Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A40524
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A special warrant given forth from the spirit of God (who is Lord over all lords and King over all kings) against the spirit of envy and persecution ... also some descriptions set down how this insufferable enemy (the spirit of persecution) may be known ... / written by Joseph Fuce.
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Fuce, Joseph.
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1663
(1663)
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Wing F2258; ESTC R31719
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17,110
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26
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Religion and Worship and if I were led to speak of what I see of this soul-betraying spirit of envy and persecution and of his fruit surely it would sill a larg volume but the Spirit of the Lord who hath made men wise in this Generation leads me briefly to hint of some of the fruits of the old spirit of persecution in this special Warrant to all sorts of people in Christendom so called who upon consideration with the Light of Christ in their Consciences may see those things to be true that so much the more plainly because the Lord in the largness of his love hath spoken so plainly and called unto man so often in this age by his Spirit through many of his chosen vessels who have suffered deeply by all the Powers that have born rule ever since we departed from evil and by the voyce of the spirit through the Lords chosen vessels have many minds been turned from darkness to light in their own Consciences which hath made this Generation wiser than many Generations heretofore in the Apostacy besides the great and marvelous works that God hath brought to pass in the sight of this Generation of men in overturning and changing and converting thousands from darkness to light and from evil to good and from envy to true love besides the overturning of Governours and Governments and Armies and that at the last without fighting or shedding of blood which is enough to awaken this Generation into a consideration of things past present and to come And thus did the old Serpent work before the days of Christ's coming in the flesh to end the Jews worship in out-side things and their Law and to set up the everlasting worship of God in the Spirit And now take notice how the old Dragon got in among the Jews who had Moses and the Prophets writings who had been great sufferers and who had known by writings how their fore-fathers were scattered and led into Babilon after God by a mighty hand had brought them through the Red Sea and Wilderness and these professing Jews said if they had been in the days of their fathers they would not have persecuted the Prophets but while they were in their Zeal worshipping in outward things the envious spirit of persecution got into them and blinded their minds and hardned their hearts and in those days this spirit of envy and murther and persecution began to work in Herod against Christ for he sent forth and slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof thinking to destroy Christ Acts 13. And after John was beheaded And see what the spirit brought Herod to at the last he was eaten with Worms And because the Envious Jews did not look for the Messiah or Christ to come in so low a degree as to be born in Bethlehem and laid in a Manger they knew him not And although their forefathers had suffered persecution and great affliction and they had said they would not have persecuted the Prophets whose words they had which prophesied of Christ who wrought wonders and miracles among them yet they Crucified the Prince of life and these were they that worshipped in Temples and Synagogues together with their Priests and Rulers that were stirred up by this persecuting spirit mostly through the Chief Priests against Christ and his Disciples who went up and down preaching the truth and doing good and wronging no man yet they cryed vehemently Let him be Crucified And as they Crucified Christ so they persecuted his Disciples and put many of them to death and provoked the Lord against them until he gave them up to be scattered and to be a hissing to all the Nations as the natural seed of those Jews are at this day so were they blinded and hardned and then betrayed to utter ruine as the persecutors had been before by the old Serpent the spirit of envy and persecution and then when he had done his worst against Christ and Christians in and through the Heathen Jews Rulers Priests and people of all sorts then he got in amongst them that were called Christians that did not watch in the Light and low meekness of spirit which were such as had the Sheeps cloathing but inwardly were ravening Wolves the ravening wolvish doggish envious spirit of persecution made them so and such in that nature had a form of godliness but denyed the power thereof and from such the true Christians were to turn away who were in the meek Spirit and harmlesse innocent nature of Christ that kept them always ready to do good and to receive wrong rather than to do any wrong to Jew or Gentile or the false Brethren that were false like the Jews and then this envious persecuting spirit led the deceivers that came to the Saints in Sheeps cloathing but inwardly were ravening Wolvs out into the world and they that were of the world went after them into a profession of Christ and yet of the worlds nature and they got a form of godliness but denyed the power thereof and from such the Saints were to turn away and so there was a difference in the nature of them that professed Christ for some were of the Lambs nature and others of the worlds nature yet all professed God and Christ and from that they had all the names of Christians but all were not of the divine nature of Christ and this was in the latter days or last times of the Apostles age as John said Little Children it is the last time as ye have heard that Anti-christ shall come even now there are many Anti-christs whereby they knew that they were the last times and the Anti-christs went out from the Apostles into the world and the world went after them and so the Apostacy came in and then they dayly encreased in the errour degeneration from the leader pitiful meek suffering and saving spirit so darkness ignorance hardness of heart and envy encreased among them that had the name of Christians but had lost the nature of Christ and the spirit of envy and persecution began to appear to be chief among them then the Beast rose up out of them that were like the Sea who received this imposing power from the old Dragon that stirred up the Jews to Crucisie the Lord of life and so the Beast set up an Image and caused the people to worship his Image and the Saints of the most High that would not worship the Image of the Beast nor receive his Mark in their foreheads or in their right hands were to be stain such was their imposition for their imagined way of worship and they made war with the Saints of the most High and overcame them and killed both small and great that would not worship the Beast and his Image and the man child Christ Jesus was caught up to God and the woman sled into the wilderness where she hath been nourished in the time of Apostacy and blindness of peoples minds and
A Special VVarrant Given forth from the SPIRIT of GOD Who is Lord over all Lords and King above all Kings against the Spirit of Envy and Persecution who hath been is and will be the Greatest Enemy to God and Godliness and to all People ALSO Some Descriptions set down how this unsufferable Enemy the Spirit of Persecution may be known and what he is and from whence he came and where he lodgeth in the Night and what Weapons people may be armed with against him when they go to take him that he may not hurt them that so they may bring him to Judgment and Sentence may be past upon him Sathan shall go forth to deceive the Nations and Gog and Magog shall appeare together for the stirring up of an Army to Battel against the Saints the Number of whom is as the Sand of the Sea and they went upon the breadth of the Earth and compassed the Camp of the Saints about and the Beloved City and fire came down from God out of Heaven and devoured them as in Rev. 20. These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings Rev. 17. 14. Written by Joseph Fuce LONDON Printed in the Year 1663 A Special VVarrant Given forth from the Spirit of God A Special Warrant given forth from the Spirit of God who is Lord over all Lords and King above all Kings against the Spirit of Envy and Persecution which hath is and will be the Greatest Enemy against God and Godlinesse to Kings and Kingdomes Nobles and Nobility Neighbours and Neighbourhood and therefore would the God of the Spirits of all flesh have both Kings and Nobles and all other People in all parts of his Creation and that more especially in those Parts where Kings and Nobles and People of all sorts professe to owne God and his Christ to be awakened and moved to stirre and stand up and to set unto their helping hand and to lend their best assistance for the stopping apprehending and taking this Great and Notorious Enemy to God and all Mankind from the very Highest to the Lowest of all in the Creation and to True Religion it selfe With some Descriptions what this Insufferable Enemy is and from whence he came and where he Lodgeth in the Night and how he may be knowne and taken and what People of all sorts are to be Armed with against this Thief that cometh in the Night so that they may not be hurt by him nor hurt one another about taking him and bringing him to Judgement and Condemnation for they that profest themselves to be Religious people that have gone forth heretosore and have not beene Armed with the True Armour nor led by the True Leader they have Struck at this Enemy and missed him and Wounded and Killed one another and Taken and Imprisoned one another and let him goe at Liberty in every Nation and Country City and Towne like a roaring Lyon to devoure to the great Griefe of the Spirit of God who created Mankind and would have them all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth as the Scripture saith and then how peaceable people of all sorts may live and how in Life and Spirit they may Serve and Worship their Creator and in Love serve and doe one for another as Brethren and Friends and Neighbours and so every one may come to sit downe under his owne Vine and none shall make him afraid First What this Great Enemy unto God and Godlinesse and all Mankind is against whom this Special Warrant from the Spirit of God goes sorth This Great Enemy to all Mankind is that Old Envious Spirit of Persecution that got into Cain and moved and stirred him up against his Righteous Brother Abels Gen. 4 5 8. So he made Cain his Servant to Murther or Kill his Righteous Brother Abel and brought misery and sorrow and Everlasting Torment upon himselfe who then became a Vagabond from God to wander with a Burthen too heavy for him to beare and although he built a City to make himselfe an Habitation yet his Punishment was Greater than he could beare because he had done the Murthering Spirits Worke in Slaying his Brother and so became worthy of Everlasting Punishment like unto him that was a Murtherer from the Beginning And the same Envious Persecuting and Murthering Spirit was in Pharaoh who burdened and grievously Oppressed and Afflicted the Lords People for a long time Exod. 3. 7. which grieved the Lords Spirit who heard the Groanings of his People in Egypt Exod. 5 to the 14. And this Envious Spirit made Pharaoh the King do so Wickedly against the minde of God as to provoke the Holy One of Israel to bring the Plagues on the Kings owne selfe and the whole Land of Egypt and yet this Great Enemy to the King and Kingdome would not let the King be quiet but made him to oppresse them more than before and at last to pursue the Lords People with a Great Army of Horse-men and Charriots intending to Destroy those whom the Lord had Chosen to himselfe to be his People and by so doing the King brought everlasting destruction upon himselfe and all his Host who were destroyed by water in the Red Sea and that was the worke of the Envious Spirit to bring to everlasting destruction And the same Enemy was in Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazar and in the Presidents and Princes and in Haman and in all the rest of the envious Enemies of God and his People in those Generations Esther 7. And oh how did that great Enemy the Spirit of Persecution betray Haman even to the Gallows to be Hanged for devising mischief against poore Mordecai and all the Jewes which were the Lords People And also how was the great King Nebuchadnezzar deceived by the same Deceitful Spirit of Envy and Persecution that stirred him up to Persecute the Lords Holy Children and to exalt himselfe in the Pride of his heart until his Kingdome was taken and he drove our from amongst men to eat Grasse like an Oxe and his Body to be wet with the Dew until his Haires were growne like Eagles Feathers and his Nailes like Birdes Clawes Dan. 4. 33. And he humbled himselfe and looked up to Heaven and his Understanding returned to him Dan. 5. by which he spake to the great Praise of God and his Kingdome and Wayes and Judgements and he confest that they that walk in Pride he is able to abase and he knew it was the Most High that Ruled in the Kingdome of Men and that he appointeth over it whosoever he will And then after Nebuchadnezzar Belshazar was King and Reigned Dan. 5. and he made a great Feast to a thousand of his Lords and drunk Wine before them and then he sent for the Vessels that his Father had taken out of the Temple at Jerusalem and he and his Wives and Nobles drank wine in them and in the same Houre came forth