A Short DESCRIPTION OF THE True Ministers and the False How they Differ in their Call Ministry Doctrine and Fruits that any that are desirous may know the one from the other Also Something concerning the Apostacy and Departing from the Faith and Power of God which was in the Apostles dayes How the Woman fled into the Wilderness where she had a Place prepared her of GOD The False Church and Antichrist got up in Her stead The Woman's Return Witnessed with the Fall of Anti-christ and the False Church Something further concerning the True Ministers of Jesus Testified by One that hath been a True Witness of all that he has here written J. Aynsloe Luke 9.1 2. He called his Twelve Disciples together and gave them Power and Authority over all Devils and he sent them to preach the Kingdom of God c. But of the False Prophets its said Jer. 23.21 I have not sent these Prophets yet they Run I have not spoken to them yet they Prophesied Printed in the Year 1672. AN EPISTLE TO THE READER FRIEND LEt it not seem a strange thing to thee nor a small thing in thine Eye that God hath appeared in these latter dayes in his large Loving-kindness unto the Sons of Men to discover again that which hath been hid from Ages and Generations past by reason of the long and dark Night of Apostacy which did cover all as a Vail over the Heart since the Apostles dayes in which the true Church hath been in the Wilderness and the true Ministers not known and the false Church and false Ministers got up in their place and Antichrist hath been worshipped and the Beast and false Prophet born rule and all that time the Lord was as a Stranger in the Earth and his Appearance by his Light and Spirit was known but to a very Few so that it was taken for granted by most people That Revelation was Ceased and that no other Knowledge of God was to be looked for then from the Scriptures being Ignorant of him of whom the Scriptures testified Christ Jesus the true Light that lighteth every man that comes into the world that all through the Light might believe This Key of Knowledge being vailed from the people and Humane Learning and Tradition instead thereof hath been admired and followed by the most of people in the Night of Apostacy as the Only Way to the Knowledge of God which is the Cause why people are so ignorant of God and Spiritual Worship Crying up Lifeless Forms for Religion and the Inventions and Traditions of Men for True Worship withstanding as much as in them lies the Powerful Appearance of the Lord in this the Day of his Power wherein he hath appeared to bring every thing into its right course again and hath raised up by his Power Ministers and Witnesses again as in the Apostles dayes induing them with Power from on High That they may be Instruments in his Hand to turn many from Darkness to his Blessed Light that shines in the Heart to give the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ And many are gathered unto the Lord and into the Worship of the Spirit and are taught of God and bear their Testimony to the Truth as it is in Jesus and God is still adding to the Number of his Chosen People notwithstanding all Opposition that the Excellency of the Power by which he carrieth on his Work may be seen to be of God and not of Man to him only be the Glory and Honour forevermore J. A. A Short Description of the True Ministers and the False how they differ in their Call Ministry Doctrine and Fruits that any who are desirous may know the one from the other c. TRue Ministers are called of God as the Apostles were and God hath committed to them now the Word of Reconciliation as the Apostles had and they are now sent of God To preach Glad-tidings to the Poor and Peace and Good-will unto men To Proclaim the Day of the Lord to all that sit in Darkness and under the shadow of Death Preaching to the Spirits in Prison that the Prison-Doors may be opened and the Prisoner of Hope come forth out of the Prison-House that the Clouds of Darkness may fall of and the Bonds of Iniquity may be broken that many may be turned from Darkness to Light from Satan's power to God And freely they have received and freely they minister coveting no man's Silver or Gold nor Apparrel no more then the Apostles did And they preach Christ Jesus not themselves but the same Jesus that was Crucified without the Gates of Jerusalem that Rose again the Third Day and Ascended up into Glory and is at the Right-Hand of God far above all Principalities and Powers according as the Scriptures declare And they preach him as they have received him for they did not know him by the reading of the Scriptures no more then Paul did by reading of the Law but as he is revealed in them And their Eyes do see and their Ears do hear and their Hands do handle the Good Word of God which they declare unto others And God hath given them a Good Understanding that they know him that is True even Jesus Christ whom God hath sent And they have not laboured in vain as those who have beat the Air but have been Instruments in God's Hands to turn many from the Evil of their Wayes to walk in the Light of the Lord and are brought to know and dwell in that City even the New Jerusalem which is from above that has no need of the light of the Sun by Day nor of the Moon by Night but the Lamb is the Light thereof And the true Ministers need no Humane Authority to Authorize their Ministry for they have a Witness in every man's Conscience Neither are their Mouthes stopped with the Commands of men neither are they afraid to appear for God in their publick Testimony in preaching the Everlasting Gospel though Laws of great Penalties be made against them but rather are made willing to adventure all whatever is dear and near unto them in this World then to incur the Displeasure of their Lord and Master Jesus Christ or to bring the Blood of any upon them for they Labour Night and Day with the Lord in the Travel of their Spirits that they may be clear of the Blood of all men going from Country to Country as they are moved with their lives in their hands that they may preach the Everlasting Gospel to all that dwell upon the Earth The False Ministers are such as are brought up at Vniversities and are Seven Years studying Philosophy c. and are made Masters of their Arts and from Humane Learning is their Ministry and for their Gain is their Call and are only sent of Man being Ordained by Man and then have Licence to preach They are onely Ministers of Traditions and their own Conceptions on the Letter not of the
ready to say as the Jews did We have Abraham to our Father yet this Birth Immortal having receiv'd the Blessing of the Dew of Heaven is not discouraged though they that have the Fatness of the Earth for their Portion make more Noise and greater Shew in this World labour what in them lieth to stir up Enemies against this Blessed Innocent Seed and to Persecute all those where its Apperance is But this is my Testimony concerning it They shall never prevail no Weapon formed against it shall Prosper their striving against it is to no Purpose they only making themselves Manifest what spirit they are of For the Lord God Omnipotent hath raised it up in this the Day of his Power that it may bear witness to his Name through his Faithful Witnesses in whose Hearts God hath raised it up by his own Mighty Power and Out-stretched Arm after a Long and Dark Night of Apostacy since the Apostles dayes which soon after the Apostles did creep in only having the Form without the Power lost the Life of Religion and Motion of the Spirit of Life in the Inward Man which was to be Guide unto all Spiritual Worship and Obedience unto God according to Christ's Saying The Time cometh and now is that he that worshippeth the Father must worship him in Spirit and in Truth This being lost by many since the Apostles dayes and never known by others hath been the great Cause Ground and Rise of the many Sorts and forms of Religion made in man's Will and he giving way to his own Self-will the Enemy of his Soul did easily prevail with him to be of that Form of Religion which most suited the Inclinations of his Heart blinding the Eyes of his Understanding and made him Insensible of the many inward Strivings of the Lord with him and although Reproved in secret yet not regarded or at least not believed it to be the Grace Light and Spirit of God so that the Continuance of the Apostacy and Unbelief that came in by it were from one Generation to another out of the Remembrance of the Appearance of the Lord of his being near to man or of Jesus Christ Within they grew into the Subtilty of the Serpent and having eaten of the forbidden Fruit got unto himself Coverings of his own making serving only himself and his own Interest that he could turn to be of any Form of Religion to save himself Thus Painted Jezebel got up and the False Church did begin to flourish with her False Teachers False Doctrines and False Worships Then she held forth a Golden Cup full of Abominations unto all Nations Kindreds Tongues and People and they drank of the Wine of her Fornication and were drunk with it and then the False Church got up and False Prophet began to ride upon the Beast and they made War with the true Woman and the Remnant of her Seed that remain'd upon the Earth and they prevailed for a time and the Woman the true Church fled into the Wilderness where she had a Place prepared her of God and the Man-Child was caught up to God and there she remained as a Widow alone and as a Dove without a Mate according as it is written until the time of her Mourning and Widdowhood should be accomplish'd and all this while the Harlot the false Church bore Rule both within and without and all that would not receive the Mark of the Beast and of Antichrist on their Fore-heads and on their Right-hand should be put to Death or should not be suffered to Buy or Sell. Then was set up Outward Force to Compel all to bow to their Worship for the Power and Spirit of the Lord that was in the Apostles days was lost that made peoples hearts tender and gather'd them to God into his Spiritual Worship and the Form without the Power was set in its place and so fell short of the Power and of the Order that was in the Spirit Then Humane Learning Arts and Inventions got in the Powers Place thinking to supply what was wanting which an Immitation of the true Church and the Order that was in the Apostles dayes could not do But finding their shortness both in Doctrine and Conversation that Sin and Evil had Dominion over them and that erring from the Spirit they could not be without sin then they set it up as a Foundation Doctrine That no man could be without Sin and Corruption on this side the Grave and this they have desended as well as they could by Word and Writing but where that fell short they made their Inquisition Fire and Faggot and Strong Prisons to make it out with the rest of their False Doctrines and Practices resolving their Tryal by Outward Force and Compulsion and if any Eye were in measure opened to see beyond any of their Dark Doctrines or Ceremonies and so could not bow unto them then were they branded with the Name of Hereticks and if they would not put out that little Sight which God had given them and become as Blind as they were then they Persecuted them and put them to Death This hath been the Practice of the False Church for several Hundred Years and Examples thereof were before and in Queen Mary's days and since But now the Time is come That Babylon is come up in Remembrance before the Lord and as she has done unto others so will the Lord do unto her for Strong is He that is risen to judge her And he hath made an Entrance into her Borders and is laying waste her pleasant Pictures and discovering her Whoredoms and drying up the Tongue of the Egyptian-Sea so that many begin to suspect her and others do see she is but an Harlot not withstanding her being cover'd with Scarlet-coloured Robes so she shall not deceive the Nations much longer and as she had a time of Rising so must she have time to Fall and surely the time is at hand and her Overthrow is witnessed in many Hearts and as it hath been within so must it be without And this hath been the Ground of the many Testimonies that have been born against her in this Day and Generation wherein the Lord hath appear'd in his Might and Power beyond what hath been in times past and revealed himself unto many by his Light and Spirit and hath made known the Way of Life and Salvation as in the Apostles days and the Man-Child is come down from God again and she that fled into the Wilderness and was Childless is now coming out leaning upon the Breasts of her Beloved according as it was written of her Rejoyce thou Barren that didst not bear and break forth into Joy thou Virgin Daughter of Jerusalem for more shall be the Children of the Barren then of the Married Wife and this is the Lord 's bringing to pass that he may take away her Reproach For many have brought forth though a false Birth while she has been barren for none could give her Children but the
Lord he is wiping away her Tears and the Time of her Mourning is coming to an end and now the Woman doth appear which John saw in the Spirit to be clothed with the Sun having the Moon under her Feet and now is as a Bride preparing for her Husband and she is the true Church the Bride the Lamb's Wife to her I bear my Testimony to be known and in being again and a Son of this Woman I profess my self to be and of none other of her Faith and Doctrine of her Life and Practice who hath no Power upon the Earth to take her part to defend her Faith and Doctrine but the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb is her Defence Covering and Shield for evermore And thus in Faithfulness have I wrote these few things as the Lord put them into my heart for the sake of those that are inquiring after Sion with their Faces set thither ward that all Stumbling-blocks may be removed out of the way of the Simple and that in Singleness of heart every one may close in with that holy Appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ in the inward of their hearts by his Light Spirit and that none may resist the Day of their Visitation but haste out of Babylon and Egypt from the Flesh-Pots Garlick towards the Land that flows with Milk and Honey where there are Vineyards ready planted and Wells ready dig'd the free Flowings forth of the Father's Love unto their Souls Something further as a Testimony concerning the True Ministers of Jesus Christ THat there are True and Faithful Ministers of Jesus Christ as were in the dayes of the Apostles in this Day and Generation that do I witness and bear Testimony unto in the Name of the Lord who are Ministers of the Spirit and have ministred the Spirit and Spiritual things unto many who have not fed themselves with the Fat but have fed the Lambs of Christ having the Word of Reconciliation committed to them and have not been slack in dividing it aright judging that which was for Judgment but tender in Love and Compassion towards the Poor and Needy lending a Hand to the Helpless and turning many to the Light and Power of God which aboundeth in themselves being as Trumpets in the hands of the Lord giving a certain Sound that many have heard and believ'd through their Word They have not sought themselves but the Glory of God and the Good of all People and God hath been with them and made them successful and to see the Travel of their Souls and be glad And God hath given them Power to lose on Earth and it is losened in Heaven and to bind on Earth and it is bound in Heaven And they have Power over Unclean spirits and their Poison cannot hurt them Their Weapons are Spiritual mighty through God to the pulling down of the Strong Holds of the Devil they War not with Flesh and Blood but against the Spiritual Wickedness in the High Places of the Heart their Sword is the Sword of the Spirit their Armour is the Armour of Light their Breast-plate is the Breast-plate of Faith and their Helmet is that of Salvation and having put on the whole Armour of God are furnished against all the Powers of Darkness They preach not but as they are moved by the Spirit and Power of God being ordered of him when to Speak and when to be Silent They serve not themselves and their own Bellies but the Lord Jesus Christ and his Followers not striving who should be Greatest but serving one another in Love Into this Ministry was I called of God in the year 1657. and ever since the Lord hath continued me in that Work and Service that he set before me requiring of me no more but Faithfulness in that I had receiv'd and through great Tryals Tribulations and Exercises hath he preserv'd me Faithful unto this day Glory to God Peace on Earth and Good will towards Men Amen Amen Postscript SOme may say There are several sorts of Professions who have Ministers and all of them hold forth some of these Doctrines or have some of these Marks and bring forth some of these Fruits dost thou conclude them all to be False Ministers To which may be Answered They that are not against us are with us as Christ answered those that came to complain of some that preached and walked not with them But these have all appeared against the Lord and his People in this the Day of his Spiritual Appearance and have joyned together either in Word or Deed Publick or Private as one Man making up one Great Image Head Gold Breasts Silver Thighs Brass Feet part Iron part Clay to withstand the Little Stone cut out of the Mountain without Hands but it hath and will prevail against the Image And these are the Sons of one Woman differing only in Speech and Complexion having all one and the same Nature as Experience hath shewed For all have Persecuted and stirred up to Persecution and the most from those that had the greatest Profession as largely may appear by the Sufferings of the People of the Lord called Quakers both in this Nation and else-where several of them being Imprisoned by the Priests till Death and others put to Death in New-England only for the Exercise of a Pure Conscience Such things the Ministers of Christ never did neither do but were and are so done unto These with several other Reasons makes me conclude them all to be False Ministers John Aynsloe THE END
Spirit having only a Form but denying the Power calling the Letter the Gospel and preferring the Letter before the Spirit and putting it in the Spirit 's place calling it the Word of God saying There is no other Way to cone to the Knowledge of God so are boasting of another man's Lines made ready to their hands and are saying Thus saith the Lord when he never spake to them as the False Prophets did in the dayes of old denying Revelation or any Immediate Call from God as the Apostles had saying There is no such thing to be looked for now that was Extraordinary and is Ceased And are such as are alwayes Teaching and People never the better bringing nothing to Perfection saying There is no Freedom from Sin on this side the Grave And Denying the Light that convinceth of Sin to be sufficient to lead to Life and Salvation calling it Natural and Insufficient like the Unbelieving Jews who said Is not this the Carpenter's Son They say That Sprinkling of Infants upon the Face is Baptism setting up that in the place of the Baptism of the Spirit They call Bread and Wine the Lord's Supper being ignorant of the Bread of Life and the Communion of Saints in the Sanctifying Spirit And thus much in short concerning their Call Ministry and Doctrine Now I shall shew their Marks and Fruits Christ saying By their Fruits ye shall know them They are such as go in Long Robes and have the Highest Place in the Synagogues and are called of men Master and have the Uppermost Rooms at Feasts Matthew 23. Jude's Epistle and have men's Persons in Admiration because of Advantage They Preach for Hire they have Gift and Rewards for their preaching they can't afford it for Nothing having bought it for Money they take Tythes imitating the Priests in the Law they Sue men at the Law that cannot put into their Mouthes they cast men into Prison for the Exercise of their Consciences they stir up the Magistrates to Persecution saying They must Defend their Gospel or else it will Fall using the Carnal Weapon against the Outward Man All which are contrary to the Scriptares of Truth and Practices of the Ministers of Christ in former Ages and in this Age Their Weapons were not Carnal but Spiritual mighty through God to the bringing down of the Strong Holds of the Man of Sin They must have Letters Patent from the Bishop or some other Man or Men before they can or must Preach and then they Read or Preach by the Hour-Glass at a certain Place or Time as they are ordered by Men. They despise Prophecying and if any are moved to go into the Place of their Worship in the Time of their Worship to speak in the Name of the Lord they call that A Disturbance calling to the Officer or Magistrate to take him or her away and sent to Prison allowing none to speak but themselves contrary to the Orders of the Churches of Christ who might all speak one by one They are Changeable as the Powers of the Earth change and are Silenc'd if Man commands them and take away their Gain their Gospel ceaseth and it the Magistrate take away his Shoulder and men were not Forced few would put into their Mouthes By these their Fruits Marks Doctrines Ministry and Call they may very easily be known who they are by any that are desirous to find them out For the Light of the Lord is come and the Glory of the Lord is appeared to discover every False Way and Thing and nothing is hid from his All-seeing Eye and he is making it known to those that believe in his Light and follow him in the Regeneration for the Night is past unto many and the Day of the Lord is broken forth in which Perfect Freedom is known from the Yoak of Bondage Sin being fled away as the Morning Cloud and the Glory of the Lord doth rest upon his Tabernacle and the Sons of the Morning Rejoyce together and Praise waits for the Lord in Sion But this is hard to be believed by most of the Sons of men Night having been their Habitation and Darknes over them so long that they look not for any other state willingly contented in that in which they are in a Receiving of things they preach by a Report of others some believing That there is a God because the Scriptures say so having no desire of further Knowledg or Fellowship with Him and that is the Ground or In-let to all Liberty in Sin and False Worshipping every man's Way seeming Right in his own Eyes he being or at least would be sole Judge in all things that pass in his own Mind and would not admit of any other Judgment or Judge to be near him for to reprove or condemn him for the Evil of his Wayes but would go on without Controle passing away his Precious Time in daily sinning against the Lord taking no notice of any Reproof or Call from the Lord to forsake the Evil of his Wayes And the long continuance in this state hath prov'd very Dangerous that many are got into a Belief That it will not be otherwise with them nor can they believe That it is otherwise with any Which Conclusion ariseth from the Counsel of their own dark Hearts Darkness being as a Vail over the Heart the Eye of the Understanding being blinded by the God of this World O! how sad and lamentable is the Case of all such They would not that Christ should have any place in Heir hearts or they come into Obedience unto him but are like to the Unbelieving Jews who said We will not have this Man to Rule over us and at last did chuse a Barrahas rather then a Jesus and this is the state of many now call'd Christians who choose rather to have their Murdering Lusts to live in them then Christ Jesus the Saviour and following the spirit of Persecution and Sin-pleasing Doctrine for Term of Life rather then the meek and self-denying Jesus his Spiritual Appearance in the Heart in their Self-denyal and taking up the daily Cross which seems to them unpossible to be done choosing rather to please themselves and others with a Talk thereof and if that would serve Christ would have a great many that would follow him the Way being broad giving what Liberty to the Flesh it desires to the fulfilling of the Lusts of it But the Way is Narrow that leads to Life and admits of nothing that is of Self or Flesh or any thing that tendeth to such Liberty but of a Birth born of the Spirit who delights in Holiness and cannot live in Sin who runs with Chearfulness despising the Shame because of the Glory that is set before it Christ Jesus being the Mark of its high calling believing God that its Covenant is order'd aright unto it and sure though it meet with many Enemies Tryals and Hardships by the way and Reproaches and Scoffs not a few even from those that are