Blessed Sauiour expoundeth of Iohn Baptist, Matth. 11. who should come in the spirit of
Elias, to turne the hearts of the fathers to the children, as the Angel saith, Luk. 1. 17. And
the first comming of Christ is there vnderstood to be that fearefull day: for in the same place
the Prophet saith, v. 2. vnto you that feare my name shall the Sunne of righteousnesse arise:
which Zacharie applyeth to the first comming of Christ, Luk. 1. 78. whereby the day
spring from an high hath visited vs: It shall be a day of health and saluation vnto the faith∣full,
but a day of terror to the wicked and vnbeleeuers, as Iohn Baptist saith, Mat. 3. 12. which
hath his fanne in his hand, and will make cleane his floore, and gather his wheate into his gar∣ner,
but will burne vp the chaffe with vnquencheable sire. 3. And by the shutting of hea∣uen
is by an allegorie signified the efficacie of the preaching of the Gospel, in opening the
heauens to the faithfull, and shutting vp the same to all vnbeleeuers, as our Sauiour faith to
Peter, Matth. 16. 19. whatsoeuer thou shalt bind in earth, shall be bound in heauen, and what∣soeuer
thou shalt loose in earth, shall be loosed in heauen.Secondly, concerning these witnesses, there is great difference and varietie of opinion,
1. both for the number of them. 2. and who they shall be. 3. and when they shall preach:
for the first: the common opinion is, that they shall be but two: yet Lactantius affirmeth,
that there shall be onely one Prophet, lib. 7. c. 17. Some thinke there shall be three, Henoch▪
Elias, and Iohn the Euangelist, and this is one of their reasons: because as in the world there
haue beene 3. lawes in force, the lawe of nature, the lawe of Moses, the lawe of grace; so it
is requisite there should be 3. witnesses that liued vnder these three lawes, Henoch, Elias,
and Iohn: Hyppolit. oration. de consum. secul. Abr. Catharin. in Genes. 2.As great diuersitie there is of opinion, who these witnesses should be: Elias is agreed vp∣on
by the most, to be one: but it is doubted who should be the other: Victorinus in Apocal.
11. thinketh, that Ieremie the Prophet shall be the other witnesse: because the Lord saith
Ierem 1. 5. I haue ordained thee a Prophet vnto the nations: but then Ieremias onely pro∣phesied
to the Hebrewes: to fulfill therefore that saying, he shall come in the ende of the
world to prophesie vnto the nations: But Pererius well answeareth vnto this reason: that Ie∣remie
is said to prophesie vnto the nations; because he fortelleth the destruction in his pro∣phesie
of diuerse nations, the Aegyptians, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistims, with others:
Areta vpon the Apocalypse thinketh, that Iohn the euangelist shall be one of the witnesses,
whom they suppose yet to be kept aliue in Paradise with Henoch and Elias, because it is said
Apocal. 10. 11. thou must prophesie againe among the people, and nations, and tongues, and
to many Kings: which was not done in Iohns life time, and therefore he thinketh he shall
come in the ende of the world, to prophesie vnto nations: But the meaning of this place is,
that Iohn should prophesie vnto nations in the rest of the visions of this booke: and nowe
though Iohn be dead, his Reuelation prophesieth still: Pererius also vnderstandeth it of the
Gospel, which Iohn did write after his returne from the Isle Pathmos, whereby he prophe∣sieth
vnto nations. But it is certaine, that Iohn is not yet aliue in the flesh: as Eusebius proo∣ueth
by the testimonie of Polycrates, who was the Apostles disciple, lib. 3. Ecclesi. histor. c. 25.
Lyranus thinketh that the two witnesses spoken of Apocal. 11. were Sylverius the Pope
and Menna that resisted the Eutychiane heresie. Ioachimus Abbas, and Gagnaeus, vpon the
Apocalypse, c. 11. doe thinke that Moses shall be one of these witnesses: that like as he was
raised to life to be a witnesse of Christs first comming, when he was transfigured in the
mount, so he shall be raised to be a witnesse of his second comming. And this is brought
as a probabilitie thereof: because these witnesses are said to haue power ouer waters to turne
them into blood, Apocal. 11. 6. which thing Moses had done before.But 1. it followeth not because Moses was seene in the mount talking with Christ, that
therefore he shall come againe before his second comming: for by the same reason it may be
inferred, that his three disciples also which went vp to the mount, and sawe him transfigured,
should also be witnesses of his second comming, & be sent againe into the world to preach:
Sure it is that both the Prophets and Apostles shall accompanie Christ in his second com∣ming,
and by the doctrine, which they preached, iudge and condemne the world, Matth.
19. 28. But neither the one nor the other shall be raised vp before the generall resurrection,
and sent into the world to preach. 2. by the turning of waters into blood, is vnderstood the
threatening of Gods iudgements for the contempt of the ministerie of the word.3. A third vncertaintie there is concerning the time of the preaching of these two witnes∣ses:
Theodoret thinketh that Elias shall preach 45. dayes after that Antichrist is slaine: and
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