Second advent library

'194 ucruam xm.'that the two witnesses are the Old and New Testament.And I will,II. Show what we may understand by the two witnessesbeing clothed in ssckcloth.Sackcloth denotes a state of darkness, as in Rev. vi.12, " The sun became black as sackcloth of hair ;" thatis, the sun became dark, invisible, and did not give itslight. Just so duri the dark ages of papal rule, theword of God was drilrliened by monkish superstition, bigotry,and ignorance in its sacred principles.It did notgive its true light, because the laws, doctrines, and ordinanceswere c anged by the laws of the Latin church;its doctrine was perverted by the introduction ofthe doctrineof devils and the anti-Christian abominations: itsordinances were so altered as to suit the convenience ofcamal men; and it was obscured, because the commonpeople were forbidden to read it, or even to have it intheir houses, by the Papal authority. It was hid fromthe world in agreat measure; for the Papal beast, thechurch of Rome, forbade its translation into any languageexcept the Greek and Latin, which languages ceased tobe spoken in the Roman government in the middle of thesixth century. Sackcloth denotes great calamities andtroubles, as in the days of Hezekiah, 2 Kings, xix. 1, 2,," When king Hezekiah heard (the threatenings of theof Assyria,) he rent his clothes, and covered himselwith sackcloth ;" also, the Ninevites puton sackclolhat the preaching of Jonah, when their wascity threatenedwith a final overthrow. So with the two witnesses;while they were clothed in sackcloth, it was a time ofgreat calamity and trouble to the people of God; persecutionraged without any miti tion in some or all partsof the Roman government, mgathe church of God, whichwas fed and nourished by the " two witnesses," duringher residence in the wildemess, was threatened with afinal destruction by the Papal armies, the inquisition, andevery other means that could be devised by wicked menor devils. But God has preserved his word, through alltheilpersecutions ofthe Roman power.I shall now,. Show their history, propheiy, and time specifiedin the text.