it whilest they remain in this earthly Tabernacle and then if the Lord raise up any to witness that he hath redeemed them from under the Power of Sin and so by his Power in them which is a Cross to the carnal will of man freed them from the Power of sin and Death then cry out those that live in all manner of sin and polutions these are Deluders take heed of being deceived when alas there is nothing reigning in them that they can be deceived of but sin and wickedness and so they cannot bear the hearing that they should be free from sin until the Lord cut off them and their sins together but they never consider that as the Tree falleth so it lieth and as Death leaves them so assuredly shall Judgment find them for in the Grave there is no Repentance neither can any unclean thing enter into God's Kingdom which consists of Purity Holiness and Righteousness Now the scriptures they declare that God is Light and if we walk in the Light and aâ—ide in the Light as he is in the Light then we have Fellowship one with another and the Blood of Chrâ—st cleanseth us from all Sin Now if thou comest into this LIGHT this will let thee see that there is something in thee that doth check reprove and cross thy own natural will and this is the Power of God in thee and would be unto Salvation if thou wouldst but obey it for it will crucifie thy old Nature and stand a Cross over thy own will and so keep it down that it might not rule in thee and so thy Soul will come to stand in the Power which is above the Power of sin and so come to be saved out of sin and out of Death which is the sting thereof And so as thou comest into the Light and therein standest with an Upright Heart the Light will make sin and the Power thereof manifest unto thee in all its Motions and will crucifie all that is of the first Nature and all that which ariseth from thy self and will judge out that Power daily which hath moved in thee and hath carried thee forth at all times to act contrary to the Mind and Will of God and hath caused thee to oppress the Seed which God hath placed in thee and so SION with the pure Seed of God in thee cometh to be redeemed through Judgment and her Converts come to bring forth a righteous Life and Conversation Now thou that readest understand The Life is more then Meat and the Body is more then Rayment and the pure Life is more then Knowledge for old Adam or the first Nature may eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and so by thâ—t may come to talk much of the Truth and what the Saints enjoyed in former Ages but cannot come into the Life thereof for he is driven out from the tree of Life into the earthly Imaginations without him and the ANGEL of the Lord with his flaming Sword even the Righteous Law is placed to keep the Way of the Tree of Life lest he put forth his Hand and take of the Fruit there of and eat and so live forever Now the first Nature is not to live forever but for an appointed time for that is the first Adam and his Life which standeth in sin and he hath transgressed the Righteous Law of God and so hath sinned and that Soul that sinneth must dye the Death and so death cometh to reign over all Mankind from Adam till Moses from the first Nature till the Seed of God in the creature moveth under the burden of Iniquity whereby it hath been pressed down as a Cart is pressed with sheaves and comes to stir up the Creature and draws him into some Consideration and brings him to understand his Condition that he is even a Captive under sin in the Land of Darkness even in spiritual Egypt and under many Lusts which are as so many hard Task-masters to him and that he is but a stranger and a sojourner there and that the Lord hath promised him a land of rest and freedom but he knows not how to find it out until the Lord God shall raise up the great Prophet like unto Moses to lead him out of this Land of Darkness through the red Sea by his LIGHT or PILLAR of Fire which Light is Darkness unto the Egyptians even in their Day which Pillar of Fire is to guide the Creature through the long desert Wilderness into the land of rest and Moses is till the Prophets and the Prophets they declare that there shall a REDEEMER come out of Zion or the Seed of God within who shall reign in Peace and Righteousness over his own House which shall be raised up for he will make them a willing People and he will turn unto them the pure Language and they shall all call upon the Name of the Lord with one Consent and he will bring back again their Captivity and settle them in perfect Peace so that they may every man sit under his own Vine and under his own Fig-Tree and none shall make them afraid And the Prophets they are till John who is as the Voice of one crying in the Wilderness now the VOICE said Cry the Prophet answered what shall I cry That all Flesh is Grass and the Clory of man as the Flowers of the Field therefore prepare the Way of the Lord and make streight the crooked Paths and let the high lofty Mountains of Man's proud Will be laid low and let every Valley and low despised Place be raised that so the ransomed of the Lord may pass and John he baptizeth to Repentance and bringeth the Creature into a Sorrow and a Trouble because it cannot bring forth Fruit worthy of Repentance and he declares that he is not the Messias that is to come after him which is to be preferred before him whose Shoe-latchet he was not worthy to unloose but that he is sent to bear his Testimony of him and John he is till Christ and when he comes which is the true Messias and the true Redeemer of the promised Seed of Israel after the Spirit who is the second Adam and the true Prophet like unto Moses whom the Lord hath promised since the Dayes of old even this is he that shall come out of Sion and shall bring Deliverance unto that Seed in all the Sons and Daughters of Men that hath long groaned and that which Sion hath long travailed with and been in Pain to be delivered from under the Burden of Oppression and he will crucifie the old Nature even the first Adam who hath been the Oppressor and nail him to the Cross and so by the Cross to him â—nd to his corrupt Will will mortifie or kill his Deeds even by the Power of the Spirit which Power standeth in that which crosses the old Nature now the first Adam's Life that standeth in Sin and in Transgression and in Deceit and Guile which are all
therefore am I out of the Tenderness of my Soul and in bowels of Compassion towards thee moved to warn thee and to advise thee in dear and tender Love to the oppressed Seed in thee which groans to be set at Liberty Now the Desire of my Heart is that thou shouldst awake out of death and come unto CHRIST the LIGHT that he may give thee Life and to cast off every weight and burden and the Sins that so eaâ—â—ly beset thee and that thou shouldst put off the Armour of darkness and put on the Armour of light for assuredly there is nothing that makes a Separation between thee and thy God but Sin but now herein stands the wonderful Love of God towards the fallen Sons and Daughters of Men who were dead in Sins and Trespasses and altogether in Darkness without any Means or Hope of Recovery in themselves now the Lord beholding poor distressed man in this State whereinto the Prince of Darkness hath captivated him out of the Tenderness of his Compassion unto the poor distressed Sons and Daughters of men he gave his only begotten Son into the World for a Light and to every man and woman which is born upon the Face of the whole Earth hath the Lord in mercy given a measure of this true Light which hath enlightned every one which cometh into the World in which Light standeth the Power of God and in this Light man comes to see his Sins and to see the Deceit of his own Heart which otherwise he could not have seen and though thou art unacquainted with it yet that is it that lets thee see the actings of the Prince of Darkness in thee for if he plotteth in thee any mischievous Intents whereby to destroy any man's Person or Estate and so endeavours to make thee an Instrument whereby he may do it secretly in the dark and although no Eye of man can see thee nor see his secret acting in thee yet this Light will follow thee and discover his subtil Delusions unto thee and make him many times appear odious unto thee and calls thee and invites thee from following of him and many times brings Fearfulness and Dread upon thee for thy wicked Actions now this is that that would redeem thee out of Sin which saves all them that believe in and follow the Son of God the true Light of the World out of Sin and Death which is the Wages thereof Now it is but vain for thee or any other to call Christ thy Redeemer and thy Saviour and to say that thou hopest to be saved by Christ after thy Death because he was crucified at Jerusalem sixteen Hundred years ago and yet thou livest in Sin and Wickedness in Pride and Vain-Glory of this world which passeth away as a Vapour of the Night afore the Morning Sun but for all this let me tell thee plainly without Deceit nevertheless for all thy high Conceits of thy self and for all thy vain Hopes and thy feigned Faith thy Hope is the Hope of the Hypocrite which will perish in the time of Trial and thy feigned Faith cannot give thee victory over the world therefore if ever thou comest to witness Redemption to thy Soul thou must witness Christ's Death to kill Sin in thy mortal Body and thou must witness his Resurrection in thee And as for his Sufferings at Jerusalem I own according to the Declaration of the Scriptures but thou must witness him nearer to thee then at Jerusalem if ever thou witness him to be thy Redeemer and the Salvation of thy Soul Now let me reason with thee a little in Coolness and Moderation if Christ be thy Redeemer what is it that he hath redeemed thee out of seeing thou yet livest in Sin and in the Polutions of the World And if he be thy Saviour what hath he saved thee from seeing thou art yet in Bondage to Sin and Iniquity Therefore the sting of death is not yet taken away while Sin remains so thou canst not call him thy Redeemer in Truth and Righteousness unless thou couldst witness him to have redeemed thee out of sin and transgression and thou dost but deceive thy self to call him thy Saviour unless that thou couldst witness that he did save thee out of temptations when they arise in thee from thy own Lusts and so from Sin which they bring forth and from Death which is the Wages thereof Now as the first Nature hath reigned which is of the Earth earthly in all mankind which is the first Adam over whom Sin came to have the Dominion whereby Death came to reign over all Mankind in that nature so now as the Children of men come to be begotten into Christ the Second Adam and so born of the new Birth of Righteousness they come to know what the Immortal Seed is whereunto the Promises are Yea and Amen and come to witness Christ to be the Redeemer and Saviour in Deed and in Truth and that his Cross in them is the Power of God unto Salvation and they see as they abide faithful in that which crosses their own fleshly wills therein they come to see the power of God and as they stand stedfastly faithful in it they come to see the Power of Light in them which is far stronger then the Powers of Darkness for they come to see Victory in it over the Devil all his subtil Delusions and over the Flesh and all its Lusts and over the World and all the Vanities thereof and as they abide in this Power which is CHRIST the Light of the World and the Power of God unto Salvation and as they follow him faithfully through all Sufferings and all the Hatred and Malice which arises against them in the Children of Darkness they will come to see him to trample down all his Enemies in them and make them his Footstool but as any man or woman goes out of the Cross wherein standeth God's Power and let their own wills rule in them then they go into the Power of the Prince of the Air which ruleth in the Children of Disobedience whose Dominion wholely standeth in man's corrupt and carnal will and then he leads them captive at his own Pleasure and so as they stand in his Dominion Sin comes to have Power over such in all his Motions and then comes in Complainings and Murmurings against the Lord who made them and so they come to cry out for want of Power and because they cannot have power and victory over Sin in their own wills and in their own time which is the very Ground wherein the Power of Sin standeth then when they see they cannot have Power over Sin there which is impossible for any to attain to unless they come out of the Power of their own will into that Power which crosseth it then they come to plead for Sin in themselves then they not having Power over it there they inform all others that they can never have Power over Sin nor be set free from
whom he hath ordained to sound forth his Mighty Day in the Ears of all Flesh that so all may awake out of the Dust and come to Judgment for now is he risen and arising in all Hearts who sits upon the Throne from before whose Face both the Heavens and the Earth shall flee away and their place shall be no more found And this is he that has long been waited for by many a tender Heart and longing Soul but now is he come and coming and behold his Reward is with him therefore blessed are they that patiently wait for the Day of his Appearance who will wipe away tears from all Faces and Sorrow and Sighing shall be no more then shall all Tyranny and Oppression be destroyed and then shall Peace be establisht in the Earth and Love and Unity among Men even thus shall it be when Sion's King shall come to Reign in Glory for then the Beast and the False Prophet which have long ruled the Nations and deceived those that have dwelt in the Earth and compelled people to worship and bow down to their Abominations and to receive the Mark of the Beast in their Right Hands or in thâ—ir Foreheads even the Mark of Sin and Transgression that Monstrous Beast whose Mark hath long been upon the Nations without which Mark no man hath bought or sold for these many Generations and they that would not receive that Mark came to be slain But now Praises be unto the Lord he hath brought forth many who cannot worship Man's Proud Will that Monstrous Beast neither can they receive his Mark any longer for their Father's Name is written in their Foreheads and they are come forth of great Tribulation and their Garments are washed white in the Blood of the Lamb and these follow the Lamb of God who is now come to take away the Sins of the World whither soever he goeth even Christ Jesus who is the Light of the World who hath enlightned every one that is come into the World with a measure of his true Light Therefore dear Friends you that are obedient to the Light and own it to be your Rule and Guide you are they whom the Lord hath chosen to place his Name in for whose sakes the Lord is now risen to plead with Egypt's King and all his Host and though they now harden their Hearts as an Adamant and bend their Brows as Brass stiffen their Necks as an Iron Sinnew yet will the Lord God bring them low even unto the Dust in this his great Day wherein his Jealousie is broken forth against all Flesh because they have corrupted their Wayes and have not turned at his Reproof but have cast his Judgments behind their Backs and turned his Grace that hath appeared unto thâ—m into Wantonness and trampled the Blood of the Covenant under their Feet but as it was in the dayes of old so will it be now in this latter Generation when Iniquity was at the height and Oppression did most abound in Egypt upon the Hebrews who was the Fleshly Seed of Abraham then did the Lord arise to plead their Cause who brought Judgments and Plagues upon the Land of Egypt and destroyed Pharaoh Egypt's King with all the First-born and all his Mighty Host so likewise Sodom when Iniquities were at the very height and their Sins did greatly abound then did the Lord's Wrath suddenly break forth upon them as soon as Just Lot was put forth from amongst them even in Flames of Fire from Heaven and devoured them so likewise dear Friends you that sigh and cry for the Abominations that are done in the midst of the Earth let not your Hearts faint for behold he that is clothed in Linnen fine and white which is the Righteousness of him that sanctifieth and of them that are sanctified for he that sanctifieth and them that are sanctified are all one He is gone forth to seal and to set a Mark on all your Foreheads that sigh and that cry at the Abominations which are committed by him that makes desolate that sitteth where he ought not and after he hath sealed you all even unto Redemption then shall them that have the charge over the Earth draw near every one with his Slaughter Weapon in his Hand and shall follow after him that has sealed you shall smite and shall not spare neither shall their Eye take pity but they shall utterly slay Old Young both Maid little Children and Women but you upon whom the Mark is they shall not come near him that readeth let him understand for the Lord is risen and he will smite the Earth with a great Slaughter and all Flesh shall know that he is the Lord and that he ruleth over the Kingdoms of men and he will utterly destroy that Nature that hath oppressed his pure Seed in you and in all the Sons and Daughters of Men and his own Seed shall come forth to serve him in Righteousness and true Holiness and though the Whore the Beast and the False Prophet have long born rule over the Heritage of the Lord yet now is the time drawing near when they shall be taken and bound and cast into the Lake which is prepared for them even for that Nature which would not have the Lord nor his Christ to reign over them under that may all the Enemies of the Lord be justly included and that is it which ruleth in the rebellious Sons and Daughters of Men which carrieth them forth into Pride Envy and High-mindedness one towards another and into Disobedience to the Lord and his pure Commands and this is it which the Lord is risen to destroy and not the Creatures for Christ came not to destroy Men's Lives but to save them therefore where-ever thou readest any thing of Destruction it is not meant the Destruction of the Creature or of his Natural Life but the Destruction of that Life in the Creature which rebelleth against the Lord which Life may truly be called Death for if that be followed by the Creature it will be the Death of the Immortal Soul and this is him which the Lord is risen to destroy and not the Creatures therefore saith Christ Jesus O Death I will be thy Death O Grave I will be thy Destruction So Friends this is the Enemy that you are to wait with Patience to see it destroyed in your own Particulars first and then aftewards that you may see it destroyed in others in the general and blessed happy are all you who have witnessed the Dead raised which hath long lain in the Grave under the Chains of Death and can now truly witness your Part in the first Resurrection and that you are truly risen with Christ the Seed for over you the second Death shall have no Power And you Friends that are as yet brought but in part to the Knowledge of these things be still and quiet in your Minds and beware of feeding upon Knowledge which is out of the Life for Knowledge will puff up but it is Grace that edifies therefore wait in the pure Patience that you may feel the Life to stir in you for that is the True Bread that comes down from Heaven which Bread is the Soul's Food for the Soul cannot be satisfied with Knowledge for to Know the Truth and the Things of God and not to live in them therein standeth the Condemnation Therefore dear Friends to whose Hands this may come wait that you may feel the Life which will bring forth the Travails of your Souls and then Knowledge will be encreased and Truth will abound and Eternal Peace and Happiness will attend you wheresoever you go and the Dread and Authority of the Lord will be with you at all Times Seasons as it has been a Dread and a Terror to that Nature in you which rebelled against the Lord whilst you were in the Polutions so likewise if you are faithful the Lord will make you a Dread and a Terror to all Evil-doers wheresoever you come they will be afraid of your Faces and afraid to trasngress against the Lord in your hearing and these things I know that many Thousands can witness to be Truth and all that are faithful shall witness the same and see it accomplished in the Lord 's due time unto whom be Eternal Praises and Dominion given by all that fear him for that he has brought this his wonderful Work to pass and hath revealed his Secrets even to Babes and to such as fear his Name Given forth by one which hath long mourned in Sion and is a Sufferer with the Seed who waiteth for the Redemption of all Creatures from under the Band of Corruption that they may all be brought unto the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God known to many by the Name of Richard Moore THE END
in the Valley of Judgment and he will Overturn Overturn Overturn till he comes to reign whose Right it is for long hath the Powers of Darkness reigned in all Mankind whose Right it was not but now Christ Jesus making himself known who is the true Light of the World and he is arising to reign whose Right it is Therefore come into the Moderation and seriously consider in thy own Heart how thy Condition standeth before the Lord thy God if thou were immediately called to an Account before him for thy Deeds done in the Body whether good or evil and come but with an honest Heart to the Light of Christ Jesus in thy own Conscience and that will let thee and all the Sons and Daughters of men see how your Condition standeth in the Presence of your God for be thou assured that if the VVitness of God in thy own Conscience condemns thee for thy evil Words and Actions God from whence the Witness came is greater and will not any wayes justifie thee therein but if thou give up to be guided by his Light in the Singleness of thy Heart then thou wilt come into the Beginning of the Creation of God and see his Work dayly manifested in thee and thou wilt come to see the Sword of the Lord God of Jacob to cut down to destroy the Transgressor at all times in thee and thou wilt come to see that nature in thee that would stand up to take the Sword to kill or destroy thy Fellow-creatures or oppress or defraud any by the Unrighteous Power thou wilt come to see that Nature to perish by the Sword of the Lord in thee which Sword is the Word of the Lord which is a Discerner of the Thoughts of the Heart and divides between the precious Thoughts and the vile therefore as thou tenders thy own Soul come to that Sword and bring all thy Thoughts unto it and in the Light thou wilt come to see a nature in thee that hath a long time led thy Soul captive under the Captivity of Sin and Satan and thou wilt come to see that nature carried away captive by the power of Christ Jesus even into the Land of Forgetfulness for he is now risen in this his Day to lead Captivity captive and to set free from all Oppression and now is the Day of his plenteous Redemption come and his Salvation will he make known unto the Ends of the Earth and will redeem all them that come to walk in his Light and that obey and follow it in all his motions and that contentedly come to take up the Cross daily to their own wills and so in Singleness follow Christ the Light them will he redeem from under the Power of Sin and the Devil who is the Author thereof and from the World and all its inticing Lusts and as they give up wholely to be guided by the Light and to take up their Cross daily which crosseth the carnal will and so come to deny themselves and to follow Christ who saith I am the Light of the World whosoever followeth me shall not abide in Darkness but shall have the Light of Life and he that comes into this comes into the true Faith which purifies the Heart and they come to receive Christ and to as many as receive him to them Power is given to be the Sons of God and so such come to know what the Seed in them is and what it is to have the tender Babe of Grace formed in them and what it is to be born of God and so such do not commit Sin for they have the Seed of God remaining in them for that which is born of God cannot commit Sin for the Prince of this VVorld hath no part in this new Creature who is created in Righteousness and true Holiness Now thou that art born after the Flesh and art in the first Nature thou art a Stranger to this new Birth which is born of God and thou art ready with Nicodemus to cry out Can a man ente rnto his Mother's Womb again when he is old or shall there any thing be brought forth by God whilst man liveth upon Earth to be made manifest to be without Sin So thou art altogether ignorant of the wonderful works of the Lord for the God of the world having blinded the Eyes and darkned the Minds of all that live in the old nature so that they therein cannot please the Lord their God but their delight is in the works of Darkness whereof the Devil is the Prince and they love the world and the Glory thereof and so the Love of the Father is not in them but now if thou dost but come to believe in the Light and into true Obedience to it in tender Simplicity thou wilt come into the spiritual warfare and to march under the Banner of CHRIST who is the eternal CAPTAIN of our Salvation and thou wilt come to see the Battle fought in Heaven between the Lamb and the Dragon even in God's Kingdom which comes not by observations to say lo here it is or lo there it is for his Kingdom is within thee and there the Battle of the great God is to be fought between Christ the Prince of Peace and the old Dragon the Prince of darkness Now as Christ the Lamb of God comes to take away the Sins of the World and to lead his Souldiers forth he arms them with the whole Armour of Light in Patience Meekness Humility Chastity Soberness and Gentleness Love and Tenderness contented in the Will of God tosuffer all things with Cheerfulness so it may tend to his Glory Now these are they which are to make War in Righteousness against the Principalities and Powers of Darkness in high Places at whose Appearance all flesh shall tremble and all Hearts shall be astonished for Fearfulness shall surprise the Hypocrites Now as Christ appears prepar'd to battle and hath armed his Souldiers with those Weapons afore-mentioned so likewise the Dragon he arms his Souldiers with his Armour which is the whole Armour of Darkness which consists in Hatred and Malice Envy and Persecution Pride Hastiness and High-mindedness Oppression and Tyranny Covetousness and Drunkenness Lying and Swearing Defrauding and Deceit Wantonness and Whoredoms and many other wicked Weapons which the Light will make manifest to them that abide faithful in it Now let every one in particular come to a honest search in your own Hearts and examine your selves without Deceit and see whose Banner you are marching under and whose Armour you wear for it is but vain for any man to deceive himself any longer for look whose Armour thou bearest his Souldier thou art and his Wages thou must look to receive for if thou livest in Sin and Wickedness thou art a Servant to Sin and the Wages of Sin thou must expect to receive and the Wages of Sin is Death therefore it were good for thee to ponder the thing wisely lest thou bring thy Destruction upon thy self
the Fruits of Death whereon he feeds and is in some sort satisfied for he dares not approach unto the Tree of Life because the Angel of the Lord's Presence standeth with the flaming sword ready lifted up even the righteous Law which still layes hold on him when at any time he approaches near unto the Tree of Life this cuts him down so that he at all Times remains in Death and feeds upon the Fruits thereof this is the true State and Condition of the first Adam who hath lost himself and is fallen from God his Maker But now the second Adam whom the Lord is creating and whom he hath created even after his own Image in Righteousness and true Holiness who was and is the first born among many Brethren even Christ the Son of the living God who puts an End to Transgression and destroyes Sin and sayes O Death I will be thy Death and fulfills the Royal Law in all things and passeth through the flaming sword for the Fire cannot touch him but he has free Access to the Tree of Life and feeds plentifully upon the Fruit thereof and so lives forever and nothing will satisfie him but the very Life it self And this is the true Condition of the second Adam who is the true Heir of all things Now he that comes to have this Babe begotten in him that which hath begot him will bring him forth for shall I bring to the Birth and not bring forth saith the Lord now he that comes to be born of this Birth and to have his Life to stand in this he shall with this come to eat of the Tree of Life for this is he that shall enter in at the streight Gate into the City whose Builder is God Therefore if thou feelest any thing in thee which stirs and moves in thee against sin and against the very Appearance of Evil there lies the seed out of which this Babe is formed and therefore as it is as yet but weak as in Appearance to thee thou oughtest to be tender over it even more tender then the Mother that is newly conceived is over the tender Fruit of her Womb and beware of bruising of it and of smothering of it for a small thing will offend it and choak it but as thou art tender over it and with Carefulness dost cherish it and come to take Delight in it thou wilt find it to grow daily and encrease in thee from strength to strength but thou must beware that thou dost not at any time lay any Burden upon it whereby it may be offended for if thou dost thou wilt come into Condemnation for the same and thou wilt come to suffer Loss in thy self which Loss will not easily be regained for thou wilt find Deadness and Barrenness to arise up in thee and the Dread and Terror of the Lord will take hold daily upon thee until the Lord hath executed his Vengeance upon that which hath oppressed his seed for thou must assuredly come to know a day of Vengeance in thee to light upon the Head of the Transgressor and a Night of sâ—rrow before thou canst know the day of Joy and Gladness Therefore if thou wilt give up freely to let the Seed of God go free to serve the Lord its God in Truth and Righteousness and wait in Patience to see the Oppressor judged and condemned in thee and to see the Vengeance of the Lord to be laid upon the Head of the Transgressor and so to become one with that which judgeth and executes the fierce Wrath and Indignation of the Lord upon that which oppresseth the righteous Seed in thee Now if thou become one with the Lord in this and give up thy self willingly in Obedience to him then a short Work will the Lord make in the Earth and thou shalt come to see him whom thy Soul loveth who now doth but spring up in thee as a Lilly among Thorns but when he comes to be brought forth he will be the fairest amongst ten thousand and this is Christ in thee the Hope of Glory and thou wilt come to live in him and he in thee and so thou wilt come to live in the Life that was before Sin was and before Transgression was and shall be when Sin and Transgression is destroyed and shall be no more and then thou wilt come to witness old things to be done away and all things to become new a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness and thou wilt come to witness God's Will to be done in thy Body of Earth as it is in Heaven and his Kingdom in thee to be come and established and his Power made known in thee to the destroying of the Power of Sin and Satan and his Glory to be made known in thee to the setting forth of his eternal Praise in the midst of all his Enemies and this is declared by many who are faithful Witnesses of it according to the Measure which the Lord hath freely been pleased to give and bestow upon them and this do they witness to be an eternal Truth according as the Spirit of the Lord God of Truth hath revealed it unto them for they never received from Man neither by Man but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ who leads into the Path of Light and Life all that are willing and obedient to follow him now these things are deep and hidden Mysteries to them that yet remain in Darkness but if thou canst but read the Scriptures singly without adding thereunto thy own or any other Mans Imaginations they testifie of him that hath the Life in him and they declare how the two Births have been brought forth in all Ages which Births came from the two Seeds even the Seed of the Promise and the Seed of the Serpent and between these two Seeds there is an everlasting Enmity placed so that they can never be reconciled one to the other but still arise one to destroy the other but at last the Seed of the Woman must and will get the Victory for that must come to bruise the Seed of the Serpent's head although the other bruise his Heel for a short Space now see the Seed of the Serpent brought forth by the first Birth in Cain how the Enmity comes to work in him so that he came as it were to murder Abel the second Birth which was brought forth of the Seed of the Promise and wherefore was it but because the Sacrifice that was offered up by the promised Seed was accepted and his the Seed of the Serpent was not therefore Cain the first Birth who as in Reference to his outward Birth after the Flesh was therein his Brother but yet he being ruled by the contray Seed to Abel the Enmity caused him to rise up and to murder innocent Abel and then he became a Fugitive and a Vagabond upon Earth all his Dayes not having an Habitation in God although he builded a City and call'd it by his Son's Name so here
the seed of the Serpent lodged in the Bishops and Prelates and how it was drawing out of the Form of Godliness again into the heathenish Way of Worship but see how the Lord hath then raised up a People in whom his seed was manifest who bore their Testimony against those Bishops and Prelates in whom the contrary seed lodged who came to be hated and in scorn and derision called Puritants and were rendered by them as Separates Deceivers Deluders in whom the seed of the Serpent ruled for therein lies the subtilty of the Serpent to charge the Truth with that which he himself is guilty of so that at all times the seed of God and his eternal Truth hath been persecuted by the Serpent and his seed under the Name of Error Heresie and Blasphemy So those People came to be imprisoned fined and many of them banished but yet see how the Judgments of the Lord came both upon King Bishops Prelates and Priests and how the Serpent came to have his Head bruised in them who raised up a War in the Nation whereby they came to be cut off from the Face of the Earth and all stood in a tottering Condition so that the seed of the Serpent was fain to endeavour to shelter himself under a more smoother Form of Godliness then he had done in many years before even under the Presbyterian Form but then the Lord raised up his seed in a People who could not be satisfied under that Form for the Light even Christ shined in them and let them see many gross Errors in it and caused them to with-draw from having Fellowship with them and these in scorn came to be called by the rude Multitude Independants but they also came soon after into a Form so that there was a ground in them wherein the seed of the Serpent might lodge therefore it soon entered into that Form and likewise corrupted it but then the Lord raised up his seed again in some of them and caused them to depart from them out of that Form and to give their Testimony against the Errors thereof which arose from the seed of the Serpent and these came by the rude Multitude to be called Anabaptists but these soon departed from the pure Life that arose in them from the seed of God in them and came into Imitation of what the Saints of God had done in former Ages and so came into a Form of Godliness and the Life and Simplicity which first moved in them came to be lost and there came a ground wherein the seed of the Serpent could lodge therefore he soon entred into that Form and likewise corrupted it yet the Lord still followed him with his Light which shined in these dark Forms and caused many of them to see that there is nothing but Emptiness and Barrenness in that Form and that their Souls therein could not be satisfied and then they came into a more purer Way and Likeliness of the Truth then any of the former and they bore their Testimony against all the Forms through which they had come for they saw by the Light of Christ the Deceit that lodged in them and so they came to a Way of seeking and waiting on the Lord but yet they likewise came again into a Form and there was a kind of a ground amongst them wherein the seed of the Serpent could remain for the Serpent can turn himself into the likeness of any thing even into the very likeness of the Way the Life the Truth but though he can transform himself into the Form of an Angel of Light and into the Likeness of Truth yet he cannot come into the Way nor into the Life it self nor into the Truth therefore now is the Lord raising up a People after all this who shall worship him in Spirit in Truth out of all Forms Likenesses so that in them the Lord will destroy and judge out all that ground wherein the seed of the Serpent can lodge so that the Serpent's Head is come to be bruised in many Thousands in their particulars and as it is begun in the particulars so likewise it shall at length be bruised in the general the seed that hath long groaned unto God shall be delivered from under the Burden of Oppression for now after all this long dark night of Apostacy which hath been for this 1600. odd years wherein the Lord has been as it were a stranger unto the Sons Daughters of Men and they have lived as it were without God in the World taking pleasure and delight in the vanities thereof their foolish Hearts have caused them to err but now is the Day sprung from on high even the mighty Day of the Lord therfore the night must vanish away for the Darkness cannot stand before the Brightness of his Coming nor before the Gloriousness of his Appearance therefore it is time for the Prince of Darkness to arise to gather together the uttermost of his Strength for now is his Kingdom invaded on every Side even by the Lamb and his Followers who is risen to make War in Righteousness and by patient suffering shall overcome his Kingdom and bruise the Serpent's Head Now thou that readest hast thou not heard of a People who dare not swear nor dare not tell a Lye who cannot stoop nor bow their Knees nor put off their Hats in Honour to any man's Person in the World and which cannot give any vain flattering Titles to man neither can have any Fellowship with workers of Iniquity neither can they enter into any excess of Riot with them neither dare they speak any other Language then that which the Saints in former Ages spoke and stand as Witnesses against all vain Talks and foolish Jesting and cannot respect the Person of any man because therein they should commit Sin who dare not to do unto any man but as they would be done unto in the like Condition who bears their Testimony against all the vain Worships of the World and all deceitful Professors who profess God in Words but deny him in their Lives and Conversations and hast thou not at sometimes heard their very Enemies say that they believed that many of them were honest People and that their dealing towards them hath been honest and just and hast thou not heard that some of them have wished that they could live as those People do and hast thou not heard the People of the World report of what undaunted Spirits those People are who fear not the Frowns nor the lofty looks of the greatest Potent upon the Face of the Earth and on the other side hast thou not heard the rude People of the World even Drunkards Swearers Lyars and Covetous Persons and such as live in all manner of Excess of Riot cry out that these are Deceivers Deluders and Blasphemers and that they are not worthy to live upon the face of the Earth and hast thou not heard what petitioning to the Powers
of the Earth there hath been against them and what stocking stoning knocking down in their publick Assemblies haling before Magistrates whipping and sending to the Bridewels and what long Imprisonments have been suffered by many and by some even to the Death who have thereunto been committed by the power of the Earth and hast thou not heard of what those People have suffered in New-England by the great red Dragon who is risen in those People who once fled out of Old-England even for Fear of that which they now exercise in a far greater measure upon those whom the Lord hath sent amongst them to declare the Appearance of his mighty Day unto them who in their time in Old-England should have born their Testimony against the Bishops Prelates and Priests and have stood in the Cross to that in their own Walls which caused them to flee from the Sufferings and so from the Cross which should have crucified that Nature which they carried with them out of Old-England even that which is now risen in them which causes them to exercise such grievous Tortures upon the Bodies of those whom the Lord hath sent amongst them even imprisoning and whipping casting into Dungeons and nasty Holes beating with Ropes until their Flesh became as Gelly whereby they are given to such a hardness of Heart that they have exceeded all Nations under the Sun in Tyranny the very Turks themselves have stood more in the Fear and Dread of the Lord then they for they continually thirst after Blood who after they have cut off the Ears of the Lord's People which no Nation under the Heavens except themselves did dare to do yet they not thinking that sufficient have since drunk two more larger Draughts then then ever yet was drunk by any in this our Age of innocent Blood whose Righteous Lives will stand as a Brand of Infamy upon them and their Generation to all Eternity and when the Lord makes Inquisition for Blood that will not be forgotten Now hast thou heard that at any time these People ever plotted or contrived any way or means whereby to defend themselves by the Arm of flesh or that they have risen or were defended by the Powers of the Earth at any time but at all times the Powers of the Earth stood against them and opposed them and yet dost thou not see that these People have dayly encreased and how many are dayly gathered unto them and how they dayly learn to bear the Reproaches of Moab and the Revilings of the Children of Ammon and are contented to bear and suffer all with Patience so that in their suffering they may glorifie God and therein become more then Conquerers by the Power of Christ who is risen in them and is become the Captain of their Salvation Now whoever thou art that readest consider seriously in thy own Heart for here thou seest the Division that is made between them that fear the Lord them that fear him not if thou canst with a single Eye behold it but if thou standst in doubt as yet concerning this thing come but into a true Examination in thy own Heart and Conscience for assuredly there is something in the Matter therefore what thinkest thou dost thou think that it is for nought that these People forsake their Goods and Lands their Wives and Children and become as it were strangers even unto their Country and to their Father's House and to travail from Country to Country through Persecutions and Sufferings through Mockings and Reproaches through Hunger and Cold and so come to be counted as Vagabonds and Wanderers having no Habitation in the Earth that they might have a Habitation in God for Cain he was a Vagabond although he builded a City and called it by his Son's Name yet he had no Habitation in God therefore was he a Vagabond but these who have a Habitation in God they are no Vagabonds but have sought have found the City whose Builder is God and they are willing and contented to part with all so that they may have a Habitation in that City But now herein stands the clear Truth of the Difference the appointed time is now come and drawing near even at the very Door wherein the Lord God is risen and arising to fulfil his Promise which he promised unto Adam in the Garden of Eden after his Fall that is That the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpent's Head and he should bruise his Heel And now is he come and coming who will cut Rahab and wound the Dragon and bruise to powder the very Head of the Deceit and the Iniquity which have long lodged in the Hearts of the Sons and Daughters of Men. And now is the Stone even the Stone which is elect and precious which is to be laid in Sion which is the chief Corner-Stone that the Builders have long refused which Stone hath long lain buried in the Mountain of Sin and Transgression but now is the Stone cutting it self out of the Mountain which shall smite at the Feet of the Image even at the very Ground and Foundation of Iniquity and this Stone will become a Mountain which shall cover the whole Earth which the Mountain of the House of the Lord which is to be established atop of all Mountains and above the Hills and the Nations shall flow untâ— it Therefore seeing the Treader upon the Serpent's Head is come and hath made himself manifest in many therefore hath Pangs taken hold on many of them in whom the seed of the Serpent bears rule so that that Seed strives and struggles in them even as a Dying Man on whom the Pangs of Death had taken hold and this is the Cause that them in whom the seed of the Serpent still rules in power are so bitter and invitered against the Seed of the Woman in whom it s raised but yet though they raise up the uttermost of their Forces and gather together Gog and Magog and come up even the whole breadth of the Earth to encompass the Camp of the Saints about yet they shall not prosper for this John saw in his Revelation and he likewise saw a Fire come out of Heaven and devoured them therefore do I in tender Love to thee advise thee to consider of these things and lay them to Heart for this is the Day of thy Visitation therefore trifle it not away for meer Vanity things of nought for it passes away from thee faster then thou art aware of for this is the Time which the Lord hath given thee to make thy Calling and Election sure Therefore be not like foolish Esau sell not thy Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage for if thou dost thou wilt hereafter come to seek it perhaps with Tears when thou mayest not attain it therefore while the Lord is yet so tender towards thee who standeth with his Arm of Mercy spread open ready to receive thee therefore tarry not but arise and come away for the Winter is near