Chapter XI (2)

7. _And when they shall have finished their testimony._ Professor Stuart renders this, “And whenever they shall have finished their testimony.” The reference is undoubtedly to a period when they should have faithfully borne the testimony which they were appointed to bear. The word here rendered “shall have finished”――τελέσωσι, from τελέω――means properly to end, to finish, to complete, to accomplish. It is used, in this respect, in two senses――either in regard to _time_ or in regard to the _end_ or _object in view_, in the sense of _perfecting it_, or _accomplishing it_. In the former sense it is employed in such passages as the following:――“Till the thousand years should be _fulfilled_,” Re. xx. 3. “Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel [Gr., ye shall not have _finished_ the cities of Israel] till the Son of man be come,” Mat. x. 23; that is, ye shall not have finished passing through them. “When Jesus had made an end [Gr., _finished_] of commanding his twelve disciples,” Mat. xi. 1. “I have _finished_ my course,” 2 Ti. iv. 7. In these passages it clearly refers to _time_. In the other sense it is used in such places as the following:――“And shall not the uncircumcision which is by nature, if it _fulfil_ the law,” Ro. ii. 27; that is, if it accomplish or come up to the demands of the law. “If ye _fulfil_ the royal law according to the scriptures,” Ja. ii. 8. The word, then, may here refer not to _time_, meaning that these events would occur at the _end_ of the “thousand two hundred and threescore days,” but to the fact that what is here stated would occur when they had completed their testimony in the sense of having testified all that they were _appointed_ to testify; that is, when they had borne full witness for God, and fully uttered his truth. Thus understood, the meaning here may be that the event here referred to would take place, not at the _end_ of the 1260 years, but at that period _during_ the 1260 years when it could be said with propriety that they had accomplished their testimony in the world, or that they had borne full and ample witness on the points intrusted to them. ¶ _The beast._ This is the first time in the book of Revelation in which what is here called “the beast” is mentioned, and which has so important an agency in the events which it is said would occur. It is repeatedly mentioned in the course of the book, and always with similar characteristics, and as referring to the same object. Here it is mentioned as “ascending out of the bottomless pit;” in ch. xiii. 1, as “rising up out of the sea;” in ch. xiii. 11, as “coming up out of the earth.” It is also mentioned with characteristics appropriate to such an origin, in ch. xiii. 2‒4 (twice), 11, 12 (twice), 14 (twice), 15 (twice), 17, 18; xiv. 9, 11; xv. 2; xvi. 2, 10, 13; xvii. 3, 7, 8 (twice), 11, 12, 13, 16, 17; xix. 19, 20 (twice); xx. 4, 40. The word here used――θηρίον――means properly _a beast, a wild beast_, Mar. i. 13; Ac. x. 12; xi. 6; xxviii. 4, 5; He. xii. 20; Ja. iii. 7; Re. vi. 8. It is once used tropically of brutal or savage men, Tit. i. 12. Elsewhere, in the passages above referred to in the Apocalypse, it is used symbolically. As employed in the book of Revelation, the characteristics of the “beast” are strongly marked. (a) It has its _origin_ from beneath――in the bottomless pit; the sea; the earth, ch. xi. 7; xiii. 1, 11. (b) It has great _power_, ch. xiii. 4, 12; xvii. 12, 13. (c) It claims and receives worship, ch. xiii. 3, 12, 14, 15; xiv. 9, 11. (d) It has a certain “seat” or throne from whence its power proceeds, ch. xvi. 10. (e) It is of scarlet colour, ch. xvii. 3. (f) It receives power conferred upon it by the kings of the earth, ch. xvii. 13. (g) It has a mark by which it is known, ch. xiii. 17; xix. 20. (h) It has a certain “_number_;” that is, there are certain mystical letters or figures which so express its name that it may be known, ch. xiii. 17, 18. These things serve to characterize the “beast” as distinguished from all other things, and they are so numerous and definite, {278} that it would seem to have been intended to make it easy to understand what was meant when the power referred to should appear. In regard to the _origin_ of the imagery here, there can be no reasonable doubt that it is to be traced to Daniel, and that the writer here means to describe the same “beast” which Daniel refers to in ch. vii. 7. The evidence of this must be clear to anyone who will compare the description in Daniel (ch. vii.) with the minute details in the book of Revelation. No one, I think, can doubt that John means to carry forward the description in Daniel, and to apply it to new manifestations of the same great and terrific power――the power of the fourth monarchy――on the earth. For full evidence that the representation in Daniel refers to the Roman power prolonged and perpetuated in the Papal dominion, I must refer the reader to the Notes on Da. vii. 25. It may be assumed here that the opinion there defended is correct, and consequently it may be assumed that the “beast” of this book refers to the Papal power. ¶ _That ascendeth out of the bottomless pit._ See Notes on ch. ix. 1. This would properly mean that its origin is the nether world; or that it will have characteristics which will show that it was from beneath. The meaning clearly is, that what was symbolized by the beast would have such characteristics as to show that it was not of divine origin, but had its source in the world of darkness, sin, and death. This, of course, could not represent the true church, or any civil government that is founded on principles which God approves. But if it represent a community pretending to be a church, it is an apostate church; if a civil community, it is a community the characteristics of which are that it is controlled by the spirit that rules over the world beneath. For reasons which we shall see in abundance in applying the descriptions which occur of the “beast,” I regard this as referring to that great apostate power which occupies so much of the prophetic descriptions――the Papacy. ¶ _Shall make war against them._ Will endeavour to exterminate them by force. This clearly is not intended to be a general statement that they would be _persecuted_, but to refer to the particular manner in which the opposition would be conducted. It would be in the form of “_war_;” that is, there would be an effort to destroy them by arms. ¶ _And shall overcome them._ Shall gain the victory over them; conquer them――νικήσει αὐτοὺς. That is, there will be some signal victory in which those represented by the two witnesses will be subdued. ¶ _And kill them._ That is, an effect would be produced _as if_ they were put to death. They would be overcome; would be silenced; would be apparently dead. Any event that would cause them to cease to bear testimony, _as if_ they were dead, would be properly represented by this. It would not be necessary to suppose that there would be literally _death_ in the case, but that there would be some event which would be well represented _by_ death――such as an entire suspension of their prophesying in consequence of force.

8 And their [347]dead bodies _shall lie_ in the street of
the great city, which spiritually is called [348]Sodom and
[349]Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.

8. _And their dead bodies |shall lie| in the street._ Professor Stuart, “Shall be in the street.” The words “shall lie” are supplied by the translators, but not improperly. The literal rendering would be, “and their corpses upon the street of the great city;” and the meaning is, that there would be a state of things in regard to them which would be well represented by supposing them to lie unburied. To leave a body unburied is to treat it with contempt, and among the ancients nothing was regarded as more dishonourable than such treatment. See the _Ajax_ of Sophocles. Among the Jews also it was regarded as a special indignity to leave the dead unburied, and hence they are always represented as deeply solicitous to secure the interment of their dead. See Ge. xxiii. 4. Comp. 2 Sa. xxi. 9‒13; Ec. vi. 3; Is. xiv. 18‒20; xxii. 16; liii. 9. The meaning here is, that, for the time specified, those who are here referred to would be treated with indignity and contempt. In the fulfilment of this, we are not, of course, to look for any _literal_ accomplishment of what is here said, but for some treatment of the “witnesses” which would be well represented by this; that is, which would show that they were treated, after they were silenced, like unburied corpses putrefying in the sun. ¶ _Of {279} the great city._ Where these transactions would occur. As a great city would be the agent in putting them to death, so the result would be _as if_ they were publicly exposed in its streets. The word “great” here supposes that the city referred to would be distinguished for its size――a circumstance of some importance in determining the place referred to. ¶ _Which spiritually is called_――πνευματικῶς. This word occurs only in one other place in the New Testament, 1 Co. ii. 14, “because they are _spiritually_ discerned”――where it means, “in accordance with the Holy Spirit,” or “through the aid of the Holy Spirit.” Here it seems to be used in the sense of _metaphorically_, or _allegorically_, in contradistinction from the literal and real name. There may possibly be an intimation here that the city is so called by the Holy Spirit to designate its real character, but still the essential meaning is, that that was not its literal name. For some reason the real name is not given to it; but such descriptions are applied as are designed to leave no doubt as to what is intended. ¶ _Sodom._ Sodom was distinguished for its wickedness, and especially for that vice to which its abominations have given name. For the character of Sodom, see Ge. xviii., xix. Comp. 2 Pe. ii. 6. In inquiring what “city” is here referred to, it would be necessary to find in it such abominations as characterized Sodom, or so much wickedness that it would be proper to call it Sodom. If it shall be found that this was designed to refer to Papal Rome, no one can doubt that the abominations which prevailed there would justify such an appellation. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 20, 21. ¶ _And Egypt._ That is, it would have such a character that the _name_ Egypt might be properly given to it. Egypt is known in the Scriptures as the land of oppression――the land where the Israelites, the people of God, were held in cruel bondage. Comp. Ex. i.‒xv. See also Eze. xxiii. 8. The particular idea, then, which seems to be conveyed here is, that the “city” referred to would be characterized by acts of oppression and wrong towards the people of God. So far as the _language_ is concerned, it might apply either to Jerusalem or to Rome――for both were eminently characterized by such acts of oppression toward the true children of God as to make it proper to compare their cruelties with those which were inflicted on the Israelites by the Egyptians. Of whichever of these places the course of the exposition may require us to understand this, it will be seen at once that the language is such as is strictly applicable to either; though, as the reference is rather to Christians than to the ancient people of God, it must be admitted that it would be most natural to refer it to Rome. More acts authorizing persecution, and designed to crush the true people of God, have gone forth from Rome than from any other city on the face of the earth; and taking the history of the church together, there is no place that would be so properly designated by the term here employed. ¶ _Where also our Lord was crucified._ If this refers to Jerusalem, it is to be taken literally; if to another city, it is to be understood as meaning that he was _practically_ crucified there: that is, that the treatment of his friends――his church――was such that it might be said that he was “crucified afresh” there; for what is done to his church may be said to be done to him. Either of these interpretations would be justified by the use of the language. Thus in He. vi. 6, it is said of apostates from the true faith (comp. Notes on the passage), that “they crucify to themselves the Son of God _afresh_.” If the passage before us is to be taken figuratively, the meaning is, that acts would be performed which might properly be represented as crucifying the Son of God; that, as he lives in his church, the acts of perverting his doctrines, and persecuting his people, would be, in fact, an act of crucifying the Lord again. Thus understood, the language is strictly applicable to Rome; that is, if it is admitted that John _meant_ to characterize that city, he has employed such language as a Jewish Christian would naturally use. While, therefore, it must be admitted that the language is such as could be _literally_ applied only to Jerusalem, it is still true that it is such language as might be figuratively applied to any other city strongly resembling that, and that in this sense it would characterize Rome above all other cities of the world. The common reading of the text here is “_our_ Lord”――ἡμῶν; the text now regarded as correct, however (Griesbach, Tittmann, Hahn), is “_their_ Lord”――αὐτῶν. This makes no essential difference in the sense, except that it directs the attention more particularly to the fact that they were treated like their own Master.

9 And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and
nations, shall [350]see their dead bodies three days and an
half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in
graves.

{280} 9. _And they of the people._ Some of the people; a part of the people――ἐκ τῶν λαῶν. The language is such as would be employed to describe a scene where a considerable portion of a company of people should be referred to, without intending to include all. The essential idea is, that there would be an assemblage of different classes of people to whom their carcasses would be exposed, and that they would come and look upon them. We should expect to find the fulfilment of this in some place where, from any cause, a variety of people should be assembled――as in some capital, or some commercial city, to which they would be naturally attracted. ¶ _Shall see their dead bodies._ That is, a state of things will occur _as if_ these witnesses were put to death, and their carcasses were publicly exposed. ¶ _Three days and an half._ This might be either literally three days and a half, or, more in accordance with the usual style of this book, these would be prophetic days; that is, three years and a half. Comp. Notes on ch. ix. 5, 15. ¶ _And shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves._ That is, there would be a course of conduct in regard to these witnesses such as would be shown to the dead if they were not suffered to be decently interred. The language used here――“_shall not suffer_”――seems to imply that there would be those who might be disposed to show them the respect evinced by interring the dead, but that this would not be permitted. This would find a fulfilment if, in a time of persecution, those who had borne faithful testimony were silenced and treated with dishonour, and if there should be those who were disposed to show them respect, but who would be prevented by positive acts on the part of their persecutors. This has often been the case in persecution, and there could be no difficulty in finding numerous instances in the history of the church to which this language would be applicable.

10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them,
and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because
these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

10. _And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them._ Those dwelling in the land would rejoice over their fall and ruin. This cannot, of course, mean _all_ who inhabit the globe; but, according to the usage in Scripture, those who dwell in the country where this would occur. Comp. Notes on Lu. ii. 1. We now affix to the word “earth” an idea which was not necessarily implied in the Hebrew word אֶרֶץ _ērĕtz_ (comp. Ex. iii. 8; xiii. 5; De. xix. 2, 10; xxviii. 12; Ne. ix. 22; Ps. xxxvii. 9, 11, 22, 29; lxvi. 4; Pr. ii. 21; x. 30; Joel i. 2); or the Greek word γῆ――_gē_, comp. Mat. ii. 6, 20, 21; xiv. 15; Ac. vii. 7, 11, 36, 40; xiii. 17. Our word _land_, as now commonly understood, would better express the idea intended to be conveyed here; and thus understood, the meaning is, that the dwellers in the country where these things would happen would thus rejoice. The meaning is, that while alive they would, by their faithful testimony against existing errors, excite so much hatred against themselves, and would be so great an annoyance to the governing powers, that there would be general exultation when the voice of their testimony should be silenced. This, too, has been so common in the world that there would be no difficulty in applying the _language_ here used, or in finding events which it would appropriately describe. ¶ _And make merry._ Be glad. See Notes on Lu. xii. 19; xv. 23. The Greek word does not necessarily denote the light-hearted mirth expressed by our word _merriment_, but rather joy or happiness in general. The meaning is, that they would be filled with joy at such an event. ¶ _And shall send gifts one to another._ As expressive of their joy. To send presents is a natural expression of our own happiness, and our desire for the happiness of others――as is indicated now by “Christmas” and “New Year’s gifts.” Comp. also Ne. viii. 10‒12: “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your {281} strength,” &c. See also Es. ix. 19‒22. ¶ _Because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth._ They “tormented” them, or were a source of annoyance to them, by bearing testimony to the truth; by opposing the prevailing errors; and by rebuking the vices of the age: perhaps by demanding reformation, and by denouncing the judgment of heaven on the guilty. There is no intimation that they tormented them in any other way than by the truths which they held forth. See the word explained in the Notes on 2 Pe. ii. 8.

11 And after three days and an half the [351]Spirit of life
from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet;
and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

11. _And after three days and an half._ See Notes on ver. 9. ¶ _The Spirit of life from God._ The living, or life-giving Spirit that proceeds from God entered into them. Comp. Notes on Job xxxiii. 4. There is evidently allusion here to Ge. ii. 7, where God is spoken of as the Author of life. The meaning is, that they would seem to come to life again, or that effects would follow _as if_ the dead were restored to life. If, when they had been compelled to cease from prophesying, they should, after the interval here denoted by three days and a half, again prophesy, or their testimony should be again borne to the truth as it had been before, this would evidently be all that would be implied in the language here employed. ¶ _Entered into them._ Seemed to animate them again. ¶ _And they stood upon their feet._ As if they had come to life again. ¶ _And great fear fell upon them which saw them._ This would be true if those who were dead should be literally restored to life; and this would be the effect if those who had given great annoyance by their doctrines, and who had been silenced, and who _seemed_ to be dead, should again, as if animated anew by a divine power, begin to prophesy, or to proclaim their doctrines to the world. The statement in the symbol is, that those who had put them to death had been greatly troubled by these “witnesses;” that they had sought to silence them, and in order to this had put them to death; that they then greatly rejoiced, as if they would no more be annoyed by them. The fact that they seemed to come to life again would, therefore, fill them with consternation, for they would anticipate a renewal of their troubles, and they would see in this fact evidence of the divine favour towards those whom they persecuted, and reason to apprehend divine vengeance on themselves.

12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them,
Come up hither. And they [352]ascended up to heaven in a cloud;
and [353]their enemies beheld them.

12. _And they heard a great voice from heaven._ Some manuscripts read, “I heard”――ἤκουσα――but the more approved reading is that of the common text. John says that a voice was addressed to _them_ calling them to ascend to heaven. ¶ _Come up hither._ To heaven. ¶ _And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud._ So the Saviour ascended, Ac. i. 9; and so probably Elijah, 2 Ki. ii. 11. ¶ _And their enemies beheld them._ That is, it was done openly, so that their enemies, who had put them to death, saw that they were approved of God, _as if_ they had been publicly taken up to heaven. It is not necessary to suppose that this would literally occur. All this is, manifestly, mere symbol. The meaning is, that they would triumph _as if_ they should ascend to heaven, and be received into the presence of God. The sense of the whole is, that these witnesses, after bearing a faithful testimony against prevailing errors and sins, would be persecuted and silenced; that for a considerable period their voice of faithful testimony would be hushed as if they were dead; that during that period they would be treated with contempt and scorn, as if their unburied bodies should be exposed to the public gaze; that there would be general exultation and joy that they were thus silenced; that they would again revive, as if the dead were restored to life, and bear a faithful testimony to the truth again; and that they would have the divine attestation in their favour, _as if_ they were raised up visibly and publicly to heaven.

13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the
tenth part[354] of the city fell, and in the earthquake
were slain [355]of men seven thousand: and the remnant were
affrighted, and [356]gave glory to the God of heaven.

13. _And the same hour._ In immediate connection with their triumph. ¶ _Was there a great earthquake._ An earthquake {282} is a symbol of commotion, agitation, change; of great political revolutions, &c. See Notes on ch. vi. 12. The meaning here is, that the triumph of the witnesses, represented by their ascending to heaven, would be followed by such revolutions as would be properly symbolized by an earthquake. ¶ _And the tenth part of the city fell._ That is, the tenth part of that which is represented by the “city”――the persecuting power. A city would be the seat and centre of the power, and the acts of persecution would seem to proceed from it; but the destruction, we may suppose, would extend to all that was represented by the persecuting power. The word “tenth” is probably used in a general sense to denote that a considerable portion of the persecuting power would be thus involved in ruin; that is, that in respect to that power there would be such a revolution, such a convulsion or commotion, such a loss, that it would be proper to represent it by an earthquake. ¶ _And in the earthquake._ In the convulsions consequent on what would occur to the witnesses. ¶ _Were slain of men seven thousand._ Marg., as in the Greek, “names of men”――the name being used to denote the men themselves. The number here mentioned――seven thousand――seems to have been suggested because it would bear some proportion to the tenth part of the city which fell. It is not necessary to suppose, in seeking for the fulfilment of this, that just seven thousand would be killed; but the idea clearly is, that there would be such a diminution of numbers as would be well represented by a calamity that would overwhelm a tenth part of the city, such as the apostle had in his eye, and a proportional number of the inhabitants. The number that would be slain, therefore, in the convulsions and changes consequent on the treatment of the witnesses, might be numerically much larger than seven thousand, and might be as great as if a tenth part of all that were represented by the “city” should be swept away. ¶ _And the remnant were affrighted._ Fear and alarm came on them in consequence of these calamities. The “remnant” here refers to those who still remained in the “city”――that is, to those who belonged to the community or people designed to be represented here by the city. ¶ _And gave glory to the God of heaven._ Comp. Lu. v. 26: “And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to-day.” All that seems to be meant by this is, that they stood in awe at what God was doing, and acknowledged his power in the changes that occurred. It does not mean, necessarily, that they would repent and become truly his friends, but that there would be a prevailing impression that these changes were produced by his power, and that his hand was in these things. This would be fulfilled if there should be a general willingness among mankind to acknowledge God, or to recognize his hand in the events referred to; if there should be a disposition extensively prevailing to regard the “witnesses” as on the side of God, and to favour their cause as one of truth and righteousness; and if these convulsions should so far change public sentiment as to produce an impression that theirs was the cause of God.

14 The [357]second woe is past; _and_, behold, the third woe
cometh quickly.

14. _The second woe is past._ That is, the second of the three that were announced as yet to come, ch. viii. 13; comp. ch. ix. 12. ¶ _|And|, behold, the third woe cometh quickly._ The last of the series. The meaning is, that that which was signified by the third “woe” would be the next, and final event, in order. On the meaning of the word “_quickly_,” see Notes on ch. i. 1; comp. ii. 5, 16; iii. 11; xxii. 7, 12, 20.

In reference now to the important question about the application of this portion of the book of Revelation, it need hardly be said that the greatest variety of opinion has prevailed among expositors. It would be equally unprofitable, humiliating, and discouraging to attempt to enumerate all the opinions which have been held; and I must refer the reader who has any desire to become acquainted with them to Poole’s _Synopsis_, _in loco_, and to the copious statement of Professor Stuart, _Com._ {283} vol. ii. pp. 219‒227. Professor Stuart himself supposes that the meaning is, that “a competent number of divinely-commissioned and faithful Christian witnesses, endowed with miraculous powers, should bear testimony against the corrupt Jews, during the last days of their commonwealth, respecting their sins; that they should proclaim the truths of the gospel; and that the Jews, by destroying them, would bring upon themselves an aggravated and an awful doom,” ii. 226. Instead of attempting to examine in detail the opinions which have been held, I shall rather state what seems to me to be the fair application of the language used, in accordance with the principles pursued thus far in the exposition. The inquiry is, whether there have been any events to which this language is applicable, or in reference to which, if it be admitted that it was the design of the Spirit of inspiration to describe them, it may be supposed that such language would be employed as we find here.

In this inquiry it may be assumed that the preceding exposition is correct, and the application now to be made must accord with that――that is, it must be found that events occurred in such times and circumstances as would be consistent with the supposition that that exposition is correct. It is to be assumed, therefore, that ch. ix. 20, 21, refers to the state of the ecclesiastical world after the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks, and previous to the Reformation; that ch. x. refers to the Reformation itself; that ch. xi. 1, 2, refers to the necessity, at the time of the Reformation, of ascertaining what was the true church, of reviving the Scripture doctrine respecting the atonement and justification, and of drawing correct lines as to membership in the church. All this has reference, according to this interpretation, to the state of the church while the Papacy would have the ascendency, or during the twelve hundred and sixty years in which it would trample down the church _as if_ the holy city were in the hands of the Gentiles. Assuming this to be the correct exposition, then what is here said (ver. 3‒13) must relate to that period, for it is with reference to that same time――the period of “a thousand two hundred and threescore days,” or twelve hundred and sixty years――that it is said (ver. 3) the witnesses would “prophesy,” “clothed in sackcloth.” If this be so, then what is here stated (ver. 3‒13) must be supposed to occur during the ascendency of the Papacy, and must mean, in general, that during that long period of apostasy, darkness, corruption, and sin, there would be faithful witnesses for the truth, who, though they were few in number, would be sufficient to keep up the knowledge of the truth on the earth, and to bear testimony against the prevailing errors and abominations. The _object_ of this portion of the book, therefore, is to describe the character of the faithful witnesses for the truth during this long period of darkness; to state their influence; to record their trials; and to show what would be the ultimate result in regard to them, when their “testimony” should become triumphant. This general view will be seen to accord with the exposition of the previous portion of the book, and will be sustained, I trust, by the more particular inquiry into the application of the passage to which I now proceed. The essential points in the passage (ver. 3‒13) respecting the “witnesses” are six: (1) who are meant by the witnesses; (2) the war made on them; (3) their death; (4) their resurrection; (5) their reception into heaven; and (6) the consequences of their triumph in the calamity that came upon the city.

I. Who are meant by the witnesses, ver. 3‒6. There are several specifications in regard to this point which it is necessary to notice. (a) The fact that, during this long period of error, corruption, and sin, there were those who were faithful witnesses for the truth――men who opposed the prevailing errors; who maintained the great doctrines of the Christian faith; and who were ready to lay down their lives in defence of the truth. For a full confirmation of this it would be necessary to trace the history of the church down from the rise of the Papal power through the long lapse of the subsequent ages; but such an examination would be far too extensive for the purpose contemplated in these Notes, and, indeed, would require a volume by itself. Happily, this has already been done; and all that is necessary now is to refer to the works where the fact here affirmed has been abundantly established. In many of the histories of the church――Mosheim, Neander, Milner, Milman, Gïeseler――most ample proof may be found, that amidst

the general darkness and corruption {284} there were those who faithfully adhered to the truth as it is in Jesus, and who, amidst many sufferings, bore their testimony against prevailing errors. The investigation has been made, also, with special reference to an illustration of this passage, by Mr. Elliott, _Horæ Apoca_. vol. ii. pp. 193‒406; and although it must be admitted that some of the details are of doubtful applicability, yet the _main_ fact is abundantly established, that during that long period there were “witnesses” for the pure truths of the gospel, and a faithful testimony borne against the abominations and errors of the Papacy. These “witnesses” are divided by Mr. Elliott into (1) the earlier Western witnesses――embracing such men, and their followers, as Serenus, bishop of Marseilles; the Anglo-Saxon church in England;[358] Agobard, archbishop of Lyons from A.D. 810 to 841, on the one side of the Alps, and Claude of Turin on the other; Gotteschalcus, A.D. 884; Berenger, Arnold of Brescia, Peter de Bruys, and his disciple Henry, and then the Waldenses. (2) The Eastern, or Paulikian line of witnesses, a sect deriving their origin, about A.D. 653, from an Armenian by the name of Constantine, who received from a deacon, by whom he was hospitably entertained, a present of two volumes, very rare, one containing the Gospels, and the other the Epistles of Paul, and who applied himself to the formation of a new sect or church, distinct from the Manicheans, and from the Greek Church. In token of the nature of their profession, they adopted the name by which they were ever after distinguished, Paulikiani, _Paulicians_, or “disciples of the disciple of Paul.” This sect continued to bear “testimony” in the East from the time of its rise till the eleventh or twelfth centuries, when it commenced a migration to the West, where it bore the same honourable character for its attachment to the truth. See Elliott, ii. 233‒246, 275‒315. (3) Witnesses during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, up to the time of Peter Waldo. Among these are to be noticed those who were arraigned for heresy before the councils of Orleans, Arras, Thoulouse, Oxford, and Lombers, in the years 1022, 1025, 1119, 1160, 1165, respectively, and who were condemned by those councils for their departure from the doctrines held by the Papacy. For a full illustration of the doctrines held by those who were thus condemned, and of the fact that they were “witnesses” for the truth, see Elliott, ii. 247‒275. (4) The Waldenses and Albigenses. The nature of the testimony borne by these persecuted people is so well known that it is not necessary to dwell on the subject; and a full statement of their testimony would require the entire transcription of their history. No Protestant will doubt that they were “witnesses” for the truth, or that from the time of their rise, through all the periods of their persecution, they bore full and honourable testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus. The general ground of this claim to be regarded as Apocalyptic witnesses, will be seen from the following summary statements of their doctrines. Those statements are found in a work called _The Noble Lesson_, written within some twenty years of 1170. The treatise begins in this manner: “O brethren, hear a Noble Lesson. We ought always to watch and pray,” &c. In this treatise the following doctrines are drawn out, says Mr. Elliott, “with much simplicity and beauty: the origin of sin in the fall of Adam; its transmission to all men, and the offered redemption from it through the death of Jesus Christ; the union and co-operation of the three persons of the blessed Trinity in man’s salvation; the obligation and spirituality of the moral law under the gospel; the duties of prayer, watchfulness, self-denial, unworldliness, humility, love, as ‘the way of Jesus Christ;’ their enforcement by the prospect of death and judgment, and the world’s near ending; by the narrowness, too, of the way of life, and the fewness of those who find it; as also by the hope of coming glory at the judgment and revelation of Jesus Christ. Besides which we find in it a protest against the Romish system generally, as one of soul-destroying idolatry; against masses for the dead, and therein against the whole doctrine of purgatory; against the system of the confessional, and asserted power of the priesthood to absolve from sin; this last point being insisted on as the most deadly point of heresy, and its origin referred to the mercenariness of the

priesthood, {285} and their love of money;――the iniquity further noticed of the Romish persecutions of good men and teachers that wished to teach the way of Jesus Christ; and the suspicion half-hinted, and apparently half-formed, that, though a personal Antichrist might be expected, yet Popery itself might be one form of Antichrist.” In another work, the _Treatise of Antichrist_, there is a strong and decided identification of the Antichristian system and the Papacy. This was written probably in the last quarter of the fourteenth century. “From this,” says Mr. Elliott (ii. 355), “the following will appear to have been the Waldensian views: that the Papal or Romish system was that of Antichrist; which, from infancy in apostolic times, had grown gradually by the increase of its constituent parts to the stature of a full-grown man; that its prominent characteristics were――to defraud God of the worship due to Him, rendering it to creatures, whether departed saints, relics, images, or Antichrist;――to defraud Christ, by attributing justification and forgiveness to Antichrist’s authority and words, to saints’ intercession, to the merits of men’s own performances, and to the fire of purgatory;――to defraud the Holy Spirit, by attributing regeneration and sanctification to the _opus operatum_ of the two sacraments; that the origin of this Antichristian religion was the covetousness of the priesthood; its tendency, to lead men away from Christ; its essence, a ceremonial; its foundation, the false notion of grace and forgiveness.” This work is so important as a “testimony” against Antichrist, and for the truth, and is so clear as showing that the Papacy was regarded as Antichrist, that I will copy, from the work itself, the portion containing these sentiments――sentiments which may be regarded as expressing the uniform testimony of the Waldenses on the subject:――

“Antichrist is the falsehood of eternal damnation, covered with the appearance of the truth and righteousness of Christ and his spouse. The iniquity of such a system is with all his ministers, great and small: and inasmuch as they follow the law of an evil and blinded heart, such a congregation, taken together, is called Antichrist, or Babylon, or the Fourth Beast, or the Harlot, or the Man of Sin, who is the son of perdition.

“His first work is, that the service of _latria_, properly due to God alone, he perverts unto Antichrist himself and to his doings; to the poor creature, rational or irrational, sensible or insensible; as, for instance, to male or female saints departed this life, and to their images, or carcasses, or relics. His doings are the sacraments, especially that of the Eucharist, which he worships equally with God and Christ, prohibiting the adoration of God alone.

“His second work is, that he robs and deprives Christ of the merits of Christ, with the whole sufficiency of grace, and justification, and regeneration, and remission of sins, and sanctification, and confirmation, and spiritual nourishment; and imputes and attributes them to his own authority, or to a form of words, or to his own performances, or to the saints and their intercession, or to the fire of purgatory. Thus he divides the people from Christ, and leads them away to the things already mentioned; that so they may seek not the things of Christ, nor through Christ, but only the work of their own hands; not through a living faith in God, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit; but through the will and the work of Antichrist, agreeably to the preaching that man’s salvation depends on his own deeds.

“His third work is, that he attributes the regeneration of the Holy Spirit to a dead outward faith; baptizing children in that faith, and teaching that by the mere outward consecration of baptism regeneration may be procured.

“His fourth work is, that he rests the whole religion of the people upon his Mass; for leading them to hear it, he deprives them of spiritual and sacramental manducation.

“His fifth work is, that he does everything to be seen, and to glut his insatiable avarice.

“His sixth work is, that he allows manifest sins without ecclesiastical censure.

“His seventh work is, that he defends his unity, not by the Holy Spirit, but by the secular power.

“His eighth work is, that he hates, and persecutes, and searches after, and robs and destroys the members of Christ.

“These things, and many others, are the cloak and vestment of Antichrist; by which he covers his lying wickedness, lest he should be rejected as a heathen. {286} But there is no other cause of idolatry than a false opinion of grace, and truth, and authority, and invocation, and intercession; which this Antichrist has taken away from God, and which he has ascribed to ceremonies, and authorities, and a man’s own works, and to saints, and to purgatory” (Elliott, ii. 354, 355).

It is impossible not to be struck with the application of this to the Papacy, and no one can doubt that the Papacy was intended to be referred to. And, if this be so, this was a bold and decided “testimony” against the abominations of that system, and they who bore this testimony deserved to be regarded as “witnesses” for Christ and his truth.

If to the “testimony” thus briefly referred to, we add that of such men as Wycliffe, John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, and then that of the Reformers, Luther, Calvin, Zuingle, Melancthon, and their fellow-labourers, we can see with what propriety it was predicted that even during the prevalence of the great apostasy there would be a competent number of “witnesses” to keep up the knowledge of the truth in the world. And supposing that this is what was designed to be represented, it is easy to perceive that the symbol which is employed is admirably appropriate. The design of what is here said is merely to show that during the whole of the period of the Papal apostasy――whenever it may be supposed to have begun, and whenever it shall cease, it is and will be true that the Saviour has had true “witnesses” on the earth――that there have been those who have “testified” against these abominations, and who, often at great personal peril and sacrifice, have borne a faithful testimony for the truth.

(b) The number of the witnesses. In ver. 3, this is said to be “two,” and this has been shown to mean that there would be a _competent_ number, yet probably with the implied idea that the number would not be large. The only question then is, whether, in looking through this long period, it would be found that, according to the established laws of testimony under the divine code, there was a _competent_ number to bear witness to the truth. And of this no one can doubt, for, in respect to each and every part of the period of the great apostasy, it is possible now to show that there was a sufficient number of the true friends of

the Redeemer to testify against all the great and cardinal errors of the Papacy. This simple and obvious interpretation of the language, it may be added, also, makes wholly unnecessary and inappropriate all the efforts which have been made by expositors to find precisely _two_ such witnesses, or _two_ churches or people with whom the line of the faithful testimony was preserved: all such interpretations as that the Old and New Testaments are referred to, as Melchior, Affelman, and Croly suppose; or that preachers are referred to who are instructed by the Law and the Gospel, as Pannonius and Thomas Aquinas, supposed; or that Christ and John the Baptist are referred to, as Ubertinus supposed; or that Pope Sylvester and Mena, who wrote against the Eutychians, are meant, as Lyranus and Ederus supposed; or that Francis and Dominic, the respective heads of two orders of monks, are intended, as Cornelius à Lapide supposed; or that the great _wisdom_ and _sanctity_ of the primitive preachers are meant, as Alcassar maintained; or that John Huss and Luther, or John Huss and Jerome of Prague, or the Waldenses and Albigenses, or the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Ælia, are intended, as others have supposed. According to the obvious and fair meaning of the language, all this is mere fancy, and can illustrate nothing but the fertility of invention of those who have written on the Apocalypse. All that is necessarily implied is, that the number of true and uncorrupted followers of the Saviour has been at all times sufficiently large to bear _a competent testimony_ to the world, or to keep up the remembrance of the truth upon the earth――and the reality of this no one acquainted with the history of the church will doubt.

(c) The condition of the “witnesses” as “clothed in sackcloth,” ver. 3. This has been shown to mean that they would be in a state of sadness and grief; and they would be exposed to trouble and persecution. It is unnecessary to prove that all this was abundantly fulfilled. The long history of those times was a history of persecutions; and if it be admitted that the passage before us was designed to refer to those above mentioned as “witnesses,” no more correct description could be given of them than to say that they were “clothed in sackcloth.”

{287} (d) The power of the witnesses, ver. 5, 6. Of this there are several specifications. (1) They had power over those who should injure or hurt them, ver. 5. This is represented by “fire proceeding out of their mouth, and devouring their enemies.” This has been shown to refer to the doctrines which they would proclaim, and the denunciations which they would utter, and which would resemble consuming fire. This would be accomplished or fulfilled if their solemn testimony――their proclamations of truth――and their denunciations of the wrath of God should have the effect ultimately to bring down the divine vengeance on their persecutors. And no one can doubt that this has had an ample fulfilment. That is, the effect of the testimony borne; of the solemn appeals made; of the denunciations of the judgment of heaven, has been to show that that great persecuting power that oppressed them is arrayed against God, and must be finally overthrown. In order to see the complete fulfilment of this, it would be necessary to trace all the effect of the testimony of the witnesses for the truth from age to age on that power, and to see how far it has been among the causes of the ultimate and final overthrow of the Papacy. Of course, it may be said that in an important sense it is _all_ to be traced to that, since if they had forborne to bear that testimony, and to protest against those corruptions and abominations, that colossal power would have stood unshaken. But the solemn appeals made from age to age by the friends of truth, amidst much persecution, have contributed to weaken that power, and to prepare the world for its ultimate fall――as if fire from heaven fell upon it. The causes of the decline of the Papal power were, therefore, laid far back in the solemn truths urged by those persecuted “witnesses;” and the calamities which have ravaged Europe for these three hundred years, and the changes now occurring which make it so certain that this mighty power hastens to its fall, may all be the regular results of the “testimony” for the truths of a pure gospel borne long ago by the men that dwelt amidst the Alps, and their fellow-sufferers in persecution. (2) They “have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy,” ver. 6. This has been shown to mean that they would have power to cause blessings to be withheld from men _as if_ the rain were withheld. The reference here is probably to the spiritual heavens, and to that of which rain is the natural emblem――the influences of truth, and the influences of the Divine Spirit on the world. So Moses says, in De. xxxii. 2, “My doctrine shall drop as the rain, and my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” So the psalmist (Ps. lxxii. 6), “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.” So Isaiah (lv. 10, 11), “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, so shall my word be,” &c. Comp. Mi. v. 7. The meaning here, then, must be, that spiritual influences would seem to be under their control; or that they would be imparted at their bidding, and withheld at their will. This found an ample fulfilment in the history of the church in those dark periods, in the fact that it was in connection with these “witnesses,” and in answer to their prayers, that the influences of the Holy Spirit were imparted to the world, and that the true religion was kept up on the earth. “It is an historical fact,” says the author of _The Seventh Vial_ (p. 130), “that during the ages of their ministry, there was neither dew nor rain of a spiritual kind upon the earth, but at the word of the witnesses. There was no knowledge of salvation but by their preaching――no descent of the Spirit but in answer to their prayers; and, as the witnesses were shut out from Christendom generally, a universal famine ensued.” (3) They had power over the waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, ver. 6. That is, as explained above, calamities would come upon the earth _as if_ the waters were turned into blood, and this would be so connected with them, and with the treatment which they would receive, that these calamities would _seem_ to have been called down from heaven in answer to their prayers, and in order to avenge their wrongs. And can anyone be ignorant that wars, commotions, troubles, disasters have followed the attempts to destroy those who have borne a faithful testimony for Christ in the dark period of the world here referred to? The calamities that have befallen the Papal communion from time to time may have been, and seem to have been, to a great degree, the consequence of its {288} persecuting spirit, and of its attempts to quench the light of truth. When the oppressed and persecuted nations of Europe had borne it long, and when attempts had long been made to extinguish every spark of true liberty, the spirit of freedom and revenge was roused. The yoke was broken; and in the wars that ensued rivers of blood flowed upon the earth, as if these “witnesses” or martyrs had, by their own power and prayers, brought these calamities upon their oppressors. A philosophic historian carefully studying human nature, and the essential spirit of Christianity, might find in these facts a sufficient explanation of all the calamities that have come upon that once colossal power――the Papacy――and a full demonstration that, under the operation of these causes, that power must ultimately fall――_as if_ in revenge called down from heaven by the martyrs for the wrongs done to them who had borne a faithful testimony to the truth.

II. The war against the witnesses, ver. 7. There are several circumstances stated in regard to this which demand explanation in order to a full understanding of the prophecy. Those circumstances relate to the time when this would occur; to the government by which this war would be waged; and to the victory.