if any man wil hurt them it is death they must in this manner be killed These have power to shut heaven that it raine not in the daies of their Prophesie c. To deny the blessing grace and favour of God to any man any creature or to any thing And they have power over waters to turne them into bloud c. To kill and slay and to mingle strifes contentions debates envie malice and wrath in the minds of men because they are disobeyed And to smite the earth with ALL plagues c. Plagues both inward and outward The Plague of Sword Pestilence Famine Blindness Barrenness Nakedness c. as often as they will And when they have finished their testimony c. Wee have seen their death when their testimony was finished but not before When the Sonne of Man had finished his testimony when his houre was come then must he suffer and not before So when the Witnesses have finished their Testimony they must be killed and not before Then there ascends a beast out of the bottomlesse pit out of the lowest hel the nethermost hell A new and undiscovered wickednesse and uncleannesse of Spirit riseth out of this Bottomlesse pit against the two Witnesses And makes warre against them overcomes them and kills them And then their dead bodies lye in the streets of the great City which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt This whole World is this great City as it 's governed and ruled by the God of this World and in this great City of the World is the filthines of Sodom and the Idolatry of Egypt Where also our Lord was Crucified It was a spirituall wickedness that Crucified the Lord Jesus and it shal be a more spirituall wickedness that shal kill and slay these two Witnesses And they of the People and Kinreds and Tongues and Nations c. Humane Carnal Fleshly Gentile Christians the Nations of this world shal see these witnesses lie dead and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves When the Spirit is with-drawn kil'd and slain by the Beast or cloud of darknesse that riseth out of the bottomless pit these Gentiles People worldly Christans shall not suffer their dead bodies outward formes to be buried the natural man upholds the body or form without the spirit a bare humane carnall remembrance to keep up the forme and flesh of Christ left spiritless and life-lesse this is the nature of the men of the world or earthly and fleshly men to live upon the dead carcasse of Christ but they cannot indure the spirit and life of Christ they can live no longer then they have the body dead and slain if that revive they dye And they that dwell on the Earth shall rejoyce over them and make merry And shall send gifts one to another because these two Prophets tormented them that dwelt on the Earth An expression of joy and rejoycing and this is the wickednesse of earthly People that dwell in the Earth that dwell in the World they have no peace no joy longer then they get the mastery of the Spirit of God and when they can by the strngth of that wickednes that ariseth out of the bottomlesse pit trample upon the Spirit of God and of Christ then they are well then they can goe rejoycing from one to another blessing themselves and comforting one another telling vain and foolish stories of their victory that they have killed and slain the Lord and denied him to reigne over them In these three verses following is the reviving of the two witnesses After three daies and an half When these two witnesses shall appear in any shall finish their Testimony bee killed and slain they shall ly dead three daies and an halfe or as it is exprest in the next chapter of the Womans being in the wildernesse for a time times and half a time The time of the killing of the witnesses shall be a time of great joy and rejoycing to them that dwell one the Earth eartly Christians carnall Christians Yet there shall be in it a day Jesus Christ makes the grave a day There is a quiet rest and a sweet day in the death of Christ in the killing of the witnesses and though in it self it be very grievious and terrible yet you shal see brightnesse and glory shinings and twinklings forth of light so that ye shall be able to call it a day But there is a day and two daies and half a day or a time times and half a time First a day and season in which there shall be a comfortable expectation of a seasonable and speedy deliverance where-we are able to say These witnesses are now slain but they shall speedily revive and rise again After that comes times or two daies wherein there will be lesse expectation and more trouble multiplied evils time devided and then there shall not be such an expectation of a speedy deliverance as was before The Soul shall be able to say I shall be delivered but I know not when for ought that appears I may lie long in this state but I will waite with patience I will submit to the will of the Lord. Then after this there 's half a day or a season wherein there shall be a sudden reviving an unexpected deliverance A short work will the Lord make on the Earth The Spirit of life from God entred into them They had before but the Spirit of prophesie The Spirit of Prophesie is the testimony of Jesus wherein though they live'd yet their life was but a saying they should live but a fore-telling of a higher and further state of life to come but now they have a Spirit of life The Spirit of life from God entred into them Not the Spirit of prophesie only but the Spirit of life not only to bee able to fore-tel what they should be but what they are That they are righteous holy happy that they live Yea not only to be able to say they live but to be life it self Not only to Prophesie in sack-cloth to be under a vaile but by the re-entry of the Spirit of life into them to see GOD opening and un-vailing his face These Witnesses must and wil Prophesie before they live First wear sack-cloth Prophesie darkly that they shal live then live First be in expectation and Prophesie of live then live first beleive hope and expect then live We never lose any thing but we gain by it If we lose the Spirit of prophesie we gaine the Spirit of life for it we gaine by sufferings we gaine by losing If a spirit of darkneses ascend out of the bottomlesse pit clouding our comfort we receive a better Spirit for it The Spirit of life from God and so are gainers This we may be assured of for the LORD saith it He will not leave my soul in hell nor suffer his holy one to see corruption We may be brought to the death we may bee killed and slain wee may be dead carcasses But
doth certainly foretell though in them very darkly something that is to come But first let me tel you that that which shall kill them must Ascend out of the Bottomlesse pit It shall bee no outward or visible force that shall slay these two Witnesses It shall bee by no visible Power of Kings or Princes Papists or Malignants that these Witnesses shall be killed no we may see to the Bottom of al these That which shall slay these two Witnesses shall Ascend from a pit that hath no Bottom that is There shall such hellish fins such Hideous Monstrous darknesse such filthy Beastlinesse arise in the mindes and spirits of men that shall fight against the very Light of Christ and the Spirit of Christ in His People But these Witnesses are above the rage and reach of all visible Powers They may indeed kill and slay the bodies of men and after that can doe no more for alas that is not that which is here slain But the two Olive Trees Christ in Fesh and Spirit And that which kills them is a Beast a Beastlinesse below the Beastlinesse of man It 's not man it 's by no power of man It 's Beastly darknesse Beastly lusts Hellish wickedness such as ariseth from a Pit that hath no bottom such as you cannot tel whence it is nor what it is such as hath not been visibly manifest amongst the Sons of men Ye shall see yet more abominable hellish hiddious beastly black wickednesse then ever yet appeared Ye cannot yet tel the Father of these wickednesses Ye are able to say such and such wickednesses comes from the Pope such and such from Jesuites and Papists such and such from your owne hearts But yee shall finde such black hellish wickednesse such disorder and confusion such torment such disquietment such ignorance such base ignorance come out of a Pit deeper and darker and filthyer then hath yet been found out amongst the sons of men such as is without length or breadth such as is not to be fathomed or measured such a pit shal be opened and such darknesse come in to the world as never before appeared such as shall be blacker and baser and fouler then hitherto hath been brought forth And these shall make warre against the Witnesses and overcome them First fight then overcome and kill them First oppose the light of the LORD the Spirit of the LORD Christ I say oppose these two witnesses and testimonies of the presence of the LORD of GOD dwelling in flesh killing flesh offering up flesh upon the Alter These shal be opposed Secondly overcome them and kill them There is a continuall opposition of the Death and of the Resurrection of Christ and of Christ Risen in us of GOD dwelling with us and in us And there shal such a darknesse such a black darknesse arise out of this bottomles pit that shal fight with this light overcome it and kill it So that ye shal not bee able to say ye have God in you These Olive trees shall not give forth their Oyle they shall not bee able to speake their own Language in you ye shal not enjoy those sweet inward refreshings that some times yee have had The Witnesses shal be overcome killed and slain such hidious monsterous darknesse shal arise in you that yee shall not know that yee have the Spirit of God that Christ dwels in you ye shal not be able to see or say that yee have the presence of God with you that ye have the presence of these two Olive trees Emptying their Golden Oyle into you Al their opperations shal be quite killed slain and dead And their dead bodies shall lye in the streets of the great City which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified The place of the dead bodies is the streets of the great City Babylon The world govern'd by Satan the god of the world is Babylon In the Streets of the great City Babylon yee shall have the dead bodies of the Witnesses lye un-buried There yee shall have some formes and figures of what they have said and done but dead without life without power without spirit Yee shal have strange workings of the Devill and Satan in the streets of the great City when the Witnesses are killed to preserve their carcasses formes and figures spiritless and life-less And this is the wickednes of the flesh Heightened There are these two Streets in the great City Sodom and Egypt that will bee found in you though they doe not yet appeare The filthinesse of Sodom pride gluttony fulnesse of bread and abundance of Idlenesse The wickednes of Egypt Idolatry enmity rage and malice against the Israel of GOD. Where also our Lord was Crucified Our Lord was Crucified at Jerusalem litterally or according to the Letter But spiritually it was in Sodom and Egypt It was the filthy wickednesse of Sodom and the cursed enmity of Egypt that Crucified Christ And you wil finde that that spirituall Sodom and Egypt that filthy wickednesse of Sodom and that cursed Idolatry of Egypt is that same wickednesse which shal wil and must kill and slay these two witnesses or thus That wickednesse in the Scribes and Pharisees that crucified Christ formerly I say that wickednesse Heightened and Spirituallized in the worldly fleshly part of the Saints that wickednesse growne more vil'd and more abominable then ever was known before The wickednesse of the Scribes and Pharisees that accused Christ of the High Priest that condemned Christ of Judas that betrayed Christ that grown as Sodom and Egypt as the filthy whordome of Sodom as the cursed emnity of Egypt shal make warre against these two witnesses and kill them Here the Dead bodies of these two Witnesses Lyeth And they of the people and kinreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three daies and an halfe and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves Peoples Kinreds Nations Tongues Gifts Strengths Powers c. Shal see the dead bodies of the two Witnesses the outward forme and figure without spirit and life The outward carcasse that these Heavenly lights that these two witnesses did minister in They shal see them and shal not suffer them to be buried to bee put in graves The earthly carnal worldly part of man cannot endure that these bodies should bee buried And why They live upon them they cannot subsist without them their very life and being is upheld and maintained by the carcass by the body the dead body by the fleshly part that is in man in the Saints The Remembrance and sight of these is their very life therefore they will not suffer them to bee put in graves to bee buried out of their sight They keep up al outward and fleshly formes above ground as long as they can It is their life their peace their comfort their joy they are glad that the Spirit and life is gon that was wont to vex and torment them And they that dwell on
the earth shall rejoyce over them and make merry and shall send gifts one to another because these two Prophets tormented them c. They that dwell on the Earth shal rejoyce All fleshly powers and parts rejoyce and are glad in these formes There is an ease a freedome a joy a rejoycing that ariseth in and amongst earthly men when these two Prophets are slain And shall send gifts one to another Those that were before counted earthly men are now in their owne Esteem Heavenly Wee are say they good Christians Religious men yea in their owne esteem and so they judge of them selves in the midest of their merriment And though wee bee in the Earth and on the Earth yet wee have Peace and Quietnesse and gladnesse wee rejoyce and are merry together Now there is nothing to vex us because they that tormented us are dead This is the manner of their boasting and glorying over the dead bodies the Carcasses of the witnesses when they are slain But after three daies and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them After the death of the witnesses followes their resurrection there must be a death before there can be a resurrection People would fain ascend into Heaven and possesse Heaven and attain to the resurrection of the dead but this they cannot doe untill they be first slain You must die before you can rise I speak to those that are spirituall into whom these Olive trees have emptied themselves I say there must be a death before there can be a resurrection The most excellent the most glorious christians that I know must be slain After three daies and an halfe It 's a sad time this The slaying of the witnesses The prophesie is mournfull yet very effectuall When the Beast ascendes out of the bottomlesse pit killing the witnesses it 's a sad time but when they rise again it is a time of great rejoycing Though their death be grievious yet their resurrection is glorious After three daies and a half This is expressed else-where by a time times and half a time First A Time that 's one day Then times that 's two daies Then half a time or the division of time that 's half a day The meaning is this It will be but a while that the witnesses must lie in this sad and dead condition It will be but a day and two daies and half a day or a time times and half a time and then they shall rise again In this sad condition there will be an expectation of a quick and sudden deliverance Well saith the Soul after one day is past I shall be delivered and recover again This is comfortable that it is but a day O the slaying of the witnesses though a sad time will not be without a day to your spirits A day wherein ye shall see God A day wherein ye shall know 't is day A day wherein shall be an expectation of a seasonable and sweet deliverance But then alas there are yet two dries and half a day wherein it will grow more dark there will be multiplied evils there will be division of times Now saith the Soul let it be when God will I am contented to wait I am not carefull when it shall be When the heart shall lose its expectation of a quick deliverance and shall scarce have a thought of deliverance at all much lesse know when it shall be and shall ly down in a sweet submission now let it be when God pleaseth When this state daies or times is past then comes half a day or half a time And this is a short time now deliverance hasteneth He will cut his work short in righteousnesse For except these daies should be shortened no flesh should be saved but for the Elects sake they are shortend They are but half so much at last as they were at first God will cut his work short in righteousnesse And the Spirit of life from God entered into them There is not true life but by the Spirit of life which is in God When the Spirit of the holy God comes into us then we live that 's a life in deed Before it was the Spirit of God working in a poor low sad state it was a life in sack-cloth a mournfull a dying life a life next the grave But when the Spirit of life from God the Spirit of life that is life it self lives in man then he is well then he lives then he hath life indeed And I heard a great voice from Heaven saying come up hither Untill we hear this great voice Come up hither there is no life there is no motion but when we hear this Voyce then we live I see People are gaping after Heaven but they cannot come up thither see the glory of God or know any true solid joy or peace till they be dead and raised again Then shall they hear a great Voice saying COME VP HITHER And yet this is but the sixt Trumpet So much briefly for this time The end of the ninth sermon THE WITNESSES DEATH AND RESURRECTION REVEL 11.11 12. And after three daies and a halfe the Spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them 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 WE have already opened part of this mystery of the two witnesses and have shewed you who they are These two Olive trees or the two golden Candlesticks that stand on the right hand and on the left before the God of the whole earth are Christ and the Spirit who do testify and witnesse concerning the Father And though other ordinary Interpretations of the two Witnesses may be taken in as that it is the Magestracy and the Ministry the old and new Testament and the Saints yet al of them in a very far and remote way and as they have some analogy and similitude with Christ and the Spirit Christ in the flesh being the Minister Priest or Prophet of the Church and Christ in the Spirit being the Magestrate King or Governour of his Church Some take them to be the old and new Testtament which is indeed a dark Figure of Christ in flesh and Christ in Spirit The Old Testament which stood in types shadowes and figures of Christ to come in the flesh may be taken to bee a dark figure of Christ in flesh and the New testament or New Covenant being the testimony and witness of God more clearly with open face may be taken in as a figure of Christ in Spirit Some say they are the Saints and these are indeed the Saints of God the Holy ones of GOD the truly Anointed ones of God These have power that if any man will hurt them fire proceeds out of their mouthes fire proceeds out of the mouth of Christ in the Sdirit and this devours their enemies and
where the carcasse is thither will the Eagles bee gathered together Thither this Eagle the Divine Spirit of GOD doth resort to this Carcasse I say to Revive it This heavenly Eagle or Spirit of GOD comes and eats up all the deadliness all the corruption all the Carcass that he in us might live in the Spirit There is no true life but the Spirit of life Then may we say we live when we live in the Spirit of GOD this is called the quickning Spirit The first Man was made a living soul the Second was made a quickning Spirit Man is a living soul a living creature and it is the Spirit of GOD that makes him to live a Spiritual life but when that life is killed and slain then he hath a second life for it a better life The Spirit of life life it selfe true life indeed And we know no life no true life but in the LORD our life When HE who is OVR life shall appear c. While the Witnesses prophesie they cannot say that they live but when they have received the Spirit of life then they can truly say they live Now they can claime that title I was dead but am alive I am the resurrection and the life There is no true life til there be a Resurrection til then it 's but a state of mortallity It is not yet life But when we revive and rise again mortallity is swallowed up of life now we live indeed That 's true life that is not subject to death that is true life that cannot be killed That life that is under the Power of death that is under the Command of death that can be extinguished by death is no true life It s life to be set free from death to be dis-engaged and dis-obliged from the command of this King of fears when we can say O death Where is thy sting O grave Where is thy victory When wee can trample upon death that is life true Life indeed The Spirit of life from God True life consists in a continual flowing forth from God a daily powring out of the Divine life the Divine nature into us enlivening and quickning all our actions and services Those are not living actions living services living performances that flow not from the life of GOD in us We live when every thing we act or speak flows from the life of God in us Then wee live when al we do comes from GOD when God sends it forth God speakes it God doth it then they are living words living actions In thy presence is life The absence of the soul from the body is the shadow and but the shadow of death but the absence of GOD from a thing or person that 's death Spiritual death You cannot say a man lives except you see his soul act move speak c. If yee were Christians indeed ye would not say you live until yee hear the voice of GOD saying to you This is the way of God these are the words and works of God There is life true life indeed The reviving and life of these two witnesses is the resurrection and the life the life of the Sonne of God God comes forth in these two in the Son and in the Spirit the fulnes of God shewing it self in the flesh of Christ and the Spirit of Christ this is life These three are all in union together the Father the Son and Spirit in one conjunction and unity The Father puting forth himself in the Son by the Spirit The Father acting quickning and inlivening the Son by the Spirit these mutually imbracing each other is our life Concerning this resurrection of the witnesses observe that it is graduall The Spirit of life from God first entred into them after that they live there was a kinde of absence before but now a presence of the Spirit of God The holy God suffers a kinde of parting to be between himself and his Son ney betwixt himself and his own Spirit which is himself and after this again there is a reuniting First There must be an entrance The Spirit of God first enters into them then they live The Resurrection though it be quick though it be in a moment in the twinkling of an eye yet it is graduall First There is an entrance of the Spirit The Spirit of life from God entered into them Secondly There is a double effect of this entering of the Spirit 1. They stood upon their feet 2. They heard a great voiyce saying Come up hither First The Spirit of the Lord entered into them while they are dead while their dead bodies were lying in the streets of the great City the breath of life from God entered into them And this is very certain we shall not lose any thing that we have had Though the Lord withdraw himselfe from us a little while yet he will returne to us again and then he wil gather up al that is scattered and enter into all that 's dead And they stood upon their feet This is the second gradation or the second degree of their Resurrection which is two-fold 1. They could own the Lord they could say The Lord is with us our God is with us and in us Life is come to us We are the holy ones of God We are the golden candlesticks upon whom the light of God doth shine This is the Spirit of life from our God And then secondly they are raised from the earth and so raised as that they can stand upon their feet an expression of the dry bones Ezek. 37. into whom when the breath of the Lord came they lived they stood upon their feet an exceeding great Army So the Prophet Ezekel when he was overcome by the glory of God in the great vision he saw chapter 2. it 's said The Spirit of the Lord entred into him and he stood upon his feet And so Daniel was raised chapter 10.10 11. O Daniel a man greatly beloved understand the words that I speak unto thee and stand upright Which is the same with this The Spirit of the Lord intring into us standing up in us manifesting and shewing what wee are making us visibly to appear the anointed ones of God inabling us to stand up and own a heavenly and spiritual life and light to appear to arise to shew our selves that we are the holy ones of God And though whilest wee were slain and dead we could not owne the Lord or acknowledge him we could not confesse the Lord who he was and what he was because we were in death and darknesse yet now having the Spirit of the Lord entred into us we now being raised from the dead we stand up and are able to say Wee are the Lords wee are the holy anointed ones of God There is life and strength and confidence appearing in the witnesses standing upon their feet so that they can say We by this life or in this life of God are able to live amonst men to walk about in the Name
into their eyes into their hearts that I know they see and connot but see and say This is the Lord and they tremble And I heard a great voyce saying Come up hither When we are alive we hear the voyce of GOD. And though the voyce of GOD be a mighty voyce a great voyce a strong voyce yet when we hear God speak we rejoyce O pleasant voyce pleasant because from Heaven O Heavenly voyce When Heaven speakes it speakes love and life and joy and glory and kingdome and power and goodness and excellency and majesty We hear it we hear it continually an eternal word It is alwaies sounding in our hearts and eares O this great voyce this mighty voyce Every thing that is in us heares it every faculty every part every gift Every thing heares this voyce It speaks largely it speaks mightily and powerfully it speakes to the whole man It is so big and great that it makes us to become all ear or the ear to be every where and every thing the head the feet the body the soul the spirit the inward man the outward man all hear this great voyce It speaks with Authority and Power It removes and sets aside every thought that hinders obedience to it hile we hear it we obey it we receive it It is so great that there is nothing else left but it This great Voyce saith Come up hither it is so great a voice that it turnes us into Heaven it turnes us into the voyce it selfe we are the voyce it fils Heaven and Earth so mighty so powerfull so full of majesty O it 's the great answer of our praiers the great end of our hopes the great glory we look for the great reward of our sufferings the great joy of our GOD the great love of our God! O It 's the voyce of our beloved of our Father of our King of our GOD It s thy voyce O GOD A great voyce from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither To them to none else none but the Holy ones the Anointed ones of God none but they that live in the Spirit of God though it be a great voyce yet it is spoken to none but them You my Son you my Spirit you my Self Come up hither Rev. 4.1 saith John A voyce said unto mee Come up hither and immediately I was in the Spirit So here When the Witnesses heare the voyce immediately they ascend The voyce takes them up into Heaven up into it selfe The voyce saiith unto them Come up hither Come to Me live in Me live in My Power live in My Strength live in My Glory live in My Kingdome Be as I Am Be where I Am Be what I Am Do what I Do Do as I Do Come into My Glory live not below the glory of God live no longer like creatures live no longer in the world but Come up hither and live in the glory of the Creator the glory of GOD Live not amongst men live not amongst Angels but live the life of GOD Come up hither Come to Me. This is not a going from place to place in a carnal way by a bodily motion but the true ascending and coming to God is in the Spirit of God in the life of God to live in the presence of God in the Face of God in the Kingdome of God in the Glory of God Come up hither O Excellent voyce O powerfull voicel O precious voyce O pleasant voycel Transcendent love Infinite goodnesse The bosome of the LORD opened Heaven it self opened The LORD Himself opening Himself and reaching forth his hand saying Come hither Come hither Ye cannot live any longer without me I can live no longer without you Let 's live together Ye are a part of my selfe I can no longer be parted from my self my self must come to my self we can live strangers no longer ye must come and live with me in my house Here 's a Throne sit down here 's a Crown put it on thy head here 's Glory weare it here 's a Kingdome it s yours We Come wee Ascend And they ascended up to Heaven in a cloud The third degree of their rising is upon their hearing We do arise we do ascend it is our nature to ascend and seeing we are now living the life of the LORD in the Spirit of the LORD we are able to ascend While wee were only men our faces tended to the earth down-wards but now our natural course is turn'd through the divine life of God in us we do ascend to Heaven to God or thus our ascending up daily more and more to God is become our naturall course Now we can quit the earth quit the creature quit the flesh al things below the glory of God we let them all go Now we bid farewel men farewel griefs and troubles and shame the companions of men Farewel earth farewel weaknesses cares and fears companions of the earth farewell now wee ascend to Heaven in a cloud In a cloud Whil'st we ascend in a Cloud somthing yet of darknesse and weakness accompanieth us Though we are hastening to glory hastening to God yet it 's in a cloud God descends Christ descends the Spirit descends and wee ascend yet we meet in a cloud GOD comes down to us we go up to meet God yet both in a cloud We meet together we converse together yet in a cloud Here 's the glory of God in the Saints not yet breaking forth into naked and open brightnesse but covered with Clouds with some weakness with some infirmity And their enemies beheld them Satan the Nations Kinreds Tongues religious Voyces religious Opinions Flesh and World all their enemies beheld them look upon them but its little comfort to them little joy to them to see them ascend This is an increase and addition to our glory that we must ascend in the sight and view of al those that hated us and persecuted us and were enimies to us and as they rejoyced when we were down so they must be troubled when we arise Hel death devil look on us and behold us and yet cannot hinder our asent we ascend and goe up in the sight and presence of all our adversaries yet they are not able to hold us down The witnesses that were slain arise and ascend into heaven yet their enemies cannot in the least measure hinder them As we ascend in the sight and view of God so in the sight and view of al our enemies As heaven is filled with joy at our arrivall so the world is filled with affrightment and amazment at parting with us we cannot leave the earth but we carry the life of the earth with us we take al good from hence and carry all good and glory into heaven with us Hel death devil shal al look upon us and shal bee troubled and not be able to keep one ragge of us from enjoying this Glory Majesty Brightnes and Excellency of GOD. The end of the tenth Sermon THE WITNESSES DEATH AND