The Prophet MUGGLETON'S Epistle to the Believers of the Commission touching the Rebellion occasioned by the Nine Assertions THUS I have given an Answer to all those Nine Assertions which William Meadgate hath drawn up as a Charge against me saying they are contrary to all Truth and against all sober Reason And now I shall speak a few Words unto him and the rest of Believers as followeth And because one of the Conspirators in the Rebellion hath repented of his Rebellion and ask'd Forgiveness before it was too late I forgave him his Trespass against me and against God namely Thomas Burton He did well to agree with his Adversary while he was in the Way for the Prophet is an Adversary to all those that rebel against God And this I would have all Rebels to know though too late That Obedience is better than Sacrifice viz. Obedience to the Prophet is better than all the Legal Righteousness you have perform'd between Man and Man all your Days yet this ought to be done but not to leave the other undone And you may know that Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft for Rebellion against the Prophet is Rebellion against God For when King Saul rebell'd against the Prophet Samuel's Words he rebell'd against God for it was the Prophet Samuel that gave the King a Command and 't was he that reproved the King for his Rebellion and Disobedience for God never spake to the King nor gave Sentence upon him it was the Prophet only and not God And because the King did mind God only and not the Prophet as you have done therefore that great Evil did befal him he was rejected of God for rebelling against the Prophet Samuel and so are you rejected of God for rebelling against the Prophet now alive now ought not the King to have minded the Prophet Samuel only and not God and because he did mind God only and rejected the Prophet as you have done therefore that great Evil did befal him for he minded God only in that he thought to please God better by offering up the best of Cattle in Sacrifice to God he thought it better to mind God only than the Prophet's Words But how did God reject him for disobeying the Prophet and his Sacrifice was rejected also Now had not Saul better have minded the Prophet only then would it have been well with him but he minding God only and disobeying and rebelling against the Prophet what a woful Effect did fall upon him and so it will upon all that rebel against Prophets Thus it is with Men that think themselves more wise and righteous than their Teachers for whoever disobeys a true Prophet disobeys God and it is so accounted of God therefore 't is good for Men to mind the Prophet only and pin their Faith upon his Sleeve or else there can be no true Peace and Safety Why Because no Man can come unto God to reason and dispute with him but by his Prophet only This hath been the way God hath walk'd in all Ages and now I being the last Prophet of all God hath put me in his Place here upon Earth and hath raised me up as he did that good Man Joseph Gen. the last and the 9th Verse who said unto his Brethren Fear not for I am in the Place of God and in the 21st Verse Fear not for I will nourish you and he comforted them and spake kindly unto them So God hath raised me up to be his last Prophet and seated me in his Place here to nourish his People who have believed his Prophets Report with spiritual and heavenly Knowledge for true Prophets true Apostles true Ministers have made Saints in all Ages so that without these no Saints at all they may be Elect Vessels but not Saints for no Man or Women can properly be said to be a Saint except they come actually to believe in a true Prophet true Apostles or true Ministers of Christ And farther I say that whoever doth not well by that Law written in his Heart and doth not stand in awe of that and fear to offend that Law of Conscience as if God himself did stand by and take Notice of all his Actions therefore he doth well because God's Eye is over him else not I say all his well doing is but Eye Service and respected of God no more then the cutting of a Dog's Neck And that Man is in the Depth of Darkness who will do nothing that is good except God doth take Notice of him to reward him for every good deed he doth but if he doth Evil then he desireth God to take no Notice of it but blot it out of his Remembrance as if God were beholden to Man to do well when there is a Blessing in the Deed doing and a Curse in Evil doing But this I say if there were no God to Reward the Good nor to punish the Evil yet could not I do any otherwise then I do for I do well not because I expect any Reward from God or refrain from Evil because God will punish me or that he doth mind me in it but I do well to please the Law written in my Heart so that I might not be accused by that Law in my Conscience as God hath pleased for his Watchman to tell me when I do well so I am justified by Faith in God in my own Conscience and being not condemned by the Law written in my Heart I have Boldness to the Throne of Grace Neither do I refrain from Evil for fear of God's Person seeing me and he seeing me will punish me but I refrain from Evil because the Law written in my Heart seeth all my Doings and that Watchman God hath set there to watch me will tell God of all my Doings so that God need not trouble himself to watch over every Man's Actions himself for he hath placed his Law a Watchman in every Man and Woman to give Notice of all their Doings whether Good or Evil. Thus in the Original God taketh notice by his Law written in every Man's Heart both of Saint and Devil and no otherwise doth God mind or take Notice of his Saints in particular at all not that I do own this Law written in Man's Heart to be the very God as the Quakers do but God is a distinct Person of himself and distinct from this Law written in Man's Heart And in this Sense God may be said to take no Notice of his Saints nor doth not mind them at all True Believers are my Brethren and Sisters and the Prophet hath spoken kindly unto them and nourished their Souls with Bread of Life and given them Water of Life to drink in that he hath been as Moses to fed them with heavenly Manna and hath not the Prophet given them the Bread of Life even that Bread that came down from Heaven the Flesh of God to eat as Moses did Manna to eat he hath given them Water of Life to drink even the
Blood of God to satisfy their thirsty Souls as Moses gave the People Water out of the stony Rock to drink to satisfy their natural Thirst The Prophet hath brought Believers to the Knowledge of the true God his Form and Nature he hath brought them to feed upon the Flesh of God and to drink his Blood by Faith for the Mind of Man do eat and drink as really as the natural Body doth whereby their Souls have never thirsted nor hungred more after the Forgiveness of Sins or Satisfaction of Mind as to things of Eternity Also the Prophet has been a burning shining Light in this last Age as John Baptist was in his time a Light that has discovered the Darkness of all the World in spiritual and heavenly things for it is Light that discovers Darkness and hath not the Prophet enlightened the Understanding of many that in Light they see Light he hath fed the People with the true Knowledge of God and the true Knowledge of the right Devil with the Knowledge of Scripture and all other Heavenly Secrets which are hid from all other People in the World Besides hath not the Prophet taken the People by the Hand as Moses did and pull'd them out from the Spirit of Bondage in their Minds which kept them under fear burning Brick and Clay in the fiery Furnaces of their Minds and delivered them from the Task-masters in Egypt the Prophet hath led them through the barren Wilderness of their Minds and has brought them into that Paradise of Peace where the Tree of Life standeth in the midst of the heavenly Canaan above the Stars And many of them have stretched forth the Hand of Faith and have taken of the Tree of Life and eaten and live for ever and so are set down at rest there â—nd do not all the People in the World besides perish for want of Knowledge but those few who have been led and guided by the Prophet he hath blest many of them and led them in the way of Peace a strait and narrow way that few can find and when they have wanted Comfort of Mind he hath comforted them and when they have been weak in Faith and Knowledge he hath strengthen'd them and when any of their Brethren have been to strong one for the other he hath holpen the weak up and when Brethren condemn and judge one another he would not suffer the strong to trample upon the Weak and Feeble but would lift them up and uphold them with his own Knowledge so that no People under the Sun live better for the generality than those People who are obedient to or under the Prophet Hath the Prophet been a Burden or Oppressive to any of the Faith let them speak and he will restore them two-fold or hath he favoured the Rich or oppressed the Poor nay hath he not forced the Rich to help the Poor For the Yoke laid upon the Neck of those People by the Prophet is easier and lighter both for Spiritual and Temporal than the Yoke of any other People whatsoever And now I shall speak to you in particular and ask the Cause why you rebelled against me what Cause did I give you to rebel were you offended at my Words and because I did bear with many Weaknesses of some of your Brethren in the Faith and had Compassion on them and would not suffer them to be too much oppressed in Spirit for the guilt of their own Sins and judg'd and condemn'd by their Brethren in the same Faith because they were of corrupt Natures The Prophet must bear with corrupt Natures though you cannot as well as with pure uncorrupt Natures so doth God himself Prophets are not sure that all uncorrupt Natures will believe him so that if the Prophet hath not Power to uphold some corrupt Natures that believe him to what Purpose then should God send him And will you find fault with the Prophet for being merciful to corrupt natur'd Men whose Nature is more corrupt than yours Yet the Prophet hath upheld you this many Years You may remember when you came first acquainted with me that there was some Difference between Claxton and you and Claxton was high in Knowledge at that time and you weak and low and his Faith was over you and above you and did keep you under though his wicked Life had been worse than yours yet your Legal Righteousness between Man and Man would not have delivered you from his Power had not the Prophet kept him under and when you made your Complaint to me I strengthen'd you against him and upon your Request I bless'd you and you became in my Favour and when any spoke against your Wrathful Nature Words and Actions I pleaded for you and upheld you against them Also I led you in a Way which you knew not and in a Path which was not known to any but my self even the Way and Path of Peace I brought you to the Church of the First-born of God even to the Assembly of Saints for there are no true Saints this Day on Earth but those that are under the Prophet I brought you with the rest of Saints from under Mount Sinai that is from being under that fiery Law written in your Hearts Therefore did Paul thank God that he was delivered from that Law of Sin and Death and so doth every one that is delivered from being under that fiery Law written in his Heart I led you by the Hand of Faith through the barren Wilderness of your Minds that is barren of true heavenly Peace I led you from thence unto Mount Sion the City of the living God I shewed you the holy Hill of Sion I shewed you the Habitation of God in Heaven above the Stars I gave you the Interpretation thereof viz. The City of the Living God signifies God's reigning in all true Believers in the Kingdom of Glory as he did here on Earth in the Kingdom of Grace for all true Believers are the City of the living God and Mount Sion signifies the Habitation of God in Heaven where all true Believers shall be brought as Moses did the Children of Israel he brought them to the Temporal Mount Sion where God did use to appear and the Prophet hath brought the Believers of this Commission to that Spiritual Mount Sion where God uses to appear now And the Holy Hill of Sion which I shew'd you signifies the holy God himself in the spiritual as Moses led the People to that Holy Hill of Sion in the Temporal And the Holy Hill of Sion which I shewed you in the Spiritual signifies the Holy God himself from whom Prophets Apostles and Saints receive their most Holy Faith Revelation and Prophecy in the Original Also I brought you to the Spirits of just Men made perfect by Faith as Noah a Preacher of Righteousness by Faith built an Ark and Lot by Faith received two Angels therefore called righteous Lot Abraham by Faith would have offered up his Son therefore called
they contradicted one another in Point of Judgment and Appearance None but Devils did find Fault and cavil with them when they were alive And so it is now with John Reeve and me none but Devils would have made a Fraction or Disturbance among the Believers about John Reeve's Writing Error for this I must tell you no Man on Earth is to judge what is infallible and what is not but the Prophet only that is alive and if Men will not take things upon his Word and Judgment whoever refuseth it upon his bare Word will perish to Eternity Therefore the Spirit of Rebellion hath deceived you and made you forsake the Prophet that is now alive and cleave to John Reeve that is dead and to trust to the Scriptures that were not spoken to you nor given to you but those People to whom they were spoken did receive Benefit by them if they did believe in that time when that Faith was in being And John Reeve's Writings nor the Scriptures will do you no good now you have rebell'd against the Prophet now alive nor will that Faith in them deliver you at all from those Eternal Torments nor will those dead Prophets deliver you from your Rebellion nor help you to the Knowledge of Truth now they are all dead but this Prophet alive shall torment you and those dead ones shall not deliver you from my Power And as you have walked in the Steps of Korah Dathan and Abiram who rebelled against Moses and Aaron And what was the Fruits of their Rebellion Did not Moses the Prophet of the Lord cause the Ground to open and swallow them up alive for their Rebellion And this you shall know though I cannot cause the Earth to open its Mouth as Moses did yet this I can do by the Commission of the Spirit I can open Hell's Mouth and that shall swallow you up alive and keep you there Eternally for your Rebellion for where your Worm of Conscience shall never die and the Fire of Hell shall never be quench'd that you may know to your endless Pains and Shame that you rebelled and forsook the true Prophet alive on Earth at this Day and clave unto John Reeve and those Prophets that are dead which you never knew And for all your Pride Presumption and Boasting and lifting up your self against the Lord's anointed and chosen Prophet it will be a Wonder if God's Vengeance will not make you an Example in this World to be a Fugitive and Vagabond on the Face of the Earth before you die besides your Damnation hereafter for Sins of this Nature are punished with greater Punishment than any other Sin whatsoever but Murder and it would have been good for you and Meadgate if you had never been born Therefore in Obedience to my Commission for this your Wickedness in falling from the Faith you once had in the Prophet now alive to Rebellion against God and him and for many base proud presumtious Speeches in your Letters I do pronounce you Cursed and Damned in Soul and Body from the Presence of God Elect Men and Angels to Eternity And do you see if God will take Notice of you to deliver you or whether he will own you or me or whether your Faith be stronger than mine or whether you have declared Truth or I nor shall any of this Faith eat or drink with you or trade any more with you if I can help it for you are cast out of God's Sight and out of the Prophets Sight and out of the Assembly and Society of Believers for ever And now you may seek new Acquaintance in the World and see if you can find a better sort of People than those you find Fault with and you need not fear as Cain did that every one that meets with you will kill you but your own evil deceitful Heart to your own Principle and rejected Spirit will meet your Conscience and kill the Peace of it Written by LODOWICK MUDDLETON January the 23d 1671. A Copy of a Letter written by the Prophet Lodowick Muggleton to Colonel Phaire and the rest of the Believers of the Commission of the Spirit living in the Kingdom of Ireland dated in London February the 16th 1680. Loving Friend in the true Faith ROBERT PHAIRE I Having the Opportunity to send to you by our Friend Mary Stone the Daughter of Mrs. Penson who came on purpose as she saith to see me and Saddington therefore it was necessary that I should write a few Lines unto you upon her Request to signifie unto you that she hath been with me which Lines unto you are as followeth I have had great Experience of your stedfast Faith in the true God and in this Commission of the Spirit ever since you first heard of it even above twenty Years you have been as it were the Corner Stone that was laid in that Kingdom of Ireland which many have stumbled at and have dashed their Foot against a Stone and others again have built there House upon this Stone as upon a Rock so that no Winds nor Storms of Persecutions Reproaches Slanders and Lies could make it fall or shake this Doctrine of the true God in his Form and Nature and of the right Devil in his Form and Nature which Reeve and Muggleton have declared in our Writings which I perceive you and others are very well satisfied in do truly understand and believe for there can be no true Faith in the Heart except the Understanding be enlightned first And these two Forms and Natures are two Pillars the one Pillar bears up Heaven and the other bears up Hell now God's Form is Spiritual Heavenly and Glorious yet in the Form of Men and his Nature is all pure Faith which is all Power therefore all true Believers do partake of the Divine Nature of God even the Seed of Faith which is but as a Grain of Mustard-Seed a very small Seed yet it is able to remove that Mountain of Ignorance Darkness and Unbelief that lyeth before the Understanding of every Man by Nature so that by Faith we come to know the Worlds were framed by the Word of God that is by the Power of Faith in God and by Faith in these our mortal Bodies we come to know God in his Form and Nature and by Faith we see God here in Mortality as in a Glass as the Apostle saith and when this Faith is immortalized in the Resurrection then shall our vile Bodies be made like unto his Glorious Body then shall Immortality appear and shall see the Immortal God in the Form of Man Face to Face even as we are seen of him according to our Faith here in this Life shall it be unto us Further more by Faith we do feed upon the Flesh of God and drink his Blood as Christ said when on Earth except you eat my Flesh and drink my Blood you have no Life in you for his Flesh is Meat indeed and his Blood is Drink indeed And this I