Jesus gives to believers is a sealing Spirit a lively Spirit and an enlightning Spirit and a leading Spirit it leads us from all evill to all good And all the Lambs followers are in the Spirit of the Lamb and therefore they pray in the Spirit and with the Spirit and by the Spirit and for more of the Spirit They that have this Spirit need not a Book to pray by Now all true Believers have the Spirit of the Lamb therefore they follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth Fifthly Believers follow the Lamb because all their Priviledges come from the Lamb They are all Kings and Priests Rev. 1.6 Rev. 5.10 And Sons and Heirs 1 Joh. 3.1 Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us Rom. 8.17 If Children then Heirs Heirs with God and joynt Heirs with Christ Though Believers have not a Crown in life yet they are Heirs to a Crown of life God puts the greatest honour upon his own people Prov. 12.26 All the honour that other men have is not worth the having that which makes a man great in the eye of the world makes a man nothing in the eye of God Men are never the better for their greatness if they are not made better by their greatness But now believers greatness and honour comes by Christ the faithful and true witness the first begotten of the dead and the Prince of the Kings of the Earth He hath made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall reign on the Earth Rev. 5.10 All the light and life and hope and joy and peace and beauty and honour and riches Believers have they have it all by Christ and from Christ he gives them rich Grace and rich Glory and all things richly to enjoy 1 Tim. 6.17 Take a man that is out of Christ and he hath none of all this Ephes 2.12 That at that time ye were without Christ being aliens from the Common-wealth of Israel and strangers from the Covenant of promise having no hope and without God in the World They are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked Revel 3.17 O this is the condition of every graceless Faithless and Christless person But now a Believer though he be never so poor in the worlds eye he is rich in Gods eye for all things are his and he shall inherit all things 1 Cor. 3.22 Rev. 21.7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things But how comes it to pass that the Believer hath so much and all others so little He hath it all from Christ Of his fulness have all we received Grace for Grace Therefore Believers doe glory in Christ because they have all their glory by and from Christ 1 Cor. 1.31 He hath enough to glory in that hath a Christ to glory in Now Believers cannot but cleave to him and follow him because all their good things comes by him Ninthly They follow the Lamb because their names are written in the Lambs Book Revel 13.8 And all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lye but they which are written in the Lambs book of life Rev. 21.27 All the rest all the Worshippers of the Beast and all Unbelievers shall be cast into that Lake of fire which burns and flames for ever Rev. 19.20 There be a great many that follow the Beast worship the Beast receive the mark of the Beast and admire the Beast Chap. 13.3 4. But what are they Are they any that have their names written in the Lambs Book of Life No no for this see Rev. 17.8 The Beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit and shall go into perdition and they that dwell on the Earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the Book of Life So that you see what that cursed crew are that follow Babylon they are such whose names are not written in the Book of Life But they that have their Fathers name written in their fore-head and their names written in the Lambs Book they follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth And they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful Rev. 17.14 Tenthly and lastly Precious ones follow the Lamb because they shall be for ever with the Lamb. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lamb Wherefore comfort one another with these words 1 Thes 4.17 18. Therefore are they before the Throne of God and serve him day and night in his Temple and he that sitteth on the Throne shall dwell among them They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the Sun light on them nor any heat for the Lamb which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed them and shall lead them unto living Fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes Re. 7.15 16 17. How troublesom soever a Saints beginning is his ending is joyful When Believers change Earth for Heaven they do not lose their happiness but compleat their happiness Joh. 12.17 24. Eather I will that they also whom thou gavest me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world Not only with me for ever but with my Saints with my Angels and with my Father and with all that are with me To be with God and Christ for ever implyeth these seven things First The presence of God Secondly The happy union with God Thirdly The blessed vision of God Fourthly The glorious communion with God Fifthly The fruition of God Sixthly The rest that the Saints shall have in God Seventhly The enjoyments of themselves in God Oh how unspeakable is the glory of Heaven Oh how infinitely glorious is the Lamb Now true Believers follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth because they shall be for ever with the Lamb in fulness of glory and endless felicity Rom. 8.17 Thus have I shewed you why Believers follow the Lamb. Now I shall shew you the Excellencies of following the Lamb. The first Excellency is They that follow the Lamb have the presence of the Lamb with them The hundred forty and four thousand that stood upon Mount Sion had the Lamb with them Psal 46.5 God is in the midst of her she shall not be moved God shall help her and that right early The Lord of Hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge Verse 7. God is in the midst of his Church not only to behold her but to uphold her Though the Churches Enemies may be waves to toss her yet they shall never be Rocks to split her because God is in the
wicked men and Divels nor the better of wickednesse because wicked men love it and follow it and say It is in vain to serve God and what profit is it that we have kept his Ordinances and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of Hosts Mal. 3.14 But there is a time coming when ungodly men would be glad of some of that holinesse that now they despise but they shall be as far then from obtaining it as they are now from desiring it Let us therfore love holiness and hate wickednesse For without holiness no man shal see the Lord Heb. 12.14 Holinesse is the only way to happiness We must not dresse our selves for another world by the Looking-glasse of this world Thou shalt not follow a multititude to do evil Exod. 23.2 For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping that they are the enemies of the Grosse of Christ whose end is destruction whose god is their belly and whose glory is in their shame who mind earthly things Phil. 3.18.19 The Children of God must be harmlesse in their actings and blamelesse in their walkings XVI Sixteenthly Prize the Word of God by the worth of it that you may never come to prize the Word of God by the want of it How sweet are thy words unto my tast Yea sweeter than honey to my mouth Psal 119 10. It is sweeter than the honey and the honey-comb Psal 19.10 Oh how do I Love thy Law Psal 119.97 I love thy Commandements above Gold yea above fine Gold The Law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of Gold and Silver Verse 72. As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the Word that they may grow thereby 1 Pet. 1.2 Let the Word of God dwell richly in you not only with you but in you Col. 3.16 Oh let us with Job esteeme the Word of God above our necessary food Job 23.12 and with David above our Gold and Silver The delight of a Saint in Gods Word over-tops all his creature delights Wicked men can delight in the Creatures of God but not in the Word of God they can delight in the gifts of God but not in the God of gifts Oh let us love the word and prize the word it is the Sun of the Christian world As the Sun is the light of the naturall world and without it the world is but a Chaos and a dungeon full of darkness so is the Word of God the light of the Spiritual world without which a Christian is an eternal night Take away the Scriptures and there will be no certain rule to direct men what is to be done or what is to be believed All false wayes are here discovered all sins are here forbidden all holiness is here commanded Here you may see every action and motion of your Lives as a step to Life or a step to Death as a step Heaven-ward or a step Hell-ward Oh therefore prize the word and obey the Word First It is a plain Word Secondly It is a perfect Word Thirdly It is a sure Word Fourthly It is an uniform Word Fifthly It is a powerful Word it is the savour of life unto life unto them that believe Oh Beloved let us read the Word and abide in the Word If ye continue in my Word then are ye my Disciples Joh. 8.31 The lesse now you hear the more doe you read that little Book of the Revelations and Daniel especially XVII Seventeenthly have a care of the Whore of Babylons golden Cup and sweet Wine And the Woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour and decked with Gold and precious stones and pearls having a golden Cup in her hand sull of abominations and filthinesse of her fornication Rev. 17.4 And the Serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the Woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood Rev. 12.15 Let me beseech you to have a care of this and keep your selves from this Be like the Virgin Spouse of Christ which followeth him wheresoever he goeth My Dear Friends keep your selves from four things First From false Teachers The Devil hath his Ministers as well as Christ Beware of false Prophets which come to you in Sheeps cloathing but inwardly they are ravening Wolves Math. 7.15 Yea they are greedy Doggs which can never have enough and they are Shepherds that cannot understand they all look to their own way every own for his gain from his quarter Isa 56.11 Oh false Teachers do not feed the Flock but fleece the Flock they do not convert but pervert they do not season but poison they do not edifie to salvation but edifie to damnation instead of curing souls they kill souls so they have but the peoples goods they care not though the Devil have their soules they are neither rightly called nor rightly qualified nor rightly ordained Their course is evil and therefore is not right Jer. 13.10 They are like Doggs and Wolves combining together to macerate the Flock of Christ Oh therefore keep your selves from Babylons Merchants that make Merchandize of the souls of men Rev. 18.13 Oh the sins of the Teachers are the Teachers of sins Secondly From false Doctrine But there were false Prophets also among the people even as there shall be false Teachers among you who privily shall bring in damrable heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction 2 Pet. 2.1 Be not carried away with divers and strange Doctrines for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace not with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein Hebrews 13.9 I beseech you also in the Lord my Dear Brethren that you doe not carnally comply with nor superstitiously conform to the Inventions of men But stand fast in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free Gal. 5.1 Thirdly From false Worship If any man Worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand the same shall drink of the Wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his indignation and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels and in the presence of the Lamb Rev. 14.9 10. Ye Worship ye know not what God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Iruth Joh. 4.23 24. As there be some in the World that worship false Gods so there be others that Worship the true God with false Worship They that worship the Beast worship the Devil Rev. 13. Oh meddle not with false worship with vain worship and will-worship worship God as he teacheth us to worship him Our work is to depend on Christs work our outward working depends on Gods inward working Fourthly From false Opinions from Errour and Sedition Let your hearts be upright your judgements sound and your lives holy Love the
with him A Believers dying day is his Crowning day And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me write blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them Rev. 14.13 Oh I beseech you my dear Brethren every day spend some time in preparation for and meditation of Death Judgement Hell Heaven and Eternity Eternity is a sum that can never be numbred a line that can never be measured Eternity is a condition of everlasting sorrow or everlasting joy Oh think of this and prepare for this every day before the night of death comes And thus my beloved I have given you these Twenty precious directions for your souls I shall leave this Book with you as a Legacy of my dearest Love my desire in all this is your happiness here and your blessedness hereafter My earnest and humble desire of you is That you would mind this Book and my former Treatise not only read them but reform your lives by them O do your Duty love your Duty and live your Duty that you may be made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Which is and shall be the earnest and constant Prayer of one that esteems it a most glorious priviledge to be of the number of those who follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth William Dyer REVEL 14.6 These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth THE Title of this Book tells us it is The Revelation of John and John tells us Chap. 1.1 it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ Christs Revelation to John and John's Revelation to us The Comma of this Book is set forth Chap. 1.19 VVrite the things that are and the things that shall be hereafter And into these two parts this book is divided First a Relation of the things that are referring to the seven Churches of Asia Secondly A Revelation of the general state of the Church to come and that from John's time unto the second coming of the Lord. The words of this Book are the true sayings of the true God they are therefore true and faithful Chap. 22.6 The matter of this Book so much concerns the good of the Church that Jesus Christ commandeth every one that hath an ear to heare to hearken what the Spirit of God saith unto the Church and to shew how earnest Christ Jesus is to have all his Members and Servants acquainted with the things revealed in this Book this charge he repeated eight times over as this Book shewes Chap. 2.7 11 17 29. And Chap. 3.6 13 22. And Chap. 13.9 A blessing is pronounced upon the Reader Hearer and Doer of the things written in this Book Chap. 1.3 O what can be said more or more effectually to stir us up to hear and read than blessedness And blessed is he that keepeth the words of the Prophesie of this Book Chap. 22.7 But how shall we keep them except we know them and how shall we know them except we read them The excellency of this Book is such as neither Man nor Angel none in Heaven or Earth or under the Earth was found worthy so much as to look into it till Jesus Christ went took out of his Fathers hand to open it unto us Chap. 5.3 The blessed St. John could not but weep for fear least this book should have been kept close from him and the Church so earnest was he to know those things which we neglect to know Chap. 5.4 This book is a most precious Jewel which Christ hath bestowed upon his Church in the latter dayes and it is our great duty to look into it and read it study it open it and expound it that all the people may thorowly be acquainted with it especially in these times for now in this Age is and shall be the very heat of the war and brunt of the battle betwixt God and Beliall betwixt Christ and Antichrist betwixt the Lambs followers and the Beasts followers Now this book lyeth all open and plainly telleth us what shall be the issue and successe in the day of battel which side shall have the victory and which side shall go down Chap. 17.19 And certainly the sons of Belial shall not long prevail the date of their Reigne is almost out and the time draweth on apace wherein both they and their Beast shall be laid in the dust This book sheweth us the rising of the Beast the declining of the Beast and the ruine of the Beast Chap. 18 Our Lord Jesus hath shewed us in this book the sorrowes and sufferings and afflictions and tribulations which the Church was to meet withal in the latter times Chap. 11.7 and Chap. 12.14 15. and Chap. 13.7 And her deadly and cruel Enemies the Whore of Babylon the Mother of Harlots the Beast the false Prophet and the great red Dragon which maketh War against her and casteth out floods after her Chap. 12 17 This book sheweth us likewise the true State of the true Church upon Earth what she is where she is how she is and what she shall be hereafter and that before the slaying under the slaying and after the slaying 1. Before the slaying time the true Church is in the Wilderness where she hath a place prepared her of God that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore dayes Chap. 12.2 Before the slaying of the Witnesses the true Worshippers of God are in a low condition in heavinesse and sadnesse in sack-cloth and ashes in a mourning and suffering State being scattered and dispersed here and there as Israell was of old But though this be the condition of the poor Woman in the Wilderness yet she is not without comfort she may take comfort in three things 1. That God prepared a place for her 2. That God nourished her locked her up in his chamber of Providence 3. That God numbered her dayes of suffering The Tribulation of the Saints of the Old Testament is reckoned up still by years as the bondage of Egypt four hundred and thirty years and the Captivity of Babylon seventy years But under the New Testament by Dayes Ye shall have tribulation ten dayes Chap. 2.10 And the two witnesses shall lye dead three dayes and a half Chap Chap. 11.9 So the Woman was to be in the wilderness a thousand two hundred and threescore days The Church is compared to a woman for four Reasons First As as woman is weak and feeble so is the Church and can doe nothing without Christ John 15.5 Secondly As a woman is useful and fruitful so is the Church John 15.2 Thirdly As a woman is faire and beautiful so is the Church Ezek. 16.13 Fourthly As a woman is full of love affection so is the Church Cant. 2.5 2 Under the slaying time the true worshippers of God and witnesses of Jesus Christ lie dead in the Street of the great City which is spiritually called