Page:Darby - Notes on the Book of Revelations, 1839.djvu/74

 dwell upon the earth. I say not duly noticed, as the universality of Antichrist’s dominion has been argued from the expression, “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him.” But there, as elsewhere, they are in contrast with nations, kindreds, tongues, people. The case of the dwellers upon earth is always, I think, more aggravated.

Thus it is not merely evil conduct towards the witnesses here, but great interested joy at their destruction. There are three parties engaged in the evil—the beast, who kills the witnesses—the nations and kindreds, who do not suffer them to be buried, exhibiting the natural hostility of the human heart—and the people upon earth, whom the testimony of the witnesses had specially tormented. For the testimony of Holy consistency and prophetic nearness to God, is continual torment to them to whom the testimony comes, for their apostasy: the prophet, in this character, is always a witness that, with all their pride and self-satisfaction, they are apostate; and this is torment, for they have really no peace with God, whatever their pretension. The resurrection of the witnesses was a public thing, in which the judgment and vindication of God was plain to their enemies; they heard the