Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	body_n	kill_v	soul_n	5,768	5	5.6613	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66683	The breaking of the day of God wherein, four things are manifested : I. That the two witnesses are not in ki[ll]ing, but in rising from death, II. The three dayes and half, or 42. months of the saints captivity under the beast, very near expired, III. Christ hath begun to reign in his saints, and to tread their corrupt flesh under his feet, IIII. Christs dominion over the nations of the world, near the approach / by Gerrard VVinstanley.	Winstanley, Gerrard, b. 1609.	1649 (1649)	Wing W3042; ESTC R40126	79,141	154

not suffered to act in their full strength or appear out of that cursed fountain of darknesses till God pleased to let them loose therefore they were evill because bound up or imprisoned in such an evill stinking River Secondly These four Angels were evil in respect of their nature for I believe they are four spiritual powers of wickednes As first wicked craft and subtilty in the strength of it 2. Hypocrisie in the strength of it 3. Envy in the strength of it And 4. A murdering cruelty in the strength of it Now these four Angels or powers of darknes were bound up within the very body of the Serpent and not suffered to act in that violent universal strength as they do till this sixth Angel sounded And now being let loose they stir up every one in the four quarters of the earth and vex and torment you day and night for men in whom these powers rule they have no rest And men are stirred up in Armies to kill and slay But whom do they slay Not the witnesses though they think so in their heart as it is spoke of Gog and Magog but those men only who have not the Seal of God in their forehead or as it is said before the Inhabitants of the Earth And truly the strong subtil craft unparalleld hypocrisie extream envy and inbred cruelty that is expressed in the four quarters of the land of the world too against the Saints that are branded Sectaries Schismaticks Anabaptists Round-heads doth appear plain to me to be those three powerfull Angels of darknes which are let loose in the spirits of men even in that spirit of darknes that hath overspread the Earth man-kind like the over-flowing River Euphrates therefore they are evil Angels Thirdly consider how doe these Angels slay the third part of men Why truly I believe it is not their killing of their bodies only though it may be in these great troubles many are and doubtles shall be killed in that sense but it points out a worser death then that of the body for they kill the very minds and consciences of men And it is thus These four Angels shall be so powerfull in mens spirits and spread so universally over the earth of man-kind That many that are convinced of a false worship and unjust wayes that are practised generally shall out of slavish fear of men and out of shame to own God his wayes at this time are so contemptible and so generally reproached slandered and hated tha● a third part of men shall turn Hypocrites and practice wayes contrary to their knowledg and will say do subscribe and fight laugh scosse reproach and kill the Saints yea do any thing so they may have the flattering word of their carnall Neighbours and not be called Round-heads Anabaptists or Independants these names whereby the Saints are branded are so odious And truly these men are slain for the fearfull and unbelieving shall have their part in the lake which is the second death And every Parish through this Kingdom and the World too at this very day are full of these dead men and women But these four Angels are spiritual powers of darknes which do not appear in apparitions and visions but being let loose in mens spirits they rule and work there And the multitudes of men whom they violently stir up are called Armies of horse-men as you may read which declares their strength and their swiftnes to do hurt pointed out by the strength and swiftnes of horses Now these Armies of horse-men or multitudes of men put upon violent and unreasonable actions by these four evil Angels are the appearing cause that doth hurt and kill weak spirited men and women by over-awing them And out of the mouthes of those Armies thus set on fire there proceeded fire smoak and brimstone by which the third part of men were killed By smoak is betokened false Doctrines threatnings reproaches scoffes oppressions and bitter provocations Brimstone betokens persecution whips plunderings prisons And fire betokens fire and faggot hanging murdering or putting them to death in any kind that do not submit to the wayes of these four Angels And this is further cleared by the 19. vers. The power of this Army whereby they do hurt is in their mouths and in their tails That is they call their own inventions and lies the Doctrines of God and against them that do not submit thereunto First they give out bitter reviling language and threatning speeches to plunder imprison and kill And thereby over-aw men and make them afraid and ashamed to own God and so kill them And if this doth not do then their power is in their tails when by the Authority of the Civil Magistrate whom these four Angels have deceived they over-awe men by punishments whips prisons plunderings and death for this followes the other as the tail follows the head And therefore mind That when threatnings reproaches and bitter language goes before prisons and death followes if they can but deceive the Magistracy which is Gods Ordinance and get an Authority by craft from him so to do And thus the four Angels by their Armies deceive and kill weak men and make them out of slavish fear and bashfull shame to disown God and to say or do any thing to preserve themselves from danger And the rest of the men that were not killed by these plagues repented not That is though these Armies of men in whom these four Angels rule with violence were not themselves over-awed by this slavish fear and bashful shame because they are audacious bold and desperately confident in wicked wayes And though they do see poor weak men over-awed by them and made to do any thing not out of sincerity of heart to God but out of hypocrisie and fear to their usurped power of wickednesse They have neither piety in them to see men so enslaved but rather glorie in it neither do they repent of their own works and false Idolatrous worship which is self-invention neither indeed can they for the four evil Angels being let loose rule in them So that these that repent not of the works of their hands are the master-upholders of the Beast against God such as repent not of their pretended plat-forms and customes of pretended divine worship which have no warrant from God Such as repent not of their covetousnes after silver and gold by rich Tythes nor of their murther in reviling imprisoning and killing the Saints nor of their fornication in loving themselves riches creatures honours more then God But though they do not repent yet they shall not reign alwayes like Lords over Gods Inheritance For God hath and doth proclaim by the voice of the sixth good Angel that time to the Beast shall be no more his dayes are near done And secondly after that the spirit of life from God hath raised up the two Witnesses there were seven thousand slain

who is Truth it selfe came to them they called him a Deceiver and a man of Errors and sought to kill him through that conceit of theirs But Christ told them that of all men though they were the chiefe in humane learning in those dayes they were the deepest in sin and errors and the furthest from truth because you say Wee see saith Christ to them therefore your sin remains Now this good conceit of a mans self is not the wildernesse-condition it is not a safe hiding-place from the Serpent but it is before his face or in his hand Or again when Men suck content from creatures as from mens Learning gifts customs prayers or formes of worship and think they shall never have comfort umlesse they enjoy these outward helps this is to preferre the broken Cisternes before the fountains And this is not the Wildernesse-condition neither for still the poor man is before the face of the Serpent and in his hand for he seekes contentment from creatures and not from God onely by resting upon outward helps But now secondly when a soule is driven or called into the wildernesse where she is fed by Gods speciall and loving care from the face of the Serpent we are to mind two things First it is such a condition wherein a man is dead to all his owne wisdome memory strength learning actings and lookes upon all as priviledges of no gain but of weaknesse and of drosse without the Anointing he cannot meditate nor understand till God come into him he cannot speak till God give utterance he feeles his heart barren of understanding of love of peace he feeles and sees nothing in him but onely a thirsting soul after God whom his secret thoughts tell him is able to satisfie him if he please but to manifest himselfe And secondly as the soul sees a barrennesse and death within it self so likewise is she dead to every thing without she finds no comfort or strength from any man or creature preaching praying and all outward forms are barren actions to this poor soul because she sees the Spirit absent And therefore she cries Saw yee not my beloved him whose enjoyment I ●on● after I can take no delight in your company and societies and in your actings unlesse my God whom my soul loves did manifest himself to me there The experiences and writings of Prophets Apostles and Saints are dry shels to me and cannot comfort unlesse God whom my soule breathes after give to me likewise some experience of his love as he gave to them and then I shall have joy yea and my joy then will be fulfilled and not till then And here also the soule sees and feels a barrennesse as if she were in the midst of an unfruitfull and dry wildernesse where she sees nothing within but a hunger-starving soule nor any thing without round about but barren trees as our Saviour sought for Figs from the tree but found none Now this poor man sees nothing in others and nothing in himself to nourish him but onely a secret hope of relief from God Waiting upon him with tears in his eyes till God come longing to see him mourning in his absence for the soule hath no sensible manifestation as yet And this I conceive is the wildernesse into which the woman fled in which the Lamb feeds her and this is a sure hiding-place from the face of the Serpent and a very safe condition in two respects First because God is now ingaged to take care of this soule for by Woman in that place I conceive is pointed out the Church in generall and every particular beleever and what is made good to one soule is true in all Sion she is now dead to all other protectore but alive to God she waits she sighes she breathes after him O. when shall I see my God when shall I be satisfied with the Mannoe Which is from heaven even the sweet enjoyment Of the Anointed Secondly it is a safe condition because the soule is now in a way of nourishment before God from the face of the Serpent God never manifests himselse to a soule till he hath first emptied her of her-selfe and drawn her off from sucking milk from the teats of the creatures For saith God whom shall I give understanding to and to whom shall I teach doctrine but to them that are drawne from the milk and are weaned from the teats of a mans own self-conceit and sucking contentment from mens learning and inventions And so saith the Apostle You are dead to all things below God but your life is hid with GOD in Christ This is a very safe condition for a poor soul though she thinkes not so for she is now in Gods way that leads to true rest And when God is pleased not onely to allure her and bring her into this wildernesse but begins likewise to speake kindly to her and to manifest his love in lively and sweet discoveries then the writings and experiences of Prophets Apostles and Saints do fulfill his joy and he now sees there is no lie of the truth that is of the Anointing But this woman say some cannot point out a partioular Beloever but some thing more generall because it is said That the Earth helped the woman as you may read Rev. 12. 15 16. I conceive there is no scruple in this objection I will answer it briefly First if the Magistrates or common people be this Earth as some think then it followes that if they help the Church in generall they help every particular believer also But I conceive that interpretation is too far below the spiritualnesse of this mystery though there may be a truth in it notwithstanding For God makes use of Magistrates and common people to help his Church and Saints against the Serpents flood of mallcious temptaitons But by Earth I rather conceive is to be understood the humane body of Christ which is made of the same earth that our Bodies are and this helps the Church for by the blood of this Lamb they overcome the Serpent and by this Lamb they are fed as you may read more fully Rev 7. 9. 17. Now in the second place we are to look into the mysticall meaning of this number 1260 dayes And I conceive they point out the length of time that the Church of Christ is to lie under the captivitie of the little Horn or Antichristian power which are called Gentiles for they are not in covenant with God The time of the battell as I shewed was 126● dayes according to single dayes in a Weeke And the holy City shall be trod under the feet of the Gentiles almost so many yeares according to the yeares in a mans life This conceive is one mystery of God I say almost doe not say altogether so many yeares as the beattell was dayes For Christ will not have them to hold an even proportion of years to those

together be manifest in them call you this likewise what you will I am confident it speaks like the Dragon and is of the Image of the Beast and part of the half day But I will speak one work of comfort to the Saints your captivity under the Antichristian power is come to the half day or half time and the Lamb will nourish and feed you before the Throne or under the eye and protecting care of God in this half time as he hath fed the Church with love and watchfull care in the 3 dayes that are past And the power of this blaspheming horne that will not acknowledge Christs testimony nor suffer others to acknowledg him this day of his is and shall be shortned for the elects sake And I believe ere long we shall heare the Angel say it is done her 3 dayes and half or her time times and half time is now accomplished And the stone which is cut 〈…〉 Mountains without hands even 〈…〉 Christ our righteousnes shall destr●●● 〈…〉 workings and Kingdom of darkne● 〈…〉 in the Saints and likewise 〈…〉 power that Satan exercised over 〈…〉 he trod them under foot the 42. 〈…〉 now Christ will reigne himself for 〈…〉 ever for of his Kingdom there shal1 〈…〉 And then the world shall see by experience that word of Solomon to be made good That when the wicked that is the flesh rules the City mournes but when the righteous that is Jesus Christ rules the City Zion rejoyces and there is great shouting for joy among the Saints when they can speak by experience and say O rejoyce rejoyce for the Lord God Omnipotent reignes And now doth the Sonne of righteousnes rise higher in the bright manifestations of himself upon the soules of his Saints And the day of Christ begins to shine more clear even that one day as Zachariah calls it which did appear in the hearts of Saints formerly for Abraham saw it and David saw it and rejoyced to see it And truly this day of Christ this sweet discovery of the Fathers love to poor sinners began to dawne upon the seventh day in course after the Creation of all things for Adam sinned upon the sixth day towards the close of the day or cool of the evening And then the seventh day in course should have been a day of punishment or destruction to Adam for his disobedience I but the Son of our righteousness rises presently and love appeared in this promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the Serpents head and so stopped the breakings forth of wrath and made it a day of joy and gladness unto lost sinners And therefore when the Jews told Christ he was a finner because he had broke the Sabbath-day when he had but cured the lame Man upon that day Why saith Christ my Father worketh hitherto and I work that is All the six dayes was my Fathers time of working and making all things but the seventh day is my day and now I work to bruise the Serpents head and to save that which was lost And therefore I say this one day of Christ did dawn upon the seaventh day from the creation and the Sonne of righteousnes hath rose higher and higher in the discoveries of himself or his Church though the thick and cold clouds of flesh and self-love both in our selves and in the world hath darkened the beames of it from us I but now the Winter is near past the Summer is come the flowers appear in the earth that is the glorious workings of the Anointing in the spirit of Saints The time of the singing of birds is come that is all the Saints begin to sing Halelujah for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth within and begins to reign in the world and the voice of the turtle is heard in our Land that is the voice of the Lord Christ our rightousnes is heard and seen to rule in our flesh And now the Beast or wisdom and power of our corrupt flesh or Serpent within us is wounded to death and she shall reign no more And so by the multitude of divine discoveries self-love and confusion shall be destroyed in the flesh of Saints and their very flesh shall be made that land of righteousnes even the branch or the Lords own planting the Inhe●●tance of their Father in whom the King of Righteousnes and the King of Peace shall dwell and rule for ever And by the multitude of these Saints whom Christ will raise up like drops in a shoure of raine for number All the oppression injustiee false shewes and formes of Gods Worship shall all be destroyed in the World and judgement shall run down our streets like a stream and righteousnes like a River And though there be a people still on earth in whom the wisdom and power of the flesh dwells as yet there must be yet the power of it shall be kept under and suppressed by the power of Christ the Anoining in the Saints for a certain terme of years appointed by the Father And then he will let Satan loose again who shall stir up those children of disobedience in whom he dwells to joyn together in one mind and spirit of malice and of fleshly wisdom and force which is Gog and Magog 〈◊〉 destroy the holy City the Saints the body of Christ and house of God But then shall the wrath of the Lamb be made manifest to their destruction and then comes the End That the Son shall deliver up the KINGDOM unto the Father CHAP. V. The Witnesses were to be slain when they had finished their Testimony NOw in the next particular we are to mind the time when the Witnesses are to be slain and that is when they have finished their Testimony as John speaks When they shall have finished their testimony the Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomles pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them These two Witnesses I conceive may be said to have finished their testimony when by manifest experience they have made it appear that the seed of the Woman hath broken the Serpents head and so have proved the Word of the Father to be true And this they have done for first Jesus Christ in his own person he broke the Serpents head when he trod under his feet all the sub●●wit and power of the Serpent and prevailed over all his temptations so that Satan could find nothing in him and so by death overcame him that had the power of death which was the Devil Secondly Jesus Christ breaks the Serpents head in the Saints when he makes them able to speak out of experience I was proud saith the soul now God hath made me humble I was envious now God hath made me love even my enemies I loved and acted injustice now God hath made me to hate injustice and to love truth in my heart and to

act righteousnes chearfully The flesh and the lusts of it ruled strongly in me now holines rules in me so that I can look back and see my strong sins and lusts lie like dead enemies before me and my heart rejoyceth in the Anointing who hath given me the victory And now I see That the love the self-denial the inward rejoycing of my heart to advance God above all things is Christ the Anointing in me the hope of my future established enjoyment of God And this is my life and this my life is hid with God in the Anointed in this glory of Christ thus revealed in me and to my sight feeling that the Serpents head is broken in me in part and shall be quite broken at the resurrection at the day that my body is raised out of the dust In this I rejoyce with joy unspeakable Formerly my life and joy was bound up in creatures in riches in friends in self-satisfaction in my pride covetousnes and contents of the flesh Ah but now my life is the enjoyment of my God His wisdom I glory in His will His love His spirit of truth I glory in Not only to heare of these without by the voice of others but to feel the working dwelling and ruling in me To hear that Christ was raised from death and from the grave is joy But to see and feel Christ the Anointing raised upon me and to feel him who is the spring of life to be opened in me and to send forth sweet manifestations of God to my soul this is much more joyous and full of abundance of inward refreshments But the foul sees and feeles more of this glory within it self then it can relate in words And when once the Saints can speak this in experience then the Serpents head is broke in them the seed of the Woman and they seal to the truth of the Fathers word and now their testimony is finished And this was Pauls case while the Serpents power and head ruled in him he was a blasphemer and a persecuter as himself confessed but when the power of God appeared to break the Serpents head in him then saith he but I have obtained mercy and by the grace of God am made to preach and to acknowledge and practice that faith of God which once I endeavored to destroy But when the Witnesses had thus finished their testimony and proved the word of the Father true in their own experience then the Beast that ascended out of the bottomles pit made War against them and kil'd them Now here mind first what is the bottomles pit I conceive it is the corrupt heart and flesh of man for there is no end of the pride envy ignorant self-conceited subtilty and hurtfull nature of it against Christ the Prince of Princes and being far below God For let a man live ten thousand Million of years and the sinfulnes of his flesh will not lessen but grow worse and worse and rise higher and higher in wickednes against righteousnes and peace if Christ do but let him alone so that the depth of this pit being so far below God may be well said to be bottomles But this is spoke after the manner of men for no man can search the bottom of his heart but God knowes the full depth of it it is not a bottomles pit to him though it be a bottomles pit to men Then secondly mind That the Beast that rises up out of this bottomles pit is the wisdom and power of it branching it self forth into divers forms of Church-Government being contrary to Christ in every thing and so makes war against Gods witnesses in all their actings either inwardly or outwardly And this Beast or blind subtil hypocriticalnes of the flesh will not suffer Christ the Anointing to rule in the flesh but she will rule therein and over Christ too this is the Beast which hath his seat in every Son and Daughter of Adam Now John speaks of a smoak that rises up out of the bottomles pit and this smoak I conceive is either the inward inventions accusations and workings of the flesh within like a cloud hiding the Son of righteousnes from the soul as long as he can Or else it is the outward actings of the wisdom of the flesh in hypocrisie and provocations from men which is like an overflowing wave of powerfull wickednes which drownes the souls of men under ignorance and darknes that they know not what to do or else pufs up their minds with a vain confidence that they worship God according to his word when as it is manifest they have not so much as the letter of the word to warrant their practices and so this smoak becomes a strong delusion to them in whom the Beast reignes with power Then thirdly mind there is a King of this bottomles pit and that is Satan the spirit of darknes that rules in the children of disobedience or the Prince of the Ayre The Ayre I conceive is the element wherein the Beast or whorish spirit lives and that is either the time which God hath given her to reigne in or else the humane compulsive and coersive power exercised by Satan against Christ his Saints compelling the Saints to forsake the spirituall way of Christ and to honour the God of forces and of Silver and Gold which they know not as Daniel speaks for take away this power or let but the Angel powre out his Viall upon this Ayre and the Beast dies her time is done or accomplished So that here is the bottomles pit the corrupt flesh Then the Beast that ascendeth out of this bottomles pit and that is The wisdom of the flesh which is enmity against God And then here is the King of this bottomles pit Even Satan or the universall power of darknes that leads poor sinners captive at his will And yet these three are but one power of darknes in three discoveries fighting and making War against Christ and his testimony But the Anointed will destroy this power of darknes and translate his mysticall body into his own Kingdome of light and liberty And when they had finished their testimony the Beast shall make War against them and shall overcome them and kill them Before I proceed it is needfull to clear one Scripture of Daniel that may raise a scruple In that which I have already writ it appeares that God said the Witnesses should prophesie in sack-cloth 1260. dayes But when one Saint spake to another Saint and asked how long shall be the vision of the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation to give both the Sanctuary and the Host to be troden under foot The Angel answered unto 2300. dayes Then shall the Sanctuary be clensed Now this time of Daniels vision was 14. Generations except the 70. years captivity before Christ came therefore I conceive