also was his hand turned with the losse of his presence because the sincerity the faithful principle was almost choaked the good eaten out from amongst you by the false spirit of self-seeking and vain glory which was entered into the hearts of many but this is to the army in general and to say no more of it to you only that you might search your own hearts and may be purged and may again return to the old spirit of righteousness which will reach after the liberty of the people and the freedom of the Nations and that all oppression and tyranny and unjust powers may be broken down to the dust before you and be subdued by you as your prey and that there be no more a looking back by you for rest and ease in the flesh in great houses of residence till you have visited Rome and inquired after and sought out the innocent blood that is buried therein and avenge the blood of the guiltless through all the Dominions of the Pope the blood of the just it cryes through Italy and Spain and the time is come that the Lord will search it and seek it out and repay it and it would be your honor to be made use of by the Lord in any degree in order to this matter whether the Lord will revenge the grievous blood-guiltiness that lies upon them by himself without an instrument or whether by you or others as an instrument whether this way or another that God will do it this I determine not but this I do know the time is not long that he will one way or another avenge and revenge the blood of the just upon the murderous head and this I also believe that the Lord will do it or make way hereunto even by you the men of our English Nation if you be faithful to him and do what he requires of you for what are these few poor Islands that you have run through and laid many mountains low and wounded the remainder of the Romish Idolatry that was standing in the beginning of your Wars and the remaining part thereof which stood between the dayes of Queen Mary and the last years of Charles hath received a mortal blow both by you and partly as preparers of the way but what are these little Islands of England Scotland Ireland they are but little in comparison of the great part of Christendom in which Idolatry tyranie and grievous oppressions do abound which the hand of the Lord is against and which he will take vengeance upon Oh did you but see and perfectly know the cruelties the oppressions the idolatries the murders and all whatsoever that is evil both in civil and Ecclesiastical State that is brought forth and rules in full power in all the Popes Dominions I do say were you but fully acquainted with all these things and also of the purpose of the Lord which is speedily to visit them with his rod it would awaken you and stir you up and it would set your spirits on fire of a great zeal with desires of no greater honour then to be instruments in any degree towards the executing of so good a work even towards the relieving of the oppressed and breaking the bands of crueltie that the Nations may come to rest and may no more be captivated with the chains of Antichrist I do say it would be your greatest honour to be instruments in such a work and do you know what the Lords purpose is concerning you onely this I do know the Lord hath a love to the men of our Nation and there is a spirit in them most fitting for such a work even the zeal of the Lord hath appeared and is beginning to appear against Babylon and against Rome the seat of the Whore and the kingdom of Antichrist shall be thrown down and the righteous people shall go free and Nations shall worship the Lord but there is many mountains in the way wherefore hew down the tops strike at the branches make way that the Axe may be laid to the root of the tree that your sword and the sword of the Lord may neither leave root nor branch of Idolatrie oppressions and tyranie which the Nations are held in slaverie under and oppressed withall to the grieving of the righteous soul and vexing of the spirit of the Lord Oh how great is their Idolatries you see a little part thereof amongst you oh what false fained deceitful and hypocritical services do they practice their imagâ—s their pictures and their praying before them which is Idolatrie their Candles burning and their Organs and instruments of musick and fained singings all this is Idolatrie and superstition and a vexation to the Lord and that law which imposeth them upon people contrarie to a good conscience and that Law which condemns others as Heretiâ—ks that will not worship thus and that power that kills and destroyes those that acts against those worships Laws and powers ought ye to make war against and to claim a disannulling of all such Lawes and Authorities by which this Idolatrie is imposed upon peoples consciences and established in the Nations and by which many are destroyed and condemned who cannot bow to their Idolatries such Lawes are not to stand before you for these be the bryars and thorns which covers the great mountains whom the Whore sitteth upon which the Lord will judge did you but know all their unrighteous Lawes murders and all cruelties which is abounding among them and they have a dispensation to commit unrighteousness those Lawes ought to be judged and destroyed and your sword is to be lifted up against them It is the Lords work I know to make men truely Religious but yet the Lord may work by you to break down the bryars and thorns and rocks and hills which hath set themselves against the Lord and which keeps people under the chains of Idolatry so that they commit Idolatry and are compelled to it and defended in it even by a Law but the Lord will confound all this either by means or without means for such is their oppression in their Ecclesiâ—stical state and their unjust Laws whereby their Church is established and defended that it causeth the very earth to mourn and the spirit of the righteous to faint and their hearts to fail because of oppression to murder steal and rob and to commit adultery these are accounted little sins amongst them they are even tolerated and pardoned by the Pope for a little money and if they slay a man and wilfully murder him â—hey can run to their Altar there they can have a dispensation of a wicked pardon and here is a law that tolerates murder and the greatest sins whereby it is hard for any that fears God for to be amongst them and blood blood lies upon their whole dominions and the guilty goes free and uncondemned and the innocent suffers unjustly for if any diminish from about their Mass-houses to the value of a peny that
is death by their law while murder is tolerated and here is nought but tyranie and oppression abounding even great mountains which must be thrown down and for which the sword of the Lord must come upon them and God will make their riches and their falsely consecrated vessels and treasures even a spoil and a prey unto you if you be faithful unto the Lord wherefore all you officers fear the Lord God and be not ambitious nor vain-glorious nor seek not your selves to gain unto your selves Kingdoms to exalt your own horn for if you go in this way and if this be your end then your end shall be frustrated you shall not prosper for the Lord will lay you aside with shame unto you but let it be your work your aime to require and demand the disanulling of their Inquisions and cruel Lawes both in their Church and civil State and that Christ alone may exercise the peoples consciences neither be ye as Lords nor Tyrants over your poor Souldiers but be ye loving and meek towards them I say unto you Officers and to all you that bear Rule in the Army be loving and kind and gentle unto all under your authority be not as tyrants nor oppressors over your poor Souldiers but be examples of all goodness unto them and give them no evil examples in your lives and conversations but lead them in the fear of the Lord and know a measure of his wisdom in you whereby you may walk before them and they may possesse their freedoms in their conditions and may not be as slaves â—o you but as servants to the Lord in their places and herein shall you be blessed as you fulfill that which the Lord requires And likewise unto all the Souldiers I say that ye may be sober and moderate and faithful to the Lord and not go in the excess and superfluity of this creation but may be all kept low in your hearts and tender towards God and obey them that have power over you in all things which are just and be not deboist nor given to vanity But all of you both officers and soldiers live in that which keeps your consciences void of offence and that you may be clear and free in your own spirits from the abominations of the Nations and then you will be a terror to the evil in all people wheresoever you come and being clear and free in the sight of the Lord having no sin lying upon your consciences then shall you face your enemies with courage and not fear death but shall be ready to lay down your lives for a testimony of Jesus in a good cause and upon good engagements and if the Lord be your fear then no man can make you afraid but you will be in that which overcometh the unrighteous power within you and without you also and here is the true honour and in this it doth consist in victory over all that which is contrary to God and here is the true way to happynesse and prosperity in this life and in the life to come by seeking his glory and not your own and all of you come to the light of Christ that Christ hath lighted you with all and that will teach you all things what you ought to do and what you ought not to do for that light of Christ within you ought to be the guide of all the children of men in every state place and condition and upon this you are to wait for counsel to receive it from the Lord by that of him made manifest within you and as for all your outward teachers that hath used their tongues amongst you and said the Lord saith it when God hath not spoken to them nor sent them and that preach for hire and sums of mony and these are them that cannot profit the people nor ever bring you to the knowledge of God nor give you counsel from the Lord and if you seek to uphold them and defend them against the power of the Lord and his word which is gone forth against them then shall you not prosper but fall with them and if you do enterprize any work in that spirit that doth oppose the spirit of Christ Jesus in his people you can never have good success but the Lord will confound you before your enemies And so now that you may all come into the new covenant to be taught of the Lord and to be far from all oppression this is the thing that you are all to wait for and to know the power of the Lord and to go on in that against unrighteous men and unrighteous lawes which are set up in the Nations that they may be destroyed and brought under and yet though such a victory would be honourable unto you yet there is a victory more honourable to wit the victory over sin and death and the Devil in your selves and that you are to mind and there is a kingdome which is not of this world which cannot be obtained by an outward sword and this kingdom are you to wait for that you may know it and feel it in your own particulars and this is the doctrine of the Gospel of peace unto you and the glad tidings held forth unto all of you come into the power of the Lord and minde it that you may be lead of it and then may you be fit instruments for the Lord to work by and take heed how you oppose those whom the Lord hath sent and is sending abroad in the nations to proclame the mighty day of the Lord they are no enemies to you nor to any mans person and therefore be tender over them for they go about the Lords work of this I warne you all in the presence of the Lord And so you dwelling in the power of the Lord there is nothing shall destroy you nor confound you but you shall have victory over all your enemies within you and without you and the Lord will make you a dread and a fear to the Nations and so this is a warning unto you all both officers and soldiers that you may minde what the work of the Lord God is in the nations your worke hath been and may be honourable in its day and season but he hath a work more hoâ—ourable to work after you that is to destroy the kingdome of the Devil and the ground of wars and your victorie hath been of the Lord but there is a more honourable victory to be waited for even the victory over sin and so we are the friends of the creation that doth preach this victory and this kingdom and peace which is endlesse and everlasting and which many are come into yet we reject not the state and work and victory and honour of a soldier but hath a respect thereunto in their season and as for the many and divers sorts of worship which is come up since the dayes of the Apostles and are of the whore and not of the true Church they are
A Visitation VVarning PROCLAMED AND An Alarm Sounded in the Popes Borders in the Name and Authority of the Lord Almighty and the Lamb BEING The Account of a Journey to Dunkirk and the Proceedings there among the Jesuites and Friars and Papists with some particular Quaeries and also some propositions sent unto them Which may be satisfaction to many who may behold the difference in part between the Papists and the people of God and between the Idolaters and the true Worshippers By one that travells in the labour of the Gospel of Christ for the Elect Seeds sake Edw. Burrough LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate 1659. The particulars and the Heads laid down 1 The Account of the Journey 2 A Letter to the Deputy Governour and the Officers of the English Army 3 Quaeries to the Friars first in Latine secondly in English 4 Propositions as a Charge against the Romish Church first in Latine secondly in English With a Letter to the chief Jesuite Rector in Dunkirk 5 A Warning to the Officers and Souldiers of the English Army 6 Some Propositions to the English Priests in Dunkirk with some other things ACcording to the will of the Lord and being moved of him in spirit and as it lay upon me many dayes I passed to Dunkirk And that which I found upon me chiefly was to visit and warn the Papists the Iesuites and Friars and that company of Idolaters and to sound the mighty day of the Lord among them and to proclaim it in the Popes borders and to warn them all of the day that is at hand upon them by the word of the Lord and to sound forth among them the everlasting Gospel of Truth and against all their Idolatrous ways worships and Practises which I have often felt the weight and burthen of before ever I saw outwardly what their wayes or practises are which when I saw their Idolatrous practises and worships and heard their doctrines and what they professe I found it to be according to what I had seen and felt in the light that trieth all things And about the sixth day of the third moneth 1659. I with Samuel Fisher who was moved to go with we shipped from Dover and came into Dunkirk the next day and being strangers upon earth as the generation of the righteous seed ever was we waited in the will of the Lord to be guided by his wisdom what to do and how to be guided to act and speak to his glory So the next morning the Town Mayor came to us in the street and required an account of our coming and our names and from whence we came to which we gave him sober answers and a reasonable account And that day it much spread over the Town of our being come thither which wrought no small cogitations in the hearts of many as what our business was and wherefore we were come so that the Deputy Governour Colonel Alsop with the Counsel of Officers sent for us that night the chief Governour not being in Town So we went to them who did kindly intreat us and examine us concerning our coming thither and what our businesse was there and such like to which we gave them answers and staid with them in discourse some hours And the Deputy Governour much pleaded to us the danger of our staying in the Town and feared the devision that might grow among them through us and withall much desired us to depart the Town supposing as he said the great danger that might incur unto the Garrison through our stay But our answer was in much plainnesse if he desired us we could not receive any such desire and if he commanded us we could not obey his command in that case neither could we depart the Town but in the will of God according to which will we came thither and having many words and much reasoning with them that night we parted from them And the next morning I was moved to write this letter following and to give them all a sober account of our coming and what our work is in this World wheresoever we come which letter was delivered to them and read by many of them But to it we received no Answer according as the latter part did require as may be seen Dunkirk the eleventh of the third moneth 1659. English account To the Deputy Governour and the Officers of the English Army in Dunkirk these FRiends We the Servants of the Lord are lovers of all your souls and wisheth well unto you in the Lord that truth and peace and righteousnesse may be among you and in your hearts and we are travellers in the labour of the Gospel of Christ Jesus for the elect Seeds sake having received the glad tidings of life and eternal salvation into our hearts through the revelation of Christ in us who is our hope of glory and the Lord hath manifested greatly his power amongst us and revealed the riches of his grace in our souls to our own everlasting satisfaction peace with God and also he hath made us Ministers of his grace and of his word to many others to the turning of many from darknesse to light and from Satans power to God and of him we are called and ordained by his spirit into this his work to preach the everlasting Gospel to the Nations and to war against Anti-Christ the Whore and false Prophets come up since the days of the Apostles have reigned over the World for many generations and this is our work in the World to fight the Lambs battel with his spiritual weapons and armour and to follow him whithersoever he goeth and to give up our selves in his service to do or suffer for him whatsoever he calleth us unto and in this hitherto hath the pure and mighty presence of the Lord God been with us and is with us unto this day and great is his Name amongst us his people and to be praised for ever more and of this hath God given us the sure witnesse in our selves even the testimony of his good spirit which bears us witnesse in our own consciences that these things are true whether men believe or reâ—ect our testimony for we are not Ministers of man nor by mans will neither do we stand to mans judgement to be approved or disproved thereby But to the witnesse and testimony of Gods spirit in every conscience we do commend our selves where ever any of us do come in the simplicity of truth in the demonstration of the spirit and not by words of mans wisdom and in the day of the Lord shall we be justified herein by him and by his witnesse in all mens consciences in the mean time we do suffer all things patiently and in the meek quiet Spirit of the Lord and as for us two in particular who are now come into the Town of Dunkirk as we have in some part declared unto you already and so I here again say unto you
not being ashamed nor unwilling to give you an account of our coming for we came to be made manifest openly in the sight of all men in our doctrines principles and practises which are of and from the Lord and fully agreeing in all things with the Scriptures of truth which were given forth by the spirit of truth as the holy men of God were moved and as we have said to you we still testifie we were moved of God and by his spirit to come unto this place in love to the souls of people and it is the Lord God that hath sent us and not man and whether you believe us herein or doth reject us the testimony of God is sure and remains with us and for the truth hereof we are not affraid to do and suffer but can do and suffer in the strength of Christ whatsoever is put upon us Though chiefly our coming was so far as the Lord shewed us in relation to these Popish Idolaters to discourse with their Iesuites Friars and Priests and to discover to them the errors of their wayes and the falsnesse of their worships and to testifie unto them in the fear and power of the Lord concerning their Church that it is not a true Church of Christ but a false Church come up in the Apostacy and these things we have to argue with them if the heads of them will admit dispute otherwise to charge these things upon them from the Lord and by his authority and if they do any of them receive our testimony and turn from their idols and be converted unto the truth they may be happy but if they shall reject our testimony and not believe the truth then shall they the more be fitted for destruction and the day of their destruction the sooner approach and the Lord shall be clear of their blood and our reward shall be with us from God for our testimony shall not returne to us in vaine but shall accomplish its end wherefore it is sent and the Word of the Lord by us shall either convert to God and to the truth that they may be saved or shall through rejecting of it harden the heart against God and against the truth that they may the more justly be condemned and the Lord and his servants be the more clear and no other thing saving this do we promise to our selves as the success of our endeavours And not so much in relation to the men of our English Nation are we come though the Gospel of Salvation is freely come to them also that they may be freed from the Captivity of sin and death and we may not work nor cause any disturbance or grief to any of them further then what they may take at us for the truth sake or for declaring it in the fear of God and without any just cause given by us to any of you or them though we dare not promise to you nor our selves what we will do nor what we will not do onely this we say if the transgression of any just Law can be charged upon us we refuse not to suffer what shall be imposed and this we do beleeve that the Lord will so keep us and order us by his spirit of truth and carry us in meekness and righteousness towards you while we stay amongst you be it weeks or moneths that you will have no just occasion against us by any offences justly Ministred by us and if you do take occasion against us without any just cause given be it upon your selves to your own shame and condemnation in the sight of God and men for we are cleare Onely this we do give unto the Lord and cannot unto men the exercise of our consciences and to be obedient unto the teachings of his spirit in all things as he shall guide and lead us and if he commands to do or not to do any thing and you the contrary we must obey him though we disobey you for its better to obey God then man and when he bids speak in what place or season soever we may not be silent for to keep our consciences cleare in the sight of God in all things by obedience to him is our care and study and that which we are given up to do and if you set your selves to gain-say this it will turne to your own destruction for no other promise then this can we make for our selves but to do and speak amongst you as the Lord our God shall move us and lead us and this Testemony we do bear for the Lord he doth not move us nor lead us to any thing saving to what is just and good and holy which may tend to the happiness and peace and welfare of your souls and bodies also and in the Fathers will we stand and as we came in his will so we cannot submit to stay or go at any mans will save the Lords alone And as concerning our coming and staying and work here this is a sober account to you which may satisfie you and any sober and reasonable men And as conscerning our being with you yesternight many things passed from some of you and your Minister chiefly to which I had a great desire to have answered and to have cleared the things objected against us but time and his patience afforded not the opportunity therefore now this I do propoâ—nd about the call to the Ministry which was the thing in dispute to which I then could freely have spoken whether he will give me and us a faire meeting in some publique place that is convenient for your selves to hear and be Judge between us to discourse this matter viz. what the true call to the Ministry is which is truly according to the Scripture and that to be laid down first and then to compare his call to his Ministry and also his call to Dunkirk with what the true call is which is allowed of and aproved in the Scriptures and also to compare our call to the Ministry and even our call to Dunkirk with what the true call of Christs Ministry was as declared in the Scriptures that it may be seen whether his call or our call is the more different from or agreeable to the Scriptures and even the light in your own consciences shall be Judge between us in this cause and upon such an Issue upon a just determination would we gladly joyne tryal and such a meeting upon such grounds and proceedings may tend to satisfie your selves and many more and such a meeting I do fully desire with your consent and concurrance who may preserve the people in peace and soberness that all may be edified in the things of so great moment as this is For if he can prove his call to the Ministry to be such as was the Apostles and Ministers in the true Christian Churches before the apostacy then shall we own him and not deny him but if he cannot do this and if we can do it on our own behalfe in the
power and spirit of the Lord then may you and all men judge who are the true Ministers of Christ and who are the deceivers And this manner of proceedings would decide all doubts in you about us and we shall be clear in manifesting the truth concerning the true Ministry and the false and the difference between them in their call in their practice and in their maintenance and this is sent to you to read and consider of in the fear of God as the testimony of our love to you and the truth that you may take heed to your waies and we would receive first your answer whether you do consent and will allow such a meeting and secondly his answer whether he will undertake such a dispute and we further are ready to clear all doubts that may remain in you about us who are your friends and desire your prosperity and faithfulnesse in what the Lord calls you unto by Edward Burrough Samuel Fisher And the same day we went to the Capuchin Friars and had some discourse with the chiefest of them in their garden concerning the light of Christ that every man is lighted withall and we did declare to them of the mighty day of the Lord that was at hand upon them and the Lord was come to search them and try them and would hew down their Idolatrous waies and worships and works c. And in order to a fair proceeding with them the next day I was moved to write this following paper to them by way of queries as to lay some ground of opposition hoping to have received their answer that I might have joyned tryal with them For it was in my heart to search and oppose their waies and practices and their whole Religion And these queries were delivered to them in Latine as followeth though from them I have received no answer to this day but the queries stands upon them and my charge they lye under charged upon them in the Name of the Lord Vobis omnibus qui profitemini vos-met-ipsos esse ad servitium Dei devotos ad sepaerationem e mundo mortisicâ—tinem in conversationibus vestris qui vocaâ—i estâ—â— per nomina fratrum Sororum tam in quam prope Dunkirkam POtens dies Domini Dei venit venturus est in vos in universum mundum expergiscamini expergiscamini voâ— qâ—i dâ—rmitis in terra Deus enim teribilis â—x rituâ—us est ad expostuâ—andum vobiscum ad redendum universo mundo â—poculum excandesceâ—tiae suae propter idololatrias vestras hypocrises abominâ—â—iones quae totum terrarum orbem corrupâ—runt ascenderunt in conspâ—ctu Domini provocarunt eum vociâ—eratio justi qui suit pâ—rcussus occisus jacuit intravit in aures alâ—i siâ—i gladius â—jus qui est verbum oris sui expergefactus â—st ad vulneranâ—um ad occedendum inimicâ—s ejus ac dies visitationis vâ—strae nunc advenit in quo accurate visitaturus exploratus est vos ut retribuat vobis vobis hoc ipsum est verbum Domini Qâ—apropter a Domino motus sum ad proponendum vobis paâ—cas hasce qâ—estiones ob explorationem vestcorum spirituum viarum ad quas responsum vestrum expecto ut omnia adâ—eraâ—â—ur ad lucem ad verum examen ut juste judicemini per spiritum Domini vel obsolvamini vel condemnemini Secundum opera vestra 1 Utrum fuere tales ordines virorum mulierum in vera Christi Ecclesia in diebus Apostolicis ubi Christus instituit unquam hujusmodi cultus exerâ—iâ—ia vivendi modum desidiosum otiosum aque ac Deo hominibus in utilem plane qualem vos exhibitis utrum tenetur aliquis fidem adhibere vobis et insequi Religionem excercitia vestrâ— nisi Religionem conversationes observationes cultus vestros probare possitis per Scripturas verba Christi aut exemplum sanctorum â—jus Apostolorum deinde utrum necne accipiatis totius vestri Religiosi cultus explorationem probationem per secundum scripturas Apostolorum scripta 2. Utrum mundus in cordibus vestris natura mundi etiam radix ipsâ— concupiscentiae Radex superbiae avaritiae amoris hujus seculi vanitatem ejus et Radex Idolatriae subjicitur in vobis â—ppello lucem in conscientiis vestris quid est radex horum omnium et quid est quod hanc ipsam subigit estne abstinentia aliqâ—a externa facta per vim serarum ostiorum et istius modi obstaculorum aut sui-met seperationem in loca secreta quae in maribus et faeminis valet ad subigendum mundi Naturam num per hujusmodi media Christus dat victoriam in peccatum idemque vincit in populo suo nonne hoc factum est solum per potentiam Dei in corde Et nonne est etiâ—m damnabilis hypocrifis in vobis videri sancti liberi ab hisce rebus dum adhuc ipsa natura radex horum omnium vivida est in vobis â—erinde se exhibens in motionibus suis num aliâ—uid ex nugamentis vestris externis est crux Christi aut Christus crucifixus qui mundo crucifigit quae Apostoli praedicarunt in qâ—o laetati sunt 3. Haccine est in vobis vera mundi abnegatio abnegare eum in uno moâ—o loco incurrere in eum eundemque amplecti in alio neq â—qâ—am miâ—i adhuc apparet vos mundum abnegasse qâ—emadmoduâ— Apostoli Respondete etenim mihi ubi unquam habuerunt illi tales quales vos occupatis sedes in pulcherrimis fertillissimis locis urbium oppidorum tam magnificas domus hortos annuales tantas videndi modus quantos vos manentes per totum vitae suae curriculum in granâ—i alico conclavi in otio desidia corpescentes qâ—emodmodum vos illi per orbem peregrinati sunt evangelium praedicantes nec certum aliquem habuerunt habetandi locum sed in Spiritu Agnum Dei sequuti sunt nec stabiliarunt seipsos siâ—uâ—i vos omnâ—bus diebus sistentes in pinguibus terrae portionibus judicamus itaque vos esse extra vitam nec eodem Spiritu in quâ— fuerunt Apostoli sed in aliquali justitiae sanctitatis forma absque vi ipsiuâ— a vobis itaque responsum peto ad vindicandum vos metipsos si potueritis ad probandum vos â—ssâ— de vera ecclesia vias observationes vestras essâ— in per spiritum Dâ—i nec non secundum Scripturas 4. Qâ—alis est mors illâ— qâ—ae pervacit in omnes Regnavit ab Adamo uâ—que ad Mosen nonne regnat adhuc eadem in vos quaenam est ministratio Moâ—is num per illam vere
veniâ—tis unquam est pars ista in vobis subacta necne ab quâ—m addite fuit lex Dei venistis ad Christum ad ipsum cognoscitis sicut fuit ante Abrahamum ante Mariam Et quammodo fuit Davidis Dominus Et quammodo ejusdem filius utrum natus est Christus in vobis vobis Revelatus per quam mundus fuit factus expectatis necne perfecte liberari a paccato adeo ut in hac vita terrestri non amplius illud committetis 5. Quid est anima quinam fuit status conditio ejus ante transgressionem quaenam in transgressione potestne aliquis per Adamum secundum restitui manens adhuc in terra in statum eundem quem amisit in primo etiam vel non Amici in nomine potentia Domini Dei a vobis requiro ut per atramentuÌ„ calamum de hisce mihi respondeat aliquis vestrum subscribantur nomina vestra ut reddam itidem vobis responsum ulterius queramus de vobis a Domino enim missi sumus ad visitanduÌ„ explorandum vos si in perfecta veritate sitis alios ad religionem vestram covertere desideretis tum candide nobiscum agite in zelo vestro optimis utamini armis vestris spiritualibus ad defendendum causam vestram contra nos pro Deo veâ—tro appareatis sine vero de vestris ipsorum viis observationibus dubitatis nec ad Religionem vestram defendendam sufficientes sitis tum obtaretur os vestrum divertite ab idololatria nunc enim orbus est Dominus ad judicandum vos juste etiam ac universum orbem Sum animarium vestrarium amator sed testis contra quascunque falsas vias Antichristi ac meretricis qui diu valde in mundo regnavere quin etiam sum Servus Domini Edvardus Burrough per derisores mundi vocatus Aglice A Quaker The English of these Queries followeth The English is this To all ye that Professe your selves devoted to the service of God and separation from the world and mortification in your lives who are called by the name of Fryars and Nunns in and about Dunkirk THe mighty day of the Lord God is come and coming upon you and all the world Awake awake ye that sleep in in the earth for the dreadful God is arising to plead with you and to give unto all the world the cup of his fierce indignation because of your idolatries and hypocrisies and abominations which hath corrupted the earth is come up before him and hath provoked him and the cry of the just who hath been smitten and laid slain is entred into the ears of the most high and his sword which is the words of his mouth is awakened to wound and slay all his enemies and the day of your visitation is now come wherein the Lord is searching you and trying you that he may recompence you and this is the word of the Lord to you Wherefore I am moved of the Lord to propound some few Qâ—eries to you for the tryal of your spirits and wayes to which I demand your answer that all things may be brought to light and true judgement and that you may be Judged justly and by the spirit of the Lord cleared or condemned according to your deeds 1. Whether there was such orders of men and women in the true Church of Christ in the Apostles dayes and where did Christ give Institution for such worships practices and manner of life and slothful idleness and unprofitableness to God and men as ye hold forth And whether any are bound to believe you and follow your Religion and practices except you can prove by the Scriptures the words of Christ or example of his Saints and Apostles your Religion and lives and practices and worships and whether you do admit of tryal in all your whole Religion by and according to the Scriptures and writings of the Apostles yea or nay 2. Whether the world in your hearts and the worlds nature even the root of lust the root of pride covetousness and the love of this world and its vanities and the root of Idolatry is subdued in you to the light in your consciences I do speak and what is the root of all these things and what is it that subdues it is it an outward abstinence by the force of locks and doors and bolts or self-separation and secret places that subdues the worlds nature in men and women and is iâ— by such means that Christ gives victory over sin and overcomes it in his people or is it not by the power of God in the heart onely And whether is it not damnable hypocrisie in you to appear outwardly holy and free from these things while yet the nature and root of all these things are alive in you and boiling up in the motions of them and is any outward thing the Crosse of Christ and Christ crucified which mortifies to the world which the Apostles Preached and rejoyced in 3. Whether is it a true denial of the world in you to deny it in one manner and place and to run into it and imbrace it in another way and place it doth not appear to me that you have denyed the world as the Apostles did for answer me where had they any such â—eats in the finest and fattest places of the Cities and Towns as ye have such great fine houses and Gardens and such revenues by the year as ye have staying all their dayes in a great house and spending their time in sloth and idleness as ye do they went up and down the world Preaching the Gospel and had no certain dwelling place but followes the Lamb of God in the spirit and did not settle themselves in fat places of the earth continuing all their dayes as ye do therefore we judge that you are out of the life and not in the spirit as the Apostles were in but are in the form of righteousness and holiness without the power So I demand an answer to clear your selves if you can and to prove that you are of the true Church and tâ—at your wâ—yes and practices are in and by the spirit of God and according to the Scriptures 4. What is that death that hath passed over all and reigned from Adam to Moses and whether it doth not reign yet in and over you and what is Moses Ministration and whiâ—her ever through it you yet truly came and whether that part be subduâ—d in you which the Law of God was added upon and whether are you come to Christ and knowes him as he was before Abraham and before Mary and how was he Davids Lord and how his Son and is Christ within you born and reveâ—led to you by whom the world was made and do you expect to be perfectly freed from sin that ye shall not commit sin in this life upon earth
the further manifestation of truth that truth and righteousness may clearely appear and be imbraced and all deceit and false wayes of Antichrist may be confounded and denied and who are in the truth shall be confirmed and who are in the error may have warning now in the day of the worlds visitation The Lord is coming to Judgment who will Judge the Secrets of all hearts and the whole world in equity Dunkirk 20. of 3. moneth 1659. English account By a friend unto righteousness and a lover of all souls Edward Burrough This was sent to the chief Rector of the Iesuites Colledge in Dunkirk in Latine FRiend thy wisdom and thy knowledge is earthly and sensuall and thereby canst thou not know the things of the Kingdom of God thou canst neither learn them thy self nor teach them to others for thou art but a blind leader of the blind and thus saith the Lord God unto thee the fruitles tree is standing in thee that brings forth no fruit unto God the head of the Serpent is not broken in thee that deceives the soul nor the body of sin put off that burdens the just and the Sword shall cut thee to pieces even the sword of the Lord it shall slay thee and friend the time is at hand that the Lord will make thee know that thou art and hast been in thy life time a dishonour to him and that thou hast not serv'd him but thy self and the Divil and thy heart is not right in his sight but is corrupt and deceitfull for thou art tryed and measured and thou art found wanting in all things and God will Judge thee and the witness in thy conscience shall answer his Judgments and all thy Idolatrous practises and profession of Religion and Church and Ministry thy many Prayers and thy works of Righteousness all this shall not hide thee from thee wrath of the Lamb though now thou art hardened and utterly insensible yet the stone shall fall upon thee that will grind thee to Powder and thou shalt not escape but the burden of thine own iniquities shall weigh thee down into perdition except thou speedily Repent Therefore fear and tremble before the Lord God and remember thou art warned by one that seeks the peace of souls but makes War by the sword of the spirit against the kingdom of the Divil and Antichrist in whom soever it stands And friend answer me this one Querie What is that Whore that hath sat upon multitudes and peoples and what is that Golden Cup in her hand and what are the Abominations and Fornications of which her Cup is full which she hath caused the Kings and people to drink and with which she hath deceived the world Answer me this and subscribe thy name E. B. And now this I have to say concerning the Church of Rome to them to all the world as having been in a measure an eye and eare witnesse of their idolatrous and false waies practices and doctrines never having in all my daies till this time and at this opportunity of going to Dunkirk not having any knowledge outwardly what their waies and practices were not having any knowledge I say by my sighâ— and particular hearing concerning them without me otherwise then what the spirit of the Lord within me did make manifest Though from a child the spirit of the Lord in me hath abhorred popery and all that which savours of iâ— But now having been an eye and eare witnesse in a little measure of their practices and doctrines this I have to say to them and all men blindnesse and ignorance covers them as with a mantle and they are wrapped up in the body of darknesse and grosse darknesse they do dwel in and all their waies and worships are but the works of darknesse which they are led on in by the false feigned spirit of imitation from one generation to another being exercised therein And the sense of the spirit of life they have not but have wholy lost it and they know nothing at all of the leading of it nor of its teaching This they hisse at as a thing of nought when it is spoken of to them They have even sold themselves into the land of ignorance and blindnesse and they hate to be reformed they are setled upon a false foundation even the traditions of men which the Lord will break down and their whole building will fall And when I consider how thousands and ten thousands lies in the captivity of blindnesse and darknesse under them my heart is rent for them upon the consideration how they are led in darknesse and blindnesse and how they rest in a false confidence which will destroy their Souls and the blood of many rests upon the heads of them that leadeth them for they that lead them cause them to erre and the blood of souls will be required at their hands And as for the poor and the common sort of them there is a pity in me for them because they are led by the blind and are out of the way but as for the Priests and Jesuites and Clergy men they are to be cut off with the edge of the sword of the Lord God and the woe is unto them and no pitty because they cause the people to erre and keeps the people in ignorance and blindnesse under their false and unrighteous waies and worships And this I know the word of the Lord is gone forth against the whole body of the Romish-Church from the head to the tail of them will God plead with them the time is at hand and his eye shall noâ— pitty neither shall his hand spare to punish them The decree of the Lord is Sealed and he will take vengeance upon their unrighteous lawes which binds the consciences of people and limits the spirit of the holy one their unrighteous Ecclesiastical Lawes I meane under which is defended all manner of Idolatry and they compel people to be Idolaters by a Law and whereby they drink the blood of the Saints and of the Martyrs but the Lord will take vengeance upon them and disannul their covenants and decrees and his spirit shall not be limited but shall rend them to pieces even their Laws and cruelties and Inquisions by which they are defended and their Religion upheld in the world and whereby they kill the jâ—st and murders the innocent that are better then they for the fulnesse of time is come and all these shall be tumbled down for their unjust Lawes and Inquisiâ—ions are the main strength and pillars of their Church whereby their Church and worishp doth stand and if they had not these cruel Lawes and Inquisitions to defend themselves by in their Religion they would be soon prevailed against for they have nothing of the spirit and authority of God to stand in nor to fight with against such as do oppose them but their weapons are carnâ—l and devilish and by murders oppressions and tyrannies they do defend themselves and when these
things are broken down then their Church cannot stand long And as sure as the Lord lives so shall it come to passe a generation shall accomplish it and in the generation of the righteous seed it shall be finished their Lawes shall be broken down and murders avenged and their weaknesse shall then appear and their whoredomes and Idolatries and all their abominâ—tions shall be made naked and uncovered and judged by the Lamb and them that follow him whom he will gather to fight his battle And if the people were but sensible hereof as in measure I am through the zeal of the Lord it would raise up the spirit of zeal in them all to seek vengeance and the overthrow of all their unrighteous Lawes and Inquisitions and murders which keeps people in darknesse and ignorance and kills the just that the creatures may be saved and tyranny condemned And when once the Lord doth but reach forth his arme then shall people be awakened to mind what I now say Who would spare their own lives for the accomplishing of such a work that the spirit of the Lord may have liberty and that which limits it may be dashed to pieces and that the earth may be set at liberty and all Europ made free from the cruelâ—ies and tyranies of Antichrist and of the whore And to all you Papists I say and to all the body of the Church of Rome prepare prepare for the Lord God is comming up against you in his dreadful power his word of eternal judgement is gone forth and his vials are full of wrath to be poured forth and he will be avenged upon your tyrannies and murthers and unequal Lawes and subdue them before him And his dâ—ead shall â—all upon your consciences ye that are Idolaters hypocrites ignorant wretches wilful persons and bondslaves of Satan The plagues of God and the wrath of the Lamb shall reach unâ—o yoâ—r high Throne Repent repent for the Lords wrath is kindled against you and if there be any among you that feareth the Lord let him deliver his own soul by turning from your abominations least the Lord come upon you and destroy you altogether Give up your Inquisitions give up your unjust Lawes and cease to murther the innocent and torment the righteous I demand this of you on the Lords behalfe vex not the Lord any longer for his patience is turned into anger against you and his long-suffering will become fury to devour you And no little service we had in Dunkirke among our English Army Divers meetings we had in the Town and declared the message of salvation And I must commend the spirit of our English men for moderation more then the men of any other nation And I did many times clear my conscience among them both as they were men Sons of Adam and in relation to an eternal state did direct them to the way of happinesse out of sin and wickednesse that they might come to God preaching the everlasting Gospel That as they were Sons of Adam in trangression they might come to be healed and come into Christ the power and wisdome of God and might be saved Again as they were soldiers and as they were an army I was moved to speak mcuh unto them that they might know what their service was there in that state some time saying unto them it was possible the Lord might have some good work to do by them if they were faithful and noâ— seek themselves but the glory of the Lord And at one time being sent for by Governor Lockhart where there were many officers with him we had much discourse with them and this lay upon me to declare in the Name of the Lord unto them that if they did enterprize any businesse as they were an army in a spirit in opposition unto us and in that spirit that did reject us and deny us and gain say us then should they never prosper in any enterprize whatsoever but if they went on in any degree in the fear of the Lord and in that spirit that was among us then should they overcome their enemies and none should have power over them nor overcome them And after I was parted from them this following paper was upon me to write unto the whole Army in general both to officers and soldiers To the English Army to Officers and Souldiers Friends I Am moved to clear my conscience unto you in the sight of the Lord to warn you that you may all learn wisdom and the fear of the Lord God and may stand in his Counsel alwayes for that will be a defence unto you at all times and therein will you prosper in the Lords work and chiefly unto you the small remnant of our English Army in and about Dunkirk I say unto you officers and Souldiers fear the Lord God and walk in his wisdom and every particular person amongst you Inquire of the Lord what he requires of you inquire of the Lord I say and know his will and be obedient unto it in all things and so shall you prosper in standing in Gods Counsel and in performing his will and so shall you be exalted and have victory over your enemies even as you seek the honour of the Lord and his glory for if you honour him and do that which is acceptable to him he will honour you and set you a top of all your enemies and he will make way through the mountains even by you for the further appearance of his glory and he will honour you as his workmen if you be faithful to him and walk in his Counsel and wisdom till he hath prepared his own way by you for assuredly it is not in vain but the Lord had some end in it to himself in bringing you to that place and what do you know but he may have some good work for you to do it is possible there is more in his heart and in his purpose concerning you then yet may be discovered to you wherefore it is good for you that you waite upon the Lord to know his will fully concerning you that you may do it and fulfill it and therein shall be your Crown but on the contrary dependeth your misery and destruction And this I do know that the Lord hath owned and honoured our English Army and done good things for them and by them in these Nations in our age and the Lord once armed them with the spirit of courage and zeal against many abominations and tyrannies and he was with them in many things which he called them to and gave them victory and Dominion over much injustice and oppression and over Tyrants and cruel Laws and he was with them till that a spirit of vain glory and Ambition and self-seeking and the honour of this world entered into some and defiled the whole body made it deformed void of its former beauty and of its valour and nobleness also at which the anger of the Lord was kindled and against you
all to be thrown down and the worship that is in Spirit and truth to be set up by the Lord and he is gathering people into that worship but if you be out of the fear of God in the rudenesse and wickednesse of the world and seeks your selves and not the freedom of the nations onely then the Lord will lay you aside as a broken potsherd and raise up unto himselfe a people that shall fulfill his work and do it for he hath much work to do in the nations to accomplish in a few years time for he is gathering his elect seed and changing the kingdomes of the world and making them become the kingdomes of Christ and so be low in your own eyes and do not seek your selves but seek one anothers good and seek the glory of the Lord and the freedome of the oppressed and in that you will be blessed and prosper till you have set up your standard at the gates of Rome I am a lover of all your souls and a sufferer in patience under the cruelties of men E. B. ANd some small discourse we had with our English Priests that supplies the place of Chaplains to the Army and in particular one of them which had spoken something behind our backs against us and we did proffer to have some discourse with him but he refused it only to evade the matter at that present he bid us state some of our principles in writing and he would answer them in dispute in some publike place being he was not willing to engage to dispute otherwise we were free to write this following Paper but we had no answer in agreement to dispute with us but shifted the thing from himself by telling us the Governor was not willing but tâ— is was not the same Priest before mentioned that we had discourse with at our first coming into the Town Friend For the manifestation of truth and that the perfect difference between thee and us may be known and who are in the truth and who in the error and that truth from error may be clearly discerned therefore according to thy own proposals and expressed desires thereof before many we do here assert some particulars of that truth which we have received from God and do hold forth and maintain in the world in opposition to thee or any other that shall gainsay them viz. 1. That Christ hath lightened all men with a light sufficient in it self to bring them to salvation if they follow it 2. That God hath given Christ to be the Saviour of all men 3. That none are justified by Christ and his righteousnesse without them but as they have received Christ and his righteousness and witness them revealed in themselves 4. That the Saints of God may be perfectly freed from sin in this life so as no more to commit it 5. That the national Ministers and Churches not only of Papists but of the Protestants also as they now stand are not the true ministers and Churches of Christ 6. That the scriptures are a true declaration given forth from the spirit of God by holie men of God moved by it to write them and are profitable but are not the foundation nor the most perfect Rule of faith and life to the Saints These things we are freelie willing and desirous to discourse upon with thy selfe and anie others that shall join with thee in the presence of sober and wise men who may judge between us in anie publick place that may be procured by thee according to thy engagements in this particular provided it may be in the spirit of meeknesse and moderation and that all fair and sober dealing may be among us and the fear of God and to this we expect thy speedie answer concerning time and place E. Burrough S. Fisher The propositions were writ as short as could be for to stop all advantages against us that might be taken by our adversarie in case he had met us and agreed to dispute but upon enlargement in discourse we might have laid open the truth of everie one of these particulars at large to the satisfaction of sober minds that might have been doubtfull hereof and shewed by the Scriptures the truth of all of them THE END
Gentibus bibit sanguinem sanctorum Martyrum corrupit Terram secit uâ— omnes biterunt ex poculo Scortationum suarum Pseudoprophetae supervenerunt in nationes deceperunt eaâ— Deinde Ecclesia vestra est de populis turbis tribubus in quos Bestia potestatem recepit quibus insedit meretrix quosque pseudoprophetae deceperunt 5 Quod vera Christi Ecclesia uxor Agni electa sponsa urbs illa dilecta que peperit eum qui Gentes erat Recturus fugit in solitudinem alita fuit in loco luctus desolationis mille ducentis sexaginta diebus calcaverunt Gentes urbem sanctam uxorem Agni dominium habuerunt in ipsam mensibus quadraginta duobus etiamsi haud fuerit ipsa separata seu victa adeo ut omni existentia penitus privari in deserta solitudine tamen exstitit in luctu ac desolatione in illa gloria excellentia quam olim habuit nequaquam apparuit sed amisit plane vestimenta ornatus suos haeredem suum maritum ab ea separatum raptum ad Deum thronum ejus in hoc tempore divastationes conculcationes Civitatis illius Sanctae uxoris Agni Regni Bestiae meretricis Ecclesia vestra quae est ex muliere falsa non ex Electa sponsa quae Agno nupra est exhibita fuit in potentia sua gloria 6 Quod coactio compulsio personarum per externam aliquam legem potestatem conformes esse hujusmodi vel istius modi Religioso Cultui est Bestiae meretricis non Dei Cultus Quinimo trucidare persequi Conscientiae ergo propter abnegationem hujus aut illius Religiosi Cultus est a Diabolo Dracone nequaquam a Deo nec secundum eâ—m quinetiam Ecclesia vestra quae per istius modii media cogit ad suum cultum in hoc non succedit Apostolis Ecclesiae verae sed est de Bestia meretrice quas in deil us suis Iohannes vidit venturus esse nos in nostris venisse videmus Regnasse per praeteritas generationes affirmo etiam cuicunque Religoso cultui Conformes se praebentes non sponte sed coacte per vim violentiam legum esse duplo magis quam antea Diatoli filios nec per hoc conversos esse ad Deum sed sieri Idololatras quos Deus judicaturus est 7 Quod nulli pro totum terrarum orbem sunt vera membra de vera Christi Ecclesia veb jus habentes ad haereditatem Eternae vitae nisi qui e mundo Collecti sunt per praedicationem Evangelii sunt transfigurati itidem Renovati per potentiam Domini Dei in Corde per spiritum ejus in ipsis docti in omnem veritatem ad Christum Caput agglutinati aggregati in eternam unitatem infiniti Corporis per eundem spiritum unctionem in ipsis habitantem ex hujusmodi consistit vera Christi Ecclesia nunc temporis quemadmodum in temporibus Apostolorum de talibus vero membris non est Ecclesia vestra in presenti hac aetate nec est in ordine regimini spiritus veritatis sed in forma absque vi in illa fuit origo est status ejus in hunc usque diem 8 Quod oportunitas dies Domini plenitudo temporis praestituti appropinquat in quo Babylon illa magna dejicietur cadet dominus in illam vindictam inferet judicia reddit comprehendentur Bestia meretrix pseudoprophetae quibus subjiecerunt se Regna terrarum orbis vivi conjicientur in stagnum Diabolus Satanas non amplius seducent nationes sed Regna mundi hujus mutabuntur facta erunt Regna Domini Christi ejus Cujus Regnum revelabitur in Cordibus Electorum Suorum in potientia multa gloria Et Ecclesiam Romanensem etiam omnes falsas Sectas Ecclesias per Vniversam terram subvertet Dominus Deus vera ipsius Ecclesia recolligeturâ—e deserto pulchritudo Ierusolymae novae Ecclesiae Sanctae vxoris Agni aeque gloriâ—fa faerit ac ante fugitum ejus illuc conculcationem suam per Gentes Dominus Deus Omnipotens dignoscetur erit cum hominibus Tabernaculum ejus Haec Testor vobis in nomine Domini veritatem eorum quae certa est probaturus sum de hisce caeteris paribus cum quocunque vestrum Sobriae mentis disceptaturus eademque per spiritum Domini nec non secundum scripturas infallibilia esse demonstraturus Qua propter consideretis ea in mansuetudine patientia credite in lucem Christi in vestris ipsorum conscientiis qua cum unumquemque qui venit in Mundâ—m Christus illuminavit ut ad agnitionenâ— veritatis ab omnibus viis obliquis perveniatis si vestrum aliquis in gratiam totius Corporis hisce Responsum Reddet si possitis per atramentum calamum vindicare vos met ipsâ—s de hisce quae vobis imputantur hoc erit per me Candide receptum etiam in levitate cum Responsione revertetur in ordine adulteriorum manifestationâ—m veritatis ut veritas Iustitia Clarissime appareat â—mplectatur delusio omnis Anti-Christi impostura confundatur abnegatur qui sunt in veritate in eadem stabiliantur qui in errore Commone fiant in hoc die visitationis Mundi Dominus venturus est ad judicium qui omnium Cordium Secreta Iudicabit Vniversum mundum in Iustitia Dun. 20.3d mon. 1659. Per Amicum Justiciae omnium animarum Amatorem EDVARDUM BURROUGH The English of these propositions is as followeth To all ye Iesuits Priests and Friars and to all you in generall of the Romish Church in and about Dunkirk FRiends in dear love to all your immortall souls I am moved to lay these things before you that you may read and consider them in the fear of the Lord God for as much as for some dayes I have been in this Town according to the will of God and having rightly observed your Religion in its originall and in its present standing and in its practises and having truly examined some part of your faith and Doctrines and the manner of your worships and your ordinances and the orders and discipline and government of your whole Church and in the spirit of the Lord having laid all things to the line of true â—udgment and equally measured them hereupon I do from the Lord and by his spirit propound and assert these things unto you First That your Church is not the true Church of Christ the Lambs wife and elected spouse but is degenerated in her faith and in her
Doctrines and in her worships and ordinances in her orders discipline and government from what the true Church of Christ was in the Apostles dayes before the Apostacy 2. That the constitution of your Church and the chief part of your worship and ordinances and the way and maner of your discipline and Government are of man and set up and standeth by the will of man and are not after God nor according to him but are after the traditions of man learned and practised therein which is Idolatry and are not in the commandements of Christ nor in the example of his Apostles nor according to the Scriptures but without the spirit of God being set up since the dayes of the Apostles and since the Apostacy came in which hath over-shadowed the whole world 3 That there hath been over the world for generations and many ages since the dayes of the Apostles and true Churches a generall declination and falling away from the true faith and doctrines and from the worship and ordinances and from the discipline and Government that was amongst the Apostles and practised in the true Churches of Christ in their dayes and your Church is in that declination and falling away 4. That Antâ—christ the Beast and the whore and false prophets have reigned over the world for generations the Antichrist that hath opposed Christ and been exalted in the Temple of God and been worshipped as God The Beast that hath killed the Saints and warred against them and had power over Kindreds and tongues and the world hath wondred after him The Whore whom the Beast hath carried she hath sat upon peoples multitudes and Nations and drunk the blood of the Saints and of the Martyrs and she hath corrupted the earth and caused all to drink her cup of fornications And the false Prophets have overspred the Nations and deceived them and you and your Church are of the peoples the multitudes and the kindred that the Beast hath received power over and the Whore hath sat upon and the false Prophets deceived 5 That the true Church of Christ the Lambs wife the eleâ—â—ed spouse and the beloved City who brought forth him that was to rule the â—ations hath been fled into the Wildernes been fled into the place of mourning dissolation for a thousand two hundred 60 dayes the Gentiles feet have troden down the holy City the Lambs wife and had power over her for forty and two moneths and though she hath not been prevailed against nor overcome so as to be extinguished from having a being yet her being hath been the Wilderness in mourning and disolation and she hath not appeared in the glory and excellency which once she had but hath lost her garments and her attire and her heir and husband separated from her and caught up to God and to his Throne and in this time of the disolation and treading down of the holy City the Lambs wife and the reigning of the Beast and the Whore hath your Church been extant in her glory and power which hath been of the false woman and not of the eleâ—t spouse that is married to the Lamb 6. That forcing and compelling of persons by any outward Law and Authority to be of such or such a Religion and to conforme to such a way of worship is the worship of the Beast and of the Whore and not the worship of God and to kill and persecute persons for the exercise of conscience and because they will not be of such a Religion and cannot conform to such worship is of the Divill and the Dragon and not of God nor according to him and that your Church herein is not successor of the Apostles and the true Church of Christ but is of the Beast and the Whore which Iohn saw was to come in his time and which we see are come in our dayes and have ruled for generations and I affirme that persons so made conformable by force and violent Laws to such a Religion and worship are but two fold more the Children of the Divill and are not at all converted to God thereby but becomes Idolaters whom God will Judge 7. That none upon earth are true members of the true Church of Christ having a portion in the inheritance of eternal life but such who are gathered out of the world by the preaching of the Gospel and are changed and renewed by the power of the Lord God in the heart and are led by his spirit within them into all truth and are joyned unto Christ the head and gathered into the eternall unity of the infinite body by the same spirit and anointing dwelling in them and of such onely doth the true Church of Christ consist now in this present time as it did in the Apostles dayes but of such members doth not your Church consist in this present age neither is it in the order and Government of the spirit of truth but in the forme without the Power therein was its beginning and is its standing at this day 8. That the time is at hand and the day of the Lord draws near and the fulness of time is approaching wherein great Babylon shal be thrown down and fall to the ground and the Lord will be avenged on her and will render Judgments unto her and the Beast and whore and false prophets unâ—o whom the Kingdoms of the world hath been subject shall be taken and cast alive into the lake and the devil and Satan shall deceive the Nations no more but the Kingdoms of this World shall be changed and become the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ whose Kingdom shall be revealed in power and great glory in the hearts of his chosen and the Church of Rome and all the false sects and Churches upon the earth will the Lord God overthrow and his true Church shall be gathered out of the Wilderness and the beauty of new Ierusalem of the holy Church the Lambs wife shall be as glorious as before she fled thither and before she was troden down of the Gentiles and the Lord God Almighty shall be known and his â—abernacle shall be with men These things I assert to you in the Name of the Lord and the truth thereof is certaine and should be ready to argue and dispute these things with any sober person amongst you upon equall tearmes and to prove the infalibility hereof by the spirit of the Lord and according to the Scriptures wherefore consider of them in patience and meekness and believe in the light of Christ which is in your consciences which Christ hath lightened every man that commeth into the world withall that you may come to the knowledge of the truth and out of all false wayes and if any of you will returne an answer hereunto in behalfe of your whole body and can be able to clear your selves in writing from what is charged upon you it shall be gladly received by me and a reply in meekness returned to you for