many of his equals but he did not know him and so he persecuted him in his Saints as thousands do at this day and yet they will be called Christians When Paul had received Christ Jesus the Spirit of Truth he denyed himself and became a true Christian through the Sanctification of the Spirit of Christ and belief of the Truth and took up the Cross to his own will daily and followed Christ the Light through great tribulations in newness of life for as he did partake of the fellowship of his Death and Sufferings so likewise he did partake of the fellowship of his powerful Resurrection and his Glory I am the Resurrection and the Life saith Christ. And not only Paul but every one also in whom Christ is risen do partake of the same Sufferings and the same Joy according to the measure and proportion of Faith of God's free Grace dispensed to each one by his own Eternal Spirit And this is the way and the alone way which God hath ordained and appointed to make Christians or as I may safely say to recover lost men out of the fall and to redeem their souls and minds from all inward pollution and defilement and wholly to ransom them out of the inward invisible transgression and corruption and so to raise up the blessed Seed of his own tender bowels and restore his pure Image that hath been so long defaced through the subtilty of the Serpent and regain his Glory Honour and Renown among the sons and daughters of men and will have the preheminency over all people upon the face of the Earth in the measure of himself in the Consciences of all either in their eternal Salvation or their just and everlasting Condemnation for God hath not left himself without a Witness in every ones Conscience and a measure of the free Grace of him who is the Fulness For the natural man cannot receive the gift of the Spirit but as the Apostle said And we saw his Glory as the Glory of the only begotten of the Father full of Grace and Might And of his Fulness have we all received and Grace for Grace Hence it is that the True and Living God who respecteth no mans person hath given to every one a Talent to improve and a measure of Light and also hath commanded that this Everlasting Gospel of Peace and Reconciliation should be preached to every Creature that they may receive grace for grace that do believe in his Name And they that do not beleive nor receive him who doth tender salvation to them the Light of God which God gave them coming into the world will eternally condemn them and leave them without any excuse in the presence of the Lord God because of their disobedience and resisting the gift of the holy Ghost There is something of God in every one that would receive Gods truth if it should but all that is not of God in every one doth strive and fight against it and doth persecute and imprison till death Gods Messengers which he hath endued with power from on high and hath given them gifts and graces and spiritual mercies of divine vertue to preach to the Poor and to the captives to the exiled and banished and to sow the seed of Righteousness that God might receive the fruits of holiness among his People They that sow to the flesh do of the flesh reap corruption but they that sow to the Spirit do of the Spirit reap Life everlasting They that have not received the Spirit they cannot sow to the Spirit but they that have rceived they sow to the Spirit and do profit the people where they come to be received and they do bring forth fruits of God-like lives and righteous conversations and heavenly behaviour and their fruits do manifest what ministry they are under as St. Paul said You are our Epistles written in our hearts seen and read of all men A pure life and a holy conversation is a sure evidence of a true Christian and a perfect witness that they have received the Spirit of Christ which maketh a Christian and generateth into his body Christ the Head and Christians the Members and he will not have any deformed member in his body but they must be all compleat in Christ Pure as he is Pure Holy as he is Holy Undefiled as he is Undefiled even so as he is so must his be in this present world He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all one as saith the Scriptures But I say in the Name and Power of the pure and perfect Lord God That whosoever or whatsoever he is in this world that taketh upon himself or goeth about to make Christians or convert Souls any other way than by preaching the immediate Word of God as he doth receive it by the Inspiration of the eternal Spirit of Life and Power he is in the highest degree of Presumption and guilty of the great Transgression and shall assuredly receive the greatest Condemnation from the Lord God of Power if they or he do not speedily repent and forsake those great Abominations Me thinks that every rational and sober-minded Man must needs rightly understand that God Almighty who created all them at the beginning in Heaven Earth and Sea without the help or advice of any and doth uphold the Works of his own Creation by the Word of his Power and as he created the Souls and Minds of men in a pure State of Innocency from whence man fell through Disobedience So he it is alone that can and will and doth quicken the Souls of men and women again and create them anew in Christ Jesus the Lord from heaven the second Adam a quickening Spirit the Immanuel of Eternal Life of the Word of his Power and need not the Assistance or Counsel of any besides himself to raise up Souls to life and immortality for our God is an invisible eternal and immortal Spirit perfect holy wise and powerful and every reasonable man must needs know and believe That there is not any thing but only a Spirit that can so much as touch a Soul as to cleanse it or to defile it so it is the unrighteous spirit of Darkness the Prince of the Power of the Air that doth rule in the Children of Disobedience and polluteth the Souls and defileth the whole Minds and causeth them to yield up the fleshly Members to commit sins of all kinds in Thought Word and Action and so the Springs of Life and Salvation are dammed up and the pure Spirit of the Lord is covered and the Eye of Innocency blinded so that man cannot behold his Maker because Sin hath made a separation as saith the Prophet Behold the Lord's hand is not shortned that it cannot save neither is his eare heavy that he cannot hear but it is your iniquities that have separated between you and your God and your sins have caused his face to be hid from you And as it is the unclean Spirit that doth
A BRIEF DISCOVERY OF God's Eternal Truth AND A Way opened to the simple hearted whereby they may come to know CHRIST and his Ministers from ANTICHRIST and his Ministers With a WARNING from the Lord to all people that do name the Name of Christ to depart from Iniquity Written in the Inquisition of Malta by a Servant of the Most High called KATHERINE EVANS London Printed for R. Wilson 1663. A brief DISCOVERY of Gods Eternal Truth THus saith the Lord Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity for the day cometh and now is that the Name of Christ will be dreadful and terrible to all workers of iniquity and God the Father hath committed all Power in Heaven and in Earth and Seas also to his Son Jesus Christ and hath raised him in Power and great Glory in thousands of his Saints to convince the world of Sin of Righteousness and of Judgment that the Prince of this World may be judged and cast out for he shall never have any part or portion with the Heir of Eternal Life and Salvation who hath Power to judge and to justifie and to condemn or to save to scatter and to gather to break to pieces and to bind up that which is broken to pieces and he will establish his own Spiritual Government Righteous Rule and Pure Holy Worship to the ends of the Earth and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it for whatsoever he hath purposed shall surely come to pass and his Decree shal stand and Wo wo wo to every one that doth lift up a hand against any of those that the Lord God doth send forth in his Name in this the Day of his Power to preach Glad-tydings to the meek or do form any carnal weapon against him in his Anointed thinking to disinherite him who is possessed Heir of all But the time doth hasten that the Lord God of Power will exalt his Princely Scepter over all Scepters Thrones and Dominions Kingdoms and Countries and none shall be able to prevent him or resist his mighty Power Hear ye this O all ye People upon the face of the Earth who are called Christians or do call your selves by Christ's Name both Kings and Princes Emperors Nobles and mighty men of the Earth by what name or title soever ye are called high or low rich or poor for our God is no respecter of persons but every one that feareth his Name and worketh Righteousness is accepted of him Wherefore it chiefly behoveth every one of you to turn your minds within to the Light in your Consciences that convinceth of all Sin and makes manifest every evil deed be it done never so secret the Light will discover it It is a measure of God's free Grace given to every one to profit themselves withal and search examine and duely consider how you come to have right or title to Christ's Name or what it is that maketh a Christian for every true Christian is an Heir of God and Joynt-heir with Christ For as in Adam all die so in Christ shall all be made alive Now you know that God created Adam at the first in a pure perfect state of Innocency his mind and soul in his own Image and likeness which was Light and Life and placed him in the Garden of Paradise a place of eternal blessedness to all that do obey the Light and God gave Adam dominion over all the creatures that God created for the use of man and blessed them unto him in that state of Innocency and bid him eat of the fruit of every tree of the Garden but the tree of knowledge of good and evil that was good too but not for food And the Lord said unto Adam Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of that tree for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely dye Adam did not stand in the Counsel of the Lord but turned from the Light and hearkened to the Woman whom the Serpent beguiled and did eat of the forbidden Fruit and so disobeyed the Commandment of the Lord God and fell from that state of Blessedness into that state wherein all things are an utter curse unto him and unto all in that state of disobedience eternally but the just and wise and holy Lord God whose mercies are above all his works did promise that the Seed of the Woman should bruise the Serpents head There are but two seeds the Seed of the Woman and the seed of the Serpent Now this was the way which the pure and wise and perfect Lord God did find out in himself to recover Man out of the Fall again through the everlasting Covenant of the promised Seed of all blessedness The Promise of God was not unto seeds as to many but unto the Seed as unto one In Isaac shall all the Kindreds of the Earth be blessed The Promise of God which cannot fail was only to the Seed of faithful Abraham And Paul saith If ye are Christs then are ye Abrahams seed and heirs to the Promise Wherefore every one of you in Christendom may do well to turn in your minds to the Light of God in your own Consciences and try your selves and see whether you have received the true righteous Seed or are born of the pure and perfect Spirit of Christ Iesus yea or nay the Light will not deceive you but deal plainly with you and make manifest unto you all that ever was or is within you And he that is in Christ hath the witness in himself so that he need not go forth to seek after him or to ask the way to Sion for I am the Way the Truth and the Light saith Christ and he that followeth me shall not abide in darkness but have the Light of Life and He that hath not the Witness in himself is in darkness and hath not received the Light of Life the Spirit of Christ and He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his Then what profit hath anyone to have the Name of Christ and out of his Nature The Nature of Christ is altogether pure perfect holy and upright meek humble sober loving merciful tender-hearted liberal in all good long-suffering and ready to forgive and willing to bear the contradictions of sinners and the rebukes of the vile sons of men and did lay down his Life for to save them that hated him and were and are Enemies to his Cross And all that are in Christ ought themselves to walk as he walked or else how should they be known to be born of the true Seed of God for where the Seed of the Kingdom is sown and received into good ground in an honest heart it taketh deep root and bringeth forth fruit answerable to the Seed in some thirty in some sixty and in some an hundred fold that God may be glorified for herein is my Father glorified that ye bring forth much fruit saith Christ speaking to them that were called by his Name and were his
spiritual Wickedness in High Places So one of them that stands in the Power of God out of the Power of the Prince of the Air is able to chase ten and ten a thousand according to the righteous Prophesie of the Holy Man of God Those that dwell in the Fear of the Lord and truly dread his pure Name at all times every word that proceedeth out of their mouths is as the Words of God's own mouth which cannot be altered nor changed to all eternity for such are the Vessels that hold the heavenly Treasures Gods free Gifts and eternal Graces and everlasting Mercies and divine Vertues spiritual Blessings which God doth not reveale in any earthly-minded Man whose mind is wandring after earthly Glory Honour Riches and Treasures but he reveals his eternal Riches in the Earthen-vessel whose mind and soul is quickned raised and changed by the Power of the Almighty God and joyned to the Light the measure of his own Spirit to convert them and bear them up into the same state and image wherein God created the soul and mind of man at the first In the beginning of his Creation God did not create the outward Form of mankind in his own Similitude and Likeness No for then all men would bear the similitude and likeness of God throughout all Generations which thing could never be for wicked and ungodly men whose thoughts and imaginations are evil continually and are of their father the Devil and his works they do and his image and likeness they bear God is a perfect Spirit of divine Light and immortal Glory and his Son Jesus Christ is the express Image of his everlasting Fathers eternal Brightness and none can ever liken nor fashion any thing like him And them that bear the image of the Devil they live in spiritual pride and are haughty minded and will not be reformed nor hearken to the Counsel of God nor imbrace his gracious Invitations nor receive his tender Mercies nor be warned by his favourable Judgements nor gentle Corrections but in obstinacy and perverse rashness alwayes resist it and cast it behind their backs and trample it under their feet till the Lord is even forced to be a swift Witness against them and to sweep them away with the beesom of destruction and so here their end is woful and their torment is eternal and the Lord is clear of their blood and they must confess their destruction is of themselves They that are of the Image and Likeness of Christ are created anew in Christ Jesus to every good work and have received and do live in and are guided by the pure Spirit of perfect Peace and Patience perfect Love and bowels of tenderness mercy and pitty towards every one without respect of persons and they have alwayes a holy fear true humility and a heart of uprightness and such persons do bear the true image and similitude of God the Father and the form and likeness of his Son Jesus Christ after the inward man and they are patterns of good works and good examples to all whereever they come and it is their meat and drink to do the will of God wheresoever he shall call them or command them to follow the Lamb from Sea to Sea and from Island to Island and from Country to Country to bear his holy Name and to witness forth his eternal Truth to all people that live in darkness and blindness according to the righteous examples of his Saints and Servants that were guided by the same Spirit and walked in the perfect way of God in the antient dayes and are as willing and do suffer for our honourable Testimony that our pure holy and just God whose right it is may have the Glory Praise and Renown to the ends of the Earth throughout all Generations Amen Amen saith the Spirit 19th of the 8th month 1662. Written at Malta by me the Lord's Servant Katherine Evans ALthough that they my Bible keep from me That I the holy Scriptnres cannot see The Precepts pure which are upon record That were giv'n forth by 'th Spirit of the Lord Yet a small Book hid in a secret place Have I where I can reade the words of grace And in the same I can discern The bastard from the perfect born For unto us a Child is born who 'l break to pieces that great Horn Which hath lift up himself on hie Upon the Throne of Majestie He shall be brought down under all Where he shall lie and cry and call To 's Idol-gods which alwayes he Hath worshipped with heart and knee But no Salvation he shall find Among his gods that are so blind Both dumb and deaf like unto he They cannot speak nor hear nor see His Pictures and his painted walls His Altars and his Temple-Vails His golden Images every one Shall soon be brought to destruction All Praises to the God of might Which hath preserv'd us day and night Mongst Lions Wolves that are so strong Although they make us suffer long Yet the Diviners do run mad And lying Prophets they are sad Th' exalted Beast in his renown Triumphs that he shall gain the Crown Because that Pharoah's on his side And lofty Haman in his pride And bloody Herod with his Sword All fighters are against the Lord. But th'God of Pow'r which is so strong Will soon reward them every one According unto Heavens decree For their Rebellion Blasphemy Then some shall howl and some shall mourn The rest shall wish they 'd ne're been born For pain and torment day and night Because they have despis'd the Light WHen dear Daniel Baker was at Malta I had a very small Token to present him in a Paper with these lines The thing is little receive my love It cometh from a harmless dove Within whose breast doth still remain God's perfect praises to maintain I have not time nor place to show The love that from my soul doth flow The Cristal streams so pure and bright That do arise both day and night My love to Truth doth me constrain In Prison ever to remain If it be so I cannot be In Truth and Righteousness set free My dear Redeemers face so bright Doth shine upon me day and night His Countenance doth exceed all Captivity and bondage thrall Though my mortal body be bolted fast yet my immortal soul hath room to pass by Sea and Land and cannot be prevented by an Enemy Lord teach me in thy Wayes that I may walk therein And lead me in thy Paths and cleanse me from all sin Before I knew the Lord my God to be so near to me I walked in the way so broad thinking he did not see But when my wayes directed were and paths the Lord did guide I walked alwayes in his fear and did not go aside HEavens Glory is appearing And his Brightness shineth forth O're all Nations for the clearing Of the Lord's Eternal Truth Now ev'ry one that sits in darkness Under the shade of Death doth lye May come forth unto the Brightness Out of gross obscurity For now a Fountain is set open He that will may freely come in Unto the everlasting Ocean And be cleansed from his sin And ev'ry one that is in bondage And in deep Captivity Under Pharoah and his Army Shall be set at liberty If that they will seek their Freedom At the hand of God alone They shall be Heirs of his Kingdom And wear the victorious Crown It is not all the pain and labour That ever mortal men can take Which can bring them into favour With the Lord that did them make But they that stand in self-denial Taking up their Cross daily Thorow many a fiery tryal For God's Truth most valiantly 'T is them alone shall be preserved By the Pow'r of God most hie And none but them shall be received Into glorious Liberty The Candles of the Lord are lighted For to search Jerusalem And all Nations are invited To the Marr'age of the Lamb. Blessed are they that keep their Armour And in their Wedding-Garments drest Ready to enter the Brides Chamber They are counted with the Guests Now the Lord will purge all Nations Out of gross obscurity Destroying all the deeds of Darkness Deceit and Hypocrisy Th'Trumpets are struck up in Sion And do give a dreadful sound For the razing down of Babel With her glory to the ground And Antichrist with all his Fashions And Delusions which are strong Shall suddenly be dash'd to pieces Christ alone shall wear the Crown Katherine Evans THE END
defile and pollute the Mind and Soul and corrupt the Heart of man hence it is that nothing but the clean and pure Spirit of the Lord God that can in any wise cleanse and sanctifie the Soul and Mind or purge or purifie the Heart again and it seems to be a very vain thing for any man or woman to think otherwise Now let every one that is called a Minister of Jesus Christ see that he be so indeed and in truth for they must come a great way before they can administer Christ Wherefore it is safe to consider that Death reigned or reigneth from Adam to Moses and from Moses till the Prophet John and John was a burning a shining Light the greatest that was born among women but the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he and John cried in the Wilderness saying Prepare ye the Way of the Lord make his Paths streight for he whose shooe he was not worthy to unloose was coming after him whose fan is in his hand and he will throughly purge his Floor and gather the Wheat into the Garner but the Chaff he will burn with Fire unquenchable And John denied not and said He was not that Light but he came to bear witness of the Light saying This is the true Light that lighteth every one that cometh into the world Now it behoveth all that are called Ministers of Christ to call themselves to mind how they travelled through all these Administrations spiritually from Adam till Moses ye are all in death and when you have received the just and holy Law of Moses upon Mount Sinai then you must journey through all the Prophesies till you come to Mount Sion the heavenly Jerusalem the City of the living God before you can be a noble Minister of Jesus Christ And this I am bold to declare in the Name of the Lord Jesus whose Servant I am through mercy Be ye not deceived the Lord God will not be mocked any longer there is a great Mystery in Godliness insomuch that all the earthly Wisdom and Learning and Languages Studies or Prudency is never able to fathom or comprehend the least Motion of the Life of it but as the Mind is joyned to the Light the Word of Life the Word that was before the World was the Word by which the World was made the Word that is quick and powerful sharper than a two-edged Sword even to the piercing and dividing between soul and spirit joynts and marrow and is a searcher and discerner of the Thoughts and Intents of every ones heart and this is he whose Vesture is dipt in Blood his Name is called the Word of God and he is come according to the determinate Counsel of the Father to make a separation between the Pretious and the Vile and to divide the Sheep from the Goats and to gather in the Flock of his Inheritance the People of his own Pasture the Sheep of his hands to fill up his own Fold out of every Kindred Tongue and Nation Jew and Gentile Bond or Free of his Israelites indeed in whose mouths there is no guile and he will place his Name amongst them again and work his Fear in their hearts and write his Laws in their inward-parts that they may never depart from it and they shall be his People for ever and he will be their God eternally and he will be merciful to their Transgressions their Sins and Iniquities he will remember no more for our God cannot deny himself nor forget his holy Promises who hath said I have given Him for a Covenant of Light to enlighten the Gentiles and a Leader and Commander to the people and the day is come that all the Children of the Lord shall be taught of the Lord and be established in Righteousness And as for those Ministers that say Men and women can never be freed from Sin while they are here nor made perfect while they are in the body I say such Ministers do not know Christ Jesus the Light nor his Ministry which saith When he ascended up on High he led Captivity captive gave gifts unto men some Prophets some Apostles some Ministers for the perfecting of the Saints and for the Work of the Ministry and for the edifying of the whole body of the Church And again it is said All Scripture given by the Inspiration of the Holy Ghost is wholsome for Doctrine for Instruction for Reproof and Correction in Righteousness that the man of God may be made perfect and thorowly furnished to every good Work Now let all sober-minded men consider where men and women should be made perfect if not here while they are in this body If not in this Body where then Solomon saith As the tree falleth so it lieth the Spirit of the Lord doth not once mention any other place to be purged in in all the Scriptures of truth And the Prophet spake to the Church and said The Lord would purely purge away the dross and take away the tin and rebrobate silver and gold And this I know when Souls come to be quickned by the powerful Word of Life and Truth they come to know the Purgings of the Father and the Washing in the Fountain of Eternal Cleansings in the sweet Streams of Light and living Refreshment the everlasting Refining in the Sanctifying-Furnace of the Spirit of the Lord God and so they do come to be cleansed purified and sanctified throughout souls bodies and Spirits and are made Vessels of Honour and fitted for Glory without the help of any Man or any outward Observation whatsoever What is to be known of God is manifested within and He that giveth power over any ones sin is sufficient to give power over all sins and will and doth to all that be obedient The willing and obedient shall eat the Good of the Land but they that refuse and rebel the Sword shall devour them the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it and his zeal will perform it There is none can forgive Sins but God only against whom all sin is committed for whatsoever just offence is given to any he that giveth the offence sinneth against the Commandment of God which saith Do by all men as you would have them do unto you and love thy neighbour as thy self He never commanded any to do contrary to his own nature which is Love Mercy and Long suffering waiting to be gracious not willing the death of any but that all should return and forsake the Evil of their Wayes and deny the Evil of their Doings and then he would have mercy upon them and abundantly pardon all such as come to him in the Name of the Lord Jesus bringing nothing with them but a penitent heart and an humble spirit confessing their sins being weary of the burthen and weight of them and he will forgive and take away the Guilt from the Conscience while there is guilt within the sin is not pardoned when the Sin and the Guilt of Sin