Way then should that wicked one be revealed whom the Lord would consume with the Spirit of his Mouth and destroy with the Brightness of his Coming And the Apostles declared That Perilous times were at hand and should come wherein men should be Lovers of themselves more then Lovers of God and that they should be Proud Heady High minded men and should have a Form of Godliness but should deny the Power they should be such who seek after filthy Lucre and through Covetousness should make Merchandize of Souls for dishonest Gain and they should be Fierce Despisers of them that are good and should speak Evil of Things they know not but what they know is naturally as Bruit Beasts and in those Things they corrupt themselves these are Murmurers and Complainers walking after their own Lusts and their Mouthes speaking great swelling Words having mens Persons in Admiration because of Advantage these are as raging Waves of the Sea foaming out their own Shame Wandering Stars to whom is reserved the Blackness of Darkness forever therefore the Wo is unto them for they have gone in the Way of Cain and run greedily after the Error of Balaam even for Gifts and Rewards And Enoch the Seventh from Adam prophesied of these saying Behold the Lord cometh in Ten Thousand of his Saints to execute Judgments upon all and to convince all that are Ungodly amongst them of all their Ungodly Deeds which they have ungodlily committed and of all their Hard Speeches which Ungodly Sinners have spoke against him Now these were the Ministers of Darkness therefore they have wrought in the dark their Deeds have been the Deeds of Darkness and these are they that have kept People in Blindness and Ignorance some Thirty some Forty and some an Hundred Years even all their Life time ever learning but they never came to the Knowledge of the Truth by them and these are they which have taught for Doctrine the Precepts of Men and their Precepts are contrary to the Scriptures and are as followeth First They tell People That the Scriptures are the Word of God when there is no such thing mentioned in the Scriptures but they declare that Christ was the Word which was in the beginning with God and was God 2dly They tell People of a Sacrament and some of them of several Sacraments and of Three Persons in the Trinity when the Scripture declares no such thing yet the Father Son and holy Ghost we own which is but one 3dly They Sprinkle Infants with Water and tell the People They are adopted into Christ and are thereby become Members of his Body when there is neither Command nor Example in all the Scriptures for any such thing 4thly They tell People That the First Day of the Week is the Sabbath Day and ought to be kept more holy then any other Day when there was no such thing commanded by Christ nor any of the Apostles 5thly They have told the People That the House made of Lime and Stone is the Church and the Temple of God wherein the Lord dwels when the Scripture declares no such thing but the Contrary that is that God dwelleth not in Temples made with Hands 6thly They taught the People to observe Dayes and Set Times as Christ mas day and Children mas-day and Lammâ—s-dâ—y and Candle-mas-day and Michael's-mas-day with Easter and their Good Fryday and their Whitsuntide and Shrovetide and many other Saints Dayes which are tedious here to mention whereof the Scripture makes no mention And they have told the People That Tythes and Offerings are due to them and Easter-Reckonings and Midsummer-Dues and Smoke-Pennys and Reek-Pennys and Money for Eggs and Gardens with their great fair House and Glebe-Lands whereby they their Wives and Families may live even in the Sins of Sodom which were Pride abundance of Idleness and Fulness of Bread Now this which they call their Dues is the very Pillar and Ground upon which their Gospel and Ministry stands for let this be but taken away and down fall they with their Gospel and Ministry which some of them have not been ashamed to declare in publick Now the Scripture declares not any such thing neither is there any mention made of such Maintenance to be Compelled from the People to maintain them that are the True Ministers who are Called and Chosen and sent abroad from Country to Country and from City to City to declare the Glorious Gospel that the Sound thereof might reach even to the Ends of the Earth and as they received freely so they were to give freely and into what City soever they came they were to enquire who was worthy and there to remain eating such things as were set before them for the Labourer is worthy of his Meat Now thou that readest consider in thy own Heart thinkest thou that the Lord God of Life hath intrusted his Glorious Gospel in the Hands of such Hirelings as before-mentioned who would not declare it to the Poor and Needy whereunto it is the Glad-Tidings of Salvation because they have not wherewithal to satisfie them for it Nay verely nay the Lord never intended any such thing but he sent his Prophets to cry out to every one that thirsts that they might come unto the Waters and take Wine and Milk without Money and without Price And John witnesses that the Spirit saith Come and the Bride saith Come and whosoever is athirst may come and take of the Water of Life freely And Paul affirms That he did not eat any Man's Bread for nought but wrought with Labour and Travail Night and Day that he might not be Chargeable to any but he commanded that if any would not Work neither should he eat Therefore their Maintenance was not so large neither did they sit down in one Place to preach the Gospel some Ten some Twenty and more years and so sit at Ease in Pride and Idleness compelling their Maintenance from the People and making Friends to the Rulers Magistrates having their Persons in Admiration that they may have the Advantage of the Law against the People that they may have their Goods by Violence and cast their Bodies into Prison if they Refuse to put into their Mouthes to satisfie their Lusts as those which have ruled in this long Night of Apostacy have done But the True Apostles who laboured with their own Hands and travailed up and down in Hunger and in Cold who were counted as Vagabonds and not worthy to live upon the Earth by them in whom the seed of the Serpent ruled they fore-told the People that such Ravening Wolves should come who should make a Prey upon the Sheep and as there had been False Prophets in all ages before them even so there should arise False Teachers amongst them who privily should bring in Damnable Heresies even denying the Lord that bought them and bringing upon themselves swift Destruction and many should follow their pernicious Ways by reason of whom the Way of Truth should be
come and the Glory of the Lord is risen and arising upon her and though the Darkness doth cover the Earth and the gross Darkness the People yet the Lord shall arise upon her and his Glory shall be seen upon her and the Gentiles shall come to her Light and Kings to the Brightness of her rising and she shall awake and put on her Strength and her beautiful Garments shall be put on for henceforth there shall no more come into her the Uncircumcised nor the Unclean therefore cleanse your Hands ye Sinners and purifie your Hearts ye double-minded that you may be accepted in this the Day of the Lord 's lâ—rge Love and Mercies that is so largely held forth and proffered unto you to invite you that you might not partake of the Plagues of BABYLON which shall speedily come upon her at unawares in an Hour when you least think of it shall Desolation and Destruction come upon her and upon all them that are found in her partaking with her of her Sins O therefore as you tender the Eternal Welfare of your precious Souls which ought to be counted as dear and as precious in your Sight as any Man's Soul that ever lived on the Earth for they are precious in the Sight of the Lord therefore prize them and this the Day of your Visitation for you know not how soon the dark Night may overtake you and you may be sealed up in the Pit of utter Darkness and no Means afforded you whereby you may be redeemed into the Light again therefore consider of these Things while you have Time and Space and come forth of Babylon and touch no more of her Uncleanness lest you perish eternally with her in your Stubbornness and gain saying the VVitness of God in your own Consciences which dâ—th stand a true VVitness against you in these things and let not the long Forbearance of so merciful a God whose Spirit hath for a long time striven with you and still rises up to condemn you in your own Hearts for your evil Deeds I say let not his long Forbearance harden your Hearts against the Day of Slaughter because his Judgments are not speedily executed upon you for verily his Spirit shall not alwayes strive with Man but at last you will provoke his VVrath cause it to be kindled against you his fierce Indignation will break forth of a sudden upon you and Horror Dread and Terror will take hold on all such ungodly VVretches which do Despight to his Spirit of Grace which hath long striven with them in their own Hearts and Consciences and have turned it into Lasciviousness and VVantonness and put the Day of the Lord their God afar off from them yet let all such know that he is nigh unto every one of them to smite them in their own Hearts and in their own Consciences for disobeying of his righteous Law and just Command which he hath clearly made known unto them for what may be known of God is made manifest in thee for he hath shewed it unto thee O Man And though there hath been a long time of Darkness Ignorance whereat the Lord hath winked but now since the true Light hath shined in all Hearts so manifestly so that none can plead Ignorance after they once come to be acquainted therewith now doth he command all Men every where to repent he that shall deny to obey his Commands shall be left without Excuse in the Sight of God and in the Sight of his Witness which shineth in his own Conscience for the Commands of God are not grievous but they that love him keep his Commandments and meditate upon his Law Day and Night for their whole Delight standeth in walking in his Statutes The Man of Sin Death separated from the Man of Righteousness and Life wherein the first mâ—n Adam is manifested to be of the Earth earthly and the second Man Adam to be from Heaven heavenly THou that hast any Longings or Breathings after the Lord God that made thee and formed thee in the Womb who stretched forth the Heavens as a Curtain and by whom the Foundations of the Earth were laid and thou that hast any Thing in thee that is oppressed by the unrighteous Power and groans under the Burden of Oppression and desires to be set at Liberty even into the glorious Liberty of the Sons of God arise out of thy dark Slumbers for the Night is far spent and the dawning of the Day of the Lord God of Power is come and the everlasting Son of Righteousness is risen and arising even Christ Jesus the eternal Son of God the Son of the everlasting Day who is the true Light of the World and hath enlightned every Man and Woman that cometh into the World with a Measure of his true Light which Light shineth in the Consciences of all the Sons and Daughters of Men and this is the Light that lets thee to see the Thoughts of thy own Heart For he that formed the Mountains and created the Winds he declareth unto Man his Thoughts and the secret Intents of his Heart whether they be good or evil and this the Lord hath placed in thee to bear a true and faithful Testimony for him against every Appearance of Evil is God's Gift unto thee which Gift is perfect and without Sin for it is a true Measure of his Son Christ Jesus which hath enlightned every Man and Woman this did never at any Time consent to the speaking of any evil Word or the acting of any unrighteous Action by thee or any other of the Sons or Daughters of Man but hath and doth at all Times stand a Witness for the Lord God of Life and hath at all Times been the Condemner of the Transgressor and the Worker of Iniquity in thee and them Now fallen Man being Darkness it self having no Means whereby to discern his own Thoughts yet this Light hath shined in the Darkness but the Darkness could not comprehend it therefore hast thou and all Mankind for a long time walked in Darkness and thy Deeds have been the Deeds of Darkness and thou art become a Stranger to God and to his Wayes of Light and Life by Reason whereof thou lovest Darkness rather then Light because thou lovest thy own Will thy evil Deeds which proceed from thence whereby the Heritage of God in thee hath beenlaid waste his Righteous Seed oppressed and trampled under Foot in thee by the Power of Unrighteousness through thee but now after his long Forbearance and after many gentle Admonitions which he hath held forth to the Rebellious Sons and Daughters of Men after all this is he appearing to make himself known and now are the Cries of the Oppressed entred into the Ears of the Lord God of Sabbath and he is now jealous for his Seed's sake which hath long suffered under the Burden of Oppression and he is now manifesting himself in this his great Day to plead with all Flesh
the World and have willingly undergone many grievous Afflictions and have undauntedly triumphed over Death and Hell even to the Amazement of all their Enemies therefore blessed and happy are all you that are called forth to suffer for the Name of the Lord and of his Truth in which Truth is Freedom and the Name of the Lord is a strong Tower to which you may fly in time of Distress and you are safe from the Enemy and from all his Strength Oppositions and though he may exercise his Tyranny upon your outward man yet that is a thing of small value for that must to its Dust again from whence it came yet that it cannot touch without the Permision of him who is the Keeper of Israel who never slumbers nor sleeps But you have a Life which is hid with God in Christ which will remain when all mortal things shall turn to the Dust its Mother which Life cannot be touched nor injured by no invitred Heart nor cruel Hand therefore fear not man nor the Sons of men nay I know you that are come into the true Fear of the Lord you cannot fear man for Fearfulness that shall surprize the Hypocrite and Astonishment the double-hearted when they that fear the Lord shall be as bold as Lyons Therefore if Sufferings present unto thee my dear Friend whoever thou art that readest they will be as precious Jewels unto thee and thou wilt come to be as Gold which is purified in the Fire and as thy Sufferings do abound upon thy outward Body so likewise shall Peace and Tranquility flow in upon thee as Rivers of Living Water whereby thy Soul will come to be refreshed abundantly yea thou knowest that Pen cannot express nor Tongue declare the Endless Joy and Felicity which at all times accompanies those â—hat are faithful Words are too short â—o declare it yet nevertheless for the Sake of them that languish and hunger after the living Bread wherewith all that are faithful are satisfied and fed abundantly I say for the Sake of him that is hungry not yet â—ully satisfied is this written that he may go on and not faint in his Travail for blessed art thou that hungers â—nd thirsts after Righteousness for â—f thou wilt wait and abide in the Paâ—ience thou shalt be satisfied for in our Father's House is Bread enough where all his Children are fed at his Table in the Banqueting-House of Peace therefore wait and be still and commune with thy Heart and go not forth to look that abroad which cannot be found any where but at home in thy own Heart and though at present thou mayst see a Day of Distress and a Night of Sorrow wherein Judgment may come to be laid to the Line and Righteousness to the Plummet yet stand still wait on the Lord and in the Way of his Judgments so shalt thou witness Zion even the Seed of God within thee to come to be redeemed through it and Baâ—ylon with all her Brats come to be thrown down and dashed in pieces by it for now he that dasheth in Pieces is come upon our Walls and entred into our Borders even the Lord who is now risen to enter into Judgment with all Flesh and to purifie and to clense the Sons and Daughters of Men from all their Polutions and to let them see the Filth of the Fornication of Babylon's Whore which hath long reigned in the Hearts of the Children of Men and hath caused all the Creation to groan under her Oppression now is the Lord risen to rent her Covering and to lay open her shame and Nakedness that all that are not wilfully blind may see the Filth of her Polutions and come out from her lest they be Partakers of her Plagues which shall suddenly come upon her that so the Lord may clense them and purifie them and make them fit Temples for himself to dwell in for that is the Work which the Lord is going to perform and his mighty Arm shall bring it to pass for he will work and who shall hinder it and he will dash all the Pot-sherds to pieces that oppose themselves against him for who art thou that settest Bryars and Thorns in Battle against me saith the Lord Shall not I pass through and burn them up Yea verely Friend this have our Eyes seen and our Ears have heard how the Lord hath torn the Powers of the Earth in pieces and hath brought all their Contrivances to nought who have sought after their own Glory and not the Glory of Him who have sate at rest and ease and have not partaken of the Day of Jacob's Trouble but have sought their own Interest and not the Interest of the Lord nor the Liberty of his People but have suffered the Innocent to lie under the Hands of grievous Oppressors even the greedy Hirelings and the dumb Idol Shepherds who have long made Prey upon the Lord's Heritage and have scattered the Lord's Flock in the dark and cloudy Day and caused them to wander upon the Barren Mountains who have long fed themselves with the Fat and clothed themselves with the Wool and have sate at Rest and Ease and have cryed peace whilst men could put into their Mouthes but now them that cannot feed them any longer they even prepare War against them whereby they become a Prey unto them so that the whole Land groans under that Oppression more then any other and the Righteous suffer and no man layeth it to Heart and for this Cause hath the Lord rebuked strong Nations and he will still rebuke all them that shall set themselves against him and against his People Therefore dear Friends wait still on the Lord who is the Strength of Sion and the Redeemer of the Seed of Jacob who hath already for your sakes even for his Seed's sake which he hath raised in you overthrown all that have exalted themselves against him and against his Anointed even Kings Princes Protectors and Parliaments I say the Lord hath overthrown and dashed them in pieces as Potters Vessels because they relieved not the Oppressed nor pleaded the Cause of the Innocent therefore hath swift Destruction overtaken them as an Armed Man and there was none to deliver And for your sakes O ye Sons and Daughters of Sion hath the Lord brought these things to pass that the Nations may know that his Dread and Presence is with you and at all times is amongst you for by you will he make himself known unto this crooked and perverse Generation and they shall confess that God of a truth is in you and amongst you And though his Appearance unto Proud Flesh is without Form or Comliness yet you know him to be as a Lilly among Thorns who is the Beloved of your Souls and the fairest among Ten Thousand who is declaring his strange Acts his wonderful Works in you that which hath been hidden from Ages and Generations past he is now making known even in and through you
THE REDEMPTION OF THE Seed of God At Hand Declaring the Return of the True Church out of the Wilderness into her former State of GLORY RICHARD MOORE Thâ—â— sâ—â—â—â— the Lord Keep ye Judgment and dâ— Justâ—â—e for my Salvation is near to come and my Righteousness to be revealed Isa 56. Printed in the Year 1677. A TESTIMONY Concerning RICHARD MOOR THE Author of this Book being a faithful Servant of the Lord and zealous for the Truth who laboured and travailed in the Work of the Ministry both in England and beyond Sea and was in Barbadoes when he wrote this little Book which was some Years since and because the Press hath been fully supplyed with other Things there was not an Oportunity to print it but knowing it was his great Desire it should be published and having now a fit Oportunity I was willing to answer what his Mind then was He came to London to visit Friends in the 11th Moneth and there fell sick and on the 13th Day of the same Moneth he dyed in Peace and thus much is signified concerning him by one who truly loved him for the Truth 's sake E. H. London the 14th of the 9th Mon 1676. TO THE READER WHoever thou art that readest this ensuing Treatise if thou findest any Thing in it which doth appear strange unto thee in the reading thereof be not troubled thereat but stand still in the Coolness of thy Spirit and turn in to the Measure of the Light of God which shineth forth clearly in thy own Conscience and there thou wilt see it openly made manifest unto thee but if thou readest it in the Power of thy own Will and therein standest expecting to receive Benefit thereby thou wilt find nothing but Deadness and barrenness for the Appearance of God and his Eternal Truth hath at all Times and Seasons been contrary to Man's VVill for it is now as it wâ—s in the Days of Old it comes not by the VVill of Man but holy Men speak as they are moved by the Spirit of God and as it was in former Ages so it is now in this our Day for he that departeth from Iniquity maketh himâ—elf a Prey unto this Generation of Evil-doers who set themselves in Perverseness against the Lord and have hardened their Hearts and stiffned their Necks against the Appearance of the Lord and of his Eternal Truth and he is come to be a Cross to the VVill of all Flesh for if the Things of God came according to the will of Man then the VVorld would receive them but seeing it crosseth Man's VVill therefore the VVorld hates it and calls it Foolishness and Madness and cryes out that them that are given up to follow it are Deceivers and are deluded and bewitched R. M. THE CONTENTS I. THe Return of the True Church out of the Barren Wilderness into her former State and Glory II. The Destruction of Babylon the Mystery of Iniquity and the Mother of Harlots and the Abominations of the whole Earth III. A Revelation of the Man of Sin and Death wherein he is separated from the Man of Righteousness and Life which two Men are of two several Births which Births proceed from the two Seeds which two Seeds are herein manifested and declared the one to be the Seed of God and the other the Seed of the Serpent whose Head is now to be bruised IV. A Word of Love unto the Sons and Daughters of Sion and a Hand held forth unto them who are yet in Egypt's Captivity and to them who are yet in the Desert Wilderness A True Manifestation of the Church's Return out of the Barren VVilderness where She hath remained since the Dayes of the Apostles which Church is the true Spouse the Lamb 's VVise Also the Speedy Downfal of Babylon the Mother of Harlots declared c. NOW is the appointed Time come wherein the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob is risen and arising to manifest himself unto his People and to make himself known to those that have long waited for this the Day of his Appearance unto whom the Son of his Righteousness is arising with healing in his Wings and now is the great Jehovâ—h appearing in his Dread and in his Power to the establishing of his Covenant unto â—braham and to his Seed forever and he is now gathering his Elect from the four Quarters of the Earth and redeeming the Seed of Jacob out of their Captivity and the Outcast of Israel from under their Yoak of Bondage Therefore prepare thee to meet thy God O Israel for behold he is come and coming in Ten Thousand of his Saints and who may abide the Day of his Appearance for the Eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful Kingdom and he will destroy it from off the Face of the Earth saving that he will not utterly destroy the House of Jacob for behold he sitteth upon a white Throne before whose Face the Heavens and also the Earth shall fly away and their Place shall be no more found at all his Eyes are as a Flame of Fire and on his Head are many Crowns and he hath a Name written that no man knows but himself is clothed with a Vesture dipped in Blood and his Name is called The word of God and out of his Mouth goeth a sharp Sword wherewith he doth smite the Nations and he treadeth the Wine-press of the Fierceness and Wrath of the Almighty God and he hath on his Vesture and on his Thigh a Name written KING of KINGS LORD of LORDS and in his Hands is all the Power of the Earth and also of the Heavens for behold he makes all things new old things must pass away for the Dragon having had Possession for so many Dayes even many Generations of the old Heaven and also of the old Earth which I say the subtile Dragon having gotten the Dominion thereof he by his Filthiness defiled it so that the true Virgin could no longer remain therein but was driven forth of it and was banished into the mourning and desolate Wilderness a place prepared her of God for so many Dayes and her Heir which she had brought forth which is to rule the Nations with his Iron Rod hath been caught up from her to God and so the Dragon hath had the Dominion of the true Virgin 's Territories since the Dayes of the Apostles and hath made War with the Seed of the Virgin and as it were overcome them and in her Dominion he hath placed the great Whore the Mother of Harlots and she hath corrupted the Earth and also the Heavens wherein the true Virgin was placed before she fled into the Wilderness the Whore having poluted them with the Filth of her Fornication for her Superscription is Mystery-Babylon the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the whole Earth And the Nations which the true Virgin 's Heir should have ruled they have all been the Seat of this great VVhore and she hath
guided them and rul'd them as a man would guide and rule the Beast whereon he rideth and she hath made them all unstable as VVaters for she sate upon Peoples Multitudes Nations and Tongues and all the Kings of the Earth have committed VVhoredom with her and have drunk of the Cup of her Fornication for she held forth a golden Cup in her Hand a smooth Profession and pleasing Pretences but within full of Abominations yea rich and poor bond and free even from the Beggar upon the Dunghil to the Prince upon the Throne they all drunk of this Cup and have been drunken with the VVine of the VVhore's Fury and many of them have as it were drunk the Blood of the Saints and of the Martyrs of Jesus Christ whom he hath raised to bear their faithful Testimonies against the VVhore and against her Fornications and all the Blood that hath been spilt upon the Earth is to be found in her for within her lodgeth the Ground of all Iniquity and the Foundation of all Transgression But now hath the Lord God remembred his poor banished Spouse which sits mourning in the Wilderness and the great Persecution of her Seed and great BABYLON is coming into his remembrance and she shall receive a just reward from the Lord God of Life for all the Abominations that have proceeded from her since the time the Virgin fled into the Wilderness though she hath long sate as a Queen and hath known no Sorrow but hath had a Husband and hath brought forth many Children of Fornication and hath lived deliciously for many Generations whilest the true spouse the Lamb's Wife hath sate desolate in the barren Wilderness where she hath been childless and deprived of her Husband yet nevertheless thy Judgments are at hand and thy Downfal approacheth O thou great and Antichristian-Babylon for Sorrow Desolation and Misery is even ready to seize upon thee and the Smoak of thy Torments doth begin to rise and thy Kingdom is full of Darkness and the Lord God hath discovered thy Nakedness and thy Sorceries and thy false Divinations whereby thou hast deceived the Nations and caused them to receive thy Beast like mark and many are they that are come out from thee and will no longer be partakers with thee in thy Sins lest they should partake with thee of thy plagues for strong is the Lord God who judgeth thee and thy Cup which thou hast given to others shall be filled unto thee double even the measure that thou hast measured to others shall be measured unto thy self double and all that wherein thy soul delighted must depart from thee and thou must come down and sit in the Dust O thou Virgin-Daughter of BABYLON thou shalt be no more counted delicate nor fair for the DECREE is gone forth against thee and thy Judgment is assuredly coming upon thee Therefore all ye Inhabitants of the Earth hearken diligently and your Souls shall live and take WARNING in this the Day of your Visitation and go no longer on in your Polutions but come forth of the midst of BABYLON and be no more partakers with her in her Sins for if you do you will assuredly partake with her of her plagues for she must be burn'd up and consum'd and brought to nought by the fiery Fierceness of the Lord's Wrath and the old Heavens and the old Earth wherein she hath ruled in all this Dark Night of Apostacy since the Dayes of the Apostles must be destroyed with her and all them that wilfully resisted the Voice of the Lord their God in their own Hearts and Consciences calling them out of BABYLON the Land of Darkness into his marvelous Light Therefore beware of kicking against this but if in wilfulness and stubborness you reject this the large Love of God towards you yet nevertheless let it be known unto you all in his living presence that you have at large been warned therefore shut not your Ears at the Voice of Peace and be not like to the deaf Addâ—r which stoppeth his Ear at the voice of the Charmer although he charms never so wisely For now Wisdom uttereth her voice in the open Street and in the broad wayes she crieth at the Gates at Entry of the City at the coming in at the Door unto you O men I call and my voice is to the Sons of man O ye simple understand Wisdom and ye Fools be of an understanding Heart and know in thâ—s your day the things that belong to your Peace before they are hid from your Eyes and the Door of Mercy be shut upon you and the Decree sealed against you and Repentance removed far from you so that you cannot attain to it although yâ—u should seek it with tears Now as BABYLON comes to be destroyed so likewise is the mariage of the LAMB prepared and preparing and his Bride is making her self ready even the true Virgin the Lamb's Wife the true Church is now returning out of the desolate and barren Wilderness where she hath sate for many Generations in a mournful state and condition a place not known to the World a place prepared her of God for so many Dayes and now praises be unto the Lord our God the Dayes are near expired and she is returning again into her former State and Glory and the Lord is now creating for her a new Heaven and a new Earth wherein dwelleth Righteoushess and if any question what her former Glory was and wherewithal she then was beautified let them with singleness of Heart stand in the Light of the Lamb look into John's Revelations and there thou shalt see what he declareth of her and of her Glory Beauty in Ages past even in his Dayes for he saw her a woman exceeding glorious and beautiful even cloathed with the Sun having the Moon under her Feet and on her Head a Crown of twelve Stars She was clothed with the true Light of heaven even with the brightness of the everlasting day and the Moon with her changeable things was under her Feet she was â—rowned with the Brightness of the Glory of the Lord God of Life and she travailed to bring forth the Man-Child that should rule the Nations wiâ—h a Rod of Iron Now this was the state of the true Church in the Dayes of the Apostles before the time of her Banishment into the Wilderness And John saw this to be wonderful even in Heaven Now this will be the State and Condition of the true Church after she is returned out of the Wilderness again and the time is assuredly come where in the Lord God will cloath her with his own Brightness and with his own eternal Glory and she shall again bring forth the Heir which shall rule the Nations with his Rod of Iron and shall bind PRINCES in Chains and NOBLES in Fetters of Iron and he that doth deny this doth deny plain Scripture for they bear Witness that Sion shall arise and shall shine forâ—h for her Light is
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
come upon them if they still went on in their Rebellion against the Lord And as the Lord had set the House of Israel whilest they stood in his Statutes as a Sign and as a wonder unto the Nations round about them so now likewise he hath set his Prophets in whom his Seed is raised as Signs and Wonders to the House of Israel because they were become a rebellious People but many of the Prophets they murdered wherein the same Seed of the Serpent that was in Cain appeared and some they cast into Prison others they Banished so that they provoked the Holy One of Israel to Wrath so that he let loose the Heathens against them and suffered them to destroy their Land and to lay waste their fenced Cities and to carry them away Captives into strange Lands till he had humbled them and brought them low then when they were in Distress they called upon him cry'd unto him in the time of their Trouble and his Ears were open to them and then he many times by his Prophets came to reason with them and to lay open before them the many Deliverances which he at sundry times had wrought for them of the Largeness of his Love towards them yet how they had all along rebelled against him and turned his Righteous Law behind their Backs and not regarded his Reproofs but yet when he by Afflictions had brought down the Seed of the Serpent so that they came low in Heart and in Mind to be humbled towards him and to let the oppressed Seed in them to arise whose Sighs and Groans were to the Lord for whose Sake the Lord brought back again their Captivity and caused them to rest in their own Land in Peace and Safety and when he had ruled them many Years by Judges then they desired to have a KING even as all the Nations round about them had who were Strangers to God and in this they provoked the Holy One of Israel but yet for his own Seed's Sake he suffered all this and much more And gave them a King in his Wrath even Saul the Son of Kish and anoynted him with his own Spirit that he might have Understanding and Wisdom to rule and govern them that they might walk humbly in the Statutes of the Lord but he himself soon disobeyed the Voice of the Lord when he was sent to destroy the Amalekites that he should not spare old nor young but slay both Man and Woman Infant and Suckling Ox and Sheep Camel and Ass but see how the Seed of the Serpent arose in Saul and the Children of Israel and caus'd him to disobey the Commands of God by sparing Agag the King of the Amalekites alive and the best of the Sheep and of the Oxen and of the Fatlings and of the â—ambs and all that was Good and would not utterly destroy them but every thing that was vile and refuse that they destroyed utterly and so provoked the Spirit of the Lord which anoynted him King and the Lord repented that he had set up Saul King over Israel and he rent the Kingdom from him because his pure Seed came to be oppressed in him and so as he gave those People a King in his Wrath he took him from them in his Sore Displeasure But then he sent his Servant Samuel whom he anoynted to be a Prophet unto the House of Israel and sent him unto Saul to acquaint him that the Lord had rent the Kingdom from him and the Spirit of the Lord departed from him and with it his Honour but yet behold the Subtilty of the Serpent in him who would have tempted the Prophettohave honoured him before the People when that in him to which the Honour did duely belong was departed from him but herein the Serpent's Head in some Measure came to be bruised Then the Lord sent his Prophet to anoynt David King over Israel who was the Son of Jesse for said the Lord Behold I have found a man after my own Heart to reign over Israel to whom the Lord promised that out of his Loyns after the Flesh should come the MESSIAS that should rule over the spiritual Seed of Abraham and that there should not want one to sit upon the Throne of David henceforth even forever and that his Kingdom should be an Everlasting Kingdom and of his Dominion there should be no End and the Government should be upon his Shoulders this is the great Prophet that Moses foretold of to the Children of Israel that should come saying A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up from among your Brethren like unto me him shall you hear in all things and it shall come to pass that he that will not obey the Voice of this Prophet shall be cut off from amongst the People Now consider what this Moses was who declareth this unto Israel he was one whom the Lord preserved in the Court of Pharaoh in Egypt which was of the stock of Israel and by his Hand the Lord brought many Plagues upon the Land of Egypt and by him delivered the Seed of Israel out of their Captivity So likewise this Prophet that the Lord hath promised to raise up like unto him from amongst their Brethren even from within the midst of every man which shall bring JUDGMENTS and PLAGUES upon spiritual Egypt even the Land of Darkness bring Deliverance unto the spiritual Seed of Israel which now groans under the Burden of Oppression This Messiah even CHRIST all the Prophets pointed at him and prophesied of his Coming even in the one Body of Flesh for they prophesied That a Virgin should conceive and bear a Son and they should call his Name EMANUEL which by Interpretation is GOD WITH US and he promised To give him for a COVENANT unto the People and for a LIGHT unto the Gentiles that he might be his Salvation unto the End of the Earth and that he should put an End unto all Types and Ceremonies which then the Children of Israel observed were commanded so to do even by the Lord their God and had their Priests their Levites their Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifice their Heave-Offerings their Peace-Offerings their Shew-Bread their Passeovers their New-Moons their Sabbaths their Solemn-Assemblies their Temple and Altar with the Ark of the Testament but yet all These were but Shadows of things which were to come for the Substance was and is CHRIST for the Seed of God was yet for all this oppressed in them for they smote with the Fist of Wickedness and many times provoked the Lord to Wrath so that he destroyed many of them and they caused him to say that though the number of the Children of Israel were in number as the Sands on the Sea Shore yet should there be but a Remnant of them saved which Remnant was them in whom the pure Seed of God came to be raised up to bear Rule and so they came faithfully to believe in the Promises of God and so by Faith they
nâ—t but go unto my Brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my Father and your Father and to my God your God and Mary Magdalen came and told the Disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her and now the Seed of the Woman was raised up mightily to bruise the Serpent's Head He afterwards appâ—ared unto his Disciples at sundry times and Places bidding them to go and preach the Gospel to all Nations he told them that he would be with them to the End of the World and commanded them to go to Jerusalem and there to wait till they should receive Power from on high even the Holy Ghost the Comforter which he had promised to them before and he told them that after the Holy Ghost was come upon them They should be Witnesses unto him both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost Parts of the Earth which accordingly came to pass when they were met together with one accord on the Day of Pentecost for there suddenly came a Sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty Wind and it filled all the House where they were sitting and there appeared upon them cloven Tongues as of Fire and sate upon each of them and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other Tongues as the Spirit gave them Utterance and there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews devout men out of every Nation under Heaven and now when this was noised abroad the Multitude came together and were confounded because that every man heard them speak in his own Language and they were all amazed and marvailed saying one to another Behold are not all these that speak Galileans and how hear we every man in our own Tongue wherein we were born we do hear them speak in our own Tongues the Wonderful Works of God and they were all amazed and in doubt saying one to another what meaneth this Now the Seed of the Woman was raised up in many of these devout men and the Serpent's Head came to be bruised but yet there were others in whom the Seed of the Serpent ruled which caused them to mock and to say These men are full of New Wine but Peter was raised up amongst them by the Power of the Almighty to declare unto them the Eternal Truth of God whereby the Serpent's Head came to be bruised in many and the Seed of God to be raised up even in three thousand whose Souls were then converted and the Seed of the Woman still prevailed more and more and the Apostles went on in the Dread and in the Authority of the Lord declaring unto the Nations what tho Lord had made manifest in them even by the Operation of his Powerful Spirit they turned People from Darkness to Light and from the Power of the Serpent even Satan to the Power of God which was Christ in them the Hope of Glory and they told People that Christ was in them except they were Reprobates yet they met with strong Oppositions even within them and without them which arose from the Seed of the Serpent but yet they witnessed the Cross of Christ to be the Power of God to Salvation Now do but behold how suddenly the Seed of the Serpent came to be destroyed in Paul even by the Seed of the Woman who bruised his Head who being a violent Persecuter came suddenly to be convinced even by the Voice of Christ Jesus the Light of the World which Light shined round about him and he became Blind to what he had formerly seen and that Eye which formerly was blinded came to be opened and that Eye which formerly had been opened came to be shut and the Scales fell from off them and that Tongue that had formerly been drunk came to sound forth the Praises of the Lord in the Declaration of his glorious Gospel and not only Paul but whole Nations came to be converted unto God to be turned from Darkness unto the Light of the glorious Gospel and the Sound of God's mighty Day went through all the Earth this was a good Day wherein Christ warn'd his Disciples that they should work but yet this Day was to be darkned for Christ told them That the Night should come wherein no man could work for he saw that the Seed of the Serpent yet lodged in many of them who then professed him therefore he gave his Disciples Warning of them and told them by what Signs they should know them which were That they should come in Sheeps Clothing a fair outward Shew but inwardly ravened from the Nature of the Sheep and the Wolfish Nature should lodge in them which would make a Prey of the Sheep and continually seek to devour them and this Nature did arise from the Seed of the Serpent which lodged in the Hearts of many and came afterwards to work in a Mystery even in the Mystery of Iniquity and this was the man of Sin which sate in the Temple of God as God and exercised himself above all that is called God which was then vailed and not known except unto a few to whom the Man of Sin came to be revealed and the Everlasting Day of the Lord came to be known and they came to give forth their Testimony from the Seed of God which was raised up in them that the Ends of the World were come upon them and that the latter times were come whereof Christ had fore-warned them wherein Antichrist should come and that he was then in their Dayes come and that there were many Antichrists then gone forth into the world which Antichrists made up the one great Antichrist in Process of time and they declared that the Mystery of Iniquity did then in their Dayes begin to work and that the Form of Godliness should come to be followed and the Power of Godliness to be denyed And the Apostle exhorted the Thessalonians Not to be troubled neither by Word nor by Spirit nor by Letter as from us that the Day of Christ is at Hand So he declared that there should be a Night for else he had not spoken of a Day to be at hand which Night was then drawing on therefore he advised the afore-said Thessalonians Not to let any man deceive them by any Means as concerning the Day of the Lord for that Day should not come except there came a Night or a Falling away first that the Man of Sin might be revealed the Son of Perdition which Man was conceived from the Seed of the Serpent who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God even the God of the world who blindeth the eye of the mind of many And the Apostle declared unto the fore-mentioned People that the Mystery of Iniquity did already work only he who now letteth would let until he were taken out of the
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
spent and the Summer draweth on the Fig-tree hath put forth her Bud and the Vine her tender Grape the singing of Birds and the Voice of the Turtle is heard in our Land and now after all this Dark Night of Apostacy is the Glorious Day dawned and dawning unto many which many precious Souls have longed and breathed after desiring that they might have seen it but they could not attain thereunto but by Faith therefore consider what Age and Generation thou art fallen in even in a Day that is neither dark nor light but as the Evening-tide wherein the Son of Man is come and coming therefore trim up thy Lamp and provide Oyl in thy Vessels for verely the Bridegroom is coming and the Voice of them who rejoyce and sing Halelujah thereat is heard therefore prepare and come away left thou be shut out of the Bride-Chamber and so remain in Eternal Darkness even with the Prince thereof his Legions who is bound up in Everlasting Chains of Darkness never more to come into the Light therefore this is the Word of the Lord God unto thee whoever thou art Rich or Poor High or Low If thou sleight this the Day of thy Visitation which the Lord out of his tender Mercy hath freely given to thee the time will come that thou wilt see these things to be an Everlasting Truth then thou wilt see how thou hast spent thy precious Time in Vanity Therefore come unto the Light come unto that which makes manifest Iniquity in thy own Heart for that is the Light and obey it that thou mayest find Eternal Peace and Rest to thy Soul R. M. A Word of Love unto the Sons and Daughters of Zion and a Hand held forth unto them who are yet in Egypt's Captivity and to them who are yet in the Desert Wilderness My dear Friends you whom the Lord hath gathered and is gathering into the Chosen Generation and into the Royal Priesthood and you whose Garments are washed in the Blood of the Lamb which hath been slain from the Foundation of the World which Lamb of God you can behold and witness that he is come and hath taken and is taking away the Sins of many who have formerly lived in the World but now they are come to be chosen out of the World and are many of them become a peculiar People unto the Lord therefore you dear Sons and Danghters of Zion arise let your Light shine forth into the dark World that you may be faithful Witnesses that Zion's Redeemer is come and is redeeming Zion through Judgments her Converts through Righteousness that so they who turn Judgments into Wormwood and Righteousness into Hemlock may come to see the Gloriousness of Zion's Light to shine forth through you that 〈◊〉 Shame may come to cover their Faces and the Dread and Astonishment of the Lord may take hold of them for assuredly Friends this I know that as you stand in the pure Light and in Obedience to the Measure of God made manifest in you your Words and Actions being all spoken and acted therein will reach to the Witness of God in all Hearts and in all Consciences and so as you stand faithful to the Lord he will make you a Dread a Terror to your Enemies let them be ever so many and you will triumph over them all in the Lord yea the Devils shall bend and bow before you Neither shall the Gates of Hell or Death prevail against you for you are of the Seed of Abraham which are numberless to whom the Lord hath sent a Deliverer to redeem you out of your Captivity even out of spiritual Egypt and the House of Bondage therefore dear Friends be wise and walk circumspectly and let the Tenderness of your Love flow forth freely one to another for the Lord your Redeemer is Love and those that follow him are begotten into Love therefore Christ Jesus the Captain of our Salvation gave a remarkable Sign whereby all men might know that you are his Disciples which was Your Love one towards another therefore let your Moderation and Love appear to all men that so they may be convinced in their own Consciences that the Lord is at hand for verily Friends there is yet a mighty Seed which is under the Hand of hard hearted Pharach who will not let Israel go free to worship the Lord his God but the Lord is raising up his Prophet like unto Moses who shall bring Plagues and Vengeance upon spiritual Pharaoh even that corrupt Nature which lodgeth in the Hearts of the Sons and Daughters of Men which oppresseth the Seed of God which Seed groans under the burden of Oppression unto whose sighs and groans the Ears of the Lord God of Hosts are opened he will redeem it all in his own appointed time therefore Dear Friends as the Lord hath spared us in our Transgressions and in our Iniquities even for his own Seed Sake that his Mercies might be made known by us unto the World let us now wait with Patience until the Lord hath finished his own work who will redeem his own Seed in his time that so we may all sit down in his everlasting Land of Rest when Pharaoh and all his Egyptian host shall be destroyed even in the red Sea of his Wrath therefore thou sâ—ed of Zion arise and shew thy self forth in thy Beauty that so Fear and Amazement may take hold on all thine Adversaries And you Sons and Daughters of Zion come forth and appear in your Might for before your Faces all Flesh is as Grass and all the Glory of man is but as the Flower of the Field for the Appearance of your Beauty is admirable for it stains the Beauty of all Flesh and marrs the Glory of all the Sons and Daughters of Men therefore arise and thresh the Mountains even to Dust and let the Hills be laid low before you and raise up the Valeys that so a plain Way may be made for the Lord and for his ransomed ones to pass over Go on my dear Friends go on in the Dread and in the Authority of the Lord cut down and spare not neither let your Eye pity that the Nations may know that the Sword of the Lord God is drawn forth and furbished to cut down and to destroy that Nature in all the Sons and Daughters of Men which have rebelled against him whereby his pure Seed hath been kept in Bondage And you my dear Friends who are yet but passing out of Egypt and you who are got into the Wilderness beware that you look not back into Egypt and that you hanker not after the Flesh-pots thereof even the Glory of this vain World but go on boldly and with Cheerfulness let your Eye be alwayes at all times fixed on him who first brought you out of Egypt even from out of your former gross Lives and Conversation and follow him in Truth and in Faithfulness he will bring you through the desert
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