HOw this can stand with any point of Divinity, or like­lihood in reason, that these two glorious bodies Enoch, and Eliah, shall come downe out of Heaven, or Paradise, (make it what you will) preach, and fight against The Antichrist, be sleine by him, after many thousand years exemption from the naturall course of death, rise again the third day, in imitation of Christ, and then (having wrought many wonders) to go up again to Heaven, making an ordinary past between Hea­ven and Earth, how this (I say) can agree with Divinity or Reason, I confesse, it passeth my capacity: and especially, that they must be clad in sackcloth, whose bodies (I hope) have been so long ago so free from sin, as I think they shall need no more such maceration for sinne. For they must be now either in Heaven, or Paradise, if in Hea­ven (as doubtlesse they are) their bodies must be glorified, for no cor­ruptible thing can enter there; and consequently they can no more be subject to the sensible things of this world, especially to death, but if they be in earthly Paradise, we must know first where it is.

Bellarmine indeed in his controversie, (Lib. de Grat. primi hominis) it much troubled to finde out the place where Paradise is, and whether it be in the earth or in the ayre. But these are all vanities: The Scrip­tures tell us that Paradise and the Garden of Eden therein, was a cer­tain place upon the Earth, which God chose out to set Adam into; and having there after for his sin banished him from the same, it is a blasphemy to think, that any of Adams posterity came ever there again: For in Adam were all his posterity accursed, and banished from the earthly Paradise, like as all the earth in generall, and Paradise in spe­ciall, were accursed in him; the second Adam having by grace, called [Page 2] a certaine number of them to be co-heritors with him of the heaven­ly Paradise, and Hierusalem. And doubtlesse, the earthly Paradise was defaced at the Flood, if not before: and so lost all that exquisite fer­tility and pleasantnesse, wherein it once surpassed all the rest of the earth. And that it should be lifted up in the ayre, is like one of the dreames of the Alcoran. Surely no such miracle is mentioned in the Scripture, and hath no ground, but from the curious fancies of some boyling braines, who cannot be content Sapere ad sobrietatem.

In Heaven then for certaine are Enoch, and Eliah: for Enoch (saith the Text) walked with God and was taken up, Gen. 5. 24. and Eliah was seen carried up to Heaven in a fiery chariot, 2 King. 2. 11, 10. And that they who have been the in-dwellers of Heaven these many thousand yeares, and are freed from the lawes of mortality; that these glorious and incorruptible bodies (I say) shall come in the world again, preach and worke miracles, and fight against The Antichrist, be slaine by him, whom naturall death could not before take hold of, as it is a fabulous invention, so is it quite contrary to the nature of such sancti­fied creatures, especially I wonder why Enoch should be thought to be one of these two Witnesses for Christ. For it was Moses and Eliah that were with Christ at the transfiguration, signifying the Law, and the Prophets, which would be the fittest Witnesses for convincing of Antichrist. But why they have exempted Moses, and put Enoch's head in the yoke; I cannot conceive. But I have too much laboured in the refuting of this foolish, and indeed childish fable; which I am so farre from believing in any sort, as I protest in Gods presence, I cannot hold any learned Divine (in our age now) to be a christian that will believe it, but worthy to be ranked with the Scribes and Pharisees, that raved, and dreamed upon the coming againe of Eliah; though Christ told them the contrary. As for some of the Antients that mistook this matter. I do not censure them so hardly.

And having now refuted that idle fable; that these two Witnesses were Enoch, and Eliah: it falleth me next to guesse, what in my o­pinion should be meant by them. I confesse it is farre easier to confute such a groundlesse fable as this is, contrary to all grounds of Divinity and Reason, then to set down a true interpretation, of so high and dark a mistery. And therefore as I will not presume to bind any other man [Page 3] to my opinion herein, if his own reason lead him not thereunto, so shall I propound such probable conjectures, as (I hope) shall be free from heresie, or unlawfull curiosity.

In two divers fashions may the mistery of these Witnesses be law­fully and probably interpeted, in my opinion: whereof the one is, that by these two Witnesses should be meant the Old and New Testa­ments. For as the Antichrist cannot choose but be an adversary to the Word of God above all things; so will he omit no indeavour to dis­grace, corrupt, suppresse, and destroy the same. And now whether this Booke of the two Testaments, or two Witnesses of Christ, have suffered any violence by the Babylonian Monarchy, or not, I need say nothing; Res ipsa loquitur. I will not weary you with recounting those common places used for disgracing it, as calling it a nose of wax, a dead letter, a leaden rule, and a hundred such like phrases of reproach: but how farre the traditions of men, and authority of the Church are preferred to these Witnesses, doth sufficiently appear in the Babylonian Doctrine. And if there were no more but that little booke, with that prety inscription De l'insuffisance De l'Escriture Sainte, it is enough to prove it. Cardinall Peron. And as to the corrupting thereof, the cor­ruptions of the old Latin Translation must not be corrected, though it bid Evertere Domum, instead of Everrere, for seeking of a penny; and though it say of John, Sic eum v [...]o manere donec veniam, in place of Si, though it be known a plaine lye, and that the very next words of the Text disprove the same. Nay, so farre must we be from corre­cting it, as that the vulgar Translation must be preferred by Catholikes, to the Bible in the own Originall tongue. And is it a small corrupting of Scriptures to make all, or the most part of Apocripha, of equall faith with the Canonicall Scriptures, contrary to the Fathers opinion, and decrees of antient Counsells? And what blasphemous corrupting of Scripture is it, to turn Dominus into Domina throughout the whole Psalms? And thus our Ladies Psalter was lately reprinted in Paris. Is not this to confound Christs Person with hers? and as for suppressing of the Scriptures, how many hundred years were the people kept in such blindnesse, as these Witnesses were almost unknowne, for the Laicks durst not, (being forbidden) and the most part of the Clergy either would or could not meddle with them.

Thus were these two Witnesses of Christ, (whereof himself saith, Scrutamini Scripturas, illae enim testimonium perhibent de me) these two Olives, bringing peace to all the Believers, even peace of conscience; these two Candlesticks, standing in the sight of God, and giving light to the Nations, represented by candlesticks, even in the very or­der of the Roman Masse. Thus were these two Witnesses (I say) dis­graced, corrupted and suppressed, (nay so suppressed and silenced, as he was brent for an Hereticke that durst presume to looke upon them) kept close in a strange tongue, that they might not be understood; Le­gends and lying wonders supplying their place in the Pulpits. And so did their Bodies lie in the streets of the great City; spiritually Sodome, for spirituall fornication, which is idolatry; spiritually Egypt, for bringing the Saints of God in bondage of humane Traditions, [Q [...] ­re oneramini ritibus?] So did these Bodies (I say) lie three dayes and [...] halfe; that is, the halfe of that spirituall Week betweene Christ his first and second coming: and as dead carcasses indeed did the Scrip­tures then lie, without a monument, being laid open to all contempt, cared for almost by none, understood by as few; nay, no man durst call for them, for feare of punishment, as I have already said. And thus lying dead, as it were, without life or vigour (as the Law of God did, till it was revived in Joshuah's time) the inhabitants of the earth, that is, worldly men, rejoyced; and sent gifts to others, for joy that their fleshly liberty was now no more awed nor curbed by that two-edged sword: for they were now sure, that do what they would, their purse would procure them pardons from Babylon; Omnia vaenalia Rom [...]; so as men needed no more to look up to heaven, but down into their pur­ses to finde pardons. Nay, what needed any more seeking after hea­ven, or taking it by violence or fervency of zeale, when the pardons came and offered themselves at every mans doores? and divers spiri­tuall men vaunted themselves, that they neither understood old Testament nor new.

Thus were these two Witnesses used in the second halfe of this spi­rituall Week; who in the first halfe thereof were clad in sackcloth, that is, preached repentance to all Nations, for the space of five or six hundred yeares after Christ, God making his Word, or VVitnesse, to tri­umph, riding upon the white horse in the time of the Primitive Church, [Page 5] as that they overcame all that opposed themselves unto it, beating down every high thing, as Paul saith, excluding from heaven all that believe not therein: and strongly (with the spirituall fire thereof) convincing the stiffe-necked pride of unbelievers, as ever Moses or E­lias did, by the Plagues of Egypt, and famine, convince the rebellious Egyptians, and stiffe-necked Israelites.

Neither should it be enough to disgrace, corrupt, and suppresse them, but killed must they be at the last, to which purpose cometh forth censura generalis, ut mucrone censorio jugulare eas possit; and cutteth their throats indeed: for, the Authour ordaineth all Translations, but their owne, to be burnt, which is yet commonly practised: nay he professes he cometh not to correct, but to destroy them, control­ling, and calling every place of Scripture Hereticall, that dis­agreeth from their traditions (with almost as many foule words, and railing Epithetes, as the Cardinall bestowed on my Apologie) not ru­ling, nor interpreting Scripture by Scripture, but making their traditi­ons to be such a touch-stone for it, as he condemneth of Heresie, not only those places of Scripture that he citeth, but layeth the same ge­nerall condemnation upon all other the like places wheresoever they be written, in the Scriptures. And yet (praised be God) we begin now with our eyes, (as our Predecessors have done in some ages be­fore) to see these Witnesses rise againe, and shine in their former glory: God as it were, setting them up again upon their feet, and raising them to the Heavens in a triumphall cloud of glory, like Eliah his fiery Chari­ot: which exalting of the Gospell again, hath bred such an earth-quake, and alteration amongst many Nations; as a tenth part, or a good por­tion of these that were in subjection to that great City, to wit Babylon, are fallen from her; seaven thousand, that is, many thousands having been killed upon the occasion of that great alteration; and many o­thers converted to the feare of God, and giving glory to the God of Hea­ven. This now is one of the wayes, by which (I think) this place of Scripture may be lawfully and probably interpreted.

The other is more common, and seemeth more literally to agree with the Text. And this is to interpret, not the VVord of God, but the Preachers thereof, to be meant by these VVitnesses. Few they were that [Page 6] first began to reveale the Man of sin, and discover his corruptions, and therefore well described by the manner of two Witnesses: Nam in ore duorum aut trium testium stabit omne verbum. And in no greater num­ber were they that begun this worke, then the greatnesse of the errand did necessarily require. They Prophesied in sackcloth, for they preached repentance. That divers of them were put to cruell deaths, is notori­ous to the world: and likewise that (in the person of their successors in Doctrine) they arose again, (Sanguis Martyrum est semen Ecclesiae,) and that in such power as is more then miraculous. For, where it is ac­counted in Scriptures, a miraculous worke of God wrought by his ho­ly Spirit, when the Apostle Saint Peter converted above three thou­sand in one day; these Witnesses I speake of, by the force of the same spirit, converted many mighty Nations in few yeares: who still con­tinue praising God that he hath delivered us from the tyranny of Anti­christ that raigneth over that great City, and with a full cry proclai­ming, Goe out of her my people, least ye be pertakers of her sins, and her plagues. Let therefore these Miracle-mongers that surfeit the world, and raise the price of paper daily, with setting forth old, though new guilded miracles, and legends of lies, let such (I say) consider of this great and wonderfull miracle indeed, and to their shame compare it to their paultry wares. Thus have I in two fashions delivered my conjecture, what I take to be meant by these two Witnesses, in the eleventh of the Apocalyps, there being no greater difference betweene them: In the one taking it to be the Word of God it self, in the other the Word of God too, but in the mouths of his Preachers.