an half, that is, after three yeers and an half] which becauſe it hath already in the foregoing words been handled, I ſhall paſſe from it to the third thing, viz. [The conſequent of this Reſurrection] in theſe words; Great fear fell upon them which ſaw them.
They that behold theſe Witneſſes riſing again, are afraid: Some like thing is mentioned of them that were preſent at our Saviours Matth. 28.Reſurrection. And indeed it is a common thing, when ſome eminent thing is done, for the lookers on to be ſtricken with fear at the beholding. When Anani…s and Saphira fall Act 5. 3. & 11.dead at the Apoſtles feet, then do…s great fear fall upon the people, the witneſses of it. And when the Exoreiſts Jews taking Act. 19. 16, 17.upon them to adjure the evill Spirit to come forth, are by the man that had the evill ſpirit overcome, eſcaping from him naked and wounded, then great fear falls upon the people alſo.
But you will not blame the beholders here to be afraid at the riſing again of theſe Witneſſes: For if theſe be the Popiſh party as was conceived they well might be; did they ever dream they ſhould ſee the Witneſſes riſe again; did not they think they had made ſuch ſure work, as that they ſhould never have been troubled with them any more; but now after they had ſlain them, that beſides all expectation they ſhould riſe again, and this perhaps to torment them worſe then ever they did before, can you blame them they are afraid at it?
We have now examined all the ſeveralls of this verſe, all which drawn together, are thus much in the reſult; The Witneſſes being ſilenced, thruſt from their places, thus ſlain, after three yeers and an half are by a ſpeciall hand of God reſtored to liberty and office again; at which the Antichriſtian faction become greatly afraid, not having the leaſt thought, after they had once ſlain the Witneſſes, they ſhould ever have been troubled, or tormented with them any more.
Having thus opened the words, there are but two Collections I ſhall make from them, and then paſse on to what followes.
1. Do the Witneſſes; after three dayes and an half riſe again? ſure then this buſineſse of the ſlaying of the Witneſſes cannote b a matter of ſo much diſcouragement, as we uſually conceive ſo it; as alſo, neither ſhould we take on for the ſlaying of the Witneſſes, as men without hope; for but a little while, and the Witneſſes 1 Theſſ. 4. 14.riſe again. Nay, neither ſhould this ſlaughter ſo much afflict the Witneſſes themſelves, who even then, when it is a doing, may bid the Popiſh faction hold their countenance, forbear rejoycing, for though they fall, they ſhall yet within a little Mich. 7. 8.time aſſuredly riſe again: Theſe lights may be by Antichriſt ſuppreſsed for a time, but afterward they break forth in greater luſtre and brightnes then ever they did before.
2. Do the Popiſh faction become greatly afraid, upon the Reſurrection of the Witneſſes? then obſerve it, the riſing of the Witneſſes, is the fall of the Spirits, of the Popiſh party: When the Witneſſes fell before, then they rejoyce, and make merry, cannot contain themſelves; but now they riſe, their hearts fall every whit as faſt within them, juſt like the Scales of the Ballance, if one riſe, the other falls, ſo inconſiſtent is the proſperous condition of the one, with the content and ſatisfaction of the other.