And I will give [power] unto my two witnesses
By whom are meant, not Enoch and Elias, as some of the ancient
fathers thought, who, they supposed, would come before the
appearance of Christ, and oppose antichrist, and be slain by him,
which sense the Papists greedily catch at; nor are the
Scriptures, the two Testaments, Old and New, designed, though
their name and number agree, and also their office, which is to
testify of Christ; but then to be clothed in sackcloth, to be
killed, and rise again, and ascend to heaven, are things that
cannot so well be accommodated to them: but these witnesses
intend the ministers of the Gospel and churches of Christ, who
have bore testimony for Christ, and against antichrist, ever
since he appeared in the world; and particularly the churches and
ministers in Piedmont bid fair for this character; who were upon
the spot when antichrist arose, always bore their protest against
him, and were ever independent of the church of Rome, and
subsisted in the midst of the darkness of the apostasy; and
suffered much, and very great persecutions, from the Papists; and
have stood their ground, and continue to this day; and have been
like olive trees and candlesticks, imparting oil and light to
others. Though they ought not to be considered exclusive of other
ministers and churches, who also have bore, and still do bear a
witness for Christ, and against the idolatries of the church of
Rome: no two individual persons can be meant, since these
witnesses were to prophesy 1260 days, that is, so many years, but
a succession of ministers and churches; and these are called two,
both on account of the fewness of them, and because the testimony
of two is sufficient to confirm any matter; and it may be in
allusion to the various instances of two eminent persons being
raised up at certain periods of time, as Moses and Aaron, at the
deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt; Caleb and
Joshua, at their entrance into Canaan; Elijah and Elisha in the
idolatrous times of Ahab; and Joshua and Zerubbabel at the
rebuilding and finishing of the second temple. Now the Angel, and
who is Christ, here promises that he will give something to these
witnesses: some supply the words, "I will give it"; that is, the
holy city, or the church, to them, to be taken care of and
defended; others, "I will give" them a mouth and wisdom, which
their adversaries shall not be able to resist, according to the
promise in ( Luke 21:15 ) . We supply
the words, "I will give power"; that is, authority to preach the
Gospel, and strength to profess it, and to continue to bear a
testimony to it, signified by prophesying; see ( 1
Corinthians 14:1 1
Corinthians 14:3 ) .
And they shall prophesy;
that is, "that they may prophesy"; which is supported by the
Arabic and Ethiopic versions, the former rendering the words, "I
will give to my two witnesses to prophesy", and the latter, "I
will give in command to my two witnesses that they may prophesy";
the sense is, that Christ will give to them a mission and
commission, sufficient authority, all needful gifts and grace,
courage and presence of mind to preach his Gospel, to hold forth
his word, and bear a testimony for him during the whole time of
the apostasy, even
a thousand two hundred [and] threescore days;
that is, so many years, which, as before observed, is the date of
the beast's reign, of the holy city being trodden under foot of
the Gentiles, and of the church's retirement into the wilderness:
it is observable, that the date of the beast's reign and tyranny
is expressed by months, and the date of the church's being in the
wilderness, and the prophesying of the witnesses, is signified by
days; and the reason which some give is not despicable, as that
the beast and his followers are the children of darkness and of
the night, over which the moon presides, from whence months are,
numbered; and the church and the witnesses are children of the
day, over which the sun rules. The habit of these witnesses
during their time of prophesying follows,
clothed in sackcloth;
expressive either of their outward state and condition, being
poor, mean, and abject, while the followers of the beast are clad
in silks, and live deliciously; or else of the inward frame of
their minds, as mourning for the sad estate of the church of
Christ, groaning under the tyranny and persecutions of
antichrist.