And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Ver. 3. And I will give unto my two, &c.] sc. Power to purge the Church, and to stand for the truth, all the while it was trodden under foot. Videsis Catalogum Testium veritatis ab Illyrico editum. Zuinglius recordeth that Luther and he (both at one time, the one not knowing nor hearing of the other) began to write against the pope's indulgences. And of Luther and Melancthon one writes thus,
" Divisae his operae, sed mens fuit unica; pavit
Ore Lutherus oves, flore Melanethon apes. "
"This separate works, but the intent was the same, by the mouth Luther feeds the sheep, by the flowers Melanethon feeds the bees."
Unto my two witnesses] The whole succession of faithful preachers, under the tyranny and rage of Antichrist. These are said to be two, that is, few; or two, that is, enough, Deuteronomy 17:6; or two, in reference to those noble twos, Moses and Aaron, Elijah and Elisha, Zerubbabel and Joshua, in allusion to whom these witnesses are here described.
Clothed in sackcloth] As calling men to repentance; or as bewailing their blindness; or as lacking better clothing.