himself did interpret this Scripture to the Eunuch or did it belong to a mortal man I think you will not be so grosly ignorant to say that Christ himself went into the Eunuchs Charret and interpreted those Scriptures to him Surely if the interpretation of Scripture had belonged onely unto Christ and not unto man as Fox doth assert then Christ must have come from heaven and have went into the Charret in Philips stead because Philip was a man and interpretation of Scripture doth not belong to man as Fox the Quaker saith May not any man that hath but the light of sense and reason in his understanding see the gross darkness of these Quakers which pretends to be in the clearest light of all the seven Churches but to my knowledge the darkest of all in point of doctrine And as for that saying of Scripture We shall be all taught of God it is not meant that God will teach every particular man and woman himself do you Fox believe so why then do you prattle to the people when you meet as if you would interpret the meaning of Scripture and teach the people the knowledge of Christ for you are but a man why do not you let Christ teach the people himself seeing you will have all taught of God and allow no man to interpret Scripture nor teach the people For if you say Christ doth interpret Scripture and not Muggleton because Muggleton is a man and the interpretation of Scripture you say belongs to Christ and not to Muggleton for Muggleton is but a man so Quakers are all taught of God and not by man I marvel why there is so many Men-teachers amongst the Quakers seeing teaching knowledge of heavenly things and the interpretation of Scripture belongeth to God and Christ and not to man If I were of your faith I would give over teaching and talking of the Scriptures and leave it to God and Christ to whom it doth and it would be well for you Speakers of the Quakers if you had done so before you took upon you to preach Christ within you you have undertook to teach that which you say God will do and to interpret Scripture which you say doth belong unto Christ But I see all those people that will be taught of God and have the Scriptures interpreted unto them by Christ himself and will not receive the interpretation from man I say those people are more ignorant and dark in their mindes than those that are taught by man And I am sure the Quakers people would have known more truth if they had been taught by man that hath a Commission from God as Reeve and Muggleton hath than they do by all that God ever taught them in their lives And the Interpretation of Scripture we have given if understood would have informed their Judgements more than all the Interpretation of Scripture that Christ ever did interpret unto the Quakers people since the name of Quakers was put upon them yet we are but mortal men and must die But to clear the scruple that may arise in mens mindes because I speak thus I shall shew in a few words how men may be said to be taught of God and how the Interpretation of Scripture may be said to belong unto Christ First when God chuseth any one man or more to be his chosen Prophet Messenger or Minister God doth furnish such with wisdom and understanding and revelation to declare the minde of God to the people what God would have the people do and look how many people or who ever doth believe this Messenger sent of God they may be said to be taught of God and are taught of God So likewise he that hath the gift of Interpretation of Scripture as Prophets Apostles and we the Witnesses of the Spirit hath our Interpretation of Scripture may be said to belong unto Christ and that it is the true Interpretation of Christ himself because we had our Commission from him to teach the people and to interpret Scripture to as many as believe us to their great peace and satisfaction of their souls And in this sense people may truely say they are all taught of God and that Christ hath given the true interpretation of Scripture by his servants the Prophets Apostles and Witnesses of the Spirit to our everlasting peace and comfort yet all this is declared by men yea by mortal men and not by Christ himself as the Quakers do vainly imagine 6. Also Fox saith Christ opens and no man shuts and saith Doth not John say No man was found worthy to open the Book but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah And saith Was not Christ annointed to preach CHAP. XXXVI ANSWER THis beareth the same sence as the other whatsoever the Prophets Apostles and Witnesses of the Spirit doth it may be said Christ doth it as the Prophets they preached of Balm in Gilead and of Eye-salve to anoynt the peoples eyes that they might see what did belong to their peace and where they might have salve to heal the wound in conscience which sin had made in their souls this is called the preaching of Christ by his Prophets 2. The Apostles had power given them by Christ to open the eyes of the blinde and to give light unto them that were in darkness and in the shadow of death and brought those that believed their doctrine into the light of life eternal Also they had the Keys of Heaven and of Hell to bind sin upon the consciences of unbelievers never to be forgiven and to loose the sins of those that did truely believe their doctrine of Christ and thus they did open the Book of conscience in the believer and no man could shut up that conscience which the Apostles doctrine opened neither could any man open that conscience the Apostles shut up in unbelief This also is called the preaching of Christ and opening and shutting the Book of Conscience by Christ yet this was done by men and not by Christ himself But in regard they did preach the Gospel by vertue of Authority from Christ and they were anointed by him to preach the everlasting Gospel and had power given them to open the Book of Conscience in some whereby they did believe in Christ and shut the conscience of others up in unbelief and thus that saying of the Scripture is fulfilled that Christ was anoynted to preach the Gospel of glad tidings of salvation for what his Messengers doth it is as if he did it himself Again we the Witnesses of the Spirit are anoynted and chosen of Christ to preach the everlasting Gospel and Christ hath given us power to set life and death before men and we have power to binde and loose and to open and shut the Book of Conscience and no man can shut that conscience we have opened neither can any man open that conscience we have shut up in darkness as to any spiritual knowledge or true peace this many can witness on both sides if
when you appeared to resist the Holy Ghost in us the Witnesses of the Spirit and look what Judgement and Sentence we the Witnesses of the Spirit have given you here in this world the same Judgement and Sentence shall be upon you in the world to come even to eternity And when you Fox appeared before us to resist the Holy Ghost in us then did you appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ and look what Judgement I have given you and others it may be said to be the Judgement and Sentence of Christ and that you appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ As it is in all Courts of natural Justice when men are condemned by the Judge for the breach of the Law doth not such an one appear before the Judgment-seat of the King What are all Courts of Justice but the Judgment-seat of the King and whosoever is justified or condemned by the Judges of these Courts they may be said to be justified or acquitted or judged or condemned before the Judgement-seat of the King In like manner it is with the Judgement-seat of Christ Christ is the chief Judge and King of Heaven and Earth yet he hath given power to his Prophets Apostles and Witnesses of the Spirit to be Embassadors and Judges in his stead as it is with Earthly Kings so that who ever appears before the true Embassadors of Christ they do appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ and look what Judgement the Embassadors who are Judges do give upon a man if justified then Christ justifies if condemned then condemned and there is no appealing to any other So that you Fox you have appeared before the Judgement-seat of Christ already and have received your Judgement and Sentence already but the execution of it is not yet come and when you appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ as you mean and I shall be there also and look what Sentence I have passed upon you and others here the same shall I pass upon you When Christ which is my Life doth appear then shall I appear with him in glory and shall sit upon a Throne of glory and shall judge you wicked despisers of a personal God with the same Sentence of eternal Damnation as I did when I was here in mortality and then shall you Fox know to your endless misery that God gave power to a mortal man like your self to give Judgement and Sentence of eternal Damnation upon you though you despise and scorn that a mortal man should give Sentence upon you Speakers of the Quakers and others but you shall finde the Sentence of a mortal man as really true upon you as if the Immortal God himself had passed it upon you But the Reader may finde this more largely opened in The Quakers Neck broken But to make it appear more plain to the Reader that the Judgment-seat of Christ is in this world as well as hereafter and that all Prophets Apostles and true Messengers and Ministers of Christ if they be chosen by him they are Judges and those that do appear before them or any of them they may be said to appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ and look what Judgement Christs Judges which he hath chosen and given them a Commission doth give Sentence either of Justification or Condemnation they received this Sentence before the Judgement-seat of Christ because these Judges are chosen by him as it is with other Judges in the temporal as aforesaid This I shall make more appear by Scripture as Mat. 19.29 where Christ saith to his twelve Apostles You saith he shall sit upon twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel Now let the Reader minde These twelve Apostles had the Keyes of Heaven and Hell given them here and they had power to remit sins and to retain mens sins that is they had power to forgive sins and power to retain sins that is they had power to justifie that man or woman that believed their doctrine and they had power to condemn those that despised and did not believe their doctrine now these people so justified and condemned by these Apostles and true Preachers they did appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ for they were appointed Judges in his stead and that the Reader may understand how these Apostles should judge the twelve Tribes of Israel I declare unto you thus That these Twelve had their Commission from Christ to preach the Gospel of Christ unto the twelve Tribes of Israel though many Gentiles believed also yet Paul was chiefly sent unto the Gentiles and chosen of Christ to preach him unto the Gentiles but the other twelve Apostles their Message was chiefly to preach Christ unto the twelve Tribes of Israel which were the Jewes in their time and as many of those Jewes as did believe in these twelve Apostles Doctrine concerning Christs Death Resurrection and Ascension and other things belonging thereunto which they preached I say the Apostles had power to give Sentence of Blessedness upon those which did truly believe their Doctrine and that their sins were forgiven them and so they came to be justified in their own consciences justified before God and so had peace with God So on the contrary those that did not believe the Apostles Message but rather despised it spoke evil of it and persecuted it calling it Blasphemy Heresie Deceit and Lies which many of those Jews did the Apostles had power to pronounce and condemn those unbelieving Jewes who despised and spake evil of the Doctrine of Christ Also they had power to retain their sins so that God should never forgive them so that they should never be forgiven in the conscience nor forgiven of God So that these twelve Apostles doth judge the twelve Tribes of Israel here in this world some they have judged eternally happy because they believed their report others they judged eternally damned for their unbelief and despisings as aforesaid so that the Apostles did judge the Twelve Tribes of Israel in their time as aforesaid and this Judgment of theirs is the Judgement-seat of Christ and these twelve Tribes were before the Judgement-seat of Christ so long as the Apostles Commission lasted which was a matter of three hundred and fifty years after Christs death So that these twelve Apostles may be said to judge the twelve Tribes of Israel here in this life by their Doctrine of Christ Also it may be said that the twelve Tribes of Israel did appear before the Judgement-seat of Christ for many of them were justified by faith in Christ and many were condemned by unbelief in Christ so that every one had the Sentence in themselves by the Apostles judging whether happy or unhappy and for this faithful service the twelve Apostles have done in this life in judging according to their Commission they shall sit upon twelve Thrones of Glory in the Resurrection and shall give the same Judgement upon the twelve Tribes there as they did here that is they will justifie the same Sentence of
Salvation and Damnation upon the twelve Tribes of Israel as they gave here in mortality they will justifie the same before Christ their King when they do sit upon twelve Thrones of immortal Glory and many that believed them here shall see them in that glory and many that were condemned here shall see in their own consciences that their Sentence was true even as the Rich man did that was in hell CHAP. XV. SO likewise Moses and the Prophets were Judges and did judge those that believed their Report to be happy and those which did not unhappy as you may see John 5.25 In that Chapter the Jews do upbraid Christ as if he did accuse the Jews worthy of condemnation for not believing in him But saith Christ do not you think that I will accuse you to the Father there is one saith he that accuseth you even Moses in whom you trust for saith he had you believed Moses you would have believed me for he wrote of me The meaning is this That seeing their Fathers did not believe Moses neither obeyed they him but murmured against him and tempted God at the Waters of Meribah and at several other times whereby their carcases fell in the wilderness by their provoking the Lord to anger in murmuring against Moses and Aaron and these Jews in Christs time being the children of those that tempted God when they tempted Moses they being devils that tempted Moses yet he being dead these their children put their trust in his Writings and condemns their own Fathers saying Had we lived and seen those things and great wonders our Fathers saw Moses and the Prophets did we would never have murmured against Moses nor have persecuted the Prophets as our Fathers did But when the greatest wonder of all that ever God did for the satisfaction of mans minde was done upon earth that is God manifest in flesh the God and Savior of the world become very man so that men might talk with God in flesh as a man talketh with his friend Even that Prophet that should be raised up like unto Moses whom Moses advised the Generations to come to hear him and all the Prophets foretold of him yet when he was come these Jews did not believe him no more than their Fathers did believe Moses but they tempted him as their Fathers tempted Moses Neither did Christ accuse nor judge these Jews nor their Fathers for unbelief but leaves them to Moses in whom they trusted so that Moses and the Prophets shall be the Judges of all those that put their trust in their Writings and who ever did or doth truely believe their Writings concerning Christ to come or truely believe when he was come they are all justified and shall be saved by the Writings of Moses and the Prophets So on the contrary all those Jews that read Moses Writings and the Prophets and professed obedience unto them yet did not truely believe them but rather despised and persecuted those that foretold of a Christ the Savior and the children of those Jews persecuted the Savior himself these I say are all to be accused and judged by Moses and the Prophets for they made a profession of their Writings but understood nor believed nothing of them so these Jews have appeared before the Judgement-seat of Christ and they will have no other Accuser or Judge but Moses in whose Letter men put their trust So that Moses will be always speaking in the conscience as the blood of Abel did in Cains conscience fear and horror And this is the Judgement-seat of Christ that these men aforesaid shall and hath appeared before for Moses and the Prophets were Judges in Christs stead So that all Commissionated men whom God hath chosen to reveal the Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven to mankinde they are all Judges and are in Christs stead and what Judgement they give in spiritual matters Christ doth own as his own Judgement so that who ever is judged by any of these Judges they may be said to be judged whether it be the Sentence of Justification or Sentence of Condemnation to eternity and that they received this Sentence before the Judgement-seat of Christ Also these Judges shall all sit upon Thrones of Immortal Glory in the Celestial Heavens being faithful here upon earth as Moses was in his house that was in his Commission of the Law and the Apostles in the Gospel and we the Witnesses of the Spirit according to the tenor of our Commission have been faithful also so that Moses the Prophets and Apostles and we the Witnesses of the Spirit shall sit upon Thrones of Glory as Judges in the presence of Christ our God our King and our Redeemer in the highest Heavens So much concerning the Judgement-seat of Christ 13. The same page Muggleton saith Because he hath passed Sentence upon the Quakers they shall never grow to have more experience in Visions and Revelations but shall wither Here saith Fox are more of Muggleton's Lies for saith he the truth spreads yea and will spread over the whole world more and more CHAP. XVI ANSWER I Do know and affirm that those Speakers of the Quakers and others whom I have passed the Sentence of eternal Damnation upon that they have not nor do grow in any Experience nor Revelation since the Sentence of damnation was passed on them as experience doth plainly manifest and many will witness unto it And as for Fox himself what Experience and new Revelation of Scripture have you had since you were damned a matter of fourteen years ago Have you published any other things but what you did at the first no not so much as you did at the first for then it was your Principle of Zeal to fall into Witchcraft-fits supposing it was the Spirit of Christ that moved you to foam at the mouth and sigh and groan and swell with spiritual Witchcraft and howl and groan as if hell were like to burst in you and perhaps a while after your spirit would break forth into a many non-sensical words as if the devil had broke forth out of hell was not this your practice and were not these the most eminent Quakers counted amongst you who had those Witchcraft-fits for the Quakers revelation doth arise in them onely when the Witchcraft-fit is upon them nay I have known some that have followed the Quakers desiring to be of them and earnestly desiring in their Meetings to have those Fits as other Quakers had for they thought such persons who had those Witchcraft-fits to be much in the favor of God and that those Fits had been wrought by the Spirit of Christ and that he had revealed great things unto them and because the parties aforesaid could not produce those Fits in themselves as they saw others have notwithstanding their melancholy life their framing their outward aparrel and observing every motion in the minde according to the Quakers doctrine they left no stone unturned nor no endeavor neglected in the Quakers way that
in the world in his person in the Apostles time therefore the world persecuted them and put them to death for witnessing that Christ was in the world and they with wicked hands had slain the Lord of Life even Christ Jesus the onely God the King of Heaven So that John and I am both of one minde and of one faith that though Christ the only God and King of Heaven was in this world before he suffered death this John the Apostle and I both do believe and know but since Christ rose from the dead and ascended up to heaven John and I do believe and know that Christ the only God and King of heaven is not in this world at all in his person and essence yet Fox calls this Lies But the Reader may see if he hath any light who it is that lies Fox or I. Also he saith The true Prophet saith God the King of Heaven fills heaven and earth but saith he the false prophet saith God the King of Heaven is not in this world at all It is a small thing to be called a false prophet by the Seed of the Serpent especially by a damned devil for I know Fox would have said so by those prophets he calls true had he lived in that time and this John and Christ he so much talks of would have been counted all false a false Christ a false Witness what will any Quaker believe that to be a Christ a Savior that comes in likeness of man nay is a man sin excepted No no we will have a Christ that is a Spirit that may creep into our spirits when he will and whip out again when we commit sin and displease his Spirit such a Christ we own that hath never a body of his own but is all Spirit that fills every Quakers body with his Spirit and heaven and earth also What will you perswade us to believe that Christ is a man Christ is God and admits of no form so thou John art a false witness to perswade us to believe in a man to be Christ or God the Savior of the world this I know would Fox and the rest of the Quakers have said by those he calls now true prophets they being dead and by Christ and the Apostles as he doth by me For when they were alive on earth as I am now they were counted by the seed of the Serpent such as Fox is Blasphemers Deceivers Liers and such like but now who so zealous for the dead letter of the Prophets and Apostles as the seed of the Serpent are but when they were alive they were hated and persecuted for speaking that which the seed of the Serpent doth now honor so is it with me now I am alive I am hated and persecuted by the seed of the Serpent as well by Quakers as others for my doctrine and commission now while I am alive but when I am dead many of the seed of the Serpent in the next generation shall have respect unto my Writings and shall say had we lived in those days that Fox and other Quakers lived in we would never have blasphemed and spoken evil of so pure a truth as Fox the Quaker hath done to incur eternal damnation upon our own heads as Fox the Quaker their father hath done these things will come to pass as it hath done in the other two Commissions namely the Law the Gospel Page 22. Muggleton saith the Quakers hearken to the light within but they despise the body and person of Christ without them and so they are Antichrist 20. To this Fox saith Here are more Lies of the false prophet for saith he Christ that died at Jerusalem his person we own without us who is manifest within us the light of Christ Jesus by which we have seen of his glory and speak in his person And Fox saith Solomons Books in the Bible are good Scripture though Muggleton saith they be not Scripture he being not in the spirit of Solomon that gave them forth CHAP. XXVI ANSWER HEre Fox hath shewed his Allegorical Juggle who dares not deny the person of Christ without them not in plain terms because the Scriptures are so full to prove Christ a person and it is the Faith of all Christendom as we call it but any man that hath any true light in him may see that Fox is a meer Juggler to deceive the simple and ignorant whose doctrine makes the people more dark in their mindes than they were by nature For saith Fox we Quakers own the person of Christ without us who is manifest within us There is such a great stir with Gods Messengers to part Christs person or body from the Quakers and their bodies from him that Christs body might stand single of it self and the Quakers bodies might stand single of themselves at a distance from Christs body but the Quakers will either get into Christs body or else Christ must get into the Quakers bodies so that no man can tell how to part them one from another but I know death will part them And Christ will say to Fox and other Quakers Depart from me you workers of iniquity you pretended that you were my Saints and that I was in you and you in me but I know you not neither did I send you to preach for I never was in you by my Spirit to assist you in your preaching you should have let preaching and praying in my name alone for you have done more hurt than good in that your doctrine hath blinded the eyes of many people and have led them as sheep to the slaughter and hath caused many to suffer extreamly in this life even to the loss of their natural life besides the punishment hereafter For you should have hearkened to my chosen Witnesses and Prophets who can declare the true Christ God and man in one single person in the form of a man with the right devil his form and nature but your non-knowledge of the right devil is the cause of your gross darkness in the knowledge of the true Christ What are you Quakers the better for your Christ within you he yields you no true peace and what are you the better for being in Christ for the true Christ denies you and will not be in you by his Spirit neither will he suffer you to be in him because you and a great part of you Quakers are of the reprobate Seed which have no part nor portion in the true Christ for you are and the Quakers people but the devil transformed into the likeness of an Angel of light because you are something more precise in your life as to outward appearance but your preciseness is very much broken and withered of late years your darkness and ignorance is discovered by the light of this Commission of the Spirit for you are not like the people you were formerly neither doth your Witchcraft-fits catch any now as it did heretofore Your Witchcraft-fits can hardly be produced now of
have passed upon many of the Quakers people As first Fox saith He believes that my Sentence will return back upon my self as in pag. 6. 2. Fox saith That those I have cursed are clear over my spirit as in pag. 12. 3. Fox saith Had the Quakers nevar seen letter of Scripture or any man yet saith he the Quakers could have spoken in the power and spirit and in the divine light of Christ had he never seen letter of Scripture nor man as in pag. 18. 4. Fox gives glory to his God and Christ within him who hath as he saith set him and other Quakers above that Curse and Sentence I have passed upon them as in pag. 20. 5. Fox blames me for saying God hath made me Judge of the Quakers spiritual estate and yet saith he thou owns thy self to be but a mortal man Oh how Fox despiseth that a mortal man should be the Quakers Judge of their immortal souls as they imagine for saith Fox the spiritual man judgeth all things as in pag. 21. 6. Fox blames me for saying that the spirit of reason in man is the devil and Fox seems to justifie the Magistrates that persecuted me because I say they were reasonable men And Fox further blames me for fleeing from the devils malice yet he judgeth that if those Magistrates devils had inflicted more corporal punishment upon me than Imprisonment it had been but reason the devil still for saith Fox thou canst no say it was unreasonableness in them according to thy own saying as in Page 23. 7. Fox calls me a laying spirit because I say it doth not belong to Christ now being in Heaven to interpret Scripture For saith Fox doth not the Scripture say all shall be taught of God and that he opens and no man shuts and doth not John say no man was found worthy to open the Book but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and was not Christ anointed to preach as in page 24. CHAP. XXIX ANSWER FIrst as for that sentence that I have passed upon the Quakers people and others it is irrevocable and will be as sure upon you as if God had said it with his own mouth for as I said in that book we are as true Ambassadors of Christ as Moses the Prophets and Apostles were and if they were sent of God we are sent of God and if there were any power in their Sentence and Judgement to those people in their time so sure will the Sentence and Judgement of us the Witnesses of the Spirit be upon you and as many of the Quakers people as hath or shall fall under it Neither shall that curse I have passed upon you despising Quakers return upon my self no more then the curse of Moses which open'd the ground to swallow up wicked rebellous men alive for desiring the Priests office So wil it be with you Fox the Quaker in that you have rebell'd against the Messengers of Christ and strove for to be a Minister of Christ when as he never chose nor sent you yet you will proudly contend with those that God hath chosen anointed and seal'd to declare the highest mysteries that ever was declared by man yet you look upon your self to be better able to preach the Gospel then we you who knoweth not the true God nor what the devil is nor that your soul must die nor any one true principle of Faith yet you are taken by the people to be a man of knowledge and so you encourage your self to be a Minister of Christ and yet knows not what the true Christ is nor where he is and do you think that Hell shall not open its mouth and swallow you up alive Yea I say it will and you shall not escape for I know and see it will be so and you shall find my words to be true to your eternal pain and shame as Corah Dathan and Abiram did by Moses 2. Fox saith those I have cursed are clear over my spirit CHAP. XXX ANSWER IT is a marvellous thing that damned men should be over his spirit that hath a commission from God to condemn despisers of the Holy Ghost it is as if a prisoner that is condemned by the Judge for his breach of the Law should have that curse he pronounced upon the man over his own head By Fox his conceit the man is in a better case then the Judge for the man may as truely say that the sentence and curse the Judge hath passed upon him is clear over the Judges spirit as if the condemned man were in a better condition then the Judge yet the one goeth to be hanged according to the Judges sentence and the Judge goeth to his Palace So is it with you George Fox and many other of you Quakers you must go to the damnation of eternal death according to my sentence and I shall enter into everlasting life that condemned you so that you shall never clear your selves from that curse I have passed upon you but it shall be over your spirits and upon your spirits to eternity 3. Fox saith had the Quakers never seen letter of Scriptures or any man yet saith he the Quakers could have spoken in the power and spirit and in the Divine light of Christ CHAP. XXXI ANSWER HEre Fox sheweth plainly that the Quakers light of Christ within them is nothing else but the Law written in their hearts their thoughts accusing and excusing as the Heathen have the Apostle speaks of and no divine faith of Christ at all Mind the Scripture saith by faith we know the world was made and by faith Abraham offered up his son Isaac and faith is the evidence of things not seen and the Apostles preached the word of faith and this I say no heavenly spiritual or divine light can be truely understood but by faith And this I say further that the letter of the Scriptures were spoken by the word of Faith and by faithful men for there is no writings under Heaven that are the ground of Faith nor doth give satisfaction to the mind of man as to his eternal salvation as the letter of the Scripture doth if understood and believed by man how could man have known the creation of the world and how God appeared to Noah before and after the Flood or whether there were any Flood or no but by faith Or how can any man know that God appeared to Abraham Isaac and Jacob and gave them to prophesie so many hundred years before of God becomeing flesh and that he should save men from sin by his death even as many as should believe in his name with great and mighty things that hath been done by the power of faith which the letter of the Scriptures doth relate which no man could comprehend nor know but those that have faith in the letter of the Scriptures yet Fox the Quaker he could have spoken in the power and spirit of the Divine light of Christ though the Quakers had never seen letter of
they would but our other writings doth speak more large of this point so I shall say no more as to this Onely this that this power we the Witnesses of the Spirit have is the power of Christ as the Prophets and Apostles power was in their time therefore said to be done by Christ himself But I know Fox the Quaker is willing to believe that dead Prophets and Apostles were Messengers of Christ but he doth not believe there is any sent of Christ not alive but what is within them but he shall find that we the Witnesses of the Spirit were sent of God and have as great power given us as any Prophet or Apostle whatsoever And as for that saying of John Revelation 5. That no man in Heaven nor in Earth nor under the Earth was able to open the Book but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah This I would have the Reader to minde for it is a vain thing to talk to Quakers of interpretation of Scripture by man that is alive but John that spake these words being dead the Quakers believe his words though they know nothing what he meant nor what that Book was that none could open but Christ This let the Reader minde that there is three Books that are to be opened by Christ as you may see Rev. 20.20 And the Books were opened and another book was opened which is the Book of Life Now to give the Reader to understand these three Books the first Book is the Law written in mans heart this Book are all the Heathen are to be judged by when it is opened at the great day of the Lord. The second Book is the Conscience of people who hath heard the preaching of Faith in Christ yet did not believe when this Book is opened they shall be judged at that great day in themselves for their unbelief The third Book is the Book of Life wherein all true believers Faith is written and according to their works of faith they are judged and so according to the works of unbelief are judged and according to the works of reason their thoughts accusing shall the Heathen be judged according to what is written In these Books shall all people be judged both small and great Mind and look what judgement Gods Messengers hath given unto men in this life the same will Christ give when he doth raise them again at the last day as I have said before therefore this Book which no man in Heaven nor in Earth could open it was the Book of Life and none was found worthy to open the Book of Life but Christ he being the Lion of the Tribe of Judah This Book of Life must needs belong to Christ to open and to no man else for he is God the first and the last the beginning and the end of all mankind but what is this to interpret Scripture Christ hath given that to man but I have opened these things more large in the Interpretation of the whole Book of the Revelation In the last place I shall say something as to the Quakers principle practice Fox saith in the end of his Pamphlet against me that I am judged with the Spirit of Truth and over me saith Fox is the true and Faithful witness Christ Jesus the Corner-stone which will grind me to powder Further Fox saith in Christ is his people meaning the Quakers that reign over my head that can raise and reign over the head of the curser and Fox saith Edward Bourn whom thou hast curst and damned who is far above thee and thy Father in him that redeems out of the curse and destroys thee and thy Father both I do acknowledge that Christ Jesus the Faithful Witness the Corner-stone should grinde me to powder if he doth not own me to be sent of him if I do curse any without a commission from him or if I should curse any of the true Christs people then let that curse be upon my own head as Fox saith Also I was always willing that those people that were ingrafted into Christ by Faith should be above me for there is no people in Christ but such as are ingrafted into him by faith which I am sure no Quaker is as in that state neither can any man be a member of Christ but by the hearing of Faith and faith comes by hearing how can any preach the word of faith except he be sent as I am sure no Quaker never was sent of Christ to preach therefore no Quakers people in Christ But that Christ the Quakers people are in I that am a man hath power over some I have separated their Christ from them one from the other and hath shewed them the true Christ to their great satisfaction and they have bin glad they were rid of the Quakers Christ Others again hath bin condemned by me both them and their Christ neither would I let them and their Christ part one from another but torment each other for this Christ the Quakers hath in them is the Law written in their hearts and the Christ the Quaker people are in is the motions of this Law and sometimes they do well then the Law is quiet in them and their Christ giveth peace to them so I knowing this Christ was born with man and man born with it as the Apostle saith being under the Law then free from grace But being born again we are not under the Law but under Grace but the Quakers people are under the Law though not the outward letter as the people of the Jews were yet they are under the Law written in their hearts as the Heathen were before any Law was given and this is the Quakers Christ within them and that Christ they are in so that Christ the only God hath chosen me and hath given me power over the Quakers Christ within them and themselves also to keep them together so that the one shall not part from the other for though they shall desire that this Christ within them might part from them but it will not but torment their souls to eternity This will be Fox the Quakers portion and many more Quakers besides and if you Edward Bourn and others of the Quakers whom I have cursed do get over or above that curse and sentence I have passed upon you let your righteousness be what it will I say then Cain shall get above and over that curse God himself pronounced upon him and so shall Judas get above that curse Christ pronounced upon him Furthermore if you Quakers were not wilfully ignorant and blinde you might see that this commission of the Spirit given to John Reeve and Muggleton hath had great power over the Ranters and Quakers it hath broken the Ranters principle all to pieces so that none dares hold up an argument to defend it you Quakers also are very much shattered you are not like the people ye were 16 years ago this some that had a love for you have seen confest The Ranters
your souls to eternity and none shall deliver you from it Thus much in answer to George Fox his printed Pamphlet By Lodwick Muggleton Here followeth the Copy of a LETTER sent to SARAH COPPIN Quaker Sarah Coppin YOu may remember about fourteen years ago in the year 1653. that you did seem to receive John Reeve and Lodowick Muggleton as Messengers and Prophets of the Lord or as Witnesses of the Spirit and further you did shew much kindness unto us upon that account for there could be no other inducement in us at that time to invite any to shew kindness unto us but that doctrine declared by us concerning the true God as our writings did declare which you did seem to own Also you may remember your great zeal you had for us when we were prisoners in Old-Bridewel your zeal carried you out so far for us to deliver a Writing of ours unto Oliver Cromwel who was then chosen Lord Protector this you did your self in zeal and love to this Commssiion of the Spirit as we the Witnesses of the Spirit thought and I suppose your self did think what you did in that kinde it was in sincerity of heart also and we took it so and had a love for you as to your eternal happiness but your faith was not truely grounded neither upon the doctrine of the true God nor the Commission of the Spirit as it is manifest since Also you may remember one Joan Bishop a maid that was the occasion of bringing you acquainted with us and that you had been very religiously given before you met with us even so much that you were almost distracted about your salvation in that none of the Preachers of the Nation could shew you the way to rest for your soul they having no true rest themselves yet you may remember your receiving us upon that account as Prophets of the Lord who had put down John Taney John Robins and many others that went as prophets and prophetesses and pretended great revelations and visions from the Lord and yet knew not what God is these all have been brought down by us the Witnesses of the Spirit these things you know in part Also your acquaintance with us it cured you of that distracted condition you were in before you knew us and you were clothed in your right minde and was able to give a sensible Answer to any that did oppose you but I know you cannot do so now you are turned to the Quakers though you are become a Speaker amongst them I know your pride and ambition of your heart that loveth to be esteemed of people what a Woman-preacher you think this to be a great glory to you but the greatest shame that possible may be will be the effects of it for it is not your many sensless speeches without form or order produced by a witchcraft spirit within you which you call the light of Christ I say this you have gloried in will be your endless shame for your latter end will be worse than your beginning for you are become an absolute Apostate who hath back-slided and fallen from the truth and turned to the Quakers the most Antichristian Principle of all the seven Churches and the greatest fighters against a personal God without man of any so that you are an absolute Apostate and impossible to be renewed by repentance for you are fallen from truth to a lie for you are as some were in the Apostles time as Heb. 3 6. who were enlightened and had tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the life to come that is they were enlightened by the Commission of the Gospel committed to them to preach they tasted that good word of God even the doctrine of Christ which was life and salvation to them that truly believed But seeming believers tasted of this good word of God which the Apostles preached and rejoyced in it for a season as Herod did and as for the powers of the life to come they had peace in their minds and hope of eternal life by the Apostles doctrine so long as they stood by faith but when they fell away from that faith they once profest they could not be renewed again by repentance so that all that light and word of God they tasted of and peace and hope which is the powers of the life to come it all withered and dyed within them so that they were not sensible of the light of heaven nor any goodness of Gods word they preacht nor any peace or hope they ever found by owning the Apostles doctrine so it is with you as it was with those apostates that did fall away from the Apostles Commission after they had made a profession to own and believe it and had received many refreshments in their mindes and had tasted of the Joys of Heaven but in that they did fall from it to some other opinion as to the worship of the Law as the Galatians did who were bewitched as Paul saith so that their latter end was worse than their beginning For before a man joyn with truth though he doth not believe it for the present yet it is possible he may be renewed in his minde and come afterwards to believe and be saved but if any shall profess truth and rejoyce in it for a season and afterwards fall away it is impossible for such an one to be renewed by repentance as aforesaid And this is your condition for you rejoyced in this Commission of the Spirit for a season and did many good acts for us which did manifest that you had a love for this Declaration of John Reeve and my self and yet afterwards to fall away from the belief of it and not onely so but to speak evil of us the Witnesses of the Spirit In that you said you knew John Reeve and Lodowick Muggleton very well and that we were the greatest Deceivers that ever was and that as soon as ever you met with Truth meaning the Quakers then you forsook us these with such like words and more than I mention here did you say which is clear to me that you are not onely fallen from grace but you have trampled the blood of the Covenant under foot and counted it an unholy thing even that whereby you should have been sanctified by faith had you held out to the end you should have been saved by this Commission of the Spirit for there is no salvation under heaven to be found in these days but in the belief of this Commission of the Spirit given of God to John Reeve and my self for our Commission is as true as the Apostles Commission was at that time and we as true Prophets as they were Apostles so that whoever shall make a profession of this and fall away afterwards and speak evil of that they once owned I say they trample the blood of the Covenant under foot now as they did in the Apostles time and do count that an unholy thing that should have given