spirit returns to God that gave it when men die but these sayings of Solomon are no Scripture for Solomon was no Scripture writer for his writings were not written by the revelation of faith but by the revelation of reason yet it was the purest of reason and he had the greatest measure of the wisdom of reason and the knowledge of nature of any that was before him since Adam or any that shall come after him Therefore God chose him King and gave him the purest wisdom of reason according to his desire in his prayer to God that his wisdom might resemble Heaven for glory as it did for what glory could a King have upon earth greater then he had which was a true resemblance of the glory of Heaven and this glory was procured by that power and great wisdom of reason in him yet for all this he was ignorant of the revelation of faith and of spiritual and heavenly things ignorant of the true God and of the right Devil and of some things in Nature As that the spirit of a man should return to God that gave it without a body when as God never gave any spirit to man without a body nor to no other creature but Solomon being ignorant that the spirit or soul of man is generated and begotten by the law of generation as well as the body this was in the creation when God made man in his own image the ignorance of this caused him to speak thus for he knew not where the spirit went when the body is laid in the earth no more then the learned Philosophers do who say A spirit cannot die as if the spirit and life of every creature were the spirit or life of God else they think no creature could move and have a being And though Solomon was a wise man as the Heathen Philosophers were wise men in nature yet they were all ignorant in this one thing of the law of generation or procreation to increase and multiply as God hath placed in nature when he created the world in the beginning for every creature as well as man were to increase and multiply by the law of generation and this I am sure they begot spirit life and soul by generation as well as bodies But if it be objected that God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soul and so mans spirit is of a more noble divine life or spirit then any other creatures To this I say the law of generation to increase and multiply was placed in mans seed and nature by God the creator as in other creatures for this is to be observed that Adam did not come to be a living soul by generation as we do ever since but he and Eve were first made as a foundation for generation so that God made or created but one man and one woman all men and women that have been generated and begotten ever since cannot properly be said to be made nor created but begotten by generation for God never made and created but one man and one woman all others are generated and begotten Therefore when man begets a son or daughter in the way of generation he begets the soul or spirit of the child as well as the body and the soul or spirit came out of the mans loins as well as the body as it was said by Jacob Seventy souls came out of his loins if so then that spirit or soul that is begotten by generation it must and doth die for this I say God never breathed the breath of life into no man but into Adam the spirit of life in all men and women else or since have been generated and begotten and what spirit and soul of man that is generated it doth die and turn to dust till the regeneration when God shall raiâ—e it again which will not be a minute of an hour to the dead spirit as I said before So it may be clear to those that have the true light of faith in them that the soul or spirit of man doth die as well as the body they both came into the world together alive and they shall both go out of the world again dead as I have shewed before Also the Reader may see that those Scriptures have been misunderstood through the ignorance and darkness of mens minds to think that the soul or spirit of man doth not die but slips out of the body but to imagine that spirits may walk without bodies or that any Witch can raise any spirit without a body and many other conceits that do arise out of the dark mind of man which have been grounded upon those scripture-Scripture-words therefore I have given the interpretation of all those places of Scripture that are of most concernment and seem to bear such a sense as is generally conceived among professors of the Scriptures so that whoever understands the interpretation may receive great satisfaction in their minds in this point so much for the satisfaction of the understanding in heart and for the discontent of the ignorant and dark-minded people who believe by tradition that their spirits do not die but slide out of the body at the time of death and if they have been evil and wicked livers their spirits do walk afterwards and cannot be at rest These conceits have been exceeding brief in the world heretofore when people were in darkness and so it is still where the darkness of mind ruleth CHAP. XV. THere is one thing more that would be necessary for the wise in heart to know which the Scriptures speak of in several places but I never heard any of the Ministry tell what that Satan is the Scriptures speak of therefore I shall speak a word or two to shew what Satan is and so conclude 1 Chron. 21.1 And Sathan stood up against Israel and Job 1.6 And Satan came also among them and chap. 21.22 And the Lord said to Sathan From whence comest thou And God said to Sathan Hast thou considered my servant Job Ezek. 3.1 And Sathan standing at his right hand Mat. 16.23 Get thee behind me Sathan Luke 10.18 I beheld Sathan as lightening fall from Heaven 1 Chron. 21.1 And Sathan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel This Sathan that provoked David it was the motions of reason in himself being lifted up in his own mind in that he had overcome the children of Amon he thought to make nothing of the Philistins therefore the thoughts of his heart moved him to number the people to know his strength And this motion that did arise in his heart it was Satan it is called Satan because those motions proceed from the spirit or seed of reason in him In 2 Sam. 24.1 it is said The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he moved David against them to say Go number Israel that is the Lord suffered the motions of reason in David to be powerful and strong in him that no arguments should disswade
and not to a natural captivity Neither was it meant the opening of the natural prison doors to them that were bound by the Powers of the nations but the doors of mens hearts were opened at the preaching of Christ and his Apostles in that light and life and salvation was preached unto them that whoever believed that this Jesus is the Christ the Saviour of the world should be saved and delivered from the fear of eternal death so that the soul of man that was lead captive into prison and bound in chains of darkness and strong doors lockt fast to keep the spirit of man in prison by the works of the Law and the expounders of the Law before Christ came the spirit of reason in them did lead the generality of people their spirits into spiritual captivity and shut them up in prison and tied their spirits up in the observation of the Ceremonial Law of Moses Which was as chains of darkness and not onely so but shut the door of hope upon them so that there was no hope to be saved in them but by observing the Law aforesaid which Paul calls beggerly rudiments Gal. 3. So that this spiritual captivity and being bound in prison and the doors being shut it was the spirits of people that were captives and prisoners in their own bodies kept by the Legal and ceremonial righteousness of the Law of Moses and when Christ came to preach and to give power to his Apostles to preach the Gospel of truth both to Jew and Gentile then was the dore of hope opened in peoples hearts and many that were bound in prison whose spirits were led captive they were set at liberty from that bondage of the Ceremonial Law wherein they were bound and brought out of that prison of darkness in the mind into the glorious light and life of faith by the preaching of Christ and his Apostles Then was this prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled in the Apostles commission then was liberty preached to the spirits of many that were bound and in prison in their own minds the word of faith preached unto them it opened a door of hope of deliverance from the bondage of the Law as aforesaid wherewith they were bound so that by faith they had in Christ their chains fell off their feet and darkness of their understanding so that they were at perfect liberty and delivered out of prison and the prison door of hope in Christ being opened all true believers in Christ were set at liberty free from captivity and out of that spiritual prison of darkness into the glorious liberty of the sons and daughters of God for ever and ever So is it now in this commission of the spirit we the witnesses of the spirit have preached glad tidings of salvation and have opened the prison doors of mens hearts and have let many out of that spiritual prison that were bound to the righteousness set up by the imagination of reason now in these last days who were led captive by their own traditions and kept in prison in their own bodies for many years but by the declaration of truth in all our writings and our speakings many people have been delivered out of captivity and out of prison their spirits have been let loose out of the chains of darkness because the door of their hearts hath been opened by the word of faith in the true God which we have preached and written this many can witness at this day the truth of it So that now that Scripture is fulfilled again in these last days and this is the true meaning of the Prophet Isaiah in those words concerning opening the prison and giving liberty to the captives that were imprisoned in their own bodies by the conceptions of the imaginations of their own hearts So that there is not the least colour or ground from those words for the reason of man to think that spirits may be let out of prison without bodies or that the spirit of Christ did preach to any spirit in prison without his body CHAP. XII ANd as for those words of Peter aforenamed where he saith Christ was put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was a preparing c. The meaning of those words are as followeth that Christ was put to death in the body of his own flesh this is confessed by most people that profess the Scriptures of truth but very few do truly believe that the soul or spirit of Christ did die or was put to death at all notwithstanding the Scripture saith that He poured out his soul unto death and he himself saith His soul was heavy unto death Therefore that the Reader may understand what is meant in that Christ was put to death in the flesh but quickened by the spirit mind I declare that it was the soul or spirit of Christ which was the Godhead life that dwelt in that body of flesh and bone of Christ for as the Scripture saith In him all the fulness of the Godhead dwelt bodily and this Godhead life that dwelt in the body of Christs flesh it was put to death in the body of Christs flesh and the same Godhead life that was put to death in the body of his flesh and when Christs body was crucified upon the cross then was the soul and life of Christ or the Godhead life did die and was put to death in that flesh of Christ for that flesh of Christ was God become flesh as the Scripture saith and the soul and life of Christ was the soul and life of God And When Christ poured out his soul unto death it was the Godhead life that was poured out unto death so that the Godhe d spirit was put to death and did die in the flesh of Christ when he was crucified But this Godhead life which was put to death in the flesh of Christ it quickened again where it was put to death even in the same flesh where it was put to death And in its quickening agâ—in it raised the same flesh again and so spiritualized the same flesh that suffered and made it uncapable to suffer death any more For this I say no spirit or life that is put to death whatsoever could possibly quicken again in the same body but the life of God onely so that Christ must needs be God as well as Man for it was Christ that was put to death in the flesh and the same life that was put to death and did die that which did die did quicken again and so is called a quickening spirit Now observe it cannot properly be called a quickening spirit if it had not been once dead for if the spirit and life of Christ did not die nor was not dead then I say there was no need that this spirit and life should quicken again
him from it but the people must be numbered and this was that Satan in David and no spirit without him So Job 1.6 The sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan câ—me also among them To this I say the book of Job is no Scripture neither are men to build their faith upon it because the book of Job was written before Moses therefore no Scripture for Moses his writing is the first foundâ—tion of Scripture Yet this I do confess that Job was a good and faithful man and because he was afflicted by Satan and Satan is spoken of in several places of Scripture yet none of them did declare what this Satan is therefore I shall declare now what that Satan was that came among the sons of God I declare the sons of God they were the sons of Job who feasted their three sisters as you may read They were called the sons of God because they were that good and faithful man Jobs sons as the sons of Seth were called the sons of God and they looked upon the daughters of men and saw that they were fair c. as you may read in Genesis Now that Satan came amongst them when they presented themselves before the Lord it was the spirit of reason in Jobs seven sons when they feasted their three sisters they were moved in their minds to voluptuousness drunkenness and lust as the rest of the Heathen were where they lived so that they did wickedness in the absence of Job their father and Job fearing in their wickedness his sons had cursed God in their hearts as you may see in the verse before So Job caused his sons to present themselves before the Lord and to worship the Lord as it was the manner for Job to do in those times and Satan came with them that is the spirit of reason in his sons came with them reasoning in themselves why should their father Job reprove them for their wickedness in their feasts this was that Satan that came amongst them for he was in them and no other Satan but what was within them And this is that Satan that goeth to and fro in the earth to tempt and destroy those that are faithful so that this spirit of reason this Satan it goeth to and fro in the earth to tempt and destroy the faithful It was that Satan that did motion the Sabeans and Chaldeans to take away Jobs oxen and slay his servants as they were plowing and fired the sheep and burnt up Jobs servants and the Chaldaeans came with a band of men seeing Jâ—b smitten and destroyed by the Sabeans and they came with three bands of men and destroyed the camels and the rest of his servants For this must be minded that in those times there was no Law to deliver or help the innocent but he that had the strongest sword carried the day And the Lord for trial of Jobs faith and patience and for a patern for the ages to come he suffered the spirit of unclean reason in the Sabeans and Chaldaeans to go to and fro in the earth to stir up their people to destroy Job and all his house and cattel Also God suffered the natural wind to blow down the house where Jobs sons were feasting and destroyed them according to the desire of the spirit of unclean reason in the Sabeans and Chaldaeans For the sons of Job were wicked children though called the sons of God And last of all the spirit of unclean reason in Jobs wife was that Satan that tempted Job to curse God and die so that there is no other spirit or Satan without man but that Satan spoken of in Job it was the spirit of unclean reason in the minds of the Sabeans Chaldaaeeans and in Jobs wife and sons that was that Satan and no other And as for those disputes God had with Satan and Satan with God it was nothing else but the motions of Jobs heart passing through his troubled soul the seed of faith disputed in him for God persuading him to be patient and let that have its perfect work and so hope did increase in him and the seed of reason which was Satan in him as well as in others it pleaded against God reasoning in him as if God did not do well or justly by him that had been so righteous in his life one who never did no wrong to his neighbour but always feâ—â—ed God yet that God should suffer the wicked to destroy his cattel and servants and suffer the wind to blow down his house and destroy his children and not onely so but suffer his body to break out with boils and botches most loâ—thsom as if he had been the greatest sinner in the world so that he thought that God dealt more cruelly with him then with any other creature And further he thought God dealt hardly with him that he would neither take away his life that he might die out of this troubled mind and pains of body nor restore him to health These and such like reasonings and thoughts passed through Jobs troubled soul even from the spirit or seed of reason in him which is the dispute of Satan for as the seed of faith in Job disputed for God so did the seed of reason in Job dispute for Satan for there is no other Satan but what is in man as I said before So in Zach. 3.1 here Zachariah the Prophet saw in a vision the redempttion of the seed of faith by Christ under the type of Joshua the High priest standing before the Angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him This High priest was Christ cloathed with filthy garments when he became flesh when on eaeth he appeared unto men to be clothed in filthy garments being so mean and hâ—d not a place to lay his head yet professed himself to be the Son of God the High priest that should offer up himself for to save his people for High priests in former times did appear to the people with rich and glorious garments but this High priest doth appear to the seed of reason to be clothed in filthy garments not fit as reason thinks to stand before the Angel of the Lord. And this Satan that stands at his right hand to resist him it was the spirit of unclean reason in those people of the Jews when Christ was upon earth and when that Deviâ— that tempted Christ spoken of in Matthew disputed with Christ he resisted the High priest and stood at Christs right hand at that time and this Devil that tempted Christ it was a man endued with an high pitch of reason and that spirit of reason or wisdom of reason in that man that tempted Christ the High priest it was Satan that strove to resist Christ in dispute whereupon Christ said Get thee hence Satan This Satan was a man and the spirit of reason in this man is that Satan that always resisteth the wisdom of faith which is the wisdom of God But this hath been more largely treated upon in our other writings so I shall speak no moâ—e of that devil and his temptations here So in Matth. 16.23 Christ said unto Peter Get thee behind me Satan Here you see Peter is called Satan because it was the spirit of reason in Peter that said Master pity thy self that is the thoughts of Peters heart they did savour of the fleshly part that is those motions to persuade Christ to save himself from death they did arise from the seed of reason in Peter therefore called Satan for there was no new spirit that came into Peter at that time to cause him to speak those words but those words proceeded from the seed of reason in him as aforesaid therefore called Satan And wheresoever that expression is used as Peter said himself in the Acts Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost that is why hath the motions of reason in thee persuaded thy heart to tell a lie unto us that have the Holy Ghost in us So the Reader may clearly see that there is no other Satan to tempt God or Man but the motions and words that proceed from the seed of reason in man and woman So in Luke 10.18 And Christ said unto his disciples I beheld Satan as lightening fall from heaven This Christ spake because his disciples rejoyced that the Devils were subject to them The meaning of Christ was that he saw the spirit of reason that was in the Rulers of the Jews very high in the righteousness of the Law of Moses even as if they were in Heaven thinking in themselves that none could be more happy and surer of Heaven and peace with God then they that kept to the Law of Moses Now Christ knowing that this righteousness of the Jews should be thrown down by the righteousness of faith which his Apostles should preâ—ch therefore he saw by faith that the spirit of reason in the Rulers of the Jews should fall like lightening from Heaven and so it did and the disciples of Christ should by the doctrine and righteousness of faith tread upon serpents and upon their persecution and upon their righteousness of the Law of Moses and upon all that which did fall like lightening from Heaven they should tread upon Satan that is upon the very wisdom of reason the Devil This is the true meaning of Christ when he beheld Satan fall from Heaven like lightening and what Satan is so much spoken of in Scripture Much more might be said to enlarge this point but I have spoken more already then I did intend but I suppose there is enough written here in short to satisfie those that can understand by a little what a great deal means And also people may know when they speak of Satan what Satan is and when they speak of the Devil they may know what the Devil is So much concerning the interpretation of Satan and the conclusion of this Epistle written by Lodowick Muggleton FINIS
and unseparable one from the other they were but one visible sensible being and when the life was dead the body was dead and when the body is really dead the spirit and life was and is dead also and both are laid in the ground together as is declared in all our writings but more especially in that book entituled The Mâ—rtality of the Soul CHAP. X. ALso I do further declare that God did never create any spirit without a body neither of Angels nor Men nor no other creature neither in Heaven above nor in the Earth beneath nor in the Waters under the earth There is no spirit or life whatsoever that is created of God but it hath a body to that life or spirit but if a spirit have any being without a body that spirit is none of Gods creation for God never created any spirit whatsoever without a body as I said before But the imagination of reason in man which is the devil hath created all creatures in the imagination to have spirits without bodies both of Angels above and Man here on earth and all creatures upon the earth and in the waters that have the breath of life the imagination of reason saith their spirits may subsist without bodies or go out of those bodies they have and enter into other bodies and appear in the shape of a body and yet be of no substance so that the Devils creation is all of spirits without bodies and Gods creation is all with bodies and spirits together And this darkness hath overspread the nature of man all the world over which is the occasion of that opinion of houses and places being hanted with evil spirits and spirits walking without bodies and deaâ—ing with familiâ—r spirits that peep and mutter and whisper as it were out of the ground These things and many more are produced by the imagination of the heart of man for the imagination of mans heart is evil and continually evil for it hath given a being to spirits without bodies to fright it self to that which hath no being of it self For I declare and perfectly know that there is no such thing as spirits to walk without bodies nor assume any shape after death nor be raised out of the ground by any Witch or any familiar spirit whatsoever it is all produced out of the dâ—rk imagination of the heart where ignorance beareh rule for there is no such thing can be presented but to the ignorant and dark-minded people Thus I have given the Reader to understand something more concerning the power of Witches and how they may be said to raise spirits out of the ground and from whence that low speech doth come with those Scriptures opened that speak as if a familiar spirit did hear whispering out of the dust Also I have given the interpretation of that in Samuel concerning the Witch of Endor and those places of Scripture in Isaiah these places are the most concerning spirits being raised without bodies of any in the Scriptures but there have been some other places of Scripture that do seem to carry a shew as if spirits might rise again without bodies and I have been desired by some to open those Scriptures that seem to tend to that purpose though the common and general objection amongst all people is that of the Witch of Endor and King Saul which I have opened before yet for the further satisfaction of the Reader I shall open and interpret the other places objected that seem to tend to the same thing The places of Scripture are three the first is Isa 61 1. the wordâ— are these The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound So Luke 4.88 the words in Luke are much to the same purpose and little difference onele that which Isaiah did prophesie of it was fulfilled by Christ in his time So the first Epistle of Peter chap. 3. and 18 19 20. verses the words are these For Christ also hath once suffered for sin the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit Verse 19. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison Verse 20. Which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was a 〈◊〉 wheâ—â—in few that is eight souls were saved by water CHAP. XI AS for thâ—t saying of the Prophet Isaiah it was a prophecy of Christ that he should be anointed to preach glad tidings unto the meek and that he was sent to bind up the broken-hearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to them that are bound This prophecy was fulfilled when he was upon earth as may plainly appear by those words in Luke aforementioned Also the Reader may understand that these places of Scripture have no relation at all to the raising of spirits without bodies nor of spirits being in prison nor delivered out of prison by the power of Christ without bodies But the meaning is this that the Spirit of the Lord Almighty was upon Christ and in him and did anoint him to preach glad tidings of salvation to the meek in heart who did believe in him and trusted in his words all such as were broken-hearted who were led captive by the error ignorance and darkness of the mind he came to proclaim liberty to the spirit of man who was in captivity and to open the prison door of mens hearts For this I say all mens spirits by nature are shut up in the prison of spiritual darkness in the mind and are lead captive by the ignorance of truth so that the spirit or soul of man is shut up prisoner in the body of man untill the true God and Saviour hath been preached to them as it was by Christ himself when on earth he was anointed to preach glad tidings of salvation and he anointed his Apostles to preach glad tidings of peace to men and to open the prison and to deliver the captive out of captivity and to set the spirits of many that were in a prison of darkness in their own minds go free this prophecy was fulfilled at that time by Christ and his Apostles in their Commission But the same captivity and prison of darkness is now upon the spirits of all men as it was at that time for this I say and many people can witness that their spirits have been shut up prisoners in spiritual darkness in their own bodies untill the the true God and Saviour hath been preached unto them by his last messengers For this I declare that those words of the Prophet Isaiah they were spoken with relation to a spiritual liberty and to a spiritual captivity of the mind or spirit of man
in as much as Noah did obey the commandment of the Lord according as the spirit of the Lord did reveal unto him Noah may be said to be a Preacher of righteousness and he doing all things by inspiration of the spirit of Christ which was not at that time made of flesh but in the fulness of time became pure humane flesh and suffered the pains of death And the same spirit that suffered death that very same spirit that quickned was that spirit that preached to the spirits in prison in the days of Noah as aforesaid And the making of the Ark by the inspiration of Gods spirit in the sight of the people who were in prison in ignorance and darkness of mind is called by the revelation of faith A preaching to the spirits in prison so that the spirit of God in Noah may be said to preach unto those spirits in prison in the days of Noah and that there was but eight persons saved from the Floud So that this place of Scripture doth no way prove that the spirit of Christ did ever preach to spirits in prison without bodies neither did Christs spirit preach in the days of Noah without a body for he always preached with a body himself or else chose men that have bodies and gave them power to preach to spirits in prison and to deliver the captives and to set the prisoner at liberty and the bound in prison to go free So that the Reader may see how and in what manner the spirit of Christ did preach unto the spirits in prison in the days of Noah and how their spirits may be said to be in prison and how their unbelief in the days of Noah was called disobedience to the preaching of Noah all that while the Ark was building And being built by the inspiration of the spirit of God it may and is called the preaching of Christs spirit to them that were in prison in spiritual darkness in their minds for their minds being darkened they did those things that were unseemly yea unnatural as the people of Sodom did Now were not the spirits of these people in prison and led captive of those unnatural lusts I think no sober man will deny yet these were those spirits in prison that Christs spirit preached unto in the body of Noah in the days of Noah and that there was but eight persons in the days of Noah that were saved from the destruction by water by the preaching of that spirit of God in Noah This is the true interpretation and meaning of those words of Peter the Apostle aforementioned and how the spirit of Christ went and preached unto the spirits in prison in the days of Noah CHAP. XIII AGain there are some other places of Scripture which several people have objected as if the spirit or soul of man might go out of the body and subsist in bliss and happiness or in misery and a tormented condition without its body it always lived in from that place Luke 23.43 Jesus said to the Thief on the cross Verily I say unto thee This day shalt thou be with me in paradise Now observe this no way proves that the Thiefs soul went out of his body into a Paradisical place and so escaped suffering death or did not die for if the soul of Christ did die at that time as is clear by Scripture it did then the soul and life of the Thief did die also Then where was the Paradise the Thiefs soul and Christs soul that was heavy unto death where did they go To this I say they went to a place of rest where all righteous souls go which is to the sleep of death for there was nothing did die but the souls of them both and the Paradise Christ and the Thief went into that day they suffered death I declare it was this that Christ was sure in himself that he should rise from the dead the third day and afterward should enter into eternal glory and this assurance in Christ that he should rise again the third day it was Paradise and Peace to his soul that he should pass through that death he was now to suffer that very day into a new life that should not be capable to die any more So likewise when the Thief did truly believe that Jesus was the Christ the Saviour from eternal death to those that did believe as it is certain he did when he said Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom for he did really believe that Christ would rise the third day and that he would raise him to eternal joy and happiness at the last day and the Thief dying in this faith he entered into peace of mind and had rest and freedom to die in hope and full assurance that Christ would raise him up soul and body to eternal happiness at the last day And this was that Paradise that Christ and the Thief were in that very day they both suffered death for the assurance of everlasting life in a mans self here in mortality is the Paradise of peace in this life This I know to be true and this was the Paradise Christ did mean the Thief should be in that very day he believed and not that either of their souls went out of their bodies to any other place or Paradise then what was in their own bodies as aforesaid In like manner people do imagine that the soul of man goeth out of the body at his death from that saying Acts 7.59 from those words of Stepher when he was stoned to death he said Lord Jesus receive my spirit The meaning is this that when any man dieth in the true faith of Christ in the hope and full assurance that Christ will raise him up to eternal happiness at the last day he commits his spirit into the hands of Christ knowing that though he doth lose his life for Christs sake here that Christ will raise it again and save his soul hereafter and so Christ may be said to receive his spirit For this I must tell the Reader that there is not a quarter of an hours time to the dead to his rising again no not a minute for there is no time to the dead not a minute of an hour though a man have been dead 5000 years yet it is not a minute of an hour to him that is dead For all time belongs to the living for after death there is nothing but eternity on the other side of death either eternal happiness or eternal misery so that when men die they may be said to go immediately to Heaven or to Hell to joy or torment to be received into Christs hands of mercy or into the hand of Christs wrath where they shall be tormented with the Devil and his Angels yet shall never see the Devil nor his Angels nor themselves to eternity as they did not know the Devil here neither shall they know or see him hereafter yet be tormented with him And in this sense a faithful
spirit or soul as Stephen was may be said to commit his spirit into the hands of Christ and that Christ doth receive his spirit into his hands and will raise it up at the last day which will not be a minute of an hours time to the dead as I said before therefore let not the seed of faith think the time long between death and the salvation of their souls because so many of the faithful have been so many hundred years in the grave and let not the wicked unbelieving people comfort themselves that the dead shall never rise again because the Fathers are dead and the Prophets are dead and we see none of them rise again therefore we conclude their spirits are gone to Heaven without bodies and the spirits of the wicked are gone to Hell without bodies but as minute of an hours time will deside this matter when the dead are raised for they shall not remember they have been asleep in the dust one minute of an hoâ—r for there is no remembrance of time in the grave Therefore let that vain conceit that is in most people fall of spirits going to God without bodies for I can assure you there is no such thing neither can there be any true peace in that conceit I know it by faith now and by experience for I was of that opinion once my self when I was zealous in religion according to the Puritan way but I knew no Scripture truly neither was there one true Interpreter of Scripture no not one in those days that could shew a man the true righteousness of God or the true way to everlasting life CHAP. XIV THere is another place of Scripture that is objected that seems is if the soul went out of thâ— body when they die as in 1 Kings 17.21 where Elijah prayed that the childs soul might come into him again The meaning is this that Elijah did pray in faith unto God that he would assist him in this as in other things as iâ— shutting up the Heavens that it should not rain and calling for fire from Heaven to destroy those two captains and their fitties and m ny other wonderful things he did so he prayed unto God to strengthen his faith so that he might have power to raise this childs life out of death again Therefore he stretched himself upon the child and prayed that the childs soul might come into him again that is that the childs soul or life might quicken in the body of the child again for Elijah knew the soul of the child was dead and by the warm flesh of the Prophet laid upon the childs dead flesh and the faith and prayer of the Prophet together it begot life in the child again so that the soul that was dead it became life in the child again and that life that was quickened it run through the veins of the childs body and so the childs soul did come into him again For this I say if the soul of the child had been gone out of the body then Elijah did not raise the dead child to life again for how can a man be said to be dead whâ—nas life doth not die but slips out of the body as most people do vainly imagine but it may be clear to those whose understanding are enlightened that Elijah did raise the child from death to life and that the childs soul was dead in its body and that the soul of the child was revived in the childs body again by the power of faith in Elijah And the very same thing was done by the Prophet Elisha as in 2 Kings 4.34 the Prophet Elisha did the same thing to the Shunamite womans son he went up and lay upon the child and put his mouth upon his mouth and his eyes upon his eyes and his hands upon his hands and he stretched himself upon the child and the flesh of the child waxed warm and Elisha stretched himself upon the child a second time here the Reader may see that the child was dead and by the faith and prayer and by the warmness of the Prophet Elisha his flesh the child revived to life again both body and soul And Elisha did use the same means and way as Elijah did for he went in and shut the door and prayed unto the Lord as Elijah did and stretched himself upon the child as Elijah did and raised the child to life again by the power of faith Yet Elisha maketh no mention of the soul coming into the child again but he delivered the body and soul of the child that were both dead together he delivered them both alive together to the childs mother It was the same thing done by Elijah onely some difference in the words but the sense and meaning is all one So that the Reader may understand if any true light of life be in him that the soul of the child went not out of its body but died in the body and by the power of faith in the Prophet it quickned alive out of death in the childs body again for the soul or life of the child never went out of the body as is vainly imagined but the soul life and spirit of the child was absolutely dead in the body and by the power of faith in the Prophet the dead soul or life of the child was quickened alive again and caused the body to live also For if the woman should have had the soul of the child given unto her without the body she would have given the Prophet no thanks for raising her childs soul without a body but the body and soul being one person they were both dead together and the Prophet raised them both together alive and the woman received them both together and rejoyced greatly in God and gave honour to the Prophet Thus in short I have given the true interpretation of all those Scriptures that most seem or most commonly are objected against the mortality of the soul or to prove that spirits do go out of the body at the time of death or that spirits may be raised without bodies or have any being without bodies and that a spirit may appear in a shape without a body or that a spirit can assume what shape it please yet have no body or substance These things the vain imagination of reason in man hath created in it self to fright it self with for there is no such thing as spirits walking without bodies neither doth any spirit go out of the body when men die as is imagined by most people but these are factions of mens brains created by the imagination in the dark minds of men and women for God never created any such thing as I have shewed before And as for that saying of Solomon Eccl. 12.7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return to God who gave it His meaning I suppose in these words is as is generally conceived by all people the body to the dust and the