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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44326	A discourse concerning the witnesses, relating to the time, place, and manner of their being slain by William Hooke, late preacher of the Gospel.	Hooke, William, 1600 or 1601-1678.	1681 (1681)	Wing H2622; ESTC R32034	49,990	52

A DISCOURSE CONCERNING The Witnesses Relating to the TIME PLACE and MANNER of their being Slain BY WILLIAM HOOKE late Preacher of the Gospel LONDON Printed by J. Astwood for Thomas Cockeril at the Three Legs in the Poultrey over against the Stocks-Market 1681. Quest I. Whether the Witnesses are Slain I Dare not be definitive and peremptory in making answer hereunto being conscious to much darkness in my self about the understanding and unfolding matters Apocalyptical and knowing also that there are many difficulties attending the Answer of this Question I shall therefore humbly lay before you what the Scripture speaketh and leave it to you to consider and conclude as the Lord shall help you And in order to what I shall say there is something that I would premise and it is this That in the slaughter of the Witnesses there is that which carrieth a great analogy and proportion to the death of Christ the consideration whereof will much help us in the Answer of the Question but I mean not a complete and adequate proportion but as to many remarkable Particulars The sufferings of the Church are a great part of the subject matter of this Book of the Revelations especially under the Seals and Trumpers till you come to the last Wo which is objectated chiefly on Antichrist And these Sufferings were partly under the Pagan Roman Empire partly under Rome Antichristian and the sufferings of the Saints under both are the sufferings of Christ mystical and are so expressed as bearing a great proportion and likeness with the sufferings of Christ personal The first of these sufferings of Christ mystical we find Rev. 12.1 2 3. c. where it is said The Woman being with Child cryed travelling in Birth and pained to be delivered The Woman here is the Church and the Child that she travelleth with is her Seed which is Christ mystical whose Sufferings by the great Red Dragon i. e. the Devil in the Roman Pagan Empire do in many things * Mr. D●●● on Rev. 1● as a Learned Interpreter hath observed allude to the sufferings of Christ personal when he was born 1. In that Christ was a Child born of a Woman under many outward wants so as the condition of the Church is commonly 2. In that Herod did watch to destroy Christ so loon as he was born and as Paraoh several times called a Dragon sought to destroy the Jews Male-Children as soon as they came into the world 3. As Christ when he was born was soon put to flee into Aegypt with his Mother so it is here with the Church and her seed they flee into the Wilderness 4. The foresaid Author affirmeth that the time of Christs being in Aegypt was three years and an half which in the mistery is the time of the Church her Wilderness condition For Christ as my Author affirmeth was born in the thirtieth year of Herods Reign but he fled not presently but was first circumcised and his Mother purified after which also Herod sought to destroy the young Children in and about Bethlehem This took up some part of Herods thirty first year and Christ returned out of Aegpyt immediately after Herods death who reigned thirty four years 5. As Herod vented his malice upon the Bethlehemitish Infants after the flight of Christ so doth the Devil here vent his malice upon the Church her seed after her deliverance and flight 6. As Christ was still preserved till he had finished the work committed to him notwithstanding all the opposition he met with but after that he suffered and was slain even so it happeneth to the seed of the Church Thus you see how the sufferings of Christ mystical under Rome Pagan do in many things answer to the sufferings of Christ personal Secondly Let us consider the other part of the sufferings of Christ Mystical under Rome Antichristian and we shall see their conformity to the sufferings of Christ Personal especially in and about his death It is said you know * Rev. 11.8 that the doad Bodies of the Witnesses shall lye in the Street of the great City which is spiritually called Sodom and Aegypt where also our Lord was crucified Which last words are added not only to discover under what power the Witnesses should be slain viz. that of Rome spiritually called Sodom and Aegypt but also to shew us the conformity that should be between the slaughter of Christ and his Witnesses And yet we must not expect a complete analogy and proportion between them for in some Circumstances they differ but in several material ones they do agree 1. Christ preacheth forty two Months literally taken the witnesses prophesie as long taking forty two months * Numb 14.34 Ezek. 4.6 prophetically and mystically 2. Christ is slain when he had finished his Testimony and could not by any means be slain before so it is with the Witnesses Rev. 11.7 3. Christ is slain by the * Rev. 11.8 with Luk. 18.32 33. Gentiles grammatically and properly so taken and the Witnesses are slain by the * Rev. 11.2 7. Gentiles metaphorically so taken 4. Christ arose after three days figuratively taken i. e. part being put for the whole His Witnesses arise after three days and an half prophetically taken i. e. three years and an half 5. Christ's Sepulchre was guarded to keep him down in his Grave and hinder his Resurrection * Mat. 27.64 which his enemies could not bear the thoughts of In like manner the enemies of the Witnesses endeavour to keep them down by power and so to bury them but that they are hindered that they might never rise again 6. When Christ was crucified presently beginneth the Jews Passeover where his Enemies rejoyced together and made merry because Christ who had tormented them was crucified * Rev. 11.10 Even thus deal the Enemies of the Witnesses when they are slain 7. Christ arose notwithstanding the Soldiers who guarded his Sepulchre and when he arose they were wofully skared at the sight of him * Rev. 11.11 Even so it is at the Resurrection of his Witnesses 8. When Christ arose there was a great Earthquake properly so called So not long after the Resurrection of the Witnesses there is * Rev. 11.13 a great Earthquake mystically and metaphorically so called This Analogy thus premised I shall express to you what the Scripture saith concerning the slaughter of the Witnesses that you may make your Collections from it as the Lord shall help you 1. The * Rev. 2● 8 9. Text seemeth to hold forth such a slaughter of the Witnesses as is partly civil and partly spiritual For were the slaughter literal and proper the enemies of the Witnesses would not have endured their dead Bodies to have lyen so long unburied in the Street because of the noisomness thereof nor would Kindreds and Tongues and Nations have hindered their burial from the Principle of mere Humanity And therefore this their death must be of another kind and that

light and help from the Spirit and see what it doth amount unto However wait for a while lo●ger and time will prove a sure Interpreter REV. XI 12. And they heard a great Voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither And they ascended up to Heaven in a Cloud and their Enemies beheld them IN the former Verse we find the Witnesses upon their feet in this we find them upon the wing In the words you may observe 1. A Call given them and it is by a Voice 2. It is a great Call for it is a great Voice 3. From whence it cometh from Heaven 4. The Witnesses hearing it They heard a great voice 5. What it saith viz. Come up hither I shall only paraphrase upon the verse and conclude with application And they heard a great Voice from Heaven Heaven is put for the Church here upon Earth For as the Church is distinguished from her seed Chap. 12.17 So here from her Witnesses The meaning therefore is There comes a voice out of the Church to the Churches and Ministers to rise up yet higher and nearer Heaven For the Spirit speaketh in the Churches to the Churches as you may see in the second and third Chapters of this Book of the Revelations This I take to be the meaning of the words 1. It seems to be set here in opposition to the Beast who is said to ascend out of the bottomless pit ver 7. The Beast lives in Hell upon Earth the Saints in Heaven 2. It stands also in opposition to the former condition that the Witnesses were in who but now lay dead as it were upon the earth and now behold they are called up to Heaven 3. This Heaven is the same that is mentioned ver 19. but that is the Church of God and therefore so is this Now the voice that calls to them from this Heaven is a great Voice declaring a loud call Here then is a Commission and Warrant given them to prophesie again and to follow their former employment and not in the least to be discouraged for their Call is very clear distinct and audible it being a great voice And some do conceive that this Call comes from men in publick place and I should be glad it might prove so but I much doubt of it upon these grounds 1. Because it is said That when they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud their Enemies beheld them Now these enemies are those who lately slew them and therefore were men of Place and Power And still they are the men they were as very Enemies at the Resurrection and Ascension of the Witnesses as when they slew them Therefore surely these could not call them They who beheld them as Enemies when they ascended up to Heaven would never call them up to Heaven 2. It is said in the following words That in the same hour there was a great Earthquake and the tenth part of the City fell and in the Earthquake were slain of men seven thousand These are the enemies spoken of in my Text as I shall further shew you when I come to ver 13. So that this call here comes not from men in publick place they are enemies you see after the Resurrection and at the Ascension of the Witnesses And the Voice here comes from Heaven which is no place for the enemies of the Witnesses This Voice then comes from the Spirit of God in the Churches working an inward powerful instinct and impression in these Witnesses c. They heard a great Voice It is not said that others heard it It is somewhat like the voice which Pau● heard from Heaven Act. 22.5 when he was near unto Damas●● They that were with him saw the light that shined about him but they heard not the voice of ●im that spake to him That is They did not hear it disti●●tly for the men that journeyed with him st●od speechless hearing a Voice Act. 9.7 but seeing no man It was a Voice and a great clear distinct voice but in Paul's ears only not in theirs So here c. But what is the subject matter of this call Come up hither Not l●●g ago there was a great voice or vote from He●● against these Witnesses and now there is a voice from Heaven to them and fo●●●em The first was from the Beast ascending out of the Bottomless p●● this is from the Spirit speaking from Heaven to them The first cryed D●●● with them This from Heaven cries Up with them Come up hither The first laid them as it were upon the Earth in the streets This calls them up to Heaven Quest But what shall they do there Answ Wherefore as if the voice should say Here is more work for you the Church is rising higher than it was It is nearer Heaven more pure and refined more set upon Separation more elevated above the world and preparing for more glorious times approaching under the seventh Trumpet and therefore Come up hither which intimateth that formerly they preached lived and conversed at a lower rate than now they must and are here called to do For the Churches are risen and all things in the Churches are higher and got up nearer unto Heaven and the Saints must now live far above their former selves Wherefore abide no longer where you are but Come up hither And in this Call there is a motion implyed Come which hath a term from which 1. The Earth or a lower condition of living before when the Witnesses savoured too much of the Earth and when their Spirits lay prostrate during the time of their slaughter For as the death of the Witnesses was in a special manner Spiritual their spirits being low and dead so now their Spirits are raised up higher 2. They move and rise up from Antichrist and his Pollutions and all his earthly and hellish waies of Worship Mixtures and base conversations 3. From that Bondage and servitude which the Witnesses were lately in unto the Wills of men before their Resurrection so that sometime after their Resurrection there will be a very great change in the Churches of Christ as to purity of Doctrine and Worship and Holiness of walking and Gospel-liberty far beyond what was before Thus you see their Call cleared 2. I come now to their Obedience to this Call or great Voice from Heaven And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud and their Enemies beheld them In which words there are three things considerable 1. Their Ascent to Heaven 2. In what manner in a Cloud 3. Who saw them thus ascending their Enemies beheld them 1. They ascended up to Heaven The great Voice is accompanied with great Power that the thing commanded is soon accomplished They willingly and readily attend the Call declaring that their hearts were wholly in it Come up hither Lo we come and must we yet be more separate from sin and sinners as to communion with them and from Antichristian pollutions and from the world We desire nothing more And